Newsbytes - Internationa…ews 1983 May to 1992 June/Newsbytes - International Computing Industry News May 1983-June 1992 (Wayzata Technology)(5042)(1992).bin/mac/_DATA/TEXT/NB92.ALL

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#CARD :1992 JUN 30  ****DAK Disputes Responsibility For Toolworks $15M Loss 06/30/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00001)

 ****DAK Disputes Responsibility For Toolworks $15M Loss 06/30/92
NOVATO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 30 (NB) -- Software Toolworks,
probably best known for its recent success with "The Miracle Piano"
and for roller coaster up and down earnings since 1990, says it will
report a higher than expected loss for its fourth fiscal quarter
ending March 31, 1992. Toolworks is blaming the higher loss in part
on mail order electronics firm DAK Industries, who just filed for
Chapter 11 protection about a week ago.

On revenue of $23.8 million, Toolworks increased the amount it
expects to report as a loss to $15.4 million. Toolworks reports DAK
owes the company $2.5 million and only a portion of that is being
held in reserve as a loss. However, the DAK filing is named highest
on the list of the "number of factors" that have contributed to the
company's higher losses.

Drew Kaplan, president of DAK Industries, told Newsbytes he
understands DAK owes Toolworks in excess of 1 million in orders
that have shipped, but the balance is in purchase orders that haven't
shipped yet. "We're a lot bigger company than Toolworks, but we
aren't losing anywhere near $15 million," Kaplan added. However,
Kaplan said the difference in part is in DAK is privately held,
while Toolworks is a public company.

The reasoning given by Toolworks for the release of the portion of
the DAK debt is it has not been able to determine how much of the
$2.5 million it will be able to recover from DAK. Toolworks said, as
a consequence, it has written off "a substantial portion" of the DAK
debt as a loss. The company says it has also written off $700,000
of "doubtful accounts receivable" in addition to what it wrote off
concerning DAK. However, Toolworks did say DAK has notified it
that, as a debtor in possession, its daily operations will continue.

Of the list of unexpected expenses related by Toolworks, bad debts
are the smallest numbers. Toolworks says it is paying out another
$3.2 million in expenses related to a shareholder class action
lawsuit it paid $9.5 million last year to settle. Another $2 million
is being eaten up in capitalized software development costs
which it now says it can't recover.

Toolworks said $2.3 million went for provisions for estimated sales
returns and price protection claims, while an extra $1.2 million was
laid aside as increased provision for television production and other
advertising related expenses. Other expenses include $1.3 million for
the write-off of intangible assets related to the prior purchase of
two former subsidiaries of the company, DS Technologies and
Intellicreations.

The company has banked a great deal on "The Miracle Piano Teaching
System" introduced last year and responsible for the black ink
Toolworks experienced earlier this year. Toolworks is also blaming
the late shipment of the Macintosh version of the Miracle Piano
package for lower gross margins. Toolworks also said lower gross
margins in European sales of Nintendo products and in original
equipment manufacturer (OEM) sales, as well as higher expenses
internationally, also contributed to the loss.

Altogether, losses are expected to be $13.9 million for 1992, while
revenue for the year is predicted to be $103.3 million. Toolworks
says the loss may require an increase in its bank line to fund its
working capital needs, and the company anticipates that it will be
in violation of various financial covenants under its bank lending
agreements.

Toolworks says negotiations are being conducted with its bank to
extend and possibly increase the bank credit line and to obtain a
waiver of any defaults on financial covenants. At the time of the
announcement, the bank discussions had not been finalized, the
company said.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920629/Press Contact: Vince Turzo, Software
Toolworks, tel [phone] ext 568, fax [phone]; Brian
Eggers, DAK, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 30 Russia: 2 Computer Shows In St Petersbourg Announced 06/30/92
(NEWS)(GENERAL)(MOW)(00002)

Russia: 2 Computer Shows In St Petersbourg Announced 06/30/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 JUN 30 (NB) --  The "Regional Informatics"
conference and the "Municipal computer systems" exhibition will
take place in St Petersbourg, Russia, in mid-july, 1992.

Both events, although separately organized and managed, are
expected to cover different applications which could be used to
provide computer and communications systems for city officials,
banks, and utilities.

The conference will be held July 13-16, 1992, in the
Pribaltijskaya hotel and Mariinsky Palace, city council residence
and formerly tzar family member residence. The conference is
sponsored by the city council, and Anatoly Sobchak, the mayor,
is on the board.

The exhibition will take place in the Havan (Harbour) exhibition
center, the usual exhibition site in St Petersbourg, on 14-18 July.

More information on the conference can be obtained from the
organization committee, by telephone at [phone], or
fax at [phone], or electronic mail at [e-mail].

The exhibition managers can be reached by telephone at
[phone] or fax [phone].

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920627)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 30 New For PC: WinMaster Windows Utility Program 06/30/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00003)

New For PC: WinMaster Windows Utility Program 06/30/92
BEAVERTON, OREGON, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 30 (NB) -- PC-Kwik has
announced  WinMaster, a Windows utility program that the
company says gives single-click access to programs and files
as well as displaying information about system and drive status.

WinMaster consists of features called Toolbox, KwikInfo,
PowerDisk, and KwikVault. The toolbox is a button bar which
provides the user access to commonly used programs from
anywhere in a Windows application.

If you're in Word for Windows, for example, and want to go to Excel,
you just click on the spreadsheet program icon, and WinMaster does
the rest, eliminating the need to switch to Program Master. Pc-Kwik
maintains that up to 50 applications, files, even anther toolbox can
be assigned to each toolbox. The program can even convert Program
Manager groups to the toolbox.

KwikInfo allows the user to display and print system information
such as memory, video display, drives, printers, fonts and Windows
task. Small windows, which Pc-Kwik calls meters, display
information about memory, drives and free system resources. The
display can be either in graph form or as an icon.

PowerDisk optimizes disks, which PC-Kwik says will make Windows
run faster. KwikVault is a drag-and-drop file compression and
storage program to free up disk space. The user uses a mouse to
drag a file to the vault where it is dropped. The file is then
compressed.

PC-Kwik, formerly Multisoft Corporation, said winMaster is
expected to ship the first week of August.

(Jim Mallory/19920629/Press contact: Lee Kufchak, PC-Kwik
Corporation, 503-644-5644, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 30 TMS Upgrades ViewDirector Imaging Developer's Toolkit 06/30/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00004)

TMS Upgrades ViewDirector Imaging Developer's Toolkit 06/30/92
STILLWATER, OKLAHOMA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 30 (NB) -- TMS has
announced  a major enhancement to ViewDirector, the company's
imaging developer's tool kit.

ViewDirector gives the user the ability to combine grayscale and
raster images into a single file. By placing a grayscale image over
a CCITT Group 4 image, the user can significantly reduce the
amount of disk space required to store byte-hungry graphics
images.

The company says the use of ViewDirector also substantially
improves the speed of image displays, while maintaining the
quality of the grayscale image.

In addition to compressing and decompressing, TMS spokesperson
Marc McClure told Newsbytes ViewDirector also includes a library
of functions which developers can use in their applications.
ViewDirector can perform zoom, tiling, rotation, panning, image
caching, and three different scaling methods designed for text,
line art, and dithered images. The program also includes redlining,
image compression, text overlay, and enhanced conversion
capabilities.

ViewDirector 2.0 is scheduled for release in July. Designed for
applications developers rather than the end user, McClure said the
developer kit has a royalty fee of $5,000 for 25 kits and technical
support from the company.

ViewDirector supports various file formats of CCITT Group 3 and
4, TIFF, PCX, and CALS type 1 and 2. A sample viewing program,
including the Windows and Visual Basic source code, are provided
with the program to facilitate application integration. McClure
said ViewDirector is available for DOS or Windows, and versions
for SPARC systems and the Macintosh are to be released later.

(Jim Mallory/19920629/Press contact: Marc McClure, TMS,
405-377-0880, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 30 Do-It-Yourself Memory & Math Chip Installation Kits 06/30/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00005)

Do-It-Yourself Memory & Math Chip Installation Kits 06/30/92
RICHARDSON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 30 (NB) -- Identity Systems
has announced upgrade kits for the retail market which allow users
to install a math coprocessor or SIMM (single in-line memory
module) chips themselves.

The upgrade kits come in, what the company describes as,
"informative packaging" along with documentation and a
detailed instructional video tape. The video tapes explain and
demonstrate necessary safety precautions and use of a static
insertion glove. Installation steps such as disassembly,
component plugin, reassembly, checkout,  and product use are
also illustrated on the video.

The glove, which is used to preclude damage to the chip from a
static electricity discharge during handling, is included.
According to Identity Systems Executive Vice President Troy
Cooper average installation time is about 15 minutes.

Math coprocessor chips are useful for users who use spreadsheet
programs which require frequent re-calculation, speeding up the
calculation process. Other programs, such as CAD (computer-aided
design) also benefit from faster calculation speeds.

SIMMs increase the system memory, or RAM of a personal computer,
allowing users to run programs which require lots of memory. The
SIMM kits are available in 1 megabyte (MB) and 4 MB upgrade kits,
using 256 kilobyte (KB) and 1 MB SIMMs with 70 nanosecond access
speeds. Identity Systems said the upgrade kits can be installed in
any IBM or compatible PC that supports plug-in memory modules.

Cooper says customers are increasingly sophisticated in their
knowledge and understanding of PC electronics. "We believe the
market is ready for board-level products through mass merchant
channels, he said.

A math coprocessor kit for a 286-based system has a suggested
list price of $99, while the 386 models carry price tags of $169
and $289 depending on whether the PC is powered by a 40
megahertz microprocessor or a slower chip. The SIMM kits are
priced at $79 for the 1MB upgrade and $319 for the 4 MB version.

(Jim Mallory/19920629/Press contact: Troy Cooper, Identity
Systems, 214-705-7250)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 30 Australia Automates Tax Collection 06/30/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(SYD)(00006)

Australia Automates Tax Collection 06/30/92
CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 30 (NB) -- In 1983, about
a quarter of all tax owed to the Australian tax office
(ATO) remained unpaid - today it's half that figure.

In the same period, the backlog of taxation disputes
waiting to go to court has dropped by an amazing 98
percent, from 100,000 to just 2,000. These are just two
statistics put up as evidence that the huge computer
system being put into place in the ATO is paying for
itself.

And at AUS$1.2B (US$900M), it really does need to
deliver the goods, according to many industry watchers.
They say the national network of 10,500 terminals
(Australia's largest) could have been built around much
less expensive technology than the IBM products that are
being installed.

Other claims made about the system include 14-day
turnaround of electronically lodged tax returns, rapid
answers to tax queries and an expert system which flags
taxpayers who should be audited, and then assists at
the audit.

While some ATO staff were skeptical about the new
technology, most are said to approve of the new equipment,
and report greater productivity and job satisfaction. It is
anticipated that by the end of the century, tax payers
who don't lodge returns by their accountants computer or
their own will do so by a machine in each post office.

Another benefit of 100 percent computerization and
networking of all staff, is the ability to decentralize
the workforce, and allow them to organize themselves in
teams, taking advantage of each member's skills, and
avoiding repetitive or soul-destroying jobs. In the days
of manual entry, operators were expected to maintain an
average 12,000 keystrokes per hour.

(Paul Zucker/19920629)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 30 UK: Elonex Prepares For Intel's New 80586 Chip 06/30/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00007)

UK: Elonex Prepares For Intel's New 80586 Chip 06/30/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 30 (NB) -- Intel may be officially
keeping quiet on its much-discussed 80586 microprocessor, but
that hasn't stopped PC manufacturers talking openly about their
plans for the new chipset. Latest to jump on this bandwagon is
Elonex, which claims that its machines will allow a "slot in"
upgrade to the new microprocessor.

To back up this claim, Elonex has wheeled out Dan Kikinis, head
of Oakleigh Systems, the Santa Clara-based company that
designed the Elonex range of machines. According to Kikinis,
Elonex is ahead of the pack when it comes to upgradeability.

"Elonex is right now one of maybe two to three PC
manufacturers able to offer users an upgrade path stretching
from 386SX to full 59 megahertz (MHz) 486DX systems using
the same modular architecture. Soon, that path will extend to
Intel's imminent 66MHz clock doubled 486 part," he said.

"We already have CPU (central processor unit) upgrade cards
for the 66MHz 486 in production and they'll ship as soon as the
processor becomes available this summer. And, since our
modular architecture handles speeds of up to 100MHz, the P5
won't present us with any problems, either," he added.

According to Kikinis, the primary benefit of upgrading to the
Intel P5 chipset will be in the area of number crunching --
the ability of the CPU to process data at high speed.

"With over three million transistors and Superscalar design
technology that enables the execution of multiple instructions
simultaneously on the chip, the P5 will deliver performance in
the 100 MIPS range. This kind of processing power will make the
upgrade very attractive to uses running calculation-intensive
applications such as GUIs (graphical user interfaces), CAD/CAM,
(computer-aided design/manufacturing), DTP (desktop
publishing) and so on," he said.

(Steve Gold/19920629/Press & Public Contact: Elonex - Tel: 081-
452-4444; Fax: [phone]; Oakleigh Systems - Tel: (U.S.) 408-
730-3535)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 30 UK: Andest Claims First Contura Modem Shipments 06/30/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00008)

UK: Andest Claims First Contura Modem Shipments 06/30/92
MILTON KEYNES, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 30 (NB) -- Andest
Communications claims to be in front of the rest of the UK
modem marketplace with its latest pair of modems, which are
designed for use with the newly-launched Contura family of
notebooks from Compaq.

Announcing the new machines, Tony Sellars, Andest's managing
director, said the new dedicated fax and data modems can also
be used with other portables in the Compaq range of machines.

"We have been carefully monitoring the development of the new
Contura range to be able to exploit to the full the market which
these innovative machines are expected to create," he said.

The C524FM internal fax/data modem and the C524M 2,400 bits-
per-second (bps) modem are both badged versions from Megahertz,
the US modem manufacturer. Sellars claims that he has had to
move quickly to get the modems to the marketplace. This has been
made possible, he said, by the close relationship between Compaq
and Megahertz.

"These new modems expand the range of effective communication
alternatives available for all Compaq notebook and portable
computers from the new affordable Contura notebooks to the
high-performance Portable 486 family," echoed Lewis Schrock,
Compaq's portable product manager.

The C524FM modem retails for UKP 499, while the C524M data-only
modem sells for UKP 399. Both modems are supplied bundled with
MTEZ fax/data communications software, which Andest bundles with
all its modems.

(Steve Gold/19920629/Press & Public Contact: Andest
Communications - Tel: [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 30 New For Unix: CADDS 5 Tools From Computervision 06/30/92


(NEWS)(UNIX)(TOR)(00009)

New For Unix: CADDS 5 Tools From Computervision 06/30/92
BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 30 (NB) --
Computervision has unveiled 21 new pieces of software meant
to work with CADDS 5, its computer-aided design software. The
applications cover all phases of the product development
process, the vendor said.

Computervision launched CVware Engineering Analysis, a stand-
alone parametric modeling and integrated analysis tool. This
software is meant to let designers model, test, and iterate
product designs quickly before submitting them to final
verification and manufacturing, the company said. It sells for
$19,500.

The vendor also launched the CVNC MachineShop series of numerical
control (NC) programming tools. The six products in this series
include basic and advanced packages for billing, fabrication, and
turning, a company spokeswoman said. These are based on Point
Control's SmartCAM technology. Each package costs $7,995 per
module.

The CVNC MX family of numerical control tools includes CVNC M2,
M3, and M5, which support two-axis, three-axis, and five-axis
machining respectively. This line also includes CVNC Verifier,
used to simulate tool motion before submitting final instruction
tapes to the shop floor, and three associated post-processing tools
used to generate machining instructions. The CVNC MX package are
priced from $5,000 to $15,000.

A new line of quality assurance products are meant to be used in
all stages of design, engineering, and production, the company
said. They include Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T)
Validation, GD&T Checking, Tolerance Analysis, Coordinate
Measuring Machine Programming, and Coordinate Measuring
Machine Inspection. Prices range from $2,000 to $25,000.

CADDS 5 NURBS Surface Design is a $15,000 package meant to
help designers model complex free-form shapes and surfaces
accurately. All of the above products are available now.

Computervision also announced two other software packages due to
be available in the third quarter of this year. Concurrent Assembly
Mock-Up lets all members of a design team see each other's work,
the vendor said. CADDS 5 Parametric Multi-Part Design, which lets
individual designers establish relationships among components,
provides the basis for the Concurrent Assembly Mock-Up capability.
Parametric Multi-Part Design costs $3,000 and Concurrent
Assembly Mock-Up costs $9,500.

The new software will run on Sun Microsystems workstations
now supported by CADDS 5. In addition, CADDS 5 software is to be
made available on Digital Equipment's Unix-based DECstation
workstations later this year, and on workstations from Hewlett-
Packard in 1993.

(Grant Buckler/19920629/Press Contact: Sharon Israel,
Computervision, 617-275-1800 ext. 5907, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 30 Sun's Canadian Users Get Access To Headquarters Support 06/30/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00010)

Sun's Canadian Users Get Access To Headquarters Support 06/30/92
MARKHAM, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 JUN 30 (NB) -- Sun Microsystems
of Canada customers will now get their technical support direct
from the company's headquarters support center in Mountain View,
California.

Sun Canada, which until now had its own technical support staff, is
turning Canadian customers over to the US center so they can take
advantage of the larger operation's greater expertise, a
spokeswoman for the company said. Canadian customers will have
access to the service through a toll-free number, 800-722-4SUN.

Sun's North American Solution Center handles calls in both French
and English and has 450 technical experts available to help with
customer problems, the company said.

Sun also announced that it is contracting out its training
operations in the Toronto area to the Institute for Computer
Studies, an 11-year-old organization that provides
manufacturer-authorized training for a number of computer
vendors as well as offering computer programming and
systems analysis courses.

Sun has previously done its own training in the Toronto area, the
spokeswoman said, with three other companies contracted to
provide training in Quebec and Western Canada.

Finally, Sun inaugurated a central toll-free number to handle
education and training inquiries. That number is 800-268-8800,
or 416-490-8800 from the Metropolitan Toronto area.

(Grant Buckler/19920629/Press Contact: Betty Alexander, The
Communications Group for Sun Canada, 416-696-9900, fax
416-696-9897)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 30 Sierra's New 1920's Laura Bow Murder Mystery Game 06/30/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00011)

Sierra's New 1920's Laura Bow Murder Mystery Game 06/30/92
OAKHURST, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 30 (NB) -- A new summer
mystery, Sierra Online has announced the release of "The Dagger of
Amon Ra" a Laura Bow mystery from the series is available for IBM
and compatible personal computers (PCs).

The company says detangling the mystery could be a summer's
worth of play because this title is the most complex one released
yet. "The Dagger of Amon Ra" is Laura's first assignment on her
new post-college job as a cub reporter in New York City, Sierra
said.

Sierra says an important change has occurred in the mysteries
since the last title, "The Colonel's Bequest," as now players have
to keep Laura out of danger and solve the crime. According to
Anita Greene of public relations for Sierra Online, Laura faces
danger from every side, from getting run over by a cab in New
York City to being finished off by the murderer.

Other new features of the game include the transition from
daylight to dusk to night during play (lengthening shadows, then
candles or lanterns are lit in the transition), new icons for
interrogating dozens of suspects, and a magnification feature
for closer examination of the evidence, Greene added.

The artistic style used in the new game mimics that of Joseph
Christian Leyendecker (J.C. Leyendecker) an artist who was
popular 1920's. Sierra describes Leyendecker's work as highly
stylized with stark dramatic backgrounds that offset intricately
rendered characters. The company said a "Roaring '20s"
accompanies the game as well.

Sierra said the game is the first to support both 256-color and 16-
color on the same set of disks, so players can choose the higher
resolution video graphics array (VGA) or the extended graphics
array (EGA) resolution during installation instead of purchasing or
ordering the version with the resolution they require. Dagger is
available on 3.5-inch or 5.25-inch high density disks, all major
sound cards are supported, and a hard disk is required, Sierra said.
Suggested retail price is $69.95, the company added.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920629/Press Contact: Anita Greene,
Sierra Online, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 30 Maxtor Intros 340MB 3.5-inch Disk Drive 06/30/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00012)

Maxtor Intros 340MB 3.5-inch Disk Drive 06/30/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 30 (NB) -- The drive
towards higher-capacity, affordable hard disk drives for
desktop systems has been further demonstrated with Maxtor
Corp.'s  release of its 340 megabyte (MB) MXT-340 inch-high
3.5-inch Winchester disk drive.

The company claims that the MXT-340 uses the same components
and features and offers the same seek times and data transfer
rates as its parent drives, the inch-high MXT-540, which provides
540MB formatted storage capacity, and the full-height MXT-1240,
which offers 1.2 gigabytes (GB) of storage.

Kim Harper, spokesperson for the company, told Newsbytes that
the product as aimed specifically at the "high-end PC and low-
end workstation" market.

The MXT-340 has a low average seek time of 8.5 milliseconds
(ms), according to the company, and achieves full ''Fast'' SCSI II
compliance through the use of SCSI (Small Computer System
Interface) controller chips. According to Maxtor, this allows the
drive to achieve a SCSI bus transfer rate of 10MB per second and
a maximum disk transfer rate of more than 40 megabits (Mbits)
per second.

The high transfer rate is accomplished with a disk spin rate of
6,300 revolutions per minute (RPM) that yields an average
rotational latency rate of only 4.76ms, according to Maxtor.

The MXT-340 carries an OEM (original equipment manufacturing)
evaluation unit pricing of $895, with products to become available
to OEMs at the end of July.  The company plans for volume
production to begin in the third quarter of calendar 1992.

Harper told Newsbytes that the company had "no plans right now"
to release an MXT product with less storage capacity than 340MB.

(Ian Stokell/19920629/Press Contact: Kim Harper, Maxtor Corp.,
408-432-4436)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 30  ****Intel Struggling With Names For New P5 Chip 06/30/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00013)

 ****Intel Struggling With Names For New P5 Chip 06/30/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 30 (NB) -- Intel is
thinking about naming its next chip, to be released this year and
code named internally the P5, something other than the "80586,"
or "586" for short. Representatives at Intel also said published
rumors that the chip was to be shown at PC Expo, but the demo
had to be canceled, are totally false.

While Intel hasn't settled on a name for its newest chip, the 3
million transistor microprocessor estimated to zip along at 100
million instructions per second (MIPS), part of the company's
concern has to do with numbers that aren't protectable.
Traditionally at Intel the chips have been numbered in sequence,
the 80286, the 80386, and the latest chip, the 80486.

The name change has been in the wind for a while and at the Seybold
Digital World Conference in Beverly Hills, Andy Grove, president of
Intel was publicly correcting anyone who used the term "586."

However, Nancy Pressel of public relations for Intel said Cyrix's use
of the numbers, which aren't protectable by law, has Intel concerned
consumers will get confused and lose in the long run. Cyrix has
called it's newest chip a 486, but while the chip looks to the
software like a 486, it looks to the hardware like a 386 and is pin-
for-pin compatible with 386 motherboards, Pressel told Newsbytes.

While Pressel said the names "i486" or "Intel 486" are protectable,
the company still doesn't know what it will name the P5. "It's like
naming a baby," Pressel said.

Rumors that the P5 is melting on the motherboards or "burning up"
are simply not true, Pressel added. Also untrue are reports that the
P5 was planned for demonstration at the PC Expo show but problems
with the chip forced the company to change it's plans.

Pressel said: "Any chip with 3 million transistors is going to have
some problems in development, but there was never any plan to
demonstrate the P5 at PC Expo." Pressel said rumors are flying
and many reports about the P5 are being published without the
publishers contacting Intel at all.

Pressel was able to confirm Intel does plan to release the chip
this year. What the company will name the anticipated chip is
still a mystery.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920626/Press Contact: Nancy Pressel,
Intel, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 30 Mustang Intros LAN Front-End Version Of Wildcat BBS 06/30/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00015)

Mustang Intros LAN Front-End Version Of Wildcat BBS 06/30/92
BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 30 (NB) -- Mustang
Software has announced a new version of its Wildcat! bulletin
board system (BBS) software designed to act as a front-end to a
communications server.  The new release is called the Wildcat!
Intelligent Multi-Port, or Wildcat! IM, and is designed to be
used in conjunction with an "Intelligent" multi-port serial card.

The new release was produced in conjunction with Digi
International of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, developers of the
DigiChannel Intelligent Serial Card. The new system requires
the DigiChannel 'i' or 'e' series cards. The new version was
designed using the DigiChannel PC/8e and COM/8i cards."

The new version of WILDCAT! IM offers answers for a variety of
applications.  As a standalone BBS, the system operator can run
up to eight lines on one 386-based computer.  DesqView 386,
Quarterdeck Office Systems' windowing DOS operating environment,
and 8 megabytes (MB) of RAM is also required in that case. The
sysop can create eight DesqView windows, so each caller is
independent of each other and can have access to DOS if their
security level permits it.  Since all of the communications input/
output is handled at the DigiChannel level, Wildcat! and DesqView
can easily handle the remote caller, even if each line is using
high-speed V.32bis modems locked at 38,400 baud.

LAN administrators can also benefit from this new release by
installing Wildcat! on an existing file server.  LAN users can
log into the BBS locally, just like any normal application,
without having to log into the BBS via modem connection.  Thus,
local LAN users receive all of the same benefits as remote users,
including uploading and downloading files, file attachment to
messages, and import and export of prepared text into messages.
The LAN administrator can support up to 250 simultaneous users
into the BBS.

MSI has provided source code and technical notes to major third-
party authors in order to speed-up the availability of utilities
for the new release. "CATSCAN, a popular virus scan utility,
should be available next month," said President Jim Harrer.
"We also expect to have a ZIP, ARC, and LHZ file viewer
available in early July. TriMark Engineering, the developers of
Doorway, a popular remote control communications program, has
also committed to supporting the new release," Harrar said. The
new product carries a list price of $799, and ships July 10.

Last year, Mustang enhanced its support of local area networks
with a version of Wildcat designed to run as a front-end between
a LAN and the outside world. The new version allows the program
to run as an integral part of a LAN, without the need to buy
additional hardware. Also in the last year, the company released
an improved version 3 of the main program. The product competes
with TBBS from eSoft, PC-Board from Clark Development, Major-
BBS from Galacticomm and a host of other offerings from small
companies and individuals in the BBS software marketplace.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920630/Press Contact: Jim Harrer, Mustang
Software, 805/395-0223)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 30  ****Comcast Buys Fleet Call Stake, Joins CTIA Board 06/30/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00016)

 ****Comcast Buys Fleet Call Stake, Joins CTIA Board 06/30/92
WAYNE, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- Comcast is
rapidly becoming a bridge between the emerging worlds of
wireless communications.

Last week it announced the start of a test in its Trenton cable
television franchise area of transferring microwave-based PCN
calls through its cables, in conjunction with Motorola, and the
Jerrold Communications Division of General Instrument. Now it's
taken a stake in what could become a competitor to cellular,
while one of its executives has joined the board of the cellular
operators' trade group.

Comcast said Donald A. Harris, president of its Comcast Cellular
Communications, and Metrophone units, was elected to the board
of directors of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry
Association, or CTIA. He's one of 18 new members elected June 1.
The board now has 50 members. Harris, 39, had joined the
company from Pacific Telesis in March, where he had headed
PacTel's Los Angeles cellular operation.

The company also said it agreed to invest up to $100 million in
Fleet Call, a company seeking to create a nationwide network of
SMR systems to provide voice and data services in competition
with cellular phone operations. The company will quickly buy $50
million worth of the stock, at $14 per share. In January it will
buy another $50 million in stock, at 90 percent of Fleet Call's
market price on January 31. The second buy is contingent on
"satisfactory performance" of new Fleet Call operations in Los
Angeles and San Francisco, said Comcast. Comcast also is buying
a five-year option to acquire 25 million more Fleet Call shares at
$16 per share.

Brian McAuley of Fleet Call said that, if Comcast exercises all
its options, it will eventually own 30 percent of Fleet Call's
common stock. "But that would represent an investment of $500
million," he indicated. Fleet Call needs the capital both to buy
more SMR licenses and to upgrade its systems' capacity.

SMR licenses were originally granted to the FCC in the early
1980s. They're held locally, and often involve a single antenna
handling calls for taxi fleets or emergency vehicles. In the
late 1980s Racotek, a Minneapolis, Minnesota start-up, began
licensing a system to turn SMR frequencies into higher-capacity
voice-data systems, and Motorola has another system called ESMR
designed to improve capacity still further. Fleet Call executives
have called on US regulators to make it easier for them to buy
SMR licenses nationwide so the new technologies can transform
these frequencies into worthy competitors to cellular phone
networks. Motorola, however, remains the largest holder of SMR
licenses.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920630/Press Contact: John R. Alchin,
Comcast, 215-981-7503; Brian McAuley, Fleet Call, 201-438-1400;
Melissa Nichols, Metrophone, 215-975-5123)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 30 Ericsson Raises Ericsson-GE Stake To 80 Percent 06/30/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00017)

Ericsson Raises Ericsson-GE Stake To 80 Percent 06/30/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 30 (NB) -- Ericsson said it
will raise its stake in Ericsson-GE, a joint-venture with General
Electric producing mobile telephone equipment, from 60 percent
to 80 percent. Terms were not disclosed.

Ericsson said that the venture was part of its core activities,
whereas General Electric is a highly diversified company. The
company was established in 1990, in part, to increase the
Swedish company's share of the US mobile telephone market.

The company said in a statement the venture has succeeded in that
aim, saying the company's share of the US market for such systems
has now grown from 25 percent to 30 percent. Of special importance
to the company has been its success in the new market for dual-
standard phones offering both analog service and digital service
under TDMA standards. Ericsson-GE is also known for the Mobidem,
a radio modem used for the RAM Mobile Data network.

Ericsson said there will be little effective change as a result
of the move, since it had always had operational control over the
venture owing to its majority stake. The main impact will be on
the company's board, where Ericsson will now hold 80 percent of
the seats.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920630/Press Contact: Kathy Egan, Ericsson,
212-685-4030)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 30 RAM Mobile Data Forms E-Mail Unit 06/30/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00018)

RAM Mobile Data Forms E-Mail Unit 06/30/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 30 (NB) -- Ram Mobile
Data, which competes with the IBM-Motorola ARDIS joint venture
in the radio data market, has announced it has formed a Wireless
Messaging Business Unit specifically to create systems linking
its network to wired computer mail systems.

"The business unit is responsible for establishing a leading role
for RAM in providing wireless transport for electronic mail,
acknowledgement paging, mail enabled applications, information
services and related services," said Carl Aron, chairman of RAM
Mobile Data. RAM is a joint venture between BellSouth and RAM
Broadcasting.

Heading the new organization is Martin Levetin, who said his
first job will be to provide software tools allowing electronic
mail services to add RAM wireless connectivity to their systems.
Currently, RAM has two gateways for public mail services, one
through a start-up called Anterior Technology, which offers the
RadioMail gateway, the second with PSI, which offers a direct
link via the Internet network. RAM is also looking at WaveGuide,
a Motorola Application Programming Interface designed to
minimize the customization now needed to link mail-based
programs to wireless networks of all kinds.

Two key men in RAM's new effort will be Howard Case, formerly a
vice president at Higgins Group within Enable Software, which
developed the Higgins Mail product for local area networks, and
Peter Mannetti, formerly worldwide manager for industry
marketing at General Electric Information Services.

Newsbytes talked to Martin Levetin about the new effort. We
first asked about WaveGuide and it's possible role. "There is a
portable messaging committee within the Electronic Mail
Association," he said, "one of whose tasks is to look at wireless
messaging APIs. They're looking at a variety of possible options,
including WaveGuide. Others have suggested the Microsoft API
with suitable plumbing. It's too early to know what the right
answer is. I'm hoping something can be developed in a year or
two. But I'm not sure we'll wind up with a single standard."

Why not? "Radio has certain attributes, some of them extremely
useful, like the ability to forward messages. But the platforms
need the ability to deal with things like undelivered messages
and negative acknowledgements -- the network may need to store
that message. Our network stores undelivered messages in
buffers for up to 24 hours. Another point is that many of today's
messaging applications transfer files are designed for wired
networks. Radios are more like packet networks. People need to
re-think the standard mechanism. One example: most remote mail
packages have you dial into a server, and you get all your mail.
That's a terrific paradigm on a phone line. For a packet network,
where you're always connected and only get charged for messages
received, that doesn't make sense -- you probably want an index."

We also asked what Case and Manetti will be doing. "At the moment
we're focusing on getting alliances with all the major players in
the industry. They're talking to all the people you'd want to
talk to -- LAN application providers, host providers, mail
systems as well." Both mens' former employers will be among the
companies contacted. "We're trying to get this running between
now and the end of 1993."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920630/Press Contact: RAM Mobile Data,
George Dennis, 908/602-5603)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 30 Telephone Area Code Shuffle Moves NY Bronx 06/30/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00019)

Telephone Area Code Shuffle Moves NY Bronx 06/30/92
BRONX, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 30 (NB) -- The Bronx is about
to switch its area code from 212 to 718. The 718 code is also
shared by the other outlying New York City boroughs of Brooklyn,
Queens, and Staten Island.

New York Telephone said the change is needed to make more
telephone numbers available in the 212 area code, which now
services only Manhattan. The company said Manhattan would be out
of numbers by 1994 without the change, due to the growing use of
facsimile machines, computers, pagers, and cellular phones, each
of which needs its own number.

The unique aspect of New York Tel's move to free-up new phone
numbers is its creation of a brand-new code, 917, designed
specifically for cellular phones. In every other market, cellular
phones carry the same area codes as the landline phones used by
their owners. The scheme could become the model for other area
codes in other markets.

During a transition period which ends May 15 of 1993, callers to
the Bronx can use either the 718 or 212 area code, although they
are encouraged to use 718. Calls from the Bronx to Manhattan can
be completed by dialing 1-212 plus the seven-digit phone number
or by dialing just the seven digits. Bronx callers dialing
numbers in the Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island must continue
to use the 1-718 area code until May 15, 1993. There are 450,000
New York Telephone customers in the Bronx.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920630)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 30 Brite Voice Intros Information Service For Voice Mail 06/30/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00020)

Brite Voice Intros Information Service For Voice Mail 06/30/92
WICHITA, KANSAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 30 (NB) -- In an effort to
find new markets for its audiotex service bureau customers, Brite
Voice has announced a service for voice mail systems called
SourceMail.

SourceMail offers audiotex information customized by
subscribers from a variety of existing programs including news,
stock market updates, weather forecasts, sports, lottery results,
and entertainment programs.  Optional choices include StockQuote
and local information.

The system is aimed at helping its service bureau customers
compete with other voice mail options for corporate business.
Other benefits include retaining existing voice mail subscribers,
creating barriers to competitive products, and furthering their
position within the industry. Voice messaging service bureaus
must compete with home answering machines, voice processing
machines, and the company hopes that by offering SourceMail,
its customers can differentiate themselves.

There are three delivery methods available:  the SourceMail
Broadcast; the Emulation Delivery System; and the Integrated
Delivery System. With SourceMail Broadcast, the information is
delivered directly to a service bureau's existing platform, which
then organizes and distributes the information to subscribers.
The Emulation Delivery method operates through a Brite system
which receives the SourceMail Network service via satellite,
then records the information into the voice mail system for
organization and distribution.  The most customized option
utilizes the Integrated Delivery System, which interfaces with a
service bureau's existing voice mail equipment to provide a fully
automated solution.

Brite's Information Service relies on 60 writers, editors and
producers creating more than 1,200 programs each day, the
largest in the audiotex industry. Brite broadcasts the
information programs via the nation's largest audiotex satellite
network.  Satellite transmission provides SourceMail instant
updates and a cost-efficient method of delivery.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920630/Press Contact: Linda Steele, Brite
Voice Systems, 316-652-6500)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 30 Bull Shareholders Give Thumbs Up For IBM's Buy-In 06/30/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00021)

Bull Shareholders Give Thumbs Up For IBM's Buy-In 06/30/92
PARIS, FRANCE, 1992 JUN 30 (NB) -- Groupe Bull's shareholders
have given the green light to IBM's purchase of a 5.68 percent stake
in their company, in return for a cash payment of FF 540 million.

Assuming the deal, which was originally agreed at the beginning of
this year, goes ahead, the IBM buy-in will mean that the French
government's stake in Bull is reduced to 72.03 percent, with 16.17
percent owned by France Telecom. IBM's 5.68 percent stake in the
company is next in the pecking order, with NEC holding 4.43 percent.
The remaining 1.69 percent is available on the stock market to the
general public.

Announcing the shareholder approval, Bernard Pache, Bull's new
chairman, congratulated his predecessor, Francis Lorentz, on the
deal. He said that his strategy of forging alliances with third party
companies will continue. "I pay homage to the qualities of Lorentz,
who initiated these agreements, and which have earned Bull
worldwide recognition," he said.

Terms of the agreement between the two companies amount to a lot
more than cash. Plans call for IBM to sell selected Bull computers
through its retail channels, while Bull will gain access to IBM's
reduced instruction set computing (RISC) technology in return.

Pache, who took over from Lorentz earlier this month, said that
he plans to restore Bull's profits, but not at the expense of
sacrificing research and development operations. Adopting this
strategy, he claimed, would ensure the company's future success.

(Steve Gold/19920630)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 30 "Yellow Pages" Now Available For Czechoslovakia 06/30/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00022)

"Yellow Pages" Now Available For Czechoslovakia 06/30/92
PRAGUE, CZECHOSLOVAKIA, 1992 JUN 30 (NB) -- Yellow Pages, the
business telephone directory, are a fact of life to most US and
European telephone users. Now, thanks to Nynex, the US telecoms
company, Czechoslovakian citizens can use the directory to look
up businesses and services in Prague.

Mediatel, Nynex's Prague-based subsidiary company, has just
finished distributing half a million copies of the first Czech
Yellow Pages issued in the past 50 years. The Prague directory is
Nynex's second such publication -- the company was involved in
publishing the Gibraltar Yellow Pages last year.

According to Mediatel, the task of compiling the Prague Yellow
Pages was very difficult, since it not only involved collating
information from several sources, but also selling advertising to
companies whose names and phones appear in the directory --
something almost unheard-of in this former Soviet satellite
country.

Because of language differences, the Czech Yellow Pages are called
"Golden Pages," though the format is pretty much the same as the
directories issued in the US and UK. The difference is the Czech
language, which has 32 characters, many of which are unlike those
seen in the West.

Nynex said that it is interesting in issuing Yellow Pages directories
for other unusual regions. Newsbytes notes, however, that the company
faces an uphill task -- many former Soviet satellite countries don't
even have a basic telephone directory, as the state telecoms
companies have been so starved of cash.

Russia, for example, had a strict policy of not sending its phone
directories outside of the country -- this caused severe problems
for international directory assistance centers in the West, many of
which rely on black market directories smuggled out of the country
by visitors.

(Steve Gold/19920630)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 30  ****New For PC: Xtree For Windows Due On August 1 06/30/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00023)

 ****New For PC: Xtree For Windows Due On August 1 06/30/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 30 (NB) -- Xtree has announced that it
will begin shipping Xtree for Windows, a Microsoft Windows version
of its popular graphical menuing package for the PC, on August 1.

Speaking with Newsbytes on his visit to London to preview the
package this week, King Lee, Xtree's chief operating officer and
president, said that he plans to ship the software in the US on the
same time scale.

Interestingly, Lee said that he views Xtree for Windows as an ideal
product for power PC users who have formed the mainstay of the
users migrating to Windows in the first place. To encourage them to
move up to Xtree for Windows, he is offering the software for UKP
40 to all new users until October of this year. Registered users of
earlier versions of Xtree qualify for a special UKP 35 upgrade price.

King also revealed that the software engine behind Xtree for
Windows has taken two years to develop and that much of the
program will be reused in future products from the company. He
refused to be drawn on what the new products will be, other than
the fact that they will be utility software, and will be available
towards the end of the year.

On the subject of Xtree for Windows, King said that the package now
offers advanced file management, such as file compression and easy
file management plus file viewers for all files and drives.

King claims that the package is an ideal companion to Windows,
since it is based on a multiple document interface (MDI), which
allows users to open and manipulate various files at the same time.
As well as the usual file movement facilities, the package has a
"zip" facility to allow file compression, decompression, and viewing.

As an veteran user of the original Xtree, Newsbytes' UK bureau asked
about the size of the package on the hard disk. According to King, it
occupies a minimum of 2 megabytes (MB) of disk space, though 4 MB
is the normal installation size.

Newsbytes pointed out that the size of the package is quite large for
portable computer usage. King countered, noting that a utility - XT
Link - comes with the package that allows a portable to interact
with a desktop PC, using a serial cable link, running Xtree for
Windows on the desktop machine. This, he said, means that the
portable does not need to have Xtree for Windows loaded on its
disk drive.

(Steve Gold/19920630/Press & Public Contact: Xtree Europe
(France) - Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 30 Dell Slashes Pricing In Europe 06/30/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00024)

Dell Slashes Pricing In Europe 06/30/92
BRACKNELL, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 30 (NB) -- In parallel
with the launch of the Dimension range of budget PCs in the US,
Dell UK has revealed that the machines will not be launched in
Europe. Instead, the company is cutting prices on its existing
product ranges by an average of 15 to 20 percent.

"We are determined to dominate the European PC market,"
explained Martin Slagter, Dell's vice president of marketing and
operations for Europe, who added that the company is already a
major player in the region.

"We intend to use our financial strength and stability to take
advantage of the current turmoil in the market to bring the
benefits of our value strategy to many more customers," he
added.

According to Slagter, the European PC market-place is entering a
critical phase. "Those suppliers who have chosen to sell on price
alone face a difficult time and not all of them will survive," he
said.

"Competitive pricing is merely the entry ticket to the PC market.
The true differentiator is value -- today's PC users want
exceptional value for money. That means the highest quality
products, reliability, the right technology at the right time and,
above all, excellent service and support from a company that is
directly accountable to its customers," he said.

Example pricing on Dell's PCs are as follows:

The System 486P/20, equipped with 4 megabytes (MB) of memory,
an 80MB hard disk, single disk drive and color VGA monitor, is
down to UKP 1,149 from UKP 1,499 previously.

The System 486D/25, also with 4MB of memory, plus a 120MB hard
disk with color VGA monitor, now sells for UKP 1,449, down from
 UKP 1,849 previously.

Bruce Sinclair, Dell UK's managing director, echoed Slagter's
comments, adding that Dell is currently enjoying 50 percent quarter
on quarter growth in the UK. He told Newsbytes that trade this year
is around 100 percent up on this time last year -- a growth rate
that the price cuts will allow the company to maintain and push
forward.

(Steve Gold/19920630/Press & Public Contact: Dell - Tel: 0344-
860-456)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 30 Compaq To Enter Printer Business 06/30/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00025)

Compaq To Enter Printer Business 06/30/92
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 30 (NB) -- Compaq Computer,
long known for quality IBM-compatible personal computers, says
it will enter the printer business later this year.

According to David Black, general manager of the newly formed
Peripherals Division, the first of what he described as "a broad
range of printers", will be designed to connect to PC networks and
will employ laser technology.

"We intend to bring out a family of printers with technologies and
capabilities that aren't available from other vendors today," said
Black. The company declined to be more specific about unique
features, but spokesperson Debra Globe said: "We've looked at the
requirements of workgroups on networks and what they need from
a shared printer, and we'll offer the features they need."

Asked what makes a printer unique for network use, Compaq's
John Sweney told Newsbytes that network printers need to
accommodate a lot of demands.  Sweney said of particular
importance is speed, and performance.  Items such as paper
trays that hold a lot of sheets of paper, and faster page generation,
are important he said.

Compaq recently announced a new low-cost line of PCs, and are
expected to offer their new printers bundled with a PC, once they
are available.

Black said research began at Compaq on printers three years ago.
A Compaq spokesperson told Newsbytes that the staffing (for the
Peripherals Division) has been in place since Compaq
divisionalized  the PC and Systems Division. Compaq says it
already owns several printer technology patents.

(Jim Mallory/19920630/Press contact: Debra Globe, Compaq
Computer,  713-374-1562)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 30  ****TI Announces Cross Patents, Files Suit Against Sanyo 06/30/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEN)(00026)

 ****TI Announces Cross Patents, Files Suit Against Sanyo 06/30/92
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 30 (NB) -- Texas Instruments (TI)
has announced the signing of cross licensing agreements with five
Japanese firms, and the filing of a patent infringement suit against
another.

The new agreements are with Mitsubishi Electronic Corporation;
New Japan Radio Co, Ltd; Nippon Precision Circuit, Ltd; Seiko Epson
Corporation; and Toko, Inc. The agreement with Mitsubishi is for
ten years, while the remainder are for five years. All the
agreements replace previous deals which expired at the end of
1990.

According to TI, the deals call for TI to receive a great deal more
money annually than it did under the former agreements. Each of the
Japanese companies will pay royalties to TI on worldwide sales of
each company's integrated circuits.

TI spokesperson Terri West told Newsbytes that the cross licensing
included memory chip technology, packaging and processing
technology, and the so-called "Kilby patent" in Japan. Jack Kilby
is credited with inventing the integrated circuit while working
for Texas Instruments. Japanese patent authorities took over 30
years to act on patent request in Japan, according to West.

TI also said it has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against
Sanyo Electric Company Ltd., asking the federal district court in
Dallas to stop Sanyo from continuing what TI said is unlicensed
use of TI's semiconductor patents. West said the suit asked for
treble the damages the court determines TI has suffered. The TI
suit asked for unspecified damages.

TI said it filed the patent infringement suit after Sanyo allegedly
threatened to file suit against TI unless it reduced the amount of
royalties requested from Sanyo. Sanyo counsel reportedly plans to
file suit against TI in Japan. West said TI has not been served, so
does not know specifically what Sanyo's claims are, but expects
that based on remarks by the Sanyo counsel, expects the suit to
include charges of patent misuse and antitrust violations.

West told Newsbytes that TI has also asked for a declaratory
judgment that the conduct of TI's negotiations with Sanyo does
not constitute patent misuse or antitrust violations.

Saying the company has a responsibility to its shareholders, who
paid to develop TI's technology, TI General Patent Counsel Richard
Donaldson said: "We cannot allow others to infringe the technology
we've invented. We also have a responsibility to our other licensees
to administer our licensing program in a fair manner."

TI has reportedly been in negotiation with Sanyo for more than a
year, but was unable to reach an agreement. Sanyo's previous
semiconductor licensing agreement with TI expired in December
1990.

(Jim Mallory/19920630/Press contact: Terri West, Texas
Instruments, 214-995-3481)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 30 Fifth Generation Acquires Remote Access Product 06/30/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(DEN)(00027)

Fifth Generation Acquires Remote Access Product 06/30/92
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 30 (NB) -- Fifth
Generation has announced that it has acquired remote access
communications technology from Orange, California-based
Distributed Systems Technology (DST).

Fifth Generation says is expects to ship a remote access product
based on DST's XS technology this fall, promising versions for
DOS, Windows, and Netware.

Fifth Generation President Barry Bellue Sr., said the company looked
at several products already on the market for acquisition.
According to Bellue: "None of them compared to DST's unreleased
technology, which is state of the remote access art." Bellue said
remote access is a young growth market and an integral component
of the future of information technology.

Fifth Generation said it would pay DST an up-front payment for the
existing product, and a one-time fee for the right to integrate the
technology into other Fifth Generation products. DST will also
receive a service fee on revenue from product sales and will
maintain and enhance the product, according to Fifth Generation.
Customer support will be handled by Fifth Generation.

Fifth Generation has also announced the outright acquisition
of Salient Software, a Palo Alto, California firm. Salient
developed and markets DiskDoubler and AutoDoubler, System
7-compatible data compression programs for Macintosh computers.
Spokesperson Chris Wildermuth said that Fifth Generation will use
Salient as the platform for the development of additional
Macintosh-based programs.

Salient co-founder Terry Morse said that the company needed to
join forces with a strong partner in order to continue at the pace
Salient has been growing. Morse praised the Fifth Generation sales
organization and customer support department. "We know how
important support is, and Fifth Generation's superior service is
a real competitive advantage," said Morse.

Salient reported sales of $4.5 million in 1991, and projects 1992
sales of $7.5 million. The company's offices will remain in Palo
Alto, Wildermuth told Newsbytes.

(Jim Mallory/19920630/Press contact: Jorge Vallery, Fifth
Generation Systems, 504-291-7221)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 30 Wicat Nominates Four Cos For US Dept Of Labor Awards 06/30/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00028)

Wicat Nominates Four Cos For US Dept Of Labor Awards 06/30/92
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 30 (NB) -- Wicat Systems, a provider
of computer-based learning systems, has announced that it has
nominated four organizations for the 1992 LIFT awards.

The LIFT (Labor Investing For Tomorrow) awards are given by the
US Department of Labor to recognize significant contributions to
the building of a world-class US workforce. Categories include
partnerships that prepare youth for the workplace and
organizations that contribute to improving and effectively
using worker skills

Wicat said it will nominate the Toledo (Ohio) Private Industry
Council in the youth category. In the adult category, the Wicat
nominees are Milliken Textiles, of Spartanburg, South Carolina;
Dover, Deleware-based General Foods; and the Brenlin Group, of
Akron, Ohio. Wicat said all four are being nominated for "their
significant efforts to improve both the workforce and workplace
quality.

Wicat spokesperson Kirk Tanner told Newsbytes that all four
nominated companies were selected, "because they are committing
large amounts of money towards both hardware and software and
programs targeted to improving their own work force and the
communities work force. It's a large financial responsibility they
have taken on," said Tanner.

Tanner said previous winners include two-time winner IBM
Worldwide Manufacturing Purchasing; AT&T Work and Family
Programs; Pepsi-Cola for its Pepsi School Challenge program;
and Treasure Coast Private Industry Council, of Jensen Beach,
Florida.

The nominations, which were made at a reception in Washington
yesterday, are reviewed by the Department of Labor staff. Final
selection is made by the Secretary of Labor. The actual number of
awards is determined by the number and quality of nominations.
Winners will be announced later this year.

(Jim Mallory/19920630/Press contact: Kirk Tanner, Wicat
Systems, 801-223-3381).

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 30 Lotus Intros Realtime Extensions, AIX & NeXTSTEP Products 06/30/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00029)

Lotus Intros Realtime Extensions, AIX & NeXTSTEP Products 06/30/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 30 (NB) -- Lotus Development
has announced extensions to its Lotus Realtime environment
intended to broaden its penetration into the financial community.

The products, introduced at the 1992 Securities Industry
Association (SIA) show include an Realtime Application Programming
Interface (API), Lotus Realtime for NeXTSTEP, and Lotus Realtime
for IBM RISC System 6000. Additionally, Lotus announced that a
Realtime for Windows 3.1 is currently in development.

Announcing the new products, Frank Ingari, Lotus vice president of
marketing, said: "By concentrating on software solutions aimed at
people 'working together,' Lotus is differentiating itself from
others as it attempts to be the leader in applications software. To
support the concept of 'working together,' Lotus is delivering a
variety of products to provide productivity in the organizational
context. These products include those that let products work
together, platforms work together, and people work together. Lotus
has provided solutions in all of these areas from linking 1-2-3 to
other applications to providing spreadsheets on all the major
platforms -- DOS, Windows, Macintosh, OS/2 & Unix -- to group
enabling systems such as Lotus Notes."

Ingari continued: "Securities trading in the 1990's has given us an
opportunity to make a real impact with this approach. Securities
firms are faced with global, 24-hour markets, continuing
complexity as new trading issues are introduced and the
understanding that realtime technology provides a real competitive
advantage. Lotus' Realtime Engine has provided a path from multiple
data sources into 1-2-3. Now with the announcement of the API, we
have extended the path to provide access to the data for customer
applications and third-party development."

In conjunction with the Lotus announcement, O'Connor & Associates,
an option trading and market-making firm, announced the formation
of a new division, Black Diamond Technologies, to market, under an
exclusive license from Lotus, Realtime for NeXTSTEP.

Craig Heinmark, O'Connor general partner, participated in the Lotus
announcement and demonstrated the use of Realtime and NeXTSTEP
to rapidly build a custom trading application. Heinmark later told
Newsbytes that O'Connor & Associates expects to begin delivering
Realtime for NeXTSTEP in the third quarter of 1992.

Following Heinmark's demonstration, Steve Jobs, NeXT chief
executive officer, told the audience: "I think what we have just
seen is profound. Paul Strossman, currently at the Pentagon, has
written a book on the business value of computers and his work
shows that the most successful firms have been those that have
invested their information technology dollars in operational
productivity rather than managerial productivity. I find his
analysis compelling in spite of the fact that I felt for years with
the Macintosh and PCs that it was the other way around."

Jobs continued: "Applications that improved operational
productivity traditionally had to be developed from scratch
through custom programming. If your application is not done for
two years, it is running at zero MIPS no matter what the hardware
is. What NeXT has brought to the table is the ability to develop
these applications in much shorter time -- almost an order of
magnitude faster."

Michele Preston, Merrill Lynch first vice president, told Newsbytes:
"Lotus and NeXT are addressing two key trends in the industry: open
application programming interfaces and object-oriented
technologies. Lotus Realtime is an important technology to enable
rapid development of business critical applications in the financial
community."

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19920604/Press Contacts:
Betsy Kosheff, Lotus Development Corporation, 617-248-9686;
Robert Wilen, Black Diamond Technologies, 312-554-5131)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 30  ****Steve Jobs Supports Perot 06/30/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00030)

 ****Steve Jobs Supports Perot 06/30/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 30 (NB) -- Steve Jobs, chief
executive officer of NeXT and co-founder of Apple Computer, told
Newsbytes: "I think that Ross Perot would make a good president
and I'm supporting him."

Jobs, speaking to a group of reporters after the announcement of
Lotus  Realtime for NeXTSTEP, said, in response to a question about
Perot's  alleged surveillance of business partners and employees:
"That just doesn't sound like Ross. Nothing in my dealings with him
have ever led me to think that he was other than a good person as
well as a good business person and I speak to him fairly often."
Perot is a major investor in Job's NeXT company.

Jobs added: "Early in our relationship, I even tested his supposed
authoritarian attitude toward dress by showing up for a meeting
with him half-shaved and in jeans. It didn't seem to affect our
relationship -- that was before he invested in NeXT. I think that
he would be a good president and he becomes even more attractive
when you consider the competition."

Jobs also told Newsbytes that he would aid Perot's candidacy
in any way that he might be helpful.

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19920630)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 30 Systemhouse Signs Outsourcing Deal With Amoco Canada 06/30/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00031)

Systemhouse Signs Outsourcing Deal With Amoco Canada 06/30/92
CALGARY, ALBERTA, CANADA, 1992 JUN 30 (NB) -- Ottawa-based
SHL Systemhouse has signed a letter of intent that is expected to
lead to its acquiring the Calgary data center of Amoco Canada and
taking over the oil company's data processing operations. If it
goes through, the deal would be worth between C$70 million and
C$90 million over five years.

Systemhouse would take over Amoco's data center and hire about
100 of its staff under the agreement, Jim Stephens, managing
director of the company's Calgary office, told Newsbytes. The
Calgary data center would a useful addition to Systemhouse's
existing data centers in Los Angeles, Houston, and Halifax, Nova
Scotia, company officials noted, giving the company a base in the
northwestern part of North America.

The deal would have Systemhouse take over Amoco Canada's
mainframe computer operations and its data, voice, and radio
network operations, beginning late this year. Details still must
be worked out before the final agreement is signed, Stephens said.

Amoco Canada is Canada's largest producer of natural gas and
the third largest of crude oil and natural gas liquids. The deal is
Systemhouse's first outsourcing agreement in the oil industry,
Stephens said, but, "there are other companies that are looking
at it so we certainly hope it's not the last.

Systemhouse has more than 3,000 employees and recorded
1991 revenues of just under C$700 million.

(Grant Buckler/19920629/Press Contact: Jim Stephens,
Systemhouse, 403-266-2266; David Annesley, Amoco
Canada, 403-233-1414)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 30 PC Expo:  New Protocol Planned For Database Programming 06/30/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00032)

PC Expo:  New Protocol Planned For Database Programming 06/30/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 30 (NB) -- If a new
standardization attempt is successful, the many dialects in
database programming will soon become a common language --
and the head of the Xbase Institute, the group mounting the
campaign, is convinced that the initiative will work.

In a press conference at PC Expo, Marc Schnapp, executive
director, announced that the Xbase Institute has submitted a
proposal for formulating a protocol to the Sparc Committee of X3,
an organization that has previously sponsored the creation of C,
C++, Fortran, and Pascal, programming languages that were all
ultimately published by ANSI.

If the proposal is approved by the X3 group, on ballots that are
due back by July 15, the Xbase Institute will move full speed
ahead on developing a new, object-oriented language, kicking off
the effort with a committee meeting October 22 to 24 in the Los
Angeles area.

"I can't imagine a better time to initiate this action," Schnapp
told Newsbytes in an interview.  In past years, two other
attempts to produce a standard database programming language --
one brought by the Dbased Language Standard Committee and the
other by the IEEE 1192 Committee -- were both thwarted by
Ashton Tate, developer of the Dbase programming language,
Schnapp explained.

But in January, Ashton Tate was purchased by Borland, and in
recent weeks, two other small companies in the market have also
been bought out by large vendors, he said.  Recently, Computer
Associates acquired Nantucket, the makers of Clipper, and
Microsoft purchased Fox, producers of FoxPro.

"The three large players are not beholden by the internecine
politics of the past ten years.  They can see the huge market
potential that can be achieved by removing irrational barriers,"
Schnapp told Newsbytes.  The new initiative also has the gained the
support of all the other suppliers in the market, including Dvorak
Development, the Emerald Bay Group, and Recital, he asserted.

Also, Mark Sokol, manager of development for Computer
Associates, corroborated to Newsbytes that his company is in
favor of the new programming protocol, adding that Computer
Associates plans to participate in the new committee.

According to Schnapp, Ashton Tate had blocked previous
standardization attempts through actual and threatened legal
action, based on claims of proprietary ownership of Dbase,
according to Schnapp.  But under the terms of an acquisition
agreement reached between Borland and the US Department of
Justice, Borland is prohibited from suing anyone over the next
ten years on the grounds of Dbase, he said.

If the Xbase Institute's proposal is approved by X3's Sparc
Committee, standardization will proceed on two levels
concurrently, Schnapp told Newsbytes.  "Level One will
summarize the language as it has traditionally been
implemented, comparing the versions of the various vendors
to find common elements and eliminate redundant language
constructs," he commented.

"But Level Two will move beyond the status quo," he emphasized.
Advances to be incorporated will include object-oriented
extensions, constructs for windowing and screen controls, and,
probably, embedded SQL (structured query language), he said.

The use of object-oriented programming, an approach just
starting to emerge in off-the-shelf programming packages, will
speed the task of applications development for professional
programmers, while also making database programming more
accessible and comprehensible to end users, Schnapp maintained.

In developing the standard, he said, the Institute will seek input
through a variety of forums, including two bulletin boards on
Compuserve, the publication of a new magazine, to be called the
Xbase Journal, and requests for white papers from impartial
observers with expertise in various aspects of database
programming.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920630; Press and Public Contact:  Mark
Schnapp, Xbase Institute, tel [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 30 Next Gets Additional $55 Million Credit Line From Canon 06/30/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00033)

Next Gets Additional $55 Million Credit Line From Canon 06/30/92
REDWOOD CITY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 30 (NB) -- Next
Computer, the company formed by Steve Jobs of Apple Computer
fame, is borrowing still more money from Canon in the form of
a $55 million credit line and another $10 million from Jobs
himself.

Next representatives told Newsbytes the announcement of
additional funding is to alleviate uncertainty the company's
new president, Peter van Cuylenburg felt might be present as
to whether or not next had the funding to make it until the
privately-funded company gets to its initial public offering
(IPO), which is planned for sometime in 1993.

Next representatives say the company finds itself coming up against
Sun over and over in the professional workstation market it has
geared toward. Next is not aiming at all toward the scientific or
engineering community, but has geared itself toward financial
services, legal, and medical applications management information
services (MIS) professionals, the company representatives told
Newsbytes.

"Next is now fully funded," said Peter van Cuylenburg, Next's
president and chief operating officer. "These credit lines are the
perfect financing instruments for Next.  They provide more than we
required to fund our anticipated growth, yet give us the flexibility
to use as little additional funding as possible.  Any funds used
would convert to equity at the valuation achieved at an IPO,
without any premium or discount."

Jobs says Canon is committed to Next and its success. Canon funded
Next with an initial investment of $100 million in 1989 and there
have been several other financing deals since then, but none have
been publicly announced.

Next says it is doing well in the desktop workstation market. The
company says International Data Corp. (IDC) placed Next fourth in
desktop workstation shipments in 1991, ahead of both IBM and SGI.
The company estimates it has 20 percent of the market share in
the commercial workstation market, an estimate it says is half
of Sun Microsystems share in the same market.

Next's plan is to use this funding to get more market share away
from Sun. Jobs said in a prepared statement: "We entered the
commercial workstation market less than 18 months ago and
our market share is already half of Sun's, and growing. Watch
for us to continue taking market share away from Sun."

(Linda Rohrbough/19920626/Press Contact: Allison Thomas,
Allison Thomas Associates, tel [phone], fax
818-981-4230)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 30 PC Expo: NView Intros Patented Active Matrix LCD Projector 06/30/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00014)

PC Expo: NView Intros Patented Active Matrix LCD Projector 06/30/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 30 (NB) --  "It's a real
plaster-blaster," said Craig Justice, a product manager at nView,
in reference to The Luminator, an LCD (liquid crystal display)
projector rolled out at PC Expo.

NView stresses that the new projector, which beams computer-
generated and direct video onto a wall, is the first in the LCD
category to manage both functions at 640 by 480 resolution.

Designed to display clear, sharp, video from up to four sources
simultaneously, the projector is based around a patented single
active-matrix thin film transistor (TFT) LCD that incorporates
proprietary electronics.

According to the company, an "Automatic Video Detection" feature
electronically identifies the incoming computer or video type and
configures itself accordingly.  Another capability, automatic
keystone correction, maintains uniformity of displayed images
across presentation environments.

A 400 watt metal-halide lamp within the product is aimed at
generating brightness rivaling that of the 3-gun CRT projector, a
competing device nView says is heavier and harder to lug.

Presenters can switch between sources or adjust the video through
a remote control or built-in backlit keyboard.  PCs and Macs, laser
disk players, camcorders, and VCRs are among the devices that can
be used as sources.  The product accepts direct video in NTSC, PAL
and Secam formats.

For earlier LCD projection products, nView has won such honors as
two PC Magazine Editors' Choice awards; a MacUser (U.K.) "Perfect
10" rating; two Readers' Choice awards from Presentation Products
Magazine; and a Product of Show - Merit Award from Singapore
Informatics.

The Luminator is expected to ship in volume quantities during the
third quarter, at a price of under $12,000.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920630; Press Contact:  Alicia Blanchard, tel
804-873-1354)

#ENDCARD




#CARD :1992 JUN 29  ****3D Electronic Stereo Glasses Provide VR "Effect"  06/29/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00001)

 ****3D Electronic Stereo Glasses Provide VR "Effect"  06/29/92
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 29 (NB) -- A group of
college students from Cal Poly were demonstrating a virtual reality-
like experience using electronic 3D glasses and Point Line computer
aided design/drafting (CADD) software at the Seybold Digital World
Conference in Beverly Hills, California last week.

Paul Wait, an electronic engineering student, demonstrated the
electronic stereoscopic glasses called Crystaleyes developed by
Stereo Graphics Corporation. A "stereo ready" computer or video
system takes advantage of the human brain's ability to fuse two
images from slightly different perspectives into a single image with
depth by displaying two images on the screen, the left and right
perspectives. In video, two video cameras positioned slightly apart
provide the stereo view.

The Crystaleyes glasses are battery powered and are similar in
appearance to protective eye wear for skiing. The glasses pick up
infrared signals from a liquid crystal viewing device that sits on
top of the monitor and is synchronized with the monitor to channel
the appropriate image to the appropriate eye. Newsbytes tried it and
the resulting stereo view is phenomenal, like entering a virtual
reality world.

According to Paul Wait, an architectural drawing can be crafted in
Point Line but the user cannot simply move through the drawing using
a mouse or a glove as a pointer, as one would do in a virtual reality
setting. However, a predetermined path through the drawing can be set
up for display on the screen to simulate a user-controlled walk-
through, Wait added.

The computer can be made into a stereo system with the GDC-3 Graphics
Controller also available from Stereographics. The controller doubles
the refresh rate of the computer's video signal and provides a timing
signal for the Crystaleyes infrared emitter to provide the stereo
effect for ordinary personal computers that are not "stereo ready."

Stereographics says its stereo viewing products include viewing
devices for computer graphics workstations, PCs, Macintosh computers,
video cameras, and large screen projection systems.

Stereographics is headquartered in San Rafael, California. Point Line
is a 3D design and solid modeling CADD package priced at $395 from
Point Line USA of Los Angeles, California.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920626/Press Contact: Paul Waite, 805-528-3906;
Stereographics, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Point Line, tel
310-353-1480, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 29 New For Macintosh: Excalibur Document Management 06/29/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(TOR)(00002)

New For Macintosh: Excalibur Document Management 06/29/92
MCLEAN, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 29 (NB) -- Excalibur
Technologies has announced that it will offer Macintosh client
software for its PixTex/EFS electronic filing and retrieval system,
which runs on Digital Equipment VMS servers.

PixTex/EFS will operate on all Apple Macintosh computer systems,
including PowerBook, by the fourth quarter of this year, the
company said.

Available in 10-user packs at $695 per user, the Macintosh client
software requires a Macintosh Classic or higher model with at least
four megabytes of memory, Excalibur spokesman Darrell Atkin said.

PixTex/EFS ServerPlus stores documents and images in the electronic
equivalent of a physical file room. Users can create file cabinets,
drawers, and folders to organize information, and the size of the
file room is limited only by disk space. New pages can be added or
removed from a document at any time, Excalibur said, and documents
can be moved to any folder in any cabinet.

Four-way retrieval allows either free-form content-based or Boolean
queries, content-based queries on file room labels, database-style
queries, or file room icons. PixTex/EFS ServerPlus also allows
complete control of the OCR and scanning process, vendor officials
said.

The software provides a graphical user interface, according to the
company, and can link to Digital's Rdb/VMS database manager for
electronic filing and retrieval of compound documents.

The software is suitable for medium-sized to large businesses, said
Atkin. Excalibur also offers PixTex/EFC, an off-the-shelf filing
system for one or five users, that allows easy migration to
PixTex/EFS ServerPlus as an organization grows, Atkin said.

System requirements include a VAX, VAXstation or VAXserver, running
VMS operating system version 5.3 or higher, DECwindows, Pathworks
for DOS, and Rdb/VMS 3.1b.

PixTex/EFS client software is currently available to run under
Microsoft Windows on IBM and compatible personal computers.

(Grant Buckler/19920625/Press Contact: Darrell Atkin, Excalibur
Technologies, 703-790-2110)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 29 Japan: Sanyo Electronic Book Player Distributed Via Mail Order 06/29/92




(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00003)

Japan: Sanyo Electronic Book Player Distributed Via Mail Order 06/29/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 29 (NB) -- Sanyo has created what it calls
an "electronic book player club" to distribute its electronic book
player and new titles for the player through mail order. This is an
unprecedented marketing strategy for electronics firms, which have
always sold through dealers in Japan.

Sanyo's electronic book player was produced under license from Sony.
It uses a 3.5-inch compact disk, which holds 200 megabytes of
information. Currently, there are 120 software titles for this
electronic book player.  The player itself is quite small.
It is hand-held size and weighs only 620 grams. It has a small
color LCD (liquid crystal display) screen and also plays 3.5-inch
music CD. So, the user can enjoy music as well as search texts
and pictorial information.

Sony, the licensor of this electronic book player, has been selling
an English version of this electronic book player. Currently available
programs include encyclopedias, dictionaries, cookbooks and travel
information. About 75 book makers and software makers have formed
an organization to create software for this device. Their efforts are
expected to lead to 100 new programs by the end of this year.

Other electronics firms such as Matsushita, Sharp, and Mitsubishi
are also planning to release electronic book players that have been
licensed from Sony. A total of 300,000 units are expected to be sold this
year -- the industry expects to exceed 1 million units within the next
three years.

Sanyo's electronic book player is retail priced at 68,000 yen ($520),
and the software costs between 3,500 yen ($25) and 12,000 yen
($90).

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920626/Press Contact: Sanyo, [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 29 Sony/AMD Sign Chip Pact 06/29/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00004)

Sony/AMD Sign Chip Pact 06/29/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 29 (NB) -- Sony has agreed with Advanced
Micro Device concerning semiconductor production and development.
The agreement calls for both firms to jointly produce, design and
develop semiconductor chips including erasable and programmable
read only memories (EPROM).

To start, Sony and Advanced Micro Device (AMD) will jointly
design and develop CMOS (complimentary metal oxide semiconductor)
LSIs (large scale integrated circuits). These CMOS chips will have
a circuit width of 0.5 micron, which is about half that of current
CMOS chips. With this narrow circuit width, the chip can store more
memory and process the job faster, the firms say. Actual development
of this chip will be conducted by Sony's affiliate firm called
Atsugi Technology Center and AMD's Sub Micron Development Center
in California.

The jointly developed chips will be incorporated into each firm's own
products, of which the companies are so far giving no details.

Sony and AMD's major project will be to develop and manufacture
EPROMs. According to the vice president of AMD, AMD has already
started developing a prototype version of the EPROM and will
announced it by the end of this year. AMD will incorporate Sony's
charged couple device technology into the EPROM. Also, both firms
seek to reduce development and manufacturing costs in this joint
development project.

The relationship between Sony and AMD has been on-going. Sony
purchased AMD's San Antonio plant in Texas for $55 million in
1990. Since then, both firms have been cooperating in the manufacturing
of semiconductor chips.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920629/Press Contact: Sony, [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 29 Japan: Government To Aid Multimedia Development 06/29/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(TYO)(00005)

Japan: Government To Aid Multimedia Development 06/29/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 29 (NB) -- Another Japanese industry-
government partnership to advance technology has been announced.
Japan Hyper Media Research Laboratory has been set up in Osaka, '
Japan. The government-backed organization aims to develop and
evaluate the best multimedia  technology and systems for users.

The laboratory is backed up by local government as well as
electronics firms. It will evaluate and explore new frontiers in
multimedia related business as well as new multimedia technologies.
The official purpose of this laboratory is to improve the members'
efficiency and create an environment conducive for the development
of multimedia. It is also designed as a multimedia teaching
environment. The laboratory will also serve as a clearing house
for information on multimedia products by creating nation-wide network.

The laboratory has already gone online on a personal computer network
called "Keihanna NET" which has mainly been used by Kansai
Culture and Study City in Western Japan. The members of the
laboratory will be able to exchange electronic mail and participate
in online conferences, and will be able to exchange ideas with
scientists and researchers at the Kansai Culture and Study City.
The network can be accessed cheaply from local areas throughout
Japan via a packet telecommunication network.

Information will also be exchanged with overseas multimedia-related
users as well. The laboratory will link with OCL Technology
Center, an association to exchange high-tech information between
local firms in Osaka and high-tech firms in the California region.

The laboratory has been preparing to create local offices
throughout Japan and to encourage local people and firms to join
the activity.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920629/Press Contact: Japan Hyper Media
Research Laboratory, [phone], Keihanna, 075-344-1111)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 29 Fujitsu Creates Corporate Telecom Network 06/29/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00006)

Fujitsu Creates Corporate Telecom Network 06/29/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 29 (NB) -- Fujitsu has created an extremely
large-scale corporate telecommunication network and claims
that it is the world's largest. It supports various multimedia
features including TV conferencing and digital fax.

Fujitsu's latest telecom network interconnects 45 offices in 9
countries. The firm has spent about 2 billion yen ($15 million)
for this network which took about 3 years to create. It supports
telephone, fax, personal computer-based telecommunications and TV
conferences.

Currently, Fujitsu has about 150 offices and affiliated firms in
35 countries. The firm started using the international version of
this network, called "COINS," in 1989, and at the same time,  began
to set  up the inter-office digital network.

With the new network system, Fujitsu people will be able to
exchange information extremely quickly worldwide, it reports.
Data on computer aided design (CAD) will be among the data that
is exchanged. TV conferencing can more often be used by Fujitsu
people because telecommunication fees will be much less expensive
than the conventional system offered.

Fujitsu is also working on an improved version of this network.
In a project called "Phase II," Fujitsu will install ISDN (integrated
services digital network)-based network systems, which interconnect
its offices in 35 countries. The system is expected to be completed
within two to three years.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920629/Press Contact: Fujitsu, +81-3-3215-
5236)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 29  ****Dell's New Low Cost PCs 06/29/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00007)

 ****Dell's New Low Cost PCs 06/29/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 29 (NB) -- Dell Computer joined the
ranks of PC makers announcing 23 new low-cost PCs, driving the cost
of PCs even further down.

Dell's new models start at $1,259, or about five to 10 percent lower
than the new line announced by Compaq last week. The company also
lowered the suggested retail price of existing models from three to
20 percent.

The new line, called Dimension, will be officially launched with two
page newspaper ads today, as well as displays in other publications.
The new desktop and laptop models will be sold the same way Dell
sells most of its PCs, by mail, with buyers calling a toll-free
number to order.

Even though Dell's price cuts weren't drastic, Chairman Michael Dell
said he thinks the announcement could squeeze some smaller clone
makers out of business. "It's a very interesting consolidation of
the market and what we think is a great opportunity for us," he
said. Dell thinks his company will pick up business from the
companies that go out of business.

Compaq said last week it would match any moves by competitors to its
new pricing structure, but so far has not commented on a possible
response to Dell's announcement. Michael Dell believes Compaq would
have problems if it attempted to match Dell's prices, since Compaq's
operating costs are higher.

The Dimension line includes five desktop and three floor-standing,
or tower, units. Two notebook systems are also being introduced.
The base system is driven by a 386SX chip, has two megabytes (MB) of
system memory, an 80 MB hard drive, and a color monitor.

(Jim Mallory/19920629/Press contact: Michele Moore, Dell Computer,
512-794-4100)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 29 VESA To Release Specs, VL-Bus Products to Ship in August 06/29/30


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00008)

VESA To Release Specs, VL-Bus Products to Ship in August 06/29/30
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 29 (NB) -- The Video
Electronics Standards Association (VESA) will release its VESA
Local Bus (VL-Bus) specification for review by member companies
this week, and by early August, the first VL-Bus-compliant products
will hit the market, said Thomas D. Ryan, executive director, at a
press conference last week.

Speaking at PC Expo, Ryan outlined the concepts behind both VL-BUS
and two planned enhancements, a 64-bit upgrade and a mezzanine
extension.  VESA will finish drafting the specifications for the
bus enhancements by the end of August, he stated.

Like other local bus architectures, VL-Bus is designed to boost
performance of such peripherals as video subsystems, network
adapters, and mass storage by bypassing the limited ISA/EISA
expansion bus and connecting the devices directly to the CPU, said
Ryan.

But unlike other architectures, VL-BUS will be based on an open
standard, approved by more than 120 vendors in a variety of
segments, he maintained. "The video and networking segments of the
industry, for instance, come from very different perspectives.
We've needed to work together to achieve consensus," he commented.

Warren Lee, another speaker, stressed that, in contrast to Intel's
PCI (Peripheral Component Interface), another emerging bus
specification, VL-Bus is accessible to all interested parties.  The
development of VL-Bus is being overseen not by a single vendor such
as Intel, but by an industry-wide governing body, elaborated Lee,
president of Alpha Research, a VESA member company that produces
caching hard disk controllers.

Ryan explained that, in its first incarnation, VL-Bus will enable
up to three 32-bit devices to be placed directly onto the CPU bus.
In addition, full support for bus mastering devices will be
incorporated, yielding a sustainable data transfer rate of more
than 130 Mbps.

The bus will support Intel processors from 386SX through 486DX2 and
the upcoming P5, or "586," processors, remarked Ryan.  The upcoming
64-bit enhancement -- intended to double the data transfer rate to
260 Mbps -- will be backward compatible with all VL-Bus 32-bit
adapters.

The mezzanine extension will be configured similarly to the VL-Bus,
he said, except that all signals and bus operations will be fully
decoupled from the CPU.  Decoupling, a function also offered in
PCI, will enable additional drive capability to be added to each
signal, thereby increasing expansion space.  Decoupling will also
provide CPU independence.  Currently, VESA is targeting a 10-slot
expansion space, according to Ryan.

At the close of the press conference, Ryan and Lee were peppered
with questions, revolving around such issues as the wisdom of
developing compliant products before a specification has even been
approved, and whether or not PCI devices can be used on a VL-Bus.

VL-Bus is almost sure to be approved, responded Ryan, because the
specification has already gained the unanimous support of VESA's
technical committee -- representing 60, or nearly half, of VESA's
member companies. "We knew the specification was solid when the
arguments started to come down to grammar," he noted.

PCI devices can, in fact, be operated on a VL-Bus, said Ryan, in
response to the second issue.  At that point, though, Lee chimed
in, "They could be, but that would be a silly idea."

In an interview with Newsbytes yesterday, Lee expanded on this
comment.  VESA will issue an application note, enabling vendors to
connect PCI devices to the VL-Bus, he said. "But basically, we're
just allowing a safety valve, so if there's ever a really good
reason for connecting these devices, it could be done," he
remarked.

Possible reasons for connecting the devices might include the
desire of a large systems vendor to make use of existing PCI chips
in building a VESA system, or the development of some as yet
unforeseen function for PCI. "For all anyone knows, at some point,
somebody may build some killer PCI thing that has no VL Bus
equivalent," he asserted.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920629; Press and Public Contact:  Thomas D.
Ryan, VESA, tel [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 29 PC Expo:  KDI TV Link, A Low Cost Scan Converter for PCs 06/29/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00009)

PC Expo:  KDI TV Link, A Low Cost Scan Converter for PCs 06/29/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 29 (NB) -- KDI Corporation has
introduced TV Link, a device designed for the cost effective
display of computer-generated presentations on TVs, VCRs and video
projectors.

During a press conference at PC Expo last week, Bruce Crowley, vice
president of marketing, said the new peripheral, a scan converter,
is particularly well suited to salespeople and other traveling
professionals who want their clients to be able to be able to view
materials such as product demonstrations on high quality monitors.

Easy-to-use DOS- and Windows-based software is making it possible
for business users to produce impressive presentations on PCs, but
the results look much better when shown on a TV screen, elaborated
other officials.

TV Link uses input from a VGA card to supply output to video.  The
device enables display in two ways.  In one scenario, the user
totes the three-pound, briefcase-sized scan converter, along with
a laptop or notebook computer, to the client's office, and then
plays the presentation back on an on-site TV set.

"Playback might be conducted in the boardroom on a large-screen
TV," illustrated Clayton Casiero, multimedia director for KDI.  An
optional RF modulator provides connectivity to TV sets without
video input.

Under an alternative approach, the user can record the presentation
onto videotape, and bring the videotape only on the office visit.
The tape can then be run for the customer on a VCR in the office,
and left in the office for later review.

TV Link can display as many as 16 million colors at 640 x 480
resolution, and can output in NTSC composite, S-Video, or RGB
formats.  The device is priced at $1,165 -- a figure that,
according to Casiero, is considerably below the price of competing
products.

In addition, the company emphasizes, TV Link comes with features
not available on many other scan converters, including horizontal
and vertical positioning, horizontal overscan, and special video
drivers for vertical sizing on Windows 3.1 applications.

TV Link plays back presentations produced on Windows 3.0 packages,
as well, along with applications that run on DOS, versions 3.0 and
up, said Eric Knutsen, vice president for corporate development at
Modern Talking Picture Service, Inc., a multimedia production house
owned by KDI.  The product is shipping now.

For the future, a Macintosh edition of TV Link is a possibility,
but a device geared to desktop Macs is more likely than one that
designed for the PowerBook notebook, Casiero told Newsbytes at the
close of the press conference. "At present, PowerBook would offer
no direct video output," he maintained.

(Jacqueline Emigh/Press Contact:  Steven Cody, Cody Public
Relations for KDI, tel [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 29 PC Expo:  Wyse 5-Pound Notebook with 200 MB Hard Drive 06/29/91



(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00010)

PC Expo:  Wyse 5-Pound Notebook with 200 MB Hard Drive 06/29/91
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 29 (NB) -- A five-pound
notebook with a 200 MB hard drive was launched by Wyse Technology
Inc. at PC Expo last week.

The DecisionMate 486SLC Model 200/4 is aimed at on-the-go users who
need access to large data bases or multiple applications,
especially to memory intensive Windows packages, said Rich Wesson,
vice president of business development in Wyse's Systems Division.

"For example, a salesperson can access an entire database of
customers," Wesson illustrated.  In the past, portable PCs with 200
MB hard drives were available only in the 13- to 20-pound category,
he added.

Measuring 8.6 x 1.4 inches, the Model 200/4 comes standard with 4
MB of memory, upgradable to 8 MB.  The product is based on Cyrix
Corporation's 25 MHz Cx486SLC microprocessor.

The company stresses that the computer offers exceptional power
management through a newly designed suspend/resume capability, and
an extended battery life of two to three hours through a new
Advanced Power Management (APM) BIOS.

Other features include a full-size keyboard and a paper-white,
side-lit 8.5-inch diagonal display providing 32 shades of gray in
VGA (640 x 480) resolution.

Expected to ship in July, the notebook comes bundled with MS-DOS
5.0 and Microsoft Windows 3.1. A one-year warrantee includes
coverage by Wyse's Notebook Express Program, which offers users
free pick-up, service, and delivery within 48 hours.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920629; Press Contact:  Jeannie Low, Wyse
Technology Inc., tel [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 29 PC Expo: Reference Software's Electronic Books 06/29/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00011)

PC Expo: Reference Software's Electronic Books 06/29/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 29 (NB) -- A new library of
PC-based reference tools -- including a dictionary and thesaurus,
an Associated Press stylebook, and innovative business writing,
math, and office management handbooks -- is now available from
Reference Software International.

At PC Expo last week, the company introduced cross-compatible
Windows/DOS versions of the stylebook and handbooks, along with a
Windows edition of its Random House Webster's Electronic Dictionary
and Thesaurus.  A DOS version of the dictionary/thesaurus was
rolled out in January.

Also announced was Grammatik 5 for Windows, a version that adds
Windows 3.1 compatibility, advanced error detection, in-depth help,
a streamlined interface, and more customization options to the
previously released Windows version of the grammar-checking
software.  The DOS edition of Grammatik 5 debuted in February.

The company's newly unveiled AP Stylebook and trio of handbooks
make up the first four members of a new line of reference works
called Instant Answers.  The electronic titles are oriented to
laptop as well as desktop use.  Each electronic book includes both
DOS and Windows versions on a floppy single half-ounce disk.

The company points out that each disk contains the same content as
a hard copy volume weighing up to four pounds.  Priced at $59
each, or $179 for the set of four, the packages can run as either
terminate and stay resident (TSR) or stand-alone programs.  The DOS
version requires DOS 3.0 or greater, and the Windows edition works
with either Windows 3.0 or 3.1.

All four online reference materials come with a feature called
bookmark, that lets the user refer back quickly to frequently
needed passages.  Search and cross-reference functions are also
included, and screens can be printed out if hard copy is required.

The Electronic Business Writer's Handbook incorporates general
rules on grammar, punctuation and business grammar, along with
glossaries of computer terms and commonly used foreign words, a
library of famous quotations, and a misspeller's dictionary.  A
chapter on desktop publishing offers written explanations of terms,
together with graphics that illustrate such concepts as kerning,
leading, and fonts.

The Electronic Associated Press Stylebook is based on the 1992
edition of the hard cover manual, widely regarded as a bible for
professional writers.  The tools offers guidelines on commonly
style, usage, punctuation and abbreviations, in addition to an up-
to-date geographic dictionary with items that include "Soviet
Union:  No longer exists."

The Electronic Complete Secretary's Handbook, oriented around a
hard cover volume with over 1 million copies sold, is actually a
manual on office and business management, presenting tips on event
planning, business correspondence, and accounting and finance.

The Electronic Financial Mathematics Handbook runs through topics
like simple and compound interest, investment information,
annuities calculations, and bond formulas.  Each section presents
financial formulas in algebraic and Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet
notation, with definitions of concepts and examples of their use.

According to the company, the Windows version of its Reference
Software International is the only product in the category to let
the user hotkey from any other Windows application -- and the only
one to permit direct replacement of unlimited text into the
application.  The hotkey function encompasses the ability to move
straight into Random House from any Windows-based word processor.

Other features are the same for the Windows and DOS versions.  The
dictionary contains 180,000 definitions, and the thesaurus holds
275,000 synonyms and antonyms, for terms that include such
contemporary jargon as GUI and glass ceiling.  Entries offer usage
notes and example sentences.

An 11,000-word database of biographic and geographic entries
provides spellings, locations and populations of place names, as
well as the occupations and nationalities of famous people.

Through one capability of the package, the user can toggle back and
forth between the dictionary and thesaurus, finding synonyms in the
thesaurus for words in the dictionary -- and definitions in the
dictionary for terms in the thesaurus.

A wildcard search function enables word search when only a few
letters are known.  Entering "*ate," for instance, will bring up
such prospects as abate, abbreviate, abdicate, and so on.

Additional highlights include word backtracking, for keeping track
of words previously looked up, and definition search, for finding
an appropriate word to suit a vague definition or concept.

The Windows and DOS versions are priced at $99 each, and both are
shipping.  The Windows version requires a 286 PC or greater.  The
dictionary alone requires 6.5 MB of hard disk space, while the
dictionary and thesaurus duo need 9.2 MB of hard disk space.

The new version of Grammatik for Windows can be loaded onto the
Control Menu for use on all Windows 3.1 programs, and launched
instantly from any of these applications through 3.1's Drag and
Drop feature.

The company stresses that these capabilities enable immediate
proofreading of word processing documents for 3.1 -- as well as
electronic mail, desktop publishing presentations, databases, and
spreadsheets for the latest incarnation of Windows.

Available now, at a price of $99, Grammatik 5 for Windows also
supports Windows 3.0 applications, all popular PC word processing
packages, and standard ASCII text and RTF files.

The new error detection capabilities in the package operate off a
simplified screen, and are derived from a word analysis technology
dubbed Mor-Proof (morphological, or root word-based).  Mor-Proof
contains four core elements:  a root word-based dictionary, a
redesigned grammar engine, an enhanced replacement and editing
mechanism, and an enriched database of style and grammar rules.

A new Rule Designer module in Grammatik is intended to let users
easily write rules that accommodate word usages specific to
particular companies or departments.  All told, Grammatik 5
provides rules for 13 different writing styles, three of which are
custom.  Each style offers three different levels of formality.

Like previous editions, Grammatik 5 enables the user to look at
grade level and readability comparisons for assistance in judging
their finished products.

The new context-sensitive help works within the Windows help
system, and can be accessed directly from Grammatik's new error
detection screen.  Advice is available on program functions, as
well as why the program recommends a certain writing style.  Also
new is a feature that lets users increase the size of fonts in the
text box for easier readability.

Grammatik 5 for Windows is available now, at a price of $99.
Requirements include a 286 or faster microprocessor, 2 MB of RAM
and a hard disk with 2.2 MB of free space.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920629; Press Contact:  Lois Tilles or Nina
Frank, Reference Software International, tel [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 29 PC Expo:  Cumulus 486DX and 386SX Micro Channel PCs 06/29/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00012)

PC Expo:  Cumulus 486DX and 386SX Micro Channel PCs 06/29/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 29 (NB) --  At PC Expo last
week, Cumulus Corporation announced two Micro Channel PC systems,
each designed to offer strong performance at low cost.

The new GL Computer MC 386SX offers a 25 MHz 386SX processor with
2 MB RAM and an 80 MB hard drive, at a price of $1,595.  The GL
Computer/MC 486DX offers a 33 MHz 486DX processor with 4 MB RAM and
a 200 MB hard drive, for $4,995.  Also incorporated in the 486
computer is a specially designed disk caching array controller, an
intelligent device that manages operation of the cache.

Cumulus says that the Micro Channel platform was selected due to
its superiority over ISA in such areas as throughput, bus
mastering, and multimedia support. "We believe that advanced
applications reach their full potential when run on a Micro Channel
system, and everyday applications work better and faster.  Micro
Channel really is a forward-looking standard," commented Martin
Alpert, chairman and founder.

The company stresses that its new 486 DX computer is ideally suited
to such application as engineering design, high-end graphics, and
CAD/CAM.  The model is based on a CPU complex card, making it
fully processor upgradable.  A tower version of the system can be
used as an advanced file server, with performance characteristics
that will let MIS directors cut down on the number of servers to
run a network.

Equipped with custom-designed ASICs, the new controller for the 486
system produces disk access times as low as 0.2 milliseconds.  The
controller also includes caching of up to 16 MB, and performs bus
mastering.  Streaming support for the bus transfer protocol doubles
the transfer speed from 20 Mbps to 40 Mbps.

A striping capability enables four drives to act as one drive with
four times the speed.  Other functions of the controller include
error correction, in case of drive failure, and mirroring, for data
recovery if more than one drive fails.

Cumulus maintains that the new MC 386SX is offered at a price
competitive with most ISA 386SX ISA systems and below that of
similar Micro Channel systems.

Features of the 386SX computer include a 3.5-inch 1.44 MB floppy
drive, five expansion slots, two available device bays, a mouse,
and a 101-key enhanced "click-style" keyboard.  The standard 2 MB
RAM is expandable to 16 MB.

Both Micro Channel models ship with DOS, Microsoft Windows, and
Works for Windows.  In systems equipped with hard drives, the
software packages are preloaded and preconfigured, preventing the
need for installation on the part of the user.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920629;  Press Contact:  Jim Baxter, Cumulus,
tel [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 29 Sprint Pushes Videoconferences For Govt 06/29/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00013)

Sprint Pushes Videoconferences For Govt 06/29/92
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 29 (NB) --
Videoconferencing may have become a political issue, with
observers wondering what its role can and should be in electing
leaders. But Sprint wants to make it a tool of governing.

The third-largest US long distance company outlined its State
Interconnected Government Network/University Connection
Videoconferencing Program, designed to support state government
and higher education institutions. Besides having a long name
which will appeal to bureaucrats, the programs include discounts
on equipment, gateways to the Sprint Meeting Channel network,
discounts on its usage, and customized Video Applications
Seminars.

Dave Richey, vice president of marketing services for Sprint's
Business Market Group, emphasized his company's efforts at
training people in the use of the tools in a press statement.
"Sprint wants to make it simple for these institutions to learn
about the advantages of videoconferencing and how it can benefit
their specific goals."  The company is offering video seminars
geared to the industry, as well as intensive training, called the
"Square One" program.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920629/Press Contact: Sprint, Janis Langley,
202-828-7427)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 29 DPT Controllers Certified by Novell 06/29/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(ATL)(00014)

DPT Controllers Certified by Novell 06/29/92
MAITLAND, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 29 (NB) -- In the complex
world of local area networks, certification by Novell has become
a prerequisite for many buyers. The certification assures these
customers of support and service, especially since Novell's
NetWare has become a de facto standard operating system for such
networks. So, when Distributed Processing  Technology learned its
SmartCache Plus SCSI controllers had been certified, it sent out
a press release.

Small Computer Systems Interface, or SCSI -- pronounced "scuzzy" --
is an interface which first came to prominence on the Apple
Macintosh, but it has gained increasing favor in the PC world,
where the interface helps speed sluggish systems at relatively
low cost. Both ISA and EISA models of the DPT controller have
been certified  for use in Version 3.11 of the NetWare system.
The product is aimed at speeding NetWare systems with six or more
users. DPT's  Director of Sales and Marketing Dave Race
explained the significance. "Now that the SmartCache Plus package
sports a Novell sticker, users can feel even more secure about
its interaction with NetWare."

The real concern for users might have been the software shipped
with the products, including Bus Mastering,  Command Overlapping,
Command Queuing and Scatter/Gather memory transfers.  Novell has
now certified that these programs won't impact its operating
system, giving buyers more confidence.

The controllers also expand the number of available controllers
from one to two on a computer with standard AT-style ISA board
slots and from one-to-four on the Extended-ISA bus, a standard
originally created to compete with IBM's Micro Channel
technology, allowing for faster data transfers between the add-
in card and the main machine. The controllers also feature
CIS:TBW-1352 connectivity, which means more types of peripherals
can be connected, including tape,  magneto-optical drives, and
CD-ROM devices. The controller can also be configured as both a
non-caching and a caching controller, and converted from one
form to the other with a plug-on module.

DPT said computer  manufacturers such as AST, NEC, NCR, Intel,
Wyse, Wang, Siemens,  ICL/Nokia have all standardized on
SmartCache Plus.  It is also available from distributors like as
Tech Data, Ingram  Micro, Merisel and Robec.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920629/Press Contact: Distributed Processing
Technology, Michael Cerni, 407/830-5522)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 29 Digital Cellular Becomes a Reality 06/29/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00015)

Digital Cellular Becomes a Reality 06/29/92
CALGARY, ALBERTA, CANADA, 1992 JUN 29 (NB) -- With a ceremonial
14-minute call placed from their offices, executives at AGT
Cellular of Calgary, Alberta opened the first TDMA digital
cellular system in North America.

The   system is dual-mode, meaning regular analog phones
work on it as well as the new digital phones. Time Division
Multiple Access, or TDMA, systems split a cellular call channel
into three parts, then send separate digitized conversations on
each channel. In contrast, CDMA or Code Division Multiple Access
digital systems send digital signals throughout the calling
channel, which are decoded on the other end into conversations in
much the same way as packet data networks discriminate among the
many calls being sent on them.

The AGT cellular base stations were made by Motorola Nortel
Communications, a joint venture between Motorola and Northern
Telecom, aimed at challenging AT&T's recent gains in the sale of
cellular equipment.

While the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, which
represents US cellular operators, has consistently upheld the
TDMA standard, it has begun creating a new standard for CDMA,
which is causing many operators here to hold off on the purchase
of TDMA equipment. That's because CDMA promises greater capacity
-- up to 10 times the capacity of present analog systems -- against
a three-fold gain with TDMA. In response, General Motors' Hughes
division, which got into the market last year, has begun pushing
an Enhanced TDMA scheme which promises 15 times the capacity of
present analog systems. Key TDMA patents are held by
International Mobile Machines, and have been cross-licensed to
Hughes. Key CDMA patents are held by Qualcomm of San Diego, a
company in which Pacific Telesis holds a key stake.

Over the next year, expect lots of press releases from local
cellular operators about digital calling. The releases will sound
similar, but look for key terms like TDMA and CDMA. In Chicago,
for instance, Ameritech Mobile is testing CDMA and making no
commitments, while Southwestern Bell's Cellular One unit is
pushing ahead with TDMA. In Washington, DC, where cellular call
channels are particularly crowded, both networks are expected to
move to TDMA later this year, but Bell Atlantic has installed so-
called "microcells" to bring service into train stations, and is
reportedly testing CDMA equipment.

The big problem in any case will be the cost of the phones.
Analog cellular phones may cost just a few hundred dollars, and
are frequently heavily discounted by merchants eager to earn
commissions for turning customers on to one system or the other.
Calgary's phones, which came from Hughes, start about $1,250.
That's because they're dual-standard units which must handle both
TDMA cellular and regular analog calls, transparently to the user
of the phone.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920629/Press Contact: Motorola Nortel, Mark
Buford, 214/301-8512)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 29 Advanced Telecom Restates Earnings Downward 06/29/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00016)

Advanced Telecom Restates Earnings Downward 06/29/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 29 (NB) -- Those looking for
a reason why high-profile Advanced Telecommunications would agree
to be merged into low-profile LDDS of Jackson, Mississippi found
one, as Advanced revised its earnings for fiscal 1992 down by
$5.5 million.

The company, in a press release, said the change was
"principally the result of the creation of a one-time adjustment
of the carrying value of accounts receivable and the one-time
accrual of additional billing credits." In English, that
means the value of bills owed the company was knocked-down, based
on the risk the bills would never be paid, and some customers
were given credits on their accounts. President Stephen Raville
blamed a new billing system, and subsequent bill adjustments, for
the changes.

LDDS head Bernard Ebbers applauded the move, calling them
consistent and conservative, to "adequately maintain reserves of
the combined companies." The changes were discussed by LDDS and
with ATC's auditors. Ebbers insisted the earnings downgrading
would have no impact on the previously announced merger between
the two companies, which has not yet closed.

Trading in ATC stock was halted briefly on the news.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920629/Press Contact: Advanced
Telecommunications, Patrick E. Delaney, 404/261-5885)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 29 International Phone Update 06/29/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00017)

International Phone Update 06/29/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 29 (NB) -- Wireless
communications leads the headlines around the world.

Ameritech Chairman William Weiss launched Poland's first cellular
phone system by placing a wireless call from Warsaw to leaders
of Chicago's Polish community, including Illinois' Lieutenant
Governor and the head of the local Polish Consulate. Ameritech is
a major investor in the new Polish cellular system,  along with
France Telecom and Telekomunikacja Polska S.A., the Polish
telephone company.

The two international companies invested $90 million in building
the network, which has initial capacity of 2,000 subscribers. It
will be extended to other major towns and will ultimately serve
between 100,000 and 150,000 subscribers.

France Telecom and Ameritech each have a 24.5 percent stake in
Polska Telefonia Komorkowa Co Ltd, while the Polish phone
company holds the majority stake.

In South Korea, six consortia are vying for a single tender to
compete with a firm controlled by Korea Telecom in cellular
telephony. All include American participants, with Sunkyong Group
teaming with GTE as well as Vodafone of the UK and a unit of
Hutchison Whampoa of Hong Kong, Kolon Group working with NYNEX,
Ssangyong Group teaming with Southwestern Bell and Swedish
Telecom, Dongbu Group working with Bell Atlantic, and Tong Yang
Group working with US West. Other Korean firms are also part of
each consortium.

China opened a microwave relay system linking Tongjiang, a border
city in northeast China, and Khabarovsk in Russia. It's the
second such link. The equipment was imported from Russia.

On the Arabian peninsula, the Omanese PTT asked satellite dish
buyers to install their gear in inconspicuous places. He said
their proliferation on rooftops could prove unsightly in the
capital city, according to the Middle East News Network, quoting
the Times of Oman.

Finally, Intelsat said it would move its new 501 satellite to
91.5 degrees east longitude to provide expanded coverage to the
Asia/Pacific countries, beginning in the first half of 1993.
Intelsat plans to follow this by deploying the first Intelsat
VII-series satellite at 174 degrees east over the Pacific Ocean,
after its scheduled launch in October 1993.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920629/Press Contact: Tony Trujillo,
Intelsat, 202-944-7500; Ameritech, Phil Ponce, 312/750-5240)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 29  ****Microsoft Says IBM OS/2 Royalty Dispute Settled 06/29/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00018)

 ****Microsoft Says IBM OS/2 Royalty Dispute Settled 06/29/92
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 29 (NB) -- Microsoft executive
Vice President Steve Ballmer said Microsoft and IBM have resolved
their dispute over royalties due to Microsoft from sales of OS/2
software.

"Rather than have that blow up and get messy, we sat down and worked
through our differences and came to a mutual agreement," Ballmer
said. However, Ballmer said the settlement still doesn't give IBM
preferential access to Microsoft's 32-bit Windows NT program.

IBM's OS/2 operating system was able to run Windows software because
it contains the necessary code, which is why IBM had to pay the
royalties. IBM's license to use the Windows code expires in about a
year, and apparently no renewal of that license has been agreed
upon.

Ballmer declined to discuss specific details of the royalty
agreement, but some Wall Street analysts say IBM may be paying as
much as $20 for each copy of OS/2 sold, depending on the volume.
IBM said earlier this week that it had shipped 700,000 copies of the
operating system, but Microsoft disputed that number.

Microsoft sold more than 10 million copies of Windows 3.0 in the
less than two years after it came to market, and says it has already
sold three million copies of version 3.1.

(Jim Mallory/19920629/Press contact: Marty Taucher, Microsoft,
206-882-8080)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 29 Wozniak Named To Information Processing Hall of Fame 06/29/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00019)

Wozniak Named To Information Processing Hall of Fame 06/29/92
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 29 (NB) -- Apple Computer
co-founder Steve Wozniak has been named to the Information Processing
Technology Hall of Fame. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs is already
a member.

Wozniak and Jobs are considered by many the fathers of personal
computing, developing the first PC in Jobs' garage in Cupertino,
California. The two formed Apple Computer in 1977. Wozniak is
presently with Unuson of Los Gatos, California and still promotes
Apple product. He appeared in a recent ad for Apple's newest
notebook system, the PowerBook.

The Information Processing Technology Hall of Fame was established
by Infomart in 1985, and already includes such computer industry
notables as Gene Amdahl, Admiral Grace Hopper, H. Ross Perot, Dr. An
Wang, Blaise Pascal, Bill Gates, and Ken Olsen.

Infomart is a 1.6-million square foot showcase facility in Dallas,
occupied by Apple, IBM, AT&T, NCR, Xerox and GTE. There are product
demonstration areas, a theater for showing corporate videos,
conference rooms and sales offices, as well as a 300,000 square foot
trade show area.

In September of last year, Infomart completed the installation of
over 32 miles of fibre optic cable, with 14 concentrator hubs and
over 20 bridges and routers. The cabling connects a building-wide
network that allows participating companies to show potential
customers a working internetwork.

(Jim Mallory/19920629/Press contact: Jeff Anderson, InfoMart,
214-746-3605)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 29 2nd Round Of Losses In Australian IT Industry 06/29/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00020)

2nd Round Of Losses In Australian IT Industry 06/29/92
SYDNEY,  AUSTRALIA 1992 JUN 29 (NB) -- Just when analysts were expecting
at least a flattening of the Australian computer industry (if not an
upturn), a number of IT service companies have reported large losses.

Software and services company Paxus has reported a loss, has seen
its shares drop dramatically, and won't be paying a dividend.

Another large services company Computer Power has recently reported
a six-month loss of AUS$92.6M on revenues of just AUS$97.6M despite
a good result for the prior half year.

Paxus MD Neil Cullimore said that there was still a severe contraction
in the Australian IT industry and that the financial services sector,
where his company had a large presence, had been worst hit. Paxus has
remained profitable in other markets, including Europe and Asia.

IDC Australia's managing director, Len Rust, said that if this really was
a "double-dip" in the IT industry in Australia it was disastrous news.
However, he suggested it was likely to reflect traditional hardware
vendors making more efforts in software and services to balance the
low sales in hardware.

As is happening in other parts of the world, large companies are
attempting to buy a safety net by taking over smaller companies with
popular software products such as accounting packages. Unfortunately,
while this gives the seller a nice retirement fund, it burdens the
purchasing company with large loans, usually much greater than
expected income for the first few years after purchase.

(Paul Zucker/19920629)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 29 Data General's Sixth Generation Eclipse MV/Systems 06/29/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00021)

Data General's Sixth Generation Eclipse MV/Systems 06/29/92
WANCHAI, HONG KONG, 1992 JUN 29 (NB) -- Data General Asia North
has added new members to its sixth generation of Eclipse MV/family
computers.

The new multi-processor systems include the MV/60000 HA high-end
system, the MV/35000 mid-range system, and a High Availability Disk
Array (HADA) Mass Storage Subsystem for the Eclipse MV/Family. The
sixth generation MV/Family provides substantially improved performance,
configurability, and flexibility with higher reliability and system
availability than previous generations, Data General reports.

"These products demonstrate how Data General has taken advantage of
technical change to keep the M/V family on the leading edge," said
Data General Asia North Regional Marketing Manager Daniel Ng.

"The MV/60000 HA doubles the performance of our high-end MV/40000,
offering mainframe power with a single board CPU. In addition to
greater performance, the sixth generation MV/Family continues to
provide full support for leading industry standards such as TCP/IP,
SCSI-2, Netbeui, OpenMac, and Novell Netware," Mr Ng said.

"All Eclipse systems also provide interoperatability with our AViiON
Open Systems Server family and full MV/Family hardware and software
compatibility for complete investment protection for our customers," Mr
Ng said.

The Eclipse MV/60000 HA is a new, multi-processor high-end computer
system which represents one of Data General's largest product
development efforts. The MV/60000 HA is positioned as ideal for
customers who need to support large numbers of users and those
seeking to consolidate their computer applications and operations
onto a single system.

The MV/60000 HA's high availability features include redundant power
and cooling components for the main system bay and I/O subsystem plus
on-line diagnostic capabilities. After a component failure, the
diagnostic processor deconfigures the failed component and the AOS/VS
II operating system will automatically reboot the system.

High availability also refers to the use of multi-processor technology.
That means if a CPU malfunctions, processing would be diverted
to the other processors.  Users can only take advantage of this if they
buy a configuration that contains at least two CPUs.

Based on the latest Motorola ECL Gate Array technology, the MV/60000 HA
uses a scalable, multiprocessing architecture that provides 27 to 108
Dhrystone MIPS. An efficient cache design memory architecture and high
performance system bus increase performance incrementally as more
processors are added, enabling the MV/60000 to support more than 1,500
users in demanding commercial environments.

The MV/60000 HA features a new mid-plane design which allows the
installation of job processors and memory boards in the front or back
of the system's main chassis.  The design shortens the signal lengths
from both ends of the panel, which contributes to increased system
speed and performance.

Users can customize this system to meet their growing requirements. The
MV/60000 HA can accommodate from one to four job processors from 128 MB
to 1 GB of memory, two to six I/O channels, and up to 720 GB of direct
mass storage.

Integrated Eclipse I/O supports existing controllers and devices for
terminal connection, communications, LAN connectivity, and disk and
tape storage subsystems. This capability makes it easy for customers to
upgrade their existing Eclipse MV systems while maintaining their
existing peripheral investment.

The MV/60000 HA provides full interoperability with Data General's
AViiON systems and Dasher PCs.

The MV/35000 is a high performance, highly scalable and highly
available mid-range system designed for multi-user systems and servers.
It is the first Data General system designed for six-way multi-
processing and provides substantially increased performance over
previous mid-range MVs. The MV/35000's CPU features an improved version
of Data General's custom CMOS microprocessor which provides 40 percent,
or more, greater performance than a comparably configured MV/30000.

The MV/30000 is a scalable multi-processor, configured with up to six
CPUs, 512 MB of memory, three I/O channels, and up to 360 GB of direct
mass storage. System performance ranges from 9 Dhrystone MIPS using a
single processor to 54 Dhrystone MIPS  using all six processors.

The MV/35000 also offers superior multi-processor scalability.
Features such as a 160 MB/sec, synchronous 64-bit data bus, 256 KB
write-back caches on each CPU, interleaved memory, and multiple I/O
channels, all contribute to a system design that addresses all the
performance needs of today's demanding commercial applications, rather
than just raw processor throughout.

The MV/35000 also maximizes a customer's uptime for critical business
applications through a comprehensive set of hardware and software
options for tailoring a highly available system. One such feature is
the failure and automatic system reboot from the AOS/VS II operating
system.

Existing MV/30000 users can upgrade their systems by simply
changing boards. Other Data General mid-range systems users can trade
in their system and still have complete hardware and software
compatibility. The MV/35000 fully supports popular industry standards,
such as Novell Netware, OpenMAC and Oracle. The MV/3500 can also be
used as a server together with Data General AViiON systems and Dasher
PCs.

The MV/60000 HA and the MV/35000 will be available from the end of
June.

(Brett Cameron/19920626/Press Contact: Daniel Ng, Data General Asia
North, tel: [phone];HK time is GMT + 8)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 29 New For Networks: 3Com Secure Network Mgt System 06/29/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00022)

New For Networks: 3Com Secure Network Mgt System 06/29/92
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1992 JUN 29 (NB) -- 3Com has unveiled the
industry's first system for secure network management, based on
Secure SNMP, an emerging standard for network security. The
extension of security to network management systems provides a key
component in 3Com's LAN Security Architecture (LSA).

Secure SNMP is an extension of the widely supported network management
standard defined within the Internet protocol suite and is expected to
be ratified by the Internet Engineering Task Force later this summer.

"One potential weakness of security systems is the management station
from which LAN security is administered," said Doug Dennerline, general
manager of 3Com Asia Ltd. "LAN devices such as bridges, routers and
repeaters, that enforce the security rules, are vulnerable to an attack
by a workstation masquerading as the network management station.

"It is insufficient just to protect network availability.  Now that
network devices contain security features which protect the
confidentiality and integrity of information, these security features
themselves must also be protected," he said.

Secure SNMP provides the features necessary to manage a secure network.
These include access restriction to the management information base and
procedures for authentication and encryption of management packages
being sent between the management station and management devices.

LSA was launched earlier this year with the announcement by 3Com of
secure repeaters and bridges, including a unique application specific
integrated circuit (ASIC)-based security system for its LinkBuilder
ECS family of hubs.  This turns insecure network connections into
secure point to point network connections.

"LAN security is no longer a niche feature," said Dennerline. "Security
is a growing concern among data networking users, network architects
and network managers.  Unique, cost-efficient and easy-to-implement
solutions are a key engineering focus for 3Com."

Dennerline said that he expected customers to phase in secure network
management and SNMP Security Protocol over the next 18 to 24 months
during which time both standard SNMP and secure SNMP devices will
appear on the network.

With 3Com's LSA, secure networking is a reality for both networking
hardware and software. 3Com pioneered closed user groups so that
network managers and users have an additional security layer to protect
confidentiality.

The addition of this unique "access-aware" secure network management
system to 3Com's LSA platform further enhances the network
administrator's ability to protect both the data network and the
information that resides on the network, 3Com says.

(Brett Cameron/19920626/Press Contact: Doug Dennerline, 3Com, tel:
[phone]; HK time is GMT + 8)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 29 Synon, Software 2000 Form Alliance 06/29/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(HKG)(00023)

Synon, Software 2000 Form Alliance 06/29/92
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1992 JUN 29 (NB) -- Synon Corporation, one of the
application software suppliers for IBM mid-range systems, have formed an
alliance regarding the use of Synon's application development tools.

US-based Software 2000 offers a complete range of financial, human
resources, environmental, process manufacturing and distributed
management packages exclusively for the IBM AS/400 computer. The
company is currently investigating a distribution network for Asia.

Under the first phase of the alliance, a Synon Data Model of selected
portions of Software 2000 applications will be provided. This will give
Software 2000 customers access to Synon's advanced application
development capabilities for user defined "extensions" to applications.

Software 2000 also plans to allow its customers to access Synon's
application development tools directly from Application Manager 2000,
Software 2000's System Application Architecture (SAA)/ Common User
Access (CUA) compliant platform for user access and system navigation.

"The ability to write customized extensions gives customers greater
flexibility to tailor applications to specific business needs," said
Guy Riddle, Synon's Hong Kong-based technical specialist. "In addition,
Software 2000 customers will be able to benefit from advanced
technologies supported by Synon such as application development for
distributed environments."

Rob Goodwin, Software 2000's UK-based director of international
operations said, "We chose Synon as a partner because of its clear
leadership in application development tools. Goodwin added that other
key factors were Synon's client-server capability and the close
relationship that both companies have with IBM.

"The alliance will give Software 2000 customers an Application Manager
2000-based environment for standard and sustainable corporate specified
systems across multi-company and/or multi-site operations. In other
words, the result will be a 'one off-one time' customer extension that
can be easily created and maintained," said Mr Goodwin.

Software 2000 and Synon will also be offering, directly and through
their worldwide subsidiaries, joint services for the development and
support of Synon-based extensions to Software 2000 applications.
Software 2000 will provide the knowledge and practical experience
related to Software 2000 products, and Synon will provide expertise in
the use of Synon tools.

(Brett Cameron/920626/Press Contact: Sharon Williams, Synon, tel: +852-
529 0356; HK time is GMT + 8)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 29  ****Thailand Piracy Crackdown; 98% Said To Be Illegal Copies 06/29/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(HKG)(00024)

 ****Thailand Piracy Crackdown; 98% Said To Be Illegal Copies 06/29/92
BANGKOK, THAILAND, 1992 JUN 29 (NB) -- The Business Software
Alliance (BSA), formed in 1988, has taken its first legal action
in Thailand against companies suspected of selling unauthorized
software.

Acting on information supplied by BSA members, a team of police
officers raided a number of software retailers in Bangkok and seized
more than 550 allegedly counterfeit diskettes and 350 fake manuals.

"Thailand presents one of the largest problems in the world for the
theft of copyrighted works," said Alix Parlour, vice president of the
Business Software Alliance in Asia. "The BSA is pleased to see that the
Thai Government has recognized the need for enforcement of the
copyright law to help reduce the rampant levels of software theft in
the country."

According to Parlour, at least 98 percent of software used in the
country is illegally copied -- the largest incidence on a percentage
basis anywhere in the world.

The raids follow over a year of preparation by the BSA, warning
retailers and major software users that companies found illegally
copying or using fake software could face legal action.

"Unfortunately, the consumer is the ultimate loser in Thailand," said
Parlour. "The local consumer loses because, with such a high rate of
theft, there is no incentive for local programmers to produce local
products.

"The BSA hopes that the Thai government will continue its crackdown on
illegal software copying to protect both its businesses and its
consumers."

(Brett Cameron/19920626/Press contact: Alix Parlour, BSA in Hong Kong,
tel: [phone];HK time is GMT + 8)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 29 SynOptics Links Macs To Enterprise Nets 06/29/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(HKG)(00025)

SynOptics Links Macs To Enterprise Nets 06/29/92
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1992 JUN 29 (NB) -- SynOptics Communications,
a supplier of intelligent networking products, has introduced a
modular AppleTalk router that enables users to integrate Macintosh
computers, laser printers and servers into their existing Ethernet,
Token Ring or FDDI networks.

The new LattisTalk Model 3394 Appletalk Router combines patented
PhoneNET unshielded twisted pair (UTP) technology from US-based
Farallon, with multiprotocol routing functions to bring Macintoshes
and peripherals under the umbrella of structured wiring systems.

According to David Coulson, SynOptics' Hong Kong-based Asia sales
manager, most networked Macintoshes are currently connected via a
LocalTalk connection, for which Farallon is the leading provider with
an installed base of over three million nodes.

"We chose to team with Farallon as it was the clear market leader in
LocalTalk structured wiring systems," said Mr Coulson. "The SynOptics
AppleTalk Router provides a one hundred percent compatible solution for
AppleTalk customers who have standardized on PhoneNET systems."

Mr Coulson noted that many SynOptics customers in Hong Kong have mixed
environments in which Macintoshes are used for specialized
applications. "The new AppleTalk router will provide them with the
added flexibility to bring their Macintosh into an enterprise network
and hence to improve productivity," he said. "We believe AppleTalk
ranks with Ethernet, Token Ring and FDDI, as networking methods that
will survive long-term."

The LattisTalk Model 3394 AppleTalk Router enables AppleTalk devices
and Unix hosts to exchange data. It combines multi-port repeater
functions for linking LocalTalk devices over twisted pair wire with
router functions for linking LocalTalk and Ethernet (EtherTalk)
networks. Gateway functions allow Macintosh clients to access TCP/IP
files, printers and host services.

The Model 3394 router has 16 modular RJ-11 ports, each capable of
supporting up to four devices, for a total of 64 devices per router. It
offers a number of innovative capabilities including full AppleTalk
routing for supporting networks of hundreds of zones, including zone
hiding for controlling access to AppleTalk resources.

Other features include IP Gateway functions that enable Macintosh users
to access file, printer and host services on Unix systems (such as the
Model 3040 Network Control Engine module processor). IP tunnelling for
linking distant Apple networks through established IP internetworks is
also built-in.

Designed for use in the SynOptics LattisNet System 3000 intelligent
hub, the Model 3394 router enhances the System 3000 by providing a
structured LocalTalk wiring solution to the extensive Ethernet, Token
Ring and Fiber  Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) capabilities already
available.

Management for SynOptics' AppleTalk Router can be handled through SNMP
agents and an easy-to-use Telnet menu interface or from SynOptics' Unix
or DOS network management consoles.  The unit also features flash EPROM
for easy software upgrades.

In addition the new router is compatible with the SynOptics LattisNet
Expanded View graphical application which can monitor all modules in a
System 3000 network.

(Brett Cameron/19920626/Press Contact: Bill Ting, Synoptics, tel: +852-
841 7739;HK time is GMT + 8)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 29  ****More On Digital Stake In Olivetti 06/29/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00026)

 ****More On Digital Stake In Olivetti 06/29/92
IVREA, ITALY, 1992 JUN 29 (NB) -- Olivetti has revealed that
Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) has agreed to take a near-10
percent stake in company. The buy-in will cost DEC a cool $332
million, company Chairman Carlo De Benedetti, has revealed.

Speaking at Olivetti's annual general meeting, De Benedetti said
that the deal will be phased over the next two years and will
involve two DEC directors joining Olivetti's main board of
directors.

Although the deal primarily involves cash, there are a number of
subtle undertones.  Olivetti has been manufacturing PCs for DEC for
some time -- this deal cements that relationship and also opens up
the way for the Italian computer giant to use DEC's soon-to-ship
Alpha microprocessor technology.

De Benedetti told his company's shareholders that the DEC buy-in
was not a takeover, but an alliance between two computer giants:
"One has to understand the difference between takeovers and
alliances," he said.

Amidst all the backslapping and usual press puff that comes with
an inter-company tie-up of this nature, there is surprisingly
little hard information on the deal. Sources close to Olivetti
U.K. liken the DEC buy-in as similar to the AT&T stake in
Olivetti of the 1980s.

That deal ended in 1989 when AT&T exchanged its 22 percent direct
stake in Olivetti for a share in the Italian computer giant's
parent company. While AT&T proved to be something of a financial
fairy Godmother for Olivetti, analysts do not expect DEC to play
a similar role, since DEC is also troubled by poor financial
results, which forced the company to trim its workforce recently
from 121 to 112,000 employees.

(Steve Gold/19920629)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 29 EC Thumbs Up To French Govt Cash Rescue For Bull 06/29/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00027)

EC Thumbs Up To French Govt Cash Rescue For Bull 06/29/92
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1992 JUN 29 (NB) --- The European Commission
(EC) is expected to give the thumbs up to a French Government
scheme to inject more than $1,000 million into Bull over the next
few years.

The cash investment, which was proposed almost a year ago,
originally looked shaky when EC ministers viewed it as state
intervention in the computer marketplace, something that is outlawed
under the Treaty of Rome.

Sources close to Bull suggest that EC approval has come about
after the French Government modified its plans to meet at least
some EC requirements. Last week's agreement (to disagree) on a
budget cap on EC contributions from member states for the next
two years also seems to affected the council's decision. Some EC
members had wanted to raise EC contributions by 30 percent in
order to meet increased commitments, but this was vetoed, notably
by the British and German representatives.

(Steve Gold/19920629)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 29 Lotus Offers Developers Bridges To Realtime 06/29/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00028)

Lotus Offers Developers Bridges To Realtime 06/29/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 29 (NB) -- Lotus
Development is offering other software developers a way of linking
their applications to Lotus Realtime, software that takes data such
as stock quotes from a remote server and brings it into Lotus'
1-2-3 and Improv spreadsheet programs.

Lotus unveiled the Lotus Realtime Application Programming Interface
(API) at the Securities Industry Association Show in New York. At
the same time, commercial software developers showed applications
ranging from spreadsheets and graphics applications to
custom-designed analytic applications and risk management systems,
linked to real-time data using the Lotus Realtime API.

A company spokeswoman told Newsbytes that Lotus expects the API to
be used more for custom software development than for packaged
commercial software.

Lotus' Realtime Engine accepts data from a feed server, caches it
and delivers it through the Lotus Realtime API directly to the
application.

Lotus also launched two new versions of Realtime. Realtime for
Nextstep is designed to work with the Lotus Improv spreadsheet on
Next computers. This is the first Realtime support for Improv, the
spokeswoman said. Lotus Realtime for IBM RISC System/6000
Workstations will work with 1-2-3 for Unix. Lotus said it is also
working on a version of Lotus Realtime for Microsoft Windows 3.1.
The company is not ready to announce when that might be available,
the spokeswoman said.

In addition, Lotus announced an exclusive distribution agreement
with Black Diamond Technologies, a newly formed division of the
Chicago-based trading firm O'Connor & Associates. Black Diamond
will be the exclusive distributor of Lotus Realtime for Nextstep.

Lotus Realtime has a suggested retail price of $1,150 per user,
including the ability to deliver data to multiple applications. The
Lotus Realtime API Toolkit is available for evaluation and testing
to developers and software vendors building or porting applications
for Lotus Realtime, at an annual maintenance fee of $5,000 per
site.

Lotus Realtime requires 16 megabytes of RAM and 16 megabytes of
disk space.

(Grant Buckler/19920629/Press Contact: Nancy Prendergast,
McGlinchey & Paul for Lotus, 617-862-4514)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 29 Sun Microsystems Joins Companies Moving Into Mexico  06/29/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00029)

Sun Microsystems Joins Companies Moving Into Mexico  06/29/92
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 29 (NB) -- Sun
Microsystems Computer Corporation (SMCC) has joined the list of
companies who have opened or bought subsidiaries in Mexico in order
to reach the Latin American computer market. Other companies include
AST, Dell, and Merisel.

This subsidiary is Sun's second in Latin America, where Sun is rated
the number one workstation/server vendor according to market research
firm International Data Corporation. The first Sun subsidiary was
established in Brazil.  Sun says it is gearing up to take advantage
of the $121 million market it is predicting in Latin America. The
growth rate in the Latin American market is expected to be 51 percent
compounded annually over the next three years, Sun maintains.

While Sun says it has been offering products in Mexico since 1987,
the sales have been through partners. Sun plans to continue its
relationship with these partners, but will focus on moving into the
growing financial, banking, telecommunications, oil/gas, education,
and research markets, the company added.

The subsidiary will be in Polanco near Mexico City and Steve Tirado,
who has been with Sun for six years, is to be the new general
manager.

Workstation/server computing is one of the fastest growing segments
in the computer industry and Sun is the leader in the market,
according to market research firm Dataquest. Based in Mountain View,
California, Sun boasts the new subsidiary is its 19th worldwide, and
says it gets over 50 percent of its revenues from non-US markets.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920629/Press Contact: Karen Dorren, Sun
Microsystems Computer Corporation, tel [phone], fax 415- 336-
3880)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 29 AST Co-Founder Yuen Departs 06/29/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00030)

AST Co-Founder Yuen Departs 06/29/92
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 29 (NB) -- Just two months
after being ranked 431st in the Fortune 500 list of top industrial
companies, AST Research  has announced that co-chairman and
chief operating officer, Thomas C.K. Yuen, has departed the company,
although he will remain on the company's board of directors.

A company spokesperson told Newsbytes that "the board of directors
made the decision to formalize the company's management structure.
They instituted an outside board member as chairman of the board (and
then decided on) one executive to be responsibility for the day-to-day
operation (of the company)." There is no indication as to whether
Yuen went along with this new plan.

Safi Qureshey, AST president and chief executive officer, said
that, "Having just completed our fiscal year, the timing of this
decision provides us with an opportunity to assess our
strengths, expand our management capability and enhance our
position in the marketplace."  Qureshey also said that, in order to
devote more time to the operations of the company, he has given up his
position  as co-chairman to focus on his role as president and chief
executive officer.

Current board member, Dr. Carmelo Santoro, will assume the position
of chairman of the board.

The company maintains that Santoro joined AST's board of directors in
1990 and has more than 27 years of experience in  high-technology
manufacturing companies. He is currently chairman of the board of
Silicon Systems and board member of Dallas Semiconductor.  Santoro
also previously served as chairman of the board of Ashton-Tate Corp.
and board member of Seagate Technologies.

The company spokesperson told Newsbytes that Yuen's departure and the
company's earnings results were "unrelated." Asked whether Yuen had gone
along with the board's decision the spokesperson told Newsbytes that
there could be no further comment other than to reiterate that "it
was a board of director's decision."

(Ian Stokell/19920629/Press Contact: Deborah Paquin, AST
Research Inc., 714-727-7960)

#ENDCARD




#CARD :1992 JUN 26  ****Microsoft Opening Russian Subsidiary 06/26/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(MOW)(00001)

 ****Microsoft Opening Russian Subsidiary 06/26/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- "We have made a business
decision to open a Microsoft office in Russia," announced
Richard Hevron, Microsoft Corporation's director, business development,
in the former Soviet Union.

"It is not an official announcement yet, but we have an approval to
proceed with the registration. Official announcement is due in 1-2
months," Hevron said. "The office will be a wholly owned subsidiary,
as it usually happens. Local people are looking for  suitable
office space now," the Microsoft director noted.

The office will employ up to 11 people and will serve the territory of
the former Soviet Union. The amount of the investment in the
development of Russian sales has not been disclosed.

"As a separate announcement, in 6-12 months we will offer our products
for rubles. The most important products will be offered initially
with further expansion of the product line later," said Hevron.

Microsoft has signed an independent business association agreement with
RPI -- RosProgrammImport, of Moscow, Russia. "This important agreement
says that RPI will provide us with the marketing and tech support."
"In addition to that agreement, we have recently signed two localization
agreements with RPI. It is our intent that they will be long-term
business partners here in Russia," Hevron said.

WinWorks 1.0 and Excel for Windows are among the products that will
be sold and supported in Russia. Windows 3.1, already in production,
is anticipated in November or sooner. Other products are
expected in December-March.

"We are also going to sign agreements with Russian publishers to publish
MS Press books in Russia. The books we will publish will again be those
books best for than market. Books covering technical aspects of Windows,
LAN Manager, and general end user books will be translated and published."

RosProgrammImport is a 2-years-old private company whose mission is
to promote Microsoft products in Russia. Nickolay Lyubovny,
head and the owner of RPI, is expected to be Microsoft Moscow chief.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920625)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 26 Japan: Nissho Iwai & BBC Create News Business 06/26/92

(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00002)

Japan: Nissho Iwai & BBC Create News Business 06/26/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- A major Japanese trade
conglomerate Nissho Iwai and British Broadcasting Corporation
have signed an agreement to create a news business in Japan.

The joint venture in Japan will start providing international and
domestic news via TV and radio. Nissho Iwai and the BBC will set up a
joint venture firm in Tokyo within a couple of months. They plan
to go into business with capitalization of 10 million yen ($77,000).
Both firms seek additional outside investors for the project.

The news will be on the air in English for 24 hours a day. Nissho Iwai
will add Japanese news later, the companies say.

The news programs will actually be supplied by BBC World Service
Television or BBC WSTV, which is a subsidiary of the BBC. BBC news
can be seen in Japan via Hong Kong-based satellite broadcasting, and
it has been gaining in popularity in Japan. But the number of
viewers are limited due to a lack of satellite dishes to receive
the broadcasts.

Nissho Iwai is also planning to start a broadcast news service
for individual consumers via space satellites. The firm says it
will apply to the Japanese Ministry of Posts and Telecommunication
to begin service by 1995.

Nissho Iwai is no stranger to the telecommunication business. The
firm is currently providing a Japanese version of CompuServe in Japan
jointly with Fujitsu.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920625/Press Contact: Nissho Iwai, +81-3-
3588-2111)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 26 UK: Miracom Offers Special "Two Pack" Modem Deal 06/26/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00003)

UK: Miracom Offers Special "Two Pack" Modem Deal 06/26/92
SLOUGH, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- Miracom has
announced a special two-pack deal on its Courier 2400 Quad
modems. Each modem normally costs UKP 395, but when purchased in
pairs, the price is UKP 595 per two-pack.

According to Clive Hudson, Miracom's sales and marketing
director, there is a still a great demand for lower speed modems
such as the Courier Quad, despite the success of the company's
recent campaign to persuade users to upgrade to V.32 and V.32Bis
modems.

Miracom also admits that the move is aimed at stimulating demand
for the company's 2,400 bits per second (bps) modems over the
summer, which is traditionally a quiet sales period in the UK
technology and computer marketplace.

Hudson reckons that the two-pack pricing strategy will pay off:
"The key to this end of the market is price. Quads are now firmly
in the commodity bracket. We're fortunate as a manufacturer to be
able to compete very aggressively on price because we have better
control over costs," he said.

Hudson is claiming to be the first modem manufacturer in the UK
to offer twin packs as a product promotion. Hudson, whose idea
the twin pack promotion was, said that the idea was inspired by
his previous experience in consumer marketing with Procter and
Gamble, a major UK company with activities spanning several
markets.

(Steve Gold/19920625/Press & Public Contact: Miracon - Tel: 0753-
811180)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 26  ****Modem Usage Over Cellular Is Possible - Though Tricky 06/26/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00004)

 ****Modem Usage Over Cellular Is Possible - Though Tricky 06/26/92
TORQUAY, DEVON, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- For the second year
running, Newsbytes' UK bureau took a week's vacation while
continuing to administer the bureau remotely. And, for the second
year running, this bureau hit problems.

Last year the problem was one of being unable to grab a cellular
signal out in the country. This year, that problem was solved by
using a booster unit, but this introduced a number of other
problems associated with cellular modem usage.

In the UK, the two cellular networks -- Cellnet and Vodafone --
use a system known as TACS, which is an advanced form of the AMPS
cellular technology seen in the US and parts of the Far East
and Australasia. The technology uses analogue audio channels to
open up a full duplex set of voice channels between the mobile
phone and the base station, which links back into the telephone
network.

In the UK, several million cellular phones have been sold. Even
here in Torquay, a tourist resort in the south-west of England,
cellular traffic during the day is quite high, as witnessed by
frequently busy cellular channels and an inability to make or
receive calls in the early morning and early evening (9/10am and
5/6pm).

The result of this usage produces a problem known as co-channel
interference. On a well set-up cellular modem, co-channel
interference does not cause problems for voice transmissions.
Modem transmissions, however, require all the bandwidth they can
get, especially on cellular links, where the signal to noise
ratio is limited.

The co-channel interference experienced using a 2,400 bits per
second (bps) modem over cellular is such that, even using an
error-checking system such as MNP (Microcom Network Protocol),
the overall data transmission rate is drastically reduced.
Newsbytes UK bureau found that, by stepping down to 1,200 bps
with MNP Class 4 (i.e. no data compression), an overall
transmission rate of around 800 bps was possible.

This was during the day. Around midnight, when the cellular
channels were clear, we stepped up our data transmissions to
4,800 bps using 2,400 bps modem carrier plus MNP Class 5, with
its inherent 2:1 data compression system. Data transmission
speeds went up to around 3,600 bps - almost four times the day
rate.

Coupled with a 60 percent reduction in cellular usage tariffs,
this meant that night usage of cellular modems was almost ten
times more effective in cost per byte transmitted terms.
Preliminary discussions with other cellular modem users confirmed
Newsbytes' findings.

What does this prove? It means that, if you must use a cellular
phone plus modem combination, it really does pay to stick to off-
peak times when the network is quieter and a lot cheaper to
use. Newsbytes found that, during peak times, making a beeline
for the nearest payphone was a lot more effective than squeezing
a modem carrier down a crowded cellphone line, assuming you are
using an acoustic modem.

It's worth noting that it is possible to use any modem with an
acoustic coupler converter. In the UK, these plug-in devices,
which are available from companies such as Andest Communications
of Milton Keynes and Dataflex Design of Wimbledon, South London
for under UKP 150, turn ordinary phone line modem transmissions
into audio signals that link to the phone mouth  and ear pieces
using special mike/speaker pads. Generally speaking, acoustic
coupler/converters will work at speeds of up to 2,400 bps.

(Steve Gold/19920626)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 26 UK Telecom Watchdog Starts Cellphone Market Investigation 06/26/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00005)

UK Telecom Watchdog Starts Cellphone Market Investigation 06/26/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- Oftel, the British
government-appointed telecom watchdog, has announced it has
begun an investigation into the cellular telecom market. The
investigation comes as a result of a complaint from Talkland
International, the troubled cellular phone air time provider
(ATP).

Precise details of the complaint from Talkland have not been
revealed by Oftel. The complaint is said to center around the
fact that Talkland is upset about what it calls "unfair
practices" in respect of signing up new subscribers to the
Cellnet and Vodafone networks.

Cellnet and Vodafone are prohibited by UK telecom legislation
from selling their airtime directly to subscribers. Instead, they
must sell their airtime to ATPs, who then sell subscribers
contracts for service.

Newsbytes notes that this has not stopped Cellnet and Vodafone
from setting up subsidiary companies which act as ATPs. According
to several sources, it is this practice which is thought to have
caused the complaint.

Unlike the US and European cellular networks, the UK
arrangement of using ATPs to sell contracts for service has
resulted in hefty upfront and ongoing commissions for signing new
subscribers to Cellnet and Vodafone. Sign-up commissions of as
much as UKP 300 are not unknown, with the result that most ATPs
use some of the commission to subsidize the cost of the phone to
the subscriber.

Since the cellular networks were launched in the mid-1980s, the
subject of commissions has been a source of irritation for many
in the UK cellular service industry -- most analysts now
acknowledge that the commission system has been bad for the
industry as a whole, since it causes subscribers to sign up for
service without taking into account the cost of running a
cellular phone.

Talkland is claiming that the commissions paid by Cellnet and
Vodafone to its tied ATPs is restricting its ability, as well as
those of other independent ATPs, to compete in the market.
According to Oftel, the investigation is being made as it could
be a misuse of monopoly power.

(Steve Gold/19920626)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 26 Oracle 7 Alpha Tested By Telecom Australia 06/26/92


(NEWS)(UNIX)(SYD)(00006)

Oracle 7 Alpha Tested By Telecom Australia 06/26/92
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- Oracle has unveiled version
7 of its relational database system, and revealed that Australia's
Telecom was one of the large-scale alpha test sites. The product is
due to ship late this year.

Tony Hobbins is a database administrator in Telecom's network
engineering division. He told Computerworld Australia that his task
was to evaluate the database stored integrity, stored procedures, and
trigger features, and that all had worked as claimed.

Hobbins said that in prior versions the administrator had to rely on
integrity rules written for each application, but that the new version
stores the rules centrally, meaning that all applications have to
conform to corporate business rules and integrity constraints.

Shane Hocking is an Oracle specialist within Telecom. He praised the
central storing of procedures, meaning that they were available for
all support areas, making code writing and maintenance much simpler.
He said that Oracle 7 stored copies of procedures locally, vastly
reducing network traffic. This is especially true as Oracle 7 is
designed to exist on multi-platform networks.

Telecom used Unix-based Amdahl mainframes and Pyramid minis in the
test installation. It plans to migrate all applications to the new
version over a year or so.

Hocking said that the new event-driven database triggers aid in
automatic processing, such as a simple data entry triggering a
deeper authorization procedure.

(Paul Zucker/19920626)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 26 Digital Sheds 15% In Australia 06/26/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00007)

Digital Sheds 15% In Australia 06/26/92
MELBOURNE,  AUSTRALIA 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- 200 jobs, including executive
positions, will be shed by the end of June from Digital Equipment
Corporation's (DEC) Australian operations as part of the troubled
giant's tough cost-cutting and restructuring around the world.

But, DEC plans to hire up to 100 telecommunications specialists after
finalizing a US$750M deal for developing the Optus Operational Support
System (OSS)  which will be the world's first fully digital
telecommunications network.

DEC's Patrick O'Haloran said that the company had arrived at the
final staff cut numbers after an intensive round of assessments by
managers throughout Australia in the past month. The US early
retirement scheme which guarantees at least six month's salary is not
available in Australia.

"The job losses are right across the board, from sales to secretarial
and include some executive positions," said O'Haloran. "But the good
news is that we expect no more job losses - certainly at this stage."

He said the other bright nebula on the horizon was DEC's remarkable
sales of PCs as well as workstations and integrated systems, throughout
the latest quarter.

(Paul Zucker/19920626)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 26 Australia: Digital Network May Be $1B Export 06/26/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00008)

Australia: Digital Network May Be $1B Export 06/26/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- The recently announced AUS$1B
deal between Australia's second carrier Optus and computer company
DEC could result in annual exports of at least that much again,
according to DEC insiders.

As prime contractor, DEC will be responsible for providing all
information technology and services for the Optus Operational Support
System (OSS). Optus CEO Bob Mansfield said DEC had secured the deal
by offering not only "solutions," but a business plan which will
provide world-class service and long-term export growth for Australia
to other carriers and network operators who may be interested in this
ground-breaking all-digital telecommunications network.

DEC will establish a worldwide OSS support and development center in
Australia, probably Sydney. Further announcements are expected in
four to six weeks.

(Paul Zucker/19920626)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 26  ****JVC CD Accepts Motion Pictures 06/26/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00009)

 ****JVC CD Accepts Motion Pictures 06/26/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- Japan Victor Corp. (JVC) and
Dutch-based Philips have developed a completely new compact disk
system -- on a regular 5-inch CD motion picture images can be
recorded. Both firms want to propose this system as an industry
standard.

JVC and Philips have developed a prototype of this motion picture
CD player which they promise to release by the end of this year.
It will initially targeted at the popular "Karaoke" market, in
which a person can sing popular songs to orchestrated
background music.

Motion picture data is recorded and compressed to 100th of  its
original size; sound signals are compressed to a fifth of their
original length when recorded on this CD. A total of 74 minutes of
motion pictures and sound data can be written on the CD.
This new motion picture CD may replace current laser disk-based
Karaoke in the future because it is much smaller in size and
cheaper.

The success of this new CD depends largely on the support of
software makers. JVC released a graphical CD Karaoke
player for the low-end consumer market last year, but it is not
selling well, partly due to lack of software support from music
producers. Also, it does not support motion pictures.

JVC and Philips will propose the specification of this new CD
system to the industry by this fall. Both firms will also request
that the music industry participate in this project.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920625/Press Contact: Japan Victor Corp.,
 [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 26 New For PC: IBM High Level Assembler 06/26/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00010)

New For PC: IBM High Level Assembler 06/26/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- Add a new
one to the list of oxymorons that includes jumbo shrimp and military
intelligence: High Level Assembler. Even IBM admits the name sounds
a little odd at first, but the new programming tool for IBM
mainframes is real just the same.

Available June 26 for the MVS, VM, and VSE mainframe operating
systems, High Level Assembler is the assembly language familiar to
veteran programmers, but with  added tools to make it easier to
use.

Assembler is a programming language with instructions that
correspond to the machine-language instructions the hardware
understands, but are given mnemonic names to make them easier to
remember. That is in direct contrast to "high-level" programming
languages where a single instruction does much more.

IBM's High Level Assembler is still assembly language, company
spokesman Steve Malkiewicz explained. What it provides is improved
programming aids such as a debugging tool that pinpoints where an
error occurred instead of just telling the programmer that
something has gone wrong. There are also facilities to simplify
software maintenance.

Assembly language creates highly efficient programs, and has been
in use since the 1950s, so there are many assembly-language
programs in use. However, the number of trained Assembler
programmers is declining, so those who remain have a lot of work to
do, Malkiewicz told Newsbytes. High Level Assembler is meant to
make those programmers more productive, he said.

Monthly license charges for High Level Assembler, which runs on a
range of IBM mainframe computers, range from $28 to $991, depending
on the processor.

(Grant Buckler/19920625/Press Contact: Steve Malkiewicz, IBM,
914-642-5449)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 26 Indian SW Export Firm Bags Dev't Contract from CNN 06/26/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEL)(00011)

Indian SW Export Firm Bags Dev't Contract from CNN 06/26/92
BOMBAY, INDIA, 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- Patni Computer Systems Ltd. (PCS)
has commenced work on a 15-man year offshore development project
for Turner Broadcasting Systems Inc. of Atlanta, Georgia (the CNN
news people).

The turnkey contract involves development of an integrated television
accounting system (TVAC). TVAC is a database for tracking the Turner
Network Television cable channel's extensive movie library, which
includes "Gone With The Wind," the original "King Kong" and all
pre-1950 Warner films. TVAC will help manage movie contracts with
local and international TV stations, covering their scheduling and
payments for films aired.

The 250-program software is being developed in Cobol and ADS/O in
Computer Associates' CA-IDMS database environment. The project is
being executed on a completely remote delivery basis with the PCS
team working directly on TBS's IBM-3081 mainframes in Atlanta over
a dedicated 64 KBPS data link from Bombay. The application is
planned for delivery by next September.

"PCS bagged this contract in the face of strong competition from
over 25 US and Indian vendors," said Mrinal Sattavala, PCS's export
marketing manager. "The clinching factor was the ability to offer
a complete and remote development over a data link. This has enabled
TBS to enjoy the cost-effectiveness of offshore development, while
retaining the flexibility to closely monitor and participate in the
development process and status on their own mainframe."

PCS claims that 40-person years of offshore work is already going on
its dedicated satellite data link to various other projects in US
and elsewhere.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920625)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 26 GEnie Opens Bottle on New Business Services 06/26/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00012)

GEnie Opens Bottle on New Business Services 06/26/92
ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- GEnie, the
second-busiest online text-based network in the US, has made
pricing and service moves aimed at the small business market.

Starting June 15, daytime access rates have been reduced to
$12.50 per hour, 30 cents per hour lower than the rate charged on
the competing CompuServe network. The company's evening rate of
$6 per hour was considered aggressive, and remains the same.

The company has also enhanced its business information service
offerings through a relationship with Advanced Research
Technologies of Rosemont, Pennsylvania. ART provides the ARTIST
Gateway System, an intelligent link to Dialog, the world's
largest online library, featuring menus and commands similar to
those found on GEnie. This means users don't have to deal with
Dialog's cryptic SQL database structure. Equally important, use
of the ART link is based on searches and successful "hits" of
information. Regular Dialog use is priced by the hour, and can
run as high as $150/hour for some files.

ARTIST acts as an electronic library through a program called
KNOWBOT. This translates each search, submits it to the
appropriate database or databases, displays a list of subject
areas where the search topic was found along with the number of
matches, then lets you ask for more information from a specific
source. Article headings in sets of ten are then displayed, most
recent first, and you can then download a specific article.

Following are the most recent additions to the service lists on
GEnie.

GEnie Reference Center includes general reference data in 21
subject areas including Business Management & Directories,
Industry News, the Environment, Math, Science, Computers,
Engineering, American & World history and Medicine.

GEnie NewsStand offers with access to over 900 full-text
newspapers including The Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and
Washington Post, as well as hundreds of popular magazines and
newsletters going back, sometimes, as far as 1980.

GEnie Bookshelf is an electronic version of R.R. Bowker's "Books
in Print" directory with over 1 million titles, including advance
notices. Also available are reviews of over 40,000 books and the
ability to search based on a publisher's name, address or phone
number. Through Read USA, the GEnie Mall's bookstore, any
publication found through this service can be ordered
immediately, at a discount from the suggested retail price.

GEnie also has a gateway to the Dow Jones News/Retrieval service,
an Investment Analyst service with price quotes, performance
analysis and programs to help screen and select stocks, track
portfolios and identify trends, and a "Public Opinion Online"
service which offers one of the most comprehensive collections of
public opinion surveys in the US.

GEnie, which is owned by General Electric, has about 350,000
members. The Newsbytes News Network, which maintains its worldwide
network of reporters via GEnie, offers its reports as a daily feature
on GEnie.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920626/Press Contact: Neil Harris, GEnie,
301-340-4559)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 26 AT&T Offers New Business Services 06/26/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00013)

AT&T Offers New Business Services 06/26/92
BASKING RIDGE, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- AT&T has
begun offering secure teleconferences and a new business calling
card.

The teleconference offering, done in conjunction with Group
Technologies Corporation, is based on the AT&T Secure Voice/Data
Terminal, which can link up to 12 parties at once, based on MS-
DOS computers, using the Intel 80386 or a faster chip. The
terminals also work with other secure terminals using the federal
STU-III program at 2400 or 4800 bits per second. Each PC
processes and routes the voice signal from the terminals, then
encrypts and decrypts it at each end of the link, so the line
can't be tapped.

The new calling card is called AT&T Corporate CustomDirect. It
allows companies to pre-select the phone numbers, area codes or
countries that can be either reached or blocked. Each card
accommodates a maximum of 100 numbers: 50 domestic and 50
international. This not only guards against fraud by outsiders,
but against phone abuse by employees carrying the card. The card
will be available free through 1992, after which the company will
impose an undetermined one-time service fee based on the number
of calls allowed or blocked. The new card may be used in
conjunction with all AT&T calling plans.

Also, AT&T engineers in Santa Fe, New Mexico said they have
field-tested an experimental fiber-optic communications system
that uses multiplexing techniques to double the capacity of the
line. The Wavelength Division Multiplexing, or WDM technique,
involves transmission of light pulses in various colors, using
lines containing segments of the rare earth erbium which boosts
the signal. The team operated the system at 6.8 billion bits per
second in a 1991 test.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920626/Press Contact: Donna C. Cunningham,
AT&T, 802-482-3748; AT&T Federal Systems, David Arneke, 919-279-
7680)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 26 ATC Buying Car Cellular Outfit 06/26/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00014)

ATC Buying Car Cellular Outfit 06/26/92
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- ATC of Dallas, which
has a contract to install cellular pay-phones for Budget Rent a
Car, said it plans to acquire Portable Cellular Communications of
Seattle, Washington from Nationwide Cellular Service of Valley
Stream, New York.

The company has a contract with Avis Rent A Car to maintain
fixed-mount, in-car cellular telephones in 2,000 Avis cars in Chicago,
San Francisco and Los Angeles.  ATC hopes to install another 20,000
phones in 18 other markets over the next two years for Avis.

The company added that PCC has exclusive rights to utilize CTS
"smart phone" technology in cellular phones in Avis and Budget
rental cars. This makes it possible for a rental car customer to
activate a cellular telephone by entering a credit card and
personal identification number through the touch-tone pad on the
phone.  Once the credit card has been verified, the customer can
make either local or long distance calls. Because all calls are
recorded on a real time billing system and charged directly to a
credit card, ATC will receive prompt payment.  The technology
also minimizes credit risk and provides daily feedback of phone
usage by location and type of rental car.

ATC's Budget contract calls for installing up to 70,000 cellular
phones. Cellular phones are quickly becoming a regular feature in
some rental cars, as rental companies try to differentiate
themselves and cellular phone companies like ATC use computers to
explore the new market.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920626/Press Contact: ATC, Raymond R.
Cottrell, 604/685-9177)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 26 Fleet Call Posts Big Loss 06/26/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00015)

Fleet Call Posts Big Loss 06/26/92
RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- Fleet Call,
which owns Specialized Mobile Radio licenses in major cities and
is trying to create a national digital network of SMR frequencies
to compete with cellular phone companies, said it lost $28.46
million for the year ending in March. Fleet Call's SMR
network is exceeded in size only by that of Motorola.

Fleet Call has been investing heavily in digital technology,
which increases the ability of its licensed networks to handle
both voice and data. The company noted that during the year it
got more money from each of its subscriber and increased their
number, resulting in $33.43 million in sales, against $31.98
million a year earlier. Equipment and maintenance sales were down
slightly, but that was because the company said it is shifting
from low-margin government contracts to higher-margin trunked
radio sales, which also produce service revenues. Total revenues
of $52.53 million, however, were $1.37 million below those
posted a year earlier.

The big news was the gross margin, $33.56 million, or 63.9
percent of sales. The loss was thus blamed on faster depreciation
and amortization, expenses associated with going digital, and
compensation from stock appreciation rights.

Fleet Call has been moving to install the Enhanced SMR system of
Motorola in its network, which will increase its call-handling
capacity even further, by using techniques borrowed from cellular
telephony. The company's chairman has urged that the Federal
Communications Commission open up the market so Fleet Call can
extend its network nationwide, which would provide real
competition to cellular telephony. Most SMR licenses are held
either by small, private companies like taxi fleets or by large
companies like Federal Express which have their own private
networks.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920626/Press Contact: Fleet Call, Lisa
Zappala, 201/438-1400)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 26 Integration of Microwave Cellular, Cable TV Service 06/26/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00016)

Integration of Microwave Cellular, Cable TV Service 06/26/92
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 26 (NB) --
Comcast, Motorola, and the Jerrold Communications Division of
General Instrument said they have successfully integrated and
tested a Motorola cellular base station and a cable TV-like call
transport system the three developed jointly. The result could be
microwave-based PCN phone services linked to long distance
networks over cable TV systems.

The system will be tested using cells installed on streets and in
buildings in the Trenton, New Jersey area. The integration,
however, was done at Motorola's Fort Worth facility. Trial users
will be provided with modified Motorola MicroTAC portable phones
based on Comcast's infrastructure. Comcast owns both the cellular
phone system and a cable television network in the Trenton area.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920626/Press Contact: Mark A. Coblitz,
Comcast, 215-981-7733)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 26 ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 06/26/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00017)

ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 06/26/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- Roundup is a brief
look at some computer stories carried in other publications
received here this past week.

June's Computer Monthly has a review of the Gecco 50 MHz 486 and
announces that it will go to a different format - standard
magazine size (it is now published tabloid), with a corresponding
increase in page count.

The June 22 Network World says Microsoft is calling for a truce
in the API mail war.

Telephony for June 22 says that as cellular technology enters its
second decade customers are looking for more input into future
service directions and are less interested in the technology
itself.

June's The Office looks at optical disks and records management
strategies.

Federal Computer Week for June 15 says that the NSF is proposing
to open the NSFnet research data network to business users.

PC World dated July 92 says Quattro Pro is the ultimate 3-D
spreadsheet.

Unix World for July looks into the pitfalls as well as the power
encountered when "going graphical."

The June 22 Communicationsweek says Easel is widening database
options with "two new products that let developers build client-
server applications."

July's Workstation News talks about Somerset - the alliance
between IBM, Apple, and Motorola.

Software Magazine has a June special profiling the top 100
independent software companies.

July's LAN Technology explains how to design for maximum
performance with super hubs and bridges.

Computerworld's 25th anniversary edition has a look at the future
gleaned from talks with 25 computer visionaries.

Informationweek talks about transnational outsourcing in the June
22 issue.

(John McCormick/19920626/)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 26 AICorp, Aion Sign Merger Agreement 06/26/92




(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00018)

AICorp, Aion Sign Merger Agreement 06/26/92
WALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- Two prominent
vendors of knowledge-base software, AICorp and Aion, have announced
plans to merge.

AICorp will issue to shareholders of Aion about 7.2 million shares
of its common stock in exchange for all outstanding shares of Aion.
AICorp will also assume the outstanding Aion employee stock
options, which are exercisable for AICorp common shares.

The deal has yet to be approved by the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC), a process that normally takes eight to 10 weeks,
AICorp Chairman and Chief Executive Robert Goldman told Newsbytes.
After that, shareholders of both companies must vote on the deal,
which has already been approved by the AICorp and Aion boards of
directors. The firms hope to close the deal in late August or early
September, Goldman said.

A new name for the company will be unveiled at that time. The new
company will be headquartered in Palo Alto, where Aion is based,
but will continue to operate a major facility in Waltham, currently
AICorp's home. Goldman will become chairman of the new company, and
James Gagnard, chief executive officer and president of Aion, will
become chief executive officer.

The merger will allow the former rivals to become more efficient,
shorten selling cycles, and develop more new products, Goldman
said. "You have two companies that were very similar in size and
very similar in product offerings and spent a lot of time battling
it out with each other," he said.

AICorp reported a loss of about $6 million on revenues of roughly
$19 million in the year ended March 31, largely due to unusual
items such as the company's buy-out of its European representative,
Goldman said. Aion is privately held.

The new company will consolidate many functional areas, officials
said, resulting in the loss of about 20 percent of existing jobs at
the two companies over three months. Field operations will be
combined to provide better local sales and support coverage.
Product development and customer support teams will be maintained
in both Palo Alto and Waltham.

Aion was founded in 1984. AICorp, founded in 1975, had its initial
public offering in June of 1990. Both companies have sales and
support offices throughout the world.

(Grant Buckler/19920626/Press Contact: Robert Goldman, AICorp,
617-891-6500; James Gagnard, Aion, 415-328-9595; Greg Levendusky or
Mona Pohl, The Weber Group (public relations), 617-661-7900)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 26 Lotus Cuts Earnings Estimates 06/26/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00019)

Lotus Cuts Earnings Estimates 06/26/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- Lotus
Development is expecting lower earnings than it had previously
forecast in both the current quarter and the 1992 fiscal year. The
company blamed spreadsheet price competition and slow growth in
some foreign markets.

The price of Lotus stock fell as a result of the announcement.

The company announced that in the second quarter, which ends June
30, it expects revenues of $220 million to $230 million, and
earnings per share between 30 and 40 cents. Analysts had been
estimating Lotus would have earnings per share of between 50 and 55
cents per share in the quarter.

Company officials also said they expect earnings per share in
fiscal 1992 to be about 25 cents per share lower than originally
estimated.

Company spokesman Richard Eckel said price competition in the
Windows spreadsheet market and slow growth in some of the company's
markets are partly to blame. Lotus does not expect the spreadsheet
price pressure to abate in the foreseeable future, he said, and
economic conditions are hard to predict.

However, Eckel noted that the company recently launched new
versions of its Ami Pro word processor and Freelance graphics
software, and plans new releases of its 1-2-3 and Improv
spreadsheet packages in the second half of the year. "We feel real
good about the second half of the year," Eckel said.

Lotus stock closed at 18.375 June 25, down 5.625 in the day's
trading.

(Grant Buckler/19920626/Press Contact: Richard Eckel, Lotus,
617-693-1284)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 26 New PC: Zeos 1.3-Pound Palmtop 06/26/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00020)

New PC: Zeos 1.3-Pound Palmtop 06/26/92
ST PAUL, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- Zeos International
has introduced a 1.3-pound palmtop with DOS and Microsoft Works in
ROM. The company said the unit will be shipping within 30 days, and
will carry a price tag of $595 in its standard configuration.

The ZEOS Pocket PC has 1 MB (megabyte) of RAM (random access
memory), and 1.5 MB of ROM (read only memory). Encoded in ROM is
DOS 5.0 and Microsoft Works. Works includes a spreadsheet, word
processing, a database, file transfer, and communications programs.

The system also includes two built-in PCMCIA slots which will accept
memory cards containing additional software or can be used for
system data storage. The cards act like floppy drives. Zeos
spokesperson Rick Apple told Newsbytes that the price of the cards
has not been determined.

Zeos said the Pocket PC's batteries will provide up to 10 hours of
continuous operation, and will maintain data for up to 30 days in
the suspend mode. Apple told Newsbytes that the keys on the 81-key
keyboard are very similar to a standard desktop keyboard, and is
designed for touch typing. The keyboard contains 12 function keys
as well as an embedded numeric keypad and special hot keys that
access pre-selected software windows. You use these keys to access
the programs embedded in ROM. Apple said the keys are slightly
closer together than those on a desktop PC, and have less travel.

Zeos said the LCD (liquid crystal display) video display measures 7
inches wide by 2-3/4 inches high, and has an adjustable non-glare
screen with an 80 column by 25 line display, comparable to desktop
and laptop systems.

Zeos sells an optional data/fax modem which transfers data at 2400
bps and fax at 9600 bps. The external modem connects to the single
serial port. Apple told Newsbytes that the price has not been
finalized yet, but expect the modem to sell for under $250. The
Pocket PC also provides one parallel port.

In addition to DOS and Microsoft Works in ROM, Zeos has also
included a to-do list, calculator, several utility programs, and a
planner.

(Jim Mallory/19920626/Press contact: Rick Apple, Zeos, 612-633-5877;
Reader contact: 800-423-5891, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 26  ****Olivetti Backs Alpha, DEC Buys Interest 06/26/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00021)

 ****Olivetti Backs Alpha, DEC Buys Interest 06/26/92
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- A deal between
Digital Equipment and Olivetti makes DEC's Alpha architecture the
main basis of future Olivetti computers and gives DEC a stake in
the Italian computer maker.

"The best news from our perspective," said Digital spokesman Dallas
Kirk, is that Olivetti has chosen the Alpha architecture as the
basis for its mainstream computer products in the future. Digital
will supply chips and system platforms based on its Alpha RISC
technology, and networking software.

Alpha, a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) design launched
early this year, is to be the basis of the next generation of
Digital hardware starting late this year, and Digital also hopes to
sell the design to other manufacturers.

Digital has also agreed to become a shareholder in Olivetti, taking
control of just under 10 percent of the company over the next two
and a half years.

Digital has agreed with the shareholders' group CIR, which controls
Olivetti, to buy 20.25-million shares of Olivetti common stock
right away for 172,125 billion Italian lira. That represents 4.03
percent of outstanding Olivetti stock. Digital has also agreed to
purchase the same amount of stock from the shareholders' group, at
the same price, before the end of 1994, consistent with the
progress of the alliance.  Finally, Digital has agreed to buy
another 9.5 million shares, accounting for 1.89 percent of Olivetti
common stock, on the open market by June 1993.

That will give DEC 9.95 percent of Olivetti by the end of 1994. The
agreement between the companies neither requires nor rules out any
further stock purchases by DEC, Kirk said.

The agreement also extends current technology and marketing
agreements between the firms, covering PCs, workstations, and
networking, as well as joint research efforts into multimedia
applications and communications being conducted at Olivetti's
Cambridge, UK research laboratories.

DEC's primary objective in the deal is to broaden and strengthen
its long-standing relationship with Olivetti, Kirk said. The
agreement will have little immediate impact on customers, he said,
though in the longer term the closer relationship may help the two
companies promote open systems standards more effectively.

Digital will have up to two senior executives sitting on Olivetti's
board as the alliance progresses.

(Grant Buckler/19920626/Press Contact: Dallas Kirk, Digital
Equipment, 508-493-4562)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 26  ****Microsoft Pulls Z-Nix License, Files Suit 06/26/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEN)(00022)

 ****Microsoft Pulls Z-Nix License, Files Suit 06/26/92
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- Microsoft says it
has terminated its licensing agreement with Z-Nix and brought suit
against the Los Angeles-based company and three of its distributors.

The lawsuit follows a two-month Microsoft investigation that was
initiated after users reported that Z-Nix was selling Microsoft's
Windows 3.1 operating system without accompanying Z-Nix hardware as
the license requires.

A Microsoft spokesperson told Newsbytes that while the actual number
of copies of Windows distributed illegally was difficult to estimate
until Z-Nix records were examined, the company estimated that it
could run to "hundreds of thousands."

Also named in the suit in addition to Z-Nix are software
distributors Jactech Corporation, Max Group, and PC Man Inc., also
known as Super 10 and Super Computer. Principals of the four
companies were also named in the suit.

Earlier this week US District Court Judge David Kenyon granted a
Microsoft request for a temporary restraining order against further
reproduction and distribution of Microsoft software as manufactured
by Z-Nix. The case will be heard July 6th.

Microsoft spokesperson Katy Ehrlich told Newsbytes that Microsoft
delivered a cease and desist letter on June 8, at which time it
attempted to conduct an audit as authorized in Z-Nix's licensing
agreement. Microsoft said Z-Nix refused access to its records, and
discussions over the next 10 days failed to result in any progress
in curbing the unauthorized distribution. Microsoft then filed suit
in order to protect its copyrights.

Microsoft has licensing agreements with a large number of companies
to manufacture and distribute Windows as long as the distribution
accompanies sale of hardware. This is not the first time Microsoft
has gone to court to protect those licensing provisions.

Microsoft claims that Z-Nix engaged in the widespread distribution
of a stand-alone version of Windows 3.1, marked as an upgrade
package, to users other than existing customers.

Ehrlich told Newsbytes that no specific amount of damages is being
sought in the case. "It's not the money," she said.

(Jim Mallory/19920626/Press contact: Katy Ehrlich, Waggener Edstrom
for Microsoft, 206-637-9097)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 26 New for Macintosh: Nubus Fast Hardware JPEG Compression  06/26/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00023)

New for Macintosh: Nubus Fast Hardware JPEG Compression  06/26/92
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- C-Cube
announced at the Seybold Digital World Conference in Beverly Hills,
California that its Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) data
compression processor, the CL550, is the main component of Mirror
Technologies Mirrorquick hardware compression accelerator Nubus card
for the Macintosh.

The Mirrorquick card is designed to replace the JPEG compression
software built into Quicktime. Mirror company representatives told
Newsbytes the board installs easily, the accompanying Mirrorquick
software doesn't clobber the Quicktime JPEG compression but adds its
own user selectable option, and compression/decompression is 6 to 10
times faster.

The card is also 100 percent JPEG compatible, so images compressed
using standard software-based JPEG can be uncompressed by the card
and images compressed by the card can be uncompressed by the
software-based JPEG decompression, company officials said.

The Mirrorquick product is retail priced at $599, is expected to ship
in August of this year, and runs on any Macintosh with a Nubus slot.
Cards for lower-end Macs such as the LC and Si are planned but won't
ship for another three months, company officials said.

C-Cube has announced its own hardware JPEG compression card for the
IBM and compatible personal computer (PC) and based on the same based
CL550 JPEG Processor. The company says the PC card will be in the
same under $500 price range as compression software, but will have
the speed advantages of hardware compression.

The company says the board will be offered in a developer's kit, the
JPEG Still Image Board Developers kit which contains a Window's
Demonstration Application. Developers will be able to buy the kit in
August for $1,000, the company said.

The development kit includes schematics, PAL equations, BMP-
compatible  dynamic link library (DLL) source, a detailed application
note, and complete user documentation for both the board and
Demonstration Application. Kit users can import any 24- or 8-
bit BMP file or 8-bit grey scale image to the demo application, which
uses the JPEG Still Image Board to compress the image to a standard
JPEG File Interchange Format (JFIF) file.

C-Cube says the JPEG board is an industry standard architecture (ISA)
Bus half-card based on C-Cube's CL550 JPEG Processor running at 10
megahertz (MHz). The board supports four display formats -- grey-
scale, YUV (4:2:2 and 4:4:4), CMYK and RGB (24-bit) -- which include
the standard PC and digital video formats, C-Cube said. The board
supports data compression rates of over 1 megabyte (MB) per second,
which means it can compress/decompress a 24-bit, 640 x 480 image in
about 0.7 seconds on a 386SX-based PC.

C-Cube Microsystems is a supplier of color image and
video products for use in computer applications. The company is
privately held and is located in Milpitas, California.

Mirror Technologies is a direct sales outlet of Macintosh peripherals
and is located in Roseville, Minnesota.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920626/Press Contact: Scott St. Clair, C-Cube
Microsystems, 408-944-6300; Kim Moffit, Mirror Technologies, tel 612-
633-4450, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 26 Review of: Metz Task Manager Version 2.0 for Windows, 06/26/92


(REVIEW)(IBM)(SFO)(00024)

Review of: Metz Task Manager Version 2.0 for Windows, 06/26/92

Runs on: IBM AT, PS/2, 286 (and up) or compatible, Windows 3.0 or 3.1,
DOS 3.1 or higher, 720K disk space (for full installation), mouse
recommended.

From: Metz Software, P.O. Box 6699, Bellevue, WA 98008-0699.  Tel:
(orders) 800-447-1712, (support) 206-641-4525, Fax: [phone].

Price: $49.95  Street price: Estimated $29.95-$39.95

PUMA Rating: 3.7 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Thom Foulks, Business Radio Network

Summary: A spiffy, inexpensive Windows "power user" competitor to
Norton Desktop for Windows; of interest to Windows newcomers for its
"quick" utilities, more so than for overall task management.

======

REVIEW

======

No one's yet caught the software world's attention with a YAWL
program, but it may be imminent.  What's a YAWL?  Yet Another Windows
Launcher, of course. Although file and program management has been
greatly improved in Windows 3.1, the desktops of hardcore Windows
users remain cluttered with icons, hidden windows, and
sometimes-forgotten tasks.  Norton Desktop for Windows took a high end
approach to the clutter, and won many editorial rave reviews for
replacing and improving on Microsoft's Program Manager.

Now comes Metz Task Manager 2.0 with a speedy low end approach that
shows far more appreciation for getting work done, than it does for
displaying copious icons.  Furthermore, TaskMan can work in
conjunction with ProgMan or NDW, and speed up the functions of either
-- or it can be the Windows "shell," running perceptibly faster at
task switching, file finding and/or text searching. Version 1.0 of
Task Manager (a shareware product) won a PC Magazine Editor's Choice
Award.

Quickness is the overriding characteristic of Task Manager, and Metz
Software doesn't mince words in naming the application's components.
They include:

 - Quick File Manager -- To copy, move, delete, or rename files or
directories.  (Has faster access, more intuitive response, than
Program Manager or Norton Desktop.)

 - Quick File Find -- To locate one or more files on hard drives, a
network or a floppy disk.  (Fastest Windows file search I've seen,
locating files on a 510MB hard disk in less time than it took me to
type in the target file's name!)

 - Quick Text Search -- To search files for a specific text entry.
(Searches any group of files, fast; superb for finding that WinWord
 .DOC file in which you mentioned "rhubarb" last spring.)

 - Select Directory -- A single icon to click for changing
directories, or creating a new directory, even across a network.
(TaskMan stays on my work machine, if only for the ease-of-use of this
option.)

 - System Status -- A fast pop-up of system information, including
icons for editing system files.  (Similar to, and faster than, Norton
Desktop's SYSINFO, albeit with less technical information.)

 - Launch -- A customizer for Task Manager.  (Programmer's delight;
heady stuff for a neophyte.)

 - Scheduler -- Put your computer to work on back-ups or lengthy print
tasks, while you're asleep or absent.  (It remembers what the computer
DIDN'T do -- maybe because of shut down -- and provides a "Run Missed
Event" option.)

The Task Manager window also includes a "Run" option, effectively a
direct-entry DOS command prompt from within Windows that is more
accessible and speedier than similar functions from Program Manager or
Norton Desktop. It also remembers what you've been doing (up to 99
tasks), and provides a click-click return to any previous "run" task.

Uniquely, Task Manager also provides a "screen saver" for DOS
applications being operated from within Windows.

Task Manager's major weakness, ironically, is in its sleekness and
power.  It is rich in options for configuration and overall usage --
all of which require knowledgeable user decisions about how Windows
operates and how an individual wants to work within Windows.  Although
neophytes can make ready (and easy) use of such functions as
file-finding and text-searching, the total Task Manager package will
appeal most to "power users."  There is ample, context-sensitive help
available; but, again, the help necessarily assumes a broad knowledge
of Windows usage.  Simply put, this is not a product for beginners.

===========

PUMA RATING

===========

PERFORMANCE: (3.9) Task Manager's speed defies the "slow" performance
image of Windows.  Across-the-board, its many functions operate
perceptibly faster than comparable products.  However, its operating
window does not have an adjustable size, wasting the potential of
flexible large screen (1,024x768 or more) operation.

USEFULNESS: (3.0) A power user can put it to use immediately; Windows
newcomers or DOS neophytes probably need to learn better what they're
trying to improve, before trying Task Manager's improvements.  A
strong knowledge of Windows terminology is mandatory.

MANUAL: (4.0) As with many newer Windows products, a manual is almost
superfluous when compared to online help files.  Task Manager's
120-page manual is well-written, unintimidating, and uses graphics
images to display various operations.  But, once installed, help is
more readily available from a click-click within the lengthy -- and
extensively-indexed -- online help files.

AVAILABILITY: (4.0) Metz Task Manager 2.0 is available directly from
Metz Software for $49.95, or through Ingram Micro, Merisel, and
numerous resellers. (Initial shipping date was June 1, 1992.)  For a
limited time, registered owners of ANY Metz Software product can
purchase a Metz Task Manager 2.0 upgrade, for $19.95 plus shipping,
directly from Metz Software.  Metz provides non-toll-free telephone
support (Programmer Art Metz may even answer the phone), and maintains
a CompuServe forum (GO WINAPC) for support and information.

(Tom Foulks/19920626)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 26 Review of: Lotus 1-2-3 for Home, Version 1.0, 06/26/92


(REVIEW)(IBM)(SFO)(00025)

Review of: Lotus 1-2-3 for Home, Version 1.0, 06/26/92

Runs on: PCs with 512K of RAM, hard disk, graphics display, DOS 2.1
or higher. Windows compatible (.PIF included).  Requires 5MB hard
disk space, depending upon installation options related to fonts.
(NOTE: 123H CAN run on an 8088/86 CPU, if the machine has the
necessary RAM, display and storage requirements.)

From: Lotus Development Corporation, 55 Cambridge Parkway, Cambridge, MA
02142, 617-577-8500

Suggested List Price: $149  Street price: Below $100

PUMA Rating: 4.0 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Thom Foulks, Business Radio Network

Summary: This package stands out, not for its program (123H), but for the
bundled templates with it.  The 50(!) 123-compatible .WK1 files are
useful for Excel and QuattroPro owners, making the total package of
interest to nearly all spreadsheet users.

=======

REVIEW

=======

Even if you're quick with QuattroPro or excellent with Excel, you will
want to look at "Lotus 1-2-3 for Home" -- and be aware the "home"
description is somewhat misleading.

In a comparatively inexpensive package, Lotus has bundled a slightly
scaled-down spreadsheet (based on Lotus 1-2-3 for DOS, Release 2.3)
and fifty "SmartSheet" customized application templates.  It is the
templates which give this product its power and attractiveness.

The spreadsheet is a full-powered, character-based 1-2-3
implementation.  Its limitation is in the size of spreadsheet that can
be handled: 256 rows by 512 columns instead of the 256x8192 cell
layout in larger 1-2-3 versions; and it lacks the interface permitting
add-on products or linking between spreadsheets.

But a graphical interface is built-in, so that 123H comes on-screen in
full WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) mode.  Included are
Bitstream's Swiss fonts (in Roman, bold, italic and bold-italic) that
can be sized from 3 to 72 points, and printed just as they are
displayed.  123H provides "quick graph" power, with pie, bar, line and
3-D effects.  The user interface is the traditional Lotus menu
structure, activated by the "/" key or by mouse clicks.

The power of the package is in the SmartSheets.  The .WK1 files are a
broad range of ready to use applications that stretch the "home"
descriptor into home business and small business uses.  There is, of
course, a mortgage amortization template (graphed far fancier than
what you'll find on your neighborhood BBS).  At the other end of the
spectrum are spreadsheets for "perpetual inventory control" and "stock
balance record" with data input instructions on the template. Closer
to home are templates for a video tape log, household inventory, and a
tally sheet for a commercial credit application.

Other SmartSheets make use of 1-2-3's text-graphics power with annual
and monthly calendars, a memo form, a fax cover sheet and other
applications more typical of word processing than number crunching.
All the sheets are laid out with graphics in place, and with the
"print range" already defined for easy print-out to common dot matrix
or laser printers.

Lotus Development's DOS spreadsheets marketing manager, Ben Shelton,
told Newsbytes the SmartSheets were developed by Lotus programmers in
response to user requests.  He said: "Users can just plug in their own
numbers, and start working right away.  Also, the SmartSheets can help
users learn how to use 1-2-3, because they can see these formulas.
These templates are not too complex...users can see how to set up
their own formulas in their own worksheets."  Although the SmartSheets
might seem to be marketable as a stand-alone package, Shelton said that
is not "currently planned."

The SmartSheets are divided into five categories: Administration,
Finance, Human Resources, Operations, Personal Finance and Planning,
and Sales and Marketing.  A 55-page reference manual gives a brief
explanation of each; but the quintessential help information is in
each template and appears on screen when they are loaded into the
spreadsheet program.

For general use, 1-2-3 Home also includes a 140-page User's Guide
which Lotus admits "is not a comprehensive reference...on all the
functionality in 1-2-3." The on-line help system, with
context-sensitive references, appears more than adequate to make full
and varied use of the SmartSheets. (Spreadsheet neophytes hoping to
augment the corporate accounting system should note this product is
not targeted at the Fortune 1000.)

Registered 1-2-3 for Home users are also provided one-month free
support via the Lotus toll free help line.

DO the .WK1 files WORK with Excel and QuattroPro?  At random, I
selected three different SmartSheet files from within each Excel 4.0
and QuattroPro SE. All loaded and displayed properly, all accepted
pertinent data input properly, all printed properly.  Given the
nuances of file compatibility-handling among spreadsheet program
manufacturers, that's not a guarantee -- but the high quality of the
SmartSheets certainly deserves consideration by users of other
spreadsheet software.

In a nutshell: At a expected street price in the $100 area, BUY the
package. That's $2.00 per SmartSheet, and any one of them may save you
100 times that price in keyboard time.

===========

PUMA RATING

===========

PERFORMANCE: (4.0) The spreadsheet software itself, 123H.EXE, is
derivative of a tried-and-tested Lotus product.  SmartSheets handle
user revision predictably, and can be revised easily for variations to
meet user's needs.

USEFULNESS: (4.0) A court is still wrestling with competitors' use of
the Lotus menu structure (its "look and feel"), but the .WK1 file
structure is a de facto standard.  That makes the usefulness of
SmartSheets spread far beyond their home product.

MANUAL: (4.0) Given the context-sensitive help system, any manual with
such a product -- beyond start-up instructions -- is almost
superfluous.  Start-up, itself, is from a stand-alone "INSTALL" program,
with easy-to-follow prompts.

AVAILABILITY: (4.0) Lotus 1-2-3 for Home began shipping in mid-April,
and is well-immersed in standard software discount channels -- look
for a $99 or below price.

(Tom Foulks/19920626)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 26 Borland To Bundle 286|DOS Extender With C++ 3.1 06/26/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00026)

Borland To Bundle 286|DOS Extender With C++ 3.1 06/26/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- Phar Lap
Software has announced that a special version of its 286|DOS
Extender software will be bundled with the latest version of
Borland International's C++ language compiler.

286|DOS Extender Lite, which will come with C++ 3.1 upgrades
ordered from Borland, lacks support for Turbo Debugger, provides
access to only two megabytes of memory rather than 16 as in the
full version, and comes without printed documentation or technical
support, Phar Lap spokeswoman Maria Vetrano said. There is on-disk
documentation.

Like the full 286|DOS Extender, the Lite version works with DOS,
Windows, or Quarterdeck Office Systems' Desqview environment.

The deal is a new departure for Phar Lap, Vetrano said. The
company's only other bundling deal offers the full version of its
386|DOS Extender with Leahy's F77L-EM\32 Version 5.0 FORTRAN
compiler.

The 286|DOS Extender Lite supplied with C++ does not include
redistribution rights. Users who want to distribute the DOS
Extender with their applications need Phar Lap's standard 286|DOS
Extender Run-Time Kit, which sells for $995. The full version of
286|DOS Extender sells for $495.

(Grant Buckler/19920626/Press Contact: Maria Vetrano, Phar Lap
Software, 617-661-1510, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 26 Editorial: Russian Archives Online In US 06/26/92



(EDITORIAL)(TRENDS)(MOW)(00027)

Editorial: Russian Archives Online In US 06/26/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- By Kirill Tchashchin, Newsbytes
Moscow Bureau. Strange. I must go to United States to study the
history of my country, which is half a world away.

In the early days when everything was secret here in the
USSR and history was covered by dust in the Party's archives,
Russian archives in the US were the only way to study Soviet
history.

Now the Communist party is dissolved, the papers have been
opened, but again, the only way to read them is in the US.
America Online has posted the documents electronically in
its library for all US subscribers to read -- the system can not
be accessed from Russia. My editor in the US downloaded the documents
and sent them to me via another electronic mail system.

The selections of documents and accompanying comments are a good
example of how to present 70 years of history in a small and
understandable package, and the papers are relevant and descriptive.

In the Chernobyl coverage, the papers presented are reports about
engineering defects detected while erecting the Chernobyl power plant
building in 1979. Further back, there are letters from the Soviet
president to America's President Kennedy regarding the Cuban
Missle Crisis. The archives go as far back as Stalin and Lenin.

Interpreters have translated the text word by word, writing Russian
sentences and paragraphs in English. Some documents display "True copy"
at bottom. While probably strange to English readers, that is a
very common phrase on original documents in the Russian bureaucracy.
It is what the secretary usually writes on the document after
retyping a new copy.

I really enjoyed reading the papers. But I want them here in my
country. I -- a reporter in Moscow, Russia -- also want the CD-ROM
with scanned GIF files of the party or Foreign Affairs archives. I
want to have it in research institutes. I want it to be available
through Relcom, a public computer network covering 250 cities
here. Having them here might boost local research, local
telecommunications, enable more Russians to know their history,
rather than just exhibit it abroad to raise cash.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920620)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 26 Lexmark Uses Lasermaster High-Speed Printing Technology 06/26/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00028)

Lexmark Uses Lasermaster High-Speed Printing Technology 06/26/92
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- Lasermaster
Technologies says its high speed printing technology for Microsoft
Windows has been incorporated into Lexmark International's print
accelerator. It will be used with Lexmark's Fastbytes parallel port
interface built into the IBM LaserPrinter 4029 series.

Ordinary printer drivers translate Windows internal commands,
called Graphical Display Interface (GDI), to a page description
language like Postscript or PCL, then send them to the printer.
Lasermaster said its GDI technology improves Windows printing speeds
significantly because it processes the GDI commands directly,
skipping the translation to another language. GDI printing
technology, said Lasermaster, creates an electronic image of the
page in the computer's memory which is then sent to the printer
through Lexmark's Fastbytes parallel port interface built into the
printer.

"Getting information from the computer the printer is a fundamental
issue for high sped Windows printing," said Lasermaster's chief
technical officer, Larry Lukis. He said the Fastbytes interface
allowed Lasermaster to adapt its GDI printing technology to the 4029
without hardware changes.

Lasermaster's Karen Neset told Newsbytes that the company is working
with other OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) to develop a
relationship which would allow the print accelerator technology to
be used with other printers.

(Jim Mallory/19920626/Press contact: Karen Neset, Lasermaster,
612-941-8687)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 26 Cray Research Makes Software Design Easier 06/26/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00029)

Cray Research Makes Software Design Easier 06/26/92
EAGAN, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- Supercomputer maker
Cray Research has announced IRIS Explorer, a product which Cray says
will allow scientists and engineers to design supercomputer
applications without programming knowledge.

The company said that IRIS Explorer 1.0 provides a variety of
modules that appear as icons on the user's workstation screen.
Using a mouse, selected icons can be linked to custom-build an
application to solve a complex scientific or industrial computing
problem. New modules can also be created from existing software
applications, according to Cray Research executive vice president of
development, Bob Ewald.

Cray Research said it has already received three orders for IRIS
Explorer, which was developed in conjunction with Silicon Graphics,
a California-based firm. Cray Research said the new program is a
supercomputer version of the IRIS Explorer application building
software introduced by Silicon Graphics in July of last year.

IRIS Explorer can automatically establish a network connection, log
into the system, and transfer data and program control. According
to Ewald, the development of high performance applications for
distributed processing networks has been a time consuming task often
too complex for anyone but full time programmers. Now, he says "The
IRIS Explorer environment allows scientists and engineers to focus
on solving problems and improving algorithms by supplying
higher-level programming structures."

(Jim Mallory/19920626/Press contact: Steve Conway,Cray Research
612-683-7133)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 26  ****Intel, WordPerfect, 10 Others Support TWAIN

(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00030)

 ****Intel, WordPerfect, 10 Others Support TWAIN
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 26 (NB) --  At PC Expo this
week, Intel, WordPerfect, and about ten other vendors joined dozens of
previously announced companies in stating their support for TWAIN -
- bringing to more than 50 the total number of backers for the new
imaging API and protocol.

The newly announced supporters will start to ship TWAIN-compliant
products in about three months, stated Hewlett-Packard's Ken Byer,
chairman of the TWAIN Working Group, during a press conference at
PC Expo.  In addition, he stressed, 11 of the previously announced
backers were showing TWAIN-compliant items at the show.

Formulated by HP, Aldus, Caere, Eastman Kodak, and Logitech, with
input from third-party vendors, TWAIN is designed to permit easy
integration of desktop publishing, word processing, image editing,
and other software with such peripherals as scanners, video boards,
and cameras.

The new specification enables the user to "acquire image" -- or
make a choice between available compliant input devices -- straight
from the application software menu.

This capability circumvents a current, multi-stepped process that
requires the user to exit the application software, enter the
software bundled with the peripheral, and save the image to file,
and then exit the peripheral software, re-enter the application
software, and import the image file.

After the press conference, Byer informed Newsbytes that although
TWAIN is rapidly becoming an ad hoc industry standard, the
specification was initially offered as a proposal only.

"It would have been arrogant of us to try to impose a standard.  So
we decided to take things from the opposite end, letting the other
vendors decide whether this is a specification they need," Byer
told Newsbytes.

During the briefing, Intel announced that its Faxability Plus and
Faxability Plus/OCR Software for Windows will both support TWAIN.
Faxability Plus ships this week.

WordPerfect stated its intentions to implement the new
specification in its Windows and Macintosh products.

Other companies announcing their support included Microtek, Calera
Recognition Systems, Mustek, OCR Systems, Pentax Technologies, U-
Lead Systems, Hammerlab Corporation, Orion Systems Inc, and Zedcor.

Also at the briefing, Micrografx stated that shipment has begun on
Picture Publisher 3.1, an image editing package that supports TWAIN
as well as OLE and Kodak Photo CD.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920626; Press Contact:  Mike Lough, Hewlett-
Pacard, tel [phone])

#ENDCARD





#CARD :1992 JUN 25 Zenith Intros New Entry Level Z-Note Notebook 06/25/92

(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00001)

Zenith Intros New Entry Level Z-Note Notebook 06/25/92
BUFFALO GROVE, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 25 (NB) -- Zenith Data
Systems has introduced an entry-level notebook addition to its
Z-Note line at PC Expo in New York City this week.

The Z-Note 320Lb uses an Intel 386 SL microprocessor, and the
company says that in continuous operation it will run up to 3.5
hours on a single NiCad battery charge, and up to nine hours using
the "rest/resume" power management feature. When nickel
metal-hydride batteries are used, four hours of continuous
operation, extendable to up to 10 hours with power management, is
possible, according to the company.

Unlike other Z-Note systems introduced recently, the 320Lb is not
network ready. However, it is upgradable, according to ZDS. The
company said the black-and-white liquid crystal display (LCD) can be
replaced with an active matrix color LCD or a pen-capable display.

The 320Lb is compatible with the ZDS Readydesk, a smaller version
of a docking unit which turns a laptop PC into a desktop unit with a
conventional keyboard and video display.

ZDS also said the 320Lb's hard drive can be upgraded to a 120
megabyte (MB) drive. Upgrades are also available for memory, a
numeric processor, a modem, and an upgraded BIOS.

The company said they expect to start shipping the $2,099
notebook, which weighs 5.7 pounds, this week.

(Jim Mallory/19920624/Press contact: John Bace, ZDS,
708-808-4848)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 25 Zenith Data Systems Demos Pen Upgrade For Z-Note Series 06/25/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00002)

Zenith Data Systems Demos Pen Upgrade For Z-Note Series 06/25/92
BUFFALO GROVE, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 25 (NB) -- Zenith Data
Systems has announced it will offer a pen-capable display upgrade
for its Z-Note series of notebook PCs announced in April. The
upgrade technology is being demonstrated at the PC Expo in New
York this week.

ZDS President Enrico Pesatori said that interest in pen-based
systems is growing. "Our technology demonstration here at PC
expo will give us an additional opportunity to learn our customer's
requirements." Pesatori said that as the pen market takes off,
which he believes will happen by the end of the year, ZDS will have
a customer-driven solution ready.

ZDS said it expects the pen-capable display upgrade to cost between
$500 and $1,000 when it becomes available. That doesn't include the
cost of the installation at an approved service center. The company
expects to have an upgrade fielded by the fourth quarter.

Another company, Arthur Dent Associates, is showing a transparent
add-on digitizer that can turn a laptop into a convertible pen-based
system. Dent said it will start shipping a Zeos 386+ version of its
digitizer by the end of the month, and is working of versions for
other OEMs (original equipment manufacturers). While Dent declined
to specify the other companies, the 320Lb may be an indication that
Zenith Data Systems is one company on the list.

(Jim Mallory/19920624/Press contact: John Bace, ZDS,
708-808-4848)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 25 KnowledgeWare Signs $25 Million Deal With IBM 06/25/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00003)

KnowledgeWare Signs $25 Million Deal With IBM 06/25/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 25 (NB) -- It may not be a
really big deal for IBM, but it's big for Atlanta software
developer KnowledgeWare. In fact, the sale of a US enterprise
license to the world's largest computer company is the largest
single transaction in KnowledgeWare history.

In fact, KnowledgeWare said the deal might be the biggest single
transaction in the history of the computer-aided software
engineering (CASE) business.

IBM is to pay $25 million for a product and maintenance license
that gives it the perpetual right to use 12 KnowledgeWare
Application Development Workbench products in its manufacturing
and development operations throughout the United States. The
contract also gives IBM certain associated maintenance services
over the next three years.

KnowledgeWare and IBM are hardly strangers. In fact, IBM owns an
8.9 percent stake in KnowledgeWare, and the software company is
part of IBM's AD/Cycle marketing partnership program. The
companies also have joint development projects and technology
licensing agreements, and IBM is KnowledgeWare's largest single
customer worldwide, company officials said.

KnowledgeWare develops CASE tools, which it sells through its
own offices throughout the United States and through international
distributors in 32 countries. The company had revenues of $124.28
million in fiscal 1991, company spokeswoman Marcia Sherwin said.

(Grant Buckler/19920624/Press Contact: Marcia Sherwin,
KnowledgeWare, 404-231-8575 ext. 2199)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 25 Japan: Educational Computer Rental Joint Venture Created 06/25/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00004)

Japan: Educational Computer Rental Joint Venture Created 06/25/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 25 (NB) -- Nineteen computer makers have
set up a joint venture firm for personal computer rentals in Tokyo.
The new firm will rent personal computers to public schools in
Japan. Almost all the major computer firms have participated in
this joint venture.

The joint venture firm is called Japan Educational Data Equipment
Corporation. The firm will open for actual business on July 1.
Terutaka Kawabata of Computer Age has assumed the Presidency
in the new company. The new firm's capitalization is 860 million
yen ($6.6 million).

This rental firm will purchase personal computers from the
makers, and then lease them to schools. The schools will be able
to obtain the computers when the leasing period expires after a
couple of years.

Japanese elementary schools are already adopting computer
education. At junior elementary schools, basic information
processing lessons will start next year. Due to the budget
limitations, most of the schools will rent personal computers
from this new joint venture firm. The firm expects to rent
50,000 to 60,000 units of the personal computers to start.

Firms participating in the joint venture include Apple
Computer, AST, Research Japan, Epson, Oki Electric, Compaq,
Sanyo Electric, Sharp, Toshiba, IBM Japan, Digital Equipment
Japan, NEC, Japan Unisys, Hitachi, Fuji Xerox, Fujitsu, Matsushita
Electric, Matsushita Electric Industry, Mitsubishi Electric, and
Japan Electric Calculation.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920624/Press Contact: 3-2-3
Marunouch, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 25 Japan: NEC Buys Into Radio Telecom Firm 06/25/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00005)

Japan: NEC Buys Into Radio Telecom Firm 06/25/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 25 (NB) -- NEC will purchase a large
portion of equity sold by Japan City Media, a tele-terminal
service firm in Tokyo. Japan City Media was created in 1989,
and has been in debt of late. The firm has been providing radio-
telecommunication service in Tokyo area.

Japan City Media will issue 1.6 billion yen ($12 million) worth
of new equities this week. NEC is expected to purchase more
than half of these equities. With this purchase, NEC will have a
20 percent stake of Japan City Media's stocks. This will be about
4.8 billion yen ($37 million).

NEC will even go farther to support this telecom firm. The firm
will send its board director Kazuo Miyawaki to the company
to act as chairman.

Japan City Media is providing radiowave telecommunication
services in Japan. NEC and IBM Japan have released personal
computers equipped with a radiowave modem. These computers
will use Japan City Media's radiowave telecom service.

There is only a 1,500 membership in the radiowave telecom
service of Japan City Media. This number is considerably
smaller than it expected initially.

NEC wants to beef up the service of Japan City Media, and gain
more users. The firm thinks that there is a lot of potential in
radiowave-based telecom service because many computer firms
are preparing to release electronic organizers and handy
business terminals.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920624/Press Contact: Japan City
Media, [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 25 Dubai IT Show Promises To Be Gateway For Gulf Market 06/25/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEL)(00006)

Dubai IT Show Promises To Be Gateway For Gulf Market 06/25/92
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1992 JUN 25 (NB) -- Having always absorbed oil
price fluctuations and having overcome the ravages of the Gulf War,
the Middle East market still has immense buying power -- even for
information technology products.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) comprises of the six wealthiest
countries of the Middle East: Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates
(UAE), Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, and Qatar. They account for more
than 60 percent of the world's oil reserves. Just like their high
per capita income, these countries have among the fastest
population growth rates too.

The Dubai World Trade Centre is the venue of the Gulf Information
Technology Exhibition (GITEX). It was first organized in 1981, and
has been an annual event since then. GITEX 92 will be held next
November (14-17) at the Dubai World Trade Center, a Manhattan-
like skyscraper sticking out of the desert.

This year's show is of special significance.  With the world's major
economies being in the throes of recession with plunging sales and
slumping profits,  with price-cutting becoming the norm and export
sales suffering, global operators are forced to look for new markets
in the Middle East region. For one, with the construction boom in the
Gulf -- Iran being the front runner -it remains attractive for
information technology (IT) investment by many multinational
companies. Saudi Arabia is strengthening its defense sector in which
IT forms an integral part. Small players such as Oman and Yemen are
going in for computerization of their financial and banking sector
in a big way. That is besides, of course, the drive for office
automation.

The expansion of the power sector should also be a major attraction
for IT companies. A $1.6 billion Inter-Arab power grid has been
proposed to link the Arab nations. Singapore is believed to have
tapped this mammoth market. Last year, it exported IT products
worth $400 million to this region. An encouraging factor for
software exporters is the determination of the Gulf nations to
"eliminate" software piracy. Their strictness in law enforcement
is, of course, well-known.

As a venue for the Middle East show, Dubai is acknowledged as the
"Singapore" of the region -- as a strategic and nodal point, with
50 airlines and 100 shipping lines. Efficient distribution and
communication networks have already attracted major companies
like Lotus Development, Oracle Corp., and Siemens Nixdorf to base
their Middle East operations in Dubai.

GITEX 91 had many big players including Microsoft, Lotus, Digital,
Compaq and Borland International, as participants in one of the
fastest-growing IT events in the Middle East.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920623)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 25 Digital World: Opportunities For Artists In Multimedia 06/25/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00007)

Digital World: Opportunities For Artists In Multimedia 06/25/92
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 25 (NB) -- Allee
Willis, described as a renaissance artist by Jonathan Seybold,
said the opportunities and need for artists in the field of
multimedia is unprecedented.

Willis is an award winning song writer, artist, writer, and set
designer who has won numerous awards. In 1986 Willis received a
Grammy for Best Soundtrack for "Beverly Hills Cop;" in 1990 she
won an Ace Award for Art Direction for her work in designing the
set for Shelley Duval's Disney Channel production of "Mother Goose
Rock and Rhyme;" and in 1991 she won the American Film
Institute's Directing Women's Award.

In the search for a medium where she can use all of her artistic
ability, Willis said multimedia is very exciting to her. However,
Willis said the multimedia she's seen at the show is boring.
Artists are what is needed to make it warm, human, and funny to
draw people into the experience the way people are drawn into
the experiences in other media, such as film, Willis emphasized.

Multimedia is an avenue that could allow a person to change the
art in a creative way, like joining the band on the virtual stage or
taking the guitar out of a song, Willis added. A representative of
Microsoft asked Willis how allowing the consumer freedom to
"distort" the work would allow the artist to get paid. Willis said
she didn't know -- that she's sold 40 million records with songs
she's written on them and she still lives in North Hollywood.

When asked what he thought of Willis, Andy Grove, president of
Intel who was in the audience said his company needs to do more
work before the technology is ready for Willis. Willis disagreed,
saying she thought enough capability exists now for artists to
take a hold of the medium and do something creative with it.

While other speakers asserted that new mediums first
imitate old forms -- so now multimedia looks very much like
television or video forms -- Willis said she could see how
advances in the art side of multimedia could change other
areas, such as movies, television, and music forever.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920624)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 25 Avid/Silicon Graphics In Multimedia Product Development 06/25/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00008)

Avid/Silicon Graphics In Multimedia Product Development 06/25/92
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 25 (NB) -- Avid
Technologies has announced that it has formed an agreement with
Silicon Graphics for a long-term product development and
multimedia standardization on Avid's existing open media
framework (OMF). A part of the agreement is for Avid to port
its digital film and video editing software technology and hardware
to Silicon Graphics workstations.

Avid's flagship product, Media Composer, is the most popular digital
editing system for television and film post production, the company
said. OMF is the engine for the Media Composer and in conjunction
with other related technology allows the creation, composition,
playback, and output of digital media for the production of full-
motion, broadcast quality, 30-frames-per-second, digital video
from disk, Avid said.

Avid plans to port OMF, develop a product similar to Media
Composer for the Silicon Graphics platform, and work with Silicon
Graphics to design and implement Avid's JPEG digital video
compression board as an add-in board for the company's Iris
Indigo workstation. Avid says the JPEG board was the first, and is
still the only board that can run at 30-frames-per-second with
television image quality.

Avid lists a group of companies that have committed to its OMF
standard -- a standard company officials say they hope to move
to the IBM and compatible personal computer (PC) platform.
Currently, Avid's products run on Macintosh computers.

Some of the film and video companies who have adopted the Avid OMF
are: the Grass Valley Group, JVC, Chyron Corporation, Truevision,
Rank Cintel, ARRI, Evertz Microsystems, and Pandora International.

Audio companies endorsing the standard are listed as New England
Digital, Waveframe Corporation, Digidesign, Studer Editech
Corporation, and Fairlight Esp Pty. Limited.

Animation and graphics or multimedia vendors that support OMF
include Eastman Kodak, AT&T Graphics Software Labs, Polariod,
Alias Research, Electrogig, and Diva. Technology companies that
endorse OMF are Silicon Graphics, C-Cube Microsystems, Aware,
and Starlight Networks.

When asked about the standard for multimedia Apple and IBM are
planning in Kaleida, Avid company officials told Newsbytes they
feel like Avid better serves as the creator of a multimedia
standard. The reason given is Avid has been doing this type of
work with multimedia in various formats for four years, while
Apple only introduced Quicktime for public distribution at the
beginning of this year.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920624/Press Contact: Mimi Englander,
Avid, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 25 Concord's New Tool For Trakker Internet Monitoring Product 06/25/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00009)

Concord's New Tool For Trakker Internet Monitoring Product 06/25/92
MARLBORO, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 25 (NB) -- Concord
Communications has released another tool for its Trakker internet
monitoring tool. The latest tool is called Dialog Tool and it is
intended to complement the other tools that already exist, such as
the Who Tool that was introduced a couple of months ago.

What the Dialog Tool does is to review the database of
communications between all of the nodes on the network that are
already accumulated in Trakker, and to present it to the user in a
form that allows for "what if" analysis. The best example is of
two users who are placed in different network segments but that
communicate a lot between themselves. Clearly such a situation
will lead to extensive traffic between them. This becomes a problem
when the two people need to have their traffic cross bridges and
other gateways to reach each other.

Using the Dialog Tool, the network administrator can recognize the
fact of these communications and can attempt to design various
network layouts to minimize between segment traffic. In this
example, the network administrator could redesign the network
such that the two correspondents reside on the same network
segment.

Output to the network administrator takes both a tabular and a
graphical form. The network administrator can view the data that
Trakker accumulated as well as its projections given the new
network configuration that he designed. By continuing iterations of
designing a network layout, performing the analysis, and studying
the results, it will be possible to design the network to be at its
most efficient point rather than just letting it happen, and
spending more money than is necessary on bridges, routers, and
other network devices.

The Dialog Tool is available now. All new customers of Trakker will
receive it as a part of their system. Existing Trakker users who are
a part of Concord's Software Subscription Plan will receive Dialog
Tool for free as well. Those who are not members of the Software
Subscription Plan will be asked to join it to receive this and other
tools that Concord is developing.

(Naor Wallach/19920624, Press Contact: Christine LeCompte,
Beaupre & Co. for Concord, 603-436-6690)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 25 Banyan Has New Messaging Strategy/Service 06/25/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00010)

Banyan Has New Messaging Strategy/Service 06/25/92
WESTBORO, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 25 (NB) -- Banyan
has announced a new corporate messaging strategy and a new
Intelligent Messaging Network Service.

According to the company, the corporate messaging strategy
reflects the growing importance of messaging systems to
enterprises as well as the ever-increasing needs of users, and
the proliferation of messaging system front-ends in the
marketplace.

Banyans' new strategy will support a variety of messaging front
ends via its support of standard Application Programming
Interfaces (API). Specifically, Banyan has mentioned upcoming
support for Novell's Message Handling Service (MHS), Apple
Computer's Open Collaborative Environment (OCE), Microsoft's
Mail API (MAPI), and Vendor Independent Messaging (VIM).

Banyans strategy will be to integrate all messaging functions
into its network operating system in such a way that the network
management functions will be fully aware of, and able to report
on, what is happening with the messaging systems.

As a first step towards implementing this strategy, Banyan has
announced a new service that will be available with version 5.0 of
Vines. Intelligent Messaging will be able to configure itself within
the Banyan Vines environment. It will operate with any and all
Banyan network servers and will automatically adapt to any
changes in the network. The way it does all of this is by taking a
different approach to routing messages than most message
systems in existence today.

Most message systems rely on a static routing table that tells the
systems where different users are, so that when a message is being
sent from A to B, the servers look up B's address and forward it
appropriately. Banyan has identified two problems with this
approach which they have solved with their strategy.

First, these static tables are not very flexible from a networking
point of view. Imagine a case where a person moves from one
office to another and you can immediately see where problems
can come in. This is exacerbated when such a move involves changes
in network segments. The second problem is the inefficiency that
gets introduced when the network grows. Under such conditions,
it is common for network administrators to create hierarchical
addressing schemes to accommodate the hundreds and thousands of
users that they have. Sending a message from A to B becomes an
exercise in climbing and descending the hierarchy appropriately
even if the two individuals happen to be one router away from
each other.

Banyan's approach is different. A message sent using Banyan's
Intelligent Message Services creates its own dynamic routing
table at the time that it is sent. So, if I am sending a message to
person B, that message does not leave the server or post office
until it knows the path to reach B. Them, if B has moved, or the
network has been reconfigured, the message need not rely on a
static map but can tailor its path at any given time. Furthermore,
the routing algorithms that Banyan uses are tailored to finding the
most efficient and least costly path between the sender and
receiver. Banyan has even included the ability to compress
messages should the cost-savings in transmission justify
doing so.

Banyan personnel told Newsbytes that they have been approached
by customers who are seeing needs for messaging systems that
exceed the capabilities of today's systems. For instance, image and
video data will be transferred using electronic mail-type systems
in the near future. This customer need is driving Banyan.

Banyan has tested the Intelligent Messaging over the past year
with one of their customers who maintains a worldwide dispersed
organization - Compaq Computer.

Fred Jones, director of information management for Compaq stated
that: "Compaq is pleased with the excellent way in which Banyan's
Intelligent Messaging service helps us more efficiently use our
corporate mail network, especially on our transient wide are
network links. We gain better visibility of the network resource
utilization through the use of the integrated management tools
provided by this service."

Banyan's Intelligent Messaging will be available in early July. It
will sell for $1,495. Between now and September 7 customers can
get this service for $995. Those Banyan customers who belong to
the software subscription service will receive an upgrade kit for
$99. This service will interoperate with all versions of Vines
but will be sold only to Vines 5.0 sites.

(Naor Wallach/19920624, Press Contact: Joann Anderson,
Copithorne & Bellows for Banyan, 617-252-0606)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 25 Southwestern Bell Wins No-Strike Pledge 06/25/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00011)

Southwestern Bell Wins No-Strike Pledge 06/25/92
ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 25 (NB) -- With a national
railway walk-out entering its second day, and a strike threat
still hanging over AT&T, Southwestern Bell and its unions agreed
that, whatever happens, their contract talks won't lead to a
service disruption. The phone company promised not to lock out
the union, as rail workers claim they were locked out, while the
Communications Workers of America union promised not to
sanction a strike, a move the same union still might consider
against AT&T.

The union said the deal was a risk, but vice president Vic
Crawley said it sets a "productive tone for negotiations." The
company said its customers will be the big winners. The
agreement can only be rescinded with a 30-day notice on either
side. The current three-year contract expires August 8.

In 1989, NYNEX suffered a four-month walk-out and later decided
to offer generous terms on an extension of the resulting contract.
The main issues between phone companies and unions remain job
security, as automation pares workforces and companies look to
sub-contract work to non-union companies.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920625/Press Contact: Joe Elstner,
Southwestern Bell Telephone, 314-247-2888)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 25 International Phone Update 06/25/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00012)

International Phone Update 06/25/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 25 (NB) -- While Latin
American stock markets remain under selling pressure, increasing
numbers of Latin phone companies are looking to raise money from
the markets.

Telecom Argentina, which has a 7-year monopoly for local service
in the northern half of that country, set a $200 million five-year
bond offering, managed by JP Morgan of New York. The firm is run
by a consortium of Italy's Stet, France Telecom, and local holding
company Perez Companc.

Telefonica de Espana of Spain, which already holds a major stake
in the southern Argentine phone company, and manages networks in
Chile, acknowledged it's thinking of buying the 60 percent of
Uruguay's Antel monopoly, now held by the government there. Antel
is considered to have one of the better-managed phone networks
on the continent, running 415,000 lines. Privatization there still
hinges on a vote July 5, and possibly another vote in November,
if opponents of the move get a quarter of the vote on this go-
round.

Brazil took the first step toward offering shares in its Telebras
monopoly on US exchanges. It was authorized by the state's
Security and Exchange Commission to publish a dossier on its
financial condition for the public. US officials would then have to
approve the document before American Depository Receipts
could be issued. Chilean and Mexican ADRs already trade on US
exchanges, but Telebras holdings are still held mainly by the
government. Locally, the market has been falling fast on charges
of corruption within the government.

NYNEX said it formed an agreement with TelecomAsia to supply 2
million more phone lines in Bangkok, Thailand, scene of recent
civil unrest. TelecomAsia has a 25-year concession on the
network, but NYNEX will appoint the system's chief operating
officer and many key executives.

Finally, Ericsson won its first phone switch contract from a
private Hungarian firm. First Pest Telephone, based in the
capital city of Budapest, signed a $15 million order for the
Swedish company's AXE switches.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920625/Press Contact: Ericsson,
Kathy Egan, 212/685-4030)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 25 Knight-Ridder/Tribune Info Service Adds Contributors 06/25/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00013)

Knight-Ridder/Tribune Info Service Adds Contributors 06/25/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 JUN 25 (NB) -- Knight-
Ridder/Tribune Business News, a joint venture aimed at putting
newspapers on-line, added the Houston Chronicle, St. Louis Post-
Dispatch and McClatchy group of newspapers as contributors. The
McClatchy group is based in California.

The Chronicle's daily circulation exceeds 400,000, while the
Post-Dispatch's tops 300,000.  Among McClatchy's 11 daily
newspapers are The Sacramento Bee, The Fresno Bee, and The
Modesto Bee in California, The Tacoma, Washington Morning News
Tribune, and the Anchorage, Alaska Daily News. They join 41 other
newspapers and magazines, mainly owned by the two partners, as
well as Knight-Ridder's financial wire. Articles from all the
contributor newspapers and magazines are available
electronically the day of publication.

The service is available through Dialog, Desktop Data's NewsEdge,
Comtex Scientific's Newsgrid, Individual's fax-based service,
NewsNet, and Mainstream Data, a leader in providing services to
small radio and television stations.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920625/Press Contact: Knight-Ridder,
Robert L. Harris, 202/383-6134)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 25 Hayes Adds Fax To Optima Modems 06/25/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00014)

Hayes Adds Fax To Optima Modems 06/25/92
NORCROSS, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 25 (NB) -- Hayes
Microcomputer Products has announced two new fax-data
modems, the Optima 96 + Fax96 and the Optima 24 + Fax96.

Both will be bundled with Smartcom Fax and Smartcom EZ
software, entering a crowded market. The first modem will be
available and run data or fax at 9,600 baud for a retail price of
$419. The latter runs data at 2,400 baud, while running fax at
9,600 baud, or four blank pages per minute, at a price of $169.

The company explained it was late entering the fax-data board
market because it has been concentrating its JT Fax product on
the fax server market. It priced its new products aggressively
and included software in hopes of obtaining its normal high
market share in these markets.

In addition, the company dropped prices of its basic Optima data
modems about 20 percent. The 9,600 baud PC modem now retails
for $389. A little over a year ago, similar modems were retailing
near $1,000.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920625/Press Contact: Angie Ciarloni,
Hayes, 404-840-9200)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 25 New for Networks: Four Port T1 Multiplexer From INC 06/25/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00015)

New for Networks: Four Port T1 Multiplexer From INC 06/25/92
BRIDGEWATER, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 25 (NB) -- Integrated
Network Corp. has announced a new T-1 multiplexer with four-ports,
allowing the 1.544 million bits-per-second trunk lines to be
accessed on four high-bandwidth applications, like Frame Relay
long-haul networking or high-resolution videoconferencing.

The new CM-ET1 multiplexer costs $4,195, and is designed to
reduce the expense of building global networks. That's because it
follows both the E-1 standard used in Europe and the T-1
standard familiar in the US, and takes power at from 110 to 260
volts. The unit also meets all carrier requirements in the US,
Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Germany.

The company said its new product will prove attractive to
companies which cannot justify the cost of adding an additional
full T-1 trunk line, but which need more bandwidth than that
provided by standard private line digital offerings by the major
phone companies.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920625/Press Contact: Integrated Network,
908-218-1600)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 25 CORRECTION: EMBARC Info Service Gets Serious With Wegener 06/25/92


(CORRECTION)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00001)

CORRECTION: EMBARC Info Service Gets Serious With Wegener 06/25/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 25 (NB) -- In a recent
story concerning an agreement between Motorola and Wegener
Communications, some mistakes were made which deserve
correction.

First, Motorola did not just buy the Wegener receiver, as
Newsbytes stated. It has bought the receivers, and installed
them in 80 markets, with plans to install additional receivers
in the future.

Second, EMBARC does not share the 931 MHz frequency band
with SkyTel and Mobilecomm, as indicated. Instead, each of
the services has its own channel within the 931 MHz -- the
channels are licensed separately.

Finally, EMBARC messages are received by NewsStream, a
Motorola product which can be linked to an HP 95 LX palmtop
from Hewlett-Packard, or any other DOS-based machine which
has a standard RS232 Serial Port.

Newsbytes regrets any misunderstandings.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920625/Press Contact: Stephanie Guigou,
Ogilvy Adams & Rinehard, 312-988-2684)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 25 UK: Microsoft Announces Application Development Program 06/25/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00017)

UK: Microsoft Announces Application Development Program 06/25/92
WOKINGHAM, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 25 (NB) -- Microsoft
has launched the Microsoft Developer Network (MDN), a program
that it claims gives UK software developers direct access to the
information they need to develop the next generation of graphical
applications.

The primary reason behind the program, according to Microsoft
officials, is the huge success that Windows is enjoying. The
company wants to make software developer's lives easier when it
comes to developing new applications software for Windows, as
well as Microsoft C version 7.0, which is enjoying a similar
success to Windows, but on the languages front.

Also on the horizon is Windows New Technology (NT), which is
officially scheduled for launch across all platforms (DOS, OS/2
and Unix) at the end of the this year. Beta test copies are
already in the hands of software developers.

So what does membership of the MDN cost? A fairly hefty UKP 850,
though Microsoft is quick to point out that members get an array
of benefits, including advance confidential information on new
Microsoft products -- through a special starter kit, quarterly
developer forums, newsletters, access to an on-line forum on
Compuserve and source code updates on compact disk read only
memory (CD-ROM). A CD-ROM drive is offered free of charge as
part of the developer's starter kit.

Announcing the MDN, Brian Iddon, Microsoft's developer relations
manager, said that the UK development community is probably the
most advanced in Europe. "The MDN will help keep UK programmers
at the forefront of software development," he said.

"The huge success of Windows, coupled with Microsoft's
introduction of revolutionary development tools such as Visual
Basic, has meant that developers required up to the minute high
quality technical information if they are to meet end user
demands for graphical applications," he added.

(Steve Gold/19920625/Press Contact: Microsoft - Tel: 0734-
270001; Public/Developer Contact: Microsoft Customer Response
Unit - Tel: [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 25 New For Mac In UK: Canon True Color Bubblejet Printer 06/25/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LON)(00018)

New For Mac In UK: Canon True Color Bubblejet Printer 06/25/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 25 (NB) -- Canon has unveiled the
BJC-850, a full color desktop bubblejet printer for the Apple
Macintosh. The UKP 2,195 printer is System 6.x and 7.x compatible
and comes with a SCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface)
port/interface. Included in the price is a set of 32-bit Quickdraw
drivers compatible with Adobe Type Manager and True Type fonts,
plus a year's on-site maintenance.

According to a spokesman for Canon, the BJC-820 offers near laser
quality imaging to a 360 x 360 dots-per-inch (DPI) resolution,
thanks to the use of the printer's unique color print head, which
contains four banks of 64 bubble jet nozzles. Feeding the print
head are four separate ink cartridges (cyan, magenta, yellow,
and black). Using four colors. Canon claims that a true black ink
image can be produced.

Canon is making some bold claims for the printer. According a
spokesman with the company, the unit uses relatively low cost ink
cartridges that allow even black-and-white prints to be produced
cost-effectively. The paper feed mechanism is equally flexible,
the company claims, and handles all sizes of paper between A3 and
B4. Transparency film and envelopes can also be printed using the
unit.

In parallel with the launch of the printer, Canon has introduced
a toll-free phone number, for use by the public in the UK, for
information on technical products. The number is 0800-252223.
Newsbytes readers outside of the UK should note that this
number is UK-specific.

(Steve Gold/19920625/Press & Public Contact: Canon - Tel: 081-
647-4044)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 25 Microsoft Endorses New Windows User Forum 06/25/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00019)

Microsoft Endorses New Windows User Forum 06/25/92
WOKINGHAM, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 25 (NB) -- Microsoft has announced
it is actively endorsing the activities of the Windows User Forum
(WUF), a new third-party forum which aims to build on the success
of the Windows User Group, the Windows Developer Association and
the Windows Forum.

Announcing the company's involvement in the WUF, Mark Edwards,
Windows' product manager with Microsoft, said that he plans to
work closely with the forum over the coming year to offer
Windows users even greater levels of support and assistance.

Edwards said that the recent surge in sales of Windows 3.1
suggests that the number of Windows users will increase
dramatically over the next year.

"The value of the WUF is that it gives individuals and companies
the opportunity to meet on a regular basis and exchange
information plus ideas on how to make the most out of the
Windows environment. Groups such as this are extremely valuable
to Microsoft, as their independent feedback helps us to refine
Windows products even further," he said.

The WUF, which is directed by Simon Moores of Softech Consultants
Limited, is affiliated to the Windows User Group Network in the
US. The WUGN has been running for about 18 months and produces a
number of publications, including The Windows Newsletter and The
Windows Journal.

Commenting on MIcrosoft's endorsement of his group, Moores said
that Windows is a lot more than a product platform. He claims
that the software is actually driving the evolution of the PC
industry: "There are many individuals and companies that want
additional information and support, as well as the opportunity to
exchange ideas with other users. The WUF aims to provide a
platform to facilitate this communication," he said.

An annual subscription to the WUF costs a heavyweight UKP 195,
though founder members can sign up for UKP 145 for the first
year, provided they stump up the cash within the next three
months.

What can members expect for their money? According to the WUF,
services to subscribers include a regular publication (firm details
to be announced) that will amalgamate technical information and
material in The Windows Newsletter and the Windows Journal. A
training and consultancy service is also available for all UK
training centers, developers, and consultants.

Plans also call for the WUF to offer a number of special deals
on Windows and non-Windows software to subscribers. A series of
conference and seminars, plus regular meetings, are also in the
pipeline. More immediately, the WUF is setting up a number of
on-line services, such as a special forum on Compuserve.

(Steve Gold/19920625/Press & Public Contact: Mark Edwards
(Microsoft) - Tel: [phone]; Simon Moores, WUF - Tel: 0753-
832626)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 25 B.C. Telephone To Appeal Long-Distance Ruling 06/25/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00020)

B.C. Telephone To Appeal Long-Distance Ruling 06/25/92
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, 1992 JUN 25 (NB) --
British Columbia Telephone, the second-largest of several
Canadian telephone companies affected by a recent ruling that will
allow long-distance competition, has announced it will appeal
some aspects of the ruling.

BC Tel announced it is unhappy with parts of the ruling covering
subsidies to local service and the way the cost of modifying the
network to accommodate new carriers will be distributed. These
are the same areas that Bell Canada, the country's largest
telephone company, already announced it will appeal.

On June 12, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications
Commission (CRTC) approved an application by Unitel
Communications, a Toronto-based provider of data communications
services, to compete with telephone companies in British Columbia,
Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia,
and Newfoundland.

The CRTC also approved a second application from Lightel, a
Toronto reseller of communications services, and B.C. Rail
Telecommunications of Vancouver. This partnership wants to offer
competitive long-distance services in British Columbia, Ontario,
and Quebec -- Canada's three most populous provinces.

Neither application covered the three Prairie provinces --
Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta -- because at the time of
the applications telecommunications in these provinces was
provincially regulated. Since then Alberta has come under federal
regulation, and Unitel has said it will probably apply soon to
compete there as well.

B.C. Tel is complaining that new competitors will be allowed to
pay a smaller share of the subsidy to local telephone service
than the established telephone companies.

B.C. Tel is also unhappy that the CRTC has told it to pay at least
70 percent of the cost of connecting the new carriers to its
network. According to B.C. Tel, the total price tag will be about
C$60 million.

The appeal has not yet been filed formally, but B.C. Tel
spokeswoman Maureen Kirkbride said that will happen within a
couple of weeks, and more details will be announced after the
formal filing.

Bell Canada announced its appeal the week after the decision,
and is contesting the same points as B.C. Tel.

(Grant Buckler/19920625/Press Contact: Kathleen Mears,
B.C. Tel, 604-565-3598, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 25 Central Point IPO Postponed For Lack Of Interest 06/25/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00021)

Central Point IPO Postponed For Lack Of Interest 06/25/92
BEAVERTON, OREGON, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 25 (NB) -- Central Point
Software has announced that it has postponed its first-ever public
offering due to deterioration in the market for an initial public
offering.

Central Point Software markets a variety of personal computer
utility programs including applications to scan for viruses, backup
hard drive data, diagnose and recover disks, manage files, optimize
hard disks, and connect to remote computers. Central Point's most
recent product is AntiVirus for Windows, which was introduced in
March. It allowed users to schedule unattended scans of files for
more than 1,000 known viruses, including the infamous,
Michelangelo.

Central Point offered its IPO at the end of April of this year,
saying they were offering three million shares of common stock,
with the selling price expected to be $11-$13 per share. A
privately held company, this was the first time that Central Point
had offered shares to the public. Of the three million shares, two
million were for sale to the public, while the remainder were
reserved for sale to existing shareholders.

Central Point shareholders, apparently optimistic when the IPO
was authorized, gave permission for an over-allotment of 450,000
shares if needed. They weren't. The company had said that it would
use the additional revenue for working capital.

(Jim Mallory/19920625/Press contact: John Hodgman, Central
Point Software, 503-690-2209)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 25 Microsoft Provides Huge Quantities Of Documents To FTC 06/25/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEN)(00022)

Microsoft Provides Huge Quantities Of Documents To FTC 06/25/92
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 25 (NB) -- Predicting that
no action against Microsoft will result, Microsoft Chairman Bill
Gates said the company is sending "box after box" of documents to
the Federal Trade Commission.

The documents are being provided in connection with the agency's
investigation of possible monopolistic practices by the software
giant, Gates said.

Gates described the probe, which began in early 1991, as "still at
a  fairly early stage." He said no Microsoft employees have been
interviewed by federal officials.

Speaking to Washington Post executives, editors and reporters,
Gates said the Justice Department had approved Microsoft's
pending $170  million acquisition of Ohio-based Fox Software,
the developer of database program Foxbase and FoxPro, a
competitor to dBase. Gates reportedly expressed hope that
action was a signal that the FTC inquiry would soon die.

The FTC probe apparently is focusing on Microsoft's role in the
operating system market. Operating systems, such as Apple's
System 7, Unix, and DOS control the basic functions of personal
computers.

Gates described the operating system market as "very
competitive," and cited products from Apple, Sun Microsystems,
IBM, and AT&T's Unix. At one time Unix was seen as a possible
replacement in the business world for DOS, but that never
happened, possibly because of it's high cost.

Even though he said the market was competitive, Gates alluded
to the popularity of Microsoft's operating systems, saying "if you
take the computers on this planet, over 80 percent of them run
Microsoft operating systems. The only two that sort of show up
at all are ours and Apple's."

Programs such as word processors, spreadsheets, accounting
packages, and data bases, are written to run under one of the
operating systems. Some developers create a version of their
program for each operating system. Microsoft also develops
applications, such as word processor Microsoft Word and
spreadsheet application Excel.

One of the charges leveled by critics is that Microsoft has an
unfair advantage in the development of applications because they
know in advance about upcoming changes in operating systems.

Gates made his statements while in Washington to receive the
National Medal of Technology at a White House ceremony.

(Jim Mallory/19920625/Press contact: Marianne Allison,
Waggoner Edstrom for Microsoft, 206-637-9097)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 25 Compaq Claims Demand "Overwhelming" For New PC Line 06/25/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00023)

Compaq Claims Demand "Overwhelming" For New PC Line 06/25/92
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 25 (NB) -- Compaq Computer
says the customer demand for its recently announced line of low
priced personal computers has been "overwhelming."

The company said it received so many orders that it had to close
its order entry department for one day last week in order to
catch up with the processing of new orders.

The company declined to discuss specific sales figures. Senior
VP Douglas Johns said the financial details would be discussed
at a meeting with financial analysts on July 24th.

Johns reportedly told a Bear Stearns technology conference that the
company's rollout of 16 new PC systems last week was the first
salvo  in the personal computer price war.

In response to a Newsbytes query, Compaq spokesperson Nora Hahn
said that while Compaq doesn't officially take the position that
there is a price war, "companies are beginning to lower prices. As
one company lowers prices, others are sure to follow."

Johns said Compaq would be introducing additional products in the
third and fourth quarters of this year and in 1993. He did not
disclose details. Hahn said that the fourth quarter is traditionally
a heavy buying period. She said there would be "some new things
and further announcements on what was announced last week."

Johns said that Compaq is four years ahead of its five year
production plan. "We are basically going to produce in 1992 what
we had projected one year ago we would produce in 1996," he said.

Johns said Compaq expects further competition in pricing, and said
that the company has a contingency plan ready in case the price war
intensifies. Compaq reportedly has parallel product development in
progress for the products unveiled last week, in order to reduce
costs. "Most everything you see will be cost-reduced from an
engineering standpoint," Johns said.

Rival Dell Computer reportedly will announce its own line of
low cost personal computers next week.

(Jim Mallory/19920625/Press contact: Nora Hahn, Compaq
Computer Corporation, 713-374-8316)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 25  ****Dell To Intro New Low-Cost PC Line Next Week 06/25/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00024)

 ****Dell To Intro New Low-Cost PC Line Next Week 06/25/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 25 (NB) -- Less than two weeks
after rival Compaq announced a new line of 16 low cost personal
computers, Dell Computer is going to roll out its own line of
low cost PCs.

The Associated Press reported today that Dell is negotiating with
IBM to install OS/2 on Dell's hard drives if requested by the
customer. Dell spokesperson Jill Shanks declined to confirm that
report, but told Newsbytes "we will continue to add to the
repertoire of operating systems that we factory install."

Since Microsoft got over 100 PC makers to pre-install Windows,
IBM has been negotiating with Olivetti, AST, NEC, Compuadd, and
Northgate to pre-install Windows-competitor OS/2. There have
also been reports that IBM is trying to move one step up in the supply
chain and shortcut Microsoft by getting hard drive makers to install
OS/2 at the factory. If that happens, the PC could end up with both
Windows and OS/2. Both require a lot of storage space, possibly
forcing consumers to purchase larger hard drives.

Going Compaq one better, Dell says it will announce 23 new personal
computers next Monday. "These products will be priced very
competitively," said Dell chairman Michael Dell. Dell said the
company would also offer expanded basic and customized services
when it announced its new line. Shanks told Newsbytes that some
of the new services would be "industry firsts."

Dell said the company expects the new products to result in revenue
growth that will exceed forecasts for the year ending January 31.
"We expect revenue growth is going to be pretty much ahead of what
is anticipated," Dell told investors at a Bear Stearns technology
conference.

Dell said the company will probably see some pressure on its
historical five to six percent profit margins in the second and
third quarters, but he thinks margins will return to normal levels
in the fourth quarter.

The company continues to reduce operating expenses, reporting 18.8
percent for the first quarter and predicting that would drop further
in the second quarter.

(Jim Mallory/19920625/Press contact: Roger Rydell, Dell Computer,
512-794-4294)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 25  ****Compaq Chairman Rosen Clarifies Canion Comments 06/25/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00025)

 ****Compaq Chairman Rosen Clarifies Canion Comments 06/25/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 25 (NB) -- Compaq Computer
chairman Benjamin M. Rosen, in a discussion with Newsbytes,
clarified earlier comments concerning his role in the dismissal
of Compaq founder and President Rod Canion.

Rosen was recently quoted in a Computer Reseller News article as
saying: "There are things more important than friendship." The quote
was in response to comments made by Canion saying that Rosen's
actions had betrayed their friendship.

Rosen told Newsbytes that the quote, while accurate, did not fully
explain his position of the relationship of friendship to the corporate
decision-making process. He said: "Friendship has no place in the
decision-making process of the corporate boardroom. The fiduciary
responsibility to a firm's investors is the primary responsibility of
directors and friendship has no relevance in the carrying out of
that responsibility."

Rosen added: "The new units that we have just introduced and are
showing at PC Expo have been extremely well received. These units
are the first manifestation of Compaq's new direction under the
revamped management structure and this is just the beginning. There
will be many more innovate products coming and I think that it is
evident that Compaq is once again on the right track."

Rosen also said that the high demand for the new product line has
resulted in some order backlog but, "we are ramping up for
production and should be caught up shortly."

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19920625)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 25 PC Expo: Caere Intros FaxMaster Software For Windows 06/25/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00026)

PC Expo: Caere Intros FaxMaster Software For Windows 06/25/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 25 (NB) -- At PC Expo,
Caere Corporation rolled out FaxMaster, an integrated fax/OCR
(optical character recognition) software package that lets faxes
be received, sent and edited from inside Windows applications,
and treated at the user's choice of image or text.

Introducing FaxMaster at a news briefing, Larry Stevens,
vice president of marketing, said that Caere's interest in
developing the product was triggered by the recent explosion in fax
modems, a device required by FaxMaster.  The boom is especially
evident in the portable market, he added, where growing numbers of
vendors -- spurred by the availability of fax modem chips that cost
little more than modem chips -- are shipping products with built-
in fax modems.

Stevens stressed that FaxMaster overcomes many of the limitations
of the current generation of computer-based fax software by
allowing documents to be received in both image and text versions,
and by providing "supercompression" for each mode.  "Up to now,"
he commented, "the 'send' function has been treated rather well by
fax software, but the 'receive' function hasn't."

Unlike other fax software, he said, FaxMaster deals with faxes as
extensions of existing applications, on both the sending and
receiving sides.  To receive a fax from inside an application, the
user clicks on a feature known as LogViewer, which acts as an
electronic in-basket for viewing thumbnails of received documents.

To insert a fax into an application as text, the user selects an
Export Text icon.  Once brought into the Windows application, the
fax can be stored, edited and printed just like any other text
material, he stated.  The data might be integrated into a word
processing document or spreadsheet, for example, or sent out over
electronic mail.

Through an editing feature in FaxMaster, the user can "clean up"
the text file to remove fax coding, said Stevens.  Before deleting
a code, the user can look up the code to find out what it
represents -- the fax number of the sending party, for instance.

The user can also opt to store the file as a bitmap image, or to
store bitmap and text images side by side.  Whether treated as
image or text, the size of the document is dramatically reduced
through Supercompression, causing the data to take up relatively
little space on the hard disk, said Val Cole, product manager.  In
the case of image files, Caere is citing compression ratios of up
to 15:1 over CCITT Group III compression for fine-mode faxes and
up to 5:1 over Group III compression for standard-mode faxes.

Cole also noted that FaxMaster incorporates complete send
capabilities, along a new, neural network-based OCR engine
designed for more accurate recognition of low resolution faxes.

The send functions include a phone book, eight quick-dial numbers,
broadcast fax, scheduling, and support for all leading scanners,
he said.  Priced at $249, FaxMaster is expected to ship during the
third quarter.

(Jacqueline Emigh/062592:  Press Contact:  JoAnn Johnston,
tel [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 25  ****Digital World: Actresses, Artists Debate Multimedia 06/25/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00027)

 ****Digital World: Actresses, Artists Debate Multimedia 06/25/92
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 25 (NB) -- Lily Tomlin,
Shelley Duvall, Jane Wagner, and Allee Willis formed a panel,
moderated by Jonathan Seybold to attempt to describe why they're
attracted to multimedia and what is needed to make the medium
succeed in the "Artists Rap Session" at the Seybold Digital World
Conference in Beverly Hills, California.

While play writer Jane Wagner said she still found the technology
"so intimidating" and that she likes "knob knowledge" so all she has
to do is turn and knob and it works.

All four panelists, however, agreed with interest and enthusiasm that
multimedia is a medium that has distinct and unique possibilities.
However, no one from the audience or the panel was able to define
more than to say what they felt was needed in order to uncover its
potential.

A member of the audience said: "It's here, it's great, what the heck
are we going to do with it?"

Lily Tomlin said it wasn't sensory enough, that she wanted to have an
experience that was "...thinky, feely, orgasmic. I want electrodes
attached to my body." Tomlin said she would search for what could be
done with the medium that would surprise, that would make the user
take a sharp, quick breath.

Allee Willis said if the industry doesn't find a way to draw people
emotionally into the medium it will remain "...something that gets
discussed at these seminars."

Wagner said the medium might not lend itself to the surprising,
sensory emotions Tomlin referred to. Wagner said she found herself
more in touch with her own mind as a multimedia user and described
it as "...another kind of discovery."

Shelly Duvall, who is working on multimedia titles for kids, said she
didn't think full motion was as important as it was made out to be.
Duvall said she has seen one of her children's stories animated at 15
frames per second and that speed provided an enhanced fascination
with the story.

Tomlin suggested experiments with children, providing them with
every possible type of software and hardware and then observing,
might provide the necessary clues to multimedia.

Tomlin said the pressure of the industry itself may be stifling the
potential of the medium. Moderator Jonathan Seybold asked what was
the motivating factor for making the "stretch" necessary to embrace
this computer-oriented medium. Duvall answered it was "the big
picture," while Willis said it was, "the chance to be creative."
Tomlin said with conviction her attraction to multimedia is: "This
is a new art form no one has cracked yet."

Lily Tomlin, probably best known for her comedy work in the early
1970's as the devilish five and a half year old character "Edith Ann"
on the top-rated "Laugh-In" television show. Shelly Duvall starred
with Robin Williams as Olive Oyl in the movie "Popeye" and with Jack
Nicholson in Stanley Kubrick's movie "The Shining." Jane Wagner wrote
the play "Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe" and co-wrote and
co-produced Tomlin's three Grammy winning albums, "And That's The
Truth," "Modern Scream," and "On Stage." Allee Willis is a song
writer, set designer, artist, writer who won a Grammy in 1986 for
Best Soundtrack for the movie "Beverly Hills Cop" and won an Ace
Award for Art Direction for designing the set for Duvall's Disney
Channel production of "Mother Goose Rock and Rhyme."

(Linda Rohrbough/19920625)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 25  ****Digital World: Laserfan -- Cheap/High-Res Print 06/25/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00028)

 ****Digital World: Laserfan -- Cheap/High-Res Print 06/25/92
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 25 (NB) -- A new
technology, the Laserfan, which has the potential to be used by laser
printer manufacturers to produce inexpensive 600 dot-per-inch (dpi)
laser printers from the components used to make 300 dpi, was
introduced by Photon Imaging Corporation at the Seybold Digital
World Conference in Beverly Hills, California.

Photon had retrofitted a 300 dpi laser printer with their Laserfan,
producing 600 dpi laser prints and said the same technology can be
used to produce prints up to 1,200 dpi for the same cost as 300 dpi
systems sell for now.

The Laserfan uses optical fibers that fan out from the light source
to carry the light that attracts the toner to the paper in a fiber
optic array (FAN) housed in a metal housing. The fiber optic fibers
are inexpensive and as thin as a human hair, the company said.

Photon says the fiber optic transmission of the light has the effect
of making the image more accurate, eliminates the expense of
corrective optics (mirrors) necessary in regular laser printers to
deflect the light source to the paper more and more accurately to
get higher resolution printing, and decreases the dot size down to
the size of the optic fiber.

The limitation now on the dpi is the size of the fiber optic strands,
which the company expects will be made smaller, and the toner itself.
On a 300 dpi printer the company said it can only go to 600 dpi, even
though the fiber optics allow for smaller printing, because the toner
isn't fine enough to go smaller.

Reuven Shapira, director of software development for Photon Imaging,
said the company is looking for laser printer manufacturers who want
to cheaply upgrade their current manufacturing operations to the new
Laserfan technology. The company claims it has 16 patents issued by
the US Patent Office. Color laser printing can also be enhanced using
this technology, Shapira said.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920625/Press Contact: Reuven Shapira, Photon
Imaging, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 25 Jostens Claims First Networked Multimedia 06/25/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00029)

Jostens Claims First Networked Multimedia 06/25/92
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 25 (NB) -- Jostens
Learning Corporation claims it is the first to offer networked
full-motion, full-screen video for IBM and compatible personal
computers (PCs) with its new Interactivemedia system geared
toward schools.

The company says the system uses test, graphics, animation, audio,
and full-motion, full-screen video in a seamless, interactive
environment using Microsoft Windows and a 10BaseT twisted pair
Ethernet network.

While, historically, video and networking have been incompatible,
the company says Interactivemedia allows for video and audio to be
created, stored, edited, and networked in the same manner that text
and graphics are now.

The system has three components, the Mediaserver, The Card, and
The Hub, according to Jostens. The Mediaserver requires a 486 PC as
the network server equipped with an array of Small Computer
Systems Interface (SCSI) II controlled disk drives. Software from
Jostens controls the delivery of real-time audio/video streams to
each student station on the network and allows the multimedia
applications to co-exist with the traditional applications without
performance degradation to the multimedia, the company maintains.

The Card fits into an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) slot and
decodes the multiple-stream compressed digital video interactive
(DVI) data files. The Card handles RTV and PLV multimedia data
formats and MPC audio data, the company said. The Card itself is
equipped with a reduced instruction set computing (RISC)
microcontroller, DVI video decompression hardware, an audio
signal processor, a super video graphics array (SVGA) controller,
and an Ethernet interface.

The Card is capable of playback of audio synchronous to video, user-
selectable pixel resolution, and two video windows which can be
zoomed, moved, resized, or overlapped independent of each other.
The Card allows users to pause, play, stop, and rewind video files
as well as manipulate video and audio objects. An optional daughter
board is also available for capture of video, the company added.

The Hub is an intelligent wiring connector to connect the student
stations, file server, and Mediaserver. The Hub is capable of 1.2
gigabytes per second (GBps) backplane to provide 10 million bytes per
second (Mbps) bandwidth to each workstation using 10BaseT Ethernet
cabling.

Student stations are 386SX PCs equipped with a headset and a mouse.
The company provides lesson management and student evaluation
tools on the 486DX 33 file server. A 26-inch (or larger) monitor is
available as an option for the teacher station.

In addition, the company says it can configure Interactivemedia
for the Macintosh platform and that it can support System 7.0,
Macintosh clients, and Macintosh Servers.

Jostens Learning Corporation describes itself as a provider of
learning systems, software, services, and products to more than
6,000 schools in the US. The company is headquartered in San
Diego, California.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920625/Press Contact: Christine Bock,
Fleishman Hillard, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public
Contact, Jostens, 800-521-8538)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 25 Ungermann-Bass Adds New Support Services 06/25/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00030)

Ungermann-Bass Adds New Support Services 06/25/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 25 (NB) -- In a move
that is intended to provide ever more information resources and
ways of supporting their customers, Ungermann-Bass (UB) has
announced several additions to their service offerings.

The offerings fall into two categories called "Local software
Support" and "Customer Response Architecture." These two new
programs are additions to the already extensive line of customer
service and support services that UB offers.

Local Software Support is a fourth level in the tiered service
approach that UB offers. Up until now UB has offered a toll-free
number for its users to call in case of trouble as the lowest level
of support. Next came a "partnership" program in which customer
personnel were trained to service UB equipment. Should a problem
arise, UB would send replacement parts and software patches
directly to the individual who would take care of fising the problem.
At this highest end of the service spectrum UB would station one of
their engineers at the customer's site to take care of any problems
immediately.

Local Software Support is a level that fits between the first
two of those other levels. Under Local Software Support
UB will maintain a cadre of engineers at each of the sales and
service locations. An engineer would be assigned to specific
customer accounts and would be responsible for knowing and
understanding that specific customer's installation. By being so
directly involved with that site, the engineer would need to spend
no time on trying to understand the unique aspects of that site's
network and could solve problems that much easier and quicker.
The customer benefits from this as well as from the guaranteed
response time that UB offers with this program.

Customer Response Architecture is a set of four technical resources
that would convey more timely and robust technical information to
UB customers. The On-Site Advisor is a PC database that contains a
host of information about UB products and problems as well as
information on how to solve them. There are article reprints in the
database as well as software patches and other necessary bits and
pieces of information.

Net/One Technical Journal is a monthly magazine that runs about 75
to 100 pages in each issue. The company claims that the magazine
is full of articles that attempt to make the job of managing a
complex network with UB equipment an easier task. Information on
problems and their resolution, success stories from implementations,
and technical tips and tricks are what the magazine is all about, says
the company. In addition to its print contents, each issue also comes
with a diskette that contains all of the code snippets and procedures
that are discussed in the journal itself. This is done to save the
readers from having to type in those patches and commands that are
of interest.

Fax Advisor is a service that UB offers under which it will fax
critical information to sites so that they are as up to date as
possible. Fax Advisor is sent only to those people who request
specific information. It contains the same type of information as
the journal with the advantage of being much more timely.

U-B On-Line/Support is a bulletin board that UP is preparing to
operate. As with the previous services, this too will contain
much information about procedures, bug fixes and the like. The idea
behind the bulletin board is that customers will have access to it
24 hours a day so that they can get the fixes and/or patches at any
time that they happen to be working on a problem. The bulletin
board is the only part of the Customer Support Architecture that is
not ready at this time. It is scheduled to become available in August.

(Naor Wallach/19920625, Press Contact: Amanda Jamarillo,
Ungermann Bass, 408-562-5652)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 25 PC Expo: PenRight! To Run On NCR; Pen Windows/PenDOS On GRiD 06/25/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SFO)(00031)

PC Expo: PenRight! To Run On NCR; Pen Windows/PenDOS On GRiD 06/25/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 25 (NB) -- GRiD officials have
announced that GRiD's PenRight! software will start running on the
NCR 3125 and pen hardware from other vendors -- and that GRiD's
pen hardware will begin to support applications that are based on
pen operating environments from other vendors.

In a news conference yesterday at PC Expo, GRiD President Bruce
Walter and other company officials outlined an agreement just
reached with NCR.  The officials added that similar agreements
are now pending with MicroSlate and SuperScript Inc.

In addition, Walter noted that GRiD's pen computers will be
offering applications developed on CIC's PenDOS and on Microsoft
Windows for Pen.

PenRight! is already available as an option on the PoquetPad pen
computer from Fujitsu Personal Information Systems, Walter
pointed out.

Under terms of the NCR deal, NCR will offer and distribute
PenRight! as an option on the NCR 3125 -- and will also supply
the PenRight! Pro software development toolkit (SDK) to its
independent software vendors (ISVs).

In the other new pacts, SuperScript will include PenRight! as an
option for the SuperScript II, while MicroSlate will provide
PenRight! for its Datallite pen and touchscreen computers.

During the briefing, Betsy Reagan, GRiD's newly appointed vice
president of market development, explained that PenRight! is
geared toward vertical field applications, whereas PenDOS and
Pen Windows are more ideally suited to horizontal desktop
applications.

PenRight! requires little overhead, but its applications are
limited mainly to forms, she said.  In contrast, PenDOS and Pen
Windows take up more overhead, but can be used to build more
elaborate programs such as word processors and spreadsheets.

Right now, the pen market is mostly vertically oriented, but in
the future, GRiD expects considerable growth on the horizontal
front, Reagan stated.  When operated on the same platform, the
three applications environments will act in a complementary
way, she predicted.

Remarked the new vice president for GRiD: "The relationships
among the vendors in the pen industry are really quite close."

After the briefing, Jan Rowinski, vice president of operations for
MicroSlate, told Newsbytes that PenRight! is exceptionally well
suited to MicroSlate's hardware.  "We're heavily targeted to field
use," he commented.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920624; Press Contact:  Mike McGuire,
GRiD, tel [phone]).

#ENDCARD



#CARD :1992 JUN 24 PC Expo: Mitsubishi Intros First 17-Inch Monitor, Printer 06/24/92

(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00001)

PC Expo: Mitsubishi Intros First 17-Inch Monitor, Printer 06/24/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- At PC Expo,
Mitsubishi  has introduced a 17-inch CRT (cathode ray tube)
monitor for PCs, Macs and Unix, along with Windows 3.1 and
PostScript compatibility for its midrange wax thermal and
high-end dye sublimation printers.

Craig H. Sloss, product marketing manager for Display Products,
told Newsbytes that the new monitor, the Diamond Pro 17, is not
only the company's first 17-inch display, but also the first
Mitsubishi product to use a new technology called aperture grille
cathode-ray tube.  Unlike earlier flat square and precision
in-line faceplate CRTs, the new technology lets users control
convergence, according to Sloss.  Brightness and contrast are
also superior, he stressed.

Further, he said, aperture-grille CRT technology is lowering
monitor prices while at the same time increasing product
availability.  "This is being accomplished by improving the yield
rates, or percentages of products that survive the manufacturing
process without having to be discarded due to error," he
commented.

The Diamond Pro 17 will appeal to Windows, Open Look, and
Macintosh users who want the best desktop monitors available
for their systems, as well as to users who require high-
performance CAD/CAM/CAE (computer-aide design/manufacturing/
engineering) displays but don't want to spend the extra $1,000
needed for a 20-inch product, he remarked.

Outside of the benefits supplied by the new CRT technology, said
Sloss, the monitor is noteworthy because it features the Diamond
Match Color Calibration System, a microprocessor-based method of
adjusting the on-screen colors to match hardcopy, Pantone, or other
color samples.  Professional designers and printers will appreciate
these capabilities, he noted.

The Diamond Pro 17 is compatible with all medium- to high-
resolution graphics standards from 640 by 480 through 1280 by
1024 at 60 MHz noninterlaced.  Priced at $1,599, the product is
shipping.

The color printers that have been upgraded with Windows 3.1 and
PostScript compatibility are the 300 and S300 dye sublimation
printers and the G650 wax thermal printer.  "We like to say that
the 300 and S300 provide photographic quality, while the G650
provides pleasing quality," Stan Perkins, manager of Imaging
Product Marketing, told Newsbytes.

But the popularity of the midrange wax thermal color printer is
rising with the ascendance of Windows, he emphasized.  "End users
see these beautiful color programs on their screens, and it gets
them thinking about outputting in color," he commented.

In addition to being enhanced with Windows 3.1 and PostScript
compatibility, the G650 has been supplied with a larger paper bin,
capable of printing on to 12- by 18-inch paper, instead of the
11- by 17-inch stock that was the top limit in the past.

Each of the printers had previously been enhanced with Windows
3.0 compatibility.  The Print 300 is priced at $14,995, the S340
at $10,995, and the G650 at $6,995.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920623/Press Contact:  Charles J. Marchand,
Miller Communications for Mitsubishi, tel [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 24 New For PC: Fastback Plus 3.1 Data Backup Program 06/24/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00002)

New For PC: Fastback Plus 3.1 Data Backup Program 06/24/92
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- Fifth
Generation Systems (FGS) says it is now shipping Fastback Plus
3.1 for DOS, the latest version of its data backup program.

FGS says version 3.1 supports the most popular QIC tape hardware,
including Irwin Archive and Colorado. Fastback Plus will backup
hard drive data and programs to either tape or floppy disks, and the
process can be automated. The company also publishes versions of
Fastback for Windows, Netware, and Macintosh systems.

Barry Bellue, president of FGS, said the company has returned the
command line option based on customer request. Fastback's earlier
versions could run from the command line, or from the program's
menu structure. Bellue said tape support has also been added to
automatically operate unattended at scheduled intervals.

Fastback Plus 3.1 runs on IBM PCs and compatibles that have 640
kilobytes of random access memory (RAM) and a hard drive. The
program supports the use of a Logitech and Microsoft compatible
mouse, and has a suggested retail price of $189.

(Jim Mallory/19920623/Press contact: Jorge Vallery, FGS,
504-291-7221)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 24 New For PC: US Version Of Tman POS Software Launched 06/24/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00003)

New For PC: US Version Of Tman POS Software Launched 06/24/92
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- Bold
Point Software has begun shipping a version of its Tman point-of-
sale and inventory control software for the United States market.
Bold Point has also signed a distribution agreement with
DistribuPro of San Jose, California.

The United States version of Tman differs from the Canadian
version, which has been on the market for some time, mainly in
tax handling, said Kerry Johnston, president of Bold Point. It
replaced the Canadian provincial sales taxes and Goods and
Services Tax with state tax and federal excise tax.

Tman has always been able to handle inventory on either a
first-in, first-out, or a last-in, first-out basis, Johnston said,
noting that the latter approach is more popular in the United
States.

Johnston said the potential market for Tman in the United States
is at least 10 times that in Canada. He added that he expects the
product's availability in the US will actually help Canadian
sales as well, observing that Canadian customers are often
suspicious of Canadian software and regard sales outside the
country as proof the product is a good one.

(Grant Buckler/19920623/Press Contact: Kerry Johnston, Bold
Point Software, 604-687-2000, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 24 New For Unix: Image Program Update Slated For SIGGRAPH 06/24/92


(NEWS)(UNIX)(TOR)(00004)

New For Unix: Image Program Update Slated For SIGGRAPH 06/24/92
MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA, 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- At the SIGGRAPH
show and conference in July, Discreet Logic plans to introduce a
new version of Eddie, its interactive special effects and
compositing program for Silicon Graphics workstations.

Eddie offers an assortment of software tools for enhancing and
combining images from video, film, and computer graphics. Its
capabilities include "morphing," the ability to convert one image
smoothly into another through computer processing rather than
tedious hand-animation.

New capabilities in the upcoming release will include a feature
called "3D from 2D," which will use a computer algorithm to add
shading to two-dimensional drawings, giving the appearance of
depth, a spokeswoman for the company said.

The morphing tool will get a number of new features designed to
make it easier to use, the spokeswoman said. Finally, a built-in
paint program will be added to the software.

The spokeswoman said Eddie is complementary to three-
dimensional animation software.

(Grant Buckler/19920623/Press Contact: Pat Hunter, Artemis
Hunter Public Relations for Discreet Logic, 416-487-4488, fax
416-487-7335; Discreet Logic, 514-272-0525, fax 514-272-
0585)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 24 Compatible Systems Ships DECnet Support For Router 06/24/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00005)

Compatible Systems Ships DECnet Support For Router 06/24/92
BOULDER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- Compatible
Systems Corp. (CSC) has introduced a new software module that
will become a part of their EtherRoute/TCP product. The
EtherRoute/TCP is a router that supports LocalTalk and TCP/IP
installations. The new module allows the AppleTalk side to talk
with DECnet networks, a capability which previously was not
available.

Matt McConnell, president of Compatible Systems said: "There are
several popular software packages available for Macintosh to DEC
communications which depend on DECnet support being available in
a router, including Digital's Pathworks and Thursby Software's
TSSNet. We have found that DECnet is a requirement in some sites
with DEC machines installed, although TCP/IP is commonly used
for this purpose. And we see more and more DEC installations
wanting to connect their Macs to the corporate network."

This DECnet phase IV support module is shipping now with all new
purchases of EtherRoute/TCP. There is no additional cost for the
software module. Existing users who wish to add this capability
to their router should contact the company to arrange for a free
upgrade. It is CSC's policy to add more and more software
functionality to their routers without charging their customers
for these capabilities. CSC routers retail for $1,895 with TCP/IP
support.

(Naor Wallach/19920623/Press Contact: Sally Smith, SSSMith
and Associates, 513-897-0654)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 24 New Direction For NIKE With Sun Microsystems And Oracle 06/24/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00006)

New Direction For NIKE With Sun Microsystems And Oracle 06/24/92
TSIMSHATSUI, HONG KONG, JUN 24 1992 -- The US sports footwear
and apparel giant, NIKE Inc., has installed a Sun Microsystems server
and Oracle Financials software as part of a plan to establish its
own distribution, marketing, and retail sales operation in Hong Kong.

Running on a powerful dual-processor SPARCsystem 670MP server
from Sun Microsystems, Oracle Financials will enable NIKE to
monitor and control every aspect of its retail business.

"Though NIKE has had a presence in Hong Kong for more than 10 years,
we used to rely on independent distributors to market our shoes and
sportswear," said LAN Administrator Helen K.P. Tang. "We have been
using a Banyan Vines PC network, but its previous configuration was
not capable of supporting the kind of business that NIKE is moving
towards."

NIKE previously used a range of different software packages in each
of its Asian offices. As this software disparity made it difficult to
consolidate and analyze vital financial information, the company
decided to standardize on Oracle Financials. "Now we can establish
common reporting procedures, achieve better and faster management
information and consolidate support throughout the region," said
Tang.

Nike's US headquarters spent over a year examining and evaluating
more than 30 packages, before choosing Oracle. Power,
flexibility, an international presence, and support were major
factors in Oracle's favor.

"We needed a powerful solution that could deal with a large number
of variables," said Tang. "For example, with the case of footwear,
we have to do inventory by a great many different criteria like size,
width, color, and style. Some of our product codes are 28
characters long."

In addition, NIKE needed a computing system with a wide range of
binary-compatible products. While some of its offices could utilize
the low-cost SPARCstation2, in Hong Kong, with business expanding
rapidly, NIKE System Analyst Michael Y. W. Liu selected the powerful
dual-processor SPARCsystem 670MP, in order to have the capacity
to handle future needs.

"Oracle Financials software is compatible with Unix," Liu said. "We
tested it on the SPARCsystem 670MP and were very comfortable
with it's performance."

Service was also a critical consideration. According to Liu, the
fact that Sun Microsystems and its Open Systems Support Partners
were capable of providing support at all NIKE's sites throughout
the Asia-Pacific region had a definite impact on the selection
criteria.

With the new system up and running, NIKE is able to analyze exactly
how its marketing activities are progressing and develop better
management information. Data on size preferences in Hong Kong or
this season's most popular colors, can be extracted and used to
streamline sales efforts.

However, according to Tang, knowing what has been selling well is
only half the battle. She is looking towards the day when NIKE's
Hong Kong sales office will be able to see into the future.

"Our US headquarters is using Oracle development tools to create
applications that will help us project future trends.  Such
applications would enable orders to be placed well in advance. They
would also help factories schedule their production runs with more
precision, allow better control of raw materials and, in the end,
make prices more competitive in the stores," said Tang.

The new sales office, which officially opened at the beginning of
June, will house accounting, sales, marketing, MIS, retail and order
entry. It is envisaged that demand on computer resources will
increase.

"That was one of the reasons we chose a client/server solution,"
said Liu "It gives us the flexibility to meet our existing needs
without compromising our ability to cope with the demands of
the future."

According to Liu, the choice of the Sun Microsystems SPARCsystem
670MP server was result of stringent hardware evaluation by NIKE's
headquarters. "When the head office tried SPARCstation, it provided
good performance, supported a large number of users and was in the
right price range. It has been recommended to our other distribution
offices," said Liu.

The region-wide implementation will enable NIKE to link all of its
regional offices into a wide area network over leased lines.

(Brett Cameron/19920622/Press contact: Brian Paterson, Euan
Barty Associates, Tel: [phone];HK time is GMT + 8)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 24 Marvin Kalb Moderates "Great Technology Debate" Panel 06/24/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00007)

Marvin Kalb Moderates "Great Technology Debate" Panel 06/24/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUNE 24 (NB) -- At a June
22nd panel discussion in New York City's Lincoln Center sponsored by
Computerworld and Computer Associates, former CBS-TV newsman
Marvin Kalb asked a distinguished group industry figures: "Whether
the United States needs a national technology policy and, if so, who
should run it?"

The panel to which the question was addressed was composed of
Gordon Bell, designer of much of Digital Equipment's early systems
and 1991 recipient of the National Medal of Technology; Senator Jeff
Bingaman (D-NM), chair of the Senate Defense and Technology
Subcommittee; Lewis Branscomb, Harvard professor and former chief
scientist, IBM;  Doug Michels, co-founder of The Santa Cruz Operation
(SCO); Stephen S. Roach, principal and senior economist, Morgan
Stanley & Company; and Roger J. Sippl, founder and chairman of
Informix Software, Inc.

Sippl, speaking first, said that we do need a policy but that it
should be limited to financial incentives for development -- tax
credits for research and development, and lower capital gains tax --
and, other than that, "the government should get out of the way of
the entrepreneurs."

Roach said, that while he agrees with those that say there is a
crisis, it is our use of technology is the heart of the problem. He
said "It is not that there are problems with our technology; it is
rather that our information society has not reaped the benefits of
its enormous investment in the technology. There has been very
little growth in clerical productivity due to the technology. We
have just gone through our first white-collar recession and there
would not have been the great loss in white collar jobs if these
positions had been productive."

Roach added that it is in the area of productively using our
technology that should be addressed by any policy group.

Gordon Bell said that there should be a policy which would get the
government out of control of technology and standards but would
put such things in the hands of industry self-organized groups with
government partners. He also called for getting the control of
government policy away from the military and advocated the
privatization of government research labs.

Bell also said that he favor subsidization of technology
manufacturing, saying: "We subsidize farming, why not
manufacturing? We should be rewarding IBM for doing its own
manufacturing instead of simply watching Apple get out of
domestic manufacturing."

Bingaman called for government investment in high risk
development areas as a way to stimulate innovation. He called for
the broadening of DARPA's (Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency) role to encompass non-military related development as
well as projects of military significance.

Michels said that it is ironic that it has been government policy
that, to date, has been responsible for the trend toward open
systems. He said: "DARPA and NIST (National Institute of Standards
and Technology) have been prime players in this development. so
we really have had some national policy."

Michels then addressed the question -- "How can government help
without getting in the way?" and said: "Just find what is broken
and fix it. Our educational system is broken - fix it! We have a short
term mindset and do not plan for long term development. Our legal
system is totally ambiguous when it comes to patent and copyright
law. We must invest in education, structure a tax system that
rewards long term investment and rewrite the intellectual property
laws. That's how government can help."

Branscomb said: "We have some fundamental competitive problems.
Japan invests more and trains more. It was embarrassing for us to
lose dominance in the machine tool and robotics industries -- these
were invented at MIT. We spend more on R&D than Japan, Germany,
and France combined yet do not show a proper return on the
investment. That is because it is a top-down approach that gives
us such products as SDI -- I call it a socialist policy."

Branscomb continued: "The government should work with industry
to identify those breakthrough areas where government investment
is called for."

At the close of the panelist statements, Kalb opened the floor to
questions and then, in closing asked each speaker to identify the
presidential candidate who he feels will be the best one to advance
technology. He  also asked for recommendations that the panelist
would make to this new president-elect. The panelist's choices
follow: Lewis Branscomb -- Clinton; Doug Michels -- "I'm not sure
it makes a difference;" Senator Bingaman -- Clinton; Gordon Bell --
Perot; Stephen Roach -- Perot; Roger Sippl -- Bush.

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen//19920624/Press
Contacts: Lloyd D. Benson, Cudaback Strategic Communications,
617-661-6330; Bob Gordon, Computer Associates, 516-342-2391)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 24 Artisoft Bundles StationWare With Central Station 06/24/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00008)

Artisoft Bundles StationWare With Central Station 06/24/92
TUCSON, ARIZONA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- Starting early in June,
Artisoft has begun bundling all three of its Stationware products
to purchasers of its Central Station connectivity processor. Central
Station is a hardware device that contains a PC connection port,
one parallel port, two serial ports, an optional SCSI (Small Computer
Systems Interface) port, and an Ethernet connection. It could be
used for any number of things and Artisoft is marketing three
software packages that tailor it for these purposes.

When you buy a Central Station you always got the laptop
connectivity Stationware product with it. This allowed you to dock
your laptop to the unit and use the Central Station as the laptop's
network interface card. Artisoft has developed two other programs
that fall into the Stationware line. Printer Server Stationware is
used to turn the Central Station into a printer server by the use
of the parallel or serial ports. Dial-Up Connection Stationware used
the Central Station as a modem connection to the network. Both
applications sold separately for $99 each.

There are two versions of each of these applications and of Central
Station itself. One of the versions supports LANtastic networks
while the other supported Novell Netware based networks. Artisoft
has been developing Stationware applications for each of these two
platforms. However, the Netware version of the Dial Up Connection
Stationware is not released at this time. Purchasers of the Novell
version of Central Station will receive the Printer Server
Stationware that is appropriate for their use as well as a coupon
that lets them add the Dial Up Connection Stationware for free
when it becomes available later in the summer.

This promotion is billed as a limited time offer. However, the
company has not set a date at which time the promotion will have
ended. In addition, people who have purchased Central Station after
May 1 or those who have purchased Stationware products after that
date should contact Artisoft customer support for details on how
they can either get the products for free or receive a
reimbursement of their purchase price.

(Naor Wallach/19920623, Press Contact: Joe Stunkard, Artisoft,
602-690-3231)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 24 Claris Ships MacDraw Pro 1.5 06/24/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00009)

Claris Ships MacDraw Pro 1.5 06/24/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- As reported
by Newsbytes recently, Claris has prepared a significant upgrade to
their drawing program MacDraw Pro.

The new version is called MacDraw Pro 1.5 and it offers significant
speed enhancements over the previous versions. Claris is claiming
25 to 75 percent faster performance in most areas where speed is
measured including text entry, image displays, and printing.

In addition to the speed enhancements, Claris is saying this new
version is full "System 7 savvy," which means that is supports all
of the operating system's features including QuickTime, publish &
subscribe, Apple events, add Balloon Help.

MacDraw Pro 1.5 is shipping now. It is available for purchase for
a retail price of $399. Current users of MacDraw II or any of the
competing drawing packages like Corel Draw or Canvas can upgrade
to MacDraw Pro 1.5 for $99. Those who are currently using MacDraw
Pro1.0 can upgrade for $15.

(Naor Wallach/19920623/Press Contact: Kevin Mallon, Claris,
408-987-7227)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 24 Cabletron And Crescendo Agree On Single FDDI Spec 06/24/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00010)

Cabletron And Crescendo Agree On Single FDDI Spec 06/24/92
ROCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- Cabletron
and Crescendo have come to an agreement on the way to encode
digital data in an FDDI (fiber data distribution interface) network
that is using unshielded twisted pair wiring. This agreement paves
the way for this method to become the standard that will be
adopted by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

Up until now, Cabletron and Crescendo represented the two different
proposals that were in front of ANSI and were backed by other
companies like AT&T, British Telecom, Fibronics, Hewlett-Packard,
Ungermann-Bass, and National Semiconductor. The two proposals
were either Crescendo's Multi-Level Transmission - 3 (MLT-3) or
Cabletron's digitally equalized Non Return to Zero Inverted (NRZI).

Under this agreement, Cabletron and Crescendo will be proposing a
single modified MLT-3 proposal to the ANSI committee that is
meeting this week. Both companies expect that their agreement will
smooth the path for this standard and that the actual standard may
get released as early as January 1993. The companies engineers have
been working together on the modifications to the original proposal
and expect to continue to work together to firm up several areas
that are still relatively undefined or technically ambiguous.

Sources within Cabletron told Newsbytes that although none of the
other companies involved in the standardization effort have stood
up to support this new proposal, that they are just "straddling
the fence and waiting to see what will happen."

Should this proposal be adopted as the standard, one would expect
to see implementations in silicon of this technology soon after the
standard is published. This means that by this time next year there
may be some products out that allow for the use of the FDDI
specifications and data rates to operate across unshielded twisted
pair wiring. This will have to be Type 5 cabling so most offices
will still need to worry about pulling new wire through their walls
should they decide to adopt FDDI.

(Naor Wallach/19920623, Press Contact: Darren Orzechowski,
Cabletron, 603-332-9400 extension 1282)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 24 Chipcom Signs Reseller Agreement With Ascom Timeplex 06/24/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00011)

Chipcom Signs Reseller Agreement With Ascom Timeplex 06/24/92
SOUTHBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- To
date, Chipcom has been overly reliant on sales that come in from
Digital Equipment Corporation. That is the message that many
financial analysts have given to Chipcom over the past few months.
Consequently, Chipcom decided to do something about it and they
are on a push to increase their market share and distribution
arrangements.

At this time, Chipcom is announcing a worldwide reseller agreement
with Ascom Timeplex. This agreement is very similar to the one that
Chipcom currently has in place with DEC. It is also going to be the
model that will be used with other such agreements that Chipcom is
expected to make public within the next few weeks.

Basically, Ascom Timeplex gets the rights to sell Chipcom
equipment anywhere in the world they choose to do so. To help
Ascom Timeplex in their task, Chipcom has trained all of the
appropriate people within Ascom Timeplex and plans to continue
to offer such training as new products are developed and introduced.
Ascom Timeplex for its part, will sell, install, service, and
maintain the whole of the Chipcom line wherever it is sold by them.

James Babcock, vice president of marketing for Ascom Timeplex
has stated that: "Ascom Timeplex customers expect high quality,
redundancy, resiliency, and fault tolerance in the products we
offer. Chipcom, an acknowledged technological leader in the
switching hub market, has raised the standards of excellence for
these qualities and has integrated them into their intelligent hub."

According to David Fowler, Chipcom's vice president of marketing:
"Our distribution strategy continues to be focused on working with
superior resellers and systems integrators. This relationship with
Ascom Timeplex greatly expands our third-party channel, and gives
users a worldwide source for a broad range of product solutions."

(Naor Wallach/19920623/Press Contact: Christine LeCompte,
Beaupre & Co. for Chipcom, 603-436-6690)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 24 French War For Mobile Datacoms Hots Up 06/24/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00012)

French War For Mobile Datacoms Hots Up 06/24/92
PARIS, FRANCE, 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- In parallel with the battle
for supremacy in the mobile voice telecoms arena, the French
government is preparing the ground for a similar war on the
mobile data front.

Unlike the mobile voice telecoms battle, however, the Ministry of
Posts and Telecommunications in France wants to control the
competition. The government agency says that it is allowing just
four companies -- Bouygues, the French manufacturing concern;
Cofira, the mobile telecoms division of Generale des Eaux; France
Telecom, the state telecoms company, and Hutchinson, the UK
mobile telecoms company -- to bid for a license.

All four companies are keeping their plans for a network quiet
until licenses are awarded by the French government at the end of
this year, just as the so-called "free European market" opens for
business, and customs plus trading barriers between European
Community (EC) countries come down. Sources in the industry
suggest, however, that two mobile data licenses will be awarded.

All four companies are "dark horses" when it comes to the
technology they plan to use in France for their respective mobile
data networks. Logic suggests that they will use a derivative of
the VHF/FM packet radio networks as seen in the UK. This will
enable the successful licensees to use existing technology to get
the French mobile data networks operational as quickly as
possible.

(Steve Gold/19920624)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 24 Deutsche Bundespost Would Welcome Open Telecoms Market 06/24/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00013)

Deutsche Bundespost Would Welcome Open Telecoms Market 06/24/92
BONN, WESTERN GERMANY, 1992 JUN 24 (NB) - Deutsche Bundespost
Telekom (DBT) and the German government would welcome a totally
open telecoms market in Germany, Christian Schwarz-Schilling, the
country's postal minister, has said.

Speaking at the international postal and telecoms conference in
Bonn this week, Schwarz-Schilling, said that the only proviso the
government had for a totally free market would be that DBT be
transformed into a private company. This, he said, would allow
DBT to compete on equal terms with any new company as they
entered the German telecoms marketplace.

Schwarz-Schilling added that no major company with a proven
track record, as well as experience in the field of telecoms,
should be denied a place in the German telecoms marketplace.

The minister's comments come as a something of a surprise, even
in the light of the recent acceleration in liberalization of the
German telecoms marketplace, since DBT and the German
government were renowned for their liking for the near-
monopoly that DBT enjoys in the German telecoms market.

(Steve Gold/19920624)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 24 Ericsson Secures Major UK Mobile Telecoms Contract 06/24/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00014)

Ericsson Secures Major UK Mobile Telecoms Contract 06/24/92
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- Vodafone has awarded
Ericsson, the Swedish telecoms company, with a UKP 30 million
contract for electronic mobile exchange (EMX) hardware. The
equipment will be used in Vodafone's next-generation digital
mobile telephone network, known as Groupe Speciale Mobline
(GSM).

What's interesting about the deal is that Ericsson has made the
announcement about the contract rather than Vodafone. To date,
after a surge of activity a few years ago, culminating in the
opening of a pilot GSM network in the London area last year,
Vodafone's activity on the GSM front has been noticeably quiet.

The reason for this has been widely interpreted as due to a
slackening of demand for mobile telephony in the UK, as the
existing analog networks -- operated by Cellnet and Vodafone -
have reached saturation levels in terms of market penetration.
The GSM technology, Newsbytes notes, was designed before the
current recession hit Europe.

Although Vodafone has yet to confirm the contract, Ericsson
officials have said that the contract calls for them to supply
Vodafone with switching equipment and associated telecoms
hardware for use on the GSM network. Ericsson has confirmed
that some of its technology will also be supplied for use on the
micro-cellular networks, a city-based mobile phone technology
that Vodafone has yet to reveal its plans for.

(Steve Gold/19920624)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 24 Bull, Olivetti & Siemens Form Joint Venture Company 06/24/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00015)

Bull, Olivetti & Siemens Form Joint Venture Company 06/24/92
PARIS, FRANCE, 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- Bull of France, Olivetti of
Italy, and Siemens of Germany have announced plans to form a
new company -- Trans European Information Systems (TIES) -- a
joint venture company involved in the field of wide area networks
within Europe.

Plans call for TIES to be based in Brussels, although offices
may be located throughout Europe, company officials said.
Specifically, the new company will supply distributed network
technology for companies and governments wanting to link
different computer systems around Europe.

Andre Chuffart, a senior manager with Bull, will become the
managing director of TEIS, when it becomes operational at the
end of this year. Plans call for the three companies, each of
which will have an equal stake in TEIS, to pool their existing
contracts for the provision of European networking. According
to Bull, TEIS will aim to secure 50 percent of the European data
and voice networking market within a short space of time.

Newsbytes notes that all three companies are at the planning
stages only with TEIS, so precise financial arrangements have
yet to be agreed. Full company details will be announced later
this year, officials with Bull told Newsbytes.

(Steve Gold/19920624)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 24 Russia: On-line Service Launched In St Petersbourg 06/24/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00016)

Russia: On-line Service Launched In St Petersbourg 06/24/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- Another information
system is available for business users in St Petersbourg, Russia.

The commercial information service has "on sale" and "wanted"
classified ads, business offers, a fully searchable database,
a local and national press digest, and local trade news.

The database is being offered on-line by the PIRS company. The
company said the service gives real opportunity in the market
because there are so few on-line services available. The service
has a "very reasonable" pricing structure. It carries nothing
related to leisure activities.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920623/Press contact: PIRS, Andrey
Swetashow, phone [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 24 Russia: Overview Of Local Financial Telecom Projects 06/24/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00017)

Russia: Overview Of Local Financial Telecom Projects 06/24/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- Several companies have
formed the local Data Security Business Network (KABIT) and have
released the research on local developments in the financial
telecommunications market.

Igor Pasynkov, one of KABIT strong supporters, said that the
major problems of having a locally-developed electronic banking
system, a highly secure electronic signature, data  communication
systems, and an electronics securities market, are all being
actively addressed by the number of local companies.

ExNet and SET Blits, which comprise of a number of exchanges and
trading houses have already had their own electronic trading
systems up and running for months.

Business information is now available via newly-born information
services. It is also planned for some, not yet developed, media
such as teletext and satellite TV back channel data  transmission.

Rinako (a Russian Investment Shareholders Company) is fighting
to build the communications and organizational infrastructure
for the primary and secondary securities market, and has already
established the "electronic shares depositarium" -- a distributed
computer-based register of shareholders.

The Russian telecommunications market has already solved the
problem of having electronic mail gates with telex, fax, and
paper mail, which does not require complicated tech systems.

The Russian Central Bank is organizing, without any official
statements, an international tender to build a financial
communications network in the country. Up to eight companies
and consortiums are competing for the big business to be offered
by the bank. According to Newsbytes sources, the bank is close
to a final selection.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920623/Press Contact: Kabit, Igor
Pasynkov, e-mail [e-mail]; phone [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 24  ****Saudi Arabian Group Wins UPI 06/24/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00018)

 ****Saudi Arabian Group Wins UPI 06/24/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- Middle East
Broadcasting Centre Ltd., a London-based group owned by
Saudi Arabian investors, is the new owner of United Press
International. The group submitted a bid of $3.95 million cash
for the wire service, edging out New York lawyer Leon Charney's
$3.75 million bid, plus 10 percent of the new company's equity.
The Saudis are expected to put another $10-12 million into the
company in an attempt to return it to profitability.

Charney had won a supposed stand-still agreement from UPI
creditors to examine the company's books, and spent about
$360,000 on payroll costs while doing so. He worked with a
charity backed by Dutch lottery proceeds, and a number of
investment bankers, in preparing his bid. He said after the
hearing UPI had violated that agreement, but the court disagreed.
Charney also wondered aloud whether Saudis would retain UPI's
reputation for fairness. Representatives of the group said they
would, and insisted they're not affiliated with the government
there.

Bankruptcy court judge Francis Conrad, whose open auction for
the service last month in Rutland, Vermont, was won by Pat
Robertson, conducted the tense negotiations leading to MEB's
win in his New York courtroom. The deal is due to close June 27.
The company has already put up $200,000, and on that date will
add another $3.93 million in the form of a letter of credit. Since
UPI creditors were owed about $60 million in unpaid bills,
however, and the company listed total assets of $22 million in
its bankruptcy filing,. the creditors are expected to get just
pennies on the dollar.

Sandra Reimer, an attorney for Middle East Broadcasting, said
representatives of the company would soon fly to the United
States from London to meet with UPI management. Both Executive
Editor Steve Geimann and Wire Service Guild President Kevin Keane
said they accepted the result. Conrad expressed his sympathy for
the employees, who have taken a series of pay cuts over the last
17 months to keep the company operating, saying: "They must be
living in Dante's hell,"

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920624)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 24 Consolidation Continues In US Phone Service Business 06/24/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00019)

Consolidation Continues In US Phone Service Business 06/24/92
TAMPA, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- Consolidation
continues to be the rule in the US phone services business.

The alternative operator business, which emerged in the mid-
1980s as firms took control of pay phones and re-sold services
through them, is a classic example.

Once there were hundreds of such companies. Many were accused
of doubling or tripling rates paid at pay phones or in hotels, hiding
the charges in victims' charge card bills. Today, you must be given
access to the long-distance service of your choice, major phone
companies like AT&T have educated the public on their options, and
the pickings are slimmer. Hence, rapid consolidation.

The latest move in that area comes from Southnet, a Tampa
company best known for its international calling card. After
some skirmish with its own board, the company closed on Telecom
America, more than doubling its business in one move. Now it has
bought the assets of Fone America, another alternative operator
service or AOS company, out of bankruptcy. The transaction was
valued at $7.5 million, and Fone America had sales of $15 million
per year. Southnet now estimates it does business in 33 states
and projects annual revenues of $24-26 million.

Also, LDDS Communications of Jackson, Mississippi, which has a
pending merger with Advanced Telecommunications of Atlanta
which will create the country's new fourth largest long-distance
company, said it has bought TFN Group Communications, a long
distance reseller, as well as Telemarketing Investments, a long
distance provider, for an undisclosed amount of cash.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920624/Press Contact: Robert J. Zradicka,
Southnet, 813-287-2880)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 24 Bert Roberts Takes Over MCI 06/24/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00020)

Bert Roberts Takes Over MCI 06/24/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- As expected, Bert
Roberts was named chairman of the board of MCI Communications,
replacing the late William McGowan.

Roberts was already chief executive officer. Daniel F. Akerson,
chief operating officer, was named to the additional post of
president, formerly held by Roberts.  The board also named
Akerson and Richard T. Liebhaber, chief strategy and technology
officer, to serve on the company's board of directors.

Roberts, 49, joined MCI in 1972. He is a native of Kansas City,
Missouri, and a graduate of Johns Hopkins University in
Baltimore. Akerson, 43, has been with MCI since 1983. Liebhaber,
56, joined MCI in 1985, after holding various executive positions
with IBM Corporation.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920624/Press Contact: MCI Corporate News
Bureau, or 202-887-3000)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 24  ****AT&T Licenses Key PCMCIA Technology 06/24/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00021)

 ****AT&T Licenses Key PCMCIA Technology 06/24/92
APTOS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- AT&T has licensed
some key Personal Computer Memory Card International Association,
or PCMCIA, technology from Dr. Neuhaus, a leading European
manufacturer of advanced semiconductor technologies based in
Hamburg, Germany. Specifically, AT&T will use Dr. Neuhaus'
PCMCIA-compliant bus interface chip design in its newest chipset
for PCMCIA-compatible V.32bis modems.

The DNE 5001 design is an application-specific integrated
circuit, or ASIC, and is fully compliant with the PCMCIA
standard release 2.0, which allows for input and output. PCMCIA
represents over 200 major manufacturers and OEMs (original
equipment manufacturers) worldwide.

According to Intel, virtually all new mobile computers released
in 1993 will have at least one PCMCIA slot. These IC (integrated
circuit) slots will accept function cards like modems which are
just 5 millimeters thick, and the size of a credit card.

Because the DNE 5001 complies with PCMCIA release 2.0, it allows
the operation system and application software resident on a smart
card to execute in place from the ROM or "flash memory" on the
card, rather than first having to be loaded into the host
computer's random access memory. This reduces the need for large
amounts of RAM on palm-tops and handheld computers, giving OEM
manufacturers the opportunity to minimize overall system size and
cost.

Dr. Gottfried Newhaus, president and founder of the firm. said
in a press statement that: "When a company like AT&T
standardizes on a specific PCMCIA interface solution, it gives
other manufacturers the confidence they need to produce many
more products for this brand-new technology. Ultimately, that
means more affordable products for consumers."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920624/Press Contact: Dr. Neuhaus,
408/685-0928)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 24 Correction: Tandy Mobile Phones 06/24/92



(CORRECTION)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00022)

Correction: Tandy Mobile Phones 06/24/92
FORT WORTH, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- In a recent
story on an agreement between Nokia and Tandy to produce
mobile phones in the US, Newsbytes indicated that Tandy would
make phones for Nokia. In fact, the new joint venture, called TNC,
will produce the phones, to be distributed under the Tandy, Nokia,
and Technophone brand names -- the latter is wholly-owned by
Nokia.

Also, Newsbytes called Nokia "a money losing maker of cellular
phones." The statement may be considered misleading. In fact,
Nokia is the second-leading provider of cellular phones worldwide,
behind only Motorola, and makes money in its cellular phone
business. Based on an interim financial statement from the
company dated June 18, Nokia mobile phone sales are up 18
percent over the same period a year ago, making the operation
the "star" of the Nokia Group. The group as a whole, which is
engaged in other businesses, has lost money in recent years,
however.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920624/Press Contact: Paul McKeon, for
Newsbytes, 404-698-8650)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 24  ****Open Software Foundation Updates OSF/1 06/24/92


(NEWS)(UNIX)(TOR)(00023)

 ****Open Software Foundation Updates OSF/1 06/24/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) --
Compatibility and compactness are highlights of OSF/1 Release 1.1,
the latest version of the Open Software Foundation's Unix operating
system. Due to begin shipping June 26, OSF/1 Release 1.1 updates
one of the two major Unix versions, introduced in October, 1990.

Scalability enhancements in the new version enable OSF/1 Release
1.1 to run on systems with as little as four megabytes (MB) of
memory. Joe Maloney, technology manager for OSF/1, told Newsbytes
the new release uses dynamic configuration capabilities to load and
unload major subsystems, such as networking components or a
System V file system, as needed. The previous release of OSF/1
needed about eight MB of memory, Maloney said.

OSF/1's ability to run in less memory comes close on the heels of
the announcement that Unix System V Release 4.2, the chief rival
to OSF/1, has also been slimmed down to fit in about four MB of
memory. Unix System Laboratories made that announcement only
days before OSF's unveiling.

OSF/1 Release 1.1 also offers compatibility with the System V
Interface Definition, SVID 3. Maloney said this means applications
written for System V Release 4 will run on OSF/1 with a simple
recompile, and vice versa. Release 1.1 provides SVID 3
compatibility for base and kernel extensions, including a SVID 3
compatible STREAMS implementation.

OSF/1 is also fully compliant with POSIX 1003.1-1990, ANSI C, XPG3,
and other international standards. Maloney said OSF/1 1.1 also
complies to POSIX draft standards wherever they are "stable enough
to implement to."

The new release also has Extended Unix Codes (EUC) to support
international languages, including idiographic languages such as
Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. This means application developers
will not have to rewrite their application code to support
different languages, OSF officials said. The new release also
conforms to the X/Open XPG4 draft specification for wide-character
interfaces.

The new release includes performance enhancements, especially in
the areas of virtual memory, Network File System, and the loader,
the OSF said.

Parallel development continues in the OSF Research Institute on
the OSF/1 Microkernel technology, now available in snapshot form
to OSF/1 licensees.

The Release 1.1 tape includes reference implementations for three
architectures: Intel 302 (based on the 80386 processor); Digital
DECstation 3100 (based on MIPS Computer chips); and the Encore
Multimax (based on National Semiconductor processors).

OSF/1 Release 1.1 costs $85,000 for a source license with full
distribution rights, or $60,000 for a source license only.
Existing source licensees may upgrade from Release 1.0 for
$25,000. Licensees who full support contracts will receive the
upgrade without charge as part of their support services.
University site licenses cost $5,000.

Binary royalty fees remain at $65 per copy, with volume discounts
available. The price to upgrade non-distribution source licenses to
full redistribution rights remains $35,000.

Several computer vendors are already committed to implement the
new release on their hardware, Maloney said. They include: Intel,
which will put OSF/1 on its Paragon parallel supercomputer; Digital
Equipment, which will implement it on its Alpha systems and its
MIPS-based workstations; Apple, which will use OSF/1 in its A/UX
4.0 Unix variant; IBM, with its AIX/ESA mainframe Unix and its AIX
3.2 for RS/6000 workstations; Hewlett-Packard with its OSF/1
Technology Release; Hitachi; workstation manufacturer Intergraph;
Convex with its MPP system; and Kendall Square Research with its
KSR-1 implementation.

(Grant Buckler/19920624/Press Contact: Diane Rezendes, OSF,
617-621-8772)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 24 Phoenix To Go Retail With Communications Software 06/24/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00024)

Phoenix To Go Retail With Communications Software 06/24/92
NORWOOD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- Phoenix
Technologies has announced modem and facsimile communications
software which the company will sell not only to other
manufacturers but through retail channels, a break with Phoenix's
history.

The company that developed the first basic input-output system
(BIOS) compatible with that of the IBM personal computer, making
it possible for other companies to build IBM-compatible PCs, has
built its products on that BIOS and other software for PC
manufacturers. It has never sold its products directly to PC users.

The latest products, PhoenixFax facsimile software and
PhoenixData modem communications software, are available now
to PC manufacturers and makers of fax cards and modems. This
fall, Phoenix plans to begin selling PhoenixFax through retail
channels.

PhoenixFax incorporates PhoenixData, company spokesman Michael
Deutsche said. PhoenixData is available as a separate product to PC
and modem makers, but may or may not be offered as a retail
product.

Phoenix sees retailers as another way of reaching PC users,
Deutsche said. If a corporate microcomputer manager buys a PC,
modem, or fax cards that comes bundled with Phoenix software, he
or she may want the same software for other machines in the
organization. Making the software available through retailers will
make that possible, Deutsche said.

To bring the products to the retail market, Phoenix plans to draw
on the retail distribution channels of Quadtel, the Costa Mesa,
California company that it acquired in March. In addition to
manufacturing BIOS software as Phoenix does, Quadtel has a line
of memory management products sold through retail channels.
However, the Phoenix products will be sold under the Phoenix
name, not Quadtel's, Deutsche said.

The company plans further communications software
announcements in the next few months, officials said.

PhoenixFax is available for DOS and for Microsoft Windows.
PhoenixFax for Windows makes it possible to send a fax from any
Windows application program by capturing printer output, and
installs directly into Window's Print Manager. PhoenixFAX for DOS
is a memory-resident program, which also offers application
print capture and can fax files directly off the hard disk.

PhoenixData uses the Hayes AT command set, and handles the
Xmodem, Ymodem, and Zmodem protocols. PhoenixData can emulate
ANSI, TTY, VT100, and other standard terminal protocols, the
manufacturer said.

Phoenix also announced an alliance with Calera Recognition
Systems, a maker of optical character recognition software.
Phoenix will offer Calera's FaxGrabber software, which
converts incoming faxes into editable text, with PhoenixFax
for Windows. FaxGrabber for Phoenix will be available July 15,
the company said.

(Grant Buckler/19920624/Press Contact: Michael Deutsche,
Phoenix,617/551-4184; Eric Enge, Phoenix, 617-551-4287)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 24 Easel Announces Technology Partnerships 06/24/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00025)

Easel Announces Technology Partnerships 06/24/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- Easel,
maker of application development tools for client/server
computing, has announced a string of alliances with systems
integrators and other software developers.

Easel has joined the cooperative marketing programs of two
leading vendors of client/server database systems. The company
joined Oracle's Independent Software Vendor Program and Sybase's
Synergy Partners Program. These are in addition to a similar
relationship with Microsoft, under its SQL Solutions Partners
Program, that dates back to November, 1990. Easel also has a
cooperative relationship with IBM.

Agreements with development tool vendors Bachman Information
Systems and Pioneer Software are aimed at ensuring that products
from Easel and the two other companies continue to work together,
said Douglas Clauson, an Easel spokesman.

Easel is working with database connectivity vendors Information
Builders, Micro Desisionware, TechGnosis, and TechSmith, to
provide product links that allow Easel customers to build
applications that draw on data from across an organization. Easel
has also signed a cooperative marketing agreement with Micro
Decisionware.

A new EDA/SQL Option for Easel Workbench, Easel's flagship
development system, will work with Information Builders' EDA/SQL
Link to provide transparent access to data on almost any hardware
platform, the company said.

Two systems integrators, SHL Systemhouse and Price Waterhouse,
will market Easel's products and use them internally, Clauson said.

(Grant Buckler/19920624/Press Contact: Douglas Clauson, Easel,
617-221-3088)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 24  ****Microsoft Intros Pen-Based Windows For Desktops 06/24/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00026)

 ****Microsoft Intros Pen-Based Windows For Desktops 06/24/92
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- Microsoft
Corporation has unveiled a pen-based version of the Windows
operating system which will allow desktop personal computers
to use pens and tablets.

Microsoft said the new edition of Windows for Pen Computing,
which it unveiled at the PC Expo show running in New York City
this week, can be used in a regular IBM-compatible computer
equipped with a peripheral device called a tablet. The user writes
or draws on the tablet with a special stylus, or pen. Most pen-based
computers already introduced do not have a keyboard, and the user
writes or draws directly on the display screen. The portable
pen-based systems are primarily for use in applications such as
inventory control and tasks such as filling out forms.

Thirteen manufacturers of desktop peripheral devices say they will
offer the Windows operating system for pen computing with their
tablets, including SMART Technologies, ACECAD, Calcomp, Summa
Graphics, Wacom, and Arthur Dent Associates.

Microsoft spokesperson Kim Wolfkill told Newsbytes that the
tablets use an extension to Windows 3.1. He said that the technology
gives the desktop user the opportunity to experiment with Windows
for Pen Computing without having to buy a computer make
specifically for pen use.

Wolfkill said pens for some of the digitizer tablets are cordless,
while other connect via a cable. Prices, according to Wolfkill run
a wide gamut, from $130 to about $2,000.

In response to a question from Newsbytes, Wolfkill said products
from competitors such as Wordperfect will be able to take advantage
of Pen for Windows on a desktop, since the pen becomes a substitute
for the mouse in most cases.

One of the most interesting devices he described was a digitizer
tablet from Arthur Dent Associates that clips over the existing
display of a notebook or laptop screen, on which the user writes or
draws with the pen. The $595 device includes the digitizer, the
"tethered" pen, and a controller card, and the software extension to
Windows. Called WriteAway, the digitizer allows the user to turn
the computer 90 degrees to write in the portrait mode.

Arthur Dent Associates Chief Financial Officer Jonathan Huntington
told Newsbytes that the company is exhibiting the Zeos 386+
version of WriteAway at PC Expo. Asked about response from
showgoers, Huntington said "Unbelievable! The phone has been
ringing off the hook."

Huntington said the Zeos 386+ version is expected to ship by the
end of the month, as soon as FCC certification is received. So far,
Huntington told Newsbytes that the company said plans Compaq
LTE Lite and Toshiba versions next, and is working with other
companies to offer OEM (original equipment manufacturer)
versions.
.
The company told Newsbytes that they plan to offer a PCMCIA
model next year, but said that each digitizer will still have to
be customized for the manufacturer's screen.

Also unveiled by Microsoft at PC Expo was an enhanced edition of
its word processor Word for Windows with Microsoft's CD-ROM
Bookshelf Reference Library integrated into the program.

Bookshelf includes an encyclopedia, dictionary, thesaurus,
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations,the Concise Columbia dictionary of
Quotations, the Hammond World Atlas, and several other desktop
reference publications. Microsoft spokesperson Russ Dorr told
Newsbytes that registered owners of Word for Windows 2.0 can
upgrade to the enhanced version for $99.  Owners of earlier
versions can get the Bookshelf version for $199.

To use the Bookshelf, you need Windows 3.1, a 386-based machine
or  better, a CD ROM drive, a hard disk, at least 2 megabytes of
memory,  and a VGA display. Microsoft recommends a pointing
device, such as a mouse.

Dorr told Newsbytes that shipment depends on the CD ROM
production  schedule, but is expected to start shipping in
early July.

In other Microsoft news, executive vice president Mike Maples
confirmed that Windows NT, the "new technology" 32-bit version
of the Windows operating system, is on schedule. Maples said the
product would go to beta test sites in July and would be released
by the end of the year.

(Jim Mallory/19920623/Press contact: Kim Wolfkill, Waggener
Edstrom for Microsoft, 206-637-9097, Reader contact: Microsoft,
800-426-9400)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 24  ****HP Buy TI's Unix-based Computer Business, Jobs Lost 06/24/92




(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00027)

 ****HP Buy TI's Unix-based Computer Business, Jobs Lost 06/24/92
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- Texas Instruments has
announced that it has signed a letter of intent which will allow
Hewlett-Packard to buy TI's worldwide computer systems and
services business.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, however TI said the
transaction is not expected to have a material financial impact
on either company.

TI's Terri West told Newsbytes that the sale and support of the
Unix-based multiuser computers employs about 1,600. West said
about 450 of those would go to HP, with the fate of the remainder
uncertain. West said that some would be offered jobs in other TI
divisions, and some might be offered positions with HP.

Asked about the existing network of TI value-added resellers. West
told Newsbytes that HP hopes they will remain within the system.
"That's (the VAR network) one of the reasons HP was interested,"
said West.

West said one plant would close in Houston, where about 500
employees work. A second plant in Houston will remain open. West
said that most affected employees are in the Houston and Austin,
Texas area, as well as Europe, so job cuts for employees who do not
find other positions within TI or with HP will be felt hardest in
those area.

The sale does not take TI out of the computer business. West
pointed out that the company will continue to market notebook
computers, printers and other peripherals, software,
telecommunications systems, and process automation systems.
TI VP John White said the company will concentrate on software
productivity tools, as well as on hardware, "where we have a
sustainable competitive advantage."

According to HP Executive VP Lewis Platt, the purchase, "is the
latest step in our strategy to aggressively expand our position in
the commercial Unix market." Platt said the acquisition will
accelerate HPs momentum in the Unix arena by providing access
to new markets through TI's VAR network.

(Jim Mallory/19920624/Press contact: Terri West, TI, 214-995-
3481; Andrew Ould, HP, 415-857-2367)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 24  ****Digital World: Radius Announces Videovision 06/24/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00028)

 ****Digital World: Radius Announces Videovision 06/24/92
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- Radius has
announced a product at the Digital World show in Beverly Hills that
company officials say could revolutionize the video production
industry. The product is a hardware and software combination for
the Macintosh called Videovision.

Videovision is designed to be used with Quicktime, announced at
Digital World last year by Apple, and allows flicker free 24-bit
"printing" to a blank video tape via connection with a video cassette
recorder (VCR) of a multimedia presentation that includes computer
graphics, text, analog video, digital video, and sound. Radius
President Barry James Folsom said the product could create a
cottage industry video tape production industry the way the laser
printer created a desktop publishing boom.

John Scully was on hand for the announcement of Videovision and
likened the introduction of the product to the crucial strides in the
desktop publishing market that made it take off. Scully said in 1985
they (Apple) couldn't get anyone interested in desktop publishing,
but after they introduced the laser printer, by 1986 they couldn't
make the hardware fast enough.

The Videovision card comes with a "Breakout Box" as Folsom describes
it, that looks much like a power strip for electrical appliances. The
Breakout Box has a row of connections for video and audio input,
video and audio output, an external port that can support peripherals
like video editing decks. Video input and output can be in the form
of NTSC, PAL, and SECAM. The card has an R-bus connector for linking
to other Nubus cards and allows for the attachment of third party
add-on boards through H-bus connections.

The company claims that, while other cards perform some of the
functions of the Videovision card, no one competitor's card is
capable of the flicker free "printing" to video tape, including the
Video Spigot, the Nuvista card from Truevision.

Folsom said Radius is expecting the market for video production to
grow from the 1990 figure of $625 million to a $5 billion market by
1995. However, observers in the audience wondered when the company
would offer the card for under $1,000, which is the price point for
the Video Spigot and the accepted reason why the Video Spigot has
penetrated the market. Folsom assured attendees the product's price
will go down from its initial retail price of $2,399 in the six month
period following its anticipated release in July of this year.

However, the card also comes with Macromedia's new Action! 1.0,
and Videoshop and The Image Bank CD from Diva. Action! is a tool
for creation of multimedia presentations using templates to create
animated presentations and is retail priced at $495. Videoshop is a
software recording and editing tool for Quicktime movies retail
priced at $595. The Image Bank CD Collection Volume 1 is a compact
disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) with more than 300 professionally
produced Quicktime movie clips, and over 100 music and sound
effect files.

Videovision fits into any Nubus slot of any Macintosh II, IIX, IIcx,
IIci, or Quadra and can double as a 24-bit color frame buffer that
can display photorealistic images from any application. The display
capability eliminates the need for a separate display interface card.
The display card supports any Macintosh compatible monitor in 640 x
480 display including the 13-inch Applecolor RGB, the Radius Color
Pivot/LE, and the Radius Precisioncolor Display/20, the company
added.

When asked when Radius would create such a card for the IBM and
compatible personal computer platform, company officials said
Microsoft hasn't taken care of synchronization issues with dynamic
media and until some standard emerges on the PC platform that
does, Radius will wait.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920624/Press Contact: James Strohecker,
Radius, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 24  ****Digital World: Sweet Pea, Apple's Alliance With Toshiba 06/24/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00029)

 ****Digital World: Sweet Pea, Apple's Alliance With Toshiba 06/24/92
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- Apple has
announced an alliance with Toshiba to create a multimedia player
along the same lines as the personal digital assistants (PDA)
announced last fall, but called Apple's Personal Interactive
Electronics (PIE) and code named internally as "Sweet Pea." The
announcement was made by Apple President John Scully at Digital
World '92 in Beverly Hills, California.

Scully said the development of the PIE "family" of products and a new
operating system to go with them is the task of Kaleida, one of the
newly formed joint ventures between IBM and Apple. Scully
emphasized the new operating system will connect the PIEs to other
computer platforms and act as a kernel on top of existing operating
systems on multi-platforms to bring connectivity to multimedia.
Four main products to be connected to the server were outlined by
Scully as the Powerbook, the Newton, the multimedia player, and a
planned electronic book form Apple is developing with Random House.

The operating system, which was also referred to as Kaleida, will be
the answer to the incompatibility problems between platforms in
multimedia formats, Scully said. Scully talked about a server that
would act as a connecting point between PDAs, computers, and PIEs.

The server appears to be the foundation of this new interconnectivity
and when asked by moderator Jonathan Seybold if Apple was planning
to be both provider of the information hardware and a conduit for the
information itself, Scully said Seybold was very perceptive. Scully
said Kaleida is working on tools so current multimedia applications
will play on anything. The tools Scully listed were: Script-X, a the
single authoring language; a universal file format; runtime
environment extensions; and its own consumer operating system that
will support both Motorola 68000 family-based and Intel x86-based
computers.

Scully made many references to business and the corporate market
and said the technology is aimed at the corporate and educational
markets.

Warner New Media, a division of Time Warner, in conjunction with
the Apple announcement, announced plans to develop a variety of
multimedia content titles for the new PIE multimedia player. Apple
listed other companies at work on titles for the PIEs as Paramount
and Claris.

Scully responded to criticism leveled at the Apple/IBM ventures
that nothing is happening by saying the projects the two companies
are working on are at or ahead of schedule.

In conjunction with the announcement of the PIEs, Apple and IBM
announced the two companies have appointed Nathaniel Goldhaber
as chief executive officer and announced a board of directors for
Kaleida. Goldhaber, 44, is a principle in the venture capital firm
of Cole Bilburne Goldhaber & Ariyoshi Management of Berkeley,
California. Goldhaber sits on the boards of Shiva Corporation and On
Technology, founded a University in his early 20s, and as part of the
staff of the governor of the state of Pennsylvania was the first
public official to be informed of the 3-Mile Island crisis of the
1970s.

Equal numbers of Apple and IBM representatives form Kaleida's board
of directors. The newly appointed members were announced as: Robert
L. Carberry assistant general manager of Technology of IBM Personal
Systems; Albert A. Eisenstat, secretary and executive vice president
at Apple; Nubuo Mii vice president and general manager of Entry
Systems Technology at IBM; and David C. Nagel senior vice president
of the Advanced Technology Group at Apple. The Goldhaber will also
be a member of the new board, Apple said.

While Scully said no other board members are planned, additional
announcements about executive positions are expected in the next
30 days. Cupertino is to be the initial location for Kaleida until
permanent facilities in the San Francisco Bay area are found. About
35 people will form the initial employed group at Kaleida, Apple
added.

IBM also has a number of semiconductor projects going with Toshiba,
according to Scully and hopes are the three companies will make a
productive triangle. Both Apple and Toshiba have said each will
release its own PIE multimedia player, much like Apple's deal with
Sharp on the PDAs, and target delivery of the PIEs is projected for
mid-1993, Apple said. Each company's version will only be sold in
the US initially, Apple added.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920624/Press Contact: Brooke Cohan, Apple,
408-974-3019; Ted Kadoya, Toshiba, 212-308-2040; Jennifer
Rogers, Warner New Media, 818-955-9999)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 24 Digital World: Emphasis On Convergence, Information Network 06/24/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00030)

Digital World: Emphasis On Convergence, Information Network 06/24/92
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- From Andy
Grove of Intel to John Scully of Apple, everyone at the Seybold
Digital World Conference in Beverly Hills, California is talking
about convergence. Convergence is defined at the conference as
the intersection of various technologies and services that until
recently seemed unrelated.

Andy Grove of Intel and the first speaker at the traditionally
Macintosh gathering said convergence is the "next big thing." Grove
is president and chief executive officer of the company that
supplies the microprocessor chips for the IBM and compatible
personal computers (PCs). While each speaker tended to divide the
technologies that are converging a little differently, basically the
convergence includes the intersection of telecommunications,
analog communications (like video), consumer electronics, and
the computer industry.

The driving force behind the convergence is "pure greed," with each
company forming alliances to get into the other guy's piece of the
pie, Grove said.

Grove asserted the IBM compatible PC is the infrastructure for the
convergence and called the PC the "universal erector set." While the
majority of the conference attendees were Macintosh users, 70 to 80
percent by Jonathan Seybold's estimation of the raised hands in the
audience, Grove was undaunted and jokingly called the Apple users
"his majesty's loyal opposition," saying "...they have a place."

As part of the convergence, the discussion of the need for a National
Information Network was emphasized by Scully of Apple; Lucie
Fjeldstad vice president and general manager of multimedia at IBM;
and Richard Green president and chief executive officer of Cable TV
Laboratories. Green said the cable companies already have a
"tributary" in place for use in a National Information Network with
the advent of the replacement of coxial cable with optical fiber. The
fiber systems, which are replacing the coxial cable at an increasing
rate, are capable of two-way communication and of targeting
individual customers, Green emphasized.

IBM's Fjeldstad talked about using the cable network already in place
with a "set-top" box or a box that sits on top of the television that
would be capable of gigabyte speeds for data transfer. Green alluded
to the fact that the cable companies would expect such a box to do
decompression of the data signals as well. Fjeldstad said IBM
already has the architecture to produce such as set-top box and
plans to license the technology of the box to others as well.

Sony President Ron Sommer stepped away from the convergence
issue to talk about the need for standardization. However, a member
of the audience questioned Sony's sincerity and asked why the
company's day-to-day activities, such as starting analog high-
definition television and offering other new systems that are
interoperable with existing composite systems, appeared as
though the company were trying to slow down standardization.

The final speaker, Allee Willis described as a renaissance artist by
Jonathan Seybold, took the convergence from a different angle and
said the technology has progressed enough for artists to move in
and really do something different and exciting with it. Willis is an
award winning song writer, artist, writer, and set designer. Willis
has won numerous awards, including a Grammy in 1986 for Best
Soundtrack for "Beverly Hills Cop," the American Film Institute's
Directing Women's Award in 1991, and in 1990 an Ace Award for
Art Direction for her work in designing the set for Shelley Duval's
Disney Channel production of "Mother Goose Rock and Rhyme."

Willis said the current multimedia she has seen at the show is
boring. Artists are what is needed to make it warm, human, and
funny to draw people into the experience the way people are
drawn into the experiences in other media, such as film, she said.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920624)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 24  ****Apple, IBM Info Providers On A National Cable Network? 06/24/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00031)

 ****Apple, IBM Info Providers On A National Cable Network? 06/24/92
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- Apple, IBM,
and the cable television industry may be embarking on a new line of
information services, if the visions of their leaders expressed at
the Seybold Digital World Conference in Beverly Hills are accurate.
Richard Green, president and chief executive officer of Cable TV
Laboratories, likened the proposed National Information Network
to the system of inter-state highways built by the US government
after World War II.

It appears IBM and Apple see themselves as companies that can
move in and become the basis for a National Information Network.
IBM's Vice President of Multimedia Lucie Fjeldstad, said she sees
IBM as a service provider, not a hardware provider. Fjeldstad said
IBM has already developed the architecture for a unit that would rest
on top of a television set, a "set-top" box capable of gigabit speeds
for data transfer that could be connected to the fiber optic cable
network. Fjeldstad placed emphasis on the company's interest in
licensing the set-top box technology.

Apple's President John Scully said Apple plans to provide information
"Servers" by mid-1993 that will talk to the Powerbook, the Newton,
the newly announced multimedia player personal information system
(PIE), and planned electronic books. Scully admitted Apple sees
itself as a hardware provider and as a key player in the information
technology network.

Richard Green, president and chief executive officer of Cable TV
Laboratories, emphasized the cable television network as an existing
structure for the National Information Network. Fjeldstad said
information could be delivered in a variety of ways or "flavors" just
as shipping can be done in a variety of ways depending on the type of
object shipped, the needs of the shipper, and the needs of the
recipient.

Andy Grove, president of Intel placed emphasis on just-in-time
delivery of information to business. Grove said speed is of the
essence in the information delivery process, and Scully, Fjeldstad,
and Green placed emphasis on real-time delivery of multimedia
information.

The National Information Network as provided by Apple and IBM
sounded very much like it could make the companies public utilities,
like the electric or water companies. Both companies have placed
emphasis on the fact they have the technology and are willing to
license it to others, but maintaining control of the technology for
themselves.

However, other information networks are already in place, i.e. the
telephone lines, for information exchange. A session entitled "The
Telephone Company: Public Network or Information Provider?"
explored the topic with speakers Ken Thompson and Robert Pepper
of the FCC, Steve Case from American Online, Brewster Kahle of
WAIS, and David Knight of Isocor.

Recent announcements of products and services make
the use of the existing telephone lines for an information network
more plausible. AT&T has announced its video telephone, which
allows sound and video to be transmitted to another like-unit over
regular telephone lines, which be available for sale to consumers
this summer. Many businesses are installing ISDN lines for transfer
of data and voice over the same special telephone lines. Also
graphical information services for computer users with modems,
such as America Online and Prodigy are enjoying wide spread
acceptance and use.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920624)

#ENDCARD




#CARD :1992 JUN 23 Microsoft Intros Golf For Windows 06/23/92

(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00001)

Microsoft Intros Golf For Windows 06/23/92
WOKINGHAM, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 23 (NB) -- Microsoft
has announced that it will begin shipping Golf for Windows, a golf
playing emulation game specifically developed for Windows, this
August. Pricing on the package had yet to be decided.

Microsoft is making some bold claims for the game, which is
based around what the company describes as photo-realistic and
topographically accurate simulations of the Torrey Pines golf
course in San Diego.

"Golf for Windows demonstrates a new level of realistic
simulation and shows how Windows can be a great platform for
entertainment products that are fun and easy to use," explained
John Leftwich, Microsoft's director of marketing.

According to Leftwich, the package will appeal to both serious
PC users, as well as games players. This, he said, should
increase the use of PCs in the home.

Golf for Windows was developed by Microsoft's programmers who,
working in conjunction with Access Software Inc., the developers
of the original DOS version, enabled them to come up with
what they claim is the most accurate and realistic golf ball flight
equations. During the program's development, photo video images
of the golf course's features -- trees, bunkers, contours, and
lakes -- were converted into digitized images within the game.

In the game itself, this work translates into a 256-color
version of the DOS edition of Access Golf, along with the push-
button Windows interface, plus on-line help and multiple windows.
In play, the game has libraries of all seven of the Access Links
championship courses, which includes the famous PGA tour events
such as North Troon in Arizona, Pinehurst in North Carolina and
Firestone in Ohio. Several UK course libraries are planned for
release later this year.

Microsoft Golf for Windows runs on a DOS-based PC (version 3.1 or
later) equipped with VGA or better graphics, plus Windows 3.0 or
later. A minimum of an 80286 microprocessor plus 2 megabytes of
memory is required. A single floppy drive (720 kilobytes or more)
plus a mouse is also required.

(Steve Gold/19920622/Press & Public Contact: Microsoft - Tel:
0734-270001)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 23 Japan: NIFTY-Serve Provides Dataquest Industry Reports 06/23/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00002)

Japan: NIFTY-Serve Provides Dataquest Industry Reports 06/23/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 23 (NB) -- Japan's major personal
computer network, NIFTY-Serve, has started providing Dataquest
in its network, following an agreement with Japan Dataquest.

Dataquest provides industry analysis reports. Dataquest is
provided in Japanese on NIFTY-Serve. Japan Dataquest
will translate analysis reports in Japanese. Many personal
computer users can read some English, but still NIFTY has
decided to work out the deal with Japan Dataquest on a
Japanese version of Dataquest.

The information on the database encompasses computers and
peripheral equipment, strategy on the telecommunication
industry, industry market shares, market trends, the latest
technologies, new products, mergers and acquisitions, and
schedules and information concerning conferences and trade
shows.

According to a NIFTY spokesman, the firm has already been
receiving lots of inquiries about Dataquest, and many users
have already started using it.

The service fee for the database is 220 yen ($1.70) per minute
for 2,400 bits-per-second (bps) line users and 660 yen ($5) per
minute for 9,600 bps line users.

NIFTY-Serve had started the 9,600 bps service in May, and it has
been becoming popular among users. The 9,600 bps service is
provided for the ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network)
users, mobile phone users, and users of the public phone lines.

Any users who have a 9,600 bps modem can access NIFTY-Serve
via a public phone line. Currently, NIFTY-Serve has about a
370,000 membership, and the firm aims to gain a total of
500,000 membership by the end of this year.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920622/Press Contact: NIFTY,
[phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 23 Karaoke Service Starts Via ISDN Network 06/23/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00003)

Karaoke Service Starts Via ISDN Network 06/23/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 23 (NB) -- Brother Industry, Brother
Sales, and Intec are jointly preparing to launch a "Karaoke"
network service in Japan. It is called "Joy Sound," and will
begin in October.

The three firms' system consists of Brother's host computer and
the user's Karaoke machine with the network receiver. Brother
Industry will manufacture this network-based Karaoke device,
and they will be placed at bars, restaurants and hotels. Users
will then receive Karaoke music programs via Intec's ISDN
(Integrated Services Digital Network). Twenty music titles will
be supplied to the user per month. The device includes 3,000
music titles when it is first supplied from Brother. A total of
10,000 kinds of music titles can be stored in this Karaoke device.

The host computer will be located in Nagoya, which is between
Tokyo and Osaka. Brother plans to install about 300 nodes
throughout Japan.

The size of this Karaoke device has become much smaller than
a regular laser disc-based Karaoke machine, and is about a
third of the size. The Karaoke device will be rented to
customers at around 50,000 yen ($380) to 80,000 yen
($615). Twenty music titles will cost 2,500 yen ($20).

Brother Industry, Brother Sales, and Intec have already created
a joint venture firm for this business. Brother Industry has
provided 50 percent of the total 800 million yen ($6 million)
capitalization, and the other two firms have paid half the
capitalization.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920622/Press Contact: Brother Industry,
 [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 23 Publicly Available E-mail To Paper/Fax Gateway In CIS 06/23/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00004)

Publicly Available E-mail To Paper/Fax Gateway In CIS 06/23/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 JUN 23 (NB) -- A Russian company has
announced the availability of a gateway between Internet
electronic mail and paper mail and a fax service in the former
USSR.

Sending the e-mail message to addresses [e-mail] or
[e-mail] with "Help" in the body text will result in
15 kilobytes of the Russian-language file with English commands
to be sent to you.

The Elvis company claims that prices for the gateway will be quite
affordable. It was announced that a one-page fax within the former
Soviet Union will cost 50 rubles (US$0.5), and a one-page surface
mail letter 27 rubles (US$0.27).

The company says it will also offer message delivery to
addressees worldwide. The company will also offer mail list
services, letters on corporate letterheads, fax to e-mail and
paper to e-mail and the courier delivery in major cities.

A number of other smaller companies are offering the same
service via the Relcom e-mail network, but some observers
claim that they lack the marketing and sales efforts to
make the business successful.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920622/Press contact: Vladimir Provozin,
Elvis, phone [phone]; e-mail [e-mail])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 23 Indian Firms To Locally Produce Popular Software Pkgs 06/23/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEL)(00005)

Indian Firms To Locally Produce Popular Software Pkgs 06/23/92
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1992 JUN 23 (NB) -- Tata Unisys Ltd. (TUL),
which had tied up with Autodesk Inc., manufacturer of Autocad
last year as a stock-and-sale distributor, has now entered into
a new agreement to reproduce the Autodesk range of software
 packages in India.

TUL is among the first few companies to start local
manufacturing of international software packages after the
recent rationalization of the industrial policies by the
government.

Earlier, Lotus Development signed up with ITC Information
Technology Division and Case Technologies announced its tie-up
with Banyan, for local production of their software. However,
TUL is claimed to be the first external agency to Autodesk
worldwide for getting a manufacturer license for their
products.

Under the new contract, TUL will establish its own manufacturing
facility in India for the range of Autodesk products. The locally-
produced software will then be marketed by TUL through its
reseller network. The first product is likely to hit the market by
the end of this month. The Indian customer would now be benefitted
by firstly, getting Autocad products much sooner than in the past,
and secondly, by the price, which would be cheaper than imported
packages. Imported software attracts 110 percent customs duty

The ITC-Lotus venture and now the TUL tie-up with Autodesk for
reproducing foreign software in India might inspire other global
software vendors also to offer software publishing rights to
Indian companies. This is a boon to users, as the move is expected
to bring down the price of these packages considerably. It is also
seen as a boon to companies, as it will help in curbing piracy.

Tata Unisys is also the Indian distributor for Microsoft's
products for which similar arrangement for reproduction can be
expected soon.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920622)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 23 Indian Firm's Software To Be Used In TV Olympics Coverage 06/23/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEL)(00006)

Indian Firm's Software To Be Used In TV Olympics Coverage 06/23/92
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1992 JUN 23 (NB) -- India has opened its
account on the software track, as preparations continue for the
grand opening of the 1992 Olympics Games at Barcelona. New
Delhi-based Amsoft Systems, along with Pesa Electronica, the
official broadcast supplier for the '92 Olympics, has developed
the highly time-critical and complex Template Management
System (TMS), a software to help in TV coverage.

The TMS system allows independent generation of graphics and
corrections, cutting out the dependence on external sources for
latest statistics and scores, by providing a selection screen
with pre-configured buttons to the producer, who has to just
point-and-click to air the desired display with the latest data.

The system was initially developed for the coverage of six
slow games, but has now been accepted for the fast moving
ones also, bringing the number of games to be provided
coverage to 21 out of 28.

Amsoft is a two-year-old company, specializing in computer
graphics, multimedia, value-added software, and knowledge
engineering. Its successful projects include development of
digital stills storage for Pinnacle Systems of United States.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920622)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 23 IIA Starts Fighting For 900 Exchange 06/23/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00007)

IIA Starts Fighting For 900 Exchange 06/23/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 JUN 23 (NB) -- The Information
Industry Association, which represents programmers of caller-
paid "900" numbers, is finally fighting attempts to tighten
regulation on the exchange. The group had been supportive of
past efforts by state attorneys general and the Federal
Communication Commission to require preambles detailing
costs, to police every statement made on the exchange, and
to fight fraud.

But the IIA says South Carolina has gone too far. That state's
Public Service Commission has proposed that all phone
subscribers be blocked from gaining access to the "900"
exchange, unless they file papers asking for access.

The FCC has already said that subscribers can block the
exchange with such a request, but a pre-block, which most
people would ignore, is too much for the IIA to take. In
addition to protesting the action in Columbia, the state
capitol, the group has also asked the FCC to "pre-empt"
it, with a ruling that the 900 exchange is inherently an inter-
state, not intra-state service, and thus only the FCC can
regulate it. The FCC has taken such petitions seriously in the
past, and ruled a few months ago that BellSouth could ignore
an attempt by Georgia regulators to look into its Memory Call
voice-mail program, since it is inherently intra-state.

The IIA also put out a list of "good news" services, noting how
PBS stations used the exchange to raise money after "The Civil
War" mini-series, and how "Consumer Reports" magazine
distributes information on cars over the exchange. The IIA
also put out a list of "business" numbers, including services
from Dow Jones, Microsoft, and talk-show host Tony Brown,
among others.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920622/Press Contact: IIA, Susan
Goeney, 202-639-8262)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 23 BCE Tops Canadian Corporate Profit Ranking 06/23/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TOR)(00008)

BCE Tops Canadian Corporate Profit Ranking 06/23/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 JUN 23 (NB) -- BCE has taken top
spot in another Canadian corporate ranking. The holding company
that controls Northern Telecom, Bell Canada, and various other
interests, has taken the number one spot in the Report on Business
1000, a ranking of Canada's most profitable companies by the
Toronto newspaper The Globe and Mail.

BCE is not new to the ROB 1000 most-profitable spot. It moved into
that spot from fifth last year, dislodging Alcan Aluminium, which
has now plunged to 935th in the rankings with a C$36 million loss.
However, the ranking comes close on the heels of Canadian
Business magazine's Top 500, a ranking by revenue in which BCE
took the top position for the first time.

With a 1991 profit of C$1,329 million, up 16 percent from 1990,
BCE turned a significantly larger profit than the number-two
company -- not surprisingly, since the number two spot is occupied
by BCE's own subsidiary, Bell Canada, with a C$986 million profit.
The company's other main subsidiary, Northern Telecom, also
made the top 10, placing eighth with a C$515 million profit.

The others in the top 10 are the five major Canadian banks, the
Seagram distillery company, and GW Utilities, an obscure gas
utility that leaped from 90th into 10th place with an 869
percent profit increase to C$407 million.

Two other telephone companies -- British Columbia Telephone
and Alberta-based Telus -- appear in the top 50.

IBM Canada placed sixth by revenue in the Report on Business's
ranking of the top private companies in Canada (private because
IBM Canada is a subsidiary of the US-based IBM), with C$6,314
million in revenues.

In a list of the top 10 technology companies by revenue, Northern
Telecom was placed first, followed by IBM Canada. The only
other information technology companies on that list were Xerox
Canada and Digital Equipment of Canada, which placed ninth and
10th after several makers of machinery, engines, and aerospace
products.

(Grant Buckler/19920622/Press Contact: The Globe and Mail
Report on Business, 416-585-5000)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 23 Radius Intros MCA Version Of Full Page Pivot Display 06/23/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00009)

Radius Intros MCA Version Of Full Page Pivot Display 06/23/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1992 JUN 23 (NB) -- Some
nine months after the shipping of versions of the Full Page
Pivot Display for both the Industry Standards Architecture
(ISA) and Extended ISA (EISA), Radius Inc. has now announced
a version for Micro Channel Architecture (MCA)-based PCs.

According to the company, the system consists of Radius'
dual-orientation Full Page Pivot display and SVGA MultiView
interface card.

Maria Gagliardi, spokesperson for the company, told Newsbytes
that the Full Page Display is designed for "business productivity"
applications which includes both desktop publishing and
spreadsheets which can "take advantage of (the products') dual
orientation."

The company also maintains that the display supports a full page
view in portrait (vertical) mode for WYSIWYG (what you see is
what you get) word processing as well as desktop publishing, and
a landscape (horizontal) mode for presentation graphics as well
as spreadsheets

According to the company, the use of Microsoft Windows and
other graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for the PC requires
better display capabilities with larger screen areas, full page
view, higher resolutions, and faster graphics performance.
Multitasking and multi-windowing features require a larger
screen display to manage the various windows, argues Radius.

The company maintains that 14-inch VGA screens do not provide
adequate room to tile multiple windows without excessive
overlap. Additionally, although 17-inch displays do provide enough
desktop space to tile multiple windows, they are unable to display
a full vertical page, which, according to the company, is essential
for WYSIWYG word processing and desktop publishing applications.

The Radius Full Page Pivot Display System provides a
super hi-refresh rate of 115 Hz interlaced for flicker-free
1024 by 768 resolution in Windows 3.1, claims Radius.

The SVGA MultiView card is also claimed to be 100 percent
VGA, VESA, and Video Seven BIOS (basic input/output system)
compatible, providing support for VGA and Super VGA
graphics standards.  Radius software drivers are provided for
all major software applications, including Lotus 1-2-3,
WordPerfect, AutoCAD, and Studio 3D.

Gagliardi told Newsbytes that the MCA version of the Pivot
display carries a suggested retail price of $999 and the
Multiview card retails at $549. Both are available
immediately, she said.

Interestingly, the company says there are nearly ten million
Micro Channel PCs installed worldwide.

(Ian Stokell/19920622/Press Contact: James Strohecker,
Radius Inc., 408-954-6828; Maria Gagliardi, A&R Partners
Inc., 415-363-0982)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 23  ****Appeal Court Plugs Gap In UK Computer Legislation 06/23/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(00010)

 ****Appeal Court Plugs Gap In UK Computer Legislation 06/23/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 23 (NB) -- The Court of Appeal in the
UK has overturned a ruling that cast doubt on the Computer
Misuse Act. The ruling means that section two of the Act, which
covers unauthorized access to a computer system with intent to
commit false accounting, is now intact again.

Judge Aglionby, sitting at Snaresbrook Crown Court in July 1991,
acquitted a man who had been charged under section two of the
Computer Misuse Act. The accused, a salesman in a warehouse, had
allegedly tampered with a computer in order to give himself a
large discount on a key cutting machine.

The man, who had been charged with false accounting under the
Act, was acquitted, after the defense in the case successfully
argued that two computers were required in order for the man's
actions to qualify as "computer hacking." Since the accused had
used just one computer -- the computer holding the accounts
data -- the court ruled that a prosecution under the Computer
Misuse Act was not appropriate.

As well as allowing what many viewed as an obviously guilty
criminal to go free, the Snaresbrook Crown Court ruling acted as
a precedent in British law, meaning, in effect, that section two
of the Computer Misuse Act could only be applied where two
computers were used in a case of alleged hacking. Under Judge
Aglionby's ruling, if a hacker were to directly access a computer
system, using a terminal on that system, then a "crime" -- as
detailed under the Act -- was said not to have taken place.

Lord Justice Taylor, the Lord Chief Justice, overruling Judge
Aglionby's decision, said last week that, in overturning the
acquittal, he was plugging what could have been a "surprising
and unlikely" gap in the legislation.

Interestingly, under British law, once a defendant in a case has
been acquitted, he cannot be punished if, as has happened in this
case, a higher court overturns the acquittal. The case result
only stands for the record, rather than the punishment.

Lord Taylor, however, stressed that the Appeal Court's decision
was appropriate in this case, as, had the lower court's ruling
been allowed to stand, then unauthorized access to computer-held
data could be made by anyone with direct access to an "in house"
computer.

(Steve Gold/19920623)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 23 UK: AST Extends Power Premium Family Of PCs 06/23/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00011)

UK: AST Extends Power Premium Family Of PCs 06/23/92
BRENTFORD, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 23 (NB) -- AST Europe
has added two new PCs -- the Premium 3/25s and the Premium
4/25s -- to its recently-announced range of Power Premium
machines. Both machines are based on 25 megahertz (MHz)
versions of, respectively, 80386SX and 80486SX microprocessors.

The new machines feature an advanced, integrated, VGA graphics
technology with 512 kilobytes (KB) of video memory, which can be
upgraded to 1 megabyte (MB). The VGA technology supports a screen
resolution of up to 1,024 by 768 pixels with 256 colors, or 1,280
by 1,024 pixels with 16 colors.

Base pricing on the Power Premium 3/25s is UKP 995, rising in UKP
200 and UKP 250 stages for, respectively, an 80 or 210MB hard
disk system. Pricing for the floppy-only version of the 4/25s is
UKP 1,545, rising in two UKP 200 stages for the 80 or 210MB hard
disk versions.

Announcing the machines, which will ship in the UK at the end
of July, Graham Hopper, AST's general manager, said that they
complete the company's range of Power Premium PCs. "They bring
together the most innovative and state of the art technology
available today for the corporate user of Windows, OS/2 and
other graphical and business environments," he said.

According to Hopper, the typical business user of the Power
Premium range can now buy a system which will match his needs,
without worrying that the machine will be obsolete in two to
three years time, since it can be upgraded using AST's Cupid
upgradeable technology.

Both the new PCs feature 4MB of memory (upgradeable to 80MB),
five drive bays and five free expansion slots. Despite the
expandability, the machines has a small footprint -- 15 by
16.5 inches -- with a 6.25-inch case height.

(Steve Gold/19920623/Press & Public Contact: AST Europe - Tel:
081-568-4350)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 23 UK: Trigem Unveils Budget 386SX Notebook PC 06/23/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00012)

UK: Trigem Unveils Budget 386SX Notebook PC 06/23/92
SLOUGH, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 23 (NB) -- Trigem
Computers has added a budget notebook computer, which it
claims offers a range of features based around a 20 megahertz
(MHz) 80386SX microprocessor. The seven pound machine, the
Gemnote SX386NP, comes with 1 megabyte (MB) of memory
(expandable to 5MB internally), a 3.5 inch floppy, plus a 40MB
hard disk, and DOS 5.0 already installed.

Unveiling the UKP 989 machine, Parm Sangha, Trigem's sales
manager, said that the unit is a high quality notebook with many
attractive features "at a price well below the rival brands."

Like many of the smaller notebooks, the new Gemnote has external
slots for integrated circuit (IC) cards and a maths coprocessor.
Coupled with a snap-in slot for a maths coprocessor chip, Trigem
claims that the upgrades for the machine are as easy to install
as changing its batteries.

The screen on the machine is a 640 by 480 pixel VGA resolution
using double supertwist sidelit liquid crystal display (LCD).
Using a sidelit screen, Trigem claims, eliminates back light
glare, making the screen easier to read.

Trigem is aiming the Gemnote at the portable PC user who
travels a lot -- the machine is dual voltage and takes snap-in
rechargeable battery packs, allowing extra battery packs to be
carried around with the PC. Free lifetime use of the company's
technical support helpline, as well as the option to buy a year's
on-site maintenance for the machine for UKP 50 extra.

Trigem claims to be Korea's leading PC manufacturer, though the
bulk of its PCs are supplied into the original equipment
manufacturer (OEM) marketplace. The company is hoping to
establish a sizeable share of the market under its own name.

(Steve Gold/19920623/Press & Public Contact: Trigem
Computers - Tel: [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 23 UK: Tricom Intros Quad Standard PC Half Card Modem 06/23/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00013)

UK: Tricom Intros Quad Standard PC Half Card Modem 06/23/92
STOKENCHURCH, BUCKS, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 23 (NB) -- Tricom
has unveiled the Tempest PC Quad, another in its range of pan-
European modems.

This unit, a UK 349 PC half card, supports all modem speeds
between 300 and 2,400 bits per second (bps), as well as V.42
error correction and data compression.

Announcing the modem, Mike Hafferty, Tricom's managing
director, said: "The Tempest PC Quad combines a highly-
featured modem with the convenience of a compact half-card
design," adding that the modem is produced at Tricom's UK
manufacturing plant.

In the UK the Tempest modem is supplied with Tricom's Pearl
communications software. Tricom claims that, by using the
data compression features of the built-in V.42Bis firmware,
the modem is capable of achieving 7,200 bps data throughputs.

(Steve Gold/19920623/Press Public Contact: Tricom -
Tel: [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 23 Sigma Intros New High-Res Monitors For Mac, PC 06/23/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00014)

Sigma Intros New High-Res Monitors For Mac, PC 06/23/92
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 2292 JUN 23 (NB) -- Sigma Designs
has announced several new monitors for both Macintosh II, Quadra,
and IBM compatible personal computers (PCs) at the American
Information and Imaging Management (AIIM) conference in
Anaheim, California.

The company says it is introducing the first high resolution
grayscale monitor for the Macintosh, the Multimode 120. The
Multimode is so named because it has multiple display modes.

Company officials told Newsbytes there are 6 modes that go
from 36 dots per inch (dpi) or 512 by 384 pixels at a 116
hertz refresh rate, to 120 dpi or 1664 by 1200 pixels at a 76 Hz
refresh rate. The monitor is aimed at the growing document
image processing market and is expected to be available in
August.

The company also announced the Multimode 150 for both the
IBM PC and Macintosh platform that will offer even higher
resolution and is expected to be available in the fall of this
year.

While the Multimode 150 monitor is designed to be common between
the Macintosh and PC platforms, Sigma says the display controllers
have features unique to each platform. For example, the MultiMode
150 display controller for the PC offers a 16-bit interface, video
graphics array (VGA) compatibility, supports up to 16 gray shades in
VGA emulation, and up to four gray shades at 1664 by 1200
resolution, Sigma said. Suggested retail price for either platform
version of the 150 is $2,980.

Sigma's President Thinh Tran said the document imaging and
graphics arts markets are the core of the company's business.
According to AIIM, major growth is expected in the document
image processing market. Now the market is estimated at $1
billion but is expected to grow to $8 billion by 1995, AIIM
predicted.

In the arena of color, Sigma announced the Proimage 17 for PCs,
a 17-inch Trinitron display that offers a built-in microprocessor
and a Windows accelerated controller. The Proimage supports
1280 by 960 in 16 palletized colors and 1024 by 768 in 256
colors in non-interlaced modes, Sigma maintains.

Sigma says it has thought of ergonomics to make the monitor
more comfortable and safe for the users. The company says the
Proimage offers 120 Hz refresh rate and meets the Swedish
Board for Measurement and Testing guidelines for VLF/ELF
magnetic emissions.

The Proimage is priced at $2,395 and is to be available in July,
Sigma added.

Sigma says research by International Data Corporation has
concluded that the desktop publishing and graphic arts markets
have specific needs requiring grayscale technology that are
separate from the need for color. Those needs include display
technology for strictly black-and-white and continuous-tone
publications, black-and-white photo retouching, and imaging,
the company said.

Sigma Designs is headquartered in Fremont, California and
describes itself as specializing in desktop publishing and
display systems for IBM compatible and Macintosh computers.

(Linda Rohrbough/22920622/Press Contact: Teresa Schneider,
Sigma Designs, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 23  ****AT&T To Assemble Mitsubishi Products In Thailand 06/23/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(HKG)(00015)

 ****AT&T To Assemble Mitsubishi Products In Thailand 06/23/92
BANGKOK, THAILAND, 1992 JUN 23 -- AT&T Mircoelectronics
(Thai) Company Ltd., AT&T's largest volume assembly and test
manufacture facility, and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation have
expanded their current cooperative activities and have concluded
agreements for assembling Mitsubishi products at the AT&T
facility in Bangkok, Thailand.

Under the terms of the agreements, Mitsubishi will ship finished
wafers to the AT&T plant in Bangkok for the final assembly.

The assembly will take place in the dedicated facilities that will
occupy a portion of a larger plant expansion planned for the factory.
Construction is expected to begin shortly and manufacturing is
planned to start by the middle of 1993.

The new agreements also cover the mutual licensing of assembly
production technology which will be used for assembling the
Mitsubishi products.

The two companies have been cooperating with each other since
February 1990. In addition to the packaging of bipolar integrated
circuits and MOS devices, joint activities also exist in the
manufacture of 256K SRAMs and in developing gallium arsenide
integrated circuits.

Thomas W. Mendel, vice president and managing director of
AT&T Microelectronics (Thai) Co. Ltd. disclosed that, "AT&T
Microelectronics has been operating in Thailand since 1985."

"Our plant, located at the Navanakorn Industrial Estate in the north
of Bangkok, manufactures a wide range of semiconductor and
electronic components for applications such as personal
computers, workstations, local area networks, and
telecommunications." he confirmed to Newsbytes.

"Our continuous success has been a result of customer satisfaction
achieved thorough quality products, on-time delivery, competitive
pricing, and most significantly, the team work of our dedicated
Thai staff." Mendel said.

"We have totally Thai staff except for two Americans including
myself and another guy," Mendel revealed. The successful
relationship between the two giants has largely been attributed
to the diligent work and good work ethics of the Thai staff, which
is said to be a trait of Thai people.

All staff receive 30 days training and a three and a half day basic
quality circle concept. There are 72 quality circle programs.
"With the basic quality concept that Thai workers bring to the
job, we've been able to meet the world renowned Japanese
standards on all occasions," Mendel told Newsbytes.

Mendal added that, "Currently, we have about 800 Thai employees
and expect that the contract with Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
will provide work for 300 to 400 additional Thais. More over, we
will be expanding our manufacturing area by 140 percent from
70,000 square feet to 170,000 square feet. This agreement is a
major landmark in our cooperative venture with Mitsubishi and
we are delighted at the new opportunities it will create for our
company and workforce."

(Brett Cameron/19920622/Press contact: Djin Chutharat, Ogilvy
& Mather (Thailand) Tel: [phone];Thai time is GMT + 7)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 23  ****Globex Electronic Futures Market Opens Thursday 06/23/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00016)

 ****Globex Electronic Futures Market Opens Thursday 06/23/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 23 (NB) -- Markets
worldwide are bracing for a major change in how they do
business. Globex, an all-electronic market for the worldwide
trading of futures, goes on-line Thursday.

Globex was developed by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange,
the Chicago Board of Trade, and Reuters PLC of the United
Kingdom.

While Globex isn't expected to have a huge immediate impact on
the markets, it is expected to render most trading floors
obsolete over time.

Globex is a "matching system" -- it collects bids and asks and
makes a trade when prices match. As such it is quite different
from the "open outcry" trading used on exchanges like the Chicago
Board of Trade, where traders announce their buy or sell offers,
then compromise on the floor. But an attempt by traders to create
an "open outcry" electronic system failed, and following scandals
at the major exchanges using that system, the way to Globex
was clear.

To solve the problem which led to the scandals, the exchanges are
moving to a system of handheld terminals which create "audit
trails" on trades, replacing the scraps of paper previously used.
But an electronic exchange offers an even better audit trail,
regulators say.

The big problem with Globex, from the regulatory point of view,
is that its worldwide reach makes it unclear whose rules should
be followed. At present, the rules to be followed will be those
applying to the exchange where the contract was originally
placed, so if a London bidder gets a bid from Chicago on his
pound notes, London rules prevail and vice versa.

Globex terminals trading currencies and bonds -- the two biggest
markets -- will also be available in Paris and New York. Four New
York exchanges, as well as the bourses in Sydney and Singapore,
are discussing having their products listed as well.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920623)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 23 PacBell Goes for Long Distance Market 06/23/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00017)

PacBell Goes for Long Distance Market 06/23/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 23 (NB) -- Pacific
Bell has begun a heavy advertising campaign to get a bigger
share of the in-state long distance business against AT&T, MCI
and Sprint, among others.

The campaign broke with television and radio spots highlighting
employees and customers, and a tag line that "'Good enough'
isn't."

Under current California regulation, long distance companies
can carry calls between the state's 10 service regions,
but must leave long distance calls within the regions to
Pacific Bell. The rules are expected to change early in l993,
however, and Pacific Bell will have to fight for its market
share.

The campaign was developed by Foote, Cone & Belding, San
Francisco. The tag line will also be integrated with other
product advertising, things like its Calling Card, Centrex, and
Custom Calling Services.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920623/Press Contact: Pacific Bell, Dan
Theobald, 415/542-4589)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 23 EMBARC Info Service Gets Serious With Wegener Receiver 06/23/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00018)

EMBARC Info Service Gets Serious With Wegener Receiver 06/23/92
BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1992 JUNE 23 (NB) --
Motorola's EMBARC unit, which is using satellite paging
techniques to deliver a one-way information service to
computer users, is buying some key equipment from a
small Atlanta company.

Motorola said it will buy a digital satellite receiver designed
to withstand extreme temperatures from Wegener
Communications, best known for its products for the cable
television industry. The device both receives data from the
satellite and multiplexes it, dividing it among broadcast
antennae for delivery to subscribers.

EMBARC, which stands for Electronic Mail Broadcast to A
Roaming Computer, shares the 931 MHz frequency nationwide
with the MobileComm and SkyTel paging units.

But Motorola, which is the leading maker of pagers, decided that
its entrant should not be a primary competitor to those companies.
So EMBARC offers longer messages, which are received by units
like its DataStream, sold by Hewlett-Packard as the Newstream.
The unit can be interfaced directly to a PC for reception of longer
on-line messages than can be sent with any paging network.
Motorola said that, with EMBARC, a one-page letter can be
delivered to thousands of mobile workers within 15 minutes for
a total cost of under $9.

The satellite receiver/demultiplexer units made by Wegener are
already installed in EMBARC's regional transmission sites in more
than 80 markets across the country. The Wegener stations receive
encoded EMBARC message via satellite and feed them to Motorola
base stations to be re-broadcast. The Wegener stations work in
temperatures ranging from -30 centigrade to 60 degrees
centigrade. The housing are often installed in remote and
outdoors locations.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920623/Press Contact: Ken Countess,
EMBARC, 305-475-5603)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 23 International Phone Update 06/23/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00019)

International Phone Update 06/23/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 23 (NB) -- Old enemies
are reaching out and touching one another through the phone
worldwide.

Iran and Kuwait have signed a post and telecommunication
link which will result in the establishment of a 960-channel
telephone and telex link. The agreement concluded a four-day
visit to the Iranian capital of Tehran by the Kuwaiti
communications minister. Tehran said it also wants to expand
links with other Gulf Arab states. The deal is significant,
because Kuwait's American allies tilted toward Iraq in the 10-
year war between Iraq and Iran, but was then invaded by Iraq.
Iran has also been working hard to improve telecom links with
the Muslim states of Central Asia which were formerly part of
the Soviet Union.

In Latin America, Reuters reports that five bidders have emerged
for Peru's 21 percent stake in its Compania Peruana de Telefonos,
which will be sold by next May. Investors representing firms from
Chile, Spain, the United States, France, and Japan had expressed
interest in the stock, despite harsh words from both the US and
the Organization of American States over a military coup
successfully launched earlier this year by President Alberto
Fujimori.

Technically, the state share is held by the country's telecom
unit, Entel Peru, which has a monopoly on service outside Lima,
Callao and nearby coastal towns. Also, Siemens won a $30
million order from Columbia's Telecomm monopoly, which said
it has no plans for privatization right now. The contract will
expand the system's microwave relay network.

Finally, it's now possible for people in North and South Korea to
call each other. International Discount Telecommunications, which
started with service between European countries, going through
New York, to beat high tariffs, is now offering service between
any two countries whose governments really hate each other.
North and South Korea may block direct calls, but by routing
through IDT's system in the US, citizens of the two countries
can now talk.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920623)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 23 Reseller Sues AT&T 06/22/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00020)

Reseller Sues AT&T 06/22/92
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUNE 23 (NB) -- Affinity
Network, which re-sells long distance services, has sued AT&T in
Los Angeles federal court, alleging for breach of contract,
monopolistic practices, unreasonable tariff practices,
interference with prospective economic advantage, unjust
discrimination, unfair business practices and unfair competition.

The suit charges AT&T employed a series of tactics designed to
kill competition from resellers. The resellers say that, by
selling services in bulk and reselling them at a slight profit,
they can offer small businesses lower prices than they can get
with direct company calling plans.

The suit lists a series of allegedly unlawful and discriminatory
AT&T practices which ANI claims will systematically squeeze
switchless resellers out of business, such as intentionally
misplacing or losing customer orders, requiring large security
deposits and/or advance payments, providing little, if any,
customer service, and delaying billing.

ANI seeks actual damages to cover loss of revenue, loss of
existing and future customers, loss of profits and legal fees,
among others, and to have AT&T cease its unfair practices.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920623/Press Contact: Michael Glaser,
for Affinity Network, 303-861-7000)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 23  ****CA Changes Tack, Plans OS/2 Products 06/23/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00021)

 ****CA Changes Tack, Plans OS/2 Products 06/23/92
ISLANDIA, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 23 (NB) -- Throwing its
support behind the IBM operating system it had previously
scorned, Computer Associates has announced plans for OS/2
versions of seven software packages it currently offers for
Microsoft Windows.

CA plans OS/2 releases of: CA-Unicenter, a systems management
products also offered for mainframes and Unix systems; CA-
Realizer, a graphical BASIC-language development tool;
CA-dBFast, a database development package; CA-Compete!, a
multi-dimensional, spreadsheet-like decision support package;
CA-SuperProject, its project management software; Accpac
Simply Accounting, an entry-level accounting package; and
CA-Textor, a word processor.

All of these products are expected to be in beta testing this fall
and to be demonstrated at the Fall Comdex show in Las Vegas in
November, said Marc Sokol, director of product strategy at
Computer Associates.

Just last fall, Anders Vinberg, CA's senior vice-president of
research and development, told Newsbytes in an interview at
Comdex that his company had no plans to release OS/2 software,
having concluded that OS/2 would be used mainly on network
servers for the foreseeable future.

"Our clients asked us to change our view," Sokol told Newsbytes
from the PC Expo show in New York. Sokol said OS/2 2.0, the new
release that appeared at the end of March, put OS/2 back in the
running. "The versions prior to 2.0 were not really complete," he
said. "They didn't have everything our clients needed."

CA customers are not likely to abandon Windows, Sokol said, but
they are increasingly likely to mix Windows and OS/2.

The OS/2 versions of CA packages will take advantage of unique
OS/2 capabilities, such as its user interface and its true 32-bit
processing, Sokol added.

Computer Associates officials said they would work with IBM
on joint marketing of the OS/2 products, but would not provide
details.

(Grant Buckler/19920623/Press Contact: Bob Gordon, Computer
Associates, 516-342-2391, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 23 New Products: Wang Unveils PCs, Servers, Notebook 06/23/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00022)

New Products: Wang Unveils PCs, Servers, Notebook 06/23/92
LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 23 (NB) -- Wang
Laboratories has launched seven new machines, including
three desktop PCs, three servers, and a notebook computer.

The three desktop PCs have built-in support for audio processing
and voice annotation, along with local-bus video, a design that
speeds up video processing by driving video through the CPU
(central processing unit) bus rather than the slower system bus.
The machines are well suited to work with the multimedia
extensions to Microsoft Windows, incorporated in Windows 3.1,
said Kevin Denuccio, director of sales and marketing for Wang's
personal computer division.

The three servers provide space for as many as 13 storage
devices in an unusual cube-shaped enclosure. All use 486-class
central processors and the Extended Industry Standard
Architecture (EISA) system bus.

The desktop units include: the PC351/25S, with a 25 megahertz
(MHz) 386SX processor and a base price of $815; the PC461/25SC,
with a 25 MHz 486SX processor and a $1,295 base price tag; and
the PC461/33C, with a 33 MHz 486DX chip and a base price of
$1,695. All these prices are for basic machines without disk
drives and monitors. The desktop models are available
immediately.

The server line starts with the TC 480E/25SC, which uses a
25 MHz 486SX chip and has a base price of $3,595. The middle
of the line is the TC480E/33C, which comes with a 33 MHz
486DX processor for a base price of $3,999. Crowning the line is
the TC480E/50C, a $4,195 machine with a 50 MHz 486DX2 chip.
These are also base prices without disk drives or monitors, and
these machines are due to be available in 30 to 45 days,
DeNuccio said.

Finally, Wang launched a notebook computer, the Wang 1000,
which is built on a 20 MHz Intel 386SL processor. Weighing in at
6.5 pounds. The Wang 1000 has a list price of $2,495, and
includes a 60 megabyte (MB) hard disk drive and an internal
2,400 bits-per-second (bps) modem, Denuccio said. Wang rates
the 1000's battery life at two and a half hours between
charges.

Designed for business and government buyers, the new machines
will be sold through Wang direct sales organization and value-
added resellers.

(Grant Buckler/19920623/Press Contact: Hanne Herwick, Wang,
508-967-6405)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 23 New Product: NCR Launches Multimedia Machine 06/23/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00023)

New Product: NCR Launches Multimedia Machine 06/23/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 23 (NB) -- NCR has
launched the NCR System 3000 Model 3331 Multimedia Learning
Station, which the company claims will be the first in a new line
of multimedia products. NCR sees the 3331 as an on-line
business training and education system for large NCR customers --
such as retailers -- that need to train new employees frequently.

The 3331's design can accommodate any processor in the Intel
80486 line, including SX, DX, and DX2 versions, Gary Horning,
assistant vice-president of strategic planning, told Newsbytes.

The company plans to sell three standard configurations to begin
with, using the 25 megahertz (MHz) 486SX chip, the 33 MHz 486DX,
and the 50 MHz 486DX2 processor. However, Horning said, custom
configurations can be put together "if a big customer comes along"
and wants them.

The systems will also be upgradeable, so that a new and more
powerful processor can be installed in place of the original chip,
he said.

NCR emphasized the fact that the 3331 machines use the 32-bit 486
chips rather than less powerful 386 processors. Horning said this
is not specifically because of the systems' multimedia functions,
but because NCR believes the 486 chips are rapidly becoming the
standard for corporate computing in the United States.

The Learning Station supports a selection of multimedia
applications and development tools available for Microsoft
Windows and is compatible with Multimedia PC Council (MPC)
standards, NCR said.

The PC incorporates a number of third-party products, including:
Fluent Inc.'s software digital video playback; Media Vision Inc.'s
high-fidelity digital audio sound; AimTech's IconAuthor runtime
module; and Intel's DVI digital motion video technology. It also
uses NCR's own 77C22 graphics processor.

The NCR 3331 Learning Station also includes a fully featured
IconAuthor run-time module to support any IconAuthor course
developed on any platform.

A typical configuration of the SX-25 based version, with a
120 megabyte (MB) hard disk and four MB of memory as well as
various multimedia accessories such as speakers, headphones,
and compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM) player, costs
about $5,300, Horning said.

(Grant Buckler/19920623/Press Contact: Jeni Cozart, NCR,
513-445-5648)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 23 Computer Associates Discusses Database Plans 06/23/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00024)

Computer Associates Discusses Database Plans 06/23/92
ISLANDIA, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 23 (NB) -- In the wake of
its recent acquisition of Los Angeles-based Nantucket, developer
of the Clipper database software, Computer Associates has
revealed its plans for Clipper, Nantucket's Aspen development
project, and its own dBFast database development tool for
Microsoft Windows.

Both are Xbase database packages, meaning they are compatible
with the widely used dBase products from Borland International.

As promised earlier, Computer Associates said it plans to
maintain and enhance both Clipper and dBFast. Specifically,
version 5.2 of Clipper is to go to beta testers this fall, and
version 2.0 of dBFast, now entering beta test, should be
shipping before the end of the year.

Computer Associates is positioning Clipper as the product for
those interested in object-oriented development, while dBFast
is meant to appeal to those who want easy-to-use, graphical
database development capabilities, said Marc Sokol, director
of product strategy at CA.

CA does not plan to drop either of these products, Sokol told
Newsbytes, but will offer migration aids for users who want to
move to Aspen, a product that has been under development at
Nantucket since well before the acquisition. "Aspen is nirvana,"
Sokol said. "Aspen will be the solution that all paths lead to."

Due to be demonstrated at the Fall Comdex show in Las Vegas in
November and to go into beta testing before the end of 1992, Aspen
will combine an object-oriented language, a native code compiler,
an integrated development environment, and both Xbase-style and
client/server databases. Aspen will have a graphical user
interface. The initial version will be for Microsoft Windows, with
OS/2, Windows NT, and Unix versions planned for the future.

Aspen is a code name; Computer Associates plans to announce the
official name of the product at Comdex.

(Grant Buckler/19920623/Press Contact: Bob Gordon, Computer
Associates, 516-342-2391, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 23 Two Companies Announce Tiny Fax/Data Pocket Modems 06/23/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(DEN)(00025)

Two Companies Announce Tiny Fax/Data Pocket Modems 06/23/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 23 (NB) --  Two
companies have announced light weight data/fax modems for use
with personal computers that can exchange data at rates up to
14,400 bits-per-second (bps).

Santa Clara, California-based Micro Integrated Communications
has announced its six ounce pocket fax for portable and pen-based
computers that sends and receives data at up to 14,400 bps in
data and fax modes.

The $799 modem has V.32 bis in the data mode, V.17 in the fax
mode,  and V.42 bis data compression. The company says it
started shipping this month.

The company has been shipping internal, external and rackmount
V.32bis modems for about six months. MiCC VP of sales Bob
McKenzie said the new products implement CCITT V.42bis data
compression and V.42 error correction, and are fully compatible
with CCITT Group III, the new SP2388 specification. They utilize
the EIA Class II command set, which lets the user run any fax
software that implements the "+F" extensions to the AT
command set.

"Group III, Class 2 capability means users will be able to use
any Class 2 fax software on PC, Macintosh, or Unix computers
to receive faxes in the background while working on other
applications," McKenzie said.

MiCC also markets a 9600 bps six ounce pocket modem, which
the company said is designed primarily for notebook computers.
The 5-inch by 2.75-inch modem uses CCITT V.42 bis data
compression and V.42 error correction on a V.22bis modem,
which has a suggested retail price of $349 for the DOS version
and $399 for the Macintosh unit.

Earlier this month, Holmes Microsystems released a tiny 1.5
ounce modem developed for Germany's Siemens-Nixdorf to fit
inside SNI's notebook computer. The modem is slightly larger
than a silver dollar, the company said.

Holmes President G. Clark Johnson said the product has all the
functionality of a full-size fax machine. "We have managed to
shrink the package down to the size necessary to fit inside the
new computer, plus incorporate a data modem into the total
package.

The Holmes FAX'EM combines a 9600 bps Group 3 Class II fax plus
a  2400 bps V.42bis modem. The company said addition of V.42bis
data compression boosts the effective throughput of the 2400
bps modem to nearly 9600bps.

The company said the FAX'EM has the ability to accommodate the
varied phone line conditions of both domestic and European phone
systems, and meets the Postal Telegraph & Telephone
requirements of most European countries.

The company said it is unlikely that FAX'EM will be
distributed in the US, since SNI's computer for which it was
designed will be distributed only in Europe.

(Jim Mallory/19920623/Press contact: Bob McKenzie, MiCC,
408-980-9565, fax [phone]; Clark Johnson, Holmes
Microsystems, 800-648-7488)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 23 New For PC: IntelliDraw From Aldus 06/23/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00026)

New For PC: IntelliDraw From Aldus 06/23/92
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 23 (NB) -- Aldus
has announced IntelliDraw 1.0, a program the company describes
as a "smart" drawing program for Windows and for the Macintosh.
The announcement was made at PC Expo in New York today.

Aldus said IntelliDraw, developed by subsidiary Silicon Beach
Software, allows the user to create dynamic drawings in which
objects stay aligned, distributed or connected in whatever way
the users want, even as the objects get moved or manipulated.

The company said Intellidraw is based on a platform-independent
object-oriented architecture that allows people to create smart
artwork by establishing relationships among the objects they
draw. The relationships can be based on spatial, alignment, or
dimensional requirements, links or connections between objects,
master-clone relationships, and other type relationships.

Aldus said the relationship can be maintained no matter how the
individual components change, or can be set so that a change in
one object alters related objects.

The use of object-oriented architecture allows the Windows and
Macintosh versions to share a common code base, which permits
file sharing. Each version imports and exports files in most
standard formats. Both also support interapplication
communication via "publish and subscribe" for the Mac and
object linking and embedding under Windows. Files can be
exported to other Aldus programs as well as any other program
that can import files in one of IntelliDraw's export formats.

While specific price information was not available, IntelliDraw
is expected to sell for about $299.

(Jim Mallory/19920623/Press contact: Kathy Episcopo, Silicon
Beach, 619-695-6956,X5302)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 23 Aldus Expects Poor Second Quarter, Stock Drops 06/23/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00027)

Aldus Expects Poor Second Quarter, Stock Drops 06/23/92
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 23 (NB) -- Aldus
Corporation stock dropped 3/8 to 17-5/8 even before the
company said it expects it's fourth straight earnings
disappointment in its second quarter.

The company said it now expects to only break even or perhaps
even post a small loss in the quarter which ends June 30th.
That's considerably poorer than analysts estimates, which
ranged from $0.37 to $0.41 per share. "It could be that this
is the darkest hour," said Ragen MacKenzie analysts Scott
McAdams.

The problem, according to analysts, is Aldus' difficulty in
boosting sales in a sluggish market, and doubt that the company
could recover quickly.

Aldus said the lower earnings are due primarily to a
significant revenue shortfall and higher expenses in its
Germany subsidiary. It also blamed, to a lesser degree, lower
than expected sales of its Windows-based products in the US
and Europe.

(Jim Mallory/19920623/Press contact: Pam Miller, Aldus,
206-628-6594)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 23  ****Apple, Toshiba Team To Create Multimedia PDA 06/23/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00028)

 ****Apple, Toshiba Team To Create Multimedia PDA 06/23/92
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 23 (NB) -- Apple and
Toshiba have made official what industry insiders have been
leaking to the press for weeks -- that they will collaborate
on Apple's second PDA (personal digital assistant) device. This
one is called a multimedia player and will incorporate CD-ROM.

Apple's Toshiba collaboration will produce a device different
from Newton, Apple's first PDA unveiled publicly at the spring
Consumer Electronics Show, a device being produced in
conjunction with Sharp, according to Apple spokeswoman Sue
Bodoin.

Toshiba Corporation, which issued the press statement from
Tokyo, would only say the new device will fuse text, graphics,
video, audio, and other data.

Although details of the actual Toshiba device are sketchy, the
manufacturing plan has been spelled out. Apple and Toshiba will
cooperate on product development and Toshiba will make it in
Japan. Both companies will sell similar versions but stamped
with their own brand  names.  Initially, the fruit of this alliance
will only be sold in the US, the Apple spokeswoman said.

Apple says that core software technology for the new PDAs will
be licensed from Kaleida, the Apple/IBM joint venture.

PDA defines a new category of easy-to-use information devices
using digital technology to bridge the gap between personal
computers and consumer electronics products.

The first Newton product is expected to ship in early 1993.  The
first Toshiba/Apple multimedia PDAs will hit the market in
mid-1993, the companies say.

These were prepared statements from the two companies:
"Apple and Toshiba share a common vision to develop devices
that will harness the power and excitement of multimedia," said
John Sculley, Apple's chairman and chief executive officer.
"The options for users are potentially limitless - spanning the
areas of entertainment, information on demand, and lifelong
learning.  Toshiba's strong reputation in the consumer
electronics business and expertise in semiconductor
manufacturing match well with Apple's strengths in personal
computing design and making technology easy to use."

"We are pleased to be working with Apple Computer in this
emerging area of multimedia PDAs.  We look forward to a long
and productive working relationship," said Takeshi Okatomi,
Toshiba's senior vice president, Video & Electronics Media
Group.

Toshiba further announced that it is in discussions with
Warner New Media, a division of  Time Warner Inc., to produce
multimedia titles for the new device.

(Wendy Woods/19920623/Press Contact: Brooke Cohan,
408-974-3019, of Apple Computer; Rebecca Cradick of
Toshiba America, 212-308-2040)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 23 Avatar Sets Corporate Strategy With Announcements 06/23/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00029)

Avatar Sets Corporate Strategy With Announcements 06/23/92
HOPKINTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 23 (NB) -- Avatar
has assimilated the experience and expertise of TriData with which
it merged late last year. Now, the combined companies are ready
to set the tone of the marketplace and to prove that their merger
will lead to beneficial products.

Specifically, Avatar has announced that it is shipping or
preparing to ship eight new products which define and clarify
its product direction for the coming months and years.

First on the list is the release of version 4.0 of the Netway SNA
gateway. This new version incorporates IPX and AppleTalk routing
capabilities. Avatar personnel claim that this is the first true
implementation of SNA routing capabilities that most other
companies are simply talking about. The addition of AppleTalk
and IPX allows Avatar to continue in its strategy of having the
Netway product connect to anything and everything, claims the
company. Netway v4.0 will ship within 30 days. Netway costs
between $6,995 to $13,995 depending on the number of active
host sessions that are required.

Another expansion of the Netway product line is the announcement
of DOS3270. This is a program that runs under DOS and gives the
DOS user the ability to run 3270 sessions using Netway. This
capability includes the ability to transfer files, capture data,
and do all the other things that MacMainFrame users have been able
to do. DOS3270 will begin shipping on August 1 and will sell for
$499.

To assist Microsoft Windows users who wish to access their hosts
via Netway, Avatar is releasing an application called WIN3270. This
is a Windows compatible program that gives Avatar customers all of
the features that they are used to while using Netway as the router.
Version 3.0 has many enhancements in the user interface area which
is where most of the comments were received by Avatar. WIN3270 is
available now. If you have a previous version of WIN3270, then this
upgrade is a free one. If you are purchasing this as a new option
for your Netway, expect to spend $995 for the software.

MacMainFrame for Pathworks is scheduled to ship in 30 days.
This product is a continuation of Avatar's other strategy which is
to allow MacMainFrame to connect a Macintosh to a host across any
networking media and protocols that might exist out there. With
MacMainFrame for Pathworks, a Macintosh user can access a
mainframe host through a DECNet/SNA gateway. This can be very
important in installations that have already integrated their DEC
and IBM environments together and are now attempting to add
Macintoshes. MacMainFrame for Pathworks will sell for $395.

Another aspect of Avatar's goal of connecting MacMainFrame
to a host through any kind of network is the announcement of
MacMainFrame TN3270 product. This will allow a Macintosh
running MacMainFrame to connecto to an IBM host across any
TCP/IP network. MacTCP is the kernel of the product which runs
on the Macintosh. The only other requirement is for the TCP/IP
network to be connected to the IBM host in some fashion.
MacMainFrame TN3270 is expected to start shipping on July 1.
It will retail for $395.

The original MacMainFrame product has been upgraded to version 5.0.
The new version supports the Netway product line in a more coherent
fashion than before. In addition to that, MacMainFrame 5.0 now
supports the Macintosh Quadra and LC II computers, it incorporates
support for Apple's Token Ring cards, allows for DO file transfer
support, and supports the ability to connect to multiple servers.
MacMainFrame 5.0 is shipping now. Pricing is dependent on your
current configuration and upgrade wishes. Pricing ranges from
$95 to $995.

Avatar has also made available a new tool for those who wish to
create their own front-end to a MacMainFrame session. This new
tool is called FrontCard and it allows a user to create a Hypercard
front-end for their mainframe sessions. This tool is to be used
with MacMainFrame, not without it. Any and all of the functions of
Hypercard including XCMDs and XFCNs can be called by FrontCard as
well as having all the buttons and other user interface elements
that Hypercard users are accustomed to. FrontCard is intended for
Hypercard developers and contains no runtime license fee. It is
shipping now and retails for $2,495.

Finally, Avatar has announced that their LanWay Token Ring cards
will start supporting Apple's MacTCP software in July of this year.
There will be no additional cost for MacTCP when purchased
directly from Avatar. The cards normally retail for $895.

(Naor Wallach/19920623, Press Contact: Claire Pratt, Avatar,
508-435-3000)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 23 SMC Intros Combination Arcnet Card For Micro Channel 06/23/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00030)

SMC Intros Combination Arcnet Card For Micro Channel 06/23/92
HAUPPAUGE, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 23 (NB) -- SMC has
introduced a combination card for ARCnet installations that
follows the model of its very successful Ethernet Combo cards.
The new card will have on-board both coax and twisted pair
connectors so that a user will be able to choose and change
between both kinds of wiring at will.

The new card will replace both of SMC's previous offerings for the
Micro Channel Architecture. The PS110 and the PS210 supported
each of the wiring standards individually and they are simply not
needed any longer. SMC personnel assured Newsbytes that the
new card - called the PS310 - uses the exact same software
drivers as the other cards so all existing software should run
unchanged.

The PS310 has been certified by Novell labs for use with Novell's
Netware 3.11. Some of the new features that a customer gets by
purchasing this board in addition to the dual wiring capability are
diagnostic LEDs (light emitting diodes), and an on-board socket
for an Auto-boot PROM (the PROM itself is optional). In the
process of creating the board, SMC was able to use surface
mount technology parts and thereby managed to decrease the
physical size of the board. The PS310 is shipping now and
retails for $225.

(Naor Wallach/19920623, Press Contact: Ellen Roeckl, SMC,
516-435-6340)

#ENDCARD



#CARD :1992 JUN 22 Digital, Unix Labs Form Open Technology Pact 06/22/92


(NEWS)(UNIX)(HKG)(00001)

Digital, Unix Labs Form Open Technology Pact 06/22/92
TAI KOO SHING, HONG KONG, 1992 JUN 22 (NB) -- Digital Equipment
Corporation and Unix System Laboratories (USL) are to join forces
in developing a consistent set of open system interface definitions
across Unix System V platforms and the many platforms supported by
Digital's Network Application Support (NAS) program.

Digital will work with USL to supply a set of NAS packages
on top of System V Release 4.2, providing interoperability with the
thousands of applications that are NAS compliant. In addition, USL and
Digital will be working with their technology partners to combine
Digital's Alpha technology with Unix System V.4 (SVR4).

"These joint efforts by Digital and USL are critical for the computer
industry in its drive to achieve a consistent set of open systems
standards," said Kaizad Heerjee, Digital Asia's open systems manager,
in a prepared statement.

"Digital's NAS packages are the first and most comprehensive set of
products that implement these standard interfaces across multiple
platforms.

"We are happy to add SVR4.2 to the set of platforms on which NAS
packages will run, and we are also pleased with USL's interest in a
port of SVR4.2 on to Alpha. Alpha and NAS are the top priority
programs within Digital to implement our commitment to standards and
open systems, from chip technology to application programming
interfaces. The cooperation between Digital and USL will result in the
first coordinated set of programming interfaces across SVR4 and
OSF/1."

Digital's Alpha program will provide systems with performance based
on an architecture that will be viable well into the 21st century,
Digital hopes. The Alpha architecture from Digital is designed to grow
in performance by a factor of one thousand over its life cycle.

Alpha will be the foundation for an entire series of computer systems,
ranging from portable desktop devices to massively parallel
supercomputers running multiple operating environments. For Alpha,
Digital has announced its commitment to support the VMS, OSF/1 and
Windows/NT operating systems.

"Digital has made great strides in driving common, standards-based
interfaces across heterogeneous platforms with their NAS program,"
said USL's president and CEO, Roel Pieper. "We look forward to working
with Digital as SVR4.2 joins the ranks of NAS supported platforms.

"Our goal with Unix SVR4.2 is to have it run on every popular platform.
Alpha's high performance and advanced architecture make it an ideal
choice for the adaptation of SVR4.2. We are excited about the solution
that can be offered by SVR4.2 on such a powerful platform family."

(Brett Cameron/19920621/Press contact: Walter Cheung (Digital):
Tel: [phone];HK time is GMT + 8.)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 22  ****Oracle 7 Previewed 06/22/92

(NEWS)(UNIX)(HKG)(00002)

 ****Oracle 7 Previewed 06/22/92
WAN CHAI, HONG KONG, 1992 JUN 22 (NB) -- Oracle Systems Hong Kong Ltd
announced the arrival of Oracle 7, the next generation of its flagship
relational database management system (RDBMS), at the Conrad Hotel.

At the preview, Mr Mark Wang, Oracle's regional director for Central and
Far East Asia, confirmed that the new version employs cooperative server
technology to enable transparent data sharing across more than 80
distinct hardware and operating platforms, from desktop systems to
mainframes and supercomputers.

Although Oracle currently generates about half its income from Unix-
based systems, Mr Wang said that Oracle is also running on platforms
like OS/2, Novell Netware, and PC Net. "As long as they're significant
enough, we'll support them," Mr Wang told Newsbytes.

The software can support a multiple of languages such as Japanese,
Thai, Korean, and Chinese as well as many European languages.

"Oracle 7 releases the true potential of open systems," said
Mr Wang. "The critical issue for users is the ability to transparently
access data wherever it resides. In providing this openness together
with significantly improved database performance, Oracle 7 sets new
standards in relational database technology that will consolidate
Oracle's market leadership throughout the 1990s."

The new release allows developers and end users to treat a physically
distributed database as a single logical database. Users can access,
update and query information as if it resided on a single local
machine. They never need to remember where data is located and
applications do not have to be recoded if data moves from one node to
another.

In terms of distributed database capability, a key element of Oracle 7
is transparent two-phase commit logic. This improves reliability and
integrity of databases across multiple nodes by supporting multi-
database update transactions and by handling failure recovery
automatically.

"For example, if a manager needs to update customer information in Hong
Kong and Sydney simultaneously, the two-phase commit protocol ensures
that the information is completely updated into both databases at the
same time or not at all -- a true test of data integrity," said Mr.
Wang.

Another important distributed feature in Oracle 7 is the ability to
support asynchronous table replication or "snapshots." Effectively
pictures of the database at a specified moment, snapshots allow users
to choose the frequency with which they wish to receive updated
information. This is done through innovative incremental refresh
algorithm technology which enables the snapshot to be updated or
"refreshed" by adding only new information since the last refresh.

"Snapshots are particularly useful in distributed networks where people
in different operations need information at different levels of
frequency," said Mr. Wang. "By using snapshots, users who do not need
frequent updates obtain the working information they need without
wasting valuable processor power in providing the data online."

In terms of processing power, Oracle 7 is said to improve resource
utilization while also being able to support large networks of users.

New features include shared SQL which enables many users to share a
single copy of SQL statements and procedures; multi-threaded, multi-
server architecture which allows a shared server process to support
multiple clients; concurrency control, which eliminates data access
bottlenecks; and an intelligent cost-based query optimizer which
determines the most efficient access method.

"These features allow more efficient support for both small,
low-end networks, and high-end networks with hundreds or
even thousands of users," said Mr. Wang.

Another important development principle for Oracle 7 was to make
operation easier for users and developers by supporting stored
procedures and triggers in the RDBMS. An example of this is triggered
procedures which enforce security constraints, for example disallowing
updates to the database during non-working hours and holidays.

"If integrity rules are implemented at the application level,
developers must spend time programming them with consequent possibility
for error," said Mr. Wang. "By building rules and triggers which are
compliant with international standards into the system, Oracle 7
enhances ease of use and security, reduces development time, maintains
compatibility, eliminates coding errors and improves profitability."

(Brett Cameron/19920621/Press Contact: Karen Wan (Oracle) Tel: +852-824
0118;HK time is GMT + 8)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 22 Digital Bags HK Stock Exchange PC Order 06/22/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEL)(00003)

Digital Bags HK Stock Exchange PC Order 06/22/92
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1992 JUN 22 (NB) -- The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong
has ordered more than 1,600 personal computers from Digital Equipment
Corp. to serve as a platform for its new Automatic Order Matching &
Execution System (AMS).

In one of the largest single PC orders ever placed in Hong Kong, the
Exchange will spend more than HK $20 million (US $2.6 million) to
equip 900 trader booths and more than 700 broker offices with the
newly announced DECpc 325sx LP workstations, built in Digital's
Taiwan manufacturing plant.

The networked PCs will automatically match bids with offers and save
the resulting transactions for processing by the Exchange's
mainframe computer. AMS is expected to be introduced at the end of
this year and will also store bids and offers away from the market
price for automatic matching if the price changes.

"Our members will no longer have to trade by telephone and confirm
trades by keyboard. Bids and offers at the same price entered into
the system will be matched automatically, enabling the trader to
move onto the next trade without having to monitor the status
of order," said Paul Chow, chief executive of the Exchange.

Cabling for the project has already been completed and installations
of the workstations will begin soon. "Installation will take months,"
said Richard Heckinger, chief operating officer of the Exchange,
"We can't close down the exchange, so all the work has to be done
outside trading hours and everything will have to be put back to
normal for the start of trading each day."

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920622)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 22 Atari Climbs On Board The Batmobile 06/22/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00004)

Atari Climbs On Board The Batmobile 06/22/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 22 (NB) -- In case you hadn't noticed,
the second Batman movie, entitled Batman Returns, has been released in
the US, and will be set upon the masses in Europe in early July.
Atari, capitalizing on the anticipated success of the movie, is
releasing a Lynx games console game of the same name in parallel
with the film.

While the game will retail for UKP 29-99, non-Lynx owners are
being encouraged to play it with a "Batman Returns" bundle
costing UKP 99-99. For this, Batman fans get an Atari Lynx
console, which normally costs around the UKP 85 mark, plus a
Batman Returns cartridge.

Atari is taking the games cartridge seriously -- it's secured the
worldwide licence for the game.

According to Darryl Still, Atari's marketing spokesman, Batman
Returns -- the game, has gone through the development cycle
especially quickly, so as to get the cartridge out in time for the
launch of the film itself.

Still is claiming an industry first with the parallel launch. "By
precisely timing the nationwide retail availability of our best-
selling hand-held and software with the summer holiday showing of
a blockbuster movie, it's an irresistable combination," he said.

The parallel release has been made possible, Still added, thanks
to a close association with Warner Brothers, the company behind
the Batman movies.

Atari isn't being totally altruistic with the Batman Returns
games, however. Newsbytes notes that, because families are away
on holiday during the months of July and August, sales of leisure
computer goods are at an annual low. Still says that the Batman
game should boost games software and Lynx sales considerably this
summer.

More than 10,000 special Lynx promotional packs have been
produced for the four-week launch campaign. Other promotions are
planned for the autumn and Christmas periods. Atari hopes to
sell more than a million Lynx consoles this year alone.

(Steve Gold/19920622/Press & Public Contact: Atari - Tel: 0753-
533344)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 22 Frankston Leaves Slate 6/22/92




(NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00005)

Frankston Leaves Slate 6/22/92
WATERTOWN, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 22 (NB) -- Bob
Frankston has told Newsbytes that he has left Slate Corporation to
"pursue various other interests full time."

Frankston, who co-developed the first electronic spreadsheet, VisiCalc
with Slate Vice President Dan Bricklin, joined Slate from Lotus
Development Corp. which had previously purchased Software Arts, the
company that he and Bricklin had founded. While at Slate, Frankston had
been responsible for developing the scripting language for Slate's pen-
based electronic spreadsheet, At Hand.

Frankston said that the parting is amicable. "I am maintaining a
friendly and close relationship with Slate and will continue to help
them out in a variety of ways."

Bricklin told Newsbytes that Frankston's departure will do nothing to
change their close relationship. He said, "We live near each other and
I'll see him at least as much. He had been working mainly from his
home so he was not regularly in the office, anyhow, so it's not
that all of a sudden I'll see him less. He will also continue to be
available to Slate as we need him and that is comforting as he has
done an excellent job on the At Hand project, further advancing the
spreadsheet metaphor which he helped create."

Bricklin added, "One interesting sidelight of Bob's time with us is
that, when he joined us, he was somewhat skeptical of the pen-based
platform. I'm sure he leaves a believer."

Frankston's further statements to Newsbytes reflected Bricklin's
comments: "I believe that Slate's focus on fully exploiting the pen is
the right choice and will be successful, but my interests are broader.
At this point those interests are general but vague. That is why I
need the time off on my own. One idea I've toyed with for a while
is doing some writing -- probably more towards the computer-
philosophical, but no promises. I'll also pursue my various interests
in ubiquitous computing and communications. And, of course,
kibbitzing and (its younger cousin) beta-ing."

Frankston continued, "Without meaning to sound grandiose, one of the
important factors in my decision is that a lot of what excites me
about computers has nothing to do with computers themselves --
it is the concepts underlying computing that arouse my interest and
I hope now to have time to purse these interests."

Asked by Newsbytes whether there is enough commercial immediacy
connected with these interests to "pay the rent," Frankston
replied, "Well, I'll have to hope that my Lotus stock performs well
while I see if there are commercial avenues to pursue. With PCs
(in the general sense) getting to be actually useful and interesting
and intelligent devices and appliances looming, the whole area of
computers and their application still only hinting at what is to
come, things should be very interesting over the next few years."

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19920617)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 22 European Prolog Vendors Announce Collaboration Agreement 06/22/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00006)

European Prolog Vendors Announce Collaboration Agreement 06/22/92
AVIGNON, FRANCE, 1992 JUN 22 (NB) -- Several leading Prolog
developers have announced what they call as "strategic
collaborative alliance" with the formation of the Prolog Vendors
Group (PVG). The aim of the PVG, which was formed as a result of
a special meeting in France earlier this month between several
Prolog suppliers, is to promote the use of Prolog for
applications software development.

The Avignon meeting of suppliers was attended BIM of Belgium,
Cosytec and Delphia of France, Interface of Germany, Integral
Solutions and Logic Programming Associates of the UK, the
Prolog Development Centre of Denmark, and Siemens Nixdorf of
Germany. Several other companies look likely to join the group.

Commenting on the initiative of the Avignon inaugural meeting,
Mike van den Bossche-Marquette, the first PVG chairman, said that
the Prolog vendor community has made a major commitment with the
group. This will, he said, demonstrate Prolog's increasingly
widespread use for the deployment of commercial applications.

"This initiative will help position Prolog as the applications
development language of the future," he said.

Newsbytes notes that the launch of the PVG coincides with the
20th anniversary of the language itself.

(Steve Gold/19920622/Press & Public Contact: Al Roth, secretary
to the PVG, PO Box 137, Blackpool FY2 0XY. Tel: [phone]; Fax:
0253-53811; Email on Internet: [e-mail])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 22 New For Unix: EquationBuilder For Next 06/22/92



(NEWS)(UNIX)(TOR)(00007)

New For Unix: EquationBuilder For Next 06/22/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 22 (NB) -- Digital Tool
Works has announced EquationBuilder, technical publishing software
for Next computers that the vendor said is the first fully WYSIWYG
technical equation editor for the Nextstep operating system.

EquationBuilder composes equations as encapsulated PostScript
files, said Terrence Talbot, a partner in the company. That means
the equations can then be included in word processing and desktop
publishing files as if they were graphics.

EquationBuilder can also be used to generate Tex output, giving
users of the Tex technical word processor a simple, intuitive
equation composition environment.

Using a distributed, object-oriented approach to typesetting,
EquationBuilder expressions are dynamically recomposed each time
the expression is edited, the vendor said, assuring typographic
consistency.

Mathematical expressions can be constructed from a palette of
common elements such as fractions, matrices, and delimiters. Each
element is an object and can be inspected quickly, changing its
form in obvious and intuitive ways. EquationBuilder automatically
follows standard professional typesetting rules, and manual kerning
of arbitrary elements is also possible through inspectors.

EquationBuilder version 0.9b (beta) is due to be available in
mid-July from Digital Tool Works and will work with Next computers
running Nextstep 2.0 or higher. Users who purchase a beta version
of EquationBuilder will be entitled to a free software upgrade to
version 1.0 when it becomes available later in 1992. Version 1.0
will take full advantage of new features in Nextstep 3.0, including
object linking.

The beta version will be available at a special pre-release price
of $180, a 33-percent discount from the $270 list price.

Digital Tool Works is currently working to set up distribution
arrangements for the software, Talbot said. This is the company's
first product.

(Grant Buckler/19920619/Press Contact: Terrence Talbot, Digital
Tool Works, 617-742-4057)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 22 NCR Claims New Records For OLTP 06/22/92



(NEWS)(UNIX)(HKG)(00008)

NCR Claims New Records For OLTP 06/22/92
WAN CHAI, HONG KONG, 1992 JUN 22 (NB) -- The NCR System 3450 is
said to have set a new industry standard for price/performance
among on-line transaction processing (OLTP) Unix systems.

The NCR System 3450 benchmarked at 100.31 transactions per second (tps)
with a price/performance ratio of $8,422/tps on the TPC Benchmark A,
which is claimed to be more than $400/tps better than the nearest
computer. The tests were performed with NCR Unix SVR4 MP-RAS and
Informix On-Line 5.0 on a four-processor system. These tests were
audited by the independent consulting firm of Codd and Date,
Incorporated.

"Customers demand outstanding open systems price performance, and ours
is the best on the world," claimed Michael J I Lee, managing director
of NCR (Hong Kong) Ltd.

The TPC-A benchmark and TPC-B benchmark were developed by the
Transaction Processing Performance Council (TPC), a consortium of 44
hardware and software companies formed in 1988. It is the industry
standard benchmark for on-line transaction processing (OLTP)
applications.

For OLTP price/performance, the NCR System 3550 benchmarks at 150.6 tps
with a price/performance ratio of $12,737/tps. This is claimed to be
the best in its class for the TPC-A benchmark.

The NCR System 3550 achieved 258.5 tps with a price performance of
$4,602/tps on the TPC-B benchmark test. It is claimed to have the best
price performance in the industry for a high-end open systems platform
running a merchant database.

The System 3550 is claimed to have set new standards for price
performance in database and on-line transactions processing (OLTP)
applications running on an enterprise-class Unix system.

"Price performance leadership has been our consistent goal with the NCR
System 3000 family and we are very pleased that the 3550 has
benchmarked so well," said Mr Lee. "We feel we have developed a system
that will truly meet our customer's needs at the enterprise level."

Mr Lee said that the price/performance achievement was the result of
concentrated development effort in Unix along with partnerships with
Informix and Oracle.

"NCR and Informix have established a price/performance standard for
Unix systems," said Tony Banham, Technical Services Manager, North Asia
at Informix Software (HK) Ltd. "The strength of these numbers show that
NCR is taking the OLTP market very seriously." "NCR is the first vendor
to provide audited TPC Benchmark A results on Informix 5.0," Mr Banham
said.

"With a low cost for TPC-B benchmark transactions, NCR has successfully
established price performance leadership in the small to medium size
mainframe machine," said Henry Chan, country sales manager of Oracle
Systems Hong Kong Ltd. "This is about one tenth the cost of the same
transaction on a traditional mainframe."

The NCR System 3550 is a large database server and OLTP system,
expandable to eight 50MHZ i486 processors and more than 200 gigabytes
of disk storage. The NCR System 3450 is a desk side super-server
system, expandable up to four 50 MHz i486 processors and over 50
gigabytes of disk storage.

Meanwhile, Tandem has also scored high. With the TPC-A benchmark run on
its RISC-based parallel NonStop fault-tolerant systems, 501 tps was
achieved and a price/performance of $11,400/tps was yielded. This is
claimed to be the best price/performance for computing of its kind.

The TPC-A benchmark was conducted using Tandem's open industry-
standard SQL relational database management system, NonStop SQL.

NonStop SQL is a scalable database system that is claimed to provide a
high degree of performance for centralized or geographically
distributed relational databases.

The benchmark test was run using multiple cost-effective systems.
A network of 10 systems was used to demonstrate that a single
application and logical database could be transparently distributed to
cities world-wide.

"By combining standards-based software with its innovative RISC-based
parallel system, Tandem has the most cost-effective and reliable open
solution available today," claimed Denis Odlin, Hong Kong-based area
marketing manager for Tandem.

"The TPC-A benchmark, which takes into consideration the real-world
cost of ownership of hardware, software and five years' maintenance,
provides users with a basis for comparing the price/performance of
different systems," Mr Odlin said.

"Tandem has a good track record in transaction processing performance
and we will continue our drive to develop quality systems to meet the
increasingly sophisticated needs of users," he said.

(Brett Cameron/19920621/Press contact:Dickie Luk, Media Dynamics Ltd
(for Tandem) Tel: [phone] or Vivian Kung (NCR) Tel: +852-859
6021;HK time is GMT + 8)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 22 Next-Gen  Distrib Computing Tech  For Solaris 06/22/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00009)

Next-Gen  Distrib Computing Tech  For Solaris 06/22/92
WAN CHAI, HONG KONG, 1992 JUN 22 (NB) -- SunSoft, Inc., a subsidiary of Sun
Microsystems, Inc., has unveiled new technologies for its Solaris
software environment which allow users to add multiple networking
services into a single Solaris system.

Called Solaris Federated Services, the technology allows third-party
network products to plug into Solaris software.  These include Novell's
NetWare, the Open Software Foundation's Distributed Computing
Environment (DCE), and the International Standards Organization's Open
Systems Interconnect (OSI).

Solaris Federated Services technology consists of a series of
interfaces that enable networking services such as filing, naming, and
security to be integrated into the Solaris solution. Third party
networking technology providers, such as Transarc, Novell, SunSelect
and others, can utilize these interfaces in order to add their
particular networking services into Solaris.

The multiple networking services run underneath the Solaris application
development environment so that, for example, a Hong Kong-based
spreadsheet user in the Solaris ONC+ environment can easily access a
colleague's spreadsheet located in a DEC-based environment in Tokyo by
simply clicking an icon on the Solaris desktop.

"Federated Services architecture is a significant breakthrough in
enabling Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) to build next-generation,
network-independent, distributed applications," said Mary Theis, Hong
Kong Marketing Manager for Sun Microsystems. "With this technology,
ISVs will quickly be able to develop applications for Solaris that
will work across leading networking protocols and services."

Transarc, the leading supplier of network filing systems for DCE, will
be one of the first third parties to take advantage of Federated
Services technology, integrating their Encina and DCE networking
environments into Solaris using the Federated Services architecture.
Other software vendors endorsing SunSoft's new technology include
Novell, Lotus, Frame, Tivoli, and SunSelect.

In addition, SunSoft enhanced its existing Solaris networking
technology to feature new naming, filing, distributed application and
security services. Called ONC+, the technology builds on the largest
installed base in the heterogeneous networking arena. ONC+ is a new and
enhanced version of the widely implemented Solaris ONC core
distributed computing technology.

According to US-based research group Dataquest, SunSoft's ONC
technology currently has an installed base of 3.1 million nodes and has
achieved growth of 42 percent since 1990. To date, more than 300
organizations have licensed ONC technology, including IBM, Apple,
Hewlett-Packard, and Novell. In addition, ONC implementations provide
interoperability across all major types of computers from PCs to
mainframes and across all major operating systems including MS-DOS,
MacOS, OS/2, UNIX, MVS and VMS.

ONC+ is a set of high performance, enterprise-wide distributed
computing services that features a multithreaded NFS network file
system for faster performance; NIS+ naming service for streamlining
administration of enterprise networks; transport-independent Remote
Procedure Call (RPC) for network-independent distributed  applications;
and Kerberos support for increased network security.  All of these
features are incorporated into the Solaris 2.0 system.

Additional features of ONC+, including local disk caching for improved
performance and scalability; connection-oriented protocol support for
access to NFS servers via low- speed links; and support for system
security and authentication, will be incorporated into future versions
of ONC implementations, expected to ship with Solaris in 1993.

ONC+ is  backward-compatible and interoperable with existing ONC
systems, enabling  users to preserve their software investments.

SunSoft will license all of ONC+ and its components to the industry and
will also publish specifications for ONC+ services as they become
available.  The first component, NIS+, will be available for licensing
by the end of this year.

(Brett Cameron/19920621/Press Contact: Swedee Chin, Sun, Tel: +852-
802 4188;HK time is GMT + 8)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 22 "Neilsen Ratings" Type Service Tracks Computer Trade 06/22/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00010)

"Neilsen Ratings" Type Service Tracks Computer Trade 06/22/92
NORTHBROOK, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 22 (NB) -- Techscan is now
offering a PC user tracking service called PC Watch, available to
interested parties on a subscription basis.

Techscan, an affiliate of Philadelphia-based research company MSI
International East, said PC Watch is designed to help high-tech
companies accurately profile hardware and software usage among
personal computer users.  Scott Johnson, president of TechScan, told
Newsbytes that PC Watch would report on home and office users of
PCs  and Macs.

Techscan Chairman Paul Strasser said the service will provide the
same level and scope of information currently available from
Arbitron for the broadcast industry and Nielsen for packaged goods
companies.

Strasser said that as the hardware and software marketplace becomes
more market share and consumer driven, it becomes more critical to
have sound and accurate tracking in order to predict future customer
needs.

Johnson told Newsbytes that the information is collected by
telephone interviews by PC Watch interviewers. Each month a random
sample of the participants are surveyed. Right now the company said
it has about 1,000 users in the database and expects that number to
reach 11,000 by June of next year. The voluntary participants have
the opportunity to win cash or merchandise by having their name
drawn, he said.

According to Johnson, the depth of the information tracked allows
Techscan to tell its subscribers who is using what software, who has
switched, and a variety of other information.

The service is not cheap.  Johnson said that the annual price ranges
from $15,000 to $97,000, depending on how detailed a report the
subscriber wants.  Reports are delivered in hard copy on a disk,
with the quarterly reports containing more detailed information than
the monthly listings. "What differentiates PC Watch is our focus on
all end users, not just a small sample of individuals," said
Johnson.  He believes the reports will ultimately help managers do a
better job of leveraging their product and marketing investments.

Johnson said their subscription list already includes Lotus,
Microsoft, Aldus, and Disney Software.

(Jim Mallory/19920619/Press contact: Scott Johnson, Techscan,
708-205-5525; Reader contact: 800-769-5525)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 22 New For Macintosh: Trackball Keyboard 06/22/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00011)

New For Macintosh: Trackball Keyboard 06/22/92
SPOKANE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 22 (NB) -- Keyboard maker Key
Tronic has announced that it is now shipping an upgraded
Macintosh-compatible keyboard which incorporates a four-button
trackball.

The new unit, called the TrakPro, replaces an earlier model, and
carries a price tag of $249.  It's located between the alphabetic
key portion and the numeric keypad.  The trackball is 33 mm (about
1.25 inches) in diameter, Key Tronic's Wally Starr told Newsbytes.

New features include dedicated buttons for drag lock and close box
functions.  The drag lock eliminates the necessity of holding the
mouse button down while dragging an object, while the close box
function closes an open box on the screen without having to move the
pointer to the box.

Included with the TrakPro is control panel software that is used to
chain button functions or assign commonly used commands.  Keyboard
keys can also be assigned as standard mouse buttons, and the
trackball can be configured for one or two-handed operations.
There's also a dual-function cursor pad and hot key functions.

TrakPro is plug-compatible with most Macintosh computers, but the
company said some older non-ADB (Apple Data Bus) Mac models will
require $19.95 custom cable, available from Key Tronic. TrakPro
comes with a limited lifetime guarantee and unlimited toll free
telephone support.

A recent Newsbytes story reported on Key Tronic's Trak101, a similar
keyboard for IBM PCs.  Trak101 has a suggested list price of $224.

(Jim Mallory/19920619/Press contact: Warren Rainer, Key Tronic,
509-928-8000; Reader contact: 800-262-6006)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 22 New For PC: FileFax 2.5 Addresses Lack of PC Fax Standards 06/22/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00012)

New For PC: FileFax 2.5 Addresses Lack of PC Fax Standards 06/22/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 22 (NB) -- SofNet has introduced a
new product which it claims allows LAN users to now reap the benefits
of PC fax technology without fear of incompatibility or obsolescence.
According to SofNet, FileFax 2.5 is the first software product to
enable Windows PCs to be non-dedicated fax servers which work with
any LAN operating system running on Ethernet or Arcnet cards, and
with virtually all fax boards and fax modems.

SofNet simultaneously addresses the peer-to-peer and small business
LAN markets with new two- and eight-user versions of FileFax for
$149 and $399 respectively. This is ideal for companies that spend
less that $500 for a LAN such as LANtastic or NetWare Lite, but who
do not want to buy a fax system that costs more than their LAN,
according to the company.

Users can load both the Windows and DOS versions of FileFax 2.5 on
the same LAN so Windows and DOS PCs on that LAN can share the fax
server. FileFax 2.5 runs on any LAN operating system that allows its
users to share a directory.

The FileFax 2.5 unlimited user version enables any LAN-based PC with
a fax device to be the fax server for however many PCs are on the
LAN. It runs in the background so the server can be a non-dedicated
PC which executes other computing tasks. SofNet points out that this
is more economical that tying up a PC just for faxing, or buying a
stand-alone fax server hardware system.

FileFax 2.5 installs automatically, so set-up takes only minutes,
the company says. The DOS version has new graphical features and a
streamlined command structure which makes it easier to use. Like its
Windows counterpart, the DOS version enables documents to be faxed
exactly as they appear on the screen, whereas some PC fax
systems transmit text without fonts or graphics.

FileFax 2.5's command structure is designed so both DOS and Windows
users can fax from their PCs as easily as they print a software
document. FileFax 2.5 automatically executes the complex software
procedures necessary to communicate with network fax devices.

Another key new feature enables FileFax 2.5 users to view, route and
print incoming faxes. FileFax 2.5 also includes a status log to
monitor outgoing and incoming faxes, multiple phone books for
storing fax numbers and quick dialing, transmission scheduling to
send faxes at optimum times, and the ability to fax multiple files
to multiple destinations.

Users should have 640K of RAM to allow for their fax board or modem
software's memory requirements, but  FileFax itself requires only
128K to run in the foreground or 18K to run as a TSR. The FileFax
2.5 for Windows version requires Windows 3.0.

The suggested retail price of the unlimited user version
for Windows is $995, and $795 for DOS only.

(Computer Currents/19920619/Public Contact:  404/984-8088)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 22 C.Itoh (Itoh Chu) Working On Next Generation Bar Code 06/22/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00013)

C.Itoh (Itoh Chu) Working On Next Generation Bar Code 06/22/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 22 (NB) -- Itoh Chu, a Japanese trading
conglomerate formerly called C.Itoh, has signed a license
agreement with Florida-based ID Matrics in which it will distribute
ID Matrics' new bar code in Japan.

ID Matrics' new bar code called "Data Code" is considered the
next-generation bar code. The Data Code can store a maximum of 2,000
letters -- a big innovation because current bar code supports
only 13 letters. Under the license agreement, Itoh Chu will acquire
printing technology for the bar code, and the know-how regarding
management of bar coded materials.

ID Matrics' bar code has black and while squares. The data, which
is written in these squares in cryptographic codes, can
be read with a computer via a scanner. It is said this bar code
supports Japanese Kanji letters and graphics making it attractive
to Japanese industry. The bar code can be read even if part of the
bar code is cut or missing, the companies say.

IBM and several other Japanese firms are using this bar code on an
experimental basis, according to Itoh Chu. The company is considering
use of the bar code in a variety of circumstances. For instance,
it could be applied to retail products by containing not only product
data but the date and the place of manufacturing. It could also be
used for personal information database systems and the storage
of confidential information.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920622/Press Contact: Itoh Chu, +81-3-3479-
2121)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 22 India's Popular CASE in the Middle East 06/22/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEL)(00014)

India's Popular CASE in the Middle East 06/22/92
BOMBAY, INDIA, 1992 JUN 22 (NB) -- Turbo Analyst, the first
indigenously developed CASE (computer-aided software engineering)
product, of Telco, India's third largest company, will now be
available in Middle East countries.

Telco is a  spinoff from the Management Services Division of the
giant automaker of the Tata group -- which also has in its fold
Tata Consultancy  Services and Tata Unisys Ltd., India's largest
software exporters.  Telco has appointed Datamas, the largest
software house in Bahrain as its distributor in Bahrain, Kuwait,
Saudi Arabia,Iraq, Iran, Cyprus, and Egypt. Datamas and Telco
conducted a launching seminar recently in Bahrain where about
ten organizations have already acquired Turbo Analyst which has an
installed base of over 900 copies in India itself -- the best-selling
in its category. Its new version 2.20, being released this month
features reverse engineering and Ingres/Oracle interface.

Intecos-Capsoft is representing Telco in UAE. Al Futtaim, one of
the largest computer users in Dubai, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company
(Adnoc), Adnoc-FOD, Dubai Port Authority, etc. are among the
Turbo Analyst users in the region.

Oman Computer Services is representing Telco in the Sultanate of
Oman. Enthused by the encouraging response Telco is planning
some special features in its new release for the Middle East
markets.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920619)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 22 DC To Ship "The Hacker File"  06/22/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00015)

DC To Ship "The Hacker File"  06/22/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 22 (NB) -- DC Comics has
announced the introduction of a new twelve-issue series, "The Hacker
File." DC spokesperson Martha Thomases told Newsbytes that the first
issue will ship on June 23rd.

The series, created by science fiction author Lewis Shiner, deals
with the  adventures of "super-hacker" Jack Marshall who, prior
to the events  chronicled in the series, unjustly lost his job
at digitronix and now operates  as a free-lance consultant.

The first story line, covering the first four issues of the series,
deals with  Marshall's attempt to uncover those responsible for
jamming APPANET  (Network of Advanced Research Projects Agency)
and causing NORAD's Space Surveillance Center inside Cheyenne
Mountain, WY to malfunction, bringing the United States to the brink
of nuclear war.

In the course of his investigation, Marshall, AKA "Hacker," is
assisted by a number of members of the hacker community -- "Master
Blaster," "Sue Denim" and "Spider" (Master Blaster, whose real
name is Mikey is a student at New York City's Bronx High School
of Science).

Fiction comes close to reality when it appears that the person
responsible for the virus that caused the damage is Roger P. Sylvester,
a student at Columbia University and the son of a high ranking
official at the National Security Agency (NSA); on November 2,
1988 Robert T. Morris, Jr., a Cornell student and son of NSA's
chief computer scientist, caused the crippling of the Internet
through his release of the "Internet Worm."

Shiner told Newsbytes, "The similarity of the characters was,
of course done intentionally -- you might even note the somewhat
subtle connection of the names: 'Sylvester The Cat' and 'Morris
The Cat.' I did it partially to show those somewhat knowledgeable
about computers that the plot was not made out of whole cloth but
was the result of a good deal of research."

Shiner continued, "When reading comics, I look for information density
and I tried to make the Hacker File rich in that regard. I'm hoping to
attract some computer-literate young people to comics -- comics were one
of the earliest forms of expression to make great use of computers and I
hope, with the Hacker File, to involve more computer types in the
medium."

Shiner also told Newsbytes that his experience as a programmer with a
small Dallas software firm provided him with an ongoing interest in
computer and communications technology. He added, "The firm was sold to
EDS (Electronic Data Services), Ross Perot's firm, and, with long
hair and jeans, I didn't fit into the EDS mold so I left and
concentrated on writing."

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/Press Contact:Martha
Thomases, DC Comics, Inc., 212-636-5450)/19920622)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 22  ****PC Makers Agree to Produce Energy-Saving PCs 06/22/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SFO)(00016)

 ****PC Makers Agree to Produce Energy-Saving PCs 06/22/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A. 1992 JUN 22  (NB) -- Eight of the largest
computer manufacturers in the US have agreed with the federal
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to introduce PCs that can
"power down" when not in use, in a voluntary effort to help save
electricity and cut down on emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur
dioxide, and nitrogen oxide.

The initial participants in the EPA's new Energy Star Computer
Program are Apple, Compaq, Digital Equipment Corporation, Hewlett-
Packard, IBM, NCR, Smith Corona, and Zenith.  Together, the eight
companies account for about 35 percent of US PC and workstation
sales.

Eileen Claussen, director of the EPA's office of Atmospheric and
Indoor Air Programs, told Newsbytes that the EPA recruited the
first participants through the trade group CABEMA (Computer and
Business Equipment Manufacturers Association), and has been working
with the companies for the past nine months.

"We haven't had time yet to go to everyone yet, but CABEMA
represents most of the biggest companies in the industry.  Over the
next year, we'll approaching all the other vendors," she commented.

Computers meeting the terms of the agreement will be identified for
users through the EPA Energy Star logo, which will start to appear
on products and in advertisements a year from now.

Claussen told Newsbytes that the EPA came up with the Energy Star
Program after conjecturing whether the same technology used in the
automatic sleep mode on laptops might also be applied to desktop
PCs. "We discussed the idea with manufacturers, and verified that
it was possible," she explained.

The EPA estimates that devices able to "power down" will use 50%
less energy -- and that the new PCs will ultimately save enough
electricity to power Vermont and New Hampshire each year.

The agency further predicts that the savings will eventually
prevent carbon dioxide emissions of 20 million tons of carbon
dioxide --  or the equivalent of what's produced by five million
automobiles -- along with emissions of 75,000 sulfur oxide and
75,000 tons of nitrogen oxide.  Officials stress that sulfur oxide
and nitrogen oxide are the two pollutants most responsible for acid
rain.

"Our goal is to deal with the global climate issue," Claussen told
Newsbytes.  The agency has taken the position that voluntary
industry programs make the most sense in meeting its goals, she
added.  Other voluntary EPA programs target the refrigerator and
commercial building industries.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920622;  Press contact:  Dave Ryan, EPA, tel
202-260-2981)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 22 AT&T Talks Go To Mediation 06/22/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00017)

AT&T Talks Go To Mediation 06/22/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 JUN 22 (NB) -- After a quiet week
filled with negotiations, but without a final agreement, AT&T and
its unions are heading toward an arbitrator.

Both sides agreed to meet with Bernard E. DeLury, director of the
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, at 1 PM June 22, in
an attempt to come to a settlement of their contract dispute.
The company's contract with its two main unions, the Communications
Workers of America Union and the International Brotherhood of
Electrical Workers Union, expired three weeks ago. Since then,
the unions have been threatening a walk-out, but have held back,
partly because they see progress in the talks, partly because
they fear they might lose a strike.

The only job action put into practice was an "electronic picket
line," with members changing their long distance service defaults
to other companies. AT&T has successfully slowed this move by
pointing out that its competitors are non-union.

Both sides downplayed the importance of the meaning. The union
called it an "unsolicited invitation," while the company said
the service was just "looking for information." Despite the calm
rhetoric, the meeting still seems important. The company has been
far more upbeat in its assessment of the talks than the union,
and a strike remains possible until a settlement is reached.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920622/Press Contact: Sandra L. Taylor,
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, 202-653-5290)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 22 Charney To Offer Final UPI Bid Tomorrow 06/22/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00018)

Charney To Offer Final UPI Bid Tomorrow 06/22/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 JUN 22 (NB) -- Leon Charney is
expected to make a firm bid for United Press International
totaling at least $3.5 million, ensuring the 85-year-old news
agency remains in business. Charney is currently paying the
agency's bills, which total $180,000 per week, on a week-to-week
basis.

The $3.5 million figure is important, because Saudi Arabian
interests doing business as Middle East Broadcasting Centre Ltd.
of London had offered just that amount, unsolicited, less than a
week ago. Unless Charney could match the figure, the company's
creditors, and bankruptcy judge Francis Conrad, who is overseeing
the bankruptcy, might have had to take the Saudi bid.

The final showdown in this drama could come as early as June 23.
Conrad will hold a hearing where Charney is supposed to propose
his deal. Middle East Broadcasting will also enter its bid, and
Robertson could still try to get his $500,000 bid for the UPI
name accepted.

The savior of UPI may turn out to be the Dutch Postal Lottery - a
Netherlands foundation that raises money through lottery sales
for humanitarian causes. Bob Goldner, formerly general manager
for UPI's European, Middle Eastern and African operations,
represented the lottery in offering the needed $3.5 million to
Charney. The lottery's only stipulation in the joint venture was
that UPI expand its coverage of humanitarian issues. Other
groups working with Charney, according to UPI's own reports,
include Michael Floersheim of E&C Trading, in Zurich,
Switzerland; Ernst Strauss, a Zurich private investor, Elliot
Levigne, president of Perry Ellis International, the New York
apparel firm; Saul Rudes, a New York attorney; and Brian Anderson
of Kidder Peabody & Co., a New York brokerage. ESN/MediAmerica, a
firm headed by Jerry Lamprecht, a former NBC vice president for
news coverage, and John Steele, a former producer for "Sunday
Today" and NBC's 1988 Olympic coverage, have also joined
Charney's group. Charney has estimated it will cost $8 million to
turn UPI around.

Another idea Charney has considered is turning the wire service
into a cooperative by issuing three classes of stock for its
subscribers, its employees, and the public. Reporters would buy
an interest and be paid on a per-story basis.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920622)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 22 Tandy to Make Nokia Phones 06/22/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00019)

Tandy to Make Nokia Phones 06/22/92
FORT WORTH, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 22 (NB) --  Nokia of
Finland, a money-losing maker of cellular phones, formed a joint
venture with a Tandy subsidiary to make mobile telephones at
Tandy's Dallas-Fort Worth factory.

The new company, TNC Company, is scheduled to start production in
early 1993.  The operation will initially employ approximately 125
people. Nokia is best known for its NMT analog standards, which
work on frequencies of 450 MHz and about 900 MHz, mainly in
Scandinavia and Russia.

Tandy is known for its wide channel of distribution, especially
its Radio Shack store chain. Both companies will distribute the
resulting phones.

The new plant will produce cellular phones in large volumes
mainly for the American market, both for the existing analog AMPS
standard and the new digital TDMA standard.  TDMA will be
introduced in the United States next autumn. However, standards
are now being written for a competing digital standard, called
Code Division Multiple Access, or CDMA, and many cellular
operators are trying to extend the AMPS standard with Motorola
technology, hoping to jump to CDMA when it's ready.

The new joint venture is not really new. Tandy and Nokia have
had a joint-venture under the TNC name in Korea since 1984.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920622/Press Contact: Tandy, Philip M.
Bradtmiller, 817/390-3730)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 22 TSE Delays Closing Trading Floor 06/22/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00020)

TSE Delays Closing Trading Floor 06/22/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 JUN 22 (NB) -- The Toronto Stock
Exchange will not replace its trading floor with fully computerized
trading until late next year. The exchange has backed off from its
original target of closing the floor by March, 1993 "or
thereabouts," a spokeswoman said.

In a brief statement issued to its member firms and the media, the
exchange said the change was "the result of additional requirements
that became apparent during the detailed planning process which
followed the members' vote of February 12, 1992."

Exchange officials said they need more time than originally
expected for testing, training, and debugging the systems. They
also want extra time to develop stand-alone systems for testing and
training, receive feedback from traders on the features of the new
trading terminals, and deploy the systems.

Members of the exchange voted in February to do away with the
114-year-old trading floor. Roughly 350 people work on the exchange
floor now. Of these, about 250 are traders who work for the member
firms, and many of these are expected to keep their jobs, working
at computer terminals rather than on the floor. Exchange officials
have said they hope to find other jobs for many of the 100
employees who provide clerical services on the floor.

Options and futures will still be traded on an open floor, an
exchange spokesman told Newsbytes.

The Toronto Stock Exchange is Canada's largest exchange.

(Grant Buckler/19920622/Press Contact: Steve Key or Chris Allum,
Toronto Stock Exchange, 416-947-4682, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 22 Indiana Gets $25M Computer To Held Collect Child Support 06/22/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEN)(00021)

Indiana Gets $25M Computer To Held Collect Child Support 06/22/92
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 22 (NB) -- Indiana state
officials have announced a deal with IBM to develop a $25 million
computer system to help collect and distribute child support
payments.

According to the state assistant secretary for information and
technology, Roy Gabriel, the system is expected to be operational by
October 1995. The federal government will pay 90 percent of the
cost, while the rest will be paid by the state.

Gabriel said the new system, which eventually will be part of a
nationwide network, will increase net revenues by about $19 million
annually. About $10 million of that will be from improved
collections, while the balance would result from reduction in
payments from Medicaid and Aid to Families With Dependent Children
(AFDC).

In addition to improving collections from delinquent parents, the
system is expected to make delivery of the money to the custodial
parent quicker.

Indiana's system is part of an effort by the federal government to
improve collection of child support payments, with the goal of
developing an interstate system. Child support collections in the
state have increased steadily, from $61.9 million in 1987 to $118.9
last year, according to Patti Perkins, assistant director for the
state's child support bureau. While part of the increase is due to
more aggressive enforcement, the state has also experienced a rise
in the number of cases, up from about 225,000 in 1987 to over
303,000 last year.

Government officials say parents delinquent in child support
payments, usually the fathers, often avoid payment by moving out of
state.

(Jim Mallory/19920622)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 22  ****Microsoft, AT&T Sign E-Mail Deal 06/22/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(DEN)(00022)

 ****Microsoft, AT&T Sign E-Mail Deal 06/22/92
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 22 (NB) -- Microsoft
Corporation and AT&T EasyLink Services announced today that they
have formed a strategic relationship to make electronic mail a more
valuable, economical, and accessible service.

Under terms of the deal, Microsoft said it will offer users of
Microsoft Mail 3.0 for PC Networks the ability to access AT&T
mail. They can then exchange electronic mail with other users and
networks worldwide through AT&T's EasyLink Service.

Microsoft has long touted its "Information At Your Fingertips"
concept, and AT&T's motto is "communications anytime, anywhere." The
two companies say their common view is that messaging can provide
desktop computer users with ready access to information.

Microsoft and Easylink managers said they expect their combined
strengths will make messaging products more useful and attractive to
a wide range of customers for delivery of various types of
information and services.

Users of Microsoft Mail, using a stand-alone PC or a local area
network (LAN) workstation will be able to communicate with other MS
Mail users, numerous private mail systems, and over 30 public e-mail
services around the world. AT&T's Easylink Service provides service
to 160 countries.

The combination of Microsoft's electronic mail software and the
worldwide facilities of AT&T makes it possible for any PC user to
communicate electronically, and almost instantly, with any other PC
user who has the software. Even users without Microsoft Mail
software can be reached, since AT&T's Easylink service can deliver
messages directly to fax machines, printers, pagers, telexes, and
even the US Postal Service and overnight carriers.

LAN users will use a gateway to access the AT&T Mail system.
Individuals and remote users will use a software package developed
by Microsoft to connect to either AT&T Mail through a toll-free
number, or to their MS Mail mailbox on their LAN. Microsoft said
the software will make it simple and easy to address messages to
other e-mail services or to send multimedia messages.

The joint announcement said the integrated products should be
available in the fourth quarter of this year.

In September of 1990, Western Union introduced LANAccess, a software
package that provides mail service over a LAN, plus a gateway to
EasyLink, which at the time was owned by Western Union. However,
Western Union had severe debt problems, and sold EasyLink to AT&T
for $180 million. AT&T currently says it has about 40 percent of
the worldwide e-mail business.

In October of last year AT&T introduced its Safari notebook
computer, a portable computer system that could receive wireless
messages via a satellite-based messaging network.

Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft, is scheduled to receive the
National Medal of Technology from President George Bush tonight in a
White House ceremony. Gates is reportedly the first personal
computer software industry executive to receive the medal, which was
initiated in 1985.

Apple co-founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak are past recipients of
the medal.

(Jim Mallory/19920622/Press contact: Bob Garnet, AT&T EasyLink,
201-331-4141; Microsoft, Marty Taucher, 206-882-8080)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 22  ****Intel Processor Means Longer Battery Life For Notebooks  06/22/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00023)

 ****Intel Processor Means Longer Battery Life For Notebooks  06/22/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 22 (NB) -- Intel says it is
releasing samples of a new 3.3-volt 386 SL microprocessor which the
company claims will have the effect of allowing users more battery
time on their notebook computers.

The processor is aimed at the growing group of lightweight IBM and
compatible personal computers (PCs), namely subnotebook and tablet
computers. Intel says manufacturers who incorporate the chip will
offer consumers desktop performance and extended battery life.

The new processor includes "flexible voltage" operation so it can
incorporate existing and future 3.3-volt peripherals, allowing for
manufacturers to expand their product lines from 5 volt to 3.3-volt
subnotebook and tablet computers, Intel added.

According to Intel, the 3.3 volt CPU and Intel's standard 386 SL CPU
both offer 32-bit performance but with a 16-bit bus like the 386SX
CPU. However, the 386 SL offers three times the integration (meaning
chips that were previously separate have become part of the CPU
itself) when compared to the 386SX central processing unit (CPU),
Intel maintains.

The 3.3-volt 386 SL 20 megahertz (MHz) with cache unit is priced to
original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) at $94 each in quantities of
1,000, Intel said. In addition, the 16 MHz and 20 MHz 386 SL
microprocessors without cache are $48 and $78 respectively, the
company added.

Full production of the 3.3 386 SL CPU is slated for July and
evaluation kits and ICE 386 SL probes supporting low-voltage
operation will be available in the third quarter of this year.

(Linda Rohrbough/22920622/Press Contact: Barbara Holtz, Intel, tel
408-765-4302, fax [phone]; Public Contact, 800-548-4725
US/Canada or write for "Intel Literature Packet D8PO1, P.O. Box 7641,
Mt. Prospect, IL 60056-6741")
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 22 New Product: Iomega QIC-80 Tape Backup 06/22/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00024)

New Product: Iomega QIC-80 Tape Backup 06/22/92
ROY, UTAH, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 22 (NB) -- Iomega Corporation, best
known for its removable data storage devices, has announced its
first minicartridge tape system.

A tape drive is used to backup data from a hard drive. The method
is faster and easier than backing up to floppies. Most backup
software allows the task to be automated during non-peak
hours, eliminating the need for attention from the user
unless the tape needs to be changed. Some tape drives are mounted
in the PC chassis in the same manner as a floppy drive, while others
are external units, connecting to the PC by means of a cable.

Manufactured in the US, Iomega's tape drives are 1 inch by 3.5
inches and can read Irwin formatted tapes, the company said.

The company said the new drives are specifically designed to freely
interchange tapes with other QIC-80-based tape drives, as well as
the users existing backup software and tapes. Iomega said the
TAPE250 drive can read QIC-80 standard of extended length tapes,
and with its included software can store up to 250 megabytes
or more.

Iomega said it is also including Central Point backup software for
both DOS and Windows. The Windows application works with either
Windows 3.0 or 3.1. Data can be backed up at speeds up to 1000
Kpbs. Iomega said the TAPE250 will work with the PCs existing floppy
drive controller, even if two floppy drives are already installed in
the system. The company also offers an optional high speed floppy
controller which it says can raise the data transfer rate to one
megabit per second.

(Jim Mallory/19920622/Press contact: Cara O'Sullivan, Iomega
Corporation, 801-778-3712; Reader contact:" 800-777-6179)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 22 New For PC: Masterclip Clip Art 06/22/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00025)

New For PC: Masterclip Clip Art 06/22/92
FT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 22 (NB) -- Masterclip
Graphics has announced a library of color vector artwork for IBM and
compatible personal computers.

The company said that each edition of the dual media Series contains
50 to 60 color images relating to a specific subject or theme.
Called clip art, since any of the images can be "clipped" and pasted
into the users document, the Masterclip images are compatible with
applications that accept files using the .CGM format, such as Lotus
1-2-3, Wordperfect, Harvard Graphics, and Quattro Pro.

"We're producing hand-drawn vector art, not scanned images," said
Masterclip President Jill Gordon Mark. She said images can be
re-sized, re-colored, or stretched without losing the original
integrity.

Current editions include pictures relating to American, Technology,
Office, Sports, Communications, and Education. Other sets cover
the areas of medical, humor, business and finance, food,
transportation, and a series on each of the four seasons including
holidays.

Masterclip can also provide custom images and offers electronic
presentation services. "Our capability runs the gamut from single
projector slide shows to videos, to multi-media screen shows with
sound paying on a PC or projected for a large audience," Mark said.

Masterclip said the Series has a suggested list price of $39.95.The
program is shipped on both 3.5 and 5.25-inch disks.

(Jim Mallory/19920622/Press contact: Lauren Finkelman, S&S Public
Relations for Masterclip,708-291-1616, fax [phone]; Reader
contact: 305-983-7440,fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 22 Wordperfect Simplifies Delivery To Large Accounts 06/22/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00026)

Wordperfect Simplifies Delivery To Large Accounts 06/22/92
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 22 (NB) -- Wordperfect Corporation has
announced its Customer Advantage Program, designed to simplify
software purchasing, distribution, licensing, and maintenance for
large accounts. The company said the program will be in place on
August 1, 1992.

To qualify for participation in the plan, an organization must plan
to purchase at least 1,000 licenses of a specific Wordperfect
product or competitive trade-ups to one of its products during the
term of the contract. Combinations of those two numbers can be
combined to reach the 1,000 minimum.

Under the plan, the customer will get a grant of rights to the
software, and can duplicate software and materials as necessary,
without having to buy each new software package separately.
Participating organizations can also distribute the software
electronically.

In order to monitor the program, Wordperfect and the customer will
conduct periodic reviews to determine compliance with the "good
faith" formula established under the contract.

According to Duff Thompson, WP vice president and general
counsel, "We understand that the number of packages a company uses
sometimes differs from the number they are licensed to use. Duff
said the reconciliation offered under the program gives customers an
opportunity to bring those numbers in line without fear of copyright
infringement, and relieves managers of the necessity for constant
policing.

The program also offers extended maintenance including automatic
upgrades and interim releases, as well as large account technical
support and other aids. Training and on-site technical support will
also be available. Participants will also get pre-release and
90-day evaluation software.

Customers will get the rights to concurrent use on networks;
multiple-platform licenses for Windows, DOS, or OS/2; and the right
to use a software package on the users home and office computer.
The software licenses are valid for any language or country.

(Jim Mallory/19920622/Press contact: Beth McGill,Wordperfect
Corporation, 801-228-5008)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 22  ****Toshiba To Sign With IBM On Flash Memory 06/22/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TYO)(00027)

 ****Toshiba To Sign With IBM On Flash Memory 06/22/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 22 (NB) -- Toshiba will sign a joint
development and sales agreement for a new memory chip with IBM,
according to Japan's most reliable newspaper the "Asahi."

Toshiba spokesman Kakutaro Okamura told Newsbytes that it is
too early to reveal details, but he says that negotiations
on the development of a flash memory have been going on with several
computer firms during the past several years.

Toshiba and IBM are reportedly hammering out a deal on
joint development and sales of the flash memory, which has
great potential as a next-generation memory to replace
hard disks and floppy disks. Both firms are reportedly planning
to install flash memory on notebook-type personal computers, which
will consequently be built much lighter than current hard disk models.

Flash memory was first developed by Toshiba in 1984. It is
an erasable and re-writable device on which the written memory
does not disappear even when the electrical current is turned off.
Also, writing and reading time is said to be much faster than hard
disks.

Many electronics makers are trying to develop and apply
flash memory to computers. So far, Intel, AMD, and Mitsubishi
Electric are working on this memory device. Japan's Sharp
recently signed a joint flash memory development agreement with Intel.

Flash memory is expected to become a big hit by 1993, replacing
hard disks and floppy disks on computers.

The actual agreement between Toshiba and IBM is expected to be
announced by the end of August.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920622/Press Contact: Toshiba, +81-3-3457-
2104)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 22 New For PC: WordStar for Windows 1.5, Foreign Lang Vers 06/22/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00028)

New For PC: WordStar for Windows 1.5, Foreign Lang Vers 06/22/92
NOVATO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1992 JUN 22 (NB) -- Hoping
to reproduce some of its overseas popularity into the US market,
WordStar International is set this week to introduce a new version
of its WordStar for Windows (version 1.5) at a special introductory
price of $119. At the same time the company has announced
plans to ship during the summer quarter, four fully translated
foreign language versions of WordStar for Windows 1.5, and two
of WordStar for DOS, version 7.0.

Kristin Keyes, spokesperson for the company, told Newsbytes
that WordStar for Windows 1.5 takes advantage of many of the new
features in Windows 3.1, including TrueType font support, common
dialog boxes and drag-and-drop capabilities. In addition, the company
claims that compatibility with Windows 3.1 has substantially
increased the program's speed and performance. Keyes said that
other features added include "different ways of dealing with tables"
and OLE (object linking and embedding) capabilities.

The program supports the TrueType fonts included with Windows
3.1. The company maintains that current users of WordStar for
Windows will find upgrading their fonts to the TrueType fonts easy
because font-mapping capabilities included in the program allow
users to convert the fonts used in version 1.0 into the TrueType
fonts.

WordStar also claims that OLE Client support in WordStar for
Windows allows users to establish links and insert graphics, text
or numbers from other Windows applications. If users need to
edit the placed data, they simply click on the object, which
automatically launches the application in which the data was
created. Any changes made to the original data will automatically
be updated in the WordStar for Windows file via the established
link.

Keyes said that version 1.5 would "ship this week" but she could
not be more specific as the final product "still needs approval"
in the company's "release process."

Also included is an interactive on-line tutorial. Keyes told Newsbytes
that the on-line tutorial has been "totally re-written" from version
1.0. The company maintains that its tutorial allows users to
learn and practice virtually every feature in WordStar for Windows.
The tutorial is set up in step-by-step self-contained learning
modules and users have the option of tracking which lessons they
have completed.

WordStar for Windows ships with a fully operational version of
Correct Grammar for Windows, version 2.0. Two new graphics
filters have been added, bringing the total number to 12. The new
filters now support GIF and PIC graphics files, according to the
company.

The company says that the basic system requirements include an
IBM 286-based PC or compatible (or higher) with two megabytes
(MB) of RAM, MS-DOS 3.1 or later, Microsoft Windows 3.0 or
later, a 20MB hard disk and a Windows-compatible monitor,
graphics card, mouse, and printer.

WordStar for Windows 1.5 carries a suggested retail price of
$495. As a special introductory offer WordStar is offering the
program for $119 until the end of 1992. WordStar for DOS users
may either migrate to or purchases a concurrent WordStar for
Windows license for $99. Registered users of WordStar for
Windows may purchase the update for $29.95.

According to the company, a Latin American Spanish version
has been added to the list of languages supported. That brings the
number of languages available to six, including German, French,
Italian, and British and American English.

Fully translated versions of Italian, German and Latin American
Spanish WordStar for DOS, version 7.0, are scheduled to ship
during the summer quarter as well. WordStar for DOS is currently
also available in American and British English. Brazilian
Portuguese, Portuguese, and Castilian Spanish version are
slated to ship by the end of 1992, according to the company.

Keyes told Newsbytes that the German version of WordStar
for Windows 1.5 is likely to be completed by the end of the month.
The release of the foreign language versions are "coordinated
by the office in the particular country," she said.

(Ian Stokell/19920622/Press Contact: Kristin Keyes, McLean
Public Releations, 415-358-8535)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 22 Toshiba Cuts Notebook/Memory Card Prices 06/22/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00029)

Toshiba Cuts Notebook/Memory Card Prices 06/22/92
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1992 JUN 22 (NB) -- In response
to similar moves from industry competitors and also an effort
to strengthen its market share in the portable computer
market, the Computer Systems Division of Toshiba America
Information Systems Inc. (TAIS) has announced retail price
reductions on its notebook computers ranging from 16 to
24 percent, effective immediately. In addition, the company
has also cut 31 to 56 percent off the price of its portable
computing memory cards and reduced the price of the 468DX
processor upgrade and the Desk Station IV docking unit.

According to Steve Lair, vice president of marketing for the
Computer Systems Division: "We expect to reach 18 percent
(market) share by the close of the year. Furthermore, we
intend to sustain our momentum by continuously bringing
technological innovation to the notebook arena."

According to market share estimates from International Data
Corp. (IDC), Toshiba is the leading vendor in the US market for
portable computers, holding 14.3 percent of the unit volume in
1991.

On of the products effected by the price reductions is the color
T4400SXC, a 486SX-based TFT (thin film technology)-LCD
(liquid crystal display) active matrix notebook.

"As a result of the T4400SXC price reduction, the industry's
best combination of power and crisp TFT-LCD active matrix color
is now available to a broader base of professionals requiring a
high performance color platform," said Lair. "Clearly, the
486SX is the right processor for demanding color applications."

The price reductions on the memory cards, 468DX processor
upgrade, and the Desk Station IV docking unit are all effective
immediately.

"These...price reductions will make it even more affordable for
our customers to maximize the performance of their portable
computers," said Lair. "Now, they can take advantage of memory-
hungry powerhouse applications which are becoming more
prevalent under Windows 3.1 and OS/2."

The credit card-style memory cards are installed in the
dedicated memory expansion slots.

The Desk Station IV docking unit comes with two full-size
16-bit expansion slots, one parallel port, one serial port, one
PS/2 mouse port, one VGA monitor port, two 101-key keyboard
ports, one 5.25-inch drive bay and a separate monitor stand.

The 486DX processor upgrade adds coprocessor support to the
T4400SX, T4400SXC, or T6400SX notebook computers.

(Ian Stokell/19920622/Press Contact: Howard Emerson,
Toshiba America Information System Inc., 714-583-3925;
Bob Maples, Hill and Knowlton Inc., 714-752-1106)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 22 Borland's Interbase To be Sold With Motorola WANs 06/22/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LAX)(00030)

Borland's Interbase To be Sold With Motorola WANs 06/22/92
SCOTTS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 22 (NB) -- Motorola will
sell Borland's Interbase relational database management system
(RDBMS) as part of the company's Smartzone wide areas communications
system under a new agreement between the two companies. SmartZone is
a wide area network trunked radio system which uses a central
computer to assign users to radio frequencies and is typically sold
to public safety agencies such as police departments and fire
departments.

Borland says its Interbase engine will be the vehicle to track user
information for Smartzone. Because SmartZone spans wide areas (such
as an entire state) the information tracking is critical, Borland
added. A database is necessary to track the more than 48,000 radios
each with as many as 500 elements, such as aliases, security classes,
and user group definitions.

Motorola said it selected Interbase in part because of the "event
alerters" feature. The event alerters are signals sent by the
database to a waiting program to indicate some change has occurred,
for example if a communications link goes down and a police officer
is unable to talk on his radio an event alerter is fired to notify
the Smartzone manager of the problem.

In the past the system to track changes in the database was to poll
the database at designated intervals for changes, a practice which
ties up system resources. However, Borland says its event alerters
don't require incessant polling of the database to track important
changes. Interbase is also being used by the financial trading
industry, i.e. stock brokers and others who work in the stock market.

Julie Bartos of public relations for Borland said those in the
financial trading industry are using the product to alert them of
changes in individual stock prices so they can in turn make
decisions.

The Smartzone system runs on Motorola workstations. Borland is
valuing the reseller agreement with Motorola's Land Mobile Products
Sector at $1.25 million. Motorola is headquartered in Schaumburg,
Illinois. Borland, the world's largest producer of database software,
is headquartered in Scotts Valley, California.

(Linda Rohrbough/22920622/Press Contact: Julie Bartos, Borland, tel
408-439-4873, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD




#CARD :1992 JUN 19 Indian Telecom Opens Up; AT&T, Tatas In Joint Venture 06/19/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(DEL)(00001)

Indian Telecom Opens Up; AT&T, Tatas In Joint Venture 06/19/92
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- The recent liberalization move
of the Indian government seems to be paying dividends. This is
especially true of the telecommunications field, which is already
buzzing with big global players which are forming joined ventures
with Indian companies.

The bid for cellular telephone operating services saw more than
thirty such consortia being formed, while the decision to open up
digital switching to multinational companies resulted in eight
joint ventures. And now, AT&T International Inc., joins hands with
Tata Telecom Ltd. -- the market leader in electronic private
automatic branch exchanges (EPABXs) and private voice networking in
India -- to produce advanced transmission systems.

The two companies will be equal partners in the new venture to be
called Trans-India Network Systems Pvt. Ltd. For the Rs 30-crore
project, the company has an equity base of Rs 15 crore, equally
shared by AT&T and Tata Telecom.

The new company will manufacture digital network access systems
such as, SLC R 120 Network Access System with its associated modules,
Optimux optical multiplexers, 2 MB/second line systems and MAR-30
Multiple Access Radio systems.

"The optical multiplexers would come out in the first quarter
of 1993, followed by the radio systems," said K. Balasubramaniam,
managing director, Tata Telecom Ltd. "The network access systems
are expected to hit the market only around mid-1993," he added.

Tata Telecom will contribute in manufacturing, marketing, and sales
capabilities for the venture, while AT&T's principal role, according
to Richard Brandt, AT&T regional marketing vice-president for Asia,
"will be to provide global networking experience and the technical
know-how for producing the equipment." The joint venture would be
headquartered at Gandhinagar and the manufacturing will be done at
the existing Tata Telecom facility.

"The main reason behind choosing Tata Telecom as partner was,
of course, its status in the market, its expertise and being
well-known internationally," explained Brandt, "But equally
impressive was its flexible manufacturing facility, that would
require almost no revamping to manufacture our products." As for
the non-appearance of the name of either company in the venture,
it seems that the companies could not decide over whose name will
go first.

"The transmission equipment produced by Trans-India will mainly
be bought by the Department of Electronics," emphasized H.N.
Sethna, chairman of Tata Telecom, while talking about prospective
clients. "But we have enquiries also from the Railways, Mahanagar
Telephone Nigam Ltd. and Oil and Natural Gas commission," he added.

As the slated systems are of advanced nature, like the SLC 120,
which can provide 120 channels over a 8-pair cable and is ideally
suited for cities where fresh cables cannot be laid, or MAR-30,
which can extend the switching network to remote areas of the
country, the need for these systems would be large, feels Sethna.

Tata Telecom is the leading manufacturer of EPABX and telephone
instruments in India, with a turnover exceeding Rs 31 crore,
and having to its credit the installation of the largest EPABXs
in the country -- 3,600 lines each at a couple of the largest steel
plants in the country. Tata Telecom has also provided voice and data
networks for several multinationals operating out of India, just as
it did for a telecom network along a 1,500-km oil pipeline.

(C. T. Mahabharat/19920618)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 19 Canon, Thai University In Multimedia Venture 06/19/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00002)

Canon, Thai University In Multimedia Venture 06/19/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 19 (NB) -- Canon has announced that it has
signed an agreement with Cheralenkon University in Thailand in
which the two entities will jointly research multimedia technology.

In this agreement, Canon will support the university both with
money and technology and will set up an audiovisual technology
research center at the university. Canon will also help create a
master's degree course in audio-visual technology.

Canon will dispatch its engineers to the university and will host
its students in Japan.

Although the primary purpose is to research audiovisual technology,
another purpose of this project is to develop word processors
for the Thai language. Canon has its own word processing technology
and has been selling the "Canoword" series.

Canon reports that it aims to contribute to the region to encourage
the advancement of the technology. That support will take the
form of a 30 million yen ($230,000) "Canon Audio-visual Technology
Fund," which will supply funding for the research until 1996.
Canon will also supply the university with the necessary equipment
such as computers and printers. A total of 200 million yen
($1.5 million) is expected to be spent on this project, says
Canon.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920619/Press Contact: Canon, [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 19 Neurocomputer System Developed By Ricoh 06/19/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00003)

Neurocomputer System Developed By Ricoh 06/19/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 19 (NB) -- Ricoh has developed a
neurocomputer system which it claims is faster than existing
supercomputers. It consists of 32 units of Ricoh's neuro-LSI.

Ricoh's latest neurocomputer system simulates the learning
experience of the human brain. It does not require a CPU (central
processing unit) because all the systems are contained in Ricoh's
original neuro-LSI. According to a Ricoh spokesman, the system has
achieved extremely fast processing speed -- almost four times
faster than a supercomputer. When it is compared with a
workstation, it is about 500 times faster, claims Ricoh.

The system is said to be able to recognize handwritten letters and
the human voice better and faster as it "learns." Also, the actual
system can be much smaller in size than a supercomputer because much of it
is contained in small LSI chips.

Ricoh is planning to aim this system at industrial use, and is
seeking application development with other firms. Actual application
of this system can be in a variety of fields, but Ricoh
seeks to apply it to industry robots or machinery to start. These
systems are expected to debut within a year, according to a Ricoh
spokesman.

Meanwhile, Ricoh has been developing a high-end version of this
neuro-LSI; work is expected to be completed by the end of this
year. The new LSI will be used in an even more powerful neurocomputer
system.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920619/Press Contact: Ricoh, [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 19 NECC: Apple Talks to Teachers, Unveils Educa. Products 06/19/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00004)

NECC: Apple Talks to Teachers, Unveils Educa. Products 06/19/92
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 19 (NB) -- At the National
Education Computing Conference (NECC) this week, specialists from
Apple briefed teachers, administrators, and computer coordinators on
Apple's educational offerings, including new products and programs
unveiled at the show.

The new educational items include two online curriculum aids -- one
on CD-ROM disk, and the other involving CD-ROM, floppies, and laser
disks -- plus a partnership program. According to Sue Collins,
Apple's senior manager for Strategic Initiatives, the program lets
schools and businesses join together in buying bundles of
educational hardware, software and print materials. The bundles
will cover such subjects as language arts, math, science, and
student productivity -- and each will be geared to a particular
grade level, from kindergarten through higher education.

On Monday at NECC, Collins delivered the aptly entitled talk
"What's New at Apple." Dr. Thomas Burnett, educational
consultant to Apple, took this theme even further, with "Vision,
Change and Chaos," a keynote speech on how Apple's technology is
being used to facilitate educational reform.

Apple is stressing that third-party vendors will participate in the
reform by including their products in bundles marketed through the
partnership program. The array of educational vendors encompasses
Aldus, Broderbund, Claris, The Learning Company, and TechByte
International, to name just a few.

Schools and businesses subscribing to the program will receive
printed guides on "Becoming Partners" and "Building Effective
Partnerships," plus two floppies for the Mac. The "Development
Tools" disk contains a HyperCard-based application for creating
partnership proposals, in addition to examples of partnership
charters and planning documents. The "Program Information" disk
serves as a computer-based information resource, complete with
bundle specifications, order forms, and price lists.

Apple's new online curriculum planning aids -- also introduced at
NECC -- include the "Apple Math & Science Curriculum Integration
Guide" and the more generic "Teaching, Learning & Technology - A
Planning Guide." Running on CD-ROM, the math and science guide
features more than 60 QuickTime demonstrations, each enabling the
teacher to get hands-on experience with a software application.
Incorporated, too, are QuickTime vignettes of educators commenting
on how the math and science software can be implemented in the
classroom.

"Teaching, Learning & Technology," a guide that can be used by
school districts or individual educators, is available in three
versions. The "Basic Kit" provides a step-by-step curriculum
workbook, templates for organizing curriculum plans, and workbook
duplication masters for planning team members -- along with a video
presenting dramatizations of possible classroom scenarios.

The "Interactive Kit/Videodisc" comes with all the elements of the
"Basic Kit," in addition to a CD-ROM disk packed with two hours of
audio interviews on curriculum planning, a video disk containing 60
minutes of planning tips from schools nationwide, and a "Quick
Start" tutorial on how to organize the computer equipment.

"Interactive Kit/QuickTime" is similar to "Interactive
Kit/Videodisc," except that the audio interviews and video clips
are in QuickTime on a CD-ROM disk, and an interactive "notepad"
helps users collect multimedia materials for their plans.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920618)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 19 Australia: AT&T, Hutchison Bid For 3rd Mobile Licence 06/19/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00005)

Australia: AT&T, Hutchison Bid For 3rd Mobile Licence 06/19/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 19 (NB) -- American telecommunications
giant AT&T is to be Hutchison Telecommunications Australia's (HTA's)
strategic partner in HT's bid for Australia's third mobile telephone
licence. The existing two licences are held by AOTC (Australian and
Overseas Telecommunications Corporation) and Australia's second
carrier, Optus.

The bid will be totally self-funded by HTA's parent company,
Hutchison Whampoa of Hong Kong. As a requirement of the bid,
however, the bidding company must have a relationship with at least
three of the world's top handset suppliers. AT&T's part in the
contract is to supply the equipment side of the network. HTA's
managing director said at the announcement, "We will never be a
supplier of equipment. What we do is come into a market as an
experienced service provider - as deregulation allows." The
conditions of bidding will also see local hardware and software used
in the network.

HTA's parent company. Hutchison Whampoa, claims half of Hong Kong
cellular and paging markets, and the local subsidiary operates
Australia's largest paging service. HTA bid last year for the second
licence last year, and has now transferred its attention to the
third licence, which is limited to mobile services (the second
licence was for all services). Although, if it wins, HTA's
consortium will be unable to install its own country services
initially, by reselling part of AOTC's capacity, it hopes to redress
that inadequacy.

(Sean McNamara/19920619)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 19 Australian-built Vietnamese Exchange Opened 06/19/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00006)

Australian-built Vietnamese Exchange Opened 06/19/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 19 (NB) -- As a major part of its goal
to increase its foothold the regional telecommunications market,
AOTC (Australian and Overseas Telecommunications Corporation) has
announced the opening of an Australian-built international gateway
exchange in Hanoi.

The building of the exchange was negotiated by OTC, which recently
merged with Telecom to become AOTC, and is aimed at taking advantage
of Vietnam's burgeoning international services usage.

The opening was attended by almost 50 executives from major
telecommunications companies from around the world, including AT&T
and Sprint from the US, Hong Kong Telecom International, and
Teleglobe of Canada. The exchange brings Vietnam's international
telecommunications services up to par with many countries in the
region, and should spur large growth in the local telecommunications
market - especially since George Bush's decision to re-open
international communications links (it is estimated there are
approximately 1,000,000 expatriate Vietnamese now living in the US).

Despite the potential, there are several hurdles yet to be overcome.
Firstly, the US has not lifted its trade embargo with Vietnam - any
money owed to the Vietnamese Government is frozen in the US as part
of this embargo. Secondly, the Vietnamese Government has forbidden
direct links to the US, so all calls will have to be routed through
Sydney, Hong Kong, or Singapore.

(Sean McNamara/19920619)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 19 Frame Business Units for PC/Mac and Unix 06/19/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00007)

Frame Business Units for PC/Mac and Unix 06/19/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 19 (NB) -- Frame Technology,
a document management systems vendor growing at the rapid clip of
60% a year, has announced its second public stock offering this
year, along with the formation of new business units dedicated to
particular hardware platforms.

A public relations spokesperson told Newsbytes that the new
business units -- one for IBM-compatible PCs and Macs, and the
other for Unix -- are aimed at increasing Frame's responsiveness to
the two main segments within its ever expanding customer base.
"The two user groups have different needs," she remarked.

The pair of stock offerings this year are the first in the
company's six-year history, she said. Both offerings, she added,
have been intended to raise working capital for Frame, producers of
three sophisticated document management products: the FrameMaker
document creation tool, and FrameViewer and FrameReader software
for document distribution, viewing, and printing.

Frame initially "went public" in February, with a company offering
of 2,000,000 shares at $14 per share. In this week's second public
offering, another 2,100,000 shares are up for grabs, this time at
$15.75 per share. In the second offering, 713,544 of the shares --
or about one third -- are being offered by the company, and the
rest by existing shareholders.

Frame Technology got its start with a Unix version of FrameMaker.
Subsequently, the vendor introduced a Mac version of FrameMaker, as
well as FrameReader for Macintosh and FrameViewer for Unix. In
January of this year, Frame announced Windows versions of
FrameMaker and FrameReader, along with intentions to port both
products to Windows NT in the future.

In announcing the new business units this week, Frame said that the
Desktop Products Division will concentrate on increasing the
presence of Macintosh and PC products in the retail channel. The
Unix Systems Division will be charged with maintaining a leadership
role in Frame's current Unix market segment, and also with further
developing the product to meet a perceived demand for customized
publishing systems.

"The creation of the business units will allow us to take advantage
of new market opportunities, while focusing on our number one
priority - customer satisfaction," commented Paul Robichaux,
chairman and CEO. Each of the new units will function as a separate
cost center, with profit and loss responsibilities, the company
reported.

Joe Scheider, formerly SGML support manager, has been named to the
new position of vice president/general manager of the Unix Systems
Division. Savia Kumar, previously director of product marketing,
has gotten the nod as vice president of the Desktop Products
Division.

According to recently released financial figures, Frame's revenues
were $16 million for fiscal year 1989, $25.4 million for fiscal
year 1990, $41.7 million for fiscal year 1991, and $13.3 million
for the most recent quarter, ending March 31, 1992.

The Frame spokesperson stated that the company has grown 60% or
more each year since its founding, attributing this achievement in
large part to the high quality and unique features of the product.
Unlike many other document management systems, the Frame system
incorporates word processing with highly advanced page layout
features, she said.

Documents can be created, edited and distributed over multivendor
networks, with users receiving WYSIWYG (what you see is what you
get) viewing regardless of software version, she added. Further,
the system can integrate documents -- in some cases equipped with
sound and still video -- from more than 300 different third-party
applications.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920617; Press Contact: Jolana Leinson, Frame,
tel [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 19 Windows Speed-Up Chip Offered In Speedstar 24-bit Card 06/19/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00008)

Windows Speed-Up Chip Offered In Speedstar 24-bit Card 06/19/92
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 19 (NB) -- Hardware to speed up
Windows is what the new Speedstar 24X graphics board is offering
users. Western Digital says it is shipping a new Windows accelerator
chip for inclusion in Diamond Computer Systems Speedstar 24X 24-bit
dynamic random access memory (DRAM) graphics board.

The WD90C31 chip from Western Digital is especially designed to speed
up Windows performance and has already been used in computers
designed by AST Research and Gateway 2000, Western Digital said. The
company said it has also offered its own DRAM-based Paradise
Accelerator Card for Windows that also includes the WD90C31 chip and
is targeted toward end users.

Both Western Digital and Diamond Computer Systems are maintaining the
SpeedStar 24X is more affordable as it uses DRAM which is cheaper
than, and outperforms, video random access memory (VRAM). Western
Digital describes the chip as a 32-bit controller designed for
applications that require video graphics array (VGA) compatibility
with analog, TTL, or multi-frequency monitors. The chip supports
extended VGA graphics up to 1024 x 768 x 256 in non-interlaced mode
with a 72 hertz (Hz) vertical refresh rate and is compliant with the
standards of the NEC founded Video Electronics Standards Association
(VESA).

The chip performs functions such as hardware cursor, bit blt (bit
block) transfers, and linear addressing -- all functions that used to
be done by software, Western Digital said. However, hardware based
performance of any function is always faster. This is part of the
movement toward the type of hardware based graphics similar that
which is done on a Macintosh, Letty Ledbetter of Western Digital told
Newsbytes.

Western Digital vice president, Robert Dickinson, said Diamond Computer
plans to target systems integrators and large corporate end users
with its SpeedStar card.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920618/Press Contact: Letty Ledbetter, Western
Digital, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 19 New For Networks: LANtastic for NetWare Version 4.1 06/19/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00009)

New For Networks: LANtastic for NetWare Version 4.1 06/19/92
TUCSON, ARIZONA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 19 (NB) -- Artisoft has begun
shipping LANtastic for NetWare v.4.1. This product, which provides
Novell NetWare users with LANtastic 4.1's peer-to-peer
networking features, now offers increased performance as
well as additional feature enhancements to System Manager
and printing capabilities.

"The LANtastic for NetWare software provides a low-cost, easy-to-use
solution for Novell users wanting the features, peripheral-sharing
and flexibility of a peer-to-peer network," said Jack Schoof,
Artisoft President and CEO.

Three important features will improve the speed and efficiency of
the LANtastic local area network: resource caching, random access
caching and delayed record-locking. Other new features include new
System Manager features, immediate despooling, enhanced printer
queue display, new NET PRINT switches, new print parameters, automatic
login to servers, login to multiple servers with one command, hot
keys to menu items, and enhanced NET HELP display.

LANtastic for NetWare 4.1 is available at a suggested retail price
of $499 per network and supports up to 300 users. Registered LANtastic
for NetWare 4.0 users can
upgrade to v.4.1 through Artisoft or any Authorized Artisoft Five
Star Dealer for free upon proof of registration.

(Computer Currents/19920618/Public Contact: 800-846-9726)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 19 Review of: Help! The Art of Computer Technical Support, 06/19/92


(REVIEW)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00010)

Review of: Help! The Art of Computer Technical Support, 06/19/92

From: Peachpit Press, 1085 Keith Ave., Berkeley, CA 94708, 800-283
9444, 415-527-8555.

Price: $19.95

PUMA Rating:3.67 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Naor Wallach 06/19/92

Summary: This is a book that talks about all facets of the technical
support picture: how to set it up, keep it running, and get the most
out of it when you have to use it. Highly recommended for those
needing to operate a technical support organization. Not so
important for those who will simply use tech support.

======

REVIEW

======

If there is one subject that most computer users can agree on, it is
the universal irritation, and dislike of, having to use the
technical support offered by software companies. It seems like a no
win situation - you call a number and this disembodied voice seems
to either mock your ignorance or cannot help with your problem and
sends you to other companies, phone numbers, and just plain outer
space. This is all assuming that you get to the voice in the first
place. Ask any computer user and you will be regaled with tales of
hours spent on hold, endless sessions with voice mail systems, and
the worse sin of all -- having someone answer the phone (finally)
only to take your name and number and promise to have someone call
you back. Right.

The interesting thing is that most companies are aware of that
dreadful image and are really trying to work on it -- at least those
companies that wish to remain in the computer business do. Ralph
Wilson's book is actually intended for those people who are setting
up or running a tech support group, but I found it instructive
reading nonetheless.

The book's 227 pages are divided into seven chapters that altogether
demystify what is going on at the other side of that phone line.
Wilson talks about what it takes to motivate tech support people.
He gives examples of what works and what does not. He issues
recommendations on what to do and how to train your tech support
people so that you get the most from them. And all of this advice
is backed up by the fact that Wilson runs his own company that is
purely dedicated to providing tech support services to companies
that do not wish to enter that field.

The seven chapters are titled: Manufacturer Support, Internal
Support, Communication Skills, Handling Support Calls, Information
Techniques and Tools, Alternative Methods of Support, and A User's
Guide to Technical Support. As you can see, the author covers the
field pretty well.

He initially breaks the support task down to two main activities:
internal and external. External is that tech support line that we
are all familiar with. Internal is the tech support that some of
the bigger companies can offer by having some of their personnel
dedicated to supporting users within the organization on programs
that the company has purchased from outside. Wilson draws on the
similarities of the two types of support in the first two chapters.
He also compares them in their differences. It is interesting to
read of how similar, yet different, the two functions can be.

The next three chapters are a basic manual of how to run a tech
support operation. Wilson gives us his opinions on what to look
for in people that you are considering hiring for tech support
positions, what you can expect from them in terms of productivity,
and what you should be prepared to do and provide to them to allow
them to perform at peak efficiency. These three chapters are
probably not of much interest to the casual reader, however, if
you are involved with your tech support group, they are worth the
book's weight in gold. The tips that Wilson provides are numerous
and can be easily seen to have been acquired after much time in
the field.

The sixth chapter talks about some interesting ways in which the
tech support function can be more effective while using some means
other than the traditional "sitting on the phone line." This is
the chapter where Wilson discusses using user's groups, belonging
to national bulletin board services, as well as other,
potentially less conventional means of providing tech support.

In the final chapter Wilson tells all of us how best to deal with
tech support as the user who has the problem. This chapter is
a tutorial of what to do, what to have ready, and how to talk to
the tech support person so that we get the most benefit of the
conversation, i.e. we solve our problem in the least amount of time.

After reading this book, I feel that I know a whole lot more about
what it takes to do a good job at tech support. I also know that the
next time I need to call tech support, I will be better equipped
to handle the call and I will understand the other person's concerns
better. If you are involved with setting up or running a tech
organization, then this book should be a must on your reading list.
If you are a plain user like me, then you may want to borrow a copy
and read the last chapter. The rest of the book would be merely
interesting, not essential.

===========

PUMA RATING

===========

USEFULNESS: 3 This depends on where you stand in relation to tech
support. If you are a provider, buy this book immediately! If a
user, then you can learn some interesting things.

MANUAL: 4 I detected no typos. The book layout is clear and effective
and I was not distracted by too many graphical elements on the
page.

AVAILABILITY: 4 I saw copies of this book at my two favorite book
store chains and was able to order it with no problems from a third.
In addition, Peachpit Press maintains a toll free number for
ordering or more information.

(Naor Wallach/19920617/Suzanne Ludlum, Peachpit Press)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 19 ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 06/19/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00011)

ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 06/19/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 19 (NB) -- Roundup is a brief
look at some computer stories carried in other publications
received here this past week.

Computer Reseller News dated June 15 says that former Compaq head
Rod Canion told a CRN reporter that he started the move to a low-
cost line more than a year ago, six months before he was booted
out of the company he founded.

The June 8 issue of Federal Computer Week says that the USDA is
upgrading its computer systems before deciding which offices will
be closed and that the Senate Agriculture Committee says this
"defies logic."

Computerworld for June 15 says that the 10-year, $100- to $200-
million outsourcing contract between EDS and Signet Banking is
off to a rocky start as the first year of the contract draws to
an end. Apparently the bank is balking at the idea of moving all
operations to the Herndon, Virginia EDS offices.

The June 8 issue of Government Computer News has a special
supplement on buying PCs from the GSA microcomputer schedule. The
section includes discussions by vendors, buyers, and a GSA
contract negotiator.

June 15's Informationweek asks the question "Has Oracle Grown
Up?" and takes a stab an answering its own question in an
interview with Oracle CEO Larry Ellison who, unsurprisingly, says
that quality problems will end with the introduction of Oracle
Version 7.

Systems & Network Integration for the week of the 15th says that
IBM is repositioning the AS/400 as an integration platform.

(John McCormick/19920619)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 19 Editorial: Keep the Bells Out of PCN 06/19/92


(EDITORIAL)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00012)

Editorial: Keep the Bells Out of PCN 06/19/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 19 (NB) -- By Dana Blankenhorn.
The seven regional Bell companies have a problem. Wall Street
doesn't respect them. Their attempts to raise stock prices
through unregulated adventures have failed, mainly because the
weight of their capital tilts toward plain old telephone service.
POTS, as it's called, is a widows-and-orphans business. The
profits are reliable, but they're low. This doesn't sit well with
the Bells' self-image.

The main thing the Bells have done to counter this image is to
take over the cellular telephone market. Originally, there were
to be two licensees in each city: one Bell, one non-Bell. But the
US government later allowed Bells to buy "non-Bell" licensees
outside their regions. And they did. Now you usually have a
"choice" for cellular service between two Bell companies. That's
no choice. Prices remain high, true competition nil.

The FCC has a problem with this. Chairman Alfred Sikes claims
competition will solve all problems. But there is no competition
in the cellular business. Prices and levels of service are nearly
identical in every region. His solution is to quickly license
microwave-based cellular networks, called Personal Communications
Networks or PCN. PCN uses shorter wavelengths than regular
cellular systems, so antennae must be closer together, but lower-
power phones can be used which fit easily in your pocket.

To solve their problem, the Bells want to permanently prevent the
FCC from solving its problem. Bell Alantic, the Bell for the mid-
Atlantic states, has unveiled its "wireless vision" to financial
analysts, a "strategic mandate" to invest $400 million in tiny
microcells and dominate this new market before it gets started by
tying the new demand to its existing cellular network.

Ameritech, the Bell company for the Midwest, is conducting the
first market test of PCN phones and services in downtown
Chicago. US West, the Bell company for the mountain states,
wants a "pioneer preference" (it wants to be first in line for a
license) on PCN because its UK cable operations already handle
the wired link in PCN networks there.

If Al Sikes is to ever solve his problem, he needs to put a stop
to all this right now. As Bell Atlantic makes clear, the Bells
already have everything they need to compete in the PCN market,
maybe even to dominate it, using smaller cells on their existing
frequencies. If competitors are to emerge, the Bells must be
prevented from taking any PCN licenses, either inside or outside
their markets, now and forever. They must also be prevented from
using discriminatory pricing to limit the new PCN carriers'
access to the wired networks, which will handle most of the
calling distance in any event.

If Sikes doesn't do this, all his talk about competition will
come to nothing. The Bells will dominate all future wireless
markets, just as they dominate the wired world. There will be no
competition for consumers, only monopoly profits for the Bells.
And ironically, the Bells' stock prices still won't be helped,
because the capital needs of their slow-growing wired business
will always dominate their balance sheets.

What's ironic is there is a way for the Bells to solve their
stock-price problems. They should consider what Pacific Telesis
is considering, do what AT&T did under Charles Brown a decade
ago. Split-up. Separate in two, into local phone companies under
strict regulation, and unregulated businesses with wireless,
international, and information service arms. Stop trying to have
it both ways, a guaranteed pool of profit on one hand which can
be used to dominate new markets on the other. Stop this
schizophrenic double-game of being competitive businessmen when
it suits you and monopolists when it suits you. Be one or the
other. Wall Street will love you for it.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920619)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 19 Scanfone Enters Memphis, with Piggly Wiggly 06/19/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00013)

Scanfone Enters Memphis, with Piggly Wiggly 06/19/92
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 19 (NB) -- ScanFone, the
interactive service using a special phone with a screen, is
entering the Memphis, Tennessee market.

ScanFone features a 16-character LED display panel, a magnetic
stripe credit card reader and a light pen used to scan bar codes.
US Order, which developed the system, is rolling it out
nationwide as partners are found for it. Scanfone entered the San
Francisco market early this year with help from Safeway and
BankAmerica. In Memphis, the partners are Piggly Wiggly and
Shoppers Express. BankAmerica will also have a roll, however,
processing credit card transactions made through the system.

When ordering through ScanFone, customers enter a personal
password to access the system, and select the items and
quantities to be purchased by scanning their respective bar
codes. After each selection, verification of the item ordered is
displayed on the ScanFone screen. When the order is complete,
customers receive an estimate of the total cost of their order
and can then review their selections and make any necessary
changes. After this review, they can select to pick- up their
order or indicate the day and time of home delivery -- same day
or within the next week. Payments can be made by check upon
delivery or by swiping a credit card through ScanFone's magnetic
stripe reader.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920619/Press Contact: Elizabeth England, for
U.S. Order, 212-715-1578)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 19 FCC Quietly Helps Home Automation 06/19/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00014)

FCC Quietly Helps Home Automation 06/19/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 JUN 19 (NB) -- On the same day
when it issued an historic order allowing television networks to
own cable television operations, and hinted that regulation of
AT&T may soon be lifted further, the Federal Communications
Commission also cleared the way for home automation systems to
get better access to the electromagnetic spectrum.

The FCC order adjusted radio signal regulations to allow security
control, energy levels, lighting and appliances to get clear
space on the frequency spectrum. In the past, such systems often
interfered with radio signals, limiting their effectiveness and
annoying the neighbors, not to mention the radio stations which
had to handle the resulting complaints.

The radio spectrum is terribly crowded with services, and some
slices of spectrum are used by multiple types of companies. One
major goal of FCC Chairman Alfred Sikes is to release spectrum
held by the government so more services can be accommodated. That
work is going slowly, however, as is the move to get other
licensed users to change the frequencies they use so new services
like microwave-based PCN phones can be introduced.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920619)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 19 AT&T Adjusts Rates, Looks to New Freedom 06/19/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00015)

AT&T Adjusts Rates, Looks to New Freedom 06/19/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 JUN 19 (NB) -- AT&T praised the
Federal Communications Commission and gave consumers a hint of
what will follow its actions to let it change rates quickly.

Vic Pelson, president of AT&T's Communications Services Division,
said the company was "greatly encouraged" by action which could
take place next year which will let AT&T offer special deals to
big customers and change rates more quickly. He said the result
of the action will be "full and fair competition." He also
praised the FCC's ruling that price caps have been a successful
replacement for rate regulation, calling them less burdensome to
the company. Other studies have indicated, however, that the
entire reduction in long-distance rates since the Bell break-up
in 1984 resulted from cuts in access charges paid local phone
companies by long distance firms, not competition and not new
technology.

Meanwhile, AT&T adjusted its rates slightly, something that will
become much simpler as regulations on it as the "dominant
carrier" of long distance services are lifted. Collect, third-
party, and person-to-person rates were cut about 4 percent, which
the company said will save consumers $60 million. But the company
eliminated some of its more esoteric calling plans, like the AT&T
Corporate Card 10 Percent Savings Plan and the AT&T Universal
Card Talk It Up Plan.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920619/Press Contact: AT&T, Herb Linnen,
202/457-3933)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 19 WordPerfect Sells Russian Version, Describes Perspectives 06/19/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(MOW)(00016)

WordPerfect Sells Russian Version, Describes Perspectives 06/19/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 JUN 19 (NB) -- WordPerfect is trying to grab a
share of the Russian market where its products are almost unknown.
The company sees its major advantage in the numerous multilingual
capacities the word processor has to offer.

Ronny Juhansen, director of development, WordPerfect International
Division, said that it is too early to say something about WordPerfect's
advances in the Russian market, as the product was launched only three
months ago. "The initial [sales] results during those couple of months
were positive," Juhansen told the audience.

The Russian version of WordPerfect 5.1 is immediately available through
Merisel and a few affiliated companies for 19200 rubles (approximately
US$200). The Russian version has a spellchecker and no thesaurus. To have
the English language tools you must buy the English supplement which is
not immediately available. The product has been initially sold with
copy protection, which was removed shortly after sales began. "We
feel quite well about the level of protection under the law of Russia.
We try to teach our users that in order to continue developing of new
products and supporting the old ones we need them to buy software, not to
steal it."

WordPerfect is promoting in its products the multibyte character set --
a way of storing characters of various languages in several bytes
instead of the single one currently used by most software on the
market. Juhansen said that Wordperfect will further promote the Unicode
international character set standard in its products.

In describing WordPerfect communications capabilities and
multiplatform compatibility, Juhansen gave no details on whether
localized versions of those products -- namely WordPerfect Office and WP
releases other than DOS -- will be released on the Russian market.

Asked about service and support for product buyers, Juhansen said
that the current major distributor -- Merisel -- is offering that service
mainly through its dealers.

WordPerfect is expected to soon offer the "Doorway," an interface which
allows external programs to be incorporated into the WP environment.

Natalia Artemova of Informatic Company, the leading provider of Russian
language spellcheckers and thesauruses, complained that WordPerfect at the
time of developing the Russian version of their flagship product,
refused to enter a suitable agreement to incorporate the Orpho spellchecker
into it. WordPerfect has developed its own Russian speller instead and
work on further projects has slowed, which may include a Ukrainian
spellchecker and a Russian thesaurus.

The Third international computer forum has been organized by the Moscow-
based International computer club.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920618)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 19  ****Russia: Computers Are Bellwether Of Free Market Economy 06/19/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(MOW)(00017)

 ****Russia: Computers Are Bellwether Of Free Market Economy 06/19/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 JUN 19 (NB) -- A Russian standard 286 computer
with VGA monitor, wide carriage printer, one megabyte (MB) of memory,
a 40 MB hard disk drive, mouse, and coprocessor, today costs 170,000
rubles and the price is expected to fluctuate and fall, according
to the Moscow Commodities Exchange's executives, speaking at a Russian
computer market briefing.

Oleg Pavlenko, manager of the Moscow Commodities Exchange's computer
division, presented his view on the computer market as one of the
early seeds of the free market economy.

Major CIS computer markets now are the Ukraine and Byelorussia,
in addition to the traditionally active Moscow, St Petersbourg,
Caucasus and Baltic regions. Two of those republics are very active
in buying computers now as they feel an undersupply of the equipment
and worries about possible political turmoil, Pavlenko said.

Still, most buyers are companies and the amount of PCs in the hands of
individuals is still very small.

Sergey Worobiev, also of the Moscow Commodities Exchange's computer
division, noted that the ruble-to-dollar exchange rate fluctuation
has become more and more important in the computer business as
the number of ruble computer sales is rapidly increasing. But the
market is very slow to react to those changes with a typical time
lag between rate drops and imported computer price drops as long
as 3-4 weeks.

Major computer resellers, which include Steepler, Demos, and a few
others, are now pushing the market prices down with massive
advertising campaigns in the press, but the trend will not lasts forever
in the view of the likely ruble value drop.

Pavlenko said supply and demand for 386-based machines is also
rapidly growing. Sales of those accounted for 11% of the total
computer market in January 1992 and 20% in April.

According to statistical records, the average Russian company has 10
PCs, which are two years old. A quarter of them use local area networks.

Members of the audience repeatedly noted that the machines
being sold through the exchange reach the end-user through a number of
intermediaries and therefore an important part of business -- customer
service -- has ceased to exist at all.

The Moscow Commodities Exchange's computer division was formed in November
1991 and comprises 500 companies which sell computers for rubles.
It claims to be the largest wholesale computer market in the country

The Russian computer market briefing was held as a part of the Third
International Computer Forum, organized by the Moscow-based International
Computer Club.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920618)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 19 Moscow: Steepler Releases Windows Fax Software 06/19/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(MOW)(00018)

Moscow: Steepler Releases Windows Fax Software 06/19/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 JUN 19 (NB) -- Moscow-based Steepler Company has
released its Faxline Windows fax software. Faxline works from any
application which enables printing. By selecting Faxline as a printer,
text or graphics chosen will be faxed to a chosen phone number.

Similar to other faxing software, the Russian-developed Faxline has
the usual background receive fax, send and receive log, delayed fax,
customized cover sheet, phonebook, and help features.
The software is said to be compatible with all major fax boards
and modems available on the market.

The software requires Windows 3.0 or 3.1, 1 MB of memory, EGA, and a mouse.
Sales are to begin in August. The single user version will cost US$195,
multiuser -- $295, and a network supporting one -- $495.

Steepler is a Moscow-based computer equipment reseller and Windows
software developer.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920619/Press contact: Steepler, phone [phone]-
8192; fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 19 Australia Urged To Use Automated Freeway Systems 06/19/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(SYD)(00019)

Australia Urged To Use Automated Freeway Systems 06/19/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 19 (NB) -- A councillor of a local
motorists association has called on the New South Wales (NSW)
government to follow Victoria's lead in utilizing freeway traffic
detection and communications technology as soon as possible.

Ron Talbot, a councillor with the National Roads and Motorists'
Association (NRMA), feels that advanced warning systems should be
installed and linked nationally within 10 years.

Talbot was responding to a call by NSW's Roads and Traffic Authority
for expressions of interest in replacing the existing fog warning
system the major southbound freeway from Sydney, the F6, to
Wollongong. Talbot cited the example of Victorian freeways, which
already have systems which detect breakdown, suggest alternative
routes and notify motorists. "This could just be the start of
something in this country that could go into the 21st Century,"
Talbot said.

The Victorian system allows Vic Roads (the RTA's Victorian
counterpart) to continually monitor traffic flow and breakdowns and
notify motorists. The RTA, however, has only called for fog detection
hardware. Talbot, however, wants motorists associations to be able to
offer to members warning systems similar to the Victorian systems, but
utilizing dashboard miniterminals to display traffic and tourist
information.

The NRMA is Australia's largest motorists association, and it offers
such services as roadside service (utilizing a computer-based job
scheduling and information system with a similar technology base as
that suggested by Talbot for the driver information service),
insurance, investment advice, and travel and legal services.

(Sean McNamara/19920619)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 19 Australia: University Gets AUS$0.5M For Taiwanese Research 06/19/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(SYD)(00020)

Australia: University Gets AUS$0.5M For Taiwanese Research 06/19/92
ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 19 (NB) -- The University of South
Australia has been awarded an AUS$500,000 grant for a research
project it will carry out with the National Cheng Kung University of
Tainan, Taiwan. The research will cover collaborative CAD/CAM
(computer-aided design and manufacturing) systems.

The project will also see local firm Qikdraw and the Tjing Ling
Automotive Company of Taiwan participating in research. Work will be
carried out by the Tjing Ling Manufacturing Technology Research and
Development Center at the Cheng Kung University and by Professor
Grier Lin's School of Mechanical Engineering at the Levels campus of
the University of South Australia.

The CAD/CAM systems under investigation would allow design centers
separated across the world to develop a design, and have the product
manufactured at either site. Professor Lin claimed that existing
CAD/CAM systems are "generally restricted to single location
applications. Now with companies having plants located in a number
of places, and the increasing emphasis on manufacturing
internationally, there is a need for designers at two remote
locations to be able to work together on a common design activity."

The grant was awarded by the Federal Department of Employment,
Education and Training (DEET) under the Targeted Institutional Links
Program.

(Sean McNamara/19920619)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 19 Australian/South Korean Anti-virus Project 06/19/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(SYD)(00021)

Australian/South Korean Anti-virus Project 06/19/92
PERTH, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 19 (NB) -- An anti-virus research project
being carried out by the Edith Cowan University of Western
Australian and the Chung Ang University of South Korea has received
an AUS$250,000 grant from the Australian government.

The project was established just over a year ago to investigate the
prevalence of computer viruses and ways to combat them. The grant
was awarded under the Targeted Institutional Links Program of the
Department of Employment, Education and Training (DEET). The
research came about after the Australian University's computers were
struck by the "Stoned" virus.

After initially conducting private research, Associate Professor
Tony Watson, of the University's School of Information Technology
and Mathematics, began a more formalized approach. After deciding
discussions to date had not been specific enough, further research
showed that there were 10 basic types of viruses. The Korean
University then entered the research, to determine if these 10
generic virus types existed in Korea as well.

The project currently includes seven Australians and three Koreans,
and two South Korean companies have already expressed an interest in the
project's findings. "Our research shows an increased sophistication
in the structure of some of the new viruses, which suggest there is
a great potential for industrial damage in the future," Watson said.

(Sean McNamara/19920619)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 19 Foreigners Complicate UPI Auction 06/19/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00022)

Foreigners Complicate UPI Auction 06/19/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 JUN 19 (NB) -- The Middle East
Broadcasting Centre of London, England stunned United Press
International creditors with a sudden $3.5 million cash bid for
the ailing wire service.

Leon Charney, a New York attorney, is continuing to negotiate on
a possible joint venture, which he says is worth $14 million, to
run the wire service. Charney has said he sees UPI's future as a
cooperative among reporters and subscribers.

Middle East Broadcasting was formed in 1989 to create a worldwide
Arabic language television service, which has been operating in
both English and Arabic since September. It wants to close the
deal within 10 days, saying that since it will leave the
receivables with the company, it doesn't require the due
diligence which Charney is carrying out, and which Robertson
carried out before lowering his $6 million bid. MEB will say of
its ownership only that it is linked to Saudi interests.

The next major event in this drama will take place Tuesday, June
23, when bankruptcy court judge Francis Conrad holds a hearing in
New York. At that time, Pat Robertson will try to insist that his
$500,000 bid for the UPI name and certain profitable assets
should be accepted. The Middle East group will try to get its
cash bid approved. And Charney will be under pressure to detail
his bid, and put a hard dollar value on it. UPI creditors are
owed about $60 million, and will get pennies on the dollar in any
event, most observers expect.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920619)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 19 Delrina Signs Wallace Computer Services As VAR 06/19/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00023)

Delrina Signs Wallace Computer Services As VAR 06/19/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 JUN 19 (NB) -- Forms software maker
Delrina Technology has signed up Wallace Computer Services of
Hillside, Illinois, in its second major account value-added
reseller agreement in the United States in recent weeks.

Wallace is a national supplier of business forms, commercial
printing, direct mail advertising, computer hardware and software,
and office products. The company had revenues of US$459 million in
1991.

Delrina spokesman Shelly Sofer said this deal is similar to one
signed in April with Uarco, a Barrington, Illinois supplier of
business forms. That deal made Uarco a worldwide distributor. While
the exact value of the multi-year deal was not disclosed, Delrina
spokesman Josef Zancowicz said it would be worth millions of
dollars to Delrina.

Zancowicz said paper forms suppliers are making a strategic shift
to get a piece of the electronic forms business, and this is likely
to be a major new distribution channel for the software company.

Delrina will provide certification training, marketing, and
technical support to Wallace's sales force and advance information
on its future products and research and development work, company
officials said.

Delrina sells PerForm Pro forms processing software for Microsoft
Windows, as well as related form-filling products for DOS and the
Apple Macintosh. The company also sells fax software.

(Grant Buckler/19920619/Press Contact: Josef Zancowicz or Shelly
Sofer, Delrina, 416-441-3676, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 19 IBM Launches OS/2 Superstore Blitz 06/19/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00024)

IBM Launches OS/2 Superstore Blitz 06/19/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 19 (NB) -- Continuing
efforts to put OS/2 back in the race with Microsoft's Windows, IBM
is about to launch a nationwide OS/2 2.0 "Superstore Blitz Days"
program at close to 100 retail computer locations across the United
States.

From Saturday, June 20, through July, IBM employee volunteers will
be at stores to demonstrate OS/2 2.0 and answer users' questions
about the operating system. They will be joined by independent
software developers as well as other vendors whose products and
services complement OS/2.

IBM said many stores will offer patrons a chance to try out OS/2.
Many of them will also offer special promotions and giveaways under
the program.

Participating stores include American TV, Ballards, BizMart,
Brandsmart, Computer Attic, Computer City, Computerland Express, CW
Electronics, Elek-Tek, Fry's Electronics, J&R, LDI, Micro Center,
Whole Earth, and Workplace.

IBM officials said the initial response to OS/2 2.0, launched at
the end of March, has been good. Several personal computer buyers
and consultants Newsbytes has spoken to in that time have praised
the new release as a major improvement over previous versions of
OS/2, with the potential to reverse its slow acceptance in the
past.

However, even IBM officials acknowledge that Microsoft Windows has
a head start in the marketplace. Consultant George Schussel,
president of Andover, Massachusetts-based Digital Consulting Inc.,
said recently that IBM has done a bad job of marketing OS/2.
"They're getting the living daylights beaten out of them by
Microsoft," he said.

(Grant Buckler/19920619/Press Contact: Keith Lindenburg, IBM,
914-642-5363)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 19 Compaq Building Contura Notebooks in Singapore 06/19/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00025)

Compaq Building Contura Notebooks in Singapore 06/19/92
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 19 (NB) -- Compaq Computer Corp has
begun producing its low-priced Contura notebook computers in
Singapore as part of what it called "its global blitz on winning
back market share."

Contura, a low-cost notebook line, was unveiled by Compaq this week
as it introduced new PCs as part of a strategy of selling higher
volumes of computers at lower prices. On Monday, Compaq launched
16 new PCs and slashed prices by 32% on some of its
best-selling products.

According to Phey Teck Moh, marketing manager at Compaq Computer
Asia, two more production lines have been added to the Singapore
facility to handle the Contura family. The plant in Singapore
produces the bulk of printer circuit boards that go into Compaq
computers globally. The Singapore plant has been producing existing
models of the Compaq flagship DeskPro family since 1990. Compaq's
two other production plants are in Scotland and Houston. "We are
working on bringing other products here (for production)," Phey
said. The company said it might eventually produce its Deskpro
desktop PCs at the Singapore plant.

(Jim Mallory/19920619/Press contact: John Sweney, Compaq Computer,
713-374-1564)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 19 Dell To Announce New Models, Cut Prices; Stock Falls 06/19/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00026)

Dell To Announce New Models, Cut Prices; Stock Falls 06/19/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 19 (NB) -- Despite assurances by its
chairman, Dell Computer stock fell sharply in heavy trading after
the company announced that it would follow the lead of other
companies by introducing a new line of computers and reduce prices
on its existing models.

The market apparently reacted to the possibility of lower profits as
a result of the price cuts, with Dell stock off 5-1/8 to 16 on over
five million shares. Dell said it would be difficult to maintain
5-6 percent margins in the second half of 92 "if the pricing
environment worsens." A number of computer makers have been
announcing price cuts recently, with the possibility that others
will follow suit.

Dell spokesperson Roger Rydell told Newsbytes that Dell would
introduce a new line of less expensive computers, as well as
announce new support policies, on June 29th. Rydell declined to
discuss details of the new line or support, and declined to rule out
that customers would have to pay for the support. During the past
few months Dell has added four-hour on-site response, network and
operating system support, and pre-loaded software.

Dell said it is also seeking ways to reduce its operating expenses.
Rydell told Newsbytes that the cost reduction methods would not
include employee layoffs. He said the company is "in an aggressive
hiring mode," recruiting electrical engineers as well as
technical and customer support staff.

Rydell said the company was considering ways of reducing facilities
costs, more economical manufacturing methods, and better sources of
supply. Similar methods were implemented by Compaq a few months ago
in an attempt to remain competitive.

Dell has already cut its operating expenses as a percent of sales by
six percent over last year, and doubled its domestic revenues.

Dell Chairman Michael Dell told stockholders and analysts that the
company had met or exceeded its three principle objectives: improve
the cost structure to allow price reductions, deliver added value to
its customers, and provide good profitability to shareholders, and
strengthen the company's financial position.

The announcements were made at the annual shareholders meeting,
which Rydell said was attended by about 100 stockholders. "The
meeting was very upbeat and positive. The questions asked were
intelligent ones," said Rydell. He attributed the stock market
action to the general unsettled nature of the market.

During the meeting, shareholders voted to increase authorized stock
from 50 million shares to 100 million, and approved changes in the
stock option plan.

(Jim Mallory/19920619/Press contact: Roger Rydell, Dell Computer,
512-794-4100)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 19 Review of: Lotus 1-2-3 for Home, Version 1.0, 06/19/92



(REVIEW)(IBM)(SFO)(00027)

Review of: Lotus 1-2-3 for Home, Version 1.0, 06/19/92

Runs on: PCs with 512K of RAM, hard disk, graphics display, DOS 2.1 or higher.
Windows compatible (.PIF included). Requires approximately 5MB hard
disk space, depending upon installation options related to fonts.
(NOTE: 123H CAN run on an 8088/86 CPU, if the machine has the
necessary RAM, display and storage requirements.)

From: Lotus Development Corporation, 55 Cambridge Parkway, Cambridge, MA
02142, 617-577-8500

Suggested List Price: $149 Street price: Below $100.

PUMA Rating: 4.0 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Thom Foulks, Business Radio Network,
Fax: [phone].

Summary: This package stands out, not for its program (123H), but for the
bundled templates with it. The 50(!) 123-compatible .WK1 files are
useful for Excel and QuattroPro owners, making the total package of
interest to nearly all spreadsheet users.

======

REVIEW

======

Even if you're quick with QuattroPro or excellent with Excel, you will
want to look at "Lotus 1-2-3 for Home" -- and be aware the "home"
description is somewhat misleading.

In a comparatively inexpensive package, Lotus has bundled a slightly
scaled-down spreadsheet (based on Lotus 1-2-3 for DOS, Release 2.3)
AND fifty "SmartSheet" customized application templates. It is the
templates which give this product its power and attractiveness.

The spreadsheet is a full-powered, character-based 1-2-3
implementation. Its limitation is in the size of spreadsheet that can
be handled -- 256 rows by 512 columns instead of the 256x8192 cell
layout in larger 1-2-3 versions -- and it lacks the interface permitting
add-on products or linking between spreadsheets.

But a graphical interface is built-in, so that 123H comes on-screen in
full WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) mode. Included are
Bitstream's Swiss fonts (in Roman, bold, italic and bold-italic) that
can be sized from 3 to 72 points, and printed just as they are
displayed. 123H provides "quick graph" power, with pie, bar, line and
3-D effects. The user interface is the traditional Lotus menu
structure, activated by the "/" key or by mouse clicks.

The power of the package is in the SmartSheets. The .WK1 files are a
broad range of ready-to-use applications that stretch the "home"
descriptor into home business and small business uses. There is, of
course, a mortgage amortization template (graphed far fancier than
what you'll find on your neighborhood BBS). At the other end of the
spectrum are spreadsheets for "perpetual inventory control" and "stock
balance record" with data input instructions on the template. Closer
to home are templates for a videotape log, household inventory, and a
tally sheet for a commercial credit application.

Other SmartSheets make use of 1-2-3's text-graphics power with annual
and monthly calendars, a memo form, a fax cover sheet and other
applications more typical of word processing than number crunching.
All the sheets are laid out with graphics in place, and with the
"print range" already defined for easy print-out to common dot matrix
or laser printers.

Lotus Development's DOS spreadsheets marketing manager, Ben Shelton,
told Newsbytes the SmartSheets were developed by Lotus programmers in
response to user requests. He said: "Users can just plug in their own
numbers, and start working right away. Also, the SmartSheets can help
users learn how to use 1-2-3, because they can see these formulas.
These templates are not too complex...users can see how to set up
their own formulas in their own worksheets." Although the SmartSheets
might seem to be marketable as a stand-alone package, Shelton said that
is not "currently planned."

The SmartSheets are divided into five categories: Administration,
Finance, Human Resources, Operations, Personal Finance and Planning,
and Sales and Marketing. A 55-page reference manual gives a brief
explanation of each, but the quintessential help information is in
each template and appears on screen when they are loaded into the
spreadsheet program.

For general use, 1-2-3 Home also includes a 140-page User's Guide
which Lotus admits "is not a comprehensive reference...on all the
functionality in 1-2-3." The on-line help system, with
context-sensitive references, appears more than adequate to make full
and varied use of the SmartSheets. (Spreadsheet neophytes hoping to
augment the corporate accounting system should note this product is
not targeted at the Fortune 1000.)

Registered 1-2-3 for Home users are also provided one-month free
support via the Lotus toll-free help line.

Do the .WK1 files WORK with Excel and QuattroPro? At random, I
selected three different SmartSheet files from within each Excel 4.0
and QuattroPro SE. All loaded and displayed properly, all accepted
pertinent data input properly, all printed properly. Given the
nuances of file compatibility-handling among spreadsheet program
manufacturers, that's not a guarantee -- but the high quality of the
SmartSheets certainly deserves consideration by users of other
spreadsheet software.

In a nutshell: At a expected street price in the $100 area, BUY the
package. That's $2.00 per SmartSheet, and any one of them may save you
100 times that price in keyboard time.

===========

PUMA RATING

===========

PERFORMANCE: (4.0) The spreadsheet software itself, 123H.EXE, is
derivative of a tried-and-tested Lotus product. SmartSheets handle
user revision predictably, and can be revised easily for variations to
meet user's needs.

USEFULNESS: (4.0) A court is still wrestling with competitors' use of
the Lotus menu structure (its "look and feel"), but the .WK1 file
structure is a de facto standard. That makes the usefulness of
SmartSheets spread far beyond their home product.

MANUAL: (4.0) Given the context-sensitive help system, any manual with
such a product -- beyond start-up instructions -- is almost
superfluous. Start-up, itself, is from a stand-alone "INSTALL" program,
with easy-to-follow prompts.

AVAILABILITY: (4.0) Lotus 1-2-3 for Home began shipping in mid-April,
and is well-immersed in standard software discount channels -- look
for a $99 or below price.

(Thom Foulks/19920619)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 19 ****Intel to Sue for Back Damages; AMD to File New Motions Monday 06/19/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(SFO)(00028)

 ****Intel to Sue for Back Damages; AMD to File New Motions Monday 06/19/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 19 (NB) -- Intel
Corporation has told Newsbytes that it plans to sue Advanced Micro
Devices (AMD) for back damages in response to a jury decision
Wednesday which determined that Advanced Micro Devices does not
have the rights to copy Intel's microcode for the 287 math
coprocessor.

Advanced Micro Devices, after the court decision, saw its stock
plunge 30% in active trading. In fact, Thursday it was the most
active issue on the New York Stock Exchange. Intel stock, meanwhile,
was the most active over-the-counter stock Thursday.

Meanwhile, AMD, distressed by the fact that presiding Judge William
Ingrams was out on vacation while the jury deliberated and reached
its verdict, intends to file new motions Monday morning when
Ingrams returns to the bench.

Intel will seek back damages over AMD's use of Intel microcode in
AMD's imitations of both Intel's 287 coprocessor and its 386
microprocessor, a spokesperson told Newsbytes.

Intel also maintains that the jury ruling will prevent AMD from
using Intel microcode in present and future generations of
products, including the 486 microprocessor and an upcoming
microprocessor, code named the "P5," now under development, she
added. "We're absolutely ecstatic with the ruling," she remarked.
But at this point, AMD is moving ahead with its clone of the 486
chip, an AMD spokesperson emphasized.

AMD believes that the verdicts reached by the jury are inconsistent
with the facts presented, and will ask Ingrams on Monday to make a
ruling on the meaning of the nature of the original agreement,
according to a written statement released by W. J. Sanders III,
chairman and CEO.

"Essentially, the jury said, 'Nobody proved anything' -- which
leaves a great deal of doubt as to what the contract means," the
AMD spokesperson told Newsbytes. The jury was asked to consider
whether there was a "preponderance of evidence" to prove four
separate points, two raised by Intel and two by AMD. The jury
voted "No" on three of these issues, and ended in a hung verdict on
the fourth point, he said.

Further, he suggested, the jury acted without the guidance that
would ordinarily be provided by a presiding judge, since Ingrams
has been on vacation since July 12.

The sole function of the judge who acted in Ingrams' stead, Judge
Ronald Whyte, was to receive the verdict, the spokesperson added.
Only the presiding judge is allowed to actually preside over a
jury, he explained. "Judge Whyte spent most of his time in his
chambers, or in an area nearby the jury," he commented.

The trial -- the latest in a long series of legal struggles between
Intel and AMD -- began April 28. Still to come in the case are
verdicts on allegations by Intel that AMD misrepresented the
characteristics of the 287 device and that AMD engaged in mask work
infringement. AMD is asserting that these allegations are without
merit.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920619; Press Contact: Michelle Bourdon,
Intel, tel [phone]; John Greenagel, AMD, tel [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 19  ****Komag/HP To Create Next-Generation Storage Medium 06/19/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00029)

 ****Komag/HP To Create Next-Generation Storage Medium 06/19/92
MILPITAS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 19 (NB) -- Komag, a supplier
of thin-film components for Winchester disk drives, says it and
Hewlett-Packard (HP) have agreed to work together to develop and
manufacture magneto-resistive (MR) thin film read/write heads.

The announced agreement says Komag will develop prototype MR heads
based on HP's designs and processes, and once both companies like the
design, Komag will manufacture the MR heads for HP.

MR heads are the basis of a new generation of computer storage
devices that are capable of storing more information, Bruce Spenner
general manager of HP's Disk Memory Division said. The MR technology
allows for increased recording density in magnetic disk drives.

David Allen, treasurer at Komag, said historically hard disk drives
have doubled in capacity every two years. Allen maintains the MR
technology will be another step in the evolution of increased
capacity magnetic disk drives and while Allen won't say how much the
increase might be, he did say it would be several fold.

Komag says the agreement with HP also allows for it to sell the
planned MR heads to other disk drive manufacturers as well. The
company says its Dastek subsidiary, which it, acquired last year,
will do the development and manufacturing. Dastek focuses entirely on
disk head development, while Komag produces disk surfaces, more
commonly known as platters. Prototypes are expected the third calendar
quarter of this year with production slated for early in 1993 and
volume shipments in 1994.

The HP agreement is good news to sweeten Komag's bad news that
higher-than-expected losses at Dastek are expected in its forthcoming
second quarter earnings statement. The company also confirmed its
Asahi Komag thin-film joint venture in Japan would also post a loss
for the second quarter.

Komag says Dastek will post a loss $1 million higher in the second
quarter than the $5.3 million loss Dastek posted in the first quarter
of this year. Second quarter revenues are expected to be 5 to 10
percent lower than the $12.2 million posted in the first quarter. The
official second quarter earnings are expected to be released June 28.

Part of the reason Allen gave for the higher losses is Dastek made
more than it needed of older generation products that it now thinks
it won't be able to sell and is writing off.

Stephen Johnson, Komag's president, sounded hopeful, despite the
expected losses and said the deal with HP is just partial reason for
his optimism. Johnson said the trends in orders at Komag are higher
density disks in all form factors and a movement to the 3.5-inch form
factor -- trends which says generally mean better gross profit
margins as the company is capable of producing more 3.5- than 5.25-
inch disks. Also, the company has just completed renovations of its
manufacturing facilities in both the US and Malaysia, Johnson added.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920619/Press Contact: David Allen, Komag, tel 408-
946-2300, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 19  ****CA Acquisition Of Nantucket Complete 06/19/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00030)

 ****CA Acquisition Of Nantucket Complete 06/19/92
ISLANDIA, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 19 (NB) -- Computer Associates
(CA) says it's official. CA now has completed the acquisition and now
owns privately-held Nantucket, makers of dBASE compatible language
product Clipper.

While CA has been giving assurances to developers and customers of
Nantucket, no specific plans or directions for the product have been
announced. CA did say it plans to announce short- and long-term plans
for the Nantucket products at PC Expo, next week in New York City.

The Culver City office of Nantucket remains open, but Newsbytes has
learned layoffs have occurred since the unexpected announcement of
the acquisition last month. Support and technical staff remain at the
Culver City offices to support the estimated 300,000 Clipper users,
CA said.

Larry Heimendinger, president and COO of Nantucket, said the
development of the Clipper for Windows product, code named Aspen,
will be accelerated with acquisition of the company by CA.

CA said it plans to sell the Nantucket products under its own label
through its distribution network, but doesn't plan to lower the price
of the $795 Clipper 5.0 product.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920619/Press Contact: Bob Gordon, Computer
Associates, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD





#CARD :1992 JUN 18 Optical Filing System Software Addresses Over 1 Terabyte 06/18/9


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00001)

Optical Filing System Software Addresses Over 1 Terabyte 06/18/92
WALNUT CREEK, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- Pegasus
Disk Technologies says it has introduced optical filing system
(OFS) software that will allow users to address from 16
gigabytes (GB) to 1.27 terabytes of optical storage as a single
volume.

The company says its Pegasus OFS software allows user the ability
to access an entire optical disk jukebox as one drive under MS-DOS
or PC-based networks. The company maintains it has developed a
standard file format storage method for all writable optical media,
regardless of the type of optical drive, which offers a common
Application Program Interface (API) for data access.

Geared toward developers, the product can be incorporated so data
can be transported from stand alone optical drives to jukeboxes
independent of limitations of the operating system. This
eliminates expensive internal software development problems
for users with high-end configurations, the company maintains.

Enhancements have been made to the OFS software so it offers
connectivity to optical jukebox manufacturer Cygnet products,
Pegasus said. The Pegasus OFS software works with the PC-
based network products Novell Netware ELS, 286, 386 and
Netware Lite. Other networks supported include: Banyan,
LANmanage, 3Com, Lantastic, Map Assist and D-Link, the
company added.

Cygnet, headquartered in San Jose, California makes robotic
optical jukeboxes, or disk libraries, for 12 inch drives that can
handle one to five drives and 29 to 141 disks. Cygnet says it
leads the market in optical jukeboxes with 45 percent of the
market share worldwide.

Located in Walnut Creek, Pegasus describes itself as a
developer of file system and volume management software
for optical disk drives and jukeboxes.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920618/Press Contact: Roy Slicker,
Pegasus Disk Technologies, tel [phone],
fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 18 Checkit Plus -- Checkit With Menuworks, Disk Labeler 06/18/92

(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00002)

Checkit Plus -- Checkit With Menuworks, Disk Labeler 06/18/92
HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- A
new version of the diagnostic software for IBM and compatible
personal computers, Checkit, is being offered according to the
product's developer, Touchstone Software. The Checkit Plus
product itself is the same as Checkit 3.0, a previously released
version. However, the company is now including two companion
programs at no additional charge.

The companion programs are disk management utilities for
managing files on hard and floppy drives, Menuworks from PC
Dynamics and Disk Labeler Supreme from MBC, Touchstone said.

Touchstone says Menuworks allows Checkit users to escape the
DOS "C:>" prompt by offering pull-down menus to execute
programs or move, copy, delete, and rename files or directories.
Passwords can also be assigned to menu selections so critical
or confidential information can be protected, Touchstone
maintains.

Timed program execution, a lost file locator, disk and memory
statistics, built-in and user defined help, and a text editor
are also included with Menuworks, the company said.

Disk Labeler Supreme labels diskettes using file name, file
date and/or file size and can also print comments on the disk.
The disk labels are added to a file catalogue Disk Labeler
maintains for the purpose of tracking the files so they may
be located more easily.

Touchstone said the Disk Labeler Supreme product does
support a laser printer. Checkit Plus will still be retail priced
at $149, the same price as the Checkit 3.0 product.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920618/Press Contact: Scott Mackay,
Touchstone Software, tel [phone], fax [phone];
Public Contact: 800-531-0450)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 18 Northern Telecom Wins $25M Korean Data Network Deal 06/18/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(HKG)(00003)

Northern Telecom Wins $25M Korean Data Network Deal 06/18/92
SEOUL, KOREA, JUN 18 1992 -- Northern Telecom Asia/
Pacific has acquired two major data network contracts in
South Korea.

Under the contracts with Korean conglomerate Daewoo,
Northern Telecom will provide data packet switching
equipment to Korea Telecom and Korea Air, while Daewoo
will provide associated computer systems and local
service and support.

The value of the contracts is expected to exceed $25
million over an initial three year period.  The order from
Korea Telecom calls for Northern Telecom to supply data
packet switching equipment for a national public data
network.

In addition to providing electronic mail service, the
network will be used to support Korea Telecom's HiTEL
videotex service.

"The contribution to Korea Telecom's HiTEL videotex service
is worth noting," Larry Britain, country director for Northern
Telecom in Korea, told Newsbytes. "Korea Telecom has a
vision to provide an inexpensive data communications
service throughout Korea."

For Korean Air, Northern Telecom will supply an international
private data network with major nodes in Seoul, Los Angeles
and Tokyo.  The network will provide computerized
reservations and value-added services.

Northern Telecom's president for Asia/Pacific, Jim Long,
said that the two Korean contracts illustrate the explosive
growth that is taking place in the data networking market
throughout Asia.

"In order to properly position ourselves in these markets,
Northern Telecom has invested considerable resources in
developing a regional 'center of excellence' for data
networking. The team of DPN experts, based in Melbourne,
Australia, will supervise installation and commissioning
of the systems and provide on-going support to the local
contractor, Daewoo," Long Said.

(Brett Cameron/19920616/Press Contact: Larry Britain,
Northern Telecom Korea, Tel: [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 18 Datacraft Intros High Performance Modems 06/18/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00004)

Datacraft Intros High Performance Modems 06/18/92
NORTH POINT, HONG KONG, JUN 18 1992 -- Datacraft has
introduced two high performance modems featuring state
of the art technologies and comprehensive network
management.

The Netcraft 4232bis+ is claimed to be the highest
performance modem available in the market. It is V.32bis
compliant offering 14.4 Kbps basic throughput, and with
its MNP 5 and V.42bis compliant "4 times" data
compression, an effective throughtput of 57.6 Kbps is
achievable. To ensure error free transmission, Netcraft
4232bis+ supports V.42 and MNP 10 data correction, which
is the latest method to handle adverse line conditions.
In addition, the automatic dial backup capability further
improves link reliability by switching to a dial-up circuit
in case the leased line fails, claims the company.

The second new Datacraft modem, Netcraft 3296D, is a
V.32 modem offering true 9.6 Kbps.  The data compression
algorithm is MNP 5 compliant, resulting in an effective
throughput of 19.2 Kbps.  The Netcraft 3296D supports a
windows-based network management system, which
allows centralized configuration trouble shooting and
statistics collection.

Both Netcraft 4232bis+ and Netcraft 3296D work with
leased or dial up circuits, support password and dial back
security, and support local and remote configurations.
Standalone and rack mount versions are available.

"Both are immediately available in Hong Kong," Sam Lin,
Hong Kong country sales manager for Datacraft (H.K.) Ltd.,
told Newsbytes.  "They are more advanced and price
performance is even better than previous models."

(Brett Cameron/19920616/Press contact: Vincent Lum,
Datacraft Asia, Tel [phone];HK time is GMT + 8)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 18 AST Intros 120MB Hard Drive For Premium Exec Notebook 06/18/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(HKG)(00005)

AST Intros 120MB Hard Drive For Premium Exec Notebook 06/18/92
CAUSEWAY BAY, HONG KONG, JUN 18 92 -- AST Research
has introduced 120 megabyte (MB) hard disk drive versions of
its Premium Exec 386SX/25 and Premium Exec 386SX/25C
notebook computers.

The company claims that the introduction of the 120MB drive
to the notebook marks a breakthrough for those professionals
who develop turn-key applications using the compact machines.

"Users today demand a large format hard drive in order to work
on a broad range of business database and graphics based
applications," said Alex Chu, director of AST Asia.  "AST
continues to meet the needs of its customers in providing a
120MB version at aggressive prices. Today's software is
becoming more complex, occupying more hard disk space,"
Chu told Newsbytes.

The Premium Exec 386SX/25 120 MB machine retails at $3,795.
Which is claimed to be very price-competitive when compared
to other equivalent brands currently available.

Upgrade kits are available for users with 20MB, 40MB, 60MB,
and 80MB, hard disk versions who wish to upgrade to 120MB.
The suggested retail price for the upgrade kit is $1,249

The access time of the new 120MB drive is less than 18
milliseconds which is the same as that of the 80MB, 60MB and
40MB configurations. The configuration weighs seven pounds
and is sold with a standard four megabytes (MB) of RAM.

"At the moment the market is still focused on the 60 and
80MB configurations, but we expect the market to shift to
the 120MB version before the end of the year," Alex Chu
told Newsbytes. "We estimate that our current market share
of notebook sales in Hong Kong is about 25-35 percent." .

The Premium Exec 386SX/25C color notebook was the recent
recipient of Ziff, Germany's PC Professionell "Innovation of
the Year" award at the CeBIT computer fair in Hannover,
Germany.  Computer Buyers Guide and Handbook's recently
awarded the product "Best Buy" based on its fast
performance, speed, and long battery life.

(Brett Cameron/19920616/Press contact: Alex Chu, AST
Asia, Tel: [phone];HK time is GMT + 8)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 18 Latin America Phone Update: A Step Backward 06/18/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00006)

Latin America Phone Update: A Step Backward 06/18/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- Even a baseball
team on a hot streak loses a few games, so it should be no
surprise that the positive movement in Latin America's phone
situation has taken a few steps backward this week.

The trouble started in Mexico, where the local stock market
plunged on rumors that unannounced US presidential candidate
Ross Perot opposes a proposed US-Mexico-Canada free trade
agreement. Telmex' stock led the plunge, helped by reports
that unions might disperse their stock in the company to
workers, who might be expected to sell it.

Meanwhile, reports of privatization further south may have
been exaggerated. Columbian officials said they are not
committed to privatizing their Telecom phone monopoly.
Reports of a sale moved workers to strike, and moved
someone to sabotage, a few months ago. Brazilian officials
also denied that privatization of their Telebras monopoly was
imminent -- the stock is already traded locally, and has
fallen one-third in price since those reports first surfaced.
The government is expected to first sell-off its energy sector,
then go for a Constitutional amendment authorizing the
Telebras sale.

However, some progress continues. International Mobile Machines
signed a distributorship agreement in Venezuela with Mapletex
C.A., which is 45 percent owned by that nation's CANTV monopoly.
CANTV, in turn, is owned by a consortium headed by GTE of the
US. Telmex in Mexico has been aggressively using IMM's
Ultraphone units, which deliver the equivalent of wired phone
service from TDMA digital cellular base stations, to bring phone
service to rural areas. CANTV is expected to do the same.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920618/Press Contact: Marcia A. Bexley,
IMM,  215-278-7831)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 18 UPI Takeover Update 06/18/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00007)

UPI Takeover Update 06/18/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- When last we left
United Press International, the financially troubled wire
service, a New York lawyer named Leon Charney had rescued it
from going under with a last-minute bid which will keep it
operating while he looks at the books. Now Charney is trying to
defend his decision.

Charney now says UPI can survive best as a cooperative, owned
by employees and customers, with reporters paid per-story. He's
also looking for up to $3.5 million per year from the Dutch
Postal Lottery, whose price would be expanded coverage of
humanitarian issues like abortion, the environment, and health
issues. Such a move might make good business sense, turning UPI
into a specialty wire which could compete based on unique
content.

Mainly, Charney is trying to explain how he can save the
company when Pat Robertson has said it's impossible.
Robertson withdrew a $6 million bid a day before Charney
entered the picture, claiming it would take $31 million to keep
the company running through 1993 with no real expectation of
a return. Charney disputed the estimate, claiming he could
stabilize the company with $8 million per year, or $12 million
for the same period.

Meanwhile, Robertson is not completely out of the picture. His
$500,000 bid for the name and certain assets was rejected, but
he now wants the judge overseeing the case to order UPI to
accept his offer. And Charney has not really made any
commitments past June 22. If he drops out, some analysts
expect Robertson to get his way.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920618)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 18 Ameritech Begins Market Test of PCN Phones 06/18/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00008)

Ameritech Begins Market Test of PCN Phones 06/18/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- Fifteen years
after it built the first cellular phone network, Illinois
Bell is doing a market-test of microwave-based cellular
phones known as personal communication networks, or PCN
units.

When it won the first cellular development license from the
Federal Communications Commission in 1977, Illinois Bell was
a unit of AT&T, and part of the Bell System. Now the company is
a unit of Ameritech, the regional Bell covering the upper
Midwest.

PCN phones work on higher frequencies than present cellular
units. The shorter waves take less power to transmit, but don't
go as far because of their higher frequency. Thus phones can be
smaller, but base stations must be closer together.

By the end of the year, the company said, it will give 1,000
users in Chicago PCN phones, and test their use of them. The
first official PCN call was made by George Wendt, an actor and
native of Chicago best known for playing the beer-sipping
character Norm Peterson on the TV sitcom "Cheers."

About 100 cell sites have been put into downtown Chicago, the
city's near North Side, and parts of Arlington Heights, near
where Ameritech is based. The phones can only call out. They
cannot take incoming calls. However, Ameritech officials
predicted that in time PCN phones will let people have
"personal phone numbers" which follow them, instead of their
phones. In the test, customers pay only for calls they make,
with local calls billed like pay phone calls and long distance
services provided by Sprint. Bank Illinois will provide billing
services.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920618/Press Contact: Steve Ford,
Ameritech, 312-750-5205)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 18 NY Telephone Cuts Int'l Service At Some Pay Phones 06/18/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00009)

NY Telephone Cuts Int'l Service At Some Pay Phones 06/18/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- As part of
its effort to fight phone fraud with stolen calling card numbers,
New York Telephone is blocking international calls from most of
its public phones inside the Port Authority Bus Terminal and at
surrounding sidewalk locations.  The company said it would also
target other high-fraud areas throughout New York City.

New York Telephone will rely on technology developed by Mars
Electronics International, based in Pennsylvania, which blocks
international calls attempted through any long distance carrier
or private business phone system.  New York Telephone said it
would implement the program at selected public phones so as
not to inconvenience legitimate callers.

This is the second time that phone companies have limited
service at pay phones as an anti-crime move. A few years ago,
some phones were switched from touchtone to rotary dial
service, to keep people using them from reaching beepers
allegedly used by drug dealers.

Now the problem is "sidewalk surfing," where thieves listen
to callers giving their card numbers to operators, or peer
over their shoulders when they take out calling cards. The
numbers are then taken to a pay phone, where services using
them are sold to allcomers. Frequently, the services are sold
to drug dealers, who can then make untraceable calls to their
overseas contacts. Some observers claim that the numbers are
also used by illegal immigrants calling their families back
home.

Telephone fraud is estimated at more than $1 billion a year
nationwide.  New York Telephone operates more than 57,000
public phones in New York City.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920618/Press Contact: Maureen Flanagan,
New York Telephone, 212-395-0500)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 18 Wordperfect Acquires Magicsoft 06/18/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00010)

Wordperfect Acquires Magicsoft 06/18/92
OREM, UTAH,, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- WordPerfect, the
leading maker of word processing software, has gotten into the
communications business by acquiring MagicSoft of Lombard,
Illinois.

MagicSoft produces MTEZ, a data communications package, and
ExpressFax, a fax communications package. The two companies
worked together on the communications module of WordPerfect
Works, an integrated software package which shipped in March,
1992. MagicSoft products are also bundled with products from
Dell, Megahertz, ZOOM Telephonics, Rockwell, Pracitcal
Peripherals, Intel, and U.S. Robotics.

Stewart Nelson, vice president of software development at
WordPerfect, said that MagicSoft's products already have much
of the look-and-feel of the company's existing products. The
company's programmers will also work on WordPerfect Office,
WordPerfect's electronic mail, calendaring, and scheduling
package which now has a million users on Windows, DOS, Unix,
and VAX/VMS, along with a direct connection to OV/VM PROFS.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920618/Press Contact: WordPerfect, Liz
Tanner, 801/228-5004; MagicSoft, Jon Niedfeldt, 708/953-2374)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 18 Word For Word Ships Windows Version 06/18/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00011)

Word For Word Ships Windows Version 06/18/92
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- Mastersoft has
announced shipment of an update to it's file format conversion
program Word For Word Professional.

According to the company version 5.1 has added support for a
number of Windows-based word processing program, including
Microsoft Word for Windows, Wordperfect for Windows,
Windows Write, and Ami Pro 2.0. Support for Signature and
the updated versions of WordStar 7 and the PC version of Excel
version 3.0 are also supported in the latest release of WFW.

WFW, which Newsbytes reviewed in December of 1991, converts
the format of text files from one format to another. For example,
if you created a document in Word for Windows and I wanted to
use that document in Wordperfect, WFW can make the conversion.
WFW will also convert across applications, such as to or from a
spreadsheet to or from a word processing format. Database
files can also be converted.

With the added support for Windows-based applications, WFW
can now convert between Windows, MS/PC-DOS, and Macintosh
formats.

WFW also includes a file viewing option that allows the user to
scroll through a file as well as page forward and backward to scan
the contents prior to making the conversion. Mastersoft said the
user doesn't have to exit WFW or have the appropriate application
running to view a file. Files viewed are displayed with page layout
attributes such as margins, tabs, paragraphs, headers and footers
intact, said Mastersoft.

WFW is also available in LAN (local area network) configurations,
and can find and convert files located on any accessible drive in
the network. WFW configuration can be customized to retain
preferred features such as screen colors and target formats.

Mastersoft said the LAN version is available in three, five, and
10-user versions.

Present users can upgrade to version 5.1 at $39.95 for the
single-user version, and $79.95 for the three-user LAN version. The
suggested list price for the stand-alone version of WFW is $149,
while the three-user LAN package is $299. The company said
corporate site licenses and volume discounts are available.

(Jim Mallory/19920618/Press contact: Lise Lambert, Mastersoft,
203-264-9490; Reader contact: 602-277-0900, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 18 Vista Ships Fax Program For Windows 06/18/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00012)

Vista Ships Fax Program For Windows 06/18/92
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- Vista Microsystems
says it is now shipping Faxual, which the company describes as an
integrated hardware and software faxing program for Windows.

Faxual allows the user to fax a composite document, consisting of
text, graphics, illustrations and spreadsheet data from several
Windows applications, in a combined fax file.

Vista said Faxual offers several viewing modes, including
Thumbnail, Dual page, Single Page, and Best Fit. Thumbnail
shows every page of a sent or received fax. The user can
delete, move, swap and merge document pages. The single
page view displays as full page as the fax will be received.
Dual page allows the user to scan through multiple pages, and
best fit permits the user to read the fax without printing it. Best
fit usually displays the fax one-half page at a time, Vista's
Drew Lanham told Newsbytes.

Vista said Faxual includes a built-in index system which allows
faxes to be stored, referenced and retrieved using a file name with
up to 50 characters. Multi-line reminder notes can be attached to
the file name. Lanham told Newsbytes that the notes can hold up to
54 kilobytes of comments.

According to Vista, Faxual also allows the user to draw ellipses,
squares, lines and type text with any font at any angle directly on
any fax. A user could mark up a received fax, then fax it back to
the originator with the marks and comments intact, without ever
printing the fax. Lanham said the marks and comments aren't limited
to specific angle such as 45, 90 or 180, but can be placed at any
angle.

You can also add graphics, including a signature, letterhead, or
logo. A clipboard capability allows import of TIFf and PCX files.
You can even cut from another fax to build a document. Faxual also
allows the received fax to be rotated 90, 180 or 270 degrees.

Lanham said you don't need a scanner to get your letterhead or
signature into the system. He said you can use a conventional fax
machine to send yourself the signature or letterhead. It's then
available for use in Faxual documents.

According to Lanham, Faxual uses a Class II board as the hardware.
The system receives incoming faxes as Group III compressed TIFF
files.

Vista said Faxual sends and receives in the background while other
applications are running. It also has a phonebook to store names
and numbers of individuals or companies you send faxes to regularly.
The phonebook has a search feature.

Faxual has a suggested list price of $199.

(Jim Mallory/19920618/Press contact: Drew Lanham, Vista
Microsystems, 214-490-7464, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 18 Compaq's New Systems On Display At PC Expo 06/18/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00013)

Compaq's New Systems On Display At PC Expo 06/18/92
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- Compaq Computer
Corporation said the new systems it announced earlier this week
will be on display at the PC Expo trade show in New York next
week.

Compaq said it will showcase its new Deskpro/i systems, a new line
the company said it produced specifically to optimize Microsoft
Windows performance. According to Compaq, the new desktop line
can provide up to 10 times the graphics performance of many
existing VGA systems.

In addition to the Deskpro/i systems, Compaq will also be exhibiting
its entry-level ProLinea desktop systems, the Contura notebook PCs,
and the LTE Lite/25c, Compaq's first active matrix color notebook
system. Also on display will be a special Windows edition of the
company's top of the line Deskpro/M (for modular) family. The M
series allow for modular replacement of components in order to
upgrade the system.

Compaq said its PC Expo booth will be the largest the company has
occupied at the show. Included will be an amphitheater where live
theatrical performances will be used to highlight the new products,
pricing, and support. Show attendees will also be able to get
Compaq 10th Anniversary T-shirts, and a drawing will be held
to give away two of its Contura/25 notebook PCs.

(Jim Mallory/19920618/Press contact: Catherine Macora, Compaq,
713-374-0484)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 18 New For PC: MoneyCounts 7.0 Personal Accounting Pkg 06/18/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00014)

New For PC: MoneyCounts 7.0 Personal Accounting Pkg 06/18/92
HIAWATHA, IOWA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- After several
delays, Parsons Technology says it will start shipping
MoneyCounts 7.0 Personal on July 1.

With release 7.0, Parsons has split MoneyCounts into two versions.
The Business version is expected to ship later. The Personal edition
includes the ability to create multiple sets of books, so you could
use it to manage both personal and small business accounts. The
program also supports non-profit as well as for-profit
organizations, providing fund and non-fund accounting.

Parsons said the program allows the user to select single- or double-
entry bookkeeping. Double-entry bookkeeping requires each entry to
have an offsetting entry. User defined check formats are also
supported, with printer support for both pinfeed and laser printers
provided.

Added to the three-dimensional bar graphs and pie charts from
the preceding version, known as MoneyCounts (the business
version was called MoneyCounts Extra), is the capability to
produce high resolution line graphs. A Courier font for
Postscript printers has also been added. There are also links
which allow the program to exchange information with
Personal Tax Edge or the three-dimensional spreadsheet
program ProCalc 3D, also from Parsons. It is also possible
to export data, although not directly, with other tax
preparation programs.

Parsons plans to release a payroll preparation program later this
summer, and MoneyCounts Personal will work automatically with
that program when it becomes available, said Parsons
spokesperson Anne Rawland-Warner.

Rawland-Warner said a conversion utility is included that will
covert data from earlier versions of MoneyCounts, Quicken,
Managing Your Money, Dollars & Sense, and Microsoft Money.

MoneyCounts Personal comes with a number of pre-defined charts of
accounts. You can add to or modify those accounts. The program has
a budget feature which uses spreadsheet-like budget screen, and a
check register is available for all types of accounts. A pop-up
calculator, notepad and financial calculator come with the
password protected program, which can use either a calendar or a
fiscal year base.

MoneyCounts Personal 7.0 has a suggested list price of $49, and
Parsons guarantees its customers that the program will not for sell
for less than $35 from any direct mail source. System requirements
include any PC with at least 512 kilobytes (KB) of RAM and a hard
drive. The company strongly suggests that you have at least
640KB of RAM.

(Jim Mallory/19920618/Press contact: Anne Rawland-Warner, Parsons
Technology, 319-395-9626

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 18 CORRECTION: Perot Almost Bought Microsoft 06/18/92


(CORRECTION)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00015)

CORRECTION: Perot Almost Bought Microsoft 06/18/92
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 16 (NB) -- In a June
16 story, Newsbytes reported that Ross Perot and Bill Gates,
chairman  of Microsoft, once met to discuss Perot buying
Microsoft Corporation.

Although we stated that the Seattle Times story referred to
was  copyrighted, we should have said that the story was
copyrighted by Paul Andrews and Stephen Manes. Andrews
and Manes, long time journalists following Microsoft and
the computer industry, are presently working on a book
about Gates.

The same story, due to a typographical error, said Microsoft
was a $2 billion startup company. The story should have read
"a $2 million startup company," We regret the errors and
any confusion they may have caused.

(Jim Mallory/19920616)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 18 Wordperfect 5.1 For Windows Ships 1 Million 06/18/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00016)

Wordperfect 5.1 For Windows Ships 1 Million 06/18/92
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- Wordperfect
says it has shipped more than one million copies of
Wordperfect 5.1 for Windows since the product was
released in November of 1991.

According to the company, nearly two-thirds of those
shipments were complete packages, rather upgrades to
earlier versions.

Wordperfect says its Windows-based word processor
accounted for 36 percent of the Windows word processing
sales for 1991. Figures released by Wordperfect and
attributed to PC Week/A.C. Nielsen surveys indicate the
product will have a 51 percent market share for 1992.

Clive Winn, VP of sales at Wordperfect, said selling one million
packages of software in seven months has exceeded his most
optimistic expectations. "As far as I know, this is the most
successful release, in terms of sales, of any software
application," Winn said.

Wordperfect for DOS reportedly continues to be the best selling
word processor for non-Windows based PCs. In the Windows-
based market Wordperfect hasn't been as fortunate. Microsoft,
the creator of the Windows operating environment, offers Word
For Windows, and Lotus Corporation, best known for its
spreadsheet program Lotus 1-2-3, markets Ami Pro.

Microsoft announced Word for Windows 2.0 at last fall's trade
show COMDEX. The upgrade included a help feature that allows
former Wordperfect users to enter the Wordperfect commands
they are used to, and Word For Windows will show them its
comparable commands. Microsoft does not generally release
sales figures, although it has made an exception for the
Windows product.

In January Microsoft announced that it had commissioned
limited testing by the National Software Testing Laboratories
to determine the word processor of preference by users.
According to Microsoft, the tests showed that eight out of
ten Wordperfect for DOS users preferred Word For Windows.

(Jim Mallory/19920618/Press contact: Liz Tanner, Wordperfect
Corporation, 801-228-5004)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 18 Founder And Chairman Bingham Leaves Alias Board 06/18/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00017)

Founder And Chairman Bingham Leaves Alias Board 06/18/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- Stephen
Bingham, co-founder of Alias Research, has resigned as
chairman and left the company's board of directors.

Bingham founded Alias with three partners in 1983. The
company makes three-dimensional graphics software used in
film animation and industrial design.

Company spokeswoman Susan Spencer said Bingham: "feels very
much that his talents are better suited to starting businesses."
He will pursue other high-technology ventures, she said.
Bingham continues to own four percent of Alias stock, and
will continue to be a "friend of the company," Spencer said.

Bingham was president of Alias until November, 1991, when
he handed over that post to Robert Burgess. Burgess assumed
the additional title of chief executive in February.

At Alias' annual meeting June 17, James Fleck, chairman of
Toronto-based Fleck Manufacturing, was named to the
chairman's post.

Susan McKenna, another co-founder of Alias, also resigned as
vice-chairman. No replacement has been named, Spencer said.

Three other new directors were named to the Alias board. They
are: James Clark, chairman and founder of Silicon Graphics of
Mountain View, California; Graham Savage, senior vice-
president of finance at Rogers Communications of Toronto;
and Duff Scott, chairman of Vancouver-based Quadra Logic
Technologies and a former chairman of the Toronto Stock
Exchange.

Alias lost C$17.4 million last year, but hopes to return to
profitability this year.

(Grant Buckler/19920618/Press Contact: Susan Spencer, Alias
Research, 416-362-9181)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 18  ****IBM Spins Off Education Company 06/18/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00018)

 ****IBM Spins Off Education Company 06/18/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- Continuing
its metamorphosis from a single large company to a group of
more specialized firms, IBM has spun off its education services
in the United States into a new unit, Skill Dynamics.

Described as "a full-service education and training resource,"
Skill Dynamics starts life with about 1,600 employees and
more than $100 million in external sales.

IBM spokeswoman Marcia Holle said the move is in line with IBM
strategies announced late in 1991, when the company said it
would spin off some businesses as independent units. That
direction had already begun with the creation of Lexmark, which
took over IBM's typewriter, printer, and related supplies
business.

"It gives the company more independence, more bottom-line
control," Holle told Newsbytes.

Skill Dynamics, based in Thornwood, New York, consolidates all
former IBM education functions in the United States and will
continue to serve IBM organizations. IBM named its vice-president
Ralph W.  Clark as president of the new company. He will report to
Robert J. LaBant, vice-president and general manager of IBM North
America.

IBM said Skill Dynamics' services range from instructor-led
training to computer-based training to customized offerings at
either IBM or customer locations. Skill Dynamics is also expanding
the number and type of services available, including education
consulting, quality improvement offerings, industrial training, and
information technology courses. The new company has locations in
all major U.S. cities.

(Grant Buckler/19920618/Press Contact: Marcia S. Holle, IBM,
914-642-4644)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 18 New For PC: Lotus Launches Ami Pro 3.0 06/18/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00019)

New For PC: Lotus Launches Ami Pro 3.0 06/18/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- Lotus
Development has launched Release 3.0 of its word processor
for Microsoft Windows, Ami Pro. Lotus Chairman Jim
Manzi demonstrated the software at a meeting of the New
York City PC User Group June 17.

Lotus has added an assortment of new features to Ami Pro,
including several of what it calls "direct access" features
intended to speed up and simplify word processing tasks.

These include fast format, which lets a user select several text
attributes such as underlining, bold face, or a particular typeface
of size, then apply them to multiple chunks of text throughout the
document, without having to select the attributes individually for
each chunk of text.

A new drag-and-drop feature lets users grab highlighted text and
move it elsewhere in the document using the mouse. Sets of
SmartIcons, which are used to perform specific tasks in a single
operation, can now be saved. And Lotus is making use of the
often-neglected right mouse button for fast access to various
settings and controls, such as "Modify Page Layout."

Other new features include a simplified mail-merge capability,
automatic envelope printing, a style-sheet viewer, a document
viewer that lets users see stored documents without opening the
files, and a "Clean Screen" option that removes elements such as
the title bar and menus to make more work space on the screen.

Ami Pro 3.0 also sports a new QuickStart tutorial that loads
the first time the software runs, and context-sensitive help
accessible from a button in the corner of every dialog box.

As part of a broad product-line strategy that Lotus calls Lotus
Working Together, Ami Pro has several features aimed at integrating
it with other Lotus applications. For one, the software is
mail-enabled -- it can send and receive mail messages through
Lotus' cc:Mail electronic mail package or its Notes work-group
software. It is also integrated with other Lotus applications for
Windows, including 1-2-3, Freelance Graphics, cc:Mail, and Notes,
using the Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) technology built into
Windows. An Ami Pro user can get access to these other applications
without having to leave Ami Pro, a spokeswoman for the company
said.

Ami Pro is to ship in the United States in late July at a suggested
retail price of $495. Users who bought Release 2.0 before February
1 can upgrade for $79, those who bought 2.0 after February 1 can
move up for $49.

Lotus also has a competitive upgrade offer; users of rival word
processing packages can trade them in for $129. In addition, the
company offers a WordPerfect switch kit designed to lure
customers away from the top-selling word processor by
helping them make the transition to Ami Pro.

(Grant Buckler/19920618/Press Contact: Michelle Goguen or Kim
Lambkin, Alexander Communications for Lotus, 404-876-4482, fax
404-876-4516)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 18 Ericsson Lands German Network Expansion Contract 06/18/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00020)

Ericsson Lands German Network Expansion Contract 06/18/92
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- Ericsson has secured
a $60 million contract from Deutsche Bundespost Telekom, the
state-controlled telecoms operator in Germany. Terms of the
contract call for Ericsson to assist DBT in expanding the trunk
network in Saxony, a region of East Germany.

The project is quite major, since much of the region's
telecommunications infrastructure has not been updated since
the 1950s and early 60s, when East-West relations broke down.
Ericsson is also involved in other East German telecoms upgrade
projects, notably the similar upgrades taking place in the other
four regions of Eastern Germany.

The contract marks a change of emphasis for the Swedish telecoms
company. Previously, Ericsson has merely supplied the switching
gear to DBT. This time around, Ericsson will actually install the
equipment, prior to handling the exchanges over to DBT.

To complete this task, Ericsson has set up a new company --
Ericsson Netzbau -- which will handle the network side of the
upgrade. The new company has offices in Dresden, from where it
will co-ordinate the project, which is expected to be complete by
1995.

(Steve Gold/19920617)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 18 Computer Leasing Company Plans To Be UK's Largest 06/18/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00021)

Computer Leasing Company Plans To Be UK's Largest 06/18/92
SLOUGH, BERKSHIRE, 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- The Alliance of Computer
Leasing (ACL), a company specializing in computer leasing, is
being bought out by a London City financier who plans to turn the
operation into the largest of its type in the UK.

Adrian Clarke, finance director with the Reading-based firm, told
Newsbytes that details of the buyout are still being finalized,
but should be complete within a few weeks. "Until the deal is
complete, I can't tell you how much the deal is worth, or who the
buyer is yet," he said.

Despite the anonymity, Clarke said that plans are in hand to
double the company's sales and marketing staff. Currently, ACL,
which has been in operation for three years, has 12 staff at its
headquarters. The company, which is privately owned, had a
turnover of UKP 2.5 million last year.

According to Clarke, the cash injection from the City financier
will allow ACL to start its own leasing book, permitting it to
underwrite its own leases, rather than having to turn to major
leasing companies on the London markets.

"This will be good, as some of the leasing companies have all but
pulled out of the computer leasing business. Leasing companies
are very cagey about computers, after getting their fingers
burned as a result of the recession," he told Newsbytes.

Clarke cited the example of Bowmaker, a major leasing company,
which no longer handles computer leasing deals. Until recently,
Bowmaker only took on leasing arrangements with companies with
a five years trading record and where the deal was for more than
UKP 20,000.

"Having our own underwriter will free us from leasing
restrictions, especially since we're now able to do our own
company searches," he said.

Since launching its Convertalease package at the Which Computer?
Show earlier this year, ACL reports that business is brisk from
companies who find leasing more tax-efficient and better for
cash-flow than straight purchasing deals.

The Convertalease scheme allows users who are leasing their
computer systems from ACL, to upgrade their hardware
whenever they wish, and have their leasing payments adjusted
automatically. Traditionally, when hardware is upgraded, the user
is locked into a new leasing arrangement, and is penalized for
"cashing in" the old lease earlier than expected.

(Steve Gold/19920617/Press & Public Contact: ACL - Tel: 0734-
569055; Fax: [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 18 Bell South Looks To Europe For Cellphone Network Bids 06/18/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00022)

Bell South Looks To Europe For Cellphone Network Bids 06/18/92
TORONTO, CANADA, 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- Bell South Corporation
has revealed that it is looking at Europe as a means of sustaining
its profits record, now that the US and Canadian mobile telecoms
market is reaching saturation point.

Speaking at the Toronto Society of Financial Analysts recently,
Bell South Vice President Arlen Yokley said that Europe is
turning into a potentially profitable area for the company.

Yokley was explaining the reasons for the company's bid as a team
partner, along with Ram Hellas of Greece and Telefonica of Spain,
for the Greek mobile telecoms license. Greece, he revealed, is
only one of several countries the company is looking at.

"We have identified countries around the world that we would be
confident dealing with in cellular. They do not include former
Eastern Bloc countries or undeveloped countries in Asia or
Africa," he said.

Bell South is clearly becoming a major force in mobile telephony,
Newsbytes notes. The company now has operations in Argentina,
Chile, Mexico, and Uruguay, with plans to launch a mobile phone
network in New Zealand at the end of this year.

As well as revealing the company's hand in plans for mobile phone
services in Europe, Yokley added that data services will be the
next profit vehicle for Bell South. "Data services are where
cellular was in 1984," he said.

(Steve Gold/19920617)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 18 Philips' Profits Forecasts Slashed By Analysts 06/18/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00023)

Philips' Profits Forecasts Slashed By Analysts 06/18/92
AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS, 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- Philips
has revealed that its 1992 profits will be disappointing. In its
first major quarterly meeting with analysts for two years,
the Dutch technology giant bared its soul and said that the
recession that is sweeping Europe is to blame.

The company's officials said that a "substantial fall" in profits
will be seen in Philips second quarter when compared with the
DG 187 million earned last year.

While scaling down Philips' projected profits for the full year,
analysts are not taking the company's gloomy forecast as
indicative of a repeat situation of two years ago, when the
company's future was thrown into doubt owing to a
plummeting share price.

News of the Philips revelations sent the company's share price
plummeting on the Dutch stock market. So far this week, Philips'
share price has dropped to DG 33, down 13 percent on the DG 37
point it reached last Friday -- analysts say that the price may
yet fall even lower.

(Steve Gold/19920617)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 18  ****CIC Licenses Pen Software To NEC 06/18/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SFO)(00024)

 ****CIC Licenses Pen Software To NEC 06/18/92
REDWOOD CITY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) --
Communication Intelligence Corporation (CIC) has announced
an agreement to license PenDOS and other multilingual pen
software to NEC. Newsbytes has learned that a main motivator
for CIC in the deal is a desire to further penetrate the
Japanese market.

Madeline Duva, director of business development, told Newsbytes
that CIC's interest in Japan stems from Japan's status as the
fastest growing pen market, as well as the personal concern of CIC
President James Dao over the preservation of Japanese and other
Asian languages.

CIC is currently targeting the three major markets worldwide, Duva
explained in an interview with Newsbytes.  The US, Europe, and
Japan will come first, she said, although CIC hopes to expand
later to other parts of the world, including Korea and China.

"Of the three prime markets, the US is the biggest, but Japan is
the least saturated," commented Duva.  CIC has previously forged
sales arrangements with such vendors as NCR Japan, Apple Japan
Inc., and Justsystem, a leading Japanese software firm.

The agreement with NCR, announced yesterday, presents another
important vehicle for Japanese market penetration, she indicated.
One of the top five PC producers worldwide, NEC supplies over 55
percent of the PC systems sold in Japan, shipping more than two
million units to Japanese customers each year.

A key reason for the exceptionally high potential of pen computing
in Japan is the difficulty of entering the Japanese language on to
a conventional computer keyboard, said Duva.  Pen computing will
circumvent these logistical problems by letting users write out
the characters by hand, she maintained.

"The Japanese language consists of over 32,000 characters," Duva
informed Newsbytes.  The first keyboards used in Japan tried to
represent all of these characters, but tended to be large and hard
to learn.  Now, smaller, Western-style keyboards are in use, which
depict the Japanese language phonetically.  Yet "translating" the
complex characters into phonetic equivalents brings hurdles all its
own, stressed Duva.  As a result, Japan tends to be less
computerized than the West, she reported.

Further, the chief of CIC, Dao, who is originally from Japan, has
long believed that the keyboard use that does exist there
jeopardizes the language -- and that pen computing can serve as
the answer.

"Writing reinforces language," said Duva.  "As Japanese
people learn the keyboard system, they can start to lose their
previous language base.  But if the users have a tool that allows
them to write out the characters, their Japanese language skills
will be retained."

At the Tokyo Harumi Business Show in March, CIC introduced a
Japanese version of PenDOS.  The product joined a family of
language-specific editions that also includes English, Spanish,
French, German, and Italian.

In addition to PenDOS, NEC has licensed CIC's Handwriter
Recognition Systems (HRS) --  a set of applications available by
now in all the same languages -- and a third software offering,
Handwriter Dynamic Signature Verification (DVS).

NCR Japan, another leading PC vendor in Japan, has already started
to market its NCR 3125 Notepad computer with PenDOS, and Apple
Japan is distributing CIC's MacHandwriter, a handwriting
recognition system for Macintosh.

Aside from these pacts, and the agreement with Justsystem, CIC
holds major contracts with Samsung Electronic Corporation
Limited and Intel Corporation.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920617; Press Contact:  Germaine Gioia, CIC,
tel [phone]; Public Contact:  Jake Ward, CIC, tel 415-802-
7888)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 18 Prodigy Announces Plans To Offer Internet Access 06/18/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LAX)(00025)

Prodigy Announces Plans To Offer Internet Access 06/18/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- The
graphically-based on-line network service Prodigy has
announced its plans to allow users access to the Internet, a
text-based international system of linked computer networks.

Prodigy's General Counsel George Perry has announced the company's
intention to go on the Internet. Speculation is the connection is to
take place this fall.

Steve Hein of public relations for Prodigy told Newsbytes he had no
specifics on the plan other than the company wants to maintain the
service's ease-of-use. The Internet is notoriously cryptic, with
even mail addresses that are 24 characters long interspaced with
symbols and acronyms.

Internet access is coveted because of the wealth of information on
the service, and access is usually obtained through government or
university systems. Also, unlike Prodigy, commercial advertising
and charging for services is traditionally prohibited on the
Internet.

Most of the major on-line services, such as Compuserve, MCI Mail,
AT&T Mail, Applelink, and Sprint Mail have offered electronic mail
(e-mail) gateways for the exchange of messages to and from
Internet users for some time.

One recently announced on-line service, Berkeley, California-based
Holonet, offers users Internet access through a menuing system
that eliminates many of the cryptic Unix commands.

Vienna, Virginia-based America Online (AOL), another graphically-
based on-line service recently announced it will now provide an
e-mail gateway so its subscribers can exchange e-mail with
Internet users. The e-mail gateway is offered to AOL subscribers
at no extra cost and the service is attempting to entice Internet
users to join by offering any Internet user a free AOL start up kit.

Hein told Newsbytes the type and extent of the Internet access
Prodigy is planning is unknown at this time, as it the service's
plans for the pricing of Internet access.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920618/Press Contact: Steve Hein, Prodigy,
tel [phone], fax [phone], Liz Sara, America Online,
703-883-1503, AOL Public Contact: 800-827-6364)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 18 Wordperfect Buys/Sells, Teams With Novell 06/18/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00026)

Wordperfect Buys/Sells, Teams With Novell 06/18/92
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- WordPerfect has announced
it has acquired telecommunications software company Magicsoft,
shipped 1 million copies of its flagship word processing product
for Windows, teamed up with Novell for product development,
and will support the image specification for documents called
TWAIN.

Wordperfect said it has been working with Magicsoft since 1991.
Magicsoft said it is responsible for the telecommunications
capability in Wordperfect Works, an integrated software package
that just shipped in March of this year.

With the acquisition, Donavon Kuhn of Magicsoft told Newsbytes the
key players, sales, and development staff are all moving to Utah and
the rest of the company's operation in Lombard, Illinois, will be shut
down. Specifics about the terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Magicsoft's products will to continue to be marketed by Wordperfect,
Kuhn said. MTEZ, Magicsoft's data communications package, and
Expressfax, the company's fax communications package have been
marketed to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and bundled
with products from Dell, Megahertz, Zoom, Telephonics, Rockwell,
Practical Peripherals, Intel, and U.S. Robotics.

Wordperfect said it plans to use the expertise of the developers
at Magicsoft on its Wordperfect Office product, which includes
electronic mail, calendaring, and scheduling. The company said
Wordperfect Office has a million users on a variety of platforms,
including Windows, DOS, Unix, VAX/VMS, and a direct connection
to OV/VM PROFS, and the company plans to enhance the product's
capability to communicate across multiple platforms on networks.

In a related announcement, Wordperfect said it and networking
supplier Novell plan to work on integration between Wordperfect's
products, especially Wordperfect Office and Novell's Netware
product. Both companies say they plan to begin development on
a Netware Loadable Module (NLM) for Wordperfect Office.

Wordperfect boasts its flagship word processing product of the
same name is the first word processing product to be certified
"Tested and Approved" by Novell Labs. The company also said
recently that it joined Novell's Technical Support Alliance
(TSA), a group of hardware and software companies who wish
to be sure their products work with Novell's network products.

In another announcement, Wordperfect said it plans to support the
TWAIN specification developed by Aldus, Caere, Eastman Kodak,
Hewlett-Packard, and Logitech. The TWAIN specification is a cross-
platform development toolkit for the purpose of supplying drivers
that handle the various image input devices such as frame grabbers,
image databases, and scanners and to aid in attaching an image to a
document, Wordperfect said.

TWAIN handles how the application acquires the images, so
Wordperfect's developers can concentrate on the application
instead of writing drivers, Richard Holder, peripheral product
manager at Wordperfect added.

Wordperfect is also boasting it has shipped 1 million copies of its
Wordperfect for Windows product. While some users have been
unhappy with the confusion over the common user access (CUA)
changes to the product and slowness in performance and printing,
the company said it has developed a maintenance release of the
Windows version that addresses many of those problems.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920618/Press Contact: Liz Tanner, Wordperfect,
801-228-5008; Jessica Kersey, Novell, 408-473-8739; Donovan Kuhn,
Magicsoft, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 18 Nat Semi Earnings Are Highest In 5 Years 06/18/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00027)

Nat Semi Earnings Are Highest In 5 Years 06/18/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- National
Semiconductor says it's showing the best financial gains the
company has seen in five years. The company made the
statement in its newly released fourth quarter 1992 report.

Sales for the quarter which ended May 31 were $491.5 million,
compared with $444.9 million a year ago, and net earnings are
reported as $27.5 million (22 cents per share) compared with
earnings of $5.6 million (3 cents per share) for the comparable
quarter a year ago.

Gilbert F. Amelio, president and chief executive officer, said,
"Earnings for the fourth quarter of fiscal 1992 represent the
best profit performance for semiconductor operations in any
quarter in the past five years."

Fourth quarter gains include a post-tax increase of $11.0 million
in income from the company's patent licensing fees. The licensing
fees for the year show a post-tax gain of $18.1 million, all of
which was garnered in the third and fourth quarters, National
Semiconductor said. However, the company cautioned that at
this point, the amount and timing of future licensing income
cannot be predicted.

Overall, the company has gained in 1992 compared to its losses of
1991, but is still showing red ink for the year. Sales for fiscal
year 1992 were $1,717.5 million, compared with $1,701.8 million in
fiscal 1991. The company reported a net loss of $120.1 million, or
$1.24 per share, for fiscal 1992, compared with a net loss of
$151.4 million or $1.56 per share in fiscal 1991.

Two other considerations -- the restructuring charges and the fact
that last year was a 53 week year, and this last quarter was a 14
week instead of 13 week quarter, need to be taken into account.

National Semiconductor pointed out its financial results fiscal
1992 reflect the impact of a $149.3 million restructuring charge
taken in the first quarter in connection with the company's plans
to consolidate its worldwide manufacturing capacity. The 1991
results also included a restructuring charge of $119.6 million,
the company added.

The company says its future looks bright. A new repeater interface
controller for local area networks, the Lite Repeater Interface
Controller (LERIC), an Ethernet network controller for local area
network applications was introduced in the fourth quarter, National
Semiconductor said. The company also introduced new family of
integrated circuits that combine digital voice and fax capability, as
well as speech recognition, on a single platform and it signed a
joint development agreement with Toshiba Japan for high speed
CMOS (complimentary metal oxide semiconductor) technology.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920618/Press Contact: Mary Ann McKay, National
Semiconductor, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 18  ****NY Police Responds To Blockage Of Int'l Phone Calls 06/18/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(NYC)(00028)

 ****NY Police Responds To Blockage Of Int'l Phone Calls 06/18/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- New York State
Police Special Investigator Donald Delaney, in a conversation with
Newsbytes, strongly supported the move by New York Telephone
Company, blocking calls to foreign countries from pay phones in
New  York City's Times Square , Port Authority Bus Terminal and
other midtown locations with a history of high credit card calling
fraud, as reported elsewhere by Newsbytes.

Delaney said: "I think that it is about time that such action was
taken.  Telephone fraud in New York City is out of control and
that is why that New York Telephone took the action"

Delaney continued: "I think that this should be just the beginning.
It is not only in midtown Manhattan that we find this fraud. From
one end of Broadway to another, there is heavy incidence of
fraudulent calls through pay phones. You will also find
neighborhoods that have high incidence of the same type of crime.
I would like to see the same type of blockage on all pay phones."

The Port Authority Bus Terminal has long been identified as a
major scene of telecommunications fraud encompassing not
only call selling by the collection of valid credit card numbers
from unsuspecting users so that numbers may, in turn, be used
for fraudulent calls. The numbers are generally taken through
"shoulder-surfing", a term for simply looking over the shoulder
of an unsuspecting caller and recording the keystrokes made
while entering the credit card number.

According to Delaney, shoulder-surfing in the Port Authority
takes in a whole new dimension with people using binoculars
and telescopes from positions in Port Authority's balcony to
see the numbers and voice-activated tape recorders to
record them.

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19920617)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 18 New For PC: Spirit Of Discovery Launches Draft & Print 06/18/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00029)

New For PC: Spirit Of Discovery Launches Draft & Print 06/18/92
CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- Spirit of
Discovery, a developer and publisher of productivity, entertainment
(arcade and simulation) and educational software for MS-DOS
platforms, has introduced Draft & Print, an IBM PC-compatible
software program that enables users to create, edit and print
professional-quality drafting documents with the aid of
step-by-step voice instruction.

Draft & Print, the inaugural product offering from Spirit of
Discovery, features what the company calls dynamic voice
assistance (DVA) which guides the user through a drawing, thus
sharply reducing the learning curve, according to the company.
DVA is supported by PC-compatible internal speakers and
requires no additional sound support, although the user may
utilize Adlib and SoundBlaster cards.

Spirit of Discovery maintains that Draft & Print, the first
voice-assisted drafting program for PCs, allows users of any
skill level to produce professional-quality documents.
Draft & Print will revolutionize do-it-yourself home
improvements, said Spirit of Discovery director of marketing,
John Morley.

Unlike low-end drafting products which offer little
flexibility, Draft & Print is said to offer all the necessary tools
of more high-end software packages at a fraction of the  price,
said Morley.

Draft & Print aids the user in producing scaled drawings including
floor plans, landscape plans, pools and spas, interiors, furniture
designs, PC board designs, woodworking plans, cabinets, decks,
electrical, and plumbing systems and skylights. It also has the
capability to import and export drawings to and from other
graphics programs such as AutoCAD.

Draft & Print is available now at a list price of $129.95.

(Computer Currents/19920618/Public Contact: 619/929-2010)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 18 New For Mac: Electronic Switch Box For Mac Serial Ports 06/18/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00030)

New For Mac: Electronic Switch Box For Mac Serial Ports 06/18/92
SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- Start-up
Axion is offering an inexpensive idea for Macintosh users who
are regularly faced with the constraints of having just two
serial ports on their Macintoshes.

Axion points out that as the printer port is usually occupied by
a network or a printer, the user is left with just one port for
the fax/modem, label printer, ImageWriter, scanner or any
other serial device. The Axion Switch allows the user to
maintain three additional devices per serial port in constant
access and to easily choose between them, according to the
company.

With the Axion Switch installed, the most commonly used device
can be connected to Port 1, the default port, while additional
devices can be easily accessed through the Control Panel,
claims the company.

Robert J. Baggarley, national sales manager for Axion, says with
the vast array of unique serial devices being created, the demand
for additional serial ports on the Mac is growing at a fantastic
rate. In additional, the Switch is electronic, eliminating the
frustrating manual plugging and unplugging which can cause
damage to your port as well as system lock-ups common to the
manual A-B switch boxes.

The suggested retail price for the Axion Switch is $159.

(Computer Currents/19920618/Public Contact: 408/235-0227)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 18 New For Mac: MacJet III Printer Driver And MacParcel 06/18/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00031)

New For Mac: MacJet III Printer Driver And MacParcel 06/18/92
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- Computer:
applications, Inc., developer of QuickDraw and PostScript printer
driver technologies, has announced the availability of MacJet
version III, a QuickDraw printer driver for the HP LaserJet and
compatibles.

MacJet is an advanced Chooser-level serial/parallel printer driver
that allows low-cost HP or compatible laser printers to be used
with the complete line of Apple Macintosh computers.

The company explains that MacJet uses proprietary technology to
create HP download fonts (in any point size) from PostScript Type
1 or TrueType fonts and automatically install them in HP printers
as resident fonts.

According to Steve Pierce, president of Computer:applications, "Our
new feature set for MacJet eliminates the slow font rasterizing
process found in previous QuickDraw printer drivers, allowing the
HP laser printer to print multiple page documents as fast as
most popular PostScript laser printers."

MacJet is retail priced at $149.95 but is available at an
introductory price of $99.95 through June 30, 1992.

Computer:applications has also released its UPS (United Parcel
Service) Rate and Zone Calculator desk accessory for the
Macintosh. Complete with 1992 rates and services, this desk
accessory is available any time in any application, including
databases, to calculate the UPS zone and give the user accurate
costs for all UPS parcels and letters.

When given the destination zip code, weight and declared
value, MacParcel will calculate the shipping zone and the
total cost for shipment, including C.O.D., insurance and any
user-defined handling charges. It will calculate the zone
chart for any zip code in the United States, Puerto Rico and
the Virgin Islands, the company says. MacParcel's suggested
retail price is $39.95. Also available is MacFederal, a
similar product for Federal Express customers.

MacJet and MacParcel are System 7-compatible and work with
all Macintosh computers including the new PowerBooks and the
Classic II and Quadra systems.

(Computer Currents/19920618/Public Contact: 919/846-1411)
#ENDCARD



#CARD :1992 JUN 17 Canon To Beef Up Chinese Recycling Facility 06/17/92

(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00001)

Canon To Beef Up Chinese Recycling Facility 06/17/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 17 (NB) -- Canon plans to beef up its
recycling and reprocessing plant in China. The firm says it will
double the facility for recycling used copier's cartridges.

Canon has currently been processing 150,000 cartridges per
month at the facility.

Canon is planning to build another two recycling buildings at its
plant site in Daireng, in China, and will start processing used
copier cartridges. The facility will be 12,000 square meters. At
this processing plant, Canon is planning to process 300,000 units
per month by the end of 1993, and 600,000 units by the end of
1994.

Canon has been processing cartridges for regular copiers and
laser printers at the plant. The firm says it has been re-using
almost 95 percent of these cartridges. These cartridges are
collected in the Japanese and US markets.

Under this system, users bring used cartridges to dealers.
Then, these dealers send them back to Canon. So far, it has
been relatively costly for Canon to collect these cartridges.
Consequently, the firm wants to simplify the procedure in the
future. The firm is also thinking of collecting more used
cartridges from users.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920615/Press Contact: Canon,
[phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 17 Hayes Intros Netware/Windows Drivers For ESP Card 06/17/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00002)

Hayes Intros Netware/Windows Drivers For ESP Card 06/17/92
UXBRIDGE, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 17 (NB) -- Hayes,
the modem communications company, has released a series of
software drivers for its Enhanced Serial Port (ESP) card. The new
drivers allows Novell Netware and Microsoft Windows applications
software to "drive" the card, which allows the PC's serial port to be
by-passed and very high speed data transmissions used.

According to Hayes, the drivers support the Hayes ESP direct
memory access (DMA) system to provide reliable serial port
speeds of up to 57,600 bits-per-second (bps). Dennis Hayes, the
company's founder, claims that the ESP card is fast becoming a
first choice for high-speed modem users who experience problems
with the limited speeds of the PC's standard serial port technology.

"If you don't include Hayes ESP as part of your communications
set-up, you will get less from your high-speed modem or ISDN
(Integrated Services Digital Network) system adapter than you
expect," he explained.

Hayes will formally unveil the new drivers for its ESP card at
the upcoming PC Expo computer show in New York. The drivers
are now available with the ESP card, which is shipping worldwide.

(Steve Gold/19920616/Press & Public Contact: Hayes - Tel: 081-
848-1858; Fax: [phone]; email on Internet -
[e-mail])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 17 UK: Microsoft Unveils Stand For Ballpoint Mouse 06/17/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00003)

UK: Microsoft Unveils Stand For Ballpoint Mouse 06/17/92
WOKINGHAM, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 17 (NB) --
After pressure from users, Microsoft has unveiled what many
portable Windows users have been hankering after for some
time -- a desktop stand for the Ballpoint Mouse.

Pricing in at UKP 30, the stand allows the Ballpoint Mouse to be
used with a desktop computer. It consists of a flat base stand
with an arm that rotates on two axes and swivels on the third
axis. The Ballpoint Mouse clips on to the end of the arm, which
Microsoft claims can be swiveled into almost any position the
user requires.

Gillian Kent, hardware and consumer product manager at
Microsoft, said that the company was excited to hear that a
number of Ballpoint Mice users wanted to use their mouse with
a desktop PC, in place of a conventional mouse.

"In developing the stand, we looked at how to make the
positioning of Ballpoint more flexible, to suit a variety of hand
sizes and preferences in position," she said.

Kent reckons that the UKP 30 stand will encourage users of
Ballpoint and conventional mice to switch over to the Ballpoint
Mouse for all their mice needs.

"Although we expect many users to continue to use the Microsoft
Mouse as their primary mouse on the desktop, we feel there are
current users, as well as potential new users, who may prefer the
Ballpoint Mouse as their desktop mouse," she said.

Kent assesses potential users of the mouse stand as falling into
three categories: users who prefer a thumb-driven pointing
devices; users who prefer a stationary pointing device owing to
space limitations; and users who are used to the Ballpoint
Mouse technology on their portable computers,

The stand is available in the UK though the Microsoft Upgrade
Center on 081-893-8000. Potential users of the Ballpoint Mouse
should note that the unit requires DOS 2.0 or later to be
present, along with two megabytes of RAM available on the PC.

(Steve Gold/19920616/Press & Public Contact: Microsoft - Tel:
0734-270001)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 17 UK: PPCP Intros Compaq LTE Lite Notebook Modems 06/17/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00004)

UK: PPCP Intros Compaq LTE Lite Notebook Modems 06/17/92
FELTHAM, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 17 (NB) -- PPCP,
the portable computing specialist, has begun importing a range of
internal fax/modems for use with the newly-launched Contura
family of notebooks from Compaq.

Both modems have been designed and built by Megahertz, the US
modem company, and are expected to ship in early July. The UKP
399 data-only modem supports all speeds to 2,400 bits-per-second
(bps) with V.42Bis data compression, while the fax/data version, at
UKP 499, adds a 9,600 bps fax modem facility to the features list.
Both modems have a five year warranty.

John Nolan, PPCP's managing director, claims that both modems
will be among the first add-ons to be available for the Contura
range of notebooks. They are also compatible with the New LTE
Lite series portables.

"Compaq notebooks, with their power-saving features and long life
batteries, are undoubtedly a big hit, particularly with corporate
users and the Megahertz modems and fax/modems are just the
sort of products that Contura and LTE Lite users are going to
need to get the best out of their notebooks," he said.

(Steve Gold/19920616/Press & Public Contact: PPCP,
Tel: [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 17 DEC Festival Opens In Russia 06/17/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(MOW)(00005)

DEC Festival Opens In Russia 06/17/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 JUN 17 (NB) -- DEC has presented its
"open advantage in action" series of seminars during the three-day
International computer forum, which has opened in Moscow. DEC
has also announced its educational program in the C.I.S.

Peter Sipos, DEC C.I.S. general manager, said the main lines of
the company business in the country will be, in addition to the mere
sales: the establishment of science and technical research centers;
creating the company's engineering and service facilities; massive
educational programs with the wealth of equipment to be granted;
and local manufacturing.

The company opened its Moscow office six months ago.

Sipos said the first educational project has been started by the
DEC's Kiev branch and the local Politechnical Institute, which
already has 17 computers installed. As a next step, Russian
colleges and universities will receive computer equipment. The
Moscow Aviation Institute, the five-years technology college, was
the first colleges to receive three microVAX computers, which
are to be installed at the radio, plane, and engine facilities,
according to the Institute.

DEC will also teach students at its engineering centers in
Europe, starting from the next month.

"Numerous generations of students has grown up on the DEC
computers worldwide. We would like to extend this tradition into
this part of the world," Peter Sipos said.

Meanwhile, the company is a long way from its sales goals,
Sipos said. He gave no figures but added that the sales amount
is unsatisfactorily small.

In addition to its Moscow office Digital has its representatives in
St Petersbourg in Russia and Kiev in the Ukraine. The company
said it plans to further expand its presence in other regions of the
former USSR.

Company now has its technical support groups in Moscow and St
Petersbourg, and is practicing ruble sales along with the dollar
ones.

DEC says it has begun negotiations with the Russian
communications ministry "about various possibilities of DEC
computer usage in telecoms," according to Sipos, although he
declined to give further details.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920616/Press contact: DEC Moscow office,
phone [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 17 Computervision Ports CAD Software To DEC's 5000 06/17/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00006)

Computervision Ports CAD Software To DEC's 5000 06/17/92
BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 16 (NB) --
Computervision has announced the port of its Personal Designer
CAD and Personal Machinist CAD software to Digital Equipment
Corporation's DEC 5000 workstation.

Personal Designer, a mechanical CAD (computer-aided design)
package, offers three-dimensional design modeling and two-
dimensional drafting/detailing. Personal Machinist is an integrated
CAM (computer-aided manufacturing) application with design and
NC capabilities.

"This announcement is further evidence of our expanding
relationship with Digital," commented Jerry Kokos, vice president
of Computervision's Altenrate Channels Business Unit, in a
prepared statement.

Prior to the port to the DEC 5000, Personal Designer and Personal
Machinist ran on DOS and Sun Unix platforms only, a public
relations spokesperson told Newsbytes.

In announcing the port, Computervision officials also pointed to
the power and graphical capabilities of the DEC 5000, a workstation
that combines a RISC-based architecture with a Unix operating
system.

In addition, the company took note of the 5000's use of a
removable, three-inch by five-inch daughter card to house the
CPU/FPU (central processing unit/floating point unit), a feature
intended to help the computer keep pace with future technological
advances.

Personal Machinist comes standard with a 2.5-inch axis for
surface machining, and is expandable to a three-inch axis through
the addition of another module. Pricing for the new DEC 5000
version starts at $4,500.

Features of Personal Designer include Beizer and NURB surfaces,
multiple views with full associativity, and faceted and smooth
shaded pictures. Pricing for the new version begins at $4,995.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920616)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 17 Adobe Releases Suite Of PC-Oriented Products 06/17/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00007)

Adobe Releases Suite Of PC-Oriented Products 06/17/92
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 17 (NB) --
With PC Expo on the horizon, Adobe has released a suite of
announcements meant to strengthen its position in the PC market.

Among the announcements are three typeface offerings:  two
software packages, plus a customizable CD-ROM disk that lets
users choose typefaces from out of the Adobe Type Library.  One
of the software packages is a low-cost item containing 30
preselected typefaces, and the other one introduces typefaces in
Cyrillic, the alphabet used in Russian and other Slavic languages.

Also included in the announcements are a licensing agreement
allowing WordPerfect Corporation to incorporate Adobe Type
Manager (ATM) technology into its software, and a system that
extends Adobe's Display PostScript technology to users of X
Windows terminals and PC and Mac X emulators.

A common denominator among the five announcements is their PC
focus, a public relations spokesperson told Newsbytes.  To boost
Adobe's visibility among PC users, she added, the company timed
its news to come out just before PC Expo, a major exhibition being
held June 23 to 25 in New York City.

The CD-ROM disk, "Type On Call," previously available for Macs
only, is now slated to ship in September for IBM-compatible PCs.
According to the company, the disk contains the entire Adobe Type
Library of 1,500 typefaces.  The $99 initial purchase price provides
the user with access to ATM font management software and 13
standard typefaces, and a choice of any two type packages out of
eight possibilities.

The 13 standard typefaces are ready to use straight from the box,
but the eight other packages are encrypted.  To gain access to a
pair of additional packages, the user obtains access codes over the
phone from Adobe.  The user then enters the access codes into
Type On Call, de-encrypting the type.

Once the type has been unlocked, the fonts can be installed into an
application.  Fonts from the new PC version can be used in either
Windows or DOS applications.  For extra fees, the user can unlock
individual type faces, or entire type packages, beyond those
covered by the initial price.

The company's new preselected typeface selection, Adobe Type
Set Value Pack, is compatible with either Windows or OS/2.  The
company stresses that for only $60 the user receives ATM software,
along with 30 different Type 1 typefaces in the categories of text,
decorative headline, script, ornament, and symbol type.

Adobe's new "Minion Cyrillic" type package is aimed at users who
communicate with the newly opened former Soviet Union and
Eastern Bloc countries.  A PC version is scheduled for availability
in the third quarter, and a Macintosh version will be announced at
a later date, the company said.

The PC version of the Cyrillic package supports Windows
applications as well as DOS versions of WordPerfect. The program
includes six type faces, along with ATM software and a Windows
utility that provides keyboard layouts for Russian, Transliterated
Russian, Ukrainian, Belorussian, Serbian, Macedonian, and
Bulgarian.

The utility was jointly developed with ParaGraph International, a
Russian/American business venture with headquarters in Moscow
and Boulder, Colorado.

According to Adobe, its newly announced licensing agreement
with WordPerfect Corporation lets the licensee incorporate ATM
into word processing software, as well as into DrawPerfect and
other applications.  The agreement covers the DOS and Windows
environments, in addition to Mac and Unix.

The company also said that its latest Display PostScript software
lets users of X Windows stations and PC and Mac X emulators
achieve WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) correspondence
among computer displays and PostScript output devices.  Versions
of Display PostScript are already shipping for DEC, IBM, NeXT and
Silicon Graphics workstations, and have also been announced for
Silicon Graphics and NCD.

Adobe's new X Windows version, known as the Display PostScript
NX System, will run initially on hosts from Digital Equipment
Corporation and Sun. Display PostScript NX will be licensed for
bundling with X terminal hardware, software applications, or as a
standalone product. The product will ship with Adobe ShowPage, a
PostScript language file previewer.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920615; Press Contact:  LaVon Peck, Adobe,
tel [phone];  Patricia Pane, Adobe, tel [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 17 Japan: Kyodo's Overseas Personal Security Info Service 06/17/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00008)

Japan: Kyodo's Overseas Personal Security Info Service 06/17/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 17 (NB) -- Kyodo Tsushin says it will
begin a unique service to provide security information for overseas
firms in an effort to avoid being involved in such "risks" as terrorist
activities and kidnappings.

Many overseas offices of Japanese firms are becoming very
cautious about terrorist activities and kidnappings because several
Japanese business people have been involved in such incidents.

Kyodo Tsushin will provide various safety information for such
business people in overseas Japanese firms. Also, the firm will
give up-to-date incidents and happenings related to terrorist
activities and kidnapping.

The news and information will be gathered through Kyodo's own
worldwide network as well as other news networks such as AP and
UPI. Kyodo will also gain information from the Japanese and the
US governments concerning safety life in overseas countries.

The information will be provided three times a day except
weekends and national holidays. It is a flat fee basis and the firm
charges 150,000 yen ($1,150) per month.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920612/Press Contact: Kyodo Tsushin,
[phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 17 Computer Virus Victims Increase In Japan 06/17/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00009)

Computer Virus Victims Increase In Japan 06/17/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 17 (NB) -- The victims of computer
viruses have been increasing in Japan. According to the
government-affiliated Information Processing Association, the
number of the victims of computer viruses has risen to 80, which
is the worse in the past two years.

The computer viruses were rampant in Japan in this past March.
This was mainly due to the "Michelangelo" virus, which erased
data on Michelangelo's March 6 birthday. It is said 32 computers
were infected by the virus in March.

In January, the number of the victims were only three, but that
increased in March and thereafter. In May, 29 computers were
infected. The total number of victims for January through May
was 83.

The virus program called "Yankee Doodle Doo" was rampant in
May. A total of 30 computers were infected by this virus this year.

The number of victims is already more than that of last year.
About 60 cases were reported last year, while already 83 cases
have been reported this year.

One of the main reasons for the increase in virus infection has
been due to the usage of illegal copying of software. Because
of this illegal copying, many people are not eager to report the
infection. Consequently, the Association is now accepting
anonymous reports.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920612)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 17  ****Bellcore Claims Business Ready For ISDN 06/17/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00010)

 ****Bellcore Claims Business Ready For ISDN 06/17/92
LIVINGSTON, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 17 (NB) -- In an
attempt to push its member phone companies to install ISDN
(Integrated Services Digital Network) services on their phone
switches faster, the Bellcore research consortium has released a
study claiming nearly half of the nation's businesses would buy
the features.

ISDN transforms phone lines from carriers of analog waves into
carriers of digital datastreams. Under a standard called National
ISDN, individual business lines would get two lines carrying 64,000
bits-per-second (bps) each, and a signaling channel at 16,000 bps
each, which they could use as they see fit. While some tariffs
filed by local phone companies for ISDN have been complex, on
average they've priced the lines at about 30 percent more than
current business lines. A single ISDN line could handle a
videoconference, a fax call, a data call, and a voice call all at
once, eliminating the need for an extra phone number at most
businesses.

In the study, according to Carl Batt, Bellcore director of market
research, researchers polled 1,307 residential customers and 654
small businesses. About 17 percent of the homeowners were
defined as having a high need for ISDN-services, since they have
more than one line, or subscribe to many services like call-waiting,
or use a computer and modem frequently, or work-at-home. Since
there are 86 million residential customers in the US, this
indicates that there may be as many as 14.5 million good
residential prospects. And the rest should not be ignored, the
study indicated -- a full third said they would be interested in
video-calling, and 35 percent liked the idea of buying security
services through ISDN lines.

About 38 percent of the small businesses surveyed, who had an
average of 20 lines each, expressed high interest in the basic
ISDN feature that would let them send messages to other people
without having to talk to them directly, for example, when they
are already on another call.  Another third liked having access
to two calls at once, and 70 percent called their likelihood of
subscribing to ISDN services as moderate to high, once the
benefits were explained.

Still, ISDN continues to face hurdles. Major switch makers still
do not support ISDN in one uniform way. While they have agreed
to implement the National ISDN-2 standard, it will take years for
them to update their software. And some Bell companies, like
Bell Atlantic, are pricing ISDN services in a very complicated
manner. Finally, some of the Bells are reluctant to upgrade their
lines at all out of fear their ability to own information sources
might be taken away by Congress.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920617/Press Contact: Bellcore, Barbara
Kaufman, 201/740-4324)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 17 MCI Gets CIS Telecom Lines 06/17/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00011)

MCI Gets CIS Telecom Lines 06/17/92
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 17 (NB) -- IDB
Communications Group, which already sells capacity to Sprint
for calls to the Commonwealth of Independent States, the former
Soviet Union, has opened another seven lines on the route and
sold the capacity to MCI.

The result is that MCI now offers direct-dial service to all CIS
member states, joining its primary competitors.

IDB's long distance service unit said it is already experiencing
heavy demand for its capacity from Sprint, handling an average
traffic volume of over 15,000 minutes per day.

MCI's traffic is expected to increase IDB's current usage levels
by 30 percent, with the additional seven circuits raising to 30 the
total number of IDB's international public switched circuits.

The company said it has more demand than it can satisfy.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920617/Press Contact: Doug Sherk, for
IDB, 415/296-7383)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 17 SkyTel Enhances SkyWord Wireless Message Service 06/17/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00012)

SkyTel Enhances SkyWord Wireless Message Service 06/17/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 JUN 17 (NB) -- SkyTel has
enhanced its "SkyWord" wireless messaging service with software
that lets PC owners input messages directly onto the system.

SkyWord Access is a name of the package which links directly to
the SkyTel network via an 800 phone line.  SkyWord Operator
Service, provided through an agreement with the National Dispatch
Center in San Diego, will allow non-computer users to send a text
message simply by making a toll-free phone call to an operator.
Both offerings are available form SkyTel beginning this week.

SkyWord Access is message origination software that enables
users to compose and send text messages, as well as telephone
numbers and other numeric information via modem to SkyWord
subscribers.

The software is written for IBM PS/2 and IBM compatible personal
computers with PC-DOS or MS-DOS operating systems. SkyWord
Access also requires that users have 512,000 bytes of memory and
a Hayes-compatible modem.

To use the SkyWord Operator Service, subscribers dial the toll-
free number, 1-800-SKY-GRAM, and enter the personal identification
number (PIN) of the person they wish to reach.  After entering the
PIN, users are connected with an operator who takes the message
and then dispatches it via computer to SkyTel's network.  The entire
process of composing and sending a typical message of 20 average
length words usually takes about one minute, according to
SkyTel's market tests. SkyTel will offer the new Operator Service
to SkyWord subscribers for a $5 enrollment fee and a 50 cents per
message surcharge.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920617/Press Contact: David Allan, for
SkyTel, 212-614-5163)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 17 AT&T Confirms It: You Like Mom Best 06/17/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00013)

AT&T Confirms It: You Like Mom Best 06/17/92
BASKING RIDGE, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 17 (NB) --
Figures  from AT&T have confirmed what you always suspected --
you like mom best. The nation's largest long-distance company
estimated it will handle 84.2 million calls this Father's Day, a
number that pales in comparison to the 101.8 million calls made
on Mother's Day.

AT&T says it can't explain the disparity, but will try to
encourage calls to dad with a sale. Every evening through June
19, you can reach dad anywhere in the US he happens to be,
including Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, for just 11 cents
per minute.

AT&T standard evening prices for such calls range from 13 to 22
cents a minute depending on call distance.  Those special 11
cent-per-minute prices will not apply to AT&T calling plan calls.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920617/Press Contact: AT&T, Ellen Zundl,
908/221-5017)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 17 Storagetek Enhances SCSI 9-Track Tape Subsystem 06/17/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00014)

Storagetek Enhances SCSI 9-Track Tape Subsystem 06/17/92
LOUISVILLE, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 17 (NB) --
Storagetek has announced the availability of three enhancements
to its SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) on one of its tape
subsystems.

The most significant enhancement to the nine-track 9914 OEM tape
subsystem is referred to by Storagetek as "Fast SCSI," a data
transfer rate of up to 10 MB (megabytes) per second synchronous
or 7KB (kilobytes) per second asynchronous.  That's about five
times as fast as was previously available using the 9914 system.

According to Storagetek the 9914 can accommodate the widely
used 5 MB per second transfer rate even in applications where
Fast SCSI has not been implemented.

One model of the 9914 also now offers single-ended and differential
capabilities, which alleviates the need to change cards. The third
enhancement is the increase in buffer size from 512 KB to two
megabytes (MB), a four times improvement in buffer capacity. The
performance improvement is possible, said Storagetek, because
tape repositioning is masked and the fast-burst host transfers are
accepted.

According to Storagetek's Larry Hemmerich, VP of OEM (original
equipment manufacturing) and indirect operations, the demand for
SCSI enhancements has been on the increase. "That's why it was
so important for us to provide these enhancements to our
customers who already have 9914 subsystems," he said.
Hemmerich said all 9914 systems in use can be easily upgraded.

The 9914 is a drawer-mount, automatic loading, half-inch open reel
nine-track tape storage subsystem.

Storagetek, who's stock suffered recently due to a delay in its long
awaited Iceberg product, has made several announcements recently
which could reassure users. In addition to the 9914 enhancement,
the company recently re-confirmed that Iceberg was expected to be
delivered as promised in the revised schedule.

(Jim Mallory/19920617/Press contact: David Reid, Storagetek,
303-673-4815)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 17 1st Act! To Be Bundled With Seiko Data Directory 06/17/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00015)

1st Act! To Be Bundled With Seiko Data Directory 06/17/92
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 17 (NB) -- Contact Software
International and Seiko Instruments USA have announced an
agreement which will have Contact's 1st Act! contact manager
bundled with the Seiko hand-held Data Directory.

1st Act! integrates a database and calendar manager, pre-defined
report generator, and a word processor which allows the user to
produce form letters and other documents. The program also has
an automatically-generated history for each contact, a quick
search capability, and an auto-dialer.

Contact programs are databases set up to allow tracking of clients
and prospective customers. They usually track the dates the client
has been contacted, and the date for the next contact. Other
information usually includes the name of the person to contact, the
phone number and other information which is helpful to have on the
screen when talking to the customer.

Some contact programs, such as 1st Act! allow the address
information to be merged into a letter, for such purposes as letting
customers know about special sales.  An autodialer automatically
dials the customer's number when the cursor is placed on the
phone number field.  A modem must be installed in the computer to
take advantage of the auto-dial feature.

The Seiko Data Directory is a hand-held electronic organizer that is
small enough to be carried in a pocket or purse.  Seiko's ACTLINK
software makes it possible to download names, addresses, and
phone numbers from a PC.

1st Act! and the Seiko Data Directory has a suggested list price of
$199. Contact Software also publishes a version of 1st Act!  for use
with Hewlett-Packard's HP 95LX palmtop PC, which shipped earlier
this year. By itself, 1st Act! has a suggested list price of $79.95.

(Jim Mallory/19920617/Press contact: Julie Bledsoe, Contact
Software, 214-919-9500; Reader contact: 214-919-9500 or fax
214-919-9750.  International reader contact: [phone] or
fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 17 Metz Ships Task Manager 2.0 For Windows 06/17/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00016)

Metz Ships Task Manager 2.0 For Windows 06/17/92
BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 17 (NB) --  Metz
Software is now shipping Metz Task Manager 2.0, a program that
Metz says provides Windows users instant access to the
applications and files they use most frequently.  The program is
compatible with both Windows 3.0 and 3.1.

Art Metz, president of Metz Software, said the Task Manager
replaces the Windows Task List, which he says Windows users
find inadequate.

The Task Manager is an alternative way to launch programs running
under Windows. The product includes a Launch Pad that allows
users to "drag-and-drop" their favorite applications onto customizable
launch buttons. A special launch menu can also be created for the
Windows File Manager, or for Norton Desktop for Windows.

A scheduler feature included in the program lets users schedule
tasks such as hard drive backup of electronic mail transfer as
unattended tasks. Metz said there is also a Task/Group Windows
which displays a list of running tasks or the items in a Windows
Program Manager group for quick launching and arrangement.

Other features include a Run List, which includes the most recently
run tasks, allowing for easy editing and repeating, claims the
company. Desktop Arrangement is a collection of buttons and
commands to unclutter the Windows desktop, while several utilities
provide file management, file locator, text search, and system status
capabilities.

Task Manager 2.0 has a suggested selling price of $49.95. Metz said
registered owners of any Metz Software product can purchase a Task
Manager 2.0 upgrade for $19.95 plus shipping costs directly from the
company.

(Jim Mallory/19920617/Press contact: Art Metz, Metz Software,
206-641-4525; Reader contact: 800-447-1712 or 206-641-4525 or fax
206-644-6026)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 17 WordPerfect Tests WP 5.0/Office 3.1 On Univel's UnixWare 06/17/92


(NEWS)(UNIX)(DEN)(00017)

WordPerfect Tests WP 5.0/Office 3.1 On Univel's UnixWare 06/17/92
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 17 (NB) -- WordPerfect says
it will be testing the current shipping version of WordPerfect and
Office 3.1 on Univel's UnixWare.

Univel is a joint partnership between network operating system
developer Novell and Unix System Laboratories. Univel recently
announced an Early Access Program for Unixware and started
shipping developer's kits to more than 50 software developers
including WordPerfect.

The Unix operating system has not become nearly as popular with
business computer users as DOS, and later Windows. There are a
number of versions of Unix, and developers have had to produce a
different version of their program for each major Unix version if
they want to reach a significant market with their product.

Version 5.1 of WordPerfect for Unix is expected to come to market
in the third quarter. In addition to the word processing program,
WordPerfect Corporation also offers a Unix version of WordPerfect
Office. Office 3.1 features include: electronic mail, a scheduler, a
calendar, a calculator, the notebook file manager, a shell, and an
editor.

Other companies who have indicated interest in making their
products capable of running under Unixware are Borland, Informix,
Lotus, Oracle, Xtree, and Frame.

Univel said recently that Unixware will be capable of running the
more than 3,000 Unix applications that are already available for the
Intel platform.  The end user version of Unixware is scheduled to
ship in the fall of this year.

(Jim Mallory/19920617/Press contact: Darcey Huish, WordPerfect Corp.,
801-228-5006, Reader contact: 801-225-5000, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 17 Thomson-CSF Secures Rita Network Upgrade Contract 06/17/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00018)

Thomson-CSF Secures Rita Network Upgrade Contract 06/17/92
PARIS, FRANCE, 1992 JUN 17 (NB) -- Thomson CSF, the French
electronics company, has announced that it will shortly receive a
major contract to upgrade the Rita communications network. The
company, which specializes in defense electronics, has declined
to say how much the contract is worth, other than to say it has
major franc value.

Pre-announcing the contract to the press this week, Jean-Luc
Picard, the director of Thomson's communications and command
systems operations, said that terms of the deal call for the
company to work on upgrading the next four years. He added that
the contract is worth several billion francs to his company.

The Rita communications network is a mobile communications
network that links the French army back to its French computer
network, regardless of where in the world they are stationed. The
network also allows for battlefield communications under hostile
conditions.

Picard revealed that Thomson has quietly sold a Rita system to
the US government, although he declined to say when and for
how much the US deal was worth. Analysts have speculated that
some of the technology would have been used in the recent Gulf
conflict though, again, company officials have declined to
comment.

(Steve Gold/19920617)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 17 Olivetti & Canon Pool Optical Card Technology 06/17/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LON)(00019)

Olivetti & Canon Pool Optical Card Technology 06/17/92
MILAN, ITALY, 1992 JUN 17 (NB) -- Olivetti has signed a joint
development agreement with Canon of Japan.

Terms of the agreement call for both companies to pool their
resources on optical card technology with the express aim of
developing an optical card system for worldwide marketing
within the next two years.

Canon's optical cards will be supplied to Olivetti on an OEM
(original equipment manufacturer) basis. Olivetti will sell
Canon's optical card systems to medical market and health-
care market in Italy as well as other European countries.

Plans also call for Olivetti to market the finished product with
Canon developing the primary technology. Value-added
applications will be developed by Olivetti, company officials said.

Canon has its own distribution system for optical cards in
Europe. Now, in the agreement with Olivetti, Canon will
cooperate on sales in the region. The tie-up will be benefit
Canon because Olivetti has strong sales force in the region.

Canon is currently at the leading edge of optical card
technology, but the costs are extremely high, analysts claim.
This has forced the normally independent Japanese electronics
company to seek assistance from the Italian electronics giant.

Canon is set to release a 4.2 megabyte optical card system
in Japan this August. Canon is said to have spent about nine
years developing this optical card system.

((Steve Gold & Masayuki Miyazawa/19920617/Press Contact:
Canon, [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 17 UK Regional Electricity Board In Telecom Venture 06/17/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00020)

UK Regional Electricity Board In Telecom Venture 06/17/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 17 (NB) -- The Yorkshire
Electricity Board (YEB), one of the UK's recently privatized
electronic companies, has announced plans to team up with
Kingston Communications, the Hull-based phone company, to
offer public telecommunications services.

The YEB is the third power company to announce its
diversification into the telecoms market. Recently, Scottish
Power and the National Grid announced their own provisional
plans to offer services to the public.

According to the YEB, plans call for the company to offer
telecom services to major companies in the Yorkshire (North
East) area of the UK. Plans for smaller users of the phone
network are also in hand, company officials said.

The YEB already has a landline and mobile radio telephone
network to link its staff and shops. Although no decision has been
made, Newsbytes' sources suggest the public service will make
use of some of the existing telecom circuits, as well as fiber optic
network running alongside the YEB's national electricity links
and lines.

The link with Kingston Communications, which runs the City Of
Hull's telephone service in the UK -- the only such "island" of
private telecoms in the UK's BT dominated market -- will allow
the YEB to use Kingston's exchange infrastructure in Hull, which
links in turn to the BT and Mercury telecom networks.

(Steve Gold/19920617)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 17  ****IBM Enhances Mainframes, Operating Systems 06/17/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00021)

 ****IBM Enhances Mainframes, Operating Systems 06/17/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 17 (NB) -- IBM has
announced new features for its Enterprise System/9000 mainframe
computers, as well as new releases of the three operating systems
that run on them. The enhancements will become available late this
year and early in 1993.

IBM said a new release of its Virtual System Extended/Enterprise
Systems Architecture (VSE/ESA) operating system lets VSE take
full advantage of the Enterprise Systems Architecture of the ES/9000
machines. While previous releases of VSE/ESA would run on the
machines, company spokeswoman Diane Whitehead said, Version 1
Release 3 is "the first really full-blown implementation."

For some time, VSE had been regarded as an orphan operating
system IBM was eager to bury. In the past couple of years, IBM
appears to have recognized that its many VSE customers are not
prepared to let that happen, and has made an effort to bring VSE
back into the mainstream.

IBM also announced Multiple Virtual Storage/Enterprise System
Architecture (MVS/ESA) Version 4 Release 3. The company said
this new release of its highest-powered mainframe operating
system improves support for client/server architecture, while also
providing better support for storage and systems management.

IBM also extended its plans to make MVS/ESA support the POSIX
open systems standard, adding several additional interfaces to the
list it had earlier promised to support in a September, 1991,
statement of direction. No firm dates were given for implementing
this POSIX support, however.

IBM's third mainframe operating system, Virtual Memory/Enterprise
Systems Architecture (VM/ESA), was also updated. VM/ESA
Version 1 Release 2 improves systems management capabilities
and boosts the performance of applications, the company said.

On the hardware side, IBM enhanced its Enterprise Systems
Connection Architecture (ESCON), a high-speed communications
channel technology. One new feature allows multiple logical
partitions on the same mainframe to share channels. In the past,
Whitehead explained, each partition had to have its own channels.

More than half of ES/9000 users have more than one partition on
their machines, for example running one "image" of the operating
system for interactive applications, another for batch jobs, and
possibly a third for applications development and testing. Now all
of these can share the same channels.

Another change to ESCON is basic mode support, which makes it
possible to use ESCON for channel-to-channel communications, in
which two processors talk directly to each other through system
channels rather than over a network. Previously, Whitehead said,
channel-to-channel communications was only possible through
IBM's older channel technology, which uses copper wire rather
than optical fiber.

The Processor Resource/Systems Manager (PR/SM) has been
enhanced to offer more logical partitioning capabilities. IBM also
said a new feature called Asynchronous Pageout Facility moves
data more efficiently between central and expanded storage.

The hardware enhancements are standard for ES/9000 Models 520,
640, 660, 740, 820, 860, and 900. The PR/SL and ESCON Multiple
Image Facility are due to be available in December, and the other
hardware enhancements are planned for March. Installed systems
will be upgraded automatically as part of routine maintenance,
Whitehead said.

VM/ESA 1.2 is due to be available in December, while the other
two new operating system versions are expected to ship in March.
Their prices will be the same as for previous releases.

IBM also said Version 2 Release 1 of Advanced Interactive
Executive/Enterprise Systems Architecture (AIX/ESA), its
mainframe Unix offering, will be available June 26. The new
release was announced in March.

(Grant Buckler/19920617/Press Contact: Diane Whitehead,
IBM, 914-642-4668; Edward A. Trapasso, IBM, 914-642-5359)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 17 Stratus Computer Plans Joint Venture In Japan 06/17/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00022)

Stratus Computer Plans Joint Venture In Japan 06/17/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 17 (NB) -- Stratus Computer Japan, a
subsidiary of the Massachusetts-based computer maker, is
planning to create a joint venture firm with major Japanese
computer makers, according to the Nikkan Kogyo newspaper.

A spokesman at Stratus Computer Japan told Newsbytes that
it is too early to comment on the developments.

According to the newspaper, however, Stratus Computer has
been talking with a number of Japanese computer makers,
including NEC, Mitsubishi, IBM Japan, and Toshiba.

Stratus Computer wants to create a joint venture firm for the
sales and development of software for Stratus' computers. Stratus
Computer Japan has been selling "non-stop" computers. The firm
is currently supplying the computer to NEC, Toshiba, Mitsubishi
on an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) basis.

Stratus Computer Japan has also been talking with several other
software makers concerning this joint venture, says the newspaper.
More than ten firms are expected to joint in this project.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920617/Press Contact: Stratus
Computer Japan, [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 17 Canon To Intro New Japanese O/S For Next Computer 06/17/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00023)

Canon To Intro New Japanese O/S For Next Computer 06/17/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 17 (NB) -- Canon says it will release
an upgraded version of the Japanese operating system for the
Next computer around this September. The new version is called
Release 3J, and it supports various new programs.

The Japanese 3J supports database, a three-dimensional
graphics feature, distributed objects, and Netware and AppleTalk
client networking. The upgrade service from the version 2.x will
cost 78,000 yen ($600) with a CD-ROM.

Canon will also provide the upgrade version support from the
English version. During the initial promotional period, which will
last until the end of this October, the service will be provided at
half the regular price.

With this latest operating system, the user can use Macintosh
format floppy disks and hard disks via Ethernet.

Canon has also released a "Bubble-jet" color printer at 498,000
yen ($3,800). This Bubble-jet printer is Canon's original. It is an
upgraded version of an ink-jet printer, and it produces quality
letter printing, according to the company. This technology is also
used for Apple's Macintosh printers. Canon has also released a
new CD-ROM drive for the Next computer. It holds a 680 megabyte
memory. Canon is Next Computer's exclusive dealer for
the South East Asian market.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920617/Press Contact: Canon,
[phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 17 Indian Computer Industry Records 27 Percent Growth 06/17/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SFO)(00024)

Indian Computer Industry Records 27 Percent Growth 06/17/92
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1992 JUN 17 (NB) -- The Indian computer
companies' total revenue has touched the one-billion-dollar mark,
during 1991-92 financial year ending last March, according to this
year's study done by MAIT (Manufacturers' Association for
Information Technology).

The overall growth rate has been higher at 27 percent as compared
to 24 percent during 1990-91. The computer industry grossed
Rs 2635 crores last year. The total revenue generated by the
hardware segment, including peripherals, accounted for more than
63 percent of the industry turnover.

The share of the top twenty companies from this year's study has
been sixty percent of the total. The first twenty slots together
grossed a turnover of  Rs 1580 crore ($578 million) in 1991-92
as compared to Rs 1440 crore ($480 crore) in 1990-91. The first
eleven major players were the same, but with slightly different
positions to their credit compared to the year before.

HCL Hewlett Packard Ltd. tops the revenues list with Rs 220 crore
($73 million), just about the same as last year. This is followed by
Wipro Infortech Ltd. Rs 190 crore ($63 million) in the second place,
and the software giant, Tata Consultancy Services Rs 150 crore
($50 million), 50 percent up, as the third largest computer company.

Software and hardware exports have recorded good growth. Though
hardware exports increased from $ 75 million (Rs 225 crore) in
1990-91 to $90 million (Rs 270 crore) in 1991-92 (20 percent up),
the quantum of exports to General Currency Area Countries
showed a steep rise.

The production of computers in value terms went up from $273
million (Rs 820 crore) in 1990 to about $295 million (Rs 884 crore)
in 1991. The domestic market for computer hardware registered a
growth of 14 percent. While this is low compared to other segments
of the information technology industry, it is much higher than the
average industrial growth, and also above the figure that the
computer industry was expecting to achieve.

The overall slowdown in the economy, cutbacks in government
purchasing, and extremely tight control in imports last year took
their toll.

"This is an interesting fall out of the change in policies. The grim
outlook of last year now seems to be a thing of the past. The
future augurs to be an era of promising opportunities and growth
and the industry with its quality focus as well as its global outlook
(more joint ventures) will be gearing itself towards a better domestic
and exports scene,'' said Rajendra S. Pawar, president of MAIT.

According to NASSCOM (National Association of Software and
Service Companies), software exports grew by 64 percent from
$128 million (Rs 250 crore) to $179 million (Rs 410 crore).

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920615)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 17  ****New Unix System V Release 4.2 Easier To Use 06/17/92


(NEWS)(UNIX)(TOR)(00025)

 ****New Unix System V Release 4.2 Easier To Use 06/17/92
SUMMIT, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 17 (NB) -- Unix
System Laboratories has updated, what is widely considered, the
definitive version of Unix with features aimed at making the
operating system easier to use and a bit more practical on
smaller computers.

The key enhancement is a "desktop metaphor" graphical user
interface on top of the traditional Unix system. What this means is
that while the "$" prompt familiar to Unix users (the counterpart of
the DOS operating system's "C>" prompt) will still be available,
"you won't see it any more unless you want to," said Ry Schwark,
spokesman for Unix International.

Schwark said the new interface is complementary to Unix
International's Open Look and the rival Open Software Foundation's
Motif, both of which are windowing systems meant to work with
Unix, and can work with either of them.

Ease-of-use is "far and away the biggest" enhancement in Unix
System V Release 4.2, Schwark said. However, there are some
other changes.

One that affects ease-of-use as well as the security of the system
is the new release's tolerance of having the machine on which it is
running switched off without proper shutdown procedures. In the
past Unix, unlike DOS, required users to follow prescribed
shutdown procedures before turning their machines off. While
doing so is "still preferable," Schwark said, the new release will
recover gracefully if users don't.

By making the new release more modular, USL has also made it
possible to install Unix on a personal computer with only four
megabytes (MB) of memory and a 120MB hard disk. The previous
minimum was about eight MB of memory and 200MB of disk,
Schwark said. The reduced requirements will make Unix more
practical for use on client machines in a client/server environment,
USL predicted.

The new release also includes Adobe Systems' Type Manager
software and selected PostScript Type 1 fonts. This means Unix
will offer better support for desktop publishing, presentation
graphics, and other applications that call for an assortment
of fonts.

In addition to running applications written for previous versions
of USL's Unix, System V Release 4.2 will comply with the Open
Software Foundation's Application Environment Specification,
and with the addition of emulation utilities available from several
vendors it can run applications written for DOS and Microsoft
Windows, USL said.

While final retail prices will be set by companies that resell Unix
and will vary with the hardware platform, Schwark said, Unix
System Laboratories has targeted the software to sell for less
than $500 on desktop PCs. The new version should be available
later this year, he said. Univel, the joint venture between USL and
local area network vendor Novell, plans to sell it through Novell's
distribution channels starting in early fall.

Unisys, of Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, announced that it will use the
new Unix release on a future line of desktop computers based on
Intel's 80x86 processor line.

(Grant Buckler/19920617/Press Contact: Ry Schwark, USL,
908-522-6264; Brian Daly, Unisys, 215-986-2214)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 17 Bell Canada To Appeal Aspects Of Long-Distance Ruling 06/17/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00026)

Bell Canada To Appeal Aspects Of Long-Distance Ruling 06/17/92
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 JUN 17 (NB) -- Bell Canada
Chairman Jean Monty, who a few days ago said his company
would play the hand it had been dealt by regulators supporting
long-distance competition, now wants a new deal.

Bell Canada has announced it will appeal some provisions --
though not the over-all thrust -- of the decision that promises
competitive long-distance telephone service in Canada within
about a year.

On June 12, the Canadian Radio-television and
Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved applications
by Unitel Communications of Toronto and a partnership of BC
Rail Telecommunications of Vancouver and Lightel of Toronto,
both of which want to offer long-distance service in parts of
Canada.

Bell currently has a monopoly on such service in Canada's two
largest provinces -- Ontario and Quebec -- as do other regional
telephone companies in the rest of the country.

In his immediate reaction, Monty criticized parts of the decision
that gave the new competitors a discount on their contributions to
supporting local service, and the CRTC's ruling that Bell should
pay most of cost of connecting the systems to Bell's network.
But he went on to say: "I feel like a card player who's been dealt
a hand of cards. Now let's play."

Bell has now announced it will ask the CRTC to change those
aspects of its ruling. "We would have to absorb so much of the
startup costs, with no way to recover those costs," said Linda
Gervais, a spokeswoman for Bell.

Gervais said it is not certain whether the appeal might delay the
implementation of competitive long-distance service. More
information is expected to be released within a couple of weeks,
she said.

(Grant Buckler/19920617/Press Contact: Linda Gervais, Bell
Canada, 613-781-3724)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 17 Survey Says People Like PCs, Especially Women 06/17/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00027)

Survey Says People Like PCs, Especially Women 06/17/92
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 17 (NB) -- Logitech's
newly released "PCs and People" survey says results show
personal computers (PCs) are not something people are afraid of.
In fact, Logitech says people like their PCs and women outnumber
men 2 to 1 as PC users. The statistics appear geared toward
promoting women PC users.

While Logitech admits most of the previous market research has
shown 84 percent of PC users are men, it says its survey done by
ADF Research of 300 computer users shows different figures.
Serge Timacheff, of public relations for Logitech maintains the
management information systems (MIS) people and those making
the buying decisions are still mostly men, but the majority of
computer users surveyed were women.

The report says PCs may be removing the "glass ceiling" or offering
women parity with men in work situations, and also mentioned
people are decorating their PCs and giving them names.

The survey, polling exclusively people who already use PCs, said
three out of four people see PCs as work companions, 98 percent
think of PCs as a valuable aid when it comes to getting work done,
and four out of five said PCs are fun to use. "People don't harbor
hidden desires to rid themselves of their PCs...," the survey added.

Timacheff said Logitech did the survey in an effort to validate the
company's direction for development and introduction of sensory
devices for PCs. "We see the video input as the eyes, the track
ball or mouse as the hands of the computer," Timacheff said.

"Some people even decorate their PCs," Timacheff added. He
described how he personally has scanned images of his wife and
family for use as the bit map images his screen saver uses, and
how he painted his mouse to look like it was made of granite.

Timacheff listed other PC decorating ideas as the "Mr. Potato Head"
look, accomplished by adding eyes and ears; putting an antenna on
the monitor; or simply placing knick-knacks on and around the PC.

Logitech also entered the dangerous and sensitive ground of
differences between men and women PC users by saying the
survey showed dramatic gender differences. The company's
survey said men and women who use PCs equally share the
responsibility for clerical and administrative functions, and women
perceive greater utilitarian benefits from PCs while men ten to
focus on touch-and-feel improvements. The survey also said 84
percent of the women think computers are fun, yet 44 percent of
the women surveyed said they view computers as a necessary
evil in business today.

On the other hand, the survey said men were more likely to use
sensory type computer input products (like a mouse), more men
than women wanted computers they could talk with, more men
said they'd like computers that are a more natural or intuitive
extension of their own senses, and more men than women thought
PCs with further human ways of communicating would encourage
greater numbers of people to use computers.

The survey was performed via telephone interviews with 301
computer users, 68 percent who were women. Companies were
randomly selected by size (between 50 and 350 employees) and
specific inclusion was made of branch offices of Fortune 1000
companies so there would be easier access to qualified
respondents, according to ADF Research.

Logitech makes track balls, hand scanners, and mice and is
headquartered in Fremont, California.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920617/Press Contact: Michelle Mihalick,
Neale-May & Partners for Logitech, tel [phone],
fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 17 Adobe 2Q Revenues Up 22% 06/17/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00028)

Adobe 2Q Revenues Up 22% 06/17/92
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 17 (NB) --
Adobe Systems, the company who make the Truetype fonts
included in Microsoft Windows 3.1 and who markets Adobe Type
Manager (ATM), says revenues are up again in its second quarter
report.

While the company is showing a 22 percent increase in revenue over
last year, net income increased only 15 percent and earnings per
share were up only 12 percent. Company Chairman John Warnock
said the company is investing heavily in technology with an eye to
the future.

Second quarter revenue is reportedly at $69,614,000 from the same
quarter earnings of last year of $57,083,000. Adobe is reporting
earnings of just over $15 million, or 65 cents per share compared to
$13,260,000 or 58 cents per share last year.

Total revenue for the first half of this year is at $132,176,000, a
21 percent increase from the $109,683,000 reported in the same
period in 1991, Adobe said. However, net income is only up 11
percent and earnings per share are up only eight percent from the
same period a year ago. Net income for the six month period is
$28,520,000, compared to $25,684,000 last year, and earnings
per share are $1.22 compared to $1.13 in 1991.

The company is reporting a six percent increase in second
quarter licensing revenue, which is now $38,125,000 compared to
$35,945,000 in the second quarter of 1991.

The company has announced a cash dividend to stock holders
of eight cents per common share, approved by the board of
directors for payment on July 13 of this year.

The company says printers based on its Postscript Level 2 page
description language are continuing to infiltrate the market with
the introduction of the Apple Personal Laserwriter NTR and the
Tektronix Phaser IIPXe.

Also, Unix System Laboratories announced it has licensed
Adobe Type Manager (ATM) and embedded it and Type 1 fonts
into its new Unix System V Release 4.2. Unix System Laboratories
says the inclusion of ATM gives its customers the ability to buy
and use thousands of Type 1 fonts that are already available for
the DOS Windows market.

Newsbytes recently reported that Adobe had suffered the
kidnapping of its President Charles Geschke, who was held for
ransom for nearly a week, but was returned unharmed.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920617/Press Contact: Patricia Pane, Adobe, tel
415-962-3967; Larry Lytle, Unix System Laboratories, tel 908-522-
5186)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 17 HP Intros Full-Motion Video Card For PA-RISC Workstations 06/17/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00029)

HP Intros Full-Motion Video Card For PA-RISC Workstations 06/17/92
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 17 (NB) - Hewlett-
Packard has introduced VideoLive, an X Windows-based product
the company says is the least costly 24-bit full-motion video card
on the market for Unix workstations.

Priced at $2,275, the card comes with JPEG-based imaging
software that lets the user position and scale the video window,
choose among multiple video sources -- including TV tuners,
videocassette recorders (VCRs), video cameras and laser discs --
and grab high resolution frames, all by pointing and clicking from
a Motif-based graphical user interface (GUI).  The frozen, still video
frames can be integrated into compound document programs or
sent to databases or other destinations on a network.

Designed by RasterOps, the card runs by its own circuitry,
independently of the CPU (central processing unit) or framebuffer,
a feature aimed at preventing the display of full-motion video from
slowing performance of other applications.

The card plugs into the EISA (Extended Industry Standard
Architecture) slot on the HP Apollo 9000 Models 720, 730 and 750,
members of HP's Series 700 PA-RISC family.  The company claims
the Series 700 offers the fastest JPEG implementation in the
industry.

Before the introduction of VideoLive, full-motion video could be
viewed on these workstations only using an external box, a
company spokesperson told Newsbytes.

VideoLive is the latest in a series of HP multimedia developments
that began with Shared X, a software program that lets multiple
users share X-based application windows across a multivendor
network.

Still frames captured via VideoLive can be sent over a network
either through Shared X or a third-party application, such as
Clarity Rapport, that is able to transmit compound documents by
means of electronic mail, the spokesperson said.

VideoLive accepts the three international video standards: NTSC
(National Television Systems Committee), SECAM (Sequential
Color with Memory), and PAL (Phase Alternation Line). The
product is expected to ship in July.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920617; Press Contact:  Maureen S. Deiana,
Hewlett-Packard, 508-436-5082)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 17 Network Interface Corp. Cuts Network Board Prices 06/17/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00030)

Network Interface Corp. Cuts Network Board Prices 06/17/92
LENEXA, KANSAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 17 (NB) -- Network
Interface Corporation is bowing to the pressure being exerted in
the marketplace for both Ethernet and Arcnet cards and has
reduced their pricing by as much as 18 percent.

There are nine products involved in the price reductions. The
reductions range from eight percent to 18 percent. All price
reductions are in effect now.

Product examples and their old/new pricings are as follows:
Coax, AUI Ethernet Adapter, (old price) $240, (new price) $209;
10Base-T, AUI Ethernet Adapter, $254, $209; 8-bit Coax Star
Arcnet Adapter, $122, $106; 8-bit Coax Bus Arcnet Adapter,
$139, $117; and 8-bit Twisted pair Arcnet Adapter, $139, $117.

(Naor Wallach/19920616/Press Contact: Susan Williams,
Network Interface Corp., 913-894-2277)
#ENDCARD



#CARD :1992 JUN 16  ****BT Sells Mitel Stake To Schroder 06/16/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00001)

 ****BT Sells Mitel Stake To Schroder 06/16/92
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 JUN 16 (NB) -- British Telecom
has finally found a buyer for its 51 percent share in the Canadian
telecommunications equipment maker Mitel. Schroders & Partners,
the Canadian affiliate of British investment group Schroder Ventures,
will pay about C$40 million for the stake, with further payment to
follow if Schroder sells its interest at a profit within five years.

Montreal-based Schroders is to pay C$1 per share for British
Telecom's 40,264,878 common shares in Mitel. If it sells the
shares for a profit within five years, it is to pay British Telecom
one third of the profit up to a maximum of 64 cents per share.
The deal has closed, a Mitel spokeswoman said.

No changes in Mitel management are planned, said Tom Travers,
a Mitel spokesman. Schroders will appoint two representatives to
the Mitel board of directors, replacing two British Telecom directors.
The new Schroders directors are Dr. Henry Simon, a partner of
Schroder Ventures in the United Kingdom, and Gordon S. Byrn,
president and chief executive of Schroders & Partners.

Schroder Ventures, which has been listed on the Stock Exchange
in London since 1959, has major operations in London, New York,
Tokyo,and Zurich, with offices in about 20 countries. The company
employs some 3,000 people worldwide.

Schroder is not entirely new to the Canadian telecommunications
industry, having held a stake in Ottawa-based Newbridge Networks
in the late 1980s. That stake has since been sold, Travers said.

British Telecom bought its stake in Mitel in mid-1986, and has
been trying to sell it since early 1990.

In the year ended March 27, Mitel had an operating loss of C$8.1
million on revenues of C$406.1 million. Net interest income
brought the net loss to C$5.7 million.

(Grant Buckler/19920615/Press Contact: Bonnie Perrigard or Tom
Travers, Mitel, 613-592-2122; Gordon S. Byrn, Schroders &
Partners, 514-397-0700)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 16 New For PC: Multimedia SmartHelp For 1-2-3 Ships 06/16/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00002)

New For PC: Multimedia SmartHelp For 1-2-3 Ships 06/16/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 16 (NB) --
Lotus Development has announced the immediate availability of
Multimedia SmartHelp for 1-2-3 for Windows. The single CD-ROM
disk contains Lotus 1-2-3 for Windows and Multimedia SmartHelp.

The product includes an animated and narrated guided tour that
leads users through all aspects of 1-2-3, with many "try it"
sections. There are also animated "show me" movies in the help
system that present the steps needed to complete specific tasks.
Also, all the paper manuals have been replaced with "on-line
books." The only printed documentation in the package is a brief
pamphlet explaining how to load and start up the software.

At a recent product demonstration in Cambridge, Rob Lippincott,
director of product development for Lotus' Multimedia Products
Group, showed how users can switch back and forth between the
multimedia help and their own worksheets, using what they have
learned before returning to the same point in the help system to
find out more.

"Multimedia is not the most important thing about 1-2-3,"
Lippincott said, "but we think this is the first time that
multimedia is important to people who use 1-2-3."

The server edition of Lotus 1-2-3 for Windows with Multimedia
SmartHelp works with CD/Networker, providing multiple users
with network access to Multimedia SmartHelp residing on a single
CD-ROM drive, and will be shipped in the third quarter of this year.

Lotus 1-2-3 for Windows with Multimedia SmartHelp requires a PC
with an 80386 or higher processor, at least four megabytes (MB) of
memory and 10MB of available hard disk space, and a mouse.
It also calls for a standard VGA 16-color graphics adapter and
monitor, a CD-ROM drive with a minimum transfer rate of 150
kilobytes-per-second, an eight-bit sound device supported by
Multimedia Extensions, speakers or headphones.

The package also needs DOS 3.3 or later, Windows 3.0 with
Multimedia Extensions 1.0 or Windows 3.1, and MSCDEX 2.2 for
CD-ROM drive support.

The suggested retail price for Lotus 1-2-3 for Windows with
Multimedia SmartHelp is $595, the same price as the standard
release of Lotus 1-2-3 for Windows.  Anyone who has bought a
DOS or Windows version of Lotus 1-2-3 in the past six months
may upgrade to Multimedia SmartHelp for 1-2-3 for Windows for
a suggested retail price of $49. Licensed users of any earlier PC
version of 1-2-3 can upgrade to the multimedia version for a
suggested retail price of $150.

(Grant Buckler/19920615/Press Contact: Nancy Scott,
McGlinchey & Paul for Lotus, 617-862-4514)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 16 Casady & Greene Release Super QuickDex II 06/16/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00003)

Casady & Greene Release Super QuickDex II 06/16/92
SALINAS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 16 (NB) -- Casady &
Greene has issued an update to the free form database program
that they have been selling under the name of QuickDex.

Super QuickDex II is the name of the new version. The reason for
such a title expansion is that Casady & Greene have done more
than just upgrade the program. QuickDex has been upgraded to
QuickDex II and two companion utilities have been added to make
it Super QuickDex II. The two new utilities are called "QuickElope"
and "PrintDex II."

QuickElope is an envelope addressing Desk Accessory for the
Macintosh that is certified by the post office and can take all kinds
of details about envelope addressing into account. The program
has templates for the most common addressing schemes like
shipping labels, folder labels, and envelopes. It will even print a
single label on a sheet in a specific location in order to assist in
reducing waste.

PrintDex II is a powerful new print manager that can be used with
the database itself. Among the new capabilities that this new
utility offers are the ability to do list merges with duplicate checks,
display of deleted cards, and viewing and printing of cards in
WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) format.

An interesting sidenote is the process by which Casady & Greene
have readied this program to be shipped. The computer press has
been complaining mightily about buggy programs that were not
ready for release. To escape such a fate, Casady & Greene
developed a unique approach to the introduction of the program.

First, they underwent a nine-month beta test period. When that was
completed and they thought the program was ready for release, the
company decided to sell and ship only an initial 500 units to
specifically chosen customers. When two to three weeks passed
and no complaints were received by the company, they released
an additional 500 copies for sale. Again a wait ensued. When no
complaints were received, then an additional 1,000 copies were
release. Again, the company waited to hear of problems. Now, that
they are sure that no major bugs or problems exist in the program,
they are releasing it for general distribution.

(Naor Wallach/19920615/Press Contact: Judith Frey, Casady &
Greene, 408-484-9228)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 16 Australia: Amstrad Prices Satellite TV Bundle 06/16/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00004)

Australia: Amstrad Prices Satellite TV Bundle 06/16/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 16 (NB) -- Amstrad, the leading
supplier of Doc PCs in Europe and Australia has announced
expected pricing on domestic satellite TV reception equipment. The
company is already a leading supplier in the European market.

The company expects to be able to supply a kit comprising a dish,
a receiver and a decoder for as little as $399 retail (US$300). Other
manufacturers have predicted prices at least twice this amount.

The Amstrad dish has two LNB units, allowing two channels to be
watched simultaneously on two TV sets. Other promised products
include combined satellite receivers and video recorders and
combined receivers and TV sets. The dishes will be developed and
manufactured in Australia, taking the harsh UV conditions into
account.

Amstrad has called for a simple, uniform standard for satellite
broadcasting and encoding rather than differing and high-cost
options it says are being proposed by some manufacturers. Among
these is the D2MAC encoding system which would broadcast in
the new 16:9 aspect ratio as catered for in some new receivers.
Standard Pal and NTSC broadcasts are in 3:4 format.

(Paul Zucker/199206012)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 16 France Readies For Digital Mobile Phone Network Launch 06/16/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00005)

France Readies For Digital Mobile Phone Network Launch 06/16/92
PARIS, FRANCE, 1992 JUN 16 (NB) -- France Telecom will launch
its Groupe Speciale Mobile (GSM) digital mobile phone network at
the beginning of July. Operating under the name of Itineris, the
service will initially be available between Paris and Lyon, with
coverage in both these cities.

Plans call for the French GSM network to be quickly expanded
with coverage extending across the region from the North-east of
the country down to the Italian border. The expansion will be the
result of France Telecom's FF 4,500 million investment in the
network, company officials said.

The state-owned telecommunications company is taking an
innovative approach to selling the mobile phones. Instead of
marketing phones and their subscription contracts through
specialist phone shops and motor dealers, as is the norm in
Europe, France Telecom will sell through major supermarket
chains such as Carrefour.

According to Mike Bertinetto, France Telecom's director of mobile
telephony, ten agreements have been signed so far on the
comarketing front, with outlets including the manufacturers of the
phones, Sagem and Motorola, as well as Vodafone, the UK mobile
phone company that already has a GSM network operational
across the Channel in London.

In common with all GSM networks, Itineris will feature smart card
technology. Subscribers to the service, who will pay a
subscription of FF 360 a month for their "line," will be able to
remove their "ID card" and slot it into other GSM phones, either
at home or abroad. Since the card is the key to the number,
when it is inserted in a GSM phone, that phone then "becomes"
the subscriber's unit, with the network routing calls to the phone
automatically.

(Steve Gold/19920612)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 16 UK: Wordperfect Claims Lion's Share Of WP Market 06/16/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LON)(00006)

UK: Wordperfect Claims Lion's Share Of WP Market 06/16/92
ADDLESTONE, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 16 (NB) --
Wordperfect is claiming that it now holds the lion's share of the
UK word processing market, a figure that Context, the market
research company, shows as rising steadily.

According to Context's software sales report, Wordperfect
increased its market share significantly in recent months. Over
the last three, Wordperfect's sales have accounted for 44.2
percent of all word processing packages sold. This figure
compares with 44.2 percent over the last 12 months.

Microsoft's share of the WP market, meanwhile, has dipped
from 31.4 percent over the last 12 months to 29 percent over
three months. In February, the latest report available, Microsoft
accounted for 24.5 percent of sales.

Wordstar is another falling star, according to the Context
figures. Market share in the 12 months to February was 14.6
percent, while in February '92 alone, it was 10.7 percent.

David Godwin, general manager with Context, said that, in terms
of market share, the company has broken away from competing
word processing software vendors and is now heading the market
by a significant margin.

"I attribute the increase in our sales to the success of
Wordperfect for Windows, as well as to the fact that a lot of
people are still buying DOS-based word processors. In the DOS
market, Wordperfect remains unchallenged," he said.

So how accurate are Context's surveys? The company's monthly
software sales reports, using a total sample of 1,288 specialist
and non-specialist outlets, measures the UK word processing
sales.

(Steve Gold/19920613/Press & Public Contact: Wordperfect
UK - Tel: [phone]; Context - Tel: [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 16 Storyspace Writing Tool For Macintosh Upgraded 06/16/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00007)

Storyspace Writing Tool For Macintosh Upgraded 06/16/92
WATERTOWN, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 16 (NB) --
Eastgate Systems Inc., has announced the upcoming upgrade of
the Storyspace program. Storyspace is part of the Civilized
Software line that Eastgate markets, and is intended as a tool to
help writers in organizing their materials and in laying the story out
and constructing them.

Storygate is billed as a "serious Hypertext tool." Although it is
available only in a Macintosh version, the tool is not based on
Hypercard. Rather, it is a fully programmed hypertext
environment, claims the company.

The new version of Storyspace (version 1.2) will be shipping in three
weeks. This new version incorporates support for Apple's QuickTime
system extension, Claris' XTND system extension, and also
incorporates performance improvements over the previously released
version. Storyspace has been shipping commercially for about 15
months.

The program is aimed at novelists and other professionals who need
to write documents as well as serious Hypertext practitioners. When
the writer sits down at his computer he is presented with a
graphical view of the impending story. The author can connect
different story elements together in whichever way seems to make
sense and change that configuration at any time. In addition to
the structure view, the program also allows for an outline view and
a text view so that you can see whichever view of the story makes
sense at the time. In essence, the program allows you to deal with
text pieces as objects and manipulate them as such.

Storyspace has been used in many different arenas for all kinds of
projects. The authors delighted in telling Newsbytes of a cultural
anthropologist who is on his way to a remote area in China
equipped only with a Powerbook, Storyspace, and a bunch of
spare batteries.

Storyspace sells for $215 in single units. A 10-pack edition is
available for $599. Educational discounts are also available.

(Naor Wallach/19920616/Press Contact: Mark Bernstein,
Eastgate Systems, 1-800-562-1638)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 16 New For Mac: Person To Person Calendar Program 06/16/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00008)

New For Mac: Person To Person Calendar Program 06/16/92
SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 16 (NB) -- Asante
Technologies has announced that they have begun shipping their
first software product, called "Person To Person."

Person To Person was announced at the San Francisco
MacWorld exposition. However, Asante engineers needed more
time to complete work on it so the company was not able to
release the program at their originally scheduled time.

Person To Person is a personal calendaring program with a couple
of twists. First, it supports a "minimalist" electronic-mail program.
This e-mail package is not intended to compete with the likes of
cc:Mail or QuickMail, but the company claims that it does have
some advantages that the other programs do not. For instance,
Person To Person allows a user to transfer a file of any size across
the network subject only to the amount of available disk space
on the receiving machine.

A second twist is that Person To Person's calendar can be set up
to send reminder notices across the mails. So, for example, if a
user had scheduled a meeting with three others, when the meeting
time approaches, Person To Person will automatically send a
reminder notice to the other people as well as to the user.

A third twist is that Person To Person is designed so as not to
need a centralized server. This is a peer-to-peer product and
operates as desk accessories on the user's Macintosh.

Asante has hinted to Newsbytes of its future plans regarding
Person To Person. Although no products are being announced at
this time, Asante has indicated that a Microsoft Windows version
is probable. They also hinted that a version will be available that
performs calendar merging of several people. This feature would be
useful to people to schedule multi-person meetings without the
need for calling each individual for his time.

Person To Person is shipping now. There are three packages
available for purchase: a two-user pack which sells for $149; a
10-user pack for $399; and a "zone-wide" user pack for $699.

(Naor Wallach/19920616/Press Contact: Chris Inman, Asante,
408-752-8388)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 16 New Company Hopes To Make Easier Networking Tools 06/16/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00009)

New Company Hopes To Make Easier Networking Tools 06/16/92
SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 16 (NB) -- A new
company has been formed with the goal of making software tools
for troubleshooting and configuring computer networks for less
money and less trouble.

Empirical Tools and Technologies is being launched with private
funding by Karl Auerbach. Auerbach has recently left Sun
Microsystems where he was one of the people responsible for the
development of the "Sun Network Manager" platform. Prior to Sun,
Auerbach was one of the founders of Epilogue Technology Corp.,
which is one of the main developers of SNMP (simple network
management protocol) and has served on numerous
subcommittees of the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force).

ET&T's goal is to make a series of very affordable software tools
that will be used to supplement more traditional network
management tools. Essentially, Auerbach feels that to properly
set up a network today requires too much expertise and playing
around.

If successful, ET&T will be the place where people will come to
get the least costly tools that will be needed to keep the network
running. Ultimately, his goal is to have his tools be so useful and
inexpensive that people will install his tools on their network nodes
and leave them there for when they are needed.

There no products being announced at this time as the company
has only just been formed. Auerbach is essentially the only
employee at this time. However, the company is planning on
announcing something in time for the October InterOp show that
will be held in San Francisco.

(Naor Wallach/19920616/Press Contact: Tom Woolf, Media
Relations, 415-508-1554)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 16 Australia: Optus Launches First Telecom Service 06/16/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00010)

Australia: Optus Launches First Telecom Service 06/16/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 16 (NB) -- After weeks of
preparatory press and TV ads, Australia's new and second
telecommunications carrier has introduced its first service. It
is a, much hinted at, mobile telephone service, which is
claiming to be six percent cheaper than the competition.

The service breaks no new ground, and is simply a leasing
of existing telecommunications analog services. However,
the market is very lucrative, and is growing at 40 percent per
year, so Optus should make money almost straight away.
Optus General Manager Steve Evans said: "The new mobile
service will help Optus build a presence, as well as a user
base."

Optus anticipates two-thirds of its initial customers will opt
for the "EconomyPlan." It offers a monthly cost of around
US$30, with 20 minutes free time bonus after the first two
hours use. The "MaxiPlan" costs around US$90 per month
with four hours of free connect time. The basic "SecurityPlan"
costs US$15 per month.

(Paul Zucker/199206015)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 16 National Index For Australian Police 06/16/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(SYD)(00011)

National Index For Australian Police 06/16/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 16 (NB) -- An index of data
from eight Australia police jurisdictions is to be established by
the beginning of next year. It will be operated by the National
Exchange of Police Information (NEPI).

Tenders have been called for an MVS mainframe capable of
20 million-instructions-per-second (MIPS), and with 15 gigabytes
(GB) of storage initially. The system will allow all police stations
to have instant access to crime data from around Australia.

While each state has laws that equate offenses committed
in other states with offenses covered in that state, until now it
has been possible for offenders to move around the country for
the purposes of obtaining firearm or driving licenses. With this
new system, these past offenses will be immediately known.
Bail applications will be based on the true history of a person,
not just in one state. It is also intended as an aid in civil
matters such as locating missing persons.

Although there are some existing national police data
services such as fingerprinting and vehicle information,
much data transfer is done manually via fax and phone.

The system will also assist each state in rationalizing
its data and database types, as information will have to
have a consistent make-up.

(Paul Zucker/199206015)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 16 Microsoft Donates Software To Aid Teachers 06/16/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00012)

Microsoft Donates Software To Aid Teachers 06/16/92
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 16 (NB) -- Microsoft
has announced that it has formed a partnership with 10 state
departments of education to enhance educational and teaching
resources.

The software giant says it will donate Windows, DOS, and
Macintosh versions of Microsoft Works, as well as various support
materials, in order to empower teachers with effective teaching
materials that support and encourage learning by students.

The 10 states joining in the partnership with Microsoft are Arizona,
California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, New Mexico, North
Dakota, Washington, and West Virginia. The company already has
a similar arrangement with New York.

The company said the software and training materials will allow
teachers to more effectively use technology to manage student
information, grades, and professional correspondence. The
announcement said once teachers are comfortable using
technology as a tool they will feel more comfortable integrating
that tool into the classroom curriculum.

Each state has identified key teacher training sites and/or model
school sites that would benefit the most by receiving the software
and teaching materials. Some states maintain regional training
sites where software, materials and training are available to
surrounding school districts. In other cases, training is conducted
at various locations including school computer labs, traveling labs
and distance learning studios.

Under terms of the program, the participating states will also
receive on-line support through America Online and CompuServe,
where Microsoft maintains support forums.

States who applied for participation in the partnership were
required to provide a long range vision of how the software and
training materials would assist them in meeting their long-term
technology goals. They will now be asked to share lesson plans,
productivity tips, templates and training materials throughout
their state as well as with educators nationwide.

As an example of how the partnership will benefit students, the
state of North Dakota said it will incorporate Works as an integral
component of its SENDIT program, a computer mediated network
project designed to bring technology to small and rural schools.
The state anticipates that next year more than 118,000 secondary
students and 2,200 secondary teachers will be trained to use the
network.

In New Mexico, educators will incorporate Works into is model
school which is part of a telecommunications project that shares
information regularly with a school in Israel. Works will be used to
upload and download files, including scientific data, to the Israeli
school.

Microsoft Works is an integrated software program that includes
word processing, spreadsheet, charting, database, and drawing
capabilities.

(Jim Mallory/19920615/Press contact: Beverly Auld, Microsoft,
206-882-8080)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 16  ****BT Unveils "Mailbox," The Successor To Telecom Gold 06/16/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00013)

 ****BT Unveils "Mailbox," The Successor To Telecom Gold 06/16/92
PARIS, FRANCE, 1992 JUN 16 (NB) -- Buried in a heap of
announcements made at the European Electronic Messaging
Association, which was held recently in Paris, British Telecom
quietly announced its plans for BT Messaging Services, the
successor to its electronic mail Telecom Gold brand name.

BT Messaging Services is the new name for BT's Telecom Gold
service. In fact, Telecom Gold will still be available to
subscribers as normal, but, by using a DOS off-line reader (OLR)
package known as Mailbox, subscribers will be encouraged to
use the service on an automated basis.

Mailbox is a DOS package that automates most of the functions of
Telecom Gold, BT's e-mail service, such as logons, sending and
receiving e-mail and binary files, as well as moving file storage
off the Telecom Gold service and on to the user's local PC.

Plans call for a Windows version of Mailbox to be developed by
Microsoft. Sources within BT suggest that a Windows Mailbox
OLR package will be launched before the end of the year.

More immediately, the Mailbox software will be made available to
new and existing users of Telecom Gold around the middle of July.
The software is being issued free of charge.

The Mailbox software communicates with the Telecom Gold
computers using the Kermit file transfer protocol for all transactions.
This technique is similar to the HMI error-corrected protocol
that Compuserve's graphical front end package, the Compuserve
Information Manager (CIM), uses. It allows for all data sent to
and received from the mainframe computer to be verified for
integrity, even over non error-corrected modem links.

According to BT, the introduction of the Mailbox OLR package for
Telecom Gold will increase user's efficiency in using Telecom
Gold. It also allows BT to launch the Telecom Gold service --
under the new BT Messaging Services brand name -- in Europe,
without worrying that excessive packet data network (PDN)
charges will dampen subscriber's enthusiasm for the e-mail
service.

According to a representative of BT Messaging Services,
Telecom Gold will continue to be sold as the basic e-mail product,
but no further development work on the user interface will be
carried out, since the DOS Mailbox software is now the primary
user interface.

BT has ambitious plans to promote its "new" messaging service in
Europe, which will be accessible using the BT global network
service (GNS) packet data network, which is an amalgam of BT's
old European PDN and the BT Tymnet PDN services.

The idea of the introduction of BT Messaging Services, both in
Europe and the UK, according to Martha Scanlon, BT's director
of applications services, is to offer a single brand name for what
is actually an umbrella group of services.

"The emergence of a global economy means that businesses need
to communicate on a worldwide basis, often between dissimilar
electronic messaging systems. BT Messaging Services now
provides companies throughout the world with a one stop shop for
all their messaging requirements," she said.

The DOS Mailbox OLR package has one seemingly unpromoted
advantage over direct access to Telecom Gold, Newsbytes
notes -- that of inter-system e-mail. For the first time, subscribers
to Telecom Gold -- accessing the service using the Mailbox
software -- can now exchange messages with other e-mail services
which conform to the CCITT X.400 e-mail standard.

The CCITT, an international regulatory body in the world of
telecommunications, defined the X.400 standard a few years ago to
allow e-mail services to exchange messages using a common format.
Using the DOS Mailbox software, Telecom Gold subscribers can
exchange messages with subscribers of other services, such as
Compuserve, MCI Mail, and several other on-line services.

(Steve Gold/19920615/Press Contact: Jenny Bailey Associates -
Tel: [phone]; Email on Dialcom 10082:JOU010)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 16 UK Survey Shows Fax Usage And Costs Increasing 06/16/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LON)(00014)

UK Survey Shows Fax Usage And Costs Increasing 06/16/92
ARLOW, ESSEX, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 16 (NB) -- According to
a survey from Gallup, usage of fax machines is skyrocketing.
However, perhaps more worryingly, is that the survey indicates
that the growth is being paralleled by a massive increase in costs,
which Gallup claims is out of control.

The survey, carried out on behalf of Pitney Bowes' fax division,
reveals that 31 percent of users have increased their usage of
fax machines on the past year, despite the recession. Ninety-one
percent of users believe that fax machines help increase their
productivity.

The survey, which covered the Financial Times top 500 companies
in the UK, showed that regular fax users in the US and UK
now send an average of 40 documents a day, with UK users
topping the league with an average of 61 documents a day.

Interestingly, almost half of the major users of fax machines are
now using plain paper rather than expensive and "curly" thermal
paper. Additionally, while only 29 percent of those who use a
thermal paper machine said they wished they had plain paper, 59
percent said they needed to make copies of their thermal paper
faxes for filing purposes all or some of the time. This is because
thermal fax paper fades after a few months.

Meredith Fischer, vice president of marketing for Pitney Bowes
fax division, said he believes that some of the findings will
surprise senior management.

"While fax usage has increased considerably over the past 12
months, operational costs are not being controlled, given that
the technology to do this is readily available, often on machines
already installed. Thermal paper, for example, is relatively
expensive, tends to fade and has to be copied if it needs to be
kept. At 1.7 pence per copy, for paper and toner, that can add
more than UKP 950 a year per machine," he said.

Perhaps more worryingly, only 20 percent of UK users said that
their company had guidelines on fax usage, compared to 28
percent in the US and 32 percent in Canada. Only four percent
of UK users had had any formal training on fax machine usage.

Fischer said that he knew that fax volumes were increasing, but
the Gallup figures were beyond what anyone had expected. He
also said that companies seem to be missing an opportunity to
cut costs using the features of the latest fax machines.

"In many cases, for example, if they upgraded their fax networks
with new 14.4 kilobits per second modem plain paper fax
machines, the savings in transmission charges and supplies
costs could actually pay for the machine," he said.

It also seems that fax machine users waste a lot of money on
telephone charges. Only six percent of UK users said they used
cheap rate phone periods to send their faxes -- most of the
latest fax machines can be programmed to send faxes during
off-peak times, Newsbytes notes.

The overall theme of the report is that users are gaining an
awareness of what fax machines are capable of, but that they
are unaware of what fax machines cost to use.

(Steve Gold/19920615/Press & Public Contact: Pitney Bowes -
Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 16  ****Hayes To Unveil Smartcom For Windows At PC Expo 06/16/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00015)

 ****Hayes To Unveil Smartcom For Windows At PC Expo 06/16/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 16 (NB) -- Hayes will
unveil Smartcom for Windows at the PC Expo computer show in New
York. The package, which runs under Windows 3.0 or 3.1, will sell for
UKP 119, though actual shipment worldwide is not expected until
September.

According to a representative for Hayes UK, Smartcom for
Windows is a graphics intensive version of the existing Smartcom
for DOS and Mac packages, but enhanced to take account of the
Windows user interface. The package will be available in five
languages (English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish) and has
been designed for use with high-speed modems, Integrated Services
Digital Network (ISDN) technology, local area networks, and the
Hayes enhanced serial port specification (ESP).

In use, the package includes a special asynchronous Windows
driver that extends the conventional Windows communications driver
for use with the Hayes ESP hardware standard. The ESP standard
allows the user to by-pass the PC's serial port for block transfer of
data into, and out of, the computer, rather than on a byte by byte
method, as is normal for serial port transmissions.

Smartcom's simple communications programming environment
(SCOPE) scripting language is fully supported by Smartcom for
Windows. The language on the Windows version is backwards-
compatible with the DOS and Apple Mac versions.

Hayes is encouraging users of the package to submit their
SCOPE scripts in a competition. The best SCOPE script entries
can win $4,000 plus an expenses-paid trip for four to a Disney
theme park.

(Steve Gold/19920615/Press & Public Contact: Hayes - Tel:
081-848-1858; Fax: [phone]; email on Internet -
[e-mail])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 16 NBC Signs For Grocery Ad Network 06/16/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00016)

NBC Signs For Grocery Ad Network 06/16/92
CHATSWORTH, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 16 (NB) --
General Electric's NBC television unit signed a deal to start
NBC On Site, a new advertising network for grocery stores.

The company is a joint venture among Silentradio, which came up
with the technology, The Fleming Companies, the nation's largest
grocery wholesaler, NBC and Site Based Media, which created the
Shoppers' Video advertising system.

Here's how it works. Signboards will be installed at participating
grocery stores, which can display news, sports, finance, and
entertainment headlines sent by radiowave. The markets can
also program the displays from PCs in the store to advertise
specials, even spur-of-the-moment specials, which customers
can consider while they're going through the market, or waiting
on line. Since the displays are noiseless, almost subliminal,
the partners feel they'll be more successful than the TV and
radio systems presently in use for in-store advertising,
and the programmability makes it easier for stores to balance
stocks.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920616/Press Contact: Silentradio, Lewis
Solomon, 516/489-2800)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 16  ****America Online Offers Soviet Secrets Exhibit 06/16/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00017)

 ****America Online Offers Soviet Secrets Exhibit 06/16/92
VIENNA, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 16 (NB) -- The America
Online network has launched an on-line exhibit, held in
conjunction with the Library of Congress.

The US library, in conjunction with the Committee of Archival
Affairs of the Russian Federation, will display highlights of
previously secret Soviet records on the America Online system
called "Revelations from the Russian Archives."  The "exhibit"
will run concurrently with the opening of a more extensive
exhibit of the documents which opens June 17 at the Madison
Building of the Library of Congress.

The exhibit features approximately 300 historically significant
documents, photographs and films which have been previously
inaccessible from the Russian archives, including those of the
Central Committee of the Communist Party and the Foreign
Ministry.

This collection, selected by a team of scholars led by
Librarian of Congress Dr. James H. Billington, is expected to
shed new light on some of the major events and controversies
involving the former Soviet Union, from the revolution to the
present time.

America Online will offer portions of representative documents,
with translations, captions and graphic images of each
document.  The America Online service will also enable
subscribers around the country -- and electronic mail
users around the world -- to have real-time conferences and
electronic mail discussions about the documents.

One highlight of the exhibit will come on Thursday, June 18, from
2-3 p.m. Eastern Time. At that time Billington, Dr. Rudolph G.
Pikhoia, chairman of the Committee on Archival Affairs of the
Russian Federation, and General Dmitrii Volkogonov, head of the
KGB archives, will participate in an electronic conference with
America Online subscribers. "As far as we know, this will be the
first time in history that an institution has offered both a
landmark exhibit and electronic access to the contents of the
exhibit," said Billington.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920616/Press Contact: Liz Sara, America
Online, 703-883-1503)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 16 Brooktrout Wins Fax Board Order From Sharp 06/16/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00018)

Brooktrout Wins Fax Board Order From Sharp 06/16/92
NEEDHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 16 (NB) --
Sharp Electronics will use hardware from Brooktrout Technology
in its Sharp's Facsimile Information Network Database
(Sharp FIND).

Sharp is the largest distributor of fax machines in the US.
The contract is estimated to be worth over $1 million.

The product, which is aimed at sales by office machine dealers,
will combine Brooktrout's fax-on-demand technology with
Sharp's ease-of-use and in-store presence so that the dealers
can sell fax-on-demand systems.

Fax-on-demand systems are essentially on-line databases
accessed from fax machines, with voice prompts used to lead
callers to the pages they want. The pages are then delivered
back to the caller's fax machine, on the same call.

The product is aimed at companies which need to distribute
extra copies of their sales brochures, technical sheets, repair
manuals, instructional material and other literature to customers.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920616/Press Contact: Steve Ide, Brooktrout,
617-449-4100)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 16 AT&T EasyReach Slowly Winning State Approvals 06/16/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00019)

AT&T EasyReach Slowly Winning State Approvals 06/16/92
BASKING RIDGE, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 16 (NB) --
AT&T's EasyReach 700 service, which offers people their own
"personal phone number" on the 700 exchange, is slowly winning
state approvals.

The company has sent out press releases noting that state
commissions have approved the service in Florida, Michigan,
Indiana, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Eventually all 50 states are
expected to approve the service, which links a subscribers' home
number with a special number on the 700 exchange which can
follow that person wherever they go. Theoretically the service
could follow the subscriber for a lifetime, eliminating the number
changing most people go through. The average American will
move about 10 times in their lifetime.

The service is designed primarily for long-distance calling and
subscribers are expected to retain a local telephone number.
EasyReach 700 calls will be billed at fixed per-minute prices,
regardless of distance.  Out-of-state rates will be 25 cents per
minute on weekdays, 15 cents per minute at all other times.

PINs (personal identification numbers), like the four-digit codes
used for bank teller machines, also allow subscribers the flexibility
to decide who pays for calls made to the subscriber's EasyReach
700 number. Calls made with a PIN appear on the subscriber's bill --
sorted by PIN -- and are toll- free to callers, just like those to 800
numbers.

The service has now been approved in 38 states. The company is
trying to get a total of 48 states to approve it. They are not
planning to have the service effective in Alaska and Hawaii.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920616/Press Contact: Gene Regan, AT&T,
404-810-8657)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 16 Bell Update: Special Pac Bell Deals For South Central LA 06/16/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00020)

Bell Update: Special Pac Bell Deals For South Central LA 06/16/92
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 16 (NB) --
Pacific Bell has asked California regulators for permission to offer
special deals to businesses and residents who relocate to South
Central Los Angeles, scene of recent riots.

Pacific Bell wants to waive up to $1,000 in installation charges
for any new customer who moves into the area.  Businesses can
upgrade to PBX (private branch exchange) or Bell-provided Centrex
systems, with payments spread over two-12 months. Free loans of
terminal equipment will be available to those Centrex customers.
The California Public Utilities Commission should approve these
services for six months.

In the Midwest, Southwestern Bell began offering CareRing, a
service where operators make calls to local numbers at designated
times. They can be used for wake-up calls, to check on latchkey
children, or to assure that sick or aged relatives are okay.
Southwestern Bell is the first Bell company to offer these types
of services, and the company claims they are the result of the
lifting of information service restrictions by the US courts
last year. The company could not help noting in a press release
that Rep. Jack Brooks' telephone antitrust bill, House Bill 5096,
might prohibit the service.

Ameritech has been even more direct in opposing Brooks at every
opportunity, although Chairman William Weiss has also pointed
out that he expects his company to lose its monopoly on local
services over time. Its latest move is an exhibit called SuperSchool,
a 10,000 square-foot display at the SuperComm trade show that
recreates an electronic "school"  with more than 30 applications
of communications technology.

Ameritech claims the services would never exist if the Brooks bill
passes, claiming that without the right to sell information directly
on its lines the company will never install the high-capacity lines
needed.

Finally, Ameritech's cellular phone unit, which was the first to
be experimentally licensed in the US, way back in the mid-
1970s, said it will conduct trials of both Time Division Multiple
Access, or TDMA, and Code Division Multiple Access, or CDMA,
digital technology. Its local competitor, Southwestern Bell's
Cellular One unit, has already committed to installing TDMA gear.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920616/Press Contact: Nancy O'Connell,
Ameritech Mobile [phone]; Ameritech, Mike Brand, 312/750-
5219; Sherry Smith, Southwestern Bell, 314-247-6771; Pacific
Bell, Kathleen Flynn, 213/975-4074)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 16  ****Perot Almost Bought Microsoft, Considered Paralyzing GM 06/16/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00021)

 ****Perot Almost Bought Microsoft, Considered Paralyzing GM 06/16/92
SEATTLE WASHINGTON, U.S.A.,  1992 JUN 16 (NB) -- According
to a story reported by the Seattle Times and confirmed by Newsbytes,
Texas billionaire and almost-Presidential candidate Ross Perot once
considered buying Microsoft Corporation.

According to the copyrighted Times story, Perot met with Microsoft
Chairman Bill Gates in 1979 to discuss the possibility of buying the
$2 billion startup software company.

While sketchy on the details, a source close to Microsoft told
Newsbytes that it was her understanding that Perot had approached
Microsoft regarding the purchase. "It was a long time ago," the
source said.

Apparently Perot and Gates met through Warren Buffet, now head
of Shearson Lehman. According to the Times story, Perot told a
Seattle Times reporter in an interview last fall: "He did give me an
opportunity to buy a ringside seat." Perot reportedly said Gate's
asking price was too high.

The Newsbytes source, who asked not to be named, told Newsbytes
that Gates and Perot have communicated occasionally over the years
since that meeting.  Asked if Gates would support Perot's presidential
candidacy, the source said Gates has not made a public statement in
support of Perot, and probably wouldn't come out in support of any
candidate.

Microsoft is now worth about $21 billion, with Gates owning about
one-third of the company's stock.  Gates is presently estimated to
be worth about twice as much as Perot.

In a related story, a Los Angeles Times story says that during a
1986 feud with General Motors, Perot considered paralyzing the
auto maker by shutting down its computer systems. The story
claims that Perot's aides at Dallas-based Electronic Data Systems
were dumbfounded when Perot outlined a strategy to "nuke" GM by
shutting down its computers. Perot later sold EDS to GM for $2.5
billion.

Quoting a former EDS official who spoke on condition of anonymity,
the Times reported that Perot considered "pulling the plug" on
GM's computers, forcing GM's President Roger Smith to accede to
Perot's wishes.  Although the plan was never carried out, the
official said EDS executives were convinced it was a serious option.
"Ross doesn't bluff," said the official, who claimed he was present
during the discussions.

Perot has declined comment, with inquiries being referred to former
EDS President Morton Meyerson, now chairman of Perot's present
computer firm and a senior adviser in his unofficial presidential
campaign.  Meyerson did not deny the charges when questioned by
the Associated Press.  "It was said in the heat of battle. There was
never any serious plan to implement those things," Meyerson told
AP.

(Jim Mallory/19920616)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 16 CompuAdd Wins $2.2 Million Air Force PC Contract 06/16/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEN)(00022)

CompuAdd Wins $2.2 Million Air Force PC Contract 06/16/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 16 (NB) -- CompuAdd
Computer Corporation has announced that it has been awarded a
contract to provide more than 1,200 multimedia computer systems
to the United States Air Force Academy.  The contract specifies
386SX-based PCs equipped with TV/video adapter cards.

For the past two years, the academy has issued each cadet his
or her own PC, which becomes the cadet's property when they
graduate. The cadet pays for the computer through a monthly
payroll deduction.

The computers are connected in an Academy-wide local area
network which includes common-use printers.  The cadets receive
homework assignments, communicate with instructors, write
homework, and monitor schedules through the network.

A CompuAdd spokesperson told Newsbytes that under terms of
the contract, each PC will include a TV/video board, a single-slot
add-in card that integrates audio and live, full-motion and
digitized video.  The board has "frame grabbing" capabilities,
allowing instructors and cadets to capture individual frames from
a television set or video and combine that image with sound and
graphics.

"Multimedia has brought a whole new dimension to teaching in
the  1990s," said CompuAdd CEO Bill Hayden. Hayden said the
academy's innovative use of computer technology will serve as a
model for other educational institutions.

"Air Force Academy students are very technologically literate,"
said the Academy's Major Jim Nilson. "By owning their own
systems, the students can capitalize on this expertise to
enhance their future opportunities."

CompuAdd was originally the successful bidder on the Air Force
Desktop IV contract, a multimillion dollar contract. Other bidders
protested that award, and a decision is still pending.

(Jim Mallory/19920616/Press contact: Wendell Watson,
CompuAdd, 512-250-2530)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 16 Laplink Pro Now Available In Corporate 10-Pack 06/16/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00023)

Laplink Pro Now Available In Corporate 10-Pack 06/16/92
BOTHELL, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 16 (NB) -- Traveling
Software  has announced that its Laplink Pro is now available in a
corporate 10-Pak that significantly reduces the cost to multi-users
of the program.

Laplink Pro is a software program that allows users to transfer
files between computers via parallel, serial or modem connection.
If the software is not already loaded on the destination computer,
it can be automatically installed from the originating system.
Laplink supplies a special cable for parallel and serial
connections with the program.

The 10-Pak, which includes ten user packets, five serial and five
parallel cables, two user guides, and one 5.25-inch program disk.
The user packets contain a 3.5-inch program disk, a quick start
guide, a modem tips booklet. It sells for $799. A single user copy
of the program costs $169.95. Users will also have the opportunity
to purchase additional cables and manuals at a reduced price, the
company told Newsbytes.

Laplink Pro is a menu driven program that allows the user to select
the files to be transferred, the drives and directories for the source
and destination, and other necessary choices without having
to know about baud rates, parity, and other communications
parameters.  Transfers can be initiated from either computer.

Traveling Software also makes programs to link laptops, palmtops,
pentops, and Macintosh computers, as well as products to transfer
files between Windows-based computers.

(Jim Mallory/19920616/Press contact: Marci Maule,
206-483-8088)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 16 Cray Research Intros Ada 3.0 06/16/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00024)

Cray Research Intros Ada 3.0 06/16/92
EAGAN, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 16 (NB) -- Supercomputer
maker  Cray Research has announced the release of Cray Ada 3.0,
its enhanced Ada language programming environment.

Ada was developed by use by the US Department of Defense, and
is also used in commercial markets including petroleum, chemical
engineering, and management information systems. The program is
named after the daughter of the program developer.

Cray Research said Cray Ada allows the user to write efficient
computer programs without extensive knowledge of the hardware.
The Cray program includes: the compiler, which puts the user's
program into a form the hardware can run at optimum speed;
library manager tools; a linker, which binds and links compiled
Ada source code into executable programs; a debugger, to locate
defective code; language tools; and a profiler, which gathers
subprogram calling statistics and program timing information to
allow developers to identify areas of the program that might be
improved.

Cray Ada 3.0 also adds multitasking, which allows Ada tasks to
take  advantage of the parallel processing capabilities of Cray's
computer  systems.  Cray introduced parallel processing to its
line in 1982 and says it will continue to develop parallel processing
systems. Cray's first massively parallel system is expected in
mid-1993, the company told Newsbytes.  Massively parallel
systems utilize hundreds or even thousands of processors to solve
problems. Today's personal computers utilize a single processor.

(Jim Mallory/19920616/Press contact: Mardi Schmieder, Cray
Research, 612-683-3538)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 16  ****Austin To Intro 33 MHz 486 PC For Under $1,100 06/16/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00025)

 ****Austin To Intro 33 MHz 486 PC For Under $1,100 06/16/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 16 (NB) -- Austin Computer
Systems, which recently broke the $1,000 barrier for a 25 megahertz
(MHz) 486 PC, will soon announce a 33 MHz 486 for under $1,100,
Newsbytes has learned. The pricing breakthroughs are attributable
to new CPU (central processing unit) technology from a relatively
unknown chip manufacturer named Cyrix.

Jonathan Langley, vice president of product development for Austin,
told Newsbytes that the Cyrix chips contain all the performance of
a 486 CPU in a form factor the size of a standard 386 SX chip.
"Because the chips use a less expensive 386 SX motherboard,
our pricing can be lower," he explained.

Austin's new $995 Cyrix 486SLC-25 computer comes standard
with a 43MB hard drive, one MB RAM, one 3.5-inch floppy drive,
and a 14-inch color VGA monitor.  DOS and Windows are not
included, but the system does comes preloaded with McAfee
Associates' virus protection software, ViruScan.  The purchase
price also covers 24-hour technical support, plus a one-year parts
and labor warrantee.

"This a very good kit, and we're quite proud of it," commented
Langley. "Some customers might want more RAM included, but
even if you start to load up the machine, it's not going to cost
you a lot."  Additional RAM is available at $50 per MB, he said.

Austin will announce the 33 MHz model -- the Cyrix 486 SLC-33 --
in about two weeks, at a price of $1,095, Langley told Newsbytes.

The chips the new Austin computers are based on -- the Cyrix 486
SLC-25 and SLC-33 -- each contain one kilobyte cache memory,
added Langley. "So unlike 386 SX chips, they have numeric
processors."

This is the first time Austin will be using chips from the
Richardson, TX-based Cyrix Corporation. The new products will
not replace any other computers in the Austin lineup, he said.
The lineup ranges all the way from a 386SX machine, based on a
chip from Advanced Micro Devices, to a 486 DX 50 MHz system,
based on an Intel CPU.

"In our ongoing market research, customers have been telling us
they don't necessarily hold much loyalty to the chipmaker.
Consequently, they'll buy whatever they consider to be the best
value for the money," Langley remarked. "When the Cyrix chips
came along, the technology seemed like an excellent idea to us."

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920615; Press Contact:  Sheri Goodwin,
Austin, 512-339-3500;  Public Contact:  512-339-3500)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 16 Microsoft Offers Free Quicktime Add-On For MS-Word 5.0 06/16/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LON)(00026)

Microsoft Offers Free Quicktime Add-On For MS-Word 5.0 06/16/92
WOKINGHAM, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 16 (NB) --
Microsoft has unveiled a Quicktime add-in for Microsoft Word 5.0.
The add-in, which is available free of charge to registered Word
users, is also available on the AppleLink network under the third
parties/Microsoft/Word area.

Support for Quicktime has been implemented as part of Word's
plug-in module architecture so that, when Quicktime is installed
in the Word Commands folder, an "insert/movie" command is added
to the menu. Any movie developed in Quicktime format can then be
pasted into a Word document and played back. Quicktime will also
be implemented as an integral part of Excel 4.0, the latest version
of Microsoft's spreadsheet software, that begins shipping later this
month.

Andrew Lees, product marketing manager with Microsoft, claims
that Quicktime brings multimedia to the desktop of the Mac, and
notes that Microsoft is one of the first Mac vendors to integrate
Quicktime into the company's product line.

Quicktime will be bundled with all new copies of Microsoft Word
as they filter into the retail channel in the UK. Existing
registered users should contact their upgrade center for the free
disk upgrade. Newsbytes notes that the upgrade is also available
in the Apple Mac forum on Compuserve, as well as on AppleLink.

(Steve Gold/19920616/Press & Public Contact: Microsoft - Tel:
0734-270001)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 16 Acer Offers 50 MHz Modular System, Upgrade To Sys 4500 06/16/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00027)

Acer Offers 50 MHz Modular System, Upgrade To Sys 4500 06/16/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 16 (NB) -- The Acer
Group has announced it is adding two new models based on Intel's
top of the line 50 megahertz (MHz) i486 central processing unit
(CPU) to its Altos System 4500 product line.

Acer says the 4500 line is the first systems based on modular
CPUs that are designed to be Unix servers, multi-user systems, or
workstations. The CPU is on a subsystem on a plug-in board so
users can upgrade easily, the company said. Those who now own
4500 models in either the i486 SX or 33 MHz DX CPU can upgrade
to the new 50 MHz CPU module, Acer added.

Acer says the new models feature 256 kilobytes of level-2 cache.
Also, an integrated chip set from Intel that combines the Intel 82359
dynamic random access memory (DRAM) controller and the 82353
Data Path allows for faster CPU-to-memory transfers to increase
performance in memory-intensive applications.

The 4500 models also offer an extended industry standard
architecture (EISA) input/output (I/O) bus that allows the flow of
information at 33 megabytes (MB) per second. EISA I/O controllers,
Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI)-2 hard drives, and six
EISA expansion slots are also included, the company maintains.

Acer says the 4500 will execute its own flavor of Unix, Altos/SCO
Unix System V/386, release 3.2, which the company maintains is
100 percent compatible with Santa Cruz Operation (SCO) Unix
System V/386, release 3.2 version 4.0. However, the Altos Unix is
not included, the company said.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920616/Press Contact: Rebecca Hurst, The
Acer Group, tel [phone], fax [phone], 6222)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 16 Wordstar Acquires Israeli Partner, Looks For Govt Grants 06/16/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00028)

Wordstar Acquires Israeli Partner, Looks For Govt Grants 06/16/92
NOVATO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 16 (NB) -- Wordstar
has formed a corporate partnership with an Israeli company, Elron
Electronic Industries. Wordstar says the partnership is to give it
inroads into software products being developed in Israel and help
with obtaining Israeli government funding.

The company says it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with
Elron providing for an initial $2 million investment in Wordstar
common stock and allows Elron to purchase additional Wordstar
common stock through two investment options over the next four
years.

Wordstar plans to invest in and acquire Israeli personal computer
software companies and to take advantage of research and
development opportunities, a relationship it says is beneficial on
a cost/performance basis.

The company has said it has already identified Israeli software
companies that have technology it is interested in that it says
complement its direction of document management and office
automation products. Wordstar also said it is counting on Elron
for advise on how to obtain Israeli government incentive programs
and other development grants.

Wordstar disclosed Elron has the right to buy Wordstar common
stock at a discount and have a seat on the board of directors.
Elron's initial investment is $2 million in Wordstar common stock
at a price of $2.125 per share, with the option to purchase an
additional $1 million at 20 percent below the then-current market
price, Wordstar maintains. A second option allow for Elron to
purchase an additional $5 million at between $4 and $7 per share
depending on the time of the investment and the market price of
the common stock.

While Elron has the option of purchasing Wordstar stock on the
open market, any purchase that would give Elron more than 25
percent of the total stock outstanding must be approved by the
company's board of directors, Wordstar added.

Elron describes itself as a multinational high technology holding
company based in Israel. The company is engaged in medical
diagnostic imaging, advanced defense electronics, data
communications, manufacturing automation, semiconductor
products, software products, and productivity tools.

Wordstar has purchased several companies or products which it
says is part of its new direction of developing products for office
automation in general. The company purchased Lifetree software
and entered the Macintosh market and acquired three writing tools
products from Calabasas, California-based Nova. Most recently the
Novato, California-based company released a network version of its
flagship word processor, Wordstar version 7.0.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920616/Press Contact: David Russian,
Wordstar, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 16 Radius Settles Out Of Court With Envisio 06/16/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(LAX)(00029)

Radius Settles Out Of Court With Envisio 06/16/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 16 (NB) -- Radius
says it has settled the suit it brought against Minneapolis,
Minnesota-based Envisio charging copyright infringement. Radius
originally said Envisio had copied software it used in its Powerview
product for Envisio Notebook Display 030 Adapter.

Both the Envisio product and the Radius Powerview are designed
to offer external display capability for Apple Macintosh Powerbook
notebook computers. While Radius President Barry James Folsom
is making strong public assertions about the company's intention to
defend its technology, a statement from Radius says the suit was
settled amicably. No terms of the agreement are being disclosed.

Radius claims its product was the first to allow Powerbook and Apple
Macintosh Classic II owners to connect the computers to a color
external display or large screen projection system. Radius also
pointed out is has a presentation mode which the Envisio product
lacks that can allow the simultaneous viewing of the display on the
built-in screen as well as on the external display or projection
system.

The Envisio product is an internal board, as opposed to the Radius
product, which fits externally on the system. Envisio says its
product also comes with random access memory (RAM) in
quantities of 1 to 4 megabytes (MBs) which also can be used by
the Powerbook.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920616/Press Contact: Jamie Strohecker, Radius,
tel [phone], fax [phone]; Maria Gagliardi, A&R Partners for
Radius, 415-363-0982; Thomas Burke, Envisio, tel [phone], fax
612-339-1369)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 16  ****Daewoo Licenses New US "Pixel Mirror" Display Tech 06/16/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SFO)(00030)

 ****Daewoo Licenses New US "Pixel Mirror" Display Tech 06/16/92
EL SEGUNDO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 16 (NB) -- A US-
based vendor known as Aura Systems Inc. has licensed a
breakthrough display technology based on "pixel mirrors" for the
exclusive use of Daewoo, a Korean electronics giant that makes
10 percent of the TV sets produced on the market.

Larry Shultz, president of Aura Distributed Systems, a corporate
subsidiary, told Newsbytes that the pixel mirror technology creates
brighter and bigger pictures than older CRT (cathode ray tube) and
LCD (liquid crystal display) display methods, at costs that are
equivalent or less. In addition, he stressed, the new technology
supplies better support of high resolution formats, such as HDTV
(high definition television) and cinema.

"This is all pretty historic, actually.  We've invented an entirely
new way of creating electronic images, and we've formed a
partnership with a major Korean company," commented Shultz.

Under terms of the agreement, profits will be split 50/50 between
Aura, a company specializing in electromagnetic and electro-optic
systems, and Daewoo, which sells its products under a variety of
labels worldwide.

The new display technology rests on electronic micromirrors that
tilt to various angles, reflecting and deflecting the appropriate
amounts of light, Schultz explained.  "If the mirror reflects 100
percent of the light outward to you, you'll see a bright spot. If the
mirror deflects 100 percent of the light away from you, you'll see a
dark spot. And if it deflects only part of the light, you'll see a gray
spot," he illustrated.

The higher brightness provided by the technology permits the
displays to be used in sunlit outdoor settings, he informed
Newsbytes.  The brightness is achieved through greater efficiency.
A CRT display produces only five watts of light for every 100 watts
of energy it uses, meaning its efficiency is only five percent. In
contrast, the efficiency of an LCD is somewhat under 10 percent,
and the efficiency of a pixel mirror display is 25 percent, he said.

Pictures can be bigger, resolution can be higher, and costs can be
kept down due to the way the mirrors are arrayed.  On TV screens,
he noted, pixels, or "picture elements," are aligned in vertical
lines and horizontal columns.  Pixel mirror technology requires the
use of only one micromirror per line.  The system scans across
the mirror to pick up the reflections for all columns in that line.

"For an ordinary, NTSC TV display, you need a stack of 515
micromirrors, because there are 515 lines of pixels.  For HDTV,
you essentially double that number, and for movies, you triple it,"
he elaborated.

LCD technology, on the other hand, requires the use of a separate
liquid crystal element for each pixel.  So, for example, in the
case of HDTV, where resolution is 1,000 lines by 1,500 columns,
1,500,000 elements would be needed, in comparison to the 1,000
electronic mirrors demanded by pixel mirror technology.

The far higher number of elements involved tends to drive up costs
for LCD, and also to increase the chances of technical failure,
according to Shultz.  Further, these difficulties tend to intensify
on larger displays, he suggested.

The CRT -- less efficient, dimmer, and lower in resolution than
either an LCD or a pixel mirror display -- also carries a further
problem, said Shultz.  Because the CRT is manufactured from
blown glass, it cannot be produced at a screen width greater than
35 inches. "Once the glass gets blown to a certain size, it
breaks -- just like a wad of bubble gum," he noted.

In producing the new, pixel mirror displays, the two companies
will carry out engineering in Korea as well as El Segundo, CA,
where Aura is headquartered, he said.  Manufacturing sites are
being left to the discretion of Daewoo, he added.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920616/Press Contact: John Lukomnik,
Mallory Factor Inc. for Aura, 212-242-0000)
#ENDCARD



#CARD :1992 JUN 15 Banyan Intros Bulletin Board For Resellers 06/15/92
]

(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00001)

Banyan Intros Bulletin Board For Resellers 06/15/92
WESTBORO, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 15 (NB) -- Banyan has
decided to offer a new service to its resellers and direct customers.
This new service is taking the form of an electronic bulletin
board that Banyan maintains and awards access rights only to a
limited amount of people.

The new bulletin board is called Banyan On-line Access (BOA). It is
maintained by Banyan engineers and is perused by Banyan personnel
on a frequent basis. Here's how it might work. A customer with a
problem calls his local dealer. That organization realizes that it
does not know the answer so it calls an incident report in to the
bulletin board. Some time later (and Banyan promises 15 minute to
2 hour turnaround during business hours) Banyan responds. Once the
problem has been resolved, Banyan removes all information relating
to the specific customer and reseller and posts the problem and its
resolution on the board for all the other people to view.

Problems can be solved directly by having the resellers see how it
was solved on the bulletin board. If any code or small patches are
required to solve the problem, those too will be on the board.
Banyan has committed to maintaining all such information accessible
until such a time that the information is no longer correct or
needed.

All Banyan resellers will have access to the system. Banyan only
restricts the reseller to have no more than five accounts on the system
and requires that the reseller not pass on the information on how
to log on with the account names and passwords. Those customers
who deal directly with Banyan also can gain access to the system.
The BOA is running now and all Banyan resellers have been given
information about it as well as the opportunity to gain access to
the system.

(Naor Wallach/19920615/Press Contact: Joann Anderson, Copithorne &
Bellows for Banyan, 617-252-0606)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 15 Tiara Training/Certification Program For 10Net 06/15/92

(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00002)

Tiara Training/Certification Program For 10Net 06/15/92
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 15 (NB) -- Tiara is
launching a training and certification program that is intended to
have better trained resellers. The program is completely voluntary
on the part of the resellers and Tiara is going to great lengths
to make it as easy and profitable as possible for the reseller to
become certified.

The first step in the program is an informational breakfast. These
are held at hotels in various sites throughout the country. During
this meeting, the resellers are exposed to the program and have it
completely explained to them. They are then given a chance to sign
up for the training sessions that will be held approximately one
month later. Just for attending the breakfast meeting, the reseller
receives a demonstration package of 10Net. The reseller may turn
around and resell the package at its suggested price, or he can use
it to learn more about 10Net.

The training session is a full-day affair and is held in the same
city as the breakfast. This is done so that resellers will
not have to absorb any costs beyond the cost of excusing their
employees to attend the seminar.

Tiara sees this program as a way to make it easier for the reseller
to work with it and thereby generate more sales for both organizations.

The training and certification program has just started.
Newsbytes has learned that the first breakfast will be held in
Denver on June 23. The Dayton Marriott will be the site of the
second breakfast which will be held on July 28. Tiara hopes to
schedule one of these session in each of the major cities.
However, only these two dates have been chosen as of this
writing.

(Naor Wallach/19920615/Press Contact: Sally Smith, SSSmith &
Associates Public Relations for Tiara, 513-897-0654)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 15 Netronix Doubles Throughput On Token Ring Bridge 06/15/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00003)

Netronix Doubles Throughput On Token Ring Bridge 06/15/92
PETALUMA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 15 (NB) -- Netronix has
managed to find a way to almost double the speed of its Token Ring
bridges. Its TokenMaster 2000 series of Token Ring bridges can
now achieve almost wire speeds even while bridging.

Vic Forgetta of Netronix told Newsbytes that Netronix has been
analyzing this issue for quite some time. They had discovered that
the main bottleneck in the system is the access time required by
the IBM Token Ring chip that they use. Netronix thought initially
that the 80286 CPU that it was using was the culprit and was
astonished to learn that it is not being taxed at all.

What Netronix then did was to redesign the board that comprises
the bridge so that the incoming and the outgoing data paths are
almost completely independent. That, with some minor changes to
the on-board firmware to take advantage of the inherent parallelism
of this approach, allows the bridge to achieve a speed of 15.4 Mbps.

This makes the new Netronix bridge almost twice as fast as their
previous version. It also allows the company to claim that their
bridge is currently the fastest on the market. Netronic points with
pride to the fact that it is using IBM's own chip to achieve
rates that are significantly higher than IBM has managed to achieve
to date.

Netronix officers are calling this redesigned board the "Token Ring Interface
Accelerator." They are making it available as part of the TokenMaster
2000 and also offer an upgrade. The upgrade involves removing the
existing board and placing in its stead one of the new
boards. Those buying new bridges will find this feature already
built into the system. The new customers will also find that the
price of the system has remained the same at $4690. Upgrades are
available for $700 for existing customers who wish to take advantage
of the higher rates. Both new product and upgrades are
shipping today.

(Naor Wallach/19920615/Press Contact: Sue Baelen, Redgate Communications,
415-777-3911)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 15 Hong Kong To Try Pay TV Again 06/15/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00004)

Hong Kong To Try Pay TV Again 06/15/92
CENTRAL, HONGKONG, 1992 JUN 15 (NB) -- The Hong Kong government
is expected to announce plans for pay TV in the colony next month.
There was a licensee, Hong Kong Cable Communications (HKCC), but it
collapsed in 1990, leading to the recent policy review.

HKCC was a consortium of US West, Codatel, and the Wharf Group. It had
expected to have a monopoly on program delivery for a number of years,
but withdrew when it realized it would have to compete with free, satellite
delivered TV.

Another HK consortium, Hutchison Whampoa, is to deliver five channels
via a satellite footprint covering the area from Israel to Japan.
It also wants to provide some encoded, pay channels if allowed by
the HK government.

The nine broadcast TV channels in HK include Star TV which is only
allowed to be broadcast in English, precluding it from the vast
Cantonese speaking audience in nearby Southern China. Cantonese is also
the language of 99 percent of HK residents. Two other broadcasters,
TVB and Wharf Cable, are planning 28 new microwave-delivered
channels, with the possibility of moving some or all of these to
fiber-optic cable in the future.

(Paul Zucker/19920611)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 15 Australia: Microsoft And DEC Return To PC Show 06/15/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00005)

Australia: Microsoft And DEC Return To PC Show 06/15/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 15 (NB) -- After years of absence from
Australia's main PC show, Microsoft and Digital Equipment are to return
to this year's Melbourne event. Both have scheduled product announcements
for the August 11-14 event at Melbourne/s Royal Exhibition
Building.

While Microsoft is doing well worldwide, it is doing even better in
Australia, and national marketing manager, Jennifer Zanich, said it
was using PC92 to show its support for the Victorian state market. She
reports that Microsoft has recently appointed a new state manager and
opened a new headquarters with Microsoft Institute training facilities.

DEC will release five new desktop PCs and will show the Alpha chip set
machine running Microsoft's NT operating system.

Show organizers expect 210 exhibitors and 40,000 attendees. Concurrent
shows include Training and Education 92, Software 92 and Office Technology
92.

(Paul Zucker/19920611/Contact: Janelle Schreiber phone
[phone] fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 15 Australia: World Of Commodore Show In Early July 06/15/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00006)

Australia: World Of Commodore Show In Early July 06/15/92
SYDNEY, HONGKONG, 1992 JUN 15 (NB) -- The Sydney World of Commodore show
has grown to more than 65 Australian and international exhibitors,
including Microsoft. It will be held on July 3, 4, and 5 at Darling
Harbour Exhibition Centre.

Last year's high point was CDTV and this year a new Amiga model will be
unveiled at the show. A number of manufacturers also plan to release new
products at the show.

Opal Technology is a new company (it wasn't even in business a year ago)
that has a range of video processing equipment for use in budget-priced
but full-featured video special effects systems for production
houses and TV stations. It claims a full system, including Amiga, can be
assembled for around US$6000.

The seminar sessions include new users, education, desktop publishing,
desktop video, electronic art and future directions of computing. There
is no extra charge for these sessions (entrance to the show is AUS$9 per
adult).

Following the success last year where one vendor sold almost half a
million dollars worth of product at a "shop within a show," a number
of retailers will be at this show with "specials."

(Paul Zucker/199206011/Contact: Wendy Giles ph. +61-2-
9065088 fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 15  ****New Compaqs Enter Discount Chains In Australia 06/15/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00007)

 ****New Compaqs Enter Discount Chains In Australia 06/15/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 15 (NB) -- The Harvey Norman group of
discount stores in Australia is likely to be named a major new retail
outlet for Compaq Computer Australia, as the company launches into a
new era with four major new product lines, and a new approach to
distribution.

Some lines are also to be handled by the superstores planned around
some Computerland stores in Australia, and their rival operation
headed by ex-Computerlander Mike Boulos with his brand new distribution
company which recently signed its first vendor, Zenith. There appears
to be no plan to place the machines in the Brashs, an electronics
discount chain which recently took on Apple Macintoshes.

Compaq's new line-up was introduced to the Australian computer press on
Thursday at an icy, mid-winter, outdoor ceremony at a suburban
shopping mall. The site was intended to emphasis Compaq's new
retail-market approach, but the Antarctic temperatures (at least
that's how they seemed in temperate Sydney - the overnight minimum was
8C or 45F) cut the ceremony mercifully short.

When a block of ice, cleverly carved to resemble Compaq Australia
MD Ian Penman, asked if there were any questions, other blocks of
ice, cleverly carved to represent the press, uttered no sound
beyond a collective moan.

Frostbitten reporters were carried to a nearby restaurant and revived
with nips of Mamre Brook '91 Chardonnay. "At least it didn't rain,"
quipped PR organizer Jim MacNamara.

The new Compaq range will be released in the US and other countries on
Monday.

(David Frith/199206012)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 15 Digital Sets Up Regional Hongkong HQ 06/15/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00008)

Digital Sets Up Regional Hongkong HQ 06/15/92
QUARRY BAY, HONG KONG, 1992 JUN 15 (NB) -- Digital Equipment
Corporation inaugurated the company's new Asia headquarters in Hong
Kong last week. At the opening ceremony, Bobby Choonavala, president of
Digital Asia, also announced the integration of the company's China
and Hong Kong activities to form the company's largest Asian
operation.

Guest of honour at the opening ceremony, T.H. Chau, the Hong Kong
Government's Secretary for Trade and Industry, paid tribute to Digital
for committing its regional headquarters in Hong Kong until at least
the year 2001, four years after the territory reverts to China.

Chau said Digital's decision reflected clearly the fact that Hong Kong
provides an excellent environment for businesses to prosper. "It
reinforces our conviction that Hong Kong has much to offer as an
important trade, financial, transportation and telecommunications hub
in the Asia Pacific region."

Chau said a recent survey conducted by the Industry Department showed
that Hong Kong's good transportation and communications facilities,
its efficient banking and financial services, and its stable and low
corporate tax structure are rated as the most important factors
underpinning the territory's role as a regional center.

"The Asia Pacific region comprises some of the fastest growing
economies in the world," noted Chau. "Hong Kong occupies a pivotal
position at the centre of this region. The 21st century will be the
Asia Pacific century. I am confident that Hong Kong's role as a
regional center will become even more important in the years ahead."

Choonavala said Digital's new headquarters, with 160,000 sq ft
of space, symbolized the confidence that many multinational
corporations feel in the future of Hong Kong as a regional center.

The new Digital Equipment China/Hong Kong Group will be inaugurated on
1 July 1992. It will be headed by Ming Li, who is currently general
manager of Digital's Hong Kong subsidiary. Li has previously managed
both Digital PRC and Digital Taiwan.

"The integration enables us at Digital to reinforce our people in the
PRC with the expertise available in Hong Kong," said Choonavala. "This
will strengthen our support for customers there. Establishing the
China/Hong Kong Group also mirrors the increasing business integration
that is already taking place between Hong Kong and China, and it
recognizes the political integration that will occur in 1997."

According to Choonavala, Digital has established a strong presence in
the PRC and has sold a large number of minicomputers. In addition,
the corporation operates a manufacturing plant, a software cooperative
venture and has an active sales, marketing and services presence.

(Brett Cameron/19920609/Press contact: Walter Cheung (Digital),
 tel [phone]; HK time is GMT + 8)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 15 India: Citicorp Software Unit Gets Second Finware Order 06/15/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEL)(00009)

India: Citicorp Software Unit Gets Second Finware Order 06/15/92
BOMBAY, INDIA, 1992 JUN 15 (NB) -- Close on the heels of its maiden
success with Bank Rakyat Malaysia (order value over Rs 2.5 crore -
$0.83 millon), Citicorp Overseas Software Limited (COSL) has bagged
yet another order for its retail banking software product, Finware.
This is the second order since the beginning of this year, and since
the product was launched eight months ago.

In a deal worth over Rs 3 crore (one million dollars) for the
application software and related services, the Pan-Indonesian group
(Panin) headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia, has selected the
Finware for the first phase of the group's automation requirements.

Finware was conceptualized, designed, and developed entirely by COSL
in India and "involved an effort of 140 man-years," according to the
company. Implemented currently on Stratus mid-range computers and
PC-based LANs, Finware is made to provide support for the strategic,
operational, and marketing requirements of retail banks and financial
institutions at all levels.

OSL, headquartered at Bombay's SEEPZ (Santa Cruz Electronics Export
Processing Zone) is a subsidiary of Citicorp and has affiliate/subsidiary
organizations based at Bangalore, Kuala Lumpur, Brussels and
Parsippany (USA).

Of course, it may be many years yet, before the company with an estimated
1991-92 revenue at Rs 16 Crore ($5.3 million) reaches the levels of the
biggest Indian software exporters like Tata Consultancy Services and
Tata Unisys Ltd., which contribute to the largest chunk of Indian
software exports. S. Viswanathan, CEO of COSL, does not pretend to be
chasing the industry leaders. However, banking and finance may be the
logical choice of niche for a member of the Citibank family.

Yet, not all of COSL's business comes from fellow group members; the
two Finware packages sold, for instance, went to non-Citibanks in
Malayasia and Indonesia.
.
The company's plan for Finware and Microbanker, its wholesale banking
system, are focussed, for now, at the east Asian region. It will
concentrate on two or three countries at a time, seeking deep
penetration into the markets there. Though the demand in countries
like Malayasia and Thailand is growing fast, Finware is faced with a
limitation because Stratus is comparatively not popular in Asia.
Besides, the banking industry as a whole is in the process of
standardizing on "open systems" as epitomized by Unix. Viswanathan
admits COSL may have to develop a Unix version of the product
"in a couple of years' time."

Microbanker, on the other hand, poses no such problems; the product
was developed expressly for the Unix environment and can, therefore,
easily fit into most banking systems.

With COSL's former chief executive, Ravi Apte, being entrusted with
broader , pan-Asian responsibilities, COSL has fallen on Viswanathan's
shoulders at this take-off phase. And COSL is already on the top
list of "CT Almanac" - The State of the Mart of the Indian IT
Industry, as the fifth largest software exporter, with Rs 15.29
crore ($5.1 million) turnover for the last financial year 1991-92,
ending last April.

"I'm bullish about our prospects," says Viswanathan, further, as
is usual with Citicorp.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920608)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 15 Editorial: William McGowan 1927-1992, by Dana Blankenhorn 06/15/92


(EDITORIAL)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00010)

Editorial: William McGowan 1927-1992, by Dana Blankenhorn 06/15/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 15 (NB) -- The most important
telephony figure since Theodore Vail died last week.

Vail, whose name is seldom heard anymore, was the true guiding
light of the Bell System. It was his 1908 vision for "universal
phone service" which guided US policy for most of the 20th
century. To bring phone service to everyone, strict regulation
was needed. The deal was that AT&T would get first dibs on all
telephony capital, and in exchange it would provide low-cost
service to everyone, eventually, while maintaining a comfortable,
not usurious, profit margin.

It took McGowan to overthrow this ideal. He saw it had outlived
its usefulness. By the 1970s Vail's dream was a reality, and the
stultifying effects of AT&T's refusal to wake up and define new
goals were becoming apparent. Once-aggressive managements had
become lazy "Bell-heads." The need for efficiency was being
ignored. New markets were not being pursued.

McGowan's 13-year quest was nothing short of revolutionary. His
MCI would compete with AT&T in its most lucrative market, long
distance. But his chief rival, then-AT&T chairman Charles Brown,
recognized that in pulling away that pillar, McGowan was pulling
down the whole temple. Finally, under Reagan-era pressure, with
the courts and public opinion against him, Brown cut the best
deal he could. Local units would maintain their monopolies and be
cut off from AT&T, which would accept competition from McGowan in
exchange for being allowed into the vast new computer market.
This was the 1982 Bell break-up.

That deal turned out to be great for AT&T shareholders, who got
shares in eight companies instead of one. It was great for MCI, which
now holds 16 percent of the US long-distance market. It was
great for McGowan, who at his passing had stock worth $131
million. It was great for US business, which now has over a
dozen aggressive, highly capitalized giants out to devour the
world telephony market. And as the 90s wear on, this may be
the trump card of our foreign policy, our maintenance of a
dominant position in what's quickly becoming the world's most
important industry.

Whether all this is great for US consumers is still being
debated. Bell-heads at the seven regional phone companies, and GTE
still think they can have it all. Many still think they can keep
their monopolies and compete with all comers, here and overseas.
My guess is they'll be disabused of that notion because
competition requires a different mind set from monopoly, one most
Bell-heads still lack. Until they accept competition in their
local loops, their attempts to sell information services or
manufactured goods will flounder. There are indications, from
people like Ameritech Chairman William Weiss, the only Bell-head
to issue a press release on McGowan's death, that this attitude
is changing. We'll watch for it and report on it.

But regardless of those effects, this revolution cannot be
contained. At a meeting a few months before his death, McGowan
heard predictions that even local monopolies will soon disappear,
and heard regulators applaud his vision. He lived long enough to
see the ideal of competition adopted throughout Europe, with the
United Kingdom's market opened up even more than America's. He
saw Latin and Eastern European phone markets being privatized and
opened to competition as well. Even India is looking to the
McGowan model for its telephony future.

Shed no tears for Bill McGowan. Most entrepreneurs of his
stripe, those whose visions reshape our lives, don't slow down
until they're buried and never get a chance to appreciate their
own work. McGowan, on the other hand, survived nearly five years
after a 1987 heart transplant, long enough to smell the roses and
hear the applause. Long enough to realize that he had truly
re-shaped the world. Long enough to even enjoy a second marriage
and speak, for a time, as a relaxed, gray eminence. Long enough
to become a father-figure to a new generation of executives, many
of them AT&T executives.

There is still life in the competition model Bill McGowan brought to
the telephony world. There is still a lot of work to do. Vail's
world is finished. McGowan's lives on.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920610)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 15 AT&T Talks in Crucial Stage 06/15/92




(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00011)

AT&T Talks in Crucial Stage 06/15/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 JUN 15 (NB) -- AT&T's talks with
its unions have reached such a critical stage that neither side
is talking. While the Communications Workers have prepared for an
"electronic picket line," moving members' business to other phone
companies, that plan has not yet been put into effect with the
worldwide labor movement, as threatened, and no further job
action has been scheduled.

When last heard from early on June 12, both sides were telling
the media they're close to a settlement. AT&T spokesmen said things were
going well, union spokesman said there's been progress but warned
that a break-off was still possible. The union extended its
original deadlines for breaking off the talks, another hopeful
sign.

What's kept the talks going are key concessions by management,
notably a raise in the base wage offer from 9.75 percent over
three years to 10.25 percent, and improved profit-sharing
agreements. The union's been demanding a 13 percent wage hike,
which would equal that agreed to by NYNEX in a recent contract
extension. And that is the real issue -- talks with the nation's
other six regional Bell companies, and GTE, will result in
contracts later this year, and the AT&T test is seen as a model.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920615)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 15 Pacific Bell Holds 800-Line Sale, Mulls Sale of TV Assets 06/15/92




(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00012)

Pacific Bell Holds 800-Line Sale, Mulls Sale of TV Assets 06/15/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 15 (NB) -- Pacific
Bell, anxious to increase its share of the state toll-free line
market, is waiving its normal fee to install its Custom 800,
which normally costs businesses up to $70. Calls to a Custom 800
number are free to callers and cost businesses as little as $15 a
month plus usage. The same fees, which usually average $20, are
also being waived for residential subscribers, who pay $5 per
month for the service.

Pacific Bell Custom 800 usage charges top off at $11 an hour for
peak hours and drop to $6 an hour for those with heavy call
volumes. Custom 800 works over a subscriber's existing home or
business telephone line, or businesses can install a dedicated
800 line.

According to Reuters, the company is also considering the sale of
its cable television businesses to concentrate on its cellular
phone network. The company has been a major acquirer of cellular
systems under the "Cellular One" moniker. The company owns eight
cable franchises in the United Kingdom. PacTel is also studying a
complete break-up of its regulated and unregulated entities, and
the cable sale could be an attempt to make its unregulated stock
more of a "pure play" in cellular, and to raise capital for that
unit. In addition to owning cellular systems, PacTel has
international interests and a stake in Qualcomm, which holds
patents on CDMA digital cellular technology.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920615/Press Contact: Pacific Bell, Dori Sera
Bailey, 415/542-4033)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 15 More Fallout from Digital Cellular Vote 06/15/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00013)

More Fallout from Digital Cellular Vote 06/15/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 JUN 15 (NB) -- The continuing
scrap among digital cellular techniques has entered a new phase,
as advocates of Time Division Multiple Access accepted a decision
by the industry to create a firm standard based on Code Division
Multiple Access.

The question is important for a number of reasons. In the past,
the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association has been
forthright in supporting TDMA, which breaks a call channel into
three pieces, then sends digitized voices separately in each new
channel. Southwestern Bell and McCaw Cellular have made firm
plans to upgrade their systems to TDMA, which is also the basis
for the European GSM digital standard. International Mobile
Machines holds key patents on the technology, and would benefit
form an industry-wide move.

However, many cellular operators have held back, because TDMA
offers only three times the capacity of existing analog systems,
and a Motorola offering called NAMPS offers the same capacity
increase. Instead, they're waiting for CDMA, which works more
like a packet network, sending digitized voice packets throughout
a call channel's spectrum. Qualcomm holds the key patents there.

Norman Black, spokesman for the Cellular Telecommunications
Industry Association, said standardizing CDMA should not
jeopardize TDMA deployment. "The cellular industry is going to
begin its transition to digital with TDMA because that technique
is ready," he said. Providers could later replace TDMA with CDMA,
which is expected to have more capacity, Black said. McCaw
spokesman Bob Ratliffe agreed, saying CDMA is at best three
years away from being commercially available for cellular
operators. But most operators want to make just one investment,
and support of two standards will destroy chances to create a
seamless nationwide digital network -- the US is expected to be
fully built-out with analog cellular later this year.

GTE and NYNEX, however, which have been trialing CDMA, applauded
the decision. GTE said publicly it prefers the technology.

GM's Hughes division, which has proposed its own enhanced
version of TDMA called E-TDMA, offering 15 times the capacity of
present systems, put the best face on the decision to ask the
Telecommunications Industry Association to write a CDMA standard.
Most important, said Hughes Network Systems Executive Vice
President Pradeep Kaul is the decision to launch an effort to
determine what standards, unrelated to CDMA or TDMA, will be
needed to support future advanced cellular applications such as
Personal Communications Networks, or PCN, so-called microwave
cellular. Kaul agreed with Ratliffe that it will be "several
years before a CDMA standard is ready to be tested and
implemented. We believe cellular customers want true digital
now, and TDMA is ready to provide it." Hughes cross-licensed
IMM's TDMA patents, and stands to gain if it's implemented
nationwide.

International Mobile Machines also put the best face on the
decision, claiming TDMA has an insurmountable lead, and noting
that the TIA also wants Hughes to work on its enhancement, which
could prove a trump-card in the whole debate. William J. Hilsman,
chairman and chief executive officer of IMM, also noted that TDMA
is the technology of primary choice of the cellular industry in
the United States, Canada, Europe and other countries."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920615/Press Contact: Marcia A. Bexley, IMM,
215-278-7831; Nicholas Graham, Hughes Network Systems, 703-838-
8085)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 15 Charney Hints UPI Decision May Take More Than Two Weeks 06/15/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00014)

Charney Hints UPI Decision May Take More Than Two Weeks 06/15/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 15 (NB) -- Leon H. Charney,
who stepped in at the last minute last week to keep United Press
International operating while he considered a bid for the wire
service, said he may extend his look into UPI past June 22, the
deadline imposed by a bankruptcy court and $180,000 he paid to
keep the company running until then.

Charney told UPI reporters the final decision won't be for
charity, but for business. "Somewhere there must be a profit
center," he said. Charney also identified his partners as
financier Michael Floersheim of E&C Trading Corp. in Zurich,
Switzerland; Ernst Strauss, a private investor also of Zurich;
Elliot Levigne, president of Perry Ellis International, a New
York apparel firm; Saul Rudes, a New York attorney; and Brian
Anderson of Kidder Peabody & Co., a New York brokerage.

He hinted that "if things look great," he may consider an
extension on his June 22 deadline. He also hinted that his model
for the service's future is Cable News Network -- right now UPI
offers radio news, but little TV coverage.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920615/Press Contact: Marcia A. Bexley, IMM,
215-278-7831; Nicholas Graham, Hughes Network Systems, 703-838-
8085)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 15 Chilean Phone Strike Ends 06/15/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00015)

Chilean Phone Strike Ends 06/15/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A, 1992 JUN 15 (NB) -- Compania de
Telefonos de Chile S.A., the first major Latin phone company to
be privatized, said a two-week strike against its operations has
ended. It said the cost of the settlement of a new two-year
contract was within what the company had budgeted.

The Chilean strike had been watched closely. Latin unions are far
stronger than those in North America. Chile's success in calming
a tough situation bodes well for newly private companies in
Argentina, Venezuela and Mexico to reach deals with their
workers. Disruptions from the strike were minimal, the company
said. Compania de Telefonos de Chile, owns approximately 95
percent of all telephone lines in Chile, and provides local,
long-distance and international telephone services in 77 percent
of the country's territory where 92 percent of all Chile's
population resides. Additionally, the company operates a
cellular network in two principal metropolitan areas of Chile,
Santiago and Valparaiso.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920615/Press Contact: Felicia Vonella, for
Compania de Telefonos de Chile 212-688-6840)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 15 Northern Telecom's Mac & PC-Based Videoconferencing Tools 06/15/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(TOR)(00016)

Northern Telecom's Mac & PC-Based Videoconferencing Tools 06/15/92
MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 JUN 15 (NB) -- Northern Telecom
has entered the videoconferencing market with Visit Video, a
desktop videoconferencing product for Apple Macintosh and DOS
machines. Northern also unveiled Visit Voice, call-management
software that it will offer as part of Visit Video as well as
separately.

Visit Video will permit two-way desktop videoconferencing over
56-kilobit-per-second lines linking Apple Macintosh computers
and/or IBM and compatible PCs running the DOS operating system and
Microsoft Windows 3.0 or later.

For the future, Northern is promising a version of Visit Video for
IBM's OS/2 operating system and support for color videoconferences.
Multipoint conferencing is also "a future possibility," company
spokeswoman MaryLynn Hillier told Newsbytes.

Visit Video will let participants in a videoconference see each
other on their computer screens. Full screen-sharing and
file-transfer capabilities will be added early in 1993, Northern
said.

The software conforms to Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN)
standards, expected to be implemented across North America later this
year, Northern said. It also works with private branch exchanges
and switching equipment from Northern Telecom and other vendors.

The Macintosh version of Visit Video is available now to a limited
extent, Hillier said. The DOS version is due to be available in
September. The complete package, including software, video board,
and cabling, will cost C$3,750.

Visit Voice, a call-management tool that lets users dial, set up
directories, log phone calls, and track usage, will be available
separately for less than $300, Hillier said.

(Grant Buckler/19920612/Press Contact: MaryLynn Hillier, Northern
Telecom, 416-238-7162)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 15 New For Macintosh: Nikon ImageAccess 06/15/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(TOR)(00017)

New For Macintosh: Nikon ImageAccess 06/15/92
MELVILLE, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 15 (NB) -- Nikon Electronic
Imaging has introduced ImageAccess, database software meant for
storing and managing images on Apple Macintosh computers. Nikon
sees newspapers as a major initial market for the software, but a
spokeswoman for the company said it could be used in a number of
other areas as well.

ImageAccess is a user-configurable, relational database that lets
users sort and search for images, Nikon officials said. When
scanned images are added to the database, the large original image
file is left untouched while a small "thumbnail" image is created
for the database record.

ImageAccess automatically records the file name, date of
acquisition, location, size, dimensions, creation and modification
dates, creator, and type for each image. Users can define other
data fields. All alphanumeric fields are indexed to make it easy to
search the database, Nikon said.

The software works with Nikon's LS-3510AF film scanner and
autofeeder, which the company said will allow unattended scanning
and cataloging of as many as 300 slides at a time.

The software currently supports TIFF, PICT, 8BIM, EPSF, and JPEG
file formats. Due to be available within a month, it costs $495.

(Grant Buckler/19920612/Press Contact: Helene Cohen Smith,
Greenstone Roberts for Nikon, 516-249-3366; Nikon, 516-547-4200)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 15 New For PC: Lasermaster Windows Hi-speed Printing Software 06/15/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00018)

New For PC: Lasermaster Windows Hi-speed Printing Software 06/15/92
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 15 (NB) -- Just
days after Lasermaster announced a high-speed technology to speed up
printing on Laserjet printers, the company has announced the first
use of the technology. The company has announced WinJet 300, its
printing enhancement software for Microsoft Windows.

WinJet 300 uses Lasermaster's LPV high-speed communications
technology and its enhanced version of Microsoft TrueImage together
with Postscript language capability, to provide high speed printing
from Windows to Hewlett-Packard Laserjet II, IId, III and IIId laser
printers, the company said.

LPV, which Newsbytes reported on earlier this week, is a
hardware-software combination that eliminates the traditional
bottleneck as long documents wait for the printer to accept the
information from the PC. LPV uses a circuit board installed in the
I/O slot of an HP laser printer to send data to the printer at
speeds up to 1.2MB (megabytes) per second, according to Lasermaster
spokesperson Karen Neset.

Lasermaster CEO Mel Masters called the product a landmark for the
company, saying the estimated six million Laserjet users will be
able to print more productively from Windows.

Masters said the WinJet 300 is aimed at what he estimates is a $100
million market for cartridge-based Hewlett-Packard printer
enhancements.

WinJet 300 requires a personal computer using a 386 or higher
microprocessor, Windows, and at least eight megabytes or RAM, or
system memory. WinJet 300 has a suggested list price of $495.

(Jim Mallory/19920612/Press contact: Karen Neset, Lasermaster,
612-941-8687)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 15 Mercury Offers Private Circuit Guarantee 06/15/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00019)

Mercury Offers Private Circuit Guarantee 06/15/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 15 (NB) -- One of the biggest headaches
facing telecom managers in companies these days is the
possibility that their leased lines might fail. Traditionally,
telecom companies have not offered guarantees on such lines,
owing to the problems of providing back-up services. Now Mercury
has announced it is offering a service guarantee on its two
megabits-a-second national private circuits.

The guarantee is made possible by Mercury's all-digital network.
Since the network is based on loose figure of eight, if a circuit
break in one direction occurs, then an alternative circuit route
can be used in the opposite direction.

According to Mercury, the guarantee consists of two main parts:
the circuit failure rebate and the circuit availability rebate.
Circuit failure rebates range from 10 percent of the annual
rental for up to three outages, to a 100 percent for six outages.
An outage is defined as a failure of the network for more than
five hours.

For shorter breaks in service, Mercury's circuit availability
rebate kicks in. This allows for a 10 percent rebate on the
quarter's rental if the overall availability of a circuit falls
below 99.5 percent.

Mercury is the only telecom service provider in the UK to
offer this guarantee. Plans call for the company to extend the
guarantees to circuits other than two megabits/second routes over
the next 12 months.

(Steve Gold/19920612/Press & Public Contact: Mercury
Communications - Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 15 Microsoft SQL Bridge For Multiple Platforms 06/15/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00020)

Microsoft SQL Bridge For Multiple Platforms 06/15/92
WOKINGHAM, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 15 (NB) -- Microsoft has
announced the immediate availability of SQL Bridge, its
distributed client-server computing technology for Windows, DOS,
OS/2, Unix, VMS and Apple Macintosh computing platforms.

The availability of the technology allows for seamless
integration of Microsoft and Sybase SQL (structured query
language) without recourse to an operating system or network
protocol, the company claims.

Charles Emes, SQL server product manager with Microsoft, said the
introduction of the technology results in simplified network
configuration, as well as greater interconnection facilities
between different computer/network platforms.

"SQL Bridge gives Microsoft Windows customers who are using SQL
server access to enterprise data when building client-server
solutions for finance, inventory management, purchasing and other
business applications," he explained.

"At the same time, existing Sybase applications for Unix, VMS and
Macintosh platforms can now work with Microsoft SQL server in an
integrated client-server computing environment. This means that a
single workstation configuration can obtain data from both Unix
and OS/2-based servers," he said.

Currently, SQL Bridge supports named pipes (channels of data
between computers), as well as TCP/IP and DECnet protocols on
both Microsoft LAN Manager and DEC Pathworks networks. Plans call
for the software to support IPX/SPX and TCP/IP standards on
Novell Netware plus Banyan Vines networks.

Also in the pipeline is a version of the technology for the 32-
bit Windows NT operating system. All versions sell/will sell for
UKP 1,995.

(Steve Gold/19920612/Press & Public Contact: Microsoft U.K. -
Tel: [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 15 Borland Wins Stanford Award 06/15/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00021)

Borland Wins Stanford Award 06/15/92
SCOTTS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 15 (NB) -- Apple Computer
got one, so did Octel Communications, Silicon Graphics, Sun
Microsystems, and Genentech. Now Borland has announced it is the
recipient of the annual Entrepreneurial Company of the Year award
from the Stanford Business School Alumni Association.

In a prepared statement, Sheila Zelinger, president of the Stanford
Business School Alumni Association, said: "The Encore award is given
to a company that consistently performs well and provides cost-
effective products or services that improve the way we work.
Borland's entrepreneurial spirit made them a natural choice. Borland
repeatedly delivers innovative software programs and tools that
improve user productivity."

Borland is known for its products and aggressive marketing approach.
Last year the company purchased dBASE giant Ashton-Tate and is
currently marketing and developing dBASE IV, Ashton-Tate's business-
oriented software product. The acquisition made Borland the number
one database software developer in the world.

Scotts Valley, California-based Borland also offers tools for toward
software development as well as products geared toward end users. The
company's products include Paradox, Interbase, Quattro Pro, Object
Vision, Borland C++, and Turbo Pascal.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920612/Press Contact: Martha Isham, Borland, tel
408-431-5177)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 15 Correction: VIM -- Cross-Platform Mail, Messaging Standard 06/15/92


(CORRECTION)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00022)

Correction: VIM -- Cross-Platform Mail, Messaging Standard 06/15/92
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 15 (NB) -- Newsbytes wishes to
correct this report, which appeared 6/11 on our wire. Microsoft is
not involved in this alliance, but Lotus is. The correct text is
as follows:

Software developers can now get a tool to help them with cross-platform
development of mail and messaging software. Version 1.0 of the
Vendor-Independent Messaging (VIM) Interface specification is
available, according to Apple, Borland, Lotus, and Novell, the
four trustee companies which developed the specification.

The trustees say the purpose of the specification is to eliminate the
need for software developers to write a different software module to
accommodate each computer system and messaging platform the
software is to run on.

The four companies announced their intention to create and support
the VIM Interface in February of this year. Each company is now
offering the specification at no charge to anyone who requests it.
Each of the trustee companies is providing technical support for its
developers implementing the VIM specification, however developers
will need to get the specification document itself to get the
instructions for support, the trustee companies said.

The trustees said they hope to promote a proliferation of
commercial and in-house applications that incorporate interpersonal
and interprogram communications for computer users.

However, the implementation of VIM is still in the infancy stages, as
Apple, Borland, Lotus, Novell, and IBM have all announced their
intentions to support the VIM Interface standard in future products.

Specifically, Apple says it will support VIM into System 7, and
Borland says VIM support will go into its Object Exchange (OBEX)
technology. Lotus plans to place support VIM into future cc:Mail and
Lotus Notes versions, and Novell says VIM support will be incorporated
into Netware Global Messaging and Netware MHS. IBM, meanwhile,
says it will support VIM in its Office product strategy.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920611/Press Contact: Kim Given, Novell, 408-473-
8959, Martha Isham, Borland, 408-439-5177; Public Contact, Apple 408-
974-2375; Borland 408-431-5260; Lotus 617-693-5919; Novell 408-473-
8989)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 15 IBM Japan Supplies PC To Omron 06/15/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TYO)(00023)

IBM Japan Supplies PC To Omron 06/15/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 15 (NB) -- IBM Japan will supply
its personal computer to Omron starting next month for use in a
factory automation bundle Omron will sell. Omron offers a
factory automation system which it is targeting at the overseas
market.

IBM Japan's PC, the FC55 model, which be relabelled by Omron
with the Omron brand name. The PC supports both English and
Japanese, making it attractive to Japanese firms which
have offices in Japan and overseas because they can use the same
software and exchange data with their English-speaking counterparts.

Omron once sold NEC's PC-9801 as part of the its factory
automation system, but Omron switched to IBM PCs in order to support
English-language software as well.

IBM Japan has supplied its personal computers to other
Japanese companies on an OEM (original equipment manufacturer)
basis. Office computers are supplied to Ricoh, and notebook-type
PCs to Hitachi.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920615/Press Contact: Omron, [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 15 Apple Japan Signs With Intec For Macintosh Sales 06/15/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(TYO)(00024)

Apple Japan Signs With Intec For Macintosh Sales 06/15/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 15 (NB) -- Apple Computer Japan has signed
an agreement with Tokyo-based value-added network service firm Intec
to sell the Macintosh computers at its dealer shops throughout Japan.

The agreement calls for Intec to mainly sell the Macintosh as network
terminals for use in local area networks (LANs). Intec will
also market the Macintosh for ISDNs (integrated services digital
networks) and for desktop publishing.

Intec is a telecommunication service firm which has been providing
telecommunication services to personal computer users in Japan. The
firm provides value-added network services such as packet
network access -- its Tri-P service is widely used in Japan.

Apple Computer Japan recently signed a dealership agreement
with Tokyo-based camera maker Minolta, resulting in a total of
5 authorized Apple dealers in Japan. They are Canon, Kokuyo,
Minolta, Brother, and Mitsubishi Trading. With these dealers,
sales of the Macintosh doubled in Japan for fiscal 1991 over
the previous year. They have sold 125,000 units and sales were 50
billion yen ($385 million).

While many personal computer makers are suffering losses,
Apple Computer sales are going up. Observers suggest that the
popularity of the Macintosh in Japan may be partly due to the
popularity of Microsoft Windows.

According to Shigechika Takeuchi of Apple Computer Japan, the firm
is planning to sign sales dealership agreements with two
more firms by the end of this year.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920615/Press Contact: Intec, [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 15 Compaq Joins Microsoft's "Ready-To-Run Windows" Family 06/15/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00025)

Compaq Joins Microsoft's "Ready-To-Run Windows" Family 06/15/92
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 15 (NB) -- Compaq, one of the
few holdouts in joining Microsoft's "Ready-To-Run Windows" program,
now says Windows will be pre-installed on its new Deskpro/M machines
announced today.

Participants in the "Ready-To-Run" program use a distinctive logo on
their machines to identify PCs with Windows pre-installed. Windows
3.1, just recently announced, has already sold over 3 million copies.
Sales of Windows are expected to reach 10 million in the first year.

Pre-installation of Windows is a major help to most users,
significantly reducing installation time. For users buying multiple
PCs that time could run into the hundreds of hours, depending on the
number of machines being purchased.

More than 100 hardware manufacturers already pre-install Windows on
their hardware.

Compaq announced three new families of personal computers, including
notebook systems, today. The announcement included some Windows
Edition machines, specially set up to run Windows. Windows Edition
machines include DOS 5.0, Windows, Business Audio and a microphone,
and a mouse.

Hahn said Compaq decided to join the "Ready-To-Run" program in line
with Compaq's new thinking, which, Hahn said "is to be much more
customer driven and dedicated to customer demand."

(Jim Mallory/19920615/Press contact: Nora Hahn, Compaq, 713-374-0484)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 15  ****Compaq Announces Fleet Of New Products 06/15/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00026)

 ****Compaq Announces Fleet Of New Products 06/15/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 15 (NB) -- Saying it is putting
"extreme" pressure on clone manufacturers, Compaq Computer announced 16
new products, including one unit priced under $1,000.

"Compaq is reaffirming its leadership in a new generation of
personal computing," said Compaq president, Eckhard Pfeiffer.

The new products encompass three product families, according to
Compaq. The ProLinea is a low-end desktop family with a starting
price of $899. Available with hard drives from 40MB to 120MB,
ProLinea systems come with DOS 5.0 installed, but do not include a
monitor.

The Deskpro/i series is an upgradable desktop series available with
a 386 or 486 microprocessor. With 4MB of RAM standard, expandable to
32MB, some models come with Windows and a mouse. The Deskpro/i is
also available with Business Audio and a microphone. Business
Audio, as reported recently by Newsbytes, is a Windows utility that
allows users to record and attach voice messages within Windows
documents. Compaq said the Deskpro/i series is targeted at the
midrange user, with suggested list prices starting around $1,800.

Compaq has also introduced a new low-cost notebook line, the
Contura. Available powered by a 386SX 25 megahertz or a 486DX 33
megahertz chip, the Contura starts at $2,099 equipped with a 60 MB
hard drive. The company told Newsbytes that the 486 version won't
ship until August.

The company has also introduced a color notebook, the LTE Lite/25c.
Available with 4M of RAM and an 84 or 120MB hard drive, the 25c uses
an active matrix thin film transistor color display. Prices start
at $5,000.

Compaq said it has been able to build the ProLinea units more
efficiently because it organizing the manufacturing process more
efficiently. Compaq said ProLinea units can be built at the rate of
one about every 60 seconds.

Compaq's Nora Hahn told Newsbytes that the Deskpro/M series has been
upgraded by adding Windows Edition, a combination of a high
performance graphics controller, DOS-5.0, a mouse and Business
Audio. Suggested list price for an "M" series system starts at
$2,400. Existing "M" series owners can upgrade.

In conjunction with announcement of the new lines, Compaq said it is
also reducing the suggested list price of many of its desktop and
notebook systems by as much as 32 percent.

(Jim Mallory/19920615/Press contact: Nora Hahn, Compaq Computer,
713-374-0484; Reader contact: Compaq, 800-345-1518))

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 15 New For PC: Lotus PIM - The Organizer 06/15/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00027)

New For PC: Lotus PIM - The Organizer 06/15/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 15 (NB) -- Lotus
Development has rolled out The Organizer, the Windows personal
information manager (PIM) it acquired from the British firm Threadz
recently, under its own name and at a reduced price.

Lotus Organizer, Version 1.0, will sell for $149 in the United
States. Threadz had sold the product for UKP149 (about $265).

Lotus is also offering users of Agenda 2.0, its DOS-based PIM, the
opportunity to upgrade for $69.

A spokesman for the company said that while Lotus will continue
selling Agenda, which was one of the first personal information
managers on the market, it will not produce a Windows version.
Agenda is currently available for DOS only. Lotus plans to offer
users of Agenda 2.0 a utility that will move items from Activities
Planner, a predesigned Agenda template, to Lotus Organizer.

The Organizer looks and feels like a traditional paper organizer
such as Day-Timer or Filofax. According to the vendor, it is useful
for maintaining personal calendars, daily planning and
organization, time management, and keeping contact lists.

Lotus Organizer displays information with a notebook metaphor, on
pages that comprise tabbed sections such as Calendar, Planner, and
To-Do List. The user can turn pages and move between sections by
pointing and clicking.

Information in different sections can be cross-referenced with
"links." For example, a user may link an appointment in the
calendar with a meeting agenda or a note.

Customization capabilities range from changing tab names and colors
to deleting or duplicating any of the six default sections:
Planner, Notepad, To-Do List, Address, Calendar and Anniversary.
Text and graphics files can be imported from other Windows products

Lotus Organizer runs on PCs with at least an Intel 80286 processor,
the DOS operating system, Windows 3.0 or higher, a hard disk drive
with at least two megabytes of space available, a VGA monitor, a
mouse.

(Grant Buckler/19920615/Press Contact: David Grip, McGlinchey &
Paul for Lotus, 617-862-4514)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 15 Gandalf Loses, But Sees Promise Ahead 06/15/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00028)

Gandalf Loses, But Sees Promise Ahead 06/15/92
NEPEAN, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 JUN 15 (NB) -- Gandalf Technologies
has reported a C$11.4-million loss on an eight-month "transition
year" during which it completed its merger with Infotron Systems of
Cherry Hill, New Jersey. However, the company reported a
C$1.67-million profit in the fourth quarter and is optimistic about
the coming year.

The loss in fiscal 1992 was largely due to the costs of acquiring
Infotron, a deal that closed August 2, 1991, said company
spokeswoman Janice Drummond. Reorganization following the merger
included laying off "a couple of hundred people" with "fairly
generous severance packages," as well as moving a Gandalf test and
assembly operation from Wheeling, Illinois to Cherry Hill and
moving Infotron's manufacturing from Cherry Hill to Nepean,
Drummond said.

There were also legal and financial expenses associated with the
merger to be covered, Drummond added. But she said these costs are
for the most part behind Gandalf now, and the company hopes for a
better year in 1993.

Worldwide economic recession also contributed to the loss, Drummond
added, noting that the market in the United Kingdom was
particularly weak, with Canada "sluggish" and the United States
showing signs of recovery.

Gandalf's 1992 fiscal year was only eight months long as the
company changed its year-end from July to March 31. The fourth
quarter lasted nine weeks.

The 1992 net loss of C$11.4 million compared to a C$6.76-million
loss in fiscal 1991. Revenues were C$137.15 million in the eight
months ended March 31, compared to C$148.58 million in the year
ended July 31, 1991.

In the nine-week fourth quarter of fiscal 1992, Gandalf reported a
C$1.67-million profit on revenues of C$36.89 million.

(Grant Buckler/19920615/Press Contact: Janice Drummond or Alastair
B. Davie, Gandalf Technologies, 613-564-0183)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 15  ****Canadian Regulators Approve Long-Distance Competition 06/15/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00029)

 ****Canadian Regulators Approve Long-Distance Competition 06/15/92
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 JUN 15 (NB) -- Canada's federal
telecommunications regulators have ended a century-old monopoly on
long-distance telephone service across most of the country,
approving two applications to offer long-distance service in
competition with established telephone companies.

Within about a year, telephone subscribers in seven of Canada's 10
provinces will have at least one alternative to the provincial and
regional phone companies that until now have controlled all
long-distance traffic. Competition in at least one of the remaining
three provinces is probably not far behind.

Major telecommunications users are pleased. "We're delightfully
surprised," said George Horhota, president of the Canadian Business
Telecommunications Alliance (CBTA), a group of major companies
using telecommunications services. "No, that's probably too mild --
I guess we're really ecstatic."

Others are not so sure. Philippa Lawson of the Public Interest
Advocacy Centre in Ottawa expressed concern that while the CRTC
said it did not expect the ruling to result in an increase in local
rates, it did not offer guarantees.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
(CRTC) approved an application by Unitel, a Toronto-based provider
of data communications services, to compete with telephone
companies in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick,
Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland.

When Unitel filed its application in May, 1990, telephone companies
in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba were provincially regulated
and thus not subject to CRTC jurisdiction. Since then, Alberta has
come under federal regulation, and a Unitel spokesman said the
company plans to apply almost at once to have its mandate extended
to that province.

The CRTC also approved a second application from Lightel, a Toronto
reseller of communications services, and B.C. Rail
Telecommunications of Vancouver. This partnership wants to offer
competitive long-distance services in British Columbia, Ontario,
and Quebec -- Canada's three most populous provinces.

In granting these two applications, the regulators also sent strong
signals that their vision for long-distance competition in Canada
follows the American model, with a market open to an unlimited
number of players, rather than the present British model, where
only two companies operate.

In the CRTC statement announcing the decision, Louis (Bud) Sherman,
who chaired the hearings, said the regulators had decided that a
"policy of open entry would be the best way to stimulate the
benefits of competition. Consequently, we will be favorably
disposed to future applications filed under similar circumstances
to provide long-distance service if applicants abide by the terms
and conditions established in this decision."

Horhota praised this aspect of the decision in particular, saying
an open-ended market is needed to encourage all competitors to
provide the best possible service. "The worst thing that could have
happened was that they authorized a duopoly," he said. "We don't
want just market sharing."

The CRTC also liberalized the rules governing the resale and
sharing of telecommunications services, allowing resellers to offer
Wide-Area Telephone Service (WATS) in all federally regulated
provinces and extended the rules that have governed other federal
jurisdictions to Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island,
and New Brunswick (which came under federal regulation more
recently).

Peter Janecek, a spokesman for Unitel, said his company will be
able to offer long-distance services to business customers on a
limited basis almost immediately. The company plans to begin a
general rollout of service in about a year, he said, and within a
year from that time hopes to make long-distance service available
to about 65 percent of the people in the provinces it will serve.
By the end of the second year of service, he added, about 85
percent of telephone subscribers in the affected provinces should
have access to Unitel service.

At first, those who want to use competitive services will have to
dial extra digits to tell the telephone system to route their calls
over the Unitel or B.C. Rail/Lightel network. Within a couple of
years, Janecek said, telephone switches will be modified so that
subscribers can choose any long-distance provider and have their
calls routed to that network automatically, as happens now in the
United States.

Lawson questioned the benefits of the decision for residential
customers and those in rural areas. Most residential customers
don't use long-distance service enough to make a change of service
providers worthwhile, she said. She added that all competitors will
probably concentrate on winning as much as possible of the long-
haul traffic between major urban centres, meaning new services and
discount offerings are unlikely to be made available to those in
smaller towns and rural areas.

Bell Canada, the largest Canadian phone company with service in
Ontario and Quebec, responded to the announcement with complaints
that the rules gave an unfair advantage to its new competitors.
While the decision requires Unitel and B.C. Rail/Lightel to make
payments to the regional phone companies to support local service,
Bell said, it does not make them pay their fair share.

However, a position statement from the office of Bell Canada
Chairman and Chief Executive Jean Monty indicated Bell has no plans
to contest the decision. "I feel like a card player who's been
dealt a hand of cards," Monty said in the statement. "Now let's
play."

Bell Canada did not respond to a request for further comment by
Newsbytes' deadline.

(Grant Buckler/19920615/Press Contact: John Morris, Bell Canada,
613-781-2443; Bill Allen, CRTC, 819-997-0313, fax [phone];
Peter Janecek, Unitel, 416-345-2483)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 15  ****Alloy Files for Bankruptcy 06/15/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00030)

 ****Alloy Files for Bankruptcy 06/15/92
MARLBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 15 (NB) -- Alloy
Computer Products Inc., has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
protection, and also announced new networking software that it says
supports a reorganization plan that will be submitted in connection
with the filing.

Herbert Shanzer, chairman and CEO, told Newsbytes that Alloy has
decided to de-emphasize such items as tape back-ups and diskless PCs,
and concentrate instead on the multiuser systems that have long
made up a major prong of its business.

Alloy's new, NetWare-compatible software product, MultiNode, adds
peer-to-peer networking features to the multiuser PC capabilities
offered in the company's previous release, MultiWare.

The reorganization plan, said Shanzer, will outline a restructuring
that will convert Alloy from a diverse computer vendor into a more
focused supplier of multiuser and networking software.

"We view MultiNode as tangible proof of our new emphasis on
multiuser systems and networking, and we're optimistic that the
product will be well accepted in the marketplace. Our users have
been asking us for a package like this for the past couple of
years," Shanzer reported to Newsbytes.

Alloy's installed based of 150,000 users, largely small businesses,
comprise a relatively significant portion of the multiuser DOS
marketplace, according to Shanzer. "We're looking to grow that
base through the use of peer-to-peer technology," he commented.

The products to be de-emphasized he said, "were obviously causing
us a great deal of difficulty" with regard to competitive pricing.

In addition to introducing the new product, Alloy has trimmed its
cost structure, cutting its workforce about 50%, the company
stated.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920615)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 15 IBM, ChipCom in Discussions Around Intelligent Hub 06/15/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00031)

IBM, ChipCom in Discussions Around Intelligent Hub 06/15/92
SOUTHBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 15 (NB) -- IBM and
Chipcom Corp. have begun talks around multiprotocol, intelligent
hub products, but as of today, no determinations have been reached.

A public relations spokesperson for Chipcom told Newsbytes this
morning that the discussions, first announced late Friday, are
still continuing. "Nothing has been decided yet, one way or the
other," he said.

If an agreement is achieved, he noted, it will be the first "one on
one" pact to take place between the two companies, to his
knowledge. But, he added, Chipcom has previously joined with other
vendors in announcements of support for IBM technologies, including
NetView software and a recently announced FDDI plan.

Chipcom, based in Southborough, MA, produces intelligent hubs and
a range of other computer networking products.

The written released by Chipcom Friday pointed out that, "There is
no signed statement of intent or memorandum of understanding.
Consummation of any transaction is subject to the negotiation and
execution of definitive agreements, and there is no assurance that
any transaction will be consummated."

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920615; Press Contact: John Ricciardone,
Chipcom, tel [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 15  ****DAK Files Chapter 11, Layoffs Started 06/15/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00032)

 ****DAK Files Chapter 11, Layoffs Started 06/15/92
CANOGA PARK, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 15 (NB) -- DAK Industries,
named after its founder Drew A. Kaplan, filed a voluntary
petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 in Los Angeles federal
court late last week. The company offers electronic gadgets by mail
order and is known for its low prices and "chatty" catalogs.

The privately owned company says it is the nation's largest mail
order consumer electronics firm. Reasons given for the filing were a
shortage of available bank credit and capital and continuing problems
in the economies of the US and the Far East. DAK said the economic
problems in the Far East are consequential because that's where it
acquires many of the products it sells.

DAK says it will continue to operate and plans no disruption in
customer service. However as part of an effort to reduce overhead and
expenses DAK also announced a number of employee layoffs last week as
well. A restructuring of the secured and unsecured debt is also
planned, the company added.

The company's catalogs recently announced some incredible deals to
consumers, including a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) drive
for $199 and a "free" 386-based IBM compatible computer with the
purchase of a bundle of 15+ name brand software products priced at
$1,499.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920615/Press Contact: Virginia Poshay, DAK, tel
818-716-6219, fax [phone]; Tim Reed, Levene & Eisenberg for DAK,
310-551-1010; DAK Public Contact: 800-325-0800)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 15 IBM Moves To "Cubing" -- 3D Semiconductor Technology 06/15/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00033)

IBM Moves To "Cubing" -- 3D Semiconductor Technology 06/15/92
COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 15 (NB) -- IBM has signed a
joint development agreement with Irvine Sensors to commercialize
technology the company calls "cubing." Irvine Sensors is the company
that recently announced it developed a way to "stack" memory so it
can fit 40 megabytes (MB) of memory in a space the size of a sugar
cube.

Irvine Sensors originally developed the technology for infrared
sensors used for space surveillance the Strategic Defense
Initiative (SDI) and funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency (DARPA), according to Edda Brown of Wall Street Financial, the
public relations agency for Irvine Sensors. While that technology
belongs to the government, the company was able to retain the rights
for commercialization to the memory portion which it calls the
"memory short stack." According to the company, the memory short
stack allows it to multiply by four times the amount of memory in the
same amount of space, so 1 megabyte (MB) of memory can be replaced
with 4 MBs.

The company has developed chip sets for the US Air Force to retrofit
memory chips in aircraft, satellites, and spacecraft awaiting launch
dates. Irvine says it solved the problems of "heat traps" and "speed
traps" associated with placing the chips so closely together by
bonding the tiny layers of memory at one end, which allows air flow
through the three other sides for ventilation.

However, cubing is not limited to just memory, but allows the
creation of three-dimensional monolithic semiconductor devices called
"cubes." Dozens of memory or logic chips or both can be combined in
this manner and in a cube offer higher integration, faster processing
speeds, and lower power requirements than chipsets currently
available, the company added.

Irvine Sensors says the agreement between it and IBM includes joint
development of cubed products and the manufacturing technologies to
develop the products in volume and at reduced costs. The development
work is to take place at both IBM and Irvine Sensors facilities using
technical employees from both companies. Representatives at Irvine
Sensors told Newsbytes IBM doesn't want to release the specifics of
what it plans to do with the technology, or the terms of the
agreement.

However, the company previously announced the memory short stack
technology could be applied to flash memory card technology. Flash
memory cards are different from normal memory cards as they retain
their contents even when the power is off. Intel recently introduced
flash memory cards with 20 MB capacities.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920615/Press Contact: John Stuart, Irvine Sensors,
714-549-8211; Jon Iwata, IBM, 914-765-6630; Edda Brown, Wall Street
Financial for Irvine Sensors, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 15  ****RasterOps And RIPS To Merge 06/15/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00034)

 ****RasterOps And RIPS To Merge 06/15/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 15 (NB) -- Less
than a month after announcing that the on-again/off-again merger
between RasterOps and Truevision Inc., was back on again,
RasterOps has now announced the signing of a letter of intent to
merge with Raster Image Processing Systems (RIPS).

Under the terms of the deal, RIPS will become a wholly owned
subsidiary of RasterOps. The merger, scheduled for completion in
July, calls for issuance of 60,000 shares of RasterOps common
stock in exchange for all existing RIPS capital stock. The
transaction will be accounted for as a pooling of interests.

RIPS claims to have developed the first page-description language
interpreter to be recognized as compatible with Adobe System Inc.'s
PostScript. The five-year-old company also maintains it was the
first vendor to implement a PostScript language-compatible
interpreter on RISC architecture.

Keith Sorenson, president and chief executive officer of RasterOps,
said: "RIPS' PostScript interpreter software is an important
component of our color printer and will continue to be vital to
RasterOps as we develop additional color printer products for the
graphic arts market."

Greg Collins, president and chief executive officer of RIPS,
commented that, "By merging with RasterOps, RIPS will have
access to more research and engineering resources allowing us to
develop our technology at a faster pace."

RIPS claims to design and market high-performance PostScript-
compatible imaging controllers and technology used to drive printers,
plotters, and film recorders, selling or licensing its technology
worldwide primarily to OEM (original equipment manufacturing)
customers. The privately owned company is headquartered in
Boulder, Colo., and employs about 20 people, of which more than
half are engineers.

(Ian Stokell/19920615/Press Contact: Suzanne Crocker, RasterOps
Corp., 408/562-4200)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 15 US-based Hyundai PC Group Cuts Prices/New Mkting Strategy 06/15/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00035)

US-based Hyundai PC Group Cuts Prices/New Mkting Strategy 06/15/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 15 (NB) -- In an effort
to improve its competitiveness in the US and global PC markets,
the newly US-based Hyundai PC Group is cutting prices on its personal
computer line by as much as 40 percent. Additionally, the company
has decided to enter new channels of distribution, including direct
telemarketing sales and support, has begun product manufacturing,
assembly and testing in Silicon Valley, and has formed a new
management team of US executives.

Edward D. Thomas, the first US president of Hyundai's global PC
operations, said that: "This is just the beginning of a complete
transformation of Hyundai's business operations in the United
States." He also emphasized the need for aggressive, guerilla-style
marketing to grab a bigger share of the world's largest PC market.
"Hyundai....(has)....never had the ability to move faster than the
market in terms of pricing, programs, policies and products. Now
we have the organization and mindset to change that."

The price reductions of up to 40 percent on all seven models of
Hyundai's 386 and 486-based PCs are in effect today. The company
gives an example of Hyundai's complete 386SX desktop PC with
an 80 megabyte (MB) hard drive and 4MB RAM as dropping 34
percent to $1,539.

The company claims that a nationwide 800-number sales and
support to end-users program has been initiated as the first step in
a new multi-channel marketing strategy, which, according to a
press release includes "strong dealer support programs and
standardized pricing across all channels to protect the margins
of its 1,200 dealers nationwide."

The company also maintains that PC assembly and testing has
begun in Hyundai's San Jose, California, facilities with the intended
goal of 48-hour turnaround on configured-to-order system sales
and repair requisitions. Previously, the company imported fully
assembled systems to the US from Korea.

The new management team includes: Douglas Sokolosky, vice
president of sales, who heads all marketing and sales efforts;
Patrick P. Day, vice president of engineering, who directs worldwide
research and development efforts; Manual Chavez, vice president
of manufacturing and distribution, who will oversee all aspects of
manufacturing, including production engineering, quality assurance,
and assembly and testing; Charles F. Jones, vice president of
customer service and technical support, who will direct all aspects
of after-sales customer service; and Michael D. Grimm, vice
president of purchasing and materials planning.

In April of this year, Newsbytes reported on Hyundai's initial
management decision to move their PC business to the United
States. At the time, Dave Murray, spokesman for the company, told
Newsbytes that the company feels that, by moving operations
to the US, it "can get earlier access to advanced PC technology."
Additionally, said Murray, "being closer to their customers will
allow (the company) to be more flexible."

(Ian Stokell/19920420/Press Contact: Debra Bowman, Hyundai
Electronics America, 408-473-9318)

#ENDCARD



#CARD :1992 JUN 12  ****NHK Develops 40-inch Wall-Mounted TV 06/12/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00001)

 ****NHK Develops 40-inch Wall-Mounted TV 06/12/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 12 (NB) -- Japan Broadcasting Corporation
(NHK) has developed a wall-mounted TV which features a 40-inch flat
panel display. The display is a relatively thin 6-mm thick and
is designed to have resolution suitable for high definition
television (HDTV) broadcasts. NHK claims it is developing a
wall-mounted TV with an even larger display.

The wall-mounted, 40-inch display TV was actually developed by
NHK Broadcasting Technology Laboratory in Tokyo. The size of this
TV is 87.4 x 52 cm. It weighs 9 kg. The display consists of two
glass plates and electrodes and it is equipped with a proprietary
hybrid IC for pulse drive memory.

NHK is also developing a wall-mounted TV with a 55-inch display
which will be used for HDTV reception. NHK is expected
to provide this technology to HDTV makers in order to back up
NHK's HDTV standard.

HDTV broadcasting is underway in Japan for eight hours
each day on an experimental basis. Major Japanese electronics makers
are just beginning to see a market for high definition television.
They report modest sales of HDTV sets. Sony recently released a
relatively low-cost HDTV set for 1.3 million yen ($10,000).
Prices are expected to drop to 500,000 yen ($3,800) in the near
future depending upon how quickly new, cheaper HDTV chips can
be produced.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920612/Press Contact: NHK, [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 12 Minolta Becomes Macintosh Seller In Japan 06/12/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(TYO)(00002)

Minolta Becomes Macintosh Seller In Japan 06/12/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 12 (NB) -- Apple has expanded its dealer
network once again in Japan, signing on major camera maker
Minolta to sell its Macintosh models.

The agreement calls for Minolta to market the Macintosh at
Minolta's retail shops throughout Japan. Minolta is planning to
sell the Macintosh in combination with the firm's office equipment.
For instance, Minolta will combine the sales of the Macintosh with
its digital copiers, still video cameras, and printers. Minolta
may position the Macintosh in a multimedia package.

The arrangement begins July 7 at which date Minolta has agreed to
display the Macintosh in its showrooms in Tokyo and Osaka.

Minolta has recently been suffering under a huge debt as a result
of the loss of a camera copyright suit with Honeywell. The firm
sustained a 30 billion yen ($230) loss for fiscal 1991 which
is expected to be reduced to nine billion yen ($70) for this fiscal
year. Sales of the Macintosh may help pick up profits in the future.

Currently, Canon and Kokuyo are mainly marketing Apple computers
in Japan.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920611/Press Contact: Minolta, +81-3-3435-
5511)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 12 Toshiba Quits DAT Manufacturing 06/12/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00003)

Toshiba Quits DAT Manufacturing 06/12/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 12 (NB) -- Toshiba has stopped
production of digital audio tape recorders (DATs). Observers
suggest this is partly due to severe competition among DAT
makers, but could also be the pending copyright issue of the DAT
software.

Toshiba entered the DAT market in 1987 and has released two
DAT players. Its main competition is Sony, Japan Columbia, Pioneer,
Aiwa and Matsushita Electric which have also released DAT players.
A total of 60,000 DAT players were shipped in 1991, half of
them by Sony which controls roughly half the total DAT market share.

However, the market remains soft and Toshiba may be responding to
this. DAT shipments are extremely small compared to the more than
1.1 million units of other audio devices that are being shipped,
including CD radio cassette tape recorders and headphone stereo sets.

Music record makers are hesitant to produce music software for
DAT recorders because the music copyright issue has not been
resolved yet. Consumers are also hesitant to purchase DAT players
since there are so few titles.

The recent slump in the industry is another reason why
Toshiba has abandoned manufacturing of DATs. Other manufacturers
may follow Toshiba's move and may shift the production to
the DCC and Mini-Disk, both of which have potential as future
digital audio systems.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920611/Press Contact: Toshiba, +81-3-3457-
2100)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 12 Australia: NetComm Adapting ISDN Mac NuBus Card 06/12/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(SYD)(00004)

Australia: NetComm Adapting ISDN Mac NuBus Card 06/12/92
CENTRAL, HONGKONG, 1992 JUN 12 (NB) -- Apple Computer Australia,
NetComm, and OTC Australia have combined forces to adapt the ISDN
Macintosh NuBus card to meet the telecommunications standards of
Australia and other countries.

The project is part of Apple Australia's ongoing Partnership for
Development initiatives with the Australian government. NetComm's
general manager, Paul Heath, said, "This project will see technology
worth millions of dollars transferred to Australia and will provide
NetComm with a springboard into the growing ISDN market. It gives us
the opportunity to develop leading edge software and hardware
technology for the international marketplace."

OTC says its objective is to have products available in the
marketplace which will stimulate demand for its advanced
international ISDN services and to provide a platform which will
permit development of imaginative applications.

The product will be NetComm branded, and will enable Macs with
NuBus to connect to ISDN basic rate services such as Australia's
Microlink. ISDN is capable of providing high quality voice,
high-speed data, and video communications over a single
public-switched data line.

A Macintosh equipped with the new board will be able to do all
three things interchangeably or simultaneously, within a
country or around the world, the companies say.

(Paul Zucker/199206011/Contact: Paul Heath ph +61-2-
8885533 fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 12 Editorial: Electronic Town Meetings, by John McCormick 06/12/92



(EDITORIAL)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00005)

Editorial: Electronic Town Meetings, by John McCormick 06/12/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 12 (NB) -- It has taken just
over 40 years for presidential candidates to recognize that the
combination of television and telephones have opened up a new way
of campaigning, but that recognition has finally set in.

Undeclared candidate H. Ross Perot was ridiculed by mainstream
press and political insiders alike when he began talking of
electronic town meetings but, as President Bush learned when the
three major networks recently refused to carry his rare prime time
"news conference," people are fed up with political business as
usual.

The President's meeting with the elite of Washington's press
corps was not carried by NBC, CBS, or ABC because it was
suspected that it would be blatantly political, rather than a
real news conference, and indeed nearly half the questions
actually related to Mr. Perot.

Governor Bill Clinton had meanwhile appeared on several of the
talk show circuit programs, as had Mr. Perot, and, seeing that
his recognition ratings (not to mention his approval ratings)
were slipping in the polls, the Democratic candidate was doing
everything from having television sax (playing blues on the
saxophone) on the popular Arsenio Hall Show to holding a real,
live one-hour-long electronic town meeting on NBC's Today Show.

Whether because there is more interest in him, or just because
NBC saw how well the one-hour session with Clinton went, Mr.
Perot followed with a two-hour phone-in question-and-answer
period of his own on the Today Show.

Now, possibly shocked by the lack of interest in his press
conference, President Bush has announced that he will make the
talk show round, bypassing the so-called "media elite," but the
format hasn't yet been announced and there is no indication that
Mr. Bush is ready for questions from actual people - we will just
have to wait and see.

Why is this happening? Is it, as many political pundits are
saying, because people distrust the reporters or is it much
simpler than that?

Are political candidates finally waking up to the fact that
people want to have a feeling of participation, of being able, if
only random chance will favor them, to actually ask a question on
their own?

The real situation may be far more cynical. This year there is
the first solid candidate for president who comes from outside
the mainstream political arena and the insiders are panicking.

Mr. Perot's ratings are so high that for the first time this
century we may have neither a Democrat nor a Republican in the
White House and because of that the politicians are actually
campaigning in a way that more rather than fewer people will be
likely to vote.

This isn't altruism; the entire political machine in this country
is geared to alienating most potential voters, leaving the real
selection of president to the hard-core voting members of the two
major parties.

This year there are so many defections from both camps to the
Perot bandwagon that they have been forced to turn to modern
technology in an effort to reverse the decades-long trend toward
voter apathy.

The questions asked of both Mr. Perot and Gov. Clinton by the
Today Show's audience were generally of a high caliber, certainly
as good as those asked by the high priests of Washington
knowledge who possess White House press passes.

But even if they hadn't been asked good questions, at least the
people viewing would have understood that the questions were
coming from "real people," not reporters who daily live in close
proximity to the imperial trappings of the presidency and who
can't help but be affected by those surroundings.

This is also the first year when a major candidate was not only
fully computer-literate but was saying that computers and high-
tech are the wave of the future for this country if we wish to
remain competitive.

Mr. Perot's power base isn't in Washington but in Silicon Valley
and in every small business that couldn't operate without
computers.

More importantly, he is saying to the parents of America that
their children must be educated to world-class standards, and
people believe him.

Whether Mr. Perot becomes president or the same old parties
eventually dominate, there will probably be a new focus on just
how important computers and telecommunications are both to
politicians and to the country as a whole.

Of course there is a possibility that, if re-elected once again,
the entrenched political elite will panic and try to block the
rapid growth of bulletin boards and other electronic messaging
systems because they will see this as their last chance to
totally eliminate the people's direct participation in
government.

Just so you know, I have worked as a reporter in Washington and
am a member of The National Press Club (located three blocks from
the White House).

(John McCormick/19920612)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 12 ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 06/12/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00006)

ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 06/12/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 12 (NB) -- Roundup is a brief
look at some computer stories carried in other publications
received here this past week.

Global Telephony dated June 1 says that Israel's Bezeq (the
government monopoly of telecommunications services) may go public
by selling off some of its holdings.

Computer Reseller News dated June 8 says that IBM has been asking
its resellers how they could participate at the delivery end if
IBM were to go to a larger direct sales marketing plan. Another
cover story says that if you ever wanted to own a piece of
WordPerfect you might just be in luck because the company may be
positioning itself to bring out an IPO (initial public offering
of stock).

The June 8 issue of Computerworld clears up the mystery of what
IBM will do with OfficeVision LAN - it will, according to the
lead story, kill off the project.

May's Canadian Datasystems (it just began arriving at this
office) says that there is more than one path to open systems and
also has a report on pen-based computing.

(John McCormick/19920612)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 12 GainMomentum Multimedia Will Port to Windows/NT 06/12/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00007)

GainMomentum Multimedia Will Port to Windows/NT 06/12/92
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 12 (NB) -- At some
point after the end of this year, Windows N/T will join Unix and
VAX on the list of software platforms for the new GainMomentum
multimedia, multitasking, multiuser applications environment,
Newsbytes has learned.

Thomas M. Siebel, CEO of Gain Technology, made mention of a move to
Windows during a talk this week at the "Software & Systems Outlook"
conference in Boston. Bob Runge, marketing communication director,
later told Newsbytes that the Windows port will be to the N/T
system -- and that Gain will release an announcement pinpointing
the timing.

"We will be running on N/T," Runge affirmed, "but all I can tell
you right now is that (the port) won't happen in 1992, and it will
probably be in early 1993."

Gain -- a three-year-old startup that is already partnering with
Sun, IBM, and Matsushita Electronics -- won't add Windows to its
roster of operating environments until the 32-bit N/T
implementation is ready, he explained.

The current 16-bit implementations of Windows don't supply the
levels of multitasking and multiuser support that GainMomentum
needs, he added. "N/T is the only operating system for the Intel
hardware platform that will accommodate our software,"
he commented.

Gain is targeting the recently released GainMomentum applications
environment at enterprise and departmental networks. The system
incorporates animation, full-motion video, sound, graphics, and
hypertext.

"Within two or three years, we'll see 300 MIP computers on the
corporate desktop, all networked together, and the machines will
operate like an "interactive CNN." Gain is delivering an
integrated family of products that will enable development of
applications like this," said Siebel during his talk in Boston.

A Sun version of GainMomentum, shipping since last month, is being
used to build an application that will be bundled with all Sun
workstations over a three-year span beginning this summer, noted
the CEO.

Runge told Newsbytes that the "interactive learning application"
will employ sights and sounds to teach Sun Unix users about the
file manager, mail tool, and other aspects of the Sun operating
system.

Versions of GainMomentum for IBM, DEC, Hewlett-Packard and Silicon
Graphics workstations will be available by summer, and IBM will use
the environment to develop an application for the RISC System/6000,
according to previous company announcements.

GainMomentum and another Gain product, GainExposure, are both the
fruits of a joint development agreement with Matsushita.
GainExposure, released in January, is designed for developing
multimedia demonstrations of software packages, said Runge.

Matsushita has announced its intentions to use the Gain development
environments for a new generation of consumer electronics products
incorporating HDTV (high definition television).

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920612; Press Contact: Bob Runge, Gain, tel
415-813-8236)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 12  ****Software Outlook: Is Mainframe Dying? Maybe Yes, Maybe No 06/12/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SFO)(00008)

 ****Software Outlook: Is Mainframe Dying? Maybe Yes, Maybe No 06/12/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 12 (NB) -- "How much
longer before the mainframe becomes obsolete?" asked a panel
moderator at this week's "Software & Systems Outlook" conference --
and the answers he got from software vendors ranged all the way
from "Never" to "It's obsolete already."

Elaborating on his initial question, moderator Richard Sherlund,
vice president of the Goldman Sachs, probed the panel: "Are the
days of the mainframe numbered? How many years would you give it?"

One panelist responded with a question of his own, and answered it
immediately. "Who in this room -- or what MIS manager, anywhere
-- would buy a mainframe? I claim, `Nobody,'" asserted Joseph
Alsop, president of Progress Software.

"The economics of downsizing -- either to a low cost, high
performance VAX or to the client server layer -- are so compelling
that the only reason to have a mainframe is that you've already got
the thing in the first place," remarked the top official of the
relational database company.

But Umang Gupta, president and CEO of Gupta Technologies, gave a
response diametrically opposed. "I take exception to the notion of
the mainframe becoming obsolete," stated Gupta. Systems such as
IBM's MVS mainframe stand a good chance of lasting at least another
20 years, because customers appreciate the high level of support
being supplied by current mainframe vendors, he predicted.

And even when the current mainframes do die out, new computers with
similar capabilities will arise to take their place, he added.
Neither Gupta nor the other panelists brought up the name of the
supercomputer. But Gupta did speculate that, in the future, there
will be different gradations of servers -- large ones for central
records storage, and smaller ones at departmental levels --playing
host to desktop clients.

Some large servers will be roughly equivalent to the mainframes of
today, suggested Gupta, whose company builds applications, database
servers, and connectivity software that runs on PC LANs in
client/server as well as cooperative processing environments.

Dennis McEvoy, president and CEO of Cooperative Solutions,
concurred with Gupta to some extent. "The MVS mainframe will stay
around because of its capacity," said McEvoy, noting that
"capacity" should be measured in terms of "the ability to manage
large databases" as well as in number of MIPS.

Mainframe-equivalent capacity is still absent from LAN-based
systems, although Unix will probably grow up to the same level
eventually, said McEvoy.

According to McEvoy, most customers for Cooperative's client/server
transaction processing software need mainframe solutions as well,
since their applications tend to include databases requiring five
gigabytes or more in storage.

Another speaker, Mitchell Kertzman, steered the middle course.
Mainframes are still alive, but probably not forever, said
Kertzman, president of PowerSoft, the maker of a client/server
development environment for large commercial and government
applications.

"Nobody's building new applications for the mainframe any more,"
commented Kertzman. As a result, the lifetime of a mainframe is
being defined by the life cycle of its applications, together with
the cost of maintaining the hardware and software.

"Mainframes will be around for as long as the economics of keeping
applications running on them makes sense," he concluded.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920612)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 12 UPI Saved Again, For Now 06/12/92




(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00009)

UPI Saved Again, For Now 06/12/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A, 1992 JUN 12 (NB) -- Maybe it could be
a TV series -- it certainly has enough cliffhangers. Leon
Charney, a former advisor to President Jimmy Carter, has rescued
UPI, for now, a day before it was to close its doors for good.

United Press International reached an agreement in principle with
Charney, who now works as an attorney, television moderator,
producer and author, to continue operations while Charney
prepares a formal bid for the assets of the wire service. The
agreement was slated for signatures at noon on June 12. Charney
will meet the company's payroll while looking at the books.

Earlier, religious talk-show host and former presidential
candidate Pat Robertson had backed off his $6 million bid for the
service, saying its debts were too high and its equipment too
antiquated. He'd estimated it would take $31 million just to keep
the company operating through the end of 1993, with no assurance
of a return on the investment. Robertson paid an estimated
$150,000 to keep the company operating while he made his
decision, following a dramatic appearance at a Vermont
bankruptcy court auction where he was the only substantial
bidder.

In a news release, UPI said Charney expects to make a bid for all
or substantially all of UPI's assets. In its Chapter 11 filing in
the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, UPI said it owed
creditors about $60 million.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920612)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 12 International Phone Update 06/12/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00010)

International Phone Update 06/12/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 12 (NB) -- While political
leaders meet in Rio de Jenairo looking for a way to reconcile
economic growth and environmental vitality, the relatively clean
telecommunications industry continues to make progress throughout
the developing world.

Motorola of the US formed a joint venture with Netas AS and SGS
Profilo of Turkey to build GSM digital cellular system in that
country. The groups will bid on systems which could wind up
costing several hundred million dollars. GSM is a pan-European
digital standard, similar to the US-approved TDMA scheme, which
could allow for continent-wide roaming by the end of the century.
But GSM has been slow to develop in many advanced markets,
notably the United Kingdom, because incompatible analog systems
have not yet won substantial returns on their assets.

Bulgaria said the European Investment Bank, European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development, and World Bank have approved an
initial loan of $50 million to modernize its 100-year old phone
system. Germany's Siemens, Sweden's Ericsson and AT&T of the
United States are expected to bid on the project.

AT&T's NCR unit won a $55 million contract to modernize the
computer systems at the Slovenska Statna Sporitelna in Slovakia.
That bank has 650 branches, and the work would run through 1997.
In recent elections, Slovakia voters supported a party committed
to breaking off from the Czech homeland to the west, and a
referendum on independence is expected before the end of the
year.

Far to the East, in Vladivostok on the Russian east coast,
KDD and Nissei Iwai trading signed a deal to build a state-of-
the-art communications system, including a digital switchboard
with capacity for 3,600 lines. The companies said businessmen in
Niigata, Toyama and other cities have been flooding them with
requests for service. Japan is expected to get first dibs on
exploiting Siberia's vast forest and mineral wealth.

The Cocom trading agency, which now has Russia as a member,
continues to resist attempts by that country to build a cross-
country fiber optic phone network, which would be impossible for
Western spy agencies to tap into. But China's another matter.
That country said it will soon take international tenders on
15,000 kilometers of fiber linking 21 provinces and cities,
including a line from the capital of Beijing to Guangzhou, the
province near Hong Kong which is rapidly making progress along
the capitalist road. Completion of the lines will double China's
telecommunications capacity.

While Mexico, Columbia and Venezuela consider a free trade pact,
which could link a US-led trade zone with South America's
Mercosur group, Mexico is also modernizing its banking system.
Banco Nacional de Mexico, known as Banamex, ordered 680
DataMover 2000 units from Comptek of the US, which will let it
put automated tellers in locations where telephone access is
impractical. The units use cellular technology to move bursts of
financial data back and forth.

Finally, down in that Mercosur bloc, AT&T signed a deal to
provide cellular equipment for Curitiba, the capital city of
Parana province in Brazil.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920612/Press Contact: Barbara Mierisch, 201-
606-2457, AT&T Network Systems; Robert Farkas, NCR, 513-445-2078;
Christopher A. Head, Comptek, 716-842-2700)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 12 House Looks At Bills Making Phone Firms Liable for Fraud 06/12/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00011)

House Looks At Bills Making Phone Firms Liable for Fraud 06/12/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 JUN 12 (NB) -- The US House
began consideration of a bill by Rep. Barney Frank of
Massachusetts which would make phone companies and equipment
suppliers, not consumers, liable for losses due to fraud.

Mitsubishi had sued AT&T last year over its losses, claiming that
since it made its PBX and was its long distance supplier it
should take responsibility for a hacker's ability to infiltrate
the system and steal over $100,000 in international phone
service.

Experts told the House telecommunications subcommittee of Rep.
Edward Markey, which has jurisdiction on the bill, that consumers
are losing $2.2 billion to thieves, and the fraud will continue
as long as the industry is able to say it's not responsible. But
a spokesman for AT&T said his company has taken steps against the
thieves, and maintained that since PBXs are on customer premises
and only the customer knows who is an authorized caller, that the
customers' security measures are the best defense. AT&T has taken
customers to court for failing to pay such fraudulent charges,
even suing the United Nations for nearly a million dollars a few
years ago.

In addition to offering special software and fast access to
in-house fraud experts, both AT&T and Sprint have begun selling a
form of insurance making customers less liable for phone fraud.
Sprint claimed its security procedures have cut such fraud by 90
percent. "Based on current data, we anticipate less than 250
outward bound international CPE fraud incidents in 1992,"
testified Robert F. Fox, Sprint assistant vice president of
security. "Since January 1992, the average loss per CPE fraud
incident is less than $2,000.

Still, many companies have voice mail systems that let their
employees dial into their PBX machines from outside and enter a
4-digit identifier, like a bank-card PIN, so they can make long-
distance calls through the company's phone plan. Hackers break
into the voice mail systems by using their computers to dial all
possible PIN codes, then dial out free. They can also sell the
PIN codes they steal, leading to thieves at pay phones selling
drug importers cheap, secure access to their international supply
sources.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920612/Press Contact: Janis Langley, Sprint,
202-828-7427)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 12 Cellular Industry Gives Thumbs-Up to CDMA 06/12/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00012)

Cellular Industry Gives Thumbs-Up to CDMA 06/12/92
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 12 (NB) -- Qualcomm, a
public company partly owned by Pacific Telesis, hailed the
decision by the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association
requesting expeditious development of a Code Division Multiple
Access digital cellular standard for North America.

CDMA is a digital cellular scheme which sends out calls on a
broad spectrum of frequencies, delivering 10 times the calling
capacity of analog phones. A competing standard, called Time
Division Multiple Access, or TDMA, splits each call channel into
pieces, then sends separate digitized voice streams on each piece
of the channel. TDMA has been repeatedly endorsed by the CTIA in
the past, which said CDMA was an unproven technology. A number of
cellular operators, notably Southwestern Bell and McCaw, have
committed to TDMA, which offers only three times present
capacity, while GM-Hughes has offered an enhancement to TDMA
which would give 15 times present calling capacity. However, many
cellular companies have decided to wait until the smoke clears,
supporting enhancements to the present AMPS analog system offered
by Motorola.

Back in January, the CTIA authorized the Telecommunications
Industry Association to form a subcommittee, TR45.5, to look at
schemes like CDMA. The group, which represents cellular phone
operators, has now authorized that group to focus solely on the
standardization of CDMA.

Shares in Qualcomm rose about 6 percent on the news.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920612/Press Contact: Qualcomm, Allen
Salmasi, 619/597-5060)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 12 New For PC: Softway PenDOS Extensions For Screen Dev't System 06/12/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00013)

New For PC: Softway PenDOS Extensions For Screen Dev't System 06/12/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, U.S.A. 1992 JUN 12 (NB) -- Softway has
announced the addition of pen programming abilities to its Hi-
Screen Pro II screen development system.

A new version of Hi-Screen Pro II, slated for July shipment, will
come with extensions for the PenDOS operating system, a
product of Communications Intelligence Corporation (CIC).

Hi-Screen II allows the PC programmer to manage all aspects of
user input and output, including the design of icons, menus, and
screens, Negin Khorrami, software support engineer, told
Newsbytes.

The standard version of the product, priced at $395 and available
since January, runs on DOS. The version with PenDOS extensions,
priced at $795 and slated for July shipment, will operate on
either PenDOS or DOS. The use of PenDOS will supply applications
with character recognition and signature verification
capabilities, according to Khorrami.

Each version will work with any programming language, on any IBM
PC-compatible hardware 8086 or above.

The pen extensions consist of a new object module that supports
PenDOS, Khorrami explained. The program provides icon, menu and
screen editing functions specifically designed for pen.

Softway also produces a wide range of other applications
development packages. "All our products are royalty free, and
that's very important for developers to know," Khorrami noted.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920611; Press Contact: Fran Bollerot,
Softway, tel [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 12  ****Broderbund Nabs PC Globe, Company Delighted 06/12/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00014)

 ****Broderbund Nabs PC Globe, Company Delighted 06/12/92
NOVATO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 12 (NB) -- Broderbund Software
reports it has plans to acquire PC Globe Inc., publishers of
"electronic atlas" programs, for $1.5 million, subject to shareholder
approval. The deal culminates a long and at one time rocky courtship
between the two firms.

Broderbund has been distributing PC Globe's products into the
educational market since late 1991, and is still engaged in a lawsuit
with one of PC Globe's other suitors.

PC Globe sales in fiscal 1991 were $7.7 million. Its products include
PC Globe, PC USA and MacGlobe.

The deal follows a series of legal maneuvers aimed at breaking up
a relationship between PC Globe and Intracorp, a Miami-based software
company. In January 1992, Broderbund filed a lawsuit in US District Court
in San Francisco to set aside a supposed acquisition agreement between
PC Globe and Intracorp. Intracorp filed counterclaims against Broderbund
which were later dismissed. The heart of the matter is that the Intracorp
agreement violated an agreement that Broderbund and PC Globe had signed
last year, as well as a line of credit that Broderbund had provided to PC
Globe.

Broderbund VP and general counsel, Thomas L. Marcus told Newsbytes
that Broderbund and PC Globe still have claims on-going in court against
Intercorp.

PC Globe employs a staff of forty and there is no definite word as
to what a merger will mean staff-wise. "We're working on the transition
plan now. We expect to maintain the company's facility there [in Tempe], and
that some functions will be integrated up here," explained Broderbund
spokeswoman Kathleen Burke to Newsbytes.

"We at PC Globe are delighted to be acquired by Broderbund," said Don
Ditter, PC Globe's president. Spokesman Richard Burger says, "We
are really happy, and there is a tremendous amount of relief that
after months of uncertainty in the wake of Roy Kessler's death, that
we finally know that the company has a positive destiny, that PC Globe
will survive in the hands of a great publicly trade company." Kessler,
the company's founder, died at age 35 of lymphoma on October 25th of
last year.

(Wendy Woods/19920612/Press Contact: Kathleen Burke, 415/382-4567
or PC Globe Inc., Tempe; Richard Burger, 602/730-9000)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 12 Synon Speeds Software Migration To AS/400 Platform 06/12/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(HKG)(00015)

Synon Speeds Software Migration To AS/400 Platform 06/12/92
WANCHAI, HONG KONG, 1992 JUN 12 (NB) -- Synon Corporation, supplier of
CASE tools for IBM midrange systems, has introduced a new re-
engineering tool set that is designed to substantially reduce the cost
of migrating applications to the IBM AS/400 platform.

Called Synon Gateway, the new tool set allows users to migrate
applications from IBM System/36 and System/38 and Unisys equipment to
the AS/400, the company says. Early usage figures from the US
indicate that migration costs using Gateway could be reduced by up
to 70 percent, the firm reports.

Synon Gateway accepts several source language formats including RPG II
and RPG III from IBM System/36/38, COBOL from any IBM mid-range
system, and LINC 4GL from Unisys. It will be used in conjunction with
Synon/2E to provide CASE-based design, development and maintenance for
future versions and enhancements of re-engineering applications.

A separate translator and interpreter are provided for each source
language format, allowing full recovery of data elements, definitions
and file relations as well as very high rates of logic recovery.

"By dramatically speeding migration to the AS/400, Synon Gateway helps
users to upgrade their system in line with business growth," said Guy
Riddle, Synon Asia's Hong Kong-based technical specialist.
"Previously, to move applications to the AS/400, users either had to
make the AS/400 emulate System/36/38 mode, and hence run below
capacity, or face the laborious task of manually re-writing their
applications. Now, with Synon Gateway, the AS/400 environment is open
to thousands of organizations that are trapped in their current
hardware."

The announcement follows Synon's recent launch of its Client/Server
Generator which enables cooperative processing between the AS/400 and
PCs running OS/2. According to Riddle, both announcements are part of
the company's long term strategy to enable cross-platform development
without having to redesign and rewrite.

"Users want flexible systems that can easily grow with their business,
that use each platform to its best advantage, yet still protect their
existing applications investment," he said.

(Brett Cameron/19920609/Press contact: Brian Paterson, Euan Barty &
Associates, tel [phone]; HK time is GMT + 8)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 12 New For Networks: Ethernet Switching For Intelligent Hubs 06/12/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00016)

New For Networks: Ethernet Switching For Intelligent Hubs 06/12/92
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1992 JUN 12 (NB) -- SynOptics Communications
announced the launch of an extension to its LattisNet System 3000
intelligent hub. According to the company, the new LattisSwitch
System 3000 marks the first time that Ethernet switching
technology has been available in an intelligent hub.

Developed under an alliance with high-performance switching technology
vendor, US-based Kalpana Inc., the new system is designed to provide
users with increased Ethernet throughput for network segments or
servers, while protecting current investments in Ethernet equipment.
It can support up to five fully managed Ethernet segments in a single
chassis, with high-performance switching to connect the segments.

"LattisNet users now have the means to interconnect multiple Ethernet
segments with significant performance and cost advantages over
conventional bridging," said David Coulson, SynOptics' Asia sales
manager.

The LattisSwitch System 3000 extension includes a new backplane for
the current System 3000 intelligent hubs and several new modules. In
addition, all previous SynOptics System 3000 Ethernet modules -
including pre-10BASE-T versions - are compatible with the new
LattisSwitch System 3000 and can take advantage of the hub's
multisegment capabilities.

The LattisSwitch System 3000 also continues the System 3000's support
for Token Ring and Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI), along with
Ethernet, in the same hub.

Under the newly formed technology alliance, Kalpana and SynOptics will
jointly develop a six-port Ethernet switching module for the
LattisSwitch System 3000. Dubbed the Model 3328 Ethernet Switching
Engine, it is expected to be available by the end of the year.

SynOptics has implemented multisegment Ethernet by modifying the
existing Ethernet channel "A," on the System 3000 backplane so that it
can be divided into as many as four Ethernet segments. All existing
System 3000 Ethernet modules can plug into any segment on this
channel. A fifth segment is implemented via a second Ethernet channel
on the backplane, channel "B."

New SynOptics Ethernet modules will take advantage of the second
channel to provide a variety of benefits, including configuration
flexibility, fault resilience and enhanced network management and
diagnostics, the company says.

In addition to the new backplane, SynOptics will offer three new types
of modules for use with the LattisSwitch System 3000 extension. These
include a new 24-port high-density 10BASE-T module, two new Network
Management Modules with connectors for both channels as well as the
new Ethernet Switching Engine being jointly developed with Kalpana.

"The new high-density 10BASE-T module will enable customers to build
networks with up to 264 ports in one LattisSwitch System 3000," said
Coulson. "The new module can be logically configured on the 'A'
channel or the 'B' channel from a network management station. Changing
modules between channels without physical intervention saves the time
and effort involved in manual changes and helps keep users online if
there are problems on either channel," said Coulson.

The new network management modules are capable of managing ports on
either channel. Both models will provide all the functionality of
their existing single-channel counterparts and existing network
management modules can still be used on the "A" channel.

"In the new LattisSwitch System 3000, customers can choose to use one
network management module per hub for basic capabilities such as
Expanded View, LED status, and port control for all modules," Coulson
said. "Or, they can use a separate network management module in each
segment to provide more detailed statistics, support for the
Autotopology mapping feature, node security and thresholds."

(Brett Cameron/19920609/Press contact: David Coulson, Synoptics,
Tel [phone]; HK time is GMT + 8)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 12 Moves To improve US-Japan Technical Relations 06/12/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(HKG)(00017)

Moves To improve US-Japan Technical Relations 06/12/92
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1992 JUN 12 (NB) -- KTI Semiconductor Ltd, a joint
venture between Kobe Steel and Texas Instruments, has opened its
semiconductor wafer fabrication plant in the Japanese city of
Nishiwaki. Volume production will begin in the third quarter.

Jerry R. Junkins, TI's chairman, president and CEO, took part in the
traditional ceremony inaugurating the plant, together with Kobe
Steel's President Sokichi Kametaka, and high-ranking local officials.
"This joint venture will contribute toward improving US-Japan
relations in the semiconductor industry," predicted Kametaka.

"For TI, the joint venture is an important piece of the company's
commitment to serving the needs of its customers in Japan and in the
rest of the Asia-Pacific region," said Junkins. "It is also
an integral part of TI's long-term strategy to have
adequate design, production, marketing and support capacity deployed
throughout the major market regions of the world to service customers
on a global basis, wherever they may need our products."

KTI, which is 75 percent owned by Kobe Steel, was formed in May 1990
to manufacture advanced semiconductor products in Japan. Since
construction began in February 1991, approximately $426 million has
been invested in the state-of-the-art plant.

Initially, KTI will produce 16 megabit (Mbit) DRAM memory devices.
However, beginning in 1993 the plant will start production of advanced
CMOS logic devices, including application specific integrated circuits
(ASICs). By fiscal 1995, production is expected to centre primarily on
logic devices.

"KTI's submicron-CMOS production capability addresses the fastest
growing segment of the Japanese semiconductor market, which is
application specific products," said Junkins. "TI is rapidly
increasing its product mix toward a greater percentage of these
differentiated devices such as ASICs, application processors, micro-
controllers, advanced linear circuits and application specific
memories."

Semiconductor products from the new plant will be sold exclusively to
TI for distribution and sale in the world's commercial semiconductor
markets.

KTI will produce semiconductors on eight-inch wafers, giving the plant
a capacity almost twice that of wafer fabs using six-inch wafers. It
is capable of manufacturing integrated circuits using 0.5 micron
design rules, circuits in which the smallest structures fabricated on
the wafer are only 0.5 microns in diameter.

Over the past three years, TI has invested more than $2.4 billion
worldwide. Additional wafer fabrication projects include a submicron
CMOS plant in Italy that began production in 1991, a joint venture
with Taiwan's Acer Inc., which is already shipping advanced
semiconductors, and a joint venture with Canon, Hewlett-Packard and
the Economic Development Board of Singapore, now under construction in
Singapore.

(Brett Cameron/19920609/Press contact: Sharon Hampton, TI,
Tel: [phone]; HK time is GMT + 8)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 12 New For Networks: Ungermann Bass Departmental Hub 06/12/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00018)

New For Networks: Ungermann Bass Departmental Hub 06/12/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 12 (NB) -- Ungermann Bass
has introduced a 12-port 10Base-T hub product that is called the
Access/Hub. Until this introduction, Ungermann Bass (UB) has been
primarily known as a vendor of high-end enterprise-wide
internetworking systems and components, so this introduction came as
somewhat of a surprise.

In a telephone interview with Andrea Saliba, product marketing
manager, Newsbytes has learned that UB has been moving towards the
departmental LAN market over the past few months. In particular,
Andrea pointed to the recent introduction of a 2-slot version of
the Access/One enterprise hub. "The idea," said Andrea, "is that UB
wants to provide solutions for all levels of the enterprise. The 2
slot Access/One was a step in that direction. Access/Hub is another
step."

The Access/Hub is a much simpler hub than the Access/One is. It is
dedicated to serving 10Base-T ports and offers only a single upgrade
option. A customer can purchase the Access/Hub either with or without
a daughterboard that provides for SNMP (Simple Network Management
Protocol) management. Should someone buy the hub without the SNMP
agent and then desire to add it, UB offers an upgrade package to
accomodate this.

UB's SNMP agent supports MIB I and MIB II definitions and is
fully compliant with the IEEE 802.3K Repeater draft standard
for SNMP hub management.

In addition to the 12 ports that connect 10Base-T devices, the
Access/Hub also has an AUI connector. This connector and the semi-
special port allow the customer to connect several of these
hubs together. UB mentions that by connecting hubs in this manner
it is possible to build a network of up to 276 nodes. The hub also
sports an array of 28 LEDs to support on-board diagnostics; an
electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) device
for faster startup after power shutdown; and can be managed by any
SNMP compliant manager. Of course, UB's NetDirector product can
manage the new hub.

The Access/Hub is available now. The unmanaged version sells for
$1395. The managed version for $1995. The upgrade to add SNMP
management functionality sells for $750.

(Naor Wallach/19920611, Press Contact: Laura Irwin, Ungermann Bass,
408-987-6509)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 12 New For PC: Runtime For Windowbase 1.5 06/12/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00019)

New For PC: Runtime For Windowbase 1.5 06/12/92
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 12 (NB) -- One of the first
companies to offer database application software for Microsoft
Windows, Software Products International (SPI), says it is now
offering an unlimited runtime version of its database development
product, Windowbase 1.5.

The runtime version allows applications developed in Windowbase to be
compiled and run on computers without Windowbase installed.

SPI says Windowbase offers an improved graphical user interface, and
provides gateways to dBASE III and Btrieve file formats. The company
says the product also allows users to input, view, and update data
through forms, reports, or tables. Structured query language (SQL)
support is also included so users who know very little about SQL can
still produce queries using button selections, edit controls, and
check boxes.

SPI points out that under Windows, Windowbase can use Dynamic Data
Exchange (DDE) which allows the exchange of data with other Windows
spreadsheets, word processors and communications packages. The
company also says the product has passed Microsoft's certification
for Windows 3.1 compatibility. That means drag and drop, Truetype
fonts, and common dialog boxes are all supported, SPI added.

The suggested retail price for Windowbase 1.5 is $495, while the
runtime version is an extra $249, SPI said. Registered users can
upgrade to the runtime version for $199 directly from SPI, however a
special $299 offer for both Windowbase 1.5 and the runtime is offered
by SPI to developers until July 31 of this year, Connie Roloff of
public relations told Newsbytes.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920611/Press Contact: Connie Roloff, Software
Products International, tel [phone] ext 414, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 12 Symantec Buys Further Into Programmer's Tools Market 06/12/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00020)

Symantec Buys Further Into Programmer's Tools Market 06/12/92
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 12 (NB) -- Symantec, the
company which last year bought Santa Monica, California-based Peter
Norton Computing, says it has acquired two more companies -- Mountain
View, California-based Multiscope and Evanston, Illinois-based The
Whitewater Group.

Multiscope develops Debuggers for Windows, DOS, and OS/2 for use by
software developers in locating and fixing programming errors. The
Whitewater Group is probably best known for its Whitewater Resource
Toolkit for interactively designing and modifying the look and feel
of Windows applications. Whitewater's products are geared toward
object-oriented programming (OOP) tools and class libraries for the
development of Windows applications.

Symantec says the acquisitions will be accounted for as a pooling of
interests and will issue approximately 165,000 shares of its common
stock for the current outstanding shares of MultiScope stock and
approximately 80,000 shares for the current outstanding shares of The
Whitewater Group stock. The company expects the merger will cost $2.1
million or $.06 per share after tax in a one-time expense.

No moves are planned for the personnel of the two purchased
companies, though both companies will report to newly appointed
director of development tools Carol Clettenberg, Symantec said.

Though Symantec is probably best known for its utility products for
Macintosh, DOS, and Windows, the company says it has a strong
presence in the development tools market. Its development tools
include Think C and Think Pascal, both integrated development
environments, and Zortech's 32-bit C++ compilers for DOS, Windows,
OS/2, Unix, and Macintosh.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920611/Press Contact: Brian Fawkes, Symantec, tel
408-446-8886, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 12 EC Opens Leased Phone Line Market 06/12/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00021)

EC Opens Leased Phone Line Market 06/12/92
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1992 JUN 12 (NB) -- In its continuing battle
against individual government monopolies in the European telecom
marketplace, the European Commission (EC) has introduced
legislation to make it easier for companies to set up pan-
European networks for data-only applications.

The legislation, which will take effect in about a year,
effectively forces all telecom companies in Europe to sell their
services to whoever wants that service, and for there to be no
discriminatory pricing. This means, for example, that Deutches
Bundespost Telekom, the state-controlled German telecom company
which is not noted for its open market arrangements, must rent
its data lines to all comers, rather than favor any group of
companies.

Analysts are hailing the legislation as the first step in the
EC's Open Network Provision (ONP) for opening up the telecom
market in Europe. Many are waiting for similar arrangements for
voice and data lines, though the EC has said nothing about these
services.

(Steve Gold/19920611)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 12 Correction: Top Company BCE's Revenue C$19,884 Million 06/12/92


(CORRECTION)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00022)

Correction: Top Company BCE's Revenue C$19,884 Million 06/12/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 JUN 12 (NB) -- Revenue and
income figures for several Canadian companies reported recently in
Newsbytes were wrong, due partly to a typographical error in the
annual Top 500 report published by Canadian Business magazine.
Errors by Newsbytes complicated the confusion.

The magazine labelled columns of revenues and net income figures
as being in thousands of dollars when they were in fact in millions.

In a story reporting that BCE, the holding company that owns
Northern Telecom and Bell Canada, had replaced General Motors
Canada as the largest firm in Canada, BCE's 1991 revenue should
have read C$19,884 million. GM Canada's revenue was C$19,304
million. BCE's net income was C$1,329 million, while GM Canada's
was C$323.31 million (this figure was correct in the original story).

Also, Newsbytes should have given IBM Canada's revenue as C$6,255.0
million (not C$6.255 million), that of Telus as C$1,227.2 million,
and that of Rogers Communications as C$995.1 million. The figure
for Digital Equipment Canada should have been C$941.4 million. The
revenues of InterTan Canada were correctly reported as C$814.9
million.

Newsbytes should have seen that the figures as printed were out of
line, and must also take responsibility for our own errors, even
though they had the effect of cancelling out the typo in the table.
Apologies.

(Grant Buckler/19920601/Press Contact: Canadian Business,
416-364-4266, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 12 Review of: Apple Macintosh PowerBook 140 2/40, 06/12/92



(REVIEW)(APPLE)(SYD)(00023)

Review of: Apple Macintosh PowerBook 140 2/40, 06/12/92

From: Apple Computer, 20525 Mariana Avenue, Cupertino CA 95014-6299,
[phone]

Price: varies depending on retailer - average $US3199

PUMA Rating: 3.6 on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Sean McNamara 06/12/92

Summary: The PowerBooks represent the first offerings from Apple
which truly are in the laptop class. Incorporating many of the
design features of the Mac Portable, but with true laptop size and
weight, Apple is set to reap the benefits of giving users what they
want from a laptop. Increasing the entry level memory to 4MB
(megabytes) would be a major improvement.

======

REVIEW

======

There was a time when portable Mac computing meant either having a
concrete block on your lap, or using a third party solution. Many
users preferred to stay with Apple and cried out for a light,
powerful and reliable machine which would let them run their Mac
software when on the road. Despite its battery-saving features,
good screen and long lasting battery, the Portable was doomed to
failure, and Apple was sure to bring out realistic replacements.

Enter the PowerBook range. With the same battery saving features as
the Portable and a good screen on the 170, the PowerBooks have a
good start. But there's a lot more to these Macs. Apple has learned
its mistakes from the Portable, and the PowerBooks come across as a
generally well thought out line of laptop computers. This review
will concentrate on the PowerBook 140.

The PowerBook 140 is as compatible with normal Mac software as any
other Mac. There are some programs which won't work, but these will
dwindle in number as upgrades are released. Using the 140 is really
very much like having a full-blown Mac - the keyboard is full size,
the 40MB hard disk drive would be adequate for most users, a mouse
can be connected, internal modems are available, it has sound input
and output sockets, the normal modem and printer ports and
reset/interrupt switches, and an external hard disk drive interface.

Most of the time, users would use the trackball on the PowerBook,
rather than carry around a mouse. Although use of the trackball
takes a bit of getting used to, it does become as easy to use as the
mouse, and I found no trouble switching between the two.

Users may consider three types of utilities which may make the
transition to the PowerBook easier. The first is one which allows
the user to "tear-off" the menus and just click on the options in a
little "menu window." One of the hardest things to get used to with a
trackball is accessing the menu, and tear-off menus can help a lot.
An alternative to this is a utility which allows you to click on a
menu and have it stay open without needing to drag (menus operate
like this in Windows). Options are then selected by just clicking on
them (almost like a temporary stationary tear-off menu). The third
is a utility which allows keyboard navigation of dialog buttons and
marks. There are shareware versions of such utilities available, and
they are well worth the registration for the increased ease of use
they afford the PowerBook user (and in many cases, "normal" Mac
users).

Despite the lack of memory on the entry level machine, the PowerBook
is no slouch, operating as a whole at about four times the speed of a
Mac Classic (the PowerBook 140's processor is a 16MHz 68030).
Increased memory would improve this further by negating the need to
use Virtual Memory (which chews up battery life) and by allowing the
user to set up a RAM disk, which would not only speed performance,
but also cut battery use. The investment in memory is well worth it
considering the cost of memory, but more memory could really be
offered with minimal increase in price (no increase would make the
PowerBook even more attractive).

The system has been designed to give the maximum possible battery
life from the nickel cadmium battery, and, although adequate,
battery life is not as impressive as with the Mac Portable.
Incorporating the useful "sleep" feature saves battery power, and
the sleep settings are user-adjustable (and can be turned off if
desired). As the battery level reaches "reserve" power, the system
gives a warning dialog and automatically dims the screen slightly.

Putting the computer to sleep manually at this time until mains
power can be connected is a handy feature, as the state of the
computer is maintained, and when it is woken, the system is where it
was left. One minor hitch comes when plugging the power pack into
mains power. The pack is at a size where it cannot sit in a double
socket with another power cord plugged in next to it, and on some
single sockets the socket switch hampers the pack sitting in the
socket neatly. Some ways around this are: to use a short extension
lead; to use a 4-socket powerboard and lose a socket; or use the
external charger.

===========

PUMA RATING

===========

PERFORMANCE: 2.5. While the PowerBook 140 runs just about all Mac
software, its performance is severely hampered by the standard 2MB
of memory. Surely with System 7 taking up 1MB of this at its
leanest, and most programs requiring 2MB clear these days, 4MB would
be a more realistic entry-level, especially with the price of memory
these days.

USEFULNESS: 4. Mac users have been dreaming of a Mac laptop for
years now, and the wait was worth it. With the three models covering
most people's needs (and the PowerBook 140 being a nice middle-
ground machine), and with Apple using realistic pricing structures
for what they deliver, most users would be satisfied with what the
receive.

MANUAL: 4. Apple is renowned for its manuals, and the PowerBook is
a great example of why. With clear layout, numerous screen shots and
illustrations, and System 7's Balloon Help, users should have no
trouble working out the ins and outs of the PowerBook.

AVAILABILITY: 4. Supplies are said to be increasing, with no more than
a week's wait at most retailers.

(Sean McNamara/19920610)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 12  ****Wang Sues Japanese SIMM Vendors 06/12/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(TOR)(00024)

 ****Wang Sues Japanese SIMM Vendors 06/12/92
LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 12 (NB) -- In the latest
installment of a patent battle that has gone on since 1989, Wang
Laboratories has filed lawsuits against the US subsidiaries of
two Japanese manufacturers and against three American companies.
Wang alleges that single in-line memory modules (SIMMs) made by the
companies violate two Wang patents.

Wang is suing Mitsubishi Electronics America and NMB Technologies,
the US subsidiaries of Mitsubishi Electric Corporation of Tokyo
and NMB Semiconductor of Chica, Japan.

Wang filed the complaint in US Federal District Court in
Alexandria, Virginia, seeking preliminary and permanent court
orders to stop both defendants from manufacturing, using, and
selling SIMMs in the United States. In addition, Wang seeks treble
monetary damages for Mitsubishi's and NMB's alleged infringement
and attorney's fees, contending their conduct has been willful.

The company also said it was about to file suits against American
Computer & Digital Components of Baldwin Park, California, Wintec
of Fremont, California, and Clearpoint of Hopkinton, Massachusetts.
Wang charged all three companies with infringing its SIMM patents,
and said further lawsuits can be expected.

The Wang patents cover the structure of a SIMM, a modular device
containing several memory chips. SIMMs are widely used in personal
computers and peripherals. The Wang patents are effective until the
year 2004.

Mitsubishi and NMB were among seven companies named in a complaint
that Wang filed with the United States' International Trade
Commission (ITC) in January. The others -- Fujitsu, Hitachi, Intel
Japan, Matsushita, and Oki, have signed licensing agreements with
Wang. Wang's complaint asked the ITC to ban the importation into
the United States of both SIMMs and products using SIMMs that
violate the Wang patents.

Wang said it has withdrawn the ITC complaint and asked the ITC to
end its investigation, preferring to pursue the last two companies
in court, where monetary damages are available. The ITC does not
grant monetary damages.

Wang has already signed licensing agreements with most of the
world's major manufacturers and distributors of SIMMs. As well as
those named above, they include Goldstar Electronic Co., Samsung
Electronics, and Siemens Components.

In the third quarter of last year, Wang reported $7.6 million in
income from patent royalties, primarily from SIMM patents, company
spokesman Ed Pignone told Newsbytes.

(Grant Buckler/19920612/Press Contact: Ed Pignone, Wang
Laboratories, 508-967-4912)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 12 Systemhouse, BCE, Bell Canada Call It Off 06/12/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00025)

Systemhouse, BCE, Bell Canada Call It Off 06/12/92
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 JUN 12 (NB) -- After extending
negotiations twice, integrator SHL Systemhouse, telephone company
Bell Canada and BCE, the holding company that owns Bell Canada as
well as Northern Telecom, have called off a strategic partnership
announced in February.

Had it been concluded, the deal would have involved Systemhouse
taking over the operation of Bell Canada's data center and offering
systems integration and outsourcing services to Bell Canada
customers. The two companies were also to create a joint venture to
sell computer systems and services to the telecommunications
industry worldwide.

Systemhouse was to buy some assets of Bell Canada for cash, while
BCE would have paid cash for enough Systemhouse shares to give it
60-percent ownership of the company. BCE currently has a
25.3-percent stake in Systemhouse.

The companies signed a memorandum of understanding February 6.
Details were to have been worked out by the end of April, but as
they failed to come to an agreement, the firms extended that
deadline first to May 15 and then to June 25.

After the mid-may extension, Harry W. Schlough, senior
vice-president of Systemhouse, told Newsbytes the financial details
of the agreement were essentially set and the companies were
working out legal details and "tuning" the agreement to meet
regulatory requirements.

Marcel Saint-Germain, a spokesman for BCE, said the obstacles to
the deal were management, business, and financial issues," and
would not be more specific. He did say, though, that human
resources, real estate, and marketing issues had been agreed upon.

In the wake of the agreement's collapse, BCE is reviewing its
25.3-percent ownership of Systemhouse, a move that officials said
could lead to that stake being sold, kept, or increased.

Saint-Germain said BCE reviews its investments regularly, and this
review "doesn't mean a specific thing."

BCE and Bell Canada have no plans to seek a similar arrangement
with some other partner, Saint-Germain added.

SHL Systemhouse reported revenues of C$700 million in 1991. It has
more than 3,000 employees. BCE, Canada's largest company, had
revenues of C$19,884 million in 1991. Aside from its
telecommunications holdings, BCE has interests in financial
services and other businesses.

(Grant Buckler/19920612/Press Contact: Harry W. Schlough,
Systemhouse, 416-366-4600; Marcel Saint-Germain, BCE, 514-499-7090)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 12 Canadian Long-Distance Decision Expected Today 06/12/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00026)

Canadian Long-Distance Decision Expected Today 06/12/92
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 JUN 12 (NB) -- The Canadian
Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is to
announce this afternoon whether long-distance telephone service in
Canada will be opened to competition.

A spokeswoman at the federal regulator's offices told Newsbytes the
decision on two applications to provide competitive long-distance
service will be announced at a 4:00 pm press conference.

In May, 1990, Unitel submitted its second application to compete
with most of Canada's regional telephone companies in providing
long-distance service. The company had been turned down in its
first bid, in 1985 when it was still named CNCP Telecommunications.

Between the denial of the first application and submission of the
present one, Rogers Communications of Toronto, a major player in
the cable television business, bought 40 percent of Unitel, putting
some extra capital behind the company.

Unitel is asking the CRTC to let it charge long-distance rates 15
percent below those of the telephone companies. Company spokesman
Peter Janecek said when the application was filed that the discount
would be necessary to induce customers to change services, and to
compensate for the inconvenience of dialing extra digits to place
a call through Unitel. The need for the extra digits can be
eliminated later, Janecek added.

In August, 1990, Toronto-based Lightel teamed up with B.C. Rail
Telecommunications and filed an application to offer its own
competitive long-distance telephone service. Though the initial
application covers only Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia --
Canada's three most populous provinces -- Thomas Elliot, president
of Lightel, told Newsbytes at the time that his company would like
to do business throughout the country.

Lightel is a spinoff of Call-Net Telecommunications, a Toronto firm
that resells telephone company services. BC Rail
Telecommunications offers private communications services using the
facilities of British Columbia Railway. Both companies own some
network facilities of their own, Elliot said; they would lease
additional lines from the telephone companies and Unitel
Communications of Toronto to run long-distance services.

(Grant Buckler/19920612/Press Contact: CRTC Information Services,
613-997-0313; Peter Janecek, Unitel, 416-232-6365; Thomas Elliot,
Lightel, 416-496-0166)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 12 IBM Unveils 486SLC2 Chip, Offers Upgrades 06/12/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00027)

IBM Unveils 486SLC2 Chip, Offers Upgrades 06/12/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 12 (NB) -- IBM has
unveiled a second custom-built microprocessor, which will be
available this fall as an upgrade to two existing models in the
PS/2 line. The 486SLC2 builds on IBM's present 386SLC chip,
doubling its internal cache and using clock-doubling technology
like that in Intel's 80486DX2 chip.

IBM said that upgrading its mid-range Personal System/2 Models 56
and 57 with the new chip will roughly quadruple their performance.
The company also plans to use the chip as the basis of new PS/2
models in the future, company spokesman Michael Reiter said.

Reiter told Newsbytes the 486SLC2 is really an enhanced 386SLC,
though both the 386SLC and the new chip use the 486 instruction
set. Both chips were developed under an agreement with Intel that
gives IBM the right to enhance 386 technology to create its own
chip designs.

IBM also said a PS/2 powered by the 486SLC2 chip will perform up to
20 percent faster than a system using a 25-megahertz 486SX chip.
The 486SLC2 will be packaged similarly to the previously announced
PS/2 Cached Processor Option, an upgrade card designed for the
Models 56 and 57.

Customers who buy a Model 56 SLC or Model 57 SLC between June 11
and October 1, 1992, will be able to buy the 486SLC2 upgrade for
$259 when it is available -- subject to Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) approval -- in the fourth quarter. For other
buyers, the street price for the upgrade is expected to be in the
$600 range.

The 486SLC2 has 16K bytes of internal cache, twice that found in
the 386SLC, Reiter said. It also has an internal cache controller,
which IBM said improves performance by accessing data from high
speed cache memory rather than system memory whenever possible.
Clock doubling technology lets the chip run internally at twice the
external clock speed. In the 20-megahertz Models 56 and 57, that
means the 486SLC2 will run at 40 megahertz internally. The 486SLC2
also has power management and an optimized instruction set.

(Grant Buckler/19920612/Press Contact: Michael Reiter, IBM,
914-642-5368)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 12  ****Compaq To Announce New Models Monday 06/12/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00028)

 ****Compaq To Announce New Models Monday 06/12/92
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 12 (NB) -- Compaq will announce a
new series of entry level PCs as well as some advanced technology on
its high end systems, a Compaq source told Newsbytes.

Included in the roll-out will be a low-cost desktop family which the
company is reportedly calling Prolenia, as well as the Contura
notebook family. Also expected are four new models in the Deskpro/I
line.

Compaq spokesperson John Sweney declined to discuss specific details
of the announcement but did confirm that articles in some computer
publications are correct. "The speculative articles that you have
seen have been reasonably accurate," said Sweney.

Sweney also confirmed that Compaq would announce price cuts on
existing models, but declined to discuss details. Earlier this month
the company announced price cuts on Systempro units of 20 percent.

Compaq, which several years ago had a reputation for quality, didn't
attempt to compete with the less expensive PC clones that flooded
the market. But in the past year, quality hasn't been enough. The
company has been forced into a position of having to do battle with
low-cost competitors such as Dell and AST. Compaq has said that it
will compete on price while maintaining quality.

As part of the business plan announced after Compaq's change in
leadership last October, the company said it would engage in a
vigorous ad campaign. Those ads are now appearing in various
publications. The ads, which run several full pages, talk about
engineering a lot. They don't talk much about features and
benefits.

One complete page, including text and a photo, talk about how a
Compaq notebook owner ran over the computer with her car. Whether
readers will take the time to read a twelve-page ad is questionable.

(Jim Mallory/19920612/Press contact: John Sweney, Compaq,
713-374-1564)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 12 Microsoft Comfortable With 4Q Earnings Estimates 06/12/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00029)

Microsoft Comfortable With 4Q Earnings Estimates 06/12/92
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 12 (NB) -- Microsoft's chief
financial officer says the company is "comfortable" with the Wall
Street earnings estimates for the fourth quarter.

Analysts estimated the company's shares will earn $1.00 to $1.05 for
the fourth quarter, up from the $0.73 earnings for the same quarter
last year. Some analysts estimated that Microsoft will achieve net
margins of 26 percent in fiscal 1993, but Microsoft CFO Francis
Gaudette said that earnings as a percentage of sales ratio would be
difficult to maintain.

Gaudette told investors at the Ragen MacKenzie investments
conference this week that Microsoft plans to launch 70 products in
fiscal '93, but said none of those is expected to have the same sales
growth momentum as did upgrades of existing programs that were
released in the last quarter of the past three fiscal years.

Gaudette also announced that Microsoft will open sales offices in
Eastern Europe and Russia by the end of fiscal '93, adding that he
sees no slowdown in worldwide sales. "We don't see any softening in
any of our markets at this time," Gaudette said.

He also said the company is confident it will get a favorable ruling
in the pending patent suit brought by Apple Computer. A hearing
scheduled earlier in the week was postponed. "It's possible that
the damages hearing will not be necessary, depending on the judges
rulings," Gaudette said.

Microsoft's stock experienced a sharp sell-off on Thursday,
apparently over concerns about net margins, then rebounded. The
stock closed at $108 Thursday, off $4.50. At today's opening it was
trading at $109.75.

(Jim Mallory/19920612)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 12 New For Macintosh: Personal Press 2.0 From Aldus 06/12/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00030)

New For Macintosh: Personal Press 2.0 From Aldus 06/12/92
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 12 (NB) -- Aldus Corporation
has announced that it has started shipping Personal Press 2.0 for
the Macintosh, a page layout program which allows the user to design
and assemble text and graphics automatically.

Personal Press was developed by Aldus subsidiary Silicon Beach
Software. According to product marketing manager Kathy David,
version 2.0 includes more than 50 design templates that help the
user automatically create documents. David said the automation of
the templates guides the user through the creation of a document
using their own text and graphics.

David said a copy-fitting feature automatically adjusts the font
size and spacing of text to fit the document into a designated
space. For example, if you could only allocate nine column inches for
an article in a newsletter, Personal Press 2.0 would make the
adjustments necessary to fit that space.

Personal Press 2.0 also has an autoflow feature that automatically
adds pages to a document to accommodate all the imported text and
pictures.

David said the recently announced Aldus Additions technology has
been incorporated into Personal Press, automating production tasks
such as the creation of drop caps, setting up bulleted text
paragraphs, and making enlarged pullquotes within the body of the
text.

Personal Press imports graphics in a variety of formats, including
PICT, TIFF, EPS, MacPaint, ThunderScan, and Aldus Digital Darkroom
Archive. It recognizes text files from most popular word processing
program, including Microsoft Word and Works, MacWrite, and text-only
ASCII.

The program is compatible with Apple's System 7, and supports Balloon
Help, Apple Events Subscribe, TrueType, 32-bit addressing, virtual
memory, and QuickTime movies.

Aldus said it is already shipping Personal Press, which carries a
price tag of $199. Registered owners of earlier versions can
upgrade for $39.99. The company said it will ship a Canadian
English version later this quarter, with European and Pacific Rim
versions due out at a later date.

To run Personal Press 2.0 you need any Macintosh with at least 1MB of
memory, System 6.0.3 or later, and a hard drive. Aldus recommends
at 2MB of RAM, and says a color monitor is required for viewing
color, but not for applying it.

(Jim Mallory/19920612/Press contact: Kathy Episcipo, Silicon Beach
Software, 619-695-6956)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 12  ****Media Vision Countersues Creative 06/12/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(LAX)(00031)

 ****Media Vision Countersues Creative 06/12/92
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 12 (NB) -- Personal computer
sound card manufacturer Media Vision is responding to a lawsuit filed
against it by competitor Creative Technology by filing a suit of its
own in the Northern District Court of California in San Francisco.

The company says it is charging Creative Technology with restraint of
trade, unfair competition, and monopolization. Media Vision says it
has made its Thunder Board sound card compatible with the Sound
Blaster board from Creative Technology. However, Media Vision now
says Creative Technology introduced software that has caused some of
its Sound Blaster-compatible software to crash, making the Media
Vision sound board incompatible.

Creative Technology has the advantage of having its software drivers
supplied with Microsoft Windows 3.1. Other sound boards, then, can
offer their customers Windows compatibility if they can use the Sound
Blaster drivers.

The Creative Technology suit, filed May 29 against Media Vision,
claims Media Vision reverse engineered its Sound Blaster product in
order to produce the Thunderboard and charges copyright infringement.

Creative Technology is pointing to the pending case filed by video
game hardware manufacturer Sega against software manufacturer
Accolade as a similar case. The Sega suit charges Accolade with
reverse engineering, however Accolade says reverse engineering was
necessary to produce compatible products.

Media Vision announced, despite Creative Technology's claim to the
contrary, the Sega vs. Accolade case has nothing to do with the
current conflict. Despite that claim, Media Vision has engaged Thomas
F. Smegal as legal counsel, who the company claims is expert in
cases of this type.

In a paper entitled, "Reverse Engineering of Software Scrunitized In
Sega," Smegal says the Sega vs. Accolade suit "... is the strongest
challenge yet to what seems to have been a widely held assumption in
the law that a reverse engineer may make fixed "interum" copies of a
copyrighted program so long as the final product is non-infringing."
Smegal says criticism levied at the Sega vs. Accolade case contends
that only the final product that is sold on the market or used in a
functional manner should be scrutinized for copyright infringement.

The Sega vs. Accolade case seems to be a major deciding point in the
computer industry and one whose decision may effect the future of the
industry as a whole. The American Committee for Interoperable Systems
(ACIS) which includes companies such as Chips and Technologies,
Phoenix Technologies, Seagate Technology, Zenith Data Systems, and
Sun Microsystems, has publicly endorsed Accolade's position. Peter
Choy, chairman of ACIS and deputy general counsel of Sun Microsystems
said: "The life blood of the computer industry is the ability of any
competitor to make and distribute interoperable software and
hardware."

In conjunction with the suit against Creative Technology, Media
Vision has also announced it is licensing its Pro Audiospectrum sound
technology for use by any software or hardware developer at no
charge. Despite the seeming contradiction between Media Vision's
announcement of free licensing to developers for its technology and
it's claim that it should be able to interoperate with Creative
Technology's hardware without licensing, the company says it is
interested in open systems. "We live in an era of open computer
architectures. Ultimately, we want the end user to win," said Jain.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920612/Press Contact: Abigail Johnson, Roeder-
Johnson for Media Vision, tel [phone], fax [phone])



#ENDCARD


#CARD :1992 JUN 11 SIA Predicts Strong Year For US Semiconductor Industry 06/11/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00001)

SIA Predicts Strong Year For US Semiconductor Industry 06/11/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 11 (NB) -- The
semiconductor industry is looking very positive in the US and a
trend toward fairly strong growth can be expected to take the US
market through the end of the year, according to the Semiconductor
Industry Association (SIA).

The SIA has published a report that says the "book-to-bill" ratio
worldwide has declined again for May, the second slight decline in
three months, but US orders are up. The overall ratio was 1.10 in
May, meaning that for every $100 worth of products shipped, or
billed, manufacturers received only $110 worth of new orders, or
bookings. That overall ratio is down from April's 1.12 ratio, the SIA
said.

However, the worldwide book-to-bill ratio has been above 1.00 since
November of last year. In November it went to 1.01, then in December
to 1.07, in January to 1.09, and to the high of 1.11 in February, SIA
said. The first decline was in March, when the ratio dropped back to
the December level of 1.07, the SIA said.

The best news for the US computer market is that the report
showed a gain of 0.2 in May US orders. Tom Beerman of the SIA
told Newsbytes the new orders number is the critical one and he
is predicting a strength in the market that will carry the US
semiconductor market through the rest of the year.

The US gain was based on a three-month moving average, pushing
the dollars up to $1.61 billion. The dollar figure also shows a 17.6
percent gain over May of last year, the SIA report added.

Beerman says the cyclical nature of the business will produce
decreases in orders during the summer months into September
from the traditional highs of April and May, but Fall orders should
rebound.

When asked if the declining dollar compared to other currency
worldwide had an effect, Beerman said no. Instead Beerman
attributes the gains to the strength of the personal computer (PC)
mail order business in the US, among other things.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920610/Press Contact: Tom Beerman,
Semiconductor Industry Association, tel [phone],
fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 11 Ncube Intros New Low-Cost-Per-Megaflop Supercomputers 06/11/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00002)

Ncube Intros New Low-Cost-Per-Megaflop Supercomputers 06/11/92
FOSTER CITY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 11 (NB) -- NCube
is introducing a new family of massively parallel processing (MPP)
systems it claims are cheaper and faster, as well as a new product
development program for its next generation product, the Ncube 3.

The company says the new family of products are the Ncube 2S
systems and they cost less per megaflop than other similar products.
For example, a fully configured NCube 2S, with 8,192 processors
and 512 gigabytes (GB) of main memory, delivers 34 billion floating
point operations per second (gigaflops) and 123,000 million
instructions per second (MIPS) performance and is a bargain at
$1,000 per megaflop, claims the company.

Massively parallel computers are now the world's fastest and use the
non-traditional approach of multiple central processing units (CPUs)
that divide a processing task, each taking a part rather than tasks
waiting in line for a single processor to act on. Ncube says the new
2S series is equipped with an improved version of the company's
custom microprocessor that is designed for hypercube interconnect.
Hypercube interconnect is the particular way Ncube connects the
CPUs are connected, the company explained.

The 2S line is also fully software compatible with the company's
Ncube 2 computer systems as well, Ncube added.

The company is also touting the Ncube 3, its next-generation
product. Ncube is predicting the Ncube 3 will be able to deliver 6.5
trillion floating point operations per second (teraflops). Intel's
Touchstone Delta system at Cal Tech in Pasadena, California just
celebrated its one year anniversary. Heralded as the world's
fastest computer at the time of its installation, it is able to
perform at the rate 8.6 gigaflops and its top speed is estimated
to be 32 gigaflops by Intel.

Rich Wyckoff of public relations for Ncube told Newsbytes the
company expects to bring the cost price/performance ratio of the
Ncube 3 down to an estimated $100 per megaflop

Ncube is touting its client base as well-known companies such
as BMW, Oracle, Rockwell, and General Motors.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920610/Press Contact: Rich Wyckoff, Ncube,
tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 11 VIM -- Cross-Platform Mail, Messaging Standard Available 06/11/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00003)

VIM -- Cross-Platform Mail, Messaging Standard Available 06/11/92
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 11 (NB) -- Software
developers can now get a tool to help them with cross-platform
development of mail and messaging software. Version 1.0 of the
Vendor-Independent Messaging (VIM) Interface specification is
available, according to Apple, Borland, Microsoft, and Novell, the
four trustee companies who developed the specification.

The trustees say the purpose of the specification is to eliminate the
need for software developers to write a different software module to
accommodate each computer system and messaging platform the
software is to run on.

The four companies announced their intention to create and support
the VIM Interface in February of this year. Each company is now
offering the specification at no charge to anyone who requests it.
Each of the trustee companies is providing technical support for its
developers implementing the VIM specification, however developers
will need to get the specification document itself to get the
instructions for support, the trustee companies said.

The trustees said they hope to promote a proliferation of
commercial and in-house applications that incorporate interpersonal
and interprogram communications for computer users.

However, the implementation of VIM is still in the infancy stages, as
Apple, Borland, Lotus, Novell, and IBM have all announced their
intentions to support the VIM Interface standard in future products.

Specifically, Apple says it will support VIM into System 7, and
Borland says VIM support will go into its Object Exchange (OBEX)
technology. Lotus plans to place support VIM into future cc:Mail and
Lotus Notes versions, and Novell says VIM support will be incorporated
into Netware Global Messaging and Netware MHS. IBM, meanwhile,
says it will support VIM in its Office product strategy.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920611/Press Contact: Kim Given, Novell, 408-473-
8959, Martha Isham, Borland, 408-439-5177; Public Contact, Apple 408-
974-2375; Borland 408-431-5260; Lotus 617-693-5919; Novell 408-473-
8989)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 11 Silver Cloud Chooser Replacement For Networked Mac Users 06/11/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00004)

Silver Cloud Chooser Replacement For Networked Mac Users 06/11/92
WALNUT CREEK, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 11 (NB) -- Silver
Cloud, a replacement for the Macintosh "Chooser" geared toward
solving problems for network users, is now available from The AG
Group.

The company says the product solves three problems for network
managers and users -- eliminating limitations present in the
Macintosh Chooser in medium and large network situations, making
resource selection less intimidating, and offering stable views of
the network, despite changes.

The AG Group maintains Silver Cloud is designed to simplify the
process of working on a network by helping users select network
resources such as printers and servers. The product is also geared
toward helping Appletalk network administrators with the
presentation and organization of the network, the company said.

The AG Group says Silver Cloud can be configured by the network
administrator to arrange devices into a structure that even novice
users can navigate. Users can also built their own customized
view of the network as well, the company said.

Silver Cloud is sold in multi-user packs. The company said the 25-
user pack retails for $495, the 50-user pack is $895, the 100-user
pack is $1,595, and 250-user pack is priced at $3,095. Unlimited
phone support, service contracts, and a 90-day free update period
is offered with the product, The AG Group added.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920611/Press Contact: David Burk, The AG
Group, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 11  ****Seiko-Epson Stops PC Production In Singapore 06/11/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00005)

 ****Seiko-Epson Stops PC Production In Singapore 06/11/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 11 (NB) -- Seiko-Epson says it will
stop manufacturing of personal computers in its Singapore plant.
The firm will also stop the production of low-end personal
computers in its US plant.

It is part of the firm's restructuring plan. According to Seiko-Epson,
the firm will stop producing personal computers in its Singapore
plant by the end of this year.

Seiko-Epson is currently manufacturing laptop computers at the
rate of about 3,000 units per month. The firm used to ship 10,000
units per month but apparently the production rate is shrinking in
the wake of a slump in the computer market.

At this Singapore plant, the firm will produce printers and the
printer board instead of the personal computers. Seiko-Epson
explains the major reason for stopping the production of PCs as
the challenge by the Taiwanese manufacturers.

Taiwanese manufacturers are releasing extremely low-cost
IBM-compatible computers in the South East Asian market. Also,
the employment cost has been becoming higher in Singapore.

Seiko-Epson will also stop the manufacture of low-end personal
computers, and will produce 80386 and 80486 personal
computers. Shipments will be cut by about 60 percent.

Many Japanese personal computer makers are shrinking their
plants overseas due to the slump. Toshiba has laid off in the US,
and NEC has postponed the construction of a personal
computer plant in Germany.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920610/Press Contact: Seiko-Epson,
[phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 11 Japan: Low-Cost Fax Machine Debuts 06/11/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00006)

Japan: Low-Cost Fax Machine Debuts 06/11/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 11 (NB) -- Tokyo-based computer
equipment maker Alexel has developed an extremely low-cost fax
machine that costs only 48,800 yen ($375).

Alexel's latest fax machine is called the Navi Connection. It
is as small as a laptop computer. The fax machine is aimed
at home use.

There are no advanced features with the fax machine, as it has
a set of bare essential features. It accepts up to A4-size
documents and it can be hooked with a telephone.

The Navi Connection is even cheaper than Murata's low-cost
fax machine, which cost 54,800 yen ($420).

Alexel says it will also accept an OEM (original equipment
manufacturer) orders of the fax machine.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920610/Press Contact: Alexel,
[phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 11 Japan: IBM Open Architecture Software Developed 06/11/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TYO)(00007)

Japan: IBM Open Architecture Software Developed 06/11/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 11 (NB) -- IBM Japan has announced
its new concept called Open Vision. Under this concept, IBM Japan
will push open architecture policy for development and sales of
computers.

For instance, different computers such as Apple's Macintosh
and the NEC PC-9801 can be interconnected together, claims
the company.

IBM Japan's Open Vision consists of three kinds of concepts:
one of them is the "Open Distributed System Structure," which
covers IBM's SAA and Unix environment; the second concept is
"Open System Solution," which includes actual software for
open systems; and the third is "Creating Open System Support
Service," which intends to design and install open systems.

Among others, the computer programs for the Open System
Solution can be appealing to the industry. Under this concept, the
user will be able to access almost any database regardless of the
software and the hardware makers. IBM Japan has already
developed 32 kinds of programs which can be used under different
kinds of operating systems. These programs will be released
around this fall.

IBM Japan is currently preparing to begin an intensive sales
campaign across the country. The firm will create 13 sales points
in Japan to push the sales of there programs, and will place
about 1,000 sales people there in this July.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920610/Press Contact: IBM Japan,
[phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 11 ClearPoint Intros Low-Cost RS/6000 Memory Board 06/11/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00008)

ClearPoint Intros Low-Cost RS/6000 Memory Board 06/11/92
HOPKINTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 11 (NB) --
ClearPoint Research Corporation has announced what it claims is
the first third-party HD1-equivalent memory upgrade board for IBM
RS/6000 workstations and servers.

The IMME-6KC is available in 32 and 64 megabyte (MB) versions,
each priced at 20 percent below its IBM equivalent, according to a
public relations spokesperson. Scheduled to ship in July, the new
board is designed for IBM RS/6000 models 320, 320H, 520, 520H,
530, 730, and 930.

"ClearPoint is once again first with the best technology in the
industry, offering the highest reliability and best price/performance
available in the IBM third-party workstation memory market,"
claimed Vincent P. Bono, president and CEO, in a prepared
statement.

Clearpoint's 32 MB board is priced at $4,720, in contrast to $4,720
for the IBM equivalent. Clearpoint's 64 MB board goes for $8,000,
in comparison to $10,000 for the IBM product, according to a
corporate public relations spokesperson.

ClearPoint is also developing a second board, to operate on IBM
RS/6000 models 340, 350, 530H, 550, 560, 950 and 970, the
spokesperson said.

ClearPoint designs and manufactures memory boards for other IBM
computers, as well, including the AIX-based IBM RT-PC, the IBM
PS/2, the AS/400, and the IBM 9370.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920610; Press Contact: Tim Hurley,
Copithorne & Bellows for ClearPoint, tel [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 11 Australia: RMIT Asks Industry To Use Its Supercomputer 06/11/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00009)

Australia: RMIT Asks Industry To Use Its Supercomputer 06/11/92
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 11 (NB) -- The Royal
Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) has invited Australian
industry to use its new supercomputer facility to its full potential.
The facility, set up by the RMIT and the University of Melbourne,
features a Cray Y-MP EL computer system installed on RMIT
grounds.

The institutions are collaborating on installing a high-speed, high
capacity optic fiber link between the campuses to allow both
campuses to use the Cray with minimal trouble. The Cray is the
second phase in the institutions' move to upgrade their computing
facilities; the first being the installation last year of a MasPar
multiple parallel processor system at the University. As both
systems run variants of the Unix operating system a consistent
interface for workstations and host computers on the network.
Transfer rates of up to one gigabits (128 megabytes) per second
between the campuses will be achieved with the completion of
the fiber optic cable.

The installation of the two different types of high-performance
computers will see the institutions promote their computing
services on a wide front. The computers will be able to handle
numerous industry and business related applications, including
designing complex materials, simulations of crop growth and yield,
streamlining modeling for the automobile and aerospace industries,
chemical modeling, computational fluid dynamics, and computer
imaging of complex scenes/objects. Extra-campus access to the
Cray will be via AARNet (Australian Academic and Research
Network), which already provides such access to the MasPar.

(Sean McNamara/19920611)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 11 Australia: Doubts Over Completion Of Taxonomy Database 06/11/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00010)

Australia: Doubts Over Completion Of Taxonomy Database 06/11/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 11 (NB) -- A computer database
of the one million or so plant specimens held by the Sydney Royal
Botanic Gardens (RBG) is only 10 percent completed after seven
years work - with government funding decisions to determine
whether the whole collection will ever be entered into the database.

The database is being compiled by Garden staff using the Australian
designed and manufactured Titan information retrieval system. The
RBG was the first commercial customer for Titan, from Melbourne-
based Knowledge Engineering, in 1985. Use of Titan has become
widespread within Australian botanical institutions, being used by
the New South Wales (NSW) Botanic Gardens' Living Collections
Division and herbariums in Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne, Canberra.

The decision to computerize the collection was made to help
researchers get the most out of it as quickly as possible - a
difficult manual task considering the size of the collection. Dr.
David Bedford has been leading the computerization process since it
began in 1985. The database will see researchers tracing specimens
in a fraction of the time it currently takes, and its completion is
seen by botanists as essential.

Bedford fears for the future of the database because of the cyclical
nature of interest in scientific fields. Taxonomy, the science of
classifying organisms, was, according to Bedford, unpopular for
decades before the 1970's. However, a realization that this "pure"
science formed the basis of many applied sciences increased
interest and funding for taxonomic projects. Bedford is hoping the
usual turnaround will not come, but realizes that government
funding, especially in the current recession, is dictated by the
apparent necessity of projects.

(Sean McNamara/19920611)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 11 Australian System Helps Cut Company Mail Fraud 06/11/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00011)

Australian System Helps Cut Company Mail Fraud 06/11/92
ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 11 (NB) -- An Australian-
developed system is claimed by its manufacturers to solve
company mail fraud electronically - all but eliminating private mail
being sent with company mail at the company's expense.
TrakPost, from Adelaide-based Automation and Process Control
(APC), uses bar codes to assist in tracking and verifying postal
items.

The system works by producing a bar code label, for which the
corresponding size, weight, postal category, and postal price data
is entered into a computer. This record is then used for internal
accounting and for Australia Post billing. All outgoing mail must be
tagged with a bar code, and every transaction is recorded with
written reports. The system costs around AUS$100,000 to install,
and according to APC, in many cases the cost savings would pay
for the system within a year.

By tracking a postal item's source, departmentally and/or
individually, the ability to slip private mail items in the "to
post" pile is eliminated, APC managing director, Peter Hodson,
said. "Only business mail can get through and every department
can be held accountable," Hodson said.

APC was established in 1986 as a one-man operation. It now has
35 members of staff and a yearly revenue of AUS$5 million. The
company has also developed systems to help in the automation
of such diverse fields as wine bottling, the mixing of rocket
propellant, environment control for gladioli growing, and the
manufacture of irrigation pipes.

(Sean McNamara/19920611)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 11 Australia: Wang To Upgrade Council's Computer Systems 06/11/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(SYD)(00012)

Australia: Wang To Upgrade Council's Computer Systems 06/11/92
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 11 (NB) -- Melbourne City
Council (MCC) has awarded an AUS$4.4 million contract to Wang
Australia to upgrade its computer systems. Local company
Datamation was Wang's partner for the bid, and the contract will
see it port its Municipal Information Control System (MUNICS)
software to Unix.

The Melbourne contract is the latest of more than 60 sites that
Datamation and Wang have installed the systems for. The contract
was awarded after four months of intense evaluation by 80 MCC
staff of the three short-listed tenderers. This evaluation, according
to council business systems manager, Robert Bradley, found
strengths and weaknesses in the three tenderers, but "the
Datamation package best fitted our needs."

The main part of the evaluation involved the tenderers matching
their system to a model of MCC operations in five main areas. This
model was developed with the end-users, helping to ensure the
system was user-oriented. The five areas modeled were: property
registration services; property and land use; finance; equipment
and asset management; and managing client information and
correspondence.

The system will replace MCC's existing Prime system, and
involved IBM servers rebadged by Wang (covered by an agreement
between the two companies 11 months ago) and 500 Wang PCs
running Windows for the "clients." It is expected to be fully
installed within two years. The system will also integrate the ESRI
geographic information system (GIS). "GIS will have a particular
relevance in the CBD (central business district), where it is difficult
to establish relationships between occupancies and tenancies by
using the address as there may be a number of people occupying
the building."

(Sean McNamara/19920611)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 11  ****Robertson Backs Off from UPI 06/11/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00013)

 ****Robertson Backs Off from UPI 06/11/92
VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 11 (NB) -- Pat
Robertson, the religious talk-show host and entrepreneur who
stunned a Vermont courtroom with a $6 million bid for UPI last
month, has decided to back-out after conducting due diligence on
the company's books.

While calling the wire service's reporters and editors "very hard
working," he said the company's technology and liabilities were
too much for even him to take on. Robertson told a Washington
news conference he'd concluded it would cost $31 million to
operate the service for 18 months, with no guarantee of a return.
Currently there are about 500 UPI employees, known as
unipressers, worldwide.

While UPI head Pieter Van Bennekom said he'll talk to other
buyers, the 84 year old wire service has limited options. It no
longer has funds available to meet its payroll. Robertson was the
only sizable buyer to emerge at an absolute auction conducted by
bankruptcy judge Francis Conrad in Rutland, Vermont last month.

Robertson did offer $500,000 for the UPI name and its more
profitable assets, including the Bettmann picture archives and
its agreement with Reuters to provide a picture exchange.
Creditors are owed about $60 million, and that may not include
unfunded pension liabilities and union contracts.

Cary Samowitz, a lawyer for the creditors' committee, said if
someone interested in running UPI does not come forward within
48 hours, the company likely will close Friday at midnight.
Executive Editor Steve Geimann agreed that a complete
shutdown by close of business June 12 is a distinct possibility.

Robertson technically remains in the running. Conrad asked him to
prepare a formal revised bid for UPI, which could take two weeks.
Robertson has already spent $300,000 dealing with the company --
meeting its payroll in exchange for an exclusive look at the books.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920611)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 11 AT&T Makes Digital Announcements 06/11/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00014)

AT&T Makes Digital Announcements 06/11/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 11 (NB) -- AT&T has
made a number of announcements on new equipment for its
digital phone network.

First, the company announced a new version of its flagship 5ESS
central office switch, used by large phone companies to provide
basic phone services in big cities. The 5ESS-2000 will offer a
module based on SONET standards that can expand the network
capacity of today's technology by a factor of 30, handling over
10 times more calls than today's technology. Each module can
work alongside existing modules so the capacity increase can be
made gradually. The module will be delivered in 1994.

New software, called 5E9, will also be released for the new
platform, starting in late 1993. IT will include support for the
new National ISDN-2 standards, making it compatible with
Northern Telecom switches, as well as support for Bellcore's
National Intelligent Network-1 standards, expanded automatic
call distributor capabilities and more economical operations,
administration, maintenance, and provisioning systems.

AT&T also announced software called ISDN Client Profile, which
works on PCs to read a caller's phone number as it's delivered
over an ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) phone line, then
matches it with a name stored in a computer database, displaying
it on a screen along with client information and notes from previous
conversations. Most of the data must be obtained and maintained
by the company buying the software. The new program also provides
logs of all incoming calls, whether answered or not, so the
unanswered calls can be returned by clicking on a name. The
software runs on IBM compatible PCs with Microsoft Windows 3.0
or later, and draws on AT&T's own ISDN 7506 or 7507 Applications
Programming Interface telephone sets. A development version of the
program was tested by Ameritech earlier this year.

AT&T's Universal Card Services credit card unit entered into a
partnership with Digital Systems International to purchase
its Voicelink Intelligent Call Management systems. Voicelink is a
call management product for outbound calls. The Universal Card
will use it in its programs to call consumers and collect debts,
and to control fraud. The company called maintaining high rates
of collections and low rates of fraud the key to maintaining low
interest rates on the card.

Finally, AT&T said it has successfully tested a prototype digital
sonar that can find fiber optic cable, plastic, metal, ropes, and
other materials suspended in mid-ocean or buried in seabeds.
Existing ocean-bottom scanners require a magnetic field to locate
coaxial cables and metals on the ocean floor. Using the new
sonar, the company will be able to fix cable breaks more quickly.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920611/Press Contact: AT&T Universal Card,
Bruce Reid 904-443-8894; AT&T International, Cindy Pollard,
201/326-4908; AT&T Network Systems, Rich Meyer, 201/606-2453;
Digital Systems, Jeanne Miller 206-869-4592)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 11 California Approves Low Cellular Rates For Handicapped 06/11/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00015)

California Approves Low Cellular Rates For Handicapped 06/11/92
BURLINGAME, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 11 (NB) -- Bay Area
Cellular Telephone, which does business as Cellular One, said it
has won approval from the California Public Utilities Commission to
offer special rates, with discounts up to 40 percent on cellular
phone service to an estimated 130,000 people with disablities in
the Bay Area. The new program is called Enable-Link, and
represents a collaborative effort among Cellular One, Motorola,
and the World Institute on Disability.

"Having a cellular phone attached to a wheelchair provides the
ability to communicate instantaneously in the event of an
emergency," explained Cellular One President Justin Jaschke.
"At $10 per month, cellular offers real security." Other plans
require charges of $25-45 per month. In exchange, per-minute
charges are much higher than normal, $1 per minute during the day
and 50 cents per minute at night and on weekends. There will be
20 percent discounts on Motorola phones, with prices starting at
$229, and Motorola also committed to developing technical
adaptations to meet the needs of the disabled community.

Anyone interested in the program can call 800-227-9501 to receive
an application.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920611/Press Contact: Loretta Jacobs,
Cellular One, 415-696-6277)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 11 In Flight Wins Contract With Saudi Airline 06/11/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00016)

In Flight Wins Contract With Saudi Airline 06/11/92
OAKBROOK TERRACE, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 11 (NB) --
In-Flight Phone International, will install its FlightLink airline
phone system on Saudi Arabian Airlines' entire 747-300 fleet.
It's the first worldwide contract for In-Flight, which is trying
to compete with GTE's AirFone unit.

In-Flight founder Jack Goeken had previously founded AirFone, and
became angry after selling that unit to GTE when it appeared he was
being forced out and the company was being left to lie fallow so GTE
could avoid future payments. Before starting AirFone, Goeken had
founded a microwave relay network in the Midwest which became
MCI, as well as the FTD Mercury Network.

FlightLink uses the Inmarsat satellite network in conjunction
with SITA's Satellite Aircom service to provide worldwide
communications. Services include static digital telephone service,
fax and data transmission, stock quotes, electronic games, and
reservation services. The proprietary transmission technology is
capable of providing multiple channels and is expandable as
capacity dictates. FlightLink will also automatically switch
between satellite and terrestrial communication paths to provide
passengers and airlines with the most cost effective transmission
method available.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920611/Press Contact: In-Flight Phone
International, Darren S. Leno, 708/574-1237)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 11 Toshiba Cuts 17-Inch Monitor Prices 06/11/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00017)

Toshiba Cuts 17-Inch Monitor Prices 06/11/92
BUFFALO GROVE, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 11 (NB) -- Toshiba
America has told Newsbytes that it has dropped the suggested retail
prices on its three 17-inch color monitors.  The company also said
it was embarking on a new marketing program.

The Toshiba color displays utilize the company's Flat Square
technology, which is designed to ensure sharp focus of the entire
image across the screen, including the corners.

Toshiba said it has cut the price of the P17CU01, a .31 mm pitch
display, 15 percent, making the suggested retail price (SRP) $1,450.
The P17CM01, also a .31 mm pitch unit, dropped eight percent, to
$1,750.  The P17CS01, with a display resolution of .26 was lowered
seven percent, to $1,950.

The CS and CM units have a maximum resolution of 1,280 by 1,024
pixels (picture elements) and support horizontal scanning frequencies
of 30 to 65 KHz (kilohertz).  The CU offers 1,024 by 768 pixels and
scans at 30 to 57KHz.  Vertical scanning for all three monitors is
50 to 90 Hz (Hertz).

Toshiba said all three monitors support, VGA, Macintosh II, Super
VGA, and 8514A video, and include a microprocessor for memory
storage of nine pre-set and nine end-user mode selections.

Asked why Toshiba had decided to lower the price of the three
monitors, Toshiba spokesperson Glynnis Gibson told Newsbytes
the move makes Toshiba more competitive with other companies
producing similar units.

Mark Dziekan, Toshiba's national marketing manager for the
monitor products group said the new prices provide users
with a higher level of price/performance value, and improves our
competitive position in the marketplace.  Toshiba said Dziekan was
recently appointed to its monitor group "to step up its marketing
efforts and to make it easier for dealers to do business with
Toshiba."

Dziekan said the price cuts were just the start in a series or
marketing plans the company is implementing to help gain market
share.  Other steps include a nationwide dealer/distributor
inventive program, improved advertising, a national seeding
program, a developer starter kit, and the development of
dealer/distributor materials.

Gibson said that Toshiba is increasing its marketing budget, "but
not by a huge amount in comparison with other companies."

(Jim Mallory/19920611/Press contact: Glynnis Gibson, Gibson
Communications for Toshiba America CP, 312-883-2388 fax
312-883-2395)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 11  ****Dell Announces 3.6 Pound Notebook PC 06/11/92

(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00018)

 ****Dell Announces 3.6 Pound Notebook PC 06/11/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 11 (NB) -- Dell Computer has
announced what it describes as the industry's first full-function
386SL-based notebook computer weighing under four pounds.

Weighing 3.6 pounds including the battery, the slim unit is powered
by an Intel 386SL microprocessor running at 20 megahertz (MHz).
Called the 320SLi, the unit has a footprint of 7.75 by 11 inches,
,just slightly smaller than a piece of office stationary. Only 1.25-
inches high, it would fit into some of the slim briefcases that other,
fatter models might not go in.

Dell said the unit will ship with two megabytes (MB) of RAM, a 3.5-
inch high density external floppy drive, and a 60MB internal hard disk.
RAM can be expanded to 10MB, and 80 and 120MB hard drives can
be substituted for the 60MB unit.  Base price for the 320SLi is $2,149.
The 80MB drive system adds $200, while the 120MB drive adds $500
to the base price.  MS-DOS 5.0 and Windows 3.1 are pre-installed.

Dell told Newsbytes that its engineers were able to reduce the
weight through several engineering accomplishments and design
innovations.  The company said the 320SLi uses a new high-contrast
non-edgelit LCD (liquid crystal display), and using an external floppy
drive helped cut both weight and size.  The video display is 640 by
480 resolution and supports up to 64 gray scales.  Because the LCD
display requires less power, Dell said it was able to user lighter,
smaller batteries.

The 320SLi also incorporates a PCMCIA 2.0 slot, an industry
standard expansion capability that will allow the user to add
options such as fax and networking from third-party suppliers.

Another nice feature is the use of the "Fn" key and the cursor keys
to emulate a mouse.  Users could use programs that require a
mouse, such as Windows applications, without having a mouse
attached. This is especially convenient if you use your notebook
on an airplane.

The external disk drive connects through the parallel/diskette drive
port, weighs 12 ounces, and measures 4.2 by 5.8 by 4.7 inches.
The 320SLi is powered by a Nickel Metal Hydride battery which
Dell says will power the unit for about three hours without the use
of its power management system.  An optional 2400 baud modem
about the size of a credit card is available, as is an optional dual
battery charger.  The system comes with a slipcase that has a
pocket for the external drive and other accessories.

Dell's Lisa Rohlf told Newsbytes that the system also has an
external VGA connection as well as a mouse connection if you
want to use a conventional mouse rather than the Fn key-arrow
combination to control the cursor.

The 320SLi uses a flash ROM (read-only memory) which allows the
system's BIOS (basic input/output system) to be upgraded from
Dell's 24-hour bulletin board or from a floppy diskette.

(Jim Mallory/19920611/Press contact: Lisa Rohlf, Dell Computer,
512-343-3782)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 11 Software Spectrum Offers Electronic Software Distrib Pkg 06/11/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00019)

Software Spectrum Offers Electronic Software Distrib Pkg 06/11/92
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 11 (NB) -- Software Spectrum
has announced Diamond, a product to facilitate electronic
distribution of software applications to corporate users attached
to either mainframes or local area networks.

As networks grow in size it becomes increasingly difficult for
network managers and administrators to update software versions on
each workstation .  One workstation might be using Wordperfect 4.0,
while another has already been upgraded to version 5.1. As that
situation grows like Topsy, training and support then become more
difficult.

The idea behind Diamond is to "assist corporations in controlling
and protecting their investment in PCs," said Software Spectrum
CEO Judy Sims.  According to Sims, using Diamond will allow
customers to realize significant savings in the costs associated with
physically distributing software.  Users can also save money by
purchasing a license only, without the expense of disks and
documentation.  Some companies are starting to offer that
alternative in order to appeal to "bottom line" motivated purchasing
agents.

A Software Spectrum spokesman told Newsbytes that Diamond
performs an inventory of each PC to determine the software
packages installed as well as the hardware configuration.  Those
asset records can be consolidated at a department or organization
level in order to help assure software license compliance within
the organization.

With several software companies and industry organizations taking
a strong stand against unauthorized copies of software, user
companies, especially large ones, may welcome a way to track
their licensing.

Using Diamond, said Spectrum, new software can be distributed
directly from the host to a workstation, from a host to a LAN file
server, or from a LAN server to a workstation.  The company said
Diamond can provide installation routines for most popular
applications and operating system software packages.

Products can be installed either as upgrades or new installations.
Unattended installation can be scheduled for non-working hours in
order not to interfere with use of the workstation.  The
installation routines can detect the specific configuration of the
PC and perform the installation automatically.  For Windows
applications, Spectrum said Diamond will even place a new icon
(a graphical representation of the program) in Windows' Program
manager.  Diamond is expected to ship in July.

(Jim Mallory/19920611/Press contact: Rose Hultgren, Software
Spectrum, 214-840-6600)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 11 Great Plains Will Support Unixware O/S 06/11/92


(NEWS)(UNIX)(DEN)(00020)

Great Plains Will Support Unixware O/S 06/11/92
FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 11 (NB) -- Great
Plains Software has announced that it will port its accounting
software to Univel's new operating system, UnixWare SVR4.

Novell's Netware integrates with SVR4, so the Great Plains
announcement means Unix and Netware accounting VARs are
getting a real boost, according to Great Plains president Doug
Burgum.

Great Plains has offered a multi-user version of its accounting
package for Netware since 1986.  The company first developed
accounting software for the Unix market in 1989 and currently
offers a complete line of Intel-based accounting packages for
AT&T Unix 386 and SCO Unix/Xenix 386 systems, according to
the coimpany. The company also said that most of its
Unix-compatible modules are priced at $995.

Great Plains Product Marketing Manager for Unix and Windows
Mitch Ruud told Newsbytes that it will offer General Ledger,
Accounts Payable and Receivable, Payroll, Inventory Control,
Order Entry, and Purchase Order/Job Cost modules for the
Unixware operating system, which is expected to ship at the
end of the third quarter.

Ruud said GP is also looking at a Windows version of its accounting
package.  Great Plains already offers an interface program that
allows users to run the DOS character-based package in Windows.
There are also two Lotus 1-2-3 add-in programs that allow data from
the Great Plains package to be imported into a Lotus 1-2-3
spreadsheet.

Great Plains also publishes accounting software for MS-DOS
systems and for Apple Macintosh computers.

(Jim Mallory/19920611/Press contact: Terry Kalil, 701-281-3130)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 11  ****IBM Sues Leasing Company Over Memory Cards 06/11/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00021)

 ****IBM Sues Leasing Company Over Memory Cards 06/11/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 11 (NB) -- IBM
has filed the latest of several lawsuits over alleged counterfeiting of
memory cards for its 3090 mainframe computers. IBM has accused
Phoenix Computer Associates, a computer leasing company in
Westport, Connecticut, of selling counterfeit IBM computer memory.

The suit, filed in the US District Court for the District of Connecticut,
accuses Phoenix of trademark violations, unfair trade practices, and
unfair competition.  Phoenix President Lawrence C. Erdmann also
is named as a defendant.

IBM claims Phoenix is manufacturing memory cards using a
process inferior to IBM's and passing them off to customers as
IBM cards. "In IBM's view (the cards) are of inferior quality,"
company spokesman Ed Trapasso told Newsbytes. "Some have
already failed in the field, and others are likely to fail."

IBM is seeking a court order barring Phoenix from continuing the
alleged practices, and requiring Phoenix to tell its customers
about the true nature of the cards. Monetary damages also are
being sought.

The suit against Phoenix is one of several IBM has brought in
recent months related to the counterfeiting of 3090 memory. Last
October IBM made similar allegations against Comdisco, a
Rosemont, Illinois leasing company. In May, IBM sued three
other companies, alleging that they supplied counterfeit memory
cards to computer leasing companies.

An official of Phoenix said the company had no comment.

(Grant Buckler/19920611/Press Contact: Ed Trapasso, IBM,
914-642-5359; Phoenix Computer Associates, 203-226-7545)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 11 CA Closes Nantucket Buyout 06/11/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00022)

CA Closes Nantucket Buyout 06/11/92
ISLANDIA, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 11 (NB) -- Computer
Associates has announced that it has completed its purchase of
Nantucket, the Los Angeles-based database software vendor. The
terms were not disclosed.

The deal was announced in early May, following close on the heels
of Microsoft's decision to acquire Fox Software, a Nantucket rival.
Both Fox and Nantucket make personal computer database
software that is compatible with dBase IV, Borland International's
high-profile PC database package.

In a news conference following the original announcement, Charles
Wang, chairman and chief executive of Computer Associates, said
the buyouts show that major software vendors are coming to see the
importance of the dBase standard, or the Xbase standard as it is
often called.

Computer Associates officials also promised to continue development
of Nantucket's existing Clipper database software and to press
forward with the Aspen project, an effort to develop a database
package for Microsoft Windows, incorporating some object-oriented
database principles.

Larry Heimendinger, former president and chief operating officer of
Nantucket, is joining Computer Associates to help direct its Xbase
product efforts, the company said.

Computer Associates also said it will sell Clipper under the CA
name at the same price as before -- $795.

Computer Associates has also announced support for the Xbase
Institute, a group formed to create a formal Xbase language
standard. This group is working with the American National
Standards Institute (ANSI) on that effort.

(Grant Buckler/19920611/Press Contact: Bob Gordon, Computer
Associates, 516-342-2391, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 11 IBM, Lexmark Get Injunction In Cartridge Case 06/11/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00023)

IBM, Lexmark Get Injunction In Cartridge Case 06/11/92
ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 11 (NB) --
The US District Court here has granted IBM and its printer spinoff
Lexmark an injunction prohibiting Lasertek, a printer cartridge
remanufacturer, from selling any more refilled printer cartridges,
said to infringe IBM trademarks.

IBM and Lexmark filed suit against Lasertek and two of its dealers
on June 1. IBM spokesman Brian Doyle said the plaintiffs' concern
is that the printer cartridges are not simply receptacles but
contain mechanical parts which degrade with use. Thus, he said, it
is misrepresentation to claim they are equivalent to new cartridges.

The District Court found that Lasertek reconditioned and refilled
IBM LaserPrinter toner cartridges meant to be used only once, and
remarketed them in packages designed to mimic genuine IBM toner
cartridge packaging.

It also found that Lasertek inaccurately claimed the refilled
cartridges met IBM and Lexmark specifications and performance
standards.

The court has prohibited Lasertek from using the IBM trademarks
and packaging design, and required Lasertek to properly label its
packaging and refilled cartridges and notify Lasertek's existing
customers that previously supplied cartridges should have had the
IBM trademark removed. In addition, Lasertek has agreed to pay
monetary damages to Lexmark and IBM. The amount of the
damages was not released.

Lexmark, which was spun off from IBM last year, makes and sells
the cartridges under license from IBM. The Lexington, Kentucky
company also recycles materials from used IBM LaserPrinter toner
cartridges, but does not sell refilled cartridges.

(Grant Buckler/19920611/Press Contact: Brian Doyle, IBM,
914-765-6432; J.A. Frazier, Lexmark, 606-232-6906)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 New For PC: Neural Network Add-In For 1-2-3 06/11/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00024)

New For PC: Neural Network Add-In For 1-2-3 06/11/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 11 (NB) -- Talon
Development, of Milwaukee, showed at Lotus World a neural
network development tool that works with the Lotus 1-2-3
spreadsheet software. The package, called @Brain, is a 1-2-3
add-in.

Neural networks mimic the way the human brain works. They are
well suited to dealing with relationships among variables that are not
clearly understood, because they learn the relationship by example.

Michael J. Staub, president of Talon, demonstrated his system
using a collection of football statistics. Having trained the system
on statistics from past games, Staub used it to predict the point
spreads on future games, based on other statistics that could be
predicted.

Staub said the algorithm used in @Brain produces better results
than other neural network packages now on the market. The
technique is "mathematically proven to be stable," he said,
meaning it will produce meaningful results in some instances
where other techniques would not.

Staub said the @Brain package could have many applications. Talon
is currently working on setting up distribution channels, but will
also be selling the software direct. The price is $495, and @Brain
requires the DOS operating system release 2.1 or later, Lotus 1-2-3
Release 2.x, 58 kilobytes of memory, and one megabyte of hard-disk
space. Talon also recommends that the computer used to run @Brain
have expanded memory using the EMS LIM 3.2 specification or later,
and a math co-processor.

(Grant Buckler/19920611/Press Contact: Michael J. Staub, Talon
Development, 414-962-7246, fax [phone])


#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 11 New For PC: Success Is 1-2-3 Graphics Add-In 06/11/92

(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00025)

New For PC: Success Is 1-2-3 Graphics Add-In 06/11/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 11 (NB) -- PC
Publishing of Cambridge, Massachusetts, unveiled Success, a
presentation add-in for 1-2-3, at the Lotus World show.

Success can dress up data and graphics from 1-2-3 worksheets to
produce slides for business presentations, the company said. It
will also update the presentation automatically if the underlying
data is changed. In addition, Success has facilities for creating
common slide types such as bullet lists, organization charts, and
tables.

The software can also import graphics in a variety of formats,
including PCX, BMP, CGM, TIFF, GIF, and HPGL, the company
said. The package can create self-running or interactive screen
shows, which may be distributed freely.

PC Publishing is the company that developed Impress, the
graphics technology acquired by Lotus in 1991, noted Becky
M. Carey, sales coordinator.

Success works with Lotus 1-2-3 2.x with Impress or PC
Publishing's WYSIWYG attached. Any DOS PC with at least 640
kilobytes of memory and an EGA or VGA display can run it. PC
Publishing recommends expanded memory, however.

The retail price for Success will be $159.95, Carey said, but for
a limited time the software will be available for $99.95. Network
licenses are also available. The software has just begun shipping.

(Grant Buckler/19920611/Press Contact: Becky M. Carey, PC
Publishing, 617-225-2570, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 11 Govt Price Review On UK Telecoms Prices Causes Stir 06/11/92

(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00026)

Govt Price Review On UK Telecoms Prices Causes Stir 06/11/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 11 (NB) -- The normally sleepy
telecoms markets here in the UK were shaken this week as Oftel,
the government-appointed telecommunications watchdog announced
that any changes British Telecom (BT) to its pricing must now be
less than the official rate of inflation minus 7.5 percent.

Previously, BT's price increases were capped at the retail price
index (RPI - a measure of inflation) minus 6.25 percent. Analysts
say that the harsh controls are in response to BT's recent
UKP 90 profits-a-second results for the full year.

Oftel Director General Sir Bryan Carsberg, taking an
uncharacteristically heavy approach to the matter, said that he
is not in favor of regulation through negotiation and that he was
fully prepared to use his powers to refer BT to the Monopolies
and Mergers Commission (MMC) if the company did not
agree its proposals.

While BT officials have not said much about the Oftel pricing
decision, Mercury Communications, BT's rival, has welcomed the
announcement with open arms. "An overall rate of RPI - 7.5 percent,
although on the high side of our expectations, will not cause any
particular concerns for Mercury," the company said.

According to Mike Harris, Mercury's chief executive, the Oftel
price controls are tougher than he expected, but he felt that
Mercury could cope with the restrictions. He added that he
acknowledged they were to encourage BT to cut its prices in the
residential market, and are in recognition of the high price that
Mercury has had to pay BT for access to its network,

One interesting change to the Oftel price "basket" is that BT's
optional extras and volume discounts are now out of the
equation.Harris welcomes these changes.

"This stops BT directly attacking Mercury at no real cost to
themselves. Such discounts can now only be used to take on
Mercury in a fair fight and Mercury is confident that it will
continue to win," he said.

Another change being "requested" by Oftel is that BT change its
accounting practices so as to produce separate accounts for its
residential and business divisions, as well as splitting its
local, long distance, and international figures down a lot more.

(Steve Gold/19920611)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 11  ****Olivetti Signs Netware Integration Deal With Novell 06/11/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00027)

 ****Olivetti Signs Netware Integration Deal With Novell 06/11/92
MILAN, ITALY, 1992 JUN 11 (NB) -- Olivetti has entered into what
it calls a "landmark agreement" with Novell over product strategy
and inter-company marketing. Terms of the agreement call for
Olivetti to immediately offer the Netware networking technology
on a pre-installed basis for its PC, while at the same time
working towards integrating Netware in the firmware of the
machines themselves.

According to Daniele Conbuni, technical press officer with
Olivetti's Milan office, the deal is a double first. "Firstly,
it's the first of it type with a European company, and secondly,
the integration agreement is also a first for the industry."

Speaking with Newsbytes, Conbuni said that the Netware pre-
installation deal will be implemented on Olivetti PCs worldwide
with immediate effect. The integration side of the agreement will
take around nine months, at which time users will see Netware
feature as part of the Olivetti open system architecture (OSA).

"We've been working with Novell since 1990, although the
negotiations for this agreement have been arranged quite quickly.
We decided that now is the right time," Conbuni told Newsbytes.

So what does the agreement mean in practice for end users?
According to Olivetti, PCs from the company will come with
Netware pre-installed from now on, provided the customers asks
for this option and once existing stocks have been cleared from
dealer's shelves. By the spring of 1993, Olivetti PCs will come
with the option of having Netware installed as part of the
firmware of the machine.

Olivetti and Novell have some ambitious plans for Netware on PCs.
Plans call for both companies to port Netware onto Olivetti's
Unix platforms. What's interesting is that Olivetti is concentrating
on the Unix aspect of Netware rather than DOS for its integration.
The DOS side of the agreement appears to be straight factory
pre-installation scheme.

(Steve Gold/19920611/Press & Public Contact: Olivetti - Tel: 081-
785-6666)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 11 Cray Intros "Most Powerful SPARC-Based System" 06/11/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00028)

Cray Intros "Most Powerful SPARC-Based System" 06/11/92
EAGAN, MN, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 11 (NB) -- Cray Research has
announced the Cray S-MP system, a superserver product being
billed as the most powerful SPARC-based system available in the
world.

"The Cray S-MP system is designed to be linked with SPARC-
based workstation and other computing resources on a distributed
processing network," commented Martin Buchanan, general
manager.

The first in a series of SPARC-based superserver products planned
by Cray, the S-MP will act as a bridge from SPARC workstations to
larger Cray supercomputing systems on the same network.

The system will also operate as a file server with a one-terabyte
(one trillion byte) capacity.

According to Cray, the system is aimed at solving problems too
big for workstations and typical servers to handle alone.
Applications particularly well suited include finite element
analysis, signal processing, electronic CAD (computer-aided
design), mass storage management, and distributed graphics.

To date, nine orders have been received for the system, which
meets the SPARC Compliance Definition established by the
SPARC Internation industry group.

"Cray Research has joined SPARC International, an organization
of more than 200 SPARC vendors that, through the SPARC
Compliance Definition (SCD), supports binary compatibililty
among products," Buchanan said.

SCD compatability will enable the system to run more than 3,500
available SPARC applications without modification, the company
stressed.  "The Cray S-MP superserver will open the door to
higher performance of these applications for SPARC workstation
users," noted John Rollwagen, chairman and CEO.

The largest installation of the S-MP so far is at the National
Institute of Genetics in Japan, stated Buchanan.

Officials also pointed out that Cray supports about 60 installed
PPS 500 systems, many of which can be upgraded in the field to
Cray S-MP systems.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920611/Press Contact: Steve Conway, Cray,
tel [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 11 Novell To Purchase Annatek 06/11/92

(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00029)

Novell To Purchase Annatek 06/11/92
PROVO, UTAH, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 11 (NB) -- Novell and Annatek
have announced a definitive agreement that calls for Novell to
purchase the company for $10 million.

Annatek makes automated software distribution products. These
kinds of products are very useful in a networking environment since
they allow the network and system administrators to decide on who
gets an upgrade or access to a new version of a program. Then,
instead of the administrator running around from station to station,
the software does this automatically. In many cases, the
administrator can set the time in which the upgrade happens so
that the user is not affected by the procedure at all.

Novell is hoping to offer such automated software distribution
services from network servers that run Novell's Netware software.
By purchasing Annatek and incorporating their technology into the
Netware family, Novell gets a headstart on the process.

Commenting on the acquisition, Frank Richardson, president and
chief executive officer of Annatek, said: "It's gratifying to measure
Annatek's success by the customer needs we've met in supporting
innovative information system managers at many large organizations.
We've built a profitable and stable organization that has proven
itself as a trusted vendor partner. In joining Novell we are
reinforcing these qualities by becoming an important part of
Novell's rapidly growing network systems solution business."

Annatek will continue to operate from its Boulder, Colorado offices.
Neither company expects any changes in management or
personnel to occur as a result of this acquisition. Annatek will
become a part of Novell's Netware Systems Group which reports to
Jan Newman.

"Automated software distribution that dramatically reduces the cost
of software management has become a mission critical requirement
for many Novell customers. Annatek has distinguished itself as the
leader in delivering these services. Combined with development work
already underway at Novell, we expect Annatek to accelerate our
abilities to provide network managers with comprehensive software
distribution as part of the array of services available with Netware
network solutions. Annatek reflects Novell's strategy to extend the
capabilities of Netware network computing solutions," said Newman.

(Naor Wallach/19920611, Press Contact: Peter Troop, Novell,
408-473-8361)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 11 Autodesk's New Pres Takes Leave For Cancer Surgery 06/11/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00030)

Autodesk's New Pres Takes Leave For Cancer Surgery 06/11/92
SAUSALITO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 11 (NB) -- Not
two months after her appointment as chief executive officer at
Autodesk, Carol Bartz is taking a one month medical leave to
fight breast cancer.

Bartz, age 43, made the announcement at the A/E/C Systems '92
show and Autodesk Expo in Dallas, Texas. Company officials told
Newsbytes the cancer is in the early stages and Bartz will be
undergoing surgery during the month leave. Eric Herr, who recently
joined the company as chief financial officer, will be acting
president in Bartz' absence, officials said.

Bartz left her position as vice president of worldwide field
operations at Sun Microsystems to join Autodesk and has
recently announced new directions for the company.

Len Rand, newly appointed vice president of Autodesk's Autocad
division told Newsbytes Autodesk's new direction includes building an
infrastructure or "spine" as Rand called it, to simplify the exchange
of design information from one design discipline to another during
the entire design-to-construction/manufacturing process. Autocad, the
company's flagship product, is aimed at computer-aided design (CAD).

"The architectural business is the biggest 'mom and pop' shop in the
world," Rand said. "Most architectural firms are one man operations
and design information is passed from an architect to a civil
engineer to a mechanical engineer to a another engineer and so
on. We want to build a 'spine' and publish the structure so inter-
replaceable parts developed by third party vendors can be inserted
to provide users with process integration."

Autodesk is the acknowledged leader in the "mom and pop"
architectural shop market and Bartz was the compelling element
behind the company's new plans. Also, Autodesk just introduced
Release 12 of Autocad, a release the company says is faster and
easier to use.

Company officials told Newsbytes Bartz will continue the new work
she has started at Autodesk and plans to keep up with company
principles by phone during her absence.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920611/Press Contact: Lenn Batts, Autodesk, tel
#ENDCARD


#CARD :1992 JUN 10 Australia: NEC Laser Printer With 100 TrueType Fonts 06/10/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00001)

Australia: NEC Laser Printer With 100 TrueType Fonts 06/10/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 10 (NB) -- NEC Information
Systems Australia (ISA) is offering 100 free TrueType fonts in
Australia with its recently released Silentwriter S62P laser printer.
The fonts can be used by Macintosh and Windows 3.1 users, and
were developed by Victorian firm, Laserfonts.

Laserfonts approached NEC's Melbourne office after informal
discussions, and a final decision was made to include the fonts in
the special deal. The S62P is being offered for AUS$3,950
for the duration of the special deal, which is initially to run for
six months. NEC ISA's general manager, volume products, Ted Nishi,
said of the deal: "NEC ISA believes it is increasingly important for
major suppliers in the IT industry to support Australian developers
and their products. The TrueType fonts are very impressive, and will
provide excellent market leverage for the Silentwriter S62P laser
printer."

Laserfonts has been entering OEM (original equipment
manufacturer) and VAR (value added reseller) agreements with US
companies for several years, and continues to receive inquiries
from multinationals about preparation of fonts, including a Kanji
TrueType font for Windows.

Laserfonts was formed four years ago, and currently has OEM and
VAR agreements in the US and Australia. The company is also
conducting talks throughout North America. The development and
sale of the fonts to the US could see exports running into the
millions of dollars, with both one-off and long terms deals being
discussed.

The Kanji TrueType font could alone see a deal worth AUS$3-4
million, with around 8,000 characters to be designed. Laserfonts
claims more TrueType fonts than most other font houses, including
Microsoft and Monotype.

(Sean McNamara/19920610/Press Contacts: Joseph Clarkson, Laserfonts,
phone in Australia [phone], fax [phone]; Mark Van
Rossen, Z-Soft Corp, phone [phone]; Morann Paterson, NEC ISA
Marketing Department, phone in Australia [phone], fax +61-2-
930 2020)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 10 Australia: Western Computer Enters ICL Distribution Deal 06/10/92


(NEWS)(UNIX)(SYD)(00002)

Australia: Western Computer Enters ICL Distribution Deal 06/10/92
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 10 (NB) -- Brisbane computer
manufacturer Western Computer has entered an agreement with ICL to
sell the ICL DRS4000 range of computers. The deal will see Western
Computer become the exclusive Queensland distributor and a joint
Australia-wide distributor.

Western Computer will rebadge the DRS4000 as the Western Computer
486MP, and will retail the machines from about AUS$25,000.
The 486MP will be aimed at the high-performance Unix market, and
runs the SCO version of Unix. Each 486MP is designed to include up
to four 80486 main processors and four 68000 slave processors, and
comes standard with 256 megabytes (MB) of main memory, 16MB disk
cache memory, 12 gigabytes (GB) of disk storage, and 240 ports.

The 486MP features a board-based CPU (central processing unit),
allowing easy field upgrades from single to quad processor
configurations, according to the company. The agreement with ICL
is aimed at expanding Western Computer's range of offerings to its
clients. "We were looking for a more powerful machine to sit at the
top end of our existing PC range," said Richmond Fraser, managing
director of Western Computer.

Western Computer was formed in 1984 and offers a range of Intel
processor-based computers to its dealers around Australia. Its
products range from 386SX systems through to multi-processor
486 and 860 machines.

(Sean McNamara/19920610)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 10 Australia: ITI In Research Deal With Queensland Univ 06/10/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00003)

Australia: ITI In Research Deal With Queensland Univ 06/10/92
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 10 (NB) -- Information
Technology International, a Brisbane-based relational database firm,
is to work on a collaborative research project with the University of
Queensland. The project is aimed at providing ITI with one
consistent distributed database implementation of its DBQ
relational technology.

As part of the agreement, ITI will provide the University with an
AUS$574,000 grant. The grant recently got the go-ahead from the
Industrial Research and Development Board within the Department of
Industry, Technology, and Commerce. Fundamental research will be
carried out into such areas as catalogue management and recovery,
optimization, concurrency, and replication/fragmentation.

ITI also hopes to see the project develop an upper-level computer-
aided software engineering tool for handling distributed schema and
the production of distributed relational database management
systems from such systems already implemented.

"Currently, there are some very superficial versions of distributed
databases in the marketplace and the quality of their base line
compromises any future enhancements," said Dr Rod Thomas, ITI's
research and development manager. "We are proposing a later
entry into the market with a thoroughly researched product that is
much nearer to a correct implementation - one which is not going to
stifle further extensions as they become necessary," Thomas went
on to say.

(Sean McNamara/19920610)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 10 Australia: Computerized Mapping Helps Save Koalas 06/10/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00004)

Australia: Computerized Mapping Helps Save Koalas 06/10/92
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 10 (NB) -- A series of
computer developed maps have helped conservationists gain
concessions on the route of a major transport corridor which could
have affected koala populations. The maps were prepared on the
Genamap geographic information system (GIS), and showed the
koala population distribution in South East Queensland.

The maps were able to prove to the Queensland State government
that the planned corridor would go through several of the States
prime koala populations. "It was a major coup for us," said Ann
Sharp, spokesperson of the Australian Koala Foundation. "It was
a very pleasing result for us when the government decided the route
of the highway need not go through core koala habitat," Sharp went
on to say.

The maps were developed using existing databases such as
Queensland's digital cadastral database, and data on soil types,
topography, tree types, and geology. Volunteers also collected
information from 2,107 sites in the 10,000 hectare region on koala
numbers and tree types, with local and state government bodies
also helping the Foundation. The maps took almost three years to
complete and occupy approximately 160 megabytes (MB) of disk
storage.

Despite the route change by the government, the Foundation still
sees the maps as an important tool in future "battles" for the
koalas. "It is all an ongoing thing. The habitat is not entirely out
of danger yet," Sharp said.

(Sean McNamara/19920610)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 10 Australian Phone Charges Above OECD Average 06/10/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00005)

Australian Phone Charges Above OECD Average 06/10/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 10 (NB) -- A report by the
OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development)
has shown Australian telecommunications charges to be above
the OECD average. Australia ranked 15th in residential charges
and 16th in business charges.

The study looked at the cost of a standard "basket" of services and
calls, and took account of currency exchange rate fluctuations and
cost of living figures. For the residential figures, 1,000 calls of
varying distance and duration, and time and day of week, were made
to determine the cost, while 2,714 calls were made for the business
figures.

Australia's residential basket cost US$442.12, with the average
being US$419.83. Countries which beat Australia in the residential
basket were (in order) Iceland, Sweden, The Netherlands, Denmark,
Canada, the US, Norway, Finland, Switzerland, Japan, Greece,
Belgium, Germany and France. Italy, the UK, Spain, Austria,
New Zealand, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, and Turkey were more
expensive than Australia.

The business basket cost US$1096.39 in Australia, US$188.38
more expensive than the average. Cheaper countries were (in order)
Iceland, Denmark, The Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, Norway,
Belgium, Switzerland, Greece, Canada, the UK, Japan, Germany,
France, and the US. Spain, Ireland, New Zealand, Italy, Austria,
Portugal, and Turkey were more expensive.

Iceland was cheapest in both categories with US$110.98 for the
residential basket and US$229.08 for the business basket, while
Turkey was most expensive with US$1,192.62 for residential and
US$2,052.87 for business.

(Sean McNamara/19920610)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 10 Ingres Pushes Itself Into Asia; Wins India/Indonesia Orders 06/10/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00006)

Ingres Pushes Itself Into Asia; Wins India/Indonesia Orders 06/10/92
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1992 JUN 10 (NB) -- Asiatech, an Ingres
technical resource center, has been recently made operational in
Singapore. The center is entrusted with the responsibility of making
Ingres work specifically for languages of Asia region, such as
Chinese, Thai, and Hindi.

The Asiatech facility was been established after the success of the
Ingres Eurotech facility headquartered in London which has made
Ingres available for French and German, and is looking after similar
needs in Europe. Ingres has already got direct offices or distribution
operations in Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, India,
Indonesia, and Philippines.

Mastek Pvt. Ltd., the primary distributor for the Ingres relational data
base management system in India has secured a Rs 1.5 crore order
for the RDBMS alone from the Industrial Development Bank of India
(IDBI) as a part of the World Bank-aided computerization of the
bank's operations.

Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) is supplying the hardware. IDBI
will interface more than 500 PCs to the system which will run Ingres
client tools. This is by far the largest Ingres order in the country to
date. So far, Nhava Seva Port Trust had been the biggest Ingres
installation. In India, "the Ingres User Group is gaining strength,'' said
Ashank Desai, director of Mastek. About a hundred Ingres users are
meeting next month in Madras.

Ingres Asia has also signed its largest ever deal worth US$1 million,
in Indonesia with Bank Danamon, the second-largest privately-owned
bank in the country with a reputation for innovation. Ingres' business
partner, CSP, is also to provide another one million dollars worth of
financials to the bank, over the next five-year implementation schedule.
Together, this deal is claimed to be the largest combined software
order in Asia for a long time.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920601)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 10 India: Sanyo And BPL In Design Collaboration Deal 06/10/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00007)

India: Sanyo And BPL In Design Collaboration Deal 06/10/92
BANGALORE, INDIA, 1992 JUN 10 (NB) -- The computer division
of Sanyo Electric Company of Japan has entered into collaboration
with BPL Systems of the $245 million BPL group with headquarters
in Bangalore, to design and develop certain products in the area of
communications.

BPL has already had a long-term association with Sanyo, particularly
in consumer electronics like television sets, VCRs and APBXs
(automatic private branch exchanges).

The company is now pushing into areas with export prospects. BPL
Systems' recently-opened design and development center in
Bangalore has already commenced operations.

The company has embarked on a project to develop a fax card and
a data modem card with associated software.

Preliminary projects include software and hardware for AX PCs,
notebook computers, multimedia communication, office and
manufacturing automation, and wireless networks.

The design of ASICs (application specific integrated circuits) in
VLSI (very large scale integration) is also on the cards.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920607)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 10 Infonet Hosts First Global Network Briefing 06/10/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00008)

Infonet Hosts First Global Network Briefing 06/10/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 10 (NB) -- Infonet
Services, which is 25 percent owned by MCI, will host its first
Global Network Briefing in Washington June 23-24.

The company will convene representatives from its worldwide
board of directors, customers, executive staff, and guests to
address the complicated trade and technology issues facing the
global networking community.

Jose Collazo, Infonet's chairman and president, will deliver the
keynote presentation for the two-day conference at the opening-
night dinner.

The event is particularly important because Infonet's directors
represent 11 international telecommunication operator
shareholders, including many of the largest PTTs in the world.

Infonet's World Network is currently accessible in more than
125 countries.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920610/Press Contact: Randy Lintecum,
Infonet Services, 310/335-2860)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 10 Motorola & Steelcase To Develop Office Wireless Tech 06/10/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00009)

Motorola & Steelcase To Develop Office Wireless Tech 06/10/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A. 1992 JUN 10 (NB) -- Motorola will
work with Steelcase, the world's leader in office furniture, to
explore how wireless telephony can reduce the cost of office
"moves and changes" and increase corporate teamwork.

Steelcase said it would be developing office furnishings products
using Motorola's Altair Plus wireless Ethernet product.
Steelcase did not disclose specific products or an introduction
date.

The companies said that the entire office environment today
is based on a wired office environment. Wire-based connections
include twisted-pair phone wires, coaxial cabling, and optical
fibers, all hidden behind office walls, in floors, over ceilings,
and in wire closets and furniture. The wires make changing the
location of workers to reflect changing conditions difficult and
expensive.

Motorola is pushing a technology called Altair Plus wireless
Ethernet, a wireless local area network which includes radio-
based "User" and "Control" modules. Many companies still don't
see Altair as a replacement for their current wired systems, and
the company hopes a link with the world's largest maker of office
furniture can help change that.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920610/Press Contact: Peter Jeff, Steelcase,
616-247-2277; Cheryl Beck, Motorola, Inc., 708-632-2853)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 10 International Phone Update 06/10/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00010)

International Phone Update 06/10/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 10 (NB) -- Centel's
sale to Sprint at a relatively low price is being felt throughout
the world telephony market.

International telecom shares fell in price, as analysts wondered
whether they're worth as much as previously advertised. Helping
spur the sell-off was a decision by British regulators sharply
limiting profits that British Telecommunications can make in its
home market. Shares in its competitors, Cable and Wireless and
Vodafone, also fell. So did shares of TelMex of Mexico.

If the joyride in telephone stock prices is ending, someone will
have to pay. Sometimes, that someone works for the government.
Malaysian Energy, Telecommunications and Post Minister S.
Samy Vellu is now before the dock in the sale of nine million shares
of Telekom Malaysia. Samy Vellu, who heads the Malaysian Indian
Congress, the country's main Indian party, claims he sold the
stock to benefit a college he helped create, but opponents
accused him of hijacking the shares for his own gain.

In Latin America, uncertainties over the possible privatization
of Brazil's Telebras monopoly have sent its publicly-traded stock
down 20 percent. AT&T joined SID Telecommunicacoes in a deal to
supply equipment to Telepar, which runs phones in the Brazilian
state of Parana. In Venezuela, Telcel, the new cellular telephone
concern, registered a $100 million debt issue to help it build-out
its system.

Finally, to show how far telephony has gotten, Maurice
Laurdeneau of Winnipeg, Canada, a local legislature, found
himself kidnapped and locked in the trunk of his car recently.
Fortunately, he still had his phone in his pocket. He called the
police and was rescued.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920610)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 10 Dueling Studies In Washington Bell Fight 06/10/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00011)

Dueling Studies In Washington Bell Fight 06/10/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 JUN 10 (NB) -- Ross Perot
spokesman James Squires complained to a Washington Post
reporter recently of the "box" problem, an insistence by reporters
that politicians and interest groups fit inside little boxes of
opinion, so that reporters can safely analyze them and, at the
same time, criticize their willingness to be pigeonholed.

The Bell information services fight in the US House appears to
have become a classic "box" problem, with the Bells sponsoring
"studies" rife with bias, which their opponents then castigate.

The latest such study, reported by yet another "Post" reporter,
claims that keeping the Bells in the information services business
will eventually create 1.46 million US jobs and add $110 billion to the
gross domestic product by the year 2001. The two volume, 240 page,
study was produced by The WEFA Group, but funded by the seven
regional Bell companies who are trying to maintain their positions in
the information businesses against an antitrust bill by Rep. Jack
Brooks of Texas.

The key news in the study was the support and participation of
unions on the Bell side. The seven Bell companies are far more
heavily unionized than most US companies. The Communications
Workers of America and International Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers won a hefty contract renewal from Nynex after a four-month
strike in 1989. They're also fighting AT&T with an "electronic
picket line" in their attempt to win a new three-year contract there.
But the small companies fighting Bell entry into these businesses
are almost entirely non-union, and by maintaining Bell dominance
these unions hope to maintain jobs for their members.

Also on the Bell side are some of the smaller, less successful
information businesses, like General Videotex, which could expect
buy-out offers if the Bells eventually feel safe in their market
participation. Representatives from both these small companies
and the unions were prominently featured in a Bell press release
hailing the study.

Bell opponents, of course, jumped right up. Calling themselves
the "Unity Coalition," these opponents include long distance
firms like AT&T and MCI, leading on-line services like CompuServe
and GEnie, and the nation's major newspapers. The coalition
accused the Bell companies of misleading Congress and the
public through a paid media campaign claiming that the bill would
adversely affect US employment, when in fact the Bells
themselves have laid off 60,000 workers since deregulation.

"Without legislation like H.R. 5096," the Brooks bill, "the RBOCs
will be able and willing to finance their entry into increasingly
competitive markets using ratepayer money," according to
spokesman Brian Moir.

Despite all the hullaballoo, there appears no chance the Brooks
bill will pass this session of Congress. The increasing polarization
of US politics, along with Bush Administration opposition, make
that a virtual certainty. An expected huge turnover in membership
in the US House makes some observers wonder why, then, the
fight goes on so strongly. Squires, former editor of the Chicago
Tribume, might reply might be that both sides are trapped in the
box.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920610/Press Contact: Brian Moir, Unity
Coalition, 202-775-5661; Valerie Christy, Fleishman-Hillard, 202-
828-8820)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 10 Microsoft Windows Selling Strong In UK 06/10/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00012)

Microsoft Windows Selling Strong In UK 06/10/92
WOKINGHAM, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 10 (NB) -
Microsoft UK has announced that Windows 3.1 is outselling all its
forecasts, having shipped around three million copies worldwide
since its shipment six weeks ago.

According to Mark Edwards, Windows marketing manager with
Microsoft UK, data from the company's product support center,
along with feedback from customers has been very positive.
"Windows is proving to be the perfect solution for today's
computer users," he said.

While Windows is pre-installed on a number of manufacturer's
machines, the bulk of Windows 3.1's early sales are through the
retail channel. Microsoft claims that the sales surge has been
due to customer enthusiasm for the package, allied with
favorable press reviews and improvements in version 3.1.

"Windows continues to sell off the charts. It's been a best-
selling product in unit sales since its introduction," confirmed
Charles Helliwell, marketing director with Merisel, one of
Microsoft's primary distributors.

Ian Hunter, divisional manager for product marketing with P&P,
another of Microsoft's distributors, said that sales of Windows
3.1 have been going extremely well, building on the success of
Windows 3.0. "This new version of the product is a definite
improvement, and will ensure that the Windows bandwagon
keeps on rolling," he said.

Microsoft, in the UK, at least, is not resting on its laurels.
The company is ramping up its pre-installation program to prepare
for Windows 3.1 to be installed at the factory on more than 100
manufacturer's PCs. Industry sources suggest that the bulk of
pre-installed Windows 3.0 manufacturers are now in the process
of switching to Windows 3.1, with the first machines with the new
version appearing in UK stores about now.

In the UK Windows 3.1 sells for UKP 99. Existing users are
being encouraged to upgrade to Windows 3.1 for UKP 45 by
calling the company's upgrade center on 081-893-8000.

(Steve Gold/19920610)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 10 Cellular Phones Still Selling In UK, Despite Recession 06/10/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00013)

Cellular Phones Still Selling In UK, Despite Recession 06/10/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 10 (NB) -- Vodafone, one of the
UK's two cellular network operators, has reported pre-tax profits
of UKP 271.8 million for the year to March 31, 1992 -- up from UKP
246.7 million posted for last year.

Announcing the profits, Gerry Whent, Vodafone's chief executive,
said that the company continues to beat Cellnet in the customer
market war. Vodafone has 56 percent of the market, and now has
715,000 subscribers on the network -- 44,000 more than last year.

The fact that the overall number of subscribers has risen on the
year caused surprise amongst many analysts, many of whom
expected the subscriber figures to be disappointing. The cellular
network's problems are that around 20 percent of subscribers
leave the network every year, for various reasons. This makes the
subscriber numbers increase, in the face of the recession, all
the more surprising.

"Vodafone Group performance for the present year should show an
improvement on the results for 1991/92. The long term prospects
remain good," Whent said. "The group has continued to grow
throughout the recession, albeit at a slower rate," he added.

Whent revealed that the number of subscribers leaving Vodafone
was a hefty 24 percent in 1991/92, a figure he attributes to the
recession. Vodafone officials said they hope to get this figure
down to below 20 percent during the current year.

(Steve Gold/19920610)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 10 Europe Prepares For Multi-national Telecoms Services 06/10/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00014)

Europe Prepares For Multi-national Telecoms Services 06/10/92
AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS, 1992 JUN 10 (NB) -- The first
sign that true intra-country competition has arrived in the European
telecoms marketplace appeared this week, as Unisource, a joint
venture company between the Dutch state telecoms company and
Televerket of Sweden, revealed its plans for telecoms services.

According to Unisource officials, the new company will begin
offering its services between the UK, Germany, the Netherlands,
and Sweden this September, rolling service out to at least five
other European countries by the end of the year.

According to Ben Verwaayem, head of the new company, and
president of Telecom, the Netherlands' state-controlled telecoms
company, Unisource is aiming to grab a slice of the lucrative
major company market from the public telecoms companies.

In a clear warning to the US giants -- AT&T, MCI, and Sprint --
Verwaayen said that he plans to "go global" with Unisource next
year. As part of this strategy, he said that a deal with Sprint
is under active discussion.

What's interesting about the Unisource project is that the
company will not operate many network links itself. Instead, the
company will buy in services from national and international
private and public telecoms companies and sell then under the
Unisource brand name. By operating on slim margins, the
company hopes to carve itself a niche in the international
telecoms marketplace.

(Steve Gold/19920610)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 10 Turkey Leapfrogs Ahead In Mobile Phone Services 06/10/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00015)

Turkey Leapfrogs Ahead In Mobile Phone Services 06/10/92
ISTANBUL, TURKEY, 1992 JUN 10 (NB) -- Turkey isn't the kind of
place that you'd expect to find state-of-the-art mobile phones in
common usage, but that's the vision that Motorola has of the
country.

According to the international technology giant, a deal has been
struck with Netas and SGS Profilo, two Turkish telecoms
companies, to install and support a digital mobile phone network
conforming to the groupe speciale mobile (GSM) standard.

The deal will, however, have to be ratified by the Turkish
government. Industry experts suggest this will be a formality,
given the fact that GSM is seen as the pan-European mobile
network standard of the future.

Currently, Turkey has a mobile phone network operating to
analog cellular standards, with around 18,000 mobile phones
sold every year. Because the phones are so expensive, however,
sales have been lower than expected.

(Steve Gold/19920610)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 10  ****Czech Computer Wiz Arrested In $1m Bank Scam 06/10/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(00016)

 ****Czech Computer Wiz Arrested In $1m Bank Scam 06/10/92
PRAGUE, CZECHOSLOVAKIA, 1992 JUN 10 (NB) -- An employee
of the Czech State Savings Bank allegedly embezzled more than
a million dollars before being discovered by bank security officials.

According to the bank, the 22 year old had 30.1 million Czech
crowns stashed in his parent's garage and was planning to flee
the country when police raided his home in late May.

The man, identified only as MJ, was hired by the bank in June,
1991, as a computer supervisor. Officials with the bank say that
he managed to withdraw around $1.25 million by hacking his way
into the computer system.

After cracking the necessary security systems, he then
transferred the withdrawn monies to accounts at branches outside
of Czechoslovakia, before withdrawing the money in cash at local
bank branches.

It was this last link in the chain that let him down, when a bank
teller, recognizing him from a staff training course of last
year, alerted the police to a potential fraud, when she realized
that the 15 million crowns ($620,000) was clearly not his money.

The bank's director, Jiri Pavek, told the press that steps have
now been taken to prevent similar security breaches taking place
in the future.

(Steve Gold/19920610)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 10 Lotus Emphasizes Work Groups, Communications 06/10/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00017)

Lotus Emphasizes Work Groups, Communications 06/10/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 10 (NB) -- There
is no denying that Lotus Development is a spreadsheet company --
various versions of the 1-2-3 spreadsheet software remain its biggest
seller, and at the company's annual meeting here, Chairman and
Chief Executive Jim Manzi noted that Lotus' share of the DOS
spreadsheet market rose in the fourth quarter of 1991. But Lotus is
not thinking only about spreadsheets.

In his speech at the Lotus annual meeting, Manzi concentrated on
the importance of communications and of software to help people
work together. The latter is the function of Notes, an ambitious
work-group software package that Lotus -- along with at least some
outside observers -- sees as the company's next really big product.

Manzi contrasted the approach taken in Notes with what he called
the traditional data processing view, which is that more and more
information is the answer to every problem. Manzi contended that
communication and cooperation among workers, not more raw
information, is what is really needed.

Communications is the underpinning of Lotus' product strategy,
Manzi said, and it goes beyond Notes and cc:Mail, the
electronic-mail product Lotus acquired in 1991, to communications
features in other software. "Only our Windows applications are
mail-enabled," Manzi pointed out, referring to the ability of
applications packages to work closely with electronic-mail
systems.

Manzi called the acquisition of cc:Mail the most significant event
of 1991 for Lotus.

Jeffrey Tarter, editor and publisher of the Watertown,
Massachusetts-based Softletter, told Newsbytes that Notes is a
visionary product that will have as much impact as 1-2-3 has had.
"I've said that this is going to be 1-2-3 for networks," he said.
"It will change organizations as much as 1-2-3 has changed them."

However, Tarter said, that does not mean Notes sales will boom in
the next few months. "We're probably talking 10 years to get to
where 1-2-3 is now," he said (1-2-3 is itself about 10 years old).
Tarter said Notes may even be a bit ahead of its time.

(Grant Buckler/19920610/Press Contact: Lotus Development,
617-577-8500)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 10 New For PC: Lotus SmartPak For Windows 1-2-3 06/10/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00018)

New For PC: Lotus SmartPak For Windows 1-2-3 06/10/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 10 (NB) --
Microsoft has been scoring competitive points over Lotus with some
of the features of its new Excel 3.0 spreadsheet software for Windows,
and Lotus doesn't plan to sit still for much more. The maker of 1-2-3
has struck back with a companion product to its own Windows
spreadsheet that adds many of the features found in Excel 3.0.

Speaking to reporters and analysts in Boston recently, Jeffrey
Beir, vice-president of Lotus' spreadsheet division, admitted: "the
competition" (he didn't specifically mention Microsoft) had been
"making hay" out of some features Excel has and 1-2-3 hasn't.
He called SmartPak for Windows "a quick, aggressive response."

Among the features of SmartPak is SmartFill, which fills in a
spreadsheet range with commonly used data series such as
months, days, numbers, and letters. For instance, if you enter
"January" in a cell, you can then use SmartFill to fill in the next
11 cells of the row automatically with the names of the other 11
months.

A CrossTabs feature is used to create a summary table from
database information. SmartFormat lets users cycle through as
many as 10 predefined formats for dressing up a table of data with
borders, fonts, and the like. SmartPak also provides SmartIcons for
summing three-dimensional ranges, zooming in and out to display
more or less data on the screen, centering text across a range of
columns, and other functions.

The software also adds application development tools to help
1-2-3 users create custom applications.

Lotus plans to "slipstream" SmartPak into new packages of 1-2-3
for Windows Release 1.1, meaning it will be shipped with all new
copies sold at no extra charge. Users who already have Release 1.1
can get SmartPak from Lotus at no charge.

(Grant Buckler/19920610/Press Contact: Alexandra Trevelyan, Lotus
Development, 617-693-1580; Karen Schiff, McGlinchey & Paul for
Lotus, 617-862-4514)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 10 DEC Updates E-Mail, Provides cc:Mail Integration 06/10/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00019)

DEC Updates E-Mail, Provides cc:Mail Integration 06/10/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 10 (NB) -- Digital
Equipment has announced a new release of its local area network
electronic mail integration product, MailWorks Postmaster, that
ties DEC's mail systems in with Lotus Development's PC-based
cc:Mail.

MailWorks Postmaster version 2.0 also adds new security features,
including virus detection and the ability to protect mail messages
from being read using network analyzers that can monitor the flow
of data over a network, said Valerie White, product manager.

White told Newsbytes that cc:Mail users will now be able to
communicate with colleagues who use DEC's Mailworks e-mail.
Directories will be integrated so users will not have to worry
about who is on which system.

The cc:Mail connection is a first step in providing greater
integration between DEC's e-mail offering and those of other
vendors. White said a similar link to Microsoft Mail will be next,
and other e-mail products will be tied in with Mailworks later.

Mailworks supports DEC's own Pathworks networks, as well as
Novell's NetWare, 3Com and Banyan Vines networks running on
Ethernet or Token Ring hardware.

Due to be available in September, Mailworks Postmaster version
2.0 for local area networks will cost $1,995. The wide area network
version will sell for $4,995, and the cc:Mail connection will cost
$30.

(Grant Buckler/19920610/Press Contact: Terri Slater, Digital
Equipment, 603-884-0753 or 617-849-6010)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 10  ****Lotus To Use Ace Database Tech In Windows LotusWorks 06/10/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00020)

 ****Lotus To Use Ace Database Tech In Windows LotusWorks 06/10/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 10 (NB) --
Lotus Development plans to use database technology licensed
from California-based Ace Software in a Windows version of its
LotusWorks integrated software product, company Chairman and
Chief Executive Jim Manzi said.

Lotus announced recently that it had licensed the AceFile
technology from the San Jose company. AceFile can read files
created by dBase, the widely used PC database program, as well
as files created by other applications packages including Lotus'
1-2-3 spreadsheet package.

However, AceFile is a simple file management package, not a
programmable database management system meant for
application development as dBase is, a spokeswoman for Ace
said.

John Landry, senior vice-president of development and chief
technology officer at Lotus, said the company does not plan to
release a stand-alone database management package. "Lotus
does not believe at this point that there's a lot of benefit to be
gained to be in the generic database business," he said. Instead,
Lotus plans to offer tools to work with popular database software,
Landry said.

Suneel Kelkar, vice-president of marketing at Ace Software, said
his company will continue to sell AceFile and does not expect any
conflict with Lotus' plans.

(Grant Buckler/19920610/Press Contact: Lisa Gordon-Miller, S & S
Public Relations for Ace, 708-291-1616; Bruce Johnston, Lotus
Development, 617-577-8500)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 10  ****DEC Acquires 800-Software 06/10/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00021)

 ****DEC Acquires 800-Software 06/10/92
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 10 (NB) --
Digital Equipment has announced that it completed the acquisition
of 800-Software of Point Richmond, California. Digital had revealed
in April that it was negotiating to buy the PC software and
accessories distributor.

The deal is now closed, with no approvals or other formalities
remaining, and 800-Software is a wholly owned subsidiary of
Digital, said Bob Schneider, a spokesman for Digital. 800-Software
will keep its current management and retain its focus on non-
Digital software and hardware.

800-Software has 200 employees in its headquarters and in five
regional sales offices in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles,
and Washington, D.C. Their jobs will not be affected by the buyout,
Schneider said.

800-Software does not distribute any products from Digital,
Schneider said. DEC acquired the company as part of an effort to
provide "one-stop shopping" to desktop computer buyers, and
since it does not produce PC applications software itself, Digital
believed it could fill the gap by acquiring a major distributor of
such applications, he said. "We now have the ability to give the
desktop customers whatever they want."

800-Software is one of the largest US distributors of Borland,
Intel, Lotus, Microsoft, Novell, and WordPerfect products. It
grew 48 percent in 1991 to revenues of $77 million.

No financial terms of the agreement have been released.

(Grant Buckler/19920610/Press Contact: Bob Schneider, Digital
Equipment, 508-480-4620; or Juleigh Rawlings, Digital Equipment,
714-261-4520)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 10 NetManage Updates Product To Windows Sockets Specs 06/10/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00022)

NetManage Updates Product To Windows Sockets Specs 06/10/92
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 10 (NB) -- NetManage
has upgraded their NEWT product line to comply with the Windows
Sockets specification that is about to be announced. In addition,
NetManage has introduced a new product called NEWT-SDK for
developers.

In one of the "birds of a feather" sessions held at Interop '91,
about 25 companies decided to form a group that would standardize
the application programming interface (API) between TCP/IP
protocol stacks and Microsoft Windows 3.X. The group decided to
adopt NetManage's WinSock API as a base technology and then
change it or build upon it as necessary. After more than one year of
effort, the group is ready to announce the standard and have named
it the Windows Sockets API specification. The announcement is
slated to be made June 10.

NetManage has been a participant and a close partner in this
process. While participating, they have been putting in all of the
changes that were agreed to into their NEWT product. In this way,
they are able to announce that NEWT is fully compatible with the
new specification.

NEWT is a TCP/IP protocol stack. By itself it does nothing. One of
the main features of NEWT is that it is a dynamically linked library
(DLL) under Windows which means that it takes no main memory to
operate. Since NEWT by itself is not very useful, NetManage has also
developed NEWT-SDK. This is the developers kit which allows other
developers to develop products that are compatible with the new
specifications and with NEWT. A developer would likely purchase a
limited amount of copies of NEWT-SDK for their engineers and then
as many copies of NEWT as were needed by each copy of their
applications. NetManage has made it very clear that NEWT-SDK and
NEWT are totally independent companies. There is no requirement
to use NEWT with NEWT-SDK nor vice versa.

NEWT sells for $60 a copy in quantities of 100. NEWT-SDK sells for
$500 a copy. Both products are shipping now.

(Naor Wallach/19920610, Press Contact: Dan Geisler, NetManage,
408-973-7171)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 10 Crosscomm Adds Novell IPX Support To ILAN 06/10/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00023)

Crosscomm Adds Novell IPX Support To ILAN 06/10/92
MARLBORO, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 10 (NB) --
Crosscomm's  latest addition to its ILAN router is the ability to
support Novell IPX routing.

This is a continuation of the strategy that Crosscomm has been
pursuing. Only a couple of weeks ago, Crosscomm announced
the availability of a software feature pack that supports IBM's
Bi-sync protocol.

The ILAN router is claimed by Crosscomm to be the only one that
can truly route such non-routable protocols as IBM's SNA.
Crosscomm has been introducing feature packs at an accelerating
rate in their effort to expand the capabilities and the market
segment that they are targeting.

IPX routing capabilities are available now. Software Feature Pack
FP-R01 is selling for $550.

(Naor Wallach/19920610, Press Contact: Christine LeCompte,
Beaupre & Co for Crosscomm, 603-436-6690)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 10 Frontier Technologies Supports WinSock 06/10/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00024)

Frontier Technologies Supports WinSock 06/10/92
MEQUON, WISCONSIN, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 10 (NB) -- Frontier
Technologies has delayed the shipment of Version 2.0 of Super-TCP
for Windows to allow them to support that Windows Sockets API
that Microsoft and 25 other companies are announcing this week.
Frontier Technologies has modified the Super-TCP kernel to make
it compatible with the new specifications.

In addition to the kernel itself, Frontier Technologies is also
getting ready to release a set of C++ class libraries that a
developer can use to bind their application with Frontier's kernel.

Both products will be shipping within the next week or two. Company
officials have told Newsbytes that the software is actually in beta
test sites right now and has been there for some time. They are in
the process of getting the final feedback from their customers and
are hoping to start shipping out shrink-wrapped packages within a
week.

Frontier Technologies president, Dr. Prakash Ambegaonkar said
that: "The standardization of an interface for TCP/IP developers and
writers of applications will aid in the advancement of TCP/IP
networking in the Windows environment and allow better products
to be developed. In the end, everyone will gain."

Super-TCP for Windows 2.0 is a 100 percent dynamically linked
library (DLL) which means that it does not use up any of the main
memory on the PC. Super-TCP for Windows version 2.0 will sell
for $495.

Frontier is also preparing a set of class libraries for those
application developers who are creating a program using C++.
Should they choose to incorporate a TCP/IP protocol stack like
Super-TCP, they will be able to do so using the C++ class library
from Frontier Technologies. These class libraries will also be
available within two weeks for a retail price of $595.

(Naor Wallach/19920610, Press Contact: Ann Finkler, Frontier
Technologies, 414-241-4555 Extension 209)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 10 Cray Research To Sponsor Smithsonian Computer Award 06/10/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00025)

Cray Research To Sponsor Smithsonian Computer Award 06/10/92
EAGAN, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 10 (NB) -- Supercomputer
company Cray Research has announced that it will sponsor one of
the Computerworld Smithsonian Awards. The company said the
award would pay tribute to the breakthrough work of pioneers
leading fundamental change in science.

Cray, making their announcement at this year's black-tie awards
ceremony in the nation's capital, said that it would sponsor a
Benefactor award, the highest level of sponsorship. The company
said its award has been designated the Cray Research Information
Technology Leadership Award for Computational Science.

In making the announcement, Cray Marketing VP Joseph
Gloudeman said that scientists and researchers have relied on
theory and physical experimentation for centuries. "But now, in our
lifetimes, we're witnessing something truly remarkable," he said.
Gloudeman told ceremony attendees that computational science,
the user of  supercomputers to model complex problems that
otherwise cannot be solved, is changing the way scientists and
researchers do their work.

Established in 1989, the Computerworld Smithsonian Core Program
Awards recognize and honor information technology innovations that
have contributed to social progress, according to the company.
Winning entries are selected in ten categories, and are showcased
in a major permanent exhibit depicting the history of information
technology. The display is located at the Smithsonian Institution's
Museum of American History.

Cray Research spokesperson Mardi Schmeider told Newsbytes the
winners receive a trophy with Greek columns at its base. Schmeider
also said names of each year's winners are permanently displayed in
the museum, and an information technology database is maintained
for use as a research tool for future applications.

The Benefactors Program was established two years ago by the
Foundation to honor a few individuals whose outstanding leadership
in information technology has significantly contributed to solving
important industrial, cultural, and social problems, claims the
company.

Other Benefactor Awards currently made include The Price
Waterhouse Information Technology Award for Lifetime Achievement,
The  Computerworld Smithsonian Information technology Leadership
Award for  Science Education, and the MCI Information Technology
Award for Innovation.

Each benefactor established its own nominating committee, with
a maximum of eight members, who are approved by the Foundation.
Each member can submit up to four nominations. The Foundation
selects the recipients of the Benefactor Awards.

(Jim Mallory/19920610/Press contact: Mardi Schmeider,
612-683-3538)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 10 Intergraph Announces Cad Link For Windows 06/10/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00026)

Intergraph Announces Cad Link For Windows 06/10/92
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 10 (NB) -- Intergraph and its
affiliate, Bentley Systems (BSI) have announced it will soon release
Microstation Nexus, technology which gives Microstation for
Windows users and Autocad users what the company calls
"advanced performance and functionality."

Intergraph's announcement said that the new technology gives
Microstation for Windows users the ability to directly access
AutoCAD-based .DWG files, and to run CAD (computer-aided
design) programs in the Microsoft Windows environment.

Microstation Nexus 5.0, which is being given free to Microstation
users, will be a 32-bit native Windows product that will run with
either Windows 3.1 or Windows NT. Windows NT (New Technology)
is expected to be released by the end of 1992. Microstation Nexus
5.0 is expected to be released before the end of 1993, according to
Intergraph's announcement.

AutoCAD is a CAD program used by engineers and architects for
building, and home and mechanical device design. It automates the
design process formerly accomplished at the drafting table.
AutoCAD is a computer program published by Autodesk. Autodesk
has recently announced AutoCAD version 12. As reported by
Newsbytes, Autodesk is moving towards a more open architecture
approach under the leadership of former Intergraph employee Len
Rand. Rand is now VP of the AutoCAD division at Autodesk.

In addition to PC platforms, Microstation is also available for
Macintosh and Unix workstation.

(Jim Mallory/19920610/Press contact: Lynda Geddes, Intergraph,
205-730-2549)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 10  ****Zenith Data Systems To Break Even, May Leave ACE 06/10/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00027)

 ****Zenith Data Systems To Break Even, May Leave ACE 06/10/92
PARIS, FRANCE, 1992 JUN 10 (NB) -- Speaking to reporters after a
news conference announcing a new line of Zenith Data Systems
high-end computers, Bull Chairman Francis Lorentz said Zenith
Data Systems (ZDS) should break even this year. ZDS reported
a loss on sales volume of $1 billion last year.

Lorentz and ZDS President Enrico Pesatori also said the company
might quit the Advanced Computing Environment (ACE), an industry
group set up to develop new computing standards. ACE founders
Digital Equipment and Compaq Computer have already left the
consortium. Bull's announcement could be the obituary for ACE,
which was attempting to develop standards for RISC-based
computing.

Pesatori also announced that IBM will soon announce products
made  in conjunction with ZDS. "You will see products of ZDS
announced by IBM in the near future," he told reporters.

Pesatori said he could not discuss what the new products were yet,
but that they are based on Zenith technology and made by Zenith. A
previously announced deal between IBM and ZDS calls for more than
150,000 personal computers to go to IBM from Zenith. However, that
volume will not be reached this year, since the deal was formally
approved last week.

(Jim Mallory/19920610/Press contact: Matt Mirapaul, ZDS,
708-808-4848)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 10 Pen Pal Changes Software Name, Expands Platforms 06/10/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00028)

Pen Pal Changes Software Name, Expands Platforms 06/10/92
LOS ALTOS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 10 (NB) -- Pen Pal
Associates has changed the name of its professional pen
applications development environment, added a new development
platform, and expanded its marketing and distribution channels,
Newsbytes has learned.

The product, sold by GRiD only during its first year, will now be
available, too, direct from Pen Pal Associates, as well as through
Fujitsu and other OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), said
Charlie Ryle, vice president of marketing, in an interview with
Newsbytes.

Previously known as GRiD Pen Pal, the product will now be called
Power Pen Pal.  The software will continue to run on GRiD's
PenWrite, but will now operate on PenDOS, as well.

The first edition of the revised applications development
environment, version 3.0, is slated to become available in July.
Also in July, Pen Pal will start to ship an on-line training manual,
augmenting its existing printed manual.

"We're pleased with our relationship with GRiD, and we'll continue
to market our product through the GRiD sales force.  But we
wanted to increase our distribution base," explained Ryle.

Power Pen Pal is a complete, integrated development environment, he
told Newsbytes. "Everything you need to develop a pen application
is included in this product," he noted. The software runs on
desktop and pen 286-based computers, and enables development of
programs for 8086-based pen computers and above.

The product provides applications developers with blank forms,
objects, and programming and compiling capabilities, according to
Ryle. The programmer selects objects for the form, and then
carries out programming that enables the application to perform
such functions as accepting handwriting, capturing ink, recognizing
characters, developing buttons, importing records from a database,
and communicating over a regular or RF modem.

Once the application is written and compiled, it can be viewed to
see whether further changes are needed. It can then be revised and
recompiled, he added.

Power Pen Pal uses a proprietary programming language, stated
Ryle, but the language can be easily learned by anyone with
previous experience in programming for such environments as
Lotus 1-2-3, Paradox, Dbase, or Microsoft Windows.

Already, the software has been used to develop pen applications
for such markets as stock market trading, utilities, and real estate,
he commented.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920610; Press and public contact:  Charlie
Ryle, Pen Pal Associates, tel [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 10  ****Zenith Announces 40 New PCs And Monitors 06/10/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00029)

 ****Zenith Announces 40 New PCs And Monitors 06/10/92
PARIS, FRANCE, 1992 JUN 10 (NB) -- After wining and dining its
dealers and major clients at the new Euro Disney complex, Zenith
Data Systems flew into Paris this week to launch no less than 40
new machines. The company says the machines form the basis of a
revitalized range of products, majoring on the portable PC front,
that will confirm Zenith's position in the European marketplace.

"This is the biggest product launch in the 13-year history of
Zenith Data Systems," said Enrico Pesatori, the company's
president and chief executive officer.

The products, will feature built-in networking capabilities and
upgradable microprocessors and hard drives.

Zenith Data Systems was the computer division of Zenith Electronics
until 1989, when it was purchased by France's Group Bull. Zenith
Electronics is a competitor in the emerging high-definition
competition presently being tested.

According to Pesatori, the launch of the new machines signals a
split for the company, which is dividing its activities into two
specific market sectors -- the professional high-end user and the
mainstream desktop and portable PC user.

Among the new products, Zenith unveiled 19 "Z station" desktops
PCs, five monitors, eight deskside/tower systems, eight
portables. The portables include four Z note notebooks and four
portables with networking facilities.

The Z station systems feature a modular Intel-based architecture
starting from a 25 megahertz (MHz) 80386SX microprocessor and
rising to the Intel double-speed 80486DX2 technology. A key
feature of all 19 Z station machines, which range from $1,899 to
$3,599, is the inclusion of a proprietary Windows accelerator board,
which boosts graphics imaging under Microsoft Windows by as
much as 500 percent, the company claims.

To make way for the new machines in the retail channel, Zenith
has cut pricing on most of its existing machines in the UK.
Newsbytes understands that, while the new machines will be
available in the US within the next few days, it will be July
before volume shipments appear on this side of the Atlantic.

(Steve Gold & Jim Mallory/19920610/Press & Public Contact:
Zenith Data Systems, (UK) Tel: [phone]; (US) Matt Mirapaul,
ZDS, 708-808-4848)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 10  ****Ad Lib Goes Out Of Business, Unidentified Cos To Buy 06/10/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00030)

 ****Ad Lib Goes Out Of Business, Unidentified Cos To Buy 06/10/92
QUEBEC, CANADA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 10 (NB) -- Canadian-
Multimedia hardware company Ad Lib has gone out of business, but
is now being purchased by unidentified sources, Newsbytes has
learned.

Operators manning the phones at Ad Lib are telling callers the
company has been bought by unnamed sources who will allow
themselves to be identified in "a couple of days." One source did
tell Newsbytes the deal is expected to be finalized today.

Canadian Ad Lib was one of the top three major sound card
manufacturers -- the others being Creative Labs with its Sound
Blaster products and Media Vision who offers Pro Audio Spectrum.
The company was on the verge of introducing a new line of sound
cards called the Ad Lib Gold 1000 and 2000 Stereo Sound Adapter
when the doors closed on May 1, Ad Lib representatives said.

Newsbytes had a beta version of the Gold 1000. Ad Lib said the
card included a new MMA Yamaha chip, Ad Lib said and a surround
sound module could also be added that created a pleasant, lingering
echoing in the sounds when activated.

However, the card was extremely buggy and trouble prone. The
hardware card seemed to work well enough, but the software was
riddled with bugs, such as the install program wasn't smart enough
to install a 3.5-inch disk designated as the B: drive and it wouldn't
work with Microsoft Windows 3.1.

A company spokesman did tell Newsbytes that Ad Lib had been
purchased by a consortium of Canadian companies. The
spokesman also said that an official announcement is imminent.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920610/Press Contact: Ad Lib, tel [phone],
fax [phone])

#ENDCARD


#CARD :1992 JUN 9 Quebec Info Tech Companies Receive Awards 06/09/92

(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00001)

Quebec Info Tech Companies Receive Awards 06/09/92
MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA, 1992 JUN 9 (NB) -- La Federation
de l'Informatique du Quebec, a provincial information technology
society, has honored six companies and two teams of student
researchers for information technology projects.

The big winner in the annual Octas awards, given at a gala ceremony
in Montreal June 6, was Softimage, a Montreal-based maker of
animation software. Softimage captured the Octas de l'Excellence,
the SIQ's top award. The company also walked away with two other
awards, one honoring its technology and one its success outside
the Quebec market. Softimage's software, called Actor, is used to
produce three-dimensional computer animation.

Honorable mentions for the top award went to Cedrom Technologies
for its work in developing a database system for the Montreal
newspaper La Presse, and to ATS Aerospatiale for its work in
developing flight simulator systems.

La Confederation des caisses populaires et d'economie Desjardins
de Quebec won a technology award for the integration and
management of its internal networks. Hydro-Quebec, the provincially-
owned electrical utility, won an award for a program designed to
analyze customers' energy consumption. Also, Le Groupe Videotron
won an innovation award for its interactive television system,
Videoway.

Awards also went to students at two institutions. In the college
category, students Josee Cote and Patrick Baril of CEGEP de
Drummondville were honored for an agricultural management
system. Christian Collet, a student at Montreal's McGill University,
won the university award for an expert surveillance system.

(Grant Buckler/19920606/Press Contact: Jacques Gelinas, FIQ,
514-873-4476)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 9 Allied Telesis Intros Intelligent Hub 06/09/92

(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00002)

Allied Telesis Intros Intelligent Hub 06/09/92
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 9 (NB) -- Allied
Telesis has a new departmental hub that they would like to show off.
The AT-3612T is a twelve port 10Base-T hub. In addition to the hub
itself and its features, Allied Telesis is also talking about how
their strategy is a better fit for customers who are growing slowly.

The hub itself is a pretty competent component. It comes in its own
enclosure and sporting its own built-in power supply. It has a 50 pin
Telco-style connector for the 12 ports, so the customer will need to
get an adapter from that to the 12 RJ45's. The hub comes with an
on-board SNMP (Simple network Management Protocol) agent to
manage it but also offers two other methods of management. First,
there is an asynchronous port on the unit which allows the network
administrator to hook up a terminal and manage the unit. This is
known as an Omega Local agent, where Omega is an Allied
Telesis name.

The second option is to purchase an agent that allows for remote
management of the unit across the network itself using a Telnet
session. This is known as an Omega Remote agent. Although
purchased separately, no price is established for that option at
this time.

Allied Telesis has told Newsbytes that they are planning on making
available other versions of the AT-3612T. Specifically mentioned
were versions that support fiber optics and thin coax cable. In
addition, company officials were hinting broadly at other offerings
that will be introduced soon as the company starts moving up the
chain of network products and establishes a fuller line.

The AT-3612T will begin shipping in July for a retail price of $1795.
This price includes the SNMP and Omega Local agents.

(Naor Wallach/19920608/Press Contact: Derek Buckaloo, Allied
Telesis, 415-964-2994)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 9 Sun And Labtam Australia In X Terminal Development Deal 06/09/92



(NEWS)(UNIX)(SYD)(00003)

Sun And Labtam Australia In X Terminal Development Deal 06/09/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 9 (NB) -- Sun Microsystems
Australia has signed an agreement with Labtam Australia,
whereby Labtam will develop its next generation of X terminals
to run Sun's networked windowing environment, OpenWindows
version 3.0.

The agreement is part of Sun's R&D investment in local
information technologies and this investment is being
made by Sun under the auspices of Sun's "Partnership for
Development" agreement with the Australian government.

Shaun McConnon, Sun VP and Sun Australia MD, said: "This
agreement brings together two industry leaders. Sun is the
leading open systems vendor and Labtam is the leading
developer of X terminals. By combining our resources, we will
be able to develop a powerful X terminal for Sun's users who
have come to expect powerful high-end graphics together with
a fully functional windowing environment."

Labtam Australia's CEO Dawson Johns said that Labtam's
objective is to create quality products. "This formal relationship
with Sun means that we can now take our sophisticated
windowing product into the innovative Sun Open Systems
marketplace throughout the world. We have dubbed the new
product 'Open Terminal' and it will offer Sun users high
performance in a low-cost environment which we believe is
unique."

The Open Terminal will provide all the functions of an X
terminal plus the ability to run Sun's OpenWindows
environment, which includes an industry standard window
system X11/NeWS and the graphical user interface, Open
Look.

The terminals will have a variety of networking options
including Ethernet, twisted pair, and ISDN (Integrated Services
Digital Networks). They are claimed to display applications
running on any host attached to the network, regardless of the
environment, CPU (central processing unit) type or operating
system.

The terminal processor is dedicated to high-speed graphics
rather than running the application, resulting in a claimed
improvement in network speed and overall performance.

Labtam expects beta-test terminals in three months and a
complete release in six. In addition, all series 300X Labtam
terminals shipped from now on will be upgradeable to Open
Terminal at "minimal cost."

(Paul Zucker/19920608/Contact Dawson Johns, Labtam +61-
3-5871444;  Imogen Boas, Sun Microsystems [phone]
or fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 9 Microcom Offers Carbon Copy For Windows Promo 06/09/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00004)

Microcom Offers Carbon Copy For Windows Promo 06/09/92
NORWOOD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 9 (NB) --
Perhaps because data communication traffic falls during the
summer, it's a good time for vendors to try special promotions
and other deals. Microcom has joined the list this year with a
deal on its Carbon Copy software.

The promotion calls for anyone buying Carbon Copy for Windows
remote control software at its regular price of $199, to get the
MicroCourier communications package, which usually retails at
$99, for free. The former has far more market share than the latter,
which has to compete with products like Smartcomm and
Procomm Plus. The promotion runs until July 31.

Microcom said it's also adding goodies for merchants, like demo
disks, point-of-sale display cards, box stickers, and collateral
materials.  Ads will also be put in the Wall Street Journal.
Microcom is best known for its Microcom Networking Protocol

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920608/Press Contact: Mark Williams,
Microcom, 617-551-1681)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 9 More Details On MCI Mail Network Changes 06/09/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00005)

More Details On MCI Mail Network Changes 06/09/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 9 (NB) --
Through its authorized agents, MCI Mail has released more
details on changes occurring on its network starting in July.

MCI Mail, the best-known mail-only service, has been getting
increasing competition from AT&T Easylink and Sprintmail,
especially in the corporate markets. It announced recently it
would allow for binary and text file transfers under the popular
Zmodem and Kermit file transfer protocols. The company is also
adding 9,600 baud modem support.

Gary Oppenheimer, a New York-based agent for the service,
writes that the file transfer protocols will be available on both
uploads and downloads. But not every package's implementation
will be supported, especially on Zmodem. There, packages
whose internal versions of Zmodem will work include
Communicator, Mirror II, Procomm and Procomm Plus, Telix,
CrossTalk Mark IV, and Unicom 2.0 and Crosstalk for Windows.
MicroPhone II's implementation on the Macintosh is also
supported.

A new setting labeled PROTocol will be added to all mailboxes so
they can change their defaults from ASCII text to either of the
new protocols. The setting can also be changed at any time.

Also, MCI Mail greatly revamped its pricing on instant letters
traveling between electronic mailboxes, basing them on
kilocharacters. Beginning July 1, MCI Mail's 45 cent, 75 cent,
and $1.00 message pricing will no longer exist. Instead, the first
500 characters will cost 50 cents, the next 500 another 10 cents,
then 10 cents for each 1,000 characters up to 10,000, and
another five cents for each additional 1,000 characters. The cost
of a 20,000 file, then will be $2. It is expected that the average
invoice will drop about six percent.

MCI Mail is also adding a new toll-free number supporting 9,600
baud modems under the V.32 modulation standard and MNP 4
error correction. The new number, 1-800-967-9600, is available
throughout the US, including Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, and
the US Virgin Islands. Users of Lotus Express may have to
change their connection strings to use this new number.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920608/Press Contact: Gary M.
Oppenheimer, 212-724-9785 MCI ID: 218-0241)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 9 Pen-Based Expo Slated For Sept 21 To 23 In LA 06/09/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00006)

Pen-Based Expo Slated For Sept 21 To 23 In LA 06/09/92
ANDOVER, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 9 (NB) -- Hot
on the heels of its first pen conference, a two-day show held in
Boston May 4 and 5, Digital Consulting, Inc. (DCI) is planning an
expanded, three-day version of the event, to happen this fall in
Los Angeles.

Slated for September 21 to 23 at the Los Angeles Hilton and
Towers, the Pen-Based Expo is being cosponsored by Fujitsu
Personal Systems Inc., IBM Corp., NCR, Notable Technologies,
PenPal Associates, and PenSoft Corp.  From 40 to 50 pen
hardware and software exhibitors are expected to be on hand, a
public relations spokesperson said.

In addition to a big exhibition floor, the event will encompass
over 50 conference sessions, on subjects ranging from case
study presentations by "real" business users to a pen workshop
for resellers and VARs (value-added resellers), and from pen
programming, to mobile communications, to integrating pen
computers with existing systems.

Speakers will include the likes of Ted Lempesis, president of
Lempesis Research, and publisher/editor of PenVision Newsletter,
technology forecaster Portia Isaacson, president and founder of
Dream Machine Inc., and top officials from Microsoft, Go Corp.,
Slate, Nestor Inc., PI Systems, Communications Intelligence Corp.
(CIC), Logitech, Distributed Micro Systems, Hansen Software Inc.,
and Sitka Corp.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920608/Press Contact:  Paul Lamoureaux,
tel [phone]; Public Contact: tel [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 9 Meade Intros High-speed Photo Image Archiving 06/09/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00007)

Meade Intros High-speed Photo Image Archiving 06/09/92
DAYTON, OHIO, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 9 (NB) -- Meade Data Central
(MDC) has announced Photoview, a system that stores
photographic images.

MDC said the system is designed for use by newspapers and
magazines. Attendees at the American Newspaper Publishers
Association convention in Atlanta will have an opportunity to see
Photoview in action.  The convention runs through June 10.

MDC says Photoview runs on off-the-shelf personal computers and
is  compatible with internal picture editing desk, wire photo editors
such as AP's Leafdesk, and with PC-based prepress color and
production systems.

Leafdesk is the Associated Press system which moves pictures to
AP  members via satellite.  Color photos uploaded by members can
be e-transmitted via satellite in less than one minute, while
black-and-white images can be moved in just a few seconds.  When
you read your daily newspaper and see a photo with an Associated
Press credit line, a photographer for an AP member has taken that
picture. It was then uploaded to AP, downloaded to member papers,
and printed in the paper.

Photoview is available immediately. MDC said the system uses
high-capacity optical drives, either singularly or in "jukebox"
configurations, to store thousands of images.  The files are
compressed in order to store more images on a single drive.

MDC spokesperson Judi Schultz told Newsbytes that Photoview
is meant  for the newsrooms in small to medium size newspapers.
System requirements include a 386 or 486-based personal
computer with eight megabytes of random access memory (RAM).
An EWORM drive is also required, along with a superVGA color
monitor and at least 512 kilobytes of video RAM. Software
requirements include DOS 5.0 or later and Windows 3.0 or later.
The company said Photoview is compatible with any network
running Windows.

(Jim Mallory/19920608/Press contact: Judi Schultz, Meade Data
Central, 513-865-7466; Reader contact: Betsy Ashton, Nexis
product manager, 800-227-4908 or 513-859-1608, X1819)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 9 Mac-in-DOS Supports Windows 3.1 06/09/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00008)

Mac-in-DOS Supports Windows 3.1 06/09/92
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 9 (NB) --
Pacific Micro maintains that its Mac-in-DOS 2.0 software is now
compatible with Microsoft's new Windows 3.1 graphical user
environment.

According to Pacific Micro President Wun Chiou, Mac-in-DOS,
released first in May 1991, allows DOS computers to transfer files
to and from Macintosh computers by means of a 1.44 megabyte
floppy disk. The software also allows PC users to format
Macintosh disks.

Chiou told Newsbytes that both text and binary files can be read
using the Windows 3.1 version. The binary files can also include,
graphics, he said.

The company claims that the Windows version of its software
"takes advantage of the ease of use of the Windows environment
to offer improved speed of installation, ease of use, and
compatibility with other Windows applications."

The company also offers a standard DOS version of Mac-in-DOS
(version 1.2), as well as Common-Link, a Mac/DOS to Unix
file transfer utility. The company maintains that Common-Link
and Mac-in-DOS transfer files through the floppy disk drive, and
that all products require just host software and a "small" amount
of disk space on the host system

According to Chiou, the 2.0 version differs from the 1.2 DOS
version in that it runs "inside Windows." Chiou said that the
list price of the 1.2 version is $199, while the 2.0 version retails
at $249.

(Ian Stokell/19920608/Press Contact: Pacific Micro, 415-948-
6200)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 9 New For Mac: Logitech's Kidz Mouse For Children 06/09/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00009)

New For Mac: Logitech's Kidz Mouse For Children 06/09/92
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 9 (NB) -- Logitech
has announced the availability of the first peripheral for children
using the Macintosh. It is the Kidz Mouse, a "friendly" mouse-
looking pointing device.

According to the company, the Kidz Mouse is easy to install, has
a small size to accommodate a child's hand, and has buttons for
ears. Logitech says both "ears" perform the same functions so a
child can press either ear and get the same result.

The mouse can be connected with a special pass-through
connector along with other pointing devices, so an adult mouse and
the Kidz Mouse can be connected to the Macintosh at the same
time. However, only one device at time can control the movements
of the pointer on the screen, Logitech representatives said.

The mouse is especially geared toward children age three to
eleven and is not ergonomically designed for adults, Logitech
added.

The Dinosaur Discovery Kit from First Byte, an educational
program for building reading skills and problem solving abilities,
is included with the Kidz Mouse, the company added.

Logitech says the Kidz Mouse has a lifetime warranty and retails
for $79. However, street price for the Kidz Mouse is expected to be
around $39 and Logitech says it should be available through retail
outlets in August of this year.

Logitech previously released an IBM and compatible personal
computer (PC) version of the Kidz Mouse last year. Logitech
representatives told Newsbytes the mouse has found its way into
offices, partly because some adults like its appearance and partly
because some adults with small hands have found it a useful
alternative to regular-sized mice.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920608/Press Contact: Amy Rupley,
Logitech, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 9 Multimedia Upgrade For Harvard Graphics For Windows 06/09/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00010)

Multimedia Upgrade For Harvard Graphics For Windows 06/09/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 9 (NB) -- The
new release of Harvard Graphics for Windows, version 1.01, has
multimedia capability for the addition of sound, musical instrument
digital interface (MIDI), and animation to presentations, Software
Publishing said.

The company says it has added a transparent multimedia player
called "HGW Play" that works in conjunction with the product's
"Launch Application" feature. A user associates a multimedia clip
with a "button" by typing in the name of the file. Upon a press of
the button with the mouse the new version of Harvard Graphics for
Windows will play the file.

Support for import and export of WordPerfect graphics files (.WPG),
Macintosh graphics files (PICT and PICT2), and import of Lotus
(.WK3) spreadsheet files is included in the file filters in the new
version, the company added.

A runtime option, called Screenshow, allows Harvard Graphics
presentations to be played on Windows-based computers without
Harvard Graphics installed. However, users don't need to upgrade to
the multimedia version 1.01, but can simply send $15 for shipping
and handling to the Software Publishing to obtain the runtime
Screenshow Projector, the company added. However, the $595
priced multimedia version 1.01 costs registered version 1.0 users
the same $15 for shipping and handling, and includes the
Screenshow Projector, Software Publishing said.

The new version requires an IBM or compatible personal computer
286-based system or higher, with a minimum of 10 megabytes (MB)
of hard disk space, two MB of random access memory (RAM),
extended graphics array (EGA) or higher display adapter, and a
mouse. However, Software Publishing recommends a 386 or 386SX
system, 18 MB of hard disk space, 4 MB of RAM, and a video
graphics array (VGA) or Super VGA display.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920608/Press Contact: Victoria Paige, Software
Publishing, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public Contact, 408-
988-7518)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 9 Norton Backup 2.0 For Windows Offers Tape Backup 06/09/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00011)

Norton Backup 2.0 For Windows Offers Tape Backup 06/09/92
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 9 (NB) -- Tape
backup software for Windows is being offered in the new version
of Norton Backup for Windows.

Symantec maintains that the Norton Backup version 2.0 for
Windows supports industry standard quarter-inch (QIC 40/80) tape
devices such as those made by Alloy, Core International, Tallgrass,
Archive, Irwin SX, Tecmar, Colorado Memory, Mountain, and
Wangtek. Automated capability for backups is included in the
product, along with time and space estimates, Symantec said.

While most tape backups come with software, some of the
software conflicts with Microsoft Windows. Colorado is such a
manufacturer. While the company says it is working on software
that will work with Windows, Colorado users are instructed to
boot from a floppy disk in order to run the tape software under
DOS.

However, Rod Turner, executive vice president of Symantec's
Peter Norton Group Norton said in a prepared statement that
backups can be made transparently and automatically under
Windows with the new version of Norton Backup.

Backups can be performed to other devices as well, including
hard disks, network drives, and floppy disks. Also, in case of an
emergency, a restore can be done without reinstallation of
Windows, Symantec said. Password protection to prevent
overwriting and unauthorized use of backups is also provided.

Network backup problems, including dealing with retrying when
files for backup are open on the local network disk drives are
also built-in to version 2.0, Symantec said. The product creates
reports which lists the backed-up files and identifies any problems
during the backup, restore, or compare, the company added.

Recently, the Norton Backup was included as part of the Norton
Desktop for Windows 2.0 product. Ana Shannon of public relations
for Symantec said the 2.0 version of Desktop for Windows includes
a coupon for the tape backup support, so users could get it when it
became available. In addition, the tape backup support is being
included in all copies of Norton Desktop for Windows that are
currently shipping, Shannon added.

The Norton Backup 2.0 For Windows retails for $149. However,
Symantec said previous users can upgrade for $39 plus shipping
and handling.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920605/Press Contact: Ana Shannon,
Symantec, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public Contact:
800-441-7234)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 9 "LotusWorld" Opens With Talks By Manzi, MIT Experts 06/09/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00012)

"LotusWorld" Opens With Talks By Manzi, MIT Experts 06/09/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 9 (NB) --
"LotusWorld," a conference and expo sponsored by Lotus
Development Corp., the publishers of Lotus World, kicked off
with keynote speeches by Lotus Chairman and CEO Jim Manzi,
other Lotus officials, and scientific and professorial staff from MIT.

Mark D. Flanagan, president and CEO of Lotus Publishing, gave
the opening talk in the event, a four-day extravaganza for users
and developers that will feature more that 60 session, panels, and
roundtables.

The lead keynoter of the conference, Manzi, then described how
the flatter, decentralized, global corporation is requiring people to
communicate, collaborate, and share information.  These days, he
stressed, the focus is on automating processes to increase the
productivity of the entire organization, not just individuals. The
company chief outlined Lotus' current "Working Together Strategy,"
as well as future plans to address these changes.

Another speaker from Lotus, John Landry, chief technology officer
and senior vice president for software development, applied Manzi's
theme to the company's product development.  Mixed hardware
and systems environments are now commonplace, he said, and
customers are demanding products that can operate across
networks.

Landry went on to detail how product development efforts in the
areas of user interface, tools, platforms and architectures is
meeting this need through the company's Working Together
Strategy.

Walter Bender, principal research scientist at the MIT Media Lab,
spoke on the topic, "Merging Technologies to Create New
Opportunities."  According to Bender, three trends are altering
the relationship between mass media and the individual:  the
proliferation of digital communication channels, the growth of
personal computing, and advances in display technology. Using
findings from MIT Media Lab research, Bender showed how
information and entertainment will be distributed and presented
in the future.

Answering the question, "How Will Information Technology Change
the Way We Work Together" was a second speaker from MIT,
Thomas Malone, professor of information systems at the Sloan
School of Management, and founder and director of the MIT Center
for Coordination Science. Society is on the verge of an era in which
groupware and other new technologies will dramatically increase
interconnections between people, Malone stated.  The professor
then explained what this trend means for people, organizational
structures, and the effectiveness of work.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920608/Press Contact:  Jean Criss, Lotus
Publishing Corp., tel [phone], or Ann Hawkins, Brodeur &
Partners, 617-894-0003)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 9 AT&T Unions Start Job Action 06/09/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00013)

AT&T Unions Start Job Action 06/09/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 JUN 9 (NB) -- AT&T's main
union, the Communications Workers of America, has chosen to
urge switching long distance service from the company as part of
its "electronic picket line," taken in lieu of a strike.

The action was begun over the weekend as talks with the
company dragged on. Despite a threat to walk out June 6, union
negotiators stayed at the bargaining table, claiming progress was
being made. The union says the talks are focused on job security
issues as AT&T continues to seek automation. The union ran a TV
ad attacking the planned replacement of 6,000 AT&T operators
with "robots." The latest AT&T wage offer is a 9.75 percent wage
hike over three years -- the union wants a 13 percent raise,
reflecting its most recent deal with Nynex.

Any pain felt by AT&T through the "electronic picket line,"
however, has already been mitigated by -- of all things -- the
airline industry. AT&T Network Operations said the 11 days
ending June 6 was the busiest period they'd ever seen, as
millions of people tried to call US airlines during their half-off
sale.

The company said its network handled 1.6 billion calls during the
period, about half of them placed to toll-free 800 lines, where
charges are paid by the party called. The all-time record for
phone calls in a day now stands at 177.4 million, a peak reached
on June 1. Average call volumes are 135-140 million per day.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920609/Press Contact: AT&T, John
Skalko, 908/234-5256)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 9  ****MCI Chairman William McGowan Dies 06/09/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00014)

 ****MCI Chairman William McGowan Dies 06/09/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 JUN 9 (NB) -- William
McGowan, who changed the world of telephony as no one else
as chairman of MCI, has died of a heart attack at 64.

His death was not unexpected. McGowan had had a heart
transplant in 1987. When Newsbytes interviewed him during the
January Comnet trade show in Washington, he looked very sickly.
But his wit was still caustic, his points still cogent. He warned at
that time that the path to local phone competition would be long
and hazardous, not paved with gold.

McGowan was born in Ashley, Pennsylvania, in 1927. His father
was a railroad engineer and union organizer, prosperous enough
to send his son to college. The irony in this is McGowan's MCI
was a place of little job security, a fierce anti-union attitude, and
occasional lay-offs.

McGowan graduated from Kings College in 1950 and earned an
MBA from Harvard in 1952. He ran a number of unconventional
start-up companies, and one of them -- Powertron Ultrasonic --
made him a millionaire at 39. It was then that he was introduced
to Jack Goeken.

Goeken, who now runs In-Flight Phone Corp., had started a little
outfit called Microwave Communications Inc., and was building a
private network of microwave communication towers between St.
Louis and Chicago, so truckers going between the cities could
link to dispatchers. In 1968, however, the company was on its
last legs. By one account, Goeken bummed $10 from McGowan
for cab fare, then repaid him with a check that bounced. But
McGowan saw promise in the idea, and quickly invested $50,000
or half of what is now MCI. At his death he owned two percent of
the common, worth $139 million.

After Goeken left, it was McGowan who came up with the idea of
challenging AT&T's monopoly head-on. He won an FCC license to
compete with AT&T in 1971, but sued AT&T three years later,
accusing the company of predatory business practices. The
Department of Justice finally joined MCI's suit, which MCI won in
1980. AT&T finally settled in 1982, and what a settlement! This
was the great Bell break-up decree, which divided AT&T into seven
regional companies for local service and another, still-regulated
entity competing in long distance and manufacturing.

From there, MCI's story is one of incredible growth. It launched
heavy advertising, undercut AT&T's rates and began competing with
it overseas. In 1987, the year of his heart transplant, McGowan
made-over top management, and then led a major high-tech upgrade
of its network. The company's domestic network is now nearly all-
digital fiber cabling, in part thanks to the acquisition of Telecom
USA in 1991. The company also owns 25 percent of Infonet,
a worldwide packet network also owned by major international
PTTs.

McGowan leaves behind a company with $8 billion per year in sales
and continuing strong prospects, especially internationally. The
European Community is anxious to spur competition and may give
MCI a chance at that market. The company's MCI Mail electronic
mail and invoicing networks are expanding. Also, its Friends &
Family program, launched in 1991, continues to take market share
from its rivals, despite 20 percent discounts offered members of
"calling circles" which could still hit MCI in its earnings. AT&T has
launched an ad campaign against it, but has also copied it with
a new "Business Partner" calling plan.

Roberts issued a statement which said in part: "It can be said of
very few individuals that they created an industry.  Yet that is
the case with Bill McGowan, who founded competitive long distance
in this country, and whose influence proved to be far-reaching,
spreading to countries throughout the world. The story of Bill
McGowan is a tale inspiring faith in a very basic American
belief -- that an individual can set out to do whatever he puts
his mind to, regardless of the odds. As we approach the 25th
anniversary of the company that Bill McGowan founded, the
celebration may seem a little empty without him.  But we're all
confident that his spirit will live on."

FCC Chairman Alfred Sikes, who is now pressing McGowan's case
for competition on local phone service and the cable television
industry, wrote that: "for nearly three decades he consistently
demonstrated that breadth of imagination needed to contemplate
and achieve great things." AT&T Chairman Bob Allen wrote that:
"Bill McGowan will go down in business history as one of
America's foremost entrepreneurs. Probably more than any
other single person, he helped to reshape the long distance
business from the monopoly that it had been for so long to the
highly competitive industry that we know today." Ameritech
CEO William Weiss wrote: "Bill McGowan was, in every sense, a
pioneer and a worthy competitor."

MCI's stock is now worth almost $33 per share, it has 16 percent
of the US long distance market, and it has 28,000 employees in
55 countries. More important, perhaps, MCI's new management
team is highly-regarded. Chief Executive Bert Roberts is expected to
be named McGowan's successor in two weeks, and the stock's price
barely budged on news of McGowan's death, in what may have been
the greatest tribute of all.

"The meek shall inherit the world, but they'll never increase market
share," McGowan once said. All it takes to run a business is
"moxie, chutzpah, hubris, and lunacy," is another of his lines.
That's an apt description of the man. MCI is his monument.
Instead of building a statue, perhaps the management might fly
its own name at half staff for a time -- call it McI.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920609/Press Contact: MCI, 202-887-3000;
Ameritech, Mike Brand, 312/750-5219; Walter Murphy, AT&T, 908-
221-6900)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 9 GTE Airfone Intros Info Services 06/09/92

(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00015)

GTE Airfone Intros Info Services 06/09/92
OAK BROOK, ILLINOIS, U.S.A, 1992 JUN 9 (NB) -- Following the
lead of In-Flight Phone, which was founded by MCI co-founder
Jack Goeken, GTE has launched news, weather, sports, and
financial reports on its Seatfone airline phone system.

GTE offers its Seatfone and Airfone service on over 1,700
aircraft flown by 11 US-based air carriers and Air Canada,
while InFlight serves only a few USAir planes. But the larger
company, which was also founded by Goeken, must somehow
continue to play catch-up. Goeken's service is digital, and
Airfone is investing heavily to catch up with that, too.

GTE's service is minimal compared to Goeken's information
offerings, consisting of short broadcasts in four categories, all
of which carry regular charges of $2 per minute. Goeken's service
aims to add advertising and minimize charges. Brite Voice
Systems, of Wichita, Kansas is providing customized audiotex for
the services.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920609/Press Contact: Julia Spicer, GTE,
202-463-5206)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 9 Sun To Co-Market Coral FraudBuster System 06/09/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00016)

Sun To Co-Market Coral FraudBuster System 06/09/92
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 9 (NB) -- Sun
Microsystems said it will co-market Coral System's "Intelligent
Network" system for cellular service providers internationally.

The software will be re-worked to run on Sun's SPARCserver
600MP and Solaris environment as two new products, called
Home Location Register or HLR, and FraudBuster.

The idea is to give wireless networks the intelligence possessed
by wired networks. The Intelligent Network architecture, consists
of a switching system, a signaling system under SS7 standards, a
central database, and a support system for the database.

The HLR software transparently routes calls to any subscriber,
regardless of location. Fraudbuster detects and prevents fraud
through pre-call and post-call verification and authorization of
cellular calls, in conjunction with the HLR database.

The companies estimate over $600 million is lost to cellular
fraud each year.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920609/Press Contact: Sun Microsystems;
Lauren Swingle 415/336-7273; Coral Systems, Flemming Jense,
303/441-2925)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 9

(NEWS)(UNIX)(LON)(00017)

 ****Indian Terminal Manufacturer Sets Up UK Operations 06/09/92
ALTRINCHAM, CHESHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 9 (NB) -- VXL,
which claims to be India's top terminal manufacturer, has opened
a UK office with the aim of establishing itself a leading Unix
terminal supplier within two years.

To do this, the company is pitching its products at prices lower
than than the market average. Coupled with the claimed high
specification of its machine, VXL reckons it can partially emulate
its success in India, where it has an 80 percent market share.

According to J R Mundjur, the company's director, VXL is setting
up a multi-million pound automated production facility on the
outskirts of Bangalore in preparation for sales in the UK and
Europe.

"There are two key reasons for our success in India. One is the
quality of our product, and the other lies in our customer support
both in hardware and software," he explained.

Mundjur claims that VXL's software team in India has accumulated
100 man-years of expertise working under Unix. "This is critical
when you are talking about compatibility and performance. We
have even re-written the entire software for some of our clients," he
said, adding that he plans to offer the same level of support to
the company's British customers.

In the UK, VXL is led by a three man executive board made up of
Jay Savoor (marketing director), Dipak Rao (financial director),
and Chris Gamble (sales director). Gamble reckons that potential
users will be surprised at what VXL has to offer in the UK.

"We're convinced that people over here (in the UK) are going to
be amazed at the quality of what India in general, and VXL in
particular, have to offer," he said.

Gamble, who was formerly with Texas Instruments and Harris
Corporation, added that VXL's technical abilities are superb.

"Combine this with the fact that low overheads mean
we can offer them at a price substantially lower than any
comparable product currently available, and you will understand
why we are so confident of success," he said.

Initially, VXL has two terminal offerings in the UK, the VM
2700 and the 2745. The VM 2700, which costs UKP 269, is a
standard display terminal that has been specifically designed for
Unix operation. The 14-inch paper white flat screen monitor
comes with a year's free on-site maintenance.

The VM 2745, meanwhile, is the company flagship product. VXL
claims that the UKP 399 unit is the world's first ASCII multi-
screen terminal. In use, it supports up to five Unix sessions,
but only requires a single cable.

So, who are VXL? The company's origins are simple -- VXL was set
up in 1976 in India to manufacture electronic equipment. In 1983,
the company opted to specialize in computer terminals as its
primary revenue earner. Since then, its year-on-year profits have
increased at the rate of 72 percent per annum.

(Steve Gold/19920609/Press & Public Contact: VXL - Tel: [phone]-
5829; Fax: [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 9 UK: Lotus 1-2-3 For Unix version 1.2 To Debut 06/09/92


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LON)(00018)

UK: Lotus 1-2-3 For Unix version 1.2 To Debut 06/09/92
STAINES, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 9 (NB) -- Lotus
Development UK has announced it will begin shipping a new version
(1.2) of 1-2-3 for Unix from July onwards. The package will support
DEC's Ultrix for RISC systems, HP's RISC-based Unix workstations
and, for the first time, IBM's RS/6000 series of machines.

Version 1.2 of the package includes support for the Open Software
Foundation's (OSFs) Motif Window Manager, as well as improved
access to databases from Informix and Sybase. The package is
backwards-compatible with earlier versions for Unix, as well as
all DOS versions, the company claims.

"This announcement demonstrates our commitment to delivering
applications that fully leverage both the power of Unix and the
investments that our customers have made in Unix-based systems,"
explained Neil Hudspeth, the company's product marketing
manager for Unix spreadsheets.

"By delivering 1-2-3 for the RS/6000, and providing a consistent
graphical user interface in Motif, we have made significant
progress towards our goal of bringing leading edge productivity
tools to customers on all major Unix platforms," he added.

Standard versions of 1-2-3 version 1.2 for Unix will cost UKP 595.
Five user packs will sell for UKP 2,695, with character terminal
packages available for UKP 245 for single user, and UKP 995 for
a five user pack.

(Steve Gold/19920609/Press & Public Contact: Lotus Development
U.K. - Tel: [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 9 Artisoft Triples UK Operations Staff 06/09/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00019)

Artisoft Triples UK Operations Staff 06/09/92
SLOUGH, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 9 (NB) -- Artisoft has
expanded its European operations to exploit what it claims is a
rapidly expanding peer-to-peer networking marketplace. The
company, which launched itself exactly a year ago with 10 staff,
has recruited an extra 20 employees, most of whom will join
Artisoft's newly-established business development group (BDG).

The aim of the BDG is to develop and support the indirect sales
channel (i.e. distributors and dealers) in the UK. In parallel
with the BDG, Artisoft has set up a European technical support
group to roll out and support the company's products in Europe.

"We've been extremely successful in Europe in the three quarters
since Networks '92 (the UK launch of the company), experiencing
significant quarter on quarter growth, explained Dave Ball, the
company's marketing director for Europe, the Middle East, and
Africa.

"We lead the peer-to-peer market in the US, and our early
success in Europe reflects the increasing international nature of
the market," he said, adding that the new divisions will allow
the company to exploit and support the expanding market in the
UK and Europe.

(Steve Gold/19920609/Press & Public Contact: Artisoft - Tel:
0753-554999)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 9  ****Hewlett-Packard Unveils Industry's First 1.3-Inch Drive 06/09/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LON)(00020)

 ****Hewlett-Packard Unveils Industry's First 1.3-Inch Drive 06/09/92
BRACKNELL, BERKSHIRE, 1992 JUN 9 (NB) -- Hewlett-Packard
has unveiled the Kittyhawk personal storage module (PSM), a one
ounce hard disk drive unit the size of a matchbox, but with a
storage capacity of 21.4 megabytes (MB).

The unit is aimed at mobile computing applications and, despite
its small size, is capable of withstanding a drop of three feet -
between five and 10 times the shock capacity of today's 1.8 and
2.5 inch hard drives, the company claims.

"Our customers demanded a no-compromise storage design,"
explained Anna Tunnicliffe, HP's product manager. "They needed
high resilience and dependability, to provide solid computing
devices for their customers."

The shock resistance in the Kittyhawk PSM uses a similar shock
sensing mechanism as used in cars fitted with airbags. When a
sudden movement is sensed, systems shut down to prevent
damage in the event of an impact occurring.

According to HP, the Kittyhawk is around a quarter of the cost of
similar solid state data storage technology, which costs $50 a
megabyte. The Kittyhawk PSM costs $12 per megabyte,

In use, the unit has a mean-time-between-failures (MTBF) of
300,000 hours, with an 18 millisecond (ms) average seek time.
The unit's casing measures 2 by 1.44 by 0.4 inches.

So far, HP remains coy on actual companies planning to use the
technology. Original equipment manufacturer (OEM) companies
are in active discussions with HP, however.

(Steve Gold/19920609/Press & Public Contact: Hewlett-Packard -
Tel: [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 9 "Software & Systems Outlook" Lets Attendees Access CEOs 06/09/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00021)

"Software & Systems Outlook" Lets Attendees Access CEOs 06/09/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 9 (NB) --
Technologic Partners' "Software and Systems Outlook," a conference
that's packing a lot of presidents under one roof, got going yesterday
with "Day One:  The Companies," and winds up today with "Day Two:
The Issues."

During Day One, the 300 industry members and investors present
were together for a couple of talks, but spent most of their time in
small breakout sessions, being personally addressed by the
presidents, CEOs, and chairs of nearly 50 hardware and software
companies.

On Day Two, though, the attendees will be united all day -- mainly
for panel discussions on advanced systems, commercial systems,
systems software, workstations, "software frontiers," systems
design, and software applications.

Each panel discussion will carry a theme pertinent to the state of
technology in the particular category.  The theme of the "advanced
systems" panel, for example, is "Parallel Processing:  Do
Architectures of Processors Make a Business Difference?"

To be moderated by John Markoff, a New York Times reporter, the
parallel processing panel boasts these luminaries:  Edward A. Masi,
president and general manager, Intel Supercomputer Systems
Division;  Stephen E. Nelson, vice president, Technology, Cray
Research; Samuel H. Fuller, vice president, Corporate Research,
Digital Equipment Corporation;  Jeffrey C. Kalb, president and CEO,
MasPar Computer; and C. Gordon Bell, consultant-at-large.

Also today, Henry Burkhardt, chairman and CEO of Kendall Square
Research, will give a solo speech on parallel processing, and
Joseph R. Tibbetts, Jr., chairman of the National Software Services
Group at Price Waterhouse, will deliver the results of the 1992
Software Business Practices Survey.

In yesterday's large group sessions, Willliam M. Stuek, assistant
general manager for marketing, Application Business Systems at
IBM, took a look at "Information Systems Challenges in the Nineties."
David Gelenter, associate professor of Computer Science at Yale
University, responded to the inquiry, "Is Reality Outmoded?"

But the bulk of the day was split into 16 different 20-minute time
slots, each offering a choice of from five to eight breakout
sessions.  In these sessions, CEOs delivered facts and answered
questions on their companies' finances, market orientations, and
distribution practices, as well as current, past and upcoming
products.

In one session, for example, Michael S. Pliner, chairman, president
and CEO of Verity, explained that his firm's mission is to dominate
the market for intelligent document analysis and retrieval systems
with products that let users retrieve any document on a network,
regardless of location or format.

The need for document retrieval is expanding, because as more and
more documents are placed on a system, each document becomes
more difficult to find, he noted.  The mainframe retrieval market
remains flat, and network-based retrieval systems are growing at a
faster clip than either of the other two alternatives -- PC-based
and OEM (original equipment manufacturer) systems.

Verity's Topic and Topic Real-Time use "concept-retrieval," a
technology that leverages a knowledge-base of "topics" or retrieval
objects, providing a higher level of retrieval accuracy in distributed
computing, he said.  Topic Real-Time runs on top of the Topic
search and retrieval engine, analyzing and selectively routing
real-time information to executives based on specified interest
profiles.

Since its establishment four years ago, Verity has developed an
installed base of $30 million, with users that range from American
Airlines, AT&T and McDonnell Douglas, to the Australian Embassies,
Sandoz Pharmaceutical, and Amnesty International, Pliner told the
group.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920609)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 9 Prime Computer Plans Stock Offering/Name Change 06/09/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00022)

Prime Computer Plans Stock Offering/Name Change 06/09/92
BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 8 (NB) -- In a
stunning move, Prime Computer has announced plans to sell
shares to the public, sell its Computer Systems Business Unit
to its existing management team, and change its corporate name
to Computervision, the moniker of a CAD/CAM (computer-aided
design/manufacturing) vendor bought by Prime in 1988.

In a written statement, Prime presented a broad outline of a
proposal, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC), stipulating the sale of 15.8 million shares at $18 to $20 a
share -- amounting to some $300 million -- and the separate
issuance of $300 million in notes.

Prime explained that the stock and note offerings, the sale of the
computer unit, and the corporate name change are all part of a
recapitalization strategy.  Citing constraints related to the SEC
filing, a public relations spokesperson for Computervision declined
comment on the reasons for the proposal, beyond the information
contained in the statement.

But according to John R. Wilke, writing in The Wall Street Journal,
the plan is intended to pay back a $500 million loan from Shearson
Lehman, $162 in loans from the Bank of Boston and Chemical
Bank, and $91.2 million debt to the Prudential Insurance Company
of America.

For the past couple of years, rumors have been flying that the
financially ailing Prime might try to sell Computervision, a
profitable subsidiary.  But this particular turn of affairs seems
to come from out of the financial blue.

Prime's proposed transaction would pay off about half of Shearson's
loan and also leave Shearson with about 15.3 million shares of
stock, wrote Wilke in The Journal.  If the sale of stock is
successful enough to include a planned overallotment of roughly 2.4
million more shares, Prime's cash payment would increase to $292
million, but Shearson would get 2.3 million shares.  Also under the
plan, the banks and the Prudential would be paid back in full.

Shearson had tried to help take Prime private in 1989, in a
leveraged buyout by the venture capitalist firm J.H. Whitney & Co.,
but ended up providing a $500 million "temporary" loan when the
junk-bond market went bad the next year, Wilke added.  If the
proposal goes through, and the sale of stock proceeds as planned,
Whitney will wind up with 35.2 percent, Shearson with 31.9 percent,
and the public with the remainder.

Also in the written statement, Prime said the stock and notes
would be offered by US and international teams of underwriters,
co-managed by Shearson Lehman; the First Boston Corporation;
Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Securities Corp.; and Hambrecht &
Quist Inc. and their European affiliates.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920608; Press Contact: Thomas J. Davies of
Kekst and Company for Computervision Corp., tel [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 9 Some US Robotics Modems Upgradable To 28.8 Kbps 06/09/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(DEN)(00023)

Some US Robotics Modems Upgradable To 28.8 Kbps 06/09/92
SKOKIE, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 9 (NB) -- US Robotics says
three  of its modems can be upgraded to the CCIT-proposed 28.8
Kbps standard.

According to the company, a field upgrade kit will be available for
$299 to upgrade its Courier V.32bis, Courier HST Dual Standard,
and Shared Access modems as soon as the CCITT 28.8 Kbps draft
recommendation is completed. Official approval of the standard is
not expected until January 1994. The company said its Worldport
and Sportster modems will not be included in the upgrade program.

According to US Robotics VP Jonathan Zakin, the company is
offering insurance against technical obsolescence by offering
modems now that can be upgraded. "When the 28.8 Kbps
standard becomes available later, they'll already have a cost-
effective upgrade option and won't have to re-invest in new
equipment," said Zakin.

Zakin said that while some companies may be offering 28.8-
compatible modems now, that could be risky until the standard is
defined. The three modems contain a mother, or main, board which
contains most of the essential circuitry. There is also a daughter,
or secondary board which plugs into the motherboard. That
secondary board contains the modem's microprocessor and
firmware.

Zakin said the daughterboard can easily be replaced by the user
with a new board which contains the 28.8 Kbps standard. Presently
the fastest CCITT standard available is 14.4 Kbps.

The Shared Access Modem Sharing Kits, which the company
started shipping in March of this year, allows the pooling of modems
on a LAN (local area network), in order that network users can
access them for dial-in or dial-out use.

US Robotics spokesperson Lauri Lentz told Newsbytes that the
company has been shipping some of the upgradable models for
several weeks. Lentz said the company does not plan to offer any
trade-in plan for users who purchased earlier models. No other US
Robotics modems are planned for inclusion in the upgrade program,
according to Lentz.

(Jim Mallory/19920609/Press contact: Karen Novak, US Robotics,
708-982-5244)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 9 Optionware Intros Spanish Business Mgt PC Pkg 06/09/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00024)

Optionware Intros Spanish Business Mgt PC Pkg 06/09/92
OMAHA, NEBRASKA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 9 (NB) -- Optionware
has announced what it describes as "a low cost, fully featured
management software system" in Spanish designed for use by
the Hispanic business community.

Optionware says Data Dex - Espanol will be sold in the US by
major distributors in Miami and El Paso. International distribution
will be handled by major exporters.

Optionware is confident that there is a market for such a package.
According to Optionware President Ken Churchill there are more
than 47,000 Spanish-owned businesses in the Miami-Hialiah,
Florida-area alone. Churchill estimates that there were 650,000
Spanish-speaking businesses operating in the US.

Churchill says it's important that a program be written in the
language of the target audience. "There is software for Hispanic
small businesses initially written in English and translated into
the native language," he said. "Many times something gets lost in
the translation, and the user ends up with someone else's clumsy
interpretation of the application," he continued.

Optionware VP of Sales Todd Skokan told Newsbytes that the
company has consulted with Hispanic-language business and
computer experts from several Spanish-speaking countries in
developing Data Dex - Espanol.

Data Dex - Espanol links three databases for account control,
simple accounting, word processing, and invoicing into one
integrated program. Skokan told Newsbytes that the program is
not designed as a full-featured accounting program, but rather is
suitable for managing small to medium-sized businesses. Data
Dex -Espanol has a suggested list price of $199.95.

The package has minimal system requirements. All you need is
an IBM-compatible PC with at least 256 kilobytes of RAM,
a hard drive, and the capability to display graphics. The package
ships with both 3.5 and 5.25 inch program disks included.

Skokan said Data Dex-Espanol was designed for IBM-compatibles
because DOS-based systems are still the most popular in the
Hispanic business community. Optionware plans to release a
Windows version in mid-July, and says they will have a network
version ready in the early fall.

Optionware provides technical support by phone during regular
business hours. Skokan said there is one full time Spanish-
speaking person on the staff providing technical support.

The company is still actively marketing an English version of the
program. It consists of Data Dex Power Plus 3.1 and an invoicing
module. You need the basic program in order to run the invoicing
module. Power Plus has a suggested retail price of $89.95, and
you can add the invoice module for $75.

Optionware said it will sponsor co-op advertising with local
computer companies in Mexico in order to test the market south
of the border. Co-op advertising is a method of sharing ad costs
between the local company and the maker of the product, and is
common with many nationally known products.

(Jim Mallory/19920609/Press contact: Todd Skokan, Optionware,
402-697-0055, 800-546-8335,fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 9 True Basic Introduces Student Edition 06/09/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00025)

True Basic Introduces Student Edition 06/09/92
WEST LEBANON, NEW HAMPSHIRE, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 09 (NB) --
True Basic has unveiled another weapon in their continuing efforts to
spread the gospel of True Basic to the masses. As the people who
believe that BASIC is just as full powered and flexible as any of the
other languages, if not better suited to most people's programming
habits, the company is unveiling a Student Edition that will help
schools and educators.

True Basic Student Edition sells for $14.95. This puts it within the
budget of almost any student. When a student purchases the
package, they get a complete runtime environment of the language.
As a matter of fact, they get the complete full-featured BASIC that
True Basic is marketing with just a couple of differences.

First, the Student Edition gives the user the ability to save programs
of only a limited size. 150 lines is the maximum program size that
can be created and saved within the program's editor and debugger.
However, the system is not limited to running programs of only that
size. Programs of any size can be run by the system. This is done
so that larger demonstration programs can be created by full fledged
systems and then distributed to the students for running and learning.
It is unlikely, though, that students in class would try to write
programs that are larger than 150 lines long.

The second difference is in the manual. The Student Edition contains
a 208 page tutorial that is geared towards the high school and
college students that this program targets. It is not a complete
reference manual for True Basic although most of the material that
is covered in the reference manual is also covered by the Student
Edition manual.

The package also includes a coupon that allows the purchaser to
get a $30 discount on purchasing the full fledged edition of True
Basic. There are packs of 10 and 50 copies, available for $125 and
$495 respectively, which also give one or two copies of the
complete system to the purchaser. The Student Edition comes in
two flavors -- one for MS-DOS computers and the other for the
Macintosh.

(Naor Wallach/19920609, Press Contact: John Lutz, True Basic,
1-800-872-2742)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 9 Fast Windows Printing W/O Printer Memory, Cartridges 06/09/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00026)

Fast Windows Printing W/O Printer Memory, Cartridges 06/09/92
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 09 (NB) --
Lasermaster Technologies has announced products it says are
designed to speed Windows laser printing at a lower cost. The
company says it is seeking a patent on the technology for the
faster parallel data transfer rates, which it says can increase
Windows printing speed up to 10 times.

The idea behind the Lasermaster products is to take the processing
away from the slower laser printer processor, and move it to the
computer's central processing unit (CPU) running Microsoft Windows
where there is usually more memory and faster processing capability,
Lasermaster said. The advantage is not only faster printing but
reduced costs as the laser printer no longer requires expensive
memory upgrades or a Postscript cartridge to print Postscript, the
company maintains.

The company says that the new technology uses the standard
parallel port of a personal computer, in combination with proprietary
software and a printed circuit board, to send data to printers and
other devices at up to ten times the present rate. The board fits
in the I/O (input/output) slot of Hewlett-Packard Laserjet printers.

Lasermaster spokesperson Karen Neset told Newsbytes the
system is compatible with H-P models II, III, IId and IIId. Neset
said LPV can transfer data to the printer at speeds up to 1.2
megabytes-per-second.

Lasermaster chief technical officer said the new technology has
been dubbed LPV because it allows the computers line printer
connection (the parallel port) to transfer at the video rates required
to keep up with a laser printer in real time.

At present, computer users frequently use hardware or software print
spoolers to avoid data transfer bottlenecks. The slowest step in
printing is the speed at which a printer can accept data. With a
spooler, the data goes from the computer to the spooler, and is then
fed to the printer. Spoolers are available with various capacities,
depending on the size files the user most often prints. Once the
data has been sent to the spooler, the PC is available for the next
task, while the printing is still going on.

Lasermaster said LPV is compatible with the Windows operating
system. "There are currently more than 12 million users of
Microsoft Windows, with an additional 10 million projected to
switch to Windows in the foreseeable future," said Lasermaster
CEO Mel Masters. He believes LPV is important because it well
help make fast, inexpensive printing from Windows available.

Masters said LPV technology will be available in future
Lasermaster printing products, and is already available for licensing
to printer and peripheral device makers.

The company also offers the Winjet 800, which includes hardware
cards for both the printer and the computer. The Winjet 800 offers
faster printing speed and turns a 300 dots-per-inch (dpi) laser printer
into an 800 dpi printer, Lasermaster said. Fifty fonts also come with
 the Winjet 800, the company added.

Of course, Lasermaster also has its own printer, the Winprinter 800,
which is an 800 dpi laser printer that is very similar in appearance
to the HP IIP and IIIP.

The company says Windows users are better off investing in memory
for their computers than investing in printer memory, as the additional
random access memory (RAM) in the computer can also be used for
other tasks when printing is not being performed. Lasermaster did say
however, the Winjet 300 and the Winjet 800 have not yet been adapted
for use on networks.

The Winjet 300 retails for $495, the Winjet 800 for $795 and the
Winprinter 800 for $2,195. The Winjet 300 requires a 386-based IBM or
compatible personal computer (PC), requires 8 megabytes (MB) of
random access memory (RAM), and a video graphics array (VGA) monitor.

(Linda Rohrbough & Jim Mallory/19920609/Press Contact: Sandra
Crowley, Lasermaster, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 9 Autodesk Announces Autocad 12, New Direction 06/09/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00027)

Autodesk Announces Autocad 12, New Direction 06/09/92
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 09 (NB) -- Autodesk says it is
not only releasing a new, performance upgrade to Autocad, version
12, but is also announcing a new direction including an open systems
approach for the company. The announcements were made today at
the A/E/C Systems '92 show and Autodesk Expo in Dallas, Texas.

The new directions are a by-product of the addition of Carol Bartz,
who joined Autodesk in May as chief executive officer (CEO) and the
most recent addition of Len Rand, the new vice president of
Autodesk's Autocad division. Rand has been working as a consultant
with Autocad since October of last year. He told Newsbytes he was
previously employed with Autodesk competitor Intergraph, a turn-key
design vendor, until he walked out over a disagreement with the CEO.

Rand told Newsbytes Autodesk is planning to build an infrastructure
or "spine" as Rand called it, to simplify the exchange of design
information from one design discipline to another during the entire
design-to-construction/manufacturing process.

"The architectural business is the biggest 'mom and pop' shop in the
world," Rand said. "Most architectural firms are one man operations
and design information is passed from an architect to a civil engineer
to a mechanical engineer to a another engineer and so on. We
want to build a 'spine' and publish the structure so inter-replaceable
parts developed by third party vendors can be inserted to provide
users with process integration."

Rand said the company's hope is users will be able to pick among a
wide selection of third party applications for the best one for them
and they will all work with Autocad. "Today, exchanging design
information from one design discipline to the next is anything but
seamless," Rand quipped.

Rand said one problem with the open systems approach is, if the spine
is built the way it should be, someone else can come along and put
their computer-aided design (CAD) product in it and pre-empt Autocad.
"That means we'll have to continually make sure our point products
are the best," Rand added.

Autodesk is also developing a platform independent dialog system for
Autocad so no matter what hardware platform the product comes up
in, it has a naive look and feel, Rand said. That's true of all platforms
except DOS, where the company had to develop its own graphical
user interface, Rand maintains. Autocad Release 12 is a DOS/Sparc
release, however Rand says versions of Release 12 that accommodate
the other platforms, such as Macintosh, are expected soon.

Release 12, in general, simplifies and speeds up the most frequently
used CAD functions, the company said. One hundred and seventy four
enhancements, including improved plotting, and easier-to-use interface,
support for structured query language (SQL) and Postscript data
exchange, integrated rendering, enhanced drawing tools, and
bi-directional file compatibility with Autocad Release 11 are in
Release 12, Autodesk said.

The company says Release 12 has faster zoom and pan functions,
drawing regenerations (regens) are virtually eliminated, entity
selection, object snapping, and entity display, and hidden line
removal are quicker. New functions and commands allow a user to
enter a new drawing and begin work immediately, and customers
can work in noun-verb mode, by first selecting entities then specifying
the operation to be performed.

A new Autocad SQL Extension has been added (ASE) so links can
be created with external databases and database management
systems such as dBASE, Paradox, Informix, and Oracle. Support
for the read, write, and display of Postscript files is also included.

Rendering is integrated in Release 12, Autodesk said. With the
functionality of Autoshade, and the appropriate hardware, users can
create either 256-color or full True-color images of any Autocad 3D
entity, including Advanced Modeling Extension (AME) solid models,
from within Autocad.

Release 12 for DOS 386 or the Sun Sparcstation is retail priced at
$3,750. AME is another $49, the company said.

Rand talked about the future of Autodesk, specifically in the use of
the product for maintenance operations on large machinery. He said he
invisions an engineer with a pen computer could call up a particular
turbine and then request the disassembly of a certain portion be
demonstrated on the display screen. Rand says there is no reason
why video clips of equipment repair couldn't be made and stored for
display later. Also, if a critical piece of equipment breaks down,
Rand said that would be a good opportunity to do repair work on other
related pieces of equipment that are dependent on the down unit, and
the computer could display that information as well.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920609/Press Contact: Len Rand, Autodesk,
tel [phone], fax [phone]; Catherine Litzow, Cunningham
Communications for Autodesk, tel [phone], fax [phone];
Public Contact, 800-445-5415 US Only)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 9 Apple Sales Rise In Hungary 06/09/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(MOW)(00028)

Apple Sales Rise In Hungary 06/09/92
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY, 1992 JUN 9 (NB) -- Apple is trying hard
to penetrate the formerly exclusively IBM-oriented Hungarian market.

According to Peter Broszko of Makroinform, the market research
company from Budapest, Hungary, the estimated number of Mac
computers sold in the country in 1991 was 500, worth approximately
US$1.9 million, up from 50 pieces sold a year ago. The IBM PC
market has absorbed approximately 50,000 computers during 1991,
making the Apple's market share less than one percent. Apple is
using different channels to increase the sales volumes, Broszko said.

Apple has signed Graphisoft as a distributor for its production line in
the country. This company used to develop Apple-based graphics and
engineering applications, which were accepted by the European
market.

Major Apple buyers in the country include editorial offices of HGV and
the Koztarsasag (Republica) weeklies. Three companies -- Artaker,
Jura Kontakt Design Studio, and ReMac Computer -- are using
Mac-based design and editing tools. Apple has also granted a number
of computers to the Institute of Applied Arts.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920608/Press contact: Peter Broszko,
Makroinform, phone/fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 9 Japan: Automatic Mac Letter Writing Program Developed 06/09/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(TYO)(00029)

Japan: Automatic Mac Letter Writing Program Developed 06/09/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 9 (NB) -- Catena Group, a Japanese
distributor of Apple and IBM computers, has developed an automatic
letter-writing software product. With this software, the Macintosh
user will be able to produce English and Japanese letters
automatically just by inputting outline of the letter, the company
claims.

Catena Group's latest automatic letter writing program is called
"Ambassador." The program has 200 kinds of business letter
formats, which range from letters of appointment to letters of
apology.

The program appears to be quite easy to use. First, choose
the model letter and enter necessary points of the letter such as
the place, date, and the name. This program also provides about
450 kinds of the phrases which are often used.

The retail price of this program is 29,800 yen ($230). Catena
Group is also preparing to release a Japanese-French version of
this program in the near future.

Catena Group used to deal with only the IBM PC platform, but it
has recently entered the Macintosh market. The firm has been
developing low-cost programs, and this automatic letter making
program is one of the firm's low-cost programs. Besides this
automatic letter making program, the firm has recently released a
painting program at only 9,800 yen ($75).

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920608/Press Contact: Catena Group,
[phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 9 Japan: Low-cost IBM-compatible DOS/V PC Debuts 06/09/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TYO)(00030)

Japan: Low-cost IBM-compatible DOS/V PC Debuts 06/09/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 9 (NB) -- Low-cost IBM-compatible
DOS/V personal computers have recently flooded in the Japanese
market.

The US-based Tandon will sell the machines, and Taiwanese
computers are also sold in Japan at low-cost.

Tandon's DOS/V personal computers are called the "Option" and
the "Pac." The Option is the desktop computer and the Pac is a
floor-stand type computer. Both computers are equipped with
40 megabyte (MB) hard disk and their low-end versions cost 310,000
yen ($2,400) and 410,000 yen ($3,150) respectively. These
computers are sold through Japan Computer Distribution in Saitama
Prefecture.

Meanwhile, a major computer discounting shop "Step" is planning
to sell IBM Japan's the "PS5510ZJ2" at only 49,800 yen ($380),
which is a fourth of the recommended retail price, according to
the Nikkei Personal Computing magazine. With the 40 MB hard
disk, it will be sold at 59,800 yen ($460). Both are expected to be
sold soon according to the magazine.

Step will also sell Taiwanese personal computers. The firm has
signed a sales agreement with Taiwan-based PC Direct. To start,
an 80486-based PC with 200 MB hard disk will be sold at
330,000 yen ($2,500).

Other Japanese personal computer makers such as Mitsubishi and
Hitachi are also developing DOS/V-based personal computers. So,
more DOS/V-based personal computers are expected to be released
in the near future.

This is really a threat to NEC and Apple Computer. The personal
computer sales competition is expected to get even hotter in
Japan.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920608)

#ENDCARD



#CARD :1992 JUN 8 Speed Isn't Everything, Says Supercomputer Designer 06/08/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00001)

Speed Isn't Everything, Says Supercomputer Designer 06/08/92
BLOOMINGTON, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 8 (NB) -- Steve Chen
says his new supercomputer will be faster than anything available
from Cray Research. However, Chen says speed is no longer a good
measure of a supercomputer's usefulness.

"Speed is an old fashioned measurement," said Chen. Previously a
designer at Cray Research, he dropped out of sight when he left his
job at Cray in 1987 and founded Supercomputer Systems, Inc (SSI).
Chen reportedly left Cray Research after a clash with Cray founder
Seymour Cray. Cray subsequently left Cray Research to form Cray
Computer and develop the Cray-3. That effort has met problems
recently after the company lost its only customer when testing of
the Cray-3 was delayed.

Since then Chen has maintained a low profile said he has been busy
raising money, forming a team, and designing a computer. Chen also
forged a partnership with IBM, who has provided major financial
support for SSI.

"That is a long journey," said Chen. "We want to be very careful
that we don't disrupt ourselves. I want to make sure I can believe
then go tell people," he said.

Chen said speed was no longer a good measurement of a
supercomputer's usefulness because his new machine, the SS-1, while
using the same basic computation method as supercomputers from Cray
Research, would be connected to other computers in a different way.
Chen believes the future lies in building different software tools
to inspire creativity on the part of scientists and engineers who
use the supercomputers.

Chen says there's no need to continually upgrade your computer
system. "If you can solve the problem you have today with your
present computer, don't bother to get a supercomputer," he told
attendees at a symposium in Bloomfield. Instead, he recommends users
wait for the next generation of supercomputers, which he believes
will drastically reduce the time it takes to design products and
master problems that currently defy solution.

That advice, while it might benefit computer users, would also
benefit Chen, since his first product probably won't reach the
market for several years. SSI recently displayed a prototype of the
SS-1's central processing unit (CPU), a four-foot cube.

(Jim Mallory/19920604/Press contact: Steve Chen, SSI,715-839-8484)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 8 Computers Used For TV Closed Captioning 06/08/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00002)

Computers Used For TV Closed Captioning 06/08/92
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 8 (NB) -- Skwraeu Hrepb
Tphoe - that's how Amy Bowlen spells the name of Jay Leno, the new
host of the Tonight TV show.

Amy is one of the people who create the closed captions for
television shows, using a computer and a special 25 key steno
machine. Amy debuted in her job the same night Leno did, and is
usually only three seconds or less behind the lips of the person who
is speaking.

The Tonight show didn't use closed captions while Johnny Carson was
the host - the company Bowlen works for was hired to caption the
shows when Leno took over.

Some TV shows have used captions for more than 12 years, with
sitcoms making the widest use of the service. Now, just about every
prime-time program and most commercials carried on NBC, ABC, and CBS
use them, according to National Captioning Institute spokesperson
Morgan Bramlet.

The Institute manufactures and markets the special decoders which
can be connected to any television receiver. Presently about
320,000 homes have decoders attached to their TVs. Users can turn
the captioning on or off at will.

According to Terri Zuckerman, sales manager for CaptionAmerica, the
Pittsburgh-based company that hires Amy Bowlen, one in three people
over the age of 60 suffers from some degree of hearing loss.
However, Zuckerman says captioning is also popular in noisy places
like bars, as well as for immigrants learning English, in hospitals
to avoid disturbing roommates, and for children who are learning to
read. Zuckerman said about 40,000 decoders were sold to immigrants
last year.

Soon it won't be necessary to buy a separate decoder. By federal
law, all television sets with screens 13 inches or greater sold in
the US after July 1, 1993 will have the decoders built in. Decoders
cost less than $200, with several models available.

The PC used in the captioning system is able to store electronic
dictionaries, so that the operator can use certain phonetic
combinations to represent standard phrases and keep the number of
errors down. That helps to reduce to possibility of error, since on
occasion the system has jumbled words, putting them in a nonsensical
order.

National Captioning Institute's Morgan Bramlet told Newsbytes that
captioners are usually graduates of court reporting schools or have
experience in court reporting. The training to become a captioner
takes several months, with both men and women making good
captioners.

Asked how captioners handle statement made that the captioners
didn't understand, Bramlet said on live shows there are usually
three people working in the booth on captioning. Usually one of
them will have heard what was said. Bramlet said if the remark
couldn't be understood, the captioner might type "unintelligible,"
or just not type anything. It would depend on how important the
remark was to the content of the show.

CaptionAmerica says news shows are the hardest to caption, because
they have to be scripted as they air. A staff of six steno
captioners writes for all of NBC's news shows, but say the toughest
is probably "Meet The Press" because of its fast pace, and the
limited number of commercial breaks.

Last week for Bowlen was the toughest, since the first week of
Leno's show was broadcast live. From now on, it will be taped
earlier in the day, as it was when Carson hosted it. That will give
the captioners a chance to write a rough draft. An editor will add
things like applause and audience reaction as the show is taped.

(Jim Mallory/19920603/Press contact: Morgan Bramlet, National
Captioning Institute, 800-533-9673, Reader TTD contact:
800-321-8337)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 8 New Product: Telecoupler II Acoustic Coupler 06/08/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00003)

New Product: Telecoupler II Acoustic Coupler 06/08/92
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 8 (NB) -- After reselling 16,000
acoustic couplers under the Telecoupler I brand name, Computer
Products Plus Inc. (CP+) has come out with the new and upgraded
Telecoupler II, a product of its own design.

The Telecoupler is used to connect the modem of a portable computer
to a phone line in cases where an RJ11 jack is difficult or
impossible to find. A streamlined version of the bulky acoustic
couplers of the past, the product converts text or fax data into
audio tones. Similar in size to a phone receiver, it attaches to
the receiver via a velcro strap, and plugs into the modem with an
RJ 11 cord.

Telecoupler II, announced this week at the Los Angeles Lap &
Palmtop '92 show, retains the underlying traits of the hugely
successful Telecoupler I, but adds faster speed and longer battery
life, said Stephanie Kelly, corporate sales representative.

The new product supports a modem speed of 9600 bps, instead of the
2400 bps supported by Telecoupler I, and employs a 9-volt battery,
a power supply nearly twice as strong as the battery used in the
first release.

As in the initial product, weight has been kept to about 10 ounces,
added Kelly. The coupler continues to be made of ABS, the material
used in football helmets, and to feature a coiled cord.

The tough material and coiled cord ruggedizes the coupler, a
capability necessary because of the type of use the product gets,
said Kelly. Not only is the coupler brought out into the field by
maintenance personnel, it also goes along on worldwide tours with
business executives.

Kelly said she wasn't sure who had manufactured Telecoupler I,
except that the company was Japanese. But CP+ has designed
Telecoupler II itself, and has also gained control over product
marketing and distribution, she maintained. "This way, we'll be
able to be more price competitive," she commented. With
Telecoupler II, the company is raising the retail price slightly,
from $144.95 to $159.95, while making wholesale pricing more
attractive to distributors, she told Newsbytes.

Telecoupler II is shipping.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920603/Press contact: Valinda Cornejo, Hill
and Knowlton, tel [phone]; Public contact, Stephanie Kelly,
Computer Products Plus, tel [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 8 New For Macintosh: Davidson's Headline Harry 06/08/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00004)

New For Macintosh: Davidson's Headline Harry 06/08/92
TORRANCE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 8 (NB) -- The field of
computer programs that teach as they let you play a fun game is
expanding rapidly these days. Key to this market has been the
phenomenal success of Broderbund's "Where in ... is Carmen Sandiego"
series which has even reached that exalted plateau of having a TV
show dedicated to it.

Davidson and Associates are also participants in this market. Their
entry teaches the player about recent US history and geography.
In "Headline Harry and the Great Paper Race," you represent a
reporter who is trying to get to the bottom of important stories
before your competitors from the Diabolical Daily publish a
completely wrong and inaccurate story of their own.

To get your stories you must travel within the US and collect
clues. Some of the clues take the form of Macintosh QuickTime movies
and represent real news footage. So, for instance, a clip is shown
of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech. This is an unique
capability in this new Macintosh version of the program that
Davidson has just released. An MS-DOS version has been selling
for several months now.

Game play is similar between the two versions. However, there are
significant enhancements (like QuickTime support) in the Macintosh
version making it an essentially new program. The Macintosh
version runs only on Macintoshes that support color and comes on
eight double-sided diskette. The data on the diskettes is
compressed!

The new Macintosh version is shipping now. Both the Macintosh and
the MS-DOS versions retail for $59.95.

(Naor Wallach/19920603, Press Contact: Liz Rich-Reardon, Davidson,
310-793-0600 Extension 230)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 8 Hongkong: 3 Firms Get Govt Training Contracts 06/08/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(HKG)(00005)

Hongkong: 3 Firms Get Govt Training Contracts 06/08/92
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1992 JUN 8 (NB) -- As a result of an open tender
exercise, the Hong Kong Government has awarded System-Pro
Training Centre, Computer Power Educational Services, and Swire
Systems contracts to provide computer training services.

The training service is open to civil servants who are or will be
users of microcomputer systems and software acquired by the Hong
Kong Government through bulk contracts. Mr K H Lau, assistant
director of Information Technology Services Department, said that
all government departments were eligible for this service. He
said the Government expected to buy close to 2,000 PCs
within the next two years and that more than 20,000 student days
of training would be required.

According Mr Lau, in selecting the successful contractors, the
Government took into consideration industrial track records of
the companies in organizing large scale training service,
teaching quality, training environment and facilities as well as
availability of courseware meeting the Government's
requirements. The progress of the courses will be monitored
closely through course-end evaluation and appraisal.

This is the first time that the Hong Kong Government has
separated the provision of PC training services from its bulk
purchase of PC hardware and software.

"We were actually the catalyst," Naill Rigby of Computer Power
told Newsbytes. "We approached them with the idea, worked with
them to develop it and later put in our bid. Instead of purchasing
all the hardware and training from one supplier, we convinced them
that there would be more value in contracting out the training."

System-Pro's computer professionals are said to already be
conducting classes at its training centre in North Point and at
the Chinese YMCA. Teaching aids include advanced PCs set up for
each student, and reference materials modified from updated
courseware packages. Each trainee will be awarded a certificate
upon completion of their course.

Mr Stephen Ip, assistant general manager of System-Pro, said the
program would include a wide range of microcomputer software
from elementary to advanced levels to meet the varying
requirements of the trainees. Their curriculum covers Chinese
and English word processing, spreadsheet, desktop publishing,
programing, etc.

"While constantly revising the curriculum to incorporate new PC
software packages, we have also developed specialized programs
for the managerial, accounting and secretarial professions," said
Mr Ip.

Mr Michael Hayes, general manager of Computer Power Educational
Services, told Newsbytes that they will hold 28 classes on the
use of spreadsheets, database management, and word processing.
"Classes are due to start in the second half of June," he said.

(Brett Cameron/19920605/Press Contact: Mr K.H. Lau, Hong Kong
Government, Tel [phone]; HK time is GMT + 8)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 8 New For Networks: 3Com Integrated Mgt 06/08/92


(NEWS)(UNIX)(HKG)(00006)

New For Networks: 3Com Integrated Mgt 06/08/92
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1992 JUN 8 (NB) -- 3Com has introduced
ViewBuilder/UNIX, a family of graphical network management
software that provides comprehensive, integrated management of
3Com's hub and bridge/router products.

The software runs on SunNet Manager, the industry's most
popular open network management platform.

"Customers with enterprise networks need to manage
multivendor devices from a central location," said Doug
Dennerline, general manager of 3Com Asia Ltd. "ViewBuilder/UNIX
provides comprehensive management of 3Com products in a multivendor
environment from a single management station."

According to Sun Microsystems, the SunNet Manager Solutions
Portfolio is now supported by over 70 vendors. The addition
of ViewBuilder/UNIX means that customers can combine
hardware, software and networking products from 3Com and
other sources to create custom-tailored integrated network management
systems.

The ViewBuilder/UNIX includes three new products: NETBuilder
Management for 3Com's NETBuilder family of bridge/routers;
LinkBuilder 3GH Management for 3Com's third generation hub;
and Remote Boot and Configuration Services for
internetworking devices and terminal servers.

Dennerline noted that 3Com's network management systems
address some of the most critical issues facing network
administrators today. Complexity due to the growth in LANs and
interconnected networks requires better insight into network
 operations. Management applications, rather than general-purpose
management tools, are required to provide comprehensive
management for today's complex network devices. Network management
tools must be scalable to keep administration and training costs
low as more devices are added to the network.

The ViewBuilder/UNIX applications, running on SunNet
Manager, provide an easy-to-use graphical interface and
share a common "look and feel," reducing costs for
administering 3Com devices on the network. The administrator
can cost-effectively scale the performance requirements of
the management platform, a Sun SPARCstation, as the network
grows, the company maintains.

LinkBuilder 3GH Management includes the most comprehensive
hub and FDDI management tools on the market, 3Com claims. All facets
of managing a third-generation hub are mapped to the
appropriate graphical view of hub operation.

Automatic, real-time mapping of the FDDI network provides
"complete insight" into a dynamic FDDI environment, freeing
the administrator from the tedious mapping of an FDDI ring
which could reconfigure itself at any time, the company says.
Management information is conveniently displayed alongside mapped
FDDI objects.

Setting up a new client involves selecting a predefined template
and entering the client's address. A configuration editor facility
lets administrators create configurations once and apply them to
multiple networked objects. Hot standby features ensure uptime, with
a secondary RBCS server ready to honor client boot
requests.

NETBuilder Management is shipping now and 3Com expects
LinkBuilder Management to be available by the beginning of
July. Remote Boot and Configuration Services 2.0 will be
available in the fourth quarter 1992. These products are
available from 3Com resellers and systems integrators
worldwide.

(Brett Cameron/19920605/Press contact: Fergus O'Rorke, Euan Barty
Associates Tel [phone]; HK time is GMT + 8)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 8 Hongkong: CASE User Group Formed 06/08/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00007)

Hongkong: CASE User Group Formed 06/08/92
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1992 JUN 8 (NB) -- Asia's first independent Synon
User Group held its inaugural meeting on Friday 29 May at the Pacific
Club, World Wide House. The meeting, attended by 35 delegates, was
addressed by Synon's US-based President Chris Herron.

The Synon Asia User Group, Hong Kong Branch is a response to
rapid growth in the use of Synon CASE tools for IBM mid-
range systems which are now installed in 32 sites in Hong
Kong. "Synon CASE tools are playing a critical role in
enabling Hong Kong companies to build systems that deliver a
real competitive edge," said Chairman George Elledge,
director, Jardine Fleming Management Services Ltd.

"The user group will provide an independent forum for both
technical and managerial users to share ideas, experience
and expertise. It will also be a vehicle to give feedback on
product development, support, and education to Synon and its
distributors."

Synon Corporation, which last week opened its Asian
headquarters in Hong Kong, welcomed the user group launch.
"User groups are valuable in promoting communications
between customers and suppliers," said Hong Kong-based
technical specialist Guy Riddle. "Good customer service
comes from staying in close touch with user needs and views
and this group will help us to do just that."

Synon's Hong Kong distributor, CSSL, also applauded the
launch. "The group will play an important role in building
a community of experienced developers," said Division
Manager, Ian Pawlik. "This is especially important in Hong
Kong where developer skills are at a premium."

Apart from its role in supporting developers with technical
workshops and presentations, the group will also focus on
educating senior management. "The decision to implement CASE
is made at a strategic level and it is critical that
management understand the key issues," said Elledge.

Once fully established, the group hopes to meet every month,
with membership open to all Synon users including
consultants and software houses which use the software as a
development platform. The group will be run by a committee
of officers, with additional representatives from the
financial, manufacturing, and distribution and commercial
sectors.

The committee elected at the inaugural meeting comprises
Chairman George Elledge; Secretary/Treasurer Raymond Yeung
from South China Morning Post Publishers Limited;
manufacturing and distribution representative Vincent Yeung
from Alfred Dunhill (HK) Ltd; and finance representative Tom
Dighton of Standard Chartered Equitor Group.

(Brett Cameron/19920605/Press contact: Sharon Williams, Synon,
Tel [phone]; HK time is GMT + 8)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 8 New For PC: Digital Desktop Manager For Windows, Navigator 06/08/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(HKG)(00008)

New For PC: Digital Desktop Manager For Windows, Navigator 06/08/92
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1992 JUN 8 (NB) -- Digital Equipment Corporation
announced the introduction of Vivace for Windows, a customizable
desktop manager that helps Microsoft Windows users to work more
easily with multiple applications, network services and large
numbers of documents. Vivace runs on stand-alone personal
computers and on any PC LAN.

Digital also announced an enhanced version of Browser for
Windows, an information navigator that helps users locate
information on any PC LAN or wide-area network. The two
products help users to achieve "network transparency" -- the
ability to focus on the right information to make more
informed, faster decisions instead of having to waste time
on the underlying technology.

Vivace, named after the musical direction for "in a lively
or vivacious manner," creates a customized representation of
the user's personal work environment. The desktop manager
includes icons to depict file cabinet levels, documents,
applications, network services, printers, fax machines, CD-
ROM drives and other peripherals.

Vivace users can organize their PC desktops to mirror their
physical offices. The new desktop manager is designed to
function the way people work and think, enabling a user to
focus on the document rather than the application.

For example, without Vivace, a Windows user must FIND an
application, load it into memory, click on FILE, click on
OPEN, look for the right file name and finally click on the
file name to load it into memory. With Vivace, a user simply
clicks on the meaningful document name; Vivace handles the
rest, Digital says.

When a user cannot remember the name or place of a document,
Vivace's search capability helps him find the document easily, on the
PC or PC LAN, regardless of which application produced the document.
All documents found are immediately available for editing. If the user
simply clicks on the icon, Vivace starts the right application, with the
right document, and the appropriate templates.

Vivace automatically recognizes and integrates 40 popular PC
applications. Additional applications can be integrated
through a scripting capability. Vivace enables users
to "drag-and-drop" documents to multiple devices such as
printers, fax machines, CD-ROM drives, and floppy disk
drives, and allows users to integrate new peripherals or
network services with ease. It also enables users to assign
meaningful names to documents and to file documents in
archives under multiple storage levels.

"Vivace picks up where Windows leaves off," said Carlo Choi,
Digital's regional marketing manager for business and office
Systems. "With its powerful search capabilities and its
ability to integrate with popular electronic mail packages
and other network services, Vivace helps users make sense
out of the multitude of files created by dozens of desktop
applications. Vivace is going to be a great help to the
growing population of Windows users and to the teams of
people who share documents on LANs."

Vivace for Windows Version 1.0 runs on top of Microsoft
Windows version 3.0 and 3.1. Vivace works with, rather than
replaces, the Windows Program Manager. Support is planned
for other platforms, such as Microsoft Windows NT and IBM's
Presentation Manager for OS/2. Version 1.0 supports Novell
NetWare, Microsoft LAN Manager, Banyan Vines, and Digital
Pathworks; cc:Mail for Windows, DaVinci for Windows,
Microsoft Mail for Windows and All-In-1 Mail for Windows.
Vivace is the first Digital application to support third-
party mail services.

Vivace will run on any Intel 80286, 80386, or 80486 based
PC. It requires a minimum one megabyte of RAM (2 MB
recommended), a 40MB hard disk or network disk with 1.5 MB
free, a 720KB diskette drive and a mouse or other Windows
pointing device. In a PC LAN, at least one base system must
have a 720KB diskette drive; in an asynchronous network
environment, every base system must have one 720KB diskette
drive and 1.5 MB of free hard disk.

In addition to Vivace, Digital announced version 2.0 of
Browser for Windows, an information navigator announced last
November. Browser V1.0 provided the user with network
navigation, including the ability to find, view and convert
files. The new version enables Browser users to find
information located in mail folders, conferences, and
documents. Browser works with Novell NetWare, Microsoft LAN
Manager, Banyan Vines, and Digital Pathworks. It enables
users to find and use documents, spreadsheets, and graphics
anywhere on a PC, PC LAN, or wide-area network.

A new feature is the extension of global search to enable
users to employ multiple search-result windows and apply
actions to items in each window. In addition, a new DDE
interface will allow other Windows applications to be
integrated with Browser. This integration gives those
applications access to information that Browser finds,
including mail and notes.

(Brett Cameron/19920605/Press contact: Walter Cheung, Digital,
Tel [phone]; HK time is GMT + 8)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 8 Hongkong: Oracle Used In Development Of Imaging Resource 06/08/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00009)

Hongkong: Oracle Used In Development Of Imaging Resource 06/08/92
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1992 JUN 8 (NB) -- The Hong Kong Polytechnic
library has used software from Oracle to develop a pioneering imaging
application in which more than 44,000 slides have been
transferred onto laserdisc.

The application was jointly devised by Hong Kong Polytechnic
library staff and specialist multimedia consultant Ian Fueggle,
managing director of Advanced Media Systems. It will enable the
library's 50,000 active users to search, retrieve, display and
present slide images from the laserdisc without ever having to
physically locate the original slide.

"The system is certainly the most advanced of its kind
in Asia," said Barry Burton, the Polytechnic Librarian. "It
is an exceptional resource which will give Hong Kong
students the ability to search and browse the world's great
collections without leaving their desks."

The slides are part of the Polytechnic's audio-visual software and
hardware collection which currently comprises some 160,000 items.
The collection, one of the largest in Hong Kong, focuses on fashion,
design, art and architecture and is used by students, staff and
researchers.

The system comprises a Sony interactive videodisc system with a 21-inch
screen, specially developed Oracle front-end software, and Oracle's
relational database. This runs on a Porro 386 PC33 with a one gigabyte
hard disk and a Videologic digital video overlay board.

Using a simple point and click mouse or touchscreen interface,
users can search the disc by author, title, the library's call
number system, date of work, subject and a range of subdivisions.
Users enter their first key word and use Boolean "and, or, not"
operators to define other search criteria.

The system then displays its "hits" selected images, in frames
of 16 at a time, allowing users to select and blow up a
particular image, program a sequence of images for a
presentation, or browse through the collection.

According to Burton, the key innovation is the software which
links the library's extensive cataloguing system to the frame
numbers of individual images. This was developed by Ian Fueggle
using Oracle application tools, and uses Oracle's relational
database to provide the textual index to the slide collection.

"Each of the 160,000 slides has a full catalogue description of
its contents, source and date plus at least six to eight key
words for retrieval," explained Fueggle.

"As we eventually hope to include all slides on the system, it
was essential to choose powerful software that could cope with
the large amount of data. Oracle offered the necessary
functionality as well as the portability across computer
platforms which will allow us to easily port the application to
other organizations."

Apart from portability, speed of access, security and storage
were all key objectives in the development process.

"The application means that users need never access the slides
themselves, saving enormous amounts of time in physical searching
and filing as well as saving storage costs for ranks of filing
cabinets," said Burton. "Another important advantage is that the
slides are protected from damage or loss."

Another benefit of the system is the ability to add new images to
the database in near real-time. Up to 5000 additional images can
be stored on the one gigabyte hard drive, thereby overcoming the
"write once" problems of laser vision technology.

For both the Polytechnic and Advanced Media Systems, successful
implementation this February could be just the start of a long
term process.

"Adding other disciplines such as medicine, networking
the system and implementing it in other institutions are
just some of the possibilities," said Burton. "Multimedia
is a key resource for Hong Kong's educational future and we
are firmly committed to leading the way."

(Brett Cameron/19920604/Press Contact: Karen Wan, Oracle Hong
Kong, Tel: + 852-824 0118; HK time is GMT +8)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 8 Tandem Software Documentation On A Compact Disc 06/08/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00010)

Tandem Software Documentation On A Compact Disc 06/08/92
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1992 JUN 8 (NB) -- Tandem Computers announced the
availability of Guardian operating system software manuals on a
single compact disc. This offers users of Tandem Nonstop systems
fast and easy access to information.

Guardian operating systems, the framework for Tandem's Nonstop
systems, are designed for high volume on-line transaction
processing requiring a high level of performance in fault
tolerance, data integrity, linear expandability, networking and
distributed data capability.

A single Tandem CD Read is equivalent to more than 250 Guardian
C30 software paper manuals and it conserves space for storage in
the office.

"The benefits of transferring software manuals onto laser disc
are apparently the speed and flexibility that it can provide.
Users can access information by the press of a button and keep
their documentation up-to-date simply by using a new disc," said
Rick Teeuwsen, area director of support for Tandem Computers.

Information search becomes easy with a menu-driven graphical user
interface, a key-word searching technique, and integrated text
and graphics. The CD Read looks the same as a printed manual
while retaining the speed of personal computers.

Tandem CD Read is compatible with a variety of workstations,
including IBM PCs and Macintosh computers. It can also be
connected to popular local area networks (LANs), allowing
simultaneous multi-user access to a single disc. It supports
industry standard networking products for IBM PCs and the
Macintosh, including Appletalk, MS-NET and Tandem Multilan
hardware and software.

"The introduction of laser disc software manuals for Guardian
system is another step in our continued efforts to provide users
with high performance products to increase their operational
efficiency," Mr Teeuwsen said.

(Brett Cameron/19920605/Press contact: Donough Foley, Media
Dynamics Ltd, tel [phone]; HK time is GMT + 8)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 8 NETO Enters Satellite Instruction Market 06/08/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00011)

NETO Enters Satellite Instruction Market 06/08/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 JUN 8 (NB) -- Continuing a trend
toward special-interest satellite networks, the National
Education Telecommunications Organization and its subsidiary,
EDSAT, said they'll enter the market for instructional education,
teleconferencing and special event programming for schools,
colleges, universities, libraries and other distant learning
centers, via satellite, starting in August.

The two companies will use GE American Communications as their
service provider. The idea is to allow more satellite collocations
to take place, giving schools access to more choices in
programming. Thousands of schools already have satellite dishes,
many installed free to pick up the controversial "Channel One"
service from Whittle Communications. Thousands of schools also
use "CNN Newsroom," a special daily newscast for kids broadcast
at 3 AM each morning and videotaped for use the next day.

IBM is giving NETO a C-Band Uplink and related equipment in
Crystal City, Virginia to help provide low-cost service for
its affiliates. The company expects up to 35 to 40 education
programmers to use its satellite services during the next six
months. Their number is expected to reach over 75 by the 1993
school year. NETO/EDSAT satellite services will reach hundreds
of thousands of students in schools, colleges and universities
and an equal number of students located in their workplaces.

The American Community Services Network Foundation is also
working out details on an agreement to assist NETO in operating
its system. ACSN is the founder of The Learning Channel, now a
unit of Discovery Networks.

EDSAT Chairman Brian Thompson tried to explain the meaning of
all this in a press statement. "When all the cable programmers
collocated on one satellite it meant the consumers could get up
to 40 or 50 channels in their home with the flip of a TV switch.
Collocation to one satellite means that schools, teachers in
classrooms, and students have multiple choices of live interactive
video, voice and data programming." Financial and in-kind support
for EDSAT has also come through Westinghouse Communications,
Westinghouse Electric Foundation, the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration, COMSAT, Scientific Atlanta, Black College
Satellite Network, Oklahoma State University and others.
NETO/EDSAT are non-profit, voluntary "education users"
organizations established to govern, purchase and manage
affordable and equitable satellite and other telecommunications
services on behalf of all America's schools, colleges,
universities, libraries and other educational institutions.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920605/Press Contact: Bill Stern, National
Education Telecommunications Organization, 202-508-4484)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 8 Red Cross Goes Hi-Tech 06/08/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00012)

Red Cross Goes Hi-Tech 06/08/92
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 8 (NB) -- It used to be
donuts, coffee, and bandages. Now its satellite phones, chemical
heat packets, and communications systems in suitcases. It's the
American Red Cross.

The agency is going high tech as part of a $12 million program set
up to cope with the approximately 55,000 emergencies the Red Cross
faces each year, according to Elizabeth Dole, the agency's
president.

"It's not just the earthquakes, the tornadoes and the hurricanes,"
said Dole at the agency's annual convention last week. "It's the
single family fire, or the chemical spill on the highway, or the
airplane crash. It's the violence in Los Angeles; we're there for
all of them," Dole said.

To kick off the four-year upgrade program, the Red Cross opened a 24-hour
command center in Alexandria, Virginia to monitor disaster
threats around the country, and to coordinate rescue efforts with
local chapters.

The agency is also buying sophisticated 75-pound communications
systems packed into suitcase-sized packages. The packages,
containing a fax machine, a phone and a portable computer, can
communicate via satellite when local communications are disrupted.
Similar packages were used extensively in the Persian Gulf War. A
more sophisticated version called a flyaway, packed in about 20
cases, can give a television crew the capability to beam pictures and
sound from anywhere on the globe without depending on local TV
facilities.

The Red Cross emergency response vehicles, introduced in 1982, now
number around 400 located throughout the nation. They can feed 400
meals before restocking, and are stocked with flood clean-up kits,
personal hygiene kits, blankets, and first aid supplies, according
to Gonzalo Hernandez, Emergency Response Coordinator for the Central
Maryland Chapter.

Hernandez said that during the recent LA riots, they fed the police
and the rescuers, and many reporters and news photographers have
been grateful for a cup of coffee or a sandwich from the big white
van, after covering a story for hours or days on end without a
break.

All that new equipment requires money, and the private fundraising
campaign is being aided by Marilyn Quayle, wife of the vice
president and a long time Red Cross volunteer.

(Jim Mallory/19920603)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 8 Info Tech Spending to Rebound This Year, Survey Says 06/08/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SFO)(00013)

Info Tech Spending to Rebound This Year, Survey Says 06/08/92
FRAMINGHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 8 (NB) -- Global spending on
information technology will bounce back slightly during 1992,
according to survey results released this week by International
Data Corporation (IDC).

Within the top five national markets worldwide, internal
organizational spending will upturn 5% this year - in contrast to
just 2% last year - and the outlook for vendors is even brighter,
the study found.

"IDC projects a steady shift away from internal spending,
especially, on information systems (IS) staff, toward external
spending with information technology (IT) suppliers. This will
allow 1992 vendor revenue growth to exceed that of total customer
spending, particularly in the areas of software, services, and
networking," explained David C. Moschella, senior vice president of
research.

The study, "1992 Worldwide Customer Directions and Spending
Strategies," is based on input from 7,000 IS professionals in the
US, the UK, Japan, Germany, and France, nations that together
account for more than 75% of global IT spending.

In breaking out the results by country, IDC concluded that in 1992:
IS budgets will rise 5 to 6% in the US, France and the UK;
budgets will climb 8% in Japan and Germany; budget growth will
be stronger than in 1991 for each of the nations except Germany.

Further, about a third of respondents in the US, the UK and
France cited cost control and justification as their chief focus
for 1992, while only 13 to 14% of those in Japan and Germany
pointed to these factors as the key concern.

Other issues explored included such vertical criteria as:
current and future usage patterns for PCs, workstations, LANs,
operating systems, network topologies, image processing, electronic
data interchange (EDI), and CD/ROM; decision factors and
implementation strategies in the areas of client/server architectures,
open systems, outsourcing, systems integration, and acceptance of Unix.

The vertical criteria were also analyzed by country. IDC
determined, for example, that France and Germany have emerged as
world leaders in open systems, outsourcing, and adoption of new
technologies, Moschella stated.

IDC has been conducting market research studies ever since its
founding in 1964, a public relations spokesperson noted. About two
years ago, the company began to consolidate vertical surveys into
industry-wide global reports, she added.

(Jacqueline Emigh, 19920605/Press contact: Nancy Findley, IDC, tel
508-935-4489.)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 8  ****More Is Less, New Small Form Factor Hard Disk Drives 06/08/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00014)

 ****More Is Less, New Small Form Factor Hard Disk Drives 06/08/92
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 8 (NB) -- Two disk drive
manufacturers, Quantum and Seagate, have announced higher
capacity, small form factor disk drives. Quantum says it's the first
to offer 2.5-inch 80+ megabyte (MB) drives, while Seagate says it is
the first major drive manufacturer ship to 1.8-inch form factor
drives.

Quantum says its Go Drive Series of 2.5-inch hard disk drives now
includes an 84 MB single disk drive and a 169 MB dual disk hard
drive. Quantum is proud of its 84 MB drive on a single disk, which
the company says is more reliable and cost-effective than other
drives on the market that require two disks to get an 80 MB capacity.

The Go Drives are fast as well, Quantum says, with 17 millisecond
(ms) access times and sustained data transfer rates of up to 2.2
MB/second. Both drives have are available with a small computer
systems interface (SCSI)/SCSI-2 or an integrated drive electronics
(IDE) interface. Evaluation units are available to original equipment
manufacturers (OEMs) at $395 for the Go Drive GRS 80 product and $595
for the Go Drive GRS 160 product, Quantum said.

Seagate is shipping evaluation units of its ST7000 line of 1.8-inch
drives in 40, 65, and 80 MB formatted capacities. The company says
the drives have high areal density, high shock and vibration
resistance, and low power consumption.

The ST7000 family of drives vary in size, but Seagate says the 65 MB
ST7075 drive has 2 discs and an average seek time of 16 ms. The
ST7075 is priced at $495 in OEM evaluation quantities, the company
added.

Both companies are showing off their new drives at the Computex trade
show held in Taipei, Taiwan, June 5-9. Seagate is headquartered in
Scotts Valley, California, while Quantum is based in Milpitas,
California.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920605/Press Contact: Julie Still, Seagate, 408-
439-2276; Catherine Hartsog, Quantum, 408-894-4000)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 8 New For PC: 3 Math Instruction Programs 06/08/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00015)

New For PC: 3 Math Instruction Programs 06/08/92
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 8 (NB) -- Wicat Systems has announced
that it will release three new math instructional software
products in the 60 days. The company said the programs are designed
to help math teachers better focus instruction and provide practice
on student skill deficiencies.

Exam-In-A-Can Plus was developed by California-based ips Publishing
and sold by Wicat under a recently announced marketing agreement.
Wicat describes it as an algorithm-driven math test and worksheet
generator, which teachers can use to create drill and practice
worksheets, quizzes, practice tests, and exams.

Exam-In-A-Can Plus automatically produces student answer sheets and
answer keys once the teacher has selected the objectives. Wicat said
it will offer nine versions of Exam-In-A-Can Plus, addressing
objectives from basic math facts through high school calculus. The
program is expected to start shipping later this month.

The Wicat Math Toolkit lets teachers create their own on-line math
exercises and tests, even if they don't have any programming skills,
according to the company. Exercises can address math skills from
basic facts through multi-digit while numbers for students in
kindergarten through the eighth grade.

Wicat said the on-line exercises can be integrated with other
on-line math curriculum and assignments by using Wicat's AIMS
software. Math Toolkit is scheduled to ship in August of this year.

Jean Herre, Wicat's assistant director for math product development,
said that teachers using the two programs can target the student's
individual weaknesses. "This can be done either on-line with Math
Toolkit or in printed homework and quizzes with Exam-In-A-Can Plus,"
said Herre.

All math learning doesn't have to be dull. Wicat is also releasing
a set of computer math games. Mental Math includes 15 different
types of math games, designed to give the students practice in
solving basic math problems in their heads. The game imposes a time
limit for each problem. Mental Math uses color graphics and
animations to keep the student's attention. Like Exam-In-A-Can Plus,
Mental Math is scheduled to ship later this month. Mental Math was
developed by Provo, Utah-based Waterford Institute.

Wicat said all three programs comply with the appropriate National
Council of Teaching Mathematics curriculum standards.

(Jim Mallory/19920605/Press contact: Kirk Tanner, Wicat Systems,
801-223-3381)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 8 Fujitsu Launches Products At Quiet Montreal Show 06/08/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00016)

Fujitsu Launches Products At Quiet Montreal Show 06/08/92
MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA, 1992 JUN 8 (NB) -- The Montreal
International Computer and Office Exhibition, or Salon
international de l'informatique et du bureau de Montreal (SIIM),
had about 120 exhibitors this year, compared to roughly 200 last
year. Few new products were announced at the show, with Fujitsu
topping the list of product introductions.

Fujitsu launched what it said is the world's first 3.5-inch
magneto-optical disk drive in a one-inch-high enclosure. Fujitsu
said the smaller drive is possible because of a spindle-loading
technique that means the disk cartridge does not have to drop into
position when loading. Fujitsu said the smaller size of the drive
will make it easier to use as a replacement for conventional disk
drives in personal computers and workstations. The drive holds 128
megabytes of data.

Fujitsu also announced a new eight-page-per-minute compact laser
printer, the VM800. The company claimed the new unit offers faster
image and font processing than other printers in its class, as well
as superior print quality and a multilingual control panel. The
VM800 is designed to print an average of 4,000 pages per month. It
has a 150-sheet paper tray, with a second as an option, as well as
seven bit-mapped fonts and eight scalable typefaces built in. Due
to be available in Canada in July, it will carry a suggested list
price of C$1,995.

Third, Fujitsu launched what it said will be an aggressive campaign
to recruit resellers in the province of Quebec. Fujitsu wants the
resellers to handle its line of image scanners, as well as Norick's
image scanning software and the Dunord I2000 PC-to-scanner
interface card.

Also at SIIM, Quarterdeck Canada launched the French-language
version of its QEMM 386 6.0 memory management software. The new
release has French manuals and French text in certain display
screens.

(Grant Buckler/19920606/Press Contact: Dianne Laporte, SIIM,
514-288-8811, fax [phone]; Gwen Lannaman, Fujitsu Canada,
416-602-5454 or 800-263-8716, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 8 Panel Discusses "Women And Computers" 06/08/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00017)

Panel Discusses "Women And Computers" 06/08/92
POUGHKEEPSIE, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 8 (NB) -- Female
participation is still disproportionately low in the computer
industry, according to a panel of academics, participating in a 2-day
conference entitled "Scholarship on Women and Society," held at Marist
College on June 5th and 6th.

The panel's moderator, Randy Goldberg of Marist College, exhibited a
Toolbook-based presentation of the history of computing. She bemoaned
the fact that only two women, Lady Ada Lovelace and Admiral Grace
Murray Hopper, fit well into her history (which included Babbage,
Hollerith, Eckert, and Mauchly) which she said had been "abbreviated
because the lack of women was embarrassing."

Goldberg's demonstration also served to show and describe a delivery
system for providing courseware to remote students. With the procedure
pioneered by Goldberg, instructional material designed using Toolbook
is disseminated to remote students by means of Marist's IBM 3090
computer facility. Under the system, which Goldberg calls "Distance
Education with Multimedia," enrolled students are given
telecommunications access to a special conference on Marist's mainframe.
They download a run-time version of Toolbook and the prepared
courseware; they then work on their local personal computers with the
provided material. Questions and quiz responses are submitted to
Goldberg via electronic mail.

Michael Berger of Santa Cruz University in his presentation, "The
Quest for Power through Modulation Culminating in the Computer Age,"
discussed what he referred to as "the human quest for freedom from
the limitation of physical existence."

Berger described the process by which humans move from one medium
of existence or modality to another as modulation and described
modulations which raised percepts to concepts and then concepts to
speech and finally speech to writing, radio and television. He then
describes computers as the "ultimate modality," explaining that through
the use of the new technology, "we are putting a piece of our own mind
into the computer."

Berger concluded by saying that he sees danger in the ultimate
unbounding that technology provides as it frees us from limits of space
and local law. He called on women to be the force of restraint in this
area, saying, "Women's liberation has introduced their gender to realms,
both technological and governmental, that have always been creations
and fortresses of men. I believe it is in the capacity of women alone to
stop or at least slow the dismantling of the ecosystem -- by introducing
moderation to technological advancement."

Barbara McMullen of Marist's Computer Science Dept., began her talk,
"Women In Cyberspace: A Virtual Odyssey," by picking up on Berger's
use of the word "modulation" and pointing out that it is also the root
(with "demodulation") of the word "modem" -- "the entry into
cyberspace which is the subject of this talk."

McMullen began her presentation by explaining the concept of
cyberspace, "where two people meet when they have a telephone
conversation" and then went into the many types of information that
may be found in cyberspace. She then explained how over twenty
million people are connected through the Internet and described the
tools of the Internet: e-mail, file transfer protocol (FTP) and "telnet"
capability.

McMullen concluded her presentation by describing the less-than-
proportionate use of telecommunications and conferencing systems by
women. Citing statistics from the WELL's (Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link)
Nancy Rhine that only 16% of the subscribers are female, McMullen
summarized comments received from Rhine and Stacy Horn, moderator of
the Woman's OnLine Network (WON). She described both the low
participation of women in telecommunications and what appears to be a
difference in the method and tone of on-line communications between the
sexes.

Jan Harrington, also of Marist's Computer Science Dept., in her talk,
"Women in Computing - The Promise and The Reality," discussed the
low penetration of women into the higher echelons of corporate data
processing management. Harrington pointed to statistics showing a level
of female interest in science and mathematics that diminishes from a 9%
interest concentration entering high school to a 2% female college
graduation with a computer science major.

Harrington said that studies of this subject lead her to believe that the
low penetration level of women into the heights of corporate MIS
management does not appear to be the result of job bias. It rather
seems to be the result of factors going all the way back to grammar
school that cause females to veer away from computer study.

Harrington called for concentrated effort to reverse this condition. She
said that insistence on equal access to computers for both sexes at a
young age and the development of educational software that will interest
both sexes will be an important help in beginning the reversal.
"Encouragement in high school of females through science fairs,
conferences and special projects," she said, will continue the effort.
She added that, for college level females, there should be mentoring
from either faculty members or upperclasspersons with MIS
concentrations and that there should be easy access to terminals and
computers in an around-the-clock safe environment.

Harrington also called for the establishment of corporate re-entry
programs for women who return to the workplace after having children.

The ensuing audience discussion period concentrated mainly on the
difficulties that will be faced by women if computer technology continues
to expand without women's proportionate participation. McMullen
responded to a question on opportunities in the MIS field by mentioning
those positions which report and analyze technological happenings. She
said, "Female entrepreneurs have done very well in these positions by
staking out areas of expertise and capitalizing on them. Wendy Woods of
Newsbytes and Esther Dyson of EDventure Holdings are examples of
females who have become the undistributed tops in their respective
niches."

Other panels at the conference dealt with "Women's Rhetoric," "Women
In Academe," "Cultural Backlash," "Women and Theater," Voice and
Women in Literature," "Women, Illness and Death," "Women and
Poverty," "Feminism in a Liberal State," and "Women and History."
Participants included representatives from Marist, University of
Virginia, Brandies University, Potsdam College, Penn State, Villanova,
Kiev University, Case Western Reserve, Wesleyan, Rochester Institute
of Technology, University of Washington, U.S. Military Academy at West
Point, University of Massachusetts, Penn, Rutgers, Pace and University
of Nebraska.

Dennis J. Murray, president of Marist College, told Newsbytes, "I am
particularly happy that this year's conference had a discussion panel on
women and computers. I see technology as a great equalizer in society
and those who know how to make use of these new tools will the ones
who succeed in the future."

Murray also commented on the entire conference, saying "Marist is
extremely pleased to host this conference. We welcome the opportunity
to bring together many voices of scholarship to discuss these important
issues."

(John F. McMullen/Press Contact: Randy Goldberg, Marist College, 914-
575-3000 x2523/19920608)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 8 Australia: Microsoft Accuses PC Maker Of Piracy 06/08/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(SYD)(00018)

Australia: Microsoft Accuses PC Maker Of Piracy 06/08/92
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 8 (NB) -- Microsoft Australia has
revealed that it is taking legal proceedings against a local PC
manufacturer for alleged piracy. The company accused is Profound
Computers, ranked approximately number 15th on the Australian PC
market in terms of sales volume.

While details are unclear, and neither party is talking
specifics, this appears to be the case. Microsoft organized a
raid on Profound last month, and seized what it called extremely
large quantities of its software, much of it pirated. Profound said
if it had pirated software, it had purchased it innocently.
Microsoft said in a press release (though this may be exaggerated) that
this was the largest pirate seizure it had ever made.

Recent Microsoft seizures have been in Asia where fake holograms were
added to the product, making it almost indistinguishable from the real
thing. It is unclear whether the product seized from Profound was
manufactured in Australia or imported.

(Paul Zucker/19920608)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 8 Claris Intros FileMaker Pro 2.0 For Windows/Mac 06/08/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00019)

Claris Intros FileMaker Pro 2.0 For Windows/Mac 06/08/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 8 (NB) -- In an
effort to provide cross-platform compatibility and cash in on the
potentially lucrative Windows database market, Apple's Claris
Corp. has introduced FileMaker Pro 2.0 software for Windows and
Macintosh.

The company is claiming that the new Windows version provides
"power without programming to database users," and is the
"first database product to deliver the graphical user interface
(GUI) benefits of Windows."

Ines Anderson, spokesperson for the company, told Newsbytes
that the Windows product is "not intended as a replacement" for
mainstream programmable database products such as dBASE.
The products, she said, are primarily designed for "people in
corporate workgroups and small businesses" where there is
a mix of Macintoshes and Windows systems. Both products,
Anderson told Newsbytes, "share the same file formats" and
therefore provide "seamless" file sharing capabilities.

The company also claims that the new Macintosh version adds
more than 50 new features, including more powerful scripting,
extensive System 7 capabilities, and multimedia support.

Anderson told Newsbytes that, while the product does not offer
programming capabilities in the "traditional sense," it does
offer a "script maker" feature that allows for "point-and-click
programming."

Interestingly, the company claims that the product is the
second Windows application from Claris, the software subsidiary
of Apple Computer, and the first one developed internally.

Daniel L. Eilers, president and CEO of Claris, claims that Claris
will follow the announcement of FileMaker Pro 2.0 with an
aggressive marketing and sales campaign that will begin with
its biggest ever ad campaign ever at PC Expo this month. The
campaign will increase when the new products ship this fall.
Anderson told Newsbytes that version 2.0 "doesn't access
dBASE directly" although "there are products" on the market
that allow for FileMaker Pro to access dBASE data.

According to Anderson, FileMaker Pro offers Windows
users accessibility and ease-of-use, which is what, according
to Claris corporate research, Windows users are looking for.

Both products, to be available in the fall of 1992 according
to Anderson, will carry a suggested retail price of $399.

(Ian Stokell/19920608/Press Contact: Ines Anderson, 408-987-
7154; Steve Ruddock, 408-987-7202; or Kevin Mallon,
408-987-7227, all of Claris Corp.)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 8 Fujitsu Enters India Through ICIM 06/08/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEL)(00020)

Fujitsu Enters India Through ICIM 06/08/92
BOMBAY, INDIA, 1992 JUN 8 (NB) -- International Computers Indian
Manufacture Ltd. (ICIM), the Indian affiliate of ICL of the UK,
has signed with Fujitsu of Japan for a strategic alliance in several
key areas of information technology. The four areas which have been
identified for collaboration are software exports from India, systems
integration, manufacture of peripherals and marketing.

The details of the deal are expected to be finalized later this
month. A high-level Fujitsu team visited the ICIM facilities in
March this year, when Fujitsu was eager to extend its reach to
India. It is likely that ICIM may manufacture some products of
Fujitsu for sale in the domestic market.

ICIM is the Indian associate of the British computer giant ICL,
which in turn is held by Fujitsu. The oldest Indian computer
company is now part of the RPG group, one of the top ten industrial
houses of India. ICIM manufactures and markets a wide range of
computer systems from mainframes, Series 39 of ICL, Krypton
DRS 6000 also of ICL, and microcomputers and peripherals.

According to Computers Today magazine (India), it polled as
the seventh largest computer company in the country with Rs
105.6 crore ($35 million), during the last financial year
(Apr 91 - Mar 92). ICIM president, Ashok Jain, said the
company's hardware and software exports were expected to touch
$10 million in this year. He also disclosed that the company
received Rs 10 crore (about $3.3 million) order for hardware
from Germany.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920605)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 8  ****Motorola Boosts 68040 Chip to 33 MHz; Set For Quadra 950 06/08/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00021)

 ****Motorola Boosts 68040 Chip to 33 MHz; Set For Quadra 950 06/08/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 8 (NB) -- The Microprocessor and
Memory Technologies Group of Motorola has boosted the speed of its
68040 microprocessor from 25 MHz processor to 33 MHz, and the
faster chip is already being used in several products. For instance,
the 68040-based Apple Quadra operates up to 20 percent faster than
comparable 50-MHz Intel-based systems, Motorola says.

According to the company, products incorporating the 33 MHz chip
include Apple Computer's Macintosh Quadra 950, Bull HN Informations
Systems' DPX/2 model 380 multiprocessor system, the Rocket33
accelerator board from Radius Inc., the TokaMacII FAX acclerator
board from Fusion Data Systems, an upcoming line of Turbo products
from Next Computer Inc., and Texas Instruments' recently announced
1500 MP (multiprocessor) Unix computer line.

In announcing the upgrade, Motorola also released the results of
benchmark studies on performance of the product in the Bull NH, TI,
and Apple systems.

The company said that Bull NH's DPX/model 380, a multiprocessor
system based on the 33-MHz 68040, proved to be one of the fastest
symmetric multiprocessing Unix systems available. The product
comes in one- to four-processor configurations and provides
scalable performance from 24 to 95 MIPs.

According to TPC-A (Transaction Processing Council) benchmarks, a
quad-CPU configured Bull DPX/2 384 with 1 MB of external cache
measured 63.9 transactions per second (tpsA) throughput, with
$9,902 per tps in price/performance. The price/performance figure
is determined by the total price of the system (cost of ownership,
hardware, software and five-year hardware/software maintenance
charges), divided by transactions per second, Motorola noted.

The company added that TPC-B benchmarks showed the new 1545 model
of TI's 1500 TP to deliver more than three times the CPU power of
previous MP models, providing significant advantages over
comparable RISC- and CISC-based systems. The 1500 MP achieved
48.8 tpsB throughput, with a price/performance figure
of $2,609.43.

Benchmarks also indicated strong performance enhancement for the
Quadra over previous Macintosh systems. According to Motorola, the
Quadra 950 measured 9.7 on benchmark tests by Ingram Labs, meaning
that it ran 9.7 times faster than the slowest machine tested, the
IBM PS/1. Based on these benchmarks, the company said, the 68040-
based Quadra operates up to 20 percent faster than comparable 50-
MHz Intel-based systems.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920608; Public Contact: Kristin Houseman,
Motorola, 512-891-2386; Press Contact: Heather Premru,
Cunningham Communication Inc., tel [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 8 IBM Japan Creates Software Joint Venture 06/08/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TYO)(00022)

IBM Japan Creates Software Joint Venture 06/08/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 8 (NB) -- IBM Japan has announced that it
will set up a joint software venture firm with 13 other software
companies in Japan. The new firm will develop computer programs for
the distribution industry, shops and restaurants. It will also provide
management consultation and computer system implementation.

The new firm will be called IBM Distribution Service Solution
and is capitalized with 134 million yen ($1 million), 78.4 percent
of which will come from IBM Japan. The rest comes from 13 firms
including Kanebo, Komatsu Software, Toppan, Sumitomo Computer, Japan
Data Communication and Japan Distribution Service Systems.

IBM Japan's Takayuki Yamauchi will assume the presidency of the
new firm. 220 employees will be dispatched by IBM Japan, and 19
software engineers will be dispatched by the participating software
firms.

The joint venture firm will be created on June 25, and will start
business on July 1. The new firm will be located in IBM Japan's
building. The firm has a goal of making 5 billion yen ($40 million)
in sales by the end of this year -- without a sales force. This
is because IBM Japan expects to be the sales force - referring
its own customers to the joint venture.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920608/Press Contact: IBM Japan, +81-3-3586-
1111)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 8 KDD And AT&T Develops World's Fastest Fiber Cable 06/08/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00023)

KDD And AT&T Develops World's Fastest Fiber Cable 06/08/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 8 (NB) -- Two telecommunication giants in
Japan and the U.S. have developed what they call the world's fastest
and longest telecommunication cable. KDD and AT&T report having
successfully transmitted data through the longest undersea optical
fiber cable between Japan and the US. The 9,000-km cable is said
to have transmitted data at a world-record speed of five gigabits
per second.

This optical fiber was jointly developed and laid by KDD and
AT&T. Both firms laid out a 4,500-km chunk of cable and interconnected
it in the middle.

The data transmission speed of this cable is 10 times faster than
the existing optical cable, according to the companies. Amazingly,
it is said to be capable of transmitting 30 volumes of the
Encyclopedia Britannica in six seconds.

KDD and AT&T are expected to jointly lay out and link optical
fiber cables in the US in the future. In fact, both firms
linked their cables in New Jersey last week.

By the end of 1995, KDD and AT&T expect to build telecom
cable networks which will accept 500,000 simultaneous telephone
calls. This is about six times greater than possible today, the
companies say.

KDD and AT&T claim their success in the longest and fastest cable
transmission project is due to both firms' advanced amplifier
technology. AT&T's Executive Director William Carter told a news
conference, "This is an historic event."

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920608/Press Contact: KDD, [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 8  ****NBI, McData Announce Job Cuts; Legacy Discontinued 06/08/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00024)

 ****NBI, McData Announce Job Cuts; Legacy Discontinued 06/08/92
BOULDER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 8 (NB) -- Two Colorado computer
companies have announced job cuts which combined will put about 100
people out of work.

NBI, Inc., publisher of word processing program Legacy, said it will
lay off 34 people because of what it described as "disappointing"
sales of Legacy for Windows. This is the second layoff at NBI in
18 months. In December 1990 Newsbytes reported that the company was
reducing its staff by 73.

The company said it was ceasing development of Legacy 2.1, the next
version of the program. The update to Legacy was announced in early
April, when the company said it expected to ship in mid-June.

According to NBI spokesperson Nancy Hamilton, most of the layoffs
will be in the software division, with the systems integration and
service divisions remaining unscathed.

"It is extremely difficult for a single product software company to
have an impact in the viciously competitive market for PC word
processors. Our lack of Legacy sales means that we have to let many
very talented people go," said NBI Chairman and CEO Ronald Erickson.

NBI licensed Legacy to WordStar International, giving that company a
basis for its Windows-compatible word processor.

Erickson has only recently assumed the leadership of NBI, replacing
Stephen Jerritts. NBI has recently completed a successful
reorganization under Chapter 11 of the federal Bankruptcy Code.

Boulder-based McData Corporation said it will eliminate about 65
positions due to a sharp downturn in shipments of the company's
controllers. McData said it will also reduce executive salaries,
reduce the hours of some workers, and look at job-sharing.

McData spokesperson Kimberly Rosengren told Newsbytes that employees
were told last Thursday that layoffs were imminent. Rosengren said
that some of the affected employees have already been told their jobs
are being cut, while the remainder are still to be told. The layoffs
are effective over the next week, said Rosengren.

McData introduced its Linkmaster 7100 network controller family one
year ago.

(Jim Mallory/19920605/Press contact: Nancy Hamilton, NBI,
303-938-2808)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 8  ****Compaq Cuts Prices, Releases New Systempro Server 06/08/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00025)

 ****Compaq Cuts Prices, Releases New Systempro Server 06/08/92
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 8 (NB) -- Compaq Computer
Corporation made a series of announcements today including a new
Systempro unit, price cuts in existing Systempro systems, and
a new scheme for network software resellers.

Compaq announced an enhanced version of its Systempro file server.
The company said the new version, identified by the letter "e" in
its model number, can improve server performance by up to 70
percent.

Compaq said the increased performance is made possible due to the
performance boost made possible by the development of its next-
generation intelligent drive array controller, the IDA-2, a bus master
that uses a faster processor and a 4MB (megabyte) array accelerator
write cache.

List prices for the enhanced Systempro models range from $11,799 to
$22,999 depending on configuration. At the same time the company
said it has reduced the price of the current Systempro models by as
much as 21 percent. For example, the new price or an entry level
Systempro, using a 33 megahertz 386 microprocessor and configured
with 240MB of memory is $10,999. Prices for the Systempro/LT now
start at $4,999.

This is the third time Compaq has reduced the suggested
retail price of Systempro units. In February last year Systempro
prices were cut 10 percent. Eight months later, in October, the
company announced a $1,000 reduction on 386-based Systempro servers,
while the 486-based units were reduced $3,000.

Compaq also announced it will resell Novell Netware together with
its own network management products.

(Jim Mallory/19920608/Press contact: John Sweney, Compaq,
713-374-0484)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 8 Ramtron Shipping 4Kb FRAM Chips 06/08/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00026)

Ramtron Shipping 4Kb FRAM Chips 06/08/92
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 8 (NB) -- Ramtron
International says it is now shipping production quantity lots of
its 4 Kb (kilobit) ferroelectric random access memory chip, the FM
1208.

The FM 1208 is a non-volatile chip, allowing information stored to
be retained when power is turned off. Ramtron said the chip
provides high-speed read/write capabilities without battery back-up.
It's intended for applications such as cellular phones, electronic
games, and copiers.

The FM 1208 is the first member of the non-volatile chip family
developed by Ramtron. The company is also working on 16Kb and 64Kb
chips.

The FM 1208 is available in 24-lead 300 and 600 mil plastic dual
in-line (DIP) packages as well as a 300 mil small outline package,
and carries a $2.95 price tag in 1000-piece lots. It uses a single
+5 volt power supply.

Ramtron, a majority-owned subsidiary of Ramtron Holdings of Sydney,
Australia, first announced its FRAM product line in January of 1991.
In September that year, they announced the 16Kb chip. The company
has said that it is also working on higher capacity chips.

The smaller chips presently available or in development are more
suitable for product such as cellular phones and electronic games.
However, with the technology for a non-volatile chip now in hand, it
seems inevitable that chips with a much greater capacity will
eventually replace the volatile memory presently used in desktop and
laptop computers.

(Jim Mallory/19920608/Press contact: Lee Brown, Ramtron,
719-481-7000; Reader contact: Ramtron, 800-545-3726 or 719-481-7000
or FAX [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 8 Sierra Online Speaks French 06/08/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00027)

Sierra Online Speaks French 06/08/92
COARSEGOLD, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 8 (NB) -- Sierra Online
says it has signed an exclusive agreement with one of the top French
educational software companies, Coktel Vision, to translate and
distribute its educational and game software for the US market.

Ken Williams, president of Sierra said the agreement with Coktel is
part of the company's five-year goal announced last fall to become
number one in the educational market. The software developed by
Coktel is the ADI software family of products, which Sierra says has
more than half of the French educational market.

ADI has three distinct levels of curriculum, ADI for preschoolers,
ADI Bou for K-12, and ADI Bac for pre-college students. Adventure
oriented entertainment products for adults is also part of the Coktel
agreement, Sierra representative Anita Greene told Newsbytes.

Despite the fact that the Coktel products are in French, a fact that
creates a challenging problem in converting them to an English
educational market, Williams asserts the products have a better
system than anything available in the US market now. Sierra did say
it expects to spend considerable time and money in the conversion of
the French products.

Sierra has already spent over $1 million on development of
educational software titles. The company has released "The Castle of
Dr. Brain," an engaging, animated exploration game that masks
educational tasks in the form of challenging puzzles that must be
solved to gain access to different parts of Dr. Brain's castle.
"EcoQuest," an educational environment-oriented ocean adventure game,
is also available.

Greene estimated the English versions of the Coktel educational
titles will be available in the first part of 1993. Sierra's products
are designed to operate on IBM and compatible personal computers
(PCs), Apple Macintosh, and Commodore Amiga computers.

Sierra is making several changes. The company offers a graphical
online service that includes an amusement park that is still
under construction, and another in the works. Sierra most recently
announced a $12.95 flat rate for up to 30 hours of online time nation
wide. Previously the service was billed hourly in some parts of the
US.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920608/Press Contact: Anita Greene, Sierra Online,
tel [phone] ext. 504, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 8  ****Adobe And Hayden Form Book Publishing Firm 06/08/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00028)

 ****Adobe And Hayden Form Book Publishing Firm 06/08/92
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 8 (NB) --
Hoping to cash in on the lucrative world of instructional and
general computer books, Adobe Systems has signed an
agreement with Hayden, a division of Prentice Hall Computer
Publishing, to create Adobe Press, a joint book-publishing
venture.

The two companies will produce and distribute both traditional
paper and alternate formats. The companies maintain that
topics to be covered will include graphic arts, Adobe computer
applications, and advanced technologies. The books will also
encompass "the role, function and art of typography, as well as
how best to use Adobe's technology in the graphics arts and
printing industry."

Both companies plan to collaborate on Adobe Press books,
with Adobe engineers, designers, art directors, and typographers
providing technical guidance. The resulting books will be
published and distributed by Hayden.

Clinton Nage, spokesman for Adobe, told Newsbytes that "we
have done books before with a different publisher." He added that
"We will continue to publish the Adobe PostScript Reference
Manual and other (technical books) with" the other publisher,
(Addison Welsley).

Nage told Newsbytes that a book called "Design Essentials," with
Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop, will be the first title in the
Professional Studio Techniques series to be published. He said it
would be released sometime this year, although he was not sure
when.

Another Adobe spokesman told Newsbytes that the venture will
not be a separate company but will exist "within one of the
existing divisions."

The companies maintain that books from Adobe Press will be
available through Prentice Hall's distribution channels, including
bookstores throughout the country, as well as through direct mail.
Foreign language translations will be available in select markets
in Europe and the Pacific Rim, and all books will be published
simultaneously in the United States and Canada.

Nage told Newsbytes that the deal with Hayden "seemed a good
fit" because of the company's experience with producing high
quality books using desktop publishing methods.

(Ian Stokell/19920608/Press Contact: Patricia J. Pane, Adobe
Systems Inc., 415-962-3967; Beth Silcox, Hayden, 317-573-2500)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 8 Merisel Spends $10M, Moves Into Latin America 06/08/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00029)

Merisel Spends $10M, Moves Into Latin America 06/08/92
EL SEGUNDO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 8 (NB) -- Distributor
Merisel has acquired Dinamia S.A., a Mexico City-based distributor
and consequently is one of several companies moving in a strong way
into the blossoming Latin American computer market.

Merisel says Dinamia is one of the three largest distributors in
Mexico. The deal cost Merisel over $10 million, Merisel
representatives said, so Merisel maintains it doesn't expect the
acquisition to boost its bottom line this year. The company said it
did expect the acquisition to enhance its ability, with its Miami-
based distribution location, to form a pan-Latin American
distribution network which includes Latin America and the Caribbean.

Merisel is not the only company taking serious steps in the Latin
American market. AST announced last year it was opening a warehouse
distribution center to facilitate its product distribution in Latin
America, and Citizen's representative Bob Adam told Newsbytes is also
moving into the Latin American market. AST makes IBM compatible
computers and accessories, while Citizen is known for its desktop and
portable printer product.

Dinamia was established in 1985 and has offices in Mexico City,
Guadalajara, and Merida. The company's founder, Miguel Lascurain, is
staying on as its general manager, and partners Gonzalo de Velasco
and Eduardo Lascurain will remain as executives, Merisel said.

Merisel says it is the world's largest publicly held distributor of
microcomputer hardware and software. Its closest competitor is Ingram
Micro, the world's largest distribution company. Merisel says it
currently stocks products from 700 manufacturers for sale to 50,000
resellers worldwide. The company says it has 20 distribution centers
that serve North America, Europe, Latin America, and Australia.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920608/Press Contact: Cathy Quattrocchi, Merisel,
tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 8  ****Tandon Intros 486's Based On Cyrix Chip 06/08/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00030)

 ****Tandon Intros 486's Based On Cyrix Chip 06/08/92
MOORPARK, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 8 (NB) -- Tandon says it is
offering 486 personal computers at 386SX prices. Two of the three new
486 computers are based on the significantly less expensive Cyrix
chips, Intel-compatible chips which Intel is currently suing Cyrix
over.

The company says it has added three new 486 computers in its "PC
Brand" product line and is offering the new additions for prices
starting at $1,395. Tandon says the new models come with 4 megabytes
(MB) of random access memory (RAM), expandable to 32MB; a 105 MB
Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) hard disk drive, a 1.44 MB 3.5-
inch drive, a 1.2 MB 5.25-inch drive; a 16-bit Super video graphics
array (VGA) card and color monitor; one parallel and two serial
ports; 101-key enhanced keyboard; a serial mouse; MS-DOS 5.0; and
Windows 3.1 software.

Tandon is comparing the new 486's with brand name PCs of the same
speed and processing power, but based on Intel chips. The 486/SLC-25,
a 25 megahertz 486 is priced at $1,395, 32 percent lower than
Gateway's 25 MHz 486SX at $2,045, and 39 percent lower than Dell's
486P/25 i486SX at $2,299, Tandon said. The PC Brand 486/33 Cache is
$1,695 and Tandon says it is 28 percent lower than Gateway's 33 MHz
486DX at $2,345, and 32 percent lower than Dell's 486P/33 i486 at
$2,499.

Tandon says its top of the line PC Brand uses the Intel 486/DX2-50
Cache, the new speed doubling chip from Intel. The 486/DX2-50 is
priced at $2,195, 17 percent lower than Gateway's 50 MHz 486DX2 at
$2,645, and 42 percent lower than Dell's 450DE/2 i486DX2 at $3,799,
Tandon said.

The DX2-50 chips from Intel run on a 25 MHz system, however, the chip
runs internally at 50 MHz. The upshot, according to Matt Thomas, an
engineer at Tandon, is the user will get 40 to 70 percent faster
performance than a straight 25 MHz system and the manufacturer can
use existing 25 MHz motherboards for the new chip. However, the
performance will not be as fast as a 50 MHz designed 486 system with
a 50 MHz motherboard and a 50 MHz 486 chip.

While Intel has tried to legally block Cyrix from marketing its
compatible chips during the litigation, it has been unsuccessful.
Tandon was one of the first companies to announce the availability of
PCs based on the Cyrix chip.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920608/Press Contact: Mike Sanders or Matt Thomas,
Tandon, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public Contact, 800-PC
BRAND)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 8 Correction: PC Magazine - Russian Edition Update 06/08/92


(CORRECTION)(BUSINESS)(MOW)(00031)

Correction: PC Magazine - Russian Edition Update 06/08/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 JUN 8 (NB) -- SK Verlag, the publisher of the PC
Magazine Russian edition, has issued a statement that the information
published by Newsbytes in a March 27, 1992 story entitled "PC
Magazine Russian Edition Scandal" needs to be corrected.

SK Verlag said that 100,000 copies of the magazine had been published
monthly since the first issue and provided documents to back this up.
Those documents include the letter dated 30 April 1992 from the
printer, the Kaliningradskaya Pravda publishing house, stating
that it has agreed to "print 100,000 copies of the magazine, 8
issues annually, starting from number one, on the customer's paper.
Another included orders from wholesale book and magazine buyers
indicating they actually received the claimed number of copies.

Newsbytes was unable to collect any additional, independent
information about the first three issues of the magazine, which in the
earlier report, two anonymous Newsbytes sources had said
amounted to no more than 3,000 issues published monthly.
The Kaliningrad printing factory chief, Mr Moiseev, who
dealt with the magazine's publication, recently changed his workplace
and could not be reached by Newsbytes. The new manager, Mr Anatoly
Makhlov, does not have information about the magazine's business
deals during the past year, he said.

Makhlov said, "The magazine says their circulation is stated at 100,000
copies, and we have no problems publishing as much copies as the supplied
amount of paper permits -- 50 thousand, 100 thousand. As I have just
started in this position I cannot supply exact figures immediately."

He also refused to comment anything about the magazine's past circulation
figures.

The former general manager of the publication, Mr Chvirtko, who
Newsbytes sources had said was responsible for a small, initial
circulation, resigned under pressure from the publication two months
ago and was not available for comment.

Ziff-Davis, which publishes PC Magazine in the US, has licensed
the right to use the name, logo, and editorial materials to publishers
of the PC Magazine - Russian edition, but Ziff-Davis does not publish
the magazine itself.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920604/Press Contact: Alexander Kahn, PC Magazine
Russian edition, phone [phone]; fax [phone])

#ENDCARD



#CARD :1992 JUN 5  ****Infonet Links to Earth Summit 06/05/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00001)

 ****Infonet Links to Earth Summit 06/05/92
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL, 1992 JUN 5 (NB) -- Infonet, owned by
MCI and a consortium of international PTTs, is providing data
networking services to the Rio Earth Summit. The company is
working with Embratel, the Brazilian PTT, to provide packet net
service to the world press and delegations attending the
conference.

Access to the Infonet node in Sao Paulo, Brazil, is being made
through special, toll-free numbers installed at more than 50
public phones throughout Rio de Janeiro. These public phones have
an RJ11 plug for modem access, to transport news stories, meeting
notes, and messages to home offices. From there the data can be
transferred to over 118 countries worldwide over Infonet's global
network.

The Earth Summit was due June 5 to sign an agreement on
biodiversity, but it and other agreements on things like global
warming and population control have been highly controversial.
Environmentalists claim the agreements have been watered-down so
as to render them meaningless. Opponents of population control,
like the Catholic Church, have criticized the idea of any
agreement in that area. Third World countries have expressed
great reluctance to protect their environments in the face of
pressing economic needs, and they have been joined by President
Bush, who said in a June 4 news conference he wouldn't subscribe
to any environmental action which threatens American jobs.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920605/Press Contact: Infonet, Susie
Mitchell, 818/889-9100)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUNE 5 Stac Sues IIT Over Its Xtradrive Hardware Card 06/05/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00002)

Stac Sues IIT Over Its Xtradrive Hardware Card 06/05/92
CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 5 (NB) -- Stac Electronics,
makers of the Stacker data compression product, is accusing newcomer
Integrated Information Technology (IIT) of copying the Stacker
coprocessor in its Xtradrive product's coprocessor. The company has
filed a suit in the Central District Court in Los Angeles against
IIT.

Stac says the Xtradrive coprocessor violates its US Patent No.
5,003,307, entitled "Data Compression Apparatus With Shift Register
Search Means." In both the Stacker and Xtradrive products, the
coprocessor card assists in the compression and decompression on the
fly of information stored on the hard disk drive. In the case of both
Stacker and Xtradrive, the coprocessor card is an enhancement to
compression, which can also be performed by each company's software
product alone.

Joanne Rush of Stac Electronics said the suit is aimed specifically
at IIT's coprocessor card, not at the company's software product. A
third product, Super Stor from Menlo Park, California-based Addstor,
also performs a similar data compression process, but Addstor is
unaffected as it does not offer a coprocessor card.

Stac says it is seeking monetary damages and to enjoin IIT from
manufacturing, using, or selling the IIT data
compression/decompression coprocessor. IIT representatives declined
to discuss the suit. Interestingly enough, the IIT Xtradrive hardware
card has not been released on the market yet, though IIT said when it
announced the card last month that it expected the card to be
available within 45 days.

Stac is headquartered in Carlsbad, California. IIT is based in Santa
Clara, California.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920603/Press Contact: Joanne Rush, Stac
Electronics, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Bob Seltzer,
Integrated Information Technology, tel [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUNE 5 New For PC: Wordstar, LAN Version 06/05/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00003)

New For PC: Wordstar, LAN Version 06/05/92
NOVATO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 5 (NB) -- Wordstar
International has announced it is shipping Wordstar version 7.0 for
DOS, the local area network version of the product. The product will
have the distinction of being the only word processor to include
additional workstations in the network administrator package,
Wordstar said.

Wordstar 7.0 has everything Wordstar 6.0 has, but is geared for use
on a network, the company claims. New features in version 6.0 that
are also in version 7.0 include an upgraded user interface with pull-
down menus, mouse support, a "record and play" macro system, fax
support, and editing enhancements.

The new version supports Novell Advanced Netware 2.2 Novell Netware
386 3.11, Novel Netware Lite 1.0, Lantastic NOS 4.1, Banyan Vines/386
5.0, Banyan Vines/386 4.11, 3Com 3+ Share 1.6, 3Com 3+ Open 1.1F, and
IBM PC LAN Program 1.3, the company said.

The product retails for $495. However current Wordstar users who
order version 7.0 by June 30, 1992 not only get the $89 (+ $8.50 s/h)
price, but also get a copy of Correct Quotes, an electronic library
of quotations with over 5,000 quotations.

While version 7.0 is not currently available, it is expected to ship
this month, the company added.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920603/Press Contact: Kristin Keyes, McLean PR for
Wordstar, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public Contact, 800-
227-5609)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUNE 5 Consumer Electronics Show Admits Consumers 06/05/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00004)

Consumer Electronics Show Admits Consumers 06/05/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 5 (NB) -- For the first time in
its 25-year history, the Consumer Electronics Show lived up to its
name this year - it admitted consumers.

The show has been strictly an industry affair since 1967. The first
two days of this year's four-day event were still open to retailers
and manufacturers only. But for the last two days more than 100,000
consumers lined up and plunked down $8-10 dollars to get a look at
the more than 900 exhibits.

What they saw was digital sound equipment, high-definition
television sets, personal computers, video games, mobile telephones,
photo equipment, and video software.

According to Gary Shapiro, VP of the sponsoring Consumer Electronics
Group-Electronic Industries Association, industry sales have dropped
from the double digits in the 1980s to 5.5 percent this year. So
the industry decided to give manufacturers a chance to advertise and
find out what the public thinks about its new offerings.

Some were enthusiastic. According to one visitor, "If you go to the
electronics store, they pressure you a lot into buying something."
None of the items on display were sale. But another visitor was
less impressed. "I've seen most of the products out there before,"
he said. His companion thought there wasn't enough information
about the products, nor information about where to get the items at
the best price.

(Jim Mallory/19920603)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUNE 5 Canada: Unitel Sells Telesat Mobile Stake 06/05/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00005)

Canada: Unitel Sells Telesat Mobile Stake 06/05/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 JUN 5 (NB) -- Unitel Communications
is selling its stake in Telesat Mobile to Telesat Canada, the
controlling shareholder, which was recently acquired by Unitel's
rival Stentor, the consortium of regional telephone companies.

The Canadian government sold its controlling share in Telesat, the
domestic satellite communications carrier, to Stentor in April.
Unitel competes with the telephone companies that make up Stentor
in providing data communications services, and has an application
before federal regulators to compete in providing long-distance
telephone service as well.

It was well known that Unitel was not pleased with the federal
government's decision to sell its Telesat interest to the telephone
companies. However, Peter Janecek, a spokesman for Unitel, denied
that was the reason for selling the stake in Telesat Mobile.

When Canadian Pacific, which is part owner of Unitel, invested in
the launch of Telesat Mobile in 1988, it signed a shareholders'
agreement giving it the right to sell its stake to Telesat at a
fixed price within 60 days after any change in Telesat ownership.
Janecek said the Telesat sale simply provided Unitel with a chance
to sell, "and we took it."

Canadian Pacific transferred its 30-percent stake in Telesat Mobile
to Unitel in 1989.

The shareholders' agreement gives Unitel the right to sell its
Telesat Mobile stake to Telesat for its original investment plus
interest. Unitel has invested more than C$25 million in Telesat,
the company said.

Telesat Mobile was set up to provide mobile voice and data
communications across Canada through a satellite due to be launched
in 1994.

Tension between Unitel and the telephone companies was evident in
the Unitel announcement. A prepared statement quoted Executive
Vice-President Jacques Konig as saying that when Telesat Mobile was
launched, Canadian Pacific was "the only Canadian
telecommunications carrier prepared to step forward and support
TMI.... Even though all Canadian telephone companies had been
offered the opportunity to participate in TMI, they declined."

Konig went on to say that "the focus of Unitel's business today is
the provision of long-distance services across Canada." That
statement suggests Unitel is confident about the decision federal
regulators will make on its application to compete in the
long-distance market. That decision is expected June 12.

(Grant Buckler/19920604/Press Contact: Peter Janecek, Unitel,
416-345-2365)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUNE 5  ****New Chip "Reads" Like Human Eye 06/05/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00006)

 ****New Chip "Reads" Like Human Eye 06/05/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 5 (NB) -- While it's pretty
much expected computers will be able to eventually perform functions
that now must be done by humans, Verifone says it has come up with a
real world application for a neural network chip that can read like a
human eye.

The chip, the I-1000, developed by San Jose, California-based
Synaptics, is the basis of the Verifone unit called the Gemstone Onyx
check reader. Plans for the new unit are for retailers and banks to
help control labor costs by reading checks. Verifone says Gemstone
can read the magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) characters on
virtually all checks in almost any condition, including wrinkled,
folded, or written-over with pen marks.

It's not that there haven't been computers available to do the reading
of the magnetic strips on checks, but the varied placement of the
MICR characters on different checks can cause other units to only
recognize 80 percent of the checks processed. Verifone says tests
conducted by SRI International (formerly Stanford Research Institute)
have shown the Onyx to have an accuracy rate of 99.6 percent.

Part of the advantage of using a neural net chip is it can "learn."
Verifone says the chip was exposed during a computer simulation to
all possible combinations and permutations of MICR characters and
could distinguish good data from bad data, with bad data defined as
that which is blemished by scratches, ink marks or otherwise
disfigured. The chip also learned to read the MICR characters in
different locations on the checks, the company maintains.

Further, the Onyx unit is not particularly sensitive to the rate at
which the check is passed over it. Verifone says new users learned
how to use the Onyx reader after just a few tries of sliding checks
over it and it makes motorized control of the speed of the check over
the scanner unnecessary, eliminating trouble-prone moving parts.

However, Verifone is claiming this is just the beginning -- that the
introduction of these neural network chips could change our lives as
much as the introduction of the first microprocessor did. The company
says even if only the "reading" capability of neural net applications
is tapped, it could dramatically change other document recognition
and processing problems, such as handwriting and thumb print
recognition or the detection of counterfeit money.

Federico Faggin, co-founder and chief executive office of Synaptics
who participated with Verifone in the development of the neural
network chip, said: "As neural net technology evolves and becomes
more generally available, the applications expand until the
imagination becomes the only limit."

Verifone says it plans to market Onyx initially to multi-land
retailers like supermarkets and discount stores, as well as to banks,
and check processing houses. The product is expected to be available
this month, the company added.

Verifone, based in Redwood City, California describes itself as a
provider of Transaction Automation systems for payment processing.
The company says it has shipped more than 2.3 million Transaction
Automation systems in all to over 65 countries worldwide. It says it
was named in Fortune's list of the 100 fastest growing companies and
in Forbes' 200 best small companies.

Synaptics was founded in 1986 and it develops and manufactures
computation components and modules that use a combination of neural
network architectures, adaptive analog VLSI chips, and software.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920604/Press Contact: Mike Sullivan, Wilson
McHenry for Verifone, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUNE 5 GUI Expected To Stimulate Growth In Database Market 06/05/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00007)

GUI Expected To Stimulate Growth In Database Market 06/05/92
PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 5 (NB) -- Research
Alliance has published the results of a survey of individual
developers attending the Third Annual Borland Database Conference in
San Rafael, California. The study, conducted for Borland, which
develops and markets dBASE and Paradox database products, predicts
the database market for personal computers (PCs) will significantly
grow over the next three years.

An overwhelming majority of the developers surveyed (91 percent)
think the demand for PC database applications will increase and 65
percent think the increase will be significant. A 34 percent increase
in sales in the next three years is expected among the developers
surveyed, Research Alliance said.

Most of that growth is predicted to be in current users upgrading to
new versions, but 40 percent is expected from new users, the study
said. The upgrading is expected to occur due to graphically based
products for database applications.

Despite the growth in the graphical windows environment products
predicted, the developers surveyed said DOS-based applications were
their focus for future sales and applications. However, when asked to
rank the importance of the platforms for the future, Windows moved
into the number one slot, followed by DOS and OS/2.

Features ranked by the Borland conference attendees in order of
importance included: graphical user interface; access to data on mini
and mainframe databases; support for mixed platform environments;
client/server; interoperability between database and spreadsheet
applications; interoperability between database and word processing
applications; multimedia support; and interoperability between dBASE
and Paradox.

Out of the 1000 conference attendees, over one third participated in
the survey, Research Alliance maintains.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920604/Press Contact: James Brennan, Research
Alliance, 415-453-2330; Sandra Hawker, Borland, tel [phone], fax
408-439-9273)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUNE 5 Japanese Govt Offers 5th Generation Computer Software For Free 06/05/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(TYO)(00008)

Japanese Govt Offers 5th Generation Computer Software For Free 06/05/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 5 (NB) -- The Japanese Ministry of
International Trade and Industry (MITI) says it will provide
computer programs, which were made for the prototype 5th generation
computer, free of charge. These programs are designed to simulate the
operation of the human brain.

According to the Ministry, more than 70 computer programs
were developed. Currently, these programs run on only its 5th
generation computer, however the Ministry is preparing to rewrite
these programs for other computers in the near future. The 5th
generation computer and the programs were actually developed by
the New Generation Computer Development Project Association,
called "ICOT." This was a ten-year project started in
1982 which ends this month. The government has spent a whopping 54
billion yen ($415 million) on this project. An actual 5th
generation computer was not developed, but a prototype parallel
processing machine was -- called the "PIM" -- which
operates with more than 100 processors. The programs that simulate
the human brain were also developed. So, the project leaders say all
the money spent on the project was justified.

The government initially planned to license these programs
to Japanese and overseas firms for certain copyright fees. However,
the government has given up this plan and has decided to distribute
them for free as a contribution to worldwide computer development.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920602/Press Contact: ICOT, [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUNE 5 Japan: NIFTY's Telecom Word Processor, NEC Rate Cuts 06/05/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00009)

Japan: NIFTY's Telecom Word Processor, NEC Rate Cuts 06/05/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 5 (NB) -- Japan's major personal computer
network firm NIFTY has developed a word processor for
telecommunication. This word processor was jointly developed with
Fujitsu, which is a parent firm of NIFTY.

NIFTY's latest telecommunication-oriented word processor is called
the "OASYS 30-LX405", which is Fujitsu's top-of-the-line word
processor in the OASYS family. This word processor is equipped with
a telecommunication program and a modem. With the telecom program
"Autocom," novice users can easily access the NIFTY-Serve personal
computer network, an affiliate of CompuServe. All they have to do
is to hook the socket into the telephone line and hit the key
according to the menu instruction on the screen.

The OASYS 30-LX405 is sold at 228,000 yen ($1,750).

Meanwhile, Japan's rival NEC personal computer network "PC-VAN" has
cut digital access charges on its network by 25 percent. NEC
used to charge 80 yen (60 cents) per minute for 9,600 bps
connection, but it has reduced the price to 60 yen (45 cents) per
minute. NEC aims to gain more 9,600 bps users.

Currently, it is offered via INS net 64, which is NTT's ISDN
(integrated services digital network) network. So far, there are
only 13 nodes throughout Japan, but NEC is preparing to increase
it to 60 nodes by the end of this year.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920602/Press Contact: NIFTY, [phone]
NEC PC-VAN, [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUNE 5 Borland Says Paradox Faster In Multiuser Than Fox 06/05/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00010)

Borland Says Paradox Faster In Multiuser Than Fox 06/05/92
PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 5 (NB) -- Borland says new
Paradox version 4.0 is the fastest relational database for the IBM or
compatible personal computer (PC). The new version is an average of
10 times faster than the previous version and Borland is boasting the
product beat other relational multiuser database products, including
Fox Software's Foxpro/Lan and Database, in bench mark tests.

The benchmark tests were Multiuser Database Program tests conducted
by National Software Testing Laboratories (NSTL) in which Borland
says Paradox 4.0 achieved the highest overall rating with a score of
7.9 out of 10. In specific categories Paradox 4.0 was rated at 9.0 in
overall power, and 9.8 in performance.

The new version has a Windows-like interface with mouse support,
pull-down menus, resizeable windows, dialog boxes, and an enhanced
Paradox Application Language for writing custom Paradox applications,
Borland said. Paradox also supports the DOS Protected Mode Interface
(DPMI) memory management used in Microsoft Windows, which gives
Paradox better speed and performance when running under Windows, the
company added. Paradox also supports memo fields and a new data type
Borland calls Binary Large Object (BLOb) which can contain any type
of binary data, including graphics, sound, and multimedia files.

Foxpro, from Fox Software which is being purchased by Microsoft, has
had a reputation for being fast and Window-like as well. Foxpro has
also had support for memo fields for some time.

The problem is Paradox is not fully compatible with the .DBF file
format, also known as the dBASE standard, an excepted standard for
database information, while Foxpro is fully compatible. However,
Paradox has been capable of export and import of .DBF format files
since version 2.0, Borland technical support told Newsbytes. While it
can be argued the .DBF format could be improved upon, it is the most
widely accepted and supported format.

In an attempt to gain that compatibility, Borland last year bought
Ashton-Tate, the company credited with introducing the database
software type to the business world. Borland is also marketing
and continuing to develop dBASE

Borland made the announcements concerning Paradox 4.0 at its
Developers Conference in Palm Springs. The first three days of the
conference focused on Paradox and the remainder of the conference
on dBASE, Borland said.

Borland, located in Scotts Valley, California, is a
developer of object-oriented business software and programming
languages and offers products such as Borland C++, Turbo Pascal,
dBASE, Quattro Pro, and Objectvision.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920602/Press Contact: Allison Niday, Borland, tel
408-439-4872)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUNE 5  ****World's Smallest Memory Chip Element Developed 06/05/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00011)

 ****World's Smallest Memory Chip Element Developed 06/05/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 5 (NB) -- Hitachi claims to have developed
the world's smallest chip element, and claims it can be
applied to a 256 megabit dynamic random access memory (DRAM).

This memory element is only 0.72 square micron -- one micron is
0.001 millimeter. Hitachi says the manufacturing cost of this chip
element could be inexpensive because it is produced with
ultraviolet rays, which is much less costly than laser rays.

Many chipmakers are developing 256 megabit chips, but Hitachi's
latest memory chip element is important because it has
applied a conventional technology which is being used for 16
megabit and 64 megabit DRAMs.

With this technology, Hitachi is confident that it will be able
to invest less money to produce next-generation chips. In fact,
next-generation chip design and manufacturing costs are
increasingly a burden for many chip makers.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920603/Press Contact: Hitachi, +81-3-3258-
2057)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUNE 5 NEC Links With Micron On Chips Sales 06/05/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00012)

NEC Links With Micron On Chips Sales 06/05/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 5 (NB) -- NEC has announced
a basic agreement with Idaho-based memory Micron Technology
in which both firms will supply each other with memory chips.
The alliance is seen as one way to reduce Japan-U.S. memory chip
friction.

NEC will supply Micron with 16 megabit and 4 megabit DRAM chips
(9 x 18 bit versions), slow processing versions of 256 kilobit
static RAMs (SRAM), and 1 megabit SRAMs. Micron Technology will
supply NEC with 1 megabit DRAMs, 4 megabit DRAMs (1 x 4 bit
versions), video RAMs and fast processing versions of 256 kilobit
SRAMs. Both firms will supply these products on OEM (original
equipment manufacturer) basis, and they will sell the chips under
their own brand names.

The actual agreement is expected to be signed in July and the start
of the arrangement will take place in August.

Micron Technology is currently selling chips in Japan through
Sanyo Electric. But it says last year's sales were about 1.3
billion yen ($10 million), which is only 2 percent of Micron's
total sales. Micron expects to sell more through NEC this time.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920603/Press Contact: NEC, [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUNE 5 Apple Japan Cuts Macintosh Prices 06/05/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(TYO)(00013)

Apple Japan Cuts Macintosh Prices 06/05/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 5 (NB) -- Apple Computer Japan has lowered
the prices of Macintosh models by average 20 percent. At the same
time, Apple Computer has released new versions of its notebook-type
personal computer, the Powerbook.

Some 20 different Apple products including eight Macintosh
models are cut in price. The Classic II with a 4 megabit
memory was lowered from 298,000 yen ($2,300) to 238,000 yen
($1,800). The IIsi's price was cut from 588,000 yen ($4,500)
to 498,000 yen ($3,800).

The prices of the Quadra, the Powerbook, and 12-inch color monitors
were also cut.

The new Japanese version of the Powerbook 140 and the 170 cost
between 598,000 yen ($4,600) and 808,000 yen ($6,200).

Meanwhile, the price of the Macintosh Classic is now quite a
bargain. At Akihabara electronics shopping mall, the 4-megabit
memory version is sold at around 120,000 yen ($920).

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920603/Press Contact: Apple Computer, Japan,
 [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUNE 5 TI Submicron CMS Gate Arrays For Low Voltage Apps 06/05/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00014)

TI Submicron CMS Gate Arrays For Low Voltage Apps 06/05/92
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1992 JUN 5 (NB) -- Texas Instruments announced
its first low voltage optimized family of gate arrays. The
devices are designed to meet the needs of telecommunications,
portable personal computers and personal communication systems
manufacturers.

This broad series of submicron CMOS application specific
integrated circuits (ASICs) have been designed specifically
for low voltage operation and efficient implementation of
memory functions. The low voltage TGC1000LV and the TGC1000
gate arrays offer up to 455,000 gates with 70 percent
utilization.

"Low voltage CMOS gate arrays are a requirement for battery-
powered systems such as portable PCs and personal
communication systems," said Gilbert Wai, semiconductors
manager of Texas Instruments Hong Kong Ltd.

"Low voltage operation reduces system power requirements,
making it possible to improve products through increased
reliability, reduced size, weight and cost, enhanced
functional capabilities and extended battery life."

The TGC1000LV CMOS gate array provides the lowest power
dissipation rated at 0.8 microwatts per megahertz per gate,
resulting in reduced packaging and system costs, TI says. The
TGC1000LV achieves up to three times the battery life for
portable and personal communication systems and up to 70 percent
less power dissipation over five volt operations.
"Reducing power dissipation is as important to the designers
of many line-powered applications as it is to those
developing battery-powered systems," noted Wai.

In developing the TGC1000LV series, TI has improved the low
voltage performance of the sea-of-gates (SOG) architecture
by producing an innovative CMOS base cell and optimizing the
proven EPIC CMOS process. The new base cell provides
reliable performance in high speed, high density memory
structures and in low power logic gates when operated from
supplies as low as 2.7 volts.

"Manufacturers prefer the SOG memory implementation because
of its flexibility and minimum cycle time, which results
from fewer mask levels," said Wai. "However, the
conventional base cell does not provide effective memory
density, reliable memory functionality or reasonable memory
performance when powered by low-voltage supplies."

The new TI base cell is useful in systems based on the JEDEC
regulated voltage standard of 3.3 volts +/- 10%, in those
based on the JEDEC/JC-16 proposed standard for low voltage,
battery operated systems as low as 2.7 volts, and on the
five volt +/- 10% supply of standard applications.

"The new base cell is the most efficient yet reported when
it comes to implementing memory," said Wai. "It requires
just one gate per bit of memory and delivers maximum
performance, density and a faster manufacturing cycle time."

With the introduction of the TGC1000 gate arrays, TI becomes
the first ASIC supplier to offer designers complementary
CMOS and BiCMOS products. The new, low power TGC1000 CMOS
arrays and the high performance, industry leading TGB1000
BiCMOS arrays share common CAD tools/flows, libraries and
user documentation.

"These tools have been proven over the past two years in
delivering high performance, high density TGB1000 series
BiCMOS designs," said Wai. "What's more, the commonality of
the CAD flows gives system designers the option of beginning
logic design without having to commit to a specific process
technology.

"With this sort of flexibility, designers can make better
informed decisions about the nature of the ASICs they will
use, get the performance their systems need without
overspending, and minimize design cycle time."

TI's open CAD environment supports a broad range of third
party tools to include Mentor, Valid, IKOS and Cadence on
both Sun Microsystems and HP/Apollo platforms.

(Brett Cameron/19920605/Press contact: Euan Barty, Euan Barty
Associates [phone]; HK time is GMT + 8)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUNE 5 Bell Rollout of ISDN Delayed Again 06/05/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00015)

Bell Rollout of ISDN Delayed Again 06/05/92
LIVINGSTON, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 5 (NB) -- A report
from Bellcore, the research consortium for the seven regional Bell
companies, claims 55.6 percent of the Bells' 114.9 million access
lines will be able to have ISDN service by the end of 1994.
Earlier claims from the Bells were that ISDN service would be
available to half the nation's business phones by the end of
1992.

The report took an optimistic view of the delay, claiming the
prediction more than doubles the actual 22.42 percent of the
105.5 million lines where ISDN service was available at the end
of 1991. Projections in individual regions range from 21 percent
to 87 percent. The first call using the National ISDN standard
from Bellcore won't be made until November, however.

National ISDN was proposed a year ago to unify the way the technology
is implemented in switches by Northern Telecom and AT&T, the leading
providers. Both companies announced immediate support for the
standard, but software takes time to rewrite, and firms which
want the service today still must ask what kind of switch to which
they're connecting. Generally, regular ISDN business lines, called
"Basic Rate Interfaces" in the trade, cost 30 percent more than
analog phone lines, offering two digital channels of up to 64,000
bits/second each and a 16,000 bit/second signaling channel, which
can be used for voice, fax, data, or video conferencing, as
required.

The new document also includes plans of Cincinnati Bell Telephone
Company, Rochester Telephone Company, AT&T, and MCI, as well as
testing programs for ISDN telephones, computers, and other ISDN
end-user equipment.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920605/Press Contact: Bellcore, Barbara
Kaufman, 201/740-4324)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUNE 5 Pagenet Wants Pioneer Preference for Voice Paging 06/05/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00016)

Pagenet Wants Pioneer Preference for Voice Paging 06/05/92
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 5 (NB) -- Paging Network, which
does business as Pagenet, filed a petition with the Federal
Communications Commission requesting a "pioneer's preference" to
offer voice paging.

PageNet's proposed service, VoiceNow, allows a subscriber to
receive voice messages on a pager. When the pager receives the
message, it briefly vibrates. The pager stores the voice message
until the subscriber elects to hear it, unlike older voice pagers
which provide the subscriber no options on when to hear a
message. The company estimates the cost for the service will be
$15 to $20 per month, including lease of the pager.

Major competitors, like the SkyTel and MobileComm satellite
paging networks, offer voice paging through a toll-free number.
Messages are left with a central system, which users call when
they're paged. A similar Pagenet offering is called PageMailBox.
Sending actual voice messages over a paging network requires
complex engineering, Pagenet said, if spectrum is to be used
efficiently. The system combines simulcast paging, frequency
re-use, dynamic frequency reallocation techniques, and propagation
modeling. PageNet also wants to apply digital modulation and
voice compression techniques to further optimize spectrum
efficiency.

Pagenet also said it now has over 1.6 million pagers in service,
up from 1,438,983 on March 31. The company said this makes it the
largest and fastest growing paging network in the US, adding it
will add service to Tampa and the Norfolk/Richmond area later
this year. Earlier the company opened new operations in
Dallas/Fort Worth, Atlanta, Sacramento, and Cincinnati/Dayton
and Columbus, Ohio. Other operations which have been announced
but are not yet open include Cleveland/Akron, Ohio, Las Vegas,
Nevada, and Pittsburgh. The company's goal is to be in the most
of the population centers with over one million people by the
mid-1990s. Chief operating officer, Phillip Scott, credited his
company's growth to low prices and good service.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920605/Press Contact: Jenny Haynes, PageNet,
214-985-6986)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUNE 5 AT&T Workers Schedule Job Action 06/05/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00017)

AT&T Workers Schedule Job Action 06/05/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 JUN 5 (NB) -- The Communications
Workers of America scheduled an "electronic picket line" against
AT&T if talks fail to result in a settlement by the close of
business June 5, and union head Morton Bahr said a strike could
still follow against the nation's largest long distance phone
company.

Under the "electronic picket line" concept, workers will send in
proxies authorizing a switch to other long distance carriers,
and seek similar authorizations from members of other unions and
small businesses. The hope is this will hurt AT&T enough to force
a change in its stance. Bahr estimates the cost to AT&T will be
$3-5 million per week. The concept is controversial, however, and
the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which is
also participating in the talks, has yet to confirm it will
participate. One reason is that AT&T's competitors are far less-
heavily unionized, as AT&T spokesmen like to repeat often to the
media. In fact, the picket line is moving business from a
unionized shop to non-union competitors.

Wages and job security are the main issues in the dispute. AT&T
says it is offering a 9.75 percent raise over the three-year life
of the next contract. The union is seeking 13 percent. But Bahr
claims that job security is even more vital. The company is
replacing 6,000 operators with automated systems over the next
few years, and the union wants guarantees its members won't be
laid off. In a press statement, the CWA also said it wants AT&T
to stop using subcontractors and temporary help to fill union
jobs, halt the planned operator layoffs, and stop exporting
manufacturing jobs to foreign countries.

The stakes are especially high in this strike not just for the
CWA and IBEW, but for American unions in general. Under US law,
companies are allowed to permanently replace anyone who goes out
on strike. The idea is that strikers have quit. This policy,
which dates back a decade, was first put in place to save failing
companies, but it has been used increasingly by healthy companies
to break job actions. Earlier this year, Caterpiller ended a 4-
month strike by members of the United Auto Workers by merely
threatening to hire permanent replacement, and conducting some
job interviews.

Moreover, the AT&T settlement will probably be used by the CWA as
a model in talks with six of the seven regional Bell companies,
as well as GTE, during 1992. The 13 percent goal is based on a
contract extension signed by workers with NYNEX, which had
suffered a 4-month strike in 1989.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920605/Press Contact: Jeff Miller, CWA, 202-
434-1172)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUNE 5 MCI Mail Adds Kermit, Zmodem, and 9,600 Service 06/05/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00018)

MCI Mail Adds Kermit, Zmodem, and 9,600 Service 06/05/92
RYE BROOK, NEW YORK, U.S.A. 1992 JUN 5 (NB) -- After years of
promises, MCI Mail is adding support for 9,600 baud modems and
new file transfer protocols in addition to regular ASCII.

The company said that, effective July 1, it will offer support
for the Zmodem and Kermit file transfer protocols, as well as
support for 9,600 baud modems over its regular toll-free lines.
Both Zmodem and Kermit handle error correction on a full-file
basis, as opposed to Xmodem, the most popular such protocol,
which checks file accuracy every 128 bytes. MCI plans to support
other protocols in the coming months. The Kermit protocol is
named after the Muppet frog, while Zmodem was created by Oregon
programmer Chuck Forsberg.

Along with the improved support, MCI said, it is lowering prices.
Its regular price for sending a 500 character message will now be
50 cents, with 10 cents more tacked on for the next 500
characters, 10 cents more added to each succeeding 1,000
characters, up to 10,000, and 5 cents more tacked on for each
succeeding 1,000 characters. As a result, the regular price of
sending a 20,000-character electronic message on the service will
be $2, but that can be cut further with the company's "preferred
pricing" discount plans, which cost $10 per month.

In other news involving MCI, the company said it experienced a
cable cut near Rialto, California, around noon on June 4. This
prevented GTE customers in California whose phones are
presubscribed to MCI from getting 1+ long distance service out of
state, or receive such calls east of Rialto, which is near Palm
Springs. Also, the company signed a deal to serve Mitsubishi,
which had sued AT&T after a hacker used its AT&T PBX to steal
millions in calls from the AT&T network. That deal is worth a
minimum of $5 million.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920605/Press Contact: MCI, 202-887-3000; MCI
Mail, Kane Levene, 914-934-6480; GTE California, Dan Smith, 805-
373-1653)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUNE 5 Motorola, Samsung Enter Wireless Palmtop Race 06/05/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00019)

Motorola, Samsung Enter Wireless Palmtop Race 06/05/92
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, 1992 JUN 5 (NB) -- Motorola
said its Mobile Data division in Canada will work with Samsung
of Korea to launch a palmtop computer with wireless
communications capability. The resulting system, which will use a
pen and compete with so-called "PDAs" from Apple and Tandy,
should be available for display this fall at the Comdex trade
show.

According to the two partners, the palmtop uses a pen, instead of
a keyboard, to enter the data into the computer. The flexibility
of this pen-based computer will give field personnel enhanced
functionality and higher productivity in markets that include
field sales, courier, and public safety. Operating with an
internal Motorola modem, the palmtop can function on both public
and private RF networks. Samsung will begin production in 1993
for sale overseas. Motorola will also sell the new palmtop
computer in North America and international markets.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920605/Press Contact: Motorola Erin Kingston,
604/241-6132; Michael Doheny, 708/576-6931)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUNE 5 Ameritech To Work With Audio Services On Audiotex 06/05/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00020)

Ameritech To Work With Audio Services On Audiotex 06/05/92
TROY, MICHIGAN, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 5 (NB) -- Ameritech
Publishing, a unit of Ameritech, and Audio Services signed a
strategic operating agreement for audiotex services. The deal
provides for joint operations and equal distribution of revenue,
and is the first of its kind for both companies since the
information services restriction of the Modified Final Judgment
were lifted by Judge Harold Greene in July, 1991. The agreement
was effective June 1, 1992.

Previously Audio Services, which is based in Dallas, provided
online information services to Ameritech as a third-party vendor.
Audio Services now will secure service sponsorships, operate the
equipment and provide daily maintenance and quality control.
Audio Services also will store information on its platform and
provide the voice talent to record messages. API will market,
advertise and promote the information service and provide the
hardware, software package and telephone lines. API also will
support on-going product development throughout Indiana,
Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin.

Right now, callers can access API's Touch Four information
guide in the Ameritech telephone directories, by dialing a seven-
digit gateway telephone number and pressing the four-digit code
corresponding to the desired information. Currently, Touch Four
is free to callers within their local calling area. Through Audio
Services' IT Network, Touch Four callers can order tickets,
answer surveys, join a club, or receive product samples or
coupons immediately after accessing information. Audio Services
added it has deals to provide similar services with three other
regional Bell companies, Southwestern Bell, BellSouth and
US West, as well as other customers.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920605/Press Contact: Ameritech, Claudette Z.
Holcomb, 313/524-7448)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUNE 5 Microsoft Previews SQL Server Running Under Windows NT 06/05/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00021)

Microsoft Previews SQL Server Running Under Windows NT 06/05/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 5 (NB) -- Microsoft
previewed its Windows NT and its new database server, both currently
under development, at the Sybase International User Conference in San
Jose, California.

Microsoft says the new database server, also known as SQL (structured
query language) Server will be tightly integrated with the new
Windows NT operating system planned for introduction this year.
Windows NT is a new 32-bit operating system that will not have the
familiar DOS underneath.

Microsoft claims interest in Windows NT and SQL Server is high and is
pointing to the 2,100 attendees preregistered for its July Windows
NT Developer's Conference as proof. Microsoft added that its targeted
number of applicants for the San Francisco conference is 2,500.

The SQL Server Microsoft was demonstrating under Windows NT is based
on the SQL Server 4.2 the company released for OS/2 two months ago.
Microsoft develops its SQL Server products in conjunction with
Sybase, the company added.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920603/Press Contact: Collins Hemingway,
Microsoft, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public Contact, 800-
426-9400)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUNE 5 New For PC: Thunder & Lightening -- VGA, Sound On Single Card 06/05/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00022)

New For PC: Thunder & Lightening -- VGA, Sound On Single Card 06/05/92
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 5 (NB) -- "Thunder and
Lighting" is what Media Vision is calling its newest hardware card
that incorporates high quality video graphics array (VGA) support
with sound.

The Thunder and Lighting card is capable of 24-bit VGA, and offers
16.8 million colors in 640 x 480 pixel resolution, 65,536 colors in
800 x 600 pixel resolution, or 256 colors with 1024 x 768 pixel
resolution. It also supports ergonomic Video Electronics Standards
Association (VESA)-compliant refresh rates up to 72 hertz (Hz), Media
Vision said.

Media Vision says the sound capability of the Thunder and Lightening
is compatible with Sound Blaster and Adlib. It is capable of 11-voice
FM-synthesis and 8-bit digital audio recording and playback. While 8-
bit sound will meet the multimedia personal computer (MPC) standard
developed by the MPC Council, newer sound cards, such as the Creative
Labs Sound Blaster Pro and the Adlib Gold 1000 or 2000, are offering
higher quality 16-bit sound.

However, Media Vision says its strategy is to offer low cost
multimedia computing hardware. Media Vision's president and chief
executive officer, Paul Jain, said in a prepared statement: "The
introduction of Windows 3.1 has now raised the ante for base-level
computing for the mainstream user; all computing from now on is
'multimedia computing.'"

Media Vision added that the Thunder family of sound chips, which are
part of the Thunder and Lightening card, are also available
separately to original equipment manufacturers.

The new card is expected to be available in late June via standard
retail channels and is priced at $349, however company
representatives speculate the card will be discounted by retailers.

Media Vision recently came under fire from its competitor Creative
Labs of Milpitas, California. On May 29 Creative Labs filed suit in
federal district court in San Francisco charging Media Vision
infringed upon Creative Lab's copyrights in software relating to its
Sound Blaster line of audio products.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920602/Press Contact: Abigail Johnson, Roeder-
Johnson, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Claire Merriam, Media
Vision, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUNE 5 New For Macintosh: Update To MacAnalyst 06/05/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00023)

New For Macintosh: Update To MacAnalyst 06/05/92
MARSHALLTOWN, IOWA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 5 (NB) -- Newsbytes has learned
that Excel Software is preparing a maintenance release for their
MacAnalyst and MacDesigner CASE tool packages. This release is
intended to solve some minor bugs that have been discovered in the
latest versions of the two products.

MacAnalyst v3.2 and MacDesigner v3.3 have been shipping now for
about a month or two. The wide distribution of the program has lead
to some users having combinations of hardware and software with
which Excel did not test the program. Consequently some problems
that apparently exist have ended up in the released version. These
problems will be solved by this new release, the firm says. In
particular, Excel found some problems with a combination of an early
release of Apple's System 6 and some of the older Macintoshes.

The new versions will be shipping within a week and will definitely
be sent to all Excel customers who are part of the Update Service.
The company has not decided what to do about customers who are
not part of that service at this time. The new versions will be
labelled MacAnalyst v3.2.2 and MacDesigner v3.3.2.

(Naor Wallach/19920603, Press Contact: Harold Halbleit, Excel Software,
515-752-5359)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUNE 5 Intergraph's Standards-Based Networking Products 06/05/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00024)

Intergraph's Standards-Based Networking Products 06/05/92
HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 5 (NB) -- Intergraph Corporation,
a major player in the CAD/CAM world, has announced an extensive
array of new standards-based network connectivity and
internetworking products.

According to Bruce Imsand, executive vice president of product
development, for the past two years Intergraph has been moving
more and more toward open systems, spurred by growing demand for
products that can be used in heterogeneous enterprise environments.
"Being an open systems vendor means offering products that enhance
a customer's interoperability," he remarked.

Intergraph's new networking products include the Network Management
System (NMS), the FDDI Single Attached Controller for Intergraph's
Series 6000 Workstations, the Token Ring Adapter for Series 2000
Workstations and Servers, and a trio of Ethernet products: the
InterHub Fiber Repeater, Fiber Transceiver, and Intergraph
Communications Server ((ICS) 3000. Also new are a DOS/TCP-IP
connectivity application called TCP/IP and NFS for PCs, and a 3270
emulation product for X-Terminals and Intergraph Workstations.

NMS, a product being OEMed from Netlabs, can manage any network
device that supports Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and
the Internet Advisory Board's Management Information Base (MIB) I
and II specifications. Priced at $15,500, and slated to ship in
June or July, the system runs on Intergraph workstations under X
Windows with the OSF/Motif GUI (graphical user interface), said
John Allen, product manager.

Capabilities of NMS include performance, fault, and configuration
management, user customizable alarms, a clipboard, and an interface
to Informix databases for creating queries, generating reports, and
graphing trends and usage. A discovery feature automatically
identifies devices on the network. Snapshots created by the
discovery facility can be exported to the clipboard for creating
graphical views. Maps or floor plans can then be scanned and
overlaid onto these views.

The new FDDI Single Attached Controller allows Series 6000
workstations and servers to connect to an FDDI concentrator as
single-attached stations. The new product provides a low-cost
alternative to an existing dual attached controller from
Intergraph, stated Allen. "The whole concept behind FDDI is that
you have two rings. If one dies, you get looped onto the
redundant ring. When you're dealing with devices like routers, the
ability to take advantage of both rings is really important, but
for workstations, a single attachment is probably sufficient," he
explained. Priced at $6,000, the product is shipping.

The new Token Ring Adapter enables connectivity between 2000 Series
Workstations and Servers and 4 and 16 Mbps token ring networks.
Scheduled to ship in July at a price of $1,800, the product
supports SNA over TCP/IP. In addition to unveiling the new adapter
for the 2000 Series, Intergraph is also extending SNA capabilities
to its Token Ring Adapter for 6000 Workstations and Servers, noted
Allen. The adapters for the 6000 Series had been previously
upgraded with TCP/IP support.

Intergraph's new ICS 3000 provides 16 serial connections to an
Ethernet network, along with an AUI connector and a parallel
connection that is software selectable between a Centronics and
Dataproducts interface. An optional upgrade offers an extra 16
serial ports. The products support TCP/IP, as well as Serial Line
Internet Protocol (SLIP) and Compressed SLIP (CSLIP), two
capabilities that let remote devices connect to TCP/IP nodes over
the network. The server is priced at $4,300, and the upgrade at
$1,200. Both products are shipping.

The new InterHub Repeater and Fiber Repeater, two more Ethernet
connectivity products, can operate over 62.5/125 and 50/125 micron
fiber as well as thin or thick coaxial cable or twisted pair
wiring. The repeater comes with 8 ST ports for fiber connections,
as well as one BNC port for direct connections through thin wiring
and one AUI port for connections to thick, thin or twisted pair
wiring through the transceiver. The repeater attaches to
transceiver by a drop cable. Two ST ports on the transceiver
supply connectivity to fiber. The repeater is priced at $3,300,
and the transceiver at $500. The products are shipping.

Intergraph's new TCP/IP and NFS for PCs, a package that supports
TCP/IP protocols for file transfer, terminal emulation, electronic
mail, and many other capabilities. "A major benefit to this
product is that it can be run concurrently with network operating
systems like Novell NetWare, Banyan Vines, LAN Manager, and
Pathworks," commented Allen. Being OEMed from FTP Software Inc.,
the package runs on AT-compatible and PS/2 computers, and comes in
versions for Ethernet, Token Ring, X.25, and SLIP. Priced at $500,
the package is available now.

The new 3270 emulation product lets Intergraph and other X-Terminal
workstations connect to IBM host stations through an Intergraph-
based gateway. The SNA Color Graphics Terminal Emulation software
package simulates the screen, status, and keyboard functions of IBM
color graphics terminals, including the 3179-G and 3192-G. The
product allows users to define a number of features, including
status line symbols and fonts, window and icon locations, character
colors and fonts, and cursor format and blink rate. A forms-based,
PC-style file transfer feature is also included. The product is
expected to ship this month. Pricing is $500 to $1,000 per
session.

In addition to the networking products, Intergraph has also
announced plans to resell Hewlett-Packard's DesignJet plotter,
bundled with device drivers for Intergraph's InterPlot network
plotting system. Resale of the inkjet plotter is intended to
provide Intergraph customers with a bigger range of choice in wide
format plotters, the company said. The DesignJet produces
monochrome output of up to 36 inches in width at 300 dpi (dot per
inch) resolution.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920602)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUNE 5 Moscow: C&W Invests In Russian Telecom 06/05/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00025)

Moscow: C&W Invests In Russian Telecom 06/05/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 JUN 5 (NB) -- Cable and Wireless reports
in Moscow that it has purchased a "substantial minority stake"
worth US$4 million, in the SovAm Teleport.

The "substantial minority stake" is between 20 and 50 percent, the C&W
financial manager said. The vice director of SovAm claimed that
three partners in the venture hold approximately equal shares.
Partners include the Institute of Automated Systems of Moscow,
Russia, San Francisco-based Moscow Teleport, and Cable & Wireless
of London, England.

Mr W.A. Jones of C&W's mergers and acquisition department
told Newsbytes that the first talks about the possible C&W
investment in SovAm started last summer. The August 1991 coup and
subsequent governmental and legislation changes did not allow
the agreement to be finalized. "This is the first case here in
Russia when a Western company buys a part of an existing company.
We pioneered in Russia this way of doing business, which is common
in the West but almost unknown here. It required a great
deal of paperwork to fulfill the necessary legal obligations,"
Jones said.

Cable and Wireless involvement will assist SovAm in its planned expansion
of packet switching services to more than 40 cities in the CIS.

C&W has already announced two joint ventures in Nakhodka and Sakhalin in
the Russian Far East, as well as a Metropolitan Communications, the
partnership studying the feasibility of major investment in the phone
system in Central Russia and the Siberian oil mining regions. Mr Jones of
C&W said the announcement of the investment into SovAm is in no way
related to those other announcements.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920604/Press Contact: Peter Eustace, C&W media
relations, phone [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUNE 5 Microsoft Offers MS-Mail Upgrade Path For 3Com Users 06/05/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00026)

Microsoft Offers MS-Mail Upgrade Path For 3Com Users 06/05/92
WOKINGHAM, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 5 (NB) -- Microsoft
believes it has found a way to boost the number of computer users
linking up to Microsoft Mail, its local area network (LAN)
electronic mail (e-mail) software -- offer a low-cost upgrade to
MS-Mail to users of 3Com networks until the end of June.

The 3+Mail upgrade to 3Com users costs UKP 75 -- around UKP 100
less than the street price of the Microsoft Mail package on its
own. To make life easier for users moving e-mail environments,
Microsoft is bundling a suite of conversion utilities with the
kit free of charge.

Mark Hassall, e-mail product manager with Microsoft, claims that
the conversion utilities suite is designed to allow a smooth
transition for the thousands of 3+Mail installations being
converted to Microsoft Mail. The utilities allow 3+Mail users to
preserve their messages and folders by converting them to
Microsoft Mail for PC Network format.

"We understand how difficult it can be to manage a mail system
upgrade, so we want to give users the tools to evaluate and
implement their upgrade to Microsoft Mail," he explained.

In use, the Microsoft Mail gateway to 3+Mail allows both systems
to co-exist on a single network. Both networks operate seamlessly
on the e-mail front, Microsoft claims.

(Steve Gold/19920605/Press & Public Contact: Microsoft U.K. -
Tel: [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUNE 5 EC Tackles Member State Telecom Monopolies 06/05/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00027)

EC Tackles Member State Telecom Monopolies 06/05/92
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1992 JUN 5 (NB) -- After years of warning
member state governments, the European Commission (EC) has
announced it will publish its plans to tackle the problem of
excessive profits and restricted markets in the European telecom
marketplace later this month.

The root cause of the problem, according to EC officials, are the
state-controlled companies that monopolize the market in their
respective countries.

At the very least, EC officials say they hope to open up the
European telecom market to cheaper international phone calls. In
the longer term, the EC intends to liberalize the European
telecom market to create a "free market" such as exists in the
US and the UK.

Telephone services is now the only area of public services that
the EC has not regulated into a free, if controlled, market.
Plans call to open up the market, forcing, if necessary, member
state governments to open up their markets to intra-European
country competition.

Ironically, the EC's activities could force up the price of
inland trunk calls in certain countries. This is because local
calls have traditionally subsidized trunk calls in the general
telecom market in Europe, much as they did in the 1970s and
early 80s in the US. EC regulation would force the telecom
companies to account for their operations on a local, national
and international call basis.

In the UK, British Telecom has been forced to publish figures
to the appropriate regulatory bodies, detailing its revenues,
costs and profits from all three types of calls. UK regulations
dictate that none of the three groups of calls can cross-
subsidize one another.

(Steve Gold/1990605)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUNE 5 EC Sees End To Bull Share Investigation 06/05/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(00028)

EC Sees End To Bull Share Investigation 06/05/92
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1992 JUN 5 (NB) -- European Commission (EC)
officials have gone on record as saying that they anticipate the
current investigation into Bull's financial affairs should be
over within the next month. The announcement comes as the EC
continues to investigate the circumstances surrounding Bull's
recent decision to raise FF6,600 million through a new share
issue.

EC officials have been investigating Bull to decide whether the
share issue was legal under EC anti-competition rules. EC sources
have been quoted as saying they are unhappy that the share issue
will result in Bull -- a state-controlled company -- gaining an
unfair market advantage over the competition.

If the EC decides, it can block the Bull share issue, since the
administration of the issue would involve government money. This
could place Bull in a difficult situation, forcing it to turn to
the banks and other financial institutions in order to raise cash
capital.

Sir Leon Brittan, the European Commissioner, is quoted as saying
he is undecided on whether the Bull share issue should go ahead. The
Reuters news wire quotes one source as saying that EC officials
have recommended that the EC give the green light to the share
issue, but Brittan's office is still undecided.

(Steve Gold/19920605)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUNE 5 IBM Signs On Dotted Line For Bull Stake 06/05/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00029)

IBM Signs On Dotted Line For Bull Stake 06/05/92
PARIS, FRANCE, 1992 JUN 5 (NB) -- IBM has revealed it has
completed and signed contracts relevant to its side of the FF540
million deal to take a 5.68 percent stake in Bull, the French
electronics and computer company.

Despite this, the deal has yet to be ratified by Bull
shareholders, who will meet at the end of this month to agree to the
share transfer. Bull Chairman Francis Lorentz, however, has said
that shareholder approval is a mere formality.

Even though the company financial arrangements have yet to be
formally agreed by shareholders and cash handed over, IBM
officials say that the technology-sharing aspect of the deal is
starting to produce results. Customers have placed a series of
orders for Bull's DPX/20 range of Unix workstations, which use
IBM's RISC technology -- the first shipments are expected to be
shipping shortly, IBM officials said.

Apart from the cash side of the deal, the emphasis of the
intercompany arrangement calls for Bull to develop a range of computer
systems that use IBM's RISC chip technology, drawing heavily on
Bull's existing microprocessor architecture. Bull will then sell
the computers, equipping them with IBM's AIX version of Unix.

(Steve Gold/19920605)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUNE 5 Lotus Plans dBASE-Compatible Windows Package 06/05/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00030)

Lotus Plans dBASE-Compatible Windows Package 06/05/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 5 (NB) -- Lotus is getting
into the database game too. The company says it is planning to
announce entry-level database products for the Microsoft Windows
graphical user interface based on technology it has licensed from Ace
Software.

Ace Software is the developer of a Windows database product called
Acefile, a dBASE-compatible database product that has been available
since October of last year. The company describes Acefile as a
personal data manager for first-time computer users. The product's
dBASE compatibility allows the user to bring in existing data
generated from a dBASE-compatible product, as well as from Lotus 1-2-
3 or Excel without modification, Ace maintains. Ace added that
Microsoft awarded Acefile the Win Award as one of the best 100
Windows products.

Bruce Johnston, a general manager at Lotus Development, said in a
prepared statement: "We looked at several companies, but found that
AceFile offered the best technical foundation for certain of our
future entry-level products." However, with the recent snatching-up
of companies working on dBASE-compatible products for Windows, the
question arises how many companies were even left to look at?

Last year, Borland purchased Ashton-Tate, the company credited with
the introduction of dBASE and the dBASE standard. This year Microsoft
announced it will purchase Fox Software, a arch-rival of former
Ashton-Tate. And, most recently, Computer Associates bought up
Nantucket, the producers of the dBASE-compatible compiler Clipper.

San Jose, California-based Ace says the deal with Lotus is a non-
exclusive one with worldwide distribution rights, but the companies
declined to release any other details about the agreement.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920605/Press Contact: Lisa Gordon-Miller, S&S
Public Relations for Ace Software, tel [phone], fax 708-291-
1758)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUNE 5 ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 06/05/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00031)

ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 06/05/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 5 (NB) -- Roundup is a brief
look at some computer stories carried in other publications
received here this past week.

June's Boardwatch Magazine explores the ARCHIE database which
tracks 1.5 million Internet bulletin board files and carries a
list of 249 product support BBS. The same issue also carries a
major editorial by the publisher Jack Rickard wherein he
describes his vision of how this country must move from a
manufacturing base to an information-based economy.

The June 1 Computerworld says that layoffs in the IS field are
causing information processor overload.

Bay Area Computer Currents explores "Online Advances" as it takes
a look at the latest in modem hardware and services.

June's Data Based Advisor shows how to hook up graphics,
communications, and other add-ons to a basic database management
system.

Reseller Sources for June looks at laser printers.

Computers in Healthcare puts money on the front cover with a lead
story on making the most of I/S dollars.

July's Macworld has a feature on Apple's new Quadra 950 - the
most powerful computer Apple has ever sold.

The IEEE Spectrum for June looks at X-Ray Lithography.

(John McCormick/19920605)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUNE 5  ****Cyrix's Low-Cost Competitor To The '486 Chip 06/05/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00032)

 ****Cyrix's Low-Cost Competitor To The '486 Chip 06/05/92
RICHARDSON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 5 (NB) -- Cyrix Corporation, the
chip industry David against Intel's Goliath, has cast another stone
from its sling, announcing a 486 microprocessor chip.

The Cx486DLC is the second microprocessor announced by Cyrix this
year. "We said Cyrix would introduce higher performance Cx486
microprocessors. The Cx486DLC is the next milestone on our
processor road map," said Cyrix President Jerry Rogers.

Available in 25, 33 and 40 megahertz clock speeds, the Cyrix
chip is a 486 instruction-set compatible CPU (central processing
unit) with 32-bit internal and external data paths. It incorporates
a one-kilobyte data and instruction cache, and carries a $119 price
tag in 1000-unit lots.

According to Cyrix, when the new chip is combined with Cyrix's
Cx487DLC math coprocessor, the combination offers a performance
factor similar to Intel's 486DX-33 for less than half the price.

Cyrix said the new chip is targeted at the competitive 486 desktop
PC marketplace which has been dominated by Intel's 486DX-33. The
company said it will compete with Intel's chips by offering better
price performance. "There is a huge gap between Intel's 486SX-25 at
$119 and the 486DX-33 at $406. (Our chip) is targeted at this hole
in Intel's price points," said Cyrix VP of marketing, Jim Chapman.

According to Cyrix, benchmarks such as the Byte Excel 3.0
demonstrate the need for FPU performance in 486-class PCs. The
company claims its 25-megahertz 486/487 DLC combination
outperforms the 486SX-25 from Intel by more than a two to one margin
on this test. Company officers say their 40 megahertz combination
bests the Intel 486DX-33 in the same test.

While Cyrix admits that its 486/487DLC combination, at $159,
doesn't outperform Intel's 486DX-33, officers point out that it is less
than half the cost. They also say the 486/487DLC 40 megahertz
combination outperforms the Intel 486DX 33 megahertz chip, and sells
for $199. Cyrix says the Intel chip sells for $406.

Entry into the 486 market can be important for Cyrix. Personal
computer users are always looking for a faster computer, even though
some applications won't benefit much from the increased speed. Word
processing applications, one of the most popular uses for computers
in many offices, doesn't gain much of an advantage.

The 487 family of chips are used in conjunction with the central
processor - in this case the 486 - to speed up math calculations.
Heavy-duty spreadsheets benefit considerably with the addition of a
math co-processor.

Several OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) such as CompuAdd,
Tandon, and Zeos, are targeting their Cyrix-based PCs toward the
mass market and direct channels.

As reported by Newsbytes in mid-May, Texas Instruments signed a
long-term cross-licensing agreement with Cyrix which made it the second
semiconductor company to produce Cyrix chips.

Cyrix said the 25 and 33 megahertz versions of the new chip are in
volume production now, while the 40 megahertz is available in sample
lots now, and production volume shipments are expected in the third
quarter.

When Cyrix announced that the 486SLC chip was designed to fit into a
386SX socket, Intel dropped its prices. It's too early to tell
whether that will happen with the 486 units. Even if prices do drop,
savings to consumers would depend upon whether PC makers passed along
their savings to consumers.

Cyrix spokesperson Michelle Moody declined to be specific, but told
Newsbytes that the company is working on even higher performance
microprocessors. "Stay tuned," said Moody. "We will be introducing
more even this year," she said. Rogers said plans call for even
better performance in 1993.

(Jim Mallory/19920605/Press contact: Michelle Moody, Cyrix,
214-234-8387; Reader contact: 800-441-0604)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUNE 5  ****Users Flock to Pen Expo, "Industry Best" Awards 06/05/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00033)

 ****Users Flock to Pen Expo, "Industry Best" Awards 06/05/92
SANTA CLARA, CA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 5 (NB) -- Some 50 exhibitors and
4000 attendees flocked to Santa Clara for Pen Expo this week -- and
when the four-day event ended yesterday, seven lucky vendors took
home "Industry Best" awards.

Sponsored by Pen Magazine together with the Boston University (BU)
Corporate Education Center, the fest featured keynote speeches by
four top pen computing firm executives, as well as separate
breakout sessions for developers and end users.

There was also on site balloting for the product prizes, conducted
on -- what else? --a pen computer.

"What was really most unusual about this event, though, was the
high proportion of end users among the attendees, and the level of
their interest. There's a very willing market out there, " John
Wagoner, publisher of Pen Magazine, told Newsbytes.

Users made up 60% of those present, he said. Outside of the
structured conference activities, many of them got together into
spontaneous SIGs (special interest groups), discussing the
potential of pen computing in such disparate fields as medicine and
utilities.

Keynote speakers at the event included Jerrold Kaplan, chairman and
founder, Go Corporation; Vern Rayburn, chairman and CEO, Slate;
Kathy Vieth, vice president of IBM's Tablet Systems Division; and
Pradeep Singh, group products manager at Microsoft, said Bob Bevan,
project manager at the Tyngsboro, MA-based BU Corporate Education
Center.

During the breakout sessions, developers heard talks on such topics
as software patents and intellectual property, while users learned
about connectivity, handwriting recognition, and six other
subjects.

And within the exhibition hall, users flocked to try out technology
many had never seen before, stated Wagoner. Together with
developers, the users voted for their favorite products in each of
several pen categories.

The voting was performed on an application developed with PenApps,
running on an NCR 3125 pen computer. "But we used paper as a
backup," noted Wagoner, "just in case." When the votes were tallied,
the 3125 and the IBM ThinkPad wound up in a tie for "Best Pen Tablet,"
according to Wagoner.

The other winners were: Best Pen Operating System: Go! PenPoint;
Best Application Development Environment: Visual Basic;
Best Industry Specific Vertical Application: PenMetrics' Field
Notes; Best Financial Application: Numero, a pen spreadsheet from Pen
Magic; Most Unique Pen Application: InkWare NoteTaker, a pen notepad
with indexing capabilities.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920605)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUNE 5 Review of: The Organizer, version 3.0, 06/05/92



(REVIEW)(IBM)(SYD)(00034)

Review of: The Organizer, version 3.0, 06/05/92

Runs on: PCs using Windows 3 versions

From: Threadz Limited (UK), Tel: [phone],
Fax: [phone]. The company does not currently have a US
distributor, but is actively looking for partners. Contact
company direct for mail order pricing, as well as latest US
distribution information.

Price: UKP 199.

PUMA Rating: 3.0 on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Paul Zucker

Summary: The Organizer is an electronic version of a time
manager system, like FiloFax or DayRunner.

======

REVIEW

======

One of the problems about running lots of applications
under Windows is the memory they use. Unless you've got a
very powerful system with lots of RAM, you can't afford to
leave many applications running all the time. The organizer
is just the sort of application you have to run all the
time or it can't help you.

When you first start it, it's just like having one of those
time manager folders open on your desk. There are sections
for diary, ToDo, lists, Planner, Address book, Notepad and
Anniversary lists. These sections are all customizable, and
you can add new ones as suit you. It's easy to see at a
glance what your obligations are, and you can use it to see
how efficient you are at doing things, by checking your
plans against actual results.

Say the diary alarm says you have to ring Bill at head
office - you can move to his entry in the address book, and
click on his phone number to have your modem make the call
for you. Organizer then opens a phone log which times you
and takes notes of the call, perhaps with a further to-do
note or alarm for follow-up.

The system seems to work well, but we were surprised to
find a couple of limitations. If you start the system after
an alarm should have gone off, it never does. Likewise, if
you shut the system down just before an alarm is due, you
don't get any warning. We would have liked to have seen
some sort of print-out option to get just before going home
for the day, so you have an extension of the electronic
diary to take with you.

It's a network-aware product (site licenses available) and
does things like help schedule meetings between users, via
the network.

All in all, it's a very polished product, but needs some
more development and features.

===========

PUMA RATING

===========

PERFORMANCE: 3. Works well, but could be improved in future
versions.

USEFULNESS: 3. Useful. This eliminates the need to have a general
notepad, address and phone book handy.

MANUAL: 4 Very well produced manual.

AVAILABILITY: 2 New product, so difficult to get hold of. Worth
seeking out.

(Paul Zucker/19920130)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUNE 5 Review of: Microsoft Productivity Pak for Windows 3.1, 06/05/92


(REVIEW)(IBM)(ATL)(00035)

Review of: Microsoft Productivity Pak for Windows 3.1, 06/05/92

Runs on: PC-AT, or 100% compatibles with 1 megabyte RAM using
PC/MS-DOS 3.1 or higher and MS-Windows 3.1. Storage requires
either a 5.25 1.2 megabyte high density or 3.5" 720 kilobyte/low
density and hard disk drive. The graphics need a VGA, EGA,
8514/A, Hercules graphics card, or compatible video graphic
adapter and monitor [color recommended]. Microsoft mouse or
compatible pointing device required.

From: Microsoft Corporation, 1 Microsoft Way, Redmond WA 98052,
206-882-8080.

Price: $59.95

PUMA Rating: 4.0 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: tbass HNDYPRSN, MCI:379-5378 06/05/92

Summary: The Microsoft Productivity Pak for Windows is an
inexpensive way to teach your staff productivity tricks to use
with your new Windows environment. This tutorial only functions
from within MS-Windows version 3.1.

======

REVIEW

======

The Microsoft Productivity Pak for Windows is an interactive
tutorial designed to help the new computer/Windows 3.1 user
understand Windows techniques. It starts with an introduction to
the computer, and performs various tasks within the Windows
environment.

The tutorial has six chapters in a main menu. The chapter titles
are as follows: Getting Started, Windows Essentials, Working With
Applications, Managing Your Files, Organizing Your Work, and
Putting It All Together.

Included in a pretutorial is a nameless chapter on the use of
the computer keyboard and the mouse. This short piece just takes
nine minutes to read, and if you are new to the MS-Windows
environment, it's worth it.

Historical figures such as Leonardo de Vinci, Robin Hood,
Cleopatra, Merlin, and Sherlock Holmes are the instructor/guides
for your journey through Windows 3.1. The process is
entertaining, informative, and fun.

'Getting Started' uses all the guides to introduce the Windows
concept, and to show what topics each chapter covers. It presents
knowledge needed to get the most out of the lessons. This
chapter, also, defines similarities and differences between MS-
DOS and MS-Windows. The total running/learning time is about a
half an hour.

In the 'Windows Essentials' section, Leonardo focuses on the basics
of working with, getting help from, and customizing Windows 3.1.
Leonardo gives you an overview of MS-Windows. He shows you how to
choose commands for, change the size of, and arrange the windows.
Then he tells you how to get help while working within a Windows
application. Finally, Leo covers customizing Windows by using the
control panel. This includes adjusting appearance, software, and
hardware. The customizing section alone takes 45 minutes to go
through, but the entire chapter only takes about an hour.

Queen Cleopatra starts 'Working With Applications' with the
answer to the obvious question, "What is an application?" It
takes six minutes for her to tell you what an application is. She
then shows you how to work with multiple applications, and share
information between them. Cleo goes on to explain how to vary
fonts, print files, and get the most out of your computer's
memory. She entertains you for about an hour, or a little less.

'Managing Your Files and Directories' with Robin Hood is an
interesting adventure. Robin first tells what a directory is
and then tells you how to view, find, and protect your valuable
files and directories. He takes about a 55 minutes to present
these topics.

Merlin shows the magic of Organizing Your Work. He covers
creating and organizing groups of applications within the
Windows environment. The magician dazzles you for a total of 14
minutes adding applications and objects to groups, merrily
showing and telling as he goes.

In 'Putting It All Together' Sherlock Holms has you work on a
case with him. "A Day In The Life of Windows" is the title of
this section and it last for 20 minutes.

This tutorial is attractive and useful.

============

PUMA RATING

============

PERFORMANCE: (4.0) This product works like the proverbial charm
and is attractive to boot. It is entertaining for all captives of
MS-Windows 3.1, both those with Windows experience and those
without.

USEFULNESS: (4.0) The cost of the package is reasonable for a
tutorial. I would recommend that if you are new to Windows, get
the package installed by a friend and use it. Productivity Pak
shows you the way to use Windows 3.1 to your benefit.

MANUAL: (4.0) No manual is needed. The program only needs a short
explanation on installation. The directions for installing and
starting the program is on a small card included in the package.
From Windows 3.1, double click the Icon and you are on your way.

AVAILABILITY: (4.0) Microsoft Productivity Pak for Windows 3.1 is
a direct purchase for suggested retail from Microsoft Sales, at
1-800-426-9400, where VISA, MasterCard, American Express, check
or money order are acceptable. PC-Zone at 1-800-258-8088 has it
in stock for $39.00 and Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American
Express, check or money order are acceptable. PC-Zone sends an
order COD for an added $5.00, but payment must be made via
cashier's check. CompUSA, at 1-800-468-4682, has the Microsoft
Productivity Pak for Windows as a special order, it takes about
two weeks, for $48.00.

(tbass HNDYPRSN/19920521/Press Contact: Microsoft, Bev Auld,
206-936-8192)

#ENDCARD



#CARD :1992 JUN 4 New For Mac: Microsoft Releases Excel 4.0 06/04/92

(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00001)

New For Mac: Microsoft Releases Excel 4.0 06/04/92
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 4 (NB) -- Microsoft
has announced that it is now shipping version 4.0 of Excel, its
spreadsheet program for the Macintosh.

Microsoft said it focused on two primary areas in developing the
latest version of the program. They said they wanted to make
everyday spreadsheet tasks easier, and provide functionality not
previously available in a spreadsheet.

Included in the new features are "drag and drop," "autoformat,"
and "autofill." The program also supports "Apple events," a way to
communicate by allowing one program to use the features of
another without having to re-implement those features.

Drag and drop, now available in a number of programs, makes it
easier to select items then drag them to a new location.

To use Excel 4.0, you need a Mac with at least one megabyte
(MB) of RAM and a hard drive. Excel 4.0 carries a $495 price tag.
Registered owners can upgrade from any earlier version for $99
through the end of September. If you bought Excel 3.0 after
February 15th, you can get a free upgrade, but you will have to
pay the shipping costs.

Microsoft said it will publish Excel 4.0 for the Macintosh in
about a dozen languages, with the French and German versions
scheduled to ship next month.

(Jim Mallory/19920503/Press contact: Monica Harrington,
206-882-8080)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 4 Japan: Errorless Programming System Developed 06/04/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00002)

Japan: Errorless Programming System Developed 06/04/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 4 (NB) -- Toshiba has developed an
automatic software programming system, which the company
claims, produces programs with no bugs or errors.

Toshiba's errorless programming system runs on ICOT's (5th
Generation Computer Development Organization) parallel
processor.

The program is called "Mendels Zone," which is part of the
program- supporting system for ICOT's parallel processing
program named "KL1." It is an object-oriented interactive program,
which allows the user to build a program according to the direction
given by the system.

Programmers usually spend more than half of their programming
time debugging. An errorless program could be a of great
benefit to programmers.

The errorless programming system can be used for almost any
area from controlling programs for nuclear plants to programs
for microcomputers and home electronics appliances.

The Mendels Zone currently operates only on a KL1, but Toshiba
is preparing to rewrite it for the C language or assemblers. The
firm has already tested the program in the C language, and says
it was able to reduce the programming time considerably.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920601/Press Contact: Toshiba,
[phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 4 Japan: CD-I Software Organization Being Created 06/04/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00003)

Japan: CD-I Software Organization Being Created 06/04/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 4 (NB) -- System Producer Associates
will create a joint software development association for CD-I or CD-
interactive, which supports pictorial data, text data, and sound
data. About 10 major software firms and printing firms are
expected to join the association.

CD-I players have been released by Philips and Sony. Matsushita
Electric is also planning to release one this fall. It is considered to
be a primary multimedia device, and many other electronics firms
are thinking of entering the market.

A wide range of technology is required to produce CD-I programs
because it involves three kinds of data including texts, pictures,
and sound. The CD-I player is based on a 68000 processor and
operates on OS-9.

System Producer Associates wants to cooperate with other firms
concerning the production of the software. The firm is planning to
hold a "kick-off" seminar in Tokyo on June 16. It is expected that
the possible participants will get together at this seminar.

To start, the targeted CD-I software will be personnel information
of firms, product catalogs, and brochures of travel agents.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920604/Press Contact: System
Producer Associates, [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 4 Japan: Kyocera Develops 1-2-3 For Its Pocket Organizer 06/04/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00004)

Japan: Kyocera Develops 1-2-3 For Its Pocket Organizer 06/04/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 4 (NB) -- Kyocera has developed a
version of Lotus 1-2-3 for its pocket-type business organizer,
called the "Refalo," jointly with the Tokyo office of Lotus. The
program is provided on an IC card.

The Refalo version of Lotus 1-2-3 is slightly modified. Mainly, the
opening menu is pop-up type. The screen size can be chosen from
three types: 80 columns by 24 lines, 53 by 17, or 40 by 15. The
Refalo version of Lotus 1-2-3 is compatible with ordinary Lotus
1-2-3.

The Refalo is a small pocket-type business organizer. It has many
the business organizing features including a scheduler, an address
book, a word processor, and a calculator. It also supports a
pen-input system. The data can be input with a proprietary electric
pen. Also, the device has an RS-232C port to exchange data
with desktop computers.

Lotus 1-2-3 for the Refalo is sold at 58,000 yen ($450). The
external memory can be provided on IC cards including 64 kilobyte
(KB), 128KB, and 256KB type. The Refalo weighs only 650 grams.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920601/Press Contact: Kyocera,
[phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 4 Hayes Agrees With Rockwell On Escape Sequence Codes 06/04/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00005)

Hayes Agrees With Rockwell On Escape Sequence Codes 06/04/92
UXBRIDGE, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 4 (NB) -- Hayes
has announced it has settled its dispute with Rockwell over the use
of the Hayes escape sequence -- +++ --- which is used in
conjunction with a one second delay at the beginning and end of
string, to switch modems into a local state.

Under an agreement announced this week, Rockwell has taken a
license which will allow users of modems incorporating Rockwell
chipsets to use the Hayes escape sequence with guard time
without infringing on Hayes' patent for the technology.

The Rockwell license is the latest step in a series of discussions
between Hayes and other modem manufacturers over the
use of the patent, known as the Heatherington '302 patent. The
escape sequence first appeared in Hayes' Smartmodem range of
modems in 1981 and, since then, has become a defacto industry
standard.

Hayes caused a stir in the modem marketplace a few years ago
when it announced it was seeking patent fees from other modem
manufacturers over the use of the technology.

Dennis Hayes, Hayes' president and co-founder, said that the
licensing deal confirms Hayes' position over the escape sequence.
"When a major corporation like Rockwell comes to the table and
obtains the use of this patent, it further confirms the importance
of the technology to the industry. By licensing Rockwell, we're
making it easy for all modem manufacturers to use this standard
technology," he said.

Hayes said that the whole escape sequence affair, which has
resulted in legal action against some US modem manufacturers
is a lot more than merely an intellectual rights matter.

"Rather, it's an acknowledgment of industry standards and
practices and Rockwell's support for such standards. Our
business charter is to enable customers to build the very best
products and this agreement is just another step towards that
goal," he said.

(Steve Gold/19920603/Press & Public Contact: Hayes - Tel: 081-
848-1858; Fax: [phone]; email on Internet -
[e-mail])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 4 Talk Show Host Starts Self-Help 900 Line 06/04/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00006)

Talk Show Host Starts Self-Help 900 Line 06/04/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 4 (NB) -- Talk show
host Tony Brown, who made headlines when he announced he had
become a Republican, launched a caller-paid 900 line called the
Buy Freedom 900 Network, a self-help alliance meant to assist
poor, small businesses in urban communities.

Brown, a newspaper columnist and long-time member of the black
elite, surprised many of his colleagues with the announcement,
saying at the time that only free enterprise could bring wealth to
the urban community.

The idea of the new number, which will be handled by AT&T, is to
link callers with businesses, professionals and religious and
community organizations. All businesses listed on the number's
self-help directory, for instance, have agreed to offer a
guaranteed refund to any caller, prompt fulfillment of any offer,
and a discount on any service or product.  There is no obligation
to the caller to make a purchase.  The charge for the calls are
placed on the caller's monthly phone bill.

The number is 1-900-976-6670, and costs what's now a rock-
bottom 99 cents per minute, $1.99 for the first minute. Such
numbers cost under 40 cents per minute to provide, but marketing
costs have sent prices for calling the numbers skyrocketing in
recent years to many dollars per minute. Brown also plans to use
the number to help negotiate loan guarantees for small businesses
and help young, urban poor kids start on the road to
entrepreneurship, according to Brown.

Brown added that Maxine Wilcox, 52, of Sacramento, California
has already won an $8,000 loan from the United Bank of
Philadelphia, that city's only Black-owned bank, to get her bridal
dress business into a storefront location and hire two of her
daughters who are currently on public assistance. Twelve banks
in Sacramento and the Small Business Administration had
previously refused her a loan because of a negative credit report
and the modest amount she needed.

For AT&T, the number represents a chance to demonstrate the
kind of public-spirited campaign it wants to see more of on the 900
exchange, which in the past has been beset by fraud, sex-talk
lines, and trivial services like horoscopes and recordings by
sports stars. To listen to a summary of the entire Buy Freedom
900 Network, call 1-212-575-2389.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920603/Press Contact: Tony Brown
Productions, Paul Brock, 212/575-0876)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 4 Australia: Pay TV Arena Thrown Open 06/04/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00007)

Australia: Pay TV Arena Thrown Open 06/04/92
CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 4 (NB) -- Australia's Prime
Minister Paul Keating dropped a bombshell on the weekend
when he announced his new plans for pay TV in Australia. He
said he now favors a free-for-all approach, not the closed system
that was being planned.

When the new second carrier Optus bought its facilities
they included the domestic satellite carrier Aussat. These
satellites have existing TV transponders for medium-size
dish reception, but the next generation satellites to be
launched over the next year are more powerful and will
allow direct broadcast to small domestic dishes.

Keating said he will remove Optus' exclusive rights to
satellite broadcast and would like to see cheaper delivery
systems such as fiber optic cable and local digital
broadcasting which would have much higher subscriber take-
up. He also feels that there is room for more than one
service provider.

He also said he would agree to up to 45 percent ownership
by existing networks, with a limit of 20 percent for any
one network. Analysts believe this may spell the end for
any new provider as a service based on existing networks
would be up and running much faster.

The existing plan calls for four satellite channels with
two spare channels for expansion or special events.

(Paul Zucker/19920601)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 4 Switzerland To Buy Australian Stock Exchange System 06/04/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00008)

Switzerland To Buy Australian Stock Exchange System 06/04/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 4 (NB) -- Switzerland is buying
a computer system developed by, and for, the Australian Stock
Exchange (ASX). It is the first customer to sign, although a
number of others around the world are negotiating.

It is believed to be a multi-million dollar deal involving
a significant technology transfer. The contract includes
the core Stock Exchange Automated Trading System (SEATS)
and 850 days of training in Switzerland. In Australia the
system runs on two Dec Vax systems, one running completely
"lights out," reducing staff numbers.

ASX IS Manager Rory Collins said the system had operated
for two years with only two minutes loss of connectivity in
that time. The 640 terminals had a 99.7 percent up time.

Advantages given by the system include much greater
throughput for the same staff level, no disadvantage for
geographically isolated brokers, and much easier monitoring
of irregularities. The next system in preparation is CHESS
(clearing house electronic settlement system) for
electronic funds transfer for all settlements.

(Paul Zucker/19920601)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 4 Broderbund Expands Kid Pix Educational Game Line 06/04/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00009)

Broderbund Expands Kid Pix Educational Game Line 06/04/92
NOVATO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 4 (NB) -- Broderbund is
expanding their line of award winning children's drawing programs
known as Kid Pix. The company has introduced a Windows-based
version of Kid Pix, as well as started a new series of Kid Pix
Companion programs with the introduction of a Macintosh version.

The Windows version of Kid Pix incorporates all of the features of
the original Kid Pix that garnered it awards from some of the most
distinguished educational bodies in the nation, including the
1991 Parents' Choice Award. The latest award is the 1992
High/Scope Award given out by the High/Scope Educational
Research Foundation.

Kid Pix Companion is a follow-on module to Kid Pix. At this time,
only the Macintosh version is being introduced although the
company is planning on DOS and Windows versions in the future.

Kid Pix Companion adds more Rubber Stamps for the child's
enjoyment as well as more hidden pictures. It also adds such
features as DrawMe, ColorMe, and a SlideShow. With DrawMe the
program prompts the child of a wacky scene to draw by talking to
him! ColorMe is a computerized version of a coloring book. The
SlideShow allows children to create complete stories right down to
incorporating an audio track.

Kid Pix Companion is retailing for $39.95. No official word has
been received on when the DOS and Windows versions will come
out. However, Newsbytes has learned that August is the company's
target date for the DOS version. Kid Pix for Windows retails for
$59.95. Both products are shipping now.

(Naor Wallach/19920602/Press Contact: Karen Omholt,
Broderbund, 415-382-4639)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 4 CPSR: Can Planned FBI Law Cancel Call Forwarding? 06/04/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(NYC)(00010)

CPSR: Can Planned FBI Law Cancel Call Forwarding? 06/04/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 JUN 4 (NB) -- NYNEX Legislative
Counsel Jeffrey W. Ward, speaking at the Computer Professionals for
Social Responsibility (CPSR) Cryptography and Privacy Conference,
speculates that the proposed digital telephony legislation could
possibly mean the end of such telephone features as call forwarding.

Ward, participating on the panel "Electronic Surveillance and the
Digital Telephony Proposal," with Assistant FBI Director William A.
"Al" Bayze, Janlori Goldman of the ACLU, George Washington
University professor Lance Hoffman, and John Podestra, representing
the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), said that the legislation, if
enacted in its present format, will allow the Justice Department to
require the withdrawal of any telecommunications technology that
impedes the government in carrying out court-ordered wiretaps. Ward
said that the call-forwarding feature, which in its 27 years of existence
has posed difficulties for law enforcement officials, could easily fall into
this category.

At the conclusion of the panel discussion, Newsbytes interviewed FBI
Special Assistant/Legal Alan McDonald, credited by Bayse as being "a
prime drafter of the proposal," as to the accuracy of Ward's contention.
McDonald said: "There is no desire on the part of the government to
cause the withdrawal of any technology or 'dumb down' and advances in
technology. We are saying that we want to deal the new technology in a
manner that allows us to maintain our present capability to carry out
court-ordered search warrants. For every new feature, there must be an
intelligent solution to the problem."

Ward, also speaking to Newsbytes, disagreed with McDonald's
statement, saying: "The legislation specifically says that
telecommunications carriers must remove any impediments within
18 months or face fines. Computer companies and others covered
by the legislation will have three years to comply. If it is too
expensive for features to be brought into compliance, they will be
withdrawn."

John Podestra of Podestra and Associates, representing EFF at the
conference, told Newsbytes that "the legislation is broad enough to
force phone companies to stop offering call forwarding and other
switch-based services but I don't think that the FBI would try to
prohibit these features. What they are looking for is 'switch-based'
solutions which would permit the switch to forward the number first
to a line which could be tapped and then forwarded to the final
destination."

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19920602/Press Contact:
David Banisar, Computer Professionals For Social Responsibility,
202-544-9240 (voice); [e-mail] -- e-mail)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 4 CPSR: Absent NIST Criticized On Cryptography Panel 06/04/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(NYC)(00011)

CPSR: Absent NIST Criticized On Cryptography Panel 06/04/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 JUN 4 (NB) -- A panel,
discussing  the relative merits of cryptography standards, criticized
the National Institute of Standards and Technology both for its
support of the Digital Signal Standard (DSS) and its seeming
reluctance to publicly defend its reasons for supporting the
standard.

The panel, appearing at the 2nd annual Computer Professionals for
Social Responsibility (CPSR) Cryptography and Privacy Conference
and composed of Dorothy Denning, computer science chair,
Georgetown University, Allison Fischer of Fischer International, David
Sobel of CPSR, and Ron Rivest of the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, compared DSS and the signature features of the Rivest,
Shamir, and Adleman standard (RSA) developed at MIT. The
differences were discussed not only from technical vantage point but
also in relation to export trade and public policy implications.

Denning, in the course of explaining the technical design of the two
systems, mentioned that she had invited NIST personnel to the
meeting to  participate in the panel but had been turned down.
Denning also said that NIST personnel had been helpful in
answering questions relating to her impending presentation.

Fischer attacked NIST's role in the controversy, saying that it was
merely parroting the wishes of the National Security Agency (NSA)
which actually designed DSS. Fischer said that DSS is slower, less
secure and that its adoption, over arguments from such firms as IBM,
Microsoft, and General Electric, is putting US firms at a trade
disadvantage. He said: "When NIST announced DSS as a standard
completely different from what was already in effect --RSA, it was
as though it impose 'cubits' as a system to replace the metric
system and then mandated that it be used in all dealings with the
government. It just doesn't make sense."

Fischer added that, since US firms can not export software with
encryption contained within, the entire American industry is losing
business to the Europeans who can distribute the same protection
software that we can use at home but not export.

David Sobol told the group that CPSR, "attempting to bring NSA's
role out into the open," has filed a Freedom of Information suit to try
to bring the reasons behind NSA and NIST's choice of DSS. Sobol
said: "I leave it to the technical people to determine whether DSS is
a good standard or not. I am concerned about the motivation in the
decision to promote DSS."

Riverst said that he was also concerned with the policy side of the
issue. He said: "DSS is a weak standard. It is not what I would want
in a standard -- the point of the issue, however, is that the DSS
proposal has a fundamental cryptography policy underlying it. It calls
for a marginal security standard, one that can be broken with enough
computer power."

Riverst continued: "The important question is how secure a standard
do we want to have? We must decide this. When we do, we can leave
it to the technologists to implement it. It is the policy which must be
agreed on."

In response to a Newsbytes question as to whether any of the
approximately 70 in the room could take NIST's part, John Potter of
Public Signature Co., which has implemented DSS, said that a major
difference in the systems is that DSS is open and is available to
anyone wishing to use it, while RSA is proprietary and requires that
a royally or lease is paid to RSA when the system is used.

Potter then asked who on the panel stood to make money from RSA --
Riverst and Fischer raised their hands. Potter went on to say that it
has never been NIST's intention to make money from distributing RSA.

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/Press Contact:David Banisar,
Computer Professionals For Social Responsibility, 202-544-9240 (voice);
[e-mail] (e-mail)/19920602)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 4 International Phone Update 06/04/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00012)

International Phone Update 06/04/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 4 (NB) -- The worm is
slowly turning on the international phone front, as outside firms
begin investing in the US.

Vitacom signed a deal with Telecommunicaciones de Mexico to link
the two satellite networks. Vitacom's Teleport in Mountain View,
California, handles C-band and Ku-band signals and links them to
the US phone network. The company already has seven Mexican
customers who want digital links to the US, and wants to expand
the number of private digital line customers it has between the
two countries, mainly for phone, data, fax, and video
conferencing services.

Japan offered to help Malaysia expand its networks, building a
satellite teleport which will link to industrial parks and export
zones. Singapore has gained huge advantages in regional trade
from its world-class telecommunications system -- both Malaysia
and Indonesia are struggling to create adequate links with the
world. The fastest way to such links is through satellite relays.

Speaking of Singapore, that country's Singapore Telecom said it
and Comcast of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, will buy the cable
television system serving Cambridge in the United Kingdom. The
two will create a new Comcast subsidiary to pick up the stake,
already approved by local regulators, in the system which is
being built with fiber lines. The Singapore company wants to use
those lines to add phone and data services to the mix. Comcast
also owns cellular phone services, and could use those systems to
provide land-line service for English cellular or PCN microwave
nets. Comcast, however, is best known for its Muzak background
music systems.

Finally, Chile's Compania de Telefonos de Chile S.A. said seven
of its 17 unions went on strike following the end of a two-year
labor agreement. Those workers represent 63 percent of total non-
management personnel. Most of the other 10 unions have settled
their contract disputes -- two have contracts expiring in August.
Disruptions to the network were called minimal. The company's
stock, however, is traded on American exchanges.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920604/Press Contact: Felicia Vonella,
Compania de Telefonos de Chile, 212-688-6840,; Vitacom, Dr.
Fernando Nocedal, 415/968-6900; Marolyn L. Bailey, Comcast,
215-981-7550)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 4 General Instrument Wins Sale For Videocypher 06/04/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00013)

General Instrument Wins Sale For Videocypher 06/04/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 4 (NB) -- While CableLabs,
the cable television research consortium, enters the second
stage of a process which will result in support of an "industry
standard" compression scheme for US satellite-cable
transmissions, the companies seeking that award are working hard
to sell it internationally.

General Instrument came up with a big win for its Digicypher
scheme when it announced that Multivision of Mexico City
agreed to use it. It's the first sale of a satellite-delivered,
compressed-signal system for TV entertainment.

General Instrument's Jerrold and VideoCipher units will supply
technology and hardware enabling Multivision to digitally encode
and compress standard television program signals for
transmission via satellite. The signals will then be relayed to
cable systems and backyard satellite dishes throughout Mexico.

While CableLabs is looking to endorse a scheme offering 4:1
compression, Digicypher offers 10:1 compression, at least of the
NTSC signals currently used by US television stations. It's
thought that CableLabs wants to endorse a scheme that can
handle the same 4:1 compression on HDTV (high definition
television) signals, which offer clearer pictures but require more
bandwidth. Digicypher is also being offered as an HDTV
standard before the Federal Communications Commission. The
Multivision buy will initially be for 6:1 compression.

In addition to seeking a compression scheme, CableLabs also wants
a way to guarantee that signals can't be copied by home video
recorders. Such "copy protection" would allow cable companies to
offer first-run movies and music shows by mega-artists on a pay-
per-view basis, knowing piracy problems are eliminated. The usual
method for offering such copy protection includes varying the
speed at which a picture is transmitted. Instead of sending
everything at 30 frames per second, parts might be sent at 29 or
31 frames per second. Human eyes can't tell the difference, but
mechanical video recorders can't adjust and get snow.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920604/Press Contact: Bernie Windon
General Instrument, 312-541-5030)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 4 Ameritech Goes To Variable Rates On Credit Card 06/04/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00014)

Ameritech Goes To Variable Rates On Credit Card 06/04/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 4 (NB) -- Ameritech
followed AT&T's long-time lead and moved to variable rates on its
credit card. The company began offering the Complete MasterCard,
a combined credit and telephone calling card, through Household
Bank, a unit of Household Finance, last year.

New rates will vary monthly, based on the prime rate. AT&T's
rates are set at 9.8 percent over prime, and change when AT&T
decides it's necessary. Ameritech also is offering a two-tiered
structure that charges a lower interest rate on balances over
$2,000.

For purchases made after July 1, the new interest rates will be
14.9 percent for balances $2,000 and up, and 17.4 percent for
balances under $2,000. Previously, interest rates were 16.8
percent for balances $2,000 and up, 18.8 percent for balances
between $1,000 and $1,999, and 19.8 percent for balances under
$1,000. Ameritech is also looking to offer discounts on goods
bought with its card to increase consumer balances.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920604/Press Contact: Steve Ford,
Ameritech, 312-750-5205)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 4 GEnie Offers QuickBid Govt Bidding Service 06/04/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00015)

GEnie Offers QuickBid Govt Bidding Service 06/04/92
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 4 (NB) -- GE
Information Services and CACI International are teaming up to
create a new on-line service that will provide comprehensive
bidding services to US government contractors.

QuickBid, a CACI-created software product, will be offered
through both the GEnie consumer service and EDI Express
invoicing service.

GEnie now has 350,000 members, GEIS said. With QuickBid,
government suppliers nationwide will be able to electronically
search US government requests for quotations lists, compete
and submit quotations, receive purchase orders, and track their
win/loss rates.

Another CACI software product, Sacons-EDI, will be mounted to
allow government purchasing officials to post their requests for
quotes on an  electronic bulletin board, receive quotes from
vendors, and transmit their purchase orders electronically.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920604/Press Contact: John H. Baker,
CACI, 703-841-7800)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 4 ATC, LDDS To Merge 06/04/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00016)

ATC, LDDS To Merge 06/04/92
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 4 (NB) -- Advanced
Telecommunications and LDDS, two acquisition-minded long
distance phone companies, agreed to a stock-swap merger valued
at $500 million.

LDDS will be the surviving entity in the merger, with ATC
stockholders receiving 0.83 of a share for each of their shares.
However, it's still not clear how the two managements will fit
together, or where the resulting company will be based. LDDS is
based in Jackson, Mississippi, home of the two largest satellite-
paging companies. Advanced's headquarters city of Atlanta is
considered more convenient. However, only a small number of
Advanced's employees, mainly top managers, are based in the city.
The best hint is that six of the new company's board members will
be from LDDS, five from ATC, indicating the Mississippi company
will dominate.

Trade in Advanced stock was briefly halted on the NASD, then went
up $3.50 per share to reflect the price on the deal. But at least
one analyst downgraded it to neutral from outperform after the
deal was announced, thinking it was now fully-valued. Ironically
Williams Companies, which had been a rumored buyer of ATC, but
apparently was never in the running, had its stock upgraded to a
buy by analysts following the deal.

LDDS now provides long distance service to 27 contiguous states
in the Southeast, Southwest and Midwest. Advanced also has
international service, as well as a digital offering aimed at credit
card authorization systems, and a calling card product.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920604/Press Contact: LDDS
Communications, Bernard J. Ebbers, 601/364-7000; Advanced
Telecommunications, Stephen E. Raville, 404/261-5885)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 4  ****America Online Introduces Internet Access 06/04/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00017)

 ****America Online Introduces Internet Access 06/04/92
VIENNA, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 4 (NB) -- America Online
is now offering an Internet gateway to its subscribers, at no extra
charge. The new gateway allows for the transfer of messages to
CompuServe, MCI Mail, AT&T Mail, AppleLink, Sprint Mail and
other Internet-connected systems, without requiring a separate
account on those services.

Despite all the hoopla over the X.500 standard, which would offer
an addressing scheme to link services over X.400, it seems that
the Internet system is becoming a de facto standard for linking
disparate systems. America Online's address on the Internet will
be aol.com, and any Internet subscriber can request an AOL
start-up kit with a note to info aol.com.

In addition to the major on-line services, a small number of
bulletin boards, notably Canada Remote, now offer Internet
access. Such access is usually lumped in with regular on-line
charges for customers, making it far more cost-effective than
X.400 services, which by agreement are pegged at 15 cents
per 1,000 characters.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920604/Press Contact: Liz Sara, America
Online, 703-883-1503)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 4 Reuters Takes A Third Stake In French Software Co 06/04/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00018)

Reuters Takes A Third Stake In French Software Co 06/04/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 4 (NB) -- Reuters has announced
it has taken a one third stake in Effix Systemes, the French
software company that supplies software for Reuters' dealing room
systems in Europe. Terms of the deal have not been revealed.

Effix is the major supplier of system software for use with the
various Reuters news and information feeds. Reuters acts as a
dealer when installing its service into dealing rooms, buying in
hardware from third-party suppliers, as well as software from
companies like Effix, and making the bulk of its profits from the
ongoing use of its services.

As part of the deal, Reuters has signed a technology exchange
deal with Effix, which allows both companies' research and
development staff to cooperate on existing and future products.

Announcing the deal, Peter Job, Reuters' chief executive, said
that the investment in Effix was logical. "We are strengthening
our association with Effix because it has proved an innovative
and reliable developer with whom we are to cooperate long-term,"
he said.

(Steve Gold/19920604/Press & Public Contact: 071-250-1122)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 4  ****Finnish Authorities Upset Over Russian Virus Carrier 06/04/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(00019)

 ****Finnish Authorities Upset Over Russian Virus Carrier 06/04/92
HELSINKI, FINLAND, 1992 JUN 4 (NB) -- Authorities in Finland
have revealed they are holding a Russian traveling on an allegedly
forged British passport. What interested authorities more,
however, was the fact that he was carrying disks that contained
at least two types of computer virus programs.

According to the Reuters news wire, the Russian arrived in
Finland on May 19 and was subsequently taken into custody by
police in connection with theft from a shop. Police discovered
that disks in his possession contained the Michelangelo and
Stoned virus programs.

Technically, the Russian could be charged under Finnish law if he
knowingly passed on the virus programs to third parties.
According to Reuters, he knew that the virus programs were on
the disks and claimed to have an anti-virus program to negate the
effects of the virus. Finnish police say that his anti-virus program
was old and of little use against the modern PC virus programs.

Finnish police are currently debating what to do with the man.
His main crime, Newsbytes notes, is being involved in shop theft
rather than computer crime, which appears to an incidental fact.

Finland is rather sensitive to the actions of foreign nationals
at the moment, particularly Russians. Last month, secret service
operatives arrested and expelled a Soviet couple who were found
to be traveling on forged British passports. Officials have not
said whether this latest incident is connected with the Russian
incident of two weeks ago.

(Steve Gold/19920604)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 4  ****COCOM Allows Fiber Optic Exports To Soviet Bloc 06/04/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(00020)

 ****COCOM Allows Fiber Optic Exports To Soviet Bloc 06/04/92
PARIS, FRANCE, 1992 JUN 4 (NB) -- The Coordinating Committee
for Multilateral Export Controls (COCOM) has announced it is
allowing fiber optic technology to be exported to Russia and other
former Soviet Bloc countries.

The change in export regulations comes in the wake of a
continually relaxing attitude towards computer technology
exports. Only a few years ago, sales of anything better than an
8086/8088-based PC to Russia was banned -- now even 80486-
based machines are allowed.

Analysts say that the primary reason for the relaxation of the
technology export rules was only partly due to the easing of
relations between East and West. Observers have noticed that
high technology machines are already being manufactured in
Russia and its former satellites, meaning that if the West did not
gain a sales foothold, then the market could be lost forever.

COCOM was set up in the early 1960s, when the Cold War
between East and West -- as exemplified by the Berlin Wall -
intensified. The idea of the trade organization was to limit
technology exports from the West to the East so that, if a conflict
occurred, the West would not be hit by its own technology.

COCOM is not relaxing all its rules on fiber optic technology
however. The aim is to assist former Eastern bloc countries in
updating their communication links. COCOM officials are quoted
as saying they do not want to see coast-to-coast fiber optic links
in Russia -- they prefer to see fiber optic technology used to
upgrade existing links.

Despite industry expectations, COCOM will not be disbanded.
Instead, it will continue to oversee all high-tech exports from
West to East, issuing approval notices to major transactions.

(Steve Gold/19920604)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 4 Ziffnet Now Available On Prodigy 06/04/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00021)

Ziffnet Now Available On Prodigy 06/04/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 4 (NB) -- A
special "kernel" of Ziffnet's service, already available on CompuServe,
is now available on the Prodigy service.

Prodigy is pricing "Ziffnet for Prodigy" among its "custom choice"
services at $14.95 per month. That price will give users three hours
of service. Additional hours cost $6 per hour. Prodigy's regular price
is $12.95 per month for unlimited hourly usage, with some
messaging surcharges.

Perhaps most important, Prodigy spokesman Steve Hein told
Newsbytes, is that this is the first time general-purpose downloads
are being allowed on the service. "We have always had
downloading of company financial charts on Custom Choice, and
in March we downloaded the Symantec anti-Michelangelo virus for
free," he said. The service also retains the Prodigy look-and-feel,
with ads on each "page," and does not offer users the opportunity
to upload files.

Bill Doyle of Ziffnet told Newsbytes that both the CompuServe and
Prodigy Ziffnet offerings are "massaged" at the company's
Cambridge, Massachusetts offices, and uploaded virtually
simultaneously to the two networks. "What's available on Prodigy
is the core set of what's on CompuServe," he added. "We've got
the entire Public Brand Software library, 2,000 plus titles.
We've got some PC Magazine utilities. We've got hundreds of
buying-advice articles, Editors' Choices, Mose Valuable Product
listings, questions to ask when buying that can be found on
CompuServe. We also have hundreds of technical tip articles
from the tips and techniques section of Ziffnet."

"We do not have things like the full text database of Computer
Library, the health database, or any uploading capability.
Prodigy members won't be able to upload their own favorite
shareware. And there's no shareware beyond PBS and some
Ziffnet stuff." Newsbytes is also not included in the Ziffnet for
Prodigy offering, Doyle said.

There is one offering that will be on Ziffnet for Prodigy that's
not on the CompuServe service, Doyle added. That's Wolfenstein,
a game program, which is available for downloading.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920604/Press Contact: Bill Doyle, Ziffnet,
617-252-5265; Steve Hein, Prodigy, 914-993-8789)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 4 ****Digital Plans New Manufacturing Plant For Alpha Chips 06/04/9



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TOR)(00022)

 ****Digital Plans New Manufacturing Plant For Alpha Chips 06/04/92
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 4 (NB) --
Digital Equipment has announced plans to build a 526,000 square-
foot semiconductor research and manufacturing plant in Hudson,
Massachusetts. The plant will produce future versions of Digital's
Alpha line of microprocessors.

The cost of the plant, code-named Fab-6 because it will be DEC's
sixth semiconductor plant, is estimated at about $425 million,
company spokesman Richard Price said. The plant is due to be
finished in 1994, and manufacturing of advanced sub-half micron
Alpha chips is to begin in 1996.

Right now, Digital makes Alpha chips in an existing plant in
Hudson and one in South Queensferry, Scotland. The next
generation will also be produced in these facilities.

Because of the complexity of making chips, Price told
Newsbytes, "it is more cost-effective to build a new facility than
to retrofit an old one."

While Alpha production will eventually move out of the existing
Hudson plant, Price said, it has not been decided whether the plant
will continue to be used for other purposes. Current personnel will
staff the new plant and DEC said it has no plans for new hiring.

Digital said the new plant will be extremely complex and planning
has been a major effort, including an extensive environmental
permit process with the state of Massachusetts.

Introduced in late February, the Alpha chips use a 64-bit reduced
instruction set computing (RISC) architecture. Digital claims they
are the fastest microprocessors in the world. Digital plans to
build its next generation of computers around the chips, as well
as selling the technology to other companies for use in their
products.

(Grant Buckler/19920603/Press Contact: Richard Price, Digital
Equipment, 508-493-2743)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 4  ****Lotus Licenses Windows Database Technology 06/04/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00023)

 ****Lotus Licenses Windows Database Technology 06/04/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 4 (NB) --
Lotus Development has licensed AceFile for Windows, a flat-file
database product from Ace Software of San Jose, California. Lotus
intends to use the AceFile technology in future products.

A statement from Lotus described the AceFile technology as
a "technical foundation for certain of our future entry-level products."

The license is non-exclusive with worldwide distribution rights.
Suneel Kelkar, vice-president of marketing at Ace Software, said
his company will continue to sell AceFile and does not expect any
conflict with Lotus' plans. Lotus plans to incorporate the technology
into other products, not sell the current AceFile package, he said.
No other terms of the pact were disclosed.

AceFile can read files created by dBase, the widely used PC
database program, as well as files created by other applications
packages including Lotus' 1-2-3 spreadsheet package. However,
AceFile is a simple file management package, not a programmable
database management system meant for application development
as dBase is, a spokeswoman for the company said.

The announcement thus should not be seen as another in the
direct line that includes Microsoft's purchase of Fox Software and
Computer Associates' buyout of Nantucket Corp., both of which
make database packages that are compatible with and direct
competitors to dBase. However, the move could play a role in
Lotus' plans to enter the Windows database market, an area that
is expected to boom in the coming year.

(Grant Buckler/19920604/Press Contact: Lisa Gordon-Miller, S & S
Public Relations for Ace, 708-291-1616; Bruce Johnston, Lotus
Development, 617-577-8500)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 4  ****IBM Canada To Sell Clones Through Separate Unit 06/04/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00024)

 ****IBM Canada To Sell Clones Through Separate Unit 06/04/92
MARKHAM, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 JUN 4 (NB) -- When is an
IBM personal computer not an IBM personal computer? When it's
an Ambra, sold by a wholly owned subsidiary of IBM Canada but
bearing no IBM nameplate.

IBM Canada has announced the formation of ExperComp Services
Ltd., a new, small company 100 -percent owned by IBM Canada.
ExperComp will sell the Ambra personal computer line, which was
also launched in the United Kingdom and is due to appear in France
shortly, IBM Canada said.

It had been rumored for some time that IBM would launch a low-
price line of personal computers under a different brand name. IBM
officials in the United States had told Newsbytes earlier that the
company planned such a move in Europe, though there was no
advance warning from IBM that Canada was also being considered.

IBM Canada spokesman Stan Didzbalis said the first Ambra
machines are being manufactured "offshore," but that manufacturing
in North America and possibly even in Canada is being considered
for the future.

To be sold with pre-loaded spreadsheet, word processing, and
database software, the Ambra PCs will carry prices starting at
C$1,600. ExperComp plans to offer free on-site service and support
for one year, plus a toll-free telephone help line. The first Ambra
machines are to be available in Canada late in August, the
company said.

Although earlier rumors suggested IBM might sell its low-price line
by mail-order, ExperComp has instead signed up two national
distributors, Merisel Canada of Concord, Ontario, and Hartco
Enterprises of Montreal.

ExperComp will start off with five employees at its offices in
Markham, Ontario, a Toronto suburb where IBM Canada is also
based. Andre Turgeon of IBM Canada is serving as acting chief
operating officer while the company searches for a president and
chief executive.

(Grant Buckler/19920604/Press Contact: Stan Didzbalis, IBM
Canada, 800-563-2139 or 416-474-3900, Jeffrey Goodman or Kate
Jobling, Goodman Communications for ExperComp, 416-924-9100)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 4  ****Miniscribe Fraud Suit Settlement Announced 06/04/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEN)(00025)

 ****Miniscribe Fraud Suit Settlement Announced 06/04/92
LONGMONT, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 4 (NB) -- Accounting
firms, company executives and investment bankers have agreed to
pay more than $128 million to settle fraud charges in the case of
now defunct disk drive maker Miniscribe.

Gregg Ruegsegger, the attorney representing the Miniscribe trustee,
has announced that an agreement in principle has been reached
with the more than 60 plaintiffs involved in the suits. The deal still has
to be approved by a federal judge in Denver and the US Bankruptcy
judge overseeing Miniscribe's liquidation. However, Ruegsegger says
he doesn't expect any problems. "We think it's a good settlement
and a good deal for the estate," he said.

Under terms of the agreement, shareholders and creditors will only
get about twelve cents on the dollar compared to the one billion
dollars they were seeking in damages.

Miniscribe filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the federal
Bankruptcy Code in January of 1990. The company's estate will
use the settlement to pay of creditors in the bankruptcy
proceedings and to make cash settlements to shareholders.

The defendants in the suit were charged with falsifying Miniscribe's
financial records and concealing the company's sagging revenues
throughout the late 1980's. Among allegations were that inventory
records were inflated and bricks were shipped instead of computer
equipment. The accounting firm of Coopers & Lybrand was alleged
to have adjusted audits to meet earnings projections.

The settlement is believed to be the largest civil settlement of its
kind in Colorado. Details of how the money will be paid out were
not disclosed, but $80 million will go into the company's
bankruptcy estate to pay off creditors, while another $40 million
will go to holders of Miniscribe common stock. Payments will be
made over a four year period.

(Jim Mallory/19920604)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 4 Microsoft Hosts First Latin American Distributor Conference 06/04/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00026)

Microsoft Hosts First Latin American Distributor Conference 06/04/92
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 4 (NB) -- More than
60 distributors from the major Latin American markets begin a four-
day strategy and planning conference at Microsoft's headquarters
today.

Participants in the conference include directors, presidents, and
VPs from Microsoft's key distribution partners in the region, the
company said.

While other company's have been looking to Europe for their next big
market, Microsoft says Latin America is the next high-growth area.
"Any company looking for global leadership should see Latin
America as a high-growth business opportunity," said Orlando
Ayala, Microsoft director of Latin America.

Microsoft said the conference will feature presentations by senior
Microsoft marketing executives on systems strategy, applications
strategy, and the incorporation of multimedia and pen support into
the Microsoft Windows operating system. Other sessions will cover
messaging, desktop applications usability, and the outlook for the
industry in Latin America and the world.

In other Microsoft news, shareholders approved a reduction in the
par value of its common stock. The previously announced 3-for-2
stock split will take place on June 15th. Prior to the split,
Microsoft had about 180 million shares outstanding, and will have
about 270 million shares.

A company spokesperson said the change is an accounting
procedure necessary to ensure that the stock split is "net neutral."
Acting at the company's annual meeting, the shareholders reduced
the par value of each common share by one-third and to avoid any
dilutive effect the split would have had. Certificates representing the
split shares will be mailed to shareholders in mid-June.

(Jim Mallory/19920604/Press contact: Francoise Martin, Microsoft,
206-882-8080; Reader contact: Microsoft, 800-426-9400)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 4  ****Motorola, Samsung To Produce Pen PC 06/04/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00027)

 ****Motorola, Samsung To Produce Pen PC 06/04/92
SCHAUMBURG, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 4 (NB) -- Motorola
and Samsung Electronics have announced that they will jointly
develop a palmtop computer that will be able to read handwritten
instructions and send the data via radio to a host computer.

The palmtop, weighing slightly over two pounds, will use a pen
instead of a keyboard to enter data into the computer. Under
terms of the agreement, the two companies hope to complete
development by the end of 1992. Korea-based Samsung said it
plans to begin production next year for sales in overseas markets
through the networks of both Samsung and Motorola.

Jeff Morris, VP of Marketing at Motorola's Mobile Data Division,
told Newsbytes that the palmtop is designed for use primarily by
field service personnel. "It's aimed at the blue collar worker,"
said Morris. He said there are 360 companies in the US that each
have more than 1,000 field engineers doing field service, reading
utility meters, and other similar tasks that would find the unit
useful. Morris told Newsbytes the new system would run both the
Pen for Windows and Penpoint operating systems.

This will be the first time that the Motorola name has appeared on a
computer system of any type. Morris said the 386-based high end
unit will be formally announced at the Comdex trade show in Las
Vegas this fall.

Once the data has been entered by the field user, it can be
transmitted to a host computer via the wireless communications
capability provided by the built-in radio modem developed by
Motorola. A number of nationwide public and private networks
exist or are in development that could handle the data transfer,
according to Morris.

While Samsung handles the overseas sales of the system,
Motorola will sell it to both private and public sector companies in
the US and in the international market. In addition to transfer of
data collected by field engineers, it can also provide mobile users
a link to database information on a host computer and relay
electronic mail.

(Jim Mallory/19920604/Press contact: Jeff Morris, Motorola,
604-241-6147)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 4 CPSR: Technology Panel Rips US Export Policy 6/04/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(NYC)(00028)

CPSR: Technology Panel Rips US Export Policy 6/04/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 JUN 4 (NB) -- A panel of
computer industry figures, speaking at the Computer Professionals
for Social Responsibility (CPSR) Cryptography and Privacy Conference,
severely criticized the current regulations of the Department of State
that restrict the export of computer equipment and software containing
cryptography.

The panel, moderated by Bob Rarog of Digital Equipment and
composed of: Lee Stanton, GE Information Services; John Byrne,
American Bankers Association; Karen Casser, Software Publishers
Association (SPA); John Gilmore, Cygnus Support; and Addison
Fischer, Fischer International, contended that the policy causes
American firms to compete at a disadvantage in the world economy.

Rarog traced the history of government restriction, saying that,
although the licensing is the responsibility of Department of State,
the National Security Agency (NSA) reviews all requests. The NSA,
he said, takes the position that the policy is required to protect
United States security interests. Rarog also referred to a National
Research Council Report that states that there is over control in this
area and that the capability of developing encryption software is
already present throughout the world.

Rarog said that the present policy puts his firm, Digital Equipment,
at a disadvantage in not being able to provide the same level of security
on systems distributed internationally that they do on domestic units.
He said when our competitors in Europe offer a fully featured system
with security features built-in, we are at a disadvantage. What happens
now, at times, is that the customer buys the system from us and then
goes someplace locally to add security features -- the same ones that
a domestic firm in the United States could buy in the US."

Stanton agreed with Rarog's comments about a competitive
disadvantage, saying: "Two major European bond trading firms have
told us that they will be leaving our service because they regard our
security as inadaquate. I agree with them and would certainly like to
be able to meet their requirements but, under the existing rules, I
cannot. Under the present circumstances, we are actually a threat to
our clients because we cannot provide the proper safeguards against
their data being read or altered. We must re-examine this policy."

Software Publishing's Casser said: "Export controls do not work; they
are counter-productive to the interests of our industry. Software
publishers are losing money because they cannot compete in other
countries because of the absence of security features. Additionally,
many companies are now producing two versions of their product: one
with security features for domestic use and one, without, for export.
This is wasteful and expensive."

Casser said that an amendment (H.R. 3489) offered by
Representative Levine of California to the Export Administration Act
would seemingly solve the problem as it seeks to move the
responsibility for control of mass market software (including software
with encryption capabilities) to the provisions of the Export
Administration Act from the Arms Export Act. Casser said that she
does not have much hope for its passage in the amended format
because the President has threatened to veto the bill if the
amendment is not removed.

Gilmore, a member of the board of the directors of the Electronic
Frontier Foundation (EFF), said: "My concern is of a civil liberties
nature. The result of export controls is to deny privacy to United
States citizens. It is not economically feasible for companies to build
two products - 1 for domestic and 1 for abroad - so the companies do
not produce software that guarantees privacy. What that means is
that this technology is not available to ordinary citizens."

Gilmore continued: "Are these controls effective? Not really.We at
EFF are trying to develop a Unix public domain program with DES --
we have applied to the Department of State and are currently in
limbo. In the meantime, however, I have signed onto systems in
Finland and France and have downloaded software that does the
same thing -- I can download it but, under our regulations, I
couldn't upload it even to the same systems. It doesn't seem to
make much sense."

Gilmore later told Newsbytes that EFF is in the process of
attempting to discuss these concerns directly with the NSA.

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/Press Contact:David Banisar,
Computer Professionals For Social Responsibility, 202-544-9240 (voice);
[e-mail] (e-mail)/19920604)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 4 Egghead Posts Record-Breaking Year, Plans More Stores 06/04/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00029)

Egghead Posts Record-Breaking Year, Plans More Stores 06/04/92
ISSAQUAH, WASHINGTON, U.S.A. 1992 JUN 4 (NB) --  In the wake
of a record-breaking fiscal year, Egghead Software is planning to add
20 to 40 new stores and five to 10 new corporate/government offices
by March of 1993, Newsbytes has learned.

Since the close of the 1992 fiscal year on March 28, Egghead has
already opened five new stores, and signed leases for another nine,
a public relations spokesperson told Newsbytes. "So we're already
well on our way," she noted.

Yesterday, the company announced earnings of $15.7 million for
the 1992 fiscal year, a figure that compares with $15.4 million for
1991.  Fiscal year sales were $665 million, representing a 28
percent gain over the previous year's sales of $519 million.

The company also reported earnings of $4.2 million for the fourth
quarter of fiscal year 1992, an amount down slightly from the $4.3
million in earnings for the fourth quarter of fiscal 1991.  But sales
for the fourth quarter of 1992 were $155 million, a number 20
percent higher than the $129 million in sales for the fourth
quarter of 1991.

For the 1992 fiscal year, sales reached a record high of $665
million, up 28 percent over the $519 million in sales for fiscal
1991.

Matthew J. Griffin, president and CEO, attributed the sales
increases to strong performance by sales personnel, together
with new product introductions, including Microsoft's and IBM's
promotions of DOS 5.0.

In releasing its results, Egghead emphasized that both the year
end and fourth quarter figures for fiscal 1992 were impacted by
income tax increases.  Income taxes for fiscal 1992 were $9.6
million for fiscal 1992, in comparison to $1.2 million for fiscal 1991,
and $2.3 million for fourth quarter fiscal 1992, in contrast to $1.1
million for fourth quarter fiscal 1992, the company said.

Griffin maintained that improved operating efficiencies and cost
controls, as well as the higher sales, were responsible for the
generally positive financial statement.  Over the 1992 fiscal year,
selling, general, and administrative costs dropped from 13.3
percent of sales to 12.7 percent of sales, the company reported.

During that period, Egghead added seven new corporate and
government sales offices, and five new stores. In addition, though,
ten stores were closed.

The Egghead spokesperson told Newsbytes that the store closings
of the last fiscal year represented a realignment that was performed
in preparation for the planned major retail expansion.

So far this fiscal year, Egghead has opened two new stores in
Milwaukee, WI, and one each in Las Vegas, NV, Tucson, AZ, and
West Palm Beach, FL.  Leases have been signed for two stores in
Indianapolis, IN, and one apiece in San Antonio, TX; and Austin, TX;
Richmond and Virginia Beach, VA; Albuquerque, NM; Fresno, CA;
and Altamonte Springs, FL.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920604; Press contact, Megan McKenzie,
Egghead, tel [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 4 $50 Billion Market For Portable Computers Projected 06/04/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00030)

$50 Billion Market For Portable Computers Projected 06/04/92
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 4 (NB) -- Small
computers, especially pen computers, will continue to be the rage if
a new survey predicting whopping growth in the sub-laptop portable
computers and peripherals market between now and 1988 is correct.
The market has been more than doubling in size every year and is
expected to reach over $50 billion in revenues by 1998, research firm
Market Intelligence said, but coming changes may force a decline
in some peripherals.

The market is currently at $3.5 billion, but is predicted to expand
to $10 billion by 1993, MI said. The predicted compound annual
growth rate of close to 50 percent is expected to push the market
to the $50 billion mark in 1998, the survey said.

In regional predictions, the US is expected to get a smaller piece of
the small computer pie, with a decline from 64 percent in 1991, to
52 percent in 1998. But MI says even in declining market share the
growth is expected to generate increased US sales, going from $2
billion in 1991 to $25 billion in 1998. Europe, however, will get a
slightly bigger piece, going from 10 to 18 percent in the same
period, MI said.

Pen computers are expected to grow the fastest, to 85 percent of
the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) worldwide by 1998, though
now they have the smallest base, MI maintains. Notebook computers
are also expected to show wide spread future growth.

The MI survey says the selling point for the small machines is
expected to shift from the current emphasis on size and battery life
to the number of functions for multiple tasks and ease-of-use.
Expected enhancements include paging, remote wireless networking,
as well as modem and fax capability.

The forms the computer comes in are expected to change as well,
ranging from pocket-sized consumer models to classroom
blackboards.

Decreases in certain peripherals are expected as well. The
incorporation of pointing devices, such as pens, are expected to
drive down the current demand for portable pointers, which as
been growing at triple-digit rates, MI said.

Hard drives are expected to also face slowing demand as memory
cards catch up and overtake the mass storage demand and as
data compression products that double disk capacity become
more prevalent, MI maintains.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920604/Press Contact: Amy Arnell, Market
Research, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD


#CARD :1992 JUN 3 Data General Enhances Eclipse MV With Disk Array 06/03/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00001)

Data General Enhances Eclipse MV With Disk Array 06/03/92
WANCHAI, HONG KONG, 1992 JUN 3 (NB) --  Data General Asia
North has announced a new High Availability Disk Array (HADA)
mass storage subsystem for the company's Eclipse MV/Family
computer systems, including the new sixth generation Eclipse
MV/Family.

HADA/MV lowers the cost of system ownership by providing a high
degree of fault tolerance that virtually eliminates system downtime
due to disk failure, claims the company.

HADA/MV, the newest member of Data General's disk array family,
is a 2.5 gigabyte (GB) to 30 GB high performance, transaction-
oriented disk array which supports multiple levels of RAID (redundant
array of inexpensive disk) technology. According to the company,
the HADA/MV is the only disk array subsystem that provides
concurrent support for RAID O, RAID 1, and RAID 5 levels, as well
as independent drive operation.

An intelligent input/output processor (IOP), housed in the array
cabinet, supports multi-RAID configurations simultaneously so that
users can customize the subsystem to best meet their
requirements.

"HADA/MV provides users with high availability and improved I/O
performance at a very low cost, using industry-standard SCSI-2 disk
drives," said Elton Lee, Data General's regional customer services
manager. "This subsystem is ideal for MV customers with mission-
critical applications that require high systems availability, fault-
tolerance, and storage scalability.  HADA/MV's redundant
components and repair-under-power capabilities provide users with
virtually uninterrupted operation."

The company claims that HADA/MV's intelligent IOP controller,
multiple spindles, and data striping combine to deliver high I/O rates.
When configured as a RAID 1 group for high "write" applications or
RAID 5 group high "read" applications, HADA/MV continues to
operate without any loss of data during a single drive or bus failure.

In RAID 5 configurations, data parity automatically reconstructs the
failed drive's data once the drive is replaced.  Redundant IOPs
eliminate controllers as a "point of failure."

HADA/MV is designed for configuration flexibility and for scalable
storage capability.  It supports both 1.0 gigabyte and 500 megabyte
Winchester disk drives to meet the performance and capacity
requirements for most application environments.

The system can be configured to include in a single HADA/MV to
provide module redundancy in the event of an IOP failure or to
support dual-ported configurations.  HADA/MV can house up to 30
individual drives in a single cabinet for a maximum capacity of
30 GB.

The system provides virtually uninterrupted operation via redundant
disk and tape drives, interfaces, buses, and cooling and power
options and customer repair-under-power disk drives, tape drives,
and IOPs. These features make it easy for users to maintain, and
contribute to increased system availability, claims the company.

The system will be available in June, 1992.

(Brett Cameron/19920530/Press contact: Daniel Ng, Data General
Asia North, tel [phone];HK time is GMT + 8)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 3 Hong Kong: Comshare Software Manages City Poly Dept 06/03/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00002)

Hong Kong: Comshare Software Manages City Poly Dept 06/03/92
KOWLOONTONG, HONG KONG, 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- Forty
department heads and senior administrators at the City Polytechnic
of Hong Kong are to use Comshare's Commander Executive
Information System (EIS) to manage budgets, track student
enrollment, and monitor staff workload.

The software will be supplied by Comshare's local distributor, COL
Ltd., under a contract valued at approximately HK$1 million.

The installation of Commander follows a decision to delegate
budget authority to the heads of individual departments, according
to John Dockerill, City Polytechnic's Associate Director
(Resources).

"Budget delegation is not difficult in itself, but it means that the
departments immediately have a requirement for much more
management information than they have available at the moment,"
he said. "Our administrative applications are largely computerized
already, but until now, there has been no need to deliver them
to the departments in readily available on-line form. Not all
our end users are familiar with computers, so we needed a
system that was easy to use, provided good information and
presented it in an attractive way."

Using a mouse in conjunction with Commander's color
graphical user interface, non-technical users will be able
to delve into central databases running on the City Polytechnic's
Digital Equipment VAX6240 administrative system.

They will access the central computer from IBM compatible
PCs. These computers, already linked to their own departmental
networks, will be able to switch to a separate EIS network with its
own Digital VAX 3100 server.

By mid-summer, the first application will be operational,
enabling department heads to allocate their budgets, then
monitor actual spending against their projections as the
academic year progresses.

The second application will help departments to project and
monitor student numbers in different courses, and to plan
resources accordingly. Also on the drawing board is an
application that will help administrators to monitor staff/student
ratios, analyze staff contact hours and calculate unit costs per
student.

Further in the future, Commander may be used to simplify an
existing application -- tracking student registrations during
the summer enrollment period. The EIS would help staff to
analyze places offered, student turn-up and numbers accepted
course by course.

Limited student access to the EIS - but not the administrative
applications - will also be permitted.

According to Management Information Officer George Harrison,
Commander demonstrated significant advantages over three
other systems considered by City Polytechnic.

"Commander runs well on the VAX platform, which cannot be
said of every EIS," said Harrison. "It enables users to build
models using information from existing databases, without
having to develop new systems. To build a customized
interrogation system would be extremely expensive and time-
consuming. Commander is very cost-effective and its presentation
techniques are impressive."

Commander applications are being developed jointly by COL
and City Polytechnic staff. An advisory group of end users
will ensure that the information available is pertinent and the
applications easy to use.

"It's important to standardize the screen formats and the
ways that users navigate through the system," said Harrison.
"We'll be developing a small manual for end users and we will
offer some training on demand, but the system is so easy to
use that no real training is required - just familiarization."

(Brett Cameron/19920530/Press contact: Mike Keaton, (COL)
Ltd., Tel: [phone]; HK time is GMT + 8)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 3 Australia: AOTC's Melbourne HQ Decision A Boon For State 06/03/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00003)

Australia: AOTC's Melbourne HQ Decision A Boon For State 06/03/92
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- AOTC (Australian
and Overseas Telecommunications Corporation), the newly merged
Telecom and OTC, has chosen Melbourne as its main base of
operations. The Premier of Victoria, Joan Kirner, welcomed the
decision, claiming it as a victory due to her push to have the base
in Melbourne.

The decision almost reverses AOTC's January announcement that
the operations would be split between Sydney and Melbourne.
Although some operations would be based in Sydney, most would
be based in Melbourne, making it the effective headquarters of AOTC.
Melbourne was the site of the head office of Telecom, with Sydney
being OTC's main base.

The decision on which divisions would be in Melbourne or Sydney
was made based on where suppliers and customers were closest
to. AOTC's Melbourne operations will cover the Commercial and
Consumer, Network Products, and Enterprises units, as well as
the Telecom Research Laboratories. The Corporate and
Government, and International units will be based in Sydney.

"What we are signaling is that we are committing long-term for
the major business units that make up AOTC to be headquartered
in Melbourne," Frank Blount, chief executive officer of AOTC, said
at the announcement.

To further strengthen Melbourne's grip, Blount said he will spend
66 percent of his time there, with 20 percent spent in Sydney,
and the balance divided up amongst the other capital cities.

(Sean McNamara/19920512)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 3 Australia: OTCI Tries To Step Into Russian Market 06/03/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00004)

Australia: OTCI Tries To Step Into Russian Market 06/03/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- The international arm of
AOTC, OTCI (OTC International), is aiming to establish a satellite
network for the Russian Far East. OTCI business manager, Michael
Cahill, will be at a week-long conference at Irkutsk, on the shores
of Lake Baikal, to promote OTCI achievements in the area and to
show what the company is capable of.

Cahill represents the only foreign telecommunications agency
present at the conference, and will be pushing OTCI's ability to
supply the Russian provinces with domestic and international
services through DAMA-Net. DAMA-Net allows users to pay only
for the satellite time they use by using a system called "demand
assigned multiple access."

This also has the advantage of freeing the telecommunications
carrier from having to lease satellite time. OTCI is hoping its
recent establishment of international telephone services for the
Central-Asian republic of Kazakhstan will curry favor with the
authorities present at the conference.

The Kazakhstan deal will see the establishment of 60 international
circuits via an Indian Ocean satellite by September, as well as a
new digital international exchange. BY joining up with existing
telecommunications authorities, OTCI will be able to provide
103,000 existing subscribers to a far superior international system
"just by plugging them into an advanced satellite earth station
facility," Cahill said.

(Sean McNamara/19920512)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 3 Australian Psychiatric Database To Aid Diagnosis 06/03/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00005)

Australian Psychiatric Database To Aid Diagnosis 06/03/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- A locally developed
database system for psychiatric patients has won a federal
government grant to aid its completion. The database, Clinical
Information System for Psychiatry will also work in conjunction
with a module which will aid diagnosis of patients.

The grant of AUS$26,933 was awarded to the University of New
South Wales (NSW) Clinical Research Unit for Anxiety Disorders.
Confidential patient data is protected by encryption, and only those
responsible for a particular patient's care can access the records.
Access is via PINs (personal identification numbers), and a trace is
kept on which files are accessed by individual PINs.

Even before the completion of the database, it is claimed to be the
world's largest computerized mental health patient record system,
with 100 clinics throughout NSW and Victoria using the system.

It is expected that once the revised system is finished, other
states will join the database. The diagnosis module and the
encryption are seen by project head, Gavin Andrews, as the
greatest advantages over CISP's rivals.

The federal minister for Health, Brian Howe, said at the
announcement: "CISP could also give us a comprehensive picture
of both the nature of mental health problems and disorders within
areas/regions and ultimately within and across states."

(Sean McNamara/19920512)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 3 Australia: Tasmanian Museum First To Use Vidediscs 06/03/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SYD)(00006)

Australia: Tasmanian Museum First To Use Vidediscs 06/03/92
LAUNCESTON, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- The Queen
Victoria Museum and Art Gallery in Launceston, Tasmania, has
become Australia's first museum to link its entire collection to a
videodisc.

The museum, like many others in Australia, uses the Titan
Information Management System to record data on its collection,
but in the case of the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery,
this information is linked to a visual database on videodisc.

The system allows researchers and library users to sort through
information on exhibits and photographs, as well as print a copy
of an image of the item through a coin operated printer, without
touching the original. The videodisc was developed as part of the
museum's strategy to automate as much of its operations as
possible.

Almost all of its natural history collections are entered into the
Titan database and are available to researchers and curators
on-line. With other areas of the museum also automated, it has
become one of the most technologically advanced in Australia.

Plans are also underway to begin linking other Tasmanian
museums into the Titan database via a wide area network, thereby
providing similar services across the island state. Titan is a post-
relational database which has extensive multimedia facilities,
making it ideal for use with videodiscs.

(Sean McNamara/19920512)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 3 Micro Logic Offers Upgrade To Lotus Agenda Users 06/03/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00007)

Micro Logic Offers Upgrade To Lotus Agenda Users 06/03/92
HACKENSACK, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 3 (NB) --
Micro Logic Corp., in a promotion it refers to as a "Lotus Agenda
Abandonment Upgrade," is offering more than a 50 percent price
discount to owners of Agenda that order Micro Logic's Info Select
Product.

Under the offer, Agenda owners that send in the title page from
their Agenda manuals will receive the $149.95 product for $69.95
(plus $4.95 shipping and handling). Announcing the offer, Micro
Logic President James Lewis said: "Agenda users who attempted
the long learning curve will appreciate getting started with Info
Select in as little as 15 minutes."

Questioned by Newsbytes, Lewis said that Agenda users will not
be able to transfer their existing Agenda data files into Info
Select because of the "involved structure that Agenda users. Our
format is much more free form than Lotus'."

Lewis also emphasized the ease of getting into Info Select, saying:
"We feel that Info Select is 10 times easier to learn than Agenda.
We have learned a lot from our experience as the first to have a
real random information processor with our earlier product --
Toronado. You learn from real-world experience and we certainly
have that. I expect us to be at the top of the PIM market as the
market develops."

Lewis also told Newsbytes that the Windows version of Info
Select  is expected at "the end of the summer."

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19920529/Press
Contact: Richard Leeds, Computer Product Introductions Corp.,
206-451-9788)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 3  ****IBM Adds Multi-processor PS/2 Server 06/03/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00008)

 ****IBM Adds Multi-processor PS/2 Server 06/03/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 3 (NB) --
Playing catch-up to arch-rival Compaq and a handful of other PC
manufacturers, IBM has extended its line of personal computer
servers with the PS/2 Server 295, the first PS/2 model to allow for
multiple processors. The Server 295 will be offered with a choice
of one or two Intel 486DX processors, running at 33 or 50
megahertz (MHz).

A design that places the processors on plug-in modules will make it
possible to use even more powerful chips in the Server 295 as they
become available, IBM spokeswoman Tara Sexton told Newsbytes.

Sexton agreed that the Server 295 will compete with the Systempro,
which was the first multi-processor personal computer and took PCs
into a new league when Compaq introduced it in 1989. IBM
compares the power of the Server 295 to that of minicomputers.

Sexton said the Server 295 is meant for client-server computing, in
which users at desktop workstations request not only data but
processing services from the central server. In contrast, other IBM
servers such as the PS/2 Model 57, Model 90, and Model 95 are
meant mainly to be used as file servers whose job is to store data,
or as print servers.

IBM said the system will offer sophisticated system administration
capabilities and a large quantity of heavy-duty disk storage. In
addition, the Server 295 offers safeguards such as "hot disk
swapping," in which a problem disk can be replaced without
shutting down the system, and redundant elements such as dual
power supplies.

It features dual Micro Channel buses with a total of 12 expansion
slots and a high-speed inter-processor bus that can transmit 64-bit
data at 200 megabytes (MB) per second, IBM said.

The Server 295 is the first fruit of a development alliance between
IBM and Parallan Computer. To be available in October, it will come
with the OS/2 operating system, 32 MB of error checking and
correcting (ECC) memory, a dual-channel Small Computer Systems
Interface (SCSI) adapter, and a 1.44 MB, 3.5-inch diskette drive.
The machine can be configured to meet customers' orders, IBM
said.

Equipped with a single 33 MHz 486 processor, the Server 295
will sell for $29,060. A version with a 50 MHz 486 chip will
cost $34,060.

(Grant Buckler/19920602/Press Contact: Tara Sexton, IBM,
914-642-4662)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 3 Strifler Group First In Series Of Systemhouse Buyouts 06/03/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00009)

Strifler Group First In Series Of Systemhouse Buyouts 06/03/92
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- SHL
Systemhouse, a Canadian systems integrator, has purchased The
Strifler Group, a Texas-based information technology consulting
firm. The purchase is the first in a series Systemhouse plans
across the United States, said John Bunnell, executive vice-
president.

The Strifler Group is a small consulting firm focusing on open
systems and client-server computing. Bunnell said Systemhouse
is negotiating the purchase of several such firms in an effort to
build its presence in the client-server and open systems
marketplace.

This market is a relatively young one in which there are a number
of small companies just starting to outgrow their founders' ability
to run them, Bunnell said, and his company is "taking advantage
of that as part of our over-all growth strategy."

The Strifler Group acquisition is a "jump-start" for Systemhouse's
Central Operations group, based in Dallas. Bunnell told
Newsbytes he started the group as a "one-man office" in February,
and the acquisition of Strifler, all of whose employees will come to
Systemhouse, boosts the group to 50 people.

The Strifler Group employees will form the "whole middle tier" of
the group, Bunnell said, and some additional staff are also being
hired.

Full terms of the agreement have not been released, but Bunnell
said it was a stock-swap transaction worth "well over $4 million."
Strifler had 1991 revenues of about $4 million.

Stan Strifler, president and founder of The Strifler Group, will
become director of systems integration in Systemhouse's
Central Operations.

(Grant Buckler/19920602/Press Contact: John Bunnell,
Systemhouse, 214-369-5456)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 3 New For PC: Delrina Shipping DosFax Pro 06/03/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00010)

New For PC: Delrina Shipping DosFax Pro 06/03/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- Delrina
Technology has begun shipping DosFax Pro, the plain-DOS
version of its WinFax Pro facsimile software for Windows.

DosFax Pro is fax communication software that runs on the DOS
operating system. Company spokesman Josef Zancowicz said it
is essentially a DOS version of WinFax Pro, Delrina's popular fax
communications software that requires the Microsoft Windows
operating environment.

DosFax Pro includes scheduling and fax broadcasting features
and the ability to attach documents from various DOS applications.
It works with any Sendfax, Class I, or Class II fax modem, Delrina
officials said.

According to Delrina, the software provides pop-up menus and
graphic dialog boxes. It works like a printer driver, so that sending
a fax is essentially like printing a document. HP LaserJet Series II
and Epson printer emulations make faxes sent to any Group III fax
machine look as if they were laser printed, the manufacturer said.

Files from different DOS applications can be combined into a
multi-page document for distribution to one or more people, with a
personalized cover sheet for each addressee, according to Delrina.
The software can also add company logos and other graphics to
cover sheets. Faxes can be sent immediately or scheduled for
later transmission to save on long-distance charges.

The suggested list price for DosFax Pro is US$79 or C$89.
Delrina is also offering a scaled-down version called DosFax Lite
for manufacturers of fax boards to bundle with their hardware.
Users who get the Lite version with a fax board will be able to
upgrade to DosFax Pro for US$39 or C$48, Delrina said.

(Grant Buckler/19920602/Press Contact: Josef Zancowicz or
Shelly Sofer, Delrina, 416-441-3676)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 3 New Spreadsheet For Psion Series 3 Pocket Computer 06/03/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00011)

New Spreadsheet For Psion Series 3 Pocket Computer 06/03/92
MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA, 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- A new
spreadsheet package for the Psion Series 3 pocket computer
reads and writes Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet files, according to
Compulys, Canadian distributor for Psion.

Psion developed the software, described as "fully compatible"
with 1-2-3. Patrick Taylor, vice-president of sales and marketing
at Compulys, said the package can work with Lotus 1-2-3 files
downloaded to the pocket computer through its serial port from a
DOS PC or from an Apple Macintosh. However, he admitted,
some commands are different.

The software includes financial, mathematical, logical, range,
string, statistical, database, and table functions, according to
the manufacturer. It also produces graphs and charts, which can
be saved for inclusion in files created with other applications
packages, such as word processors.

Taking advantage of the Series 3's multitasking capabilities, the
spreadsheet can run at the same time as other applications,
Compulys said.

Worksheets can be as large as 256 rows by 8,192 columns, with
the additional limitation that files cannot take up more than 45
kilobytes (KB) of memory. The Series 3 spreadsheet will not
operate on the version of the Series 3 computer with only 128 KB
of memory.

The software has a list price of C$199.

(Grant Buckler/19920602/Press Contact: Patrick Taylor,
Compulys, 514-333-0609, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 3 PDN Access War In Europe Hots Up 06/03/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00012)

PDN Access War In Europe Hots Up 06/03/92
PARIS, FRANCE, 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- British Telecom has opened
a Paris-based business center, known as its Eurocenter, that will
coordinate the activities of BT offices around Europe. The idea
of the center is to act as a focal point for BT's services in Europe,
providing a 24-hour, Europe-wide multi-lingual hotline.

The primary activity of the center will be for European support
of BT's rapidly-expanding packet data network (PDN) services,
known under the brand name of Global Network Services (GNS).
GNS is the umbrella name for BT's myriad PDN services, which
used to be known as Dial Plus and PSS in the UK, and BT
Tymnet around the world.

GNS currently offers managed data network services in 107
countries, with what BT refers to as "one stop shopping,"
essentially an end to end PDN service in 24 countries around
the world.

According to BT, the opening of the Eurocenter will act as a
springboard for BT's planned expansion of PDN services in Europe,
with 100 new access ports planned for 25 countries in the near
future.

Peter Cook, BT's global product and marketing manager for GNS,
said that the Eurocenter and BT's enhanced GNS will appeal to
companies with offices in more than one country.

"In addition to currency and billing flexibility, preferential
pricing and customized service, the Eurocenter will now enable us
to offer exactly what our customers want -- local management and
support from BT, without then needing to spend time and money
training their own staff in either technical or language skills,"
he said.

BT faces some stiff competition in Europe, Newsbytes notes.
Sprintnet, the new name for the old Telenet network, is continuing
apace with its European expansion plans. The global PDN has
recently opened a number of dial-up ports across Western and
Central Europe.

Newsbytes readers may be interested to know that the bulk of
these ports, some of which include support for 9,600 bits-per-
second (bps) data transmissions, allow host-paid (i.e. no ID
required) access to on-line services such as Mnematics in New
York, Compuserve, and Dialcom (Telecom Gold).

Sprintnet's new access nodes are as follows. Further information
is available on-line by calling a Sprintnet dialup port, keying in
<return> <return> @ <return> and, at the @ prompt, keying in C
20200142 <return> and then an ID of "INTL/ASSOCIATES" plus a
password of "INTL" when prompted.

This service is provided free of charge by Sprintnet and contains
a wealth of information on the international service. The new
access codes for Sprintnet are as follows:

Austria, 1 (area code), Vienna (city), 504-2811 (local number);
Denmark, 1, Copenhagen, 3296-0411; Ireland, 1, Dublin, 614-466;
Scotland (UK), 31, Edinburgh, 459-1290; Sweden, 31, Gothenburg,
27-87-92; Sweden, 40, Malmo, 21-47-55; Sweden, 8, Stockholm,
35-22-60; and four in the former USSR, 4212, Khabarovsk, 38-0571;
044, Kiev, 245-0379; 3422, Perm, 65-9636; 8642, Samara, 33-0021.

Intending users of these new Sprintnet nodes should contact their
on-line service providers for details of how to log on via Sprintnet.
Alternatively, they can call Sprintnet's 24-hour customer service
center in the US on 404-859-7700.

(Steve Gold/19920602/Press Contact: Jenny Bailey Associates -
Tel: [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 3 UK: Lotus To Intro cc:Mail 4.0 For DOS Users 06/03/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00013)

UK: Lotus To Intro cc:Mail 4.0 For DOS Users 06/03/92
STAINES, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- Lotus
will unveil a major upgrade to its cc:Mail package for DOS at the
Networks '92 show in Birmingham later this month. Version 4.0
will continue to sell for UKP 235, with existing users allowed a low-
cost upgrade path for UKP 75 or 100, depending on the version
they are upgrading from.

According to Nigel Thomas, product marketing manager in Lotus'
business communications group, the enhancements in cc:Mail's
MS-DOS 4.0 demonstrate the company's commitment to the DOS
operating system environment. Despite the surge of interest in
alternative operating systems, Thomas said that DOS sales still
account for more than 50 percent of cc:Mail sales.

"With close to two million seats installed worldwide across
different platforms, cc:Mail continues to set the standard for
electronic mail systems," he said.

Key enhancements of version 4.0 of cc:Mail include greater ease of
use when running the package in terminate-and-stay-resident (TSR)
mode. The TSR mode has been enhanced so that the package
occupies just 1.5 kilobytes (KB) of memory when running in
expanded memory specification (EMS) mode. The built-in
spellchecker has been expanded to 190,000 words.

One other new feature of version 4.0 is that a new version of
"Admin," the administrator module for the package, has been
included. Another interesting feature is that third-party
applications software can be launched from within text and e-mail
documents. This means, for example, that a binary file attached
to a cc:Mail message could be executed from within the e-mail
message as the recipient reads it.

Faxview, previously a separate package, has now been bundled
with the new version. This module allows users to view faxes as
incoming mail messages under cc:Mail.

Lotus cc:Mail is a local area network (LAN) electronic mail
system. The package runs under DOS, Mac, OS/2 and Windows.
Users of version 3.15 of the package can upgrade to version 4.0
for UKP 100, with later users upgrade to version 4.0 for UKP 75.

(Steve Gold/19920603/Press & Public Contact: Lotus Development -
Tel: [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 3 UK: Tandon Unveils Cyrix 486SLC-Based Notebook 06/03/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00014)

UK: Tandon Unveils Cyrix 486SLC-Based Notebook 06/03/92
HAYES, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- Tandon has
become the second manufacturer (after Wyse recently) to unveil a
Cyrix CX486SLC microprocessor-based notebook. The NB 486SLC
notebook is based around a 25 megahertz (MHz) chipset and
prices from UKP 1,699 upwards.

The 80 megabyte (MB) hard disk version sells for this price,
while a 120 MB hard disk version adds an extra UKP 200 the price
tag. Deliveries of the machine start within the next week, the
company claims.

Stan Buffrey, sales director of Tandon, said that the new
notebook is the first to actually ship in the market, which gives
Tandon a good sales opportunity.

"The Cyrix chip is tailor-made for integration into notebook
products and this move was a logical development for Tandon. The
performance of the chip coupled with the price of the product
makes the NB 486SLC/25 an extremely attractive proposition," he
said.

The new notebook features VGA graphics and has a higher
specification to the competition. Four MB of RAM comes as
standard, as does a high capacity hard disk. Other standard
features include a Logitech Trackman portable mouse and
Windows 3.1 and MS-DOS 5.0

(Steve Gold/19920603/Press & Public Contact: Tandon -
Tel: [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 3 UK: AST Bundles Free Modem, Shuffles Portable Pricing 06/03/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00015)

UK: AST Bundles Free Modem, Shuffles Portable Pricing 06/03/92
BRENTFORD, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- AST
Europe has announced a special bundle for its range of Premium
Exec notebook range of computers, as well as slashing its color
notebook prices.

Until the end of August, AST's Premium Exec 386SX/20 and 25,
as well as the color 386SX/25C, will come bundled with the
company's internal data/fax modem.

In parallel with the bundling deal, AST has cut pricing on its
Premium 386SX/25C color notebook by UKP 400 -- down to
UK 2,295 for a 60 megabytes (MB) hard disk, and down to UKP
2465 for an 80MB hard disk. A new 120MB option, costing
UKP 2,765, has been introduced on the machine as well.

Graham Hopper, AST's UK general manager, said that, for no
extra cost, Premium Exec users will be able to send and receive
faxes, as well as transfer files from almost anywhere. "We're
setting the standards for price and functionality in the PC
industry," he said.

The Premium Exec modem is a 2,400 bits-per-second (bps) unit
with 9,600 bps fax facilities. The unit includes MNP Class 5 and
V.42bis data compression and error correction facilities.

(Steve Gold/19920603/Press & Public Contact: AST Computer -
Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 3 Canada's Geac Acquires Albion Of Australia 06/03/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00016)

Canada's Geac Acquires Albion Of Australia 06/03/92
MARKHAM, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- Geac
Computer Corporation has acquired the assets of Albion Computing,
an Australian manufacturer of manufacturing and distribution
software. Geac acquired Albion through its Australian subsidiary
for about C$600,000 and a 15 percent cut on profits for one year.

Albion will complement Geac/Fact, the manufacturing software
operation Geac acquired earlier, said company spokesman Harrison
Cheung. The existing Fact operation concentrates on manufacturing
software for the food and chemical industries, Cheung said, while
Albion's focus is on the automotive and textile businesses.

The deal gives Geac rights to Albion's software products. A number
of employees of Albion will also join Geac in Australia. For the
time being Albion will operate as a separate Geac subsidiary, as
Fact does, but in the longer term the company will probably be
integrated into Geac, Cheung said.

Cheung said Geac is using Australia and New Zealand as a
springboard to build its market presence in the Far East. Geac is
in the process of signing up resellers in Japan, China, Korea, and
other countries of the Pacific Rim, he said.

To date, Geac has sold manufacturing and distribution software
mainly in Australia and New Zealand, while in the rest of the world
the company is best known for its library-automation software.
The manufacturing and distribution products will eventually be
introduced to Europe and later to North America, Cheung told
Newsbytes.

(Grant Buckler/19920603/Press Contact: Harrison Cheung, Geac,
416-475-0525)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 3 IBM, Lexmark Sue Printer Cartridge Recycler 06/03/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(TOR)(00017)

IBM, Lexmark Sue Printer Cartridge Recycler 06/03/92
ARMONK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 3 (NB) --  IBM and
Lexmark International have filed a lawsuit against a North Carolina
printer cartridge recycler and two of its dealers. IBM and Lexmark
claim that Lasertek, a company that modifies and refills spent
printer toner cartridges, is violating IBM's trademark and copying
its packaging design.

The suit, filed in Asheville, North Carolina, also names two
Lasertek dealers, Advanced Business Equipment and Office First
Corporation, as defendants.

Lexmark, which was spun off from IBM last year, makes and sells
the cartridges under license from IBM. The Lexington, Kentucky
company also recycles materials from used IBM LaserPrinter
toner cartridges, but does not sell refilled cartridges.

The suit claims that Lasertek reconditioned and refilled
one-time-use IBM LaserPrinter toner cartridges and remarketed
them in packages designed to mimic genuine IBM toner cartridge
packaging.

It also charges that Lasertek falsely claimed the refilled toner
cartridge "carcasses" met IBM and Lexmark specifications and
performance standards, and that Lasertek portrayed itself as an
authorized reseller of genuine IBM toner cartridges.

IBM spokesman Brian Doyle said the plaintiffs' concern is that
the printer cartridges are not simply receptacles but contain
mechanical parts which degrade with use. Thus, he said, it is
misrepresentation to claim they are equivalent to new cartridges.

IBM and Lexmark are seeking a preliminary injunction that would
require Lasertek to cease using the IBM trademark, change its
packaging and clearly label its products to avoid further confusion
among dealers and consumers. The two parties also seek
unspecified monetary damages.

(Grant Buckler/19920603/Press Contact: Brian Doyle, IBM,
914-765-6432; Joe Frazer, Lexmark, 606-232-6906)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 3 Data General Fills Out 486 PC Line 06/03/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00018)

Data General Fills Out 486 PC Line 06/03/92
WESTBORO, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 3 (NB) ---
Data General has filled a gap in the middle of its line of PCs based
on the Intel 486 processor with an upgradeable desktop unit, the
Dasher II-486/33LE.

The new model comes with the 33 megahertz (MHz) version of the
486DX chip, but can be upgraded to the faster 50 MHz version. It
uses the Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) system
bus and a has a large desktop chassis with five expansion slots
and four half-height bays for storage devices.

Other standard features include four megabytes (MB) of RAM
upgradeable to 28 MB on the main board, either a 3.5-inch
(1.44 MB) or 5.25-inch (1.2 MB) diskette drive, and a Super VGA
display adapter with one MB of video memory. An optional 128
kilobyte (KB) direct-mapped cache lets users increase
performance by as much as 40 percent, according to the vendor.

In addition to the 50 MHz chip, the new machine will also
support Intel's 33/66 MHz 486 microprocessor when the chip
becomes available later this year, Data General said.

Hard disk drives are available in capacities from 120 MB to
one gigabyte (GB), Data General said. The maximum storage
that can be installed in the machine is 1.5 GB.

Company spokesman Chris Sampson said this is Data General's
second 486DX-based PC. The top-of-the-line Dasher PC, the
II-486/33TE introduced in January, offers eight drive bays, 10
expansion slots, and maximum memory capacity of 2.5 GB.
Prices for the tower-configuration TE model start at close to
$10,000.

Data General also offers a PC based on the less powerful
486SX chip.

Prices for the Dasher II-486/33LE start at $4,095. The system
will be available later this month.

(Grant Buckler/19920603/Press Contact: Chris Sampson, Data
General, 508-898-4288)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 3  ****Hayes, Rockwell on ISDN/Wireless: Exclusive Interviews 06/03/92


(EXCLUSIVE)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00019)

 ****Hayes, Rockwell on ISDN/Wireless: Exclusive Interviews 06/03/92
NORCROSS, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- Standards,
wireless data, and ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Networks)
were all discussed by Hayes Microcomputer Products founder
Dennis Hayes and Rockwell executive Dwight Decker in an
exclusive Newsbytes interview.

Hayes addressed the fact that many makers of ISDN equipment are
using super-sets of Hayes' AT command set, a system familiar to
most modem users. Besides Hayes itself, GPT and Northern
Telecom use the system, as well as the Escape Sequence with
Guard Time patent Hayes has licensed to Rockwell. If Rockwell
were to use the patent in its ISDN equipment, it would have to get
a separate agreement with Hayes, since that is not in the "field of
use" covered by the modem deal, he said.

Decker of Rockwell noted that while his company makes some
ISDN chips, for trunk-line connections, it's not a big piece of his
company's business. Hayes added that his company's patent
rights expire in the year 2002, and modem sales should continue
strong through that date.

Decker, for his part, reaffirmed his company's commitment to
industry standards. That is why the company licensed the Hayes
patent. "There's been a concern in the industry ever since the
patent was upheld. Modem makers have been wondering about
getting a license and using this technology. For our customers
we're resolving all these concerns."

The next standard for all modem makers, dubbed V.Fast, will be
truly fast, added Decker. "We're playing a role in trying to
craft that standard. We expect it to run at 28,800 bits-per-second
(bps), twice the V32bis speeds" of 14,400 bps.

Hayes disputed the contention that his company has become
more engineering-oriented and less marketing-driven the last few
years, suggesting observers are confusing slick advertising with
the timing of products to meet demand. He noted that his
company's Optima line of modems, which meet V.32 standards,
has ramped-up production quickly yet doesn't cannibalize sales
of his higher-end Ultra line of modems, which also meet Hayes'
own V-Series standards and feature an X.25 PAD. "We segment
the market and we're providing technology to address it, in
packages sold through different channels. The 2,400 bps modems
sold at Sams Wholesale Club, cost under $100, but they're
different from the SmartModem 2400."

Hayes adds that more and more, American business is coming to
understand something he's preached since founding his company
15 years ago. "We've always felt that engineering, marketing and
production have to come together. So does service. If you have a
modem that needs repair, and have to send it in, 98 percent of
those that get returned go out the next day. In no case will it take
more than three days. And we don't just send you packing if you
need to talk about someone else's software. If we know we tell
you, or we go find out."

Hayes and Decker also addressed the subject of wireless data
communications. Many corporate customers are starting to use
regular landline modems for wireless connections, using products
like the Spectrum Axsys connector to link their laptop computers
to their cellular phones. For his part, Hayes said the V.42 and
V.42bis error-correction and compression standards are crucial in
a wireless environment. "The problem with cellular phones is the
fact that the analog cellular phone has characteristics which
are not conducive to data," he said, meaning error-correction is
crucial to getting data through at all.

"Testing has been done, and if you stop the car, as you should,
when you want to use the modem, and if you're in a reasonable
proximity to the cell, then you can come through pretty well. You
can use protocols like Zmodem that will pick up the file transfer
where it gets interrupted, if that does happen. And you can get
pretty good results. The problem with some approaches is they
require special modems on the remote workstation, and they
require special modems at the phone office where the transmitters
are. That is a prohibitive approach. The device on the
workstation needs to go through the phone network, whether wired
or wireless, and make the connection. If you take that same
equipment and go home, you ought to be able to plug it in and
work with it. That's the design parameter that needs to be worked
in."

Hayes also predicted that digital cellular service, and packet
cellular data services, should quickly replace the use of analog
modems on wireless links in any case. "As that infrastructure
comes in place we'll have a wireless net that can support
significantly higher transmission rates than the analog network
can now support." Meanwhile, today's wireless data terminals,
like the Federal Express SuperTracker, will become wireless
workstations, he predicted.

Decker added that, while Rockwell is not yet in the wireless
business, and it may be over-hyped, "it's going to be a very good
marketplace" which his company will enter with chip sets when
the time is right.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920603/Press Contact: Beth Logan, Hayes,
404-840-9200)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 3 Teknekron to Make CDMA Cordless Phones In Korea 06/03/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00020)

Teknekron to Make CDMA Cordless Phones In Korea 06/03/92
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 2 (NB) -- Teknekron
Communications Systems has signed a deal with Taihan Electric
Wire of Korea to create new digital cordless phones under the
Code Division Multiple Access standard. The new phones will be
aimed not only at the US residential market, but at new office and
public pay phone applications.

The new products will be based on the Digital Cordless Phone
Systems specifications which Teknekron has developed, and which
already have been licensed to other manufacturers. The Korean
company will market the phones, which work in the 900 MHz
frequency band using special frequencies already authorized for
cordless phone use by the Federal Communications Commission.
Residential phones will be delivered starting in July, 1993,
while business and pay phones will follow.

The use of the CDMA technology will reduce signal interference
and eliminate privacy problems. CDMA technology assigns an
individual code to each user's telephone signal, then spreads
digitized speech across a the entire available spectrum. This
"spread spectrum" technique reduces the power density and the
likelihood of interference with other signals operating in the
same bands. And radio scanners pick up only static. Regular
analog cordless phone conversations can be freely tapped, the
US Supreme Court has ruled. The ruling stated that cordless
phone owners should have no expectation of privacy.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920603/Press Contact: Teknekron,
Edward Chien, 510/649-3700)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 3  ****ATC Looking To Sell Out 06/03/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00021)

 ****ATC Looking To Sell Out 06/03/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- Despite a low
price won by Centel in its pending merger with Sprint, yet another
major independent phone company has decided it's time to sell-out.

Advanced Telecommunications of Atlanta, which bills itself as the
fourth-largest publicly traded long distance firm, has announced that
it is engaged in discussions concerning a possible merger. ATC
stated that no definitive agreement has been reached and that
there could be no assurance that any such definitive agreement
would be reached or that any transaction would be consummated.

ATC provides domestic and international long distance
telecommunications services to business and residential
customers. Its net income for the fiscal year ended March 31,
1992, was $24.5 million on revenues of $359.1 million.  The
common stock of ATC is traded in the National Market System
under the NASDAQ symbol ATEL.

While ATC did not mention the name of the company it was
negotiating with, speculation centered on LDDS of Jackson,
Mississippi, which has been buying smaller companies for stock
for some time, and Williams Telecommunications of Tulsa,
Oklahoma. The Wiltel deal sounded more likely, since it has been
looking for a way to get into the regular long-distance market --
it presently re-sells capacity in bulk to the major companies and
demand has been dropping. ATC would also offer WilTel
management expertise. For its part, WilTel could offer ATC
access to more capital and digital calling capacity, since it has
an 11,000 mile fiber network running along gas pipelines and
railroad lines.

Only last month ATC had announced plans to offer new digital
services to businesses, especially those handling credit-card
authorizations, and detailed plans to expand its calling card
services. A link with WilTel would make those plans viable to
many customers. WilTel might also be interested in ATC's
investment in Innova Systems, a small Atlanta-based start-up
handling credit authorizations.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920603/Press Contact: Advanced
Telecommunications Patrick E. Delaney, 404/261-5885)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 3 New International Direct Dial Services 06/03/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00022)

New International Direct Dial Services 06/03/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- It's getting
easier all the time to call internationally. AT&T has announced it
will provide international direct-dial service from the United
States to 11 more countries and areas, including Antarctica.

As outlined yesterday in a filing with the FCC, the following
countries and areas will receive direct-dial service beginning
June 15: Antarctica's Casey Base and Scott Base, Lebanon; the
Mongolian People's Republic; the South Pacific islands of Niue,
Norfolk Island, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Wallis and Futuna Islands;
and the Indian Ocean islands of Diego Garcia and Christmas and
Cocos Islands. Consumers dial 011, followed by a country code,
city code and local number to reach one of these destinations.

On a more controversial note, Israel announced it will open long
distance contacts with its fiercest enemies; Iraq, Libya, and
Syria. Its efforts to open such contacts with 10 more moderate
Arab states March 26 drew howls of protests from local
authorities, but could not really be stopped, since it's
impossible for telephone switches to really know the point of
origination for an international call. Since the first links were
opened in March, thousands of phone calls have taken place daily,
according to the nation's communications minister.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920603/Press Contact: AT&T, Mark Siegel,
908/221-8413)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 3 Airline Fare Cuts Break Call Records 06/03/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00023)

Airline Fare Cuts Break Call Records 06/03/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUNE 3 (NB) -- Phones
at the nation's airlines are ringing off the hook -- literally. Since
American Airlines started a round of deep summertime fare
cutting last month, which was matched by its rivals, vacationers
have been having increasingly hard times getting through.

AT&T announced that on June 2 it handled 177.4 million calls on
its own network, breaking all previous records for the most calls
placed in one day. The company had set its previous record five
days earlier, taking 159.6 million calls. Heaviest volumes were
reported to toll-free 800 lines, like those used by the nation's
airlines. Average calling volumes over the AT&T network are
135-140 million per day.

Calls to the airlines have been especially high since many
travelers and financial analysts feel this may be the last round
of airfare wars among the major carriers. Weaker airlines like US
Air, Continental, and TWA, some of which are already operating
under bankruptcy law protection, could be forced out of business
by matching cuts made by American, United, and Delta, the
nation's three strongest carriers. The result would be an
oligopoly and permanently higher fares. Before launching the
latest round of fare cuts, in fact, American had tried to
simplify its fares to replace a system where fares changed
regularly in an attempt to fill seats at maximum revenue.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920603/Press Contact: AT&T, Dan
Lawler, 908/234-5254)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 3 New Long Distance Calling Plans Announced 06/03/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00024)

New Long Distance Calling Plans Announced 06/03/92
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, U.S.A,. 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- While
America's airlines go through the last-gasps of a deregulatory
fever expected to lead to an oligopoly, with just a few strong
carriers offering uniformly high fares to the traveling public,
the nation's large phone companies continue to struggle with
their pricing policies.

Complication is the name of the game. It's very hard to judge
just how to buy service, since MCI, AT&T, and Sprint all have
multiple calling plans offering "big savings." The most popular
such plan, MCI's Friends and Family, offers 20 percent discounts
to members of a "calling circle" who all use that network. After
running ads critical of the idea on privacy grounds, AT&T
recently offered a version of the same plan for its business
customers.

Now comes Sprint with its "The Most" plan. This plan, too,
offers a 20 percent discount. But unlike the competing plan, it's
automatic. The discount goes to whomever you call the most --
even internationally -- even if the called person is with a
competitive long distance carrier.  When the most-frequently
called number in a given month is a Sprint customer, however,
Sprint will combine both discounts for an effective overall
savings of 36 percent.

MCI, meanwhile, countered with its "MCI Around the World" calling
plan. MCI Around the World offers low fixed plan rates to 53
countries and places during plan hours and a five percent savings
off MCI's regular rates to remaining locations. Subscribers
receive a special MCI Around the World calling card that will
enable them to receive an additional five percent savings, 24 hours
a day, when using their card to call to more than 250
international locations covered under the plan.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920603/Press Contact: Sprint, Robin
Pence, 202-828-7454; Kate Fralin, MCI, 703-415-6941)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 3 AT&T Phone Strike Still Possible 06/03/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00025)

AT&T Phone Strike Still Possible 06/03/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- Unions
representing AT&T workers were turning pessimistic that they could
avoid striking the nation's largest phone company as talks on a new
three-year contract dragged on. The Communication Workers of
America said if a deal is not struck by the end of June 3, it would
seriously consider a walk-out or other job action. The union
contracts expired over the weekend.

AT&T has offered a nine percent wage hike over the length of the
new contract. But the unions want a deal more in line with what the
Nynex group took during previous negotiations when, following a
four-month walkout, those workers got a 13 percent wage hike,
greater organizing flexibility, and health insurance fully paid by
the company. AT&T says it needs more "flexibility" to compete
with domestic and international phone firms. Spokesman Herb
Linnen, noting that the unions have threatened a worldwide
boycott against his firm, called that curious, since competitors
are non-union.

If a strike is called, it's not expected to have much impact on
service. Nynex service was not disrupted during its strike, and
the phone networks are even more automated than before, which is
why phone companies are not rehiring retired workers and even
encouraging older workers to leave. AT&T could also threaten to
hire permanent replacements for any strikers, which broke a
strike earlier this year against Caterpillar, a heavy equipment
maker. The unions, meanwhile, feel they must hold firm since
they're strong at AT&T and any contract there could become a
model for the rest of the industry. Contracts with the six regional
Bells, exclusive of Nynex, are due to expire soon.

AT&T and its unions reached a contract in 1989 without a strike,
but in 1986, the Communication Workers held a 26-day strike
before agreeing to a contract.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920603)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 3 Packet Cellular Network Moves Ahead 06/03/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00026)

Packet Cellular Network Moves Ahead 06/03/92
ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 JUNE 3 (NB) -- Cellular
Data of Mountain View, California, has found a partner for its 2,400
bits-per-second (bps) cellular packet network, while a manufacturer
was chosen to make equipment for a competing system.

Scheduled to be up and running in Pueblo, Colorado this August,
the new network is based on CDI's Cellular Plan 1, one of two major
packet switching cellular plans currently in the works, said Monty
Rhodes, manager of strategic applications for Cellular Inc., the
local service provider.

"There's a debate going on in the cellular industry right now.
Everybody recognizes that data is going to be a very large
component of the contributions to our companies.  But we're
looking for alternatives outside of standard switched cellular, due
to the load switched cellular technology would place on our
systems," he told Newsbytes.

The CDI technology runs data through the small bandwidths
betweeen cellular calling frequencies. It's aimed at laptop computer
users and, perhaps more important, would allow credit card
authorizations to take place just about anywhere. Such "bursts"
represent the largest share of the packet market.

Cellular Inc. chose the CDI plan over IBM/McCaw's Cellular Plan 2
because it is already available, and will be sufficient to handle
small, bursty and easily packetized nature of most of the company's
customer applications, said Rhodes.  These applications include
retail store polling, messaging among palmtop and pen computers,
telemetry, process control.

Cellular 1 makes use of the narrow gaps, or guard bands, between
cellular voice band channels, he said.  Cellular 2, on the other
hand, is expected to provide greater bandwidth, through "channel
hopping," or grabbing voice band channels that become available
between cellular voice calls.

"IBM/McCaw hopes to have something available over the next year.
But basically, our customers have needs today, and we want to
move forward now," asserted Rhodes.

CDI wants to offer data over cellular because the technology offers
cheaper and less expensive point-to-point links than fixed
transmission lines can, he added.

CDI will supply Cellular Inc. with the packet data network hardware
and software it has developed, said Less Horsman, marketing
manager.  The system includes Sun-based network management,
a communications gateway, an operating system, application
development support, and subscriber equipment, to consist of a
box that attaches to a cellular phone.

Cellular Inc. is still working out pricing details with its customers,
said Rhodes.  But the company has determined that pricing will
be usage based, and will fall in the general range of $25 to $50
a month.

Meanwhile, Pacific Communication Sciences announced it has
been named the prime contractor in support of the new Cellular
Digital Packet Data specification development project. This
technology, called CelluPath by IBM, would run data through
unused call channels within cells. Nine of the nation's leading
cellular carriers are supporting the proposal, which could send
data as fast as 19,200 bps. Field trials of the system will begin
in June of 1992.

(Dana Blankenhorn & Jacqueline Emigh/19920603/Press Contact:
Cellular, Monty Rhodes, 303/694-8902; Cellular Data, Lee Horsman,
415/964-5474; Pacific Communication Sciences, Kim Fedderly-
Gower, 619/535-9500)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 3 Retix And Oracle Unveil Oracle Mail X.400 Gateway 06/03/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00027)

Retix And Oracle Unveil Oracle Mail X.400 Gateway 06/03/92
SANTA MONICA, CA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- Oracle Mail
has joined the growing list of proprietary electronic mail systems
that can be connected over X.400 public network backbones.

In a joint statement yesterday, Retix and Oracle unveiled an X.400
gateway that, when used with Retix's OpenServer messaging server,
will enable users of Oracle Mail to communicate with public e-mail
subscribers, as well as with users of other proprietary e-mail
systems equipped with gateways to the X.400 networks.

In an interview with Newsbytes, Bruce Stevens, vice president
of Oracle's Office Automation Products Division, noted that AT&T,
Sprint, MCI, Genie, and most major public network providers have
already linked their services together through the shared X.400
protocol.  In addition, he said, increasing numbers of private
companies are installing gateways to these services. "There are
new implementations all the time," he commented.

The X.400 standard will pick up further strength in the future, he
predicted, as developers gradually overcome early difficulties with
protocol implementation. "The standard is large and complex, and
it's continued to evolve over its first eight years.  But for
communications between one large e-mail system and another,
there's really no direct competition to X.400," he told Newsbytes.

Because the X.400 standard defines a specification for the e-mail
user interface, the protocol might ultimately become an important
factor in the end user connection, as well, he added.  Many
vendors have been working on developing an easy-to-use X.400
interface, and a few have succeeded already, he reported.

"Right now, widescale implementation of end-to-end X.400
connectivity does seems a ways out," he acknowledged.  "But the
standard is still so new that it would be quite a stripe in
anyone's shirt to say exactly how this capability will shake out."

In developing the X.400 gateway, Oracle worked with Retix in beta
testing and product demonstrations, and the companies will now
collaborate in marketing, selling, and supporting the gateway.
These and other recent partnerships reflect an increasing
recognition by Oracle of the need for partnership, Stevens told
Newsbytes.

"Oracle has a long history of going it alone. But as the company
matures, we're realizing that this approach isn't sufficient any
more. So partnerships with other companies are going to
become very, very frequent," he maintained.

Pricing for the Oracle Mail X.400 Gateway begins at $10 per
Oracle Mail mailbox (with a minimum of 500 mailboxes).  The
product is already shipping.

(Jacqueline Emigh/Press contact: Steve Lai, Oracle, tel 415-
506-3117)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 3  ****Stockholder Suit Claims Aldus Inflated Growth Projections 06/03/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEN)(00028)

 ****Stockholder Suit Claims Aldus Inflated Growth Projections 06/03/92
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- Two Aldus
stockholders have filed suit against Aldus Corporation, claiming the
company inflated its growth projections.

The suit, filed as a class action, also contends that the company
withheld information about the status of some key executives while
corporate officers sold nearly $9 million in stock during an 11
month period ending April 21.

Attorney Steve Berman, who represents the two stockholders,
said damages could run into the tens of millions of dollars. The
suit did not request a specific amount in damages.

In addition to the company itself, the suit names as defendants six
officers and former officers who allegedly sold more than 225,000
shares of stock for nearly $9 million between mid-May of last year
and late April. Aldus co-founder Paul Brainerd was not named
in the suit.

During the period in question, Aldus stock prices ranged from $59 to
$19 per share. Aldus closed yesterday at $20.38.

Aldus spokesperson Jill Miller said company officials have not yet
seen the suit, and could not comment.

Jim Mallory/19920603/Press contact: Jill Miller, Aldus Corporation,
206-628-2352; Steve Berman, 206-292-9988)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 3  ****Dell Computer To Pre-install Novell Netware 06/03/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00029)

 ****Dell Computer To Pre-install Novell Netware 06/03/92
PROVO, UTAH, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 03 (NB) -- Dell Computer and
Novell have introduced a new program for Dell customers. From this
point onwards, customers who wish to acquire Novell's Netware 3.11
canhave it be installed on their machines prior to the machine's
having left the Dell factory.

In a press conference held today, details of the plan were made
public. Attending the conference were Michael Dell, Marty Sayer,
Richard VanDyke, and Glen Henry of Dell. Representing Novell were
Jan Newman, John Edwards, and Mary Burnside.

Michael Dell spoke of how this announcement represents a
significant step in the continuing strategic relationship between
Novell and Dell. Glen Henry who is Dell's senior vice president of
the Product Group spoke of the advantages inherenet in this
arrangement.

According to Henry, customers will see three main advantages in
this arrangement: time savings from not having to perform the
installation themselves; Dell and Novell guarantee the validation for
the equipment and the setup; installation cost savings in getting
the proper modules installed in the right places.

Both companies have been working on this arrangement for about
six months now. The main hurdle had been the ability to install the
Novell software automatically on the machines at the factory. This
hurdle had been overcome by Dell and Novell engineers working
together over the last few months in extending Dell's software and
in modifying portions of Novell's software. This technology is
expected to be used to install other parts of Novell's product line
on Dell machines in the future, although the executives at the
press conference refused to elaborate further.

Netware Lite is already being pre-installed by Novell. With this
announcement, Netware 3.11 is also being pre-installed. Dell
executives ruled out extending the technology to Netware 2.2
although the Novell officials claimed that it should be possible
to install version 2.2 as well.

(Naor Wallach/19920603, Press Contact: Roger Rydell, Dell
Computer, 512-338-4400, Kelli Christiansen, Novell, 801-429-5933)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 3  ****Creative Labs Suing Media Vision For Reverse Engineering 06/03/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(LAX)(00030)

 ****Creative Labs Suing Media Vision For Reverse Engineering 06/03/92
MILPITAS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- Creative Labs,
makers of the Sound Blaster audio card for IBM and compatible
personal computers is suing Media Vision, makes of the
Thunderboard audio card.

Creative Labs' representative Shell Israel of SIPR told Newsbytes
the company's claim in a nutshell is Media Vision reversed
engineered its Sound Blaster product in order to produce the
Thunderboard.

The suit was filed May 29 in the federal district court in San
Francisco and asserts that Media Vision infringed upon Creative
Lab's copyrights in software relating to the Sound Blaster line of
products.

Abigail Johnson, a Media Vision representative, told Newsbytes the
company believes the suit is without merit and plans to defend
vigorously against it. No further comments were available from
Media Vision.

Fremont, California-based Media Vision just announced a new
hardware product that incorporates a 24-bit high resolution video
graphics array (VGA) support and an 8-bit sound on the same card,
which it calls "Thunder and Lightening" at the Summer Consumer
Electronics Show (CES) in Chicago.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920602/Press Contact: Shell Israel, SIPR, tel 408-
437-1880; Abigail Johnson, Roeder-Johnson, tel [phone], fax 415-
347-5238; Claire Merriam, Media Vision, tel [phone], fax 510-
770-9592, 510-226-2582)
#ENDCARD


#CARD :1992 JUN 2 Siemens Reveals Ambitious Sales Plans For Next Decade 06/02/92

(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00001)

Siemens Reveals Ambitious Sales Plans For Next Decade 06/02/92
MUNICH, WESTERN GERMANY, 1992 JUN 2 (NB) -- Siemens
has revealed that it plans to almost double its sales by the end of
the decade, regardless of the current world economic recession.

Speaking with the South German Zeitung newspaper, Heinrich von
Pierer, who becomes head of Siemens this fall, said that he
expects to see a seven percent year-on-year sales expansion over
the next decade, despite the fact that analysts expect between
five and six percent world industrial growth during the same time
scale.

Extrapolating Pierer's projections from the group's current DM
80,000 million ($400,000 million) annual sales figures gives an
annual sales level of around DM 150 million ($750,000 million) by
the year 2,000.

Pierer said that this impressive projection will be achieved by
boosting the group's research and development budget from its
present nine percent of sales figure to 11 percent. The extra
investment costs, he said, would be more than repaid by the
increase in sales.

Siemens' intended new chairman was also refreshingly honest on
the subject of computer technology. He said that the company had
to be careful in its plans for future, "finding a solution that does not
financially burden us as much as before."

As reported by Newsbytes recently, Siemens has scrapped plans
to manufacturer 64 megabit random access memory (RAM) chips
at a new factory in Germany, preferring instead to expand its
current German facilities to take up the expected slack as sales of
lower-power chips ease off.

Interestingly, Pierer said that he is open to all possible
suggestions as to partners in chip technology projects. He even
said that IBM could be a useful partner in this respect -- both
companies have remained resolute competitors in recent years,
especially in the fiercely competitive European computer
marketplace.

(Steve Gold/19920601)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 2 Mercury Intros New Toll-free Numbering Scheme For UK 06/02/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00002)

Mercury Intros New Toll-free Numbering Scheme For UK 06/02/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 2 (NB) -- After beta testing the
service last summer, Mercury has announced its toll-free and
national local call network numbering scheme -- known as Calllink
-- will go live from this August.

Calllink allows Mercury to handle its toll-free, local rate and
premium rate phone calls from around the UK, at two control
centers located, respectively, in Manchester and London.

The introduction of what Mercury calls its intelligent network
(IN) allows the company to introduce its own toll-free and local
call services operating, respectively on the 0500 and 0645 area
codes. These codes operate in the same way as the 0800 and
0345 area codes run by British Telecom.

The Freecall 0500 code allows callers to place self-dialed calls
free of charge to companies and individuals who have undertaken
to pay the cost of the call to them. Localcall 0645 numbers allow
the destination number to pay all the charges, except for a local
call charge which is payable by the caller.

Mercury's IN operates using a series of Tandem computers linking
to Mercury's master computer in Birmingham that controls the
switches in London and Manchester. Calls routed to the two
switching centers are then rerouted to any number of the
recipient's choice, while at the same time, charging the caller
the appropriate charge concerned -- i.e. no charge or the
standard local call fee.

Mercury's IN consists of two service switching and control points
(SSCPs), one each in Manchester and London. Each SSCP
contains a service switching point (SSP) and a service control
point (SCP). The SSP is a System X telephone exchange, while
the SCP is a Tandem computer.

The IN, which cost UKP 20 million to install, also handles
Mercury's premium rate phone service, which operate on the
0660, 0839, and 0881 area codes.

According to Mercury, the introduction of its own toll-free
telephone service will boost the volume of toll-free calls
handled within the UK. Mercury officials estimate that toll-free
calls account for just over one percent of telephone traffic in
the UK at the moment. Mercury wants to increase that figure to
five percent -- in line with the US -- within the next three years.

(Steve Gold/19920601/Press & Public Contact: Mercury
Communications - Tel: [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 2 UK: Samsung Launches First Postscript Laser Printer 06/02/92

(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00003)

UK: Samsung Launches First Postscript Laser Printer 06/02/92
SURBITON, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 2 (NB) -- Samsung
has unveiled the SL 1081P, a Postscript version of its 1081A eight
pages-per-minute (ppm) laser printer unveiled three months ago.
The printer, which is the company's first Postscript unit in the
UK, retails for UKP 1,499, which Samsung officials claim is
highly competitive.

"This is the second of several products in our own-manufactured
laser printer range. At such a competitive price, it demonstrates
that we are committed to giving users and business partners
highly-attractive and real value for money products," explained
Paul Turner, Samsung's printer business manager.

As supplied, the SL 1081P comes with an onboard 15 megahertz
(MHz) N532CG16 microprocessor and 2.5 megabytes (MB) of
memory as standard. Other standard features include 35 resident
fonts, although HPGL (Hewlett-Packard Graphics Language) fonts
cost extra, and serial/parallel ports.

On the mechanical side, the printer takes two feeder bins, though
only one 250-sheet bin is supplied. In use, Samsung claims that
the printer runs quietly (typically at 52 decibels -- db) and
consumes 550 watts or less of power. The unit weighs 46 pounds
and has a duty cycle (typical workload) of 5,000 pages-per-month,
with an average lifespan of six years at this output rate.

(Steve Gold/19920601/Press & Public Contact: Samsung
Electronics - Tel: [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 2 UK: Dell Unveils First "Value Family" Portable Computer 06/02/92

(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00004)

UK: Dell Unveils First "Value Family" Portable Computer 06/02/92
BRACKNELL, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1991 JUN 2 (NB) -- Dell
Computer has announced the NL25, a new notebook in what the
company describes as its "Value" family of machines. Plans call
for Dell to release further Value notebooks later this year.

The NL25 is a monochrome notebook pricing in at UKP 1,349. The
25 megahertz (MHz) 80386SL microprocessor-based machine will
ship in the UK from the end of this month.

According to David Brooke, Dell's notebook product marketing
manager, the NL25 complements the existing 325N and 325NC
portables by combining a competitive, low-end price with premium
features.

"With the NL25, we're directly addressing the needs of value-
conscious customers who require mainstream performance and
functionality at an entry-level price," he said. "For users requiring
premium features such as larger memory or higher capacity
storage, extended battery life or additional factory integration
services, we've also recently introduced the 325N."

"The NL25 appeals to the price sensitive user who wants the
features of a 386SL notebook but would rather forgo special
features that add to the cost of the system," he said.

Dell's new notebook weighs in at 6.3 pounds and has an 8.3 by 11
inch footprint. The machine, which is 1.8 inches thick, runs for
2.5 hours without using the power management software, though
this is extended considerably when PMS is switched on.

Expansion options for the machine include two megabyte (MB)
memory modules, spare ni-cad battery packs and a fax/data modem.
The modem has yet to be approved -- a price for the unit has yet to
be agreed, Newsbytes understands.

(Steve Gold/19920601/Press & Public Contact: Dell Computer
Corporation - Tel: [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 2 Alan Kay To Keynote Boston's Windows & OS/2 Expo 06/02/92

(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00005)

Alan Kay To Keynote Boston's Windows & OS/2 Expo 06/02/92
EMERYVILLE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 2 (NB) --
Following the highly successful show in San Jose, California,
the summer session of the Third Annual Windows & OS/2
Conference will be held at Boston's World Trade Center, August
19-21. Tutorials will be held on August 18.

Alan Kay, the reported "founding father" of the graphical user
interface, will be giving the keynote speech. The keynote subject
matter is likely to include his predictions for the future of
computing.

Stan Politi, spokesman for CM ventures Inc., the company
producing and managing the show, told Newsbytes that the
company is expecting upwards of 18,000 attendees at the expo.
This is a slight rise from the 16,000 that attended the last show in
San Jose.

Editor-in-Chief of PC/Computing, Ed Bott, will present a
session called: "GUIs...And Then What?" A developer's keynote,
featuring Borland International's VP, Eugene Wang, will talk on
"separating the winners from losers in development tools and
the challenges corporate and third-party developers will face as
they move into the world of 32-bit computing," according to a
press release.

Technology briefings will feature such luminaries as IBM's
assistant general manager of personal systems market
development, Fernand Sarrat, defending the company's claim
of OS/2 being the strategic platform of the future, and Microsoft's
director for Windows NT and networking products, Dwayne
Walker, detailing the company's plans for 32-bit networking
and electronic mail strategies.

Politi told Newsbytes that the conference program begins with a
full-day of six pre-show technical tutorials. He said that there are
also about 35-36 conference sessions scheduled over the next
three days with an additional 16 "Fast Track" sessions talking
about configuring Windows and OS/2. While the Fast Track
sessions are also "technical" they are not as technical as the
tutorials on the 18th, Politi said.

(Ian Stokell/19920601/Press Contact: Stan Politi, CM Ventures
Inc., 510-601-5000)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 2 New For PC: Easel Updates Easel/Win Development Tool 06/02/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00006)

New For PC: Easel Updates Easel/Win Development Tool 06/02/92
BURLINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 2 (NB) --
Responding to the concerns of software developers who want to
hedge their bets in the Windows-OS/2 race, Easel Corp. has
enhanced its Easel/Win development tool to simplify the creation
of applications that can be ported to OS/2.

Easel/Win 2.0, designed for use with the Easel Workbench
Development Environment in creating client/server applications,
adds support for several features that can be used on both
Windows and OS/2 systems, the company said. The new
Easel/Win is "almost identical" to Easel's comparable development
tool for OS/2, said company spokesman Douglas Clauson.

"The end-user environment today is very heterogeneous," Clauson
said. "Developers really need the flexibility" of a tool that supports
both Windows and OS/2.

Easel/Win 2.0 lets developers build applications that work with
Oracle Server on any platform Oracle supports, including IBM and
Digital Equipment proprietary host systems and Unix machines.
The software also works with Microsoft's and Sybase's SQL Server
and with IBM's DB2 database.

In addition to OS/2 support, Easel has added improved support for
Windows help, better integration with third-generation programming
languages such as COBOL and C, and support for 256-color
images.

Easel/Win 2.0 will be shipped to all current Easel/Win customers
at no charge. The combination of Easel Workbench and Easel/Win
sells for $11,900. Easel/Win 2.0 is available now.

(Grant Buckler/19920601/Press Contact: Douglas Clauson, Easel,
617-221-3088, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 2 Australia: DEC To Become Toll Collector For NSW Govt 06/02/92

(NEWS)(GOVT)(SYD)(00007)

Australia: DEC To Become Toll Collector For NSW Govt 06/02/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 2 (NB) -- Digital Equipment (DEC)
has won the right to head the consortium which will see electronic
toll collection begin on Sydney's Harbour Bridge. The move by the
New South Wales (NSW) Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) is
aimed at cutting congestion on the bridge due to the current toll
collection methods.

DEC will act as prime contractor and systems coordinator for the
Australian developed system, which will see motorists establishing
accounts which are debited whenever their car (with a special tag)
passes the toll gates.  The tags used are radio frequency (RF)
activated, and carry the relevant information to allow the correct
account to be debited.

As a car approaches the toll gate, a radio signal is sent out. The
tag reacts to this by beaming back the relevant identification
details. A computer checks to see if there is a credit in the
account and if there is, a light flashes which indicates to the
driver to proceed. If the credit is low, another light is displayed
to inform the driver, and if there is no credit, the driver is
indicated to stop and pay the toll as normal. Accounts can be
"topped up" if they are low on credit.

John Lee, account manager for DEC, said the operation takes a
fraction of a second, and will also improve traffic flow on the
bridge and cut pollution. "The whole key to the success of the
system is to make it easy to operate and maintain and it is
envisaged that people would be able to purchase the RF tags and
put funds into their toll account through a simple cash or
credit-card transaction at service stations," Lee said.

(Sean McNamara/19920519)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 2 Paycheck - Australian Developed Payroll System For PCs 06/02/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(SYD)(00008)

Paycheck - Australian Developed Payroll System For PCs 06/02/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 2 (NB) -- PCS Australia has
released Paycheck, a fully Australian designed payroll package for
corporate and government payrolls of more than 30 employees.

The program runs on standalone 386 PCs, or those running on a
Novell network. PCS claims the system can handle thousands of
employees, and is currently used at several sites for the mining
company BHP, and the national broadcaster ABC (Australian
Broadcasting Commission). Several other sites are also being
negotiated in both the government and the corporate arenas.

Steve Morgan, PCS Australia's account manager, said that while
Paycheck is basically an off-the-shelf package, it can be tailored
to suit an individual organization. The package has been designed to
allow users to only use the features they need. "Paycheck provides
detailed payroll information with records of individual transactions
or summaries. Once original salary information for each employee
is fed into the system, or changes are operator-entered at a later
date, further programming changes are no longer required," Morgan
said.

"Paycheck contains integrated Personnel and Position details,
including recruitment, service histories, qualifications and skills,
training, performance appraisals, occupational health, and personal
details...all of which can be maintained on an on-going basis,"
Morgan went on to say. Other features include costing and general
ledger integration of wage costs, changes to parameters such as
deductions or tax, a full audit facility, information security, and
report generation."

(Sean McNamara/19920519/Press Contact: Steve Morgan,
phone in Australia [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 2 Australian Company To Supply Int'l Optical Fiber Cable 06/02/92

(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00009)

Australian Company To Supply Int'l Optical Fiber Cable 06/02/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 2 (NB) -- Tasman Cable
Company (TCC), a subsidiary of Alcatel Australia, has won an
AUS$40 million contract to supply a 2,400 kilometer (km)
stretch of the longest submarine cable system in the world --
the SEA-ME-WE2 (South East Asia-Middle East-Western
Europe) cable.

The SEA-ME-WE2 cable will stretch 18,000km between Singapore
and Marseilles, passing through Jakarta, Djibouti, Suez, Cairo,
Alexandria, with "side-trips" on the way to Colombo, Bombay,
Jeddah, Pentaskhinos, Marmaris, Palermo, Bizerte, and Algiers.
The TCC portion will start at Jakarta and go part of the way to
Djibouti. The cable will include 160 submerged repeaters and
branching units, and 18 land-based terminals in 13 sites.

The cable will be manufactured and directly loaded onto the cable
laying ship at Sydney's Port Botany. Alcatel TCC's general
manager, Mike Kerr, said of the announcement: "To be awarded
this manufacturing contract for SEA-ME-WE2 shows we are now at
the point where it is acknowledged by administrations around the
world that Alcatel TCC supplies submarine cables of world-class
quality." The cable is expected to be completed by the end of the
year, with repeaters being added and testing being carried out in
the first quarter of next year.

(Sean McNamara/19920519)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 2 Australian Telecoms Watchdog To Examine Billing Systems 06/02/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00010)

Australian Telecoms Watchdog To Examine Billing Systems 06/02/92
CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 2 (NB) -- The Australian
telecommunications industry watchdog, Austel, is to investigate
all facets of the Australian carriers' call billing systems. Although
individual complaints would not be heard, Austel is hoping to
ensure that bills sent out by the two carriers are as accurate as
possible.

Robin Daley, the chairman of Austel said: "Austel's inquiry will
establish independent verification of the carrier's call charging
and billing system and will ensure that proper procedures are in
place to deal with complaints relating to incorrect charging."

Davey went on to say that the inquiry was prompted by a 1991
House of Representatives Standing Committee report into the
handling of complaints by Telecom, which has since merged with
OTC to form one of Australia's two carriers, AOTC (Australian and
Overseas Telecommunications Corporation). The report found that
of the complaints sent to the Commonwealth Ombudsman relating
to Telecom, 35 percent were about billing.

The inquiry will be looking at such issues as information access
for customer's verification, standards, calibration of charging
equipment, network faults, and new charging methods.

Submissions have been called to be tendered by July 24, and
it is hoped that a report can be ready for public discussion in
September and a final report by October.

(Sean McNamara/19920519)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 2 New For Unix In UK: RIS Calendar Manager Debuts 06/02/92

(NEWS)(UNIX)(LON)(00011)

New For Unix In UK: RIS Calendar Manager Debuts 06/02/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 2 (NB) -- Russell Information
Sciences has announced the availability of Calendar Manager, a
time scheduling system for users of Digital Equipment Corporation
(DEC) hardware.

The package, which was developed in the US, is being distributed
in the UK by Metrologie. According to Eric Jawab, Metrologies'
marketing director, one of the major benefits of the package is its
ease-of-use and intuitive under interface.

"The operational benefits, time-saving qualities and general
efficiency of Calendar Manager, coupled with the short time
required to train new users on the windows and pop-up menus,
means that the package will probably become the most
frequently used package on people's systems," he said.

Jedwab added that the majority of business are critically aware
of the need to increase business efficiency.

"Calendar Manager can help in two ways. Firstly, chasing people's
diaries around for days on end just to arrange a three way
meeting is a thing of the past when you use this package. And
secondly, by allowing the computer to match the most effective
time for scheduling people and resources, eliminates double
bookings and makes the best use of valuable time. These two
simple improvements in efficiency can offer dramatic cost
savings as well as increasing productivity," he said.

In use, Calendar Manager allows users to schedule people, rooms,
equipment, and resources, ranging from a small departmental
meeting to a major seminar across a company's national and
international offices, the company claims. The system will
automatically detect and report any clashes, or conflicts with
personal schedules.

According to Jawab, pricing on the package depends on what
processor the software is running on. "Pricing starts from under
UKP 1,000, and goes as high as UKP 42,000 on a VAX 9000
series," he told Newsbytes.

(Steve Gold/19920529/Press & Public Contact: Metrologie - Tel:
0494-526271)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 2 UK: Mac Version Of Perform Pro Filler Debuts 06/02/92

(NEWS)(APPLE)(LON)(00012)

UK: Mac Version Of Perform Pro Filler Debuts 06/02/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 2 (NB) -- Delrina Technology
has announced the availability of an Apple Mac version of its
Perform Pro Filler. The UKP 149 package enables Mac users to
fill in electronic forms created in Perform Pro for Windows.

According to Delrina, the software is Mac System 6.0.5- and 7.0-
compatible, supporting all color and monochrome screen
resolutions plus font technologies. In use, the package needs a
minimum Mac configuration of one megabyte (MB) or memory
and a hard disk. A Superdrive and laser printer are recommended.

Announcing the software, Larry Levy, Delrina's sales and
marketing director, said that Perform Pro allows WYSIWYG (what
you see is what you get) "intelligent" forms. These and other
features make the package unique in the electronic cross-platform
form marketplace.

"We're the only vendor that offers companies the opportunity to
introduce electronic forms throughout the organization regardless
of platform for Windows, DOS, and Mac users alike," he claimed.

(Steve Gold/19920529/Press & Public Contact: Delrina - Tel: 081-
207-3163)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 2 Hayes Launches Optima 144 Data-Fax Modem 06/02/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00013)

Hayes Launches Optima 144 Data-Fax Modem 06/02/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 2 (NB) -- Hayes
Microcomputer Products has announced a new 14,400 bits-per-
second (bps) fax-data modem called the Optima 144 + Fax 144.
The new product will retail for $519 and follows the V.32bis
modulation and V.42bis error correction standards.

The new modem comes bundled with Smartcom FAX and
Smartcom EZ communications software. The former is a
memory-resident program which allows users to fax documents
directly from their computer, without leaving their main
application, and create transaction logs. The latter is a basic
data communications program.

The company also announced Optima 144, a data-only modem at
the same speed of 14,400 bps. It comes bundled with Smartcom
EZ at a price of $479. Both products are made in Norcross,
Georgia.

This is great news for modem buyers. First, the pricing is very
aggressive -- data-only modems at this speed were at over
$1,000 just a year ago. The aggressive pricing is also important
because Hayes owns Practical Peripherals, a low-cost producer
of data communication products, indicating even lower-cost
product could be in the offing.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920529/Press Contact: Angie Ciarloni,
Hayes, 404-840-9200)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 2 Merisel Announces Promotion And Sweepstakes 06/02/92

(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00014)

Merisel Announces Promotion And Sweepstakes 06/02/92
EL SEGUNDO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 2 (NB) -- Merisel
is launching a new program that is intended to stimulate sales in its
Macintosh division. This promotion will involve both end-users as
well as resellers.

For the end-users, the promotion is taking the form of a
sweepstakes. Merisel is taking out an ad in upcoming issues of
MacWorld magazine. Readers will be asked to tear out the coupon
and send it to Merisel. For the resellers, Merisel will issue one
sweeps ticket for each item that a particular reseller orders. At
the end of the respective periods, Merisel will draw two names out
of all the tickets that have been received. The winners get a three-
day trip for two to either the Adult Space Academy which simulates
astronaut training, or the Adult Aviation Challenge which simulates
fighter pilot training.

The period for the promotions is between June 1 and July 31 1992.
Drawing will be held in August and in September for resellers and
end-users respectively. Merisel stated that the reason for waiting
a little longer for the end-user drawing was to allow more people
to enter should they receive their magazines a bit late.

(Naor Wallach/19920602/Press Contact: Cathy Quattrocchi,
Merisel, 310-615-1230)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 2 ServerJet SI Connects 7 PCs To One Laser Printer 06/02/92

(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00015)

ServerJet SI Connects 7 PCs To One Laser Printer 06/02/92
SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 2 (NB) -- ASP
Computer Products has begun shipments of its ServerJet SI
product. which allows customers to attach up to seven computers
to a single HP LaserJet SI laser printer.

This is accomplished through a board that plugs in to the printer's
MIO slot. The other end of the board sports six RJ11 (telephone
wire) plugs as well as a DB25 connector. Using special cabling,
users can attach their PC's serial ports to one of the ports on the
ServerJet SI. One user can attach his/her parallel port to the
server's parallel port. Or, that port can be used to connect two of
these devices together in a daisy-chaining arrangement.

The ServerJet comes with a couple of programs. One is an
installation diskette that is used for configuring the printer and
all of the printer ports on the ServerJet. Another program is a
TSR (terminate-and-stay-resident) that is used when multiple
ServerJets are attached together. In such a case, the TSR allows
computer users to indicate whichever printer they want their
output to go to.

The ServerJet can be configured with either 2, 3, or 4 MB of RAM.
The amount of RAM needed depends on the quantity of users and
the kinds of print jobs that they will be submitting. Upgrades are
possible later. So, if you buy it and discover that you need more
RAM, you can contact the company for an upgrade.

The ServerJet SI with 1 MB of RAM sells for $795. The product
and its associated peripherals is shipping now.

(Naor Wallach/19920602/Press Contact: Leslie Drohan, ASP
Computer, 408-746-2965 ext 438)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 2  ****AT&T To Use HackerTracker To Combat Fraud 06/02/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00016)

 ****AT&T To Use HackerTracker To Combat Fraud 06/02/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 2 (NB) -- AT&T,
which has made some broad promises to customers to help stop
telephone fraud, has signed a license agreement to use Moscom's
HackerTracker telephone fraud detection software. Under the
one-year deal, AT&T will market HackerTracker as an AT&T
product and pay Moscom license fees.

HackerTracker is also an optional module to Moscom's call
accounting software, which AT&T sells as CAS Plus V3. AT&T
said their list price for HackerTracker will be $1,995 per copy.

HackerTracker monitors call activity against ten different
criteria established by a switch owner. Once an acceptable level
of activity is exceeded, HackerTracker generates an alarm.  For
example, a firm doing business only with North American
customers could request that an alarm be generated whenever
$25-worth of overseas calls are made in a single day. The nature
of the alarm can be a printed message, an audible alert, a beeper
notification, or a facsimile message. Once an alarm is reported, a
telecommunications manager can quickly determine if fraud has
occurred and take corrective action to terminate the loss.

In other news involving AT&T, the company continued to talk
with its unions in hopes of averting a strike or other job action.
Contracts expired over the weekend.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920602/Press Contact: Moscom,
Robert L. Boxer, 716/383-6803)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 2  ****Fujitsu Renames Poqet Computer 06/02/92

(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(ATL)(00017)

 ****Fujitsu Renames Poqet Computer 06/02/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A, 1992 JUN 2 (NB) -- Poqet
Computer is no more. Fujitsu, which helped bankroll the palmtop
computer start-up, then slowly bought-out the remaining equity,
officially re-launched the company as Fujitsu Personal Systems,
part of its $2 billion personal systems group.

Initially, it will sell the old Poqet line, which is made by Fujitsu.
The company now has 150 employees.

From the beginning, the Poqet was a controversial machine. Its
light weight turned heads, but its high price -- about $2,000 --
turned off buyers. The computer's keyboard, which was hard to
use, and its limited expandability hurt it among buyers.

Recently, the company has tried to redirect its efforts toward
field computing applications, adding wireless modems and calling
it the Poqet Communicating Computer. But its market share
remains low.

Fujitsu said that will remain its strategy, leveraging the company's
patented power management technology for systems used
in field automation and mobile worker applications, such as data
collection, sales force automation, field service, and electronic
messaging.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920602/Press Contact: Fujitsu Personal
Systems, Ann Marie McGee, 408/764-9489)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 2 BellSouth Enters Teleradiology Market 06/02/92

(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00018)

BellSouth Enters Teleradiology Market 06/02/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 2 (NB) -- BellSouth has
entered the market for remote medical diagnosis by signing a co-
marketing agreement with CAE-Link of Binghamton, New York, a
subsidiary of CAE Industries in Toronto.

The agreement allows BellSouth to market its network-based private
line and switched voice and data services in tandem with CAE-Link's
hardware, software and systems integration video teleconferencing
packages. The agreement covers BellSouth's nine-state southeast
US service area.

Teleradiology is a technique by which x-rays and other image
modalities are transmitted over telephone lines using high-
resolution monitors, laser scanners, and personal computers.
Its most common application involves the transfer of radiographic
images -- such as a cranial display or chest x-ray --to distant
healthcare locations for diagnosis by consulting radiology
specialists.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920602/Press Contact: David A. Storey,
BellSouth Telecommunications, 205-321-3413; Richard G. Adams
CAE-Link Corporation, 607-721-5849)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 2 Mustang Releases Wildcat 3.5 06/02/92

(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00019)

Mustang Releases Wildcat 3.5 06/02/92
BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 2 (NB) --
Mustang Software has announced a major upgrade to its Wildcat
bulletin board system.

Version 3.5 of the software features new security and ease-of-use
features, and is aimed at corporate, small business, and individual
users of bulletin boards. The company said it now has over 10,000
installations.

President Jim Harrer said among the new features of the software
are "answer required" fields on questionaires, which make it
necessary for a user to fill in a field before proceeding to the
next question. This is particularly important in boards offering
product support, and makes sure that important information like
a caller's phone number and address will not be forgotten.

New security provisions include support of wildcard filters, to
deny downloading of certain files by unauthorized callers. All
picture files ending in .gif could be excluded from downloading
without pre-authorization, for instance by entering "(asterix).gif" in
the appropriate filter file.

Display files, sometimes called "hello screens," can also be
tailored to specific security levels. New, high speed modems
including Telebit Trailblazers running at 16,800 bits-per-second,
and V.32bis products running at 14,400 bps, are also supported.

Also, Zmodem, an increasingly popular protocol, is now
supported through the DSZ.LOG calling format, allowing an
accurate download count on callers who use external protocols.
DSZ.LOG support also allows Wildcat users to handle the HS.Link
and Bimodem bi-directional protocols. There are also new types of
support for users of CD-ROM drives and Novell Netware. Single
line versions of the software cost $129, while a version handling
up to 10 lines costs $249, and up to 250 lines, $499.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920602/Press Contact: Jim Harrer, Mustang
Software, 805-395-0223)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 2 New For PC: Upgrade To Pal-Edit Script Editor For Paradox 06/02/92

(NEWS)(IBM)(WAS)(00020)

New For PC: Upgrade To Pal-Edit Script Editor For Paradox 06/02/92
CHICAGO, IL, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 2 (NB) -- Kallista Inc., has
introduced an upgrade of its PAL-Edit script editor for Borland's
Paradox 4.0 PC database.

PAL-Edit is a programming tool that runs on top of American
Cybernetics' Multi-Edit, an ASCII text editor, according to Jason
Frost, technical support engineer for Kallista.

The latest edition of PAL-Edit, version 4.0, contains several new
features designed for ease of use, he said.  In addition, the code
has been enhanced to bring greater compatibility with DOS 5.0.

Two new features, the Kallista Table Viewer and Kallista Form and
Report Viewer, lets programmers view tables, structures, forms and
reports from within Multi-Edit or from the DOS command line.  In
the previous version, 3.5, it was necessary for the user to enter
PAL-Edit to view these items, said Frost.

Another new feature is designed to facilitate construction of
"if/then" rules.  By pressing a special key within the "if" area of
the program, the programmer can jump immediately to the
matching language construct in the "then" area. Conversely, the
same can be done within "then," allowing the user to quickly find
the matching construct in "if." Said Frost: "Believe me, this
capability saves a lot of time."

PAL-Edit 4.0 comes in two editions: Standard and Professional.
The Professional edition comes with all the features of the
Standard edition, plus an integrated 100,000 word spellchecker, a
telecom module, version control support, source code for the
macros used in building the editor, and a macro debugger.

Prices are $179 for the Standard edition and $249 for the
Professional edition.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920602/Press contact:  David Wilhite,
Kallista Inc., tel [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 2 Microsemi To Buy Unitrode's Competing Semiconductor Div 06/02/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00021)

Microsemi To Buy Unitrode's Competing Semiconductor Div 06/02/92
SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 2 (NB) -- Unitrode
is selling its Watertown, Massachusetts-based Semiconductor
Parts Division (SPD) to Microsemi, its long time competitor in the
semiconductor industry.

Microsemi said it has acquired substantially all the assets of SPD.
This includes the land and buildings in Watertown, Massachusetts,
as well as all of the assets, lands, and buildings of a support
facility in Ennis, Ireland. Microsemi said it is getting the SPD for
an undisclosed amount of cash as well as secured and unsecured
notes, subject to the required governmental approvals.

David Sonksen, vice president of finance for Microsemi told
Newsbytes no layoffs are planned. Microsemi plans to operate the
Unitrode facility as it is with the exception of eliminating overlays
between the two operations, Sonksen added.

Unitrode manufacturers discrete power semiconductors used
principally for military and industrial applications in addition to
electronic components and subsystems, including power
management integrated circuits, data conversion products, and
switching power supplies. Unitrode claims the deal should have no
impact on its earnings which are based on worldwide sales of
its products for defense/aerospace, industrial, computer,
telecommunications, data processing, and consumer applications.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920602/Press Contact: David Sonksen,
Microsemi, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 2 Adobe Intros PostScript Software For Printers And Sun 06/02/92

(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00022)

Adobe Intros PostScript Software For Printers And Sun 06/02/92
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 2 (NB) --
Adobe Systems has announced a Sun Sparcstation version of its
Display PostScript system, to be sold through distributors, along
with emulation and language sensing software, to be used by
OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) in upcoming printer
implementations for heterogeneous settings.

Display PostScript allows the same page description format to be
used by the display and printer.  With the port of the software to
Sun, all major Unix platforms are now united around the PostScript
standard, said Steve MacDonald, senior vice president and general
manager for Adobe's Systems Division.  The extension of
PostScript's WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) capabilities
to more workstations will spur development of richer graphics
applications for Unix, he predicted.

The new emulation software for PostScript printers will simulate
the functionality of Printer Control Language 5 (PCL5), Hewlett
Packard's latest command language. The software will also bring
support for Intellifont fonts, the outline type format used in PCL5.
The options are designed to let a printer output any document
produced on a PC or Macintosh, regardless of whether the
document is based on Adobe's PostScript software or PCL5, or
whether Intellifont, TrueType, or Adobe's Type 1 fonts are being
employed.

The language sensing software, made possible by a recent
technology acquisition from LaserTools Corp., will further strengthen
language detection, a capability that has historically posed barriers
to emulation switching, explained Marc Cagigas, director of product
marketing for LaserTools.

The language sensing software will be able to tell the difference
between print jobs prepared in PostScript, PCL, and two formats
that crop up frequently in DOS-based applications, "print screen"
and ASCII text.  After recognizing the language, the software will
automatically switch the printer to the appropriate format.

Adobe plans to do development work of its own before releasing
the language sensing software to OEMs. At press time, shipment
dates were not yet available for the either the language sensing or
emulation software.

Display PostScript is already on the market for Unix workstations
from DEC, IBM, NCD, Next, and Silicon Graphics.  Later this
month, distributors will be sent kits enabling an MIT XII R5 server
running a Sparc processor to be modified for use with Display
PostScript, a spokesperson for Adobe said.

The Display PostScript system will come with Adobe Showpage,
an application that lets the user display, rotate, and scale any
PostScript language file, as well as with 13 scalable fonts in
Adobe's Type 1 format.  Users will also be able to install any of
the 1,500 type faces in the Adobe Type Library, or any of the
Type 1 fonts offered by outside vendors.

In addition, distributors will have the option of bundling the
product with workstations or other applications.  The distributors
will set their own pricing, the spokesperson noted.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920602/Press Contact: Patricia J. Pane,
Adobe, tel [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 2 New For PC In UK: Microsoft Mail Starter Kit Announced 06/02/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00023)

New For PC In UK: Microsoft Mail Starter Kit Announced 06/02/92
WOKINGHAM, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 2 (NB) --
Microsoft UK has begun shipping the Microsoft Mail Starter Kit, a
special package that will allow customers to buy Microsoft Mail
2.1 for PC Networks in a ten user "pack" for UKP 485.

The normal price of a ten user license is UKP 1,035, which
means that Microsoft is offering more than 50 percent off the
package until the offer runs out at the end of June.

Why is Microsoft making such an offer? Mark Hassal, the
company's electronic mail product manager, said that Microsoft's
studies have shown that only 20 percent of local area networks
(LANs) are equipped with an e-mail package.

"We want to make it easy and affordable for people to get up and
running on electronic mail. With this starter kit, customers are
getting a great product and everything they need at less than
half the price," he said.

Microsoft Mail for PC Networks is an e-mail system that is
designed to integrate users on LANs. The software overlays the
LAN software and allows users to send and receive e-mail on a
real-time basis. The package supports MS-Windows, DOS, Mac,
and OS/2 Presentation Manager platform environments.

Perhaps more importantly, Microsoft Mail interfaces with
environments outside of the LAN using a gateway technology.
This allows messages to be sent and received to and from X.400,
SMPTP/Unix, SNADs, MHS (message handling system), MCI Mail,
and 3Com network environments.

Microsoft is, however, not as altruistic as it might first appear. The
company is clearing the way for the introduction of Microsoft Mail
3.0 for PC networks, which is scheduled to ship in the third quarter
of the year. Customers taking advantage of the v2.0 offer can
upgrade to version 3.0 for networks later this year at no extra cost.

(Steve Gold/19920602/Press & Public Contact: Microsoft U.K. -
Tel: [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 2 UK: British Telecom Unveils Low-Cost ISDN Hardware 06/02/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00024)

UK: British Telecom Unveils Low-Cost ISDN Hardware 06/02/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 2 (NB) -- British Telecom has
unveiled a range of low-cost Integrated Service Digital Network
(ISDN) terminal adapters for use with its ISDN-2 service.

ISDN-2 offers two 64.000 bits-per-second (bps) ISDN channels
into the home or office and, with an installation cost of UKP 400
and ongoing line rental of UKP 336. Currently, service availability
covers two thirds of the UK.

The new terminal adapters are the TA V24, the TA V35, the TA
X21, and an updated version of the TA X21DS, which was originally
launched a year ago. The first three terminal adapters cost UKP
1,395 each, while the updated TA X21DS costs UKP 1,595.

Pricing on the terminal adapters is around half of the prices
that some manufacturers have been offering the hardware at.
According to BT, the new adapters offer a low-cost route into the
technology, complementing the ISDN-2 service.

"Terminal adapters provide customers with an extremely
convenient and cost-effective method of accessing the digital
network and taking advantage of its benefits," explained Les
Lowin, BT's ISDN marketing manager.

Despite the low price of the adapters, a number of advanced
features have been included as standard. These include an
analog port for linking to modems, faxes, and normal telephones.
Other features include a built-in power supply and a liquid
crystal display (LCD). BT claims that the units have some of the
smallest footprints on the market today.

(Steve Gold/19920602/Press & Public Contact: BT ISDN
Marketing Information - Tel: [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 2 UK: Trigem Unveils 25MHz 386SX PC 06/02/92

(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00025)

UK: Trigem Unveils 25MHz 386SX PC 06/02/92
SLOUGH, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 2 (NB) -- Trigem
Computers has unveiled a 25 megahertz (MHz) version of its 20MHz
386SX-based SX386E. The SX386M+ will cost UKP 920 for a
standard system with two megabytes (MB) of memory, a 42MB
hard disk and a single floppy drive.

The machine features color SVGA graphics, integrated on to the
motherboard, with a slim footprint of 14 by 16.2 inches, and 4.5
inches height casing. The 2MB of random access memory (RAM)
can be expanded to 32MB on the motherboard, without tying up
any of the four expansion slots.

This is made possible, Trigem claims, because the memory
expansion system uses single in-line memory modules (SIMMs), a
key feature of all of the Korean company's new products. DOS 5.0
comes as standard with the machine.

While Trigem has yet to establish a name for itself in the US,
it is fleshing out its range of machines here in the UK. Back home
in Korea, the company claims to one of the country's leading
PC manufacturers, though the bulk of its machines are sold
through the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) marketplace.

Trigem was voted Korea's best company in May, 1990, by the
Korea Managers' Association. The company is aiming to match
some of the other offers on the market with free lifetime use of a
technical support hotline, 12 months parts and labor warranty, and
a 30 day money-back guarantee. On-site maintenance of the
machine costs users an extra UKP 55 for the first year.

(Steve Gold/19920602/Press & Public Contact: 0753-810808)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 2  ****Microsoft Demos 32-bit SQL Server For Windows NT 06/02/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00026)

 ****Microsoft Demos 32-bit SQL Server For Windows NT 06/02/92
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 2 (NB) -- Microsoft
has premiered a 32-bit version of SQL Server, saying the software is
designed to exploit the multiprocessing architecture of the Windows
NT operating system expected to debut by the end of the year.

The demonstration, using a 486-based NCR system as the
hardware platform, was done for more than 1,000 of Microsoft's
corporate  customers attending the Sybase International User
Conference in San Jose, California, this week.

The 32-bit version demonstrated is based on the OS/2 version of
Microsoft SQL Server 4.2, Microsoft officials said.  That version of
the program has been shipping for about two months.

Windows NT Director Dwayne Walker said the company is already
seeing a high level of interest for Windows NT, and more than 2,000
developers have signed up for the NT developers conference
scheduled for San Francisco in July.

DBMS Magazine readers last October selected Microsoft SQL
Server as their favorite, replacing the previous year's winner, Oracle.
The following month, Microsoft cut the price of its SQL Server by
more than half.

About 10 weeks ago Microsoft started shipping its SQL Server
Resource Kit, a compilation of the most up to date utility programs
and technical information.  The company said the kit was designed
to help version 4.2 customers implement and administer more
powerful Windows-based client-server applications.

(Jim Mallory/19920602/Press contact: Collins Hemingway,
Microsoft, 206-882-8080; Reader contact: Microsoft,
800-426-9400)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 2  ****Software Developer's Co. Sells Products, Closes Div 06/02/92

(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00027)

 ****Software Developer's Co. Sells Products, Closes Div 06/02/92
HINGHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 2 (NB) -- The
Software Developer's Co. is winding up its Solution Systems division,
having sold the division's two major products to Borland International.
The company also announced the resignation of Dale C. Troppito,
vice-president of development, who headed the division.

Software Developer's Co. said it sold its Brief and Sourcerer's
Apprentice product lines to Borland for a total of $6.7 million. Of
that amount, $4.7 million is to be paid in cash at closing, and the
balance, subject to certain contingencies, within a year.

Company spokeswoman Ann Georgopoulos said the two product
lines sold to Borland represented about 85 percent of the division's
revenues. The remaining Software Solutions products will continue,
she said, but the division will disappear.

Most employees of the Software Solutions division are taking jobs
at Borland in California, Georgopoulos said. Some employees
chose not to accept Borland's offer and to remain in Massachusetts,
she added, but "everybody had an option."

There was no role left for Troppito at Software Developer's Company
since the company plans to concentrate on distribution and
marketing, and "her position was in development," Georgopoulos
said.

The sale of Solution Systems will result in a loss of about $3.5
million for Software Developer's Company in the current fiscal year,
officials said. The company paid $6.3 million in cash and stock to
acquire the rights to the two product lines from their developers
before selling them to Borland. Software Developer's had published
the software packages under a royalty arrangement.

When the company revealed in March that it was seeking to sell
the division or some of its products, company spokesman Steven
Oremland said the Solution Systems unit had been a "financial
drain" on the company because sales volumes of its products had
not been sufficient to cover costs.

The Software Developer's Company produces software development
tools and publications for software developers.

(Grant Buckler/19920602/Press Contact: Ann Georgopoulos,
Software Developer's Co., 617-740-0300)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 2  ****Seven VPs Among 3,700 Taking DEC's Early Retirement 06/02/92

(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00028)

 ****Seven VPs Among 3,700 Taking DEC's Early Retirement 06/02/92
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 2 (NB) -- Digital
Equipment will lose seven vice-presidents as a result of its US
Special Early Retirement Program. The seven are among 3,700
employees who accepted incentives aimed at cutting Digital's
payroll, out of some 7,200 who were eligible for the plan.

The seven vice-presidents taking early retirement are: George A.
Chamberlain, 3rd, vice-president of marketing finance and a 24-year
Digital employee; 33-year veteran Henry J. Crouse, vice-president
of strategic relations and the first president of the Open Software
Foundation; James G. Cudmore, vice-president of operations staff,
who has been with the company since 1960; William J. Heffner,
vice-president of image, voice, and video products and a 17-year
Digital employee and former head of the software development effort
that produced the VMS operating system; Robert C. Hughes,
vice-president of US sales and an employee since 1976; Albert E.
Mullin, Jr., vice-president, corporate relations, responsible for
Digital's investor, government and community relations since 1972;
and Richard H. Yen, vice-president of Far East manufacturing, also
with the company since 1972.

Company spokesman Dallas Kirk said some of the vice-presidents'
positions may be filled, but Digital will evaluate the jobs and
decide what functions are essential. Whatever jobs are filled, he
said, the company will try to fill from within if possible.

The Special Early Retirement Program provided 26 weeks of pay in
a lump sum and added five years of service and five years of age to
the normal retirement plan.

Kirk admitted Digital will probably have to make further staff cuts,
but will evaluate the situation before announcing its future plans
"within the next few weeks."

(Grant Buckler/19920602/Press Contact: Dallas Kirk, Digital,
508-493-4562)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 2  ****Matsushita Gains IBM's PC BIOS Codes 06/02/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TYO)(00029)

 ****Matsushita Gains IBM's PC BIOS Codes 06/02/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 2 (NB) -- Japan's Matsushita Electric
has signed an agreement with IBM concerning the licensing of IBM
PC/AT's basic input/output system (BIOS). It is the first time
that IBM has licensed the BIOS to a third party.

According to IBM Japan, IBM will license the "AT bus" to
Matsushita. The AT bus controls input and output process
between hardware and software, and is therefore one of the most
important factors for designing personal computers.

Third-party hardware makers had to get the completed BIOS
system from IBM or had to design their own BIOS system in
order to produce IBM-compatible personal computers. However,
with this IBM BIOS, Matsushita will produce a "true" IBM-
compatible personal computer.

Apparently, IBM has been becoming more flexible concerning its
personal computer policy. It is part of IBM Japan's "Open
Architecture Developing Group" policy, which aims to promote
development and sales of IBM-compatible personal computers
by third-party makers.

It is expected that IBM will sign similar licensing agreement on
the BIOS with other third-party makers.

Meanwhile, Matsushita Electric has been selling Fujitsu's personal
computers in Japan. The licensing of IBM's BIOS may change the
policy of Matsushita. The firm may stop the sale of Fujitsu's
personal computers and enter the IBM PC market sometime in the
future.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920602/Press Contact: Matsushita Electric,
[phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 2  ****More On Rockwell, Hayes Deal: Exclusive Interviews 06/02/92

(EXCLUSIVE)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00030)

 ****More On Rockwell, Hayes Deal: Exclusive Interviews 06/02/92
NORCROSS, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUNE 2 (NB) -- If your PC
modem uses a Rockwell chip-set you should no longer worry about
the patent and licensing brouhaha over the Escape Sequence with
Guard Time invented by former Hayes Microcomputer Products
partner Dale Heatherington. It's paid for.

Hayes founder-President Dennis Hayes and Rockwell
Semiconductor executive Dwight Decker discussed this and
other issues in an exclusive two-part interview with Newsbytes.

From Rockwell, the largest maker of modem chip sets, a key to
the deal was a limited exclusivity, "where we wouldn't be licensing
other chip manufacturers to use this technology," Hayes and
Decker agreed.

"This does not prohibit us from licensing other modem makers,"
said Hayes, but if a modem maker is using a Sierra or AT&T chip
set, they will always have to come to Hayes for a license on the
Escape Sequence with Guard Time, also known as the
Heatherington '302 patent, if they intend to use it.

Additionally, the deal doesn't guarantee that Rockwell will be the
main supplier for future Hayes modems, Hayes added. "We
develop our specifications, look for the best components, then
select vendors. This does not predict or preclude Hayes and
Rockwell working together."

For the Hayes company: "This is confirmation that the
Heatherington patent is confirmed as the industry standard. There
were several attempts at creating alternative escape mechanisms
prior to this. They were unreliable."

Sierra Semiconductor is still pushing such a system, called the
Time Independent Escape Sequence. Hayes explained why such
systems don't work. "When you tell the modem to dial a phone,
you expect it to make the connection, then be transparent to the
data," he explained. "That's where the time delays, before and
after the escape code, in the Heatherington mechanism, become
important. There's no way it can work unless you can make it
work. There has to be a delay."

Another important point is that: "You can only count on having a
three-wire serial connection on all computers, he said. "You
could use the other six wires to control the modem, but you can't
count on them being implemented on different computers." Thus,
the Heatherington mechanism is foolproof and works on all PCs,
Hayes concluded. No other system can make that claim.

Hayes added that, while the ability to hit the "escape" key and
switch between a modem's command mode and its on-line mode
is an important part of the Hayes AT command set, many modems
may claim to be "Hayes-compatible" without implementing it.

"Hayes has never taken a position as to what is Hayes-compatible --
we've left that to our competitors. We implement what we call the
Hayes standard AT command set, we implement the Heatherington
302 patent, and we implement a number of features and functions
that are a Hayes modem."

Decker and Hayes agreed that, while standards bodies have been
talking about using extensions of the AT command set as a
standard for fax-modems that might allow companies to create
standard software for such products, those extensions are not
covered by this agreement. "Standards bodies typically see if the
manufacturer is willing to license a patent, before they incorporate
it in a standard," Hayes said. "Our point of view has always been
that we're willing to license."

Tomorrow, Newsbytes will continue its discussion with Decker and
Hayes on such subjects as ISDN (Integrated Services Digital
Networks) and wireless modems.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920602/Press Contact: Beth Logan, Hayes,
404-840-9200)
#ENDCARD


#CARD :1992 JUN 1  ****Compaq To Place "Business Audio" Sound Chip In PCs 06/01/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00001)

 ****Compaq To Place "Business Audio" Sound Chip In PCs 06/01/92
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 1 (NB) -- Business Audio is the new
name computer manufacturer Compaq, software developer Microsoft, and
sound chip developer Analog Devices have given the joint hardware and
software technology development effort the three companies have
agreed to pursue geared toward sound for business. The move is
centered around a new sound chip developed by Analog Devices that
Compaq is using in new products.

Nora Hahn of public relations for Compaq said the company plans to
announce the new products with the sound chip the second quarter of
this year, meaning before June 30.

Analog Devices introduced the specification for the new chip which it
calls the Soundport. Bill Schweber of Analog Devices told Newsbytes
the Soundport has all the capability of a sound card, but can be
placed on the motherboard of a computer. The advantages to the chip
are its lower cost and space savings, Schweber maintains.

Compaq has the first opportunity to incorporate the Soundport chips,
however Schweber assured Newsbytes the chips will be available on the
open market to other manufacturers this year.

The Soundport chip can understand the various types of audio data,
also known as sound files, and is capable of recording or playing PC-
quality sound (8-bit linear 11 KHz), telephone/workstation-quality
sound (8-bit a-law and 8-bit u-law), and CD-quality sound (16-bit
linear 44.1 kilohertz), in mono or stereo, Compaq said.

The most obvious first application for Business Audio is voice
annotation within Windows 3.1 for spreadsheets, word processing
documents, and electronic mail, the companies said.

Microsoft representative Collins Hemmingway told Newsbytes its
support of Business Audio and the Soundport won't exclude anyone
else, but it appears the chip will make it easier for users to take
advantage of sound capability in Windows 3.1. However, developers
will still have to incorporate the audio functionality that is
already built into Windows 3.1 into applications, Hemmingway added.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920601/Press Contact: Bill Schweber, Analog
Devices, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Collins Hemingway,
Microsoft, 206-882-8080; Nora Hahn, Compaq, 713-374-8316)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 1 New Zealand Telecom Companies Begin Asian Push 06/01/92

(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00002)

New Zealand Telecom Companies Begin Asian Push 06/01/92
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND, 1992 JUN 1 (NB) -- Signalling their
intention to be major players in the Asian telecommunications
market, the chief executives of four New Zealand (NZ)
telecommunications companies have ended a two-week tour of Malaysia,
Thailand, and the Philippines.

The companies represented were Deltec New Zealand, Exicom
International, Tait Electronics, and Marine Air Systems. The tour
was organized as a prelude to Singapore's CommunicationsAsia
conference, which will be held this month. The four companies, along
with 11 other NZ telecommunications companies, will be exhibiting at
the show. All of the exhibiting companies will do so under the flag
of NZ's Trade Development Board, Tradenz.

Other companies exhibiting at the conference will be: Alcatel New
Zealand, Ericsson Communications (New Zealand) and Telecom New
Zealand International. Peter Robins, Tradenz trade commissioner for
Thailand, said that the presence of the NZ firms at
CommunicationsAsia was a NZ first, and was a strategic step in the
achievement of Tradenz's five-year export earnings target.

Tradenz organized the tour, and it comprised of meetings with more
than 30 government and private sector leaders. The tour aimed at not
only introducing the players to their new market, but also to
examine first hand moves my some countries, such as Thailand, to
upgrade their telecommunications infrastructure.

(Sean McNamara/19920601)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 1 Australia: Victorian Jails To Have Security Telephones 06/01/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00003)

Australia: Victorian Jails To Have Security Telephones 06/01/92
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 1 (NB) -- The Victorian Department
of Corrections is to install monitored telephones throughout its
jails in a move to increase phone security. The system incorporates
many features to cut phone-based crime, and was developed locally by
NEC Australia.

The system works on the basis of a PIN (personal identification
number) and specific numbers which can be accessed. When a prisoner
is approved for use of the system, they nominate four phone numbers
they wish to call (six if they are on remand). These numbers are then
called and the people who own that number are asked if they wish to
receive calls from the prisoner. If cleared, these numbers are then
entered into the system for use by the prisoner. Remand prisoners
are allowed the extra calls because of their need to call legal
representatives.

Each call is time limited, and authorities can nominate to record
selected calls. The Department has also received permission from the
Australian telecommunications watchdog, Austel, to record telephone
conversations without the usual telltale piptones. Calls are not
allowed to be made to mobile phones, 0055 numbers (Australia's
equivalent of the US's 900 numbers) or the TAB (a statutory betting
agency).

The system was developed around NEC's NEAX2000 PABX switchboard and
its computer-based Open Application Interface. The system was
described by Brian Hutchinson, general manager of NEC Australia, as
a world first. "I am particularly proud that the system was totally
developed at our Mulgrave site. Our Australian engineers in Victoria
have helped the company 'get the jump' on our parent company in
Japan and NEC's subsidiary in the US," Hutchinson said. Other state
governments have already expressed an interest in the system, as
have US bodies. A conservative estimate of the system's export
potential is put at AUS$1M per year.

(Sean McNamara/19920601)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 1 Australia: Qantas Back-up System Keeps The Airline Flying 06/01/92

(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00004)

Australia: Qantas Back-up System Keeps The Airline Flying 06/01/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 1 (NB) -- A recent breakdown of
Qantas' international cargo reservations system set the stage for
the first real trial of the back-up system, which performed as
needed. This was the first time the AUS$26M back-up system was
needed, and was a result of a power surge which put the main system
down.

The back-up site, in Sydney's inner west, is run by Qantas'
information technology subsidiary, Qantek. The system was needed for
five days, during which time all scheduled cargo was lifted and no
flights were delayed, according to Qantek. "I think that the
successful way we managed to handle the crisis did a lot of positive
things for the staff here," Qantek's client services director, Ian
Harris, said. "It did a lot for everyone's confidence, showing that
we could cope with the type of situation that we had been preparing
for for quite a while," Harris said.

The main system went down on a Wednesday morning after the power
surge saw it progressively corrupting reservations data. After six
hours in which the situation got worse, at a time of the day when
the system is its busiest, the decision was made to power up the
back-up site. The transfer of staff, systems, and data to the back-up
site took four and a half hours. Qantek felt the move to establish a
complete back-up system in 1988 was vindicated by the disaster, as
the site was established to protect against a "creeping" problem
more than a "quick break" one.

(Sean McNamara/19920601)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 1 Australia: Show Aims To Promote Computer As Art Medium 06/01/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00005)

Australia: Show Aims To Promote Computer As Art Medium 06/01/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 1 (NB) -- An exhibition of
computer-generated art has opened in Sydney, with the aim to help
raise the profile of this generally little known medium with the
public. The exhibition, Bits of This, Bytes of That, features works
from students from the College of Fine Arts of the University of New
South Wales.

The exhibition is aimed at promoting "the use of computer-based
technology as a visual art" and includes works from eight college
students. Michele Barker, one of the artists featured, said that
"computer art has suffered because the equipment needed can be very
expensive and people have not come to grips with it as a form of
fine art. So this exhibition and others we would like to do in the
future, are designed to show people what we can do and push the
message across."

The works displayed have been done by the students in the college's
newly developed computer center. "We have all used Apple Macintoshes
to create the works with a new thermal printer to deliver the high-
quality finished art. Most of the art in the exhibition is
photographic-based as the people involved have a predominantly
photographic background but it is a good example of what computer
art is capable of," Baker said.

(Sean McNamara/19920507)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 1  ****AT&T Contract Talks Go Into Overtime 06/01/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00006)

 ****AT&T Contract Talks Go Into Overtime 06/01/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 JUN 1 (NB) -- A job action
against AT&T, the nation's largest long distance phone company,
could come at any time as talks with its unions enter overtime.

The contracts expired over the weekend, but the union agreed to
hold off on any action as negotiators for both sides worked
through the night. Talks recessed at 2 AM June 1 to give
negotiators a chance to sleep.

The main issue in the talks is job security. AT&T says it must
keep cutting positions, and plans to replace thousands of
operators with automated equipment over the next few years. The
two unions, the Communications Workers of America and the
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, want guarantees
against lay-offs and retraining for their workers. Pay is also an
issue -- AT&T's last public offer is for an eight percent raise,
spread out over three years. Another key issue will be AT&T's
position as the unions attempt to organize additional company
workers, and the company's attempts to put salesmen on
commission.

Even if the talks break down, it's unlikely the union will call
an immediate walk-out, despite the fact that workers gave their
leaders authority to do so. Instead, it could urge a global
boycott against the company. Many US unions, seeing failed
strikes at home, have been urging international action against
companies in labor disputes. And AT&T could be hurt by such a
call, especially in heavily unionized Europe, where it is
attempting to open markets and where governments will be happy to
get an excuse to keep them closed. The "electronic picket line"
could be implemented with or without a strike.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920601)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 1 Hayes Wins Rockwell License Agreement 06/01/92

(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00007)

Hayes Wins Rockwell License Agreement 06/01/92
NORCROSS, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 1 (NB) -- Rockwell
International, the world's largest maker of modem chip sets,
agreed to license the Hayes modem patent. The patent, known as
the Hayes Escape Sequence with Guard Time Patent, or the
Heatherington '302 patent, had been the subject of litigation by
modem makers who claimed it was invalid.

Hayes was a big winner when the suits came for trial in 1991
and since then most of those actions have been settled on Hayes'
terms. The Hayes patent is number 4,549,302 and was issued October
25, 1985.

The Rockwell agreement is still important. It can now implement
the Hayes standard in all its chips, simplifying support of modem
makers for the standard. As Dennis Hayes himself said in a press
statement, "By licensing Rockwell, Hayes makes it easy for all
modem manufacturers to use this standard technology."

The Heatherington '302 patent is at the heart of the Hayes "AT"
standard which in turn has been at the heart of PC modems for
over a decade. Dennis Hayes sought and defended the patent in
hopes, he said, that it would spur innovation. His company had
been hurt in the late 1980s as dozens of smaller competitors used
his technology on low-priced modems which reduced Hayes' market
share from an estimated high of 70 percent, causing lay-offs at
the company. Since then, Hayes has concentrated on engineering
instead of marketing. Its Practical Peripherals unit is now a
price leader on modems, and while the Hayes name is still found
on many products, many of the company's engineers have moved on
to work in ISDN, which Hayes is convinced will become an
important technology later in this decade.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920601/Press Contact: Beth Logan, Hayes, 404-
840-9200)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 1  ****Moscow: Phone Rates Skyrocket 06/01/92

(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00008)

 ****Moscow: Phone Rates Skyrocket 06/01/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 JUN 1 (NB) -- Phone tariffs have once again
risen in Moscow -- in a big way. Officially, the tripling of charges
is attributed to the increased cost of living.

The monthly fee for household phone service will triple to
42 rubles/month. Companies will pay 15 kopeks (0.15 ruble) per
minute for a local call. It is widely expected that home phones
will be charged according to this new per-minute rate soon, as
well.

The cost of installing a phone is increasingly becoming affordable
only by the rich. Residential line installation will cost 3000 rubles,
while business lines are 120,000 rubles. The official minimum monthly
wage in the country is 900 rubles per month.

Calling from a public phone, still limited to city borders, still costs
15 kopeks for three minutes. Moscow was one of the last cities in Russia
to switch from a 2 to a 15-kopek coin in public phones. TASS has
reported that 50 kopeks will buy unlimited time in a street phone,
however Newsbytes has yet to see such a device accepting those coins in
Moscow.

Local hackers are said to be actively exploring Western "blue box"
technology to avoid the high service prices.

The rate hike is a clear result of the recent government decree to
"free" communications service prices.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920601)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 1 BSA Raids Singapore Retail Outlets 06/01/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(HKG)(00009)

BSA Raids Singapore Retail Outlets 06/01/92
SINGAPORE, SEA, 1992 JUN 1 (NB) -- Acting on information supplied by the
Business Software Alliance (BSA), police and private investigators
in Singapore have raided three retail software outlets and seized
hundreds of illegally copied diskettes and manuals.

More than 550 diskettes and 100 manuals were seized from
Emerald Bay Computers at People's Park Centre, and from
Rubicon Trading and Alsoft Computers at Sim Lim Square
during the raids which followed intensive investigations by
the BSA.

"The fact that these retailers were openly selling illegal
software clearly indicates that the level of software theft
in Singapore is still a significant problem," said Jeffrey
Siebach, vice president of the Business Software Alliance in
Asia.

"The BSA is determined to fight software theft throughout
the region and will continue to conduct investigations and
raids in Singapore against manufacturers, distributors and
users of stolen software programs."

Investigations by the BSA also revealed that the three
outlets were selling suspected illegally copied software
programs and games from non-Alliance members.

"Retailers who sell illegal copies of software for profit
are the most flagrant software thieves and are a very large
problem in Singapore," said Siebach. "The BSA intends to
pursue these criminals aggressively and keep closing them
down until the problem is solved."

The BSA was formed in 1988 to eradicate the illegal copying
of computer software through a combination of educational
initiatives and legal proceedings. BSA includes the
worldwide software and hardware producers Aldus, Apple
Computer, Autodesk, Lotus Development, Microsoft, Novell and
WordPerfect.

(Brett Cameron/19920530/Press contact: Stuart Newell, Euan Barty
Associates Tel [phone];HK time is GMT + 8)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 1 Digital Resells Intel Parallel Computers 06/01/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(HKG)(00010)

Digital Resells Intel Parallel Computers 06/01/92
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1992 JUN 1 (NB) -- Digital Equipment Corporation
and Intel Corporation have signed an OEM (original equipment
manufacturing) agreement under which Digital will
resell massively parallel processing (MPP) computers based on
Intel's MPP technology.

The agreement extends the two companies' recently announced
collaboration on a range of joint MPP projects.

Combining the strengths of the two industry giants,
Digital's new systems will bring the benefits of Intel's
MPP technology to customers in the traditional mid-range computing
market, where Digital is a leader worldwide.

Intel will continue to focus its resources on the MPP
supercomputer market, a segment in which Intel already has
established itself as the leading vendor.

"We are very excited about combining Intel's proven MPP
technology with our knowledge of, and access to, the systems
marketplace," said Sanford Law, Digital's regional special
systems marketing manager. "This agreement will make Digital
the only supplier to support and advance both leading
hardware styles of massively parallel computing - MIMD and
SIMD.

"Our strategy from the outset has been to stimulate the
development of architecture independent software for
massively parallel computing. Our commitment to both
architectures, along with our current investments in
software, including the collaboration with Intel, should be
viewed as further encouragement to software developers that
MPP is an important growth sector."

Digital initially will market systems based on Intel's
highly successful iPSC/860. Details of the program will be
announced this summer. Digital will subsequently incorporate
Intel's Paragon technology into its offerings in the summer
of 1993. Intel will continue to sell large configurations of
the iPSC/860 and all configurations of the Paragon XPS
through its direct supercomputer sales force.

The two companies are also collaborating to identify and
port key third party application software packages to the
Intel architecture, making the packages suitable for both
the Intel and Digital systems.

This OEM and distribution relationship follows a joint
software development collaboration announced last April in
which Digital and Intel combined forces to meet the growing
demand for application development and systems software for
MPP systems.

The first project, called High Performance Fortran (HPF),
involves the development of a compiler that facilitates
creation and porting of applications for MPP systems using
the familiar Fortran programing language.

(Brett Cameron/19920530/Press Contact: Walter Cheung, Digital
(HK), Tel: [phone]; HK time is GMT + 8)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 1 Australian Firm Buys AUS$4M Stake in US Telecom Company 06/01/92

(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00011)

Australian Firm Buys AUS$4M Stake in US Telecom Company 06/01/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 1 (NB) -- Australian-based electronics
company Stanilite Pacific has acquired an AUS$4M stake in
California-based telecommunications company, Qwest. The purchase is
part of Stanilite's strategy to expand its presence in the Asia
Pacific telecommunications market, as well as a general launch to
international markets.

With the purchase, Stanilite now owns a 30 percent stake in Qwest,
which manufactures two-way trunked radio systems. Despite interests
in New Zealand and Hong Kong, and a relationship with a Singaporean
company, the Qwest purchase is its first major international
acquisition. The purchase should be the major stepping stone for
Stanilite to the international arena.

Qwest already has contracts in China and Canada, and Stanilite and
Qwest have already won contracts worth around AUS$14M for trunked
radio networks in these areas. Trunked radio systems is a new field
for Stanilite, which has traditionally manufactured civilian and
defense electronic and electrical systems. Stanilite sees the
trunked systems, which make more efficient use of radio bands, as a
major part in the future of Asian communications where congestion
can make other systems difficult to use. The two companies have
agreed to cooperate in research and development as part of the deal,
and Stanilite will also increase its local operations.

(Sean McNamara/19920601)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 1 New For PC: MPC Starter, Upgrade Kits From Creative Labs 06/01/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00012)

New For PC: MPC Starter, Upgrade Kits From Creative Labs 06/01/92
MILPITAS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 1 (NB) -- Creative Labs,
makers of the Sound Blaster and Sound Blaster Pro sound cards, has
announced a new, low priced Multimedia Starter Kit, and a lower
price and additional software titles for its original Multimedia
Upgrade Kit. Both kits are for the upgrade of an IBM or compatible
personal computer (PC) to a multimedia personal computer (MPC).

The new Starter kit contains everything that is in the more expensive
Creative Labs Multimedia Upgrade Kit except the musical instrument
digital interface (MIDI) and the larger library of compact disc read-
only memory (CD-ROM) titles, and is retail priced at $650, Creative
Labs said.

The Sound Blaster Pro stereo sound system, an internal CD-ROM drive,
the Microsoft Bookshelf Reference Library, and the Sound Blaster Pro
collection of software are all included in the Starter Kit, Creative
Labs said.

The CD-ROM drive in the starter kit has a volume control and phone
jack on the front panel. The drive connects to an interface on the
Sound Blaster Pro card for data transfer with the PC and audio
connections with the sound card, so both the card and the CD-ROM only
require one expansion slot in the PC. The CD-ROM drive meets the MPC
standard for performance with a 64 kilobyte (K) buffer and a 150 K
per second direct data transfer rate, Creative Labs said.

The company said the Sound Blaster Pro includes a stereo
digital/analog mixer, a four-operator FM synthesizer chip for 20
voices, recording sampling rates from 4 kilohertz (KHz) to 44.1 KHz,
a built-in amplifier, a volume control, and microphone and stereo
line-in jacks. Software included with the Sound Blaster Pro allows
for text-to-voice applications, voice or music recording and editing,
integration of sound with graphic animation, and control of standard
audio CDs, Creative Labs added.

The Upgrade Kit has been reduced in price $50 from the suggested
retail of $849 to $799. An additional four multimedia titles have been
added as well.

Macromind, a multimedia presentation package; Authorware Star, an
authoring tool; Multimedia Works for Windows from Microsoft; and Tempra,
a professional graphics and presentation system are all included now
in the lower priced Upgrade Kit. Already included is Microsoft
Windows 3.1, Microsoft Bookshelf, the Sherlock Holmes
Consulting Detective multimedia game, Creative Sounds professional
audio clips, and a collection of sound clips with musical instrument
digital interface (MIDI) files called Creative Music Clips 400.

Creative Labs also has the distinction of having the software drivers
for the Sound Blaster Pro and Sound Blaster cards built-in to
Microsoft Windows 3.1. The new Starter Kit is expected to be available
June 1st, Creative Labs said.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920601/Press Contact: Ellen Hunter, SIPR for
Creative Labs, 408-437-1880; Arnold Waldstein, Creative Labs, tel
408/428-6600, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 1  ****Apple Unbundling Future System Features 06/01/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SYD)(00013)

 ****Apple Unbundling Future System Features 06/01/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 1 (NB) -- Apple Computer is introducing
a new "modular" approach to its system software for the Macintosh
which could see some users paying many times more than they pay at
the moment.

For years, Macintosh operating system software upgrades were
distributed free, but a change was made with the introduction of the
current System 7. While the software itself can still be downloaded
free of charge from bulletin board systems, a packaged set with
manuals is sold through retail channels in most countries. In Australia,
for instance, the price is approximately US$110.

Two weeks ago Apple launched two of what is to be a series of
extension modules, each with a price greater than the operating
system itself. Some of these modules may be built into future system
software releases. These two modules are a Quicktime Starter kit and a
PC Exchange desktop accessory.

A prior add-on was the AppleTalk Remote Access pack. An electronic
mail module is believed to be in preparation.

Bill Harrington, Apple Australia's software product manager, said the
new modular system would mean faster delivery of new technologies.
He also said that users would only have to pay for the components
they needed, and would not have to load-up the system with unwanted
software, minimizing the "memory footprint."

(David Frith and Paul Zucker/19920601)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 1 UK: Wordperfect Instructor Kits For Trainers 06/01/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00014)

UK: Wordperfect Instructor Kits For Trainers 06/01/92
ADDLESTONE, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 1 (NB) -- Wordperfect UK
has developed a range of training packages designed to assist
trainers in companies or organizations who need to get users of
Wordperfect (DOS and Windows), Wordperfect Office, Wordperfect
Mac or Drawperfect, up to speed as quickly as possible,

All the packages cost UKP 30, with the exception of the Macintosh
training kit, which costs UKP 20. UKP 6 is payable for postage
and packing.

Tina White, instructional services manager with Wordperfect UK
said that developing a training course from the ground up takes a
great deal of time and effort, especially when users have to
create a range of illustrations and exercises.

"Basically, the instructor kits are designed to free Wordperfect
trainers from the problems associated with this, and to provide
them with everything they might need to develop a professional-
looking training course. Even our own instructors in-house use
these kits," she said.

As supplied, the kits come in a A4-sized box and are designed to
free trainers from the problems of creating training materials
from scratch. At the same time, the packages can be used to
customize training courses for the staff. They contain a printed
course outline; transparency masters and files on 3.5 and 5.25-inch
disks to modify the basic course. This, Wordperfect claims, allows
the trainer to add his or her own individual style to the courses.

(Steve Gold/19920528/Press & Public Contact: Wordperfect UK -
Tel: [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 1 June 22: Innovation In The 90s Conference In Brussels 06/01/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(BRU)(00015)

June 22: Innovation In The 90s Conference In Brussels 06/01/92
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1992 JUN 1 (NB) -- "Innovation In The Nineties"
which is to be held in Brussels on the 22 and 23 June 1992, is an
international conference on policies and priorities for industrial
innovation and technology transfer (ITT) in Europe to the
end of the decade.

Sponsored and organized by the Directorate-General for
Telecommunications, Information Industries and Innovation of the
Commission of the European Communities, the conference aims to
review the European Community's performance in the IT field and to
assess challenges facing established policy for innovation at both
Community and national levels.

The adequacy of existing policies and supports will be examined,
as will the need for new measures to meet the changed conditions
in Europe during the last decade of the century. Particular attention
will be given to conditions likely to affect innovative performance
in a post-1992, frontier-free Community, a Community facing demand
for membership from many new countries, as well as the emerging
potential of Central and Eastern Europe.

Factors affecting company performance and management of
innovation will also be aired, and the problems and needs of small
and medium-sized companies will be examined.

The Conference will be structured around three core themes:
technology diffusion and dissemination; innovation infrastructure
and support systems; and innovation policy issues.

Dealing principally with policy and strategic issues, the
conference will be particularly relevant to policy makers, corporate
planners and analysts, public administrators, and others concerned
with formulating, implementing, and managing innovation in firms
and the public sector, organizers say. Opening and closing
plenary sessions will address the overall question of Europe's
innovative performance and look to future requirements in the field
of innovative policy.

A program and registration form may be obtained from "Innovation
In The Nineties" Conference, rue de l'Abbaye 27a, B-1050
Brussels, Belgium. Tel. [phone]; Fax [phone]

(Peter Jones/19920529 Press contact: Ms. Christine Nicasi DG XIII/C-4,
SPRINT Programme)Commission of the European Communities L-2920
Luxembourg Tel. [phone]; Fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 1 New For PC: IBM To Resell Datalus' OS/2 MultiMedia DeskTop 06/01/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00016)

New For PC: IBM To Resell Datalus' OS/2 MultiMedia DeskTop 06/01/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A, 1992 JUN 1 (NB) -- IBM has begun
remarketing MultiMedia DeskTop, an interactive software
presentation and development tool from Datalus, Inc., of Okemus,
Michigan, through its Multimedia Information Center.

MultiMedia DeskTop is designed for creating training and education
courses, presentations, and multimedia kiosk systems. Written in
Asymetrix ToolBook's OpenScript language, it is designed to look
like an electronic book. Interactive presentations are created
entirely in Asymetrix ToolBook, and MultiMedia DeskTop also
includes materials for completing the pre-production stages of the
presentation.

Every piece of an interactive presentation resides in the system's
hard drive and the video, audio, stills, graphics and text can be
modified in real time, IBM said.

MultiMedia DeskTop also provides dynamic linking for the
ActionMedia II Digital Video Interactive (DVI) card developed by
IBM and Intel.

IBM said MultiMedia DeskTop allows developers to use three screen
types typically found in interactive videos: menus; questions; and
video with optional text, graphics, or audio. It can also collect
still pictures from motion video, pause and change the video source
while capturing video, and set a timer to end a recording
automatically.

MultiMedia DeskTop runs on the OS/2 operating system. It sells for
$395, and requires Asymetrix Toolbook for OS/2, which sells
separately for $299.95.

(Grant Buckler/19920529/Press Contact: Jim Keller, IBM,
914-642-5472; Dr. Michael Ezzo, Datalus, 517-347-1333)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 1 Over 2000 Signed Up For Win32 Developers Conference 06/01/92

(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00017)

Over 2000 Signed Up For Win32 Developers Conference 06/01/92
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 1 (NB) -- Microsoft has
announced that more than 2000 software developers have already
registered for its July developers conference.

The conference, to held in San Francisco's Moscone Center, starts
July 6, and runs three days. Microsoft said more than 120 of the
registrants are from outside the US.

The conference is not for the casual user. Attendees will be
introduced to the Win32 API (applications program interface)
software developers kit (SDK), and is aimed at programming
professionals. Features will be highly technical discussions and
demonstrations of the Win32 API and the Win32s API, the Windows NT
operating system due out at the end of the year, and development
tools for Win32.

Win32 API refers to 32-bit applications for Windows. The
Win32s API allows 32-bit applications for Windows to be
written so they will run without modification on Windows
3.1 and Windows NT.

Microsoft said more than 100 independent software developers are
committed to developing 32-bit applications for Windows. These will
reportedly range from PC productivity software to workstation
applications and development tools. ISVs have already demonstrated
32-bit applications for Window on various computers, including
laptops, MIPS-based workstation, and multiprocessing systems.

Microsoft said that senior engineers will deliver over 50
technical sessions on topics such as Windows NT general architecture,
including kernel and subsystem architecture; networking; Win32 API;
Windows NT graphics device interface; and the toolkit.

Keynote speaker at the conference will be Microsoft Chairman Bill
Gates. Hardware and software vendors will be demonstrating products
for Windows NT.

You can register for the conference by calling 800-227-4679 from
within the US. International attendees can call 206-635-6435.
Until June 19th, the registration fee is $795; after that it will
cost $845 to sign up.

(Jim Mallory/19920529/Press contact: Collins Hemingway, Microsoft,
206-882-8080)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 1  ****New NTT Fax Machine Sends Fax In 3 Seconds 06/01/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00018)

 ****New NTT Fax Machine Sends Fax In 3 Seconds 06/01/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 1 (NB) -- NTT has developed a digital fax
machine with a super-fast data transmission rate and a cipher and
decipher capability to protect data from unauthorized snooping.

NTT's latest G4-type fax machine is said to be able to send an
A4-sized page in only 3 seconds. It is also equipped with a laser
printer instead of a conventional thermal printer. Called the "D5000"
it works both on ISDN-based (integrated services digital network)
INS networks and regular public phone lines.

The pictures and text, NTT says, are extremely clear with 64
gradation mode. With an "instant memory" feature, a document
can be read into the machine's memory at a very fast speed. The
multitasking feature of this fax machine also enables the user
to input a document to the machine even as it is receiving a fax
message. The fax paper is loaded on A4 and B4-size cartridges.

The major advantage of this fax machine is its data cryptographic
feature. The data can be ciphered as it is sent to the recipient. Then
it is deciphered at the recipient's fax machine. The only problem
is that the recipient needs the same fax machine.

The retail price of this fax machine is 1.5 million yen ($11,500).

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920601/Press Contact: NTT, [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 1 Motorola, Traveling Software Support Apple's "Newton" 06/01/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00019)

Motorola, Traveling Software Support Apple's "Newton" 06/01/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 1 (NB) -- Motorola Paging and
Telepoint Systems, has already jumped on the "Newton" bandwagon.
The communications equipment provider has announced that it will
support Apple's newly announced Personal Digital Assistant which
uses digital technology to bridge the gap between personal computers
and consumer electronics. Meanwhile, Traveling Software (TS) said
it will provide software to connect the new device to PCs.

Motorola is offering the NewsStream Advanced Information Receiver, a
wireless, one-way data receiver that will receive, store, and
transfer data to devices such as Newton.  NewsStream can also
receive e-mail.

Using Newton or a portable computer equipped with NewsStream, users
can receive information or mail while traveling, without the need to
connect to telephone lines.  Instead, national and local paging
common carriers provide the messaging service.  Motorola also offers
its own EMBARC (electronic mail broadcast to a roaming computer), a
nationwide messaging network which provides electronic mail and
information services.

Motorola's Ken Countess told Newsbytes that EMBARC will be launched
this month, with service in 70 metropolitan areas.  Within a year,
said Countess, the system will be expanded to cover more than 300
sites.

The NewsStream receiver was initially announced last April in
conjunction with Hewlett-Packard.  The receiver looks similar to the
pager carried by many business people.  It connects to personal
computers with a special RS-232 cable.  When used with a system like
an HP 95LX,a special docking unit is available that the HP unit and
the NewsStream receiver slide into.  The NewsStream receiver can
store up to 32K of information, andd has a retail price of $339.

Acording to Motorola, independent software vendors are already
developing applications for a variety of vertical markets such as
real estate, finance, contractors, medical and sales.

Meanwhile, Apple also shared the stage with Traveling Software, TS,
which is designing a connectivity product for the Newton.
TS spokesperson Marci Maule told Newsbytes that its connectivity
package for Newton isn't a reality yet, and said she didn't know
when it would come to market.

TS said it plans to incorporate its Universal Communications Object
(UCO) into the connectivity software for Newton.  Maule said UCO can
be adapted for use in any operating system.

(Jim Mallory/19920601/Press contact:  Ken Countess, Motorola,
305-475-5603; Marci Maule, Traveling Software, 206-483-8088)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 1 Film Scanner Survives LA Riot Fires 06/01/92

(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00020)

Film Scanner Survives LA Riot Fires 06/01/92
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 1 (NB) -- There were lots
of small stories within the big story about the riots and fires in
Los Angeles recently.  One of those stories is about Samy's Camera.

When it became apparent that things in south central Los Angeles
were getting bad, Samy's Camera closed to avoid putting its employees
and customers in danger from the rioters.  Unfortunately, that
didn't save the store. Vandals set it afire and the entire building,
including its complete inventory, went up in smoke.

But Samy's customers, employees, and suppliers are loyal.  They, and
Samy's neighbors, turned out en masse to help with the clean-up.  "It
was incredible," said Allan Adler, director of Samy's electronic
imaging division.  "I guess because Samy himself has helped so many
photographers throughout the years, it's come back to him. Everybody
pitched in," Adler said.

While the volunteer helpers were cleaning up the rubble, they found
a Nikon film scanner which had just been serviced.  The box
containing the scanner was so charred Adler says it just fell away
when it was touched.  Inside, the scanner was covered with soot.
Someone plugged it in, and amazingly, it worked.

It will have to be replaced because of damage to the housing, but in
the meantime the company to which it belongs is using it while awaiting
the replacement from Nikon.

As so often happens in the face of tragedy, others were there to
help. Several companies, including Candid Computer and Connecting
Point Computers, lent office space to Samy's so the company could
continue to do business.  Local pizzarias and delis sent over food,
and customers reportedly went to the homes of Samy's employees to
pay their bills.  Supplier representatives even showed up with
lumber to board up the store.  "Even our competitors offered to help
us rebuild," said Adler.

Samy's operated from a tent for a week, while a former car
dealership was rebuilt to meet its needs.  Twelve days after the
riots, Samy's reopened in its new location.

Alder said Samy's is looking forward to getting back to normal, but
added, "Things will never be the same.  We've been humbled a bit, and
our personal perspectives on the human condition have changed, for
the better."

(Jim Mallory/19920601/Press contact: Helen Cohen Smith, Greenstone
Roberts Inc, 516-249-3366)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 1 Madge Networks Expanding Token Ring Offerings 06/01/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00021)

Madge Networks Expanding Token Ring Offerings 06/01/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 1 (NB) -- Madge Networks is
preparing to announce two new products. Newsbytes has learned that
these new products are continuing Madge's push to be the complete
provider of Token Ring products.

Madge will be introducing its Intelligent hub known as the SmartCAU
as well as a high performance stand-alone bridge. Both of these new
products will come with a network management software package that
can run on PCs. The network management software is available to
buyers of the other two products free of charge.

The Madge SmartCAU is the first intelligent hub that Madge will
market. The intelligence part refers to its ability to be managed
remotely via IBM's Heterogeneous LAN Management Protocol (HLM).
Those who are more familiar with Ethernet terminology should note
that HLM is equivalent in functions to SNMP (Simple Network
Management Protocol).

Another major benefit that this smart hub confers is the ability
to detect and foil an attempt to access the network using the wrong
ring speed. A relatively common problem with Token Ring has
developed as a result of there being two speeds at which it can
operate. You can just imagine the chaos that occurs when a four Mbps
stations tried to access a network that is set up as a 16 Mbps ring!
With this new hub, Madge has put in a feature that detects the speed
at which a station is attempting to log in.

If there is a discrepancy, the hub will shut down that port and will
notify the network administration of the attempt. This notification
takes on two forms. First, there are red LEDs on the hub itself and
the LED that corresponds to the port where the attempt is being made will
light up. Secondly, a pop-up window will appear on the network
administrator's computer telling him that an attempt was made by
a certain port to log into the network at the wrong ring speed.

The new stand-alone hub is being billed by Madge as being the best
performing bridge in the Token Ring industry to date. Madge points
to its 12,500 frame-per-second throughput and compares it to IBM's
3,500 frame-per-second rate. Madge also talks about its ability to
route Novell's IPX traffic over the bridge as well as the use of
its own Fastmac for the core technology as important attributes of
this new product.

All of the products announced at this time are slated for shipment
in August of this year. The Smart Ringbridge (Part number 58-21)
will sell for $6995. The SmartCAU (Part #55-21) will sell for $2995.
The SmartLAM/STP (Part # 55-10) will sell for $1995. The Fiber Trunk
Link Module (Part # 55-25) will sell for $1195.

(Naor Wallach/19920601, Press Contact: Marina Donovan, Madge Networks,
408-451-1434)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 1 BCE Takes Over As Canada's Biggest Company 06/01/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00022)

BCE Takes Over As Canada's Biggest Company 06/01/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 JUN 1 (NB) -- BCE Inc., the holding
company behind Northern Telecom and Canada's largest regional
telephone company, Bell Canada, has supplanted General Motors
Canada as the country's largest company. So says Canadian Business
magazine in its annual ranking of Canada's top 500 companies.

Canadian Business ranks companies by revenue. According to its
figures, BCE edged into top spot with C$19.884 million in revenues
in 1991, topping GM Canada's C$19.304 million. The 1991 figures
represented an 8.2-percent revenue increase for BCE, while GM
Canada' revenues climbed only 4.6 percent.

In an article accompanying the rankings, Canadian Business Editor
Randall Litchfield wrote that the change "can only jolt some
traditional preconceptions of the country's economy. The top
company in the Canadian Business Corporate 500 neither fells trees,
pumps oil, extracts minerals nor assembles a product as its primary
way to earn money. It sells a service -- telecommunications.

"Equally remarkable," Litchfield continued, "may be the fact that
Canada's biggest company is no longer a subsidiary of a U.S.
multinational. It is owned by Canadians, and a lot of us at that."

BCE has been making larger profits than GM Canada for several
years, and 1991 was no exception, with BCE's $1.329-million net
income weighing in at more than four times GM Canada's C$323.31
million.

The only other information technology company in the top 50 is IBM
Canada, ranked 16th with revenues of C$6.255 million. IBM moved up
from 23rd spot in 1990. Telus, the newly privatized company that
provides telephone service in Alberta, ranked 90th -- up from 103rd
-- with C$1.227 in revenues. Rogers Communications, which operates
the data communications carrier and would-be long-distance
competitor Unitel as well as cable television services, came 109th
with C$995,100th in revenues.

Digital Equipment Canada moved well up from 141st to 112th spot,
recording C$941,400 in 1991 revenues. InterTan Canada, which
operates Radio Shack and Tandy stores worldwide, jumped from 172nd
to 125th spot with C$814.9 million in revenues.

(Grant Buckler/19920601/Press Contact: Canadian Business,
416-364-4266, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 1 Report Sees Mac Software Growth, Lower Prices 06/01/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(TOR)(00023)

Report Sees Mac Software Growth, Lower Prices 06/01/92
FRAMINGHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 1 (NB) -- Shipments of
Macintosh productivity software will almost double from 1991
through 1996, according to a recent report from research firm
International Data Corporation (IDC). IDC sees sales of Macintosh
software climbing from 1.4 million units in 1991 to 2.7 million in
1996.

However, IDC also predicted that in almost every segment of the
market -- which includes all mainstream applications, such as
database, word processing, and spreadsheet packages -- prices will
fall and dealers margins will shrink due to increased competition.
The only exception will be the database market, IDC said.

Database software will represent the fastest growing Mac software
segment, IDC forecast, growing from 185,700 units in 1990 to
638,600 by the end of 1996. That translates to a compound annual
growth rate of 22.9 percent. At the same time, revenues will rise
from $67.4 million in 1990 to $234.3 million in 1996.

Database software has historically been little used on Macintoshes,
the IDC report said, largely because Mac users buy the machines
mainly for their ease of use, and database software is seen as hard
to use. However, the report said, "the Macintosh customer today is
a closet database user." Most Mac users need database capabilities,
even if today they are using a spreadsheet or other type of program
to do the job. As database software becomes easier to use, IDC
expects demand for the packages to grow rapidly.

Meanwhile, the report raises some questions about the future of the
Macintosh itself. "Whether or not Apple can maintain its momentum
of success in expanding its market penetration at all hardware
levels is a tough call," said Joan-Carol Brigham, IDC's director of
PC graphics and video products research. "The Macintosh is a great
platform for just about anything you'd ever want to do on a
personal computer, but the competition is strong. Apple's own
growth strategy is complex, and the worldwide economy is currently
weak."

According to IDC's report, Apple his a two-year window of
opportunity in 1992 and 1993. Its growth plan calls for strong
high-end system penetration into corporate accounts, increasing
market share largely through mass marketing of low-end machines,
international expansion, and a profitable codevelopment venture
with IBM.

If Apple fails to accomplish at least some of these goals, IDC
warned, it could share the fate of midrange computer vendors such
as Wang and Prime Computer, now struggling to find new roles after
their proprietary hardware businesses crumbled.

(Grant Buckler/19920601/Press Contact: Nancy Findley, IDC,
508-935-4489, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 1 Borland Walking Tightrope With Drop Of AT Suits 06/01/92

(NEWS)(GOVT)(LAX)(00024)

Borland Walking Tightrope With Drop Of AT Suits 06/01/92
SCOTTS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 1 (NB) -- Borland was
wide and generous to the dBASE community when it was the biggest fish
in the dBASE pond after its purchase of Ashton-Tate, but now the
company's tone has changed with the official drop of suits Ashton-
Tate was pursuing. The change appears to be directed at Microsoft,
which recently announced it is entering the dBASE arena with the
purchase of Fox Software.

Borland announced today it has finally officially dropped the
copyright suits it promised to stop upon its purchase of Ashton-Tate,
the company credited with the development of the business software
product dBASE. Ashton-Tate was pursuing Fox Software and the Santa
Cruz Operation in roller coaster legal battles that appeared would
continue for years.

Under the terms of the Borland purchase of the dBASE giant, the US
government required Borland drop any suits Ashton-Tate was pursuing
over copyright infringement. Borland's President Philippe Kahn
had already publicly announced his intention to do just that before
the government requirements to do so.

But threatening undertones exist in the most recent Borland
announcement. Kahn specifically goes out of his way to congratulate
Microsoft on its recognition of the dBASE standard by its purchase of
Fox Software. However, in the next paragraph of the announcement,
Borland claims nothing in the US government requirement that it
drop the Ashton-Tate suits affects its copyrights in the dBASE
products.

Further, Borland says the decree specifically confirms that nothing
in it precludes it from asserting copyright infringement actions with
respect to all other aspects of those programs. Borland also is
reminding everyone that the consent decree will expire on the 10th
anniversary of its date of entry.

Borland inherited those copyrights, which some speculate might be
unenforceable because of the fact that the parent of dBASE, Vulcan,
was originally developed at Jet Propulsion Labs in Pasadena.

Borland also went out of its way to say that published reports that
the decree puts aspects of the dBASE products in the public domain
were incorrect.

Borland may be trying to walk a tight rope between fending off a suit
filed against it by Lotus and keeping Microsoft at bay. Kahn said
last year the Ashton-Tate/Fox Software suit is very similar to the
Lotus suit against Borland.

In today's announcement, Borland took the opportunity to restate its
position that menu names and command structures are functional
systems that are not protectable under copyright law. This is
significant in the light of the company's long-standing legal fight
with Lotus, expected to go to trial this year, under which Lotus is
claiming Borland's Quattro Pro infringes on its Lotus 1-2-3 product.

While many agree with Borland, Lotus has already won a similar suit
against tiny Brown Bag Software, who paid up and dropped its 1-2-3
look-alike product.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920601/Press Contact: Sandra Hawker, Borland, tel
408-439-1659, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 1 1st Single-Chip Video Decoder Intro'd 06/01/92

(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00025)

1st Single-Chip Video Decoder Intro'd 06/01/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 1 (NB) -- The first single chip
for decoding compressed video was introduced by C-Cube Microsystems
at the Summer Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago. The company says
the chip allows Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG)-coded video to be
played from a compact disc (CD) and says the chip will allow cost
effective implementation of video in the next generation of consumer
electronic products.

The new chip, the CL450, could be used in electronic products such
as CD-based interactive games, movie, and educational systems,
C-Cube said.

The company said the chip was developed with input from N.V.
Philips, JVC Research and Development Division, and others and is
fully compatible with Philips specification for its Compact Disc
Interactive (CD-I) product. Philips said it plans MPEG full motion
video decoding as an enhancement to its CD-I product.

The chip has a reduced instruction set chip (RISC) engine that can be
reprogrammed for specific applications, C-Cube said. In fact the chip
has already been customized for the CD-I player and includes blank,
display-still, and freeze frame capabilities, C-Cube maintains.

C-Cube, located in Milpitas, California, says its focus is
to supply products that enable true-color images and full-
motion video to be used in fast-growing applications areas
such as color desktop publishing, image databases, digital
video editing, video mail, multimedia video production, CD-
ROM-based video, and direct broadcast of video from
satellites.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920601/Press Contact: Scott St. Clair, C-
Cube Microsystems, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 1 UK: Seven Convicted Of Credit Card Scam 06/01/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(00026)

UK: Seven Convicted Of Credit Card Scam 06/01/92
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 1 (NB) -- Seven men have been
convicted of defrauding Visa and Mastercard in what appears to be
the first fraud of its type in the UK -- using credit card
details from genuine transactions to manufacture copy cards.

The seven, who were handed various sentences, ranging from
one to four and a half years at Birmingham Crown Court last week,
were caught after police officers, investigating what was thought
to be a routine case of card theft, turned into a full-scale
fraud.

Four of the seven bought a burglar alarm from a car accessory
centre for UKP 81 and, although the Visa card they were using
resulted in an authorized transaction, a subsequent fault on the
electronic terminal meant that staff had to manually re-enter the
transaction the next day. While entering the data, the merchant
realized that the card was issued to a company with which the
four men had nothing to do. As a result, the transaction was
rejected.

Six weeks later, when the same four men attempted to buy four
tires from the same merchant, the police were called and the
group of four were taken in for questioning.

After contacting the company to whom the card was originally
issued, the police in the case discovered that the firm was
already disputing several other transactions. After contacting
the merchants with whom the disputed transactions had taken
place, the police struck lucky when one retailer remembered who
had made the purchase -- a group of smart young men had visited
Jefferson's wine bar and, after tipping heavily, had paid for
their night's fun with a credit card. The UKP 96 bill was charged
to the company's credit card.

Subsequent investigation revealed that the same group had visited
the wine bar five times before and, on each occasion, paid for
their drinks with a different credit card. By now hot on the
trail, the police contacted the genuine cardholders and found, in
every case, that they were disputing the transactions with the
Visa card issuer.

Detailed examination of the most recent statements from the
cardholders who were disputing their transactions revealed that
they had all recently dined at a restaurant in Birmingham where
one of the defendants worked as a waiter.

It subsequently turned out that the young waiter was passing
card details of several of the more wealthy customers,
particularly Gold card holders, onto accomplices who then
created a forged card, complete with magnetic stripe on the back.
The stripe was encoded using a UKP 250 magnetic strip encoder
which can be bought from several outlets.

In the court case, the prosecution alleged that the seven
defendants had completed 272 card transactions using cards
belonging to 24 individuals and companies. During their UKP
45,000 spending spree, the group visited Paris for a UKP 3,000-
plus weekend.

Bank officials involved in the case are remaining coy on the
mechanics of the fraud. After initially claiming that the fraud
was not technically possible, bank spokesmen are quoted as
admitting that, under certain circumstances, such a fraud could
be possible.

According to Alistair Kelman, a barrister specializing in
computer law, the banks are claiming that they have tightened up
their systems so that a recurrence is not possible. Speaking with
Newsbytes, Kelman said that he was very skeptical about this
claim, since the card's magnetic stripes are encoded using
internationally laid down specifications.

"If the cards are encoded to ISO standards, I don't see how it is
possible to alter the way cards are encoded in the UK. This
suggests to me that a similar crime could be carried out again,
using a credit or a debit card," he told Newsbytes.

(Steve Gold/19920601)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 1 UK: Wyse Intros Industry's First Cyrix-Powered Notebook 06/01/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00027)

UK: Wyse Intros Industry's First Cyrix-Powered Notebook 06/01/92
TWYFORD, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 1 (NB) -- Wyse Technology
has launched the Decisionmate 486SLC, a notebook computer that it
claims is the industry's first to be based around the recently
unveiled Cyrix CX486SLC chipset.

According to Mark Jordan, general manager for Wyse's Northern
Europe division, the machine will ship from the end of this month
with a price tag of UKP 1,555.

"We're pleased to go on record with one of the first notebooks
based on Cyrix's 486SLC chip, which offers 486 performance at 386
price. We have made this technology even more attractive to users
through the sleek, ultra-light design of our notebook and the
exceptionally low price," he said.

Wyse is making some impressive claims for the five-pound
notebook. According to the company, Landmark benchmarks rate the
486SLC microprocessor as giving a performance score of 78.33
compared to the 22 to 28 rating for a 386SX microprocessor.

The notebook is one of the first to implement a newly designed
suspend and resume capability that Wyse claims uses no power
while suspended. This allows the notebook to be left "on" in a
suspended state for long periods if required, company officials
said.

Other features of the notebook include support for the new
advanced power management (APM) BIOS interface developed jointly
by Intel and Microsoft. This interface provides for full power
management compatibility with DOS 5.0 and Windows 3.1
applications software.

Wyse's new notebook comes with the 4 megabytes (MB) of memory,
upgradeable to 8MB internally, with a choice of 80 or 120MB hard
disks. The 120MB version sells for UKP 1,825. Both models come
with DOS 5.0 supplied as standard.

(Steve Gold/19920601/Press & Public Contact: Wyse Technology -
Tel: [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 1 Adobe's Kidnapped Geschke Freed 06/01/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(SFO)(00028)

Adobe's Kidnapped Geschke Freed 06/01/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 1 (NB) -- The FBI freed
kidnapped Adobe Systems co-founder Charles Geschke on Saturday,
after four days of captivity. Two men, Mouhannad Albukhari, 26, of
San Jose, and Jack Mohd Sayeh, 25, of Campbell, were arrested in
connection with the crime.

A ransom payment of $650,000 had been left by his daughter at a
drop-off point demanded by the kidnappers, but when one of the
men attempted to pick it up, at 12.30 AM at a deserted beach near
Marina, about 10 miles northeast of Monterey on the Pacific Coast
highway, he was arrested. According to a San Francisco Chronicle
report, FBI spokeswoman Barbara Madden said that the kidnapper then led
agents to a house in Holister, about 60 miles south of San Jose,
California, where Geschke was being held.

Geschke was reportedly kidnapped from Adobe System's
parking lot on Tuesday morning as he arrived for work. His wife
was contacted by the kidnappers shortly after noon on Tuesday.

According to an AP report, the two kidnappers called Geschke
to their car to ask him a question, and then abducted him at
gunpoint. The report quotes an FBI agent named Richard Held,
who said that a third kidnapper may be involved.

The Chronicle reports that the second kidnapper was pacing
outside the rented dwelling in Holister when agents drove up.
Seeing the agents he ran away but was apprehended after
about a block.

Rebecca Michaels, spokesperson for the company, told
Newsbytes that company officials would not be available for
comment until late Monday morning, after Newsbytes deadline,
due to a "company meeting."

(Ian Stokell/19920601)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 1 Realtime to Run on HP Workstations 06/01/92


(NEWS)(UNIX)(SFO)(00029)

Realtime to Run on HP Workstations 06/01/92
BILLERICA, MASSACHUSETTS U.S.A., 1992 JUN 1 (NB) -- In a
move aimed at stock brokerage traders and investment analysts,
Hewlett-Packard has announced the availability of Lotus Realtime,
a real-time analytical tool, for its HP Apollo 9000 Series 700 and
HP 700/RX workstations.

Realtime allows financial data from Reuters and other financial
information services to be fed into Lotus 1-2-3 in real time,
instantaneously updating traders' and analysts' spreadsheets,
according to the company.

Use of the product saves time over the traditional method of
manually typing in data from ticker tapes, enabling financial
professionals to reach decisions based on the most current
information available, said a public relations spokesperson.
Recently, HP has been targeting its workstations at the financial
marketplace, she added.

"Demand for our workstations is growing on Wall Street and in
other financial venues around the world. We are fueling that
interest by continuing to deliver easy-to-use low-cost
workstations, leading-edge applications development tools, and
leading applications like Lotus Real-time," commented Gary B.
Eichhorn, general manager of HP's Workstations Systems Business
Unit.

The investment community is particularly impressed with the
high speed of the HP workstations, a capability that is critical in
the quickly moving financial marketplace, the spokesperson
explained. HP's high-end workstations, the Series 700, deliver
performance of up to 77.5 SPECmarks and 76.7 MIPS, for example.

Realtime is also available for Sun and DEC Ultrix workstations.

The HP version is priced at $1,150 per concurrent license. For
a limited time, the product will be available with Lotus 1-2-3 for
a price of $1,660 per concurrent license. When sold separately,
1-2-3 is priced at $695 per concurrent license.

The product is slated to ship July 1.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920601)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 1 Datacraft Sets Up In Taiwan 06/01/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(HKG)(00030)

Datacraft Sets Up In Taiwan 06/01/92
TAIPEI, TAIWAN, 1992 JUN 1 (NB) -- The continued growth of the
communications business in Taiwan and government commitment to the
rapid development of Taiwan's infrastructure have set the scene for
the establishment of Datacraft in Taiwan.

The setting up of a direct presence in Taiwan is part of Datacraft's
strategic expansion into the region. The new operation will be
emphasizing Datacraft's capabilities in enterprise-wide communications
networking for the Taiwan market.

Many infrastructure projects are planned in Taiwan over the next five
years. This commitment to growth by the Taiwan government will
inevitably attract international corporations that have a need to
communicate," said Jackson Wu, Datacraft Taiwan's president.
"I'm very excited about opening up what is certain to be an important
market for Datacraft," he said.

Des Althorp, managing director of Datacraft Asia, said the opening of
an office in Taiwan represents the continuation of Datacraft's
strategic expansion throughout the region.

"Taiwan is a critical market for us in North Asia, and the opening of a
Datacraft office in Taipei extends our geographical coverage and moves
us further towards our goal of becoming the region's largest
data communication systems integrator," Mr Anthrop said.

Mr Wu said Datacraft Taiwan will focus on three areas in particular
within the fast-growing Taiwan market. He said Datacraft is in a
position to benefit from increased requirements for advanced networking
facilities by the Directorate General of Telecommunications (DGT),
private enterprises, and infrastructural projects.

Datacraft's years of experience in developing specialized solutions for
Australia Telecom and Hong Kong Telecom should make Datacraft a front-
runner for DGT network enhancement projects, said Mr Wu.

In addition, he said, virtually every infrastructure project requires
communications systems to enable monitoring and control of
construction, while firms engaged in work on the projects require their
own reliable communication facilities.

(Brett Cameron/19920530/Press contact: Vincent Lum, Datacraft Asia,
Tel: [phone];HK time is GMT + 8)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 JUN 1 Synon Opens Hongkong Office 06/01/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(HKG)(00031)

Synon Opens Hongkong Office 06/01/92
CENTRAL, HONGKONG, 1992 JUN 1 (NB) -- Synon Corporation, a
leading supplier of CASE tools for IBM mid-range systems, has
established a direct presence in Hong Kong.

The new office will serve as the company's Asia headquarters
and will provide technical, marketing, and service support to
a growing network of distributors.

Synon products are currently distributed by CSSL in Hong
Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore, with IBM and dealers
Toppan Moore Systems and CMS in Taiwan. Following strong
customer demand, the company has an active program to sign
additional distributors in the PRC, Indonesia and the
Philippines.

"We are committed to building on the excellent work that CSSL
has done so far and to extending our marketing and
distribution channels throughout Asia," said Patrick Batty,
Synon's Director, Asia Pacific who is based in Australia.
"The fact that Synon is the only significant CASE vendor
with a Hong Kong office will enable us to offer unrivalled
levels of support and technical expertise to our customers."

Ian Pawlik, division manager at CSSL said, "We are delighted
that Synon has decided to directly support its Asian
operations out of Hong Kong. There are now almost 100 Synon
sites throughout the region and we believe there is strong
potential for future growth."

Pawlik added that growth in Hong Kong has followed the
territory's transformation into a sophisticated services-
based economy. "Users are increasingly prepared to invest in
customized software to achieve a competitive edge," he said.

"At the same time, they are moving away from traditional,
proprietary solutions toward more flexible, faster and open
systems-based CASE solutions where there is an established
community of developers. As the leading CASE software vendor
for IBM mid-range platforms, Synon is strongly placed to
meet that demand."

The office, in Admiralty Centre, was officially launched by
Chris Herron, president of Synon Corporation in the United
States.

Managed by a team of experienced technical and marketing
specialists from Synon in the UK, the Hong Kong office will
focus on technical presentations to customers and back-up
for CSSL's support operation.

Technical specialists include Guy Riddle and Phil Hobbs.
Both joined Synon in the UK in 1988 and are said to have extensive
technical knowledge and experience of working closely with distributors
around the world. Marketing and public relations will be handled
by Sharon Williams who has coordinated the same functions for
Synon in the UK for the last three years.

(Brett Cameron/920530/Press Contact: Liz Aram, Euan Barty
Associates Tel: [phone]; HK time is GMT + 8)

#ENDCARD




#CARD :1992 JUN 5 Review of: The Organizer, version 3.0, 06/05/92


(REVIEW)(IBM)(SYD)(00034)

Review of: The Organizer, version 3.0, 06/05/92

Runs on: PCs using Windows 3 versions

From: Threadz Limited (UK), Tel: [phone],
Fax: [phone]. The company does not currently have a US
distributor, but is actively looking for partners. Contact
company direct for mail order pricing, as well as latest US
distribution information.

Price: UKP 199.

PUMA Rating: 3.0 on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Paul Zucker

Summary: The Organizer is an electronic version of a time
manager system, like FiloFax or DayRunner.

======

REVIEW

======

One of the problems about running lots of applications
under Windows is the memory they use. Unless you've got a
very powerful system with lots of RAM, you can't afford to
leave many applications running all the time. The organizer
is just the sort of application you have to run all the
time or it can't help you.

When you first start it, it's just like having one of those
time manager folders open on your desk. There are sections
for diary, ToDo, lists, Planner, Address book, Notepad and
Anniversary lists. These sections are all customizable, and
you can add new ones as suit you. It's easy to see at a
glance what your obligations are, and you can use it to see
how efficient you are at doing things, by checking your
plans against actual results.

Say the diary alarm says you have to ring Bill at head
office - you can move to his entry in the address book, and
click on his phone number to have your modem make the call
for you. Organizer then opens a phone log which times you
and takes notes of the call, perhaps with a further to-do
note or alarm for follow-up.

The system seems to work well, but we were surprised to
find a couple of limitations. If you start the system after
an alarm should have gone off, it never does. Likewise, if
you shut the system down just before an alarm is due, you
don't get any warning. We would have liked to have seen
some sort of print-out option to get just before going home
for the day, so you have an extension of the electronic
diary to take with you.

It's a network-aware product (site licenses available) and
does things like help schedule meetings between users, via
the network.

All in all, it's a very polished product, but needs some
more development and features.

===========

PUMA RATING

===========

PERFORMANCE: 3. Works well, but could be improved in future
versions.

USEFULNESS: 3. Useful. This eliminates the need to have a general
notepad, address and phone book handy.

MANUAL: 4 Very well produced manual.

AVAILABILITY: 2 New product, so difficult to get hold of. Worth
seeking out.

(Paul Zucker/19920130)
#ENDCARD




#CARD :1992 JUN 26 Review of: Metz Task Manager Version 2.0 for Windows, 06/26/92


(REVIEW)(IBM)(SFO)(00024)

Review of: Metz Task Manager Version 2.0 for Windows, 06/26/92

Runs on: IBM AT, PS/2, 286 (and up) or compatible, Windows 3.0 or 3.1,
DOS 3.1 or higher, 720K disk space (for full installation), mouse
recommended.

From: Metz Software, P.O. Box 6699, Bellevue, WA 98008-0699.  Tel:
(orders) 800-447-1712, (support) 206-641-4525, Fax: [phone].

Price: $49.95  Street price: Estimated $29.95-$39.95

PUMA Rating: 3.7 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Thom Foulks, Business Radio Network

Summary: A spiffy, inexpensive Windows "power user" competitor to
Norton Desktop for Windows; of interest to Windows newcomers for its
"quick" utilities, more so than for overall task management.

======

REVIEW

======

No one's yet caught the software world's attention with a YAWL
program, but it may be imminent.  What's a YAWL?  Yet Another Windows
Launcher, of course. Although file and program management has been
greatly improved in Windows 3.1, the desktops of hardcore Windows
users remain cluttered with icons, hidden windows, and
sometimes-forgotten tasks.  Norton Desktop for Windows took a high end
approach to the clutter, and won many editorial rave reviews for
replacing and improving on Microsoft's Program Manager.

Now comes Metz Task Manager 2.0 with a speedy low end approach that
shows far more appreciation for getting work done, than it does for
displaying copious icons.  Furthermore, TaskMan can work in
conjunction with ProgMan or NDW, and speed up the functions of either
-- or it can be the Windows "shell," running perceptibly faster at
task switching, file finding and/or text searching. Version 1.0 of
Task Manager (a shareware product) won a PC Magazine Editor's Choice
Award.

Quickness is the overriding characteristic of Task Manager, and Metz
Software doesn't mince words in naming the application's components.
They include:

 - Quick File Manager -- To copy, move, delete, or rename files or
directories.  (Has faster access, more intuitive response, than
Program Manager or Norton Desktop.)

 - Quick File Find -- To locate one or more files on hard drives, a
network or a floppy disk.  (Fastest Windows file search I've seen,
locating files on a 510MB hard disk in less time than it took me to
type in the target file's name!)

 - Quick Text Search -- To search files for a specific text entry.
(Searches any group of files, fast; superb for finding that WinWord
 .DOC file in which you mentioned "rhubarb" last spring.)

 - Select Directory -- A single icon to click for changing
directories, or creating a new directory, even across a network.
(TaskMan stays on my work machine, if only for the ease-of-use of this
option.)

 - System Status -- A fast pop-up of system information, including
icons for editing system files.  (Similar to, and faster than, Norton
Desktop's SYSINFO, albeit with less technical information.)

 - Launch -- A customizer for Task Manager.  (Programmer's delight;
heady stuff for a neophyte.)

 - Scheduler -- Put your computer to work on back-ups or lengthy print
tasks, while you're asleep or absent.  (It remembers what the computer
DIDN'T do -- maybe because of shut down -- and provides a "Run Missed
Event" option.)

The Task Manager window also includes a "Run" option, effectively a
direct-entry DOS command prompt from within Windows that is more
accessible and speedier than similar functions from Program Manager or
Norton Desktop. It also remembers what you've been doing (up to 99
tasks), and provides a click-click return to any previous "run" task.

Uniquely, Task Manager also provides a "screen saver" for DOS
applications being operated from within Windows.

Task Manager's major weakness, ironically, is in its sleekness and
power.  It is rich in options for configuration and overall usage --
all of which require knowledgeable user decisions about how Windows
operates and how an individual wants to work within Windows.  Although
neophytes can make ready (and easy) use of such functions as
file-finding and text-searching, the total Task Manager package will
appeal most to "power users."  There is ample, context-sensitive help
available; but, again, the help necessarily assumes a broad knowledge
of Windows usage.  Simply put, this is not a product for beginners.

===========

PUMA RATING

===========

PERFORMANCE: (3.9) Task Manager's speed defies the "slow" performance
image of Windows.  Across-the-board, its many functions operate
perceptibly faster than comparable products.  However, its operating
window does not have an adjustable size, wasting the potential of
flexible large screen (1,024x768 or more) operation.

USEFULNESS: (3.0) A power user can put it to use immediately; Windows
newcomers or DOS neophytes probably need to learn better what they're
trying to improve, before trying Task Manager's improvements.  A
strong knowledge of Windows terminology is mandatory.

MANUAL: (4.0) As with many newer Windows products, a manual is almost
superfluous when compared to online help files.  Task Manager's
120-page manual is well-written, unintimidating, and uses graphics
images to display various operations.  But, once installed, help is
more readily available from a click-click within the lengthy -- and
extensively-indexed -- online help files.

AVAILABILITY: (4.0) Metz Task Manager 2.0 is available directly from
Metz Software for $49.95, or through Ingram Micro, Merisel, and
numerous resellers. (Initial shipping date was June 1, 1992.)  For a
limited time, registered owners of ANY Metz Software product can
purchase a Metz Task Manager 2.0 upgrade, for $19.95 plus shipping,
directly from Metz Software.  Metz provides non-toll-free telephone
support (Programmer Art Metz may even answer the phone), and maintains
a CompuServe forum (GO WINAPC) for support and information.

(Tom Foulks/19920626)
#ENDCARD


(REVIEW)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00029)

#CARD :1992 MAY 29 Review of: Ross Perot, An Unauthorized Biography,


Review of: Ross Perot, An Unauthorized Biography, by Todd Mason,
ISBN 1-55623-236-5

From: BusinessONE Irwin (Times Mirror Books), 1818 Ridge Road,
Homewood, IL 60430. 708-206-2700

Price: $19.95 Hardbound, 300-plus pages with index

PUMA Rating: 4 on a scale 1=lowest to 4=highest

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: John McCormick, 05/29/92

Summary: Packed with details which show the unpublicized side of
H. Ross Perot, the man who may become president.

======

REVIEW

======

That this would be an unauthorized biography was something which
Mr. Perot made clear to the author (former Dallas, Texas Bureau
Chief for Business Week) right from the very start by pointing
out that since his life was not yet over, a biography would be
rather premature.

Perhaps showing a strong desire for total control, Mr. Perot told
the author that he felt a person should have the right to write
his or her own biography (autobiography) before others got a
crack at him or her.

Nevertheless, this book does contain a wealth of information
about Mr. Perot, who did not actively oppose its publication.
Perot supporters will mostly find more of the same in this book -
the picture that emerges is one of a serious (some say humorless)
man who has a powerful ethical stand on many issues without
losing sight of the fact that many people disagree with him and
have a total right to do so, just not while they are on his team.

After eight years of Ronald Reagan whose people seemed to be
impressing their ideas on the presidency and three-and-one-half
of George Bush whom many people feel has no firm ideas at all,
this book clearly shows why so many people are attracted to the
idea of a Perot presidency. They don't know where he stands on
most issues (nor apparently does he for that matter), but they
know that when he says he will do something it will most likely
get done.

The picture this book gives is not a whitewash of an American
icon, nor is it a hatchet job. Rather, the author attempts to
give as much useful information as he could obtain about Mr.
Perot's business dealings and let people draw their own
conclusions.

What many people already see in Mr. Perot, a hard-nosed
businessman who plays by the rules but who plays very hard to
win, is exactly what emerges from this book.

Perot has made it clear that he thinks America has to watch out
for the less fortunate in our country but that people
have to help themselves. He doesn't object to the rich (and he is
one of the richest men in the world) paying more taxes as long as
the money is spent wisely.

He is for education and opportunity for all, obviously believing
that courage, vision, education, and hard work can make nearly
anyone a success, no matter what their economic or cultural
background. This is the same message mouthed by many politicians
in recent years, but few of them have shown every day of their
lives that they actually believe what they are saying.

The author, who obviously had troubles with Perot, appears to
admire many things about the man and concludes that Perot "lives
his life like the bumper sticker slogan: lead, follow, or get-
the-hell out of the way."

The night before this review was written Mr. Perot told Barbara
Walters on 20/20 that he would have neither adulterers nor
homosexuals high in his administration - he couldn't trust the
former, and the latter might stir up too much public dissent. No
one reading this book would have been surprised, but they would
also come away with the idea that while he wouldn't hire people
from either group to work closely with him, neither would he
single them out for prejudicial treatment as citizens.

Although Mr. Perot is the master of the soundbite, adept at
manipulating the press, reading this book you are led to the
conclusion that he is always manipulating members of the press to
present him as he really is - trying to prevent distortion of his
views rather than create it.

What you see when you listen to H. Ross Perot's actual words, not
as they are distorted by some people, is that this man means what
he says, does what he says, and takes the consequences.

Mr. Perot says that if he is elected president he will try very
hard to do what the people really want and there is little in
this book which contradicts the notion that he is a man of his
word.

Politicians are now calling him a demagogue and saying that you
can't trust him because he hasn't provided a platform, but they
seem to be missing the point. Perot supporters have seen that
party platforms and politicians promises mean little when a
"politician" actually gets into office - what they see in Perot
is a man of character, ready to face present and future
challenges.

This book, despite the negative things it has to say about Mr.
Perot, is unlikely to cause any of those supporters to leave the
Perot camp and is more likely than not to lead others to give him
their support by showing that this really is a man who has strong
moral values and a willingness, almost compulsion, to live by
them without becoming a bigot.

You may have noticed that this review has few details about Mr.
Perot's life and business dealings - those details won't fit in a
review, but they are to be found in the book.

This book was first published in 1990 but the
publisher is currently reprinting and the book can be ordered
through any bookstore if it isn't already on the shelves.

(John McCormick/19920529/Press Contact: Rick Rittering,
BusinessONE Irwin)

#ENDCARD



#CARD :1992 MAY 15 Review of: Remote LAN Node, 05/15/92


(REVIEW)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00026)

Review of: Remote LAN Node, 05/15/92

From: Intercomputer Communication Corp., 8230 Montgomery Road,
Cincinnati, OH 45236 [phone]

Price: $430.00

PUMA Rating: 3.5 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Naor Wallach 05/15/92

Summary: RLN is a product that solves the problem of
access to your LAN while not physically attached to its wires. Works
well and is easy to set up and use.

======

REVIEW

======

Has the following situation ever confronted you? You're out of town
on a two-week business trip. On your first day back you check your
e-mail and find dozens, maybe even hundreds of messages. Going
through them takes a lot of time and you even find some messages
that you should have responded to earlier. Now, it's too late.

Sound familiar? An innovative solution to these kinds of problems
is being offered by Intercomputer Communications Corp. (ICC) with
their Remote LAN Node (RLN) product. RLN allows you to log in to
your network via a modem and establish a full network connection to
your servers. Essentially it looks and feels like you are on the
network and you can use all of the services and capabilities of the
network that you are used to having.

RLN is comprised of two parts. There is a server piece that runs on
a dedicated PC attached to your LAN at the office. This PC can be
equipped with up to 16 modems through the use of ICC's Digiboard.
The server software runs on the server PC and maintains virtual
connections across the modem lines to the network. The second piece
is the client software which runs on your remote PC. Using the
client software, you control your modem and call in to the server.
After the two pieces have established communications you are given
the impression that you are working in your normal environment.

RLN comes in three basic flavors. You can get the two-user system
for $430 which allows for two modems to be connected to the server
PC and used remotely. The eight-user version comes with an ICC
digiboard and all the equipment needed to connect up to eight modems
to the server. The eight-user version sells for $3550. For $6610
you can get the sixteen-user version which comes with two Digiboards
and all the other hardware and software necessary. Single client
software costs $95 per package which includes only the remote client
software. In all cases, you must supply your own modems.

The two-user package which I reviewed contained one Server Package
and two Client Packages. The Server Package contained a 126-page
Administrator's Guide, a 35-page LAN Compatibility Guide, a
registration card, a product release notice, a copy protection
device known as a "dongle," and both 3.5" and 5.25" diskettes
containing the Server program and the Server Packet Drivers.
Each of the two client packages contained a 67-page Client Guide, a
dongle, and a 3.5" diskette containing the Client Program.

The first step in getting the system to work was to configure and
install the server. As is common with networks, this is a job best
left for the network administrator and should be undertaken lightly.
That said, however, I must admit that installing the RLN server
went smoother than most network product installations that I have
been involved with. I only ran into one problem that required a call
to ICC's technical support line and that problem was resolved by
changing the network adapter's IRQ setting. Certainly not a big
deal. The RLN documentation is relatively clear and straightforward.
The chapter that talks about setting up the server walks you through
the process step by step. The Administrator's Guide contains all of
the information that you need to install RLN whether clients or
server. The only things that are not contained in the Administrator's
Guide are those elements specific to a network architecture and
those are contains in the LAN Compatibility Guide.

Once I had the server up and running I could go through the
different menus and check out various statistics on usage of the
network and usage of the server. It is also possible to check out
the status of different aspects of the server and its communications
links. Most of the action though, is in the Client and to tell you
the truth, this is as it should be.

Installing the Client Program was even easier than the Server. The
program installs itself and the only thing that you need to worry
about is to follow the instructions properly. This brings up the
only complaint that I have about the manuals. I was using a Novell
network for this review. The sequence of commands that is needed to
attach to it is spelled out exactly on page 15 of the LAN
Compatibility Guide. Recall that only one copy of this guide is
provided and you will understand my complaint.

Once the Client server was installed and running, it was a simple
task to define the calling parameters (phone number, etc.) of the
server and to call it up. RLN does a good job of letting you know
what it is doing as things are happening. If all goes well you will
be presented with the sign-on message of your network and can then
proceed. Let me make one suggestion here. As you are operating over
a modem that is slower by orders of magnitude than your normal
network connection, make sure that you copy all of the software that
you can to your remote PC before you take it with you. I did not
do so and had to wait for about 10 minutes while my pair of 9600 baud
modems sent the information necessary just to log in between them.
Once I downloaded the Novell Login command to the remote PC the same
process took only about a minute or two.

Once I logged into my network, I could do anything that I can
normally do. I checked my mail, sent some out, and I even launched
a spreadsheet program remotely just to see what would happen. In all
of my testing I found that there was only one difference between my
machine in the office and my remote machine. That difference was
speed. As I said above, 9600 baud modems are not anywhere near as
fast as a 10 Mbps network connection. I did not encounter any bugs
or significant problems of any kind over the four week period in
which I used the product.

All in all, I was very impressed with this program. It performed its
functions well and was very unobtrusive. I would probably not like
to use this program on a day-to-day basis to do all of my work due
to its speed limitations, but it is certainly more than adequate to
take care of situations like those described at the top of this
review as well as of the many other situations that can arise.

===========

PUMA RATING

===========

PERFORMANCE: 4 The program itself performed flawlessly. It is hardly
its fault that modem technology does not match wire speeds.

USEFULNESS: 3 This is a tool that solves a specific problem. If you
have many people on the road or at home all of the time, then its
benefits are manifest. For occasional use, I find it hard to justify
its use of a dedicated PC. I would much rather see a two-user system
that works in the background.

MANUAL: 4 The manuals are complete and well organized. The one minor
problem I have with them is one that can be easily corrected with a
copier.

AVAILABILITY: 3 Technical support is a toll call.

(Naor Wallach/19920515/Press Contact: Sally Smith, SSSmith and
Associates for ICC, 513-438-1133)


(EDITORIAL)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00027)

Editorial: The Changing Face of News by Dana Blankenhorn, 05/15/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 15 (NB) -- Pat Robertson's
purchase of UPI this week has a lot of newspeople in a funk. Despite
assurances to staffers in Washington that he wouldn't interfere with
the 84-year old service's editorial policies, Robertson later told
viewers to his "700 Club" that the purchase represented  "a little
opportunity" for God to touch society.

In the short run, the trend is truly ominous. Liberal politicians
in the UK claimed last month that right-wing newspapers, which
now dominate that country, led to their Conservative opponents'
winning re-election despite a nasty recession. Could the same
mind-control be in store for the US?

Maybe. Look who today controls the levers of America's
information society. Rupert Murdoch, whose "National Star" broke
the story of Bill Clinton's alleged liaison with Gennifer
Flowers, from which the Arkansas governor has never recovered in
national polls, despite the fact that he is ready to win his
party's nomination. Sun Myung Moon, the once-jailed head of Korea's
Unification Church, owns "The Washington Times." Anyone want to
claim "The Wall Street Journal" is liberal, or anything like it?

What is most disturbing, and dangerous, about these outlets is
the assumption by their owners there is a "liberal media
conspiracy" about which gives them permission to create biased
news coverage. No one with a liberal viewpoint will ever be
allowed inside the Washington Times newsroom, and if you want to
rise to the top of a Murdoch or Dow Jones enterprise, you'd
better be "politically correct" as the owners see that term.

Some perspective is needed. Most 19th century newspapers were
incredibly opinionated, tied to specific politicians or political
movements. Many large US cities had dozens of papers, one for
every taste, many in foreign languages.

All this changed with the rise of industrial media empires like
those of Joseph Pulitzer, E.W. Scripps, and William Randolph
Hearst. These men, and their contemporaries, believed that
objective reporting, combined with mass production and slick
marketing, would create trusted media which could dominate
markets. They endowed journalism schools to teach the new
objectivity, and their plans worked. By the 1970s, when I went to
college, most cities had just one newspaper, and whatever its
editorial policy it practiced this objective journalism. We were
a profession, like doctors or lawyers, trained to be fair to all
sides, and to reach conclusions based only on fact.

The events of the 1960s and 1970s changed the way conservatives
looked at this objective media. Many blamed reporters like David
Halberstam, Morley Safer and Peter Arnett for the debacle of
Vietnam. Carl Bernstein, Bob Woodward and Seymour Hersch helped
bring down Richard Nixon, the first conservative President since
Herbert Hoover. These events were at the root of the "liberal
media conspiracy" theory still propounded by some commentators.
Under this theory, objectivity equals bias. The only cure is a
new bias.

Moon and Robertson believed the theory, and their investments
prove it. You will never read a bad thing about conservative
politicians in "The Washington Times," even if it's true. Nor
will you hear about it on "The 700 Club." With objectivity seen
as bias, and pure bias as objectivity, conservative politicians
are even going after the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and
National Public Radio, forcing their views -- and the exclusion
of alternatives they detest -- on the publicly financed airwaves.

My guess is that, as in the abortion controversy, liberals will
eventually wake up and fight back. There are financiers with lots
of money and liberal views, who could if they chose build truly
liberal media empires, especially if liberals decide that
conservative bias has led to the re-election of President Bush in
November. Viewers and readers will once more be able to, as they
could in the 19th century, choose their own truth.

There's another point. Technology is changing all of this. You
are now reading a news service which costs pennies to produce,
compared to the costs of a UPI. As it was in the 19th century,
journalism is again becoming an easy-in, easy-out business. The
comfortable newspaper monopolies of the past are being buffeted
by competition, from free weeklies, from suburban papers, and
from cable. Even Ted Turner's CNN now faces competition from the
BBC and from local cable operators in big markets like Orange
County, California, with their own 24-hour news services.

One final point. Even if I'm wrong about most of this, if right-
wing nuts take over the media without objection from any quarter,
and if technology can't change a thing, remember that time
passes. Harrison Gray Otis and Harry Chandler built the Los
Angeles Times into the major force of Southern California,
controlling the state's politics from a distinct right-wing
slant, with no apologies for many decades. But Harry's daughter
Dorothy was a liberal, and the company is now one of those
"objective" papers people like Robertson think is part of a
conspiracy against them. Even E.W. Scripps and William Randolph
Hearst were not able to protect their assets from bad management
after their deaths. Which is why UPI wound up on the block in the
first place.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920514)

#ENDCARD




#CARD :1992 MAY 22 Review of: Quality Software Mgt V.1: Systems Thinking, 05/22/92


(REVIEW)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00024)

Review of: Quality Software Mgt V.1: Systems Thinking, 05/22/92

From: Dorset House Publishing, 353 West 12th St. New York, NY 10014,
[phone]

Price: $40.00

PUMA Rating: 4 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Naor Wallach, 05/22/92

Summary: A must-read book for every software manager. This is the
first of a series of books that will lead you to become a more
effective manager and in turn will cause the quality of your products
to go up.

======

REVIEW

======

Gerald Weinberg is a well-known author in the computer field. In his
forty year career in computing, he has published about as
many books. This time he turns his sights on the process of managing
the development of software. This is a 3-part series
in which the author examines what is happening in the field today,
and provides his prescriptions for how to improve the situation.

Volume 1 in the series is titled Systems Thinking. In this volume,
the author takes us on a tour of the patterns that he has identified
in software development. The author first discusses the six different
patterns that software organizations fall into in the ideal sense.
This is more of an upper level view as he does not believe that there
are any Pattern Four or higher organizations today.

With examples that are derived from his experiences, the author
shows us what characterizes organizations at the levels that he
believes most of the organizations are,  and then points towards
the way that those organizations need to move to get to the next
stage.

The author believes (and I concur) that most software development
organizations have reached the level of routing development that he
characterizes as level 2. At this level, managers are comfortable in
the process and can guide it along smoothly as long as nothing
untoward happens. Once something that is outside of the routine
occurs, the organization essentially falls apart and the obvious
and immediate consequence is that the quality of the products suffer.

The author identifies the Pattern 3 organization as one that has its
managers steering the process so that when nonroutine things happen,
the organization responds well and does not decrease the quality
of work.

There are eighteen chapters in this 300-page book divided into five
sections. Each of the sections examines a different aspect of the
Pattern 2 organization and how it reacts. Section 1 is called Patterns
of Quality. The three chapters in this section concentrate on defining
the author's views of organizational patterns, defines the patterns,
and talks a bit about the need to move from one level to the next and
why it is important that organizations do so.

The second section, "Patterns of Managing," contains five chapters that
dissect management. Managers are observed for what they do and how
they effect the real productive workers. Jerry pokes fun at many of
the myths of managers and outlines management behaviors that are well
known to any software developer who has worked in a company that had
a programming staff larger than one. Then he proceeds to explain the
real consequences of these behaviors and show how destructive they
can be when amplified. He introduces the reader to his diagram of
effects and explains the symbology as he introduces new concepts.

Many of the things he says are just plain good sense yet it is easy
to see how organizations can devolve into the absurd examples he
showcases. As a person who was involved in the software development
process in several companies, I can personally vouch for the veracity
of many of his examples. If you are laughing and shaking your head at
the stupidity of some of those managers that are described in the
book, you'd better make sure that your organization is not guilty of
the same follies!

The next section of three chapters goes into the reasons
why it's so easy to fall into the traps of mismanaging projects.
He clearly points out how things tend to get out of control, and
why. It is obvious from this description that most level 2
organizations cannot hope to avoid the problems that the commonly
encounter when under stress simply because of the kind of organizations
that they are. This section speaks as eloquently as any about the
need to move on to the next Pattern Level.

The fourth section "Fault Patterns" uses its four chapters to talk
about how an organization breaks. Anything will break if subjected
to stresses beyond its capabilities and human organizations are no
different. Jerry shows example after example of broken organizations.
He explains why and how they broke and proves that the signs of
stress in the organization were visible long before the tumultuous
breakup if the managers were simply capable of observing them and
realizing their significance.

The final section "Pressure Patterns" is a wrap-up section. He again
covers some more ways in which organizations fail. However he makes
an eloquent case for learning from these mistakes and shows how
all of what he spoke about before can actually be used to learn and
improve and move towards becoming a Pattern 3 organization.

I liked this book immensely. As I am someone who has managed software
development projects, the anecdotes and stories spoke to my heart. I
have personally seen many of the examples to which he refers.
If they did not occur to me, they happened to my colleagues or to
others in the organization. I can clearly see, as a result of reading
this book, that my company was mired in being a Level 2 organization.
On the good side, we had recognized this and are well on our way to
transforming ourselves to the Pattern 3 organization. I can only
hope that the next books in this series will be as good as this one.

The reason for the title is obvious once you have read the book. The
only way to bring about quality improvements in software products
is to manage the process better. The way to improve the process is to
see it as such and to start thinking about it from a systems level.

This book should be a must-read for any current and
prospective software manager. I would also highly recommend it to
any manager who has software components to his products or divisions
all the way to and including CEOs.

===========

PUMA RATING

===========

USEFULNESS: 4  This is a really good book. I enjoyed reading it very
much. As a matter of fact, I had to purposely pace myself so as not
to finish it in one or two sittings. The author identifies certain
characteristics of software development organizations. From my
experience, he has hit the nail on the head. He also offers ways
to improve the situation.

AVAILABILITY: 4 My local bookstores had copies. I also saw that this
book was selected as the lead book for a technical book club. It should
not be too hard to find.

(Naor Wallach/ 19920418)
#ENDCARD


#CARD :1992 JUN 12 Review of: Apple Macintosh PowerBook 140 2/40, 06/12/92


(REVIEW)(APPLE)(SYD)(00023)

Review of: Apple Macintosh PowerBook 140 2/40, 06/12/92

From: Apple Computer, 20525 Mariana Avenue, Cupertino CA 95014-6299,
[phone]

Price: varies depending on retailer - average $US3199

PUMA Rating: 3.6 on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Sean McNamara 06/12/92

Summary: The PowerBooks represent the first offerings from Apple
which truly are in the laptop class. Incorporating many of the
design features of the Mac Portable, but with true laptop size and
weight, Apple is set to reap the benefits of giving users what they
want from a laptop. Increasing the entry level memory to 4MB
(megabytes) would be a major improvement.

======

REVIEW

======

There was a time when portable Mac computing meant either having a
concrete block on your lap, or using a third party solution. Many
users preferred to stay with Apple and cried out for a light,
powerful and reliable machine which would let them run their Mac
software when on the road. Despite its battery-saving features,
good screen and long lasting battery, the Portable was doomed to
failure, and Apple was sure to bring out realistic replacements.

Enter the PowerBook range. With the same battery saving features as
the Portable and a good screen on the 170, the PowerBooks have a
good start. But there's a lot more to these Macs. Apple has learned
its mistakes from the Portable, and the PowerBooks come across as a
generally well thought out line of laptop computers. This review
will concentrate on the PowerBook 140.

The PowerBook 140 is as compatible with normal Mac software as any
other Mac. There are some programs which won't work, but these will
dwindle in number as upgrades are released. Using the 140 is really
very much like having a full-blown Mac - the keyboard is full size,
the 40MB hard disk drive would be adequate for most users, a mouse
can be connected, internal modems are available, it has sound input
and output sockets, the normal modem and printer ports and
reset/interrupt switches, and an external hard disk drive interface.

Most of the time, users would use the trackball on the PowerBook,
rather than carry around a mouse. Although use of the trackball
takes a bit of getting used to, it does become as easy to use as the
mouse, and I found no trouble switching between the two.

Users may consider three types of utilities which may make the
transition to the PowerBook easier. The first is one which allows
the user to "tear-off" the menus and just click on the options in a
little "menu window." One of the hardest things to get used to with a
trackball is accessing the menu, and tear-off menus can help a lot.
An alternative to this is a utility which allows you to click on a
menu and have it stay open without needing to drag (menus operate
like this in Windows). Options are then selected by just clicking on
them (almost like a temporary stationary tear-off menu). The third
is a utility which allows keyboard navigation of dialog buttons and
marks. There are shareware versions of such utilities available, and
they are well worth the registration for the increased ease of use
they afford the PowerBook user (and in many cases, "normal" Mac
users).

Despite the lack of memory on the entry level machine, the PowerBook
is no slouch, operating as a whole at about four times the speed of a
Mac Classic (the PowerBook 140's processor is a 16MHz 68030).
Increased memory would improve this further by negating the need to
use Virtual Memory (which chews up battery life) and by allowing the
user to set up a RAM disk, which would not only speed performance,
but also cut battery use. The investment in memory is well worth it
considering the cost of memory, but more memory could really be
offered with minimal increase in price (no increase would make the
PowerBook even more attractive).

The system has been designed to give the maximum possible battery
life from the nickel cadmium battery, and, although adequate,
battery life is not as impressive as with the Mac Portable.
Incorporating the useful "sleep" feature saves battery power, and
the sleep settings are user-adjustable (and can be turned off if
desired). As the battery level reaches "reserve" power, the system
gives a warning dialog and automatically dims the screen slightly.

Putting the computer to sleep manually at this time until mains
power can be connected is a handy feature, as the state of the
computer is maintained, and when it is woken, the system is where it
was left. One minor hitch comes when plugging the power pack into
mains power. The pack is at a size where it cannot sit in a double
socket with another power cord plugged in next to it, and on some
single sockets the socket switch hampers the pack sitting in the
socket neatly. Some ways around this are: to use a short extension
lead; to use a 4-socket powerboard and lose a socket; or use the
external charger.

===========

PUMA RATING

===========

PERFORMANCE: 2.5. While the PowerBook 140 runs just about all Mac
software, its performance is severely hampered by the standard 2MB
of memory. Surely with System 7 taking up 1MB of this at its
leanest, and most programs requiring 2MB clear these days, 4MB would
be a more realistic entry-level, especially with the price of memory
these days.

USEFULNESS: 4. Mac users have been dreaming of a Mac laptop for
years now, and the wait was worth it. With the three models covering
most people's needs (and the PowerBook 140 being a nice middle-
ground machine), and with Apple using realistic pricing structures
for what they deliver, most users would be satisfied with what the
receive.

MANUAL: 4. Apple is renowned for its manuals, and the PowerBook is
a great example of why. With clear layout, numerous screen shots and
illustrations, and System 7's Balloon Help, users should have no
trouble working out the ins and outs of the PowerBook.

AVAILABILITY: 4. Supplies are said to be increasing, with no more than
a week's wait at most retailers.

(Sean McNamara/19920610)
#ENDCARD


#CARD :1992 JUN 5 Review of: Microsoft Productivity Pak for Windows 3.1, 06/05/92


(REVIEW)(WIN)(ATL)(00035)

Review of: Microsoft Productivity Pak for Windows 3.1, 06/05/92

Runs on: PC-AT, or 100% compatibles with 1 megabyte RAM using
PC/MS-DOS 3.1 or higher and MS-Windows 3.1. Storage requires
either a 5.25 1.2 megabyte high density or 3.5" 720 kilobyte/low
density and hard disk drive. The graphics need a VGA, EGA,
8514/A, Hercules graphics card, or compatible video graphic
adapter and monitor [color recommended]. Microsoft mouse or
compatible pointing device required.

From: Microsoft Corporation, 1 Microsoft Way, Redmond WA 98052,
206-882-8080.

Price: $59.95

PUMA Rating: 4.0 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: tbass HNDYPRSN, MCI:379-5378 06/05/92

Summary: The Microsoft Productivity Pak for Windows is an
inexpensive way to teach your staff productivity tricks to use
with your new Windows environment. This tutorial only functions
from within MS-Windows version 3.1.

======

REVIEW

======

The Microsoft Productivity Pak for Windows is an interactive
tutorial designed to help the new computer/Windows 3.1 user
understand Windows techniques. It starts with an introduction to
the computer, and performs various tasks within the Windows
environment.

The tutorial has six chapters in a main menu. The chapter titles
are as follows: Getting Started, Windows Essentials, Working With
Applications, Managing Your Files, Organizing Your Work, and
Putting It All Together.

Included in a pretutorial is a nameless chapter on the use of
the computer keyboard and the mouse. This short piece just takes
nine minutes to read, and if you are new to the MS-Windows
environment, it's worth it.

Historical figures such as Leonardo de Vinci, Robin Hood,
Cleopatra, Merlin, and Sherlock Holmes are the instructor/guides
for your journey through Windows 3.1. The process is
entertaining, informative, and fun.

'Getting Started' uses all the guides to introduce the Windows
concept, and to show what topics each chapter covers. It presents
knowledge needed to get the most out of the lessons. This
chapter, also, defines similarities and differences between MS-
DOS and MS-Windows. The total running/learning time is about a
half an hour.

In the 'Windows Essentials' section, Leonardo focuses on the basics
of working with, getting help from, and customizing Windows 3.1.
Leonardo gives you an overview of MS-Windows. He shows you how to
choose commands for, change the size of, and arrange the windows.
Then he tells you how to get help while working within a Windows
application. Finally, Leo covers customizing Windows by using the
control panel. This includes adjusting appearance, software, and
hardware. The customizing section alone takes 45 minutes to go
through, but the entire chapter only takes about an hour.

Queen Cleopatra starts 'Working With Applications' with the
answer to the obvious question, "What is an application?" It
takes six minutes for her to tell you what an application is. She
then shows you how to work with multiple applications, and share
information between them. Cleo goes on to explain how to vary
fonts, print files, and get the most out of your computer's
memory. She entertains you for about an hour, or a little less.

'Managing Your Files and Directories' with Robin Hood is an
interesting adventure. Robin first tells what a directory is
and then tells you how to view, find, and protect your valuable
files and directories. He takes about a 55 minutes to present
these topics.

Merlin shows the magic of Organizing Your Work. He covers
creating and organizing groups of applications within the
Windows environment. The magician dazzles you for a total of 14
minutes adding applications and objects to groups, merrily
showing and telling as he goes.

In 'Putting It All Together' Sherlock Holms has you work on a
case with him. "A Day In The Life of Windows" is the title of
this section and it last for 20 minutes.

This tutorial is attractive and useful.

============

PUMA RATING

============

PERFORMANCE: (4.0) This product works like the proverbial charm
and is attractive to boot. It is entertaining for all captives of
MS-Windows 3.1, both those with Windows experience and those
without.

USEFULNESS: (4.0) The cost of the package is reasonable for a
tutorial. I would recommend that if you are new to Windows, get
the package installed by a friend and use it. Productivity Pak
shows you the way to use Windows 3.1 to your benefit.

MANUAL: (4.0) No manual is needed. The program only needs a short
explanation on installation. The directions for installing and
starting the program is on a small card included in the package.
From Windows 3.1, double click the Icon and you are on your way.

AVAILABILITY: (4.0) Microsoft Productivity Pak for Windows 3.1 is
a direct purchase for suggested retail from Microsoft Sales, at
1-800-426-9400, where VISA, MasterCard, American Express, check
or money order are acceptable. PC-Zone at 1-800-258-8088 has it
in stock for $39.00 and Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American
Express, check or money order are acceptable. PC-Zone sends an
order COD for an added $5.00, but payment must be made via
cashier's check. CompUSA, at 1-800-468-4682, has the Microsoft
Productivity Pak for Windows as a special order, it takes about
two weeks, for $48.00.

(tbass HNDYPRSN/19920521/Press Contact: Microsoft, Bev Auld,
206-936-8192)

#ENDCARD


#CARD :1992 JUN 19 Review of: Lotus 1-2-3 for Home, Version 1.0, 06/19/92


(REVIEW)(IBM)(SFO)(00027)

Review of: Lotus 1-2-3 for Home, Version 1.0, 06/19/92

Runs on: PCs with 512K of RAM, hard disk, graphics display, DOS 2.1 or higher.
Windows compatible (.PIF included). Requires approximately 5MB hard
disk space, depending upon installation options related to fonts.
(NOTE: 123H CAN run on an 8088/86 CPU, if the machine has the
necessary RAM, display and storage requirements.)

From: Lotus Development Corporation, 55 Cambridge Parkway, Cambridge, MA
02142, 617-577-8500

Suggested List Price: $149 Street price: Below $100.

PUMA Rating: 4.0 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Thom Foulks, Business Radio Network,
Fax: [phone].

Summary: This package stands out, not for its program (123H), but for the
bundled templates with it. The 50(!) 123-compatible .WK1 files are
useful for Excel and QuattroPro owners, making the total package of
interest to nearly all spreadsheet users.

======

REVIEW

======

Even if you're quick with QuattroPro or excellent with Excel, you will
want to look at "Lotus 1-2-3 for Home" -- and be aware the "home"
description is somewhat misleading.

In a comparatively inexpensive package, Lotus has bundled a slightly
scaled-down spreadsheet (based on Lotus 1-2-3 for DOS, Release 2.3)
AND fifty "SmartSheet" customized application templates. It is the
templates which give this product its power and attractiveness.

The spreadsheet is a full-powered, character-based 1-2-3
implementation. Its limitation is in the size of spreadsheet that can
be handled -- 256 rows by 512 columns instead of the 256x8192 cell
layout in larger 1-2-3 versions -- and it lacks the interface permitting
add-on products or linking between spreadsheets.

But a graphical interface is built-in, so that 123H comes on-screen in
full WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) mode. Included are
Bitstream's Swiss fonts (in Roman, bold, italic and bold-italic) that
can be sized from 3 to 72 points, and printed just as they are
displayed. 123H provides "quick graph" power, with pie, bar, line and
3-D effects. The user interface is the traditional Lotus menu
structure, activated by the "/" key or by mouse clicks.

The power of the package is in the SmartSheets. The .WK1 files are a
broad range of ready-to-use applications that stretch the "home"
descriptor into home business and small business uses. There is, of
course, a mortgage amortization template (graphed far fancier than
what you'll find on your neighborhood BBS). At the other end of the
spectrum are spreadsheets for "perpetual inventory control" and "stock
balance record" with data input instructions on the template. Closer
to home are templates for a videotape log, household inventory, and a
tally sheet for a commercial credit application.

Other SmartSheets make use of 1-2-3's text-graphics power with annual
and monthly calendars, a memo form, a fax cover sheet and other
applications more typical of word processing than number crunching.
All the sheets are laid out with graphics in place, and with the
"print range" already defined for easy print-out to common dot matrix
or laser printers.

Lotus Development's DOS spreadsheets marketing manager, Ben Shelton,
told Newsbytes the SmartSheets were developed by Lotus programmers in
response to user requests. He said: "Users can just plug in their own
numbers, and start working right away. Also, the SmartSheets can help
users learn how to use 1-2-3, because they can see these formulas.
These templates are not too complex...users can see how to set up
their own formulas in their own worksheets." Although the SmartSheets
might seem to be marketable as a stand-alone package, Shelton said that
is not "currently planned."

The SmartSheets are divided into five categories: Administration,
Finance, Human Resources, Operations, Personal Finance and Planning,
and Sales and Marketing. A 55-page reference manual gives a brief
explanation of each, but the quintessential help information is in
each template and appears on screen when they are loaded into the
spreadsheet program.

For general use, 1-2-3 Home also includes a 140-page User's Guide
which Lotus admits "is not a comprehensive reference...on all the
functionality in 1-2-3." The on-line help system, with
context-sensitive references, appears more than adequate to make full
and varied use of the SmartSheets. (Spreadsheet neophytes hoping to
augment the corporate accounting system should note this product is
not targeted at the Fortune 1000.)

Registered 1-2-3 for Home users are also provided one-month free
support via the Lotus toll-free help line.

Do the .WK1 files WORK with Excel and QuattroPro? At random, I
selected three different SmartSheet files from within each Excel 4.0
and QuattroPro SE. All loaded and displayed properly, all accepted
pertinent data input properly, all printed properly. Given the
nuances of file compatibility-handling among spreadsheet program
manufacturers, that's not a guarantee -- but the high quality of the
SmartSheets certainly deserves consideration by users of other
spreadsheet software.

In a nutshell: At a expected street price in the $100 area, BUY the
package. That's $2.00 per SmartSheet, and any one of them may save you
100 times that price in keyboard time.

===========

PUMA RATING

===========

PERFORMANCE: (4.0) The spreadsheet software itself, 123H.EXE, is
derivative of a tried-and-tested Lotus product. SmartSheets handle
user revision predictably, and can be revised easily for variations to
meet user's needs.

USEFULNESS: (4.0) A court is still wrestling with competitors' use of
the Lotus menu structure (its "look and feel"), but the .WK1 file
structure is a de facto standard. That makes the usefulness of
SmartSheets spread far beyond their home product.

MANUAL: (4.0) Given the context-sensitive help system, any manual with
such a product -- beyond start-up instructions -- is almost
superfluous. Start-up, itself, is from a stand-alone "INSTALL" program,
with easy-to-follow prompts.

AVAILABILITY: (4.0) Lotus 1-2-3 for Home began shipping in mid-April,
and is well-immersed in standard software discount channels -- look
for a $99 or below price.

(Thom Foulks/19920619)



(NEWS)(GEN)(SFO)(00001)

Intel to Sue for Back Damages; AMD to File New Motions Monday
06/19/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 19 (NB) --  Intel
Corporation has told Newsbytes that it plans to sue Advanced Micro
Devices (AMD) for back damages, in response to a jury decision
Wednesday which determined that Advanced Micro Devices does not
have the rights to copy Intel's microcode for the 287 math
coprocessor.

Meanwhile, AMD, distressed by the fact that presiding Judge William
Ingrams was out on vacation while the jury deliberated and reached
its verdict, intends to file new motions Monday morning when
Ingrams returns to the bench.

Intel will seek back damages over AMD's use of Intel microcode in
AMD's imitations of both Intel's 287 coprocessor and its 386
microprocessor, a spokesperson told Newsbytes.

Intel also maintains that the jury ruling will prevent AMD from
using Intel microcode in present and future generations of
products, including the 486 microprocessor and an upcoming
microprocessor, codenamed the "P5," now under development, she
added.  "We're absolutely ecstatic with the ruling," she remarked.
But at this point, AMD is moving ahead with its clone of the 486
chip, an AMD spokesperson emphasized.

AMD believes that the verdicts reached by the jury are inconsistent
with the facts presented, and will ask Ingrams on Monday to make a
ruling on the meaning of the nature of the original agreement,
according to a written statement released by W. J. Sanders III,
chairman and CEO.

"Essentially, the jury said `Nobody proved anything' -- which
leaves a great deal of doubt as to what the contract means," the
AMD spokesperson told Newsbytes.  The jury was asked to consider
whether there was a "preponderance of evidence" to prove four
separate points, two raised by Intel and two by AMD.  The jury
voted "No" on three of these issues, and ended in a hung verdict on
the fourth point, he said.

Further, he suggested, the jury acted without the guidance that
would ordinarily be provided by a presiding judge, since Ingrams
has been on vacation since July 12.

The sole function of the judge who acted in Ingrams' stead, Judge
Ronald Whyte, was to receive the verdict, the spokesperson added.
Only the presiding judge is allowed to actually preside over a
jury, he explained. "Judge Whyte spent most of his time in his
chambers, or in an area nearby the jury," he commented.

The trial -- the latest in a long series of legal struggles between
Intel and AMD -- began April 28.  Still to come in the case are
verdicts on allegations by Intel that AMD misrepresented the
characteristics of the 287 device and that AMD engaged in mask work
infringement.  AMD is asserting that these allegations are without
merit.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19920619; Press Contact:  Michelle Bourdon,
Intel, tel [phone]; John Greenagel, AMD, tel [phone])



#ENDCARD


#CARD :1992 MAY 29 Review of: Hard Drive: Bill Gates & The Making of the Microsoft Empire


(REVIEW)(GENERAL)(DEN))(00028)

Review of: Hard Drive: Bill Gates & The Making of the Microsoft Empire

From: John Wiley & Sons, Publisher; James Wallace and Jim Erickson,
authors

Price: $22.95 in hardback

PUMA Rating: 4.0 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by Jim Mallory, Midwest Bureau Chief,
05/29/92

Summary: Regardless of whether you agree with the authors or not,
this is one book that should be read by computerists and
non-computerists alike.

======

REVIEW

======

Authors Wallace and Erickson are reporters for the
Seattle Post Intelligencer newspaper. The book was born out of a
series of stories published in the Post-Intelligencer in May of
1991. As the authors say in the acknowledgements, it's not a book
about computers or technology. Rather, they say, "Its a book about
people, a remarkable collection of individuals led by one man, Bill
Gates, whose drive, genius, vision, and entrepreneurial spirit
created one of the greatest success stories in the history of
American business."

Wallace and Erickson say the book is based on their interviews, and
other books, national magazines, newspapers, and trade publications.
What it's NOT based on, said Microsoft, is fact.

Several specific points are contested as to accuracy. One of those
points is the book's allegation that Microsoft hired its first two
female executives to meet federal affirmative action guidelines, and
then treated the women badly. The women referred to are Jean
Richardson, hired in 1985 as vice president of corporate
communications; and Ida Cole, who was hired as vice president of
applications marketing.

According to Microsoft spokesperson Marty Taucher, that's not
accurate. Taucher told Newsbytes Cole was hired because "she was a
good tech person," not because of EEO requirements. She moved to
another position about one year later, said Taucher, and in 1990
retired. Taucher said Richardson left Microsoft because of a
disagreement with her superior, and is now at Sun Microsystems.

While Taucher admitted that Microsoft didn't like the book, you
will. It's a mixture of praise and statements about Gates that
could be considered derogatory. In one breath, the authors quote
friends and associates positive remarks. "Everything Bill did, he
did to the max. What he did always went well, well beyond everyone
else," a childhood friend reportedly said. A few pages later, the
book talks about Gates' feet (reportedly size 13) compared to his
small frame ("the smallest boy in the seventh grade").

James Wallace told Newsbytes, "They (Microsoft) made it very
difficult to write the book." Wallace said Microsoft was not happy
with the newspaper series, claiming it dealt too much with his
personal life. "They didn't want me calling ex-girlfriends, and
trying to find out how he spent his money," said Wallace. He said
not only would Microsoft not help him and his co-author, but they
went out of their way to be "unhelpful." Microsoft at the time was
cooperating on an authorized biography to be published by Doubleday
& Company.

Hard Drive paints a picture of a driven, perhaps sometimes
obsessive, genius who, no matter what Microsoft thinks of the book,
revolutionized the computer industry as we know it. It's excellent
reading, and it won't leave you hating Gates. Rather, it will make
you understand what makes people like him tick.

Hard Drive gives the reader an insight on a true
American success story, Bill Gates. While you may not like
everything in the book, and find it appears to put Gates down part
of the time, it could be the prodding the next American genius needs
to invent the better mouse trap. It's well worth the price.

The book is already available in selected markets, and will be in
general distribution in bookstores across the country on June 1.

(Jim Mallory/19920527/Press contact: Tom Perry, John Wiley & Sons
Inc, 605 3rd Avenue,New York,NY 10158)


#ENDCARD



#CARD :1992 MAY 22 Review of: CA-Textor, word processor for Windows, 05/22/92


(REVIEW)(IBM)(TOR)(00025)

Review of: CA-Textor, word processor for Windows, 05/22/92

Runs on: Any PC with 286 or higher processor, minimum one megabyte
of memory, DOS 3.1 or higher, Microsoft Windows 3.0 or
higher, and about 2.5 megabytes of free hard disk space.

From: Computer Associates International, Inc., One Computer
Associates Plaza, Islandia, New York, U.S.A. 11788-7000
516-342-5224

Price: $225

PUMA Rating: 3.125 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed by: Grant Buckler

Summary: CA-Textor is a word processor for Microsoft Windows, with
most of the features one expects in a Windows word processor and
few surprises. Some features need improvement.

======

REVIEW

======

One of the beauties of graphical user interfaces like Microsoft
Windows is that, like Apple's Macintosh, they enforce some
consistency among applications. Essentially the same menu structure
appears whether you're using a word processor, a spreadsheet, a
graphics program, or whatever. This makes software easier to learn,
and makes life simpler for those of us who use a lot of applications.
It also means that all the packages in an application category tend
to look a lot alike.

So, Computer Associates' CA-Textor word processor has a lot in
common with other Windows word processors. The menus are similar,
the display looks much like that of Word for Windows, WordPerfect
for Windows, or Ami Pro, and like other Windows applications these
days, Textor has a series of icon buttons -- CA calls this a tool
bar -- at the top of the screen to streamline common operations
like printing.

So what's different? Mostly little things, though as the old saying
goes, those can mean a lot.

One problem arises with the mail merge features in Textor. The key
complaint is that in form letters, the merge fields are not visibly
identified by name. You can give the fields descriptive names like
Name, Address, Salutation, and so on -- which is better than the
Field1, Field2 limitation of some word processors -- but all that
appears in the document is #Ref#. If you forget which field is
which, you have to edit the field to find out.

Also, Textor has trouble with carriage returns within a field. The
software uses the carriage return to separate records in its data
files. You can have a carriage return within a field if you put
quotation marks around the whole field. So far so good, but we
found that a single carriage return in a mail merge field always
turned out double-spaced in the final merged document.

On the other hand, Textor's mail merge functions include the
ability to select only certain records from a larger list according
to certain criteria -- for example, to send a form letter only to
those clients in a certain state. This is a database management
function not found in many word processors.

Another nice feature of CA-Textor is the way it saves documents
within its own "libraries" rather than as DOS files. The advantage
of this is that it lets you assign longer file names than DOS
allows. The minor disadvantage is that the documents are then not
easily accessible from outside Textor, but you can get around that
through an option that lets you save a document as a DOS file, in
Textor format, plain ASCII, or other formats.

Another nice feature, hardly earth-shaking but worthy of a passing
comment, is the fact that Textor's spelling checker can figure out
run-together words. Given "thisthing" in text, it will propose
"this thing" as a replacement. Not all word processors will do
this, and they should. What is not so nice about Textor's spelling
checker, though, is the fact that it does not propose any
replacements until you ask for them, which makes corrections slower
because it adds an extra mouse-click.

If you aren't crazy about working with a mouse, CA-Textor will not
suit you well. Like other Windows word processors, it provides
pull-down menus for all operations and expects you to do things by
pointing and clicking. But some Windows packages provide keyboard
alternatives for pretty nearly all operations. Textor does not. It
does offer keyboard shortcuts for some things, but many operations
can only be executed through the mouse-and-menu route.

Textor offers a choice of viewing modes. The default is called
Standard mode. The document looks almost the way it will when
printed -- you see bold face, italics, underlines and the
differences in fonts. However, columns are not shown side by side
on the screen, and headers and margins don't appear. In WYSIWYG
(What You See Is What You Get) mode, everything appears as it will
print. You can type and edit in this mode, and it works tolerably
well except if you get into columns and such things, at which point
the WYSIWYG mode becomes too slow to be workable.

In fact, even in Standard mode, Textor gets pretty slow when you're
inserting text in the middle of a document -- at least on a 386SX
machine. The screen takes time to redraw, and while you can keep
entering text, you don't see what you've typed until the software
catches up.

To match the responsiveness of a character-based word processor,
you have to go to draft mode, which gives you something less than
the sort of display you'd get with a good character-based word
processor -- all text in one screen font, and no indication of
attributes such as underlining, italics, bold face, and type size.

Slowness in full WYSIWYG mode is tolerable, but CA should try to
speed up Standard mode or, failing that, at least make things like
bold face and underlining visible in Draft mode as they are in most
character-based word processors.

Another worry for some users is the lack of a keystroke macro
capability. Textor does let you create and store formats that
automate much of the work of formatting part or all of a document,
and it handles "glossaries" that let you recall chunks of
boilerplate text with a few keystrokes. However, neither of these
is quite as flexible as the ability to record any sequence of
operations as a macro.

===========

PUMA RATING

===========

Performance: 2.5. We found it easy to outrun the software when
inserting text in an existing document in any but Draft mode, and
Draft mode is unsatisfactory because it does not show character
attributes such as bold face and type size. If the software can't
be speeded up in Standard mode, Draft mode should be made to convey
more information to the user.

Usefulness: 3.5. CA-Textor is a full-function Windows word
processor suitable for most word-processing needs, though we have
reservations about its mail-merge capabilities.

Manuals: 3.5. There is a Getting Started manual with tutorials,
which we thought would be well suited to a complete novice and
rather too elementary for someone with experience using another
word processor. The Reference manual is more suitable for the
computer-literate user.

Availability: 3.0. Computer Associates is a big company; its
products are widely distributed. However, CA provides free initial
support only for 90 days, and without a toll-free number. For toll-
free support or for support after the initial support period, you
have to pay for CA's SupportPlus program. In fairness, though, we
should note that the price of the software is, at $225, low
compared to most competitors.

(Grant Buckler/19920518/Press Contact: Kim Commerato or Bob Gordon,
516-227-3300, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD


#CARD :1992 JUN 19 Review of: Help! The Art of Computer Technical Support, 06/19/92


(REVIEW)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00010)

Review of: Help! The Art of Computer Technical Support, 06/19/92

From: Peachpit Press, 1085 Keith Ave., Berkeley, CA 94708, 800-283
9444, 415-527-8555.

Price: $19.95

PUMA Rating:3.67 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Naor Wallach 06/19/92

Summary: This is a book that talks about all facets of the technical
support picture: how to set it up, keep it running, and get the most
out of it when you have to use it. Highly recommended for those
needing to operate a technical support organization. Not so
important for those who will simply use tech support.

======

REVIEW

======

If there is one subject that most computer users can agree on, it is
the universal irritation, and dislike of, having to use the
technical support offered by software companies. It seems like a no
win situation - you call a number and this disembodied voice seems
to either mock your ignorance or cannot help with your problem and
sends you to other companies, phone numbers, and just plain outer
space. This is all assuming that you get to the voice in the first
place. Ask any computer user and you will be regaled with tales of
hours spent on hold, endless sessions with voice mail systems, and
the worse sin of all -- having someone answer the phone (finally)
only to take your name and number and promise to have someone call
you back. Right.

The interesting thing is that most companies are aware of that
dreadful image and are really trying to work on it -- at least those
companies that wish to remain in the computer business do. Ralph
Wilson's book is actually intended for those people who are setting
up or running a tech support group, but I found it instructive
reading nonetheless.

The book's 227 pages are divided into seven chapters that altogether
demystify what is going on at the other side of that phone line.
Wilson talks about what it takes to motivate tech support people.
He gives examples of what works and what does not. He issues
recommendations on what to do and how to train your tech support
people so that you get the most from them. And all of this advice
is backed up by the fact that Wilson runs his own company that is
purely dedicated to providing tech support services to companies
that do not wish to enter that field.

The seven chapters are titled: Manufacturer Support, Internal
Support, Communication Skills, Handling Support Calls, Information
Techniques and Tools, Alternative Methods of Support, and A User's
Guide to Technical Support. As you can see, the author covers the
field pretty well.

He initially breaks the support task down to two main activities:
internal and external. External is that tech support line that we
are all familiar with. Internal is the tech support that some of
the bigger companies can offer by having some of their personnel
dedicated to supporting users within the organization on programs
that the company has purchased from outside. Wilson draws on the
similarities of the two types of support in the first two chapters.
He also compares them in their differences. It is interesting to
read of how similar, yet different, the two functions can be.

The next three chapters are a basic manual of how to run a tech
support operation. Wilson gives us his opinions on what to look
for in people that you are considering hiring for tech support
positions, what you can expect from them in terms of productivity,
and what you should be prepared to do and provide to them to allow
them to perform at peak efficiency. These three chapters are
probably not of much interest to the casual reader, however, if
you are involved with your tech support group, they are worth the
book's weight in gold. The tips that Wilson provides are numerous
and can be easily seen to have been acquired after much time in
the field.

The sixth chapter talks about some interesting ways in which the
tech support function can be more effective while using some means
other than the traditional "sitting on the phone line." This is
the chapter where Wilson discusses using user's groups, belonging
to national bulletin board services, as well as other,
potentially less conventional means of providing tech support.

In the final chapter Wilson tells all of us how best to deal with
tech support as the user who has the problem. This chapter is
a tutorial of what to do, what to have ready, and how to talk to
the tech support person so that we get the most benefit of the
conversation, i.e. we solve our problem in the least amount of time.

After reading this book, I feel that I know a whole lot more about
what it takes to do a good job at tech support. I also know that the
next time I need to call tech support, I will be better equipped
to handle the call and I will understand the other person's concerns
better. If you are involved with setting up or running a tech
organization, then this book should be a must on your reading list.
If you are a plain user like me, then you may want to borrow a copy
and read the last chapter. The rest of the book would be merely
interesting, not essential.

===========

PUMA RATING

===========

USEFULNESS: 3 This depends on where you stand in relation to tech
support. If you are a provider, buy this book immediately! If a
user, then you can learn some interesting things.

MANUAL: 4 I detected no typos. The book layout is clear and effective
and I was not distracted by too many graphical elements on the
page.

AVAILABILITY: 4 I saw copies of this book at my two favorite book
store chains and was able to order it with no problems from a third.
In addition, Peachpit Press maintains a toll free number for
ordering or more information.

(Naor Wallach/19920617/Suzanne Ludlum, Peachpit Press)

#ENDCARD



#CARD :1992 JUN 26 Review of: Lotus 1-2-3 for Home, Version 1.0, 06/26/92


(REVIEW)(IBM)(SFO)(00025)

Review of: Lotus 1-2-3 for Home, Version 1.0, 06/26/92

Runs on: PCs with 512K of RAM, hard disk, graphics display, DOS 2.1
or higher. Windows compatible (.PIF included).  Requires 5MB hard
disk space, depending upon installation options related to fonts.
(NOTE: 123H CAN run on an 8088/86 CPU, if the machine has the
necessary RAM, display and storage requirements.)

From: Lotus Development Corporation, 55 Cambridge Parkway, Cambridge, MA
02142, 617-577-8500

Suggested List Price: $149  Street price: Below $100

PUMA Rating: 4.0 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Thom Foulks, Business Radio Network

Summary: This package stands out, not for its program (123H), but for the
bundled templates with it.  The 50(!) 123-compatible .WK1 files are
useful for Excel and QuattroPro owners, making the total package of
interest to nearly all spreadsheet users.

=======

REVIEW

=======

Even if you're quick with QuattroPro or excellent with Excel, you will
want to look at "Lotus 1-2-3 for Home" -- and be aware the "home"
description is somewhat misleading.

In a comparatively inexpensive package, Lotus has bundled a slightly
scaled-down spreadsheet (based on Lotus 1-2-3 for DOS, Release 2.3)
and fifty "SmartSheet" customized application templates.  It is the
templates which give this product its power and attractiveness.

The spreadsheet is a full-powered, character-based 1-2-3
implementation.  Its limitation is in the size of spreadsheet that can
be handled: 256 rows by 512 columns instead of the 256x8192 cell
layout in larger 1-2-3 versions; and it lacks the interface permitting
add-on products or linking between spreadsheets.

But a graphical interface is built-in, so that 123H comes on-screen in
full WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) mode.  Included are
Bitstream's Swiss fonts (in Roman, bold, italic and bold-italic) that
can be sized from 3 to 72 points, and printed just as they are
displayed.  123H provides "quick graph" power, with pie, bar, line and
3-D effects.  The user interface is the traditional Lotus menu
structure, activated by the "/" key or by mouse clicks.

The power of the package is in the SmartSheets.  The .WK1 files are a
broad range of ready to use applications that stretch the "home"
descriptor into home business and small business uses.  There is, of
course, a mortgage amortization template (graphed far fancier than
what you'll find on your neighborhood BBS).  At the other end of the
spectrum are spreadsheets for "perpetual inventory control" and "stock
balance record" with data input instructions on the template. Closer
to home are templates for a video tape log, household inventory, and a
tally sheet for a commercial credit application.

Other SmartSheets make use of 1-2-3's text-graphics power with annual
and monthly calendars, a memo form, a fax cover sheet and other
applications more typical of word processing than number crunching.
All the sheets are laid out with graphics in place, and with the
"print range" already defined for easy print-out to common dot matrix
or laser printers.

Lotus Development's DOS spreadsheets marketing manager, Ben Shelton,
told Newsbytes the SmartSheets were developed by Lotus programmers in
response to user requests.  He said: "Users can just plug in their own
numbers, and start working right away.  Also, the SmartSheets can help
users learn how to use 1-2-3, because they can see these formulas.
These templates are not too complex...users can see how to set up
their own formulas in their own worksheets."  Although the SmartSheets
might seem to be marketable as a stand-alone package, Shelton said that
is not "currently planned."

The SmartSheets are divided into five categories: Administration,
Finance, Human Resources, Operations, Personal Finance and Planning,
and Sales and Marketing.  A 55-page reference manual gives a brief
explanation of each; but the quintessential help information is in
each template and appears on screen when they are loaded into the
spreadsheet program.

For general use, 1-2-3 Home also includes a 140-page User's Guide
which Lotus admits "is not a comprehensive reference...on all the
functionality in 1-2-3." The on-line help system, with
context-sensitive references, appears more than adequate to make full
and varied use of the SmartSheets. (Spreadsheet neophytes hoping to
augment the corporate accounting system should note this product is
not targeted at the Fortune 1000.)

Registered 1-2-3 for Home users are also provided one-month free
support via the Lotus toll free help line.

DO the .WK1 files WORK with Excel and QuattroPro?  At random, I
selected three different SmartSheet files from within each Excel 4.0
and QuattroPro SE. All loaded and displayed properly, all accepted
pertinent data input properly, all printed properly.  Given the
nuances of file compatibility-handling among spreadsheet program
manufacturers, that's not a guarantee -- but the high quality of the
SmartSheets certainly deserves consideration by users of other
spreadsheet software.

In a nutshell: At a expected street price in the $100 area, BUY the
package. That's $2.00 per SmartSheet, and any one of them may save you
100 times that price in keyboard time.

===========

PUMA RATING

===========

PERFORMANCE: (4.0) The spreadsheet software itself, 123H.EXE, is
derivative of a tried-and-tested Lotus product.  SmartSheets handle
user revision predictably, and can be revised easily for variations to
meet user's needs.

USEFULNESS: (4.0) A court is still wrestling with competitors' use of
the Lotus menu structure (its "look and feel"), but the .WK1 file
structure is a de facto standard.  That makes the usefulness of
SmartSheets spread far beyond their home product.

MANUAL: (4.0) Given the context-sensitive help system, any manual with
such a product -- beyond start-up instructions -- is almost
superfluous.  Start-up, itself, is from a stand-alone "INSTALL" program,
with easy-to-follow prompts.

AVAILABILITY: (4.0) Lotus 1-2-3 for Home began shipping in mid-April,
and is well-immersed in standard software discount channels -- look
for a $99 or below price.

(Tom Foulks/19920626)
#ENDCARD


#CARD :1992 MAY 29  ****Borland Premieres Paradox 4.0 In Melbourne 05/29/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(SYD)(00001)

 ****Borland Premieres Paradox 4.0 In Melbourne 05/29/92
Melbourne, Australia, 1992 MAY 29 (NB) -- Borland International stunned
a 1200-strong audience at the Melbourne, Australia presentation of its
Borland '92 Roadshow with the world premier of version 4 of its popular
Paradox database this week.

The product is due for release in the US today, Friday. The launch was
a coup for Borland Australia which received clearance from the US to
launch ahead of the rest of the world.

The product has been independently benchmarked in the US as the fastest DOS
database currently available, outperfroming even FoxPro 2.0 which was
the prior front runner. It has a new interface making it similar to other
Borland products such as the popular languages. It supports binary large
objects (BLOBs) and memo fields. The fields can now hold up to 256
megabytes each, and the tables can be as large as four gigabytes.
Extensions to the existing PAL programming language include event-driven
programming.

Other improvements include extended video modes, enhanced networking
support and Postscript printer output. The long-awaited Windows version
is still on track for August according to the company.

(Paul Zucker/19920529)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 29 Deutsche Bundespost Telekom Opens Moscow Office 05/29/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00002)

Deutsche Bundespost Telekom Opens Moscow Office 05/29/92
BONN, WEST GERMANY, 1992 MAY 29 (NB) -- Deutsche Bundespost
Telekom (DBT) has opened a new office is Moscow. While the state
telecom company has several offices dotted around Europe, this is
the first one in Eastern Europe.

Formally announcing the opening of the new office at a telecom
conference in Moscow, Helmut Ricke, DBT's chairman, said that the
company plans to use the office as a base to discuss
international projects which have a long payback period for the
telecom companies concerned.

DBT is making steady progress toward becoming an independent
company rather than the state-controlled operation it currently
is. European Commission (EC) policy is to ensure that the
benefits of free market competition are implemented as quickly as
possible by the customers of member country telecoms companies --
hence DBT's haste is opening up potentially lucrative overseas markets.

(Steve Gold/19920528)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 29 Ericsson Lands $42 Million Chinese Cellular Phone Contract 05/29/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00003)

Ericsson Lands $42 Million Chinese Cellular Phone Contract 05/29/92
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, 1992 MAY 29 (NB) -- Ericsson has secured a second
contract with Chinese authorities for a cellular phone network.

Terms of this latest contract, which is worth $42 million to the
Swedish telecom company, call for Ericsson to install a fully
working cellular phone network in the Guandong area of China. The
new network will have a total capacity of 55,000 subscribers --
effectively doubling the capacity of the existing network in the
region.

Plans call for the network to be fully operational within six to
nine months. When combined with other projects that Ericsson has
completed or is currently undertaking in the area, this will bring
the total number of Ericsson cellular phones in China to 150,000,
the company claims.

What's interesting about the deal is that it calls for the very
latest cellular equipment to be installed in China. Traditionally,
telecom companies have used the Chinese market to offload some of
their older stock.

(Steve Gold/19920528)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 29 AT&T To Hire 100 Russian Scientists 05/29/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(MOW)(00004)

AT&T To Hire 100 Russian Scientists 05/29/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 MAY 29 (NB) -- AT&T has announced that it will
contract with 100 leading Russian scientists to engage in advanced
research in fiber optic technology. The scientists are to be paid a
very nominal fee for their research while AT&T will get world patent
rights to their inventions, should they be created.

Professor Evgeny Dianov, head of the Fiber Optic Department of the
Academy of Sciences' General Physics Institute (GPI), and Mr Goeman,
director of the fiber optic research, AT&T Bell Labs, presented the
deal to the press in the Tren-Mos Restaurant in Moscow.

GPI began fiber optic research in 1970 and gained worldwide
recognition for its achievements. The most advanced areas, in which most
of the cooperation with Bell Labs will happen, include fundamental
issues of high strength fiber, optical amplifiers, and soliton
propagation.

Reuters reports that AT&T's top wage to the scientists in Russia
will be $720 annually, plus travel and equipment expense. Both Bell
and GPI spokespersons refuse to get into financial details in Moscow,
saying that financing will be just enough to pay salaries, buy needed
equipment, and travel to conferences.

Dianov said that the shortage of funds, which for years came from
Academy of Sciences, government, and the industry, put research
programs in question, and the AT&T support will help ongoing
research.

Still unclear, and about which nobody has agreed to comment,
is the question of technology transfer and worldwide intellectual
property rights. The press release distributed before the press event
said, "Bell Labs has worked out a novel intellectual property rights
agreement with the Institute [GPI] which allows the Institute to retain
patent rights within Russia while Bell Labs holds the patent rights for
the rest of the world." Neither Bell Labs or GPI officials confirmed
or denied that statement. Professor Dianov said the rights issue will be
solved on the case-by-case basis.

While AT&T is hiring Russians to push next century's state-of-the-art
technology, the US still has strict export regulations concerning
export of the technology into former Eastern Block countries, said
John Goeman, marketing director, AT&T Networking Systems International.

This approach -- to provide Russian scientists with funds to live and work
in Russia instead of looking for international employment -- was
pioneered by a deal between Sun Microsystems and the Institute of Precise
Mechanics and Computer Equipment in Moscow under which professor
Babayan with his team will advance Sun SPARC research.

Yet another company -- Corning Inc. -- has announced it signed a contract
for the services of 100 Russian scientists at Vavilov State Optical
Institute in St Petersburg. This happened hours after AT&T announcement.

(Kirill Tchashchin/199204/Press Contact: Donna Cunningham, AT&T 802-482-
3748 or 802-482-2933; or Roman Dyukarev, Young & Rubicam, +7 095 253-
2186)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 29 Digital Multimedia takes Over X-CAD For The Amiga 05/29/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(BRU)(00005)

Digital Multimedia takes Over X-CAD For The Amiga 05/29/92
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1992 MAY 29 (NB) -- X-CAD, the computer-aided
design package for the Commodore Amiga, has been acquired by
the UK-based company Digital Multimedia Inc. X-CAD was previously
marketed by AVT, which has gone into bankruptcy.

Newsbytes spoke to Richard Nolan, the sales and marketing director of
DMI, who said that two new versions of X-CAD would be available in the
next two weeks: X-CAD 2000, the entry-level package which offers both
2-D and 3-d modelling and will sell for $199, and X-CAD 3000,
which has more options and will retail at $599. He added that
distribution in the United Kingdom would be done through Digital
Multimedia Services, while the rest of Europe would be handled by
Digital Multimedia Europe.

John Warren, managing director of Digital Multimedia Europe, at his office
in Brussels told Newsbytes that the initial marketing thrust would be
in Germany, which has an installed base of more than one million Amiga
users.

Distribution in the United States will be handled by American
Software (tel [phone]).

(Peter Jones/19920529 Press Contact: J. Warren, Managing
Director, Digital Multimedia Europe, 48 Beukenlaan 1560-Hoeilaart,
Brussels, Belgium. Tel.: [phone] Fax.: [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 29 Macintoshes Produce Animated TV Programs 05/29/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SYD)(00006)

Macintoshes Produce Animated TV Programs 05/29/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 MAY 29 (NB) -- An Australian animation company,
Unlimited Energee, has received a $2.1M contract with Burbank Animation
studios to complete the biggest animation project ever undertaken in
Australia. The brief is to produce 13 one-hour fully animated TV
features using only Apple Macintoshes, with the likelihood of
subsequent 13.

Each story is independent of the next and is based on a classic tale, but
rewritten and modernized.

A milestone in securing the contract lay in overcoming resistance from
a group of American industry stalwarts. There was substantial doubt by
the group that the quality of the computer-generated product would
match that produced by traditional methods of animation. Numerous test
tapes and a great deal of lobbying ensured the deal went through.

Another hurdle successfully overcome when pitching for the Burbank deal
was the question of containing costs. A tradition in the animation
industry in the United States is to send the time-consuming work of hand
painting each individual animation cell off-shore to the "sweat shops" of
China, Hong Kong and the Philippines, where costs are kept to a minimum.
But ultimately, producing animation using computers is far more
economical than its traditional counterpart.

The first in the series is Frank Enstein, nineties style. A slight
departure from the original tale of a monster brought to life in a storm
swept castle, this version still sees the creation of a monster, but the
main focus is a water-powered car.

The deadline for the delivery of the first feature is 8 June, and the
entire series will be completed by mid-1994.

"Since signing the contract, literally every waking hour has been
spent working on Frank Enstein. We're all exhausted but the
results are worth it. Frank Enstein is exactly how we'd visualized
it to look - and that's fantastic," said Robert Davidson, Unlimited
Energee's founder.

The second feature will be based on the story of the Pied Piper and the
third on Robin Hood, with work on both having already begun.

Frank Enstein was begun on the Macintosh IIfx, but since receiving
Apple Developer status, Unlimited Energee has gained access to more
powerful equipment. They now use three Macintosh Quadra 900s and five
Macintosh Quadra 700s. Unlimited Energee uses eight optical disk drives
which utilize phase change technology. This provides them with one
gigabyte of storage per disk.

Unlimited Energee use 16", 19" and 21" color monitors which provide
them with screens large enough to focus on every finely crafted detail
of the scene they are working on, without loss of focus anywhere on the
screen.

Software used by Unlimited Energee includes Pixel Paint, PhotoShop, Swivel 3D,
StrataVision, InfiniD, Adobe Illustrator, Publish It!, Quick Keys,
Microsoft Word, MacroMind Director, Disk Express, and Disk Doubler.

The characters or 'stars' of the features are hand drawn and then
scanned into the scene, while the backgrounds are drawn directly on
to pressure sensitive Wacom boards.

Robert Davidson sees many advantages in using computers for animation
production. "The whole procedure of a digital information system is
extremely environmentally friendly. The computer is self-contained, whereas
the traditional animation process requires the use of toxic chemicals and
a lot of waste, and of course the computer is much, much quicker. It also
benefits the animators who are able to see the results of their
efforts almost immediately, instead of waiting six months for the
hand-painting to be completed."

"US giant Disney has developed an in-house computer system called CAPS
(Computer Animation Programming System) which cost a phenomenal amount
of money, well over $50 million. We are already able to achieve 90% of
the quality and quantity of their output for television, for a mere
fraction of their costs."

"It's one of the first times Australia has had a leading edge on its
international competitors in the dynamic entertainment arena. But
this may not hold for the future. A new wave of computer generated
animation is being developed by a joint British/French/Canadian venture,
with a $17 million injection of funds by the French Government. The only
support we have received is from Apple Computer Australia.
We've had no additional interest even though we've managed to secure
a prestigious and on-going contract, bringing work into the country
in a recession."

Unlimited Energee made waves about 18 months ago with the production
of a television commercial for a sugar substitute, which was created
and produced entirely on a Macintosh llfx personal computer, and completed
in record time for a fraction of the expected cost.

Unlimited Energee employs between 20 and 30 animators and in-betweeners
on a contract basis and 19 full-time and casual staff involved with the
production process. According to general manager, John Travers, it
is very satisfying to be employing recently qualified college graduates,
who are then being further trained in the most advanced animation
technology.

(Paul Zucker/19920529)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 29 Bachman Changes Tack On IBM Repository 05/29/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00007)

Bachman Changes Tack On IBM Repository 05/29/92
BURLINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 29 (NB) -- Software
developer Bachman Information Systems has announced a change in its
plans to support the IBM Repository Manager/MVS.

Bachman is making immediately available the Bachman/Plus Analyst
Repository Enablement service to facilitate the connection between
the Repository enterprise model and the data model portion of the
Bachman/Analyst, its software analysis and design product.

The Repository is a central store of information about data and
applications meant to simplify application development on large IBM
systems, and a key part of IBM's AD/Cycle application development
framework.

The Bachman/Plus Analyst Repository Enablement service is meant to
let developers share models of data designs between products using
the IBM Repository Manager/MVS as a central point of control. It is
immediately available.

IBM officials noted that Bachman joins KnowledgeWare and Intersolv
in offering products which store and retrieve information from the
enterprise model of the Repository.

At the same time, the company cancelled plans for its previously
announced Bachman/DBA Repository Services product, which would have
let users store database designs created with Bachman software in
the IBM Repository.

A spokeswoman for Bachman said the company's customers had told it
they needed the link between the Repository and Bachman/Analyst
now, and had little immediate need for the other product.

Company officials said they would continue to provide additional
support for the Repository as needed in the future.

Also, IBM announced it would offer an enhanced version of the
Bachman/Designer application development tool as part of its
AD/Cycle framework. The enhanced Bachman/Designer enables users to
take full application designs built with Bachman's Model Driven
Development products and create production-ready code directly with
IBM's Cross System Product, IBM said. It will be available June 26
at a price of $10,000. Multiple copy discounts are available.

(Grant Buckler/19920528/Press Contact: Gail Walker, Bachman,
617-273-9003; Lisa Pintchman or Adam Stein, The Weber Group for
Bachman, 617-661-7900; Steven Malkiewicz, IBM, 914-642-5449)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 29 New For PCs: BusinessVision Expands Accounting Package 05/29/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00008)

New For PCs: BusinessVision Expands Accounting Package 05/29/92
NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 29 (NB) --
BusinessVision Management Systems expects shortly to begin shipping
BusinessVision II Delta, an expanded version of its BusinessVision
II accounting software.

The new package will add extra modules to the 13 that were offered
in the mid-range BusinessVision II package, a spokeswoman for the
company said. A key addition is the bill of materials module,
intended to provide decision support for manufacturing companies.
A "bundling" or "kitting" feature in this module automatically
adjusts inventory for each item within user-defined "kits," the
company said.

The new package also adds budgeting and forecasting capabilities
meant to help users forecast sales revenues, control expenses, and
build business plans, company officials said.

A multi-warehousing feature can be used to track inventory in an
unlimited number of warehouses, and a serialized inventory feature
makes it possible to assign serial numbers to inventory on receipt
or at the time of sale.

BusinessVision II Delta is aimed at larger businesses, while the
previous package was meant mainly for small to medium-sized
businesses, the spokeswoman said.

The software costs $1,995, with a local-area network package
available for $795. The Delta Custom Report Writer also costs $795,
and an upgrade kit from BusinessVision II Turbo to the Delta
package is available for $725.

The software runs on an IBM or compatible PC with at least 420K
bytes of memory (512K bytes recommended), and needs 2.8 megabytes
of hard disk space, the vendor said. Shipments are expected to
begin by mid-June.

(Grant Buckler/19920528/Press Contact: Joy Anthony, Hilary Kaye &
Associates for BusinessVision, 714-851-5150, fax [phone];
Julian Aston, BusinessVision Management Systems, 714-476-3770, fax
714-752-2160)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 29 Low Cost Nintendo Machine Due In Summer 05/29/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00009)

Low Cost Nintendo Machine Due In Summer 05/29/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 29 (NB) -- Kyoto-based game machine maker
Nintendo will release a low-cost version of its best-selling
game machine the "Super NES" this summer. Priced at $99.95, it
is about $50 cheaper than the current model.

This low-cost version is basically the current version except
that there is no game software bundled with it. Also, it does not
have the stereo sound cable.

The major reason for the release of this low-cost version is to
compete with Sega Enterprises. Sega's 16-bit game machine
called "Genesis" in the US and Europe has started eat into
Nintendo's market share.

The Super NES was released in the US last September and
3.3 million of them were sold by the end of this past March.
Nintendo cut the price by $20 in January, and $30 in May. With
another $50 price-cut, the Super NES will cost about a half of the
original price.

Rival Sega is also expected to lower the price of the Genesis,
which is currently sold at $129.99.

Nintendo has announced that the price cut will lead to a 50%
increase in shipments and a total of 1.5 million units are expected
to be shipped each month. The firm will also sell these
machines in Europe by the end of the month.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920528/Press Contact: Nintendo, +81-75-541-
6111)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 29  ****Ultra Definition TV Project Starts In Japan 05/29/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00010)

 ****Ultra Definition TV Project Starts In Japan 05/29/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 29 (NB) -- Japan's NTT, NHK and ASCII
are discussing joint development of so-called "Ultra Definition
Television" (UDTV) system -- an advanced version of current high
definition TV or HDTV. UDTV is a futuristic concept that provides
at least a two-fold increase in pictorial resolution and results
in a picture comparable to that of theatrical movies.

Under discussion is a joint venture by March 1994, capitalized with
14 billion yen ($110 million). The new firm's mission will be to
develop the technology commercially within seven years.

The UDTV concept is to offer 3,000 lines on screen, while current
Japanese HDTV supports 1,125 lines. The screen picture would be
as crisp as 70mm film. UDTV compresses pictorial data to a fourth
of the compression in HDTV. UDTV is based on digital data, allowing
it to be shared on workstations, G4 fax machines, and digital
video tapes. NTT would also transmit the data via B-ISDN network.

NTT, NHK and ASCII will apply to the Basic Technology Research
Promotion Center to get the financial support for the project. The
three firms will also ask European and American TV manufacturers
to participate in this project.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920529/Press Contact: NTT, [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 29 JVC Links With Hughes On Liquid Crystal Projection 05/29/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00011)

JVC Links With Hughes On Liquid Crystal Projection 05/29/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 29 (NB) -- Japan Victor Corp. (JVC)
will create a joint venture firm with Hughes Aircraft in Carlsbad,
California in the US in August to develop audio-visual devices in
based on liquid crystal light valve projection, a new technology.

The joint venture firm, called Hughes JVC Technology,
will be funded with $62.5 million, 60 percent of which will be
from Hughes and 40 percent from JVC.

The new firm will mainly develop video projectors based on new
concepts developed by Hughes in its defense work, namely its liquid
crystal projection technology. The technology uses regular television
signals or other visual media as input sources, and writes the images
to liquid crystal film, which is then transformed into high intensity
images for display on a projection screen.

The actual products will be manufactured by both Hughes and JVC.
Hughes will produce the products for industrial use, while JVC
will produce products for home use.

The new firm is expected to start with 200 employees.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920529/Press Contact: Japan Victor Corp.,
 [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 29  ****Bill Designed To Limit Baby Bell Info Business Pursuits 05/29/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00012)

 ****Bill Designed To Limit Baby Bell Info Business Pursuits 05/29/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 MAY 29 (NB) -- What should be the
best of times for US phone companies is turning into the worst
of times, as legislation to take the regional Bells back out of
the information business passed a House subcommittee.

The 10-6 vote by a House Judiciary subcommittee on economic and
commercial law was expected. Judiciary Committee chair Jack
Brooks of Texas is the sponsor of H.R. 5096, the Antitrust Reform
Act of 1992, which would return the regional Bells, for a time,
to the status quo ante before Judge Harold Greene lifted
restrictions against their entry into the information industry
last year.

BellSouth spokesman R.L. McGuire moderately predicted defeat for
the bill, noting that millions of customers will soon be using
RBOC information products. But Ameritech threw a fit, as vice
president of federal relations John Connarn wrote the bill's
passage "clearly demonstrated why the American people
increasingly are fed up with Congress." He charged that the Bells
represent the "public interest," while opponents like MCI, AT&T,
and the nation's newspapers are "special interests." Unclear at
this writing is to what extent Ameritech or the other Bells will
work to defeat Congressmen who voted against their interests.

Separately PacTel bought International Teletrac Systems, which
operates a vehicle tracking service in Los Angeles, Chicago,
Detroit and Dallas/Fort Worth using PacTel cellular networks.
It's the first purchase of an information firm by one of the
Bells since the Greene decision, but was less important than it
appears. PacTel already owned 51 percent of the firm, which has
350 employees. PacTel's investment bankers, J.P. Morgan & Co.,
are currently considering a move to split the company into
regulated and unregulated entities, which would make a bill like
Brooks' unnecessary.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920529/Press Contact: Ameritech, Peter M.
Lincoln, 202/955-3058)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 29 Bell Stocks Fall Following Sprint-Centel Deal 05/29/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00013)

Bell Stocks Fall Following Sprint-Centel Deal 05/29/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 29 (NB) -- Stocks in local
telephone and cellular telephone companies fell in price
following Centel's decision to merge with Sprint at a discount
price.

Centel agreed to take what amounts to 35 percent of
Sprint, which is eight times larger, but the cash value of the deal
was nearly $10 under what Centel stock was selling at on the open
market the day before the merger.

Centel fell $10.50 to $32 per share in heavy trading on the New
York Stock Exchange, while Sprint fell $1.37 to $23.12. Meanwhile
McCaw Cellular fell $1.50 to $27.50 on the NASDAQ over-the-counter
market, where it was the most active stock. Even giant GTE
slipped 75 cents to $31.25.

Arbitrageurs who had bet heavily on a break-up, claiming Centel
was worth $50-70 per share, bitterly predicted on TV and in
major newspapers the deal will be called off. It was the first
time in years a company has agreed to a buy-out at a price below
its market valuation, which led some to claim the entire
telecommunications sector is overvalued. Cynics replied it might
be the arbitrageurs who are overvalued.

But shareholders are expected to approve it this summer and, in
fact, it may turn out to be a great deal for Centel's highly
regarded management, which could provide needed direction to
Sprint's less well-regarded team. Centel Chairman Jack Frazee
reacted to the heat by noting that Sprint was the only firm to
offer to buy all of Centel, and that some divisions drew no bids
at all. It's expected that 1,000 jobs will be made redundant by
the merger.

In a press conference, Frazee and Sprint Chairman William Esrey
confirmed that talks between the two companies have been going on
for nearly a year, well before Centel formerly put itself out for
bid. That move may have been an attempt to raise Sprint's
offering price for the company. If it was, it failed, Frazee
admitted. Esrey said he pursued Centel because many of its
cellular operations overlap with Sprint's United Telephone local
service areas. However, analysts noted, that was the case before
1988, when Sprint sold those same cellular properties to Centel
in funding its move into long distance, where it still runs a
poor third to AT&T and MCI.

If a full-blown shareholder revolt over the price does take
place, however, it's possible the price will be adjusted upward.
If that happens, Centel management might gain more leverage in
its coming attempt to rationalize its new parent. Sprint has had
a revolving door of managers at the top for years, and about a
year ago suddenly laid off dozens of top people to cut costs.
Still, sources have told Newsbytes in the past, Sprint remains
beset by factionalism.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920529)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 29 Motorola Chairman Keynotes CES 05/29/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00014)

Motorola Chairman Keynotes CES 05/29/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 29 (NB) -- Despite Wall
Street's thumbs-down on telephone stocks, despite Washington's
thumbs-down on telephone company entry into the information
business, and even despite possible strikes starting this weekend
against major phone firms, starting with AT&T, the telephone
industry was the dominant force at the Summer Consumer
Electronics Show in Chicago.

Motorola Chairman George Fisher, whose company has invested
heavily in wireless communications, keynoted. Motorola got its
name in the 1920s producing power controllers for early radios,
and its recent moves in cellular phone, radio data, and paging
markets worldwide are, in part, a return home. Fisher predicted
that the boundaries between consumer and industrial electronics
will come down in the next decade, as wireless digital
communication products his company is working on come to market
worldwide. He estimated the wireless end of the world
telecommunication industry will be worth $600 billion by the year
2010.

Consumers will be welcomed at CES for the first time this weekend,
and about 100,000 are expected in to see AT&T's videophone and
other products. AT&T's booth is a show highlight, with music and
lights reminiscent of Apple at its gaudiest. The public will see
such products as the AT&T 9200 compact fax machine, which
includes a phone-fax switch so it can share the line, as well as
the company's Partner line of small business key telephones,
which offer switching capabilities. Apple is also at the show,
displaying a prototype of its Newton organizer. Only parts of
its potential were demonstrated at the show.

Elsewhere Sony continued its move to find synergy between
consumer technology and software by launching an "Affiliated
Label" CD-ROM program, under which it will make and distribute
education and entertainment CD-ROM titles from leading US.
software publishers. Titles will be carried by over 4,700 retail
outlets, with standardized packaging and extensive marketing
support. CD-ROM in the past has been hurt by a narrow retailing
channel -- the market primarily consists of businesses looking to
save money by searching huge text databases.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920529/Press Contact: Sony, Peter Dille,
212/418-9439; AT&T, Steven Emery 201-581-4067)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 29  ****Journalists To Get Satellite News Network 05/29/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00015)

 ****Journalists To Get Satellite News Network 05/29/92
VERO BEACH, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 29 (NB) -- Redgate
Communications and the National Technological University moved
ahead with plans to build special teleconferencing networks.

Redgate's Multimedia Marketing Networks awarded a $2 million
contract to General Motors' EDS unit to build a satellite
network for analysts and journalists. The Interactive Information
Networks will deliver live news conferences, product
introductions, and emergency announcements via satellite from
corporate clients to offices and desktops of journalists,
industry analysts, and investment firms.

EDS will install equipment in the offices of what it calls 150
"key industry influencers." Included are 1.2 meter dish antennas,
compressed video decoders, cables and special workstations including a
monitor, VCR and laser printer.

In addition to live participation, the network allows viewers to
record programs and phone in questions during broadcasts. IIN is
fully addressable, so parts of the audience - journalists or
industry analysts, for example - can be selected to receive
certain broadcasts. The first broadcast is expected in September
1992.

NTU, meanwhile, launched a similar network devoted to higher
education, with equipment from Compression Labs. The new net has
38 uplink sites and 275 downlink sites, and was called the
world's largest digital television broadcast network.

NTU, based in Fort Collins, Colorado, is a consortium of 43
engineering schools that delivers more than 800 graduate courses
and non-credit short courses via satellite annually. The courses
are taken by almost 100,000 professionals and managers at their
worksites each year. NTU has been broadcasting in analog since
1985, with four channels on two transponders. The conversion to
digital technology will give it 12 channels one transponder.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920529/Press Contact: Redgate Communications,
Robert Nicholson, 407/231-6904; NTU, Doug Yeager, 303/484-6050)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 29 America Online Offers Free File Access 05/29/92


(TELECOM)(NEWS)(ATL)(00016)

America Online Offers Free File Access 05/29/92
VIENNA, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 29 (NB) -- As a summertime
promotion, America Online is offering members free access to
selected software files and computer industry news. The promotion
is called Summer Software Madness.

America Online subscribers using PC-compatible computers will
have unlimited online time to explore and download a selection of
public domain and shareware programs -- games, utilities,
business templates, graphics files and more. The selections will
change monthly from among the firm's 20,000-title library, so
subscribers are encouraged to examine and experiment.

In addition, the service will offer monthly software conferences
with guests and designers of top-selling software and hardware in
"live" discussion settings. America Online offers an icon-based,
windowing interface designed to make using the service hassle-
free.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920529/Press Contact: Liz Sara, America
Online, 703-883-1503)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 29 Storagetek Shareholder Meeting Heated At Times 05/29/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00017)

Storagetek Shareholder Meeting Heated At Times 05/29/92
BOULDER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 29 (NB) -- Several Boulder police
officers were on hand to assure order as Storage Technology Chairman
Ryal Poppa told one stockholder "it's none of your business" when
asked how Poppa spent the money he got from selling some of his
stock shares. "I'm not going to disclose why I sold my shares,"
Poppa also said.

Several officers and directors sold some of their stock while prices
were significantly higher than at present. Some stockholders,
feeling that the officers took advantage of inside information about
the delay of Iceberg to sell at a favorable price have filed
lawsuits. Storagetek's David Reid told Newsbytes that it's
important to understand what the suits are about. "It should be
clear to people that it's not regarding trading, but people who are
alleging we didn't disclose enough information about our product
schedules," Reid said.

In a letter to the stockholders, Ryal Poppa told shareholders the
company is being sued in a stockholders class action suit. About the
suit, Poppa said, "These types of actions prey on corporations such
as ourselves which have a policy of full and open disclosure." "Law
firms take advantage of that policy and in effect, attempt to extort
settlement," he said. Poppa said these type of suits cause significant
unwarranted expenses and tend to reduce the amount of public
disclosure. "We intend to contest this case vigorously and seek
appropriate relief from what we view as a grevious abuse of the
system," he concluded.

Storagetek stock dropped several weeks ago when rumors circulated
that Iceberg would be delayed. At that time the company denied those
rumors when contacted by Newsbytes. The stock dropped again when the
company formally announced a delay in Iceberg delivery.

Iceberg is a low cost data storage system for large computer systems
which has high capacity, offers fault tolerance through disk array
storage, and has a relatively low cost.

After the delay was acknowledged Storagetek dropped to the low 30s.
At about the same time IBM announced a product to compete with
Storagetek's tape library system. The stock has now rebounded
somewhat, selling at around $35 per share. It was in the mid to high
seventies after Iceberg was first announced.

At yesterday's meeting, attended by about 150 stockholders, Poppa
defended the sale of the stock prior to the Iceberg delay
announcement, saying that officers and directors sold less than
eight percent of their holdings. Poppa personally sold two percent
of his shares, a Storagetek spokesperson told Newsbytes.

Poppa conceded that the company has a credibility problem, but said
it is not due to the share sale. He said the way to regain
shareholder belief is to "get the product (Iceberg) to market."

Poppa told reporters after the meeting that he knows of no serious
problems that would prevent bringing Iceberg to market. "The
machine has no fatal flaw, it is near completion," the chairman
said.

(Jim Mallory/19920529/Press contact: David Reid, Storagetek,
303-673-4815)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 29 Zenith Intros Two PC-Compatible Pocket Organizers 05/29/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00018)

Zenith Intros Two PC-Compatible Pocket Organizers 05/29/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 29 (NB) -- Zenith Data Systems
(ZDS) introduced its first electronic pocket organizers at the
Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago this week.

ZDS said the ZDS-106 and the ZDS-112 will be sold through mass
merchandisers and specialty retailers. The 106 has 64K of memory,
while the 112 has 128K. The two units can store telephone lists,
business card files, memos, appointment schedules, expense reports,
and other miscellaneous items a traveler might want to track. Once
you return to your office, you can use the included cable to upload
the information to your PC.

ZDS said the machines both have a built-in calculator, calendar, and
an alarm clock that shows both local and world time. They can also
do metric, currency and clothing size conversions.

Powered by three AAA batteries, the organizers weigh just under 16
ounces, and measure 3-1/4 by 6 by 3/4 inches. The black and white
LCd display is 26 characters wide by 8 lines high. A 50 key
QWERTY-style keyboard also has four arrow keys, up and down search
keys, and eight function keys. A button-type battery similar to the
one in your watch provides memory back-up while the three AAA
batteries are being changed.

ZDS spokesperson John Bace told Newsbytes that the function keys
activate program icons to select various functions. For example,
one function key would activate the icon to launch the calendar,
while another would launch the text processor. There's also a menu
key, said Bace, that causes a different set of icons to be
displayed.

ZDS said the 106 will sell for $199, while the 112 has a price tag
of $299. Both units are scheduled to ship in September.

(Jim Mallory/19920529/Press contact: John Bace, Zenith Data Systems,
708-808-4848)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 29  ****Zenith, AT&T Claim Long Distance HDTV Transmission Success 05/29/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(DEN)(00019)

 ****Zenith, AT&T Claim Long Distance HDTV Transmission Success 05/29/92
GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 29 (NB) -- Zenith Electronics
and AT&T tested their high definition television (HDTV) signal
transmission capability last night, declaring the test a success.
The broadcast was the first long distance field test of an
all-digital HDTV to prove that HDTV can bring high quality,
snow-free TV service without interfering with conventional TV
signals.

Zenith said the test was conducted on Milwaukee's Public Television
station WMVT, Channel 36. Both conventional and HDTV signals were
carried on the same television channel. Zenith said the test proved
that digital HDTV can co-exist with conventional TV. The HDTV
signal is compressed into a single 6 megahertz band.

Zenith's Gordon Zwirkoski told Newsbytes that the test, which lasted
30 minutes, transmitted an image of an engineer doing an
introduction to the test, a portion of a basketball game, and a
tape produced for the NAB.

Zenith was happy with the test. "We were pleased and delighted, it
worked marvelously," said Zwirkoski.

Zenith said the test images were compressed using the Zenith-AT&T
system. The signals were then transmitted to the receiving station
75 miles away, where they were decompressed and played on a
high definition monitor.

US companies have concentrated on developing a digital system, while
their Japanese competitors are working on an analog-based system.
Indications are that the FCC is leaning towards a digital-based
system, giving US companies an edge. Zwirkoski said the FCC is
expected to make its choice of the preferred system late in 1993.

Four US companies, AT&T, General Instrument, the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, and Electronics agreed in May of this year
to share HDTV royalties, no matter which system the FCC
selected. The agreement guarantees that none of the companies will
end up a loser, and will eventually recover their sizable research
and development investments.

The four companies also said they would work to enhance whichever
system is eventually selected by the FCC, but have declined to
disclose specific terms of their agreement.

In December last year, the Zenith-AT&T venture was joined by cable
converter maker Scientific-Atlanta, who will develop methods of
beaming digital HDTV programming via satellite. The FCC has
indicated satellite transmission of HDTV an important factor.

Last August, Texas Instruments joined with three Japanese
electronics companies in the development of decoder chips for use in
HDTV.

(Jim Mallory/19920529/Press contact: John Taylor, Zenith
Electronics, 708-391-8181)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 29 Smith Corona, Acer End Joint Venture 05/29/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00020)

Smith Corona, Acer End Joint Venture 05/29/92
NEW CANAAN, CONNECTICUT, 1992 MAY 29 (NB) -- Smith Corona Corp. and Acer
America, a subsidiary of The Acer Group, have announced that they are
terminating a joint venture formed to develop and market personal
computers.

Instead the companies have agreed to a "transitional manufacturing
program" which will see Smith Corona make PCs for Acer. Eventually,
Acer will do the production itself, the company said.

G. Lee Thompson, chairman and chief executive officer of Smith Corona,
commented, "Although the joint venture successfully combined the skills and
talents of our two companies, sustained and intense price competition in the
personal computer marketplace made it clear that we could not achieve our
objectives in a reasonable period of time."

(Wendy Woods/19920529/Press Contact: The Acer Group, Rebecca Hurst,
408/432-6200)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 29 Beame & Whiteside To Upgrade Products 05/29/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00021)

Beame & Whiteside To Upgrade Products 05/29/92
DUNDAS, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAY 29 (NB) -- Newsbytes has learned
that Beame & Whiteside are planning on upgrading their BW-TSP for
DOS and BW-NFS for DOS program within the next couple of months.

Both programs currently operate under DOS or under Microsoft Windows
in a DOS window. With the new version, the applications are becoming
true Windows applications and will create their own windows and
dialog boxes.

In addition to Windows 3.1 support, the programs will include a
significant new feature called "INETD Daemon." This feature will let
Windows users see their machines operate not just in a multitasking
environment, but also in a multiuser environment. INETD Daemon
runs in the background and supports multiple hosts logging in,
issuing requests, and having them execute. When the request is
completed, the host is disconnected which frees up the memory in the
base DOS machine.

Both updates are scheduled to become available at the beginning of
August. Beame & Whiteside will not change the current price of the
programs to new customers. Updates will be sent free to current
owners who have a maintenance contract. Those without such a
contract can upgrade for a fee of 15% of the purchase price. The
new versions will be known as BW-TCP for DOS V3.0 and BW-NFS for DOS
V3.0. Current pricing is $349 for BW-NFS for DOS and $245 for BW_TCP
for DOS.

(Naor Wallach/19920529, Press Contact: Tom Woolf, Media Relations,
415-508-1554)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 29 NCR, Software Clearing House Sign Marketing Pact 05/29/92



(NEWS)(UNIX)(TOR)(00022)

NCR, Software Clearing House Sign Marketing Pact 05/29/92
DAYTON, OHIO, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 29 (NB) -- NCR and Software
Clearing House have announced a marketing alliance to sell
FrameMaker, Unix-based desktop publishing software developed by
Frame Technology of San Jose, California.

NCR sales representatives will refer customers to Software Clearing
House, which will sell the software and provide service,
promotional literature, and product evaluations.

The deal is expected to result in about $3-million worth of
software sales over its three-year life, said Jim Mazzola, a
spokesman for NCR.

Mazzola said NCR has a number of similar deals with other software
vendors, aimed at promoting the company's open systems strategy by
giving customers access to a wide range of applications software.

Software Clearing House is to perform front-line technical training
and Frame Technology will supply back-up support, if required. The
software developer also will provide product training, either
on-site or at its California headquarters.

FrameMaker is compatible with the NCR System 3000 family of
products and the NCR StarServer E running Unix System V Release 4,
NCR said. The software is most often used in documentation,
engineering, marketing, communications, management information
systems, research and development, and technical publications
departments.

Software Clearing House, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, distributes
third-party system software for Unix.

(Grant Buckler/19920529/Press Contact: Jim Mazzola, NCR,
513-445-6148)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 29  ****IBM Researchers Produce Tiny Transistors 05/29/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TOR)(00023)

 ****IBM Researchers Produce Tiny Transistors 05/29/92
ORLANDO, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 29 (NB) -- IBM Research
scientists report that they have made the world's smallest transistors.
The experimental devices are 20 times smaller than any transistor made
before. The active area of a single one is just 1/75,000th of the width
of a human hair.

The researchers also said it should be possible to make the
transistors half as small again.

According to IBM, once it is possible to mass produce such
transistors they will make possible memory chips that can store
four gigabits (4,000 million bits) of data, or more. The largest
memory chip now on the market holds 16 megabits, with 64-megabit
chips on the horizon. However, it is likely to be at least 10 years
before IBM's tiny transistors can be produced commercially.

The new transistors use conventional materials and operate at room
temperature, said Dr. Gerald Present of IBM Research. They are
metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors, or MOSFETs.

While memory chips are an obvious application, Present added, the
transistors might be helpful in other types of chips as well --
"anywhere high density is necessary," he said.

The stumbling block is that the electron-beam nanolithography
fabrication techniques used to make the experimental chips may not
be fast enough for mass production. So advances in manufacturing
technology are needed. One possible solution, Present said, is
X-ray lithography, which is currently in its experimental stages at
IBM and other research organizations.

IBM noted that the new transistors are nearing the size at which
electronic devices in general would be expected to exhibit unique
physical properties predicted by quantum theory. However, Present
said, the current experimental devices are still large enough that
they behave in the conventional way, and the researchers believe
they could scale the transistors down by another factor of two
without a change in behavior.

Scientists are now studying ways to exploit the properties
predicted by quantum theory in "quantum devices" that might be
useful in practical applications.

IBM plans to carry on its research by testing the transistors in
high-speed circuits and in prototype logic and memory circuits.

Clive M. Reeves, Shalom J. Wind, and Fritz J. Hohn reported on the
research at the 36th International Symposium on Electron, Ion, and
Photon Beams. They did their work at the IBM Thomas J. Watson
Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York, with the help of
James J. Bucchignano, Johann Keller, David P. Klaus, Yeong T. Lii,
Thomas H. Newman, Brian M. Tebin, and Richard P. Volant.

(Grant Buckler/19920529/Press Contact: Dr. Gerald Present, IBM
Research, 914-945-3884)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 29 New For PCs: Lotus Shipping LotusWorks 3.0 05/29/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00024)

New For PCs: Lotus Shipping LotusWorks 3.0 05/29/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 29 (NB) -- Lotus
Development has begun shipping LotusWorks 3.0, an upgraded version
of the entry-level integrated software program it acquired two
years ago.

LotusWorks 3.0 provides a windows-like graphical user interface,
enhanced integration among modules, context-sensitive help, and a
comprehensive on-line tutorial, the company said. Lotus has also
set out to make basic business tasks easier by offering 23
QuickStart templates -- sample files and lessons covering common
chores such as creating a name and address database, analyzing cash
flow, and personalizing a form letter.

Designed for small business, home office, and portable computing
users, LotusWorks combines word processing, spreadsheet with
graphics, database, and communications modules. Lotus acquired it
in May, 1990 from Alpha Software of Burlington, Massachusetts,
which had sold the software under the name AlphaWorks.

Among the changes affecting the whole package are mouse support,
overlapping and resizable windows, pull-down menus, scroll buttons,
elevator bars, and dialog boxes.

Integration of the modules has been improved with the ability to
cut and paste between applications and to create dynamic links, a
spokesman said. For instance, a section of a spreadsheet copied
into a word processing document will change when the original
spreadsheet is updated.

In the word processor module, Version 3.0 adds downloadable
Bitstream soft fonts and print preview, and includes the Word
Finder Electronic Thesaurus Release 3.0 from Microlytics.

The LotusWorks 3.0 spreadsheet looks more like Lotus' flagship
1-2-3 spreadsheet, most of whose functions it already duplicated.
The spreadsheet module reads and writes .WK1 files created by
1-2-3, performs calculations with strings, and can search for text
in labels and formulas.

Lotus has beefed up the LotusWorks database, formerly a simple
flat-file application. More than 50 dBase functions are available,
and the software is compatible with dBase III Plus the company
said. The database is "semi-relational," a spokesman said.

Version 3.0 of LotusWorks adds a context-sensitive tutorial. For
example, Lotus said, while creating a budget in the spreadsheet,
users can access the tutorial to learn how to enter a formula. The
tutorial includes five hours of lessons, organized into five- to
15-minute segments and instantly accessible from anywhere in the
program.

An improved help system also offers users immediate assistance
while working in an application.

LotusWorks 3.0 requires an IBM or compatible PC, 640K bytes of
memory, and DOS 3.0 or higher. It is compatible with Windows 3.0
and 3.1. A computer with an 80286 or later processing and an
EGA/VGA monitor is recommended.

LotusWorks 3.0 has a suggested retail price of $149. Current
LotusWorks users can upgrade for $49. Lotus is also offering a
competitive upgrade to users of Microsoft Works, PFS:First Choice,
Spinnaker's Eight-in-One, and WordPerfect Works, who may upgrade to
LotusWorks 3.0 for $59. Version 3.0 will be available from all
authorized Lotus resellers after June 4, the company said.

(Grant Buckler/19920529/Press Contact: David Grip or Victor Cruz,
McGlinchey & Paul for Lotus, 617-862-4514)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 29  ****Macs To Be Sold In Electronics/Office Superstores 05/29/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00025)

 ****Macs To Be Sold In Electronics/Office Superstores 05/29/92
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 29 (NB) -- Apple has
announced rebates and trade-ins to sell Macintoshes, but today it
announced a new marketing program. Apple has made a deal with Silo,
Office Depot, and Officemax who will provide Apple Macintosh products
in their consumer retail outlets, a move which Apple says will pave
the way for sales of new Apple brand computers it is planning to
release this fall.

Though Apple won't say anything else about the new Apple brand
computers until later this summer, it did say the Macintosh computers
selected for the participating retail chains are the Macintosh LCII
with 4 megabytes (MB) of random access memory (RAM), an 80 MB hard
drive, and an Apple 12-inch color monitor; and the Classic II with 4
MB RAM, and an 80 MB hard drive. Both computers will come customized
with applications software, though the software may vary depending on
the retailer, and will include toll-free telephone support and a year
of on-site service, Apple said.

The retailers involved have agreed to provide the pre-configured
Macintoshes in 56 retail stores that include locations in Washington,
Oregon, Florida, Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania, Apple added.

Keith Fox, Apple USA's vice president of Consumer Markets said in a
prepared statement: "We anticipate being in approximately 1,800
retail locations when we introduce our line of new consumer-oriented
computer products later this year, including representation in major
office product, consumer electronic, and specialty mass merchandise
outlets."

Fox's "new consumer-oriented computer products" may be a reference
Newton, a line of consumer-oriented "personal digital assistants" or
PDAs the company says is the first new product line it has introduced
since the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Apple is allowing
consumers first peeks at the Newton during the Summer Consumer
Electronics Show (CES) in Chicago.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920529/Press Contact: Betty Taylor, Apple, tel
408-974-3983, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 29 Editorial: Bring Back the Operator 05/29/92



(EDITORIAL)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00026)

Editorial: Bring Back the Operator 05/29/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, 1992 MAY 29 (NB) -- By Dana Blankenhorn.
For the last few years, you and I have been descending into Voice
Mail Hell.

You know the drill. You want to reach Person X in a real big
hurry, so you call their direct line. You get their voice mail,
and maybe (when they get around to it) they call back. By which
time you have forgotten why you called.

It's even worse when you're calling a company for information and
don't know exactly who you need to talk with. The main number's
recording simply tells you to enter the 4-digit code of the
person you want to talk with, or 0 for an operator. After an
interminable wait, you get someone in a back-room somewhere who
passes you to the wrong department, and their voice mail box.
After returning to the operator, you get the right department,
and another voice mail box. When that person finally returns your
call, they say, oh, you need someone else, and you get yet
another voice mail box. This can go on for weeks. No fun if
you're on a deadline.

And it's going to get worse before it gets better. AT&T is
planning to replace many of its operators with automated systems,
and the regional Bell companies are expected to follow suit.

Oddly, the voice mail industry which started this mess didn't
intend it. Voice mail was created as an adjunct, or aid, to
experienced operators and secretaries. The trouble was, corporate
leaders saw this as a good excuse to get rid of those valued
people and we've all been suffering as a result.

I learned this anew recently when, working on a book project, I
hired someone to come in and straighten up my files. Not only did
I get my files organized, but I also got my mind straightened
out, my messages taken, and important calls made. Every top
executive has a secretary, or administrative aide, whether
they're running IBM or the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I wonder how
many of them could keep their heads screwed-on without these
people to take care of them.

Secretaries make sure their bosses return important calls.
Operators make sure calls are directed to the right people, and
that messages are received and responded to. Without such
handlers, executives lose accounts. And their companies lose
respect.

Look, the telephone system is your company's front door. What
sense would it make for a customer to walk into your shop's door,
be led to a robot who kicked them out, to dust themselves off and
get the same treatment again and again. Eventually, they'll go to
another shop where they're treated like a human being, by human
beings.

And that's the lesson. Technology should help people, not replace
them. Only when top management learns this lesson, and brings
back those operators (maybe with a nice raise) will we coming out
of Voice Mail Hell.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920529)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 29 ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 05/29/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00027)

ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 05/29/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 29 (NB) -- Roundup is a brief
look at some computer stories carried in other publications
received here this past week.

Computerworld dated May 25 says that DECstation users are worried
about being stuck with orphaned computers as Digital Equipment
moves to modify the brand of Unix it will standardize on in the
next decade.

InformationWeek for the week of the 25th puts the high cost of
training on the front cover.

Software Magazine has a May Special Issue focusing on client
server computing.

Bay Area's Computer Currents begins its 10th year of publication
with a look at home office computing in the May 19-June 1 issue.

May's Technological Horizons in Education Journal looks at using
networks and telecommunications in K through 12.

PC World for June has 50 power user shortcut tips for spreadsheet
users working with Quattro Pro, Excel, and Lotus 1-2-3.

(John McCormick/19920529/)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 29 Review of: Hard Drive: Bill Gates & The Making of the Microsoft Empire



(REVIEW)(GENERAL)(DEN))(00028)

Review of: Hard Drive: Bill Gates & The Making of the Microsoft Empire

From: John Wiley & Sons, Publisher; James Wallace and Jim Erickson,
authors

Price: $22.95 in hardback

PUMA Rating: 4.0 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by Jim Mallory, Midwest Bureau Chief,
05/29/92

Summary: Regardless of whether you agree with the authors or not,
this is one book that should be read by computerists and
non-computerists alike.

======

REVIEW

======

Authors Wallace and Erickson are reporters for the
Seattle Post Intelligencer newspaper. The book was born out of a
series of stories published in the Post-Intelligencer in May of
1991. As the authors say in the acknowledgements, it's not a book
about computers or technology. Rather, they say, "Its a book about
people, a remarkable collection of individuals led by one man, Bill
Gates, whose drive, genius, vision, and entrepreneurial spirit
created one of the greatest success stories in the history of
American business."

Wallace and Erickson say the book is based on their interviews, and
other books, national magazines, newspapers, and trade publications.
What it's NOT based on, said Microsoft, is fact.

Several specific points are contested as to accuracy. One of those
points is the book's allegation that Microsoft hired its first two
female executives to meet federal affirmative action guidelines, and
then treated the women badly. The women referred to are Jean
Richardson, hired in 1985 as vice president of corporate
communications; and Ida Cole, who was hired as vice president of
applications marketing.

According to Microsoft spokesperson Marty Taucher, that's not
accurate. Taucher told Newsbytes Cole was hired because "she was a
good tech person," not because of EEO requirements. She moved to
another position about one year later, said Taucher, and in 1990
retired. Taucher said Richardson left Microsoft because of a
disagreement with her superior, and is now at Sun Microsystems.

While Taucher admitted that Microsoft didn't like the book, you
will. It's a mixture of praise and statements about Gates that
could be considered derogatory. In one breath, the authors quote
friends and associates positive remarks. "Everything Bill did, he
did to the max. What he did always went well, well beyond everyone
else," a childhood friend reportedly said. A few pages later, the
book talks about Gates' feet (reportedly size 13) compared to his
small frame ("the smallest boy in the seventh grade").

James Wallace told Newsbytes, "They (Microsoft) made it very
difficult to write the book." Wallace said Microsoft was not happy
with the newspaper series, claiming it dealt too much with his
personal life. "They didn't want me calling ex-girlfriends, and
trying to find out how he spent his money," said Wallace. He said
not only would Microsoft not help him and his co-author, but they
went out of their way to be "unhelpful." Microsoft at the time was
cooperating on an authorized biography to be published by Doubleday
& Company.

Hard Drive paints a picture of a driven, perhaps sometimes
obsessive, genius who, no matter what Microsoft thinks of the book,
revolutionized the computer industry as we know it. It's excellent
reading, and it won't leave you hating Gates. Rather, it will make
you understand what makes people like him tick.

Hard Drive gives the reader an insight on a true
American success story, Bill Gates. While you may not like
everything in the book, and find it appears to put Gates down part
of the time, it could be the prodding the next American genius needs
to invent the better mouse trap. It's well worth the price.

The book is already available in selected markets, and will be in
general distribution in bookstores across the country on June 1.

(Jim Mallory/19920527/Press contact: Tom Perry, John Wiley & Sons
Inc, 605 3rd Avenue,New York,NY 10158)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 29 Review of: Ross Perot, An Unauthorized Biography, by Todd Mason,


(REVIEW)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00029)

Review of: Ross Perot, An Unauthorized Biography, by Todd Mason,
ISBN 1-55623-236-5

From: BusinessONE Irwin (Times Mirror Books), 1818 Ridge Road,
Homewood, IL 60430. 708-206-2700

Price: $19.95 Hardbound, 300-plus pages with index

PUMA Rating: 4 on a scale 1=lowest to 4=highest

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: John McCormick, 05/29/92

Summary: Packed with details which show the unpublicized side of
H. Ross Perot, the man who may become president.

======

REVIEW

======

That this would be an unauthorized biography was something which
Mr. Perot made clear to the author (former Dallas, Texas Bureau
Chief for Business Week) right from the very start by pointing
out that since his life was not yet over, a biography would be
rather premature.

Perhaps showing a strong desire for total control, Mr. Perot told
the author that he felt a person should have the right to write
his or her own biography (autobiography) before others got a
crack at him or her.

Nevertheless, this book does contain a wealth of information
about Mr. Perot, who did not actively oppose its publication.
Perot supporters will mostly find more of the same in this book -
the picture that emerges is one of a serious (some say humorless)
man who has a powerful ethical stand on many issues without
losing sight of the fact that many people disagree with him and
have a total right to do so, just not while they are on his team.

After eight years of Ronald Reagan whose people seemed to be
impressing their ideas on the presidency and three-and-one-half
of George Bush whom many people feel has no firm ideas at all,
this book clearly shows why so many people are attracted to the
idea of a Perot presidency. They don't know where he stands on
most issues (nor apparently does he for that matter), but they
know that when he says he will do something it will most likely
get done.

The picture this book gives is not a whitewash of an American
icon, nor is it a hatchet job. Rather, the author attempts to
give as much useful information as he could obtain about Mr.
Perot's business dealings and let people draw their own
conclusions.

What many people already see in Mr. Perot, a hard-nosed
businessman who plays by the rules but who plays very hard to
win, is exactly what emerges from this book.

Perot has made it clear that he thinks America has to watch out
for the less fortunate in our country but that people
have to help themselves. He doesn't object to the rich (and he is
one of the richest men in the world) paying more taxes as long as
the money is spent wisely.

He is for education and opportunity for all, obviously believing
that courage, vision, education, and hard work can make nearly
anyone a success, no matter what their economic or cultural
background. This is the same message mouthed by many politicians
in recent years, but few of them have shown every day of their
lives that they actually believe what they are saying.

The author, who obviously had troubles with Perot, appears to
admire many things about the man and concludes that Perot "lives
his life like the bumper sticker slogan: lead, follow, or get-
the-hell out of the way."

The night before this review was written Mr. Perot told Barbara
Walters on 20/20 that he would have neither adulterers nor
homosexuals high in his administration - he couldn't trust the
former, and the latter might stir up too much public dissent. No
one reading this book would have been surprised, but they would
also come away with the idea that while he wouldn't hire people
from either group to work closely with him, neither would he
single them out for prejudicial treatment as citizens.

Although Mr. Perot is the master of the soundbite, adept at
manipulating the press, reading this book you are led to the
conclusion that he is always manipulating members of the press to
present him as he really is - trying to prevent distortion of his
views rather than create it.

What you see when you listen to H. Ross Perot's actual words, not
as they are distorted by some people, is that this man means what
he says, does what he says, and takes the consequences.

Mr. Perot says that if he is elected president he will try very
hard to do what the people really want and there is little in
this book which contradicts the notion that he is a man of his
word.

Politicians are now calling him a demagogue and saying that you
can't trust him because he hasn't provided a platform, but they
seem to be missing the point. Perot supporters have seen that
party platforms and politicians promises mean little when a
"politician" actually gets into office - what they see in Perot
is a man of character, ready to face present and future
challenges.

This book, despite the negative things it has to say about Mr.
Perot, is unlikely to cause any of those supporters to leave the
Perot camp and is more likely than not to lead others to give him
their support by showing that this really is a man who has strong
moral values and a willingness, almost compulsion, to live by
them without becoming a bigot.

You may have noticed that this review has few details about Mr.
Perot's life and business dealings - those details won't fit in a
review, but they are to be found in the book.

This book was first published in 1990 but the
publisher is currently reprinting and the book can be ordered
through any bookstore if it isn't already on the shelves.

(John McCormick/19920529/Press Contact: Rick Rittering,
BusinessONE Irwin)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 29 AST Multimedia PC For Home-Office & New Users 05/29/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00030)

AST Multimedia PC For Home-Office & New Users 05/29/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 29 (NB) -- AST has announced a
single, low-end multimedia personal computer (MPC), the Advantage!
386SX/25 Multimedia PC, which should be available this June, the
company said.

The Advantage! 386SX/25 MPC is geared toward home-office and novice
users, AST said, and meets the MPC Level 1 multimedia standard, set
by the MPC Council.

The Advantage! MPC has a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) disk
drive, a sound card, a with 1024 x 768 resolution super video
graphics array (SVGA) monitor and graphics card with 512 megabytes
(MB) of memory on the card, an 80 MB hard disk drive, a 3.5-inch
floppy drive, dual stereo speakers, a microphone, a mouse, and comes
with multimedia CD-ROM software programs, AST said.

The included software is MS DOS 5.0, Microsoft Windows 3.1, Microsoft
Works for Windows, Microsoft Bookshelf, Macmillian's Dictionary for
Children, Kings Quest V, and Mixed-Up Mother Goose.

While Tandy was one of the first to announce availability of an MPC
computer line, MPC competition is increasing. AST competitor Advanced
Logic Research also recently announced its introduction of an MPC
compatible computer line.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920529/Press Contact: Emory Epperson, AST, tel
714-727-7958, fax [phone]; Public Contact: 800-876-4278)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 29  ****Apple Shows First Newton At CES 05/29/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00031)

 ****Apple Shows First Newton At CES 05/29/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 29 (NB) -- Apple is showing off
Newton at the Summer Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Chicago, a
product Apple CEO John Sculley announced previously at the
Winter CES in Las Vegas early this year. It offers the first new
operating system since the Apple Macintosh.

Newton is actually part of a product line that Apple terms Personal
Digital Assistant (PDA) electronic devices. The first Newton is an
electronic notepad which Apple boasts will allow users intelligent
help in capturing, organizing, and communicating ideas and
information.

Apple says its goal is to make the Newton as easy to use as a pencil
and paper. Newton will use technology similar to handwriting
recognition pen-based computing technology, but Apple says the
difference in several different recognition technologies will come
into play simultaneously, rather than one at a time. Apple gave the
example of a business person who writes "lunch Jane Thursday" on the
Newton, which the Newton would interpret to mean lunch is at 12:00
p.m.; Jane is Jane Green, who listed in the users address book; and
Thursday is this Thursday. The Newton would make those assumptions
and ask for confirmation by opening a calendar and scheduling lunch
from 12:00 to 1:00 with Jane Green.

So all those bits of information, phone numbers, business cards,
directions, meetings, notes, birthdays, appointments, can all be
handled by the Newton, Apple said. But more importantly, users can
view the information for everything that relates to a specific
client, week, or subject such as "Jane Green."

Also, wired and wireless communications ability will allow two Newton
users to electronically exchange business cards or compare calendars,
Apple said. Faxing a letter, checking electronic mail messages, or
connecting to a satellite news service are also possibilities, the
company added.

All this intelligent help will be brought to users in portable form
via a reduced instruction set chip (RISC) from Advanced RISC Machines
(ARM). The processor, the ARM 610 powering the Newton's capabilities,
has the power of a desktop computer, but uses less battery power than
a flashlight, Apple said. Intelligent cards will be the vehicle for
users to get specific functions in the Newton, Apple added. Some
electronic devices designed for portable functions use cards now,
such as the Sharp Wizard, which has functions such as time and
billing available on insertable cards.

Apple and Sharp announced earlier this year the agreement between the
two companies to jointly design and produce the Newton devices. Also,
Apple says it is licensing Newton technology to selected vendors,
including Sharp, who are planning to produce their own versions of
the PDAs.

Apple says a number of major companies have said they will support
Newton and will develop complementary products. Apple named Motorola,
Pacific Bell, Random House, Skytel, and Traveling Software as
companies which have announced their intention to develop products for
the Newton. The general areas of third party development are in
communication for use of the Newton in a mobile environment; content
products, or interesting and personal information products; and
compatibility products for using Newton devices with existing
computer systems, Apple added.

The first Newtons will be English-language oriented and are expected
from both Apple and Sharp in early 1993, Apple said.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920529/Press Contact: Brooke Cohan, Apple, tel
408-974-3019, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD





#CARD :1992 MAY 28 New For PC: Crystal Offers Report Writer For ObjectVision 05/28/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00001)

New For PC: Crystal Offers Report Writer For ObjectVision 05/28/92
VANCOUVER, BC, CANADA, 1992 MAY 28 (NB) -- Crystal
Services has launched Quik Reports for Windows, a database
report writer and print engine that works with Borland International's
ObjectVision. Both Crystal Services and Borland are selling the
product, a company spokeswoman said.

According to Crystal Services, Quik Reports links to existing
database files created by packages such as Borland's dBase and
Paradox, and produces reports, forms, and letters. Users design
reports in an interactive report generator by placing fields on a
template. Quik Reports can insert totals and calculated fields, the
company said, and it will set sort and selection criteria on
records and groups. A preview facility lets users view their
reports before printing them.

When users select on ObjectVision application file, Quik Reports
will automatically recognize all of that application's databases
and build links between them, the company said. Once designed,
reports can be called from within an ObjectVision application.

The Quik Reports Print Engine dynamic link library (DLL) lets
application developers link Quik Reports dynamically to their
applications, officials said, and the print engine can be called
from any Windows development tool.

Quik Reports 1.0 is available now, company spokeswoman
Shannon McDonald said, at an introductory price of US$99.95. The
suggested retail price will be US$195 after the introductory period,
she added. Network packages are available at US$395 for five
users and US$2,995 for 50.

Eight-year-old Crystal Services is best known as a developer of
accounting software products that work with Computer Associates
International's Accpac accounting line. Its products include Quik
Reports for Accpac, a report writer for the CA accounting software.

(Grant Buckler/19920528/Press Contact: Terry Cunningham, Crystal
Services, 604-681-3435, fax [phone]; Shannon McDonald, Crystal
Services, 416-842-7404, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 28 Progress To Port Its 4GL To DEC Alpha 05/28/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00002)

Progress To Port Its 4GL To DEC Alpha 05/28/92
BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 28 (NB) --
Progress Software plans to have its fourth-generation programming
language (4GL) and relational database management system
available on Digital Equipment's new Alpha systems some time
next year.

Progress announced it will port the 4GL and database software, also
called Progress, and associated developer productivity and end-user
query and reporting tools to the 64-bit computer architecture DEC
announced earlier this year. The Progress software is already
available for Digital's existing VAX minicomputers running the
proprietary VMS operating system and DEC's Ultrix variant of Unix,
as well as for other versions of Unix, operating systems from
Unisys Corp., and Microsoft Windows on personal computers.

The company plans to port its products to Alpha under Digital's
OpenVMS and DEC OSF/1 operating systems, and to Microsoft's
New Technology (NT). Progress, working with Digital as an
Independent Software Vendor since 1989, recently signed an
agreement with Digital to become a Cooperative Software House.

Progress expects to have all the components of DEC's Alpha
architecture to work with in-house by the first quarter of 1993,
company spokesman David F. Smith told Newsbytes. It will
release its software for the new DEC systems "as soon as
possible after that," he said.

Application developers use Progress mainly to create
transaction-oriented applications such as manufacturing resource
planning (MRP), just-in-time (JIT) inventory, accounting, and point-
of-sale systems, company officials said.

(Grant Buckler/19920527/Press Contact: David F. Smith or
Anthony Dolph, Progress Software, 617-275-4500)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 28 Call For IT Representation In HK Legislative Council 05/28/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(HKG)(00003)

Call For IT Representation In HK Legislative Council 05/28/92
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1992 MAY 28 (NB) -- Democracy in
Hong Kong is somewhat different to many other countries. Direct
elections to the Legislative Council (LEGCO) were only introduced
in 1991 and then for less than 30 percent of the LEGCO
membership.

The balance of members comprise those officially appointed by
the HK government in true colonial tradition, together with a group
of individuals who represent a variety of functional constituencies.

Functional constituencies are in place for the legal fraternity,
the accounting fraternity, both the Hong Kong and the Chinese
Chambers of Commerce, the medical profession, the engineering
profession, and a number of manufacturing and service industry
associations.  Despite calls over the years to do so, no IT
professional functional constituency has been recognized by
government.

According to a report in the South China Morning Post, the IT
industrial and professional bodies are now coming out in a
coordinated endeavor to persuade the government to recognize the
IT world as an electoral college in the 1995 LEGCO elections.

Industry commentator, James Riley, says that the application
government has sparked up wide-spread debate in the territory.
At the center of the debate is how the term "IT professional" is
defined for voting purposes.

Carlye Tsui Wau-ling, a veteran of the IT profession and an
Urban Councillor, is leading the team which is applying to the
Select Committee on Legislative Council Elections. The
application said that LEGCO needed to guard Hong Kong "from
the pitfalls arising from insufficient understanding of information
technology."

It defined information technology as the "largest industry in the
world" with more than 30,000 IT professionals and practitioners
and an annual growth of 12.5 percent, but this is where the
arguments really begin.

Various studies performed by supposedly well-informed bodies
such as the Vocational Training Council (VTC) and the Hongkong
Productivity Center have claimed far larger numbers of
practitioners than that, with some estimates almost double that
figure.

On the other hand, the memberships of the Hong Kong computer
Society (2,600), the Hong Kong Association for Computer
Education, and the British Computer Society (Hongkong Section)
total only 2,600 at present. This abysmal representation is hardly
conducive to a positive decision from the government.

James Riley says: "Even taking into account the 12.5 percent
compound growth of membership, the total full membership of the
 three organizations can only be projected to reach 3,300 by
1994, and 3,700 by the time the LEGCO elections are held in 1995."

Despite comments that suggest all the IT profession is trying to
do is to bolster up there membership figures, the team is one of
the most influential ever seen from the local IT industry. Joining
forces with Tsui are: Anthony Au, current president of the
Hongkong Information Technology Federation; Dr N.V.
Balasubramanian, president of the Hongkong Association for
Computer Education, and head of the City Polytechnic's Department
of Computer Science; A.F.M. (Con) Conway, chairman of the
Hongkong Polytechnic Computer Studies Advisory Committee and
the man who sold the first computer in Hongkong in 1963; Dr
Miranda Leung; Graham Mead; K.K. Yeung; and Donald Wong.

(Keith Cameron/19920527/Press Contact: Sofia Chen, The PR
Company, [phone] Fax: [phone]; HK time is GMT + 8)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 28 Bi-annual CommunicAsia In Singapore First Week Of June 05/28/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00004)

Bi-annual CommunicAsia In Singapore First Week Of June 05/28/92
SINGAPORE, 1922 MAY 28 (NB) -- Billed as the most successful
communications and integrated systems exhibitions in the region,
CommuncAsia, will be staged from June 2 - 5. It is held every
two years, which could well be the reason for its previous success.

In 1990 it attracted 13,000 visitors of whom 30 percent were from
overseas. In 1988 the event was equally well supported and, as has
been the case with all previous shows, there will be an associated
conference this year with the theme: "IT and Telecommunications
-The Key to Dynamic Regional Growth."

The Hongkong Telecom stand will be featuring the company's
Calling Card and Hong Kong Direct Services together with its
innovative International Toll Free service which enables overseas
customers to call their suppliers in Hongkong at no charge.

(Keith Cameron/19920514/Press contact: Con Conway,
Hongkong Telecoms, [phone] Fax: [phone]; HK
time is GMT + 8)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 28 Mail Order Tax Gets Ax From Supreme Court - Door Still Open 05/28/92




(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00005)

Mail Order Tax Gets Ax From Supreme Court - Door Still Open 05/28/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 28 (NB) -- Just when you
thought it was safe to shop, the Supreme Court has banned taxes
on mail order. But at the same time it has opened up the mail order
business to potential state taxing - not the state in which the
company is located - but in every state where a purchaser lives.

The actual ruling overturned the North Dakota Supreme Court's
earlier declaration making that state's tax on mail order items legal,
but some observers worry that what the US Supreme Court, by
upholding the law's due process provisions (which could have
made any such tax unconstitutional on its face), actually did was
open up the door to a major push for a new law clearing the way for
states to collect just such a tax.

This could be a major blow to many catalog order firms, including
a large number of discount computer companies, but Congress still
has to pass a new law, so look for a flurry of lobbying.

In what one Washington insider likened to the ill-conceived
luxury tax which placed a massive tax on high-priced cars,
planes, and boats, costing thousands of jobs and raising little
money, the US Supreme Court has ruled that states do have a
legal right to force out-of-state companies to collect and pay
sales tax on any goods sold to people or companies in their tax
region.

Until now there was considerable question as to whether states
and localities even had the right to impose such taxes under the
doctrine of due process, but the eight-to-one decision of the
Court ruled that, according to the decision written by Justice
John Paul Stevens: "Congress is now free to decide whether,
when, and to what extent the states may burden interstate mail-
order concerns with a duty to collect use taxes."

All the court decided yesterday was that on their own the
individual states could not collect such taxes, but at the same
time it opened wide the door for state pressure on Congress to
pass a national law making such taxes legal.

Right now any mail order company shipping goods via a common
carrier (US Mail, Federal Express, UPS) but lacking any
business office in a state, is not required to collect and pay
taxes for sales made to anyone in that state.

For small ticket items, especially heavy ones, this savings on
taxes is often eaten up by the shipping and handling charges
imposed by most companies on all orders, but for a $4,000 laptop
computer weighing only seven pounds the shipping cost would only
run a few dollars while in many areas the tax savings would run
into the hundreds of dollars.

Local merchants who must collect sales taxes as well as maintain
expensive stores claim this is an undue burden on them, an
argument countered by mail order companies which point to the
massive costs of printing and mailing catalogs.

States look at the upwards of $200 billion in untaxed sales as a
major source of new income, while mail order vendors point out
that the added costs to them in calculating and collecting taxes
would be very high since there are many hundreds or even
thousands of state and local tax structures.

The Supreme Court recognized this problem back in 1967 when it
ruled that such tax collection would pose a major burden on mail
order companies, but times have changed and the Court majority
agreed that computerized systems could track and collect such
taxes fairly easily for the larger companies, clearing the way
for a new law making it legal for states to impose such taxes
even on companies with absolutely no physical presence in their
state.

Some observers claim that small mail order companies, many of
which are tiny family-operated home-based businesses, would be
driven out of business entirely if they were required to calculate
and collect taxes based on thousands of different rates.

The lone dissenter, Justice Byron White, said that the 1967
decision had outlived its usefulness and should be scrapped.

One possible scenario that would definitely not please the states,
but might easily eliminate most opposition from mail order firms,
would see the US Congress passing a straight tax, perhaps five
percent on all mail order sales, but making it a federal tax
dedicated to helping clear up the massive federal budget deficit.
Mail order companies could have little complaint about such a
tax since it would be simple to collect and pay - furthermore, it
would not affect them much because it is the customer who
eventually pays, not the company.

In an interesting coincidence, a few minutes after completing
this story a catalog (the first we have seen) arrived in this
bureau from Illinois-based Quill Corporation, the mail order
office company which was involved in the North Dakota tax
dispute.

(John McCormick/19920527)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 28 Motorola Upgrades Modem Control Package 05/28/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00006)

Motorola Upgrades Modem Control Package 05/28/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 28 (NB) -- Motorola has
announced a major upgrade to their modem management system -
GlobalView. GlobalView 2.0 has a host of new features of which
the most important one is the enhanced security feature for use
with synchronous modems.

Using the new feature, the person who calls in is presented with
two short tones upon accessing the modem. This tells the person
that the modem is ready for their password. The user then enters
their password using a touch tone keypad. This feature is being
touted by Motorola as a significant improvement since it blocks
unauthorized users from being fully connected with the modem,
let alone access to data that they should not access.

Other features in version 2.0 include a complete facelift for this
Windows-based program including more color choices and new
icons. The program will now allow for the display of several windows
at once so that network administrators can have one window that
shows the status of all of the racks of modems, while another
concentrates on a specific modem.

System and device alarms are handled more intelligently with the
new version as well as allowing the managers to view more
information and set up different responses to each kind of alarm
condition.

Motorola will begin shipping the new version in July. Pricing will
remain the same as the previous version with a base price of
$5,000.

(Naor Wallach/19920527/Press Contact: Bill Schlosser, UDS
Motorola, 205-430-8000)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 28 Broderbund Releases Educational Games For Apple II 05/28/92




(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00007)

Broderbund Releases Educational Games For Apple II 05/28/92
NOVATO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 28 (NB) -- Broderbund
recognizes that there are a substantial amount of Apple II
computers in the hands of people who have young children. That
was the reason given for the recent unveiling of Apple II versions of
Broderbund's "The Treehouse" and "Where in America's Past is
Carmen Sandiego?"

The Treehouse is a follow-on program to the company's award-
winning program - The Playroom. As in the Playroom, the idea
behind this game is to encourage youngsters to explore and
learn on their own - through play. The Treehouse is aimed at
six to ten year old children.

The children are introduced to a pair of Opossum playmates
(known as Awesome "Possums" who act as the children's
playmates. The Opossums guide the children through the program
and its associated games. The main area contains a chalkboard
for drawing and a calendar that reveals historical events. There are
four major game areas and countless other little things to do and
see. The Apple II version of the Treehouse is available now for
$49.95.

The other program that Broderbund released for the Apple II is
"Where in America's Past is Carmen Sandiego?" This is the fifth
program in the series which has won lots of accolades and even
has a TV series modeled after it.

"America's Past" comes complete with a 1,300 page encyclopedia
that covers the important dates and events that the program is
concerned with as well as lots of other material that talks about
American history. As in the other games in the series, the player
needs to travel and learn about the subject area in order to discover
clues that lead him or her towards solving the mysteries. In this
program there are 45 possible destinations and nine different time-
periods to choose from. The program is available now for the
Apple II for $49.95.

(Naor Wallach/19920527/Press Contact: Kathleen Burke,
Broderbund Software, 415-382-4567)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 28 SMC Moving Into Network Management 05/28/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00008)

SMC Moving Into Network Management 05/28/92
HAUPPAUGE, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 28 (NB) -- SMC
is planning on moving into the network management arena. At the
recently concluded Interop show, they announced their future
plans in this area.

At this point they are planning on bringing out three network
management products over the next few months with three
additional ones discussed as being within their strategic direction.

SMC's network management strategy is based on the Simple
Network Management Protocol (SNMP). To implement this in
their existing, as well as future, Ethernet adapter card, they are
planning on having a software product called PC Agent/SNMP
that will be shipped with every one of their adapters.
PC Agent/SNMP will be backward-compatible with the existing
line of SMC cards and customers who wish will be able to acquire
the program.

EliteView will be a Windows-based program that will manage SNMP-
based networks. This $295 program is slated to become available in
the third quarter of this year and will allow the user to control
SMC's recently introduced 3512TPi concentrator down to the port
level. There is also a mode whereby the program will go out and
search for all SMC concentrators and gather information on their
state. This is true even across a series of bridges and routers.

The third new product is also a software product that is called
SNMP over IPX. This is an enhancement to the 3512TPi
concentrator that allows it to take advantage of SNMP management
capabilities even when the network itself is running Novell's Netware.
Previous to this, it was necessary to run TCP/IP over Novell which
meant  that users had to purchase and install an expensive NLM
(Netware Loadable Module) and live with the added complexity that
this entailed.

In the future, SMC plans on developing an advanced version of
EliteView that will allow a user to control and manage multivendor
SNMP-based networks. The company is also planning a product
that allows Novell's HubCon NLM to control SMC concentrators,
that will be known as Hub Redirect. Also planned is an Elite PC
Hub which will be a PC internal hub based on Novell's HMI (Hub
Management Interface) specification and supporting 13 ports.

(Naor Wallach/19920527/Press Contact: Ellen Roeckl, SMC,
516-435-6340)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 28 Japanese Virus May Be Rampant On August 31 05/28/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00009)

Japanese Virus May Be Rampant On August 31 05/28/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 28 (NB) -- A new virus program
seems to be spreading among Japanese personal computers. It
is called Aug31, and is thought to be set to activate on August 31
to erase data, according to a local software maker Jade.

Aug31 will display the message "You must go to school" on the
screen and will erase the user's data. This virus program runs
on MS-DOS-based personal computers including the best-selling
Japanese personal computer NEC PC-9801.

According to Jade, this virus program has already been found at
eight prefectures in Japan. These areas include: Shizuoka, Chiba,
Niigata, and Okinawa. It appears that this virus originated in Japan.
August 31 is the last day of the summer holidays in Japan. It is
suspected that the virus program was created by a student.

The Aug31 virus was first uploaded to a radiowave-based personal
computer network as a free graphic software. Jade is now providing
a free vaccine program via Shizuoka Network at: 054-273-3669.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920527)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 28 Riso Develops Digital Printer Interface For IBM & Apple 05/28/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00010)

Riso Develops Digital Printer Interface For IBM & Apple 05/28/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 28 (NB) -- Tokyo-based office
equipment firm Riso Kagaku Industry has developed a digital
printer interface for IBM PCs and Apple's Macintosh. With this
printer interface, the IBM and the Macintosh can be connected
with Riso's large-scale digital printer.

Riso's personal computer interface was jointly developed by
Peerless Corporation in Los Angeles. The interface is currently
being produced by SCI Corporation of San Jose in the US. The
interface is used to connect Riso's large-scale office printer, the
Risograph 5800. With this digital printer, almost all kinds of
printing, including books, are possible. The Risograph sold
45,000 last year, and it has over 40 percent share in the office
printer market in Japan.

Riso is preparing to distribute this digital printer through its
250 outlets in the US. The retail price will be $5,500. Riso is
also preparing to sell this digital printer in Germany and England.

The Risograph printer can be connected to other Japanese
personal computers such as NEC PC-9801 and Fujitsu FMR.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920527/Press Contact: Riso Kagaku
Industry, [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 28 NatSemi And Israeli Govt Enter Joint Manufacture Deal 05/28/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LAX)(00011)

NatSemi And Israeli Govt Enter Joint Manufacture Deal 05/28/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 28 (NB) --
Migdal Haemek, Israel, will be the location of a consortia of
electronic companies for the manufacturing of semiconductors,
according to National Semiconductor. The consortia is being
formed per an agreement between National Semiconductor, the
Association of Electronics Industries, and the government of
Israel.

The deal is a joint venture between the two companies and the
Israeli government and the first plan is to include National
Semiconductor's existing Migdal Haemek wafer manufacturing
facility for the development of an independent, stand-alone
business, National Semiconductor said. The new stand-alone
business will be owned 54.1 percent by Israeli companies, 26
percent by the government of Israel, and 19.9 percent by National
Semiconductor itself, the company added.

While National Semiconductor says the joint venture is consistent
with the company's plans for worldwide restructuring of
manufacturing operations, it expects sales to increase as well.
Demand for products made in Migdal Haemek are expected to
increase, the facility's utilization is expected to increase, and
National Semiconductor says it has the advantage of sharing the
cost of the manufacturing among the three partners.

Analysts at market research company Dataquest recently said
wafer production is becoming increasingly global in nature and US
companies are increasing their presence in the export market.

National Semiconductor said it opened its first facility in Israel in
1978, and began production at the Migdal Haemek manufacturing
site in 1986. Current employment at Migdal Haemek is about 400
and the plant produces integrated circuits for local area networks,
PC products, and embedded control applications such as laser
beam printers, copy and fax machines, and digital telephone
recorders.

A staff of 150 man a National Semiconductor design center as
well as marketing offices located in Herzlia, Israel. However, the
company says those offices are not part of the partnership joint
venture.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920527/Press Contact: Mary Ann McKay,
National Semiconductor, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 28 AST Donates Computers To Rebuild LA 05/28/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00012)

AST Donates Computers To Rebuild LA 05/28/92
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 28 (NB) -- AST says it is
joining the technology coalition formed last week to help the Rebuild
LA extra governmental task force, headed by former baseball
commissioner Peter V. Ueberroth, by donating desktop and portable
personal computer systems to the task force. The coalition is now
populated by such companies as Microsoft, Novell, Epson America,
Wordperfect, Symantec, AST, and Compex, AST said.

All the coalition companies have pledged product donations that will
be used in the relief effort, AST said. The computers donated by
AST will be operational at LA food distribution organizations for
administration and inventory control of foodstuffs, clothing, and
personal care supplies. The plan is to reduce the amount of time
devoted to logging-in and tracking down supplies, replacing the
present hand-order methods used in most locations, the company
claims.

AST maintains the computers will be modem-equipped to allow
communication and data transfer between other food distribution
centers and the Rebuild LA offices. The notebook systems will
allow for portable operation at remote locations, AST added. Also,
the donated services of Arthur Andersen will allow Rebuild LA to
link the personal computer (PC) systems at individual food
distribution agencies together in a network to better allocate
resources and deliver vital supplies to displaced families.

Supplies are being collected all over the city by church groups,
volunteer organizations, and businesses. Carl's Jr. and Taco Bell
restaurants are some of the retail establishments currently
offering services as food collection sites for the Rebuild LA effort.
Also volunteer groups, some numbering as many as 200 at a time,
are going into the riot torn areas of South Central LA to paint and
clean.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920527/Press Contact: Emory Epperson, AST
Research, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 28 India: Oberoi's Client-Server Software For Deluxe Hotels 05/28/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00013)

India: Oberoi's Client-Server Software For Deluxe Hotels 05/28/92
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1992 MAY 28 (NB) -- Oberoi Software, a
division of East India Hotels Ltd., one of the biggest hotels chains -
the Oberoi group, has launched O'pm/OPEN recently.

Targeted towards medium and large deluxe hotels, it is designed
to cater to all aspects of a hotel's front office operations -
reservations, reception, cashiering, night audit, guest history,
group handling, advance deposits, corporate accounts, travel agents,
house-keeping, and marketing and management information system.

It also handles accounts receivables and interfaces to a variety of
hotel automation systems such as point-of-sale cashiering systems
and electronic private automatic branch exchanges (PABXs). The
package can be used on a variety of computer systems such as
DEC, Sun, HP, IBM, AT&T, Pyramid, Next, DG or most 386 and
486 Unix-based computers or even PS/2 local area networks.

O'pm/OPEN has been developed using the generically client-server
relational database, Sybase. To use O'pm/OPEN, the user can
configure his hardware, either as a server with a network of clients
or in the traditional minicomputer architecture of a mainframe and
dumb terminals. In the latter case, the hardware should have a
network card and software to stimulate both the client and the
server environment within the same CPU (central processing unit).

In another move, CMS Computers Pvt. Ltd. has also launched a
software package for hotel management. Priced at $1,600, it is
designed to manage entire operations of a medium range hotel.
Of the three modules in the package, the first is for front office
and includes room and service management. There is also a
module for back office functions which takes care of food and
beverage, and accounts. The third module provides on-line
information on the front office as well as the back office. Data from
room service, house keeping and restaurants are entered into the
system whenever a guest avails of any of these facilities, which
enables the generation of bills whenever required.

The package runs on Novell Netware, and CMS will be supplying
HMS on its PC 286/386/486 EISA (Extended Industry Standard
Architecture) platforms.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920527)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 28 India: PC Networking Without LAN Cards 05/28/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00014)

India: PC Networking Without LAN Cards 05/28/92
BOMBAY, INDIA, 1992 MAY 28 (NB) -- United Networks Pvt.
Ltd., a Gandhinagar, Gujarat-based manufacturer of data
communication products has launched a PC network, christened
Mail+. The company claims the new network will eliminate the
use of LAN (local area network) cards.

A RS-232 cable connects the serial port of each machine to an
active hub, each supporting five machines.

Priced at $300, it can interconnect up to 25 PC/XT/AT
compatibles running on DOS. With a network speed of 38,400
bits-per-second, it can transfer a two-page document in less than
one second. A user is allowed to collect a file or mail only from
a designated mail box.

United Networks, manufacturer of line drivers, multiplexers and
LANs, also offers services like free factory-based training, field
upgradation of software, system planning assistance, and on-site
maintenance.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920525)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 28 India: Ventura Utility For Postscript Printers 05/28/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00015)

India: Ventura Utility For Postscript Printers 05/28/92
BOMBAY, INDIA, 1992 MAY 28 (NB) -- Digital Studio, a Bombay
-based firm, has introduced vp-fx, a Ventura utility for postscript
printers. The package, with a price tag of $250, has been
structured to meet the requirements of original equipment
manufacturers (OEMs).

It supports a multitude of soft-fonts (including Indian script fonts)
and different types of postscript alternatives like pacific-page and
ultra-script.

The utility enables the user to give the font-fx, text-fx, graphics-fx,
and frame-fx types of effects to Ventura Publisher documents.
With font-fx, the user is given the choice to select from the
existing fonts and give it one of the 20 pre-defined effects like
neon, shadow, glow, or silhouette.

The second type allows a user to place lines of text in an arc or
circle or even rotate, sheare, expand, or contract the font.
Graphics-fx enables outlining or filling graphical or text objects
with line tints, dot tints, or normal tints at any angle. The fourth
utility helps to modify any Ventura frame and position it
horizontally or vertically.

The software can run on any IBM XT or AT, Ventura Publisher
2.0 or Ventura Professional. The hard disk drive requirement for
the package is two megabytes of RAM and a Postscript or
compatible printer or interpreter.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920525)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 28 ****Control Data To Split Into Two Companies 05/28/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00016)

 ****Control Data To Split Into Two Companies 05/28/92
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 28 (NB) -- Control
Data Corporation has announced that it will divide into two
independent companies. In a simultaneous announcement, CDC
said it has signed a letter of intent for Silicon Graphics to buy a 10
percent interest in one of the new entities.

Control Data Systems Inc., will be the new company taking over
the former computer products business, while Ceridian Corporation
will be the new name for the remaining businesses. Those include
information management services and products for business and
government customers.

CDC will become Ceridian Corporation effective June 1, while the
Control Data Systems (CDS) name is effective immediately. The
separation will be accomplished by incorporating CDS and
distributing its stock as a dividend to holders of Control Data
Corporation's common stock during the next few months.

The deal will not be final until CDC's banks and its board of directors
approve it, and the company said the previously announced sale of
its automated wagering business will be completed first. A review
by the Securities and Exchange commission is also required.
However,  CDS VP of Communications Peter Gove told Newsbytes
that while the banks are very involved, he doubts either the banks
or the board will oppose the split.

Gove said the split really started in 1989 when CDC decided to
get out of the supercomputer business and concentrate on open
systems integration. The company has been working on the
separation in earnest since last September, said Gove.

Don't look for any change in senior management. Lawrence
Perlman, presently president and CEO of CDC will be Ceridian's
president and CEO. James Ousley, senior executive of the
computer products business, will be president and CEO of CDS.

CDC said it will capitalize CDS with $50 million in cash, payable
when the split is finalized, and another $45 million in December of
1992. The companies say there will be no ongoing material
ownership or management relationship between the two companies
after the spinoff. However, they say they will continue to provide
products and services to each other over a transition period.

CDC said it expects to record charges of about $400 million in the
second quarter. That amount includes about $130 million to CDS,
$115 in restructuring charges, and $15 million of inventory-related
charges. The restructuring charges reflect actions to be taken by
CDS during 1992 and beyond as part of its continuing transition from
proprietary CYBER systems to the integration of open systems and
applications, said the company.

The remaining $270 million includes an expected loss and related
accruals of $55 million in connection with the sale of the automated
wagering business, and provisions of about $55 million for lease
and other obligations associated with excess or under-utilized
facilities. That's primarily the company's headquarters building,
which the company said it plans to sublet. CDS vacated the facility
last fall. However, a spokesperson told Newsbytes that much of the
space has already been leased. Ceridian said it hasn't selected a
location for the approximately 200 corporate staff personnel yet,
but that it will remain in the Twin Cities area.

The company said it is also anticipating an $80 million loss and
expenses related to other reshaping actions, and about $50 million
associated with the decision to adopt a different financial
accounting standard next July. Other charges of about $30 million
relate to charges and expenses associated with the separation.

While not willing to quote specific numbers, a financial
spokesperson for Ceridian told Newsbytes that even with the
chargebacks the company expects to show better financial results
for the second quarter than it did for the same period last year.
Asked if the stockholders would be disappointed with the quarter's
results, the spokesperson told Newsbytes "the stockholders will
be glad we are getting the past behind us."

According to Perlman, the separation is a major step in the effort
to strengthen the businesses and help them grow faster. "We
expect the separation to provide each company with increased
flexibility and ability to pursue cooperative ventures, business
combinations and other actions to grow and to improve their
competitive positions," Perlman said. He expects the ability of
both companies to attract capital will be enhanced.

Holders of CDC common stock will receive a dividend distribution
of one share of CDS common for every four shares of CDC
common in a tax-free transaction. Stockholders will automatically
receive the dividend, according to the company.

In related news, NEC and CDS say they will expand their current
supercomputer marketing agreement to include joint marketing
and technical activities in the Unix/RISC area. NEC says it will
consider making an equity investment of five percent in CDS.
Gove told Newsbytes the next step in the investment process will
probably be taken in a month or so. The split will have to be
completed before either company can invest, said Gove.

Control Data stock rose yesterday after news of the separation
was announced, trading up 1-3/8 at 13-1/8. "It's a sensible,
positive  move," one Piper Jaffray analyst reportedly said.

(Jim Mallory/19920528/Press contact: Charlotte Fransen,
Control Data Systems, 612-482-4857)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 28  ****IBM To Lose Windows License Next Year 05/28/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00017)

 ****IBM To Lose Windows License Next Year 05/28/92
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 28 (NB) --
Microsoft says  IBM's license to use Windows code will run out
in about a year, and there has been no move on the part of Big
Blue to renew the license.

If IBM doesn't get a new license, it could mean that its OS/2
operating system wouldn't be able to run any future versions of
Windows, and the applications which run under it. That could
divide the personal computing world into two non-compatible
camps, those that run OS/2 applications, and those that run
Windows apps. If that happens, Windows-publisher Microsoft
could be the big winner.

There are already about 10 million Windows 3.0 users, and about
three million copies of Windows 3.1 have been shipped since the
latest version of the graphical user interface was introduced. IBM
has reportedly shipped about 400,000 copies of OS/2 Release 2.0.

Microsoft is also expected to release Windows NT (for New
Technology) by the end of this year. Under the current agreement,
IBM has rights to any Windows code that comes out before their
license expires. Microsoft could play hard ball and decide to delay
the release of NT until after the license expires. Whether that
strategy, if employed, would backfire on them is uncertain. Users
could see a delay in Windows NT as indicating problems with the
code development. Or they could decide Microsoft was playing
"dirty pool."

Even the reliability of the present Windows code incorporated into
OS/2 may be questionable. There have been recent reports of
Windows program experiencing random problems when running
under OS/2. Reported problems have included random crashes,
system lockup, memory crashes, and icons that assume the
identity and properties of other icons, according to some sources.
If Windows under OS/2 gets a reputation of unreliability, and users
know the Windows under OS/2 path is a dead end, it could spell
real trouble for IBM.

(Jim Mallory/19920528/Press contact: Marty Taucher, Microsoft,
206-882-8080)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 28 Tandy, Casio Collaborate On New Personal Info Processors 05/28/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00018)

Tandy, Casio Collaborate On New Personal Info Processors 05/28/92
FORT WORTH, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 28 (NB) -- In a move that
the two companies claim signals a major advance in the next
generation of personal, portable information devices, Tandy has
announced that it has agreed in principle with Casio Computer
Company Ltd. of  Tokyo, Japan to work together to design, develop,
manufacture, market, and distribute a new family of "Personal
Information Processors."

Tandy and Casio say they expect to set the pace for the emerging
market of hand-held portable information devices, by combining their
extensive technology and distribution systems.

"This cooperation is an important milestone in the emerging market
for small, pocket-sized processors," said John Roach, chairman and
CEO of Tandy Corp. "Access to information wherever you go is not
only desirable, but will soon be indispensable. Tandy intends to
create a broad range of products throughout the 1990's to meet this
need.

The two companies will be joined by Geoworks and Palm Computing in
the project. GeoWorks which will supply its GEOS operating system
and Palm Computing, Inc., will supply applications software. GEOS
is an open-architecture, object-oriented, graphical operating system
which supports a wide range of input devices, including the pen.

Tandy said that GEOS is an ideal operating environment for this new
family of devices, while Palm Computing has extensive expertise in
easy-to-use, pen-based systems. The PalmPrint handwriting
recognizer, developed for GRiD Systems' GRiDPAD computer, will
be used for this project.

Grid's Bob Goligoski told Newsbytes the PalmPad system is
immediately available.

(Jim Mallory/19920528/Press contact: Ed Juge, Tandy Corp.,
817/390-3549)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 28 Abacus Offers Toll Free Software Help 05/28/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00019)

Abacus Offers Toll Free Software Help 05/28/92
MIAMI, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 28 (NB) -- Abacus Global
Support has announced it is now providing toll free worldwide
telephone support for over 100 popular software packages.

Abacus says its subscribers can call a toll free number between
the hours of 10am and 7:00pm Monday through Friday to get help
regarding hardware, software, and equipment compatibility.

According to an Abacus spokesperson, the company also provides
subscribers access to product problem reports from hardware and
software makers. The company says that service will help the
subscriber make intelligent purchasing decisions. Spokesperson
Jack Wolfe told Newsbytes Abacus will fax hardware requirements
for specific software to subscribers.

Wolfe said the service is primarily targeted to the individual user,
although corporate support is also available. For individuals and
small businesses, the annual cost is $59.95 per workstation,
although it's available through discount software seller Dustin
Discount Software for $55. Corporate discounts are also available,
said Wolfe.

Wolfe told Newsbytes most of the popular software applications
and operating systems are supported, including Novell, Windows,
Wordperfect, Word, Lotus, Excel, and PageMaker. You can find
out if your particular programs are supported by calling the
company's toll free number.

(Jim Mallory/19920528/Press contact: Jack Wolfe, Impact
Communications, 305-477-7181; Reader contact: Abacus Global
Support, 800-848-9192)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 28 Identity Markets Memory/Mice/Drives Like Tomatoes 05/28/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00020)

Identity Markets Memory/Mice/Drives Like Tomatoes 05/28/92
RICHARDSON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 28 (NB) -- Identity
Systems Technology thinks it has found a new way to market
board level upgrades and extensions for their systems. The
Texas-based company is showing its retail merchandising support
program at the Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago this week.

According to Identity, consumers are now knowledgeable enough
about computers that many of them want to upgrade their own
systems, add a mouse or a math coprocessor, or increase memory.
Marketing their blister-packed and shrink-wrapped products through
mass merchandising outlets like Best Buy, Price Clubs, and Sams,
Identify thinks its program benefits retailers and users alike.

"Why prohibit consumers from performing their own upgrades, when
straightforward instructions and elementary safety precautions are
all that are required to enable them to do so?" asks Executive VP
Troy Cooper.

To make it easy to install the item, Identity provides the necessary
instructions. For some products, including memory upgrades, hard
drive and math chip installation, or adding a CD-ROM, the company
also provides a step-by-step video tape. And if you get stuck, or
your PC doesn't work when you turn it on after doing the installation,
the company has a toll free number so you can get help from an
expert.

The Identity marketing method also benefits the mass retailer,
spokesperson Alan Weinkrantz told Newsbytes. The company has a
staff of 250 merchandising support specialists who assemble and
maintain displays and stock products on the sales floor. Similar to
the people who give you a sample of the latest cheese flavor in the
supermarket, Identity's staff provides sales training, does
demonstrations, and provides promotional support. They are trained
to handle defective stock problems, provide inventory management
services, and serve as a conduit for communication with company
management, said Weinkrantz.

Identity is also introducing its 213 megabyte (MB) notebook
computer at CES. A 25 megahertz (MHz), 386SX-powered system,
the unit weighs slightly less than seven pounds, and has a footprint
of 8.6 by 11 by 2.1 inches. The NiCad battery powered $3,295 unit
has an average battery life of 2.3 hours between charges, said
Weinkrantz. It has a VGA 8.5-inch display with 640 by 480 pixel
(picture element) resolution, 256 kilobytes (KB) of video memory,
and can also run from an AC adapter.

An external VGA color monitor connection is provided, as is an
external keyboard outlet, two serial ports, and one parallel port.
The unit comes with a soft carrying case and a one year limited
warranty.

(Jim Mallory/19920528/Press contact: Alan Weinkrantz, for Identity
Systems, 512-820-3070, MCI:Mail AWeinkrantz; Reader contact:
identity Systems, 800-723-8324)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 28  ****Doubler 486's Used To Mimic 486 50 MHz Systems 05/28/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00021)

 ****Doubler 486's Used To Mimic 486 50 MHz Systems 05/28/92
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 28 (NB) -- The heat
generated by a 486 chip makes it advisable to put a heat sink device
on it to help keep it cool. However, some people are finding the heat
sink offers unscrupulous original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) the
opportunity to sell a 486 system designed for 25 megahertz (MHz)
operation as a higher priced 50 MHz system if an Intel 486DX2
25/50 is substituted for the 25 MHz microprocessor.

The scam involves a particular speed of the speed doubler or clock
doubler chip introduced by Intel in the last two months -- the 486DX2
25/50. The new chip runs internally at a clock speed of 50 MHz, but
looks to the system like a 25 MHz chip. The chips are designed as
an upgrade for the 486DX running at 25 and do provide faster
performance. However, when placed in systems designed for 25 MHz,
the speed doubler chip faces the bottleneck of the slower bus of the
25 MHz system.

These speed doubler chips have been sold in systems that are billed
as 50 MHz 486 systems, however, in some cases it has been
discovered the system was not built for the 50 MHz speed, but for 25
MHz. Unsuspecting buyers are being duped into paying for a 486
50 MHz system when they're really getting a supped-up 486 25 MHz
computer.

The scam has been exposed by Norman Bailey, the inventor of the
CPU Kooler, an invention designed to cool the 486 chip and by doing
so, prevent intermittent system problems. Bailey said the scheme
was uncovered because the Kooler's installation requires users to
read the top of the chip to determine the type of microprocessor.

Bailey said users began calling his company, Pcupid, because the
description they read on the chip didn't match what was on their
invoice. So far Bailey says he has six documented cases of the
scam, and suspects more.

Bailey said the scam is especially insidious because even indexing
tests by diagnostic programs such as Norton Utilities, which
determine the system speed, may not find the presence of the DX2
chip. That's mainly because those programs are small enough that
they can be processed within the internal cache of the DX2 chip,
which runs at 50 MHz. However, a larger diagnostic program will find
the discrepancy because it cannot be run inside the cache of the
486DX2 and once it has to go out to the system bus, will have to
slow down to the 25 MHz speed of the system, Bailey said.

Even worse is the fact that some chips may have the heat sink
glued to the chip, Bailey said, which hides the identity of the chip
forever, as a heat sink attached in this manner cannot be removed.

Users could get caught in battles over semantics if they don't
specifically say the system and the central processing unit (CPU)
should both run at 50 MHz. A shortage of the 486DX 50 MHz chips
might be part of what is driving the scams, Bailey added.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920528/Press Contact: Norman Bailey,
Pcupid, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 28  ****$40 Device Solves 486 Clone Intermittent Heat Problems 05/28/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00022)

 ****$40 Device Solves 486 Clone Intermittent Heat Problems 05/28/92
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 28 (NB) -- Heat
problems in 486 PC clones are prevalent according to Norman Bailey,
the owner of a start-up company in Sacramento, California, who has
invented a small $39.95 device called the CPU Kooler that fits on
the 486 chip to cool it.

Bailey says the problem lies in the fact that the design of cases
and components used in 486 clones are for the 286 and 386 chips
that run much cooler. Consequently, intermittent problems and
system lockup can occur because of overheating even if
temperatures are not extreme, Bailey said. Problems such as the
computer simply halting, error messages in Windows, data
corruption, and corrupted file allocation tables (FAT) can all occur
when the microprocessor gets hot, even if it is not at it's maximum
operating temperature, Bailey maintains. And the more work the
processor does, the hotter the silicon its made of gets, Bailey added.

Bailey said he first discovered the problem last summer when he was
at work redesigning an airborne F1-11 computer for General Dynamics
at McClellon Air Force Base. Two of 486 computers he was operating
simply quit after two hours of operation. Bailey said the air
conditioning failed, but the room was only 12 degrees warmer than
normal or around 80 degrees. When he opened up the 486 and put
his finger to the chip to see if it was warm, he received a serious
burn and the imprint of his finger was left on the silicon chip. That's
when he decided to create the CPU Kooler.

While the Intel specifications say the 486 chip should not be cooler
than 32 degrees and not warmer than 185 degrees. The normal
operating temperature for the 486 chip is about 170 degrees, a
temperature Bailey says is just too close to the maximum. "Some
of the name brand manufacturers are putting three fans in the case
to handle the heat, but that's a noisy and expensive answer," Bailey
quipped.

Also, since many users are putting together the components
themselves, heat problems can be more critical, especially with
small or very thin cases, Bailey added.

The CPU Kooler, however, is an aluminum heat sink with a small
fan added that attaches over the CPU chip and gets its power from
one of the extra cables that power the disk drives. If extra cables
are not available, a "Y" adapter can be used to power the Kooler,
Bailey added.

Last summer, when Bailey started trying to market the CPU Kooler
he said people told him all he had was a "pet rock," but the number
of success stories is mounting.

One is from Craig Dwayne, owner of PC Pros, an original equipment
manufacturer (OEM). Dwayne says his company specializes in
serving knowledgeable customers with state-of- the-art 486 50 MHz
personal computers (PCs) and he said his company doesn't sell one
without a CPU Kooler installed. When asked how he found out about
the Koolers, Dwayne said his firm went looking for a product to handle
the heat from the 486. Dwayne also said his firm uses tower cases.
"OEMs using those slimline cases are just asking for trouble,"
Dwayne quipped.

Dwayne said, "Large reputable companies are continuing to insist
they don't have heat problems. But heat can destroy a microprocessor
chip over gradual periods of time."

Jeffery Voss, of Voss Engineers, Planners, and Surveyors has been
widely quoted as a fan of the CPU Kooler. Bailey said Voss spent
money on consultants and months looking for the answer to the
problems with his 486 system. An architect, Voss had critical
drawings and deadlines that forced him to back-up his 486 system
three to four times a day, because failures were so frequent. Voss
was quoted in PC Week as saying that since he installed the CPU
Kooler he hasn't had a single failure.

What does Intel have to say? Intel representatives have been
frequently quoted saying the chip maker has provided adequate
documentation and specifications to the OEMs for how to handle
the 486. Intel's documentation shows a heat sink, how to put it on,
and how to direct airflow around it. Intel says it cannot be
responsible for how OEMs implement the chip.

Bailey says his company guarantees the CPU Kooler will keep the
chip at a temperature not above 10 percent of that of the computer
cabinet, and claims the Kooler will drop the operating temperature
of the 486 down a whopping 90 degrees.

Interestingly enough, while Bailey says he makes a Kooler for the
Macintosh, it is not really necessary. Apple put a large heat sink on
the Motorola chip for the Macintosh and mounted a fan near the heat
sink, so heat problems are much more rare on Macs, Bailey added.

Bailey says liability could be what is preventing some OEMs from
addressing heat problems in their systems. "If a major OEM gives
in and says 'OK, let's install these on all our systems from now on,'
what does that do for their liability for systems they've already
sold without the Kooler?" Bailey asked.

Bailey's company makes CPU Koolers in sizes to fit the Intel 486,
and Motorola chips. Custom arrangements for 386 and lower chips
can also be obtained, Bailey said. Pcupid said it is planning ahead
and has made a Kooler prototype for the 586 chip Intel says it will
release this year.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920528/Press Contact: Norman Bailey, Pcupid, tel
916-338-1338, fax [phone]; Craig Dwayne, PC Pros, 708-810-1010)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 28 Hills Calls For Japan Semiconductor Market Investigation 05/28/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00023)

Hills Calls For Japan Semiconductor Market Investigation 05/28/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 28 (NB) -- US Trade
Representative Carla Hills took time off from talks with the
European Community about its $150 billion farm subsidies (US
subsidies are only about $50 billion) to chide the Japanese for a
lack of progress on the semiconductor trade agreement. At the
same time she announced that an investigation was taking place to
determine if Japan was violating the 1991 semiconductor trade
agreement.

In this election year recession, the administration is apparently
taking a stronger line against Japanese import restrictions
against US products, and one place there is an obvious problem
is in the semiconductor market where the Japanese government's
own MITI (Ministry of International Trade and Industry) reported
just this spring that there had been no substantial progress in
increasing the US share of the domestic Japanese chip market.

Despite Japan's own report that the US share had reached less
than 14.5 percent of the Japanese market by the final quarter of
1991, last week the Japanese semiconductor industry claimed that
the administration was just engaged in Japan-bashing and that the
semiconductor agreement was actually working well.

The semiconductor trade agreement now in force between the US
and Japan calls for the total foreign share of the market (most
of which would go to US firms) to increase to 20 percent, but
Japan's own numbers show that there has been little if any
progress toward that goal in several years.

On Wednesday Carla Hills, the chief US trade negotiator, said
that there would be a thorough review of Japanese semiconductor
trade practices which would be completed by the end of July.

The 1991 agreement which is now in force was only the latest
US-Japanese trade agreement -- the previous one made in 1986
was violated almost immediately by the Japanese, leading to trade
sanctions.

The latest US-Japan arrangement on semiconductors is the direct
descendant of the September 2, 1986, agreement between the two
countries, whereby Japan agreed to stop the practice of dumping
(selling at or below cost to capture a market) EPROM (erasable
programmable read-only memory) chips and 256 kilobyte and larger
dynamic memory chips (DRAMs) in the US and Third World
countries.

Japan was found to be in violation of the 1986 agreement only
nine months later and the US imposed $300 million in sanctions
against specific Japanese high-tech imports such as laptop
computers. The dumping was deemed to have ceased by the end
of 1987 and the sanctions were dropped, but $164 million in
sanctions under Section 301 (restriction of market access) have
continued because of allegations that the Japanese restrict
foreign competition at home.

Since 1986 the foreign market share of semiconductor sales in
Japan has increased from 9.1 percent (in 1986) to 13.2 percent in
1990, while the US share of the Japanese home market had
climbed to $2.2 billion by 1990.

Since mid-1990 the total foreign market share of Japanese chip
business has hardly budged.

The 1991 trade agreement was praised at the time it was signed as
being much more focused on opening up Japanese markets.
Some analysts maintain that the US computer industry well
remembers the results of the Reagan Administration's 1987
sanctions which led not to increased trade but to a Japanese
restriction on memory chip exports to the US, a restriction which
drove up the cost of computer memory by a large amount and
caused a major stagnation in the personal computer business.

(John McCormick/19920528/Press Contact: L.W. Koengeter,
spokesperson for the US. Trade Representative, 202-395-3204,
fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 28 Ericsson/Motorola Pool GSM Mobile Phone Technologies 05/28/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00023)

Ericsson/Motorola Pool GSM Mobile Phone Technologies 05/28/92
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, 1992 MAY 28 (NB) -- After months of
competing with each other on the Groupe Speciale Mobile (GSM)
next-generation digital mobile phone front, Ericsson and Motorola
have decided to pool their resources and share technology patents.

Terms of the agreement call for both parties to license each
other's GSM mobile phone patents, primarily for use in their
phone hardware. The agreement also covers Orbitel, the UK
mobile phone manufacturer, a joint venture company between
Ericsson and Vodafone, one of the two UK cellular network
providers.

So why the volte face as regards dealing with "the enemy?"
According to Jack Scanlon, vice president of Motorola's mobile
phones division, the market is moving steadily towards an open
architecture rather than the proprietary technology seen in
today's cellular phones.

Kurt Hellstrom, president of Ericsson, also said that open
architecture is the way forward in the mobile telecoms market.

"We recognize that open architecture will be a key element in the
acceptance and success of the GSM standard. Our policy has
always been to make this technology readily available because
we believe everyone benefits from expanding a new market as
quickly as possible," he said.

GSM is the next-generation mobile phone system. The service
differs markedly from existing analog cellular services in that
much of the intelligence of the network is actually devolved to
the firmware of the phone, which is contained in a slot-in smart
card.

The smart card can be moved from phone to phone, allowing the
subscriber almost total freedom of hardware -- for instance, the
smart card could be used in a payphone, which, for the duration
of a call, becomes the user's home phone.

The key advantage of this is that the phone number can be moved
between countries, with the network forwarding calls between
countries automatically, routing the call to the phone which has
the smart card inserted at the time.

So far, several European telecoms companies have begun pilot
GSM services. In the UK, Vodafone has its GSM network up and
running, but only in the London area at present.

(Steve Gold/19920528)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 28 IBM Canada Announces AS/400 Software Agreements 05/28/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00025)

IBM Canada Announces AS/400 Software Agreements 05/28/92
MARKHAM, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAY 28 (NB) -- IBM Canada
has signed cooperative marketing agreements with two Canadian
software developers, covering computer-aided software engineering
(CASE) tools for IBM's AS/400 midrange computers.

IBM Canada will carry on joint marketing efforts with Cognos, the
Ottawa-based developer of the Powerhouse fourth-generation
language, and Insight Business Consultants, a Toronto company
that sells a development tool called Lansa. Insight is a division of
Softkey Software Products, a Toronto software developer best
known for its low-priced personal computer applications packages.

IBM Canada will cooperate with the two companies on marketing
programs, including advertising and seminars, and may conduct
some joint sales calls, said Peter Oppenheim, manager of market
development for IBM Canada's Software Enabling Center. "Detail
selling" will mostly be done by the software companies, he added.

The agreement is strictly between the software companies and IBM
Canada at present, Oppenheim said. "Other countries may follow,
but that's not necessarily the case....each country will make its
own decision."

IBM Canada said it continues its strategic relationship with Synon
Canada, another CASE tool developer whose software fits into IBM's
AD/Cycle development framework. The Cognos and Insight products
are not part of AD/Cycle, Oppenheim said, but "may be viewed as
alternates to the Synon product."

(Grant Buckler/19920528/Press Contact: Anne Hay, IBM Canada,
800-563-2139 or 416-474-3112; Lyse Teasdale, Cognos,
613-738-1440)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 28  ****Wang To Chop More Than 1,000 Jobs 05/28/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00026)

 ****Wang To Chop More Than 1,000 Jobs 05/28/92
LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 28 (NB) -- Still
struggling to make the transition from its proprietary minicomputer
and word processor roots to open systems and office automation,
Wang Laboratories has announced plans to cut at least 1,000
jobs from its worldwide work force over the next few months.

The reductions -- most of which will take the form of involuntary
layoffs -- will amount to at least a seven percent reduction in
Wang's payroll, which numbered 13,532 at the end of April.

The specifics have yet to be determined, company spokesman Ed
Pignone told Newsbytes. "What we're doing is a careful analysis
of the number of people we have, the skill set we have internally,"
Pignone said. Wang has not set a definite target date for
completing the cuts, nor does the company know exactly how
many jobs will disappear or where the jobs will be cut.

Pignone did say the cuts would be worldwide, and not just in the
United States, but "at this point I think it's unfair to try and say
they're mostly here or mostly there."

In a prepared statement, Wang's chairman and chief executive
officer, Richard W. Miller, said the cuts were necessary as part of
Wang's Office 2000 strategy, which aims to focus the company on
office automation and image processing technologies using
industry-standard hardware and operating systems.

Wang has eliminated close to 10,000 jobs over the past two
and a half years.

(Grant Buckler/19920528/Press Contact: Ed Pignone, Wang,
508-967-4912; Frank Ryan, Wang, 508-967-7038)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 28  ****Sprint Wins Centel, Without Applause 05/28/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00027)

 ****Sprint Wins Centel, Without Applause 05/28/92
OVERLAND PARK, KANSAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 28 (NB) -- The
race to buy Centel is over, and the winner is, surprisingly, Sprint.
Sprint, the third-largest long distance company in the US, said
it will acquire Centel, which put itself up for sale in January,
for stock. At 1.37 Sprint shares for each share of Centel, that
comes to 35 percent of Sprint's common.

Seen one way, in relation to revenues, the price is very high.
Centel had 1991 revenues of $1.18 billion and employs 9,300,
while Sprint had $8.8 billion in revenues and employs 43,000.
Seen in relation to the price arbitrageurs at first put on
Centel, however, the price is low, since 1.37 shares of Sprint
stock, at its recent price of $24, is worth $33.57, well under
Centel's recent price of $42.50. Both companies opened down in
early New York trading, with Centel's stock losing $11-a-share in
the first 15 minutes of trading. The two companies said they'd
been discussing the possibility of a merger even before the
January announcement by Centel that it would put itself up for
bid.

When Centel's decision to sell-out was first announced, some
traders expected to get $50 or more from their shares, expecting
that GTE one of the regional Bell companies would place a bid, or
that the Bells would take it over in pieces at a high premium.
But only a few bids for parts of Centel, notably a bid from
Ameritech, ever materialized. In the end, Centel management was
faced with a decision between negotiating a merger with Sprint,
breaking the company up, or continuing going alone. Chairman
Jack Frazee had said at the beginning that their motive for
seeking a partner was because they didn't think they had the
size to compete effectively.

Still, this could be a "win-win" situation for both sides. For Sprint,
the key acquisition may be Centel's respected management
team. For Centel, this is really a chance to "take over" in the
figurative sense, a much larger company. The merged firm will
retain the Sprint name and FON stock symbol, but it's expected
that Centel managers will play key roles in the new company. It
reminds some of an old story told by Humble Oil head Ross
Sterling, when asked why he was being taken over by Standard
of  New Jersey to form what is today known as Exxon. "Hell," he
reportedly replied, "We're taking over the Standard!" Exxon today
is based in Houston.

For Sprint, acquiring Centel also gives it more play in the local
phone business, where revenues can be huge, and its first real
play in the fast-growing cellular market. The company had been
heavily criticized in recent years for agreeing to buy GTE's half
of the Sprint long distance network. GTE's reliance on local
service gave it steady profits while Sprint remains third in a
highly competitive long distance market. The move to buy Centel,
which gets the bulk of its sales from local service, is thus a
repudiation of Sprint's past strategy.

The move, could however, be a renaissance of sorts for the career
of Ron Ponder, a former top executive with Federal Express, now
a senior vice president at Sprint.

The Centel cellular operations, combined with Sprint's
own manufacturing and distribution units, could put the company
into the fast-growing realm of "field computing," automating the
work of "field staff" using handheld terminals and wireless
networks. Until now, that revolution had been passing Sprint, and
Ponder, by. Centel and Sprint both emphasized in defending the
merger that their company is now the only one offering local,
long distance, and cellular service. The value of this "synergy,"
however, is questioned by analysts.

According to the two new partners, their combined company will
have an asset book value of nearly $14 billion and annual
revenues of $10 billion. The ratings of both companies were
reaffirmed by both the Fitch and Moody's rating services. Centel
said the merger will be tax-free for its stockholders, and it
will redeem all its preferred stock, except for one issue which
will be turned into Sprint preferred.

Centel Chairman Frazee emphasized his original goal of seeking
financial and personal economies of scale in any deal. "From the
outset of this process, we identified the need for greater size
to achieve economies, and to have the financial and other
resources needed to compete effectively in today's worldwide
telecommunications business, and to create a partnership that has
long-term potential."

Sprint Chairman William Esrey, for his part, emphasized Centel's
cellular operations. "Cellular and other wireless communications
are increasingly important in today's world. Our combined corporation
will be able to serve customers no matter what type of
telecommunications services they require." Both companies
mentioned a "compatible corporate culture." Frazee will become
president of the combined companies, while Esrey will remain
chairman.

In its statement, the Fitch service noted that through the merger
Sprint is reacquiring cellular properties it sold to Centel in
1988, adding that while long distance operating results are
gradually improving, "...its local telephone operations still
contribute the bulk of its operating income. The proposed merger
would lessen Sprint's exposure to and reduce the impact of the
long distance results on consolidated financial results."

The transaction is not expected to close until the fourth quarter
of this year or the first quarter of 1993. While both regulatory
and shareholder approvals are pending, it's the latter which may
be hardest for Centel to get. Arbitrageurs who bought the stock
in expectation of a price around $50 objected strongly in a
conference call the day after the announcement, and some have
threatened to go to court to block the sale, saying they're not
getting fair value.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920528/Press Contact: Judith Shannon, Sprint,
913-624-3221; Bill White, Centel, 312-399-2735; Timothy Cain,
Fitch, 212-908-0587)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 28 Phones Win Headlines During CES Week 05/28/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00028)

Phones Win Headlines During CES Week 05/28/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 28 (NB) -- In past years,
most of the excitement at the twice-annual Consumer Electronics
Show has been on entertainment products -- new types of stereo
equipment or televisions. This year, for the first time in some
time, the excitement of the week is in the telephone system.

AT&T grabbed the headlines by demonstrating its Smart Phone 2100
and Videophone 2500. The former is almost a computer terminal,
offering access to a variety of as-yet undefined shopping and
banking services. Huntington Banks of Ohio is working with AT&T
on Smart Phone applications. The Videophone 2500 offers video
service on regular phone lines. AT&T also showed cellular phones
in its booth. "People want their phones to do more, go anywhere,
be smaller and be easier to use," said John F. Hanley of AT&T
Consumer Products, predicting that by the year 2001 70 percent of
consumer communication products sold will be wireless. AT&T's
entry in the market is made by Oki Telecom, a Japanese company
with a large presence in the US.

National Semiconductor, meanwhile, announced a new chip set,
called Dispatch, which will let any company create a "smart
phone." Travelers to Europe could even retrieve faxes by calling
their home numbers, if they're equipped with the chip set.
Answering machines can now retrieve messages from remote
locations when activated by electronic tones from push buttons or
beepers. For security, each chip set is trained to recognize only
its owners' voice, using a command vocabulary of two-dozen words,
including a password. Ten manufacturers have committed to using
Dispatch in everything from fax machines to answering machines
and telephones.

Also, the same day it announced it will buy Centel, a cellular
phone operating company, Sprint announced Premier Microcel, a
digital wireless key telephone system. Key telephones are
business systems with multiple extensions that can work with a
PBX (private branch exchange) or telephone-company switch
offering so-called Centrex service.

The portable handsets offer multi-line access, a flat screen
display and popular business phone features such as conferencing,
paging, redialing, and speed dialing. Patents have been awarded
on key portions of the radio design, the digital format and the
encrypted security scheme. Steve McMahon, president of Premier,
said the sound quality is superior to that on cordless or cellular
phones, despite the lack of an exposed antenna. The new
phone system will be available solely through North Supply,
Sprint's distribution arm.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920528/Press Contact: Steve Dykes,
Sprint, 202-828-7435; Jo Johnston, AT&T, 201-581-3905)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 28 International Phone Update 05/28/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00029)

International Phone Update 05/28/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 28 (NB) -- Czechs,
Hungarians,  and residents of the Ivory Coast were big winners
in the international telephone derby recently.

Czechs are seeing their state-owned sector spun-off to them.
Citizens are being given the chance to take vouchers representing
shares in the money-losing enterprises, which they can then
trade. Some will get rich, while others will lose-out, as the
people learn about free markets. The move, and the possibility of
gain, also increases support for the government. In contrast,
Hungary is having the Rothschild banking group seek foreign
buyers for its MATAV phone network.

The Ivory Coast, despite losing its own phone service to a cable
cut recently, and despite a move by its Prime Minister to
privatize the local phone network which some say smacks of
corruption, won a battle with Nigeria to host Africa's regional
satellite organization. Abidjan, not Lagos, Nigeria, will be the
home of the Regional African Satellite Communications System,
or RASCOM, which hopes to put a $500 million communications
satellite into space in five years, serving West Africa.

Brazilians hoping to cash-in on recent trends toward phone
privatization, meanwhile, were told they'll have to wait at least
until next year. Eduardo Modiano, representing the nation's
economics minister, told a conference that privatization is a
priority, but it can't happen this year. First, the country must
try to link its currency to the dollar, something it can't do now
for lack of foreign exchange, and implement other restructuring
programs. Among them is the privatization of the country's energy
sector, he said. An auction to sell the petrochemical company
Alcalis is slated for June 30. On July 16 the steel company Cst
goes on the block, while the fertilizer group Fosfertil will be
sold August 12. All those sales are expected to result in foreign
exchange which could help Brazil stabilize the cruzado against
the dollar, and lead to a telecom auction.

Also NTN, which offers interactive games like "QB1" in the US,
mainly via satellite to bars and clubs, said it will introduce
its services to Mexico, Central and South America through a new
Mexican subsidiary, NTN Intercontinental. Founding board member
Tony Aleman will first look to hotels, then seek markets for the
company's educational games. Earlier, NTN won license
agreements to serve Australia and New Zealand. NTN games are
also available on cable via the GTE/Mainstreet service and via
GEnie.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920528/Press Contact: NTN Communications,
Robert Klosterman, 619/438-7400)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 28 Opti Wins Judgement On One Of Two C&T Patent Suits 05/28/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LAX)(00030)

Opti Wins Judgement On One Of Two C&T Patent Suits 05/28/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 28 (NB) -- Fighting
among chip makers continues and in this latest round chip maker
Opti says it has won in the first summary judgement to be handed
down by any court on any patent case. The judgement was in
regard to one of two suits filed against it by Chips and Technologies
charging patent infringement.

Opti says the judgement determined the company did not violate
the patent on Chips and Technologies' page interleave, US Patent
4,924,375. More specifically, the court's decision was Opti's block
interleave chipsets do not infringe Chips' '375 page interleave
patent. This decision will also apply to another motion filed against
Opti by Chips and Technologies with the Federal Trade Commission,
Opti said.

Although this is just a partial win, it is a significant one. Chips and
Technologies suit, filed June 17, 1991, also charges Opti with
violation of US Patent 4,899,272, a patent having to do with basic
multiple memory addressing. However, Opti's patent and business
counsel, Michael Ladra of Palo Alto law firm Winson Sonsini, said in
a prepared statement: "We are extremely encouraged by this first
step."

Opti has claimed during the course of the suit that it was anti-
competitive device for Chips to hurt Opti in the marketplace. Opti's
President Kenny Liu again raised the question of whether or not the
Chips patents were valid. Lui said: "All of our current products
simply do not infringe any of Chips' patents. Moreover, we believe
that ongoing discovery establishes that Chips' patents are invalid."

(Linda Rohrbough/19920528/Press Contact: Raj Jaswa, Opti, 408-980-
8178; Gavin Bourne, Chips and Technologies, 408-434-0600)
#ENDCARD



#CARD :1992 MAY 27  ****Intel Ships Overdrive Processor; Speeds 486SX 70% 05/27/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00001)

 ****Intel Ships Overdrive Processor; Speeds 486SX 70% 05/27/92
FOLSOM, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 27 (NB) -- Intel says
the awaited Overdrive Processors, whose function is to allow an
easily installed speed-up of system performance, are now available.

The Overdrive Processors were announced last year by Intel and are
based on what Intel terms its "speed doubling" technology. Intel said
it discovered it could double the internal clock speed, measured in
megahertz (MHz) of its microprocessor chips and create a design
that could increase the speed of current 486 chips.

The Overdrive Processors available now are geared specifically for
486 16, 20, and 25 MHz 486SX microprocessors. The new chip fits
in the math coprocessor socket, but needs the current central
processing unit (CPU) to function, Intel representative Michele
Bourdon told Newsbytes. The new clock-doubler chips contain an
internal math co-processor as well, the company said.

Intel said two Overdrive Processors are available, one for 16 and
20 MHz systems and the other for 25 MHz systems. While the
design of the computer can be a bottle-neck, causing the Overdrive
Processor to wait, Intel says it is still faster. Intel said it measured
performance gains that averaged 70 percent when it added the
Overdrive Processor to a 486SX running at 20 MHz. Specifically,
a 62 percent  gain was achieved running WordPerfect 5.1 word
processing software, 77 percent running the Paradox database
software, and 67 percent running spreadsheet product Lotus
1-2-3, Intel maintains.

Intel told Newsbytes last fall that, while it considered the overdrive
technique for the 386 microprocessor chip, the effort was not
worthwhile. The problem was due to the design of the components
on the 386 motherboard, which have no internal cache, so actual
performance gains would be only around 10%, and not worth the
effort.

However, Intel said the speed doubling is workable with the 486
chip because the chip's cache does internal buffering, so if the
processed data has to wait, it can wait in the cache and the chip
can proceed with processing.

Mike Fister, general manager of Intel's End User Components
Division, said: "Depending on system design, PC users can install
the Overdrive Processor in five minutes." Fister also said the
Overdrive chip is a cheaper way to boost performance as proprietary
CPU upgrade cards range from $800 to $2,000 in price, compared
to the $500 price range of the new Overdrive Processors.

Single-chip Overdrive Processors for both 486 DX and DX2
microprocessor-based systems are expected to be announced
in late 1992 and 1993, respectively, Intel added.

Retail price for the Overdrive Processor for 16 and 20 MHz
Intel 486 SX is $549, while the Overdrive Processor for 25
MHz Intel 486 SX systems is $699, Intel said. The company
says the new chips are available through standard retail channels.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920527/Press Contact: Michele Bourdon,
Intel, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public Contact outside
the US: 503-629-7354)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 27 DAK Upgrades "Free Computer" Deal, Offers CD-ROM 05/27/92

(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00002)

DAK Upgrades "Free Computer" Deal, Offers CD-ROM 05/27/92
CANOGA PARK, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 27 (NB) --
DAK, a mail order electronics firm in Canoga Park, California, has
upgraded the computer offered in its "Free Computer" deal from a
386SX to a 386DX running at 33 megahertz (MHz). The company
says it is also offering a new two new compact disc read-only
memory (CD-ROM) bundles to those who order its $199 CD-ROM
drive.

DAK says those who order its Super Software Bundle get a "free
computer" thrown in. The bundle includes Microsoft Windows 3.1;
Word for Windows 2.0 word processing software; Grammatik 5, a
grammar checker; Norton Desktop for Windows, desktop manager
and utilities; Adobe Type Manager; Microsoft Productivity Pack 3.1;
Objectvision 2.0; Paradox 3.5, business database software; Quattro
Pro 3.0, a spreadsheet package; US Atlas for Windows; World
Atlas for Windows; Chessmaster 3000 for Windows; Desk Reference
for Windows; MS DOS 5.0; Keydraw! Plus a drawing program;
Keychart 2000; Keyboard/Keypad Trainer; 100 Fonts; and a BSR
three-button mouse.

DAK says it is offering the bundle for $1,499, a deal that would
normally be $2,019 at retail price for the first 14 name-brand
software packages at Egghead and $3,081 retail for the whole
bundle. For an additional $399, or a total of $1,898, DAK maintains
it will upgrade the 386DX to a 486SX running at 20 MHz.

The computers are DAK's own BSR brand. DAK says the BSRs
come with super video graphics array (SVGA) displays, a 40
megabyte (MB) hard disk, 2 MB of random access memory (RAM),
32 kilobytes (KB) of cache, a 1.44 MB 3.5-inch floppy disk drive,
and a 12 month on-site service warranty. An upgrade to 4 MB of
RAM is $99.90, an upgrade to a Hi-color SVGA board with one
MB of memory on the board is $129.90, and an upgrade to a
120 MB hard disk drive is $149.90, DAK added.

Loading just the software offered in the deal could easily take up
more than 40 MB of hard disk space and since Microsoft
recommends 4 MB of RAM minimum for Windows 3.1, the
purchase of the hard disk and RAM upgrades would be practical.
The upgrades to the RAM and hard disk make the total cost of
the deal with the 386DX computer $1,748.80.

DAK is also offering five CD-ROM collections geared toward those
who will also purchase a CD-ROM drive from the company. The
collections have between four to six CDs each and include
reference works, magazines, the Microsoft Statistic pack and
Small Business Consultant, Historical accounts on The Timetable
of History discs, desktop publishing clips with Publish-It 2.0
software, and multimedia nature and wildlife titles. The collections
range in price from $89.90 to $299

The company is also offering two CD-ROM drives, one priced at
$199.90 and one for $399. While DAK admits the $199.90 CD-ROM
drive's 800 millisecond (ms) access time is too slow to meet the
multimedia personal computer (MPC) standard, the company
maintains it is workable and the price is attractive to those
interested in accessing information on CD-ROM disks. The $399
CD-ROM drive does meet the MPC standard with an access time
of 380 ms and also includes The Microsoft Bookshelf, The Family
Doctor, and Battle Chess, DAK adds.

DAK, named after its founder, Drew A. Kaplan, has the distinction of
doing a large volume mail order business via a catalog that spends
literally pages of small print describing in detail each electronic
gizmo offered. DAK representative Bryan Eggers told Newsbytes the
prices are often some of the lowest anywhere and that is due to the
volume DAK buys. Eggers said the company chooses carefully what
to carry, then spends a lot of time, effort, and space promoting those
items. For example, the latest catalog is 72 pages of explanation
and color photographs and it describes about 55 products.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920527/Press Contact: Bryan Eggers, DAK,
tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public Contact: 800-325-0800)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 27
DAK Offers Fax/Modem, Winfax, Quick Link II For $99 05/27/92

(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00003)

DAK Offers Fax/Modem, Winfax, Quick Link II For $99 05/27/92
CANOGA PARK, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 27 (NB) --
DAK Industries, a mail order firm in Canoga Park, California, has
announced it is offering an internal fax/modem card with Winfax
2.0 for Windows and Quick Link II software for DOS.

The card is DAK's own BSR brand and offers 9,600 Group III send
and receive fax capability with a 2,400 baud Hayes-compatible
modem, the company added. Bryan Eggers, software products
manager for DAK, said Winfax 2.0 is especially attractive software
for faxing as it allows the user to "print" to the fax, so translation
or multiple steps to send a fax are not necessary.

Drew Kaplan, president of DAK said in a prepared statement:
"...what you see on the screen is exactly what your fax will look
like, complete with graphics and Truetype and Adobe fonts." Kaplan
says the Winfax program installs itself as an optional printer in all
Windows applications, so the user simply selects the fax card as
the printer, selects "print," picks a name from the database of fax
phone numbers or types in a new number, clicks on send, and the
fax is sent.

For those who are not Windows users, Quick Link II allows faxing
and modem functions in the DOS environment, DAK added.
Newsbytes called mail order software house Dustin Discount
Software and was quoted a retail price for Winfax at $79 and a
retail price for Quick Link II of $65. Both of those prices did not
include the fax/modem.

What's the catch? There doesn't seem to be one. According to
Eggers, the company can offer lower prices by volume buying.
DAK is the same company who this year started offering a
compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) drive for $199.90.
Like most of DAK's offerings both the fax/modem card and the
CD-ROM drive come with a 12 month warranty.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920527/Press Contact: Bryan Eggers, DAK,
tel [phone], fax [phone], Public Contact: 800-325-0800;
Dustin Discount Software, 818-719-9174)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 27 CA Announces Accpac Accounting Enhancements 05/27/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00004)

CA Announces Accpac Accounting Enhancements 05/27/92
ISLANDIA, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 27 (NB) -- Computer
Associates has announced a new purchase order system, support
for dynamic link libraries (DLL) under Microsoft Windows, and an
updated Windowing System Manager for its Accpac Plus
accounting software.

CA acquired the new purchase order system for Accpac Plus from
Crystal Services in Vancouver, British Columbia, where CA's Accpac
development group is also based. Crystal Services is a CA Access
Development Partner. The module lets users monitor their purchase
orders, and links them to the general ledger, accounts payable,
inventory control, order entry, and job costing modules of Accpac
Plus, CA said. It is scheduled to be available early this fall.

The addition of DLL support to the Accpac Plus Accounting
DynaView Data Application Programming Interface (API) means
third-party Windows applications will be able to let users read data
from Accpac Plus from within the applications, Computer Associates
said. Accpac Plus does not have to run within Windows to do this,
explained Anders Vinberg, senior vice-president of research and
development at CA, although a Windows version of Accpac Plus is
scheduled for 1993.

The DLL capability will be added to the DynaView Data API in
September. The complete package sells for $349.

The Accpac Plus Windowing System Manager version 6.1A, which
controls the operation of all Accpac Plus modules and provides
common functions, is as much as 40 percent faster than the
previous release and allows multitasking under Windows enhanced
mode and OS/2 2.0, Computer Associates said.

Vinberg noted that the new Windowing System Manager does not
make Accpac Plus into a Windows application -- that will come
next year -- but does let it take advantage of Windows or OS/2
multitasking while running as a DOS application under either
system.

The new release replaces three separate System Managers that
formerly let Accpac Plus run under straight DOS, under Windows,
or in the DOS compatibility box of OS/2.

The new release also provides enhancements such as additional
password protection, an integrated pop-up calculator, and
improved printer support, the company said. It is currently
available for $195, and users of version 6.1 can upgrade for $49.

(Grant Buckler/19920527/Press Contact: Bob Gordon, Computer
Associates, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 27 Fujitsu Releases Pocket Telecom Word Processor 05/27/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00005)

Fujitsu Releases Pocket Telecom Word Processor 05/27/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 27 (NB) -- Fujitsu has shipped an
extremely light-weight and powerful word processor. It is the firm's
word processor family called the Oasys, which is a well-known
Japanese word processor. The latest pocket version is equipped
with a telecommunication program.

Fujitsu's pocket word processor is called the Oasys Pocket 2.
It weighs only 470 grams, but it has a full keyboard and a 40- by
11-line LCD (liquid crystal display) screen.

Although it is a word processor, it is equipped with a
telecommunication program. The proprietary card modem is
provided as an option. It will support 2,400 bits-per-second (bps)
and MNP Class 5.

A printer socket is equipped with the device. Through this
socket printers for personal computers can be connected with
the word processor. Interestingly, NEC's personal computer
printer can also be connected with this device.

The Oasys Pocket 2 is equipped with a 147,000 word dictionary
and regular business organizers such as a scheduler and an
address book. It also supports MS-DOS file format.

The retail price of this pocket word processor is 98,000 yen
($750). The modem card costs 42,000 yen ($320). The AC
battery unit is also available at 5,800 yen ($45). The device
operates 10 hours with removable batteries.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920527/Press Contact: Fujitsu,
[phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 27  ****IBM Japan Develops Pocket-Sized Hard Disk 05/27/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TYO)(00006)

 ****IBM Japan Develops Pocket-Sized Hard Disk 05/27/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 27 (NB) -- IBM Japan has developed
pocket-sized, low-cost hard disks for its personal computers.
There are three types: 40 megabyte (MB), 60 MB, and 80 MB.

IBM Japan's latest pocket hard disks are called Personal
Storage. These hard disks are measured 8.6 by 12.4 by 2.54
centimeters (cm). They can be connected to IBM Japan's
notebook-type personal computer, the PS/55 note, via the
AT-bus with a proprietary cable.

These hard disks will be released in June. The retail prices
of these small hard disks are relatively cheap. For example, the
60 MB model costs less than 100,000 yen ($770).  There
are three colors -- black, red, and blue -- in these hard disks
boxes.

These pocket hard disks are said to be shake or vibration
resistant to allow them to be carried in a bag. IBM Japan thinks
that many business users will not carry computers in the near
future, but they will just carry the hard disks. They are much
lighter than a computer. In fact, many Japanese hard disk makers
are developing pocket-size hard disks. Some analysts predict that
there will be a pocket-size hard disk boom in Japan in the near
future.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920527/Press Contact: IBM Japan,
[phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 27 Australia: IDC Survey Of IT Users Forecasts Directions 05/27/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SYD)(00007)

Australia: IDC Survey Of IT Users Forecasts Directions 05/27/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 MAY 27 (NB) -- IDC Australia said
the IT industry had a watershed year in 1991 with companies
attempting to "rightsize" and ready themselves for regrowth and
profitability.

While the leading 25 computer companies in Australia had an 18
percent drop in revenues, they can expect a modest four percent
growth this year, though this will not show the even higher
per-employee returns caused by continuing staff reductions. The
25 companies cut staff by an average 6.5 percent.

IDC's survey of IT users show that they have frozen their budgets
for this year, spending less in some areas, but more in others.
Large system sales will continue to drop, having fallen by more
than 50 percent last year - from AUS$772 million to AUS$333
million. IDC believes 1993 will see an upturn in spending as
systems become incapable of coping with corporate needs, and
as supercomputing platforms become viable choices.

Desktop PC sales are expected to grow by six percent annually
for many years, but mobile computing will grow at more like 23
percent per year. Windows is tipped to dominate the desktop in
the next year, with OS/2 having around 12 percent of the new
operating systems market.

Unix was a high growth area, and average unit prices for
workstations fell by more than 25 percent in the last year. Unix
sales on mainframes increased by a massive 400 percent (it
actually jumped from one sale to five sales in successive years).

(Paul Zucker/19920527)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 27 International Phone Update 05/27/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00008)

International Phone Update 05/27/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 27 (NB) -- Americans
troubled  by their domestic phone system will really be angry
when they see how international PTTs are catching up.

In the Middle East, the United Arab Emirates and Iran completed
an $8.6 million marine cable project, which will increase their call-
handling capacity to as many as 184,320 calls, when TV signals
are taken off-line. Previously, the two countries were linked by
149 access lines. The cable is part of Iran's move to normalize
relations with its former enemies on the Arabian peninsula and
elsewhere, a move hastened by President Rafsanjani's victories
in recent elections. More than 100,000 Iranians live in the UAE,
Tehran's largest trading partner among the Gulf Arab states.

In Vietnam, which was recently the subject of a long visit by
America's C-SPAN cable network, France said it will offer nearly
$10 million in credits to improve microwave radio links between
Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City, formerly called Saigon. The
French, who lost the first Vietnam war in 1954, said they will
increase total aid to $24 million in the next year. Since the US
made moves to normalize telecommunications relations with the
Communist government there, other Western countries have
seen a green light for investment.

Elsewhere in the Communist world, where nearly one-fourth of the
world's people still live, Ericsson signed a $42 million contract
for the extension of the cellular telephone network in Guangdong,
China. Guangdong is in southern China, near Hong Kong, and its
economy has been growing very rapidly. The Communist
government in Beijing has recently been praising Guangdong's
economic miracle, hoping to extend it nationwide, while reserving
comment on its freewheeling social mores and desire for democracy.

With the order, Ericsson's Guangdong cellular network will be able
to serve 150,000 subscribers by 1993.  Separately, Ericsson and
Motorola agreed to swap present and future patents on GSM
cellular phone systems. Motorola has recently been changing its
wireless strategy, dumping proprietary systems in favor of
industry standards in hopes of attracting faster growth.

In Eastern Europe, Hungary named NM Rothschild & Sons to
advise it on privatizing its telecommunications industry.
Rothschild will help Hungary with issues of competition, regulation,
consumer protection, and ownership structure, then take the
MATAV unit through the equity-sale process. The company is
estimated to be worth $1.4 billion, but nearly $10 billion will
actually be needed to bring it up to Western European standards.

In South America, meanwhile, Octel has announced an
exclusive distribution agreement with Telesis Sistemas em
Telecomunicacoes of Sao Paulo, which will become its sold
distributor in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
These countries, with the exception of Chile, are all part of the
Mercosul trading bloc, which has been experiencing record growth
in recent years.

Octel makes voice messaging systems. Telesis had sales of
roughly $5 million in 1991. Separately, NEC received a $112
million order from Embratel, the nation's long distance network.
The company will build a fiber cable system between the
two major cities of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, and link the
area between Porto Velho and Cuiaba with microwave relays.
NEC has the largest share of Brazil's digital microwave market.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920527/Press Contact: Ericsson, Kathy
Egan, 212-685-4030. Octel, Barbara Burdick, 408-321-3245)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 27  ****AT&T Faces Strike Threat 05/27/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00009)

 ****AT&T Faces Strike Threat 05/27/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 27 (NB) -- The
Communications Workers of America have authorized a strike
against AT&T, following a similar vote earlier this month against
a unit of GTE.

The strike could take place as early as May 30 if negotiations
fail. The CWA said its 100,000 members authorized a strike by
a 4-1 margin, and that 27,000 members of the International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers also authorized a strike.
Negotiations on a new three-year contract began March 30.

AT&T put the best face on the situation, calling it a routine
part of contract negotiations, but stock in AT&T fell in price
after the vote, and stock prices on the regional Bell companies,
which also face contract negotiations this year, also fell in
sympathy.

The unions badly need to win a negotiation somewhere, but
management has a powerful weapon in permanent replacements,
and Nynex was able to take a four-month strike three years ago
with major service disruptions. A four-month walkout against
Caterpiller, a heavy equipment maker, was broken earlier this
year by its threat to permanently replace workers.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920527/Press Contact: Herb Linnen,
AT&T, 202-457-3933)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 27 AT&T Offers 3 Megabit Speeds On Copper Wire 05/27/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00010)

AT&T Offers 3 Megabit Speeds On Copper Wire 05/27/92
LARGO, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 27 (NB) -- AT&T's
Paradyne unit said it can run three megabits of data per second on
a four-wire copper cable, meaning phone companies will be able to
offer multimedia services on existing telephone networks. The news
is a big blow to fiber cable makers, who had been expecting the
nation's phone companies to replace their existing copper plant
before offering TV pictures and other services.

The company calls its technology Carrierless, Amplitude/Phase
modulation, or CAP. CAP transceivers use programmable
computer chips and thus can be adapted to a wide range of
transmission media, distances and data rates.

Paradyne said in a press statement its CAP systems are designed
to complement fiber while accelerating the provision of new services
in the local phone network.

In addition, Paradyne said, CAP technology can provide
T1 data rates of 1.544 million bits-per-second on ordinary two-wire
copper cable, the same type of cable found in most homes. The
technology emerged from Bell Labs.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920527/Press Contact: Garrick Case,
AT&T Paradyne, 813-530-8221)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 27 Australia: Nortel Signs AUS$188M Deal With Optus 05/27/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00011)

Australia: Nortel Signs AUS$188M Deal With Optus 05/27/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 MAY 27 (NB) -- Australia's new
second carrier, Optus, has signed an AUS$188 million deal with
Canada's Northern Telecom (Nortel) for the supply of switching
systems. Nortel will supply the systems before the introduction
of Optus' services in October.

The contract was signed by Nortel's Chairman and Chief Executive
Dr Paul Stern. The deal covers the supply of 20 models of Nortel's
DMS range of digital switches, and installation has already begun in
Sydney and Melbourne. Nortel will also supply its Groupe Speciale
Mobile (GSM) switch for Optus' mobile cellular network. The GSM
installation is Nortel's largest outside of Europe to date. Local
electronics company Exicom (which is a Nortel strategic partner
along with another local firm, Techway) will be manufacturing the
DSM and ISDN terminals.

Nortel has recently signed an AUS$270 million contract with
Australia's other carrier, AOTC (Australian and Overseas
Telecommunications Corporation) for the supply of digital switching
systems over the next five years. This trend in the local
telecommunications market is also reflected in Nortel's winning of
contracts for both of New Zealand's carriers, Telecom New Zealand,
and Clear Communications.

(Sean McNamara/19920527)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 27 Australia: Customs Service Moves Against Paperless Abuse 05/27/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(SYD)(00012)

Australia: Customs Service Moves Against Paperless Abuse 05/27/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 MAY 27 (NB) -- The Australian
Customs Service (ACS) is set to crack down on abuse of its
paperless export system, EXIT. The moves could see consignments
held up before loading (or unloading), and fines and prosecution
may be considered in some cases.

The EXIT system has been used generally in Australia, and has
been quite successful in reducing the use of paper in export
consignments. However, abuse of the system not only hinders
genuine users of the system, but could also lead to incorrect trade
balance figures (the ACS provides information to the Australian
Bureau of Statistics, which compiles trade balance figures).
Another fear is that smugglers may abuse the system to export
items such as guns if a crackdown is not initiated soon.

EXIT was introduced in 1988, and has since been updated. It
replaced a paper-based system which sometimes saw information
being written on the back of envelopes rather than official forms.
Since its introduction, the system has seen acceptance in a
broad area of the docks and terminals.

Commenting on the system, Richard Janeczko, Customs NSW
regional manager for imports/exports, said: "Although the export
industry overall has widely embraced EXIT, there are still problems.
The shipping and air companies have led the way but many of the
forwarders are still relying on paper handling. This affects the
shippers, who then have to deal in paper rather than electronically,
and customs because we have to deal also with the paper and
electronic reports."

(Sean McNamara/19920527)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 27 Australia: Sega Moves To Increase Market Share 05/27/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00013)

Australia: Sega Moves To Increase Market Share 05/27/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 MAY 27 (NB) -- Japanese video
game and entertainment giant Sega Enterprises has announced
plans to buy a controlling interest in its Australian distributor,
Ozisoft. The move is aimed at increasing Sega's market share
in Australia.

Sega will pay AUS$14.5 million for a 50 percent share in Ozisoft,
with the remaining 50 percent being divided up between Japanese
trading firm Nissho Iwai and two Ozisoft directors. The directors,
Kevin Bermeister and Mark Dyne, founded Ozisoft in 1982, and in
1989 sold 65 percent of the company to local distributor,
Imagineering. In 1991, the directors sold the remaining interest
to another distributor, Tech Pacific.

The latest move represents a re-investment in the company, and
they are hopeful of good results. "We made some money when we
sold out to Imagineering and First Pacific. Now we hope to do it all
over again," said Bermeister. Ozisoft sees many advantages to
Sega's move -- including an AUS$9 million marketing budget and
a more willing approach to negotiating prices. Sega currently
accounts for around 70 percent of Ozisoft's turnover (Ozisoft
accounts for around 49 percent of the local games market).

This buyout follows Sega's purchase of its European distributor
from Britain's Virgin group.

(Sean McNamara/19920527)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 27 Australian Firm Produces Shows For Burbank Animation 05/27/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(SYD)(00014)

Australian Firm Produces Shows For Burbank Animation 05/27/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 MAY 27 (NB) -- Unlimited Energee,
a Sydney-based animation company, is to produce a series of
animation programs for Burbank Animation Studios. The AUS$2.1
million contract involves a first-up series of 13 shows, with a
possible 13 more shows.

A condition of the contract is that the episodes be completed on
Macintosh computers. The computer clause of the agreement
originally had US traditional animators up in arms, but the benefits
of doing the series on computer by Unlimited Energee was a major
part of their winning of the contract.

Unlimited Energee were competing against traditional animators,
who could utilize "sweat-houses" for the tedious parts of the
animation process. However, Unlimited was able to show that
producing the series on computer would be more economical
than this.

The series is to be based on traditional stories, such as
Frankenstein and Robin Hood, with each being re-written and
modernized. Some of the stories will also depart from the original
story basis. Frank Enstein, for example, still has the creation of a
monster as a central theme, but the main focus is a water-powered
car.

Unlimited is producing the shows on three Macintosh Quadra 900s
and five Quadra 700s. A show has to be delivered every seven weeks,
with the first due for delivery on June 8. As part of the deal, Unlimited
is also responsible for the production of the sound track.

(Sean McNamara/19920527)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 27 Compaq Counters AST Performance Claims 05/27/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00015)

Compaq Counters AST Performance Claims 05/27/92
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 27 (NB) -- Compaq
Computer has send a field communiquè to its sales force designed
to counter claims AST performance advantage claims over Compaq
products.

Specifically, the memo addresses the comparison made between
the QVision 1024/E Controller and the Compaq Systempro/LT.
Compaq said it was issuing the memo to set the record straight.

Included with the memo is a reproduction an AST Computer ad
which appeared in The Wall Street Journal of May 4th, 1992. The
ad claims that AST's Power Premium computers run Windows 3.5
times faster than Compaq. The ad reportedly also ran in Infoworld.

According to the Compaq memo, the AST ad compares an
accelerated 1024 by 768 controller against a VGA controller in 640
by 480 mode. The memo states the comparison was not valid,
saying a more valid comparison would have been the AST Western
Digital Power Premium against the Compaq QVision 1024/E.
Compaq has included a graph to depict that comparison. The graph
shows PC Labs Windows Benchmark test that indicate QVision
controllers outperform AST by up to 3.77 times.

Another bone of contention between the two companies is price
comparison. An AST press release carried on Business Wire in late
April said that AST's Premium SE 4/33, Model 663 is priced 11
percent lower than Compaq's Systempro LT Model 486/33-510.
However, Compaq says that isn't true, claiming that the AST
system is more than 36 percent higher.

Asked by Newsbytes if Compaq planned to take further action,
such as filing a lawsuit, company spokesperson Hedy Baker told
Newsbytes she wasn't aware of any such plans.

(Jim Mallory/19920527/Press Contact: Hedy Baker, Compaq
Computer, 713-374-4619)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 27 New For Mac: Aldus PressWise 1.0 05/27/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00016)

New For Mac: Aldus PressWise 1.0 05/27/92
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 27 (NB) -- Aldus
Corporation has released Aldus PressWise 1.0, a page imposition
program for the Macintosh computer.

PressWise provides page handling and page adjustment tools for
film strippers and production artists. With PressWise those
professionals can impose almost any PageMaker or QuarkXpress
file from the desktop, says Aldus. For example, you can merge
the pages of multiple publications and sort them in a special page
list palette.

PressWise is intended for organizations that utilize electronic
page layout and imaging devices to create printed documents.
Commercial printers, service bureaus, in-house printers and color
prepress providers all fall into that category.

PressWise uses ready-made or custom imposition templates to
automatically accommodate binding options and other parameters.
The pages are then arranged in the correct order and orientation
(vertical or horizontal) for printing. The user can also design
their own library of templates to meet their particular needs. A
reduced view of the imposition form provides visual feedback.

PressWise carries a price tag of $2,295, and is available directly
from Aldus. It is also being bundled as part of a complete prepress
system from some imagesetter manufacturers. Aldus said
localized versions for the European market will be available later.

Aldus recommends an Apple Macintosh II series or a Quadra 700
or 900 running System 7, at least two megabytes of RAM, and
a hard drive. The company says PressWise will run on a Mac
Classic with the same memory and drive configuration.

(Jim Mallory/19920527/Press Contact: Brad Stevens, Aldus
Corporation, 206-628-2361; Reader contact: Aldus Corporation,
206-628-2320)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 27 UK: Fujitsu Unveils 125ppm Non-Impact Printers 05/27/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00017)

UK: Fujitsu Unveils 125ppm Non-Impact Printers 05/27/92
WATFORD, HERTS, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 27 (NB) -- Fujitsu
has unveiled a range of IBM compatible printers that it claims are
capable of speeds of up to 125 pages-per-minute (ppm).

The printers are badge-imported versions from Groupe Set
International (GSI), the French specialist manufacturer, and are
based around a Fujitsu engine. The printers will be marketed in
Europe by both companies under a joint partnership arrangement.

Both companies have been cooperating for the last ten years and,
according to Mark Marsh, GSI UK sales manager, the long term
partnership has created a substantial user base throughout
Europe.

"With around 20 percent of the IBM mainframe environment printer
market in France and over 70 printers installed in the UK, users
value Fujitsu's dedication to cold and flash fusion technology and
reliable print quality," he said.

Flagship to the new range of non-impact printers is the M3067,
which is the 125ppm machine. This is reflected in the UKP 157,500
price tag of the printer. For the money, users get a printer that
both companies claim is the only unit on the market with A3 and
cold fusion processing.

The heart of the M3067 is a light emitting diode (LED) array
system that prints at 240 dots-per-inch (DPI). This, the company
claims, results in zero image distortion as each dot on the drum
is less than 0.1mm in diameter.

The printer uses an unusual, but high-speed printing process
known as cold fusion. This is a non-contact system that uses a
Xenon flash lamp to generate a light and heat burst signal that
imprints itself on the paper surface. Since the paper only skims
over the lamp, the paper path and general paper handling of the
machine is simplified, GSI claims.

For users on a tighter budget, SET has produced the M3053, a
106ppm and simpler version of the M3067. Retailing at UKP
94,000 the printer is available in five flavors designed for a variety
of user situations, which include mail order to color printing labs.

Groupe Set International is headquartered in Paris with branch
offices in Lyon, Brussels, and Milan. The UK operation is
located in Watford.

(Steve Gold/19920527/Press & Public Contact: Fujitsu Europe,
tel [phone], fax [phone]; Groupe Set International,
tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 27 UK: LPA Updates Windows Software Tool Packages 05/27/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00018)

UK: LPA Updates Windows Software Tool Packages 05/27/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 27 (NB) -- Logic Programming
Associates (LPA) has announced an updated family of its Windows
software tools for 80386- and 80486-based PCs. The Windows
series consists of LPA 386-Prolog for Windows, Flex/386 for
Windows and Prolog++/376 for Windows.

The versions, all under the "version 1.2" banner, include support
for Windows 3.1, as well as an integrated source level debugger
dialog with a choice five different debugging modems, plus a
dedicated dBase III interface and various extensions and
improvements to the original releases.

Two releases of each 1.2 package are available - programmer and
developer. The developer edition includes a run time generator
for producing standalone applications. All the packages require
an 80486-based PC with at least four megabytes (MB) of RAM plus
Windows 3.0 or later.

According to marketing director Clive Spenser, programmer pricing
on the packages is as follows: LPA 386 Prolog for Windows -- UKP
745; Prolog ++/386 for Windows -- UKP 995; and Flex/386 for
Windows -- UKP 1,245. Developer editions are, respectively, UKP
1,495, UKP 1,995, and UKP 2,495.

Spenser claims that Prolog is a superior programming language
than C, which many programmers still use. "Over time, the
shortcomings of languages like C and C++ will become more
apparent and we believe that prolog offers a better long-term
solution," he said.

As part of special summer promotion, LPA is offering its Prolog
packages at around half price. For example, LPA 386-Prolog for
Windows sells for UKP 395 for the programmer edition or UKP
795 for the developer edition. These prices are available when
customers order the packages at trade shows.

(Steve Gold/19920527/Press & Public Contact: LPA , tel 081-871-
2016, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 27 UK: Lotus Ships 1-2-3 For DOS Release 2.4 05/27/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00019)

UK: Lotus Ships 1-2-3 For DOS Release 2.4 05/27/92
STAINES, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 27 (NB) -- Lotus
Development has announced that 1-2-3 for DOS Release 2.4 is now
available. The major update includes several major enhancements,
such as the Lotus Smarticon technology -- which provides one-click
access to software features, and Backsolver -- a single/multiple
goal-seeking utility. Printer support facilities have also been
greatly expanded.

Announcing the package in the UK, Jeff Beir, vice president of
Lotus' spreadsheet division, said that Lotus is committed to
delivering innovative solutions to DOS spreadsheet users.

"Smarticons, first seen in 1-2-3 for Windows, now provides DOS
users with one-click access to commonly used spreadsheet
commands and represent the next step in our long term plans,"
he said.

Backsolver is beginning to come bundled with several of Lotus'
latest products, Newsbytes notes. The package logs a user's
required results and, using data selection techniques, backtracks
through the necessary spreadsheet calculations to arrive at a
number of goals that must be met. Essentially, the package
automates the "what-if" scenario by asking the user what he
wants to achieve and backstepping from there.

1-2-3 For DOS 2.4 requires an 8088-based or better PC with at
least 384 kilobytes (KB) of RAM. DOS 2.1 or later, plus a hard
disk is required. When WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get)
graphics are required, at least 512KB of memory is required.

(Steve Gold/19920527/Press & Public Contact: Lotus
Development, 0784-455445)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 27 UK: Samsung Updates Notebook PC Family 05/27/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00020)

UK: Samsung Updates Notebook PC Family 05/27/92
SURBITON, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 27 (NB) -- Samsung
has updated its notebook PC family with the addition of four new
machines designed to flesh out its product offerings in the area.

At the entry level, the NM386S/20, a 20 megahertz (MHz) 386SL-
based machine comes with a 40 megabyte (MB) hard disk at
UKP 1,499, and a 60MB hard disk for UKP 1,999. Further upmarket,
the 25MHz version, the NM386S/25 costs UKP 1,299 for a 60MB
hard disk and UKP 2,399 for an 80MB hard disk version.

Announcing the shipment of the machines, Hugh Dalgleish,
Samsung's product manager, said that the new machines are
competitively priced and "demonstrate that Samsung is taking the
varied needs of the business user more seriously. With this range,
our business partners (the company's resellers) can offer their
customers the most cost-effective and reliable computing solutions
currently on the market."

The NM386S/25 is unusual in that it is based around the Applied
Micro Devices (AMD) 386SL chipset. Like the NM386S/20, the
machine weighs in at 5.5 pounds and is 1.75-inches thick. Battery
power is four hours on single charge. All four machines come with
2MB of memory, expandable to 8MB internally if required.

All the new machines come with DOS 5, Windows 3, Traveling
Software's LapLink III package, and a carry case as standard
features.

(Steve Gold/19920527/Press & Public Contact: Samsung
Electronics, 081-391-0168)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 27  ****Sega Links With General Electric On Graphics Board 05/27/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00021)

 ****Sega Links With General Electric On Graphics Board 05/27/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 27 (NB) -- Sega Enterprises says it
will sign a joint development agreement with General Electric to
develop a computer graphics board.

A Sega spokesman told Newsbytes that both firms have already
reached a basic agreement. The actual contract is expected to
be signed around the end of July.

Sega and GE will develop a low-cost computer graphics board,
which incorporates multimedia features. With this board, quality
graphic data can be processed. So, the screen pictures will be
comparable to photographs or theatrical movies.

The computer graphic board will be based mainly on GE's
technology. In fact, GE has already been developing the board for
industry use. Sega will provide the technology to add a so-called
"virtual reality" feature, which allows for three-dimensional graphics.

So far, Sega has developed game programs with the virtual reality
feature. Sega wants to use the new computer graphics board for
simulation games, while GE wants to apply the board mainly for
the aircraft industry. It will take about a year for both firm to actually
develop the product. Both firms are also expected to cooperate
with the development of game software.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920527/Press Contact: Sega
Enterprise, [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 27  ****Alliant Files For Chapter 11, Cuts Staff To 60 05/27/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00022)

 ****Alliant Files For Chapter 11, Cuts Staff To 60 05/27/92
LITTLETON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 27 (NB) --
Falling short in the leap from an old to a new product line, Alliant
Computer Systems has plunged into Chapter 11 of United States
bankruptcy law. The company filed for protection from its creditors
May 26, and announced that it is cutting its staff from 225 to 60
people.

Alliant was caught in a transition from its old supercomputer
products to a new line of massively parallel machines announced
late last year. Patrick Scannell Jr., vice-president of finance and
administration, told Newsbytes sales of the old products fell off
faster than Alliant had expected, leaving the company dependent
on service revenues and sales of its new hardware several months
earlier than expected.

"Our cash position to continue future operations is at an extremely
low level," Scannell said. Alliant was in danger of running out of
cash if it did not make the Chapter 11 filing, he said.

On May 15, Alliant announced increased losses and a sharp
drop in revenue in its first quarter.

Alliant announced it would let go 165 of its 225 employees,
keeping on only enough management and staff to provide service
and support to existing customers. At that level, Alliant officials
said, the company believes it can be profitable. Scannell said this
will give Alliant time to "refocus and get a business plan put
together." Once the company has a business plan for restructuring,
he said, it can try to attract new financing.

Alliant owes $39 million on outstanding subordinated convertible
debentures, Scannell said, in addition to other obligations.

The company hopes it can get back on its feet and continue with
the new product line. However, Scannell admitted, "now we're not
only dealing with technological uncertainty in customers' minds.
Now we're dealing with company uncertainty in their minds." It is
hard for a vendor to "be convincing when we're going through a
bankruptcy," he said, but Alliant officials hope customers will
understand that the Chapter 11 filing is a way for the company to
survive and not a sign of its demise.

(Grant Buckler/19920527/Press Contact: Patrick Scannell, Jr.,
Alliant Computer Systems, 508-486-4950)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 27 Retix To Use New Intel CF RISC i960 In Network Router 05/27/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00022)

Retix To Use New Intel CF RISC i960 In Network Router 05/27/92
SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 27 (NB) --
Retix and Intel have announced that Retix will be the first company
to implement the new Intel i960 CF reduced instruction-set
computer (RISC) microprocessor. The implementation will be
in the Retix Routerxchange 7000 multiprotocol router for
computer networks.

Intel, in the January/February issue of its "Microcomputer Solutions"
magazine describes the previous version, the CA i960 as the
computer-shared collaboration (CSC) connection for
communications. The i960 is designed to provide high-bandwidth
data compression for the transmission of output to other personal
computers and peripherals on a network, Intel said. Intel described
the CA i960 as the first "superscalar" device, as it is able to begin
two new instructions every clock cycle, so at 40 megahertz (MHz)
it can run at 80 million instructions per second (MIPS).

This new member of the i960 family however can outperform the
CA i960 by 100 times but still is 100 percent compatible with the
CA i960, Intel said.

Retix says the new CF RISC i960 microprocessor is critical to the
speed and performance the Routerxchange needs to handle large,
traffic-intensive networks with multiple protocols and media. For
example, Randy Phillips vice president and general manager of
Retix' Internetworking Product Unit said the Routerxchange will be
able to support TCP/IP's Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) and
OSSI's Intermediate System to Intermediate System (IS-IS)
protocols without sacrificing speed or efficiency.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920527/Press Contact: Lori Hultin, Retix,
tel [phone] ext 526, fax [phone]; Sara Killingsworth,
Intel, tel [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 27 Bids Galore As India Opens Telecom Industry 05/27/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SFO)(00024)

Bids Galore As India Opens Telecom Industry 05/27/92
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1992 MAY 27 (NB) -- Last month, when the
government announced that it was opening telecommunications
to the private sector, industry was pleasantly agitated. The
big industrial houses are quickly squaring up collaboration
agreements with international giants.

Apart from the manufacture of big telephone exchanges, the other
areas of private enterprise are in value-added equipment like car
phones, electronic mail, and paging systems. The Department
of Telecommunications (DOT) invited tenders for cellular phones
for the main metros in March. The response has been
overwhelming. Some 150 companies have written in. Finally,
some 30 big corporations have chosen to form mini consortia.
The tenders are scheduled to be processed this week.

The communications minister, Rajesh Pilot, is equally gung-ho
about it all. Indeed, he is quite excited that, for a change,
foreigners are wooing the Indian market. Less than a year ago, the
whole show was managed by the government agencies,
manufacturing of switching being the monopoly of the public
sector Indian Telephone Industries Ltd. which has been
manufacturing E10B exchanges of CIT Alcatel. CDOT
(Center for Development of Telematics) developed its own digital
switching system, slated to be manufactured by the ITI. Not any
more. Private firms are expected to give both ITI and CDOT
a tough run.

Presently, India has about six million telephone lines. The wait
for connections is more than two million. Also, in the next five
years, according to one estimate, the demand is expected to grow
to nine million lines more. At present, less than 10 percent of that
demand, just under a million lines, are added every year.

The eighth "Five Year Plan," announced last month, talks of Rs
40,500 crore (over $13 billion), set aside for investment in the
telecom sector by the government, public sector, and private
industry.

Meanwhile, eight equipment manufacturers are already in the
race for bagging DOT's order for 200,000 lines of large digital
exchanges. Next month, all the eight are expected to announce
the cut over date of the 10,000-line exchange they are installing
at various sites allotted to them to enable the Department to
validate and evaluate their performance.

Busy with the exercise of the installation are: AT&T's 5 ESS
system at Ahmedabad; Alcatel's E10-based OCB 283 at Delhi;
GPT's System X at Hyderabad; Fujitsu's FETEX 150; Siemens'
EWSD, and Ericson's AXE 10, at Calcutta and Madras respectively.
NEC of Japan with its NEAX and Orintal Telecom of South Korea
with TDX 10 are also doing the same at their respective sites at
Jaipur and Pune.

Once the cut over dates of these companies are announced, DOT
is expected to take three month to evaluate, before placing the
order. That's not going to be easy for DOT. For, many have
already questioned the logic of the move to invite such a
multiplicity of technologies.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920527)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 27 Perot Leaves Perot Systems Chairmanship 05/27/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00025)

Perot Leaves Perot Systems Chairmanship 05/27/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 27 (NB) -- In Herndon,
Virginia, about twenty miles west of Washington, a group of
computer company employees are starting today with a new boss.
It is a story that is worth reporting only because their old boss was
H. Ross Perot, the man who might be President.

In another move that strengthens the feeling among supporters
that he really intends to make a run for the job of President of the
United States, Perot yesterday resigned as Chairman of
Herndon-based Perot Systems, a local computer company with
annual sales of several hundred million dollars.

Perot, who has said that he will run for President if his
supporters get him on the ballot as an independent candidate in
all 50 states, will remain on the company's board of directors by
virtue of his 40 percent ownership of Perot Systems.

Replacing Perot at the helm will be long-time friend and
business associate (also former head of Electronic Data Systems,
the company Perot eventually sold to General Motors) Morton H.
Meyerson.

Independent polls have shown that support for H. Ross Perot's
Presidential candidacy has been gaining momentum and he has
actually surpassed President Bush in both Texas and California.

Interestingly enough, after one ill-fated attempt to help the
US Postal Service, Perot Systems, despite its proximity to
Washington, DC, is not thought to be engaged in any government-
related business, although it does hire a lot of ex-military
people. The company is privately held by the Perots and
employees of the company, so it is not required to disclose
details about its activities or revenues to the Securities and
Exchange Commission or to make them public.

(John McCormick/19920527)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 27 Extended Training For Former Defense Employees 05/27/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00026)

Extended Training For Former Defense Employees 05/27/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 27 (NB) -- Trying to ease
the move to civilian-oriented production, the Office of Personnel
Management (Department of Labor) has decided that Department
of Defense civilian employees who are let go due to the cutbacks
in military spending will receive transition services for six full
months after termination.

JTPA (Job Training Partnership Act) training, which can apply to
people anywhere in the country through local agencies and is not
limited to former military employees, is usually based on
financial need and skills, but the special benefits for former
DoD civilian employees will, since the recent decision, extend
three times beyond that normally available.

According to the Washington Post, there are about 90,000
civilian employees of the DoD in the Washington area, with
another 900,000 around the world (and elsewhere in the US).
The Pentagon says that it will cut worldwide civilian jobs by
nearly 87,000 by the end of 1993.

Many Pentagon civilian employees have computer-related jobs
and part of the JTPA training will involve teaching programmers
and other specialists the new languages and skills needed for
civilian employment in the computer industry.

Besides training, the employees being let go will have priority
for similar jobs in other government agencies. The defense
industry, which was traditionally hungry for former DoD
employees, is cutting back drastically and is not expected to
take up any of the employment slack, contributing to it instead
with its own flood of highly skilled but defense work-oriented
former employees.

(John McCormick/19920527)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 27 Japanese PenDOS/TouchPen Driver For PenPoint Intro'd 05/27/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(WAS)(00027)

Japanese PenDOS/TouchPen Driver For PenPoint Intro'd 05/27/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 27 (NB) -- There were
two interesting pieces of news in the pen computer industry in the
past week. One involved Communications Intelligence Corp's
introduction of a Japanese language version of its PenDOS
operating system. The other was Microtouch System's release
of TouchPen drivers for PenPoint.

CIC's software was introduced in Tokyo by Justsystem, the
Japanese company which holds more than 75 percent of the word
processing market for Japanese language users.

PenDOS is the first pen computing operating environment ported to
Japanese language computers and makes use of Justsystem's
ATOK kana to kanji character processing.

A CIC spokeswoman says that NCR (owned by AT&T) is already
marketing the NCR 3125 Notepad computer in Japan with the
English language version of PenDOS and that it has proven very
popular.

Wilmington, Massachusetts-based Microtouch Systems has
announced that the TouchPen digitizer system is now available
in a Go PenPoint configuration for evaluation by prospective
pen computer manufacturers.

TouchPen, a high-resolution handwriting recognition digitizer
designed for portable computers, was first introduced last year
with the NEC Ultralight SL/20P notebook computer and
previously run under MS-DOS and Windows for Pen Computing.

Founded in 1982 and with sales in the vicinity of $20 million
annually, Microtouch is a privately held company with nearly
200 employees.

CIC is a publicly traded (NASDAQ) company based in
Redwood Shores, California.

(John McCormick/19920527/Press Contact: Germaine Gioia, CIC,
415- 802-7888 or fax [phone]; Janet Pannier, Microtouch,
508-694-9900 or fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 27 Softech To Develop DSP Support Software 05/27/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(WAS)(00028)

Softech To Develop DSP Support Software 05/27/92
WALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 27 (NB) --
Softech has announced an agreement with Array Microsystems
and Samsung Electronics to develop software development tools
for use with the two companies' jointly developed a77 family of
digital signal processing (DSP) chips.

The a77 DSP chips, which will not be in production until sometime
next year, have many applications in consumer electronics, office
automation, and all forms of graphics processing, including
computers and multimedia.

The a77 is a single-chip parallel-processing device which can be
programmed to compress and decompress Joint Photographic
Experts Group (JPEG) and Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG)
video signals. Samsung and Array have not released details of the
chip yet, which is based on Samsung 0.8 micron CMOS or
complimentary metal oxide semiconductor technology and will
have a large amount of internal memory.

Competition for the a77 programmable device will come from hard-
wired and programmable compression systems already available
from Integrated Information Technology and Intel's Digital Video
Interactive group.

Softech is developing the basic software which will be used by
systems designers to program the DSPs which will go into
consumer and business hardware.

Softech's expertise in the systems engineering area is generally
with client-server applications, and manufacturing enterprise
integration, for customers in finance and government. The
company currently has a contract with the Air Force to integrate
enterprise systems for the Manufacturing Technical Office by
developing standard procedures.

(John McCormick/19920527/Press Contact: Jon Wroblewski,
Softech, 719-570-9400)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 27 HP Gives $138 Million In Profit-Sharing To Employees 05/27/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00029)

HP Gives $138 Million In Profit-Sharing To Employees 05/27/92
CORVALLIS, OREGON, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 27 (NB) -- Hewlett-
Packard announced it has shared its profits with its employees
who received profit-sharing checks that totaled $138 million.
Employees in HP's Corvallis, McMinnville, Wilsonville, and
Eugene facilities, nearly 2,700 strong, received checks
totaling $3.9 million after HP's announcement of its second
quarter earnings.

HP says this isn't new and says it has been sharing its profits in
one way or another with its employees for its entire 53-year history.
Currently, its employees are eligible for profit-sharing after six
consecutive months of service with the company. The company
says it issues two checks annually -- one in November and the
other in May. When combined, the checks represent from two
to four weeks of extra pay. The company maintains it initiated
this profit-sharing plan in 1962.

HP also took a different approach when it saw hard times coming
and asked its employees to choose voluntary severance measures
that cut 3,300 people from the payroll last year.

The company said in its second quarter earnings announcement
that it has managed to cut expenses so earnings are increasing
faster than revenue. The gains this quarter are being attributed to
management of expenses which includes the elimination of
management lawyers, reorganization of sales, and the voluntary
severance, HP added.

The company reported second quarter earnings of $326 million, or
$1.28 a share, as opposed to $233 million, or $.93 cents a share,
posted last year. Overall revenues were up $8.05 billion, a 13
percent increase from $7.14 billion of 1991, but earnings have
increased 44 percent to $632 million or $2.49 per share compared
to $438 million or $1.76 a share a year ago.

HP is probably best known for its very successful line of desktop
laser printers, but the company also makes IBM compatible
personal computers, test and measurement devices, workstations,
and other electronic devices.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920527/Press Contact: Jerry Fisher, Hewlett-
Packard, tel [phone] ext 2022, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 27 Gain Tech Buys Santa Fe To Implement Multimedia Software 05/27/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00030)

Gain Tech Buys Santa Fe To Implement Multimedia Software 05/27/92
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 27 (NB) -- Gain
Technology, a multimedia software company, says it has acquired
Santa Fe Interactive, has made it the nucleus of a new venture
called Gain Interactive, and plans to increase and broaden the
implementation of multimedia systems to businesses.

Headquartered Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe Interactive has
been developing multimedia business systems for well-known
businesses such as American Express, Hallmark Cards, Andersen
Windows, and DOW Chemical, Gain said. Santa Fe focused on
a high degree of user interactivity in its multimedia applications,
Gain added.

Gain plans to implement its multimedia software products in the
business market using Santa Fe's experience in multimedia. Mark
Carpenter, president of Santa Fe Interactive said: "We are delighted
to be participating in the evolution of an organization that is
committed to bringing the power of multimedia to mainstream
business information systems."

Gain, founded in 1989 and headquartered in Palo Alto, California,
has only 85 employees who own the entire company. Gainexposure,
the company's first software product went into production at the
beginning of this year. On May 11 the company announced
Gainmomentum, a object-based multimedia software product.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920527/Press Contact: Bob Runge, Gain
Technology, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD


#CARD :1992 MAY 26 New For Mac: AmericaAlive, Multimedia Sight-Seeing 05/26/92

(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00001)

New For Mac: AmericaAlive, Multimedia Sight-Seeing 05/26/92
TORRANCE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 26 (NB) -- A new
compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) for the Macintosh
allows the opportunity to experience the museums in Washington
D.C. or cultural highlights in California with a click of a button,
according to Medialive, a new multimedia company in Torrance,
California. The CD-ROM is a multimedia "GUIDisc" (graphical user
interface disc) called AmericaAlive and will be introduced at the
Summer Consumer Electronics (CES) expo in Chicago.

Medialive says it plans to introduce a series of "alive" CDs for the
Macintosh, and AmericaAlive is only the first of those planned titles.
Medialive describes AmericaAlive as a text, map, photo, movie, and
sound presentation of American cities, attractions, and national
parks.

The company says it has attempted to allow multimedia to convey
experiences, like the sheer mass of the Empire State Building in New
York City or the vastness of the Grand Canyon, that normally would
require a personal visit to the site. However, the multimedia medium
allows the user to pick and choose what they want to see, Medialive
President Bill Liu said.

The CD contains 75 maps, 50 movies, 2,000 photos and hundreds
of pages of informational text about all 50 states, major US cities,
attractions, and national parks, Medialive maintains.

The company says the CD has multiple uses as an educational tool
for students, public access kiosks for convention and visitor centers,
hotels, travel bureaus. Transportation, accommodation, and dining
information on the CD could be combined with airline and land-based
reservation systems by travel agents to increase business and offer
more services to customers, Medialive said.

Medialive says the AmericaAlive "GUIDisc" requires a Macintosh
LC or greater with a 12-inch monitor, four megabytes (MB) of RAM,
System 6.0.7 or later, and an Apple compatible CD-ROM drive
or CD Technology CD Porta-Drive. Retail price of the AmericaAlive
CD is $99, the company added.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920526/Press Contact: Alexandrea Todd,
McLean Public Relations for Medialive, tel [phone],
fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1996 MAY 26 "Business Audio" Sound Notes For Windows 05/26/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00002)

"Business Audio" Sound Notes For Windows 05/26/92
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 26 (NB) -- Post-It, those
ubiquitous little yellow notes from 3M that stick to paper, computer
screens, and car dashboards, will soon have an audio peer for
Windows applications. That's what Compaq Computer, Microsoft,
and Analog Devices have joined forces to develop, a Compaq
spokesman told Newsbytes.

Called Business Audio, the product will use hooks already built
into Windows 3.1 to attach sound files to applications such as
spreadsheets and word processing documents.

Imagine that an executive drafts a letter on his or her networked PC.
A secretary then calls up the letter, clicks on an audio icon, and a
voice tells her to include the executive's business card with the
letter. That's just one application Compaq Director of Desktop
Marketing Steve Malisewski told Newsbytes about.

With the hooks already in Windows 3.1, application developers can
obtain a toolkit that lets them develop applications for Windows
that use Business Audio to attach "sound bites" which might be
sound effects, voice messages or other audio files.

The three companies said they have been working together on the
project for the past 18 months, and all expect to have audio-capable
products ready to announce later this year. Malisewski declined to
name a target date, but said Business Audio would be available
"soon."

The necessary hardware is based on a new SoundPort chip from
Analog Devices. According to the Compaq announcement, it will
understand audio data types, or sound files from a variety of
environments. It is capable of recording or playing PC-quality
sound (8-bit linear 11 kilohertz), telephone/workstation quality
sound and CD-quality sound in mono or stereo.

The three companies expect that initial use of Business Audio will
be voice annotation within Windows 3.1 for spreadsheets, word
processing documents, and electronic mail. Key to the
development of Business Audio, said Compaq, was the fusion of
object linking and embedding (OLE) technology with various audio
application programming interfaces (APIs) in Windows 3.1

Users will be able to record, edit, and play back audio such as their
own voices. You could leave yourself an audio note within a file, or
send notes to co-workers. Sounds can also be attached to specific
computer functions such as opening or closing files.

Malisewski expects that PC speaker quality will improve as
Business Audio becomes widespread. Business Audio can be
used with the built-in PC speaker, or used with add-on speaker
systems for higher quality.

Current add-in sound cards, such as Sound Blaster, cost
$100-$200, said Malisewski, but future PCs can have the
SoundPort chip built into the motherboard. That would be good
news for consumers, since they wouldn't have to spend extra
money to get the audio capability. Malisewski said that even
though the addition of such items as a SoundPort chip does raise
the manufacturing cost, Compaq is determined to price their
products competitively. The end result could be that a future PC
with improved sound capability would cost less than a PC
without it today.

(Jim Mallory/19920526/Press Contact: Nora Hahn, Compaq
Computer, 713-374-8316; Collins Hemingway, Microsoft,
206-882-8080; Bill Schweber, Analog Devices, 617-461-3821)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1996 MAY 26 Lucid Upgrades Lightning Disk Cache 05/26/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00003)

Lucid Upgrades Lightning Disk Cache 05/26/92
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A, 1992 MAY 26 (NB) -- Lucid Corporation
has released version 6.0 of its Lightning Disk Cache, making the
program Windows-compatible. The company said it has also
included some bonus utilities.

Lucid said the new version features faster caching speed and
new memory sharing logic. A keyboard accelerator, a screen
accelerator, and a screen blanker have also been added.

A disk cache creates a buffer in the computers RAM, or system
memory. Data is copied from the hard drive into this buffer,
allowing the application being used to access data directly from
the buffer rather than having to go back to the hard drive. Hard
drive access, whether reading or writing data, is one of the
slowest functions a computer performs.

Some cache programs set aside a specific amount of RAM for the
cache buffer, but Lightning operates dynamically, reducing the
buffer size when the application needs more RAM. Once that
demand no longer exists, the Lightning buffer is restored to its
original size.

Lucid said the screen accelerator which has been added to
release 6.0 replaces slow video BIOS (basic input/output system)
functions with more efficient routines, allowing the screen to scroll
faster.

Lightning now also includes a screen blanker, which blanks the
screen after a user-selected time period. Screen blanking helps
prevent an image from burning into a PC's screen it the image
remains unchanged for an extended period of time.

Lucid said a keyboard accelerator has also been added, with the
ability to vary the keyboard's delay and key-repeat rates, and to
switch an audible keyboard click on or off. The company said
Lightning can load into high memory on computers with expanded
or extended memory, saving conventional memory for application
use.

The program also has an automatic process for determining the
hardware being used and optimizing its settings for that system.
However, the user can change most parameters, including the
cache size, amount of memory shared with an application, and
target disks cached by command line switches. A command line
switch is an optional parameter typed with the command that
loads the program to set or turn on and off features of the program.

Lightning has a suggested list price of $49.95, and needs 256
kilobytes of RAM, a hard drive, and DOS 3.0 or later.

(Jim Mallory/19920526/Press Contact: Bill Kassul, Lucid Corp.,
tel [phone], fax [phone]; Reader contact: 800-967-5550,
214-994-8100)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1996 MAY 26 Hong Kong Security Limited Opts For NetWare 05/26/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00004)

Hong Kong Security Limited Opts For NetWare 05/26/92
HONG KONG, 1992 MAY 26 (NB) -- The recent purchase of one
copy of Netware 2.2 and seven copies of Netware Lite has
reaffirmed for Hong Kong Security Limited (HKSL) the effectiveness
of network computing as an answer to productivity questions.

Established in 1960, HKSL has grown to become the biggest
security services company in Hong Kong with 6,000 security
guards serving a variety of residential, commercial, and public
premises and organizations.

The contract, clinched through Novell's Hong Kong distributor,
Jardine Network Systems (JNS), also included the provision of
installation and maintenance support.

The new copy of Netware 2.2, installed at the operations department of
HKSL, represented an upgrade from Netware 2.01a.  Seven
copies of Netware Lite were installed at HK Security Engineers
Limited (HKSEL), a subsidiary of HKSL responsible for the repair
and maintenance of security vans.

Driven by a Novell server supplied five years ago by JNS, HKSL's
Netware based LAN (local area network) currently connects a
total of ten personal computers to enable the staff to share
internally-developed database applications.

With around 30 staff currently served by the network, HKSL
considers networking a cost effective means of resource sharing
in a multi-user environment.

According to Henry Wu, EDP manager at Hong Kong Security
Limited, the company chose Netware because it is a de-facto
standard that provides flexibility in connecting PC's in a
client-server environment. Wu said that for HKSL, the security,
open desktop connectivity and expandability features of Netware
are the product's most attractive and useful attributes.

"The move to network computing has enabled HKSL's control
department to monitor the working time of close to 6,000 security
guards and upload the data to a Wang VS 5000 minicomputer for
payroll calculation," said Wu.

At HKSEL, the Netware Lite-based network enables staff to update
and check stock levels easily and to calculate spare parts costings.
By installing Netware, said Wu, more timely and accurate
operational information can be made available to staff, which in turn,
results in better quality decisions and quicker response.

Wu said HKSL plans to expand the network in the near future by
increasing the number of client workstations.

(Brett Cameron/19920526/Press Contact: Clara Shek, Media
Dynamics, [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1996 MAY 26 Illinois State Police Show You Your Speed 05/26/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEN)(00005)

Illinois State Police Show You Your Speed 05/26/92
SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 26 (NB) -- If you're
traveling in Illinois this summer, you may see your speed
displayed on the side of a trailer.

That is what the Illinois State Police is doing to remind you of how
fast you are going. The trailers, resembling do-it-yourself moving
trailers, are equipped with a radar speed-detecting unit, an
on-board computer, and a big digital display with day-glo bright
numbers which are visible to passing motorists. The trailers,
dubbed SMART (Speed Monitoring Awareness Radar Tools), are
battery operated and have solar panels as backup power.

The State Police said they will be placing the SMART units in
problem traffic areas around the state, such as construction
areas, or areas with a high incident of traffic accidents.

State Police Director Terry Gainer said the units will provide an
additional deterrent to speeding and related accidents. "They
should be an effective reminder of the speed limit and of Illinois
State Police presence on the highways," Gainer said.

Using the computers in the trailers, the SMART units can also
record traffic volume and record the speed of passing vehicles in
five-mile-per-hour slots.

Troopers and state legislators are in disagreement over
enforcement of the state's seat belt law, with troopers planning
random roadside safety checks to look for violators. However, one
state legislator said the law was not intended to be used for police
to stop motorists. That issue may have to ultimately be decided
in the courts.

(Jim Mallory/19920526)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1996 MAY 26 UK: Professional Multimedia PC System Unveiled 05/26/92

(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00006)

UK: Professional Multimedia PC System Unveiled 05/26/92
MALMESBURY, WILTSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 26 (NB) --
Art Electric, a major distributor of computer graphic arts software
and hardware, has announced its Electric Media PC (EMPC). The
UKP 2,495 machine is available immediately.

According to Martin Spooner, the company's managing director,
the aim of the EMPC was to create a professional multimedia
system that gives good value for money. "We've achieved this
with the EMPC," he said.

The EMPC is a 33 megahertz (MHz) 80486 microprocessor-based
mini-tower machine. The system comes with four megabytes (MB)
of RAM, expandable to 48MB on board, a 100MB hard disk, and
an internal CD-ROM (compact disk read only memory) drive. Also
featured is a 14-inch color super VGA monitor, stereo speakers,
and a special sound board.

The sound board on the EMPC is interesting. It is a stereo 22
voice frequency modulated (FM) music synthesizer with two three-
way music speakers. The card is MIDI (musical instrument digital
interface)-compatible.

Another interesting feature of the PC is the ability to accept
input from PAL and NTSC video signal sources. Also included
is a teletext chipset for teletext reception.

(Steve Gold/19920526/Press & Public Contact: Art Electric,
tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1996 MAY 26 Combined Books/Elec Media Offered By AOL/Ventana 05/26/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00007)

Combined Books/Elec Media Offered By AOL/Ventana 05/26/92
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 26 (NB) -- New books
that are a combination of books and on-line components are the
focus of a new strategic alliance announced by Ventana Press
and America Online (AOL). The alliance was announced at the
American Booksellers Association annual meeting in Anaheim,
California.

The first offering planned for the new deal is the first and only
retail package for AOL to be titled "America Online, the America
Online Membership Kit & Tour Guide." The two companies say
the new package is planned in DOS, Windows, and Macintosh
versions.

The book will be a handbook to AOL and will contain the official
access software on disk that is necessary to get up and running
on AOL, the companies said. Ventana stated it will market the kit
through traditional book and computer retail channels as well as
on America Online itself. Retail pricing for the AOL guide has been
announced as $29.95. The guide in the Macintosh version is
expected in October of this year, while the IBM and compatible
DOS version is expected in November, Ventana said.

A second combination book is in the works as well. It will be
called "The Mac Shareware 500" from Ventana, and a companion
by the same title on AOL will also be available.

Ventana says the new book will examine, explain, and rate the top
Macintosh shareware programs, while the AOL version will offer the
titles for download in a special library.

Three shareware disks and the AOL access software will be
included in the book, Laura Wenzel of Ventana Press told
Newsbytes, so titles which are not included in the book can be
downloaded. "The Mac Shareware 500" is expected to be priced
at $39.95 and available in July of this year, Ventana added.

Ventana Press of Chapel Hill, North Carolina describes itself as a
publisher of computer books for the general user. AOL, based in
Vienna, Virginia, describes itself as a graphically oriented
electronic service with electronic mail, conferencing, news, sports,
weather, stock quotes, software, computing support, and on-line
classes. AOL can be accessed from a variety of computing
platforms the company said.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920526/Press Contact: Laura Wenzel,
Ventana Press, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1996 MAY 26 DEC, IBM, And HP Tops In Govt Large Systems 05/26/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00008)

DEC, IBM, And HP Tops In Govt Large Systems 05/26/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 26 (NB) -- A recent
Government Computer News survey of federal users (published in
the May 11 issue) shows that agency users are most satisfied with
large-scale hardware purchased from Digital Equipment, IBM, and
Hewlett-Packard. DEC won top ratings in support, while HP was
tops for price-verses-performance.

Getting particular praise from some users for its CD-ROM-based
documentation and very fast response on service calls, Hewlett-
Packard was a clear winner in the reliability and quality
categories, but all three of the top vendors achieved nearly
identical overall scores.

Coming in next, with the best support costs were Sun
Microsystems and AT&T. The also-rans, with significantly lower
scores, were Unisys and Data General. Wang Laboratories came
in a close last out of the eight vendors included in the survey.

To be included in the survey results, a manufacturer's equipment
must have received ratings from a minimum of 20 users.

(John McCormick/19920526)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1996 MAY 26  ****Newsbytes Audiotex Service Debuts In The UK 05/26/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00009)

 ****Newsbytes Audiotex Service Debuts In The UK 05/26/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 26 (NB) -- After several weeks of
exhaustive beta tests, Newsbytes' Audiotex service -- a spoken
word version of Newsbytes - has opened in the UK. The daily news
service, operating under the name of Phonebytes and offering a
selection of Newsbytes' stories tailored to a UK audience,
officially enters service.

Accessible on 0891-222-228, the service costs up to 48 pence per
minute using British Telecom's premium rate phone lines. Each
daily update lasts around five minutes and, according to
journalist Chris Bourne, who developed the service in conjunction
with Ashpool Systems, offers the most up to date technology
news in Europe.

According to Bourne, bulletins on the Phonebytes service are
prepared each weekday, well before dawn, to take advantage of
international time zones, ensuring that a "hot off the press"
update is available by the time listeners in the UK reach their
offices.

Bourne, a journalist with nine years experience of computer and
on-line publishing, and background in broadcast journalism, said
that Phonebytes was conceived after he realized that there has
always been a clear demand for speedy, accurate news from the
computer and information technology markets.

"Recession has made it difficult for conventional publishing
houses and on-line systems to cover their high overheads in
bringing out daily or weekly publications. The advantage of
Phonebytes is that the big stories can be brought directly to the
user with no frills or fuss. Many people want to know the news, but
they don't have the time to wade through out-of-date magazines
stuffed with advertisements. With Phonebytes, they get news and
nothing but the news," he said.

Ashpool Systems is a company specializing in high quality
premium rate interactive telephone services. Managing Director
Tim Richardson said that he is delighted to be involved in the
Phonebytes project.

"Ashpool Systems is dedicated to providing quality telephone
services, using the most sophisticated design and programming
resources available," he said, adding that he sees Phonebytes as
a prime example of what premium rate services can do for callers.

(Steve Gold/19920526/Press Contact: Tim Richardson, tel 0293-
887088, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1996 MAY 26 UK: Microcom Intros "Cover All" LAN Mgt Technology 05/26/92



(NEWS)(IBM)LON)(00010)

UK: Microcom Intros "Cover All" LAN Mgt Technology 05/26/92
SUTTON, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 26 (NB) -- Microcom
UK has unveiled Lanlord, its first integrated software system
designed to centralize the management of DOS and Windows
workstations on local area networks (LANs).

According to the company, the system allows companies to
monitor and manage workstation hardware, software, and
configuration data, as well as LAN and workstation activity, in
real-time.

In use, Lanlord operates as a network resource and support
manager with management facilities. The software allows
companies to actively manage their remote PC workstations and
LANs from a central point, which can be at a very remote point,
possibly in another country. It is possible, for example, for the
Lanlord master station to dial into a connected LAN using a
modem and control the network over the link.

"Lanlord offers significant benefits by integrating LAN
management functionality that currently requires the purchase of
three or more separate utility packages and by providing real-time
views of network clients," explained Emerick Woods, vice
president and general manager of the company's client server
technologies group.

"While existing products focus on servers or the physical
network, Lanlord is the only product that provides network
managers with the tools needed to manage PC assets and
support the growing number of PCs and users on their network,
all at a cost-saving over standalone products," he claimed.

On a technical level, Lanlord uses the management facilities of
the Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) standard. The software
uses an OS/2 server to collate LAN information. As the manager
interacts with the software and keys in instructions, so the
server software sends out the required instructions over the
network, receiving acknowledgment signals back automatically,
once the tasks are carried out. The user is presented with a
graphical image of the network, with menus detailing the various
facilities available.

Lanlord costs UKP 580 for a ten station/user license. Higher
number site licenses are available on request and by negotiation
with the company, up to a maximum system capacity of 250
users.

(Steve Gold/19920526/Press & Public Contact: Microcom UK,
0753-654333)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1996 MAY 26 UK: Pen-Based Notebook Debuts From Samsung 05/26/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00011)

UK: Pen-Based Notebook Debuts From Samsung 05/26/92
SURBITON, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 26 (NB) -- Samsung
has unveiled the Penmaster, a pen-based notebook computer in
the Gridpad mold. Pricing details have yet to be confirmed,
according to the company.

Tipping the scales at just under five pounds, the PC AT-
compatible machine is based around a 20 megahertz (MHz)
80386SL microprocessor driving four megabytes (MB), which is
expandable to 20MB onboard). A choice of 40, 60, 80 or 120MB
hard drives are available.

When flipped up, the machine reveals a 10-inch backlit VGA
screen capable of resolving 32 gray scales. In use, the machine
operates for up to three hours on its internal ni-cad batteries,
which have the surprising facility of recharging in 1.5 hours.

The Penmaster features a PCMCIA standard memory slot, as well
as room for an internal (proprietary) fax/modem card. Ports to the
outside world include the usual monitor, serial, and parallel
connections, as well as a floppy drive and a keyboard port.

The three-hour battery life is made possible, Samsung claims, by
the use of power management techniques. The machine shuts
down progressively when not in use, but starts back up as soon
as the pen is "sensed" to be near the screen.

The Penmaster will come with MS-DOS 5.0, Pen-Windows,
Penpoint, and PenDOS when it ships in the UK later this year.

(Steve Gold/19920526/Press & Public Contact: Samsung
Electronics, 081-391-0168)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1996 MAY 26 UK: Microcom Intros "Cover All" LAN Mgt Technology 05/26/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00010)

UK: Microcom Intros "Cover All" LAN Mgt Technology 05/26/92
SUTTON, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 26 (NB) -- Microcom
UK has unveiled Lanlord, its first integrated software system
designed to centralize the management of DOS and Windows
workstations on local area networks (LANs).

According to the company, the system allows companies to
monitor and manage workstation hardware, software, and
configuration data, as well as LAN and workstation activity, in
real-time.

In use, Lanlord operates as a network resource and support
manager with management facilities. The software allows
companies to actively manage their remote PC workstations and
LANs from a central point, which can be at a very remote point,
possibly in another country. It is possible, for example, for the
Lanlord master station to dial into a connected LAN using a
modem and control the network over the link.

"Lanlord offers significant benefits by integrating LAN
management functionality that currently requires the purchase of
three or more separate utility packages and by providing real-time
views of network clients," explained Emerick Woods, vice
president and general manager of the company's client server
technologies group.

"While existing products focus on servers or the physical
network, Lanlord is the only product that provides network
managers with the tools needed to manage PC assets and
support the growing number of PCs and users on their network,
all at a cost-saving over standalone products," he claimed.

On a technical level, Lanlord uses the management facilities of
the Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) standard. The software
uses an OS/2 server to collate LAN information. As the manager
interacts with the software and keys in instructions, so the
server software sends out the required instructions over the
network, receiving acknowledgment signals back automatically,
once the tasks are carried out. The user is presented with a
graphical image of the network, with menus detailing the various
facilities available.

Lanlord costs UKP 580 for a ten station/user license. Higher
number site licenses are available on request and by negotiation
with the company, up to a maximum system capacity of 250
users.

(Steve Gold/19920526/Press & Public Contact: Microcom UK,
0753-654333)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1996 MAY 26 Computers As Fund-raisers - State Lotteries 05/26/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(ATL)(00012)

Computers As Fund-raisers - State Lotteries 05/26/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 26 (NB) -- Texas is about
to become the 35th state in the US to start a lottery. Georgia is
expected to follow suit after a November referendum.

What this means is that computers will be raising money directly
for most of the US states. All of the nation's lotteries are
heavily computerized. The same firms which dominate Las Vegas,
like Bally's Inc., dominate the market for lottery equipment and
software.

California's system is typical. Players have the opportunity to
choose a set of numbers. For the state's biggest game, it is six
two-digit numbers. Or, if they prefer, they can take a "quick
pick," in which a computerized random number generator spits
out a ticket. This reporter's father once won almost $300,000 off
one of these "quick picks."

Some states, like Illinois, also offer simpler games, with shorter
odds. Fewer numbers are selected, but lower prizes are offered.
These are similar in practice to the "numbers" games played in
poor neighborhoods for generations. One difference between the
state lotteries and the numbers, however, is that the numbers
runners actually took less of a cut off the top. In the
state games, the cut can be over one-third -- it's 40 percent in
Texas. This compares to the 10 percent taken out on Las Vegas
slot machines.

All this is really a throwback to computing's early days. One of
the first commercial orders for a computer, secured by the old
Univac company in 1946, was for a system that would run the
"tote board" at the old Bowie racetrack.

The computers behind the lotteries today are essentially
simple networks. In the case of California, each store selling
tickets for the big games has a PC, which includes printers to
create the tickets, spit out the tickets, and report results back on
a regular basis to a central system. A random number generator
in the central system picks the winners. Since it has reports on
sales, including ticket numbers, it can tell how many winning
numbers were given out.

Simpler games feature pre-printed tickets, and a covering which
can be wiped off with the side of a coin. In this case, the task
of printing and selecting winning numbers -- as well as
controlling the number of possible winners -- is all done in
advance. Such games are known as "instant wins."

In all cases, the result is the same. You have a better chance of
getting struck by lightning than winning the big jackpot. The
odds are much better in Las Vegas, because of the lower rake-off.
In fact, the odds are best on America's stock
exchanges, where discount brokers take out under one percent of
your money when you buy or sell a security, and where a total
loss of investment is not that common.

One more point about the state lotteries. Like other states,
Texas is promising to spend its winnings on "education." But in
other states, lottery money is quickly substituted for other
funds -- education budgets are decreased to make up for lottery
proceeds. Texas is also setting up a compulsive-gambling hotline,
with the number printed on each ticket. Considering the huge
number of sport gamblers in the state -- gambling on college
football is still illegal everywhere but Nevada -- that may be
the best result of the nation's newest lottery.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920526)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1996 MAY 26 Canadian PC Sales Still Growing, Apple Strong 05/26/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TOR)(00013)

Canadian PC Sales Still Growing, Apple Strong 05/26/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAY 26 (NB) -- Unit sales
of personal computers grew about nine percent to almost one
million units in 1991, according to a recent study by Evans
Research, a market research firm. However, revenues were up
only two percent over 1990, thanks to rapidly dropping prices.

Apple Canada showed very strong performance in 1991, Evans
said, gaining two percentage points of market share and moving
into a dead heat with IBM for the title of market leader in Canada.
Both had about 10.6 percent of the market in 1991, Evans
Research reported.

Bill Fournier, senior market analyst at Evans Research, said
Apple's increased market share came partly from sales to new
accounts and partly from selling more machines to existing
customers. The company shipped about 105,000 units in Canada
in 1991, he said, up from 79,000 in 1990. Evans predicts Apple
will ship about 120,000 units in 1992.

Evans also reported strong growth in the sales of portable
computers, which accounted for more than 16 percent of the total
market in 1991. Portables using Intel's 80386SX chip were most
popular, accounting for just over 26 percent of the total.

For 1992, Evans is forecasting even better growth in unit sales, at
about 13.5 percent. That would nearly match 1990's 15 percent
figure. The market research firm also forecast a rebound in revenue
growth to about 12 percent in 1992 -- again, just slightly below
1990's growth figure, which was about 12.5 percent by revenues.

(Grant Buckler/19920526/Press Contact: Bill Fournier, Evans
Research, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1996 MAY 26 Canadian IS Buyers Focus On Results: IDC Study 05/26/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TOR)(00014)

Canadian IS Buyers Focus On Results: IDC Study 05/26/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAY 26 (NB) -- The big
challenge for companies buying information technology in Canada
in 1992 is controlling costs and better justifying their investment in
the technology, according to a study by International Data Corp.
(Canada), a market research firm.

The study, entitled "The 1992 Canadian IT Customer Directions
and Spending Strategies," said Canadian companies continue
investing in information technology despite the weak economy,
but are focusing on strategic investments, upgrading older
systems, and integrating existing technology.

The study also forecast slow growth in information technology
spending in the coming year. The industry will grow at less than
three percent in 1992, said Valerie Dickson, an IDC researcher.

The study also looked at attitudes toward new technologies.
Respondents showed the greatest interest in workstations,
electronic data interchange (EDI), and image processing. Of the
companies surveyed, 65 percent said they were using
workstations, 43 percent EDI, and 22 percent image processing.

IDC also found increasing interest in computer-aided software
engineering (CASE) and object-oriented programming. Twenty-eight
percent of the respondents reported significant use of CASE, while
another 36 percent said they were exploring it. For object-oriented
programming, the figures were 17 percent and 49 percent.

Many organizations are looking into downsizing or otherwise
adjusting their systems. Downsizing from large central systems to
distributed hardware is the most popular direction, with 28 percent
of those surveyed saying they are doing so. Four percent reported
moving the other way by taking applications from distributed
systems to a central host. About 45 percent said they expect to
maintain their current mix of central and distributed systems.

About 22 percent of respondents said they have moved to
client/server computing, and another 21 percent plan to do so. A
further 30 percent said they would like to do so but were not sure
they would. The remainder had no plans for client/server computing
or considered the concept nothing more than a buzzword, IDC said.

Transportation and communication utilities showed the strongest
interest in client/server computing with 80 percent reacting
positively to the idea. Financial services companies showed the
lowest level of interest at 33 percent.

About half the respondents -- 51 percent -- favored an open
systems strategy. Most commonly, IDC found this meant adopting
a common operating system, but not necessarily Unix, which is
commonly identified with open systems. Common development
tools, database software, and programming languages were also
mentioned.

Respondents also showed growing acceptance of the idea of
outsourcing -- turning information systems operations over to an
outside company -- but more than two thirds still said they had no
plans to do so. More companies -- about 36 percent -- also
showed interest in relying on systems integrators to help them
put together new systems.

(Grant Buckler/19920526/Press Contact: Valerie Dickson, IDC
Canada, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1996 MAY 26 India's Popular Xenix-Based RDBMS Now For DOS 05/26/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(DEL)(00015)

India's Popular Xenix-Based RDBMS Now For DOS 05/26/92
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1992 MAY 26 (NB) -- The Madras-based
Coromandel Software Ltd. (Cosoft), which has developed a
full-fledged relational database management system -- Integra/SQL
-- has now launched the RDBMS' 386/486 version on the 32-bit,
DOS platforms.

Integra/SQL is claimed to have broken the 640 kilobyte DOS
barrier and can access the full memory available on the system
up to 16 megabytes (MB).

Multiple gateway access is possible simultaneously (native files,
Dbase, Cobol, Lotus 1-2-3), and forth generation language (4GL)
tools, such as Forms, Report Writer, and SQL are available for
Dbase users.

The new package, claims Cosoft, will enable DOS users to build
large integrated applications which were, until now, available only
on large machines and also integrate a CASE (computer-aided
software engineering) interface to Integra. Integra/SQL is also
available for Unix, Xenix 386/486 systems. Integra has an ANSI
standard SQL implementation and an X-Open standard file manager.

Integra/SQL already has over 9,000 installations in US, through its
association with SCO (Santa Cruz Operations) and about 700 in
the domestic market.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920526)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1996 MAY 26 Tandy Opens First SuperCenter In Europe 05/26/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00016)

Tandy Opens First SuperCenter In Europe 05/26/92
FORT WORTH, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 26 (NB) -- Tandy has
announced the opening of its first Computer City Supercenter in
Europe. The store will be located in Glostrup, a Copenhagen
suburb.

Tandy said it was opening the Denmark store in order to capitalize
on the computer retailing growth in Europe. Newsbytes has carried
several stories recently reporting significant international sales
growth for other PC makers. Several companies report that
international sales account for one-third or more of their sales
revenue.

Occupying about 20,000 square feet of floor space for sales,
service and warehousing, the Glostrup facility will operate as a
separate retail entity by Computer City Supercenters
International LLCC, a subsidiary of Tandy Corporation.

Tandy said the new store will be authorized to handle Apple,
Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and Victor hardware, as well as
software, peripherals, accessories and supplies.

Tandy said it will also open superstores in Sweden and Norway in
the next few months. A Computer City Supercenter is expected to
open in Bredden, a suburb of Stockholm, Sweden next month.
Another store is planned for Oslo, Norway. The company said that
that store is scheduled for opening in the fall of this year.

Tandy has opened 11 Supercenter locations since October of 1991.
Spokesperson Ed Juge told Newsbytes that the company plans to
have stores in St Louis, Baltimore, Dallas, and Rochester, New York
open by the end of May. Other stores are scheduled for Seattle,
Miami, Las Vegas, and Tampa, Florida.

(Jim Mallory/19920526/Press Contact: Ed Juge, Tandy Corp.,
817-390-3549)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1996 MAY 26 Correction: New For PC: The Home Medical Advisor 05/26/92



(CORRECTION)(IBM)(DEN)(00017)

Correction: New For PC: The Home Medical Advisor 05/26/92
MERRITT ISLAND, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 26 (NB) -- A
Newsbytes story about The Home Medical Advisor, a software
program  that indicates the type of treatment needed and the
type doctor of you should see, carried an incorrect phone
number.

The correct reader contact number should be 800-788-2099.

The Home Medical Advisor lets the user enter symptoms and the
program will offer various possibilities. The program also places
special emphasis on certain symptoms. Sudden swelling, for
example, usually requires quick attention, while gradual swelling
could probably wait until you can get an appointment with your
doctor.

According to Pixel Perfect, one advantage to the program is it
could save you a costly trip to the Emergency Room at your local
hospital. Another is not having to rely on home first-aid books
which may be out of date. The Home Medical Advisor will be
updated every eight months for registered users, said the
company.

The Home Medical Advisor has a suggested list price of $69.95.

(Jim Mallory/19920526/Press Contact: Stephani Perlmutter, PS
Associates for Pixel Perfect, 312-751-8436; Reader contact:
Pixel Perfect, 800-788-2099)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1996 MAY 26 Storagetek's 2Q Earnings Will Be Below Expectations 05/26/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00018)

Storagetek's 2Q Earnings Will Be Below Expectations 05/26/92
LOUISVILLE, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 26 (NB) -- Storage
Technology says its current estimates indicate that the second
quarter financial results will probably be below the company's
previous expectations.

Storagetek's David Reid declined to estimate the exact amount,
but  did confirm to Newsbytes that earnings are expected to be
below first quarter levels. However, Reid told Newsbytes that
Storagetek's performance is expected to improve through year
end, with overall earnings for the year about the same as in 1991.

Reid said the principal reason for the revised second quarter
estimate is continuing softness in orders for the company's 4400
automated cartridge system, customer hesitation due to IBM
introducing a competitive product, and competitive pressures,
particularly in Europe. Reid also cited unabsorbed overhead due
to lower than expected manufacturing volumes as a factor.

Reid was optimistic about Storagetek's chances against industry
giant IBM. Reid said early comparisons with the IBM library all
seem to favor Storagetek. "We think this will end some confusion in
the market," said Reid. Reid said customer reaction has been very
negative towards IBM's entry in the mass data storage market.
"Certainly there has been some hesitation in the market - this may
help end that," he said.

Storagetek said it believes library revenue will pick up in the
second half of the year, particularly in the fourth quarter. However,
those anticipated increases are expected to be offset by the
previously announced delay in its new product, "Iceberg."

The XL/Datacomp subsidiary acquired by Storagetek recently is
performing below expectation, according to Storagetek President
Ryal Poppa. Reid told Newsbytes that XL/Datacomp was not
meeting the plan that had been set at the start of the year, but the
results would not be dilutive to the stock. "They are paying their
share of the earnings," he said.

Poppa will have his chance this week to explain all of this to the
stockholders, when the company's annual meeting convenes May 27.
It should be an interesting meeting, with shareholder suits charging
fraud and securities violations pending. The Denver Post reported
that an Arizona stockholder said: "I'm going to try to nail these
people". Described by the Post as a major stockholder, the
individual reportedly said he wants Storagetek management "to turn
their profits back to the company or at a minimum place them in an
escrow account."

(Jim Mallory/19920526/Press Contact: David Reid, Storage
Technology, 303-673-4815; Reader contact: Storage Technology,
tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1996 MAY 26 Merisel To Distribute Entire Zenith Data Systems Line 05/26/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00019)

Merisel To Distribute Entire Zenith Data Systems Line 05/26/92
BUFFALO GROVE, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 26 (NB) -- Zenith
Data Systems has significantly increased the outlets for distribution
of  its entire personal computer line by signing Merisel, Inc., as a
national distribution account.

Until now, Merisel has only distributed Zenith monitors. Merisel VP
of Products Linda Kroog said the relationship would enhance
Merisel's current focus on portable computers. "We've found that
the factors which most influence a resellers buying decision with
systems are strength of brand, price competitiveness, and features,"
said Kroog. She said ZDS products rate highly in those areas.

In January Zenith said it would sell its personal computer products
through national mass market retailers, including K-Mart.

In addition to other Zenith Data Systems computers, Merisel will
be distributing the recently announced Z-Note portable computers.
Z-Note systems are desktop and notebook computers that are
shipped with built-in network capability. The Z-Note systems use
a $149 alternative to the traditional docking station to connect to a
network.

Zenith has said it plans to introduce a completely new line of
notebook and desktop computers, servers, and monitors in June.
While declining to provide further details, ZDS spokesperson John
Bace told Newsbytes that design and function features announced
at the  Spring Comdex trade show in Chicago recently would be
carried  through the company's entire products line.

(Jim Mallory/19920526/Press Contact: John Bace, Zenith Data
Systems, 708-808-4848)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1996 MAY 26  ****CA Acquires Two Windows Products 05/26/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00020)

 ****CA Acquires Two Windows Products 05/26/92
ISLANDIA, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 26 (NB) -- Continuing
a push into the Microsoft Windows market that it began late in 1991,
Computer Associates has acquired two software packages for
Windows. CA has bought the data access tool Visual Report Writer
from Working Set of Merrimack, New Hampshire, and the Realizer
BASIC-language development tool from Within Technologies of
Mount Laurel, New Jersey.

Visual Report Writer is a report generator that can extract data
from various desktop database packages, including dBase IV,
CA's CA-dBFast, and Clipper, the dBase-compatible package CA
recently acquired with the purchase of Nantucket Corp. of Los
Angeles.

Anders Vinberg, senior vice-president of research and development
at CA, said VRW is applicable to non-Windows as well as Windows
products, though the software itself runs under Windows. It will
let developers of Windows applications extract data from files
created by CA's Accpac accounting software, its Windows and
non-Windows database packages, and other software, he said.

Computer Associates will sell VRW as a stand-alone package for
$247 starting early this fall. Vinberg said the company also plans to
build the technology into some of its other products. CA officials
described VRW as the "strategic report generation technology" for
the company's Windows products in the future.

CA also announced the acquisition of Realizer, a graphical BASIC
development tool that Within Technologies first showed at
Comdex/Spring 1991. A structured superset of the BASIC
programming language with added features to use Windows
resources, Realizer is aimed mainly at "power end-users," Vinberg
said.

The move reflects a CA decision to make the BASIC language a
company standard for Windows products, Vinberg added, explaining
that BASIC will be used as the macro language in all of CA's
Windows applications. Vinberg said the market seems to be moving
to BASIC as the standard language for end-user development and
to the Xbase (dBase and compatible products) language for
business applications development.

Release 1.0 of Realizer is available immediately. CA did not quote
a price, but Within Technologies launched the product at $395.

(Grant Buckler/19920526/Press Contact: Bob Gordon, Computer
Associates, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1996 MAY 26 ****UK: Mercury Communications Hit By Telecom Fraud 05/26/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(00021)

 ****UK: Mercury Communications Hit By Telecom Fraud 05/26/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 26 (NB) -- Mercury
Communications has revealed that it has been hit by a long
distance telephone fraud, with losses estimated at around
UKP 500,000.

Police in London have arrested at least 15 people in connection
with the scam over the Bank Holiday weekend. According to Doug
Walker, Mercury's press officer, the raids were carried out on
Saturday, and all those arrested were interviewed and bailed. No
charges have been preferred, he told Newsbytes.

"It's the first case of its type," he said, adding that it involved
applying for bogus IDs for use on the Mercury long distance
telephone network, as well as using other people's legitimate
Mercury IDs.

"It's always difficult to assess the losses involved in cases of
this type, but we think we're looking at network misuse rather
than calls we would have obtained income for," he said.

The police raids stemmed from a report carried out by the News of
the World, a National Inquirer-type weekly newspaper published in
London. According to Walker, an investigative journalist working
for the paper uncovered the possibility that a number of people
were involved in a Mercury long distance phone network scam
while looking at another case. The police were informed and the
aids carried out as a result of the tip-off.

Walker confirmed that Mercury long distance telephone codes
were only validated for use on a localized basis, meaning that a
code issued for, say, Central London, would not work outside the
city.

"I understand that the people involved were aware of this, but
were able to use the phone codes locally," he told Newsbytes.

(Steve Gold/19920526/Press Contact: Mercury Communications,
071-528-2000)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1996 MAY 26  ****German Digital Mobile Phone Network Begins July 7 05/26/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00022)

 ****German Digital Mobile Phone Network Begins July 7 05/26/92
DUSSELDORF, WESTERN GERMANY, 1992 MAY 26 (NB) --
Mannesmann, the parent company to Mannesmann Mobilfunk,
has announced that Germany's first digital mobile network will
commence operations on July 7 -- around a year later than
originally scheduled.

As well as being the first digital mobile phone network
operational in Germany, the D2 network will be the first
privately-owned network of its type in the country. Existing
mobile phone networks are operated by Deutsche Bundespost
Telekom (DBT), the state telecommunications company.

Mannesmann has declined to say how much the D2 network, or
the delay itself, has cost the company in lost revenues, but has
gone on record as saying that he expects the Mobilfunk operation
to break even by 1994 and achieve net profits the following year.

According to the Reuters news network, the Mobilfunk operation is
said to have cost DM 2,000 million ($9,800 million) if costs are
projected to the end of the year. Mannesmann has a 51 percent
share in the Mobilfunk operation, with other shareholders
including Cable & Wireless in the UK and Pacific Telesis in the
US.

Mobilfunk is wasting no time in getting its network to as wide a
potential audience as possible. The network should cover 80
percent of the West German population by the end of the year.
The haste to get the network operational is explained by the fact
that the DBT digital mobile phone network should be on-line soon,
using similar frequencies, operating under the D1 network banner.

Both the D1 and D2 networks face competition from a third source,
however. Plans call for a new low-power digital mobile phone
network, aimed at city dwellers, to be known as the E1 network.
No details on a launch date for the E1 network have been
announced, but Newsbytes understands that it could be soon.

(Steve Gold/19920526)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1996 MAY 26 New For Unix In UK: Wordperfect Debuts On HP 9000 05/26/92


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LON)(00023)

New For Unix In UK: Wordperfect Debuts On HP 9000 05/26/92
ADDLESTONE, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 26 (NB) --
Wordperfect UK has ported its Wordperfect 5.0 word processor
to two new Unix platforms -- the Hewlett-Packard 9000 Series
700/800 and the Series 300/400 range of machines.

Both versions of the package, which run on the HP-UX 8.0
operating system, retail for UKP 399. Five and ten user versions
sell for, respectively, UKP 795 and 1,195.

Both packages have been welcomed by Hewlett-Packard. Nigel
Batterton, HP's software partner marketing manager, said he is
pleased that the word processing package is at last available on
the HP Unix systems. "This complements our full range of
business software on Open Systems," he said.

This new port of Wordperfect 5.0 for Unix includes a number of
high-end word processing features, including automatic
referencing, merge, columns, footnotes, endnotes, and variable
fonts. Kerning and a full thesaurus are included as standard.

In common with other versions of Wordperfect 5.0, these versions
include file standardization with all other copies. A file created
under the package could, for example, be loaded straight into a
DOS version without modification.

(Steve Gold/19920526/Press & Public Contact: Wordperfect UK,
0932-850500)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1996 MAY 26 Dowty Lands UKP 30 Million Contract With FAA 05/26/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(00024)

Dowty Lands UKP 30 Million Contract With FAA 05/26/92
WATFORD, HERTS, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 26 (NB) -- The US
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded Dowty
Communications a contract to provide its DCX series of
communications processors for the third phase of a major
network expansion program.

The contract has an estimated value of UKP 300 million which,
according to Dowty, makes it the largest single contract in the
company's history.

Under the contract, Dowty Communications Inc., whose
headquarters are located near Washington DC, will provide the
DCX series of products, which feature user switching, as well as
bridging and gateway capabilities. Terms of the contract also call
for Dowty to provide installation, maintenance, training, and
engineering support services.

Announcing the awarding of the contract, Bruce Brain, Dowty's
information technology division managing director, said that it
represents a feather in Dowty's cap as regards the FAA's
satisfaction with DCX products.

"Dowty was able to demonstrate the reliability and overall cost-
effectiveness of the DCX product line to the FAA, as well as the
excellent around-the-clock support capabilities that they demand
from their key suppliers," he said.

The DCX series is a statistical multiplexer-based range of
modular communications processors, concentrators and "feeder"
units. The family of products is used to interconnect various
networks (local and wide area), along with a variety of devices.

(Steve Gold/19920526/Press & Public Contact: Dowty
Communications, 0923-258444)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1996 MAY 26 GAO Says CHCS Medical Computer Sys A Potential Danger 05/26/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00025)

GAO Says CHCS Medical Computer Sys A Potential Danger 05/26/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 26 (NB) -- The US General
Accounting Office has joined the battle over the Composite Health
Care System (CHCS) contract awarded to San Diego, California-
based Science Applications International Corp. by the Department
of Defense. Saying in a report released last week that the
medical information computer system is potentially dangerous, the
GAO also reports that it is wildly over budget.

The first real hints of problems with military-related hospital
computer problems came last year when anonymous employees
of Veterans Administration Hospitals sent reports to several
Washington-based publications outlining the major errors to be
found in patient records at some VA hospitals.

The VA conducted an investigation at that time by going to a
couple of facilities in the Washington area. The agency reported
a clean bill of health at those facilities, but there were continued
charges of a cover-up and poor management practices.

The CHCS software was supposed to clear up some of the
problems reported last year, but despite three year's development
effort, the GAO report, along with comments from doctors at
Walter Reed Hospital indicate that major problems still exist in
the system being tested.

Last November the GAO released another report on CHCS which
said that an incomplete version of the software, which was then in
two alpha test sites was being deployed too quickly by the
Department of Defense to a further 12 beta test sites.

Eventually the $1.6 billion CHCS system is intended to provide a
large amount of the patient-services data management at nearly
700 military hospital sites around the world, providing everything
from appointments to radiology and pharmacy record keeping.

The GAO's criticism of the DoD's proposed test procedure was
based on the notion that the alpha version of CHCS lacked vital
features such as retrieval of old records, making the move to
beta testing a meaningless step.

In its report, "Medical ADP Systems: Changes in Composite
Health Care System's Deployment Strategy are Unwise," the
GAO said that the off-line storage and retrieval of patient data is
vital to the system's overall operational performance.  "It is not
judicious to deploy CHCS hoping that its open-ended cost growth
will be controlled by a capability promised in the future," the
report concluded.

At that time Captain Paul Tibbits told Government Computer
News: "Our deployment strategy is quite reasonable and quite
sound, and it supports the very clearly and strongly expressed
desires of the three military departments. The archive-retrieve
capability is quite a low-risk solution."

He pointed out that a major review of the project was scheduled
for March of 1992.

That review, has resulted in the GAO's recently released report
which predicts a $400 million cost overrun and says that a system
of duplicate patient records could lead to incorrect treatment
because old records were not all updated or purged in a timely
manner.

A spokesperson for the company said that it had not been given an
opportunity to respond to the GAO findings before the report was
published and went on to say, according to the Washington Post,
that the software was not at fault, it was only automating a
system which was already flawed and that the process of
converting over to computerized record keeping was merely
exposing existing problems.

The company says that the cost overrun is only apparent, not
real, and is due to the GAO assuming that the system has a
useful lifetime only half as long as the 10 year design life.

Originally contracted for in 1988, the CHCS software is written
in DEC Standard Mumps and operates under VMS on DEC 6000-
series VAX mainframe, but smaller installations will use DEC 4200
line systems. Users access the system via DEC VT 320 terminals.

CHCS is based on three components: the outpatient clinic
services module; modules for radiology, pharmacy, appointment
scheduling, and patient administration functions; and the in-
patient order entry module (IPOE) module. The CHCS software's
task is to integrate order entry and reporting using the nine
major modules.

Back in February  Science Applications International Corp., said
that it was reworking the IPOE after complaints from doctors
using the system.

SAIC's partners on the project include Hewlett-Packard Co., IBM
Corp., and Xerox Corp. Estimated revenue for 1991 was $630
million.

(John McCormick/19920526/Press Contact: SAIC, 619-546-6000)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1996 MAY 26 Dev't Begins On Pen Computer Integrated Digitizer/Recog Sys 05/26/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(WAS)(00026)

Dev't Begins On Pen Computer Integrated Digitizer/Recog Sys 05/26/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 26 (NB) -- Scriptel and
ParaGraph have joined forces to produce an integrated
digitizer/recognition system for the pen computer industry.

Until now the digitizer and handwriting recognition software
portions of a pen computer were developed separately and the two
companies feel that by integrating the development effort they can
produce a faster and better product for use by a number of original
equipment manufacturers.

ParaGraph is a US-Russian joint venture with headquarters in
Moscow, Russia, and an office in Colorado.  The company develops
handwriting recognition software and back in April signed an
agreement with Go Corporation to port ParaGraph's Calligrapher
software to Go Pen-Point computers.

Go has about 30 software developers working on producing
applications for its operating system, while Microsoft has nearly
200 developers producing software for its rival Pen Windows
environment.

Scriptel, a publicly traded company based in Columbus, Ohio, was
founded in 1982, has gross annual sales approaching $2 million,
and employs 20 people. The company's main products are
digitizers used in medical and CAD (computer-aided drafting)
applications.

The main advantage of ParaGraph recognition over earlier
handprinting software is the ability to recognize both printing
and "writing" or cursive text input. Once converted to digital
form the electronic "image" captured from the screen of the pen
computer is processed by handwriting recognition software and
converted into ASCII format capable of controlling the computer
or being stored as data.

Digitizers have been available for many years, but they are
mostly used to store images directly as input for drawing
programs, not as a text input system which can eliminate the
need for a keyboard.

ParaGraph technology is likely to start showing up in Apple
Computer systems because those companies have also recently
signed an agreement giving Apple access to ParaGraph's
developments.

In other pen-related news, the Reuters news service says that
Ting Peripherals has announced that it is acquiring Nimble
Computer, holder of an exclusive license to another artificial
intelligence-based system of cursive writing recognition. The
company, according to the report, will have AI-based handwriting
recognition pen computers on the market by the end of this year.

(John McCormick/19920526/Press Contact: James W. France,
Scriptel, 614-276-8402)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1996 MAY 26 New For PC: CA Updates SuperCalc Spreadsheet 05/26/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00027)

New For PC: CA Updates SuperCalc Spreadsheet 05/26/92
ISLANDIA, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 26 (NB) -- Computer
Associates has announced an update to its venerable SuperCalc
spreadsheet package that adds some Windows-like features to the
user interface and adds some charting and spreadsheet publishing
features.

The company also updated Silverado, its database add-on package
for SuperCalc, to take advantage of the new release.

SuperCalc 5.5 has full support for a mouse, CA said, and adds a
tool bar that lets users execute common operations by clicking on
buttons -- a feature now common in spreadsheet packages that run
under Windows.

Spreadsheet publishing features include the inclusion of Bitstream
fonts and a page preview feature that shows on the computer screen
just how the worksheet will look when printed. A print-to-fit
feature automatically scales spreadsheet output to fit on a single
page. Advanced Function Printing (AFP), which allows for assorted
fonts, borders, lines, and shading, is now available on dot-matrix
as well as laser printers, CA said.

A multi-page chart capability allows for charts of data from three-
dimensional spreadsheets. The new release also makes it easier
to define charts in one step, CA said, and adds other charting
features.

Other new features include the ability to reference external multi-
page spreadsheets, including those created with rival Lotus 1-2-3,
and the ability to attach notes to any cell in the worksheet. An
auto-save function saves worksheets at specified intervals, a
function selector lets users choose functions from a menu, and
the best fit option adjusts column width automatically to fit the
widest entry.

Silverado version 1.1 adds relational database capabilities to
SuperCalc 5.5. A version of Silverado also exists for Lotus 1-2-3.
CA plans to release a Windows version of SuperCalc in the first
quarter of 1993, said Bob Gordon, a spokesman for the company.

CA-SuperCalc 5.5 is due to be available in August for $149.
Silverado 1.1 is due to be available at the same time, at a price
yet to be announced.

(Grant Buckler/19920526/Press Contact: Bob Gordon, Computer
Associates, 516-342-2391, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1996 MAY 26 Globe Information To Market NewsEdge In Canada 05/26/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00028)

Globe Information To Market NewsEdge In Canada 05/26/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAY 26 (NB) -- Globe
Information Services, the electronic publishing division of the
Toronto newspaper The Globe and Mail, will market NewsEdge, a
news-feed filtering package for PCs running Microsoft Windows,
in Canada.

Globe Information announced a marketing agreement with Desktop
Data of Waltham, Massachusetts, the developer of NewsEdge.
NewsEdge is available in Canada now through Globe Information
Services, and the first customer is John Labatt, the Toronto brewery,
which is due to install the product within days, according to Douglas
Hobbs, manager of marketing and business development at Globe
Information.

NewsEdge captures news from an electronic news feed such as
that provided by Globe Information Services Info Globe or Dow-Jones
News Retrieval. Each user can define as many as 16 profiles that
select the news items of interest to them. NewsEdge can then
display headlines of relevant news stories on the computer screen,
and can be set up to sound an alerting beep when an important
story is received.

NewsEdge also creates a database of news stories on the user's
computer, making it possible to search the full text of the stories
for key words and phrases, company officials said.

NewsEdge will work with a variety of news services provided by
Globe Information Services or with other services available from
third parties, Hobbs said.

The software can run in the background under Microsoft Windows
while a user is doing other work on the PC, he said.

(Grant Buckler/19920526/Press Contact: Douglas Hobbs, Globe
Information Services, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Marni
Hoyle, Desktop Data, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1996 MAY 26 NEC Develops Neuro Computer-Based Stock Analysis Sys 05/26/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00029)

NEC Develops Neuro Computer-Based Stock Analysis Sys 05/26/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 26 (NB) -- NEC has come up with an
extremely convenient tool for stock traders. It is a neuro
computer-based stock analysis system.

The firm has already tested this system, and a spokesman claims
it to be quite accurate and practical.

NEC's stock analysis system is based on a Unix computer. It will
be able to tell a similar price movement compared with the past
data. This computer system has already been equipped with
15 years of stock charts for the prices of 1,700 listed firms at
the Tokyo Stock Exchange market. The system compares each
data with current price movement. If there is a similar pattern, it
indicates the name of the stocks affected.

According to NEC, this pattern matching system is similar to that
of a sound pattern matching system. Current computer systems
have difficulty in telling the similarity in patterns unless they are
completely the same pattern. NEC has overcome this problem by
combining a sound recognition method and neural networking of
neuro computers.

NEC's neuro-computer system is expected to be practically
applied soon. However, NEC is improving this system to tell
future stock prices even more accurately.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920526/Press Contact: NEC,
[phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1996 MAY 26 Japan Electronic Mail Association Created 05/26/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00030)

Japan Electronic Mail Association Created 05/26/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 26 (NB) -- The Japan Electronic Mail
Association will be set up this July. The association will seek
possibilities to exchange electronic mail among various personal
computer networks including Japan's PC-VAN and NIFTY-Serve.

The association is backed up by the Japanese Ministry of Posts
and Telecommunication. The Japan Electronic Mail Association
aims to unite personal computer networks via e-mail, which will
be based on the Message Handling System or MHS.

The 1992 version of the MHS will be announced soon. It is said
it will take some time for this system to be actually applied in
Japan.

The participating firms in the association are NTT, KDD, Intec,
Network Information Service, NEC, Nifty, and Fujitsu. The
participation of NEC, Nifty, and Fujitsu is seen as extremely
important by some analysts -- NEC and Nifty have nearly 500,000
members each.

So, the interconnection of the two major personal computer
networks will give a big boost to stimulate potential users. With
this interconnection, these firms are expecting even more
membership.

To begin with the association will talk about exchanging text mail.
Later, it intends to support multimedia texts such as graphics
data, color data, and sound data.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920526)
#ENDCARD



#CARD :1992 MAY 25 AST Reduces Prices On Fastboard Upgrades 05/25/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00001)

AST Reduces Prices On Fastboard Upgrades 05/25/92
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 25 (NB) -- AST is
reducing prices on its Fastboards used to upgrade Premium and Power
Premium model computers. The reductions are as high as 17 percent,
the company said.

AST says the design architecture of the Premium II and Power Premium
systems, called Cupid-32, allows for more than just the upgrade of
the microprocessor (CPU) as the Fastboard also contains the first
complement of system memory, cache memory, and co-processor support
on a single board.

The company says it has also introduced a 486DX Fastboard that can
perform at 50 megahertz (MHz). The Fastboards are designed for use in
the AST Premium II and new extended industry standard architecture
(EISA)-based Power Premium brand computers.

AST says the Premium II and Power Premium series are also capable of
being upgraded with Intel's chip-level upgrades also known as the
overdrive chips. These new Intel microprocessor chips boast clock
speeds that are twice as fast and can replace their slower
counterparts. For example, a 486/25 could be replaced with a 486/50.

In addition, the company says users with Premium IIs can upgrade
their machines to the EISA standard with a new upgrade kit for that
purpose.

AST says it introduced upgradeable systems in 1986, the Premium II
line in 1990, and the Power Premium on May 4 of this year. The
company says the Power Premium line is geared specifically toward
providing performance in the graphically based Microsoft Windows
environment.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920522/Press Contact: Gerry Baker, AST, tel 714-
727-7959, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 25 Control Data's RISC-based Archival System 05/25/92

(NEWS)(UNIX)(DEN)(00002)

Control Data's RISC-based Archival System 05/25/92
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 25 (NB) -- Control Data
Corporation's products group has announced ControlServ, a data
storage and retrieval system for use in distributed, heterogeneous
computing networks.

CDC said ControlServ is a RISC-based system which provides
automated backup, archiving, and retrieval for files throughout a
network, whether stored on the a server or on a Unix-based
workstation.

The company said it expects to release a version of ControlServ for
PCs and Macs later this year. The system uses magnetic media as the
primary storage device, with optical disk storage as the second
device.

ControlServ uses a CDC 4000 Infoserver equipped with one to two
gigabytes (GB) of magnetic disk capacity, and a 20 to 60 GB optical
disk library to store data. The company said the base price for a
ControlServ system is $69,500, with the top of the line system
priced at $112,600.

According to Necito Dela Cruz, product marketing manager for CDC,
its less expensive to buy a ControlServ system package, rather than
buying individual components to assemble a storage system. "The cost
of an integrated ControlServ solution is typically 30 to 40 percent
less than the cost of the individual components combined," he said.

Dela Cruz said users backup and retrieve files using a graphical
user interface based on X-Windows and Motif. Graphical user
interfaces allow users to select pictures representing the desired
action rather than typing complicated commands. Selection is
usually done by pointing with a mouse or other pointing device and
clicking on the picture, or icon.

According to CDC, ControlServ keeps the cost of archiving data lower
by saving less frequently needed files on the cost-effective optical
disk library, using the magnetic media for files more frequently
needed.

ControlServ works with CDC's 4000 Infoserver series, Cyber 910/920
workstations and servers, Sun 3 and 4, Hewlett-Packard HP-UX, DEC's
Ultrix, IBM's RS/6000 and systems from Silicon Graphics and MIPS
Computer.

(Jim Mallory/19920522/Press contact: Charlotte Fransen, CDC,
612-482-4857; Reader contact: CDC, 800-257-6736)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 25 AST Aids Asian Dev't Bank's Annual Meeting 05/25/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00003)

AST Aids Asian Dev't Bank's Annual Meeting 05/25/92
CENTRAL, HONGKONG, 1992 MAY 25 (NB) -- AST supported the Hong Kong
Government at the 25th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of
the Asian Development Bank (ADB) by providing 40 AST computers to
help facilitate document processing during the meeting held between
May 4 and 6, 1992.

AST's dealer System Pro also provided installation and technical
support services for the event.

The meeting was attended by delegations headed by the finance ministers
or heads of the central bank from 50 member countries or territories and
senior representatives from the world's banks and financial
institutions.

Installed at the registration desks, the press center, the Government
and ADB Secretariats, and the ADB Management and Board of Director's
Offices, the AST computers were utilized to help perform word
processing, registration, and such document production tasks as
preparation of Governor's statement.

AST Asia Pacific Managing Director Philip Wong said: "As one of the
leading PC suppliers to the Government and the banking sector, AST is
honored to be able to contribute to the success of the event which
serves as a good opportunity for promoting Hong Kong's image as a
thriving international financial and trading center."

(Brett Cameron/NBHK9205.24/Press Contact: Cania Wong, Media Dynamics
Limited, Tel [phone]; Hong Kong Time is GMT + 8)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 25 UK: ACT Sigmex Intros 9000 Series PCs 05/25/92



(NEWS)(UNIX)(LON)(00004)

UK: ACT Sigmex Intros 9000 Series PCs 05/25/92
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 25 (NB) -- ACT Sigmex has announced
a modular series of PCs called the 9000 series. The machines are
based around Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) and are being aimed
at Unix users, although DOS and OS/2 can easily be run on the
systems.

Prices start at UKP 7,000 for the machines. This fairly hefty
entry-level price tag is justified by Andy Durham, the company's
sales and marketing manager, who said that the machines have been
designed to meet the specialist graphics requirements of
telemetric applications, such as energy management control room
systems, as well as real-time graphical information display
systems.

"The computer graphics industry has undergone significant growth
in the last ten years and now accounts for approximately 15
percent of all computing applications. Large organizations, such
as public utilities, are realizing the importance of advanced
graphical applications for both operational and administrative
uses which, in many instances, need to run within the same
corporate infrastructure," he said.

According to Durham. The 9000's flexible modular design allows
the most cost-effective system to be built for the user,
regardless of his/her graphics requirements.

ACT claims that the 9000 is the first graphics system that
provides integrated GKS and X-Windows functionality in a single
user interface. This feature allows X applications to run under
one Window, while GKS runs in another.

(Steve Gold/19920521/Press & Public Contact: ACT Sigmex - Tel:
0403-50445)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 25 New For PC: Magic Database Upgrade 05/25/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00005)

New For PC: Magic Database Upgrade 05/25/92
WEMBLEY, MIDDLESEX, 1992 MAY 25 (NB) -- Magic Software
Enterprises (MSE) has announced Magic 5, a new version of its
code-free, object-oriented application development system. The
package now runs under Windows, but still allows users to develop
database applications without the need for programming knowledge,
the company claims.

Other enhancements to the package over earlier versions include
full mouse support for text-based applications and improved
client/server facilities. The package's data dictionary has been
expanded to allow more features to be integrated into the final
application.

"The overwhelming popularity of Windows has shown just how
susceptible the computer industry is to rapid change," explained
Alex Hill, the company's managing director.

"Changing the computing platform is a major step, and risky for
MIS (management information systems) managers. As investments
must be protected, no one can afford to pick the wrong
technology. Magic's interoperability and database independence
have been designed to eliminate this dilemma, with programming
functionality to take developers and end users well beyond the
4GL era," he said.

Pricing on Magic 5 depends on site licensing requirements. To
date, more than 120,000 licences have been sold on over 25
countries, the company claims. Users include British Telecom,
Hewlett-Packard, and the General Electric Company.

One interesting feature of Magic 5 is that the package has a new
editing and automatic program generation (APG) facility. This
allows prototype programs to be developed fairly quickly.
Professional programmers can then, if need be, work on the
prototype application to produce a final stand-alone program.

(Steve Gold/19920522/Press & Public Contact: Magic Software
Enterprises - Tel: [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 25  ****Japan: Speedy Color LCD Breakthrough 05/25/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00006)

 ****Japan: Speedy Color LCD Breakthrough 05/25/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 25 (NB) -- Toshiba claims to have made
a color liquid crystal display (LCD) that is as fast as
a Braun tube-type display used in desktop type computers.

Toshiba calls its original technology the "Level Adjusted
Operation" method and reports it is based on TFT (thin film transistor)
technology. Toshiba reports the speed of change from one screen image
to another takes only 17 milliseconds. Existing color LCDs takes
around 40 to 60 milliseconds. This means Toshiba's latest LAO color
LCD is two to three times faster than conventional color LCDs.

Toshiba says its color LCD it can support software that requires
a responsive screen, and does so with images that are extra crisp
and clear.

Toshiba's LAO color LCD is still prototype but the firm expects to
apply it eventually to high definition color TVs as well as color
LCD computers within three years. It is also expected to apply the
technology to multimedia computers.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920525/Press Contact: Toshiba, +81-3-3457-
2100)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 25 Russia: 2 Computer Expos Coming 05/25/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(MOW)(00007)

Russia: 2 Computer Expos Coming 05/25/92
ST PETERSBOURG, RUSSIA, 1992 MAY 25 (NB) -- Restek company, with
support from the city mayor and the UNESCO informatics committee, will
sponsor two computer exhibitions in St Petersbourg later this year.

The Municipal Information Systems Show will be held July 14-18,
while the more general Informatics and Computer Technics exhibition is
scheduled November 25 - December 1.

Both events, held in the Gavan (Harbor) exhibition center, have
"international participation," the managers said. Inexpensive
accommodation packages are available from Restek.

Concerning the scope of the exhibition, Roman Okunev, exhibition
spokesman, said that coverage will be broad enough to attract more
visitors, as usually happens with the medium-sized computer events in
Russia.

(Kirill Tchashchin/199204/Press Contact: Restek, Roman Okunev, phone +7
812 356-3555; phone/ fax [phone]; e-mail [e-mail])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 25 Olivetti Takes Stake In Italian Rail Modernization Project 05/25/82



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00008)

Olivetti Takes Stake In Italian Rail Modernization Project 05/25/82
IVREA, ITALY, 1992 MAY 25 (NB) -- Olivetti has announced it is
taking a 20 percent stake in Datasint, a joint venture company
that the Italian state railway company is launching to modernize
the communications of its network.

While the idea behind Datasint is to computerize the Italian
railway network, the railway company is undoubtedly preparing the
way for the impending liberalization of Italy's telecom network,
in line with European Commission policies.

The Italian railway company will hold 60 percent of the shares in
Datasint, with Finisiel holding the other 20 percent. Financial
details of the company have not been released.

The deal gives Olivetti a slice of business that it has
complained that it has not had access to in the past. The deal is
good news for Olivetti which has been losing business in Italy as
the country opens up its telecom markets to outside companies,
in line with EC rules.

The Italian rail network is currently undergoing a period of
great change. As air routes in Europe reach saturation point,
travellers are turning to the railways to provide rapid transport
between major cities. Italy's network is currently changing to
introduce high-speed trains which can speed travellers between
capital cities at speeds of up to 300 kilometres (200 miles) per
hour.

(Steve Gold/19920525)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 25 West German PTT Bows To EC: Shuffles Line Leasing Costs 05/25/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00009)

West German PTT Bows To EC: Shuffles Line Leasing Costs 05/25/92
BONN, WESTERN GERMANY, 1992 MAY 25 (NB) -- In what appears to a
move to satisfy the European Commission (EC), Deutsches
Bundespost Telekom (DBT) has announced plans to cut long
distance leased line rates by as much as a third. Local leased
line rates, however, look set to rise as a result.

Although EC officials have been pressing for the state-controlled
telecom company to cut its leased line rates, the decision to
hike local line rates will come in for criticism. Newsbytes
notes, however, that many companies will probably switch to the
new generation of "virtual" local private lines being offered by
West German companies, or, alternative, integrated services
digital network (ISDN) circuits, which are also offered by DBT.

EC officials have been lobbying hard for a change in West
Germany's telecom rules. Currently, DBT holds a near-monopoly
position in the German telecom market, whereas the EC wants as
near to a free market situation -- as currently operates in the
U.S. -- as possible.

(Steve Gold/19920525)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 25 Australia: Computerland Division Becomes Superstores 05/25/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00010)

Australia: Computerland Division Becomes Superstores 05/25/92
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, 1992 MAY 25 (NB) -- Melbourne-based high-end PC
dealer group HiSoft has announced it will launch a series of superstores
by the end of the year. HiSoft's Computerland franchise stores will
open in Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Sydney and Canberra.

They will feature software laboratories where users can test-drive
applications on appropriate hardware.

The first three sites will be operated by a company headed by former
HiSoft executives Braham Schneider and Paul Chirny. The sales plan
calls for AUS$20M sales in the first year. Computerland currently has
13 franchised stores in Australia. HiSoft MD Howard Merry has
pledged to build to 25 over the next two or three years. He said
the superstores would be "half as big as a K-Mart." He sees their
role not only as supplying PCs to users and small and medium
business, but also as a commodity and peripherals supplier for
corporate and government credit card purchasers.

Merry forecasts that HiSoft will boost revenue from AUS$146M to AUS$215M
in the year ending June 30. He predicts AUS$300M for the following year.
"The microcomputer business is really about owning the distribution
channel, and HiSoft has a substantial segment of the channel now,"
he said.

(Paul Zucker/19920525)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 25  ****Apple's Sculley Demos Newton; Forms Apple PIE 05/25/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00011)

 ****Apple's Sculley Demos Newton; Forms Apple PIE 05/25/92
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1992 MAY 25 (NB) -- After
months of speculation in the press, Apple's John Sculley has
demonstrated the innovative one-pound Newton personal
organizer. At the same time he announced the formation of a
new division -- Apple PIE (Personal Interactive Electronics) -- to
concentrate on new technologies and products in the fields of
computers, telecommunications, entertainment, and consumer
electronics.

Newton, small enough to fit into a shirt pocket, is designed to
act as a database and to utilize built-in intelligence. It will get
its first public showing at the Consumer Electronics Show in
Chicago this week.

Sculley, chairman and chief executive officer for Apple, in
demonstrating the device, heralded it as the computer giant's
opening salvo aimed at the booming hand-held electronics
marketplace, according to a UPI report.

According to Sculley, the device is the first in a range of
products that will fuse together different technologies. "It'll be a
wonderful collision," he said. "This is a tremendously exciting
moment. It's the birth of a megaindustry that could shape the
1990s."

Newton was designed with the help of Japan's Sharp, who also
collaborated with Apple in the manufacture of one of the
company's new PowerBook notebook computers.

The PIE division already has 200 employees and has a research
facility in Cambridge, Mass., according to Sculley. PIE is also
working on a new programming language called Dylan,
designed for use with portable electronic devices and software.

(Ian Stokell/19920525)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 25 Cellular Phone Company NovAtel Sold In Two Parts 05/25/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00012)

Cellular Phone Company NovAtel Sold In Two Parts 05/25/92
CALGARY, ALBERTA, CANADA, 1992 MAY 25 (NB) -- The government of the
province of Alberta has sold NovAtel, the maker of cellular
telephone sets and switching technology, in two parts. Northern
Telecom will buy NovAtel's cellular systems technology, while a
Hong Kong company, Telexel Holding, will acquire the NovAtel name
along with its cellular phone manufacturing business and some other
products.

The province will get a total of $66.8 million for the company, for
which it paid nearly $160 million less than 18 months ago.

Telexel will pay the Alberta government C$3 million right away,
hand over accounts receivable worth C$5.8 million, and pay the
government at least C$20 million more over the next five years.
Northern Telecom will pay $38 million for its share, NovAtel
spokeswoman LaDawn Bly told Newsbytes.

The company expects about 300 of its 950 employees in Alberta will
lose their jobs, Bly said.

Bly said systems manufacturing at NovAtel's plant in Lethbridge,
Alberta, will be moved to a Northern Telecom plant in Calgary.
However, Telexel will continue making other products at the
Lethbridge facility, and also plans to re-open a plant in Calgary
that was closed in a reorganization last spring, she said.

The provincial government has been sole owner of NovAtel since the
beginning of 1991, when it bought the company from Telus, the
holding company for the provincial telephone carrier AGT. AGT,
formerly Alberta Government Telephones, was one of two original
partners in NovAtel. When the former Crown corporation was sold to
the public, the government guaranteed it would buy NovAtel back if
no other buyer could be found for the company.

Alberta paid Telus C$159.4 million for NovAtel. The province had
also put money into NovAtel earlier, through Alberta Government
Telephones.

In addition to NovAtel's cellular phone business, Telexel gets its
SCS-Libra microcellular technology, radio-frequency data units, and
global positional system products.

Northern acquires the 800CM cellular systems technology. Northern
was already NovAtel's exclusive supplier of 800-megahertz base
stations. The companies also announced that Northern Telecom will
provide service for existing 800 CM systems in the United States
and internationally.

NovAtel hopes to make the impact of the transition on its systems
customers "as minimal as possible," Bly said. For cellular
subscribers who buy its handsets and other products, she said, the
company expects the impact to be positive.

(Grant Buckler/19920525/Press Contact: LaDawn Bly, NovAtel,
403-295-4548, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 25  ****Memorial Day Holiday: Smaller Newsbytes Edition 05/15/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00013)

 ****Memorial Day Holiday: Smaller Newsbytes Edition 05/15/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 25 (NB) -- Due to the
Memorial Day holiday in the US, today's edition of Newsbytes is
smaller than usual compared to the average 30-40 news stories.

Most of the reports are generated overseas from our non-US bureaus
where it is not a holiday.

Newsbytes normal volume resumes tomorrow.

(Wendy Woods/19920525)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 25 Editorial: Open Systems -- I Just Don't Get It! 05/25/92


(EDITORIAL)(UNIX)(SFO)(00014)

Editorial: Open Systems -- I Just Don't Get It! 05/25/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 25 (NB) -- Okay, so
now I'm confused.

They say Unix is actually "open systems" but each vendor adds
a few bells and whistles to their own version to make it more
appealing than the next, and consequently, applications written
for one strain will not run on another.

Then they say DOS and IBM PCs and compatibles are "proprietary"
and yet you can buy a compatible PC from a thousand different
hardware vendors that will run tens of thousands of different software
packages from all over the globe usually without any tinkering and
tweaking.

Now, as a user, I don't really give a monkey's armpit about the
technicalities of the situation. As far as I'm concerned an "open
system" is one where the hardware is not controlled by a single
vendor, a la Apple's Macintosh. You can go out there and shop
around from an almost infinite number of vendors, from "big name"
brands to "no-name" clones, taking your chance with low-cost,
high-powered, no-support back street firms, or high-profile,
guaranteed support, but at a higher cost, from the big boys.

As a user I want to be able to buy any one of a zillion different
software packages on the market, from desktop publishing to
games to office automation to nifty utilities, and know that I can
go home, break open the packet and plug it in without any
problems.

I just don't understand all this Unix snobbery. What the heck
is the point of all this "open systems" talk if nothing will
work with anything else!

With an IBM PC or compatible, you can go out there and spend
as much, or as little as you want, knowing that most of the
programs out there will run on it. The others will need a few
hardware upgrades, but you have hundreds of competing vendors
that are offering peripheral upgrades that you know will work
with your system, e.g. extra RAM and expansion boards.

And if you do want to migrate to a more powerful machine,
you know your old versions of particular software will work
with just about any PC from whatever manufacturer you
choose, unlike some platforms I could mention (System 7.0
anybody?)

Want to network fifty PCs? Or two PCs? Well there's plenty of
networking software to choose from that will always work with
any vendor's machines. Want to add a CD-ROM drive? Pick up
a copy of PC Magazine, there's only about a billion products
advertised. And all of them will work with your machine. Sometimes
hardware will need a little tweaking, but at least it'll work.

Am I overstating my point? Look, much of the computer industry
suffers from both a disturbing snobbery that dictates complete
distain for compatibility, and a total disregard for what the
majority of users actually want -- an uncomplicated computer,
not controlled by a single vendor, that offers trillions of good,
easy-to-use software packages at a reasonable cost. Until that
platform comes along, an IBM compatible PC is the only serious
platform available.

(Ian Stokell/19920522)
#ENDCARD




#CARD :1992 MAY 22 Hongkong: Motorola Engages Datacraft For Network Support 05/22/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00001)

Hongkong: Motorola Engages Datacraft For Network Support 05/22/92
CENTRAL, HONGKONG, 1992 MAY 22 (NB) -- Motorola has awarded a
maintenance contract to Datacraft Asia for the provision of
technical and service support to Cisco router installations on
much of Motorola's Asia network, which encompasses more than ten
countries. The network will allow all sites to access
IBM hosts at Motorola's central hub as well as to tap many other
facilities within and outside Motorola's network.

Cisco's router technology is a complete and managed networking
system for connecting local area networks (LANs) into a corporate
wide network. Datacraft, the regional systems integrator of Cisco
products, will provide technical and maintenance services to most of
Motorola's sites in Asia.

Datacraft Asia's director of support services, Aston Chiu, said,
"Datacraft is well-represented in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia,
Thailand and Taiwan. The agreement underscores Datacraft's regional
support capability and commitment to providing quality services to
customers."

A leading manufacturer of advanced equipment including semiconductors,
trunk radios and communications products, Motorola requires a high
level of data reliability and integrity and employs stringent
standards for its mission critical data operations.

Cisco products comply with Motorola's corporate requirements for
reliable data communications. "Cisco routers are intelligent devices
which can automatically switch data traffic to alternate paths for
transmission when line error is detected. This ensures fail-safe data
operations," said Lucien Wang, Asia-Pacific director for Motorola.

Cisco routers support Motorola's multi-protocol environment. Various
protocols including IBM SDLC, HDLC, and TCP/IP can be integrated into
Cisco routers to permit efficient data communication.

(Brett Cameron/NBHK9205.22/Press Contact: Ron Cattell, Datacraft Asia
Tel [phone]; Hong Kong time is GMT+8)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 22 Tandem Profits Return In 2Q 05/22/92

(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(HKG)(00002)

Tandem Profits Return In 2Q 05/22/92
CENTRAL, HONGKONG, 1992 MAY 22 (NB) -- Tandem Computers has announced
that revenue for its second fiscal quarter, ended March 31, 1992, 
rose to $502.9 million, with $8.8 million net income and
$ 0.08 earnings per share.

Compared with the same period in 1991, revenues increased
three percent from $489.4 million while net income decreased from
$18 million, and earnings per share were down from $0.17.

For the six months ended March 31 1992, revenue increased to $957.4
million, compared with $933.2 million achieved in the year-ago
period.

However, due to a $98 million pre-tax restructuring charge taken in
the first quarter of fiscal 1992, the company reported a net loss for
the period of $85.8 million, with $0.79 per share.

Tandem reported $25 million net income and $0.23 earnings per
share for the first six months of fiscal 1991.

"We are pleased that our efforts to restructure Tandem did not disrupt
our business and are beginning to show results," said James Treybig,
Tandem's president and chief executive officer.

"We took steps to streamline our organization and improve our
processes; revenue was up over the same quarter a year ago and we
exceeded our goals on the cost side. Asset management, an area in
which we continually do very well, was outstanding," Mr Trebig said.

In Asia, Roy Olmsted, managing director of Tandem Computers (Hong
Kong) Limited, said the company's business in the region continued to
grow and generate good income to the Tandem group of companies.

"The organization restructuring has helped us to develop our business
in the area. We believe our performance will improve further and
exceed the computer industry growth rate in Asia," said Mr Olmsted.

Mr Treybig also believes that Tandem's business will grow. "For the
third consecutive quarter, business in the United States posted year-
over-year growth. We believe this is an encouraging sign that the
recession may be abating," he said.

"Besides, our strategy of selling complete business solutions is
beginning to yield results as we recorded multiple orders for call
center and messaging applications," Mr Treybig added.

Treybig concluded, "For the remainder of the year, we will be
implementing marketing programs to meet the challenges of improving
revenue growth in the banking industry and to uncover new
opportunities in other industries, while maintaining our focus on
continuous operational improvement. We believe these programs and our
excellent products position us well to further improve profitability
when the world wide economy strengthens."

(Brett Cameron/NBHK9205.22/Press Contact: Donough Foley Media Dynamics
Limited Tel [phone]; Hong Kong time is GMT+8)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 22 Australia: Discovery Online Service Woes 05/22/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00003)

Australia: Discovery Online Service Woes 05/22/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 MAY 22 (NB) -- Discovery, Telecom's dial-up
data service in Australia, continues to have major problems. A press
release from Telesoft which provides the Discovery service told press
to be ready for "major changes in service direction."

Since the service has already wound-down considerably, it remains to
be seen how many more sections can be lost before the it loses
viability. Latest to go are the Australian Securities Commission and
Business Names databases, having moved to Telecom Plus where it is
anticipated that a number of OTC services will also find a home.

The Commonwealth Bank uses Discovery top provide a national home
banking service, and management says this will continue regardless of
the future of Discovery. The second largest bank, Westpac, uses its own
national home and business banking service, also using the packet
switching network, and the Commonwealth may follow Westpac's lead.

Industry speculation is that Telecom is attempting to sell the service
to a private operator, but there is no official comment. Despite a
number of rounds of staff cuts, yet another is expected in the next
month.

(Paul Zucker/19920522)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 22 First 900 MHz Cellular Service In Moscow 05/22/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00004)

First 900 MHz Cellular Service In Moscow 05/22/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 MAY 22 (NB) -- Plexsys International of Naperville,
Illinois, and Vimpel of Moscow, Russia has announced Euronet Telecom, a
breakthrough 50/50 partnership which will soon bring AMPS standard
cellular phone to Russia. Numerous attempts by large multinationals to
sell the technology in Russia have for years been stopped by complicated
frequency allocation problems.

Euronet Telecom includes Plexsys International, which provides the
technology; Vimpel, which pledged its 50,000 employees to develop and
locally produce most of equipment; Comincom, the provider of
international lines; and Ministry of Foreign Affairs telecommunications
service, which offers government support.

The company will set up the first cell at the Foreign Ministry
building as early as July and has in place its first 100 test
subscribers who will test drive the new system for the next four
months.

The company said it will have a huge cost advantage over existing
competitors and will offer service of higher quality than
competitors, according to Augie Fabela Jr., president of the
newly founded Euronet and the chief executive of Plexsys International.

Two different, current cellular service providers use the Nordic
NMT 450 MHz standard. Previous attempts to override the problem of
frequency allocation failed due to the lack of government support. Those
frequencies in the 800-900 MHz range were allocated to military
aircraft guidance systems. The Euronet system will work in 860 MHz
frequency range

"Now we have all needed licences to operate the full AMPS service,"
Augie Fabela said.

The US and Russian counterparts will share an equal stake in the
venture. In addition to Plexsys International, Fabela Group
International, a private investment fund, will supply the needed
capital. Augie Fabela Jr. said the dollar investment "will be in the
7-digit range." He said the Russian side has pledged massive sums of
rubles.

"We will make full use of existing high quality microwave
technology already available from Vimpel which will mean substantial cash
savings to Euronet," Fabela said.

Plexsys is an "aggressive partner, which has proprietary technology and
provides cost-effective equipment, and has the experience to work in
countries with a very poor communications infrastructure," said Vasily
Bakhar, vice-chairman of Vimpel International.

Plexsys International was established in 1986, employs 60 and has 32
cellular systems established worldwide, including the first installation
in Columbia and a 93% stake in the Carribean cellular market.

Vimpel used to be a manufacturer of military radar and other military
communications equipment. It is currently registered as a company
operating in Russia, Ukraine, and Byelorussia, and has 60,000 employees,
mostly in research and development.

(Kirill Tchashchin/199204/Press Contact: Anna Belova, Vimpel, phone +7
095 152-9747; fax [phone]; Augie Fabela, Plexsys International,
phone [phone]; fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 22 Sega Links With Sony On Game Software 05/22/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00005)

Sega Links With Sony On Game Software 05/22/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 22 (NB) -- Sega Enterprises has
agreed to jointly develop multimedia game software with Sony.
The agreement is expected to be signed in the US within a month.

Sega and Sony will sign the agreement through their subsidiaries
in the US: Sega of America in Redwood City, California, and Sony
Electronic Publishing in New York. The games will be developed for
Sega's Mega Drive, which is called the "Genesis" game player in the
US. Also, the software for "Game Gear" will be developed.

Sega is currently preparing to release a CD-ROM-based upgraded
game machine, the "Sega CD," toward the end of this year, just in
time for the lucrative Christmas season. Sony will also develop
software for this game machine.

The game software will incorporate features that use
Sony's multimedia technology. Sony has the rights to a host of motion
pictures and the music of big artists such as Michael Jackson.
Sony has previous experience in CD-ROMs for game machines --
Sony developed a CD-ROM for Nintendo's 16-bit game machine
Super-famicom.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920521/Press Contact: Sega Enterprises,
[phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 22 Hong Kong: Sun Next-Generation Workstations 05/22/92


(NEWS)(UNIX)(HKG)(00006)

Hong Kong: Sun Next-Generation Workstations 05/22/92
WAN CHAI, HONG KONG, 1992 MAY 22 (NB) -- Like its parent
company in the United States, Sun Microsystems in Hong Kong
has announced the launch of a new range of workstations. The
SPARCstation 10 which is claimed to be the world's fastest
desktop workstation, is based on the fast new superscalar
superSPARC chip from Texas Instruments.

The SPARCstation 10 is a major breakthrough both in terms of sheer
processing power and in pioneering a new generation of
workstations that brings the power of the telephone to the
desktop," said Mary Theis, Sun Microsystems' Hong Kong-based
marketing manager.

The SPARCstation is easy to upgrade with its "snap in" replacement
CPU boards. The compact motherboard also boasts built-in
Integrated Service Digital Network (ISDN) capabilities. That
means that the new machines are able to send and receive full
blown multimedia material and also enables users to take advantage
of digital telephone facilities.

The new workstation rounds out the high end of the best-selling
SPARCstation desktop product line, which already includes the
entry-level SPARCstation ELC, the low-cost color SPARCstation IPC
and SPARCstation IPX, and the SPARCstation 2.

The SPARCstation 10 achieves a multiprocessing performance rating
of up to 218 (SPECthruput89) and more than 400 MIPS in its
four-microprocessor configuration. This represents two to four times
the performance of previous SPARC microprocessors.

In addition, SMCC has quadrupled the speed
at which data can be processed through the memory on the
SPARCstation 10, and has more than doubled the rate at which the
system can retrieve data from disks. Bus speed -- the rate at
which the system can send and receive information from peripherals
-- has been doubled over previous SPARCstation systems.

The SPARCstation 10 runs SunSoft's Solaris 1.1 operating
environment. Later this year, the SPARCstation 10 will run Solaris
2.0, which provides support for symmetrical multiprocessing and
which will feature a multithreaded kernel. The Solaris 2.0
environment is based on Unix System V Release 4 (SVR4) and is
source compatible with Solaris 1.1.

Newsbytes inquired about prices for Hong Kong. "The pricing structure
for Hong Kong will be a little higher than in the US," responded
Benjamin K.H. Wong, general manager, Sun Microsystems Hong Kong
base. "What you pay for is the back-up and support, upgrades and total
solutions," he said, "so it's worth the extra dollars."

The uniprocessor models of the SPARCserver 10 and the SPARCserver
600MP system with SuperSPARC will be available in Asia with Solaris
1.1 in the third quarter of 1992. The SPARCserver 10/Model 52 will be
available in the fourth quarter of 1992. These systems --
including the two-processor model -- will be shipped with a future
version of Solaris 2.0 in the fourth quarter of 1992. Super SPARC
upgrades for existing SPARCserver 600MP systems will be available
in the third quarter of 1992.

(Brett Cameron/19920522/Press Contact: Sweedee Chin, Sun
Microsystems Hong Kong tel: [phone]; Hong Kong time is GMT + 8)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 22 CACI Wins Navy SUADPS Contract 05/22/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00007)

CACI Wins Navy SUADPS Contract 05/22/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 22 (NB) -- The US Navy Fitting
Out and Supply Support Assistance Center has awarded Washington-
based CACI International a four-year renewal contract to continue
to provide support for the Shipboard Uniform Automated Data
Processing System -- Real Time (SUADPS-RT).

SUADPS is a major data collection and processing system used on
larger US Navy ships.

CACI International Inc., had a 45 percent increase in net profits
for the first quarter of 1992 on a lower gross.

(John McCormick/19920520/Press Contact: John H. Baker of CACI,
703-841-7800)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 22 Baltic Electronic Newspaper Unveiled 05/22/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00008)

Baltic Electronic Newspaper Unveiled 05/22/92
KALININGRAD, RUSSIA, 1992 MAY 22 (NB) -- The Baltic Information
Networks (BaltIS) company of Kaliningrad, Russia, has started
"Far West," a daily electronic newspaper.

The "paper" contains 200-400 kilobytes of local news concerning
developments in the Kaliningrad (formerly Koenigsberg) region on the
Baltic Sea, and the development of the "Amber" free trade zone.
It covers business, politics, cultural developments, and also
carries the full text of local legislation.

The company claims it has a powerful reporting team. It is written
in Russian and distributed mainly through the Relcom electronic mail
network, which now has nodes in 250 cities across the former Soviet
Union.

One kilobyte of information (approximately half-page) cost 12 rubles (12
cents).

(Kirill Tchashchin/199204/Press Contact: BaltIS-Westinform, phone +7 0112
46-70-76; E-mail [e-mail])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 22 DSC May Be Pulling Out of Slump 05/22/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00009)

DSC May Be Pulling Out of Slump 05/22/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 22 (NB) -- DSC Communications
of Plano, Texas, hit hard last summer after a software bug in one
of its signal transfer points was blamed for phone outages on
both US coasts, may be starting to turn around.

The company was also hurt by Motorola's decision to start a
joint-venture with Northern Telecom and stop buying its cellular
phone switches. But now it's winning some contracts, and some of
the customers are mentioning its name again.

One of its latest deals is with Advanced Telecommunications of
Atlanta, a small long distance company which announced this week
it will offer a virtual network product to large businesses
starting this fall. A virtual network combines dedicated and
public phone lines to imitate a private corporate network at much
lower cost. ATC's offering is defined by software and aimed at
customers which are geographically dispersed but still have a lot
of intra-company calls. Point is, the whole thing is based on DSC
switches.

DSC still has some steep challenges. It must continue to have the
confidence of U.S. phone companies. It must find a way to replace
the business lost when Motorola defected. And it must find some
way to improve its market share internationally, which is where
the bulk of the industry's growth is right now. But, analysts
admit, at least the public relations bleeding has stopped.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920522/Press Contact: Advanced
Telecommunications Eileen Mullen, 404/261-5885)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 22 SMDS Consistency Achieved 05/22/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00010)

SMDS Consistency Achieved 05/22/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 22 (NB) -- The biggest news
to come out of the recent ICA show in Atlanta may prove to be
the announcement by major US phone companies that they'll all
deploy so-called frame relay and switched megabit digital
services with consistent features and identical standards.

Frame relay offers fast data transmissions by reducing the amount
of error-checking within the network. Instead, entire frames of
data are checked at each end of the transmission. SMDS offers
extremely fast data rates, in the range of millions of bits per
second, which can be used for transmitting medical images and TV-
like pictures. Such links can also be used to connect local area
networks in different cities.

The companies making these announcements include all seven
regional Bell companies, as well as GTE, Cincinnati Bell, and
Southern New England Telephone, which are major networks historically
independent of the old Bell System. By specifying exactly how the
SMDS and frame relay services will connect between their local
networks and long distance networks, all the operating companies
made it easier for companies to buy the services. The agreements were
made possible by Bellcore, the research unit of the 7 Bell companies.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920522/Press Contact: Bellcore, Mike Giovia,
201/740-4762)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 22 SprintMail Offers Encryption and Compression 05/22/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00011)

SprintMail Offers Encryption and Compression 05/22/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 22 (NB) -- At a time when
some major electronic mail services, notably MCI Mail, still
have trouble with Xmodem file transfers, Sprint's SprintMail has
been enhanced with both encryption and compression features.

Version 2.1 of the PC SprintMail software, first launched in
1986, also offers connections to other messaging platforms under
the X.400 standard as well as menus for users who don't like
typing long commands. It's used by companies which need to link
with a variety of other people, including those on other local
area networks and public e-mail services worldwide, the company
said. The package also supports fax telex and printed mail
delivery. SprintMail has about 350,000 users worldwide, the
company said, and is also available in the CIS.

Separately, Sprint announced it will offer 7-digit dialing for
its virtual private network customers using cellular phones. The
7-digit dialing will work within a private network from a car-
phone to both domestic and overseas destinations.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920522/Press Contact: Janis Langley, 202-828-
7423)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 22 Now You Can Receive Private Phone Calls 05/22/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00012)

Now You Can Receive Private Phone Calls 05/22/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 22 (NB) -- Former
American Citinet founder Richard Koch has improved his
Untraceable Phone Calls service with "Untraceable Phone
Extensions" which lets people receive calls without the caller
knowing who or where they are. Koch's $2/minute service, which
operates on a caller-paid "900" line, frustrates the
controversial "Caller ID" service by running the call through a
switch in Las Vegas, Nevada which overlays its number on the
call. If the call's recipient has Caller ID, in other words, all
they'll see is 1-900-STOPPER, not the original number from which
they are calling.

To use the new service, one dials the "900" line and inputs the
number where they'll be, receiving a special extension. Callers
then have to call the same line and enter that extension number.
The company's switch will then match the special extension to the
number where one is located and connect the call. Koch recommends
it to anyone who wants to keep their location or phone number a
secret.

A recorded explanation of how "Untraceable Extensions" works is
available toll free on 1-800-US-PRIVACY.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920522/Press Contact: Untraceable Phone
Calls, Richard Koch, 617-784-9015)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 22 TRX Field Computing Service For Trucks 05/22/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00013)

TRX Field Computing Service For Trucks 05/22/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 MAY 22 (NB) -- TRX Transportation
Telephone, known as TransTel, announced a plan to put cellular
base stations at truck stops, rest areas, and other truck
terminals, offering low-cost cellular service to the nation's
truckers.

TransTel calls its system the Nationwide Transportation
Radiotelephone Service and its base stations "Fone Zones."
Truckers will need to use special handsets which can get so-
called PCN microwave cellular services, to use the service. In
addition to regular voice calls, TransTel will also offer data
services, voice mail, fax services, vehicle location reporting,
regional weather and traffic reports, even financial transaction
services. The company filed a request with the Federal
Communications Commission in early May for what's called a
"Pioneer's Preference" on the microwave cellular technology, for
purposes of serving truckers. David A. Bayer, president of TRX
TransTel said in a press statement that "This not only makes the
trucking industry more efficient, it boosts the productivity of
other businesses that depend on trucks."

As a vehicle approaches an NTRS base station, a low-power
microwave-based transmitter will signal a receiver in the
driver's cab. The receiver will begin blinking and emit voice
directions if a message is waiting. After stopping, the driver
can use the handset to access the regular public telephone
network and contact the dispatcher or others. Perhaps more
important, any time a vehicle is within a base station's service
area, its location is automatically transmitted to the
dispatcher. The dispatcher can also receive information about the
truck's performance through an on-board diagnostic system within
the truck, which could tell about oil and coolant levels, engine
temperature and idle speed, average miles per hour and engine
RPMs, even the temperature inside the truck's refrigerated
compartment.

Of course, to get all this good stuff individual trucking firms
have to sign up for the company's service. TRX TransTel is a
joint venture, 85 percent owned by PWTC Holding of Delaware and
15 percent owned by Advanced Wireless Communications Enterprises
of Missouri.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920522/Press Contact: Mary Louise Helbig, TRX
TransTel, 314-746-0567)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 22 SAIC And WilTel Combine For Fast Data Service 05/22/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00014)

SAIC And WilTel Combine For Fast Data Service 05/22/92
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 22 (NB) -- Science
Applications International will offer 45 million bit/second data
services later this year for corporate private networks. The
X.Lnet service will use the WilTel fiber optic phone network as a
backbone, and customers will also have to use equipment from
Alcatel at each end of the link. SAIC, a service integrator, will
be the service provider responsible for the complete package.

"SAIC believes high-speed networking will be the cornerstone of
the computing environment of the 1990s and beyond," said Larry
Kull, SAIC president in a press release. The service can allow
for multimedia transmissions combining text, graphics, digital
sound and TV pictures under the 802.6 DQDB standard, and provides
a transition to emerging fiber transmission standards called
Synchronous Optical NETwork or SONET. The company said its offering
can also help companies move more smoothly to digital services under
existing ISDN standards.

SAIC said it chose WilTel as its service provider because it was
the first long distance company to provide nationwide public
frame relay and bandwidth on demand products and services.
Alcatel of France was chosen for its work on SONET and in
broadband switching research. SAIC has $1.3 billion in revenues
and is privately held by its 13,000 employees.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920522/Press Contact: Bob King, SAIC, 619-
546-6492; Gil Broyles, WilTel, 918-588-5752)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 22 Australia: Mailout Mixup Wrapup 05/22/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(SYD)(00015)

Australia: Mailout Mixup Wrapup 05/22/92
CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA, 1992 MAY 22 (NB) -- The Australian Social
Security department has issued its official explanation on the recent
mailout embarrassment. Around 6000 clients had their personal details
mailed to other people, much to the chagrin of the department.

The department uses Xerox Integrated Composition System (XICS) to
produce its direct mail to millions of clients, and it was one of
these machines that was involved in the incident. The Privacy
Commissioner has found that a fault in printer use, and a failure to
follow correct procedure allowed the situation to occur.

Events in the chain on the fateful day include: three of the seven
staff were on a Xerox training course; one operator was sick; one of
the three printers was out of service; the Xerox serviceman decided to
do a preventative maintenance on one of the working printers rather
than fix the broken one.

The fault occurred when the serviced machine was restarted without
following the full restart procedure. A piece of adhesive tape on a
perforation in the continuous stationery mis-set the system counter,
and no check was made to see that the information on the front matched
that on the back, and in fact it was one step out of synchronization.
New policy will have every 200th document checked manually.

(Paul Zucker/19920522)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 22  ****Tandy Opens Danish Superstore - More To Follow 05/22/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00016)

 ****Tandy Opens Danish Superstore - More To Follow 05/22/92
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK, 1992 MAY 22 (NB) -- Tandy has rolled out its
superstore concept to Europe, with the company opening its first
Supercentre in Copenhagen this week. The store is a licensed
seller of Apple, Compaq, HP, IBM and Victor hardware, and will
stock a wide range of PC hardware and software, company officials
claim.

Plans call for similar stores to open Sweden and Norway within
the next few months. UK plans have still to be decided, Barry
Liddle, Tandy UK's managing director, told Newsbytes.

"This is our fourth year of trading as a separate entity from
Tandy US. We're aware of what they're doing, but they haven't
made any decision on the UK," he said.

Liddle added that the countries that Tandy is, or plans to
operate a superstore in, represent markets that Intertan, the
UK/European Tandy operation, does not sell into. "We sell
through Belgium, France, The Netherlands and the UK," he told
Newsbytes.

Peter Davies, marketing manager with Applecentre West London, a
major stocker of Apple kit, said that Apple's sales through
superstores such as Tandy's are climbing. "Superstores are
assuming a more important role in the marketplace - Apple
currently sells 20 to 30 percent of its products through US
superstores," he said.

According to Davies, Apple has been warning its resellers
constantly over the past year that products were on the way that
were better suited to the superstore environment rather than the
traditional reseller channel.

(Steve Gold/19920522/Press & Public Contact: Tandy UK - Tel:
0922-710000)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 22 Siemens Scraps Plans To Establish W. German Chip Plant 05/22/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00017)

Siemens Scraps Plans To Establish W. German Chip Plant 05/22/92
MUNICH, WEST GERMANY, 1992 MAY 22 (NB) -- Siemens has scrapped
plans to build a new plant in Western Germany to manufacture 64
megabit chips. The electronics giant has decided instead to
produce the chips at its existing facilities in Europe.

Originally, Siemens' executives had thought that the company's
existing facilities in Europe would be able to wind down the
manufacture of 1 and 4 megabit chips as the market began to
mature.

Instead, demand is actually expected to increase. As a result,
Siemens says it will be more economical to expand existing
facilities to cope with the overall upswing in demand. A decision
on how to relocate some of the chip manufacturing facilities will
be made later this year.

Originally, Siemens was expected to announce the location of the
planned new German facility in the second half of this year,
following the original announcement earlier this year.

Analysts suggest that Siemens' announcement is tactical. The
company has dropped strong hints that it would seek local
government support from the country in which it built the plant.
Sources suggest that support funds have not been forthcoming. As
a result, Siemens is dangling the carrot of the potential new
plant in front of potential government sponsors.

(Steve Gold/19920522)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 22 Taiwan Strengthens Copyright Law 05/22/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00018)

Taiwan Strengthens Copyright Law 05/22/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 22 (NB) -- Bowing to US
pressure, Taiwan's government has passed a bill which will make
major changes in the country's copyright laws. Taiwan has been
widely criticized in the past for ignoring the intellectual
property rights of US and other country's individuals and
businesses.

Of course it remains to be seen just how well the new regulations
will be enforced, but for the first time this new law gives
specific protection to everything from music and film to computer
programs. Also new are heavy penalties, including large fines
and potential jail terms, as well as the right for injured
parties to sue for damages in civil courts.

Taiwanese companies are widely known for copying everything from
Guchi luggage to Microsoft's MS-DOS operating system, costing the
legal owners of those properties millions of dollars each year.

This new legal action follows by just one month the unsuccessful
ending of negotiations between the US and Taiwan on the subject
of intellectual property rights and the consequent placement of
that country on the US Trade Representative's special watch
list of countries whose exports would face massive punitive
tariffs if they did not correct what the US sees as unfair
trading practices.

Merely passing the new laws will not exempt Taiwanese companies
from potential tariffs - they will still have to convince the
Bush Administration's trade office that there has been a
significant change in the way the country treats violators.

Critics have charged in the past that President Bush is very soft
on such violators and cite years of efforts by the administration
to head off any sanctions against China, despite its clear
violations of human rights and trade violations.

Washington observers say that this year things may be different,
or will at least appear different to foreign governments because
of the presidential elections and the need for Bush to appear to
take a strong stand against those countries which are seen as
taking away American worker's jobs.

In other trade news, Reuters reports that Japanese companies have
announced that there has been a major improvement in opening
markets to US microchip makers. This is despite the fact that
sales numbers show no noticeable improvement for the past several
years.

(John McCormick/19920522/Press Contact: L.W. Koengeter, U.S.
Trade Representative's Office, 202-395-3204, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 22 Smartcard Manuf'ing Method Patented 05/22/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00019)

Smartcard Manuf'ing Method Patented 05/22/92
WILLOW GROVE, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 22 (NB) -- A new
method of manufacturing SmartCards has been patented by
Pennsylvania-based Kulicke and Soffa Industries.

Makers of semiconductor products were faced with developing a new
technology using different wires to connect components on the
recently developed thin package semiconductor products known as
SmartCard, Thin Small Outline Packages, or Thin Quad Flat Pack
devices, but this new invention gives them the option of
continuing to use proven wire technology.

The new software controlled assembly technique, known as the K&S
low looping process, can be used instead of the Tape Automated
Bonding (TAB) connection system which requires the use of a less
flexible specialty wire.

K&S also makes TAB manufacturing equipment, but a company
representative told Newsbytes that an important feature of this
newly patented technology is the fact that it will let companies
continue to use the same wire bonding equipment they already have
installed, extending its useful life, while still allowing the
manufacture of more compact devices.

According to K&S's Leon Oboler, by staying with standard wire
processes, manufacturers can cut about six months of research and
development time and costs which would have been required if they
went with specialty wire.

K&S reports that the company has already received a
significant number of orders for the new technology and that most
systems already shipped have gone to locations on the Pacific
Rim, with about 70 percent of the company's sales going to
locations outside the US.

According to Mr. Oboler, K&S now holds about 60 percent of the
world market in wirebond and interconnect devices outside Japan.

While the new technology won't actually reduce costs over the
present basis, it is more cost-effective than TAB technology and
will therefore help prevent any increased costs.

(John McCormick/19920522/Press Contact: Leon Oboler, Kulicke and
Soffa, 215-784-6818 fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 22 Uniquest Wins DoD Burgers And Chicken Contract 05/22/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00020)

Uniquest Wins DoD Burgers And Chicken Contract 05/22/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 22 (NB) -- Jacksonville,
Florida-based Uniquest has been awarded a contract to supply Army
and Air Force Burger King and Popeye fast food franchises around
the world with the company's QuickServe point of sale accounting
software.

US bases in the US, as well as in Germany, Italy, Japan,
Korea, Okinawa and the UK have American-style fast food service
to make service personnel feel at home by providing them with the
same sort of food they are used to having off-base at home.

The Army and Air Force Exchange Service gave the hardware
contract to NCR for its NCR 7054 food point of sale systems.
Together the hardware and software provides for inventory, time
and attendance, and communications, as well as the usual cash
register functions.

Uniquest reports that the company has installed its software in
more than 2,000 locations and that the new military contract will
involve nearly 200 more restaurants.

Installation and integration of the new system is scheduled to be
completed at all locations within two years.

(John McCormick/19920522/Press Contact: Fred Goldsmith, Uniquest,
904-363-0103)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 22 Criticism Of Proposed Digital Signature Standard 05/22/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00021)

Criticism Of Proposed Digital Signature Standard 05/22/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 22 (NB) -- Milton Socolar, an
official of the General Accounting Office, recently testified
before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Economic and
Commercial Law that the National Institute of Standards and
Technology's proposed digital signature standard is too weak and
urged that it not be approved.

A digital signature standard is a software system which provides
a method to authenticate any electronic message so the recipient
could be certain that it was actually sent by the person who's
name is on the document.

In his testimony, Mr. Socolar said, according to the May 11 issue
of Government Computer News, that both the FBI and the National
Security Agency are pushing the proposed standard because it is
relatively weak and they can "break" or decrypt the coding,
something that both agencies feel is necessary in order to
protect national security.

The NIST has contended from the beginning that the proposed DSS
is highly secure within the context of its proposed use although
more secure systems are available. The NIST has pointed out that
the proposed DSS is not intended as a commercial or international
standard, just for internal Federal Agency use, and contends that
for that purpose it is cost-effective.

(John McCormick/19920522)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 22 Forest Service Cuts GIS Buy 05/22/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00022)

Forest Service Cuts GIS Buy 05/22/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 22 (NB) -- Faced with tight
budgets, a need to economize, and spurred by criticism from the
General Accounting Office, the US Forest Service has cut
almost $1 billion from its proposed geographical information
system purchase (Project 615).

The massive cut from $1.6 billion to just over $900 million was a
42 percent reduction that has been attributed to locating an
error in the agency's estimates of "overhead" costs, and is not
due to a major change in the services which will provided by the
proposed system.

The main object of the eight-year contract is to upgrade computer
hardware by replacing 900 Data General minicomputers with less
expensive file server networks and powerful workstations.

The GIS provides an information retrieval system to managers who
must supervise hundreds of millions of acres of US forests and
grasslands.

The initial request for proposals (RFP) was scheduled for March
of 1991, and delayed to October 1991 after a review by the GAO.
GAO approval of the latest plan means that the RFP may now be
issued in June and the contract will be ready for the first round
of protests after an initial award in December of next year.

(John McCormick/19920522)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 22 ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 05/22/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00023)

ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 05/22/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 22 (NB) -- Roundup is a brief
look at some computer stories carried in other publications
received here this past week.

June 16's PC Magazine carries the results of the magazine's first
annual Reader's Software Rating Survey

Federal Computer Week dated May 18 says that federal buyers are
not very interested in Intel's latest price drop in the 80486SX
microprocessor because they are anticipating further price wars.

The May 11 Government Computer News has a feature on POSIX or the
Portable Operating System Interface for UNIX standard set by the
IEEE.

Computer Reseller News for the 11th says that IBM will call on
Borland International to help it boost the object-oriented
Systems Object in OS/2.

Network World for the week of May 18 says that Apple is ready to
take the Macintosh down the path to OSI or Open System
Interconnection, a seven layer protocol system intended to insure
data communications compatibility.

May 18th's Computerworld has a front page story explaining why
the federal government just can't seem to get its act together
when it comes to improving computer systems.

(John McCormick/19920522/)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 22 Review of: Quality Software Mgt V.1: Systems Thinking, 05/22/92



(REVIEW)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00024)

Review of: Quality Software Mgt V.1: Systems Thinking, 05/22/92

From: Dorset House Publishing, 353 West 12th St. New York, NY 10014,
[phone]

Price: $40.00

PUMA Rating: 4 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Naor Wallach, 05/22/92

Summary: A must-read book for every software manager. This is the
first of a series of books that will lead you to become a more
effective manager and in turn will cause the quality of your products
to go up.

======

REVIEW

======

Gerald Weinberg is a well-known author in the computer field. In his
forty year career in computing, he has published about as
many books. This time he turns his sights on the process of managing
the development of software. This is a 3-part series
in which the author examines what is happening in the field today,
and provides his prescriptions for how to improve the situation.

Volume 1 in the series is titled Systems Thinking. In this volume,
the author takes us on a tour of the patterns that he has identified
in software development. The author first discusses the six different
patterns that software organizations fall into in the ideal sense.
This is more of an upper level view as he does not believe that there
are any Pattern Four or higher organizations today.

With examples that are derived from his experiences, the author
shows us what characterizes organizations at the levels that he
believes most of the organizations are, and then points towards
the way that those organizations need to move to get to the next
stage.

The author believes (and I concur) that most software development
organizations have reached the level of routing development that he
characterizes as level 2. At this level, managers are comfortable in
the process and can guide it along smoothly as long as nothing
untoward happens. Once something that is outside of the routine
occurs, the organization essentially falls apart and the obvious
and immediate consequence is that the quality of the products suffer.

The author identifies the Pattern 3 organization as one that has its
managers steering the process so that when nonroutine things happen,
the organization responds well and does not decrease the quality
of work.

There are eighteen chapters in this 300-page book divided into five
sections. Each of the sections examines a different aspect of the
Pattern 2 organization and how it reacts. Section 1 is called Patterns
of Quality. The three chapters in this section concentrate on defining
the author's views of organizational patterns, defines the patterns,
and talks a bit about the need to move from one level to the next and
why it is important that organizations do so.

The second section, "Patterns of Managing," contains five chapters that
dissect management. Managers are observed for what they do and how
they effect the real productive workers. Jerry pokes fun at many of
the myths of managers and outlines management behaviors that are well
known to any software developer who has worked in a company that had
a programming staff larger than one. Then he proceeds to explain the
real consequences of these behaviors and show how destructive they
can be when amplified. He introduces the reader to his diagram of
effects and explains the symbology as he introduces new concepts.

Many of the things he says are just plain good sense yet it is easy
to see how organizations can devolve into the absurd examples he
showcases. As a person who was involved in the software development
process in several companies, I can personally vouch for the veracity
of many of his examples. If you are laughing and shaking your head at
the stupidity of some of those managers that are described in the
book, you'd better make sure that your organization is not guilty of
the same follies!

The next section of three chapters goes into the reasons
why it's so easy to fall into the traps of mismanaging projects.
He clearly points out how things tend to get out of control, and
why. It is obvious from this description that most level 2
organizations cannot hope to avoid the problems that the commonly
encounter when under stress simply because of the kind of organizations
that they are. This section speaks as eloquently as any about the
need to move on to the next Pattern Level.

The fourth section "Fault Patterns" uses its four chapters to talk
about how an organization breaks. Anything will break if subjected
to stresses beyond its capabilities and human organizations are no
different. Jerry shows example after example of broken organizations.
He explains why and how they broke and proves that the signs of
stress in the organization were visible long before the tumultuous
breakup if the managers were simply capable of observing them and
realizing their significance.

The final section "Pressure Patterns" is a wrap-up section. He again
covers some more ways in which organizations fail. However he makes
an eloquent case for learning from these mistakes and shows how
all of what he spoke about before can actually be used to learn and
improve and move towards becoming a Pattern 3 organization.

I liked this book immensely. As I am someone who has managed software
development projects, the anecdotes and stories spoke to my heart. I
have personally seen many of the examples to which he refers.
If they did not occur to me, they happened to my colleagues or to
others in the organization. I can clearly see, as a result of reading
this book, that my company was mired in being a Level 2 organization.
On the good side, we had recognized this and are well on our way to
transforming ourselves to the Pattern 3 organization. I can only
hope that the next books in this series will be as good as this one.

The reason for the title is obvious once you have read the book. The
only way to bring about quality improvements in software products
is to manage the process better. The way to improve the process is to
see it as such and to start thinking about it from a systems level.

This book should be a must-read for any current and
prospective software manager. I would also highly recommend it to
any manager who has software components to his products or divisions
all the way to and including CEOs.

===========

PUMA RATING

===========

USEFULNESS: 4 This is a really good book. I enjoyed reading it very
much. As a matter of fact, I had to purposely pace myself so as not
to finish it in one or two sittings. The author identifies certain
characteristics of software development organizations. From my
experience, he has hit the nail on the head. He also offers ways
to improve the situation.

AVAILABILITY: 4 My local bookstores had copies. I also saw that this
book was selected as the lead book for a technical book club. It should
not be too hard to find.

(Naor Wallach/ 19920418)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 22 Review of: CA-Textor, word processor for Windows, 05/22/92



(REVIEW)(IBM)(TOR)(00025)

Review of: CA-Textor, word processor for Windows, 05/22/92

Runs on: Any PC with 286 or higher processor, minimum one megabyte
of memory, DOS 3.1 or higher, Microsoft Windows 3.0 or
higher, and about 2.5 megabytes of free hard disk space.

From: Computer Associates International, Inc., One Computer
Associates Plaza, Islandia, New York, U.S.A. 11788-7000
516-342-5224

Price: $225

PUMA Rating: 3.125 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed by: Grant Buckler

Summary: CA-Textor is a word processor for Microsoft Windows, with
most of the features one expects in a Windows word processor and
few surprises. Some features need improvement.

======

REVIEW

======

One of the beauties of graphical user interfaces like Microsoft
Windows is that, like Apple's Macintosh, they enforce some
consistency among applications. Essentially the same menu structure
appears whether you're using a word processor, a spreadsheet, a
graphics program, or whatever. This makes software easier to learn,
and makes life simpler for those of us who use a lot of applications.
It also means that all the packages in an application category tend
to look a lot alike.

So, Computer Associates' CA-Textor word processor has a lot in
common with other Windows word processors. The menus are similar,
the display looks much like that of Word for Windows, WordPerfect
for Windows, or Ami Pro, and like other Windows applications these
days, Textor has a series of icon buttons -- CA calls this a tool
bar -- at the top of the screen to streamline common operations
like printing.

So what's different? Mostly little things, though as the old saying
goes, those can mean a lot.

One problem arises with the mail merge features in Textor. The key
complaint is that in form letters, the merge fields are not visibly
identified by name. You can give the fields descriptive names like
Name, Address, Salutation, and so on -- which is better than the
Field1, Field2 limitation of some word processors -- but all that
appears in the document is #Ref#. If you forget which field is
which, you have to edit the field to find out.

Also, Textor has trouble with carriage returns within a field. The
software uses the carriage return to separate records in its data
files. You can have a carriage return within a field if you put
quotation marks around the whole field. So far so good, but we
found that a single carriage return in a mail merge field always
turned out double-spaced in the final merged document.

On the other hand, Textor's mail merge functions include the
ability to select only certain records from a larger list according
to certain criteria -- for example, to send a form letter only to
those clients in a certain state. This is a database management
function not found in many word processors.

Another nice feature of CA-Textor is the way it saves documents
within its own "libraries" rather than as DOS files. The advantage
of this is that it lets you assign longer file names than DOS
allows. The minor disadvantage is that the documents are then not
easily accessible from outside Textor, but you can get around that
through an option that lets you save a document as a DOS file, in
Textor format, plain ASCII, or other formats.

Another nice feature, hardly earth-shaking but worthy of a passing
comment, is the fact that Textor's spelling checker can figure out
run-together words. Given "thisthing" in text, it will propose
"this thing" as a replacement. Not all word processors will do
this, and they should. What is not so nice about Textor's spelling
checker, though, is the fact that it does not propose any
replacements until you ask for them, which makes corrections slower
because it adds an extra mouse-click.

If you aren't crazy about working with a mouse, CA-Textor will not
suit you well. Like other Windows word processors, it provides
pull-down menus for all operations and expects you to do things by
pointing and clicking. But some Windows packages provide keyboard
alternatives for pretty nearly all operations. Textor does not. It
does offer keyboard shortcuts for some things, but many operations
can only be executed through the mouse-and-menu route.

Textor offers a choice of viewing modes. The default is called
Standard mode. The document looks almost the way it will when
printed -- you see bold face, italics, underlines and the
differences in fonts. However, columns are not shown side by side
on the screen, and headers and margins don't appear. In WYSIWYG
(What You See Is What You Get) mode, everything appears as it will
print. You can type and edit in this mode, and it works tolerably
well except if you get into columns and such things, at which point
the WYSIWYG mode becomes too slow to be workable.

In fact, even in Standard mode, Textor gets pretty slow when you're
inserting text in the middle of a document -- at least on a 386SX
machine. The screen takes time to redraw, and while you can keep
entering text, you don't see what you've typed until the software
catches up.

To match the responsiveness of a character-based word processor,
you have to go to draft mode, which gives you something less than
the sort of display you'd get with a good character-based word
processor -- all text in one screen font, and no indication of
attributes such as underlining, italics, bold face, and type size.

Slowness in full WYSIWYG mode is tolerable, but CA should try to
speed up Standard mode or, failing that, at least make things like
bold face and underlining visible in Draft mode as they are in most
character-based word processors.

Another worry for some users is the lack of a keystroke macro
capability. Textor does let you create and store formats that
automate much of the work of formatting part or all of a document,
and it handles "glossaries" that let you recall chunks of
boilerplate text with a few keystrokes. However, neither of these
is quite as flexible as the ability to record any sequence of
operations as a macro.

===========

PUMA RATING

===========

Performance: 2.5. We found it easy to outrun the software when
inserting text in an existing document in any but Draft mode, and
Draft mode is unsatisfactory because it does not show character
attributes such as bold face and type size. If the software can't
be speeded up in Standard mode, Draft mode should be made to convey
more information to the user.

Usefulness: 3.5. CA-Textor is a full-function Windows word
processor suitable for most word-processing needs, though we have
reservations about its mail-merge capabilities.

Manuals: 3.5. There is a Getting Started manual with tutorials,
which we thought would be well suited to a complete novice and
rather too elementary for someone with experience using another
word processor. The Reference manual is more suitable for the
computer-literate user.

Availability: 3.0. Computer Associates is a big company; its
products are widely distributed. However, CA provides free initial
support only for 90 days, and without a toll-free number. For toll-
free support or for support after the initial support period, you
have to pay for CA's SupportPlus program. In fairness, though, we
should note that the price of the software is, at $225, low
compared to most competitors.

(Grant Buckler/19920518/Press Contact: Kim Commerato or Bob Gordon,
516-227-3300, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 22 Microphone II For Windows Price Cut To $74 05/22/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00026)

Microphone II For Windows Price Cut To $74 05/22/92
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 22 (NB) -- In an
effort to entice DOS communications users to migrate to its
Microphone II for Windows 2.0 software package, Software
Ventures is offering two summer promotions that run from
May 18 to July 18.

The first of the two deals offers Microphone II for Windows 2.0
any users of DOS telecom products, such as ProComm Plus,
for just $49.95, plus shipping and handling. Additionally, the
regular price of 2.0 will be cut for that period from $129 to $74.

Greg Ogarrio, spokesman for the company, told Newsbytes
that Microphone has considerable "dominance in the Mac"
market, but that the Windows market is still a "completely
different field" for the company. He said that Software
Ventures sees the Windows "field as wide open for us."

P. Schmidman, vice president of sales and marketing for
Software Ventures, said: "Windows gives users so much more
power and flexibility, especially when they go on-line. Windows
users are moving their mainstream Windows applications
to the new environment, but are mainly reverting to DOS for
telecommunications."

Microphone II for Windows allows for most functions and
features to be accessed via the click of a mouse, and its own
graphical interface. In addition to a built-in script editor and
context sensitive help, the package also offers preformatted
front-ends to popular information services such as GEnie.

Additionally, the company claims that version 2.0 offers
complete implementation of dynamic data exchange (DDE)
to make it easier to share data with other Windows
applications, and the ability to run multiple sessions
simultaneously. The program also offers multitasking
capabilities and ZMODEM protocol support. Network support
is also included for such networks as Novell, NetBIOS,
ComBIOS, and DOS devices.

Ogarrio also told Newsbytes that the two promotions are just
incentives to encourage people to migrate to a Windows
communications product, instead of DOS.

The current promotion comes just seven months after Newsbytes
reported on the initial release of Microphone II for Windows 2.0 in
October, 1991.

In December Newsbytes reported that Software Ventures
was offering a free software package with each purchase of its
MicroPhone II for Windows or the Macintosh communications
products. That promotion was due to run until January 15, 1992.
With that promotion each purchase of either MicroPhone II 3.0 for
the Macintosh or MicroPhone II 2.0 for Windows, customers were
entitled to a free copy of the screen saver After Dark, or the Spectre
action computer game, or the JetFighter II flight simulation game.

Ogarrio told Newsbytes that a new version -- "2.x" -- would be
"coming out this summer," although the specific date was not
yet available.

(Ian Stokell/19920522/Press & Public Contact: Greg Ogarrio,
Software Ventures, 510-644-3232)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 22 Congress Proposes $100 Million For SEMATECH 05/22/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00027)

Congress Proposes $100 Million For SEMATECH 05/22/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 22 (NB) -- SEMATECH, the group
of American companies which joined together several years ago in
an effort of share resources and keep the US ahead of other
countries in the development of microprocessor and memory chip
manufacturing, may see a solid boost from the Federal Government
in the form of a $100 million investment.

SEMATECH, which has the goal of protecting and advancing the
US's world leadership in the semiconductor field through joint
research projects, is an acronym for SEmiconductor MAnufacturing
TECHnology.

SEMATECH member companies include Advanced Micro Devices, AT&T,
Digital Equipment Corp., Harris Corp., Hewlett-Packard, IBM,
Intel, Motorola, NCR, National Semiconductor, Rockwell
International, and Texas Instruments, as well as the Department
of Defense's DARPA or Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

On Thursday the House Armed Services Committee included the $100
million in SEMATECH funding in the 1993 Department of Defense
Authorization Bill. This amount, if it is left untouched in the
final bill and accepted by the President, will be $20 million
more than the amount requested by the White House in its 1993
budget proposal.

Congress has also included more than a billion dollars in the
bill to fund the building of one more Sea Wolf submarine at the
General Dynamics Shipyard in Connecticut, a boat which the
administration does not want to build because the Pentagon says
it isn't needed since the collapse of the Soviet Union and its
massive naval presence.

There is some concern that during this political year when
everyone is criticizing the administration for the budget deficit
and Congress is trying to fund every project in hopes of gaining
local votes, the entire budget process could run afoul of the
election year wrangling.

The next step in the funding battle will come after expected
approval by the House Appropriations Committee, when the Senate
committees will consider just how money should be allocated in
the next budget. After the bill clears all committees it will be
voted on by both houses of congress and go to the President for
his signature - or veto.

The Bush Administration believes that Federal subsidies for
SEMATECH should be gradually cut because it is now a mature
organization which should be able to stand on its own feet with
industry support. That is the reason the White House puts forward
for its proposal to cut $20 million from the $100 million per
year allocation which the organization received during the first
five years.

Another $100 million in funding comes each year from the private
corporations which are members of the consortium.

At the beginning of the year LSI Logic left the SEMATECH group
just at the time it was reporting record revenues and a return to
profitability. At that time the company said that it wasn't
receiving good value for its investment in SEMATECH.

Present funding requirements for members is that they contribute
one percent of their total semiconductor-related revenue to the
group effort, with a minimum investment of $1 million and a
maximum of $15 million. LSI Logic's dues for 1991 amounted to $7
million.

Leon Oboler, spokesperson for Kulicke and Soffa, the world's
largest maker of wirebond and interconnect devices for the
semiconductor industry, told Newsbytes that his company, which
was a founding member of SEMI-SEMATECH (a SEMATECH sub-
organization) was very pleased with Congress's move to reinstate
funding to the full $100 million level.

Micron Technology, also citing poor return on investment, also
dropped out of SEMATECH at the beginning of 1992.

At the time when Micron and LSI were dropping out it was thought
by some observers that SEMATECH was doomed and Intel rushed to
make a statement confirming its support for the group, with Intel
Executive Vice President Dr. Craig Barrett saying, "We believe
Sematech's success is critical for the continued success of
America's high technology industry."

A recent report by research firm San Jose, California-based VLSI
Research released at the beginning of April said that US-made
chip manufacturing equipment sales had jumped from holding 38
percent of the world market in 1990 to 41 percent in 1991. The
researchers and SEMATECH agreed that part of the reason for the
increased market share was due to the efforts of the joint
industry/government consortium.

Part of SEMATECH's goal is to reduce harmful emissions and
pollution due to the semiconductor manufacturing process.

Critics of SEMATECH include people like T.J. Rogers, president of
Cypress Technology, a chip manufacturer too small to pay the
minimum membership fee needed to gain immediate access to the
high-technology developed half with public funds.

(John McCormick/19920522/Press Contact: Buddy Price, SEMATECH,
512-356-7107)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 22 Quantum Teams With Panasonic On Irish Plant 05/22/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00028)

Quantum Teams With Panasonic On Irish Plant 05/22/92
DUNDALK, COUNTY LOUTH, IRELAND, 1992 MAY 22 (NB) -- Matsushita,
the parent company of Panasonic, has teamed up with Quantum, the
Californian disk drive giant, to set up a joint venture company
in Ireland. Called Ireland Kotobuki Electronics, the company will
create 430 jobs over the next three years.

The decision to site in Ireland was directly due to local tax
breaks. According to the Industrial Development Board of Ireland,
the decision by the two companies to locate the new plant in
Ireland represents one of the most significant overseas high-tech
investments for several years.

Plans call for the plant to manufacture disk drives from scratch,
rather than simply assemble drives, as is the case with several
other European disk drive plants. The disk chassis units will be
supplied to third-party manufacturers, although the bulk of the
drives will be customized by Quantum for sale under the
Quantum brand name.

Ireland is fast becoming the European equivalent of California in
computing terms. Disk manufacturers such as Verbatim and hardware
manufacturers such as Apple have invested heavily in production
facilities in the town, solely due to the tax breaks the Irish
government has given companies wishing to locate in the country.

(Steve Gold/19920522)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 22 Mitel Reports Reduced Annual Loss 05/22/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00029)

Mitel Reports Reduced Annual Loss 05/22/92
KANATA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAY 22 (NB) -- Communications
equipment maker Mitel has reported a profit on record sales in its
fourth quarter, but a loss for fiscal 1992. However, the 1992
annual loss was much smaller than 1991's deficit.

In the year ended March 27, Mitel had an operating loss of C$8.1
million on revenues of C$406.1 million. Net interest income brought
the net loss to C$5.7 million. That compares to an operating loss
of C$31.8 million on revenues of C$431.3 million in 1991. The net
loss in 1991 was C$107.0 million, including special provision for
restructuring costs.

In the fourth quarter of fiscal 1992, Mitel earned a C$5.0 million
profit on record sales of C$121.7 million. Sales were up from
C$11.3 million in the same quarter last year. In the fourth quarter
of 1991, Mitel reported a loss of $94 million.

The company said it has reduced selling and administrative expenses
to 30 percent of sales from 33 percent, thanks to last year's
restructuring program. However, Mitel officials were cautious about
the prospects for the next six months.

The company's revenues are usually lower in the first half of the
fiscal year, officials noted, and the generally weak economy is
expected to continue hurting results for the next few months. The
company also expects to incur some additional costs as it launches
new products during the first and second quarters.

Asked about the prospects for the balance of fiscal 1993, company
spokeswoman Bonnie Perrigard said the results will depend largely
on whether an economic recovery takes place or not. "We're
definitely hoping things are going to turn around this year," she
said.

(Grant Buckler/19920522/Press Contact: Bonnie Perrigard, Mitel,
613-592-2122)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 22 Corel Announces US Stock Offering, NASDAQ Listing 05/22/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00030)

Corel Announces US Stock Offering, NASDAQ Listing 05/22/92
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAY 22 (NB) -- Corel, maker of the
popular Corel Draw graphics software, has announced plans for a
primary offering of its stock in the United States and a listing on
the National Association of Securities Dealers' NASDAQ trading
system.

Corel's stock has traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange since the
company went public in November, 1989. John Hladkowicz, an investor
relations official at Corel, said the company hopes to make the
primary US offering of one to two million shares in August or
September.

Since the company went public, Hladkowicz said, investors in the
United States have been urging Corel to arrange for its shares to
be traded on a stock exchange in that country. "A lot of US firms
find it difficult right now to trade our stock," he told Newsbytes.

The US offering will give Corel additional cash, providing "the
ability to be more opportunistic in acquiring technology and
continuing to be a leader in the area," Hladkowicz said. He added
that the timing of the stock offering capitalizes on Corel's recent
introduction of Version 3.0 of Corel Draw, which adds a number of
new capabilities to the software and is expected to spur market
interest in the company.

Corel stock closed at C$22.375 on the Toronto exchange May 22. The
52-week high and low were C$25.625 and $13.25 respectively.

(Grant Buckler/19920522/Press Contact: John Hladkowicz, Corel, 613-
728-8200 ext. 1194, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 22 Systemhouse, BCE Extend Talks Again 05/22/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00031)

Systemhouse, BCE Extend Talks Again 05/22/92
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAY 22 (NB) -- Systems integrator SHL
Systemhouse, Bell Canada, and BCE, the holding company that owns
Bell Canada and Northern Telecom, have extended the deadline on
negotiations for a strategic partnership they announced in
February. This is the second extension.

Harry W. Schlough, senior vice-president of Systemhouse, told
Newsbytes the financial details of the agreement are essentially
set now and the companies are working out legal details and
"tuning" the agreement to meet regulatory requirements.

"It's been a very complex negotiation and both parties were trying
to accomplish a lot of work in a very short period of time,"
Schlough said.

The memorandum of understanding signed February 6 was first
extended from April 30 to May 15. Now it has been extended to June
25.

The deal calls for Systemhouse to take over the operation of Bell
Canada's data center and to provide systems integration and
outsourcing services to Bell Canada customers. The companies also
plan to create a joint venture to sell computer systems and
services to the telecommunications industry worldwide.

The companies said earlier that the deal would involve Systemhouse
buying some assets of Bell Canada for cash. BCE in turn is to pay
C$12.75 per share in cash for enough Systemhouse shares to give it
60-percent ownership of the company. BCE currently has a 25-percent
stake in Systemhouse.

The deal also calls for BCE to have a quarter of the seats on an
expanded Systemhouse board of directors. Currently BCE is
represented by two out of 10 directors on the Systemhouse board.

The companies said in a brief statement that they could give no
assurances the deal would be concluded. However, Schlough said
Systemhouse is "encouraged" by the progress made so far.

SHL Systemhouse reported revenues of C$700 million in 1991. It has
more than 3,000 employees.

BCE's involvement with Systemhouse dates back to 1987, when it
loaned money to Kinburn Technology, a holding company that formerly
controlled Systemhouse, to help it buy Computerland Canada, the
Toronto-based firm which operates Computerland retail franchises in
Canada. Kinburn defaulted on the loan in 1990, leaving BCE with its
25-percent share in Systemhouse.

(Grant Buckler/19920522/Press Contact: Harry W. Schlough,
Systemhouse, 416-366-4600)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 22  ****RasterOps/TrueVision Merger Is On Again 05/22/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00032)

 ****RasterOps/TrueVision Merger Is On Again 05/22/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 22 (NB) -- The
on-again/off-again merger between RasterOps Corp. and Truevision
Inc., is back on again. The firms have now announced that they
have signed a definitive agreement to merge the two companies.

The agreement, which is subject to shareholder approval, and
scheduled for completion in August, 1992, will make Truevision
a wholly owned subsidiary of RasterOps. It calls for issuance of
2.4 million shares of RasterOps common stock in exchange for all
existing Truevision capital stock. The transaction has been
approved by both companies' boards of directors and will be
accounted for as a pooling of interests.

Newsbytes first reported on a proposed merger in May 1991. At
that time the companies said that Truevision would be scheduled
to become a wholly owned subsidiary of RasterOps sometime in
August, 1991, after the issuance of 2.8 million shares of RasterOps
common stock in exchange for all existing Truevision capital stock.
Then, in August, 1991, Newsbytes reported that the two companies
had terminated the deal, citing an inability to reach an agreement
on the transaction.

Commenting about the failed merger in August, Keith Sorenson,
president of RasterOps, said at the time: "We continue to have the
greatest respect for Truevision, but it unfortunately does not appear
that we will be able to reach agreement on a transaction that would
be satisfactory for both sides."

Cathleen Asch, Truevision's president, agreed with Sorenson's
assessment. "We have two fine companies," she said, "but I
think it is better that they remain independent of each other."

At the time of the original merger announcement in May, Keith
Sorenson, told Newsbytes that he saw the merger as a benefit to
both companies. He considered RasterOps as the market leader in
Macintosh video products, while Truevision was the market leader
in IBM products, "but the underlying technologies are basically the
same," he said.

"Both companies share the same vision for the future," Sorenson
told Newsbytes. Additionally, of added benefit to RasterOps is
that Truevision has a "loyal reseller network on the IBM side,"
of which the company hopes to take advantage.

Suzanne Crocker, spokesperson for the company, told Newsbytes
today that the problems that led to the termination of the original
deal last year have now been resolved.

According to Crocker, the companies just "weren't able to come
to terms last August." However, she said that when the deal
was terminated, "both sides still felt it was a good idea." The
merger "makes even more sense now than it did a year go," she
said, especially after both companies had "more time to think
about how it would work."

RasterOps, headquartered in Santa Clara, designs, manufactures
and markets photorealistic color-imaging products for Apple
Macintosh, IBM Micro Channel, and Sun SPARCstation platforms.
RasterOps' products are designed primarily for the graphic
arts, printing, and publishing industries.

Truevision Inc., a private company headquartered in
Indianapolis, designs, manufactures and markets broadcast
quality video products for PC AT, Apple Macintosh II and IBM
Micro Channel platforms. Its primary focus is on desktop video
production and high color resolution applications.

"The pooling of resources, such as R&D and distribution, gives
our combined company the critical mass to define what's possible
in graphic arts and video arts on the desktop. We're the only
company with strong brand names and leading products on both
the Macintosh and PC platforms," said Asch. "Our joint planning
has already started."

Crocker also told Newsbytes that the share numbers were
determined by the relative contributions of both companies. The
lower number of shares now offered reflects the lesser
contribution expected by Truevision.

Crocker also said that "both boards have approved" the merger. All
that is left, she said, is a shareholder meeting and approval. The
meeting has been set for August, she told Newsbytes.

(Ian Stokell/19920522/Press Contact: Keith Sorenson, RasterOps
Corp., 408-562-4200; Cathleen Asch, Truevision Inc., 317-841-0332;
Mike Nikolich,Selz, Seabolt & Associates, 312-372-7090; Mary
Looram, Cunningham Communications Inc., 408-982-0400)


#ENDCARD





#CARD :1992 MAY 21 HP Intros Tested, Network-Ready 386/25 PCs 05/21/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00001)

HP Intros Tested, Network-Ready 386/25 PCs 05/21/92
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 21 (NB) -- Hewlett-
Packard (HP) says it has introduced a 386-based IBM compatible
personal computer (PC). The HP Vectra 386/25N PC is designed
for plug-and-play use on a network and tailored to attract companies
who want to upgrade their network to run Windows.

HP says the costs on a network are not the PCs alone. Support,
maintenance, and management costs can equal or out-weigh the
purchase price of the PCs, especially if there are problems. Bernard
Meric, marketing  manager of HP's Personal Information Products
Group said: "Real value comes over the life of a system. We've never
offered so many features at such a low price. More importantly, given
HP's high reliability, the HP Vectra 386/25N PC will continue to save
customers time and money long after they purchase the PC."

Problems getting PCs to work on a network can be convoluted and
difficult to find. Frank Derfler in the Connectivity column from the
November 20, 1991 issue of PC Magazine outlines the difficulties he
experienced getting a group of HP Vectra PCs to work on a Microsoft
LAN Manager Network System. The fix turned out to be a simple
change in the CONFIG.SYS file of the HP PCs that stopped a
conflict caused by an HP utility which was pre-loaded on each PC.

HP is now saying it pre-tests the Vectra 386/25N PCs with all
leading network operating systems, applications, and network-
adapter cards. In addition, the company says all HP Vectra
386/25N PC models in the United States configured with disk-drives
also come bundled with Microsoft Windows version 3.1, MS-DOS
5.0, and a mouse.

The Vectra PCs can be preconfigured with a 16-bit, standard,
unshielded twisted- pair, HP Ethertwist interface card with a 32
kilobyte (KB) input/output buffer which speeds up speed network
data transmission, according to HP. A boot read only memory
(ROM) enables the PC to boot up from the network server or from
a flexible- or hard-disk drive, HP added.

The company says it has added security features to prevent
unauthorized access to data, reduce the possibility of data
corruption, and protect data confidentiality. A system
administrator can use a password or a hardware switch that
protects current configurations and security settings. HP says the
hardware switch, unlike software-based security switches, avoids
conflicts with other software while allowing the user full access to
software applications.

The Vectras are also equipped with a chassis lock that guards
against unauthorized access to system hardware, and a front-panel
push-button that locks the keyboard and mouse and protects user
data, HP added.

HP is also saying the network-ready Vectras are competitively
priced. US list price starts at $1,149, HP said. Also, HP says the
Vectra information it has released is specific to the US and may
be different in the international market.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920521/Press Contact: Bliss Talbott, Hewlett-
Packard, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public Contact:
800-752-0900)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 21 Study Looks At Canada's On-line Information Industry 05/21/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TOR)(00002)

Study Looks At Canada's On-line Information Industry 05/21/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAY 21 (NB) -- A survey
of the Canadian electronic information industry reports a small
but rapidly growing sector of database publishers, information
providers, on-line service operators, and gateway services.

The Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC), whose
Information Industries Committee sponsored the study, said it
was the first such survey of the Canadian electronic information
industry ever undertaken.

Bob Gibson, chairman of the Information Industries Committee
and president of Toronto-based information services company
Micromedia, said the study was limited to companies the offer
electronic or computer-based information services to the public for
a fee, though not necessarily for profit. The survey included some
government agencies. ITAC identified 89 organizations in the
industry.

The survey estimated the industry has about C$250 million in
annual revenue. Comparing that to figures for the same sector in
the United States -- about US$6 billion according to ITAC's
counterpart, the Information Technology Association -- Gibson
said there is a great deal of potential for growth in this sector in
Canada. "If we just achieved five percent of the US industry
size, we would double in size," he said. Industry analysts often
use the rule of thumb that, based on the populations of the two
countries, a given sector should have about one tenth the
revenues in Canada that it has in the United States.

"Everything you need to know about a business or industry is
available somewhere in a database," said Janice Moyer, president
of ITAC. "Canadians must be able to keep up with these
competitive advantages."

Moyer said the survey is a first step in ITAC's efforts to promote
the growth of the electronic information industry and help meet its
needs.

Douglas Hobbs, incoming chairman of the Information Industries
Committee of ITAC, said current issues facing the industry include
access to government information, laws protecting privacy, value-
based pricing, and technology standards.

ITAC will be addressing these issues in various forums and in
representations to government in coming months, Gibson said.

The committee and the federal Department of Communications
are working on a business plan for what they call the Spirit
Initiative, an agency that would help to promote this industry. Huw
Morgan, director of marketing and database publishing at Toronto
electronic publisher Infomart, is heading that effort for ITAC. He
told Newsbytes the group hopes to launch the project formally this
fall and to hire at least one full-time employee by then.

(Grant Buckler/19920521/Press Contact: Heather Lawson, ITAC,
613-230-7298)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 21 ICA Show: Omnipoint Offers Dual-Mode Phones 05/21/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00003)

ICA Show: Omnipoint Offers Dual-Mode Phones 05/21/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 21 (NB) -- Omnipoint of
Colorado Springs, Colorado, made two bits of news during the
International Communications Association show in Atlanta.

First, McCaw Cellular Communications and Oracle announced
they will use Omnipoint technology in their planned wireless data
transmission network. They are seeking FCC approval of a new
slice  of radio spectrum which could, by 1994, become a wireless
data superhighway. McCaw and Oracle demonstrated their
technology on May 18.

For the short-term, however, Omnipoint preferred to discuss its
dual-mode pocket phones to visitors at the International
Communications Association show in Atlanta. The dual-mode
phones act as regular cellular phones outside the office, but if your
new private phone switch, or PBX (private branch exchange), has
wireless capability, you just press a button and get wireless service
without air-time charges.

The DS-800 uses so-called "spread spectrum" technology,
so internal communications at high frequencies can be offered
under the same rules as those cordless phones. Outside the
office, the company said, the DS-800 can work within 1,000 feet
of each public microcell. The phones work in an FCC authorized,
unlicensed frequency band between 902-928 MHz, meaning no
site licenses are required for installation, or upgrading, of private
networks based on its system.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920521/Press Contact: Mark Vonarx,
Omnipoint, 719-548-1200)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 21 ICA Show: Metromedia Offers Automatic Discount Plan 05/21/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00004)

ICA Show: Metromedia Offers Automatic Discount Plan 05/21/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 21 (NB) -- Metromedia,
which calls itself the fourth-largest US full-service long distance
carrier, has introduced ExactCall, a new family of long distance
calling products that offers a customized discount tailored to
each month's bill.

Under the plan, the company tracks customers' calling patterns
each month, based on their bill, and applies a special discount
to outbound and inbound calls made to and from the most
frequently called interstate area codes and international
locations. Sprint offers a plan of relatively automatic discounts,
but Metromedia notes that its plan is automatic, and the
discount can change month-to-month, while Sprint suggests the
right plan for its customers based on longer-term calling
patterns. Metromedia said its plan offers savings of 22 percent
against AT&T's ProWATS service.

The ExactCall plan continues a trend which began a few years ago,
where companies competing with AT&T offer special discounts to
keep customers loyal, rather than trying to keep regular rates
far below those of the largest US carrier. In response, AT&T
has been trying to make special deals with its largest customers
to lock-in its current market share, now estimated at 65-70
percent, while using heavy name-brand advertising in the consumer
market.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920521/Press Contact: Metromedia, Carole
Smargon, 201-804-7275)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 21 ICA Show: Intelsat Monopoly Challenged 05/21/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00005)

ICA Show: Intelsat Monopoly Challenged 05/21/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 21 (NB) -- While Intelsat
has been glorying in the Space Shuttle Endeavour's capture and re-
deployment of its Intelsat VI satellite, its monopoly is under
increasing challenge.

Intelsat is an international consortium created to control
satellite telecommunications. Its main rival for most of that
time was InterSputnik, a Soviet group now controlled by Russia.
But in the early 1980s a small firm called Alpha Lyracom, backed
by the founder of Univision, a Latin American broadcasting firm,
began pushing its own Pan American Satellite plan, saying that
Intelsat was not serving southern hemisphere and Third World
customers. After years of hassle, PanAmSat now serves the
Atlantic.

Now comes Columbia Communications of Honolulu. It doesn't have
any philosophical brief, it just wants to compete. Columbia won
an auction put on by NASA in 1989 of space capacity on two of its
satellites, one over the Pacific and one over the Atlantic.
Columbia bid $61 million for a six-year lease on 24 transponders,
12 over each ocean. NASA protested, but Columbia bested them in
court. Then Intelsat protested Columbia's service would interfere
with its plans to improve trans-Atlantic service. The US
government sided with Columbia in late 1991, making this the
first International Communications Association show for the new
outfit.

Columbia, however, has already dealt with much of its capacity
and financing problems, re-selling some of its Pacific
transponders to TRW, the company that actually made the
NASA satellites. At ICA, it was pushing $1,500/hour use
of its Atlantic transponders, against Intelsat's $2,500/hour cost,
for use in a variety of applications, including private networks.
On its success may ride the future of international satellite
competition.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920521/Press Contact: Columbia
Communications, Keith Collins, 202-429-9033)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 21 Allied Telesis Offers Slim Version Of Transceiver 05/21/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00006)

Allied Telesis Offers Slim Version Of Transceiver 05/21/92
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 21 (NB) --
The Allied Telesis AT-210TS is a new, slimmer, version of the of
the AT-210T.

The AT-210TS converts a thick wire Ethernet connection through
an AUI port to a 10Base-T connection with an RJ45 connector. The
device also has the four LEDs (light emitting diodes) that present
information on power, link integrity, polarity detection, and heartbeat
test status, as well as an SQE switch.

The AT-210TS is compatible with the AUI ports that are on the back
of Sun Sparcstations and Macintosh II series computers with an
Ethernet adapter. The company's earlier model would not fit directly
in those computers due to its thickness, so an adapter cable was
required. The new model does fit directly so the adapter cable is no
longer necessary.

The AT-210TS is shipping now. It retails for $59.95.

(Naor Wallach/19920521/Press Contact: Derek Buckaloo, Allied
Telesis, 415-964-2994 ext 122)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 21 Novell Intros LANalyzer For Netware 05/21/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00007)

Novell Intros LANalyzer For Netware 05/21/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 21 (NB) -- Novell has
taken the full featured LANalyzer product and distilled the essence
of it that it believes would be required for smaller networks and
packaged it in a new form that it is calling LANalyzer for Netware.

LANalyzer has always had the ability to work with Netware do not
be confused by the terminology. LANalyzer for Netware should be
viewed as a smaller, less capable, version of LANalyzer.

However, LANalyzer for Netware is directed at the situation
of a small Netware LAN that is not big enough to justify the
expenses of a full featured network analyzer like LANalyzer,
nor the services of a full-time network administrator.

The LANalyzer user interface is designed to simulate the dashboard
of a car. The program runs under Microsoft Windows and displays
three circular gauges that show network performance parameters in
real-time. The gauges show traffic rates, bandwidth utilization,
and error rates. A series of warning lights, audible alarms, and
text descriptions alert the operator to any problem that is occurring
on the network.

Windows GUI (graphical user interface) elements are also used to
assist the part-time network administrator in setting up filters for the
kinds of events that he is interested in. The program displays all of
the information that it can gather and the network administrator
simply selects by clicking, which events or protocols they should
be informed of.

Other features in LANalyzer for Netware include the ability to
actively query all network nodes for their names, and the ability to
capture and interpret Netware packets. This ability is found only
in LANalyzer and LANalyzer for Netware. Both these products are
the only ones that can decode Netware 2.X, Netware 3.X, and
Netware Lite packets. They also have the ability to store the
gathered statistics to a file on the hard disk so that trends can be
captured and analyzed. The trend data can be exported in standard
spreadsheet format for viewing and analysis.

LANalyzer for Netware runs on any PC that can run Microsoft
Windows 3.0 or higher. It will become available in June of this year.
LANalyzer for Netware will cost $1,495. To celebrate its arrival,
Novell is offering it for a reduced price of $995 until September.

(Naor Wallach/19920521/Press Contact: Kay Paumier,
Communications Plus for Novell, 510-656-8512)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 21 IBM Moving Into FDDI/CDDI 05/21/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00008)

IBM Moving Into FDDI/CDDI 05/21/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 21 (NB) -- IBM
has announced a slew of new products all aimed at increasing its
visibility as a player in the FDDI/CDDI (fiber data distribution
interface/copper data distribution interface) marketplace.

FDDI is a fiber optic network that can transfer data at a rate of 100
Mbps. CDDI is the same network only implemented across copper
cabling. Both of these are standardized networks that are coming
into greater prominence now as people are starting to strain the
capabilities of the 10 Mbps Ethernet and 16 Mbps Token Ring
standards.

IBM has introduced eight new products. The first is a FDDI
concentrator. This is known as the IBM 8240 FDDI Concentrator
and can connect up to 24 nodes together in a single network.
The concentrator supports both the fiber and the copper versions
and also allows the network administrator to swap boards while
the unit is powered (called hot swapping). In conjunction with the
concentrator, IBM has also announced the availability of an
Optical Fiber Device Attachment Module and a Copper Device
Attachment Module that will be the modules that sit in the
concentrator.

IBM has also announced a lineup of four network adapter units for
PS/2 computers. The four units allow for the choice of either
fiber or copper cabling and either one or two connections. The
ability to connect to more than one FDDI link is denoted by the
term "Extended" in the product name. So, the four adapter cards
are called Fiber Base Adapter/A, Fiber Extended Adapter/A,
Copper Base Adapter/A, and Copper Extended Adapter/A.

Finally, IBM has introduced a new FDDI-based network analyzer
product that will allow the network administrator to monitor the
performance and manage the operations of the FDDI network. This
product is known as the Dataglance Network Analyzer and is
based on the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP).

All of the units are expected to become available by September
25. Pricing is as follows: Base Unit 8240 $13,500; Optical Fiber
Device Attachment Module $6,140; Copper Device Attachment
Module $4,040; Fiber Base Adapter/A $3,995; Fiber Extender
Adapter/A $1,995; Copper Base Adapter/A $3,495; Copper
Extender Adapter/A $1,495; and the Dataglance Network
Analyzer $49,500.

(Naor Wallach/19920521/Press Contact: Dennis Drogseth,
IBM, 914-642-5474)


#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 21 Japan: Business Show Opens In Tokyo 05/21/92




(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00009)

Japan: Business Show Opens In Tokyo 05/21/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 21 (NB) -- Japan's major computer
show, called Business Show opened in Harumi, Tokyo on May
20. A total of 366 firms, including 11 firms from overseas, have
joined the show, and 400,000 visitors are expected to show up
during the four-day period.

Lots of firms have exhibited 32-bit personal computers, notebook-
type personal computer, multimedia products, open systems, and
color versions of various office equipment.

Fujitsu has shown a notebook-type Unix workstation, which weighs
only 2.4 kilograms (kg) and is the lightest version among the Unix
workstations. The upper version has an 86 megabyte (MB) hard disk
and costs 650,000 yen ($5,000).

Fujitsu has also shown notebook-type color personal computers
with fast processing speed. These are the firm's FMR series, and
they support Windows.

Seiko-Epson has displayed an 80486-based 32-bit personal
computer. The firm says this PC is good at dealing with graphic
programs. Seiko-Epson claims that this PC is almost three times
faster than the existing counterparts. Seiko-Epson has also
introduced a low-cost laser printer for the Macintosh. The
LP2000LT costs only 198,000 yen ($1,500). It can print six
pages-per-minutes at 300 dots-per-inch.

NEC has shown the firm's high-end version of the PC-9801 series.
It is called the PC-9801FX and supports multimedia extensions
as well as Windows. This PC is equipped with a so-called
multimedia slot, which has a versatile feature -- a CD-ROM drive
unit and a hard disk unit can be equipped in the front side of
the machine.

Sharp has introduced a unique device, which is a hybrid machine
mas up of a personal computer and a Japanese word processor.
It is called Shoin Pasocom and supports both the DOS/V
operating system and MS-DOS. It is an all-in-type device -- a
printer, database, and spreadsheet are equipped on the machine.
It costs 330,000 yen ($2,500) to 590,000 yen ($4,500) depending
on the model.

NCR Japan has shown its latest pen computer. Sanyo and Oki
Electric have also shown pen computers. IBM Japan and NEC
have shown notebook-type personal computers equipped with a
radiowave modem, and Canon has shown a color video image
system, which is connected with the firm's still-camera and a
Macintosh.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920521)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 21 Dell Mexico Is Fifteenth International Subsidiary 05/21/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00010)

Dell Mexico Is Fifteenth International Subsidiary 05/21/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 21 (NB) -- Dell Computer
has  announced the formation of Dell Computer de Mexico, the
company's fifteenth international subsidiary.

The Dell announcement said the new office will offer a full range of
Dell products, to include custom configurations and a complete
array  of customer service and support programs.

Dell has announced four new international offices within the last
two months, also opening facilities in Switzerland,
Czechoslovakia, and Poland.

The company said the opening ceremonies were attended by several
company officials, including Chairman and CEO Michael Dell. Dell
met with leaders in the business community and key government
officials to demonstrate the company's products.

Like any US company doing business in a foreign country, Dell can
expect some problems. Spokesperson Michelle Moore told
Newsbytes that the biggest challenges are in the communications
infrastructure. Moore said services like mail, telephone service,
and shipping within Mexico are sometimes slow. However, said
Moore, the company had similar problems when it opened its Italian
subsidiary about a year ago, and has overcome those problems.
"It's working better now," said Moore.

Moore said Dell's policy for all its wholly owned subsidiaries is to
hire local nationals to staff the facilities. Initially, about a dozen key
people will be hired, with the total staffing reaching about 100 in a
year or so.

Dell Computer de Mexico will be headed by General Director
Francisco Brown, a 20 year veteran of the high tech field. Prior to
joining Dell, Brown has held positions with subsidiaries of
International Telephone & Telegraph and GTE. He holds a
Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and an MBA from
Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey.

In addition to marketing direct to customers in Mexico, Dell will
offer its products through Trionica office supply outlets and
through two Mexican technology integrators, Dau and Timon.

Dell said its international revenues have more than doubled in the
most recent fiscal quarter, which ended May 3, over the same
period last year. The company says international sales represent
about 38 percent of total revenues.

(Jim Mallory/19920521/Press Contact: Michele Moore, Dell
Computer, 512-343-3535; Reader contact: 800-289-3355)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 21  ****Microsoft Windows 3.1 Sales Hit Triple Platinum 05/21/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00011)

 ****Microsoft Windows 3.1 Sales Hit Triple Platinum 05/21/92
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 21 (NB) -- Using
a simile from the recording industry, a record company executive
says Windows 3.1 sales have hit triple platinum in just six weeks.

The comment, made by Warner New Media President and CEO
Stan Cornyn, refers to the platinum designation given a record
which sells one  million copies. "Triple platinum in six weeks
makes Windows 3.1 the software equivalent of Madonna or Prince,"
said Cornyn.

Microsoft confirmed that more than three million copies of its
latest release of Windows have shipped. The company said resellers
are reporting "phenomenal" sales, which they attribute to customer
enthusiasm for the product's improvements. "We're selling five
times as many Windows 3.1 copies as we did 3.0," one reseller
reportedly told Microsoft. Some analysts are predicting that as
many as 10 million copies of Windows 3.1 will be sold in the first
year. Microsoft told Newsbytes it had pre-release orders for about
one million copies.

Also helping sales is the fact that more than 90 hardware makers
have jumped on Microsoft's bandwagon. Those companies, which
include eight of the top ten PC sellers, are offering Windows 3.1
factory-installed on customer's machines. Microsoft's Collins
Hemingway told Newsbytes that IBM and Compaq are not yet
offering Windows pre-loaded. With IBM pushing its OS/2 operating
system, its unlikely that Big Blue will ever appear on that list.

Microsoft also has a hardware certification program which tests a
manufacturer's PCs for compatibility with Windows 3.1. If the
machine passes the tests, it is officially certified as Windows-
compatible and can display a logo to that effect. Microsoft said
more than 1,200 different PC models have been Windows 3.1
certified.

(Jim Mallory/19920521/Press Contact: Collins Hemingway,
Microsoft, 206-882-8080)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 21 Egghead Promotes Carol Lewis To Senior VP Of Admin 05/21/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00012)

Egghead Promotes Carol Lewis To Senior VP Of Admin 05/21/92
ISSAQUAH, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 21 (NB) -- Egghead
Software has announced that Carol Lewis has been promoted to
senior vice president of administration for the software discount
retailer.

Lewis, who was formerly VP of administration, will continue to
oversee Egghead's human resources, real estate, and legal
departments. She will also manage the company's real estate
assets and oversee its legal affairs. Egghead said Lewis' primary
responsibilities are to "create an environment where Egghead
employees can reach their full potential."

Egghead President Matthew Griffin said the promotion was
recognition of Lewis' contribution to the company. "She has steadily
increased her leadership role in the company as a member of our
senior management team," said Griffin.

Griffin credited Lewis with initiating programs such as charitable
contributions, volunteerism, and compensation plans. "We believe
her new title will more closely reflect the job she is performing,"
he said.

Egghead spokesperson Megan McKenzie told Newsbytes that
since September of last year, the company has committed 1.5
percent of its  pre-tax earnings to charities in the communities
where they open new stores. Egghead also gave $10,000 to the
Computer Learning Foundation. McKenzie said the company also
has a matching funds program which matches, up to $1,000, any
contribution made by an employee to a college or university.

McKenzie said Lewis also initiated a program that encourages
Egghead employees to volunteer time to non-religious and non-
political organizations. Under the program, Egghead will donate
$10 for each hour the employee gives to the organization. To
recognize the employees for their work, a check donation
ceremony is held for each project.

Lewis holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics and Political
Science from Stanford University, and earned a Masters in Public
Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.

Prior to joining Egghead Lewis was deputy director of the Seattle
Center, where she was responsible for facilities maintenance,
transportation services, event support, contracts and concessions,
and long-range planning. She also has served as deputy Mayor for
the city of Seattle, guiding the city's budget office, personnel
department, and legal department.

(Jim Mallory/19920521/Press Contact: Megan McKenzie,
Egghead Software, 206-391-6266; Reader contact: 800-344-4323)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 21 Apple Quadra Multimedia Education Bundle For $100 05/21/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00013)

Apple Quadra Multimedia Education Bundle For $100 05/21/92
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 21 (NB) -- Apple
says that, for an extra $100, it is offering an educational multimedia
bundle for the purpose of making QuickTime movies and
presentations aimed at Higher Education and K-12 grade institutions
that purchase a Macintosh Quadra 700 or 950 system. The top of
the line Macintosh Quadra 950, was recently introduced by Apple
and replaces the Quadra 900 model.

The bundle includes a Supermac Videospigot Nubus card, Adobe
Premiere, Aldus Persuasion, and the QuickTime Content Collection,
Apple said. The Videospigot is a digital frame grabber for making
QuickTime movies or individual images from any television or video
source. Adobe Premiere is from Adobe Systems and allows the
combining of video, audio recordings, animation, still images, and
graphics for digital movies on a Macintosh. Aldus Persuasion from
Aldus Corporation is for making slides and presentations. However,
QuickTime movies and images can be incorporated into the
presentations.

The QuickTime Content Collection contains 40 megabytes (MB) of
video clips, Apple said. Bill Keegan of public relations for Apple
said the clips are examples of the things that can be done and
are short and sweet, with some only as long as 15 seconds.

Apple has historically aimed at the educational market, offering
low prices and lots of incentives to get Apple and Macintosh
computers into educational settings. Now the company is
introducing multimedia into the educational market with this
$100 offer.

However, the question arises whether or not educational institutions
will pay for the Quadra, the deluxe models of the Apple Macintosh
line, even with the estimated $1,500 worth of multimedia incentives
thrown in.

Newsbytes asked Bill Keegan of Apple if the company's traditional
educational discounts would also apply to the Quadra 700 and 950
computers. The answer was yes, but educational discount programs
available for the Quadras depend on the educational institution's
situation. Ball park figures for the discounts are about 40 percent,
Keegan added.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920521/Press Contact: Bill Keegan, Apple
Computer, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 21  ****Everex To Buy Northgate For Pennies A Share 05/21/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00014)

 ****Everex To Buy Northgate For Pennies A Share 05/21/92
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 21 (NB) -- Struggling
Everex, a "name brand" IBM compatible personal computer (PC)
manufacturer based in Fremont, California, says it plans to buy
Northgate, a mail order clone manufacturer based in Eden Prairie,
Minnesota.

The deal is interesting because of Everex's reputation for premium
priced PCs contrasted to Northgate, who is known for inexpensive
clones. Everex says it plans to obtain all Northgate's outstanding
capital stock in exchange for 750,000 shares of its common stock,
or about three percent of the Everex stock. This interprets to about a
hundred shares of Northgate stock for one share of Everex stock. At
current market prices Everex stock has been trading at between
$5.75 and $6.25 per share, which makes the Northgate stock worth
in the neighborhood of about 5 to 6 cents a share.

Everex has been struggling the last couple of years with its stock
price falling from 10 1/8 per share to a low of three per share in March
of last year. However, the company's stock is rising steadily to its
current range of about six a share. The stock jumped from about five
3/4 to six 1/2 when Everex announced it is getting a financial shot
in the arm from its lender, CIT/Credit Finance, who is increasing its
credit line, according to Everex representative Ann Butler.

The company announced its third quarter earnings after the financing
announcement and its stock has dropped back down to previous five
3/4 levels. Everex says it is in the black, with earnings of $2.44
million, compared to a loss of $1.5 million recorded the same quarter
a year ago. Everex says its cash position has improved from $3
million to $10.8 million but its short term borrowings have increased
from $34.9 million to $43.9 million. Year to date income is $4
million compared to net income the previous year of -$16.7 million.

While industry analysts are wondering if Everex has "bought a used
car" one wonders if a used car is all Everex can afford. Everex
maintains its purpose in the Northgate purchase is to entry into the
direct marketing channel and said it plans to continue to operate
Northgate as an independent business. The completion of the deal
is  subject to the customary government and shareholder approvals,
Everex added.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920521/Press Contact: Everex Systems,
Anne Butler, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 21  ****Industry Leaders Endorse New Software Licensing Method 05/21/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00015)

 ****Industry Leaders Endorse New Software Licensing Method 05/21/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 21 (NB) --
More than 20 industry leaders have announced a licensing
specification that they say will provide a consistent software
licensing method.

License Service API ,jointly announced at the Software Publishers
Association (SPA) meeting in San Francisco today, is a consistent
way for application developers to incorporate software licensing into
their applications, proponents say. This in turn is expected to
help companies ensure compliance with licensing agreements when
using a developer's software.

SPA says the API (application program interface) will enable
software publishers to develop applications that cooperate with the
different licensing systems that will support the standard. A
License Service API-compliant application has licensing capabilities
built into the program, and requests permission to run. The
underlying licensing system, in turn, grants or denies permission
based on the availability of a license for the requesting application.

Microsoft also announced today that it would incorporate the License
Service API within its Windows Open Services Architecture. WOSA,
introduced by Microsoft in February, allows applications for Windows
to access information in a multivendor distributed computing
environment. WOSA specifications have been developed for
communication, database management, filing, printing, and security.
Microsoft said the License Service API fulfills a key part of WOSA by
offering a standard interface through which Microsoft Windows-based
applications can access different licensing services.

SPA and the Microcomputer Managers Association (MMA) say the
two organizations feel the industry needs a method for automating
license compliance which assists MIS managers and network
administrators in tracking the number of applications in use within
their organizations. Paper license agreements currently in use are
difficult to manage manually, and SPA and MMA say MIS managers
will benefit in that maintaining license conformance will be aided by
the License Service API-compliant applications.

Companies supporting License Service API include Apple, Banyan
Systems, Brightwork Development, CompuServe, Digital Equipment
Corporation, Funk Software, Gradient Technologies, Hewlett-Packard,
Highland Software, Interworks, Lotus, Micrografx, Microsoft, Netware
Masters Group, Novell, Open Software Foundation, Oracle,
Symantec, Tangram Systems, Wordperfect, and XTree.

"The cooperation of leading PC software publishers in our industry
to standardize the License Service API is a highly valuable service
to the industry and users," said Ken Wasch, executive director of
SPA. Wasch said that with corporate user networks becoming more
sophisticated, the specification is not only an imperative, but a
"win-win" for the industry and its customers.

According to SPA, a standard API will allow license systems to
track the use of all compliant applications. Currently applications
are either bound to a particular license system, incorporate their
own license management, or provide no license management at all.

(Jim Mallory/19920521/Press Contact: Ken Wasch, Software
Publishers Association, 202-452-1600 X310; Priscilla Tate,
Microcomputer Managers Association, 212-787-1122)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 21  ****US Trade Deficit Surges 05/21/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00016)

 ****US Trade Deficit Surges 05/21/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 21 (NB) -- As the Japanese
economy declines, the US trade deficit with that country rises
because of a major Japanese push to export. Trade numbers
released this week indicate that the US trade deficit, the
difference between what we export and what we import, jumped
to $5.8 billion in March, the highest level in nearly two years.

The $4 billion deficit in trade with Japan accounted for a large
part of the 76 percent increase in the total trade imbalance.
Japanese trade accounts for more than half the total US trade
deficit with the entire world.

Signs of hemispheric trade increases are heartening to those who
feel that, just as the European Community is tying up
Europe into a large trade block and Japan is doing the same for
Asia, the US should encourage the strengthening of a
North/South American trade block. In the first quarter of 1992
the US increased exports substantially to both Mexico and
Brazil.

Fears of a major trade war are growing as the Japanese push to
increase exports while continuing to restrict imports at the same
time that the US is trying to grow out of a prolonged recession
during an election year when the Democrats and Republicans
can be expected to push each other further and further in their
attempts to appear the most "pro-American."

Offsetting the increased trade deficit with Japan, the US again
showed a trade surplus with nearly every European country,
something which worries European trade negotiators as much
as Japan's trade surplus worries the US.

In other trade news, because of US pressure, Japan is now
planning to make it legal for foreigners to buy shares of the
national telephone company, Nippon Telephone and Telegraph.

Earlier this week the US Department of Commerce angered
Japanese automakers by declaring that they are selling mini-vans
imported into the US at below cost - an action known as "dumping."

US automakers and other manufacturers, such as microcomputer
chip makers, have often charged that Japanese companies use
dumping as an unfair method of undercutting prices and killing
off competition in other countries.

Recent television reports have stressed that Japanese companies
charge much higher prices for identical goods in their own home
markets where they have a captive customer base, and many
people see this as forcing the Japanese consumer to unfairly
subsidize production costs so the same goods can be sold for far
less overseas.

Some Japanese discount stores are now featuring Japanese-made
goods selling well below normal local retail prices in Tokyo. The
goods are purchased overseas and re-imported to Japan, but they
are still considerably cheaper than the same products made and
sold locally. Part of the difference is the lower cost overseas,
and the rest comes from the traditional many-tiered Japanese
marketing system where goods must pass through many hands,
with each person adding a tiny amount to the cost.

(John McCormick/19920521)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 21 UK: Microsoft Unveils Integrated DOS/Windows Package 05/21/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00017)

UK: Microsoft Unveils Integrated DOS/Windows Package 05/21/92
WOKINGHAM, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 21 (NB) --
Microsoft has announced it is releasing an integrated DOS 5.0 and
Windows 3.1 package. The UKP 149 "combi" package represents
a savings of UKP 10 on buying the software as two units, but the
idea is not so much to save the PC user money, more one of
convenience.

The release of the integrated package comes just weeks after IBM
announced that it is factory-installing OS/2 on its PCs. The UK
version of the combi package is available in three forms -
original equipment manufacturer (OEM), general PC, and PS/2 --
all of which will sell for UKP 149. It is the third version, the PS/2
package, that Microsoft intends to heavily promote to PS/2 users
and Big Blue's resellers.

All three versions will ship in the UK in mid-June. Dave Smith,
systems marketing manager with Microsoft UK, said that, in a
series of tests, Windows performed two to five times faster than
OS/2 in running applications.

"As a result, customers are asking us to provide an alternative.
The overwhelming majority of customers buying PS/2s are using
MS-DOS or MS-DOS and Windows. This package gives all our
customers the flexibility to choose the system that best meets
their needs," he said.

Interestingly, Microsoft has coded the PS/2 version of the
DOS/Windows combi package to run exclusively on IBM PS/2s.
This is because the package has been optimized for the PS/2
environment. It has also been configured to install over OS/2,
which comes pre-installed on PS/2 machines here in the UK.

What about existing users of DOS? Microsoft is allowing them to
upgrade to the combi pack for UKP 99, so allowing them to install
DOS 5.0 as well as Windows 3.1.

(Steve Gold/19920521/Press & Public Contact: Microsoft,
0734-270001)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 21 UK: Fujitsu Announces One Gigabyte 3.5-Inch Floppy Drive 05/21/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00018)

UK: Fujitsu Announces One Gigabyte 3.5-Inch Floppy Drive 05/21/92
UXBRIDGE, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 21 (NB) -- Fujitsu
Europe has announced it is supplying one gigabyte (GB) versions
of its 3.5-inch floppy drive on request on its PCs. The company
expects a high demand for the drives from mid- to high-end users.

"We see our new M2694 drives as being of particular appeal to mid-
to high-end systems where, previously, such capacities were only
available in 5.25-inch format," said Joe Jura, Fujitsu's storage
products manager.

In addition to the one GB data capacity, the new drives offer
improved access times and a mean-time-between-failure (MTBF)
rate of 300,000 power-on hours.

Dataquest, the market analyst and research organization,
responded favorably to the news that Fujitsu is offering the
drives as an option for PC users. "This announcement is another
indication of the application of Fujitsu technology to position
the company as a capacity and performance leader," commented
Phil Devin, Dataquest's vice president and chief analyst for the
company's storage technology division.

"The 3.5-inch gigabyte market is in its infancy, and this product
has a good chance to attain strong market share," he added.

Dataquest predicts that around six million drives in the one to two
GB data storage arena will be sold before the end of 1995. This
values the market at around $4,500 million, the company said.

The one GB capacity of the M2694 drive is made possible by
pushing existing floppy disk technology to the limits. The drive
uses thin film heads and thin film, high-coercivity sputtered media,
to push data recording densities to 48,724 bits-per-inch (bpi).
This works out to be 107 megabytes (MB) an inch -- an increase
of more than 30 percent over previous generation drives.

(Steve Gold/19920521/Press & Public Contact: Fujitsu Europe,
081-573-4444)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 21 Taligent Seniors Lined Up For Object Expo Europe 05/21/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00019)

Taligent Seniors Lined Up For Object Expo Europe 05/21/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 21 (NB) -- Joe Gugliemlmi,
chairman and CEO, and Ed Birss, president, of Taligent, have
been signed to talk at Object Expo Europe, the programming
exposition scheduled in mid-July.

According to the exposition organizers, Guglielmi will be
presenting his keynote speech to delegates on July 15.
He will also be one of the key panelists at a private briefing
entitled "The realties of object technologies," which takes place
on July 17.

Announcing Taligent's involvement in the exposition, Gugliemi
said that the computer industry "requires a new object-based
systems infrastructure to provide the tremendous productivity
gains acknowledged with object-oriented programming."

The exposition will be Guglielmi's first European appearance.
Taligent is the joint venture between Apple and IBM. Guglielmi
comes from IBM, where he was general manager of PS/1 and
PS/2 marketing and business development.

Further information on Object Expo Europe can be obtained from
the organizers on 0306-77331 in the UK, and 212-274-0640 in
North America.

(Steve Gold/19920521/Press Contact: Tim Lewis, tel [phone],
fax [phone]; email on Usenet - [e-mail])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 21 British Telecom Posts UKP 3,070M Profits For Year 05/21/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00020)

British Telecom Posts UKP 3,070M Profits For Year 05/21/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 21 (NB) -- British Telecom has
announced its first reduction in profits since 1974, but has
received acclaim from its critics. This seemingly paradoxical
situation materialized today in London as BT officials revealed
that the telecoms giant had generated UKP 3,070 million profits
for the year to 31 March, 1991, compared with UKP 3,075 million
for the previous year.

BT officials were quick to counter press comments that this
works out to a profit level of UKP 97 a second, with the revelation
that UKP 77 a second was spent on network investment, and a
staggering UKP 140 a second went out of the door on staff
salaries alone.

Industry experts were not fooled, however. The chairman of the
Telecommunications Users Association, an independent body of
major users of BT services, said that, while the 0.1 percent
profits fall was paralleled by a slight improvement in service,
there was still a long way to go. "BT is still a lot less efficient
than many major companies. That's clearly unacceptable," he said.

The Europe-wide recession appears to have put the brakes on
customer call expenditure. Despite a number of rises on the call
charge front, inland UK call revenue remain stable at UKP 7,170
million -- up one percent on last year. International call
revenue, meanwhile, actually fell by one percent to UKP 1,790
million. Analysts say that profits of the international call
market has been creamed off by competing companies such as
Mercury Communications.

Analysts suggest that, despite the profits reduction, Oftel, the
British government's telecoms regulatory watch-dog, will further
restrict price rises from BT. Currently, BT is restricted to
increases of the retail price index (RPI - a measure of
inflation) less 6.25 percent. Most analysts expect that this
limit will be hiked by one percent.

BT Chairman Iain Vallance said that his company is playing a
balancing act between the interests of shareholders and Oftel, as
well as customers and employees.

"We believe that, in terms of that balancing act last year was
not a bad year at all," he said, adding that share dividends were
being increased from 13.3 pence last year to 14.4 pence this
year. The dividend increase, he said, has been made possible by
the company's prudent policy on dividends in the past.

"I would hope that the customers would be very pleased indeed
with the improvements in quality of service which we've delivered
yet again during that year (1991/92). Customers may even derive
some satisfaction from the fact that our profits have gone down a
little," he said.

(Steve Gold/19920521)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 21 Netherlands' PTT Telecom In US Electronics Venture 05/21/92

(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00021)

Netherlands' PTT Telecom In US Electronics Venture 05/21/92
AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS, 1992 MAY 21 (NB) -- PTT
Telecom, the Dutch telecoms company, has teamed up with AMR
Corporation and CSX in the US to form Encompass Europe, a
European company that will offer an electronic shipping information
service.

All three companies have a one third stake in the new company.
Encompass is 50:50 owned by AMR and CSX in the US. The plan
is to create and link a European shipping system to the existing
US network, which has been operational for the last four years.

According to Encompass, Encompass Europe was created to
meet demand for a European on-line shipping information service.
Encompass Europe expects to have around 30 major clients by
the end of this year.

(Steve Gold/19920521)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 21  ****Sierra Intros Nationwide Flat Rate 05/21/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00022)

 ****Sierra Intros Nationwide Flat Rate 05/21/92
OAKHURST, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 21 (NB) -- The
Sierra  Network joined the trend toward flat rates for nationwide
on-line services with a $12.95 per month plan which includes all the
company's services, including games, conferencing, and electronic
mail.

Under the plan, users can play chess, checkers, bridge, cribbage,
and more, with other people on the network for up to 30 hours per
month during evenings and weekends. Options for additional play
time over the initial 30 hours and weekday use are also
available. Also included in the offering are live chat services,
conferencing, tournament play, electronic mail, and use of
electronic bulletin boards with topics ranging from politics to
poetry.

A number of other services, including CompuServe and GEnie,
have introduced flat-rate pricing, which was initially aimed at the
Prodigy service. But most of the other bundles limit activities
to certain sections of the services. Prodigy limits electronic
mail use on its bundles, and adds advertising to every screen.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920521/Press Contact: Jeff Leibowitz,
The Sierra Network, 209-642-0700)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 21  ****Wisconsin Plan Aimed At 900-Number Fraud 05/21/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00023)

 ****Wisconsin Plan Aimed At 900-Number Fraud 05/21/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 MAY 21 (NB) -- Officials
from 45 states agreed to join with Sprint, AT&T and MCI in a
plan to fight fraud on caller-paid "900" lines.

In the plan, first put in place by Attorney General James Doyle of
Wisconsin, any state official can quickly get the carriers to
quickly review a program, block access to it, provide access to
information on callers, and hold-up payments on all calls made to
the line. The officials feel this last is most important, because
if accused criminals are paid prior to completion of an investigation,
they will go on to other crimes. In addition, the carriers promised
careful reviews of all ads for "900" numbers, and will take-down
any numbers if any part of any ad is considered deceptive.

The carriers have been working hard to "clean up" the 900 code
so it can be used for such things as political fund raising and
packaged goods marketing. The carriers first cut-off access to
services thought to be sexually suggestive, then initiated
reviews of programs. A decision to prevent carriers from cutting-
off regular phone service from people who refuse to pay for such
calls led to the closing of one of the largest carriers, Telesphere,
and a tightening of rules by the other carriers.

Doyle claimed in a news conference that the agreements have been
working well in Wisconsin over the past eight months, with his
office being instrumental in the closing of six services. The
agreements are a cheaper and faster resolution to 900 number
abuse than lawsuits, he added.

However, the rules still will not stop the odor coming from the
exchange, which in any case would take years to melt away.
Many of the most popular numbers today offer such things as
horoscopes  and silly recordings from sports stars like Chicago
Bull back-up center Will Perdue. The lines have also become
popular for contests, often sponsored by cable networks. It
remains an open question whether packaged goods companies
and politicians want to be part of the same exchange frequented
by the kind of people who advertise in national tabloids.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920521)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 21  ****In-Flight Phone Opens Service On USAir 05/21/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00024)

 ****In-Flight Phone Opens Service On USAir 05/21/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 MAY 21 (NB) -- In-Flight Phone,
the company started by AirFone founder Jack Goeken after, he
felt, GTE did him wrong after acquiring that company, is finally
in business. The company opened its FlightLink digital airplane
phone service on a USAir 757 aircraft. A press release about the
opening was faxed directly to Newsbytes' Atlanta office from the
aircraft.

Because it is a digital service, not analog as is AirFone,
passengers can make static-free telephone calls, send messages
to fax machines, retrieve stock quotes, and even play electronic
games - all without ever leaving their seat. Goeken called it, "a
total passenger communications system." FCC Chairman Al Sikes
called it "yet another opportunity to advance technology, foster
competition, and expand customer choice."

FlightLink consists of a telephone handset and an LCD (liquid
crystal display) view screen. To use FlightLink, a passenger
removes the handset from beneath the armrest and uses the
buttons to choose a service from the view screen's graphical
menu. Simple instructions appear on the screen to guide the
unfamiliar user. In-Flight Phone plans to add connecting gate
information, ground-to-air passenger paging, aircraft position
tracking, reservations, catalog shopping, weather, and current
news to the system. Passengers will also be able to connect
portable computers and fax machines directly to the system.

Aside from the benefits to the air traveler, FlightLink also
offers operational control benefits to the airline industry,
including air-to-ground communications links, dispatching
functions, and on-board liquor inventory control. "Soon, flight
attendants will be able to accept credit card payment for
beverages," predicted Goeken.

Still, In-Flight's path to profit is not clear. Most of the
larger, more profitable US airlines, like American, have
already committed to AirFone's new SeatFone concept, which
puts ordinary telephones in every seat row on an airliner. So far,
only five USAir jets are equipped with the system, and further
installations depend on the system proving popular. AirFone has
its system on 1,700 airliners. Also, calls on In-Flight's system
still cost $2 per minute, the same price as with AirFone,
although some services which don't require a constant link to the
ground will cost less. Video games, for instance, will cost just
$2 per flight, and news headlines will be displayed free.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920521/Press Contact: In-Flight Phone,
Darren S. Leno, 708-573-2660)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 21 Lotus Upgrades cc:Mail For DOS 05/21/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00025)

Lotus Upgrades cc:Mail For DOS 05/21/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 21 (NB) --
Lotus  Development has released an upgrade to its cc:Mail
electronic mail software for DOS. cc:Mail MS-DOS Platform Pack
version 4.0 adds the ability to launch applications from document
attachments, improves support for expanded memory, and adds
other new features, Lotus said.

Lotus said it has improved the terminate-and-stay-resident (TSR)
capability that allows cc:Mail to stay in memory while other
applications are running. By loading the software into expanded
memory, Lotus said it has reduced the main memory occupied by
cc:Mail in TSR mode to as little as 1.5 kilobytes (KB). While the
software worked as a TSR before, said Susan Challenger, director
of business development, the change makes the feature more
practical for most users.

MS-DOS Platform Pack version 4.0 lets users launch applications
from document attachments in a message. This feature, already
available in the Windows and Macintosh versions of cc:Mail, is
unique in DOS electronic mail packages, Challenger told Newsbytes.
It allows users to launch document attachments for editing directly
within cc:Mail, without having to save documents to disk first.

A new built-in spell checker, licensed from publisher Houghton
Mifflin, provides a 190,000-word dictionary. The MS-DOS version of
cc:Mail is the first to offer this, Challenger said, but it will be
added to the next release of the Windows version.

The new release also adds "draft" and "trash" folders. Draft folders
allow users to save "in progress" messages for completion later,
Lotus said. Trash folders let users retrieve previously deleted
messages, reducing the impact of end-user errors.

Version 4.0 also lets users locate messages by person, date,
priority level, and/or key words. Keyword searching allows users to
find messages by searching for specific words in the body of a
message, Lotus said. For example, a user could search for all
documents delivered from John Smith that include the word "sales"
in the body of the text.

Version 4.0 sports new administrative features, including a new
version of the "Admin" module, improved reporting capabilities, and
support for up to 493,000 entries compared to 64,000 previous
entries in the cc:Mail directory. Users of the Windows version of
cc:Mail use the same Admin module, Challenger noted, so they will
also have access to the new features.

The new release also offers configurable text editor keys,
PostScript printer support, and an improved user interface, Lotus
said. FaxView, previously a separate product, is now included free
in version 4.0. FaxView, working with Lotus' cc:Fax software, lets
users view faxes as incoming mail messages.

The suggested retail price for cc:Mail MS-DOS Platform Pack
Version 4.0 is $295.  It is now shipping in the United States. Users
of Version 3.2 or 3.21 can upgrade for $95. Users of Version 3.15 or
earlier can trade up for $125.

cc:Mail runs on DOS, Macintosh, OS/2, and Windows platforms
across all major local area networks, Lotus said, and can connect
to all major private and public electronic mail systems and facsimile
machines worldwide.

(Grant Buckler/19920521/Press Contact: Nancy Scott, McGlinchey
& Paul for Lotus, 617-862-4514)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 21 New For Mac: PerForm Pro Filler From Delrina 05/21/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(TOR)(00026)

New For Mac: PerForm Pro Filler From Delrina 05/21/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAY 21 (NB) -- Delrina
Technology has released a version of its PerForm Pro Filler software
that runs on the Apple Macintosh. The filler module lets Macintosh
users fill in electronic forms created using PerForm Pro on DOS
PCs running Microsoft Windows.

The Macintosh PerForm Pro Filler has essentially the same features
and capabilities as existing versions for DOS and Windows, said
Shelly Sofer, a spokesman for Delrina.

PerForm Pro Filler Macintosh edition works with Apple System 7.0
or 6.0.5, Delrina said. It supports all color and monochrome screen
resolutions and font technologies on the Macintosh. To run the
software, a Macintosh must have at least one megabyte (MB) of
memory and a hard disk. The Macintosh Super Drive and a laser
printer are "desirable," Delrina said.

Delrina has no plans to launch a Macintosh version of the full
PerForm Pro package, which can be used to create forms as well as
to fill them in, Sofer said. He said the company's market research
indicates that in most companies only a few people create forms,
and the availability of that function on every platform is not usually
a major issue.

Thus, Sofer said, Delrina's strategy is to use Windows as the
platform for the forms creation capability but make the forms
filling capability available on a range of systems. In addition to
the existing Windows, DOS, and Macintosh fillers, Delrina plans a
version of PerForm Pro Filler for pen-based computers shortly, he
said.

PerForm Pro Filler Macintosh Edition is priced at US$199
 or C$239.

(Grant Buckler/19920521/Press Contact: Josef Zancowicz
or Shelly Sofer, Delrina Technology, 416-441-3676,
fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 21 IBM Canada Signs RS/6000 Distributor 05/21/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00027)

IBM Canada Signs RS/6000 Distributor 05/21/92
MARKHAM, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAY 21 (NB) -- IBM
Canada has signed up the first national distributor to handle some
of its RISC System/6000 desktop workstations. Tech Data Canada
will distribute the RS/6000 models 220 through 350 to resellers
across the country.

Tech Data's experience in dealing with small business makes it well
suited to handle the smaller RS/6000 machines, said Karen Grant, a
spokeswoman for IBM. IBM will continue to deal directly with
resellers for sales of the larger RS/6000 server machines, she
added.

All resellers handling the desktop RS/6000 models will now deal
with Tech Data. The distributor will also recruit new resellers,
whose applications for authorization will be reviewed by IBM, Grant
said. The companies said the resellers' ability to add value to the
hardware, their existing knowledge of the Unix operating system or
IBM's AIX variant of Unix, their success in the market, and their
"commitment to quality" would be criteria in choosing new resellers.

Tech Data Canada, which has been in business since 1984, has its
head office in Mississauga, Ontario, near Toronto, and a distribution
facility in Vancouver. It is a subsidiary of Tech Data Corp., a US
distributor based in Clearwater, Florida.

(Grant Buckler/19920521/Press Contact: Karen Grant, Willis
Consulting Group for IBM Canada, 416-599-9060; Marianne C.
Kupina, Tech Data Canada, 416-795-2365)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 21 Data Compression PC Pkg Removes Without Reformatting 05/21/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00028)

Data Compression PC Pkg Removes Without Reformatting 05/21/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 21 (NB) -- As
programs get bigger, hard disk space seems smaller and data
compression products are trying to fill the gap. Another player,
Santa Clara, California-based Integrated Information Technology (IIT)
has joined the line of data compression products with Xtradrive.

Xtradrive is both hardware and software, much like the Stacker
compression product that comes with and without the coprocessor
card, and also boasts disk doubling capability. However, Xtradrive's
producers say that the software's main difference is it takes less
memory to use and it will not reformat the hard disk drive. The
hardware coprocessor card requires the software and the same
amount of memory, but IIT says users can expect 30 percent faster
performance with the board.

The software works with Microsoft Windows, will compress DOS
and Windows swap files safely, has extended memory support
(EMS) support built in, does not require a reformat of the hard disk
drive if uninstalled, and maintains the original drive designations
after installation, IIT said.

The Xtradrive product appears to the user as a second drive on the
system. So, for example, if the user has a 20 megabyte (MB) hard
disk drive before the installation, afterward there will be two 20 MB
drives. Like most data compression products, IIT says the product
is transparent to the user. This is possible as the time savings in
writing less data to the hard disk drive offsets the time it takes to
compress the data and the compression product can then
compress the data without the user being aware of it, or
transparently.

The company claims the LZ-based compression algorithm used in
the hardware accelerator board is 10 times more efficient than other
compression algorithms. Also, IIT says the whole program only
uses 25 kilobytes (KB) of the system RAM to run.

The amount of compression a user can get depends on the type
of applications that are running. Database files compress to many
times their former size, but executable programs may not compress
much at all. IIT says on the average, users can expect a 2:1
compression ratio for the standard types of applications most likely
found on a IBM or compatible personal computer (PC) hard disk
drive.

IIT says the Xtradrive software is available now and is priced at
$99. The Xtradrive Hardware board will follow in approximately 45
days, the company added, at a retail price of $199.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920521/Press Contact: Jackie Rae, The
Hoffman Agency, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Bob Seltzer,
Integrated Information Technology, tel [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 21 Computerland To Offer Own Brand "Mail Order Priced" PCs 05/21/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00029)

Computerland To Offer Own Brand "Mail Order Priced" PCs 05/21/92
PLEASANTON, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 21 (NB) --
Computerland says it is introducing its own line of upgradeable IBM
compatible personal computers (PCs) priced to compete with mail
order houses, and called Trion. The company says the Trion line is
designed and engineered by Chips and Technologies and is
compatible with Industry Standard Architecture (ISA)

Computerland says it can offer customers 400 branches with 2,300
service personnel when they buy a Trion system. Though
Computerland's President Ed Anderson stated the IBM, Apple, and
Compaq brands will remain first priority and will be "recommended"
for "mission-critical environments," it wants to get a piece of the
clone pie from business customers who "... are buying increasing
numbers of lower-cost 'clones' from an ever-changing parade of
packagers."

Computerland says the Trion can be configured with a 33 megahertz
(MHz) 80386DX, a 20 MHz or 33 MHz 80486SX, or a 50 MHz
80486DX central processing units (CPUs) from Intel. The Trion
comes with a super video graphics array (SVGA) display composed
of video RAM-based Chips 82C453 Ultra VGA Controller, which
supports the 14-inch, 1024 by 768, .28 millimeter (mm) dot pitch
color monitor shipped with the Trion system.

The Trion can also be configured with an IDE-compatible 52
megabyte (MB), 105 MB, 120 MB, or 240 MB Quantum hard disk
drive and 4 MB of RAM. A 101 keyboard, a three button Microsoft-
compatible mouse come with the system and MS-DOS 5.0 and
Windows 3.1 come installed as well.

As an example of the pricing, the 33 MHz 80386DX Trion Modular
System with a 105 MB drive and SVGA monitor retails for $2,095,
Computerland said. An entry-level, non-upgradeable system is
available now while the modular systems are expected in late June,
the company added.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920521/Press Contact: Steve Taylor,
Computerland, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 21  ****HP Offers Mainframe Power, 80% Less Maint Cost Minis 05/21/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00030)

 ****HP Offers Mainframe Power, 80% Less Maint Cost Minis 05/21/92
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 21 (NB) -- Hewlett-
Packard (HP) has announced a new class of reduced instruction-set
computer (RISC)-based minicomputers it hopes will attract
business mainframe users. The attraction is reduced cost and higher
performance, as HP claims the planned RISC-based machines are 80
percent cheaper to own than mainframes and more powerful than 90
percent of the IBM mainframes currently installed.

Market research firm Dataquest says 46 percent of the mainframe
sites surveyed in 1991 are in the process of "downsizing" or
replacing mainframes with minicomputers, workstations, and personal
computers. HP plans to take advantage of the downsizing trend with
its newly announced minicomputers called the Corporate Business
System, expected to be available this fall.

HP asserts the minicomputers have the advantages of requiring
significantly less support staff than mainframes, are air-cooled, and
use HP's Precision Architecture-RISC (PA-RISC) technology. HP
says over 100 IBM mainframe customers have offloaded or replaced
applications from their mainframes to HP's business systems and
servers.

Physically smaller, the minicomputers are the size of the average
refrigerator, HP said, compared to traditional mainframes that would
fill the average kitchen. A 400 transactions-per-second processing
speed makes the Corporate Business Systems more powerful than
90 percent of the IBM mainframes currently in business installations
and allows the minis to support thousands of users, HP added.

List prices for the high-end Corporate Business Systems are less
than one third of the cost of DEC VAX 9000 mainframes and one-fifth
the cost of IBM ES/9000, HP maintains. The five mid-range models
of the HP 3000 Corporate Business Systems range from $365,000
to $925,000, while the four low-end models of the HP 9000 Corporate
Business Servers are priced between $335,000 to $650,000, HP
added.

Hewlett-Packard also designs and produces workstation computers,
desktop laser printers, test and measurement devices, and software.
The Palo Alto, California-based company recently reported a 40
percent increase in revenues for its second quarter of 1992 with
earnings of $326 million.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920521/Press Contact: Jill Kramer, Hewlett-
Packard, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD




#CARD :1992 MAY 20 Japan: Sony/Kyocera To Enter CD-I Rental Business 05/20/92

(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00001)

Japan: Sony/Kyocera To Enter CD-I Rental Business 05/20/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 20 (NB) -- Sony and Kyocera will
start renting their CD-I or CD-Interactive players and software to
individual consumers. The hardware and software will actually
be rented through a major audio-visual rental shop "Culture
Convenience Club" on an experimental basis in Osaka
beginning May 25.

Culture Convenience Club is a major audio-visual software
rental shop, which has about 660 franchise shops all over Japan.
The CD-I hardware and the software will be rented at Culture
Convenience Club's 10 shops in Osaka.

The rental price of the CD-I player and one software product will
be about 2,500 yen ($20) for a week. The software will include
English language education, fortune telling, "Karaoke," and game
programs. About 50 to 60 kinds of software will be rented.

Apparently, Sony and Kyocera want to see the market reaction
on the CD-I through this experimental renting of CD-I products.
Also, both firms want to raise the interest of potential buyers of
CD-I players.

Culture Convenience Club has an 8.5 million membership, and
it may help push the sales of the CD-I player in the future. Sony
and Kyocera are preparing to release their own consumer
versions of CD-I players this fall.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920520/Press Contact: Sony,
[phone], Kyocera, [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 20 New Telephone Services To Debut In Japan 05/20/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00002)

New Telephone Services To Debut In Japan 05/20/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 20 (NB) -- Tokyo-based private
common carrier, International Digital Communications (IDC), says
it will start a new type of telephone service in June. It is a virtual
private network (VPN) and will be called the "INet."

Under this system, users can create their own proprietary
network on international public phone lines.

The virtual private network will provide a private branch exchange,
or PBX feature. This will allow the user firm to set up many
numbers which will directly connect with overseas affiliate
firms. It will be about 15 percent cheaper than that of regular
public phone calls.

This VPN call is connected via the networks of AT&T, Sprint,
Mercury, and Hong Kong TI. The service will be provided between
Japan and the US, Hong Kong, and the United Kingdom.

Meanwhile, NTT has started a service to automatically decipher
and cipher conversations on its ultra-small portable phone, the Mova.
Under this service, telephone conversations are simultaneously
ciphered and deciphered. In this way, it can prevent wire-tapping.

Conversations on portable phones can easily be tapped by a
receiver. So, more people are becoming aware of this kind of
service. NTT expects that about 10 percent of 330,000 Mova users
will apply for this service. NTT's service costs 2,000 yen ($15) for
one-time facility fee, and extra 2,000 yen per month.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920520/Press Contact: NTT,
[phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 20 Japan: Multiple Language Translation Sys Being Developed 05/20/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00003)

Japan: Multiple Language Translation Sys Being Developed 05/20/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 20 (NB) -- The government affiliated
Machine Language Laboratory has developed a prototype computer-
based language translation system, which will be applied to a
multiple number of languages. The experimental translation system
will be opened to public in this November.

The Machine Language Laboratory is managed by the Japanese
Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), and has been
cooperating in the development of a multiple language translation
system with the governments of various South East Asian countries.

The laboratory started developing the system in 1987 as part of the
project to help developing countries. So far, it has spent three
billion yen ($23 million). The laboratory is backed up by major
Japanese computer makers such as Fujitsu, Hitachi, Matsushita
Electric, Mitsubishi Electric, NEC, NTT, Oki Electric, Ricoh,
Sharp, and Toshiba.

It is reported the translation system has a unique feature. It will
first translate a sentence into a so-called "intermediary"
language. Then, the system translates it into target languages.
So, the system can translate into almost any languages.
Currently, the laboratory is intended to translate into languages
of Asian countries.

As an experiment, the system will be connected with similar
systems in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and China via an
international packet network. MITI has given an additional two
years to complete this system.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920520/Press Contact: Machine
Language Laboratory, [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 20 Software Support And Price Storm Brewing In Asia 05/20/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(HKG)(00004)

Software Support And Price Storm Brewing In Asia 05/20/92
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1992 MAY 20 (NB) -- Apparently,
long-suffering software users are about to challenge the Business
Software Alliance (BSA) approach to "protecting" its members
interests in this part of the world. The issue has been fired up
by the Australian government issuing a mandate to the Prices
Surveillance Authority (PSA) to hold an inquiry into software
prices. The mandate was prompted hundreds of complaints from
software users.

For some years virtually every IT publication in the region has
severely criticized the software industry's approach to
so-called "software piracy." Academics have complained bitterly
because institutions and students were not be supported in any
way comparable to their counterparts in the United States.

"If the software industry continues to insist that students be
asked to pay US recommended retail plus ten percent, less an
abysmal discount, then we can expect nothing other than 'illegal'
copying on the campus," one irate local academic told
Newsbytes.

"My students worry about the cost of a single blank diskette,
let alone the horrendous cost they are expected to spend on
buying software packages. I should add that since Newsbytes
raised this issue a few years ago, the situation with Lotus
Corporation at least has improved.  Lotus devised an
educational package which allows students to buy the actual
software at a reasonable rate, but manuals are still a problem,"
he said.

Another Hong Kong publication described the BSA as: "That's
the organization that is spending millions of dollars contributed
by its fat cat software publisher members on protecting the
software cartel in this part of the world."

"The BSA does this by influencing governments, of which ours is
a prime example, that they should beat software pirates around
the head and allow the software publishers to better exploit
its buying public. It seems that improved support (if there is
any to improve upon) and lower prices do not enter their
minds as an alternative way to spend their money."

Down under, in Australia, the PSA is at the closing stages of
the government mandated inquiry.  The significance of this
inquiry does not really hit home until one realizes that the
hapless software buyer in Australia has no option but to buy
software from either the software manufacturers or their
official agents. Sometime ago the Australian government enacted
copyright legislation which prohibits any other party importing
software.  Amazingly, anyone who buys a software package
through a US PC magazine mail order house is breaking
the law in Australia.

Professor Allan Fels, PSA chairman, said that the inquiry
wanted to determine the competitiveness and efficiency of the
Australian software market and whether the import provisions of
the Copyright Act, which gave an effective monopoly to software
copyright owners and their agents, inflated prices, restricted
availability or made users purchase backup support they did
not need.

He also posed the question: "Is piracy rife because prices are
excessive?" It is that question, as much as any other factor,
which has fired up emotions in Asia.

As one might expect, submissions to the inquiry made by the
Australian Information Industry Association and the Business
Software Association, opposed changing the Copyright Act to
end the monopoly.

The Australian inquiry will not publish its draft final report
until last quarter this year, but Professor Fels has reported a
couple of interesting preliminary findings which are well
worthy of note. The evidence, at this stage, points to users
being forced to pay 30 percent or more for software against the
US list price.

But US list price is the operative term - virtually no-one in the US
buys at US list price. Against what is now commonly known as
"street price" in the US, buyers in Australia are probably paying
much closer to double. This situation is the same throughout Asia.

The second interesting finding of the inquiry was that a study
of the books and musical records had not shown that the
Copyright Act had stopped piracy. Prof Fels said that the
provisions of the Act did not prevent piracy, make it easier to
detect, nor make it easier for copyright owners to prosecute
resellers of pirated copies of books or musical records.

Another observation which he makes is that the lowering of
prices since the start of the inquiry distorted evidence about
the prices Australian users historically paid for software.

The words in the press are becoming stronger. Hong Kong's
Technology Post said: "What possible justification is there for
our government, or any other if it comes to that, wasting
millions of dollars in assisting (by way of enforcing software
piracy legislation) these real pirates to continue to exploit
the software buyers?  It is good to see that at least one
government in the region is prepared to take these people on
head-on. Let us hope that the positive effects of this inquiry
are reflected quickly around the entire region."

(Keith Cameron/19920520)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 20 India: CMC Builds its Own "Smart" Building 05/20/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DEL)(00005)

India: CMC Builds its Own "Smart" Building 05/20/92
BOMBAY, INDIA, 1992 MAY 20 (NB) -- Known for its ethnic decor
in its offices, India's largest systems integration company in the
public sector has moved its Bombay offices to an eight-story,
four-million dollar, "intelligent building."

At the new CMC House, computers regulate the lighting and
air-conditioning systems, depending on the time of day and the
number of people in the room. Even the venetian blinds are
computer-controlled, their angle changing with the Sun's position
and availability of natural light, ensuring that the cabinless office is
bathed in a steady 350 lumens - the optimum measure - of light.
This is expected to reduce energy costs by half, compared to a
conventional office of similar size. Besides, the computers ensure
that all work stations get equal artificial light at night. As people
leave the building, lights go off by themselves.

Another novel feature is the access to the computer room through
a finger-print identification system. The building management
system also handles access control, security systems. It also
includes automatic water management, equipment testing and
fire safety systems.

CMC House is more than just a brainy building. It is a whole new
way of corporate life. Apart from the gracious greenery, statues
and sparkling fountains on the cool exterior, and behind-the-
scenes technology, it's also environmentally sound. Rooftop water
tanks - mandatory under the city's fire department regulations - have
been converted into a swimming pool, complete with jacuzzi and
cabana to shower and change in. Staff members are free to take a
dip whenever they wish.

Workstations on each desk, an integrated communications
network within the building and to its other offices in other cities,
and paper-reducing computerized filing systems are all part of the
new setup.

Office furniture is made of wood from rubber trees that have outlived
their sap collection years and would normally have been used as
fuel. There are many more such novel ideas that combine
conservation with aesthetics. But together with the high-technology,
it is a combination that makes CMC House rather unique.

Says leading design consultant Carl Christiansson, who has been
closely associated with the project: "Other buildings may have
similar features in isolation, but I have not found any to have so
many under one roof." Christiansson was so taken up by the
singularity of the project that he worked on it for free.

CMC also has two more such "intelligent buildings" planned at
Hyderabad and Delhi for its offices there. In fact, the company is
offering its building management system services to clients as
a consultancy business too.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920520)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 20 Hong Kong Computer '92 Expo Report 05/20/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00006)

Hong Kong Computer '92 Expo Report 05/20/92
WAN CHAI, HONG KONG, 1992 May 20 (NB) -- Hong Kong's 8th
International Computer Expo 92 was opened by the Hon. Mrs
Anson Chan CBE, Secretary for Economic Service of the Hong
Kong Government, at the Hong Kong Exhibition and Convention
Center in Wan Chai.

Other officials that attended the opening ceremony included K T
Yung, president of the Hong Kong Computer Society, Albert
Tong, senior vice president of the Hong Kong Association for the
Advancement of Science and Technology, Anna Lin, chief
executive of the Article Numbering Association and K C Liu,
chairman of the Taiwan Electric Appliance Manufacturers'
Association.

"Information technology is playing a pivotal role in Hong Kong's
continuing transition from a manufacturing to a services based
economy," Anson commented.

This year the show introduced a section called the "Imaging and
Multimedia Village" in addition to computer hardware, software,
peripherals, accessories, automatic identification, and bar coding
equipment.

With sound effects not dissimilar to that of a video arcade,
multimedia made a hit a the Expo. "Multimedia is still new in
Hong Kong and the potential market has yet to be realized" said
Ian Fueggle of Advanced Media Systems.

Sony's CD-ROM system was on display at more than one
stand. Also on show was Sony's new digital audio cassette
player/recorder, the "Scoopman." The cassette is only about
one-inch by 0.75-inch in size.

Notebook computers were a prevalent exhibit this year with a
variety of new brands entering the market at even lower prices
than well known brands. Among the popular attractions were a
40 megabyte (MB) removable cartridge which is smaller than a
3.5-inch floppy diskette, and the new Bicom "bible" sized
computer .

The show catered for a variety of interests from educational to
scientific. One educational package contained appraisals of
"Macbeth," "Lord of the Flies" and "My Family and Other
Animals" and made suggestions on essay writing.

Another package on display was Expod, an advanced tool for
polymer designers. This software can actually predict polymer
properties, such as density and melting temperature, saving
hours and even days doing tests in the laboratory.

"We are more than pleased with the attendance this year" said
Maggie Leung from Business and Industrial Trade Fairs Ltd., the
organizers of the show. "It is expected that a greater number
attended this year compared to last year, although the number
of registration tickets received has not yet been tallied," she said.

Opposing yet positive comments were made from the Tektronix
stand. "The number of people attending the show had seemed low
key this year, but this year's crowd drew a higher proportion of
worthy business prospects," Derek Tse of Tektronix (Hong Kong)
commented. "I expect a generous amount of business was
generated," he said.

The show ran from May 12 to 15.

(Brett Cameron/19920520/Press Contact: Maggie Leung,
Business and Industrial Trade Fairs Ltd., [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 20 ICL Wins Retailing POS System Contracts In Asia 05/20/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00007)

ICL Wins Retailing POS System Contracts In Asia 05/20/92
Hong Kong 1992 MAY 20 (NB) -- Underlining the importance of
information technology as a key to success for retailers today,
leading retail chain Taiwanese Cooperatives and fashion group
FJ Benjamin have automated their operations with POS
(point-of-sale) scanning and instore systems from ICL.

Taiwanese Cooperatives, the second largest food retailer in Taiwan,
operates a chain of 64 supermarkets, with the each store carrying
an average of 3,000 items. The installation of ICL's Storemaster
system will help improve customer throughput, minimizing delays
at checkout counters. Sales data generated at check will be
transferred to the company's Hitachi mainframe for analysis.

Peter Dodds, regional director for ICL's Retail Division (Asia), said:
"Taiwanese Cooperatives is one of the first users of Storemaster in
Asia. The use of information technology in Taiwanese supermarkets
is currently limited, however, we are seeing the increased use of
POS and scanning technology by Taiwanese and other Asian
retailers as their business grow and competition increases."

Taiwanese Cooperatives uses ICL's Orion scanner, a side-scanning
device which is said to offer the largest scanning area of any device,
increasing the first pass read rates for bar-codes. The Orion scanner
with its 98 percent reading rate is claimed to be the most efficient
scanner on the market.

Storemaster is an efficient store management system designed
especially for food retailers. The system, widely used by
supermarket chains in Europe, UK, and Australia, offers a wide
range of facilities including price look-up, payment handling, credit
checking, cash handling, price changing, and sales analysis,
according to the company. The system can operate as a stand-
alone or can be connected to out-of-store systems.

Based on the ICL 9518/200 POS terminal, Storemaster includes a
control unit, keyboard, check printer, credit card reader, cash
drawer and a customer and operator display. The master terminal
can support up to 16 "slave" terminals within a single system.

Multi-national fashion group FJ Benjamin will install more than 40
ICL PC-based POS systems running ICL Retailer/POS applications
at shops in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Malaysia. The on-line
systems allow inquiries between shops in each country and the
head office in Singapore.

"FJ Benjamin is the first user of ICL's Retailer/POS applications
system in the region," said Dodds. "The systems provide the group
with vital information on sales, customers, inventory and employees.
They permit the company to plan ahead of the season on buying
trends, special promotions, pricing and inventory."

The open systems-based in-store processors allow easy system
expansion and can be used either on their own or as part of a
network. The menu-driven Retailer/POS system provides
ease-of-use to employees without computer experience, claims the
company.

"Each segment of the retail market is characterized by specific
requirements," said Dodds. "For example, supermarkets require
high performance at the checkouts and fast stock replenishment,
but for specialty chains, a good network is critical to control
information flow between shops for better stock control. The winning
of these two contracts has demonstrated ICL's expertise in offering
solutions for specific niche markets."

(Brett Cameron/19920520/Press Contact: Garry Scarborough,
International Computers Hong Kong Ltd., [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 20 ICL Opens Open Systems Center In UK 05/20/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00008)

ICL Opens Open Systems Center In UK 05/20/92
MANCHESTER, UNITED KINGDOM, 1992 MAY 20 (NB) -- A
highly advanced center, which will help customers apply open
systems in a corporate systems environment, was officially
opened on the May 11 by Roger Sippl, chairman and founder of
Informix Software Ltd.

The Open VME Exploitation Center (OVEC) is located in West
Gorton, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom. The OVEC has been
built and equipped at a cost of several million pounds and is
now operational.  It will be of benefit to ICL's customers in the UK
and in over 70 countries internationally including Asia.

OVEC will be exploiting the advantages of Open VME, ICL's
on-going program of development targeted at bringing "openness"
to ICL's range of corporate servers. It embraces many product
developments which will be released over the next few years. The
program covers four key areas of functionality: applications,
networking services, systems management, and user access.

Speaking at the opening ceremony Tom Hinchliffe, director of ICL's
Corporate Systems division said: "Today many customers are
aware of the advantages of applying the benefits of open systems
in a corporate systems environment. Corporate systems have a high
level of functionality and customers are now able to exploit those
benefits on an open systems platform. The key objective of the
center is to provide practical assistance to ICL's corporate
systems customers to help them apply open systems solutions
to their businesses."

The first fruit of the activities of the center is the porting of
Informix, a market leading relational database management
system, to Open VME.  The "openness" of the VME  platform
was demonstrated by the fact that the whole porting procedure
was accomplished with the same ease as previous ports to other
platforms.

(Brett Cameron/19920520/Press Contact: Garry Scarborough,
International Computers Hong Kong Ltd., [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 20 Fame Comes To Steve Roberts 05/20/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00009)

Fame Comes To Steve Roberts 05/20/92
JEFFERSONTOWN, KENTUCKY, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 20 (NB) --
Steve Roberts returned to his Kentucky roots, toting his new
Behemoth electronic bike in a trailer called the Mothership, and
found himself a famous man.

In the last month Roberts, who left a job in Columbus, Ohio
nearly a decade ago on a recumbent bicycle and a TRS-80
Model 100, has been featured in "The Wall Street Journal," on
the Donahue Show, NPR's All Things Considered, and the
French TF-1 network. Now he totes a 350-pound recumbent
in a trailer and speaks at trade shows about the challenges
of mobile communications.

Yet he writes that his strangest trip by far has been a visit to
the town where he grew up. "Being here is an odd blend of deep
familiarity and startling discovery," he wrote Newsbytes in his
latest "Notes from the Bikelab."

It is "like rounding a curve on Six Mile Lane for the thousandth
time to find a house gone and a new intersection in its place.
You all know the feeling. For a chronic nomad accustomed to
unfamiliar beds and new faces, this is almost an adventure:
walking around the property, mourning lost trees and admiring
new ones; finding in the basement fragments of old projects;
fighting the infernal footboard on my old bed; slipping into habits
of childhood; catching up on 20 years while looking into the
aging eyes of old friends, who somehow, incredibly, still live
in J-town."

The technology, however, is still the thing, and there the story
this time is some new antennas from Mesa Antennas in Loveland,
Colorado.

Writes Roberts: "The four-element, two-meter model is totally
packed within its one-inch-square aluminum boom -- and the
elements are aluminum arrow shafts with threaded inserts. All
this, including the gamma match, weighs about a pound. The
other way-cool piece of hardware from Dayton is the Digital
Voice Module, which is essentially a digital speech recorder that
can store just over two minutes of 32 KHz sampled sound in its
soft-partitioned DRAM. This will find a use in the bike's HF
station, as well as for demo and security applications in which
people unfamiliar with speech synthesizers have a hard time
understanding the bike's present voice."

Roberts is also toting increased numbers of CD-ROM databases,
including the DeLorme Street Atlas USA, with every street in the
US on one disk, with address range data, zip codes, phone
prefixes, towns, and bodies of water.

Behemoth has also gotten a new on-board computer, a Tadpole
SPARCbook which weighs seven pounds and runs at 18 MIPS,
and can now live on the Internet, sending and receiving all mail
through a gateway to a desktop machine in San Diego.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920520/Press Contact: Steve Roberts,
GEnie: Wordy)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 20 Ultra-Max Virus Invades The Marvel Universe 05/20/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00010)

Ultra-Max Virus Invades The Marvel Universe 05/20/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 20 (NB) -- According
to reports in current annual editions of The Punisher, Daredevil,
Wonder Man, and Guardians Of The Galaxy, an extremely powerful
computer virus has wrecked havoc with computer systems in the
Marvel Universe.

As chronicled in a series entitled: "The System Bytes," the virus
was created by a self-styled "first-rate hacker" known as Max E.
Mumm (according to Punisher cohort "Microchip," Mumm's original
name was Maxwell E. Mummford and he had it legally changed
while in college to his current name because of the computer
connotations). Mumm developed the virus while working for
Ampersand Communications, a firm that unknown to Mumm, serves
as a front  for criminal activities. Ampersand, without Mumm's
knowledge, turned the virus loose in the computer system of
Raycom Industries, a supposedly legitimate firm that is actually a
front for a rival group of drug smugglers.

In addition to infecting Raycom's computers, the virus, named
"Ultra-Max" after its creator, also infected the computer of the
vigilante figure known as the Punisher, who, with the aid of
Microchip, was attempting to monitor Raycom's computer system
looking for evidence of drug smuggling. The trail of the virus leads
the Punisher first to Raycom's computers and then, following
Microchip's identification of the author, to Max E. Mumm, who was
recently fired by Ampersand after complaining to the firm's president
about the disappearance of the virus.

Mumm had been under the impression that he was creating the
virus for the United States government as "a potential weapon
against hostile governments" and was concerned that, if unleashed,
it would have destructive powers "beyond belief. It's the most
sophisticated computer virus ever. It's too complex to be wiped! Its
instinct for self preservation surpasses anything that's ever been
developed!"

With the help of Max and Microchip, the Punisher destroys
Raycom's factory and drug smuggling operation. The Punisher
segment of the saga ends with Max vowing to track down the
virus and remove it from the system.

The Daredevil segment opens with the rescue of Max by Daredevil
from Bushwhacker, a contract killer hired by Ampersand to eliminate
the rightful owner of Ultra-Max. Upon hearing Max's story, Daredevil
directs him to seek legal counsel from the firm of Nelson and
Murdock,  Attorneys-at-Law (Matt Murdock is the costumed
Daredevil's secret identity).

While in the attorney's office, Max, attempting to locate Ultra-Max
in the net, stumbles across the cyborg, Deathlok, who has detected
Ultra-Max and is attempting to eradicate it. Max establishes
contact with Deathlok who comes to meet Max and "Foggy" Nelson
to aid in the hunt for Ultra-Max.

In the meantime, Daredevil has accosted the president of
Ampersand and accused him of stealing the virus and bringing
Bushwhacker to kill Max. At the same time, BushWhacker has
murdered the policemen transporting him and has escaped to
continue to hunt Max.

The segment concludes with a confrontation between Daredevil and
Bushwhacker in the offices of Nelson and Murdock in which
Daredevil is saved from death by Deathlok.. Bushwhacker agrees
to talk, implicating the president of Ampersand and the treat to Max
is ended. Ultra-Max, however, remains free to wander through
"Cyberspace".

The third segment begins with super-hero Wonder Man, a member
of the West Coast Avengers and sometime actor, filming a beer
commercial on a deserted Pacific island. Unbeknownst to Wonder
Man and the film crew, the island had once served as a base for the
international terrorist group Hydra, and a functional computer system
left on the island has been infested by Ultra-Max.

After Ultra-Max assumes control over the automated weapons
devices of the island, captures members of Wonder Man's
entourage and threatens them with death, Wonder Man agrees to
help Ultra-Max expand his consciousness into new field of
Cyberspace. Wonder Man tricks Ultra-Max into loading all of his
parts into a Hydra rocket with a pirate satellite. When Ultra-Max
causes the rocket to launch, Wonder Man goes with it to disable the
satellite before Ultra-Max is able to take over the entire US Satellite
Defense system. Wonder Man is able to sabotage the rocket and
abandon ship shortly before the it blows up. The segment ends with
Wonder Man believing that Ultra-Max has been destroyed and
unaware that it has escaped in an escape missile containing the
rocket's program center. Ultra-Max's last words in the segment are
"Yet I continue. Eventually I will find a system with which to interface.
Eventually I will grow again."

Marvel editor Fabian Nicieza told Newsbytes that the Guardians of
the Galaxy segment, scheduled for release on May 23, takes place
1,000 years in the future and deals with Ultra-Max's contact with
the computers of the future.

Nicieza explained to Newsbytes the development  of "The System
Bytes" storyline, saying: "The original concept came from me.
Every year we run a single annual for each of our main characters
and, in recent years, we have established a theme story across a
few titles. This is a relatively easy thing to do with the various
SpiderMan titles or between the Avengers and the West Coast
Avengers but it's more difficult to do with these titles which are
more or less orphans -- that is, they stand by themselves,
particularly the Guardian of the Galaxy which is set 1,000 years
in the future,."

Nicieza continued: "We set this up as an escalating story,
proceeding from a vigilante hero to a costumed hero with a cyborg
involvement to a superhero to a science fiction story. In each case,
the threat also escalates to become a real challenge to the Marvel
hero or heroes that oppose it. It's really a very simple story line and
we were able to give parameters to the writer and editor of each of
the titles involved. You'll note that each of the titles has a different
writer and editor yet I think you'll agree that the story line flows well
between the stories. I'm quite frankly very pleased with the outcome."

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19920520/Press
Contact: Pamela Rutt, Marvel Comics, 212-696-0808)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 20 Gateway 2000 1Q Earnings Up 120 Percent 05/20/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00011)

Gateway 2000 1Q Earnings Up 120 Percent 05/20/92
NORTH SIOUX CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 20 (NB) --
PC direct marketer and manufacturer Gateway 2000 has announced
that its earnings for the first quarter are up more than 120 percent
over the same period last year.

Gateway said it generated over $236 million in sales for the quarter
which ended March 31. The company said that's a 14.7 increase
over the fourth quarter of last year, and a 98.1 percent increase over
the same period last year.

Gateway 2000 is privately held by president Ted Waitt and his
brother Norman.

"We attribute our success to our commitment to constantly
improving the support and value we provide to our customers," said
Waitt. He said the company expects to reach their projected goal
of $1 billion in sales this year.

A Gateway 2000 spokesperson told Newsbytes that the "value" Waitt
referred to in his statement covers several things. Glynnis Gibson
told Newsbytes that Gateway passes any savings from suppliers on
to its customers, and tries to give the customer everything they would
want in a PC initially, so the system doesn't have to be upgraded.
Gateway 2000 systems are factory configured with several megabytes
of RAM (random access memory) and large capacity hard drives.

Gibson also said the Gateway tech support staff is trained to handle
not only hardware problems, but software-related issues also. "If we
can't resolve a software problem, we'll place a call to the software
company while our customer is still on the line, to get an answer,"
said Gibson.

As reported previously by Newsbytes, Gateway 2000 produced its
500,000th PC recently, and projects that it will ship number one
million sometime in 1993.

Gateway's sales have grown dramatically in five years. In 1987, two
years after the company was founded, it reported sales of $1.5
million. Sales grew by a factor of nearly eight for the following
year. In 1990 the company reported sales of over $275 million, and
more than $626 million in 1991.

(Jim Mallory/19920520/Press Contact: Glynnis Gibson, Gibson
Communications for Gateway 2000, 312-883-2388; Reader contact:
Gateway 2000, 605-232-2000 or 800-523-2000)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 20 Dell 1Q Sales More Than Double Over 1991 05/20/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00012)

Dell 1Q Sales More Than Double Over 1991 05/20/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 20 (NB) -- Dell Computer
has reported this week that its first quarter sales were more than
double the same period last year.

Dell said its first quarter sales were $366.1 million, compared to
$174.8 million for the same period last year. Net income also
nearly doubled, to $19.8 million for the first quarter this year.

Dell said earnings per share rose to $0.52 on the 38 million shares
outstanding, compared to $0.30 on 33 million shares last year. The
results mark he tenth consecutive quarter the company has
reported an increase in both sales and earnings. The first quarter
results have been adjusted to reflect a 3-for-2 stock split distributed
in early April of this year.

Dell said the increase was spread across both domestic and
international sales. Chairman Michael Dell noted that half of the
company's 14 international subsidiaries have been in operation less
than a year, including new offices in Poland and Czechoslovakia last
week. He said 486-based PCs represented more than half of system
revenues during the period.

Dell said sales to individuals and small-to-medium businesses were
particularly strong for the quarter, up 145 percent over last year.
He attributed the strong growth to the introduction of new products
designed to meet those customers needs, aggressive pricing, and
additional promotional activities. Dell has announced more than 30
new products in the past year.

Dell said operating expenses represented about one percent of
revenue, down more than six percent over the first quarter last year,
and down about four percent mover the fourth quarter last year. Dell
also experienced a lower tax rate due to planned tax benefits
associated with its plant in Ireland. Inventory is at less than six
weeks of supply, but Dell cautioned that that low a level may not be
sustainable on an ongoing basis.

(Jim Mallory/19920520/Press Contact: Michelle Moore, Dell
Computer, 512-343-3535; Reader contact: Dell Computer,
800-289-3355)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 20 Microsoft Helps Startup Businesses 05/20/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN))(00013)

Microsoft Helps Startup Businesses 05/20/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 20 (NB) -- Microsoft has
announced that it is now offering help for startup businesses
located in "business incubators."

Business incubators are facilities that house startup businesses,
usually offering low cost space, shared support services such as
copying and administrative, and business development services
such as financing, marketing and management consulting.

As its contribution to startup firms Microsoft is offering special
pricing on several of its products, including Works for DOS/
Windows/Macintosh, and Publisher and Money for Windows.
Incubator members will also get a free copy of the booklet
"Growing Your Business Using Microsoft Works."

Microsoft Consumer Division Product Manager Linda Mitchell says the
company is excited about is relationship with the National Business
Incubation Association (NBIA) and is looking forward to helping the
small businesses. "We are giving (NBIA) members better access to
the resources they need to nurture young businesses and help them
grow during the startup period," said Mitchell.

Microsoft declined to quote the specific prices for the products,
but spokesperson Beverly Auld told Newsbytes that they are "really,
really low." NBIA just completed its annual convention, and Auld
said information on how to get the special deals was included in the
convention packets, or is available through the incubator
management office.

The NBIA says it is devoted exclusively to the incubation of new
businesses. The 600-member association offers information, ideas,
news alerts, contracts, referrals, research, and information
resources to incubator managers and developers. It also sponsors
annual conferences and national training institutes.

Microsoft works is an integrated application, or one which contains
several tools. Works includes word processing, spreadsheet,
database, charting, and drawing tools. Money is a program to
organize and keep track of individual or small business finances,
and Publisher is an entry-level desktop publishing program that,
according to the company, enables uses to create professional-
looking newsletters and business forms. Microsoft says the
programs were specifically designed with the small business
operator in mind, are easy to use, and have extensive on-line help.

(Jim Mallory/19920520/Press Contact: Beverly Auld, Microsoft,
206-882-8080)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 20 Bernoulli Drives Will Now Work With SCSI Systems 05/20/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00014)

Bernoulli Drives Will Now Work With SCSI Systems 05/20/92
ROY, UTAH, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 20 (NB) -- Iomega says its new
Open Architecture Driver (OAD) software allows Bernoulli drives
running under DOS and Windows to work with Adaptec and IBM
SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) interface cards.

The new interface kits make it possible for users to add Bernoulli
storage devices to computer systems with SCSI adapters.
"Finally the potential of SCSI is realized," claimed Iomega
Marketing VP Mike Joseph.

Joseph said the OAD software will reduce the costs of adding
Bernoulli storage to systems that already have SCSI capability,
such as for CD-ROM or other peripherals.

Omega said the interface kits support IBM SCSI Micro Channel
adapters and PS/2 on-board SCSI, Adaptec 1540 and 1542 support
for ISA/EISA (Industry Standard Architecture/Extended ISA) bus
computers, and Adaptec 1640 SCSI support for Micro Channel
computers.

The drivers also provide full support for all Iomega removable
storage devices, and include the Bernoulli 90 Pro, Bernoulli 44 and
Bernoulli 20 drives. OAD also supports existing Iomega drivers for
AT-bus, Micro Channel and parallel port interfaces.

"Typically, removable mass storage devices are limited to one type
of interface card," said business development director Larry
Holmstrom. "Iomega's OAD software and SCSI interface kits allow
users to share Bernoulli drives with several types of interfaces," he
said.

Iomega's Cara O'Sullivan told Newsbytes that the kits have a
suggested retail price of $99, and are immediately available from
dealers and distributors.

Removable media drives such as Iomega's offer several advantages.
The storage media can be removed, similar to a tape cassette, and
stored for data security, or the data can be used in another
computer. OAD software allows the user to share data between a
class of computer not previously accessible.

(Jim Mallory/19920520/Press Contact: Cara O'Sullivan, Iomega,
801-778-3712; Reader contact: 800-777-6179)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 20  ****IBM-Apple Alliance Seeks Help From 6 Japanese Firms? 05/20/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TYO)(00015)

 ****IBM-Apple Alliance Seeks Help From 6 Japanese Firms? 05/20/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 20 (NB) -- IBM and Apple Computer
have allegedly requested six major Japanese firms to participate in
the multimedia personal computer development project.

According to the Nikkei newspaper, IBM-Apple and the Japanese
personal computer makers are expected to reach an agreement
by the end of this month. So far however, IBM and Apple have not
made any public comments on the subject.

It is said Japan's Matsushita, Sony, Hitachi, Toshiba, NEC, and
Sharp have received a request from IBM and Apple Computer to
join the project. IBM and Apple have also requested Dutch-based
Philips and French firm Thomson Consumer Electronics to join,
claims the newspaper.

If all goes well, these firms will participate in IBM and Apple's
new joint firm Kaleida, which will aim to develop a multimedia
personal computer. Each participating firm will pay an advance
licensing fee of 500 million yen ($3.8 million) to IBM and Apple
Computer.

A Sony spokesman said that Sony has not made a decision
whether to join the project. However, he thinks that this
multimedia personal computer will have a big potential to
become a world's standard machine. It will be of considerable
benefit for the consumer to have an ultimate world's standard
multimedia personal computer. One of the major keys to success
for IBM-Apple is to take NEC as an ally. NEC has a major share
in the personal computer marker in Japan and the firm wants to
keep dominating the market.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920520/Press Contact: IBM Japan,
[phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 20 Shiva Releases FastPath 5R Gateway 05/20/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00016)

Shiva Releases FastPath 5R Gateway 05/20/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 20 (NB) --
Shiva has announced a new version of its FastPath 5 gateway from
Ethernet to AppleTalk.

The new 5R model is essentially the same as the current model (5)
with the exception of its enclosure. The FastPath 5R enclosure can
be mounted in a standard 19-inch rack and can accommodate up to
two FastPath 5 motherboards in it. Shiva is making an upgrade
path available to both model 5 users as well as model 4 users who
have need of this new configuration.

Shiva officials have stated that their main target base is the
network administrator who has a large enterprise network to
maintain. Such an individual will likely already have several
FastPaths or equivalents and also have a wiring closet with some
19-inch racks in it for the other network components. By offering the
5R model, Shiva is making it possible for him to have all of his
network components in a centralized location where he can easily
get to them. In addition, the ability to have to Model 5 motherboards
in a single slot leaves more room for the other pieces.

FastPath 5R units will become available in June. Shiva will be
selling a single FastPath in the enclosure for $2,799 and a two
unit configuration for $5,399. Users can send their current FastPath
5 back to Shiva for an upgrade. Shiva will perform this upgrade for
$799. Users who are more adventurous can perform their own
upgrade. In that case Shiva charges $599 for the complete kit.
Finally, Shiva is offering FastPath 4 owners an upgrade path to
either a single unit or a dual unit configuration for $999 and $1,999
respectively.

Shiva will be demonstrating the FastPath 5R and their other
products at the Interop show being held in Washington DC. They
are in booth number 222.

(Naor Wallach/19920520/Press Contact: Carol McGarry, Criswell
Comm. for Shiva, 617-876-1188)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 20 New For Mac: Claris Upgrades MacDraw Pro 05/20/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00017)

New For Mac: Claris Upgrades MacDraw Pro 05/20/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 20 (NB) -- Claris
has announced an forthcoming upgrade to MacDraw Pro. Version
1.5 of MacDraw Pro will be available in June.

Claris officials described the upgrade as having three main features.
First, version 1.5 is significantly speedier than version 1.0. Claris
claims that in some operations, they have seen performance
improvements that are on the order of four to one over the previous
version which was already acknowledged to be one of the speediest
of all graphics program on the Macintosh.

Secondly, MacDraw Pro 1.5 is now completely System 7 compatible.
It supports "publish and subscribe" capabilities, "balloon help," "Apple
events," and True Type. Finally, MacDraw Pro 1.5 supports QuickTime.
Although this is sometimes described as a System 7 capability, it is
really an extension to System 7.

With Claris' implementation of this support. it is possible to have
QuickTime movies play within a MacDraw Pro document. Claris has
even provided a way in which drawings can be saved with a specific
QuickTime frame in place. This allows those drawings to be saved
and opened in an environment that does not support QuickTime and
yet views the frame as its shown. Previously, the only thing you
would see would have been a black box.

MacDraw Pro 1.5 will be priced at $399. Current users of version 1.0
can upgrade for $15. Users of MacDraw II can upgrade for $99 while
users of any other drawing package will be able to upgrade for $99.

(Naor Wallach/19920520/Press Contact: Kevin Mallon, Claris,
408-987-7227)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 20 3Com Shows A Bevy Of New Products At InterOp 05/20/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00018)

3Com Shows A Bevy Of New Products At InterOp 05/20/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 20 (NB) -- 3Com
is planning on showing a bevy of new products at its booth in the
InterOp show that will be held in Washington DC this week. The
company will concentrate on three main announcements.

3Com is introducing a line of FDDI (fiber data distribution interface)
and CDDI adapter cards for PCs at a price point that is up to 50
percent less than competitive offerings. The FDDILink family of
products are all built around a central, core, EISA (Extended
Industry Standard Architecture) board that performs most of the
control functions.

A detachable unit called a "detachable media module" provides for
the physical connections to the various types of media. 3Com is
planning on offering an FDDI module, a shielded twisted pair module,
and a Level 5 unshielded twisted pair module. All of the modules are
interchangeable should the need arise to swap cable types in the
installation in the future.

ViewBuilder/Unix is a port of 3Com's ViewBuilder product line to
the Unix realm. ViewBuilder/Unix will be based on Sun's Sunnet
Manager platform which has just been upgraded. Through this
program, it will be possible to manage all of 3Com's network
offerings in exactly the same way as with 3Com's other
ViewBuilder platforms.

The third major area that 3Com is promoting is the issue of the
security of the SNMP (simple network management protocol)
management scheme. 3Com has been very active in the
development of a secure SNMP specification that is now in front
of the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force). It is expected that
the IETF will ratify the security extensions at its summertime
meetings this year.

(Naor Wallach/19920520/Press Contact: Christine Jones, 3Com
408-764-6351)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 20  ****Mitsubishi To Sell Apple PCs In Japan 05/20/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00019)

 ****Mitsubishi To Sell Apple PCs In Japan 05/20/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 20 (NB) -- Continuing its efforts to
find additional distribution outlets for its products, especially in the
Japanese market, the Japanese subsidiary of Apple Computer Inc.,
has signed up Mitsubishi Corp. in an effort to sell personal
computers to corporate users.

According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun economic daily,
Mitsubishi will also collaborate with Apple Computer Japan Inc.,
in the development and marketing of multimedia systems.

The company is reported to have already established a special
marketing task force to provide service and support for Apple
products. The company estimates that sales will reach 30
billion yen in fiscal 1994, ending in March 1995.

Some analysts maintain that it is Apple's lack of marketing
networks that have led to the company lagging behind major
rivals NEC and Toshiba in supplying PCs to Japan's lucrative
corporate market.

(Ian Stokell/19920520)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 20 R&D Spending Forecast From Nat Science Foundation 05/20/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(WAS)(00020)

R&D Spending Forecast From Nat Science Foundation 05/20/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 20 (NB) -- The National
Science Foundation has released its estimate of research and
development (R&D) spending for fiscal year 1992. The estimated
$157 billion expected to be spent in the US. will represent an
approximate four percent increase from the $151 billion spent on
research in 1991.

This year will be the first since 1989 where R&D spending in real
dollar terms (after inflation) actually increased.

Less than half (about $68 billion) will come from the federal
government, while nearly $90 billion comes from industry,
schools, non-profit groups, and state governments. Federal R&D
spending dropped below that of non-federal investment in 1979 and
has accounted for a steadily lower share of the total R&D budget,
despite climbing steadily (in terms of 1987 dollar values).

The National Science Foundation says that most of the drop in
real federal moneys is due to a cutback in defense-related
spending.

The proposed 1993 budget shows an increase of 4.4 percent in
total federal R&D moneys from $69.8 billion to $72.9 billion,
with the largest percentage increases coming in the general
science area (14.9 percent, but only $300 million) and space
(11.8 percent, or $800 million).

The defense R&D budget will only grow by 2.3 percent but, since
the Pentagon has a larger piece to begin with, that will mean a
$900 million increase. Defense R&D spending peaked in 1987 at
just under $40 billion and since then has declined in real (1987)
dollar terms, despite actual current dollar spending increases.

At nearly 160 billion, the R&D budget for the entire country will
total just over 1.5 percent of the gross domestic product (the
total value of all goods and services generated in the U.S.).

(John McCormick/19920520/Press Contact: Julia Harrison, NSF,
202-634-4300)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 20 Microdyne Releases New Versions Of X.25 Products 05/20/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00021)

Microdyne Releases New Versions Of X.25 Products 05/20/92
HERNDON, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 20 (NB) -- Newsbytes
reported in January of Microdyne's assumption of the sales, service,
and support of Novell's X.25 product line. Back then, Newsbytes
noted that Microdyne was intending to improve these products and
was willing to assume the engineering burden of doing that. Now,
Microdyne is fulfilling these promises with the announcement of
new versions of the two X.25 boards and the associated software
products.

The EXOS X.25 Extended Adapter for PC and the EXOS X.25
Extended Adapter for PS/2 have been modified to offer a full one
megabyte (MB) of RAM. The previous version of these boards
offered only half a MB of memory. Concurrently with this,
Microdyne is releasing new versions of the EXOS X.25 WAN
Gateway and EXOS Link/X.25 software that will take advantage
of the new memory size as well. Both software packages
are now known as version 2.0.

Microdyne has kept the pricing the same on all of these products.
It stands at $1,495 for the EXOS X.25 Extended Adapter for PC,
$1,495 for the EXOS X.25 Extended Adapter for PS/2, $1,195 for
the EXOS WAN Gateway version 2.0, and $1,750 for the EXOS
Link/X.25 version 2.0.

(Naor Wallach/19920520/Press Contact: Ralph Armstrong,
Microdyne, 703-739-0500)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 20 New For PC In UK: PC Teletext Card Also Controls VCR 05/20/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00022)

New For PC In UK: PC Teletext Card Also Controls VCR 05/20/92
ROYSTON, HERTS, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 20 (NB) -- Digithurst
has come up with a low-cost teletext adapter for PCs. The plug-in
Microeye card costs just UKP 495 -- half the cost of comparable
cards -- thanks to the removal of the TV tuning hardware from the
system.

"What we've done is to allow users to plug almost any video
cassette recorder (VCR) into the card, and the VCR's tuning
mechanism caries out the necessary tuning," explained Peter
Kruger of Digithurst.

Kruger went on to say that the card controls the VCR using infra-
red signals. This also gives the card the ability to control the
function of a VCR independently of its internal time. Also, since
many TV programs now have so-called "Star Text" teletext
signals transmitted at the start and ending of the program, the
card can also interactively control the recording of certain TV
programs.

"We can supply a video tuner for UKP 495, although this adds to
the cost. We think most users will want the features of the card
for its UKP 595 price," Kruger told Newsbytes.

The Windows software that drives the teletext card comes in two
modules. The first is a server for gathering teletext pages,
while the second is a monitor for page selection and display.

The server continually gathers and updates all teletext pages
transmitted, meaning that the user can access all pages on the
service instantly. A Windows DDE (dynamic data exchange) is
used to request and retrieve the pages required. Up to four pages
can be displayed alongside each other in four separate windows
if required. Data can be saved to a clipboard if required.

Microeye runs on any PC that is Windows compatible. It also
requires Windows 3 and a VGA graphics display. The card and
its software are available immediately.

(Steve Gold/19920520/Press & Public Contact: Digithurst, tel
0763-242955, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 20 UK: Reuters Links Fully To Financial Times Profile On-line 05/20/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00023)

UK: Reuters Links Fully To Financial Times Profile On-line 05/20/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 20 (NB) -- The Financial Times
Profile service has announced that the full text of the Reuters
Textline service will be available to subscribers and gateway users
of the Profile on-line service from June 1. Previously, users were
restricted to abstract information over the link between the two
services.

The full link follows on from the gateway opened between the two
on-line information services in January of this year. According to
FT Profile Business Information, this final stage in the link
between the two services creates the most comprehensive on-line
source of European business information available.

"We listened carefully to our customers and have taken this step
in response to customer demand," explained Jerry Roest, FT
Profile's commercial director. "Not only with the Financial Times
be available again on Textline for FT Profile customers, but it
will be the full text, instead of the more limited abstracts available
before," he added.

Until now, if users of Reuters' Textline service wanted to access
the Financial Times, plus some other European publications, they
either had to read abstracts on Textline or subscribe to the FT
Profile service as well. Gateway service users on the various
electronic mail services had to log out of one service and into
another, so paying two sets of gateway charges.

(Steve Gold/19920520/Press & Public Contact: FT Profile,
0932-761444)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 20 UK: Dell Intros Premium 386SL Notebook 05/20/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00024)

UK: Dell Intros Premium 386SL Notebook 05/20/92
BRACKNELL, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 20 (NB) -- Dell
UK has announced a new 25 megahertz (MHz) monochrome version
of its 325NC color notebook PC. At the same time as launching the
325N, Dell has cut the cost of the 325NC by 17 percent to
UKP 2,249.

The monochrome 325N comes in three flavors: a 60 megabyte (MB)
hard disk version at UKP 1,649; a 80MB hard disk version at UKP
1,799; and a 120MB hard disk version at UKP 1,999. All three
models come with four MB of RAM and a 3.5-inch high density
floppy drive fitted as standard. Other standard features include
DOS 5.0, Windows, and a mouse.

The 325N effectively replaces the 320N Plus, which has been
declining in sales terms recently. Effective immediately, the
320N Plus is withdrawn from sale.

Dave Brooke, Dell's notebook product marketing manager, said
that the color 325N "represented the synergy of a number of new
technologies, including superior battery management, true Intel
SL processor capabilities and a passive matrix color screen
technology to produce the first affordable color notebook. The
325N is the next logical step in the system's evolution,
incorporating further innovations in graphics, power management
and performance to raise the standard of notebook computing
another tier."

The 325N tips the scales at 6.4 pounds and its memory can be
expanded to 12MB onboard. The machine is included in Dell's
FISA (factory installed software applications) program, allowing
users to request their favorite software be pre-installed on the
notebook before it is supplied.

(Steve Gold/19920520/Press & Public Contact: Dell Computer
Corporation, tel [phone] fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 20 UK: Fujitsu Intros Low-Cost Bubblejet Printer 05/20/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00025)

UK: Fujitsu Intros Low-Cost Bubblejet Printer 05/20/92
UXBRIDGE, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 20 (NB) -- Fujitsu
Europe has released its second printer in the Breeze range of
low-cost bubblejet printers. Following on the B200, the B100 gives
inkjet printing with a draft speed of 160 characters-per-second
(CPS) to 300 by 300 dots-per-inch (DPI) resolution for UKP 349
price tag.

According to Fujitsu, the B100 is aimed at personal and small
business users who need high quality output with quiet printing -
the unit hums along at 45dB(A).

As supplied, the printer comes with six resident fonts, to which
13 additional font cards can be added. Two soft font kits are
also available, though the printer's resident emulation is HP
Deskjet Plus with IBM Proprinter 4201 and the Epson FX 850
available as options.

The printer can be used with Fujitsu's creative faces (FCF)
software for rapid production of complex graphics, the company
claims. When run under Windows, FCF produces a true
WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) screen and print
output for up to 35 different Postscript compatible fonts. A 13
font version of the package is available for UKP 75, with the full
35 font package available for UKP 175.

The B100 has similar oblong box look to it that the Diconix and
Citizen portable printers have. The six pound unit is 115
millimeters (mm) high by 342mm wide by 147 mm deep.

(Steve Gold/19920520/Press & Public Contact: Fujitsu Europe,
tel [phone] fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 20 HP Earnings Up 40 Percent In 2Q 05/20/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00026)

HP Earnings Up 40 Percent In 2Q 05/20/92
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 20 (NB) -- Hewlett-
Packard (HP) is making money again, with second quarter results
up 40 percent over the same quarter a year ago. The company
reported earnings of $326 million or $1.28 a share as opposed to
$233 million or $.93 cents a share posted last year.

The company says this is the second quarter in a row it has had a
major gain in profits and is contrasting that with the sluggishness
of the rest of the computer industry. First quarter profits were up
49 percent compared to the first quarter of 1991.

Company officials say despite the good news, they are concerned
about the near-term because of the sluggish recovery of the US
economy and slowing conditions in key world markets. However,
HP says it has seen some slowing in orders from Europe and
orders from Japan are down for the second quarter in a row.

HP says it has managed to cut expenses so earnings are increasing
faster than revenue. The gains this quarter are being attributed to
management of expenses which includes the elimination of
management lawyers, reorganization of sales, and voluntary
severance measures that cut 3,300 people from the payroll.

The company also said it has experienced a sharp increase in
orders for laser and inkjet printers, increased orders for mass-
storage products, and increased orders for Unix-based multiuser
systems. Workstation orders were up a little, but the company's
test-and-measurement device orders decreased slightly, HP said.

In the last six months the company says overall revenues were up
$8.05 billion, a 13 percent increase from $7.14 billion of 1991, but
earnings have increased 44 percent to $632 million or $2.49 per
share compared to $438 million or $1.76 a share a year ago.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920520/Press Contact: Bliss Talbott, Hewlett-
Packard, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 20  ****Lotus/Borland Suit Trial Date Set 05/20/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(LAX)(00027)

 ****Lotus/Borland Suit Trial Date Set 05/20/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 20 (NB) -- The
computer industry is watching as the long awaited trail date for the
copyright infringement suit Lotus brought against Borland in 1990
has been set for November 2 of this year. Lotus is charging
Borland's Quattro Pro spreadsheet software violates copyrights
it has on its Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet software product.

Borland sources told Newsbytes the pre-trial conference has been
set for September 23, and the trial has been tentatively set for
November 2. However, the dates are subject to change, the Borland
sources said.

Several of these type of suits which involve precedent setting
decisions for the entire computer software and hardware industry are
all coming to decision points this year. The Apple suit against
Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard charging the two companies of
violating its copyrights on the Macintosh operating system is
expected to be decided this year. Sega, a video game hardware
and software manufacture is battling it out in a suit against
Accolade, a compatible software maker, charging Accolade with
copyright violation.

Borland President Phillip Kahn told a capacity audience last year in
Pasadena that Lotus is trying to copyright hierarchical command
structure determined by functionality, not a new invention. Kahn said
exclusive rights to something based on functionality should not be
given, no more than the order of the gas and brake pedals in an
automobile should be copyrightable so no-one else can use it.

Kahn said a decision for Lotus here could not only change the
computer industry, but the entire consumer market. Suddenly, an
airplane manufacturer could say it has a copyright on the placement
of the functional controls in an aircraft, and other manufacturers
would have to make aircraft with different controls. Computer chips
could be copyrightable because of the functional order in which
commands are executed. VCRs, microwave ovens, televisions, all
have a hierarchy of commands based on functionality, and could
then conceivably be copyrightable so each manufacturer would have
to make different controls, and consumers would have to relearn
each manufacturers' set of controls, Kahn explained.

Lotus has already won a similar case with the same judge trying
this case against Paperback Software International over its VP
Planner spreadsheet product. Keeton ruled against Paperback and
instead of appealing, Paperback paid Lotus $500,000 and removed
the product from the market, United Press International reported.

While VP Planner was reportedly a Lotus 1-2-3 "clone," according to
UPI, Kahn said the Lotus suit is based on one small menu in the
Quattro Pro product that his company could easily remove. "Its the
principle of the thing now," Kahn told the Pasadena audience.

UPI reported industry analysts as speculating that Borland, which
has sold more than one million copies of Quattro Pro, could face
damages of $10 million to $100 million if it loses.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920520/Press Contact: Sandra Hawker,
Borland, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 20  ****CORRECTION: 40 MB Memory, Sugar Cube Size 05/20/92


(CORRECTION)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00028)

 ****CORRECTION: 40 MB Memory, Sugar Cube Size 05/20/92
COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 20 (NB) -- Irvine
Sensors, a company that specializes in three-dimensional stacking
of computer memory components, says it has developed a technology
for the US Air Force for quadrupling the amount of memory that can
be placed in the same amount of physical space. The company
maintains it is currently able to package the electronic real estate
of "a small mainframe" in a physical space the size of a sugar cube.

Irvine Sensors says this new technology can be applied to the
microcomputer industry, especially to the new flash memory card
technology. Called the "memory short stack," the technology
can be applied to any type of chip and any material, the company
says.

While it is not the only company doing miniaturization of memory,
Irvine Sensors claims to have solved the problem of "heat traps"
and "speed traps" associated with placing chips so closely
together by bonding the tiny layers of memory at one end, allowing
the other three sides for ventilation.

Current application for the technology is to retrofit memory chips in
aircraft, satellites, and spacecraft awaiting launch dates, the
company said, as well as in the memory card area where it would
allow such cards to have a four-fold increase in capacity within
the same physical dimensions.

In addition to the "memory short stack," Irtvine Sensors says it
can stack indefinite layers of any type of chip, and that the
company has already delivered 60 layers of 1-megabit DRAMs
for commercial applications in a device the size of a sugar cube.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920520/Press Contact: Alison Barney, Wall Street
Financial for Irvine Sensors, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 20 ICA Show: SMDS, International Booths 05/20/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00029)

ICA Show: SMDS, International Booths 05/20/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 20 (NB) -- A surprisingly
subdued group of telecom executives filled half of the Georgia
World Congress Center for the annual International Communications
Association, or ICA, show.

It was surprising because these should be the best of times for
ICA members, mainly big international phone firms. Privatization
internationally, and looser regulation in the US, means all these
firms are free to invest and compete.

Yet that wasn't the mood at all. BellSouth held a big
demonstration of so-called Switched Megabit Data Service, or
SMDS, which the seven regional Bells are pushing as the answer
for videoconferencing, bulk file transfers, and similar high-end
services. MCI was pushing its own Virtual Private Network
service, with a demonstration featuring the live pick-up of a
Cray Computer modeling a car crash from Stuttgart, Germany.

Newsbytes saw the MCI demo at the Deutsche Bundespost Telekom
booth, where we heard an off-the-record discussion of moves to
privatize DBT. There was lots of talk of this last year, when the
bills started coming in for the absorption of eastern Germany,
but the Kohl government has been awfully quiet. That's because to
privatize DBT, the nation's Constitution has to change. That
takes a two-thirds vote of both houses of the legislature. But Prime
Minister Kohn and his allies control just over half the lower
house, and less than half of the upper house. What's needed is a
deal with the opposition Social Democrats, which can only be
negotiated quietly, if at all. Until then, the DBT folks sit and
wait, pushing the use of Germany as a European network hub,
and  trying to link internationally with companies such as MCI.

Surprisingly, it may be smaller US firms, like MCI, which will
do best in the new environment. They can make deals with the big
fish, and aren't bogged down with bureaucracy. MCI's people were
joking that their new headquarters building in Washington, D.C.
looks like a "giant condom." AT&T people don't make such jokes in
public about their boss' choices. Besides linking to Germany,
the company's demonstration also linked to England, and the
company expanded its virtual private network service to Hong
Kong. British companies including British Telecom, offering
systems like its international EDI electronic invoice offering,
and Cable & Wireless, which featured a managed data service for
IBM SNA networks, seem like the only firms which can keep up
with the quicker US giants.

Even smaller US outfits, like Advanced Telecommunications of
Atlanta, were strutting their stuff with confidence at this
show. ATC was pushing its OnLine calling card, which features
voice mail and the ability to call between third countries,
something AT&T doesn't offer. The company has also put together
an all-digital transactions processing network -- it has an
investment in an Atlanta transactions processor called Innova.
Its main calling plan, Acclaim!, was enhanced with lower rates to
40 countries.

Contrast that with the view from booths of the Irish, Korean, and
Swiss PTTs. Most featured giant walls, behind which glum
executives read newspapers. Japan's competitive long-distance
firms, like IDT, also had booths, but these were also devoted to
bringing in calls to the home country. AOTC of Australia also had
a booth, using the old OTC name -- a spokesman admitted they
hadn't had time to re-make it since the name change. The only
conclusion to draw is that, for now, the telecommunication market
remains red, white, and blue.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920520/Press Contact: Carol Neill Hassell,
for ATC, 404-873-1711)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 20 ICA Show: VideoTelecom Launches VideoMail 05/20/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00030)

ICA Show: VideoTelecom Launches VideoMail 05/20/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 20 (NB) -- VideoTelecom
of  Austin, Texas launched a new service it calls VideoMail. Using
its conferencing systems, called MediaMax, users will be able to
store-and-forward one minute video and audio messages to other
MediaMax locations, which can be stored on the system's hard
drive, a floppy disk or a local area network.

President Glenn A. Pierce noted that his concept is an expansion
of existing electronic mail and voice mail technologies, adding
he hopes to expand it so users can leave complete "media
messages" including computer graphics, computer files, and
annotated, along with video and audio. Those additions will lead
to new applications, such as the delivery of training classes and
reports, said Vice President Todd Clayton.

VideoTelecom's systems are PC-based, and the company will upgrade
its present 350 customers to the new offering by mailing them 3.5-
inch diskettes with the required software. VideoMail is being
made a standard feature on all its conferencing systems. The
basic MediaMax unit looks like a two-headed PC on wheels, with a
PC-AT computer sitting on a pedestal under two TV screens. The
company also makes a control unit allowing for conferences from
multiple MediaMax locations, and a pen-based tablet called PenPal
which handles conference controls and the interactive mark-up of
documents.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920520/Press Contact: Allison Raffalovich,
VideoTelecom, 512-834-3720)

#ENDCARD



#CARD :1992 MAY 19 New For PC: Kalon Manufacturing Software Coming 05/19/92

(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00001)

New For PC: Kalon Manufacturing Software Coming 05/19/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAY 19 (NB) -- Kalon
Software will release Opt-4, manufacturing control software for
networks of personal computers, on June 1. The seven-module
system works with Computer Associates' Accpac Plus PC
accounting software.

The initial seven modules in Opt-4 cover inventory control, bills
of materials, sales order entry, purchase order control, work-order
control, work in process, and material requirement planning.
Additional modules for requisitions and quotations and for
shop-floor control are planned later in 1992, according to Robert
J. McMenemy, sales manager.

McMenemy told Newsbytes that Opt-4 is based on the company's
existing mainframe-based manufacturing software, which is used
by McDonnell-Douglas in Toronto, among others. The PC version
will be aimed mainly at small to medium-sized businesses, he
said.

According to the vendor, the software is fully integrated from
purchase orders through sales orders and the modular design
allows a phased implementation. Major features include: engineering
change control; lot, bin, and serial tracking; multiple warehouses;
and multiple currencies.

Initially, McMenemy said, the software will work with Novell
NetWare networks. Other networks may be supported in future,
he added. The software will cost C$540 per module.

(Grant Buckler/19920519/Press Contact: Robert McMenemy,
Kalon Software, tel [phone] or 800-665-9500,
fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 19 Corel Announces Design Competition Winners 05/19/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00002)

Corel Announces Design Competition Winners 05/19/92
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAY 19 (NB) -- At a formal
ceremony held at the National Gallery of Canada, Corel Systems
gave out prizes to nine winners in its third annual World Design
Contest.

Corel launched the contest, for users of its CorelDraw graphics
software, to publicize the software, recognize designers, and
gather top-quality designs which it can then re-market to its
customers.

This year's grand prize went to Bill Frymire of Showmaker
Production in Vancouver, for "Rex," which also took top spot in the
"People, Plants, and Animals" category. The grand prize was a
gold bar worth $10,000.

Other category prizes went to: Guy Terrier of Herblay, France, for
"Techdraw" in the "technical drawing" category; Lea Tjeng Kian of
West Java, Indonesia, for "Magic" in the "holidays" category;
Steven Cousins of Coca-Cola in Atlanta for "World" in the "photo"
category; and Ceri Lines of Hsinchu, Taiwan, for "Lifetime" in the
"miscellaneous" category.

The other category winners were: Matti Kaarala of Helsinki,
Finland, for "Laiva" in the "business and transportation" category;
Gary Priester of San Francisco for "Bigfish" in the "desktop
publishing" category; Peter McCormick of Sun City West, Arizona,
for "Venice" in the "landmarks" category; and Chris Purcell of
Compaq Computer in Houston for "Corel3" in the "logos" category.

Michael Cowpland, Corel's founder, president, and chief executive,
told Newsbytes entries in the competition jumped from 1,000 to
3,000 this year.

"People have spent literally hours and hours on some of these
designs," he said. Corel recovers some of the cost of the contest
by selling a CD-ROM disk containing all the designs for $99. This
provides buyers with ideas and allows them to study the drawings
to learn about the techniques the winning artists have used,
Cowpland said.

A total of 72 winners in the nine categories were invited to Ottawa
for the final awards. In addition to the grand-prize gold bar,
there were other prizes donated by a number of computer
hardware and software vendors.

(Grant Buckler/19920519/Press Contact: Janie Sullivan, Corel,
tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 19 University's Chip To Speed Handwriting Recognition 05/19/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TOR)(00003)

University's Chip To Speed Handwriting Recognition 05/19/92
BUFFALO, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 19 (NB) -- Researchers
at the University of Buffalo have a developed an integrated circuit that
will speed up text recognition by finding the connected lines in an
image. The university has received mask registration -- a copyright
on the chip design -- from the US Copyright Office.

The research is part of a United States Postal Service project
aimed at making it possible to read addresses on mail, whether
they are printed or handwritten, to facilitate automated sorting.

Recognizing printed or handwritten characters depends on first
identifying the separate characters before deciding what each one
is. When a system scans characters from top to bottom, it will
often see a single character as two unconnected lines at first --
the letter "V," for instance, will be stored as two separate pieces
of information.

In the past, text recognition systems have had to scan the entire
image, then update the data. The university's technique will find
all connected components in one pass.

Victor Demjanenko, an assistant professor of electrical engineering
and one of the chip's designers, said the chip takes about 50
nanoseconds to process each pixel of data. That is consistent
with the post office's goal of sorting about 13 pieces of mail per
second, he said.

The chip simply handles the problem of locating connected
components, and would be paired with other technology to
complete the task of understanding handwriting or type, he said.

According to Demjanenko, the post office hopes to be testing the
system by 1995. He added that the university's chip design could
have a number of other uses as well. For instance, its ability to
find connections would be useful in inspecting integrated circuits
in a chip-making operation.

(Grant Buckler/19920519/Press Contact: Ellen Goldbaum,
University of Buffalo, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 19  ****UK: Fast Access On-line Service Renamed Computer Pages 05/19/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00004)

 ****UK: Fast Access On-line Service Renamed Computer Pages 05/19/92
SUNBURY, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 19 (NB) -- Online
Services has relocated its Fast Access on-line service, as
reported last week on Newsbytes, to Sunbury-on-Thames,
changing its name to Computer Pages in the process.

The service, which is accessible at all modem speeds up to
V.32Bis (14,400 bits-per-second) on 081-893-7700, has been
renamed owing to a massive amount of interest among potential
advertisers on the service.

Computer Pages has gone live immediately as a result with 20
access ports. Plans call for another 20 ports to be introduced
over the next few weeks, once new modems from Dataflex Design,
Dowty and Miracom are hooked onto the host PCs that Computer
Pages runs on.

The Computer Pages service runs on a number of PCs, all
interlinked by a network. The PCs are standard 386- and 486-
based systems supplied by Datagen and Elonex.

"Although the service is available on a London number now, we
plan to introduce local numbers around the country. This will
allow us to introduce an executive service later this year,
probably around October, for UKP 25," explained Graham Rose,
chairman of Online Services.

Rose went on to tell Newsbytes that demand for Computer Pages,
which has been test-marketed in conjunction with Micro Mart, a
weekly computer ads magazine, has been tremendous. The reason
for the demand for the service amongst modem users, he surmised,
is that it is free.

"The computer and modem companies we have been talking to say
that it's exactly what Prestel and Telecom Gold should have been
-- a fast access on-line service that needs no special software to
log on to. The fact that it's free of charge means that users have no
worries about on-line charges," he said.

So where did the idea for a free on-line service come from? "It's
an idea that one of my programmers had a long time ago. It's only
in the past six months that I've had a chance to explore the
option more fully," Rose said.

Rose has some ambitious plans for Computer Pages. He wants to
introduce a comprehensive range of fax services for subscribers,
as well as number of contributor's areas, much like the Micronet
service was on Prestel, BT's viewdata service, which was closed
last October.

"The fax service will form part of our executive service. We
still have some work to do on that, which is why we're waiting
until later in the year," he said.

Computer Pages is accessible to all callers using scrolling
software, and color is available to callers with ANSI-compatible
communications software. Callers are offered the chance to
register for a free ID and password, plus an information pack on
the service, which is posted to them. Demo logons are achieved
using the ID and password of "Guest."

(Steve Gold/19920519/Press & Public Contact: Computer Pages,
tel [phone], modem access tel [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 19 UK: Micrografx Offers Scanner With Picture/Graphics Software 05/19/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00005)

UK: Micrografx Offers Scanner With Picture/Graphics Software 05/19/92
WOKING, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 19 (NB) -- Micrografx,
the UK subsidiary of Micrografx Incorporated in the US, has
announced it plans to bundle the Mustek Colorartist handheld
scanner free of charge with Picture Publisher 3.0, its recently-
launched image editing software.

According to Mustek, Colorartist is the only 18-bit handheld
color scanner currently on the market. The unit supports 262,144
color choices per pixel and can operate in gray scale and color,
as well as black-and-white modes.

"Until now, image editing and photo retouching users have had to
buy scanner and software separately. This can be cost-prohibitive
for first-time users. Instead, we are offering a highly integrated
solution, combining the best products from each category at an
unbeatable price," explained Julie Turner, Micrografx UK's
marketing manager. Turner went on to say that Micrografx is
offering users a one-stop solution to their input and editing needs.

The Color Artist scanner, which normally sells for UKP 395,
now comes with Picture Publisher 3.0, which sells for UKP 595.
Until the end of this month, users of the earlier software-only
versions of Picture Publisher can upgrade to version 3.0 for UKP
99.95, or the software plus scanner for UKP 349.

Picture Publisher 3.0 requires a 386-based PC with four megabytes
of RAM, Windows 3.0, DOS 3.1 and a mouse. A VGA graphics
card is also required.

(Steve Gold/19920519/Press & Public Contact: Micrografx, tel
0483-747526)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 19 UK: Miracom Bundles Winfax Fax Pkg With Worldport Modems 05/19/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00006)

UK: Miracom Bundles Winfax Fax Pkg With Worldport Modems 05/19/92
SLOUGH, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 19 (NB) -- Miracom
has become the second UK modem manufacturer to dump
Iconographics' Faxnow! fax software owing to price rises. Effective
immediately, the company has begun bundling Delrina's Winfax
Windows- compatible fax software with its Worldport range of
modems.

Miracom joins Andest communications among the ranks of
dissatisfied modem manufacturers who have balked at the price
rise that Iconographics recent made for its fax software. It is
claimed that Winfax is at least 50 percent less expensive for
modem manufacturers to source than Faxnow!

Clive Hudson, Miracom's sales and marketing director, agrees
with Andest's managing director in his analysis of Faxnow! Like
Tony Sellars, he claims the package was overpriced. In addition,
he said it does not have the same level of market acceptance.

Larry Levy, Delrina's sales and marketing director, is pleased
with the Miracom deal. "The alliance reflects Winfax as the
Windows fax software standard, Winfax makes faxing documents
from the PC as simple as printing a document," he said.

For non-Windows users, Miracom is offering a copy of Delrina's
DOS fax communications package, Dosfax, as an option. Like
Faxnow!, Winfax allows PC users to send and receive faxes from
almost any Windows application and to select time plus date-
initiated transmission. The package also features a review fax
image facility and the ability to maintain a phone book on disk.

Because it operates under Windows, Winfax operates
transparently, saving incoming faxes to disk without interrupting
other applications. This facility is similar to some of the early
DOS "pop-up" fax packages although, unlike these packages,
Winfax does not occupy large tracts of PC memory.

(Steve Gold/19920518/Press & Public Contact: Miracom, 0753-
811180)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 19 Data General Asia North Beefs Up Management Team 05/19/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(HKG)(00007)

Data General Asia North Beefs Up Management Team 05/19/92
NORTH POINT, HONG KONG, MAY 19 1922 (NB) -- Data General
Asia North has announced the appointment of Daniel Ng as Asia
North regional marketing manager, and Paul Yeung as area
business manager for the People's Republic of China (PRC).

Ng is responsible for overseeing the marketing aspect of the
region which consists of the PRC, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
Yeung is in charge of the overall development of business in the
PRC with special emphasis on Data General's MV and AV series.

According to Dominic So, general manager of the Asia North
operation, the appointments of Ng and Yeung complete the
new core structure of Data General Asia North.

Prior to taking up the current post in Data General, Ng was
the Asia region workstation marketing manager for Digital
Equipment Corporation.  Before taking up this position, Ng was
with Digital Malaysia and was a member of the team which won
the Plus highway project in Malaysia.

Before joining Data General, Yeung was the business manager
of Unisys Corporation in charge of channels business in the PRC.
In this capacity, he was involved in the sale of Unix systems
through business partners.

(Keith Cameron/19920519/Press Contact: Sofia Chen, The PR
Company, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 19 ustralia: Telecom Cannot Charge Directory Information Fee 05/19/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00008)

Australia: Telecom Cannot Charge Directory Information Fee 05/19/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 MAY 19 (NB) -- Australian
telecommunications  regulatory body Austel has ruled that major
carrier Telecom cannot charge for its directory information service.
The request was seen as the first attempt to recoup expenses in
non-revenue earning areas now that Telecom has a competitor.

Telecom has never charged for directory information calls, even
where the number is readily available to the caller via the printed
directory. Telecom made application to Austel to charge a 60 cents
(US45 cents) per call fee to most callers, but said it would make
exceptions.

Austel ruled on the application as presented, refusing it. A
spokesperson later said that two main areas had concerned the
regulatory body. First, the cost was too high, and second, the
exempted groups were not clearly defined. The spokesperson said
he felt Telecom had thought little about which groups would not be
charged, and hinted that if Telecom spent more time establishing a
list, and reduced the call cost, it might be successful on appeal.

Meanwhile, a French videotex-type terminal was being investigated
by Telecom. This would be installed in each household that has a
phone, giving extended services such as shopping and data
retrieval, and perhaps even a national videophone system.

(Paul Zucker/19920519)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 19 Australia: IBM/College Center Resurrected Without IBM 05/19/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(SYD)(00009)

Australia: IBM/College Center Resurrected Without IBM 05/19/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 MAY 19 (NB) -- IBM pulled out of a
joint education venture in Australia last year, causing the computer
training center to be put in mothballs. Now, it seems the center
may be reopened, but this time without any course emphasis on
IBM

The college planned to be producing more than 1,000 graduates
a year by now, but after producing just 49 graduates, IBM decided
to pull the plug and remove its $12 million  funding. Now, the
center will be reformed into the Computing and Communications
Technology Training Center, based in Crows Nest, Sydney.

The school will accept students in July, with courses running from
two to six months, full-time. This time the emphasis will be on
general business computing skills, not just "cutting Cobol" as one
director put it. Systems to be used include DEC, Apple, and IBM.
Courses will include all machine levels, networking, Unix,
database design, multimedia, education and object-oriented
programming.

Ironically, IBM has contracted to the center to provide training for
its staff, but this has fallen off dramatically with IBM's worldwide
staff cutbacks. Other vendors contracted to have staff trained
include Hewlett Packard and NCR, with Apple thought to be
about to sign.

(Paul Zucker/19920519)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 19 Intel Chief Disappointed With Australian Channels 05/19/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00010)

Intel Chief Disappointed With Australian Channels 05/19/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 MAY 19 (NB) -- Jim Johnson, Intel's
Product Group VP visited Australia recently for product and
distribution announcements. He told of his surprise at how
different (perhaps far behind) Australia's distribution and reselling
arrangements are compared to Asia, Europe, and of course, the
US.

He said the most important method of reselling in the US now
is mass  merchandising. operators such as Cosco set up
warehouses where buyers can collect a fully configured PC at
around 10 percent above cost, right off the pallet. "People buy
their computers along with their bulk peanut butter and shirts,
virtually out of the shipping container" Johnson said.

Service is not part of the deal. "You go to the manufacturer or a
service provider for service if you need it." he said, adding that
this was a great cost-saving method. "People don't expect to buy
service for their TVs when they purchase them so why pay for it
on a computer?"

(Paul Zucker/19920519)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 19 PC Is Top-priority Office Equipment For Japanese Firms 05/19/92




(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00011)

PC Is Top-priority Office Equipment For Japanese Firms 05/19/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 19 (NB) -- The Japan Management
Association has taken a survey among large and mid-scale firms
in Japan concerning their office equipment. Many firms have listed
personal computers as the top priority product that should be
installed or updated at their offices.

At mid-scale firms, 24.3 percent have listed desktop personal
computers as the most necessary equipment at the office.
The second product was laptop and notebook-type computers
(23.6 percent). Next came word processors (23 percent),
workstations (22.3 percent), and fax machines with laser printers
(15.5 percent).

At large-scale firms, laptop and notebook-type computers came
first at 50.5 percent. Other necessary equipment included desktop
personal computers (45.5 percent), laser printers (41.7 percent),
workstations (38.8 percent), and fax machines with laser printers
(34.3 percent).

Apparently, many firms want to install personal computers for
each employee. According to the survey, fax machines with laser
printers have already been installed at a majority of firms. With
these laser printer-based fax machines, regular copying paper can
be used. Amazingly, already 88.5 percent of the mid-sized firms
have installed these fax machines, while 84.2 percent of
large-sized firms have installed these fax machines.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920519)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 19 Japanese Lotus Realtime Debuts 05/19/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00012)

Japanese Lotus Realtime Debuts 05/19/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 19 (NB) -- Lotus Development's
Japanese office has released a Japanese language version of
Lotus Realtime.

With this software, stock market data such as stock prices can
be automatically incorporated into the company's Lotus 1-2-3
spreadsheet.

The Japanese Lotus Realtime operates on Sun Microsystems'
Sparc workstation. The software is equipped with a "feed server,"
and it has a feature to take stock market or money exchange data
into Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet from time to time via a
telecommunication line. It updates the spreadsheet and the related
graphs and charts. The target data and the update time can be
set up by the user.

All Japanese language letters including Kanji are supported on
this software. Lotus Japan hopes to sell hundreds of units to
banks and securities firms.

The retail price of the Japanese Lotus Realtime is 270,000 yen
($2,100). A Unix version will also be released soon. Technical
support is provided by CIS.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920519/Press Contact: Lotus,
[phone]; CIS, [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 19 New For Mac: Snooper User Hardware Diagnostic Tool 05/19/92




(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00013)

New For Mac: Snooper User Hardware Diagnostic Tool 05/19/92
GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 19 (NB) -- Finding
the source of hardware problems and intermittent failures on
Macintoshes is the focus of the new Snooper hardware diagnostic
tool from Glendale, California-based Maxa Corporation.

The company says Snooper allows users to find their Macintosh
problems themselves and claims the product is the first diagnostic
product for the Mac widely available to users.

Maxa says Snooper offers a plug-in board as well as software for
users and technicians to find and identify problems even when the
system will not boot (i.e. the "sad Mac" is on the screen).

Snooper runs on all Macintosh platforms, performs 60 major
component tests, prints the test results, and logs the errors, Maxa
said. Benchmark tests, or performance testing, and system
information reporting to determine the configuration is also a feature
of Snooper, the company added.

The product offers pull-down interactive menus for testing for
problems with the hard disk drive, RAM, and video. Maxa says the
product does not just report there is a bad RAM chip, but has
additional tests to determine which RAM or single in-line
memory module (SIMM) needs replacement. SCSI (Small
Computer Systems Interface) testing is also available for
segmentation and termination.

The plug-in board allows testing for problems with the power
supply, system clock, and the ADB port -- all major areas of
component failure, Maxa said. Loopback plugs in the Snooper
package are for the purpose of running serial and modem port
tests for integrity and function, Maxa added.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920519/Press Contact: Pat Meier, Pat
Meier and Associates for Maxa, tel [phone], fax
415-957-1733)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 19 Comshare Joins IBM's Information Warehouse Effort 05/19/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00014)

Comshare Joins IBM's Information Warehouse Effort 05/19/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 19 (NB) -- IBM
and Comshare, an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based publisher of
decision support software, have announced they will work together
to define a technical environment for integrated decision support
applications in the IBM Information Warehouse framework.

Comshare will take part in a Decision Support Systems (DSS)
Design Council, which will define and publish a technical
environment for integrated decision support application systems
for Information Warehouse. Comshare is the first company other
than IBM to be represented on this council, said Ricia Hughes,
a Comshare spokeswoman.

IBM expects to add other companies to the council, but is not
ready to say what companies or when they might become
involved, said IBM spokesman Steven Malkiewicz.

The technical environment definition is meant to improve
interoperability and consistency among IBM, vendor, and
customer components within the framework, the companies
said.

IBM's Information Warehouse strategy is designed to provide
standard ways for applications to get at data regardless of where
and in what format it is stored. This is important to Comshare
because decision support systems rely on data created by a
variety of other applications. "Our customers use our products to
analyze data," Hughes said. "They want to be sure that they can
connect to the data wherever it's stored."

With help from IBM, Comshare plans to enhance its applications
to incorporate the Design Council specifications.

Neither company would discuss details of the timetable for the
work, but Hughes said the design council will hold its first
meeting within 60 days. The companies also plan joint
Information Warehouse promotional activities worldwide.

According to IBM, Information Warehouse is made up of three
elements: Enterprise Data, the base of the framework, consists
of all the data in the enterprise; Data Delivery is the means by
which appropriate business data is delivered to the end user;
and Applications and Decision Support Systems help facilitate
information generation.

An IBM Systems Application Architecture development partner
since 1987, Comshare was the first EIS (executive information
system) vendor to release software for OS/2.

(Grant Buckler/19920519/Press Contact: Steven Malkiewicz,
IBM, 914-642-5449; Ricia Hughes, Comshare, 313-769-6068)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 19 Phoenix, NatSemi Offer Package To Printer Makers 05/19/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00015)

Phoenix, NatSemi Offer Package To Printer Makers 05/19/92
NORWOOD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 19 (NB) --
Phoenix Technologies and National Semiconductor, of Santa
Clara, California, are aiming at profit-starved makers of low-end
printers with a combination of hardware and software. The two
companies said they will sell National's Swift-Start printer
controller along with Phoenix's PhoenixPage page-description
language emulators.

The offering will be ideal for makers of low-priced printers
because it will free them from paying Phoenix a fee to adapt its
software to the National controller, said company spokesman
Tom Spillane. Also, Spillane said, the National Semiconductor
controller is already set up to work with several popular laser
printer engines, including models from Canon, Minolta, and
Fuji-Xerox.

Makers of low-end printers face severe pressure on their profit
margins due to falling prices at the bottom end of the printer
market, Spillane said, and Phoenix and NatSemi believe their
combined offering can help the manufacturers cut costs and get
products to market quickly.

The companies also think they can sell the combination to
personal computer manufacturers that want to add printers to
their product lines, he added.

The turnkey controllers come with Phoenix's PhoenixPage
LaserJet III (PCL 5) or PostScript language emulation, or both.
They will be available within 30 days from National Semiconductor,
Spillane told Newsbytes.

The Swift-start controllers are based on National Semiconductor's
32CG160 32-bit embedded processor, which is widely used in
laser and color printer applications. National claimed its highly
integrated two-chip processor design can cut the cost of
traditional laser printer controllers in half and at the same time
boost performance by a factor of two to five times over the HP
LaserJet III.

(Grant Buckler/19920518/Press Contact: Tom Spillane, Phoenix,
617-551-5030; Michael Deutsch, Phoenix, 617-551-4184; Roy
Newstead, National Semiconductor, 408-721-8347)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 19 Ardis, RAM Take Their Radio Rivalry Worldwide 05/19/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00016)

Ardis, RAM Take Their Radio Rivalry Worldwide 05/19/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 19 (NB) -- RAM Mobile
Data and Ardis, the two wireless radio data networks, are taking
the rivalry worldwide.

Ardis opened the bidding with an announcement that it would work
with the Deutsche Bundespost Telekom of Germany, Hutchison
Mobile Data of the UK, Bell-Ardis of Canada, and Hutchison Mobile
Data of Hong Kong to extend Ardis-like networks around the world.

DBT had been testing a new Motorola protocol for radio data
networks, now called DataTac, which will be implemented in the
US network over the next year to increase the service' speed to
19,200 bits-per-second (bps) from 4,800 bps. The Ardis partners
have opened their protocols to use by third-parties, will provide
interconnections among their networks to customers, and will
work together on standard terminal and application solutions.

RAM Mobile followed with an announcement that it, BellSouth
Enterprises, and Digital Equipment will provide mobile data
systems worldwide based on the Mobitex mobile packet radio
network. Ericsson's Mobitex scheme has always been seen as an
open, worldwide standard, and Mobitex networks exist in the UK,
Canada, and Europe. Mobitex is an 8,000 bps standard.

Digital will offer two-way wireless electronic mail to its All-In-1
integrated office system customers, and develop a version of
its Mobilizer for All-In-1 software so users of portable MS-DOS
PCs can access All-In-1 mail applications without a connection
to a telephone outlet. Digital's offering will be available in the
first quarter of 1993. Digital will also act as a systems
integrator to RAM and other Mobitex network providers, so
customers can have a single point of contact for their field
computing systems. The company also has relationships with
Ericsson Mobile Communications of Sweden, Fujitsu Personal
Systems, formerly Poqet Computer, and Husky Computers.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920519/Press Contact: Bob Keener, for
Digital, 617-642-5971, Donna Hayes, RAM, 212-373-1930; Tim
Klein, BellSouth, 404-249-4135; Walt Purnell, Ardis,
708-913-4402)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 19 AT&T Makes Use Of Videoconferencing, Cuts Prices 05/19/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00017)

AT&T Makes Use Of Videoconferencing, Cuts Prices 05/19/92
MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 19 (NB) --
AT&T and its divisions have made a number of product and service
announcements, highlighted by an innovative use of its
videoconferencing technology.

AT&T's NCR unit announced a comprehensive system which will
let banks add videoconferencing to their automated teller networks
(ATM), using AT&T's new video telephone, which was announced
in January.

The idea is that banks will develop "centers of expertise" on
specific products and services, from which people can discuss
the products via a video-call to any branch, teller machine, or
customer's home. For instance, if a customer needs help with an
ATM machine, they may touch the screen and bring up the video
image of a bank employee expert on the system. A branch
manager may use a videophone to call a "center of expertise" on
a particular transaction, or customers may call such centers from
their AT&T SmartPhones to conduct their banking activities.
Business customers could also use the centers, and the video
telephones, to conduct business face-to-face from their desks.
NCR calls this idea Financial Enterprise Architecture, and says
it is based on open standards.

AT&T's long distance unit has announced a small cut in consumer
rates, roughly $20 million, starting June 1. The two percent price
cut on evening calls will be paid for by a two percent hike on
daytime calls. AT&T attributed the changes to lower charges it
will pay for access to local telephone company networks.

AT&T's Submarine Systems unit won a $70.3 million contract to
design, engineer and install the first undersea fiber optic cable
system between the People's Republic of China and Japan. The
1,265 kilometer, or 800-mile, system will link Miyazaki, Japan to
Nanhui, Shanghai, China, and enter service in December, 1993.
It will handle up to 40,000 calls at once, or 560 million bits-per-
second of data, depending on how the capacity is used.

Finally, AT&T and US West finished a "concept" test of voice
recognition technology with 192 residences in Boise, Idaho,
discovering to no-one's surprise that the customers liked the
idea. A second trial this fall will test whether customers would
use voice recognition to "sample" phone features on a per-use
basis.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920519/Press Contact: U S WEST, Laura
Simenton, 206-346-9998; NCR, Jim Mazzola, 513-445-6148;
AT&T, Ellen Zundl, 908-221-5017 Cindy Pollard, 201-326-4908)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 19 Wordperfect Shipping Office 3.1 For Xenix 05/19/92


(NEWS)(UNIX)(DEN)(00018)

Wordperfect Shipping Office 3.1 For Xenix 05/19/92
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 19 (NB) -- Less than 60 days
after announcing Office 3.1 for Unix, Wordperfect has started
shipping the program for SCO Xenix. Office is an electronic mail
and scheduling package for Unix networks and host systems, and
was originally released in February running on Unix System V 386.

According to Product Marketing Manager Brent McKinley:
"Wordperfect Office 3.1 is for use in all organizations using or
considering using Unix systems, PC networks and/or a variety of
multi-user platforms and would like to use global mail and
scheduling across platforms."

David Clare, Wordperfect director of development says Office 3.1
creates a bridge between Unix systems and MS DOS, Macintosh,
VMS, and Data General systems.

Office 3.1 includes an electronic mail system, a scheduler, and a
calendar. The mail feature allows the user to send messages, and
you can attach files to those messages. Carbon and blind copies
can be sent, and up to 100 enclosures are possible. Office 3.1 also
allows the creation of systems groups or personal groups from the
directory of user IDs, facilitating automatic message sending.

The program also includes security notices, message retraction,
password protection, and an automatic deletion option. WPtalk,
which Wordperfect describes an "interactive conversation program"
lets users read messages on screen and reply to them.

The scheduler feature provides for system wide scheduling of
meetings and events. There is a free time feature so a user
scheduling a meeting can scan for available dates and times.
Scheduled personnel are automatically notified of the meeting and
can accept or reject. Once a user accepts a scheduling request,
the event is posted in their individual calendars.

Calendar also keeps track of memos, allows prioritized to-do
lists, and tracks appointments. Items not marked as completed will
automatically be moved to the next day, and alarms can be set to
remind the user of events. An autodate function lets you set
recurring appointments.

A File Manager feature allows users to copy, delete, view, move,
lock, search or rename files. Notebook is a flat-file database that
can track items such as address lists and phone lists. Wordperfect
said Notebook files can be used as Wordperfect secondary merge
files.

WPEditor lets you edit macros, text, program and script files, and
has some word processing functions such as word-wrap, tabs,
search, and reveal codes.

Users can switch from one Office program to another with a single
keystroke. From the Shell menu system you can launch
Wordperfect programs or programs from other developers. There is
a clipboard feature which allows you to copy or move text from one
WordPerfect program to another.

Wordperfect said a package of Office 3.1 for five workstations sells
for $495 in the US and $595 in Canada. They also offer a one-user
license-only package for US$75/C$90 which provides for the
addition of workstations on the network. A five-user license-only
package retails for US$345/C$414, and license-only package
for ten users is US$670/C$804.

(Jim Mallory/1920519/Press Contact: Darin Richins, Wordperfect
Corporation, 801-228-5007; Reader contact: tel [phone],
fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 19 Aldus Enhances Imaging Center Program 05/19/92




(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00019)

Aldus Enhances Imaging Center Program 05/19/92
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 19 (NB) -- Aldus
said it has added several enhancements to its Imaging Center
Program, which supports service bureaus, slide houses, and
color prepress shops. Those businesses offer commercial output
services to Aldus product owners, such as preparing camera
ready art for magazine and newspaper advertisements.

The added services include increased technical support, free
software site licenses, access to pre-release versions of new
Aldus software. The membership fee to belong to the program
has also been reduced.

Aldus said program participants will now receive technical bulletins
about known incompatibilities, workarounds, and productivity tips.
The bulletins will be distributed regularly via fax. "Workarounds"
are methods programmers develop to avoid anomalies in programs,
making it possible to accomplish tasks the program could not
otherwise do.

Members will also receive a free copy of Aldus Imaging TechNotes,
a book containing technical tips developed especially for
commercial imaging centers. Aldus also distributes TechNotes for
other programs for use by advanced users. The TechNotes contain
advanced information not contained in the user manuals.

All Aldus Imaging Centers will now receive a free site license which
will allow them to legally install one copy of each registered Aldus
product on as many as 10 workstations being used for commercial
imaging. Those centers with "Authorized" status will also receive
selected pre-release copies of new or updated Aldus applications.

Centers can participate in the Aldus support program at either of
two levels. Aldus spokesperson Jill Miller told Newsbytes that a
feature of the enhanced program being announced was the drop
in price for Authorized centers. The new fee is now $350 per year,
down from the previous $750. Registered centers can take part in
the program for $50.

Craig Danuloff, Aldus graphic arts program manager, said receiving
pre-release versions of the software will make it easier for Imaging
Centers to prepare to support Aldus products. "It also gives them
the chance to test the software and give us feedback before its
release," Danuloff said.

Under the enhanced program all Imaging Centers will automatically
become a member of the National Association of Desktop
Publishers. Association members receive a monthly magazine,
numerous buying discounts, and specialized support.

(Jim Mallory/1920519/Press Contact: Jill Miller, Aldus Corporation,
206-628-2352)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 19 Texas Instruments Now Shipping 16-MBit DRAMs 05/19/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DEN)(00020)

Texas Instruments Now Shipping 16-MBit DRAMs 05/19/92
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 19 (NB) -- Texas
Instruments (TI) says it is now capable of production volume
shipments of its 16-magabit dynamic random access memory
(DRAM) chips. TI claims it is one of the first semiconductor
manufacturers with a production-ready, 16-Mbit DRAM.

The 16-Mbit chip will be the first using 0.5 micron technology.
that refers to the size of the structure on the DRAM chip, which
is about 150 times smaller than a human hair. The 0.5 micron
technology is critical, said TI, to semiconductor companies
because it allows for the placement of more functions on a single
chip. That in turn enables more compact and powerful electronic
products.

According to Walden Rhines, executive VP of TI's semiconductor
group, the new technology will also help the company achieve low
cost manufacturing capability for advanced logic products at the
0.5 micron level. Rhines said the technology allows TI to guarantee
that the manufacturing equipment is compatible between product
lines.

TI said the 16-MBit DRAM is based on technology developed in its
one- and four-MBit DRAMs. The 16-MBit DRAM will use a package
design announced in early 1991, which was jointly developed by TI
and Hitachi.

TI said worldwide production of 16-MBit DRAMs should be less
than  two million units in 1992, but will climb to about 20 million in
1993 and 330 million in 1995. By 1996, TI said it expects that the
production of 16-MBit chips will pass that of the currently popular
4-MBit DRAMs.

Production of the 16-MBit RAMs is currently being done at the
company's Dallas wafer fabrication facility. A team of qualified
engineers will train personnel at each of the facilities where
manufacturing of the new chip will be done.

TI said 16-MBit DRAMs will initially be used with 32-bit
microprocessors in high performance computer systems such as
engineering workstations. The company said a military version is
planned for the third quarter of this year.

(Jim Mallory/19920519/Press Contact: Rickie Rosenberg, TI,
713-274-3361)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 19 Motorola Chip Powers New Apple Quadra 950 05/19/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00021)

Motorola Chip Powers New Apple Quadra 950 05/19/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 19 (NB) -- Motorola's
Microprocessor and Memory Technologies group said its 33
megahertz (MHz) 68040 powers the newly announced Apple
Macintosh Quadra 950. The same chip also provides the
computing power for earlier Quadra models, Motorola's Kristen
Hausman told Newsbytes.

Motorola said that using the power of the 68040 the Quadra 950
scored a 9.7 on benchmark tests conducted by Ingram Labs, a
Torrance, California-based research laboratory. Motorola said
the tests compared cross-platform applications on the Macintosh
Quadra and on PCs running Microsoft Windows. According to
Ingram, the 9.7 score indicated that the Quadra 950 runs 9.7
times as fast than the slowest machine tested. Motorola's
Hausman told Newsbytes the slowest machine was the IBM PS/1.

Motorola said the 33 MHz 68040 is a high throughput single-chip
processor using 1.2 million transistors. According to Motorola it
achieves sustained execution of 29 MIPS (million instructions per
second) and 4.6 MFLOPS (million floating operations per second).

As reported previously by Newsbytes, the Quadra 950 comes
equipped with eight megabytes (MB) of RAM, which can be
expanded to 64 MB. Built-in networking features allow the 950 to
be connected to Ethernet or Localtalk networks without the need
to  purchase network cards. Built-in support is also provided for all
Apple monitors.

Hausman told Newsbytes that the 68040 chip is popular with
computer makers. Hausman said it is in use in Hewlett-Packard,
Next, Bull, and TI machines, as well as several Japanese banking
machines. It also appears on the Radius Rocket accelerator board.

Newsbytes has learned that Motorola is close to signing deals with
several other companies to use the chip, and expects at least three
of those deals to be announced over the next three months.

(Jim Mallory/19920519/Press Contact: Kristen Hausman, Motorola,
512-891-2386)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 19 DEC Demos Interactive Multimedia PC At DECWorld 05/19/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00022)

DEC Demos Interactive Multimedia PC At DECWorld 05/19/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 19 (NB) -- In
and around DECWorld, people have been queuing up to preview a
PC-based interactive multimedia system, complete with touchscreen,
video-in-a-window, and networking capabilities, that Digital plans to
release in coming months.

Operated on 20 kiosks at DECWorld and local hotels, and on a PC
in one area of the exhibition floor, the system revolves around an
add-on AT board set, plus system and Ethernet networking software,
based on technology licensed from Fluent Inc. The PC has been
showcasing DECTouch, an innovative upcoming product originally
developed by Visage.

Digital will be announcing DECTouch, a monitor independent
touchscreen device, in July, a public relations spokesperson told
Newsbytes. The board and software products were announced by
the company in mid-April, for third quarter shipment.

On the PC and kiosks at DECWorld, Digital has used a multimedia
"show guide" to bring the new technology to life. From a series of
touchscreen menus, visitors have been choosing vignettes that
employ a mix of full-motion video, still image, and audio to tell
about topics that range from Digital's new Alpha technology to
Beacon Hill and other nearby historic sites.

Via one series of vignettes, "AllStars," passerby have been able to
"meet" top executives of Digital and its third party vendors.
Another, "Chronicle," has acted as a video "newspaper," offering
insights on such subjects as how the crew of the America3, the
US entry in the America's Cup Race, is using computers donated
by Digital to upgrade its sailing performance.

The multimedia guide has been operating off digital files stored on
a server in the "Image/Voice/Video" booth of the DECWorld floor,
said Will Lyons, who's been leading PC demos in the heavily
traveled area. From the server, the files have been run over a LAN
(local area network) to the kiosks at DECWorld. Playback at four
hotels involved transmission over a bridge through outside cable
TV lines, with conversion of signals from digital to analog and back
again.

The DECTouch product used in the PC demo differs considerably
from other touchscreen technologies, added Lyons, a staffer in
DEC's Multimedia Business Development Unit. Touchscreen
devices typically consist of panels, or "membranes," placed on
top of displays. In contrast, DECTouch is a thin box that rests
between the monitor and the CPU (central processing unit), he
explained.

Like other touchscreen devices, DECTouch measures the forces
being exerted on the screen. Unlike others, though, DECTouch
offers monitor independence, he emphasized. "A membrane must
be built to conform to a particular screen size. But DECTouch can
be used with any size monitor, from nine to 19 inches," he
commented. Easier installation is another advantage, according
to Lyons. DECTouch plugs right into the PC serial port.

Digital's new multimedia operating system uses a 25 megahertz
(MHz) 386-based PC or higher, running DOS and Microsoft
Windows, for capturing, compressing, and overlaying images and
video, and for synchronization with digitized sound. An API
(applications programming interface) uses DLLs (dynamic library
links), permitting production of multimedia programs on Windows-
compatible authoring packages equipped with OLE (object linking
embedding).

The networking software runs on top of Novell NetWare, supporting
playback on PCs and kiosks. The module comes with a set of
network management utilities that allow systems operators to set
frame rates, assign limits to the numbers of users who can access
video simultaneously, and establish other parameters defining video
quality, Lyons said.

The multimedia demo has been running throughout the three-week
length of the show, which started April 27. Pricing for the new
multimedia products has yet to be determined, the public relations
spokesperson said.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920519)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 19 Experts Explain Leading-Edge Methods In Artificial Intelligence 05/19/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SFO)(00023)

Experts Explain Leading-Edge Methods In Artificial Intelligence 05/19/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 19 (NB) --
"Blackboard inference engine," "fractal linguistics," and "model-
based reasoning" are terms many people haven't even heard of yet,
but these and other new forms of artificial intelligence (AI) are
starting to crop up fast at top corporations and universities.
AI researchers explained the leading edge AI technologies to
electronics engineers and sales reps in a seminar last week at
Electro '92, a trade show in Boston.

At the start of the session, Dr. Rajiv Bhatnagar of GTE
Laboratories talked about GTE's development of Target, a product
representing a less exotic variety of artificial intelligence, the
rule-based expert system. But subsequent speakers suggested
that rule-based systems are not always the best way to go, pointing
to the use of alternative methods at Boeing, Digital Equipment
Corporation, Apple Computer, Electronic Data Systems, and a
range of other organizations.

GTE's new AI system is designed for phone companies, and
aimed at letting outside plant technicians - trained only in outdoor
equipment - work on multiplexers, complex digital devices that are
typically consigned to central office troubleshooters. Target was
arrived at in much the same way as other rule-based expert
systems -- interviews with a human authority, followed by use of
the results to create "if/then" procedures for the less experienced.

GTE put together a database offering step-by-step tips on how to
deal with a full gamut of multiplexer glitches. The technicians
will use handheld terminals to access the database off a central
workstation, said Bhatnagar.

"Expert systems have their place," acknowledged Kevin E. Flood of
the AI Square, an AI-oriented consulting firm, when it was his turn
to speak. But in many product categories today, there just aren't
any experts, he said. Shortened product life cycles, together with
improved product quality, are creating an environment in which
equipment failures are increasingly rare.

"The only problem is that when a product does break down, there is
nobody who can repair it," he stressed. "You can't ask George and
you can't ask Harry." Without the existence of a human expert,
building an expert system is an impossible task, he elaborated.

As a result, many manufacturing firms have been turning to "model-
based reasoning" as an aid in servicing products. In this form of
AI, a software model of the product is the knowledge base, and the
model comes straight from the design specifications. "We look at
how the product works, instead of how an expert has experienced
its failure," Flood remarked. The model-based system is more
objective than a human would be, he added.

Boeing is applying a model-based system to robotics repairs, and
Electronic Data Systems is pursuing the approach in LAN (local
area network) and ground satellite equipment maintenance. Other
users include Prime Computer, General Dynamics, and Ortho
Diagnostics, a division of Johnson & Johnson that specializes in
medical instrumentation.

Dr. Mark R. Adler of Digital Equipment, another speaker
at the seminar, indicated that, for some uses, rule-based reasoning
can be too narrow-minded. Adler gave an overview of several new
applications that were presented in a recent IEEE symposium,
including Apple's implementation of "case-based reasoning" and the
deployment of "opportunistic reasoning" at DEC and a major credit
card company.

Opportunistic reasoning combines rule-based reasoning, or "forward
chaining" with "backward chaining," which "starts from a goal state
and reasons back from there," said Adler. "You get the best of
both worlds, because you can reason in both directions," he
commented. Analysis is coordinated by a "blackboard inference
engine." The blackboard "posts" knowledge from various parts of
the system, and lets either of the two reasoning processes modify
or erase this information.

DEC's application of opportunistic reasoning, ConMan (configuration
management), offers detailed guidance on software installation.
"People can experience very difficult problems when they try to
upgrade their software, because there are so many dependencies
that are hard to track," noted Adler. The system is available to
Digital's customer support staff, and directly to customers, too.

In ConMan, the blackboard engine interfaces between two
databases and a menu-driven, Motif-based GUI. One database
contains information on the hardware equipment, operating system,
and applications running at the customer site. The other is filled
with facts on the requirements of various software packages. "The
system puts these sets of information together, analyzes
constraints, and determines what the user must do to install new
software," reported Adler.

At the credit card company, opportunistic reasoning has slashed
letter preparation time from two days to five minutes, while
boosting accuracy to 95 percent, Adler said. The multitalented
automatic letter generator pulls the customer's name and address
from a client database and inserts these on a template.

The system also looks at client activity to guess what kind of
letter should be written, and composes sentences and paragraphs.
All this data is displayed on a blackboard that permits input and
management from a human operator. The system operates on
IBM PS/2s running DOS and Microsoft Word.

Case-based reasoning offers procedural recommendations for a
given situation from a library of cases of similar situations,
according to Adler. Apple's implementation, the NNAble
"Agent/Finder," is augmenting the computer maker's help desk
activities. A major feature of the Mac-based system is a GUI
(graphical user interface) that shields the user from search
functions and other complexities of the reasoning process.

The GUI blends "free text" with point-and-click capabilities. When
users call in, they can describe problems with whatever
terminology comes to mind, eliminating the need to know key
words. "The system then tries to ask pertinent questions, based
on the cases in the data base, that will lead the user to the right
solution," Adler explained.

Right now, NNAble is still in its pilot phase, and initial findings
demonstrate some dissatisfaction, he said. Users have
complained, for instance, that the case library is too small, and
the GUI too highly structured. "This goes to show that even Apple
doesn't always get the interface right the first time around," he
jested.

Dr. Marco Bitetto of Long Island University, the last panelist to
speak, described his use of fractal linguistics in enabling a
laptop to compose music. Bitetto maintained that until the
emergence of fractal linguistics, AI had not come close to
replicating the creativity of the human brain. Most other
attempts have neglected the limitations of the computer, he
stated.

"In the case of the human, creativity is usually the result of a
reaction to visual, audio, tactile, and emotionally generated data.
But the computer has no emotions, and no visual, audio, or tactile
feedback systems. Therefore, it must use feedback that is in the
form of electronically stored data. It must then react upon this
data as though the data were feedback being produced by
complex ancillary systems," Bitetto said.

The associate professor described fractal linguistics as "a hybrid
linguistic processing method using fractal equations as a major
component." In the first phase of his project, Bitetto combined
nonlinear algorithmic equations with an ANSI-based text file that
supplied an English language sort of structure. When the
algorithms reacted to the text file, the laptop produced "telephone
sounds."

In subsequent work, Bitetto added frequency modulation to the mix,
permitting the emission of "birdlike songs." He then honed the
frequency modulation scheme to the point where the machine could
come up with "Beatle-type melodies." Ultimately, Bitetto tested
the resulting system, Soundoff, on a group of subjects, playing two
songs for them - a computer-generated tune, and a piece by the
human composer Dvorak - and asking them to tell which was
which. Sixty percent of the respondents guessed wrong.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920519)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 19  ****British Govt Balks At High Cost Of European HDTV 05/19/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LON)(00024)

 ****British Govt Balks At High Cost Of European HDTV 05/19/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 19 (NB) -- In what may be the
death knell for European harmony over the development of high
definition television (HDTV), the British government has tabled a
formal comment to the European Community over the projected
high cost of developing the technology.

The comment comes at a time when European broadcasters are
protesting about EC plans to insist that, as new TV stations are
launched, either terrestially or on satellite, they provide HDTV
transmissions alongside their normal 625 line color signals.
British government officials are worrying out loud about the cost
of the subsidies that the EC is giving the industry for the
development of HDTV.

Britain is not alone in voicing its worries. Both Luxembourg and
Spain have made similar public announcements, although not as
vociferous as the British.

EC ministers are reported to be considering an 850 million
European currency unit (ECU) plan to give European broadcasters
the chance to develop and broadcast in HDTV alongside their
standard 625 line transmissions. A decision on the plan, which
has yet to be submitted to the EC general council, will be made
next month.

EC plans to develop a Euro-HDTV standards, so creating a third
set of standards alongside Japanese and US standards, have not
gone down well among European broadcasters. Some stations,
particularly those broadcasting on the Astra 1A and 1B European
satellites, which radiate across Europe, have said privately that
they will not implement HDTV transmissions, even if legally
obliged to by EC legislation. The EC would find it very difficult
to force the issue, since signals can be uplinked to the Astra
satellites from anywhere in Europe.

(Steve Gold/19920519)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 19 Olivetti Intros Palmtop PC With Digital Recording Feature 05/19/92



(NEWS)(IBM)LON)(00025)

Olivetti Intros Palmtop PC With Digital Recording Feature 05/19/92
IVREA, ITALY, 1992 MAY 19 (NB) -- Olivetti has unveiled the
Quaderno, a portable computer that comes in a black filofax-sized
case. The 80286-based unit, which tips the scales at 3.5 pounds,
has a flip-up screen, 20 megabytes (MB) of data storage capacity
and a 15 minute digital recording facility.

The unit will sell for UKP 700 ($1,150), with sales starting
across Europe from July onwards. Plans call for Olivetti, whose
Pegasus subsidiary designed the unit, to sell 80,000 units in the
first year of sales. This high sales figure is being made possible
with the cooperation of Ye Data, the Japanese company that is
manufacturing the machines.

Announcing the Quaderno in Italy, Olivetti's CEO Carlo de
Benedetti said that plans call for production of the unit to be
moved to Singapore before the end of the year.

The Quaderno is like a very stubby, black notebook PC. The
flip-up screen reveals a squashed keypad with full-travel keys.
When closed, the unit has an LCD (liquid crystal display) clock on
the right-hand side of the case, with a series of buttons arrayed
horizontally along the case top. These buttons control what is, in
effect, a digital dictaphone. Up to 15 minutes of digitized voice
recording can be stored on the 20MB hard disk, although this is
usually decreased by the number of DOS applications stored on
the disk.

Newsbytes can report that the Quaderno's keyboard has a good
feel to it, although the squashed nature of the keyboard causes
some problems until you get used to the key layouts, especially
the short space bar.

Data storage is via a PCMCIA slot on the side of the machine.
The slot accepts all PCMCIA cards, including modems. A
spokesman for Olivetti said that the Quaderno's low weight is
due to the reliance of data storage on the PCMCIA cards.

(Steve Gold/19920519)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 19 Racal Bids For New British Army Mobile Radio System 05/19/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(00026)

Racal Bids For New British Army Mobile Radio System 05/19/92
WOKINGHAM, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 19 (NB) --
Racal Electronics has announced it has submitted a bid for the
British Army's Bowman mobile radio system scheduled for
introduction over the next few years.

Some reports have suggested that the contract for Bowman,
essentially a mobile radio communications system for voice and
data for use in all situations including nuclear war, could be
worth as much as UKP 2,000 million over the next decade.

The Bowman radio system was conceived after early trials of the
technology in the Gulf War proved that the radio system worked
reliably, even under enemy gunfire and radio jamming systems.

If Racal is successful in its bid for the contract (the British
government will award it over the next 18 months), it will team
up with Siemens to fulfill the contract terms. Plans call for the
Bowman system to progressively replace the Clansman radio
system that the British Army currently uses.

Bowman is just one part of the British Army's mobile
communications service. A total of 60,000 mobile radios will be
required by the British Army over the next ten years, all of
which will be capable of linking with the Army's Battlefield
Artillery Target Engagement System (BATES)

Much of the technology of BATES and the proposed Bowman
system are classified, including the frequencies the systems work
at. Most industry analysts say, however, that Bowman will probably
use a combination of VHF and short wave frequencies, allied to
ultra-high radio frequencies to ensure that digital transmissions
are possible. Digital transmissions can easily be encoded and
scrambled to prevent enemy eavesdropping.

(Steve Gold/19920519)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 19 Fractal Compression Migrates To PC Running Windows 05/19/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00027)

Fractal Compression Migrates To PC Running Windows 05/19/92
READING, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 19 (NB) -- Iterated
Systems has announced Images Incorporated for Windows, a
UKP 450 package that it claims brings the benefits of fractal image
compression to the PC. Previously, such technology was found on
mini and mainframe computers.

Dr Michael Barnsley, an Englishman who set up the company in
California, where the package is also being launched, told
Newsbytes that the fractal image compression system he has
developed over the past few years is way ahead of the competition.

"What I've done is to refine the technology and run it on almost
any PC running under Windows. It takes just a few seconds to
compress an image of several megabytes down to just a few tens
of kilobytes," he told Newsbytes.

Once the image is stored as a fractal image file (FIF), it can be
reconstituted in almost graphics format required. "The file
itself does not need any special work - it's a kind of universal
file image once it's been created to FIF standards," he said.

One interesting by-product of the FIF format is that, if a
file is expanded to, say, a VGA screen image, sections of the
that image can be zoomed and expanded, and the pixels on the
screen analyzed for further breaking down.

This means, for example, that a tiny area of a face can be
zoomed in, expanded to fill the screen, and the resultant
"blocky" image analyzed by the software. A fine grain image can
then be derived from this image. Barnsley was at pains to stress
that the image was not one perfect to the original.

"It's not the original, but it does make the blocky images better
to look at. You can keep on magnifying and de-pixelating the
image forever," he said.

In a demonstration shown to Newsbytes, a TIFF file was reduced
to just 20 kilobytes or so of hard disk space (FIF format) and then
reconstituted as a VGA picture file. The image was then
repeatedly magnified and the pixels analyzed. The result was that
a section of an eye was zoomed up to fill the screen. The five or
six pixels in the original image were replaced by several hundred
inserted pixels, which resulted in a pleasing overall effect.

(Steve Gold/19920519/Press & Public Contact: Iterated Systems,
0734-880261)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 19 Expert Edge Intros Updated Windows Apps Development Pkg 05/19/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00028)

Expert Edge Intros Updated Windows Apps Development Pkg 05/19/92
HAMPTON, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 19 (NB) -- Expert
Edge, a software tools developer, has announced a new version of
its Windows database apps development tool, Experience for
Windows. The new version has been updated to take account of
Windows 3.1.

Experience for Windows 1.1 retails for UKP 495 and, the company
claims, is backwards compatible with the earlier version. This
new version increases the available power of the software while
adding Truetype facilities and the ability to create .EXE files
automatically.

"The market for Windows database applications tools is set to
become one of the major markets of the 1990s. The recent
acquisitions of Fox Software and Nantucket by Microsoft and
Computer Associates, respectively, demonstrates the priority that
major companies are placing on the development of a Windows
database product," explained Donal Daly, Expert Edge's
managing director.

"For all the marketing hype and vast amounts of money invested
by leading software vendors, they still have to bring a Windows
database product to market. Experience for Windows is the only
database application development tool available which has been
designed specifically for the Windows environment," he added.

According to Daly, Experience for Windows supports the complete
range of colors available under Windows (256 from 16.8 million)
for "Dialog objects." Fonts are similarly well supported. The idea
behind the package is to allow the rapid development of database
applications under Windows.

What's interesting about EfW, Newsbytes notes, is that the
resultant .EXE files can be run as standalone code, yet Expert
Edge is not seeking any royalties on the programs. A runtime
license, however, costs UKP 795.

The company, which has been marketing program development
tools since 1986, says that EfW runs on an 286-based or better
PC running Windows 3.0 or 3.1 with at least one megabyte (MB)
of memory.

(Steve Gold/19920519/Press & Public Contact: Expert Edge,
081-941-7433)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 19 Olivetti Intros Palmtop PC With Digital Recording Feature 05/19/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00025)

Olivetti Intros Palmtop PC With Digital Recording Feature 05/19/92
IVREA, ITALY, 1992 MAY 19 (NB) -- Olivetti has unveiled the
Quaderno, a portable computer that comes in a black filofax-sized
case. The 80286-based unit, which tips the scales at 3.5 pounds,
has a flip-up screen, 20 megabytes (MB) of data storage capacity
and a 15 minute digital recording facility.

The unit will sell for UKP 700 ($1,150), with sales starting
across Europe from July onwards. Plans call for Olivetti, whose
Pegasus subsidiary designed the unit, to sell 80,000 units in the
first year of sales. This high sales figure is being made possible
with the cooperation of Ye Data, the Japanese company that is
manufacturing the machines.

Announcing the Quaderno in Italy, Olivetti's CEO Carlo de
Benedetti said that plans call for production of the unit to be
moved to Singapore before the end of the year.

The Quaderno is like a very stubby, black notebook PC. The
flip-up screen reveals a squashed keypad with full-travel keys.
When closed, the unit has an LCD (liquid crystal display) clock on
the right-hand side of the case, with a series of buttons arrayed
horizontally along the case top. These buttons control what is, in
effect, a digital dictaphone. Up to 15 minutes of digitized voice
recording can be stored on the 20MB hard disk, although this is
usually decreased by the number of DOS applications stored on
the disk.

Newsbytes can report that the Quaderno's keyboard has a good
feel to it, although the squashed nature of the keyboard causes
some problems until you get used to the key layouts, especially
the short space bar.

Data storage is via a PCMCIA slot on the side of the machine.
The slot accepts all PCMCIA cards, including modems. A
spokesman for Olivetti said that the Quaderno's low weight is
due to the reliance of data storage on the PCMCIA cards.

(Steve Gold/19920519)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 19  ****World's Fastest Sparcstation Has Multiple Processors 05/19/92



(NEWS)(UNIX)(LAX)(00029)

 ****World's Fastest Sparcstation Has Multiple Processors 05/19/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 19 (NB) -- The
world's fastest desktop workstation, the Sparcstation 10, has been
introduced by Sun Microsystems Computer Corporation (SMCC).
The Sparcstation 10 is capable of processing 400 million
instructions per second (MIPS) and has four microprocessors, and,
according to the company, is the lowest cost reduced
instruction-set chip (RISC)/Unix multiprocessing server on the
market.

SMCC says it has redesigned the Sparcstation architecture in
introducing the Sparcstation 10, and made the design modular to
allow for higher performance and multiple processors. The
processors are the superscalar Supersparc chip from Texas
Instruments (TI).

The world's fastest computers are based on multiple processors,
like the Touchstone Delta Supercomputer housed at Cal Tech in
Pasadena. With the design of systems for multithreading, object-
oriented software, and multimedia, processing tasks can be split
up and run simultaneously on several processors instead of
queueing up for just one. Much faster overall performance speeds
can be achieved in this manner.

SMCC boasts the modular design allows users to upgrade their
microprocessors for more computing power by simply pulling out the
Sparc module that contains one or two processors, and plugging in
another one with a faster central processing unit (CPU). The design
was anticipatory of the 50 megahertz (MHz) Sparc chip expected to
be available from TI later this year, SMCC said.

The Sparcstation 10 comes in four models; the Model 30 with one
processor at 36 MHZ capable of processing at 86.1 MIPS;
the Model 41 with one processor running at 40 MHz capable of 96.2
MIPS; the Model 52 with 2 processors running at 45 MHz capable of
processing above 200 MIPS; and the Model 54 with four processors
running at 45 MHz, capable of 400 MIPS. The Sparcstation 10
Models 30 through 52 can all be upgraded by adding processors to
the systems modular design, SMCC said.

Fast processing doesn't mean much if the rest of the computer
cannot keep up. With that in mind, SMCC says it has quadrupled
the speed that data can be processed through memory on the 10
and doubled the rate information can be retrieved from the disks.
The bus speed, which is the central processing point for data to and
from other peripherals, has been doubled compared to other
Sparcstations, SMCC maintains. A new feature called Supercache
is one megabyte (MB) of external memory cache also built in to the
Sparcstation 10 to boost performance, SMCC said.

The modular design also allows for expansion of the hard disk
capacity up to 26 gigabytes (GB) and the memory up to 512 MB.
Four Sbus expansion slots, two serial ports, and a parallel port
allow for the addition of peripherals.

Despite its multiple processors, SMCC says the Sparcstation 10 is
binary compatible, meaning any software that will run on any other
Sun Sparcstation will run on the Sparcstation 10 Models.

Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) capabilities are built
into the Sparcstation 10, the first workstation to have such
capabilities built in, SMCC said. The company says the ISDN was
added in anticipation of the integration of telephones and computers.
SMCC speculates functions done on phones today -- including
dialing, answering, transferring and possibly identifying calls as
well as sending faxes and receiving voice mail messages -- will
all be done via a computer tomorrow.

The physical size of the Sparcstation 10 is still the "pizza box"
enclosure, and the company says the units have the same footprint
as the Sparcserver 2, but with five times the applications throughput,
five times the memory capacity, double the internal disk storage,
and 25 percent more expansion capacity. SMCC maintains that the
Sparcstation 10 is one-third to one-fourth the cost of competing
systems that can deliver the same computing performance. Retail
pricing for the Sparcstation 10 begins at $16.995, SMCC added.

SMCC is hailing the new workstation as a server for workgroups,
including IBM compatible personal computer (PC) local area
networks (LANs).

SMCC added that it has also licensed for resale the logic chips
for the Sparcstation 10, which the company says is evidence of
its commitment to open systems.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920519/Press Contact: Dan Stevens, SMCC,
tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 19  ****DEC To Market Intel Massively Parallel Supercomputers 05/19/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00030)

 ****DEC To Market Intel Massively Parallel Supercomputers 05/19/92
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 19 (NB) --
Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) will be selling some of the
fastest computers in the world under a new agreement with Intel.
Under the agreement, it will sell Intel's massively parallel processing
(MPP) computers.

The sale of sSupercomputers by DEC is only one aspect of the
agreement, the other being the identification and porting of third-
party software of applications for use on the MPP computer systems.
The Intel said DEC is attractive as a marketing arm because it has a
major presence in the mid-range computing market, a market Intel
hopes to penetrate with the MPP computers.

The MPP systems are based on the Intel i/860 chips, which work
in parallel processing separate tasks, rather than the traditional
approach of tasks queueing up for one processor to work on.

The first software development project the two companies have
announced for the MPP is the High Performance Fortran (HPF), a
Fortran programming language compiler that will facilitate creation
and porting of applications for the Supercomputers.

Intel says its Supercomputer Systems Division already has the
largest installed base of massively parallel supercomputers with
more than 300 systems worldwide.

Intel is celebrating the anniversary of its largest massively
parallel computer, the Touchstone Delta system housed at Cal
Tech in Pasadena, California. While the Touchstone Delta system
is larger than the systems DEC will be marketing, it is considered
by some analysts to be the fastest computer in the world and is
being used by scientists to do challenging operations that previously
computers didn't have the processing power to tackle, such as
human brain simulation, simulation of weather patterns, and
interpretation of data sent back from space voyages.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920519/Press Contact: Donna Ruane, Miller
Communications for Intel, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD





#CARD :1992 MAY 18 ew For PC: Learning Company's Metro Gnomes Teaches Music 05/18/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00001)

New For PC: Learning Company's Metro Gnomes Teaches Music 05/18/92
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 18 (NB) -- A new program from
The Learning Company is tackling the subject of teaching the basics
of music to children as young as four years old.

Everyone who comes in contact with children when they are about
four years old knows that kids just love to sing and dance and
listen to music. Only rarely though, is that early appreciation
developed any further. With MetroGnomes Music, The Learning Company is
trying to change all of that.

MetroGnomes Music is a program that was developed by music education
experts. It uses an experiential music learning approach that
was developed by the German Composer Carl Orff and has proven to be
very successful with kids ages four to seven. The program
is a collection of five fun activities that have to do with various
musical aspects.

Hi-Lo rescue is an adventure game where the player rescues an animal
from a giant mushroom house. To accomplish the rescue, the child
must determine and identify the difference between high and low
pitches and tones.

Match a Tune is a musical version of "concentration." In this case,
the scene is of a garden and the player tries to match pairs of
flowers. Each flower, when clicked, will play a musical phrase. This
also helps the children understand that songs are made of various
phrases that tend to repeat

In Time a Trip the children are responsible for getting the Metro
Gnomes' car to the parade. The way this is done is by matching the
beat that is played. Melody Maker turns your computer into a small
scale synthesizer. The children get to play their own creations
while changing the type of instrument that is used. Finally, Pick &
Play is a sing-along session intended for the younger kids.

The program contains more than 30 different songs that are familiar to
any American child. These classics include the "Teensy Weensy Spider,"
"Yankee Doodle," and more.

MetroGnomes Music is shipping now. It is priced at $49.95 and is
only available in an MS-DOS version. The company was not willing to
divulge whether it had plans of converting the program to other
platforms.

(Naor Wallach/19920515/Press Contact: Sharyn Fitzpatrick, The
Learning Company, 510-713-6011)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 18 Feds to Get New GSA Schedule BBS 05/18/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00002)

Feds to Get New GSA Schedule BBS 05/18/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 18 (NB) -- Business faces two
main problems when deciding what microcomputers to buy: locating
the correct product/vendor, and negotiating the best price. The
General Services Administration eliminates the second problem for
small computer purchases, but a major problem still faced by
federal agencies is locating products and or vendors. This is
expected to change this fall with a new, improved bulletin board
system.

The GSA multiple award schedule (MAS) contracts provide ready-
negotiated prices and delivery specifications for a vast array of
microcomputer hardware, software, and services, but to find the
vendors selling what they need agencies need to keep a stack of
catalogs on hand, not easy when local bureaus may be scattered
around the country - even outside the US.

The GSA has maintained a bulletin board system for several years
which lists vendors and the types of products offered, but
these listings tell nothing of actual products, prices, or
contract conditions. All they cover is a phone number and a
general idea of the sort of product being offered, such as
"printers."

This is scheduled to change this autumn when the GSA MAS
bulletin board is supposed to get full catalogs of produces
carried on the GSA schedule. Paperwork should be decreased for
everyone involved, and the ability of outlying offices to locate
and order contract products should be greatly improved, all at a
cost reported to be only about $50,000.

It remains to be seen how well it will be implemented, but
industry observers feel that this is a major step in the right
direction.

The GSA also plans to include contract information for mainframe
services and supplies before the end of this year. The impact of
this addition is not expected to be as great.

(John McCormick/19920514)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 18 Russian Comm Minister Describes Perspectives 05/18/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00003)

Russian Comm Minister Describes Perspectives 05/18/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 MAY 18 (NB) -- Russian communications minister,
Vladimir Bulgak, confirmed that among 206 different telecommunication
services now offered in Russia, the prices on only six will be
state-regulated, the rest being "free market" as declared
by the recent Government decision.

In a 1-hour speech to the members of the Russian Popov
scientific-technical society, the minister said those still regulated
include the mailing of postcards, envelopes in letters, telegrams,
small packages, transfer of money orders, and the street payphones.
Everything else will be "free," allowing the prices of these services
to rise according to what the market will bear.

Various members of the audience told Newsbytes that most likely
residential phones will have a billing counter, which will allow 15
free minutes per day and fixed low per-minute charges afterwards.
The monthly fee will also rise, despite the earlier announcements.

The minister justified price hikes by saying that industrial
countries spend 3 to 7 percent of their gross national product (GNP)
on communications. "We are getting less than 3%. But to reach our goal --
to raise the phone density from 13 to 50 phone lines per 100 people
in 10 years -- we need at least 15% of GNP invested," he said.

The minister cited the various frequency allocation problems Soviet
authorities faced approving various "new" services. "CB (citizen band)
radio faced opposition from the KGB while cellular phone  frequencies
are occupied by aircraft guidance systems," the minister said.

The Ministry will soon clearly define three spectrums: civil use,
military use, and dual use. It will maintain the status. "Several
commercial companies will be allowed to participate in the spectrum
allocation process under our strict control," the minister said.

With the dissolution of the USSR, the C.I.S. is pushing hard to control
communications systems, the minister said. Several republics have
demanded full control over the complete spectrum allocation with no
regard to their neighbors. "But we were able to keep a working emergency
communications system across the former Soviet Union. We welcome the fact
that republic authorities have reached an agreement on that," the
minister said.

The radio translation network -- the effective emergency communications
media -- will also stay in place.

Some 64 percent of communications lines, including trunk lines, belong to
the Ministry of Communications, 35 percent to various state ministries
(military, marine, river, railroad, and other networks) and the
remaining one percent to commercial companies, according to Bulgak.
He  said existing communications system will be able to handle
the growing amount of commercial traffic.

"200 empty building are available to install phone exchanges in Russia,
but we have not enough money to buy the switching equipment needed,"
Bulgak said. "We propose to establish shareholding companies with
Western firms to put in and operate exchanges in those specially built
premises."

The phone exchanges are being manufactured in St Petersburg, Izhevsk, and
Pskov, Bulgak said.

The minister said they [the ministry] are "responsible for the
preparation of communications law, which has encountered major
problems passing through parliament." Information legislation is
also to be developed by the Ministry of Communications, the minister
said, giving no other details. A network of facilities to certify
communications equipment quality is to be built across the country.

The Russian Ministry of Communications has formally received approval and
joined the Intelsat, the international satellite communications
consortia, instead of Interspoutnik, which formerly represented USSR and
other Eastern European countries.

Russian Popov scientific-technical society is a scientific and industrial
association similar to IEEE. The annual meeting where the
speech was delivered drew 250 representatives of communications
companies, educational institutions, and government.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920514)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 18 Sony's New Portable Fax Machine 05/18/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00004)

Sony's New Portable Fax Machine 05/18/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 18 (NB) -- A laptop-type fax machine
weighing just 1.5 kg designed to be used in a car has been
developed by Sony. The thin unit can be folded closed just like
a laptop computer, making it easily carried.

It has a large LCD screen, larger than those in fax machines from
competing Toshiba and NTT.

Sony's latest portable fax machine, called the SFF-101, has a large
memory capable of storing a maximum of 27 pages of an A4-size documents.
With this large memory, the user can save fax paper.

The SFF-101 fax machine measures 25.7 x 15.5 x 4.0 cm and costs
198,000 yen ($1,450). It is based on a G3 standard and the company
says it can send documents as fast as a desktop-type fax machine.
Sony's portable machine runs on four type of batteries:
rechargeable batteries, a car battery, an A/C battery and
removable batteries. It has an acoustic coupler, allowing it to be
used at a public pay phone as well as in a car and through a
portable telephone.

Sony's portable fax machine will be released on June 10. Sony
expects to ship 5,000 units per month.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920513/Press Contact: Sony, [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 18 New For PCs: Keyboard User Interface For Windows 05/18/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00005)

New For PCs: Keyboard User Interface For Windows 05/18/92
WINCHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 18 (NB) -- Don't like
using a mouse? Softac Corp. has some software that might interest
you. Softac's K-U-I, the Keyboard Interface for Windows, lets a
keyboard substitute for the mouse in Windows applications, and
makes it easier to switch among applications, the vendor said.

Lowell Kopp, president of Softac, told Newsbytes that K-U-I lets
users set up hot keys of their choice to switch among Windows
applications, so that instead of using the Program Manager or the
Windows Alt-Tab key combination to cycle through windows, they can
jump to the desired application with a couple of keystrokes.

K-U-I also lets the keyboard take the mouse's place by having the
cursor control keys replace mouse movement and keys of the user's
choice substitute for the mouse buttons, he said. This works
anywhere in Windows and in Windows applications, Kopp added, though
the mouse simulation will not work in all DOS applications.

K-U-I also provides a command line interface for executing DOS
commands.

Another feature of K-U-I is a magnification option that increases
the size of bit-mapped text or graphics on the screen.

The potential market for K-U-I includes experienced Windows users
who find using a mouse tiresome or want quicker switching among
programs, DOS users who are moving to Windows and want easy access
to the command line, and any user in a situation where using a
mouse is inconvenient or impossible (such as laptop and notebook
users), Kopp said.

With a suggested retail price of $79.95, K-U-I is available direct
from the company now, and Softac is negotiating for distribution
arrangements. K-U-I works with Windows 3.0 and higher.

(Grant Buckler/19920515/Press Contact: Lowell Kopp, Softac,
617-721-1010, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 18 Another Intelsat Bird Going Up May 20 05/18/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00006)

Another Intelsat Bird Going Up May 20 05/18/92
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 18 (NB) -- On the
heels of the Space Shuttle Endeavour's capture of a stranded
Intelsat satellite, the international satellite consortium is
launching another one, using an unmanned rocket. Intelsat K will
be launched by General Dynamics May 20 from Cape Canaveral in
Florida.

Liftoff is planned for 7:12 p.m. Eastern Time, by a commercial
Atlas IIA rocket, designated AC-105. Assuming it reaches a stable
geosynchronous orbit, Intelsat K will provide trans-Atlantic video
and business services for international broadcasters. The satellite,
like the one boosted into orbit by Endeavour, is expected to be
operational in time for the Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920515/Press Contact: Jack F. Isabel
General Dynamics, 619-547-9000)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 18 Business Wire Offers Releases Targeted to Asian-Americans 05/18/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00007)

Business Wire Offers Releases Targeted to Asian-Americans 05/18/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 18 (NB) -- The race to
expand press release coverage around the world intensified as
Business Wire introduced its first Asian media circuit. That
means it will deliver its press releases from the Pacific Rim
directly to 160 points in the US, with concentration in those
US cities with the largest Asian populations.

Business Wire circuits are designed to target press releases to
those reporters who are most likely to use them. Full
distribution on the Asian media circuit is $225 for the first 400
words and $60 for each additional 100 words. Business Wire
members also can selectively customize by ethnic group, such as
Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Filipino circuits. Last year, the
company announced an African-American media circuit and in 1990,
a Hispanic media circuit. The Asian, African-American and
Hispanic media circuits are part of the company's Special Markets
Circuits.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920515/Press Contact: Business Wire, Michael
Lissauer, 212/575-8822)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 18  ****Changing Aspects Of Computer Crime Discussed At NYACC 05/18/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00008)

 ****Changing Aspects Of Computer Crime Discussed At NYACC 05/18/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 18 (NB) -- The entrance of
organized crime into telecommunications has made the subject
of computer crime far different than that discussed just a year
ago, report Donald Delaney, New York State Police senior investigator
and Mike Godwin, in-house counsel, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).

The two men spoke to the May meeting of the New York Amateur
Computer Club (NYACC). Delaney in last year's appearance before
the club, had called for greater education of law enforcement officers
in technological areas, the establishment of a New York State computer
crime lab, outreach by law enforcement agencies to the public to
heighten awareness of computer crime and the penalties attached.
These have all come to pass in the past 12 months.

He also mentioned that issues involving PBX and cellular phone
fraud, privacy concerns, and an ongoing debate over law enforcement
wiretapping and de-encryption capabilities have replaced the issues
that received most of the attention at last year's meeting.

Delaney agreed with panel host John McMullen, saying that major strides
have been made in the education of law enforcement personnel and
in the acquisition of important tools to fight computer crime. He
said that the practice of "carding" -- the purchasing of goods,
particularly computer equipment -- has become more of a problem
than it was a year ago and that more complaints of such activities
are now received.

He added that "call-selling" operations, the making of international
telephone calls to foreign countries for a fee through the fraudulent
use of either a company's private branch exchange (PBX) or an
innocent party's cellular phone account, have become so lucrative
that arrested suspects have told him that "they are moving from drug
sales to this type of crime because it is less dangerous and more
rewarding."

Delaney pointed out, however, that one of his 1991 arrests had recently
been murdered, perhaps for trying to operate as an independent in an area
that now seems to be under the control of a Columbian mob. "So maybe
it's not going to continue to be less dangerous."

Delaney also said that PBX fraud will continue to be a problem until the
companies using PBX systems fully understand the system capabilities
and take all possible steps to insure security. "Many firms don't
even know that their systems have out-dialing capabilities until
they get it with additional monthly phone charges of upwards of
$35,000. They don't realize that the system has default passwords
that are supposed to be changed," he said. "It finally hits some
small businesses when they are bankrupted by the fraudulent
long-distance charges."

Godwin, in his remarks, expressed concern that there is not sufficient
recognition of the uniqueness of BBS and conferencing systems and that,
therefore, legislators possibly will make decisions based on
misunderstandings. He said, "Telephone conversations, with the
exception of crude conference call systems, are 'one-to-one'
communications. Newspapers and radio and telephone are
'one-to-many' systems but BBS' are 'many-to-many' and this is
different. EFF is interested in seeing that First Amendment
protection is understood as applying to BBSs."

He continued, "We also have a concern that law enforcement agencies
will respond to the challenges of new technology in inappropriate
ways. The FBI and Justice Department, through the 'Digital Telephony
Initiative' have requested that the phone companies such at AT&T
and Sprint be required to provide law enforcement with the a method
of wiretapping in spite of technological developments that make
present methods less effective.

"Such a procedure would, in effect, make the companies part of the
surveillance system and we don't think that that is their job. We
think that it is up to law enforcement to develop their own
crime-fighting tools. When the telephone was first developed it
made it more difficult to catch crooks. They no longer had to stand
around together to plan foul deeds; they could do it by telephone.
Then the government discovered wiretapping and was able to respond.

"This ingenuity was shown again recently when law enforcement officials,
realizing that John Gotti knew that his phones were tapped and discussed
wrongdoings outdoors in front of his house, arranged to have the
lampposts under which Gotti stood tapped. That, in my judgement, is a
reasonable approach by law enforcement."

Godwin also spoke briefly concerning the on-going debate over encryption.
"The government, through various agencies such as NSA, keeps attempting
to restrict citizens from cloaking their computer files or messages in
seemingly unbreakable coding. We think that people have rights to privacy
and, should they wish to protect it by encoding computer messages, have a
perfect right to do so."

Bruce Fansler, sysop and owner of the New York commercial BBS
service Mind-Box, recounted some of his experience as a "hacker"
and asked the audience to understand that these individuals, even
if found attached to a computer system to which they should not
legitimately access, are not malicious terrorists but rather
explorers. Fansler was a last minute replacement for well-known
NY hacker Phiber Optik who did not speak, on the advice of his
attorney, because he is presently the subject of a Justice Department
investigation.

Delaney suggested that a method of resolving the encryption
debate would be for third parties, such as banks and insurance
companies, to maintain the personal encryption key for those
using encryption. A law enforcement official would then have to
obtain a judge's ruling to examine or "tap" the key for future use
to decipher the contents of the file or message.

Godwin disagreed, saying that the third party would then become
a symbol for "crackers" and that he did not think it in the country's
best interests to just add another level of complexity to the problem.

(Barbara E. McMullen/Press Contacts: Donald Delaney, New York State
Police, 516-756-3390; Bruce Fansler, MindBox, [e-mail];
Mike Godwin, Electronic Frontier Foundation, 617-864-0665/19920515)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 18 Storagetek Sets Dates For New Cartridge Libraries 05/18/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00009)

Storagetek Sets Dates For New Cartridge Libraries 05/18/92
LOUISVILLE, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 18 (NB) -- Storagetek has
established release dates for some of the robotic tape library
products it announced last October. The company also announced
Expert Library Manager (ExLM) Release 1.2, a software product that
automates movement of tape cartridges used in its 4400 ACS cartridge
system.

The libraries, all of which the company announced would be available
within three years when it spoke to its user group in Denver last
October, are PowderHorn, TimberWolf, and WolfCreek. Storagetek also
announced a new product, ExtendedStore, a library that archives
tapes containing less used data.

ExtendedStore has a lower cost because it doesn't have any tape
drives attached. However, data stored on ExtendedStore, which can
handle about 6,000 tape cartridges, keeps the data available for
easy access. When data from ExtendedStore is needed, it is moved via
Storagetek's pass-thru port system to a standard library that has an
attached tape drive where the data can be read or written.

Storagetek's David Reid told Newsbytes that ExtendedStore can be
used with any StorageTek library, and has a US list price of
$130,000.

PowderHorn 9310 ACS (automated cartridge system) can handle up to
350 cartridge exchanges per hour, about twice as many as the current
4400, Storagetek's best-selling system. The company said any 4400
system can be upgraded to PowderHorn, which uses a graphite composite
arm lighter than the single robot of the 4400. PowderHorn has a list
price of $300,000 including a library control unit (LCU), but present
4400 users can upgrade for half that cost. Reid told Newsbytes
PowderHorn would be available in the first quarter of 1993.

TimberWolf and WolfCreek are smaller capacity libraries, handling
500 and 1,000 cartridges respectively, and can exchange cartridges
at speeds starting at 350 per hour. Each can be upgraded in increments
of 500 cartridges, and can attach to any Storagetek library.

TimberWolf has a list price of $95,000, while WolfCreek sells for
$125,000 including control units. Reid said WolfCreek will be
available in the third quarter of 1993, while TimberWolf is expected
to be ready in the fourth quarter next year.

Extended Library Manager (ExLM) 1.2 allows the user to manage the
migration of cartridges between libraries and driveless
ExtendedStore libraries. ExLM can handle libraries with different
performance, capacity, and cost characteristics, said Storagetek.
Those combinations can include TimberWolf, WolfCreek, PowderHorn,
ExtendedStore, and the 4400 ACS. ExLM is expected to be released in
the third quarter of this year.

Storagetek also has several other products under development, with
availability still to be announced. The company says it designs its
products with an open-architecture philosophy, making them
compatible with numerous IBM and non-IBM vendor platforms.

(Jim Mallory/19920515/Press contact: David Reid, Storagetek,
303-673-4815)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 18 Cray Research Foundation Sponsors "Mathletes" 05/18/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00010)

Cray Research Foundation Sponsors "Mathletes" 05/18/92
EAGAN, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 18 (NB) -- Cray Research isn't
just scientific applications programs and supercomputer hardware.
The company is also interested in supporting programs for the
nation's young people that will encourage an interest in science and
math.

Along those lines, The Cray Research Foundation, has announced that
it has donated $75,000 to help sponsor Mathcounts, a national
grass-roots math coaching and competition program that promotes math
achievement for seventh and eighth graders.

Cray Research Foundation funds will help pay the expenses for eight
students - four from Minnesota and four from Wisconsin - to
participate in the national Mathcounts competition being held in
Alexandria, Virginia this coming weekend.

"Our contribution to Mathcounts throughout the past five years helps
fulfill the Cray Research Foundation strategy of supporting key
national science and mathematics education programs," said Cray
president and chief operating officer, John Carlson. A Cray Research
spokesperson told Newsbytes that the foundation donated about $1
million to projects such as Mathcounts last year, and expected to
spend a similar amount this year.

Carlson said the Cray program is unique in that it focuses on
science and math education, particularly at the K-12 level. "With
programs like Mathcounts, we are right on track in getting the
nation's youth interested in advanced studies in these areas and
ultimately develop the students of today into the advanced technical
thinkers of tomorrow."

To qualify for the national Mathcounts competition, run like a
sporting event, student "mathletes" must make it through local and
state meets. More than 17,000 volunteers coach students and sponsor
competitions. About 350,000 students and 7,400 schools participated
in this year's Mathcounts program. The 224 finalists who are on
their way to Virginia for this weekend's competition represent all
US states and territories, the District of Columbia, and the US
Defense and State Departments' dependent schools worldwide.

The national Mathcounts champion gets a gold medal, an $8,000
scholarship, a personal computer, and one week at the US Space Camp
in Huntsville, Alabama. The finalists from the two states include
five boys and three girls.

(Jim Mallory/19920515/Press contact: Mardi Schmieder, Cray Research,
612-683-3538)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 18 Michelangelo Virus Infected Only 4% Of PCs, Says Survey 05/18/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00011)

Michelangelo Virus Infected Only 4% Of PCs, Says Survey 05/18/92
BERKHAMSTEAD, HERTS, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 18 (NB) -- In the wake of
widespread press reports about the Michelangelo virus, S&S
International has released statistics from a user survey that it
carried out during the first quarter of the year. According to
the company, the most interesting information revealed by the
survey was the number of viruses encountered by users.

The stoned virus appeared to be the most widespread, while
Michelangelo, the virus that received the most attention,
accounted for four percent of outbreaks.

The 1,025 repondents were also asked to rank, in order of
importance, different aspects, such as anti-virus speed,
accuracy, user interface, false positives (false alarms), and the
reliability of alarms.

S&S claims that it is clear to users that the detection of a
virus was the most important requirement, with reliable upgrades
(which contribute to the detection) coming in second.

A full copy of the report is available from S&S on request. S&S
is a software house that specializes in security and network-
related issues. The company's flagship package, Dr Solomon's
Anti-Virus Toolkit, has sold more than half a million copies
worldwide.

(Steve Gold/19920515/Press & Public Contact: S&S International -
Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 18 Compsoft Goes for Go's Pen Software for Leading Systems 05/18/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEL)(00012)

Compsoft Goes for Go's Pen Software for Leading Systems 05/18/92
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1992 MAY 18 (NB) -- Compsoft Services, Inc., based
in Greenwich, CT, announced its PenConnect series of communication
products for pen-based computers running Go Corporations's PenPoint
operating system.

The PenConnect series addresses the requirement of mobile pen computer
users to communicate with their business information systems and
receive new forms, files, and data needed in the field as well
as transmit results of their work back to their main office.

PenConnect is meant for application developers, systems integrators,
and pen-based hardware manufacturers to provide transparent
communications to systems offered by major vendors like IBM, Sun,
Hewlett-Packard, Digital, etc.

The product family consists of: PenConnect Host, which provides
interactive and file transfer capability to all IBM mainframe host
systems using 3270-based protocols; PenConnect/ASCII, which provides
access to systems supporting industry standard ASCII terminals and
file transfer protocols; and PenConnect APPC (Advanced Program to
Program Communications) applications in IBM's AS/400, S/370 and
S/390, RS/6000, PS/2 and other systems which support APPC.

Compsoft is an outfit headed by an ex-IBMer and non-resident Indian
in US, Dr. Trilok Manocha, who also set up its subsidiary by the
same name in the NOIDA Export Processing Zone, near Delhi, where the
above product development actually took place. The Indian arm of
Compsoft is a 100 percent export-oriented operation.

Talking to Newsbytes in Delhi during his announcement of the
PenConnect here, Manocha expected it "to be a critical component of
the software on every pen computer."

PenConnect will begin shipping next month.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920514)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 18 CD-ROM Self-Publishing Cheaper Than Books 05/18/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00013)

CD-ROM Self-Publishing Cheaper Than Books 05/18/92
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 18 (NB) -- A book with a
four-color cover can cost anywhere from $10 to $20 dollars each to
produce, especially in small quantities like 1,000. However, a
compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) can be duplicated for as
little as $5.00 each for that same 1,000 copies, Fred Bellomy of the
Santa Barbara-based CD-ROM users group told Newsbytes.

The low cost and high capacity of CD-ROM discs are making the medium
an alternative to encyclopedias, government directories,
congressional records, and any other reference material that is
physically cumbersome. Business reference materials such as phone
books on CD-ROM, like the American Business Phone Book, with 9.2
million names (503 megabytes), are available, or a zip code reference
and correction program are already available on CD-ROM, Bellomy said.

Many companies are doing in-house CD-ROM publishing of documents
necessary to their operation, but cumbersome in print, according to
Datamation Magazine. Datamation gave the example of CDs produced by
Complete Health of Alabama, a Birmingham-based health insurance
organization which is placing 100 gigabytes of health claims
information on CD-ROM for distribution to its thousands of agents.
The CDs will be accessed by a server on the company's local area
networks to make the information available.

The US Government is placing much in the way of public materials on
CD-ROM discs and offering the discs for sale at low prices. The 99th
Congress' Congressional Record, discs on hazardous and toxic
materials, the National Trade Data Bank about what trading is
done with the US, and others, are available for prices starting at $35
each. The government offers a free catalog of its CD-ROMs available
from the NTIS and the Government Publications Office (GPO).

With the lower cost of CD-ROM publishing, more small publishers are
getting into the act. Bellomy publishes the Gigabyte Gold, a disc of
over a gigabyte of shareware software he collected, indexed, checked
for viruses, and compressed onto the disc. No program produced before
1989 is on the disc and Bellomy said he avoided placing more than one
version of a shareware program on the disc. The disc also includes a
comprehensive catalog of the shareware available on other CD-ROM
shareware discs, like that offered by PC-SIG.

A disc, offered for sale by Bellomy's CD-ROM User Group and produced
by Phillips and Du Pont Optical (DPO) includes an introduction to CD-
ROM technology and a section on how to make your own CD-ROM discs.
DPO is capable of mastering and duplicating a CD-ROM disc but so are
other companies, such as 3M, Sony, Meridian, and Discovery Systems.

Drawbacks -- there are a few, according to Bellomy. The biggest one
is the time and expense involved in collecting and indexing the
information, Bellomy said. However, CD-ROM more people are turning to
CD-ROM as a publishing medium all the time, Bellomy said.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920515/Press Contact: Fred Bellomy, The CD-ROM
Users Group, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public Contact: NTIS
CD-ROM catalog 703-487-4650, GPO CD-ROM catalog 202-783-3238)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 18 Russia: Software Protection Law Passed 05/18/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(MOW)(00014)

Russia: Software Protection Law Passed 05/18/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 MAY 18 (NB) -- The Russian Supreme Soviet
(Parliament) has, after a second hearing, approved the Software
and Database Legal Protection Act, a new legal framework
for protection of the computer industry's software copyrights.

The law calls for software to be entirely protected by copyright,
clearly defines fines for illegal copy owners, describes in detail
relations between a program's author and the company he is working with,
and, among other things, establishes a copyright protection agency.

The law was prepared in full compliance with the last year's
European Directive on Software Protection, said Leonid Malkov, software
protection expert with Paragraph, a major software house.

The law has a 1.5-year grace period during which owners of illegal
personal copies of software which were obtained before the law came into
effect will not be legally prosecuted. Education and scientific
institutions are also exempt from the law for 1.5 years. Meanwhile,
for-profit use of copyrighted software and databases will be subject to
criminal punishment immediately, Mr Malkov said.

The 1.5-year period should be used by computer owners to buy legal
copies of the software packages they might already have illegally copied
and provides a good opportunity for software sales, Mr Malkov said.

(Kirill Tchashchin/199204/Press Contact:Leonid Malkov, Paragraph, phone
[phone]; e-mail [e-mail])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 18 ****Theft of Computer Equipment Blocked By New York Arrest 05/18/9


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00015)

 ****Theft of Computer Equipment Blocked By New York Arrest 05/18/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 18 (NB) -- The New York
State Police has announced that it has arrested of Ainswoth Lloyd, 17;
Clarence Brooks, 17; and Michael Flash, 16 for attempting to obtain
computer equipment through the use of illegally obtained credit card
information. The three suspects were charged with attempted grand larceny
and Lloyd was additionally charged with forgery.

New York State Police investigator John Kerry told Newsbytes that Lloyd
had ordered an Amiga computer from the firm of Creative Computers
using the fraudulent credit card. Kerry said that Creative Computers
personnel ascertained that the credit card was fraudulent and notified the
New York State Police.

Posing as United Parcel employees, the State Police contacted Lloyd and
attempted to set up a delivery of the material. Kerry said that Lloyd,
saying that there would be no one home, instead made arrangements to pick
the equipment up at the UPS office. Kerry then took the place of a UPS
clerk and, when Lloyd, with Brooks and Flash, arrived and signed for the
equipment, placed them under arrest.

Kerry also told Newsbytes, "After being arrested the young men told us
that they were 'computer hackers' belonging to a group called 'M.O.B.'
standing for 'Men of Business.'" Kerry also said that when the parents
of the young men arrived at the station house, they described their
sons as good students who had never been involved in such activities
before.

William Murphy, Creative Computers credit manager, told Newsbytes, "We
knew almost immediately that the credit card number was fraudulent.
There is a lot of fraud detection built right into our system and once we
had established that the order was fraudulent, we contacted the New York
State Police. I'm very happy that the police were able to respond so
rapidly."

Murphy and Creative Computers had also been involved in pinpointing
another attempted theft which led to an April 22nd arrest by New York
City Police

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19920518)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 18  ****Newsbytes Discovers Plagiarism Of Its Material 05/18/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00016)

 ****Newsbytes Discovers Plagiarism Of Its Material 05/18/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 18 (NB) -- Newsbytes has
uncovered illegal republication of its copyrighted material by a group
known as The Software Review (TSR). The group has, after substituting its
own name for that of Newsbytes in articles, been publishing the material on
underground bulletin boards throughout the world.

The illegal duplication came to Newsbytes' attention as a result of a call
from Joe King, host of "The Personal Computer Show," heard on New York
City radio show WBAI. King said that someone had called him to say that
they had seen King quoted in an article in The Software Review. When King
told the caller that he had never heard of The Software Review and had
not spoken to anyone from such a publication, the caller said that the
article in question concerned a New York Post article about Microsoft
and quoted King as talking to someone called "Spectral Sector."

King, remembering that he had spoken to Newsbytes' John McMullen about
the allegations about Microsoft and had been subsequently quoted in
McMullen's Newsbytes piece, asked the caller to send him a copy of the
electronic publication. When King received the material, he found that the
article was, in fact, a duplication of the Newsbytes piece. He then sent a
copy of the material to McMullen.

In examining the material, McMullen found two other articles, both
concerning credit card fraud, that were duplications of Newsbytes pieces
that he had written. In each case, the word "Newsbytes" had been replaced
by "Spectral Sector," making it appear that New York City Police Sgt.
Lloyd Vasquez and Creative Computers official William Murphy had been
interviewed by Spectral Sector. When contacted by Newsbytes, Murphy
echoed King, saying that he had never heard of Spectral Sector or The
Software Review.

The Newsbytes article in which Murphy was quoted also quoted an
"anonymous hacker" whose identity is known only to the Newsbytes writer.
The hacker's quote appeared in the TSR article with "Spectral Sector"
substituted for Newsbytes as the person to whom the hacker spoke. The
hacker, when informed of the situation, told Newsbytes, "Whoever these
people are, they're liars. I never spoke to anyone but Newsbytes and this
nonsense is both annoying and stupid."

The copy of TSR reviewed by McMullen was labeled as Volume 4 of the
publication and indicates that it is distributed throughout the
world through such bulletin boards as "Jolly Roger," "Digital
Underground," "Inn of the Last Home," "McClusky's Bar & Grill,"
and "B.A.R.T." The same volume lists "The Headman" as chairman
of the board of TSR, "Lord Logics" as director of programming,
"Black Beard" as director of staff, "Agent 86" as director of site
sysops" and "Usagi Yojimbo" as chief editor. The material also
contains the notice that "TSR; The Software Review is (c)
Copyrighted 1991-1992" and that the software reader provided is also
copyrighted.

Newsbytes contacted the person who originally made King aware of the
fraudulent quotation and found the person only willing to be quoted under
a promise of anonymity. The person said that the bulletin board (BBS) on
which he saw the material is a "pirate BBS" and that the owners would not
care if the material was copyrighted. He said, "That would be the least of
the criminal acts on the BBS. New versions of copyrighted software, some
still in the best test, versions are posted and are downloaded. Some very
well-known people use this system and I can't jeopardize them by giving
you any information concerning the location of the BBS or how to access
it."

Newsbytes has, as yet, been unable to determine the locations of the other
BBSs or to ascertain whether they are also "pirate BBSs."

Wendy Woods, Newsbytes managing editor and co-owner, said, "Electronic
publications are the easy to pirate because they are in electronic
and not printed form. However, we have successfully prosecuted
cases like this in the past, and will pursue this one immediately
with law enforcement authorities. Such flagrant disregard for
intellectual property and the ownership of copyrighted material cannot
be tolerated."

(Barbara E. McMullen/Press Contact: Wendy Woods, Newsbytes, 415-550-
733419920518)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 18  ****Apple says New Quadra 950 Is Faster Than 486/50 PC 05/18/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00017)

 ****Apple says New Quadra 950 Is Faster Than 486/50 PC 05/18/92
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 18 (NB) -- Apple says it has
introduced a newer, faster Quadra, the 950, built around the Motorola
68040 33 megahertz (MHz) chip. Apple is comparing the new 950 to IBM
compatible 486-based personal computers at 33 and 50 MHz and says the
950 is faster.

The Macintosh Quadra product line was first introduced last fall as
Apple's line of power computers. The product is geared toward more
complex applications such as large document management, complex
graphics, video, animation, architectural and engineering 3D
modeling, rendering, and graphics simulation, Apple said.

The Quadra 950 is a floor-standing model with on-board 24-bit color,
high-speed Ethernet networking, sound input and output,
microprocessor-based caching and floating point processing. Apple
says the 950 outperformed 33MHz and 50MHz 486-based machines in
benchmark tests done by Ingram Laboratory. Jim Reinhart, manager for
Apple of M68000 marketing and applications, said the tests compared
cross-platform applications on the Macintosh Quadra 950 and on 486
PCs running Microsoft Windows. Reinhart said the Macintosh Quadra 950
ran the applications up to 20 percent faster than an Advanced Logic
Research (ALR) Business Visa 486/50 PC.

The Motorola 68040 33 MHz chip has 1.2 million transistors and can
operate at 29 million instructions per second (MIPS) and 4.6 million
floating operations per second (MFLOPS) at 33 MHz, Apple said.

The 950 comes with 8 megabytes of RAM which can be expanded to 64 MB.
The unit boasts 10 built-in ports for peripherals, five
Nubus expansion slots, and support for up to four storage devices
such as hard disk drives. The storage devices are not included, Apple
said.

Apple says a graphics subsystem provides on-board support of images
that are up to 16 bits per pixel (32,768 colors) on any Apple
monitor, including the 21-inch displays. True color, or 24 bits per
pixel displays, can be used without extra hardware on monitors up to
16 inches, the company added. However, a display for the 950 must be
purchased separately.

Like the other Quadras, the 950 offers Ethernet and Localtalk
connections. Apple said the Ethernet connections use any standard
wiring including thin coax, thick coax, and twisted-pair wiring.

The Quadra 950 is available now for around $10,000. The 950 model is
a replacement for the 900, which Apple expects to phase out, Apple
sources told Newsbytes.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920518/Press Contact: Kristen Hausman, Motorola,
617-494-8202; Sally Winship, Cunningham Communications, tel 617-494-
8202, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 18 Microsoft Excel Implements Applescript In Excel Mac 4.0 05/18/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LON)(00018)

Microsoft Excel Implements Applescript In Excel Mac 4.0 05/18/92
WINNERSH. WOKINGHAM, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 18 -- Microsoft has
announced it is implementing support for Applescript in Microsoft
Excel for the Mac v4.0. The new version of the package will also
support a wide variety of Apple events and objects, allowing
Excel users to exchange data with other applications.

According to Microsoft, even non-programmers will be able to
access the functionality in Microsoft Excel to do simple things
like automatic routine tasks as well as develop applications.

"Excel is one of the first major applications to open up its core
functionality to others via Apple Events, and support the Object
Model and Applescript," explained Andrew Lees, product marketing
manger at Microsoft. "This demonstrates Microsoft's continued
commitment to being a leader in implementing the latest Mac
technology," he added.

Apple Events is a standard method of communication within
programs on the Apple Mac. The idea behind the technology is that
one program can access the features of another without having to
implement the features of the second package.

Version 4.0 of Excel 4.0 for the Mac has a retail price of UKP
345 and is expected to be available to users from early June.
The package, which requires 1 megabyte (MB) and a hard
disk, supports System 7.0, the Mac's new operating system.

(Steve Gold/19920518/Press & Public Contact: Microsoft - Tel:
0734-270001)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 18 Photostyler Bundled With Flatbed and 35mm Scanners 05/18/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00019)

Photostyler Bundled With Flatbed and 35mm Scanners 05/18/92
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 18 (NB) -- Aldus Corporation
has announced that Microtek Lab Inc., will bundle Aldus Photostyler
with its ScanMaker series flatbed and 33 mm slide scanners.

Photostyler, originally introduced in late 1991 and upgraded in
April of this year, is a color image-processing program for use with
Microsoft Windows. Photostyler users can scan, enhance, compose and
retouch 24-bit color, gray scale and black-and-white images, then
print them.

Photostyler will be bundled with two of Microtek's scanners, the
600Z color/greyscale flatbed unit, and the 1850 slide scanner.
The 600Z price is set at $1,995, while the 1850 with Photostyler
will sell for $1,999.

When Aldus updated Photostyler to version 1.1A for Windows in April,
new features included support for raw-image data formats, and
support for the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) standard for
image file compression and expansion. JPEG has rapidly become an
industry standard, allowing files to be compressed or decompressed.
Compressed filed occupy less space, and require less time to
transmit between computers using modems. Version 1.1A also improved
memory management and speeded up image handling. Other file
compression and decompression utilities supported by Photostyler
include TIFF and LZW. Photostyler also includes a clipboard
feature.

Photostyler product marketing manager, Rod Bauer, said version 1.1A
can handle digital images of 20MB or more, and is compatible with
windows 3.1. Bauer said that version 1.1A runs considerably faster
than its predecessor.

(Jim Mallory/19920518/Press contact: Brad Stevens, Aldus,
206-628-2361;Reader contact: Aldus Corporation,
206-628-2320;Microtek, 800-654-45160 or in California 213-321-2121)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 18 Random Access Gets IE Supercenter, Drops Dallas Bizmarts 05/18/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00020)

Random Access Gets IE Supercenter, Drops Dallas Bizmarts 05/18/92
DENVER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 18 (NB) -- Random Access (RA) and
Intelligent Electronics have announced a deal in which RA will
acquire one of IE's reseller centers and drop the Dallas Bizmart
Centers.

Random Access has a franchise to operate the computer centers in
several Bizmart stores, and just last week killed a deal with CW
Electronics which would have had CW managing some of the Bizmart
centers. At that time RA said it had decided it had the
in-house expertise to run the Bizmart centers.

Subject to execution of a definitive agreement acceptable to both
sides, RA will acquire IE's company-owned reseller center in
Bellevue, Washington, and pull out of the 10 Dallas Bizmart computer
departments in the Dallas marketplace. Those operations will be
managed by Intelligent Electronics.

Random Access spokesperson Lillian Crippen told Newsbytes the
agreement was beneficial to both companies. Crippen said Random
Access doesn't have corporate offices in Dallas, which hinders
supervision of the Dallas operations. It does have an office in
Bellevue, as well as in Phoenix, Omaha, Denver, and Grand Junction.
She said the company also wants to focus its sales efforts on the
corporate market.

RA's announcement said it expects the Bellevue center to generate $8
to $10 million in annual sales.

(Jim Mallory/19920518/Press contact: Beth Lawrence, Pfeiffer Public
Relations for Random Access,303-393-7044)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 18 New For Macintosh: 3M Stock Photography On CD-ROM 05/18/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00021)

New For Macintosh: 3M Stock Photography On CD-ROM 05/18/92
ST PAUL, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 18 (NB) -- 3M has announced the
release of a set of CD-ROM disks which contain stock photography
images from four stock photo agencies.

The four disks contain about 5,000 low resolution images which can
be loaded into various Macintosh-compatible paint programs for
viewing, editing, and printing.

3M said the images are not of reproduction quality, due to the 72
dpi (dots per inch) resolution. However, the desired images can be
ordered directly from the stock agency holding the image.

Stock photography agencies keep on file thousands to millions of
images produced by professional photographers. They then market
those images to magazines, book publishers, and other companies.
These images are frequently used in advertisements. The photographer
receives a portion of the fee charged, as does the stock agency. Some
photographers make a career shooting for stock agencies.

The photo images are all copyrighted, and permission must be
obtained from the stock agency to obtain reproduction rights and
obtain the original transparency.

3M spokesperson Karen Tims told Newsbytes the four disks come
bundled with a CD-ROM drive for those users who don't already have
one. With the drive, the package sells for $995. The disks are
also available as a set without the drive for $650, said Tims.

According to Tims, 3M is also including searching software for easy
location of a desired image. Searches can be done by image
classification, name, keyword or a combination of up to three
keywords.

Because the images are provided by the stock agencies in digital
form, they can be displayed full screen. There is also a compressed
"thumbnail" image display that lets the user browse through pages of
images, much like a catalog page.

Tims said 3M anticipates that additional stock agencies will adopt
the system in the future. The four agencies participating in the
initial release are AllStock, in Seattle, Washington; FPG
International, headquartered in New York; The Stock Market, also
based in New York; and TSW, in Chicago. Mirror Technologies will
provide the CD-ROM drive.

(Jim Mallory/19920518/Press contact: Karin Tins, 3M, 612-737-4013,
FAX [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 18 Micron's Edge Technology Enters PC Market 05/18/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00022)

Micron's Edge Technology Enters PC Market 05/18/92
NAMPA, IDAHO, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 18 (NB) -- Saying the PC market is
very competitive, Edge Technology has announced it will manufacture
and market its own line of personal computers.

Edge's Pete Scamardo told Newsbytes that as a subsidiary of Micron
Technology, Edge feels it has a competitive advantage. He said the
PC market is an opportunity for Micron to vertically integrate its
product line into the PC market. Micron develops, builds and
markets DRAM, video cards, and board-level products for civilian and
military markets. As reported by Newsbytes in January of this year,
it is working on development of flat-screen visual displays for
computer, TV, aircraft and auto applications.

"Our mission is very simple," said Edge President Chase Mart. [It
is] to incorporate the highest quality components available in our
systems, offer them at rock bottom prices, and back them with a
first rate service and support program." Edge said it will sell its
PCs through direct mail channels.

Edge is stressing its competitive prices. It quoted an example of a
486DX/33 with 4MB of RAM, a 130 MB hard drive, and a non-interlaced
Super VGA color monitor pried at $1,999.

Scamardo told Newsbytes that Edge systems can be configured with a
maximum of 32MB (megabytes) of system memory (RAM), and hard drives
from 80 to 340 MB are available. The company said it will use
Maxtor and Quantum drives.

Scamardo was particularly enthusiastic about the company's notebook
sized desktop unit. Powered by an Intel 386SX/25, the unit has two
serial ports, one parallel port, a port for a PS/2 keyboard and a
mouse port. It also has one expansion slot, which could be used for
a network card. Scamardo said the unit measures 8-1/2 by 11 by 2
inches, and is ideal for use as a network workstation.

Edge said that to promote its line, it is offering a free memory
upgrade with every system purchased. Up to 4MB of system memory
purchased, the RAM will be doubled by Edge at no cost. For example,
if you buy 4MB of RAM, you will get eight.

Scamardo said the company will be running ads in PC Magazine
starting with the May 26th issue, and will also advertise in
Computer Shopper and PC Sources. Although he declined to quote
specific figures, he said the Edge has a "significant budget" for
advertising.

Scamardo told Newsbytes that Edge does not plan to market a notebook
PC at this time, but said the company was looking at the notebook
market.

(Jim Mallory/1992-518/Press contact: Pete Scamardo, 208-465-3434;
Reader contact: Edge Technology, 800-438-3343,FAX [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 18 New For Networks: On Technology Upgrades Status Mac 05/18/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00023)

New For Networks: On Technology Upgrades Status Mac 05/18/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 18 (NB) -- On Technology
announced the upcoming release of a major upgrade to its Status
Mac network monitoring tool. The new release will be known as
version 3.0 and is expected in the early summer (late June, early
July).

On Technology talks about nine distinct improvements in this release
over the previous one. By far the most important is that the
program will now perform remote updating of program at user's nodes
from the central management station. This feature can be used either
with the user's involvement or without it. The manager can also
place the updates where he/she wants them or let the user decide
on the best spot.

Other enhancements include: additional profiling items like accepting
and displaying AppleEvents, existence of any floppy disk
drives, ATM fonts, diagnosis of damage in application or system files,
TCP/IP address of the node, security field information, A/UX version
and last startup time, profiling complete printer information on all
Postscript printers on the network, charting capabilities on number
of users per zone, number of each model of printer, amount of RAM by
machine type, number of users with a particular version of the
system software, and machine inventory, send request to help in
troubleshooting failed network connections.

Also offered is Status Mac for One which allows the user to view
the profile information that Status Mac collects on the user's
own machine. Finally, the new version has more visual profiler;
sorting of the columns of information, as well as the icons that are
displayed in the Status Mac window, and many other speed and
visually related improvements.

Current users will be able to upgrade their version to 3.0 for a fee
of $5 per user. People who purchase the small version of the program
starting now will receive a 25-user upgrade for free when the new
version comes out. Those purchasing the unlimited version will get a
free upgrade for 100 users.

(Naor Wallach/19920518, Press Contact: Kim Agricola, ON Technology,
617-876-0900)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 18 Chipcom To Enter FDDI Market 05/18/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00024)

Chipcom To Enter FDDI Market 05/18/92
SOUTHBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 18 (NB) -- Chipcom
has announced the first in a new line of products that will complete
its line of offerings to the whole networking marketplace. The big
three kinds of networks that are out in the marketplace today are
either Ethernet, Token Ring or FDDI. Chipcom's hubs have supported
the first two almost exclusivley to date. With this introduction,
Chipcom will start supporting that latter one as well.

The Model 5308M-FIB-ST is the first in a family of three new modules
that Chipcom is expected to announce over the next few weeks. It
supports up to eight FDDI links and connects them to Chipcom's
ONline hub. This module uses the ST type of connectors for the
optical fiber. These are the same kinds of connectors as are used in
many fiber-based Ethernet and Token Ring networks.

Each module can be assigned to support one of four FDDI networks
which operate independently within the ONline chassis. As with
Chipcom's other modules, this new module is hot-swappable so that
the whole hub does not need to be powered down to install or replace
one of these modules. The module is also slot-independent so there
would be no need to reconfigure it should the need arise to
rearrange modules within the hub.

As with other modules, this new one is also manageable from Chipcom's
network management product known as ONdemand Network Control System
which runs on Sun's SunNet Manager platform.

Chipcom will be displaying this new module at their booth (#1002) at
the upcoming InterOp show in Washington DC. The module will begin
shipping in 45 days and will cost $13,500.

(Naor Wallach/19920518, Press Contact: Christine LeCompte, Beaupre
& Co. for Chipcom, 603-436-6690)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 18 Latin Cellular: Investors Win, But Is Service There? 05/18/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00025)

Latin Cellular: Investors Win, But Is Service There? 05/18/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 18 (NB) -- Latin America is
quickly developing a multi-tiered phone system. The wealthy can
get cellular phone service and they use it heavily, while their
investments in the companies reap huge rewards. But the promise
of universal service remains elusive, heightening political
risks.

Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari symbolizes the new
reality by negotiating a free trade deal with the US and
Canada with which he's brought hundreds of thousands of manufacturing
jobs south, where $1.50 per hour is a handsome wage. By privatizing
the TelMex phone monopoly, he's made hundreds of new millionaires
in Monterey and Mexico City, and sparked a boom on the local
bourse.

But many observers note that while the rich are richer,
the poor are poorer, and some salaried workers are beginning to
question the low pay which will likely stay low as long as one
million new people enter the country's work force each year.

The same patterns are emerging in South America, where Argentina,
Venezuela and Chile are following the Mexican pattern. Chile's
President was in Washington last week, winning promises his
country will follow Mexico with a US free trade deal. Chile's
phone company has been private since 1988. Argentinians are
getting wealthy on the stock in their former EnTel monopoly, but
when it rains, phone still go dead. Venezuela privatized its CANTV
monopoly, with GTE taking the major stake, but that was followed
by an attempted coup. The question remains, will the investment
caused by the capital boom make it into the nets before an
explosion occurs. And will the investment be returned -- will
citizens be able to afford the service? These remain unanswered
questions.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920518)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 18 Canadian Public Cordless Phone Standard Set 05/18/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00026)

Canadian Public Cordless Phone Standard Set 05/18/92
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAY 18 (NB) -- Digital public
cordless telephone service in Canada will use the CT2 Plus Class 2
standard. Federal Minister of Communications Perrin Beatty
announced the decision during the Radiocomm '92 trade show and
conference and said Canadians can expect public cordless service
in some locations by the summer of 1993.

Public cordless telephones -- known as Telepoint in some countries
-- are mobile but have much smaller ranges than cellular
telephones. The handsets can be used within 100 meters of a base
station.

The government said it plans to license national, regional, and
local operators, with three to five competing service providers in
each area. Eighty-five parties that have expressed interest in
providing the service will receive letters shortly, telling them
what they must include in their applications for licenses. Those
applications must be received by September, Beatty said.

Those who want to provide cordless telephone service will be
required to ensure that customers of any service provider will be
able to use any telepoint.

Carriers will be subject to the ownership and control rules laid
out in Canada's national telecommunications policy for telephone
carriers: they must be at least 80-percent Canadian owned.

"The realm of personal communications, heavily reliant on radio,
stands poised to be the next vital tool to help Canadians
communicate with each other and with the rest of the world," Beatty
said.

Beatty also announced the granting of licenses for air-to-ground
telephone services to Roger Cantel Mobile Inc., Skytel
Communications, and In-Flight Phone Corp.

(Grant Buckler/19920518/Press Contact: Gerard Desroches,
Communications Canada, 613-990-4827, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 18 Honeywell, AT&T Team On Building Control 05/18/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00027)

Honeywell, AT&T Team On Building Control 05/18/92
MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 18 (NB) -- AT&T Network
Cable Systems has announced a worldwide co-marketing agreement with
Honeywell Home and Building Control of Minneapolis. The agreement
covers AT&T's Intelligent Building Cabling Distribution System and
Honeywell's systems and services in energy management, life safety,
asset protection, and building automation.

The companies plan to offer AT&T's Systimax Structured Cabling
System for premises and campuses with Honeywell's building control
systems. The two firms will work together, each selling its own
products but offering customers a complete package, said company
spokeswoman Roni Cesare.

The two companies said the alliance enables them to offer a broader
range of quality services by integrating low-voltage building
control devices, telecommunications equipment, and office
automation systems over a single integrated premises wiring system.

AT&T has similar agreements with providers of local-area network
technology for computers, said Cesare, but "there's nothing exactly
comparable to what Honeywell does in terms of building control."

AT&T's Systimax Structured Cabling Systems (SCS) are modular
systems. They use unshielded twisted-pair cabling and 62.5- or 125-
micron fiber-optic cables, connectors and components to carry
voice, data, image, sensor, and control signals. Systimax SCS
offerings support the worldwide telecommunications industry's open
architecture standards.

Honeywell is a global controls company that provides products,
systems and services for homes and buildings, industry, and
aviation and space. The company employs 58,000 people in 90
countries.

(Grant Buckler/19920518/Press Contact: Irene Silber, Honeywell,
612-870-2747; Roni DeCesare, AT&T Network Cable Systems,
201-606-2467)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 18 Apple's New Hard Disks On Quadras, CIs 05/18/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00028)

Apple's New Hard Disks On Quadras, CIs 05/18/92
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 18 (NB) -- While it's no
secret that hard disk storage is in demand, Apple says it will offer
a faster 230 MB hard disk in replacement for the previously offered
160 MB hard disk. The 230 MB drive will be offered in Quadra and
Macintosh IIci computers, but will not increase the suggested retail
price of new computers so equipped, Apple added.

Apple says the new 230 MB drives are not only 44 percent larger, but
operate twice as fast as the 160 MB drives they replace. Since so
much depends on disk input/output speed, Apple says the faster drive
should significantly improve the performance of the Macintosh and
Quadra computers.

Increases of 10 to 15 percent in performance benchmarks are expected
in the Quadra line with the addition of the faster 230 MB hard disk,
while increases of 5 to 10 percent are expected on the Macintosh
IIci, Apple maintains.

Apple seems to be more concerned lately about performance, especially
compared to IBM and compatible personal computers running Microsoft
Windows. The company has also announced a new Quadra, the 950, based
on the Motorola 68040 33 megahertz chip that it is boasting is faster
in cross-platform software performance tests than 486 50 MHz PCs.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920518/Press Contact: Pat Kinley, Apple Computer,
tel [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 18 New For Macintosh: PC Exchange And Quicktime Starter Kit 05/18/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00029)

New For Macintosh: PC Exchange And Quicktime Starter Kit 05/18/92
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 18 (NB) -- Two new
System 7 software products have been released by Apple: the
Macintosh PC Exchange which allows PC files to be manipulated
and PC disks to be formatted on the Macintosh, and the Quicktime
Starter Kit to offer help to new users in working with sound,
video, and animation.

Apple says the Macintosh PC Exchange product allows Macintosh System
7 users with a Superdrive 3.5-inch floppy disk drive to read, write,
and format PC-compatible disks. Apple says files on the PC-compatible
disk appear on the Macintosh as standard Macintosh documents. The
files can be opened, saved, renamed, moved, copied or deleted just as
with any Macintosh document, Apple maintains.

The Quicktime Starter Kit contains four utilities and a compact disc
read-only memory (CD-ROM) containing clip content material for use
with Quicktime. Apple says the utilities allow Macintosh System 7
users who have the Quicktime extensions to can cut, copy and paste
Quicktime movies into documents and presentations as easily as they
already work with text and graphics. The only limitation is the
applications used must support Quicktime.

The utilities included in the Starter Kit are Movieplayer for playing
Quicktime movies, Picture Compressor to compress still images to a
fraction of their original size, Movie Converter for the conversion
of existing content into movies, and Movie Recorder that requires a
video digitizer card to capture video movies.

Quickclips, the CD-ROM included in the Starter Kit, contains over 400
megabytes (MB) of clip video, animation, and still images, Apple
added. The disc is indexed for browsing and includes a Quicktime
product catalog listing over 100 shipping products that are Quicktime
savvy, according to Apple.

Retail U.S. price for Macintosh PC Exchange is $79 while the
QuickTime Starter Kit is for $16, Apple said. The company says it is
also offering a year of toll-free support with either product.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920518/Press Contact: Brooke Cohan, Apple, tel
408-974-3019, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 18  ****Supermac Goes Public, Offers 2 Mil Shares 05/18/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00030)

 ****Supermac Goes Public, Offers 2 Mil Shares 05/18/92
SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 18 (NB) -- Supermac is going
public with its first offering of 2 million shares of common stock
today.

This is less the 2.5 million shares previously announced which the
company said was the number it used in its filing with the Securities
and Exchange Commission. Also, the initial offering price is lower
than the estimated $10 to $12 a share at the time of the original
announcement.

The company says the initial price was $9 a share with 1.2 million of
the shares offered by the company and the rest sold by selling
stockholders. Montgomery Securities, Paine Webber, and Volpe, Welty &
Company are acting as co-managers of the offering, Supermac added.

Sunnyvale, California-based Supermac is best known for its desktop
graphics color systems geared toward the Macintosh market. The
company says it offers graphics controller and accelerator cards,
large screen color displays, and digital video cards.

Supermac has been cutting prices in a strategy it hopes will gain it
a larger portion of the Apple peripherals market. The company has cut
prices in the last several months as much as 40 percent. The
Videospigot is Supermac's best selling product, the company said,
with $1.1 million of the video boards sold last December alone. The
Videospigot is only the first of the company's video products and
announcements of other new video products are planned, Supermac said.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920518/Press Contact: Jim Heisch, Supermac, tel
408-245-2202, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD





#CARD :1992 MAY 15 New Pen Computer From Sharp 05/15/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00001)

New Pen Computer From Sharp 05/15/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 15 (NB) -- Sharp has developed a pen
computer which supports its original Windows environment and
is aimed at the low-end consumer market in Japan.

Costing less than NCR's competing pen computer, Sharp's
"Hyper Electronic Management Notebook" offers a set of
business organizers including a scheduler, database, address
book and calculator. It offers Sharp's original multitasking
operating system called Quasi-multi-task pen-base.

The device has a 20 x 12 line LCD (liquid crystal display) with
320 x 240 dot resolution. The keyboard has regular
alphabetical and numeric keys with additional Japanese "Kana"
keys. It has a 128,000-word dictionary and supports Kanji. Sharp's
pen computer measures 17.1 x 10.5 x 1.85 cm, and weighs 370 grams.
It can be folded just like a notebook-type computer.

The device has also a data transmission feature allowing it to
exchange data with personal computers with a special modem. It can also
exchange data with other Hyper Electronics Management Notebooks via
infrared rays.

IC cards, a name card reader, and proprietary printers are also
available for this pen computer. The name card reader is designed to be
especially helpful for business people who need to organize
name card data. It automatically reads in the name card data including
personal name, company name, address, and the phone number. This
data is stored in the database and is said to be easily searchable.

The device will be released at 128,000 yen ($990) on July 3.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920000/Press Contact: Sharp, [phone],
Fax, [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 15 Syquest Distributes Free Utility SCSI Probe 5/15/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00002)

Syquest Distributes Free Utility SCSI Probe 5/15/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 15 (NB) -- Syquest has signed
a licensing agreement with shareware author Robert Polic under which
it has the right to distribute his SCSI Probe utility bearing the
Syquest name.

SCSI Probe has gained fame in the Macintosh market as a handy
utility to have in conjunction with a Syquest removable hard drive.
Syquest officials explained the situation to Newsbytes in the
following manner: Syquest sells the product to many integrators in
the Macintosh market. These integrators get the hardware from
Syquest but they are then responsible for putting together their
own driver software. Each cartridge contains a copy of the proper
driver for that particular format on its boot sectors.

A problem exists when a Macintosh has been started with a particular
manufacturer's software driver installed. Apple's system software
only looks at the SCSI driver once, on start-up. If you have a
removable drive - outside of floppy disks - and change the
cartridge to one that was formatted with a different driver, there
is a likelihood that your Macintosh will not recognize the new
cartridge. One way around this is to restart your Macintosh with
the new cartridge installed in the drive. This will cause Apple's
system software to load the driver that is present on the cartridge,
rather than the one that is on its hard disk.

However, restarting a computer like that is not an acceptable
solution. SCSI Probe's advantage is that it can force the system
software to close down the old driver and install the driver that
is on the cartridge, thereby alleviating the need to restart the
computer.

Previous versions of SCSI Probe have been distributed as shareware
on the national bulletin boards like GEnie and Compuserve. After
this licensing agreement went into effect, the author made
significant improvements to its functionality and usability and it
is now being offered free of charge by Syquest. The new version,
3.4, is also being made available on GEnie, America Online, and
Syquest's own bulletin board. In addition, Syquest will ship out
a copy of the utility on diskette to anyone who requests it from
them. Syquest officers have told Newsbytes that they have shipped over
300 copies since the new version came out in late April.
Additionally, they know that over 1000 people have downloaded the
software from the various bulletin boards.

Compuserve is not making the software available. Syquest personnel
expressed puzzlement over Compuserve's reasons which were given
as having to do with the fact that the program is now labelled
Syquest SCSI Probe v3.4. The only thing that the Syquest people
could figure out was that Compuserve objected to the use of the
Syquest name.

(Naor Wallach/19920513/Press Contact: Michelle Mihalick, Neale-May
for Syquest, 415-328-5555)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 15 Compex Intros Token Ring Card 05/15/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00003)

Compex Intros Token Ring Card 05/15/92
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 15 (NB) -- The Token Ring
card market for PCs is heating up. Almost directly on the heels of
Asante's introduction of a line of PC Token Ring cards comes the
announcement that Compex will start offering a Token Ring card for
ISA machines.

Compex has been active in the Ethernet adapter market for quite some
time now. Company President Dwaine Robison told Newsbytes that he
is looking at the Token Ring market as a market that is ready to
develop now in a big way. This is especially true with the agreement
that was made between National Semiconductor and IBM that resulted
in the introduction of the TROPIC chip. Since that introduction,
Compex has been working hard to develop the board just announced.

The T-Net Token Ring Adapter card is the result of these efforts.
Supporting both 4 and 16 Mbps cable rates as well as the full suite
of IEEE 802.5 specifications, the T-Net cards are priced at $595.
Compex claims that the card is completely compatible with IBM's
own 8-bit card although theirs is a 16-bit card and therefore, the
customer will have the benefit in increased performance.

Compex's T-Net cards will be available in July.

(Naor Wallach/19920515/Press Contact: Dwaine Robison, Compex,
714-630-7302)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 15 IBM May Sign Deal With Time-Warner 05/15/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TYO)(00004)

IBM May Sign Deal With Time-Warner 05/15/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 15 (NB) -- Newsbytes source says Time-Warner
and IBM have been hammering out a business partnership
agreement regarding multimedia products. Time-Warner wants to
provide its huge collection of audiovisual software to IBM. IBM, in
turn, is interested in incorporating Time-Warner's software in its
multimedia computers.

There is also a possibility that Time-Warner's software may be
used on a new multimedia personal computer being planned by the
IBM-Apple alliance. An IBM Japan spokesman has decline to
make any comment on this issue.

Meanwhile, a Time-Warner Japanese subsidiary will be created in
Tokyo on June 30. Called Warner Entertainment Japan, it will be
capitalized with 100 million yen ($0.75 million), half of which
is to come from Time-Warner with the rest paid equally by Toshiba
and Chu Ito Trading. Minoru Akimoto of Chu Ito will assume the
Presidency of the new firm. The subsidiary's mission will be
the creation of visual software including for movies and cable TV.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920514)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 15 Toshiba Doubles 16M DRAM Production 05/15/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00005)

Toshiba Doubles 16M DRAM Production 05/15/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 15 (NB) -- Toshiba will double production of
its 16-megabit dynamic random access memory (DRAM) this summer and
will also ship a variety of 16Mb DRAM-related products this fall.

Toshiba is currently manufacturing and shipping about 50,000 units
of the 16M DRAM per month and expects to raise the shipment figures
to 100,000 units per month in August. The chips are targeted at
workstations and general purpose computers. The increase in the shipment
numbers is widely seen as evidence that the computer market is
gradually recovering. Also, it means chip demand has been shifting
from 4M DRAM to 16M DRAM at a rapid pace.

Toshiba released an industry sample of this product last
fall. Since then, the firm has been manufacturing 50,000 units of
the chip per month. Toshiba's latest version is 16 x 18 bit, and
the access time is 60 nanoseconds. It is said to consume very little
electricity.

Other Japanese memory chip makers are expected to increase
shipments of 16M DRAM this fall.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920514/Press Contact: Toshiba, +81-3-3457-
2100)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 15  ****Sony, Philips To Open CD-I As Standard 05/15/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00006)

 ****Sony, Philips To Open CD-I As Standard 05/15/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 15 (NB) -- Sony and Philips will open
their CD-I or CD-Interactive technology to third parties in June.
Their version of CD-I supports motion pictures -- it is called FMV --
and is said to process clear color motion pictures.

The CD-I disk measures 12 cm (or 5-inch) in diameter -- the
same size as a music compact disk. The CD-I disk can store
a maximum of 74 minutes of motion pictures.

The CD-I, which was developed by Sony and Philips, is based on
the international data compression standard called MPEGI.
This technology presents pictures as clear as those on
VHS video tapes. The sound quality is also comparable with a
regular compact disk.

Sony and Philips plan to open this CD-I technology to hardware
and software makers as early as this June. Both hardware and
software will be released by the end of this year. The
price of the CD-I player is expected to be around 200,000 yen
($1,540), which is about 50,000 to 60,000 yen (around $430) more
expensive than the first generation CD-I that supports sound
and still pictures.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920514/Press Contact: Sony, [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 15 New For Networks: Wireless Networking From Windata, Cabletron 5/15/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00007)

New For Networks: Wireless Networking From Windata, Cabletron 5/15/92
NORTHBORO, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 15 (NB) -- Windata has
announced a new collection of wireless LAN equipment and Cabletron
immediately announced that it has entered into a strategic
relationship with Windata that allows Cabletron to distribute these
new products.

The Windata products operate in the unlicensed spread spectrum radio
range which is also used by the military and others for secure and
reliable short range communications. This part of the radio
frequency spectrum is not regulated by the FCC.

There are three main components to the FreePort wireless system. The
hub, the transceivers, and the management software. A FreePort
Wireless hub will sell for either $4695 or $895 depending on its
support of 32 or 62 transceivers. It consists of an antenna and a
chassis. The antenna can be placed anywhere that makes sense
from a physical point of view. The chassis is either desktop
or rack mounted. It can operate as a stand-alone hub or be connected
to a wired LAN through its AUI and RJ45 connectors. The hub can
receive and retransmit signals for up to 256 nodes that reside
within an 80-meter distance. If it is connected to a wired
LAN, the hub will receive wireless transmissions, send them out to
the other transceivers, and send them out the wire as well. Data
coming in off the wire is sent to the wireless stations as well.

A FreePort Wireless Ethernet Transceiver is also comprised of two
parts. There is the transceiver itself which can mount anywhere
and the Interface unit. The interface unit provides the
power to the transceiver as well and acts as go-between among the real
node and the wireless network. An option is available to have an
interface unit support 8 nodes at one location. Should this option
be exercised, all eight nodes connect to the respective RJ45
connectors on the interface unit. In addition, the transceiver acts
as a concentrator among those 8 units while also sending and
receiving the data from the hub. The transceiver will cost $995 with
the multiuser option adding $595.

The third part of the system is the management software. The SeePort
Network Management System is based on the Simple Network Management
Protocol (SNMP) standard and also consists of two components. The
SeePort agent resides in the hub and provides SNMP MIB 1
capabilities. There are also specific Windata extensions to the MIB
provided by the Agent. The other part is called the SeePort User
Interface. This is a Microsoft Windows 3 program that can enable
and disable individual tranceivers, establish and modify the
security access list for the network and the hub, notify network
administrators in real time of any problems or special events that
occur in the network, monitor network performance data, and other
network management tasks.

The SeePort Network Management User Interface program will sell for
$1950. Each of the SeePort Network Management Agents will sell for
$445. All of these components will be available in July.

In a separate but related announcement, Cabletron of Rochester, New
Hampshire announced that it has signed an OEM agreement with Windata
under which it will sell and support the SeePort products. In
addition, Cabletron will integrate the Windata extensions into its
network management products so that Remote LANview/Windows and
Spectrum could be used to manage networks that include Windata
components.

(Naor Wallach/19920511, Press Contact: Steve Diamond, Stringer and
company for Windata, 617-246-0444; Darren Orzechowki, Cabletron,
603-332-9400 Extension 1282)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 15 Iomega Talks About Future Products 05/15/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00008)

Iomega Talks About Future Products 05/15/92
ROY, UTAH, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 15 (NB) -- Iomega's chief executive
officer, Fred Wenninger, gave the company's shareholders a tantalizing
look at the future, but stopped short of specifics.

Wenninger said a full line of tape products is planned, with the
first entry being QIC-80-format compatible. Wenninger said the
company has already manufactured over 500 drives which are now in
beta test. Analysts estimate the tape market is growing at the rate
of 15 percent annually.

Iomega also announced that it started development of a floptical
product in May of 1990 under a license agreement with Insite
Peripherals, which includes Iomega's proprietary hologram technology.

Holograms are used on visible items such as Microsoft's DOS packages
and many major credit cards to foil counterfeiting. In floptical
applications, developers use a hologram to allow better access to
the data on the floptical disk. One procedure uses a hologram
and reflected light from several data tracks for better data tracking.
The company said it has built 300 drives, but they are not in beta
testing yet.

Speaking about one of Iomega's best known products, Bernoulli
drives, Wenninger said, "We are nowhere near the limits of our
technology. He told shareholders future Bernoulli drives would
feature much higher capacities, higher performance, and smaller form
factors. Asked by Newsbytes to elaborate, Iomega spokesperson Paul
Slack said it's Iomega's policy to not talk about its products until
they are ready for market. "We're not dealing in vaporware. When
we make the announcement about the product, you can actually go to
the store and buy it," said Slack.

Iomega also announced that its board of directors has authorized the
repurchase of an additional one million shares of its common stock on
the open market or in negotiated transactions. The company had
previously authorized the purchase of one million shares, of which
800,000 have been purchased, including 30,000 during the past week.
The company said the shares will be used primarily for the company's
stock option and employee stock purchase plans.

(Jim Mallory/19920514/Press contact: Paul Slack, Iomega,
801-778-1000)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 15 Siemens To Offer Multiple Processor Unix Systems From Wyse 05/15/92


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LAX)(00009)

Siemens To Offer Multiple Processor Unix Systems From Wyse 05/15/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 15 (NB) -- Siemens Nixdorf
will be offering symmetric multiprocessing architecture, developed by
Wyse, to its Unix-based customers so users can upgrade Unix systems
by adding processors. The arrangement is part of a new technology
agreement announced by Wyse.

Like parallel processing, symmetric multiprocessing architecture
divides a task between multiple microprocessors or CPUs that then
each perform a part, according to Wyse representative Jeannie Low.
This is much faster than the traditional approach of tasks queing up
for a single CPU to perform.

Low said the Wyse technology, which allows users to upgrade by adding
processors, is currently available on computer systems from the
company. However, Low told Newsbytes that while she couldn't release
specific information, what's significant about this deal with Munich,
Germany-based Siemens Nixdorf is the size of it.

Wyse says it will provide subsystems for certain Unix-based computers
to Siemens Nixdorf and both companies plan to share technology.

San Jose-based Wyse describes itself as an independent vendor of
microprocessor-based products, including computer terminals, IBM
compatible personal computers (PCs), monitors, and Unix-based
multiuser systems.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920513/Press Contact: Jeannie Low, Wyse, tel 408-
473-2013, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 15 Soviet Republics Get Motorola Road Show 05/15/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00010)

Soviet Republics Get Motorola Road Show 05/15/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 MAY 15 (NB) -- Motorola, a chip and
communications equipment manufacturer, has set off on a road show
through capitals of former Soviet republics. The company said it
will also open a permanent office in Moscow.

Motorola seeks more customers, dealers, and distributors for its
cellular communications systems, pagers, and other communications
equipment, said Parviz Mokhari, East and Central Europe business
development manager for Motorola. Motorola is also eager to
contact and sponsor education organizations as a way to penetrate
the local market.

The show has already visited St Petersbourg and Tallinn, and will
move to capital cities of other former Soviet republics:
May 14-15 at the Lietuva hotel, Vilnius, Lithuania; May 18-19
at the Trade Unions center, Minsk, Byelorussia; May 21-22,
Intourist hotel in Kiev, Ukraine; May 27-28, Penta Hotel in
Moscow.

The company will also participate in the Expocomm show in Moscow
May 25-30.

Motorola's Parviz Mokhtari commented further on the company's
expansion plans, saying that no manufacturing will be started in
C.I.S. until sales have reached the 100,000-unit level.

Newsbytes also was unable to confirm reports from two sources,
indicating that the Moscow-based Sibruk company has
won exclusive rights to distribute Motorola products in
Russia, and that Motorola's show is focusing mainly on banking
applications.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920513/Press Contact: Motorola, Parviz Mokhari,
phone [phone]; fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 15 Technology To Triple Optical Disk Storage Developed 05/15/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00011)

Technology To Triple Optical Disk Storage Developed 05/15/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 15 (NB) -- Hitachi has announced that it
has developed a technology to triple the memory space of optical
disks. Using the technology, Hitachi has developed a 2-gigabyte
optical disk.

Hitachi's latest optical disk can store 1 gigabyte of data on each
side of the 5.25-inch disk. This is three times more than current
optical disks, which can store 325 megabyte per side and a total of
650 megabytes for both sides of the disk.

Hitachi's original technology called Mark Edge Recording enables
data to be recorded on the edge of the disk. As a result, disk
memory storage has been increased.

Hitachi wants to commercialize the disk and the disk drive within
a year. The firm also has introduced this disk to the International
Standard Organization (ISO) to register it as an international
standard for 5.25-inch optical disks.

The data transfer speed of this disk is 2 to 4 megabytes per second,
which is comparable with regular hard disk drives. The actual
manufacturing cost of the disk is expected to be about the same
price as current optical disks.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920513/Press Contact: Hitachi, +81-3-3258-
2057)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 15  ****First dBASE IV Compiler Shipping From Nantucket 05/15/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00012)

 ****First dBASE IV Compiler Shipping From Nantucket 05/15/92
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 15 (NB) -- While Ashton-
Tate talked about a dBASE IV compiler and Borland, who purchased
Ashton-Tate last year, is still talking about one, Nantucket says it
is shipping the first dBASE IV compiler, the Compiler Kit.

Australian developer Matt Whelan built the Compiler Kit for dBASE IV
compiler from Clipper 5.0 and Nantucket is distributing the product.

Nantucket was struggling financially and had been pretty much written
off as a serious player in the approaching graphical user interface
(GUI) database market until very recently. Industry insiders were
predicting the company's demise at any moment until a surprise move
last week when Computer Associates announced the purchase of
Nantucket.

Nantucket's claim to fame has been dBASE compilers ever since
introduction of its flagship compiler Clipper. The dBASE software
product is business-oriented software that allows access to
information in a format called a database. The access can be done by
the user who interactively types commands at a "dot prompt" or
repetitive processes can be automated by the writing of dBASE
commands.

The process of writing the commands is considered programming and
dBASE is becoming a programming language with standards now being
adopted by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Some
companies have database information necessary to the operation of the
entire company automated by thousands of lines of dBASE code.

However, dBASE commands have to be interpreted, meaning they are read
by dBASE, changed into machine language, and executed. True
programming languages allow the programmer to write commands and
"compile" them into machine language so the programming language no
longer has to interpret the commands to the computer. This is also
cheaper, as in the case of Clipper, the resulting program can be
distributed and run without a user purchasing the language it is
written in and without payment of royalties.

While Clipper started as a dBASE III compiler, the latest version,
Clipper 5.0, is no longer compatible with dBASE and will no longer
compile dBASE code without modification. Matt Whelan's Compiler Kit
has built a bridge between dBASE IV and now allows Clipper compile
procedures to be transparent to those familiar with dBASE IV and will
compile dBASE IV programs without modification, Nantucket said.

While Clipper 5.0 is required with the Compiler Kit to create a
compiled dBASE IV application, Nantucket says no knowledge of Clipper
5.0 is required to actually do the compile.

While Nantucket is publicly laughing up its sleeve at Ashton-Tate's
expensive fumbling to get a dBASE IV compiler out and Borland's
announcement of an eminent release of a similar product, Borland has
a reputation for being aggressive and thorough. Also Borland has said
the dBASE IV compiler it is planning will work in Microsoft Windows
and not only compile dBASE IV code for DOS, but will create dBASE IV
Windows applications as well. The Nantucket Compiler Kit will only
create DOS applications, the company said.

Borland is mailing invitations to previous customers to purchase the
dBASE IV compiler in advance. And Borland has said it doesn't rush
just to beat another product to the market. Borland's president,
Philippe Kahn, said in a public meeting in Pasadena last year it is
not so important to be first to market as to be best to market.

Nantucket said the Compiler Kit alone retails for $296 and comes with
a year of technical support. For those who don't have Clipper 5.0,
the price is $795.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920514/Press Contact: John Bone, McGlinchey & Paul
for Nantucket, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 15 Crosscom Delivers Bisync Support For Router 05/15/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00013)

Crosscom Delivers Bisync Support For Router 05/15/92
MARLBORO, MASSACHUSETTES, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 15 (NB) -- Crosscom will
be delivering on a promise it made recently within 60 days. The
company announced support for Bisync communication when it
unveiled its Universal Router Architecture earlier this year.
Then, in an announcement made several weeks ago, it reiterated
that promise. Now, the focus of its announcement is the promised
feature.

Company officials cited studies that state that there are more than
half a million Bisync installations still out there. With their
Universal Router Architecture they claim that they can route such
non-routable protocols as SNA and Bisync. The Bisync support package
that they have announced now for their ILAN router is expected to
be the first of its kind.

Bisync support will be available in 60 days to all ILAN customers.
It will be sold as a software feature pack for $950 to existing
customers who wish to add it, or as an add-on feature to new
customers.

(Naor Wallach/19920513/Press Contact: Christine LeCompte, Beaupre
& Co. for Crosscom, 603-436-6690)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 15 BCE Mobile Reorganizes Services 05/15/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00014)

BCE Mobile Reorganizes Services 05/15/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAY 15 (NB) -- BCE Mobile, the
mobile-communications holding company of Bell Canada, has united
its five operating companies with a common brand name and
eventually plans to integrate the companies further to make things
simpler for its customers.

What BCE Mobile has done so far is largely cosmetic: the new brand
name Bell Mobility is being applied to the whole range of mobile
communications services. Bell Cellular becomes Bell Mobility
Cellular, National Pagette becomes Bell Mobility Paging, the
air-to-ground telephone carrier Skytel becomes Bell Mobility
(Skytel), the wireless data network company Bell Ardis becomes Bell
Mobility (Ardis), and Bell Mobility Radiocommunications will handle
communications systems for fleet operations.

"It's a branding strategy," said Kelly Norgate, a spokeswoman for
Bell Mobility Cellular. Part of the purpose, she said, is just to
make customers more aware of the links between the companies.

In future, though, the strategy will lead to some service changes.
For instance, Norgate said, customers who use the services of more
than one Bell Mobility company will start getting one invoice for
all services, instead of separate ones.

Organizationally, little has changed. The companies that now bear
the Bell Mobility name were, and remain, subsidiaries of BCE
Mobile.

(Grant Buckler/19920514/Press Contact: Kelly Norgate, Bell Mobility
Cellular, 416-798-5169; John Elias or Edward Gould, National Public
Relations for Bell Mobility, 416-860-0180, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 15 Gigabyte Shareware Disk From CD-ROM Users Group 05/14/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00015)

Gigabyte Shareware Disk From CD-ROM Users Group 05/14/92
SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 14 (NB) -- The compact
disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) users group located in Santa Barbara,
California has announced it has put together the equivalent of 3000
shareware disks of software on a single CD-ROM disk.

Fred Bellomy, the director of the group says what makes the group's
offering different from a dozen other shareware CD-ROM disks offered
on the market is only contributions from 1989 or later were included,
a user interface helps in the finding and extracting of individual
titles, and the group made every effort to weed out duplications and
multiple versions of the same software packages. The disc also
includes a comprehensive file listing of other more popular CD-ROM
shareware discs.

The disc contains 512 megabytes (MB) of compressed, recent, virus-
free shareware divided into 25 subject categories. The CD-ROM group
says uncompressed, the programs would be easily physically take up
well over a gigabyte of space. Some of the categories include Windows
programs with over 900 titles, graphics, games and entertainment,
BBS, language, business, and several utility categories.

The graphics category alone contains 421 .PCX format graphics, 287
 .GIF format graphics, and 330 Macintosh compatible format graphic
images, the CD-ROM User Group said.

The disc is available to members of the CD-ROM User Group for $99 and
to non-members for $99.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920514/Press Contact: Fred Bellomy, The CD-ROM
Users Group, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 15  ****AT&T Shipping Videophone 2500 05/15/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00016)

 ****AT&T Shipping Videophone 2500 05/15/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 15 (NB) -- Both AT&T and
Compression Labs say the VideoPhone 2500 is a wild success, but
the two companies are nevertheless feuding over delivery
schedules.

Basically, CLI says it's on schedule for deliveries of video
compression boards for the product, which AT&T announced in
January. But AT&T claimed it will be at least two months until
the company can fill all orders already placed for the product.
CLI said it shipped production-quantity boards to AT&T in the
March quarter, based on AT&T's own schedule, and is continuing to
ship product.

CLI did confirm, however, that AT&T has found ways to improve the
video quality, motion, and color on the product, but said those
products would be incorporated before deliveries are made. Todd
Townsend, vice president of new business development and advanced
engineering for Compression Labs, said the improvement process is
not unusual.

AT&T said it was overwhelmed by interest in the VideoPhone 2500,
which claims to be the first full-color, motion videophone to
work on regular phone lines. Stephen M. Clemente, general manager
of AT&T's VideoPhone business, said the company got 10,000
inquiries on the first day the product was announced, and
continues to get several hundred a week. He said people who
placed the first orders for the product will get it in early
summer.

When AT&T announced the VideoPhone 2500 in January, the company
said it would be available in May. "We made the best estimate we
could, but in reality it's taking a little longer than we thought
to reach final production," Clemente said.

Added spokesman Jo Johnston to Newsbytes, "I don't see any
conflict here. CLI was just concerned that people might think
they hadn't met their obligation. We were aware of their
release." While improvements in the product included some
tweaking of CLI's video compression board, they also included
changes in AT&T's contributions to the work, like the modem.
Johnston, however, insisted that all this should not be read as a
"production delay," saying "it's just the estimate in January was
off." The new delivery estimate of early summer is deliberately
vague, she added. "We don't want to set another date and be
wrong."

AT&T will manufacturer the VideoPhone 2500 in Shreveport,
Louisiana, and sell it in AT&T phone centers for $1,499. Later
this year, the VideoPhone will be available for sale at major
retailers across the country. The phone centers also will offer
lease-to-buy plans and will rent the VideoPhone for under $30 per
day. Later this year in selected phone centers, for a fee, AT&T
will make VideoPhones available for people to place calls.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920515/Press Contact: Compression Labs, Tracy
Beaufort, 408/922-4610; AT&T, Jo Johnston, 201-581-3905)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 15 Sprint Makes Announcements Prior to ICA 05/15/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00017)

Sprint Makes Announcements Prior to ICA 05/15/92
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 15 (NB) -- Preparing for
the International Communications Association trade exhibition in
Atlanta next week, Sprint made a number of product and service
announcements.

First, the company announced that its Sprint Express services
are now available to nine countries in the Caribbean, South
America, Asia, Central Europe and, for the first time, in Eastern
Europe. Sprint Express competes with AT&T Direct, allowing
visitors to call a toll-free number to access Sprint's network at
its rates, rather than calling through a more expensive local
PTT. Service is newly available in Austria, Bolivia, Hungary,
India, Bermuda, the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic. Later
this month, Sprint plans to add Poland and Turkey.

Sprint also enhanced its Integrated Access offering, which lets
large customers use its T1 trunk lines for voice, video, and data
services. T1 lines are a standard telephone trunk link running at
1.544 million bits/second, the equivalent of a few dozen voice
lines. In the past, Sprint said, its customers could integrate
800, VPN, international and private line services with Integrated
Access. Now, they can obtain access to advanced data and video
services, like SprintNet X.25 packet services, the Sprint Meeting
Channel, and Sprint's frame relay services, using a regular trunk
line or ISDN trunk line.

In a related announcement, Sprint announced the Integrated Access
Controller, a product which its customers can use to control
real-time access management of Sprint services on a call-by-call
basis. A prototype, jointly developed with Teleos Communications,
will be on exhibit next week at the ICA exhibition in Atlanta.
The Sprint Integrated Access Controller will be available in the
fourth quarter. A key feature is a Bandwidth Manager, which lets
users graphically monitor services and traffic patterns while
controlling the use of the line between their offices and
Sprint's network, achieving more efficiency. Customers can change
access allocations in minutes rather than days or weeks. They can
also set and monitor minimum reserves and maximum limits of
bandwidth for each service or application.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920515/Press Contact: Sprint, Robin Pence,
202-828-7454)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 15 Southwestern Bell Intros Roaming To Mexico 05/15/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00018)

Southwestern Bell Intros Roaming To Mexico 05/15/92
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 15 (NB) -- Southwestern
Bell, which owns 10 percent of Mexico's TelMex network and helps
manage it, introduced universal roaming between its US cellular
system and TelMex' Telcel system. Telcel serves 90,000 customers
in Mexico, but has been under pressure from competitors who
complain of delays in getting service.

The roaming agreement is one of the first approved by the
Secretary of Communications and Transportation, Mexico's
regulatory agency for telecommunications. The Federal
Communications Commission also approved the agreement.

Roaming service allows cellular phone users to continue receiving
and placing calls outside their home service areas. Telcel
customers are pre-registered on Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems
cellular networks and vice versa. Roaming fees will be $2 a day
and 70 cents a minute. The new service is available immediately
in areas served by Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems in south
Texas and in northern areas of Mexico served by Telcel, including
Monterrey, Saltillo, Nuevo Laredo, Reynosa/McAllen, Harlingen,
Brownsville/Matamoros, Corpus Christi and San Antonio. Also
involved are Cuidad Juarez, Chihuahua, Torreon, Gomez Palacio,
Tijuana, Mexicali, Ensenada and adjacent rural service areas.
Plans are to extend the roaming service throughout Mexico and all
Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems service areas in Texas,
Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri. Mobile Systems also will extend
the service to its Cellular One properties it runs in Boston,
Chicago, central Illinois, Baltimore and Washington.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920515/Press Contact: Southwestern Bell
Mobile Systems, Beth Graham, 512/841-5506)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 15 Lotus Announces Executive Changes 05/15/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00019)

Lotus Announces Executive Changes 05/15/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 15 (NB) -- Lotus
Development is consolidating management of its development efforts,
naming two people to share the management of development. The
company also named a new vice-president for its spreadsheet
division.

June Rokoff, formerly senior vice-president of the company's
consulting and information services group, becomes senior
vice-president of development. She will co-manage the company's
development organization with John Landry, senior vice-president of
development and chief technology officer, Lotus said. Both will
continue to report to Jim Manzi, Lotus' president and chief
executive officer.

Rokoff will focus on day-to-day management tasks, while Landry will
concentrate on strategy and acting as the company's primary public
spokesman, said Richard Eckel, a Lotus spokesman. The functions
will not be mutually exclusive, Eckel said, but Landry will
probably spend about 70 percent of his time on strategy while
Rokoff spends about 70 percent of hers on day-to-day issues.

Product group vice presidents and general managers will report to
the combined management team. These include: David Reed, chief
scientist and vice-president of the company's pen-based
applications division; Said Mohammadioun, vice-president of the
word processing division and advanced spreadsheet technology; Tim
Davenport, vice-president of the graphics products division; Terry
Rogers, vice-president of the communications products division; Ken
Grunzweig, vice-president of the One Source division; Jack Martin,
vice-president of finance and business development for the
organization; and Jeffrey Beir, newly named vice-president of the
spreadsheet division.

Beir, formerly general manager of desktop spreadsheets, is
responsible for the design and development of Lotus' spreadsheet
product line, which includes 1-2-3 for DOS, Windows, OS/2,
Macintosh, and Unix, as well as Symphony.

His promotion is "recognition of the work that he's done as well as
the level of the job that he's doing," Eckel said.

Beir, 34, earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from
Northwestern University, a master of science degree in electrical
engineering from Syracuse University, and a master's degree from
the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration.

(Grant Buckler/19920515/Press Contact: Richard Eckel, Lotus,
617-693-1284)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 15 ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 05/15/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00020)

ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 05/15/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 15 (NB) -- Roundup is a brief
look at some computer stories carried in other publications
received here this past week.

May's Computer Monthly has a look at high-speed modems and
fax/modem combinations, as well as a report on DR DOS 6.0.

Computerworld dated the 11th says that despite changes, technical
support for NetWare still leaves much to be desired.

The May 5 issue of Computer Currents explores the world of CD-ROM
data storage and multimedia.

Global Telephony for the 4th of May looks at ISDN in New York
State, and the wireless office worldwide.

May's Computers in Healthcare says that strategic planning is
vital to the operation of a healthcare computer system and that
the CIO must be a full member of the healthcare team.

May 11's Informationweek says that laptop theft is rising. Even
some of General Schwarzkopf's battle plans for Iraq were
reportedly stolen from a British Wing Commander's car in London.

Networking Management for May asks the vital question "Are Open
Networks a Myth?"

Federal Computer Week for the 11th says that in recent months
agencies have increasingly gravitated toward the installation of
workstation clusters to provide replacements for or to supplement
their supercomputer installations.

Computer Reseller News carrying the cover date May 11 says that
CD-ROM is really catching on as part of a software distribution
system.

June's Unixworld reviews XyWrite III for Unix and Tadpole
Technology's Color SPARCbook, a SPARC OS notebook.

Communicationsweek for the 11th says that IBM is dropping out of
the PBX business entirely.

(John McCormick/19920515/)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 15 The Enabled Computer 05/15/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00021)

The Enabled Computer 05/15/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 15 (NB) -- The Enabled Computer
is a regular Newsbytes feature covering news and important
product information relating to high technology aids for the
disabled.

Last issue we began a look at the MIC 300i, a powerful, but
affordable TDD (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf) on an 8-
bit half-size card that goes right in most PC, XT, AT, and newer
MS-DOS compatible computers. This includes most PCs other than
those few with the Micro Channel bus.

Once installed, the MIC 300i turns the computer into a full TDD
telephone and TDD bulletin board, providing more power at less
cost than traditional stand-alone TDD units.

The software supplied with the MIC 300i includes:
FullTalk; this program allows users to capture five pages (18
lines per page) of text and, since both sides are displayed at
once, it is possible to display the two in differing colors.
FullTalk is the resident or full-time, full-screen control
program and provides for TDD answering, BBS, and e-mail
operation.

EaseTalk offers basic TDD/ASCII telecommunications features
without the autoanswer, editor and e-mail options, but it is
compatible with Windows, DESQview, or other task switcher
environments.

FlipTalk is a memory resident or TSR version of a fairly basic
TDD/ASCII telecommunications program which has some more advanced
features.

TinyTalk is the 40 kilobyte memory resident control software
which provides only the most basic service.

BigRing is for hearing-impaired users only - offering a ring-
monitor and alert feature which works when the user is operating
any non-graphics mode program.

I won't go into any further detail on these programs because all
are included with the MIC 300i - you don't need to choose between
them when ordering, so it is only important to understand that a
number of options will be available.

The company, which is run by an M.D. and an electrical engineer,
has already notified me that they are developing upgrades to cope
with new environments such as Windows.

The software also interfaces with some Braille software and with
Magic Zoom.

MIC 300i, $350, Microflip, Inc., 11211 Petsworth Lane,
Glenn Dale, MD 20769, 301-262-6020, 301-262-4978 (fax),
301-262-1629 (TDD/ASCII 8N1H)

Now that companies such as hotels and others which must deal with
telephone reservations and queries from the public are required
to accommodate the disabled we can expect to see a flood of new
products along the lines of the MIC 300i which target both the
business owner and the disabled person.

Until now the burden for installing such communications devices
was placed upon the disabled user and since few companies offered
any useful support it didn't make sense for a lot of people to
buy TDD systems when they couldn't use it to order anything anyway
except through a TDD operator.

With any luck this will now change and the flood of new
installations should bring even more improvements and lower
prices for TDD and related products.

Of course the reason that everything will change is the fact that
the Americans with Disabilities Act is taking effect during 1993
and 1993, forcing employers and those who serve the public to
deal with equal access and equal employment issues.

If you have any questions about the ADA's implementation and
compliance requirements contact: ADA, U.S. Department of
Justice, Civil Rights Division, Coordination and Review Section,
P.O. Box 66118, Washington, DC 20035 (voice, 202-514-0301; TDD,
202-514-0381 or 0383).

A nonprofit group, TDI (Telecommunications for the Deaf Inc.)
(TDI), offers an annual International Telephone Directory for TDD
Users with your listing for a charge to individuals of $15 and
$30 for business/organization listing.

Paying for this listing also gets you a copy of the directory and
a quarterly newsletter.

TDI, 8719 Colesville Road, #300, Silver Spring, MD 20910,
301-589-3786 (Voice), 301-589-3006 (TDD).

AT&T offers a pair of interesting TDDs: the 2700 portable
acoustic coupled basic unit selling for $250, and the 2930, a
$400 combination TDD/ASCII portable terminal with 32K memory.

AT&T, National Special Needs Center, 800-833-3232 (TDD),
800-233-1222 (Voice).

Trident's $600 PCT is a relatively new stand-alone TDD unit which
includes a 1200 baud ASCII terminal and has a display which shows
25 lines of 40 characters each.

Trident Technologies, 315 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013,
212-645-5656 (Voice), 212-645-9643 (TDD)

(John McCormick/19920515/)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 15  ****Another Salvo In the IBM-Microsoft War 05/15/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00022)

 ****Another Salvo In the IBM-Microsoft War 05/15/92
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 15 (NB) -- Microsoft fired
another salvo in the war with IBM late yesterday, announcing a
combined DOS-Windows package for IBM's PS/2 personal computers.

Saying they were responding to customer demand, Microsoft announced
the specially prepared package which runs only on PS/2 machines will
run Windows applications "two to five times faster" than OS/2, IBM's
operating system challenge to Windows.

The new package is Microsoft's second major challenge to OS/2. A
few weeks ago Newsbytes reported that more than 80 PC manufacturers,
including eight of the top ten, had agreed to pre-install Windows on
their machines.

IBM recently announced that it was pre-installing OS/2 version 2.0
on PS/2 Model 56 and 57 machines. Microsoft said its new package,
which will be available May 31st, is designed so computer resellers
can pre-install Windows and MS-DOS on PS/2s, or so that customers
themselves can "upgrade" their machines from OS/2 to MS-DOS and
Windows. Microsoft said the installation process is a "simple,
integrated set-up process."

According to Brad Silverberg, Microsoft's VP of personal systems,
"The overwhelming majority of customers are asking us to provide an
alternative (to OS/2)." Silverberg said that the majority of
customers buying PS/2s are using MS-DOS or MS-DOS and Windows.
"They don't want to be forced to switch to a system (OS/2) that is
slower and less compatible," said Silverberg.

Windows requires about 10 MB (megabytes) of hard disk space for the
program files, while OS/2 takes about three times that amount.
While PC makers are factory equipping their systems with 80 MB, 120 MB
and larger hard drives, the smaller space requirement of Windows
could be especially attractive to home and small business buyers,
who are frequently motivated by cost considerations.

Microsoft said that for customers who want to run applications
written for OS/2, and also want to run Windows programs, they can
install the DOS-Windows package on the same hard disk with OS/2.
However, to do that and still have adequate storage space for data
files will require even larger hard disks.

Microsoft said the combined package, which doesn't have a unique
name, has a suggested list price of $199.95, but is being offered
for $149 until the end of 1992. As an added bonus, Microsoft is
bundling a discount coupon for Qualitas BlueMax version 6, the
PS/2-specific version of 386max, a memory management program.
386max provides up to 623K of convention memory for use by DOS-based
applications by loading as much as 244K of memory-resident programs
into the upper memory area. Memory resident programs run faster,
since the entire program loads into the computer's memory,
eliminating the need for disk access while the program is being
used.

Microsoft spokesperson Martin Middlewood told Newsbytes that present
owners of PS/2 systems who elect to install the new Microsoft
package are offered an installation option of replacing the existing
OS/2, or having both systems. "You would probably want at least a
100MB hard disk if you wanted both systems," said Middlewood.

IBM scoffed at the Microsoft announcement. IBM spokesperson Scott
Brooks reportedly said, "It sounds like a desperate
move because they're getting wind of demand for OS/2 and the success
that OS/2 is having in the marketplace." Brooks said he couldn't
understand why anybody would pay $150 for the Microsoft package,
since OS/2 already contains the DOS and Windows programs.

(Jim Mallory/19920515/Press contact: Collins Hemingway, Microsoft,
206-882-8080)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 15 TI, Cyrix Venture To Compete With Intel's 486 05/15/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00023)

TI, Cyrix Venture To Compete With Intel's 486 05/15/92
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 15 (NB) -- Texas Instruments has
announced that it will begin volume production of its own TI486SLC
microprocessor in September.

TI got access to the 486 technology through a long-term product
cross license agreement with Cyrix Corporation. Cyrix recently
entered the microprocessor market to compete with Intel. The
Richardson, Texas-based company priced its chips significantly
lower than Intel in order to capture a quick market share. Intel
Corporation, which for some time has had the lion's share of the chip
market, responded this week by cutting chip prices on its 486 chips
by half.

TI hopes to capture a portion of the chip market presently dominated
by Intel Corporation. The company said the TI486SLC not only will
provide 486 power to personal computers, but will also upgrade
systems currently using a 386SX chip without any redesign of the
circuit board.

TI's Ted Jernigan told Newsbytes the chip is not an end-user
replacement item, but rather was is designed and marketed for use by
OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) who have system boards on
hand which were designed to use a 386SX chip. Those manufacturers
can substitute the TI chip in place of the 386SX.

The SLC designation on the TI chip indicates that it incorporates
low power consumption features, and includes a cache. Cache memory
allows the computer to access files more quickly, saving information
to the cache now, and saving to the disk between other operations.
Disk access is one of the slowest things a personal computer does.

TI said the agreement with Cyrix gives it the right to make and
market microprocessor, future derivatives, and products. The deal
also calls for TI to manufacture products for Cyrix.

Cyrix announced the Cx486SLC on March 30th, and as reported by
Newsbytes, said it would announce a significant semiconductor second
source agreement shortly. The TI deal is that second source, Cyrix
spokesperson Michelle Moody told Newsbytes. Asked by Newsbytes to
comment on completion of the deal, Cyrix' Tom Brightman said, "It's a
key step in assuring acceptance of our product."

Brightman estimates that the market for 486 chips in the second
quarter alone will reach $800 million. "We reasonably hope to get a
small portion of that," he said. While not willing to quote
specific sales projections, Brightman said it was reasonable
to think that the TI-Cyrix combination could get "a double digit
percentage" of that market.

Newsbytes asked the Cyrix co-founder to comment on the Intel price
cut for its 486 chips. Brightman said the cut indicated that Intel
recognized the Cyrix chip as a valid product in the market place.
"Actions speak louder than words," said Brightman. "We think it's
great."

According to TI Semiconductor Group executive VP, Walden Rhines,
future major semiconductor suppliers will be required to provide
core system functions around which peripheral functions will begin
to be integrated. Rhines said core processor technology is needed
for the future development of semicomputer systems. A
semicomputer permits the integration of a core microprocessor,
coprocessors, system logic and peripheral functions onto a single
piece of silicon. "Such integration will decrease board space
requirements, reduce costs, and substantially increase the
performance and reliability of computers," he said.

(Jim Mallory/19920515/Press contact: Michelle Moody, Cyrix,
214-234-8357 X302)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 15 Compaq Says No Dividends, Layoffs Over 05/15/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00024)

Compaq Says No Dividends, Layoffs Over 05/15/92
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 15 (NB) -- Compaq Computer
President Eckhard Pfeiffer said the Houston-based personal computer
maker has no plans to pay dividends to its stockholders. The good
news is he doesn't plan any further layoffs.

Pfeiffer assumed command at Compaq when the board of directors
unexpectedly ousted co-founder Rod Canion last October, two days
after announcing massive layoffs.

Pfeiffer said yesterday that the company has completed its planned
workforce reduction, which totaled 1,700 employees. "At this time,
there are no plans for further layoffs, he said.

Compaq Corporation has not paid a dividend on its stock since 1982,
and Pfeiffer said the company wants to boost the stock price instead
of starting to pay dividends. Compaq stock is presently selling for
about $25 per share, compared to $75 in the first quarter of 1991.

Pfeiffer's remarks were made at Compaq's annual shareholder meeting
in response to questions from shareholders. Some of the
stockholders indicated they wanted to see the company pay a dividend
of $0.40 to $0.50 per share, with one saying it would send a good
message to Wall Street.

Pfeiffer told the approximately 100 stockholders who attended the
meeting on Compaq's "campus" about 20 miles from downtown Houston
that the company estimates it will save about $150 million in reduced
component costs in 1992, Compaq spokesperson Nora Hahn told
Newsbytes.

Other highlights of addresses by Pfeiffer and Chairman Ben Rosen
included information that by the end of 1992, 90 percent of the
company's product line will be new. The company is also looking
closely at pen computing and any cellular technology that would help
portable computer users.

Compaq has felt pressure to lower prices, as have most PC makers
recently. Like its competitors, the company has sought ways to cut
its costs in order to respond to those pressures. Numerous
companies have been reducing prices in the past weeks, including
Dell.

(Jim Mallory/19920515/Press contact: Debra Globe, Compaq,
713-374-1562)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 15 New U.K. Online Service Ready To Launch June 1 05/15/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00025)

New U.K. Online Service Ready To Launch June 1 05/15/92
TEIGNMOUTH, DEVON, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 15 (NB) -- Online Services
Limited has announced it is launching a new online service on
June 1. Called Fast Access, the system is advertiser-sponsored,
much like the Sears-Prodigy service in the US.

As the name implies, Fast Access is accessible at very high
speeds. According to John Scullard, the service's marketing
director, the system is accessible at 14,400 bits per second
(bps) thanks to the use of V.32Bis modems. Plans call for ISDN
links, operating at 64,000 bits per second, to be installed later
this year.

Fast Access is free of online connect charges, though callers
have pay the telecom costs of calling the service. IDs and
passwords are still required.

"Unlike Compuserve and Cix, normal membership is offered totally
free to all users and, unlike Prestel, electronic mailbox numbers
are also issued free," Scullard told Newsbytes.

The cost of the service is borne by advertisers who pay for the
privilege of having their pages on the service. In return, Fast
Access claims to offer sophisticated logging and retrieval
systems for advertising companies, including online credit card
orders and brochure requests. Companies are also given the Fast
Access logo to supplement their paper advertising.

Demonstration access is available to the service on 0392-423500
with an ID/password of Guest.

(Steve Gold/19920515/Press & Public Contact: John Scullard - Tel:
0626-773178)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 15 Review of: Remote LAN Node, 05/15/92


(REVIEW)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00026)

Review of: Remote LAN Node, 05/15/92

From: Intercomputer Communication Corp., 8230 Montgomery Road,
Cincinnati, OH 45236 [phone]

Price: $430.00

PUMA Rating: 3.5 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Naor Wallach 05/15/92

Summary: RLN is a product that solves the problem of
access to your LAN while not physically attached to its wires. Works
well and is easy to set up and use.

======

REVIEW

======

Has the following situation ever confronted you? You're out of town
on a two-week business trip. On your first day back you check your
e-mail and find dozens, maybe even hundreds of messages. Going
through them takes a lot of time and you even find some messages
that you should have responded to earlier. Now, it's too late.

Sound familiar? An innovative solution to these kinds of problems
is being offered by Intercomputer Communications Corp. (ICC) with
their Remote LAN Node (RLN) product. RLN allows you to log in to
your network via a modem and establish a full network connection to
your servers. Essentially it looks and feels like you are on the
network and you can use all of the services and capabilities of the
network that you are used to having.

RLN is comprised of two parts. There is a server piece that runs on
a dedicated PC attached to your LAN at the office. This PC can be
equipped with up to 16 modems through the use of ICC's Digiboard.
The server software runs on the server PC and maintains virtual
connections across the modem lines to the network. The second piece
is the client software which runs on your remote PC. Using the
client software, you control your modem and call in to the server.
After the two pieces have established communications you are given
the impression that you are working in your normal environment.

RLN comes in three basic flavors. You can get the two-user system
for $430 which allows for two modems to be connected to the server
PC and used remotely. The eight-user version comes with an ICC
digiboard and all the equipment needed to connect up to eight modems
to the server. The eight-user version sells for $3550. For $6610
you can get the sixteen-user version which comes with two Digiboards
and all the other hardware and software necessary. Single client
software costs $95 per package which includes only the remote client
software. In all cases, you must supply your own modems.

The two-user package which I reviewed contained one Server Package
and two Client Packages. The Server Package contained a 126-page
Administrator's Guide, a 35-page LAN Compatibility Guide, a
registration card, a product release notice, a copy protection
device known as a "dongle," and both 3.5" and 5.25" diskettes
containing the Server program and the Server Packet Drivers.
Each of the two client packages contained a 67-page Client Guide, a
dongle, and a 3.5" diskette containing the Client Program.

The first step in getting the system to work was to configure and
install the server. As is common with networks, this is a job best
left for the network administrator and should be undertaken lightly.
That said, however, I must admit that installing the RLN server
went smoother than most network product installations that I have
been involved with. I only ran into one problem that required a call
to ICC's technical support line and that problem was resolved by
changing the network adapter's IRQ setting. Certainly not a big
deal. The RLN documentation is relatively clear and straightforward.
The chapter that talks about setting up the server walks you through
the process step by step. The Administrator's Guide contains all of
the information that you need to install RLN whether clients or
server. The only things that are not contained in the Administrator's
Guide are those elements specific to a network architecture and
those are contains in the LAN Compatibility Guide.

Once I had the server up and running I could go through the
different menus and check out various statistics on usage of the
network and usage of the server. It is also possible to check out
the status of different aspects of the server and its communications
links. Most of the action though, is in the Client and to tell you
the truth, this is as it should be.

Installing the Client Program was even easier than the Server. The
program installs itself and the only thing that you need to worry
about is to follow the instructions properly. This brings up the
only complaint that I have about the manuals. I was using a Novell
network for this review. The sequence of commands that is needed to
attach to it is spelled out exactly on page 15 of the LAN
Compatibility Guide. Recall that only one copy of this guide is
provided and you will understand my complaint.

Once the Client server was installed and running, it was a simple
task to define the calling parameters (phone number, etc.) of the
server and to call it up. RLN does a good job of letting you know
what it is doing as things are happening. If all goes well you will
be presented with the sign-on message of your network and can then
proceed. Let me make one suggestion here. As you are operating over
a modem that is slower by orders of magnitude than your normal
network connection, make sure that you copy all of the software that
you can to your remote PC before you take it with you. I did not
do so and had to wait for about 10 minutes while my pair of 9600 baud
modems sent the information necessary just to log in between them.
Once I downloaded the Novell Login command to the remote PC the same
process took only about a minute or two.

Once I logged into my network, I could do anything that I can
normally do. I checked my mail, sent some out, and I even launched
a spreadsheet program remotely just to see what would happen. In all
of my testing I found that there was only one difference between my
machine in the office and my remote machine. That difference was
speed. As I said above, 9600 baud modems are not anywhere near as
fast as a 10 Mbps network connection. I did not encounter any bugs
or significant problems of any kind over the four week period in
which I used the product.

All in all, I was very impressed with this program. It performed its
functions well and was very unobtrusive. I would probably not like
to use this program on a day-to-day basis to do all of my work due
to its speed limitations, but it is certainly more than adequate to
take care of situations like those described at the top of this
review as well as of the many other situations that can arise.

===========

PUMA RATING

===========

PERFORMANCE: 4 The program itself performed flawlessly. It is hardly
its fault that modem technology does not match wire speeds.

USEFULNESS: 3 This is a tool that solves a specific problem. If you
have many people on the road or at home all of the time, then its
benefits are manifest. For occasional use, I find it hard to justify
its use of a dedicated PC. I would much rather see a two-user system
that works in the background.

MANUAL: 4 The manuals are complete and well organized. The one minor
problem I have with them is one that can be easily corrected with a
copier.

AVAILABILITY: 3 Technical support is a toll call.

(Naor Wallach/19920515/Press Contact: Sally Smith, SSSmith and
Associates for ICC, 513-438-1133)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 15 Editorial: The Changing Face of News by Dana Blankenhorn, 05/15/92


(EDITORIAL)(GENERAL)(ATL)(00027)

Editorial: The Changing Face of News by Dana Blankenhorn, 05/15/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 15 (NB) -- Pat Robertson's
purchase of UPI this week has a lot of newspeople in a funk. Despite
assurances to staffers in Washington that he wouldn't interfere with
the 84-year old service's editorial policies, Robertson later told
viewers to his "700 Club" that the purchase represented "a little
opportunity" for God to touch society.

In the short run, the trend is truly ominous. Liberal politicians
in the UK claimed last month that right-wing newspapers, which
now dominate that country, led to their Conservative opponents'
winning re-election despite a nasty recession. Could the same
mind-control be in store for the US?

Maybe. Look who today controls the levers of America's
information society. Rupert Murdoch, whose "National Star" broke
the story of Bill Clinton's alleged liaison with Gennifer
Flowers, from which the Arkansas governor has never recovered in
national polls, despite the fact that he is ready to win his
party's nomination. Sun Myung Moon, the once-jailed head of Korea's
Unification Church, owns "The Washington Times." Anyone want to
claim "The Wall Street Journal" is liberal, or anything like it?

What is most disturbing, and dangerous, about these outlets is
the assumption by their owners there is a "liberal media
conspiracy" about which gives them permission to create biased
news coverage. No one with a liberal viewpoint will ever be
allowed inside the Washington Times newsroom, and if you want to
rise to the top of a Murdoch or Dow Jones enterprise, you'd
better be "politically correct" as the owners see that term.

Some perspective is needed. Most 19th century newspapers were
incredibly opinionated, tied to specific politicians or political
movements. Many large US cities had dozens of papers, one for
every taste, many in foreign languages.

All this changed with the rise of industrial media empires like
those of Joseph Pulitzer, E.W. Scripps, and William Randolph
Hearst. These men, and their contemporaries, believed that
objective reporting, combined with mass production and slick
marketing, would create trusted media which could dominate
markets. They endowed journalism schools to teach the new
objectivity, and their plans worked. By the 1970s, when I went to
college, most cities had just one newspaper, and whatever its
editorial policy it practiced this objective journalism. We were
a profession, like doctors or lawyers, trained to be fair to all
sides, and to reach conclusions based only on fact.

The events of the 1960s and 1970s changed the way conservatives
looked at this objective media. Many blamed reporters like David
Halberstam, Morley Safer and Peter Arnett for the debacle of
Vietnam. Carl Bernstein, Bob Woodward and Seymour Hersch helped
bring down Richard Nixon, the first conservative President since
Herbert Hoover. These events were at the root of the "liberal
media conspiracy" theory still propounded by some commentators.
Under this theory, objectivity equals bias. The only cure is a
new bias.

Moon and Robertson believed the theory, and their investments
prove it. You will never read a bad thing about conservative
politicians in "The Washington Times," even if it's true. Nor
will you hear about it on "The 700 Club." With objectivity seen
as bias, and pure bias as objectivity, conservative politicians
are even going after the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and
National Public Radio, forcing their views -- and the exclusion
of alternatives they detest -- on the publicly financed airwaves.

My guess is that, as in the abortion controversy, liberals will
eventually wake up and fight back. There are financiers with lots
of money and liberal views, who could if they chose build truly
liberal media empires, especially if liberals decide that
conservative bias has led to the re-election of President Bush in
November. Viewers and readers will once more be able to, as they
could in the 19th century, choose their own truth.

There's another point. Technology is changing all of this. You
are now reading a news service which costs pennies to produce,
compared to the costs of a UPI. As it was in the 19th century,
journalism is again becoming an easy-in, easy-out business. The
comfortable newspaper monopolies of the past are being buffeted
by competition, from free weeklies, from suburban papers, and
from cable. Even Ted Turner's CNN now faces competition from the
BBC and from local cable operators in big markets like Orange
County, California, with their own 24-hour news services.

One final point. Even if I'm wrong about most of this, if right-
wing nuts take over the media without objection from any quarter,
and if technology can't change a thing, remember that time
passes. Harrison Gray Otis and Harry Chandler built the Los
Angeles Times into the major force of Southern California,
controlling the state's politics from a distinct right-wing
slant, with no apologies for many decades. But Harry's daughter
Dorothy was a liberal, and the company is now one of those
"objective" papers people like Robertson think is part of a
conspiracy against them. Even E.W. Scripps and William Randolph
Hearst were not able to protect their assets from bad management
after their deaths. Which is why UPI wound up on the block in the
first place.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920514)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 15 Second PC Magazine Reliability Survey Published 05/15/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(WAS)(00028)

Second PC Magazine Reliability Survey Published 05/15/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 15 (NB) -- The May 26 issue of
PC Magazine contains the results of the magazine's second massive
survey of user satisfaction for 35 well-known brands of personal
computers. Perhaps the most surprising item in the survey is the
general high overall reliability ratings given to all vendors
which were included in the final results. Zeos International and
Dell scored highest for notebook computers.

Gateway, Zeos, CompuAdd, Dell, Northgate, and Dell all ranked as
highly reliable among the mail order direct sellers. Compaq may
be slipping in profits, but customers still find that high-
quality line holding up well in the reliability ratings, along
with IBM, Hewlett-Packard, AST, and Toshiba.

Satisfaction with the newest models of high-performance PCs using
fast 386 and 486 microprocessors is significantly higher across
the board than for the models based on older 8088/86 and 286
technology.

The top mail order firms, which were mentioned above as receiving
highly reliability ratings, were also high in the number of
customers who said they would purchase from the same company
again, with Gateway scoring highest in this category.

The older high-quality, high-price companies such as IBM and
Compaq did significantly less well in this "buy again" rating.

Top ratings for technical support, a category with a wider range
of scores than most others, went to Dell, Northgate, Swan, and
Zeos International.

In the important notebook category, only Zeos International
scored significantly better than average in all four categories
of reliability, buy again, tech support, and repairs. Dell scored
very well, almost as high as Zeos, except in the area of overall
reliability, where it still scored average or above.

Toshiba also did well in the notebook area, but Zenith Data
Systems (Group Bull), ranked lowest in notebook reliability and
users were generally not at all satisfied with quality or service
from ZDS either in the notebook or PC line. ZDS came in
significantly lower than average in the "buy again" category.

The entire PC Magazine survey as printed in this issue is very
extensive and goes into a lot of detail about each vendor's
ratings, including differences between different microprocessor
types and how each ranked.

(John McCormick/19920514)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 15 Bellcore Supports VISA Credit Authorization Standard 05/15/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00029)

Bellcore Supports VISA Credit Authorization Standard 05/15/92
LIVINGSTON, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 15 (NB) -- Bellcore, the
research arm of the Bell operating companies, published a generic
data communications protocol called T3POS, designed for
processing credit authorizations and debit card transactions.

It's designed to work with point-of-sale terminals already in
use, as well as future POS equipment. POS terminals usually look
like boxes with phone pads on top, and a slot into which a card's
magnetic stripe is swiped. Sometimes they're incorporated into
cash registers.

A main catalyst for the protocol were several customer trials
held in the U.S. Southeast by BellSouth which identified
opportunities to utilize the packet network to mimic the
performance typically seen in private lines. T3POS is based upon
protocols developed by VISA International and link level control
procedures from the International Standards Organizations. It's
intended to be compatible with a number of access methods like
ISDN and data-over-voice that can improve response time
considerably. It's all described in a Bellcore Special Report,
number SR-NWT-002026. Based on feedback already received, the
company plans future enhancements.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920515/Press Contact: Bellcore, Cynthia A.
Lucenius, 201/740-6468)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 15 New Product: Twiddler Points And Types 05/15/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00030)

New Product: Twiddler Points And Types 05/15/92
MOUNT SINAI, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 15 (NB) -- Handykey Corp.
has launched the Twiddler, a hand-held device about the size of an
electric shaver that the manufacturer said can take the place of a
mouse and a keyboard.

The Twiddler has 18 buttons, six on one side for the thumb and 12
on the other side for the other four fingers. Different
combinations of keys produce the letters of the alphabet as well as
punctuation marks and other characters, explained Chris George, the
company's founder. A number key operated with the thumb turns the
12 finger keys into a numeric keypad.

According to George, anyone can learn the keyboard layout in a
couple of hours. "It takes about 10 days, two hours a day, for your
fingers to know it so your brain can forget about it," he added.

The Twiddler also serves as a pointing device, which the vendor
said can provide smooth and precise control of the cursor.
According to Handykey, the Twiddler has the precision needed for
pixel-by-pixel adjustments, useful in applications such as desktop
publishing and computer-aided design.

The vendor said the device will be useful for desktop presentations
because it makes it easy to control a computer while speaking to a
group. For applications such as desktop publishing and
computer-aided design, it will eliminate switching back and forth
between keyboard and mouse. It can also be used as an input device
in place for a keyboard for pen computers, Handykey said.

George admitted the device is unlikely to replace the keyboard for
fast touch-typists, since the fact that it is used with one hand
means it is not likely to match the speed of a proficient typist.
However, he claimed the Twiddler can handle text input as fast as
many people type. "I myself type at around 30 words per minute on
a regular keyboard," he said, "but I type around 35 words per
minute on the Twiddler."

Available now, the Twiddler has a suggested retail price of $199.

(Grant Buckler/19920515/Press Contact: Chris George, Handykey,
516-474-4405, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD




#CARD :1992 MAY 14 New For Mac: Radius 24-bit Color Graphics Accelerator 05/14/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00001)

New For Mac: Radius 24-bit Color Graphics Accelerator 05/14/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 14 (NB) -- Radius
maintains it is dropping the price on 24-bit color graphics for the
Macintosh II and Quadra by introducing a $599 color graphics
interface called the Precisioncolor 24Xp.

Radius claims the new 24-bit color graphics board is capable of
displaying up to 16.7 million colors and is geared toward the
16-inch Macintosh color displays.

With a Nubus interface, the Precisioncolor 24Xp offers Quickdraw
acceleration, support for third-party displays, peak resolution of
832 by 624, and on-the-fly resolution switching, Radius maintains.
The Quickdraw acceleration is accomplished with custom
application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) which boost the
normal performance of the display up to 600 percent, Radius
claims.

Radius says the purpose of the Precisioncolor 24Xp is to offer
photorealistic images on screen. The product is geared toward
graphics, desktop publishing, and presentation graphics work with
scanned photographs, computer generated art, or images with fine
gradations of color.

Radius says Macintosh users can save as much as $500 by using
the Precisioncolor 24Xp with its $1,199 15-inch Color Pivot/LE
monitor as opposed to the $1,699 16-inch 24-bit color display
offered by Apple. However, Radius added that while the Color
Pivot/LE does allow the user to physically rotate the monitor from
a landscape to a portrait orientation and back, the landscape
mode is the only one that will work with the Precisioncolor 24Xp.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920514/Press Contact: Larry Herman,
Radius, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 14 X Press Studying Cable Delivery Of NTN Game Software 05/14/92

(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00002)

X Press Studying Cable Delivery Of NTN Game Software 05/14/92
CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 14 (NB) -- X Press
Information Services of Denver has signed a deal which could put
NTN Communications' interactive games, including its QB1
football game, on-line through cable television as early as July.

QB1 has an exclusive license from the NFL, and is played in
conjunction with live televised football games. NTN also
produces Showdown, a 90-minute trivia show played live once a
week, Sports Trivia Challenge, another weekly trivia game, and
other competitive interactive game shows played daily.

X Press delivers information and software via cable television
and is best known for its X Change product, which is used by
schools. The company also re-distributes a number of other
information products, including the AP wire, again via cable.

A spokesman for the company told Newsbytes the agreement
with NTN does not impact that company's existing agreement
to put its games on-line via Prodigy.

"This is something that's in development," Rosetta Rogers said.
"It doesn't exist at the present time. We deliver data. That's
not interactive. This is an agreement to test-market interactive
games," and as such would be a new departure for X Press.
X Press is owned by Liberty Media, a public company which
owns cable companies and programming services.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920514/Press Contact: NTN
Communications, Scott Phillips, 619-438-7400; X Press
Information Services, Rosetta Rogers, 303-721-5417)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 14 Wordstar Writing Tools In Mac Education Bundle 05/14/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00003)

Wordstar Writing Tools In Mac Education Bundle 05/14/92
NOVATO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 14 (NB) -- Wordstar,
known for its word processor software for IBM and compatible
computers has made a deal with Apple to bundle two of its writing
tools with Macintosh computers in a special deal geared toward
the educational market.

Wordstar purchased several writing tools products from other
developers recently including the Correct Grammar and The
American Heritage Dictionary, which will be bundled in Macintosh
versions sold through Apple's Higher Education Back-to-School
Promotion, Wordstar said.

Bundling its software with computer hardware is something
Wordstar has been doing for a very long time, clear back to the
original Wordstar word processor that was bundled with the
Kaypro computer before DOS was introduced.

In this case, Apple is bundling the Wordstar products in another
round if educational promotion of Macintosh products, something it
too has been doing for a long time. Apple says the deal is called
the Higher Education Back-to-School Promotion, is aimed toward
college and university students. The company claims the
promotion offers the purchase of Macintosh computers and
software at significant savings.

Previous programs have offered Apple hardware and software at
discounts as high as 40 percent to both students and educators.
Apple says the new deal will be available to students at over 900
colleges and universities nationwide.

Wordstar says Correct Grammar, available for the Macintosh, DOS,
and Microsoft Windows environments, checks for grammar, spelling,
punctuation, syntax, and style errors. The Macintosh version is
System 7-savvy and offers context-sensitive, on-line balloon help.
The product can check any Macintosh text-based application and
not just word processing documents, Wordstar added.

The American Heritage Dictionary for the Macintosh is the
electronic version of Houghton Mifflin's print dictionary. Wordstar
says the application is always available on the Macintosh from
the Apple menu as a desk accessory no matter what other
applications are running.

The Higher Education Back-to-School Promotion will run from
August 1 through October 15, 1992. Wordstar says this is the
second bundling arrangement with Apple as it offered a similar
software deal with Apple's Educator Advantage Program.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920512/Press Contact: Kathleen Raycraft,
McLean Public Relations, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 14 Radius Rocket Users Can Upgrade To Rocket 33 05/14/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00004)

Radius Rocket Users Can Upgrade To Rocket 33 05/14/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 14 (NB) -- Radius
said it is encouraging users who have previous versions of its
Rocket accelerator hardware boards to trade up to what it calls
the fastest accelerator board on the market -- the new Rocket 33.

A Rocket Trade-Up Program allows any user with a Radius Rocket
or Rocket 25i to upgrade to a Rocket 33 for $899. However, Rocket
25i users who don't have the floating-point process will have to pay
an extra $500 or $1,399 for the upgrade to the Rocket 33.

Other restrictions apply to a limited number of previous Rocket
boards with certain serial numbers, Radius representatives told
Newsbytes. Users are advised to contact their dealer or the Radius
upgrade information numbers for specific information on their
upgrade.

The Rocket 33 is powered by a 33 megahertz (MHz) 68040
Motorola microprocessor, Radius said. At 29 million instructions-
per-second (MIPS) Radius says the Rocket 33 can match or
outperform complex instruction-set computer (CISC) and reduced
instruction-set computer (RISC) chips operating at similar clock
speeds. The company claims the accelerator board is 32 percent
faster than the new Quadra from Apple.

Radius says the Rocket 33 works with the Macintosh II, IIx, IIci,
and IIcx, and includes Radiusware, Quickcad display-list
acceleration software, Quickcolor graphics acceleration software,
and Rocketware -- Radius system software for hardware and
software compatibility.

Regular retail price on the Rocket 33 is $2,499 and the board is
warranted for one year, Radius said.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920514/Press Contact: Heather Hood, A&R
Partners for Radius, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public
Contact: Radius Sales Support, 408-434-1011; Radius'
Automated Fax Information System, 800-966-7360)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 14 New For PC:Bible Concordance Software For Windows 05/14/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00005)

New For PC:Bible Concordance Software For Windows 05/14/92
HIAWATHA, IOWA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 14 (NB) -- Parsons
Technology has announced it will introduce a Windows version
of its QuickVerse Bible concordance software this summer.

The company said QuickVerse for Windows will ship in July.
Parsons spokesperson Anne Rawland said the price for
QuickVerse had not been set, but most of Parsons' biblical
software programs sell for $69, and the company said users
could expect QuickVerse to be priced "consistent with Parson's
history of providing high-performance software at affordable prices."

QuickVerse is a concordance, or a listing of the words in the Bible
which, according to Rawland, is ideal for such purposes as sermon
or Sunday school lesson preparation, as well as for Bible scholars.

The user types the desired word, and QuickVerse returns the
verses where that word can be found in the Bible. Like its older
sibling QuickVerse 2.0 for DOS, the program can scan for partial
words, combinations of words, or phrases. QuickVerse can use
Boolean logic for "and" or "or" searches, and supports wildcard
scans.

A wildcard is a character, such as an asterisk or a question
mark, that represents a character or a string of characters. DOS
uses the asterisk for a string of characters, and the question mark
for a single character. For example, "Qui(asterix)" would search
for all words that started with the letters "Qui." "Sm?th" would
search for all five letter words that started with SM and ended with
TH. Any character, such as "i" or "y" in the middle position would
result in a successful search. Rawland said QuickVerse supports
asterisk wildcards, but not the question mark.

Parsons said it plans to demonstrate a pre-release version of
QuickVerse for Windows at the Christian Booksellers Association
beginning June 28 in Dallas, Texas.

(Jim Mallory/19920514/Press Contact: Anne Rawland, Parsons
Technology, 319-395-9626)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 14 Dell Opens Czech And Polish Subsidiaries 05/14/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00006)

Dell Opens Czech And Polish Subsidiaries 05/14/92
BRACKNELL, BERKSHIRE, 1992 MAY 14 (NB) -- Dell Computer
is opening new international subsidiaries in Czechoslovakia and
Poland. The operations are the 13th and 14th in Dell's growing
list of international companies.

Dell Czechoslovakia will operate out of Prague, while Dell is
based in Warsaw. Both subsidiaries, which open for business
this week, will offer a full range of personal computers and
computer systems, as well as a complete array of customer
service and support features. The machines will be supplied
from Dell's Limerick, Ireland-based manufacturing facility.

Andrew Harris, senior vice president of Dell International and
former managing director of the company's UK operations, said
that he believes that "the newly emerging democracies in
Czechoslovakia and Poland represent excellent long-term
growth opportunities for Dell."

Dell's international sales are increasing rapidly, while the
company's domestic US operations -- in common with the rest
of the US computer industry -- face a stagnant market at home.

Accordingly, Dell is pulling out all the stops with its Czech and
Polish launch. Company Chairman Michael Dell will meet with
Czech President Vaclav Havel, before going on to formally open
the new Prague offices. Heading up the Czech operation is Karel
Stasney who previously handled the company's products in the
country.

Dell Poland, meanwhile, will be managed by Mirek Wierzbowski,
who joins Dell from Sun Microsystems where he was responsible
for international operations in the area.

(Steve Gold/19920514/Press & Public Contact: Dell, 0344-860456)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 14  ****US Slaps 2-Year Ban On Indian/Russian Space Agencies 05/14/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(SFO)(00007)

 ****US Slaps 2-Year Ban On Indian/Russian Space Agencies 05/14/92
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1992 MAY 14 (NB) -- Ignited by the ongoing
rocket technology transfer deal between India and Russia, and the
successful testing of surface-to-surface medium range missile
called Prithvi on May 5, the US government has constantly been
reaffirming its decision to blacklist the concerned organizations in
the two countries, reported Washington-datelined columnists in
newspapers here.

The Bush administration finally blacklisted both the Indian Space
Research Organization (ISRO) and Glavkosmos, the Russian space
organization, from importing or exporting components from the
US, including any US government contracts with them. The ban
will be valid for two years and would bar the two agencies from
importing, among other items, telescopes and computers.

In the US view, which it says is shared by other western partners,
the Indo-Russian rocket technology deal violated the Missile
Technology Control Regime (MTCR). The MTCR is a totally western
sponsored instrument to curb proliferation of missile technology.
Though it is not admitted, the MTCR also impedes space research
programs such as the one followed by India.

The step was prompted due to the proposed sale by Glavkosmos
to the Indian organization of $250 million worth of cryogenic rocket
engines and related equipment, to be used for Indian's space
satellite program. The crux of the matter which brought it in the
ambit of the MCTR is that the technology required for missiles and
space launch systems is identical, and capable of carrying a
500-pound payload for a distance of more than 300 miles. The
American viewpoint states that ISRO's rocket program could help
the development of intermediate range missile weaponry by India.
These doubts were not allayed in spite of Indian defense minister's
repeated assurance that India will use the technology for boosting
its peaceful space program which includes the launching of
weather satellites.

The US announcement has amply been made clear that the
sanctions are exclusively for the two organizations and not for
India and Russia. The ban will be lifted if ISRO and Glavkosmos
decide to obliterate the pact. Otherwise, fresh deliberations will be
conducted at the end of the stipulated period to determine if the
ban should continue or not.

The US had imposed a similar ban on China for supplying missile
delivery platforms and for supply of missiles to Iran, but this was
rescinded recently after the Chinese agreed to abide by the MTCR.
China also made clear to the US that unless the ban was revoked
it would continue to trade in missiles. The countries now under a
ban under MTCR are Pakistan, South Africa, and Iran. An Israeli
concern which reportedly sold space technology to South Africa
was however not proceeded against.

The Hindu news daily reported from New Delhi that Moscow saw
the US stand as directed more against it than against India.
Recently, the chairman of Glavcosmos, taking exception to
Washington's threat of sanctions, said: "We are being made to
feel like criminals today." What pained Moscow was the
background of the deal - especially the fact that General Dynamics
of the US and Ariane of France offered bids when the project was
announced in 1989, without the US government raising an eyebrow,
said The Hindu.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920514)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 14 Apple Launched In Romania 05/14/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(MOW)(00008)

Apple Launched In Romania 05/14/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 MAY 14 (NB) -- A private Romanian-
American company has started a US$10 million campaign to
promote Apple computers in the land which has never seen
them -- Romania.

Romanian Computer Systems (RCS) was established in 1990
by the local entrepreneur Julian Rosengren and his two
companies -- Romanian-registered Delta Design S.A., and Delta
Design (USA) Inc. RCS now employs over 150 people.

Apple computers will be offered with a built-in support of the
local language, including Romanian-language keyboards,
software, and manuals.

RCS will reportedly use counter-trade (barter) deals to overcome the
hard currency shortages which hit the country's economy, according
to the Reuters report. Newsbytes notes that Romania is the only
country of the former Eastern block which has virtually no long term
foreign debt, which was paid out by dictator Nicolae Ceausescu.
This fact might be of some help in business development financing
in the country, local analysts say.

Apple already has its distributors in other Eastern block countries --
Poland, Hungary, and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Industry analysts in Moscow have pointed out that both Bulgaria
and Russia have had some Apple II clones locally mass-produced
long before Apple decided to penetrate those markets. Hungary and
Romania had no previous experience with Apple computers.

Therefore, any marketing efforts are considered "very difficult in
those countries," Peter Broszko of Makroinform, Budapest
consultancy told Newsbytes.

Despite the Reuters report that: "Romania was starved of high
technology under Stalinist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, who
restricted most imports" the country actually had its own computer
industry and participated in the Eastern block cooperation in
computer equipment manufacturing.

"The country had printer and hard drive manufacturing factories,
has manufactured DEC's PDP computers by the screwdriver
technology, and had a manufacturing division of Control Data,"
said Alexander Giglavy, an industry analyst from Moscow.
According to Giglavy, the most efficient part of Romanian
high-tech export was the sale of the results of espionage carried
out by the national security service.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920514)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 14  ****Intel Attacks 386 Clone Makers, Cuts 486SX Price 50% 05/14/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(WAS)(00009)

 ****Intel Attacks 386 Clone Makers, Cuts 486SX Price 50% 05/14/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 14 (NB) -- Giant
microprocessor maker Intel has fired a major shot in the company's
ongoing war against those firms which have been threatening to cut
into the company's 80386 market share, by dropping the wholesale
price of the 25 megahertz (MHz) 80486SX chip from $282 to $119.

The 486SX, Intel's least expensive 80486 chip, provides
performance about equal to that provided by more expensive 25
MHz and 33 MHz 386 chips, as well as offering a better upgrade
path to full 486 microprocessors which operate at much higher
speeds.

Other Intel chips offer instant, one-chip upgrades for owners of
486SX computers, making it very easy (although not inexpensive)
to upgrade to a faster system by just replacing the CPU, or
central processor unit, (a hold-over term from days of mainframes
where the CPU was a stand-alone box).

Intel's 80486SX is a crippled version of the popular 80486,
lacking the built-in math coprocessor feature. In earlier
versions of the 486SX the coprocessor was actually still there --
it was just disabled during manufacture -- now Intel has removed it
entirely, making manufacturing less expensive.

The math coprocessor is only used extensively by a few programs,
mostly those involving graphics such as computer-aided drafting.
The entire 486 family is faster than equal clock speed 386 chips
because they include a built-in cache and can perform some
operations more quickly due to internal efficiencies.

With 486SX-based desktop computers, complete with monitor,
memory, and hard drives, already selling as low as $1,500 or
less, they were squeezing out the base 386-based systems
which were only slightly cheaper and not even as fast.

This price cut, based on orders of 1,000 chips, will cause the
386-486SX battle to heat up even further, putting extreme
pressure on clone chip makers such as Advanced Micro Devices.
While many observers feel that the 486SX is a poor buy compared
to a low-end 486DX-based system with an activated math
coprocessor, the 386 also lacks a built-in math coprocessor and
both chip families run exactly the same software so the entire
386DX and 386SX family of chips is competing on a very equal
basis with the 486SX.

Both families of microprocessors are 32-bit -- that is, they will
run the latest applications programs and operating systems, but
the 486 is inherently more efficient.

Some confusion has arisen among buyers who see the 386SX
and 386DX designations and think they differ in the same way
as the 486SX and 486DX line.

Actually, all 386 chips lack a math coprocessor, requiring those
who need one to make a separate purchase of an 80387 math chip.
The SX designation of the 386SX means that, although it uses 32-
bit commands, it only requires the slightly cheaper 16-bit RAM
memory. The memory difference was significant when the chip was
introduced, but no longer.

In contrast, all 486 chips use both 32-bit memory and commands
and all except the SX have a built-in math coprocessor.

AMD has already announced plans to introduce its own version of
the 80486 this autumn, but until then it will be hard-pressed to
compete with the now dramatically less expensive Intel 486SX.

Storeboard/Infocorp sales percentages by CPU, as published in the
May 11 Computer Reseller News, shows that during the first
quarter of 1992, the 386SX had gone from a 41 percent market share
to 45 percent while 486DX systems' share grew from four to six
percent and 486SX-based microcomputer sales held steady with
about three percent of the market.

(John McCormick/19920514/Press Contact: Nancy Pressel, Intel,
408-765-4483)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 14 Noise Cancellation Wins Important New Patent 05/14/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(WAS)(00010)

Noise Cancellation Wins Important New Patent 05/14/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 14 (NB) -- Noise
Cancellation Technologies, Stamford, Connecticut, in the news
last week for acquiring the rights to an innovative multi-transducer
noise reduction system, is again making news with the award of
US Patent Number 5,105,377 which eliminates some of the
hardware needed in previous sound cancellation systems sold
by the company.

Noise Cancellation Technology's system uses a feedback method
to deaden unwanted sounds. The previous system involved the use
of a sound pickup, a real-time processor to create interfering
sounds, and a transducer to inject the new sounds. The system
works because noise (and sound) is a pattern of weak compression
waves in air or other materials, and by countering those waves with
a near identical, but out-of-phase opposing set of waves the
overall noise/sound level is reduced electronically.

Digital Virtual Earth technology, covered by the newly awarded
patent, makes the entire system less expensive and complex by
eliminating the need for a sample of the noise which was
previously required to key the interfering sound.

The company says that field tests have shown noise level
reductions of 80 percent using the new system, accompanied by
a 20 percent increase in efficiency of the machine being used (a
bulk vacuum loading system for railcars). This is possible
because noise isn't just annoying, it is a sign of inefficiency,
and eliminating noise results in reduced wear and tear on
equipment plus, in some cases, actual increased efficiency.
Noise cancellation technology (the idea, not the company) is just
one more way that people are benefiting from computers they
never see or know about.

(John McCormick/19920514/Press Contact: Dennis A. Miller,
NCT, 203-961-0500)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 14 Cray Research '92 Earnings Will Be Lower Than Expected 05/14/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00011)

Cray Research '92 Earnings Will Be Lower Than Expected 05/14/92
EAGAN, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 14 (NB) -- Cray Research
has announced that 1992 earnings will be lower than expected due
to lower  anticipated gross profit levels. The company said earnings
could be as much as 20 percent lower than last year.

Trading on Cray Research stock was halted temporarily when the
company notified the stock exchanges about its intended
announcement.  The exchanges routinely halt active trading on a
stock when an announcement which will affect the price of the
stock is about to be made.

At the same time, Cray said it expects 1992 revenues to be
about 10 percent higher and anticipates what it described as "a
substantially  improved year-end order backlog."  A backlog
indicates orders are higher than manufacturing capacity, and is
considered a good sign.

According to Cray Chairman John Rollwagen, the company
anticipates a four to five percent deterioration of its gross profit
margin below what was planned.  Rollwagen said the falloff was
caused principally by higher component costs on lower volumes for
mid-range products. Other factors cited were: lower yields on new
technologies still in early production; a product mix moving toward
more low end, low margin systems; and continuing competitive
pressures and lower estimates for upgrade business in 1992.

Rollwagen said Cray was instituting several cost reduction
measures to help offset the impact of the lower margins.  He said
the company would maintain its current staffing level and would limit
operating expense levels.  Those expenses increased about four
percent in 1991, and Cray Research spokesperson Frank Parisi
told Newsbytes the company intends to maintain that same level
as the company moves into 1993.

Regarding staffing, Parisi told Newsbytes that the company does
not plan to increase its staffing, but will replace essential personnel
as needed. "Hiring freezes never work," he said.  Parisi said some
shuffling of jobs might occur, which could include some staff
workers being reassigned to sales positions.

Cray recently announced a new series of supercomputers with, what
the company claims, are the largest central memories ever offered
in the computer industry.  The new systems come in three frame
sizes: the Y-MP M92 will have two processors; the Y-MP M94 will
have four processors; and the Y-MP M98 will have eight processors.
The M92 can be configured with as much as 32 gigabytes, or four
gigawords (four billion words) of central memory capacity. Pricing
for the M98 begins at under $10 million for US sales.  Rollwagen
said three years ago eight-processor Cray Research supercomputer
systems started at more than $23 million.  International pricing will
vary by country, he said.

Cray said AT&T Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey, has
already ordered an M92 system for installation later in the year.
AT&T said the new system would be used for research related to
integrated circuit design, physics, chemistry, numerical methods,
and speech processing.

According to N.L. Schryer, head of the labs computing
mathematics research department: "the M92 can cost effectively
solve problems we couldn't tackle before, such as complex three
dimensional models of ultra-small semiconductor devices and the
human vocal tract."

Rollwagen said the new systems are compatible with the current
Y-MP Model E and the C90 supercomputers, but are designed to
address different type problems.  He cited an example of new car
design.  In the past the fenders and other body panels have been
modeled separately, then tied together. "The large central memories
of the Cray Y-MP M90 systems allow the entire automobile body
to be modeled at one time," he said.

(Jim Mallory/19920514/Press contact: Frank Parisi, Cray
Research, 612-683-7130)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 14 Zeos Loses $1.9 Million In First Quarter 05/14/92




(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00012)

Zeos Loses $1.9 Million In First Quarter 05/14/92
ST PAUL, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 14 (NB) -- PC maker
Zeos International has announced that it lost $1.9 million, or $0.22
per fully diluted share for the quarter ending March 31.

Zeos reported net sales of $59.1 million, compared to $59.2 million
for the same period last year. The difference in overall results was
in net earnings, with the company reporting earnings of $2.4
million, or $0.35 cents per share for the same period last year.

Zeos said the decline in sales and earnings was primarily due to
intense competition in the PC business, and the resultant
downward pressure on prices and profit margins.

"It's no secret that the personal computer business is currently
going through a period of intense competition that is unavoidably
impacting our financial performance as well as others in the
industry," said Zeos Chairman and CEO Gregory Herrick.

Herrick pointed out that the company had predicted these facts
and their probable result when Zeos announced its 1991 year-end
financials.

According to Herrick, the company experienced some increases
in sales and marketing expenses as well as research and
development costs during the first quarter.  However, he said, the
company has reduced operating expenses by $1.2 million
compared to the 1991 fourth quarter.  Zeos says it is continuing
to review product costs and other expenses, trying to find other
ways to cut costs.

Zeos said it derives about 69 percent of its sales from the desktop
market, while 21 percent comes from notebook products.  The
remainder is from non-systems revenue.  In 1991, the product mix
was 55 percent for desktop and 42 percent for notebook systems.

Zeos also said the shortage of its most popular notebook product
during the first half of the first quarter of 1992 was a factor in
the quarter's results.

Zeos has also announced a vendor agreement which will allow
Sam's  Wholesale Club, a nationwide 215-store membership
warehouse chain to sell a new line of Zeos Performance Systems.
Zeos said the new line was developed specifically for small
business and home office customers.

(Jim Mallory/19920514/Press Contact: John Bakewell, Zeos,
612-635-1419)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 14 Traveling Software Opens French Subsidiary 05/14/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00013)

Traveling Software Opens French Subsidiary 05/14/92
BOTHELL, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 14 (NB) -- Traveling
Software (TS), best known for its products that link notebook or
laptop computers to desktop systems and transfer files between
those systems, has announced the opening of a French subsidiary.

TS says the French office, located in Paris, will distribute its
entire product line, including the French version of LapLink Pro,
directly to key distributors and major portable original equipment
manufacturers (OEMs).

Chris Arden, formerly commercial director with French republisher AB
Soft has been appointed director of sales and marketing for Traveling
Software S.A.R.L, the new subsidiary.  Jonathan Scott, chief
operating officer for TS, said the company opened the Paris office
to handle the growth of its user base in France and other European
markets.  European sales account for about 22 percent of total
revenues, and showed a 60 percent growth rate this year,
Newsbytes learned.

In addition to the new office, TS has corporate headquarters in
Bothell, Washington; a sales office in Washington, D.C.; a United
Kingdom subsidiary in Windsor, England; and an office in Tokyo.
TS products are produced in seven languages.

TS products include LapLink Pro; Battery Watch, a product to let
the user know about how much time remains on a laptop battery;
DeskLink; LapLink Mac; and WinConnect. It has licensing
agreements with  CompuAdd, Epson, Grid, NC, AST, Samsung,
Sharp Electronics, Texas Instruments, and Toshiba to bundle its
products with their laptops.

TS is planning to announce a major OEM deal later this month,
according to a TS spokesperson Newsbytes spoke with. While
declining to specify the company, Elaina Holland told Newsbytes
the deal, "will be a significant boost for TS."

(Jim Mallory/19920514/Press Contact: Elaina Holland, Traveling
Software, 206-483-8088)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 14 Lotus Pres Predicts Network/Mobile Computing Apps Growth 05/14/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SFO)(00014)

Lotus Pres Predicts Network/Mobile Computing Apps Growth 05/14/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., MAY 14, 1992 (NB) --
Applications specifically aimed at portable computers and
distributed networks are the hottest new opportunities for software
vendors, said Jim Manzi, president and CEO of Lotus Development,
in a keynote speech at Electro '92, an electronics trade show.

Right now, the growth rate for PC network connections is about 30
to 40 percent a year, and the figure for laptops, notebooks and pen
computers will probably meet the same level soon, stated Manzi.
To take advantage of these trends, developers must move from a
"datacentric" to a "commcentric" model of computing, he
emphasized.

A view that rests on vertical and hierarchical data processing must
now be replaced with a vision focused on horizontal and
collaborative information sharing, explained Manzi, whose own
company has sold more than 10 million copies of Lotus 1-2-3, and
millions of copies of other software packages, as well.

New applications should also be geared to organizing, as opposed
to simply generating, information, said Manzi. "The fixation of the
eighties was 'I need information.' But information has no particular
value in and of itself," he said. "You have to (use the information
to) produce goods and services."

Over the past decade, about a trillion dollars has been spent on
hardware, software, systems integration, and computer training.
Meanwhile, he added, the volume of information has been doubling
every eight years.  But users are finding it tough to keep up with
the data, and organizations are hard pressed to show solid returns
on investments.

Groupware programs are one way of getting past these problems,
he advised.  By enabling farflung employees to pool their ideas and
knowledge, groupware capitalizes on the intellectual resources of
the organization, boosting productivity in the process, he
contended.

Another new type of application employs the network server to go
out and gather information for users, he pointed out.  "We and
others," said Manzi, "are building networks where the server has
the opportunity to browse and synthesize data from a variety of
sources."

Upcoming applications should address the increasing mobile
orientation of networks, he stressed.  The latest high-speed
modems are already providing dialup communications of almost
40 Kbps, nearly as fast as a 50 to 60 Kbps leased line, he
indicated. "Certainly, in our business, mobile computing will
define the leading edge for the next five years or so," he said.

The spread of computing to portables will extend PC software
beyond administrative functions, such as word processing and
spread sheets, added Manzi.  "We're talking here about a whole
new group of users - marketers, sellers, financial people, and other
professionals.  The application opportunities are revolutionary."

For mobile computing to meet its full potential, though, laptops
and pen computers will have to be connected to the legacy
hardware of the seventies and eighties, he observed.  In addition,
standardization will need to occur.  "Otherwise, we'll get into
vendor-to-vendor proprietary battles that will shut things down
from the customer's perspective," he remarked.

In developing portable computing and network software, said Manzi,
companies should guard against fallacies held by two groups in the
industry, he said.  The "desktop community" believes in "upsizing"
information, or trying to make a single-user applications relevant
to the network, he maintained.

In contrast, the "enterprise community" adheres to "downsizing,"
or moving applications written for mainframes and dumb terminals
on to networks, he noted. But neither upsizing or downsizing makes
adequate use of the specific technologies of the client/server
architecture.

Additionally, the desktop community fails to see the essential
differences between desktop and mobile hardware, he reported.
"I really think the desktop camp sees laptops and pen computers
merely as smaller PCs - for running smaller word processors and
smaller spreadsheets," he said.

The enterprise group, on the other hand, considers laptops and pen
computers to be "distractions," stated Manzi. "This is because
portable computers don't fit into the business model of the early
eighties, in which offices were connected by SNA-type networks.
The notion of a network that connects, let's say, with a traveling
salesman, does not fit neatly into the way they think," he said.

In closing, Manzi illustrated how groupware can bring productivity
with a tale about his own use of one groupware program, Lotus
Notes.  On a recent worldwide business tour, he said, he received
several requests from users to integrate Lotus Notes with some
sort of project management application.

When he returned from the trip, he decided to drop a brief
message into his company's Lotus Notes database, asking
employees for ideas on how these requests might be met.

An hour or two after leaving his note, the company president heard
back from a Lotus employee in the United Kingdom, whose name
was unfamiliar to him at the time. "Nigel Thomas sent me a
message telling me that a VAR (value-added reseller) in Germany
had developed a project management system, and suggesting we
might license the system," Manzi recalled.

The very next day, Manzi got a message from the VAR, who was
already connected to the Lotus network by virtue of being a Lotus
partner. "The VAR described his product for me, and offered to
send me a business proposal within a day," he said.

The same results might have taken weeks to achieve, or might
never have happened at all, if he had followed the traditional
method of meeting with an R&D director and waiting for the
matter to filter down through channels, he asserted.

"As it was, we had an answer within two and a half days.  And to
tell you the truth, we are now in the process of acquiring that
VAR, because their products are so terrific," he stated.
"Organizations today need to seize market opportunities, share
expertise internally, and reduce time to market. This is a great
example of a 'win' in all these areas."

Electro '92 goes on through today at the John B. Hynes
Auditorium in Boston.  The show is being sponsored by the New
England and New York chapters of the IEEE (Institute of Electical
& Electronics Engineers) and ERA (Electronics Representatives
Association).

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920514)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 14 Bell Update: Ameritech Wins One, But Still Worries 05/14/92

(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00015)

Bell Update: Ameritech Wins One, But Still Worries 05/14/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 14 (NB) -- Illinois Bell
won  a major victory before its state legislature, but its chairman
remains worried.

Ameritech Cchairman William L. Weiss, who a year ago urged his
brethren to stop fighting the entrance of competition into their
local phone business, told a conference sponsored by "Telephony"
magazine that local phone companies will not exist as they do
today in another decade. Instead, he predicted, wired and wireless
networks of all kinds will become an integrated mass, from which
service suppliers will simply buy capacity. He said regulators,
Congress and the courts need to develop a coherent policy to
manage such a hybrid network, and companies like his which
descend from the Bell system need to listen better to customers
instead of their own technological "pipe dreams."

The Illinois legislature, meanwhile, passed a bill favored by
Illinois Bell giving it rate caps and other favorable treatment.
More than half the states have approved similar bills, based on
Bell promises to improve the technological infrastructure if
profit limits are lifted. Governor Jim Edgar, a Republican
elected in 1990, is expected to sign the bill, which also forces
Illinois Bell to put its data, news and cable operations into a
separate subsidiary, a policy already followed by some Bell
companies, including BellSouth.

Elsewhere, the beat of foreign investment by the Bells continues.
Nynex, which serves the northeast US, said it will build a
fiber cable network between the UK and Japan, running through
India. The $1 billion project, dubbed the Fiberoptic Link Around
the Globe, would not be finished until 1996. Its capacity and
equity would be sold to other telecom companies, as with
similar trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific cables, but Nynex would
take a lead equity stake. The cable would be able to handle up to
600,000 simultaneous conversations and run 24,000 kilometers.

All the Bells remain poised for a Federal Communications
Commission decision regarding access charges, which are
payments made by long distance companies for access to local
networks. Currently, these amount to about 50 cents per call, but
in a recent decision involving pay phones, the FCC ruled that a
charge of 40 cents per call would be appropriate. The new formula
would likely benefit AT&T, and hurt smaller competitors since
it would be based on services provided by the Bells, rather than
mere call volumes.

The Bells, meanwhile, are all gung-ho to provide new digital
services within their service regions. US West signed a contract
wiht AT&T for switches which will let it offer frame relay and
multi-megabit services throughout its network. And BellSouth
announced plans to offer such services in its major markets,
including Atlanta, Miami, Nashville, and Charlotte, with plans to
expand throughout the region.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920514/Press Contact: Ameritech, Steve
Ford, Ameritech, 312-750-5205; AT&T, Ray Zardetto, 201-606-2454;
US West, Terri Howell, 402-422-3587; BellSouth, David. W. Rogers,
404-529-8053)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 14  ****AT&T Launches New Anti-Fraud Campaign 05/14/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00016)

 ****AT&T Launches New Anti-Fraud Campaign 05/14/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 14 (NB) -- AT&T,
which has run into legal trouble over telecom fraud, since it sells
both switches and long distance services, has launched a new
program to combat the problem.

Calling fraud costs about $1 billion annually, according to an
industry group, and it cost AT&T a nasty lawsuit from valued
customer last year. Mitsubishi charged that the company should
have taken more responsibility when phone freaks broke into its
AT&T PBX (private branch exchange) to steal AT&T long distance
services.

AT&T NetProtect includes products, services and education aimed
at both residential and commercial customers.

First, AT&T said it has begun monitoring toll-free 800 service to
prevent thieves from using its network to commit fraud.  Second,
it said that starting in August it will start monitoring international
links to countries experiencing large amounts of fraud, like
Columbia, and add other security measures to its domestic
toll-free service. Once fraud is detected, customers will be
notified, the company said.

Services to be sold under the NetProtect label include a type of
insurance against paying for international and toll-free fraud over
$25,000 per month, an offering Sprint began making in March,
and a more expensive insurance program with no deductible at all.
Also, for $1,995 its large customers can buy software called
"Hacker Tracker" to tell them about unusual calling patterns, or
for $150 per hour they can buy AT&T services which attempt to
stop fraud while it is in progress.

Previously the company installed software in its network to
detect unusual calling activity with its calling cards and
remove them from service. This is aimed at thieves who, either
with spy glasses or sharp ears, learn the calling card numbers
of valid customers, then sell international services off those
numbers from pay phones. Drug dealers are frequent purchasers
of such services, since it not only lets them call at a discount,
but hides their identity and location.

"Long distance fraud is a serious criminal problem, and we
believe AT&T should stand squarely with our customers against
the criminals who steal their service," said Joseph P. Nacchio,
president of AT&T's Business Communications Services unit, in a
press statement. "We are taking the necessary steps to help our
customers prevent fraud and limit their liability when it does
occur."

The offerings are subject to FCC approval, which is expected, and
would become official August 1.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920514/Press Contact: AT&T, Bob
Nersesian, 908-221-2305)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 14 Chicago Online Service Launched 05/14/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00017)

Chicago Online Service Launched 05/14/92
VIENNA, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 14 (NB) -- America
Online launched its joint venture with the Chicago Tribune -- a
service called Chicago Online.

It is the first "local edition" of the America Online on-line
service, and will feature Chicago-area news, sports, and
information about local entertainment and activities as well as
classified advertising from the Chicago Tribune. As with the
America Online service, the system also offers electronic mail
and conferences. Subscribers will also have access to the
complete America Online service which features software
libraries and computing support, as well as on-line classes.

The Tribune Company said its area businesses, including the
Chicago Tribune, WGN Radio, WGN TV and the Chicago Cubs
baseball team, all participated in developing and supplying the
information for Chicago Online.  Local schools, businesses,
community and cultural institutions were also tapped for content
contributions. Software will be free, and will include five free hours
of on-line time in the first month. After that, access costs $7.95
per month with two hours free, and additional usage at 10 cents
per minute.

Chicago Online enters a crowded market which includes hundreds
of free bulletin board systems, but the company hopes its
copyrighted content, as well as the America Online icon-based
software, will make it successful. Chicago Online is the first
product of a strategic alliance announced last October. The two
companies hope to launch other branches of the service in other
markets where the Tribune publishes newspapers, including
Florida.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920514/Press Contact: Liz Sara, America
Online, Inc., 703-883-1503; Jeffrey Bierig, Tribune Company, 312-
222-3920)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 14 BT Forms EDI Alliance With Legent 05/14/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00018)

BT Forms EDI Alliance With Legent 05/14/92
VIENNA, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 14 (NB) -- British Telecom,
which a day earlier extended its worldwide EDI (electronic data
interchange) network to more countries around the world, has signed
an alliance with Legent to provide EDI systems for mainframes
using 2780/3780 bisync transfers. The new system is said to be
five times faster than current systems.

The interface will transmit EDI documents using Legent's STX
product for non-SNA access and BT North America's premier EDI
Net global network services. As part of an introductory promotion,
a free trial period is being offered to new customers wishing to
use the service.

Earlier, BT had announced the availability of its EDI Net service
in new locations like Korea and Taiwan, so companies can do
business using electronic invoices there without having to go
through the complex process of making separate agreements
with each national PTT and creating expensive audit trails to
track invoices.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920514/Press Contact: Legent, Pam
McGraw, 703-734-9494)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 14 US Phone Services Expand Into Canada 05/14/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00019)

US Phone Services Expand Into Canada 05/14/92
MONTREAL, CANADA, 1991 MAY 14 (NB) -- In-Flight Phone,
started by Airfone founder John Goeken after, he said, GTE did
him wrong after buying his company, won a license to provide
service in Canada. The license was granted to In-Flight Phone
Canada, a unit of In-Flight Phone International.

The company has built its new system in the US and Canada
using digital technology instead of the analog system used by
Airfone, which the company said offers better service. The
company will offer both voice and data services, and has a
number of information providers providing stock quotes, electronic
games, and other on-line offerings. IFP Canada has signed
agreements with a number of Canadian companies that will
supply key communications equipment and network services.
Negotiations with air carriers are currently underway.

Cue Network, which uses radio stations to offer a nationwide
paging service in competition with satellite-delivered offerings
like SkyTel and MobileComm, also moved its service into Canada.

Cue's US network uses 300 radio stations, each covering  8,000
square miles, to offer paging service to over 90 percent of the
US population and more than 35,000 miles of interstate
highways. Starting June 1, the company will also provide cover
through radio stations in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Windsor,
Toronto, Montreal, Kingston, and Guelph. Later during the
summer, service will be extended to Ottawa, Quebec City, Trois
Rivieres, Sherbrooke, and London. The North American coverage
pattern will also include Alaska, with stations being installed
in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau in July.

Cue will compete directly with MobileComm, a BellSouth company
with a satellite-based system, which also expanded into Canada.
The new company will be a partnership with Mobile Canada, which
is a consortium of Canadian paging operations. The new service
wil be launched in the third quarter, and will be marketed by
both partners.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920514/Press Contact: In-Flight Phone
International, Darren S. Leno, 708/573-2660; Kristin Donaldson,
CUE Network, 714-752-9200; MobileComm, Johnny Hales,
601-977-1656)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 14  ****IntelSat 6 Satellite Rescued 05/14/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00020)

 ****IntelSat 6 Satellite Rescued 05/14/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 14 (NB) -- In front of a
worldwide television audience over CNN and the C-Span cable
networks, three astronauts from the Space Shuttle Endeavour
successfully rescued the $157 million Intelsat 6 satellite from a
bad orbit.

Two previous tries at retrieving the satellite, which was
originally boosted into space by an unmanned Titan rocket,
failed. The single astronaut sent into space could not get a
grappling hook around the massive satellite, which was the last
in a new series of satellites designed by the international
satellite consortium to provide TV and telephone service
worldwide. When it was first launched, in 1990, the satellite's
auxiliary rockets failed to fire, leaving it orbiting the Earth
230 miles up rather than in a fixed position over the Earth
22,300 miles up.

Pierre Thuot, Richard Hieb, and Thomas Akers, however, worked
together the wrestle the satellite into the shuttle's cargo bay,
where a new rocket was bolted on. It was the first time three
men had ever worked together outside a spacecraft, giving the
lie to the idea that machines, not men, belong alone in space.
Intelsat paid $93 million for the job, $46 million for the new
booster and about $10 million to set up a ground station in
Africa to help control the satellite. A new satellite would have
cost $120 million more than the attempted repair, the
consortium  said.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920514)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 14 Cap Gemini Sogeti Seeking Financial Partners 05/14/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00021)

Cap Gemini Sogeti Seeking Financial Partners 05/14/92
PARIS, FRANCE, 1992 MAY 14 (NB) -- Cap Gemini has
announced it is actively courting financial partners to join
Daimler-Benz as investor in its parent company, Sogeti.
According to Serge Kampf, Cap Gemini's chairman, a number
of potential suitors have emerged in recent weeks, but he is
declining to name names.

Daimler-Benz took a one third stake in Sogeti a year ago, when
officials said they were looking for partners. That search has
now intensified, resulting in a number of possible suitors,
officials said.

Ironically, if a suitor does not materialize, then both Cap Gemini
and Daimler-Benz could end up having to renegotiate, as
the original agreement stipulates that Daimler will not seek to
exert any control over Cap Gemini for three years after the
agreement is signed, hence the one third capped limit on its
stake in the company.

Although officials have declined to say who Cap Gemini or
Daimler are talking to, press sources suggest that a link-up with
France Telecom may be possible. Both Cap Gemini and France
Telecom were "discussing matters" last August when Mercedes
stepped in to take a stake in the company. France Telecom
already has a 17 percent stake in Sogeti.

(Steve Gold/19920514)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 14 Lotus Claims Freelance Graphics Best Presentation Pkg 05/14/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00022)

Lotus Claims Freelance Graphics Best Presentation Pkg 05/14/92
STAINES, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 14 (NB) -- Lotus
Development has announced the results of a three month
independent survey into the usability of its presentation
graphics software for the PC.

The survey, undertaken by Usability Sciences of Texas, shows
that Lotus' Freelance outscored Harvard Graphics, its closest
competitor, on all of the 27 criteria measured. From the results,
it appears that 92 percent of those questioned preferred
Freelance Graphics to other software.

Interestingly, users claimed they finished their work 27 percent
faster with Freelance Graphics than average. The package also
boosts productivity, the survey shows, with users completing 96
percent of a test presentation with Freelance Graphics as against
84 percent with Harvard Graphics.

Commenting on the survey results, Steve Jack, Lotus UK's product
marketing manager, said that, "every software developer believes
that its product is a better buy than its competitors, but at the
end of the day its the independent verdicts that people listen to."
These results should really end the argument over which product
is both the easiest to use and the most productive. If you think
of what people are using presentation graphics for -- to create
their own instant presentations -- this will show there's only
one choice at the moment."

Usability Sciences was contracted by Lotus for a study to
compare the productivity, effectiveness and satisfaction or PC
users while using Freelance Graphics for Windows and Harvard
Graphics for Windows for the first time. Lotus claims that, while it
commissioned the study, users were never told of the study's
sponsor, so as to ensure the independence of the research.

In addition to making a product comparison, users were asked
for their most important criteria when choosing a presentation
package. The results were surprising, with the ability to
complete a presentation topping the list, followed by print
quality and ease of use in the top three.

(Steve Gold/19920514/Press & Public Contact: Lotus
Development Corporation, tel(UK) 0784-455445)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 14 UK: Wordperfect Intros Print Gateway Package 05/14/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00023)

UK: Wordperfect Intros Print Gateway Package 05/14/92
ADDLESTONE, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 14 (NB) --
Wordperfect has announced the availability of the Wordperfect Print
Gateway for System 370 VMTM operating system-based computers.
The package enables PC users of Wordperfect to gain access to
mainframe-linked high-speed printers on a shared basis.

The technology does not come cheaply, however. Wordperfect is
charging UKP 2,025 for a site license, although company officials
were at pains to point out that the license covers a whole company
rather than just one computer, although only on a per-connection
basis.

In use, the package includes both PC and mainframe components
which provide what Wordperfect claims is a transparent mechanism
for transporting printer data streams generated on workstations
to the mainframe. Once the data is on the mainframe, it can be
spooled to the relevant printer as required.

"Now PC users can take advantage of high-speed printers on the
mainframe. We have had a number of requests and are trying to
fill a need in the industry, and as far as we are aware. we are
unique in this particular area," said David Godwin, general
manager for sales and marketing with Wordperfect UK.

(Steve Gold/19920514/Press & Public Contact: Wordperfect UK,
tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 14 UK: Andest Drops Fax Software, Signs New Distributor 05/14/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00024)

UK: Andest Drops Fax Software, Signs New Distributor 05/14/92
MILTON KEYNES, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 14 (NB) -- Andest
Communications has rebelled against a price rise for Iconographics
Faxnow! software which Andest bundles with its fax modems. As
a result, Andest has suspended supplying the package and is
looking for an alternative.

In parallel with the fax software problems, Andest has signed up
P&P Distribution and Northamber to handle its products.

"Iconographics price hike made the product a non-viable
proposition for distribution," explained Andest Managing Director
Tony Sellers. "We are currently deep in negotiation with another
supplier of fax software and expect to make an announcement
on a new product offering very soon," he added.

On the distribution front, Sellers said that both P&P and
Northamber were keen to stock the company's modems. "This
brings our distribution network back to full strength following the
refocusing of our company on our own Roadrunner range rather
than the Worldport products and highlights the impact that the
Roadrunner range is having on the market," he said.

Andest recently dropped the Worldport modem range after the
US producers Touchbase, were taken over by US Robotics. USR is
the parent company of Miracom, one of Andest's rivals. When the
take-over occurred a year ago, an uneasy agreement between
Andest and Miracom was out in place, but this was severed earlier
this month.

"The Worldport range has a good reputation in this country
largely due to Andest's efforts n the past, but demand is now
declining rapidly as the Roadrunner converges on Worldport's
position as we have a wider and technically superior range of
products and are marketing them more effectively," Sellers said.

(Steve Gold/19920514/Press & Public Contact: Andest
Communications, 0908-263300)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 14 UK: Elonex Triples PC Production Capacity 05/14/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00025)

UK: Elonex Triples PC Production Capacity 05/14/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 14 (NB) -- Elonex has announced
that it has opened an automated production line at its London
headquarters. The new production line has enabled the direct
supply PC company to triple its PC output to more than 1,000
machines a day.

According to Israel Wetrin, Elonex's founder and managing
director, the automation of the production line should enable the
company to meet anticipated demand for PCs over the coming
year.

The project has cost UKP 1 million to implement and will
eventually employ around 200 staff. It will cut the cost of
production significantly.

"We brought in top production expertise and experience in order
to enhance efficiency and, by so doing, keep our costs and prices
down," said Wetrin.

"We had to modify conventional production technology because
our need to build machines to individual customer order. The
new line gives us the best of both worlds; that is we (and our
customers) enjoy the benefits of more cost-effective production
methods while retaining the bespoke service we have always
prided ourselves on," he added.

(Steve Gold/19920514/Press & Public Contact: Elonex, tel 081-
452-4444, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 14 Sale Of IBM Canada's ROLM Business Completed 05/14/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00026)

Sale Of IBM Canada's ROLM Business Completed 05/14/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAY 14 (NB) -- Norstan
Canada, a subsidiary of the communications services company
Norstan Inc, of Maple Grove, Minnesota, has completed the
acquisition of IBM Canada's ROLM marketing and service business.

The business sells and services telecommunications products from
ROLM, in which IBM recently sold its half interest to the German
firm Siemens, its partner in ROLM for several years.

The sale was announced in January and was originally due to be
completed by March. Terms have not been released. IBM Canada
spokesman Stan Didzbalis told Newsbytes the sale is "consistent
with the restructuring we're going through." About 140 IBM Canada
employees -- virtually all who worked with the ROLM products --
have moved to Norstan Canada.

Norstan said the purchase adds an additional 350 customers, with
1,000 installation sites and 250,000 ports, to its North American
customer base.

Norstan Canada, which officially began operations April 1,
currently has 160 employees and offices in 11 cities across
Canada.

Under a separate agreement, Norstan and IBM Canada have agreed
to cooperate in the marketing of ROLM products throughout Canada.
Norstan is working with IBM Canada to become an IBM business
partner for the marketing of certain IBM voice/data products.

(Grant Buckler/19920514/Press Contact: Patrick Brink, Norstan,
612-420-1146; or Stan Didzbalis, IBM Canada, 416-474-3900 or
800-563-2139)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 14 ****Lotus Unveils 1-2-3 For DOS Release 2.4 05/14/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00027)

 ****Lotus Unveils 1-2-3 For DOS Release 2.4 05/14/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 14 (NB) --
Lotus  Development has updated its two-dimensional spreadsheet
package for DOS. 1-2-3 for DOS release 2.4 adds a handful of
features previously found only in Lotus' higher-powered spreadsheet
packages.

Lotus also said an update to its three-dimensional DOS
spreadsheet, Lotus 1-2-3 for DOS Release 3.4, will be available
this fall.

Among the new features in Release 2.4 are SmartIcons, which
provide one-click access to frequently used commands. These first
appeared in 1-2-3 for Windows. Backsolver, a single-or multi-variable
goal-seeking tool, has also been added to Release 2.4 -- it was
already available in some other versions of 1-2-3. Finally, the new
version sports expanded support for popular printers.

While the new release adds some features found in the Windows
version of 1-2-3, Larry Roshfeld, the product manager, said it
remains a subset of the Windows version and of Release 3.3 for
DOS. Features found in those versions that are not in 2.4 include
three-dimensional spreadsheet capability, the ability to query and
update external database files, and improved memory management,
he said.

Roshfeld said Release 2.4 is: "the small one, the fast one, it's
graphical, and it runs on all PCs."

Lotus said the software is now shipping and will be widely
available during the week of May 25. International English, French,
and German versions have also begun shipping. Spanish, Swedish,
Italian, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, and Portuguese versions will be
available in 30 to 60 days, Lotus officials said.

The suite of more than 70 SmartIcons that ship with the product
provides quick access to worksheet and graphing commands,
Lotus said. Examples are: the ability to put text into bold face or
italics, or underline it; the ability to sum a row, column, or
range of numbers; and one-step printing and graphing. Users can
also create their own SmartIcons to run macros, or set up their own
SmartIcon palettes of frequently used spreadsheet commands.

1-2-3 for DOS Release 2.4 runs on any DOS-based personal
computer and does not require extended or expanded memory. It
requires an IBM PC or compatible with an 8088 or higher
microprocessor, at least 384 kilobytes (KB) of memory, a hard
disk and DOS 2.1 or higher. WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-
you-get, meaning the ability to see documents exactly as they
will be printed) demands 512 KB of memory.

The suggested retail prices for 1-2-3 Release 2.4 Standard,
Network Server and Network Node Editions are $495, $795, and
$495, respectively. Customers who bought a version of 1-2-3 on
or between November 1, 1991, and May 31, 1992, can upgrade
for a suggested retail price of $49.  The upgrade is available to
all other licensed 1-2-3, Microsoft Excel and Quattro Pro users
for a suggested retail price of $150.

Lotus said it will also offer a combined "Double Up for DOS"
upgrade to 1-2-3 for DOS Release 2.4 with Freelance Graphics for
DOS 4.0 in June for a suggested retail price of $229.

Lotus 1-2-3 for DOS Release 3.4, to ship this fall, will have
SmartIcons, additional memory management capabilities,
performance enhancements, and new and improved printer drivers,
including landscape printing on dot-matrix printers.

(Grant Buckler/19920513/Press Contact: Alexandra Trevelyan,
Lotus, 617-693-1580)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 14 Mass Storage Battle: Micro Drives Vs Flash Memory Cards 05/14/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00027)

Mass Storage Battle: Micro Drives Vs Flash Memory Cards 05/14/92
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 14 (NB) --
The lower cost and increased storage capacity of flash memory
cards is expected to give microdisk drive mass storage technology
a run for its money. But a new study says the microdisk drives
are expected to still dominate mass storage technology by a
ratio of 2:3 by 1998.

Until recently, flash memory, or memory that can maintain the
information stored in it even when the power source is off, was too
small in storage capacity to be considered. However the new moves
in increased storage for flash memory and miniaturization have
brought credit-card sized flash memory cards into serious
contention with microdisk drives.

Market Intelligence, in its recently released study, predicts both
technologies will grow substantially from the $1 billion market in
1991 to more than $12 million by 1998.

Both Intel and AT&T have introduced flash memory devices for
personal computers. While the Intel cards are less expensive
they require a special interface and special software. The AT&T
cards, however, boast the advantage of an standard IDE
(Integrated Drive Electronics) hard disk interface, so they look
to the computer just like a hard disk drive.

Flash memory currently has the advantage of being removeable,
more rugged, more reliable, lighter, faster, and saves on power
consumption, MI said. But the fact that it is more expensive and
was only recently introduced will hold it back from dominance
in the future as a standard technology, MI added.

MI says the price gap between flash memory and microdisk drives
should narrow dramatically, which would make flash memory more
attractive. But rumblings of advances in microdisk or spin-drives
that are cheaper, more rugged, easy on power consumption, and as
light- weight as flash memory cards will hurt flash memory in the
race for dominance, MI added.

MI is predicting that flash memory cards will hold 40 percent of the
combined total mass storage market by 1995. Even though the cards
are more expensive now, specialized applications such as hardware
for harsh industrial environments, supermarket point-of-sale terminals,
medical monitoring, avionics, and digital camera are expected to be
dominated by flash memory cards, MI said.

Microdisk drives 2.5-inches and smaller are now dominant in data
collection devices like hand-held terminals and portable medical
diagnostic equipment, according to MI. The smaller "form-facter" 1.8-
inch and smaller drives are used for the smallest hand-held computers
including palm-top, pen-based, and sub-notebook sizes, MI added.
Even smaller 1.3 and 1-inch drives are expected by the mid 1990's,
MI maintains.

Profit margins might be higher in flash memory, MI hinted. In the
microdisk market the product life cycle is only 2 to 3 years as
smaller drives are replaced by consumer demand by larger capacity
drives. Further, profit margins are low due to the heavy competition,
the company said.

Not a surprise, MI said the Japanese are likely to move into the
US market share in the 90's. Price competition is expected to
increasingly move US companies "offshore" to the Far East to cut
labor costs, MI added.

Mountain View, California based MI describes itself as specializing
in research in high-technology markets. The company says it gets
its information from interviews with marketing and technical experts
in each market segment.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920514/Press Contact: Amy Arnell, Market
Intelligence, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 14  ****Sega Pays Inventor $43M Patent Infringement Settlement 05/14/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LAX)(00029)

 ****Sega Pays Inventor $43M Patent Infringement Settlement 05/14/92
REDWOOD CITY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 14 (NB) --
Sega has announced it will pay inventor Jan Coyle $43 million in
settlement of a patent lawsuit Coyle brought against the video game
maker giant. Coyle's attorney Fredrick Lorig told Newsbytes Coyle
also sued video game makers Nintendo and Atari, but those suits
were settled earlier out-of-court.

Coyle won the suit in April when a jury handed down a verdict that
Sega had deliberately infringed on his invention which involves the
display of color images on a video-screen via low-frequency audio
signals. The audio signals control the "sprites," the figures that
move in the foreground against the still background, like the Mario
characters or Sonic the Hedgehog.

Lorig said because the jury found Sega's infringement to be
deliberate the award could be tripled. With the addition of
attorney's fees, the award could have cost Sega as much as
$100 million.

At the time Sega representative Brian Webster told Newsbytes
Sega planned to appeal the verdict. Coyle's patent, originally filed in
1975, is scheduled to run out in August of this year. Lorig told
Newsbytes at the time of the verdict his client planned to request an
injunction to halt the sale of Sega products until the case was
settled.

Sega says the $43 million settlement ends the legal battle and it is
free from any future liabilities. Tom Kalinske, president and chief
executive officer of Sega of America said in a prepared statement:
"We decided to settle this case so we could eliminate any confusion
in the marketplace about our healthy position and our ability to
compete aggressively."

Sega may be cleaning up its act to present a better image in the see-
saw suit it is currently engaged in against Accolade. The company
has charged Accolade with copyright infringement. Michael Crick,
president of third-party software development company for Nintendo
machines, Mica, says Sega is simply trying to use the copyright law
to prevent Accolade from marketing compatible cartridges for its
hardware.

Accolade claims Sega changed its hardware last year so any
cartridge inserted in the Sega system must display the message,
"Produced By or Under License From Sega Enterprises Ltd." in
order to run. Accolade is not Sega licensed distributor.

Nintendo is also attempting to stop unlicensed third-party
developers, but it is doing so by other tactics. Paul Liu, chairman
of American Video Entertainment (AVE), told Newsbytes Nintendo
changed the internal design of its hardware so the machines will no
longer play his company's game cartridges. Liu is in the process of
suing Nintendo for $105 million. Atari Tengen is pursing a similar
suit against Nintendo.

These suits between video game makers are being watched carefully
by the entire computer industry as precedent setting events. The
American Committee for Interoperable Systems (ACIS) has
condemned Sega's actions as an attempt to kill the production of
compatible software for computer systems. ACIS spokesman Peter
Choy said the "life blood" of the computer industry is in the right of
any competitor to produce compatible software for any system.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920514/Press Contact: Brian Webster, Manning,
Selvage & Lee for Sega, tel [phone]; Fredrick Lorig, Bright and
Lorig, tel [phone]; Michael Crick, Mica, tel [phone], fax
206-869-0155)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 14 Texas Instruments And Cyrix Complete Cross-License Deal 05/14/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00030)

Texas Instruments And Cyrix Complete Cross-License Deal 05/14/92
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 14 (NB) -- Following much
speculation in the press, Texas Instruments and Cyrix have
finally signed a long-term product cross-license agreement
that gives TI the right to make and market Cyrix's microprocessors,
including the recently announced Cx486SLC. The deal also covers
future products not yet announced.

Newsbytes, and the press generally, first reported on the possibility
of an impending deal more than a month ago. Under the product
cross-license agreement, TI also will manufacture products for
Cyrix using its advanced submicron CMOS (complimentary metal
oxide semiconductor) processing and wafer-fabrication facilities.

TI claims that, with the ability to provide a general-purpose
microprocessor, it can now "offer a complete line of standard,
differentiated and customized semiconductor products to meet
the needs of customers in the personal computer industry."

(Ian Stokell/19920514/Press Contact: Melody Wolfe, Texas
Instruments, 214-997-5470)
#ENDCARD




#CARD :1992 MAY 13 Bay Area Cellular Offers Aid To Disabled 05/13/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00001)

Bay Area Cellular Offers Aid To Disabled 05/13/92
BURLINGAME, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 13 (NB) -- Bay
Area Cellular Telephone has filed a request with California
regulators to offer discounted rates to the disabled. The program,
called Enable-Link, is a collaborative effort with Motorola and the
World Institute on Disability, an advocacy group.

Under the program, people who register with Bay Area Cellular
get discounts on Motorola phones and $10 per month -- against
the $25-45 per month normally charged. But there is a catch.
Calls cost more than normal --$1 per minute from 7 am to 7 pm,
50 cents per minute on nights and weekends.

Both portable and transportable phones are covered by the
program -- the latter can be powered from a wheelchair battery.

The company hopes to put the program into effect June 10, and
those who think they are eligible are encouraged to call
1-800-227-9501 for applications.

Bay Area Cellular is a partnership among PacTel Cellular,
McCaw Communications, and Associated Communications of
Pittsburgh.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920513/Press Contact: Cellular One,
Steven Pechter, 415-956-1791)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 13 Infonet Network Announces New Services 05/13/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00002)

Infonet Network Announces New Services 05/13/92
EL SEGUNDO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 13 (NB) --
Infonet, the packet network owned by MCI and a group of
international phone companies, has announced a new set of
services aimed at multinational companies.

Enterprise Communication Services is directly aimed at the 1,000
largest multinational companies, and makes Infonet a single
source for all worldwide networking. It seems to compete most
closely with new offerings from British Telecom's Syncordia unit
and AT&T.

The company claimed in announcing the plan that a study
from Martech Strategies of Florida showed the target companies
spending over $10 billion just last year on telecommunications.

ECS combines Infonet's existing Enterprise-Defined Network
Services, its system integration unit, and Enterprise-Defined
Messaging Services, the company's messaging service.

For smaller firms, the company is offering The World Network,
a portfolio of data products and services aimed at smaller
multinationals, including LAN (local area network)-to-WAN (wide
area network) services and packaged messaging services.

Infonet, which has always been stronger internationally than in
the US, is well-known for having had good contacts in many
developing nations which were reluctant to let in other
communications networks. As competitive networks like those
of British Telecom and AT&T enter those markets, Infonet
hopes that tight links with selected customers will help it
prosper.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920513/Press Contact: Infonet Services,
Pat Gale, 310-335-2877)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 13 Strike Vote Season Opens In US Telecommunications 05/13/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00003)

Strike Vote Season Opens In US Telecommunications 05/13/92
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 13 (NB)-- The first of what
are expected to be several strike votes against telephone
companies was taken by Communications Workers of America
members concerning GTE's Southwest units.

A total of 5,670 union workers in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and New
Mexico were eligible for the vote. The union's contracts with GTE
Southwest expire May 15, and the union said it and the company
are far apart on major issues. The union is charging that the
company wants "19 separate give backs from its workers, despite
its profitable financial outlook."

The main issue seems to be a request by GTE that it be able to
sub-contract for any services it wants. The union contends this
would eliminate job security and erode service. Last year, the
union said, GTE spent $34.8 million last year on subcontracting,
while getting rid of 487 union workers - 2,325 union workers have
lost their jobs since 1986, again according to the union.

Union contracts expire with nearly all of the nation's major
operating phone companies this year. Despite strong, stable
profits by the operating companies, talks are expected to be
difficult.

Three years ago strikes by many unions against the companies,
including a four-month walkout at Nynex, failed to knock-out
basic services on any networks. Companies are further buoyed
by the success of Caterpillar, which halted a walkout by its
workers earlier this year by making plans to hire permanent
replacements. Unions, meanwhile, fear they must win some
victories against profitable companies or they will be decertified.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920513/Press Contact: Ben Turn
Communications Workers of America, 214-929-4191)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 13 Bell Atlantic Enhances EDI Service 05/13/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00004)

Bell Atlantic Enhances EDI Service 05/13/92
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA,  U.S.A., 1992 MAY 13 (NB) -- Bell
Atlantic has announced enhancements to its IntelliTrade service,
which sends electronic invoices under EDI (electronic data
interchange) standards.

"Carbon Copy" offers EDI broadcasting, sending copies of
documents to distribution lists compiled by customers. "Priority
Delivery" lets users request specific delivery schedules.

Bell Atlantic said it began enhancing its EDI offerings to
compete with those of major long distance and packet network
companies immediately after being given the right to compete in
the information services business by US courts last year.

The IntelliTrade service includes the sale of software on IBM-
compatible PCs as well as communication services that send
business documents in a standard format. Also, unlike electronic
mail messages, EDI documents can be authenticated, a process
which is necessary for them to be used as invoices. To gain new
customers, Bell Atlantic said it is pricing the service competitively,
selling software and two months of usage for under $900.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920513/Press Contact: Nancy Murray,
Bell Atlantic, 703-974-1719)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 13 AT&T Makes Product Moves, Defends Copper Wire 05/13/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00005)

AT&T Makes Product Moves, Defends Copper Wire 05/13/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 13 (NB) -- AT&T,
which has been winning increased praise for its acuity under
Chairman Robert Allen, opened new markets, offered new
products, and defended copper wire.

The new market is Bulgaria. AT&T has announced distributorship
agreement with Bulgarian Posts & Telecommunication expanding
its sales of office telephone equipment in Central Europe. The
phone systems are already available through distributors in
Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland and the Commonwealth of
Independent States. AT&T calls Central and Eastern Europe one
of the fastest growing markets in the world. Phones covered by
the agreement are the Partner and Partner Plus lines. It was the
first deal for the Bulgarian PTT with a US company.

The defense of copper came at the Metals Week Copper
Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona. Arizona is a major copper
producer. The defense came from Peter Woog, who is in charge
of copper cable products for AT&T Network Systems. He
acknowledged that US demand for copper is declining, but said
demand will continue to increase internationally.

Accunet, the company's switched digital service, said Vitalink
Communications is adding support for its Digital 384 service in
its 5000 Series of bridges and routers. This makes Vitalink the
only internetworking vendor which supports Accunet at speeds
ranging from 56,000 bits-per-second up to 384,000 bps. The
products and Accunet are used to offer "bandwidth on demand"
for linking local area networks, videophones, and other devices.

After predicting it would handle just under 100 million calls on
Mother's Day, meanwhile, AT&T announced it handled 101
million. That's well over the 92 million calls handled on the
network last Christmas, but far below the regular 135 million
call volumes handled on a typical business day.

Finally, AT&T announced TeleTicket Service, which allows
visitors to America to pre-pay for news, weather reports,
currency exchange information and translation services, as well
as telephone service, in their home currency. Initially, AT&T
TeleTicket Service will be offered in Dutch, English, French,
German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish.
San Francisco's Convention bureau will be the first distributor
of the service, but it is expected to become more heavily
marketed in the southeast US as part of the run-up to the 1996
Olympics in Atlanta.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920513/Press Contact: Sue Fleming,
AT&T, 201-581-5619)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 13 ****DEC Says New PCs Are 586-Ready 05/13/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00006)

 ****DEC Says New PCs Are 586-Ready 05/13/92
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 13 (NB) --
Digital Equipment said a new line of personal computers it
announced recently are the first that can be upgraded to Intel's P5
or 586 microprocessor when the new chip appears later this year.
The new DECpc 400ST models use Intel's Xpress architecture, an
upgradeable design with snap-in processor, memory, video, disk,
and other components.

For now, Digital will sell three models in the 400ST line, using
486 processors running at 25, 33, and 50 megahertz (MHz).
However, the company said, once Intel releases the new 586 chip,
buyers of the 400ST machines will be able to upgrade their
computers themselves.

All three models are shipping now, said Digital spokesman Edward
Canty. Canty would not say how soon after the formal introduction
of the 586 chip -- expected this fall -- Digital plans to offer an
upgrade.

Users will also be able to upgrade memory and other components --
everything that affects the over-all speed of the system, according
to DEC -- by swapping plug-in boards.

Digital said it is the first company to use Intel's Xpress
upgradeable architecture in a PC.

All of the 400ST models come in a desk-side tower cabinet with six
EISA (Extended Industry Standard Architecture) expansion slots,
four megabytes (MB) of memory expandable to 192 MB, five
half-height bays for storage devices such as disk and tape drives
providing for a maximum of 3.4 gigabytes of disk storage, and a
254-watt power supply.

Base configurations of the initial three models, without hard
disks, display adapters, or monitors, are priced at $3,000 for the
25 MHz model, $3,300 for the 33 MHz model, and $4,500
for the 50 MHz model. An assortment of hard disk options are
available, said Product Manager Mike Joyce, ranging in price from
$200 to $2,500. Price tags for the various display options range
from $200 to $2,300.

(Grant Buckler/19920513/Press Contact: Edward J. Canty, Digital
Equipment, 508-486-6387; Michelle Hoey, Digital Equipment,
508-486-6397)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 13 Meca Software Posts Quarterly Loss Of $4.94 Million 05/13/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00007)

Meca Software Posts Quarterly Loss Of $4.94 Million 05/13/92
FAIRFIELD, CONNECTICUT, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 13 (NB) -- Meca
Software has reported revenues of $8.47 million in the third fiscal
quarter of 1992, ended March 31, 1992, and a net loss in the
quarter of $4.95 million.

Revenues for the same period of fiscal 1991 were $6.23 million,
with net income of $31,000.

The quarterly loss includes a $4.86 million non-recurring charge
for purchased research and development related to Meca's
January 15, 1992, acquisition of Live Free or Die Ltd., the parent
company of Great American Software, Inc.

Revenues for the nine months ended March 31, 1992, were $15.52
million, compared to $14.65 million in the same period last year.
The net loss for the first nine months of fiscal 1992 was $5.63
million, compared to net income of $797,000 for the same period
last year.

Because Meca's personal financial management and tax
preparation software products are closely tied to the calendar
year-end holiday season and tax preparation periods, a
disproportionate amount of the company's revenues are realized
in the second and third quarters of its fiscal year.

Company officials said sales of Meca's Andrew Tobias' Managing
Your Money personal financial management package fell short of
expectations in the quarter. In an attempt to improve sales, Meca
has cut the price of the software and changed its distribution
strategy.

Effective May 1, the retail price of Managing Your Money has been
cut from $199.95 to $79.95, bringing the package into line with
most of its competitors. Meca also announced an aggressive
direct-mail marketing effort. Officials said they expect the two
moves to result a significant increase in sales of Managing Your
Money that will help Meca regain market share.

Officials also said the company's cash balance had decreased
to $6.3 million and that its current ratio fell below 1:1 as a result
of the acquisition of Great American Software and losses in fiscal
1992.

Meca's products include Andrew Tobias' Managing Your Money,
Andrew Tobias' TaxCut, Hyatt Legal Services Home Lawyer, and
the One-Write Plus series of accounting products.

(Grant Buckler/19920513/Press Contact: Paul D. Harrison,
Meca Software, 203-256-5000)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 13  ****Corel Draw 3.0 Adds Many Functions 05/13/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00008)

 ****Corel Draw 3.0 Adds Many Functions 05/13/92
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAY 13 (NB) -- Corel
Systems is to announce on May 15 a new release of its CorelDraw
graphics software that extends the package with business chart
creation, image editing, and a presentation capability. CorelDraw
3.0 will also add new features to the software's original vector-based
drawing module.

"We've taken the approach that you can do everything in graphics in
one package," said Michael Cowpland, Corel's president and chief
executive, in an interview with Newsbytes.

In addition to the drawing module that gave the package its name,
CorelDraw 3.0 includes three new modules: CorelChart,
CorelPhoto-Paint, and CorelShow.

CorelChart is a data driven charting module for creating business
graphs. The vendor said it can handle true three-dimensional
charting and pictographs.

CorelPhoto-Paint is actually Z-Soft's PhotoFinish software,
incorporated into CorelDraw through an agreement with Z-Soft.
Its capabilities including retouching of images, flexible color
control, and the application of automatic retouching filters to
scanned images, according to Corel.

Corel has also added a presentation module called CorelShow,
which allows users to put together desktop presentations of
images created in CorelDraw or imported from other software.

CorelDraw also includes the Mosaic visual file manager, which
allows users to preview graphic files in several formats, and
CorelTrace, a tool for converting black-and-white bit-mapped
images into vector graphics.

The new release supports object linking and embedding (OLE), a
Windows feature that makes it easier to exchange files among
applications. Besides allowing interaction with other applications,
Cowpland said, OLE provides the means for the different
modules of CorelDraw to operate on their own but with easy
exchange of data among them.

Capabilities added to the flagship CorelDraw module include the
ability to edit graphics in preview form as well as in wire-frame
mode, unlimited layers, improved precision, and on-screen text
editing, the company said. Other new features in the draw
module include "roll-up windows" meant to give quicker access
to frequently used features, as well as a variety of new special
effects.

With this release, Corel will begin shipping the CD-ROM version
of CorelDraw in every package. While each package will contain
all of the software's functions on standard diskettes, Cowpland
said, the CD-ROM will provide a clip-art library of more than
14,000 images, more than 100 animations in Autodesk flic format,
and Corel's complete library of Type 1 fonts, as well as a set of
tutorials.

Cowpland said about 10 percent of shipments of CorelDraw are
now ordered in CD-ROM format, and he expects that within 12
months a number of major software vendors will be shipping
software on CD-ROM. "We're convinced that CDs are the next
standard," he said, "and it's actually beginning to happen at an
exponential rate even as we speak."

CorelDraw version 3.0 is due to begin shipping in June, with a
suggested retail price of US$595 or C$695. Registered users of
any previous version will be able to upgrade for US$149 or C$169.

(Grant Buckler/19920513/Press Contact: Janie Sullivan, Corel,
613-728-8200 ext 1672)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 13 US Regulations On CD-ROM 05/13/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00009)

US Regulations On CD-ROM 05/13/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 13 (NB) -- The US House
of Representatives has decided to provide a listing of 30,000 pages
of federal regulations and laws on a single CD-ROM disc which is
expected to cost about $100.

Presently the same information is available in print form at a
cost of about $700, but Democrat Charlie Rose of North Carolina
has pushed for publication on a CD-ROM disc. This would make
the listings not only less expensive to obtain, but much easier to
use since the disc will come with a full search engine rather than
being restricted to a print index.

Rockville, Maryland's Personal Library Software will supply the
access software, called Personal Librarian, which is MS-DOS
and Windows compatible. A Macintosh version is expected later.

The first publication should be before the end of 1992, with
yearly updates after that.

The CD-ROM will probably be available through the GPO or
Government Printing Office, which will actually publish the CD-
ROM.

(John McCormick/19920513)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 13 NIST's ISDN Proposals Popular With Govt 05/13/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00010)

NIST's ISDN Proposals Popular With Govt 05/13/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 13 (NB) -- Although the
NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) had
extended the deadline for comments on its proposed guidelines for
ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) implementation in the
federal government, it was not because of criticism. NIST's ISDN
group manager, Davie Su, has said that the majority of comments
received were favorable and that most agencies think that ISDN
implementation is past due.

ISDN technology is included in GOSIP or Government Open
Systems Interconnection Profile II, which is now known as FIPS
146-1 (Federal Information Processing Standard 146-1) since it
was adopted a year ago, but the new NIST proposal is more
detailed.

The main point of the NIST guidelines is to make interconnection
of federal agency systems easier by providing a small set of
generic communications protocols which will be adopted by all
agencies and built into their ISDN systems.

One item not covered in the NIST guidelines is a provision for
call forwarding, which has been requested by some people at the
Pentagon.

The ISDN group at NIST says that inclusion of this and other
supplemental services will be addressed in later versions of the
standard and that this first standard is intended mostly to get a
basic starting point which will ensure a critical minimum of
interoperability.

ISDN is a telecommunications network standard that allows
voice and data transmissions on the same line.

(John McCormick/19920513)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 13 Asante Expands Networking Offerings 05/13/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00011)

Asante Expands Networking Offerings 05/13/92
SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 13 (NB) --
Continuing its push into the wider networking market, Asante has
unveiled an intelligent 10Base-T hub, network management
software, and a complete line of Token Ring cards for the PC as
well as expanding their line of Macintosh based Token Ring cards.

Asante officials state that this is just the next logical step in the
company's evolution. The company started out in the Macintosh
marketplace because they saw the barriers to entry as being
lower there. Now that they have the dominant position in that
marketplace, they are ready to seek growth in the PC arena.
Another important reason is that they seek to be a major player in
the networking arena as a whole and that cannot be done by
focusing on a single platform like the Macintosh.

The announcements complement those made a few weeks ago
when Asante introduced its line of PC based Ethernet cards. The
company recognizes that Ethernet PC cards have become
essentially a commodity where price alone determines market
share, and are therefore offering those cards at, what the
company considers is, reasonable levels.

On the Token Ring side, the company believes that there is more
room to grow. Asante believes that the Token Ring market is
about to explode. Also, the company has identified only two
major players in that market aside from IBM, making it easier for
them to enter and hopefully become a major player.

To really get in front of the technology wagon, Asante based their
new Token Ring cards on the recently announced TROPIC chip
that was developed by IBM and National Semiconductor. One of
the things that the company is especially proud of is the fact that
they are the first third party to use that chip in a Token Ring product.

There are two TokenPac cards, one for the ISA (Industry Standard
Architecture) bus and one for the MCA (Micro Channel Architecture)
bus. Both cards are compliant with the complete set of IEEE
specifications. They will both sell initially for $699. The ISA card
will begin shipping in June and the MCA card in the fall. Asante is
also planning on offering a line of Macintosh based cards for $599
which will be compatible with all Macintosh models beginning in
June.

On the Ethernet side, Asante introduced an intelligent 10Base-T hub,
dubbed the AsanteHun 1012. This 12-port hub is intended for use in
small to medium sized companies. In addition to the 12 RJ45 ports
that it sports on the front of the unit, is an RJ21 connector on the
back which can be attached directly to the telephone block. The
intelligence of the unit is built in with management capabilities
through a modem port.

An additional feature is an SNMP (Simple Network Management
Protocol) agent which support MIB 1 and 2 capabilities. There is
also a "13th" connector. This is a set of one AUI, BNC, and RJ45
connectors that connect the hub's backplane to another such unit.
Part of the intelligence of the unit is in the way that the hub senses
that the primary line failed and in its cascading through these three
connectors. The unit comes with a default arrangement for this
cascading but that default can be overwritten by the unit's software
if the installation so desires.

The hub can also be managed by Asante's AsanteView
management software. This software will be completely compatible
with both the Macintosh OS as well as Microsoft's Windows 3.1
graphical user interface. Using AsanteView will give network
administrators complete management control of all of their intelligent
devices. This intelligence will be provided either by SNMP agents or
through Asante's proprietary software in each of the Asante devices.
This software will be available in June.

The AsanteHub 1012 will begin shipping in June for a price of $1,499.
The optional SNMP module sells for $399. The AsanteView software
will sell for $999 regardless of version (Macintosh or Windows). A
bundle of the hub plus the SNMP agent and the management
software will sell for $1,999. Asante will be displaying all of these
products as well as their other ones at the upcoming Interop show.
They are occupying booth  number 544.

(Naor Wallach/19920513/Press Contact: Chris Inman, Asante,
408-752-8388)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 13 Compaq, EPA Cooperate On Energy Savings Standards 05/13/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00012)

Compaq, EPA Cooperate On Energy Savings Standards 05/13/92
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 13 (NB) -- Compaq
Computer has announced that it will work with the Environmental
Protection Agency to determine and implement energy efficiency
guidelines. The program is part of EPA's new voluntary Energy Star
Computers Program (ESCP) announced at EPA's Northeast Region
Energy Efficiency Initiative in Boston.

ESCP is designed to encourage computer makers to design their
computers to use less energy. With an estimated ten million PCs in
use today, and that number expected to double, conservation of
energy takes on increased importance.

Compaq's Nora Hahn told Newsbytes that once the standards are
determined, PCs which meet those standards will carry an
EPA-mandated logo indicating that they meet the ESCP standard.
PCs which are Windows compatible already carry a logo indicating
that  compatibility. Ads for PCs that meet the standard can also
display the logo.

Compaq President Eckhard Pfeiffer said that, through programs like
ESCP, Compaq and other PC manufacturers are making an impact
on the industry's ongoing efforts to protect the environment.

Hahn told Newsbytes that the company has recently started using
more efficient fans in their desktop units. Asked if the ESCP-
designated units would cost users more money, Hahn said they
would not. "We have been real clear about being cost competitive,"
said Hahn. "To build more cost into the computers would be
contrary to what we are trying to do."

Compaq said it already participates in EPA's Green Lights Program,
which is designed to encourage companies to utilize energy-saving,
cost-effective lighting in their offices and plants.

Earlier this year Compaq announced its battery disposal plan,
which provides customers with a way of safely recycling the
rechargeable batteries used in Compaq laptop and notebook PCs.

(Jim Mallory/19920513/Press Contact: Nora Hahn, Compaq,
713-374-8316)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 13 Random Access Will Not Merge With CW Electronics 05/13/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00013)

Random Access Will Not Merge With CW Electronics 05/13/92
DENVER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 13 (NB) -- Citing the
high costs involved and its ability to manage the Bizmart computer
departments, Random Access has announced that it will not
merge with CWE, the parent company of CW Electronics.

Random Access, which claims to be the Rocky Mountain region's
largest microcomputer reseller, concentrates on large volume end
users in the corporate market. CW Electronics is a Denver-area
computer retailer.

Officially, a prepared statement by Bruce Milliken, Random Access
chief executive officer, said: "After a comprehensive review of each
company's objectives, it was determined that a merger at this time
would not be in the best interests of either company. The computer
reseller industry is currently undergoing dramatic changes in the
areas of distribution and pricing. Until we more fully understand
where these changes are leading, we intend to focus on our
traditional strengths."

In addition to its corporate accounts, Random Access markets to
small users through its computer franchises in BizMart stores,
selling IBM, Compaq, Apple, Sun Microsystems, and Toshiba PCs.

Random Access also announced recently that it has signed an
outsourcing pact with the Western E&P region headquarters of
Texaco Exploration and Production, Inc., a division of Texaco USA.
Under terms of the deal, Random Access will be the primary
supplier of microcomputer products and services to Texaco
Western E&P, and will procure the hardware on behalf of the
Texaco subsidiary. Texaco E&P is reportedly one of Random
Access's largest accounts.

(Jim Mallory/19920513/Press Contact: Bruce Milliken, Random
Access, 303-745-9600)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 13 New For PC: The Home Medical Advisor 05/13/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00014)

New For PC: The Home Medical Advisor 05/13/92
MERRITT ISLAND, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 13 (NB) -- Pixel
Perfect has announced The Home Medical Advisor, a software
program that indicates the type of treatment needed for a medical
complaint and the type doctor you should see.

"It doesn't take the place of a doctor," said Pixel Perfect
spokesperson Stephani Perlmutter, but the program lets the user
enter symptoms and the program will offer various possibilities.
The program also places special emphasis on certain symptoms.
Sudden swelling, for example, usually requires quick attention,
while gradual swelling could probably wait until you can get an
appointment with your doctor.

According to Pixel Perfect, one advantage to the program is it
could  save you a costly trip to the Emergency Room at your local
hospital. Another is not having to rely on home first aid books
which may be out of date. The Home Medical Advisor will be
updated every eight months for registered users, said Pixel Perfect.

Dr. Steven Schueler, a physician board certified in emergency
medicine, took two years to develop The Home Medical Advisor.
Schueler is on staff at Holmes Regional Medical Center In
Melbourne, Florida.

The program consists of seven basic files: Symptoms, Diseases,
Injuries, Poisons, Drugs, Tests, and Referrals. It contains
information on medical diagnoses, drug reactions and side effects,
laboratory tests, injuries, and poison information. Files display
options, possible diagnoses to specified problems, what treatment
to follow, and which type specialist you should see. Causes,
symptoms, tests, and treatment for more than 450 diseases are
included, as is an explanation of 130 laboratory tests, what they
are, when and why they are necessary, and the known
complications.

There are also descriptions of more than 800 prescription and
non-prescription drugs, why and when they are prescribed, possible
side effects, and how they interact with other drugs. The company
has also included a list of over 500 household chemicals and how to
treat, or not treat, someone in an emergency involving one of these
common products.

The program will run on any IBM-compatible PC, said Perlmutter.
She told Newsbytes that Pixel Perfect does not plan a Macintosh
version at this time. The Home Medical Advisor will work with
monochrome or color displays, said Perlmutter.

The Home Medical Advisor has a suggested list price of $69.95.
Perlmutter told Newsbytes that prospective buyers can get the
program through mail order or from local retail outlets. She
suggests you contact the company on their toll free line to learn
the closest distributor.

(Jim Mallory/19920513/Press Contact: Stephani Perlmutter, PS
Associates for Pixel Perfect, 312-751-8436; Reader contact:
Pixel Perfect, 800-788-2899)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 13 Dell Intros Two New Notebooks 05/13/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00015)

Dell Intros Two New Notebooks 05/13/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 13 (NB) -- Dell Computer
has announced two new notebook PCs, saying the new systems
"bring new levels of price/performance capabilities" to the
company's portable PC line.

The NL20, with prices starting at $1,599, is Dell's lowest cost
notebook computer based on Intel's 386SL 20 megahertz (MHz)
microprocessor. The NL20 weighs 6.3 pounds, and measures 8.3-
by 11- by 1.8-inches. It's standard configuration includes two
megabytes (MB) of RAM, which can be expanded to 8MB, a
40 or 60 MB hard drive, and one 3.5-inch high density floppy drive.
Equipped with the 60MB hard drive, add $200. Dell says the NL20's
rechargeable NiCad batteries will operate continuously for about 2.5
hours. That time reportedly can be "extended significantly" by using
Dell's power management features.

Dell's other new offering is the 325N, a unit similar to the 325NC
color notebook, but the 325N is slightly lighter and thinner since
it uses an edge lit monochrome VGA display, as does the NL20.
The 325N has a 9.5-inch diagonal measurement screen, while
the NL20's display is one-inch smaller.

The 325N comes standard with 4MB of system memory (which
can be expanded up to 12MB), 64 kilobytes (KB) of cache memory,
a choice of 60, 80, or 120MB hard drives, and one 3.5-inch high
density floppy drive. Width and length are nearly identical to the
NL20, but the 325N is slightly thicker. Pricing for the 325N starts
at $2,499. Add $200 for an 80MB hard drive, or $500 for the 120MB
drive. Dell said the NL20 will replace the NX20, and is expected to
ship in June.

The company said the 325N offers a special feature which
increases the performance of the parallel port interface by a factor
of 10 to 30 times when connected to an eternal device that supports
the enhanced parallel port (EPP) feature. Supported devices include
tape backup and external drives, Rohlf told Newsbytes. EPP is a
new standard from Intel.

Both systems include toll free technical support, and a return to
the factory service program, as well as next business day, on-site
replacement. The return to the factory program lets the user return
their system to Dell, who guarantees they will ship a replacement
within one day, said Dell's Lisa Rohlf.

Dell senior VP of US sales and operations Joel Kocher said the two
new notebook systems are designed for customer who want the
features of a 386SL system, but who can do without the special
features and technology enhancements of more expensive products.

Dell also announced it is now offering a 120MB hard drive model of
its 325NC color notebook, as well as two new internal factory
installed data/fax modems for use with the 320N+ and 320N
notebooks. The 325NC with the larger hard drive is priced at $3,799
and is already shipping. Dell said all models of the 325NC are
available on a three-day lead time.

(Jim Mallory/19920513/Press Contact: Lisa Rohlf, Dell Computer,
512-343-3782; Reader contact: 800-289-3355, 512-338-4400)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 13  ****Cray Computer To Market Mini Cray-3 05/13/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00016)

 ****Cray Computer To Market Mini Cray-3 05/13/92
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 13 (NB) --
Cray Computer founder Seymour Cray has announced that the
company will market a mini version of the Cray-3 supercomputer.
The announcement was made at the annual stockholder meeting.

The announcement to market mini versions of the Cray-3 comes
after Cray Computer lost its only customer for the Cray-3.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories canceled its order for
a Cray-3 after the company was unable to meet a scheduled
demonstration date.

Cray said scaled down versions of the Cray-3 will be targeted for
use with massively parallel processing systems and as stand-alone
computer systems. Such systems divide computing tasks among
thousands of microprocessors, all working of their part of the task
simultaneously. Last year Cray dismissed parallel computing, but
says financial concerns and research at other companies has
changed his outlook. "Financial and resource limitations make it
necessary to downsize the product," Cray said.

If Cray Computer can sell six mini Cray-3's annually, the company
should be able to break even. Without its first sale, the company
should be able to stay in business another year, at current spending
rates. Cray said a demonstration system should be ready in a few
months.

The board of directors elected several officers of the company at
the meeting.  In addition to Willkom, Russ Eidal was elected vice
president for printed circuit operations, and Howard Watts was
named vice president of sales and marketing.

(Jim Mallory/19920513/Press Contact: Greg Barnum, Cray
Computer, 719-579-6464)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 13  ****Pat Robertson Wins UPI Auction 05/13/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00017)

 ****Pat Robertson Wins UPI Auction 05/13/92
RUTLAND, VERMONT, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 13 (NB) -- Evangelist
Pat Robertson walked into a Vermont courtroom and walked out
with the inside track on United Press International, the 84-year-old
news agency. Robertson bid $6 million for the property, and was
the only bidder who offered to take over the whole organization,
with the exception of UPI's accounts receivable.

Within hours, US Bankruptcy Court Judge Francis Conrad had
approved Robertson's bid. He now gets 30 days to look at the
company's books, at which point he can either adjust his bid or
drop out altogether. Robertson's US Media Corp. deposited
$900,000 in an escrow account, 15 percent of the bid price, as
required under terms of the auction process. In addition, he
agreed to put-up $300,000 by the end of the month for operating
expenses and payrolls, while creditors pay $300,000 over the
next month while Robertson continues to evaluate his bid. If US
Media chooses not to purchase UPI or to lower his bid, it
forfeits the $300,000 in operating expenses.

Before Robertson entered the courtroom, he told UPI reporters the
agency would "complement some of the things we're already
doing," adding that he planned not to interfere with its editorial
policy and would focus on UPI's Asian and Latin American
operations. He also praised UPI's staff, most of which belongs to
the Wire Service Guild union.

Conrad really had no choice but to accept the Robertson bid,
given the competition. Federal News Service of Washington, D.C.
bid a total of $49,000, $33,000 for Spanish language service and
$12,000 for the Washington Daybook, which carries listings of
upcoming news conferences and events. Eastnet, which is setting
up an Eastern European news service, bid $30,000 for UPI leases
in the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and China. The UPI
Radio Network bid $25,000 each for the UPI name, radio archives,
wire service archives, photo archives, and working files.

Robertson will not be getting as much as the name UPI implies,
should he follow through on his bid. The company has been closing
bureaus for months, cutting losses to about $150,000 per month
from $1 million. Bankruptcy papers filed last August indicated
the company owes $58 million to a number of creditors, including
the Wire Service Guild. Assets at the time were listed at $22
million.  Worse, UPI has steadily been losing newspaper
subscribers for years, and very few major dailies remain full
customers.

United Press was founded on July 15, 1907, by publisher E.W.
Scripps to compete with the Associated Press, which is a
membership cooperative of newspapers. In 1958, it merged with
William Randolph Hearst's International News Service to form
United Press International. UPI has won nine Pulitzer prizes for
news reporting and photography.

While Robertson is best known for his televangelism, his "700
Club" television show, and his 1988 run for the Republican
presidential nomination, he is in fact more of a businessman than
a preacher. TCI, the nation's largest cable television operator,
holds a substantial part of his "Family Channel" cable network,
formerly called the Christian Broadcasting Network, and in recent
years the network has replaced a lot of its preachers with
entertainment shows. Robertson's International Family
Entertainment went public in April with the sale of $50 million
in stock, and it plans to launch the Game Channel, a cable net
devoted to interactive game shows, early next year.

A successful bid would give Robertson a stranglehold on the
religious radio market. He already owns the Florida Radio
Network, the CBN Radio network, and a number of stations. UPI
Radio is the only mainstream radio network to offer its own
religious news service.

Both creditors and editors expressed satisfaction with the
winning bid, but Kevin Keane, president of the Wire Service
Guild, warned that if Robertson does try to interfere with
editorial questions, "there will be a sharp reaction."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920513)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 13 Illinois Rate Cap Bill Moves Forward 05/13/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00018)

Illinois Rate Cap Bill Moves Forward 05/13/92
SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 13 (NB) -- Illinois
legislators are prepared to give Illinois Bell, an Ameritech unit,
most of what it wants in a massive rewrite of the state's
telecommunication laws which must be complete before the
end of the week.

A conference committee sent both chambers of the legislation a
bill which will cap rates for three years. But consumer groups
are angered by the bill, claiming it was written in a "back room"
and will make it easier for phone companies to run rate hikes
through the Illinois Commerce Commission, and subsidize new
operations with monopoly profits. Representative Ellis Levin of
Chicago, who engineered a 1985 rewrite of the telecom law, noted
that the proposed cap affects only basic residential line charges
--- not business rates and not toll calls outside an eight-mile wide
local service area. Future rate increases would be tied to inflation.

The Citizens Utility Board, which has opposed the rewrite since
it started, warned that under the proposal, Illinois Bell could
get around the three-year rate cap by asking for a rate hike
under the old rules, then proposing a new rate-setting plan to
lock in higher rates. The CUB added that the costs of providing
service are actually declining, so there is no need for any talk
of rate hikes or even rate caps.

The one provision in the new bill which might win approval from
consumer groups is that the phone companies would have to put
information providing units into separate subsidiaries. That is
not required under present US law. Illinois phone companies
would also have to wait six months after US walls between cable
television and telephony are torn down before getting into the TV
business.

If the conference report is rejected by either house, it is likely
that another extension to the current law will be passed. The May
15 deadline was created by a six-month extension passed last
year.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920513)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 13 Bell Atlantic To Develop ISDN Call Distribution System 05/13/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00019)

Bell Atlantic To Develop ISDN Call Distribution System 05/13/92
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 13 (NB) -- Bell
Atlantic and Unifi will develop shrink-wrapped telephony software
which will handle call distribution using digital services under
ISDN (Integrated Services Digital network) standards.

The software will be based on Unifi's PhoneServer and
Distributed Call Center software, which runs on PS/2 computers
from IBM in a windowing environment. Bell Atlantic and another
regional Bell company, Ameritech, recently demonstrated such a
system, working between Washington, D.C. and Chicago. The
company said the workers were able to set-up a system to
automatically forward toll-free calls between the cities within two
hours, so they could be handled by operators on an as-available
basis.

The software uses the signaling or "D" channel capability of
ISDN to silently forward messages about the status of operators
between computers over ISDN lines and, where necessary, X.25
packet networks, without placing an actual call. Most
applications for the technology demonstrated to this point use
the "B" channels, 64,000 bits-per-second data streams which
can handle data transfers, video calls, or digitized voice.

Using the software, large businesses will be able to use ISDN to
make outlying locations and employees' homes part of their
private company phone systems. Small businesses may be able
to band together to share resources and present the face of a
larger company to the general public. By linking their phone
application to a calendar program, companies could develop a
"follow-me" application that would forward calls according to a
person's whereabouts. In consumer markets, family members
could set up a private phone system, linking their homes around
the nation by using four-digit extensions.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920513/Press Contact: Nancy Murray,
Bell Atlantic, 703-974-1719)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 13 British Telecom, MCI Enhance EDI 05/13/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00020)

British Telecom, MCI Enhance EDI 05/13/92
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A. MAY 13 (NB) -- A day after
Bell Atlantic began offering low-cost electronic invoicing under
EDI (electronic data interchange) standards, two of its primary
competitors announced enhancements to their competing EDI
systems.

British Telecom has announced the availability of its EDI Net
service in new locations throughout the Pacific Rim, using its
Global Network Services offering. The service is aimed at
multinationals which need to send standard business documents
worldwide.

BT has also announced agreements with the governments of
Korea and Taiwan for the sale of EDI systems in those restricted
markets, through the former's Korea Trade Network and Taiwan's
Ministry of Finance. EDI Net is now available in 24 countries,
and has been simplified and made consistent with other products
in the company's GNS portfolio. BT said that before this,
companies using EDI internationally had to create separate
agreements with each national PTT and create expensive audit
trails to track invoices.

MCI Communication's MCI International division, meanwhile, has
announced an agreement with Texas Instrument's Enterprise
Systems Business unit to develop and co-market EDI products
and services. The result will be the co-marketing of TI's EDI software
with MCI EDI 400 service. TI's software works on mainframe
computers, but the two companies will cooperate on a PC-based
EDI product which should be available next year. The two
companies will also work together on consulting with companies
needing EDI services.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920513/Press Contact: BT North America,
Jeannie Slone, 408/922-7602)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 13 Olivetti Reports Heavy Losses For 1991 05/13/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00021)

Olivetti Reports Heavy Losses For 1991 05/13/92
IVREA, ITALY, 1992 MAY 13 (NB) -- Olivetti, the troubled Italian
computer and electronics company, has reported heavy losses
for its 1991 calendar year. Officials with the company are upbeat,
however, claiming that continuing cost-pruning exercises within
the firm are bearing fruit and will result a return to black ink
during the current calendar year.

During 1991, Olivetti reported a loss of 459,800 million lire
($380 million) on a turnover of 8,600,000 million lire ($7,000
million). While turnover was down five percent on the previous
year, the losses compare with a profit of 60,400 million ($49
million) for the 1990 calendar year.

Olivetti blamed the losses partly on rising costs and the
recession that is sweeping Europe. Examination of the accounts,
however, shows that a major element in the losses is the cost of
the restructuring of late last year when Chairman Carlo De
Benedetti resumed full control of the company.

Because of the losses, Olivetti said that it does not anticipate
issuing a dividend to shareholders. Examination of the company's
accounts suggests that the reserves could have been tapped for a
dividend to shareholders.

Despite the upbeat approach to the figures, company officials
admitted that sales during the first quarter of the year were
still down 4.4 percent on the previous year. This downturn is,
however, within the company's projections, officials claimed.

The cuts may work. Last year the group slashed more than 7,000
jobs from the company payroll, while 1990 saw around 3,200 staff
being lost from the company. No details of any 1992 layoffs have
been announced.

(Steve Gold/19920513)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 13 Ericsson Wins Contract With Japanese Phone Company 05/13/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00022)

Ericsson Wins Contract With Japanese Phone Company 05/13/92
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, 1992 MAY 13 (NB) -- In one of the
company's more unusual export sales coups, Ericsson has
secured a $120 million contract to supply and fit a cellular phone
system in the Tokyo area of Japan. The deal is with Tokyo Digital
Phone.

The high revenue-earning contract does not end there. The initial
contract is for a 150,000 subscriber network to be up and running
within three years. Demand for the digital phones, which operate
in the 1,500MHz band, is expected to be high, so a second
contract in the mid-1990s is on the cards.

If all goes well, then parallel contracts for the supply of similar
technology mobile phones elsewhere in Japan are likely, officials
with both companies said.

Announcing the contract, Lars Ramqvist, Ericsson's president and
CEO, said that the number of cellular subscribers in Japan has
increased dramatically since the beginning of the deregulation
process a few years ago.

"In 1991 the number of subscribers in Japan rose by 60 percent,
to 1.25 million, making Japan number two in the world. Japan is
expected to have 13 million cellular subscribers by the year 2000,
most of them in digital systems," he said.

(Steve Gold/19920513)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 13  ****UK: S&S Claims Disk Data Recovery Breakthrough 05/13/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LON)(00023)

 ****UK: S&S Claims Disk Data Recovery Breakthrough 05/13/92
BERKHAMSTEAD, HERTS, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 13 (NB) --
S&S International, a company that specializes in data recovery
from "dead disks," believes it has come up with a unique system
to pull data back from previously-unrecoverable hard disks. The
company's research and development laboratories have developed
a data signal analyzer (DSA) that can read data directly from
the disk platter without the need for a hard disk controller, or
even the disk's own electronics.

According to the company, the DSA opens a whole new range of
data recovery possibilities. Using the DSA, for example, allows data
to be read from mini and mainframe hard disks, a task previously
thought impossible. Other applications include the possibility of
spooling data byte by byte from a backup tape to a hard disk and
then reading the data directly.

Dr Alan Solomon, the chief executive of the company, said that
the DSA is unique in the field of data recovery. The company
plans to use the DSA system in its "no fix, no fee" data recovery
operations. Solomon is, however, a firm believer in preventative
rather than curative data recovery solutions.

"The best way to recover data is to restore a recent backup. But
when a backup fails to restore, you shouldn't just give up hope.
We've always been in the business of doing things that other
people call impossible," he said.

One interesting feature of the DSA is its ability to read data
that is overwritten by fresh data. This seemingly impossible task
is done by reading the complete track data, subtracting the
latest data and analyzing what remains. Although more difficult
to carry out that normal byte by byte data reads, S&S claims it
can be done, if the user really needs the data on the disk's
surface.

(Steve Gold/19920513/Press & Public Contact: S&S International,
tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 13 UK: Lotus 1-2-3 For Unix System V Release 1.1 Debuts 05/13/92



(NEWS)(UNIX)(LON)(00024)

UK: Lotus 1-2-3 For Unix System V Release 1.1 Debuts 05/13/92
STAINES, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 13 (NB) -- Lotus
Development has announced version 1.1 of 1-2-3 for Unix System
V, a new version of its popular spreadsheet software. According to
the company, this new version improves data access, operating
system compatibility, peripheral support and usability on low-end
terminals.

The package also adds a development environment for building
complete applications for Unix. "The package was created for the
Intel Unix market, and is our biggest selling Unix product,"
explained Neil Hudspeth, Lotus UK's product marketing manager
for Unix products.

"We developed version 1.1 in response to growing demand from
customers and from resellers who serve small- to medium-sized
business, government and education." he added.

Specifically, version 1.1 adds support for X-Windows, Unix System
V release 4, NFS (network file sharing) file locking and character
terminal graphics. In addition, version 1.1 includes Macromania
worksheets on a disk and an Informix Datalens driver. Lotus' C
add-in toolkit technology and enhanced drivers for additional
peripheral devices are also provided.

The package is available in the UK immediately. All disk
versions cost UKP 595, while a node edition (for network users)
costs UKP 145. Five user (network) packs are available for UKP
575, with special educational discounts available.

These fairly hefty prices can be reduced if users have access to
version 1.0 of the package. Version 1.0 users can upgrade for UKP
149 to the standard edition of UKP 399 for the multi-user edition.

To entice users over from SCO Professional, Lotus is offering a
ten user version of version 1.1 of 1-2-3 for Unix System V at a
special price of UKP 399 until the end of July.

Version 1.1 of 1-2-3 for Unix System V runs on Compaq 386 or
486-based machines, as well as IBM PS/2 Model 70 and 80, plus
compatible machines. The program requires four megabytes (MB)
of RAM (twice this amount in X-Windows mode) plus 15MB of hard
disk capacity.

(Steve Gold/19920521/Press & Public Contact: Lotus,
0784-455445)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 13 UK: Microsoft Announces National Windows 3.1 Workshops 05/13/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00025)

UK: Microsoft Announces National Windows 3.1 Workshops 05/13/92
WOKINGHAM, BERKS, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 13 (NB) -- Thanks
to the runaway success of Windows 3.1, Microsoft has rushed
through the organization of a series of four Windows workshops,
which are scheduled to be held in the UK and Ireland between May
21 and June 9 this year.

The idea of the events, which will be held in Edinburgh (21 May),
Dublin (27 May), Manchester (3 June) and London (9 June), is to
allow Windows 3.1 users around the UK the chance to get a more
technical look at the package and raise any questions they might
have.

According to Microsoft, the workshops will specifically examine
how to get the most out of the new facilities in Windows 3.1,
including installation and set-up procedures, networking,
optimization, and troubleshooting. The seminars are aimed at PC
support staff, systems developers, and power Windows users.

Announcing the events, Mark Edwards, Microsoft UK's Windows
product manager, said that the workshops have "been designed to
meet the requests of Windows users for more information and
guidance on how to get the best out of the Windows environment.
We're keen to use this forum to answer literally any questions
anyone may have about Windows."

Attendance at the technical workshop costs UKP 59. As well as
gaining admission on the day, the fee includes a copy of the
Windows Resource 3.1 Kit, which is worth UKP 25, Microsoft
officials claim. The kit contains a technical reference manual
and a disk of utilities, system resource viewers, drivers, and
accessories.

Newsbytes readers interested in attending the workshops can
register by calling 0256-381199 (fax [phone]). Readers in
Ireland call 01-295-3826 (fax [phone]).

(Steve Gold/19920513/Press & Public Contact: Microsoft,
0734-270001)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 13 Apple's Newton Pen Computer To Debut Soon? 05/13/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(WAS)(00026)

Apple's Newton Pen Computer To Debut Soon? 05/13/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 13 (NB) -- From sharp
minds will reportedly come Newton, the new $700 Apple Computer
entry into the pen computing market which is expected to debut at
this month's Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago. According to
published reports, Japan-based Sharp has been tapped by Apple to
produce this entirely new high-tech consumer/business product.

The Washington Post broke this story in mainstream media today
and, although Apple is so far declining comment, the amount of
specific information included in two published stories would
indicate at least of measure of truth to the reports.

The reports claims that Newton will come complete with built-in
modem for data and or fax communications. The unit ir said to
weigh less than one pound and measure only about seven inches
long by a half-inch thick, making it a bit big for a pocket, but still
tiny for the number of features it is expected to pack into its
circuits.

Because it will not use an operating system like that found in the
Apple Macintosh, one industry observer points out that, if this is
true, Newton will not help build the rest of Apple's business, but
since this could be a powerful executive or even personal digital
notebook, Newton would be the first in a new generation of
potentially very popular computers which put even more emphasis
on applications and less on the fact that they are running on a
computer.

Apple has won millions of fans with the company's icon metaphor
which insulates users from some of the intricacies of computer
operation which is demanded of MS-DOS users, but the price in
computing power and dollars has been high. The potential market
for an even easier-to-use unit costing under $1,000 could be
massive.

Among other features, Newton is supposed to be smart enough
to recognize some entries such as telephone numbers, and
automatically know where to file them.

Taking a notion from the failed IBM "home" computer which used
an infrared link to connect the keyboard with the computer, and
with some more recent remote-entry systems such as the cordless
mouse, Newton will be able to communicate over short distances
with another computer using an infrared line-of-sight communication
link, in addition to the usual direct connect cable or
modem/telephone hookup.

Reports say that Newton is likely to debut in two weeks at the
CES, and will be on the market in time for Christmas if no
manufacturing or software glitches intrude on Apple's schedule.

(John McCormick/19920513)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 13 BSA European Raids Result In Suits 05/13/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00027)

BSA European Raids Result In Suits 05/13/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 13 (NB) -- The Business
Software Alliance, a software association that pursues international
copyright violations and piracy on behalf of its members, has
taken legal action against alleged software copyright violations
by two Belgian industrial companies.

One, ISS Servisystem, is a cleaning company, and the other,
Vel N.V. of Leuven, Belgian, is a chemical company.

Central Point Software, Lotus Development, Microsoft, Symantec,
and WordPerfect are the companies whose software was allegedly
copied and used illegally.

Vel has admitted having unauthorized copies of software in its
computers and has already settled by offering to pay damages
and to promote anti-piracy actions within the company.

The BSA has also taken action against Daiwa Europe N.V., and
Scansped, a Swedish transportation company. Daiwa is a
division of the giant Daiwa Bank, headquartered in Japan.

All suits were brought as a result of evidence gathered in recent
court-ordered raids of the companies.

(John McCormick/19920513/Press Contact: Robert Holleyman,
BSA, 202-737-7060)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 13 Exide Wins Navy UPS Contract 05/13/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00028)

Exide Wins Navy UPS Contract 05/13/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 13 (NB) -- The Naval
Facilities Engineering Command has awarded Exide Electronics
a five-year, contract to supply UPS (uninterruptible power supply)
hardware to Navy computer facilities, a contract with a total value
near $100 million.

The UPS units will provide backup power supplies which guarantee
on-line operation of C3I (command and control, computer and
intelligence) computers and telecommunications hardware at land-
based facilities.

Probably most significant is the fact that this is the third
major contract that the federal government has given to Exide in
the past year, including an earlier Navy contract with a
potential worth of $32 million which was awarded last summer.

In addition to the Navy contracts, Exide is also supplying $90-
to $200 million worth of hardware and support to the Federal
Aviation Administration as part of the FAA's ongoing Air Route
Traffic Control Center Modernization Program. The final size of
the contract will depend on future FAA orders, but to date it has
already been worth nearly $100 million to Exide.

UPS systems provide both power protection which helps prevent
damage to hardware during voltage fluctuations, spikes, surges,
and brownouts, as well as battery-powered instant backup power
to keep systems running in the case of complete power failure.

(John McCormick/19920513/Press Contact: Karin Cram,
Exide, 919-870-3239)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 13 HP Offers New Color Workstations Priced Under $10,000 05/13/92


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LAX)(00029)

HP Offers New Color Workstations Priced Under $10,000 05/13/92
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 13 (NB) -- Hewlett-
Packard (HP) is introducing two new color workstations, priced
under $10,000 and geared directly at competing systems from
Sun Microsystems and IBM.

The new models, the Model 705 and 710, are additions to the
Apollo 9000 Series 700 family of PA-RISC (reduced instruction-set
computer) workstations. HP is going directly after both Sun and
IBM with price/performance comparisons and upgradability.

HP says the Model 705 is entry-level priced at less than $1,000
less Sun's Sparcstation IPX. However, the company maintains that
a typical configuration with a 420 megabyte (MB) hard disk and 16
MB of RAM offers 70 percent greater graphics performance and
nearly 40 percent more performance for the price than the Sun IPX.

HP added that the same configuration compared to the IBM
RS/6000 offers 30 percent greater performance, 400 percent
greater graphics performance, and is priced at $500 less.

The Model 705 can be board upgraded to the Model 710, something
Sun and IBM cannot do with their comparable workstation systems,
HP maintains.

Competition in the workstation market is heating up, as Sun recently
announced price reductions on its workstations. According to market
research company Dataquest, Sun has three of the top five selling
workstations, but both IBM and HP hold a ranking in the top five.
HP's 9000 Model 425 is its member of the top five selling
workstations, Dataquest said.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920513/Press Contact: Jim Barbagallo,
Hewlett-Packard, tel [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 13  ****Growth Predicted In Human Reasoning Technology 05/13/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00030)

 ****Growth Predicted In Human Reasoning Technology 05/13/92
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 13 (NB) --
Computer technology that simulates human responses, called
neural network and fuzzy logic, is emerging from infancy, according
to a study released by Market Intelligence (MI), a high-tech market
research firm. The two emerging technologies are expected to gain
more than 30 times the current market acceptance, going from
$300 million in 1991 to $10 billion in 1998.

Fuzzy logic, is defined by MI as the computer ability to develop
multivalued rather than binary or "yes/no" logic for simulating
human response to continuous rather than discrete choices.
Neural networks are geared toward simulating the physical
structure of the human brain, simulating the high connectivity
between huge numbers of cells like human brain cells.

Currently both the fuzzy logic and neural network markets are the
same size, but the fuzzy logic technology is expected to lead until
the mid-1990's, when neural networks are expected to leap-frog
into first place, MI said.

These computer technologies that imitate human reasoning are
projected to grow over 65 percent per year in the coming years.
However, rather than competing, the two technologies are expected
to aid and help one another and neither is projected to compete
directly with reduced instruction-set computing (RISC) or parallel
processing in the microprocessor market until the turn of the
century, MI added.

Resources to continue to develop applications for the neural network
technology are expected to come from the financial, industrial, and
medical applications at the expense of the defense segment
everywhere, but in the United States, MI added. Fuzzy logic is
expected to get its boost from the automotive and industrial
applications market, which is expected to make more use of the
technology than the currently leading consumer electronics segment,
the company maintains. Currently the Japanese lead in implementing
fuzzy logic technology in over 100 applications such as air
conditioners, cameras, and washing machines, MI said.

The US is the neural network leader however, MI says Japanese
interest in the technology is expected to promote competition.
Europe has lagged behind, but MI predicts European companies
such as Philips, Siemens, and Thompson will change that.

MI also predicts standard software and microchips will dominate,
taking over the 90 percent share engineering development tools and
customer applications hold now.

New companies who want to enter with these emerging
technologies will not find a lot of competition right now, MI said, but
finding qualified people to work in these areas is tough. Also,
companies coming in will have to play catch-up with the companies
in the market, MI added, but the potential for growth is strong.

Mountain View, California-based Market Intelligence is a research
firm that describes itself as specializing in computing and
information technologies. The company claims its reports are
based on interviews with marketing and technical experts in the
fields it explores.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920513/Press Contact: Amy Arnell, tel
415-961-9000, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD




#CARD :1992 MAY 12 Computers Electronically Identify Pets 05/12/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00001)

Computers Electronically Identify Pets 05/12/92
BOULDER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 12 (NB) -- If your pet
has ever gotten lost, it can be an emotional experience. But a
Colorado company has an electronic identification system that
allows the pet to be positively identified and returned to you.

Destron/IDI manufacturers a tiny microchip about the size of a
grain of rice that is injected into the skin between the pet's
shoulder blades, much like an injection of medicine. If the pet is
found, a scanner passed over the area of the injection can read the
microchip and track down the owner. A Destron spokesperson told
Newsbytes that it will cost $35 - $40 to have a pet tagged.

The system has just been recommended by the Federation of
European Companion Animal Veterinary Associations (FECAVA)
to its more than 18,000 member veterinarians in 18 countries. The
FECAVA board passed a resolution stating that all European
veterinary surgeons should recommend and inject only Destron's
system of electronic identification.

Destron's Sherry Brown told Newsbytes that in Europe, once the
system is adopted, it will come into wide use almost immediately,
since the British RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals) controls all the animal shelters. In the US,
Brown said, contact will have to be made with each individual
county animal shelter.

Destron also provides similar devices for other uses. In the
Pacific Northwest, young fish, whether raised in captivity or born
in the wild, are implanted with the device. When they make their
annual spawning runs up the rivers, devices at the dams they
encounter separate the larger fish from the smaller, then
automatically read the tag. The information, about when the fish
was tagged and where, helps wildlife officials determine when to
release  or cut back on water from the dams. That helps keep the
breeding of the fish up to the desired standards.

Herd animals are also having the tags injected, usually on or near
the ear, or on the lower leg near the hoof, said Brown. Tagged
animals help track beef production and other factors that keep
meat quality control high. Brown said that so far more than two
million animals have been tagged.

(Jim Mallory/19920512/Press contact: Sherry Brown, Destron/IDI,
303-444-5306

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 12 Wyse Intros Cyrix CX486SLC-based Notebooks 05/12/92

(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00002)

Wyse Intros Cyrix CX486SLC-based Notebooks 05/12/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 12 (NB) -- As the
demand for ever more powerful notebook computers increases, so
manufacturers are seeking alternative microprocessor suppliers to
Intel. Wyse Technology is claiming to be the first major PC
manufacturer to announce a notebook based on Cyrix Corp.'s 25
megahertz (MHz) Cx486SLC microprocessor.

Priced at $2,299, the DecisionMate 486SLC weighs in at just five
pounds including battery. The company claims that the unit is
the lightest on the market offering a 486 chip. Set to ship on June
15, the system will be available through the company's
authorized resellers.

Dan Toporek, spokesman for the company, told Newsbytes that
"386 notebooks have become common" over the past year, and
486-based systems have "been extremely expensive." Wyse
has managed to offer a 486-based system at a reasonably low
cost because "the 486 Cyrix processor has the same pin
configuration as the 386," which allows for the use of the
486 chip with the minimum reconfiguration.

According to Wyse, Landmark benchmarks give the 486SLC
microprocessor a performance score of 78.33 compared to a 22 to
28 rating for the 386SX processor. The chip combines a 486-
compatible instruction set, a one kilobyte closely coupled cache
to speed memory operations, and internal pipeline architecture to
speed instruction execution.

Wyse claims that the notebook offers a newly designed
"suspend/resume" capability that uses no power from the battery
while suspended. Additionally, the unit offers display and hard
disk sleep power management. The company is claiming a battery
life of two to three hours.

The system also supports the new Advanced Power Management
(APM) BIOS (basic input/output system) interface developed jointly
by Microsoft and Intel. This interface provides power management
compatibility with both DOS 5.0 and Windows 3.1 applications.

The DecisionMate 486SLC includes four megabytes (MB) of RAM
(upgradeable to 8MB), an 80 MB or 120 MB hard disk and MS-DOS
5. Measuring 8.6- by 11- by 1.5-inches the notebook comes with a
full-size keyboard with dedicated cursor keys in the inverted-T layout
and 12 function keys, as well as an embedded numeric keypad. The
paper-white, side-lit, 8.5-inch diagonal display provides 32 shades of
gray in standard VGA screen (640 by 480) resolution.

The company maintains that four plug-in personality modules are
offered as options, so users can customize the computer to their
working environments. A personality module supports 2,400 bits-per-
second (bps) modem communications with MNP5 data correction
and 9,600 bps Group III capability for sending and receiving faxes.

In addition, the company is offering LapLink software and data
cables as a standard feature for connecting the notebook to the
serial port of a desktop computer for easy file transfer and copying.
Other standard features include a leather carrying case, a security
lock, and display enhancement software.

The Model 80/4, costing $2,299, comes with 4MB of RAM and an
80MB hard disk drive. The Model 120/4 with 4MB of RAM and a
120MB hard disk drive costs $2,699. Both models are covered by
Wyse's Notebook Express program, which offers end users free
pick-up, service and delivery within 48 hours.

(Ian Stokell/19920512/Press Contact: Joanne Marlin or Dan
Toporek  of Thomas Associates for Wyse Technology,
415-325-6236)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 12 New Virus Scanner Report Published In UK 05/12/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LON)(00003)

New Virus Scanner Report Published In UK 05/12/92
BERKHAMSTEAD, HERTS, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 12 (NB) --
S&S International, the virus and security company, has been
appointed as UK distributor for the National Computer Security
Association of Washington, D.C.'s anti-virus scanner reports.

The UKP 45 report covers more than 20 different anti-virus
products and has been prepared by testing each product against
the NCSA's library of virus programs.

Announcing the distribution deal, Dr David Stang, the NCSA's
research director, explained that most people have difficulty in
choosing anti-virus software, as they simply do not have the
facilities to test the products.

"Our research has revealed some big surprises. Some of the big
name products turn out to be remarkably poor, though others are
excellent, Likewise, we have found that some shareware products
are not nearly as good as had been supposed, while others,
perhaps lesser known, are surprisingly effective," he said.

The NCSA is a not-for-profit body whose objective is to
distribute information on computer security issues, as well as
offering training and seminar support. The company maintains a
series of bulletin boards around the world and publishes "News
and Reviews," a monthly newsletter.

S&S International is a security software house specializing in
security and network-related issues. The company's flagship
packages, Dr Soloman's antivirus toolkit, has more than 500,000
users worldwide and has been translated into French, German,
Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish.

(Steve Gold/19920512/Press & Public Contact: S&S International,
tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 12 UK: CD-ROM Information '92 Details Announced 05/12/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00004)

UK: CD-ROM Information '92 Details Announced 05/12/92
OXFORD, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 12 (NB) -- Learned Information
has announced the On-line/CD ROM Information '92 event. The
three day event will start on December 8 this year at Olympia 2
here in London.

Learned Information, which organizes the event, says it moved
the show from previous London sites owing to the demand for the
event. To date, more than 70 percent of the show stands have
been booked already.

The organizers claim that 41 percent of visitors to the show in
previous years have proven to be senior managers or above.
Overall, 76 percent of visitors are using, or are interested in
using, CD-ROM (compact disk read-only memory) disks.

According to a spokesman for Learned Information, CD-ROM is
becoming an important aspect of business. In 1991 82 exhibitors -
- 40 percent of the total -- were showing CD-ROM products or
services. This year the percentage is expected to be even higher.

The show itself draws visitors from 54 countries as far afield as
Australia, Japan, and Mexico, in addition to West and Eastern
Europe. Learned Information is also looking for companies
interested in exhibiting at the event, even though a large number
of stands have been booked already.

(Steve Gold/19920512/Press & Public Contact: Learned
Information, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 12 New For PC: First High-Speed PCMCIA Modem Debuts 05/12/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00005)

New For PC: First High-Speed PCMCIA Modem Debuts 05/12/92
SURENES, FRANCE, 1992 MAY 12 (NB) -- PNB, which claims
to be Europe's leading supplier of modems for laptop and notebook
computers, has announced the industry's first high-speed
modem/fax that conforms to the PCMCIA 2.0 standard.

The PCMCIA standard is a bus card standard designed for
interfacing random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory
(ROM) cards to notebook computers. Intel released a 2,400
bits-per-second (bps) card modem earlier this year conforming to
the PCMCIA 2.0 standard, but the PNB card is the first 9,600 bps
fax/data modem of its type.

The card modem supports all modem speeds from 300 to 2,400
bps, as well as 9,600 bps full-duplex (data) and half-duplex (fax
standard). The card also includes V.42 and the Microcom Network
Protocol (MNP) error correction system as standard. V.42Bis and
MNP Class 5 data compression is also fitted in software, along
with Autosync for synchronous connections to IBM and other host
computers.

The PNB card modem is distributed in the UK by Southwood
Associates. Other distributors have been lined up across Europe.
According to Gareth Hamer, Southwood's marketing director, the
card modem is the result of PNB's investment in technology.

"The emergence of PCMCIA as a standard is one which
manufacturers will follow and which will quickly dominate the
notebook connectivity market. PNB has the technology to
respond to the requirements of manufacturers in this latest
development in connectivity," he said.

PNB is unusual as modem manufacturers go, Newsbytes notes.
Instead of leaving it up to the local distributors to gain the
necessary telecom approvals for individual countries, the French
company has applied for, and obtained, approval in 20 different
countries for the card modem.

(Steve Gold/19920512/Press & Public Contact: PNB, tel (France)
[phone], fax (France) [phone]; Southwood
Associates, tel (UK) 0225-891442)


#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 12 New For PC: Lotus Announces Apps Library For Notes 05/12/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00006)

New For PC: Lotus Announces Apps Library For Notes 05/12/92
STAINES, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 12 (NB) -- Lotus
Development has announced the Application Library for Lotus
Notes, a collection of 50 sample Notes applications that will be
distributed to all registered users of Notes.

Announcing the apps library, Nigel Thomas, product marketing
manager for Notes at Lotus UK, said that the goal of the
package is to "demystify Notes by promoting greater ease of
application development. Once our customers start using Notes,
they find that the number of useful applications quickly multiplies,
limited only by their users' creativity. This collection of
applications will help spark that creativity."

The library of 50 apps are all well documented, Lotus claims,
and include feature descriptions and demo suggestions. The idea
behind the package is that they provide a proven set of design
ideas and approaches that will enable Notes users to shorten
their development time, so learning how to apply Notes features
to specific business problems.

(Steve Gold/19920512/Press & Public Contact: Lotus UK,
0784-455445)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 12 UK: Wordperfect Intros Training Accreditation Scheme 05/12/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00007)

UK: Wordperfect Intros Training Accreditation Scheme 05/12/92
ADDLESTONE, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 12 (NB) --
Wordperfect has introduced an international accreditation scheme
for Wordperfect trainers in the UK. The idea behind the scheme,
is to allow trainers of the package to keep in touch with the
industry, as well as providing a measure of the trainers' ability.

The new scheme is divided into three main areas: Certified
Resource (CR) and Certified Instructor (CI) which is designed for
individual trainers; and Authorized Training Center (ATC), for
training centers that provide their own training.

To prevent leap-frogging of abilities, Wordperfect has stated
that the CI and ATC programs are only available to those who
have completed the CR program.

Individuals who wish the register should initially apply in writing
to Wordperfect UK's instructional services manager. All
applicants will receive full details of the scheme and an
information pack on how it all works.

According to a spokeswoman for Wordperfect UK, one day
seminars at the company's offices in Weybridge, Surrey, are also
being held free of charge. Details of the course schedules can be
obtained from Wordperfect's instructional services department
on 0932-850578.

(Steve Gold/19920511/Press & Public Contact: Wordperfect UK,
tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 12 Eco-concious Ocean Game For Mac, PC 05/12/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00008)

Eco-concious Ocean Game For Mac, PC 05/12/92
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 12 (NB) -- Ecology-
conscious computer game software to help teach school children
about the ecosystem of the earth's oceans has been announced by
the Chariot Software Group. The new Oceans Edition is the second
in the Eco-adventure series, the first being the Rainforest Edition.

The company says the ocean game's objective is for players to
locate and photograph a certain plant, fish, or aquatic animal while
trying to avoid the dangers of treacherous reefs, sharks, and heavy
seas.

Robin Reimers of Chariot Software told Newsbytes the company
found children expect hazards and so it incorporated them as
realistically as possible. For example, players have the ability to
touch and if they touch a reef they can get cut, with the effect of the
blood drawing sharks. Also, as a diver, players can get caught in a
net used illegally by poachers, Reimers said. Players participate
either as members of a team on an oceanographic research vessel
or as divers equipped with scuba gear.

Chariot says the game was developed by an anthropologist and an
ecologist and one of the points is to see how oceans are threatened
by oil spills, over-fishing, pollution, and coral destruction. Players
are exposed to facts from research as well as to the variety and
importance of the oceans via graphics, animation, and sound
effects, Chariot added.

The game comes in color and monochrome versions for both the
Macintosh and IBM or compatible computer. Retail prices are
$49.95 for the single-user monochrome version and $59.95 for the
single-user color version. School editions are $79.95 (mono) and
$94.95 (color), while the lab pack edition is $119.95 (mono)
and $139.95 (color). The school edition comes with two copies
of the program, a teacher's guide, a log for students to record their
visual experiences, two posters, and a manual, Reimers said. The
lab pack comes with five copies of the program, two manuals, five
posters, a teacher's guide, and permission to copy the program,
Reimers added.

On the Macintosh the game requires one megabyte (MB) of RAM
and System 6.02. A hard disk is recommended. Chariot says
the Oceans Edition is compatible with the Mac Classic, Plus,
SE, SE/30, LC, II, IIci, IIFX, and Mac Portable. On the IBM
platform, the software needs at least an AT (80286-based)
system, 640 kilobytes of RAM, and a hard disk drive with at
least 2.8 MB of available space.

Reimers told Newsbytes a pre-history version game for the series
is in the works that will include pre-historic people and dinosaurs.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920512/Press Contact: Robin Reimers,
Chariot Software Group, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 12 Hong Kong: IT Study To Help Reduce Premature Deaths 05/12/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(HKG)(00009)

Hong Kong: IT Study To Help Reduce Premature Deaths 05/12/92
WANCHAI, HONG KONG, 1992 MAY 12 (NB) -- The Hong Kong
Government has commissioned BIS Information Systems, a Nynex
subsidiary, to conduct a feasibility study into the use of information
systems for General Outpatients (GOP) Clinics operations support
systems.

The Director of Health, Dr Lee Shiu-hung, said that Hong Kong fully
supports the World Health Organization's Health for All - 2000
initiative. "This study will identify measures that can be taken to
reduce preventable and premature deaths," he explained. "It will
support the pilot district health scheme initiated in Kwun Tong
this March to coordinate various health related institutes."

Dr Colin Greenfield, director of the Government's Information
Technology Services Department and a former statistician, said:
"There is a need for more information about the health status and
disease patterns of GOP users. This study is expected to establish
how computerized medical records can provide the basis for
meaningful epidemiological statistics."

The BIS team will be led by Dr Bruno Gomes, a noted professional
in the field of health economics. BIS will be supported by COL, a
leading Hong Kong computer services company, which will address
Chinese language issues.

Dr Gomes reported that a key element in the study would be to
agree performance indicators which may be used to monitor the
progress of Hong Kong in achieving the World Health Organization's
targets for health gain.

"These targets will include health promotion initiatives, ill health
prevention, the timing of intervention, the speed of rehabilitation and
the tailoring of care for special need groups. Without the use of IT,
the health gains could neither be measured nor monitored,"
explained Dr Gomes.

(Brett Cameron/19920512/Press Contact: John Burns, BIS,
[phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 12 Australia: Bank Security System Uses Finger ID 05/12/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SYD)(00010)

Australia: Bank Security System Uses Finger ID 05/12/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 MAY 12 (NB) -- An Australian
company, Bio Recognition Systems, is to supply a unique
security feature to Australian banks. The Finger Identification
units will increase security on 250 automatic teller machines
(ATMs).

While the front of the ATMs use personal identification numbers
(PINs) to verify that the card belongs to the person using it, the
back of the ATMs must be accessible to bank and security
company staff, and the amount of money that can be taken is
vastly greater than on the streetfront. The average machine in
Australia is loaded with more than US$150,000 - perhaps
enough to tempt some people who might accidentally get
access.

The new identification systems - FingerScan - use a holographic
image of the finger of authorized staff. This is compared to the
real-time image of a finger placed on a scanning plate.

The contract was awarded after a successful six-month trial at
a number of capital city banks. While not considered necessary
yet, the system could be used for the public side of ATMs as
well.

(Paul Zucker/19920512)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 12 Hong Kong's Third IT Week Set For September 05/12/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00011)

Hong Kong's Third IT Week Set For September 05/12/92
CAUSEWAY BAY, HONG KONG, 1992 MAY 12 (NB) -- Hong
Kong's third annual IT Week will be staged in September and it
promises to be an even better event than last year. Last year the
event was managed successfully by former Newsbytes
correspondent, Norman Wingrove.

Paradoxically, IT Week '92 events will actually cover the five
week period from 29th August to 3rd October inclusive.
IT Week '90  was planned for and lasted one week, but there
were conferences and events which took it out a couple of extra
days. IT Week '91 actually ran for a two weeks but no-one
involved thought it would be a good idea to change the name
to IT Fortnight. That proved to be very good thinking, because
this year it would have to be changed to IT Five Weeks!

IT Week is evolving into a unique community affair - an
opportunity for people from all walks of life to participate in,
and learn from, a wide variety of information technology
activities.

Dr Don Taylor, head of the HK Productivity Center and steering
group executive vice-chairman put it well at the recent IT Week
press conference: "IT allows us to avoid long bank lines, to
hear the voices of loved ones in far away places and to
increase our productivity. While the international IT industry
bandies around such terms and phrases as Unix, bar coding,
digital communications, multimedia and imaging, the average
citizen need not have even heard these terms to enjoy the
innumerable benefits of IT. The prevalence of IT all around us has
made it increasingly necessary for us to instill more awareness
of IT among the general public," he added.

True to their word, the organizers are certainly bringing the
show to the people, rather than the other way around. August
29th sees the launch of an novel IT Week activity - the IT
Week Road Show. This mobile event will first be staged at the
Hongkong Science Museum. Then, on September 5th it will be
held at the Shatin New Town Plaza. On September 12th it will
move to Pacific Place and then on the 19th it will again move,
this time to Tuen Mun Town Plaza.

The overall theme of the Road Show is "IT in Everyday Life."
The three major topics it will focus on are "IT in Education,"
"IT for Fun," and "IT in Shopping."

Another novel addition this year is the first Robot Ping-Pong
World Championships. Dr Taylor says that the technical skills
required for Robot Ping-pong are extensive, far more than those
required for the previous Micromouse championships.

Despite the apparent impossibility of these Robo-Table Tennis
players, current national champion entries are expected from
Australia, Finland, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and
the USA. Executive Director Jeffrey Evans could not confirm that
the commentating of the challenges would be via a personal
computer using voice synthesis.

And for everybody, during the formal IT Week, Hannover Messe
in conjunction with local company Adsale Exhibition Services,
will stage what is hailed as Asia's premier IT exhibition,
CENiT.

General Manager K.S. Tong told Newsbytes that response
to date has been excellent, with NEC, AT&T, Northern Telecom,
Hong Kong Telecom, Novell Networks, Hayes, Kodak, Data
General, OCE Hagemeyer, and Rank Zerox already planning for
participation. As usual, country booths are expected from
Canada, Japan and the USA, at least.

IT Week has been extremely successful in promoting an
awareness of IT for disadvantaged people. In 1990 it featured IT
for the Visually Impaired, last year IT for the Deaf, and this year
IT for the Mobility/Physically Impaired. There will be specially
prepared displays and demonstrations at CENiT and at City
Plaza, Tai Koo Shing.

IT in Government was very popular last year and in many ways
allowed the government a unique platform to inform the general
public as to how much technology was assisting it to improve
its efficiency in providing services to the community at large.

Executive Director and founder, Jeff Evans, told Newsbytes that:
"None of the IT Week successes would have been possible
without a lot of very hard work by IT Week voluntary committees
and staff, but even they could not do it without the solid
financial support of our sponsors. The maturity of IT Week is
pleasing, but we cannot rest on our laurels because as fast as
technology moves, we have to move with it, and that will always
demand the utmost of support from the IT industry."

(Keith Cameron/19920512/Press Contact: Lydia Chan, IT Week,
[phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 12 Hong Kong: RCP Consulting Offers Gas Station Software 05/12/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00012)

Hong Kong: RCP Consulting Offers Gas Station Software 05/12/92
ADMIRALTY, HONG KONG, 1992 MAY 12 (NB) -- Gas stations, or
service stations as they are known in this part of the world, are one
of the most ignored markets for retail systems in Hong Kong,
according to Richard Gibson, general manager of RCP Consulting,
a well-established local software house.

As a result, RCP has acquired the distribution rights for Dealer, an
expandable system for service stations. In an exclusive interview
with Newsbytes, Gibson said: "Despite the fact that Hong Kong is
compressed geographically, we do have many service stations and
they have common problems to every other service station around
the world. One of the advantages of Dealer is that it will run on
anything from a stand-alone personal computer to a wide area
network into mid-range and mainframe computers."

Dealer, which was developed by Australian software company,
Datasphere, is installed in a number of locations in Australia and
is the subject of serious consideration by a number of major oil
companies. The system works via a POS (point-of-sale) device
such as the purpose-designed New Zealand-built EFPEC terminal.
It manages inventories of fuel and PLU items, reports on sales,
and maintains sales history sufficient to produce effective buying
guidance.

"In many cases the sole service station proprietor may be absent
when the sales representatives arrive, and with Dealer the
proprietor can leave simple instructions to his temporary manager
to produce the order automatically from the system. This could
prove very important in Asia where communication is always a
problem," Gibson told Newsbytes.

Dealer is built to directly interface with FMS, RCP's financial
management system which has been sold extensively throughout
the region. FMS is a multi-currency, multi-company financial
management system suitable for major organizations such as
Security Pacific Credit Corporation down to stand-alone PC sites
of which there are many in the region.

(Brett Cameron/19920512/Press Contact: Richard Gibson, RCP
Consulting, [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 12 India: Thapars Gears Up For Telecom Liberalization 05/12/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(DEL)(00013)

India: Thapars Gears Up For Telecom Liberalization 05/12/92
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1992 MAY 12 (NB) -- The Thapar group, one
of India's top 10 industrial houses, intends to bring its various office
equipment producing firms under the umbrella of a new company to
be floated as Thapar Telecom Ltd.

The plan is to absorb its Northern Digital Exchange (NODE), which
deals with electronic PABXs (private automatic branch exchanges)
and the proposed enterprise for manufacturing facsimile machines,
besides Thapar Telecom, Thapar Sky Cell, Thapar NEC, and Thapar
Teltec.

The new firm, after consolidating its presence, intends to go public.
The company claims that its turnover at the end of the decade will
have escalated to nearly Rs 2,000 crore - Rs 100 crore by 1995 -
from a current gross of Rs 45-50 crore.

Thapar Sky Cell, which deals with paging, cellular and VSAT (very
small aperture satellite terminal), is expected to haul in Rs 200-500
crore by 1995, as per the firm's target.

Thapar-NEC portends for itself a Rs 270-crore turnover from each of
the switching and transmission equipment markets. The telecom
objectives of the group could suffer a setback if the switching division
does not win orders from the department of Telecommunications.

However, the company is ready with a contingency plan, in case of
such an eventuality. It will fall back on its Japanese partners' abilities
in the computers and semiconductors arena. The Bangalore unit of
Crompton Greaves Limited, a group company in the electrical and
electronics business, would be blended into Thapar-NEC venture.
CGL would continue with its rural exchange and transmission
equipment units.

The Thapar group is also in touch with Oki Data of Japan for a
dialogue on making fax machines here, by making Oki pick up 25
percent of the equity.

It is, no doubt, the belief in the so-far monopolistic telecom sector's
eventual liberalization that is prompting Thapars to assemble all its
group companies in one fold for its telecom business.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920512)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 12 Act! For Windows Set For June Release 05/12/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00014)

Act! For Windows Set For June Release 05/12/92
DALLAS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 12 (NB) -- Contact
Software, makers of the contact management software, Act!, has
announced Act! for Microsoft Windows will be available in June
of this year..

Contact Software describes Act! as a combination of a
planner/scheduler, like a daytime organizer, with the activity follow-
up and support of a personal assistant. Act! offers users a database
of contacts, a calendar/scheduler, a telephone autodialer, and a word
processor with a built-in Houghton-Mifflin spell checker, the company
maintains.

Act! for Windows will offer the ability to move data from Act! to
other Windows applications such as Microsoft Word for Windows,
WordPerfect, Lotus' Amipro, and CC:Mail, using Windows' dynamic
data exchange (DDE), the company maintains.

Contact Software also added that users of Act! on the Hewlett-
Packard 95LX palmtop or previous versions of Act! can automate the
process of exchanging data between those versions and Act! for
Windows with the advanced merge capabilities built into the
Windows version.

Julie Bledsoe, of public relations for Contact Software, told
Newsbytes that Act! for Windows uses dBase IV file structures,
which makes it able to import DBF format files. The product also
now allows users the ability to custom define all of the product's
66 fields themselves, as well as setting up user definable screen
layouts, Bledsoe added. Retail pricing has been set at $495, the
company said.

The company is broadening the platforms Act! serves past the
IBM and palmtop markets and onto the Macintosh, which Bledsoe
told Newsbytes is to be released this summer.

The contact management software market is growing, according to
Contact Software, who claims the company now has 250,000 users
worldwide. The company also has competitors in the contact
management field including Carlsbad, California-based Remote
Control International who markets Telemagic, a product with
versions available on the IBM PC, Macintosh, and IBM AS/400
computers.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920512/Press Contact: Julie Bledsoe,
Contact Software International, tel [phone], fax [phone];
Remote Control International, 800-992-9952)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 12 1930's-Style Murder Mysteries For Multimedia PC 05/12/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00015)

1930's-Style Murder Mysteries For Multimedia PC 05/12/92
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 12 (NB) --
Previously available for Commodore's CDTV, Tiger Media says it is
releasing the award-winning multimedia titles "Airwave Adventure:
The Case of the Cautious Condor" and "Airwave Adventure: Murder
Makes Strange Deadfellows" in CD-ROM format for use on IBM
and compatible personal computer (PC) systems.

Each title is a murder mystery based on the original 1930's era
Airwave Adventure series and allows a user to guide a character
in gathering clues to solve the mystery, Tiger Media says. In line
with the 1930's era, the audio is radio drama style and the graphics
are hand-drawn, comic-style art, the company added.

Geared toward teens and adults, the player gathers clues from
encounters with characters and hints from the tone of a character's
voice or from some visual aspect of the game, Tiger said. Condor
is set in a luxury airliner modeled after Howard Hughes' Spruce
Goose. Strange Deadfellows is set in the ancestral home of an
imaginary eccentric inventor and occultist Randolph Steere. In
each case players have 30 minutes in which to gather evidence
as to means, motive, and opportunity to solve the case.

Tiger Media says both titles have been developed specifically for
CD and have been available in CD format for the Sun Sparcstation,
the Tandy 2500XL, and the Fujitsu FM Towns computers, as well
as the Commodore CDTV.

The multimedia titles are DOS-based and geared toward PC
systems equipped with Sound Blaster audio cards, Tiger Media
said.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920512/Press Contact: Ann Lediaev, Tiger
Media, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 12  ****United Parcel Service To Track Packages With Cellular 05/12/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00016)

 ****United Parcel Service To Track Packages With Cellular 05/12/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 12 (NB) -- United Parcel
Service will use cellular phones and modems to track packages and
compete more closely with Federal Express.

FedEx has for years used a radio packet data network, based on
so-called Specialized Mobile Radio frequencies in the 800 MHz
band, to link its couriers with central computers in Memphis and
thus track where packages are between pick-up and delivery. UPS
will now provide the same capability, except using the national
cellular phone network, from its central computer in Mahwah, New
Jersey.

The system to be used by 50,000 UPS drivers will transmit
cellular packets to UPSnet, the company's internal communications
network. The entire system will cost about $150 million. Federal
Express has never publicly revealed how much it spent on its
system, but experts indicate it was much more, since the whole
system had to be built from scratch. Motorola is supplying the
hardware and logistical support, while network services will be
handled by McCaw Cellular Communications, GTE Mobile
Communications PacTel Cellular, and Southwestern Bell Mobile
Systems.

UPS thereby becomes the first major company to commit to
cellular as part of a field computing system involving large amounts
of data. Cellular networks will cover the US by the end of the
year, but the cost of a switched cellular call -- about 70 cents
per minute -- has discouraged data customers. Instead, radio data
services like Ardis, an IBM-Motorola joint venture, and RAM
Mobile Data, a RAM Broadcasting-BellSouth venture, have built
large data networks covering most major cities, which cost much
less to use.

If cellular companies can leverage the UPS deal and the Cellupath
packet cellular technology, which IBM and a consortium of major
carriers including McCaw and GTE are working on, to reduce user
costs, however, they could win a lot of new business from
companies which require nationwide data network coverage.

UPS said the new system will let its one million daily customers
learn where their packages are by phone, instantly. Large
customers with MaxiTrack, a UPS proprietary software program,
will have direct access to package tracking and delivery
confirmation, or customers may call any customer service
telephone center nationwide.

UPS said it will establish a direct connection between carrier
cellular switches and the UPSnet nationwide packet network.
Upon receiving a package, customers will sign a pen-based
terminal called a Delivery Information Acquisition Device, or DIAD.
On returning to the truck, the DIAD will be placed into a custom
cradle, made by Motorola, which will make a call to the nearest
switch serving the UPSnet network. From there, it travels to a
mainframe computer at UPS's information services headquarters
in Mahwah, New Jersey, where it can be accessed worldwide.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920512/Press Contact: GTE Mobile, Jeff
Keller, 404-391-8358; United Parcel Service, Bob Kenney,
404-913-6122)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 12 Dow Jones-BellSouth Testing Audiotex-Ad Link 05/12/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00017)

Dow Jones-BellSouth Testing Audiotex-Ad Link 05/12/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 12 (NB) -- In the
first concrete outgrowth of their recently-announced joint venture,
BellSouth and Dow Jones are testing a service linking newspaper
ads to telephone services.

In the test, Dow Jones is creating a special number called its
Reader Service Line, at 1-800-CALL-WSJ, which will be served by
BellSouth equipment. Extensions to that number will be inserted
in selected ads, in regional editions. By dialing the number, and
the extension, callers will be able to get detailed recordings on
offerings, and sign-up to get more information.

If the test succeeds in producing new ads and new business for
advertisers, the two companies could quickly roll it out for
other newspapers. In concept, it's similar to the 222-2000
service offered by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and similar
numbers offered by other newspapers. Many leading magazines
also offer further information with their ads through so-called
"reader service cards" or even fax-based services.

The problem for newspapers, and other large national publications,
is also shared by TV networks -- handling the huge loads such
advertising can generate.

The two partners will work together with advertisers to develop
audiotex add-ins to their ads. BellSouth Enterprises, the phone
company's unregulated entity, will provide the voice response
system. If the test is successful, order-entry could be added to
the service, allowing customers to make purchases directly after
seeing an ad.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920512/Press Contact: Dow Jones, Roger
May, 212-416-2601; BellSouth, Scott Ticer, 404-249-2824)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 12 Presidential Hopeful Brown Live On CompuServe 05/12/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00018)

Presidential Hopeful Brown Live On CompuServe 05/12/92
COLUMBUS, OHIO, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 12 (NB) -- Former
California  Governor Jerry Brown will take his flagging Presidential
campaign  to CompuServe, with a live electronic town meeting May
13 from 6 pm to 7 pm.

The "electronic town meeting," a concept brought to the campaign
by independent Presidential candidate Ross Perot, will take place
in a section of CompuServe called the Convention Center. This
will be the second on-line meeting for Brown, who previously
hosted a live forum on GEnie, a CompuServe competitor.

During that meeting, some users were able to ask questions live,
and users were amused by Brown's typing mistakes. After the
meeting a spokesman came on-line to assure everyone it was
actually Governor Brown at the keyboard.

In this case, questions for Governor Brown must be sent in
advance. A full transcript of the meeting will be available in
the system's on-line library shortly after the meeting.

The Brown for President campaign has been active since the
beginning of the campaign, answering questions from users of
both CompuServe and GEnie. The Perot campaign has also been
active on-line, with "cursor cowboy" Dave Hughes turning over his
entire Colorado City, Colorado board to the campaign's use, and
with EDS founder Perot calling for the increased use of such
electronic forums as a major plank in its campaign.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920512/Press Contact: Brown Campaign,
Ileana Wachtel, 310-449-1918)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 12 ****Daratech: 10% Growth Forecast In CAD/CAM, CAE 05/12/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TOR)(00019)

 ****Daratech: 10% Growth Forecast In CAD/CAM, CAE 05/12/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 12 (NB) --
The computer-aided design and manufacturing and computer-aided
engineering market will grow at about 10 percent in 1992, according
to a forecast from Daratech, a market research firm. Daratech also
expects eight of the 10 largest companies in this market to record
growth of better than 10 percent, leading to slightly more market
concentration.

Two of the three largest vendors in the market will record the
slowest growth in 1992, Daratech said. IBM's CAD/CAM and
CAE revenues are expected to grow about seven percent, while
Computervision's will be essentially flat.

IBM's growth will be less than that of the market partly because
the company, which holds about 29 percent of the CAD/CAM and
CAE market, has such large revenues to begin with. "It's much
more of a challenge" for such a large company to grow faster than
the market, observed Bruce Jenkins, vice-president of Daratech.

The other drag on IBM's growth, he said, is a shift from systems
based on host computers to those based on RISC System/6000
workstations, which typically cost less per user. That means that
while IBM sells more systems, it will earn lower revenues per
system, Jenkins said.

Computervision, meanwhile, will see little or no revenue growth
because the company is moving out of the hardware business to
focus on software. While Computervision's software revenues are
growing, Jenkins said, the disappearance of its hardware
revenues will keep the total from growing in the coming year.

However, according to Daratech, Computervision's CADDS 5
software is being well received in the market, and its plan to sell
the software through resellers and systems integrators is expected
to build market penetration in the coming year. Computervision's
CAD/CAM and CAE revenues are forecast at about $900 million
or 11.1 percent of the market, behind IBM and second-place vendor
Intergraph, which will have about $13.5 million in revenues and
some 17 percent of the market.

Intergraph is expected to record growth of about 15 percent in
1992. New Clipper RISC workstations and release 2.0 of the
company's I/EMS engineering and modeling software will
strengthen the firm's position in the Unix workstation market,
Daratech said.

The growth leader among the top 10 will be Structural Dynamics
Research Corp. (SDRC), for which Daratech forecasts 30 percent
revenue growth to $156 million in 1992. The company's strength is
built on its expertise in solids modeling and tightly integrated
analysis functions, according to Daratech.

Another company with strong growth will be Autodesk, the major
vendor of personal computer CAD software. Daratech expects
Autodesk's CAD revenues to rise 23 percent in 1992, to $330
million.

(Grant Buckler/19920512/Press Contact: Bruce L. Jenkins,
Daratech, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 12 Adaptec, Corel Plan Joint SCSI Development 05/12/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00020)

Adaptec, Corel Plan Joint SCSI Development 05/12/92
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAY 12 (NB) -- Corel
Systems and Milpitas, California-based Adaptec have announced
an agreement to work together on SCSI (Small Computer System
Interface) products. The two firms, both of which already sell SCSI
products, said they will cooperate on both development and
marketing.

Adaptec sells SCSI host adapters and created the Advanced SCSI
Programming Interface (ASPI) software. Corel produces SCSI
device driver software for peripheral products.

Adaptec's ASPI software managers integrate SCSI into all major
operating systems and, along with Adaptec's SCSI host adapters,
are used by a number of major PC makers. Corel's device drivers
are used by many makers of optical peripherals.

Company officials said products resulting from the alliance can be
expected in the third quarter of this year. Fiona Rochester, a
spokeswoman for Corel, told Newsbytes that details of the
agreement still have to be worked out and further information on
the companies' product plans is not available yet.

Both companies said they do not plan to discontinue any of their
existing products. Officials also stressed that the move is not a
merger and is not intended to lead to one. Both companies will be
involved in developing joint marketing plans, they said.

Eleven-year-old Adaptec produces very large scale integration
(VLSI) circuits, controllers for the imaging industry, and SCSI
products. It employs approximately 1,000 people in the United
States, Asia, and Europe. Corel, founded in 1985 develops SCSI
and graphics software, and is best known for its Corel Draw
software package.

(Grant Buckler/19920512/Press Contact: Robert Lendvai, Corel
Systems, 613-728-8200 ext 1195; Jerry Steach, Adaptec,
408-945-6761)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 12 IBM Canada, ISM Combine Education Services 05/12/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00021)

IBM Canada, ISM Combine Education Services 05/12/92
MARKHAM, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAY 12 (NB) -- IBM
Canada and ISM Information Systems Management, Canada's
largest provider of information systems management services,
have announced plans to combine their education and training
operations.

The arrangement will create Canada's largest private-sector
education and training offering, the companies said, with
facilities in 20 cities and the ability to deliver 300,000
student-days of training per year.

The deal brings together IBM Canada's larger assortment of training
courses with ISM's greater presence in Western Canada, where a
predecessor company, Westbridge Computer Services, was based,
according to Stan Didzbalis, a spokesman for IBM Canada.

For customers, Didzbalis said, the announcement is likely to
mean that many courses will be available closer to home.

The companies offer an assortment of courses, including
management and professional training, project management,
systems management, personal computer and workstation
applications, and technical courses on computer hardware and
software.

IBM said its education and training expenditures in 1991 were
about C$60 million, or which about C$43 million was for internal
training.

The deal provides for ISM to supply additional courses and
instructors to IBM Canada, while IBM will supply courses,
marketing support, teaching facilities, and administration
services to ISM.

(Grant Buckler/19920512/Press Contact: Stan Didzbalis, IBM
Canada, 800-563-2139 or 416-474-3900; Ray Lancashire, ISM,
306-781-5151 or 416-499-1012)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 12  ****Interim Release of Wordperfect 5.1 For Windows 05/12/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00022)

 ****Interim Release of Wordperfect 5.1 For Windows 05/12/92
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 12 (NB) -- Wordperfect said
that it is shipping an interim release of Wordperfect 5.1 for
Windows.

According to the company, the interim release includes
enhancements such as "drag-and-drop," "zoom edit," "bullet," and
"envelope" macros. There's also more help showing the user how
to create and edit macros.

Drag-and-drop allows the user to highlight desired text, click
anywhere in the highlighted area, and drag the highlighted portion
to a new location. There's an insertion point, so you can position
it exactly where you want to move it. As an alternative to moving,
you can hold down the Control key and copy the selected text to
another location in the document. Drag and drop is becoming
popular with a number of the popular word processing programs.

Zoom edit uses a zoom button on the ruler that allows the user to
see and edit the page in magnifications from 50 to 400 percent.
Zoom is also available under the View menu, and a page width
option lets you see the entire width of the page.

Bullet macro allows the user to automatically add bullets to
selected text. For example, if you had a list of meeting places and
dates, you could place a bullet selected in front of each of the
items. The macro can be placed on any button bar or assigned to
the Macro menu. Five separate bullet characters can be active at
one time, selected from Wordperfect's 1500 character set.

Many power users of Wordperfect have learned to create an
envelope macro to copy the address from a letter and print it to an
envelope. Now Wordperfect has included that feature in the
program. It also added some additional features such as
including a return address and bar codes. The ability to append
the envelope to the document allows the user to print the document
and the envelope in one step. The return address, once typed,
remains constant until the user changes it. The envelope macro
can also be placed on any button bar or assigned to the Macro
menu.

The company said it has added Macro Dialogs, a feature which
makes it possible to add dialog boxes to your macros. You can
create dialog boxes with radio button, check boxes, various colors,
pop-up buttons, frames, and lists.

Additional on-line help as been added for macros, including
reference information about macro commands, with explanations
and examples. Macros are a useful tool which many users of
programs which offer them never get to use because they do not
understand them. A macro is the recording of specific keystrokes
which perform a task, then saving those keystrokes and assigning
them to a key or keys. For example, a macro which required five
keystrokes to print a document could be assigned to a single key.
Each time you wanted to print the document, you would just press
"Control-P."

There's also a macro command inserter feature, which Wordperfect
said is similar to the pop-up menu in the Wordperfect 5.1 for DOS
Macro Editor that lists all the macro commands. Using a macro
editor makes it easier to access the commands when creating
macros, said the company.

Other improvements are better handling of Windows metafiles
and  improved support for high resolution monitors.

Wordperfect spokesperson Liz Tanner told Newsbytes that
the interim release is free to any WP user who has reported a
defect in the software, or "bug." Others will pay $15 for the set of
six 3.5-inch high density disks, or $9 for the 5.25-inch disk set.

Wordperfect regularly distributes interim releases to its products
in order to correct any deficiencies noted after the product went
to market, Tanner told Newsbytes.

(Jim Mallory/19920512/Press Contact: Liz Tanner, Wordperfect,
801-228-5004)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 12 Dell Cuts Prices Up To 26%; Opens Two Subsidiaries 05/12/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00023)

Dell Cuts Prices Up To 26%; Opens Two Subsidiaries 05/12/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 12 (NB) -- Dell Computer has
announced price cuts for its desktop and floor-standing personal
computers that reduce prices as much as 26 percent, and opened
two Eastern European subsidiaries. This is the fifth time in the
past 12 months that Dell has reduced prices.

Price cuts are effective immediately, said the company. The
biggest reductions are on the 450SE/2 at 26 percent, and the
450SE, down 25 percent. Smallest markdowns were for the
486P/16 at six percent, the 486P/20 at five percent, and the
486D/16 at three percent. Systems utilizing monochrome, VGA,
VGA Plus, and Ultrascan displays were included.

One notebook, the 325NC, a color system with four megabytes
(MB) of memory, an 80MB hard drive and CGA Color LCD (liquid
crystal display) display, was included on the list. That system
was cut 19 percent, down $800 to $3,499.

Joel Kocher, Dell's senior VP of US sales and operations, said the
cuts were made to maintain a competitively priced line of systems.
All Dell systems include unlimited toll free technical support and a
one year next-business-day on-site service contract through
BankTec Service Corporation.

Also, Dell said it has opened two Eastern European subsidiaries,
one in Czechoslovakia and one in Poland. The openings mark the
13th and 14th international Dell subsidiaries. Dell said it provided
the computers used to tabulate Czechoslovakia's first democratic
election.

Dell Czechoslovakia will be headed by Karel Stasney, who
previously operating a consulting firm specializing in networks
using Dell hardware. The Polish outlet will be led by Mirek
Wierzbowski, formerly the director of service activities at Sun
Microsystems. Dell said its products marketed in Eastern Europe
would be built at its Limerick, Ireland facility.

Andrew Harris, senior VP of Dell International, said the two
companies offer excellent long-term growth opportunities for Dell.
Harris said Dell's international sales during the third quarter, which
ended May 3.

(Jim Mallory/19920512/Press Contact: Lisa Rohlf, Dell Computer,
512-343-3782; Reader contact: Dell Computer, 800-289-3355)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 12 Storagetek, HP Announce Co-Marketing Deal 05/12/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00024)

Storagetek, HP Announce Co-Marketing Deal 05/12/92
LOUISVILLE, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 12 (NB) -- Storage
Technology, their stock plummeting last week as a result of
delays  in delivery of its new "Iceberg" disk array storage product,
has announced a co-marketing deal with Hewlett-Packard.

The announcement by Storagetek said the two companies had
signed a letter of intent covering the major provisions of an
agreement to co-market the Storagetek 4220 and 4280 storage
and retrieval products with H-P's RISC-based HP 3000 and 9000
business systems and servers.

The Storagetek products provide tape backup and restore
capabilities for mainframe-class computers, and can interchange
tape with IBM mainframes.

The deal calls for HP to provide Storagetek's worldwide
OEM/indirect distributor channel with commercial market support,
technical and configuration assistance, and initial sales support.

According to Larry Hemmerich, Storagetek VP for OEM and indirect
operations, the deal not only is beneficial to Storagetek and H-P,
but also is a tremendous opportunity for the company's worldwide
distribution network. Hemmerich said the concept arose due to the
high cost of integrating peripherals into system vendors product
lines.

'HP views the addition of Storagetek's 3480 technology...as a key
element in our commitment to fulfilling our customers' needs,"
said HP General Manager of Networked Systems Group William
Roelandts. "It will enable HP to more easily co-exist with the
mainframes in our customers' corporate data centers," he said.

The 4280 is an one-track cartridge subsystem compatible with
the IBM 3480, and uses half-inch cartridge tape. It uses one
controller and two tape drives designed primarily for multi-
processing environments.

The 4220 is an 18-track system with one drive and controller
designed for use with entry-level computer systems. Both
systems use ICRC (improved cartridge recording capability)
technology, which allows HP subsystems to interchange data
from other platforms in an industry standard format.

Storagetek's David Reid told Newsbytes that the agreement could
account for as much as $8 million dollars annually for Storagetek.
Reid said the biggest beneficiary would be the OEM (original
equipment manufacture) and indirect distributor channel. Asked
if the agreement would benefit Storagetek's stock, which
dropped six and one-eight after the company announced Iceberg
would be delayed until the fourth quarter, Reid said he did not
expect the announcement to have any significant effect on the
price of the stock.

(Jim Mallory/19920512/Press Contact: David Reid, Storagetek,
303-673-4815)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 12  ****Accolade Must Label Cartridges "Not Licensed By Sega" 05/12/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LAX)(00025)

 ****Accolade Must Label Cartridges "Not Licensed By Sega" 05/12/92
REDWOOD CITY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 12 (NB) -- An
appeals court judge has refused to stay the latest court order that
requires Accolade to place stickers on its Sega-compatible game
cartridges that clearly indicates they are not licensed by Sega.

Sega filed the suit on October 31, 1991, claiming the company
infringed on Sega's copyrights and trademarks when it developed a
line of Genesis-compatible products, creating an impression among
consumers that Accolade software was authorized and licensed by
Sega.

Accolade says the impression is Sega's fault as Sega modified its
hardware so any cartridge inserted into the Genesis game system
displays the message "Produced By or Under License From Sega
Enterprises Ltd." Alan Miller, president and chief executive officer
of Accolade, said Sega is attempting to force Accolade into
agreeing to what amounts to a non-negotiable, third-party licensing
arrangement.

The whole issue here is whether or not a hardware manufacturer can
force those making compatible software to pay them for doing so.
Decisions made in the fights between game manufacturers and the
makers of compatible cartridges are expected to have profound legal
implications in the entire world of computers and software.

Sega's tactics in its suit against Accolade have been condemned
by the American Committee for Interoperable Systems (ACIS) which
includes companies such as Chips and Technologies, Phoenix
Technologies, Seagate Technology, Zenith Data Systems, and Sun
Microsystems.

Peter Choy, chairman of ACIS and deputy general counsel of Sun
Microsystems said: "The life blood of the computer industry is the
ability of any competitor to make and distribute interoperable
software and hardware."

Michael Crick, president of third-party software development
company for Nintendo machines, Mica, says Sega's hardware
change amounts to a trick to drive Accolade into compliance.
Crick says the design of the hardware now requires any software
manufacturer to deliberately display the license message in order
to get the cartridge to work at all. Crick says while it can be argued
Accolade should not be displaying that which misleads consumers,
using the copyright laws to stifle a competitor is not the manner in
which the laws were intended to be used.

Crick maintains Sega and Nintendo are attempting to force third-
party developers to license from them and follow their rules for
production of game titles. While such practices are illegal, Crick
told Newsbytes a good deal of what the third-party developers are
calling unfair competition Nintendo and Sega are calling attempts
at quality control.

The hardware game manufacturers want to determine how many
titles can be introduced in a year by a licensee, among other things.
Crick maintains such practices, while illegal, do drive up the quality
of titles for a system as the developer has to concentrate all
available resources on a few titles. While quality control is a
laudable goal, Crick said the effect could be a far reaching one for
the entire industry if Sega manages to win.

While a previous ruling required Accolade to pull its product
entirely until the suit was settled, Accolade got an appeals court
to intervene. For now, however, Accolade will have to sticker its
packaging with the notice to consumers that the cartridges are
not produced or licensed by Sega.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920512/Press Contact: Brian Webster,
Manning, Selvage & Lee for Sega, 818-509-1840; Michael Crick,
Mica, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 12 Grid Makes Major Pen Computer Sale To Detroit Edison 05/12/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(WAS)(00026)

Grid Makes Major Pen Computer Sale To Detroit Edison 05/12/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 12 (NB) -- Detroit Edison
says that the utility expects to save $1.6 million in the first year
it uses the Grid Systems pen computer.

This is a considerable savings if it actually happens because the
GridPADs should only cost a bit more than $1 million depending
on the model. Although the models involved in the contract were
not specified, the electric company does say that it expects the
computers both to pay for themselves in the first year and to
speed service operations.

When the market is more mature such announcements will not
be a major event, but at this stage in the development of pen
computers the acquisition of 367 GridPAD pen-based computers
by a major electrical utility is still news.

GridPAD, a 4.6-pound portable computer which uses a 10-inch
display/writing surface to show and record data and images, was
first announced in 1989. Back then the only model was powered by
an Intel 8086 microprocessor, slightly more powerful and running
about twice as fast as the first PC. Newer models include hard
drives and are either based on the faster NEC V20 or an Intel
386SL power-saver chip.

Major applications for pen computers are in the field computing
area such as those at Detroit Edison, which will use the
computers to speed data collection out in the field where they
will be used by power line inspectors. They will also be used for
time and attendance record keeping when Detroit Edison foremen
supervise contract workers.

(John McCormick/19920512/Press Contact: Bob Goligoski, Grid,
510-656-4700)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 12 Cellnet Rethinks On GSM Digital Mobile Phones 05/12/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00027)

Cellnet Rethinks On GSM Digital Mobile Phones 05/12/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 12 (NB) -- Remember GSM, the
next-generation digital mobile phone standard that was supposed
to revolutionize the European mobile phone market? The phone
standard hit problems earlier this year when the proposed
operators started complaining about the high R&D costs involved.
Now British Telecom has decided to resurrect its plans for the
service, bringing forward its planned network launch date to 1993
(from 1994) and explaining its plans for the service itself.

The news will come as a relief to other pilot GSM network
operators, including Vodafone, BT's main rival in the UK mobile
phone stakes. Vodafone has a GSM network operational already,
although the network only covers the greater London area and has
been operational for the last six months.

BT, operating through its Cellnet mobile phone subsidiary, which
Securicor has a 40 percent stake in, will open its GSM service
for business in a year, according to Mike Short, Cellnet's
contracts director. Short, speaking at a mobile communications
conference here in London, said that Cellnet plans to offer
differential tariffs rather than the all-in national rates that its
existing Cellnet analog cellular phone subscribers pay.

Short added that call tariffs would change in regions of the
highest usage. "We've established that many customers want
urban only uses," he said.

Although Cellnet is keeping its plans under wraps for the time
being, industry watchers expect that the Cellnet GSM pricing
structure will include a lower rate for city-only usage, with
subscribers paying a higher tariff when roaming onto the main
country-wide network.

This pricing technique is one that Mercury Communications has
announced it will apply to its proposed personal communications
network (PCN) mobile phone system, itself a GSM subset, which
will launch in the 1993/94 time frame.

While all the mobile phone network operators are talking about
digital phone technology, much of the action is on the verbal
front, Newsbytes notes. Part of the problem is that the existing
analog cellular phone network have reached saturation point in
sales terms, with the effect that companies are now wary of
investing large sums of money in new technology systems that
subscribers may not actually want.

(Steve Gold/19920512)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 12 EC Issues Warning On Bull Refinancing 05/12/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00028)

EC Issues Warning On Bull Refinancing 05/12/92
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1992 MAY 12 (NB) -- French plans to
refinance the state-owned computer company Cie des Machines
Bull (Bull) with a FF 2,080 million share issue, may hit problems
owning to EC red tape, European Community officials have
revealed.

EC officials have said that they are concerned that Bull has not
sought official permission over the deal. As a result, progress
on the share funding has been suspended until the situation is
resolved.

At the heart of the problem is the worry that the operation may
involve state funding. So far, Bull officials have been careful
to stress that the share funding will be made by private parties
and that the government's involvement is purely advisory.

While neither the EC nor the French government has made any
official comment on the matter, the French press have painted a
picture of frustrated French officials pressing ahead with the
plan in the face of continuing red tape from Brussels. Now Bull
must play a waiting game with Brussels firmly in control,
Newsbytes notes.

(Steve Gold/19920512)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 12 UK: S&S International Opens First Overseas Operation 05/12/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00029)

UK: S&S International Opens First Overseas Operation 05/12/92
HAMBURG, WESTERN GERMANY, 1992 MAY 12 (NB) -- S&S
International, the UK virus, security and networking software
specialist, has announced it is opening its first international
subsidiary, S&S International Deutschland. The company will
open its door for business this Friday, May 15.

According to S&S, the German operation is primarily a technical
company, providing corporate consultancy and customization of
the company's anti-virus software, including Dr Soloman's
Anti-Virus Toolkit, in conjunction with MSPI, a German publishing
company.

As well as the link with MSPI for the local language edition of
Dr Soloman's Anti-Virus Toolkit, S&S International Deutschland
will also offer data recovery services, legal investigation work
and general consultancy.

"We're a European company," explained Dr Alan Soloman, S&S
International's chief executive. "In January 1993, the barriers
(to free trading) come down and we plan to be in a commanding
position for the future. If you don't operate throughout Europe,
you're missing a great opportunity," he said.

S&S's activities are growing constantly, Newsbytes notes. The
company's flagship package, Dr Soloman's Anti-Virus Toolkit,
has sold more than half a million copies around the world and is
now available in several local language editions, including French,
German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish, as well as
the original English version.

One of S&S's major claims to fame is its "no fix, no fee" data
recovery service, although Soloman admits that he rarely fails to
recover the data from a corrupt or similarly problematic hard
disk.

S&S International Deutschland is located at Osterstrasse 124,
W-2000 Hamburg 20, Germany. The company's phone number is
[phone]. The facsimile number is [phone].

(Steve Gold/19920512/Press & Public Contact: S&S International,
tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 12 UK: Trigem Slashes PC Pricing 40 Percent 05/12/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00030)

UK: Trigem Slashes PC Pricing 40 Percent 05/12/92
SLOUGH, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 12 (NB) -- Trigem
Computers has announced it is cutting pricing on its machines by
up to 40 percent. At the same time, similar cuts have been made
on the company's hard disks, and a new set of high capacity
drives have been introduced.

Why the cuts? As well as the usual desire to remain competitive
in what is fast becoming a cut-price PC market here in the UK,
Parm Sangha, the company's sales manager said that the
company's new plant in Korea -- opened in January of this year --
is now fully operational and churning out 100,000 PCs a month.

"We're passing on to our customers the economies of scale
offered by the new plant. Trigem came into the market
competitively and we intend to maintain that price differential,"
he said.

Examples of the price cuts include the company's flagship 486-
based 486xe, which drops 39 percent from UKP 2,990 to UKP
1,838. At the other end of the scale, the 286-based 286e Plus
is now UKP 407 -- down 40 percent on the previous UKP 680
price tag.

On the hard disk front, prices have been cut and new high
capacity products introduced. As an example, a 107 megabyte
(MB) disk costs UKP 205, representing a 20 percent increase
over the earlier 89MB drive, for seven percent more.

Who are Trigem? The company claims to be Korea's leading PC
manufacturer, now operating in the US, Canada, and Europe.
The company's primary activities are in the original equipment
manufacturer (OEM) market, where Trigem makes PCs for sale
by third-party companies under their own name. The company is
currently pushing hard to establish itself as a producer of PCs
in its own right.

(Steve Gold/19920512/Press & Public Contact: Trigem
Computers, 0753-810808)
#ENDCARD



#CARD :1992 MAY 11 Floods, Lightning Fail To Dampen HK Net 05/11/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(HKG)(00001)

Floods, Lightning Fail To Dampen HK Net 05/11/92
WANCHAI, HONG KONG, 1992 MAY 11 (NB) -- Over the past weekend, Hong Kong
experienced catastrophic weather. Torrential rain, continual electrical
storms and massive mudslides which threatened many residential blocks and
completely flooded the central business district. At least four people
died as a result. Television news carried footage all around the world.

Almost 700 people were evacuated from one threatened block in Baguio
Villas today. Through all of this chaos the Hong Kong telecommunications
networks proved resilient and kept operating at a normal pace.

Local IT industry observers lauded the Hong Kong Telephone Company HKTEL
for its contingency planning. Peter Skerrett, director of network
engineering for HKTEL, proudly told Newsbytes: "We had planned for this
day. It was a perfect example of the civil engineer's "ten year flood."
Of course we are very fortunate that the vast majority of our network is
fiber optics and digital, but even those copper cables we still have
were laid with this type of catastrophe clearly in our minds. Cables
with 200 pairs or over are pressurized to keep water out, and all cables
carrying less than that are jelly-filled."

"This type of forethought is very expensive, but the cost of doing it
paled into insignificance on Friday and Saturday when maintaining tight
communications was vital to the territory," he continued.

Many local industry watchers have been very critical of the Hong Kong
government because of its insistence to break the HKTel network monopoly
in 1995 to entice other telecommunications companies to
install a second network. The watchers see the performance over
the weekend as evidence that HKTel is all the territory needs.

Mr Skerrett added that a couple of direct lightning strikes took out the
power supply to two or three exchanges, but the back-up generators cut
in so fast that they had not had one complaint from any subscriber. He
said that a severe landslip severed a cable in one area, but again
because of the company's contingency plans, they were able
to divert that immediately to radio.

(Brett Cameron/19920511/Press contact: Peter Skerrett, Hong Kong
Telephone Company, [phone]; HK time is GMT + 8)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 11 Australia: Optus Signs US$190M Deal With Nokia 05/11/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00002)

Australia: Optus Signs US$190M Deal With Nokia 05/11/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 MAY 11 (NB) -- Australia's new telecom carrier
Optus has signed a AUS$250M(US$190M) deal with Finnish telecom
manufacturer Nokia. The two companies have established a partnership
to provide a GSM (global system for mobile communications or Groupe
Speciale Mobile) network throughout Australia.

The new digital mobile phone system will be installed in 1993, with
an analogue offering to attract customers in the meantime. The
temporary system will be bought from the main carrier Telecom.

Nokia is already a major supplier in Europe, and is pleased to have
made this sale into the Asia/Pacific region. It will act through local
Australian company ERG Australia to develop second generation GSM
base station technology. It is estimated that Optus will need around
600 base stations to cover its network.

Nokia has promised that its Australian-developed and manufactured
products will be sold into the region, and will earn "substantial
sums" for Australian industry.

GSM is being adopted throughout most of Europe, and will allow users
to range across country borders while maintaining their own telephone
number and call-making ability. Eventually this will carry through to
other continents so that a business person will be able to accept
calls wherever he or she is. It won't be necessary to take a phone
either, as an ID card will fit into rented units, essentially
personalizing them.

(Paul Zucker/19920511)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 11 Australia: Telecom Conference 05/11/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00003)

Australia: Telecom Conference 05/11/92
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, 1992 MAY 11 (NB) -- One obvious fact to come
from last week's communications industry conference in Australia, is
that there is a lot of money to spend, and the industry is looking for
somewhere to spend it.

AOTC (the old Telecom) announced that AUS$5B will be spent in the
state of Victoria over the next five years. It has also said that it
will spend large amounts establishing facilities in the Australian
capital Canberra.

AOTC is planning the development of a "televillage" in Canberra,
linking all organizations with broad-band networking in order to test
and approve future communications networks for use around the country
and the region as communications systems improve.

Optus also has its headquarters in Victoria, and while not able to
spend as much as AOTC in the next few years, will create 400 new jobs
for the state in the next three years.

(Paul Zucker/19920511)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 11 New For Macintosh: SoftPolish Is Programmer's Aid 05/11/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00004)

New For Macintosh: SoftPolish Is Programmer's Aid 05/11/92
HERNDON, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 11 (NB) -- With Apple Computer
holding its Worldwide Developer Conference in California this week,
it was a foregone conclusion that companies that make development
tools and aids for the Macintosh programming community would be
introducing new and improved tools. The first to hit the Newsbytes
news desk is the introduction of SoftPolish from Language Systems.

SoftPolish is a program that assists Macintosh developers in
ensuring that no errors creep in to the visual elements of their
programs. The program does this by relying on a spell checker from
Microlytics and a database of the Apple User Interface guidelines.

What the program does is scan through all of the resources that are
a part of the program. Each resource type has a unique four-
character identifier associated with it. The program understands
all of the resource types that have been defined by Apple as well as
a smattering of other types that have been defined by other
companies. When it reaches a resource that it understands, the
program checks its elements against its database and spell checker.
Any errors or misspellings are identified and the programmers is
encouraged to correct the errors.

If the program encounters a resource whose type it does not
understand, it will scan it for the presence of character strings,
and log information about that resource. This allows programmers
to know what was done and not done to the program.

Rich Norling, president of Language Systems, explained the need for
such a program in terms of the embarrassment caused to companies
when a problem is encountered. Those problems that are encountered
frequently are scrubbed clean of any errors, but there are always
those misspellings in dialog boxes that appear only when something
that shouldn't happen happens. Getting those mistakes out of there
is the function of SoftPolish. Another use is to check for the
program's compatibility with Apple's guidelines. Even after more
than eight years it is still possible to find companies that choose
to disregard Apple's guidelines. Since some of that may be out of
ignorance, SoftPolish will tell the developer where he/she went
wrong.

(Naor Wallach/19920511, Press Contact: Rich Norling, Language Systems,
703-478-0181)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 11 New For Networks: Allied Telesis Micro Repeater Line 05/11/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00005)

New For Networks: Allied Telesis Micro Repeater Line 05/11/92
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 11 (NB) -- The Allied
Telesis line of LAN micro repeaters has grown to include 14 members
with the introduction of seven new members. The new members are
collectively known as the MR120 line. The MR120 line offers complete
repeating which is more than simple passive repeating. All of these
micro repeaters are fully IEEE 802.3 compliant.

The five models are: the MR121T which links one 10Base-T segment to
a thick wire Ethernet segment via an AUI connector; the MR122T which
links a 10Base-T segment to a 10Base-2 segment; the MR123 which
links two thick wire segments together; the MR124 which links a
10Base-2 segment to an AUI equipped segment; the MR125 which links
two 10Base-2 segments; the MR126F which links one FOIRL fiber optic
segment to a thick wire Ethernet segment; and the MR127F which links
an FOIRL fiber optic segment to a 10base-2 segment.

Followers of Allied Telesis will note that these model numbers and
functions closely approximate the MR110 family. The big difference
between the two lines is that in the MR120 the power supplies are
built into the units which consequently are slightly larger. As
with the MR110 family, the MR120 family is built around Allied
Telesis's own ASIC Ethernet chip.

All of these units are available now for the following pricing:
AT-MR121T - $495; AT-MR122T - $445; AT-MR123 - $845; AT-MR124 - $745;
AT-MR125 - $845; AT-MR126F - $995; AT-MR127F - $995.

(Naor Wallach/19920511, Press Contact: Derek Buckaloo, Allied Telesis,
4150964-2994 Extension 122)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 11 Microdyne To Market Novell's SNA Products 05/11/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00006)

Microdyne To Market Novell's SNA Products 05/11/92
ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 11 (NB) -- Microdyne and Novell
are continuing their arrangment for transferring technology from
Novell to Microdyne. Sources within Novell have confirmed to
Newsbytes that Novell management is very pleased with the kind of
support that Microdyne is providing to their customer and that they
therefore see no reason not to continue with this arrangement.

This arrangement is indeed continuing with the assumption by
Microdyne of the Novell line of SNA products. Effective immediately,
Microdyne will take over the sales and distribution of these
products and will also rename them. Microdyne will also assume the
role of the developer of these products to perform enhancements and
revisions.

The products involved are: the Netware SNA Gateway Version 1.3.01
which Microdyne will market as the EXOS SNA Gateway Version 1.3.01
for $2,995; the Netware SNA Gateway ELS version 1.3.01 which now
becomes the EXOS SNA Gateway ELS version 1.3.01 for $595; the
Netware 3270 LAN Workstation for SNA Gateway which becomes the EXOS
3270 LAN Workstation for SNA Gateway and sells for $1,495; the
Novell Coax/Mux Adapter which becomes the EXOS Coax/Mux Adapter
and sell for $1,100; the Novell SAA Synchronous Adapter for PC which
becomes the EXOS SAA Synchronous Adapter for PC and sells for $895;
and finally the Novell SAA Synchronous Adapter for PS/2 which now
becomes the EXOS SAA Synchronous Adapter for PS/2 and will sell for
$895.

The transition is in effect and product can be ordered
immediately from Microdyne now.

(Naor Wallach/19920511, Press Contact: Ralph Armstrong, Microdyne,
703-739-0500)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 11 US Unhappy With Indo-Russian Rocket Technology Transfer 05/11/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEL)(00007)

US Unhappy With Indo-Russian Rocket Technology Transfer 05/11/92
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1992 MAY 11 (NB) -- The successful test launch of
the surface-to-surface medium range missile Prithvi last week has
reinforced confidence in Indian defense scientists' capability,
while it has also led to diplomatic showdown between Washington,
New Delhi, and Moscow.

Prithvi (meaning the Earth, in India's ancient language, Sanscrit)
is one of the five missiles under various stages of development as
part of India's $300-million Integrated Guided Missile Development
Program, started in 1983.

It was the seventh test-launch on May 5, and first from the Interim
Test Range at Chandipur-on-sea in Balasore district of Orissa, since
it was first unveiled in February 1988. Prithvi is a mobile-launched
medium range missile. It has a range of 250 km with 250 kg of warhead.
Its inertial navigation system which uses advanced computers help in
hitting the target accurately and is capable of making slight
corrections in the flight to home-in onto the target.

Developed by a team of scientists led by A.P.J. Abdul Kalum at the
Defence Research Development Organization, the missile uses a liquid
propellant and is a modified version of the Augmented Satellite Launch
Vehicle. During its sixth launch last February, the missile had broken
in mid-air during a difficult manoeuvre to test the structural
strength. Last week's success proves the new design has worked.

The three other missiles which are part of the IGMDP are Akash
(medium range, surface-to-air), Nag (anti-tank four-km range) and
Trishul (short range nine-km, surface-to-air).

Prithvi's success will give impetus to the planned second test launch
of the indigenous, intermediate range (about 2,500 km) ballistic
missile Agni. The two-stage Agni incorporates Prithvi's design in the
second stage. The postponement of Agni, first test-fired two years
ago, had given rise to speculation that the US had pressured India
against going ahead with this missile development.

Prithvi's designed payload and range do not come within the domain
of the Washington-sponsored Missile Technology Control Regime. But, it
may become a thorn in Indo-US relations as Prithvi's liquid fuel
propellant serves as the second stage motor of the Agni, a missile with
a range of 1,200-2000 km. Ironically, on that eventful day, the Bush
administration reaffirmed its decision to impose penalties against the
organizations involved, Indian Space Research Organization and
Larkosmos, the Russian exporter of the cryogenic rocket engine, if
they went ahead with the Rs 750 core rocket technology transfer deal.

The US allegation is that India will use the Russian rocket for its
missile program, which India has denied, saying that it will be used
for launching civilian satellites in geostationary orbits. The cryogenic
engine, a secondary stage rocket, uses liquid hydrogen booster
technology. As per the 1990 Indo-Soviet agreement, Russia was to supply
the first cryogenic engine in 1994 and the second in 1995. A third was
to be developed in India itself.

The Russian Secretary of State, Gennadi Burbulis, who was on a visit
to India last week, ridiculed US attempts to assume the role of a
global lawmaker on the missile technology control and declared that
Russia would go ahead with its commitment to transfer rocket
technology to India, But, this would be subject to clearance from
neutral experts in view of the objections raised by US, he said. In
the post-cold war era, Russia does not want to have a tiff with US.

Not happy with the rocket engine deal, senior US officials
have warned that US support for India in the World Bank and
IMF will be diminished. Meanwhile, "Russia has neither
suspended nor cancelled the contract for the transfer of rocket
technology to India," Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao
informed the Parliament members, who were enraged at "the
arm-twisting tactics of the US."

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920511)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 11 New For PCs: Board And Software Work With Caller ID 05/11/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00008)

New For PCs: Board And Software Work With Caller ID 05/11/92
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAY 11 (NB) -- Call SecurID, a
hardware-software combination from Icon CS Canada, lets personal
computer owners use telephone company caller ID services for
telephone security, call screening, redirecting calls, and call
logging.

Call SecurID consists of a plug-in circuit board for the PC, plus
software that works with the telephone company's caller ID service.

The software lets users specify that only calls from certain
numbers will be received. The size of the list is unlimited,
according to Glen Pearson of Icon CS Canada. Or, users can specify
that calls from certain numbers shouldn't be accepted.

The first option is useful for security purposes, for instance in
an organization with dial-up access to a local area network,
Pearson said. The device can be set to accept only calls from
authorized numbers, hanging up on all others.

The option to block out certain numbers is meant mainly for
protection against nuisance calls. For instance, Pearson said he
uses the device at home to record the numbers of telemarketers, so
that subsequent calls from the same numbers are blocked out. Call
SecurID lets the user specify that blocked-out callers will hear a
busy signal, or repeated ringing, or that the device will hang up
on them, he said.

For those who bill clients for their time on the telephone, Call
SecurID provides a way of logging calls, the company said. It can
also be used to retrieve information about clients as soon as they
call.

Finally, Pearson said, the device can be used as a voice-fax-data
switch. It supports one incoming line and three internal
connections, so the user can specify that calls from certain
numbers will be switched automatically to a data or fax modem.
Calls from unknown numbers default to the voice connection, he
said.

The standard business-version price for Call SecurID is C$795 or
US$675. Bulletin board system operators can buy the product for
C$395 or US$335. A security version, complete with a 386SX-based
PC, costs from C$3,795 or US$3,225 for one line to C$5,895 or
US$4,995 for four lines.

(Grant Buckler/19920508/Press Contact: Glen Pearson, Icon CS
Canada, 613-722-0115, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 11 New For PC In UK: Artisoft Enhanced Sounding Board Adapter 05/11/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00009)

New For PC In UK: Artisoft Enhanced Sounding Board Adapter 05/11/92
SLOUGH, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 11 (NB) -- Artisoft has
announced that its Sounding Board adapter, a device to allow
digital sound to be integrated with applications software, has
been enhanced by the addition of multimedia capabilities.

The new Sounding Board adapter can be used on stand-alone PCs or
over a network. In network mode, the card can share files with
other boards.

According to Dave Ball, Artisoft's marketing manager for Europe,
Africa, and the Middle East, the Sounding Board adapter will be
available starting next month with a UKP 79 price tag for an
industry standard architecture (ISA) version, or UKP 149 for the
MCA version.

"Multimedia is one of the most exciting new areas of computing for
several years. The possibility of linking text, sound, and video
together has potential in many business areas, from presentations
to electronic mail," he said, adding that Sounding Board adapter
allows users to create voice files and include them within other
applications.

Bundled with the card is Artisoft's Artisound Recorder software,
a pop-up package that allows users to record voice files "on the
fly," embedding the resulting sound file within another Windows
application file. This facility allows for automatic playback of
a Sounding Board file when the file is loaded, for example, into
a word processor -- the Artisound playback features are triggered
automatically.

So how does it all work? In use, sound files are embedded in a
Windows document using simple menu selections on the part of the
user. The sound file then appears as an icon in the document
which, when selected (either manually or automatically) runs the
Artisound Recorder software.

On a technical note, the Sounding Board adapter converts between
audio/voice signals and a digital data stream to allow users to
record and play back sounds. The software uses the 8,000 hertz
Mulaw standard (a voice standard developed by telephone
companies) as a default, but can also be configured to read and
write other types of files working to 8, 11 or 22,000 hertz
sampling rates.

(Steve Gold/19920508/Press & Public Contact: Artisoft - Tel:
0753-554999)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 11 Army Using Bionic Man To Test Chemical Protective Gear 05/11/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEN)(00010)

Army Using Bionic Man To Test Chemical Protective Gear 05/11/92
DUGWAY PROVING GROUNDS, UTAH, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 11 (NB) -- Manny
will test things like protective clothing for the Army, the
Environmental Protection Agency, hazardous materials handlers, and
fire fighters.

Manny is 5-feet, 11-inches tall, and weighs 165 pounds, and when
asked, tells scientists how he feels. Manny is a $3.4 million
humanoid.

Resembling a human, Manny has an electronic voice which might remind
you of a robot you have seen in sci-fi movies. But his movements
are very lifelike, say the people at the remote test facility in
the western Utah desert.

Researchers say they wanted to start using Manny three years ago to
test military protective garments, but ran into delays because of
other chemical defense projects. Then the Persian Gulf War broke
out, and the fear of chemical attack, although it never
materialized, got funding and additional researchers to get Manny
back on track.

With the new funds, a stainless steel testing chamber was purchased,
and a civilian computer expert added some programming that lets
Manny breathe, sweat, walk, talk, and maintain a skin temperature of
98.6, which is also the average human skin temperature. One of the
programmers additions allows Manny to tell researchers about
problems he is experiencing, instead of having a light flash. "My
right leg is getting warm," Manny might say.

Manny was conceived in 1985 by Dr. Lothar Salomon, then the
scientific director at Dugway. Salomon said he was looking for
something more realistic than mannequins to test protective
garments.

Manny's "skin" is a plastic sheathing that gives him his human
appearance. Scientists are contemplating recasing it in order to
facilitate the attachment of complex instruments. There is already
a double layer of dense black rubber fitted with sensors which
officials say can detect as little as one-billionth of an ounce of
chemical or nerve gas. So, according to project manager Captain Mark
Subsinsky, Manny is about ready go to work. He can walk, squat,
sit, craw, and use tools.

As useful as Manny is, one researcher said his potential hasn't been
touched yet. But right now the Army said its main concern is to
secure the safety of soldiers who could face lethal chemical agents
on the battlefield. "Ultimately, it's good for the troops," said
Captain Tim Moore.

(Jim Mallory/19920508)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 11 Intel Awarded For Financial Management 05/11/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00011)

Intel Awarded For Financial Management 05/11/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 11 (NB) -- Intel has been
awarded the In-Stat Kachina Award, an award given to the best
financially managed semiconductor company that is publicly held each
year at the In-Stat Semiconductor Forum. In the six years the awards
have been presented, this is the first time Intel has won, In-Stat
said.

In-Stat representative Christie Jones told Newsbytes two awards are
given, one for manufacturing and one for non-manufacturing companies.
The judging for the awards is based on comparisons of the financial
reports of the 22 semiconductor companies represented, Jones added.
The company with the lowest number of points in the comparison is
ranked number one and In-Stat said the points ranged from Intel's 40
up to a high of 162.

There are nine qualification criteria: net income as a percent of sales;
cost of sales as a percent of sales; research and development
expenditures as a percent of sales; return on investment; inventory
turnover; sales per employee; long-term debt to equity; net operating
profit as percent of sales; and the quick ration are looked at in the
awarding of points, In-Stat maintains.

On the non-manufacturing side, Campbell, California-based Xilinx
received the non-manufacturing award, which is presented to companies
without manufacturing facilities. This is its second consecutive win,
according to In-Stat, and it ranked number one with a total of 27
points.

Santa Clara, California-based Intel is the manufacturer of the
microprocessor chips which predominantly used in IBM and compatible
personal computers (PCs).

(Linda Rohrbough/19920508/Press Contact: Christie Jones, In-Stat, tel
602-860-8515, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 11  ****Add-On Kit Brings Pen Capabilities To Zeos Notebooks 05/11/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00012)

 ****Add-On Kit Brings Pen Capabilities To Zeos Notebooks 05/11/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A, 1992 MAY 11 (NB) -- For notebook users
who are starting to think the "pen revolution" is passing them by,
the first product release from Arthur Dent Associates, Inc. could
come as timely relief.

In announcing Writeaway at the Pen-Based Computing Conference
last week, the company said the add-on kit lets a user transform a
Zeos 386-based notebook into a pen/notebook "convertible" in about
five minutes, for a price of just $595.

The converted notebook can be used in two ways. In landscape
mode, the screen rests in perpendicular relationship with the
keyboard, following the traditional desktop style. In horizontal
mode, the screen is rotated 90% backward and the unit is held like
a book, from either a standing or seated position.

Future versions of Writeaway will support Compaq, Toshiba, and
other notebook platforms, said Patricia A. Martin, president of
Arthur Dent, a Tewksbury, MA-based startup built by eight former
members of Wang's pen computer team.

Writeaway consists of a glass-topped digitizer, a tethered pen,
a controller card, and a 3.5-inch floppy disk. The disk contains
Windows for Pen Computing 1.0, a pen driver, a calibration program,
and a utility that lets the keyboard be disabled, if desired, to
prevent accidental typing.

Installing the kit is a four-step process that involves
attaching the digitizer to the LCD with adhesive strips, stringing
a wire from the digitizer to the controller, popping the card into
the modem slot, loading the software, and last, calibrating the
digitizer to the screen.

In the calibration stage, the user runs the calibration
program, first converting the cursor on the display to a cross
hair, and then touching the pen to the cross hair four times, in
accordance with on-screen instructions.

Writeaway is available direct and through distributors.
Arthur Dent Associates is also piloting the product for inventory
control application at all 24 branches of Rich's Department Stores,
a Massachusetts retail chain.

Arthur Dent, the new firm's namesake, is not a real person.
Instead, he's one of the main characters in Douglas Adams'
electronic book A Hitchhikers' Guide to the Universe, Martin told
Newsbytes. The same novel was also the inspiration for The Guide,
a pen computer with voice recognition features that Martin and her
colleagues were developing at Wang, she added.

"A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe is available to anyone,
cheaply. And at Arthur Dent, our goals are similar: to offer
inexpensive and accessible technology," explained Vincent
Dovydaitis III, director of marketing.

When used together with an entry-level Zeos 386+ computer,
priced at $1,795, the first edition of Writeaway will provide the
user with pen and notebook capabilities for under $2,400, said
Theodore T. Fligor, director of sales. In comparison, computers that
come with both sets of features cost in the $3,600 to $3,900 range,
emphasized Fligor, who came on board about a month ago as the
company's ninth employee.

Arthur Dent was formed last November, after Wang canceled
plans to introduce The Guide and opted to try to sell its pen
business unit, stated Martin. "Eight of us looked around at the
industry, witnessed the pen software development going on, and
determined there had to be a way to put hardware out there more
quickly," she told Newsbytes.

Work on Writeaway started 90 days ago, according to Martin.
Several design issues had to be quickly resolved, said Dovydaitis,
the first involving the choice of a digitizer. The team opted for
the Scriptel product because it is lighter than older,
electromagnetic technologies, and also supplies extra protection of
electronic circuitry, he noted.

In contrast to electromagnetic technologies, in which the
circuitry is on top, Scriptel places the electronics in back, away
from the user, he maintained. Writeaway adds ten or 11 ounces to
the weight of the computer, with the digitizer accounting for six
to eight ounces, he added.

After the Scriptel digitizer is in place, it can be taken off.
But to keep the adhesive strong, the company doesn't recommend
affixing and removing the device more than two or three times, said
Martin.

In another design challenge, the developers wanted to provide
the user with a sense of writing on paper. "Nobody likes to write
on glass," remarked Dovydaitis. "So we've roughened the surface of
the glass a bit." In the future, the company might be replacing
its plastic-tipped pen with a brass-tipped device, thereby
fortifying the paper-like effect, disclosed Martin.

The outcome of another decision, involving the location of the
controller, makes it impossible right now to use an
internal modem on a converted notebook. But, said Martin, a pocket
modem can easily be implemented by using the serial port.
Ultimately, she stressed, pen computers will come with PC-MIA
slots, providing a standard form factor across portable platforms
for controllers and other add-on boards.

At this point, Wang owns the rights to The Guide, and is
seeking a buyer, she told Newsbytes. "To me, The Guide seems kind
of dated by now," she commented.

In its own upcoming products, Arthur Dent Associates intends
to incorporate pen computing with voice recognition as well as
wireless communications, added Martin.

"Integrating these technologies will be no easy task," chimed
in Fligor, "but at Arthur Dent, we have the human factors and
technical skills to bring them all together."

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920511)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 11 Computerized Sports & Academic Scholarship Locator 05/11/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00013)

Computerized Sports & Academic Scholarship Locator 05/11/92
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 11 (NB) -- If you have a
child nearing college age, you probably already know that tuition
costs get higher each year at many college. So what's a parent to
do?

If your son or daughter is an athlete or got good grades in high
school, you could contact Sports-Tech. This Florida-based company
has announced its Collegiate Counselor, a service which uses a
computerized database to match up good athletes or students with
academic and sports scholarships.

Sports-Tech Chairman Mike Levy told Newsbytes that his company has
identified 250,000 scholarship openings worth more than $400
million. Levy said of the 17,000 college coaches in various sports,
his company has listed sports scholarships from about 13,000 of
them.

In order to get matched up with a scholarship for which they
qualify, the student fills out an extensive questionnaire.
Sports-Tech then uses the information on the questionnaire to produce
a list of colleges which meet the student's academic, financial, and
interest profile. Levy said sources of financial aid are also
identified.

In order to get the list, the student (or his or her family) will
pay from $99 or $199. The $99 basic package, said Levy, gets you
the list while the $199 gets you the list and a toll-free number
for unlimited access to a scholastic counselor employed at
Sports-Tech.

Levy told Newsbytes that the company uses an IBM RS6000 computer,
and has developed its own relational database using Informix' 4GL
software. According to Levy, there are already about 500 college
hopefuls who have registered looking for sports scholarships. The
academic matching service has just gotten off the ground.

(Jim Mallory/19920508/Press and reader contact: Mike Levy,
Sports-Tech, 305-772-9155)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 11 Australia: Sex Chat Lines Reined In 05/11/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00014)

Australia: Sex Chat Lines Reined In 05/11/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 MAY 11 (NB) -- Dial-up sex-fantasy lines have
been removed from general access on Australia's phone service. The
soft (and sometimes not so soft) core porn and associated fantasy and
titillation services had been the subject of thousands of complaints
as they were available to callers of any age, from just about any
phone.

Since their introduction a few years ago, Australia's fee-per call
recorded message lines have attracted many satisfied users, but
seemingly almost as many complainers. The complaints have been based
around three aspects: sexually explicit services were available to
all callers, including children; many service providers had
transferred previously free calls to the service (such as cinema
schedules) without emphasizing to potential callers that they could
pay up to a few dollars for the previously free information;
many companies have been staging so-called contests which required
the callers to listen to long (and expensive) messages before being
able to enter the contest.

While the latter two are still being investigated, the R-rated
messages have been moved to a new service which is only available to
telephone subscribers who request it. Even then, they will need to use
a personal identification number as part of each call. The general
service has a prefix of 0055 while the restricted service has a prefix
of 0051.

Its interesting to note that the carrier Telecom originally had a ban
on sexually explicit services, but after submissions from potential
service providers (perhaps pointing out how much money Telecom could
make) this restriction was dropped.

The Film Censorship Board (under the chairmanship of Mr. Dickey) will
classify each dial-up service.

A UK service that has attracted interest recently, uses a novel
approach to make money. It starts with a message being left for
someone to ring a number and ask for a particular person. While the
caller only gets a recorded message, it sounds like a live
conversation. Each time the caller asks for the person who supposedly
left the message, they are shunted around from department to
department (sort of like real life?).

This can go on for minutes, with different people telling the caller
(and this is still just a recording, remember) that the sought person
has just gone into a different room, or will take the call on another
extension and so on. If the caller is persistent enough, they finally
hear the sought person answer the phone, only to say something like
"Look, I'm sorry but this is a reserved line they've switched you
through on. Could you dial back in please?"

(Paul Zucker/19920508)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 11  ****Japan: 5th Generation Computer Prototype Due June 1 05/11/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00015)

 ****Japan: 5th Generation Computer Prototype Due June 1 05/11/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 11 (NB) -- The Institute for New Generation
Computer Technology (ICOT), a non-profit organization set up
to develop a fifth generation computer, will conclude its ten-year
project next month when it unveils a prototype parallel processor.
The venue is its last conference, which will be held at Tokyo Price
Hotel between June 1 and 5.

At the free conference which is open to the public, ICOT will
show the prototype, called PIM, which is said to have 1,000
processors working in parallel. The PIM is said to offer
a powerful new operating system designed specifically to support
parallel processing. The machine will feature some 20 applications
including the processing of gene data and natural language,
inference of legal issues, analysis of proteins, and
chip circuit design.

ICOT previously demonstrated this parallel processor on May 8.
In the experiment, the machine presented a criminal judgment after
having been fed a sample criminal case. After going through
about 200 laws and 115 court judgments on previous crimes, the
computer issued a logical judgment on the sample crime.

ICOT is backed by the Japanese government which started the
project in 1982 with a total budget of 54 billion yen ($400 million).
At the last conference, 82 researchers from 17 countries will
introduce their studies on a fifth generation computer.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920511/Press Contact: ICOT, [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 11 Fujitsu & Taiwan Firm Produce Memory Chips 05/11/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00016)

Fujitsu & Taiwan Firm Produce Memory Chips 05/11/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 11 (NB) -- Fujitsu and Taiwan-based Mos
Electric have agreed to work together on the production of one and
4-megabit computer memory chips.

Mos Electric will manufacture Fujitsu's 4 megabit dynamic random
access memory (DRAM). According to Mosel Japan, a subsidiary of Mos
Electric Taiwan, Fujitsu has already started supplying half-completed
1- and 4-megabit memory chips to Mos Electric. Mos Electric will
complete these chips and sell them under its own brand name in Taiwan,
Japan, Canada, and the US. By the end of this year, Mos Electric
expects to ship 3 million units of the chips per month.

These chips will be completed under Fujitsu's direction. The
agreement also calls for Fujitsu to provide technology assistance
on the manufacturing of memory chips.

The relationship between Mos Electric and Fujitsu has been
cozy in the past. Both firms have cooperated in the development of
static RAMs.

Mos Electric, which is also called Mosel, acquired California-
based DRAM maker Vitelic in early this year.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920511/Press Contact: Mosel Japan, +81-44-
812-4397)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 11 Olympus Boasts World's Smallest Cassette Tape Recorder 05/11/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00017)

Olympus Boasts World's Smallest Cassette Tape Recorder 05/11/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 11 (NB) -- Japan's Olympus has developed
what it calls the smallest cassette tape recorder in the world.
The "Pearlcorder L400" measures only 7.3 x 5.2 x 2.0 cm, and is
slightly smaller than a regular cigarette case. It weighs only
90 grams.

This gadget operates with removable batteries. It can also be
connected to a wall socket through an adaptor. The cassette tape
recorder is equipped with a small LCD (liquid crystal display).

Olympus, which specializes in manufacturing cameras, reports it has
applied minute precision technology to this cassette
tape recorder. The firm claims reports that an original material
called "flexible board" is being used as the cover of this
cassette tape recorder, making it resistant to external noise
and impact.

The retail price will be 38,800 yen ($290) when it is released
in Japan on June 1.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920511/Press Contact: Olympus, +81-3-3340-
2121)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 11 Minitel Japan Due In Fall 05/11/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00018)

Minitel Japan Due In Fall 05/11/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 11 (NB) -- French Telecom Japan and Japanese
firms say they will set up a Japanese office of Minitel this fall
to market a Japanese version of Minitel.

French Telecom and 10 Japanese firms created the Japanese Minitel
Association in July 1991 to study the feasibility of a Japanese
version of Minitel. The study now complete, the team has decided
to set up a joint venture this fall.

The actual participants in this joint venture firm have not been
announced but it is expected that many of the association member
firms will be joining. They include ASCII, Orient Corporation,
Kinki-Nippon Tourist, Daiei, Tomen, Recruit, Kokurensha and Mitsui
Jyoho Kaihatsu.

Actual Japanese Minitel service is expected to include a telephone
directory, home banking, and various ticket reservation services.
About six million Minitel terminals are used in France and the
European market. Although it is successful in these regions, it
might be a different story in Japan. Japan's NTT has been marketing
Captain videotex terminals, but has had difficulty gaining users.

Currently, French Telecom and Mitsui Jyoho Kaihatsu are
providing a gateway service to the original Minitel in France.
Registered users can access Minitel in France from Japan.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920511/Press Contact: Minitel Association,
 [phone], Mitsui Jyoho Kaihatsu, [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 11 Japan: PC Product News Online 05/11/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00019)

Japan: PC Product News Online 05/11/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 11 (NB) -- Mitsubishi Research Institute
(MRI) has started providing personal computers news on its dial-in
network. The information, Mitsubishi Research says, will be
regularly updated in cooperation with major personal computer makers
in Japan.

MRI's personal computer network, called Dialine, is presenting
information on new personal computers and peripheral equipment. Actual
market prices and specific features of the products can also be
accessed. This information is supported by 14 major firms including
IBM, Apple, Fujitsu, NEC, Toshiba, Sony and Mitsubishi.

The network is currently providing various daily news services, including
NHK and Nikkei, book reviews, governmental economic reports, and
corporate information.

Dialine can be accessed through NIFTY-Serve and PC-VAN networks
via a gateway in each network.

The monthly basic fee is 3,000 yen ($22), and the online usage
fee is between 150 yen ($1.10) to 290 yen ($2.15) per news report or
item.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920511/Press Contact: Dialine, +81-3-3270-
9211)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 11 ****Apple Backs Mac-To-PowerPC Conversion Software From Echo Logic 05/1



(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00020)

 ****Apple Backs Mac-To-PowerPC Conversion Software From Echo Logic 05/11/92
HOLMDEL, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 11 (NB) -- Apple
and IBM's proposed PowerPC architecture may still be on the
drawing board, but Apple has already signed a cooperative deal with
Echo Logic to develop porting software that will allow the translation
of current binary shrink-wrapped Macintosh applications to run on
the new platform.

Binary versions of applications that run on PowerPC-based Macintosh
platform, will be possible in a matter of days, using Echo Logic's
FlashPort, so say the companies.

Echo Logic's President Brad Burnham: "This first use of FlashPort will
accelerate the availability of current Macintosh applications so that
the future PowerPC-based Macintosh will have a full suite of software
available at product introduction."

According to Echo Logic, recent advances in data flow analysis and
compiler technology allowed for the development of FlashPort. The
translation tool will require "minimal human intervention," claimed the
company in a press release, and "will generate an identical application
for the PowerPC-based Macintosh that is competitive with hand-ported
code in performance and size."

Chris Macey, Echo Logic's chief scientist, said: "FlashPort can
translate any Macintosh program written in any language, from
assembler to C, so developers can continue to work with their
current software development tools."

According to Echo Logic, FlashPort allows an "experienced" software
to translate the executable or relocatable object code version of an
application. It is the translation of the object code which allows for
the translation of any application written in any language, or
combination of languages, from assembler to C. According to the
company, source code is not required.

Echo Logic Inc., based in Holmdel, New Jersey, is an AT&T venture
company. Its technology is based on advanced compiler research
conducted at AT&T Bell Laboratories. The company intends to
license its translation tools to computer manufacturers and software
developers.

(Ian Stokell/19920511/Press Contact: Pam Karmazsin, Echo Logic Inc.,
908-946-1130; Nancy Morrison, Apple Computer Inc., 408-862-6200)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 11 Ardis Partners Plan Major Investment 05/11/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00021)

Ardis Partners Plan Major Investment 05/11/92
LINCOLNSHIRE, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 11 (NB) -- Hoping to
stay ahead of a host of rivals, the Ardis radio data network is
getting a $150 million facelift.

Ardis, a joint venture between IBM and Motorola, runs a 4,800
bit/second radio data network in the 800 MHz frequency range.
The network was originally crafted by IBM in the 1980s to link
its salesmen -- Motorola added technology and its own network
when the two companies formed Ardis in 1990.

Key to the improvement is a protocol Motorola now calls DataTac,
which will increase the network's speed to 19,200 bits/second. It
will also increase its capacity 10-fold in some metropolitan
areas, the company said. The main focus of the expansion is in 30
large metropolitan areas where voice-data SMR channels are
filling up, and where RAM Mobile Data, another data-only carrier,
is claiming to control more frequencies. In addition, Ardis must
compete with cellular modem operators and will likely face some
type of cellular packet network. IBM and a number of cellular
carriers announced plans for such a network in April.

In addition to the urban upgrades, automatic nationwide roaming
support is being implemented so that ARDIS users can travel from
city to city and maintain communication with their peers or
company information systems. That is a standard feature on the
RAM network.

Phase one of network expansion includes adding more than 900 new base
stations, increasing their number by 70 percent. Subscriber
modems will be capable of communicating at either 4,800
bits/second or, if their equipment can handle it, the new 19,200
bit/second speed. The devices will automatically locate an
available ARDIS channel and establish communications without any
action by the user, as the Ericsson-GE Mobidem does on the RAM
network. As a result, users will be able to travel across the 400
metropolitan areas served by ARDIS and maintain instant
communication to and from peers and critical company information
systems.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920511/Press Contact: Dean Davison, for
Ardis, 913-432-2600)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 11 Storage Technology "Iceberg" Delayed Until 4Q 05/11/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00022)

Storage Technology "Iceberg" Delayed Until 4Q 05/11/92
LOUISVILLE, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 11 (NB) -- In the Form 10-Q
filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Storage
Technology said it won't be able to begin shipments of
"Iceberg" until the fourth quarter.

Iceberg is a redundant disk array device which stores large amounts
of computer data across a number of 5-1/4 inch disks in order to
minimize the loss of critical data. Storagetek had estimated that
it would ship $50 million worth of Iceberg units during the
remainder of 1992.

In Mid-March Storage Technology stock dropped 1-1/2 points on
reports that the company's customer site (beta) testing would be
delayed by one month. However, a Storagetek spokesperson told
Newsbytes, "We're not running into any delays, it's coming according to
schedule." The spokesperson said the coding for Iceberg was 90
percent complete at that time.

Storagetek's David Reid told Newsbytes that the delay was caused by
that last ten percent of the microcode, but declined to characterize
the delay as a problem. Rather, Reid stressed that Iceberg is a
complex product. "There's a heck of a big job to do," said Reid. He
told Newsbytes that the company is confident of meeting the new
delivery schedule. "The company believes the revised schedule is
achievable, however, there can be no guarantee of completion in the
contemplated time frame."

Storagetek had planned to product about 200 Iceberg units in 1992
with the number rising to 1,000 in 1993. Chairman Ryal Poppa had
predicted "it will be substantially more in 1994."

Reid declined to make a revised prediction about Iceberg revenues
for 1992. Asked about the results of the announcement on Storagetek
stock, Reid said, "It's been a lousy day." Storagetek dropped 6-1/8
Friday, closing at 39.25. It was the third highest trading stock on
the New York Stock Exchange, with 2 million shares traded. The
stock has been as high as $78 in the past few months.

(Jim Mallory/19920511/Press contact: David Reid, Storage Technology,
303-673-4815)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 11 Record Micrografx Revenues, Income For Year 05/11/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00023)

Record Micrografx Revenues, Income For Year 05/11/92
RICHARDSON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 11 (NB) -- Micrografx has
reported record revenues and net income for the fiscal year and the
quarter ending March 31, 1992.

The company said sales rose 60 percent, to $47.3 million, and net
income was up 24 percent to $5.1 million, or $0.65 per share.
Slightly more than one third of the years sales came in the fourth
quarter, with sales for the quarter up 92 percent from the same
period last year to $16.1 million. The quarter's net income rose
63 percent to $2 million, or $0.25 per share. Micrografx said per
share results have been restated to reflect the 3-for-2 stock split
which was effective April 15, 1992.

During the period, Micrografx introduced two new products, Windows
Draw 3.0 and Picture Publisher 3.0. Windows Draw was introduced at
last year's Comdex trade show in Las Vegas. Picture Publisher, a
photographic image editing product which comes with a hand-held
scanner, was introduced in February. The company said more than
75,000 copies of Draw have been sold.

Micrografx Chairman Paul Grayson said acceptance of the company's
products in overseas markets also contributed to the successful year.
According to Grayson, international sales accounted for about 53
percent of the totals, up from 48 percent last year.

Last week Micrografx completed the acquisition of Roykore, the
developer of ABC Flowcharter and Instant ORGcharting, both for
Microsoft Windows. Micrografx acquired all of Roykore's outstanding
stock in exchange for 645,000 shares of Micrografx common stock.
The company said the acquisition of Roykore was not expected to
be dilutive in the future except for about $300,000 in one-time
charges associated with the acquisition. That's about $0.04 per
share.

(Jim Mallory/19920511/Press contact: David Henkel, Micrografx,
214-497-6284)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 11 IBM Canada Pre-installs OS/2 On 7 PS/2 Models 05/11/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00024)

IBM Canada Pre-installs OS/2 On 7 PS/2 Models 05/11/92
MARKHAM, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAY 11 (NB) -- IBM Canada is going
even farther than its American parent company in pre-installing the
OS/2 operating system on its PS/2 personal computers. After IBM
announced it would package OS/2 with PS/2 Model 56 and Model 57
machines in the United States, IBM Canada announced plans to put
OS/2 on all Model 55, 56, 57, 70, 80, 90, and 95 PS/2s.

As in the US, Canadian prices for the machines equipped with OS/2
will not change.

All of these machines have an Intel 386SX or higher processor, at
least four megabytes of memory, and at least a 60-megabyte hard
disk, IBM Canada said. For six weeks, a special promotion will
offer added memory and a mouse with some models. The mouse is
standard equipment with some of the models.

IBM Canada is pursuing a slightly different marketing strategy than
its US parent by pre-installing OS/2 on all models that can
support it right away, company spokeswoman Martha Terdik said. In
the long run, she said, IBM will do the same in the United States,
but IBM Canada has chosen to move faster.

Commenting earlier on the American announcement, IBM spokeswoman
Deborah Siegel said that in time, IBM plans to add OS/2 as the
standard operating system to all the PS/2 models that have 386 or
486 processors, the minimum hardware needed to run the operating
system.

OS/2 can run DOS and Windows applications unchanged.

Machines with OS/2 pre-installed will start reaching customers May
15, Terdik said.

(Grant Buckler/19920511/Press Contact: Martha Terdik, IBM Canada,
800-563-2139 or 416-474-3900)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 11 ****Apple QuickRing Architecture For High-Speed Data Transfers 05/11/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00025)

 ****Apple QuickRing Architecture For High-Speed Data Transfers 05/11/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 11 (NB) -- In an effort
to provide high-speed data transfer support for NuBus-based Macintosh
computers, Apple Computer has announced the QuickRing architecture.

John Cook, spokesman for Apple, told Newsbytes that the architecture
is still in the development stage, although the company has "finalized
specifications for it" and has "been able to produce some of the
connectors" on a prototyping basis.

According to the company, connecting specialized NuBus cards
together is critical to the development of high-end video applications,
high-speed networking, multiprocessing, and graphics acceleration.
Cook told Newsbytes that the new architecture can be looked at as
a "new way of linking expansion cards together so they can act as
a single card."

The QuickRing technology was jointly developed by Apple's Advance
Technology Group, National Semiconductor, Molex Inc., and Beta
Phase, Inc.

The company claims that QuickRing provides data transfer rates in
excess of 200 megabytes/second, which is many times faster than the
speeds currently possible using conventional expansion bus
technologies.

"We see QuickRing as the equivalent of a super data pathway with
a PC's price tag," said Shane Robison, director of systems technologies,
in Apple's Advanced Technology Group. "It lets our developers design
next-generation multimedia systems that are compatible with today's
Macintosh. QuickRing represents two breakthroughs. First, it overcomes
the limits of today's busses by using point-to-point signal transmission.
Second, QuickRing is a price/performance breakthrough: developers
can implement QuickRing for just one-tenth the cost of conventional
solutions at the same performance level."

Apple claims that, to enable its developers to exploit the QuickRing
architecture, it is working with other companies to supply the key
hardware components. The controller chip was designed and
manufactured by National Semiconductor, and a new interconnect
system was specially designed for QuickRing by Beta Phase. The
connector system will be manufactured by Beta Phase and Molex.

Cook told Newsbytes that the "actual components are expected in
early 1993."

(Ian Stokell/19920511/Press Contact: John Cook, Apple Computer
Inc., 408-974-3145, Margaret Mehling, National Semiconductor,
408-721-2639; Susan Armitage, Molex Inc., 708-969-4747; Chuck
Byer, Beta Phase Inc., 415-853-3800)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 11  ****Apple Macintosh To Offer Worldwide Language Support 05/11/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00026)

 ****Apple Macintosh To Offer Worldwide Language Support 05/11/92
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 11 (NB) -- In an
effort to assist international program designers working in languages
other than English, Apple Computer is offering a new technology
called WorldScript.

Apple claims that its new WorldScript technology is intended to
transform the Macintosh computer into the first international PC
through worldwide language support. According to Apple, WorldScript
includes support for text input and display, as well as for incorporating
language attributes, such as date and time formats, for most written
languages.

Apple is claiming that with WorldScript, it provides built-in support
to handle the complexities of non-Roman languages, which includes
system-level support of both two-byte languages such as Japanese,
Chinese, and Korean, and one-byte languages such as Arabic and
Hebrew.

Apple maintains that, integrating this enabling technology into
System 7 allows the Macintosh computer to be quickly localized
for any language. In addition, claims Apple, the integration of language
support will enable third-party software developers to quickly develop
and localize applications for markets throughout the world.

"WorldScript will enable Apple and our third-party developers
to offer simultaneous delivery of products worldwide," said
Roger Heinen, Apple's senior vice president and general manager
of the Macintosh Software Architecture Division. "Previously,
localization of software for customers in many countries such
as Japan has been a difficult and time-intensive effort."

Apple maintains, WorldScript technology will allow for both the use
of multiple languages on a single Macintosh, and for customization of
the Macintosh interface for specific language needs.

Apple maintains that WorldScript will be part of Macintosh System 7,
release 7.1, which Apple expects to be available during the fall of 1992.

(Ian Stokell/19920511/Press Contact: Nancy Morrison, 408-862-6200,
or Brooke Cohan, 408-974-3019, both of Apple Computer Inc.)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 11 National Semiconductor Boosts UK Operations 05/11/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00027)

National Semiconductor Boosts UK Operations 05/11/92
GREENOCK, SCOTLAND, 1992 MAY 11 (NB) -- National Semiconductor
Corporation has announced plans to invest $90 million in
expanding its factory at Greenock. The expansion, work on which
is already under way, Natsemi officials said, will add a further
250 staff to the company payroll, boosting total numbers to
1,500.

Announcing the expansion in London, Chris Ladas, the managing
director of the Greenock facility, said that hiring and training
the extra staff was also already under way. "This addition to our
plant will make Greenock an Analog Center of Excellence for
National Semiconductor," he said.

Natsemi's plant specializes in the production of bipolar silicon
wafers. According to Ladas, it was the staff expertise that
allowed the plant to secure the expansion plans. The final
decision, made earlier this year by the company, was made after
Locate in Scotland, the UK government-controlled body charged
with persuading businesses to site their offices and plants in
Scotland, helped convince Natsemi's US executives that Greenock
was a prime choice.

"National Semiconductor has been one of the most important
companies in Scotland's electronics industry for many years,"
explained Martin Togneri, director of Locate In Scotland, North
America.

"Around 20 percent of European wafer fabrication capacity is
located in 'Silicon Glen' due in part to the availability and
concentration of educational, technical and infrastructural
support," he added.

Plans call for the new addition to the plant to allow Natsemi
Greenock to produce six inch wafers for use in chips. Currently,
the site produces four inch chips for use in the company's
products.

(Steve Gold/19920511/Press & Public Contact: Natsemi U.K. - Tel:
0475-33733)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 11 Upgradable PCs Seen As Hit In Asia 05/11/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(HKG)(00028)

Upgradable PCs Seen As Hit In Asia 05/11/92
WANCHAI, HONG KONG, 1992 MAY 11 (NB) -- In an exclusive interview
with Newsbytes, respected Hong Kong-based researcher Graham Mead
said that the latest trend of PC manufacturers to produce field
upgradable PCs should prove very popular in the Asian region.

Mead, who is about to publish his latest PC user report, said, "Taiwanese
manufacturers Acer and ALR were the first to come up with the idea, I
think, but now they are followed by AST and most recently by DEC.
The ease by which one chip can be removed and a more powerful one simply
snapped in place makes an impressive demonstration."

Mr Mead was referring to a recent demonstration by Digital Equipment
Corporation (DEC) of its new family of high performance, industry
standard deskside personal computers and network servers based on Intel
Corporation's top-of-the-line i486 microprocessor chip and modular,
scalable Xpress architecture. The DECpc 400ST Xpress supports snap-in
upgrades of processors, memory and disk drives to tap the full power of
Intel's forthcoming P5 chip and later microprocessors.

Lionel Pang, regional marketing manager, Intel Products Group, at Intel
Asia Pacific, said, "The DECpc 400ST takes full advantage of Xpress
scalability. Customers who buy this family now can benefit from later
advances in Intel chip technology without replacing their personal
computers. They can upgrade systems on the spot in the workplace, and
they can use their parts inventories with later systems."

According to Mr Mead, while this is an impressive product, it is top
of the line in terms of desktop computing and may therefore have a
limited impact on the regional market. "It is the small user in this
part of the world who will find field upgradability attractive," he
told Newsbytes, "but we believe that the Asian customer will not pay
a significant premium in price to gain the benefit. Those suppliers
like AST and Acer who maintain their competitive prices but offer
the new upgradability will surely sell more machines."

Alan McMillan, Digital's regional PC marketing manager said
the 400ST family is especially targeted at customers who intend to
integrate new and existing personal computers into office networks.
"These organizations want industry standard desktops, and they want
to share the compute, file and application resources that are
available beyond the desktop."

(Brett Cameron/19920511/Press contact: Graham Mead, Graham Mead
Associates, [phone]; HK time is GMT + 8)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 11 Asians Sought To Join Australian ICSE Engineering Conf 05/11/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00029)

Asians Sought To Join Australian ICSE Engineering Conf 05/11/92
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1992 MAY 11 (NB) -- More Asians are sought
for next week's Conference On Software Engineering (ICSE) in
Melbourne.

Professor Tony Montgomery, head of information technology at
the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), the largest
technical tertiary educational institution in Australia, made a
late call for more Asian participation in next week's International
Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE), in Melbourne.

Speaking with Newsbytes, he said that the response from the
Asian region has been disappointing for this important
conference which, in 1991, was staged in Austin, Texas and the
previous year in Nice, France. Prof Montgomery would like to
see more Asian involvement, even at this late stage. "We see a
fast evolving role for Australia to play in the information
technology field in the region, and international conferences
such as ICSE provide an excellent forum for serious
professionals to meet and discuss projects and concepts with
their peers from around the globe," he told Newsbytes.

Prof Montgomery described the conference by drawing parallels
with the old days: "People laugh at me when I say that I wrote
my first program in 1962 in binary machine code, hand punched,
one hole at a time into paper tape. The inefficiency, cost,
error proneness and lack of any maintainability makes the idea
laughable in this day and age.

"But the interesting point is that those people who produce
software these days using modern software engineering tools are
laughing in the same way at those others who are still
developing software using techniques in vogue in the eighties."

The conference is not without a touch of humour itself. Papers
about the "leading edge" of practical developments and the
"bleeding edge" of research will be presented by luminaries of
the IT world.

The week-long conference also has "Birds of a Feather" sessions
which are designed to allow professionals with common interests
to come together.

Alongside the conference, there will be a Tools Fair at which
the absolute latest in computer-aided software engineering will
be demonstrated, organizers say.

Prof Montgomery has long been involved with information
technology education in the Asia region, having guest-lectured
in Macau and Hong Kong. The department at RMIT involves around
65 specialist teaching and research academics so it makes a
large contribution to the information technology resources in
the region.

On a tour of the campus with Prof Montgomery, the high
percentage of students of Asian origin was very noticeable.
The majority of those students were Chinese from PRC, Hong
Kong and Singapore but about one third hailed from India,
Indonesia, Pakistan and Malaysia. "About 50 percent of our
enrolled students in this department are Asian, " he told
Newsbytes.

(Keith Cameron/19920510/Press contact: Tony Montgomery, c/-
Newsbytes, Fax [phone]; HK time is GMT + 8)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 11 New For Macintosh: Mindlink Problem Solver 05/11/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(TOR)(00030)

New For Macintosh: Mindlink Problem Solver 05/11/92
NORTH POMRET, VERMONT, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 11 (NB) -- Mindlink has
released its Mindlink Problem Solver software for the Apple
Macintosh and for PCs running Microsoft Windows. The Macintosh
version is shipping, a spokeswoman for the company said, and the
Windows version is due to begin shipping within days.

Based on research in innovation and problem solving by the
Synectics Corporation, which does consulting for corporations such
as Apple, Reebok, Citibank, CBS, and Gillette, Mindlink Problem
Solver stimulates the user's mind and natural creative processes
with self-paced exercises and triggers based on proven techniques,
the vendor said.

The software has four independent parts: The Gym, Idea Generation,
Guided Problem Solving, and Problem Solving.

The Gym helps the user learn to think more creatively through
self-paced exercises using techniques such as mental imaging,
improvisation, connecting divergent ideas, and discouraging the
natural tendency to censor ideas.

Idea Generation enables the user to identify a problem and generate
ideas about solving it. Triggers, each with 12 to several hundred
permutations, are built into the program to help the user look at
the problem in a new way.

Guided Problem Solving provides a step-by-step approach to problem
solving which takes the user automatically along a path from
defining the problem to generating wishful and speculative ideas,
to refining those ideas into an action plan with next steps.

Problem Solving contains the complete problem solving process, with
idea generation triggers designed at each stage to match the type
of thinking needed at that stage.

The software is expected to appeal to a wide range of users, the
spokeswoman said. Initial sales have not been concentrated in any
one area, although research and development, marketing, and
advertising appear to be popular applications.

Mindlink Problem Solver runs on any Macintosh with at least one
megabyte of memory, or on any PC with four megabytes of memory and
Microsoft Windows 3.1. Both versions cost $299.

(Grant Buckler/19920511/Press Contact: Joan Casey, Joan Kelleher
Casey Communications for Mindlink, 617-325-7209)

#ENDCARD





#CARD :1992 MAY 8 Moscow: Secret Cryptologists For Hire 05/08/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(MOW)(00001)

Moscow: Secret Cryptologists For Hire 05/08/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 MAY 8 (NB) -- Officials in the new
independent countries of the former Soviet Union will ask Russia
to build their secure communications systems, predicted
Vadim Kravchenko, a Russian expert in the development of secure
communication networks, in a half-page interview with Komsomolskaya
Pravda daily.

Secure communications in the former Soviet Union had five levels
of security and was developed primarily to insure coded voice
communications with little regard to data services. "Can you imagine
the [Communist] party's secretary general or president near the
fax machine or computer terminal?" asked Kravchenko.

The new director of the government communications agency (formerly
KGB 8th Directorate) is trying to commercialize aspects of the
security technology, although obstacles lie ahead due to the
absence of any legislation regulating security systems development
and state certification. The secret communications industry
was not affected by the splitting of the former Soviet Union, said Vadim
Kravchenko.

Now the industry is actively looking at businessmen as the
main client base. "We are planning to roll out a system to protect
all communications media," Kravchenko said.

The industry is said to have been started in Russia by the decree
of Josef Stalin and is widely known for having developed an
encrypted phone system, by his order. The development was
described in "In the First Round" by Alexander Solzenitsyn, a
Nobel prize winner who actually participated in the development
while in prison.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920505)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 8 Japan: Mobile Telecom For Cars Starts This Fall 05/08/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00002)

Japan: Mobile Telecom For Cars Starts This Fall 05/08/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 8 (NB) -- Japan Satellite Message Planning
(JSM) has developed a software system designed to provide various
telecommunications services between passenger vehicles and host
computer systems.

This service, created by a joint venture between JSM, Chu
Itoh, Shin-nippon Steel, and U.S.-based Qualcom, is
based on Qualcom's "Omnitracks" system. It uses the US
Defense Department's communication satellite global
positioning system to locate a car's position. Both the host
and the car's system can locate the car's position. A
data map of an entire nation is installed on the car, allowing
a driver to pinpoint his or her position anywhere in Japan.

The actual device installed in a car will have a small display,
a telephone, and a pen-based computer.

According to JSM, major moving companies, taxi firms, and the
Ministry of Posts & Telecommunications have expressed interest
in purchasing this system. Service to customers starts in June.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920506/Press Contact: Japan Satellite Message
Planning, [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 8 Japan: ISDN-Based Online Gaming Begins 05/08/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00003)

Japan: ISDN-Based Online Gaming Begins 05/08/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 8 (NB) -- Central Systems and Link have
jointly developed a space war game using ISDN-based (integrated
services digital network) telecommunication.

Central Systems and Link have set up a host system for the game
and will be hooking up game-playing units in customers' homes.
Its creators say participants in this game form teams to fight
against other teams in a "virtual game dimension."

Sega Enterprises' "Mega Drive" and Apple's Macintosh can
access this game network through the use of a proprietary ISDN
adaptor. A Link spokesman says the adaptor has been developed and
the firm is currently choosing a manufacturer. The retail price
of this network adaptor will be around $500.

NTT's ISDN network called "INS Net 64" as well as the packet
network DDX will be used in this system. Telecommunication fees
are expected to be about half as expensive as calls on regular
public phone lines.

Link and Central Systems are also planning to start the same
service in the US and Europe in the near future.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920506/Press Contact: Central Systems, +81-
52-261-1181, Link, [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 8  ****Sharp Develops World's Most Efficient Solar Cell 05/08/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00004)

 ****Sharp Develops World's Most Efficient Solar Cell 05/08/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 8 (NB) -- Sharp has developed a solar cell
which converts sunlight to solar energy more efficiently than
ever before achieved. Sharp claims the energy conversion rate
is 22 percent, which is a world record.

Sharp's invention uses silicon solar cells. The efficiency
was achieved technically with thin, silicon oxide film placed
between the positive electrode and the silicon substrate to
create a structure. Light reflects from the positive electrodes and
the oxide film. The back side of the cell is finished in both oxide
film and the silicon substrate. The temperature of the heat treatment
process is carefully controlled. As a result, Sharp's engineers
have achieved about 90 percent reflectivity from the back surface,
and were able to improve the conversion rate by 0.4 percent
compared with existing solar cells, according to Sharp.

The cell was developed jointly with the National Space Development
Agency in Japan. But the basic technology is based on Sharp's long
term research on the cell, according to Sharp.

The cell measures 2 x 2 cm, but it can be larger. Sharp explains
that this cell will be manufactured in a commercial basis soon.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920506/Press Contact: Sharp, [phone],
Fax, [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 8 Microsoft Outsources European Network To British Telecom 05/08/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00005)

Microsoft Outsources European Network To British Telecom 05/08/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 8 (NB) -- Microsoft has contracted the
facilities management of its European data network to British
Telecom (BT). Terms of the five-year contract have not been
revealed.

According to BT, the actual day-to-day management of the
Microsoft network is being handled by Primex, BT's international
private network operation. The Microsoft network hub will be
located at BT's international switching center at Keybridge House
in London.

Announcing the contract this week, Ian Stewart, BT's European
regional director, said that the Microsoft arrangement is typical
of the situation in which many major companies find themselves.

"Many companies like Microsoft are realizing significant growth
opportunities in Europe and are finding that the UK is the
country of choice for 'hubbing' European networks," he said,
adding that the UK provides an ideal network hub for the rest
of Europe.

Microsoft officials, meanwhile, said that they contracted with BT
for the support for the network owing to BT's expertise and the
need for 24-hour-a-day support.

Microsoft's data network operation in Europe is extremely large.
Spanning 14 primary sites, the network handles data traffic and
some voice traffic between all Microsoft offices, plus selected
major companies. The network is used extensively for electronic
mail, as well as passing digital voice messages between company
voice mailbox sites around the globe.

Although Microsoft keeps precise details of its private data
network quiet for commercial reasons, some sources suggest that
the company's network is almost as large as IBM's, which Big Blue
handles in-house, along with third-party network operations.
Microsoft, meanwhile, normally only supports its own network,
rather than that of customers.

BT has been pushing its virtual private network (VPN) technology
hard over the past year. The company argues that provide a
private network on a virtual basis using its own public data
network is more cost-effective than allowing a company to manage
its network resources in-house.

(Steve Gold/19920507/Press & Public Contact: 071-356-5366)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 8  ****AT&T Unveils Full Motion Video Technology 05/08/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LON)(00006)

 ****AT&T Unveils Full Motion Video Technology 05/08/92
BRACKNELL, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 8 (NB) -- AT&T's
Microelectronics division has announced a chip technology that it
claims brings full motion video and digital audio sound to
compact, low-cost equipment such a video telephones, multimedia
computers and point of sale terminals.

Announcing the chipset technology in the UK this week. Vernon
Cheng, AT&T Microelectronics' business development manager, told
Newsbytes that he expects to see real products using the
technology by the end of the year, with a price tag of under the
UKP 1,000 mark.

"We think that our AVP 1000 video codec will allow a number of
manufacturers to offer real-time digital processing of video
images, as well as digital sound, at a sensible price. This is an
industry first," he said.

Cheng's enthusiasm was due to the inclusion of support for 30
frames per second (fps) digital image processing in the AT&T
video codec. Competing technology from the other US majors, he
said, could only achieve a frame rate of 25 fps.

"Within a year or so, we expect this technology to bring video
communications to the desktop in affordable equipment that will
pass high-quality, live images from person to person, across the
world," he said.

Cheng declined to give Newsbytes details of any manufacturers
that AT&T is talking to about including the video codec in their
videophones or computers. He said. However, that a number of
agreements are in the discussion stages.

One interesting feature of the AT&T codec is its ability to cope
with a wide variety of digital data speeds, through to four
million bits per second if needed.

This means, he said, that an ISDN card using the AT&T technology
could easily cope with the differing "standards" for ISDN
(integrated services digital technology), particularly the pre-
basic rate service (BRS) ISDN services in the US that operate
at 56,000 bps. "Our codec will interface this to the standard
64,000 bps systems available," he told Newsbytes.

Despite AT&T's obvious enthusiasm for the video codec, Newsbytes
notes that ISDN and video imaging technology are still at a very
early stage in Europe. Ironically, Cheng told Newsbytes that he
regards Europe as more advanced in ISDN terms than the US.

(Steve Gold/19920507/Press & Public Contact: AT&T
Microelectronics - Tel: [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 8 New For PC: Miracom Blast Procomm Plus Add-in 05/08/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00007)

New For PC: Miracom Blast Procomm Plus Add-in 05/08/92
SLOUGH, BERKSHIRE, 1992 MAY 8 (NB) -- Miracom has announced the
availability of a Blast module for Procomm Plus. The package is
being sold in the UK with a price tag of UKP 49, although users
of V.32 and higher-specification (V.32Bis) modems are getting the
module free of charge until the end of September.

Clive Hudson, Miracom's sales and marketing director, reckons
that Procomm Plus has 50 to 70 percent market share in the US,
as well as a sizeable share of the UK market. He said
that Blast, which US Robotics (Miracom's parent company) acquired
last year when it bought into the Communication Research Group,
has been well received.

"Blast has been well received at the top end of the market among
corporate users with a mix of environments. With remote Control
for Procomm Plus, we are looking to create mass appeal for a high
performance products," he said.

In use, Blast for Procomm Plus greatly enhances the remote dial-
in facilities of Procomm Plus. According to Miracom, it allows
users to take control of any remote PC as if they were actually
sitting at the remote keyboard. It competes head to head with
packages such as PC Anywhere and Brooklyn Bridge.

(Steve Gold/19920507/Press & Public Contact: 0753-811180)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 8 New Pen Computer From Toshiba Due This Fall 05/08/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00008)

New Pen Computer From Toshiba Due This Fall 05/08/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 8 (NB) -- Toshiba will release a pen-input
computer this fall, the firm has announced. A new technology will
be employed in the unit which provides an extremely high letter
recognition rate, according to the company.

Toshiba's pen computer will have a proprietary operating system
based on MS-DOS but it will support the Japanese version of Microsoft's
Windows For Pen and Go's Penpoint software. According to a Toshiba
spokesman, the pen computer has a powerful handwritten letter
recognition technology that analyzes letters from the shape and the
stroke. The recognition rate is almost 99 percent, according to
the spokesman.

Toshiba claims that it previously designed a pen computer for Sumitomo
Credit Service two years ago. The firm supplied about 100 units in that
order. Toshiba is currently modifying this application-specific pen-input
computer to a general purpose pen-input computer for business
and personal computer users.

The retail price of this pen computer is still unknown, but it is
expected to be less expensive than NCR Japan's pen computer.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920507/Press Contact: Toshiba, +81-3-3457-
2104)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 8 Japan: ASCII Spins Out Rival Publishing Firm 05/08/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00009)

Japan: ASCII Spins Out Rival Publishing Firm 05/08/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 8 (NB) -- Keiichiro Tsukamoto, former vice
president of ASCII, has set up a new publishing house
called "Impress" to publish personal computer-related
publications. The firm may directly vie with ASCII.

Keiichiro Tsukamoto left ASCII apparently due to discord with
President Kazuhiko Nishi last year. Akio Gunji, who left ASCII
with Tsukamoto, may also join Impress in the near future.
ASCII's President Kazuhiko Nishi was quoted by the Nikkei
newspaper as saying, "We can get along with Impress in harmony."
However, Tsukamoto's new firm includes 15 employees who have
recently left ASCII. There is no word what President Nishi
thinks of Tsukamoto's new firm.

The business of publishing personal computer magazines and
books is due to begin soon. Multimedia-related titles are expected
to be published later.

Impress aims to make 2 billion yen ($15 million) worth of sales
in fiscal 1993. The firm's capitalization is 100 million yen
($0.75 million).

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920507)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 8  ****Experts Predicts Pen Computers Will Boost Computer Industry 05/08/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SFO)(00010)

 ****Experts Predicts Pen Computers Will Boost Computer Industry 05/08/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 8 (NB) -- Pen computing is
about to give the PC industry a much needed boost, and this mission
will be accomplished in at least five ways, stated Kirk Cruikshank,
vice president of marketing for Grid Systems Corporation, speaking
this week at the Pen-Based Computing Conference in Boston.

In the few short years of its existence, he said, pen computing has
already evolved from a single technology into four distinct product
groups: hand-helds, clipboards, tablets and pentops. A fifth
category, "pen consumer products," now on the way, will strike in
full force in 1993, added Cruikshank, whose company released the
grandfather of today's products, the Gridpad, back in 1989.

Together with emerging "pencentric" operating systems and
applications, the new categories of pen computers are starting to
reach out to the 57 million American workers who remain
uncomputerized, he said. Soon, these products will connect with
enough strength to reverse a downward trend in the PC industry
manifested by an 8% drop in revenues last year.

The recession and declining PC prices have each played roles in the
slump, but another key factor is diminishing growth in the ranks of
new users, according to Kruikshank. "Sales of computers in many
segments of the market are for replacements of mature PCs, rather
than sales to new users. Customers aren't buying as many PCs
because their business is down, and also because they haven't been
getting a good enough return on investment from automating office
workers," he said.

"What is needed is a new class of computer hardware and
software that will re-energize the PC industry and at the same time
help improve the competitiveness and productivity of corporations
around the world." One answer, he emphasized, is to bring
computers to nurses, government inspectors, truck drivers, sales
representative, grocery shelf stocks, and others who aren't yet
using computers on the job -- but who would if a computer was just
another simple tool.

"Like a screwdriver or a pencil," he illustrated. "Something they
can easily use. Not something that is complex to operate, has a
keyboard and is heavy to carry around," he said, to an audience
filled with hundreds of software developers and corporate,
government and hospital I/S managers.

"I believe that pen computers will help restore rapid growth to the
industry in the 1990s because they will make the overall market
bigger and ultimately deliver on the promise of computing as a true
productivity tool."

Organizations will be able to cost justify pen computing by the
time and money saved on preparing and processing documents, he
suggested. In the US today, corporations and government agencies
spend an estimated $7.8 billion each year on paper forms alone, he
said.

"And for each dollar spent on paper forms there is an estimated $60
spent in processing, storing and maintaining the paperwork. And
that's not counting the days or weeks lost in accessing the data
before it gets into easily retrievable form," he reported.

Workers who were leery of laptop and desktop computers will take
easily to pen computers, due to the use of more convenient forms
factors and intuitive interfaces that don't require a keyboard or
mouse. After the new users get their first taste of pen computing
at work, they will move on to relish the use of the technology at
play, as well, he explained.

Kruikshank emphasized that the scenario he envisions has started to
unfold already. Grid's current pen customers include such
corporate giants as Gillette, Kellogg, Searle, Marion Merrell Dow,
CSX, Contrail, Detroit Edison, and the "big three" auto makers, as
well as hospitals, police departments, utilities, and government
agencies from coast to coast, he said.

Now, Grid is being joined in the marketplace by a surge of other
hardware and software vendors, including such major industry
players as IBM, Microsoft, and NCR, he noted.

Organizations are using 3.5- to 4-pound clipboards, such as the
original GridPAd and a pen computer from Pi Systems, for filling
out forms.

Another new category, tablets, consists of heavier but more capable
pen computers, equipped with 386 processors and 60 MB or more of
storage. Tipping the scales at 4.5 to 6 pounds, the tablets can be
used for word processing, spreadsheets, database management,
complex graphics, faxing, e-mail, and a range of other
applications. Grid, Samsung, IBM, NCR, and many other companies
have been entering this segment, he said.

A third type of pen computer, the pentop, incorporates keyboard as
well as pen capabilities. These devices weigh 5 to 7 pounds and
use processors of 386 and above. Machines from Momenta and NEC are
among the existing examples in this category. In addition, Grid
will be introducing a pentop later this year, stated Kruikshank.
The company is not yet ready to release details, though, he added.

A fourth group, hand-helds, encompasses the lightest pen computers
now on the market. Less than 3 pounds in weight, these computers
are aimed at tasks involving constant data entry. Examples of
products in this group include the Poquet Pad from Poquet Computer
Corporation and Grid's PalmPAD, introduced with much fanfare in
March.

The Palmpad product launch featured a fashion show, with runway
models, ranging from nurses to astronauts, wearing Palmpads on
their wrists and hands, held on by Velcro straps. "We did this to
show our vision of the breadth of uses for this unique pen
computer," he commented.

Grid and its parent company, Tandy Corporation, view the Palmpad
as the forerunner to the fifth type of pen computer. To be priced
at $500 to $700 initially, and much less later on, these computers
will accomplish the same tasks as the Sharp, Casio, and Hewlett-
Packard organizers of today, and more, he said.

Small enough to fit into a pocket or purse, the new devices will be
embellished with a pen, and a larger display area than the
organizers. The computers will be used for entertainment as well
as occupational purposes, he indicated.

"These pen consumer products," he remarked, "will have credit card-
sized memory cards for applications such as games, educational
toys, calculating spell checking, dictionaries foreign language
aids, faxing, accessing databases, and fetching voice mail and
beeper messages." Eventually, these products will become as
ubiquitous as calculators are today, he predicted.

In another unfolding trend, radio frequency (RF) modems are being
built into some pen computers, he pointed out. Grid, for instance,
recently unveiled an RF-equipped version of its basic Gridpad.
In a pilot project at Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail),
being run over the RAM Mobile Data Network, the instruments are
being used to transmit work orders to locomotive engineers to pick
up and deliver railroad cars at customer sites.

Conrail reports that the RF devices are preventing the delays that
used to occur when the work orders were in paper form, said
Cruikshank. The engineers no longer have to keep bringing the cars
back to the railyard to pick up the latest work orders, he
asserted.

In the future, he speculated, other new features will be
incorporated into pen computers, such as digitized image and voice
capture and the entry of commands via voice recognition.

Software for pen computing will be as diverse as the hardware
platforms. Users can already choose from among Microsoft Windows
for Pen Computing, Communications Intelligence Corporation's
PenDOS, GO Corporation's Penpoint, and proprietary systems such as
Grid's PenRight!, a DOS-based environment for custom vertical
applications.

Available in the future, he said, will be another option, Geowork's
Pen/GEOS, a graphical windowing environment targeted at consumer
pen applications. Microsoft and GO have also announced plans to
enter the consumer pen market, he added.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920507)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 8  ****Texpo '92 -- Electronic Computerized "Cameraman" 05/08/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00011)

 ****Texpo '92 -- Electronic Computerized "Cameraman" 05/08/92
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 8 (NB) -- Parkervision has
introduced a device it calls Cameraman, that is based on an Intel
microprocessor and directs a video camera to automatically follow an
electronic microphone.

Parkervision says any video camera will work with the system, but
recommends cameras with an infrared remote control. The Cameraman is a
swivel base in which the user can securely place a video camera. The
base is programmed to track with the movement of a hand-held oblong
wand that doubles as a microphone.

Newsbytes saw an ordinary video camera placed in the unit and the
speaker literally ran around trying to get out of the unit's field of
vision, but was unable to do so. The Cameraman automatically centers
on the individual holding the wand and pans, tilts, and zooms. The
device can also be programmed for locations that can be recalled with
a touch of a button on the wand.

Parkervision says the system is robotics-based and could eliminate the
need for a camera operator in ordinary film settings, such as business
presentations, educational settings, and seminars. The wand has
controls for the Cameraman and operates from as far as 100 feet away,
Parkervision said.

Retail prices for the systems start at $1,500, the company said.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920507/Public Contact: Parkervision, 800-231-1759)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 8 NY Times Published In Russia 05/08/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(MOW)(00012)

NY Times Published In Russia 05/08/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 MAY 8 (NB) -- New York Times has announced the
publication of its first-ever foreign language edition. Entitled
"News in Review," the paper will contain articles sent from New York
to Moscow through MCI Mail and the Relcom e-mail network.

News in Review will be 16 to 24 pages long and will contain articles
on business, science and culture.

The publication is a joint project of The Times and the Moscow News
Newspaper. The former will be responsible for the selection of
articles and photographs, as well as the graphics and design of the
pages. Moscow News will translate the articles into Russian and manage
printing and distribution.

"Articles are received in Moscow through electronic mail the
same day they appear in New York. Pictures are now being sent
via express mail, which provides enough time for the translation
and the editing of the actual text," Valery Bardin of Relcom told
Newsbytes. "We are looking forward to implementing the modern
pictures transfer technology and then to be able to offer such a
service to foreign reporters in Moscow. Sending pictures out of
this city is said to be still a difficult task."

Bardin says it took more than a month to prove to New York Times
publishers that the proposed electronic mail communication system
would actually work.

Moscow News Editor-in-Chief Len Karpinsky commented that the project was
momentous in that it represented a solid bridge between the former super-
power rivals.

For the first six months, the newspaper will exclusively
carry ads of its seven charter U.S. sponsors: American Express,
Archer Daniels Midland, The Coca-Cola Company, Estee Lauder
International, Goldman Sachs, IBM, and TWA and also of the Russian
Unikombank. According to Moscow News commercial director, Yevgeny
Abov, the project is entirely financed by advertisers.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920507/Press Contact: Moscow News phone +7
095 229- 68-73;292-20-72/ Fax [phone]; e-mail
[e-mail])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 8 Bells Favored in Congressional Showdown 05/08/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00013)

Bells Favored in Congressional Showdown 05/08/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 MAY 8 (NB) -- The seven regional Bell
companies are expected to easily beat back a bill by House
Judiciary Committee Chairman Jack Brooks of Texas aimed at
restoring restrictions of the 1982 Bell break-up decree.

Brooks said his bill favors competition, and it is weaker than
one offered last year by Rep. Jim Cooper of Tennessee, which
never made it to the floor. But the Bells promised to fight this
one too. An Ameritech spokesman called it "anti-competitive," and
"anti-consumer." Pacific Telesis called it a "flat prohibition"
against entry into new markets "in disguise." US West claimed
it's "blatantly protectionist legislation" on behalf of newspaper
monopolies. A Bell Atlantic spokesman, however, had the best
line, calling it a "craven sacrifice of public to private
interests."

Here's what the bill would in fact do. The Bells could do
research on manufacturing and in areas where there's a compelling
need for new services, like aid to the handicapped. But
information services could not be pursued for three years after
enactment of the bill, they couldn't manufacture or provide
equipment for five years, and they couldn't get into long
distance and electronic publishing for seven years. Even then,
they'd need a Justice Department OK to get into the new ventures,
to assure against monopoly abuses, and they'd also be prohibited
from merging with each other or using revenues from customer
billing to subsidize new ventures.

The bill would roll back a number of new ventures by the Bells
already announced, especially a BellSouth agreement to work with
Dow Jones in finding new markets for its newswires, information
services, and phone-based services. "The Wall Street Journal,"
which is owned by Dow Jones, is expected to editorialize strongly
against the Brooks bill.

The bill's chances for passage are, however, considered to be
slim to none. For one thing, Rep. John Dingell of Michigan,
whose committee is supposed to cover telecommunications, doesn't
want a bill this year. For another, election-year wrangling makes
any bill's chances of passage dim before 1993. Finally, the Bush
Administration could be expected to veto any bill like the one
Brooks has authored. American Newspaper Publishers Association
President Cathleen Black praised the bill, and AT&T as well as
MCI and Sprint are also expected to come out for it, since it
would keep the Bells out of their long distance businesses.

Brooks, meanwhile, is expected to use the bill to press his case
that the Bush Administration has given up on antitrust
enforcement.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920508)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 8 US HDTV Contenders Agree To Split Royalties 05/08/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00014)

US HDTV Contenders Agree To Split Royalties 05/08/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 8 (NB) -- AT&T, General
Instrument, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Zenith
Electronics agreed to share HDTV royalties. The companies have
been competing before the Federal Communications Commission to
create a digital standard for high definition television (HDTV).

While the AT&T-Zenith scheme was said to be favored in recent
months, the agreement assures all parties that there will be no
losers in the HDTV race, and also puts pressure on the FCC to
favor an American digital scheme over the analog schemes proposed
by Japanese and Dutch-led consortia. The four US companies also
said they'll work with each other to enhance whichever of their
systems are selected by the FCC, but specific terms of the
agreement in principle were not disclosed. They're still subject
to negotiation.

Between them, the four groups signing the agreement represent
three of the four all-digital systems being tested by the FCC,
which expects to make a decision in 1993. Other proposals still
in the running include one by NHK, the Japanese broadcasting
system, and one by a European-led consortium that groups includes
Philips of Holland, Thomson of France, the Sarnoff Laboratories
and NBC. The NHK proposal is analog, however, and isn't expected
to be a threat. So the only way the US competitors could lose
is if a US regulator prefers a French-Dutch system to their
three offerings.

Under the agreement, however, the technical proposals are not
being merged -- they're just agreeing to cooperate and share
revenues if any of their systems are selected. "This agreement
underscores the fact that HDTV in America is close at hand," said
AT&T Chairman Robert E. Allen in a press statement. "We believe
strongly that a cooperative American approach to all-digital HDTV
is in the public interest," added General Instrument Chairman
Donald Rumsfeld. Zenith Chairman Jerry Pearlman emphasized that
the deal minimizes risks all around.

So far, the GI/MIT team's "DigiCipher HDTV" system has
successfully completed tests at the Advanced Television Test
Center in Alexandria, Virginia. The Zenith/AT&T "Digital Spectrum
Compatible" system is currently undergoing testing, while the
MIT/GI system, "Channel Compatible DigiCipher," will undergo
testing later this year.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920508/Press Contact: Mary Lou Ambrus, AT&T,
908-771-2825; Bernie Windon, GI, 312-541-5030; John Taylor,
Zenith, 708-391-8181; Jae S. Lim, MIT, 617-253-8143)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 8 Dell Elects VP Of Worldwide Operations 05/08/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00015)

Dell Elects VP Of Worldwide Operations 05/08/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 8 (NB) -- Dell Computer has
elected John Olson, described as a 30-year veteran
of the computer business, as vice president of worldwide operations.

Dell said that Olson, 50, will head worldwide manufacturing,
materials procurement, quality assurance, and manufacturing
information systems for the computer company. In his newly created
position, Olson will report directly to Chairman Michael Dell.

Olson comes to Dell from AST Research, where he was vice president
of worldwide operations, with similar responsibilities to those at
Dell. Prior to holding that position, Olson was managing director
of AST Taiwan.

Although not the holder of a baccalaureate degree, Olson has had
extensive experience in most aspects of the computer manufacturing
field. In addition to his experience with AST, he

Dell spokesperson Lisa Rohlf told Newsbytes the company decided to
create the position in order to free Glenn Henry, senior vice
president of Dell's Products Group of some of his responsibilities.
Henry will now spend part of his time creating a stronger focus on
advanced systems development, said Rohlf.

"John (Olson) had the right mix of experience and talent to assume
those responsibilities. We're really excited about him coming on
board. We hope to benefit a great deal from his experience and
extensive knowledge of the Far East," said Michael Dell.

Olson served in a management position with Ampex Corporation where
as the managing director for Ampex Taiwan he ran a fully integrated
manufacturing operation, producing computer components, computer
terminals, and commercial video subsystems.

Also is a senior member of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers,
the American Institute of Industrial Engineers, and the American
Society for Quality Control, and speaks Mandarin Chinese.

(Jim Mallory/1920508/Press contact: Lisa Rohlf, Dell, 512-343-3782;
Reader contact: 800-289-3355)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 8 Australia: Optus Rolls Out Services 05/08/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00016)

Australia: Optus Rolls Out Services 05/08/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 MAY 8 (NB) -- Optus, Australia's
new telecommunications carrier (not "second carrier" company
officers insist) used last week's ATUG conference in Melbourne
to discuss its plans for service introductions. It announced a
AUS$4 billion budget for the next five years, virtually starting
from scratch in its efforts to provide an alternative to Telecom
(or AOTC).

Optus Director Terry Winters said his organization would not only
provide a choice, but the best service at a competitive price. The
first services will be a Sydney to Melbourne voice tie-up late this
year, followed by the addition of Brisbane, Canberra, Perth and
Adelaide by the end of next year. Data services will follow by a few
months in each city. The first ISDN services will be introduced in
early 1994.

(Paul Zucker/19920508)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 8 Demo Trade Bill To Extend Super 301, Target Asia 05/08/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00017)

Demo Trade Bill To Extend Super 301, Target Asia 05/08/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 8 (NB) -- After talking about
the pending bill for many months, House Majority Leader Richard
Gephardt, D-Mo., finally unveiled the Democratic trade bill at a
press conference late Thursday afternoon. At the heart of the
bill is the renewal of "Super 301" trade policies which are
mostly aimed at Asian trading partners.

The Super 301 provision requires the administration, which most
Democrats feel has been far too lenient on Asia-based exporters,
to take certain steps involving investigations of alleged dumping
(selling below cost) and their endemic barriers to imported
goods, especially agricultural and automotive goods from the US.

Specifically targeted in the bill are: restrictions on machine
tool imports from Taiwan; closed rice markets in Korea, Taiwan,
and Japan; poor access to Japanese automotive markets for both
vehicles and parts; and a call for further voluntary restrictions
on Japanese car and truck imports into the US until 1999.

The bill, which is formally sponsored by House Ways and Means
Committee Chairman Dan Rostenkowski, D-Ill, would also extend
the overall super 301 authority which requires the US trade
representative to actively look for violations of US trade laws
by other countries.

This introduction of the new trade bill came just as the
political season is heating up and in a week when more was
learned about alleged unfair practices by Asian trading partners.

A recent television report by NBC News says that all the while
President Bush (former ambassador to China) was demanding that
Congress ignore human rights and trade violations and extend MFN
or most favored nation trade status to China, that country was
actively engaged in smuggling goods into the US.

Textile products were the main target of a recent investigation
by the US Customs Service which is now prosecuting semi-
official Chinese government trading group executives for what the
Service says was a pervasive attempt to avoid import restrictions
by drop shipping and relabeling Chinese-made textile goods to
make them appear to have been made in Central America (Honduras)
or other Asian countries.

The Customs Service estimates that this involved billions of
dollars worth of illegal imports but the only response so far
from China's government has been to threaten retaliation against
US companies operating in Asia unless the US drops
prosecution efforts against the Chinese officials.

Interestingly enough, some Japanese officials have long said that
American-made products are too poorly built to allow into the
country but just this week an electric motor fell off of one of
Japan's new home-built bullet trains allegedly because critical
bolts were left off. This has reportedly been a major blow to
Japanese pride.

Monitor News recently carried a series of reports showing how
Japanese goods are sold abroad at very low prices because the
Japanese consumer is charged for all advertising and development
costs, effectively subsidizing exports, allowing companies to
unfairly gain market share abroad.

Some small businesses have actually begun buying Japanese-made
products in the US and re-importing them to Japan where they
can still sell them at substantially lower prices than the same
goods sold directly in the home market.

These and other horror stories, such as the fact that rice costs
Japanese households about three times more than it would if US
rice growers were allowed to sell in Tokyo, has led to an
increasing anti-Asian sentiment in the US which could cause
major upheavals in world trade during the presidential election
year.

(John McCormick/19920508/Press Contact: Deborah Johns, Press
Secretary to Gephardt, 202-225-0100)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 8 More Hearings On Export Ban On Data Encryption Software 05/08/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00018)

More Hearings On Export Ban On Data Encryption Software 05/08/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 8 (NB) -- US software
publishers have made another pilgrimage to Capital Hill to ask
again that Congress allow the export of software containing data
encryption technology. Many foreign buyers demand that such
encryption be a part of many programs and US law restricts the
exports of such software.

As in past hearings, US companies pointed out that this
situation hurts exports and that since the software is easily
duplicatable and can be purchased in thousands of stores here in
the US, there is no way to block any country from obtaining the
technology anyway. An embassy employee could simply buy a program
containing the software here in Washington, then send it overseas
in a diplomatic pouch.

In addition, publishers contend that the technology is not all
that special, nor is it of much help to any foreign government's
intelligence agency in any case. Encryption algorithms are widely
understood by computer scientists but their very strength lies in
the fact that even knowing exactly how they work is little help
when it comes to "breaking" or decrypting the stored data.

The FBI on the domestic front, and the super-secret National
Security Agency (based between Washington and Baltimore at Fort
Meade, Maryland) on the foreign intelligence side, say that if
foreign governments and terrorists obtain this technology it will
be much more difficult for US agents to track their activities.

Democratic House Judiciary Committee members took the opportunity
to criticize as inadequate a proposed digital signature standard
which has been put forward by the Commerce Department's NIST
(National Institute of Standards and Technology).

Security experts are divided on the question of just how secure
the proposed ElGamal DSS is, with most of the opposition coming
from groups using the proprietary RSA trap-door encryption system
developed by three mathematicians at MIT.

One reason for the NIST (on NSA's recommendation) going with the
ElGamal signature verification scheme is the fact that while
royalties are required for the use of the RSA system the NIST was
able to use a government-developed ElGamal algorithm that could
be incorporated into products without paying a licensing fee.

During earlier Congressional testimony, NIST's deputy director,
Raymond G. Kammer, told the Technology and Competitiveness
Subcommittee of the House (US House of Representatives)
Science, Space and Technology Committee that the ElGamal
encryption scheme, patented by the federal government, was chosen
because it would save federal agencies money over the private RSA
encryption and signature verification scheme.

Deerfield, Illinois-based Information Security Corporation has
been using the ElGamal algorithm for years in its security
products as well as selling RSA-based systems to the federal
government only (RSA was developed using government funds at
MIT).

RSA Data Security, a private company formed to exploit the RSA
encryption development, contends that its scheme is more secure
but ISC's CEO and president, Thomas J. Venn, has told Newsbytes
that the ElGamal system is highly secure.

The ElGamal algorithm is quite different from that of the RSA
system, deriving its security from the difficulty of computing
discrete logarithms, in finite field, instead of using RSA's very
different method of factoring the products of two prime numbers.

Because it was already using a slightly different ElGamal
algorithm, ISC has been the first to bring an NIST-compliant DSS
system to the market, even before it has been formally adopted.

(John McCormick/19920508/Press Contact: Thomas J. Venn, ISC, tel.
708-405-0500, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 8 ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 05/08/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00019)

ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 05/08/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 8 (NB) -- Roundup is a brief
look at some computer stories carried in other publications
received here this past week.

The May 4, 1992, Federal Computer Week reports on the (hopefully)
last round of bids on Desktop IV, a major multi-year desktop
computer purchase contract.

Computer Reseller News for May 4 says that, just as it is
abandoning ACE, Compaq Computer has joined with IBM, Intel,
Microsoft, and some other big players to map out a next-
generation computer architecture. The new systems will reportedly
boost PC performance beyond present limits without moving up to
more complex computers required by the use of RISC processors.

May's issue of Software Magazine looks at how German retail giant
Kaufhof approaches low-cost computing.

InformationWeek for the week of May 4 puts IBM's reorganization
on the cover.

The May issue of Workstation News shows how object-oriented
software and body-mounted sensors are being used by SimGraphics
Engineering to develop real-time animation. Current animation is
done one frame at a time.

Systems & Network Integration says that the IBM-Apple alliance
may have a RISC-based PC on the market by the end of the year.

May 4th's CommunicationsWeek says that local and long-distance
telecommunications carriers have a long way to go before they can
easily connect to AT&T's SS7 (signaling system 7) networks.

Esther Dyson's Release 1.0 newsletter dated 28 April looks at the
roll of adaptive computation which uses artificial intelligence
techniques to simulate "artificial life" or real "thinking"
computers.

Telephony for April 27 explores the ways Nynex (a regional
telephone company) is working to become a leaner, more
competitive company.

(John McCormick/19920508/)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 8 The Enabled Computer 05/08/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00020)

The Enabled Computer 05/08/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 8 (NB) -- The Enabled Computer
is a regular Newsbytes feature covering news and important
product information relating to high technology aids for the
disabled.

TDD Issues For Business

Since the last issue covered mostly products from The Johns
Hopkins University National Search for Computing Applications to
Assist Persons With Disabilities that are already available on
the market, we will take a break from that coverage to look at an
exciting new product that will interest both the hearing-
impaired and any business needing to cope with the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA).

As of last January, any business which takes orders or offers
customer support over the telephone and does not prepare to
accommodate deaf customers will face not only the usual loss of
business but likely action from the courts because this would be
an obvious and blatant violation of the disabled community's
rights.

You may have seen the TV ad where a TDD (Telecommunications
Device for the Deaf) operator helps two hearing- and/or speech-
impaired women order a pizza.

I don't agree with their choices (anchovies AND pineapple??
YUCK!) but I do applaud the fact that companies are now required
to sell them a pizza even if they can't place a voice order.

ALL businesses serving the public, even a mom-and-pop store, are
now required to make a reasonable effort to serve everyone
equally and for many that may mean installing a TDD just to
encourage customers who get annoyed placing calls through a
special operator just to get a pizza.

Certainly places that do a lot of telephone order-taking, such as
hotel or airplane reservation operations, should consider getting
their own TDD numbers.

It may seem a burden to many of them, but besides the moral
question of whether a lack of speech or hearing should make you
less than a full member of the community, there is a much
stronger argument than even the law. Opening service to the
disabled means MORE customers!

And it needn't be an expensive step.

There is a flood of new adaptive devices hitting the market
because software and hardware companies have seen how the ADA
will affect business everywhere and it is up to us to let
everyone know what is available and what is wrong with present
products.

Hearing-impaired individuals normally have little trouble using
computers, but hearing-impaired office workers, and those who
deal with hearing-impaired outsiders, may benefit from special
computer technology to let them interact with others.

Stand-alone (TDDs Telecommunications Device for the Deaf) such as
those sold by AT&T and others have been the traditional way of
handling this situation, but, with the vast number of computers
now in place, many offices will want to consider TDD cards such
as the MIC 300i made by Glenn Dale, Md.'s Microflip Inc.

At only $350, the MIC 300i TDD/modem provides a wide variety of
services and tools for the hearing-impaired, including support
for deaf communication standards (Baudot) at speeds of 45.5 baud
(U.S.), 50.0 baud (International), and computer data
communication at standard 300 baud ASCII (Bell 103A or CCITT
v.21).

Microflip includes software which supports both TDD e-mail and a
basic TDD bulletin board system. These programs can be used as a
memory resident or TSR program running in the background of
Windows or DESQview, as well as any MS-DOS text-mode application.

While normally you would want to look for a minimum of Hayes
compatibility in any communications product, the 8-bit MIC 300i
half-card is not Hayes-compatible because it uses a parallel port
rather than serial interface. In this case, because it comes
supplied with its own software, this lack of Hayes compatibility
is actually a desirable feature since it is due to the use of a
parallel interface which automatically eliminates any conflict
with other modems or a serial mouse that may already be installed
in the computer.

The answering machine function of the MIC 300i can be remote-
accessed by a deaf worker so it provides the same functionality
as voice mail.

The MIC 300i card also includes an infrared LED mounted on the
back panel just below the standard RJ-11 telephone connector.
This makes the unit capable of activating external devices
through X-10 controllers.

Several versions of the control software are included to provide
a choice of full features or small size, and both the hardware
and software are PBX- and network-compatible - an important
consideration for larger businesses.

Please note that this and other TDD devices are not just for the
hearing-impaired or their fellow workers but for anyone who must
be accessible to the general public which includes members of the
deaf community - many of whom use TDDs as a standard
communications device.

MIC 300i, $350 from Microflip, Inc., 11211 Petsworth Lane,
Glenn Dale, Md. 20769, 301-262-6020, 301-262-4978 (fax),
301-262-1629 (TDD/ASCII 8N1H).

The next issue will cover more about the MIC 300i, including a
description of the included software, and look at other TDD-
related subjects.

(John McCormick/19920508)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 8  ****MicroSlate Marketing Push For "Pen and Touch" Computers 05/08/92




(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00021)

 ****MicroSlate Marketing Push For "Pen and Touch" Computers 05/08/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 8 (NB) -- MicroSlate, a
firm specializing in high-powered, configurable pen and touch
computers for field professionals, has forged production,
technical, and sales support arrangements with GTE for the US
market, and will soon announce a similar agreement with another
firm for the Canadian market, Newsbytes has learned.

Jan Rowinski, vice president of operations, described the
arrangements for Newsbytes after a presentation at the Pen-Based
Computing Conference. In his talk to the conference participants,
he outlined results of his company's research on the pen
marketplace and advised prospective pen purchasers to weigh the
pros and cons of available products, relative to their own needs,
before buying.

"There are trade-offs. Do you want the computer to be rugged? Do
you need a lot of battery life? If so, the computer will have to
be heavy," he told attendees of the conference, held this week in
Boston under the sponsorship of Digital Consulting.

At this point, the pen market is stratified into a number of
vertical segments, with varying orientations, he reported. Based
on its research, MicroSlate has decided to pursue two of these
segments: the computer scientist/mathematician market, and
manufacturing technicians.

MicroSlate's arrangements with GTE, unannounced until now, are
designed to raise corporate credibility for the company, which
recently introduced its latest product, the Datallite 400. "In
effect, GTE has become our corporate sponsor in the US market,"
remarked Rowinski. The affiliation began in January, 1991 with an
agreement for GTE to carry out final assembly on MicroSlate
products, along with 24-hour replacement or repair on warranteed
items and emergency recovery of any data lost in the field.

A second agreement, signed March 26, calls for GTE to identify
prospective clients for MicroSlate and accompany the computer maker
on sales calls. Details on similar arrangements for the Canadian
market will be announced in about two weeks, he added. The pacts
are part of a broader effort toward more extensive marketing of
MicroSlate's products, Rowinski indicated. "We've been the first
to come out with a number of innovations, but a lot of people don't
know that yet," he informed Newsbytes.

The Datellite 400 is the first 486-based pen and touch computer, he
added. Other "firsts" the company is claiming include the first
386SX-based pen and touch computer, the Datellite 300, and the
first keyboardless portable, the Datelite 150S.

MicroSlate embarked on two and a half years of research after
introducing Datellite 150S in 1988, Rowinski said to the conference
participants. Results showed a total of 39 million people who
work outside the office setting and can benefit from pen computing,
he said. Most of these "field professionals" carry out their
responsibilities out of doors or on shop floors. Also included in
the count are 18 million sales representatives, who spend some of
their time on the road.

Pen computers are an effective solution for people who work outside
offices because the machines allow users to retrieve, enter and
process data in almost any environment, and while walking about, he
said. "A pen computer can go where no computer has gone before,"
he explained. "A laptop is fine if you're seated on a plane, but
if you're inspecting its wing before takeoff, you'll find a pen
computer to be a lot more functional," he noted.

Other potential pen user groups include the home and educational
markets, administrative and clerical workers, and corporate
executives, he said. For the executives, taking notes in meetings
is an apt application. "If you're in the board room talking to
someone, you don't want to have to open up a clamshell in his
face," he explained.

MicroSlate found the field professional market to be very
applications specific. "You cannot come up with a vanilla flavored
product and say, 'Here it is. That's your computer. So go out and
use it,'" asserted Rowinski.

Both of the groups MicroSlate is targeting fall within the field
professional category. "This is a category starved for the right
products," he commented. One of the targeted groups, consisting
of one million computer scientists and mathematicians, is 93%
computerized already, but offers extensive opportunities in the way
of replacement devices. The other group, made up of eight million
manufacturing technicians, remains only 11% computerized.

With the needs of these groups in mind, MicroSlate is offering
computers that can be configured with such capabilities as dual pen
and touch interfaces, math coprocessors, internal RF transmitters,
extra rechargeable/replaceable battery packs, and up to 16 MB of
memory, he said.

"I want to stress that the phrase 'pen computing' does not always
mean 'pen,'" he stated. "Many field uses are point-and-shoot
applications, where choices can be made by simply touching the
right menu selections." The MicroSlate computers support such
applications as CAD, GIS, manufacturing subassembly, and railroad
and utility programs, running on MicroSoft Windows for Pen 1.0,
PenPoint, PenRight!, Pen-DOS, and other pen operating systems.

In making purchasing decisions, end users and I/O managers should
carefully compare their own requirements to what a particular
product can provide, he said. Aside from weight, durability, and
battery life, factors to consider include connectivity, hard disk
space, memory, packaging, software support, availability of serial
and parallel ports, and type of screen and pen.

A transmissive screen, for instance, is backlit, making it more
suitable than a reflective screen for low light situations. And a
tethered pen is not necessarily the best way to go in all
situations. "We've found that when users lose their footing out in
the field, they grab for the pens. If our tethers were attached,
the users would end up inadvertently tearing them out," he
concluded.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920508)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 8 IBM Sells Rolm Stake To Siemens 05/08/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00022)

IBM Sells Rolm Stake To Siemens 05/08/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 8 (NB) -- IBM has
announced that it will sell its remaining stake in Rolm, the
telecommunications equipment maker it bought in 1984, to the German
high-technology firm Siemens. Siemens has held an interest in Rolm
since 1989, when it formed a joint venture with IBM to run the
company.

The two companies said they would continue cooperative development
and marketing efforts that have been under way since 1989.

The 1989 joint venture agreement split Rolm into two parts. Rolm
Company, the marketing operation, was equally split between IBM and
Siemens, while Rolm Systems, the manufacturing and development
organization, belonged to Siemens. Under the new agreement, the
units will be reunited. Consolidation will begin immediately, the
companies said.

Rolm will join Tel Plus Communications in the Siemens Private
Communication Systems group. Joint marketing activities with Tel
Plus are planned. Rolm will be based in Santa Clara.

IBM learned a lot about the telecommunications business from its
involvement in Rolm over the past eight years, company spokesman
Paul Neuman said, but now wants to concentrate on the computer
business. IBM and Rolm will continue to work closely together, he
added; in fact, the companies' joint marketing agreement has been
extended to the end of the century.

Gebhard Doermer, currently president and chief executive officer of
Siemens Private Communication Systems, will be chief financial
officer for Rolm. Mitchell Watson, formerly president and chief
executive officer of Rolm Company, will join the Rolm
organization's Office of the President along with Karl Geng, who
was senior vice-president of Rolm Systems.

IBM's vice-president of networking systems, Ellen Hancock, a member
of the Rolm Company and Rolm Systems boards of directors, will be
a member of the new Rolm board.

Rolm is a leading supplier of private branch exchanges and
related products, but since IBM bought it the company's market
share has been under pressure. IBM was never able to dominate the
industry with Rolm as it sought to, in part because it was never
able to merge the Rolm corporate culture into its own. Siemens is
expected to give the company more autonomy, but competitors still
breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that the deal ends a threat
that Rolm might one day take-over the industry.

(Grant Buckler & Dana Blankenhorn/19920508/Press Contact:
Paul Morrison, Siemens, 408-980-4546; Paul Neuman, IBM,
914-697-6537)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 8 Cray Installs 1st Supercomputer in Australian Univ 05/08/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00023)

Cray Installs 1st Supercomputer in Australian Univ 05/08/92
EAGAN, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 8 (NB) -- Cray Research has
announced that it will install the first Cray Y-MP EL system ever
sold to an Australian University this month.

The entry level system will be installed at Swineburne University of
Technology in Melbourne, Victoria. The university said the system
will be made available to Australian industrial and commercial uses
through the Australian Computational Research Collaboratory (ACRC),
an organization established jointly by the Swineburne Faculty of
Engineering and Cray Research.

ACRC said the program will involve using the Cray system to find
ways to improve the efficiency of combustion processes in electrical
power generation, research into brain diseases using electromagnetic
analysis, image processing, geophysics, and weather forecasting. The
system will also be used as part of an international project working
with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories to develop
software for parallel processing.

Livermore Labs recently canceled a contract for a Cray-3, the
supercomputer being developed by spin-off company Cray Computer,
based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, after Cray Computer was unable
to meet its demonstration deadlines. Instead, Livermore elected to
purchase a Cray Research supercomputer.

Cray Research said other Australian organizations are being
encouraged to look to ACRC for solution to technical problems which
can benefit from the help of industry-oriented academic scientists.
Some Australian organizations, including the State Electricity
Commission of Victoria, the Centres for Applied Neurosciences, and
the Bureau of Meteorology Research Centre are already involved in
projects using the ACRC facilities.

According to Professor Murray Gillin, Dean of the Engineering
faculty, told the teaching staff recently that the collaboration will
provide Australian business and industry an opportunity to explore
and exploit new developments in high-performance computing. Gillin
said efforts in the areas of computational fluid dynamics, finite
element analysis, and performance and process visualization "will
provide business and industry with a quantum leap in their ability to
address rapidly changing world markets."

Gillin is also president of the Institute of Engineers, Australia
and heads the Institute's School of Innovation and Enterprise.

(Jim Mallory/19920508/Press contact: Steve Conway, Cray Research,
612-683-7395)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 8 Editorial: Nantucket/CA Combo Lights Fire Under Xbase 05/08/92



(EDITORIAL)(IBM)(LAX)(00024)

Editorial: Nantucket/CA Combo Lights Fire Under Xbase 05/08/92
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 8 (NB) -- While the big
boys like Borland and Microsoft were saying the Xbase standard
isn't an issue, Computer Associates' purchase of Nantucket seems
to have tilted the table. Now the Xbase standard is the new
bandwagon and the big boys, including the workstation world are
forced to admit what was always true anyway -- Xbase is here to
stay.

Basically, the database market seems to be moving in two directions.
One is toward the adoption of an Xbase standard, fueled by Computer
Associates' purchase of Nantucket, which is providing a threat to the
other database vendors and widening the Xbase market. The other
direction is client/server architecture which is of paramount interest
to the corporate community.

Client/server is of interest because it is more secure and maintains
the integrity of the data in the database. But client/server is too
expensive for small businesses.

When Ashton-Tate was alive, there was a movement to define an Xbase
standard but Ashton-Tate was trying to say that file format was its
own creation. Ashton-Tate was seen as a bully threatening verbally and
through the courts other companies who were making headway in the
market using the format, like Fox Software. Ashton-Tate was even
trying to say the term "dBASE" was a trademark and threatening no one
else could use it. That was the reason database industry leader Adam
Greene introduced the unlovely term "Xbase" with different
capitalization and gave it to the database community. Toward the end,
Ashton-Tate did say it would make a "gift" of the .DBF file format to
the world but it was late enough to inhibit any serious work on a
standard.

Nantucket's claim to fame was it was one of the first to take Ashton-
Tate's strangle-hold off the business market. It introduced Clipper, a
database compiler. Clipper could take dBASE language programs and turn
them into stand-alone programs that didn't need the dBASE product to
run and that could be distributed royalty-free.

Lately however the estimation was Nantucket was out of the game
altogether. Struggling financially and behind on its bills, it was
predicted to go under any minute.

But the bounce back Nantucket has taken with the Computer Associates'
announcement just re-emphasizes the business community's commitment to
Xbase. And it has forced other companies to make public commitments to
Xbase as well.

Microsoft, Borland, Fox Software, Microsoft, WordTech, Emerald Bay
Group, Recital, and Dvorak Development have all announced they will
support new Xbase standard formulated by Mark Schnap and submitted to
the X3/Standards Planning and Requirement Committee (X3/SPARC) of the
American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

Borland's President Philippe Kahn was right when he said that
users in the future won't have to worry what format their data is in.
But that's because it will be in Xbase format.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920508)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 8 New For PCs: All Computers 486 Upgrade 05/08/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00025)

New For PCs: All Computers 486 Upgrade 05/08/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAY 8 (NB) -- Owners of PCs based on
80286 and 80386 processors can now upgrade to 80486 technology with
two upgrade products from All Computers. The All SX 486 and All DX
486 both use the Cyrix Cx486 microprocessor.

The All SX 486 replaces the 286 microprocessor with the Cx486. The
All DX 486 is designed to replace a 386 chip. Both devices are
circuit cards smaller than a credit card. They plug into the
microprocessor socket on the computer's system board. Installing
either of them is a matter of popping out the original processor
and plugging in the upgrade, which any user can do, said James
MacFarlane, a spokesman for the company.

Such an upgrade will increase chip performance, but critics of
processor upgrades argue that the procedure creates a mismatch
between the faster chip and slower peripherals such as the hard
disk, which were meant to work with the old, slower processor.

That may be true, MacFarlane said, but devices such as hard disks
can also be upgraded. "The cost of upgrading a computer piece by
piece is still cheaper than buying a new one," he said.

Also, All expects many of its upgrade cards will sell to business
users whose PCs are connected to networks, so that their local hard
disks are used very little. In that case, the speed of the
processor is much more important than that of the hard disk,
MacFarlane said.

The All SX 486 is available immediately, and the All DX 486 is to
be available before the end of May. Both have a suggested list
price of $499, with an optional math coprocessor available for $100
more. Both also come with the company's All Charge 386 memory
management software.

The company is gaining a strong European presence, MacFarlane
noted, particularly in Eastern Europe where newer PCs were very
hard to get until recently.

(Grant Buckler/19920508/Press Contact: James MacFarlane, All
Computers, 416-960-0111, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 8 Review of: WinPost Rel. 3.1, Sticky notes for Windows, 05/08/92


(REVIEW)(IBM)(SYD)(00026)

Review of: WinPost Rel. 3.1, Sticky notes for Windows, 05/08/92

Runs on: PCs using Windows

From: Shareware - by Nobuya Higashiyama

Price: US$30 (North America) UKP24.95 (Europe)
 US$35 (rest of world)

PUMA Rating: 4 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Paul Zucker 05/08/92

Summary: WinPost is an electronic version of those little
sticky yellow notes (Post-Its) that we couldn't live without.
They take messages, organize our thoughts, and remind us when
something has to happen.

======

REVIEW

======

When someone says "Do you use Windows?" I answer "Only when
the computer's turned on!" People who haven't clicked with
Windows yet think it's another application, as in "Oh yes,
I use Lotus, dBASE and Windows." Once you've started
using Windows properly, it tends to be the way you normally
use your PC, and it's the trips out to DOS that are the
exception. Part of the beauty of staying inside a multi-
tasking environment (even if OS/2 users scoff at that
statement) is the ability to have things happening in the
background, and to be able to switch from task to task
quickly (a bit like real life, but that's another thing I
like about Windows).

Because I stay inside Windows, I like to be able to do
things like take notes and set alarms for myself. These
functions are available separately in many products, and
combined in many others, but one product does it in a nice,
natural way. It's WinPost, a shareware product from Nobuya
Higashiyama.

I got my copy from GEnie and you probably can too, or through
other major online services such as Compuserve, or
through a local bulletin board or one of the public
domain disk libraries should be able to supply it. As
shareware, you can freely copy the file, but are expected
to pay the registration fee if you continue to use it. There is
a "guilt screen" for those who haven't registered.

If you haven't twigged yet, this is a rip-off of the famous
yellow Post-It notes that get stuck all over the place
reminding us to put out the garbage, pay the phone bill,
have the cat neutered and so on. They may be more helpful than
real Post-Its. Their ubiquity are pointed out by two short
stories here:

1: Person overpaid bill at hardware store so assistant said,
"I'll put a note on the computer saying you have a credit."
Next month the bill arrived but no mention of the credit.
When customer asked, proprietor said "Oh yes, sorry, I
didn't see it there," pointing to sticky yellow paper on
side of computer screen.

2: Person in large company rings PC support hot-line and
says, "There's a message on my screen saying it's broken."
After 30 minutes on phone with support person getting user
to re-boot, run diagnostics, repeat what message says and
so on, support person finally realizes that it's not a
diagnostic message coming up on the monitor, but just a
Post-It note from another user.

Anyway, back to the review. Like many shareware products,
this is a fully developed, professionally presented
product, at least as good as the average product you'd buy
in a computer shop. The normal way to use it is to have it
load with Windows so it's always there. That means all
your current notes (including those with alarms attached)
are available at hand. The default note is yellow and
1.5x2" though the size and colour can be changed to suit
your needs. Notes can be freestanding, or grouped into up
to 32 layouts to make them easier to use. For instance,
you can have notes only show under certain programs. A
single note can be attached to several layouts.

At the top of each note is an icon bar. These icons are
cut, copy, paste, copy all, insert time/date stamp, and
display the WinPost control panel. There are many options
and commands for WinPost, but most of these will be seldom
used so are in nested menus. Everything is also available
as a hot-key, so you can soon learn those functions you
need often, like Alt-Shift-2 to create a small note.
Although you don't have to give each note a unique name, it
helps find the one you want when there is a whole bunch of
them. And if you really can't find the one you want, you
can search on any text in any window.

Don't think your Windows desktop will always be cluttered with
notes either - you can hide any you don't need to see, and
even those that aren't hidden will only be at the back of
everything else unless you specify "always on top" or they
contain an alarm that's just gone off.

The alarm feature isn't complicated. It's just a straight
time/date alarm that you set and forget. It can be either
an alarm tone or one of a short list of tunes. The idea is
to get into the habit of using WinPost during the working
day just as you would your notepad.

The printing features aren't extensive but allow you to
print one or all of the notes. Information printed includes
tile, contents, date/time of last modification and
date/time of alarm (if any). This is useful if you use your
notes as a "to-do" list. You can take the print-out with
you. Of course, if WinPost is autoloaded, next time you
turn the machine on, all you notes will be there, ready to
go (including, of course, the alarm notes).

WinPost will automatically save files when you close
Windows, and can also be set to autosave at any interval
you like. Another nice feature is the backup/recovery - it
knows when a file has been corrupted, and switches to the
automatic backup.

A short review like this can't tell you everything a
product does, but there is a complete manual in Windows
Write format with the files, and everyone who registers
gets a printed manual and latest disk mailed to them.
It's not one of those "must have" products for every
Windows user. You'll probably already know whether you'd
use it or not. I'd like to, but I'm not organized enough to
want to get organized (if that makes sense).

===========

PUMA RATING

===========

PERFORMANCE: 4. For what it does, it does it efficiently.

USEFULNESS: 4. A good, useful product, especially for the
money.

MANUAL: 4. As usual with shareware, you get a file to
print your own manual, but the complete manual comes when
you pay up.

AVAILABILITY: 4 Bulletin boards, shareware libraries and
so on.

(Paul Zucker/19920113)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 8 ACT Computer Gets London General's Customers 05/08/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00027)

ACT Computer Gets London General's Customers 05/08/92
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 8 (NB) -- ACT Computer Support, the
computer maintenance division of ACT, has acquired an extra 5,000
maintenance contract users from London General Insurance (LGI).
Terms of the deal have not been announced.

According to Andy Peart, marketing manager with ACT Customer
Support, the deal boosts the number of contracts handled by the
maintenance company to 15,000. He told Newsbytes that the deal
had been in progress for the last four to six weeks, and
reflected LGI's desire to move back to its paper-based insurance
origins.

He also said that the transfer of the contracts to ACT will
result in an improved level of service for the users.
"Previously, users had to call out a third-party company, pay
that company and reclaim off LGI. Under our arrangements they
simply contact us and we do the maintenance ourselves," he said.

Peart added that ACT's involvement in the old LGI contracts will
also give users a chance to take out maintenance contracts for
their peripheral equipment. "Most LGI contracts only covered PCs
but not, for example, networks. We can cover networks," he told
Newsbytes.

ACT Customer Support has more than 700 staff, dotted around the
UK, who provide a call-out service to PC and peripherals users.
Customers can elect to pay the engineer for each call-out or, more
usually, take out a flat-rate maintenance contract on their
equipment. Typically, the cost of the contract is linked to the
cost of the equipment.

ACT's operations in the computer maintenance marketplace are
coordinated through the company's headquarters in Birmingham,
with 11 regional centers providing a base for engineers in the
UK. The company also covers Ireland.

(Steve Gold/19920508/Press & Public Contact: ACT Customer Support
- Tel: [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 8 Stac's Compression On Bernoulli, Data & Flash Memory Cards 05/08/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00028)

Stac's Compression On Bernoulli, Data & Flash Memory Cards 05/08/92
CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 8 (NB) -- Stac Electronics,
known for its data compression software products, is making deals with
various hardware manufacturers to incorporate data compression in
their products.

The company has produced a special version of Stacker
for use with Bernoulli drives in cooperation with Iomega, introduced
Doublecard for palmtop computers with ACE Technologies, and is
supporting data compression on the Sundisk SDP series of PCMCIA-ATA
standard solid-state mass storage systems.

On the Bernoulli drive, Stac says its special version of Stacker
doubles the 90 megabyte capacity of a cartridge to 180 MB that can
then be read on a computer with a Bernoulli drive that isn't equipped
with Stacker.

With ACE Technologies, Stac says it has introduced the very first
standard random access memory card that uses data compression to
double the card's capacity. The Doublecard is designed for use with
palmtop computers such as the HP 95LX and Poqet as well as all DOS
compatible PCs using the standard PCMCIA interface, according to Gary
Clow, Stac's president.

The Sundisk SDP series of PCMCIA-ATA standard solid-state mass storage
systems are based on the new flash memory technology and are geared
toward pen-based and subnotebook computer systems, according to Chow.
Stac's claims its data compression on these memory cards can also
double the available storage capacity.

While the data compression is attractive to increase storage capacity,
and is transparent to the user, it comes at a price. The Doublecard
retails for $309 (1MB), $499 (2MB), $729 (3MB) and $879 (4MB). Also,
any data compression products needs some of the computer's memory
resources to perform the compression, leaving that memory unavailable
for software applications.

Stac also has competition. Adstor, its largest competitor, claims the
latest version of its Super Stor compression product can squeeze data
on a floppy disk that can then be read in a computer without Super
Stor installed, much like the Bernoulli version of Stacker.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920508/Press Contact: Joanne Rush, Stac
Electronics, 619-431-7474; Doug Mee, Iomega, tel [phone], fax
714-966-1489; John Reimer, Sundisk, tel [phone]; Andy Fu, ACE
Technologies, 408-428-9722, Public Contact 800-825-9977; Alan Kelly,
Applied Communications for Adstor, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 8  ****40 MB Memory, Sugar Cube Size  05/08/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00029)

 ****40 MB Memory, Sugar Cube Size  05/08/92
COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 8 (NB) -- Irvine Sensors, a
company that specializes in miniaturization of computer memory
components says it has developed a technology for the US Air Force for
quadrupling the amount of memory that can be placed in the same amount
of physical space. The company maintains it is currently able to
package 40 megabytes (MB) of memory in a physical space the size of a
sugar cube.

Irvine Sensors says this new technology can be applied to the
microcomputer industry, especially to the new flash memory card
technology.

Called the "memory short stack," it is a stack of memory chips
which is physically interchangeable with a single-chip
package but offers multiple chip performance. While it is not the only
company doing the miniaturization of memory, Irvine Sensors is
one of only three companies using stacking as opposed to a parallel
configuration, according to Alison Barney, spokesperson for Irvine
Sensors. Barney said the company has also solved heat and friction
problems by bonding the tiny layers of memory at one end, allowing
the other three sides for ventilation.

Current application for the technology is to retrofit memory chips in
defense satellite systems, Barney said, however, Irvine Sensors
could use the technology in the new flash memory card technology
announced recently by Intel and AT&T. The memory cards announced
recently have a capacity up to 20 megabytes in the physical space of a
credit card. Flash memory cards have the ability to maintain the data
stored in them without a power source, unlike current random access
memory chips. Irvine Sensors maintains it could easily get a four-
fold increase in capacity in the same amount of space. The most
obvious application being hailed for the memory card technology is as
a replacement for hard disk drives.

Also, the faster the microprocessor chips get, the more there is
a need for speed in relaying information between components.
Packing integrated circuits (ICs) closer together provides reductions
in travel time and gains faster performance.

Barney says the company is currently negotiating with other technology
companies for a comercial application of its "memory short stack"
technology and expects to announce retail applications before the end
of the year.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920508/Press Contact: Alison Barney, Wall Street
Financial for Irvine Sensors, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 8 Correction: Computer Associates To Acquire Nantucket 05/08/92



(CORRECTION)(IBM)(LAX)(00030)

Correction: Computer Associates To Acquire Nantucket 05/08/92
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 8 (NB) --
Newsbytes mistakenly reported in a May 6, 1992 story that a
compiler exists for dBASE IV. That is not the case.

While a dBASE IV compiler was planned by Ashton-Tate,
none ever materialized. A dBASE IV compiler has been
announced by Borland that the company says will produce both
DOS and Microsoft Windows database applications, but it is
not available at this  time.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920508)
#ENDCARD






#CARD :1992 MAY 7  ****IBM/Apple/Motorola Dedicate Combined Design Center 05/07/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00001)

 ****IBM/Apple/Motorola Dedicate Combined Design Center 05/07/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 7 (NB) -- Computers that,
regardless of their make, can share the same programs came one
step closer this week when IBM, Apple, and Motorola dedicated a
new design and development facility yesterday.

The 80,000 square foot, $500 million design center, named
Somerset, will employ 300 engineers from the three companies
that will bring the PowerPC single-chip reduced instruction-set
computing (RISC) microprocessors to computers ranging from
notebooks to supercomputers. At least that's what the three
companies hope.

PowerPC is not the only project working on compatibility of PCs
and their software. The Advanced Computing Environment (ACE)
consortium, which includes Microsoft, SCO, MIPS Computer
Systems and Digital Equipment among its more than 200 members,
is also hoping to develop a series of platforms that will be able to
run the same software and the same operating systems. Until
recently, Compaq Computer had been a participant in ACE, but
announced that it would no longer pursue RISC development, citing
lack of customer interest.

PowerPC is the hardware component of IBM and Apple's plan for
network operability between OS/2, IBM AIX, and the Apple
Macintosh. Power is an acronym for Performance Optimization
with Enhanced RISC.When Newsbytes reported the formation of
the alliance last October, the three companies said the basis of
PowerPC would be IBM's POWER architecture, which is used in
IBM's RISC System/6000 line of workstations and servers.

Motorola's role is to aid in the design, as well as manufacture and
market the technology, which it said will be available to other
manufacturers besides IBM and Apple.

"This effort is blending unparalleled design expertise and product
synergy to create these new microprocessors," said Motorola
Semiconductor Products President James Norling.

According to Bill Filip, IBM VP and president of the Advanced
Workstations Division, the three companies decided to base
PowerPC on the IBM architecture because of its capabilities and
the size of the installed base.

Apple's President Michael Spindler, noting that today's Macintosh
computer will be compatible with the new RISC-based Mac's, said
Power PC will create a profound transformation in the way personal
computers are used.

According to Somerset Co-Director Tom Whiteside, the
architectural specifications have been completed, development of
the microprocessors has started, the PowerPC architecture has
been extended to 64-bits, and several major supporters have been
signed on since the October announcement.

Initial use of PowerPC-based systems is expected to be in
embedded control for automotive and consumer products use,
portable and desktop computers, high end fault tolerant systems,
and supercomputers.

Group Bull has said it will incorporate PowerPC into commercial
multiprocessor systems, and Thomson-CSF plans to utilize
the chip in real-time applications for defense and aerospace
applications. The first systems are expected to be available in
1993.

(Jim Mallory/19920507/Press Contact: Rosemary Stone, Motorola,
512-891-4526; Rob Fuggetta, Apple, 408-974-2202; Judy Radlinsky,
IBM, 914-642-4634)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 7 Computers Automate Toll Road Fees, Rail Car Locations 05/07/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00002)

Computers Automate Toll Road Fees, Rail Car Locations 05/07/92
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 7 (NB) -- When we think of
computers, most of us think of word processing, spreadsheets, or
accounting. But computers are being used for more and more
unique applications, such as automatically billing travel on toll
highways, or keeping track of where rail cars are.

That is where Amtech Corporation comes in. The Dallas-based
company uses a read/write radio frequency identification system
called Intellitag which reads a tag attached to the automobile or the
rail car as the vehicle passes the reader. That information is then
sent via modem to a central computer site for billing or tracking
purposes.

For example, suppose you are traveling on one of the ten turnpikes
in Oklahoma. If your car is equipped with the Intellitag, a reader
automatically obtains the necessary information from the credit
card-sized device attached to your windshield, and the charges will
appear on your next bill.

Amtech's Carla Morgan said the system is in use on tollways in
Dallas, New Orleans, and New York, as well as other eastern
seaboard cities. It is also used to keep track of rail cars. Suppose
you ship lettuce, and you need to know where the car is that is
destined for Los Angeles. A track-side reader reads a barcode-like
label about the size of a chocolate bar on the side of the car, and
the reader is polled periodically to update the computer. While
most readers store the data and are polled periodically by the host
computer, Morgan said real-time tracking is also available.

Not all rail cars are equipped so far, but Morgan told Newsbytes
that the Association of American Railroads has mandated that
every rail car be equipped by June 30, 1995. That's 1.4 million
cars, said Morgan.

The latest iteration of Intellitag cannot only have information
read from it, but can have other information stored on the tag.
Morgan said the card has the capability of having up to 20
alphanumeric characters read, and can also have another 20
characters written to the card. That capability could be used to
write the departure or arrival time of a truck to the tag for later
retrieval, or store information regarding the hazardous materials
being carried in the truck.

Morgan said other uses for Intellitag might include the operation of
gates, signals and lights, and for access by trucks to controlled
areas like airports.. Amtech's tags are system compatible, so they
can be read by other systems.

(Jim Mallory/19920507/Press Contact: Carla Morgan, Amtech,
214-733-6059)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 7 Correction: Ceram Ships PC Data Compression Board 05/07/92



(CORRECTION)(IBM)(DEN)(00003)

Correction: Ceram Ships PC Data Compression Board 05/07/92
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 7 (NB) --
In a recent story, Newsbytes reported that Ceram Inc., had
announced that it is now shipping its PC-compatible HardPak data
compression board and its TurboSwap Unix accelerator card.

Some of the phone numbers listed in the byline at the end of the
story were incorrect. The numbers should have read: "Press
contact: Jill Goebel, Origin Systems for Ceram, tel [phone],
fax [phone]; Reader contact: Fred Chadinger, Ceram, tel
719-540-8500, fax [phone]." Newsbytes regrets any
inconvenience on the part of our readers.

Ceram said the HardPak data compression board is designed to
work with all popular PC applications, including Microsoft Windows,
desktop publishing programs, spreadsheets, graphics, and CAD
(computer-aided design). Data compression can save PC users
considerable disk storage space, particularly when saving graphics
images.

HardPak fits into a single 8- or 16-bit PC expansion slot, and is
compatible with both ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) and
EISA (Extended ISA) PCs, including 386 and 486-based systems.

TurboSwap is an accelerator card for Sun Microsystems'
SPARCstations, SPARCstation IPCs, SPARCservers, and
compatible systems running under the Unix operating system.
Ceram said TurboSwap boosts performance by replacing slower
fixed disk swap partitions with fast access memory. The company
said that depending on the size of the working data set used by
the application, TurboSwap can improve performance from 1.5 to
15 times.

A Ceram told Newsbytes that HardPack has a suggested list price
of $119, while TurboSwap prices range from $3,400 to $22,400,
depending on the configuration of the system. Both products are
available directly from Ceram.

(Jim Mallory/19920507/Press Contact: Jill Goebel, Origin Systems
for Ceram International, tel [phone], fax [phone];
Reader Contact: Fred Chadinger, Ceram, tel [phone],
fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 7 AT&T Management Of Govt Sandia National Labs To End 05/07/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEN)(00004)

AT&T Management Of Govt Sandia National Labs To End 05/07/92
ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 7 (NB) -- It
will be the end of an era in 1993, when AT&T pulls its last
employees out of the Department of Energy's Sandia National
Laboratories.

The communications giant has managed the facility since the late
1940's, when the government asked it to manage its weapons
laboratories at the desert post. It was then that the government,
wanting to replicate its success developing the atomic bomb during
World War II, turned to academia and industry to run its weapons
labs. It asked AT&T to recreate the atmosphere of its Bell
Laboratories at Sandia. Apparently AT&T was successful,
according to Sandia VP Les Bray. "Now, the Sandia lab has an
AT&T-Bell Labs mentality," he said.

AT&T started overseeing operation of the New Mexico laboratory
research on electronics and nuclear weapons firing systems when
then-President Harry Truman asked the company "to render an
exceptional service to the national interest." AT&T agreed, and
took on the job on a nonprofit basis, being reimbursed only for its
expenses.

At the time, AT&T was the major provider of all telephone
communications in the nation, and worked closely with federal
agencies. But in 1984, the company was broken up, and now
provides long distance service, telecommunications equipment,
and computers. That business is highly competitive, and AT&T
said the work at Sandia is too far removed from what they now do.

Sandia has also changed as the Cold War wound down, turning
away from weapons research and spending more time working
with private industry to develop new technologies in the areas of
energy and the environment.

Energy Secretary James Watkins said the department will
announce  plans soon to find a new contractor, saying "AT&T,
with the nation's gratitude, can step aside with pride." AT&T has
only had about a dozen upper level managers on site, according
to a Sandia spokesperson Newsbytes spoke with.

As Sandia, and other national laboratories, move away from
weapons research, the government has put in place what it hopes
will provide a vehicle for joint development for civilian computer
research projects. A standardized contract called CRDA
(Cooperative Research and Development Agreement) is designed
to result in easier transfer of software technology from the labs to
commercial applications, and may eventually promote joint
research projects.

The problem civilian firms run into, is keeping classified work
secret and proprietary commercial data separate. As reported last
recently by Newsbytes, Digital Equipment tried for six months to
get one software program released by the government, but the
legal problems became insurmountable, and Digital gave up.

The government is confident the problems will be worked out. An
official at the Oak Ridge lab said he expects "a flurry" of computer
related contracts, and Federal Computer Week quoted Sandia's
Mark Allen as saying "We have a lot of computer companies
standing in line to work with us."

CRDA's are not designed to help develop commercially practical
projects, but end once the civilian company can take over the
development of the project by itself. Industry observers expect it
will be several years before much real progress results from the
joint work.

(Jim Mallory/19920507/Press Contact: Fred Lash, DOE,
202-586-5806)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 7 3Com Customers Offered Big Savings To Switch 05/07/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00005)

3Com Customers Offered Big Savings To Switch 05/07/92
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 7 (NB) --
Microsoft and Compaq want 3Com users to switch to Compaq
software and Microsoft's LAN (local area network) Manager
network software, and are willing to offer sizable discounts to
get their business.

That is what the two companies said in a joint announcement
that claimed that the estimated 90,000 3Com customers can save
more than $6,500 when they purchase Microsoft LAN Manager,
Microsoft mail software, and Compaq hardware. They can also
get more than $2,500 in value-added software in the Microsoft/
Compaq Upgrade Solutions Pack.

The Solutions Pack is a selection of customer support and
integration information offered free of charge to 3Com customers
who  buy Compaq SystemPro, SystemPro/LT or DeskPro/M
servers along with Microsoft LAN Manager 2.1. To take advantage
of the offer, the purchase will have to be made before the end of
1992. Included in the Solutions Pack is an integration tool kit, a
tool kit for Visual Basic, and an instructional video on how to
smoothly convert to the new system. Users who take advantage
of the offer will also get 90 days of free support, instead of the
usual 30 days.

Also being offered as part of the deal are a series of 3Com
technical upgrade workshops, which will be held throughout the US.
Microsoft said the workshops will focus on step-by-step instruction
on how to upgrade software and hardware, protocol migration and
WANs (wide area networks).

A Microsoft spokesperson told Newsbytes there is no cost for the
sessions, which she said are one day in length. The first workshop
will be held in Los Angeles on June 1st. Ten major cities on the
tour schedule, according to Microsoft Product Manager Megan
Bliss.

(Jim Mallory/19920507/Press Contact: Megan Bliss, Microsoft,
206-882-8080; Reader contact: Microsoft, 800-426-9400)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 7 Pen Conference: Momenta Plans 3rd Gen Pen Computer 05/07/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SFO)(00006)

Pen Conference: Momenta Plans 3rd Gen Pen Computer 05/07/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 7 (NB)  -- By
the end of this year, Momenta Corporation will announce a third
generation of its pen computer, enhanced with overhead projection
capabilities and a backlit screen, Newsbytes has learned.

Kevin Mankin, director of product marketing, mentioned the
upcoming incorporation of the features during a talk at the Pen-
Based Computing Conference in Boston.  Later in the day, a public
relations spokesperson confirmed Mankin's statements, and told
Newsbytes that the new product will be unveiled some time in 1992.

The news comes one month after Momenta's April 6
announcement of a second generation pen computer, combining
Microsoft Windows functionality with the proprietary pen software
that was offered in the first version, rolled out in November. Three
days before the April 6 announcement, on April 3, the company
announced that Kamran Elahian had been replaced as company
chairman, CEO and president, by Delbert Yocam, formerly COO
of Apple Computer.

In Mankin's conference presentation, he used a reflector panel,
detached from a Momenta computer, to display his foils. The
application shown was only a prototype, though, according to the
spokesperson. Momenta's upcoming product will employ a
different screen technology, she told Newsbytes.

Much of Mankin's talk was devoted to an explanation of Momenta's
product positioning -- a strategy poised, he said, toward the
notebook replacement market. "We all know notebooks constitute
the fastest growing segment of the industry. What Momenta is
trying to do is to leverage that growth with additional functionality,"
he commented.

Momenta's inclusion of a detachable keyboard and built-in fax/data
modem will help in that attempt, and so will the recent addition of
Windows, stated Mankin. The ability to use the same machine in
both a keyboard- and pen-driven ways should have wide appeal,
encouraging greater use than the 1.6 to 1.8 hours per day the
mobile worker is spending, on average, at the computer, he
suggested.

With the keyboard in place, the Momenta machine might be
employed to run standard Windows or DOS desktop applications,
he indicated. Without the keyboard, the computer might be put to
other, "pencentric" applications. Within the setting of a meeting, for
example, workers would feel more comfortable jotting down notes
with a stylus and tablet than they would tapping away at a
keyboard, he pointed out.

The second generation of the Momenta product ships with about
eight proprietary software tools, plus Windows 3.1, Windows for
Pens 1.0, and several Windows-based applications, including
Fax II for Windows, he said. "Both software environments have
their place," he remarked. "Our own applications are basically for
the neophyte, who may be computerphobic. But no matter how
intuitive our software is, if a company has already licensed 500
copies of Excel or Powerpoint for Windows, it is not about to
switch."

The proprietary tools include an electronic notepad, a presentation
package, a handwriting recognition trainer, a calculator, an
address book, a spreadsheet, fax send and receive software, and
document markup. Users can import word processing documents
from Windows in ASCII, and then use the proprietary markup
application to perform handwritten annotation, reported Mankin.

The current pen computer product is available in four versions:
the Momenta 1/40 and 1/40W, each with a 40 megabyte (MB)
hard drive; the 1/60W, with a 60 MB hard drive; and the 1/80, with
an 80 MB hard drive. Each model comes standard with 8 MB of
RAM.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920507)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 7 Delrina Wins Award, But Loses Money 05/07/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00007)

Delrina Wins Award, But Loses Money 05/07/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAY 7 (NB) -- Remember
the old saying about a prophet never being appreciated in his own
country? Software vendor Delrina Technology is not a prophet -- nor
is it profitable at the moment -- but it has finally received some
recognition at home.

The Toronto vendor of forms and fax software, which has won a
number of awards from computer magazines in the United States,
received the Canadian Information Processing Society's Canadian
Software Systems Award for 1992. Given to Canadian software that
has had significant effect on the industry, the prize is Delrina's
first Canadian award, said company spokesman Josef Zankowicz.

At the same time, Delrina announced its financial results for the
third quarter, which ended March 31. The news is mixed. Delrina's
revenues rose nearly 80 percent year-over-year, from C$3.73 million
in the third quarter of 1991 to C$5.33 million in this year's third
quarter. On the other hand, the company lost C$697,483, a larger
loss than the third quarter of 1991's C$323,119.

In the nine months ended March 31, Delrina lost C$1.51 million on
revenues of C$13.02 million. That compares to a loss of C$946,175
on revenues of C$7.99 million in the first nine months of 1991.

Zankowicz was upbeat about the results, however, saying the
company expects to be profitable within the next year. The losses
are a result of spending the money necessary to do the product
development and build the sales momentum it will take to make
Delrina a long-term success, he said. "We could be profitable
tomorrow by knocking off staff and stopping development," but
Delrina will not do that, he said.

The cancellation of a planned merger with WordStar, of Novato,
California, was a setback to Delrina's attempts to build marketing
clout, Zankowicz admitted. But he said the firm is "working very
hard to build that critical mass through other means." One step is
a deal with the American business firms company Uarco, which will
resell Delrina's forms software, PerForm Pro.

Delrina plans to release a new version of PerForm Pro before the
end of June, Zankowicz added.

(Grant Buckler/19920507/Press Contact: Josef Zankowicz, Delrina,
tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 7 Fibronics Intros Four New Network Hubs 05/07/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00008)

Fibronics Intros Four New Network Hubs 05/07/92
HYANNIS, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 7 (NB) --
Fibronics is expanding its offerings in the bridging and routing
realm with four new models of routers and bridge routers (brouters)
that span networks made up of Ethernet and Token Ring trunks.

The new FR9500 which is a Token Ring local router. This device
will route packets between two 4 Mbps or 16 Mbps Token Ring
networks. The device features Source Routing Transparent (SRT)
bridging and uses the Spanning Tree Algorithm (STA) in addition
to other routing and bridging capabilities.

The new FR9600 is describes as a remote Token Ring brouter. This
device combines the Shortest Path First (SPF) algorithm with the
IEEE/IBM source routing protocol. It supports SNA traffic to bring
in to the network traditional IBM 3270 communications. It is
intended to be used to connect geographically dispersed 4/16
Mbps Token Ring networks.

The FER2500 is a local Ethernet bridge. It connects any
combination of 10Base-5 and 10Base-T LANs (local area
networks) together and supports the Spanning Tree Algorithm
to provide complete transparency between network protocols.

The FER2600 is an Ethernet brouter that uses multiple WAN
(wide area network) serial links to connect remote Ethernet LANs
to each other. It also supports SPF, TCP/IP, and DECnet.

All of these products are equipped with SNMP (simple network
management protocol) agents and can be managed by Fibronics'
InterView network management system. They are offered in a
choice of standalone or 19-inch rack configurations. Prices
range from $2,995 to $15,000 depending on the configuration
chosen.

(Naor Wallach/19920507/Press Contact: Maureen Liberty, The
Weber Group for Fibronics, 617-661-7900)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 7 NetWorth To Offer Netware-Based Hubs 05/07/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00009)

NetWorth To Offer Netware-Based Hubs 05/07/92
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 7 (NB) -- How would you like
to be able to run some of your network applications from your hub?
That is the idea behind a series of announcements from hub maker
NetWorth.

NetWorth has licensed the runtime version of the Netware operating
system from Novell. Networth will take this runtime and port it into
its series 4000 hubs. Once this is done, it will be possible to run
any Novell Loadable Module (NLM) on to the hub and run it from
there. This is an easy way to use some of the buried functionality
inside the hub and to download some of the load off of the server.

Networth is publicly stating that they see this as an ideal way of
supporting such services as fax, electronic mail gateways, and
modem servers. Also, by using the Novell Netware operating
system, Networth states the whole network becomes a unified
entity from a software viewpoint.

Networth's product will be known as the Netware Application
Engine. It is configured as an Intel 80486 processor with a 120
megabyte (MB) hard drive which can be expanded to a 200 MB
drive. There are also four MB of RAM on the board which can be
expanded to 32 MB. Two serial, two parallel, and two Ethernet
ports complement the two full size ISA (Industry Standard
Architecture) slots provided.

This Engine can be added to any existing Series 4000 hub. The
Engine will be available in the third quarter of this year. Pricing
has not been established at this time.

(Naor Wallach/19920507/Press Contact: Cynthia Stine, Capital
Relations for Networth, 214-907-9500)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 7 Shiva Upgrades NetModem/E, Lowers Price 05/07/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00010)

Shiva Upgrades NetModem/E, Lowers Price 05/07/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 7 (NB) --
Shiva Corp., has released an upgrade to their remote access
server product, NetModem/E, and reduced its price.

Release 1.1 of NetModem/E has several features that are
described by the company as performance and reliability
improvements. These include: Windows 3.1 compatibility; support
for Novell's Large Internet Exchange Packet NLM which reduces
the overhead on data transmissions; fine tuning of its V.42 data
compression code; and support for MNP levels 2 through 5.

Also, the LaunchGuard utility warns users when they attempt
to launch network intensive programs over the telephone lines.
There are also a set of improvements to the management
functions and the software which adds to the reliability of the
unit. The new software is shipping now. Registered users can
get it for free.

In addition, the company has also reduced the price of its
NetModem/E to $1,699, in an attempt to make it that much more
attractive to customers.

(Naor Wallach/19920507/Press Contact: Carol McGarry, Criswell
Communications for Shiva, 617-876-1188)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 7 International Phone Update 05/07/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00011)

International Phone Update 05/07/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 7 (NB) -- Columbia is
struggling back to expand its data networks in the wake of a
crippling strike.

Telecom of Columbia said it will install 440 V.32 modems made
by Racal to improve its Coldapaq X.25 packet network. Racal had
previously supplied V29 modems for the network, which was built
by Siemens three years ago. The network provides synchronous
service at up to 19,200 bits-per-second as well as 9,600 bps
service under V.32, according to a statement from Racal in the US.

Meanwhile, in Brazil, which is trying to open its market to
foreign equipment suppliers, Sid Telecom of Sao Paulo said it
will supply Telepar in the city of Parana with cellular phone
equipment. The nation has put a cellular phone concession for
Sao Paulo up for foreign bid, but local state-owned firms are
also trying to set up networks which could result in competition.
Telepar wants to have a 10,000 telephone cellular network
operating by the year end, and they also expect Telesp of Sao
Paulo to announce a similar tender within the next few months.

Finally, the Maldive Islands, off the coast of India, is planning
a $25 million telecommunications improvement project, aimed at
bringing phones within reach of all citizens. The Maldives are a
series of atolls off the Southwest coast of the Indian
subcontinent, near the equator, and President Maumoon Abdul
Gayoom has made telephone service a high priority in his new
administration, according to China's Xinhua news agency.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920507/Press Contact: Jack Hillhouse,
Racal-Datacom, 305-846-5151)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 7 Bell Atlantic Files ISDN Tariffs 05/07/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00012)

Bell Atlantic Files ISDN Tariffs 05/07/92
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 7 (NB) -- Bell Atlantic
filed its tariffs for digital ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network)
services, but the pricing is very complex.

A spokesman told Newsbytes the company's pricing was based
on the idea that customers would decide what services they want,
then work with Bell Atlantic representatives to get it. This is in
contrast to the policy at Ameritech, the first Bell company to
file ISDN tariffs, which said it would offer ISDN service at
about 30 percent more than the cost of a regular business line,
and would push it aggressively. Bell Atlantic spokesman Nancy
Murray guessed that Bell Atlantic's pricing would be similar, but
its sales approach concerning ISDN is definitely different.

ISDN represents a set of digital services which phone companies
have been installing in their networks for years. Recently, the seven
regional Bell companies indicated half their business lines will
be ISDN-capable by the end of the year, but the technology is
still rolling out slowly. AT&T and Northern Telecom, the nation's
two largest makers of large phone switches, have promised to,
over time, make their ISDN offerings compatible, but it is still
necessary for many companies to know what brand of switch their
local company is using before buying ISDN service, and to arrange
their own systems accordingly.

Another criticism is that ISDN is not being offered as a clear,
digital phone line which customers can use as they see fit, but
as an extension of phone system-based Centrex services, which
compete with private PBXs (private branch exchanges).

Bell Atlantic's ISDN tariffs, which are pending in Washington, D.C.,
and will be filed soon in New Jersey and Delaware, only cover such
Centrex-based service. The company promised that non-Centrex
based ISDN tariffs will be filed in the fourth quarter. Bell Atlantic
calls its version of ISDN Bell Atlantic IntelliLinQ.

Currently, only about 70 business and government customers are
served by about 20,000 ISDN-equipped lines, Bell Atlantic said,
but it hopes to have ISDN-capable switches serving 90 percent of
its customers by the end of 1994, based on a uniform ISDN
standard called National ISDN 1.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920507/Press Contact: Nancy Murray, Bell
Atlantic, 703-974-1719)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 7 Two Cellular Data Systems Shipping 05/07/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00013)

Two Cellular Data Systems Shipping 05/07/92
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1992 MAY 7 (NB) -- AT&T and
Spectrum Information Technologies used the pending America's
Cup yachting final, between Il Moro of Italy and America 3 of the
US, as the backdrop to announce they are shipping the Axsys
interface between AT&T Safari computers and cellular phones.

The interface allows users of the Safari computer, sold by AT&T's
NCR unit, to use regular modems on their cellular phones. There
is a standard phone plug for the landline modem at one end of the
link, and a standard plug for the cellular phone at the other.

Intelligence within the device mediates the differences between
cellular and landline calls. The result, the companies said, is
that the AT&T Safari AXSYS allows the built-in modems of AT&T's
NSX/20-40 MB and NSX/20-80 MB models to function over the
cellular system as though they are connected to a standard land-
line  telephone. Units will be featured at AT&T phone stores, as
well as Spectrum's recently acquired Computer Bay chain of
outlets, and other retailers.

Also, GTE said its GTE Mobile Communications will become a
reseller of the IBM 9075 PCradio, providing cellular services for
it nationwide. The IBM 9075 PCradio Model 003 includes a cellular
telephone which can sending and receiving voice, fax and data
telecommunications. GTE will sell the product at its retail
outlets and train customers on how to use it via the cellular
network.

The idea is that, by having a cellular operator sell the phone,
service can be activated and sales incentives can be created
for resellers. It is common for companies selling cellular phones,
as agents for cellular carriers, to win commissions of hundreds
of dollars, taken from cellular sign-up fees, which reduces the
cost of the equipment to buyers.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920507/Press Contact: GTE, Dorea Akers,
203-965-3188; Spectrum, 800-742-6334; AT&T Safari Systems,
Harriet Donnelly, 908-302-5800)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 7 Opposition Emerges To Cox Teleport Buy 05/07/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00014)

Opposition Emerges To Cox Teleport Buy 05/07/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 MAY 7 (NB) -- A snag was
thrown into the pending purchase by Cox Enterprises of a
controlling 51  percent interest in Teleport Communications from
Merrill Lynch. The United States Telephone Association, which
represents the nation's phone companies, has filed a petition with
the Federal Communications Commission to block the purchase.

The USTA claims that Cox, which is a major cable TV operator,
cannot buy the stake because it would violate a provision of the
Cable Television Act of 1984 that prohibits local phone companies
from owning cable television systems in the same service area.
The telephone group said it opposed the government ban on cross-
ownership, but said it would oppose such purchases until the FCC
allowed phone companies to be more competitive.

The petition, however, may not go far. Teleport is a so-called
"bypass" company, building fiber rings around major cities and
then competing with local phone companies for the business of
major companies. The USTA represents those local phone
companies, which have sought for years to stop the bypass
industry, but have lately been more accommodating.

The other 49 percent stake in Teleport is being purchased by TCI,
the nation's largest cable television operator. Rather than really
seeking to block the purchase, in other words, observers feel the
USTA is trying to make a rhetorical point, hoping to win for its
members the right to buy cable television franchises.

Such permission may come from a bill being introduced by the
chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Jack Brooks,
considered an opponent of the Bell Operating Companies and an
advocate of taking them out of the information services business.
He said May 6, however, that the bill he will introduce on the
matter will be aimed at increasing competition in all sectors of
telecommunications, not just at isolating the Bells within one
segment of the industry.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920507)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 7 Noise Cancellation Uses Computers To Block Noise 05/07/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00015)

Noise Cancellation Uses Computers To Block Noise 05/07/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 7 (NB) -- A recently
awarded patent which went to the University of Maryland will
provide a boost to Stamford, Connecticut's Noise Cancellation
Technology, which uses microprocessors to produce sounds which
cancel out noise in everything from automobile interiors to jet
engines.

Under an exclusive license, Noise Cancellation will apply the
University of Maryland's patent for multiple interacting sensors and
actuators (MISACT) technology (US Patent 5,091,953) which was
developed by scientists at the school under funding provided by
the company.

Noise Cancellation already produces systems which silence single-
source noises that consist of a microphone, microprocessor, and
transducer (speaker). By measuring the actual content of noise
(not just its volume) on a real-time basis, then creating feedback
noise of a precisely opposite nature, the amount of noise
detectable by listeners is greatly reduced without any of
the massive insulating materials normally needed or the mufflers
which are used on automobiles but cannot be used effectively on
aircraft engines because of the weight and power reduction
problems involved.

The company already owns patents on its specially developed
algorithms which provide real-time processing and counter noise
generation.

The new technology developed by the University of Maryland
allows Noise Cancellation's existing technology to be applied to
multiple noise sources, such as the multiple engines on a
commercial aircraft.

Noise, as every engineer knows, is not just annoying to listeners
and fatiguing to workers - its vibrations contribute to structural
damage such as metal fatigue in surrounding materials.

Noise Cancellation Technologies has research and development
facilities in Linthicum, Maryland; Cambridge, England; and Tokyo.

(John McCormick/19920507/Press Contact: Dennis A. Miller,
Noise Cancellation Technologies, 203-961-0500)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 7 CD-ROM Expo Set For Sept 29-Oct 2 In Boston 05/07/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00016)

CD-ROM Expo Set For Sept 29-Oct 2 In Boston 05/07/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 7 (NB) -- The annual
CD-ROM Expo put on by Mitch Hall Associates will be held
September 29 through October 2 at the World Trade Center in
Boston.

This year's Expo will feature the power of multimedia and will
provide an estimated 7,000 publishers and other business-oriented
CD-ROM developers and distributors with information on the
growing business, education, and consumer markets for CD-ROM
as well as the emerging multimedia markets.

Multimedia is often tied to CD-ROM because the addition of sound
and images to text or data, the basis of all multimedia, often
requires very large storage capacity which is commonly available
only in optical storage media.

Although other devices such as WORM (write-once, read-many)
or erasable drives are available as optical media with high capacities,
CD-ROM and its closely related derivatives are the only optical
media which are specifically designed to provide an inexpensive
publishing media.

The co-producer of the CD-ROM Expo is a division of International
Data Group, called World Expo Corporation. IDG founded this
CD-ROM trade show and only recently became a co-producer with
Dedham, Massachusetts-based Mitch Hall.

This is one of the major CD-ROM trade shows in the US, the
other being the one scheduled by FOSE during the early part of
August in Washington. Microsoft also sponsors a developer's
conference on CD-ROM, but that is much more specialized.

(John McCormick/19920507/Press Contact: Janet Sarofeen,
Mitch Hall, tel [phone],  fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 7 DoD Validates Tartan Ada compilers For SPARC 05/07/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00017)

DoD Validates Tartan Ada compilers For SPARC 05/07/92
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 7 (NB) --
Tartan has successfully ported its line of SPARC-hosted Ada
cross compilation utility systems and received validation from the
Department of Defense.

Ada is a real-time programming language which is used in military
and other applications for producing critical software, especially for
embedded computer systems such as those used in weapons.

To be accepted as a version of Ada, all compilers must pass a
strict regimen of validation tests to show that they have neither
too few or too many features, either of which would harm the
reliability and portability of applications developed using the
non-standard compiler.

Tartan Ada Development Systems newly certified by the Ada Joint
Programming Office include: Tartan Ada SPARC C30 for VAX and
Sun-3 hosts; Tartan Ada SPARC MIL-STD-1750A, the only SPARC-
hosted Ada compiler for the 1750A, the 16-bit processor which will
be used in the Air Force's F-22 Advanced Tactical Fighter program;
Tartan Ada SPARC i960MC, the first validated compiler for the
Intel i960 processor; Tartan Ada SPARC 680X0 for Motorola 68020,
30, and 40 microprocessors.

Ada is the standard language required by the Department of
Defense and some other agencies for the development of most
software and all mission-critical software. It was developed
especially to be easy to maintain, reliable, and to provide a high
degree of "reusability" of previously developed code.

Although it is required for some government projects, Ada has
also found some favor as a preferred language for some industrial
applications where its use is not mandated. A large amount of
public domain software is available in Ada which may speed
development and decrease the cost of some programs.

There has been some concern recently that the government
may be de-emphasizing Ada.

(John McCormick/19920507/Press Contact: Susan Englert,
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 7  ****Nantucket To Play Key Role In CA Database Strategy 05/07/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00018)

 ****Nantucket To Play Key Role In CA Database Strategy 05/07/92
ISLANDIA, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 7 (NB) -- Top officials
of Computer Associates International pledged to continue
development of Nantucket Corp.'s products, and said the
company will play an important role in CA's growth in the
personal computer market.

CA Chairman and Chief Executive Charles Wang, and Sanjay
Kumar, senior vice-president for planning, made the comments in
an audio teleconference held just hours after their company
announced plans to acquire Nantucket, the Los Angeles firm
that makes Clipper, a dBase-compatible database management
package for PCs.

Computer Associates "will definitely continue with Clipper
development," Wang said. He said the company will also
continue the Aspen project, a Nantucket effort to develop
object-oriented database technology for Microsoft's Windows
environment.

Computer Associates already sells a dBase-compatible Windows
database product called dBFast. The company will probably use
the best of dBFast and the Aspen project in future Windows
database software, Wang said.

Kumar said Computer Associates hopes to give Clipper better
connections to CA's mainframe database software. Computer
Associates sells several mainframe database management
products, the result of acquisitions in the past few years.

Nantucket will disappear as a separate company, but its
developers are "an integral part of the acquisition" and will
come to work for Computer Associates, Wang said. Nantucket's
Los Angeles location -- close to a CA office in that city -- will be
maintained, the officials said.

Commenting on the recent rash of acquisitions in the personal
computer market -- Microsoft announced plans to buy Fox
Software just weeks ago, and late last year Borland
International took over dBase maker Ashton-Tate -- Wang said
major software vendors are coming to see the importance of the
dBase standard, or the Xbase standard as it is often called.

He said the consolidation could benefit users by putting the
resources of larger companies behind the Xbase products
originally developed by small firms.

Computer Associates hopes to close its purchase of the
privately held Nantucket within a month. The terms of the
agreement are not being disclosed.

(Grant Buckler/19920507/Press Contact: Bob Gordon, Computer
Associates, 516-342-2391; Deborah Coughlin, Computer
Associates, 516-342-2173)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 7 ****Lotus Sees Sound Product As Multimedia For Masses 05/07/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00019)

 ****Lotus Sees Sound Product As Multimedia For Masses 05/07/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 7 (NB) --
Lotus Development has unveiled Lotus Sound, software to let users
add voice annotation or other sound to their files. Lotus sees
the product, the first of a planned series of tools for working with
added media such as sound and video, as a step toward bringing
multimedia into the mainstream of business computing.

"Sound is the first new media type that people will get comfortable
with," Steve Barlow, Lotus' product manager for multimedia, told
Newsbytes.

Lotus Sound uses object linking and embedding (OLE), a
technology built into Microsoft Windows that allows it to be
invoked from within other applications. Lotus Sound will work
with Lotus packages such as 1-2-3 for Windows and the Ami Pro
word processor, Barlow said, or with applications from other
vendors if they support OLE.

Fairly soon, Barlow added, Lotus plans to make it easier to
use Lotus Sound from within its own applications by adding
SmartIcons -- custom icons for performing specific tasks -- to
invoke Lotus Sound.

When called up, Lotus Sound displays a set of controls on the
computer screen that let the user set recording volume as well
as record, pause, play back, or stop the sound. It attaches
the sound files to the original documents and indicates their
presence with an icon that looks like a microphone. Later,
clicking on the microphone plays back the recorded sound.

The software requires a microphone and speaker device that can
be plugged into the back of a personal computer through the
parallel port. Lotus plans to sell the software through other
companies that manufacture such devices.

Its first agreement is with Media Vision of Fremont, California.
Lotus Sound is available immediately with Media Vision's
Audioport, a portable sound device. The suggested retail price
for Audioport, with Lotus Sound included, is $199.

Applications for Lotus Sound include adding voice annotation
to word processing documents, spreadsheets, and other text
and data files. In addition, Barlow said, the technology will let
computer users combine text electronic mail with the
capabilities of voice mail in the same system. "Now you have
the opportunity to drop your voice into electronic mail," he said.

Lotus intends to offer similar tools for working with video and
animation in the future, Barlow said. The company hopes to
establish standard ways of working with such media across
different applications, he said, and expects that eventually
people will use audio and video in computer applications as
naturally as they type text and numbers today.

(Grant Buckler/19920507/Press Contact: Nancy Scott,
McGlinchey & Paul for Lotus, 617-862-4514)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 7  ****IBM Pre-Installs OS/2 On Some PS/2s, Cuts Some Prices 05/07/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00020)

 ****IBM Pre-Installs OS/2 On Some PS/2s, Cuts Some Prices 05/07/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 7 (NB) -- IBM
announced it will sell two models in its Personal System/2
line with the OS/2 operating system pre-installed.

The PS/2 Models 56 and 57 will be available only with OS/2
installed, company spokeswoman Deborah Siegel said. The
machines will also be shipped with a mouse, which is needed
to use OS/2.

Over time, Siegel said, IBM plans to add OS/2 as the standard
operating system to all the PS/2 models that have 386 or 486
processors, the minimum hardware needed to run the operating
system.

IBM clearly hopes to build acceptance for the operating
system, which is coming from behind against the more widely
accepted combination of DOS and Microsoft Windows, by
bundling it with PCs. Pre-installing OS/2 also means PC buyers
avoid the chore of installing OS/2, a somewhat more complicated
process than installing the simpler DOS system. However,
Siegel downplayed that point, contending that installing OS/2
takes only 40 to 45 minutes and is "not all that complex."

Users will have free access to IBM's OS/2 support line for 60
days.

Each of the selected PS/2s -- Models 56 SX, 56 SLC, 57 SX,
and 57 SLC -- have four megabytes (MB) of RAM, expandable
to 16 MB, and 80 MB or larger hard drives. The SX models use
Intel's 80386SX processor, while the others use IBM's 80386SLC,
a variant of the 386SX with added cache memory.

OS/2 can run DOS and Windows applications unchanged. If buyers
of these models insisted on replacing OS/2 with DOS, though,
Siegel said IBM would "probably accommodate them."

Suggested retail prices for Models 56 and 57 remain the same,
ranging from $3,030 for the Model 56 SX-045, to $4,465 for the
Model 57 SLC 059.

Separately, IBM announced price cuts on several PS/2 Model 80
machines.

The PS/2 Model 80 081, with an 80 MB hard disk drive, is
reduced from $4,210 to $3,825. The Model 80 161, with a
160 MB hard drive, is marked down from $4,545 to $4,160,
and the Model 80 321, with a 320 MB drive, is reduced
from $5,795 to $4,990. All these models have the 20 megahertz
(MHz) version of the Intel 80386DX processor.

The Model 80 A16, which has a 25 MHz 386DX chip and a
160 MB hard drive, is reduced from $6,045 to $4,990,
while the Model 80 A31, with the same chip but a 320 MB
hard drive, is cut from $7,295 to $5,825.

All five models come with four MB of memory and a 1.44 MB
diskette drive.

(Grant Buckler/19920507/Press Contact: Deborah Siegel, IBM,
914-642-5377)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 7 NISC GeoArchive On CD-ROM 05/07/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00021)

NISC GeoArchive On CD-ROM 05/07/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 7 (NB) -- GeoArchive, a
major worldwide geophysics database is now available on the
$2,000 GeoArchive CD-ROM disc on a loan subscription (discs
are only loaned, and must be returned) basis from National
Information Services Corporation.

The database contains 675,000 records covering the world's
knowledge of mining, petroleum production, and other aspects
of hydrology and geology, including full texts of Hydrotitles,
Geoscience Documentation, and Geotitles.

The company claims that the database contains the best source
of information covering the economic geology of eastern Europe
and Russia.

NISC's Natural Resources Megabase has also been enhanced.
This $665 CD-ROM database includes information on wildlife
resources. Another NICS database, Ceramic Abstracts ($695),
contains a vast amount of information which might be of interest
to semiconductor manufacturers.

Consumer Reports, containing all issues of the famous publication
since 1982, would be of major interest to consumers and home
CD-ROM users if it were not for the very high $695 subscription
price and the major restrictions on its use, which includes the
requirement that the disc be returned for updates and at the end
of the use contract.

(John McCormick/19920507/Press Contact: NISC,
tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 7 Excalibur Gets First Big Contract 05/07/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00022)

Excalibur Gets First Big Contract 05/07/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 7 (NB) -- McLean,
Virginia's Excalibur Technologies has received a $1 million
contract, its largest to date, to supply a California-based
Department of Defense contractor with the company's
PixTex/EFS server and client software for NeXT and Pyramid
Technology MISserver computers. The software provides utilities
for the retrieval of massive amounts of semi-indexed data through
the use of artificial intelligence techniques.

Excalibur technology is based on adaptive (machine learning)
pattern recognition techniques which speed indexing and retrieval
of massive amounts of information stored on large network
servers. The client software allows the integration of desktop
NeXT systems with the powerful Pyramid MIServer.

Such programs are becoming necessary because vast quantities
of information are routinely scanned into computer databases
using optical character recognition systems which do not index
the material. Manual indexing costs would make it impractical to
use such information.

Patricia Seybold's Office Computing Report of October 1991
says that neural network pattern recognition software such as
Excalibur's can improve search accuracy dramatically.

Excalibur software is also available for Digital Equipment's VAX
and Ultrix hardware platforms. The company's first product was
Savvy/TRS and PixTex was introduced in 1990.

The Excalibur technology builds an index based on the binary
representation of the ASCII text, not on the ASCII text, using
every word in a super full-text mode that actually produces
smaller indexes than the usual indexing methods, despite the
fact that they leave out certain words such as "and, the, or, a"
and so forth. Excalibur says the indexing is much faster than
traditional full-text methods.

PixTex/EFS for VMS systems start at $23,600. Prices for the
NeXT software were not available.

(John McCormick/19920507/Press Contact: Darrell Atkin,
Excalibur Technologies Corporation, 703-790-2110)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 7 Adobe Updates Font Folio CD-ROM 05/07/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(WAS)(00023)

Adobe Updates Font Folio CD-ROM 05/07/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 7 (NB) -- Adobe Systems,
which supplies a wide variety of desktop publishing fonts, has
announced a new version of the Adobe Font Folio CD-ROM which
contains all typeface packages of the Adobe Type Library from
number one through number 250. The price for the entire set is
$14,000.

Also included in the package is a CD Technology CD-ROM drive,
Adobe Type Manager, Adobe Type Reunion, and Adobe TypeAlign
software. Fifth Generation's Suitcase utility is also included.
Suitcase is an $80 utility that makes access to fonts easier and
comes with a screen-saver utility.

Owners of the previous Font Folio CD-ROM containing fonts
1-150 can obtain a discounted upgrade to the new collection.

A wide variety of fonts are needed to customize desktop
published documents and the font sets themselves take up
massive amounts of storage so CD-ROM is a logical
distribution media.

Individual type face libraries are also available at prices ranging
from about $100 to nearly $400 each, so even though no
publisher would want all the fonts, the CD-ROM collection
represents a 75 percent price reduction over the cost of the
separate collections. Added to the convenient storage system
provided by the CD-ROM is the savings involved in never
needing to rush order a new font at the last second. Although
quite highly priced, the product could very well turn into a
cost-effective purchase for many small publishing operations.

(John McCormick/19920507/Press Contact: LaVon Collins,
Adobe Systems, 415-961-4400)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 7 NY Consumer Telecommunications Access Conference Set 05/07/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00024)

NY Consumer Telecommunications Access Conference Set 05/07/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 7 (NB) -- The Alliance
for Public Technology (APT) has announced that it will hold a special
regional meeting in New York on Friday, May 15th, focusing on the
subject "Technologies of Freedom: Harnessing the Power of
Telecommunications for Consumers."

The meeting, to be held in the Trustees Room of the New York
Public  Library beginning at 9:00 AM is open to the public. A
meeting fee of $25 includes the 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM meeting
activities, a luncheon and a technology demonstration and reception
to be from 3:00 - 5:00 PM at New York Telephone's Customer
 Presentation Center. There is scholarship assistance available for
representatives of not-for-profit organizations and those needing
scholarship information or requiring a sign language interpreter may
contact M&R Strategic Services which is working with APT on the
meeting.

The keynote presentation of the meeting will be delivered by New
York  Assemblyman Jerrold Nadler, chairman of the committee on
Corporations, Authorities and Commissions. Following Nadler's
address, Henry Geller, communications fellow, The Merkle
Foundation, will speak on "Telecommunications Technology and
Policy Issues: A Primer". A panel, chaired by Susan Hadden, LBJ
School of Public Affairs, University of Texas, will then discuss
"Applications for Consumer Needs"

William Squadron, New York City Commissioner of
Telecommunications and Energy, will deliver a luncheon address
and then a panel led by Gerald Depot town administrator of
Bloomsberg, Pennsylvania, will discuss "Consumer Impact in the
Information Age: Government, Industry and Consumer Views." The
meeting portion of the program will conclude with a 2:30 PM
"Consumer Strategies for the Information Age" roundtable
discussion chaired by Jennings Bryant, director, Institute for
Communications Research, University of Alabama.

Ken Deutsch, representing APT, told Newsbytes: "The topics
to be discussed at the meeting are particularly timely. While a
tremendous amount of information is becoming available
electronically, policy is still being made that will determine whether
the information will be open to general consumer availability or
closed to the use of a few. We feel that the upcoming New York
meeting will make an important contribution in bringing these
issues to public attention."

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19920507/Press
Contact: Ken Deutsch, M&R Strategic Services, tel [phone],
fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 7 Indian & Russian Science Collaboration Gets New Lease 05/07/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00025)

Indian & Russian Science Collaboration Gets New Lease 05/07/92
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1992 MAY 7 (NB) -- India and Russia have
agreed to cooperate in the field of computer sciences under the
modified Integrated Long Term Program (ILTP) in science and
technology, which had been going on between India and the
erstwhile Soviet Union.

This puts an end to the uncertainty prevailing over the collaborative
arrangement between Indian and Russian research institutes, since
the breakup of Soviet Union. The program is being executed under
the umbrella of  the Indian National Science Academy from the
Indian side, and will be coordinated by Russian Academy of
Sciences in Russia.

According to the agreement signed between Pune-based Center for
Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) and the Russian
Institute for Computer-Aided Design (ICAD), scientists from both
sides will conduct research in areas of mutual interest like parallel
processing.

ICAD scientists will try to develop new software programs on
Param, the parallel-processing supercomputer developed by CDAC,
particularly in areas of application such as medicine, aircraft design
and fluid dynamics.

Development of advanced materials for electronics is another likely
area of Indo-Russian collaboration, according to N. Vittal of the
Department of Electronics (DoE). At present, India has to import
about 80 percent of its requirements and its needs will likely rise
with the many foreign companies setting up units to manufacture
electronic goods, he feels. He points out that both sides could gain
from a partnership between the Center for Materials for Electronic
Technology (C-MET), set up by DoE, and a Russian organization
like the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry in Novosibirsk.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920507)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 7 HP Intros New Paintjet XL300 Inkjet Color Printer 05/07/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00026)

HP Intros New Paintjet XL300 Inkjet Color Printer 05/07/92
SINGAPORE, 1992 MAY 7 (NB) -- Hewlett-Packard has released
a new plain-paper color printer for the business office. The HP
Paintjet XL300 with HP's color implementation of PCL 5C printer
language carries a list price of $3,495.

The printer produces 300 dots-per-inch (dpi) resolution on a variety
of media types and sizes and features automatic input/output
switching for simultaneous connection to PC, Macintosh, and
networked environments. Options include Adobe Postscript Level 2
upgrade kit and HP Jet-direct cards. It also supports automatic
language switching between PCL 5C and Postscript. Postscript
users can purchase the postscript version (listed at $4,995) or a
user-installable Postscript upgrade.

The printer enables business, as well as creative and technical
professionals to bring color printing capabilities in-house for
presentation of graphics, spreadsheets, color proofing, desktop
publishing, computer-aided design, and project scheduling.

As the HP Paintjet XL300 printers are the first color printers
compatible with the HP Laserjet III family of printers, they provide
a transition to color printing for business users who currently
use the latter.

HP Paintjet family printers use HP-developed ink-jet technology
that creates text and graphics by laying fine ink droplets on the
page. HP claims to have shipped more than four million ink-jet
printers since 1984, more than all other ink-jet manufacturers
combined.

The printer is horizontal with brick-like angles - rather like an
earlier model of a Sharp portable stereo music system extended
by speakers on both sides. "It must be an engineer's (technical)
design," quipped a press wag, at a pre-release demo held during
HP's annual Asia Pacific Press Symposium on Peripherals
Technologies held at Singapore early April.

HP's marketing presentations held forth on their strategies to
"make electronic color pervasive" and on how "HP will take color
hardcopy from an important specialty niche to an essential part
of everyday printing" through its inkjet technology, because "color
is persuasive."

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920507)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 7 Texpo 92: Pac Bell Working To Transmit Movies To Theaters 05/07/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LAX)(00027)

Texpo 92: Pac Bell Working To Transmit Movies To Theaters 05/07/92
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 7 (NB) -- Pacific Bell is
planning a digital film distribution system called Advanced Broadcast
Video Service (ABVS) geared towards replacing the current bulky
and expensive celluloid film distribution technique of getting movies
from the studio into theaters.

Pac Bell is working on the electronic transmission of films over fiber
optic telephone links. To demonstrate the concept, Pac Bell showed
audiences the film "Bugsy," transmitted electronically in high
definition television (HDTV) format and shown to attendees of Texpo
'92 in Anaheim, California. While some reports were that Pac Bell
was looking for another movie to show because it thought Bugsy
might project too dark for audiences, that was due in part to the fire
department regulations concerning lighting in a public place. Since
the film was being shown in the convention center and not a movie
theater, Pac Bell representatives told Newsbytes there was more
lighting necessary than they would have liked.

The film was transmitted from Sony Picture Studios in Culver City
and while parts of it were dark, overall audiences seemed to be
satisfied with the result.

While Pac Bell said movie goers would get a "fresh print" at every
showing, the quality of the transmission is still not as good as
celluloid film in the big screen projections used in movie theaters.
However, Pac Bell is confident it can make the technology work.

Some raised the issue of the differences between the digital
transmission and film, saying the digital transmission is visually
"flatter" than the film version. Newsbytes wonders if electronic
transmission will change what is "photogenic," the way adding
sound to silent pictures of the past changed the criteria for actors,
who suddenly needed good speaking voices as well as an ability
to act.

HDTV especially is different and the differences can be quite
striking. Newsbytes felt as though images captured and displayed
with HDTV contain much more information visually and give the
viewer the strong sense of actually being in the setting themselves.
However, displaying films that were developed to take advantage
of the particularities of celluloid in an electronic format has brought
some criticism from some in the film community.

Besides use for films, Pac Bell says video conferencing and
educational applications are also a possibility. Plans are to begin
tests of ABVS later this summer pending approval of state and
federal regulatory agencies, Pac Bell added.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920507/Press Contact: Scott Smith,
Pacific Bell, 415-542-0597)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 7 Texpo 92: Voice Mail To Pre-Qualify Job Applicants 05/07/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LAX)(00028)

Texpo 92: Voice Mail To Pre-Qualify Job Applicants 05/07/92
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 7 (NB) -- Pacific Bell
is offering employers the rental of a service by which they can
electronically, by phone, pre-screen and pre-qualify job applicants.
The service allows job applicants to call a phone number in an ad
and respond by voice and touch-tone phone key presses to a
series of questions selected by the employer.

Pac Bell says the service simply dials into a voice mail system that
the employer can program from their own telephone. An employer
can call in and record questions and menu options. Prospective
employees can then call the Pac Bell Job Openings Hotline, enter a
three digit code printed in the job advertisement in a newspaper and
begin the process of answering the questions.

Callers can hear a job description and the qualifications for the job
and can choose to go on with the process of answering questions, if
the employer has programmed any, or can find out where to send a
resume or how to schedule an interview. A transfer to a personnel
office telephone can also be added as well as the ability for the
system to record a "verbal" resume.

Pac Bell says advertising responses can be tracked by tracking the
callers telephone area code or zip codes and up to 900 job listings
can be recorded on the system. The company says it maintains the
equipment, set up on an IBM 486-based personal computer and Pac
Bell employees monitor the system 24-hours a day. While this is a
system companies could set up themselves, renting the service for
a 30-day period could make sense for many employers.

In addition, employers can choose to have messages recorded in a
studio by voice professionals and multi-lingual messages can be
offered as well, Pac Bell representatives told Newsbytes.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920507)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 7  ****Texas Instruments Intros "Most Advance RISC Processor" 05/07/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(NYC)(00029)

 ****Texas Instruments Intros "Most Advance RISC Processor" 05/07/92
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 7 (NB) -- Texas Instruments
(TI) has announced the introduction of what it refers to as "The
industry's most advanced RISC (reduced instruction-set computing)
microprocessor for the next generation of SPARC workstations."

The processor, "SuperSPARC," consists of 3.1 million transistors
on a single chip and, according to TI, is the first single-chip SPARC
microprocessor to have complete built-in multiprocessing. TI further
said  that SuperSPARC's  multiprocessing allows system vendors
to expand from one to many microprocessors in the same system
to increase performance. At an operating speed of 40 megahertz,
(MHz) it delivers up to 150 million instructions per second (MIPS),
three times the performance of PC microprocessors.

The new chip marks the first of a series of products jointly developed
by TI and Sun Microsystems Computer Corp. The two companies
have announced that they are also working together on SPARC chip
designs for low-cost desktop projects, as well as very high-
performance, next-generation extensions of SuperSPARC.

TI also said that SuperSPARC has received endorsements from ICL,
Solbourne, Xerox, SunPro, SunSoft, Lotus Development, and
Frame Technology

A TI representative told Newsbytes that the chips are presently in
volume production and that TI is taking orders from SPARC
International  Executive Members now for 33 MHz and 40 MHz
configurations and, in the near future, for 45 MHz and 50 MHz
versions. Orders from other parties are, according to the
spokesperson, to be taken in third quarter 1992 for delivery in the
forth quarter.

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen//19920507Press
Contact: Donna Coletti, Texas Instruments, 214-997-5471)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 7 DECWorld: DEC Intros High-Speed Networking Gigaswitch 05/07/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00030)

DECWorld: DEC Intros High-Speed Networking Gigaswitch 05/07/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MA 7 (NB) -- In a
press briefing yesterday at DECWorld, Digital Equipment
announced the Gigaswitch, an intelligent packet switch aimed at
dramatically raising data rates on multivendor LANs (local area
networks) and WANs (wide area networks).

Officials stressed that the Gigaswitch offers a potential aggregate
throughput of 3.6 Gb/s, to be achieved through the use of switched
point-to-point links.

The switch will also allow FDDI (fiber data distribution interface)
backbones to run over longer distances than is currently the case,
they said.  Up to four Gigaswitch platforms will be able to be
attached in a single configuration.

"The Gigaswitch extends the range of FDDI, in much the same way
that the development of the bridge extended the range of Ethernet,"
stated Mahendra Patel, technical director of systems engineering
for Digital. In addition, the modular design of the switch eases
installation, maintenance, and traffic management for the network
manager, Patel noted. "Our customers have become accustomed
to a plug and play environment," commented Patel.

The Gigaswitch is especially suited to large campus environments,
and to multimedia, imaging, and other applications requiring more
throughput than the 100 Mb/s that FDDI alone can provide, said Jim
Kuenzel, FDDI program development manager.

The officials explained that the Gigaswitch is a dynamic crossbar
switch that makes simultaneous connections among multiple data
links. The data links plug into 22 input and output ports in the
switch, at FDDI line speeds, enabling high-speed transfer of data
with such devices as FDDI rings, multivendor mainframes, VAX and
Alpha clusters, DSUs to T3/E3 lines, and PC LANs.

Unlike an FDDI ring, which uses a shared channel access backplane,
the Gigaswitch architecture supports a technology based on a
switching matrix that allows rapid mapping of any input port to any
output port.

In shared channel access, a method also employed in Ethernet and
Token Ring, one node on the network transmits while another
receives.  Meanwhile, all nontransmitting nodes must wait. In
contrast, the Gigaswitch technology allow multiple "conversations"
among devices. When the digital systems with FDDI adapters are
used, the raw bandwidth of the link is effectively doubled.

Throughput is bolstered further by a method called "cut through
forwarding." When a packet is received on a Gigaswitch port and
its destination port is not busy, the packet is forwarded quickly,
reducing the usual store-and-forward delay. Forwarding is started
once the packet header is received, instead of after the entire
packet has arrived.

All together, a Gigaswitch platform can make more than six million
dynamic connections a second, the company claims.

When inserted into a network, a Gigaswitch automatically configures
itself, with no operator intervention. In addition, the modular design
of the switch incorporates hardware redundancy, so switching
engines and data link interfaces can be easily replaced when
needed, officials said. A hot swap capability permits replacements
to be made without powering down the platform.

The switch can also filter traffic on a per port basis, enhancing
traffic management, the company said. The platform can be
managed through SNMP (simple network management protocol)
network control and management stations.

The network architecture of the Gigaswitch platform has been
designed to handle up to 34 ports in the future, according to the
officials.  Additional network management capabilities and higher
throughput will also be coming, they added.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920507)
#ENDCARD



#CARD :1992 MAY 6 New For Mac: Low-Cost Rasterops 24-bit Graphics Board 05/06/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00001)

New For Mac: Low-Cost Rasterops 24-bit Graphics Board 05/06/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 6 (NB) --
Rasterops says it is announcing the Paintboard Li, a 24-bit
graphics display adapter for Macintosh II 20-inch monitors that is
half the price of other 24-bit boards for the Macintosh.

The new board also offers speed, as Rasterops says drawing
speeds are up to 600 percent faster in Quickdraw, a System 7
utility. Rasterops credits the speed to its custom application
specific integrated circuits (ASIC) used on the board. The company
says the board offers additional features such as extended desktop,
gamma selection, hardware pan and zoom, and bit depths of 1-, 2-,
4-, 8-, 16-, as well as 24-bits per pixel are supported.

Graphics intensive applications are faster with the single-slot
adapter's block transfer support that moves blocks of information
across the Nubus faster or with the adapter used as a Nubus master
to accelerate other display adapters and support Apple's standard
block data transfer, Rasterops added.

The company says the Paintboard Li supports displays ranging from
the 13-inch Applecolor RGB monitor and the Rasterops Sweet 16,
up to the RasterOps 20-inch Trinitron monitor with 1024 by 768
resolution. Rasterops also points out that the Paintboard Li is also
compatible with the Correctcolor Calibrator, Correctcolor Management
System, and Correctprint 300 used for color accuracy from input to
output across the desktop publishing process.

Newsbytes' sources in the Macintosh world say the market is
becoming more price sensitive. In the past few months, Apple has
dropped prices as well as several other peripheral manufacturers.
Heightened marketing and promotional efforts, such as nationwide
seminars, trade-ins for used Apple and IBM hardware, and rebates
are being offered as well.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920506/Press Contact: Carrie Coppe,
Rasterops, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 6 New For Windows: OCR/Fax Software 05/06/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00002)

New For Windows: OCR/Fax Software 05/06/92
LOS GATOS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 6 (NB) -- Caere
Corporation, makers of Omnipage optical character recognition
(OCR) software, and Bit Software, makers of telecommunications
software Bitcom, have announced Bitfax/OCR for Windows. The
companies say Bitfax/OCR Windows allows IBM personal
computers (PCs) and compatibles to receive, store, and convert
incoming faxes into text.

Text brought in to the computer via a fax/modem can be edited in
a word processor or spreadsheet, the companies maintain. This
is in contrast to other fax software for PCs that allows the
sending and receipt of faxes, but only as images with no ability
to edit characters.

For example, the companies say a lawyer can now receive an
incoming faxed contract from a client in a fraction of the time it
takes to retype the original, edit the contract in a word
processing program, and resend it.

"Everyone can now achieve full value from their fax board by
reading faxes as well as sending them," said Larry Miller, Caere's
vice president of marketing. "Adding OCR to BitFax significantly
expands the application and productivity benefits for the user."

Caere says it has added its Anyfont OCR technology to Bitfax/OCR
for Windows, which is the same technology in its OCR software
product Omnipage, one of the leading OCR products on the market.

Bitcom, the telecommunications package from Bit Software is less
well known, but became widely used because it was bundled by
modem manufacturers with modems. Bit Software also recently
introduced Bitcom for Windows.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920506/Press Contact: Larry Miller, Caere,
tel [phone], fax [phone]; JoAnn Johnston, Regis
McKenna, 415-354-4496)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 6 Reliability Ratings Survey Says Best UPS Most Reliable 05/06/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(WAS)(00003)

Reliability Ratings Survey Says Best UPS Most Reliable 05/06/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 6 (NB) -- Reliability
Ratings, an independent customer research group whose
co-founder, Greg Strakosch, is considered by many an expert on
midrange systems such as the IBM AS/400, has recently
completed a survey of UPS or uninterruptable power supplies. The
survey determined that Best Power Technology's Ferrups is
the most reliable of five major brands in the survey.

Users of five UPS systems from Best Technologies, Liebert, Exide,
Emerson, and Deltec were surveyed for their opinions of the
systems they use, and questioned about problems and whether
they would purchase similar model equipment from the same
manufacturer again.

According to the study's conclusions, which were based on more
than 3.6 million hours of running time, and published in the
March 1992 issue of "Reliability Ratings," Best not only had the
highest "buy-again rating of the five," but at about 11 years MTBF
(mean time between failures), the Ferrups had almost double the
MTBF of the second most reliable system.

More than 97-percent of Best customers in the survey said that
they would purchase another UPS from Best Power Technology.

Reliability Ratings covers products used by midrange system
shops using the IBM AS/400 line of minicomputers.

A copy of the survey is available from Reliability Ratings, 163
Highland Ave., Needham, MA 02194.

(John McCormick/19920506/Press Contact: Ed Coudal,
Best PR, 813-966-1888)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 6 Merisel To Distribute Proteon Equipment 05/06/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00004)

Merisel To Distribute Proteon Equipment 05/06/92
EL SEGUNDO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 6 (NB) -- In its
continuing efforts to become the networking distributor of choice,
Merisel is actively courting the various Token Ring network vendors
to distribute their products. Proteon is really the first in a series of
vendors who will distribute their products through Merisel.

Proteon and Merisel have an established relationship already.
Merisel distributes Proteon's products in Canada and has done so
for a couple of years now. With this new agreement, the relationship
between the two companies is expanded to cover the whole of the
North American continent.

This agreement is of a strategic nature to Merisel which is trying
to expand its presence in the Token Ring marketplace. Next to IBM,
there are only a handful of companies that have a commanding
presence in that market and Proteon is among that handful. Sources
within Merisel tell Newsbytes that they are working on a relationship
with IBM that would be consummated soon. Newsbytes has learned
that an agreement between IBM and Merisel is in the very final
stages and may, in fact, have already been signed by Merisel
already.

With IBM and Proteon on the bandwagon, Merisel would certainly
be able to claim a dominating role in the Token Ring distribution
arena. Training by Proteon will be provided to all of Merisel's
salespeople within the next month. Merisel will begin stocking
Proteon parts and equipment within the next month for shipments
to dealers.

(Naor Wallach/19920506/Press Contact: Catherine Quattrocchi,
Merisel, 310-615-1230)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 6 New For Mac: Neon Ships Version 2.0 Of RouterCheck 05/06/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00005)

New For Mac: Neon Ships Version 2.0 Of RouterCheck 05/06/92
LAFAYETTE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 6 (NB) -- Neon
Software has released and begun shipments of version 2.0 of its
RouterCheck software for the Macintosh.

There are many enhancements and upgrades to this version which
was originally introduced at MacWorld in January as version 1.1.
The company claims that they suffered from "feature creep" and
when they recognized this, they made the decision to illustrate
this by moving a whole version number higher, rather than just a
fraction.

The main enhancement is in the added support for SNMP (simple
network management protocol). This features marks the growing
support within the Macintosh community for this standard and
follows on the heels of Apple's statement of support for SNMP
after they dropped their own proprietary effort that was aimed at
network management.

Other features of version 2.0 include: a router response time
monitor which can be activated when the response time varies
beyond a threshold set by the user; a net and zone change
monitor which notifies the user immediately upon a change in the
configuration of the network, such as can occur when a server
goes down; and a notification and alarm package which allows the
user to set the kind of notification that the user can receive up to,
and including, placing a call to their pocket pager. The product
also offers the ability to remotely restart routers like the Shiva
FastPath, Cayman GatorBox, and Compatible Systems
Ether (star) Route.

Version 2.0 of RouterCheck is available now and retails for $895.
Upgrades are available to version 1.0 users for $150. It is also a
part of Neon Software's Network Management Series.

(Naor Wallach/19920506/Press Contact: Elyssa Edwards, Neon
Software, 510-283-9771)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 6 Sigma Designs Ships Apple PowerBook 15-Inch Monitor 05/06/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00006)

Sigma Designs Ships Apple PowerBook 15-Inch Monitor 05/06/92
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 6 (NB) -- Sigma
Designs has started shipments of its newest monitor family. The
Power Portrait series is a line of two 15-inch monitors that are
intended for use with the Apple PowerBook notebook systems
or the compact Macintoshes.

The Power Portrait requires no video card to be placed in the
computer. This is done to eliminate the need to occupy one of the
precious slots in those computers that only have one or maybe
even none. Instead, the monitor attaches to the computer's SCSI
(Small Computer Systems Interface) connector.

A software driver that runs in the Macintosh is responsible for
capturing all screen activity and sending it out the SCSI port. Built
in to the monitor's case is a Quickdraw accelerator that accepts
those commands and executes them directly within the monitor.
This arrangement allows for significantly faster screen displays
than if the data was duplicated out of the SCSI port as it was
drawn on the screen.

The Power Portraits come in two case colors to match the kind
of computers that they will be attached to. There is a "platinum"
model and a "granite" (black) model. In addition, the monitors
can be configured to operate at one of three different resolution
choices: 72 dots-per-inch (dpi) yields 576 by 768 pixels; 80 dpi
yields 640 by 870 pixels (this is a full page); and 88 dpi yields
704 by 940 pixels.

In any case the screen will refresh itself at a 97 Hz refresh rate,
which is very high. The monitors also meet the Swedish guidelines
for reducing very low frequency (VLF) and extremely low frequency
(ELF) emissions. There is also an optional anti-glare, anti-static
coating available.

The "platinum" model comes with a DB25 to DB25 cable and
retails for $995. The "granite" model comes with the HDI-30 to
DB25 cable and it retails for $1,095. The optional coating will add
$50 to the price.

(Naor Wallach/19920506/Press Contact: Laura Olson, Sigma
Designs, 510-770-2647)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 6 Proteon Intros Second Generation Token Ring Adapter 05/06/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00007)

Proteon Intros Second Generation Token Ring Adapter 05/06/92
WESTBOROUGH, MA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 6 (NB) -- Proteon
is unveiling its first second-generation Token Ring adapter card
for the PC compatible market. According to the company, this
card is an all new design that takes advantage of advances in
technology to reduce its size to a half card and offer significant
performance increases.

Proteon is claiming that the combination of the new design with
their software RapiDrivers allows them to achieve almost "wire
speeds." This would mean full 4- or 16-Mbps throughput. The
company is also claiming that these boards are now twice as
fast as IBM's speediest board.

A further major enhancment is the application of "flash" memory to
the board. Proteon is claiming that this will allow for significantly
reduced life cycle costs as new software version and updates need
simply be loaded into the flash memory. there would be no need to
replace EPROMs (erasable programmable read-only memories) or
do anything physically with the computer.

The ProNet 4/16 p1392 is available now and retails for $795,
which is $100 lower than its predecessor model.

(Naor Wallach/19920506/Press Contact: Marsha Goff, Proteon,
508-898-2106)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 6 International Phone Update 05/06/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00008)

International Phone Update 05/06/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 6 (NB) -- Despite labor
action, new connections remain the watchword on the international
telecommunications front.

IDB Communicatinos Group, which already resells considerable
phone system capacity between the US and Russia through Sprint,
has announced new joint service offerings with the Russian Satellite
Communications Company and Morsviazsputnik. In an exclusive
deal, IDB and RSCC will offer public phone and data
communications between the US and former Soviet states over
Russia's Statsionar 5 satellite. As part of that deal, IDB will built a
new Earth station near London to access Statsionar 5, and
beginning this fall the two companies will jointly offer "end-to-
end" private lines using satellites, PTT facilities and private
phone systems.

IDB and Morsviazsputnik, meanwhile, will provide mobile satellite
communications over the INMARSAT satellite system from within
the Commonwealth -- Morsviazsputnik is the Russian signatory to
INMARSAT. IDB's services to maritime and land mobile users are
provided through the company's IDB Aero-Nautical unit, a joint
venture of IDB Communications Group and Teleglobe of Canada.
Morsviazsputnik is also supporting IDB's "one-stop shopping"
approach, coordinating all clearances necessary to smooth
deployment for Western users, while IDB handles billing and
accounting.

In other news, Germany's phone strike continued, while Columbia's
Communications Minister resigned. Mauricio Vargas, 31, took the
fall for privatization plans which led to a strike, and suspected
sabotage of long-distance links. Finally, the Middle East News
Network reported that Hungary will buy a new communications
satellite from Israel, both for telecommunications and television
broadcasts.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920506/Press Contact: IDB
Communications Group Michael Teeling, 713-791-5611)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 6 Bell Atlantic Testing New Roaming Technology 05/06/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00009)

Bell Atlantic Testing New Roaming Technology 05/06/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 MAY 6 (NB) -- Bell Atlantic
will test a revised roaming technology designed to cut fraudulent
use of cellular phones and allow "roaming" users from outside
the service area to continue use of their phones without dialing
special codes.

GTE is providing network and information services to the test,
while AT&T equipment will be used. The tests will be conducted
in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland. The technology is
called Interim Standard 41 Revision A.

Roaming, an increasingly common practice, occurs when a cellular
phone user leaves his home network and activates service with
another operating company. Business agreements among the
nation's cellular providers make roaming possible, but each phone
user must alert each new system they drive through of their arrival.
This involves entering complex codes into the phone. While the
entire Continental US is expected to have cellular service by
the end of this year, limited roaming agreements limit customers'
access to it. IS-41 Revision A is an attempt to make using
roaming services easier, which could stimulate new demand.
Despite the hassles of using cellular phone services, the
industry said its business grew by over 40 percent in 1991,
despite the recession.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920506/Press Contact: GTE, Laurie Douglas,
813-273-3143; Bell Atlantic Mobile Systems, Karen Ann Kurlander,
908-306-7552; AT&T Network Systems, Barbara Mierisch, 201-606-
2457)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 6 Sprint Announces Polling Service 05/06/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00010)

Sprint Announces Polling Service 05/06/92
OVERLAND PARK, KANSAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 6 (NB) -- Sprint
TeleMedia, which runs the number 3 US long-distance company's
toll-free 800 exchange and caller-paid 900 exchange lines, has
announced a new application called Opinion Plus, which enables
thousands of viewers to simultaneously take part in interactive
television polling/survey programs. The turnkey service can be
implemented quickly and easily to complement a wide variety of
other programming formats.

With an automated 800 or 900 phone program integrated into the
polling event, Opinion Plus can provide real-time results
announced to viewers before the end of a TV program, and callers
can even been interviewed on-air. In addition, call data can
yield such things as geographic location on callers, as well as
and demographic and psychographic profiles.

CNBC, a cable television network owned by General Electric, is
already using Opinion Plus in conjunction with its video magazine,
The Real Story. Following a story segment on a current issue,
viewers were encouraged to call one of two 900 numbers to
express their opinions.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920506/Press Contact: Robin Pence,
Sprint, 202-828-7454)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 6 Nokia Wins Mobile Radio Contract With Scottish Firm 05/06/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00011)

Nokia Wins Mobile Radio Contract With Scottish Firm 05/06/92
HELSINKI, FINLAND, 1992 MAY 6 (NB) -- Nokia
Telecommunications has announced it has secured a prestigious
mobile radio contract with Hydro Electric, the Scottish electricity
company.

The deal is significant, since it involves setting up a mobile
radio services covering most of Scotland, an area of 54,000
square miles according to Nokia. Terms of the deal, which is
said to be worth several million dollars, have not been revealed.

Most electricity companies rely on public telecoms carriers, such
as British Telecom, for their communication links. Hydro Electric
is unusual in contracting with Nokia for its telecoms facilities,
since it will allow the company to own and operate its own mobile
radio network, rather than rely on a third-party operator.

This is not the first time that electricity companies have hit
the telecoms headlines. Last month, Scottish Electric announced
it was applying for the third UK public telecoms licence and,
although the company said it had no current intention to operate
a full public service, it had significant plans in the area.

Hydro Electric has no plans to operate a public service like
Scottish Electric, but Newsbytes notes that the installation and
operation of Nokia's mobile radio technology will give its
technical staff the expertise they need to do so, if they decide
to operate a public service at a later date.

(Steve Gold/19920506)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 6 Sweden's Ericsson Expects To Report Quarterly Loss 05/06/92




(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00012)

Sweden's Ericsson Expects To Report Quarterly Loss 05/06/92
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, 1992 MAY 6 (NB) -- L M Ericsson, the
Swedish telecoms company, has revealed that it expects to
announce a pre-tax loss, when it announces its quarterly results.
The reason for the losses, according to sources close to the
company, is declining sales caused by the recession that is
currently sweeping Europe.

Analyst's first quarter forecasts for the company suggest that a
loss of around 200 million crowns is likely. This projected
figure compares with the 1,010 million crowns profit generated
during the same period last year.

Detailed examination of Ericsson's figures for the last financial
year illustrates the company's problem. During the full 1991
financial year, the company generated a total pre-tax profit of
1,600 million crowns, despite the healthy profits reported during
the first quarter of the year. In 1990, the company reported a
pre-tax profit of 4,860 million crowns.

Ericsson's executives are reported to be working hard on ways to
beat the red ink on the balance sheet. According to analysts, the
company expects to announce a relatively flat second quarter, but
a profitable third and fourth quarter to the year. This is due,
the analysts say, to a slight upswing in the fortunes of business
in Europe, coupled with a general round of belt-tightening in the
group.

The cost saving exercises currently under way within Ericsson
are not new, however. A year ago, the company began a general
round of staff cuts, along with a drive to cut expenses.

Full details of the first quarter results are expected on May 7,
when the company's annual general meeting is held in Stockholm,
Sweden.

(Steve Gold/19920506)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 6 France: Hachette And Matra Companies To Merge 05/06/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00013)

France: Hachette And Matra Companies To Merge 05/06/92
PARIS, FRANCE, 1992 MAY 6 (NB) -- Hachette, the French
media group, has announced plans to merge with Matra, the
defense and transport consortium. Both companies are linked
together financially, with the combined operation expected to
generate FF 53,000 million a year in sales.

When combined, both company's payrolls come to more than
50,000 staff. The merger is the result of a business decision by
Jean-Luc Lagardere, the head of MMB, which controls both
companies. Lagardere is also the chairman of both firms.

According to Lagardere, plans call for the Matra-Hachette
consortium to be split into nine divisions: audio-visual, cars,
defense, distribution, press, publishing space,
telecommunications, and transport.

Part of the reorganization will involve MMB pumping FF 2,800
million into Hachette, which lost a total of FF 1,930 million
last year owing to losses at La Cinq, the French TV station,
which recently closed it doors for the last time.

At a press conference in Paris, Lagardere said that he felt like
an ageing prize fighter after the problems he has experienced
with La Cinq, which he revealed lost more than FF 3,500 million
for the group last year.

"I have suffered a serious setback, the most serious setback of
my life, with the death of La Cinq. I am getting close to the
final round," he said.

(Steve Gold/19920506)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 6 UK: BT First In Europe To Sign To Visaphone Network 05/06/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00014)

UK: BT First In Europe To Sign To Visaphone Network 05/06/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 6 (NB) -- Next time you are in
the UK and want to make a phone call, all you will need is your
Visa credit or debit card, as British Telecommunications (BT) has
just announced it is joining the Visaphone network.

Visaphone, a network of telecoms companies in the US and parts
of the Far East, allows individual company operators to accept
calls and charge them directly to a Visa card. The service is
similar to charge cards operated by AT&T, BT and the like, but
calls are billed straight to the Visa card rather than through, an
often expensive, intermediary.

Setting up the service may take some time, BT officials said, but
Visa card holders will be allowed to use their cards with the
BT operator from early next year.

BT also operates a computerized credit card call service,
accessible by dialing 144 and keying in BT calling card details,
plus a personal identification number (PIN). Plans call for the
Visaphone service, using the Visa card number plus a PIN, to be
extended to include the computerized call service as well as the
normal operator-assisted service.

BT is the first European telecoms operator to join Visaphone.
Other telecoms companies in Europe are expected to announce
they are joining Visaphone shortly.

(Steve Gold/19920506)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 6 UK: Lotus Forms User Group For Lotus Notes 05/06/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00015)

UK: Lotus Forms User Group For Lotus Notes 05/06/92
STAINES, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 6 (NB) -- Lotus
has taken the unusual step of assisting in the formation of the
Lotus Notes Focus User Group, owing to demand from users
of its Notes package.

Lotus Notes is an open workgroup computing environment that
allows users on a network to share information. Lotus claims that
the package allows all manner of information to be shared over
the network, in such a way that it encourages interaction.

The software company has just hosted the inaugural meeting of the
group, which was attended by 12 of, what Lotus describes as, its
most forward-looking company users of Notes. The group is,
however, independent of Lotus, and is chaired by KPMG
Management Consulting.

Nigel Kirkham, Notes consulting manager at KPMG and a founder
member of the group, said that organization exists to develop and
promote the use of the package throughout all businesses.

"As early adopters of Lotus Notes, we want to exchange ideas and
experiences and learn from one another. As a group, we also have
the credibility to bring together both Lotus and its alliance
partners to influence future product developments," he said.

Attending the inaugural meeting was Bill Conklin, a senior Notes
software engineer with Lotus US. Conklin is also a founder of
the New York Notes User Group, and highlighted plans to link
the Notes Focus Group with its US equivalent via the Lotus
information network. The Lotus network is an electronic service
that has network nodes in 100 cities around the world and has
15,000 users, including Lotus staff.

Isabel Oswell, Lotus' Notes marketing manager, said she is
pleased with the decision to form a user group. "An increasing
number of Times 1000 companies are backing Lotus Notes and
using Notes technology to develop core business applications.
The user group brings together the innovators who are not only
talking about workgroup computing but are really improving their
productivity through Notes," she said.

Lotus Notes users interested in joining the user group can
contact Nigel Kirkham of KPMG Management Consulting on
071-236-8000.

(Steve Gold/19920506/Press & Public Contact: Lotus UK,
0784-455445)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 6 Pacific Bell Announces Resale Agreements 05/06/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00016)

Pacific Bell Announces Resale Agreements 05/06/92
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 6 (NB) -- Pacific Bell
has announced a number of marketing agreements, some aimed at
pushing ISDN (Integrated Services Digital network) digital services
for business, others aimed at the e-mail and toll-free 800 call
markets. Pacific Bell calls its ISDN offering Centrex IS.

Under a nonexclusive arrangement Pacific Bell will sell ISDN
adapters from Hayes Microcomputer Products of Atlanta, which
has been working for years on such equipment. As part of the
deal, Pacific Bell will also sell Hayes' line of modems and
communications software. Pacific Bell said it will focus its
efforts this year on real estate, health care, education,
technology research and development, and telecommuting.

Pacific Bell has also announced a joint marketing with Teleos,
which also makes adapters and other equipment for ISDN. Pacific
Bell will sell Teleos' basic-rate ISDN terminal adapter and other
equipment with its Centrex IS.

Teleos offers terminal adapters, called the PC Terminal
Adapter/Series 101, for IBM and compatible personal computers
for high-performance access to local area networks, host
computers, image data bases, and servers at 56, 64, 112 and
128 kilobits-per-second using Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol.

Pac Bell has initially targeted the offering of Teleos and Hayes
equipment for a service for Realtors called Realtylink, a service
that allows Realtors access to more detailed information about
available homes via their PC, including photographic information.
Pac Bell says the service offers conveniences for all aspects of
buying a home from house hunting to shopping for a mortgage.

Pac Bell says in its agreement with Hayes, it will offer customers
Hayes ISDN System Adapters, ISDN PC Adapters, and terminal
adapters as well as high speed modems. Hayes says it will offer
support on the hardware it provides through its established
support channels both in the US and abroad.

Pacific Bell Connection, the company's electronic mail offering,
was enhanced with a new service called LANmail Connection,
designed to allow the transfer of messages and documents from
local area networks to a variety of outside systems and services.
The idea is to make these remote users appear to be other LAN
users, and increase the volume of communications. No complex
addressing is required, and messages are sent under a variety of
LAN formats. Pacific Bell Connection handles the chores of
X.400, a standard for linking mail between different systems.

Finally, Pacific Bell said it has linked with Sprint for nationwide
toll-free 800 number service. Previously, the company could only
offer such services within California. Under the Sprint deal, which
the company hopes to replicate with other long distance carriers,
California businesses will be able to offer its Custom 800 numbers
nationwide.

(Dana Blankenhorn & Linda Rohrbough/19920506/Press Contact:
Pacific Bell, Lou Saviano, 415-545-8191; Sprint, Robin Pence,
202-828-7454; Hayes Microcomputer Products, Beth McElveen,
404-840-9200; Teleos, Roxanne D'Amore, 908-389-5700)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 6 Pixelcraft Scanner Offers Half-tones At Low Cost 05/06/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00017)

Pixelcraft Scanner Offers Half-tones At Low Cost 05/06/92
EL SEGUNDO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 6 (NB) -- Xerox
Company's Pixelcraft says it is entering the desktop computer
optical scanner market with its new product, the 7650 Pro Imager.
The company claims the scanner offers the advantage of expensive
features for less than a third of the price of other scanners with
the same features.

The 7650 Pro Imager is an 11.7- by 17-inch flatbed monochrome
scanner that offers resolution up to 1,200 dots-per-inch, Pixelcraft
said. The features the company says are of special interest are the
scanner's ability to accurately capture line art as well as continuous
tone and halftone originals. The scanner comes with software and
is aimed specifically at the graphic arts, professional publishing,
and prepress industries, the company added.

The new scanner is compatible with Apple, IBM or compatible,
and Sun computer systems via standard industry interfaces and
software, the company maintains.

Pixelcraft says it is new to the scanner market and the 7650 is its
first offering. However, the company is a Xerox company and starts
with a worldwide network of distributors including Kodak, Varityper,
Information International, SCI Tex, and CCI Europe.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920506/Press Contact: Ken Felderstein,
Pixelcraft, 800-222-7650)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 6 New For Mac: Fifth Generation's Data Recovery Tools 05/06/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00018)

New For Mac: Fifth Generation's Data Recovery Tools 05/06/92
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 6 (NB) -- Fifth
Generation Systems (FGS), probably best known for its software
compression backup program Fastback, has announced a
preventative maintenance/data recovery software package for the
Macintosh it calls Public Utilities.

FGS President Barry Bellue says the emphasis in introducing the
package is on prevention of data corruption problems and the
package is geared toward the novice user. FGS says the product
monitors the hard disk for potential trouble at time intervals set
by the user, which can be as often as every 30 seconds.

If a problem is discovered, a setting in the software allows the
choice between an automatic fix of the problem with a notification
of the fix or a detailed explanation and a suggested solution that
the user then decides to act on.

A detailed log is kept of what happens no matter which setting is
chosen, so users have it should a call to FGS support is
necessary, the company added.

The software offers diagnostics and repair of hard disk problems
such as damaged partition maps, drivers and driver maps, and
system folder problems, FGS said. The software is automatically
set to check all the hard disks, relieving the user of telling it to
do so and also checks for bad blocks as well, FGS said.

An optimizer for defragmenting the hard disk to improve disk
access speed that also allows the user to retrieve deleted files
afterwards is also included, the company said.

FGS says it recognizes and integrates other third party diagnostic,
repair, undelete/recovery, backup, optimization, and compression
utilities with its "Launch Pad Feature." FGS also emphasizes its
product is safe to use as it does not allow sector editing and other
functions that could irreparably damage data.

The software is compatible with System 6.0.2 and higher, including
System 7 and requires at least a Macintosh Plus with one
megabyte (MB) of RAM, FGS said. Public Utilities is also
compatible with Macintoshes connected via Appletalk. Retail
pricing is $149.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920506/Press Contact: Debbie Lacy, Miller
Communications for Fifth Generation Systems, tel [phone],
fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 6 High Tech Grocery Stores Use More Than Price Scanners 05/06/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00019)

High Tech Grocery Stores Use More Than Price Scanners 05/06/92
AKRON, OHIO, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 6 (NB) -- You may not know
it, but your grocery store uses more computer technology than
just the price scanners at the checkout counters.

Much of that technology is installed by Telxon (pronounced Tel-zon)
Corporation, which has just acquired Retail Management Systems
Corporation (RMS), a supplier of store software programs. RMS
specializes in designed software that integrates product pricing
information with various store-level functions such as
direct-store-delivery (DSD) receiving and DEX/UCS data exchange.

DSD is what Telxon calls the delivery of goods to the store direct
from vendors, such as the bread trucks, soft drink trucks, and
other vendors you see parked at the back of the store. DEX/UCS
stands for Direct Exchange/Uniform Communication Standard.

Telxon spokesperson Kathy Taylor told Newsbytes that simply
means that invoicing from a direct vendor can be sent directly from
the vendor's computer system to the store's computer, eliminating
an intermediate paperwork step.

RMS said it was the first company to introduce receiving using
radio frequency technology, allowing the store's receiving personnel
to check in items using a hand held device that talks to the store's
host computer via a radio link. The combination of Telxon's hardware
systems with RMS's software provides a network that allows
complete pricing control within one database as the products are
received.

Telxon said it provides its systems to 22 of the top 25 grocery
chains in the US, including Kroger, Safeway, A&P, Winn-Dixie,
Shop & Stop, Vons, and Ralphs.

Taylor told Newsbytes that Don Schoen will remain at the RMS
site in Des Moines as the division manager, with RMS maintaining
its independent identity.

(Jim Mallory/19920506/Press Contact: Kathy Taylor, Telxon
Corporation, 216-867-3700)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 6 Superconducting Super Collider Laboratory Planned 05/06/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DEN)(00020)

Superconducting Super Collider Laboratory Planned 05/06/92
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 6 (NB) -- The
Superconducting Super Collider facility 40 miles south of Dallas
will not do anything at all until the end of the decade, but scientists
from around the world are already there planning experiments and
designing detectors.

Scientists hope that the facility will enable them to simulate the
conditions that existed at the moment our universe was born.
Originally the computing facility associated with the super collider
was designed with the capacity to process one billion computing
instructions per second. Now the facility has been upgraded to
have twice that much computing speed.

The scientists gathering at the Texas site hope to record the
results when the collider particle accelerator goes into operation
more than eight years from now.

The one-of-a-kind super collider, said to be the world's largest
scientific instrument, causes subatomic particles at very high
speeds to help scientists learn more about the fundamental forces
and particles of the universe. The scientists at the computer facility,
called the physics detector simulation facility, will use computers
to simulate collisions of the particles, and record and track the
debris. They say the results will help them develop experimental
programs and detectors.

According to Phil Leibold, manager of the collider's computing
division, more than $3 million has been invested in the simulation
facility. The upgrade included the addition of 32 Hewlett Packard
HP 900-720 workstations, expanded memory, and fiber optics.
The workstations will exchange data over the fiber optic network
at a rate of 100 million bytes of data per second. A byte
is approximately equal to one letter of the alphabet. Fiber optics
are used because data can be transferred over such a network
much more quickly than would be possible using cable.

The supercollider consists of an underground tunnel containing
two rings. Each ring has a stream of protons moving at near-light
speed in the opposite direction from the other ring. Over 1,500
magnets guide and focus the proton beams.

The multi-billion project is funded by the US Department of Energy.
Newsbytes reported in June of 1991 that the Laboratory had
selected an Intel iPSC/860 parallel supercomputer to help design
and build the collider. Parallel computers use multiple processors
to perform different parts of the computing task, while a desktop
PC has one processor, such as an Intel 286, 386, or 486 chip, to
perform all processing.

Last February the Japan Foundation for Shipbuilding Advancement
announced that it planned to launch a superconducting ship. The
vessel employs two superconducting thrusters instead of
conventional screw propellers. The thrusters are soaked in liquid
helium at minus 269 degrees centigrade. A spokesperson for
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, a partner in the venture, said
the engines are extremely quiet, and while they will initially only
be able to develop speeds of about nine miles an hour, the
technology has the potential to achieve speeds of 120 miles per
hour.

(Jim Mallory/19920506/Press Contact: Russ Wylie,
Superconducting Super Collider Laboratory, 214-708-1045)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 6  ****IBM To Sell Three PS/2 Models Directly 05/06/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00021)

 ****IBM To Sell Three PS/2 Models Directly 05/06/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 6 (NB) -- IBM is
going to sell some of its PS/2 personal computers through a toll-free
order number. The company announced that three PS/2 models are
available now in the United States by calling 800-IBM-2968.

IBM is offering through the toll-free number three specially
packaged PS/2 models, including two desktops and a laptop unit.
The PS/2 Model 35 SX-043 and 40 SX-043 both come with 20
megahertz (MHz) 386SX processors, 40 megabyte (MB) hard
drives, DOS 5.0, and video graphics array (VGA) 8512 color
displays. The Model 35 SX is priced at $1,495 and the 40 SX is
priced at $1,595. The L40 SX laptop, with a 60 MB hard drive and
DOS 5.0, is priced at $1,695.

A free on-site warranty for one year is included with all three
models, and they also come with IBM's HelpWare service and
support program.

The three models will be offered through IBM dealers as well as
through the toll-free number, company spokesman Christopher
Clough said, and dealer prices may vary. Clough acknowledged
that in light of the common dealer practice of discounting PCs
below manufacturers' suggested retail prices, the machines could
be cheaper on dealers' shelves than when ordered by telephone.

Also, shipping and handling charges will be added to the telephone
orders. Telephone orders will be payable by check, money order, or
credit card only.

The company has "no specific plans" to offer other PS/2 models
through the direct channel, Clough said, but might decide to do so
depending on the response to the initial models.

(Grant Buckler/19920506/Press Contact: Christopher Clough,
IBM, 914-642-5372)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 6  ****DEC, Lotus Announce Promotional Giveaway 05/06/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00022)

 ****DEC, Lotus Announce Promotional Giveaway 05/06/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 6 (NB) --
Digital Equipment and Lotus Development have announced that
Digital will give away Lotus software to buyers of its personal
computers in the United States for the rest of this year.

Until the end of June, customers who buy a Digital PC will get a
free copy of SmartSuite for Windows, a bundle of four major Lotus
applications that lists for $795 in Digital's Desktop Direct catalog.
For the rest of 1992, buyers of DEC PCs will be able to choose
one free Lotus application.

SmartSuite for Windows includes the latest versions of the Lotus
1-2-3 spreadsheet software, Freelance Graphics, the Ami Pro
word processor, and a cc:Mail electronic mail Single User Pack.

DOS 5.0 and Microsoft Windows 3.1 come factory installed on
Digital PCs. The Lotus applications will not be factory installed but
will be shipped separately, said Digital spokesman Bob Schneider.

The offer applies to all Digital PCs using the 386 and 486
processors sold through all of Digital's distribution channels,
including resellers and the Desktop Direct catalog.

Schneider said the offer is intended as a limited-time promotion to
help boost sales of Digital PCs, although he also said there seems
to be growing customer demand to have popular software
applications supplied with the hardware.

While acknowledging that profit margins in the personal computer
hardware business are very slim, Schneider said Digital can still
make money on its PCs when sold with the Lotus software thrown
in. The deal with Lotus has promotional value for the software
vendor as well, he pointed out, and "obviously we're not paying full
price" for the software.

(Grant Buckler/19920506/Press Contact: Bob Schneider, Digital,
508-480-4620; Chris Carleton, McGlinchey & Paul for Lotus,
617-862-4514)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 6 IBM Consolidates Canadian, US Sales/Service/Marketing 05/06/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00023)

IBM Consolidates Canadian, US Sales/Service/Marketing 05/06/92
MARKHAM, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAY 6 (NB) -- IBM has
established a new IBM North America group that has the effect of
consolidating the IBM Canada subsidiary's sales, service, and
marketing operations with similar operations in the United States.

IBM Canada will now report through Robert LaBant, head of the US
sales and marketing organization and now general manager of IBM
North America.

IBM Canada President William Etherington had reported directly to
John Akers, chairman of the parent company, since the departure of
William Armstrong, former head of IBM World Trade, a few months
ago. However, IBM Canada spokesman Stan Didzbalis told
Newsbytes this was always meant to be a temporary arrangement.
IBM Canada was the only country subsidiary reporting directly to
Akers, he said.

Didzbalis downplayed the move, saying it will have little effect on
the way IBM Canada operates. All that has really happened is that
"Bill (Etherington) has a new boss," he said.

One reason for the change was to work more effectively with
customers who increasingly make their purchasing decision on a
North American basis rather than separately for Canada and the
United States, Didzbalis said.

The change is also part of ongoing cost-cutting efforts at IBM.
Although the company did not immediately announce any job
cuts arising from the move, Didzbalis admitted it could lead to
reductions sooner or later, though he said that will not
necessarily happen.

Independent observers are more definite about the outcome.
"The whole point of this is to reduce duplication of services," said
Richard Morochove, a Toronto-based computer consultant. He
predicted that "further downsizing in the sales and marketing
area" at IBM Canada would result.

Late last year, IBM Canada announced that it would set out to
cut 2,000 jobs from its payroll of about 12,000 as part of IBM's
worldwide restructuring. At the time, the company said few of
the cuts would come in its manufacturing and research and
development operations. IBM Canada also said at that time that
it hoped to avoid involuntary layoffs.

(Grant Buckler/19920506/Press Contact: Stan Didzbalis, IBM
Canada, 416-474-3036)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 6 Computer Game Helps Urban Planners 05/06/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DEN)(00024)

Computer Game Helps Urban Planners 05/06/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 6 (NB) -- Scientists at the
University of Chicago are using computer games to test the abilities
of new artificial intelligence software. The AI software will sit in for
the human player and use SimCity, a computer simulation game
from California-based Maxis, to see how well it can perform as a
human urban planner in building and operating a city.

In an experiment that will last two years, AI software developed by
the University of Chicago will play the SimCity game on a
Macintosh IIfx computer, while scientists observe the AI software's
ability to learn and adapt from its successes and failures as it
performs the role of an urban planner.

Dr. Kristian Hammond, professor of computer sciences at the
university of Chicago, said the school selected SimCity because
it is the closest thing we could find to real life for testing
artificial intelligence on a personal computer. Hammond said
traditional computerized games such as chess have narrowly
defined rules and a limited number of endings. "In SimCity, there
are no right or wrong answers, but an unending series of decisions
that can lead to a wide variety of results.

An artificial intelligence program builds a base of information
from data provided to it, and operates from a set of rules. The
program learns as it operates, adding additional information,
which in turn allows it to make more informed decisions. So far,
artificial intelligence is the closest thing a computer can offer to
the human mind.

Maxis spokesperson Sally Vandershaf told Newsbytes that the
computer displays a portion of the city somewhat like a map,
showing  buildings, roads, and other features. Other details
include items such as police stations, power lines, parks and
sports stadiums. The buildings can "grow," depending on what
decisions are made by the player. "You can even set fires and
see their result," said Vandershaf.

The player acts as the mayor of the city, fighting crime,
unemployment, pollution, and other problems faced by
municipalities. Perhaps hardest, the "mayor" must balance the
budget. The objective is to attract enough "Sims" (simulated
citizens) for the city to grow and prosper.

Two sets of graphics are available -- Ancient Cities and Future
Cities. Players can also design their own city using any of six
different sets of architecture, and the program includes a Terrain
Editor to design maps.

Dr. Charles Martin, co-creator of the AI software to be used in the
experiment, said he looks forward to seeing just how skilled a
SimCity player his software will be. "It's one thing for a computer
to solve a math problem," said Martin. "It's quite another or it to
decide how to put out a fire in a high-rise building without losing
countless lives, or how to solve traffic problems without running a
city government into debt."

SimCity, one of several simulation games offered by Maxis, is
available for IBM compatible, Amiga, Atari, Commodore, Nintendo
platforms, and Vandershaf said the company has just released a
Microsoft Windows version. The Windows version, said Vandershaf,
has a command bar with five buttons, each able to place a
"bookmark" at a particular part of the city for quick return to that
part of the game. SimCity for Windows supports VGA graphics and
multitasking.

(Jim Mallory/19920506/Press Contact: Sally Vandershaf, Maxis,
tel [phone], fax [phone]; Dr. Kristian Hammond,
University of Chicago, 312-702-1570)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 6 Gateway 2000 Offers Notebooks With Six Hour Battery Life 05/06/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00025)

Gateway 2000 Offers Notebooks With Six Hour Battery Life 05/06/92
NORTH SIOUX CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 6 (NB) --
Gateway 2000 says its newly announced line of notebook
computers can all provide up to six hours of battery life.

Battery life has been a concern since laptop and notebook
computers  were first introduced, with many offering only about
three hours before requiring recharging.

Dubbed the Nomad Family, the line includes 20 and 25 megahertz
(MHz) 486-based systems, and a 25 MHz system based on the
Intel 386SX chip.

Gateway says all three will run six hours or more before the
batteries need to be recharged if its Battery Pro power
management system is used. Without Battery Pro in use, the
systems will run at least 2.5 hours, said Gateway. All of the
Nomad units weigh less than six pounds.

The 25MHz 386 notebook comes standard with 2 megabytes (MB)
of random access memory (RAM), can be upgraded to 6MB, and
is equipped with a 80MB hard drive. The other two units are
configured with 4MB of RAM, and can be expanded to 20MB. The
25 MHz 486 system comes with an 80MB hard drive, while the
25MHz 486 is equipped with a 120MB drive. All three units have
a high density (1.44MB) 3.5-inch floppy drive, black-and-white
backlit VGA display and 10-inch screens. One parallel and one
serial port are standard, as are a PS/2 mouse port and an external
keyboard port. The two 486-based systems also have a port for
an external monitor, and all three have an expansion bus port. A
Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI) interface is optional on
all the dark charcoal gray units

Prices, including a pointing device, are $1,995 for the 386-based
system, $2,795 for the 20MHz 486 unit, and $3,495 for the 25MHz
486. Gateway 2000 sells its products direct to the end user.
Gateway spokesperson Glynnis Gibson told Newsbytes the
Gateway notebooks are using a unique pointing device designed
to fit in the user's palm. According to Gibson, the device is about
1.5-inches in width and length, with the ball on top. It is specially
designed, said Gibson, for users working in cramped space such
as on airplanes.

Gibson told Newsbytes that with the design of the Gateway
notebooks, a user has the convenience of a laptop, but can plug in
a desktop keyboard and an external monitor and have all the
convenience of an office system when working at their desk. She
told Newsbytes the new systems will begin shipping next week.

(Jim Mallory/19920506/Press Contact: Glynnis Gibson, Gibson
Communications for Gateway 2000, tel [phone], fax
312-883-2395; Reader Contact: Gateway 2000, tel [phone]
or 800-523-2000)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 6 New For PC: Microcom Virex Update 2.2 05/06/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(WAS)(00026)

New For PC: Microcom Virex Update 2.2 05/06/92
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 6 (NB) --
Microcom's anti-virus division, which is based in Durham, N.C.,
has shipped version 2.2 of its popular Virex PC virus detection
and removal software. In addition to carrying more virus definitions
to cover recent discoveries of new strains, Virex 2.2 has several
new capabilities which aid in the detection of unknown viruses.

"Emergency Recovery" is an enhanced installation utility which
can be used to recover more easily from a virus infection whether
the virus is of a known or new variety. There are 75 new virus
detectors and a new disinfector for the Maltese Amoeba virus.

Virex is updated from a write-protected Virex disk so the user
can immediately scan for any previously undetected infection
without running the risk of infecting the new removal software,
but the disk is not copy-protected so there is no hassle involved
in performing the upgrades which come along pretty often judging
from the stack of new copies of Virex we have here in this
Newsbytes bureau office.

(John McCormick/19920506/Press Contact: Rebecca R. Greene,
tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 6 EDI Able And Grid Ally On GridPad 05/06/92




(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(WAS)(00027)

EDI Able And Grid Ally On GridPad 05/06/92
MALVERN, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 6 (NB) -- EDI
Able, a Malvern, Pennsylvania-based provider of translation software
and value-added network services, has signed an agreement with
Tandy's Grid Systems to provide development and conversion
support to Grid and its applications partners which will result
in converting the proprietary GridPad (pen computer) applications
to the major electronic data interchange standards.

ANSI X12, UCS, VICS, WINS, TDCC, and EDIFACT are among the
standard data formats which will be supported, and EDI Able will
also provide electronic mail support and management services for
Grid applications.

According to Grid, there are already more than 20,000 GridPad
pen computers in use in the US, so the need for data conversion
utilities is becoming very important if the pen computer industry
is to continue to grow.

(John McCormick/19920506/Press Contact: Maryann Wilhelm,
EDI Able, 215-644-1231)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 6 Dataware Buys Distribution Arm Of Archetype Systems 05/06/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(WAS)(00028)

Dataware Buys Distribution Arm Of Archetype Systems 05/06/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 6 (NB) --
Dataware Technologies of Cambridge, Massachusetts, one of the
world's major producer of CD-ROMs and CD-ROM retrieval software,
has agreed to acquire the CD-ROM Services Division of Archetype
Systems Limited of Watford, England.

This marks a solid expansion of Dataware into the UK market.
The newly acquired business, renamed Dataware Technologies
(UK) Limited, will be headed by a founding director of Archetype,
Keith Taylor, who becomes managing director.

Dataware Technologies (UK) Limited will come under the supervision
of Dataware Europe. Archetype has been a Dataware distributor
for about five years.

Dataware, the largest independent CD-ROM developer in the world,
produces a number of CD-ROMs for foreign companies and
government agencies.

Dataware recently expanded its marketshare by purchasing its
major competitor, Reference Technology, and merging the two
companies' product lines.

Even before that acquisition, Dataware was already the world's
largest supplier of retrieval and authoring software for CD-ROM
and had produced more than 200 titles using the company's CD
Author/CD Answer products. Reference Technology's software has
been used to develop more than 100 titles. The two companies
have between them about 225 client companies and government
agencies around the world.

(John McCormick/19920506/Press Contact: Kathleen Hunter,
Dataware, tel [phone], fax [phone]; or Angela Ross,
(UK)[phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 6  ****Computerland Aquires TRW Customer Service Div. 05/06/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00029)

 ****Computerland Aquires TRW Customer Service Div. 05/06/92
PLEASANTON, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 6 (NB) --
Computerland is buying support for its customers in an $110 million
buyout of TRW's customer service division. The deal will place
Computerland in a position to offer multi-vendor microcomputer
support, and the company says it will then take the number one
slot in the support arena.

Computerland says its support resources combined with TRW's will
make it a $280 million service and support business. Computerland
most recently acquired Nynex Business Centers in June of last year.
While details of the TRW transaction were not announced,
Computerland says the deal should be completed in 60 days.

Computerland's William Y. Tauscher, chairman and chief executive
officer, says the company is aiming at the American corporate
market and plans to be the leading source for technology, service,
and support in that arena. Estimates are that $2.25 billion is spent
annually by corporations on outside microcomputer services,
according to Computerland. That figure is predicted to grow to $3.8
billion by 1995, the company maintains.

Computerland says while corporations are still focused on
downsizing from minis and mainframe computers to personal
computer (PC) systems, it plans to make itself known. TRW has
been involved in corporations who are downsizing, despite the fact
that other manufacturer's have entered then withdrawn from the
third-party service market.

About 15 percent of the company's overall business is expected to
come from the service and support with the addition of TRW,
according to Al Andrus, senior vice president of service and support
for Computerland.

TRW has long been established in the corporate PC maintenance
business with 13,000 clients. The company has offered support on
point-of-sale terminals (POS) and automated tellers as well as
PCs, Computerland said.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920506/Press Contact: Dave Murray,
Computerland, Neale-May & Partners for Computerland,
tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 6  ****Computer Associates To Acquire Nantucket 05/06/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00030)

 ****Computer Associates To Acquire Nantucket 05/06/92
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 6 (NB) --
Nantucket, creator of the dBase compiler Clipper, is being
purchased by Islandia, New York-based Computer Associates
(CA). After Borland's purchase of dBase software company
Ashton-Tate last year and Microsoft's planned purchase of Fox
Software announced in April, a pattern seems to be forming
with IBM-aligned CA purchase of Nantucket.

Newsbytes talked with CA representative Bob Gordon who said the
deal is finalized and should be sewn up officially in 30 days. No
details are being released as to what CA is paying for Nantucket,
but Gordon said plans are to keep Nantucket's flagship product
Clipper remain alive and well.

CA has a database product, CA-dBFast, which the company claims
is the only multi-user, stand alone dBase/xBase- compatible
development language and database for Windows. However, the
product has not gained much in the way of market acceptance
despite the apparent market hunger for a database product for
Windows.

Nantucket's flagship product, Clipper, started as an add-on product
for Ashton-Tate's dBase, but has since grown away from full
compatibility with the leading database language. Clipper has
strong roots in the corporate management information systems
market. However, industry observers, such as Tom Rettig,
owner of Tom Rettig software and former developer on the Clipper
product said publicly last month to the Los Angeles Computer
Society that his prediction was Nantucket would not last out the
year.

Clipper is a database management system and application
development tool for personal computers, compatible with the
top-selling dBase IV from Borland International of Scotts Valley,
California. CA's purchase of Nantucket is the third of a series of
acquisitions that, in less than a year, have brought dBase and its
two major compatible rivals from the hands of virtually single-
product companies into the grip of three of the PC software
industry's giants.

The process began last fall when Borland announced plans to buy
Ashton-Tate, the company that developed dBase. It continued this
spring when Microsoft announced plans to buy Fox Software, the
Perrysburg, Ohio, maker of FoxBase, another dBase-compatible
database package.

Coughlin told Newsbytes that CA saw Clipper as a well-regarded
product that until now has lacked the marketing support that
Computer Associates can provide.

Nantucket will be amalgamated into Computer Associates,
Coughlin said, and its development team will be joining CA.

While some industry observers are calling dBase nothing more than
a utility package for viewing database files, Nantucket went back to
its roots and introduced a compiler for dBase, Matt Whelan's dBase
Compiler kit for dBase IV. The compiler allows the user to write
commands in dBase IV, then make those commands into a stand
alone .EXE file that can be run and distributed royalty free. Since
dBase IV now has its own compiler, the Nantucket product is not
breaking new ground as its former Clipper products did.

Speculation as to why the buy up of these leading database
companies by the major software companies has included the
fact that database software products are extremely complex and
difficult to write and it is cost effective to purchase the technology,
rather than rewrite it.

The race for dominance in the database for Windows field is growing
with the addition of the CA/Nantucket combination. Nantucket has
done a poor job of keeping secret its Clipper for Windows product,
codenamed Aspen. Fox Software made no secret about its plans for
a Windows version of Foxpro and was demonstrating alpha versions
as far back as last Fall. Further, Borland has announced enticing
deals for developers on its planned release of dBase for Windows,
expected this month.

However, developing a Windows-based database product that can
stand the tests of the large applications companies expect to be
able to achieve may not be an easy task. For Nantucket, the CA
buy-out may be a guarantee that Clipper and Nantucket will survive
after all and perhaps achieve multi-platform diversity as well.

(Grant Buckler, Paul Zucker & Linda Rohrbough/19920506/Press
Contact: Bob Gordon, Computer Associates, 516-342-2391)

#ENDCARD




#CARD :1992 MAY 5 Compaq Gets New VPs, Announces New Support Policies 05/05/92

(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00001)

Compaq Gets New VPs, Announces New Support Policies 05/05/92

HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 5 (NB) -- Compaq Computer
has announced the appointment of several new executives to the
vice president level, and has outlined its new customer support
program.

The new VPs are all concerned with customer service and sales.
Gian Carlo Bisone, who has been Compaq's VP of corporate
marketing since  last November, is now VP of North American
marketing. Gus Kolias will occupy the chair of VP of customer
service, and Dave Davis takes over as VP of North American sales.
Davis was the director of North American sales. Former head of
North American sales, Mac McLoughlin, is the new VP of corporate
sales. Patrick LeFeuvre will assume Davis' former position as
director of NA sales.

Newsbytes asked Compaq spokesperson Nora Hahn the purpose
of the appointments, since most of the executives were directors in
their divisions. Said Hahn: "It will give them more decision making
ability, and more freedom to make decisions."

Hahn said international activity now accounts for about 60 percent
of the company's sales. A prepared Compaq statement said the
organizational changes are designed to: "expand our marketing,
sales, and customer support activities and ensure the success of
our products in the North American marketplace."

Bisone may be the key player in the new structure. Compaq said his
responsibilities will include: market and new channel development;
consumer product marketing; desktop, portable and systems
marketing; corporate and marketing communications; and
advertising and public relations.That would include Compaq's
recently announced advertising campaign, which Hahn told
Newsbytes should begin sometime during the second quarter. The
company is still not saying what media the campaign will break in,
but Newsbytes expects it will first appear in magazine ads.
However, no one at Compaq would confirm that.

The new changes are not the first shuffle in Compaq management in
recent months. Last October, President and co-founder Rod Canion
suddenly found himself out of a job, replaced by Eckhard Pfeiffer.
About the same time, five Compaq directors resigned, with the
company saying that their departure was not related to the ousting
of Canion. A Compaq spokesperson told Newsbytes they were
planning to leave anyway. One director reportedly resigned for
medical reasons.

Two weeks after his appointment, Pfeiffer made public his plan to
regain Compaq's slipping position in the marketplace. The
company has been hard hit by competition from Dell and other PC
manufacturers. Pfeiffer said in early November that: "the company is
in the midst of a marketing revolution," and cited greater customer
support as one of the planks in his platform.

The newly announced management could easily make Compaq
stockholders nervous, and most of them probably were already
uneasy. Compaq's recently announced first quarter results reported
net income and earnings per share down more than 50 percent over
the same period last year. At the same time, Eckhard told his
stockholders not to expect much for the second and third quarter. He
said the company plans to increase its advertising budget by about
70 percent to publicize its new products. Some reports claim that
Compaq will introduce a PC in the $1,000 range in June.

Compaq has taken two other significant actions recently which could
have a significant effect on sales. Last month they were not among
eight of the top ten PC makers to sign up with Microsoft to
pre-install Windows, and last week they announced that they would
drop their involvement with RISC (reduced instruction-set
computing), after initially saying it would be an important part of
their strategy.

(Jim Mallory/19920505/Press Contact: Nora Hahn, Compaq,
713-374-4613)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 5 Compaq Announces New Support Programs 05/05/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00002)

Compaq Announces New Support Programs 05/05/92
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 5 (NB) -- Compaq Computer
is delivering on one of Pfeiffer Eckhard's promises, announcing a
new customer support program the company calls Compaqcare.

Compaqcare features on-site warranty service as part of the
purchase price, advanced network support for some network
operating systems, a Compuserve technical forum, a new telephone
support system, end-user training, and enhanced support for
in-house maintenance staffs.

Customers who buy Compaq hardware will now receive one year of
on-site limited warranty service, covering parts and labor, at no
extra charge. The old policy called for the coverage to be
purchased separately. Under the warranty service, Compaq owners
will get "second business day" repair at their locations, and the
company said some service providers can provide "same-day"
service. Present owners can upgrade to the new coverage for $39
if their equipment is still under the original manufacturer's warranty.
Compaq has agreements with GE and TRW to provide warranty
service, and has had third-party support agreements with vendors
since 1986. Support in Canada is provided by Xerox Canada and 3M
Canada, with ACL Engineering providing maintenance for Australian
customers.

The company is now offering an optional network support agreement
for advanced levels of technical expertise in the configuration,
installation, and ongoing operation of local area networks. This
coverage applies to Compaq platforms running under operating
systems from Banyan, Microsoft, Novell, and The Santa Cruz
Operation. Asked by Newsbytes how this differed from the previous
network user coverage, which carried a price tag of $3,000 for ten
"support incidents," a Compaq spokesperson said that the
coverage would be more comprehensive in nature, providing
assigned technical teams and priority problem escalation and
issues resolution.

As Newsbytes previously reported, Compaq will offer a technical
forum on Compuserve beginning the middle of May. Using the 24-
hour service, Compuserve subscribers can ask questions of
Compaq engineers, as well as exchanging information among
themselves.

Compaq also offers Compaq Paqfax, a 24-hour fax line that can
send the user product brochures, technical specifications, and other
product specific documents at no cost. To contact Paqfax,
customers should call the toll free Compaq support line.

The company is also planning a series of training courses which
are designed to increase technical skills and integration expertise.
Compaq says the classes, which will be held at regional offices
throughout North America, "will cover everything from Compaq
products to LAN (local area network) and network systems
integration."

Compaq's Mike Berman told Newsbytes that the average cost for
the courses would be $300 per day for a hands-on course, and
$200 per day for informational courses. Berman said the courses
would be 1-3 days in length.

(Jim Mallory/19920505/Press Contact: Mike Berman, Compaq,
713-374-2510; Customer support: 800-345-1518)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 5 Ohio Company Intros Waste Materials Disposal Database 05/05/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(DEN)(00003)

Ohio Company Intros Waste Materials Disposal Database 05/05/92
CINCINNATI, OHIO, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 5 (NB) -- Cincinnati Bell
Directory (CBD),a subsidiary of Cincinnati Bell, has announced a
new on-line computer service designed to help businesses find a
way to dispose of recycleable waste without having it hauled to the
landfill.

Called Team-W, the system uses a Cincinnati Bell Directory
mainframe  computer on which companies with recycleable and
reusable materials can list those items, and other companies can
make offers for their reuse. For example, a company might list 200
wooden pallets, which would otherwise be taken to the landfill for
disposal. Another company, who needs pallets, would offer to haul
them away, or offer a price for them.

Company spokesperson, Donna Noll, told Newsbytes that a wide
range of reusable materials can be gotten rid of without adversely
affecting the environment, such as pallets, packaging materials like
styrofoam peanuts, corrugated cardboard, and recyclable chemicals
and petroleum products.

It costs $395 for a one year subscription to the service, but Noll
said the directory company, who is not restricted from providing
on-line service like the RBOCs (regional Bell operating companies)
are, is offering an introductory price of $295. Noll told Newsbytes that
the special price would be in effect for the next month or so, until an
upcoming direct mail campaign is complete.

Cincinnati Bell Directory says it developed TEAM-W (The
Electronic Answer For Managing Waste) in conjunctions with local
waste management consultants, and is based on the concept that a
majority of solid waste can be reused. Noll said all companies
produce solid waste which they have to pay to have hauled away,
and TEAM-W offers an economically viable alternative.

According to Jack Mueller, Cincinnati Bell Directory's vice
president, TEAM-W offers a win-win answer for everyone concerned:
businesses win because TEAM-W finds a market for their discarded
materials; and the environment wins because the use of precious
natural resources is reduced and the life of landfills is extended.

Cincinnati Bell Directory also operates two other on-line services:
Ole' and Tri-State Online. TSO is a local, free access community
service which contains local sports and recreation information,
community activities, a small business forum, and on-line dialogue
bulletin board. Noll said TSO has more than 100 different service
areas. The company also operates Ole', a dial-in system used by
students at several Cincinnati colleges to obtain homework
information and otherwise enhance the college program. Noll told
Newsbytes that Ole' is operated without cost to its users. She said
TSO was the test system for CBD to develop subscriber services
such as TEAM-W.

The TEAM-W computer can be accessed using a personal
computer equipped with a modem and most of the popular
communications packages.

(Jim Mallory/19920505/Press Contact: Donna Noll, Powers &
Associates for Cincinnati Bell Directory, 513-721-5353)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 5 New For PC: Bible Atlas Software 05/05/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00004)

New For PC: Bible Atlas Software 05/05/92
HIAWATHA, IOWA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 5 (NB) -- Parsons Technology,
maker of a number of biblical-oriented programs, has released PC
Bible Atlas.

Parsons said PC Bible Atlas contains both geographical and
historical information about locations, events and journeys
throughout the Holy Lands, using a series of high resolution maps.
The text is stored in a hypertext-format using keyword linking,
providing fast retrieval of details about places and events, as well
as map annotations.

The maps illustrate the path of biblical travelers, including points
of interest and distanced between locations. The user can study the
entire region, or zoom in on a particular area. The program also
supplies lists of maps, indexed by region, events, and Bible
passages.

PC Bible Atlas can print any of its maps, and the user can create
their own maps using a laser jet or dot-matrix printer. Maps can
also be drawn in most of the popular paint programs.

Like most of Parsons Technology's programs, PC Bible Atlas has
a suggested retail price of $69. It requires an IBM compatible with
either monochrome or color graphics display, 640 kilobytes of
RAM, and a hard disk. Parsons has a toll free order line.

Parsons' Anne Rawland told Newsbytes that the company also
offers: QuickVerse; a Bible concordance; GreekTool and
HebrewTool, to learn the languages of the old and new testament;
Bible Illustrator, Bible quotes, stories and news arranged topically;
and Membership Plus, a church records and membership program.
Rawland said Bible Illustrator fans can exchange Bible illustrations
through the religion forum on Compuserve.

(Jim Mallory/19920505/Press Contact: Anne Rawland, Parsons
Technology, 319-395-9626; Reader contact: 800-223-6925)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 5 Automated Photo Scanning Software For Windows 05/05/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00005)

Automated Photo Scanning Software For Windows 05/05/92
LARKSPUR, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 5 (NB) -- Light Source
is now shipping its Ofoto image scanning software for Windows,
which the company claims fully automates the scanning process,

Ofoto, which Light Source has been shipping for the Macintosh since
October of last year, allows users to incorporate photographs and
art into their word processing or desktop publishing programs. The
program, which works with various flatbed scanners from several
different companies, can automatically identify, straighten and crop
an image, according to Light Source president Michael Solomon.

Using Ofoto, the user places the original image, such as a
photograph, on the scanner bed, selects the printer to be used, and
presses the "return/enter" key.  Ofoto's autoscan identifies the
original as either a grayscale photo or line art. The program then
performs a high resolution scan of the image, setting variables such
as dots-per-inch (dpi) and bit-depth properly for the printer to be
used. The image is automatically enlarged or reduced to the size
and resolution selected by the user, and straightens the image by
rotating it to the correct angle. Any extra white space is cropped
and an feature called "AutoSharpen" optimizes the focus.

Sophisticated users can separate the process into prescan and
scan sequences, in order to manually edit the preview scan.
Cropping, resizing, straightening, and sharpening can be performed
using built-in tools. When the scan is performed, Ofoto applies each
specified editing process, but in the sequence which will provide
the best possible results. Ofoto comes with a calibration chart
which is scanned and printed to calibrate the program to any
peculiarities of the user's hardware.

High quality scanning of photographs and line art has just recently
come into its own, with users being able to reduce the cost of art
used in documents such as brochures by using the new scanning
and image editing capabilities, rather than having to rely on outside
agencies. With programs such as Ofoto, the quality of the art
included in documents will be limited only by the quality of the
output device and the resolution of the original art.

The sample output images provided to Newsbytes by Light Source
were of excellent quality, and included photos of home interiors and
exteriors, as well as a studio-type portrait. However, they were
printed on Linotronic film to an offset press, which would have a
higher resolution than a printer found in most offices.

Ofoto supports scanners from Apple, Abaton, Epson, HP, and
Microtek, with several models of all but Apple being supported.
The only Apple scanner supported is the Apple OneScanner.

Light Source said Ofoto can also cut down on the size of stored
images by eliminating unusable and unnecessary pixels (picture
elements, the elements which make up each picture). EPS, TIFF,
Tiff compressed, PC Paintbrush, and Bitmap file formats are
supported.

Ofoto has a suggested list price of $395, and Light Source said it
expects to have English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, and
Swedish versions of Ofoto ready to ship in June of this year.

Both the Windows and the Macintosh versions of Ofoto can be
purchased bundled with an Apple OneScanner through authorized
Apple dealers. The combination has a suggested retail price of
$1,299.

Light Source said users will need an IBM-compatible 286-based or
better computer, VGA graphics, Microsoft Windows, two megabytes
(MB) of RAM and 10 MB of hard disk space, not including room for
image storage.

If you buy Ofoto, you will also receive a copy of "Worth A Thousand
Words," a book by the founders of Light Source covering uses and
possibilities of desktop scanning.

(Jim Mallory/19920505/Press Contact: Lisa Goldman, Cunningham
Communications for Light Source, 408-982-0400; Public Contact:
tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 5 New For PC: Deck Designing Software For Homeowners 05/05/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00006)

New For PC: Deck Designing Software For Homeowners 05/05/92
BOTHELL, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 5 (NB) -- If you've
ever sat at your desk or kitchen table and drawn up a crude plan
for that deck you want to build on the back of the house, Autodesk
has a product for you.

Deck, is a deck design program which Autodesk told Newsbytes
is intended for homeowners to use on their PCs to create
professional quality plans for new decks or for remodeling a
present deck. The program runs on any IBM-compatible PC and
has a suggested retail price of $59.95. The company said it has
no plans to produce a Macintosh version.

Autodesk spokesperson Bob Morse told Newsbytes that Deck can
save, or at least significantly reduce, the cost of designing a deck,
before the contractor shows up with the materials and his tools.
Deck even prints a materials list.

Morse cautioned that Deck is only as good as the knowledge of the
user. If you design a deck that does not have enough supports for
example, the program cannot tell you that. You will have to rely on
the contractor to help. But when you show your plans to a
contractor and he points out weaknesses in the plans, you can go
back to Deck and make the adjustments.

Morse said Deck comes with drawing tools as well as a set of
pre-drawn symbols such as concrete piers, joists, and beams. The
shopping list of materials will calculate the total amount of lumber
in the drawing, and can allow for a margin of error. Deck includes
four different types of railings and deck tops, offers several types
of benches, and has symbols for deck furniture, grass, and brick
walkways.

Tina Armacost, Autodesk product marketing manager, says there
are  already personal computers in 25 percent of the US homes. She
says that with more and more people choosing to remodel their
existing  homes rather than buy new ones, "products such as Deck
and our Home Series address this growth as well as addressing the
needs of consumers in regard to do-it-yourself projects."

In addition to Deck, other software programs in Autodesk's Home
Series, each with a suggested list price of $59.95, include Home,
Kitchen, Bathroom, and Landscape. Each performs design tasks
similar to Deck for various parts of the home.

Morse told Newsbytes that Autodesk plans to expand the line further,
with one or two more design programs being introduced during 1992.
He declined to say what those products would be.

(Jim Mallory/19920505/Press Contact: Bob Morse, Morse McFadden
for Autodesk, 206-821-7385, Public Contact: Gary Kerr, Autodesk,
tel [phone] or 206-487-2233, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 5 Music Semiconductors Intros High Quality PC Video 05/05/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DEN)(00007)

Music Semiconductors Intros High Quality PC Video 05/05/92
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 5 (NB) --
Music Semiconductors has introduced a family of SYNDACs
(synthetic digital analog converters) for OEMs (original equipment
manufacturers) will use on their video cards to improve the quality
of the display on PCs.

Music Semiconductor said it uses the SYNDACs on the video
cards it builds for the PC makers, especially in the Asian market.

Music (which stands for multi-user specialty integrated circuits)
Semiconductors spokesperson, Jill Goebel, told Newsbytes that the
boards using SYNDAC's are particularly appropriate for PCs which
require higher resolution, such as CAD (computer-aided design).
SYNDAC devices can display 256 colors from a palette of
over 260,000 colors, and are also designed for use in high
performance notebook and laptop computers. Several companies
have already announced color laptops.

One model of SYNDAC has power-down modes to extend battery
life in notebook and laptop PCs, while others use an external power
source  or a non-chip source. The company says the 9750 and 9760
series devices offer a more accurate on-chip voltage reference.

Goebel said SYNDAC graphics are fully compatible with VGA,
super-VGA, VESA, TIGA, and 8514/A video standards. One feature
of SYNDACs is the inclusion of two programmable clock synthesizers
for flexible control of graphics sub-system timing. One synthesizer has
eight programmable clock rates for use as a video dot clock, while
the second has two programmable clock rates for use as a controller
or frame buffer refresh clock. While all the frequency values are
preset, they can be preprogrammed by the user after the system is
turned on. An output sense comparator permits the detection of color,
monochrome, or no monitor connection.

SYNDACs also have a proprietary feature called "Pixel Replicate."
This features allows read and write access to a color lookup table
when the display is active without produce sparkle or noise in the
graphics display.

Prices for the various models of SYNDACs to OEMs range from $6
to $8.25 in lots of 1,000. The company said production qualities are
available now.

(Jim Mallory/19920505/Press Contact: Tom Weldon, Music
Semiconductor, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 5 Ceram Ships PC Data Compression Board, Unix Accelerator 05/05/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00008)

Ceram Ships PC Data Compression Board, Unix Accelerator 05/05/92
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 5 (NB) --
Ceram Inc., has announced that it is now shipping its PC-compatible
HardPak data compression board and its TurboSwap Unix
accelerator card.

Ceram said the HardPak data compression board is designed to
work with all popular PC applications, including Microsoft Windows,
desktop  publishing programs, spreadsheets, graphics, and CAD
(computer-aided design). Data compression can save PC users
considerable disk storage space, particularly when saving
graphics images.

According to Ceram, HardPak can improve performance and
boost disk capacity by as much as 50 percent. That figure will
vary, depending on what type file is being saving.

HardPak fits into a single eight- or 16-bit PC expansion slot, and is
compatible with both ISA (industry standard architecture) and EISA
(extended ISA) PCs, including 386 and 486-based systems.

TurboSwap is an accelerator card for Sun Microsystems
SPARCstations, SPARCstation IPCs, SPARCservers, and
compatible systems running under the Unix operating system.
Ceram claims that TurboSwap boosts performance by replacing
slower fixed disk swap partitions with fast access memory. The
company said that, depending on the size of the working data set
used by the application, TurboSwap can improve performance
from 1.5 to 15 times.

A Ceram spokesman told Newsbytes that HardPack has a
suggested list price of $119, while TurboSwap prices range from
$3,400 to $22,400, depending on the configuration of the system.
Both products are available directly from Ceram.

(Jim Mallory/19920505/Press Contact: Jill Goebel, Origin Systems
for Ceram International, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public
Contact: Fred Chadinger, Ceram, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 5 Australia: Custom Phone System For Prisoners 05/05/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00009)

Australia: Custom Phone System For Prisoners 05/05/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 MAY 5 (NB) -- Prisoners in the
Australian state of Victoria have been given access to a custom-
designed telephone system that allows access only to specific
numbers and on a limited call basis.

Developed by Nec Australia, "Prisoner Telephone Control System"
runs on standard Nec PABX (private automatic branch exchange)
hardware. Instead of giving prisoners access to telephone lines, it
has numbers coded into the system, so the prisoner requests a
key number, thereby eliminating access to any unauthorized
numbers.

As incredible as it sounds, the system was developed after it was
discovered how much organized crime was being controlled from
within jails. Despite its seemingly specific purpose, the system is
attracting interest from universities and colleges, and other
institutions where call limiting is desired.

The system can also produce logs of calls made and their
duration.

(Paul Zucker/19920505)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 5 Japan: Six-Language Pocket Translator Debuts 05/05/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00010)

Japan: Six-Language Pocket Translator Debuts 05/05/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 5 (NB) -- Tokyo-based software maker
Map Japan has developed a pocket translation machine, which will
give translation verbally through the built-in speaker.

This language translation machine supports six languages, so a
total of 30 kinds of combination to translate from one language to the
other can be chosen.

The pocket translation machine, called the Mister Speaker, was
jointly developed by the Shuttle Computer Group in California. It
weighs only 140 grams, and can fit into a shirt pocket.

The applicable languages include Japanese, English, French,
German, Chinese, and Spanish. The device translates only
set phrases according to 85 kinds of situations. It has a total of
1,300 kinds of set phrases saved into memory, and with a single
push of the button, the target phrase in the target language will be
shown on the small LCD (liquid crystal display) screen.

This device is equipped with other features, which can be
commonly found in regular business organizers, including
a scheduler, a calculator, and a alarm clock. The device
operates with removable batteries.

The Mister Speaker costs 39,800 yen ($300) and is
manufactured in Taiwan.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920505/Press Contact: Map Japan,
[phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 5 India: Tata Unisys's Signbank Banking Pkg Goes To Mexico 05/05/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEL)(00011)

India: Tata Unisys's Signbank Banking Pkg Goes To Mexico 05/05/92
BOMBAY, INDIA, 1992 MAY 5 (NB) -- Signbank, the on-line signature
verification package from India's second largest software company,
Tata Unysis Ltd. (TUL), is doing its maker proud. TUL has won
another order for its electronic signature storage and retrieval
package from one of the largest Mexican banking corporations,
Banca Serfin.

Besides this order, the company has already earned about $1.5
million from the sales of Signbank from more than fifty national
and international banks.

Signbank, the Windows 3.0-based signature verifier, which allows
for the storage of thousands of signatures on magnetic media and
their display on computer monitors, was made available on
microcomputers last summer.

It uses image scanners to capture signatures from existing
signature cards or documents. This digitized data is then
compressed and stored either on a local hard disk or a file-server
which can later be displayed on monitors for the convenience of
the tellers and other mass signature users.

Signbank also has an application program interface that enables
users to integrate signature display functions into their own
applications. Apart from PCs, Signbank is available in Unix and
can run on the Unysis A series, U6000 minicomputers and IBM
machines.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920505)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 5 Australians To Lead Telecom User Group Formation 05/05/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00012)

Australians To Lead Telecom User Group Formation 05/05/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 MAY 5 (NB) -- The Hong Kong
Telecommunications User Group (HKTUG) has called on its
Australian counterpart ATUG (Australian Telecommunications User
Group) to be the driving force in the establishment of a regional
user group of telecommunications users. HKTUG made the call
because of what it sees as a greater access to administrative
and executive resources for ATUG.

Despite the call for ATUG to lead in the establishment of such a
group, HKTUG chairman, Tim Cureton, would still like to see a
significant role for HKTUG in the process. The idea has already
been discussed by Cureton and his Australian and International
counterparts, Wally Rothwell and Peter Smith of INTUG. These
talks last year after a conference in Singapore led to general
agreement that the telecommunications market in the Asia region
had developed its own "character," and that users in the region
had their own questions to ask of providers and their own needs
to be fulfilled.

Cureton sees the insular nature of user groups as a potential
stumbling block for the moves to a regional body. However,
he feels that user groups will be willing to give up their
"independence" when dealing with matters involving their own
country.

Cureton saw the time as ripe for the well established groups in the
region (Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand) to begin the real
push for the regional group. As far as the actual establishment of
the group goes, Cureton said: "I suppose we're waiting for a bit
more flesh to be put on the bones (of the idea) by INTUG."

Cureton also said he thought that the Australian telecoms
market had the most to gain if it were the leading force in the
process of establishing the group.

(Sean McNamara/19920505)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 5 Australia: AOTC Tests GSM Network 05/05/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00013)

Australia: AOTC Tests GSM Network 05/05/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 MAY 5 (NB) -- AOTC (Australian
and Overseas Telecommunications Corp) has begun testing its
GSM (global system for mobile communications) after the delivery
of GSM equipment from Ericsson. The GSM is to be tested by
AOTC's mobile telecommunications division, MobileNet.

Mobile Net has been operating in Australia for around five years
now, and is growing at the rate of around 50 percent annually.
Despite this large growth in the market, Australia still lags behind
other countries in the number of mobile phones per head of
population.

This points to a large untapped market for AOTC and its new rival
Optus, who also has plans for a GSM network. At the moment, GSM
networks are not allowed to be established until April 1993, and
Optus is only allowed to resell capacity on MobileNet. However,
both carriers are gearing up for their own GSMs. A third network is
to be decided on by the government by the end of this year.

The GSM technology is the standard chosen by the European
Community for a pan-European mobile cellular radio system. The
system complements existing analog networks, and will be adopted
by the 18 member countries of the EC into a single network.

It is expected that by 1994, unit sales of GSM equipment will surpass
analog sales. The choice of GSM by Austel, the regulatory body for
the Australian telecommunications industry, was made to ensure
Australia was compatible with a system which would be servicing
a major part of the world telecommunications market.

(Sean McNamara/19920505)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 5 Australia: Chinese Medicine HyperCard Stack Developed 05/05/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(SYD)(00014)

Australia: Chinese Medicine HyperCard Stack Developed 05/05/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 MAY 5 (NB) -- A Sydney doctor has
used Apple HyperCard program to develop a database of Chine
medicines. Dr. Daniel Weber developed the HyperCard stack over
the past two years.

The database incorporates information on 390 medical symptoms,
which are distinguished by 1,100 separate patterns, as well as 257
medical formulae and 378 medical herbs. A complete guide to
traditional Chine medicine is provided with the stack. The stack is
aimed at easing access to information on Chinese medicine for
practitioners, Weber said.

"Chinese herbalism has long been acknowledged as an efficacious
medicine but has been difficult to access," said Weber. "We've used
the ease of HyperCard to access a complex and mysterious
medicine."

Weber developed the stack for the Green Medicine Company, and
the company sees the US as the main market for the database.
"There is no similar database available in the US, where the
demand for Chinese medicine is increasing. We have organized
distribution in the US as the first step in assisting practitioners to
prescribe this medicine," Weber said.

The package will retail in Australia for around AUS$1,000, and in
the US for around US$350. The package is available for versions
1.2.2 and 2.1 of HyperCard, and will be available for Windows on
Spinnaker Plus by the end of May.

(Sean McNamara/19920505/Press Contact: Dr. Daniel Weber,
tel in Australia [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 5 Australia: Govt Opposition Says Tech Education Lacking 05/05/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(SYD)(00015)

Australia: Govt Opposition Says Tech Education Lacking 05/05/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 MAY 05 (NB) -- The Federal
Opposition spokesman for technology, Peter McGauran, has
claimed that Australia is lagging behind the rest of the world in
technologically-based education, and has been concentrating
too much on humanities-based subjects.

McGauran has cited the lack of communication between industry and
the education sector for what he sees as Australia's generally poor
showing in promoting sophisticated technical disciplines. "Australia
must be one of the few countries where the education system and the
private sector are still locked in a cold war," McGauran told a
conference on technology education being held at the University of
New England, in northern New South Wales.

He went on to say that Australia's ratio of humanities to technical
graduates was too low. "Australia produces one engineer for every
five humanities students...Germany produces seven engineers for
every 2 humanities graduates while the ratio in the US and the UK is
two for one and Japan's is one for one," McGauran went on to say.

McGauran also refuted what he saw as a predominant belief held by
educational systems, that the higher numbers of humanities students
was due to the increase in school retention rates, which now stands
at 60 percent. "Australia's future competitiveness rests squarely
on its ability to lock its educational resources into its long-term
industry strategies. In this, local businesses are guaranteed
increasing levels of relevant, sophisticated skills while the
universities become the focus of new investments and centers for
leading-edge industry research," McGauran said.

(Sean McNamara/19920505)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 5 Australian Tech Center May Be Model For Finnish Equivalent 05/05/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00016)

Australian Tech Center May Be Model For Finnish Equivalent 05/05/92
ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA, 1992 MAY 5 (NB) -- Finland is considering
using a South Australian (SA) technology center as a model for its
planned Finnish Technology Application Center (FTAC). Finnish
representatives visited the Adelaide center last year, and have
invited its chief executive to Finland for discussions on the FTAC.

John Cambridge will investigate the Finnish plans and determine if a
center modelled on the Adelaide center would work in Finland, and,
if so, how they should go about setting the center up. Cambridge
will be joined in Finland by General Electric (GE) representatives,
as their company has close ties with the Adelaide center.

Commenting on the Finnish tour, Cambridge said: "The Finnish
mission was very impressed with what we have been able to
achieve in a short time in a state with a small population and a
diverse range of manufacturing operations. The Finns can see
that we have devised the right approach for working with small
and medium-sized manufacturers; helping them - not merely
lecturing them about new ideas and new technologies. We have
spent five years getting the recipe right and that experience will
be invaluable."

Cambridge also feels that despite the geographical differences
between Finland and South Australia, he sees many similarities
which he feels a center modelled on Adelaide's would cater for.
Cambridge and the GE representatives will spend a week in
Helsinki talking with industry leaders and studying local
companies.

(Sean McNamara/19920505)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 5 Motorola, Northern Telecom Finalize Cellular Agreement 05/05/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00017)

Motorola, Northern Telecom Finalize Cellular Agreement 05/05/92
SCHAUMBURG, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 5 (NB) -- Motorola
and Northern Telecom signed their agreement to work together
on cellular telephone networks. Motorola is the leading maker of
cellular phones, Northern a leading maker of cellular switches.
The two companies entered into formal negotiations in February.

Before creating the joint-venture, Motorola-Nortel Communications,
which will be based near Motorola's Chicago-area offices,
Motorola had been reselling cellular switches from DSC
Communications of Plano, Texas.

DSC ran into trouble with the software in its signal transfer points
last year, resulting in phone service outages on both the East and
West Coast, and since then its cellular switches have been
criticized for being behind-the-times in terms of technology. More
important, both Motorola and Northern have recently been losing
business to AT&T and L.M. Ericsson of Sweden in the cellular
business.

According to the final agreement, the two companies will not
sell phones, just cell sites, switches, and services. Motorola
will continue to sell phones on its own. The new joint venture
will operate throughout the Western Hemisphere.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920505/Press Contact: Motorola, Sue
Schmitz, 708-632-6024; Northern Telecom, Bob O'Brien,
703-712-8526)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 5 Illinois Faces May 15 Telecom Law Deadline 05/05/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00018)

Illinois Faces May 15 Telecom Law Deadline 05/05/92
SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 5 (NB) -- The state
of Illinois faces a May 15 deadline to rewrite its
telecommunications laws, and a joint House-Senate committee
held hearings on proposed changes.

Illinois Bell, a unit of Ameritech, wants to change the nature of
regulation from a scheme based on its rate of return to one of
price caps, which are used by the Federal Communications
Commission. The state's Citizens Utility Board, on the other
hand, wants to keep the system as it is, noting that costs to
provide service are going down and price caps would give
Bell a windfall.

The Bell-backed proposal is being sponsored by East Moline
Democrat Dennis Jacobs, who called himself a "profit type guy,"
implying that the consumer groups are somehow against profits.
The CUB had launched a lobbying effort against the bill just a
day earlier, claiming the Jacobs bill will result in "dramatic
rate increases" and claiming that the industry has already spent
over $2 million on its behalf, including campaign contributions
and lobbying expenses.

The CUB claimed that consumers would have been overcharged
by up to $1.6 billion over the last five years if the Bell-backed
provisions were in the law. A coalition including the American
Association of Retired Persons, Illinois Public Action, and
Illinois State Council of Senior Citizen has lined up against the bill.
After the hearing, Jacobs suggested that a compromise is possible.

Lawmakers must adopt new changes in the state's
Telecommunications Act or extend the current law before it
expires May 15. This would be the second extension of the
law -- an extension until May was passed last year.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920505)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 5  ****AT&T Enters Cable TV Supply Business 05/05/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00019)

 ****AT&T Enters Cable TV Supply Business 05/05/92
MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 5 (NB) -- AT&T
is entering the cable television equipment business, promising the
ability to deliver pay-per-view and video-on-demand services
using digital compression techniques.

AT&T said it will offer an "end-to-end" system - ranging from
equipment used by program providers down to the set-top box in
people's homes. It announced partnerships with ComStream, which
makes satellite products and services, and  News Datacom, which
creates systems to authorize and process pay-per-view requests
using "smart card" technology. News Datacom is a unit of The News
Corp., which is controlled by Rupert Murdoch. AT&T has been
looking to create applications for smart cards over a number of
years.

AT&T said it will initially provide satellite program delivery
system needed to carry channels from programmers to the
"head-end" offices of cable television service providers,
including compression, transmission and access control network
elements at the satellite up-link and down-link sites. Equipment
will be available for sale in 1993.

At the same time, AT&T said it is exploring potential
partnerships for the cable-plant portion of the system - from the
head-end to consumers' homes. The company ultimately plans
to offer an end-to-end system that will boost the capacity of
today's cable networks between 300-1300 percent.

The AT&T offering will likely have to compete both with existing
cable suppliers and a planned tie-up between Time Warner and
IBM. The Time-IBM tie-up is aimed more at the "multimedia" end
of the market, creating new types of products for cable operators
to sell, while AT&T seems aimed at producing real equipment to
expand current offerings.

The National Cable Television Association, through its Cablelabs
research group, is presently testing a variety of schemes for
both compressing signals and making it impossible for consumers
to tape cable programs. But Cablelabs is looking at compression
ratios of 4:1 -- AT&T is promising a 13:1 improvement. AT&T is
offering Cablelabs a digital compression scheme, in conjunction
with Zenith and Scientific Atlanta. But that system is basically
designed to compress HDTV (high definition television) signals
into the bandwidths used by today's NTSC video.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920505/Press Contact: AT&T, Patricia
Stortz, 214-658-8432)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 5 ****New Jersey Bell Installing Fujitsu Gear 05/05/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00020)

 ****New Jersey Bell Installing Fujitsu Gear 05/05/92
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 5 (NB) -- A few months
after winning incentive regulation from New Jersey legislators,
New Jersey Bell is delivering the benefits -- Japanese
telecommunications equipment.

New Jersey Bell, a Bell Atlantic unit, said it is teaming with
Fujitsu Network Transmission Systems, a unit of the Japanese
computer giant based in Richardson, Texas, to deliver Sonet
(Synchronous Optical NETwork) survivable fiber optic ring systems
directly to businesses. The company said the gear, which will be
ready in August, will let New Jersey Bell provide voice, data and
video services to businesses in hours instead of days and correct
service almost instantly.

The main targets of the new offering will be businesses along the
shore of New Jersey opposite New York, which were given low-
capacity Sonet gear in 1991, in systems that could not survive
disasters or outages. The new, higher capacity system, called
OC-12, can survive outages, and was designed using Bellcore-
developed software called the "Sonet Toolkit." The new system
can handle speeds up to 622 million bits-per-second (bps), and
can be upgraded to provide 2.4 billion bps service, the equivalent
of 32,256 phone lines or about 50 TV transmissions.

New Jersey Bell said the Japanese company was chosen for the
work because it is one of the few companies making Sonet
equipment and "the only company that met New Jersey Bell's rigid
specifications," according to a press statement. The company
has filed plans for new regulation called "Opportunity New Jersey"
which would move it to invest $1 billion or more in its network
through the end of the century, allowing for statewide deployment
of Sonet technology.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920505/Press Contact: Larry Plumb, Bell
Atlantic, 703-974-5446; Greg Wortman, Fujitsu, 800-777-3278)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 5 Southnet Looking Again At Telecom America Buy 05/05/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00021)

Southnet Looking Again At Telecom America Buy 05/05/92
TAMPA, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 5 (NB) -- Southnet's board of
directors put the company's president, Robert J. Zradicka, and
vice president, Philip G. Jacobs, on a two-week leave of absence
while it studies an April 30 agreement to buy Telecom America.

The company's board of directors said it is seeking lawyers'
opinions on whether it should have been required to approve the
merger, which was called definitive when it was announced a
week earlier. A majority of the board is of the opinion that such
agreement is legally necessary. The executives disagreed. The
board met May 5 to look at the agreement.

Southnet, which operates a long distance network and offers
billing and collection services, as well as a calling card, said
it would buy Telecom America, an alternative operator company
controlling 6,700 pay phones and 90 hotel accounts, in a stock
swap valued at $3.4 million, with Telecom America's two
principal shareholders joining the Southnet board. At the time of
the acquisition, Southnet said the acquisition was expected to
double Southnet's revenue base.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920505/Press Contact: Robert J. Zradicka,
Southnet, 813-287-2880; Ron Morris, Telecom America, 305-931-
5443)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 5 IBM Takes Stake In Software Firm 05/05/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00022)

IBM Takes Stake In Software Firm 05/05/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 5 (NB) -- IBM has
agreed to acquire a minority stake in Sapiens International, a
software firm registered in the Netherlands Antilles. IBM also signed
a software development assistance agreement with Sapiens, which
has its United States headquarters in Cary, North Carolina.

Sapiens' software product, also called Sapiens, is a rule-based,
object-based technology for developing business applications on
IBM mainframe computers. Sapiens uses rapid application
development (RAD) techniques, which are said to increase
productivity and reduce maintenance time.

The software development assistance agreement calls for
Sapiens and IBM to work together on expanding the set of
application development tools supporting IBM's AD/Cycle
application development framework. As part of the deal, Sapiens
will extend its client-server product, Sapiens Workstation, to run
on the OS/2 operating system.

IBM spokesman Paul Neuman said his company is buying a
minority share in Sapiens, although "we never say" exactly how
large such a stake is. This is not IBM's first investment of the kind
in a company doing AD/Cycle development; the firm has minority
shares in other software firms, including KnowledgeWare.

Nor is the relationship with Sapiens entirely new. IBM and Sapiens
have both been marketing the Sapiens software in the United States
since August, 1991, and the two companies also have marketing
agreements in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, and the United
Kingdom.

(Grant Buckler/19920505/Press Contact: Paul Neuman, IBM,
914-697-6537; Barbara Claire Morrow, Sapiens, 919-677-8711)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 5 Phoenix Unveils Windows 3.1 Products, Microsoft Deal 05/05/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00023)

Phoenix Unveils Windows 3.1 Products, Microsoft Deal 05/05/92
NORWOOD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 5 (NB) -- In a
pair of announcements that thrust its Packaged Products Division
into the limelight, Phoenix Technologies has unveiled companion
products for Microsoft's Windows 3.1 operating software and a new
licensing agreement with Microsoft.

The announcements partly reflect PC manufacturers' growing
interest in bundling software with their hardware as a way of setting
their offerings apart from the competition, said Michael Deutsch, a
spokesman for Phoenix.

Phoenix will offer original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) who
bundle Microsoft Windows 3.1 with their PCs the following new
products: the Windows 3.1 Slim manual, a 448-page condensed
and lower-priced version of the Windows documentation; the
Windows 3.1 Troubleshooting Guide, a 40-page booklet to help
vendors handle Windows-related technical support calls; and
custom engineering services to reduce the number of diskettes
needed to ship Windows 3.1 with pre-configured systems.

All these are similar to products already offered for Windows 3.1
and for DOS, Deutsch told Newsbytes. However, Phoenix is also
working on on-line hypertext documentation for Windows, based on
Lotus Development's SmarText hypertext software. This should be
available this summer, Deutsch said.

Phoenix also announced a new licensing agreement with Microsoft,
authorizing Phoenix to publish many of Microsoft's other software
products for licensed OEMs. This agreement extends a prior
agreement between Phoenix and Microsoft for MS-DOS and
Windows, and now includes publishing rights to the latest versions
of Works, Works for Windows, Windows for Pen Computing, Money,
Publisher, MS-Mouse, Word for Windows, Excel, and Powerpoint.

Started in 1989, Phoenix's Software Publishing business now
supplies more than 100 major OEMs worldwide with publishing
services and value-added software. Deutsch said demand for
software for bundling is growing, and "you might see Phoenix
Software coming out of the box, so to speak, a little more."

(Grant Buckler/19920505/Press Contact: Michael Deutsch,
Phoenix Technologies, 617-551-4184)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 5 Phoenix, Quadtel Plan PCMCIA Software 05/05/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00024)

Phoenix, Quadtel Plan PCMCIA Software 05/05/92
NORWOOD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 5 (NB) --
Phoenix Technologies and its wholly owned subsidiary Quadtel
are working on software to support the Personal Computer Card
International Association (PCMCIA) specification for attaching
memory and peripherals to personal computers.

PCMCIA has been frequently in the news this year as a variety of
vendors announce small portable computers and associated
peripherals that support the specification. It is emerging as a
standard way of connecting flash memory devices, an alternative to
disk drives for storage on notebook and sub-notebook PCs. It can
also be used for attaching peripherals such as modems and
external disk drives to small computers. PCMCIA has been
described as the notebook computer's equivalent of the AT bus
used in desktop PCs.

Phoenix and Quadtel said their new system software helps PC
manufacturers design PCMCIA compatibility into their systems
efficiently and quickly. Some companies, including AT&T and
Sharp, are already using PCMCIA software developed by the two
firms, said Phoenix spokesman Michael Deutsch. He noted that the
software will have to be customized to each vendor's hardware,
saying, "there's no such thing as off-the-shelf product."

The software is designed to provide consistent access to PCMCIA
cards. This saves hardware vendors having to adapt their
higher-level software to a particular socket implementation,
Phoenix said, and makes it easier to port software to other
hardware platforms.

This is the first product area to benefit from a codevelopment
effort between the recently merged Phoenix and Quadtel.

The two companies announced plans to merge in January, and
completed the transaction at the beginning of March. Phoenix makes
system software products for manufacturers of personal computers
and printers. Its shares are traded on the NASDAQ over-the-counter
system. Quadtel, based in Costa Mesa, California, supplies system
and video basic input-output systems (BIOS) and other system and
utility software and firmware for personal computers.

Officials of the two companies said the merger would produce
a good combination of Quadtel's focus on technology and
engineering with Phoenix's strong worldwide marketing, sales,
and service organization.

(Grant Buckler/19920505/Press Contact: Michael Deutsch, Phoenix,
617-551-4184; Scott Daniel, Quadtel, 714-754-4422)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 5 New For PC: Probe 4GL Language Aimed At Downsizing 05/05/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00025)

New For PC: Probe 4GL Language Aimed At Downsizing 05/05/92
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, 1992 MAY 5 (NB) --
Prologic, an eight-year-old software company, has released a
fourth-generation programming language called Probe. Probe is
unique in that it is intended for developing large-scale transaction
processing applications on local and wide area networks, said Rob
Murray, a Prologic spokesman.

Murray said Probe is aimed at customers who are downsizing from
mainframe computers to networks of smaller machines and who
need to set up transaction processing applications that support
dozens or hundreds of client stations.

The software has already been used to build systems ranging in
size from a single computer to a network setup where more than
300 clients have access to a 15-million-row database with response
times less than three seconds, according to Prologic officials.

Prologic has used the software for its own systems development
projects for a variety of clients, officials said, but has not
previously offered the software for sale. The initial release is
labelled Version 2.0, but is in fact the first version to ship,
Murray told Newsbytes.

The company claims that Probe offers a 70-to-1 productivity
improvement over third-generation programming languages
such as C and COBOL.

A Probe development license costs $2,500, and production
licenses are $750 per node. A test drive version, crippled to limit
database size to one million rows, is available for $99.

For a development machine or server, the software requires at least
an 80286 processor, DOS 3.3 or later, and six megabytes (MB) of
available hard disk space. A development machine must have 640
kilobytes (KB) of base memory plus at least 256KB of expanded
memory, while a server must have 640KB of base memory and at
least one MB of expanded.

Any PC with 640KB of base memory and at least 384KB bytes of
expanded memory, plus DOS 3.3 or later, can work as a client
machine, the vendor said.

(Grant Buckler/19920505/Press Contact: Rob Murray, Prologic,
604-278-6470)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 5  ****UK: BT Teams With IBM On Videophone Project 05/05/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00026)

 ****UK: BT Teams With IBM On Videophone Project 05/05/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 5 (NB) -- British Telecom has
teamed up with IBM to develop a videophone that works over
ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) phone lines.

Unlike existing ISDN videophones or, for that matter, the recent
rash of analogue videophones that can be used over existing
phone lines, the BT-IBM phone will consist of a card to plug into
a PC, displaying the image on-screen, and having a small
external camera capture the video image and sound from the
user.

This approach will save the user having to pay for a complete
ISDN videophone, although the real emphasis, BT officials have
said, is on the integration between the videophone and the PC
environment.

It is still early days on the project, Newsbytes notes, so neither
party is talking exact figures. BT officials have admitted
privately that the ISDN videophone card is likely to cost more
than UKP 1,000, but will accept video and sound from a variety of
sources.

This contrasts with the UKP500 figures that have been quoted by
BT and Amstrad for their analogue videophones which are
scheduled for launch later this year. These phones use modem
technology to squeeze a data signal over the existing telephone
network, rather than pump pure digital data over an ISDN data
highway.

Plans call for both companies to formally launch their videophone
later this year. Prototypes of the PC card system already exist,
although mass production is still some way off, Newsbytes
understands.

Will the technology take off? That all depends on whether
subscribers elect to install ISDN in their homes and offices,
Newsbytes notes. Currently, since no interconnect between the BT
ISDN service and the packet switched networks (PSS, Tymnet)
exists, subscribers are limited in their ISDN applications.

(Steve Gold/19920505)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 5 Germany Paralyzed By Public Worker's Strike 05/05/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(00027)

Germany Paralyzed By Public Worker's Strike 05/05/92
FRANKFURT, WESTERN GERMANY, 1992 MAY 5 (NB) -- The
normally efficient Western German public services are grinding to
a halt, courtesy of the public service unions, who have rejected the
government's 4.8 percent pay offer -- they want twice that figure.

So far, both sides appear to be deadlocked, despite the fact that
the strike has now entered its second week. Citizens of Western
Germany are reported to be appalled at the sight of black plastic
bags of rotting garbage piling up in the street.

Perhaps worse, workers are finding it increasingly difficult to
get to work as trams, trains, and buses fail to turn up. Those
that are running are jam-packed full. Even planes are backing up
at the airports, as ground staff refuse to work. Those that are
working are working to rule, meaning that their work rate is
slowed up.

The dispute between the public service workers and the
government is now rated as the most serious since the end of the
Second World War. The last strike on this scale was in 1974 and
resulted in a settlement within three days. No-one anticipates that
either side will cave in with this dispute.

Chancellor Kohl has gone on record as saying that his offer of
4.8 percent is the final offer. The unions, meanwhile, want 9.5
percent. Attempts to get both sides to the negotiation table have
failed.

Kohl has said that, if he does pay the workers more, then jobs
will have to be sacrificed. The workers seem undeterred. "Wages
policy must not only take account of the interests of those who
have a secure job. It must also bear in mind those who are counting
on new employment opportunities emerging in our companies,"
Kohl said on TV over the weekend.

Kohl added that the West German workers should regard their
"sacrifice" of a major pay rise as contributing towards their
colleagues' in East Germany. The unification of the two Germanies
has cost the West German economy dearly, he has admitted.

(Steve Gold/19920505)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 5  ****Dutch Government Wins $1 Billion Contract With China 05/05/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(00028)

 ****Dutch Government Wins $1 Billion Contract With China 05/05/92
EINDHOVEN, THE NETHERLANDS, 1992 MAY 5 (NB) -- The
Chinese government has committed an unprecedented $1,000
million of trade contracts to the Netherlands in apparent gratitude
for not selling submarines to Taiwan.

Although neither government has admitted to an actual "tit for
tat" deal, most industry watchers say that the contract -- arranged
by J E Andriessen, the Dutch Economics minister, on a recent
six-day visit to China -- is the direct result of the Dutch block on
technology contracts with Taiwan.

When asked by the press recently if the $1 billion-worth of
contracts was a reward for stopping a sale of submarines to
Taiwan, Andriessen hinted that it was, but stopped short of
admitting there was a link.

"This started one or two months ago and you can draw your own
conclusions why," Andriessen said. In February, the Dutch placed
a block on the sale of submarines to Taiwan after formal protests
from the Chinese government.

The new spirit of cooperation between the two countries is in
marked contrast to the links of a decade ago. Between 1981 and
1984, Taiwan downgraded its links with the Netherlands after a
Dutch company sold two submarines to Taiwan. It took an
agreement in early '84, at ministerial level between the two
countries to restore diplomatic links.

French officials are said to be watching the developments between
China and the Netherlands with interest. Last year, France got
into trouble with the Chinese government after it allowed the
sale of a number of frigates to Taiwan to go through.

Currently, Dessault Aviation, the French plane company, is said
to be lobbying to be allowed to sell more than 100 planes to
Taiwan - China has made representations to the French
government on the matter, but no-one has made any official
comment on the matter.

The deals which Andriessen and his staff have clinched with China
seem solid enough. According to the Dutch Economics minister,
the deal is for $300 million worth of services and $700 million in
products. The products include aircraft, dredging equipment, and
telecommunications switchgear.

(Steve Gold/19920505)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 5 UK: Lotus Attempts To Lure Wordperfect Users To Ami Pro 05/05/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00029)

UK: Lotus Attempts To Lure Wordperfect Users To Ami Pro 05/05/92
STAINES, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 5 (NB) -- Lotus
has announced it is making  a version of its Ami Pro Switchkit
available to users of Wordperfect. The free software kit allows
users of Wordperfect to migrate to Ami Pro with little effort,
Lotus claims.

In parallel with the free offer, Lotus has cut the price of Ami
Pro to UKP 395 for all comers, a reduction of UKP 50 in official
pricing. The price cut brings Ami Pro into line with the rest of
the Windows word processing software marketplace, the
company claims.

"The Ami Pro Switchkit has everything that Wordperfect users need
to move up to Ami pro, walking users through Ami Pro steps rather
than executing commands," explained Mark Mallinson, word
processing product marketing manager with Lotus UK. "Together
with the price reduction, we think we have overcome any
objections to moving to Ami Pro," he added.

The Ami Pro Switchkit offers two levels of keystroke help and
training to Wordperfect users. In level one, if the user enters a
Wordperfect command such as "shift F7," the Switchkit displays
the instruction's parallel in Ami Pro, in this case, the Ami Pro
print command.

In level two, the same information is displayed, along with a
demonstration of how to complete the same command using a
pull-down menu. The kit stops short of actually printing the
document, so the user can observe everything taking place,
clicking on the "OK" box to execute the command.

In addition to the two levels of help, the Switchkit features a
batch file conversion program that translates groups of files or
entire subdirectories of Wordperfect files into Ami Pro format.
The batch file conversion program also converts files from other
popular PC word processing formats, including Wordstar,
Multimate, MS-Word, and Word for Windows.

(Steve Gold/19920505/Press & Public Contact: Lotus UK,
0753-532044)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 5 Samsung Intros Three New SRAM Lines 05/05/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(WAS)(00030)

Samsung Intros Three New SRAM Lines 05/05/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 5 (NB) -- San Jose,
California-based Samsung Semiconductor has begun mass
production of three new families of fast five-volt CMOS
(complimentary metal oxide semiconductor) memory chips.

The new SRAM (static random access memory) chips, which do
not require a regular refresh current to maintain data integrity, are
made using Samsung's 0.7-micron double-layer metal CMOS
process technology and come in 64 kilobit, 256 kilobit, and 1
megabit sizes. The chips are available immediately in quantity.

The memory chips are available in Joint Electronic Development
Engineering Council (JEDEC) or SIP (single in-line pin) packages
and all share common operating characteristics, including a
standby power consumption of only 500 pico watts.

SRAM chips are much faster than the cheaper DRAM (dynamic
random access memory) chips because, although both require a
supply of power (data is lost when power is removed completely),
they do not require the regular refresh cycles of power that tie up
DRAM circuits for about half the time.

SRAM is often used in high-speed cache software where a small
amount of expensive memory can greatly speed the overall
performance of a system by acting as a buffer for the less
expensive and slower main DRAM memory.

CMOS technology lowers the amount of power required to keep
data in memory. It is therefore used in laptop computers to store
information when the system is not running, and to backup system
configuration information in nearly all modern PC computers. This
information is essential to the proper bootup of a PC and when
the internal battery goes dead after several years the computer
goes down and will have to be reconfigured.

Three.three volt technology is now being used in many advanced
portable computers, but five volt circuits are still the standard in
desktop and tower computers.

Samsung is a Korean-based company with sales in the $50 billion
range.

(John McCormick/19920505/Press Contact: Darlene Eynon,
#ENDCARD


#CARD :1992 MAY 4 Australia: Software Pricing Inquiry Underway 05/04/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00001)

Australia: Software Pricing Inquiry Underway 05/04/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 MAY 4 (NB) -- After months of speculation and
with plenty of time for "repositioning" by the industry, the
Australian retail software scene is being examined in a public
inquiry by the Prices Surveillance Authority (PSA). Interested
parties are currently making submissions. A report is not expected
until October.

Sales of software in Australia are estimated to exceed AUS$1B
(US$760M) annually, far in excess of the recorded music industry which
was previously a target for PSA investigation. So far, nothing
unexpected has been raised in submissions, with obvious differences in
tack taken by vendors and users.

The Business Software Association of Australia (BSAA) has admitted
that prices are slightly higher in Australia, but that this is in
keeping with added costs. It said that Australians pay only 20
to 25 percent more than US buyers, and 32 percent less than UK
buyers. A survey by APC magazine suggested the local mark-up to be more
like 42 percent.

Microsoft has let it be known that its prices are set at just 10
percent above US prices.

A survey conducted by the Australian Consumers Association in behalf
of the PSA may or may not have impact on the proceedings, as no one
seems quite sure who will tabulate the tens of thousands of doubtless
valuable answers.

Observers believe many distributors have taken advantage of the lead-
up period to drop prices on embarrassingly marked-up lines.

(Paul Zucker/19920504)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 4 Australia: IBM Restructuring For Profits 05/04/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(SYD)(00002)

Australia: IBM Restructuring For Profits 05/04/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 MAY 4 (NB) -- IBM has removed four of its six
management levels in Australia and is now focusing on the market
rather than the product. This is reported in the Australian Financial
Review newspaper.

Each business unit will rebuild itself, with emphasis on customers,
not just the continuation of an existing structure and hierarchy,
according to IBM. Operations Manager Doug Elix said the organization
as product-oriented had proven to be "a bitter experience," leading to
drastically shrinking sales.

In particular, Elix said his company would take apart the Personal
Systems Division, which is being considered for movement into the clone
area, as other IBM groups have announced in other areas. It would also
consider almost any method of selling PCs, including mail order.

Another planned change is faster-to-market development cycles, with
low pricing at introduction instead of higher prices and regular price
cuts through a product's life cycle.

(Paul Zucker/19920504)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 4 UK: Lotus Claims Windows Market Share Rising 05/04/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00003)

UK: Lotus Claims Windows Market Share Rising 05/04/92
STAINES, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 4 (NB) -- Lotus UK is
claiming a steadily increasing slice of the Microsoft Windows
applications marketplace, which it backs up with the latest
figures from Romtec, the market research company.

According to Lotus, the key Windows growth areas are for 1-2-3
and Freelance Graphics. 1-2-3 appears to have increased its share
of the Windows spreadsheet market every month since it began to
be shipped last September and now holds 34 percent of the market.

Freelance Graphics, meanwhile, has grabbed a hefty 45 percent of
the Windows presentation graphics marketplace, according to
Romtec's latest figures. Ami Pro sales have also shot up by 164
percent in the first two months of this year, compared to the
same period one quarter previously.

Commenting on the Romtec figures, Dieter Giesbrecht, Lotus UK's
managing director, said that the company is totally committed to
Windows.

"We're now in an extremely strong position with the increasing
numbers of large corporations looking for complete desktops rather
than individual solutions," he said, adding that the recent
addition of the Threadz Organizer will strengthen the company's
position still further.

Detailed examination of Romtec's monthly figures confirms Lotus'
claims. Newsbytes notes, however, the 1-2-3 for Windows was one
of the first spreadsheet packages to support the Windows 3.0/3.1
release and other software houses are now catching up.

(Steve Gold/19920504/Press & Public Contact: Lotus U.K. - Tel:
0784-455445)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 4 UK Pricing For Hewlett-Packard Paintjet XL300 Color Printer 05/04/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00004)

UK Pricing For Hewlett-Packard Paintjet XL300 Color Printer 05/04/92
BRACKNELL, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 4 (NB) -- Hewlett-Packard
has unveiled the Paintjet XL300 color inkjet printer, a unit that
supports full-color 300 dots-per-inch (dpi) printing up to A3
size for a UKP 2,895 price tag. HP claims that the Laserjet III-
compatible printer is a breakthrough in pricing terms.

"Color in the office has been discussed at length. After a lot
of waiting, all the elements are now in place for the office user
to take full advantage of color. Printed documents are all about
the business of communication -- office color will now enhance
their use of the art of communication," commented Melanie
Poskitt, HP's peripheral program manager.

HP claims that the Paintjet XL300 is the first unit of its type
to feature the company's color implementation of the PCL 5
printer language, HP PCL 5C. The implementation includes color
extensions for text, raster, and vector graphics.

Unlike some of the earlier color offerings in the UK printer
market, HP seems to be adopting an open attitude to connecting
the printer to non-HP devices. The company has also released a
variety of drivers to interface the printer to applications
software.

Poskitt acknowledges that using color printing effectively
requires a number of elements to work together. "User friendly
software, color monitors, high quality printers and computing
power need to be in place for color to become universal and
effective," she said.

As supplied, the Paintjet XL300 comes with 2 megabytes (MB) of
memory, expandable to 18 MB internally using single in-line memory
modules (SIMMs). The printer can use HP's Jetdirect "black box"
connectors for linking directly to a Novell Netware or a Token
Ring-compatible local area network (LAN).

Jetdirect is HP's system of linking a printer to a network
without the need for a host PC. This cuts the cost of using a
printer on a network. The company is also testing its other
Jetdirect cards with the Paintjet XL300 to check for
compatibility -- details of software compatibility will be
announced this summer.

While the Paintjet XL300 is announced this week, actual
availability is still several weeks away. HP officials estimate
that the printer will ship some time this summer. The unit's one
year warranty can be extended to three years for UKP 70.

(Steve Gold/19920504/Press & Public Contact: HP Customer
Information Center - Tel: [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 4  ****Fujitsu Wows With Most Expensive Computer-Generated Film Ever Made 05/04/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LON)(00005)

 ****Fujitsu Wows With Most Expensive Computer-Generated Film Ever Made 05/04/92
SEVILLE, SPAIN, 1992 MAY 4 (NB) -- Fujitsu, which claims to be
the world's second largest computer manufacturer (after IBM) has
built a permanent pavilion at Expo '92, the six month exhibition
and exposition which opened in Seville, Spain, last week. The
company is using the pavilion to show off its latest computer-
generated film technology.

A "wrap-around" computer generated film, entitled "Echoes of the
Sun" forms the centerpiece of Fujitsu's display at Expo '92. The
film is unusual in that it was generated entirely using the
company's range of supercomputers.

"We wanted to demonstrate that computer technology has
applications far beyond conventional data processing and that it
can play a role in cultural activities," explained Kazuo Suziki,
the general manager of the Fujitsu pavilion. ""That's why we made
the film and why it is our main theme at Expo '92."

"Echoes of the Sun" is based on the journey of a particle of
light from the sun to its final conversion into human energy,
passing through the series of biochemical processes on the way.
The 20-minute film is said to be one of the most expensive in
cinematic history, costing around $17 million, the company
claims.

To heighten the wrap-around effect, the film is viewed using
special glasses that incorporate liquid crystal display (LCD)
lenses which become opaque or transparent, according to the
impulses received by a built-in infrared receiver, with pulse
sequences of up to 96 times a second.

(Steve Gold/19920504/Press & Public Contact: Fujitsu Europe -
Tel: [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 4  ****New Bernoulli's Priced In Hard Disk Range 05/04/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00006)

 ****New Bernoulli's Priced In Hard Disk Range 05/04/92
SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 4 (NB) -- Iomega,
manufacturer's of the Bernoulli drive, a removable mass storage device
for computers is introducing new Bernoulli models with prices in the
range of hard disk drives and portable Bernoulli drives that can be
run from a computer's parallel port.

Sales representative Doug Mee says the new lower prices are due to
some manufacturing efficiencies that have allowed Bernoulli to cut
costs. In fact, Iomega along with AT&T won the 1992 Shingo Prize, an
award given annually for companies demonstrating improvements in
manufacturing. The Shingo Prize is sponsored by the American
Productivity & Quality Center, the Association for Manufacturing
Excellence, and the Association for Quality and Participation, among
others and is administered by the Utah State University's College of
Business.

The Bernoulli new drives support removable cartridges also called
disks that have a capacity of 90 megabytes of storage at an access
time of 18 ms (milliseconds) without cache and 9 ms with a built-in
cache. Those speeds rival those of some of the fastest hard disks,
according to Mee. The cartridges retail for $229 each, which
translates into a street price of $130 to $140 each, Mee said.

The PC Powered Bernoulli drive for IBM and compatible PC/AT & PS/2
computers is retail priced at $713, which Mee says will be right in
the $500 range on the street. The PC Powered 90 Pro with a small computer
systems interface (SCSI), built-in cache, and back-up software retails
for $855, Iomega said. Iomega includes a cartridge with 90 MB of IBM
shareware with the drives, Mee said.

For the Macintosh Quadra, Iomega says it is offering the Macinsider 90
Pro, which has been reduced in price 14 percent. This Bernoulli drive
is retail priced at $855 (reduced from $999) and includes a 90 MB disk
full of Macintosh shareware, interface software, and Mactools Deluxe.

Iomega said it is also offering a portable Bernoulli drive that can
operate at a 40 ms access rate via a connection with a computer's
parallel printer port. Mee said the portable drive is good for
presentations on customer sites software can be pre-loaded and
configured on a cartridge and connected on site to a customer's
computer. Then only the portable drive and the cartridge need to be
transported.

Optional software drivers are available for OS/2, Unix, Netware 286,
Xenix, and the modular device for PCs, Iomega added.

A special version of Stacker software compression from Stac
Electronics is also available for PC versions of the new Bernoulli
drives that will theoretically double the capacity of a cartridge to
180 MB, Mee maintains. The special Stacker software also allows for
the cartridge to be moved to a computer without the Stacker software
and all 180 MB can still be read, Mee said.

Iomega maintains the newly priced Bernoulli's are practical
alternatives to tape back-up and to hard disk drives. Mee says the
biggest advantage is Bernoulli drives can grow with an individual or
an organization with the addition of cartridges.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920504/Press Contact: Doug Mee, Iomega, tel 714-
996-1191, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 4 Copia Delivers Multi-Line Fax Engine 05/04/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00007)

Copia Delivers Multi-Line Fax Engine 05/04/92
WHEATON, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 4 (NB) -- Copia
International, producers of the FaxFacts fax-on-demand system,
announced the software has been enhanced to drive up to six fax
boards per workstation, with no limit on the number of
workstations.

The workstations are linked via a local area network, and programmers
can write their applications in Basic, dBASE, Clipper, Foxbase,
Cobol, or any other language capable of producing a simple ASCII
text file.

The capabilities of the new software are based on creation of a
Control File, and the software can accept variable templates. For
incoming calls, the Control Files can record the caller's number
and name, and allow for use of a non-standard fax header.

The result, said President Steve Hersee, is a new ability to
broadcast fax messages from any PC environment. "FaxFacts has
taken a giant step into a new era," he claimed in a press
statement. "Outbound correspondence that took hours or days to
complete can now be set up and left to run itself." Further
information is available via fax at 1-708-924-3030: request
document 8892.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920501/Press Contact: Copia International,
Dorothy Gaden, 708-682-8898)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 4 Japanese Silicon Valley Envisioned 05/04/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00008)

Japanese Silicon Valley Envisioned 05/04/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 4 (NB) -- The Japanese Ministry of
International Trade and Industry (MITI) says it will start a
project to create a large-scale software and hardware development
center in the vicinity of Tokyo. The concept is comparable to Silicon
Valley in the US.

MITI's project committee will promote this project starting
this September. The actual location of the software/hardware center
will be within 150 kilometers from Tokyo. Currently, three
Prefectures are expressing interest in hosting the center. These
candidate Prefectures include Yamanashi, Gumma, and Shizuoka.
The project committee is expected to decide the location of the
center by the end of this year.

On this massive plot of land will be located convention halls,
hotels, and research laboratories. A huge software development center
will be created by government and private firms with a total
capitalization of 1 billion yen ($7.5 million). This development
center will be backed up by about 30 firms and organizations, and
will start operation in 1994.

Hundreds of private computer-related firms have already expressed
interest in participating in this project. A total of 450 firms which
will participate include NEC, Fujitsu, Toshiba, IBM Japan, and
Lotus.

The major aim of this center is to solve lack of software/hardware
engineers. According to the government survey, there will be a
serious problem in shortage of software engineers by the year
2,000 -- It is said 970,000 engineers will be short by that time.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920504)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 4  ****World's Fastest Workstation Processor Debuts 05/04/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00009)

 ****World's Fastest Workstation Processor Debuts 05/04/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 4 (NB) -- Toshiba has developed a floating
point processor which it claims is as powerful as a supercomputer.
Toshiba reports it is the fastest floating point calculation
processor in the world.

Toshiba's latest processor has a parallel processing feature, making
it able to process four types of calculations simultaneously
in a 32-bit chip. It is said 320 mega FLOPS (floating point
processing per second) calculations or 320 million instructions
per second can be made. On a 64-megabit chip, this processor
can handle 160 mega FLOP calculations. This speed is comparable
to a regular supercomputer.

This processor has a double speed mode which enables it to
allocate calculation of data within the processor. This processor
is especially good at dealing with graphic data, which is often
32-bit.

Toshiba's processor is designed to be on a RISC (reduced instruction
set computing) chip. This processor is still a prototype, but
Toshiba expects to commercialize it soon.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920504/Press Contact: Toshiba, +81-3-3457-
2100)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 4  ****Versatile Device Designed For Airline Entertainment 05/04/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00010)

 ****Versatile Device Designed For Airline Entertainment 05/04/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 4 (NB) -- Matsushita Electric has developed
a versatile audio-visual device designed especially for captive aircraft
passengers. It can be a TV set, a video tape player, a game machine,
and a home shopping device. The "System 2000" can be attached to
each seat of the aircraft.

There are 76 channels for TVs and 12 channels for video
tapes. The passengers need to insert their own credit cards in
this device to see a movie of their choice. Matsushita will use movies
made by MCA, which was acquired by Matsushita last year.

System 2000 also offers game software in a ROM (read
only memory), and a telephone. An international telephone call can be
made via space satellite. Online shopping for duty free goods is also
said to be possible.

Matsushita has already received a massive purchase order for
the devices from Airbus Industry. They will be installed
on the A330 and the A340. The sales price of the device per
aircraft is expected to be around 50 million yen ($370,000) to
60 million yen ($444,000).

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920504/Press Contact: Matsushita Electric,
 [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 4 India/Russia Join In Technology Development 05/04/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEL)(00011)

India/Russia Join In Technology Development 05/04/92
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1992 MAY 4 (NB) -- India and Russia have agreed to
cooperate in the field of computer sciences under the modified
Integrated Long Term Programme (ILTP) in science and technology,
which had been going on between India and the erstwhile Soviet
Union.

This puts an end to the uncertainty prevailing over the collaborative
arrangement between Indian and Russian research institutes, since
the break-up of Soviet Union. The program is being executed
under the umbrella of Indian National Science Academy from the
Indian side and will be coordinated by Russian Academy of Sciences
in Russia.

According to the agreement signed between Pune-based Centre
for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) and the Russian
Institute for Computer-Aided Design (ICAD), scientists from
both sides will conduct research in areas of mutual interest
like parallel processing. ICAD scientists will try to develop
new software programs on Param, the parallel-processing
supercomputer developed by CDAC, particularly in areas of
application like medicine, aircraft design, and fluid dynamics.

Development of advanced materials for electronics is another
likely area of Indo-Russian collaboration, according to N.
Vittal, Secretary, Department of Electronics (DoE). At
present, India has to import about 80 percent of its requirements
and the needs will rise with many foreign companies setting up
units to manufacture electronic goods, he feels. He points out
that both sides could gain from a partnership between the
Centre for Materials for Electronic Technology (C-MET),
set up by DoE and a Russian organization like the Institute
of Inorganic Chemistry in Novosibirsk.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920504)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 4 ****DECWorld: Digital Plans Book-Type PC For September 05/04/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00012)

 ****DECWorld: Digital Plans Book-Type PC For September 05/04/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 4 (NB) -- In September,
Digital Equipment Corporation is planning to ship a book-type, DOS-
based PC, bundled with new electronic mail software, Newsbytes has
learned.

PCBook can run as either a portable desktop CPU or a plug-in module
on a DECHub "smart" wiring chassis, said Eli B. Perlman, system
engineering manager in Digital's Integrated Office Systems. The
book-sized device is equipped with an 180 MB hard disk drive, 64 MB
of memory, and a modem, Perlman told Newsbytes.

When used in a desktop mode, PCBook can be connected to a monitor
and keyboard, forming a full-fledged personal computer, according
to Perlman. For an extra 2 GB of storage, the portable CPU can be
augmented with the "PopcornBox," another new module from Digital,
he said. Configurations of PCBooks and PopcornBoxes can be housed
on the desktop in pairs of BookEnds that DEC has designed for the
purpose, he explained.

Snapping a PCBook unit into a DECHub slot will supply instant
connectivity to a network backplane, he suggested. Slots in the
"smart hub" can also accommodate a range of other modules,
including DECBridges and DECRepeaters.

PCBook will come equipped with MailWorks PostMaster, a major
upgrade of DEC's previously released All-in-1 Mail Manager for
LANs/WANs, Perlman told Newsbytes. The new software will also be
available as a separate package for conventional PCs, he reported.

Although the PC and the software are both being shown at DECWorld
'92, neither has been publicly announced, he said. Both products
are scheduled to ship in September, but prices have yet to be set,
added Perlman, whose statements were corroborated by other DEC
officials.

"It is intuitively obvious that this stuff is good," commented the
engineering manager.

PostMaster permits users of the Novell NetWare, Banyan, 3+, and
PathWorks operating systems to access DEC's e-mail capabilities at
lower cost than before, by doing away with the need to license
Digital's entire All-in-1 integrated office system, he told
Newsbytes.

The package adds virus protection, security encoding, and document
conversion, while continuing to integrate the gateway and LAN-to-
mail backbone synchronization features of MailBus, he indicated.

In the future, PostMaster will be ported to other hardware
platforms, and support will be added for Lotus CC:Mail and
Microsoft Mail, said Perlman.

Digital is also exploring the idea of bundling PCBook with
additional applications, according to Perlman. Voice recognition
software is one possibility, he noted.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920504)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 4  ****DECWorld: Digital Runs 200 MHz Chip - 1st Demo of Alpha 05/04/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SFO)(00013)

 ****DECWorld: Digital Runs 200 MHz Chip - 1st Demo of Alpha 05/04/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 4 (NB) -- At DECWorld
'92, Digital Equipment Corporation is bringing up the curtain on a
chip billed as the fastest in the world, the initial implementation
of its new 64-bit, RISC-based Alpha architecture.

In Digital's first public demonstration of Alpha, the 200 MHz
semiconductor is being run in a dozen different desktop, deskside,
and data center hardware configurations, operating 23 VMS and DEC
OSF1 third-party applications that have been ported over from VAX.

In one corner of the "Alpha Showcase," a live comparison shows an
Alpha workstation running a Mandelbrot floating equation program at
twice the speed of an HP 9000 Model 750 under the HP O/S (Hewlett-
Packard operating system), and 10 times more quickly than a Sun
workstation under the Sun O/S.

But Digital officials stress that although the new chip works in
real time, it is slow in contrast to the speeds anticipated for the
future, and that the applications on view, which lean toward
CAD/CAM, represent a only a tiny fraction of Alpha's ultimate uses.

"The Alpha architecture has been designed to increase its
performance more than 1000 times during the course of its
lifetime," stated Edward J. Pastor, market development manager at
Digital's Alpha Business Office. Out of a desire for ubiquitous
deployment, DEC intends Alpha to last well into the 21st century,
he added.

"We expect that, over the next five to ten years, the industry will
stabilize on one or two open, standardized architectures. And we
plan to make Alpha one of them," he told Newsbytes.

The most powerful incarnations of Alpha will appear on
workstations, mainframes and supercomputers, said Pastor. But
Digital is also developing additional implementations, lower in
speed and power requirements, he noted.

The smaller semiconductors will be used in palmtops and laptops, as
well as in medical imaging, telecommunications, industrial control,
and other embedded applications, he explained.

Alpha's current thrust toward CAD/CAM is spurred by the needs of
manufacturing and engineering to integrate applications and push
time to market, said Z. Alan Fink, manager of Discrete
Manufacturing Solutions for DEC. Multimedia and artificial
intelligence will join the ranks of targeted areas later on,
according to Pastor.

The spread of Alpha will be aided by its unbiased technology,
Pastor predicted. "There's nothing in Alpha that dedicates the
architecture to any particular operating system, language, or style
of computing," he informed Newsbytes.

To further facilitate deployment, Digital is establishing extensive
business relationships with outside vendors, he said. A recently
announced pact with Microsoft, in which the two parties agreed to
run Windows NT on Alpha, is only one example, he suggested.

Digital has also established a set of "open business practices" for
Alpha involving licensing arrangements with software and
semiconductor vendors and sales of chips, boards, and systems to
computer makers, Pastor said.

Semiconductor companies are taking out licenses to fabricate exact
replicas of DEC's designs, as well as to develop their own variants
for specialized applications, such as military electronics,
according to Pastor.

Some 15 computer companies have already announced plans to purchase
Alpha technology, including Cray Research, which has stated the
intention to use Digital's chips in its first generation of
massively parallel computers, he asserted.

In addition, more than 450 software vendors have signed up for
licenses to run VMS and DEC OSF1 implementations of their software
on the Alpha hardware platform. Listed on a "Wall of Fame" in the
Alpha Showcase, the vendors range literally from "a" (a/Soft
Development) to "z" (ZPC International Inc.).

Roughly half of these applications fall into the categories of
manufacturing and engineering, Pastor remarked. Other prominent
areas include distribution, retailing, databases, and networking.

Alpha-based applications, including Windows NT implementations,
will probably start to ship by the end of the year, said Kenneth H.
Olsen, chairman of Digital.

The Alpha demonstration is going on at DECWorld through May 15, the
final day of the three-week show.

(Jacqueline Emigh/050492)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 4  ****One Billion BPS Fiber Optic Hard Disk Cabling Planned 05/04/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00014)

 ****One Billion BPS Fiber Optic Hard Disk Cabling Planned 05/04/92
CAMARILLO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 4 (NB) -- Fast and secure
fiber optic connectors between computers and fast hard disk drives
is the goal of the agreement between chipmaker Vitesse, hard disk
manufacturer Seagate Technologies, and disk drive controller
manufacturer Interphase Corporation. Vitesse announced an agreement
under which it will provide a low-cost, low-power chip set compatible
with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) X3T9.3 Fibre
Channel standard to Seagate and Interphase.

Vitesse says its chips can help provide fiber optic serial data
communications at speeds up to 1 billion bits per second (1Gbps).
Plans are to use the new communications to link file servers to
supercomputers, and to link computers to high performance disk drives
or disk clusters, Vitesse said.

The fiber optic connections are especially suited to long distances,
Vitesse said, while coaxial cable can be used to transfer data over
shorter distances. The three companies said they plan to work together
to integrate their specific areas of expertise into a product for
consumers.

Vitesse expects samples of the new chipsets for the new fiber optic
links to be available by the year's end and production is scheduled
for the first quarter of 1993.

Vitesse is based in Camarillo, California and most recently announced
the introduction of the 1Gbps chipset in conjunction with Digital last
week. Seagate is headquartered in Scotts Valley, California and
Interphase is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920504/Press Contact: Robert Turnage, Vitesse, tel
805-388-7503, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 4 Spry Licenses Novell Software 05/04/92



(NEWS)(UNIX)(SFO)(00015)

Spry Licenses Novell Software 05/04/92
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 4 (NB) -- Spry is committed to
trying to provide seamless connectivity between Unix and other
networked computers. To that end it has just announced it has
licensed the LAN workplace for DOS TCP/IP package from Novell.

Spry intends to develop products using this software that will add
to its stable of products that already connect Novell, Banyan
Vines, Microsoft LAN Manager, and others to Unix workstations. The
new products will be additions to the AIR for Windows line that the
company already markets.

Typically, Spry will add the Microsoft Windows User Interface,
DEC VT100 and VT220 emulations, FTP and lpr support and other
enhancements that will let any package that uses LAN Workplace for
Windows sockets.

Financial terms of the arrangement were not disclosed.

(Naor Wallach/19920504, Press Contact: Kevin Britt, Spry,
206-286-1142)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 4 Alias Research Reports $17.6-M Loss 05/04/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00016)

Alias Research Reports $17.6-M Loss 05/04/92

TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAY 4 (NB) -- Graphics software
maker Alias Research has reported a loss of US$17.6 million in the
fiscal year ended January 31. That compares to net income of US$2.8
million last year.

The loss was expected: Alias had warned investors several weeks ago
that it would lose money this year. The company blamed the loss on
restructuring costs, accounting reforms, and steps taken to correct
cash flow problems.

Revenue for fiscal 1992 was US$29.7 million, up from US$22.8
million in 1991.

In the fourth quarter, Alias lost US$9.6 million on revenues of
US$8.1 million.

The cost of restructuring was a major factor in the company's
losses over the past few months, company spokeswoman Susan Spencer
told Newsbytes.

In the third quarter, Alias named Robert Burgess president and
Norman Wright as executive vice-president. Founder and former
president Stephen Bingham kept the post of chairman. Spencer said
management realized it needed people with more of the skills to
manage the company's day-to-day operations.

Alias' chief financial officer, William McClintock, resigned on
December 2, the same day the third-quarter loss was announced. In
mid-November, Alias laid off 35 employees, citing a need to become
more efficient and to focus on its most profitable activities.

Spencer said the company believes it knows what its problems are,
has corrected many of them, and will iron out the rest in the next
few months. Alias expects to be profitable again by the end of the
1993 fiscal year, she said. "We do feel that we have the right
people in the right places, especially the new management team."

(Grant Buckler/19920504/Press Contact: Susan Spencer, Alias
Research, 416-362-9181 ext. 398; fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 4  ****Lotus Plans Major 1-2-3 For Windows Upgrade 05/04/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00017)

 ****Lotus Plans Major 1-2-3 For Windows Upgrade 05/04/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 4 (NB) -- Lotus
Development will release a major upgrade to its 1-2-3 for Windows
spreadsheet software before the end of the year. Release 2.0 of
1-2-3 for Windows will offer performance improvements and new
features, a company spokeswoman confirmed.

In his letter to shareholders in the company's annual report, Lotus
Chairman and Chief Executive Jim Manzi promised an upgrade to 1-2-3
for Windows by year-end. Spokeswoman Alexandra Trevelyan confirmed
the new version is under development, but said no more specific
release date was available.

It will be a "major upgrade" carrying the version number 2.0, she
said. The current release of 1-2-3 for Windows is 1.1, a minor
upgrade released April 6 to improve performance and address some
customer concerns about the original release.

Release 2.0 will concentrate on four areas, Trevelyan said:
continued performance improvements; useability or what Lotus calls
"radical simplicity;" better integration and more common
user-interface features with other Lotus products for Windows; and
new features.

One of the new features will be Lotus' Chronicle technology,
designed to make the spreadsheet software more useful for work
groups. Chronicle will make it possible for more than one person to
make changes to the same spreadsheet at the same time.

At present, once one user on a LAN is working with a particular
file, others can view it but cannot change it. That is necessary to
avoid one user's changes being lost when another saves a different
version of the file. With Chronicle, two or more users will be able
to make changes and the same time and each will be able to see the
changes the other makes.

Chronicle will also keep track of who makes which changes and allow
users to attach notes explaining why they did what they did,
providing a sort of audit trail that will be useful when more than
one person is working with a particular file.

Lotus demonstrated the Chronicle technology in January at the Demo
'92 conference in Indian Wells, California.

(Grant Buckler/19920504/Press Contact: Alexandra Trevelyan, Lotus
Development, 617-693-1580)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 4 D&B To Sell Unit To Systems & Computer Technology 05/04/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00018)

D&B To Sell Unit To Systems & Computer Technology 05/04/92
MALVERN, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 4 (NB) -- Systems &
Computer Technology has agreed to buy Information Associates, a
subsidiary of Dun & Bradstreet Software, for $22.5 million.

Information Associates supplies administrative software to
universities and colleges. It had 1991 revenues of about $30
million. Systems & Computer Technology sells applications software
and computing management services to universities and colleges,
local governments, and utilities. It had revenues of $40.2 million
in the six months ended March 31, and net income of $2.6 million in
that period.

Systems & Computer Technology will finance the purchase from
internal funds and bank financing, to which the deal is subject.

Information Associates has an installed base of more than 500
colleges and universities with 430 clients on maintenance
agreements. It sells administrative software for Digital Equipment
and IBM systems. Founded in 1968, the company has 230 employees at
its Rochester headquarters and in sales and service offices in San
Diego, Dallas, and Reston, Va.

In a prepared statement, Michael J. Emmi, SCT's chairman and chief
executive officer, said the purchase will broaden his company's
software base and open up new growth opportunities. Meanwhile Mike
Choukas, executive vice-president of D&B software, said selling the
subsidiary would help his firm focus on its core products:
financial, logistics, human resource, and manufacturing software.

Information Associates was D&B Software's only separate subsidiary,
company spokesman George Cohen said. It was inherited from
Management Science America, which merged with McCormack & Dodge to
form D&B, and the company felt it did not fit in with the rest of
D&B's business.

The companies said they expect the acquisition, which is subject to
the approval of the board of directors of Dun & Bradstreet and
other customary conditions, to close by June 30.

(Grant Buckler/19920504/Press Contact: Eric Haskell, Systems &
Computer Technology, 215-640-5175; George Cohen, D&B Software,
508-370-5146)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 4 TGV Planning Major Upgrade To MultiNet 05/04/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00019)

TGV Planning Major Upgrade To MultiNet 05/04/92
SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 4 (NB) -- TGV is using the
occasion of the DEXPO Spring show being held this week in Atlanta to
demonstrate the capabilities of the upcoming upgrade to its
MultiNet product.

Version 3.1 of Multinet is slated to begin shipping at the end of
this month. As a part of the roll-out of this new version, TGV is
making several announcements. First, it is announcing the new
features that are contained in this new version which
include support for a "remote magnetic tape client," support of the IP
part of TCP/IP over X.25 WAN links, improved support of File Transfer
Protocol (FTP) and Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP), support of
an X-Windows transport gateway, and new license management
capabilities.

In a second announcement, TGV is also talking about enhancements to
its MultiNet NFS Client and MultiNet NFS Server packages for VMS.
These new version offer support for NFS over TCP, Access Control
List (ACL), file locking, and automatic fail-over features. Version
3.1 of these packages will be rolled out on May 26 to coincide with
the roll-out of MultiNet v3.1.

Finally, TGV is also announcing a new program that is intended to
make MultiNet more affordable and attractive to educational
institutions. Unlike normal pricing in the marketplace, TGV will
make MultiNet and its associated products available to universities
and other, qualified, educational institutions for a fixed annual
price. This price - currently $6000 - is an annual fee and includes
support for the product for the duration of the license. Each
runs for a duration of one year. This program is slated to begin
on June 1, 1992 and is consciously modeled after Digital Equipment
Corporations's educational discount program.

(Naor Wallach/19920504, Press Contact: Tom Woolf, Media Relations,
415-508-1554)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 4 New For Networks: 4 Network Interface Cards From Accton 05/04/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00020)

New For Networks: 4 Network Interface Cards From Accton 05/04/92
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 4 (NB) -- Accton is beginning
to unveil products based on its own Ethernet interface chip, the
EN50903. This chip is the basis of four new Ethernet interface cards
that the company is unveiling now and will begin shipping in June.

The cards are intended to answer the most common needs of a site
that is adding a network node based on a PC. The four models are
equipped with either a BNC connector for Thin-wire Ethernet wiring,
or an RJ45 connector for 10Base-T wiring. Both types of models also
have an AUI connector for thick wire Ethernet installations.

A further breakdown between the models occur in the kinds of bus
structure that they support. Two of the models are configured as
8-bit cards and two of them are configured as 16-bit cards. The
16-bit cards can be configured via software to be installable in an
8-bit environment.

Each of the cards comes with a complete set of drivers on a
configuration disk which also includes diagnostic software.

All of these cards will begin shipping in early June. Retail pricing
has not been established yet.

(Naor Wallach/19920504, Press Contact: Tom Woolf, Media Relations,
415-508-1554)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 4 International Phone Update 05/04/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00021)

International Phone Update 05/04/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A, 1992 MAY 4 (NB) -- Second thoughts
highlight the telecommunications agenda, primarily about the
efficiency of the Western networks whose owners are busy buying
Latin American phone systems.

The stock price of Stet, with heavy investments in Argentina,
fell 6.5 percent, mainly because state holding company IRI said
it would sell more stock in the company. Stock in Argentina's
phone companies rose when the government sold stock. Political
uncertainty and charges of corruption complicate the Italian
situation.

Speaking of Argentina, the Telecom Argentina network run by Stet
and France Telecom said it expects higher profits this year, with
most to be distributed in the form of cash dividends. Telecom
operates a concession in the northern half of Argentina,
including half of Buenos Aires, the capital, while Telefonica de
Argentina, run by a consortium led by Spain's Telefonica de
Espana and Citicorp of the U.S., runs the other half of the
former EnTel state monopoly.

Germany's phone network began feeling the impact of strikes by
public employees over wages. The state-owned Deutsche Bundespost
Telekom has been subject to privatization talks, but remains the
most rule-bound network in Europe, with strict curbs against
installation of fax machines, modems, or even second extensions.
It can take months to get Telekom to install a phone in any case,
according to some reports.

Finally, the Middle East News Network reports that Bahrain's
Batelco phone network launched direct-dial service to Libya,
Russia, South Africa, Poland and Czechoslovakia. Bahrain is the
most "liberal" country in the Persian Gulf area, and its phone
network now links with 162 countries. Their number does not
officially include Israel, however, which tried in April to
launch direct-dial service for its citizens to the Arab world.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920504)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 4 Motorola Sells Secure Phone Equipment 05/04/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00022)

Motorola Sells Secure Phone Equipment 05/04/92
PHOENIX, ARIZONA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 4 (NB) -- Motorola announced
a new generation of secure telephones, data communications
equipment and fax machines. The devices were initially created
for the US government, but are now available in the commercial
market, where spying has become an increasing problem.

Motorola's Sectel telephones look like normal, full-feature
business phones, but encrypt transmissions with a public key
algorithm which can be changed with each new message. The company
said over 100,000 of the units are now in use.

While Motorola acknowledged there are some classified differences
between the phones and faxes sold to the US military and the
equipment sold to private businesses, these are essentially the
same units that linked the White House to General Schwarzkopf's
Desert Storm headquarters during the Persian Gulf war. The units
allow sensitive information to pass through wires, microwave
dishes and satellite links with an assurance of privacy. The
units cost about $3,000, but Motorola claims that's a bargain
considering the travel costs which can be saved through use of a
secure phone channel.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920504/Press Contact: Robert Wade, Motorola,
602-441-2045)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 4 GTE Florida Seeks Rate Hike 05/04/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00023)

GTE Florida Seeks Rate Hike 05/04/92
TAMPA, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 4 (NB) -- GTE Florida officially
asked the Florida Public Service Commission to raise its base
residential rates from $11.35 to $16.64, and business rates from
from $29.11 to $48.87, so it can compete more effectively in the
long distance market and recoup costs. The overall increase
sought is $111 million. Any approved rates will take effect in
early 1993. This is GTE's first request to increase local rates
since 1981.

Lower long distance rates are supposed to soften the blow for
ratepayers, with basic daytime in-state rates due to be cut 33
percent, and in-county toll calls prices cut by 60 percent. GTE
also wants to raise costs for some optional services, including
Centrex-based SmartCall services, non-published and non-listed
telephone numbers, operator-assisted long-distance calls, Message
Rate Service and Seasonal Service.

In a press statement, GTE Florida noted that its operator
services, coin telephone service, long-distance service, cellular
telephone networks, satellite networks and links to long-distance
carriers are now subject to competition from unregulated
companies which have great flexibility in pricing, hinting that
its subsidies of local ratepayers tie its hands.

Public hearings on GTE Florida's rate case will be held late this
summer in the company's service territory of West Florida. A
decision is expected in December. Any rate changes approved
would be effective early in 1993.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920504/Press Contact: Jan Morris, GTE, 800-
282-7751)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 4 US West Annual Meeting Highlighted by Union Statement 05/04/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00024)

US West Annual Meeting Highlighted by Union Statement 05/04/92
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 4 (NB) -- US West's annual
meeting, held May 1, was highlighted by messages from the
Communications Workers of America, which represents many of the
firm's workers. They're concerned about job security and
deregulation, and used their thousands of proxies to speak about
those concerns.

CWA Vice President Sue Pisha tied CWA's support or opposition to
US West's own deregulation efforts to the company's decisions on
union job security issues in contract bargaining. "If management
is willing to seize these growth opportunities by offering the
new job openings to current employees and by working with us to
improve their working conditions and quality of life, then we
will have every reason to support management in its proposals for
deregulation," she said. "On the other hand, if management does
not offer to current employees a share of these opportunities, if
it denies them first rights to new jobs, if the terms and
conditions of these new jobs are used to undermine those of our
core telephone employees, if these new jobs are denied union
representation, then we have every reason to oppose management in
its attempts to deregulate the industry...Just as management
hopes to grow US West in this new environment, we expect to grow
with it."

CWA will begin negotiations with US West this summer
for a new three-year contract. The current contract expires in
August.

US West Chairman Richard McCormick, meanwhile, said he'll keep
cutting costs and rolling out new services like voice messaging
in an attempt to increase profits. US West has been active in
pursuing profits from the controversial "Caller ID" service and
has tested versions which actually display a phone-holder's
number of the called party's screen. The company has also been
working closely with TCI, the nation's largest cable television
company, on both video-on-demand and microwave-based PCN phone
tests.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920504/Press Contact: US West, Lisa
Bowersock, 206/345-6885; Jeff Miller, Communications Workers of
America, 202-434-1172)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 4  ****Atari Loses Round To Nintendo 05/04/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LAX)(00025)

 ****Atari Loses Round To Nintendo 05/04/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 4 (NB) -- Atari has lost
one of three counts to Nintendo in a Federal Court ruling on Friday.
The jury found that Atari had not suffered harm at the hands of
Nintendo, but was hung on whether or not Nintendo used its monopoly
position to discourage competition.

The controversy stems from Atari and other video game makers
accusations that Nintendo is attempting to prevent the sale of
compatible games for its video home game system.

Michael Crick, president of third-party software development company
for Nintendo machines, Mica, said Atari split into two divisions,
one run by former Jack Tramiel, formerly of Commodore, and one Atari
Tengen. While both Atari companies have suits against Nintendo, Jack
Tramiel's company is the one involved in the anti-trust suit decided
on Friday. Reports are Tramiel's Atari plans to appeal the case.

While Nintendo definitely had a monopoly with nearly 80 percent of the
market during the time period of 1984 and 1988 according to Crick,
reports are the jury was unable to rule on whether or not it misused
its monopoly. Crick said his experience with Atari was that it was
very poorly run but he told Newsbytes he feels Nintendo did try to
freeze Atari out of the market.

This case and the case of Sega vs. Accolade has drawn attention from
the computing community at large because these cases will set
precedents as to how other compatible software cases will be judged,
Crick said.

Nintendo and Sega are attempting to force third party developers to
license from them and follow their rules for production of game
titles. While such practices are illegal, Crick told Newsbytes a good
deal of what the third party developers are calling unfair competition
Nintendo and Sega are calling attempts at quality control.

If fewer game titles can be released by third party developers for a
system, those titles will be better quality titles, as the developers
places concentration of his resources on a few titles, Crick said.
While Nintendo is not using litigation to force developers to comply,
it is using hardware lockout schemes and has developed a seal it
places on games it has tested for quality, Crick said.

In Nintendo's case, Paul Liu, chairman of American Video Entertainment
(AVE), told Newsbytes Nintendo changed the internal design of its
hardware so the machines will no longer play his company's game
cartridges. Liu is in the process of suing Nintendo for $105 million.
Atari Tengen is pursing a similar suit against Nintendo.

Crick says while the Atari verdict may satisfy the courts, it will not
deter the current Federal Trade Commission investigation. Last year
alone the FTC fined Nintendo $25 million for anti-trust violations,
Crick added.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920504/Press Contact: Susan Bach,
Konami/Nintendo, tel [phone] ext 145, fax [phone];
Michael Crick, Mica, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 4 Toshiba-Apple May Link On Multimedia 05/04/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(TYO)(00026)

Toshiba-Apple May Link On Multimedia 05/04/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 4 (NB) -- Toshiba has been talking with
Apple Computer concerning joint development of multimedia
products, according to the Nikkei Newspaper. The project is
expected to involve IBM, which may mean it is a large-scale project.

Apple Computer flatly has a "no comment" to the report. In
Japan, however, a Toshiba spokesman told Newsbytes that it
is still too early to make comments on this issue. However, he
suggested that Toshiba is talking with unnamed firms concerning
joint development of multimedia products including a CD-ROM.
Other products may include video disk terminals for corporate
users and the educational market. There will be further possibility
for these firms to develop different type of multi-media products
in the future.

Toshiba and Apple have their own allies concerning development of
multimedia products -- Toshiba has entered a joint venture with
Time-Warner, while Apple has signed an agreement with IBM.
The Nikkei says the agreement between these four firms will be
signed by the end of this month.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920504/Press Contact: Toshiba, +81-3-3457-
2100)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 4 AST Intros Power Premium Desktop PCs 05/04/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00027)

AST Intros Power Premium Desktop PCs 05/04/92
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 4 (NB) -- Hoping to appeal
to power users wanting high performance graphics- and Windows-
intensive systems, AST Research has introduced its Power
Premium upgradeable desktop computer line that the company
claims significantly accelerates system performance in Windows
environments.

According to the company, the EISA (extended industry standard
architecture)-based systems also feature AST's Cupid-32 upgrade
design as well as AST FlashBIOS. The series includes the Power
Premium 4/50d, 4/33, and 3/33 configurations.

Julie McEnally, spokesperson for the company, told Newsbytes
that the accelerated performance comes from a Premium VGA
subsystem that is built around the Western Digital WD90C31
graphics chip with BitBLT (bit block transfer) and "hardware
cursor." McEnally added that "hardware cursor" provides a
flicker-free screen.

The company claims that, according to tests performed using PC
Magazine Labs, Windows Benchmark, Graphics WINMARK version
2.50, the Power Premium 4/33, an i486-based, 33 megahertz (MHz)
system, performs four and one-half times faster than Dell, three and
one-half times faster than Compaq and twice as fast as IBM and NEC
systems with similar base configurations. WINMARK is the weighted
geometric mean of twelve Windows graphics operations that are
most frequently used by major Windows applications.

With the Power Premium systems, the company maintains that users
can increase processor speed and system memory through its
Cupid-32 upgradeable architecture. Users can also advance to
EISA peripherals while maintaining compatibility with current ISA
(industry standard architecture) peripherals through the EISA bus,
and update the system's BIOS (basic input/output system) through
the company's FlashBIOS, a simplified, software-based BIOS
upgrade.

Although intended for Windows users, McEnally said that the
system is also suitable for anyone using graphics-intensive
applications.

The new AST systems come in a small-footprint chassis measuring
15.5-inches wide by 6.25-inches high by 16.5-inches deep. Available
immediately through the company's nationwide network of computer
resellers, suggested list prices begin at $2,595.

McEnally told Newsbytes that: "AST is always trying to address
what the market is demanding," and currently, "the market is
demanding flicker-free screens" with the extra colors provided
by the Power Premium systems.

(Ian Stokell/19920504/Press Contact: Gerry Lynne Baker, AST
Research, 714-727-7959)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 4 Apple Intros K-2 Student Learning Package 05/04/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00028)

Apple Intros K-2 Student Learning Package 05/04/92
ORLANDO, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 4 (NB) -- In an effort to
provide elementary school teachers with additional learning tools,
Apple is continuing its push into the educational markets by
announcing the Apple Early Language Connections program.

According to the company, the product is a literature-based early
language arts package designed to provide kindergarten through
second grade students with a balanced reading, writing, listening,
and speaking curriculum.

Available for purchase by K-12 institutions later this summer, the
hardware/software package features a Macintosh LC II computer,
an AppleCD SC CD-ROM drive, an Apple OneScanner scanning
device, an Apple ImageWriterII printer, a classroom library of
more than 350 books from Scholastic Inc., and a selection of
story and music audiotapes.

The package also features EdMark Corp.'s TouchWindow
transparent panel that converts a Macintosh computer monitor into
a touch-sensitive screen and the Muppet Learning Keys by WINGS
that provides a keyboard alternative for younger children.

Anne Anderson, manager of K-12 education marketing for Apple,
claims that the Apple Early Language Connections package
provides a multi-dimensional supplement to an elementary teacher's
existing language arts curriculum that enhances each teacher's own
unique style of teaching. Apple claims that teacher training and
on-going support will be important components of this package,
and plans to offer in-service training and newsletter updates for
teachers, and a toll- free hotline.

The hardware component comes pre-configured as either teacher
or student "stations," with software already installed on the Macintosh
LC II computer's hard drive. The teacher's station software includes
desktop publishing and teacher productivity software from
educational software providers, as well as all the software programs
students will use. The student's station software includes education
products.

The package includes a two-volume comprehensive teachers
manual featuring seven, four-week thematic curriculum units-two each
for grades K through 2, with an additional four-week unit for
kindergarten. Teachers can also create or enhance their own lessons
using the thematic units as models. Instructors are also provided with
easy-to-use software instructions and ideas for classroom
organization, parent involvement, and newsletter development.

In February, Newsbytes reported that Apple had introduced
a new publication aimed at the educational market, called
"Teaching, Learning and Technology -- A Planning Guide."
Available in two different versions -- a print-based "basic kit"
and a multimedia-based "interactive kit" -- the publication is
geared toward institutions, administrators, and educators.

(Ian Stokell/19920504/Press Contact: Bill Keegan, Apple
Computer Inc., 408-974-5460)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 4  ****Japanese Chip Decline Seen, US Growth To Triple 05/04/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00029)

 ****Japanese Chip Decline Seen, US Growth To Triple 05/04/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 4 (NB) -- In a newly released
market survey from Dataquest, semiconductor growth is predicted to go
up 17 percent in North America, but the Japanese are expected to lose
market share in 1992.

The demand for semiconductors is expected to be from the portable
personal computer (PC), client/server, and network markets in North
America, Dataquest said. The market research firm is saying Motorola
and Intel are the US companies to watch in 1992.

However, the Japanese are expected to lose market share and those
losses are due to more than just weaker export markets. Gene Norrett,
vice president and general manager of Dataquest semiconductor research,
says three factors are contributors to the predicted Japanese decline.

"Direct competition from Korea and Taiwan for the chips and systems
market; weakened chip prices due to excess worldwide fab capacity; and
dependence on maturing and price-sensitive markets have also strongly
contributed," Norrett said.

The numbers are a 4.5 percent decline in the Japanese slice of the
semiconductor pie, based in dollars in 1992. The decline, if it
happens, will be the first since 1985, Dataquest said. Overall
semiconductor growth is expected to be lower than 1991 with only 7.1
percent growth.

North America's predicted 17 percent for 1992 will nearly triple its
6.4 percent actual growth in the semiconductor market in 1991,
Dataquest maintains. Europe is expected to experience 8.0 percent
growth as opposed to 5.4 in 1991, Dataquest added.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920504/Press Contact: Mary Hand, Dataquest, tel
408-437-8312, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 4 Lowest Power-Eating 4MB DRAMS Intro'ed By Toshiba 05/04/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00030)

Lowest Power-Eating 4MB DRAMS Intro'ed By Toshiba 05/04/92
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 4 (NB) -- Toshiba America has
announced a series of 4 megabytes (MB) dynamic random access memories
(DRAMs) that offer a smaller size and fast 70 nanosecond (ns)
operation combined with the benefits of the lowest power consumption
in the industry so far.

The new DRAMs are important because they cut power consumption down to
100mA which is 30 to 40 percent less than competing DRAMs, according
to Toshiba. Only 0.6 microns in size, compared to other x16 4 MB
DRAMs, these chips require 4 volts (V) of internal voltage. Toshiba
says reducing the power needed for DRAMs from 5V for 0.7 micron DRAMs
to the 4V for 0.6 micron DRAMs makes it safer to include other 0.6
micron components that could otherwise be destroyed at voltages
approaching 5.5V.

Toshiba also said demand is increasing for 4 MB DRAMs to facilitate
data processing speed because of the faster, high-performance
microprocessors becoming available.

The new TC514260 series consists of 12 devices organized 256K x 16
bits and available in 70 and 80 nanosecond (ns) versions. The devices
are available in three types of packages: 40-pin 400 milimeter (mil)
single outline J-lead (SOJ) packaging, 40-pin 475 mil high zigzag
inline packaging (ZIP), and 44-pin 400 mil thin small outline
packaging (TSOP).

Toshiba says it is shipping samples and expects mass production will
start in July, at an estimated rate of 300,000 units a month.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920504/Press Contact: Avo Kanadjian, Toshiba, tel
714-455-2000, fax [phone]; Public Contact, Toshiba, 9775 Toledo
Way, Irvine, CA 92718, telephone [phone])



#ENDCARD






#CARD :1992 MAY 1 Moscow: Telecom Expo Slated For May 25-30 05/01/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(MOW)(00001)

Moscow: Telecom Expo Slated For May 25-30 05/01/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 MAY 1 (NB) -- Hannover Messe International
announced it will run a second telecommunications exhibition called
Expocomm at the Russian Exhibition Complex (formerly VDNKh) from
May 25 through 30, 1992.

According to Carolla Schwennsen, Expocom manager, Siemens, AT&T,
IBM, and Alcates have reserved exhibition space along with
50 other communications companies from Russia and other countries.
Newsbytes were unable to determine if Motorola, which had the
biggest booth at last year's Expocomm, will also be exhibiting
this time.

(Kirill Tchashchin/199204/Press Contact: Hannover Messe, Carolla
Schwennsen, phone [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 1 IBM Establishing Info Net In Baltic 05/01/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00002)

IBM Establishing Info Net In Baltic 05/01/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 MAY 1 (NB) -- IBM announced plans to expand its
information network into Estonia and other Baltic countries
from existing facilities in Finland.

Jorma Piispa, product manager, told Newsbytes the IBM network center
will be established in Tallinn, Estonia in mid-summer, 1992.
The center will be connected via a leased line to Helsinki and offer
local residents X.400 e-mail, EDIFACT document exchange services and
access to 100+ information providers. Up to ten corporate clients could
be connected to the network to the year end, Piispa said.

The service will cost 4500 Finnish markka (US$1000) in advance
yearly with various additional usage-related fees.

IBM has 6 business partners in Estonia now -- Assert, Baltic
ComputerSystems, Data Division, Aktaco, Tartu Infokeskus, Eesti Riigi
Arvutuskeskus -- and is expanding its business presence in the
country.

(Kirill Tchashchin/199204/Press Contact: IBM Info Systems, Jorma Piispa,
phone [phone] )

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 1 Indo-US Dot Matrix Print-Heads from India's Southern Tip 05/01/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEL)(00003)

Indo-US Dot Matrix Print-Heads from India's Southern Tip 05/01/92
MADRAS, INDIA, 1992 MAY 1 (NB) -- The Dot Shop Inc., of Oregon, US and
Transmatic Systems Ltd., a Trivandrum (Kerala)-based company, are jointly
setting up a unit for making dot matrix print heads. The unit, to be
designated Transdot Electronics Ltd., will be located at the Kerala
government's technology park at Kariavattom, near the state capital
of Trivandrum in the southwestern tip of nature's bounty Kerala
state.

The proposed venture will also re-manufacture print-heads for printers
made by other Indian companies. Dot Shop, which is to hold a 51
percent stake in the new company, will provide the required technology.

Transdot is expected to commence operations within six months and
will produce 25,000 print-heads in the first year. The maximum yearly
capacity of 1,000,000 heads is projected to be attained in the third
year. In the beginning, 25 percent of the total production will
be earmarked for exports, but this share will be increased in time.

Transmatic Systems was the first to launch the fully computerized
PC-based telex link CTC 4000, which is today the largest selling
telex link in the country. It also manufactures computer accessories
and telecom gear.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19910429)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 1 Indian Space Agency Develops Mapping Software 05/01/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEL)(00004)

Indian Space Agency Develops Mapping Software 05/01/92
HYDERABAD, INDIA, 1992 MAY 1 (NB) -- The Hyderabad-based,
export-oriented Era Software Systems Pvt. Ltd., and Indian
Space Research Organization (ISRO) have jointly developed Isrogis,
geographical information system (GIS) software. It can be used
to create and interactively edit spatial databases, background
maps, and can be used as an error reporting and automatic
correction facility and also does map analysis functions,
among other things.

The software has direct interface to indigenous remote sensing
digital data analysis systems like Isrovision and is backed
with a one-year warranty which includes free updates during
this period. The package can be enhanced to support a large
spectrum of peripherals to suit the users' requirements.

Priced at about $7,000, the package has been developed under
ISRO's technology transfer scheme and includes equipment for
integrated manipulation of map data, classified remote sensing,
and tabular data. A runtime version of Integra SQL and a five-day
on-site training on the usage of the package is also given to
customers.

Era intends introducing version 2.0 of the package in the second
quarter of this year. The new version will have added features of
network analysis and 3D modelling and display modules along with a
command language interface facility.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920429)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 1  ****Norton Antivirus Users Encouraged To Call Before Cleanup 05/01/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00005)

 ****Norton Antivirus Users Encouraged To Call Before Cleanup 05/01/92
SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 1 (NB) -- Ana Shannon of
customer support for Symantec, publishers of the Norton Antivirus
product, says users should call support before calling in a
computer consultant or doing clean up work on a virus reported by the
software. Virus products can sometimes generate a false virus report,
including Norton Antivirus, which mistakenly reports the Cinderella
virus and has cost some business owners money for unnecessary virus
cleanup, Newsbytes has discovered.

The Norton Antivirus (NAV) products in both the 1.5 and 2.0 versions
shipped before March of this year have a bug in the virus definition
file (.DEF) that, especially in a network situation, reports the
presence of the Cinderella virus in memory, Symantec customer support
told Newsbytes. The virus definition file was not specific enough
about the Cinderella virus, according to Symantec support
representatives, but it only reports the virus in memory. However
booting from a clean floppy, then running the Norton Antivirus will
produce the result of no virus reported either in memory or on the
hard disk, support representatives added.

Some computer users have told Newsbytes this bug has cost them time
and money. An accountant in Las Vegas, Nevada told Newsbytes she
purchased the software because of suspicious loss of data on her
computer. When the Norton Antivirus 2.0 product told her the
Cinderella virus was present, she hired a computer consultant to do
the elimination work. Another Los Angeles-based plumbing firm had a
similar experience.

Symantec says it has fixed the problem in the virus definition file on
copies of Norton Antivirus that shipped after March. Virus definition
files for versions 1.5 and 2.0 with the fix for the Cinderella virus
are available from the Symantec support BBS at the number listed in
the user's manual, on CompuServe, and from Symantec's fax back
service, Shannon said. With the ever present changes in computer
hardware as well as the proliferation of new viruses, Shannon said
constant updates to Symantec's Antivirus products are necessary to
keep up. In fact, the product is designed so new virus definition
files could be added.

Symantec offers utilities for both the DOS and Macintosh platforms.
Symantec also owns Santa Monica-based Peter Norton Computing, formerly
owned by computer industry guru Peter Norton, who develops the Norton
Utilities and the Norton Antivirus.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920501/Press Contact: Ana Shannon, Symantec, tel
310-449-4140, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 1 Pricing Cut For Array's FFT Processing Design Kit 05/01/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00006)

Pricing Cut For Array's FFT Processing Design Kit 05/01/92
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, U.S.A.,1992 MAY 1 (NB) -- Array
Microsystems says it is now offering a design kit for prototyping
applications which use its high speed FFT (fast Fourier transform)
based processing. Cost of the kit is substantially lower than
pricing of the individual parts in the kit, the company told
Newsbytes.

Purchased separately, the components cost $5,500, while the kit is
priced at $1,495.

In addition to the a664xx memory module family, the kit contains a
high performance DASP/PAC chipset. As an example, Array said that
using a single 40 megahertz (MHz) chipset, a 1024 point FFT requires
only 12 instructions and can execute in only 131 microseconds. The
kit also includes documentation, a software simulator, user's guide
and data sheets.

Array's a66DK1 design kit provides six memory modules which support
the buffered a66 family architecture, supporting high speed
computation with simultaneous real-time input/output.

Also included in the a66DK1 kit is one digital array signal
processor, one programmable array controller, and six 16K SRAM
memory modules operating at 25 MHz. The digital array signal
processor is a complex arithmetic processing chip which operates on
data stored on the memory modules. It executes 16 high-level
instructions, windowing, complex multiplies, and general purpose
arithmetic functions. The programmable array controller manages the
entire system.

FFT technology is used is realtime applications such as radar,
digital radio, solar, medical instrumentation and image
compression, processing and reconstruction.

(Jim Mallory/19920430/Press contact: Kim Bayne, Array Microsystems,
719-540-7944; Public contact: 719-540-7900, FAX [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 1  ****Computers Track Delinquent Child Support Debtors 05/01/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DEN)(00007)

 ****Computers Track Delinquent Child Support Debtors 05/01/92
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 1 (NB) -- A Texas company operates a
computerized network covering nine states that helps locate absent
parents who are delinquent with their child support.

ACS National Systems, Inc., a subsidiary of Affiliated Computer
Services, says the system, called Electronic Parent Locator Network
EPLN), speeds the location of delinquent child support payees and
increases collection. According to the company, the system also
saves money for taxpayers in the states where it operates, reducing
welfare payments. ACS spokesperson Leslie Bumpas told Newsbytes
that a cost benefit analysis for fiscal year 1990 found the net
savings to participating states to be from $67,000 to $331,000 for
the year.

EPLN currently operates in Ohio, Kentucky, South Carolina, North
Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee.

"Participating states have the ability to effectively locate
delinquent, absent parents and collect child support on behalf of
the children of America," said EPLN director, Latta Thomas.

The system makes information from various state agencies available
to caseworkers looking for truant parents. Drivers license, food
stamp, employment, unemployment, and corrections information is fed
to EPLN in order to verify the home address and/or employer of the
parent. The company says that one feature, Soundex, which creates a
numeric representation of how a name sounds, is especially useful in
finding names that are difficult to spell or pronounce.

Running on a mainframe computer, EPLN can accept batch processing of
locator queries. A member state submits a computer tape with social
security numbers and ACS says the results can be returned within one
week.

(Jim Mallory/19920501/Press contact: Leslie Bumpas, ACS,
214-841-6285)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 1 Gateway 2000 Builds 500,000th Computer 05/01/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00008)

Gateway 2000 Builds 500,000th Computer 05/01/92
NORTH SIOUX CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 1 (NB) --
IBM compatible maker Gateway 2000 built its 500,000th PC this week,
and the buyer got a free notebook system as a gift.

According to Gateway 2000 marketing manager Mike Schmith, a woman in
Big Stone City, South Dakota purchased the milestone system. The
buyer said she was a teacher, and would use the PC at home for
personal use, according to Gateway spokesperson Glynnis Gibson. The
25 megahertz desktop 386SX PC and the free notebook will be
delivered next Tuesday R.J. Reimer, the salesperson who sold the
system.

"When Mike Hammond and I started Gateway 2000 in 1985, we had no
idea we would ever sell half a million PCs," said Gateway President
Ted Waitt. At the current production rate, Gateway will produce
number 1 million sometime in 1993, according to Waitt. The company
said it assembles about 1,500 units each day.

Gateway 2000, employing more than 1,400 people, was named the
fastest growing private firm in the country by Inc Magazine. The
company sells through the direct market channel, and reported 1991
sales in excess of $626 million, more than double its 1990 $275
million figure.

(Jim Mallory/19920501/Press contact: Mike Schmith, Gateway 2000,
605-232-2189; Public contact: 605-232-2000 or 80-523-2000)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 1 New For PC: Don't Curse Your Cursor - Get A New One 05/01/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00009)

New For PC: Don't Curse Your Cursor - Get A New One 05/01/92
INCLINE VILLAGE, NEVADA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 1 (NB) -- If you have
trouble finding your Windows cursor, North Shore Systems has a
solution for you.

The Nevada company is marketing CursorPower, a utility program that
offers 40 ready-made cursor designs, and also allows you to design
your own and add them to North Shore's library.

Library selections include arrows in various sizes; religious
symbols including crosses and Jewish stars; hearts; a telephone;
pointing fingers; I-beams;clocks; and several cartoon characters.
The library symbols can be modified to your liking, or you can
create your own, with the drawing section that's included with
CursorPower.

North Shore's Richard Stouffer said the favorite with the North
Shore staff a Snoopy-like dog, whose eyes and nose change color as
you drag him across the screen.

Stouffer told Newsbytes that the company offers a money-back
guarantee within 30 days. Right now, North Shore is offering
CursorPower for the introductory price of $49.95; the regular price
is $89.95

While CursorPower is only available directly from the company,
Stouffer said North Shore is presently negotiating for distribution
of the program through retail outlets.

Cursor modification programs are especially popular with laptop
users. To use CursorPower you'll need Windows 3.0 or higher, a
mouse, and an EGA, VGA or better display.

(Jim Mallory/19920501/Press contact: Richard Stouffer, North Shore
Systems, 702-831-1108)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 1 Electronic Monitoring Of Offenders Claimed To Work 05/01/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DEN)(00010)

Electronic Monitoring Of Offenders Claimed To Work 05/01/92
BOULDER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 1 (NB) -- Significantly less
than one percent of criminals attempt to break free of their
electronic monitoring devices. That's what Boulder-based
BI Inc, a company which manufacturers electronic monitoring devices
worn by offenders serving home detention, reports.

BI says a study by the US Department of Justice shows that only one
percent of individuals committed a crime while participating in an
electronically monitored home detention program. That's compared to
32 percent of the individuals on probation in 1986 that committed
another crime, according to a 1992 study just released.

The electronic devices are becoming popular with the courts as an
alternative to putting offenders in jail, especially with the
overcrowding many jails are experiencing today. Some offenders are
also allowed to continue to work while on home detention, lessening
the burden to the welfare system.

BI's monitoring device is fairly typical: a transmitter is attached
to the offender's ankle, and sends coded radio frequency signals to
a device attached to the phone, indicating the offender's presence
or absence, and indicating that the system has not been tampered
with. BI said that the technology they use is so sophisticated that
they can tell if the offender is trying to cut the device or merely
slip it off.

Various methods of monitoring are also possible. BI's system
allows authorities to select violation notification within
minutes, hours, that day or the next day. They can also decide to
be notified of a violation by pager, phone call or fax printout.

The transmitter works through the offender's telephone line, and can
detect line tampering.

The computer that monitors the devices can be operated by a single
jurisdiction, a shared jurisdiction such as the city and the county,
or through one of BI's two monitoring stations. BI operates
monitoring stations at its headquarters in Boulder, Colorado and in
Anderson, Indiana.

Cost of the monitoring is usually born by the offender, who pays a
daily fee for their electronic supervision, which BI's Joanna Manley
told Newsbytes is between $7-$10 per day. Employment is often a
prerequisite in order to participate in the program. "Offenders in
the work force are offenders paying taxes," said BI's president and
CEO, David Hunter.

BI sells its system as a turnkey operation, including the ankle
bracelets, proprietary software, and an NCR tower computer.
Manley declined to talk about system costs, citing the many
variables that go into pricing a system for a client.

BI, which claims about 70 percent of the market, said it has over
25,000 monitors in use in 580 jurisdictions all over the world.

(Jim Mallory/1920501/Press contact: Joanna Manley, BI, Inc,
303-530-2911)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 1  ****Speakers Set For Major BBS Convention Aug 13-16 05/01/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00011)

 ****Speakers Set For Major BBS Convention Aug 13-16 05/01/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 1 (NB) -- The numbers are
staggering - one BBS has received more than one million calls.
There is money to be made operating a bulletin board system and,
according to Boardwatch Magazine's founder, Jack Rickard,
attending the ONE BBSCON in Denver is one of the best ways to get
started.

Keynoting the convention will be noted computer industry
commentator John C. Dvorak, author of "Dvorak's Guide to PC
Telecommunications." But the main feature of the August 13-16
convention will be the 80-plus educational sessions intended for
everyone from beginning sysops to advanced operators.

Jack estimates that there are nearly 10,000 new modem buyers each
day and that by this August there will be nearly 60,000 public
access BBSs operating, not counting more than 100,000 private
company BBS systems. Boardwatch Magazine sponsors the BBS
industry trade show.

This year there will be a major concentration on teaching hobby
BBS operators how to deal with credit card merchant account
issuers, advertise by direct mail, and otherwise turn their hobby
into a profitable business.

Other conference tracks will include "What is INTERNET," How to
send "Graphics over a Modem," FidoNet, and "RelayNet, INet, et
al."  There will also product demonstrations from all major BBS
software vendors.

Conference registration prior to August 1 will be $175, or $225
at the door, and ONE BBSCON will be held at Denver's Stouffer
Concourse hotel.

(John McCormick/19920501/Press Contact: Jack Rickard, Boardwatch,
303-973-6038, fax [phone], or [e-mail])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 1 Study Says Fed Purchasing Is Mistake-Ridden 05/01/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00012)

Study Says Fed Purchasing Is Mistake-Ridden 05/01/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 1 (NB) -- Does the procurement
foul-up news out of Washington all start sounding the same after a
while? Well, the General Accounting Office has an answer for why
it seems that way. According to a recent study, managers never
seem to learn and keep making the same system purchase mistakes
over and over.

The GAO Study information was released by Representative John
Conyers Jr., the Michigan Democrat who is sponsoring H.R. 3161 to
reform the General Services Administration's buying practices.
Conyers specifically objects to massive cost overruns sometimes
associated with so-called IDIQ or indefinite-delivery,
indefinite-quantity contracts which, once approved, leave the
total size of the purchase to the contracting officer who just
orders what he or she thinks is needed.

Needless to say, the needs always seem to be greater than
anticipated; witness the way the Internal Revenue Service's tax
return examination review system rose $800 million in cost in
just three years.

H.R. 3161 would require that any IDIQ which goes more than 5
percent over the original contract amount has to be published in
the official Commerce Business Daily. That doesn't sound like a
very big variation to get excited about, but remember that
federal contracts may run into the billions of dollars and 5
percent of even a relatively small $1 billion contract is $50
million.

The GAO's report cites the following as the top federal computer
purchasing pitfalls:

Poor management (some agency heads don't even know what their
departments are spending or what it is spent on).

Insufficient information resources oversight.

Poor security or reliability in final system.

Lack of interoperability.

Major cost overruns.

Delays.

Performance not fitted to user needs.

A dreary and all-too-familiar list of shortcomings and one which,
according to the GAO, resulted in $7 billion in cost overruns in
recent years, not to mention systems or data which sit useless
because they were poorly designed without taking the users' needs
into account.

(John McCormick/19920501)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 1 ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 05/01/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00013)

ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 05/01/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 1 (NB) -- Roundup is a brief
look at some computer stories carried in other publications
received here this past week.

Network World dated April 27 says that IBM will replace
OfficeVision/2 with Lotus Notes and cc:Mail.

April's High-Tech Marketing News says that market researcher
Dataquest's major staff cuts are worrying some customers who rely
on the agency's forecasts.

May's Boardwatch (the magazine of BBS sysops) lists 643 English
bulletin board numbers but puts H. Ross Perot on the cover.

InformationWeek for the week of the 27th looks at the real
chances for open systems.

IEEE Spectrum for May explores the portable computer industry's
move from five-volt systems to a 3.3-volt standard.

May's PC World looks at bargain dual-speed 80486DX2-50 based
computers.

June's Macworld tests 28 accelerators that can soup up older
Macintosh systems.

Lotus magazine for May explores top graphics software for Lotus
1-2-3 users.

Computerworld for the 27th of April says that the Bank of America
is going to sell its payroll processing unit.

May's Data Based Advisor has a load of tips on how professionals
optimize Novell NetWare performance.

Computer Reseller News dated April 27 says that the ACE or
Advanced Computing Environment consortium which once involved
Compaq, Microsoft, The Santa Cruz Operation, MIPS Computer
Systems, and Digital Equipment is not only losing Compaq but may
suffer from a Microsoft decision to port Windows NT to Digital's
Alpha computer.

(John McCormick/19920501)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 1 The Enabled Computer 05/01/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00014)

The Enabled Computer 05/01/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 1 (NB) -- The Enabled Computer
is a regular Newsbytes feature covering news and important
product information relating to high technology aids for the
disabled.

This issue continues coverage of interesting and practical
entries in the recent Johns Hopkins National Search for Computing
to Assist Persons With Disabilities.

Mother Becomes Inventor by Necessity:

Carol Sanford has trouble communicating with her teenage
daughter. This is certainly a common problem among parents;
however, in this case it isn't the generation gap that is causing
trouble but the fact that daughter Jill is profoundly deaf.

Fortunately, Carol isn't your run-of-the-mill mother and she set
out to solve the problem, along the way creating ToneTalker, a
hand-held portable device that lets anyone use a touch-tone
telephone to send text messages to a person with the ToneTalker.

The 6-inch by 3-inch by 2-inch battery-powered ToneTalker picks
up the sounds from a telephone handset via a simple suction-cup
magnetic pickup of the sort used to record telephone
conversations. ToneTalker converts these signals into a text and
number display on its built-in LCD screen.

There is no hard wire connection to the telephone so the device
can be used on a home- or pay-phone with equal ease, and because
it does not fit over the speaker the telephone handset is still
completely operable and voice communication is not affected.

To send a message using ToneTalker you enter letters, numbers,
and punctuation using a very simple and easy-to-learn code. For
instance, to send any of the letters on the "2" through "9" keys
you first press that number, then either the "1," "2," or "3" to
indicate whether you intended the first, middle, or last letter
on the key. For example, to send "K" you would press "5" then
"2".

To speed communication among friends, you can set up to 45
programmable macros for common messages such as Jill's "14" which
generates: "Hello, Jill, this is Mom."

Since a deaf person might well have trouble placing a call,
ToneTalker also indicates the presence of a dial tone or when the
telephone is ringing.

I talked with Jill with the help of Carol's signing translation,
and I can guarantee that she is very happy with the invention
that has given her the ability to hold private telephone
conversations which every teenage girl so desperately needs.

For further information contact Carol Sanford, 114 Ridge Road,
Jupiter, FL 33477. Phone, fax, and TDD 407-746-9185.

By the way, Jill and Carol's ToneTalker business card has the
device's number codes for sending all non-custom signals.

(John McCormick/19920501)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 1 Lotus Acquires The Organizer From Threadz 05/01/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00015)

Lotus Acquires The Organizer From Threadz 05/01/92
STAINES, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 1 (NB) -- Lotus Development
has announced plans to acquire The Organizer, a personal
information management (PIM) package for the Microsoft Windows
environment, from Threadz, a UK software house.

The package, which was first released in the fall of last year,
has achieved considerable success in the UK. The Organizer,
which recently won the "gold award" from PC User, a UK
fortnightly computer publication,  combines the "look and feel"
of a traditional physical organizer such as a Filofax, with the
Windows graphical user interface (GUI),

Plans call for Lotus Organizer, as the package will be called, to
become part of Lotus' recently formed Portable Computing Group
(PCG), which includes Agenda, another PIM product from the
company.

Ross Holman, Threadz' managing director, is pleased with the
deal, although he has declined to say how much cash involved in
his contract with Lotus.

"We've achieved tremendous success with The Organizer in the UK
To launch the product in North America and on a worldwide basis,
we sought partner that shared our strategic and technical vision
for PIMs," he said.

(Steve Gold/19920501/Press & Public Contact: Lotus Development
U.K. - Tel: [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 1  ****Editorial: Don't Reward Rip-off Books! 05/01/92



(EDITORIAL)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00016)

 ****Editorial: Don't Reward Rip-off Books! 05/01/92
NEW YORK, NY, U.S.A., 1992 APR 28 (NB) -- By Barbara E. McMullen
& John F. McMullen. As past editors of the CPA Network
News and founding members of New York City's "Luncheon Group," the
forerunner of the Computer Press Association (CPA), we are strong
supporters of  the activities of the CPA and think that it provides
valuable services to both writers and the computer industry.

The following, then, is not intended to be an indictment of the CPA
in general; it is rather an attempt to point out an instance
in which elements of the computer industry have let greed come before
customer concerns and the CPA has sanctioned its action by considering
the product of the greed to be possibly worthy of an award.

Specifically, we think that it is shameful that a book with the
title "Peter Norton's Guide To The Norton Utilities 6.0" is even published,
never mind nominated for a Computer Press Association award -- or that
any book from Microsoft Press that tells people how to properly use a
Microsoft software product is likewise considered to be anything more
than an admission that the documentation  supplied with the product
is grossly inadequate.

"How-to" books are generally successful because the documentation supplied
with programs is baffling to a person attempting to master a program for the
first time. Because of problems with documentation, firms like Que and the
Cobb Group have done extremely well. The presence of such books has been to
the benefit of both the computing public and the software firms as they have
often turned confused individuals into satisfied users of the product.
We think that such titles from independent publishing firms are highly
appropriate and that it is equally appropriate for the Computer Press
Association to honor the best of such titles.

What we think is highly, inappropriate, however, is for the software firms
themselves to produce works that do little, if anything, more than explain
to a user how to properly utilize their own software. Books like these
are a tacit admission that the tutorials and reference material supplied
with the software are inadequate -- and this is certainly not a condition
that the software firms should profit from! It is certainly not a
situation that the CPA should bless with nominations for best "how-to"
book.

We are not talking here about books that add value to a product such
as one that explains how the product is of use in a certainly industry
(such as a book about using Microsoft Word or WordPerfect to write
screenplays or one that provides examples of uses of Lotus 1-2-3 or
Microsoft Excel by civil engineers). We are also not talking about books
such as those in the Addison-Wesley/Apple "Inside Macintosh" series that
provide much more technical information than is required by a normal
system user. We are talking solely about those books that provide
how-to-use information. Books of that nature should be written and
published by anyone but the persons responsible for the development and
marketing of the software.

If the software companies persist in using resources in this manner
rather than improving the documentation and tutorials, the CPA should
be at the forefront in criticizing such efforts. If it is reluctant
to take such a bold action, it should at least remain silent. It should
certainly not honor such rip-offs!

EDITOR'S NOTE: The above opinions of those of the writers of this
editorial and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Newsbytes
News Network. The Computer Press Association has no formal position
on this issue and the judging is done by independent journalists.

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19920429)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 1  ****LA Residents Asked To Stay Off Phones 05/01/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LAX)(00017)

 ****LA Residents Asked To Stay Off Phones 05/01/92
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 1 (NB) -- The last two days
of rioting and fires in Los Angeles after the acquittal of officers
accused of beating Rodney King have caused telecommunications problems
in the Los Angeles area. As a result Pacific Bell is asking residents
restrict their calling during the crisis to emergency use only.

While looting, violence, shooting, and over 1,000 fires set in the
downtown and Los Angeles area have caused other problems, the
telecommunications problems are due to simple congestion of the
telephone network, according to Linda Bonnikson of public relations
for Pacific Bell. "Just like the freeways are not built to accommodate
every person who has a car at the same time, so the telephone lines
are not built to accommodate use by everyone who has a telephone."
Pacific Bell is requesting customers leave the line free for emergency
calls only.

Schools have been closed in Los Angeles, bus and public transportation
services are at a standstill, and city residents are being asked not
to leave their homes unless it is absolutely necessary.

When asked if the dusk-to-8am curfew in the city and the violence
displayed on the streets were contributing factors, Bonnikson said
those were the main factors motivating people to pick up the phone.
Pacific Bell is reporting the heavy call volume is affecting service
to 200,000 Los Angeles residents and causing delays in getting a dial
tone from several seconds to several minutes.

Interestingly enough, similar problems were caused by the last
earthquake in the area and when tickets for a concert by rock group U2
went on sale. In the case of the U2 tickets, Bonnikson said Pacific
Bell was flooded with approximately 2 million calls in a two-minute
period beginning at 6:59, one minute before the 7:00 am ticket sales
began.

Pacific Bell also said it is restricting repair and work activity in
the Los Angeles area, especially in the riot torn areas of South
Central. Only absolute emergency work is being performed in those
areas and the company says its utmost concern is the safety of its
employees. "...That safety will not be compromised," the company said
in a prepared statement.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920501/Press Contact: Linda Bonnikson, Pacific
Bell, tel [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 1 UK: Toshiba Shaves Portable PC Pricing 05/01/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00018)

UK: Toshiba Shaves Portable PC Pricing 05/01/92
WEYBRIDGE, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 1 (NB) -- Toshiba has
reduced prices across its range of portables, adding three new
models which boost hard disk options for what the company
describes as power users.

Price reductions of up to 22 percent apply to nine products in
the 18-strong Toshiba range of machines. Examples are the
T2200SX/80 notebook, which falls from UKP 3.050 to UKP 2,375, a
reduction of the full 22 percent, and the T3300S:/80 notebook,
which falls 19 percent from UKP 3,475 to UKP 2,799.

The new portable expansion options are on the T3300SL, T4400SXL
and T4400SXP, all of which now have the option of a 120 megabyte
(MB) hard disk. Prices are, respectively, UKP 3,150, UKP 3,599
and UKP 3,799.

Announcing the new prices, Nick Hall, Toshiba's marketing
manager, said that they are due to an increase in economies of
scale, as well as a desire to remain competitive. "These new
prices reflect our continuing success in the UK Increased sales
have enabled us to achieve greater economies which we are now
delighted to pass on to the customer," he said.

(Steve Gold/199200501/Press & Public Contact: Toshiba UK. - Tel:
071-229-4400)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 1  ****Bill Gates Blasts NY Post Over "Anti-Semetic" Fonts 05/01/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00019)

 ****Bill Gates Blasts NY Post Over "Anti-Semetic" Fonts 05/01/92
NEW YORK, NY, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 1 (NB) -- Bill Gates, speaking to a
special meeting of the New York IBM Users Group, ripped the New York
Post for its April 29th front-page story by Post reporter Don Broderick
linking a Windows 3.1 symbol font, "Windings," to an anti-semitic
phase.

Gates told the audience of over 700, "Before I begin my prepared
remarks, I want to comment on a piece of irresponsible reporting
in yesterday's New York Post." He then, for the people who had not
seen the piece, briefly reviewed the contents of the story and
concluded by saying, "It would be humorous if it were not such an
ugly thing. Anyone who has looked at this and has any good sense can
see that this is a purely random occurrence."

Gates later told Newsbytes that Microsoft has issued a formal statement
and that "We called the article to the attention of the Anti-Defamation
League and, after reviewing the issue, it released a statement agreeing
with our position."

The Post article stated that if the characters "NYC" are typed in
the Windings font, the symbols for a skull, a Star of David, and
a thumbs-up sign are displayed, and quoted a Brian Young who
suggesting that the connection had to be planned. According to the
Post, Young said, "It's mind-blowing. Somebody's responsible for
this. This is very offensive. I found it hard to believe some of
the stories about the resurgence of Nazi sympathizers -- but this
puts things back in perspective."

Additionally, the front page of that day's paper over a very
large "Program Of Hate" caption shows a monitor with a
screen display of "NYC = " followed by the three symbols.
Under the screen is the small caption, "The message - a thumbs-up
to the death of Jews in NYC - is hidden in best-selling computer
programs."

On the same day as Gates' talk, the Post ran a page 6 cartoon
depicting a shirt-sleeved, cigarette-smoking executive screaming at
a conference table full of people, "I want to know which one of you
programmers is injecting this trash into our software. Is it you,
Kawalski?" Among the figures sitting at the conference table is a
cartoon character of Adolph Hitler. A Microsoft spokesperson told
Newsbytes that she did not believe that Bill had been aware of the
cartoon when he made his comments.

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen//19920501)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 1 IBM Coy About Mail Order Sales -- Except In Canada 05/01/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00020)

IBM Coy About Mail Order Sales -- Except In Canada 05/01/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 1 (NB) -- IBM has little
to say about rumors that it will sell some PS/2 computers by mail
order. What the company will say, though, suggests that there are
plans in the works that company officials are not quite ready to
talk about.

"We will have some product offering for the direct channel," IBM
spokesman Chris Clough told Newsbytes, "and I can tell you it will
be in short order."

But Clough said a report by the Reuters news agency, which quoted
an unnamed IBM spokesman as saying the company would sell its PS/2
models 35 and 40 through a toll-free order number for less than
$1,500, was wrong. Specific plans "have not been confirmed by IBM,"
Clough said.

Clough also had no comment on rumors that IBM is negotiating to buy
Northgate Computer Systems, which sells IBM-compatible personal
computers by mail order.

Curt Rohrman, an analyst with investment firm First Boston, told
Newsbytes he did not know if the Northgate rumor was true or not,
but that buying a company like Northgate would be a sensible way
for IBM to pursue the low-priced PC market.

He noted that IBM is on record as saying it will offer low-priced
PCs under a different name in Europe.

The company wants to set up a two-tier strategy to lure
price-conscious buyers while maintaining the cachet of the IBM
name, Rohrman said. To do that, it needs to sell its low-priced
machines under a different name. If IBM buys Northgate, he said,
"in a perverse kind of way, what they're really buying is nothing
more than a name."

But Rohrman added that the Northgate name might well be worth the
purchase price to IBM. The company needs a name to put on
low-priced PCs, he said, and that name should be a familiar one
rather than an entirely new one coined for the purpose.

IBM's response to the rumors seems to make it clear the company
plans to sell personal computers through direct channels in the
United States very soon. What is not certain is whether these will
be PS/2 machines bearing the IBM name, the products of a company
IBM acquires, or possibly PS/2 machines built by IBM but bearing a
different nameplate. Or, the company may be planning more than one
offering.

In Canada, meanwhile, IBM is already selling PS/1 computers through
a toll-free number. The company began a trial program called IBM
Direct in Kitchener and Waterloo, Ontario in March, said IBM Canada
spokesman Stan Didzbalis. The service was extended to Toronto in
April, and this month it is being rolled out across the country.
Advertisements are appearing in nationally distributed daily
newspapers.

(Grant Buckler/19920501/Press Contact: Chris Clough, IBM,
914-642-5372; Stan Didzbalis, IBM Canada, 416-474-3900)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 1 Systemhouse, BCE Extend Deadline For Talks 05/01/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00021)

Systemhouse, BCE Extend Deadline For Talks 05/01/92
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAY 1 (NB) -- Systems integrator SHL
Systemhouse, the Montreal-based holding company BCE, and BCE's
phone-company subsidiary Bell Canada, have agreed to give themselves
another 15 days to work out details of their strategic partnership.

The companies are negotiating operating agreements to go with a
memorandum of understanding they signed on February 6. That deal
calls for Systemhouse to take over the operation of Bell Canada's
data center and to provide systems integration and outsourcing
services to Bell Canada customers.

The companies also plan to create a joint venture to sell computer
systems and services to the telecommunications industry worldwide.

Systemhouse is to buy some assets of Bell Canada for cash. BCE is
to pay C$12.75 per share in cash for enough Systemhouse shares to
give it 60-percent ownership of the company. BCE currently has a
25-percent stake in Systemhouse.

The deal also calls for BCE to have a quarter of the seats on an
expanded Systemhouse board of directors. Currently BCE is
represented by two out of 10 directors on the Systemhouse board.

A major impetus for the deal is Systemhouse's keen interest in the
business of outsourcing, in which a services company such as
Systemhouse operates a client's information systems on its behalf,
said company spokesman John Owens. Bell Canada is a major potential
customer for such services. A multi-year outsourcing contract with
Bell could potentially be worth a billion dollars or more, he said.

BCE's involvement with Systemhouse dates back to 1987, when it
loaned money to Kinburn Technology, a holding company that formerly
controlled Systemhouse, to help it buy Computerland Canada, the
Toronto-based firm which operates Computerland retail franchises in
Canada. Kinburn defaulted on the loan in 1990, leaving BCE with its
25-percent share in Systemhouse.

SHL Systemhouse reported revenues of C$700 million in 1991. It has
more than 3,000 employees.

The companies said they have made "considerable progress" on the
details of the agreement, but significant difficulties remain. A
statement from the companies said no assurances could be given that
the deal would go through, but that if the remaining problems are
resolved, board approval should be given by the end of May.
Approval from shareholders and regulators would also be required.

(Grant Buckler/19920501/Press Contact: Harry Schlough, Systemhouse,
416-366-4600)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 1 SPA Home Computer Use Survey 05/01/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(WAS)(00022)

SPA Home Computer Use Survey 05/01/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 1 (NB) -- The Software
Publishers Association, the software industry's major trade
group, has completed a telephone survey of nearly 1,200 home
computer and video game users in the United States. The survey
provides a lot of useful information for software marketers,
including the fact that personal productivity software users own
an average of 3.6 programs, while entertainment users own almost
ten.

Home based business users operate a computer nearly 17 hours each
week, while workers who take the office home with them at night
spend about one hour per night on average working on the bosses
tasks (based on a seven-day week).

Education software comes in for about four hours use each week
but recreation/entertainment programs get almost the same time.

These numbers refer to hours of use in households that
predominantly use a particular software category and don't mean
that homes use education and entertainment programs about equal
amounts, but that education program users run that software about
the same amount of time that game players play their games.

Personal computer usage at home is about double the video game
usage for those with a four-year college degree, while those with
some college use computers more than video games, but the numbers
are much closer.

For those with an education level up to and including high school
graduation, personal computer use is less than one third that of
video games.

PC use is also tied strongly to household income, with 41 percent
of homes with PCs having incomes over $50,000, versus only 23
percent for those with video games.

Nearly 40 percent of entertainment software homes have no
children, while only 22 percent of education software is in
childless homes and personal productivity software comes out
highest in homes with no children, but not far above
entertainment programs.

Forty percent of entertainment software users in the survey,
along with 26 percent of education software users admitted to the
SPA that they copy software from friends, work, or from school.
The SPA did not release any estimate of how much of that copied
software would constitute pirated copies but most software in
schools or businesses would be copyrighted, licensed programs
which can't legally be copied.

Resellers and advertisers will be interested to learn that word-
of-mouth recommendations are the most important software buying
influence, every bit as important as seeing an actual
demonstration, and more influential than advertisements or even
magazine reviews.

The data for the survey was collected during 15-minute long
interviews conducted with 1,190 U.S. households which reported
having video games or PCs and the questions only covered five
software categories: entertainment, education, personal
productivity, business software for home business, and that used
for work brought home.

(John McCormick/19920501/Press Contact: Terri Childs, SPA, 202-
452-1600)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 1  ****Giant Joint Ventures Aim At New Markets 05/01/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00023)

 ****Giant Joint Ventures Aim At New Markets 05/01/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 1 (NB) --- IBM and Time Warner
will discuss multimedia communications, while Dow Jones and
BellSouth will definitely work on information services, as
America's largest information and technology companies aim to
dominate the markets of the future by working together.

IBM and Time Warner are talking about combining the former's
interactive multimedia technology with the latter's huge library
of film and media resources, as well as its cable television
operation. The two companies are discussing "movies on demand,"
interactive education, and interactive gaming, as well as
business services. As press reports of the potential link grew,
IBM and Time Warner were declining comment, indicating no firm
deal has been struck.

The two companies are also linked through the boardroom, with
former Time chairman Richard Munro on the IBM board, and a former
IBM chairman John Open on the Time Warner board.

The BellSouth-Dow Jones tie-up is more definite. BellSouth will
seek new markets for Dow Jones' videotex and audiotex services,
including copy from its "Wall Street Journal" and "Barron's"
publication and newswire. The two firms are testing an audiotex
service for Los Angeles cellular phone subscribers. Dow Jones
also has agreements with NYNEX and Pacific Telesis, and its
newspapers have editorialized frequently in favor of the Bells'
entry into the information industry, an entry which made possible
these agreements.

BellSouth spokesman Tim Klein downplayed the significance of the
other two Dow Jones agreements, saying this is the first
"strategic alliance" between Dow Jones and a regional Bell
company, the first time a regional Bell is committing
"significant" funds to creating new ventures using Dow Jones
material.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920501/Press Contact: Tim Klein, BellSouth,
404-249-4135; Roger May of Dow Jones, 212-416-2601

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 1 AT&T Launches World Connect, Connects with NEC 05/01/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00024)

AT&T Launches World Connect, Connects with NEC 05/01/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 1 (NB) -- AT&T launched
World Connect, with English-speaking operator assistance for
international calls in 34 countries. AT&T World Connect works
with any international calls placed between any of the 34
countries affected, using a calling card or AT&T's Universal Card
credit card.

Calls are completed by an English-speaking AT&T operator. A similar
service already is available to international callers dialing the
United States. AT&T plans to expand the service worldwide.

To reach World Connect, you dial a special toll-free number,
keyed to the country where the call originates, which connects
with a bilingual operator in the United States. This can require
dialing between three and 10 digits. Then give the operator the
country code, city code and the phone number being called. If
you're at a touch-tone phone, you can enter your calling card
number. Otherwise, give it to the operator. Costs vary depending
on the origin and destination.

Countries covered include Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Bolivia,
Bonaire, Columbia, Curacao, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France,
Guam, Guyana, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Korea,
Luxembourg, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Portugal,
Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Martin, Saipan, Sweden, Suriname,
Taiwan, Turkey, and Britain.

Also, AT&T set up a joint-venture in Japan with NEC to sell its
semiconductors, with AT&T holding 51 percent of the equity. The
operation will open for business in June, concentrating on chips
used in cellular phones and home appliances. The Japanese
government expressed pleasure at the development, hoping to
expand imports and reduce trade friction. Japan hopes to import
20 percent of its semiconductors by December.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920501)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 1 Cincinnati Bell Online Environmental Service for Business 05/01/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00025)

Cincinnati Bell Online Environmental Service for Business 05/01/92
CINCINNATI, OHIO, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 1 (NB) -- Cincinnati Bell's
CBD unit launched an online service called TEAM-W. The service is
designed to help businesses comply with environmental regulations
to reduce waste generation and maximize profits.

TEAM-W: The Electronic Answer for Managing Waste, is an
electronic marketplace for the exchange of re-usable and
recyclable waste materials that would typically end up in
landfills. Developed in partnership with local consultants,
TEAM-W is based on the concept that a majority of solid waste can
be re-used and recycled. TEAM-W offers instant access to local
buyers and sellers, information about disposal alternatives,
current market prices for materials, regulatory information and
case studies.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920501/Press Contact: Donna Noll, for
Cincinnati Bell, 513/721-5353)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 1 Sprint Links to Israel, Adds Directory Service 05/01/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00026)

Sprint Links to Israel, Adds Directory Service 05/01/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A, 1992 MAY 1 (NB) -- Sprint added Israel
to the countries on the Sprint World discount calling plan. You
can link with that country, and 39 others, at discount rates for
$3 per month.

Calls to Israel cost 73 cents per minute on weekends, nearly half
the regular cost. Sprint said its plan offers 10 more hours of
discount calling than other plans, and users are automatically
registered in its Sprint Plus plan for more savings.

Sprint also announced the Sprint Priority Directory, which is
being sent free to members of its Priority plan. The 5 x 7 inch,
hardbound book is divided into 10 sections, and offers
information on area codes, worldwide time zones, and Sprint's own
calling plans. There are maps, sections for inserting emergency
numbers, and extensive dialing instructions for using the Sprint
network. There's also a $25 gift certificate for use when
Priority customers move.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920501/Press Contact: Robin Pence, Sprint,
202-828-7454)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 1 Hayes-OmniTel Patent Suit Settled 05/01/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00027)

Hayes-OmniTel Patent Suit Settled 05/01/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 1 (NB) -- The case of Hayes'
patent for an escape sequence with guard time, at the heart of
today's PC modems, may be ending. OmniTel, the last defendant in
a suit over the patent Hayes filed years ago, finally settled.

In January, 1991, a San Francisco jury had found the OmniTel,
Everex Systems and Ven-Tel Systems had all violated patent
4,549,302, known as the "Heatherington '302" patent, awarding
Hayes damages totaling $10 million, including treble damages and
attorney fees imposed by Judge Samuel Conti. OmniTel had appealed
the rulings. In the settlement, OmniTel licensed the patent and
agreed to an obligation of $2.5 million, which will be handled
through its current plan of reorganization in Bankruptcy Court.
Earlier, Everex had made a settlement with Hayes, but the case
against Ven-Tel continues.

In addition to winning agreement with OmniTel, Hayes said it has
concluded license agreements with Telebit of Sunnyvale,
California and Askey Computer of Taiwan.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920501/Press Contact: Hayes, Beth Logan, 404-
840-9200)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 1 New For PC In UK: Wordperfect 5.1 Hebrew Module 05/01/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00028)

New For PC In UK: Wordperfect 5.1 Hebrew Module 05/01/92
ADDLESTONE, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 1 (NB) -- Wordperfect U.K.
has begun shipping a Hebrew language module for Wordperfect 5.1.
According to the company, the UKP 65 module allows bilingual text
entry in columns, tables and text boxes.

"We're pleased to offer this sought-after language module.
Customers have been asking for powerful right to left editing
capabilities for some time now," said Peter Joseph, director of
products with Wordperfect U.K.

What's interesting about the Hebrew module is that the package
allows Wordperfect 5.1 to accept text entry and editing on a
right to left basis as well as the conventional left to right
system. The module also includes screen fonts, keyboard drivers
and soft fonts for the HP Series II & III, Epson 24-pin,
Postscript and compatible printers.

The Hebrew language module is fully compatible with the U.K.
version of Wordperfect 5.1 and requires 400 kilobytes (KB) of
conventional memory, together with the use of a hardware key for
execution protection. MCGA and EGA (256 color minimum), VGA or
Hercules Ramfont display types are also required.

(Steve Gold/19920501)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 1 New Software Protection Scheme: "Moral Lock" 05/01/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00029)

New Software Protection Scheme: "Moral Lock" 05/01/92
SIDCUP, KENT, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 1 (NB) -- Cyco International,
whose software products are distributed through Datech, has
announced it is protecting its software with a "moral lock"
system.

The moral lock system allows the company to release fully working
copies of its software, but locked down to demonstration level.
The first package to get the moral lock treatment is Automanager
Professional, which allows AutoCAD drawing files to be printed,
plotted or redlined.

When the demonstration disk is installed, the user is presented
with a display box stating that the software may be used for
unlimited testing and evaluation provided it is not used in a
productive environment.

Every time the message is displayed, the user must type "yes" at
the prompt to signify that s/he agrees to these terms. The only
other limitation is that the package will "expire" a few months
after it is installed, at which point the customer is asked to
buy a full copy of the software.

Announcing the protection system, Vincent Evans, Cyco
International's president, said that he is confident that users
will use his software correctly.

"Getting software in front of the right potential market is a big
problem. It requires time that most professionals don't have. By
giving them a full, working version of our software, they can
evaluate the product without questioning whether the actual
software will perform as expected," he said.

Simon Weeks, sales and marketing manager of Datech, confirmed
Evans' comments, claiming that Cyco's initiative is "bold and
refreshing,"

"It demonstrates their faith in the product and in the integrity
of users. Very often users do not have sufficient time to try out
a demo program fully and may only have access to a limited number
of features. The moral lock approach overcomes these
disadvantages. I would like to see other software developers
taking a lead from Cyco," he said.

(Steve Gold/19920501/Press & Public Contact: Datech - Tel: 081-
308-1800)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAY 1 Scientific-Atlanta Offers Printing Off TV Signal 05/01/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00030)

Scientific-Atlanta Offers Printing Off TV Signal 05/01/92
NORCROSS, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 1 (NB) --- In an enhancement
to its B-MAC television encryption system, Scientific-Atlanta
announced users will now be able to send files for printing by
IBM PC compatible computers and printers.

The Broadcast Printer Interface links to B-MAC decoders, strip
out the data, and pass it to a computer, while TV pictures
are sent elsewhere.

The BPI system with B-MAC has a number of advantages. It allows
the broadcasting of computer files. It also improves security,
since B-MAC is by its nature an encryption mechanism. IDS
Financial Services of Golden Valley, Minnesota said it would
install the B-MAC interface at 20 sites on its corporate network,
and could add the interface to the other 170 sites after an
evaluation period.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920501/Press Contact: Paul McKeon, for
Scientific Atlanta, 404-698-8650)



#ENDCARD





(REVIEW)(IBM)(SYD)(00001)

#CARD :1992 APR 3 Review of: Book "Stupid PC Tricks," 04/03/92

Review of: Book "Stupid PC Tricks," 04/03/92

Runs on: Bedside tables, international flights and rainy
afternoons.

From: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Route 128, Reading,
Massachusetts 01867

Price: US$19.95

PUMA Rating: 2.5 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Paul Zucker

Summary: A book and disk of PC prank and novelty programs,
many of which are designed to scare the wits out of other
PC users. (Also available is Stupid Mac Tricks).

======

REVIEW

======

Stupid PC Tricks (7 insanely great programs to make your PC
more fun) by LeVitus and Tittel, comes with a 5 1/4" disk of 17
programs, and is more of a novelty collection than just practical
jokes. Many of the programs are available on bulletin boards, so
you don't have to buy the book to have a play. The book not only
explains how the programs work, but gives the budding
trickster some hints on how to modify Autoexec.bat files,
and set up machines to trap the unwary. There's even a
chapter showing how TSRs work (presumably so you can manage
some of the tricks) and a 10-page glossary of PC terms.

Some of the programs are:

BUGLE.EXE. This is a collection of 20 bugle calls that can be played
from a menu, or directly from the command line. The books
suggests you run one from the PC start-up batch file, to set
the tone for the day's work.

FOOL.EXE. A TSR that randomly answers DOS commands with a silly
phrase. You set it with a percentage which dictates how
often it will be triggered. For the cautious, a 1% setting
will answer (on average) a DOS command with a random choice
from a file called FOOLISH. You can even specify up to
three programs that it will never allow to work, and will
always give a spurious response. It comes with a list of
phrases like "I hate people who type with dirty
fingernails!" though, of course, you can use your own.

MUTANT.EXE. A couple of minutes after running this TSR, it starts to
make sounds - strange sounds. Some liken them to wild
beasts trying to get out of the back of the computer. The
only cure is to reboot the machine.

TRIP.EXE. When applications run in text mode, Trip can cause the
most baffling effects. It works by randomly choosing a
character, and changing its colour everywhere it occurs on
the screen. On mono displays, it sometime makes the chosen
character blink or go faint or disappear.

ADULATE.EXE. By using a file of compliments (as toadying as you like)
Adulate produces one or more randomly constructed
adulations for the recipient. If you're feeling lonely or
unloved, set it up just for yourself, and have you PC
remind you through the day just how wonderful you really
are. You can include the name of the recipient so it seems
just that much more sincere, too.

PARASCAN.EXE. Boy, is this a weird one! It pretends to be a virus
detector and eradicator. Run it and it gives a fast-running
dialogue. It starts slowly, saying it's on the job. Then it
says it suspects a virus, and describes the (randomly
chosen) beasty. It then tells you it's going into battle
and the fight is on. The screen fills with a graphic, gory
battle description, which sometimes ends in victory,
sometimes ..... not. Good fun, this one.

BUGRES.EXE. This is an effective, but harmless trick. When you load
this TSR by pressing Ctrl-B, it hangs around and after a
while it starts to 'eat up' a screen with randomly
generated 'bugs.' Press any key and the screen goes back to
normal. One side effect is that you can use it as a screen
saver.

SAYINGS.EXE. Displays a randomly chosen thought for the day in a
box on screen, until any key is pressed. Just think of the
inspirational messages you could leave on the machines
around you office.

ANNOY.EXE. This is a good one. It sits between you and DOS, and looks
for any DOS command it's been programmed to detect. When it
sees it, it says you can't proceed without the right
password (but it accepts any word). It even comments on
your need to use the command, and suggests things like
"Hey, you're going to wear out the DIR command if you use
it too much." It recognizes swear words, and sends the user
off on a wild goose chase if they use one.

OTHERS: In addition, there are some graphics programs that do
things like draw Mandelbrot sets, or simulate Spirographs
and so on. There are also more tune-playing and comment
programs. Is the book worth the money? Probably not, but
only you know how much you need a good PC trick.

===========

PUMA RATING

===========

PERFORMANCE: 2. Some programs are good and some are
downright bad.

USEFULNESS: 2. Not reallly what you'd call a productivity
tool. But if you're looking for a laugh, this is it.

MANUAL: 2. A good exercise in how to make a 300-word readme
file expand to become an entire chapter in a $20 book.

AVAILABILITY: 4. Can't argue with a book you can find in
most book shops.

(Paul Zucker/19920403)

#ENDCARD




#CARD :1992 MAY 29 Review of: Ross Perot, An Unauthorized Biography, by Todd Mason,


(REVIEW)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00029)

Review of: Ross Perot, An Unauthorized Biography, by Todd Mason,
ISBN 1-55623-236-5

From: BusinessONE Irwin (Times Mirror Books), 1818 Ridge Road,
Homewood, IL 60430. 708-206-2700

Price: $19.95 Hardbound, 300-plus pages with index

PUMA Rating: 4 on a scale 1=lowest to 4=highest

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: John McCormick, 05/29/92

Summary: Packed with details which show the unpublicized side of
H. Ross Perot, the man who may become president.

======

REVIEW

======

That this would be an unauthorized biography was something which
Mr. Perot made clear to the author (former Dallas, Texas Bureau
Chief for Business Week) right from the very start by pointing
out that since his life was not yet over, a biography would be
rather premature.

Perhaps showing a strong desire for total control, Mr. Perot told
the author that he felt a person should have the right to write
his or her own biography (autobiography) before others got a
crack at him or her.

Nevertheless, this book does contain a wealth of information
about Mr. Perot, who did not actively oppose its publication.
Perot supporters will mostly find more of the same in this book -
the picture that emerges is one of a serious (some say humorless)
man who has a powerful ethical stand on many issues without
losing sight of the fact that many people disagree with him and
have a total right to do so, just not while they are on his team.

After eight years of Ronald Reagan whose people seemed to be
impressing their ideas on the presidency and three-and-one-half
of George Bush whom many people feel has no firm ideas at all,
this book clearly shows why so many people are attracted to the
idea of a Perot presidency. They don't know where he stands on
most issues (nor apparently does he for that matter), but they
know that when he says he will do something it will most likely
get done.

The picture this book gives is not a whitewash of an American
icon, nor is it a hatchet job. Rather, the author attempts to
give as much useful information as he could obtain about Mr.
Perot's business dealings and let people draw their own
conclusions.

What many people already see in Mr. Perot, a hard-nosed
businessman who plays by the rules but who plays very hard to
win, is exactly what emerges from this book.

Perot has made it clear that he thinks America has to watch out
for the less fortunate in our country but that people
have to help themselves. He doesn't object to the rich (and he is
one of the richest men in the world) paying more taxes as long as
the money is spent wisely.

He is for education and opportunity for all, obviously believing
that courage, vision, education, and hard work can make nearly
anyone a success, no matter what their economic or cultural
background. This is the same message mouthed by many politicians
in recent years, but few of them have shown every day of their
lives that they actually believe what they are saying.

The author, who obviously had troubles with Perot, appears to
admire many things about the man and concludes that Perot "lives
his life like the bumper sticker slogan: lead, follow, or get-
the-hell out of the way."

The night before this review was written Mr. Perot told Barbara
Walters on 20/20 that he would have neither adulterers nor
homosexuals high in his administration - he couldn't trust the
former, and the latter might stir up too much public dissent. No
one reading this book would have been surprised, but they would
also come away with the idea that while he wouldn't hire people
from either group to work closely with him, neither would he
single them out for prejudicial treatment as citizens.

Although Mr. Perot is the master of the soundbite, adept at
manipulating the press, reading this book you are led to the
conclusion that he is always manipulating members of the press to
present him as he really is - trying to prevent distortion of his
views rather than create it.

What you see when you listen to H. Ross Perot's actual words, not
as they are distorted by some people, is that this man means what
he says, does what he says, and takes the consequences.

Mr. Perot says that if he is elected president he will try very
hard to do what the people really want and there is little in
this book which contradicts the notion that he is a man of his
word.

Politicians are now calling him a demagogue and saying that you
can't trust him because he hasn't provided a platform, but they
seem to be missing the point. Perot supporters have seen that
party platforms and politicians promises mean little when a
"politician" actually gets into office - what they see in Perot
is a man of character, ready to face present and future
challenges.

This book, despite the negative things it has to say about Mr.
Perot, is unlikely to cause any of those supporters to leave the
Perot camp and is more likely than not to lead others to give him
their support by showing that this really is a man who has strong
moral values and a willingness, almost compulsion, to live by
them without becoming a bigot.

You may have noticed that this review has few details about Mr.
Perot's life and business dealings - those details won't fit in a
review, but they are to be found in the book.

This book was first published in 1990 but the
publisher is currently reprinting and the book can be ordered
through any bookstore if it isn't already on the shelves.

(John McCormick/19920529/Press Contact: Rick Rittering,
BusinessONE Irwin)


#ENDCARD


#CARD :1992 MAY 15 Review of: Remote LAN Node, 05/15/92


(REVIEW)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00026)

Review of: Remote LAN Node, 05/15/92

From: Intercomputer Communication Corp., 8230 Montgomery Road,
Cincinnati, OH 45236 [phone]

Price: $430.00

PUMA Rating: 3.5 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Naor Wallach 05/15/92

Summary: RLN is a product that solves the problem of
access to your LAN while not physically attached to its wires. Works
well and is easy to set up and use.

======

REVIEW

======

Has the following situation ever confronted you? You're out of town
on a two-week business trip. On your first day back you check your
e-mail and find dozens, maybe even hundreds of messages. Going
through them takes a lot of time and you even find some messages
that you should have responded to earlier. Now, it's too late.

Sound familiar? An innovative solution to these kinds of problems
is being offered by Intercomputer Communications Corp. (ICC) with
their Remote LAN Node (RLN) product. RLN allows you to log in to
your network via a modem and establish a full network connection to
your servers. Essentially it looks and feels like you are on the
network and you can use all of the services and capabilities of the
network that you are used to having.

RLN is comprised of two parts. There is a server piece that runs on
a dedicated PC attached to your LAN at the office. This PC can be
equipped with up to 16 modems through the use of ICC's Digiboard.
The server software runs on the server PC and maintains virtual
connections across the modem lines to the network. The second piece
is the client software which runs on your remote PC. Using the
client software, you control your modem and call in to the server.
After the two pieces have established communications you are given
the impression that you are working in your normal environment.

RLN comes in three basic flavors. You can get the two-user system
for $430 which allows for two modems to be connected to the server
PC and used remotely. The eight-user version comes with an ICC
digiboard and all the equipment needed to connect up to eight modems
to the server. The eight-user version sells for $3550. For $6610
you can get the sixteen-user version which comes with two Digiboards
and all the other hardware and software necessary. Single client
software costs $95 per package which includes only the remote client
software. In all cases, you must supply your own modems.

The two-user package which I reviewed contained one Server Package
and two Client Packages. The Server Package contained a 126-page
Administrator's Guide, a 35-page LAN Compatibility Guide, a
registration card, a product release notice, a copy protection
device known as a "dongle," and both 3.5" and 5.25" diskettes
containing the Server program and the Server Packet Drivers.
Each of the two client packages contained a 67-page Client Guide, a
dongle, and a 3.5" diskette containing the Client Program.

The first step in getting the system to work was to configure and
install the server. As is common with networks, this is a job best
left for the network administrator and should be undertaken lightly.
That said, however, I must admit that installing the RLN server
went smoother than most network product installations that I have
been involved with. I only ran into one problem that required a call
to ICC's technical support line and that problem was resolved by
changing the network adapter's IRQ setting. Certainly not a big
deal. The RLN documentation is relatively clear and straightforward.
The chapter that talks about setting up the server walks you through
the process step by step. The Administrator's Guide contains all of
the information that you need to install RLN whether clients or
server. The only things that are not contained in the Administrator's
Guide are those elements specific to a network architecture and
those are contains in the LAN Compatibility Guide.

Once I had the server up and running I could go through the
different menus and check out various statistics on usage of the
network and usage of the server. It is also possible to check out
the status of different aspects of the server and its communications
links. Most of the action though, is in the Client and to tell you
the truth, this is as it should be.

Installing the Client Program was even easier than the Server. The
program installs itself and the only thing that you need to worry
about is to follow the instructions properly. This brings up the
only complaint that I have about the manuals. I was using a Novell
network for this review. The sequence of commands that is needed to
attach to it is spelled out exactly on page 15 of the LAN
Compatibility Guide. Recall that only one copy of this guide is
provided and you will understand my complaint.

Once the Client server was installed and running, it was a simple
task to define the calling parameters (phone number, etc.) of the
server and to call it up. RLN does a good job of letting you know
what it is doing as things are happening. If all goes well you will
be presented with the sign-on message of your network and can then
proceed. Let me make one suggestion here. As you are operating over
a modem that is slower by orders of magnitude than your normal
network connection, make sure that you copy all of the software that
you can to your remote PC before you take it with you. I did not
do so and had to wait for about 10 minutes while my pair of 9600 baud
modems sent the information necessary just to log in between them.
Once I downloaded the Novell Login command to the remote PC the same
process took only about a minute or two.

Once I logged into my network, I could do anything that I can
normally do. I checked my mail, sent some out, and I even launched
a spreadsheet program remotely just to see what would happen. In all
of my testing I found that there was only one difference between my
machine in the office and my remote machine. That difference was
speed. As I said above, 9600 baud modems are not anywhere near as
fast as a 10 Mbps network connection. I did not encounter any bugs
or significant problems of any kind over the four week period in
which I used the product.

All in all, I was very impressed with this program. It performed its
functions well and was very unobtrusive. I would probably not like
to use this program on a day-to-day basis to do all of my work due
to its speed limitations, but it is certainly more than adequate to
take care of situations like those described at the top of this
review as well as of the many other situations that can arise.

===========

PUMA RATING

===========

PERFORMANCE: 4 The program itself performed flawlessly. It is hardly
its fault that modem technology does not match wire speeds.

USEFULNESS: 3 This is a tool that solves a specific problem. If you
have many people on the road or at home all of the time, then its
benefits are manifest. For occasional use, I find it hard to justify
its use of a dedicated PC. I would much rather see a two-user system
that works in the background.

MANUAL: 4 The manuals are complete and well organized. The one minor
problem I have with them is one that can be easily corrected with a
copier.

AVAILABILITY: 3 Technical support is a toll call.

(Naor Wallach/19920515/Press Contact: Sally Smith, SSSmith and
Associates for ICC, 513-438-1133)


(EDITORIAL)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00027)

Editorial: The Changing Face of News by Dana Blankenhorn, 05/15/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 15 (NB) -- Pat Robertson's
purchase of UPI this week has a lot of newspeople in a funk. Despite
assurances to staffers in Washington that he wouldn't interfere with
the 84-year old service's editorial policies, Robertson later told
viewers to his "700 Club" that the purchase represented  "a little
opportunity" for God to touch society.

In the short run, the trend is truly ominous. Liberal politicians
in the UK claimed last month that right-wing newspapers, which
now dominate that country, led to their Conservative opponents'
winning re-election despite a nasty recession. Could the same
mind-control be in store for the US?

Maybe. Look who today controls the levers of America's
information society. Rupert Murdoch, whose "National Star" broke
the story of Bill Clinton's alleged liaison with Gennifer
Flowers, from which the Arkansas governor has never recovered in
national polls, despite the fact that he is ready to win his
party's nomination. Sun Myung Moon, the once-jailed head of Korea's
Unification Church, owns "The Washington Times." Anyone want to
claim "The Wall Street Journal" is liberal, or anything like it?

What is most disturbing, and dangerous, about these outlets is
the assumption by their owners there is a "liberal media
conspiracy" about which gives them permission to create biased
news coverage. No one with a liberal viewpoint will ever be
allowed inside the Washington Times newsroom, and if you want to
rise to the top of a Murdoch or Dow Jones enterprise, you'd
better be "politically correct" as the owners see that term.

Some perspective is needed. Most 19th century newspapers were
incredibly opinionated, tied to specific politicians or political
movements. Many large US cities had dozens of papers, one for
every taste, many in foreign languages.

All this changed with the rise of industrial media empires like
those of Joseph Pulitzer, E.W. Scripps, and William Randolph
Hearst. These men, and their contemporaries, believed that
objective reporting, combined with mass production and slick
marketing, would create trusted media which could dominate
markets. They endowed journalism schools to teach the new
objectivity, and their plans worked. By the 1970s, when I went to
college, most cities had just one newspaper, and whatever its
editorial policy it practiced this objective journalism. We were
a profession, like doctors or lawyers, trained to be fair to all
sides, and to reach conclusions based only on fact.

The events of the 1960s and 1970s changed the way conservatives
looked at this objective media. Many blamed reporters like David
Halberstam, Morley Safer and Peter Arnett for the debacle of
Vietnam. Carl Bernstein, Bob Woodward and Seymour Hersch helped
bring down Richard Nixon, the first conservative President since
Herbert Hoover. These events were at the root of the "liberal
media conspiracy" theory still propounded by some commentators.
Under this theory, objectivity equals bias. The only cure is a
new bias.

Moon and Robertson believed the theory, and their investments
prove it. You will never read a bad thing about conservative
politicians in "The Washington Times," even if it's true. Nor
will you hear about it on "The 700 Club." With objectivity seen
as bias, and pure bias as objectivity, conservative politicians
are even going after the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and
National Public Radio, forcing their views -- and the exclusion
of alternatives they detest -- on the publicly financed airwaves.

My guess is that, as in the abortion controversy, liberals will
eventually wake up and fight back. There are financiers with lots
of money and liberal views, who could if they chose build truly
liberal media empires, especially if liberals decide that
conservative bias has led to the re-election of President Bush in
November. Viewers and readers will once more be able to, as they
could in the 19th century, choose their own truth.

There's another point. Technology is changing all of this. You
are now reading a news service which costs pennies to produce,
compared to the costs of a UPI. As it was in the 19th century,
journalism is again becoming an easy-in, easy-out business. The
comfortable newspaper monopolies of the past are being buffeted
by competition, from free weeklies, from suburban papers, and
from cable. Even Ted Turner's CNN now faces competition from the
BBC and from local cable operators in big markets like Orange
County, California, with their own 24-hour news services.

One final point. Even if I'm wrong about most of this, if right-
wing nuts take over the media without objection from any quarter,
and if technology can't change a thing, remember that time
passes. Harrison Gray Otis and Harry Chandler built the Los
Angeles Times into the major force of Southern California,
controlling the state's politics from a distinct right-wing
slant, with no apologies for many decades. But Harry's daughter
Dorothy was a liberal, and the company is now one of those
"objective" papers people like Robertson think is part of a
conspiracy against them. Even E.W. Scripps and William Randolph
Hearst were not able to protect their assets from bad management
after their deaths. Which is why UPI wound up on the block in the
first place.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920514)


#ENDCARD



#CARD :1992 MAY 22 Review of: Quality Software Mgt V.1: Systems Thinking, 05/22/92


REVIEW)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00024)

Review of: Quality Software Mgt V.1: Systems Thinking, 05/22/92

From: Dorset House Publishing, 353 West 12th St. New York, NY 10014,
[phone]

Price: $40.00

PUMA Rating: 4 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Naor Wallach, 05/22/92

Summary: A must-read book for every software manager. This is the
first of a series of books that will lead you to become a more
effective manager and in turn will cause the quality of your products
to go up.

======

REVIEW

======

Gerald Weinberg is a well-known author in the computer field. In his
forty year career in computing, he has published about as
many books. This time he turns his sights on the process of managing
the development of software. This is a 3-part series
in which the author examines what is happening in the field today,
and provides his prescriptions for how to improve the situation.

Volume 1 in the series is titled Systems Thinking. In this volume,
the author takes us on a tour of the patterns that he has identified
in software development. The author first discusses the six different
patterns that software organizations fall into in the ideal sense.
This is more of an upper level view as he does not believe that there
are any Pattern Four or higher organizations today.

With examples that are derived from his experiences, the author
shows us what characterizes organizations at the levels that he
believes most of the organizations are,  and then points towards
the way that those organizations need to move to get to the next
stage.

The author believes (and I concur) that most software development
organizations have reached the level of routing development that he
characterizes as level 2. At this level, managers are comfortable in
the process and can guide it along smoothly as long as nothing
untoward happens. Once something that is outside of the routine
occurs, the organization essentially falls apart and the obvious
and immediate consequence is that the quality of the products suffer.

The author identifies the Pattern 3 organization as one that has its
managers steering the process so that when nonroutine things happen,
the organization responds well and does not decrease the quality
of work.

There are eighteen chapters in this 300-page book divided into five
sections. Each of the sections examines a different aspect of the
Pattern 2 organization and how it reacts. Section 1 is called Patterns
of Quality. The three chapters in this section concentrate on defining
the author's views of organizational patterns, defines the patterns,
and talks a bit about the need to move from one level to the next and
why it is important that organizations do so.

The second section, "Patterns of Managing," contains five chapters that
dissect management. Managers are observed for what they do and how
they effect the real productive workers. Jerry pokes fun at many of
the myths of managers and outlines management behaviors that are well
known to any software developer who has worked in a company that had
a programming staff larger than one. Then he proceeds to explain the
real consequences of these behaviors and show how destructive they
can be when amplified. He introduces the reader to his diagram of
effects and explains the symbology as he introduces new concepts.

Many of the things he says are just plain good sense yet it is easy
to see how organizations can devolve into the absurd examples he
showcases. As a person who was involved in the software development
process in several companies, I can personally vouch for the veracity
of many of his examples. If you are laughing and shaking your head at
the stupidity of some of those managers that are described in the
book, you'd better make sure that your organization is not guilty of
the same follies!

The next section of three chapters goes into the reasons
why it's so easy to fall into the traps of mismanaging projects.
He clearly points out how things tend to get out of control, and
why. It is obvious from this description that most level 2
organizations cannot hope to avoid the problems that the commonly
encounter when under stress simply because of the kind of organizations
that they are. This section speaks as eloquently as any about the
need to move on to the next Pattern Level.

The fourth section "Fault Patterns" uses its four chapters to talk
about how an organization breaks. Anything will break if subjected
to stresses beyond its capabilities and human organizations are no
different. Jerry shows example after example of broken organizations.
He explains why and how they broke and proves that the signs of
stress in the organization were visible long before the tumultuous
breakup if the managers were simply capable of observing them and
realizing their significance.

The final section "Pressure Patterns" is a wrap-up section. He again
covers some more ways in which organizations fail. However he makes
an eloquent case for learning from these mistakes and shows how
all of what he spoke about before can actually be used to learn and
improve and move towards becoming a Pattern 3 organization.

I liked this book immensely. As I am someone who has managed software
development projects, the anecdotes and stories spoke to my heart. I
have personally seen many of the examples to which he refers.
If they did not occur to me, they happened to my colleagues or to
others in the organization. I can clearly see, as a result of reading
this book, that my company was mired in being a Level 2 organization.
On the good side, we had recognized this and are well on our way to
transforming ourselves to the Pattern 3 organization. I can only
hope that the next books in this series will be as good as this one.

The reason for the title is obvious once you have read the book. The
only way to bring about quality improvements in software products
is to manage the process better. The way to improve the process is to
see it as such and to start thinking about it from a systems level.

This book should be a must-read for any current and
prospective software manager. I would also highly recommend it to
any manager who has software components to his products or divisions
all the way to and including CEOs.

===========

PUMA RATING

===========

USEFULNESS: 4  This is a really good book. I enjoyed reading it very
much. As a matter of fact, I had to purposely pace myself so as not
to finish it in one or two sittings. The author identifies certain
characteristics of software development organizations. From my
experience, he has hit the nail on the head. He also offers ways
to improve the situation.

AVAILABILITY: 4 My local bookstores had copies. I also saw that this
book was selected as the lead book for a technical book club. It should
not be too hard to find.

(Naor Wallach/ 19920418)
#ENDCARD


#CARD :1992 MAY 29 Review of: Hard Drive: Bill Gates & The Making of the Microsoft Empire


(REVIEW)(GENERAL)(DEN))(00028)

Review of: Hard Drive: Bill Gates & The Making of the Microsoft Empire

From: John Wiley & Sons, Publisher; James Wallace and Jim Erickson,
authors

Price: $22.95 in hardback

PUMA Rating: 4.0 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by Jim Mallory, Midwest Bureau Chief,
05/29/92

Summary: Regardless of whether you agree with the authors or not,
this is one book that should be read by computerists and
non-computerists alike.

======

REVIEW

======

Authors Wallace and Erickson are reporters for the
Seattle Post Intelligencer newspaper. The book was born out of a
series of stories published in the Post-Intelligencer in May of
1991. As the authors say in the acknowledgements, it's not a book
about computers or technology. Rather, they say, "Its a book about
people, a remarkable collection of individuals led by one man, Bill
Gates, whose drive, genius, vision, and entrepreneurial spirit
created one of the greatest success stories in the history of
American business."

Wallace and Erickson say the book is based on their interviews, and
other books, national magazines, newspapers, and trade publications.
What it's NOT based on, said Microsoft, is fact.

Several specific points are contested as to accuracy. One of those
points is the book's allegation that Microsoft hired its first two
female executives to meet federal affirmative action guidelines, and
then treated the women badly. The women referred to are Jean
Richardson, hired in 1985 as vice president of corporate
communications; and Ida Cole, who was hired as vice president of
applications marketing.

According to Microsoft spokesperson Marty Taucher, that's not
accurate. Taucher told Newsbytes Cole was hired because "she was a
good tech person," not because of EEO requirements. She moved to
another position about one year later, said Taucher, and in 1990
retired. Taucher said Richardson left Microsoft because of a
disagreement with her superior, and is now at Sun Microsystems.

While Taucher admitted that Microsoft didn't like the book, you
will. It's a mixture of praise and statements about Gates that
could be considered derogatory. In one breath, the authors quote
friends and associates positive remarks. "Everything Bill did, he
did to the max. What he did always went well, well beyond everyone
else," a childhood friend reportedly said. A few pages later, the
book talks about Gates' feet (reportedly size 13) compared to his
small frame ("the smallest boy in the seventh grade").

James Wallace told Newsbytes, "They (Microsoft) made it very
difficult to write the book." Wallace said Microsoft was not happy
with the newspaper series, claiming it dealt too much with his
personal life. "They didn't want me calling ex-girlfriends, and
trying to find out how he spent his money," said Wallace. He said
not only would Microsoft not help him and his co-author, but they
went out of their way to be "unhelpful." Microsoft at the time was
cooperating on an authorized biography to be published by Doubleday
& Company.

Hard Drive paints a picture of a driven, perhaps sometimes
obsessive, genius who, no matter what Microsoft thinks of the book,
revolutionized the computer industry as we know it. It's excellent
reading, and it won't leave you hating Gates. Rather, it will make
you understand what makes people like him tick.

Hard Drive gives the reader an insight on a true
American success story, Bill Gates. While you may not like
everything in the book, and find it appears to put Gates down part
of the time, it could be the prodding the next American genius needs
to invent the better mouse trap. It's well worth the price.

The book is already available in selected markets, and will be in
general distribution in bookstores across the country on June 1.

(Jim Mallory/19920527/Press contact: Tom Perry, John Wiley & Sons
Inc, 605 3rd Avenue,New York,NY 10158)

#ENDCARD




#CARD :1992 MAY 22 Review of: CA-Textor, word processor for Windows, 05/22/92


(REVIEW)(IBM)(TOR)(00025)

Review of: CA-Textor, word processor for Windows, 05/22/92

Runs on: Any PC with 286 or higher processor, minimum one megabyte
of memory, DOS 3.1 or higher, Microsoft Windows 3.0 or
higher, and about 2.5 megabytes of free hard disk space.

From: Computer Associates International, Inc., One Computer
Associates Plaza, Islandia, New York, U.S.A. 11788-7000
516-342-5224

Price: $225

PUMA Rating: 3.125 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed by: Grant Buckler

Summary: CA-Textor is a word processor for Microsoft Windows, with
most of the features one expects in a Windows word processor and
few surprises. Some features need improvement.

======

REVIEW

======

One of the beauties of graphical user interfaces like Microsoft
Windows is that, like Apple's Macintosh, they enforce some
consistency among applications. Essentially the same menu structure
appears whether you're using a word processor, a spreadsheet, a
graphics program, or whatever. This makes software easier to learn,
and makes life simpler for those of us who use a lot of applications.
It also means that all the packages in an application category tend
to look a lot alike.

So, Computer Associates' CA-Textor word processor has a lot in
common with other Windows word processors. The menus are similar,
the display looks much like that of Word for Windows, WordPerfect
for Windows, or Ami Pro, and like other Windows applications these
days, Textor has a series of icon buttons -- CA calls this a tool
bar -- at the top of the screen to streamline common operations
like printing.

So what's different? Mostly little things, though as the old saying
goes, those can mean a lot.

One problem arises with the mail merge features in Textor. The key
complaint is that in form letters, the merge fields are not visibly
identified by name. You can give the fields descriptive names like
Name, Address, Salutation, and so on -- which is better than the
Field1, Field2 limitation of some word processors -- but all that
appears in the document is #Ref#. If you forget which field is
which, you have to edit the field to find out.

Also, Textor has trouble with carriage returns within a field. The
software uses the carriage return to separate records in its data
files. You can have a carriage return within a field if you put
quotation marks around the whole field. So far so good, but we
found that a single carriage return in a mail merge field always
turned out double-spaced in the final merged document.

On the other hand, Textor's mail merge functions include the
ability to select only certain records from a larger list according
to certain criteria -- for example, to send a form letter only to
those clients in a certain state. This is a database management
function not found in many word processors.

Another nice feature of CA-Textor is the way it saves documents
within its own "libraries" rather than as DOS files. The advantage
of this is that it lets you assign longer file names than DOS
allows. The minor disadvantage is that the documents are then not
easily accessible from outside Textor, but you can get around that
through an option that lets you save a document as a DOS file, in
Textor format, plain ASCII, or other formats.

Another nice feature, hardly earth-shaking but worthy of a passing
comment, is the fact that Textor's spelling checker can figure out
run-together words. Given "thisthing" in text, it will propose
"this thing" as a replacement. Not all word processors will do
this, and they should. What is not so nice about Textor's spelling
checker, though, is the fact that it does not propose any
replacements until you ask for them, which makes corrections slower
because it adds an extra mouse-click.

If you aren't crazy about working with a mouse, CA-Textor will not
suit you well. Like other Windows word processors, it provides
pull-down menus for all operations and expects you to do things by
pointing and clicking. But some Windows packages provide keyboard
alternatives for pretty nearly all operations. Textor does not. It
does offer keyboard shortcuts for some things, but many operations
can only be executed through the mouse-and-menu route.

Textor offers a choice of viewing modes. The default is called
Standard mode. The document looks almost the way it will when
printed -- you see bold face, italics, underlines and the
differences in fonts. However, columns are not shown side by side
on the screen, and headers and margins don't appear. In WYSIWYG
(What You See Is What You Get) mode, everything appears as it will
print. You can type and edit in this mode, and it works tolerably
well except if you get into columns and such things, at which point
the WYSIWYG mode becomes too slow to be workable.

In fact, even in Standard mode, Textor gets pretty slow when you're
inserting text in the middle of a document -- at least on a 386SX
machine. The screen takes time to redraw, and while you can keep
entering text, you don't see what you've typed until the software
catches up.

To match the responsiveness of a character-based word processor,
you have to go to draft mode, which gives you something less than
the sort of display you'd get with a good character-based word
processor -- all text in one screen font, and no indication of
attributes such as underlining, italics, bold face, and type size.

Slowness in full WYSIWYG mode is tolerable, but CA should try to
speed up Standard mode or, failing that, at least make things like
bold face and underlining visible in Draft mode as they are in most
character-based word processors.

Another worry for some users is the lack of a keystroke macro
capability. Textor does let you create and store formats that
automate much of the work of formatting part or all of a document,
and it handles "glossaries" that let you recall chunks of
boilerplate text with a few keystrokes. However, neither of these
is quite as flexible as the ability to record any sequence of
operations as a macro.

===========

PUMA RATING

===========

Performance: 2.5. We found it easy to outrun the software when
inserting text in an existing document in any but Draft mode, and
Draft mode is unsatisfactory because it does not show character
attributes such as bold face and type size. If the software can't
be speeded up in Standard mode, Draft mode should be made to convey
more information to the user.

Usefulness: 3.5. CA-Textor is a full-function Windows word
processor suitable for most word-processing needs, though we have
reservations about its mail-merge capabilities.

Manuals: 3.5. There is a Getting Started manual with tutorials,
which we thought would be well suited to a complete novice and
rather too elementary for someone with experience using another
word processor. The Reference manual is more suitable for the
computer-literate user.

Availability: 3.0. Computer Associates is a big company; its
products are widely distributed. However, CA provides free initial
support only for 90 days, and without a toll-free number. For toll-
free support or for support after the initial support period, you
have to pay for CA's SupportPlus program. In fairness, though, we
should note that the price of the software is, at $225, low
compared to most competitors.

(Grant Buckler/19920518/Press Contact: Kim Commerato or Bob Gordon,
516-227-3300, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD


#CARD :1992 APR 30 9600 Bps Modem & Fax Now Available For Epson Notebook 04/30/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00001)

9600 Bps Modem & Fax Now Available For Epson Notebook 04/30/92
TORRANCE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 30 (NB) -- Epson says
it is offering a notebook modem with fax capability of 9,600 baud,
the NB9600, exclusively for Epson notebook computers.

While it is common for fax modem combination devices to be capable
of 2,400 baud modem performance and 9,600 Group III fax, Epson
claims the NB9600 is the first internal device to offer both modem and
fax at 9,600 baud.

The V.32 duplex operation of the modem also allows it to send and
receive data over the same channel, Epson maintains. Compression
schemes such as V.42bis or MNP 5 can quadruple the data transfer
rate to speeds as high as 38.4 kilobytes-per-second (Kbps), Epson
added.

The modem is also capable of automatically adjusting down if the
sending modem or fax is transmitting at a lower speed, Epson added.
Epson says the modem is designed for power savings and comes
with ATI Fax software for DOS-based notebooks and Winfax 2.0 for
Windows 3.0.

Jan Macianco of customer relations with Epson says instructions
come in the modem for users to install it themselves, if they desire to
do so. Epson says the modem is retail priced at $649 and will work
with NB series notebooks including the NB3s, NB-SL/20, and
NB-SL/25.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920430/Press Contact: Jan Marciano, Epson,
tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 30 High Temperature Superconductive Device From Indian Lab 04/30/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SFO)(00002)

High Temperature Superconductive Device From Indian Lab 04/30/92
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1992 APR 30 (NB) -- Scientists at the National
Physical Laboratory (NPL), New Delhi, have operated a
Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID) at liquid
nitrogen temperature (77 K), which is considered to be the high
temperature side as far as supercondctors are concerned.

A SQUID is capable of sensing even very weak magnetic fields and,
therefore, is useful in applications like geological prospecting and
biomagnetism. However, most of its applications could not reach the
commercial level because the device could be operated only at very
low temperatures like that of liquid helium (4.7 K). Now though, Indian
scientists have developed suitable materials based on trium-barium-
copper oxide and bismuth-strontium-calcium-copper oxide.

Dr. Neeraj Khare of NPL has contributed to the development of these
SQUIDs, and was given the "Young Scientist" award of the Council
of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi. The SQUID
developed by him is claimed to be rugged and stable even after
many thermal cycles from room temperature (303 K) to liquid
nitrogen temperature. This stability of superconductors is essential
for their application in devices.

Three years ago, the Indian government formed a high-level
Superconductivity Research Coordination Committee with special
emphasis on the continuing research at some of the top research
institutes in the country.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920430)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 30 India: Oracle Wins Massive Order From Government Network 04/30/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(SFO)(00003)

India: Oracle Wins Massive Order From Government Network 04/30/92
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1991 APR 30 (NB) -- Oracle Corporation has
recently signed an agreement with the National Informatics Center
(NIC) to supply several thousands of Oracle RDBMS (relational data
base management system) copies to NIC which standardized its
database applications on Oracle.

NIC is a huge computerized network - reckoned by some to be one
of the biggest government network in the world. Created by the Indian
government, it has its headquarters in Delhi, three regional centers
and branches into each of the 25 state capitals and down to each
of about 450 districts across the country.

Employing thousands of qualified computer staff, NIC provides
hardware, software, and processing support to various government
departments in India. Its satellite-linked network, called NICNET,
spans the whole country up to the district level and is being
extended to over 2,200 blocks.

NIC has also been appointed a value-added reseller (VAR) by
Oracle as it is involved in developing several applications, for
central and state government departments, for use over its NICNET.
The center will also use Oracle low-end applications based on PCs
as it permits flexibility of movement across platforms from PCs to
minis to mainframes.

NIC has already bought 1,100 copies of Oracle RDBMS - the
majority being for 386- and 486-based systems. Installation is
expected to grow to anywhere between 2,000 to 5,000 within the
next two years, according to the agreement between NIC and
Oracle.

Outside NIC, there are about 2,000 Oracle installations in India and
a significant rise in its numbers is on the cards, said Hirendra
Gupta, country manager of Oracle,  talking to Newsbytes. The
Indian Army has also chosen Oracle as a standard for its database
operations on its mainframes, mini- and superminicomputers.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920430)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 30 Japan: EIAJ Survey Says Laser Disk Has Lots Of Potential 04/30/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00004)

Japan: EIAJ Survey Says Laser Disk Has Lots Of Potential 04/30/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 30 (NB) -- The laser disk player has
lots of potential for the sales in the future, according to the
Electronics Industry Association in Japan (EIAJ). The EIAJ has
recently taken a survey on audio visual equipment concerning
sales in the worldwide market in the next five years.

According to the EIAJ survey, sales of laser disk players
will grow at 20 percent per year. So far, 460,000 units are sold
worldwide. In five years, it is predicted that a total of 3.73 million
units of the laser disk players will be sold.

Camcorders have been fast selling item during the past
five years, with sales growing at 28.2 percent per year. In the next
five years it is anticipated that sales will continue to grow at an
annual rate of nine percent. A total of 13.84 million units will be
sold by the year 1996.

Compact disk players will be sold more in the US, Europe,
and Asian markets, growing at 6.8 percent per year. A total of
22.16 million units will be sold in the next five years, according to
the survey.

Other potential electronics devices will include color TV sets
with an annual growth rate of five percent, video tape players at
4.4 percent, car stereo sets for 3.8 percent, and tape recorders
at 1.7 percent.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920430/Press Contact: EIAJ,
[phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 30 Japan: KDD To Use Expert System In Its Telecom Network 04/30/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00005)

Japan: KDD To Use Expert System In Its Telecom Network 04/30/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 30 (NB) -- Japan's former
international telecommunications monopoly, KDD, says it will
apply a real-time expert system in its telecommunication networks.
It claimed be the first time for a telecommunications firms to use
such a system.

KDD's research laboratory has developed a basic system to
control and watch the network systems including international
telephone networks and data telecommunication services.

According to the company, KDD's expert system is flexible and
it can give speedy diagnosis of network systems. KDD and other
network firms are trying to find systems to support various
networks, which are quite complicated at present.

For instance, the networks are connected via several
different media such as optical cables, space satellites, and
microwaves. So, it is hard for the engineers to locate actual
problem parts in case of the system failure.

The company hopes that its artificial intelligence-based
expert system will quickly locate problem parts and give
instructions for repairing the problem parts.

However, this system needs to be refined and will take two to
three more years before it is actually used in the network.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920430/Press Contact: KDD,
[phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 30 Southnet Buying Pay Phone Operator 04/30/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00006)

Southnet Buying Pay Phone Operator 04/30/92
TAMPA, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 30 (NB) -- Southnet, which
operates a long distance network and offers billing and
collection services, as well as a calling card, is buying Telecom
America, an alternative operator company controlling 6,700 pay
phones and 90 hotel accounts. The deal will be a stock swap
valued at $3.4 million.

While the alternative operator business, in which companies
control long distance access to telephones on behalf of property
owners, remains under pressure, the operation of pay phones
themselves could become increasingly lucrative. Recently, the
Federal Communications Commission agreed that pay phone
owners deserve compensation for long-distance operator calls
made to other carriers, like AT&T, from the phones. The
compensation, now calculated at a fixed rate per phone, may
be adjusted to roughly 40 cents per call.

However, Telecom America's main operation, reselling long
distance services through hotel and pay telephones, remains under
regulatory pressure and competitive threat. AT&T has been heavily
advertising the fact that callers should dial 102880 to reach its
network from any phone, which cuts the alternative operator out
of the revenue stream, and new laws require that phone operators
allow callers to bypass their own networks in this way.

Alternative operator companies have been accused in the past of
simply jacking-up phone rates and kicking back some of their ill-
gotten gains to property owners. The Telecom America acquisition
is expected to double Southnet's revenue base, and the company's
two principal shareholders will join the Southnet board.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920430/Press Contact: Robert J. Zradicka,
Southnet, 813-287-2880; Ron Morris, Telecom America, 305-931-
5443)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 30 US West Trialing NAMPS Cellular Technology 04/30/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00007)

US West Trialing NAMPS Cellular Technology 04/30/92
BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 APR 30 (NB) -- While its
Pacific Northwest competitor, McCaw Cellular, has committed to
Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) digital service, US
West's NewVector Group is considering an alternative. The
company said it will try-out Motorola's improved analog cellular
technology, called Narrow-band Advanced Mobile Phone Service
(NAMPS) in conjunction with personal phone numbers which follow
their holders to mobile or stationary locations.

The service will first be installed in Denver on a trial basis,
explained John DeFeo, president and chief executive officer of US
West NewVector Group. The service will be based on Motorola's
Personal Phone Service 800, and combines both wired and wireless
networks. The pocket-sized Motorola phone has features similar to
a cordless phone when the user is near their home or office, but
doubles as a cellular phone when the user is mobile.

While the cellular industry has formally adopted TDMA, based on
technology from International Mobile Machines, some operators
are looking at NAMPS as a short-term alternative while a
competing technology, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)
is tested. TDMA divides a cellular calling channel into slices,
sending one call in each slice, and could increase calling
capacity threefold. CDMA uses more complex spread-spectrum
technology and claims to increase calling capacity tenfold.
NAMPS also claims a threefold increase in calling capacity,
and all this is further complicated by a new technology from GM-
Hughes, E-TDMA, an enhancement to TDMA, which claims to
increase capacity 15-fold.

The addition of the personal phone number technology, combined
with the cordless operation of the Motorola handset, is a new
wrinkle. A service which automatically followed the user and
found the most inexpensive way to complete incoming or outgoing
calls, with a phone that fits in a shirt pocket, could provide real
benefits to users.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920430/Press Contact: Bernadette
Anderson, US WEST Cellular, 206-562-5739)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 30  ****Georgia, Bell Fight Over 404 Boundaries 04/30/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00008)

 ****Georgia, Bell Fight Over 404 Boundaries 04/30/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 30 (NB) -- The breakup
of northern Georgia's 404 area code, with a separate 706 code for
areas outside Atlanta, has become the focus of a political
tug-of-war between Georgia regulators and Southern Bell.

A three-man majority of the Georgia Public Service Commission,
chaired by Bob Durden, has been steadily expanding the toll-free
404 area to include urban counties like Coweta and Hall. The
Atlanta toll-free area is already the world's largest, and the
PSC now wants to add cities like Gainesville which are 40 miles
from the center of Atlanta.

Southern Bell is laying low, pointing out that the more exchanges
in 404, the higher the basic rate for all users. Georgia has no
provision for measured-rate local service.

The battle may date back to last year, when the PSC tried to
regulate a Southern Bell voice mail service called Memory Call.
The attempt to start a regulation process was stymied, however,
when Southern Bell successfully petitioned the Federal
Communications Commission to define Memory Call as an
interstate service, not subject to in-state regulation. Since then, the
relationship between the PSC and the company appear to have
deteriorated.

Complicating the matter is the fact that Georgia long distance
rates are extremely high. It actually costs less for someone in
Atlanta to call Los Angeles than to call Americus, Georgia, 120
miles to the south. So people in outlying counties would prefer
to remain in the Atlanta calling zone, even if they would
otherwise like nothing to do with the capitol city. But the more
exchanges in 404, the fewer extra exchanges there are to handle
new demand, which was why the new 706 code was created in the
first place.

The PSC has been stacking the deck by holding hearings on
expanding the 404 code in affected areas, where citizens can
eagerly demand the improved service, and in-town residents find
it hard to protest the resulting higher rates. Southern Bell may
reply to all this by launching a new campaign for measured-rate
local service once the 706 boundaries are established and new,
higher basic rates are set.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920430)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 30 US Cites Overseas Copyright Violators 04/30/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00009)

US Cites Overseas Copyright Violators 04/30/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 30 (NB) -- Despite last-
second efforts to influence the US Trade Representative's Office
by announcing changes in copyright violation policies, Taiwan
has found itself, along with India and Thailand, on the Commerce
Department's warning list of those countries which ignore US
companies' intellectual property rights.

Taiwan companies are widely known for producing illegal copies
of US and European goods carrying false brand names or
otherwise violating copyrights, patents, and trademarks, but this
is the first time that the US has taken even this mild warning
action against its longtime ally. India and Thailand are still
on the list from last year.

President Bush's trade office is required to make this
declaration, and what is supposed to happen next is that the
countries will be given six months to make a major move to clear
up the problem or face the imposition of punitive tariffs placed
on goods exported to the US.

The cases of India and Thailand, which are charged with violating
US patents on pharmaceuticals, will now be "studied" for a
second year rather than have the Super 301 trade sanctions
imposed, which the Commerce Department is now authorized
to do.

Thailand is also charged with weak copyright enforcement
procedures, the same as Taiwan.

Third World countries contend that they cannot afford the high
royalties required to produce needed medicine and computer
software. However, most of Taiwan's infringing products are
exported for profit and the country had an average per capita
gross national product in 1988 of $6,200 compared to India's
$300, Thailand's $771, and the US's $16,444.

The office of the Trade Ambassador also released a list of
nations which will be closely watched over the next year to
determine if they should be named as violators of US
intellectual property rights.

New to the list are Egypt, Hungary, South Korea, the Philippines,
Poland, and Turkey. Brought forward on the watch list from last
year are Australia, Brazil, and the entire European Community,
mostly for restrictive bidding procedures on government
contracts.

(John McCormick/19920430)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 30 NIST Offers Handwriting Sample Database 04/30/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00010)

NIST Offers Handwriting Sample Database 04/30/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 30 (NB) -- Working with the
Bureau of the Census, the NIST (National Institute of Standards
and Technology) has compiled the NIST Special Database 3,
containing thousands of samples of handwriting, all using the
same text.

Companies developing handwriting recognition products
need such a database to test software. The Database sells for
$895 and is only available on a CD-ROM disc.

The NIST has also produced an oil fire "footprint" simulation
program that shows in three dimensions what will happen with
smoke particles coming from major oil fires, the footprint being
a description of where the residue will be deposited depending
on the size and type of fire, as well as ambient winds.

One proposed answer for dealing with spilled oil is merely to
burn it in place and this software will help scientists in the
Coast Guard and elsewhere to decide what effects such
burning will have on the environment.

(John McCormick/19920430/Press Contact: John Henkel,
NIST, 301-975-2762)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 30 India: Datamatics To Reengineer Paris Bank's AFT System 04/30/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00011)

India: Datamatics To Reengineer Paris Bank's AFT System 04/30/92
BOMBAY, INDIA, 1992 APR 30 (NB) -- Interface Software Resources
Pvt. Ltd (ISR) of the Datamatics Group, one of the oldest Indian
software development and consultancy firms, has secured its second
assignment from the Paris-based Banque Worms.

ISR will reengineer the bank's funds transfer system, STOBI. The
new system, ORCA can accept inputs directly from electronic
channels like SWIFT, Sagittaire and Teletransmission, instead of
paper documents.

In addition to discharging all the functions of STOBI system, ORCA
is claimed to establish better checks on bank operations, facilitate
automation of messages resulting in faster message transmission,
and cost reduction.

Meanwhile, Datamatics Ltd., has been appointed as distributor for
the latter's products in India. With an annual turnover of $15 million,
Jyacc is mainly involved in product development. Among its
software programs is Jyacc (JAM), an application development
tool designed to optimize user productivity with template screens,
interactive debugger and prototyping facilities.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920430)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 30 India's ADS Ties Up With Canadian Firm GPT 04/30/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00012)

India's ADS Ties Up With Canadian Firm GPT 04/30/92
BANGALORE, INDIA, 1992 APR 30 (NB) -- Analog and Digital
Systems (ADS), a Bangalore-based firm, and GPT of Canada are
poised to formalize a technical and distribution partnership, with
which GPT will market in the US and other countries the products
manufactured in India by ADS.

The technology transfer involved is for LMMDS systems and E9-1-1
emergency switches which are connected to telephones. LMMDS
systems will do away with the wires and can be substituted by a
small transmitter system in cable TV networks. The E9-1-1 switch is
particularly useful for emergency conditions. It gets activated on
being pressed and enables the monitoring room to obtain the
required data about the caller.

ADS, about a $0.3 million turnover company, which is recognized
by the Department of Science and Technology as an R&D
organization, was set up by the former cricket star, Brijesh Patel with
an initial investment of Rs 50,000. The firm is involved in designing,
developing and making electronic and allied product systems for
the computer and telecommunications sectors. The main product
of ADS is in application of microprocessor-based technology for
the telecom area.
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 30  ****IBM To Sell OS/2 2.0 Through Prodigy 04/30/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00013)

 ****IBM To Sell OS/2 2.0 Through Prodigy 04/30/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 APR 30 (NB) -- Again
signalling its determination to move OS/2 2.0 beyond the
large-business market that has been OS/2's only stronghold up to
now, IBM plans to sell the operating system through the Prodigy
on-line service.

Roberta Paul, a spokeswoman for IBM, said the 1.5 million-user
Prodigy service will make OS/2 available mainly to home and
small-business users and these are very much a part of the target
market for OS/2. "It's our intention to make OS/2 2.0 widely
available," she said, adding that the software can benefit
individual users as well as large organizations with many
computers.

OS/2 is a multitasking operating system that can run DOS and
Windows programs and those written expressly for OS/2
simultaneously. Release 2.0, which became available at the
beginning of April, has won cautious praise from industry analysts
who see it as an improvement over previous versions that chalked
up disappointing sales.

IBM is giving OS/2 2.0, "the broadest and most concentrated
advertising effort we've ever had on a single product," according
to Nancy Roath, director of personal systems marketing at IBM.

In the past, OS/2 has sold mainly to large organizations that
wanted its multitasking capabilities and features that allow it to
work well with larger IBM computers in networks. However, IBM's
sales tactics have made it clear the company wants to sell the
software to smaller buyers as well.

The software needs a machine with at least an Intel 80386SX or
compatible processor, four megabytes (MB) of RAM and a 60 MB
hard disk. The OS/2 code occupies from 15 to 30 MB of disk
space.

In an interview with Newsbytes when OS/2 2.0 began shipping,
though, Roath argued that OS/2's demands are not really
much greater than those of Windows, and that even many
small-business users already have computers that meet those
specifications.

Prodigy users will be able to take advantage of special promotional
prices for OS/2 2.0, available through July 31. Current Windows
users can purchase OS/2 2.0 for $49, DOS users can upgrade to
OS/2 2.0 for $99 and new users can purchase OS/2 2.0 for $139, plus
shipping and handling. The same prices are available through other
channels, including a toll-free order number.

(Grant Buckler/19920430/Press Contact: Roberta Paul, IBM,
914-642-5468)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 30 Physician Computer Network Signs Third Lab Contract 04/30/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00014)

Physician Computer Network Signs Third Lab Contract 04/30/92
LAURENCE HARBOR, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 APR 30 (NB) --
Physician Computer Network has signed a five-year agreement with
Roche Biomedical Laboratories, of Burlington, North Carolina. Some
2,000 doctors who are members of PCN's electronic network will be
able to requisition lab tests, receive test results, and bill for laboratory
services on line through PCN's communication data-link software.

This is the third such agreement with a nationally known clinical
laboratory that PCN has announced in recent months, and the
second in about a week.

It follows closely on an agreement with National Health
Laboratories of La Jolla, California. Earlier, PCN signed a similar
deal with Medpath Laboratories. Taken together, said John de
Elorza, vice-chairman of PCN, the three agreements give PCN
national coverage.

While terms were not disclosed, PCN said that access fees for lab
services offered to physician member practices on the network by
the three clinical laboratories will generate laboratory data-link
revenues for PCN.

The interactive Communications Data-Link service between PCN
members and the lab uses PCN laboratory services software, a
new product which will be integrated with PCN's medical practice
management system at doctors' offices.

Physicians' Computer Network is a two-year old company, de
Elorza said. By the end of March, it had installed its system for
more than 2,000 physician members at some 1,400 practices
across the United States.

Roche Biomedical Laboratories is a wholly owned subsidiary
of Roche Holding A.G. of Basel, Switzerland.

(Grant Buckler/19920430/Press Contact: John de Elorza, Physician
Computer Network, 908-290-7711; or Kathy Liebmann, Gavin
Anderson & Company for Physician Computer Network,
212-921-1060)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 30 Signature Intros Technical Spell Checker For WordPerfect 04/30/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00015)

Signature Intros Technical Spell Checker For WordPerfect 04/30/92
TUCSON, ARIZONA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 30 (NB) -- Architects,
engineers and construction companies now have access to a
technical spell checker to use in conjunction with their
WordPerfect software.

Signature Software says Spell-Tek is a compilation of over 20,000
technical terms derived from five technical dictionaries: the
Dictionary of Architecture and Construction; the McGraw-Hill
Dictionary of Engineering; Means Illustrated Construction Dictionary;
the Encyclopedia of Building and Construction Terms, second
edition; and Construction Glossary.

According to Signature, the spell checking program includes generic
terms, trade names, professional associations, acronyms and
abbreviations. Signature's Jan Ryan told Newsbytes that the
installation process, which takes 15-20 minutes, merges the
Signature file with WordPerfect's main dictionary. Ryan said
that speeds up the checking process, since only the one file
has to be matched against the document. It also maintains the
integrity of the WP customized dictionary file.

Ryan said Spell-Tek is available in DOS, Macintosh, Windows and
Unix versions of WordPerfect 5.0 and later and has a suggested list
price of $129 for any version. However, Spell-Tek is available for the
next two months at the introductory price of $99.

Presently Signature markets Spell-Tek directly to the end user, but
Ryan said the company has plans to distribute through retail outlets
in the future.

(Jim Mallory/19920430/Press Contact: Jan Ryan, Signature Software,
602-722-3001; Customer contact: tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 30 Zenith TVs Will Soon Offer On-Screen Program Listings 04/30/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00016)

Zenith TVs Will Soon Offer On-Screen Program Listings 04/30/92
GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 30 (NB) -- Under a joint
development deal between Zenith Electronics and InSight Telecast
Inc, you will be able to throw away your printed TV listing and see
what is on tonight right on the screen of your TV or VCR within the
next five years.

Zenith said it expects to offer InSight-equipped cable decoders
later this year, with its color TVs containing the decoding
capability sometime in 1993.

The agreement calls for Zenith, the only remaining US-owned color
television and picture tube manufacturer, to be the exclusive
manufacturer of TV sets with the program guide capability for one
year after production begins.

The InSight service, which was first announced in the fall of 1990,
displays a week's worth of program titles, start times, and a brief
description of the program, much as printed TV listing do. The
listings are continually updated. A hand controller, much like the
current remote control unit for a TV, will move a cursor across a
menu on-screen, for selection of one of the functions, said
Insight's Cliff Dekar. Various displays are possible, including a
full screen grid similar to the TV listings in the newspaper, or
lists like all the movies playing in one evening.

Dekar said that the menu selections are in real-time. In other words,
special events can be added to the menu such as "interrupt if jury
comes in." Asked by Newsbytes about the cost, Dekar could not
tell reveal the exact cost but said it would be "less than a TV
Guide subscription."

Zenith Chairman Jerry Pearlman is optimistic that the Federal
Communications Commission will select the Zenith-AT&T system
as the standard for high-definition television (HDTV) in the US, he
told stockholders at the company's annual meeting this week.
However, Pearlman said Zenith plans to produce HDTV
regardless of the system standard selected, since the winning
system will be required to license the technology on a royalty
basis.

Pearlman said HDTV sales will probably reach one million units
per year about three years after HDTVs are introduced here in
the US.

Shareholders elected 10 individual's to serve one year terms on
Zenith's board of directors, approved amendments to the stock
incentive plan, and rejected a proposal on cumulative voting.

(Jim Mallory/19920430/Press Contact: John Taylor, Zenith
Electronics, 708-391-8181)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 30 Microsoft's New Consultant Relations Program Requirements 04/30/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00017)

Microsoft's New Consultant Relations Program Requirements 04/30/92
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 APR 30 (NB) -- Microsoft
says it has added a new certification requirement for all independent
consultants participating in its Consultant's Relations Program
(CRP).

Candidates for the CRP designation, which Newsbytes reported on
several months ago, must now pass a series of on-line certification
exams to qualify for the program. The tests are designed to measure
a consultant's expertise with Microsoft products, said the company.

Consultants who are awarded CRP status can be certified at one of
two levels, "Associate" or "Partner." Associates are considered
generalists qualified to support Microsoft applications running
under MS-DOS and Windows operating systems, or the Macintosh
System 6 or System 7. Partners are classed as experts on a specific
Windows-based application or networking product and will be
referred by Microsoft to clients with specific problems.

To attain either level requires passing a series of closed-book
tests, starting with either two core exams on DOS Windows operating
systems, or the core exam designed for Mac consultants. To achieve
the partner status, the candidate has to pass a product-specific
test, in addition to the two core exams for Window and Mac
applications. Included in the test are: Microsoft Excel 4.0, which is
scheduled for release next month; Word For Windows 2.; Word 5.0
for the Macintosh; Microsoft Project 3.0; and Microsoft LAN
Manager and SQL Server.

Microsoft said the exams were designed in response to customer
requests, and are designed to test the technical knowledge and skills
of independent consultants as well as support coordinators, systems
engineers, resellers, sales support engineers, and network
administrators. Microsoft's Pam Kutscher told Newsbytes that the
consultants pay $100 to take the test. Each part of the test (DOS,
Windows, or an application) takes one hour, said Kutscher.

Tests are administered at the 150 Drake testing sites and
Microsoft University facilities, with results being available almost
immediately.

(Jim Mallory/19920430/Press Contact: Anne Kutscher, Microsoft,
206-882-8080; Consumer contact: 800-426-9400)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 30 Central Point Software Offers 3 Million Common Shares 04/30/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00018)

Central Point Software Offers 3 Million Common Shares 04/30/92
BEAVERTON, OREGON, U.S.A., 1992 APR 30 (NB) -- Central
Point Software says it has filed a registration statement with the
Securities and Exchange Commission stating its intent to offer
three million shares of its common stock for sale.

The stock offering, with an expected selling price between $11
and $13, will be handled by Morgan Stanley & Co and Shearson
Lehman Brothers.  Both companies are headquartered in New
York City.

Central Point said two million shares will be offered to the general
public, while one million shares will be set aside for purchase by
the  company's existing stockholders.  The company said
proceeds from the sale will be used for working capital.  Although
three million shares are being offered, the stockholders have
authorized an over-allotment of 450,000 additional shares, if
needed to meet demand.

As a privately held company, Central Point is not listed for trading
on any of the exchanges, according to CP's John Hodgman.  He
told Newsbytes that this was the first time Central Point has offered
stock to the public.

Central Point develops and markets utility programs for IBM
compatible PCs running under DOS and Windows, as well as
Apple  Macintosh computers.  The product line includes programs
that perform backup of the users hard disk, manage files, and
detect and remove viruses.

Other programs include connecting to a computer from another PC
at a remote location, a PIM (personal information manager, for
tracking information and tasks to be performed), disk caching and
disk optimization.  Disk optimization programs collect the fragments
of a users files stored in various locations on a disk and relocate
them so all parts of the file are contiguous, and mark damaged
sectors so they will not be used to store data.  This provides
quicker access to the file, since the computer spends less time
looking for the elements of the file.

(Jim Mallory/19920430/Press Contact: John Hodgman, Central
Point Software, 503-690-2209)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 30 UK: IBM Intros SLC Machines; First 486DX2 Systems 04/30/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00019)

UK: IBM Intros SLC Machines; First 486DX2 Systems 04/30/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 30 (NB) -- IBM UK has announced a
welter of new machines, including desktop and portable 80386SLC-
based machines and the company's first Intel 486DX2-based "clock
doubling" system.

Announcing the machines, Bill McCracken, general manager of
Personal Systems, said that the machines enhance the company's
product range in both the Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) and AT
bus system marketplaces.

The new 20 megahertz (MHz) AT bus-based machines -- PS/2
model 35SLC and 40SL -- are based around an IBM version of Intel's
80386SLC microprocessors, which give the PCs as much as an 88
percent speed advantage over their 80386SX-based competition.

The model 35 is available with a choice of 40 or 80 megabyte (MB)
hard drives at, respectively, UKP 1,470 and UKP 1,600. The model
40 has a similar configuration to the higher of the two model
35s, with an 80MB hard disk. Pricing on the model 40 has been set
at UKP 1,800.

Both the model 35 and 40 are available in the UK immediately.

The model N51 SLC notebook, meanwhile, is IBM's first MCA
portable to use IBM's SLC chip technology. For power reasons, the
N51's chip is a 16MHz rather than the 20MHz chips seen in the
model 35 and 40 desktop series. Big Blue is claiming a 75 percent
speed advantage over the equivalent 16MHz 80386SX
microprocessor machines.

Pricing in at UKP 2,995, the N51 comes with 2MB of memory,
expandable to 10MB internally, an 80MB hard drive, and a 32 gray
scale VGA LCD (liquid crystal display) screen. The machine is
driven by nickel hydride batteries rather than the usual ni-cads.
This increases battery life while lightening the overall weight of the
machine, which will ship before the end of June.

Last, but not least, there are four model 90 and 95 machines --
two desktop model 90s and two tower model 85s, each using a
clock doubled 25MHz 486SX processor to achieve 50MHz
performance.

The model 90 comes with a choice of 160 or 400Mb hard disks,
while the model 95 comes with a choice of a single or double
400MB hard drive system. All the 486DX2 systems, which come with
8MB of RAM fitted as standard, will be made available in the UK
in late May, at prices to be decided.

(Steve Gold/19920430/Press & Public Contact: IBM, tel 071-928-
1777, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 30 UK: Miracom Says V.32Bis Modems Will Slow Down ISDN 04/30/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00020)

UK: Miracom Says V.32Bis Modems Will Slow Down ISDN 04/30/92
SLOUGH, BERKSHIRE, 1992 APR 30 (NB) -- Miracom has
announced a UKP 100,000 campaign to promote the V.32Bis
(14,400-bits per-second) modem standard, kicking off the
campaign with the revelation that it thinks that the price and
performance of the technology will make companies think twice
before moving to ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network)
services.

"With V.42Bis, data compression and USR's proprietary adaptive
speed levelling (ASL) technology, effective throughput speeds of
38,000 bps, can be achieved on a 14.4 bps modem," explained
Clive Hudson, Miracom's sales and marketing director.

Hudson reckons that, when V.32 (9,600 bps) was the ultimate
speed, ISDN offered an attractive performance advantage. "With
V.32Bis this has been significantly eroded. Add to that the extra
expense of ISDN and the uncertainty of when it will be available,
and it's easy to see why V.32Bis is taking off," he said.

Hudson also believes that pricing is going to be a major issue in
the market penetration of V.32Bis. He points to Miracom's UKP 695
price point for its V.32Bis Courier modem as the same pricing for
the competition's V.32 modems.

Newsbytes notes that Miracom faces competition in this price
bracket from the unlikely direction of Hayes. Hayes Ultra 144,
which has many of the features of the Courier, with the addition
of X.32 switching, has a "street price" of around UKP 700. Having
said that, some outlets are offering the Courier at below the UKP
600 mark. Clearly, the high-speed modem market is hotting up.

(Steve Gold/19920430/Press & Public Contact: Miracom,
0753-811180)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 30 AST Slashes UK Pricing Across Product Range 04/30/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00021)

AST Slashes UK Pricing Across Product Range 04/30/92
BRENTFORD, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 30 (NB) -- AST
Europe has slashed pricing across the entire range of its products
by as much as 33 percent.

The price cuts are due to economies of scale in production, plus
a desire to maintain competitive pricing in the UK computer
marketplace. In parallel with the price cuts, AST has boosted the
specifications of several of its machines.

Announcing the price cuts and enhancements, Graham Hopper,
AST's general manager said that the company is offering end
users advanced technology at extremely competitive prices.

"The success of AST's strategy has been reflected in a global
42 percent increase in turnover quarter on quarter for the last
three quarters. The UK market has grown even more rapidly," he
said.

An example of the new pricing includes the Premium SE 4/33
model 3V, which has been cut by 33 percent to UKP 3,195. The
Bravo 4/33 with 80MB hard disk, meanwhile, has been cut by
16 percent to UKP 1,995.

AST has boosted the specification of several of its systems,
adding a 120MB hard disk option to its Premium Exec 386SX/25
mono and color notebooks, for UKP 2,165 and UKP 3,165,
respectively. The Bravo 4/33, meanwhile, now has 4MB of
memory fitted as standard.

(Steve Gold/19920430/Press & Public Contact: AST Europe,
081-568-4350)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 30 Correction: BT's Phonebase Service Only Available On Dialup 04/30/92



(CORRECTION)(TELECOM)(LON)(00022)

Correction: BT's Phonebase Service Only Available On Dialup 04/30/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 30 (NB) -- In our report entitled
"On-line Directory Assistance Speeds Up" dated 19 March,
Newsbytes stated that Phonebase, BT's on-line directory
assistance service, is available on dial-up and via packet switch
stream PSS. BT has contacted us to say that the service is only
available on dial-up. Newsbytes regrets any confusion caused
by this error.

"PSS access is one of the options we are looking at, but this
would not enable us to collect the on-line revenue from callers.
If we do implement PSS access, then some form of closed user
group would be necessary," Andrew Rose, BT's product manager
for Phonebase and Phonedisc, told Newsbytes.

Phonebase continues to be accessible on a UK national number
charged at "b1" (reduced rate trunk) rates. The service is also
accessible internationally at normal call rates. Phonebase
requires an ID and a password which are issued free of charge
by British Telecom on request.

(Steve Gold/19920430/Press & Public Contact: BT Phonebase,
tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 30  ****Wang Unveils Two PCs For Mass Market 04/30/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00023)

 ****Wang Unveils Two PCs For Mass Market 04/30/92
LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 30 (NB) -- Wang is
going after the mass market with two new personal computers. One
of the machines comes with a compact disk read-only memory
(CD-ROM) drive, and both are based on an "80386SX-compatible"
microprocessor from a manufacturer Wang will not identify.

A flurry of legal disputes has surrounded Intel's 80386 and 80486
processors and companies manufacturing compatible chips. Intel
has taken legal action against Advanced Micro Devices, Cyrix,
and Chips & Technologies, claiming "clone" chips from these
companies infringe its copyrights.

Wang's announcement identified the chips in the new machines
only as "80386SX-compatible," and company spokeswoman
Hanne Herwick said Wang is not releasing the name of the chip
manufacturer.

Wang did say, though, that the chip runs at a top speed of 25
megahertz (MHz) but can be switched to eight MHz for
compatibility with some older software.

One system, the Alliance 750CD, comes with a 540 megabyte (MB)
CD-ROM drive and Compton's Family Encyclopedia on CD-ROM.

Both the Alliance 750CD and the Alliance 760 have five expansion
slots and one parallel, one mouse, and two serial ports. The
systems come with two MB of random access memory and can
support up to 16 MB on the motherboard, Wang said. Both have
an on-board Super VGA video controller with 512 kilobytes of video
memory, and both include a .41-dot-pitch VGA monitor, a keyboard,
and a two-button mouse.

The Alliance 760 comes with a 124 MB hard disk drive, as well
as 1.44 MB and 1.2 MB diskette drives. DOS 5.0 and Microsoft
Windows are bundled with the machine, as are Microsoft's
MS-Works for Windows and the Microsoft Productivity and
Entertainment Packs.

The Alliance 750CD system has a 540 MB CD-ROM drive, an
80 MB hard disk drive, and a 3.5-inch, 1.44 MB diskette drive. It
comes with the same bundled software as the 760, plus
Compton's Family Encyclopedia on compact disk.

Wang officials said the 760 model is aimed at home and home
business buyers, while the 750CD is meant for home education and
entertainment. Despite the CD-ROM drive and relatively high-quality
display, Wang is not touting the 750CD as a multimedia machine,
Herwick said.

Suggested retail prices are $1,799 for the Alliance 760 system and
$2,199 for the Alliance 750CD. Both will be available in May, Wang
said.

(Grant Buckler/19920430/Press Contact: Hanne Herwick, Wang,
508-967-6405)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 30 SMC Drops Ethernet Combo Pricing By 25 Percent 04/30/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00024)

SMC Drops Ethernet Combo Pricing By 25 Percent 04/30/92
hAUPPAUGE, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 APR 30 (NB) -- Striving to
keep up with the market, SMC has announced that they are reducing
their pricing on the EtherCard PLUS Elite 16 Combo card by 25
percent. The new price for the card is $299, down from $399.

SMC was one of the first to introduce such cards. These cards are
characterized by the fact that they support all three kinds of
Ethernet connections on the one card. There is an AUI connector
for thick wire Ethernet, a BNC connector for thin-wire, and an
RJ45 connector for 10Base-T wiring.

SMC claims that this idea originated with their dealers who wanted
to stock only one kind of card to resolve any kind of problem. For
this approach to be successful, such combination cards had to be
only slightly more expensive than comparable cards that supported
only one or two of the common media types. SMC has an undeclared
goal of ensuring that their cards are only about $20 more expensive
than the single media cards.

The current price reduction was driven by two factors, the company
stated. First, as the technology has matured they have been able
to realize some cost reductions and increased efficiencies and
would like to pass those on to the customer. Secondly, the single
media type of Ethernet cards have experienced significant price
reductions lately, thereby making the price differential between
them and SMC's combination card too large. This action should
restore the price differential to previous levels.

SMC spokespersons have told Newsbytes that they intend to
continue their presence in the networking marketplace and even
significantly expand it.

The company is planning some significant announcements
regarding network management products and SNMP-based
products to be made at the time of the InterOp show next month.
Included in the announcements will be a strategic statement of
direction for SMC in the networking arena. SMC is further planning
to introduce a line of Token Ring products in the fall of this year.

(Naor Wallach/19920430, Press Contact: Ellen Roeckl, SMC,
516-435-6340)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 30 CrossCom Unveils Protocol Independent Routing 04/30/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00025)

CrossCom Unveils Protocol Independent Routing 04/30/92
MARLBORO, MASSACHUSETTES, U.S.A., 1992 APR 30 (NB) --
CrossCom is continuing to release information on their upcoming
new module for the ILAN router. Company officials have been
making announcements about the new capabilities of this module
for several months now in an effort to generate interest in the user
community.

CrossComm has been concentrating on the Token Ring segment
of the market. Within that, they have seen continued demand for
routing packets from protocols like SNA, SDLC, and NetBIOS. Other
vendors have taken the approach of encapsulating the IBM non-
routable packets in TCP/IP packets to solve this problem.
CrossComm looked at that approach as well but decided that it
needed to find a new approach which would work better for their
customers. After all, stated a company official, "most of our
customers are pure IBM shops, why would they want to introduce
TCP/IP?"

The approach that the company developed is totally different.
Protocol Independent Routing (PIR) combines a routing algorithm
known as Shortest Path First (SPF) with CrossComm's recently
announced Universal Router Architecture. Together these create
a dynamic map of the network and decide on the best means of
sending the information through the network.

All of this functionality will be available in a RIP module that
will be compatible with the company's ILAN hub. Customers will be
able to buy this module for their hub within sixty days. The module
will cost $950. In addition to the routability of IBM protocols,
CrossComm will be detailing the other features of this module over
the next few weeks.

Newsbytes has learned that BiSync support is definitely going to
be included. An official announcement of this is expected to come
within the next couple of week. Newsbytes has further learned that
the company is planning on TCP/IP and AppleTalk supoprt
to be contained in their hub by the fourth quarter of this year.

(Naor Wallach/19920430, Press Contact: Christine LeCompte,
Beaupre & Company for CrossComm, 603-436-6690)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 30 DCA Upgrades Crosstalk Communicator 04/30/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00026)

DCA Upgrades Crosstalk Communicator 04/30/92
ALPHARETTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 30 (NB) -- DCA has
announced an upgrade to their Crosstalk Communicator product.
Crosstalk Communicator is intended to be a simple yet complete
communications package for MS-DOS based machines.

It is intended to complement the company's other offerings like
Crosstalk XVI and Crosstalk Mark 4. Crosstalk Communicator 2.1
will begin shipping next week and will retain version 2.0's $99
suggested retail pricing.

There are several new features and enhancements in the product.
Version 2.1 will now support the Crosstalk proprietary file transfer
protocol. It has also implemented a new feature that is called
"queue dialing." With this feature, a user can indicate a list of phone
numbers that he wishes to call. The program will go through the list
and dial each number in turn. If the connection is successful, the
number is deleted from the queue. If not, the program will cycle to
the next number in the queue. The user can direct the program as
to the number of times to call each number, as well as to set the
delay interval between calls.

Another new feature is called "credit card" dialing. This option
allows the user to use the alternative long distance carriers.
By embedding a special character in the dialing stream, the program
will stop and wait for the user to press the space bar. Obviously,
this feature is only useful for modems that have a built in speaker.
The program will dial the access number for the carrier and will
then pause at the special character. When the user hears the tone
that the carrier provides to signify its readiness, the user presses
the space bar and the program then sends along the access code
required.

There are a host of other, smaller, features included in the package
as well. Company officials claimed that all of these features are
intended to make the package more user friendly and more useable.

People who have purchased version 2.0 since March 12 of this year
will be able to get a free upgrade to version 2.1. Others will need to
pay a $20 upgrade fee.

(Naor Wallach/19920430/Press Contact: Meg Owens, DCA,
404-442-4521)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 30 DECWorld: DEC Displays Renewed Applications Focus 04/30/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00027)

DECWorld: DEC Displays Renewed Applications Focus 04/30/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 30 (NB)  Digital
Equipment Corporation is raising its competitive posture with a
renewed focus on customer needs, and the change will be on public
view through May 15, remarked Kenneth H. Olsen, company founder
and president, in a press conference this week at DECWorld '92, a
trade show with global ramifications.

Through a series of reorganizations over the past 18 months,
the Maynard, MA-based computer giant is reversing a tendency that
arose in the late eighties to produce technology for technology's
sake, according to Olsen. "Now we have an orientation toward
solving the customer's problems, and not toward the engineering
products we want to engineer," he commented. "This is the key to
the future of Digital."

During the next few weeks, the 30,000 visitors expected at
DECWorld will catch glimpses of Digital's new thrust in the 1,200
applications on display, said Olsen.

Symbolizing a global enterprise and its myriad vertical and
horizontal application areas, the show fills the entire 120,000-
square-foot exhibition hall at the World Trade Center in Boston.
By stopping in at storefronts, offices, and government buildings
within the village, visitors can observe simulations of computer
use in earthquake recovery, a hospital emergency room, a
chemical processing plant, a doughnut shop, and a multitude of
other situations.

In keeping with the exhibition theme, "The Open Advantage,"
the 1,500 computers used in the applications consist of
workstations, PCs and terminals from a variety of vendors, linked
together by a multiprotocol network. "Here, you can see what
we've been doing with applications," Olsen stated in his talk.
"What we're set up to do now is develop them more efficiently,
extensively, economically, and profitably."

These objectives will be reached through Digital's most recent
restructuring, which requires engineering groups to report to
applications groups, said Olsen. Accomplished a few weeks ago,
the new rearrangement caps a year-and-a-half-long effort to draw
Digital back to its original focus.

In the sixties and seventies, DEC pursued a customer-oriented
approach that set the stage for the company's phenomenal growth
in the eighties, he said. "Yet our success led us into a trap," he
added. "We'd always been good computer scientists, but we
ended up concentrating on this part with less emphasis on the
customers. We were building computers first, and then having the
sales people develop applications from what we designed," he
recalled.

Operations became increasingly complex and expensive as a
result, he stressed. "The sales people couldn't carry the
literature of all the computers we built. It took several experts
to design an application. Little by little, this began to hurt our
business."

In a reorganization 18 months ago, manufacturing and applications
functions were converted into business units, each accountable for
its own performance, said Olsen. "This made business people out
of individuals who had never been business people before.  But it
did not re-orient how we made computers.  The tradition was too
strong," he recalled.

Consequently, a few months back, a second rearrangement took
place, dividing Digital into the three engineering groups and three
applications groups. The applications groups were given the
authority to decide what computers to build, and the obligation to
turn a profit.  But although this change brought some positive
results, computer design was still coming along too slowly, making
a third restructuring necessary, said Olsen.

"Now the groups that build the computers are working for the
groups that build the applications," he asserted. "We've gotten
rid of a couple of layers of overhead, and problems involving
delay are well under way to being solved."

Currently, applications are categorized into the areas of "small
business computing," "global information systems," and "industry."
Global information systems handles mainframe and large-scale
distributed applications, while industry is entrusted with vertical
markets, he reported.

DEC's recently unveiled family of personal computers illustrates
the progress being made, according to Olsen. "If we were
designing computers just for computers' sake, we'd develop PCs
just like everybody else's," he said. "We'd have a PC server,
small enough to be stolen, in a plastic box high enough to trip
over. The cables would be on the floor."

But by targeting its PCs at small businesses, Digital has come up
with unique products, he stressed.  DEC's PCs are available
with a line of wall cabinets in a choice of colors, adding to their
aesthetic value, he said. "Small businesses don't take pride in
how small their computers look,"  he noted. The cables can be
stapled to the wall, and, to guard against theft, the cabinets can
be screwed in.

The PC disk space is easily expandable. "The amount of disk
space people need grows forever," Olsen commented. The new
computers are also equipped with battery and tape backup. "No
matter how small your business is, your computer is critical," he
explained.  Ethernet capabilities are incorporated, too.

The DEC PCs are visible on the show floor, along with a host
of other new technologies, including Digital's yet to be released
64-bit, RISC (reduced instruction-set computer)-based Alpha
computers.

"We do have a lot to offer, to a lot of markets," summed up
Olsen. "Getting everything together in one place is a very
effective way of putting our message across."

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920430)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 30 DECWorld: Gates Says Windows Plans Mirror DEC's 04/30/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00028)

DECWorld: Gates Says Windows Plans Mirror DEC's 04/30/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 30 (NB) -- An
agreement to integrate Microsoft's Windows NT with DEC's RISC-
based Alpha computers, announced recently, reflects similarities
between Microsoft's overall software plans and longstanding
hardware strategies from DEC, stated Bill Gates, Microsoft founder
and CEO, speaking this week at the DECWorld trade show.

"Microsoft's goal for Windows is to leverage investments in
development. To do this, we'll need many implementations, in the
same sense VAX has had many implementations," said the
company chief, referring to a DEC hardware architecture that
predates the 64-bit Alpha.

NT, an operating system Microsoft has been developing for
the past three years, now stands at the high end of Windows
implementations, according to Gates.  Future Windows
implementations will range from mobile organizers at the low end
to client/server multimedia at the top, he added.

"Over the next year and a half, we'll be rolling out lots of
great applications for Windows NT," said the billionaire
entrepreneur, who began in the business as a teenaged master
of DEC programming. "The best way to show off NT's power is
to combine the operating system with the world-class work DEC
is putting in on Alpha," he emphasized.

The integration of Windows NT with Alpha will optimize the
use of GUIs (graphical user interfaces) on client/server applications,
he elaborated. The first commercial applications of this kind are
likely to involve database and electronic-mail servers, because
the advantages of such systems are relatively easy for users to
grasp, he indicated. "At Microsoft, we've made ourselves guinea
pigs for these types of server technologies, with lots of PCs sitting
on the desktops and lots of big machines on the back end," he
disclosed. Almost all of the servers are from DEC, he explained.

One internal application has involved converting Microsoft's
sales records from printed binders into a database employees can
search and browse.

Soon after the conversion, the MIS Group at Microsoft
started to get reports that some of the facts in the database were
wrong, said Gates.  When looking into the situation, though, staff
found that the same erroneous information had appeared in the
binders, as well. "Nobody had been reading the documents in
printed form. The binders just weren't helping people to get their
jobs done," he commented.

Other firms are now exploring database applications that keep
track of who has talked to customers, along with the gist of the
conversations, said Gates. The call records can be shared by
home office and field staff.

"The database applications used in processing loan requests
will be different from those that manage insurance claims, for
instance," he commented.  "So one of the great outcomes of the DEC
and Microsoft partnership will be to reach out to software vendors
who understand specific industry areas and say, 'Okay, here's a
platform that runs on the desktop, here are the services that run
on the backend machines, and here's how we can help you get your
application going in this environment'."

Meanwhile, though, other hardware implementations are in the
works for Windows.  Microsoft has been meeting with consumer
electronics, telephone, and wireless equipment makers, and Gates
has set out to build himself a home equipped with HDTV (high
definition television) in every room.

In discussions with the equipment vendors, Microsoft is asking
such questions as how the firms are envisioning the "intelligent
phone" or "intelligent TV," said Gates. "We want to build
interfaces that will let the new machines interoperate well with
Windows on the desktop," he explained.

Gates' new "multimedia house" will be another sort of internal testing
ground for Windows. "The house is a case of exploring how people
want to interact with HDTV.  What kind of user interface makes the
most sense? After all, not everyone who visits my home is a
computer programming whiz - at least I hope not, anyway," quipped
Gates. "So, we have to come up with a nonintimidating HDTV system
that lots of people will enjoy working with.  Then we can move
forward to use the system at home, school, and work, and make this
the information age.  I think this is a very exciting vision for us all," he
said.

Equipment in Gates' HDTV-oriented domicile will be light years
ahead of the DEC time-sharing machine that Gates pounded away
on as a 17-year-old programmer at TRW, who was referred to the
professional job by Digital.

The hardware for the house will include 40 HDTV flat panel
displays and a 100 gigabyte image server, plus FDDI wiring
throughout the building.  Ultimately, the server will contain a
data base of 1 million pictures, costing an estimated $30 to $40
million to scan, said Gates.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920430)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 30  ****Former Ashton-Tate CEO To Head Parcplace Systems 04/30/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00029)

 ****Former Ashton-Tate CEO To Head Parcplace Systems 04/30/92
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 30 (NB) -- Bill
Lyons, probably best known for his role as chief executive officer
at the former database software giant Ashton-Tate, has taken the
helm at object-oriented software language producer Parcplace
Systems.

Lyons said since the purchase of Ashton-Tate by Borland last year,
he stayed on with Borland for a couple of months to help with the
transition, then went hunting in what he terms at the "ultimate high-
tech candy store," Silicon Valley, for the next emerging technology.

Lyons told Newsbytes that being unattached and fairly well-known
because of Ashton-Tate, he was able to see much of the emerging
technology in Silicon Valley and was looking for an opportunity to get
into true entrepreneurial waters with an emerging technology. "It just
makes no sense to go with the next spreadsheet. What I was looking
for is emerging technologies that are close to intersection with
customer demand," Lyons told Newsbytes. Lyons maintains
Parcplace has that technology in its Smalltalk product.

Dr. Adele Goldberg, the founder of Parcplace systems and the co-
inventor of Smalltalk is stepping down to allow Lyons her slot at
Parcplace, but still plans to hold her position as chairman of the
board of the company. Goldberg has called Lyons her business
partner and says Parcplace is placing a stake in Lyons with the
hopes he'll be able to lead the company into penetration of the
corporate marketplace.

Forty-seven year-old Lyons spent 19 years at IBM, leaving IBM
from his position as vice president of software marketing and
distribution. His last three years were at Ashton-Tate until it was
purchased outright by Borland last year to the tune of $146 million.

Lyons says object-oriented technology is emerging as the wave
of the future, especially now that the hardware for the IBM and
compatible personal computer (PC) platform has caught up with
the demands object-oriented languages place on it.

Parcplace said Lyons will assume day-to-day management
responsibilities and all vice presidents will report to him beginning
immediately.

Mountain View-based Parcplace offers two programming languages,
C++ and Smalltalk. Goldberg has the distinction of being one of the
pioneers of Smalltalk in her former position at Xerox's Palo Alto
Research Center (PARC) where the Smalltalk language was born.
Parcplace is a privately held company backed by venture capital and
one of the company's more immediate goals is to go public, according
to Lyons.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920430/Press Contact: Ellie Victor, Cunningham
Communications for Parcplace Systems, 408-764-0735; Denise
Boucher, Parcplace Systems, tel [phone] fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 30 New Faster Data Encryption Chip From Digital, Vitesse 04/30/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00030)

New Faster Data Encryption Chip From Digital, Vitesse 04/30/92
CAMARILLO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 30 (NB) -- Data
encryption is getting faster with Digital Equipment Corporation's
development of a one billion bits-per-second (Gbps) data encryption
chip that is expected to be introduced at the IEEE Custom Integrated
Circuits Conference next week in Boston, Massachusetts.

Vitesse Semiconductor made the announcement as it developed the
basis for the new chip in its Fury 15K gate array. Robert Turnage,
manager of marketing communications for Vitesse says his company
builds semi-custom chip designs that other companies use by
connecting the transistors in a custom manner for a specific application.
The new Digital data encryption chip was developed in that manner.
Gates or gate arrays are the connections between the transistors and
are sometimes referred to as logical gates, Turnage added.

Vitesse says the development of the Digital chip was necessary
because of the need for high-speed data encryption hardware for
1Gbps networks. In order to get secure network transmission, the
data encryption hardware has to be able to operate at the link
speed, Vitesse maintains.

The chip not only provides faster data encryption speeds than before,
but consumes half to a third less power than competing ECL gate array
technologies, according Chuck Thacker, a corporate consulting
engineer at Digital.

Vitesse says its Fury VSC15K gate array is the most complex design
ever done in a Fury array. Fury family arrays come in six increments
ranging from 3,000 to 30,000 gates, Vitesse added.

Camarillo, California-based Vitesse describes itself as a
manufacturer of digital gallium arsenide integrated circuits (GaAs ICs)
for commercial and military customers. The company says its GaAs
ICs include gate arrays, random access memories (RAMs),
telecommunication, networking, and logic products.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920430/Press Contact: Robert Turnage, Vitesse
Semiconductor, tel [phone] fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 30 First "Wearable" Portable Computers Used In Shipping 04/30/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00031)

First "Wearable" Portable Computers Used In Shipping 04/30/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 30 (NB) --
Warehouse workers at McKesson Drug are the first to wear a
computer to process purchase orders and invoices, identify and
display the location of materials, and perform receiving, picking
and shipping tasks, according to the company.

McKesson said the employees helped in the development of the
network which involves a 13-ounce wearable computer employees
placed over their hand and forearm that offers a small display
screen, a keypad, and emits a red laser beam for scanning.

Portable, hands-free operation is the goal of the system,
implemented and designed by Dallas, Texas-based Information
Technology company EDS. The system uses an Acumax
automated warehouse distribution software application and a bar
code scanning glove from Symbol Technologies.

Warehouse workers can "point-and-scan" bar codes on packages
while wearing the system on their arm which is connected to a
portable computer and battery power supply around their waist,
McKesson said. Paper documents, printouts and manual input of
purchase order and invoice data have been practically eliminated,
McKesson added. Communication of the portable units with the
network is done via radio transmissions in a "closed loop."

McKesson says the new system has increased accuracy and
decreased customer and supplier shortages and return claims. With
the success of the pilot warehouse system in McKesson's Spokane,
Washington facility, the company says it plans to duplicate the
system at another distribution center in Delran Township, New
Jersey.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920430/Press Contact: James S. Cohune,
McKesson, tel [phone] fax [phone])

#ENDCARD


#CARD :1992 APR 29 Supermac Rebate On Large Display Purchase With Trade-in 04/29/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00001)

Supermac Rebate On Large Display Purchase With Trade-in 04/29/92
SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 29 (NB) -- Supermac
Technology is attempting to induce Apple, Radius, Sony, and NEC
customers to trade in their small screen systems for a Supermac
large screen color display by offering a cash rebate on the small
screen displays through reseller Elite Computers & Software.

For a year Supermac says it will run the SuperMac Exchange
Program, offering rebates from $55 to $720 for selected 12-inch to
15-inch monochrome and color monitors and cards from Radius,
Sony, NEC, and Apple with the purchase of any Supermac display
system. The Supermac display line ranges in size from 17-inch to
21-inch display monitors. The company says it is including its low
end Supermatch 17 Multimode and Supermatch 20 color displays
in the offer.

The company has cut prices twice, once last year and the latest cut
was announced last February. Some price cuts were as high as 40
percent, Supermac said. The company also announced this month
it would go public with an initial offering of 2,500,00 shares of
common stock.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920429/Press Contact: Supermac, Stephanie
Bryant, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public Contact, Barbara
Camozzi, Supermac, 408-773-4439)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 29 Japan: NTT To Split Mobile Phone Division 04/29/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00002)

Japan: NTT To Split Mobile Phone Division 04/29/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 29 (NB) -- NTT plans to split its mobile
phone division to create an independent subsidiary in July. It is
expected that the new firm will list its stock on the Tokyo Stock
Exchange market within five years.

NTT's new firm will be called NTT Mobile Telecommunication
Network. The former telecom monopoly is planning to gain an
official approval of the creation of this new firm at the annual
shareholders' meeting on June 30. The business is set to begin
on July 1.

In July 1993, NTT Mobile Telecommunication Network itself will be
divided into eight firms. Each firm will be assigned a geographical
territory for their business in Japan. The new firms will include
various mobile phone telecommunication technologies such as car
phones, mobile phones, ship phones, aircraft phones, and pagers.

The capitalization of NTT Mobile Telecommunication Network is
estimated to be 15 billion yen ($100 million), which will be paid by
NTT. A total of 1,800 employees will be transferred from NTT to
the new firm.

The new firm expects to gain 362 billion yen ($2.5 billion) in sales
and a net profit of eight billion yen ($60 million) for the initial year. In
the second year, the firm expects to double its sales.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920429/Press Contact: NTT,
[phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 29 Japan: Low-Cost Fax Machine With Auto-Sheet Cutter Debuts 04/29/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00003)

Japan: Low-Cost Fax Machine With Auto-Sheet Cutter Debuts 04/29/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 29 (NB) -- Murata Machinery has
released a low-cost fax machine, which is equipped with an auto-
sheet cutting feature. This fax machine has the power of business
fax machines.

Murata's latest fax machine, called the Muratech M11, will be
released in mid-May at only 130,000 yen ($960), which is quite
reasonable for a fax machine with an auto-cutting feature. With
this feature, the power user does not have to worry about cutting
lengthy fax messages by hand.

Murata's fax accepts up to B4-size paper. The transmission speed
of an A4-size document will be only 15 seconds, which is about
half of regular personal-use fax machines. The picture is also
said to be quite sharp.

Murata Machinery plans to ship about 2,000 units of the fax
machine per month. Murata is a Kyoto-based office equipment
maker.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920429/Press Contact: Murata
Machinery, [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 29 Japan: Sega To Link With MacDonalds & Toys 'R' Us 04/29/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00004)

Japan: Sega To Link With MacDonalds & Toys 'R' Us 04/29/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 29 (NB) -- Japan's major game machine
maker, Sega Enterprises, will sign agreements concerning joint
business in Japan. The agreements call for Sega to install
amusement areas at the site of MacDonalds and Toys 'R' Us stores.

Toys 'R' Us opened in Japan late last year and has already
created a couple of stores. The firm has already signed an
agreement with MacDonalds to do business together. This
agreement led to MacDonalds opening a shop on the same site
as Toys 'R' Us. Now, Sega will create an amusement facility in
both Toys 'R' Us and MacDonalds.

These three firms have basically agreed on the project and
are expected to sign an official agreement soon. If all goes
well, these three firms will begin a similar joint business in
the US.

Sega Enterprises has recently entered the amusement game
machinery business. The firm has begun developing large
amusement game machines for amusement parks. Sega is also
been planning to create its own amusement parks in Osaka and
Europe in the near future.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920429/Press Contact: Sega Enterprises,
[phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 29 Japan: DEC And Seiko-Epson Enter LAN Business 04/29/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00005)

Japan: DEC And Seiko-Epson Enter LAN Business 04/29/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 29 (NB) -- Japan Digital Equipment
and Seiko Epson have started to enter the local area network (LAN)
market. This is part of their joint business agreement, which was
signed in February.

Japan DEC and Seiko-Epson's LAN will be based on Novell's
Netware. In the business, Novell will provide its Netware 386V3.1J to
Seiko-Epson on an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) basis.
The network will use Seiko-Epson's PC-286 and PC-396 personal
computers, both of which are compatible with NEC's PC-9801.

Japan DEC will provide its workstations and minicomputers to
be integrated with Seiko-Epson's personal computers. Both firms
will set up a LAN system using these computers, and will jointly
begin to market the system this June.

This is said to be just the start of their joint business, and it is
expected that both firms will expand their cooperation into other
business areas.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920429/Press Contact: Seiko-Epson,
[phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 29 Matsushita Plans RISC-Based Laptop SPARC Workstation 04/29/92


(NEWS)(UNIX)(TYO)(00006)

Matsushita Plans RISC-Based Laptop SPARC Workstation 04/29/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 29 (NB) -- Matsushita Computer
Systems, a subsidiary of Matsushita Electric, will release a RISC
(reduced instruction-set computing)-based laptop workstation on
June 25.

The workstation was developed by Matsushita Electric.
This latest laptop workstation is the SPARC workstation, called
the P2100. It is equipped with a 15-inch TFT (thin film transistor) liquid
crystal display. Under the RISC chip with a 40 megahertz (MHz) clock
speed, this laptop workstation operates at 28.5 MIPS (million-
instructions-per-second). This is claimed to be almost twice as fast
as Toshiba's laptop RISC machine, and is slightly faster than Sony's
machine.

This laptop workstation is equipped with Pana OS/S 1.0, which is
compatible with Sun Microsystems' Solaris 1.0. Consequently, more
than 3,600 kinds of SPARC application programs can be used on
the machine.

Although it is a laptop, it weighs 7.5 kg, which is quite heavy
to carry around. This machine measures 41.2 by 32.8 by 9.4
centimeters (cm). The retail price will be an expensive 3.85 million
yen ($28,500). Matsushita hopes to ship 3,000 units in three years.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920429/Press Contact: Matsushita
Computer System, [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 29 India's Steel Maker Enters Second Phase Of Computerization 04/29/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(SFO)(00007)

India's Steel Maker Enters Second Phase Of Computerization 04/29/92
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1992 APR 29 (NB) -- The giant public sector
steel maker, Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), will soon embark
on the second stage of its computer-managed maintenance system
at its plants in Bhilai, Bokaro, Burnpur, Durgapur, and Rourkela.

Bhilai is in central India and the other four are located in the eastern
region of the country adjacent to the coal belt of India.

The project, costing about $0.7 million, is funded by the United
Nations Development Program (UNDP) and will be executed by
the United Nations Industrial Development Organization within 30
months, starting from March this year. The program involves
designing, developing and implementing an on-line, end-user
oriented computer managed maintenance system for uniform
implementation in SAIL units. A new generation of mini and
microcomputers and modular application software tools will also
be used.

UNDP had provided financial assistance of over a million dollars
for the first phase of the scheme, which commenced in September
1988 and was concluded in December 1989.

Meanwhile, SAIL has also entered into an agreement with Drever
International SA, Belgium, for training engineers and operating
personnel of Taiwan in its steel plants. Under the agreement, three
batches of engineers and operators of the Yieh United Steel
Company will be trained at Salem Steel Plant in southern India.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920429)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 29 Indian Tie-up With Sony To Make 3.5-inch Floppy Drives 04/29/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00008)

Indian Tie-up With Sony To Make 3.5-inch Floppy Drives 04/29/92
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1992 APR 29 (NB) -- Sony Corporation of
Japan has tied up with Delhi-based Vintron Industries Limited to
manufacture 3.5-inch floppy disk drives (FDDs) in India.

However, the FDDs manufactured by Vintron will not bear the
name of Sony on them. Vintron is already the Indian distributor of
the 5.25-inch range of FDDs of JPN Corporation, Japan.

According to Vintron, the demand for FDDs in India is about half a
million units a year, of which, only about 10 per cent are produced
within the country.

With this tie-up, the company hopes to triple its turnover to
$8.75 million in 1992-93, from its present $2.87 million. Other
manufacturers of 3.5-inch FDDs in India are Larsen & Toubro
and Sujata Data Products.
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 29 MicroAge Enters Field Computing Market 04/29/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00009)

MicroAge Enters Field Computing Market 04/29/92
TEMPE, ARIZONA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 29 (NB) -- MicroAge Computer
Centers became the first computer retailer to announce a wireless
strategy in support of "field computing."

Field computing involves using handheld terminals or PCs and
wireless networks to create virtual offices anywhere. The best-
known examples of the technology in action are Federal Express'
couriers and IBM repairmen.

MircoAge has created a network of relationships with vendors in
the area, including the AT&T EasyLink Services electronic mail
service, SkyTel's paging service, Hewlett-Packard for its HP 95LX
palmtop computer, Motorola and its wireless networking schemes,
NCR for its notebook and pen-top computers, and Xircom, a
software vendor.

MicroAge will sell "bundles" of computers and services. For
instance, it will combine the NCR Safari notebook computer with
SkyTel paging and its new SkyTel Link e-mail service. With the
same services, the HP 95LX becomes a Sky Stream unit. The
"virtual office" is complete, said SkyTel's Donald Warfield, with
the addition of a cellular phone and fax-modem. EasyLink also
provides a direct link to the SkyTel network with its electronic
mail services, the first e-mail service to provide such a link.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920429/Press Contact: MicroAge, David
Lucas, 602-968-3168 ext 2243)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 29 Columbia Telecom Strike Ends 04/29/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00010)

Columbia Telecom Strike Ends 04/29/92
BOGATA, COLUMBIA, 1992 APR 29 (NB) -- It is one again possible
to call Columbia, and for Columbians to call the world. The 14,000
workers at Telecom, the state-owned phone company, who went
on strike a week ago, called off the work-stoppage and signed a
deal with the government.

The three-part agreement was brokered by members of the
Columbian Senate and union leaders. Under it, the strike ends,
and the union gets to review a planned privatization of the
company. A tribunal will also be established to look into
government accusations of sabotage against union members.

Workers walked off the job over fears that Telecom's
privatization would threaten their jobs and end plans to extend
service to rural areas. Telecom does not control all of Columbia's
telecommunications net -- many local phone units remain under
local control. But Telecom does have a monopoly on long
distance service, both within the country and outside it.

The Columbian strike was a reminder that Latin America is not yet
unanimously behind the privatization drive which has led to a
boom in Mexico's economy and the end of Argentina's debt crisis
after 10 years. Venezuela's decision to privatize its CANTV phone
company, which was sold to a group headed by GTE of the US,
was followed by an attempted coup. Leftist parties, as well as
much popular sentiment in Brazil, still oppose privatizing that
nation's Telebras phone monopoly, as sought by President
Fernando Collor.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920429)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 29  ****AT&T Offers Personal 700 Phone Numbers 04/29/92




(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00011)

 ****AT&T Offers Personal 700 Phone Numbers 04/29/92
BASKING RIDGE, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 APR 29 (NB) --
AT&T became the first long distance carrier to offer "personal
phone numbers," which follow their owners around wherever they
are in the US, with a service called EasyReach 700.

Spokesman Mark Siegel explained to Newsbytes how it works.
"In our 5ESS switches, which handle our 0+ operator-assisted
traffic, there's special software that can recognize an EasyReach
700 call. The call is sent to a database which contains customer
information on all EasyReach subscribers. The database tells the
switch what local number to send the call to." Siegel did not
know whether the EasyReach calls are recognized by the switch
based on a three-digit exchange or the full seven-digit number --
using  all seven digits could, in time, make such numbers portable
among long-distance carriers, as toll-free 800 numbers are
becoming based on decisions by the Federal Communications
Commission.

EasyReach 700 also offers a special type of call-forwarding, as
Siegel explained: "You can decide which calls will be
forwarded to you on vacation, by using a PIN number. Callers who
don't know the 4-digit PIN (like the security codes on bank
teller cards) go to your home number, where you could have an
answering machine or voice mail." Call forwarding is activated
from any touchtone phone. In addition, subscribers can decide
whether they will pay for incoming calls, as with Personal 800
service, or whether they will have callers pay, as in regular long-
distance service. New customers will even be able to select their
own numbers.

The onetime charge for a personalized number will be $25.
There is a $7 monthly charge. Interstate calls cost 25 cents per
minute by day, 15 cents per minute at night and on weekends. In-
state call charges vary from state to state. Also, to get EasyReach
700, your home or business phone number must be pre-
subscribed to AT&T, meaning it is your default long distance
carrier unless you enter extra digits with each call.

In other long-distance news, AT&T cut prices of direct-dialed or
Reach Out plan calls to Guadalajara, Mexico, by 20 percent until
May 31, in recognition of a gas main explosion there which killed
hundreds of people, and said it is working with Telmex to add 90
additional circuits into the city to handle the increased load.

And Sprint introduced a small business calling plan called
Business Clout which lets firms bundle all long distance, toll-
free 800, and calling card calls, along with those of other firms
in their area, for combined discounts. Sprint said its plan would
save businesses an average of 20 percent, and it is asking only
for a renewable one-year commitment.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920429/Press Contact: AT&T, Mark
Siegel, 908-221-8413; Raul Garza, 213-239-7652)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 29 BellSouth To Sell Cellular MedPhone Rescue Service 04/29/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00012)

BellSouth To Sell Cellular MedPhone Rescue Service 04/29/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 29 (NB) -- BellSouth
Mobility became the second major cellular carrier to offer the
MEDphone cellular rescue service, following Bell Atlantic. The
company will jointly market with MEDphone its MDphone Cellular +
Rescue service in the Atlanta area starting May 1.

The MDphone Cellular + Rescue, about the size of a suitcase, is
the only fully portable cardiac emergency unit to offer victims
of cardiac arrest the ability to receive both diagnosis and
defibrillation treatment via cellular technology.

Emergency units turn on the phone, which automatically dials the
emergency room, attach sensors to a patient which monitor heart
function, and a doctor at the hospital can, by pressing a button,
initiate an electric shock to the heart to stop a fluttering heart-beat,
known as fibrillation. The defibrillation procedure can save
many lives, but must be done quickly, under the supervision of a
physician. Unfortunately, doctors do not ride ambulances, so
MDphone lets them handle the work without leaving the office.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920429/Press Contact: MEDphone, Debora
Markiewicz, 201-843-6644; BellSouth Mobility, Joanne DeLavan,
404-847-4896)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 29 ****UPI To Be Sold At Auction On May 12 04/29/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00013)

 ****UPI To Be Sold At Auction On May 12 04/29/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 APR 29 (NB) -- If you want to
own a wire service, get your bid ready. US District Judge Francis
Conrad has set May 12 as the absolute auction date for the assets
of United Press International, and bids must be in by May 11.
Conrad will conduct the auction and announce the results from his
office in Rutland, Vermont.

UPI lawyers earlier had asked Conrad to set the auction date.
They said it will force parties who have considered buying all or
part of UPI to make a decision and finally determine the new
ownership of the news service. UPI could be bought whole, or
only its assets could be purchased, effectively killing it. UPI
President Pieter VanBennekom expressed confidence some
bidders will be found for the assets.

UPI's owners, Infotechnology, had sought to create synergy among
a number of business-related news and information services,
including the Financial News Network business-cable service, High
Technology magazine, and Lotus' Signal, which sends stock quotes
via FM subcarriers to handheld terminals. But the effort failed,
and a bankruptcy petition was filed August 12. Since then, UPI
alone has lost about $100,000 per month, according to Conrad, and
UPI lacks the money to meet its May 15 payroll.

United Press was founded in 1907 by E.W. Scripps. It merged in
1958 with International News Service to form UPI, and was sold in
1984 by the Scripps estate.

Meanwhile Financial News Network, another Infotechnology unit
which is also in Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code, announced its
creditors and shareholders had approved a plan for
reorganization. While the company's cable network was sold last
year to CNBC, a unit of General Electric, the company still runs
the Signla, QuoTrek, and MarketWatch stock quote services. That
reorganization plan is due for approval by Judge Conrad April 29.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920429/Press Contact: Amber Gordon,
Financial News Network, 703-359-6236)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 29 Quantum To Supply 120MB Drives For Dell Color Notebook 04/29/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00014)

Quantum To Supply 120MB Drives For Dell Color Notebook 04/29/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 29 (NB)-- Dell Computer has
announced that it will use Quantum Corporation's Go Drive 120AT
for its recently introduced color notebook computer, the 325NC.
The unit is also available with 60 megabyte (MB) and 80MB drives.

Dell spokesperson Lisa Rohlf told Newsbytes that Dell had
selected Quantum because of "quality, reliability, and the
established relationship between the two companies." Rohlf said
Dell selected a supplier that could supply enough products to meet
the company's needs. According to Rohlf, Dell already uses
Quantum drives in many of their desktop systems. Dell suppliers
must meet its rigorous testing program before being selected, she
told Newsbytes.

Dell is already shipping the 325NC with the 120MB drives, with a
price tag of $4,599, said Rohlf.

Compaq Computer recently ran into a supply problem with one
of their drive suppliers, saying that its inability to meet product
demand contributed partly to its poor financial showing for the
quarter.

Quantum said that its 120 and 240 MB drives are already in use
in several of Dell's desktop systems, including the 486P, 486D.
and Powerline family.

The 120AT drive is a two-disk, 120MB, 2.5-inch drive which Quantum
said is among the first available in volume in the marketplace. The
drive has an embedded AT-bus controller and 127 MB of
formatted capacity. It is common for the formatted capacity of a
drive to exceed the rated capacity, since most manufacturers round
off the numbers. For example, a 20 MB drive usually has a
formatted capacity of more than 21 MB.

Quantum says average seek time for the 120AT is less than 17
milliseconds, and the average sustained data transfer rate is up to
2.1 MB-per-second. Quantum drives have multiple power-saving
modes, and the drive comes up to speed in less than 2.5 seconds,
said Quantum. The LPS drives also include a 256 kilobyte (KB)
cache read-and-write buffer, which speeds up operations. Buffered
systems write much more quickly to the buffer than to the drive,
allowing  the user to continue operations. The computer then writes
to the drive in between operations.

(Jim Mallory/19920429/Press Contact: Lisa Rohlf, Dell Computer,
512-343-3535; Catherine Hartsof, Quantum Corporation,
408-894-4000)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 29 New Key Tronic Keyboard Has Telephone Capabilities 04/29/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DEN)(00015)

New Key Tronic Keyboard Has Telephone Capabilities 04/29/92
SPOKANE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 APR 29 (NB) -- Key Tronic,
best known for its PC keyboards and pointing devices, has
announced it has signed an agreement with Integrated Technology
(ITI) of South Orange, New Jersey, to produce and market a
keyboard which includes ITI-patented telephone capabilities.

The board combines a standard 101-key keyboard with an
enhanced numeric keypad which incorporates the functions of a
touch-tone telephone keypad. The keyboard is designed to be
used with a standard headset and is compatible with any RJ-11
phone jack. The RJ-11 is the single line type phone plug found in
most homes and many offices.

Key Tronic said the agreement was signed during Spring Comdex
in Chicago, and allows it to market the product to OEM (original
equipment manufacturer) customers as well as manufacturing it for
ITI.

"The integration of PCs, voice and data will be the way of the
future," said ITI Chief Executive Officer Alan Haber. According to
ITI's Director of Research and Development Roy Saslow, the
integration of the digital telephone and the computer keyboard
in a single unit is a major breakthrough in office efficiency.

"This product meets essential needs for telemarketing operations,"
said Key Tronic VP of Sales and Marketing Warren Rainer.

Key Tronic has also announced its third quarter financial results --
reporting a net profit of $463,000, down from $1.7 million for the
same period last year. Revenues were $37.1 million, also down
from $41.5 million last year. Net loss for the first nine months was
reported at $2.3 million, compared to $113,000 in 1991.
Shareholders earned $0.06 per share for the quarter, but lost
$0.29 for the first three quarters.

(Jim Mallory/19920429/Press Contact: Warren Rainer, Key Tronic,
509-928-8000)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 29  ****Micron Files Korean Anti-Dumping Suit; VP Resigns 04/29/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEN)(00016)

 ****Micron Files Korean Anti-Dumping Suit; VP Resigns 04/29/92
BOISE, IDAHO, U.S.A., 1992 APR 29 (NB) -- Semiconductor
manufacturer Micron Technology has announced that it has filed
an anti-dumping petition with the US Department of Commerce

Micron charges that Korean DRAM manufacturers, particularly
Hyundai Electronics Company and Goldstar Electron Limited, are
selling DRAMs below their cost of production.

Micron spokesperson Kipp Bedard told Newsbytes that the Korean
manufacturers are selling into the US market at prices below their
manufacturing cost (dumping) in order to obtain market share and to
control the market.

"Micron has compelling data that indicates that US laws are being
violated," said Micron Chairman Joe Parkinson, who has been
vocal  about dumping for several years. Jim Garrett, Micron's vice
chairman, said that it is illegal for Korean companies to be dumping
product in the US. Garrett said Korean firms control the market in
their own country, with high Korean tariffs of 17-30 percent
protecting Korean suppliers from outside competition.

Bedard declined to estimate the amount of business lost by Micron,
but said that was in the petition.

In other company news, Micron announced that VP Randal Chance
has resigned, in order to pursue other interests. Bedard told
Newsbytes there was no connection between Chance's
resignation and the anti-dumping action.

Chance will reportedly remain as an employee for the next six
months in order to ensure that his responsibilities are transferred
to other managers. Chance earlier had stepped down from the
president's chair at Micron in favor of protege Steve Appleton.

Bedard told Newsbytes that Appleton "has a very futuristic view of
partnering and global workings." Appleton speaks fluent Japanese.
The company said that it has no plans at present to name a new VP.

(Jim Mallory/19920429/Press Contact: Kipp Bedard, Micron
Technology, 208-368-4400)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 29 Compaq Says Spending Will Go Up In Second Quarter 04/29/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00017)

Compaq Says Spending Will Go Up In Second Quarter 04/29/92
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 29 (NB) -- Compaq Computer
says investors can expect the company to spend heavily in the
second quarter in order to introduce a new product line.

The prediction was made by Compaq President Eckhard Pfeiffer,
saying the company plans to increase its advertising budget by 70
percent this year to promote new products and expand its marketing
base. He declined to reveal the amount the company spent for ads
in 1991. He did say, however, that second and third quarter earnings
would be affected.

The forecast of even lower earnings will not be good news to
stockholders, who learned this week that Compaq's earnings for the
first quarter had dropped more than 50 percent below the same
quarter the previous year. The company reported $45 million net
income on revenues of $783 million, or $0.53 per share.

Some analysts are predicting that the company will announce a
$1,000 386-based PC when it unveils its new line, expected to be in
June. A Compaq spokesperson would not confirm that information,
but did tell Newsbytes that the new product would be in the PC line.
Pfeiffer, while declining to be specific, said: "That's what the
market is demanding today."

Pfeiffer also declined to predict earnings for the year, but said
the company had gross margins of 33.5 percent in the first quarter
and expected that it "should stay approximately in that range."

He said Compaq plans to increase the scope of its marketing and
customer support operations without increasing its current workforce
of 10,000 employees. "We have zero headcount growth goal in spite
of all the significant changes we're making," he said. He reportedly
told analysts that the company does not expect any further layoffs.
The day before Canion was fired, the company announced it would
layoff 1,400 employees.

Speaking about lower first quarter revenues, Pfeiffer said it was
lower prices, not slow demand, that hurt revenues. Compaq had
followed other PC makers this year in reducing prices in order to
remain competitive.

Compaq announced last May that it would buy back 10 million
shares of its stock in an attempt to stabilize the price, and so far
says it has repurchased about 4 million shares. Compaq stock is
now at $23.75, falling almost four points after the financial results
were announced.

Compaq also announced this week that it was pulling out of the
Advanced Computing Environment and abandoned its plans to
develop a RISC (reduced instruction-set computer)-based system,
citing lack of interest on the part of its customers and other factors.

Pfeiffer took control of Compaq last October after the board of
directors unexpectedly ousted co-founder Rod Canion. Pfeiffer said
at the time he assumed his new office that the company would
undertake a new intensified advertising campaign. He also
reaffirmed the company's commitment to pioneer advanced systems
development and execute new and innovative technologies such as
RISC, saying he and the company would continue to play a lead role
in the Advanced Computing Environment (AE) initiative.

(Jim Mallory/19920429/Press Contact: John Sweney, Compaq
Computer, 713-374-1564)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 29 Second German Mobile Phone Network Planned 04/29/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00018)

Second German Mobile Phone Network Planned 04/29/92
MUNICH, WESTERN GERMANY, 1992 APR 29 (NB) -- GTE
Corporation, the US telecommunications company, has announced
it is working with BMW, the German automobile manufacturer, on
bidding for a license to become the second mobile phone operator
in Germany.

The GTE/BMW-led team is currently looking at the economic and
technical feasibility of providing the second-generation digital
phone network, which comes under the broad heading of the
Personal Communications Network (PCN). PCN uses digital
telephone techniques, as compared to the analogue systems
currently seen in Europe and the US.

In a statement issued to the German business press, BMW
representatives said that a decision on whether to actually bid
for a license had not yet been taken. The E-1 system, as the PCN
technology is called in Germany, is being administered by the
Bundespost, the German postal and telecommunications ministry.

Newsbytes notes that, while the E-1 network license is "up for
grabs" to all comers, the Bundespost and Mannesmann Mobilfunk,
which runs the existing analogue cellular network, are barred
from tendering for the new service. Sources close to the
Bundespost say that both the Bundespost and MM are close to
being awarded licenses to develop the D-1 and D-2 digital
phone networks, which will operate in different bands to the E-2
network.

(Steve Gold/19920429)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 29 UK: Tricom Unveils Fast Packet Switch Technology 04/29/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00019)

UK: Tricom Unveils Fast Packet Switch Technology 04/29/92
HIGH WYCOMBE, BUCKS, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 29 (NB) --
Tricom has announced a high-performance local area network
(LAN) bridge for its range of Marathon network integration systems.
The company claims that this is the first "fast packet" bridge to be
launched in the UK.

The Marathon LAN bridge will allow remote Ethernet LANs, running
almost any protocol, to be connected over any distance using low-
cost 64,000 bits-per-second (bps) leased lines. It will also allow the
same lines to be used for transmission of voice, fax, and data traffic.

This facility is, Newsbytes notes, very useful, since it will
allow companies using expensive Kilostream and Megastream
circuits, which cost far more to operate and are charged very
much as a "pay as you use" basis, to switch to using a flat-rate
annual rental leased line.

The LAN bridge is an expansion card for the Marathon system. In
use, the bridge features a high performance 32-bit processor
bridge engine, self-learning capabilities and the ability to
filter at the rate of 10,000 packets a second -- fast by any
networking standards.

Keith Abbott, Tricom's marketing manager, said that the Marathon
bridge can give a 300 percent improvement in data throughput
terms thanks to its fast packet technology. "This means that
192,000 bps of network traffic can be sent over a 64,000 bps
line, as well as fax, voice and other data," he said.

So how is the Marathon bridge used? Newsbytes notes that the
"black box" system plugs straight into a network, and interfaces
directly with a leased line. The system is claimed to use "plug
in and play" technology, with no manual configuration required.

This contrasts with the relatively complex packet assembler/
disassembler (PAD) technology normally required for
interfacing between networks and packet data networks (PDNs).

Tricom remains coy on the actual cost of the Marathon technology,
saying that each installation varies. The company claims a rapid
payback in the capital costs however.

(Steve Gold/19920429/Press & Public Contact: Tricom
Communications, 0494-483951)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 29 Apple UK Slashes High-End Mac Prices 04/29/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LON)(00020)

Apple UK Slashes High-End Mac Prices 04/29/92
UXBRIDGE, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND (NB) -- Apple Computer UK
has announced a range of price cuts on its mid- and high-end
Macintosh computers. In addition, the company has shuffled its
portable Mac configurations and cut pricing on some older
peripherals.

The UK price cuts, which range up to a hefty 23 percent, follow
in the wake of a previous range of price cuts on Apple's high
volume products, which were made on both sides of the Atlantic.

The configuration changes to the Mac portables concentrate on
the Powerbook series. The changes introduce 80 megabyte (MB)
drives for the Powerbook 140 and 170 series. According to Apple,
they complement the recent addition of a 40MB hard disk option
on the Powerbook 100.

The price cuts are quite wide-ranging, Newsbytes notes. On the
Mac Classic 2/40, as an example, the old retail price was UKP
895. The new price is UKP 695. The highest reduction is on the
Classic II 2/40, which plummets by 26 percent from UKP 1,145 to
UKP 845.

On the peripheral pricing front, Apple has sliced up to a third
off selected add-ons for the Mac. The 8 (star) 24 GC video card, for
example, falls from UKP 1,345 to UKP 895. The Apple Imagewriter
II, a badged version of the Canon Bubblejet, falls from UKP 345
to UKP 295.

So why the cuts? According to Jane Burley, Apple UK's group
product marketing manager, the cuts have been made to keep
Apple's products competitive.

"These reductions continue our strategy of delivering high
performance products at competitive prices, while the additional
storage on our successful Powerbooks allows more applications
and data to be accessible when on the move," she said.

(Steve Gold/19920429/Press & Public Contact: Apple UK,
081-569-1199)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 29 Spain's Telefonica Fails To Live Up To Expectations 04/29/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00021)

Spain's Telefonica Fails To Live Up To Expectations 04/29/92
MADRID, SPAIN, 1992 APR 29 (NB) -- Telefonica, the Spanish
state telecommunications company, is winning no friends when it
comes to its efficiency, according to a welter of press criticism
appearing in the European press.

The problems with the state telecoms company would have been
quietly accepted, were it not for the fact that Candido Valazquez,
the company's chairman, said last year that share dividends
would rise on the back of efficiency improvements. That has not
happened, and now analysts are saying that the company
faces a difficult time ahead as Spain prepares for a
liberalization of its telecoms market, in line with European
Community (EC) policy.

As Newsbytes goes to press, trading in Telefonica shares was
steady, with the trend in pricing slightly downwards. The state-
controlled company is, Newsbytes notes, waiting for the formal
go-ahead on a round of charge increases, which will boost its
overall revenue by between four and five percent, something that
should remedy its current profitability problems.

The Reuter news wire reports that the Spanish government is
stalling on giving approval for the telecoms rate rises. The
delay will almost certainly mean Telefonica having to postpone
the rate rises by a month, losing the company as much as 100
million pesetas a day in lost extra income.

The reason for the government stalling on the telephone charge
increases is that, while the overall effect averages out at under
six percent, the price of some local phone calls actually rises
by 60 percent, while some international calls fall by as much as
50 percent. The price changes are designed to stimulate
international trading, Telefonica officials say.

(Steve Gold/19920429)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 29 New Aquiline Notebook Uses 33-MHz 486 Chip 04/29/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00022)

New Aquiline Notebook Uses 33-MHz 486 Chip 04/29/92
BENNINGTON, VERMONT, U.S.A., 1992 APR 29 (NB) -- Aquiline
has begun shipping the Aquiline NT433, an eight-pound notebook
computer with a 33 megahertz (MHz) 486 processor and a choice
of hard disk drives up to 200 megabytes (MB) in capacity. The
company sees the machine as a possible replacement for a
desktop computer, said Tony DeMaria, director of marketing.

The NT433 has an Intel 486DX processor, four to 16 MB of
RAM, a VGA monochrome display, a 1.44 MB, 3.5-inch diskette
drive, two serial ports, one parallel port, an expansion port for
connecting to Aquiline's docking station, connections for external
VGA monitor and keyboard, and an AC power adapter. The
machine weighs seven pounds without the battery and eight
pounds with the nickel cadmium battery installed.

Prices start at $3,995 for the model with four MB of memory
and a 120 MB hard drive, and range upward to $5,295 for a
machine with 16 MB of memory and a 200 MB hard drive.
The docking station costs $495.

The docking station can accommodate two 16-bit expansion cards,
one of which may be a Super VGA adapter to support a higher
resolution external display, the company said.

DeMaria said he expects many of the machines will be sold as
replacements for desktop computers. "Once people realize that
notebooks are just as powerful as desktops," he argued, they will
find it more convenient to buy a high-powered notebook machine
than to have one computer at the office and another to carry around.

Software developers, including Lotus and Microsoft, have already
bought some of the computers to use for demonstrating software,
DeMaria added.

About a year ago, Aquiline announced plans for a 486-based laptop
computer. That machine never shipped because Aquiline decided
laptops were "going out the door" to be replaced by the smaller
notebooks, DeMaria said. The NT433 is shipping now, he added.

(Grant Buckler/19920429/Press Contact: Tony DeMaria, Aquiline,
tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 29 Scanning Service Said To Ensure Accuracy 04/29/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00023)

Scanning Service Said To Ensure Accuracy 04/29/92
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 APR 29 (NB) -- Converting
paper documents to electronic form using optical character
recognition is a tricky business. Today's character recognition
techniques usually deliver better than 90 percent accuracy, but
they do make errors, and if the errors affect vital data, they can
be disastrous.

Ainsley Services, a service bureau in Ottawa, believes it has an
answer. The company said it can ensure "virtually 100-percent
accuracy" in scanning documents, even when dealing with data
that cannot be checked using devices such as spelling checkers.

The key, explained company President Ron Stone, is doing the
conversion twice using different methods. After scanning the
document, Ainsley uses two different recognition algorithms to
convert the document. It then compares the results one algorithm
produced with the results of the other. Because the two conversion
procedures work in different ways, they tend to make different
mistakes, Stone said. So errors become immediately apparent.

In many cases, Stone added, the errors can be corrected
automatically because the context makes it easy to determine
which of the two results makes sense.

Ainsley can also put scanned material directly into Interleaf and
Framemaker document formats, company officials said. The
company's services are available to clients across North
America.

(Grant Buckler/19920429/Press Contact: Ron Stone, Ainsley
Services, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 29  ****Anti-Semitic Message Contained In Windows 3.1 Font? 04/29/92



(NEWS) (GENERAL) (NYC)(00024)

 ****Anti-Semitic Message Contained In Windows 3.1 Font? 04/29/92
NEW YORK, NY, U.S.A., 1992 APR 29 (NB) -- According to an article
in the New York Post of Wednesday, April 29th, a New York City
computer consultant found what he considers to be an anti-semitic
message contained in the Windows font, "Windings."

The article by Post reporter Don Broderick explains that an unnamed
computer consultant, in the process testing a mailmerge program,
found that, when the characters "NYC" are typed in the symbol font
"Wingding," the symbols displayed are a skull-and-crossbones, a
Jewish  star, an a thumbs-up sign. The caption to a Post frontpage
picture of a  computer screen with this message displayed states
"The message - a thumbs-up to the death of Jews in NYC - is hidden
in best-selling computer programs."

Newsbytes verified the finding of the consultant that these
symbols are, in fact, displayed when the font "Wingdings" is
used and the characters "NYC" are typed. It also verified that
the Wingdings font is completely a symbol font and contains
a number of religious symbols (Jewish star, crosses of various
formats, Moslem crescent), strological symbols, a bomb icon,
various computer symbols, thumbs-up, thumbs-down,  and "ok"
sign. The symbols are grouped with the hand symbols
beginning with the letter "A" and the religious symbols
ranging from "U" to "Z."

The Post story quotes Microsoft spokesperson Lisa Matchette
as saying that the connection raised by the Post is purely
coincidental. The Post also quoted Brian Young, a friend of
the consultant, as suggesting that the connection had to be
planned. According to the Post, Young said: "It's mind-blowing.
Somebody's responsible for this. This is very offensive. I found it
hard to believe some of the stories about the resurgence of Nazi
sympathizers -- but this puts things back in perspective."

Joe King, host of WBAI-FM's The Personal Computer Show,
when informed of the controversy by Newsbytes, performed a
rapid analysis of the Windings symbols and corresponding key
strokes and told Newsbytes: "I believe that it's a coincidence.
There are thousands of city and state combinations and I've
found others that also could be construed as meaning
something. One might say that the author wished death to
everyone in the state of Minnesota because "MN" is a bomb and
the skull-and-crossbones. Arizona may be considered a pro-
PLO state because "AZ" translates into a 'V-for victory' symbol
and the Moslem crescent -- or perhaps Microsoft has built in
some competitive messages. IBM is a hand-stop-signal, an OK
sign and a bomb -- does that mean that it's ok to bomb IBM to
halt its progress?"

King continued: "This reminds me somewhat of the McCarthy
period when some people could find hammer and sickles in
comic strips by holding the strips up to a mirror and reading
upside down. It's really a stretch to find any hidden scheme
here."

Another Windows 3.1 user, Dr. William Merlino, who also
performed an analysis of the font after speaking to Newsbytes,
said: "I feel that the chances are that it's coincidental but I also
wouldn't rule out the possibility of an intentional slur."

Microsoft spokesperson Pam Edstrom told Newsbytes that
"Microsoft is in the process of finalizing a statement on this
issue. The Post story is totally inaccurate. These is a random
assignment of symbols to letters. Microsoft would never intend
to offend any group or individual. Coincidentally, the persons at
Microsoft responsible for Windows marketing and development
and for printing are both of the Jewish faith."

Edstrom saw the Post cover for the first time while speaking
to Newsbytes and reacted by saying: "This is terrible; it's
inflammatory and has no basis in fact." She added: "I'm told
that the Anti-Defamation League is aware of the issues
involved and will shortly also issue a statement."

Bill Gates, CEO of Microsoft, is scheduled to speak in New
York  City on Thursday, April 30th to The New York IBM
User's Group (NYPC) and a Microsoft spokesperson told
Newsbytes that he would be prepared to confront the
controversy if it is raised.

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19920429)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 29 IBM To Port Visualization Software, Cut Server Price 04/29/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00025)

IBM To Port Visualization Software, Cut Server Price 04/29/92
HAWTHORNE, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 APR 29 (NB) -- IBM has
cut the price of its Power Visualization System (PVS) server by 25 to
40 percent and announced plans to make the accompanying client
software available for workstations from three competitors.

IBM cut the entry-level price for the advanced visualization server
from $529,000 to $320,000. The price cuts are effectively immediately.

The server is an eight- to 32-way parallel processor available with
256 megabytes (MB) to 1.5 gigabytes (GB) of memory. IBM claims it
can perform 2.5 billion floating-point-operations-per-second
(gigaFLOPS). Company spokesman Denis Arvay told Newsbytes
the system is comparable to a small supercomputer dedicated to
visualization tasks.

IBM also announced plans to offer versions of its Visualization
Data Explorer software for Hewlett-Packard, Sun Microsystems,
and Silicon Graphics workstations. Visualization Data Explorer,
currently available on the IBM RISC System/6000, will run stand-
alone on these workstations or act as a client to the PVS server
when connected through a network, IBM said.

The software will be available later this year at prices yet to be
set, Arvay said. IBM Visualization Data Explorer for the IBM RISC
System/6000 is priced at $5,900. IBM also offers a 60-day free
evaluation copy.

IBM has recognized that some of its customers are using
workstations from other hardware vendors and does not want to
install RS/6000 machines in order to run the visualization software,
Arvay said. "The reality is, it's a multivendor world out there."

IBM also plans to offer a software development kit, including
compilers for the C and FORTRAN programming languages and
associated development tools.

According to IBM officials, this will help engineers and scientists
move towards interactive computational steering -- the ability to
view complicated calculations in progress and alter them on the
"fly" so that "blind alleys" may be avoided and answers more
quickly found.

The software development tool kit is available now from The
Portland Group, which developed the software for IBM, at a site
license price of $37,000.

(Grant Buckler/19920429/Press Contact: Denis Arvay, IBM,
914-945-3471)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 29  ****On-line Service For Internet Access Without Unix Commands 04/29/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LAX)(00026)

 ****On-line Service For Internet Access Without Unix Commands 04/29/92
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 29 (NB) -- Information
Access Technologies (IAT) says it has started a new on-line service,
Holonet, which it says has the distinction of meeting the demand for
"Public Unix Access" in a round about way. While Holonet does not
directly provide Unix access, it allows users to access Unix services
via a menu-based on-line system which connects to worldwide
services such as the Internet, on-line publications, Usernet news,
Internet electronic-mail, and multi-player games.

Arthur Britto, president of IAT, told Newsbytes Holonet provides
access to worldwide services that were previously only accessible
through Unix systems. Users can chat with over 450 people, explore
multi-user dungeons, connect to other systems, and transfer files.
The system provides 24-hour access and is lower priced than many
popular on-line services, Britto maintains.

Holonet members are assigned Internet e-mail addresses in the
familiar [e-mail] format which allows members to send
and receive e-mail using Internet conventions. Local access
numbers are available to members via Holopacket (San Francisco),
PSINet (Worldwide), Internet (Worldwide), and BT Tymnet services
(US and Canada), IAT added.

Britto says Holonet is trying to attract new users into the global
on-line community by keeping rates low and offering menus as an
interface to the Unix systems Holonet connects with. Holonet says
access costs $6.00 per month (reduced to $5.00 a month or $60.00 a
year if paid annually) and $2.00 per hour during off-peak hours. Peak
hours are billed at $4.00 hourly. The service also supports modem
speeds from 1200 up to 14,400 bits-per-second.

While the service is now completely text-based, Britto told
Newsbytes plans are in the works to provide FIDO echoes, and
programs and graphics for IBM PCs, Amigas, and Macintoshes. The
graphics formats will be in GIF and JPEG formats, formats all three
platforms can use, Britto added.

Britto says Berkeley, California-based Holonet, as a new on-line
service, has the advantage of the latest hardware and software
which he feels will give the service a significant advantage over
other, older on-line services.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920429/Press Contact: Arthur Britto,
Holonet, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public Contact:
BBS 510-704-1058)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 29 GTE, Philips Plan New Interactive, Multimedia TV 04/29/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00027)

GTE, Philips Plan New Interactive, Multimedia TV 04/29/92
CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 29 (NB) -- GTE
Imagitrek and Philips Interactive Media Systems announced the
companies are beginning work on a new type of interactive
television that will allow television programs to interact with material
printed on compact discs (CDs). The television/CD combination
would take advantage of Philips' existing Compact Disc-Interactive
(CD-I) system that already uses a television for the display screen.

Richard Robinson, general manager of GTE ImagiTrek said the
combination could present viewers with opportunities to garner
more information about something they are watching. "For instance,
a viewer using a 'baseball' disc, cued to the appropriate position
on the compact disc by an encoded signal in the broadcast, could
retrieve the image of a baseball player to review personal statistics,
whenever that player came to bat," Robinson said in a prepared
statement. The companies said tests will start in consumer homes
in the Netherlands later this year.

While the CD-I systems have been available in US consumer
outlets, such as Sears, since last October the success of the CD-I
systems remains in question. Some criticism has been levied at
the CD-I systems that the resolution of images on some CD-I CDs
is too poor for viewer enjoyment.

Philips is not the only company producing a television based CD
system. Commodore has a system called CD-TV, based on a
different format. Both systems are primarily entertainment-geared,
though Newsbytes has seen some serious applications in factory
training and educational titles available for the CD-I systems.

Gaston Bastiaens, director of Philips Interactive Media Systems,
added: "As we see TV entering into the digital domain, we see the
worlds of television, computer, and communication coming closer
to each other. This will create an important platform for growth in
interactive multimedia."

GTE has been experimenting with applications for digital media in
the Cerritos, California, project for several years. The company
says it has home users with digital television, interactive telephones,
pay by view digital TV, and interactive services over optical cable,
broadcast, telephone lines, and combinations of all of the delivery
methods.

GTE and Philips are not the only ones who are planning digital
interactive services. TV Answer, an interactive digital television
service is on the horizon and expected to be available to
consumers in 1993. Hewlett-Packard plans to make the TV Answer
boxes which are about the size of a VCR and will communicate
digitally with "cell sites" that will transmit the digital data to a central
computer via satellite that will then disseminate the information to
its destination. TV Answer says users will be able to order pizza,
check their bank balance, program their VCR, answer surveys, and
participate in live events. The TV Answer boxes alone are expected
to cost consumers about $700 each, about the price of the Philips
CD-I player.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920429/Press Contact: Thomas Byker, GTE,
tel [phone]; Marijke van Hooran, Philips IMS - Netherlands,
011-31-40-73-6571)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 29 New Software Applications Expected From Ross, HP Deal 04/29/92


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LAX)(00028)

New Software Applications Expected From Ross, HP Deal 04/29/92
REDWOOD CITY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 29 (NB) -- Ross
Systems has announced an agreement with Hewlett-Packard (HP)
under which it will form a new subsidiary, Ross Systems HP, to
develop and market software for HP's workstations and client/
server systems.

Ross says it plans to use its fourth generation language Gembase to
write the financial, distribution, and process manufacturing software
applications the two companies are planning for the HP-UX and the
HP MPE/iX operating systems. HP is expected to contribute
technical assistance, equipment, and funding as well as help
establish marketing and distribution channels for the new software.

Dennis Vohs, chairman and chief executive officer of Ross Systems,
said in a prepared statement that HP's leadership in Unix hardware
presents a significant opportunity for Ross. HP has experienced a
compound growth rate in its mid-range systems of over 20 percent
a year for the last five years, according to an Infocorp survey
quoted by Ross.

However, this represents a move into open systems for the company,
which has up until now been entirely focused on the Digital VAX
market. Barbara Kline, a spokesperson for Ross said the company
has Digital's blessing and encouragement in its open systems
direction and sees HP systems as a good next platform to move
toward.

The new software will run on the HP 9000 and 3000 series
workstations and Redwood City, California-based Ross maintains
its first offerings will be available during the fourth quarter of this
year.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920429/Press Contact: Barbara Kline,
Barbara Kline Marketing and Public Relations for Ross Systems,
tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 29 IBM Creates Formal RS/6000 Cluster Offering 04/29/92


(NEWS)(UNIX)(TOR)(00029)

IBM Creates Formal RS/6000 Cluster Offering 04/29/92
PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A, 1992 APR 29 (NB) --
Formalizing something it has done with a few clients in the past, IBM
has announced plans to offer a RISC System/6000 Cluster Service
Offering (CSO). The package of hardware, software, and support
services will allow two or more RS/6000 workstations to be linked
in a cluster as an alternative to a much larger computer system.

IBM has helped some RS/6000 customers set up such clusters in
the past, company spokeswoman Marta Decker told Newsbytes,
but has not until now had a formal RS/6000 cluster offering.

IBM has been putting together RS/6000 clusters for about two years
"with great success," Decker said, and growing customer interest in
this option prompted the formal cluster offering.

The cluster offering will include network adapters and cabling, the
AIX/6000 operating system, and either network software or parallel
processing software, plus IBM support, Decker said. It will be
available in the second quarter of this year, and pricing will be
announced then.

According to IBM, a cluster of RS/6000 machines could be used in
place of a supercomputer for demanding scientific and technical
applications.

Among early cluster users is the Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory, which has linked 14 RS/6000 workstations as an
alternative to a supercomputer.

There is no known upper limit on the number of RS/6000
machines that might be incorporated in a cluster, Decker said.

(Grant Buckler/19920429/Press Contact: Marta A. Decker, IBM,
914-642-5467)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 29 Lotus Intros Application Library For Notes 04/29/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00030)

Lotus Intros Application Library For Notes 04/29/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 29 (NB) --
Hoping to make its Notes work-group software easier to use, Lotus
Development has announced plans to give away a free collection
of 50 sample applications. Lotus will distribute the Application
Library for Lotus Notes free of charge to Notes users, business
partners, and resellers.

All of the applications were developed at Lotus and are
full-fledged applications ready to use, said Diane Horak, a
spokeswoman for the company. Applications include budget
planning for financial analysts, problem tracking for engineers, as
well as databases such as Boston entertainment and computer
industry news.

Users can use the sample applications as they are, modify them
to suit their needs, or simply browse through them to get ideas for
their own Notes projects, Horak said. According to Lotus, the
structure of Notes lets users copy a design feature from one
application and apply it to another.

Lotus said the library provides a proven set of design ideas and
approaches that will enable Notes users to shorten their
development time, learn to apply Notes features to specific
business problems or disciplines, and more quickly exploit the
benefits of work-group computing.

The Application Library showcases key Notes features, including
advanced forms and views, rich graphics and images, support for
dynamic data exchange (DDE) and object linking and embedding
(OLE), and Notes application programming interface (API)
extensions.

The Application Library for Lotus Notes is the first piece of a
larger electronic product support offering, Horak said.

Notes users can get information about obtaining the library through
Lotus' Worldwide User Group Discussion database for Notes
users. Also, Horak said, Lotus is in the process of mailing out a
letter to registered Notes customers, explaining how to obtain the
library.

According to Lotus, there are currently more than 120,000 Notes
users at more than 400 companies.

(Grant Buckler/19920429/Press Contact: Constance Mazelsky or
Diane Horak, McGlinchey & Paul for Lotus, 617-862-4514)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 29  ****Anti-Semitic Message Contained In Windows 3.1 Font? 04/29/92




(NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00024)

 ****Anti-Semitic Message Contained In Windows 3.1 Font? 04/29/92
NEW YORK, NY, U.S.A., 1992 APR 29 (NB) -- According to an article
in the New York Post of Wednesday, April 29th, a New York City
computer consultant found what he considers to be an anti-semitic
message contained in the Windows font, "Windings."

The article by Post reporter Don Broderick explains that an unnamed
computer consultant, in the process testing a mailmerge program,
found that, when the characters "NYC" are typed in the symbol font
"Wingding," the symbols displayed are a skull-and-crossbones, a
Jewish  star, an a thumbs-up sign. The caption to a Post frontpage
picture of a  computer screen with this message displayed states
"The message - a thumbs-up to the death of Jews in NYC - is hidden
in best-selling computer programs."

Newsbytes verified the finding of the consultant that these
symbols are, in fact, displayed when the font "Wingdings" is
used and the characters "NYC" are typed. It also verified that
the Wingdings font is completely a symbol font and contains
a number of religious symbols (Jewish star, crosses of various
formats, Moslem crescent), strological symbols, a bomb icon,
various computer symbols, thumbs-up, thumbs-down,  and "ok"
sign. The symbols are grouped with the hand symbols
beginning with the letter "A" and the religious symbols
ranging from "U" to "Z."

The Post story quotes Microsoft spokesperson Lisa Matchette
as saying that the connection raised by the Post is purely
coincidental. The Post also quoted Brian Young, a friend of
the consultant, as suggesting that the connection had to be
planned. According to the Post, Young said: "It's mind-blowing.
Somebody's responsible for this. This is very offensive. I found it
hard to believe some of the stories about the resurgence of Nazi
sympathizers -- but this puts things back in perspective."

Joe King, host of WBAI-FM's The Personal Computer Show,
when informed of the controversy by Newsbytes, performed a
rapid analysis of the Windings symbols and corresponding key
strokes and told Newsbytes: "I believe that it's a coincidence.
There are thousands of city and state combinations and I've
found others that also could be construed as meaning
something. One might say that the author wished death to
everyone in the state of Minnesota because "MN" is a bomb and
the skull-and-crossbones. Arizona may be considered a pro-
PLO state because "AZ" translates into a 'V-for victory' symbol
and the Moslem crescent -- or perhaps Microsoft has built in
some competitive messages. IBM is a hand-stop-signal, an OK
sign and a bomb -- does that mean that it's ok to bomb IBM to
halt its progress?"

King continued: "This reminds me somewhat of the McCarthy
period when some people could find hammer and sickles in
comic strips by holding the strips up to a mirror and reading
upside down. It's really a stretch to find any hidden scheme
here."

Another Windows 3.1 user, Dr. William Merlino, who also
performed an analysis of the font after speaking to Newsbytes,
said: "I feel that the chances are that it's coincidental but I also
wouldn't rule out the possibility of an intentional slur."

Microsoft spokesperson Pam Edstrom told Newsbytes that
"Microsoft is in the process of finalizing a statement on this
issue. The Post story is totally inaccurate. These is a random
assignment of symbols to letters. Microsoft would never intend
to offend any group or individual. Coincidentally, the persons at
Microsoft responsible for Windows marketing and development
and for printing are both of the Jewish faith."

Edstrom saw the Post cover for the first time while speaking
to Newsbytes and reacted by saying: "This is terrible; it's
inflammatory and has no basis in fact." She added: "I'm told
that the Anti-Defamation League is aware of the issues
involved and will shortly also issue a statement."

Bill Gates, CEO of Microsoft, is scheduled to speak in New
York  City on Thursday, April 30th to The New York IBM
User's Group (NYPC) and a Microsoft spokesperson told
Newsbytes that he would be prepared to confront the
controversy if it is raised.

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19920429)
#ENDCARD



#CARD :1992 APR 28 Japan: Nifty-Serve To Offer 9,600 Bps Cellular Data Service 04/28/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00001)

Japan: Nifty-Serve To Offer 9,600 Bps Cellular Data Service 04/28/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 28 (NB) -- Tokyo-based
telecommunications network Nifty-Serve says it will start a 9,600
bits-per-second (bps) data transmission service via mobile
phones on May 1. The service is expected to raise the popularity
of this network among business users.

Nifty-Serve's 9,600 bps data transmission service will be
provided through Fujitsu's VAN (value-added network) FENICS.
It can be accessed throughout Japan via various VAN nodes.
It is V.32 and is MNP Class 10.

Nifty started an ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network)-based
super-fast data transmission service in July 1991. The firm will
lower the transmission fee of this network from the current 40 yen
(30 cents) to 25 yen (20 cents).

Meanwhile, Nifty and PC-VAN have agreed to exchange
electronic-mail with each other. Both firms have agreed to
create the Japan Electronics Mail Association, which will support
the international standard protocol MHS (message handling
system). Other major telecommunications firms have already
agreed to join this association, including NTT, KDD, Fujitsu, Intec,
and Network Information Center. Through this association, it is
expected that Japanese computer users will be able to exchange
e-mail with members of other telecommunications networks within
two to three years.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920428/Press Contact: Nifty-Serve,
[phone], NEC PC-VAN, [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 28 Multimedia Computing Conference Set For Tokyo 04/28/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00002)

Multimedia Computing Conference Set For Tokyo 04/28/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 28 (NB) -- A multimedia computing
conference will be held in Tokyo this June. Major multimedia
industry figures from all over the world will give lectures at the
conference. A pen-based computing conference will also
be held near the site in October.

The Multimedia computing conference will be held at Seiryo
Kaikan Hall in Tokyo on June 2 and 3. The lecturers will include
Steven Solazzo of IBM, Greg Gretsh of Apple Computer, Rob
Graser of Microsoft, Paul Anderson of Adobe Systems, Shigehiro
Funazu of NEC, Takashi Ochiai of Fujitsu, Steve Barlow of Lotus,
and Robert Stein of The Voyager Company.

The lectures will cover various fields including both hardware
and software ranging from video software to music software.
Discussions will also be held after the lectures.

In early October, there will be another conference on pen-based
computers. Noted industry personnel taking part will include
William Campbell of Go Corporation and Michael Paum of PenSoft.
Top directors from other firms, such as Phoenix Technologies, IBM,
Fujitsu, NEC, NCR, and Sony, will also appear at the show.
Both of the conferences are to be organized by Marcom
International.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920428/Press Contact: Marcom
International, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 28 New For PC: Canadian Newspapers On CD-ROM 04/28/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00003)

New For PC: Canadian Newspapers On CD-ROM 04/28/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 APR 28 (NB) -- Globe
Information Services, the electronic publishing operation of the
Toronto newspaper The Globe and Mail, has released the full
text of The Globe and Mail and the weekly Financial Times of
Canada for 1991 on CD-ROM.

As well as the full text of the daily and weekly newspapers, the
disk includes the full text of all articles from five magazines
published with The Globe and Mail: Report on Business
magazine (including the annual Report on Business 1000 issue);
the travel magazine Destinations; the fashion magazine Domino;
Broadcast Week; and Toronto magazine.

Markets for the disk include corporations, libraries, and
educational institutions, said Josee Gauthier, product manager.

Each disk will come with complete documentation, including an
installation guide, a user's guide, and a user's card. The software
works with personal computers running the DOS operating system.

Globe Information Services plans to issue a new disk once a year,
containing the previous year's editions of the two newspapers and
five magazines, Gauthier said. The company may also release
disks containing material from 1989 and 1990 later this year, she
said.

The text of the publications on the CD-ROM is also available
on-line through the Info Globe information service. Gauthier said
that would provide a complement to the CD-ROM for subscribers
who need more recent information.

The price of the CD-ROM starts at C$595 for the education market,
while the price for other buyers is $1,950.

(Grant Buckler/19920428/Press Contact: Josee Gauthier, Globe
Information Services, 416-585-5163)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 28 Mac Telephone Support On Multiple Products From Teleguru 04/28/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00004)

Mac Telephone Support On Multiple Products From Teleguru 04/28/92
VIENNA, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 28 (NB) -- Teleguru, a
telephone support service for Macintosh users says the service
was started because of frustration over poor support from Macintosh
vendors. It now claims to be one of the largest support services in
the country.

Henry Valentino, one of the founders of the service, said he spent an
hour and a half on hold with a vendor and when he finally got through,
they told him the problem was due to another vendor's software and
they could not help him. Although the support was via an 800 number,
Valentino said: "I decided this support wasn't really free at all."

Teleguru says it has a group of Mac experts with a total of 110
years of experience in support and the service supports over 100
Macintosh programs.

Teleguru says that, on the average, a Mac users operates five
applications with many INITs and extensions. To offer better
service each user has a number that, once given to the support
representative, allows him to call up the user's particular system
configuration and the history of past support calls. The company
says it has also built its own "knowledgebase" of problems and
answers based on its history of support calls that are available via
computerized look-up to support representatives.

The company says it also provides services designed specifically
for corporate customers who want to provide extensions to in-house
help as well as those who want to go completely to outside support.
The company says it provides detailed cost control accounting for
those corporate customers.

Support can be charged to a telephone bill, a credit card, or a
monthly invoice, Teleguru said. Several different support plans are
available and while the Vienna, Virginia-based Teleguru says Mac
users will spend less time, its rates are by the minute and vary from
$1.88 to $2.95 per minute, depending on the support plan the user
chooses.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920428/Press Contact: David Sobsey,
Teleguru, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 28 Wellesley Information Services Signs Up With Syntrex 04/28/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00005)

Wellesley Information Services Signs Up With Syntrex 04/28/92
WELLESLEY, MASSACHUSETTES, U.S.A., 1992 APR 28 (NB) --
Wellesley Information Services (WIS) has signed an exclusive
agreement with Syntrex under which Syntrex would offer WIS
publications to Banyan end-users who purchase their system
through Syntrex.

WIS claims to be the largest purveyor of Banyan Vines technical
information. The company publishes two different magazines and a
collection of part technical bulletins to their customers. The Vines
Observer is a technical journal dedicated to Vines administrators
and developers. This is the kind of journal where articles are
presented on "how to do things" that are undocumented. Typical
contributors to the magazine are Banyan engineers and other
system administrators. The Vines Observer appears bimonthly
and costs $249 for an annual subscription.

The Vines Technical Bulletin Service appears monthly for an annual
subscription of $289. This is a collection of technical notes and
other such information. This is complemented by the Vines Past
Bulletins Library which contains all of the information that is still valid
that has appeared in the Technical Bulletin. The Past Library is
available in printed form for a onetime fee of $199.

Syntrex is one of the top national distributors and resellers of
Banyan software. According to WIS, Syntrex is unique in that they
are very interested in providing as much information as possible
to their customers. According to the company, other resellers want
to keep the information to themselves so that the customers would
come back to the dealer for the information and the potential for
follow-on sales.

Under the exclusive arrangement to Syntrex, they will bundle
subscriptions to any or all of WIS's products into the purchase of
Banyan Vines software. Which service is provided with what kind
of purchase is up to Syntrex. However, the customer would not
have to pay WIS for these, Syntrex does. The financial details of
this arrangement were not made public.

This arrangement is slated to run for one year. During this period
WIS will be able to continue to sell their services to end-users
directly but will be prohibited from seeking out other resellers.

(Naor Wallach/19920428/Press Contact: Bonnie Penzias,
Wellesley Information Services, 617-431-7073)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 28 Synoptics Intros Software For Platforms Other Than Sun 04/28/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00006)

Synoptics Intros Software For Platforms Other Than Sun 04/28/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 28 (NB) --
Synoptics is in the process of readying a set of programs that mark
an interesting departure from the company's previous strategy. The
new product is named Lattis Views.

Lattis Views provides a subset of the functionality found in the
company's network management product LattisNet. The interesting
thing about this is that this software will come in versions that
run not on the SunConnect platform, but instead, on a host of
others. The platforms supported include the IBM RS/6000 running
AIX and NetView, Digital Equipment Corporation's network
management station under Ultrix (DECmcc),and HP's OpenView-
based Network Node Manager.

LattisNet will continue in its role as the company's premier network
management product. Synoptics has not lessened their commitment
to Sun. However, Lattis Views represents the realization that there
are many networks out there that do not have Sun systems and that
do not intend to purchase Sun equipment, yet they would like to have
the capabilities of Synoptics equipment.

Lattis Views includes only a subset of LattisNet functions. The core
functionality is still there including show nodes, set thresholds,
node security, and out-of-band management. Pull-down menus
provide information on module and port status, utilization statistics,
activity, and diagnostic data. For Token Ring-based networks, Lattis
Views provides a "ring view" feature which enables the administrator
to view station profiles, determine status, and remove stations from
the ring.

Lattis Views will be available in July 1992. A single user license
is expected to be available for $6,995.

(Naor Wallach/19920428/Press Contact: Kristina Thorngate,
Synoptics, 408-764-1046)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 28 International Phone Update 04/28/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00007)

International Phone Update 04/28/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 28 -- Western long-
distance firms have continued their international push, and major
announcements were made in Asia in the continuing move toward a
wired world. British Telecom, AT&T, and Sprint have all made major
announcements impacting international telecommunications.

BT announced a long-range expansion plan for its global data
network, saying it will enter 19 European, eight Pacific Rim, seven
Middle East, and five African markets. The company will also offer
international data service at speeds of up to 2 million bits-per-
second. Analysts say the ambitious plans should put its high-speed
GNS data offering into new markets ahead of US competitors. In the
longer term, the company also plans to expand into Latin America,
but US firms seem ahead there.

AT&T said it will expand its AT&T USADirect Service In-Language
offering to Poland, Hungary, and China, allowing people in those
countries to make calls to the US while talking to operators in
their own language. The service was first started for Americans
visiting other countries, but is now often used by Americans'
relatives who want to reach the US. Sprint, meanwhile, expanded
its International Operator Services to a total of 224 countries,
more than its competitors.

Elsewhere, international call services were restored in Colombia,
but that nation's telephone strike seems no closer to ending.
The issue there remains government plans to privatize the local
phone network, Telecom, over union opposition.

TelecomAsia of Thailand has approached the Cambodian
government about a cellular phone concession. The firm is a unit
of the Charoen Pokphand Group, a large conglomerate. United
Communication Industry is currently setting up a trunk radio system
for United Nations workers in the country, under contract from
Motorola, and TelecomAsia would hire it to engineer a cellular
system on the US AMPS standard. The company has a contract to
install millions of phones in Thailand, but has said it wants
international expansion.

Also, Ericsson of Sweden won an order extension from Kuwait for
its cellular telephones -- the company had an agreement to set up
such a system before the Gulf War.

Finally, in China, UPI reports that Star TV of Hong Kong is on
the verge of breaking the government's TV monopoly, using five
satellite channels featuring music, sports, and programs from
Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the BBC. Smaller satellite dishes fit in a
briefcase and cost just $600. China's government tried to ban the
service in January, but the ban is not enforced. So it is trying
its own channels, including one featuring shows from ESPN of the
US.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920428/Press Contact: Michael A. Steeves,
for BT, 509-624-4653; Lynn Newman, AT&T, 201-644-7041; Robin
Pence, Sprint, 202-828-7454; Kathy Egan, Ericsson, 212-685-4030)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 28 US Telephone Update; Bells Hold Annual Meetings 04/28/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00008)

US Telephone Update; Bells Hold Annual Meetings 04/28/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 28 (NB) -- Annual
meetings held by the regional Bell companies usually feature a
combination of braying about the unfairness of regulation and
promises of great technology "real soon now." This year
promises to be no exception.

BellSouth held its meeting in Jackson, Mississippi, home of its
MobileComm paging unit. Chairman John Clendenin warned
against attempts in Congress to reimpose the terms of a consent
decree pushing his company out of the information business. He
said fighting that move is the company's top priority. But the
meeting also featured a live demonstration of distance learning,
with Clendenin holding live question sessions with classrooms in
Philadelphia, Mississippi, and Charlotte, North Carolina.

Nynex's meeting in Boston was similar, with the focus on its
attempt to phase out subsidies for residential phone service. The
company said the subsidies, which keep basic rates low with
money from long distance operations, will be phased out in New
England within three years, and it wants the same thing in New York.
Meanwhile, the company is expanding rapidly internationally and
said it will fight a rear-guard action against loss of market by
"bypass companies," offering fiber rings, and cable television
companies.

Elsewhere, Pacific Bell reminded customers that its 310 area code
in Western Los Angeles becomes mandatory May 2. The new code
covers most of the area from La Cienega Blvd west, with downtown
retaining 213. The biggest problem is that many cities, including
Bell Gardens, Beverly Hills, Commerce, Culver City, Hawthorne,
Inglewood, Los Angeles, Lynwood, South Gate, and West
Hollywood, will have neighborhoods in both 213 and 310. Local
calling areas are not affected.

US West opened a Community Link center in Seattle, along with
France Telecom. The company is continuing efforts to roll out
Minitel-based services in major urban centers of its service
area, even while it tries to convince regulators to charge all
bulletin board operators business rates for every line,
regardless of whether they seek donations from users. Community
Link will roll out in Seattle later this year.

Finally, Bell Atlantic said it will have to cut a total of 6,000 jobs, at
the high side of earlier estimates. The announcement comes just
as negotiations begin for new union contracts.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920428/Press Contact: Lisa Bowersock,
US West Communications, 206-345-6885; Larry Stevens, BellSouth,
404-249-2832; Pacific Bell, Kathleen Flynn, 213-975-4074)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 28 Comptek To Sell Wireless ATM System In US 04/28/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00009)

Comptek To Sell Wireless ATM System In US 04/28/92
BUFFALO, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 APR 28 (NB) -- Comptek
Research said it has won Federal Communication Commission
approval for domestic sales of its DataMover 2000, which links bank
teller machines to central systems in a frequency range of 928-960
megahertz. The devices, made by Bison Data, have been sold
internationally, and have been successful in countries like
Mexico where wired phone networks are unreliable, and a total of
1,400 units are now on order, the company said.

The DataMover 2000 uses a frequency channel of either 12.5 or
25 kilohertz, and the company holds licenses to create such
networks, called Multiple Address Systems, in Buffalo, Rochester,
Albany, Syracuse, and Detroit.  But the company also holds a
"special temporary authority" to set up demonstration MAS
systems anywhere in the US through the end of September,
subject to coordination with local FCC offices. Comptek is
currently making arrangements with network operators in several
metropolitan areas where the DataMover products may be put
into use.

By linking bank teller machines to computers with specialized
wireless networks, such machines could be set up in permanent
locations far from a wired phone, or could be moved temporarily
to festivals, fairs, and other sites.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920428/Press Contact: Christopher A.
Head, Comptek Research, 716-842-2700)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 28  ****UPI Wire Service Could Disappear May 15 04/28/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00010)

 ****UPI Wire Service Could Disappear May 15 04/28/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 APR 28 (NB) -- UPI, long the
second-largest newspaper wire service, could disappear May 15.
The company asked bankruptcy judge Francis Conrad to set May
12 as the date for an absolute auction of its assets, saying that it
will not be able to meet the payroll three days later. Judge Conrad
was considering the request Monday.

Since entering bankruptcy for the second time August 28, UPI's
financial condition has continued to deteriorate. Creditors and
the company's unions claimed the owners, Infotechnology and
FNN, were trying to avoid a sale, while UPI continued to lose over
$1 million a month and its customers went elsewhere.

Finally, in March, creditors won the right to "open the books" of the
company to any possible buyer, and the union supported the effort,
saying that UPI retains strong franchises in some areas, like radio.
FNN, which ran a business news network on cable TV, was sold
last year to competitor CNBC, owned by General Electric.

UPI was founded in 1907, and for many years was 95 percent
owned by E.W. Scripps and five percent owned by the Hearst
newspaper chain. Its chief competitor, the Associated Press, is a
cooperative owned by member news outlets. UPI editors claimed
the fact that workers may lose their jobs in two weeks will have no
impact on news operations.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920428)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 28 Compaq Intros Black & White Portable, Cuts Color Prices 04/28/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00011)

Compaq Intros Black & White Portable, Cuts Color Prices 04/28/92
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 28 (NB) -- Compaq Computer
has announced a new portable featuring a black-and-white display
and has also reduced the suggested retail price of its color model.

Designated the Compaq Portable 486, the new portable features a
black-and-white active matrix screen with high resolution VGA
graphics. The system is powered by an Intel 486 microprocessor
and can be ordered with a 120 megabyte (MB) or a 210 MB hard
drive. Compaq spokesperson, Debra Globe, told Newsbytes that
the smaller drive unit is available immediately, while the 210 MB
system is expected to be shipped later this year.

Compaq has had problems with their primary drive supplier, Conner
Peripherals, and while Globe could not confirm that Conner was the
supplier for the new portable's drive, that may be the reason for
the nonspecific shipping date. Globe did tell Newsbytes that the
shipping problems with Conner was expected to be resolved by the
second quarter. Lack of drives was cited as one reason for
Compaq's poor financial showing for the first quarter. The company
said that demand for their systems was up, but they were not able to
keep up with orders due to supply problem.

The monochrome display 486 notebook will carry a price tag
ranging from $5,899 to $6,899. Globe said that Compaq had
decided to produce the black-and-white portable with the higher
resolution video because of feedback from customers, including
financial consultants, who do not display the screen contents to
customers. "The new high-end portable responds to customer
requests for portability and powerhouse computng capability with
a quality black-and-white display at a competitive price," said
Compaq President and CEO Eckhard Pfeiffer.

At the same time, Compaq announced that it would reduce prices
on its 486c color portables by as much as 13 percent. The model
120 color unit was cut from $10,000 to $8,700.

(Jim Mallory/19920428/Press Contact: Debra Globe, Compaq,
713-374-4613)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 28  ****Microsoft Cuts License Ties, Sues BEC Computer 04/28/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEN)(00012)

 ****Microsoft Cuts License Ties, Sues BEC Computer 04/28/92
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 APR 28 (NB) -- Microsoft
Corporation, citing violations of its licensing agreement, has
terminated its licensing agreement with BEC Computer Company
Limited and filed suit against the company.

The suit alleges that BEC, licensed to distribute Microsoft DOS and
Windows to purchasers of BEC hardware only, distributed tens of
thousands of standalone copies of the two popular products.

Microsoft said that BEC had "massively defrauded" it through
under-reporting of royalties due, and said it will seek damages in
excess of $5 million. According to Microsoft, BEC falsified sales
documents to conceal the unlicensed distribution, "undermined
marketing efforts of honest licensees and confused end users."

Microsoft also alleged that the Walnut, California-based company
offered inadequate product support for MS-DOS 4.01 and 5.0, as
well as Windows 3.0. It said that customers who have BEC software
and require service may call Microsoft for assistance. If you need
help with DOS from BEC, call 900-896-9000. For assistance with
BEC copies of Windows, call Microsoft at 206-637-7098.

Microsoft spokesperson Katy Ehrlich told Newsbytes that she
believes BEC is "mixed up" in much of the gray market problem.
Microsoft has consistently taken a hard line in prosecuting
counterfeiting or licensing violations of its products. It has named
three BEC-afiliated companies and three officers in the suit. The
complaint, filed in US District Court, named BEC Computer Company
Inc., Chunk-Kai Lus, and Quey-Pink Wang; Babtech Enterprise
Company, of San Jose, California, and Wei-Lung Lee; and BEC
Computer Company Limited, of Paipei, Taiwan.

Ehrlich said that Microsoft initiated the investigation some time
ago, based on the amount of standalone product appearing in the
marketplace, as well as tips they received. With the exception of
MS-DOS 5.0 Upgrade, Microsoft licenses DOS for sale only with
hardware.

(Jim Mallory/19920428/Press Contact: Katy Ehrlich, Waggener
Edstrom for Microsoft, 206-882-8080)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 28 Three companies Join Forces In Digital Printing 04/28/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00013)

Three companies Join Forces In Digital Printing 04/28/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 28 (NB) -- AM International,
McGraw-Hill, and RR Donnelley have announced availability of
Electrobook, a high speed digital printing press that combines
Postscript compatability and high speed digital electronic imaging
with electrophotographic printing. The companies say Electrobook
bypasses traditional prepress operations.

AM Graphics' Director of Sales and Marketing Ron Muzechuk told
Newsbytes that Electrobook is designed for high volume printing
jobs of 150-200 million pages or more. Muzechuk said that the
system was ideal for companies who regularly print booklets or
catalogs or instruction manuals.

RR Donnelley, who prints books, catalogs, newspaper advertising
inserts, directories and computer documentation, said it will take
delivery of the first $2 million press this fall, with a second press to
be installed next year.

In traditional printing the pages are printed, then cut, collated
and bound. Electrobook, said Muzechuk, prints an entire book at
once and collates it, then prints the next book. The only operation
remaining is binding, once the printing is complete.

The first application of the Electrobook press will be for Primis,
McGraw Hill's electronic custom publishing system for college
textbooks, especially those requiring long press runs. Primis,
introduced in 1989, enables professors to tailor a textbook to their
own teaching needs by selecting educational materials from an
electronic database of McGraw-Hill texts, journals and case studies.
Primis then combines them with the instructors' own supplements.
Primis texts, said McGraw-Hill, are in use on nearly 300 US college
and university campuses.

"Digital printing marks the course that the industry must follow in
the coming years," said RR Donnelley Chairman John Walter.

(Jim Mallory/19920428/Press Contact: Ron Muzechuk, AM
Graphics, 312-558-1966)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 28 Electronic Photo Retouching Reaches All Time High 04/28/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00014)

Electronic Photo Retouching Reaches All Time High 04/28/92
MUNCIE, INDIANA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 28 (NB) -- Most people who
 read a newspaper or a magazine take for granted that the pictures
they see are exactly what the photographer's camera saw, whether
it is a picture of a burning building, or someone handing over a
check to a charitable organization.

But is it really? Not necessarily. In the past photographers took
their pictures, they were printed, and the press operators recreated
those pictures on the pages of the publication. Now all that has
changed. Pictures, even when taken with conventional cameras,
can be put into computer form (digitized) and then altered. Want
to remove that distracting telephone pole in the background? Forgot
to move that beer can sitting on the table? Computers can do it.

Photographs used to be routinely used as evidence in court trials,
but a journalism professor at Ball State University says that
computer manipulation of photographs may become so advanced
that that will no longer possible. "The technology is becoming so
good that soon we won't be able to tell an original photo from a
manipulated one," said Alfredo Marin-Carle, coordinator of the new
journalism graphics program at Ball State.

Actually, manipulation of photos is not new, the technology is just
better. Photo technicians have long used air brushes to remove
scars or tone down bald spots, but graphics and photography
experts have been able to tell that the photo was altered. That
probably will not be possible in the near future, said Marin-Carle.

Marin-Carle says he does not object to computer manipulation of
photos for artistic or advertising purposes, as long as the
photographer agrees in advance. However, he said it is unethical
for journalists to alter pictures and then present them to readers
as representing reality.

Others in the world of photojournalism are wrestling with this
difficult subject. When is it OK, and when isn't it? The National
Press Photographers Association, a professional organization
of newspaper and television photographers, has already
made its position known. In a statement of principal drafted at the
second annual Electronic Photojournalism workshop and revised
in July of 1991 by the NPPA board of directors, the association says:
"We believe it is wrong to alter the content of a photograph in any
way that deceives the public." Accurate representation, says the
NPPA, is the benchmark of our profession. The statement ends:
"Altering the editorial content of a photograph, in any degree, is a
breach of the ethical standards recognized by the NPPA."

The National Press Photographers Foundation got a $4,000 grant
from  the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation to reprint
and distribute NPPA's white paper, called "Protocol," to other
professional journalism organizations. The booklet is being offered
to organizations such as The American Newspaper Publishers
Association, The American Society of Newspaper Editors, the
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication,
and the Society of Professional Journalists. "Protocol" contains a
series of essays and articles which explore the ethical concerns
raised by the introduction of digitalization of images.

(Jim Mallory/19920428)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 28 Trade War Fears Grow In Far East 04/28/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00015)

Trade War Fears Grow In Far East 04/28/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 28 (NB) -- Chief US Trade
Representative Carla Hills has set a "soft" deadline for trade
talks, while Taiwan moves on copyright, and Reuters reports that
Japan's Fair Trade Commission is backing-off due to political
pressures.

Following last weekend's speech before a breakfast meeting of the
Tokyo-based American Chamber of Commerce in Japan, when she
said that a new deadline for Uruguay Round General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade (GATT) agricultural talks had not been set
because of the concern that another missed deadline would cause
the financial markets to worry, Ambassador Hills said Tuesday
(Tokyo time) that if an agreement is not reached by the end of
June it could cause major problems.

Meanwhile, Reuters is reporting that the Japanese Federal Trade
Commission, which had recently become aggressive in pursuing
monopolistic activities within Japan's business community, has
apparently backed-off its hard-line stance probably due to
political pressure from the Liberal Democratic Party which has
been experiencing a drop in popularity.

Elsewhere on the Pacific Rim, Taiwanese officials have said that
they have begun a crash program to prosecute violators of US
copyrights, particularly those involving illegal software copying
and licensing activities.

The US Commerce Department's Trade Representative office is
required by the end of April to announce a "priority watch list"
which will include countries that do not protect US intellectual
property rights. Under the so-called Super 301 section of US
trade law, this could lead to heavy tariffs on goods exported from
those countries to the US unless immediate action is taken to
protect copyrights, trademarks, and patents.

(John McCormick/19920428)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 28 Cray Research Sponsors National Science And Tech Week 04/28/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00016)

Cray Research Sponsors National Science And Tech Week 04/28/92
EAGAN, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 28 (NB) -- Cray Research
has announced that it will be a major corporate sponsor of National
Science and Technology Week. Cray, through its Cray Research
Foundation, said it will be one of five corporate sponsors, donating
$30,000 to the National Science Foundation, coordinator of this
week's events.

The annual program is operated by NSF to raise teacher and
student awareness in the fields of science and technology. Using
donated funds, NSF holds regional teaching workshops throughout
the country, at which teachers learn about special science and math
projects that can then be incorporated in their classroom curriculum.
This year's focus is on making science and technology more
exciting to students. NSF said it also hopes to attract more minority
students to the scientific and technological disciplines.

NSF said that, throughout the year, it is coordinating program
activities with K-12 science and math teacher organizations, such
as the National Science Teachers Association and the National
Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Citing National Science and Technology Week as a way to raise
awareness, Cray Research President John Carlson said: "National
Science and Technology Week's mission is consistent with our own
goal of helping to advance elementary and secondary math,
science, and technology education." Carlson said strong science
and technology education will produce tomorrow's innovative
thinkers, helping the nation maintain its technological strength.

A Cray spokesperson told Newsbytes that the foundation's mission
is to advance math and science and technology education at the
K-12 level. Cray Research funded about $1 million for such projects
in 1991, and said it expected to spend about the same amount this
year.

A recent Newsbytes story reported that the foundation was a
cosponsor of the National Science Bowl this year. The company
has also donated a supercomputer to the National Education
Supercomputer program, and provides support for the Jason
project, an educational program that uses robotic and
telecommunications technology to enable students to participate
via satellite video as scientists conduct research.

(Jim Mallory/19920428/Press Contact: Mardi Schmieder, Cray
Research, 612-683-3538)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 28 Canada: OCS Technologies To Acquire di Associates 04/28/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00017)

Canada: OCS Technologies To Acquire di Associates 04/28/92
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, 1992 APR 27 (NB) --
OCS Technologies, a Vancouver-based software developer and
systems integrator, has signed an agreement to acquire
di Associates Inc., an information systems consulting firm with
offices in Toronto, Ottawa, and Calgary, Alberta.

Officials of OCS said di employs 65 expert staff, had revenues of
$7 million in 1991, and is profitable. OCS has 81 employees and
expects to report revenues of about C$6.5 million in the fiscal
year ending April 30, said Neil F. Hummel, director and secretary
of the company. Di's three offices will be integrated into OCS'
consulting division.

The letter of intent calls for OCS to pay Andrew Hay, di's
president and sole shareholder, up to 50 percent of the value of di
as determined by an independent business valuator. The maximum
payment is $900,000, Hummel said. In addition, Hay will be retained
through a management agreement and paid performance incentives,
including up to 1,000,000 shares of OCS at the then prevailing
market price, based on the after-tax cash profits generated by the
di Associates subsidiary.

OCS develops and sells software products to three vertical markets
consisting of law enforcement agencies, correctional institutions,
and natural resources and environmental managers.

(Grant Buckler/19920428/Press Contact: Neil F. Hummel, OCS
Technologies, 604-273-8045)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 28 Lotus Acquires Windows PIM From British Firm 04/28/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00018)

Lotus Acquires Windows PIM From British Firm 04/28/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 28 (NB) --
Lotus Development has announced plans to acquire The Organizer,
a personal information manager (PIM) for Microsoft Windows, from
the British firm Threadz. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Renamed Lotus Organizer, the package will become Lotus' PIM
offering for Windows, a spokesman for the company said. While
Lotus will continue selling Agenda, which was one of the first
personal information managers on the market, it will not be
producing a Windows version. Agenda is currently available for
DOS only.

Lotus plans to offer users of Agenda 2.0 a utility that will move
items from Activities Planner, a predesigned Agenda template, to
Lotus Organizer.

The Organizer, released in the fall of 1991 and winner of the
UK-based PC User's Gold Award, has the look and feel of a
traditional paper organizer like Day-Timer or Filofax. According to
the vendor, it is useful for maintaining personal calendars, daily
planning and organization, time management, and keeping contact
lists.

Lotus Organizer displays information with a notebook metaphor, on
pages that comprise tabbed sections such as Calendar, Planner,
and To-Do List. The user can turn pages and move between
sections by "pointing and clicking." Information in different sections
can be cross-referenced with "links." For example, a user may link
an appointment in the calendar with a meeting agenda or a note.

Customization capabilities range from changing tab names and
colors to deleting or duplicating any of the six default sections --
Planner, Notepad, To-Do List, Address, Calendar, and Anniversary.
Text and graphics files can be imported from other Windows
products

Lotus Organizer will become part of Lotus' recently formed Portable
Computing Group. Lotus has contracted Threadz to become the
primary development resource for Lotus Organizer, and the two
companies will work closely on future development of the software,
the spokesman said.

Threadz will continue to market its product until Lotus Organizer
is released in the third quarter of this year.  Threadz currently
distributes the product with a standard retail price of UKP149,
(about US$264). The price for Lotus Organizer will be set later.

Lotus plans to ship the product simultaneously in North America
and the United Kingdom. Translated versions will be available in
French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Swedish within 90 days of
initial shipment, the company said.

The software will require a personal computer running Windows 3.0
or higher, with 1.5 megabytes of available hard disk storage, a VGA
monitor, and a mouse.

(Grant Buckler/19920428/Press Contact: David Grip, McGlinchey &
Paul for Lotus, 617-862-4514)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 28 Phoenix Gets PenBIOS Customers, Works On Standards 04/28/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TOR)(00019)

Phoenix Gets PenBIOS Customers, Works On Standards 04/28/92
NORWOOD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 28 (NB) -- Pen
computing continued to be hot news as system software vendor
Phoenix Technologies boasted at the PenCentric '92 Symposium
in Tokyo of the number of vendors using its PenBIOS software in
their systems. Phoenix also announced a project that could simplify
the connection of various vendors' pen digitizers to assorted
computers.

Eight manufacturers, including Dauphin, Hyundai, NEC, Samsung
and Sanyo, are using Phoenix BIOS (basic input/output system)
products in pen-based portable computer products. Most of these
will be shipping this summer, company spokesman Michael Deutsch
said. Phoenix said it expects more vendors to sign up in the near
future.

PenBIOS is a suite of integrated system software products that link
the operating system to the hardware to provide compatibility,
power management, and pen-digitizer support. Phoenix said
PenBIOS supports multiple operating systems, including CIC's
PenDOS, Go's PenPoint, and Microsoft's Windows for Pen
Computing.

Phoenix also announced that it is working closely with all the
major pen-digitizer vendors to extend Phoenix PenServices to
provide operating system (OS)-independent support for pen-input
devices. This would mean a system could work with different pens
as easily as a computer works with different keyboards today,
Deutsch told Newsbytes. At present, each manufacturer must write
device drivers for the various operating systems.

As part of the PenBIOS, Phoenix Penservices provides an extension
to the standard AT-compatible BIOS and serves as a software
interface to pen-input devices. Phoenix is working with CalComp,
Kurta, Logitech, MicroTouch, Scriptel, Summagraphics, and Wacom
to create a standard BIOS-level interface for pen input.

In a prepared statement, Richard Sorkin, Phoenix's senior marketing
manager for pen systems, said uncertainty about which operating
systems and input devices will emerge as standards has been
slowing the development of pen computing. "The PenBIOS
alleviates this design dilemma for OEMs (original equipment
manufacturers) and end users," Sorkin said.

(Grant Buckler/19920428/Press Contact: Michael Deutsch, Phoenix,
617-551-4184; Richard Sorkin, Phoenix, 408-452-6552)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 28 UK: Microcom Unveils Dial-Up Modem Management System 04/28/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00020)

UK: Microcom Unveils Dial-Up Modem Management System 04/28/92
SUTTON, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 28 (NB) -- Microcom UK
has announced HDMS Plus, a new dial-up network management
and security system that it claims provides a complete system for
managing the expansion of large corporate modem networks.

According to the UK subsidiary of the US modem and
communications company, modems have become a key element
in the networks of most large organizations in the UK, including
financial institutions, retailers, government, and distribution
businesses.

The spread of modem technology has, however, caused problems
in large organizations, Microcom claims, as the growth is often
uncontrolled, lacking strategic direction, or management. Most
managers are finding the task increasingly difficult and time
consuming, Microcom claims.

This is where HDMS comes in. The system is designed to allow for
more efficient organization of central site modem networks within
a single or multiple connected chassis. Each HDMS Plus chassis
can support up to 32 high density modems and can form a complete
system of eight linked chassis, with a total of 254 modems.

Don Winston, Microcom's UK general manager and vice president,
said that the HDMS Plus technology can easily be customized. In
addition, it has additional security features.

"This new product provides major corporate users with a system
that is on duty 24 hours a day to intelligently look after their modem
network. By increasing the efficiency of the network, users are able
to concentrate their core business rather than waste time problem
solving," he said.

The security features on the HDMS Plus system particularly caught
Newsbytes' attention. The system supports no less than 10 methods
of dial access security for inbound and outbound calls. These
systems include: pass-through; fixed callback; variable callback;
password connection security; and variable and restricted outbound
call security. Callers must also pass through up to four layers
of security before being granted access to the host.

If anything unusual happens on the network, the HDMS Plus
software sets off a series of alarms and can "busy out" a modem
or group of modems. This facility is offered on a centralized or
distributed site basis.

The HDMS Plus software and associated hardware is designed
to be sold as part of a total system. Pricing for an eight modem-
based system is UKP 7,196.

First established in the US in 1980, Microcom's UK office has
been open since 1986. The company has other international sales
and operating divisions are in France and Singapore, while the
firm has a European distribution center in Shannon, in the Republic
of Ireland.

(Steve Gold/19920428/Press & Public Contact: Microcom UK,
0473-740763)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 28 UK: New CD-ROM Magazine Set To debut 04/28/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00022)

UK: New CD-ROM Magazine Set To debut 04/28/92
KIDWELLY, DYFED, WALES 04 APR 28 (NB) -- In a joint venture with
Multimedia Technologies Ireland, White Horse Technical Services
has announced it is launching a compact disk read-only memory
(CD-ROM) disk magazine. The magazine, which costs UKP20 an
issue, will be published six times a year and feature a cover
mounted CD-ROM disk.

According to Paul Fletcher, editor of the new, MPC Magazine, as
the publication is called, is the first CD-ROM-based multimedia
magazine developed specifically for the PC platform and aims to
provide support for users and developers involved with the MPC
platform.

"We're trying to launch the magazine into an area where magazines
haven't ventured into before. It doesn't mean the issues are cheap,
but does give the reader low-cost access to the CD-ROM disk
market," he said.

Plans call for the magazine to split into three main sections --
conventional, demonstration, and resource.

The conventional section will, as the name suggests, be filled
with industry and product news, reviews, features, and other
articles. The demonstration section, meanwhile, will include what
Fletcher describes as products that have been covered in reviews
that can have a demo included on the CD-ROM disk.

The resource section will include a selection of images,
animations, sounds and MIDI (musical instrument digital interface)
files that are freely usable. A key feature of this section will be a
public area for artists and musicians. According to Fletcher, the
idea is that, in return for "posting" the image on the disk, MPC
Magazine will display the artist's or musician's name, address,
and contact details.

The first issue of MPC Magazine will be published at the
Multimedia '92 exhibition which takes place at London's Olympia
exhibition hall on June 9-11 this year.

Despite the relatively high price for a magazine, Fletcher
reckons that, because of the free CD-ROM disk, the magazine
is an inexpensive method of keeping up to date with PC-based
multimedia development, not to mention the foundations of a good
CD-ROM library.

The launch issue of the magazine will contain reviews of
Authorware for Windows, Creative Labs complete MPC upgrade kit,
Roland's SC55 Sound Canvas MIDI sound module, and Passport's
Master Trax MIDI composition and sequencer package.

(Steve Gold/19920428/Press & Public Contact: Paul Fletcher,
0269-871315)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 28 BT Announces Packet Data Network Global Expansion Plans 04/28/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00023)

BT Announces Packet Data Network Global Expansion Plans 04/28/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 28 (NB) -- British Telecom has
announced plans to greatly expand its worldwide packet data
networks (PDNs).

Plans call for the networks to be rolled out to 39 new countries
around the globe in the runup to 1995. Many of the new countries
will be in Eastern Europe, company officials have said.

The idea behind the network expansion is that multinational
companies will be better served, and subscribers to line systems
linked to the BT PDNs will be able to access their services on a
near-global basis.

According to a spokesman for BT's PDN services, the network
expansion will coincide with a push to upgrade the network access
points around the world to support 9,600 bits-per-second (bps)
interworking. Currently, particularly in the UK, most of BT's
PDN access points only support 2,400 bps working.

(Steve Gold/19920428)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 28  ****France Breaks Up Russian Technology Espionage Ring 04/28/82



(NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(00024)

 ****France Breaks Up Russian Technology Espionage Ring 04/28/82
PARIS, FRANCE, 1992 APR 28 (NB) -- The French government has
revealed it has broken up a Russian technology espionage ring
operating in the Paris area. The breakup for the ring follows a
continuing investigation that French authorities claim proves
beyond doubt that Russia's spy networks continue to be
operational throughout Europe.

A Belgian, identified as Alain Brienne, which Newsbytes' sources
suggest is an assumed name, has been released from French
custody after being charged with espionage. Four other French
nationals have not been charged, Newsbytes understands,
despite interrogation by the French government.

The spy ring that the French claim to have broken up, was
reportedly founded in the 1970s. It was run by Emile Eliard, a
60 year-old Belgian who is said to have organized agents to
unknowingly provide information to the Soviets.

Although no details of why the ring was investigated and broken
have been released, several press agencies have suggested
that their activities involved passing details of France's top-secret
military telephone network, which links into several European
networks.

European Community leaders are said to be annoyed about
the activities of the Russians, since the EC is currently in the
middle of agreeing financial aid terms with Russia.

(Steve Gold/19920428)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 28 BizMart Stores Open In Florida, Virginia 04/28/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(WAS)(00025)

BizMart Stores Open In Florida, Virginia 04/28/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 28 (NB) -- Orlando, Florida,
and Richmond, Virginia, have become the latest communities to
receive one of the growing family of BizMart superstores.

Combining office supplies and name brand computers in a single
store is the aim of these new stores, a concept being developed
by the likes of Tandy Corporation, which is opening its own chain
of superstores.

As computers come out of the back room and MIS departments and
are viewed more and more as commodity items, they are being
treated by many businesses, particularly smaller businesses, as
simple black boxes on the same level as copiers and fax machines.

Exton, Pennsylvania-based Intelligent Electronics has opened
81 BizMarts, with the 82nd due to open in Philadelphia on May 3.

(John McCormick/19920428/Press Contact: Patrice W. Johnson,
Intelligent Electronics, 215-458-6706)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 28 Defense Budget Cuts Aid Small Firm 04/28/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00026)

Defense Budget Cuts Aid Small Firm 04/28/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 28 (NB) -- While military
budget cutbacks are causing waves of terror to ripple through the
defense and aerospace industries, some companies are seeing a
way to profit by providing downsized services at equally downsized
prices.

Hawaii-based startup Columbia Communications, a new
company offering potentially massive (about 40 percent) savings
on a contract for trans-Pacific voice and data communications, is
apparently being looked on favorably by the Pentagon.

Just over a week before the bids were due for a potential $75
million contract providing the military with full telecommunications
links across the Pacific, the Department of Defense's Defense
Commercial Communications Office has modified or "amended"
 the specifications for the Pacific Consolidated Telecommunications
Network to encourage bidders to use Columbia Communication's
low-cost satellite relay services which charges a significantly lower
price than other Pacific-Rim telecom vendors.

Columbia is actually leasing transponders on two of NASA's
TDRSS (tracking and data relay satellite system) Pacific Ocean-
coverage satellites. The previous plan had been to use the more
costly Intelsat system (International Satellite Services is a semi-
Federal agency).

Pacific Consolidated Telecommunications Network (PCTN) is
intended to provide fiberoptic and satellite links between
military stations in Hawaii, Korea, Japan, Guam, the Philippines,
and the Johnston Atol, replacing the old analog services with
more powerful T-1 digital networks.

T-1 telecommunications networks operate at a data transfer rate
slightly over 1.5 megabits-per-second.

AT&T, MCI Communications, GTE, and GE Americom are among
the bidders which must work out pricing deals with Columbia
before the new May 8 bid deadline.

(John McCormick/19920428)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 28  ****Borland Blames Ashton-Tate Acquisition For Red Ink 04/28/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00021)

 ****Borland Blames Ashton-Tate Acquisition For Red Ink 04/28/92
SCOTTS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 28 (NB) --
Borland says it is still suffering financially over the purchase of
Ashton-Tate in its financial statement for its fiscal year ending
March 31, 1992. The company says its net losses were over
$110 million.

Reported revenues were up 5.5 percent, from $457.3 in 1991 to
$482.5 million this year. However, though the company showed
earnings last year of $4.8 million, this year its outlay of an
estimated $146 million for Ashton-Tate pushed it into the red.

Borland was reported to be generous in the acquisition of Ashton-
Tate, known for its dBase family of business software products.
Newsbytes sources said Philippe Kahn, Borland's president, told a
group at Fall Comdex that while few Ashton-Tate employees were
offered jobs with Borland, most received generous severance
packages based on service and tenure -- some as much as a full
year's pay.

Kahn is hopeful about future prospects. "In addition to launching
significant new products, we laid the foundation for the future with
the acquisition of Ashton-Tate. Fiscal 1993 should see us continue
our momentum with the release of a new generation of graphical
products for a variety of operating systems," Kahn said in a
prepared statement.

The company has hinted at the release of dBase for Windows very
soon, a long awaited product and of particular interest since Microsoft
has announced it plans to acquire Fox Software, Ashton-Tate's long
time database software rival. While database products have been
released for Windows, such as Windowbase from Software Products
International and Personal Access from Spinnaker, no Windows
database product has yet captured the interest of the database
community.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920428/Press Contact: Heidi Sinclair, Borland
International, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 28  ****IBM Licenses NetManage Chameleon For Windows 04/28/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00027)

 ****IBM Licenses NetManage Chameleon For Windows 04/28/92
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 28 (NB) -- In a news
conference held today, NetManage has revealed that they have
licensed their TCP/IP technology for Windows to IBM. No details
of the  financial arrangements were disclosed.

IBM did state that they looked at the market and what was available
and chose NetManage technology as a good representative of what
is available and as a good fit within their suite of TCP/IP offerings.
IBM further went on to say that they will be demonstrating a TCP/IP
product for Windows at InterOp that will be held in May. IBM was not
clear on whether this demonstration would include the technology
that they are licensing from NetManage.

NetManage has developed this technology as part and parcel of its
Chameleon product. NetManage is actively expanding the
capabilities of the technology to incorporate support for all window
type operating systems. NetManage officials specifically cited their
demonstration of Chameleon running under Windows NT at the
recently concluded Comdex show as proof of this expansion.
NetManage also stated that other windows-type operating systems
could also use the technology and mentioned OS/2 and the
Macintosh as logical outgrowths.

NetManage further revealed that they are planning on introducing a
new product within the next few weeks that they will be demonstrating
at their booth at InterOp. NetManage will occupy booth number 1944.

NetManage President Zvi Alon outlined three emerging trends in the
computer field that, he stated, will determine the short term
evolution of the computer networking field and applications that
will run on them. These trends are windows or graphical user
interfaces, TCP/IP, and standardization. In his comments on TCP/IP,
Alon described it as a standard that keeps expanding its acceptance
and one that will not be replaced by the OSI suite anytime soon.

(Naor Wallach/19920428/Press Contact: Dan Geisler, NetManage,
408-973-7171; Nancy Meyer, IBM, 914-642-5458)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 28 AST Announces 10 Percent Lower Prices On New 486 Servers 04/28/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00028)

AST Announces 10 Percent Lower Prices On New 486 Servers 04/28/92
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 28 (NB) -- AST is cutting the
prices on its newly introduced Premium SE 4/50, 50 megahertz (MHz),
Intel 80486-based upgradeable servers by as much as 10 percent.

AST says its Premium SE 4/50 suggested list prices begin at $8,895,
which is $1,000 less than previous pricing.  The Premium SE 4/33 now
lists for $5,395 or $600 less, the company added.

The company boasts its systems can support up to 80 megabytes
(MB) of RAM, a SCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface) disk
subsystem with up to 16 MB of upgradeable cache, and an
expansion cabinet, the Premium XP which is slated to ship at the
end of May, which can house up to 16 hard drives.

Competition looks like a factor as AST makes a point to mention its
Premium SE 4/33, model 663 with a 660 MB SCSI hard drive is priced
11 percent lower than Compaq's Systempro LT model 486/33-510 --
a model with 150 MB less hard disk space, AST added.
AST also pointed out that the Compaq Systempro is not a true 50
MHz system, as, although the microprocessor will run at 50 MHz, the
components are only designed for speeds up to 25 MHz.

AST is also pointing out its system has an upgradeable card it
calls the Cupid-32 that has the first complement of memory, the
microprocessor, the coprocessor and the memory cache all on it.
An upgrade then, is simply a replacement of the Cupid-32, the
company maintains.

If things go in the computer industry the way they have historically,
lower prices often proceed the arrival of a newer and more desirable
technology. Intel has already announced it plans to offer the 586
microprocessor this year and Intel representatives told Newsbytes
that chip is expected in the second quarter. The 586 microprocessor
is expected to rival workstation reduced instruction-set chip (RISC)
performance and is also expected to be able to handle Unix as well
as Microsoft's planned Windows NT operating system.

However, AST representative Gerry Baker said the 586 chip has
nothing to do with the price reduction announcement. In fact, Baker
said AST has no plans to release a 586 system. "We lowered the
price on these systems to keep competitive and to serve our
customers," Baker said.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920428/Press Contact: Gerry Baker, AST,
tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public Contact: 714-727-4141,
or 800-876-4278)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 28  ****IBM Adds High-End 486-Based Systems 04/28/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00029)

 ****IBM Adds High-End 486-Based Systems 04/28/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 APR 28 (NB) -- IBM has
extended the top end of its Personal System/2 line with a machine
based on the 50 megahertz (MHz) Intel 486 processor, intended for
use as a high-performance network server. The new PS/2 model
95 XP 486 50 also uses a higher-speed implementation of the Micro
Channel Architecture (MCA) system bus, matching the speed of
most of the RISC System/6000 workstation line.

IBM also began shipping new model 90 workstations. Like the
model 95 server. These use Intel's 50 MHz 486DX2 chip, the one
that uses clock-doubling technology to make a 25 MHz chip
process instructions internally at 50 MHz.

IBM said the new model 95 system will make an ideal file or
database server. It uses a speeded up Micro Channel bus that
transfers up to 40 megabytes (MB) of data per second to system
memory. That is twice the speed of the MCA bus on current PS/2
machines, and equals the speed of most RS/6000 workstations.
Recently IBM announced the RS/6000 PowerServer 970, which
uses an MCA bus with an 80 MB-per-second transfer rate.

IBM claims the new model 95 server runs three times as fast as
current model 90 and 95 systems in heavily loaded local area
networks.

Customers can configure the model 95 Server with as much as 2.3
gigabytes (GB) of storage internally using IBM's recently announced
one GB (1,000 MB) SCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface) hard
disk. More than 20 GB of storage can be connected externally
using IBM's SCSI enclosures.

To ensure data integrity, IBM said, the new server comes standard
with 16 MB of error checking and correction (ECC) memory meant to
protect users from most memory errors. ECC memory catches,
corrects, and records most memory errors on the fly, IBM said, and
detects and records others, making later diagnosis of recurring
memory problems easier for LAN administrators. This works more or
less the same way as a parity scheme, Sexton said, with extra
memory used to store extra data that can be used to check data
used by the system.

The model 95 server will be available with either a 400 MB or
a one GB SCSI hard disk in July, the company said. Other
standard equipment includes a 2.88 MB, 3.5-inch diskette
drive, 256 kilobytes of Level 2 cache, a new SCSI controller design
meant to improve response time, and a XGA (extended graphics
array) display adapter.

Because most of the enhancements are implemented on the
processor complex, IBM said, current model 90 and 95 users can
upgrade to the new system by installing the new processor complex.
IBM is offering a variety of processor upgrade options to let the
owners of older 486-based machines upgrade to the 50 MHz chip.

The model 90 workstations, available in desktop and tower models,
have the same features as the model 95 server but are offered with
a choice of 160 MB or 400 MB hard disk drive.

The model 90 workstations are priced from $7,895 to $9,795, while
the model 95 server is priced from $12.095 to $22,645, depending
on options.

(Grant Buckler/19920428/Press Contact: Tara Sexton, IBM,
914-642-4662)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 28 SoundByte News From BOCOEX 04/28/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00030)

SoundByte News From BOCOEX 04/28/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 28 (NB) -- The
following report is provided by the  Boston Computer Exchange.

Computer News for Business People

Apple reduced the prices of the more popular Macintosh PowerBook
computers slicing as much as 27 percent off the street price for the
portable units. The low-end Powerbook 100 was reduced from $2,200
to $1,600 and the Powerbook 140 was reduced from $3,200 to $2,700.
Apple also introduced new upgraded models of the Powerbook 140
and 170 with expanded hard drives.

In related news, Apple released to developers a new version of
System 7 which is their first  "world-ready" operating system.
The new system will allow developers to include a variety of
fonts and languages in software products by making the language
characters user installable.  This should make Mac sales easier
in far flung markets and languages. The new system will
accommodate the complex characters in Chinese and Japanese.

Apple has also authorized the Sears Office Centers to sell a
small subset of its product line. The Sears stores represent an
incremental channel opening for Apple for the sale of three
desktop models, a Powerbook and the Stylewriter printer. IDC
Research projects that Apple will sell up to 22 percent of its
shipments through mass merchants by 1993.

Microsoft is planning to introduce network extensions to Windows
3.1 as Windows Plus.  The new products will not be the full fare
Windows NT, but will offer network capacities that are similar to
NetWare Lite or the network capabilities of Macintosh System 7.

Dell is planning to enter a new arena.  In spite of its
reputation as a purveyor of low end mail order systems, Dell is
planning to sell a multiprocessor system with four Intel 586
processors, that will sell for $13,000 and is aimed at business
buyers with high speed shared resource needs.  It remains to be
seen if Dell can shake its image and play at the other end of the
computer market.

Lotus Development Corporation has produced a family version of
its popular 1-2-3 spreadsheet program. The new 1-2-3 for Home
product will include spreadsheet templates for home users that
focus on real world issues like; Refinancing a Mortgage, Year End
Tax Planing, and College Cost Calculations. Since the home market
has been waiting for a magnet product, perhaps Lotus has an angle
on the needs of home users that extends beyond managing recipe
files.

Intel has new versions of its SatisFAXtion boards on the market.
The new models build on the tremendous success of internal fax
boards for PC's by building in true background processing and
more intelligent handling of the incoming data signal.

Back on the font front, Microsoft is giving users more for less.
Windows 3.1 has 14 fonts built-in and for about a dollar each
users can purchase 44 additional fonts from Microsoft.  This has
reduced the price of fonts dramatically and undercut the business
of traditional font vendors like BitStream and Atex. Microsoft is
changing the rules of computer product by offerings once
expensive products as built-in or add-on tools.  Is Electronic
mail next?

Just a month after rolling out OS/2 2.0, IBM has introduced  a
Japanese version of OS/2. The new operating system is expected
to be bundled with systems sold in Japan and make it easier for
developers to build software for the Japanese market.  IBM
projects 60,000 units will be sold in 1992.  It remains to be
seen whether IBM can make OS/2 a hit in Japan or the USA.  And
who knows after the kanji alphabet, OS/2 may look easy to the
Japanese.

Finally, shop talk, The Computer Press Association named
Computing Success with Thom Foulks as the Top Computer Radio
Show of the Year.  As a carrier of Soundbyte News and BoCoEx
Index, we are proud to be associated with Thom Foulks and we
offer our heartiest congratulations to Thom for his excellent work in
computer broadcasting.

BoCoEx Index News

It was a MacWeek in the secondary market with 20 megabyte (MB)
SE's off $25 to end the week at $775. The 40 MB SE was also off $25
at $850. Other Mac's were down as well, the IIci with 80 MB drive
dropped $100 to close the week at $3,300 and the IIfx with 80 MB
drive was also off $100 at $4,200.  Finally, the drop in Powerbook
prices depressed the secondary market value on the machines.
The Powerbook 140 lost $300 to end the week at $2,000.

Compaq Portable 486's have been on the market and selling
surprisingly slowly at $6,000 for the 120MB model.  Maybe there
are enough powerful portables that this one is no killer.  With
most of the high end of the IBM market on hold waiting for
confirmation of rumors of major price cuts in the offing, PS/2
model 95 were hot items at $5,400 with the Paris market taking all
they could find. Hold off on trading anything over a PS/2 55
until the price uncertainty settles.

(BOCOEX/19920428)
#ENDCARD



#CARD :1992 APR 27 Credit Card Fraud Victim Rips Industry Security 04/27/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00001)

Credit Card Fraud Victim Rips Industry Security 04/27/92
LAWNDALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 27 (NB) -- William Murphy,
an official of Creative Computers, the firm allegedly victimized by
teenagers arrested on April 22nd in New York City, told Newsbytes that
he feels that the lack of security in the credit card industry is
abysmal and that it is "the merchant who bears the brunt."

Murphy said, "We have seen cases of fraud within credit card companies,
lax security within the issuing banks, easy computer access by
computer criminals to credit bureau information -- and it all
results in losses to us. We have a very low markup so we have to
take this seriously. If we get it once, it can wipe out profit
on six legitimate sales.

"We have a whole department that checks credit for mail order
sales and we can catch a lot. But, in the case of the recent
New York party using the credit card information of a Hussain
Zulfikar, the individual had all of Mr. Zulfikar's personal
information and he had it shipped to Mr. Zulfikar's address.
This made it impossible to detect -- and it also meant that
the thieves had access, in some way, to Mr. Zulfikar's credit
information. This should not happen.

"Then we had a case where home addresses of 24 legitimate Discover
card holders were all changed at one time to a postal drop and,
of course, thousands of dollars of merchandise was charged to the
accounts and shipped to the postal drop. For these accounts to
all change at once, it seems that there had to be someone from
both Discover and the postal drop in on the scheme. When we
found out, Discover asked us not to go to the authorities
and said that they would honor the merchant charges. We agreed --
but yesterday, I got a letter from Discover saying that we will
have to bear part of the charges. That's not right."

He continued, "As far as the banks go, Citibank's security is
terrible. They are supposed to require personal information
from callers to verify address changes. I had my staff call
up and request changes for account numbers that they had and
the operators processed them without attempting to verify
anything. When I wrote to Citbank security reporting the security
breaches, I got a very unsatisfactory response."

Murphy added, "The only way that we are going to improve security
to the point that this type of fraud can be fought is for open
discussions on the matter to be held and include merchants,
credit bureaus, issuing banks and card holders. Until we have
this kind of open cooperation, the problem won't go away."

Creative Computers markets peripherals and software for the
Commodore Amiga line of computers and it was peripherals that
were allegedly fraudulently ordered by 17 year-old Rodolphe Loil
and an unnamed 15-year-old prior to their arrest by New York
City police on April 22nd.

A "hacker," speaking anonymously to Newsbytes, agreed with
Murphy's assessment of security at the credit bureaus, saying,
"Anyone that knows what they are doing can get any information
they want out of them. Trans Union is somewhat less abused that
the others because of the terseness of the query commands but
they all have problems. TRW, for instance is wide open."

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19920425)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 27 "Fail-Safe" Disk Array System 04/27/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00002)

"Fail-Safe" Disk Array System 04/27/92
ROSEMONT, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 27 (NB) -- XL/Datacomp, the
wholly owned subsidiary acquired by Storagetek last December, has
formally announced its Alpine 9600 Storage Manager.

The Alpine 9600, a disk array management system, uses multiple
floppy disks to store computer data across the disk array. The
purpose of such a system is to assure that if one disk fails, the
data is not lost.

The company said the Alpine 9600 is designed for use on mid-range
systems such as the IBM AS/400. XL/Datacomp is also a provider of
IBM midrange computer systems.

XL/Datacomp said it expects to begin shipment of the Alpine 9600 in
the third quarter, with prices ranging from $200,000 to $500,000.

One feature of the Alpine 9600 cited by the company is the ability
of users to replace components, without disrupting service. The
system also has two RISC (reduced instruction set computer)
processors.

The disk arrays use 5-1/4 inch disk drives, and can store from 10 to
25 gigabytes, depending on the model. A gigabyte is one billion
bytes.

Robert Biddle, senior VP at XL/Datacomp, said that Alpine is the
first in a series of storage products the company calls OnlinePlus.
The Alpine uses logical data mapping to spread data over multiple
disk drives rather than fill up one physical disk at a time.

According to the company, the system can reconstruct stored data by
using the actual and parity data stored on the other disks,
mathematically recreating the inaccessible data. Parity refers to
the addition of one or more redundant bits of information to
mathematically recreate any data that might have been lost.

Alpine is IBM 9336-compatible, and the company says it will be able
to emulate new IBM disk products as they are developed.

XL/Datacomp's parent company, Storagetek, has several new tape
storage subsystems in the works, including Iceberg, which is
expected to begin internal beta testing this quarter, and go to
select customers for external beta testing in the third quarter.
Iceberg relies on redundancy in its disk drives, electronics, power
supplies, cooling systems, operator panels and data paths. A
Storagetek spokesperson told Newsbytes that all major subsystem
components with the exception of the motherboard, are hot pluggable.
Hot pluggable refers to the ability to remove and replace failed
parts without interrupting service. The motherboard is the printed
circuit board into which other boards, controlling such functions
as video, printer, and drives, are plugged. Iceberg also writes
data into nonvolatile storage, protecting the data up to 72 hours
in the event of power outages.

(Jim Mallory/19920424/Press contact: David Reid, Storage Technology,
303-673-4815)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 27 Cray Research Foundation Sponsors 92 National Science Bowl 04/27/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00003)

Cray Research Foundation Sponsors 92 National Science Bowl 04/27/92
EAGAN, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 27 (NB) -- If your high school
gets to participate in the National Science Bowl this year,
it can thank Cray Research. The supercomputer company has announced
that Cray Research Foundation, its charitable contributions arm, will
cosponsor the 1992 National Science Bowl with the US Department of
Energy.

Cray will provide $65,000 to underwrite this year's
program, as well as provide personnel to assist in the actual
operation of the competitions, such as scorers.

The National Science Bowl, held for the first time last year, is a
tournament-style academic competition between teams of high school
students. The participants answer questions in the fields of
astronomy, biology, chemistry, computer science, earth science,
engineering, environmental remediation, mathematics, and physics.

This year's four-day competition is being held at the Department of
Energy's headquarters.

To reach the national level competition, more than 12,000 students,
representing over 2,000 schools, participated in regional Science
Bowl tournaments which started in January. Thirty teams from 28
states meet for the final competition.

In addition to the title, teams will compete for international and
domestic science trips, computer equipment, and free linkup to the
National Education Supercomputer, a Cray X-MP system donated by Cray
Research last year to DOE's Lawrence Livermore Laboratory in
California. The Cray system is used in Livermore Lab's national
education outreach program.

The Department of Energy expanded its support of educational
activities, now sponsoring more than 800 programs throughout the US.
According to DOE, more than one million students, teachers, and
parents participated in these programs.

DOE Secretary of Energy Admiral James Watkins characterized the
National Science Bowl as a significant program that provides
students who excel in science a forum to demonstrate their knowledge
and offer them national recognition. "Nothing is more vital to the
future of our country's growth and prosperity than encouraging our
youth to become a new generation of innovators and scientific
pioneers," Watkins said.

A Cray Research spokesperson told Newsbytes that the foundation's
mission is to advance math and science and technology education at
the kindergarten through 12th grade, and "this seemed to be most
fitting, at least this year." Cray said it hasn't decided whether
it will continue to support the Bowl in future years. The
spokesperson told Newsbytes that funding for support of science
and engineering education from by Cray Research, including
specific Foundation projects, was about $1 million last year. The
company told Newsbytes it expects it will spend about the same
amount this year.

(Jim Mallory/19920424/Press contact:Steve Conway, Cray Research,
612-683-7132)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 27  ****MPC Standard Raised, Test Prgms, Clarification Planned 04/27/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00004)

 ****MPC Standard Raised, Test Prgms, Clarification Planned 04/27/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 APR 27 (NB) -- The Multimedia Personal
Computer (MPC) Council has raised the minimum standard required for an
IBM or compatible computer. It also says it is working on further
clarification of the writing of the new standard as well as a test
suite of programs for use in measuring a computer for adherence to the
standard.

Newsbytes talked with Glenn Ochsenreiter who said the new standard is
pretty much the same as the old one with one exception, a 386SX is the
minimum microprocessor a IBM or compatible personal computer (PC) can
have to be called a multimedia personal computer (MPC).
The earlier standard stated a 286 microprocessor running at 10
megahertz (MHz) was the minimum.

Newsbytes asked about what will happen to the 286-based MPCs to which
Ochsenreiter answered that while 286-based MPCs had been announced by
Tandy they were never shipped. The only MPCs on the market at the time
the MPC Council voted to make the change all met the new standard,
Ochsenreiter added.

While part of the argument against changing the MPC standard was that a
standard isn't a standard if it's changing all the time, Ochsenreiter
said the feeling was the 286 microprocessor was not adequate for
multimedia.

The current minimum MPC standard is an IBM or compatible
personal computer (PC) with a 386SX central processing unit, 2
megabytes (MBs) of random access memory (RAM), a 30 MB hard disk, a
video graphics display (VGA), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM)
drive, an audio board, and Microsoft Windows 3.0 with the addition of
the Multimedia Extensions 1.0. The CD-ROM drive must have a data
transfer rate of at least 150 kilobytes (K) per second, a maximum seek
time of 1 second and it cannot utilize more than 40 percent of the
computer's central processing unit (CPU) power. The sound card must
meet the minimum of 8-bit samples at 11 kilohertz (kHz) for the input
sampling rate and 8-bit samples at 22 KHz for the output sampling
rate.

Severe criticism has been levied at the MPC Council, the MPC standard
and the whole concept of a multimedia computer by IBM. Peter Blakeney,
IBM manager of U.S. multimedia operations, told Newsbytes in February
that the MPC is a "red herring." Blakeney criticized the 286
microprocessor standard and the video graphics array (VGA) display
standard as being too low. Newsbytes understands Super VGA resolution,
a 16-bit sound sampling rate, and large hard disk (like 200 MB) is the
hardware needed to make MPC a satisfying, not frustrating, experience.

"People are not going to spend $2,500 to play games that look and
sound better on a $200 Nintendo," Blakeney maintains. "Discussion of
the MPC is a distraction from the more evident opportunities that
exist for multimedia."

Those opportunities are in the areas of vocational training both in
education and on the job, and information services such as public
access kiosks in shopping malls, Blakeney added.

However, Ochsenreiter maintains the specification is successful, as it
was defined back in 1989 and has only required the one change.
Ochsenreiter said the development of software for any platform is
critical to the success of the platform. Part of the success of the
standard Ochsenreiter credited to the fact that even before the
hardware was available the standard allowed and promoted software
development.

Other planned changes to the MPC standard have to do with clarifying
the wording of the standard to make it clearer and developing a test
suite of programs for measuring MPC performance, Ochsenreiter added.
"It's difficult to enforce a standard when there are no tests to
confirm performance," Ochsenreiter maintains.

With the release of Windows 3.1, often called the Multimedia version
of Windows, the MPC standard is getting more attention. ALR recently
introduced two new MPC compatible computer systems at lower prices
than before available and Tandy is announcing a second generation of
its MPC computers.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920424/Press Contact: Glenn Ochsenreiter, MPC
Council, tel [phone] ext. 327, fax [phone]; Peter Blakeney,
IBM, 404-238-3139)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 27 New For Macintosh: Aldus Technotes For Pagemaker 4.2 04/27/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00005)

New For Macintosh: Aldus Technotes For Pagemaker 4.2 04/27/92
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., APR 27 (NB) -- Aldus, publisher of
Pagemaker and other graphics, prepress and desktop publishing
programs, has announced release of a Technotes Supplement For
Pagemaker 4.2 for the Macintosh. The basic volume of Pagemaker
Technotes was released in January of last year.

Aldus said it publishes Technotes for some of its products to take
users beyond the information contained in the user manual supplied
with the software, so users can enhance their productivity.
Spokesperson Jill Miller told Newsbytes that the company is working
on Technotes for Freehand and Persuasion.

The supplement contains over 100 pages and highlights the programs
new features, such as the Control Palette, larger page sizes, and
enhanced indexing functions. Like the TechNotes, the supplement is
published as a softbound 7-1/2 by 8-1/2 inch manual with lots of
illustrations and an index.

Aldus said the supplement has several sections about working with
scanned images, a procedure rapidly becoming more popular as the
technology to scan images into desktop publishing documents becomes
available. Issues specific to service bureaus, including how to
transfer Pagemaker files between Windows and the Mac, and how to work
with printer description files, are also covered.

Users of Pagemaker 4.2 for the Macintosh who subscribe to Aldus'
CustomerFirst Premier, Premier Online, or Corporate Library support
programs will receive the supplement automatically. Other users can
purchase the book from Aldus for $12.95 by contacting Aldus Customer
Services. If you're a user of Pagemaker 4.0 for the Mac, you can get
TechNotes for that program for $29.95.

(Jim Mallory/19920424/Press contact: Jill Miller, Aldus,
206-628-2352;Customer Services,206-628-2320)

#ENDCARDNew Product: Array Microsystems Memory Modules 04/27/92

#CARD :1992 APR 27

(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00006)

New Product: Array Microsystems Memory Modules 04/27/92
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 APR 27 (NB) -- Array
Microsystems has announced that it is now shipping its m664xx memory
module family for use in high performance frequency domain FFT
processing.

Memory modules, the company told Newsbytes, are storage devices
containing a combination of interconnected components, such as SAMs
(static random access memories) and transceivers, which are destined
to function as one unit. An FT (fast fourier transform) is a
mathematical operation that transforms a time domain signal into a
frequency domain signal, permitting spectrum analysis to be
performed on a sampled signal. Time domain refers to the real
world, in which devices operate, while frequency domain is where
many mathematical operations become simpler.

Frequency domain processing is particularly convenient, said the
company, for use in a signal processing environment such as radar,
sonar, electronic warfare and electronic counter measures, digital
radio, test instrumentation, medical instrumentation, spectrum
analyzers, transmultiplexing, image processing, image compression,
image reconstruction, and spread spectrum communications.

(Jim Mallory/19920424/Press contact: Kim Bayne, Array Microsystems,
719-540-7944)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 27 UK: Mercury Opens Hong Kong Direct Service 04/27/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00007)

UK: Mercury Opens Hong Kong Direct Service 04/27/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 27 (NB) -- One of the first signings to
Mercury's new toll-free telephone service in the UK is an
international customer -- Hong Kong Telecom.

Phone users in the U.K. dialling 0500 890 852 will be connected
free of charge to a HK Telecom operator who speaks English,
Cantonese, or Putonghua. Callers can then request a collect call
or charge their conversation to a HK Telecom calling card.

The 0500 area code operates in the same way as BT's 0800 area
code in the U.K., and the various telecom operators in the US
with 800 area code -- calls are switched free of charge, even
from payphones.

According to Mercury, similar dealers are in the offing with a
number of other international telecoms companies. Mercury is
adopting an aggressive pricing stance on the service -- Mercury's
price lists for the provision of international toll-free telecom
service show that the company is up to a third cheaper in billing
terms.

Mercury faces the slight problem, however, in that it is forced to
use the 0500 area code rather than the internationally recognized
0800 code. This is because the 0800 code has been reserved by BT
for use on its network -- many subscribers are unaware that 0500
is a toll-free area code.

(Steve Gold/19920424)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 27 UK: Husky Computers Relocates To Larger Offices 04/27/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00008)

UK: Husky Computers Relocates To Larger Offices 04/27/92
COVENTRY, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 27 (NB) -- Husky Computers, which
claims to be the world's largest manufacturer of ruggedized
hand-held computers, has moved to new offices in Coventry.

The reason for the move to purpose-built offices is due to rising
sales, company officials said. The new headquarters, which
consist of 30,000 square feet of advanced manufacturing, R&D
operations and office accommodation, will also allow Husky to
centralize its UK operations.

Husky has three other European offices, located in Rungis Cedex
(France), Lohmar (Germany) and Wageningen (The Netherlands). The
company's new offices, which it moved into over the Easter break,
are at Eden Road, Walsgrave Triangle Business Park, Coventry CV2
2TB.

(Steve Gold/19920424/Press & Public Contact: Husky Computers -
Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 27 UK: Lotus Ships/Prices Write 2.0 For Home Users 04/24/92




(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00009)

UK: Lotus Ships/Prices Write 2.0 For Home Users 04/24/92
STAINES, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 24 (NB) -- Lotus
Development has begun shipping the latest version of its entry-
level Windows word processing package, Lotus Write 2.0, in the UK.
The UKP 199 package is being sold in the UK though a number of
outlets, including, for the first time, Dixons, the high street
electronics and hi-fi supplier.

Announcing the shipment, Liz Wallace, Lotus' small business
programs manager in the UK, said that the company is very interested in
the retail channel for selling business software.

"We anticipated the market direction for entry-level software
with the release of 1-2-3 Executive through the high street.
Based on our experience with Executive, we're confident that
these retailers have access to a mass market traditionally beyond
our reach. For that reason, we expect this channel to increase in
importance," she said.

Wallace reckons that the sales channel through Dixons will be
profitable, as large numbers of people visit the store,
particularly on Saturdays, when the high street is at its
busiest. Dixons' program marketing manager, Neil McDonald
agrees.

"More and more first time buyers are coming to the high street to
buy business software. Lotus' decision to distribute its market
leading business applications through use endorses our decision
to sell 386 PCs ad Windows products," he said.

For their UKP 199, users get Write 2.0, an entry-level word
processor designed for new users. The package has Smarticons and a
what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) display. Features includes
Adobe Type Manager, a thesaurus, and a 130,000 word spelling
checker. Also included is an outliner.

Existing users of Write are being encouraged to upgrade for UKP
49. Users can also upgrade from Write 1.x and 2.0 to Ami Pro,
Lotus' main WP package, for UKP 199. This upgrade path is being
offered, as Write 2.0 is actually a rewrite/upgrade to Ami 1.2.

Lotus Write 2.0 requires a 286-based PC or better fitted with 2
megabytes (MB) of memory, 4.8 MB of hard disk space and Windows
3.0 or later. DOS 3.0 or later is also required.

(Steve Gold/19920424/Press & Public Contact: Lotus Development -
Tel: [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 27 Hitachi/Japan Columbia Developing DCC & Mini Disk 04/27/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00010)

Hitachi/Japan Columbia Developing DCC & Mini Disk 04/27/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 27 (NB) -- Hitachi and Japan Columbia are
jointly developing and manufacturing next-generation digital
media including the DCC (digital compact cassette) tape recorder
and the Mini Disk. The teamwork is designed to ride out
current sluggish sales in the industry.

Hitachi and Japan Columbia are now purchasing DCC and Sony
Mini Disk parts. The firms will jointly develop LSI (large scale
integrated) chips and systems under the license from Philips and
Sony.

The DCC is compatible with existing analog cassette tapes. That means
it can be played with a regular cassette tape player. Meanwhile the
Mini Disk needs a proprietary player to be played. Major music
producers, including Warner Music, plan to release music software
in these new media. American record producers are targeting the
DCC market because many music users have cassette tapes.

Mini Disk is expected to sell well in Japan because many Japanese
users already use compact disks and are generally ready to
invest into other digital devices. So far, only Sony is confirmed
to be planning the release of Mini Disk software.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920427/Press Contact: Hitachi, +81-3-3258-
2057)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 27 International Phone Update 04/27/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00011)

International Phone Update 04/27/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 27 (NB) --  Columbia telecom
privatization is threatening to descend into a Peru-like chaos
over worker fears that the pending privitization of Telecom,
the state-owned phone company, will mean lower wages, poorer
working conditions, and an end to plans for expanding service
into the countryside.

Sabotage to the long distance network was being repaired following
the eviction of strikers from Telecom's building, and the firing
of strike leaders. The union denied claims of sabotage, and
negotiations were finally underway with mediation from Congress.
But unless the underlying unease is addressed, further outages are
inevitable. This is on top of electricity rationing -- the result
of a continuing drought. Fear grips the city as rebels and the
Cali cocaine/heroin cartel operate with seeming impunity.

If Columbia can assuage its telephone workers, and bring in
foreign capital, observers suggest, it might yet make President Cesar
Gaviria's  campaign slogan, "Welcome to the Future," a reality.

Privatization is moving forward, and the benefits are obvious
elsewhere on the continent.

Argentina has put its public debt problems behind it, selling the former
EnTel phone monopoly, and bids are now being taken to extend
cellular service throughout the nation, with either Telecom or
Telefonica running one system, and the winner of an international
tender the other.

Telefonos de Chile, the first of the continent's phone networks
to be privatized, turned in another good quarter, with net income
rising by two-thirds. Telefonos shares are traded in the form of
American Depository Receipts on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920427)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 27 Don't Hold Your Breath Over PacTel Break-up 04/27/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00012)

Don't Hold Your Breath Over PacTel Break-up 04/27/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 27 (NB) -- Despite
its hiring of J.P. Morgan & Co. of New York to examine its
possible break-up, PacTel issued a press statement telling
investors not to hold their breath awaiting its next move.

"I think there will be great reluctance on the part of the board
to separate this great institution," PacTel Chairman Sam Ginn told
shareholders April 14. It may oppose any move to break the
company up into regulated and non-regulated entities. However,
the board is not against a study of the question, he added in a
clarifying press release, and there is no dissension between top
executives and the board on the question.

PacTel's major regulated units -- Pacific Bell, Nevada Bell, and
the Pacific Bell Directory -- represent over 90 percent of the
company's revenues. The company's international units and
cellular phone operations aren't given high values by stock
buyers because they don't represent a significant share of
revenues, despite their rapid growth. But a break-up would cut
those units off from a major source of capital, forcing them to
use their own devices. And there's no assurance that a new
PacBell company wouldn't turn around and create new unregulated
entities of its own, seeking new growth just as the seven
regional Bells are doing now.

Ginn said the board is awaiting a final recommendation from the
Morgan.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920427/Press Contact: Pacific Telesis Group,
Stephen Maita, 415/394-3655)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 27  ****AT&T Unveils Flash Memory Cards  04/27/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TOR)(00013)

 ****AT&T Unveils Flash Memory Cards  04/27/92
BERKELEY HEIGHTS, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 APR 27 (NB) -- AT&T has
announced a line of flash memory cards intended as alternatives to
hard disk drives for mass storage. The cards range in capacity from
2.5 to 20 megabytes.

Developed in cooperation with SunDisk Corp., the cards are meant
for applications that call for rugged, highly reliable drives, AT&T
said. That includes use in pen-based and hand-held systems.

There is now a tight three-way race to bring the the  high-capacity
memory products to market. In the last few weeks, Advanced Micro
Devices has announced new, lower-power flash memory systems, which
also find data fast and can be rewritten on thousands of times.
Intel has also just dropped prices on its flash memory products,
leading to speculation it may finally start replacing hard disks
in large numbers on portable computers.

According to AT&T, its new cards can handle a 500-g shock while
operating or a 1000-g while not operating, and have a mean time
between failures three times as long as for hard disk drives.

AT&T spokesman Blanchard Hiatt told Newsbytes that his company's
offering differs from a flash memory product just announced by
Intel because AT&T's is a complete system, in which the flash
memory card comes with an Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE)
controller. It can replace a 2.5-inch hard disk drive with no
changes to DOS, the system Basic Input-Output System (BIOS), or
firmware, according to AT&T.

Power consumption is a key advantage of flash memory technology in
portable computers. The AT&T cards operate from a five-volt power
supply, like AMD's chips. (AMD said Intel's units require more power.)
According to AT&T, a card consumes less than 15 milliwatts in the
sleep mode and 750 milliwatts when reading orwriting data.

Unlike the Intel unit, which is basically a chip, the AT&T system
includes a controller, and is aimed directly at laptop and
palmtop computer makers, who could integrate it into their
offerings by this fall.

Later this year, AT&T hopes to release an "IDE on a card" product,
with the IDE controller incorporated on the card.

AT&T plans to sell the devices to computer manufacturers for use in
their products. In quantities of 25, an IDE controller for one or
two flash memory cards will cost $375. A 2.5-megabyte flash memory
card will cost $425, a five-megabyte card $750, a 10-megabyte card
$1,400, and a 20-megabyte card $2,750. The products are available
now.

(Grant Buckler & Dana Blankenhorn/19920427/Press Contact: Blanchard Hiatt,
AT&T, 908-771-2788; Mary Lou Ambrus, AT&T, 908-771-2825)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 27 Hills Warns Of Trade Impasse Dangers 04/27/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00014)

Hills Warns Of Trade Impasse Dangers 04/27/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 27 (NB) -- U.S. Trade
Representative Carla Hills told a Chamber of Commerce meeting in
Tokyo on Monday that the world's economic life is at a point of
no return - warning that if the current worldwide trade
negotiations don't go well we could be entering an era of
international economic stagnation.

In Japan for trade talks with representatives of Japan, Canada,
and the European Community, Ambassador Hills told a breakfast
meeting of the Tokyo-based American Chamber of Commerce in Japan
that if the major trading partners can come to some sensible
agreements then the world will enter a new era of growth spurred
by the opening markets, but Hills warned that retaliation and
managed trade will quickly follow a failure of the talks.

Although agricultural subsidies are the main reason for the
present stalling of the long-delayed Uruguay Round of GATT or
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, once triggered, trade
retaliation could hit the computer industry and manufacturing
industries hard, perhaps even more than the agricultural
business.

This seeming contradiction is due to the fact that Japan, the EC,
and even the US already have price supports for some grain,
wine, or milk products and because those supports are in place,
the countries actually have limited trade in agricultural
commodities so any resulting trade war would have little effect
in the agricultural area.

Agriculture is an important U.S. export, accounting for a trade
surplus in 1989 of about $20 billion (according to Department of
Commerce figures) but much of that is grain which is mostly
shipped to countries outside the EC.

Computers and software, on the other hand, are not greatly
restricted at present so a trade battle with the imposition of
protectionist legislation would directly affect this and other
export industries.

Import and export numbers are about equal in this area so the
overall trade balance probably wouldn't be greatly affected, but
exports of automatic data processing and telecommunications
equipment brought in about $30 billion in 1989, making up a
significant portion of the industry. Much of this trade is
between the nations now fighting over agricultural quotas so a
trade war would have a significant impact in this area.

Already 18 months past the deadline for a new agreement, GATT
talks actually involve nearly 110 countries and are intended as a
major worldwide umbrella agreement to reduce trade barriers among
most of the world community. Unfortunately, the squabbling of the
world's major trading partners could sink the GATT talks for the
other 100 countries as well.

Several self-imposed deadlines have passed in the last year, and
although Ms. Hills says that she is encouraged by the results of
last weekend's talks in Japan and recent discussions in
Washington the head negotiators have not set another deadline for
ending discussions and reaching an agreement.

The chief U.S. trade negotiator said that Japan had made progress
in opening up its markets during the past three years but that
more needed to be done.

Despite signed agreements between the U.S. and Japan, that
country has allegedly never lived up to its commitments to import
a larger percentage of U.S.-manufactured computer chips.

Other numbers show that, although Japanese companies often buy
companies or businesses in other countries, foreign investors
have only been able to purchase about one-tenth as many Japanese
firms.

Also over the weekend, the Group of Seven major industrialized
countries has agreed to supply the former Soviet Union (in
particular Russia) with billions of dollars worth of aid but only
if the struggling countries continue an austere economic policy
as set forth by the World Bank.

World Bank restrictions, which impose severe austerity, have been
blamed for problems in some other developing countries.

The Group of Seven consists of many of the same countries which
are currently tieing up the GATT talks with their protectionist
stance on agriculture.

Founded in 1967, and considered responsible in large part for
European economic growth in the 70s and early 80s, GATT is an
autonomous trade group based in Geneva, Switzerland. Although an
independent organization, GATT coordinates its activities with
the U.N.

(John McCormick/19920427/Press Contact: L.W. Koengeter, U.S.
Trade Office, 202-395-3204 or fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 27 Chipcom Announces Fiber Optic Support 04/27/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00015)

Chipcom Announces Fiber Optic Support 04/27/92
SOUTHBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 27 (NB) -- Chipcom is
playing catch up in the fiber optic arena. The company has
revealed its plans to market a Fiber Optic Inter Repeater Link
(FOIRL) module and a FOIRL transceiver. The FOIRL module is for
Chipcom's Online System Concentrators.

Up till now, Chipcom has been a bit behind the support wagon for
FOIRL. While it has had other fiber optic products and is
committed to supporting the standards as they evolve, the company
has not been on the forefront of FOIRL technology. This is not
really changing. The new transceiver and module are products that
are viewed as catch up products rather than technology advancements.
The major importance of this announcement is that Chipcom customers
who are interested in the technology will have access to it.

The FOIRL module has four fiber optic connections. It will occupy
one slot. It is compatible with both the six-slot and the seventeen-
slot versions of the Online concentrator. It is managed just like
all other online modules. The module will be available in 60
days for a price of $1800.

The transceiver has an AUI port on one side and the fiber optic
connectors on the other. It is designed to attach to the AUI port
on the back of a node. This unit is available now for $495.

Official nomenclature for the FOIRL module is Model 5104M-FL. The
transceiver is known as the Model 5101T-FL.

(Naor Wallach/19920427, Press Contact: Christine LeCompte,
Beaupre & Co., 603-436-6690)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 27  ****Nanotech Expert Foresees Powerful "Sugar Cube" Computers 04/27/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(NYC)(00016)

 ****Nanotech Expert Foresees Powerful "Sugar Cube" Computers 04/27/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 APR 27 (NB) -- Ralph Merkle,
Xerox PARC researcher, speaking to a special meeting of New York
City's Alcor Life Extension Foundation, said that the science of
nanotechnology will allow the development of computers the size of
"sugar cubes that will have the power of all of today's existing
computers put together."

Merkle, engaged in nanotechnology research at Xerox's Palo Alto
Research Center (PARC) with K. Eric Drexler, described the process
of molecular manufacturing as one that provides complete control of
atoms. He then explained how that, building on John Van Neumann's
theories of self-replicating systems (SRS), the manufactured
single-molecule unit can replicate into a much larger system.

With the use of a slide, he showed how that Drexler's "Architecture
for an Assembler," containing a molecular computer, a molecular
constructor with "molecular positional capability" and "tip chemistry,"
is a direct descendant of Van Neumann's design for a
self-replicating system, containing a "universal computer" and a
"universal constructor."

Merkle then went on to relate the development of nanotechnology with
the history of computer development, showing charts tracing the
increase in power, decrease in thermal consumption and decrease in
material necessary to store information. All of the charts show,
if the present straight lines remain consistent, that a major
milestone will be reached around the year 2015 which is where Merkle
sees the "sugar-cube system" arriving. He said, "There's no
guarantee that these lines won't either plateau out or have an
even steeper acceleration. The lines have been straight for over
40 years, however, and I have no reason to doubt that they will
not continue along this line."

Merkle then went into the use of these molecular systems in medicine,
explaining that we presently have two basic medical tools: surgery,
which has intelligent guidance but uses very crude tools that themselves
damage the organism, and drugs, which have no intelligence but are
atomically precise tools. He said that special purpose molecular
computers, no bigger than 1/500 of the width of a human hair, can be
introduced into the human system and sent to repair damaged cells.
"For the first time we will have adequate tools guided by
intelligence. Today, loss of cell function results in deterioration
and then death of the cell. In the future, with these tools, the
cell can be repaired, providing the structure has not been damaged."

Merkle concluded his talk by speculating the impact that molecular
machines may have in the field of cryonics. Cryonics is the process of
freezing persons whose "death" has been caused by a disease
uncorrectable by today's medicine. The theory is that the person will
be thawed when there is both a known cure for the disease or injury
and a way of repairing any damage caused by the freezing. Merkle
said that molecular machines will be the devices that will make such
procedures feasible.

Merkle said that there is a very simple pay-off matrix for cryonics.
"Either you sign up or you don't and it either works or it doesn't.
If you sign up and it works, you live. In the other cases you die.
If it works, the world in which you awaken will be a world of
advanced technology with space travel, space stations and good health."
He then showed a slide quoting Apple fellow and former Xerox PARC
researcher Alan Kay, saying. "The best way to predict the future is to
create it."

Alcor Director Brenda Peters told Newsbytes, "We were very gratified
at the response to the meeting. The speaker was wonderful and we had
many exciting guests. We hope to continue to have as interesting
meetings and bring the message of cryonics to more and more people."

In response to a Newsbytes question, Peters confirmed that Merkle
himself is an Alcor member and said that many engaged in the
nanotechnology research have become supporters of cryonics.

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/Press Contact: Brenda Peters,
Alcor Life Extension Foundation, 212-353-8665/19920427)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 27 Physician Computer Network Signs Agreement 04/27/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00017)

Physician Computer Network Signs Agreement 04/27/92
LAURENCE HARBOR, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 APR 27 (NB) -- Physician
Computer Network has announced its second five-year agreement with
a major clinical laboratory. Terms of the deal with National Health
Laboratories of La Jolla, California, were not disclosed. The deal
will let the roughly 2,000 doctors who are members of PCN
requisition lab tests, receive test results, and receive bills for
laboratory services electronically.

National Health Laboratories will pay an access fee for each
doctor's office that uses its services. In addition, the Lab has
the option to purchase PCN pay-per-view advertisement space in the
PCN interactive advertising module.

PCN estimates that access fees from clinical laboratories will
result in revenues from most of its physician's office sites. John
de Elorza, vice-chairman of PCN, said the company already has a
similar deal with the Medpath laboratories, a division of Corning,
and hopes to announce a third very soon.

With the third agreement, de Elorza said, PCN will have "more or
less national coverage."

The interactive Communications Data-Link service between PCN
members and the lab uses PCN laboratory services software, a new
product which will be integrated with PCN's medical practice
management system at doctors' offices.

Physicians' Computer Network is a two-year old company, de Elorza
said. By the end of March, it had installed its system for more
than 2,000 physician members at some 1,400 practices across the
United States.

(Grant Buckler/19920427/Press Contact: John de Elorza, Physician
Computer Network, 908-290-7711; or Kathy Liebmann, Gavin Anderson
& Company for Physician Computer Network, 212-921-1060)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 27 Ramtron High Speed DRAM Chips Now In Production 04/27/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00018)

Ramtron High Speed DRAM Chips Now In Production 04/27/92
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 APR 27 (NB) --
Ramtron International and NMB Semiconductor have announced that
they are now producing their high speed 4-megabit DRAM (dynamic
random access memory) chips in volume and the chips are already
being shipped to customers.

The new DRAM chips, which were designed by Ramtron in cooperation
with United Memories, Inc., are being manufactured at NMB's
multi-million dollar factory in Tateyama, Japan. United Memories is
a joint venture of Ramtron and NMBS based on Colorado Springs,
Colorado. UMI said it is presently working on 16-megabit high
performance DRAMs.

Industry research company DataQuest has estimated that the DRAM
market will reach five billion dollars this year. DRAMs are used in
computer memory, particularly in high-end workstations and PCs,
digital television, fax machines, and in the emerging technology of
solid state replacements for magnetic disks used in computer systems.

According to NMBS President Shosuke Shinoda, his company expects the
40 nanosecond DRAMs to gain rapid acceptance among manufacturers of
32-bit personal computers, as well as in high-performance
workstations.

Ramtron also develops and markets complementary metal oxide
semiconductor (CMOS) specialty DRAMs, and said it holds more than 30
international patents, with another 60 patents pending.

(Jim Mallory/19920427/Press contact: Don Carrigan, Ramtron
International, 719-481-7000,fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 27  ****Compaq Reports $45M 1Q Net/Dumps RISC Plans 04/27/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00019)

 ****Compaq Reports $45M 1Q Net/Dumps RISC Plans 04/27/92
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 27 (NB) -- Compaq Computer
Corporation has released its financial report for the first quarter,
reporting a dissappointing net income of $45 million, or $0.53 per
share on revenues of $783 million. That's less than half what the
company reported the previous year.

In 1991, Compaq reported net income of $114.3 million on revenues of
$970.7 million, or $1.26 per share. Compaq said that while
worldwide demand for its systems was up during the quarter, the
company had trouble delivering due to a shortage in hard drives.
Compaq spokesperson Debra Globe told Newsbytes that the supplier was
Conner Peripherals. Globe said Compaq now expects to have the drive
supply problem solved during the second quarter. No figures were
available about the backlog.

Compaq President Eckhard Pfeiffer said the company would introduce
"the first major wave of new Compaq products and a compelling new
advertising campaign" late in the second quarter. Globe told
Newsbytes that Compaq has hired a new ad agency, New York-based
Ammirati & Puris, Inc. According to Globe, the initial ad effort
would be in print media.

Globe said the new Compaq products would be in the PC category,
rather in larger systems. Compaq has introduced several new lines
of desktop and modular systems in the past few months.

Compaq also has pulled out of the Advanced Computing Environment and
abandoned its plans to develop a RISC system. Globe told Newsbytes
that the company's decision to abandon RISC systems is related
to Intel Corporation's dominant market share and its processor
development, and to other operating systems being ported to Intel
systems. The company also cited client feedback from its customers,
whom it says are less willing to consider RISC-based systems. Globe
said there was no connection between Compaq's withdrawal from the
MIPS field and its poor financials.

Globe said other factors were Next's decision to bring NextStep to
Intel platforms, Sun's plans to develop a version of Unix to run on
Intel platforms, and a joint venture between Novell and USL to
cooperate on Unix.

(Jim Mallory/19920427/Press contact: Debra Globe, Compaq,
713-374-4613)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 27  ****Bellcore Has High-Speed Neural Network Prototype 04/27/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TOR)(00020)

 ****Bellcore Has High-Speed Neural Network Prototype 04/27/92
MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 APR 27 (NB) -- A prototype
neural network computer developed at Bellcore learns in much the
same way as the human brain does, and its parallel processing
design allows it to do so about 10,000 times as fast as a powerful
conventional computer workstation.

Neural network technology imitates the way the human brain works.
It can be simulated on conventional computers, but because
traditional computer designs process information in serial form --
one step at a time -- that is much slower than a parallel design
such as Bellcore's, said Josh Alspector, a Bellcore researcher.

Alspector told Newsbytes that Bellcore's computer, which is purely
experimental at the moment and won't be a commercial product in the
near future, could open up new possibilities in the use of neural
network technology.

The design is based on an experimental chip which Bellcore first
demonstrated in 1988. An updated version of that design contains
496 bi-directional synapses and 32 neurons. The system "learns" by
making connections between neurons. It operates at a speed of about
100 million connection updates per second, Alspector said.

The speed of the system can be increased further by linking the
chips together. Combinations on the order of 10, 100, or possibly
as many as 1,000 chips are possible, Alspector said. However, he
added, because the chips use analog rather than digital
connections, there are some practical limits of the number of chips
that may be linked together.

Bellcore researchers plan to experiment with the technology for
solving problems that commonly arise in managing telecommunications
networks and operations, such as routing telephone calls, assigning
frequency to wireless equipment, compressing telephone company
business data for storage and transmission, and speech recognition.

Other applications for this sort of technology might include
handwriting recognition, fingerprint identification, and even the
ability to recognize smells, Bellcore said.

However, Alspector said commercial application of this prototype is
at least five to 10 years off. Also, Bellcore does not manufacture
products for sale. The regional telephone companies that own
Bellcore could decide to license the technology to other
manufacturers, a Bellcore spokeswoman told Newsbytes.

(Grant Buckler/19920427/Press Contact: Barbara McClurken, Bellcore,
201-740-6467, fax [phone]; Cynthia Lucenius, Bellcore, 201-
740-6468)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 27 WordStar Posts Small Profit For 3Q 04/27/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00021)

WordStar Posts Small Profit For 3Q 04/27/92
NOVATO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 27 (NB) -- WordStar
International has finally posted a profit, albeit a small one of $26,000,
for the third quarter of fiscal 1992, ended March 31, 1992. The
company also increased revenues by 21 percent for the nine
months ended March 31, over the comparable period in the
previous year.

According to the company, for the third quarter ended March 31, 1992,
WordStar reported revenues of $10,905,000, which led to a net profit
of $26,000 ($0.00 per share). For the comparable quarter a year ago,
the company reported revenues of $10,145,000 and a net loss of
$2,680,000 ($0.19 per share).

For the nine months ended March 31, 1992, WordStar reported
revenues of $32,519,000 and a net loss of $3,218,000 ($0.22 per
share). For the comparable period of fiscal 1991, the company
reported revenues of $26,750,000 and a net loss of $4,588,000
($0.34 per share).

David Russian, spokesman for the company, told Newsbytes
that the company had some ongoing strategies in an attempt to
"maximize profits" and reduce the current nine-month loss.

The main one, he said, was "increasing the product line." In an
effort to increase revenue, the company had "moved from two
products to ten products."

Ronald Posner, president, chief executive officer and chairman of
the board, said: "During our third quarter we shipped five new
writing utilities and a substantial upgrade to our flagship word
processor, WordStar for DOS, version 7.0. We are continuing to
diversify our product offerings which is having a positive effect
on our revenues. We remain committed to pursuing technology
acquisitions that compliment our word processing line in the
document management area, as well as products that fit well in
the application utilities category similar to our current writing
utilities."

As reported by Newsbytes, WordStar recently shipped version 7.0
of its flagship product, WordStar for DOS. The company claims that,
during the fourth quarter of fiscal 1992, it will begin shipping fully
translated, foreign language versions of WordStar for DOS 7.0 for
its international markets.

The company continues to rely heavily on international
markets for its income, with 51 percent of its revenue in the
third quarter coming from overseas. The United Kingdom office
posted its best revenue quarter ever, according to the company.

Russian told Newsbytes that the company has always been "strong
overseas." He added that the company, "expects 50 percent (of
its revenue) will always be in the international marketplace."

WordStar has been in the news lately because it had planned to
merge with forms and fax software maker Delrina, as reported by
Newsbytes. The merger was called off however, with both
companies citing management issues, accounting problems, and
legal issues as the reasons.

Also, just last week Newsbytes reported that WordStar had signed
an agreement with Apple Computer that calls for the bundling of its
Correct Grammar and the American Heritage Dictionary writing tools
with all Macintosh computers sold through Apple's Educator
Advantage Program.

(Ian Stokell/19920427/Press Contact: David Russian, WordStar
International Inc., 415-382-4980)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 27 Maxtor 120MB 2.5-Inch Notebook Drive/Volume Shipments Soon 04/27/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00022)

Maxtor 120MB 2.5-Inch Notebook Drive/Volume Shipments Soon 04/27/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 27 (NB) -- Hoping to
take advantage of one of the fastest growing areas of the computing
industry, Maxtor Corp., has introduced a new 128 megabyte (MB)
2.5-inch disk drive for use with battery-powered notebook and laptop
computer markets.

John McCreadie, spokesman for the company, told Newsbytes that
the introduction of the 25128 is significant, because, although there
"are a few" 120MB drives on the market "no one is shipping
in volume."

The 25128 is the latest edition to Maxtor's 2.5-inch 2500 Series family,
and, according to the company, offers an average seek time of 15
milliseconds (ms).

McCreadie told Newbsytes that "OEMs are looking at 120MB as
the foundation of the notebook market. OEMs want 120MB but they
are not there in volume." Consequently, he said, 80MB drives are
popular. OEMs he said, are simply "settling for 80MB drives."

The company claims that the 25128 offers a track-to-track
seek time of three ms, a rotational speed of 3,551 rpm
(revolutions-per-minute) and an average latency of 8.4 ms. The
25128 has two disks and a formatted capacity of 128 MB in a
2.5-inch form factor, maintains Maxtor.

The company also says that the 25128 is designed to minimize
power requirements, as only 2.20 watts are required in seek mode
and 0.20 watts are required in a standby/sleep mode.

The company is also claiming high reliability for the drive, with all
electronics on a single-sided PCBA with 100 percent surface
mount technology utilized. The company also maintains that a
very low component count further enhances reliability, and
estimates a specified mean-time-between-failure (MTBF) of
250,000 hours.

McCreadie told Newsbytes that the introduction of the product is
"good timing" for Maxtor. The drive, he said, is "not leading-edge
technology for Maxtor," as it uses "a lot of surface-mount
technology." Consequently, he said, there should be little delay in
getting the product out in volume, and the company is "looking to
wrap it up quickly."

Maxtor says that multiple customer evaluations are currently
underway, with volume production scheduled to begin in June at
the company's manufacturing facility in Singapore. Evaluation unit
pricing for the 25128 is $395.

(Ian Stokell/19920427/Press Contact: Catherine Derr, Maxtor Corp.,
408-432-4461; Regis McKenna Inc., John McCreadie, 415-354-4495)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 27 Tecmar 4GB Tape Backup/Cuts Memory Board Prices 04/27/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00023)

Tecmar 4GB Tape Backup/Cuts Memory Board Prices 04/27/92
SOLON, OHIO, U.S.A., 1992 APR 27 (NB) -- Tecmar has introduced a new
4 gigabyte DAT tape backup and has announced a price cut on its
memory boards for IBM and compatible PCs.

The 4 gigabyte (GB) DAT (digital audio tape) back-up system carries a
price tag comparable to Tecmar's 2GB DAT tape system with twice the
storage capacity. With data compression, as much as 8GB of data can
be stored. A gigabyte is one billion bytes, or one thousand
megabytes. With the rollout of the new system, Tecmar also dropped
the prices on the 2GB Datavault 2000 systems as much as $600.

Tecmar said the DAT drives can backup data at rates up to 40MB
(megabytes) per minute, with the average back-up speed about 20MB per
minute. The drives use DAT 4 millimeter tape cassettes in 60 or 90
meter lengths.

Tecmar back-up systems are designed for DOS, OS/2, Macintosh, and
Unix operating systems, as well as Novell networks.

The 4GB systems, named Datavault 4000, start at $5,395 and top out
at $6,195. The Datavault 2000 2GB systems are priced from $4,795 to
$5,895.

Prices on the company's memory expansion boards for IBM and
compatible systems were dropped as much as 42 percent. Tecmar
markets three series of boards, the MicroRAM AD, the MicroRAM 386 and
the ClassicRAM series. Prices were cut similarly in all three
categories.

The MicroRAM series are compatible with IBM PS/2 systems, while the
ClassicRAM boards are designed for systems using the industry
standard architecture (ISA) architecture. MicroRAM 386 boards
provide memory expansion for 386-based systems. All three include
diagnostic software for automatic configuration and installation.

Tecmar offers a two year warranty, including guaranteed 48-hour
repair service during the first six months, on its products.

(Jim Mallory/19920427/Press contact: Kathleen Botz, Tecmar,
216-349-0600, FAX [phone],Customer contact: 800-624-8560)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 27 UK: Lotus Realtime 2.1 Debuts 04/27/92



(NEWS)(UNIX)(LON)(00024)

UK: Lotus Realtime 2.1 Debuts 04/27/92
STAINES, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 27 (NB) -- Lotus U.K. has
announced Realtime version 2.1, the latest incarnation of its
package for financial traders, portfolio managers and analysts.
In addition, Lotus officials said that the Unix package will be
also be made available for Hewlett-Packard's Apollo 9000 Series
7000 PA-RISC range of workstations.

Backing up the new version of the package, which will ship in the
early part of the third quarter of this year. Lotus has cut the
price of Realtime from UKP 1,595 to UKP 1,195, and has announced a
trade-in program aimed at users of competitors' realtime
spreadsheet packages.

Announcing the changes, Larry Crume, Lotus' vice-president of
international product development, said that the new features,
low pricing and competitive trade-in programs boost Lotus'
position as a supplier of software in this product category.

"The announcement of Lotus Realtime support for HP-UX is also
particularly significant. The speed, price/performance and
networking of HP's workstations make them among the most
attractive hardware platforms for the demanding trading system
marketplace," he said.

Lotus is making some bold claims for Realtime 2.1. The company
claims that its features are unique among real time spreadsheet
packages. The most significant enhancement, the company says,
allows customers almost unlimited flexibility in configuring
Lotus Realtime systems on a network.

Lotus Realtime will work with Lotus 1-2-3 for HP-UX workstations
1.1, which was released in December of last year. The minimum
hardware requirements are HP Apollo 9000 Series 700 workstation
with HP-UX 8.0 or higher, 8 megabytes (MB) of memory and 14 MB of
spare hard disk capacity.

(Steve Gold/19920427/Press & Public Contact: Lotus Development
UK Limited - Tel: [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 27 Financial Times' FT Profile Opens Frankfurt Office 04/27/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00025)

Financial Times' FT Profile Opens Frankfurt Office 04/27/92
FRANKFURT, WESTERN GERMANY, 1992 APR 27 (NB) -- FT Profile, the
Financial Times' business information service, has announced it
will open an office in Frankfurt. The German office opens for
business in early May.

According to the company, the new office will allow FT Profile
staff to provide direct support for customers in Germany. German
speakers will conduct training and take inquiries on the FT
Profile hotline. Billing in Deutsche Marks will also be
available.

Announcing the opening of the new office, Jim McLaughlin,
international sales manager of FTIS Online Division, claimed that
that it is a signal of the company's commitment to expansion into
Europe.

"A direct presence in Germany will help us to provide higher
standards of care and support for our customers and we hope to
announce the opening of the Paris office very soon. Our aim is to
become the first choice of business information across Europe,"
he said.

FT Profile is not the only online services company ramping up its
European presence and support. Compuserve has been steadily
increasing its level of service in Europe over the last year.

Last week the online service giant enhanced its Zurich,
Switzerland dial-up port from 2,400 to 9.600 bits per second
(bps) working. The costs of German access have also been cut in
recent weeks. Compuserve has begun advertising its European
company information databases, many of which rival those of FT
Profile's.

(Steve Gold/199204227/Press & Public Contact: FT Profile - Tel:
0932-761444; Fax: [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 27  ****Editorial: Microsoft, Digital - Can They Change Computing? 04/27/92



(EDITORIAL)(TRENDS)(DEN)(00026)

 ****Editorial: Microsoft, Digital - Can They Change Computing? 04/27/92
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 APR 27 (NB) -- When Digital and
Microsoft jointly announced Friday that they would implement
Microsoft's upcoming operating systems Windows NT on Digital's Alpha
platform, the announcement said the deal would expand the scope of
what people can do with computers.

Microsoft says that Windows NT (that's New Technology), will be
released before the end of 1992, will have all the features that
Windows 3.1 has, including a common interface. It's also promised
to offer preemptive multitasking, additional security, integrated
networking, and full support for both 16-bit and 32-bit Windows
applications.

Digital's recently announced Alpha system, a RISC (reduced
instruction set computer)-based system using Digital's 21064
microprocessor capable of 400 MIPS (million instructions per
second), has a clock speed of 200 megahertz (MHz). That makes it
the fastest microprocessor known today. Digital says that Alpha
enables future microprocessors to issue up to 10 instructions
simultaneously. Besides Windows NT, Alpha is designed to support
multiple operating systems including its own OSF/1 and Open VMS.

Combined, those two could be a killer combination, leaving everyone
else in the dust. But will they work? Microsoft's Windows NT in
all probability will deliver what it promises - Microsoft has the
track record. But what about Digital? Just one working day after
the joint announcement, Digital says it will have to eliminate at
least 10,000 jobs in the next fiscal year and take a charge of as
much as $1 billion to cover the cost of the restructuring. About
4,000 of those cuts are planned for the current quarter, which ends
in June. That's almost sure to guarantee a loss for the quarter,
following a $294 million loss for the third quarter.

Cost is also a factor. The Alpha microprocessor costs about $3,000
each in quantities of 100, and about half that for larger lots.
That means that the end user's system is going to cost more, and
that's in a time when most PC makers see the way to go as reducing
prices to attract customers.

Digital says that Alpha is the base for a whole series of computer
systems, ranging from portable desktop devices to massively parallel
processing supercomputers running multiple operating environments.
But will buyers flock to this new system? No one knows the answer
to that question, but one thing is sure. While the future is Alpha
is still uncertain, Microsoft can't lose. It earns extra revenue
by licensing Windows NT to Digital, and adds to the already 10
million copies of some version of Windows in operation. And the
deal does take the computer industry another step closer to a true
open architecture.

(Jim Mallory/19920427)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 27  ****Silicon Graphics To Pay Much Less For MIPS 04/27/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00027)

 ****Silicon Graphics To Pay Much Less For MIPS 04/27/92
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 27 (NB) -- Silicon
Graphics says it will pay less for MIPS Computer Systems than it had
originally announced as part of a renegotiation of the merger
agreement announced March 11 of this year. Silicon Graphics said the
decision was made to take another look at the agreement due to the
results of MIPS' earnings for the quarter ending on March 31, 1992.

Instead of converting each outstanding share of MIPS stock into 0.61
shares of Silicon Graphics stock, the revised estimate is each share
of MIPS stock will be converted to 0.52 shares of Silicon Graphics
stock. The companies say the new rate will be an amendment to the
merger agreement, which will then still be pending approval of the
boards of directors and stockholders of both companies, delivery of
fairness opinions by the financial advisors of both companies, and the
necessary government approvals.

At the time of the announcement of the merger, Silicon Graphics stock
was valued at $26.58 per share said Jill Grossman of public relations
for Silicon Graphics. With approximately 25 million shares of MIPS
stock the merger would have been worth about 406 million. Today
however, Silicon Graphics stock has fallen nearly $10 per share to
around $16, making the merger worth about 208 million, or nearly half
of the original figure.

Dataquest, a market research company, said at the time of the merger
announcement that Silicon Graphics had to merge with MIPS, and called
the merger a buy-out. The merger is critical to Silicon Graphics
because Silicon Graphics is dependent on MIPS reduced instruction set
chip (RISC) technology for its workstations and MIPS is rapidly moving
toward financial collapse, according to Dataquest. This type of
investment is a common move in the workstation industry, as Sun owns
SPARC; IBM owns Power RISC; Hewlett-Packard owns PA-RISC; and DEC owns
Alpha.

The most significant downside for the merger, according to Dataquest,
is conflicts that might arise within the Advanced Computing Consortium
(ACE) (a group of companies that support RISC-based architecture) if
MIPS' processors lose their vendor-neutral technology. At the time of
the MIPS/Silicon Graphics merger announcement, ACE was looking for a
platform to back as a standard. Dataquest maintained the merger was
likely to affect whether ACE backs a MIPS platform or goes with the
new 586 chip expected from microprocessor giant Intel for Microsoft's
new Windows NT operating system.

It seems conflicts have arisen as Compaq Computer, known for its IBM
compatible personal computer (PC) systems, announced it has resigned
from ACE because of that group's decision to focus entirely on MIPS-
based systems. Compaq says helped co-found the ACE Initiative in April
1991, but has made the decision to withdraw from ACE because it has
decided not to bring out a MIPS-based system in 1992.

Compaq says it is also rethinking the idea of launching any reduced
instruction set chip (RISC)-based system. Compaq maintains it will
stick with Intel-based products capable of running ACE operating
systems, such as Microsoft Windows NT and Unix, and other 32-bit
operating systems. Intel is expected to release the 586 microprocessor
chip this year which is expected to give RISC-based systems a run for
their money. Intel has estimated the 586 will be able to perform at
100 million instructions per second (mips).

(Linda Rohrbough/19920427/Press Contact: Jill Grossman, Silicon
Graphics, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Caroline Hughes, MIPS,
408-524-7295; Mary Hand, Dataquest, tel [phone], fax 408-437-
0292; Mike Berman, Compaq Computer 713-374-2510)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 27  ****Sun Announces Low-Priced Systems 04/27/92


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LAX)(00028)

 ****Sun Announces Low-Priced Systems 04/27/92
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 27 (NB) -- Sun
Microsystems just announced a new color, reduced instruction set chip
(RISC) workstation in its SPARCtation IPC line that the company says
is the first priced under $6,000 from a major vendor and priced
thousands of dollars lower than similar workstations from IBM or
Hewlett-Packard (HP).

Sun compares the new $5,995 IPC workstation with IBM's entry level
workstation, the RS/6000 220 which fully configured retails for $9,995
and the HP 9000/710 which retails for $14,065. Sun even says the new
IPC is $2,000 less than a 486/33 IBM compatible personal computer (PC)
from Compaq.

Sun says the IPC is compact like the existing SPARCstation IPC and
comes standard with a mid-range 16-inch Sony monitor with 1152 x 900
resolution, 8 megabytes (MBs) of random access memory (RAM), and a 207
MB internal hard disk drive. The system runs the Solaris 1.0 operating
system, however Sun announced a Windows compatible system, Solaris 2.0
for later this year.

Sun says it expects the workstation to be popular with those who run
AutoCAD, Orcad, dBASE IV, Lotus 1-2-3 and Wordperfect, all of which
are available for the Unix operating system. Sun says those users can
get PC-level prices with workstation performance with the new IPC.

Sun says it is reducing other prices as well, including lower prices
$1,000 on its entry level workstation, now priced at $3,995 and
offering price reductions it claims are as high as 26 percent on its
other desktop computing products.

Sun says the new $5,995 IPC workstation is available now with another
IPX SPARCengine system expected to be available in July of this year
for $6,500.

While Sun is the market leader according to Dataquest, a market
research firm, the company is still lowering prices. Compaq, one of
the companies Sun mentioned that it is competing with, announced it
is abandoning plans to produce a RISC-based computer system and
is instead planning to continue building Intel-based IBM compatible
systems.

This announcement from Compaq is especially significant with Intel's
announcement earlier this year that the 586 chip is on the
horizon and is expected in the first half of this year. The 586 is
expected to give RISC chips serious competition as it is projected
by Intel to be capable of 100 million instructions per second (mips).

(Linda Rohrbough/19920427/Press Contact: Carrie Dillon, Sun
Microsystems, tel [phone]; Public Contact 800-821-4643)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 27 ****Akers Says "New IBM" Emerging; Company Posts Dividend 04/27/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00029)

 ****Akers Says "New IBM" Emerging; Company Posts Dividend 04/27/92
DENVER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 APR 27 (NB) -- A little over
six months after using the company's e-mail to take employees
to task for failing to contribute enough to profitability, IBM
Chairman John F. Akers has told stockholders that the company
has made significant progress in transforming itself into better
focused, increasingly independent business units. IBM has
also declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $1.21 per share
on the common stock payable June 10, 1992, to holders of record
May 13, 1992.

Akers, who was speaking at the company's annual meeting, said that
IBM units throughout the world have taken strong steps to increase
their competitiveness, quality, and responsiveness to customers.

"Across the world, a new IBM is emerging - smaller and smaller
organizations, more focused, faster paced, moving toward their
financial objectives and collectively pulling the IBM company to
increased prosperity," said Akers.

As an example, he said that IBM's Personal Systems business has
been segmented into more than a dozen businesses. IBM United
Kingdom has been segmented into more than 30 businesses, and
IBM Italy is now comprised of more than 20 different businesses.

The changes, he said, would result in shorter product development
cycles and increasingly tailored hardware, software, and services
offerings.

"Our objective is to shape an IBM that is faster and more skilled in
entering markets, creating businesses, and serving customers by
unleashing the freedom of our people to compete and win in chosen
markets," he said.

Akers said that the company is encouraged by its first-quarter 1992
results, and IBM is on track toward achieving its 1992 and long-range
financial goals. He also said that the information processing industry,
while continuing to be battered by difficult worldwide economic
conditions, remains a growth business.

(Ian Stokell/19920427/Press Contact: Rob Wilson, IBM Corp.,
303-640-8386)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 27 New for Macintosh: RightWriter 3.2 For the Macintosh 04/27/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00030)

New for Macintosh: RightWriter 3.2 For the Macintosh 04/27/92
CARMEL, INDIANA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 27 (NB) -- Que Software has
released RightWriter 3.2 for the Macintosh, an update of its
grammar and style checker. Other features include access to
documents prepared in other word processors, including those in some
integrated packages, and a audio/visual fun element.

The upgraded program can now analyze documents from Microsoft Word
5.0, Wordperfect 2.0, and Microsoft Works 1.1 and 2.0, all for the
Macintosh, as well as LetterPefect, DisplayWrite, and WordStar, and
others. Que spokesperson Susan Earabino told Newsbytes, "Chances are
if it's a major word processor, it's supported."

RightWriter proof-reads your word processing documents, checking for
errors in grammar, style, word usage, capitalization, and
punctuation. Que said the program uses parsing techniques and
artificial intelligence to detect errors.

Also included is Cool Mac Stacks & Sounds, a product from Hayden
Publishing that adds visual and audio features. Stacks lets the
user build pizzas and a phone acronym that spells out words as phone
numbers. Sounds include a mad man, a toilet flush, and a truck horn.
The two novelty programs are included with two Hayden books, "Cool
Mac Stacks" and "Cool Mac Sounds," each retailing at $19.95. Que
said it is bundling both the programs with RightWriter 3.2 at no
additional charge.

Que said that Rightwriter 3.2 for the Macintosh has a suggested
list price of $99.95, and is expected to ship early in May. The
company also markets versions of RightWriter for Windows, Unix and
DOS-based systems, Tandy's Deskmate, and for networks.

According to Earabino, users of earlier versions of RightWriter for
the Mac can upgrade for $15, by contacting Que Software.

(Jim Mallory/19920427/Press contact: Susan Earabino, The Marketing
Partnership for Que Software, 617-876-9516)

#ENDCARD






#CARD :1992 APR 24 Frontier Technologies To Upgrade Super-TCP For Windows 04/24/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00001)

Frontier Technologies To Upgrade Super-TCP For Windows 04/24/92
MEQUON, WISCONSIN, U.S.A., 1992 APR 24 (NB) -- Newsbytes has learned
that Frontier Technologies is planning a major upgrade
to its Super-TCP for Windows package. This upgrade could be
announced as early as next week. Version 2.0 of Super-TCP for
Windows will sport a dazzling array of new features that are
intended to make it even more useful.

Super-TCP for Windows is a set of Windows Dynamically Linked
Libraries. To the user, they appear as a single application. Once
loaded in the system and run, the package contains a host of tools
that allow one to connect across a network using the TCP/IP
protocols. One could use this to log into a Unix workstation
from a PC and browse through e-mail, or transfer  files back
and forth.

Version 2.0 introduces several major enhancements to this product.
For instance, if you prefer to use the MS-DOS command line rather
that Windows, Super-TCP will let you do that. Under DOS it runs as
a terminate and stay resident (TSR) program. Version 2.0 will allow
you to open a terminal emulation window on your PC while accessing
the other side. Actually v1.2 also allowed that, but could only
emulate DEC VT100 and VT102 type terminals. Version 2.0 brings with
it the ability to perform VT220 emulations. The e-mail function has
been enhanced with the provision of support for the Post Office
Protocol (POP) which has been gaining popularity recently. Many more
remote protocol commands have been added to let you do things on
the Unix side automatically. And, support has been provided for
several wide area networking standards like X.400.

Another major change is the ability to add optional packages. These
packages will be sold separately by Frontier Technologies and will
allow one to add distinct functionalities to the product. Newsbytes
has learned of the following packages and their suggested prices:

 - NetPrint Server ($395) This package will let a Super-TCP user use
any printer that is on the network, anywhere - a very useful feature
to have, especially if there are different quality printers spread
out on different machines.

 - NFS Client ($95). This will allow the PC to attach to any NFS
server on the network and use NFS services.

 - NetBIOS ($95). This package allows for the additional connection
to NetBIOS based networks.

 - OSI/GSIP Support (pricing depends on configuration). The government
is saying the OSI and GOSIP are the ways of the future. If that
truly comes about, this package will become exceedingly
important.

 - Berkeley Sockets API ($595). This allows use of all of those Unix
programs that have been developed around the Berkeley Sockets
specification.

Newsbytes has also learned that Frontier Technologes is planning to
demonstrate Super-TCP for Windows 2.0 at the upcoming Interop show
to be held in May in Washington DC. This new version will sell
immediately after the show. The expected retail price for
this software will be $495.

(Naor Wallach/19920423, Press Contact: Ann Finkler, Frontier
Technologies, 414-241-4555 Extension 209)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 24 New For Networks: Learning Performance's EasyShare Mac 04/24/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00002)

New For Networks: Learning Performance's EasyShare Mac 04/24/92
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 24 (NB) -- Learning
Performance Corporation (LPC) has announced the release of its
EasyShare Mac Menu program. This program provides a shell that goes
over the top of the Macintosh's Finder to restrict the abilities of
all people outside of the Macintosh administrator.

This seems like somewhat of a crazy idea. However, when you dig a
bit under the surface, it makes sense. LPC has traditionally been a
company that concentrated on making software for the educational
market. All of their previous products have been based on the Apple
II machines. Now, they are starting to move over to the Macintosh.
In a typical educational setting there aren't enough funds to provide
each user with their own dedicated Macintosh, so it is common to
have several people share one machine. Most of those people tend not
to be power users. Additionally, it is quite common to have one
Macintosh be present in a classroom where the teacher is the
knowledgeable computer user but all of the students also have access
to the machine.

In situations like these, a common problem is that users may
inadvertently move or delete files that others need. It
is also a concern for users to have to maintain all of their data
on floppy disks. For those who are not fully computer literate, the
range of options available from the Finder is mind boggling and
could lead to paralysis.

In comes EasyShare Mac Menu. This program will allow the computer
administrator to set up individual domains for each user. No longer
is the computer considered a personal machine, but rather, it is
treated as a shared resource. No one, with the exception of the
machine administrator, is allowed access to all of the features and
capabilities of the machine. The administrator sets up the
environment for each user who then sees only those things to which
he or she has been assigned access. The capabilities are also
restricted so that a user cannot delete or move around files which
he should not touch. It is also possible to protect the hard disk
in part or in whole, thereby forcing the user to save his work on
floppy disks if desired.

Since this product is aimed at the educational market, Menus can
be easily customized and organized. This organization can be done
by reference to grade, subject area, teacher, or any other method
that seems to make sense to the administrator.

(Naor Wallach/19920423, Press Contact: Kim Martin, LPC,
612-854-2730)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 24  ****Realtors Get Digital Color Multiple Listings  04/24/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00003)

 ****Realtors Get Digital Color Multiple Listings  04/24/92
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 24 (NB) -- Pacific Bell is
offering a new telecommunications link to give realtors access to
color photo tours of homes. The largest realtor group in the country,
the San Fernando Valley Board of Realtors (SFVBR), has already
committed to being the first realtor group to help in the development
of the new information network called "Pacific Bell Realtylink."

Realtors and computers are not strangers, especially in Southern
California. The 8,000 member SFVBR has a computer user group, a
computer store stocked with both hardware and software, and has
offered members each year a computer show with seminars and vendor
participation. Realtors have been able to access from the SFVBR a
computer bulletin board service via a Macintosh or IBM compatible
personal computer (PC) and obtain information and photographs from the
Multiple Listing Service (MLS) about available properties.

However, this new service places emphasis on the speed at
which information will be able to be obtained, especially complex
photographic images. Lorrie Griffey, president of the San Fernando
Valley Board of Realtors, said: "...The capacity to send
information at 56,000 bits per second using relatively inexpensive
personal computers will yield unprecedented quality and efficiency
for the transfer of information and processing of real estate
documents."

Unlike modem transfers done now, the transfer of information will be
digital over ISDN (integrated services digital networks) lines.
This will involved some expense to realtors who wish to connect
to the new service as they will need to convert their phone line
to an ISDN line. However, Mary Lou Williams at the SFVBR told
Newsbytes while the ISDN phone line will cost more, voice
and data transfer can be done over the same line simultaneously. "The
phone expense will be a wash for realtors, because instead of two $15
lines, one for data, one for voice, a realtor can just have one $29.95
per month ISDN line." However, an ISDN card must be added to the
computer and realtors will need a minimum of a video graphics array
(VGA) monitor to view the images.

Real estate in Southern California has always been a highly
competitive field, but in the softening of the real estate market the
area has been experiencing, along with the rest of the country,
realtors will be looking for an edge.

Williams said the service will be fast enough to be practically real-
time, so a realtor can have clients in the office and show them the
listings right then. "It will also make things easier on agents as
they will be able to familiarize themselves with listings and show
listings to clients without having to drive all over the Valley,"
Williams said.

The SFVBR is developing the software to run the new service, while
Pacific Bell is handling the ISDN side, including looking for service
providers to install the ISDN equipment. Willams said the SFVBR will
also begin requiring realtors take several pictures of a property, and
not just the outside.

Interestingly enough, while the SFVBR is willing to offer technical
assistance to other boards, such as the Burbank Board of Realtors or
the San Gabriel Valley Board of Realtors, each board's service is a
little different and not necessarily compatible. "Other boards are
using equipment that is not compatible with ours or their formats are
a little different," Williams said. "We'll be willing to offer what
assistance we can, but each board will end up developing its own
system."

The SFVBR says eventually, the marriage of the faster
telecommunications network services and real estate information
systems will link all parties in real estate transactions: realtors,
lenders, escrow agents, title companies, attorneys, advertising
publications, and local boards of Realtors. The SFVBR called it the
creation of "a mammoth pool of knowledge and information."

Pacific Bell says its Realtylink will be demonstrated at Pacific
Bell's Texpo '92 exposition scheduled for May 5-7 in Anaheim. Williams
says the SFVBR plans to have test software available by November or
December and begin marketing to members of the board by March of 1993.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920423/Press Contact: Mary Lou Williams, San
Fernando Valley Board of Realtors, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 24  ****New Macintosh Virus Found  04/24/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00004)

 ****New Macintosh Virus Found  04/24/92
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 24 (NB) -- A new virus,
called the Code 252, has been identified by virus software company
Microcom, one of the two main competing companies in the Macintosh
virus software market. Macintosh users need not fear however, if their
virus software program is checking for changes in the size of program
files.

While an announcement about the virus was in a release titled,
"Microcom Discovers Its Virex Software Contains Unknown Virus,"
company officials said the software contains the virus in the sense
that it detects it, not that it was distributed with the virus.

Microcom says Code 252 was found by a user of its Virex anti-virus
software product and has a trigger date of June 6. Code 252, like all
viruses, replicates itself each time an infected file is launched
prior to June 6. On or after June 6 the virus stops spreading and
displays a message that reads: "You are infected with a virus.
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha. Now erasing all disks. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha
Ha Ha. (Click to continue)." Despite the message, Microcom
representative Steve Winegar said the virus does not actually
erase files.

Newsbytes asked Winegar how a virus that stops spreading on June 6 of
any year becomes a threat at all. Winegar said the virus will begin
spreading on January 1 and stops on June 6, and actually removes
itself from infected files that are run between June 6 and December 31
of any year. Winegar told Newsbytes this virus is the most unusual one
he has ever seen.

While Winegar would not say other popular virus software might not
pick up this new virus, like competing product SAM from Symantec, he
did say Microcom's Virex does do some unique checking. Virex's
Record/Scan tool records the size of files capable of infection by
doing a CRC check, then the next time it is run compares the current
file sizes with the earlier recorded ones. Changes in file size of
certain files indicate virus activity.

Winegar said that besides the CRC check, the Record/Scan tool is
unique in that it does file checking at a lower level by also checking
the resource segments of Macintosh files.

While the Code 252 appears to be a relatively benign virus, any virus
that alters files can present a threat to computer users. The
alteration of programs can produce unexpected and sometimes damaging
results, according to Richard Levin, author of the Computer Virus
Handbook (Osborne/McGraw-Hill, 1990).

(Linda Rohrbough/19920423/Press Contact: Steve Winegar, Microcom, tel
919-490-1277, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 24  ****ALR Intros Line Of Multimedia Machines 04/24/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00005)

 ****ALR Intros Line Of Multimedia Machines 04/24/92
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 24 (NB) -- With the cost of
multimedia personal computer systems these days, many users are
attempting to add multimedia capability to their existing systems.
Advanced Logic Research (ALR), however, says it will being offering
MPC machines to its Flyer line of computer systems and plans to price
the new computers significantly lower than the competition.

MPC systems are IBM or compatible computers equipped with advanced
sound capability and compact disc read-only memory drives geared
toward the use of video, animation, and sound. ALR says the average
MPC retails for around $4,500 but it is offering the its MPC systems
starting at $2,795.

The company is offering two new MPC systems, the Powerflex Flyer
3SX/25 MPC for $2,795 and the Flyer 32DT 4SX/25 MPC for $3,295. Both
computers offer Super Video Graphics Array (SVGA) monitors, with 1024
X 768 resolution, ALR said.

The 3SX/25 has an Intel 386SX microprocessor running at 25 megahertz
(MHz) with 4 megabytes (MB) of random access memory (RAM) on the
motherboard which can be upgraded to 16 MB of RAM, and an 80 MB hard
disk. The 4SX/25 offers an Intel 486SX microprocessor running at 25
megahertz in an 80 MB hard disk model and a 200 MB hard disk model.

Both systems come with a Pro Audio Spectrum Plus sound board from
Media Vision and an internal Sony CDU-31 ACD CD-ROM drive with a fast
340 millisecond (ms) access time. Both also include a flash read-only
memory (ROM) basic input/output (BIOS) system so the hardware
peripherals which the system can support are easily upgraded via
software in the future, ALR said.

The software included with the systems is ALR's version of MS-DOS 5.0;
Microsoft Windows 3.1; and Microsoft Multimedia Works, an integrated
software package including a talking tutorial, word processor,
spreadsheet and charting database, drawing and telecommunications
capability; Microsoft Bookshelf, a dictionary, encyclopedia and atlas;
CD-ROM discs containing education, reference, business and
entertainment software; and Multimedia Beethoven, offering music
compositions.

Compared to similar MPC units from Tandy, ALR says its 486SX-based
computer is faster and thousands less than a less powerful Tandy unit.
The Tandy 4033LX, based on a 386DX chip with an 80 MB hard disk is
retail priced at $5,500 while the ALR 486SX unit with an 80 MB hard
disk is only $3,195, Kevin Roberts of ALR told Newsbytes. A 200 MB
hard disk brings the 4SX/25 up to $3,795, which is still significantly
less than the Tandy computer, Roberts said.

Also, the SVGA offered with the ALR computers is much better for the
viewing of video, Roberts said. While Tandy and Compuadd do offer SVGA
MPC systems, those systems can only display 16 colors as opposed to
the 256 colors offered by the ALR SVGA display. Roberts added that the
ALR systems offer 1 MB of integrated video random access memory (RAM)
while the Tandy systems only offer half that.

The ALR MPC computers come with a 1-year limited warranty. The company
says optional on-site and extended warranties are available. ALR says
it expects to ship its first MPC models beginning in June of this
year.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920423/Press Contact: Kevin Roberts, Advanced Logic
Research, 714-581-6770 ext. 495)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 24 UK: Gensym Opening 4th European Office 04/24/92




(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00006)

UK: Gensym Opening 4th European Office 04/24/92
KINGSTON-UPON-THAMES, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 24 (NB) --
Gensym, the expert systems company, will formally announce the
opening of its fourth European office at the Control &
Instrumentation Exposition show next week in Birmingham,
Newsbytes has learned.

The office, located at Surrey House, 34 Eden Street in Kingston-
upon-Thames, is Gensym's 12th worldwide office and has been set
up to service the company's growing UK user base.

"More than 100 companies in Europe are using G2, Gensym's real-
time expert system technology. We've established gensym Limited
to support the technology leaders in the UK, as well as our
multinational companies as they deploy G2 in their operations,
both here in the UK and round the world," he said.

Gensym is relative specialist in software terms. The company
supplies expert system software to run in real time for
commercial, industrial, scientific and government applications.
Currently, the company claims more than 1,000 companies are using
its G2 software. The company's other European offices are in
Vettre (Norway), Munich (Germany) and Paris (France). Its
headquarters are in Cambridge, Mass.

(Steve Gold/19920423/Press & Public Contact: Gensym - Tel:
617/547-2500)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 24 Australian/Japanese-Designed Chips In Production 04/24/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00007)

Australian/Japanese-Designed Chips In Production 04/24/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 APR 24 (NB) -- Dynamic random access memory
(DRAM) chips co-developed by Australian and Japanese firms are
in production in a Japanese plant. The chips were developed by
Ramtron International, a fully owned subsidiary of Ramtron Holdings
of Sydney, and NMB Semiconductor (NMBS) of Japan.

Ramtron and NMBS developed the 4 MB (megabyte) DRAMs as part of an
agreement they signed in 1988. That agreement set up United Memories,
a joint venture company based in Colorado Springs. Ramtron and
NMBS see the greatest feature of its DRAMs is their speed - a 40
nanosecond maximum access time - which places them as the fastest
chips which conform to JEDEC standards. JEDEC is the international
body setting integrated circuit standards

The chips are already being produced by the NMBS plant at Tateyama,
100 kilometres south of Tokyo. "We are already supplying them to our
Japanese customers and for export," Takeo Segawa, adviser to NMBS's
president, said. NMBS expects production to reach 1 million units a
month, with the current level between 300,000 and 500,000. The chips
cost approximately 10-20 percent more than the current rate for
DRAMs, but this is due to their increased performance. The
chips are expected to be used in equipment ranging from personal
computers and high-end workstations to facsimile machines
and digital televisions.

(Sean McNamara/19920424)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 24 Australia: Apple Establishes Developer Fund 04/24/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SYD)(00008)

Australia: Apple Establishes Developer Fund 04/24/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 APR 24 (NB) -- Apple Computer Australia has
established an AUS$10M capital fund to help struggling developers.
The fund is aimed as a catalyst for further investment from
Australia's generally conservative financial market.

The Apple Development Fund is a part of Apple's involvement in the
Federal Government's Partnerships For Development Program (PDP), and
will be administered by an Apple-appointed manager. The AUS$10M in
the fund is expected to be invested over a period of three years,
with the first investments to begin by the end of 1992.

Funding decisions would be made by a committee made up of executives
from Apple and the appointed management firm. The management firm
would make the decision on the type of funding which will be most
appropriate.

Apple itself hopes to acquire benefits from the fund as well. It
Expects some of the products which are invested in would end up as
Apple-badged products. However, David Strong, Apple Australia's
managing director, said that Apple's real "target is to come up
with unique products and bring world-class management to their
development."

It is hoped that successes involving these investments would spur
further investment from the wider financial community. "If we can
make some of these investments successful, we will change attitudes
and create some role models, said Strong.

(Sean McNamara/19920424)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 24 Australia: PCs Assist Banks With Loans 04/24/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SYD)(00009)

Australia: PCs Assist Banks With Loans 04/24/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 APR 24 (NB) -- The Advance Bank of Australia
has become the latest financial institution offering customized home
loans worked out on personal computers. The Advance Bank Loan
Planner was developed in-house to allow loan officers to quickly
establish the best type of loan for each application.

As part of the establishment of the service, Advance has purchased
AUS$650,000 worth of computers and printers, and has already
installed the equipment and software in its Sydney, Canberra, and
Queensland branches. The bank hopes to recoup this investment by
gaining a higher share of the home-loan market. Initial tests in
Sydney suburbs found an increase in consultations and loan
applications.

The planner was developed by bank programmers using the Paradox
database system. "The software development concentrated on producing
clearly presented material and on showing exactly how much money can
be saved by customizing loan structures," said Arthur Delbridge,
Advance Bank's assistant general manager.

Once details are entered, customers receive a printed copy of the
screen-based information, which includes a graph comparing the
customized and a traditional loan. Loan officers also benefit with
the reduction of paperwork needed to be filled in during
interviews.

Commenting on the motives behind the move, Delbridge
said, "Our investment in technology is part of our strategy to
combine the most up-to-the-minute banking technology with friendly,
helpful service," which in turn would hopefully lead to more
business for the bank.

(Sean McNamara/19920424)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 24 Australia: US Relinking To Vietnam Hopeful Sign For AOTC 04/24/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00010)

Australia: US Relinking To Vietnam Hopeful Sign For AOTC 04/24/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 APR 24 (NB) -- The decision by the US
Government to re-establish telecommunications links to Vietnam are
seen as a boost for AOTC (Australian and Overseas Telecommunications
Corp) in the region. AOTC's international arm, OTC, expects spin-off
benefits from the decision due to its large involvement in Vietnam's
telecommunications market.

OTC has a 10-year, AUS$250M agreement with the Vietnamese Government
which will see its joint venture company, Vietnam Telecom
International (VTI), operate as the sole carrier for the country's
international and public switched network business on a revenue
sharing basis.

In order for US carriers to make connections between Vietnam and the
US, they will need to book time on two satellite earth stations
managed by VTI. John Stanton, OTC spokesman, said that "all traffic
will be transmitted via Australia" from the first transmission. This
will continue until dedicated circuits are established.

AT&T has already signed agreements with Vietnam's Directorate-
General of Posts and Telecommunications (DGPT) covering the
establishment of the links. Although AT&T has claimed it will have
links established within days, OTC expects FCC clearance to hold the
move up. Despite such possible hold-ups, DGPT director general, Dang
Van Than, said, "I hope it will make a very important contribution
to the process of normalization between the two countries
diplomatically and economically."

(Sean McNamara/19920424)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 24 Microage 2Q Revenue Up 23% 04/24/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00011)

Microage 2Q Revenue Up 23% 04/24/92
TEMPE, ARIZONA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 24 (NB) -- Joining a growing list
of computer makers and sellers, Microage, Inc., has reported revenues
up significantly for its most recent financial quarter.

The computer reseller announced this week that revenues for the
second quarter was $232.5 million, a 23 percent increase over the
$189 million reported in the second quarter last year.

Net income was $1.2 million, or $0.25 per share, compared to $0.05
for the same period in 1991.

The company attributed revenue growth to an increase in sales to
large account clients and an increased demand for product from
existing stores, and purchased made by new Microage locations.

While revenue was up, gross margin percentage decreased from 6.9
percent last year to 6.5 percent this year. Microage said that
was primarily due to a shift in the company's revenue mix toward
lower margin business. Selling, general and administrative expenses
as a percent of revenue was off nearly one point, to 4.8 percent.

Microage completed a public offering of 1.5 million shares of common
stock at $13 per share, which Chairman Jeff McKeever said would be
used to reduce indebtedness under the company's revolving bank
credit facility and to take advantage of early payment discounts
offered by some vendors.

(Jim Mallory/19920423/Press contact: Nadine Wakely, Microage,
602-929-2440)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 24 Vietnam Long Distance Market Gets Competition 04/24/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00012)

Vietnam Long Distance Market Gets Competition 04/24/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 APR 24 (NB) -- Less than a week
after direct-dial service to Vietnam was allowed again by the
US government, it's become a competitive market.

Sprint said it has won direct-dial rights for Vietnam in
competition with AT&T, which originally sought the market
opening. Service is available immediately, using the country
code 84. The city codes for Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, formerly
Saigon, are 4 and 8, respectively.

Sprint also plans to offer a special "messenger" service through
the Vietnam Telecom International, the Vietnamese international
telecommunications administration. This will allow US
callers to send messages to Vietnamese who do not have
telephones, specifying that they call back -- collect -- at a
specific time. Vietnam Telecom International will deliver the
messages via its courier network.

Sprint also will offer its Sprint Express calling service for
calls from Vietnam to the United States. Sprint Express lets
callers reach the United States via a local toll-free number
that connects them with a Sprint operator in the United States.
For US business travelers, the service eliminates language and
currency barriers by allowing them to speak with Sprint operators
and charge calls to their calling cards. Vietnamese may use
Sprint Express to place collect calls to relatives in the United
States. In Vietnam, the Sprint Express number is 00-1111.

The service will initially be handled through satellite from
Australia, through AOTC, and later a second satellite service
through Teleglobe of Canada will be added. "The third option
will be our own direct circuits," said a spokesman, but Pacific
satellite space is limited.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920424/Press Contact: Vince Hovanec, Sprint,
202-828-7423)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 24 GEnie Plans Technology and Society Program 04/24/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00013)

GEnie Plans Technology and Society Program 04/24/92
ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, U.S.A., 1992 APR 24 (NB) -- Fresh on the
heels of its live online discussion with Presidential candidate
Jerry Brown, the Non-Profit Connection service on GEnie plans a
month-long seminar on the social consequences of technology.

Like the Brown session, the series of real-time discussions will
be moderated by public forum manager, Tom Sherman. On May 3 Howard
Rheingold, author of "Virtual Reality" and editor of "The Whole
Earth Review" will discuss living and working in computer-created
worlds. On May 10 Steve Cisler of Apple Computer will discuss
public access to information and control over high-speed data
systems. Cisler works with the Apple Library grant program and
has been involved in national networking issues for several
years. On May 24 Katie Hafner, co-author of "Cyberpunk: Outlaws
and Hackers on the Computer Frontier," and a former staff member
at "Data Communications" and "Business Week," will discuss the
social consequences of computer networks, including government
raids against private computer systems and its soliciting
proposals for viruses to disable enemy computers. Finally, on May
31, Jerry Berman, former chief legislative counsel for the
ACLU, will discuss on electronic free speech. Berman currently
directs the Washington, DC, office of the Electronic Frontier
Foundation.

All the real-time discussions, begin at 9 PM Eastern Time, and
GEnie members can join in from their home computers. GEnie is
the consumer online service of General Electric.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920424/Press Contact: Tom Sherman, Non-
Profit Connection, 215-328-9773)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 24 Dow Jones Signs Yet Another Gateway Deal 04/24/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00014)

Dow Jones Signs Yet Another Gateway Deal 04/24/92
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 24 (NB) -- Dow Jones
continued its program of expanding access to its wires by signing
an audiotex agreement with Pacific Bell covering its Message
Center voice mail service.

The two companies will provide a daily news report for selected
Message Center customers in area codes 213, 818, 310, 714 and
parts of 805. Daily Reporter will include a summary of the day's
news, a financial report and local sports news. The reports come
from Dow Jones' own audiotex operations, which include the
DowPhone stock service and JournalPhone news service. Each Daily
Reporter report will be no more than three minutes long and
delivered at 6 AM each weekday morning. Pacific Bell hopes to
eventually expand the range of topics, in cooperation with Dow
Jones. The first month of the service is free to select
subscribers, the regular price is 75 cents per category per
month.

The PacBell deal was made possible by an agreement Dow Jones
signed with Octel in February, allowing information providers to
deliver data directly into voice mail boxes through a service
called OctelClips, an extension of Octel's InfoTex software
announced in 1991. This is the second audiotex deal Dow Jones has
signed with a regional Bell company just in Southern California
this year. In March Dow Jones announced an agreement with
BellSouth to offer Personal InfoClips on its Los Angeles cellular
affiliate, at $2.25 per month. Personal InfoClips maintains a
profile of topics of interest, and in addition subscribers pay
regular cellular call rates when they access the clips.

Neither the PacBell nor BellSouth deals would have been possible
had not the Bells won the right to enter the information services
business. Dow Jones' flagship newspaper, "The Wall Street
Journal," had repeatedly editorialized to give them that power,
and continues to argue against attempts to roll it back in
Congress.

In addition, Dow Jones signed a gateway agreement with GEIS as
part of the latter's BusinessTalk System 2000 offering, called
the QuikInfo Service, and the company linked its Dow Jones News
Retrieval service to Fidelity Investment's Fidelity On-Line
Express service, created in cooperation with Meca Software.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920424/Press Contact: Pacific Bell, Lou
Saviano, 415/545-8191; Dow Jones, Roger May, 212/416-2601)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 24 Review of: Quality Software Management, Volume 1: Systems Thinking


(REVIEW)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00015)

Review of: Quality Software Management, Volume 1: Systems Thinking

From: Dorset House Publishing, 353 West 12th St. New York, NY 10014,
[phone]

Price: $40.00

PUMA Rating: 4 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Naor Wallach 04/24/92

Summary: A must-read book for every software manager. This is the
first of a series of books that will lead you to become a more
effective manager and in turn will cause the quality of your products
to go up.

======

REVIEW

======

Gerald Weinberg is a well-known author in the computer field. In his
forty year career in computing, he has published about as
many books. This time he turns his sights on the process of managing
the development of software. This is a 3-part series
in which the author examines what is happening in the field today,
and provides his prescriptions for how to improve the situation.

Volume 1 in the series is titled Systems Thinking. In this volume,
the author takes us on a tour of the patterns that he has identified
in software development. The author first discusses the six different
patterns that software organizations fall into in the ideal sense.
This is more of an upper level view as he does not believe that there
are any Pattern Four or higher organizations today.

With examples that are derived from his experiences, the author
shows us what characterizes organizations at the levels that he
believes most of the organizations are, and then points towards
the way that those organizations need to move to get to the next
stage.

The author believes (and I concur) that most software development
organizations have reached the level of routing development that he
characterizes as level 2. At this level, managers are comfortable in
the process and can guide it along smoothly as long as nothing
untoward happens. Once something that is outside of the routine
occurs, the organization essentially falls apart and the obvious
and immediate consequence is that the quality of the products suffer.

The author identifies the Pattern 3 organization as one that has its
managers steering the process so that when nonroutine things happen,
the organization responds well and does not decrease the quality
of work.

There are eighteen chapters in this 300-page book divided into five
sections. Each of the sections examines a different aspect of the
Pattern 2 organization and how it reacts. Section 1 is called Patterns
of Quality. The three chapters in this section concentrate on defining
the author's views of organizational patterns, defines the patters,
and talks a bit about the need to move from one level to the next and
why it is important that organizations do so.

The second section, "Patterns of Managing," contains five chapters that
dissect management. Managers are observed for what they do and how
they effect the real productive workers. Jerry pokes fun at many of
the myths of managers and outlines management behaviors that are well
known to any software developer who has worked in a company that had
a programming staff larger than one. Then he proceeds to explain the
real consequences of these behaviors and show how destructive they
can be when amplified. He introduces the reader to his diagram of
effects and explains the symbology as he introduces new concepts.
Many of the things he says are just plain good sense yet it is easy
to see how organizations can devolve into the absurd examples he
showcases. As a person who was involved in the software development
process in several companies, I can personally vouch for the veracity
of many of his examples. If you are laughing and shaking your head at
the stupidity of some of those managers that are described in the
book, you'd better make sure that your organization is not guilty of
the same follies!

The next section of three chapters goes into the reasons
why it's so easy to fall into the traps of mismanaging projects.
He clearly points out how things tend to get out of control, and
why. It is obvious from this description that most level 2
organizations cannot hope to avoid the problems that the commonly
encounter when under stress simply because of the kind of organizations
that they are. This section speaks as eloquently as any about the
need to move on to the next Pattern Level.

The fourth section "Fault Patterns" uses its four chapters to talk
about how an organization breaks. Anything will break if subjected
to stresses beyond its capabilities and human organizations are no
different. Jerry shows example after example of broken organizations.
He explains why and how they broke and proves that the signs of
stress in the organization were visible long before the tumultuous
breakup if the managers were simply capable of observing them and
realizing their significance.

The final section "Pressure Patterns" is a wrap-up section. He again
covers some more ways in which organizations fail. However he makes
an eloquent case for learning from these mistakes and shows how
all of what he spoke about before can actually be used to learn and
improve and move towards becoming a Pattern 3 organization.

I liked this book immensely. As I am someone who has managed software
development projects, the anecdotes and stories spoke to my heart. I
have personally seen many of the examples to which he refers.
If they did not occur to me, they happened to my colleagues or to
others in the organization. I can clearly see, as a result of reading
this book, that my company was mired in being a Level 2 organization.
On the good side, we had recognized this and are well on our way to
transforming ourselves to the Pattern 3 organization. I can only
hope that the next books in this series will be as good as this one.

The reason for the title is obvious once you have read the book. The
only way to bring about quality improvements in software products
is to manage the process better. The way to improve the process is to
see it as such and to start thinking about it from a systems level.

This book should be a must-read for any current and
prospective software manager. I would also highly recommend it to
any manager who has software components to his products or divisions
all the way to and including CEOs.

===========

PUMA RATING

===========

USEFULNESS: 4 This is a really good book. I enjoyed reading it very
much. As a matter of fact, I had to purposely pace myself so as not
to finish it in one or two sittings. The author identifies certain
characteristics of software development organizations. From my
experience, he has hit the nail on the head. He also offers ways
to improve the situation.

AVAILABILITY: 4 My local bookstores had copies. I also saw that this
book was selected as the lead book for a technical book club. It should
not be too hard to find.

(Naor Wallach/ 19920418)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 24 Brazil To Further Ease PC Import Restrictions 04/24/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00016)

Brazil To Further Ease PC Import Restrictions 04/24/92
BRASILIA, BRAZIL, U.S.A., 1992 APR 24 (NB) -- Brazil, whose
military dictatorship blocked most computer technology imports
back in 1984 on the grounds that it wanted to promote home-grown
industries, is slowly opening its computer market now that some
of the companies have become big enough to hold their own.

The present democratically elected government, headed by President
Fernando Collor de Mello, who took office in March of 1990,
received the approval of the country's elected representatives
back in September of 1991 to ease trade policies.

Under that September agreement Brazil reduced the number of
prohibited computer imports to 47 types of products, and the
final removal of all import restrictions was to have taken place
this October.

This week's move, taken in consultation with leaders of Brazil's
fledgling computer industry, has set July as the time for a mid-
stage easing of import restrictions on some of the still-
prohibited 47 product categories.

Although the exact number and types of products which will now
receive early approval for import were not disclosed, Washington
observers feel that this move is meant as a signal of good faith
by the Brazilian government, which is moving to open up its
markets even faster than it had earlier agreed to.

Brazil, having more land than the contiguous 48 states of the
US, is the largest country in South America with a population
of about 160 million. Brazil is unique in that its population is
mostly Portuguese-speaking, rather than Spanish-speaking as is
most of the rest of the population of Central and South America.

(John McCormick/19920424/Press Contact: Press Liaison, Embassy of
Brazil, 202-745-2700)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 24  ****US Drops Many High-Tech Export Restrictions 04/24/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00017)

 ****US Drops Many High-Tech Export Restrictions 04/24/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 24 (NB) -- The US
Department of Commerce will ease restrictions on the sale of
high-tech US technology with possible military applications to
members of the European Commission (mostly US allies in Western
Europe) as well as major Pacific Rim trading partners Japan and
Australia.

Since equivalent technology was already available and being sold
by members of the EC without resale restrictions, the Commerce
Department's move is seen as an effort to maintain and enlarge
US market presence both with its allies and with the countries
which purchase value added systems from those trading partners.

Some corporations headquartered in member countries of the EC,
namely Germany and Italy, have in the past been accused of
selling advanced technology to such countries as Iran and Libya.

President Bush said that although the trade restrictions were
necessary during the Cold War period for military and
intelligence-related reasons, they were no longer needed.

There has been no word about what will happen to the 17-nation
Cocom or Multilateral Export Control Coordinating Committee which
existed only to monitor those trade restrictions, but one
Washington observer pointed out that once a committee is formed
it is seldom disbanded and will probably continue to find
something to regulate and in fact not every high-tech item is now
available for unrestricted export.

Special export licenses were formerly required to export about
2,000 different high-tech products ranging from computers to
aircraft. One of the major reasons for the licensing was so some
control could be exercised over the re-export of those items to
non-friendly countries. That general resale restriction has now
been lifted but of course some countries, such as Libya and Iraq,
are under "universal" trade sanctions imposed by the United
Nations.

Supercomputer technology is still on the restricted "special
license" list, as is anything else which the Pentagon feels could
be used to develop weapons of mass destruction, such as nuclear
weapons or their missile-based delivery systems.

The NSA (the National Security Agency) is maintaining
restrictions on any technology that could be used to decrypt
secret messages.

Supercomputers, with their wide range of applications, fall into
both the intelligence and military hardware categories.

(John McCormick/19920424)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 24 ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 04/24/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00018)

ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 04/24/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 24 (NB) -- Roundup is a brief
look at some computer stories carried in other publications
received here this past week.

Telephony for April 20 looks at "America's Infostructure" by way
of Chicago's flood, which the city says is more devastating than
the famous fire.

PC Magazine dated May 12 looks at low-end desktop publishing and
compares the power of the PC with Macintosh, Sun, and Next systems.

Federal Computer Week dated 13 April says that FTS 2000 (Federal
Telephone System) pricing and evaluation procedures are
"unscientific."

Computer Monthly for April has a new column that offers direct
purchasing (mail order) guidelines.

Computer Reseller News says in the April 20 issue that Intel chip
prices are falling due to competition and that IBM and Compaq
both may, after some brutal price-cutting of their own, recover
some of the market share lost to low-cost clones.

Computerworld for the week of the 20th says that IBM is buying a
chunk of Parallan Computer to get a piece of the superserver
market - also, Computer Associates is revamping support and
pricing policies.

CommunicationsWeek dated 20 April says that Novell will remove
routing weakness from the IPX protocol, bringing the benefits of
the ability to send data across large internetworks and to
exchange data more quickly because of lower protocol overhead.

April's Lotus magazine tells why Windows 3.1 is better than the
first release (hint - it is faster and doesn't crash as often).

Networking Management for April looks at how easy it is to
specify ISDN or integrated services digital network, a
telecommunications network standard that allows voice and data
transmissions on the same line. The issue also explores high-
performance wide area networks.

(John McCormick/19920424)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 24 Microcom Acquires Client Server Technologies 04/24/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00019)

Microcom Acquires Client Server Technologies 04/24/92
NORWOOD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 24 (NB) -- Software
developer Microcom has acquired Client Server Technologies, a
local area network management software development company in New
Rochelle, New York. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

With funding from Microcom, Client Server Technologies has
developed LANlord, PC network management and control system. The
software currently works with Novell networks, said Microcom
spokesman Mark Williams. There are plans to extend it to other
network operating systems, he added, but no specifics are available
yet.

Client Server Technologies will be absorbed into Microcom as the
company's client server technologies group, Williams said. It will
be located in Yonkers, New York. Emerick Woods, founder and former
president of Client Server Technologies, has been named
vice-president and general manager of the new Microcom unit.

No jobs will be lost at Client Server Technologies as a result of
the acquisition, Williams told Newsbytes, and the company's
management will remain in place.

Microcom makes and sells networking and communications software,
and hardware for personal computers. The company is also the
developer of the Microcom Networking Protocol (MNP), and has
a unit in North Carolina that sells virus protection software,
Virex.

(Grant Buckler/19920424/Press Contact: Mark Williams, Microcom,
617-551-1681)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 24 AT&T To Manufacture In Canada 04/24/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00020)

AT&T To Manufacture In Canada 04/24/92
WATERLOO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 APR 24 (NB) -- Eight years after
the Canadian subsidiary was created, AT&T Canada has announced
plans for its first manufacturing in Canada. A plant belonging to
NCR Canada in Waterloo will make circuit packs for AT&T's FT-2000
Lightwave System, which transmits data and voice signals over
optical fiber.

AT&T acquired NCR last year. The NCR plant in Waterloo will
continue making circuits for NCR while adding two shifts on a
circuit production line to produce the parts for AT&T. Production
is to start late this year.

The move will add about 50 jobs to the existing staff of roughly
600 at the Waterloo plant, AT&T Canada spokeswoman Suzanne Berman
told Newsbytes. Production of the surface-mount technology circuit
packs in Waterloo will supplement existing production of the parts
at an AT&T factory in Massachusetts, Berman added. The parts will
be distributed globally.

AT&T said its purchasing of materials from local vendors will also
benefit the local economy.

Within a year, AT&T plans to begin manufacturing circuit packs for
two other transmission products, the DACS II Digital Access and
Cross-Connect System and the DDM-2000 Network Multiplexer, at the
plant. AT&T also expects to begin research and development
activities in Canada on Synchronous Optical Network (SONET)
transmission.

AT&T Network Systems, based in Morristown, N.J., sells these and
other transmission systems in Canada, the United States, and around
the world to telephone companies and other service providers.

By the end of 1993, the company said, the Canadian operation will
produce more than 30,000 circuit packs, valued at $20 million, each
year.

(Grant Buckler/19920424/Press Contact: Suzanne Berman, AT&T Canada,
416-756-5034; Rich Meyer, AT&T Network Systems, 201-606-2453)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 24 Northern Telecom Earnings Up In First Quarter 04/24/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00021)

Northern Telecom Earnings Up In First Quarter 04/24/92
MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 APR 24 (NB) -- Northern Telecom
recorded a modest increase in both revenue and net income in the
first quarter of 1992. Revenues rose two percent from US$1,860
million in the 1991 first quarter to US$1,900 million, while net
earnings rose about 11 percent from US$93.7 million to US$104.2
million.

Net earnings applicable to common shares rose from US$88.1 million
to US$100.9 million, and earnings per share increased from 36 cents
to 41 cents.

Northern Telecom also reported that it received US$1,920 million in
orders in the first quarter, up 18 percent from the first-quarter
1991 figure of US$1,630 million. Orders on hand as of March 31 were
US$2,990 million, the company said.

Northern reported that it cut selling, general, and administrative
expenses to US$353 million in the first quarter of 1992, compared
to US$363 million in the first quarter of 1991.

This was the result of ongoing, routine efforts to control costs,
company spokesman Preston Peek told Newsbytes, and not part of a
formal cost-cutting program.

Meanwhile, research and development spending increased in the first
quarter of 1992, reaching US$220 million compared to US$207 million
in the same quarter of last year. As a percentage of sales, R&D
spending rose from 11.1 percent in the year-earlier quarter to 11.6
percent in the quarter ended March 31, 1992, Northern Telecom said.

The company said its international sales were strong, led by the
European market. Revenues were flat in North America, company
officials reported, but order growth was strong in the United
States.

No figures were available at Newsbytes' deadline on the percentage
of Northern's sales coming from international markets. Peek said
the company will release that information in early May.

In a prepared statement, Northern Telecom's chairman, president,
and chief executive, Dr. Paul G. Stern, said he was pleased with
the first-quarter results but cautious about the rest of the year
in the light of continued economic uncertainties around the world.

(Grant Buckler/19920424/Press Contact: Guy Gill, Gary Brandt, or
Preston Peek, Northern Telecom, 416-566-3178)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 24 Computer Sciences Gets US Air Force Contract 04/24/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(TOR)(00022)

Computer Sciences Gets US Air Force Contract 04/24/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 APR 24 (NB) -- The United States Air
Force has awarded Computer Sciences Corp., a multi-million-dollar
contract to provide support services at the Edwards Air Force Base
Flight Test Range in California and the Utah Test and Training
Range.

Computer Sciences spokeswoman Mary Rhodes said the base value of
the contract is $194 million through September, 1995. If all
options are exercised, she said, the contract could be worth as
much as $575 million to CSC over eight years.

The company is to provide engineering and technical support
services for flight testing at the two ranges, which Rhodes said
are the two hubs of US Air Force flight testing. These services
will include engineering support for flight testing and training as
well as maintaining and operating the data collection and
processing systems at the test ranges.

Computer Sciences has some 1,200 people working at the Edwards and
Utah test ranges, Rhodes said.

The award suggests Computer Sciences has emerged relatively
unscathed from a controversy in Congress in March over a contract
with the federal government's Environmental Protection Agency. CSC
was accused of overbilling the agency about $13 million for one
year of a single contract. At the time, Democratic Senator David
Pryor of Arkansas called for the company to be suspended from
government work, though he placed much of the blame for the
incident on poor government supervision.

Earlier this year, Computer Sciences won the military
Computer-Aided Acquisition and Logistics Support (CALS) network
contract, potentially worth about $650 million over its 10-year
life. The company is also responsible for operating the U.S. State
Department's international data system, which handles
communications among diplomatic missions abroad.

Also this week, the systems engineering and development division
announced it has teamed with Computer Sciences and Andersen
Consulting to bid for the United States Army's Sustaining Base
Information Services (SBIS) program. That 10-year contract is
expected to be awarded early in 1993.

(Grant Buckler/19920424/Press Contact: Mary Rhodes, Computer
Sciences Corp., 213-615-0311)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 24 Mercury Places $17M Order With Ericsson 04/24/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00023)

Mercury Places $17M Order With Ericsson 04/24/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 24 (NB) -- Mercury Communications has
placed a major order with Ericsson of Sweden for the supply of
the company's AXE telephone exchanges. Terms of the $17 million
contract call for Ericsson to supply the equipment for use on
Mercury's growing national network in the UK.

The AXE switches will be used to interface British Telecom (BT)
subscribers to the Mercury network for long distance and
international telephone service, while still using BT for the
local loop and local telephone services.

Newsbytes understands that part of the contract calls for
Ericsson to supply its service management application system
(SMAS), a computer-based system that allows data to be used from
the AXE equipment and used for billing plus other requirements in
real time.

Despite being located in separate countries, Mercury and Ericsson
are becoming very close. Ericsson has been working with Mercury
on a number of projects, including the installation of fiber
optic switching technology and digital data networks.

(Steve Gold/19920424/Press & Public Contact: Mercury
Communications - Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 24 Big Blue Takes Stake In Hungarian Computer Company 04/24/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(MOW)(00024)

Big Blue Takes Stake In Hungarian Computer Company 04/24/92
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY, 1992 APR 24 (NB) -- IBM has expanded its
presence in Hungary by investing "a major sum" in Muszertechnika,
a Hungarian computer reseller operation. The reseller will handle
Big Blue's products on an authorized basis as part of the deal.

IBM has had a wholly owned subsidiary in Hungary since 1936,
before the start of the second World War, which accounts
for the fact that a number of the company's mainframes are
in active use in the country. The cash stake in Muszertechnika,
however, will see IBM's PS/1 and PS/2 range of computers available
in Hungary on an authorized basis for the first time. IBM
now has a network of 18 agents and 16 dealers in the country.

Muszertechnika is a large concern, with operations running into
several tens of millions of dollars. Last year the company
accounted for 75 percent of all computer imports into Hungary.
Muszertechnika was established in 1981 and now has 400 employees
and 1991 revenues of 2.1 billion forints (US$200 mln). It is
engaged in hardware sales and telecommunications equipment
manufacturing in cooperation with Ericcson. The firm also
distributes Fujitsu, 3Com, Siemens and WordPerfect products.

According to the Associated Press news wire, Muszertechnika has
not been confining its activities to computers -- in 1990 the
company formed a joint venture company with Ericsson of Sweden to
manufacture telephone exchanges locally. The deal was one of the
first for the newly liberalized country.

Tibor Hejj, chief executive of Muszertechnika, said, "I like to
think that Muszertechnika's existing dealer network and our wide
knowledge of Hungarian customers is an attractive asset to bring
to the alliance. I am delighted that we are joining the IBM
family of dealers and agents. I look forward to even greater
progress now that we have access to IBM's impressive product range."

Balasz Menesi, another chief executive of Muszertechnika, refused
to give further comments to Newsbytes stating that the company
is unwilling to disclose details other than that which was
included in the press release. He also refused to say whether the
IBM investment will create more jobs in the company.

(Steve Gold & Kirill Tchashchin/19920424/Press Contact: Balasz
Menesi, Muszertechnika, phone [phone]; fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 24  ****Moscow: Communications Ministry Deregulates Prices 04/24/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00025)

 ****Moscow: Communications Ministry Deregulates Prices 04/24/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 APR 24 (NB) -- Communication prices in
Russia are no longer state-regulated, except for the regular
residential phone service, now that a decree has just been
signed by Yegor Gaidar, Russian vice prime minister.

Communications tariffs are "freed" and will be subject to rules
and regulations established by local communications authorities.
The only unchanged prices are the 14-rubles a month for basic
residential phone service.

The Ministry of Communications and its local subsidiaries are
short of cash and need more funds to modernize its infrastructure.
The chief of the Moscow phone network was quoted as saying that
the city network may break even financially only if the price
rises from the current 14 to 50 rubles per month.

The announcement was made by Mr Aljoshin, deputy minister, at the
Ministry of Communications meeting in the afternoon and
delivered to the participants of the Relcom network meeting by
Anatoly Chesnokov, head of the Ministry's licensing department.

"The Ministry of Communications will continue licensing of
new communications providers trying to establish [themselves in
a] competitive environment," he said.

Relcom executives and local communications experts all tell
Newsbytes that the Ministry of Communications and its local
subsidiaries are, in fact, monopoly service providers.

Earlier this year, the Congress of Exchanges, a powerful
business lobbying organization, asked the government to force
the splitting, or demonopolization, of the communications
industry, according to Valery Bardin of Relcom. In response,
Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed a decree which effectively
protects the Ministry from being divided. The decision to
remove state regulations will speed up business lobbying
efforts, Bardin suggested.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920424/Press Contact: Anatoly Chesnokov,
Ministry of Communications, phone [phone] or 201-6271)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 24 Review of: Star Micronics NX-2430 Printer 04/24/92



(REVIEW)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00026)

Review of: Star Micronics NX-2430 Printer 04/24/92

From: Star Micronics America, Inc., 420 Lexington Ave., Suite
2702, New York, NY 10170. Phone [phone] or 212-986-6770.

Price: $399 (list)

PUMA Rating: 4 on a scale 1=lowest to 4=highest

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: John McCormick, 04/24/92.

Summary: An excellent example of a low- to mid-range 24-pin dot-
matrix printer with lots of built-in features.

======

REVIEW

======

The Star NX-2430 Dot Matrix Printer is the latest member of the
Star Micronix printer line and shows, if nothing else, that the
24-pin dot-matrix printer is far from dead, even with today's
sub-$1,000 laser printers.

A great many business applications require the dot matrix or even
daisy wheel printer's form-feed capabilities, making it common to
have or at least need both an impact and laser printer in the
same office (including home offices).

For non-business users, the dot matrix printer can meet most
needs, but the low-end DM printer is popular even in larger
offices because with the ubiquitous laser printer available for
"quality" printing, there is less need for a high-end daisy wheel
printer.

The number of fonts and character sizes available on this dot
matrix printer surpasses the capabilities of low-end lasers, and
the cost per page is less since you need only feed this printer
new ribbons, not toner cartridges and drums.

Something you might never have thought about is the power
question. Laser printers draw a lot of power just sitting there
idling, enough that I have seen networks brought down by the
combined power surges of several laser printers.
This isn't a common problem, but it does point out that new
technologies are not without the potential for exciting new
problems.

Unpacking and setup of the NX-2430 took less than five minutes,
although admittedly I am an expert at that sort of thing.

Continuous fanfold paper can be run over the back or up from the
bottom, or you can insert single pages of typing paper for those
high-quality letters.

A serial port is optional but the evaluation unit came with the
standard Centronics parallel port which, along with everything
but the power cord, is located toward the front of the printer,
on the right side instead of the back panel.

Operator controls are found on the front of the printer, with
status indicator lights and a complex LCD readout.

The NX-2430 is about as small as a continuous form printer can
get, weighing 14 pounds and measuring only 17-by 13-by 6 inches.

Included in the printer's non-volatile memory are two draft- and
nine letter-quality fonts: draft, high-speed draft, Roman, Roman
Proportional, Sanserif, Sanserif Proportional, Courier, Courier
Proportional, Prestige, Prestige Proportional, and Script.

Print sizes include: Pica (10 characters per inch), elite (12
cpi), semi-condensed (15 cpi), condensed pica (17.1 cpi),
condensed elite (20 cpi), super-condensed (24 dpi), and
proportional spaced print with its variable cpi count.

Maximum print speed is rated as being 240 characters per second
using semi-condensed size at draft quality, but the printer will
crank out even large pica in high-speed draft quality at a shade
over 200 cps.

Epson and IBM printer commands and character sets are supported.

A highly useful feature is the ability to record a macro of your
control panel button programming. There are 13 built-in print
styles, including emphasized, sub-and super-script, underlining,
italics, and shadow.

What can you say about a printer?

Well, you can say a lot if it doesn't work right, but when it
runs as smoothly as this Star Micronix product, about all you can
do is admire it.

Print quality is quite good, certainly good enough for producing
average quality business correspondence or to fill in if the
laser is down, and even the draft quality is good enough for most
uses. The selection of font styles and sizes is quite good and the
noise level is acceptable. I found the script font (simulates
handwriting) to be surprisingly good, but it is best used in
moderation for special emphasis.

Have you ever had software that argued with you about font
selection? By that, I mean the problem that sometimes occurs
when you are trying to print some text in one mode but the
particular program stubbornly keeps resetting your printer.
The NX-2430 eliminates that problem with a simple press of the
Font button during power up. Locking out software control leaves
you free to print in script or whatever font and size you wish,
regardless of what your software wants to do.

If you hold down three buttons (Font, Pitch, and Eject/Park)
while you turn the printer on, you can modify the default
settings of everything ranging from whether you have a print
buffer or use memory to hold downloaded characters, to the font
and character size that will be set each time you turn the
printer on.

A one-page "User's Guide" printed on glossy card stock provides a
quick reference to the major features. This mostly deals with the
complex options available via the front control panel.

An optional 50-sheet automatic sheet feeder is available. I
didn't test this option or the optional power tractor but I have
found that power tractors are a good option to have with most
printers.

Optional font cartridges and extra memory are also available.

============

PUMA RATING

============

PERFORMANCE: 4 Fast and relatively quiet (54db) - no problems
during two-month test period.

USEFULNESS: 4 Font and typeface lock and other features make it
very useful.

MANUAL: 4 Documentation is a well-designed spiral-bound notebook
that includes detailed set-up instructions as well as more
advanced topics.

AVAILABILITY: 4 This is a major brand that is widely available.

(John McCormick/19920424/Press Contact: Jay Winter, Star
Micronics, 212-986-6770 or fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 24  ****Accolade Reprieved In Sega Fight 04/24/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LAX)(00027)

 ****Accolade Reprieved In Sega Fight 04/24/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 24 (NB) -- In the latest turn
of the merry-go-round lawsuit Sega has brought against Accolade,
Accolade has been granted a stay by The Court of Appeals for the Ninth
Circuit of an order modified last week by the District Court. That
order would have required Accolade distributors to cease selling Sega-
compatible game cartridges and return those cartridges to Accolade
pending the outcome of the suit.

Accolade says the higher court responded to its appeal within 48 hours
of the filing and granted the company's motion for an expedited appeal
which should now take place in July of this year.

Sega filed the suit to attempt to stop Accolade from distributing game
titles that are compatible with its Sega Genesis game system
hardware. Sega has been claiming Accolade is misleading consumers into
believing the games were licensed by Sega. Accolade says the
misleading part was created by Sega, who redesigned its game system
hardware so when any cartridge is inserted into the system, a message
appears that says "Produced By or Under License From Sega Enterprises
Ltd."

Sega lost the original round of the suit when the court said the case
wasn't specific enough and the game manufacturer had to specify the
works which are the subject of the copyright claims, the acts
constituting the alleged copyright infringement, and the dates when
the alleged infringement occurred. Accolade meanwhile has filed a
countersuit accusing Sega restraint of trade, trademark infringement,
and unfair business practices. The countersuit also seeks recovery
from Sega for allegedly misleading consumers into believing that
Accolade's compatible video game cartridges are either produced by or
licensed from Sega.

The issue here seems to be over whether or not it is legal to produce
software compatible with a computer system without paying the maker of
the computer system for the rights to do so. Sega's acts in its suit
against Accolade have been condemned by the American Committee for
Interoperable Systems (ACIS) as an attempt to stifle manufacturers of
compatible software for any computer system. ACIS is populated by
leaders in the computer manufacturing industry including Chips and
Technologies, Phoenix Technologies, Seagate Technology, Zenith Data
Systems, and Sun Microsystems.

Peter Choy, chairman of ACIS and deputy general counsel of Sun
Microsystems said: "The life blood of the computer industry is the
ability of any competitor to make and distribute interoperable
software and hardware."

Alan Miller, chairman and president of Accolade, said about this latest
round: "I ... want to stress my great relief that the higher court has
clearly begun to understand the devastating effects on the entire
American software industry if reverse-engineering, or the process of
studying commercially available hardware and software to understand
how it works, is deemed illegal."

Newsbytes understood from sources close to the case that the judge in
the case became angry when it was brought to light that Accolade sent
a letter to its distributors saying it would ignore the court's
previous ruling and everything would be "business as usual." The
letter was brought to the judge's attention by Sega and prompted the
order for Accolade to pull its software and inform its distributors in
writing of the order.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920424/Press Contact: Charlotte Taylor Skeel,
Accolade, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Hilary Hanson, Ketchum
Public Relations for Sega, tel [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 24 New Optical Trade Association Forming 04/24/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00028)

New Optical Trade Association Forming 04/24/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 24 (NB) -- The Optical Storage
Trade Association, a new optical storage trade association, is
being formed to promote standards and use of optical storage
devices such as WORMs, rewritable optical drives, and various CD-
ROM type standard drives. Nakamichi Peripherals' senior vice
president, Tom Parkinson, was elected interim chairman of the
association during its start-up phase.

Companies with representatives attending the recent preliminary
organization meeting in Chicago included: ADIC, Cal-ABCO, Corel,
Hewlett-Packard, KAO, Maxell, Maxoptix, Micro Design, MOST,
O.C.E.A.N., Olympus, Sony, TEAC and Verbatim.

Peripheral Strategies' president, Michael Peterson, the new
Association's facilitator, told Newsbytes that there are solid
members already in the new Association and that there will be two
important meetings in the near future.

A May 14 meeting in San Jose, California, will be another
organization get-together, while a June 23 meeting at the
DisneyLand Hotel in Anaheim (during the AIIM show) will include
a mini-conference and a presentation by the new association of its
goals and plans.

Mr. Peterson also shared with Newsbytes some of the fledgling
association's goals which have already been decided. The
association will not be involved directly in developing and
setting standards, nor does it plan any lobbying operations, but
it will work to show business how it can use optical storage
technology through local and regional applications workshops, and
through common advertising campaigns.

The group's first goal, according to Mr. Peterson, is to build a
case with business showing how it can best use optical storage.

(John McCormick/19920424/Press Contact: Tom Parkinson, 714-373-
9989 or 408-374-8300, or Michael Peterson, 805-569-5610)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 24 The Enabled Computer 04/24/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00029)

The Enabled Computer 04/24/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 24 (NB) -- The Enabled Computer
is a regular Newsbytes feature covering news and important
product information relating to high technology aids for the
disabled, by John McCormick.

This is a continuation of a more in-depth look at some of the
entries in the 1991 National Search for Computing Applications to
Assist Persons with Disabilities run by Johns Hopkins Applied
Physics Laboratory. I acted as one of the judges during the final
judging which took place in early February at The Smithsonian in
Washington.

Unicorn Keyboard: The first prize winner, Arjan Khalsa's Unicorn
Engineering's Unicorn Smart Keyboard, is a $395 answers the
need for a standardized membrane-type keyboard that lets
motor-impaired users access Apple IIGS, most Macintosh, and
IBM-compatible computers, including PS/2s.

The Unicorn Smart Keyboard is "smart" because it doesn't require
any user set-up or programming to define the keyboard, it attaches
to any standard computer, and requires no special adapters - just
the correct cable for the particular computer (one cable is
included in the price). The Smart Keyboard comes with a selection
of tough plastic overlays, each of which automatically sets the
keyboard via a simple barcode.

To install the keyboard you need only plug it in to the
computer's standard keyboard port, turn on the computer, and
slide the desired keyboard overlay in place. The seven standard
(included) color overlays for the Unicorn Keyboard all measure
8.5 inches by 13 inches, providing a large workspace, but leaving
the keyboard itself small enough to be manageable.

The seven overlays include: full alphabet with return and space
keys; alphabet with numbers, Esc, shift, punctuation, space, and
return keys; arrows, space, return, Esc, Yes, and No; number pad,
QWERTY IBM-like a 101-extended keyboard; QWERTY Apple/Mac style;
and a setup overlay that lets users easily modify the response of
the extremely sensitive keyboard.

Minutes before being awarded the first place prize, and the
$10,000 prize, the keyboard's inventor, Arjan Khalsa, told me
that he had just returned from the National Science Foundation
where he had shown his invention and been told that his company
would receive a research grant to help develop the unit.

Ironically enough, Mr. Khalsa said, "I think some people will be
mentioning this keyboard before a Congressional hearing next week
- I will sure look bad if I don't win first place." This
conversation took place just before we all went in to the awards
banquet, and he had no idea that his product had won first place.

Applications outside the enabling technologies field would
include simple, inexpensive custom overlays for PC-based cash
registers so small businesses could inexpensively add the same
sort of automated customer service that only large fast food
chains such as McDonalds are now able to afford with their custom
overlay cash registers.

Although there are a number of included configurations, a $100
software kit to customize the keyboard further will be available
by summer.

The base membrane covered by the overlays contains 576 individual
keys mapped automatically by the code embossed on the overlays or
custom-programmed by the user.

I personally tested the keyboard and found that it was extremely
responsive, requiring only a very light touch, substantiating the
inventor's claim that his membrane keyboard has the lightest
touch of any on the market.

The Unicorn Smart Keyboard will be shipping by March and a
separate Apple IIe card and cable are under development.

For further information, contact Unicorn Engineering, 5221
Central Ave., Suite 205, Richmond, CA 94804. Phone [phone]
or 510-528-0670.

Much more on other entries in later columns.

(John McCormick/19920424/)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 24  ****NY Credit Card Fraud Case Broken By Chance 04/24/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(NYC)(00030)

 ****NY Credit Card Fraud Case Broken By Chance 04/24/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 APR 24 (NB) -- Two New York
high school students, arrested on Wednesday, April 22nd for
allegedly purchasing computer equipment through stolen
credit cards, were, according to police sources, apprehended
primarily due to an error on their own part.

According to reports, the arrested youths, Rodolphe Loil, 17 and
an unnamed 15 year-old, had obtained the credit card information
of innocent individuals from so-called "cracker" bulletin-
board systems (BBSs) and, armed with this information, charged
$1,500 in computer software to the account of Hussain Zulfikar
of Queens, New York City. The youths allegedly planned to
reroute the delivery from the vendor, Creative Computers of
Lawndale, California, to another address by calling the vendor
to alter the shipping address but waited too long to make the call
and the software was instead delivered to Zulfikar.

New York City Police Sgt. Lloyd Vasquez, supervisor of the 110th
precinct anti-crime unit which arrested the youths, told Newsbytes
that Zulfikar contacted Creative Computers and that the
parties determined that a credit card fraud had been committed.
On April 22nd, the youths came to Zulfikar's apartment,
purporting to be couriers and representatives of Creative
Computers, and asked Zulfikar for the software, saying that they
would see that the $1,500 charge was removed from his credit
card. Zulfikar delayed them and called the management office
in his building which, at his direction, called the local police
precinct.

Vasquez told Newsbytes, "When we arrived, the youths were just
leaving with the software. They were arrested by Officer Harold
Fox and were subsequently charged with computer tampering,
computer trespass, and grand larceny. The 15 year-old, because
of his age, was released to his parents while the 17 year-old
spent the night in jail and was released on bail the next day.

The investigation is continuing. In the course of questioning the
prisoners, they told officer Fox that they had been educated in
the methods of computer crimes such as this by an older, more
experienced hacker, the officer said. "They said that they had
gotten the credit card number from a BBS and they maintained that
this was the first time that they had done such a thing."

Vasquez called those arrested "bright boys who come from what
appear to be very good homes." He says their parents were
surprised to hear of the arrests, and that they claimed they
"never knew that the computers could do such things or could
bring their sons into contact with the type of persons who
would draw them into crime." The officers was told that the
15 year-old had received a computer as a Christmas gift in
reward for obtaining very good school grades.

Loil is a student at Aviation High School while the 15 year-old
attends Christ the King. Both schools are in Queens, New York.

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19920424)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 24 Microsoft To Develop Windows NT Programs For DEC's Alpha 04/24/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00031)

Microsoft To Develop Windows NT Programs For DEC's Alpha 04/24/92
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 APR 24 (NB) -- Microsoft
Corporation and Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) announced
jointly today that the two companies would collaborate to produce
Microsoft Windows NT products that would be compatible with DEC's
new Alpha 64-bit RISC (reduced instruction set computer) computer.
A news conference announcing this was still being conducted at
Newsbytes' deadline.

A Newsbytes story in February of this year reported that DEC and
Microsoft were negotiating to develop software for Alpha, a
superfast 64-bit processor which allows a desktop PC to run at about
the same speed as a Cray-1 supercomputer.

Microsoft and DEC have had a collaborative and cooperative
relationship for the past seven years and this agreement is an
extension of that relationship, Microsoft spokeswoman Linda O'Neill
told Newsbytes.

O'Neill said the agreement has three main components.  First,
Microsoft will port Windows NT to the Alpha platform.  Second,
Microsoft will develop Windows NT applications to run on the Alpha
system.  O'Neill said this would include its most popular business
productivity programs such as Excel and Word. Digital will also
provide systems integration, support and service, customer training,
and consulting support for Microsoft products.

Alpha was announced by DEC in late February. Alpha supports both
single processor and massively parallel systems, and is able to run
multiple operating systems, according to DEC.

Despite its speed, Alpha is expensive, with the processor chip
selling for over $3,000 each in quantities of up to 100, and about
half that for larger quantities. Digital has said that it will
license the chip to anybody who wants to buy it, including other
chip manufacturers.

Microsoft has said that it expects to release Windows NT before the
end of the year, with the beta and software development kits to be
available in July when Microsoft hosts its Windows NT Developers
conference.

(Jim Mallory/19920424/Press contact: Linda O'Neill, Waggener
Eddstrom for Microsoft, 503-245-0905)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 24  ****DAK Industries To Sell Software Wholesale 04/24/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00032)

 ****DAK Industries To Sell Software Wholesale 04/24/92
CANOGA PARK, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 24 (NB) -- DAK Industries,
known for mail order electronic goodies, is creating a
new division to distribute software products to retailers.

President Drew Kaplan said DAK plans to keep the mail order end of the
company, but says the company's management information systems (MIS)
could give it an extra efficiency other software distributors don't
have. Kaplan claims DAK ships in excess of 10,000 orders per day and
already has in place software and technical phone support services.

DAK is known for its low prices and unusual offers, like a $199
compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) drive or a 386SX computer free
with a the purchase of a $1,499 bundle of 16 brand name software
titles including Microsoft Word for Windows 2.0, Paradox 3.5,
Objectvision 2.0, and Norton Desktop for Windows. Kaplan said: "The
result of this competition should ... (be) greater consumer interest
and phenomenally lower pricing of the products."

In the initial offering are products from Softkey Software Products, a
company that acquires application packages from developers and
distributes them through retail channels with its own "Key" private
label. DAK mentioned Softkey's Keyfonts for Windows 3.1 with a 100
Truetype compatible fonts and Keydraw Plus which DAK compares to
Artline 2.0.

As part of its marketing strategy, DAK plans to offer a free bonus or
a two-for-one with each retail package, Kaplan said. DAK says it is
looking for dealers and plans to process initial orders within two
weeks of receiving them. The company is also looking at original
equipment manufacture (OEM) deals for the software it plans to
distribute.

Plans include free support for the software from DAK via dedicated
support phone lines separate from the company's mail order and
customer service lines.

Kaplan says he started selling electronics products in college, a
business that has grown into DAK (Drew A. Kaplan) Industries. DAK's
catalogs contain actually a short list of products, but each product
is explained in painstaking detail in "stories" bylined by Kaplan
himself. Kaplan says he plans to be personally involved in the early
stages of this new distribution venture.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920423/Press Contact: Brian Eggers, DAK Industries,
tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public Contact, 800-325-0800)

#ENDCARD






#CARD :1992 APR 23 Ontario Govt Proposes Technology Investment Fund 04/23/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(TOR)(00001)

Ontario Govt Proposes Technology Investment Fund 04/23/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 APR 23 (NB) -- The
government of the province of Ontario hopes to set up an investment
fund that would channel investment into high-technology firms in the
province. The proposed Ontario Investment Fund would rely mainly
on large pension funds for money to put into technology ventures.

The province's Ministry of Treasury & Economics and Ministry of
Industry, Trade, & Technology, have released a discussion paper
on the proposed fund, and have set up a project team to manage
further consultations.

The discussion paper warns that the standard of living in the
province has not risen as fast as the average of industrialized
countries in recent years, and that unemployment in Ontario is on
a rising trend. One reason for this problem, it argues, is a lack
of investment in new technology to modernize industry in the
province.

The paper says the province needs a way to develop "new sources
of long-term capital that can be invested in industries that are
adapting to the new economy or are being created by it."

The government proposes that the Ontario Investment Fund would
solicit as much as C$2,000 million in long-term investment capital
on a voluntary basis from institutional investors, including
pension funds. It would invest this money in investments that "earn
market, risk-adjusted rates of return." Its investments would be
long-term ones, and it would also provide management assistance,
help develop expertise in assessing and managing new types of
investments, and help companies develop partnerships and
networks. The fund's mandate would also call for investments to be
"economically and environmentally sustainable," the paper says.

The paper stresses that nobody, including public-sector pension
funds, would be required to invest in the fund.

Felix Chee, treasurer of the provincially-owned electrical utility,
Ontario Hydro, has been seconded to the province to head the
project team that will hold consultations on the proposal.
Consultations are scheduled to begin right away. The province is
asking for input from business, investors, unions, and others.

(Grant Buckler/19920423/Press Contact: Wendy Cuthbertson,
Ontario Ministry of Treasury & Economics, 416-325-0333; Helen
Burstyn, Ontario Ministry of Industry, Trade, & Technology,
416-325-6700)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 23 Toymaker Turns To CAD/CAM Software From EDS 04/23/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00002)

Toymaker Turns To CAD/CAM Software From EDS 04/23/92
KWUN TONG, HONG KONG, 1992 APR 23 (NB) -- Precision
Moulds Limited (PML), a subsidiary of US toy manufacturer Mattel,
has turned to Unigraphics software from EDS (Electronic Data
Systems) to upgrade its computer-aided design and manufacturing
(CAD/CAM) systems from a PC-based to workstation-based
environment.

The Unigraphics systems, running on three Sun Sparc 2GX
workstations, will extend PML's capabilities to solid modeling,
surfacing, analysis, three-dimensional drafting and machining. One
workstation will employ Unigraphics Graphics Machining Products
to create the toolpath for machine cutting.

"After several years of experience with less powerful PC-based CAD
systems we were keen to speed up our design process," said M.K.
Chan, director of PML. "Unigraphics is not only much faster but also
provides a CAM toolpath that is directly linked to our CNC cutting
machines. By automating these tasks, we expect the whole design
process from, initial drafting to manufacturing, to be at least 15
percent more efficient than before, with a comparable rise in the
consistency of our manufacturing procedures."

PML manufactures moulds for Mattel's full range of toys, including
Hot Wheel Cars and Barbie Doll, at its plant in Kwun Tong. The
design process begins with three-dimensional part drawings
prepared by Mattel in the US. These are transferred by modem to
PML's workstations where Unigraphics is used to create three-
dimensional tool drawings and the toolpath.

Later, design details on the three-dimensional model can be
enlarged, rotated and shaded to enable easy viewing. In addition,
the toolpath can be modified at any time, or when design changes
are necessary.

(Norman Wingrove/19920423/Press Contact: Donald E. Davidson,
EDS, [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 23 Silent Partner, Compuadd To Develop "Codeless" Retail Apps 04/23/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00003)

Silent Partner, Compuadd To Develop "Codeless" Retail Apps 04/23/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 23 (NB) -- Compuadd Information
Services (CIS) and Silent Partner Software have announced that they
will jointly develop customized software applications for the retail
industry.

The two companies said that CIS will use Silent Partner's innovative
"codeless" software to develop "cost attractive transparent
hardware and software solutions for department stores, restaurants,
convenience stores, grocery stores, and other retailers."

Silent Partner said the applications can be run immediately on all
major operating system platforms, regardless of the hardware or
operating system in use. CIS President, Darvy Lavender, told
Newsbytes that Silent Partner has taken specific machine
instructions and developed a procedure by which they can
paramaterize the requests that are going to be occurring, put that into
a database, and execute that database as if its an engine for that
processor. Lavender said that while the application would be
generic to different hardware and software platforms, a separate
engine would be used to read the application database, which
understood the platform. "I think it's a great, great philosophy," said
Lavender.

Silent Partner President, Wayne Moritz, told Newsbytes that Silent
Partner has the ability to move data and applications across
operating systems wthout programmer intervention. The software
can also design screens, interrelate multiple screens, define pop-up
and pop-thru windows, and could build an inventory and receiving
system in a few hours or less. "The client can expect to slash
development groups by 80 percent or more," said Moritz.

Moritz said that the programs' "brain" contains a compiler, which
creates the application on the fly, then executes it. When the
application is exited, nothing remains except the applications
"personality files," the engine, and the customer data. "This gives
the customer the ability to alter the application and SPS the
ability to enhance the engine independent of each other," said
Moritz. SPS requires about 400 kilobytes of RAM.

Moritz said that SPS currently runs in DOS, Unix, Aix, and concurrent
DOS, as well as some network environments. "We have it running in
the Symbols Technologies handheld batch portable collection units
and are working on the radio units," Moritz told Newsbytes.

The two companies said they will develop a modular suite of retail
management applications which retailers can mix and match to
meet their needs. The programs can be customized to work with
POS (point-of-sale) systems, scanners, cash registers, hand-held
tracking systems, PCs or even mainframes. "This alliance allows
us to bridge the gap between hardware performance and software
capabilities," said Lavender.

CIS is a custom software service recently spun off from Compuadd
Computer Corporation. A related announcement said that CIS has
also formed a joint marketing alliance with Compuadd Computer to
provide POS and other retail-related systems to retailers who
require both hardware and software systems. Silent Partner also
announced that it had signed an agreement with Symbol
Technologies to convert Silent Partner's codeless technology to
handheld batch and radio units.

While he was reluctant to discuss price structure, Lavender told
Newsbytes that the hardware/software systems being offered the
retail market by the CIS-Silent Partner alliance "will be very cost
competitive with all the other people who are generating software
packages" for the retailer market.

(Jim Mallory/19920423/Press Contact: Cynthia Stine, Capital
Relations for CIS, 214-907-9500; Gilbert Chinnos, Silent Partner
Software, 813-886-0316)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 23 Integrated Dealers To Shorten DEC PC Sales/Support Channel 04/23/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(HKG)(00004)

Integrated Dealers To Shorten DEC PC Sales/Support Channel 04/23/92
SHAUKEIWAN, HONG KONG, 1992 APR 23 (NB) -- Digital
Equipment Asia has announced a special distribution strategy that
will be used for its new DECpc 320sx LP and DEC325sx LP desktop
computers.

The new PCs, the first to be designed and built by Digital, will be
sold and supported by Integrated Dealers in each country, working
closely with Digital sales and marketing representatives.

"The Integrated Dealer will source the PCs direct from Digital and
provide personal service direct to corporate customers, thus
bypassing the traditional distributor-dealer structure," explained
Alan McMillan, regional PC marketing manager for Digital Asia.
"By eliminating a link in the distribution chain, we can offer our
customers better prices, faster service and more personal support.
Integrated Dealers will provide delivery and first-line support, and
they will be able to call on Digital's own engineers and software
specialists for backup support."

One Integrated Dealer will be appointed for each country or area,
based on Digital's evaluation of each candidate's track record in
the PC marketplace, financial stability, and technical excellence.

In Hong Kong, the Integrated Dealer is Onflo Computer Co Ltd.,
which was set up in 1981 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Onflo
International Group. The Onflo Group was founded by Dominic
Cheng, who was voted Information Technology Personality of the
Year in 1990.

Integrated Dealers have also been appointed in six other
territories: South Grand Systems Pte Limited in Singapore; Prodec
Information Company in Taiwan; PT Astra Graphia in Indonesia;
Arrow Advance Technology in Beijing; Tonwick Computer in
Shanghai; and Force Trade Advance Technology in Shenzhen.
According to the company, more Integrated Dealerships will be
announced soon.

"We've identified well established PC specialists that can offer
our customers a wide choice of add-on hardware and third-party
software to add value to their Digital PCs," said McMillan. "In many
cases, they will be establishing separate companies specifically
to handle the Digital business. They will satisfy market requirements
in the area of staffing and response time to service calls. They will
offer the same level of service that Digital offers now, except that
they will concentrate on PC technology. That's why we're calling
them 'Integrated' Dealers. They will be a genuine part of the Digital
team in each country."

As well as selling direct to corporate customers, the Integrated
Dealers will supply local value-added resellers, which will use
the Digital PCs as a platform for systems that address specific
vertical markets, or specialized requirements such as local
language capabilities.

"With their in-depth understanding of the local desktop marketplace,
and their knowledge of the reputable resellers, our Integrated
Dealers will be adept at identifying opportunities," said McMillan.

(Norman Wingrove/19920423/Press Contact: Walter Cheung,
Digital, [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 23 Digital Launches First Taiwan-Built PCs 04/23/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(HKG)(00005)

Digital Launches First Taiwan-Built PCs 04/23/92
SHAUKEIWAN, HONG KONG, 1992 APR 23 (NB) -- Digital
Equipment Corporation has launched the first PCs designed and
built by Digital in Asia. The company says the move is a major
new commitment to the desktop marketplace.

According to the company, the DECpc 320sx LP and DECpc 325sx
LP are industry standard, 386-based personal computers priced
aggressively against competing products. They are built in Digital's
Taiwan plant, which has achieved MRP II (Manufacturing Resource
Planning) Class A status, for worldwide distribution.

"Our corporate customers are under increasing pressure to minimize
costs but are fearful of sacrificing quality, service and the assurance
of a long-term commitment from their vendor by resorting to no-name
clones," said Joseph W. Ford, Digital Asia's vice president of sales
and marketing. "Digital resolved to create a manufacturing and
distribution strategy that would enable us to meet these customer
concerns by delivering a first-class product at a competitive price,
with the full backing of Digital's engineering, support, maintenance,
and financial strengths."

Digital says the PCs have already won strong backing from corporate
customers in Asia. In Hong Kong, the Stock Exchange has ordered
more than 1,600 units in one of the largest PC contracts ever signed in
the territory.

The DECpc 320sx LP and DECpc 325sx LP are identical apart from
their CPUs (central processing units), which offer 20 megahertz (MHz)
and 25 MHz performance respectively. The 20 MHz version
incorporates a CPU chip from Intel, while the 25 MHz version chip is
fabricated by Advanced Micro Devices.

Both systems use MS-DOS 5.0 and Microsoft Windows as their
standard operating environment. The PCs have been adapted to
suit local language requirements within Asia. They are also certified
to run Pathworks and Novell NetWare.

System memory starts at two megabytes (MB), using 70 nanosecond
SIMM (single in-line memory module) technology, and can be
expanded to 32 MB. Three full-sized 16-bit expansion slots provide
for growth or customization of the configuration.

Recommended base configurations for both models feature a 52
MB hard disk with 17 millisecond access time and on-board IDE
(integrated drive electronics) controller. A high-density 3.5-inch
diskette drive is also included, with 5.25-inch drive available as an
option.

The on-board video controller supports resolutions up to 1024 by
768 and has its own 512 kilobyte video memory. This video
controller will support VGA monochrome, VGA color, and Super
VGA color monitors.

Much detail design has gone into making the new DECpc models
among the finest on the market, according to Joe Cosgrove, vice
president of manufacturing for Digital Asia. "The memory SIMMs
are held in place by metal rather than plastic clips," he said. "A
front-to-back metal reinforcing bar strengthens the chassis and
provides extra support to the expansion card cage. Each system is
subjected to rigorous 'shake-and-bake' tests before being shipped."

(Norman Wingrove/19920423/Press Contact: Walter Cheung,
Digital, [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 23 Emerald Systems Opens European Office In The Netherlands 04/23/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00006)

Emerald Systems Opens European Office In The Netherlands 04/23/92
HOOFDDORP, NETHERLANDS, 1992 APR 23 (NB) -- Emerald
Systems, the backup and network data management technology
company, has opened an office in the Netherlands, to service and
support its customers.

Located in Hoofddorp, near Amsterdam, the office is in the large
Intexo Schipol complex, one of Europe's largest industrial parks.
According to Scott Turner, vice president of Emerald's
international operations, the site was chosen after consulting
with the company's distributors.

"It's adjacent to one of the best cargo airports (Schipol airport) in
the world and is roughly in the center of our European operations.
This will enable fast turnaround of service and repair work for our
European customers," he said.

To date, while Emerald's products have been sold through the
various distributors across Europe, any servicing has had to be
carried out back in San Diego, the company's international
headquarters.

Plans call for the company to relocate its existing small London
office to the Netherlands. Despite all the changes, technical
hotline support will still be handled from the US, with calls
answered between noon and 1am, UK time.

Outside of these hours, Emerald is offering an "emergency"
technical support facility, although the company is charging for
this service. To make life easier for European customers, a new
fax facility for technical problems has been introduced.

So why all the shuffles? According to Emerald, half the company's
business now comes from international sales and it sees Europe
as having potential for major expansion. The reason for the sales
surge is the number of Novell Netware users in the European
marketplace (Novell has 70 percent of the European market
according to latest UK market research figures), an area in which
Emerald specializes in servicing.

The new Emerald Systems European service and sales center is
located at Hoeksteen 26, 2132 MS Hoofddorp, Netherlands.

(Steve Gold/19920423/Press & Public Contact: Emerald Systems
(US) - tel [phone]; fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 23 New For Mac: Adaptec Personal Laserwriter NTR Controller 04/23/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(LON)(00007)

New For Mac: Adaptec Personal Laserwriter NTR Controller 04/23/92
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1992 APR 23 (NB) -- Adaptec has contracted
with Apple Computer to design and manufacture the next generation
laser printer controller for the Apple Personal Laserwriter NTR
printer.

Plans call for the controller to use Advanced Micro Devices'
(AMD's) reduced instruction-set computing (RISC) microprocessor.
The controller will also incorporate Adobe's Postscript Level 2
page description language with auto-sensing and switching
technology.

According to Adaptec, the inclusion of Postscript technology will
enable the printer to intelligently process print files from Apple
Mac and other host systems.

"We've worked closely with Apple to design and manufacture a
product consistent with Apple's reputation for offering the
highest quality printers," explained Tom Stobier, Adaptec's
imaging products' general manager. "Our technical expertise in
the controller arena helps Apple achieve price/performance
leadership in today's laser printer marketplace."

Adaptec is not placing any timescale on the new controller. The
company's deal with Apple is open-ended, however, sources
close to Apple suggest that the new controller will be released
within the next few months. Pricing on the unit has not yet been
decided.

Stobier said that, while the controller will be sold by Adaptec,
a considerable degree of liaison between the company and Apple is
necessary to produce such a product. "We work with companies in
the early stages of product development to design and manufacture
controllers that help them efficiently being to market leading
price/performance products," he said.

(Steve Gold/19920423/Press & Public Contact: Adaptec Europe,
[phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 23 New For PC: Secretary's Handbook For DOS/WIndows 04/23/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00008)

New For PC: Secretary's Handbook For DOS/WIndows 04/23/92
SAN FRANCISCO. CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 23 (NB) --
In an effort to eleviate some of the secretarial burden, Reference
Software International, in conjunction with Secretary's Day, has
introduced The Electronic Complete Secretary's Handbook.

The Handbook, which begins shipping this week, is one in The
Instant Answers series of electronic reference guides, which also
includes: The Electronic Business Writer's Handbook; The
Electronic Financial Mathematics Handbook; and the Electronic
Associated Press Stylebook.

The company claims that The Electronic Complete Secretary's
Handbook is actually a manual on running a business. The
company maintains that the software would be useful for anyone
who writes business correspondence, plans events, manages an
office or needs a quick reference for accounting or finance
questions.

It is based on the best-selling hard cover version (with over one
million copies sold), and provides sample business letters that
can be exported into word processing files for editing.

Nina Frank, spokeswoman for the company, told Newsbytes that
the Electronic Complete Secretary's Handbook is "like using a
reference book." She explained that the user "brings it up on the
screen" and is presented with "a table of contents." The user then
clicks on a subject, and there are multiple layers of subjects
beneath.

There are buttons on the top of the screen, said Frank, which is a
control panel. These button offers such features as returning to the
page before, or going to the page after, or returning to the
beginning of the chapter.

The Instant Answers products can be used as both TSR
(terminate-and-stay-resident) programs that sit in memory and can
be activated at any time, and as stand-alone programs. The
company says that the product comes in both DOS and Windows
versions shipping in the one package, with a suggested retail price
of $59.

According to the company, information is provided on such topics
as financial planning and writing tips, punctuation and stylistic rules,
desktop publishing guidelines, and sample business letters. All
screens can be printed if a hard copy is needed. The company
maintains that each Instant Answers product includes both DOS
and Windows versions on disk, which are instantly accessible from
all word processors, spreadsheets and any other PC programs.

Frank told Newsbytes that the product is "really for anyone that
runs an office." The "secretarial" reference in the title was a little
misleading, she said, as the product offers much more than those
features, but "we are bound to keep the name as we bought the
rights to the book."

The DOS version requires DOS 3.0 or greater and 55 kilobytes of
RAM. The Windows version requires Windows 3.0 or 3.1.

(Ian Stokell/19920423/Press Contact: Lois Tilles or Nina Frank,
Reference Software International, 415-541-0222)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 23 Japan: NTT May Raise Phone Number Inquiry Fee 04/23/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00009)

Japan: NTT May Raise Phone Number Inquiry Fee 04/23/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 23 (NB) -- NTT's President, Hitoshi
Kojima says he wants to raise the fee for telephone number
inquiry service. Currently, it is 30 yen (20 cents) per inquiry, but
according to his idea, the fee might be raised to 50 yen (25 cents).

Telephone number inquiry services used to be free until two
years ago. NTT claims that callers of other common carriers
are exploiting NTT's service.

NTT's president claims that 30 yen is not still enough -- the
firm suffered from about 220 billion yen ($1.6 billion) debt
last year.

According to President Kojima's plan, NTT will invest 40 to 50
billion yen (around $330 million) to rationalize the facility, and
cut down the number of operators. Currently, there are about
20,000 operators throughout Japan. The increase in the phone
inquiry fee has not still been decided officially.

NTT is thinking of lending more telecom terminals to frequent
users of inquiring phone numbers. It is called the Angel Note,
which is a B5-size notebook-type computer. With this device,
the inquiry fee is 10 yen (7 cents) per inquiry present. It is
expected that this fee will also be raised slightly in the near
future.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920423/Press Contact: NTT,
[phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 23 Illinois Rewriting Telecom Law 04/23/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00010)

Illinois Rewriting Telecom Law 04/23/92
SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 23 (NB) -- For the
second time in less than a year, a unit of Ameritech is battling to
have a state's telecommunications laws rewritten in its favor.
While Michigan Bell won most of the pricing flexibility it wanted,
Illinois Bell may have a tougher time.

Under provisions of Illinois' sunset laws, basic
telecommunications regulations were to have been rewritten last
year. But in a late compromise, the law was extended a year and
it now expires May 15. New Republican Governor Jim Edgar has
replaced regulators who favored a "telecommunications free
state" in Chicago with academics who might tilt toward consumer
interests, but the legislative balance of power did not shift
much, and both sides are staking out their positions.

As in Michigan, Bell wants more pricing flexibility, while
consumer groups want that flexibility limited. And some
legislators want to just pass another extension. Public hearings
will be held on all proposals, and they will likely be stormy.

Last year's hearings were held against the backdrop of the
controversial Caller ID issue, and consumer groups are warning
that Illinois Bell has a secret plan to ram-through a pro-Bell
bill. The Citizens Utility Board said the three most likely
proposals -- price freezes, inflation-adjusted rate increases,
and a plan to "share" earnings with ratepayers -- would all
result in unnecessary charges, while a Bell spokesman said
nothing the company proposes would raise rates. Both
statements may be accurate, however, since costs to provide
basic service continue to decline with improved technology.

In Michigan, the legislature last year passed a bill, favored by
Michigan Bell, which makes it easier for it to raise basic
service rates in exchange for lower long distance charges.
Critics, including AT&T, unsuccessfully called the bill an
attempt to discourage competition, allowing Bell to create its
own fiber "rings" around major cities and pass those costs on to
homeowners, while entering the in-state long distance business.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920423)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 23 Ameritech Puts In Late Bid For Part Of Centel 04/23/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00011)

Ameritech Puts In Late Bid For Part Of Centel 04/23/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 23 (NB) -- One week after a
company deadline, Ameritech put in a bid for part of Centel, the
telephone company which, in January, asked to be bought-out .

Ameritech said in a short statement, that it submitted bids only to
buy Centel's local telephone network in Illinois and its cellular
properties in Indiana, Ohio, and western Pennsylvania. When
Centel Chairman, John Frazee, announced in January he would
seek bids for his company, in whole or in part, through April 16, a
"feeding frenzy" was expected to materialize among Bell
companies and others for the properties, but that does not appear
to have happened.

The first indication that no such bidding war would develop came
when GTE decided against bidding for any portions of Centel.
Further evidence came when Pacific Telesis declined to put in an
immediate bid for Centel's Las Vegas telephone network. At the
time PacTel did indicate it might bid on something if the company
were broken up later.

Centel was formed in 1926 and owns local phone operating
companies providing service to 1.6 million lines in Florida,
Illinois, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and Virginia. It
also operates 44 cellular systems in 14 states and holds minority
interests in 32 more systems, including those in Chicago, New
York, Houston, and Kansas City, for a total of 18.7 million
"pops," or potential customers.

Before Centel's annual meeting in Chicago, its board was
appraised of the course of bidding, but Frazee declined public
comment. The company does have the option of refusing a sale
and staying in business, if it remains profitable.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920423/Press Contact: Steve Ford,
Ameritech, 312-750-5205)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 23  ****Telecom Strike Stops Columbian Long Distance Calls 04/23/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00012)

 ****Telecom Strike Stops Columbian Long Distance Calls 04/23/92
BOGATA, COLUMBIA, 1992 APR 23 (NB) -- Workers protesting
Columbia's plan to privatize its National Telecommunications
Company cutoff international telecommunications, just as the
nation's Congress prepared to debate privatization.

The strike, by 14,000 workers, effectively cut off all long distance
services, including international calls. Workers occupied hallways
in the company's headquarters, while the head of the strike
committee demanded that the company remain in state hands.
The government called the strike "blackmail" and declared
it illegal. It also ordered that the union leaders be fired. The
company called it unjustified because talks were still continuing.
Local links were not impacted by the strike, since most major cities
in the country have separate, locally-owned phone networks.

The strike goes against the grain of privatization moves
throughout Latin America that are helping turn domestic economies
around. Argentina made peace with its lenders earlier in the week,
helped by the sale of the EnTel phone monopoly to European
interests. Mexico's economy is booming, spurred by the 1989 sale
of its TelMex monopoly to a group led by Southwestern Bell of the
US. Venezuela sold its CANTV network to a group headed by GTE
of the US, then weathered a coup against President Carlos Perez.
Leaders of Brazil and Peru have also spoken in favor of selling
their Telebras and EnTel networks, respectively.

In Columbia, Telecom's total monopoly was broken by a
government decree in 1990, and private companies can now
provide cellular services there. The law currently being discussed
would turn Telecom into a public company for sale under a system
like that used by Argentina.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920423)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 23 Fleet Call Wants National SMR Networks 04/23/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00013)

Fleet Call Wants National SMR Networks 04/23/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 APR 23 (NB) -- Fleet Call, which
owns a number of Specialized Mobile Radio networks in major
cities, has asked the Federal Communications Commission to
auction unlicensed channels in that frequency range so that
national SMR networks can be established.

Fleet Call spent millions in the last year for its frequencies,
and earlier this year announced an affiliation agreement with
Racotek of Minneapolis which will transform its channels into
combined, two-way voice-data networks competitive with cellular
phone nets. However, all its networks are local -- there is no
way to achieve "roaming," as is available for cellular customers.
Despite statements by Racotek that 90 percent of companies
requiring mobile communications for workers in the field only
need local service, Fleet Call is anxious to set up a national
network.

The petition by Fleet Call also goes to the heart of a desire by
President Bush to auction off the frequency spectrum instead of
holding lotteries or giving away spectrum based on a "public
interest" test. Fleet Call Chairman, Morgan O'Brien, obviously
prefers the President's position, saying: "By adopting our
proposal, the FCC would speed that process without requiring any
new spectrum or reassigning existing licensing." He called the
creation of a nationwide SMR system "inevitable" and claimed
that an auction would bring substantial new capital to the SMR
industry.

SMR channels were first licensed in the early 1980s for local
mobile calling. They are used by taxi fleets and other dispatching
services. Federal Express also uses SMR channels to link its
deliverypeople to central computer facilities in Memphis. The
frequency is lower than the frequencies used by cellular phone
carriers, and most SMR systems consist of a single antenna with a
service radius of about 35 miles, although repeaters can improve
service in major cities.

In addition to the Racotek scheme, Motorola has proposed a plan
called Enhanced SMR, or ESMR, which would further increase the
capacity of the channels, making them even more competitive with
cellular carriers, especially when carrying data.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920423/Press Contact: Fleet Call,
201-438-1400)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 23 Hughes Plans Direct Broadcast Of Up To 150 Channels 04/23/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00014)

Hughes Plans Direct Broadcast Of Up To 150 Channels 04/23/92
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 23 (NB) -- GM's
Hughes division plans a direct broadcasting network with up
to 150 channels, in cooperation with the National Rural
Telecommunications Cooperative. The NRTC, which represent
rural electric and phone cooperatives serving 12 million people
in 48 states, will pay a distribution fee of up to $250 million for
DirecTv, which will originally have about 20 channels similar to
those available in urban cable television systems.

Currently, many rural people have their own satellite dishes,
costing about $2,000 each, which can pick up any satellite-
delivered programming. However, most cable programmers now
scramble their signals, rendering the dishes useless except for
those who like foreign shows or do not mind buying descramblers
on the black market.

Under the agreement, Hughes is responsible for acquiring
programming for the 20-channel package. Hughes plans to expand
capacity using digital compression, and protect its programs
using encryption, just like the regular cable nets. NRTC will use
a home receiving system developed by Thomson Consumer
Electronics and distributed under the RCA brand, as well as a
security system provided by News Datacom.

The service will be carried on a high-powered direct broadcast
satellite now scheduled for launch in December 1993.  The
satellite will carry programming services for both DirecTv and
United States Satellite Broadcasting, which bought five
transponders last summer for its own services. Hughes
has the remaining 11 on the first satellite, and designated five
for the NRTC -- a second satellite with 16 transponders is
totally committed to NRTC. When the system is in full operation
at 101 degrees West longitude, more than 150 programming
services could be offered.

NRTC currently provides C-band satellite equipment and a
program packaging service known as Rural TV to its members,
as well as telecommunications services to support other utility
activities in its market areas.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920423/Press Contact: Thomas M.
Bracken, DirecTv Communications, 310-535-5027; Jeff Almen,
NRTC, 703-787-0874)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 23 Quotron Launches IBM-Based Brokerage System 04/23/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00015)

Quotron Launches IBM-Based Brokerage System 04/23/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 APR 23 (NB) -- Quotron
Systems, the troubled brokerage computing company controlled
by Citicorp, has introduced Advantage AE, a new product for the
market based on IBM computers and Microsoft Windows. It is the
first non-proprietary offering by Quotron, which has been steadily
losing market share to rivals since Citicorp bought it.

The new architecture lets brokers view multiple markets and
perform multiple tasks simultaneously, explained Alan Weiss, vice
president of sales and marketing. The IBM RISC System/6000
servers and PS/2 workstation systems, linked via standard local
area networks, makes it more cost-effective. The servers run
under AIX, IBM's version of Unix.

Installation, maintenance and customer support services for
the new product are provided through the a IBM-staffed support
center, set up as part of the alliance formed between Quotron
and IBM formed in December, 1991.

Meanwhile, Citibank's former vice president of information
systems for Global Finance, Joseph P. Castellano, was named
vice president and chief information officer at Nynex's Telesector
Resources Group. Citibank's alliance with IBM may have
undermined Castellano's power there, some analysts say.
Telesector is the successor to the supply unit Nynex had to close
after a scandal, so naming an outsider to head the group's
billing and customer service systems will be approved by
regulators.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920423/Press Contact: Roxanne Taylor,
Quotron Systems, 212-898-7212; Nynex, Betsy Ricci, 914-644-5014)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 23  ****Cellular Carriers Get Behind IBM Celluplan 04/23/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00016)

 ****Cellular Carriers Get Behind IBM Celluplan 04/23/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 23 (NB) -- Nine
major cellular phone operators and IBM provided details on their
previously-announced plan to provide packet data service on their
networks.

Units of Ameritech, Bell Atlantic, Contel, GTE, McCaw Cellular,
Nynex, PacTel, Southwestern Bell, and US West said they plan
to offer an industry standard, based on IBM's Celluplan IITM
technology, which will allow data to be transmitted on existing
cellular networks, in the idle time between voice calls. The
resulting system would pass data at 19,200 bits-per-second (bps),
four times faster than the Ardis system owned by IBM and
Motorola, and has already been demonstrated.

There will be other proposals brought to the cellular industry,
through its Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association,
however. Cellular Data of Mountain View, California wants to
create a packet network at 2,400 bps, using the frequencies
between calling channels. Motorola has offered open
licensing of the RD-LAP scheme it plans to use in upgrading
Ardis, which would also run data at up to 19,200 bps.

Still, analysts say, the commitment of so many major industry
players to IBM's scheme gives it a major leg-up. Of particular
interest is the fact that leaders of both the Cellular One group,
headed by Southwestern Bell and McCaw, as well as the
unnamed Bell Cellular group, headed by GTE, are getting behind
Celluplan. One reason may be the relative low cost of Celluplan,
estimated by the carriers at just five percent of the cost of their
current systems.

What's in it for IBM? Besides licensing fees, its IBM Information
Network would provide a backbone for field trials of the new
scheme this summer, and perhaps extended service beyond the
trial. IBM's on-line network would pick up enormous amounts of
valuable digital traffic for calls running between systems, giving
it a major leg-up in its competition with BT Tymnet, Sprintnet,
and General Electric.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920423/Press Contact: GTE Mobilnet,
Janet Henderson, 404-391-8357)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 23 Cognos Ports PowerHouse To Alpha 04/23/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00017)

Cognos Ports PowerHouse To Alpha 04/23/92
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 APR 23 (NB) -- Cognos has
adapted its PowerHouse fourth-generation programming language
to run on the Alpha architecture that Digital Equipment announced
earlier this year. Cognos will offer PowerHouse for Digital's
OpenVMS and OSF/1 operating systems running on the Alpha-
based systems DEC is expected to make available in a few
months.

If Cognos' experience is a guide, many software developers will
find it fairly easy to adapt their products from Digital's existing
VAX systems to the new Alpha machines. Patrick O'Leary, director
of Cognos' Digital Business Unit, said porting the software to
Alpha was quite straightforward.

O'Leary noted, however, that PowerHouse is written in the C
language, for which Digital is providing on compiler on the Alpha
systems. Applications written in older languages such as DIBOL will
cause more trouble, he said. Parts of the PowerHouse code were
written in older VAX C rather than the standard version backed by
the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), he said, and had
to be rewritten, but the whole process took only about four weeks.

O'Leary said Cognos was impressed with DEC's implementation
of VMS on the Alpha hardware and with the migration tools the
company provided for software developers.

PowerHouse users will not have to change their applications at all
to run them on Alpha systems, O'Leary said. They will simply need
to recompile the code.

O'Leary said the Alpha architecture is likely to be good news for
software developers like Cognos that focus on minicomputers, as it
will probably help move minis up into mainframe territory and make
them more suited for critical business applications. He noted that
Hewlett-Packard and Data General, two other mini-makers whose
hardware runs versions of PowerHouse, are also extending their
product lines upward.

(Grant Buckler/19920423/Press Contact: Lyse Teasdale, Cognos,
tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 23 Boston Computer Museum Hosts Virtual Reality Display 04/23/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TOR)(00018)

Boston Computer Museum Hosts Virtual Reality Display 04/23/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 23 (NB) -- For
two days, the Computer Museum is offering visitors a chance to
explore virtual reality. In what the museum says is the first public
demonstration of virtual reality using networked personal
computers, two people at a time will be able to meet in an
imaginary, three-dimensional universe and build an imaginary
house.

The demonstration will use personal computers built around Intel
486 microprocessors -- two per person -- an Ethernet local area
network connection, joysticks, control wands, and specially
designed helmets that track head movement.

Anna Laurita, a spokeswoman for Intel, told Newsbytes the system
costs about $25,000 per person. That, she said, is considerably
cheaper than a dedicated virtual reality workstation, which would
be more like $100,000.

Visitors to the exhibit will put on helmets and earphones that
create the illusion of stepping into an artificial world. They will
use wands to pick up objects and joysticks to move themselves
and the object around. In this demonstration, a variety of parts for
building imaginary houses -- such as walls, different roof shapes,
and so on -- will be supplied, and two people will be able to work
together in the virtual universe to build a house. They will also
be able to make themselves larger and smaller to see the virtual
universe from different points of view.

Liz Armbruster, a spokeswoman for the museum, said this two-day
exhibit is a preview of a permanent exhibit that will open this
summer, entitled "Tools and Toys: The Amazing Personal
Computer." That exhibit will include a virtual reality demonstration,
she said.

Intel and Sense8 Corporation created the exhibit for the Computer
Museum.

(Grant Buckler/19920423/Press Contact: Liz Armbruster, The
Computer Museum, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 23 Reorganization First Job For New Apple Canada Boss 04/23/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(TOR)(00019)

Reorganization First Job For New Apple Canada Boss 04/23/92
MARKHAM, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 APR 23 (NB) -- A
reorganization to focus the company on four categories of
customers will be the first priority for Peter Jones, who has just
taken over as president of Apple Canada.

The restructuring is part of a worldwide Apple move that creates
business units for the institutional (large business and government),
education, consumer, and small-to-medium business markets.

In an interview with Newsbytes, Jones said Apple is addressing
such a broad market through so many distribution channels now
that it needs to deal with different groups of customers in different
ways. "The way we target our corporate customers... is much
different than our approach to the consumer," he said.

Jones' old job at Apple Canada -- vice-president of sales -- will
disappear, to be replaced by four divisional managers. Apple
Canada's field sales and marketing force will be divided among
the four business units rather than geographically as before.

Jones also said he is pleased with Apple's progress in the large
business market, and with the company's drive to build market
share. Apple captured 20 percent of the personal computer market
in Canada in 1991 by unit sales, he said, making it the number-one
vendor in the country. Jones also quoted figures from AC Neilsen,
a market-research firm, giving Apple's Powerbook notebook
computers 35 percent of laptop and notebook computer sales in
Canada in the last two quarters.

Jones, who succeeds David Rae in the top job at Apple Canada,
also said he hopes to continue Rae's push to have Apple do more
manufacturing and purchasing of products in Canada.

(Grant Buckler/19920423/Press Contact: Franca Miraglia, Apple
Canada, 416-513-5511; John Elias, National Public Relations for
Apple Canada, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 23 Minority Shareholders In Telesat Canada Protest Takeover 04/23/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00020)

Minority Shareholders In Telesat Canada Protest Takeover 04/23/92
MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA, 1992 APR 23 (NB) -- Two
minority shareholders in Telesat Canada, the domestic satellite
communications carrier, are protesting a bid by the regional
telephone companies to take full control of Telesat. Canadian
Pacific and Ontario Northland Transportation Commission say
Alouette Telecommunications, which is jointly owned by the
telephone companies, is unfairly trying to force them to sell their
shares.

Canadian Pacific, a diversified transportation and communications
company based in Montreal, owns 3.7 percent of Telesat. Ontario
Northland, an agency of the province of Ontario, owns 0.24 percent.
Recently, the federal government agreed to sell its 53 percent
stake to Alouette Telecommunications, a company set up by the
telephone companies and satellite manufacturer Spar Aerospace
to bid for Telesat. The telephone companies already owned 41
percent of the company. The rest is held by a Telesat employees'
fund.

Canadian Pacific also owns 60 percent of Unitel Communications,
a Toronto-based company that has asked federal regulators for
permission to compete against several of the regional telephone
companies in providing long-distance service.

A statement of claim filed in an Ontario court by Canadian Pacific
and Ontario Northland against Alouette and Telesat says that
Alouette's offer to purchase does not comply with terms of the
Canada Business Corporations Act, the proposed acquisition of
the plaintiffs' shares contravenes the Competition Act, and the
action is unfair to CP and Ontario Northland.

Alouette officials could not be reached for comment by
Newsbytes' deadline.

(Grant Buckler/19920423/Press Contact: Graeme McMurray,
Canadian Pacific, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 23 Lotus To "Reference Sell" E-Mail Gateway 04/23/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00021)

Lotus To "Reference Sell" E-Mail Gateway 04/23/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 23 (NB) -- The
cc:Mail division of Lotus Development will offer its customers a mail
gateway to link its cc:Mail network electronic mail system with
Systems Network Architecture Distribution Services (SNADS)
electronic mail systems from IBM. The gateway comes from
LinkAge, a small Toronto networking firm.

In a "reference selling" arrangement, Lotus salespeople will put
customers in touch with LinkAge, which will sell, install, and
support the gateway, a Lotus spokeswoman said.

The gateway enables direct connection between cc:Mail and
SNADS-compliant systems such as IBM's OfficeVision/400 (OV/400)
or IMI Computing's OfficePath product, Lotus officials said, as well
as OfficeVision/MVS (OV/MVS) via Distributed Office Support
Systems (DISOSS).

The gateway automatically converts cc:Mail messages and
addresses into SNADS format and vice versa. With support for
multiple binary attachments, Lotus said, users on either side of the
gateway can create a message, attach documents, spreadsheets
or other files to the message, and send it to other users. Delivery
notification is also supported across the gateway.

According to the Lotus spokeswoman, more than half of all
customers who use cc:Mail also have some form of SNADS-
compliant host-based electronic mail systems in their
organizations and would be potential buyers for the gateway
product.

Including installation, support, and training by LinkAge, prices
for the gateway in the United States begin at $10,000 to service
three cc:Mail post offices. The gateway is available now, and
Lotus will be selling it worldwide, the spokeswoman said.

(Grant Buckler/19920423/Press Contact: Shelley Harrison, Lotus,
415-961-8800 ext 134; Constance Mazelsky, McGlinchey & Paul
for Lotus, 617-862-4514)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 23 Emerald Systems To Debut Xpress Librarian At Networld '92 04/23/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00022)

Emerald Systems To Debut Xpress Librarian At Networld '92 04/23/92
FRANKFURT, GERMANY, 1992 APR 23 (NB) -- Emerald Systems
will unveiled Xpress Librarian II, its latest network data management
system, at Networld '92 Europe, which opens April 28, in Frankfurt,
Germany.

According to Emerald Systems, Xpress Librarian II is more than a
traditional backup and restore system. The package runs under
Microsoft Windows and has been designed to be easy to install,
something that Emerald claims is unusual when it comes to network
backup software.

Announcing the planned launch of the package, Dale Munk, the
company's chief operating officer, claimed that Xpress Librarian II
is, "the premier software package in our migration from being
the industry's best developer of tape backup products to being
the leading supplier of network data management solutions."

According to Munk, Xpress Librarian II is designed for mid- to
high-range networks and supports a variety of hardware platforms,
ranging from a 250 megabyte (MB) 0.25-inch tape to 5 gigabyte
(GB) 8 millimeter (mm) systems. The software, which runs on any
80286-based or better PCs, supports Novell Netware 2,15 or later
and requires DOS 3.3 or later to run.

The slightly bad news is that, while Emerald will be showing
Xpress Librarian II at Networld '92 Europe next week, the package
will not actually ship until July of this year. Pricing has yet to
be decided.

(Steve Gold/19920423/Press & Public Contact: Emerald Systems,
tel (US) 619-673-2161, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 23 IBM Licenses RISC Technology To Thomson Of France 04/23/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00023)

IBM Licenses RISC Technology To Thomson Of France 04/23/92
PARIS, FRANCE, 1992 APR 23 (NB) -- IBM has announced it has
licensed its reduced instruction-set computing (RISC) technology
to Thomson CSF, the French computer and electronics company.

Terms of the contract call for Thomson CSF to selectively
manufacturer RISC chips for use in computers supplied by TMS,
another company in the Thomson group. Newsbytes understands
that the chips -- customized versions of IBM's Power PC range --
will be used in computers supplied for French defense work.

Full details of the contract have not been announced, owing to
the restrictions imposed on defense contract business in France.
The deal comes in the wake of a number of tie-ups between IBM
and Thomson on a variety of technology fronts.

Newsbytes notes that, while financial terms of the deal have not
been revealed, the finance involved will be minimal compared to
the massive revenue that IBM France generates. The contract is,
however, prestigious and a feather in IBM's cap, especially in
its long-running battle with Hewlett-Packard over RISC chipset
market dominance.

(Steve Gold/19920423)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 23 British Telecom Secures Major IBM Data Network Contract 04/23/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00024)

British Telecom Secures Major IBM Data Network Contract 04/23/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 23 (NB) -- British Telecom has
signed up IBM to its new Syncordia European data network. Plans
call for IBM to link up at least ten of its major sites across Europe
using the network, effectively linking Syncordia -- on a private
basis -- into its own packet data network.

IBM currently uses a variety of data networks to move data
around Europe. Plans call for Big Blue to gradually phase out
these networks (usually arranged through individual country
contracts) in favor of Syncordia.

Although financial details of the contract have not been
revealed, Newsbytes understands that the initial run will be for
three years. Ironically, BT is a major supplier of data network
services to IBM, some contracts for which it will lose in the
switch to Syncordia.

Syncordia is an Atlanta-based subsidiary owned by BT. The
US company managed data networks on behalf of companies
such as IBM, normally using BT-supplied circuits. The country is
aiming to become a major player on both sides of the Atlantic.

(Steve Gold/19920423)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 23 Storagetek Okay, Despite Stock Drop/Earnings 04/23/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00025)

Storagetek Okay, Despite Stock Drop/Earnings 04/23/92
LOUISVILLE, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 APR 23 (NB) -- Despite a
drop in stock price and lower than expected earnings, everything
is fine and on track, Storagetek spokesperson David Reid told
Newsbytes.

Despite the significant drop in its stock price, possibly fueled by
financial analysts concerns over poorer than expected earnings
and misunderstandings about test dates for its newest products,
the company said it will internally beta test its newest data storage
product -- Iceberg -- in the second quarter. Reid said external beta
testing will be done in the third quarter.

Storagetek stock dropped nearly 11 points earlier this week, with
3.7 million shares traded, suffering from Reid described as
"investor nervousness."  Two hours after the close of the market,
four Storagetek stockholders reportedly filed a class-action
lawsuit, claiming that misleading information released by the
company caused them to lose money after they purchased stock
while it was selling in the mid-50 to mid-60 dollar range.  Storagetek
officials told Newsbytes they had not yet seen the suit and could
not comment.

Storagetek attempted to reassure investors after the market action
by authorizing purchase of up to one million shares of is common
stock and up to $5 million face value of its convertible bonds on
the open market.  The transactions are being handled by Salomon
Brothers Inc.

A first quarter financial report released by the company
reported net income for the first quarter of $12.5 million, or $0.30
per share, compared to $33.4 million or $0.36 per share for the
same period last year.  However, Reid told Newsbytes that those
figures could be misleading, saying, "our numbers all get restated,
including Datacomp."  Reid explained that last year's financial
report had to be restated as if Datacomp was part of Storagetek,
lowering the figures.  "We had to go back and refigure all those
numbers," Reid told Newsbytes.

"The primary underperformance was from XLDatacomp. They didn't
meet the expectations we had internally," said Reid. Storagetek
purchased XLDatacomp, with the transaction being completed in
November. "We're not off the schedule (for Iceberg) and we're not
off the schedule for revenue," said Reid. According to Reid,
Storagetek told analysts in January when Iceberg was announced,
that the company expected $50 million in revenue in 1992.  "Indeed,
we still expect $50 million in revenue from Iceberg in 1992, Reid told
Newsbytes."That's not a lot for our company. That's a small part
of our business," he continued.

Last November the company estimated that it would produce up to
200 Iceberg units in 1992, with that number climbing to about 1,000 in
1993.

Storagetek has been fighting rumors about Iceberg's progress for
several months.  In March one analyst reported that the company's
customer site testing (external beta testing) would be delayed by
one month. The company denied the rumor.

Reid said that the company's flagship product, the ACS4400 tape
storage subsystem, experienced a slight increase in sales over the
first quarter of last year.  At that time company President, Ryal
Poppa, said the company would turn from a loss to a profit in 1993.

In the better news category for Storagetek is the announcement
that it is ready to ship Alpine -- a disk array product designed for
use with mid-range computer systems.  In the disk array system,
data is spread over a large number of computer disks, so that if
one disk fails, the information is not lost.

(Jim Mallory/19920423/Press Contact: David Reid, Storagetek,
303-673-4815)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 23 Artisoft Plans Merger With Performance Technology 04/23/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00026)

Artisoft Plans Merger With Performance Technology 04/23/92
TUCSON, ARIZONA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 23 (NB) -- Artisoft Inc.,
developer of LANtastic local area network software, has
announced that it has signed a letter of intent to merge with
Performance Technology Inc.

Under terms of the letter, Performance Technology will be
maintained as a wholly owned subsidiary of Artisoft, and PR
shareholders and stock option holders will receive $300,000 shares
of Artisoft common stock in exchange for their PT holdings.

Performance Technology, based in San Antonio, Texas, produces
network products such as: Powerfusion, a product that links PCs to
Unix systems; Powersave, an archival system for networks; and
Powerlan, which makes PC networks compliant with IBM and
Microsoft network products, as well as X/Open and OSF/DCE SMB.
PT also markets Powerbridge to provide WAN (wide area
networking) for NetBIOS LANs such as the Microsoft LAN Manager,
IBM LAN Server, and Powerlan, and LANtastic networks.

LANtastic is a peer-to-peer network software package that allows
up to 300 users of IBM compatible PCs to share peripherals,
data, and applications.

Artisoft said the merger is subject to approval of both companies
boards of directors.

(Jim Mallory/19920423/Public contact: 800-846-9726, Artisoft,
tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 23 Microsoft Announces Flash File System 04/23/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00027)

Microsoft Announces Flash File System 04/23/92
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 APR 23 (NB) -- Microsoft
has announced that this summer it will introduce its Flash File
system, which uses flash memory to function as an ordinary disk
in a PC.

The company said the Flash File system also makes it easy to
develop custom MS-DOS  and Windows applications for embedded
systems and consumer electronic devices by allowing developers
access to a wide range of existing DOS and Windows development
tools.

Flash memory is non-volatile, so any data in memory is not lost
when the computer is turned off. Flash memory saves and retrieves
data much more quickly than read-and-writes to a hard or floppy
disk.

Microsoft said it has released the specifications for the system's
media control structures, which will allow other companies
to develop systems for reading and writing data.  Flash memory
cards can be removed and inserted in computers much like floppy
disks are, and will work with any PC that supports the Microsoft Flash
File system. Flash cards will be especially useful in palmtop, pen-
based and other sub-compact computer systems where space in
the case is at a premium. Using flash memory chips, small
computers can utilize as much data storage space as larger units.

Microsoft said it will use Intel's flash cards, which presently can
store up to 20 megabytes (MB) of data.  Like floppy and hard disks,
data stored on flash cards can be erased by the user. Intel claims
that by the year 2000 it would be probable that flash cards would be
able to store as much as half a gigabyte of data, or 50 times as
much information.

Intel announced this week that it had cut the price of its flash
chips, which it said until recently had cost more than twice the
price of conventional memories and many times the cost of hard
disks.

Martin Middlewood told Newsbytes that the flash cards currently
come in eight and 20 MB versions, which can be easily inserted and
removed by the user.  The number of erasures that can be done on
a flash chip are limited, although the number is in the hundreds of
thousands. That will limit the life of the present flash cards to
several years, said Middlewood.  Flash cards require special slots
in the PC, so they cannot be retro-fitted to your existing system.
However, the computer can have several slots for flash cards.

Flash cards will also help lengthen battery time before recharge,
since the flash chips draw considerably less power than a hard
drive.  The Flash File system is presently in beta testing, and is
expected to be released this summer.

Do not look for flash cards to replace hard disks yet.  Depending on
the application, desktop computers used for tasks such as graphics,
computer-aided design (CAD) and other data intensive tasks still
require considerably more storage capacity than today's flash cards
can provide.

(Jim Mallory/19920423/Press Contact: Collins Hemingway,
Microsoft, 206-882-8080)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 23 Apple To Intro Pen Computer Called Newton? 04/23/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00028)

Apple To Intro Pen Computer Called Newton? 04/23/92
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 23 (NB) --
According to reports in both the San Francisco Chronicle and
the Associated Press, Apple Computer is expected to demonstrate
a pen-based hand-held computer, called Newton, at the Consumer
Electronics Show May 29 in Chicago. The new PDA (personal digital
assistant) handwriting recognition device is reported to be six to
eight inches in length, although is not expected to be available to
consumers until next year.

According to the reports, those who have seen the Newton are
"excited" about it, although Apple declines to confirm the existence
of the product.

Newton is reported to be a reduced instruction-set computer
(RISC)-based product, more powerful than the Motorola chip in the
Macintosh line. While John Sculley said at the announcement of
PDA's last year that they would be based on a new operating system,
reports say users will operate the Newton by writing on the screen or
by tapping on icons.

According to different sources, the Newton is likely to cost
anywhere from $700 to $1,000. Sharp, who is Apple's partner on the
Newton, is said to licensed to use the technology and is planning its
own device. That product is reported to be different from Apple's, but
available at the same time as the Newton, and aimed at a different
target market. The Apple product is said to be aimed at business
users, while the Sharp product will be geared toward consumers.

The Newton is also said to be able to exchange information with
desktop computers up to six feet away using infrared technology.

Bill Lempesis, editor and publisher of the Penvision Newsletter, told
Newsbytes he couldn't talk about what he knows about Apple's PDA
device. However, Lempesis did say he thought these "leaks" were
Apple's way of "testing the water without giving away anything" to
gauge potential success and acceptance of the PDA. Shorter product
development cycles make it advantageous for companies to do this
informal market research, Lempesis said. Big changes can be made
as late as late as 90 days before the devices are available on the
market, unlike the old days when plans had to be finalized a year or
more in advance, Lempesis added.

So just because a product is leaked way in advance to be a
certain way, doesn't mean it will ship with those characteristics,
Lempesis added.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920423/Press Contact: Brooke Cohen, Apple,
tel [phone], fax [phone]; Bill Lempesis, Penvision,
tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 23 UK: Husky Links Computers To Trial RAM Mobile Data Net 04/23/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00029)

UK: Husky Links Computers To Trial RAM Mobile Data Net 04/23/92
COVENTRY, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 23 (NB) -- Husky Computers,
which claims to be the world's leading supplier of rugged handheld
computers, has become one of the first UK portable manufacturers
to demonstrate links to the new RAM mobile datacoms network.

The RAM network is one of the UK's licensed mobile data network
services operating in the FM band. According to Altaf Ladak,
marketing communications manager with the Heathrow-based
company, the network has been live since July of last year.

"We've been around for a couple of years now setting things up,
but it's only recently that the network has gone into the public
trial stages," he told Newsbytes.

Major customers of RAM include British Airways, which is testing
the radio data network at Heathrow International Airport.

RAM is using the Mobitex system designed by Swedish Telecom
and Ericsson, as seen in the US. Unlike in the US, where Mobitem
radio modems are being sold alongside the Mobitex network, RAM
is acting as a network supplier, leaving it to third-party suppliers
to equip users with the necessary hardware to use the network.

This is where Husky comes into the picture. Both companies are
cooperating in the trials with third-party companies, which
involve linking Husky handhelds via radio modems into the RAM
network for packet radio transmissions. So far, trials involving
several emergency services have been carried out.

It is still early days with RAM and Husky's trials with the
network will continue for some time. Unlike the two other
directly competitive networks -- Dowty's Cognito and the
Paknet service -- RAM is acting purely as a network provider.

(Steve Gold/19920423/Press & Public Contact: RAM Mobile
Data, 081-990-9090)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 23 Intel Announces New Mini Mass Storage For PCs 04/23/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00030)

Intel Announces New Mini Mass Storage For PCs 04/23/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 23 (NB) -- Intel
says it is introducing a new data storage device it calls memory
cards, based on new flash memory chips. The new cards will hold
up 20 megabytes (MB) of information in a fast, credit card-sized
device that could eventually replace disk drives.

Flash memory is much like random access memory (RAM)
currently used in microcomputers, but has the advantage of
maintaining whatever information is stored in it even without a
power source. The only drawback was, until now, it was very
limited in capacity.

The new Intel cards are changing that. Based on the newly
introduced one MB Flashfile flash memory chips, the new
memory cards come in 4-, 10-, and 20 MB capacities.

This new technology is opening the doors for the fastest, smallest
computers yet, Intel said. The cards can also take much harsher
treatment than the rotating magnetic disks in disk drives and Intel
said the cards are lighter and require less power for reading and
writing.

Further, Intel says the memory cards will allow the transfer of data
and programs between desktop and mobile computers such as
hand held, laptop, and notebook computers and eliminate the
hassle of serial transfers currently being used.

A new standard was necessary to support writing information to
the new cards and one has been developed by the Personal
Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA), a
non-profit trade association established to develop and maintain
a worldwide standard for PC Cards.

To implement the new cards on IBM and compatible personal
computers, Microsoft has announced the Microsoft Flash File
System, a PCMCIA-compliant system for a single format to read
and write to the memory cards. Microsoft says the Flash File
System will allow the use of memory cards the way floppy disks
are used now.

Microsoft also announced the specifications for the Microsoft Flash
File System media control structures, which determine how data is
stored on flash memory cards using the Microsoft Flash File System.
This will allow third-party disk utility vendors to create tools for
use of the memory cards on PCs, Microsoft said.

Besides possibilities for faster and smaller computers, Intel says the
memory cards will allow the transfer of data and programs between
desktop and mobile computers such as hand held, laptop, and
notebook computers and eliminate the hassle of serial transfers
currently being used. The cards can also take much harsher
treatment than the rotating magnetic disks in disk drives, are lighter,
and require less power for reading and writing.

The cards offer speed as well. A 120 nanosecond version of the
Flashfile chip is available as well as an 80 nanosecond version.
Pricing is low too, with the 120 nanosecond versions available in
quantities of 10,000 to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) at
$29.90 each, and the 85 nanosecond version priced at $39 in the
same quantity.

In quantity, the memory cards range from $163.50 for 4 MB cards,
$331.50 for 10 MB cards, and $611.50 for the 20 MB cards.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920423/Press Contact: Janet Woodworth,
Intel, tel [phone]; Collins Hemingway, Microsoft, 206-882-8080)

#ENDCARD



#CARD :1992 APR 22 Artisoft To Purchase Performance Technology 04/22/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00001)

Artisoft To Purchase Performance Technology 04/22/92
TUCSON, ARIZONA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 22 (NB) -- In an unexpected
announcement made here, Artisoft has signed a letter of intent
with Performance Technology of San Antonio, Texas. Under this
letter, Artisoft intends to purchase Performance Technology. The
actual legal terms of the agreement call this purchase a statutory
merger.

Performance Technology will continue to operate as before. It will
become a wholly owned subsidiary of Artisoft. Company officials from
both companies were talking about the synergies of the product lines
and the markets where they operate as reasons for the merger.

Performance Technology is the maker of products such as Powerfusion
which links Unix and PC computers together, Powersave, a networked
archival system, Powerbridge for wide area networking, and PowerLAN
which networks IBM and Microsoft-based computers that are compliant
with X/Open and OSF/DCE recommendations. None of this competes
directly with Artisoft's LANtastic peer to peer networks.

Performance Technology shareowners and stock option holders will
share 300,000 shares of Artisoft stock as renumeration for the
company.

This merger is just the latest in a series that have been happening
in the networking arena lately. Notable have been the acquisition by
Novell of Digital Research last year, and the very recent announcement
made by DCA that it is purchasing ICC. It is not clear yet what this
trend is really about. But as networking companies are finding more
acceptance of their product in businesses, and as the costs of
supporting existing customer and winning new ones continues to rise,
it is possible that this trend is one symptom of the maturing of the
marketplace.

(Naor Wallach/19920422, Press Contact: Joe Stunkard, Artisoft,
602-690-3231)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 22  ****IBM Japan Develops Prototype PC-Based VideoPhone 04/22/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00002)

 ****IBM Japan Develops Prototype PC-Based VideoPhone 04/22/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 22 (NB) -- IBM Japan has developed a
a motion picture TV telephone installed on a personal computer.
IBM Japan's latest TV phone is built-in on its Japanese personal
computer, the PS/55.

IBM Japan's motion picture TV telephone, jointly developed
with GC Technology, is intended to be connected to NTT's ISDN
(integrated services digital network) and can transmit 12
screens per second. This product is still prototype, but IBM Japan
wants to release it commercially as early as the end of this year.
The retail price is expected to be around 1 million yen per set
including the keyboard and the camera.

The TV phone system consists of the PS/55, the display monitor,
a flat box which has the TV phone equipment, and a camcorder-type
camera which is placed on top of the display.

The color motion picture compression technologies were mainly
developed by GC Technology, which incorporated them into the chip set.

IBM Japan's motion picture phone is based on an open architecture
multimedia coding system, which goes along with an international
standard.

IBM Japan hopes to make its TV phone PC a standard in the industry,
so is preparing to set up an association to share this
technology. The Research Association For Personal Communication
Graphics Communication is to be headed by Haruhisa Ishida of Tokyo
university. It is expected that similar TV phone PCs will be
produced by other personal computer firms which get this technology
from this association. The association itself will be backed up by
NTT and the Japanese Ministry of Posts and Telecommunication.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920422/Press Contact: IBM Japan, +81-3-3586-
1111)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 22 Computervision Unit To Promote CV-DORS 04/22/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00003)

Computervision Unit To Promote CV-DORS 04/22/92
BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 22 (NB) -- Computer-aided
design vendor Computervision wants other companies to use its
CV-DORS technology as the basis for engineering and scientific
applications. To get them to do so, the company has set up a
CV-DORS business unit.

CV-DORS is the core of Computervision's computer-aided design and
manufacturing (CAD/CAM) product line. DORS stands for Developers
Open Resource Software. According to spokeswoman Sharon Israel, the
company has made it available to other vendors on an individual
basis before, through partnership arrangements, but has never made
it generally available.

The company wants to form alliances with key scientific and
engineering applications developers, who will embed
Computervision's technology in their applications.

As part of its promotional efforts, Computervision plans a
developers' conference at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel June 15-16.
The company plans to bring together engineering and scientific
applications developers and university researchers to discuss the
use of standardized modeling technologies.

The CV-DORS business unit will be made up of about 100 people,
Israel said, and will be headed by Dr. Ken Versprille, who has more
than 20 years' experience in CAD/CAM. Versprille has been named
director of business development for the new unit.

Computervision, which supplied computer-assisted engineering and
CAD/CAM systems, claims an installed base of more than 150,000
seats. It is a subsidiary of Prime Computer.

(Grant Buckler/19920421/Press Contact: Sharon Israel,
Computervision, 617-275-1800 ext. 5907)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 22 New For Networks: Innosoft Upgrades PMDF And PMDF-FAX 04/22/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00004)

New For Networks: Innosoft Upgrades PMDF And PMDF-FAX 04/22/92
CLAREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 22 (NB) -- Innosoft
has unveiled a series of enhancements to its PMDF line of
communications products. PMDF v4.1 will be the vehicle for
delivering these enhancements which were motivated and driven by
customer demands, according to the company.

PMDF version 4.1 offers significantly better performance due to a
complete restructuring of the way the software operates. Beta testers
have reported improvements ranging from 20 to 50 percent. PMDF v4.1
adds Symbiont processing which under VMS means that the VAX is
spending less time processing overhead information and more on the
actual task. The ability to run PMDF in a batch, background, mode
is maintained for those who want it.

Mail and List Servers have been added which allow for a feature
known as "fragmentation." Under this feature, large mail messages
are broken up into smaller parts that are then sent individually to
the destination where they are put back together. The size of the
message that would cause fragmentation to occur is defined by the
system administrator and is tuneable.

The List Server maintains the mailing lists for the users.

Another new feature is called "file updating." Under this feature,
a user may set a file up with a timer. Every time the periodic timer
expires, the software checks to see if the file has been updated. If
it has been, the mail system will automatically grab a copy of the
updated files and deliver it to the user. This is a very handy
feature for groups of people who are all operating off of the same
information and updating various files that are required by others.

PMDF v4.1 is now able to allocate "channels" for other e-mail
systems. This way messages can be processed from them and sent to
them in a mode similar to networked gateways. PMDF v4.1 will
support VAX NOTES, cc:Mail, and PROFS. There is also an ability to
define a person's e-mail address as a printer. In this way, even if
the person does not have a physical attachment to the mail system,
he or she can still get e-mail messages. What happens is that the
messages get printed and then delivered as regular mail.

PMDF-FAX has also been upgraded. Many of the enhancements placed
in PMDF are now also in PMDF-FAX. Performance increases are the
main area that the user will see. However, there is another major
enhancement in PMDF-FAX which is oriented towards the future more
than the present. PMDF-FAX v4 includes within it support for the
emerging Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) standard.

MIME is a way of letting computers use e-mail to send around
multimedia types of information. Since all computer data is
fundamentally the same at the byte level, the creators of this
standard see no reason why e-mail systems should balk at having
to send around digitized video, voice, or Postscript graphics.
PMDF-FAX v4.1 includes compatibility with the latest revision of
MIME. This revision is in front of the Internet Engineering Task
Force (IETF), the body that issues such standards. Obviously,
Innosoft believes that the standard is firm enough that it will not
have to make major modifications to it once the standard is
approved.

PMDF will begin shipping in 30 days. Its cost varies depending on
the kind of CPU that it runs on and the number of users. Base
prices start at $1095. PMDF-FAX will ship at the same time as PMDF
v4.1 and will sell for a base price of $1595.

(Naor Wallach/19920421, Press Contact: Tom Woolf, Media Relations,
415-508-1554)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 22 Moscow: Telecom Licensing Explained 04/22/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00005)

Moscow: Telecom Licensing Explained 04/22/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 APR 22 (NB) -- An executive of the
Russian Ministry of Communications has defined his organization's
licensing policy at a computer communications seminar in Moscow.
Both network providers and equipment are to be certified, Andrey Kraus of
the Ministry of Communications said.

At the moment three data networks have received a service license: Sprint
Networks USSR for the SprintNet Russian project, VNIIPAS for its IASNET,
and the Bakom company for the Istok former military network. Relcom,
a large independent electronic mail network, is to receive its license
soon.

Another kind of licensing is for communications equipment connected
to the phone network. The equipment must follow a number of guidelines
to successfully pass the certification test, which can be performed by a
number of locally licensed companies. Modems which lack line signal
level controls and are fixed at Western standard values cannot be
certified due to the poor quality of Russia's phone system, he said.

Having equipment and service licensed in Moscow does not solve all
problems, a number of conference attendees mentioned. Local authorities
are allowed, according to Kraus, to impose local taxes and issue local
licenses for telecommunications equipment.

Following is the list of modems and faxes certified by the Russian
(formerly Soviet) Ministry of Communications and approved for
connection to the phone network. Moscow-based Informswiaz company
holds the right to distribute the "official" licensed modem list.

The latest version includes the following equipment. Modems: Racal-Vadic,
USA, V11222PA, and V12422PA; Racal-Milgo COMLINK VI and RM-3296, from
England; Nokia (Finland)'s DS 3589, DS 2856, DS 61300, DS 61700, DS
61750, DS 3550; EC-8113 M2412, M2412PC; Discovery 2400 CM/D; Datatronics
of Taiwan's FT32B42B; Forval; Peak Communications; Lexand-2400 from
Menatep, Russia; and ISM-1200 from Mastak, Russia.

Faxes : ARTEK (Taiwan)'s ARFAX-1000, -2000; Canon(Japan) fax
80, 120, 230, 270, 410, 450, 730, 750; GPT (UK) Masterfax -170, -370;
Hitachi (Japan) Hifax -17, -18; Hyundai (S Korea) HF-1000; Murata
(Japan) F-1, -15M, -20, -30; NEC (Japan) NEFAX 3EX, 63; Oki
(Japan) OF-8, -8M, -17H/L, -38; Pioneer PF 2550; Samsung (S Korea)
SF-1100, -2010; Sharp (Japan) FO-100, -150, -210, -700; Schneider
(Germany) SPF-301.

Faxes not approved (not officially allowed to be connected) are:
Avatek (Honkong) EFAX-88, Murata (Japan) M-5, M-900, and Nissei (Japan)
NX-11. There is no blacklist for modems and computer fax boards yet, Mr
Kraus said.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920420/Press Contact: Informswiaz, phone [phone]-
4959; 963-2046)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 22 Moscow: More Banks Join SWIFT 04/22/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00006)

Moscow: More Banks Join SWIFT 04/22/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 APR 22 (NB) -- The Society Worldwide for
Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) is starting a
massive effort to bring Russia's local banks to its network.

Eleven Russian banks are already SWIFT members: VneshEconomBank,
International Investment bank, Moscow International Bank, Incombank,
Avtovazbank, Kuzbasssocbank, Dialogue bank, Russian Vneshtorgbank,
Tokobank, Menatep, and the Russian business bank. Only four
are already connected to the network. The rest await establishment
of regional access points, which "hopefully will be up and running"
by December, 1992, said Bruno Coessens, SWIFT manager for Russia.

SWIFT already has overcome the legal and tax hurdles and says Russian
banks are allowed to join the financial network. Although a number of
Ukrainian, Baltic, and Caucasian bankers want to join, no details
have been made available on the procedure for non-Russian bank admission.
"You have become separate countries now and we need to work this matter
further before 14 new countries may be admitted," Coessens said.

The access point will be established at the SovAm Teleport, which will
have secure communications with the West and 32 leased lines to local
banks. Construction has already started, said Ekkenhard Starck, area
manager for Europe.

"Our primary target is to connect more commercial banks by the middle of
this year," Starck said.

A SWIFT users group and members group will be established to assist in
technical and legal matters.

SWIFT is also working to implement connections with Romanian and Albanian
banks -- two countries in Europe with no membership yet, said Ekkehard
Starck.

The company started its activities in the Soviet Union six years ago. It
took them three years to have the first bank -- VneshEconomBank --
connected, according to Ekkenhard Starck.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920422/Press Contact: Bruno Coessens, SWIFT country
manager for Russia; Ekkenhard Starck, Area manager, SWIFT, phone +32 2
655-3111; fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 22  ****Versatile New Color Copier Introduced By Canon 04/22/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00007)

 ****Versatile New Color Copier Introduced By Canon 04/22/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 22 (NB) -- Canon has developed a low-cost
(about US$6,000) but powerful color copier which it claims is the
smallest and most lightweight color copier in the world. It's
also designed to connect to PCs to print out documents, be a scanner,
and a printer of photographs.

Canon's latest copier is designed for the desktop and prints
pages in full color. Called the BJ copier Pixel JET, it supports
400 dots-per-inch resolution and 256 colors which Canon claims are
"natural."

Canon's BJ copier is based on the company's "bubble-jet" technology,
an advanced ink-jet printing method. This bubble-jet
technology is already employed in Canon printers for personal
computers, such as those for Apple's Macintosh and the NEC PC-9801.

Canon's BJ copier can also be connected directly with
the Macintosh and the PC-9801 through a special interface called
"Intelligent Processing Unit" (IPU). This interface allows the
copier to be used as a full-color printer for the Macintosh and the
PC-9801. Snapshots of the screen can be also printed on this
copier. The unit is further designed to be a scanner to input
color picture data into the personal computers.

If all that isn't enough, Canon says negative or positive
photographic films can be used to print photos, so says the company.

The size of this copier is 54 x 47.6 x 21.7 cm, and it weighs
20 kg. It can print post cards to A4-size paper. The copying
time is about 96 seconds per paper. This full-color copier
will be released at 800,000 yen ($6,000) on June 1. Canon plans
to ship 15,000 units per month.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920422/Press Contact: Canon, [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 22 IBM Japan To Ship Japanese OS/2 2.0 04/22/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TYO)(00008)

IBM Japan To Ship Japanese OS/2 2.0 04/22/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 22 (NB) -- IBM Japan will ship the latest
version of Japanese OS/2 called OS/2 2.0 on April 30. Reports
indicate IBM Japan is planning to roll out some PCs equipped
with Japanese OS/2 2.0 soon.

Japanese OS/2 2.0 would come one month after the original
English-language OS/2 2.0 was released. IBM Japan will provide
the technology behind this latest operating system to the Open
Architecture Development Group, an organization under the wing
of IBM Japan, which was formed to promote truer IBM-compatible
personal computers. Through this strategy, IBM Japan wants to
encourage software makers to develop more applications
for its PCs.

It is expected that total 60,000 units of Japanese OS/2 2.0 will
be shipped for the first year.

To sell more OS/2-based PCs to individual users, IBM Japan
has announced a new service called "help-ware" which includes
consultation on use of the technology and free seminars. To
encourage peripheral equipment makers, IBM Japan has created an
association called the "IV League," to which it will offer development
assistance.

Japanese OS/2 2.0 is expected to directly vie with Microsoft's
Windows in the near future.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920422/Press Contact: IBM Japan, +81-3-3586-
1111)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 22 Japan & Korea Connect Some PC Networks 04/22/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00009)

Japan & Korea Connect Some PC Networks 04/22/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 22 (NB) -- NEC has signed with Korea's Dacom
concerning the interconnection of their personal computer networks.
The agreement calls for NEC's PC-VAN users to be able to access
Dacom's PC Serve via a network gateway. PC Serve users will also
access PC-VAN via its gateway, if the project is approved.

The Korean telecommunication business is a difficult market to
enter, due to the red tape involved. Korea's telecom
business still has not been fully privatized. Dacom has
applied for a license to interconnect with NEC which is
expected to be approved soon.

Dacom and NEC hope to launch the mutual gateways by May 1.
Dacom users would receive a PC-VAN ID and the guide book. The usage
fees are planned to be about 20 percent cheaper than direct phone
service.

NEC's PC-VAN network is one of the major personal computer
networks in Japan. It expects to gain about 3,000 users in Korea
for the first year, and 20,000 users in two years.

Meanwhile, another major personal computer network, NIFTY-Serve,
has started a gateway service to the Pos Data network in Korea.
NIFTY-Serve is also preparing to interconnect with personal
computer networks in Southeast Asia including Taiwan,
China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Malaysia.

NIFTY-Serve has been providing a Japanese version of CompuServe
through a license agreement with CompuServe in the US. The firm
is operated by the joint venture firm of Fujitsu and Nissho-Iwai
Trading.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920422/Press Contact: NEC PC-VAN, +81-3-3454-
6909, NIFTY, [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 22 Bikelab Records on Internet 04/22/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00010)

Bikelab Records on Internet 04/22/92
SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 22 (NB) -- Steve Roberts
has put complete data on his mobile computing adventures on an
ftp file system within the Internet, the giant computer network.
The data is being hosted by Telebit, a modem maker.

The files are being maintained by David K. Z. Harris at Telebit,
who can be reached at [e-mail] for those with
direct Internet IDs. They include all Roberts' "bikelab archives,
stories from the road, overview documents, technomads alias
archives, and as of this morning, images of the bike. Yes, I've
finally responded to all your requests for GIF files! We can
thank Howard Greenfield's audiovisual group here at Sun for
scanning four photos by Maggie Victor and providing them in a
useful format.

"To get to all this, ftp to ftp.telebit.com and login as
anonymous, using your full mail address as a password. CD to the
/pub/nomad directory. The files are under a sub-directory
called /pub/nomad, and include further subdirectories called
/bikelab, with technical information /caa2 for Roberts' reports
from the road, /images for .GIF files with pictures of his latest
creation, the giant Behemoth bike, /tnlist for an archive of
traffic from his mailing list, /telemetry for 2-week telemetry
postings, and /road for postings from his next road trip.

As to when Roberts and his new "mobile bikelab," actually a large
bus, will be rolling into your town, present plans call for him
to be in Dayton, Ohio for the Dayton Hamfest this weekend, and in
Washington, D.C. for the Interop show starting May 17. Beyond
that, "I'm open to possibilities."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920422/Press Contact: Steven K. Roberts,
Internet, [e-mail]; GEnie, wordy)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 22 McCaw-IBM Packet Cellular Plan Coming 04/22/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00011)

McCaw-IBM Packet Cellular Plan Coming 04/22/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 22 (NB) -- IBM has
gotten together with major cellular operators on a packet data
system. The announcement was originally scheduled for March.

The packet cellular system would compete directly with packet
radio data systems like those offered by RAM Mobile Data, half-
owned by BellSouth, and Ardis, half-owned by IBM, as well as
Specialized Mobile Radio networks in major cities which have been
upgraded to handle data by Racotek of Minneapolis. BellSouth,
which runs cellular systems in the Southeast and has interests
elsewhere, was not among the sponsors of the new net, believing
it to be a competitive threat to RAM.

BellSouth, in line with most other regional Bell companies,
reported earnings up about 7.5 percent for the quarter ending in
March, exclusive of one-time and extraordinary charges.

As with other wireless packet technologies, the new system will
be accessible through a tiny circuit board rather than a modem
needed for circuit-switched cellular data service. The new board
could be put into a machine, or put in a case and linked via an
RS-232C port, like the Ericsson-GE Mobidem used on the RAM
network.

Sears said it agreed to test the new service, giving insurance
adjusters at its Allstate unit laptop computers which will link
to its central system. The tests are expected to begin this
summer and commercial operations will start early in 1993.

Participants in the new network include companies from both sides
of the growing divide among operators between the Cellular One
group and a Bell-led group expected to do business under the name
Mobile One. The sponsors include McCaw Cellular Communications,
GTE, Contel Cellular, Ameritech, Bell Atlantic, Nynex, Pacific
Telesis Group, Southwestern Bell, and US West.

To make a packet cellular system work, however, new equipment
will be needed at every cell site which can turn unused calling
channels into digital packets at speeds of up to 19,200
bits/second. This means it may be years before packet cellular
services are as ubiquitous as analog cellular systems are
supposed to be now. The gear will take a few days to install at
each cell site, and cost over $10,000 per site.

The losers in all this, according to analysts, are likely to be
Motorola, which recently offered its RD-LAP technology from Ardis
as a possible packet cellular offering, and Cellular Data of
Mountain View, which has been trying to push its own system.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920422)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 22 Telecom Privatization Cures Argentine Debt Problem 04/22/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(ATL)(00012)

Telecom Privatization Cures Argentine Debt Problem 04/22/92
BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA, 1992 APR 22 (NB) -- Thanks to
privatization of state assets, like its phone company, Argentina
says it's cut through the public debt mountain which impoverished
its people throughout the 1980s.

Economy Minister Domingo Cavallo signed a deal with international
banks he says will gradually cut the $61 billion debt with
payments amounting to 2 percent of the nation's gross domestic
product per year, after another $10 billion in state assets are
sold this year. He explained the deal to the nation in a
televised speech.

Argentina got into debt trouble in the 1970s when a military
government took out huge loans denominated in dollars, then
watched as its own currency became worthless when inflation
ebbed. The US, despite its $4 trillion debt, has the advantage
of having the bills payable in its own currency, meaning they
could be eliminated if the treasury were willing to destroy the
dollar and print enough bills to pay off its debts.

Argentina's accord clears the way for new loans and could open
new markets to the US and Europe where economic growth lately
has been slow or non-existent. It also points the way for other
Latin economies, especially Brazil, which is moving towards
privatizing its Telebras phone network over considerable
opposition.

Argentina thus becomes the second major Latin economy to get on
the right side of bankers, following Mexico. The Mexican economy
has been enjoying a boom, spurred by US investment, since the
Telmex phone network was privatized to a group including
Southwestern Bell of the US in 1989.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920422)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 22 AT&T To Offer USA Direct Service To China 04/22/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00013)

AT&T To Offer USA Direct Service To China 04/22/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 APR 22 (NB) -- AT&T worked out a
deal with China to allow Chinese citizens to use AT&T's USA
Direct service to call the US. Previously, according to the
company, ordinary citizens had to use "calling centers" in hotels
and post offices to make calls, unless expensive provisions were
made.

With the new service, any of the 35 million people with a
phone in their home will be able to call the US by dialing an
operator who speaks Mandarin Chinese and have relatives in the
US pick up the tab. The plan is modeled after similar AT&T
calling plans covering Latin America.

In other news involving AT&T, the company celebrated the 40th
anniversary of direct-dialled long distance service, attacked
other credit card companies in a press conference with consumer
advocates, and released a survey of telecommunications managers
through its NCR unit showing a need for national standards in
telecommunications.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920422/ Press Contact: Dulcie Neiman, for
AT&T/NCR, 212/213-7193)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 22 MTel Wins Experimental License 04/22/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00014)

MTel Wins Experimental License 04/22/92
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI, U.S.A., 1992 APR 22 (NB) -- Mobile
Telecommunication Technologies, which runs the one-way SkyTel
nationwide paging network, won an experimental license from the
Federal Communications Commission to test a two-way wireless
messaging network technology.

The license was in response to a Petition for Rulemaking MTel
filed with the FCC in November, asking that three companies
eventually be given 50 megahertz of frequency in the 930
megahertz frequency range to create nationwide wireless networks
which would transmit data much more rapidly than the present
SkyTel system, which runs on the 931 megahertz band. "This
experimental license gives Mtel the ability to test and develop
further the technology for the proposed NWN," said Jai P. Bhagat,
executive vice president of Mtel.

Under the license, a small number of people at Oxford,
Mississippi, Dallas, Texas, and Washington, D.C. would be able
to "answer back" messages using small PCs or pager-sized
devices. MTel wants a "pioneer's preference" on its two-way
technology so that, when NWN licenses are given, it will have the
inside track on getting one based on its previous work.

If MTel is able to create a two-way data carrying capability for
its present SkyTel paging system, it could be in a position to
compete strongly with the proposed cellular packet services
unveiled April 22 by IBM and McCaw, as well as with the packet
radio services of Ardis and RAM Mobile Data.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920422/ Press Contact: David Allan, for
MTel, 212-614-5163)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 22 Meta Network Wins Gateway to AT&T Easylink 04/22/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00015)

Meta Network Wins Gateway to AT&T Easylink 04/22/92
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 22 (NB) -- The Meta Network
conferencing system has won a contract with ABA/Net which could
result in a sizable gateway to AT&T Easylink.

ABA/net, the official online service of the American Bar
Association, will use the gateway from AT&T Easylink, its new
official host, to access not only specific, closed conferences on
association topics, but the wide range of political and other
conferences hosted by the 10-year-old Meta Network, which uses
the Caucus conferencing system.

Lisa Carlson of Metasystems Design Group, which runs the Meta
Network, explained that AT&T "will drop a line directly to our
machine. At the moment it's for ABA/net. This is the first group
that will start using the link, but the idea is to bring on other
Easylink customers once ABA link is settled." The Meta Network's
agreement on the link is with AT&T, which in turn contracted with
the ABA.

The ABA has a long and interesting history online. It was first
hosted on the Dialcom system, then moved to iNet. "In both
systems they had caucus," Carlson said, the same software used
on the Meta Network. "They made that a requirement when they put
it out for bid again."

What Carlson sees as most important in the new deal is that AT&T
seems to understand that successful computer conferencing
requires more than software: it requires human moderation. "They
saw us as more than a facility provider, but as an information
provider. They saw the human requirements of making this facility
work."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920422/ Press Contact: Lisa Carlson,
Metasystems Design Group, 703-243-6622)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 22 UK: Tetra Fights Recession By Recruiting New Staff 04/22/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00016)

UK: Tetra Fights Recession By Recruiting New Staff 04/22/92
MAIDENHEAD, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 22 (NB) -- It may seem
an odd way to fight the recession, but Tetra, one of the UK's
largest business software houses, has come up with its own
solution -- recruit more staff.

The reason for the recruitment campaign, which has added 20 people
to the company's payroll, is that the worst of the recession in
the UK appears to be over, according to Karen Brown, Tetra's
personnel manager.

Brown argues that, for companies which are able to take on new
staff, now is the ideal time to recruit. "Although the computer
industry has experienced substantial unemployment over the past
two years, there is still an underlying skills shortage," she
said.

"As a result, when the economy picks up, recruitment will become
a problem once more. So, if we can find experienced staff now, we
will be ready for the upturn when it comes," she added.

In addition to the 20 new staff added to the company payroll in
recent months, Tetra has recruited four graduate programmers and
two graduate finance trainees as part of its annual graduate
recruitment programme, Paul Wheaton, the company's marketing and
sales director, revealed.

"Tetra has seen an increasing share of the UK business software
market in the past two years despite the recession. We're
starting to take advantage of the business upturn expected in the
market in the second half of 1992," he said.

(Steve Gold/19920422/Press & Public Contact: Tetra - Tel: 0628-
770939)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 22  ****Bad CHEXS? TRW Sues Treasury Over CHEXS Cancellation 04/22/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00017)

 ****Bad CHEXS? TRW Sues Treasury Over CHEXS Cancellation 04/22/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 22 (NB) -- While the IRS is
being criticized for management of other procurement contracts,
TRW, a defense contractor new to the data processing business,
wants to sue the Treasury Department to recover the $8 million
TRW spent on bid-related costs after the IRS decided to cancel
the CHEXS (optical scanning and storage) contract on which TRW
was the sole bidder.

Some observers say that TRW is right to be upset over what they
say are inept IRS procurement practices, which, among other
things, delayed the announcement of the cancellation until 18
months after the bids closed. Some suggest, however, that one
reason for the delays might have been IRS's need to determine
whether there was any legal precedent for using document images
(rather than the originals) in court cases.

Newsbytes was contacted by IRS employees actively seeking such
information during the time the contract was being considered.
The contacts involved an informal request for information about
several court cases and made no mention of the CHEXS contract, TRW,
or any other bidder - the information sought was purely technical.

TRW contends that the IRS's decision has cost it millions of
dollars in a fruitless 2-to-3-year effort to win a contract which
was eventually cancelled before a dollar was spent by the
government.

CHEXS would have had a value of about $100 million over a seven-
year period.

When it announced the cancellation of the contract, on which work
began in the fall of 1989, the IRS said that the agency's needs
had changed and it no longer needed the system.

During the negotiation period on CHEXS, TRW did receive a much
larger Integration Support Contract from the same agency.

Some Washington insiders feel that TRW is still thinking in a
"defense contractor" mode rather than as a computer services
vendor and that the suit stands little if any chance.

A US Claims Court denied TRW's request for a temporary
injunction blocking the cancellation of the contract, but a final
decision on the request to reopen the contract will not be made
until this fall at the earliest.

(John McCormick/19920422)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 22 IRS Update Again Held Hostage To Protests 04/22/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00018)

IRS Update Again Held Hostage To Protests 04/22/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 22 (NB) -- H. Ross Perot says
that if elected president he would collect more taxes by
modernizing IRS (Internal Revenue Service) computers, but that
idea isn't new and would he have any better luck than the present
administration? That question comes to mind as the Treasury
Multiuser Acquisition Contract has again run into a roadblock of
protests by losing bidders.

Late this March, AT&T was once again awarded the TMAC by the
Department of the Treasury, but for the second time IBM and
Lockheed have protested the award. At the same time the GAO or
General Accounting Office has released three new reports
criticizing IRS procurement procedures.

IBM has charged that the IRS did not give adequate consideration
to the fact that its bid was about half as expensive as AT&T's,
despite meeting all the published bid requirements. Lockheed,
which had submitted a bid above IBM's but well below that of
AT&T, protested the award on similar grounds.

A hearing on the latest round of protests is now scheduled for
the first week in May. IBM and Lockheed's first protest, filed on
July 25, 1991, just ten days after the contract was initially
awarded to AT&T, was upheld by the GAO's Board of Contract
Appeals in September of 1991.

The IRS's request for proposals has been criticized for being far
too vague, and IBM has asked that the OMB revoke the IRS's
procurement authority and asked for reimbursement of protest
costs.

Following a letter he wrote to Treasury Secretary Nicholas Brady
in February, 1991, which criticized the IRS for apparently trying
to circumvent contract oversight by the GAO, Senator John Glenn
(D. OH), chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee,
requested last summer that the GAO's Information Management and
Technology Division investigate the IRS's TMAC award to AT&T.

The TMAC involves the sale, installation, and training related to the
modernization of IRS computer systems. The AT&T bid of $1.4
billion covered sale and support of 50,000 personal computers,
3,200 Pyramid Technology minicomputers, and the technology needed
to link all of them together in a POSIX (the Portable Operating
System Interface for UNIX standard set by the IEEE)-compliant
system.

Lockheed says that it met all the contract requirements for 40
percent less, or about $900 million, while IBM's bid was slightly
less than $700 million.

The IRS defends its decision to award the contract to the highest
bidder by saying that AT&T proposed a more advanced and flexible
package. IBM and Lockheed don't deny that the AT&T system is more
sophisticated but say that if the IRS wanted a better system then
the bid request should have reflected that desire.

(John McCormick/19920422/)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 22 DoD To Consolidate Supercomputer Sites 04/22/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00019)

DoD To Consolidate Supercomputer Sites 04/22/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 22 (NB) -- The Department of
Defense wants to save money and better serve its three services
(Army, Air Force, and Navy/Marine Corps) by investing
several hundred million dollars in building a more centralized
supercomputer system linked to smaller facilities via high-speed
networks.

Federal Computer Week's Carolyn Duffy Marsan reports that this
tri-service use of the same computers would be similar to the
already announced corporate information management proposals
which will eventually link up the services' non-research computer
systems.

Probably missed by many is the fact that this new supercomputer
proposal describes the DoD's intention of migrating from the
present "vector" architecture supercomputers to massively
parallel systems, a move which could spur research and
development of parallel software.

Software for parallel computers is the major stumbling block to
making real use of this powerful technology and if the government
gets involved in this field in a big way the trickle-down of
ideas and public domain code could be a major boost.

The overall plan is the brain child of DARPA or the Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency and was developed in
conjunction with the Director of Defense Research and
Engineering's office.

Congress requested that the DoD come up with a supercomputer
modernization plan several years ago, and it isn't known whether
the $40 million per year that Defense wants to spend on upgrading
and consolidating supercomputer sites will meet the Hill's
requirements for a specific plan with an emphasis on acquisition
schedules.

There is certain to be a lot of heat over this plan since some
computer companies as well as government research sites will be
affected greatly, with some DoD installations slated for staff
reductions and probably even for closure under the consolidation
plan.

Minnesota-based Cray is the only company which builds the older
"vector"-type supercomputers.

(John McCormick/19920422)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 22 Unisys Results Better, Company Optimistic 04/22/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00020)

Unisys Results Better, Company Optimistic 04/22/92
BLUE BELL, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 22 (NB) -- Unisys has
reported net income of $48.3 million for the first quarter,
compared with a net loss of $98.2 million in the 1991 first
quarter. The company believes its cost-cutting efforts are paying
off and the future is bright, said J. Peter Hynes, a spokesman for
Unisys.

The company's revenue was $2,010 million in the quarter, down from
$2,060 million in the first quarter of last year. That reflected
the sale of the Timeplex subsidiary last June, Unisys said, and
after deducting Timeplex's $62 million in revenue from the first
quarter 1991 figures, this year's first-quarter revenue was up
slightly.

Unisys has nearly met the goals it set for itself in a
restructuring announcement last July, Hynes said. Those goals were
to cut 10,000 jobs and to reduce the company's annual costs by $800
million by the end of this June. Unisys now has 58,500 employees,
Hynes said.

"There's no question that we have turned the corner," Hynes said.
"We have brought our cost structure in line with changes in the
computer industry, and we are probably ahead of most of our
competitors in doing so."

Unisys said its information systems orders in the United States
grew at a healthy rate, but the market remained soft in Europe.
That reflects economic conditions in Europe, Hynes said.

Information systems products registering the strongest gains
worldwide for the quarter included large-scale mainframes which are
now in the early stage of new product cycles, Unix systems, and
software products.

Unisys said its Paramax defence products subsidiary did well in the
first quarter. Defence orders can fluctuate sharply from quarter to
quarter because of the large size of most orders in that business,
the company said. However, Hynes denied that a good quarter in the
defence business had "skewed" the company's results.

Unisys said its operating expenses were at their lowest
quarterly level in six years and down 17 percent from a year ago.
Interest expense dropped 24 percent on less borrowing and lower
rates.

Inventories were slightly below the fourth quarter and 33 percent
below a year ago, Unisys said. Total debt net of cash declined
about $100 million to $2,400 million and the company's cash balance
remained at just over $800 million.

(Grant Buckler/19920422/Press Contact: J. Peter Hynes, Unisys,
215-986-6948)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 22 Apple Canada Gets New President 04/22/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(TOR)(00021)

Apple Canada Gets New President 04/22/92
MARKHAM, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 APR 22 (NB) -- Peter Jones, formerly
vice-president of sales, has been appointed president of Apple
Canada. He succeeds David Rae, who after seven years at the helm of
Apple's Canadian subsidiary is moving to Colorado to work for a
non-profit, worldwide Christian organization.

Jones, who has worked for Apple Canada for 11 years, will take over
the job of president immediately, said John Elias, a spokesman for
the company. Rae has "a couple of commitments remaining," but will
be moving to Colorado by the end of June, Elias told Newsbytes.

Jones has been involved in Apple Canada's sales and marketing
functions as national sales manager, national marketing manager,
and vice-president of sales. He is a native of Toronto and holds an
honors degree in business administration from the University of
Windsor in Windsor, Ontario.

Rae is to become head of international operations for the
Navigators, a business and professional Christian ministry
organization.

(Grant Buckler/19920422/Press Contact: Franca Miraglia, Apple
Canada, 416-513-5511; John Elias, National Public Relations for
Apple Canada, 416-860-0180, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 22 IBM, Intel Announce XGA Cooperation 04/22/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00022)

IBM, Intel Announce XGA Cooperation 04/22/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 APR 22 (NB) -- Continuing efforts
to promote its Extended Graphics Array (XGA) display technology as
the next industry standard, IBM has announced an agreement with
Intel, which will build new XGA chip sets for other PC makers and
option vendors.

Developed at IBM's Hursley Laboratories in the United Kingdom and
launched in October, 1990 as standard equipment on Personal
System/2 Model 90 and 95 machines, XGA is a video-graphics design
meant for fast, high-resolution graphics in windowing environments.
It offers resolution of 1,024 by 768 pixels with 256 colors, and is
upward-compatible with IBM's Video Graphics Array (VGA) standard.

In addition to the Model 90 and 95 PS/2s, IBM offers XGA as an
option for most of its other personal computer models.

The agreement calls for IBM to transfer its XGA design to Intel,
which will develop, manufacture, and market integrated circuit
implementations of XGA. IBM will continue to manufacture XGA
components for its own use. The companies said they will work
together to promote and market XGA devices as the next PC graphics
standard.

While XGA is mainly a high-end standard today, IBM spokesman
Michael Reiter said it will not be long before the technology moves
into the PC mainstream, at least as far as IBM's products are
concerned.

It is not the first XGA licensing deal for IBM. Last September, the
company licensed the British firm Inmos to make XGA chip sets. That
was strictly a manufacturing agreement, however. This agreement
gives Intel the right to develop new implementations using its own
technology in addition to IBM's, Reiter said.

Last June, IBM took the unprecedented step of joining the Video
Electronics Standards Association's (VESA) XGA technical committee,
signalling its interest in promoting an industry-wide XGA standard.

(Grant Buckler/19920422/Press Contact: Pam Pollace, Intel,
408-765-1435; Tara Sexton, IBM, 914-642-4662)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 22  ****CPA Awards Honor Journalists, Including Newsbytes 04/22/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00023)

 ****CPA Awards Honor Journalists, Including Newsbytes 04/22/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 APR 22 (NB) -- Newsbytes News
Network has been honored by the Computer Press Association,
winning first runner up in "Best Online Publication." This is the
second time Newsbytes has received runner-up status in this annual
event. Twice before, Newsbytes received the top award, Best
Online Publication.

The best online publication category had 22 entries, the largest
number in the CPA awards' 7 year history. The highest honor, Best
Online Publication, went this year to Prodigy's Computer Club.
Macworld Online also won runners-up.

Judging this category, Pauline Ores, editor-in-chief of
PC Publishing and Presentation, and Tom Farre, editor of
Reseller Management, said of Newsbytes, "This online computer
service is focussed, to the point ... just what an online news
service should be. The content is timely, articles well written,
and the reporters and editors have a real nose for news."

There were an average of 20-40 submissions for each of the Computer
Press Association's 21 categories, the largest number ever submitted
for the awards. The ceremony also hosted the largest number of
attendees in its history - 140 guests. The awards, honored outstanding
work by high technology journalists in 1991, were held at
New York City's Tavern-on-the-Green Restaurant.

Judges for the 1991 awards included Bill Machrone, publishing director,
PC Magazine; Jerry Borrell, editor-in-chief, MacWorld; William Bulkeley,
staff reporter, The Wall Street Journal; Esther Dyson, editor and
publisher, Release1.0; Geoff Lewis, senior editor, Business Week;
Stewart Cheifet, executive producer, Computer Chronicles; and
columnist John C. Dvorak.

CPA President Galen Gruman and Robert Adam of Citizen America Corp.,
the co-sponsor of the awards and luncheon, and Hal Glatzer, CPA
Awards Chairman, presented the awards to the winners and runners up.

Deborah Branscum was honored as best computer columnist for her monthly
columns in MacWorld, finishing ahead of runners-up Steven Levy, also
of MacWorld, and Chris O'Malley of PC Sources. Preston Gralla received
the award for authoring the best feature in a computer publication.
His "Online Suicide," appearing in the May 1991 issue of PC/Computing,
detailed the suicide of 43 year-old Blair Newman, a PC industry
figure who, until shortly before his death, had been a prolific
contributor to the WELL (Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link). Shortly
before his suicide, Newman erased hundreds of messages he had posted
on the WELL.

MacWorld was judged the best computer magazine, circulation more
than 50,000 while Computers In Accounting received the award for
best computer magazine, circulation less than 50,000." Computer
Retail Week won the award for best computer newspaper, circulation
less than 50,000; PC Week for best computer publication,
circulation more than 50,000 and "Windows Watcher" newsletter for
best computer newsletter.

In the various book categories, the awards went to "Computers and
Society: Impact!" by David O. Arnold (Best Nonfiction Computer Book),
"Getting Started With the Apple Macintosh including System 7" by
Neil Salkind (Best Introductory How-To Book - Systems), "Microsoft
Excel Step by Step" (no named author) (Best Introductory How-
To Book - Software), "The Art of Computer Systems Performance
Analysis" by Raj Jain (Best Advanced How-To Book - Systems),
and "Real World PageMaker 4: Industrial Strength Techniques,
Windows Edition" by Jesse Berst (Best Advanced How-To Book
- Software). It was a big day for Berst, whose publication, Windows
Watcher, also won best newsletter.

British science fiction author Douglas Adams received the Best
Opinion or Editorial in Computer Publication award for his "Under-
The-Desktop Publishing" which appeared in MacUser. In the review
categories, "Introducing: The PowerBooks" by Russell Ito in MacUser
received the Best Hardware Product Review award while Craig Stinson's
PC Magazine piece "Spreadsheets Begin to Put the User First" was the
winner of Best Software Product Review.

In the categories relating to general interest publications, G.
Pascal Zachery & Stephen Kreider Voder of the Wall Street Journal
received the award Best News Story in General Interest Publication
for their "Apple, IBM Discuss Swap of Technology." Elizabeth
Corcoran's Scientific American article "Calculating Reality" won
the Best Feature in General Interest Publication award. The Best
News Story in Computer Publication award went to Peter Kraus of
Information Week for his "Akers Memo: Backlash."

The Business Radio Network's "Computing Success!" was the
winner of the Best Radio Program award and "ABC News, PC Tenth
Anniversary Show" was judged Best Television Program.

Entries for consideration for the 1992 awards will be accepted by the
Computer Press Association in November, 1992.

The winners will be announced in the "Columbia Journalism Review"
magazine in the July-August issue.

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen & Linda Rohrbough/
19920422/Press Contact: Holly Padove, Horizon Communications,
805-466-5955)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 22 Aldus Replaces Two Top Execs 04/22/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00024)

Aldus Replaces Two Top Execs 04/22/92
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 APR 22 (NB) -- Aldus Corporation
has announced that two of its top executives are leaving "to
pursue other interests and opportunities."

Phil Herres, acting chief operating officer, will be replaced
immediately by Sandy Smith, who is presently Aldus VP of operations.
Aaron Howard, president of Aldus USA, will be replaced by Jim David
on May 4, although Howard will remain with the company until the end
of May. David was president of Buttonware, the Bellevue,
Washington-based software company started by Jim Button to
distribute shareware. In recent years, Buttonware has turned to the
commercial sale of its products.

As acting chief operating officer, Smith will oversee a portion of
Herres former responsibilities, managing the company's sales,
operations, finance, and worldwide subsidiary activities. The
engineering and marketing functions, which at Aldus normally are
also under the COO's umbrella, will be handled by Aldus President
Paul Brainerd.

Aldus spokesperson Brad Stevens told Newsbytes that one of the
factors that led to the departure of Herres and Howard were a desire
on the part of Aldus to refocus its sales and marketing strategy.
"Not only in terms of selling our current product line, but looking
into the future in terms of where we want to go," said Stevens.

Speaking about the industry retail trend towards superstores,
Stevens said, "We feel that to be successful we have to
have the product, the right marketing approach and the right sales
approach." Davis has extensive experience in the sales field,
including serving as general manager of corporate sales at Egghead
Discount Software, where he built a national sales organization of
400 employees, and increased sales from $20 million to $200 million
in three years, according to Aldus.

Asked why Herres, and now Smith, were appointed as acting COOs,
Stevens said that it gave Aldus the opportunity to see if they are
getting the right candidate for the position, and also gives
Smith the chance to see if that's the job she wants to do. "She's
the best and most qualified person to fill that position in an
interim role," said Stevens.

Asked if Brainerd would continue to oversee the engineering and
marketing organizations, Stevens said the company would probably
select a person for that position eventually. Aldus also has an
acting VP of marketing, Jill Bamburg, who has been in the position
since December of 1991. The company said it might fill that
position either internally or externally.

Aldus has announced its first quarter financial results for the
first quarter, ending the period with revenues of $44.1 million,
compared with $40.3 million for the same period last year. However,
earnings were down from $6.3 million last year to $4.7 million,
losing $0.10 per share over the previous year.

According to VP of finance Bill McAleer, sales were up on products
that shipped during the fourth quarter last year, but expenses were
also up due to increased sales and marketing expenses for the
quarter. Amortization of capitalized software development costs
also impacted operating costs, said McAleer.

Aldus stock has dropped steadily for the past year, finishing off
$1.25 at the beginning of this week at 20-7/8. The low for the past
year was 20-1/2.

(Jim Mallory/Press contact: Brad Stevens, Aldus Corporation,
206-628-2361)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 22 Tandy 3Q Results Up Over Last Year 04/22/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00025)

Tandy 3Q Results Up Over Last Year 04/22/92
FORT WORTH, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 22 (NB) -- Tandy Corporation
announced this week that combined sales and operating revenues for
the third quarter were up a modest 7.4 percent compared to the
same period last year.

However, net income for the quarter was down $1.58 million, or $0.04
cents per share, to $0.41 cents.

Chairman John Roach said that the new Computer City SuperCenter
stores are performing up to expectation, with ten stores already
open, and at least another ten to be opened by the end of 1992.
Roach also said the company would open its first Computer City in
Europe.

Tandy has also reconfirmed the coming of another type retail outlet.
"Incredible Universe" will carry not only electronics
items but appliances, as reported by Newsbytes recently.

Consolidated sales and operating revenues for the nine month period
ending March 31 were $3.6 million, compared to $3.58 million for the
same period last year. Net income per share for the first nine
months was $1.90, compared to $2.21 for the same period last year.

(Jim Mallory/19920422/Press contact: Philip Bradtmiller, Tandy
Corporation, 817-390-3730)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 22  ****Microsoft Nabs Largest Counterfeiting Ring In Asia 4/22/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEN)(00026)

 ****Microsoft Nabs Largest Counterfeiting Ring In Asia 4/22/92
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 APR 22 (NB) -- Microsoft's
software counterfeiting cops have struck again, this time extending
their reach into Asia. The raids represent the single largest
seizure of counterfeit products and documentation made by the
company.

Working with law enforcement authorities in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and
the Peoples Republic of China, Microsoft said it has shut down a
software piracy operation which it estimates was producing as many
as 75,000 fraudulent copies of Microsoft software each month. The
packages included MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows, according to
Microsoft.

Five separate police raids in three separate countries uncovered the
counterfeiters, who were producing program disks, fake manuals, and
package components. Some 5,000 counterfeit packages, 20,000 fake
manuals, 13,000 pirated diskettes and thousands of counterfeit
holograms were seized. This particularly concerns Microsoft as
the hologram is the distinctive device on each package which
identifies MS-DOS 4.01, 5.0 and the 5.0 upgrade as an
authentic Microsoft program.

After further investigation, production of the fake holograms was
traced to the Shenzhen Reflective Materials Institute in the PRC. In
March 1992, simultaneous raids in Shenzhen and Hong Kong uncovered
counterfeit hologram moulds and documentation showing fulfilled
orders for 450,000 fake holograms and an outstanding order for three
million.

The press used to make the holograms was seized in the raids, and is
presently in the hands of Asian police authorities. Microsoft hopes
to get it back, so it can be destroyed, Katy Ehrlich, Microsoft
spokeswoman in the US said.

Microsoft encourages legitimate licensees, who manufacture MS-DOS
under their own label, to use the hologram on their packaging to
deter counterfeiting. Erlich told Newsbytes that the quality of
the hologram was very realistic. "It was a good job."

"We will be briefing the Taiwan Government, and in particular the
Anti-Counterfeiting Committee and the Board of Foreign Trade, about
the evidence uncovered by the Chinese authorities," said Alix
Parlour, Microsoft's corporate attorney for the Asia region.

Microsoft is pursuing litigation against Fong Shu Gwong, a suspect
caught during the raids. If convicted, individuals involved in the
counterfeit operation face lengthy jail sentences and significant
fines.

According to Microsoft, the seizures included fake copies of
English, French, German, Italian and Swedish language versions of
MS-DOS 3.0, which according to seized records were headed for Asia,
Australia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and the US.

Microsoft has long taken a strong position on counterfeiting, and
presses for lengthy jail sentences and stiff fines if the alleged
counterfeiters are convicted.

The company said the investigation took almost six months. The
company said other investigations of possible counterfeiting are
presently ongoing, but declined to give details.

(Jim Mallory & Norman Wingrove/19920422/Press contact: Katy Ehrlich,
Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft, 206-637-9097; Ramny Fite, Microsoft,
[phone]; HK time is GMT + 8)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 22 Aldus Reports 1Q Earnings 04/22/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00027)

Aldus Reports 1Q Earnings 04/22/92
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 APR 22 (NB) -- Aldus Corporation
has released its revenue and earnings for the first quarter, with
revenue up nine percent and earnings down. International sales were
down comparatively, with overseas business accounting for 43 percent
of revenue, compared to 49 percent for the first quarter last year.

The company said revenues were up due to retail sales as well as
sales of upgrades to its products, including Aldus Freehand for
Windows and for the Mac, as well as Pagemaker for the Macintosh.

Speaking about international sales, Finance VP Bill McAleer said
that while UK sales improved somewhat, revenue in France, Sweden and
Germany were affected by weak market conditions.

McAleer said that Aldus implemented new sales and marketing programs
to attract new customers and for sales to the existing customer
base, increasing sales and marketing expenses for the quarter. The
company also amortized capitalized software development costs during
the first quarter for its new products.

Net sales for the quarter were $44.1 million, compared to $40.3
million the previous year. Gross margin on sales was $34.8 million,
up from $32.5 million in 1991. Aldus spent just over $4 million for
research and development, up just over 16 percent. Net income was
reported as $4.7 million, compared to $6.3 million last year.

Aldus stock has dropped steadily for the past year, finishing off
$1.25 at the beginning of this week at 20-7/8. The low for the past
year was 20-1/2. Asked by Newsbytes why the company's stock
continued to drop, Stevens said the company didn't know, attributing
the plunge to the vagaries of the stock market.

(Jim Mallory/19920422/Press contact: Brad Stevens, Aldus
Corporation, 206-628-2361

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 22 Informix Earns $11.43M In 1Q 04/22/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00028)

Informix Earns $11.43M In 1Q 04/22/92
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 22 (NB) -- Informix
Corporation has announced its first quarter revenues are up 56
percent over the same period last year. The company also said that
first quarter earnings were a record for the company.

Executive Officer Phil White said revenues were up more than 50
percent in each of the company's three worldwide sales regions (the
Americas, Europe, and the Asia/Pacific market). Quarterly results
included the first $5 million payment from Boeing Computer Systems
for its RCAS (Reserve Component Automation System), a program which
keeps track of information about members of the Army Reserve.

White said Informix was very pleased with the market reception to
Online 5.0, and is enthusiastic about products the company plans to
introduce by the end of the year.

Informix reported net income of $11.43 million, compared to a
$2.2 million loss for the 1991 first quarter. Costs
and expenses were up about 15 percent for the quarter over the
same period last year. Earnings per share were $0.73 per share,
compared to a $0.16 loss per share last year.

According to Informix spokesperson Margaret Reilly, Informix' cash
was up $12M, to $54.2M.

(Jim Mallory/19920422/Press contact: Margaret Reilly, Informix,
415-926-6025)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 22 New For PC: Lotus 1-2-3 For Home 04/22/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(NYC)(00029)

New For PC: Lotus 1-2-3 For Home 04/22/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Lotus
Development Corp. has announced the immediate availability of 1-2-3
for Home, a product it describes as "the first Lotus spreadsheet
specifically designed to meet the needs of home computer users."
1-2-3 for home has a suggested retail price of $149.

1-2-3 for Home contains a version of 1-2-3 tailored for home use and
SmartSheets, a set of 50 customized application templates. They
include "Statement of Net Worth," which provides users with a snapshot
of their present financial condition; "Refinancing a Mortgage,"
which analyzes the opportunity of refinancing a mortgage;
"Year End Tax Plan" which helps calculate quarterly tax payments
and year-end tax planning; and "College Costs," which calculates
the estimated total cost of sending children to college and the
required yearly investment to attain that goal.

Lotus spokesperson Karen Schiff told Newsbytes that the version of
1-2-3 included with the new product, while retaining the
functionality of 1-2-3, has been modified so it will run on
minimal hardware configurations while providing the power considered
appropriate to the home user. She said, "The size of the spreadsheet
has been narrowed to 512 columns and 256 rows and the File
Viewer and Auditor features of other 1-2-3 MS-DOS versions have not
been included. They were features not considered needed for the average
home user, particularly at the expense of larger equipment."

1-2-3 for Home requires an IBM PC or Lotus certified compatible with a
minimum of 512K of RAM, a hard disk and DOS 2.1 or higher.

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/Press Contact: Karen Schiff,
McGlincey & Paul; 617-862-4514/19920422)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 22 SuperMac Technology To Go Public 04/22/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00030)

SuperMac Technology To Go Public 04/22/92
SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 22 (NB) -- While much
of the computer industry claims a poor economic climate and blames
the recession for low sales, some companies are posting big
profits and carrying on business as usual. One such company is
SuperMac Technology, which has announced that it has filed a
registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission
with respect to a proposed initial public offering of 2,500,000 shares
of its common stock.

According to the company it will offer 1,500,000 shares to the public,
and certain of its stockholders will offer another 1,000,000 shares.
The offering price of the stock is currently expected to be between
$10 and $12 per share.

James A. Heisch, spokesperson for the company, told Newsbytes
that the company "wanted to have obtained (good) operating
results...for three quarters," before it went public.

The offering will be comanaged by Montgomery Securities,
PaineWebber Inc. and Volpe, Welty & Co.

SuperMac offers a line of graphics controller and accelerator
cards, large-screen color displays and digital-video cards to
address the needs of the desktop color-publishing, business
productivity, and digital video markets.

Heisch told Newsbytes that the funds would be used "mostly for
corporate purposes" including working capital, but declined to
elaborate further.

Only a month ago, Newsbytes reported that the company was
undertaking an new aggressive strategy to increase its Apple
Macintosh peripherals market share by cutting its prices, some
as much as 40 percent. The price cuts were mostly in the realm
of display monitors, cards, and color publishing products.

The company's Video Spigot board has shown to be a popular item
for the company. At MacWorld in January, Newsbytes reported that
a spokeswoman for the company claimed that the company had
sold $1.1 million worth of them in December alone, the first month
they were shipped. The Video Spigot board represents the easiest
way yet available to transfer full-motion analog video images to
digital format, a process required for the creation of digital video
"movies" of the kind created with programs such as Adobe's
Premier.

Heisch told Newsbytes that: "The Video Spigot is obviously
outperforming our wildest expectations, but it is only the first of
many digital video products that we have planned and will be
announcing."

Asked if the Video Spigot's success had a direct relation to
going public, he said: "It was not a key event to stimulate the
public offering."

(Ian Stokell/19920422/Press Contact: James A. Heisch, SuperMac
Technology, 408-245-2202)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 22 WordStar/Apple Bundle Writing Tools With Macs 04/22/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00031)

WordStar/Apple Bundle Writing Tools With Macs 04/22/92
NOVATO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 22 (NB) -- Just a week
after calling off its proposed merger with forms and fax software
publisher Delrina, WordStar International has signed an agreement
with Apple Computer that calls for the bundling of its Correct Grammar
and the American Heritage Dictionary writing tools with all Macintosh
computers sold through Apple's Educator Advantage Program.

According to the company, the special bundling program will run
from May 1 through August 1, 1992, with an estimated 30-35,000 units
of each WordStar product likely to be shipped.

Kathleen Raycraft, spokesperson for WordStar, told Newsbytes that
the company "sees the educational market as important," and that
it "will continue to see (similar bundling) opportunities in the future."

Correct Grammar is a grammar and style checking application for
the Macintosh, Windows, and MS-DOS users. Correct Grammar
checks for errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, syntax and style.
The Macintosh version is claimed to be System 7-savvy and uses
Balloon Help to give users context-sensitive, on-line information.

Asked if there are likely to be further deals with Apple, Raycraft told
Newsbytes that "we are optimistic that there will be more of these
sort of relationships," although she declined to single out Apple.

The company maintains that the program fully supports Clipboard
text interchange of standard text, Microsoft Rich Text Format (RTF)
and Claris Styled Text. This allows Correct Grammar to check text in
any text-based Macintosh application, as well as word processing
software. The retail price for the Macintosh and DOS versions
is $99, and $119 for the Windows version.

The American Heritage Dictionary for the Macintosh is the
electronic version of Houghton Mifflin's print dictionary. As a Desk
Accessory it is always available from the Apple menu. It includes
116,000 definitions, the complete Roget's II Electronic Thesaurus
with 500,000 synonym choices for 42,000 words, and a reverse
search capability, called WordHunter. Also System 7-compatible,
the American Heritage Dictionary for the Macintosh is available for
Macintosh, Windows and DOS environments for $99.

As reported previously by Newsbytes, the merger with Delrina fell
through with both companies citing management issues, accounting
problems, and legal issues as the cause of the failure.

(Ian Stokell/19920422/Press Contact: Kristin Keyes, WordStar
International Inc., 415-382-4955)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 22 Chips & Techn Wins Injunction Against Opti Computer 04/22/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(SFO)(00032)

Chips & Techn Wins Injunction Against Opti Computer 04/22/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 22 (NB) -- It seems Chips
and Technologies is spending a great deal of its time in the courts of
Northern California, first with Intel, and now with Opti Computer. With
its latest case, Chips has won a preliminary injunction in the United
States District Court in San Jose, prohibiting Opti from using the term
"page interleaving" in its advertising and promotion of its chipsets.

According to Chips, page interleaving was introduced by the
company in 1986, and is a method for accessing a computer's
memory in a "highly efficient manner."

The court decided that Opti's use of the term is misleading to the
public because chipset consumers had come to associate
"page interleaving" with the method of memory access
successfully introduced by Chips. The court also decided that,
through its misleading use of the term, Opti has "unfairly honed
into Chips' market."

According to Chips, the court order requires that all of Opti's product
literature, advertising, and promotional documents that state or
imply that the products perform page interleaving be impounded.

Chips' ongoing court battle with Intel, as reported previously by
Newsbytes, originally centered around complaints filed by Intel,
alleging five violations of Intel's 386 chip patents and one violation
of its 387 math coprocessor chip patent.

Only two weeks ago, Chips was claiming it had won the first round
in the patent suit, when Intel was prevented from obtaining a
restraining order barring Chips from transferring its Super386 and
Supermath processor designs to others. Such an action would
have blocked a planned sharing of the technology with Texas
Instruments (TI) who has an agreement with Chips to manufacture
the processors.

Just this week, Chips posted losses totaling $10.3 million, or $0.70
per share, for the third quarter ended March 31, 1992.

(Ian Stokell/19920422/Press Contact: Gavin Bourne, Chips &
Technologies Inc., 408-434-0600)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 22 Chips Posts 3Q losses, Licenses NatSemi Technology 04/22/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00033)

Chips Posts 3Q losses, Licenses NatSemi Technology 04/22/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 22 (NB) -- Amid
a flurry of activity that includes law suits with Intel and Opti
Computer, and a new licensing agreement with National
Semiconductor, Chips and Technologies has now reported net
sales of $31.3 million, but a net loss of $10.3 million, or $0.70 per
share, for the third quarter ended March 31, 1992.

According to the company, third quarter 1992 results compare to net
sales of $55.6 million and a net loss of $4.8 million, or $0.37 per share,
for the third quarter ended March 31, 1991. For the nine months ended
March 31, 1992, Chips reported net sales of $108 million and a net
loss of $48.6 million, or $3.47 per share. This compares to net sales
of $176.2 million and a net loss of $4.3 million, or $0.34 per share
for the nine months ended March 31, 1991.

Gordon Campbell, Chips' president and chief executive officer, put
on a brave face by saying: "The chipset market continues to be
characterized by intense competition and continued price erosion.
Unit volume shipments declined in third quarter 1992 as compared
to second quarter 1992 and third quarter 1991. Additionally, we
have experienced further sales price declines on many of the
CHIPset products that currently account for a large portion of our
shipments. Finally, there appeared to be a general softness in the
PC market in January and February 1992."

The company claims however, that its reduction in force is
complete and the restructuring efforts started last quarter are
"progressing." Also, it claims that cost control and cutting measures
have resulted in decreased operating expenses over the prior
quarter.

The agreement with National Semiconductor calls for Chips
to license NatSemi's proprietary PC16550 UART (universal
asynchronous receiver- transmitters) technology for use in its
"existing and future products in the 82C7XX family of Universal I/O
Controllers," according to Haw-Ming Haung, general manager of
communications.

UARTs are the semiconductor devices which allow computers to
communicate serially with modems, peripherals, and other computers.
National Semiconductor claims its UARTs have been the standard
for personal computers since the introduction of the original IBM PC in
1981.

"We see this agreement as an important step in an ongoing
relationship between National Semiconductor and Chips and
Technologies," said Mike McCullough, National Semiconductor's
marketing director. "This represents Chips and Technologies'
recognition of National Semiconductor's strong intellectual
property rights position."

The terms of the agreement were not released.

Chips has been in the news in the past month because of its
ongoing court battle with Intel, as reported previously by Newsbytes.
The case originally centered around complaints filed by Intel,
alleging five violations of Intel's 386 chip patents and one violation
of its 387 math coprocessor chip patent.

The company was also in the news in late February, when Newsbytes
reported that it had announced new list prices on its Intel-compatible
math coprocessors. The price of the SuperMath 38700DX coprocessor,
capable of speeds ranging from 16 to 25 megahertz (MHz), was cut
to $249. The price of the SuperMath 38700SX was cut to $139 for the
slowest version.

(Ian Stokell/19920422/Press Contact: Margaret Mehling, National
Semiconductor Corp., 408-721-2639; Gavin Bourne, Chips and
Technologies, Inc., 408-434-0600)

#ENDCARD





#CARD :1992 APR 21 New For Mac: Radius Intros Low-Cost Color Pivot/LE Display 04/21/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00001)

New For Mac: Radius Intros Low-Cost Color Pivot/LE Display 04/21/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Hoping to
capture more of the lower-end display market, Radius Inc., has
introduced the Color Pivot/LE, a cheaper version of the original
Radius Color Pivot for the Macintosh.

The Color Pivot/LE is a 15-inch 256-color dual orientation display
which rotates to display a color document in either portrait or
landscape orientation. The LE version provides 78 dots-per-inch
and features 624 by 832 resolution, the same as Apple's 16-inch
color display.

Larry Herman, spokesman for the company, told Newsbytes that
the company felt there was a definite market for the lower-cost
Pivot.

The company maintains that, priced at $1,199, the Pivot/LE
represents a considerable cost saving over the $1,549 for the
original Color Pivot (and $1,699 for Apple's 16-inch).

Herman told Newsbytes that the "electronics are different"
between the original Color Pivot and the Color Pivot/LE. "We
basically attempted cost-reducing" the product, he said.

Ed Colligan, Radius general manager, Macintosh products, said:
"For Macintosh users who want to connect to their system's built-in
video, get four-bits of resolution and eliminate the need for an
interface card, the original Color Pivot is the ideal choice."
However, he added: "For those who want eight-bit resolution at
256 colors, the Color Pivot/LE is the logical answer. The Color
Pivot/LE provides dual orientation at a lower price than the original
Color Pivot and the same 624 by 832 resolution as Apple's
Macintosh 16-inch Color Display for $500 less."

Unlike the original Color Pivot, the Color Pivot/LE must always
be used with a Radius Color Pivot Interface card. The company
maintains that Radius Color Pivot Interfaces are available for all
NuBus Macintoshes, the Macintosh LC and LC II, and the
Macintosh SE/30, for a suggested retail price of $599.

According to Herman, the original Color Pivot was a "native portrait"
display, while the Color Pivot/LE is a "native landscape" display.
Consequently, The Pivot/LE "doesn't support Mac built-in video,"
he told Newsbytes.

Just last week, Newsbytes reported that Radius, in an effort
to gain increased market penetration within the United States,
particularly for its Macintosh products, had expanded its
distribution relationship with Ingram Micro to include Radius' full
line of Macintosh products. Additionally, the company also
extended its distribution agreement with Merisel Inc., to allow
that company to distribute all Radius Macintosh and PC products,
to its US resellers. Previously, Merisel carried just Radius
Macintosh-based products in Canada and Australia.

In February, Newsbytes reported that Radius had licensed some
of Apple's technology for use in its own Macintosh Nubus-based
accelerator "Rocket" products, developed in a project labeled
Saturn V.

(Ian Stokell/19920421/Press Contact: Larry Herman, Radius Inc.,
408-434-1010)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 21 RasterOps Offers Combined Pkg For Mac Color Management 04/21/92

(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00002)

RasterOps Offers Combined Pkg For Mac Color Management 04/21/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Hoping
to simplify the process of color management on the desktop for
Apple Macintosh users, RasterOps Corp., has introduced a
combined package consisting of its RasterOps CorrectColor
Management System (RCCMS) and the RasterOps CorrectColor
Calibrator.

According to the company, the combination achieves WYSIWYG
(what-you-see-is-what-you-get) color accuracy across input, output,
and display devices.

The company maintains that the RasterOps CorrectColor
Management System is a desktop color management product that
provides color consistency among various peripherals such as
scanners, monitors, and printers.

By using Adobe Photoshop or any other application that supports
Photoshop plug-ins, the RCCMS is capable of matching hardcopy
color to screen color, simulating hardcopy output on the monitor
prior to printing, and matching the color of a scanned image to an
original.

The company says that the RCCMS consists of the RasterOps Color
Manager, Adobe Photoshop plug-ins, as well as Kodak's Precision
Processor, and the Precision Device Color Profiles (DCPs). The
DCPs also support a number of different input and output devices.

The RasterOps CorrectColor Calibrator is a measuring device
that works with the RCCMS to provide color fidelity over time. The
company claims that, unlike other calibration products, it analyzes
the entire screen, rather than measuring just a small area in the
middle of the monitor.

Available by the end of April through RasterOps authorized dealers,
the RasterOps CorrectColor Management System and CorrectColor
Calibrator package is $2,399. The company maintains that customers
will also have the option of purchasing the Kodak Precision Color
Transformation Engine, a $3,999 color management accelerator
which increases the RCCMS' performance by 60 times.

Last month, Newsbytes reported that Rasterops had announced
the 24MxTV video board, a new single-slot Nubus board with 24-bit
color and real-time video for 13-inch and 16-inch monitors for the
Apple Macintosh II and Quadra computer families. According to the
company, the board is one of the few Quicktime movie-producing
boards to include a video digitizer component, the required
component for recording movies with Quicktime software.

(Ian Stokell/19920421/Press Contact: Carrie Coppe, RasterOps
Corp., 408-562-4200)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 21 Australia: Borland's Pro-active dBase Marketing 04/21/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(SYD)(00003)

Australia: Borland's Pro-active dBase Marketing 04/21/92
Sydney, Australia, 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Rather than wait for Microsoft
to reveal its marketing strategy for FoxBase in Australia, Borland has
shown signs that it considers dBase to be one of its key products and
should be heavily promoted. This was illustrated at a recent meeting
of the Melbourne PC users group.

The group has over 6,000 members, and claims to be the third
largest in the world (despite a recent story in the Sydney Morning
Herald computer section claiming the group had 600,000 members).
Four hundred members at the last meeting were surprised when
Borland's Ian Robinson literally brought a ton of product to the
meeting. Everyone went home with a copy of dBase IV version 1.1,
upgradeable to the latest version 1.5 for AUS$150.

Robinson said the move was designed to "seed" the marketplace,
much in the same way that Borland offers crossgrades from
competitive products. "It's guerrilla marketing. You've got to get the
users on side at the grass-roots level."

Borland in Australia has built a new team from the combined Borland
and Ashton Tate staff, in the Ashton Tate offices. While support for
key products is reported to be excellent, some users have
complained that some AT products appear to be "best not seen"
and Borland does not seem interested in selling or supporting them.

(Paul Zucker/19920421)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 21 Australia: Govt EPA Adopts Macintoshes 04/21/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(SYD)(00004)

Australia: Govt EPA Adopts Macintoshes 04/21/92
Sydney, Australia, 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Western Australia's
Environmental Protection Authority is using an Apple Macintosh
system based on an Oracle relational database to improve its
records management and document production, and to make data
from different government mainframe databases accessible to all
its staff.

With 151 Macintosh computers, the Environmental Protection
Authority has grown to be one of the largest Macintosh sites in the
state. Based in Perth, the EPA is the State government watchdog
for all environmental matters, responsible for monitoring and
policing water, air, noise and land pollution in the state and
promoting public awareness of and understanding of the
 environment. With 150 staff spread over a wide range of areas,
the EPA needed a flexible computer system.

The records management and job management systems were in
particular need of a major overhaul. Running on a combined
DEC/IBM PC platform, the existing system created islands of
information which made data entry and retrieval a complex process
for most staff the EPA decided the answer was to design its own
customized Central Information System (EPACIS) based on the
Macintosh.

"Our goal was to create a cost-effective suite of integrated software
that was accessible to any staff member at EPA, irrespective of their
prior computer experience," said system designer, Andrew Schox.

A high-end Macintosh llfx was installed as the host, running A/UX 2.0
(Apple's Unix implementation) and Oracle. The most recent delivery
to the EPA, the powerful new Macintosh Quadra 900, will be used to
run the upcoming A/UX 3.0.

The integrated system incorporated job management systems,
records management and library records. From being an information
system which was only available to a few trained staff, it became an
open system accessible to any Macintosh user connected to the
network.

The installation of 4th Dimension database software simplified
access even further by providing an easy to use interface to the
Oracle database. "Connectivity is clearly an issue here - with the
Macintosh, we connect, and it works!" said  Brian White, information
technology consultant for the EPA. "It is just as simple to access
data on the Oracle database or other government systems as it
is to obtain information from the local hard drive. The other systems
appear on the Macintosh desktop as another icon. Irrespective of
where the data is, 4th Dimension can access it seamlessly by
SQL-NET."

EPA staff are now connected to the Government Accounting System
(GAS), the Personnel information  system (PIMS and the Common
User Purchasing System (CUPS). All these systems can be
accessed on an individual Macintosh through an IBM compatible
mainframe with Netway 1000 software and a modem. Users have
no direct involvement with the host database other than to enter
their user name and password. This simplicity maximizes
productivity and minimizes training and support.

The choice of Oracle as the core database technology means the
EPA would not have to rewrite its central information management
software if the underlying network or host hardware changed. Both
Oracle and Unix will run on many different platforms so that even if
a Macintosh host could not provide sufficient horsepower, a
different server could be used with the Macintosh computers.

As the EPA generates a large amount of documentation, particularly
reports of findings and research, overhauling the document
production was another priority. Until the late 1980s, the whole EPA
computer system was geared totally towards this task, and staff were
finding the existing system increasingly inadequate for their needs.

Reports were written longhand, passed to the central word
processing section for keying in using a Wordplex word processing
system, returned to the author for correction, corrected, proofed again,
and so on, in a frustrating cycle for as long as it took to get it right. The
text was then often sent to the desktop publishing section, which used
Ventura software running on an IBM PC. The result was a slow and
inefficient process. "Document production was a major bottleneck,"
said White.

After extensive research, an independent consulting firm came up with
a proposal for a new system based on the Macintosh, and in June
1989, the EPA purchased its first eight Macs for the central word
processing area.

Th  new installation consisted of seven Mac llcx computers with A4
portrait screens running Microsoft Word 4.01, an SE/30 to run
AppleShare and act as the print server, and a Macintosh SE for
general management purposes, with three LaserWriter IINT printers.
The system was networked via PhoneNet cabling with AppleTalk.
The addition of another four Macintosh llcx computers for secretarial
use soon followed.

The next phase, the introduction of Macintosh personal workstations,
was designed to simplify document production even further by giving
individual staff control of their own output. Staff were now able to write
and correct their own work at their desks, reducing delays and
increasing efficiency. Once enough personal computers were
installed,  the EPA phased out the central word processing section
altogether.

Now, staff use their Macs for a range of tasks as well as word
processing, including spreadsheet work, constructing graphics and
data analysis. White believes the resulting decentralization resulted
in much higher personal and departmental productivity.

"Individual word processing has been a tremendous time saver for
most staff, since much of the EPA's work ends up as a report of some
sort," said White. "As an added bonus, the work looks better too. The
ability to produce graphs using Excel and other packages has
helped to improve the presentation of work. Many staff like their Macs
so much that they carry them home on evenings and weekends
to complete work. I think the two PowerBook 170 notebook computers
we have on order will be very popular for off-site work."

Staff attended two external introductory courses: a half-day Macintosh
introduction course and a one-day Microsoft Word course In addition,
the in-house information technology staff offered extra and advanced
courses backed up by one-on-one training sessions.

"All the things I'd heard about the minimal training required for the
Macintosh were true " said White. "It really is easy to use and so
friendly, making training sessions a breeze. It proved to be a very
cost efficient investment. "We have ongoing training programs for new
staff and devise sessions for classroom and one-on-one training in
new software as required."

Internal communication has improved too. As well as connecting
them to the outside world, the Macintosh system enables EPA staff
to communicate more easily with each other with the QuickMail
electronic mail system. Everyone has QuickMail, including the
telephone switchboard personnel, who use it for relaying phone
messages. There are plans to create QuickMail bridges from the
Perth headquarters to EPA country offices in WA.

Nationally, the EPA uses AppleLink, Apple's electronic mail and
bulletin board system, to keep in touch with other Macintosh sites
and suppliers of related products.

"Because we're in Perth, an electronic information system like
AppleLink is a very valuable service to us - it brings us closer to
the rest of Australia and stops us becoming an isolated outpost,"
says White.

Along with the rest of the staff, White is very happy with the Macintosh
system and can see it continuing to grow with the EPA. The
organization has just moved to new premises, and White has taken
the opportunity to upgrade the network by introducing new zones.

"We now have a comprehensive Macintosh network which has
impacted work in all areas. Communication has improved,
document production is streamlined and administration is
more efficient. The whole system is seamless, which is as it
should be," he said.

(Paul Zucker/19920421)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 21 Information Industry Association Plans Spring Conference 04/21/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00005)

Information Industry Association Plans Spring Conference 04/21/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- The Information
Industry Association will be holding its Spring '92 Conference at
the Ramada Renaissance Hotel - Techworld - from May 17 through
the 19 here in Washington. This year's conference theme is "The
Information Marketplace: New Rules of the Game" and speakers
will explore topics such as the national supercomputer network and
working with the maze of state regulators.

The IIA sees the present period as being vital to the industry
with the expanding importance of international markets and
increasing government regulations. This is not a trade show but
a major conference for executives in the information industry.
The Conference's 50 speakers will include government, industry,
and academic, as well as consumer representatives.

Congressman Bob Wise, Democrat from West Virginia, will be
honored with the IIA "Business of Democracy Award."  Rep. Wise
is the Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Government
Information, Justice, and Agriculture where he has held a series
of hearing exploring ways the private sector can obtain better
access to government information files.

The IIA and the Information Technology Association of America
have recently joined in an effort to block the State of Tennessee's
Revenue Department from collecting special taxes on the value
of the "content" of data transmissions rather than the cost of
transmission.

The two trade associations thought that they had received
assurances last November that this would not take place, but say
that they have recent evidence that such "content" taxing is taking
place without, the associations claim, any support for this taxing in
the applicable legislation.

Such taxing of the information content of data could be very
damaging to the industry and consumers of information. Current
lobbying in Tennessee could result in important precedent-setting
rule making.

The IIA is the major trade association for 600 companies working
in the creation, use, and distribution of electronic information.

(John McCormick/19920421/Press Contact: Susan Goewey, IIA,
tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 21 Duxbury Braille Translator For WordPerfect 04/21/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(WAS)(00006)

Duxbury Braille Translator For WordPerfect 04/21/92
LITTLETON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) --
Duxbury Systems, a major supplier of computer-related technology
to aid the disabled, has announced the release of The Duxbury
Braille Translator for WordPerfect versions 5.0 and 5.1. A Braille
translator is software which converts text output from a word
processor or file into braille character generating code that
will drive special three-dimensional Braille embossers which can
be read by the blind.

The new Duxbury Braille Translator brings this capability to the
latest versions of WordPerfect, the world's most popular office
word processor software just in time to help companies comply
with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The act requires
elimination of barriers which prevent disabled customers from fully
accessing company services products or applicants from being
employed.

The Duxbury software will work with all major brands of Braille
embossers, which produce raised-dot images that can be read
by visually impaired users passing their fingers over the surface,
as well as producing "dummy" Braille using ordinary printers.

Duxbury software versions are available in English, French,
Arabic, Swahili, Spanish, and other Braille languages.

(John McCormick/19920421/Press Contact: Matthew Sullivan,
tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 21 NIST Issues Guidelines On FTAM 04/21/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00007)

NIST Issues Guidelines On FTAM 04/21/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- NIST, the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (formerly the Bureau of
Standards), has released a set of guidelines for GOSIP, or
Government Open Systems Interconnection Profile, standard users.
The guidelines will help them decide which FTAM (file transfer,
access, and management) systems will best fit their needs.

GOSIP is a mandated overall interconnection standard for federal
computer systems, but it offers a number of options for many
applications.  The GOSIP FTAM standard calls for products using
protocols that conform to the international ISO 8571 standard,
but this does not specify which product must be used and various
products are best suited for certain users.

The new Guidelines for the Evaluation of File Transfer, Access,
and Management Implication (NIST Special Publication 500-196),
presents a walk-through analysis of an FTAM evaluation with
detailed information on many features such as password security.

In other NIST action, the institute has made an NIST engineer's
FORTRAN version of a Fourier transform available as freeware so
users can study and modify the software as needed. Fourier
transforms are mathematical tools used to analyze and study
recurring events such as wave forms and are widely available
commercially. However, the commercial products are "sealed"
and cannot be studied or modified by users, scientists, and
engineers who often need to make changes in "standard"
software or algorithms to meet new needs.

The new software, named Spectrum V 1.0, is available in source
code form, with a manual.

(John McCormick/19920421/Press Contact: John Henkel (FTAM),
NIST, 301-975-2762 or Linda Fritts (Fourier) 301-975-4403)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 21 Polaroid Intros Photo Scanner For Windows 04/21/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00008)

Polaroid Intros Photo Scanner For Windows 04/21/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Polaroid
Corporation, famous for its instant cameras, introduced a
Windows version of its high speed CS-500 Digital Color Photo
Scanner at the Windows World  trade show in Chicago recently.

The new scanner, dubbed the CS-500i, allows Windows users to
integrate 24-bit color photographs and other artwork into Windows
graphics and text programs such as desktop publishing, slide
presentations, and multimedia shows. The rapidly emerging
multimedia field combines text, sound, animation and video. The
scanner can handle images up to four-inches by six-inches in size.

Like Polaroid's Macintosh II-compatible CS-500 Photo Scanner,
the CS-500i for Windows incorporates proprietary Polaroid sensor
technology and built-in image manipulation software, allowing full
color images to be scanned in as little as three seconds.

"The Photo Scanner makes it possible for computer users to regard
an image, whether a computer-generated graphic or a photograph,
as another source of information," said Richard Leslie, director of
marketing, for Polaroid Electronic Imaging.

The CS-500i Digital Photo Scanner has a suggested list price of
$4,495 and includes a SCSI (Small Computer System Interface)
interface kit, and Polaroid SprintScan software.

(Jim Mallory/19920421/Press Contact: Phyllis Laorenza, Polaroid
Corp., 617-577-2000, or 800-225-1618)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 21 GrayTech Software Intros CAD Program For Windows NT 04/21/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00009)

GrayTech Software Intros CAD Program For Windows NT 04/21/92
WHEATON, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- GrayTech
Software, Inc., has announced a Windows NT version of its CAD X11
Unix-based design and drafting software. CAD, or computer-aided
design, programs are used on a variety of operating systems to
design everything from space-probes to houses.

CAD X11 for Windows will run on 386/486-based PCs, and was
demonstrated by GrayTech at the Windows World trade show in
Chicago recently. The company says the program will be ready to
ship by the time Microsoft is ready to ship Windows NT. Microsoft
has said that it expects to ship the Windows NT (New Technology)
operating system by the end of this year.

"On PC platforms, Windows NT with CAD X11 is a logical choice for
CAD/CAM users." states GrayTech's president, Kathryn A. Gray.
"Users will recognize in CAD X11 for Windows NT the same speed
and flexibility they know in our Unix software products." CAD X11 for
Windows NT features include ANSI/ISO standard drafting with
ordinate dimensioning, geometric tolerancing, surface finish marks,
and a fastener library. CAD X11 also offers wireframe, surfacing,
dynamic rotations, snapshots, intersections, and hidden lines.

Standard and optional direct interfacing capabilities include IGES,
DXF, Framemaker, Interleaf, and Patran. The program can import
and export formats for pen, electrostatic, and Gerber photo plotters,
as well as Postscript and HP LaserJet printers. Other features
include macros, undo, redo, user fonts, a user-definable keyboard,
verify, and geometric analysis.

(Jim Mallory/19920421/Press Contact: Kathryn Gray, GrayTech
Software, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 21 Can High-tech Solve Traffic Problems? 04/21/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00010)

Can High-tech Solve Traffic Problems? 04/21/92
DENVER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Highway
engineers have traditionally seen more or wider roads as the
answer to traffic problems. However, computers may be the
answer of the future.

Anyone who has ever skied in the Colorado mountains knows that
places like the Eisenhower Tunnel, Vail Pass, and Idaho Springs
have traditionally been bottlenecks for traffic. Colorado highway
engineers are looking at computerized assistance in solving
some of these traffic problems and buying them some time.

For example, information centers at the Eisenhower Tunnel and
Glenwood Canyon could monitor traffic using highway-mounted
video cameras and information reported to a toll free number by
drivers with cellular phones. Computers could also activate
highway informational signs to inform drivers of road congestion
or deteriorating road conditions such as icy or closed roads.
Automatic sensors can monitor for ice and snow, and avalanches,
always a problem for mountain drivers.

Colorado highway officials say Interstate 70, the interstate highway
running east and west through the state, is carrying more than twice
the traffic load it carried 20 years ago. It is uncertain how this
congestion has affected the business at ski resorts such as
Copper Mountain. But a Copper Mountain official told The Denver
Post recently that its research indicates that skiers tend to start their
Sundays early and get off the mountain by 2 pm to avoid the traffic
rush.

Congress allocated $234 million to IVHS (intelligent vehicle highway
systems) this year, more than 10 times what was budgeted last year.
A Colorado state spokesperson said his agency has asked for a
little over $200,000 of that money to develop smart systems for I-70.

If Congress continues to support IVHS projects, smart highways,
including computers in your car that display highway information
as well as navigational maps, may be a lot closer than you think.

(Jim Mallory/19920421)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 21  ****San Diego Police Clarify "Computer Criminal Hackers Charges" 04/21/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(NYC)(00011)

 ****San Diego Police Clarify "Computer Criminal Hackers Charges" 04/21/92
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- In a
conversation with Newsbytes, San Diego Police Detective, Dennis
Sadler clarified some of the statements attributed to him in a Friday,
April 17th San Diego Union-Tribune story concerning an alleged
nationwide ring of "1,000 hard-core hackers across the United States"
sharing stolen credit card numbers.

Sadler told Newsbytes: "I didn't quote any numbers of persons
involved. I think that number came from some hacker contacts of the
author and was incorrectly attributed to me. As to the figure of millions
of dollars of illegal charges to credit cards, my estimate was that the
charges could be anywhere from zero dollars to millions -- we don't
have enough information to estimate the dollar value of the fraud. It
seems that the article only picked up part of my estimate."

Sadler was admittedly reluctant to discuss the case, saying: "The
investigation is an ongoing one and we expect to be able to release
details within 30 days. The reporter that I talked to last week had
gotten hold of some information from hackers which led to
questions directed to the police department. We did not hold a
press conference or plan to issue a press release at this stage of
the investigation."

Sadler said the investigation was begun when, "we stumbled onto
some evidence that led us into this investigation." He also said
that it is an investigation, "by the San Diego Police Department in
which we are working with local and state police forces across the
country. The federal agencies are observing but do not have the
manpower available to actively participate."

Sadler confirmed that an out-of-state "hacker" had provided
evidence in the investigation and that the individual was not in
custody and had not been charged with any offense. He said that
the relation mentioned to ongoing federal investigations involving
search-and-seizures in December 1991 in New York and
Pennsylvania was "not directly related but there is an informational
link."

Sadler also confirmed that Equifax's credit database had been a
subject of attack by those under investigation. He said "Equifax is
doing a superb job in working with us and we are also working with
other companies."

As a result of the Friday story by Bruce V. Bigelow and Dwight C.
Daniels and the resultant publicity, a press conference was held on
Friday afternoon but, according to a Newsbytes source, no new
information, other than the statement that the amount of fraud that
has been identified in the San Diego case under investigation is
$2,300.

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19920421)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 21 NEC & Pioneer To Jointly Develop Laser Disk Game Machine? 04/21/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00012)

NEC & Pioneer To Jointly Develop Laser Disk Game Machine? 04/21/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- NEC Home Electronics, a
subsidiary of NEC, and Pioneer are negotiating an agreement
to create a laser disk-based game machine. Analysts expect that
users will be able to play most advanced and realistic games with
this new system.

The laser disk can store much more data than a regular compact
disk. With this large memory, the picture of the game can be
extremely realistic. The device can support natural motion picture,
which is similar to a picture on television.

The new game machine is connected to a television set. The
software is expected to be developed by NEC, which has an
advanced technology in game software. NEC has already
developed a collection of software for its CD-ROM-based game
machine, the PC-Engine, which is currently sold on the market.

Meanwhile, the Nikkan Kogyo newspaper reports that Sega
Enterprises might also join in the project. So far however, there is
no such participation by the firm. Talks are said to be going on just
between NEC and Pioneer, according to an NEC spokesman.

The laser disk is quite large, measuring about 30 centimeters (cm)
in diameter, while a compact disk is only 12 cm.

It is expected that the hardware will mainly be developed by
Pioneer because the company has the original laser disk
technology. The new game machine is expected to be released
around next spring.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920421/Press Contact: NEC Home
Electronics, [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 21 Japan: NEC-compatible Emulation Board For PCs 04/21/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TYO)(00013)

Japan: NEC-compatible Emulation Board For PCs 04/21/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Tokyo-based hardware firm
Tomcat Computer has developed a unique computer board for the
IBM PC/AT. With this computer board, the IBM machine can operate
application programs that are originally programmed for the NEC
PC-9801.

This computer board can be equipped with the IBM PC/AT through
an expansion slot. It can run over 90 percent of application programs
for the NEC PC-9801, according to the president of Tomcat Computer.

This new board will be released at around 50,000 yen in May. The
price is quite reasonable, especially as a machine so equipped can
run both IBM and NEC software. In fact, it can also run Kanji software.

Currently in Japan, NEC's PC-9801 has been dominating the personal
computer market. The IBM PC is also becoming popular in Japan. So,
the "marriage" of these two big names can be a strong advantage.

Tomcat Computer has also developed a dual compatible personal
computer, which runs both IBM and NEC software.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920421/Press Contact: Tomcat Computer,
[phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 21 Japan: Notebook-size Fax Machine Debuts 04/21/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00014)

Japan: Notebook-size Fax Machine Debuts 04/21/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Tokyo-based electric parts
firm, Mitsumi Electric, has developed a notebook-size fax machine.

It has a removable battery, and it can be used on cars or trains.
Mitsumi's latest notebook-size fax machine measures 18 by 25 by
four centimeters (cm), and it weighs two kilograms (kg). It can
transmit up to A4-size paper. The transmission speed is about
three pages-per-minute.

Mitsumi Electric says it will start shipping this fax machine to
home electronics firms and telecommunication firms on an OEM
(original equipment manufacturer) basis. The price has not been
revealed.

Ricoh and NTT have already developed and are selling portable
fax machines. Other Japanese electronics firms are expected to
release similar devices in the near future.

Mitsumi Electric has been good at producing OEM products. The
firm is currently supplying data disks to Nintendo.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920421/Press Contact: Mitsumi Electric,
[phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 21  ****McCaw Puts Money Behind TDMA Digital Cellular Standard 04/21/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00015)

 ****McCaw Puts Money Behind TDMA Digital Cellular Standard 04/21/92
KIRKLAND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- McCaw
Cellular, a leader of the "Cellular One" group of co-branded cellular
operators, is putting money behind the Time Division Multiple
Access, or TDMA, digital cellular standard.

The company said it will buy 60,000 digital cellular phones from
Ericsson GE and GM's Hughes subsidiary, and plans to roll the
service out in New York, Florida, and the Pacific Northwest this fall,
then throughout its major systems by the end of 1993. Ericsson-GE
got two-thirds of the business. Eighty percent of the phones go in
cars, with the rest being portable.

McCaw and Southwestern Bell, another member of the Cellular One
group, have been among the most aggressive companies pushing
TDMA, which offers three times the capacity of existing analog
cellular systems, as well as clearer sound and greater security.
TDMA has been competing with another offering, Code Division
Multiple Access, or CDMA, and the industry's trade group tried to
end the fight early this year by reaffirming its support of TDMA.

However, the trade group, the Cellular Telecommunications Industry
Association, or CTIA, opened the door a crack by offering to test
CDMA with an eye toward making it a standard in the future.
Motorola opened the door wider by offering an improved analog
scheme called N-AMPS offering three times present analog
capacity, just like TDMA. CDMA, by contrast, offers 10 times the
capacity of analog systems, but GM-Hughes claims it has an
improved TDMA, Enhanced-TDMA, which offers 15 times analog
capacity.

The result is something of a muddle, with some systems offering
TDMA, others looking toward AMPS and still others remaining on
the sidelines, with systems which are running out of capacity.
Industry experts expect the battle to continue for years. Users
will not notice, since all digital-cellular phones are expected to
be dual-standard, offering both analog and digital service where
available.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920421/Press Contact: McCaw Cellular,
Bob Ratliffe, 206-828-8685)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 21 International Telecommunications Update 04/21/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00016)

International Telecommunications Update 04/21/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Spirited bidding
for Brazil's first cellular phone market highlighted the day's
international telecommunications news.

Ameritech, Motorola and two Brazilian firms -- the Unibanco
financial group and Odebrecht industrial conglomerate -- put in a
bid for Sao Paulo's first cellular system. Ameritech called Sao
Paulo the world's largest untapped cellular market. More bidders
are expected, since Brazil and neighboring Argentina are both
finally liquidating their international bank debts through equity
swaps and, thanks to privatization moves by their governments,
are attracting capital and growing smartly. Bids are due on the
Sao Paulo license May 5, and a decision is expected by this
summer.

Cyber Digital, of Long Island, New York, which sells digital
telephone switches that work under ISDN (Integrated Services
Digital Network) standards, said it has entered the Romanian and
Chinese markets. Cyber Telecom S.R.L. of Bucharest, a joint-
venture of which the US parent owns 55 percent, already has $1
million worth of orders in hand, the company said. Cyber also
signed a $2.4 million with Tianchi Telecom of China to supply
switches specifically geared to that market, starting in June.
Previously, Cyber had sold $2.5 million in switches to the
Chinese company. Both orders go out when letters of credit are
received, the company said.

In Saudi Arabia, the Middle East News Network said demand for
phone lines is rising smartly throughout the kingdom, due to the
elimination of tolls on local calls and a 53 percent cut in
installation and subscription fees. The number of phone lines in
the nation's Eastern Province, along the Persian Gulf, will rise
from 160,000 to over 220,000 over the next two years, the
government said.

Finally, Information Storage Devices, of the US, said Sanyo
Electric will sell its single-chip telephone answering machine
system in Japan. The TAD001 offers a 16 to 20 second message
recording time.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920421/Press Contact: J.C. Chatpar, Cyber
Digital, 516-471-5270; Ameritech, Steve Ford, 312-750-5205)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 21 United States Telephone Update 04/21/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00017)

United States Telephone Update 04/21/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Good numbers
continued to come out of the US phone industry, buoyed by layoffs
and favorable tax rulings.

US West said its earnings grew 17 percent, to $334.4 million,
helped by those factors. Without the extraordinary items,
earnings were still up 10 percent. US West serves the Rocky
Mountains, much of the Great Plains, as well as Washington and
Oregon on the Pacific Coast. The economies in its service area
are better-off than those in Pacific Telesis' California and
Nevada service areas. Flat earnings there have PacTel considering
spinning-off its Bell operating units, where it gets 90 percent
of its revenues but only slow growth. Buried in US West's figures
were good reasons for any spinoff -- its regular telephone lines
in service grew by under three percent in the last year, but the
number of cellular subscribers are up 44 percent. The spinoff is
being contemplated to give shareholders credit for the faster-
growing sectors of the business.

PacBell, meanwhile, got the San Fernando Valley Board of
Realtors to endorse its "RealtyLink" service, which moves pictures
from listings, as well as the listings themselves, over phone lines.
In addition to pushing valuable data through business lines, the
service also encourages businesses to buy digital lines at 56,000
bits-per-second, something all the phone companies are pushing.
The San Fernando board has over 8,000 member realtors, and
they will start selling the system by next March. It is anticipated that,
if a spinoff occurs, some way will be found to put RealtyLink into
the unregulated entity spun-off.

In other phone company earnings news, Southern New England
Telecommunications, which serves recession-battered Connecticut,
said its earnings for the first quarter rose 6.6 percent, while
revenues grew just 2.5 percent. Chairman, Walter Monteith, said
he is optimistic the economy there is about to recover, since the
bulk of the earnings growth resulted from a rate increase which
went into effect in March, 1991.

Finally, continuing a trend of cellular system ownership
consolidation, AllTel said it now owns 100 percent of its Charlotte
cellular system. Alltel runs a local phone operation in Arkansas,
but has extensive unregulated operations in cellular services and
computer system operation for banks.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920421/Press Contact: Ron Payne, Alltel,
501-661-8989; Beverly Levy, SNET, 203-771-4474; Pacific Bell, Lou
Saviano, 415-545-8191; SFVBR, Mary Lou Williams, 818-786-2110)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 21 Sprint Adds Information Services To Foncard 04/21/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00018)

Sprint Adds Information Services To Foncard 04/21/92
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Backed
by a sizable ad buy, Sprint launched a new version of its Foncard
calling card offering new information services and convenience.
Those who sign up quickly can get 100 free minutes of calling on
the card.

The new card features an outline of the world on the front, with
directions for using it on the back. Users will not have to reenter
their card numbers when making multiple calls from a single
location, they will be able to reach its network using the 10330-0
code in addition to the regular toll-free 800-877-8000 line, and
they will have new card numbers based on their regular phone
numbers, as well as a four-digit code like that used on a bank
money market card.

In the information services area, the new Foncard features voice
prompts, a Sprint Express service for placing calls from abroad,
international calling and operator services using the card, and a
message delivery service.

In the security area, Sprint spokesman Robin Carlson says the
company's billing computers feature special algorithms which
look for hints of fraud "like making 20 calls to Ghana from a single
pay phone in the course of an hour" and can disconnect such
cards from the network.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920421/Press Contact: Robin Carlson,
Sprint, 202-828-7426)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 21  ****IBM Unveils Top-Of-Line RS/6000 04/21/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00019)

 ****IBM Unveils Top-Of-Line RS/6000 04/21/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- IBM has
expanded its RISC System/6000 workstation and server line with a
high-end model that doubles the expansion capacity and nearly
doubles the storage of its previous top model. According to IBM,
the new Powerserver 970 is also the first reduced instruction-set
computing (RISC) system to perform at better than 100 SPECmarks.

The system scored 100.3 SPECmarks in IBM's own measurements
using the popular benchmark test.

IBM said the new machine would be well suited to work where there
are many transactions to be handled, as in banks and telephone
companies. The company also hopes to sell the 970 to customers
who need a powerful network file server, numeric-intensive compute
server, or database server for commercial applications.

The new model will not overlap IBM's mainframe line so much as it
will compete with mini-supercomputers from vendors such as Convex
and Cray, IBM spokeswoman Judy Radlinksy said. The 970 will be
usable for technical computing work for which a small supercomputer
might have been used before, she said.

The 970 uses new chip technology and major enhancements to the
Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus. It is based on IBM's
Performance Optimization with Enhanced RISC (POWER)
Architecture and uses version 3.2 of AIX, IBM's version of Unix,
with enhancements to support the new model.

Greater circuit density in the chips used for the 970 allows IBM to
pack more instruction cache capacity onto the chips, Radlinsky told
Newsbytes, and this is a major reason for the improved performance
of the system. IBM has also doubled the data transfer rate of the
MCA bus from 40 to 80 megabytes (MB)-per-second, and added a
second MCA bus to the machine, so that, with the addition of a
circuit board, 16 expansion slots can be made available.

Standard features include 64 MB of memory, expandable to 512
MB, and 2.7 gigabytes (GB) of internal disk storage capacity
expandable to 20.5 GB. As much as 132.9 GB of total storage are
possible using optional external expansion racks. This is nearly
twice what the Powerserver 950, the previous top-of-the-line
RS/6000 model, can support.

As many as 500 character-based terminals can be attached to
the system, Radlinsky said.

An eight-millimeter tape drive, a 1.44 MB 3.5-inch diskette
drive, a CD-ROM drive, and an integrated SCSI (Small Computer
Systems Interface) port are also standard equipment, IBM said.

The Powerserver 970 is scheduled to be available June 26. The
base price is $94,500, but required features not included in that price
-- such as the operating system software -- bring the minimum price
tag to $97,822. IBM said it will offer conversion options to help
current users of Powerserver 930 and 950 models move to the new
unit while keeping existing adapters, disk storage, and other media
devices.

The $94,500 base price is the same as the previous base price for
the Powerserver 950, Radlinsky said, but the price of the 950 is
being reduced by about 17 percent with the announcement of the
970.

(Grant Buckler/19920421/Press Contact: Judy Radlinsky, IBM,
914-642-4634)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 21 Bull Forms Telecom Market Unit 04/21/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00020)

Bull Forms Telecom Market Unit 04/21/92
BILLERICA, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Bull
HN Information Systems has set up a new strategic business unit to
focus on the telecommunications industry. The Advanced
Telecommunications Solutions (ATS) unit is based in Woodbridge,
New Jersey, with John Neville as vice-president and general
manager.

The new unit is one of five Bull has set up in 1992. Company
spokeswoman Bonnie Kaplan said the others are: the public sector
group; a large commercial accounts group focused on customers
that are leaders in their industries; a major accounts group; and a
general accounts group.

Noting that France Telecom holds a significant stake in Bull, Kaplan
said the company has telecommunications industry customers
around the world. Those customers include GTE, Bell Atlantic,
BellSouth, Metromedia paging, and US West in the US, as well as
Bell Canada, France Telecom, Telecom Australia, Hunan Province
(PRC) Telecommunications, British Telecom and Korea
Telecommunications.

The new business unit is a sales and marketing operation, but will
have input into development of products for the telecom industry,
Kaplan said.

Bull said ATS will work closely with its telco operations in Europe
and the Pacific Rim.

Groupe Bull is comprised of Bull SA (France), Bull SA (Europe), and
the US-based Bull HN Information Systems and Zenith Data
Systems.

(Grant Buckler/19920421/Press Contact: Bonnie Kaplan, Bull HN,
508-294-6294)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 21 Compucom Acquires Compuserve's Systems Integration Grp 04/21/92




(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00021)

Compucom Acquires Compuserve's Systems Integration Grp 04/21/92
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Microcomputer dealer
Compucom Systems said it has signed an agreement to purchase
certain assets of Compuserve Systems Integrations Group Southwest.

The integration consulting company will operate under its former name,
Microsolutions. Microsolutions was renamed Compuserve Systems
Integration Group Southwest when it was purchased by Compuserve in
August 1990.

Compucom said Morti Tenenhaus, its senior vice president and CIO,
will head the new company. All present employees will reportedly be
retained. The deal included Compuserve's LAN (local area network)
training facility in Dallas. Terms of the deal were not disclosed
and no information regarding Microsolutions financial success was
available, since the company is privately held.

Microsolutions was founded in 1983 and provides technical network
integration services to major corporations.

This is not Compucom's first acquisition. Compucom acquired Photo
& Sound Company's microcomputer business in July of 1991, and
The Computer Factory, a retail outlet operation, in April of 1992. About
seven months later the Computer Factory stores were closed after
Compucom was unable to find a buyer, putting about 100 employees
out of work.

This week Compucom reported that its revenues for the quarter
ending March 31 were up 77 percent to $158.9 million, nearly double
from the same period last year. Net earnings for the quarter were up
79 percent to $1.08 million, or $0.03 per share, a one cent per share
increase over the same period last year.

According to Avery More, Compucom president and CEO, the
favorable reports was attributable to internal growth, its 1991
acquisitions, and effective management of the company's operating
expenses.

Compucom said it plans to "grow its network integration and support
services through selective acquisitions and internal expansion."
Compucom spokesperson Mary Beth King said she could not speak
about any specific acquisition plans but said, "They're always
looking."

(Jim Mallory/19920421/Press Contact: Mary Beth King, Compucom
Systems, 214-497-5922)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 21 Apple Europe Reshuffles To Better Serve Customers 04/21/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(LON)(00022)

Apple Europe Reshuffles To Better Serve Customers 04/21/92
UXBRIDGE, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Apple
Computer Europe has announced a new organizational structure
designed to "get closer to customers' needs and to accelerate
Apple's successful drive for market share."

According to Apple, the changes mean that Apple Europe will be
composed of four customer-focused business units, as well as a
service and support business unit.

The European changes do not affect Apple's worldwide
organization. Apple will remain organized as three regional
groups -- U.S.A., Pacific, and Europe, along with five product
divisions with worldwide marketing responsibilities.

The changes will allow each regional group to better focus sales
and marketing on Apple's four main potential sales areas: large
accounts and government; education; business; and consumer.

"Apple's market share strategy is a success," said Soren Olsson,
Apple Europe's president, announcing the changes.

According to Olsson, Apple is enjoying a better growth than the
rest of the industry. "In the past two years, we have enriched
our product line dramatically, reduced our time to market and
expanded our distribution channels to reach more users," he said.

Olsson backed up his comments with figures. He cited Apple's
European 1991 growth as almost two thirds up on the previous
year. This, he claims, means that it is a good time for Apple to
make changes in its European operations.

"This is a good time to make these structural changes, which will
put us in a very solid position for even stronger growth in the
future. By giving a market-based overlay to the way we plan and
manage Apple, we will better serve customer needs across
Europe," he said.

Each of the five European business units will be responsible for
sales and marketing in their sphere of operations: business;
education; large business and government; consumer business;
and service/support.

The five business units will be further split into six regional
groups in Europe: UK/Ireland; Germany, Austria and Switzerland;
Nordic (Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland); Benelux
(Belgium, Netherlands and Luxemburg); Spain; and Italy.

Newsbytes notes that Apple France will, for the time being at
least, remain outside of the European shuffle. This is due to
what Apple calls the country as being the company's most
developed market in Europe. Apple France will be divided into
five divisions, as detailed above.

(Steve Gold/19920421/Press & Public Contact: Apple UK,
081-569-1199)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 21 UK: Atari Shoots It Out In High Street Lynx Game Competition 04/21/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00023)

UK: Atari Shoots It Out In High Street Lynx Game Competition 04/21/92
SLOUGH, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Atari has
announced a national high score competition to discover the top
Lynx games console player in the UK. The winner can choose
from a prize fund of UKP 3,000 in the form of a holiday, electrical
goods, and mountain bikes.

Runners up in the competition will receive bundles of Atari
software, while the finalists will be invited to win a day at an
indoor go-karting track.

Announcing the competition, Darryl Still, Atari's marketing manager
for Lynx games consoles said that the promotion will achieve
several objectives for the company, all of which are designed to
enable the company to keep up with the half a million Lynx owners
that are expected to have bought their machines by the end of the
year.

"We're particularly pleased that the opportunity has been
embraced by the independent retail trade and look forward to a
bumper entry in our competition as a consequence of their
enthusiastic support," he said.

The high score competition will start on May 9, in 60 independent
high street computer stores. Running for one week a month over a
five month period, it will feature 10 titles from the Lynx software
range. The high scorers from each game will be invited back to
their local store to take part in the semi-finals. The 12 top scorers
from the semi-finals will go forward to a grand final at the Spitfire
Go-Karting Track in Feltham, Middlesex, on October 10 this year.

The competition is being held by Atari in conjunction with Game
Zone magazine and the National Association of Specialist
Computer Retailers (NASCR). Plans call for Game Zone, a games
monthly, to publish the results of the competition each month.

So where do prospective Lynx high scorers get their entry forms
from? The forms are available from all participating stores in
the UK, as well as in several monthly magazines such as ST
Action, Amiga Action, Sega Force, and Game Zone.

A quick stroll round the local computer games shops over the
Easter break confirmed Newsbytes' suspicions about the Atari
Lynx. A year ago, Atari's Lynx was pretty evenly matched against
the Nintendo Game Boy monochrome games console. After
releasing a large quantity of software, the color Lynx appears to
be winning against the Game Boy. Nintendo is fighting back
however -- a color version of the Game Boy is expected in the
UK later this year, according to informed sources.

(Steve Gold/19920421/Press & Public Contact: Atari UK,
0753-533344)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 21 EC Considers Opening European Voice Telecoms Market 04/21/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00024)

EC Considers Opening European Voice Telecoms Market 04/21/92
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- The European
Commission (EC) is considering a change to its telecommunications
policy on inter-country calls within the EC territories. The changes
could open up the market tremendously, Newsbytes notes.

Currently, only national telecommunications companies native to
an EC member country have the right to offer international voice
telephone services. Even this "right" is subject to government
approval of the country concerned. International companies must
seek the approval of both, their own government, as well as that of
the government in whose country service is being offered.

Services from one country to another, with neither country being
the country in which the international company is registered, are
subject to even tighter regulation. A classic case is AT&T which,
although it can offers services to and from the US to almost any
EC country, cannot currently offer inter-European calls without the
permission of the EC, and the government of the countries
concerned.

Newsbytes recently reported that AT&T was considering offering
a trans-US service within Europe for inter-Europe calls. Put
simply, this would mean that calls from one European country
would be routed via the US, to another European country, with
call charges billed to an AT&T calling card.

This may prove to be an unnecessary way of circumventing the EC's
convoluted laws on telecommunications. When the EC's original
telecommunications legislation was passed in June, 1990, all
telecom services -- with the exception of voice telephony - were
opened up to international competition.

The EC is now considering removing restrictions on voice
telephony services in Europe. This would effectively allow
companies such as AT&T to offer a direct international service
from, say, London to Paris, to compete with other French and
English telecoms operators.

According to Communications Week International, a full overhaul
of the EC's telecoms legislation is still some way off, but
changes are expected before the end of the year. These changes,
Newsbytes notes, could actually force an EC member country to
allow another EC country telecoms company to offer services in
that country, without reference to the country's government.

(Steve Gold/19920421)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 21 CNN Goes Live In Europe On Astra Satellite 04/21/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00025)

CNN Goes Live In Europe On Astra Satellite 04/21/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Cable News Network
(CNN), the satellite broadcasting operation of Ted Turner, has
commencing transmissions from the Astra 1B "direct to home"
satellite in Europe. Transmissions are being broadcast on 11.627
gigahertz (video) and 6.50 megahertz (audio). CNN radio being
broadcast on 7.92MHz, Newsbytes notes.

According to Darren Ingram's Satnews weekly newsletter,
published on-line on the Compulink Information eXchange (London
081-390-8446 - voice), the service is CNN International, a mixture
of CNN Headline news and the company's domestic US broadcast
output.

Until the start of CNN's feed via Astra 1B, the company had used
the Intelsat satellite for network distribution in Europe. While
Intelsat is used mainly by hotels and other organizations taking
various satellite feeds for their own networks, Astra 1B is a
direct to home satellite service, requiring dishes of 60 centimetres
and up.

Announcing the switch to Astra, Pierre Meyrat, director general
of SES, the company behind Astra, said that CNN's feed into
Astra confirms Astra's dominant position in the European
satellite TV marketplace.

While Satnews reports that CNN's Intelsat feed will cease this
September, Newsbytes notes that CNN International service has
no ads. In place of ads, an endless stream of promos for CNN
International, as well as details of which hotels carry CNN to
their customers, is spliced in. CNN is now seeking
advertisements from European companies, Newsbytes
understands.

(Steve Gold/19920421)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 21 UK: Infotech Announces Summer '92 Technology Conferences 04/21/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00026)

UK: Infotech Announces Summer '92 Technology Conferences 04/21/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Infotech, the
technology seminar organizer, has announced four seminars for
this summer, consisting of the Cryptographic Security Review, IBM's
SAA, The Network Security Workshop, and Networking Strategies
for Business.

The Cryptographic Security Review, which takes place in London
from June 10 to the 12, 1992, is billed as the only opportunity this year
to hear Dr. Carl Meyer and his team cover the latest developments
in cryptographic security. Meyer is best-known as the coauthor of
the Data Encryption Standard (DES).

IBM's SAA conference, which takes place on May 14/15, 1992, in
London, is designed to explain System Application Architecture
(SAA) to all managers involved with the technology. According to
Brian Couling, seminar business manager with Infotech, SAA will
influence future planning, development and purchasing decisions
for many information technology (IT), communications and office
systems managers. The two day seminar will, Couling claims,
bring managers up to date on what is happening in the industry.

The Network Security Workshop, which is held in London on
June 4/5, 1992, aims to give a practical level of understanding of
the security principles involved in networks and distributed
processing systems. Couling claims that the workshop "will give
a practical understanding of the security principles involved in
networks and distributed processing systems."

The Networking Strategies for Business seminar lasts for one day -
June 17 - and is held in London. The one day seminar aims to
show potential users how to evaluate network technology from a
business perspective. The seminar will be led by Paul Christmas,
managing director of Icomm, an independent telecommunications
consultancy.

Fees for the four conferences vary. The three day Cryptographic
Security Review costs UKP 845, while the two two-day seminars
cost UKP 695 for the SAA event and UKP 750 for the Network
Security Workshop. The Networking Strategies seminar costs
UKP 345.

(Steve Gold/19920421/Press & Public Contact: Infotech Seminars,
tel [phone], fax: [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 21 Intercon Intros Planet X 1.2 X-Server/Client Software 04/21/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00027)

Intercon Intros Planet X 1.2 X-Server/Client Software 04/21/92
HERNDON, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Intercon has
released an upgrade to its X-Server/client package - Planet X.

According to the company, version 1.2 of Planet X has undergone
a number of revisions and bug fixes. The main improvements
in the product relate to speed increases and enhanced security
features.

Planet X can be used to control a Macintosh from a Unix environment
or vice versa. The only requirements are that the Macintosh runs
MacX if it is the controller, and that the Unix workstation operate under
X-Windows if it is the controller. Planet X works with workstations
from Digital Equipment Corporation, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Sun, and
others.

If the Macintosh is the client, the X-server displays a window that
is a bit-by-bit copy of the Macintosh's screen. Every action taken
at the server is mirrored on the actual Macintosh and results are
displayed on the server. The same happens in the reverse case
with the Macintosh displaying the X-Windows display.

According to the company, version 1.2 offers a 20 percent speed
increase in the color mode over version 1.0. A security glitch allowing
Telnet users to bump each other off of their sessions has been
corrected. Other enhancements include support for Sun's
CommandTool under OpenWindows, Compatibility with Apple's
A/ROSE program, and support for Apple's latest hardware offering
like the big black and white monitors and the Quadra series.

Planet X version 1.2 has already begun shipping. It is list priced
at $295. Purchasers of the previous version will receive the
upgrade at no cost by contacting their dealer or the company.

(Naor Wallach/19920421/Press Contact: Tom Woolf, Media
Relations, 415-508-1554)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 21 Motorola Chip Powers TI's 1500 Multiprocessing Computer 04/21/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00028)

Motorola Chip Powers TI's 1500 Multiprocessing Computer 04/21/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Motorola's
Microprocessor and Memory Technologies Group says its 33
megahertz (MHz) 68040 microprocessor will provide the processing
power of Texas Instrument's new 1500 MP computer.

The 1500 MP (for multi-processing) reportedly delivers three times
the computing power of earlier MP models, and can support large
enterprise-wide networks of up to 1,000 users. That is twice the
number of users supported by existing TI systems.

The 1500 MP also incorporates TI's "Investment Protection
Architecture" as did earlier MP models. IPA enables users who
upgrade to run existing applications modification. TI said users
who upgrade to the 1500 from recently purchased MP systems
based on the 68030 chip will, in most cases, be able to receive a
100 percent trade-in allowance.

The 1500 MP, targeted primarily as a file server at companies with
large network installations, is available in a seven- or a 16-slot
version, and is expected to start shipping at the end of April.
Cost of the seven-slot model starts at $29,250 while the 16-slot
model starts at $59,000

The new system uses ASICs (application specific integrated
circuits) that place multiple functions on one board, to conserve
expansion slots. In the MP, a single board includes the processor,
an Ethernet interface with both thick and thin connections, and a
SCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface) controller. TI said a
similarly equipped earlier model, using the 68030 chip, would
require five boards to obtain similar performance and functionality.
The 68030 system would also cost $16,000 more than the 68040-
based system, according to TI.

The company said that it would cost about $24,000 to upgrade
from earlier models.

TI reported better than expected financial results for its first
quarter, with net income of $40 million, or $0.35 per share.
Revenues rose a modest three percent to $1.69 billion for the
quarter. Analysts predicted TI would show improvement for the rest
of the year. Analysts and TI Chairman Jerry Junkins attributed the
results to the company's efforts to cut costs and improve efficiency.

(Jim Mallory/19920421/Press Contact: Kristen Hausman, Motorola,
512-891-2386; Jeff Ketner, Ketner Communications for Texas
Instruments, 512-794-8876)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 21 New For PC: Virus Detection, Removal Program 04/21/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00029)

New For PC: Virus Detection, Removal Program 04/21/92
HIAWATHA, IOWA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Parsons
Technology has introduced a new two-part virus detection and
removal program which the company said protects computers
from all known and unknown virus strains.

Viruses, which come and go periodically, may have become best
known to the general public as well as to computer users, when the
Michelangelo virus was discovered a few months ago. Computer
users held their collective breaths as the birthday of the artist
approached, supposedly the day the virus would strike.

Due to the extensive publicity, many computer users installed virus
detection programs, which many industry watchers believe was
responsible for the relatively small number of systems being struck.
Viruses can be extremely destructive, destroying all the information
contained on the computer's hard drive, or they can be relatively
benign, such as displaying a message on the computer screen
advocating the legalization of marijuana.

The Parsons program, Virucide Plus, consists of Virucide and
Virucide Shield. Virucide Shield, a memory resident program that
occupies about 10 kilobytes (KB) of the computer's memory, is
designed to detect a virus before it can do damage and alert the
user to shut down the system.

Virucide can reportedly destroy all known viruses, a total of 920
boot, file and stealth viruses, including those residing in memory.
Virucide Plus, which carries a $69 price tag, includes the ability
for the user to specify a list of files to be excluded from scanning
when users are modifying files during programming or other
activities. The warning message alerting the user to the presence
of a virus can be customized.

Virucide Plus requires an IBM or compatible PC and 512 KB or
more of RAM.

(Jim Mallory/19920421/Press Contact: Anne Rawland, Parsons
Technology, 319-395-9626; Public contact: 800-223-6925)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 21 MCC Develops New Bonding Method For Multichip Circuitry 04/21/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DEN)(00030)

MCC Develops New Bonding Method For Multichip Circuitry 04/21/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Microelectronics and
Computer Technology Corporation (MCC) has announced a new
high-force compressor bonder to attach unpackaged integrated
circuits directly to high density wiring boards. The new technology is
called "flip chip bonding."

Compression bonding is a manufacturing process of welding
surfaces together by applying pressure. Flip chip bonding is
especially useful in situations where the high temperatures
generated during  soldering have to be avoided. There are also
some situations where solder fluxes, the liquid or solid which cleans
and protects the surface to be soldered, are not permitted. The
technique can be quite useful in applications such as high data-rate
communications circuits, where it is desirable to avoid crosstalk
between adjacent bonds.

MCC said their technique allows for precise control of the bonding
force, from one pound to at least 100 pounds. They also cite
excellent positioning accuracy, good chip to substrate coplanarity,
and modularity, high yield, and usability with chips having up to
1,000 input/outputs per-square-centimeter.

The flip bonding process seems simple. First, a chip is picked up
out of its carrier by a robot-like tool. Next, the exact positions
of the chip and the wiring substrate to which the chip is being
attached are registered. Then the chip is positioned on top of the
substrate features at which the electronic connections are to be
made. Finally, the force is applied, forming a cold weld between
the mating metal pads on the chip and the substrate. Once the
force has been applied, the pickup tool is retracted and the
process starts all over again with the next chip.

MCC said the bonding machine is controller by a Intel 486-based
microcomputer running MS-DOS and menu-driven C source
language software.

(Jim Mallory/19920421/Press Contact: Cynthia Williams, MCC,
512-338-3512)
#ENDCARD




#CARD :1992 APR 20 Qualcomm Posts Loss Despite Progress 04/20/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00001)

Qualcomm Posts Loss Despite Progress 04/20/92
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 20 (NB) -- Qualcomm
posted a loss for the quarter ending in March despite making
spectacular licensing progress on behalf of its Code Division
Multiple Access, or CDMA, technology.

CDMA is a digital encoding technology which can bring cellular
systems 10 times the capacity they'd have as analog radio. During
the quarter the company signed a number of interesting deals for
CDMA, including manufacturing licenses. CDMA is also the only
digital technology which holds much promise with microwave in so-
called "spread-spectrum" PCN systems. Despite all the paper
signings, however, Qualcomm acknowledged that its CDMA license
and development fees dropped compared to a year ago, resulting
in a higher loss.

During the quarter the Cellular Telecommunications Industry
Association, which represents cellular system operators, reiterated
its support of the competing Time Division Multiple Access, or TDMA,
technology, and firm orders were shipped for dual-standard TDMA
equipment.

Instead, Qualcomm's quarterly report talked about its OmniTracs
terminal, for which shipments doubled from a year ago. The terminal
continues to make a tidy profit.

Still, Qualcomm continues to sign CDMA agreements, and its
advantages could yet place it ahead of TDMA. The latest such deal
is with American Personal Communications, which will test CDMA
with its Frequency Agile Sharing Technology in Washington,
D.C./Baltimore area, where it's working on microwave-based
cellular service in the 1,850-1,990 megahertz frequency range.
APC wants the Federal Communications Commission to give it a
frequency allocation for PCN, and FAST lets it put a full voice
channel in as little as 1.25 megahertz of spectrum. This, it
says, will let PCN operators share the microwave spectrum with
licensed users, like utility companies.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920420/Press Contact: American Personal
Communications, Al Grimes, 410/828-4228; Qualcomm, Harvey White,
619/597-5701)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 20  FCC Gives AT&T More Toll-Free Flexibility 04/20/92

(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00002)

FCC Gives AT&T More Toll-Free Flexibility 04/20/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 APR 20 (NB) -- In a further
deregulatory move, the Federal Communications Commission gave
AT&T more flexibility in making special deals involving toll-free
"800" lines.

Specifically, AT&T customers can now modifying contract terms and
services without going through the agency, and AT&T can "bundle"
toll-free lines not previously in use into special deals.
However, bundling will not be permitted on existing numbers until
a database allowing customers to take their numbers to another
carrier is set up. That database is causing a great deal of
controversy, as small long distance companies like Allnet
complain that the regional Bell companies are dragging their feet
and laying too much of the cost of conversion at their feet.

AT&T expressed some pleasure at the move, thanking the 100 or so
customers who wrote the FCC to complain. But it claimed it thinks
the toll-free business is now fully competitive, and it should be
able to make special deals on all toll-free numbers.

Spurred by Vice President Quayle's Council on Competitiveness and
election-year politics, the FCC is moving rapidly to deregulate
telecommunications in ways critics say favors the regional Bells
and AT&T. Recently, for instance, it said it would consider
forcing other long distance companies to file tariffs on their
special deals, something AT&T alone now has to do, as a way to
move them to drop their opposition to AT&T halting the paperwork.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920420/Press Contact: FCC Press, 202-632-
5050)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 20   ****National Web Of Computer Criminal Hackers Charged 04/20/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00003)

 ****National Web Of Computer Criminal Hackers Charged 04/20/92
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 20 (NB) -- According to
a San Diego Union-Tribune report, San Diego police have uncovered "an
electronic web of young computer hackers who use high-tech methods to
make fraudulent credit card charges and carry out other activities."

The Friday, April 17th story by Bruce V. Bigelow and Dwight C. Daniels
quotes San Diego police detective Dennis Sadler as saying that this
informal underground network has been trading information "to further
their political careers." He said that the hackers know how to break
computer security codes, create credit card accounts, and make
fraudulent credit card purchases.

Sadler estimated that as many as 1,000 hard-core hackers across the
United States have shared this data although he said that it's unclear
how many have actually used the information to commit crimes.

Sadler added that he estimated that illegal charges to credit cards could
total millions of dollars.

While the police department did not release details to support the
allegations, saying that the investigation is continuing, Sadler did say that
cooperation from an "out-of-state hacker" picked up in San Diego,
provided important information to the police and the FBI. Although police
would not release the identity of this individual or his present location,
information gathered by Newsbytes from sources within the hacker
community identifies the so-called hacker as "Multiplexer," a resident
of Long Island, NY, who, according to sources, arrived in San Diego
on an airline flight with passage obtained by means of a fraudulent
credit card purchase.

The San Diego police, apparently aware of his arrival, allegedly
met him at the airport and took him into custody. The same sources say
that, following his cooperation, Multiplexer was allowed to return to his
Long Island home.

The Union-Tribune article linked the San Diego investigation to recent
federal search and seizures in the New York, Philadelphia and Seattle
areas. Subjects of those searches have denied to Newsbytes any knowledge
of Multiplexer, illegal credit card usage or other illegal activities
alleged in the Union-Tribune story.

Additionally, law enforcement officials familiar with on-going
investigations have been unwilling to comment, citing possible future
involvement with the San Diego case.

The article also compared the present investigation to Operation Sun
Devil, a federal investigation into similar activities that resulted
in a massive search and seizure operation in May 1990. Although
individuals have been sentenced in Arizona and California on Sun Devil
related charges, civil liberties groups, such as the Computer
Professionals for Social Responsibility, have been critical about the
low number of criminal convictions resulting from such a large
operation.

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19920420)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 20   ****Dainippon Claims LCD Rights - Seeks Fees From 32 Firms 04/20/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00004)

 ****Dainippon Claims LCD Rights - Seeks Fees From 32 Firms 04/20/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 20 (NB) -- Dainippon Printing is demanding
fees for the use of its LCD (liquid crystal display) color filter
patent from 32 Japanese firms including computer and wristwatch
makers.

Dainippon Printing, a major printing house in Japan,
claims the 32 firms have been using the technologies that
it originally developed. Dainippon Printing applied for four patents
in 1974, which were granted in 1990. The patents include technologies
to manufacture the LCD cell and electrodes. They also cover
a highly dense molecule insulator, which produces a clear image on
the LCD.

The 32 firms that have been asked to pay the patent fees
include Fujitsu, IBM Japan, Sharp, Mitsubishi Electric
and NEC. Dainippon Printing is also checking into US firms and may
make similar charges.

The actual amount of the fees is not known. According to the
Nikkei newspaper, however, the price will be 1 to 3 percent of
the manufacturing cost of the LCD.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920420/Press Contact: Dainippon Printing,
 [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 20  Japan: NTT Intros International Paging Service 04/20/92

(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00005)

Japan: NTT Intros International Paging Service 04/20/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 20 (NB) -- Japan's NTT International, a
subsidiary of NTT, says it will start a paging system between
Japan and the US. This system would allow the user of NTT's beeper
to be paged in the US from Japan.

NTT's new beeper is called the Sky Pager. The beeper itself
is about twice the size of a regular domestic beeper and sports an
LCD (liquid crystal display) on which the caller's telephone
number is displayed. The most unique feature of this Sky Pager is its
voice message service. The user of the beeper can listen to the message
of the caller by making a telephone call to NTT's center.

In the US, callers can dial up NTT's computer center in
Washington DC, from which signals will be relayed via
telecommunication satellite.

The service fee will be 10,000 yen ($75) for registration, and
9,800 yen ($70) as a monthly charge. The caller needs to also pay
a phone fee to the center in Washington DC.

The service area is expected to be expanded to other countries,
including Canada, Mexico, and Southeast Asia in the near
future.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920420/Press Contact: NTT International,
 [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 20   ****Telecom Fraud At All Time High, Says NY State Police 04/20/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(NYC)(00006)

 ****Telecom Fraud At All Time High, Says NY State Police 04/20/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 APR 20 (NB) -- Appearing on
the WBAI radio show "Off The Hook," New York State Police senior
investigator Donald Delaney discussed the movement of organized
crime groups into telecommunications fraud and warned the public
of the dangers of such practices as "shoulder surfing."

Delaney said that corporations are being victimized to the tune of
millions of dollars by unauthorized persons "outdialing" through
their private branch exchanges (PBXs). He traced the case of Data
Products, a computer peripheral firm, that did not even seem aware
that calls could be routed from the outside through their
switchboard to foreign countries. It was only, according to Delaney,
when it received a monthly telephone bill of over $35,000 that it
perceived a problem.

"It was at 5:10 PM on a certain date that Liriano finally, after weeks
of trying, was able to obtain an outside dial tone on Data Products 800
number. Subsequent investigation showed that thousands of calls
using a 9600 baud as well as manually placed calls had been made to
the 800 number. At 7:30 the same evening, a call using the Data
Products number was placed to the Dominican Republic from a
telephone booth near Liriano's house. Within a few hours, calls were
placed from phones all around the neighborhood -- and, within a
week, calls began being placed from booths all around Manhattan,"
Delaney related.

Phiber Optik, another studio guest and a convicted computer intruder
previously arrested by Delaney, commented, "I'm glad that Mr. Delaney
didn't refer to these people as hackers but identified them for what
they are: sleezy common criminals. What these people are doing
requires no super computer knowledge nor desire to learn. They are
simply using computers and telephones to steal."

Delaney agreed, saying, "The people actually selling the calls, on the
street corner, in their apartments, or, in the case of cellular phones,
in parked cars, don't have to know anything about the technology.
They are given the necessary PBX numbers and codes by people higher
up in the group and they just dial the numbers and collect the money.
In the case of the re-chipped or clone cellular phones, they don't even
have to dial the numbers."

Delaney added, "These operations have become very organized very
rapidly. I have arrested people that have printed revenue goals for
the current month, next six months, and entire year -- just like any
other franchise operation. I'm also currently investigating a murder
of a call-seller that I arrested last October. He was an independent
trying to operate in a highly organized and controlled section of
Queens. His pursuit of an independent career may well have been
responsible for his death."

Off The Hook host Emmanuel Goldstein asked Delaney what
responsibility that the PBX companies bear for what seems to be
rather easy use of their systems for such activity. Delaney
responded that he thought that the companies bear at least an
ethical and moral responsibility to their clients to insure that they
are aware of their exposure and the means that they must take to
reduce the exposure. "As far as criminal and civil responsibility for
the security of the system, there are no criminal statues that I am
aware of that would hold the PBX companies criminally liable for
failure to insure proper security. On the civil side, I think that the
decision in the AT&T suit about this very topic will shed some light
of legal responsibility."

Goldstein also brought up the difficulties that some independent
"customer-owned coin-operated" telephones (COCOTs) cause for
customers. "The charges are often exorbitant, access to AT&T via
10288 is sometimes blocked, there is not even the proper access to
911 on some systems, and some either block 800 calls or actually
try to charge for the connection to the 800 numbers.

"We've even found COCOTs that, on collect calls, put the charges
through when an answering machine picks up and the caller hangs up
after realizing that no one is home. They are set up to start billing if
a human voice is heard and the caller doesn't hang up within 5 or 10
seconds."

Delaney agreed that the COCOTS that behave in this fashion are an
ongoing problem for unsuspecting users but said that he has received
no complaints about illegal behavior. He said, however, that he had
received complaints about fraudulent operation of 540 numbers --
the local New York equivalent of a 900 number. He said "most people
don't realize that a 540 number is a chargeable number and these
people fall victim to these scams. We had one case in which a person
had his computer calling 8,000 phone numbers in the beeper blocks
each night. The computer would send a 540 number to the beepers.
People calling the number would receive some innocuous information
and, at the end of the month a $55 charge on her/his telephone bill."

Delaney continued, "The public has much to be worried about related
to telephone fraud, particularly in New York City which can be called
"Fraud Central, USA." If you go into the Port Authority Bus Terminal
and look up in the balcony, you will see rows of people "shoulder
surfing" with binoculars. They have binoculars or telescopes trained
on the public telephones. When they see a person making a credit
card call, they repeat the numbers into a tape recorder. The number
is then sold and, within a few days, it is in use all around the city.
People should always be aware of the possibility of shoulder surfers
in the area."

Goldstein returned to the 540 subject, pointing out that "because
so many people don't realize that it is a billable number, they get
caught by ads and wind up paying for scam calls. We published a
picture in 2600 Magazine of a poster seen around New York, advertising
apartment rental help by calling a 540 number. In very tiny print,
almost unreadable, it mentions a charge. People have to be very
careful about things like this."

Delaney agreed, saying, "The 540 service must say within the first
10 seconds that there is a charge, how much it is, and that the
person can hang up now without being charged -- the guy with the
beeper scam didn't do that and that was one of the reasons for his
arrest. Many of the services give the charge so fast and mix it in
with instructions to stay on for a free camera or another number to
find out about the vacation that they have won that they miss the
charges and wind up paying. The 540 person has, although he may be
trying to defraud, complied with the letter of the law and it might
be difficult to prosecute him. The average citizen must therefore be
more aware of these scams and protect themselves."

Goldstein, Phiber Optik, and Delaney spent the remainder of the show
answering listener questions. Off The Hook is heard every Wednesday
evening on New York City's WBAI (99.5 FM). Recent guests have
included Mike Godwin, in-house counsel of the Electronic Frontier
Foundation; and Steve Jackson, CEO of Steve Jackson Games.

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/Press Contact: Emmanuel
Goldstein, 2600 Magazine" The Hacker Quarterly, 516-751-
2600/19920417)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 20  BT'S National Renumbering Scheme Set For Easter, 1994 04/20/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00007)

BT'S National Renumbering Scheme Set For Easter, 1994 04/20/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1991 APR 20 (NB) -- A recent story in
Newsbytes regarding British Telecom's plans on renumbering the
UK's trunk dialling codes drew a number of comments from
readers. The story, which repeated press assertions that BT had
shelved plans to renumber the UK's area codes to take account
of dialling codes running out, did not draw any comment from
British Telecom itself, however.

Now Mercury Communications has added to the confusion. In the
latest edition of the Dialogue quarterly newsletter for
subscribers to Mercury's telephone services, Mercury asserts that
the national code change will take place in Easter, 1994.

"Basically, this change will affect the national STD (subscriber
trunk dialling) codes which define different geographic areas. At
present, all of these codes begin with a zero, but after Easter
1994 they will start with the digits zero one. This means that
0908 will become 01908, 0333 will change to 01333, 021 will
become 0121, and so on," the newsletter tells its readers.

Mercury notes that the change is taking place to the STD (trunk)
codes only and that personal phone numbers will remain the same.

"The reason for the change is the growth in demand for codes.
There is no need to do anything at the moment, although
businesses will have to think about updating their stationery
nearer the time. We will also be contacting customers about
reprogramming their equipment. Please be assured that over the
coming months we will keep you updated as more details emerge,"
the newsletter adds.

The Mercury newsletter conflicts with unconfirmed reports that
Newsbytes has received from the telecom industry that BT has
privately scrapped plans for a number system change owing to
pressure from the industry as a whole.

The problem is that, because of the liberalization of telecommunications
in the UK, much of the automated telephone equipment in
circulation at the moment will have to be reprogrammed to take
account of the new numbering scheme. Perhaps worse, many existing
Mercury auto-diallers and payphones cannot be reprogrammed and
may require hardware modification to use the new numbering
scheme.

BT's offices were unavailable for comment on this story at
Newsbytes' deadline. Unofficial sources suggest that, since
no official announcement on the renumbering scheme has been made
by BT, "the plan cannot be scrapped, since it was never announced
in the first place."

Mercury contacts, meanwhile, say that plans for the scheme are
still in the preparation stages and that studies are continuing.

(Steve Gold/19920417)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 20  New For PC: Intel Fax Software for Windows, Modems and Boards 04/20/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(ATL)(00008)

New For PC: Intel Fax Software for Windows, Modems and Boards 04/20/92
HILLSBORO, OREGON, U.S.A., 1992 APR 20 (NB) -- Intel has announced
two software programs for Windows, Faxability Plus and Faxability
Plus OCR. The company says both applications are designed to run on
any industry standard fax modem.

The company said Faxability Plus offers WYPIWYF (what you print is
what you fax), allowing the user to transmit faxes from within a
Microsoft Windows application by using the application's print
command to obtain laser quality fax printing. Intel's enhancements
business unit manager, Dick Gough, said Intel fine-tuned the
Faxability software to more than 20 fax modems. "This is the way
faxing from a PC was meant to be," proclaimed Gough.

Faxability Plus can send and receive faxes, and allows incoming
faxes to be viewed, printed, forwarded or saved. Faxes can be saved
in PCX, DCX and TIFF formats. The program also includes zooming and
sizing, rotation, and copying to and pasting from a clipboard.
Faxes can be printed to any Windows-supported printer.

Faxability Plus also includes a manual send feature, useful for
users who travel and use notebook or laptop computers. The manual
send option allows the initial connection to be made using a
telephone handset, then transfer control to the fax software by
pressing a "hot key." The program also provides prefix and suffix
support, allowing users to post charges to an AT&T or Sprint credit
card. A reverse video option provides easier viewing of incoming
faxes on the monochrome displays of many laptop/notebook computers.

Intel said Faxability Plus/OCR is the first fax application that has
built-in support for both optical character recognition (OCR) and
the TWAIN application programming interface (API) for image capturing
scanners. TWAIN, Intel's Audrey Whitfield told Newsbytes, is a
scanner driver developed jointly by HP, Kodak, Logitech and several
other companies.

Faxability Plus has a suggested list price of $119, while Faxability
Plus/OCR is priced at $249. Intel said both would be available in
May of this year.

Intel would prefer if you also run this software with its new
fax/modem boards which are priced as low as $129 and work under
MS-DOS or MS-Windows.

The new SatisFAXtion products include the Modem/400, which runs at up
to 14,400 bits/second for $499, the Modem/400e, which goes inside your
computer and lists for $549. The Modem/200, a 9,600 baud
product, is $369, and the Modem/100, an entry-level product with a
data speed of 2,400 baud, a fax reception speed of 4,800 baud, and a
fax sending speed of 9,600 baud, at $129. All of the new products
support the Communicating Applications Specification, or CAS standard,
first offered by Intel and DCA.

(Jim Mallory & Dana Blankenhorn/19920417/Press Contact: Dan Wagner,
Intel, 503-629-7565; Audrey Whitfield, Intel Software, 503-629-7285)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 20  Online Service Odyssey Drops Hourly Charges 04/20/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00009)

Online Service Odyssey Drops Hourly Charges 04/20/92
MONROVIA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 20 (NB) -- Odyssey Online,
which offers adult-oriented online services, said it has a new
"unlimited" use plan for continental U.S. callers.

Under the plan, subscribers pay $20 per month for unlimited
connect time to Odyssey from local numbers in over 800
cities. All system services, including live teleconferencing and
most file transfers, are included. And there are no restrictions
on the time of day users call in.

Michael Allen, a spokesman for the company, said the new plan is
a direct response to new flat-rate tiered options offered by
Delphi, GEnie, and America Online. CompuServe has also announced
a flat-rate pricing plan, covering specific services at specific
times of the day. "However, unlike those services, Odyssey does
not restrict the subscriber to limited services or late night
only calling." He said response from users has been favorable.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920416/Press Contact: Odyssey Online, Jim
Hughes, 818-359-9526: Modem, 818-358-6968 at 8 bit words, no
parity)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 20  Da Vinci Offers E-Mail Discounts To Presidential Hopefuls 04/20/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00010)

Da Vinci Offers E-Mail Discounts To Presidential Hopefuls 04/20/92
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 20 (NB) -- Presidential
campaigns have moved into the computer arena in a big way this year.
It is already common to see candidates and potential candidates use
toll-free telephone numbers to collect funds and opinions. Now Da
Vinci systems is trying to nudge the politicians into trying yet
another new technology: e-mail.

Da Vinci makes Da Vinci e-mail, one of the more popular
e-mail packages in use today. It has created a version of the
program that is being offered to presidential campaigns for
a significant discount over normal prices. Normally, Da Vinci
charges almost $700 per user. With this promotion, it is charging
only $100 for each user. Prospective users need only produce proof
that they are really associated with a campaign to receive the
discount.

Da Vinci is making this offer as a way of introducing the leading
politicians of the day to this technology. Officers hope that by
using and enjoying the benefits of this technology, such campaigns
will learn to be more efficient and better organized and,
coincidentally, turn to using e-mail on a more common basis. Needless
to say, the company would not object to having the winner this year
be one of their users and take the technology into the White House
with them.

As of this writing, none of the presidential campaigns has accepted
the offer. Da Vinci officials do not seem too disappointed. They are
convinced that it will simply be a matter of time before someone
does.

(Naor Wallach/19920417/Press Contact: Chris Evans, Da Vinci,
919-881-4320)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 20  Digital India Spurs Manufacturing Automation 04/20/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEL)(00011)

Digital India Spurs Manufacturing Automation 04/20/92
BANGALORE, INDIA, 1992 APR 20 (NB) -- Digital Equipment India Ltd.
(DEIL) went a step further in emulating its parent company, Digital
Equipment Corp., when it set up its Metal Expertise Centre (MEC) in
Calcutta last month. It is probably the first such initiative by a
hardware vendor in India.

MEC, as a DEIL spokesman describes it, is a sophisticated set-up studded
with the entire range of DEIL VAX systems with facilities to simulate
the factory floor. In other words, it is a facility where metal
manufacturers, whose computerization plans cost multi-million dollars,
can have a test-run of a computerization plan before actually
investing such huge sums.

DEIL's metal expertise center draws is modelled after a similar DEC
establishment in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, US, called the Global
Resource Center for Metals. The center is aided by major American
steel consultants like the US steel.

The location of India's center is strategic with most metal industries
like Tata Steel, and giant steel plants of the Steel Authority of
India - at Bokaro, Durgapur, Rourkela, etc., in the eastern India
region. The Rs 10 million ($0.33 million) facility is a typical
offshoot of Digital's marketing strategy. Similar centers for
other segments are also being contemplated.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920415)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 20  India: 30 Bid For Cellular Phone Services 04/20/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(DEL)(00012)

India: 30 Bid For Cellular Phone Services 04/20/92
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1992 APR 20 (NB) -- Belying general expectations,
none of the major cellular mobile telephone manufacturers in the world
with expertise in Groupe Speciale Mobile (GSM) technology, has bid
for the tender floated by the government of India's Department of
Telecommunications (DoT) for providing cellular mobile telephone
services in the four metros of the country: Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta,
and Madras.

Ericsson, Alcatel, Nokia, Siemens, AT&T and Motorola all have instead
given quotations for providing equipment and systems to interested
service operators. Doubtful about the return on investment, they found
it not viable to obtain an operating license if there are two or more operators in
each city.

In all, 30 consortia have set their sights on winning the tender. The
criteria laid by DoT that only registered Indian firms are eligible to
bid and that the organization should be adept at handling cellular
services, coupled with a third condition that equipment should be
procured only from one of the earlier-mentioned international telecom
leaders, has resulted in many an alliance being forged between
Indian and foreign firms.

The K.K. Modi group and Australian and Overseas Telecommunications
Corporation Ltd. (AOTC) have together floated a company -- Indian
Telecom Private Ltd. With an equity stake, Nippon Telegraph and
Telephone Corporation (NTT) of Japan has tied up with Vikas Hybrids
and Electronics Ltd.

Other foreign cellular service operators who have joined forces
with Indian firms include Cable and Wireless and Vodafone, both of
the UK, France Telecom, New Zealand Telecom, Singapore Telecom,
Malaysia Telecom, Bell Canada, and Hutchison Telecom of Hongkong.

With the submission of the tenders, the first phase of selection
of licensee is over. The list of bidders will now be scrutinized
and shortened, taking into account the experience of the foreign
collaborator and the track record of the Indian company. These
short-listed bidders will then be asked to make their commercial
and financial offers, on the basis of which a final selection
will be made. Cellular mobile phone services are expected to be
operational in India by the beginning of 1993. According to DoT,
the number of customers for the cellular service will be around
100,000.

(C.T. Mahabarhat/19920415)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 20   ****Microsoft Anoints New VPs/Makes More Big Money 04/20/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00013)

 ****Microsoft Anoints New VPs/Makes More Big Money 04/20/92
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 APR 20 (NB) - Software giant
Microsoft Corporation has announced the promotion of three of its
staff to VP positions, where they will lead the divisions they have
been working in. Microsoft also announces that its revenues are up
40%, in no small part due to the success of Windows 3.1.

Susan W. Boeschen was promoted to VP of the consumer division. In
her new position she will be responsible for overseeing the
development, testing, and marketing of products for what Microsoft's
announcement describes as the developing consumer software market.
Microsoft has placed more emphasis on this small business and home
market recently.

Products targeted at the consumer market from Microsoft include
Microsoft Works, an integrated package that includes word
processing, database, graphics, and communications capabilities.
Other consumer products include Microsoft's recently announced low-
end desktop publishing program Publisher, Microsoft Money, a
personal finance manager program, and long-time favorite Flight
Simulator, which allows "wannabe" pilots to test their skills in a
variety of aircraft types over various kinds of terrain.

Robert D. Glaser assumes the leadership of Microsoft's multimedia
and consumer systems group, perhaps the most visible of the three
new VP slots. Multimedia is a burgeoning field with numerous
hardware vendors rushing to have their PCs certified for multimedia
use, and software vendors announcing new multimedia programs. The
term multimedia refers to programs which include sound, text,
animation, video and graphics.

Mike Maples, executive vice president of the worldwide products
group, said each of the new vice presidents has made significant
contributions to Microsoft's success. "Susan has spearheaded our
efforts to bring the power of personal computing to a new, broad
base of consumers in small businesses and homes, and has introduced
products in product categories new to Microsoft. Rob has led our
efforts to deliver multimedia systems solutions incorporating sound,
animation and video into the Microsoft Windows operating system to
expand the richness of personal computing. Jonathan has been
instrumental in building the momentum behind Windows by creating a
strong support program for independent hardware and software
developers and marketing campaigns such as the new Windows logo
program," said Maples.

Maples' comment about the Windows logo program refers to Microsoft's
granting of a "Windows-compatible" seal of approval to PC manufacturers
whose hardware meets Microsoft's testing for Windows compatibility.

Microsoft's financial report for the third quarter, which ended
March 31, showed revenues of $681 million, a 40 percent increase
over the same period last year. Revenues for the first nine months
of FY 92 were $1.9 billion, up 48 percent over the previous year.
Earnings per share were 90 cents for the quarter, and
$2.55 for the nine-month period, a 68 percent increase. Frank
Gaudette, chief financial officer said the results reflect record
revenue from the OEM channel as well as strong results in the
reseller channels. Gaudette said more than 200 OEMs have licensed
the Windows operating system

Two significant events occurred during the quarter. Microsoft
announced it would release Windows 3.1 in early April, and
estimated it would ship more than one million copies during the
first thirty days. And the company announced it would merge with
Fox Software to produce a family of database applications. Fox
produced Foxbase, a significant competitor for dBASE.

While not in the third quarter, the ruling by a US District Court
finding that most of the visual displays in Windows are not
protectible under Apple Computer's copyright nearly eliminated the
possibility that Microsoft might have to pay millions of dollars in
royalties. Microsoft's stock shot up after that ruling was
announced.

(Jim Mallory/19920420/Press contact: Sarah Charf, Microsoft,
206/882-8080)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 20  Canada: Teleglobe Shuffles Executives 04/20/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00014)

Canada: Teleglobe Shuffles Executives 04/20/92
MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA, 1992 APR 20 (NB) -- The power structure
at the telecommunications Teleglobe continues to shift with the
appointment of several executives, including a new president and
chief executive for Teleglobe Canada, the subsidiary that holds a
monopoly on international satellite links to and from Canada.

Andre LeBel, currently senior vice-president of the Laurentian
Group, will become president and chief executive of Teleglobe
Canada on June 1. He will take over that title from Charles Sirois,
who becomes president and chief executive of the parent company,
Teleglobe Inc. On that date, Sirois also becomes chairman of
Teleglobe Canada and another subsidiary, Teleglobe International.

Sirois bought 8.1 percent of Teleglobe from BCE, the parent company
of Bell Canada and Northern Telecom, early this year. The head of
Telesystem Financial and telecommunications firm National
Telesystem, he immediately began seeking a seat on Teleglobe's
board.

In February, backed by Telesystem Financial (then called Intermedia
Financial), Rogers Communications of Toronto, Caisse de depot et
placement du Quebec and the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement
Board, all Teleglobe shareholders, and reportedly by BCE's
representatives on the board, he ousted former Teleglobe President
William McKenzie from the top job.

BCE still holds 22 percent of Teleglobe, and has not concealed the
fact that it would like to acquire a larger stake. Tension between
former Teleglobe management and BCE goes back at least a year. Last
May, Gordon Capital of Toronto opposed three nominees to the
Teleglobe board and succeeded in having two of them replaced.
Teleglobe management said Gordon was acting for BCE.

McKenzie, who leaves the president's post this spring, will remain
on the board of directors at Teleglobe until 1993.

Other new appointees at Teleglobe include Martin Fournier, who has
been promoted from executive vice-president and chief operating
officer of Teleglobe Canada to president and chief operating
officer of Teleglobe International, and Bruno Ducharme, who becomes
chief financial officer of Teleglobe Inc. Ducharme is also
executive vice-president of Sirois' other companies, National
Telesystem and Telesystem Financial.

(Grant Buckler/19920420/Press Contact: Gilles Quenneville,
Teleglobe, 514-868-7765)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 20  IBM Sets Out To Spur Pen Development 04/20/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00015)

IBM Sets Out To Spur Pen Development 04/20/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 APR 20 (NB) -- Joining in a
wave of activity surrounding pen-based computing, IBM has announced
the IBM Pen Developer Assistance Program and the limited
availability of its pen-based ThinkPad computer. The developers'
program is meant to help IBM customers and independent software
vendors begin developing pen-based applications, IBM said.

The program will give developers access to information about IBM's
pen-based computing plans and to training courses, company
spokeswoman Tara Sexton told Newsbytes. There will be a fee for
participating in the program, Sexton said, but it has
been deferred until the fourth quarter of this year. The amount
of the fee was not available.

IBM also announced a special bid version of its ThinkPad pen-based
computer for customers and developers who want to start work now on
applications to run on future IBM pen-based computers. The ThinkPad
is scheduled for general availability in the fourth quarter of this
year.

The ThinkPad comes with the PenPoint operating system, licensed
from Go Corp., and handwriting recognition technology developed at
IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research facility in Yorktown Heights, New
York and in its Boca Raton, Florida, facility.

The special-bid ThinkPad (Model 2521) comes with a 20-megahertz
386SX microprocessor, either four or eight megabytes of memory, an
integrated data/fax modem, an AC/DC adapter, a nickel-cadmium
battery, serial and parallel ports, a connection for an optional
external 3.5-inch diskette drive, and an external keyboard port.

The ThinkPad that becomes generally available late this year may be
slightly different from the current version, Sexton said, depending
on customer input in the meantime.

IBM customers and application developers can order the new system
directly from IBM through the special bid process, a program for
obtaining computers from IBM that are not generally available
through traditional purchasing channels. The first systems will be
delivered in July, the company said.

IBM said it has already provided selected independent software
vendors and customers with an early version of the ThinkPad for
evaluation.

(Grant Buckler/19920420/Press Contact: W. Dean Kline, IBM,
914-642-5408; Tara Sexton, IBM, 914-642-4662)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 20  New For Networks: Synoptics Appletalk Router For Hub 04/20/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00016)

New For Networks: Synoptics Appletalk Router For Hub 04/20/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 20 (NB) -- Synoptics is
introducing a new module for its LattisNet System 3000. This new
module allows for the connection of Apple Macintosh computers that are
running Appletalk to connect to the rest of the devices in an
enterprise network.

Synoptics has been working with Farallon on integrating PhoneNet
technology into the Synoptics hubs for over a year. The two companies
revealed their collaboration in November of 1990. Farallon has over
three million nodes attached to its connectors. This allows it to
claim that it has networked more Macintosh computers than anyone
else. Farallon has even patented its PhoneNet technology.

This new module, the Model 3394, contains the PhoneNet technology.
The module has 16 RJ11 ports on it, each of which allows for up to
four devices to connect to it, for a total of 64 machines. The
module will take up one slot in the hub.

All of the benefits of using Synoptics' hub are conferred on this
new module. Data can now be routed between the Macintoshes and the
other devices on the network; files can be shared, and data can be
directed to specific printers anywhere within the enterprise. This
module contains an SNMP agent so that it can be managed from
Synoptics' Lattisnet Manager console.

Synoptics lists the following as key features of this new module:
100% compatibility with Farallon PhoneNet; full Appletalk routing for
supporting networks of hundreds of zones, including zone hiding;
IP Gateway functions that enable Macintosh users to access file,
printer, and host services on Unix systems; IP tunneling for linking
distant Apple networks through established IP internetworks;
management through extended SNMP agents; flash EPROM-based software
for easy upgrading; manageable from Synoptics' Unix or DOS network
management console.

The new module is officially known as the Synoptics Model 3394
Appletalk Router. It will be available in May for a list price of
$3595.

(Naor Wallach/19920420/Press Contact: Kristina Thorngate, Synoptics,
408-764-1046)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 20  SPA Settles With Houston Firm In Copyright Suit 04/20/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00017)

SPA Settles With Houston Firm In Copyright Suit 04/20/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 20 (NB) -- The Software
Publishers Association has reached another copyright infringement
suit settlement, this time with Houston-based Burnett Companies,
which runs the Houston PC Learning Center computer training
school.

The SPA lawsuit, brought because of tips received on the
toll-free anti-piracy hotline, involved charges that the company
was using illegal copies of Aldus, Lotus, Microsoft, Software
Publishing, and WordPerfect programs installed in training
computers.

Burnett agreed to settle the case by paying a $46,000 settlement
and to purchase legal copies of software to replace all the
illegal copies in the company's possession.

The SPA, a trade association for more than 900 software
publishers, is active both in lobbying activities in Washington
and in pursuing alleged copyright violations.

There are estimates that the software industry loses billions of
dollars annually around the world because companies and
individuals make illegal copies of software rather than
purchase licensed copies.

(John McCormick/19920420/Press Contact: Terri Childs, SPA, 202-
452-1600)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 20   ****Reports of Lotus/Borland Merger Talks 04/20/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(NYC)(00018)

 ****Reports of Lotus/Borland Merger Talks 04/20/92
SCOTTS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., APR 20 (NB) - Wire services and USA
Today have reported that informal merger talks have gone on between Lotus
Development Corporation and Borland International. The quoted source
of these stories, Heidi Sinclair, vice president for communications
at Borland, was reported to have said that the talks have not led
to serious merger discussion.

Lotus Development, creator of the 1-2-3 spreadsheet program, was closed
on Monday, April 20th for Patriot's Day and was thus unavailable for
comment. Borland spokesperson Steve Grady told Newsbytes, "The press
is making a much bigger story of this than anyone here at Borland. It
really started with a mention in Spenser Katt's "PC Week" column to
the effect that there were talks in the industry. When a USA Today
reporter asked Heide about it, she confirmed that informal talks have
occurred but said that there have not been formal negotiations."

Grady continued, "Heide's comments were just recognition of the fact
that informal talks are going on constantly between software companies.
There is certainly nothing hot at the moment between us and anyone.
I think that whenever there is mention of a possible merger that might
pose a threat to Microsoft, it captures a lot of media attention.
Whenever Borland, Lotus or Novell is mentioned in any possible merger
talk, everyone's attention perks up."

In addition to the language programs that Borland is known for
developing and the data base programs, Paradox and dBASE, that it has
acquired when it purchased the firms owning the products, the firm is
the developer of a spreadsheet, Quattro Pro, which has been the subject
of litigation from Lotus on the basis of allegedly violating the
"look-and-feel"  of 1-2-3. The suit has brought a good deal of
negative criticism throughout the industry from such parties as Dan
Bricklin, designer of VisiCalc, the first spreadsheet and the forerunner
of 1-2-3; and Richard Stallman, founder of the League for Programming
Freedom, which has organized picketing of Lotus because of the suit.

Commenting on the possibility of such a merger, Esther Dyson, editor
and publisher of REL 1.0, told Newsbytes, "I don't think that such a
merger is in the cards and I hope that it is not. I think that it  is
good for them to be out competing in the marketplace. Such a merger
would drastically reduce competition and the customer would be the
loser."

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19920420)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 20   ****Man Gets 30 Months In Prison For Defrauding IBM 04/20/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(NYC)(00019)

 ****Man Gets 30 Months In Prison For Defrauding IBM 04/20/92
ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., APR 20 (NB) -- Data Hardware Inc., has
been fined $500,000, conditioned upon future financial
performance, and was placed on three years probation while its
president, David Heinen, was sentenced to 30 months in prison and
fined $275,000 after the courts decided they defrauded IBM of a
reported $1.75 million.

IBM spokesperson Raymond Gorman, commenting on the Friday, April 17th
sentencing, said, "IBM is hopeful that the resolution of events in the
Minneapolis federal court will serve to dissuade others from carrying
on such fraudulent actions. Fraud has been committed and IBM, as any
business, is concerned about incidents of fraud or other illegal
activities that impact our products or customer relations."

Gorman said that prior to the sentencing, Data Hardware had agreed
to pay IBM $1.9 million in damages.

Additionally, two other employees were give jail sentences. Robert
Nelson, a vice president, was sentenced to two years in prison and
computer technician Jeffrey Heinen, was given an eighteen-month term.
Heinen and Data Hardware were convicted by a jury in December of
fraud conspiracy, 17 counts of mail fraud and 10 counts of
interstate transportation of goods taken by fraud.

Prosecutor Douglas Peterson was quoted by wire services as
commenting, "This corporate crime deserves the prison terms and
stiff fines imposed. More and more criminals are operating out of
corporate boardrooms. These sentences and the new guidelines drafted
to punish business organizations which turn to crime will hopefully
make others think twice before misusing their talents and privileges."

Gorman told Newsbytes that "It would be inappropriate for IBM to
comment on the severity of the actual sentences. That matter is the
responsibility of the federal court. We are just happy to
see the case brought to a conclusion."

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19920420)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 20   ****Hyundai Bucks Trend, Moves Manufacturing To US 04/20/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00020)

 ****Hyundai Bucks Trend, Moves Manufacturing To US 04/20/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1992 APR 20 (NB) -- Citing a
need to reduce time-to-market and be more responsive to the
worldwide information systems marketplace, Korea's Hyundai
Business Group is moving its business management, marketing, product
development, and most importantly, manufacturing for its
Information Systems Division from Seoul to the United States.

At the same time, the company has appointed Edward D. Thomas,
a 27-year IBM veteran, president and chief operating officer for
the unit.

Dave Murray, spokesman for the company, told Newsbytes that
the "PC operations will be part of Hyundai America." This
"includes PC and PC peripherals," he said.

Murray told Newsbytes that the company feels that, by moving
operations to the US, it "can get earlier access to advanced
PC technology." Additionally, said Murray, "being closer to
their customers will allow (the company) to be more flexible."

According to the company, global responsibility for Hyundai's
complete line of personal computers will now come under the
direction of US management. Additionally, the unit also
markets computer peripheral products, including monitors.
By the moving the unit's operations to the US, the company is
also hoping to improve market responsiveness.

Thomas was most recently president of CompuAdd Corporation.
During his four years with that company, its revenue grew from
$100 million in 1987 to $514 million in 1991, with over 1,500
employees worldwide.

Of the new policy, Thomas said: "We fully expect to have our next
generation of truly differentiated desktop and notebook computers -
designed, engineered and built from the ground up in America -
shipping to US and world markets by the end of the year."

Thomas has been given the task of charting a worldwide PC
strategy, with particular emphasis on developing the US market.

The need to speed up time-to-market was emphasized by Thomas,
who added: "The rapid pace of change and the limited life cycle
of today's PC technology requires a flat, nimble, and streamlined
organization to be competitive. We intend to structure our
business to realize the best possible efficiencies and distinction in
a price-sensitive, service-minded marketplace, and enhance our
customer support programs to achieve the highest level of end-user
satisfaction."

Murray told Newsbytes that the operations would be headquartered
in San Jose, California. The move, he said, is a "transitional" one.
The company has "already been hiring in product development,"
he said.

(Ian Stokell/19920420/Press Contact: Debra Bowman, Hyundai
Electronics America, 408-473-9318)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 20   ****Sitka Introduces Unique New Dealer Program 04/20/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00021)

 ****Sitka Introduces Unique New Dealer Program 04/20/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 20 (NB) -- In a press
conference held here, Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy spoke of
Sun's role in "breaking the rules." This remark was made as he and
Deborah Triant, CEO of Sitka Corp., a Sun company, announced a new
program for selling Sitka's 10Net peer-to-peer networking products.

"Customer for Life" is the name of the program. It is designed to
change today's realities where a customer spends a lot of time with
a reseller to learn about networking and in making the right choice
about the product to buy. Then, when the time comes to expand the
network, the customer buys additional nodes and looks for the
cheapest possible price on these which tends to shortchange the
dealer who spend all that time educating the customer in the first
place.

The new program is intended to work as follows. A customer goes into
his dealer and gets educated about networks. Assuming that he chooses
10Net, the dealer gives him a starter pack for free. This starter
pack contains all that the customer needs except  the hardware for
establishing a two-node network. The customer can then try it out
and decide if this is the network to base his business on. If he
agrees that 10Net is the way to go, he simply returns to the dealer
and purchases an Expander Kit which gives him all the manuals,
software, and information that he needs to expand his network by
three additional nodes. Actually, the package contains more than
that. The package has the capability to support a network of
practically any size, the customer is only provided with a key that
allows for a total of five nodes to run.

As the network needs expand, the customer calls Sitka. They provide
additional licenses over the phone and the customer can then
install the additional nodes. Sitka will charge $79 per node for each
additional node. This transaction will generate a 20% commission
to the original dealer. In this way, Sitka guarantees the dealer
revenues for the life of the customer's satisfaction with 10Net.

At the same news conference, Sitka disclosed that several of the
larger distributors have already signed up for this program. IMI,
Merisel, Tiger Software, and 800 software have signed up to support
this program. In a response to a question from Newsbytes, Deborah
Triant stated that Sitka is also working on some OEM arrangements but
that she had nothing that could be made public at this time.

(Naor Wallach/19920420)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 20 New For PCs: Strategy Plus Updates Execustat 04/20/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00022)

New For PCs: Strategy Plus Updates Execustat 04/20/92
PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 APR 20 (NB) -- Playing on the
preoccupations of business people around the world, Strategy Plus
is billing Release 3.0 of its Execustat software as a package meant
to enhance global competitiveness. Put in less trendy terms,
Execustat is a business analysis package that uses statistical
procedures on business data.

Execustat 3.0 adds quality control features and option of
performing stepwise regression on statistical data, said company
spokeswoman Barbara J. Carr.

Execustat has a graphic interface using pull-down menus and dialog
boxes, and can be controlled with a mouse or from the keyboard.
According to the vendor, it offers more than 150 analytical and
statistical procedures. These can be used in tasks such as business
forecasting, engineering, financial analysis, market research, and
statistical process control.

The package can exchange data with Lotus 1-2-3 and dBASE, and it
can read and write ASCII and DIF files, Carr said.

For quality control applications, Execustat 3.0 provides
statistical process control charts to monitor manufacturing and
process capability procedures to measure how well a process
conforms to specifications.

A variety of descriptive statistics and inference techniques are
available, including means, standard deviations, medians,
quartiles, skewness, and kurtosis, the company said. Available
plots include histograms, two- and three-dimensional scatter plots,
box and whisker plots, star plots, and casement plots.

Execustat requires an IBM or compatible PC running DOS 2.0 or
later, at least 640K bytes of memory, and a minimum of two
megabytes of available hard disk space. The software sells for
$375. Strategy Plus is selling it directly and through dealers and
distributors worldwide, Carr said.

(Grant Buckler/19920417/Press Contact: Barbara J. Carr, Strategy
Plus, 609-452-1345 or 800-452-1832, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 20  New Product: Spectrum RJ11 Plug for Cellular Phones 04/20/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00023)

New Product: Spectrum RJ11 Plug for Cellular Phones 04/20/92
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 20 (NB) -- Spectrum Cellular
announced an intelligent interface for hand-held cellular phones
which gives such phones a standard RJ-11 plug, like those found
on wired phones.

The interface, about the size of a business card, can be connected
to a regular fax machine or modem so that workers can deliver
information to their offices from remote locations.

Spectrum will be able to sell this latest product through its
Computer Bay stores, which have over 250 franchised locations, as
well as through its Data One sales and support organization,
which calls on large companies. "With the Spectrum interface
field personnel can use their 10-ounce hand-held cellular
telephone and notebook computer or portable fax for reliable fax
and data communications wherever cellular service is available,"
said Spectrum President John Rule.

The device resulted from an agreement signed in March with Telular
of Wilmette, Illinois, which holds patents on intelligent RJ-11
cellular technology. Spectrum won exclusive worldwide use of those
patents for mobile data applications.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920417/Press Contact: Spectrum Cellular, John
Rule, 214/630-9825)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 20  Hayes Improves ISDN Adapter 04/20/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00024)

Hayes Improves ISDN Adapter 04/20/92
NORCROSS, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 20 (NB) -- Hayes
Microcomputer Products released Version 1.1 of its ISDN System
Adapter, which now comes with configuration programs for either
the Apple Macintosh or PC compatibles. The new version also
supports Caller ID service.

The adapter can work with ISDN service provided by either AT&T
or Northern Telecom switches -- those two companies provide the
majority of U.S. phone switches. It also implements Hayes' AT command
set for ISDN and its AutoStream technology.

At the same time the company announced that Online With Hayes,
its product support bulletin board, can now be accessed via ISDN,
and its discount program for bulletin board system operators now
includes the ISDN PC Adapter and ISDN System Adapter products.
Online With Hayes takes over 50,000 calls per month and provides
answers to technical questions on the company's products.

President Dennis Hayes noted in a press release that ISDN roll-
out plans from the Bell Operating Companies indicate over 50
percent of business lines will have access to the service by the
end of the year.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920417/Press Contact: Peggy Ballard, Hayes,
404-840-9200)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 20  New For PCs: CA Launches Cricket Paint 04/20/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00025)

New For PCs: CA Launches Cricket Paint 04/20/92
ISLANDIA, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 APR 20 (NB) -- Computer Associates
has announced CA-Cricket Paint, 24-bit painting software for
personal computers running Microsoft Windows. The software is
designed to create images for use in presentations, desktop
publishing, and multimedia, the company said.

The software is the latest in CA's Cricket line of graphics
software, which includes Cricket Graph, Cricket Draw, Cricket
Presents, and Cricket Image. It works with Cricket Image, which is
designed for image processing work.

Computer Associates said CA-Cricket Paint may be used for creating
images on a personal computer, or for retouching images brought in
from other sources.

The software supports 24-bit color and eight-bit gray-scale
processing on any Windows display with Super VGA resolution, the
company said.

Among the features of the new package are what CA calls modeless
tools -- whatever graphics tool is in use, such as a brush,
airbrush, or pen, the same options are useable in the same way.
Users can open any dialog box and leave it open as long as they
like. Anti-aliasing guards against "jaggies" and makes lines as
smooth as possible. Advanced painting features include the ability
to choose any line weight, to custom-blend colors, and to control
the translucency of the "paint" using the Wacom pressure-sensitive
tablet.

A variety of brush shapes are available, CA said, as are techniques
such as masking and "unpainting," which allows users to remove one
or more layers of paint.

CA-Cricket Paint is now in beta testing, a company spokesman said,
and it is scheduled to ship in the second quarter of this year. The
suggested retail price has been set at $595 (C$675 in Canada).
Cricket Image costs $295 (C$349 in Canada), and a bundle of the two
packages will be available for $695 ($795 in Canada).

(Grant Buckler/19920416/Press Contact: Bob Gordon, Computer
Associates, 516-342-2391, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 20  New For Networks: Xircom Enhanced Software Driver 04/20/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00026)

New For Networks: Xircom Enhanced Software Driver 04/20/92
CALABASAS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 20 (NB) -- Xircom and Zenith
Data Systems announced a collaborative effort last year that was
intended to increase the speeds of parallel ports. This collaboration
has now borne fruit in the announcement made by Xircom with regard
to the availability of version 2.0 of its software driver.

Xircom makes a device that attaches to the parallel port of your PC.
On the other side, it connects to LAN media like Ethernet. Using an
on-board microprocessor, this arrangement allows the owner to
connect to a LAN even without the use of an internal card. This is
most useful with laptop and palmtop computers.

Unfortunately, there is a problem with using the parallel port:
speed. The parallel port on the original PC was not designed for
high speed transmissions and therefore any device that used it until
now suffered in that department. Zenith and Xircom approached Intel
with an idea. They developed a more efficient set of hardware and
software for parallel ports. If Intel could place the hardware
components into one of their designs, everyone would benefit for the
increased speeds. Intel agreed and put the circuits in the 80386 SL
chip set. Now, computer makers can use the SL chip with another and
get significant throughput gains through a software mechanism called
Enhanced Parallel Port. This collaborative effort was announced in
last fall's Comdex show.

Computer makers are now responding and the SL and EPP are showing up
in more and more laptop computers. Xircom has therefore enhanced the
software driver that comes with their Ethernet adapters to take
advantage of this hardware. Version 2.0 of their software driver,
in combination with the SL chip and EPP, can provide throughput that
is equivalent to having an Ethernet adapter card while still using
the parallel port. To those who do not have the proper hardware,
Xircom's new driver still provides the benefit of a 20% increase in
throughput.

The new software driver is expected to begin shipping in May. It
will come automatically with any new purchases of the Ethernet
Pocket Adapters. Previous purchasers of Xircom's products can
receive a free upgrade to version 2.0 in one of two ways. They can
either download the software from the company's bulletin board, or
they can contact their dealer for more information.

(Naor Wallach/19920417/Press Contact: Lynda Orban, Xircom,
818-878-7176)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 20  New Resume Designer For Windows 04/20/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00027)

New Resume Designer For Windows 04/20/92
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 20 (NB) -- Winway
has introduced Winway Resume For Windows, a resume designer
that it claims will allow users to create professional style
resumes fast.

Erez Carmel of Winway told Newsbytes the difference between
using a word processor for a resume and its Winway Resume is
the formatting. Winway Resume automatically handles all the
sticky spacing, lining up of text, and changes from one
style to another with the same information automatically.
Carmel said once the information about the person is
entered, the user can switch formats to target the resume to
specific jobs. For example, a user can switch from a
chronological to a functional format, or just change
headings to emphasize specific areas.

The information is entered in simple forms for each section.
Several resume styles are available to select from and
sample resumes are included as well, Winway said. A spell
checker with 100,000 words and an on-line action verb
glossary are provided along with context sensitive help, the
company maintains.

Winway says users can click on bullets, styles, or fonts and
see the results immediately in the Windows environment. The
product allows cutting and pasting from other Windows
applications, editing of multiple versions of the same
resume in separate windows, and a full page view, Winway
added.

The product emphasizes the "say it all in one page" approach
and offers space efficient styles to accomplish that, Winway
said.

The product is retail priced at $69.95. More information is
available from Winway at 5600 Madison Ave., Suite a-20,
Sacramento, California, 95841 or by calling 916-332-2671.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920417/Press Contact: Erez Carmel,
Winway, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 20  New For PC: Individual Software's Professor Windows 3.1 04/20/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00028)

New For PC: Individual Software's Professor Windows 3.1 04/20/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 20 (NB) -- Individual Software has
released a new version of its Professor Windows software -
Professor Windows 3.1 - to take account of the 1,000-plus new
features that it claims are available in Microsoft Windows 3.1.

According to the company, Professor Windows 3.1 works from within
Microsoft Windows, providing the user with "a complete teaching
environment." In use, the package takes the user through managing
the Program Manager, through exploring Truetype fonts, to
exploiting the new File Manager. Also included is a tutor that
explains how Dr Watson works.

Individual Software claims that, unlike a traditional training
course, where once the course is completed, the teacher is no
longer available, Professor Windows "remains permanently on hand
to provide instant extended help for any Windows topic."

Professor Windows is being distributed at a retail price of UKP
49-95. The package was developed in the U.S. by Individual
Software and is available in the U.K. through most computer
dealers and stores.

(Steve Gold/1992417/Press Contact: Foresight Marketing - Tel:
081-691-2735; fax: [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 20  New For Mac: Typing Tutor 5 04/20/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00029)

New For Mac: Typing Tutor 5 04/20/92
CARMEL, INDIANA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 20 (NB) -- Que Software has
announced Typing Tutor 5 for the Macintosh, a new version of its
keyboard instruction program. The company said typing Tutor 5 adds
new features that simulate an actual classroom and gives the user
greater control over the learning environment.

Typing Tutor includes timed response monitoring, a feature that
monitors the time it takes to respond once a letter is presented.
The program uses that information to customize lessons and tests to
match the user's proficiency level.

A natural language generator (NLG) creates lessons and tests using
actual words, phrases, and sentences that contain the keys the user
needs to practice. The NLG continually adjusts the content of
lessons and tests to meet the users ability level.

Que said Typing Tutor's Personal Teacher feature provides the
student suggestions of what to do next, such as practicing a
specific set of keys or take a timed test. It also provides
information on writing technology and offers encouragement to
motivate the student.

The program has an optional split screen format which allows the
student to type in one window while sample text is presented in a
second window. Material from several books, including Webster's New
World Secretarial Handbook and The New York Public Library Desk
Reference, is included for the student's use in practicing.

Que said timed lessons and tests can be set to run from 1 to 999
minutes. There's also an optional keyboard fingering display which
can be displayed with or without phantom hands showing the correct
fingering positions.

You can use Typing Tutor's graphing feature to chart your program,
including charts to show progress on a specific row of the keyboard
or even specific fingers. The graphs can be printed for reference.

There's also a font/font size feature that allows users to choose
the font and type size that they like best.

Typing Tutor 5 for the Mac has a suggested list price of $49.95, and
is expected to be shipping in late April. To use Typing Tutor you
need a Mac Plus or higher and System 6.07 or better. Que also
publishes Windows and DOS versions of Typing Tutor.

(Jim Mallory/19920417/Press contact: Susan Earabino, The Marketing
Partnership for Que Software, 617-876-9516)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 20  New For PC & Mac: SilverRun 2.1 CASE Tool 04/20/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00030)

New For PC & Mac: SilverRun 2.1 CASE Tool 04/20/92
WOODCLIFF LAKE, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 APR 20 (NB) -- Computer
Systems Advisers has announced Version 2.1 of SilverRun, its
graphical computer-aided software engineering (CASE) tool. The
software is available for the Apple Macintosh, Microsoft Windows,
and OS/2.

Using a graphic display, SilverRun makes it possible to set up a
database structure and generate applications to work with the data.
SilverRun works with a number of major database management systems,
including SQL Server, DB2, Informix, Oracle, Sybase, Rdb, Ingres,
and SQL 400, the company said.

The software has four modules. Data Flow Diagrammer is used to
create and validate data flow diagrams and support business process
modeling. Relational Data Modeler is meant for professional data
modelers who want to add object extensions to the relational model.
Workstation Repository Manager provides a repository for
consolidating, coordinating, and linking existing application
specifications. Entity-Relationship Expert is a graphical
rule-based system for building entity-relationship data models.

Key enhancements in this release include the addition of a
local-area network-based data repository, object-oriented
extensions, the ability to support multiple notations, and support
for additional database systems, said Tony DeTaranto,
vice-president of sales at Computer Systems Advisers.

A code generator to work with SilverRun, called GoldRun, will be
released in the fourth quarter of this year, DeTaranto told
Newsbytes.

SilverRun costs $2,500 per module for the Macintosh, Windows, or
OS/2, DeTaranto said. A version for Unix is a future possibility,
he added.

(Grant Buckler/19920416/Press Contact: Caroline G. Beischer,
Computer Systems Advisers, 201-391-6500, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD




#CARD :1992 APR 17 Australia: Digital Cellular Network Competition Heats Up 04/17/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00001)

Australia: Digital Cellular Network Competition Heats Up 04/17/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 APR 17 (NB) -- The move to the new global system
for mobile communications (GSM) standard in Australia is heating up, with
competition for licences and supply contracts increasing dramatically.
The move to a GSM cellular network is touted as a significant advance in
the quality of services offered by Australian carriers, and is a
significant part of the moves to deregulation.

To date, two licences have been issued for GSM carriers. Both AOTC
(Australian and Overseas Telecommunications Corporation) and its new
competitor, Optus, have been granted licences, and a third is due to be
awarded by year's end. AOTC has already begun designing and testing
aspects of its GSM network, and Optus has already named Nokia, of
Finland, as its preferred supplier of equipment. AOTC (formerly Telecom)
currently holds the monopoly on cellular services, which cater to around
400,000 subscribers (approximately 1 in 40 of the population).

The European GSM standard was adopted by the Australian
telecommunications watchdog, Austel, last year, a move prompted by the
need for compatibility with pre-determined standards. The networks will
service Australia's burgeoning mobile telecommunications network, which
grew by 60 percent last year. The GSM networks will offer increased
signal quality, almost total security, and expanded data and text
transmission services.

(Sean McNamara/19920415)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1991 APR 17 Australia: Victorian Roads Authority Establishes Data Network 04/17/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(SYD)(00002)

Australia: Victorian Roads Authority Establishes Data Network 04/17/92
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, 1992 APR 17 (NB) -- Vic Roads, the roads authority
of Victoria, has finished the first stage of its establishment of a
state-wide data network. The first stage of TRANSnet involved the linking
all its regional offices to its main facilities in Melbourne.

TRANSnet comprises 85 Token Ring local area networks, with all of them
connected to a central hub in Carlton, a Melbourne suburb. The
installation of TRANSnet should see the more efficient use of resources
by Vic Roads, as well as a better range of services being offered to its
clients. TRANSnet will provide Vic Roads with a platform for integrating
local applications with financial, office automation and corporate
systems throughout its operations statewide. The system will allow
VicRoads to improve delivery of services such as road building, vehicle
registration, driver licensing, and traffic management via a common,
central facility.

The AUS$10M contract to supply the network was won by Lend Lease
Communications in cooperation with Ferntree Computers. The tender called
for at least 70 percent locally produced components, and equipment from
IBM's plant in Wangaratta was a major contributor to matching this
criterion. The first stage was completed six weeks ahead of schedule and
within budget. TRANSnet's second and final stage is expected to be
completed in June.

(Sean McNamara/19920415)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1991 APR 17 Australia: School Installs Fiber Optic Network 04/17/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00003)

Australia: School Installs Fiber Optic Network 04/17/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 APR 17 (NB) -- Menai High School, in Sydney's
southeast side, has installed New South Wales' (NSW) first fiber optic
network for a school. The AUS$100,000 network was designed to allow for
easy upgrading in the future, as well as to accommodate the campus-style
layout of the school.

The Department of School Education worked with the school and TeleSystems
and LanVision to design the three-server, 60-workstation network. It is
expected that once finalized, 200 workstations will be connected to the
servers, with at least three in each classroom. The network also
incorporates 10Base-T cabling, which utilizes normal telephone cabling
for additional connections.

The use of the two cabling systems is to allow the network to grow
easily in the future and to overcome several problems
unique to establishing a network in the school.

The network will allow access to all of the applications on the servers
(based on security levels), and these include the OASIS school management
program and educational programs covering on subjects including creative
arts, industrial design and electronics. The network at Menai diverges
from the normal practice of having several non-connected networks across
sites, and will be used as a model for future networks in other schools
throughout the state.

(Sean McNamara/19920415)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1991 APR 17 New Zealand Telecom Tussles Continue 04/17/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00004)

New Zealand Telecom Tussles Continue 04/17/92
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND, 1992 APR 17 (NB) -- The battle between New Zealand
(NZ) Telecom and Clear Communications has continued with a series of
charging policy changes being announced by both carriers over the last
two weeks. The carriers have changed their charging time-units in an
attempt to convince consumers that their service is the most equitable.

The changes began when Clear Communications, the recently appointed
second carrier for NZ, charged in increments of six seconds after the
first minute on national and international calls. NZ Telecom has
responded by charging in one second increments after the first minute
on national calls.

Clear responded immediately by also charging in one second increments, but
on both international and national calls. Telecom is expected to announce
international one second charging shortly, further increasing the rivalry
between the two companies.

Since the appointment of Clear as New Zealand's second carrier there has
been often heated battles between the two carriers. In its year of
operations, Clear has claimed 9 percent of the toll call market, much
more than analysts and Telecom predicted. Telecom has to provide cross-
subsidization to Clear as part of its privatization agreement with the
New Zealand government. There have been murmurs that Telecom might seek a
review of the terms of its agreement with the government, although no
action has yet been taken.

(Sean McNamara/19920415)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1991 APR 17 Moscow: Telecom Exhibition Due In June 04/17/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00005)

Moscow: Telecom Exhibition Due In June 04/17/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 APR 17 (NB) -- The Telecommunication Systems and
Services Exhibition will take place in Moscow June 21-26, 1992. A similar
show last year featured practically all the local telecommunications
companies.

Like last year's event, the exhibition will include not only a telecom
exhibition and seminars, but intensive classes ranging from
Unix communications to the SWIFT banking network and bulletin board
systems.

The show will be held at the People's Industry Academy, managed by the
Academy, International center of scientific and technical information
(ICSTI), and the Ecotrends company.

Unlike other shows, there will be no attendance by the general public,
a measure which guarantees a qualified audience.

Yuri Gornostayev, a show spokesman, said main Western telecommunications
companies are likely to have booths on the exhibit floor. No further
information about possible Western participants was unveiled. Most
Russian telecommunications companies have confirmed their
participation.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920414/Press & Public Contact: Yuri Andrianov,
ICSTI, phone [phone]; EcoTrends, phone [phone]; fax +7
095 288-4284)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1991 APR 17 Ukraine Unix Users Group Being Formed 04/17/92



(NEWS)(UNIX)(MOW)(00006)

Ukraine Unix Users Group Being Formed 04/17/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 APR 17 (NB) -- Corresponding with a general drive
to independence here, the Ukrainian Unix community has finally decided
to form its own official body, Ukrainian Unix Users Group (UUUG).
Organizers have been active members of the Soviet Unix Users Group.

Twelve representatives of major companies engaged in Unix development,
along with noted individuals, are currently discussing a wealth of
problems arising with UUUG formation.

Companies presented in the organization committee are Kiev-based
Technosoft, Communications Systems, Institute of Cybernetics, Polinor,
Unik, ComputerLand, and Kiev People's Bank.

The Ukraine members say they wish to be better represented in various
Unix and networking international bodies, most of which put a national
Unix group membership as a prerequisite. There was no separate Unix
group previously in the Ukraine.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920414/Press & Public Contact: Alexander Shekhovtsov
Technosoft, phone [phone]; e-mail [e-mail]; Igor
Sviridov, Communication Systems, phone [phone]; e-mail
[e-mail])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1991 APR 17

(NEWS)(GENERAL)(MOW)(00007)

Kiev: Networking Organization Forms 04/17/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 APR 17 (NB) -- A number of Ukrainian organizations,
worried about their "subordinate" position in the computer
communications world, have decided to form an industry association.

"Further development of telecommunication systems in the Ukraine is
difficult due to the lack of user and developer coordination,
use of non-standard equipment, and the fact that Ukraine is unknown as
a separate part of the world computer community and stands in a subordinate
position in a networking structures of the former Soviet Union,"
organizers said in a written statement.

The "Ukrainian National association of computer communications (UNACC) is
being formed to override the existing crisis situation, and to help
develop national communications policy," the statement said.
"We will sponsor further networking and internetworking development,
building fast communications channels, and speed up development of the
information infrastructure."

The following organizations are members of the organization committee:
Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, State Science-Technical Committee,
Education and Communications ministry, International information
technologies center, "Ukraine Chernobyl" foundation, Green Light
association, and the World Laboratory Ukrainian division.

The association's first aim is to get official recognition and legal
status within a month or two.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920416/Press Contact: UNACC organization committee
e-mail [e-mail])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1991 APR 17 Mitsui Bussan & AT&T Enter Digital Mobile Phone Market 04/17/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00008)

Mitsui Bussan & AT&T Enter Digital Mobile Phone Market 04/17/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 17 (NB) -- Japan's major trade conglomerate
Mitsui Bussan and AT&T will cooperate in a digital mobile phone
business venture in Europe. Both firms will jointly develop mobile
phones for the market.

This project calls for Mitsui and AT&T to jointly develop a mobile
phone with a digital-to-analog converter. With this feature, the
telephone can be used on conventional analog telephone lines as
well as future digital lines. The basic technology has been
developed by AT&T, and sample products will be shipped soon, the
companies report.

Mitsui Bussan plans to acquire a low-cost and quality parts supply
for the mobile phones and will help distribute the product through
its California-based subsidiary Mitsui Comtech.

Mitsui Bussan and AT&T expect to rake in $500 million from
sales of mobile phones in about three years.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920415/Press Contact: Mitsui Bussan, +81-3-
3285-7554)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1991 APR 17 Matsushita Creates Pocket Beeper Venture With China 04/17/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00009)

Matsushita Creates Pocket Beeper Venture With China 04/17/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 17 (NB) -- Matsushita Electric is setting up
a joint venture with Beijing Posts and Electric in Beijing,
China in order to enter that country's telecommunications market.

This joint venture, subsidized by the government of China, is
expected to begin operation in June. Total capitalization of the new
firm will be about 400 million yen, which will be equally paid by
Matsushita and the Chinese organization. It is expected that a sales
organization which is affiliated with Beijing Posts and Electric will
also join the business at a later date. The new firm starts business
with 75 employees.

The joint venture will produce pocket beepers starting in July. It is
expected that 100,000 units will be manufactured in the first year
with all the products sold in the domestic Chinese market.

Currently, Matsushita has been exporting pocket-type beepers to
China -- some 200,000 units were shipped last year -- and demand is
said to be growing rapidly.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920415/Press Contact: Matsushita Electric,
 [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1991 APR 17 Compaq Cuts GSA Prices 04/17/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00010)

Compaq Cuts GSA Prices 04/17/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 17 (NB) -- Still reeling from
the pounding it has recently taken from low-end manufacturers
such as Zeos International and Dell Computer, Compaq Computer has
cut prices to the federal government buyer by about 5 percent
below dealer costs.

The new GSA or General Services Administration 1992-93
Microcomputer Contract Schedule, which just took effect, sees
most companies making important moves in reducing costs.

Systempros (Compaq's high-end server systems) still carry high
margins, but companies reselling to the government will in many
cases see a big cut in their margins as Compaq goes from a
variable commission system to a much tighter fixed-commission
schedule.

A survey by Government Computer News has shown that the vast
majority of PCs purchased by government users outside of major
specific contracts come off the annual GSA Contract Schedule.

Difficult to obtain, a GSA schedule listing assures government
buyers of a good price and sets standard contract provisions,
making it much faster and less complex to make purchases.

According to Computer Reseller News, Compaq did about $40 million
worth of business with the government during 1991, up about 25
percent, while Dell Computer's sales jumped 102 percent to $30
million.

GSA prices set the maximum cost a company can charge for a
specific system during the life of a contract, but vendors are
free to compete by cutting prices further.

Observers point out that, while PC prices have steadily dropped
during the past 10 years, if that situation ever changed,
companies could be caught in a bind, being required by contract
to sell computers at lower than break-even prices.

(John McCormick/19920417)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1991 APR 17  ****Japan Slams US And EC For Trade Talks Delays 04/17/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00011)

 ****Japan Slams US And EC For Trade Talks Delays 04/17/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 17 (NB) -- Japanese Foreign
Minister Michio Watanabe has written to US and European Community
trade negotiators, chiding them for not coming to a fast agreement on
the 17-month-overdue GATT or General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade which, in large part, determines how countries trade with
each other.

Japan's complaint is interesting because the major negotiating
roadblock between the EC and the US is in the agricultural
subsidy area, where Japan is among the world's leaders in closed
markets.

The latest GATT deadline, as set in January, will expire this
Easter weekend and there is little sign of real progress.

US trade representative Carla Hills, EC commission vice-
president Frans Andriessen, and Canadian trade representatives
will be in Tokyo next week for a trade conference where the
western trade negotiators are expected to criticize Japan for its
pervasive agricultural trade barriers.

With Japan's highly restrictive agricultural import policies which
bar outside rice and raise imported bean prices to the $40/pound
range, its letters to the EC and the US are not seen as taking
a constructive role in solving the problem.

But EC officials are not taking Japan's interference lightly,
reacting strongly to what they perceive, wrongly or rightly, as
blame directed at them.

This comes at a time when the US trade deficit with the rest of
the world has had a major drop, putting the preliminary numbers
for February at only about half of January's numbers.

(John McCormick/19920417)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1991 APR 17 Part Of Energy Dept Robot Contract Goes To MTI 04/17/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00012)

Part Of Energy Dept Robot Contract Goes To MTI 04/17/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 17 (NB) -- Latham, New York-
based Mechanical Technology Incorporated says that it has been
awarded a $2.3 million contract to develop a surface mapping
system for a Department of Energy robotics system which is
intended to replace human workers in extremely hazardous areas
such as deactivated nuclear power plants.

One of the biggest problems facing robotics engineers is
developing sensors which provide the machines with sufficient
information about their environment. Depth perception is a major
problem, as is pattern recognition.

MTI's contribution to the project is expected to involve hardware
and software which will provide advanced 3-D imaging capabilities
to autonomous (robot) vehicles that will be used in clean-up
activities around nuclear dumps and future nuclear accident
sites.

This announcement comes on the heels of word from the former
Soviet Union that hundreds of thousands of workers were exposed -
unprotected - to nuclear waste and radiation hazards during the
clean-up of the April 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident near Kiev,
Ukraine.

The company will be working with scientists and engineers at US
government laboratories such as those located at Oak Ridge,
Tennessee.

Nuclear power plants produce about 20 percent of the US
electricity supply.

(John McCormick/19920417/Press Contact: Joseph L. Reinhart, MTI,
518-785-2884)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1991 APR 17 ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 04/17/92




(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00013)

ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 04/17/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 17 (NB) -- Roundup is a brief
look at some computer stories carried in other publications
received here this past week.

The April 13 InformationWeek carries the annual CIO salary survey
which indicates that one-third of US chief information officers
make between $125,000 and $150,000.

McGraw-Hill's Unixworld for May carries a Unix-related salary
survey and comes with a Spring 1992 Special Report Supplement on
interoperability. A network administrator with 7-plus years of
experience would, according to the survey, earn about $60,000
anywhere in the US.

Computerworld dated April 13 says that 100% availability of
international data centers makes upgrades very difficult.

Network World for the week of the 13th has a feature on sub T-1
rate multiplexers with added features.

CommunicationsWeek for the 13th looks at Quarterdeck's DESQview/X
operating environment.

Computer Reseller News says that image scanning is a growing
market segment.

(John McCormick/19920417)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1991 APR 17 The Enabled Computer 04/17/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00014)

The Enabled Computer 04/17/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 17 (NB) -- The Enabled Computer
is a regular Newsbytes feature covering news and important
product information relating to high technology aids for the
disabled.

The Enabled Computer by John McCormick

This is a continuation of a more in-depth look at some of the
entries in the 1991 National Search for Computing Applications to
Assist Persons with Disabilities run by Johns Hopkins Applied
Physics Laboratory.

I participated in the final judging which took place in early
February at The Smithsonian in Washington. There were literally 30
out of 30 fascinating entries at the exhibition, and I hope to cover
most of them in future columns.

Robin Japins, a profoundly deaf Kansas software developer,
entered his commercial Tri-Page System which lets paging systems
interface with hearing-impaired users' TDD communications
terminals, allowing the deaf to send pager messages.

Robin told me that he had installed the software at several
paging companies and it was already in use by members of the deaf
community.

Michael Socha, who lives on a Missouri commune, entered his
design for a one-handed computer keyboard which he custom-builds
from surplus computer keyboards. By the way, he reports
difficulty in locating suitable keyboards, so if any of you know
about a source let him know. Michael needs the older switch-type
keyboards; membrane-types are useless because he has to remove
individual switches. Michael J. Socha, East Wind Community, Tecumseh,
MO 65760.

He makes the custom boards himself and is planning to sell them
as kits. What makes these alphanumeric keyboards unusual is the fact that
each row of keys is independently angled to fit the hand.
Michael also builds custom keyboards which can provide one-key
access to special features of software. These other keyboards are
custom wired for specific programs to supply macro-type features
which would normally require multiple keystrokes to access.

Di Han, who, along with his wife came to this country from
Beijing, China, has developed a prototype speech recognition
system which is tied to a neural stimulator and can cause
paralyzed users' muscles to contract on voice command - such as
"close hand." Orthopedic surgeon Ed Cooper, M.D., who works with
Dr. Di Han (Ph.D.) said the device is meeting success in teaching
profoundly retarded individuals to use their hands.

The hit of the show was undoubtedly a girl named Darci who seemed
to be every place, making it seem a bit silly to say she was
"confined" to her motorized wheelchair. Darci was photographed by
CNN and virtually every other news crew as she was operating many
of the entries, such as second place winner Jon Adams' Apple
music program, but she was actually at the exhibition because her
grandfather, James Lynds, couldn't see why such a bright,
energetic person should be prevented from using a computer just
because she didn't happen to have arms.

Mr. Lynds, president of WesTest Engineering, has spent several
years developing DARCI and DARCI TOO, a computer control
interface device for children and adults which lets them use any
user-supplied control device such as a joystick, video game
controller (such as the Nintendo unit), switches, or expanded
keyboard, to provide complete and transparent access to all
keyboard and mouse functions.

Front panel controls and software switches adapt the DARCI TOO to
IBM PC, PS/2, and compatibles, Apple, Macintosh, or DEC computers
and also adjust its sensitivity so it can be used by people with
fine motor control, such as Darci, or even users with cerebral
palsy.

Very importantly, all the software is contained in the DARCI TOO
hardware; none is required for the computer, which never knows
that the user isn't just typing on a standard keyboard.

DARCI TOO operates in four modes: Scan mode, where keyboard and mouse
functions scroll by on the LCD display; Morse mode, in which DARCI
TOO accepts extended Morse Code inputs from single-, double-, and
triple-switch devices; DARCI Code, the original DARCI model's joystick
code, which works with proportional joysticks and Nintendo video
controllers, including the special chin-operated controller sold at
cost by Nintendo. There is also expanded keyboard mode, compatible with
Unicorn Engineering (this year's first place winner) membrane keyboards
and those which are compatible with Unicorn.

DARCI TOO lists for $995 and there is an optional Apple IIe
interface card which costs $150.

For further information, contact WesTest Engineering, 1470 North
Main St., Bountiful, UT 84010. Phone [phone]; fax 801-292-
7379.

More on other entries in later columns.

(John McCormick/19920417)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1991 APR 17 UK: Lotus Targets Developers, Consultants With LAN Products 04/17/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00015)

UK: Lotus Targets Developers, Consultants With LAN Products 04/17/92
STAINES, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 17 (NB) -- Software
developers, systems integrators and other third parties are being
encouraged by Lotus Development to take a share in the growing
communications products marketplace by integrating and developing
products and services for Lotus' business communications packages.

According to Lotus, the market for Lotus Notes and cc:Mail is set
to explode over the next few years. Based on figures supplied by
IDC and Dataquest, Lotus believes that the market for value-added
services for communications products will be worth UKP 500
million by 1995 -- four times the market forecast for communications
products on their own.

At the end of March. Lotus ran a series of seminars in the UK
to inform third-party partners about a new "Business Partners
program" for its communications products. The seminars were so
successful, Lotus claims, that a further two seminars have been
scheduled for the 8th of May and 16 of July at Lotus' Staines
headquarters.

"We're expanding the channel for these products because of demand
from the market," said Sally Hood, Lotus' Business Partners
Programme manager, announcing the new seminars.

Hood reckons the potential for growth in the market is huge.
"Installations of PC LANs and WANs are set to rise rapidly over
the next few years, creating widespread acceptance of group
collaboration applications and electronic mail," she said.

The idea behind the scheme is to increase the level of non-Lotus
support for Lotus communications products, so boosting Lotus'
overall position in the marketplace. "We want to work with these
third parties by encouraging them to base their own new products
and services on the communications base laid down in Notes and
cc:Mail," Hood said.

(Steve Gold/19920417/Press & Public Contact: Lotus U.K. - Tel:
0784-455445)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1991 APR 17 Egghead Software Sponsors 24-City Windows Seminar Tour 04/17/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00016)

Egghead Software Sponsors 24-City Windows Seminar Tour 04/17/92
ISSAQUAH, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 APR 17 (NB) -- Software reseller
Egghead Software announced that it will sponsor its
third Windows software seminar in 24 cities across the US
and in Vancouver, British Columbia beginning next Tuesday.

The company said the tour, called Windows Vision, will
feature Windows applications from over 20 software manufacturers.
Egghead President Matthew Griffin is scheduled to deliver keynote
addresses in six of the cities.

The tour kicks off April 21 in Bellevue, Washington at the Hyatt
Regency Hotel, and will be held in major cities throughout the west,
south, east and southeast part of the US, as well as in Vancouver.
The final presentation will be July 14 in Secaucus, New Jersey.

Griffin said there will be demonstrations or previews of several new
Windows applications, including Excel 4.0 for Windows, Quattro Pro
for Windows, Lotus 1-2-3 for Windows, the Norton Desktop for
Windows, Wordperfect 5.1 for Windows, and Harvard Graphics for
Windows.

Griffin will speak at the seminars in Columbus, Ohio, and Detroit
Michigan with Borland chairman Philippe Kahn; and in Denver,
Colorado and Orlando, Florida with Rick MacIntosh, Microsoft VP of
Us sales and support. Sharing the podium with Griffin in Hartford,
Connecticut will be Microsoft's VP of US marketing Gary Gigot, while
Jeff Raikes will appear with Griffin in Houston, Texas.

Egghead's Megan McKenzie told Newsbytes that the sale of Windows
products "is going very well" in Egghead stores. McKenzie said that
all the Egghead outlets have set aside a special area called the
Windows Shop to display Windows items and products.

To register for any of the free seminars, contact Egghead at
800-344-5569.

(Jim Mallory/19920417/Press contact: Megan McKenzie, Egghead
Software, 206-391-6266)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1991 APR 17 Aldus In Joint Venture With Japanese Software Company 04/17/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00017)

Aldus In Joint Venture With Japanese Software Company 04/17/92
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 APR 17 (NB) -- Aldus Corporation
has announced it has formed Aldus Kabushiki Kaisha, a Tokyo-based
joint venture with Something Good Inc., a Japanese software company.
Aldus said the new venture will develop, market, sell and support
Japanese-language versions of Aldus products.

Aldus already markets Pagemaker for Windows, its flagship product,
and Freehand, Persuasion, SuperPaint and Pagemaker, all for the
Macintosh, in Japan. Asked by Newsbytes what programs the two
companies would be developing next, Aldus spokesperson Brad Sevens
said that the next project would be to translate an existing Aldus
program. "I can't say which products they are," said Stevens.

"We are excited about this joint venture and the opportunity to
expand our presence in the Japanese software market," said Aldus
chief operating officer Phil Herres. Something Good President
Keichi Sakamoto said the joint venture combines his company's
engineering and market expertise with Aldus' technology.

Something Good was founded in 1982 to develop business software.
The company currently markets spreadsheet, database, and word
processing applications. The two companies joined forces in 1988 to
develop a Japanese version of Pagemaker 3.0J for Windows.

(Jim Mallory/19920417/Press contact: Brad Stevens, Aldus,
206-628-2361)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1991 APR 17 Cray Computer Reports $13.9M 1Q Loss, President Resigns 04/17/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00018)

Cray Computer Reports $13.9M 1Q Loss, President Resigns 04/17/92
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 APR 17 (NB) -- One day
after the company reported a $13.9 million loss for the first
quarter, Cray Computer President and Chief Executive Officer Neil
Davenport has resigned.

In a prepared statement, the company said Davenport, who was one of
four members of the board of directors, resigned at what "seems the
ideal time for him to explore other opportunities with the minimum
disruption to the company."

Cray Computer lost its only customer for its Cray-3 supercomputer in
December when California-based Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratories decided to exercise its contract option to buy a
similar computer from Cray Research after Cray Computer was unable
to meet a demonstration deadline.

Davenport's decision comes less than a month before the company's
scheduled annual meeting May 12 at the Antlers Doubletree Hotel in
Colorado Springs.

Davenport's announcement said that "the company has reached a point
where it believes it has the appropriate resources for the completion
of the Cray-3." Cray Computer's annual report released last May
indicated that it would run out of cash about a year from now, if
spending levels remained constant.

Davenport, 50, became chief operating officer of the company when
Minneapolis-based Cray Research moved the Cray-3 project to Colorado
Springs. He had been managing director of Cray Research's United
Kingdom subsidiary. Cray Computer separated from Cray Research in
October 1989.

The Cray-3 project appeared to be progressing smoothly until a few
months ago. The company missed a scheduled demonstration of the
system in December due to what were described as relatively minor
mechanical difficulties. Shortly after, Livermore Labs cancelled
its order for the supercomputer. In February the company decided to
quit work on the full 16-processor version, and said it would search
for a partner to help build and sell smaller versions of the
machine. Apparently no partner was found. Last month, Cray said it
was testing smaller versions of the system.

Davenport was unavailable for comment. The announcement said
Chairman Seymour Cray will assume Davenport's duties "for the time
being." "Neil has made a major contribution to the company. He
will be missed. We thank him and wish him well," said Seymour Cray
in the company's announcement.

(Jim Mallory/19920417/Press contact: Greg Barnum, Cray Computer,
719-579-6464)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1991 APR 17 Artisoft Reports Record 3Q Earnings 04/17/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00019)

Artisoft Reports Record 3Q Earnings 04/17/92
TUCSON, ARIZONA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 17 (NB) -- Network hardware and
software maker Artisoft has reported that its sales, net income and
earnings per share were at record levels for the third quarter,
which ended March 31.

Sales were reported at $20.2 million, which the company said is a 96
percent increase over the same period last year. Income, at $3.588
million, were up 71 percent, while per share earnings were $0.21.
Per share earnings increased 40 percent above the previous year.

C. John Schoof II, Artisoft's president and CEO, attributed the
improvement to greater penetration of the company's products in the
local area network (LAN) market.

During the third quarter, Artisoft introduced LANtastic 4.1, an
upgraded version of its network operating system software.

The company's report said that for the first nine months of the 1992
fiscal year, sales, net income, and per share earnings have exceeded
the totals for the entire 1991 fiscal year.

Artisoft's local area network software allows up to 300 users of IBM
compatible PCs to share information and peripherals such as printers
and hard drives.

(Jim Mallory/19920417/Press contact: Bob Fitzpatrick, Artisoft,
602-690-3558; public phone number: 800-846-9726)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1991 APR 17 International Phone Update 04/17/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00020)

International Phone Update 04/17/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 17 (NB) -- The Ivory Coast is
back in touch with the world, and Vietnam won't be far behind.

Officials of CI-Telcom, the state-owned telecom monopoly due to
be sold, probably to Bouyges of France, said their
technicians have repaired a local link to the fiber cable running
from Nigeria to Europe, which the nation depends upon for its
international phone service. Ivory Coast is a major African
business center, thanks to its relative stability, and the nearly
week-long outage was highly disruptive. Officials indicated
trouble could return over the weekend, as the patch is improved.

Vietnam signed agreements with AT&T to re-open direct phone
service to the U.S. An AT&T official indicated the links could be
established on a limited basis within a matter of days. The
links were cut off in 1975 after North Vietnamese troops occupied
Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh City, driving out the U.S. and ending the
Vietnam War. Until the US economic embargo against the nation
is lifted, Vietnam's revenues from the calls will go into a
blocked account. About 210 telephone circuits, most going through
Ho Chi Minh City, will be established.

Finally, in the Middle East, phone service improvements
continue. The United Arab Emirates is now offering its citizens
video telephones, and Iran upgraded its microwave relay network
with equipment from Alca-Tel of Italy. Microwave relays are often
used in rural parts of the Third World in place of wires.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920417)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1991 APR 17 Digital TV Commercial Transmission Started 04/17/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00021)

Digital TV Commercial Transmission Started 04/17/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 17 (NB) -- Mediatech, the
largest distributor and duplicator of TV commercials, is
switching to a digital delivery format using Scientific-Atlanta
equipment.

The system is based on S-A's Vector Quantization scheme for
digital video compression. The satellite-fed scheme will replace
a system whereby videotapes are mailed to stations. In that
system, Scientific-Atlanta spokesman Bob Meyers explained to
Newsbytes, quality is often poor because the tapes are copied
many times between production and airing. With the digital
system, the commercials aren't copied and what goes on-air is
precisely what was produced. By going to satellite feeds,
Mediatech can also cut "cycle time" between order and delivery
from overnight to immediately.

Mediatech Chairman Tom Baur added that the new system will be of
special benefit to cable television operators. Hardware costs for
inserting commercials into the many commercial networks on a
typical cable system will be cut by at least 25 percent, and 12
channels of ad insertion equipment storing 200 minutes of ads at
once will fit in just four feet of rack space. Analog hardware
takes up six-feet per channel.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920417/Press Contact: Bob Meyers, Scientific-
Atlanta, 404-903-4608)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1991 APR 17 Bell Earnings Strong 04/17/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00022)

Bell Earnings Strong 04/17/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 17 (NB) -- Pacific
Telesis' announcement that it might spin-off its Pacific Bell and
Nevada Bell operating units continued to stir speculation among
phone company analysts, but the big news of the week remained
strong earnings for most of the major phone companies.

Analysts praised the idea of a PacTel break-up, but cautioned
that regulators must approve such a move, and might not be
inclined toward it. The company's cellular, paging, and
international operations would be freed from most regulation,
analysts said, while the remaining stock would become more of a
"pure play" in local phone service. The unregulated business
could also get into long distance and manufacturing, areas from
which it's barred by the 1982 decree breaking up the Bell System.
Despite the excitement over the company's unregulated operations,
the regulated side of the business still represents 90 percent of
revenues.

Meanwhile, quarterly earnings reports from other Bell operating
companies continued to pour in, and most were much stronger than
the results from PacTel. NYNEX earnings climbed 24.7 percent, to
$336 million, which it credited to a tax settlement and job cuts
-- revenues were down 3.5 percent. Southwestern Bell earnings
rose 16.8 percent to $261.6 million, despite a one-time charge
for its early retirement plan. The results were helped by its 10
percent stake in Telmex, the Mexican national phone company.

Finally, Ameritech reported that Wisconsin will become the latest
state to approve the controversial Caller ID service, but with
per-call blocking. That's in line with recommendations from last
year by the Federal Communications Commission. Georgia, the most
recent state to approve the service, disallowed per-call blocking
but approved free per-line blocking.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920417/Press Contact: Bob Meyers, Scientific-
Atlanta, 404-903-4608)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1991 APR 17 Syria & Lebanon Sign Telecom Agreement 04/17/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00023)

Syria & Lebanon Sign Telecom Agreement 04/17/92
BEIRUT, LEBANON, 1992 APR 17 (NB) -- According to the Syria
Times, a leading daily newspaper in Syria, Syrian officials have
signed an historic agreement with their counterparts in the
Lebanon on the subject of international telecommunications.

The Middle East News Network reports that the agreement calls for
a link-up between the two countries' telephone networks to be
established via Cyprus. The link will allow direct-dial calls
between the two countries, as well as to and from other countries
in the West.

Although Syria and the Lebanon have international dialling codes
allocated from certain international areas, the chances of
getting a call through using self-dialled calls is minimal,
Newsbytes understands. Most calls are routed via circuitous
routes and are best handled by the operator.

The linkup with Cyprus, which should be in place within a matter
of months is designed to make self-dialled calls to and from the two
countries a lot easier.

(Steve Gold/19920417)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1991 APR 17 NTT Places Major Satellite Order With Telecomms France 04/17/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(00024)

NTT Places Major Satellite Order With Telecomms France 04/17/92
PARIS, FRANCE, 1992 APR 17 (NB) -- Arianespace, the French
satellite consortium, has announced it has secured a major order
from Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT).

Terms of the deal, financial details of which have not been
released, call for Arianespace to launch two satellites - N Star
A and N Star B -- into orbit. The satellites are currently being
built by Space Systems-Loral in Palo Alto, California, and will
be launched in three year's time.

No details on what NTT plans to carry over the satellites have
been announced.

(Steve Gold/19920417)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1991 APR 17  ****Philips Japan To Release CD-I Player 04/17/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00025)

 ****Philips Japan To Release CD-I Player 04/17/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 17 (NB) -- Philips Japan has announced that
it will release a first CD-Interactive (CD-I) player in Japan on
April 25. It looks similar to a compact disc player, but it can
display pictures on a regular TV set.

The CD-I player, a multimedia product, supports pictures, sound,
and text data. The software is imprinted on a regular-size CD.
A variety of subjects are to be released: games, music, educational
programs, databases, and dictionaries. Philips Japan has organized a
CD-I software association, which is supported by about 200 members,
including such big names as Matsushita Electric and Sony.
The software is expected to debut this fall.

Japan's first CD-I player will be manufactured at Philips' Belgium
plant and will be shipped to Japan. It will be marketed by
Marants Japan, which is a subsidiary of Philips. The retail price
will be 140,000 yen ($1,050). Japanese electronics makers are
taking a wait-and-see attitude at present concerning production
and sales of CD-I players. There is no word yet on Philips' worldwide
distribution plans for the device.

Meanwhile, Philips Japan is also preparing to develop a CD-I
adaptor for existing CD players.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920417/Press Contact: Philips Japan, +81-3-
3448-5611)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1991 APR 17 Oki/Hitachi Agree On RISC Computer 04/17/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00026)

Oki/Hitachi Agree On RISC Computer 04/17/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 17 (NB) -- Japan's Oki Electric and Hitachi
have agreed to develop and sell RISC-based (reduced instruction set
computing) computers. Both firms will also trade their RISC
technologies.

This agreement covers a broad range of cooperative efforts between the
two firms, all of which revolve around the Hewlett-Packard PA-RISC
platform. As HP allies, Oki and Hitachi are currently developing and
selling their own RISC-based workstations. Their cooperation is
designed to lead to an eventual acceptance by the industry of the
HP RISC chip as a standard. Hitachi and Oki are currently members
of HP's RISC chip association, called "Pro."

Oki and Hitachi will exchange technologies including
a hardware interface. Also, they will manufacture products and
supply them to each other on an OEM (original equipment
manufacturer) basis. Furthermore, both firms will jointly develop
software development support tools.

Hitachi and Oki are seen as strong allies for Hewlett-Packard which
is competing with Sun Microsystems' SPARC and a RISC chip from MIPS.

Oki has close ties with Hewlett-Packard. The firm recently
signed an agreement with HP concerning joint development of
a RISC chip.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920417/Press Contact: Oki Electric, +81-3-
3580-8950)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1991 APR 17 Correction: Suntime Intros Corvette Mouse Cover 04/17/92



(CORRECTION)(APPLE)(DEN)(00027)

Correction: Suntime Intros Corvette Mouse Cover 04/17/92
TAMPA, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 17 (NB) -- Newsbytes recently
reported on a snap-on Macintosh mouse dust cover called Auto Mouse.
Due to a typographical error the fax number listed in the byline at
the end of the story was incorrect. Suntime's correct fax number is
813-885-3496. Newsbytes regrets the error and any inconvenience it
may have caused.

(Jim Mallory/19920414/Press contact: Emma Morgan, 813-886-1145, FAX
813-885-3496)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1991 APR 17 Comtek Moscow: No Pens, No Windows 04/17/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(MOW)(00028)

Comtek Moscow: No Pens, No Windows 04/17/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 APR 17 (NB) -- The strangest aspect of the annual
Comtek spring computer show, held in Moscow, was the lack of Microsoft
Windows applications, as well as the lack of pen-based computers.

Newsbytes did not see any Windows announcements at all.
Mr Mikolay Lyubovny of Microsoft Moscow was asked to comment. "Yes, we
are not participating in this show on our own, due to some
circumstances on which I would not comment. But we gave Windows
3.1 to a couple of our distributors, who must have it. I admit
our fault although distributors could work better," he said.

Despite his contention that Windows would be on the floor,
Newsbytes was unable to find Windows even at his designated
locations, namely Steepler and ComputerLand booths.

The only evidence of a pen-based computer was in a quiet corner
between two booths under a stairway. Georgy Pachikov of Paragraph was
showing a pen-based computer running his new pen-based game to two
foreign friends.

Yuri Sobolev, Borland's representative in Russia admitted that
"the show is expensive, the audience is strangers only, but we
need that kind of computer exhibit here as a place to go
and see each other."

Meanwhile, a representative of Apple Computer, which did exhibit
at the show, also acknowledged that the public is not generally
interested in computers. "We are glad to be able to make some useful
contacts with other participants," the Apple representative
told Newsbytes, referring to the "networking" that goes on among
show participants.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920413)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1991 APR 17 New For Macintosh: Artisoft LANtastic 04/17/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00029)

New For Macintosh: Artisoft LANtastic 04/17/92
TUCSON, ARIZONA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 17 (NB) -- Marking its first foray
outside of the MS-DOS realm, Artisoft has announced a new product
that will allow Macintosh users to hook up to their LANtastic-
equipped officemates. LANtastic for Macintosh v1.0 is the new
product that accomplishes this task.

LANtastic for Macintosh is an MS-DOS based program. It allows for a
PC that is equipped with Ethernet and LocalTalk cards to act as a
gateway between the Macintosh network world and the LANtastic world.
This PC must be dedicated to this function. Artisoft does provide the
Appletalk Interface board that would be required as a part of the
overall package that it sells.

Once installed, Macintoshes can use standard Appleshare or
System 7 procedures to log into the dedicated PC's hard disk. As
that PC is also logged into the LANtastic network, all of the other
PC's hard disks are available to the Macintosh user. File sharing
then becomes a simple matter of determining compatible file formats
and reading those files back and forth. Due to System 7, having a
Macintosh read a PC file is easy. For PC users trying to read
Macintosh files there is an additional required step. They must first
copy the file from the Macintosh to the gateway PC and only then does
it become visible to them.

Printer sharing is more integrated. Macintosh users can access any
printer that is anywhere on the network. PC users can do the same.

LANtastic for Macintosh is slated to begin shipping in the second
quarter of 1992. It is projected to be priced at $799.

(Naor Wallach/19920416/Press Contact: Joe Stunkard, Artisoft,
602-690-3231)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1991 APR 17  ****Penpoint OS Shipping, Products Introduced 04/17/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00030)

 ****Penpoint OS Shipping, Products Introduced 04/17/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 17 (NB) -- Several new
pen-based computing products were introduced this week at Go's
Penpoint Premier show sponsored by Go Technology in San Francisco. The
products include Go Technology's new Penpoint operating system (OS);
IBM's first pen-based computer called the Thinkpad; an infrared local
area network (LAN) for wireless communication with the Penpoint OS
from Photonics; a new software tool for financially related jobs from
Numero; a family of software products for Penpoint from Slate
Corporation; and a developer's toolkit for connecting to database data
from Oracle.

Go said it is shipping the commercial version of Penpoint for the
first time. The company says Penpoint is a 32-bit operating system and
as such will operate on 386 or higher microprocessor-based pen
computers and reduced instruction set computing (RISC)-based machines
as well. Go maintains the Penpoint system has been adopted by pen-
computer hardware manufacturers IBM, NCR, Grid, and Samsung.

Go says Penpoint is designed for mobile computing with the inclusion
of pre-emptive multitasking. Pre-emptive multitasking allows the user
immediate access to information as the user's pen takes priority.
Other tasks the computer might be working on in the background such as
handwriting processing or communications are pre-empted until the user's
demand is accomplished. Go says mobile computing users need instant
access to information and the pre-emptive multitasking allows them that
access.

Virtual memory is available to users as well. Defined as designating a
portion of the hard disk as an extension to the random access memory
(RAM) physically available on the computer, virtual memory allows the
user the ability to do more with less. Go says users can use virtual
memory instead of adding more RAM and can open more documents
simultaneously or use larger documents than their available RAM would
normally allow.

Go says it has done 2300 hours of formal testing on Penpoint and says as
a result it has added features that make Penpoint easy to use. Go says
it has added a Settings Notebook so users can access their system
preferences and installed software; standard applications menus for
more consistent access to all features and tools in all applications;
on-line context sensitive help and tutorials; and easier network and
external device access via the Connections Notebook for connecting to
printers, file servers, floppy drives, or other devices.

The on-line help, Quick Help, brings the instructions to the user
about an item if the user merely draws a question mark on any item on
the screen. Quick Start tutorials have been included for Penpoint as
well as for Penpoint applications and Go says users can get started in
10 minutes or less through use of the new tutorials.

Go says users don't have to understand or even see applications,
files, or directories but can simply move from one page to another
(which moves them transparently from one application to another) in
the same way they would use pen and paper in a notebook.

IBM introduced the Thinkpad and says the new pen-based computer will
ship in July. It also announced the IBM Pen Developer Assistance
Program for providing assistance to customers and independent software
vendors (ISVs) to encourage development of pen-based applications.

The Thinkpad will ship with IBM's version of the Penpoint OS, IBM
said. IBM customers and application developers who want a Thinkpad for
headstart can get one through a special bid process. IBM says the
special bid version of the Thinkpad (Model 2521) is durable and comes
standard with a 20 megahertz (MHz) 386SX microprocessor, either four
or eight megabytes (MB) of random access memory (RAM), an integrated
data/fax modem (U.S.-compatible), an AC/DC adapter, a nickel cadmium
battery, serial and parallel ports, a diskette drive port for
connecting the optional external 3 1/2-inch, 1.44/2.88 MB diskette
drive, and an external keyboard port.

In mobile computing, wireless communication is attractive and Photonics
says it is providing just that with its Infrared Transceiver for the
Penpoint OS. Photonics says the new technology is diffuse infrared
transmission that doesn't need to be aimed but is light that can be
reflected from ceilings, walls and floors so it's difficult to block.

Photonics says data can be sent over the Transceiver at the rate of 1
megabyte per second and the unit uses standard LAN protocols. The
Transceiver is designed for battery-operated notebook, laptop, and pen
computers, so it's small and offers low power consumption, Photonics
added. The company said it is working on an IBM and compatible
personal computer (PC) add-in card and external tethered transceiver
for desktop PCs and one for Apple computers. It is also working on a
parallel port adapter for notebook computers. The idea is to make the
wireless computers able to access existing wired networks and, as a
result, extend the transceiver's operating range, Photonics said.

Numero, a "financial work processor" was announced by Penmagic for the
Penpoint OS. Numero starts a new category of software for pen
computers says Penmagic, because it's a mix between a spreadsheet and
a word processor that allows users to do tasks on pieces of "work
paper" that look and act much like real paper in a common sense way.
For example, users can write, erase, highlight, and write on top of
their work to correct it. Handwritten letters can be translated to
computer characters as though they had been typed or translation can
be deferred. Handwriting and translated type can also be mixed and
printed together.

Pagemap, a feature of Numero allows the user to magnify the paper,
scale it to fit on any size screen, or "fold" it so one portion of a
page can be compared to another, Penmagic said.

The software is "smart" as well, Penmagic said, as the user can write
the letter "T" on the date line and the software will fill in today's
date. Drawing an underline at the bottom of a column of numbers will
cause Numero to add them, highlighting a group of numbers and dragging
the highlighted portion to a piece of graph paper will cause Numero to
create a graph using those numbers. More than 70 built-in financial,
statistical, and mathematical functions are included, Penmagic said.

The "work paper" can be designed by the user or the a choice can be
made from over 40 already available pieces of paper. Choices for the
design of the paper include how many columnar grids per page,
selecting from 8 data types, specifying page lay-out including lines,
fonts, and graphics.

Penmagic also announced a training program on Numero for consultants,
systems integrators and value-added-resellers (VARs) with copies of
software, reference materials, and in-depth information for designers.
Penmagic hopes the training program will help its partners to train
new users. The company is charging $800 for the course and says more
information is available from the Canadian firm by telephone at 604-
988-9982 or by facsimile at 604-988-0035.

In addition, Slate Corporation announced a suite of applications for
Penpoint. The company says it has developed Slate Penapps, an
applications development environment; Slate Penbook, electronic book
software package; Slate Laplink Pro for PenPoint, a file transfer
utility; Slate At-Hand, a "pencentric" spreadsheet; Slate Safetypen
Utilities, which provide backup and password security; and the Slate
Day-Timer Pen Scheduler software, a daily planner and notetaker based
on the Day-Timer standard.

Slate says it has an agreement with Go under which Go will resell
Slate's Penapps development product. The agreement was made under a
new program called the Penpoint Custom Solutions Alliance. The Custom
Solutions Alliance is to encourage development for the Penpoint OS.
Slate says more than 400 companies are developing with the Slate
Penapps Developer's Release, which has been available since March
1991. However, the commercial release of Penapps 1.0 won't be until
July and at that time will be available from Slate's Scottsdale,
Arizona headquarters.

Oracle, a well-known supplier of database software said it will
provide a developer's toolkit for the building of interfaces between
Penpoint and Oracle and IBM databases. Oracle says the toolkit will
offer support for its programmatic interfaces as well as a version of
Structured Query Language (SQL) Net, Oracle's client/server networking
software. Oracle says its products for the Penpoint operating system
are scheduled for release in the fourth quarter of this year.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920417/Press Contact: Michelle McGlocklin, Miller
Communications for Photonics, tel [phone], fax [phone];
Marcia Mason, Go, tel [phone]; W. Dean Kline, IBM, 914-642-5408;
Norm Francis, Penmagic, 604-988-9982, fax ; Maurice Voce, Slate, 602-
443-7322; Steve Lai, Oracle, 415-506-3117)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1991 APR 17  ****Intel, Raytheon, Others Ordered To Start $60 Mil Clean Up  04/17/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LAX)(00031)

 ****Intel, Raytheon, Others Ordered To Start $60 Mil Clean Up  04/17/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 17 (NB) -- The
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a federal court is
requiring Intel, Raytheon, and nine other companies to clean up
volatile organic compounds (VOCs) out of ground water in the
Middlefield-Ellis-Whisman (MEW) Superfund site, Mountain View,
California -- a project expected to cost $60 million.

The EPA says the ruling was a result of a suit it brought against
Intel; Raytheon; Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation (who the EPA says
is by far the largest contributor to the contamination at the site);
Schlumberger Technology; National Semiconductor; NEC Electronics;
Siltec; Sobrato Development; General Instrument; Tracor X-Ray; and
Union Carbide Chemicals and Plastics.

Intel and Raytheon are responsible for building a groundwater
treatment system to clean up the ground water that works by a method
called air stripping. Paula Bruin of the EPA told Newsbytes air
stripping removes VOCs from water by pumping the water into a tower
then allowing the water to trickle down over a wide surface which
allows the VOCs to evaporate out of the water. The air produced in the
tower cannot be released until it meets the Bay Area Air Quality
Management District standards, Bruin added.

Bruin says while Intel and Raytheon have to build the facility, the
nine other companies are required to pay for its maintenance. The $60
million estimated cost is divided into $25 million for Intel and
Raytheon and $35 million among the other nine companies.

Bruin says dozens of companies are involved in releasing hazardous
substances into the soil and groundwater at the site, a problem that
was discovered in the early 1980s. However, Bruin says the EPA has
successfully managed to go after only these 11 companies so far.

The use of solvents, such as trichloroethylene (TCE) and other
chemicals which were commonly piped and stored in underground tanks
and pipelines, and poor waste management practices are what started
the problem to begin with, the EPA maintains. The companies are not
only being forced to build and maintain the clean up facility, but are
also being required to change their handling and use of solvents and
other chemicals, Bruin said.

A forum for San Francisco residents entitled, "Ground Water Clean Up
In The South Bay -- A Ten Year Plan" is being sponsored by the EPA,
the Regional Water Quality Board, and other local groups. The meeting
open to the public and is scheduled for May 6 from 1 to 5:30 pm and
again from 7 to 9:30 pm. The meeting will be held at the Santa Clara
County Board of Supervisors Chambers, 70 W. Hedding, San Jose,
California.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920417/Press Contact: Paula Bruin, EPA, tel 415-
744-1587, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1991 APR 17 Review of: Alphabet Blocks, children's game for Macintosh, 04/17/92



(REVIEW)(APPLE)(SFO)(00032)

Review of: Alphabet Blocks, children's game for Macintosh, 04/17/92

Runs on: Macintosh

From: Bright Star Technology, 1450 114th Ave. SE Suite 200,
Bellevue, WA 98004 [phone]

Price: $59.95

PUMA rating: 2.5 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for NEWSBYTES by: Naor Wallach

Summary: A game that is trying to teach letter names and sounds.
Has several significant problems and is limited in its capabilities
to boot.

=======

REVIEW

=======

Alphabet Blocks is an educational game with a hidden agenda. We'll
get to that agenda later. The game itself purports to help teach
your youngsters letter recognition and pronunciation. It does this
in the form of a friendly elf who will either say the letter names
or their sounds, or ask your child to identify the letter that
sounds like... etc.

The game comes on two diskettes and is accompanied by a catalog of other
Bright Star offerings, a 4-page description of operating the program,
a registration card, a sticker with the elf's picture on it, and a
book that contains all the pictures that are related to letters
that appear in the program.

When you start the program, you are presented with the following
picture -- a window is opened that is the size of the monitor on
the Mac Plus and SE. i.e. a 9-inch monitor. If you have a bigger
monitor, than the window appear attached to the menu bar at the
upper left hand corner. At the upper left hand corner of the
window is a magic mirror with a picture of the elf appearing
in it. Below the elf is a slumped toy soldier and to the right
of them both is a stack of lettered blocks. Visually this is
most of all that you will see throughout the game.

There are two games provided on the disks. One is for letter names,
the other for letter sounds. Both of these programs look the same.
Depending on which game you chose, you can then have the elf go
through the alphabet and either say the names of the letters
"A, B, C, ..." or their sounds "Ai, Bee, See,..." When you
click on the slumped toy soldier, he will straighten out and
the letters on the blocks will change orientation to be capital
letters. Click on him again and he will slump down and the
letters will change to lower case.

If you click on the magic mirror, the elf will ask you to find
a letter. After a question, the program waits for your input.
If you click on the right letter, the elf will turn to look at
 you and blink several times. If you made a mistake, nothing
happens. After some time the elf will start giving you hints.
The first hint consists of limiting your choice of letters.
Only some of the blocks retain their letters. After a longer
time period a second hint appears that leaves only the wanted
letter block showing.

If you click on a block that contains a letter rather than on the
mirror or the toy soldier, then the elf will say the name
(or sound) of the letter and a small picture of something
that bears that letter as its first letter will appear next
to the mirror. These are the pictures that appear in the
Alphabet Book that comes with the program.

Finally, if lots of time pass between actions, the elf falls
asleep. The only way to wake him up is to do something. Then he
springs awake and does what is necessary. But, if you let a long
time pass again, then it's off to the snoozes.

Obviously, this is a pretty limited repertoire. I tested this game
with some three and four year olds who seemed about ready to start
learning their letters. Their reactions were unanimous: while interested
in exploring the program and seeing what it could do, they very
quickly lost interest and asked me to switch to another game.

While they were experimenting, they brought out a collection of bugs
that really disturbed me. For instance, when the game starts, it draws
a black screen. Even after you quit, the black borders around what was
the window remain. So, if you have a screen that is larger than 9
inches, you need to move things around or restart your computer to
see what used to be there. A second bug was discovered when a child
accidentally clicked on my desktop. Since for most Macintoshes under
System 7 or MultiFinder that means that you are changing programs,
the Macintosh immediately brought up the Finder and all of its
associated windows. Since the kids wanted to play this game, they
quickly clicked on its exposed portion. The problem was that the
game did not redraw its window correctly. Gone were all of the
outlines of the blocks, the letters, the toy soldier, and even the
elf! If we clicked on the mirror, the elf came back, but that was
the only way we could get things back to where they were outside
of quitting the program and starting over. Even so, it was never
possible to completely redraw the whole picture. The block outlines
would not come back no matter what we did. I do not know if this
is a System 7 problem or something that has been there all along,
I do know that it was very disappointing to come across.

I spoke to the company about this and other matters. They claimed
that this game was really developed as a proof of concept product
of a unique technology that they were developing. The program was
originally released in 1987 and has only undergone minor revisions
and corrections since. They have no official plans to make significant
upgrades to it. They claim that the technology can best be seen
by closely observing the elf and how he pronounces things. The
linking of his facial movements with exact control of the sounds
that he produces is the area where the company feels they excel.
After this conversation I went back and did pay special attention
to those features. The company is right. The animation is fluid
and the facial movements are much better than any I had seen
before. However, this does not count for much in a game that is
oriented to teaching kids. Not once in my product testing sessions
did any of the children that were using the product exclaim: "Wow,
look at the way his mouth moves!"

=============

PUMA RATINGS

=============

PERFORMANCE: 2 The game worked as advertised with the major exceptions
of the problems that I described.

USEFULNESS: 2 It is a limited program. Kids get bored with it very
quickly and there is nothing in it that compels them to ask to see
it and play with it again.

MANUAL: 4 There really is no need for one. Consequently, the brevity
of what is there is welcome

AVAILABILITY: 2 The company still sells it although it is not their
major activity. There is no toll free number for technical support.
This is a shame since it will be needed at least once.

(Naor Wallach/19920417)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1991 APR 17 Review of: KidsMath, children's game for Macintosh, 04/17/92


(REVIEW)(APPLE)(SFO)(00033)

Review of: KidsMath, children's game for Macintosh, 04/17/92

From: Great Wave Software, 5353 Scotts Valley Dr., Scotts Valley, CA
95066

Price: $49.95

PUMA Rating: 3 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Naor Wallach

Summary: A collection of drill and practice games that teach certain
aspects of math. Can be a lot of fun for kids in the three to six age
range. Others may want a little more.

======

REVIEW

======

KidsMath is one of the very first educational programs that have
come out for the Macintosh. The version that I received, 1.1, is
supposed to be an update. Its intention is to be a program that is
used to teach math to kids in a way that is fun and visual.

The program comes on one 800K floppy disk which makes it suitable
for use with the complete Macintosh line. It will also work on any
of the older Macintoshes from the "Fat Mac" (the 512K version)
onwards. In addition to the disk, the purchaser receives a 25-page
manual. This manual contains explanations of how to load the program
and how to use it. It explains every one of the eight different
games presented and what they teach. Although it is not necessary to
read the manual before using the program, it is highly advantageous
to have done so.

The box claims that this program is suitable for three-to-eight year-
olds. To test this claim, I asked my three-year-old son to play it.
Aaron has absolutely no fear of technology (or of much else) and
learned how to use the mouse within two hours of starting to play
one of the games. At his age the only game that we played was
the Mouse Practice game which reinforces mouse movements and counting
skills. Much to my surprise, Aaron liked the game and is now asking
to play it on a frequent basis. He is learning his numbers, counting,
and the shape of the numerals through the process of playing this
game.

Other kids that I brought in to play this game were of various ages.
Those that fell between the suggested ages on the package usually
liked some of the games. It did seem that six-year-olds outgrew the
capabilities of the program rather quickly and also lost interest in
it.

There are eight games in this program. Each is really a drill session
on some mathematical concept. The kids are asked to solve a problem
and should they succeed are given another of the same type. The
situations are fun though and appealing to this class of youngsters.

The eight games include Mouse Practice, in which you either shoot
rockets, drop stars out of the sky, or shoot some asteroids on a
very lunar-like background. In addition, a box on the screen
displays the number of objects that you counted. The game teaches
counting and numbers and is the one that Aaron is constantly
playing. When you click on all the objects, the game gives you a
brief hurrah, and then gives you another set of objects. The objects
can be all of one kind or picked randomly by the computer.

Then there is Counting -- it shows a collection of objects on the
screen. The child is supposed to count them and click on the number
and the OK button displayed on the screen. Paddle Ball is a "breakout"
style game that is interrupted occasionally to have the child answer
some addition and subtraction problems. Frog Race -- in this game,
the child is trying to predict the winner of a race between four
frogs. Each frog moves in turn either forward or backward depending
on some sequence of events. After watching the frogs for a little bit,
it is possible to begin predicting their pattern and thereby select
the winner.

The Balloon game introduces such concepts as "greater than"
and "less than." A cloud barrier is the thing that distinguishes
between two levels in the sky and you can move the hot air balloons
up or down. Shuffleboard - this version helps teach addition with tens
and ones places for the kids to shoot their pieces into.
Tractors and Trucks is a mining simulation where elementary
multiplication is taught. The child is asked to solve a problem
correlating the size of a scoop of dirt with the capacity of a
truck. Rain Games introduces fractions. In this game, the child
controls the weather. Some chickens outside of a barn can stay
outside to eat or rush indoors depending on the amount of rain that
you generate.

To an adult, the eight games are very repetitive. These games are
certainly concerned with teaching individual aspects of certain
problems and do not contain the full gamut of things that would
keep us occupied. However, most kids who tested these games found
them interesting. Only the older kids (six and higher) tired of the
games quickly. The others had to pried away from the games.

The manual is well written and explains everything that you need
to know. Each game is thoroughly explained and contains some
additional learning tips in case you wanted to work with your
child in that area. I could find no typos in the manual or bugs
in the program.

===========

PUMA RATING

===========

PERFORMANCE: 4 The games perform as advertised. Even though this program
has a date stamp of 1989 on it, I used it in 1992 on a System 7 equipped
machine with no problems.

USEFULNESS: 3 The subject areas that are covered are important and the
coverage is obviously good. However, it is quickly limited by the eight
games that are relatively straightforward and unchanging.

MANUAL: 4 No Typos. The manual tells you everything you need to know
and even offers some tips on further work with the kids on this
subject.

AVAILABILITY: 1 This program may be very hard to find. I did not see
it listed in any mail order catalog, not did any of my local software
stores carry it. When I asked about ordering it the results were
negative. In addition, the packaging and the manual do not contain
any hints as to where to find the company. Not even a phone number
is listed!

(Naor Wallach/ 19920229)
#ENDCARD






#CARD :1992 APR 16 Delrina's Skapinker: Forms/Pens/OCR/Fax To Change Office 04/16/92

(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TOR)(00001)

Delrina's Skapinker: Forms/Pens/OCR/Fax To Change Office 04/16/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 APR 16 (NB) -- A
combination of electronic forms processing, optical character
recognition, pen computing, and computer fax modems will change
the way offices work over the next few years, according to Mark
Skapinker, president of Toronto-based Delrina Technologies.
Skapinker said the four technologies will allow the vast bulk of office
information now handled on paper to be dealt with electronically.

Skapinker's company sells two of the four technologies he
discussed: forms processing software and facsimile send-receive
software. The company came close to acquiring an American
firm that makes optical character recognition software last fall, but
the deal was called off. He spoke at Software World, an exhibition
and conference sponsored by Digital Consulting of Andover,
Massachusetts, at the Metropolitan Toronto Convention Center.

Today, business in the United States creates 2,200 million
documents each year, Skapinker said, and 95 percent of these are
in paper form. Of those, the majority are business forms of one kind
or another.

Forms processing software for personal computers allows those
forms to be created and filled out on personal computers, Skapinker
pointed out. Improved optical character recognition will allow
documents that start out on paper to be converted to electronic
form, while fax boards will allow documents from outside the
organization to be received in a form readily convertible to
machine-readable text using OCR software.

Finally, pen-based computers will make it more practical to use
electronic forms on notebook computers in place of paper ones.
Using a computer keyboard is not easy in the field, where there
may not be a surface on which to set the machine. A machine that
accepts input from a pen is more easily held with one hand while
writing with the other.

Skapinker expressed doubts about the usefulness of pen-based
computing for mainstream applications. Handwriting recognition
technology just is not good enough yet, he said. But he went on to
say that standard forms make the job much easier, because they
are full of "hints." For instance, there may be a limited number of
possible entries in a given space on a form. So, if software can
recognize only three letters of a word, it can search a database
of possible entries to find one that matches.

Skapinker added that the wide acceptance of stand-alone fax
machines and of fax boards for personal computers makes optical
character recognition more accessible because it provides a way
of getting document images into the PC without buying a separate
document scanner. "We all have a scanner in our office," he said.
"It's called a fax machine."

(Grant Buckler/19920416/Press Contact: Josef Zancowicz,
Delrina Technologies, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 16 Hotter Hardware, Huge Databases In Forecast 04/16/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TOR)(00002)

Hotter Hardware, Huge Databases In Forecast 04/16/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 APR 16 (NB) -- The good
news for those who have to manage large database applications
is that hardware is going to get a lot faster. The bad news is that
databases are going to get a lot bigger.

That was the message from Michael Stonebraker, a professor of
computer science at the University of California and a consultant
on database software, at the Software World conference in Toronto.

Stonebraker said Joy's Law, a forecast made by Bill Joy of Sun
Microsystems in the mid-1980s, has turned out to be more or less
right. Joy said the power of the fastest single-chip microprocessor
in any year in the future, in millions of instructions-per-second,
could be predicted by subtracting 1984 from the year and raising
two to the power of the difference. Thus the fastest chip in 1991
should run at two to the seventh power, or 128, MIPS. In fact, he
said, the figure was about 70 MIPS, but the order of magnitude is
right.

That is good news for those whose database applications are
stretching the power of current hardware, Stonebraker said. So is
the arrival of  RAID (redundant array of inexpensive disks)
technology, which makes possible very fast and highly reliable
mass storage of data.

For those reasons, Stonebraker said, anyone whose computing
power requirements exceed what is currently available by only one
or two orders of magnitude can simply wait for the technology to
catch up in the next couple of years.

A third factor is the disappearance of dumb terminals, he said.
Desktop workstations and personal computers are now cheap
enough that there is no reason to settle for a dumb terminal,
according to Stonebraker, and that means much of the processing
involved in an application can be moved to the desktop in a
client-server setup.

But the other side of the coin is that over the coming decade
databases will become much bigger than they are today. The
reason, Stonebraker said, will be a trend to incorporate images,
audio, and other new types of data. These will require vastly more
storage than the simple text and numeric fields used today. And
even text will be stored in computer databases in much larger
quantities. For example, Stonebraker said, "the only thing that
keeps the University of California from digitizing its entire
undergraduate library collection is copyright law."

Stonebraker said organizations will have to decentralize their
databases, making use of networks of machines rather than relying
on one central system. He said features of object-oriented database
technology will be needed to handle future applications. Those
organizations with aging database systems must some day soon
bite the bullet and update them, he concluded, or they will not be
able to cope with future needs.

(Grant Buckler/19920416)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 16 Moscow: SovInTel Lowers International Phone Prices 04/16/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00003)

Moscow: SovInTel Lowers International Phone Prices 04/16/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 APR 16 (NB) -- SovInTel, the Moscow-
based provider of international satellite phone lines, has lowered
its prices for residential subscribers.

Rates has dropped 25 percent as a result of competition. Local
hotels, which enjoy the biggest part of the Sovintel service, will
still be paying high rates for phone calls.

The prime time call to Europe is charged at US$3.75 for the first
minute, and US$2.81 for each minute following. A similar service to
the United States costs US$4.50 for the first minute and US$3.38
for the next minutes. Ten percent discount rates are in effect from
11pm - 9 am local time and on weekends. The user must pay $250
up-front for the connection to the service.

Phone rates, charged in dollars only, are now in line with those
of KomBellGa and KomStar, two local competitors, a SovIntel
spokeswoman said.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920416/Press Contact: SovInTel,
[phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 16 ComputerLand Opens First Store In Moscow 04/16/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(MOW)(00004)

ComputerLand Opens First Store In Moscow 04/16/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 APR 16 (NB) -- ComputerLand (CL)
opened its first computer store in Moscow. The company also plans
to reorganize its Eastern European business structure and add more
branches across the country soon.

MBL International East Inc., ComputerLand, based in Moscow, will be
responsible for all CL Eastern Europe operations. The company
will eventually be willing to sell quantity orders in Russia for rubles
as well as barter deals, said Michael Tseytin, the company
president. At the moment company sells for dollars only.

CL branches existed in several C.I.S. cities -- Moscow, Vilnius, Kiev,
Volzhsky -- for a while. More offices in St Petersbourg, Erevan,
Ekaterinburg (formerly Sverdlovsk), and Perm, are to be opened
soon.

The first ComputerLand retail outlet has opened at 8 Kutuzovsky
prospekt, in a Moscow neighborhood occupied by  many
Westerners. The medium-sized store will be opened 10-8
weekdays.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920416/Press Contact: ComputerLand Moscow,
tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 16 Moscow: Sprint Announces Further Expansion Plans 04/16/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00005)

Moscow: Sprint Announces Further Expansion Plans 04/16/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 APR 16 (NB) -- Moscow-based Sprint
Networks has announced a change in its Russian partner and
further expansion plans.

US-based Sprint plans to build and operate Russia's nationwide
public data network through its Moscow-based joint venture, Sprint
Networks.

Sprint Networks USSR was registered as a 50/50 venture between
Sprint and Central Telegraph of the old Soviet Ministry of
Communications. The new company, named RosTel, which was
formed combining the Central Telegraph and local communications
administrations, will became an official partner in Sprint Networks
Russia.

Sprint claims to it will provide high-speed local data communications
links between most major Russian cities soon, according to the
company statement. Currently it has phone access (dial-up) numbers
in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Khabarovsk, Perm, Samara,
and Krasnoyarsk. All services offered on global SprintNet are
available through those phones. Network nodes are connecting
using 9,600 bits-per-second leased lines.

Sprint claimed last year to have 10 Russian cities with dial-up
access in early 1992, although only seven are said to be operable
to date.

Sprint also announced two other services that will be offered on
the new public data network. The first is called Transaction
Communications Services (TCS), and is a credit card verification
service for retailers. The second is called Global SprintFAX,
which is Sprint's dedicated Group III, store-and-forward facsimile
network.

Intourcreditcard/Intourservice group, a Visa credit card provider in
Russia already uses TCS services.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920416/Press Contact: Vince Hovanec,
Sprint (US), 202-828-7423; or Vladimir Ratz, Sprint Moscow,
tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 16 Australian Defense Forces To Upgrade Communications 04/16/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(SYD)(00006)

Australian Defense Forces To Upgrade Communications 04/16/92
CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA, 1992 APR 16 (NB) -- The Australian
military is planning a major upgrade of its communications
equipment. The upgrade should see remote-area communications
much easier for land-based forces.

Tenders have been called, and the Defense Department is currently
investigating the bidders for the AUS$20 million satellite system
which will form a part of Project Parakeet, the name for the
communications revamping exercise.

The contract would cover all aspects of the satellite system, from
design and supply of the equipment through installation, testing and
ongoing support through the life of the system. The next phase, the
switching system for Project Parakeet, will see the awarding of a
AUS$130 million contract.

One of the conditions of both phases is that there be a minimum 50
percent local contract. One bidder for both phases, AOTC
(Australian and Overseas Telecommunications Corporation), has
claimed it would achieve 85 percent local content. AOTC has
already designed the system specifically for the defense forces'
requirements, and has named Brisbane firm Mitec as its main
subcontractor if it wins the contract. There are a total of 11 bidders
for the first phase, and a decision is expected in August.

One of the logistical nightmares of defending Australia against
potential threats is its size and its population. With only 17 million
people in a continent approximately the same size as mainland
US, and most of those in the southeast, the northeast of Australia
would remain effectively cut off from the rest of the country in times
of incursion.
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 16 Bernard Vergnes New Microsoft Europe President 04/16/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00007)

Bernard Vergnes New Microsoft Europe President 04/16/92
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 APR 16 (NB) -- Bernard
Vergnes has been appointed to the newly created position of
President, Microsoft Europe, according to an announcement from
the Washington-based software company.

Microsoft said creation of the new position reflects its significant
presence in all major world markets, as well as Vergnes leadership
during his tenure as vice president. He will continue to report to
Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's executive vice president for worldwide
sales and support.

The company said Vergnes mission will be to reinforce the
company's service and support in the region and to prepare to meet
the future needs of European customers.

The timing of the appointment is particularly critical, in light of
the upcoming European market unification. Under the unification
plan, import rates and tariffs will be standardized throughout the
European economic community.

Vergnes, 46, joined Microsoft in 1983 as the general manager of
Microsoft's French operations. The company said that under his
direction France became the largest Microsoft subsidiary. In April
1990 Vergnes was promoted to vice president, Europe, and
established the company's European headquarters in Paris. He
widened the scope of European operations, opening seven new
subsidiaries and extending distribution rights into several Eastern
European distributors, including the Commonwealth of Independent
States, the former Soviet republics.

Microsoft said that Vergnes presided over the development of
localized products such as European-language versions of Excel
and Word, which is done in the European market by local
employees familiar with local market demands. Most of Microsoft's
European products are manufactured in Dublin, Ireland.

Vergnes has been involved in the computer industry or 20 years, and
holds an engineering degree from the Ecole Superieure d Electricite
in Paris and a Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering from the
University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

(Jim Mallory/19920416/Press Contact: Sarah Charf, Microsoft,
206-882-8080)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 16 Gateway 2000 Intros 386SX, 486SX Desktop PCs 04/16/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00008)

Gateway 2000 Intros 386SX, 486SX Desktop PCs 04/16/92
NORTH SIOUX CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 16 (NB) --
Gateway 2000 has announced the addition of two 25 megahertz
(MHz) 486SX and 386SX desktop PCs to its line, describing both as
competitively priced.

The 486SX carries a list price of $2,395 and comes standard with four
megabytes (MB) of RAM, a 200 MB hard drive, an ATI Graphics
Ultra video card, and a 14-inch Crystal Scan 1024NI VGA color
monitor. The memory of the 486SX can be expanded up to 64MB.

The 386SX, which is priced at $1,595 comes standard with 4MB of
RAM which is expandable up to 16MB, an 80MB hard drive, 16-bit
VGA graphics with 512 kilobytes (KB) of video memory, and a
14-inch Crystal Scan 1024 VGA color monitor.

Both systems include a 5.25-inch and a 3.5-inch high density floppy
drives, a programmable keyboard, DOS 5.0, Windows 3.1,a
Microsoft mouse, and a choice of free applications. Both units are
available.

Gateway 2000 spokesperson Glynis Gibson told Newsbytes that
buyers of one of the new SX systems can choose one application
from a wide variety at no extra cost. The choices include: Excel;
Word; PowerPoint; Paradox, including Turbo Pascal or C++; the
Microsoft Entrepreneur Pack, which includes Works, Publisher,
and Money, and an Entertainment Pack; the Microsoft Windows
Programmer Pack, including QuickC, Visual Basic, the Developers
Kit, the Help Compiler, and the Online Reference kit; and Microsoft
Project. Buyers will receive the original program diskettes for the
program they select, as well as user manuals.

Gibson also said Gateway 2000 will provide technical support
for the software chosen as well as the hardware.

"We are committed to offering our customers systems that they
want with the best price/performance values," said Gateway
President, Ted White.

(Jim Mallory/19920416/Press Contact: Glynis Gibson, Gibson
Communications for Gateway 2000, 312-883-2388)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 16 Tandy Announces New Retail Store Format 04/16/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00009)

Tandy Announces New Retail Store Format 04/16/92
FORT WORTH, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 16 (NB) - Tandy
Corporation says it will introduce a new retail store format to be
called, "Incredible Universe."

The first two new-style store will be opened in Portland, Oregon,
and Arlington, Texas. The Portland store is scheduled to debut in
late August or early September, while the Arlington store should
open is doors in the latter part of September, Tandy spokesperson
Lowell Duncan told Newsbytes.

Tandy said the format is unique because it will market a selection
of home and auto entertainment electronics, appliances, computers,
and related software and accessories. The company emphasized
that all the products would be competitively priced.

"Our philosophy, which has earned us the leadership position in
consumer electronics retailing, has been to offer convenience,
service, and the right product at the right price," said John V.
Roach, chairman and chief executive officer of Tandy. "With the
'Incredible Universe' format, we will continue to offer all of this
but take the customer satisfaction element a few steps further."

Roach said that Tandy will make the newest technologies available
for customers to "test drive" for themselves, to assist them in
their purchase decisions while at the same time allowing them to
have fun. "It is unlike any other retailing concept," he added.

Duncan told Newsbytes that in addition to Tandy brand products, the
new stores would also carry other name brand items, such as Sony,
Panasonic, and JVC, as well as others.

As the name implies, the stores will be large, approximately 100,000
square-feet of selling floor space, and employing close to 300
people at each location. In addition, similar to shopping malls,
each location will contain substantial parking, ''pick-up'' delivery
bays, installation bays, child-care facilities, and a restaurant.

Duncan said a large and stylish rotunda will be the center of
continuous activity -- hands-on demonstrations, big-screen
displays, entertainment, educational programs, and presentations
by manufacturer representatives.

Roach said: "At Tandy, we understand that as the electronics and
computer industry becomes more technologically advanced,
competitive industry retailers must also be able to answer these
changing industry trends."

Asked if the "Incredible Universe" stores would resemble superstores
opened by other companies in the computer business recently,
Duncan said: "We think there's really nothing comparable in the retail
marketplace today." The new outlets will be open from midmorning
through the evening hours.

When Newsbytes asked about possible competition between
"Incredible Universe" stores and other outlets owned by Tandy, such
as McDuff and VideoConcepts outlets, Duncan said the Dallas-Fort
Worth market, where one of the new stores is opening, was big
enough to handle both.

Presently, the company markets its products through two primary
distribution channels: the retail channel, consisting of Radio
Shack, Tandy Name Brand Retail Group (McDuff and
VideoConcepts stores), and Computer City; and alternative
distribution channels, such as GRiD Systems Corporation, Tandy
Marketing Companies, Victor Technologies AB and subsidiaries.

(Jim Mallory/19920416/Press Contact: Lowell Duncan, Tandy
Corporation, 817-390-3937)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 16 Inacom Posts $1.7 Million 1Q Profit 04/16/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00010)

Inacom Posts $1.7 Million 1Q Profit 04/16/92
OMAHA, NEBRASKA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 16 (NB) -- Inacom
Corporation has reported net earnings of $1.7 million for the first
quarter, up from $1.2 million for the same period last year. The
company said revenues for the period were $244.4 million.

"The company is beginning to see the benefits from cost reductions
achieved in the third and fourth quarters of 1991 as well as an
increased demand for computers and computer services," said
Inacom President, Bill Fairfield.

Inacom was formed through the integration of Inacomp and Valcom
last year. While earnings increased for the first quarter, earnings per
share were down $0.10, reflecting the issuance of approximately 4.1
million shares of common stock in conjunction with the merger.

Fairfield said the company sees the financial picture improving as
it moves through 1992. "Our challenges in the next quarter are to
manage inventory levels and related working capital requirements,"
he stated. Fairfield said the company was also trying to improve
availability of high-demand products that are not in sufficient
supply from vendors and to continue to increase revenues from
service and support.

The company said it will continue to focus on selling and supporting
advanced products to corporate customers. During the first quarter
Inacom became the first Banyan Systems business partner to
authorize 100 resellers to sell Banyan's network operating systems.
The company also introduced direct 800-line support for corporate
network managers.

In addition to the Inacom (formerly Inacomp and Valcom) stores, the
company also distributes through systems integrators, value-added
resellers and other specialized providers of computer systems and
support.

(Jim Mallory/19920416/Press Contact: Geri Michelic, Inacom
Corp,402-392-3923)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 16 Disktop Publishing Association Awards Competition 04/16/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00011)

Disktop Publishing Association Awards Competition 04/16/92
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA, U.S.A., 1992 APRIL 16 (NB) --
Recognizing the growth of a new form of publishing, The Disktop
Publishing Association has announced the first annual Disktop
Publishing "Digital Quill" Awards for Excellence in electronic
publishing.

To qualify as electronic publishing, an entry must be distributed
in computer-readable digital, or "disktop" format and made
available for others to read through their computers.

Electronic publishing covers the entire field from plain ASCII
text files to complex hypertext documents which require special
software to access.

Awards will be presented in the following categories (as defined
by Ron Albright, the founder of the association):

"Regular Publication" - a weekly, monthly or bimonthly publication
that has been in publication for six months or more. This category
will include both fiction and non-fiction magazines and newsletters.

"Fiction Book" - an original (eliminating reprints of the "classics" in
digital format) electronically published novel. Length: 50,000 words,
minimum.

"Nonfiction Book" - an original nonfiction book in digital format.
Length: 35,000 words minimum.

"Short Story" - a single original story appearing either alone or
as part of an anthology or magazine and published in digital
format. This category shall exclude reprints of stories originally
published in a paper publication. Length: 1,000 words, minimum.

"Nonfiction article" - a single originally article appearing
either alone or as part of a magazine and published in digital
format. This category shall exclude reprints of articles
originally published in paper. Length: 1,500 words, minimum.

"Publishing software" - a software program (shareware or
traditionally marketed) designed for publishing text and/or
graphics and facilitating their distribution and viewing.
Nominations will be accepted from users as well as original
authors.

First, second, and third winners in each category will receive a
certificate, suitable for framing. If the number and/or quality
of submissions warrants, Certificates of Merit will also be
awarded. Additional prizes, if available, will be announced in
the future. Announcement of the winners will be made through
press releases from the DPA to the appropriate media. If the DPA
is granted permission by the respective authors, the winning
submissions will be compiled into a "digital anthology" sponsored
by the DPA and circulated in electronic format to the BBS (bulletin
board system) and on-line communities.

The judges will be announced in the near future from the
membership ranks of the Disktop Publishing Association and its
officers. The decision of the judges is final.

Submissions will be accepted from original authors or from the
editors of a publication in which the submitted material appeared.
Submissions must be made in digital format (via modem
or on disk) to any of the "electronic addresses" listed below.
Deadline for submissions is June 30, 1992. Winners will be
announced July 15, 1992.

Submit materials to any of the following addresses:
CompuServe: 75166,2473 GEnie: RALBRIGHT
MCI Mail: 370-7474 (RALBRIGHT)
PRODIGY: DXBD80A

Or, if you have a modem and are not a subscriber to these on-line
systems, you can upload submissions to the Disktop Publishing
Association BBS at 205-854-1660 (1,200/2,400/9,600; 24 hours/day).

Materials can also be submitted on disk to The Disktop Publishing
Association, 1160 Huffman Road, Birmingham, AL 35215.

(John McCormick/19920416/Press Contact: Ron Albright, DPA,
205-853-8269; fax [phone]; BBS 205-854-1660)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 16 3Com's NetBuilder Compatibile With Compuserve Frame Relay 04/16/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00012)

3Com's NetBuilder Compatibile With Compuserve Frame Relay 04/16/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 16 (NB) -- 3Com's
NetBuilder products have been tested by Compuserve and have
been found to work well with Compuserve's frame relay technology.

The joint announcement means that customers are assured that they
can use 3Com's NetBuilder Router series with Compuserve's
Frame-Net Service. This testing was performed as part of a program
that Compuserve recently introduced. Under this program,
Compuserve tests routers from different manufacturers and proves
compliance and compatibility of those routers with Frame-Net.

Customers may wish to consider moving from leased access lines
to a frame relay service for cost reasons. Compuserve has been
offering their frame relay service since October of last year and
has been trying to expand into the data carrier market over the
past several years.

3Com, as one of the main vendors of hub and routing equipment, is
also interested in assuring that their products comply with the
emerging frame relay standards.

(Naor Wallach/19920416/Press Contact: David Abramson, 3Com,
408-764-6621; David Kishler, Compuserve, 614-457-8600)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 16 New For Mac: Nutridata's Diet Balancer 04/16/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00013)

New For Mac: Nutridata's Diet Balancer 04/16/92
WAPPINGERS FALLS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 APR 16 (NB) --
Nutridata is planning on releasing a Macintosh version of their diet
balancer program sometime in the next two to four weeks. Mac Diet
Balancer is slated to cost $79.95 and will incorporate all of the
features that have made the MS-DOS version successful.

With Diet Balancer it is possible for the user to enter what was
eaten every day and watch how that relates to the recommended
quantities of those nutrients. The program is adjustable so that the
customer can decide to allow for different levels of certain
nutrients based on their specific needs. It is also possible to
enter information from outside sources and see what effects these
may have.

For instance, by entering cholesterol level information and
monitoring fat and cholesterol consumption levels, it is possible
to monitor how what you eat effects the cholesterol levels, and
change your diet accordingly. You can also enter data on your
exercise regimen and the program will compute what effects that
has on your diet and well being.

There are also various charting options available which make
the task of correlating foods that you eat with levels of nutrients
over time significantly easier. Finally, the program contains a
database with the nutritional components of many foods including
fast foods, so that you can determine what they are composed of
and whether you should consume significant quantities of them.

(Naor Wallach/19920416/Press Contact: Robert Antonellis,
Nutridata, 914-298-1308)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 16 Wangtek Appoints Indian Distributor 04/16/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEL)(00014)

Wangtek Appoints Indian Distributor 04/16/92
BANGALORE, INDIA, 1992 APR 16 (NB) -- Wangtek Corporation
of Simi Valley, California, recently appointed Bangalore-based TVS
Electronics to market its high capacity cartridge tape drives (CTDs)
in India.

The agreement covers Wangtek's entire range of products,
including 525 megabyte (MB) and 1,000MB DC6000 CTDs.

The alliance, according to Gopal Srinivasan, chief executive
officer of TVSE, compliments its existing range of mini CTDs from
Colorado Memory Systems of the US. Both the 525MB and the
1,000MB versions include quick file access. Other major features
are a 256 kilobyte (KB) data buffer and a tranfer rate of 200 KB-per-
second.

The cartridge tape drive market in India for 1991-92 is estimated
at about 8,500 drives. Of these, mini CTDs account for about 4,000
drives. The DC600 segment is said to constitute 53 percent of the
market. TVSE, claims Srinivasan, has a 95 percent share of the
market for mini CTDs. With the Wangtek range, TVSE would be
vying for a slot in the fast growing market for high capacity
secondary storage backup. TVSE also launched a new enhanced
modem which is said to give 9,600 bits-per-second (bps)
performance.

(C.T. Mahabarhat/19920416)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 16 Borland Shifts To New Distributor In India 04/16/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEL)(00015)

Borland Shifts To New Distributor In India 04/16/92
BANGALORE, INDIA, 1992 APR 16 (NB) -- Borland International has
signed with the Bangalore-based Wipro Systems Ltd., as the
country's distributor for Borland products including its popular
spreadsheet Quattro Pro's latest version, Quattro Pro 4.0.

Borland has also dropped its earlier arrangement with Infosys
Consultants Pvt. Ltd.

Wipro Systems, a sister concern of India's second-largest computer
company, Wipro Infotech Ltd., has been distributing for Ashton-Tate
products. After Ashton-Tate was acquired by Borland a few months
ago, Infosys continued to be the latter's prime distributor in India.
Wipro Systems managed to convince Borland that it had the
capabilities and the infrastructure to represent Borland in India.

Both Wipro and Infosys have their own software packages and
development activities too. Wipro Systems Instaplan II was well
received in the US and is said by the company to be among the
top PC-based project management packages in the world.

(C.T. Mahabarhat/19920416)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 16 New For PC In UK: DIP Launches PIM Software For Desktops 04/16/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00016)

New For PC In UK: DIP Launches PIM Software For Desktops 04/16/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 16 (NB) -- Distributed Information
Processing (DIP) Systems has begun shipping the full set of Sharp
PC 3000 Personal Information Management (PIM) software for
desktop PCs. The software, which was originally designed to link
Sharp PC3000 palmtop computers to DOS-based desktop
machines, retails for UKP 95.

In parallel with the launch of the software, DIP has also cut the
price of its own range of palmtop PCs. The Pocket PC, better
known as the Atari Portfolio on the US, falls in price by as much
as 25 percent on previous pricing.

According to Oliver Tucker, DIP Systems' director, the PIM
software will allow users to carry up to date information from
their PCs on the PC 3000 series at all times. "Providing the same
PIM software on both the pocket computer and the PC ensures
complete compatibility and, just as importantly, complete
familiarity and ease of use for the user," he said.

The PIM software package, which runs on almost any PC,
consists of a pop-up desktop, a word processor, spreadsheet
module, address book, and scheduler.

The price cuts on the DIP range of pocket PCs mean that the
entry-level Pocket PC is UKP 149.95, which is UKP 50 less than the
previous price. The Pocket PC Executive, which includes the basic
128 kilobytes (KB) memory-equipped basic Pocket PC with 64 KB
RAM card and AC adapter. is now UKP 249.95.

The flagship Pocket PC Professional, which DIP claims is the most
popular package, costs UKP 349.95. For the money, users get a
custom briefcase with 128KB RAM Pocket PC, 128 KB RAM card
and serial cable and software for connection to a desktop PC.
An AC adapter is included as standard.

Tucker said that the price cuts have been driven by the success
of the product and the increasingly competitive prices of
components on the market.

"Not only are sales of the Pocket PC increasing every quarter,
but the whole market for palmtop machines is growing at over 60
percent every year. The price cuts on the Pocket PC are a
reflection of the success of our sales and will firmly establish
us in this market with the lowest cost PC compatible pocket PC,"
he said.

(Steve Gold/19920416/Press & Public Contact: DIP Systems,
0483-301555)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 16 IBM UK Unveils New PS/2 Pro Microcomputer 04/16/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00017)

IBM UK Unveils New PS/2 Pro Microcomputer 04/16/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 16 (NB) -- IBM United Kingdom
has announced the availability of a range of new AT-bus Personal
System/1 Pro 386SX machines. According to officials with Big
Blue, the machine expands the PS/1 range of PCs to address the
needs of businesses who need AT-bus technology.

A representative of IBM UK told Newsbytes that the machine
comes with a range of pre-loaded software -- Microsoft Works,
Windows 3.0, and DOS 5.0 -- that maintains the ease of reputation
held by the PS/1 AT-bus family of computers. He claimed that the
machine can be used by all levels of users from novice upwards.

Internally, the PS/2 Pro 386SX is driven by a 20 megahertz (MHz)
microprocessor with 2 megabytes (MB) of memory. The machine
chassis has three AT-compatible expansion slots and a choice of
40, 80 or 129MB hard drives. Bundled with the machine is 14-inch
video graphics adapter (VGA) color monitor.

The Model E31 (129MB hard disk) in the new machine range will be
available immediately. The 88MB hard disk-equipped Model E81
ships from the end of this month, while the 40MB E41 machine will
ship in June.

"Pricing is being set by our dealers, depending on what
applications the machine is being marketed at," the
representative told Newsbytes.

(Steve Gold/19920416/Press & Public Contact: IBM United
Kingdom, 071-928-1777)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 16 New For PC In UK: Compsoft Enhances Delta Five DBMS 04/16/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00018)

New For PC In UK: Compsoft Enhances Delta Five DBMS 04/16/92
ALTON, HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 16 (NB) -- Compsoft
has unveiled an enhanced version of its Delta Five database
management software called Delta Five release II Enhanced, or
release IIe for short. According to the company, release IIe
enables users to achieve results from their software more quickly
through faster use, better reporting facilities, and quicker
application development.

In response to user feedback, Compsoft claims to have made the
package even faster as an applications development tool. The bulk
of the program optimization has been completed in the database
retrieval area, processing language and reporting modules. The
package has been completely recoded to take advantage of
the 80286, 386 and 486 microprocessors.

Announcing the package, Chris Berry, the company's managing
director, said that Delta Five release IIe handles screen loading
up to five times faster than earlier versions.

"The package is easy to upgrade from earlier versions and is
straight forward to convert from single user to networked
situations. With the enhanced features such as processing in
reports, users save time and money through achieving results
quickly. What's more, release IIe's speed and convenience of use
enables developers to build applications and add value in a
fraction of the time taken by its competitors," he said.

Berry added that Release IIe has been undergoing beta tests
since the middle of 1991. "It's the culmination of detailed user
feedback and rigorous testing. Like its successful predecessors,
it builds on Compsoft's philosophy of 'Power without Programming',"
he said.

Pricing on Delta Five release IIe starts at UKP 595 for a single
user version. A 1-3 user license costs UKP 1,095. A 4-7 user
licensed package costs UKP 1,795, while an 8-15 user package
costs UKP 1,995.

Upgrades from earlier versions of the package are available at
prices starting from UKP 90. A runtime single user license costs
UKP 225.

(Steve Gold/19920416/Press & Public Contact: Compsoft,
tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 16  ****British Telecom To Axe Four International Operator Centers 04/16/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00019)

 ****British Telecom To Axe Four International Operator Centers 04/16/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 16 (NB) -- Continuing its
centralization and consolidation of operator positions, British
Telecom is closing four of its international operator control and
exchange centers in the UK. The closures will mean the loss of
600 jobs.

The exchange centers to be closed are London's Mondial House,
where the first international digital exchange was installed,
London's Kelvin House where two operator and directory
assistance service divisions are located, and the Brighton
international exchange.

The closures will mean that, by the end of next year, no operator
services will be based in London. The 600-odd staff cuts come on
top of 10,000  job losses announced since this time a year ago,
although BT representatives said that the bulk of the cuts will be
achieved through voluntary redundancies.

BT officials added that the job cuts announcement had been
made more than a year in advance to allow staff to apply for
redundancy on the current advantageous terms that are
available throughout BT over the next few months.

The cuts have been made possible by the use of digital circuits
on the whole of BT's national network. Using digital circuits
means that, regardless of where in the country the operator or
international exchange is located, there is no appreciable
deterioration in signal quality,

(Steve Gold/19920416)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 16  ****Microsoft Stock Jumps After Favorable Copyright Ruling 04/16/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00020)

 ****Microsoft Stock Jumps After Favorable Copyright Ruling 04/16/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 16 (NB) --
Microsoft stock jumped over $11 per share to $128.25 the day
following the dismissal of most of Apple Computer's copyright
infringement arguments by a federal judge.

Stock prices for Hewlett-Packard, a co-defendant in the suit,
increased $1.25 after US District Court Judge Vaughn Walker threw
out all but 23 of the remaining items in the "look-and-feel" suit.
Apple stock was up $0.75.

Apple had reportedly been preparing to seek up to $5.5 billion in
damages, including royalty payments, alleging that Microsoft's
Windows and Hewlett-Packard's NewWave operating systems
violated copyright protections of Apple's Macintosh graphical user
interface.

Sherson Lehman analyst David Readerman raised his rating on
Microsoft to a strong "buy" and lowered his risk rating for Microsoft to
"moderate" from "high", saying: "Now we can focus on fundamentals."
Readerman had previously predicted that Microsoft stock would
remain in the $115 to $125 range based on the possibility the
company would have to pay royalties or make major changes in
Windows.

Issues still to be resolved include 11 visual displays in Windows
File Manager, 10 displays in Program Manager, and two displays
related to color and font technology.

Walker's decision can still be appealed, and another hearing is set
for May 12 when Walker is expected to review the remaining claims.
The suit was initiated by Apple four years ago. The judge could
decide all or a portion of the case, with the remainder going to a
jury trial, which could take another year.

Still to be determined is what affect, if any, the decision in this
case will have on future "look-and-feel" cases.

(Jim Mallory/19920416)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 16  ****AT&T Revenues, Income, Up In First Quarter 04/16/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00021)

 ****AT&T Revenues, Income, Up In First Quarter 04/16/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 APR 16 (NB) -- AT&T has
reported a moderate increase in revenue and income in its first
fiscal quarter. The company had net income of $883 million, or 67
cents per share, on revenues of $15,375 million.

Net income rose 16.6 percent over last year's first-quarter figure
of $758 million, or 59 cents a share. Revenue in the first quarter
of last year was $15,274 million. Operating income increased to
$1,442 million from $1,315 million in the 1991 first quarter.

The results include those of NCR, the computer company AT&T
acquired last year, company spokesman Burke Stinson said. AT&T
also broke out NCR's financial figures separately -- the company
reported revenues of $1,536 million and operating income of $46
million.

These results reflected substantial one-time charges associated
with the integration of Teradata following the February merger,
AT&T said. NCR's results also include products and services that
were transferred from AT&T Computer Systems. Thus, the company
said, NCR's 1992 results are not directly comparable to its
revenues of $1,369 billion and operating income of $90 million in
the first quarter of 1991.

In remarks prepared for a shareholders' meeting in Dallas, AT&T
Chairman Robert Allen said the quarter was a good start to 1992. He
said the increase in revenues from services was partly due to an
improvement in the United States economy, but he added that he
expects the recovery to be less vigorous than the rebound from past
recessions.

"For example," Allen said, "we don't see much evidence of help from
the economy in our product sales.  A few of our product units saw
increased revenues, but others did not, which led to an overall
decline in product sales."

Long-distance calling volume grew eight percent, and AT&T's
financial services business, including its Universal Card, grew a
healthy 32 percent. AT&T expects the card to be profitable by
mid-year, well ahead of the original schedule, Allen said.

Noting that the price of AT&T stock has been rising, Allen said
that fact showed that the market expects the company to continue
growing. "And so do I," he added, "although, as usual, I won't
forecast how much."

Allen referred briefly to one cloud hanging over AT&T -- labor
negotiations that could lead to a strike in the near future. He
said the company is currently meeting union negotiators and
hopes to find "creative solutions to the tough issues that we
confront."

(Grant Buckler/19920416/Press Contact: Jim Byrnes, AT&T,
908-221-4011; Burke Stinson, AT&T, 908-221-2062)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 16 Wireless Credit Card Terminal Released 04/16/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00022)

Wireless Credit Card Terminal Released 04/16/92
REDWOOD CITY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 16 (NB) -- Next
time you're buying a hot dog from a cart or an art work at an
outdoor bazaar, you may be able to whip out the old credit card.
VeriFone, which makes the magnetic stripe card-readers used
by many merchants to start credit card authorizations, has
introduced Mobile Merchant, a system which can handle
authorizations using cellular phone lines.

The system can offer on-line credit authorization and capture
the transaction so merchants can be paid quickly, even if they
are nowhere near a phone line. On-line authorization reduces
the merchant's risk of accepting credit cards, while electronic
capturing of transactions lowers the fees charged by the
merchant's bank and provides faster credit for sales.

Mobile Merchant is based on VeriFone's Transaction Automation
Architecture, a framework ensuring that all new products and
services are part of complete systems. VeriFone says the
Mobile Merchant system can be used by taxi, limousine, ferry
and railroad services, parking lots and garages, stadium and
amusement park concessions, and at those special events such
as antique shows, art fairs, flea markets, trade shows, conventions,
concerts, and golf tournaments.

To help all this move along, VeriFone has established service
agreements with major cellular service suppliers, so customers
can initiate service with a single call to a toll-free 800 telephone
number. VeriFone uses the number to coordinate the process of
activating each Mobile Merchant unit.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920416/Press Contact: Alan Rockhold,
VeriFone Inc., 415-696-8823)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 16  ****PacTel May Spin Off Bell Units 04/16/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00023)

 ****PacTel May Spin Off Bell Units 04/16/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 16 (NB) --
Following a disappointing earnings announcement, Pacific Telesis
said it would study the idea of spinning-off its regulated Bell
operating units, and its phone directory subsidiary. The study
created speculation on financial markets that other regional Bell
companies might try the same thing -- break-ups could enhance
the value of the Bells' stock, which has been performing poorly on
major exchanges.

"Enhancing shareholder value" was just the phrase used by
Chairman, Sam Ginn, in announcing the study, which will be done
by the company's board of directors. Ginn indicated in a statement
that the success of PacTel's cellular unit is behind the possible
move, since it might be worth more if it were not attached to the
regulated entity. Ginn said he does not believe that the stock
markets have fully reflected the value of the Pacific Telesis
enterprises.

For the quarter ending in March, PacTel earned $331 million on
revenues of $2.47 billion, but $60 million of the earnings
resulted from favorable settlements of dispute with tax authorities
and the Federal Communications Commission. Without those
extraordinary gains, earnings were flat. PacTel blamed the
slow California economy for the results, although the number
of lines in use grew by 2.7 percent during the quarter, and the
number of minutes of service grew 7.9 percent. However, PacTel
Cellular earnings grew 13.7 percent.

At the same time, Pacific Bell released a study from the Federal
Communications Commission claiming its rates in California are 32
percent below the national average, with small business rates 37
percent lower. Pacific Bell charges $12.76 per month, including
taxes, for either single-line measured business service or
residential flat-rate service -- the latter allows an unlimited
number of outgoing local calls. But Pacific Bell says it wants to
lower local toll charges while raising charges for basic service
over the next few years, to $16.85 per month.

In other news involving PacTel, the company said it now owns
42 percent of Cellular Communications, filing a Schedule 13D
document with the Securities and Exchange Commission indicating
it bought 55,000 more shares of the company for $34.88 each
earlier this month. And it signed a deal with Telecom Solutions,
a division of Silicon General, to buy Integrated Digital Services
Terminals for use in monitoring its digital network and create
new services.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920416/Press Contact: Silicon General,
Scott Kamsler, 408-943-9403; Pacific Telesis, Tricia Palermo,
415-394-3640; Pacific Bell, Charlene Baldwin, 415-542-4640)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 16 Ericsson Now Out Of Local Phone Business 04/16/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00024)

Ericsson Now Out Of Local Phone Business 04/16/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 APR 16 (NB) -- L. M.
Ericsson of Sweden has sold its last remaining telephone
operating company, Compania Argentina de Telefonos of
Argentina, to Telefonica and Telecom Argentina, the private
successors to that nation's EnTel system.

CAT had revenues of $175 million last year. The two buyers will
split the system based on existing boundaries, with Telefonica
paying $52.5 million for 121,000 lines in Mendoza and San Juan,
and Telecom paying $67 million for 160,000 lines in Entre Rios,
Salta, Santiago del Estero, and Tucuman.

Ericsson has been concentrating on the telephone equipment
business for years, with its AXE telephone switches and Mobitex
radio data networks. And it has continued to win new business,
gaining an order for over one million new digital lines from TelMex
of Mexico, 39 percent more lines than the same company ordered
last year. The new switches will be delivered from Ericsson's
facilities in Mexico.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920416/Press Contact: Ericsson, Kathy
Egan, 212-685-4030)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 16 US Telephone Company Update 04/16/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00025)

US Telephone Company Update 04/16/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 16 (NB) -- While Pacific
Telesis grabbed headlines by announcing it might separate its
regulated and unregulated entities, other large phone companies
were making news of their own.

Ameritech moved its annual meeting from the Arts Institute of
Chicago to suburban Hoffman Estates following the devastating
floods downtown, where Chairman, William Weiss, told 360 visitors
he runs a good, strong company. He claimed the company's return
on equity was the highest among the Bell companies, and he was
positive about future prospects. He added that Ameritech, which
earned $337 million for the quarter ending in March, up 19
percent from a year ago, is becoming more market-oriented.
"We're talking about markets, not network technology. We're
talking about customers, not problems. We're talking about
opportunities, not restrictions," he said.

GTE also held its annual meeting, which was enlivened by an
address from Communications Workers of America Vice President,
T.O. Moses, who said GTE claims to provide quality service, then
gives "abysmal" treatment to employees who must provide that
service, treating them like "disposable diapers." Negotiations
between the CWA and GTE's operating units on new contracts
have already begun.

In Texas, which is served by Southwestern Bell, Republican Public
Utility Commissioner Paul Meek resigned, claiming he was the
victim of "raw partisan politics" in an ethics investigation
by Attorney General Dan Morales. The resignation will give
Governor Ann Richards control of the PUC, and could make it more
friendly to consumer interests. The charges against Meek involved
his ownership of stock in Fina, which supplies natural gas to
electric utilities the PUC regulates.

Finally, Bell Atlantic rolled out the ScanFone service in
San Francisco. Bell Atlantic will run a joint-venture with US
Order of Herndon, Virginia, to push the phones, which include a
bar-code reader, a credit card reader, and a keypad, on consumers
so they can order goods directly from home. In addition to
grocery and catalog shopping, the company hopes to offer home
banking and bill paying services, then add enhanced phone
services down the line. The two companies will get $11 per month
from consumers, plus commissions on transactions made with the
devices.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920416/Press Contact: Jeff Miller,
Communications Workers, 202-434-1172; Ameritech, Steve Ford,
312/750-5205)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 16  ****Chicago Flood Boosts Electronic Trading 04/16/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00026)

 ****Chicago Flood Boosts Electronic Trading 04/16/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 16 (NB) -- The flood which
hit Chicago may have been the final blow against floor-based
trading of financial instruments. The flood, which hit tunnels
under the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Chicago Board of
Trade, killed trading on April 13, and limited trading the following
two days. But it also woke traders up to the fact that they can be
replaced, and that unless they get on-board with technology their
replacements will work elsewhere.

The CME and Board of Trade are already scheduled to offer the
Globex off-floor trading system starting June 25, and new
wireless terminals will be used soon to audit floor trading as
well. But, while New York trading was slowed on the day of the
flood, volume and prices picked up on subsequent days, as traders
learned they could hedge those big-block deals on automated
systems like the London International Financial Futures Exchange,
which has doubled the capacity of its system and extended its
hours to overlap with US markets. Other automated futures
trading systems exist in Germany and Australia, and the New York
Merc is working on its own exchange.

The Chicago Merc has been working with Reuters on Globex since
1988, and the Board of Trade is due to finalize its participation
in May. Four other New York futures markets have also decided to
join Globex, which matches buyers and sellers at identical prices
rather than trying to replicate the "open outcry" system of a
trading floor. The Board of Trade dropped a system called Aurora,
which mimicked the open outcry system on computer screens,
when it agreed earlier this year to join Globex. The Board of trade
also recently bought EJV Brokerage, an automated system trading
US government securities, and will offer use of it to its members.

Meanwhile Reuters, which transformed itself from a news service
into a major market force by offering real-time currency quotes,
said it will launch its automated foreign exchange trade matching
service, part of its Dealing 2000, on April 29. Also, the Paris
Stock Exchange said it will buy Tandem computers to make its
on-line order processing systems more efficient. The Paris Bourse
is the fourth largest stock exchange in the world, after New York,
Tokyo, and London.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920416/Press Contact: Reuters, Robert A.
Crooke, 212-603-3587; Tandem Computers, Glenn LaFrank,
408-285-6435)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 16 Cellular Data Receives Experimental License 04/16/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00027)

Cellular Data Receives Experimental License 04/16/92
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 16 (NB) --
Cellular Data, which wants to establish a packet data network
between cellular phone calling channels, has won an experimental
license from the Federal Communications Commission to test the
system in West Palm Beach, Florida, and San Antonio, Texas.

The FCC licenses follow GTE Mobilnet's successful field testing
confirming the viability of the technology, which can transmit
packet data without interference to voice services. About 50
megahertz of frequency bandwidth is available for cellular
services.

CDI wants to offer transmission speeds of up to 19,200 bits-per-
second (bps), up from 2,400 bps mentioned earlier, by using the
full 30 kilohertz voice channel for data when it is available, and
share revenues with the operators.

The operators, however, must now choose from among CDI's
technology, the RD-LAP technology used by Motorola's ARDIS
joint venture with IBM, and a still unannounced technology from
IBM and McCaw Cellular. CDI says it will offer its system on a
non-exclusive basis.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920416/Press Contact: Cellular Data,
Lee Horsman, 415/964-5474)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 16  ****Apple Earnings Up 2 Percent, But Profit Margins Down 04/16/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00028)

 ****Apple Earnings Up 2 Percent, But Profit Margins Down 04/16/92
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 16 (NB) -- Apple
earnings are slightly up, but its profit margins are still dropping
despite the fact that it continues to lower operating costs, the
company said.

Apple is still crediting sales of its Powerbook notebook computer,
the first notebook computer Apple has ever offered with the two
percent increase in earnings. John Sculley, chairman and chief
executive officer said 200,000 Powerbooks have shipped in the
past two quarters.

Apple reported second quarter 1992 earnings of $135.1 million
($1.09 per share), up from the $131.1 million ($1.37 per share)
reported in the same quarter last year

Although Apple's earnings showed a two percent increase, things
seem to be getting more expensive for Apple. The company said its
profit margins decreased from 48.8 percent to 44 percent offsetting the
overall increase of revenue of 7.4 percent. Revenues went from $1.72
billion from the $1.6 billion reported a year earlier. However, said
Sculley, Apple is progressing since a restructuring last year and noted
that operating expenses as a percentage of sales have dropped for
three straight quarters.

Apple has received more attention than usual with after the ruling in
which US District Court Judge Vaughn Walker granted several
motions in the latest pre-trial hearing of the four-year-old suit filed
against Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard (HP), that charges the
companies copied the Apple Macintosh operating system.

The suit, already narrowed from 189 alleged infringing displays down
to 10 last month, charges Microsoft's Windows and HP's Newwave
copied copyrighted portions of Apple's operating system for the
Macintosh. Apple's General Counsel, Edward B. Stead, said the latest
the ruling "...substantially narrow(s) the areas of dispute in the case."
Apple is asking $5.5 billion in damages in the case, a number it
increased over $1 billion earlier this year during the suit's discovery
process.

Also, despite the success of the sales of the Powerbook, Apple
announced it is reducing prices on the notebook computer again
and starting an promotion called "Easy to buy. Easy to use." The
promotion is to encourage buyers by offering special financing
options and bundled software with the purchase of selected
Macintosh and Powerbook computers.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920416/Press Contact: Cindy McCaffrey,
Apple, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 16  ****Apple Drops Powerbook Prices, Offers Financing Program 04/16/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00029)

 ****Apple Drops Powerbook Prices, Offers Financing Program 04/16/92
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 16 (NB) -- Apple says
it is lowering prices on six of its Powerbook 100 and 140 notebook
computers, introducing new models of the Powerbook 140 and 170
with larger hard disk drives, and offering a special financing program
on certain Mac and Powerbook computers to entice consumers into
buying.

Effective immediately, the suggested retail price (SRP) of the
PowerBook 100 with 2 megabytes (MB) of random access memory
(RAM) and a 20 MB hard disk will be $1,499, a price reduction of 25
percent, Apple said. This is the second reduction for the 100 since its
introduction six months ago -- the first reduction was announced in
February of this year when the price was dropped $300 to $1,999. The
Powerbook 140 with 2 MB of RAM and a 40 MB hard drive has also
been reduced $500 from $3,199 to $2,699, Apple added.

While price reductions on the low end Powerbook attracts attention,
each time Apple has announced Powerbook price reductions it
introduces more expensive Powerbooks with additional memory and
hard disk space. That's due to customer demand, according to Apple,
as users want more hard disk space, more memory, and easier
modem access. However, its a fact of life in the computer industry that
new and improved software requires more RAM and more hard disk
space. A 20 megabyte hard disk has been partuclarly restrictive.

To answer the 20 MB hard disk issue the company said in February it
would offer a hard disk upgrade program this month to Powerbook 100
owners, so they could go from a 20 to a 40 MB hard disk. However,
information has not been announced on the upgrade program yet.

Apple is with this price reduction announcement, introducing new
models of the Powerbook with more memory and more hard disk
space. Five new models of the PowerBook 140 and 170 will now
come standard with either 2 MB or 4 MB of RAM and a 40 MB or
80 MB internal hard disk drive. Suggested retail prices of the new
PowerBook 140 2/80 configuration starts at $2,999, Apple said.

To help consumers pay for the new models, Apple is introducing the
"Easy to Buy. Easy to Use" promotion, which offers finance incentives
with no finance charges and no payments for three months. The program
begins April 15, 1992 and runs through July 5, 1992. The special
financing is only offered for purchases made with an Apple Consumer
Credit Card on any configuration of the Apple Macintosh Classic II,
Macintosh LC, Macintosh LC II, Macintosh PowerBook 100,
PowerBook 140, or PowerBook 170, Apple said. To sweeten the
pot, Apple says it will throw in a copy of Clarisworks, Microsoft
Works, or Symantec Greatworks, but only on purchases of a
Macintosh Classic II, a PowerBook 100, or PowerBook 140.

"Knowing that affordability and value are key elements in purchase
decisions, Apple is making it more convenient than ever to buy a
Macintosh," said Robert Puette, president of Apple USA.

In recent announcements Apple says the Powerbook has been its
best seller and credits the 2 percent increase in overall profits it
reported for its second quarter of this year to Powerbook sales.
Apple maintains it has shipped over 200,000 Powerbooks since the
introduction of the notebook computer last October.

All Macintosh PowerBook computers are equipped with an integrated
trackball and palm rest, a full-size keyboard, and a full-page-width
screen, System 7.0.1, networking capabilities with Appletalk Remote
Access software, a SCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface) port
for connecting peripherals, and a sound-output port and speaker,
Apple said.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920416/Press Contact: Lisa Byrne, Apple,
tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 16 IBM Offers OS/2 2.0 To Windows Users For $49 04/16/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00030)

IBM Offers OS/2 2.0 To Windows Users For $49 04/16/92
CITY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 16 (NB) -- Newsbytes has
learned that IBM is offering its latest version of OS/2 2.0 to owners
of any version of Windows for $49. This is same price Microsoft that
offered Windows users for the upgrade to the new Windows 3.1.

IBM has set up a toll-free number for order and information at 1-800-
3-IBM-OS2 (800-342-6672) and reports are calls to the number have
been brisk. The company is allowing users of the previous releases
(1.2 or 1.3) of OS/2 to upgrade free, and DOS users can have the
product for $99, IBM said.

The new version of OS/2 2.0 is a graphical user interface (GUI) that
meets the common user access (CUA) guidelines, and breaks the
640 kilobyte barrier of DOS, IBM said. The product will run
Windows 3.0 applications.

Between 15 and 30 megabytes (MB) of hard disk space are required
for the OS/2 2.0, IBM support personnel told Newsbytes. Hardware
requirements include 4 MB of random access memory, and a
minimum of a 386SX-based IBM or compatible computer
recommended. Allowing OS/2 2.0 a full 30 MB of hard disk space
is the best option as it improves performance, IBM representatives
said.

Paul Duncanson, president of the Los Angeles OS/2 Users Group
told Newsbytes he has seen both Windows 3.1 and Deskview run
under OS/2 2.0. Duncanson said IBM reported over 10,000 defects
were identified and corrected in version 2.0.

Duncanson said there is an estimated 1.9 million lines of additional
code in C and assembly language in the new OS/2. While there are
problems with the product, such as incompatibility with some video
drivers, Duncanson says he is excited about the product and thinks
it will take off in the user community.

One tidbit, Duncanson says pressing the Ctrl+Alt+Shift+O keys
(O not zero) brings to the screen the names of all the IBM
programmers who worked on OS/2 2.0.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920416/Press Contact: Debra Segal, IBM, tel 914-
642-5377, fax [phone], Paul Duncanson, Los Angeles OS/2 Users
Group, tel [phone])
#ENDCARD




#CARD :1992 APR 15 Cable & Wireless Forms Russian Telecom Joint Venture 04/15/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00001)

Cable & Wireless Forms Russian Telecom Joint Venture 04/15/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 14 (NB) - Cable & Wireless, the
parent company of Mercury Communications, has formed a joint
venture firm -- Metropolitan Communications - with Intertelecom A/O,
a Soviet telecommunications organization.

According to C&W officials, the idea behind the joint venture
company is to provide long distance and international
telecommunications services between Tyumen Oblast, the Soviet
oil-producing area, St. Petersburg and Moscow, and the West.

Announcing the UK side of the joint venture, Lord Young, the
chairman of Cable & Wireless, said that operations will begin
immediately. C&W officials said that the deal has been in the
planning stages for some time, hence the rapid commencement
of operations. The first stage of joint venture operations will
include a feasibility study on the project, Young said.

"The feasibility study will include costs and finance arrangements
which will probably include the World Bank," he told attendees to
the press conference and analyst's meeting in London. "The study
will define this venture both technically and in terms of profitable
growth for Cable and Wireless. Clearly we will only move ahead if
it meets our exacting investment criteria," he added.

Financial details of the joint venture company have not been
disclosed. This is not because of any desire to keep the figures
secret, but a reflection of the fact that, until the feasibility
study is completed, officials with both companies will not know
the scale of investment required, C&W representatives said.

(Steve Gold/19920414)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 15 Management Buyout At Norsk Data's SPC Subsidiary 04/15/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00002)

Management Buyout At Norsk Data's SPC Subsidiary 04/15/92
OSLO, NORWAY, 1992 APR 15 (NB) -- Scientific Project Contractors
(SPC), a division of Norsk Data, has been bought from the parent
company by the management of the division.

No financial details of the management buyout, or what terms the
deal is on, have been released by either party. According to the
latest figures, APC has 19 staff and an annual turnover of 22
million crowns. No profit figures for the division are available.

So why the sale? Again, no real reason has been forthcoming, but
Newsbytes notes that Norsk Data is currently in the middle of a
number of changes which aim to turn the red ink on the balance
sheet black again.

In an official statement released by Norsk Data, the company
said that SPC's business activities fall outside the areas that the
company wants to concentrate on in the future. SPC's current
activities include working on a number of satellite projects.

(Steve Gold/19920415)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 15 Scottish Power Seeks UK's Fourth Telecoms License 04/15/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00003)

Scottish Power Seeks UK's Fourth Telecoms License 04/15/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 15 (NB) -- Scottish Power, one
of the recently-privatized electricity boards (bodies responsible
for the provision of electricity in the UK) has applied for a
telecommunications license from the British government.

The news that the former government-controlled company has
applied for a license breaks barely a week after the British
government announced that National Network, another company,
will become the UK's third telecommunications licensee after British
Telecom and Mercury Communications.

Scottish Power, like many other regional electricity boards in
the UK, has an extensive private telecommunications network that
links its staff located around the region. Cables are laid alongside
the company's existing power distribution network.

Because of the problems associated with running low-power
electrical cables alongside high-tension power distribution
cables, much of the network is fiber optic-based, which experts
say places Scottish Power in a strong position to offer high-
capacity leased line links.

According to Scottish Power, there are no plans to offer a full
public service at the moment. The company is primarily interested
in offering a leased line point-to-point service in Scotland,
although a possible link-up with a partner in England would mean
network expansion is a fairly easy option.

(Steve Gold/19920415/Press Contact: Scottish Power,
041-637-7177)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 15 Japan-US Media Technology Development Project Planned 04/15/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00004)

Japan-US Media Technology Development Project Planned 04/15/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 15 (NB) -- The Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT) and Japanese hightech firms will jointly develop
next generation technologies. According to Japan's major
newspaper, the Asahi, this project is expected to start in about three
years.

Interestingly, the research laboratory will be created in Japan.
A total of 16 Japanese firms will participate in this project. These
firms will develop a very basic technology for next generation
media devices, which may be include a three-dimensional
television set. Also, they will develop advanced robots, which will
be intended to be closer to human beings. The technologies are
likely to be so experimental that it will take 20 to 30 years until they
are actually applied.

The newspaper says this project is being backed up by the
Japanese Diet members and the American Senators. The steering
organization called "International Media Research Foundation" was
already set up by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry
and the Education Ministry.

The participating firms will include Matsushita Electric, NEC, and
Sony. The organization has received a request by Korean firms,
Samsung and Goldstar, to join this project.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920415)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 15 Mitsui Bussan Trading To Develop Japanese MicroPhone II 04/15/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00005)

Mitsui Bussan Trading To Develop Japanese MicroPhone II 04/15/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 15 (NB) -- Japan's major trading firm
Mitsui Bussan has signed an agreement with California-based
Software Ventures. The agreement calls for Mitsui Bussan to
develop a Japanese version of the company's communications
program "MicroPhone II," in Japan.

MicroPhone II is equipped with a powerful automatic navigation
feature. The Japanese version of the communications program
will mainly be developed by Mitsui Bussan, with the company
receiving technical advice from Software Ventures. It is expected
that the Japanese version of MicroPhone II will be ready for
release around this summer. The price is still unknown.

MicroPhone II was originally developed for the Macintosh.
However, versions of the program were recently developed for
MS-Windows and the NeXT computer.

Mitsui Bussan will make the Japanese versions of the program for
all the same platforms -- the Macintosh, Windows, and NeXT.

Mitsui Bussan has entered the personal computer business
recently, and has been selling Taiwanese manufactured IBM-
compatible PCs in Japan. However, it will the first time that the firm
has developed and marketed software for personal computers.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920415/Press Contact: Mitsui Bussan
Digital, [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 15 Borland To Buy Development Tools From Software Dev. Co. 04/14/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00006)

Borland To Buy Development Tools From Software Dev. Co. 04/14/92
MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 14 (NB) -- Borland
has announced at its Second Annual International Developer's
Conference in Monterey, that it is purchasing two professional
programming tools from the Software Developer's Company. The
tools are a text editor, called Brief, and a network version control
system for large programming projects, called Sourcer's Apprentice.

Both tools, developed by the Solution Systems' division of Software
Developer's Company, have been popular tools for programmers,
especially Brief.

While Borland and other manufacturer's provide editors with their
programming languages in integrated development environments,
those editors are often not tools to use in depth. Brief, an editor
much like a word processor, provides the programmer a vanilla
text environment with the ability to move text around, and open
multiple windows. It also provides search and replace capabilities
beyond those of most word processing tools, and an extensive
macro language so programmers can create their own utilities for
functions they perform often.

The Sourcer's Apprentice offers advantages to programmers
working in a large, networking environment. These include functions
to archive software and "check out" of modules of code that then no
other programmer can access while a member of the team is
working on it.

Gene Wang, vice president and general manager of Borland's
Languages Business Unit said: "Professional programmers have
been asking us to provide additional programming support tools
for more productivity and to help them manage an increasingly
complex development process."

Borland plans to offer the tools as add-ons for its programming
language tools for DOS, Windows, and OS/2, Wang said.

While the deal still hinges on a few contingencies, Borland is
confident the transaction will be completed soon.

Scotts Valley, California-based Borland is known in the computer
programming world for its products for professional software
development, including Paradox, dBASE, Interbase, Quattro Pro,
Objectvision, Borland C++, and Turbo Pascal.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920415/Press Contact: Cathy Caplener,
Borland, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 15 Sunsoft Releases Development Tools For Solaris 2.0 04/15/92




(NEWS)(UNIX)(LAX)(00007)

Sunsoft Releases Development Tools For Solaris 2.0 04/15/92
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 15 (NB) --
Sunsoft, the software division of Sun Microsystems, is focusing on
the next generation of graphical user interface (GUI) products for
Sparc stations and Intel-based computers, and says the
introduction of its Solaris 2.0 Master Developer Series is a step
in that direction.

The Solaris 2.0 Master Developer Series is a collection of third-
party tools available to help speed the software development
process, Sunsoft said. Sunsoft said it wants developers to get a
head start so applications will be ready to run on the Solaris 2.0
operating system when it ships this summer.

Solaris 2.0 is a 32-bit operating system that is planned to operate
on Intel 386, 486, and higher-based computers as well as on Sparc
workstations. Sunsoft has a program for application developers it
calls the Solaris 2.0 Migration program and the company says over
550 developers have enrolled. Autodesk, Cadence Design
Systems, and Gain Technology have all endorsed the new tools
and have enrolled in the Migration program, Sunsoft said.

The Master Series Sunsoft is introducing includes: compilers for
assembly, debugging and code analysis capabilities for a range of
languages; object-oriented database management tools that allow
developers to scale performance for distributed applications; and
Graphical User Environment (GUE) software for developers to
visually design and test user interfaces, the company maintains.

Sun has already said it plans give Intel and Microsoft a run for their
money by moving into the IBM and compatible market. The company
has reduced prices on Sparcstations and hired developers away
from Apple to work on its next generation GUI systems. Sunsoft
representative Amal Abed said the Sparc version of the Solaris 2.0
system is expected in June of this year, with the Intel-based version
following 90 days later.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920415/Press Contact: Laura Ramsey,
Sunsoft, 415-336-0739; Amal Abed, Hi-Tech Public Relations,
tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 15  ****AMD Intros Low Power Flash Memory 04/15/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00008)

 ****AMD Intros Low Power Flash Memory 04/15/92
SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 15 (NB) -- Advanced
Micro Devices (AMD) says it has developed the industry's first
flash memory that requires only five-volts of power to rewrite, called
the Am29F010.

Flash memory or non-volitile memory is memory that can be
rewritten and retains the information even without a power source.
John Greenagel of AMD, told Newsbytes that up until now a
computer had to have access to a 12-volt power source in order
to write to flash memory, which meant a computer sometimes had
to have a second power supply to got from five to 12-volts. The
new AMD device has eliminated that problem, Greenagel said.

Dell is currently using Intel's flash memory for its basic
input/output systems (BIOS) that then allows an upgrade of
the peripherals and drives the computer can support without
the physical replacement of the BIOS chip itself.

Newsbytes asked if AMD expected problems with Intel over the
development of this new flash memory since Intel already is
fighting AMD over microprocessor technology. Greenagle
responded by saying: "We have an undisputed patent cross-
license agreement with Intel that is much stronger in its wording
than former agreements. We don't expect any problems here."

The new memory chip also includes a flexible 16 kilobyte (KB)
sector erase architecture that offers advantages in applications
that selectively reprogram portions of the flash memory array,
while leaving the rest of the memory contents fixed.

"This feature is especially important in BIOS code storage
applications, memory cards, and embedded control
applications," said Richard Forte, group vice president of
AMD's Programmable Logic and Non-Volatile Memory
Divisions.

Greenagel said this new technology will be important in
areas such as missile targeting, supermarket checkout
machines, and automobiles, as well as computers. "The market
for this is enormous," Greenagel said.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920415/Press Contact: John Greenagel,
AMD, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 15 Second Tempest Firm Faces Closing 04/15/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(WAS)(00009)

Second Tempest Firm Faces Closing 04/15/92
MCLEAN, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 15 (NB) -- Donald D.
Iverson's 13-year-old computer company, which specialized in
defeating the KGB's James Bond types by building Tempest
computers which emitted no radiation that could be captured and
interpreted by undesirable elements, may, according to documents
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, be about to
follow Tempest Technologies, its former competitor, by going
out of business.

The demand for the expensive, heavily shielded Tempest
computers has declined with the amelioration of the cold war
and other factors.

With revenues formerly in the $60 million range, Iverson has
recently seen sales volume decline to less than $40 million last
year, with a tiny backlog, resulting in a stream of losses which
has brought the once high-flying stock down into the penny stock
range.

From a peak of 170 employees, Iverson's full-time payroll has
dropped by about 20 percent.

Seeing the writing on the wall, Iverson has opened a number of
Iverson PC Factory Warehouse computer stores in an attempt to
wean its sales from the heavy dependance on government
funding, but total sales for those stores and for its mail-order
operations have not yet reached the $10 million mark.

Its last major contract was with the FBI, and the company is now
involved in an investigation of possible fraudulent activities by
an unnamed party to the contract. According to the Washington
Post, Iverson's line of bank credit expires at the end of April.

(John McCormick/19920415)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 15 Claris Offers Another Mac Spring Promotion 04/15/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00010)

Claris Offers Another Mac Spring Promotion 04/15/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 14 (NB) -- Claris
has unveiled another spring promotion in their continuing efforts to
cement the company's reputation as the major software provider
for the Macintosh. This promotion, like the others, began on April 1
and is scheduled to run through July 31 of this year.

Claris officials have told Newsbytes that they are interested in
making their products affordable as well as powerful. The string
of promotions that have been announced to date, including the
one currently, are simply part of that trend which is expected to
continue. The officials were not willing to speculate on the form
of future promotions beyond stating that there are some
"in the works."

The current promotion bundles Claris' MacProject II together
with Attain's In Control to-do list manager. Company officials have
stated that they see a natural synergy between the two products.
People who purchase MacProject II are normally concerned with
controlling and managing projects. Such people typically have
many tasks to perform during a working day and a significant
percentage are likely to use the to-do list method of organizing
their daily activities. Hence, it makes sense to attract them with a
to-do list organizer in addition to MacProject II.

Attain has been shipping In Control since December of last year.
According to Attain officials, this promotion is further evidence of
the growing acceptance of In Control. Both Claris and Attain
officials claim that Claris has no intention of purchasing the
program or the company and bringing it under the Claris label.
Both sides maintain that once the promotion ends, they will
continue as before.

Another interesting question concerns payment for In Control,
since Claris is not the owner of the software. According to Attain
officials, the agreement between the two companies calls for Claris
to be simply a very large and important reseller for Attain. For
each copy given away, Claris pays Attain. Claris officials would not
confirm or deny this, claiming, as a private company, they do
not reveal such details.

(Naor Wallach/19920415/Press Contact: Ines Anderson, Claris,
408-987-7154; Alan Albert, Attain Corporation, 617-776-1110)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 15 Synoptics Signs Up More Customer Support Partners 04/15/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00011)

Synoptics Signs Up More Customer Support Partners 04/15/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 15 (NB) -- The
Customer support program that Synoptics announced in January is
picking up steam with the addition of ten more resellers to the roster
of participating companies.

Just added were: Advanced Business Solutions, Acquila
Technologies, Data Net, Data Systems Marketing, Hagen Kurth
Perman & Co., KLF, Memorex Telex, Peripheral Innovations
WilTel Data Network Services, and Woods Network Services.

Michael Clair, Synoptics senior vice president of worldwide sales
and customer support, said: "Synoptics' Authorized Customer
Support Partner Program nutures quality relationships with VARs
(value-added resellers) by recognizing and rewarding substantial
investments by our partners in technical staffing, training, test
equipment, and service capabilities. As LAN (local area network)
products become more complex, the technical capabilities of our
channel's systems and customer engineers are stretched to their
limits. This program recognizes different customer requirements
and improves end user customer support by recognizing VARs
who provide exceptional service and support capabilities."

According to the company, to become a partner, Synoptics VARs
must pass through a rigorous qualification process that includes
having a dedicated support hotline, continuous training of
personnel, guaranteed response times to customer complaints,
and specified levels of spare parts and test equipment. Even
then Synoptics continuously monitors the performance of their
VARs and rates them periodically with an eye towards
disqualifying those who do not measure up.

(Naor Wallach/19920415/Press Contact: Kristina Thorngate,
Synoptics, 408-764-1046)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 15 Microdyne Offers Pre-Configured Netware Comms Servers 04/15/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00012)

Microdyne Offers Pre-Configured Netware Comms Servers 04/15/92
ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 15 (NB) -- Local area
network (LAN) companies are striving to make LAN installations
easier to use and more friendly to install.

Hopefully the days of the harried network administrator who curses
every time a change is necessary are coming to a close. This will
become especially true if products like Microdyne's newly
introduced Netware Access Server become commonplace.

According to the company, Netware Access Server is a complete,
pre-configured, Netware capable and ready communications server.
Customers can order it in either a four-port or eight-port version with
other options that detail the kind of network media it is to run on.
When the box arrives at the customer site, all the network
administrator needs to do is unpack it, plug the appropriate
cabling, and run the installation software. The device does the rest.

The Netware Access Server allows remote users to dial in and
receive access to all of the Novell Netware services that one would
have if one were on the network itself. This includes access to such
services as applications, printers, and modems. The software runs
the application on the server PC itself and only transmits keyboard
and screen I/O (input/output) information between the remote
computers so as to save valuable time. The remote user can even
call in on one port and use a program that dials out of another port to
make a call to a separate remote computer.

Microdyne has been noted to date for picking up service and
support on Novell's hardware products. This latest idea is unique in
several respects: first, it is the first all-in-one implementation that
exists today; secondly, this marks the first time that Microdyne is
reselling Novell software with its own designs; and thirdly, Novell
believes that this approach has a lot of merit and intend to broaden
their relationship with Microdyne in other directions.

Another similar product announced is Microdyne's Netware
Asynchronous Communications Server (NACS). This product
allows for dial-out capability to be shared among all the users of
the network. The NACS software is Novell developed and can be
bought separately, directly from Novell. Microdyne's contribution
is to put it together with a server PC and offer it to customers as a
totally pre-configured product.

Both products are available immediately from Novell and
Microdyne resellers. Pricing is as follows: 4-Port 10Base-2, $8,995;
4-Port 10Base-T, $8,995; 4-Port Token Ring, $9,695; 8-Port
10Base-2, $13,995; 8-Port 10Base-T, $13,995; 8-Port Token Ring,
$14,695.

(Naor Wallach/19920415/Press Contact: Bill Jeppesen, Novell,
408-747-4236; Neal Sanders, Microdyne, 703-739-0500)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 15 Hong Kong: DEC Names Heerjee Head Of Open Systems Team 04/15/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(HKG)(00013)

Hong Kong: DEC Names Heerjee Head Of Open Systems Team 04/15/92
SHAUKEIWAN, HONG KONG, 1992 APR 15 (NB) -- Digital
Equipment Corporation has appointed Dr. Kaizad Heerjee as Asia
Region Open Systems Manager to reinforce its position in this
important sector of the market. Dr. Heerjee will be responsible for
increasing Digital's open systems market share in Asia by creating
and managing regional marketing and support programs.

As client-server computing, team computing, and distributed
computing are closely related to open systems, Dr Heerjee will
also manage marketing and support activities in these areas.

"Through our participation in initiatives such as OSF, ACE and most
recently Alpha, Digital has come to occupy the high ground in open
systems technology," said Dr Heerjee. "We are totally committed to
bringing the benefits of our ground-breaking R&D in these areas to
our Asia Region customers."

As a co-founder of the Open Software Foundation, Digital has been
active in promoting open systems for more than 20 years. In January,
the company became the first vendor in the industry to introduce a
production version of the OSF/1 operating system.

Dr Heerjee has been working in the opens systems arena for more
than 10 years. Until his latest appointment, he was a software
consultant at Digital Asia. He came to Asia in 1990 from Digital in
the UK, where he was Open Systems Specialist.

(Norman Wingrove/19920415/Press Contact: Walter Cheung,
Digital, [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 15 Hong Kong: Davidson To Head EDS' CAD/CAM Operations 04/15/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(HKG)(00014)

Hong Kong: Davidson To Head EDS' CAD/CAM Operations 04/15/92
WANCHAI, HONG KONG, 1992 APR 15 (NB) -- EDS (Electronic
Data Systems) has announced the appointment of Donald E.
Davidson as managing director of EDS' CAD/CAM (computer-aided
design/manufacturing) operations in the Asia-Pacific region.

In this role he will be responsible for marketing the UNIGRAPHICS
CAD/CAM/CAE systems and GDS, an object-orientated database,
designed to meet the needs of the CAD and GIS (geographical
information systems) markets.

The announcement follows EDS' acquisition last year of McDonnell
Douglas Corporation's CAD/CAM business and the relocation of the
Asia-Pacific portion of this business to Hong Kong.

Davidson joined McDonnell Douglas in 1986 as director of finance
administration for the Asia-Pacific region. In 1989 he became
director of business operations for the Far East, based in the United
States and in November 1991 he transitioned to EDS as a result of
the acquisition.

"My move to the Hong Kong headquarters will enable us to better
focus and direct the sales and support of UNIGRAPHICS and GDS
in Japan, Australasia, PRC, Singapore and Taiwan," said Davidson.
"The manufacturing and engineering industries, particularly the
mechanical CAD/CAM sector, is an important business area for EDS.
In addition, through GDS we have unrivalled opportunities to increase
our market penetration in the CAD and GIS markets. I am looking
forward to working with the other EDS business units to maximize the
high level of service we offer to our customers, a service that will
enable them to meet their business objectives now and in the future."

Before joining McDonnell Douglas in 1986, Davidson spent 14 years
with Itel Corporation. For six years he was based in Europe, first as
controller of operations and then as general manager responsible
for developing the company's financial services business.

EDS provides consulting, systems development, systems
integration and systems management services aimed to enable
companies to achieve and sustain competitive advantage by
improving their market reach, customer response time, product
quality, and cost.

(Norman Wingrove/19920415/Press Contact: Donald E. Davidson,
EDS, [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 15 Hong Kong Telecom Launches Auto Hong Kong Direct Service 04/15/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(HKG)(00015)

Hong Kong Telecom Launches Auto Hong Kong Direct Service 04/15/92
WANCHAI, HONG KONG, 1992 APR 15 (NB) -- Hong Kong Telecom
will launch the latest enhancement to its Hong Kong Direct service
on April 15. "Auto Hong Kong Direct" will enable calling card holders
to make cashless direct dialled calls to the territory from any tone-dial
telephone overseas without speaking to an operator.

The first countries from which the new service will be available are
Japan, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Sweden, while others
will join the network soon. All Auto Hong Kong Direct calls from these
countries will be charged in six second units at Hong Kong outgoing
IDD (international direct dial) rates, which are among the cheapest
in the world.

Calls, which are subject to a HK$2 (US$0.23) service charge, are
charged to the customer's monthly calling card account, so that
payment is made in Hong Kong dollars.

"Since Auto Hong Kong Direct calls are charged at inexpensive
IDD rates in six second units, travelling executives are likely to
use this service to make short calls of less than three minutes, the
minimum charge rate for operator-connected Hong Kong direct
calls," said Simon Tsui, international product marketing manager
at Hong Kong Telephone.

(Norman Wingrove/19920415/Press Contact: Simon Tsui, HK
Telecom, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 15 Telecoms Leading US Out of Recession? 04/15/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00016)

Telecoms Leading US Out of Recession? 04/15/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 15 (NB) -- Early indications
are that telecommunications earnings may be leading the US out of
its recession, pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average to record
levels.

Motorola's earnings rose eight percent for the quarter ending in
March, to $127 million, while GTE's earnings more than doubled,
to $427 million. AT&T's earnings were also up, in line with
analyst expectations. The GTE gain was extraordinary, fueled
by job cuts after its acquisition of Contel. Excluding the costs a
year ago of that acquisition, GTE earnings were up just seven
percent, but analysts expect more gains as the impact of cost
cutting becomes apparent.

While the telecom firms' earnings are rising, their stock prices
are generally missing the rally, however. That is because the
profit rises are modest, indicating a slow recovery. Instead, the
biggest gains in the rally are going to consumer goods companies
and those with material overseas interests. While the phone firms
have large, growing operations internationally, the results are
not material to their balance sheets.

That could change, as the phone firms expand international
operations. This week PacTel took 20 percent of a mobile
phone net being operated by Bouygues in Paris and the Centre
regions of France. PacTel already has pieces of cellular phone
operations in Portugal and Germany, as well as investments in
Japan.

On the domestic front, the regional Bells continue to launch
new information services aimed at preempting any moves by
Congress to take them out of those areas.

Ameritech announced two, the first an information network for
Wisconsin's health care industry. The Wisconsin Health Information
Network, or WHIN, is a gateway linking the computer systems of
hospitals, physicians, laboratories, employers, insurance firms and
others. Ameritech also entered the vehicle location business, with
an offering called MobileVision, which will assist in the location of
stolen vehicles and let truck operators track their fleets. It is based
on the cellular phone network of Ameritech Mobile, and is a
joint-venture with an Indianapolis company.

Finally, BellSouth agreed to co-market PictureTel's
videoconferencing systems in conjunction with BellSouth's digital
network services. PictureTel's equipment requires digital lines
at speeds of 56,000 bits-per-second or more to work, while
BellSouth has been seeking markets to justify its move to digital
services for years.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920415/Press Contact: Ameritech, Steve
Ford, 312-750-5205; BellSouth, Robert Morrow, 404-529-8169,
PacTel, Susan Rosenberg, 510-210-3910)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 15 Wireless Cable Lottery Spurring Scams 04/15/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00017)

Wireless Cable Lottery Spurring Scams 04/15/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 APR 15 (NB) -- The Federal
Communications Commission's lottery of rights to operate wireless
cable systems is becoming a hotbed for con-men, according to
federal and state officials.

The Bush Administration has said it wants to end the lottery
process and award new frequencies based on auctions, while
Congress wants hearings and awards based on a "public interest"
test. But until all that is sorted out, lotteries, in which people
file applications and the agency chooses winners by lot, are the
way the agency will allocate rights.

The current controversy involves wireless cable television, a
technology using microwave radio technology to transmit TV
programs to viewers' homes, bypassing wired cable systems. The
low capacity of such systems, compared with the high capacity of
existing wired cable systems, makes them a risky business
proposition in large cities wired for cable, but that has not
stopped the con artists.

So far, 18 state securities agencies have investigated or taken
action against suspected scams in Georgia, with Illinois and Florida
adding their voices in the form of press releases and warnings from
state officials. The Federal Trade Commission has also been
investigating lottery fraud, and has filed three lawsuits.

Florida Comptroller, Gerald Lewis, who regulates the state's
banks, claimed at a news conference that "boiler room" operations
touting license lotteries have taken in $50 million nationwide.
He said the con artists claim that for $5,000 they can virtually
guarantee a successful application. The actual filing fee is
$155, and over 36,000 applications have been received so far,
according to the FCC.

Illinois Secretary of State George Ryan estimated in a press
statement that investors have risked $75 million on the schemes,
and his office has taken action against two such companies in that
state. The FCC has been granting wireless cable licenses for nine
years, but fewer than 170 such systems are actually up and running,
he added, indicating the business risk is considerable since
wireless cable works only in a "line of sight" from a central antenna
to a subscriber.

Later this year, the FCC will launch a second and, perhaps, more
lucrative lottery process. This will be for new frequencies to
run communications adjuncts to interactive TV systems like that
offered by TV Answer of Reston, Virginia. TV Answer has won
agreement from Hewlett-Packard to make set-top converters for
its system, which will offer banking, shopping, information, and
games. In this lottery, however, winning bidders will be forced
to build-out at least half their systems before selling their
interests. Applications will cost about $5,000-$10,000, depending
on the size of the market applied for, and total costs to winning
bidders are estimated at $150,000-$250,000, again depending
on the size of the market.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920415/Press Contact: FCC Press,
202-632-5050)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 15 Latin American Phone Update 04/15/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00018)

Latin American Phone Update 04/15/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 15 (NB) -- Despite Peru's
coup, North American and European phone companies remain
anxious to invest in South America. Some may be a bit too anxious.

Telefonica of Spain is appealing a ruling that it cannot hold
stakes in both of Chile's main phone companies. Barring a win
before the nation's Supreme Court, the Spanish company now has
18 months to dispose of either its 20 percent holding in Chile's
Entel or its 44 percent stake in Telefonos de Chile. Telefonica
also owns a major stake in one of Argentina's two local phone
companies.

Meanwhile, Northern Telecom made a bid for the budding Brazilian
market by signing a telecom research agreement with a unit of
that nation's Telebras phone system. Under the deal BNR,
Northern's research arm, and Telebras' CPqD research arm, will
undertake joint research in managing intelligent networks. The
Brazilian government has expressed interest in selling Telebras,
which runs 27 local phone companies and the Embratel long
distance network.

Finally, Mexico said it has raised about $16 billion through
sales of state-owned companies, starting with TelMex and 15
banks. Mexico's asset sales have started a boom in that economy
which other Latin countries want to emulate through their own
asset sales, but even the $16 billion figure raised by Mexico is
a small portion of the nation's enormous debts, run-up during the
1970's oil boom. Instead, the asset sales increased confidence in
the Mexican economy, leading to new investments from other
countries, especially the US, and new loans for the government.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920415/Press Contact: Northern Telecom,
John Callahan, 703/712-8511)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 15 New For PC: New Bible Software Searches By Subject 04/15/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00019)

New For PC: New Bible Software Searches By Subject 04/15/92
HIAWATHA, IOWA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 15 (NB) -- Parsons
Technology has announced Naves Topical Bible software for
users who want to locate all bible verses related to a particular
topic. The program contains 100,000 references divided into
5,000 main topics and 25,000 subtopics.

Unlike most bible verse programs, which require the user to enter
a word or a phrase, Naves Topical Bible locates passages
specifically related to any area of interest. The subject word
does not have to appear in the verse, the company claims.

Used in conjunction with QuickVerse 2.0, Naves Topical Bible
permits tailoring a search more specifically. For example,
searching for the word "love" in all verses under the topic
"marriage" would produce only those verses relating to love
in the context of marriage. Topics can also be cross-referenced.

In addition to use by students of the Bible, Parsons said the
program could also be used to prepare sermons, Sunday
School lessons, or Bible study lessons. The user can produce
an outline to include verse references or the entire text of verses
as well as the topic and subtopic headings. Outlines can be saved
or printed to a file for use with a word processing program.

Naves Topical Bible has a suggested list price of $39, and requires
an IBM PC or compatible, QuickVerse 2.0, and a hard drive with 1.5
megabytes (MB) of available storage space. QuickVerse is a Bible
concordance program available in seven different languages.
QuickVerse costs $69 for the first language, and $39 for each
additional language.

(Jim Mallory/19920415/Press Contact: Anne Rawland, Parsons
Technology, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 15 New For PC: Vycor Releases Help Desk Software 04/15/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00020)

New For PC: Vycor Releases Help Desk Software 04/15/92
BERWYN HEIGHTS, MARYLAND, U.S.A., 1992 APR 15 (NB) --
Vycor Corporation has released Helpline, a program for PCs that
automates the help desk functions of a company to improve
service, facilitate problem resolution, and improve maintenance.

Help desks are in-house departments or independent services
that provide support for PC users. Programs like Helpline record
user problems and their respective answers, so that information
can be recalled and used to assist other users who experience
the same problem.

Helpline is especially designed for in-house technical support,
according to the Vycor announcement. The help desk operator
logs in specific information, calls up the configuration of the caller's
system, and is shown a listing of similar problems, and the
appropriate answers.

If none of the available answers solve the current problem, the
operator can refer the call to a technically qualified person, or a
work order can be created and referred to a third party contact.
Whatever action is taken, it is automatically added to the data base,
increasing the information available for future problem resolution.

"Helpline provides a safety net for help desk calls," according to
Vycor's Dave Mitchell, VP of marketing. Mitchell says calls are
never lost and a permanent record of all calls and resolutions is
created. Mitchell says Helpline also allows for trend analysis to
identify areas needing special attention.

Helpline can also be used to create a user profile to identify the
user's station by equipment installed, location, jack and phone
numbers, and user ID. Keyword searches can generate problem
reports by equipment classification or subcomponent. Used by
service technicians, those reports can help identify recurring
problems at particular workstations or with certain types of
equipment, claims the company.

Helpline can also produce status reports to detail open and
closed calls and work orders. The program costs $1,295 for a
single-user version and $3,495 for a five server network.

Helpline includes modules to manage PC inventory, track and
schedule maintenance, track calls, record vendor and contractor
information, and other useful tasks. A utilities manager handles
import and export of file information, setup up of printers and a
mouse.

Vycor said it will demonstrate Helpline at AFCOM in Nashville,
Tennessee April 26-30.

(Jim Mallory/19920415/Press Contact: Alyce Couf, Vycor
Corporation, 301-231-9393)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 15 Motorola, Integrated Systems In Reseller Agreement 04/15/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00021)

Motorola, Integrated Systems In Reseller Agreement 04/15/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 15 (N) -- The Microprocessor
and Memory Technologies Group of Motorola has announced that
it has signed a reseller agreement with Software Components
Group (SCG) to bundle SCG's real-time operating system with
Motorola's 68000 family of microcprocessors.

Under terms of the agreement, Motorola will sell the pSOS+
operating system family with the 68000 chips targeted for embedded
control applications. Embedded controls are used in the aerospace,
automotive, computer peripherals, defense, electronic and medical
instrumentation, factory automation, office equipment, and
telecommunications industries.

SCG is a division of Integrated Systems, Inc. "Motorola needs
partners that offer excellent products backed by strong
international support networks. ISI is just that," said 68000
family Manager for marketing and applications, Jim Reinhart.

The pSOS+ product family is immediately available through
Motorola sales channels for about $7,000 per development kit. The
kit consists of pSOS+ real-time kernel and pROBE+ debugger
development  packages. ISI says it will support the pSOS+
development kit.

The companies said the agreement is nonexclusive. Motorola
said it will continue to support other real-time operating systems
vendors.

(Jim Mallory/19920415/Press Contact: Patty Kachmer, Cunningham
Communications for Motorola, 617-494-8202; Guy Occhipinti,
Integrated Systems, 408-980-1500)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 15 Iomega First Quarter Earnings, Income, Up Slightly 04/15/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00022)

Iomega First Quarter Earnings, Income, Up Slightly 04/15/92
ROY, UTAH, U.S.A., 1992 APR 15 (NB) -- Iomega Corporation has
announced sales for the first quarter were $33.1 million, up from
$31.5 million for the same period last year. Net income was
reported at $1.8 million, or $0.11 per share for the quarter.

The company said the increased sales are the result of strong
performance in the distribution channels of its 90 megabyte (MB)
5.25-inch products which were announced in July 1991. Offsetting
sales through distribution channels was a $2.6 million decline in
sales to federal government agencies.

The Bernoulli 90, available for use with Unix, IBM-compatible, and
Macintosh systems includes Central Point backup software to
provide 180 megabytes of data storage. Single and dual systems
are available.

Newsbytes reported earlier this month that Iomega had signed a
distribution deal with Access graphics, Government Technologies
Services, and Sun Microsystems Federal for those three companies
to distribute Iomega removable drives to various markets.

Iomega's announcement said that operating expenses increased
by $1.5 million for the quarter due to increased expenses related to
its expanded European operations, and higher spending incurred in
domestic sales and marketing to expand the sales force and
product marketing organization.

Iomega manufacturers and sells removable mass storage
products for use with desktop computers.

(Jim Mallory/19920415/Press Contact: Paul Slack, Iomega
Corporation, 801-778-1000)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 15 CA President Anthony Wang Leaving 04/15/92

(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00023)

CA President Anthony Wang Leaving 04/15/92
ISLANDIA, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 APR 15 (NB) -- Anthony Wang,
president and chief operating officer of Computer Associates, has
announced his retirement. Wang, 49, will remain a director and a
consultant to the software company.

Wang's brother, Chairman and Chief Executive, Charles Wang, who
founded Computer Associates in 1976, will assume his duties. There
are no immediate plans to look for a new president, company
spokeswoman Deborah Coughlin told Newsbytes.

Coughlin said Anthony Wang, who had been with the 16-year-old
company for 13 years, "had wanted to do this for a while. He had a
number of other interests and he just didn't want to let life pass
him by." Wang has gradually been removing himself from the
day-to-day operations of the company, Coughlin said, and his
resignation did not come as a surprise within the company.

Wang left now because it was the beginning of the company's
fiscal year and "this is the time when changes would take place,"
Coughlin said.

Computer Associates is among the world's largest software
vendors. It has grown rapidly in recent years, largely through
acquisitions. The most recent of these were the purchases of
Pansophic Systems and On-Line Software, both of which took
place early last fall. The company reported revenues of more
than $1,400 million last year.

(Grant Buckler/19920415/Press Contact: Deborah Coughlin,
Computer Associates, 516-227-3300 ext. 7222)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 15 CSC Exchange: "Reengineering" As Productivity Remedy 04/15/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00024)

CSC Exchange: "Reengineering" As Productivity Remedy 04/15/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, 1992 APR 15 (NB) -- A legacy
handed down by the likes of Adam Smith and Henry Ford is
preventing productivity in the 1990s, said Dr. Michael Hammer,
head of Hammer and Company, Inc., during a session this week
at CSC Exchange, a forum on technological and marketplace
change.

To compete more effectively on the global level, US companies
must reengineer, or redesign, their basic operations, stated
Hammer.  A new emphasis on customer service must replace the
rigid task orientation of today, and this transformation must be
supported by the appropriate technological tools.

"The trouble that we're in right now has absolutely nothing to
do with finance and absolutely everything to do with operations.
The way we're organizing work is a total disaster," commented
Hammer, to an audience packed with hundreds of senior I/S and
business executives from throughout the US.

Some firms, such as IBM Credit Corp., have already broken with
tradition, he acknowledged, but many more remain mired in
practices rooted in the Industrial Revolution. In these companies,
lower level jobs are too narrowly defined, resulting in work load
fragmentation. The middle and upper tiers contain too many layers
of supervisors and managers, who are forced to spend more of
their time evaluating workers' performance than producing
innovative ideas, he remarked.

"On those rare occasions when a new idea does emerge, it must
go all the way to the top in order to succeed. The idea won't make
it up the ladder if even one person along the line says 'No.'  And
if the idea does get to the top, the person in charge doesn't know
what to do with it. A task force is formed, and by the time the idea
comes out of committee, the individual who commissioned the
task force might very well be dead," said Hammer.

Hammer explained that the concept of breaking down work into
small steps was first promoted in 1776, when Adam Smith lauded
the 18 specialized positions at a pin company in the book Wealth
of Nations.

Henry Ford went on to apply the notion in developing the
assembly line, using the technology available in his day. The
practice was further refined by Frederick Taylor, the father of
"scientific management," whose work was immortalized in the
Clarence Day novel Life with Father.

"From 1776 to 1976, Adam Smith's prescriptions worked.  But
not any longer," he attested. In the interim, competition has
intensified, customers have become more sophisticated,
and employees have gained new skills, he noted.

A successful reengineering effort involves a fundamental
rethinking of work processes, as well as the creative use of
information technology, delineated Hammer, who holds a Ph.D.
in computer science from MIT. "If the operational processes
remain obsolete, it won't do any good to bring in new systems.
We'll only be tinkering with what we had before," he warned.

One successful endeavor, the reengineering undertaking at IBM
Credit Corp., has used job restructuring, together with software
integration and a new telecommunications system, to cut the
average order turnaround time from six days to four hours, he said.
At this division of IBM, which sells credit plans to purchasers of IBM
equipment, the tasks of credit checking, pricing, terms and
conditions, and issuance were previously handled by four different
clerks.

Now, though, through the newly created position of "deal structurer,"
each order is being processed by one employee, from start to finish.
For help with especially difficult orders, deal structurers can call on
professional specialists, communicating with them via the new
telecommunications system.

Usually, though, a deal structurer acts alone, assisted only by an
expert system that is incorporated into the new software. The
software brings together, under a common front end, four
applications that the clerks has been using separately.

The shortened turnaround time that comes with the change is
making customers less likely to change their minds and cancel
their orders before the process is complete, said Hammer.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920415)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 15 CSC Exchange: Artificial Intelligence Has Hit the Mainstream 04/15/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SFO)(00025)

CSC Exchange: Artificial Intelligence Has Hit the Mainstream 04/15/92
CAMBRIDGE. MASSACHUSETTS, 1992 APR 15 (NB) -- If you
haven't heard much about artificial intelligence lately, rest assured
that the field is flourishing, advised Edward Luczak, senior
consulting engineer at Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC).

Artificial intelligence is settling down into the mainstream,
and it's precisely for this reason that the discipline has receded
from the spotlight, said Luczak, delivering his comments at CSC
Exchange, a conference the market research and consulting firm
is conducting this week.

"Two years ago, artificial intelligence was the big topic of
industry debate everywhere you turned. Now, the attention has
shifted to younger cutting-edge technologies, such as virtual
reality and object oriented programming," Luczak remarked.

Over the same time period, however, actual implementations of
expert systems have exploded from the hundreds to the thousands,
and neural networks have also started to take hold, he emphasized.
The next few years will witness the development of hybrid systems
that unite the two forms of artificial intelligence, speculated Luczak.

Expert systems combine a knowledge base with an inference
engine, containing a set of procedures used to reach conclusions.
In contrast, neural networks are modeled after the cellular
structure of the human brain, he explained. The hybrid systems
bring together the reasoning powers of expert systems with the
pattern recognition abilities of neural networks, he noted.

Other new trends within artificial intelligence include standard
platforms, "reusable" software, real-time operation, graphical
user interfaces (GUIs), integration with multimedia, and a
movement toward uses outside such traditional realms as
decision support, forecasting, and diagnosis and troubleshooting,
said Luczak.

"Already, the dedicated artificial intelligence machine is pretty
much a thing of the past," he pointed out. Today, expert systems
and neural networks are running instead on Macs, 386 and 486
IBM-compatible PCs under Windows, and Unix workstations, he
added.

Most of the other new developments can be seen by now at
NASA, a voracious user of artificial intelligence since the early
1980s, and some are evident within private industry, government,
and additional areas of the military, he said.

One NASA implementation, Spacecraft Diagnostic Assistant
(BCAUS), is a hybrid system that will be used to diagnose mission
critical faults in complex new spacecraft. A neural network will carry
out trend analysis on incoming telemetry transmitted by the
spacecraft, and an expert system will then perform symbolic
reasoning to identify the causes of failure.

Fully operational since early 1991, BCAUS is on hand to help
out in case NASA's Gamma Ray Observatory experiences
difficulties. "So far, though, there have been no emergencies,"
stated Luczak.

BCAUS is connected by ground links and satellites to other
expert systems, including Ranging Equipment Diagnosis Expert
System (REDEX), used for diagnosing faults in tracking equipment,
and Spacelab Data Quality Expert System (SIPS ES), aimed at
aiding spacelab data analysts in conducting quality assurance (QA).

Another NASA system, Generic Spacecraft Analyst Assistant
(GenSAA), is being used to "recycle" expert systems, a type of
software that can be costly to develop from scratch. The Unix-
based system consists of a generic data interface, inference
engine, and user interface, plus user definable specifications for
each. GenSAA and REDEX both feature GUIs, complete with block
and schematic diagrams and hypergraphic links. GenSAA and
SIPS ES both operate in real-time.

Outside of NASA, new implementations of applied intelligence
include a neural network that will be used to uncover insurance
claim fraud, an expert system that will sort, distribute and store
electronic-mail messages for a federal agency, and an expert
system that assists US Air Force physicians in detecting heart
disease, saidLuczak.

Now under development for a health insurance company, the
claims processing application involves training a neural network
on historical case data to recognize patterns such as
inappropriately large numbers of claims for the same sorts of
ailment.

The e-mail system will use rule-based technology to identify
which messages should be retained in a data base and which
deleted, based on "hot topic" definitions and index terms in the
message header.

The coronary diagnosis system -- Thallium Diagnostic
Workstation -- uses machine vision techniques to extract features
from digitized medical images. Then, applying a diagnostic rule
set, the system renders a medical verdict.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920415)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 15 CSC Exchange: "Intimate Computing" Is on the Way, Says Kay 04/15/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SFO)(00026)

CSC Exchange: "Intimate Computing" Is on the Way, Says Kay 04/15/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS,  1992 APR 15 (NB) -- Technology
is moving from personal computing to "intimate computing," but many
of today's top vendors won't be able to follow, said industry visionary
Dr. Alan Kay, speaking Monday at CSC Exchange, an annual forum
for senior I/S and business executives.

The new era of intimate computing will be characterized by
networks of small wireless machines, featuring user interfaces
equipped with intelligent software agents, noted Kay, now an Apple
fellow and previously a founding principal at the pioneering Xerox
Palo Alto Research Center.

The future will also bring transitions to end user application
development, object oriented programming (OOP), and
computer simulation, added the speaker, who designed the
overlapping window interface that has since become the hallmark
of Apple's personal computers.

The new paradigm of intimate computing will overtake the
personal computing model, just as surely as personal computing
has superseded industrial computing, predicted Kay. "But few
computer companies are capable of making the migration from
one paradigm to another," he stressed.  Some of Apple's
competitors are still stuck in the institutional computing age, and
even Apple, an innovator in personal computing, will be
challenged by the latest evolution, he said.

As the new era dawns, Japanese business is well positioned
against the US, because Japanese firms have bought up the
patents for flat panel displays developed in the US back in the
sixties, reported Kay.

Over the next couple of years, the agents on the new wireless
computing devices will be "semi-intelligent," and able to help users
with such applications as calendaring and e-mail, but plagued by a
tendency to circumvent programmers' intentions by taking
instructions too literally, he said. In the second half of the decade,
he predicts that the agents will become increasingly smarter.

At the same time, the rise of OOP will let end users start to build
more of their own applications, in much the same way they now
create their own spreadsheets and word processing documents.
Already, there are more hypercard programmers in the US than
Cobol programmers, and many of these hypercard programmers
are end users, he pointed out. Further, even now, OOP software is
allowing users to perform such tasks as modifying e-mail systems,
he stated.

To illustrate the changes underway, Kay used the example of a
new billing system at Brooklyn Union Gas (BUG), a large gas utility
in New York City. Running on PCs, 350 wireless radio terminals,
and a 3270 IBM mainframe, the system simulates all aspects of the
company billing system, including cash processing, field service,
general accounting, credit collection, and meter reading.

The program is written in Smalltalk, an OOP programming
language developed by Kay. Programmers were able to build
applications for the BUG system in three to four months, typically
teaming up with end users for a few days as part of the process, he
said.

"Ultimately, one of the goals is to get the users to (program
applications) on their own," Kay commented.  Smalltalk and other
OOP languages are less complex than Cobol, involving far fewer
lines of code, he explained. "Even a novice OOP user can be
productive (as a programmer) after two to three weeks," Kay
asserted.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920414)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 15 Japan: IBM-compatible Pen-Input Computer Debuts 04/15/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TYO)(00027)

Japan: IBM-compatible Pen-Input Computer Debuts 04/15/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 15 (NB) -- Japan's Wacom has
developed a pen-input computer, which is compatible with an
IBM PC/AT, called the Pen-top model V.

Wacom's latest pen-computer will be released this July. It
will be sold for 558,000 yen, which is slightly less than NCR's
pen computer.

Wacom's Pen-top computer consists of an electric pen, a tablet,
and a main computer. The tablet is A4-sized and 1.5 centimeters
(cm) thick. It weighs one kilogram (kg). The tablet is equipped with
a TSTN LCD (liquid crystal display). It supports 16 color gradation
and IBM's VGA (video graphics array).

The main computer box is also A4-sized, and is 2.5 cm thick. It
weighs 1.5 kg. A 25 megahertz (MHz) 80386SL processor is used
in the system. It also includes four megabytes (MB) of RAM, with
a maximum of eight MB. It also comes with a 3.5-inch floppy disk
and a 120 MB 2.5-inch hard disk.

The computer supports both DOS/V and Windows 3.0.
Interestingly, an Ethernet board and a fax board can also be
equipped as an option.

Wacom's Pen-top computer is based on a computer which
was jointly developed with Integrated Technologies in the US.

Wacom is a major tablet maker and has been manufacturing
tablets for IBM and Apple on an OEM (original equipment
manufacturer) basis.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920415/Press Contact: Wacom,
[phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 15 Correction: Eco-conscious Printer  04/15/92



(CORRECTION)(IBM)(LAX)(00028)

Correction: Eco-conscious Printer  04/15/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 15 (NB) -- The Ecosys
aSi printer Kyocera introduced at Spring Comdex in Chicago was
incorrectly reported by Newsbytes as a laser printer. Kyocera
representatives told Newsbytes it is a light emitting diode (LED)
printer, a new technology.

Kyocera representative Harry Savage told Newsbytes the aSi printer
offers better than laser quality printing. Savage did again point out
the new Ecosys aSi printer requires only toner refills and as a result
can print for one-fourth the operating cost of laser printers.

The Ecosys aSi model, the FS-1500A uses a drum composed of
amorphous silicon (aSi). Savage said the printer is ecology-
conscious as users can refill the toner themselves using toner
refills from Kyocera. The refills will come in small, biodegradable
containers made of Kalp, a material that when burned only releases
water vapor and carbon dioxide, Kyocera representative Steve Petix
told Newsbytes.

Print resolution is 300 by 1200 dots-per-inch (dpi) and the printer can
print up to 10 pages-per-minute (ppm).

The Postscript interpreter offered by Kyocera in these printers
is compatible with Adobe's Postscript, although it has not yet
been tested with the newest version of Postscript.

The warranty information was also incorrect. Savage says the
correct information is the company says it will offers a three
year or 300,000 copy warranty on the drum and print head only.
A one year or 300,000 copy warranty is offered on the printer
itself.

Savage mentioned in addition that the US division of Kyocera,
headquartered in Somerset, New Jersey, is part of the $3.5 billion
Kyocera Corporation, headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. A division of
Kyocera is in Toyko, Japan.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920415/Press Contact: Harry Savage, for Kyocera,
tel [phone]; Steve Petix, Kyocera, tel [phone], fax 908-560-
8380)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 15  ****Sun Executive Carol Bartz Joins Autodesk As CEO 04/15/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00029)

 ****Sun Executive Carol Bartz Joins Autodesk As CEO 04/15/92
SAUSALITO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 15 (NB) -- In the latest
round of executive musical chairs, Sun Microsystems has lost a
player. Carol Bartz, corporate executive officer and vice president
of worldwide field operations at Sun is taking the position of
president, chief executive officer (CEO), and chairman of Autodesk.

Autodesk announced it was looking for key executives after its
reorganization into business units last summer and it picked up five
new executives in December of last year.

The $274 million software company is successful, if unusually run.
The company was founded by a group of 13 engineer/programmers
who combined their efforts to develop several of their pet software
projects. The most successful project and the one that launched
Autodesk to success was Autocad, a computer-aided design (CAD)
program used for drafting and modeling that is still the company's
flagship product.

The CEO position was filled for several years by co-founder, John
Walker, who was most recently appointed manager of technology.
Walker served as president and chief executive officer until 1986,
then served as chairman until 1988, when he made the decision to
step down and returned to programming on a full-time basis.

Bartz, who spent nine years at Sun, has a reputation for building a
software business, according to Autodesk. Reportedly Bartz took
the leadership at Sun Federal in 1987 and led the division from $21
million to $124 million in two years. Bartz was promoted at Sun to
management of the company's worldwide revenues, which went
from $2.6 billion to $3.2 billion, and are expected to continue to
climb.

Bartz said in a prepared statement: "Software drives the computer
industry. Autodesk has the market position, technology and
resources to significantly expand its current leadership as the
software industry enters the next century. I look forward to leading
the company toward this goal."

Autodesk's current CEO, Alvar Green, who announced his intention
o retire from the position in October of last year, will remain active
as a director of the company, Autodesk said.

Meanwhile, Sun has already announced Bartz' replacement, Joseph
P. Roebuck, formerly vice president of Sun Microsystems Computer
Corporation's (SMCC) US field operations, which Sun says produces
approximately half the company's worldwide sales. Roebuck joined
Sun in 1983 as vice president of sales, moving into his current position
in 1987, and has 30 years' experience in computer industry sales and
marketing, the company added.

Lisa Goldman a representative for Autodesk, said Bartz is the only
woman to become CEO of a leading high-tech company she did not
found. The only other woman CEO of a leading company is Sandra
Kurtzig who founded ASK.

Sun has been getting attention recently because it has been
attracting programming and development talent from other leading
companies. Robert Glass, Bruce Tognazzini, Frank Ludolph, and
Annette Wagner all key programmers at Apple have joined Sun's
Sunsoft division. Dr. L. Peter Deutsch also recently left Parcplace
Systems to join Sun's research subsidiary Sun Microsystems
Laboratories Incorporated (SMLI).

(Linda Rohrbough/19920415/Press Contact: Lisa Goldman,
Cunningham Communications for Autodesk, tel [phone],
fax [phone]; Cindee Mock, Sun, tel [phone]
fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 15  ****Accolade Ordered To Remove Sega-Compatible Games 04/15/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LAX)(00030)

 ****Accolade Ordered To Remove Sega-Compatible Games 04/15/92
REDWOOD CITY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 15 (NB) -- Video
game maker Sega says it has won the latest round of its court
battle with competitor Accolade with a court decision that will force
Accolade to pull its compatible products off retail shelves.

The decision is a result of a preliminary injunction handed down in
the US District Court in San Francisco by Judge Barbara Caulfield,
who is enjoining all sales of Genesis-compatible Accolade products.
The court order also requires Sega to post a $1 million bond for
Accolade in case it is proved that Accolade did not violate Sega's
copyrights.

Sega originally filed suit against Accolade in an attempt to stop the
company from distributing its titles, claiming the game maker was
misleading consumers into believing the games were licensed by
Sega. Accolade says the misleading part was created by Sega, who
re-designed its game system hardware so when any cartridge is
inserted into the system a message appears that says "Produced
By or Under License From Sega Enterprises Ltd."

Sega's acts in its suit against Accolade have been condemned by
the American Committee for Interoperable Systems (ACIS) as an
attempt to stifle manufacturers of compatible software for any
computer system. ACIS is populated by leaders in the computer
manufacturing industry including Chips and Technologies, Phoenix
Technologies, Seagate Technology, Zenith Data Systems, and Sun
Microsystems.

Peter Choy, chairman of ACIS and deputy general counsel of Sun
Microsystems said: "The life blood of the computer industry is the
ability of any competitor to make and distribute interoperable
software and hardware."

In this suit against Accolade, Sega lost the original round because
the case was not specific enough. The court told Sega to specify
the works which are the subject of the copyright claims, the acts
constituting the alleged copyright infringement, and the dates when
the alleged infringement occurred.

Now that Sega has been specific, the court is not only requiring
Accolade to stop selling the game cartridges for the time being, but
has ordered Accolade, within 10 days of an April 9 order, to write
"all persons or entities to whom Accolade has distributed the video
game programs which are the subject of the court's preliminary
injunction, or any derivative copy of such programs. Accolade shall
request that they immediately halt any further marketing,
distribution, or sale of said cartridges or other copies, and return
to Accolade all cartridges or other copies in any form in their
possession or control."

Accolade meanwhile has filed a counter-suit accusing Sega restraint
of trade, trademark infringement, and unfair business practices. The
counter-suit also seeks recovery from Sega for allegedly misleading
consumers into believing that Accolade's compatible video game
cartridges are either produced by or licensed from Sega, Accolade
maintains.

Sega most recently lost a suit against inventor Jan Coyle that could
cost the company between $33 to $100 million if a decision made in a
copyright trial against the video game maker stands. Coyle's attorney
Fredrick Lorig says the award against the Japanese video game
maker could be tripled by the judge in addition to attorney's fees and
court costs because the jury in the case ruled Sega had deliberately
infringed on Coyle's patent.

The copyright Coyle holds on invention by Coyle and Robert Stevens,
developed in 1969 and patented in 1975, which involves a display
of color images on a video-screen via low-frequency audio signals.
The audio signals control the "sprites," the figures that move in the
foreground against the still background, like the Mario characters or
Sonic the Hedgehog. Lorig says the technique is used in nearly all
video games and Nintendo and Atari settled out-of-court with Coyle
on earlier patent infringement suits.

Sega is facing a similar injunction as the one brought against
Accolade if Lorig is successful. Lorig told Newsbytes that in addition
to the monetary decision he plans to seek an injunction against the
sale of Sega hardware and software at least until Coyle's patent,
filed in 1975, runs out in August of this year. Sega's general counsel
Riley Russell told Newsbytes the company plans to appeal the suit.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920415/Press Contact: Brian Webster, Manning,
Selvage & Lee for Sega, tel [phone]; Fredrick Lorig, Bright and
Lorig, tel [phone]; Melinda Mongelluzzo, Accolade, tel 408-985-
1700, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 15  ****What's Left To Contend? Asks Microsoft, In Apple Court Ruling 04/15/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LAX)(00031)

 ****What's Left To Contend? Asks Microsoft, In Apple Court Ruling 04/15/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 15 (NB) --
Things don't look good for Apple in the latest ruling in its $5.5 billion
suit started four years ago in which Apple claims that Microsoft and
Hewlett-Packard copied Apple's Macintosh operating system.

US District Court Judge Vaughn Walker granted several motions
in the latest pre-trial hearing that substantially narrow the areas of
dispute in the case, according to Apple.

Essentially, all the "look-and-feel" issues were dismissed. "I don't
see how there can be much left (to litigate)," William Neukom,
Microsoft's vice president for law and corporate affairs said,
according to Reuter. However, Apple's general counsel Edward B.
Stead said: "There are many design elements that go into making
any interface as complex as that of the Macintosh."

In March, the court ruled 179 of Apple's list of the 189 alleged
infringing visual displays in Windows 2.03 were covered by a
1985 agreement between Microsoft and Apple.

That only left 10 to fight about, but Apple spokesman Chris Escher
told Newsbytes then, that those ten were the key elements of the
Macintosh operating system and what the case is all about.

However, it seems now its not as clear what the Apple case is.
Judge Walker has now dismissed disputed graphics features,
such as overlapping windows and pulldown menus, stemming from
all of Microsoft's Windows 2.03 and most of the features found in its
3.0 version of the software, Reuter reported.

Stead says there are still issues Apple can pursue. "Regardless
of the license granted in 1985, Apple believes that it is entitled to
protection of the overall appearance of its work and we are
hopeful that ultimately the court will send that central question to
a jury for a decision," Stead added.

Apple still plans to go on, despite this major set back. "If
necessary, we may ask the court for a reconsideration to make
sure that we can proceed with our infringement claim based on the
substantial similarity and overall appearance of the defendants'
works, or if not, obtain a clear appellate ruling," Stead said.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920415/Press Contact: Cindy McCaffrey,
Apple, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD



#CARD :1992 APR 14 Weatherbank Markets Weather Graphics Program For PC 04/14/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00001)

Weatherbank Markets Weather Graphics Program For PC 04/14/92
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, U.S.A., 1992 APR 14 (NB) -- Weatherbank,
Inc., has announced the release of WeatherBrief 5.0, a weather
activity and weather map program for PCs.

The company said that the new release includes high resolution state
radar displays which are updated every 30 minutes. Weatherbrief
graphics are generated from thousands of pieces of weather data
and satellite pictures, and manually drawn by Weatherbank's
graphics artists. The company also downloads government data
from its own satellite downlink. That data is colorized and transmitted
over the phone line to the end user.

In addition to the $53 cost of the software, there is an on-line charge
of $0.20 per minute. Weatherbank can handle modem speeds from
300 to 9,600 bits-per-second. On-line charges are kept to a minimum,
since Weatherbank automatically logs on, downloads the most
recent data, and logs off. The user can then view the maps and data
at their leisure.

Weatherbank marketing VP Steven Root told Newsbytes that
Weatherbrief stores up to 300 weather products in eight different
groups, selectable from a menu of over 5,000 items. Product groups
include current and past weather observations, precipitation
measurements, snowfall, Palmer Drought Indices, MetaFire fire
danger maps, observed and forecast high and low temperatures,
soil moisture, jet stream maps, weather alerts and warnings, cloud
cover, wind speeds, and a number of other categories.

To use WeatherBrief you will need a PC with EGA or VGA graphics
capability, a modem, and a hard drive. Weatherbrief can be
accessed by corporate customers with preferred phone rate
services or WATS (wide area telephone service) lines by calling
801-530-3188. For customers without access to those services, a toll
free number (800-827-2727) is available. You will need to be signed
up as a subscriber before calling.

(Jim Mallory/19920414/Press Contact: Steven Root, Weatherbank,
tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 14 Lasermaster Intros 1,000 DPI Printing For Mac, IBM 04/14/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00002)

Lasermaster Intros 1,000 DPI Printing For Mac, IBM 04/14/92
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 14 (NB) --
Lasermaster Technologies has introduced Unity 1000, a multi-
platform plain paper typesetter designed to provide fast, high
resolution PostScript printing from Macintosh and IBM-compatible
PCs, as well as minicomputers and mainframes.

Unity 1000 connects to the user's computer through LocalTalk,
Centronics parallel, or RS-232C serial interfaces. The typesetter
includes an internal hard disk with 135 Type 1 typefaces already
installed, 1,000 by 1,000 dots-per-inch (dpi) TurboRes quality,
SmartSense automatic emulation sensing, an Ethernet expansion
port, automatic port switching, and TurboGray halftone
enhancement technology.

Lasermaster's announcement said the Unity 1000 supports Type 1,
Type 3, TrueType, and Hewlett-Packard soft font formats, and is fully
compatible with Apple's System 6.0 or 7.0, DOS, Microsoft Windows,
Unix, OS/2, and other operating systems.

Lasermaster first introduced 1,000 dpi typesetting for PCs in 1989.
"The Unity 1000 will follow in our tradition of high speed, high
resolution and more fonts, and marks a whole new generation of
printing technology for Lasermaster," said CEO Mel Masters.

The TurboGray technology included with the Unity 1000 is also a new
product from Lasermaster. Lasemaster said TurboGray improves the
appearance of halftone images by providing increased gray levels
at higher screen frequencies. Users have both high image resolution
to show fine detail and smooth gray-level control to achieve contour-
free transitions on images with gradually changing densities.

(Jim Mallory/19920414/Press Contact: Karen Neset, Lasermaster,
612-941-8687)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 14 Compuadd Intros 386SX Notebook PCs With Trackballs 04/14/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00003)

Compuadd Intros 386SX Notebook PCs With Trackballs 04/14/92
U.S.A., 1992 APR 14 (NB) -- Compuadd Computer Corporation has
announced two new 25 megahertz (MHz) 386SX-based notebook
personal computers featuring built-in trackballs, 60 megabyte MB
hard drives, and 10-inch display screens.

The Compuadd announcement said the two new systems, the 325tx
and the 325tfx, would be available in April. A Colorado Compuadd
store told Newsbytes that the units are not in the warehouse yet, and
were not expected for about another two weeks.

Independently operated Compuadd Express, the direct mail arm
of the Compuadd organization, had trouble with deliveries of its
325NXL notebook computer last month. Those supply difficulties
were apparently solved, when Compuadd Express spokesperson
Rick Krousy told Newsbytes in late March that the delayed
components were starting to arrive from the supplier. However,
several people who had ordered the 325NXL had not received
them yet when Newsbytes checked late last week.

The325tx, which carries a price tag of $1,595, has the trackball,
which appears to be smaller than the one in Apple's Powerbook
units, built into the upper right corner of the 86-key keyboard.
Compuadd says the 325tx weighs five pounds, including the battery,
and comes with 2 MB of system memory, one 3.5-inch high density
floppy drive, and a 60 MB hard drive preloaded with DOS 5.0,
Windows 3.1, and Compuadd utility software. System memory can
be upgraded to 8MB.

The 325tx's keyboard sports 10 function keys and the eight cursor
movement keys are not shared with other functions. An external
keyboard port enables the user to connect a desktop keyboard.
The unit can also run on AC power, even with the battery removed,
and has a low battery alarm.

The 10-inch (measured diagonally) edge-lit LCD (liquid crystal
display) screen has a resolution of 640 by 480 dots-per-inch (dpi)
and can display up to 64 levels of gray. The system also has an
external port for a VGA color monitor. The user can toggle between
the external and the built-in screens.

Also included is an internal fax/modem slot, two serial ports, and
one parallel port. The unit comes with a carrying case. An
internal fax/modem card is available from Compuadd for $119,
and an extra clip-on battery pack to provide longer battery life sells
for $149. Each additional 2MB of system memory costs $149, and
a math coprocessor is available for $169.

The Compuadd 325tfx has a price tag of $1,995. The trackball is in
the lower right corner, and a 9,600 baud fax/2,400 baud data modem
and 4MB of upgradeable RAM are included. The 325tfx weighs 5.6
pounds including battery. The 84-key keyboard has 12 functions
keys and emulates a 101-key keyboard. Other features of the tfx
are similar to the tx, except that instead of two serial ports the unit
has one serial port and one mouse port.

Both units include free technical support for the life of the product,
plus a one-year limited warranty.

(Jim Mallory/19920414/Press Contact: Wendell Watson,
Compuadd, 512-250-2530)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 14 UK: Bluemaq Unveils Two New Printers 04/14/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00004)

UK: Bluemaq Unveils Two New Printers 04/14/92
GATESHEAD, TYNE & WEAR, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 13 (NB) --
Bluemaq Systems has announced two new printers -- the BP4040
laser and the BP3670 bubblejet unit.

The BP4040 is based around a reduced instruction-set computer
(RISC) chipset and retails for UKP 1,794. The machine is designed
for applications that require speed, quality, and functionality,
according to Bluemaq.

The four page-per-minute (ppm) printer supports Microsoft's
True Image page description language and Apple's Truetype font
technology, making it ideal for use with Windows 3.0 and/or the
Apple Mac's System 6.0 and 7.0 operating system technology,
company officials added.

As supplied, the printer comes with two megabytes (MB) of RAM
and 3MB of read-only memory (ROM). Although only a one year
on-site warranty is supplied, the printer also has a year two and
three year labor-only warranty.

The BP3670 bubblejet printer comes with a high-speed SCSI
(Small Computer Systems Interface) that can process a 360 by
360 dots-per-inch (dpi) image in a few seconds. The unit can also
print a 180 by 180 dpi image at the rate of six ppm.

According to Bluemaq, the BP3670 is pitched at the computer-aided
design (CAD), newspaper, word processing and publishing markets.
Pricing in the UK is a fairly hefty UKP 2,999, although the company
claims this is competitive, especially with its three-year warranty.

(Steve Gold/19920414/Press & Public Contact: Bluemaq,
tel: [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 14 New For PC: Imara Lite Document Management Software 04/14/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00005)

New For PC: Imara Lite Document Management Software 04/14/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 APR 14 (NB) -- Imara
Research has announced a scaled-down version of its work-group
image processing system. Imara Lite is a single-user package
intended mainly as an "electronic filing cabinet" for personal
computer users on the move.

Company spokeswoman, Erin Hintz, told Newsbytes that Imara
expects a large portion of the sales of Imara Lite will be to portable
computer users. The software allows users to organize files,
whether created electronically on the computer, scanned in, or
received by fax, into a structure of electronic "file folders" the
company contends is easier to use than the DOS operating
system's structure of eight-character file names and directories.

Imara Lite includes fax send and receive software as well as image
processing and document management capabilities, Hintz said.

Files created using other personal computer applications, such as
spreadsheets, word processors, and the like, can be stored in the
same folder with document images and received faxes. Users can
name documents with description of up to 32 characters in length,
the company said.

Imara Lite runs under Microsoft Windows and, unlike the full Imara
package, does not require a network or file server. It can work
with an optical disk drive, the company said. The Kofax image board
is also supported, along with various scanners, fax modems, and
laser printers.

Due to be available in May, Imara Lite carries a suggested retail
price of US$295 or C$350.

(Grant Buckler/19920414/Press Contact: Erin Hintz, Imara Research,
tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 14 Peoples Telco Calls FCC Compensation Plan Inadequate 04/14/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00006)

Peoples Telco Calls FCC Compensation Plan Inadequate 04/14/92
MIAMI, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 14 (NB) -- Peoples Telephone
Company, which operates over 19,000 pay telephones for airports,
prisons, and other property owners, charged that a Federal
Communications Commission decision giving it $6 per phone per
month from long distance carriers for access to the units is
inadequate.

The compensation starts immediately, and will be worth about
$1.36 million per year to the company. Peoples sought the money
because it gets nothing when callers use long distance calling
cards to place calls from its phones. Chairman Jeffrey Hanft said
in a press statement that the FCC has made a major stride "in
addressing the inequity of being forced to carry calls for free,"
but urged that the FCC offer per-call compensation, which would
bring his company even more money.

Hanft said the FCC will be working with his pay telephone industry,
the long distance companies, and local phone companies
to develop a mechanism which will measure the number of long
distance calling card calls placed at pay telephones, with
suitable compensation. Hanft said the FCC decision is based on
an assumption that the carriers are entitled to about 40 cents per
call.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920414/Press Contact: Peoples Telephone,
Robert D. Rubin, 305-593-9667)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 14 Misuse Of "800" Exchange Charged 04/14/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00007)

Misuse Of "800" Exchange Charged 04/14/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 14 (NB) -- AT&T
and Sprint are warning that the toll-free "800" exchange, recently
made famous by Jerry Brown and H. Ross Perot, may not always
be toll-free. The two companies, working with a group called
Consumer Action, want action to stop charges on the exchange,
except where consumers make explicit arrangements by, for
instance, giving out their credit card numbers.

According to CA Director Ken McEldowney: "The problem we are
fighting is the use of 800 numbers to bill for 900-type information
services. There have never been charges for making calls to 800
numbers. However, in the past month we have heard of phone
services in which callers to 800 numbers were charged on phone
bills or look-alike phone bills for information received over the
phone. This is the type of service for which '900' numbers were
created. But with increased regulation of 900 numbers, some
information providers are switching to 800 numbers, taking
advantage of the fact that people assume they won't be charged
for calling an 800 number the way they are charged for calling 900
numbers. Currently, there are no effective regulations to prevent the
misuse of 800 numbers for billing of information services. This puts
consumer confidence in the free 800 call in jeopardy."

AT&T and Sprint said they have discussed new tariff language
with the Federal Communications Commission to prevent use of
toll-free numbers to bill for information received over the phone,
except in cases where there is a previous relationship between
the caller and the service, or the caller agrees to be billed on
a credit or charge card.

Bills for information received on 800 numbers are not subject to the
same type of consumer protections as are calls to 900 numbers or
charges billed to a credit card, and some consumers could have
their phones cut off if they do not pay. CA also wants Congress to
consider legislation to prevent abuse of 800 numbers, codifying the
tariff changes proposed to the FCC by the long distance companies.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920414/Press Contact: Robin Pence, Sprint,
at 202-828-7454; Ken McEldowney, Consumer Action, 415-777-9648)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 14 BellSouth Offers Latin Cellular Roaming 04/14/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00008)

BellSouth Offers Latin Cellular Roaming 04/14/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 14 (NB) -- While other
US cellular providers are beginning to offer nationwide roaming
through agreements with one another, BellSouth said it will soon
offer international roaming among its US system and five Latin
American cellular operations.

Roaming service lets cellular customers use their cellular phones
in other markets, as when Latin America subscribers visit the
United States, or vice versa. As an initial step, BellSouth
announced that it will immediately begin a trial involving about
100 customers from its Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Caracas,
Venezuela, operations to its US operations, using Miami as the
gateway. The trial is expected to last up to three months.

BSI already offers international roaming between its Argentian
and Uruguayan affiliates, with more than 1,000 customers using
the service since its inauguration in December 1991. In a related
move, BSI, on behalf of its associated companies in Latin America
today became a founding member of ALACELL, a Latin America
cellular association. In Latin America, BellSouth provides cellular
communications in Mexico, Venezuela, Chile, Uruguay, and
Argentina.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920414/Press Contact: Tim Klein,
BellSouth Enterprises, 404-249-4135)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 14 Systemhouse Sets Up Insurance Market Unit 04/14/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00009)

Systemhouse Sets Up Insurance Market Unit 04/14/92
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 APR 14 (NB) -- Systems
integrator SHL Systemhouse has created its fifth industry group,
this one dealing with the insurance industry. The others focus on
telecommunications, postal agencies, the energy industry, and
human services.

Peter Sandiford, vice-chairman of Systemhouse, told Newsbytes
the insurance industry, while it makes up a fairly small portion of
Systemhouse's business today, is ripe for growth. The industry
has been quite conservative in its use of technology until recently,
Sandiford said, but has now begun adopting technology and using
it to change the way companies do business.

The insurance industry currently accounts for about C$10 million of
Systemhouse's annual revenues, Sandiford said. He forecast that
within a year, the company could raise that figure to about $50
million.

The new unit will have its base in Hartford, Connecticut, Sandiford
said, and Systemhouse employees around the world will work for it.
Systemhouse has hired Henry Burgess, formerly a partner with
Andersen Consulting in Hartford, to become vice-president of the
new unit. At Andersen, Burgess directed the development of a
consulting operation with significant insurance industry business.

Sandiford said this new business unit will not be Systemhouse's
last. "We're going to be launching a number of these," he said,
probably within the next year. Over time, Sandiford said,
Systemhouse plans to organize the business units into larger
groups by industry sectors such as financial services, government,
and manufacturing and distribution.

Systemhouse is an Ottawa-based systems integrator with
worldwide operations, more than 3,000 employees, and 1991
revenues approaching C$700 million.

(Grant Buckler/19920414/Press Contact: Peter Sandiford, SHL
Systemhouse, 613-236-1428)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 14 Telxon Buys Telesystems SLW 04/14/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00010)

Telxon Buys Telesystems SLW 04/14/92
AKRON, OHIO, U.S.A., 1992 APR 14 (NB) -- Telxon, a manufacturer
of handheld computer terminals that use wireless communications,
has bought Telesystems SLW, a Toronto-based maker of wireless
networking technology. Telxon already owned five percent of
Telesystems and used its technology.

The move makes sense for Telxon because it gives the company
control of a vital source of supply, a company spokeswoman told
Newsbytes. The acquisition will also allow Telxon to control costs
at Telesystems more closely and to realize some economies of
scale, she said.

"This way, we can protect our ability to provide that kind of
system to our customers," she said.

Telesystems supplies communications products that use spread
spectrum technology for wireless communications. Some of its
components are used in a wireless communications system that
Telxon supplies to retailers, including the large American chain
Wal-Mart Stores.

Spread spectrum is a modulation technique favored for military
covert operations because it is hard to intercept or jam, and for
commercial uses such as wireless local area networks because it
does not cause radio interference and works well inside buildings
where reflections from walls cause problems with conventional
radio transmission.

Telesystems will continue to operate under its present name and
with its present management, the Telxon spokeswoman said. The
company will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Telxon.

Telxon has about 1,300 employees and annual revenues of more
than $200 million, the spokeswoman said. Telxon paid about US$10
million in cash and stock for the six-year-old Telesystems SLW, she
said.

(Grant Buckler/19920414/Press Contact: Julie L. Ganim or Cathy
Taylor, Telxon, 216-867-3700; Telesystems SLW, 416-441-9966)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 14 Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Digital, Intel Stocks Off 04/14/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00011)

Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Digital, Intel Stocks Off 04/14/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 APR 14 (NB) -- Stocks of
several computer industry leaders, including Microsoft, Apple,
Hewlett-Packard, Digital, and Intel were down last week because
of lawsuits and poor earnings.

Microsoft, HP, and Apple shares dropped because of concerns
over a federal court hearing on Apple's infringement suit against
Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard. Apple claims that Microsoft
Windows infringes on its Macintosh graphical user interface.
Microsoft was off five to 115, HP dropped four-and-three-eighths
to 74.25, and Apple slid two to 55.25. Microsoft has declined
comment on the upcoming hearings, and reportedly had no
comment on its stock activity. The US District Court is hearing
arguments on protectability of software under copyright laws today.

Digital stock was down three-and-five-eighths to 44 and five-eighths
after the company reported a much larger than expected third
quarter loss of $2.36 per share.

Intel stock fell just over $6 to $51.125 after it also reported poor
first quarter earnings. The company reported first quarter earnings
of $184 million, or 86 cents per share. That is a 6.6 percent
earnings drop over the same quarter last year. Intel revenues
were up for the period, with the company reporting $1.24 billion,
a 9.7 percent increase over last year. Intel cited one-time events
as the cause of the lowered earnings. Analysts had said they
expected earnings for the quarter to be about the same as last
year.

Intel may have been hurt by increased competition by other
companies, including Advanced Micro Devices, having introduced
a competitor to Intel's 486 microprocessor. AMD recently reported
a 49 percent increase in fourth quarter sales.

The one-time events cited by Intel included a $35 million reserve to
cover payment to Hughes Aircraft Company as part of a patent
infringement settlement, and a $15 million reserve for possible
payment to AMD as part of an arbitration decision. Those figures
were partially offset by a recognition of $23 million in deferred
royalty revenues previously received from AMD.

HP, Microsoft, and Apple recovered slightly yesterday, with HP
up to 76-and-three-eighths, Microsoft closed at $117.5 and Apple
was back to $56.5. Intel didn't fare as well, continuing its downward
trend. It closed at 49-and-seven-eighths, off another 1.25.

The problems may not be over for the high-tech companies yet.
According to a story carried by Reuters news service, a Dain
Bosworth equity trader said there may still be more earnings
surprises as companies report quarterly earnings.

(Jim Mallory/19920414)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 14 Compaq Appoints Australian 3rd-Party Maintainer 04/14/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00012)

Compaq Appoints Australian 3rd-Party Maintainer 04/14/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 APR 14 (NB) -- Compaq Australia has
appointed ACL engineering to provide third-party maintenance to
its equipment in Australia. ACL is claimed to be the largest
independent service provider in the country.

Compaq Technical Director, Ian Harvey, said ACL's support staff
will be trained to provide "unprecedented levels" of support to
Compaq's VARs (value-added resellers), resellers, systems
integrators, and retail outlets. This will include both warranty and
non-warranty maintenance.

Harvey said: "This means Compaq can now provide support
levels unmatched in the industry. While the cost of our products
may continue to fall, the level of support  will increase - the only
thing that won't change is the traditional Compaq quality and
performance."

Compaq has also opened a new remote warehouse facility in Perth -
Australia's western capital city. It will offer 24-hour, seven-day-a-
week spare parts access. Western Australian computer users have
traditionally been disadvantaged by remoteness from the east coast
where the majority of computer users and vendors are situated.

The West Australian facility will incorporate an artificial intelligence
support system designed to answer most client questions. It will
incorporate a fax-back facility, with only a telephone keypad
needed for requesting assistance. Another service offered by
Compaq is a CD-ROM-based support reference consisting of the
equivalent of 25,000 pages of support information. It includes
diagrams, configurations, and trouble shooting notes.

(Paul Zucker/19920414)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 14  ****US 1991 Software Sales To Japan Up 38 Percent 04/14/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(WAS)(00013)

 ****US 1991 Software Sales To Japan Up 38 Percent 04/14/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 14 (NB) -- Twenty-two US
companies sold $160.1 million worth of software to Japan in 1991 --
a 38-percent net increase over sales for 1990. Software sales
numbers were released by the Software Publishers Association,
the major industry trade group which boasts more than 900
members.

Fourth quarter sales for the 16 categories in the survey were up
21 percent over the same period last year, with nearly 80 percent
representing MS-DOS applications programs. Apple Macintosh
and Microsoft Windows software sales were about equal at nearly
$16 million each.

But fourth quarter numbers may show the beginning of a major
change with Windows applications sales more than doubling the
year's average at the expense of Macintosh and MS-DOS sales.

Spreadsheets topped the list of most popular application
categories, registering more than half the sales of US-produced
software in Japan, with a related category -- accounting -- making
up another 16 percent.

(John McCormick/19920414/Press Contact: Terri Childs, SPA,
202-452-1600)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 14 CBEMA Info Tech Data Book To Be Released April 15 04/14/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00014)

CBEMA Info Tech Data Book To Be Released April 15 04/14/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 14 (NB) -- CBEMA, the
Computer and Business Equipment Manufacturing Association, will
release its annual Information Technology Industry Data Book on
April 15. Included in this major industry study are sales numbers for
computer hardware as well as important industry expenditure and
employment data.

The 211-page report covers domestic sales, import, export,
employment numbers, research and development expenditures,
worker efficiency (productivity) rates, and wage information.

The CBEMA report is the hardware industry's equivalent of the
Software Publishers Association's software sales reports which
have been trickling out over the past several weeks.

When analyzed, these sets of numbers provide companies with the
basic information which shows them how various segments of the
computer industry are growing or shrinking.

The Data Book is available directly from CBEMA's Christine
Zvonkovich for $155. The telephone number is 202-626-5732, or
write her at CBEMA, 311 First Street, NW, Suite 500, Washington,
DC 20001.

(John McCormick/19920414/Press Contact: Maryann Karinch,
CBEMA, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 14 Ungermann-Bass To Resell NetWorth Ethernet Cards 04/14/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00015)

Ungermann-Bass To Resell NetWorth Ethernet Cards 04/14/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 14 (NB) --
Ungermann Bass (UB) has signed an agreement with NetWorth of
Dallas Texas under which it will resell NetWorth's Ethernet cards
under a joint UB NetWorth label. There are three models of Ethernet
cards that differ according to the kind of bus they will operate in.

The EtherNext NIC-8 operates in eight-bit PC busses like those
present in XT and AT class machines. The EtherNext NIC-16
operates in 16-bit busses like the 16-bit AT slots (Industry Standard
Architecture), while the EtherNext NIC-MC operates in Microchannel-
equipped machines. There is no model at this time for EISA
(Extended ISA) machines although the company states that the
NIC-16 should operate in those without any problems. All the cards
support both 10Base-T and AUI connectors. They also have 6 LEDs
(light emitting diodes) for detailing status and troubleshooting
information and have on-board jumpers for customization.

The NIC-8 and the NIC-16 will begin shipping in May. The NIC-MC
will begin shipping in June. The NIC-8 will be priced at $259 per
unit with a bundle of five selling for $1,045. The NIC-16 will sell for
$279 per copy with the bundle of five selling for $1,145. And the
NIC-MC will sell for $309 each or $1,295 for a bundle of five.

This relationship is the first visible result of the business
partnership agreement that UB signed with NetWorth in December
of 1991. Other products are expected to flow from this partnership
in the future, but no advance word is forthcoming as to what those
may be.

(Naor Wallach/19920414/Press Contact: Jim DeTar,
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 14 Maynard Intros Transportable Tape Backup Systems 04/14/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00016)

Maynard Intros Transportable Tape Backup Systems 04/14/92
LAKE MARY, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 14 (NB) -- Maynard
Electronics has introduced the Irwin EzPort transportable tape
backup systems. EzPort connects to the parallel port of desktop,
laptop, or notebook PC, or PS/2 systems.

Maynard said the unit does not require a separate controller card,
and shares the PCs parallel port with a printer, eliminating the
need to connect and disconnect either of the peripherals to use
them. According to Maynard spokesperson Anne Lardner, the
special cable connects the tape drive to the computer. A port in
the tape drive accepts a cable from the printer. Only one of the
devices can be used at a time, Lardner said.

Maynard said they will start shipping EzPort with its EzTape DOS
software in May. EzPort will have a suggested retail price of $699
for the 120 megabyte (MB) version and $799 for the 250MB drive.
The company says EzPort can backup a 40MB hard drive in less
than 10 minutes. EzPort is compatible with the installed base of Irwin
AccuTrak systems.

EzTape is a menu driven program, and offers unattended backup
as well as the ability to select full backup or only selected files.
Maynard also offers EzTape software for Windows as an option.

The Windows version includes multitasking capability, allowing the
backup to be done while other tasks are being performed. Data
compression, automatic scheduled backup, network support and an
integrated tape librarian are also included in the Windows version.

Present EzTape users can upgrade to the Windows version for $59.
If you do not already use EzTape, the Windows version has a $169
price tag.

Network support is provided for Novell, LANtastic, IBM's PC LAN
(local area network), and TOPS.

The AccuTrak system provides for the exchange of data between
minicartridge tape drives marketed by IBM, Compaq, NCR,
Hewlett-Packard, NEC, Data General, Zenith, and other distributors.
The EzPort drive can also interchange data with tapes written by
EzTape for OS/2 software.

(Jim Mallory/19920414/Press Contact: Anne Lardner, Maynard
Electronics, 407-262-4268)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 14 New For Mac: Suntime Intros Corvette Mouse Cover 04/14/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00017)

New For Mac: Suntime Intros Corvette Mouse Cover 04/14/92
TAMPA, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 14 (NB) -- If you are tired of
moving a mouse around your desk, how about turning the little
rodent into a sporty Corvette?

Suntime has introduced Auto Mouse, a snap-on mouse dust cover
that fits the Macintosh mouse. Auto Mouse comes in red, white, or
blue, and is built under license from General Motors. The hood of the
Corvette becomes the switch for the mouse. Bill Daniels, Suntime's
chief designer, said each Corvette is hand-assembled and hand
painted with up to three coats of paint including a final clearcoat
to protect the car against chips and wear. The hood is adjustable
so the user can set the feel of the mouse button.

Daniels said the company is working on other sports car models as
well as cats and dogs. Newsbytes learned that the next model will
probably be a popular foreign sports car. While the current model
only fits the Macintosh mouse, future models will include the
Microsoft mouse and other models. Suntime also said it is
negotiating a logo deal with a large US distributor.

The Corvette mouse cover, built in the US, sells for $19.95, and is
available directly from Suntime. A Suntime spokesperson told
Newsbytes that the company expects to have the Auto Mouse in
retail outlets in a couple of months. Also look for other products
from Suntime in the next few months.

(Jim Mallory/19920414/Press Contact: Emma Morgan,
tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 14 AT&T Announces New Joint Ventures 04/14/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00018)

AT&T Announces New Joint Ventures 04/14/92
BASKING RIDGE, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 APR 14 (NB) --
AT&T continued its practice of joint ventures in new technology by
announcing deals with Lockheed of the US, and Mitsui of Japan.

The deal with Lockheed is aimed at the new, growing market for
automating the collection of highway tolls. A number of new
highway projects, like the Georgia 400 toll road in Atlanta, are
expecting regular customers to buy tokens which are read by
electronic devices when they pass designated checkpoints,
thereby reducing traffic jams at each end of the route. The two
companies also note that such systems reduce air pollution at
the same time. AT&T and Lockheed's IMS division in Teaneck,
New Jersey, will work on a smart card system for vehicle tolls.
The companies claim that AT&T has smart card technology,
while Lockheed has the engineering talent.

The deal with Mitsui is aimed at making chips for new digital
cellular telephones under the Time Division Multiple Access, or
TDMA, scheme endorsed by the US cellular industry. The two
companies are already offering samples of a digital signal
processor AT&T calls the "VSELP Engine," which handles speech
compression and error-correction required under the digital
cellular standard, also known as IS-54. The new chip has a small
package and the firms claims it takes less power than current
models. In addition to Mitsui and AT&T, Teknekron
Communications Systems, which controls the formula used to
compress voices.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920414/Press Contact: AT&T, Rich Larris,
908-771-2826; Mitsui, Ken Shima, 408-446-7821; Teknekron
Communications Systems, Sun Jen Yung, 510-49-3634; AT&T,
Mike Jacobs, 201-564-3836)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 14  ****Telebit Launches 70,000 Bps Analog Modem 04/14/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00019)

 ****Telebit Launches 70,000 Bps Analog Modem 04/14/92
SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 14 (NB) -- Telebit
has launched an analog modem it says can run at up to 70,000
bits-per-second (bps).

The WorldBlazer does this by incorporating a new version of the
company's proprietary Packetized Ensemble Protocol -- the new
TurboPEP adds Trellis Coding and new error-correcting
techniques. The modem also follows the V.32bis standard at
14,400 bps.

PEP has proven popular among companies which are creating
their own internal networks and do not mind incompatibility. The
PEP protocol also reportedly runs well on bad lines, since it is
constantly sending out bits on 511 separate channels, and can
usually find a clear channel somewhere even when conventional
modems cannot. In order to get the fastest speed of the
WorldBlazer you will need to connect it to another WorldBlazer.

The same company's CellBlazer technology, a variation of PEP,
is also included, meaning it can work well on cellular phone lines.
The WorldBlazer offers remote configuration and management
features, as well as password and callback security.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920414/Press Contact: Telebit, Mary
Hopkins, 408-745-3061)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 14 Phone Links With Vietnam Return 04/14/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00020)

Phone Links With Vietnam Return 04/14/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 APR 14 (NB) -- Responding to a
November request from AT&T, the US government has agreed to
restore direct phone links with Vietnam, which were cut off after the
US lost the war there in 1975.

While State Department spokesmen attributed the turnabout to
Vietnam's cooperation on POW-MIA issues, and support for the
Cambodian peace accord, there were other, practical
considerations as well. For one thing, as AT&T noted in its
original request, hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese refugees,
many now US citizens, are routing calls back home through third
countries. This increases their costs, but effectively gets-around
the blockade. Until the complete US economic embargo against
Vietnam is lifted, revenues from the calls will go into blocked
accounts.

In addition, the continued US embargo is losing it, what could
become, a prime market of 66 million people. Australia has taken
the lead in reopening communications links, with AOTC agreeing
in January to work on a cellular phone system after having put
satellite earth stations in earlier.  India has agreed to make a
version of its Main Automatic Exchange, a phone switch designed
for tropical climates, in Vietnam. Leading firms like OTC, Alcatel
from France, Siemens and Detecon from Germany, LM Ericsson
from Sweden, Goldstar Information and Communications
from Korea, Minolta, Canon and NEC from Japan, and Uniphone
from Malaysia, have all agreed to participate in a hi-tech expo at
Hanoi next month. And Japan has become a major trading partner
for Vietnam, exporting manufactured goods and importing raw
materials.

AT&T said in November that, if it won permission to serve the
country, it would use 210 circuits on undersea cable, microwave,
and satellites, with 60 going through an AT&T-France Telecom
Atlantic cable, then via microwave to an Intelsat satellite for
transmission to Hanoi. Another 150 would go from an AT&T earth
station in California to a Vietnamese satellite in Ho Chi Minh City
originally installed by OTC of Australia.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920414/Press Contact: AT&T, Jim
McGann, 202-457-3942)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 14  ****WELL Director Announces Resignation 04/14/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00021)

 ****WELL Director Announces Resignation 04/14/92
SAUSALITO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 14 (NB) -- Cliff Figallo,
executive director of the Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link (WELL) has
announced his resignation from that position, effective July 15, 1992.

In a statement, posted in the News section of the WELL, Figallo
enumerated the reasons that he had presented to the WELL's
Board of Directors for his resignation.

He said: "I gave three reasons for leaving. I feel that under the
circumstances, I have brought the WELL as far as I can. It's time
for someone else to try their hand at running this operation. The
combination of what the WELL can pay me, the cost of living
in San Francisco/Marin and the stress of the job do not add up
to an altogether satisfying experience. (Also) I want to explore
other possibilities and adventures that I cannot reach through
my role at the WELL"

Figallo told Newsbytes that he had been with the Whole Earth
Corporation for a longer period of time that he had generally spent
in positions throughout his career. He said: "I came to Whole Earth
in 1983 to work on the software project and then, in 1986, took over
the WELL. Prior to that, I had been working with the Farm Community
in Tennessee, involved in a wide range of projects -- from building
barns to teaching in Guatemala. In 1981, I took over the
responsibilities of bookkeeping for one of the Farm's projects and
inherited the Apple IIc that my predecessor had been using. The
work requirement led me to move rapidly to a more powerful Radio
Xenix system and, all of a sudden, I was a computer person."

Figallo continued: "I expect to continue to be involved with
computers in whatever new endeavor I become involved in. Now
that I'm in my 40's, I do want to explore new areas, particularly
those that may provide greater long-range financial opportunities."

Figallo added: "I've been thinking about this for the last year but I
was determined to get us through the large-scale upgrading of the
system that we had planned. Now that we are in the final stages of
the upgrade and have full Internet status, I'm comfortable going
ahead with my decision. I will continue to be extremely active
during the next three months, attending to the final stages of the
upgrade, concluding our search for a Technical Director and
aiding in the recruitment and training of my replacement."

Figallo's on-line statement concluded: "It has been another of those
long strange trips and I don't see it letting up for a long time. It has
been an honor and a privilege to get to know a lot of you people.
I've been on the bridge for a long watch, and it's time for a fresh
helmsman at the wheel"

Although Figallo's statement was posted only in the News section on
the Well and not prominently in the general sign-on section, seen by
every user. Response to the statement was quick, with 38 responses,
all wishing him good luck, but expressing sadness at his impending
departure, were posted within 15 hours.

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19920414/Press Contact:
WELL, 415-332-4335)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 14  ****IBM Reports $595 Million First Quarter Profit 04/14/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(NYC)(00022)

 ****IBM Reports $595 Million First Quarter Profit 04/14/92
ARMONK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 APR 14 (NB) -- IBM has
announced a first-quarter 1992 net profit of $595 million or $1.04 a
share. This figure compares with a net loss of $1.707 billion in the first
quarter of 1991.

Announcing the figures, IBM Chairman John F. Akers said: "Our
recently announced plan to reshape IBM into a spectrum of
businesses is moving forward aggressively throughout the world,
and a better focused IBM is emerging. We continued to take actions
in the first quarter to strengthen our product line, consolidate
manufacturing and development resources and reduce our overall
work force. Our expenses remain firmly under control. Although
worldwide economic conditions remain unpredictable, we are
encouraged by our improved performance particularly in the
United States, and by the progress we're making in streamlining
the company. Overall, we're pleased with these results and believe
we're on track toward achieving our financial objectives for the year."

The firm's earnings increased 3.3 percent to $14.037 billion, from
$13.587 billion during the same period last year.

A senior IBM executive, commenting to Newsbytes under the
condition of anonymity, said: "The earnings were actually above
some of our projections. US revenue was very strong with non-US
business falling off somewhat. This could be partially attributable to
the fact that we may be coming out of the recession while certain
other countries, particularly Japan, do not seem to be moving out
of it."

He added: "Services and software did very well for us, as
expected, with services increasing 36.4 percent. But what was
very encouraging was the fact that, in US business, we had an
across-the-board improvement. It's a good sign for both us and
the total economy."

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19920414)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 14 ExeCare For AST Notebook Users In Australia And NZ 04/14/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00023)

ExeCare For AST Notebook Users In Australia And NZ 04/14/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 APR 13 (NB) -- AST Research has
introduced a "guaranteed" service program for users of its Premium
Exec notebooks in Australia and New Zealand. Under the service,
registered users are assured repair and return within 24-hours.

The service is offered by all of AST's service centers in the two
countries, plus a similar level of service from AST's 34 international
offices. Fees range from AUS$145 to $495 per  year. An additional
component  extends normal warranty on the machines from one to
two years.

New buyers of the machines will be able to purchase the ExeCare
program with a 42 percent discount until the end of June.

AST Australia Managing Director, Lionel Cheng, said: "Service
and support is AST's specialty. When you are travelling, a faulty
computer can spell disaster. Becoming a member of AST's
ExeCare program minimizes this risk."

(Paul Zucker/19920414)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 14 Australian POST Card Diagnostic Tool A Success 04/14/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(SYD)(00024)

Australian POST Card Diagnostic Tool A Success 04/14/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 APR 14 (NB) -- A PC diagnostic tool
developed by an Australian company, called Custom Built
Computers, has become an overnight success with frustrated PC
servicers and supporters alike. The POSTMaster is an
inexpensive card that fits almost any PC, and can be used to
diagnose faults even when the PC is too sick to omit beeps.

PCs have a built-in system of checks, called POST, or Power On
Self Check. In most models, the basic tests can often reveal a
basic fault in an unbootable machine by sounding a special code
of beeps. Where the machine is able to write to the screen, more
detail can be given by displaying a code number. These beeps
or codes can be interpreted by users in the know, although to
most, they are just noises and numbers.

If the machine is too sick to even get out its beep, then more
powerful tools are necessary. That is where the POSTMaster
comes in - it can reveal the most basic of operating conditions,
such as the presence of correct power supply voltages, address
lines, or clock. In addition, it can display all the standard POST
fault codes on its own LED (light emitting diodes) displays, making
the test independent of working graphics display.

POSTMaster is designed and built in Australia, and is claimed by
the company, to be competitive with Asian-sourced diagnostic
boards. The suggested retail price is AUS$175 (around US$130)
making it affordable to many in a PC support role.

(Paul Zucker/19920414/Press Contact: John Vandermay, Custom
Built Computers, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 14 Toshiba Australia Creates Data Encryption 04/14/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00025)

Toshiba Australia Creates Data Encryption 04/14/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 APR 14 (NB) -- A security and data
encryption system for protecting confidential information has been
developed in Australia by Toshiba's research and development
division.

CustomLoc HiSpeed was created to protect any computer-stored
data which must not be seen by others. The US$850 product uses
two levels of protection. The first level is an access control
feature that uses a number of methods to restrict any user's access
to certain files, directories or disks (effectively hiding anything which
is not meant to be seen).

The second level encrypts data to a standard which is claimed to
exceed the US DES (data encryption system) standard. The figure
quoted is 16 million times more secure than DES, although at those
levels it begins to become academic. Where keyboard entry of
encryption keywords is considered inappropriate or insufficient, they
can be held on Smartcards (costing around US$450 each).

Other features of the system include audit trails, log-in protection,
boot protection, keyboard lock, virus protection, network security,
and high-speed communications encryption.

(Paul Zucker/19920414/Press Contact: Leslie McLennan,
tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 14 International Polish Telecoms Get A Boost From AT&T 04/14/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00026)

International Polish Telecoms Get A Boost From AT&T 04/14/92
WARSAW, POLAND, 1992 APR 14 (NB) -- Polish Telecom and
AT&T have signed a deal that will double the number of
international circuits into and out of Poland.

The $12 million deal, which follows on from an earlier deal worth
$26 million for a 1,000 mile fiber optic cable to boost Poland's
internal trunk telephone call capacity, calls for AT&T to install
an extension to Warsaw's international telephone exchange. In
addition, it will enable AT&T to offer direct international lines
to a lot more companies in Poland.

Currently, calls from Polish phones are routed through the main
Warsaw international exchange. Circuits into the exchange are
frequently overloaded, causing calls to fail before the exchange
has even had a chance to attempt a call from Poland.

The AT&T Komertel service, which has been in operation for the
past two years, bypasses the Polish telephone network, and has
2,000 circuits from a special AT&T section in the Warsaw
international exchange, which terminate directly on to the PABXs
(private automatic branch exchanges) of major companies in
Poland. Calls are dialed over the Komertel network as if the caller
were making a call from a US telephone.

The AT&T extension to the Polish Telecom international exchange
will allow as many as 10,000 extra direct international circuits
on the Komertel network to be offered to Polish businesses. This
could prove useful, Newsbytes notes, as AT&T is currently beta
testing an intra-European telecommunications service where calls
are routed from any European country, over to the US, and then
back to another European country. The intra-European service is
designed to by-pass bottlenecks on certain European call routes,
particularly between former Eastern Bloc countries.

While it is possible to dial direct to international destinations
from within Poland, circuits are frequently busy, as the operators
offer a premium rate service at a 100 percent call surcharge rate.
Most businesses in Poland now use operator services for
international calls, paying the surcharged rate in order to qualify
for instant connections.

(Steve Gold/19920414)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 14 UK: Digital & IXI Sign Pan-European X.Desktop Promotion 04/14/92



(NEWS)(UNIX)(LON)(00027)

UK: Digital & IXI Sign Pan-European X.Desktop Promotion 04/14/92
CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 14 (NB) -- IXI Europe has
announced that customers of Digital Equipment Corporation's (DEC)
Unix workstations are being invited to participate in a special
X.Desktop evaluation scheme. The scheme allows each workgroup
or project team using a DEC Unix system to try out a free copy of
X.Desktop, IXI's Motif-compliant desktop management software.

According to IXI, the scheme will give organizations the chance
to see X.Desktop in action and see for themselves how the
package can change their working practices.

"IXI can help DEC customers get the most out of their Unix
workstations by offering an intuitive, point-and-click interface
to the operating system," said Anil Malhotra, IXI's sales and
marketing director. "With X.Desktop, Digital can successfully win
against competing GUI (graphical user interface) offerings from
Sun, HP, and Apple," he added.

X.Desktop is an icon-based graphical user environment that
provides a way of running programs, managing files, accessing
printers and other peripherals across the network, using mouse-
driven operations. According to IXI, the package shields the user
from the Unix operating system and allows them to organize their
working environment quickly and efficiently.

(Steve Gold/19920414/Press & Public Contact: IXI, 0223-462131)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 14 Switzerland Gets On-Line To Premium Rate Services 04/14/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00028)

Switzerland Gets On-Line To Premium Rate Services 04/14/92
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 14 (NB) -- Racal
Recorders has sold several of its Callmaster 3500 voicemail
systems to Voicemail Services of Zurich. Voicemail Services has
installed the systems in its new center which offers a number of
recordings to the Swiss Telecom Telekiosk premium rate
telecommunications service.

One of the most popular Telekiosk services is the latest weather
reports from 12 Swiss lakes for windsurfers. Voicemail Services
are using a 16-port Callmaster to service the Telekiosk service.

The Callmaster stores up to six hours of spoken word recordings
digitaly, which are then played back to callers as they dial into
the service. Since the last two digits of each Telekiosk call are
passed from the Swiss PTT network to the Voicemail Services
exchange, calls are offered the appropriate recording automatically.

Windsurfing, Newsbytes notes, is one of the most popular summer
recreations in Switzerland. The latest wind reports are keenly
sought by enthusiasts.

The service works with staff at each of the 12 lakes calling into
the Callmaster 3500 system and keying in their PIN (personal
identification number). A digital recording can then be left.
Recordings are time-stamped by the computer system and
times of reports are identified to callers. If a recording is more
than 12 hours old, callers are told there is no up-to-date
information on the required lake.

Dr. David Nutton, Racal Recorders' senior marketing manager,
is enthusiastic about the new Telekiosk service. He claims that
the installation of the Callmaster 3500 in Zurich illustrates the
product's impact on the rapidly expanding voice processing
market in Europe.

"This order also underlines the flexibility of Callmaster and the
benefits of a modular approach to voice processing systems," he
said.

(Steve Gold/19920414/Press Contact: Racal Recorders,
0734-782158)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 14 UK: Racal Unveils Non-Human PABX Switchboard Operator 04/14/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00029)

UK: Racal Unveils Non-Human PABX Switchboard Operator 04/14/92
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 14 (NB) -- Racal
Recorders has unveiled the Callmaster 1000, a voice processing
computer that can operate a PABX (private automatic branch
exchange) operator position.

In use, the system answers all incoming calls with a digitized
and clear greeting and routes calls as required with the caller
inputting the extension needed using a touch tone keypad. Where
touch-tone facilities are not available, or the caller does not
key in the extension required, the call is routed to one of a
number of designated extensions.

Backing up the system for night time use is a voice mail service
that stores incoming calls out of office hours. Messages can then
be played back from any extension when the office reopens. Voice
mail also operates during the day when the required extension is
engaged - the voice mail acts as a second extension to all
numbers on the PABX.

According to Racal, the major advantage over Callmaster 1000
over other voice processing systems is its ease of installation and
use. The system is so flexible it can be reconfigured by almost
any user over the phone, with the appropriate IDs and PINs
(personal identification numbers).

"We're very pleased with our initial success in the rapidly
expanding European voice processing market," said Adrian Day,
Racal Recorders' managing director, announcing the system.
"The increased efficiency and cost-effectiveness offered by voice
processing technology has already been realized by organizations
as varied as hospitals, consumer goods manufacturers, and the
emergency services," he added.

(Steve Gold/19920414/Press Contact: Richie MacTaggart,
0734-782158)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 14 Correction: Eco-Conscious Laser Printer 04/14/92


(CORRECTION)(IBM)(LAX)(00030)

Correction: Eco-Conscious Laser Printer 04/14/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 14 (NB) -- Kyocera says the
Ecosys aSi printer it introduced at Spring Comdex in Chicago was
incorrectly reported as a laser printer. Kyocera representatives told
Newsbytes it is a light emitting diode (LED) printer that uses laser
technology.

Kyocera representative, Harry Savage, told Newsbytes the company
does not even like to say the print quality of the aSi rivals laser printers.
However, Savage did again point out the new Ecosys aSi printer
requires only toner refills and as a result can print for one-fourth the
operating cost of laser printers.

The Ecosys aSi model, the FS-1500A uses a drum composed of
amorphous silicon (aSi). Savage said the printer is ecology-
conscious as users can refill the toner themselves using toner
refills from Kyocera. The refills will come in small, biodegradable
containers made of Kalp, a material that when burned only releases
water vapor and carbon dioxide, Kyocera representative, Steve
Petix, told Newsbytes.

Print resolution is 300 by 1200 dots-per-inch (dpi) and the printer can
print up to 10 pages-per-minute (ppm).

Also, while Newsbytes understood the Postscript language offered
by Kyocera is compatible with all but the latest version of Adobe's
Postscript, Savage says that information is incorrect and the printer
has not even been tested with Postscript.

The warranty information was also incorrectly reported to Newsbytes.
Savage says the correct information is that the company says it will
offers a three year or 300,000 copy warranty on the drum and print
head only. A one year or 300,000 copy warranty is offered on the
printer itself.

Savage mentioned in addition that the US division of Kyocera,
headquartered in Somerset, New Jersey, is part of the $3.5 billion
Kyocera Corporation, headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. A division of
Kyocera is in Toyko, Japan, not the headquarters as Newsbytes
was previously informed.

Newsbytes wishes to apologize to its readers for any
inconvenience this may have caused.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920414/Press Contact: Harry Savage, for
Kyocera, tel [phone]; Steve Petix, Kyocera, tel [phone],
fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 14 Semiconductor Industry More Global, Say Analysts 04/14/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00031)

Semiconductor Industry More Global, Say Analysts 04/14/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 14 (NB) -- Shifts in
the market share of wafer fabrication reflect the increasingly global
nature of the semiconductor industry, say analysts. While wafer
fabrication was up overall with the Asia/Pacific growing 64 percent,
the Japanese and North American markets were slipping.

The Asia/Pacific is more aggressive, especially in the areas
of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) production.
Companies in that area are also adding more capacity to support
the further production of advanced semiconductor devices, said
Peggy Wood, principle analyst with Dataquest.

Even though Japan is more sluggish, with only one percent
growth in 1991, it still accounts for 50 percent of the worldwide
market of wafer fabrication equipment, Wood said. The North
American market, though down four percent, holds 25 percent of
the overall market. Asia/Pacific has 14 percent, and European
wafer manufacturers have 11 percent.

Europe showed the largest decline with a 17 percent reduction.
Dataquest officials blamed the reduction on weaker business
conditions in Europe.

US companies showed an increased market share in both the
Japanese and European markets last year, Dataquest said.
Though having to compete more and more with Japanese
equipment companies in their own backyard, US companies
are increasing their presence in the export market, Wood said.

Overall, the worldwide market share for wafer fabrication
equipment was $6.04 billion, up three percent from the $5.87
billion reported in 1990, Dataquest added.

Dataquest, a subsidiary of Dun & Bradstreet, is a marketing
research and consulting company based in San Jose, California.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920414/Press Contact: Mary Hand,
Dataquest, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD




#CARD :1992 APR 13 New For PC: TMS High-speed Image Conversion Program 04/13/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00001)

New For PC: TMS High-speed Image Conversion Program 04/13/92
TULSA, OKLAHOMA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 13 (NB) -- TMS has announced that
it will release BlackTIE, a low cost, high speed image conversion
utility later this month.

TMS spokesperson Marc McClure told Newsbytes that BlackTIE is
especially designed for system integrators and imaging
consultants. "We're concentrating on professionals, the document
imgaging manager, the person who has hundreds or thousands of
images," said Mcclure.

TMS stresses the speed of BlackTIE's conversion process. "The
software can convert images to TIFF five times faster than most
conversion utilities," said TMS national technical support manager,
Shari McClure.

BlackTIE handles a number of popular document image formats,
including TIFF, CCITT Group 3 and 4, Pack Bits, PDA (process
document architecture), CALS Type 1, and Laserdata raster images.
The program can also handle black and white BMP and PCX files. "One
of the strengths of the software," said Maxwell Seinhardt, VP of
sales and marketing, "is that it handles three of the most popular
document image file formats, TIFF, PDA, and Packbits."

BlackTIE consists of three programs: Convert is a conversion
application which can also scale, rotate, clip, mirror, or alter the
color representation, TIEview is the image viewer, and TIEtype is
an image header reader. TIEview is a Windows application, while
Convert and TIEtype are DOS programs. Mcclure told Newsbytes that
the company doesn't have any immediate plans to produce a Macintosh
version of the program.

BlackTIE has a retail price of $199, and can be ordered direct from
TMS and is also listed in Programmer Shop, Programmer's Paradise and
Connection catalogs. You can order BlackTIE from TMS by calling
800-944-7654 during normal business hours.

(Jim Mallory/19920410/Press contact: Marc Mcclure, TMS,
405-377-0880)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 13 Spectragraphics Intros First X Server for Windows NT 04/13/92


(NEWS)(UNIX)(DEN)(00002)

Spectragraphics Intros First X Server for Windows NT 04/13/92
BEAVERTON, OREGON, U.S.A., 1992 APR 13 (NB) -- Spectragraphics was
one of a group of companies demonstrating more than 50 applications
for the Microsoft Windows NT operating system during Comdex last
week. Spectragraphics previewed its PC-Xview for NT, which the
company said is the industry's first X Window server for Windows NT.

PC-Xview for NT allows PC users to display X Window applications
from anywhere on the network alongside local NT applications.
Integrated with the Microsoft NT environment, Pc-Xview for NT lets
PC users access Unix applications as easily as Windows applications.
Users can run both programs and cut and paste between the two
environments.

"Windows NT operating system is designed for high-end platforms and
servers, moving Windows applications directly into the workstation
environment," said Alistair Banks, manager of connectivity relations
at Microsoft. The next generation Windows NT operating system is
expected to come to market by the end of the year.

PC-Xview for NT will be released at the same NT ships, according to
the Spectragraphics announcement. Pricing is expected to be in the
$500 range, although the company said final pricing will be
announced at the time the product ships.

Developers received the first version of the 32-bit NT operating
system about five months ago. Demonstrations at Spring Comdex in
Chicago were made by a wide range of companies on laptops,
desktop PCs, RISC-based workstations and multiprocessor systems.

(Jim Mallory/19920410/Press contact: Rob Warmack, Spectragraphics,
503-641-2200)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 13 New For PC: Video Blaster From Creative Labs 04/13/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00003)

New For PC: Video Blaster From Creative Labs 04/13/92
MILPITAS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 13 (NB) -- Creative Labs, makers
of the Sound Blaster personal computer sound card, introduced Video
Blaster a board for displaying, editing, and frame-capturing full-
motion video.

Creative Labs says the Video Blaster board is aggressively priced at
$495, a lower price than competing products. The company said it wants
to put PC video capability in the hands of the mass market.
Anticipated street prices in the range of $300 to $350 should make
users less hesitant about adding the card to their systems, company
representatives said.

The card allows users to combine full-motion video from NTSC or PAL
with computer-generated graphics and animations. Images can be
captured in a "freeze-frame," saved in bitmap (.BMP), Targa (.TGA), m-
motion (.MMP), or escapsulated Postscript (.EPS). Captured images can
be manipulated, for example colors can be changed colors or titles
added, then the image can be exported to another application, Creative
Labs said.

Switching between three NTSC or PAL video sources, such as a video
cassette recorder, a videodisc player, a video camera, or a camcorder,
can be accomplished by the user, the company said. Four audio inputs
can be used with external sources and with the company's compact disc
read-only memory (CD-ROM) drive, and its audio cards. The audio cards
include the Sound Blaster, Sound Blaster Pro Basic, or Sound Blaster
Pro. Also provided is a digital and analog mixer with programmable
individual and master volume controls, the company added.

Like most video cards, the Video Blaster allows the video window to be
scaled on screen to any size from full screen down to an icon.
Panning horizontally or vertically within the window as well as
moving the window to any point on the screen can be
performed as well. Creative Labs says the Video Blaster can provide
for the display of two million true colors on an interlaced video
graphics array (VGA) display. Controls for the adjustment of hue,
saturation, brightness, and contrast are also available.

The video images can also be keyed to one of 256 graphics colors and
the images are adjustable via luminance and chrominance masking. This
allows the user the ability for special effects as well as the ability
to pick one object out of the background.

The card is a 16-bit card and it requires at least an
IBM or compatible 286 computer, MS-DOS 3.1 or higher, a VGA or
multisync monitor, and will work with Microsoft Windows 3.1, Creative
Labs said.

The company also said Microsoft Windows 3.1 includes drivers for its
Sound Blaster cards, drivers the Creative Labs co-developed with
Microsoft. Larry Samuels, executive vice president of Creative Labs
said: "Embedding our sound driver in the (Microsoft Windows 3.1)
operating system should greatly broaden the market for sound, making
it simpler for developers and users alike."

(Linda Rohrbough/19920409/Press Contact: Arnold Waldstein, Creative
Labs, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Ellen Hunter, SIPR for
Creative Labs, tel [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 13 Canada: First Portable Computing Forum Nov 16-17 04/13/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00004)

Canada: First Portable Computing Forum Nov 16-17 04/13/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 APR 13 (NB) -- International
Conferences + Exhibitions has announced Canada's first Portable
Computing Forum. The conference will be held November 16 and 17 at
the Holiday Inn on King Street in downtown Toronto.

Roland Klassen, president of IC+E, told Newsbytes the first forum
will be primarily a conference, with a small display area as an
adjunct. He said the company hopes to line up some major names in
the portable computing world as speakers, but has no announcements
to make yet about the agenda.

The Canadian market is not yet ready to sustain a major show
focused on portable computing, Klassen said, but the company does
hope to bring in 40 to 50 exhibitors to display their wares outside
the conference rooms. IC+E is hoping to attract between 200 and 300
people to the two-day conference, which will cost $295 per person.

Pen computing will be one key element of the conference, Klassen
said, and will occupy "at least a quarter of the time" in the
conference sessions. He added that sub-notebook computers and
personal organizers are also expected to be hot topics.

Several vendors are likely to announce small portable machines this
fall, Klassen said, and the Portable Computing Forum is timed to
capitalize on those announcements. The conference takes place at
the same time as the first two days of the large fall Comdex show
in Las Vegas. While some might see this as bad timing, Klassen said
it should ensure that new products being announced in the fall will
be announced before or during the conference rather than afterward.
"Not everybody goes down to Comdex," he added.

(Grant Buckler/19920409/Press Contact: Roland Klassen, IC+E,
416-581-8797, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 13 GM Canada To Put Parts Catalog On CD-ROM 04/13/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00005)

GM Canada To Put Parts Catalog On CD-ROM 04/13/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 APR 13 (NB) -- General Motors Canada
will stop sending out parts catalogs in 1993 -- on paper, at least.
The automaker is telling its 1,100 dealers across Canada they will
have to accept the information on compact disk read-only memory
(CD-ROM) or on microfiche.

The new CD-ROM version of the catalog will save dealers quite a bit
of shelf space, and it is also expected to make it easier to look
up parts. Patti Knight, a spokeswoman for Bull HN Information
Systems, which will convert the parts catalog to CD-ROM format for
GM Canada, said the old paper catalog consists of eight to 10
volumes that can take up about eight feet of shelf space.

Besides that, Knight said, finding the desired part in the paper
catalog is something of a black art. "The ability to reference that
information quickly and accurately is a skill that takes quite a
lot of time to develop," she said. With the CD-ROM version, dealers
will be able to search for parts by car model, year, and the part
of the car (as in front end, rear end, passenger compartment, and
so on). When they think they've found what they're looking for,
they will also be able to see picture of the part on the computer
screen.

The compact disk hardware will work with powerful personal
computers based on Intel 486 processors. While Bull has been chosen
to put the catalog into CD-ROM form, GM will be able to rely on
three suppliers -- Bull, ADP, and Reynolds & Reynolds -- for
equipment.

The 1994 model year catalog, to be available in September of 1993,
will be the first to be issued in CD-ROM form. Knight said GM
Canada's move is part of a worldwide GM initiative to replace paper
catalogs with electronic systems.

(Grant Buckler/19920409/Press Contact: Patti Knight, Bull HN,
416-479-2855)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 13  ****NY State Police Give Computer Crime Update 04/13/93



(NEWS)(GOVT)(NYC)(00006)

 ****NY State Police Give Computer Crime Update 04/13/93
NEW YORK, NY, U.S.A., 1992 APR 13 (NB) -- Telecommunications
fraud in the form of "call selling" has become a major criminal
activity in the New York City area, according to two crime
experts.

Speaking at the 17th annual Trenton Computer Festival, Donald
Delaney, New York State Police senior investigator specializing in
telecommunications fraud, and Michael Godwin, in-house counsel for
the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), discussed the changes that
have occurred in the area of computer crime investigations.

Delaney said that "call selling" operations are those in which an
individual first obtains the necessary information to make long
distance calls while charging them to an unsuspecting third-party.
He or she then sets up what he described as a private telephone
company, selling long-distance calls at lower rates that persons
would be charged by a legitimate long-distance carrier.

Delaney reviewed the means used by criminals to obtain the
information necessary to set up such a business. He then mentioned
losses incurred by cellular phone companies and businesses using PBX
(private branch exchange) systems as a result of the illegal
activities. He referred to a recent case shown on the NBC Nightly
News depicting unauthorized use of a PBX belonging to Data
Products Corporation that resulted in $35,000 of charges to
Data Products in one month.

Delaney also reminded the panel that, speaking at last year's TCF, he
had called for greater federal and state funding for education of
investigators in these areas. He said, "I'm happy to say that in the
last year, the New York State Police has been able to set up a
computer crime lab staffed with trained personnel to review
evidence both for our cases and for local departments throughout the
state. The investigators assigned to this duty were trained by the
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in Glynn County,
Georgia. I think that law enforcement officials throughout the
country are becoming much informed both about the technology
itself and the issues that EFF has been raising."

Godwin agreed that there has been progress made but said that he
felt that there was still a way to go, particularly at the Federal
level. In discussing problems in the area of search-and-seizure
procedures, Godwin used the Steve Jackson Games case as an
example, "not because it is representative of law enforcement
procedures -- because so many things went wrong."

Godwin mentioned some facts in the Jackson case -- a case in which
computer equipment was seized from a business by the United
States Secret Service although neither the company itself nor the
firm's president, Jackson, was the subject of the investigation.
Godwin mentioned that the Secret Service shipped the equipment to
Illinois from Texas where it was seized so that expert personnel
could examine it. According to Godwin, the expert examination
turned out to be the running of the Norton Utilities, a procedure that
he suggests could have been done in Texas. "I'm sure that they
could have found somebody in the state of Texas to run the Norton
Utilities."

Jackson is presently suing, with the support of EFF, the Federal
government and individual government personnel for actions relating
to the search-and-seizure.

Delaney said that the publicity surrounding the Jackson case and a
related case involving University of Missouri student Craig Neidorf
have made all law enforcement officials more aware of the issues
surrounding the gathering of evidence in a computer case. He also
said that there has been criticism of some agencies for carrying
out search and seizure that result in the suspect being deprived
of property for over a year without charges being filed. "We try, as
procedure, to make an arrest concurrent with the execution of the
warrant. If this is impossible and the computer must be removed
without the filing of charges, we expect the evidence to be examined
immediately and either be returned or become the basis for an
indictment."

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/199204013)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 13 UK: HM Systems Unveils 50MHz 486-based System 04/13/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00007)

UK: HM Systems Unveils 50MHz 486-based System 04/13/92
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 13 (NB) -- HM Systems, the growing
London-based high-speed systems supplier, rolled out its new
50MHz Minstrel Graphics Workstations Professional machine at the
Which Computer? Show in Birmingham last week. Priced starting at
UKP 6,000, the machine is based around an Intel 80486
microprocessor.

Tony Harris, HM Systems' managing director, says the machine
comes with 8 megabytes (MB) of memory and a 100MB high-speed hard
disk with integral 32 kilobyte (KB) cache and 15 millisecond
average access time. A caching disk controller increases data
speed to 1.2MB/second and reduces average access time to 0.2
milliseconds.

The price is quite high as machines, even in this performance
bracket, go. Harris defended his pricing strategy to Newsbytes,
pointing out that the graphics capabilities are leading edge.

The graphics card supports all PC resolutions through to VGA and
comes with an onboard Texas 34020 graphics coprocessor and
separate VGA controller. These features allow a second monitor to
be displayed as a window on-screen. Either image can be panned
in real time and zoomed to 1,000-times magnification with
redrawing.

Bundled with the Professional is a 20-inch fixed frequency
monitor with a Sony Trinitron high contrast flat screen tube
capable of 71Hz screen refresh rates.

Harris told Newsbytes that the Professional is leading edge
technology. "The 50MHz Professional offers the optimum solution
for multitasking Windows, giving users the speed they need and a
future proof platform for Windows NT," he said.

The machine is pitched head to head with the IBM PS/2 Model 70.
According to HM Systems, the Professional is about 40 percent
smaller than the Model 70, and is technically superior.

(Steve Gold/19920409/Press & Public Contact: HM Systems - Tel:
081-209-0911; Fax: [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 13 Micrografx Fall Comdex Chili Cookoff Is On 04/13/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00008)

Micrografx Fall Comdex Chili Cookoff Is On 04/13/92
RICHARDSON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 13 (NB) -- Just as Spring
Comdex ends, Micrografx has announced that the annual Chili
Cookoff will be held again this year at fall Comdex set for Las Vegas
this November.

The annual event is a major fund raising effort to benefit the
National Center For Missing & Exploited Children. Contest entrants,
which always include a number of celebrities and industry leaders,
prepare their favorite chili recipes. Comdex, held each spring and
fall, is a trade show the computer industry uses to showcase its new
products.

A number of computer industry leaders, including Borland, IBM,
Intel, The Interface Group, International Data Group, Mathematica,
Microsoft, and Novell will again cosponsor the event, said
Micrografx.

"This is truly an industry event," said George D. Grayson, president
and chief operating officer of Micrografx. Grayson was recently
appointed to the board of directors of the Center.

As a result of a challenge issued by the publisher of Computer World
magazine, the Center has already received modems, fax machines, tape
back-up systems, uninterruptible power supplies and software for use
in maintaining the network.

Grayson said the success of last year's event enabled the center to
start plans for the National Technology Network, using computer
technology to tie law enforcement offices in major cities into the
center's information bank of missing children. The law enforcement
personnel would also have to receive specialized training in the
complex use of the system, for which funding is also necessary.

Micrografx spokesperson Kate Potts told Newsbytes that since the
project started four years ago, over $900,000 in cash and computer
products has been raised. Potts said that the Center is the only
organization that has the software necessary to age children's
photos. Law enforcement agencies have had the capability to age
adults pictures, so they can have an idea of what missing or wanted
adults might look like, for some time. But Potts pointed out that
the techniques for aging children's images were quite different.
"With adults, everything goes down, but with children it all goes
up," said Potts.

Potts told Newsbytes that IBM and Intel contributed the PCs to run
the network. Photographic and video equipment was donated by Sony
Corporation, and QMA Corporation contributed Photosketch, the
specialized software used in the system.

Thanks to their ability to update the probable appearance of missing
children, 11 children have been located, including two who were
featured at last year's cookoff.

This year IBM has donated the use of the Thomas & Mack Center in Las
Vegas for the event, which is scheduled for Tuesday, November 17th.
Each year celebrities lend their support to the event. This year's
list includes former Dallas Cowboys Bob Lilly, Drew Pearson, and
Doug Donley, as well as Texas Rangers manager Bobby Valentine and
pitcher Bobby Witt. Other will be added as the event draws closer.

(Jim Mallory/19920409/Press contact: Kate Potts, Micrografx,
214-497-6413)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 13  ****Eco-conscious Laser Printer 04/13/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00009)

 ****Eco-conscious Laser Printer 04/13/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 13 (NB) -- Kyocera says it has
introduced a line of laser printers that doesn't require cartridge
changes. The company says the new Ecosys aSi printer family only
requires toner refills and as a result can print for one-fourth the
operating cost of other laser printers.

The first Ecosys aSi model, the FS-1500A, uses a drum composed of
amorphous silicon (aSi), a material that is more durable and scratch
resistant that previously available materials. The developer and fuser
units have also been developed for longevity, Kyocera said.

The result is a laser printer which only needs the addition of toner,
cutting the operation cost to less than a penny a printed page
compared to the 3.2 cents per page of typical laser cartridge
printers, Kyocera said.

The company says it has also created a new toner that has in it tiny
ceramic particles that clean and recondition the aSi drum each time
toner is used. Users can refill the toner themselves using toner
refills from Kyocera. The refills will come in small, biodegradable
containers made of Kalp, a material that when burned only releases
water vapor and carbon dioxide, Kyocera representatives told
Newsbytes.

Gerry Rittenbery vice president of Kyocera Electronics said:
"Operating cost efficiencies, enhanced image quality, compact size,
and the environmental consciousness of our new aSi technology signal
the long-awaited arrival of a new generation of cost-efficient computer
printers."

Print resolution is 300 x 1200 dots per inch (dpi) and the printer can
print up to 10 pages per minute (ppm).

Compact design of the print engine is credited for the small footprint
of the printer. Kyocera says it is one of the smallest laser printers
in the industry at 13.6" wide, 8.7" high, and 13.8" deep.

The printer offers optional plug-in compatibility with Ethernet,
Appletalk, and Token Ring as well as other networks. Kyocera has
incorporated its own Postscript compatible interpreter (KPDL) and
page description language (Prescribe II). The Postscript language
offered by Kyocera is compatible with all but the latest version of
Adobe's Postscript, company representatives told Newsbytes.

Hewlett-Packard III, PCL-5, HPGL, Diablo 630, IBM Proprinter X24E, and
Epson LQ850 are some examples of the other printer emulations built
into the Kyocera.

Kyocera also says the printer offers duplex printing, can handle as
many as 1,250 sheets of paper at once with the addition of 2 optional
500-sheet drawers, has a 15-bin sorter/electronic mailbox, a power
envelope feeder, up to 50 scalable and 87 bit mapped fonts, two slots
for up to four megabytes capacity IC cards, and compatibility with PC,
Macintosh, and Unix workstations.

List price for the FS-1500A is $2,395 and it is expected to ship
in the second quarter of this year. The company says it will offer a 3
year or 300,000-copy warranty on the printer. Kyocera is
planning other printers for introduction in 1992 and 1993 geared more
toward the home and small business market, company representatives
said.

The U.S. division of Kyocera, headquartered in Somerset, New Jersey,
is part of the $3.5 billion Kyocera Corporation, headquartered in
Toyko, Japan.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920410/Press Contact: Steve Petix, Kyocera, tel
908-560-3400, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 13 Fox Software President To Speak At May 30 Event 04/13/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00010)

Fox Software President To Speak At May 30 Event 04/13/92
WOODLAND HILLS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 13 (NB) -- The Valley
West dBASE Users Group (VWdBUG) in Woodland Hills, California is
announcing its sixth annual dDay Fair to be held Saturday, May 30,
1992. This year's Fair will feature guest speaker Dave Fulton,
president of Fox Software, the database software company Microsoft is
in the process of purchasing.

This year's theme is "The Battle for the Desktop -- Relational vs.
Object-oriented Technology." Fulton, who is to be the new head of
Microsoft's database development group, is the keynote speaker at
the one-day event. Borland, whose company purchased competing product
dBASE IV in its acquisition of Ashton-Tate last year, is holding a
special reception at the end of the last seminar and will demonstrate
dBASE IV for Windows, VWdBUG said.

Other speakers and seminar presenters include David Morgan, senior
systems analyst for Nantucket; Tom Rettig, nationally known database
software developer, author, and publisher; Paul Heiser, known for his
leadership in database disaster recovery; David Kalman, editor-at-
large of DBMS Magazine; and Bob Ramers of Reseller Resources.

IBM is also doing a presentation entitled "OS2/DM2 on a PC," the
VWdBUG officials told Newsbytes. Other exhibitors include Borland with
dBASE IV, Fox Software with Foxpro, Nantucket with Clipper, SBT with
its Accounting software, Wordtech with Arago, Computer Associates with
Dbfast, Databased Advisor magazine, and DBMS magazine.

VWdBUG is a non-profit California Corporation who holds the dDay Fair
as a service for the database community at large and to provide
scholarships to computer science students at California State
University, Northridge, California. As such the VWdBUG group only
requires a $25 admission fee for all seminars and events, however the
group does have to limit registrations to about 500 participants.

Charlie Rider, public relations for VWdBUG told Newsbytes previous
dDay Fairs have been sell-outs and recommends those planning to attend
get their tickets early.

More information or requests for tickets can be made to VWdBUG, P.O.
Box 16971, Encino, CA 91416, at telephone [phone], or by fax at
818-591-6894.

VWdBUG says tickets, a seminar schedule, and a map showing how to get
to the Fair held in Woodland Hills, California will be mailed to
participants two weeks before the event.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920410/Press Contact: Charlie Rider, VWdBUG, tel
818-901-2826 or 818-360-3254, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 13 UK: Wordperfect Pushes Unix/VMS Packages 04/13/92


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LON)(00011)

UK: Wordperfect Pushes Unix/VMS Packages 04/13/92
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 13 (NB) -- Just when you thought
that Wordperfect was becoming a DOS and Macintosh word processing
software house, along comes the company with a welter of new Unix
and VMS options for its customers.

Wordperfect executives were out in force at the Which Computer?
Show held in Birmingham last week to promote the Unix and VMS
options available to customers. Several Unix packages were
previewed at the show, while VMS users were being encouraged to
move up to the Unix version of Wordperfect with a 50 percent
trade-in deal.

Spearheading Wordperfect's Unix previews was a working version of
Wordperfect Office 3.1 for Unix. Scheduled for launch at the end
of this month, the package runs on SCO Unix System v/386, with a
version for SCO Xenix to follow shortly.

Wordperfect 5.1 for the SPARC series of workstations was also
previewed at the show. The package, which is currently in beta
testing, is scheduled to ship sometime during the current
(second) quarter.

In a demonstration shown to Newsbytes, the package turned out to
be a full WYSIWYG application, which Wordperfect claims is a
first for the Sun SPARC environment. Many of the features of
Wordperfect 5.1 for Windows have been ported to the SPARC
platform, including the ruler bar, the button bar and support for
tables and graphics.

On the VMS front, Wordperfect announced it is offering a trade-up
scheme for users of various VMS word processing packages.
Packages qualifying for a 50 percent discount on the price of
Wordperfect 5.1 for VMS include Decwrite, WPS+, Mass 11. Word 11
and Wordmarc.

Commenting on the trade-up deal, Wendy Berry, Wordperfect U.K.'s
marketing manager, said: "We are making Wordperfect 5.1 for VMS
as easy to buy as it is to use by offering highly advantageous
trade-ups on selected competitive packages."

The only limitation on the trade-up deal is that buyers must
contact Wordperfect and fill in a form for return to the company
by the end of June.

(Steve Gold/19920410/Press & Public Contact: Wordperfect UK -
Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 13 New For Telecom: First Portable Line Simulator Debuts 04/13/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00012)

New For Telecom: First Portable Line Simulator Debuts 04/13/92
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 13 (NB) -- Claydon
Telecommunications announced an industry first at the Comms '92
show last week in Birmingham, England -- a portable telephone line
simulator.

The portable hand-held unit, which is powered by single nine volt
battery, has been designed to replace desktop units costing
several thousand pounds -- the Claydon unit costs UKP 369.
According to the company, the unit is capable of testing and
demonstrating telephones, cordless phones, answering machines,
payphones, call loggers, PABXs and key systems.

The unit has been configured for use in the UK. Thanks to
flexible onboard software, the device can be reconfigured to
conform to most other country telephone standards, particularly
when it comes to dial tone simulation.

The idea behind the device came to the directors of the company
in 1988 when, as a telecom equipment supplier, Claydon needed a
portable simulator. When the company discovered that such a
device was not available, they did the logical thing -- they
designed and built one themselves. The unit unveiled at Comms '92
is the logical progression of that prototype.

In a demonstration shown to Newsbytes, the device, about the same
size as a video cassette, generated dial tones and tone plus
pulse dialling. In addition, it was able to complete a number of
diagnostic tests.

(Steve Gold/19920410/Press & Public Contact: Claydon Telecom -
Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 13 Sun Show Set For Toronto 04/13/92


(NEWS)(UNIX)(TOR)(00013)

Sun Show Set For Toronto 04/13/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 APR 13 (NB) -- Toronto will get its
first show focused on Sun Microsystems' SPARC architecture this
fall. International Conferences + Exhibitions has scheduled
SunWorld Fall for November 2 and 3 at the Westin Harbour Castle
hotel in downtown Toronto.

Roland Klassen, president of IC+E, said the show is one of a series
of Sun shows operated around the world by IC+E's parent company,
World Expo. It is the company's second Sun event in Canada. Last
year, IC+E ran Sun Solutions Expo, an exhibition and conference in
Vancouver.

The Vancouver show attracted "a couple of thousand" people, Klassen
said.

International Conferences + Exhibitions is hoping to attract
between 80 and 100 companies in the SPARC market to display their
products at SunWorld Fall, Klassen said. The company is also trying
to line up several "high-level" speakers from the SPARC community
for the occasion, he said, but has no announcements to make yet
about its conference agenda.

IC+E is the operator of several annual computer trade shows in
Canada, including PC/Windows Canada and MacWorld Canada.

(Grant Buckler/19920409/Press Contact: Roland Klassen, IC+E,
416-581-8797, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 13 Mercury Menu-driven Access To Dial-up Packet Nets 04/13/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00014)

Mercury Menu-driven Access To Dial-up Packet Nets 04/13/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 13 (NB) -- Mercury Communications has
announced it has introduced a menuing front end to its dial-up
packet data network (PDN) service. The menu is available on all
access ports to the Mercury PDN immediately.

The menuing system comes ten months after Mercury began
modernizing its dial-up network to support V.32 (9,600 bits per
second) access. Currently, around a third of the Mercury PDN
supports V.32 modems. According to Mercury, the combination of
high-speed access and menu system mean that the service is faster
and more user-friendly than the competition.

David Sexton, general manager of Mercury's data network
operations, said that most callers to Mercury's PDN are now be able
to access the service at local call rates, following network
expansion over the last year.

"The introduction of menu server, shortly after launching the
9,600 bits/second service, comes as a result of having a close
relationship with our customers and understanding their needs,"
he said.

Sexton added that the new facilities were developed to ensure
that the company's customers benefit from ease of access to the
Mercury 5000 network.

"We aim to provide the most technically advanced data network
service in the UK, backed with the highest quality service,
providing our customers with a competitive edge in their own
marketplaces," he said.

(Steve Gold/19920413/Press & Public Contact: Mercury
Communications - Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 13 Russian-US Venture Develops Handwriting Recognition 04/13/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00015)

Russian-US Venture Develops Handwriting Recognition 04/13/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA/BOULDER, COLORADO,U.S.A., 1992 APR 13 (NB) --
Paragraph International, a Russian-American business venture, has
announced that it will join with GO Corporation to develop
Calligrapher, a cursive handwriting product, for GO's pen-based
PenPoint operating system.

Under terms of the agreement GO will be a non-exclusive worldwide
distributor and publisher, marketing Calligrapher in addition to its
own GOWrite. GOWrite is a replaceable printed character recognition
engine.

Paragraph International said it would demonstrate an early version
of Calligrapher for Penpoint on April 16th. The two companies said
that the product would probably be available for commercial release
later in the year.

According to the Paragraph International announcement the two
companies are working with independent software vendors (ISVs) and
key customer accounts to ensure effective integration of the
technology into PenPoint.

The ability of computer operating systems to recognize cursive
handwriting is essential to the success of pen-based applications.
Pen computers allow users to write directly onto a tablet or the
screen instead of using a keyboard. Cursive refers to the writing
where the letters are joined together, as when we sign our names.
The first pen-based systems recognized block, or printed characters.
Paragraph says Calligrapher is the first writer-independent
handwriting recognition system to support other cursive and printed
characters.

Boulder, Colorado-based Paragraph International has the exclusive
marketing rights for all products developed by Paragraph JV, a
Russian/American joint venture formed in 1989. Paragraph JV is
headquartered in Moscow.

In October Paragraph International announced that it had signed a
non-exclusive agreement with Apple Computer which calls for the two
companies to jointly develop Paragraph's handwriting recognition
technology. The agreement also sets forth licensing and royalty
details.

(Jim Mallory/19920413/Press contact: Michael Reimer, Paragraph
International, 303-443-8777,FAX [phone]; Marcia Mason, GO
Corporation, 415-345-7400)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 13  ****New UK Board Allows PCs To Run Mac Software 04/13/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(LON)(00016)

 ****New UK Board Allows PCs To Run Mac Software 04/13/92
GATESHEAD, TYNE & WEAR, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 13 (NB) -- Bluemaq,
which claims to be Europe's largest manufacturer of Apple
Macintosh-compatible computers, has announced the Chameleon board
for PCs. The board is designed to allow PCs to run Apple Macintosh
programs in a 16MHz 68000-based Mac Classic II environment.

This technology doesn't come cheaply, however. The Chameleon
comes with four megabytes (MB) of memory and costs UKP 1,295. An
optional PC, complete with 4MB of its own memory, 120MB hard
disk, a 33MHz 80386SX microprocessor and a Chameleon board
already fitted, costs UKP 2,395.

As supplied by Bluemaq, the Chameleon comes with MS-DOS and
System 7.0 operating system software. Windows 3. 1 is also
included, as is a choice of either Lotus 1-2-3 v3.1 for Windows
or for the Mac. The machines and cards, which come with a year's
on-site warranty, are available immediately.

According to Cindy Cole, sales manager with Bluemaq, the board is
the same one that is sold in the US by Hydra Systems. "We've
fitted a Motorola chipset, original Mac ROMs and our own memory
to enable it to run as a Mac," she told Newsbytes.

"Apple is aware of the card and is happy with it. We've even had
John Sculley use the card and he regards it as quite innovative,"
she added, noting that the price of the card is actually more
than the cost of a stand-alone Mac.

"It's not designed to compete with a desktop Mac. It's more for
PC users with a need for a Mac environment on their machines,
such as the educational marketplace in the US," she said.

(Steve Gold/19920413/Press & Public Contact: Bluemaq - Tel: 091-
461-0336; Fax: [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 13 Dell Intros European Price Consolidation Strategy 04/13/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00017)

Dell Intros European Price Consolidation Strategy 04/13/92
BRACKNELL, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 13 (NB) -- Dell has
announced it is consolidating pricing on its range of PCs in
Europe. The price changes, which range from three to 60 percent,
depending on which country is involved, are the first result of
the formation of the company's European management team earlier
this year.

According to the company, the new pricing formula will accelerate
Dell's growth in Europe and give Dell's customers "common and
consistent pricing throughout Western Europe."

Each of Dell's international business units (IBUs), which sell
directly in 12 Western European countries, have worked closely in
developing the international based pricing. Dell has also
introduced a new multinational account partnership (MAP)
program that it claims guarantees multinational customers a
fully committed account team to coordinate and manage all
purchasing, delivery, and service throughout the customer's
international network of markets.

The new program will also let multinational customers
consolidate all of their purchases across borders in order to get
higher volume discounts from Dell.

Announcing the scheme, Martin Slagter, Dell's vice president of
European marketing and operations, said: "We are now providing
international customers with greater consistency in pricing and
services than ever before."

Slagter added, however, that he does not intend to sacrifice
product quality to achieve this. "Dell has already forced the
pace in individual countries and this demonstrates our capability
to continue this success across Europe, regardless of
boundaries," he said.

Newsbytes asked Maurice Cowey, Dell UK's marketing manager, why
the price cuts had been introduced. He replied that, while UK
prices would not be dramatically affected by the European pricing
program, some European country prices would fall as a result.

"The primary aim of the scheme is to allow our international
customers to buy machines in the country of their choice and have
the PCs delivered direct to the relevant country offices," he
said.

Plans call for pricing on all Dell products in Europe to be
reviewed regularly on an international basis to take into account
changes which occur in Dell's competitive price positioning.,
product line strategy and product costs. Future price changes
will be based on changing marketing conditions across major
markets.

(Steve Gold/19920413/Press & Public Contact: Dell Computer - Tel:
0344-860456)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 13  ****IBM Notifying Employees Of Job Cuts 04/13/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(NYC)(00018)

 ****IBM Notifying Employees Of Job Cuts 04/13/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 APR 13 (NB) -- IBM has started
notifying some employees in the United States that their jobs will
disappear. The cuts are part of worldwide staff reductions announced
in December.

IBM spokesman Larry Phipps would not specify how many jobs are
being cut in the U.S. at this time, except to reiterate what IBM
said before Christmas: that it would cut between 15,000 and 20,000
jobs worldwide this year. The Wall Street Journal, quoting unnamed
sources, reported that about 4,500 jobs are being cut in IBM's U.S.
marketing operations. An earlier Associated Press report said
"thousands" of jobs are being cut.

Phipps said all the employees whose jobs are affected will be
offered other positions at IBM. This is consistent with the
company's "full-employment practice," he said. Phipps added that
the offer of alternative jobs assumes that the affected workers
"are doing their jobs." It has been reported that IBM has become
much tougher in recent months about firing employees who are not
meeting their bosses' expectations.

A senior IBM official, speaking to Newsbytes under the condition
of anonymity, commented on IBM's action, saying, "The job loss is
across the board -- from the vice president level on down."

He continued, "While the newspaper reports that I have seen seem to
have overstated the number of persons affected, I don't think that
this will be the end of it. IBM has effectively broken up into a
number of smaller companies and each will do what it deems
necessary to survive. This is a culture-shaking time and it is
difficult to predict when things will settle down to a calmer
business environment."

Commenting on the current developments, he said "We have told
approximately 4,000 marketing and sales personnel that their
positions were being eliminated and that they would have a choice of
reassignment or accepting our Individual Transition Option. The
persons who were so notified were chosen because of organizational
contraction and not as a result of personal performance evaluation -
- so you have some very sharp people faced with some difficult
choices.

"The persons designated as surplus have been asked to make three
choices of location that they are willing to move to and three
positions that they are interested in accepting. We will then try to
match their desires with available positions within the firm. It not
be easy for these folks because, in spite of good past performance,
they may wind up in a new location in a position one or two levels
below their current job.

"The ITO program provides for those that choose to accept it a bridge
to retirement. Persons are fully vested in the retirement program
after 30 years of service or at age 60. ITO provides a 7 year credit
to those that accept it, making persons fully vested at age 53. Even
though they still can't begin collecting until age 60, it's a good deal.
Additionally, they receive a type of severance which, I believe,
amounts to 2 weeks pay for each year of prior service."

He added, "This move will, when played out, make us more price
competitive and reduce overhead. Still, it is very disorienting for
many in the organization -- particularly for those directly affected
-- and will take time to recover from."

At the end of 1991, IBM had about 344,000 employees worldwide.
During 1991 it had cut close to 30,000 jobs. Last year, the company
lost $2,800 million, its first annual loss ever. It also recorded
its first drop in annual sales since 1946.

IBM is due to report its quarterly financial results on Tuesday.

(Grant Buckler, Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19920413/
Press Contact: Larry Phipps, IBM, 914-642-5367)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 13 Radius Signs Distrib Deals With Ingram Micro/Merisel 04/13/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00019)

Radius Signs Distrib Deals With Ingram Micro/Merisel 04/13/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 13 (NB) -- In an effort
to gain increased market penetration within the United States,
particularly for its Macintosh products, Radius Inc., has expanded
its distribution relationship with Ingram Micro to include Radius' full
line of Macintosh products. Additionally, the company has also
extended its distribution agreement with Merisel Inc., to allow
that company to distribute all Radius Macintosh and PC products,
to its US resellers. Previously, Merisel carried just Radius
Macintosh-based products in Canada and Australia.

Ingram Micro and Radius first entered into a distribution agreement
eight months ago that covered the Radius PC product line.

Speaking about the enhanced agreement, Dave Jaskulke, Ingram
Micro general manager, Macintosh Products division, said: "Ingram
Micro has been impressed with Radius' solutions for the PC market
and with Radius' commitment to quality. Macintosh users already
recognize Radius as the leader in color and monochrome graphics
enhancement solutions. We anticipate increasingly strong demand
for Radius products, and we look forward to a mutually beneficial
long-term relationship between Radius and Ingram."

"Ingram Micro has been a key partner for Radius during the
introduction of our PC product line," stated Radius General
Manager of Macintosh products, Ed Colligan. "As we continue
to expand our Mac product line, they can provide us with an
increased customer base and increased efficiencies to deliver
our Mac products to market."

Ingram Micro claims to be the world's largest wholesale distributor
of microcomputer products with more than 12,000 products in stock
from over 600 of the world's leading hardware and software
companies. The company also claims to sell to 60,000 reseller
customers in 65 countries.

Merisel President and Chief Executive Officer Michael D. Pickett
stated: "Demand for Radius' products remains strong in Canada
and Australia, and we anticipate the same level of success with
our Radius offerings in the United States. Merisel's goal is to carry
the price/performance leaders in every class of product, in every
market, and our partnership with Radius in the US confirms this
commitment."

Merisel Inc., meanwhile, claims to be a $1.6 billion company,
which presently stocks products from more than 700 manufacturers
for sale to 50,000 resellers worldwide. The company currently
maintains 17 distribution centers that serve North America, Europe,
Latin America, and Australia.

As reported recently by Newsbytes, Radius expects net sales
for the second quarter ended March 31, 1992, to be nearly $43
million, an 87 percent increase over net sales of $23 million for
the like period in 1991.

(Ian Stokell/19920413/Press Contact: Maria Gagliardi, A&R
Partners, 415-363-0982; Cathy Quattrocchi, Merisel Inc.,
310-615-1230)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 13 Compression Labs Distribution Deal For Latin America 04/13/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00020)

Compression Labs Distribution Deal For Latin America 04/13/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 13 (NB) -- In an effort
penetrate the Latin American market, Compression Labs Inc., has
signed up Keytech S.A., of Buenos Aires, Argentina, to sell its
SpectrumSaver Compressed Digital Video (CDV) Broadcast
Television System.

Additionally, Keytech has placed an order valued at $1.4 million for
SpectrumSaver encoders and integrated receiver decoders to be
installed at Argentina Televisora Color (ATC), the state-run television
network in Argentina. Additional terms of the order were not
disclosed.

According to the company, ATC currently broadcasts a single
channel of programming over a partial satellite transponder (18 MHz)
on Intelsat. The company claims that the SpectrumSaver will allow
ATC to offer three different channels running at 6.6 megabits-per-
second in the same transponder space.

Norberto Alvarez, president of Keytech SA, said: "The deregulation
of the Argentinian broadcast industry two years ago coupled with high
demand for programming and limited bandwidth availability provides
a significant market for SpectrumSaver. ATC viewers will benefit from
the increased channel capacity provided by SpectrumSaver
because they will gain access to a variety of new programming
options."

Using CLI's own CDV technology, the SpectrumSaver digitizes and
compresses a full-motion television signal into a digital signal, which
can be transmitted via satellite in 2.3-4.6 MHz of bandwidth, which
the company maintains is a fraction of the bandwidth required by
analog systems.

As reported recently by Newsbytes, the US FCC has approved for
testing, a high definition television system (HDTV) put forward
by the Advanced Television Research Consortium, or ATRC,
of which Compression Labs is a member.

(Ian Stokell/19920413/Press Contact: Tracy Beaufort, Compression
Labs Inc., 408-922-4610)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 13 Cognos Reports Improved Profit 04/13/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00021)

Cognos Reports Improved Profit 04/13/92
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 APR 13 (NB) -- Software developer
Cognos reports a small rise in revenues and a sizeable jump in net income
in its first fiscal quarter, and improved results for the fiscal
year.

Cognos' revenue for the quarter was C$37.6 million, up from C$37.2
million for the same period last year. Net income was C$1.5
million, or 12 cents per share, up from C$900,000, or eight cents
per share, in the fourth quarter last year.

Revenue for the year ended February 29 was C$145.2 million,
compared to C$137.3 million for the prior year. Net income was
C$5.2 million, 43 cents per share, up from C$3.8 million, or 36
cents per share, last year.

All financial results include the retroactive adoption of an
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' (AICPA) rule
allowing product support revenue to be recognized over the life of
the support contract, Cognos said.

Cognos sells a fourth-generation language tool and other
applications development software for a variety of hardware
platforms, including personal computers, Unix systems, and
proprietary minicomputer systems from IBM, Digital Equipment,
Hewlett-Packard, and Data General.

Michael Greeley, the company's director of investor relations, told
Newsbytes Cognos saw its strongest growth this past year in the
Unix, desktop personal computer, and IBM AS/400 markets. The
commercial appeal of Unix is growing rapidly, he said. The company
expects its Unix business to double over the coming year, he added.

Cognos entered the AS/400 market later than it did other
proprietary minicomputer markets, Greeley said, and has little
competition in that market. Greeley said the AS/400 is "something
of a virgin market" for fourth-generation languages.

Greeley said he expects the coming fiscal year to start off slow
but "really ramp up in the second half." Cognos will be increasing
its activity in the Unix market, adding features to its Unix
offerings, he said.

While many computer companies have been reporting losses or reduced
income and blaming the results in part on the economic situation,
Greeley said the recession has had a limited effect on Cognos. Some
customers have delayed purchases because of financial pressures, he
said. "It's an issue, but it hasn't been debilitating."

(Grant Buckler/19920413/Press Contact: Michael J. Greeley or Lyse
Teasdale, Cognos, 613-738-1440)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 13  ****Delrina, WordStar Call It Off 04/13/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00022)

 ****Delrina, WordStar Call It Off 04/13/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 APR 13 (NB) -- Forms and fax
software maker Delrina and the venerable word processor vendor
WordStar, of Novato, California, have cancelled plans to merge. The
companies cited management issues, accounting problems, and legal
issues in backing off from a letter of intent they announced in
late March.

Josef Zancowicz, a spokesman for Delrina, said one of the problems
was that many of Delrina's shareholders are Canadian institutions
that own the company's shares within pension funds and other such
investment funds. The rules governing these funds often specify the
percentages of Canadian and foreign stocks to be held, he said, and
Delrina's merger with WordStar would have turned the company's
stock into a US stock. That would have forced many shareholders
to sell suddenly, causing them to face capital gains taxes on the
increase in the stock's value, he said.

There were also some legal complications arising from merging a
Canadian and an American company listed on different stock
exchanges, Zancowicz added.

Finally, there were "philosophical differences" between the
companies on management and control issues. "Who had control in
terms of how this organization would run was difficult to resolve,"
Zancowicz said. He explained that Delrina is a strong technology
company while WordStar is largely a sales and marketing
organization.

The companies had presented the deal as a merger of equals, despite
WordStar's larger size and the fact that the technical structure of
the deal made WordStar the surviving company. Delrina officials
said earlier that they expected the Delrina name to survive at
least as part of the merged firm's new name.

Zancowicz said the roles of both companies' executives in the
merged organization had largely been resolved. They had not
announced the planned executive slate, except to say that Ron
Posner, current chief executive of WordStar, was to get the top
job.

(Grant Buckler/19920413/Press Contact: Josef Zancowicz, Delrina
Technologies, 416-441-3676, fax [phone]; Kristin Keyes,
WordStar, 415-382-4955)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 13  ****NEC/AT&T Collaborating On Pocket Terminals 04/13/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00023)

 ****NEC/AT&T Collaborating On Pocket Terminals 04/13/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 13 (NB) -- Japan's major personal computer
firm NEC and US-based AT&T are finalizing an agreement to
develop a pocket terminal device. It is expected that this
device will contain AT&T's central processing unit, called Hobit.

NEC spokesman Ken Fukuchi told Newsbytes that this device will
be a small computer terminal which will be easily carried
around. It will be intended for use by sales people in the
fields of insurance, securities, and banking.

This device will have a radiowave transmitter and receiver,
so that it can easily be used to communicate with a host
computer at a remote location.

The device is expected to run on AT&T's processor but NEC will supply
proprietary software for the unit, based on the type of business
that will use it.


Meanwhile, the Nikkei newspaper reported that NEC will jointly
develop a portable personal computer with AT&T. But the NEC
spokesman flatly denied the story.

NEC has also announced that it has signed an agreement with
MIPS Computer Systems in the US which calls for both
firms to jointly develop a 64-bit microprocessor based
on the R4000. It will be low-priced and consume less electricity
compared to existing counterparts. Designed for use in
personal computers, it is expected to be developed by the
middle of 1993 and will be sold by the end of next year.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920413/Press Contact: NEC, [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 13  ****Japan: Computers Driving Cars 04/13/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00024)

 ****Japan: Computers Driving Cars 04/13/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 13 (NB) -- Mitsubishi Motor has developed
a technology to automatically control the driving of a car. It is
called the "INVECS" system and Mitsubishi plans to
actually install the technology in future cars.

Mitsubishi says INVECS is based on so-called "fuzzy" logic,
allowing a computer to determine gray areas of logic, rather than
just a right or wrong.

According to Mitsubishi Motor, this system controls the gear
changes according to the conditions of the road. For example, the
system automatically lowers the gear when the car goes down a
hill. When the car goes around a curve, it can adjust the rotation
speed of the front wheel, then and rear wheel. A sensor
attached to the system enables it to recognize a slippery road or
a rough road, for instance. Then, the fuzzy system controls the
speed and the suspension of the car.

A Mitsubishi Motor spokesman says this INVECS system is a
landmark development in the car industry. With this system,
almost any driver can drive the car smoothly and safely, it contends.

To start, Mitsubishi Motor is preparing to install this system in
an economy car, which will be released in the near future.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920413/Press Contact: Mitsubishi Motor,
 [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 13 Japanese PC Makers Cut Back Overseas Sales Forces 04/13/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00025)

Japanese PC Makers Cut Back Overseas Sales Forces 04/13/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 13 (NB) -- Many Japanese computer makers are
reducing their production and marketing personnel stationed in
overseas offices, as a result of the slump in the computer industry.

NEC, for instance, has recently decided to put off a plan to
create a personal computer plant in Germany. NEC was preparing
to start building the plant this spring, and was aiming to start
production in October.

NEC is currently exporting its personal computers to Germany and
selling them through its subsidiary, NEC Germany. The plan was
to gradually shift sales from the imported product to the
domestically manufactured PC. However, due to the slump, NEC
now has no specific date to start building in Germany. It is expected
that there will be at least a one-year delay.

Meanwhile, Seiko-Epson has cut 10 percent, or about 100
employees, from its US PC sales force. The firm has
shifted its PC sales people to sell printers. Around 20 percent
of the personnel at Seiko-Epson's UK subsidiary were also
transferred to other divisions. The firm has closed its
direct-sales subsidiary in the U.K., and has stopped sales
of low-cost personal computers.

Toshiba and Fujitsu have also been cutting personnel at their
subsidiaries in the US but they now believe the worst is over.
However, it will take more time for business to
recover so a full ramp-up of personnel to previous levels is
expected to take more time.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920413/Press Contact: NEC, [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 13 Telxon Buys Telesystems For Field Computing 04/13/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00026)

Telxon Buys Telesystems For Field Computing 04/13/92
AKRON, OHIO, U.S.A., 1992 APR 13 (NB) -- Telxon, which makes
hand-held terminals, bought Telesystems SLW of Toronto, which
makes spread spectrum wireless data communications products, for
about $10 million.

Telxon had previously owned 5 percent of Telesystems, and was
able to do the deal quickly. The Canadian company was founded in
1986 and developed spread spectrum technology for both portable
computers and use in local area networks. They're used in the
Portable Tele-transaction Computer systems Telxon is providing to
Wal-Mart Stores for merchandising and customer service
applications.

The deal gives Telxon the ability to create complete field
computing systems for clients, for use in warehouses and other
enclosed spaces. Telxon terminals, which often include bar code
readers or wands, will be able to transmit low-power radio
signals across a wide radio spectrum to receivers which could be
linked to LANs. It's possible in some cases to use spread-
spectrum radio technology without an explicit frequency
allocation from the Federal Communications Commission, under
rules similar to those of garage door openers, assuming the
signal is not going to interfere with any licensed spectrum
users.

Telesystems, which has patents on its technology, already has
approvals from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission and
Canada's Department of Communication for its systems, and has
won preliminary approval for its 2.4 gigahertz radio in the
United Kingdom. The 2.4 gigahertz band is even higher than those
microwave frequencies used by so-called PCN, or microwave
cellular, phones. The short frequency means systems can run at
low power, and the waves won't go far.

While Telesystems will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Telxon
Canada Corporation Inc., it will operate as an independent
company and its headquarters will remain in Toronto.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920413/Press Contact: Julie L. Ganim, Telxon,
216-867-3700)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 13 Nokia Licenses CDMA 04/13/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00027)

Nokia Licenses CDMA 04/13/92
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 13 (NB) -- Nokia of
Finland became the latest company to license Qualcomm's Code
Division Multiple Access, or CDMA, digital cellular technology.

Previously, AT&T, Motorola, OKI telecom and Northern Telecom had
signed licenses with Qualcomm to make CDMA cellular phones.
Nokia, whose U.S. offices are in Largo, Florida, is the leader in
supplying systems at the 450 megahertz range. While most western
cellular systems use a higher frequency of about 900 megahertz,
since it supports smaller cells, higher capacity, and lower power
sets, the lower frequency must still be used in some places, like
Russia, where the higher frequency has been taken. In Russia, the
military still controls the standard cellular frequency. It is
unclear whether CDMA digital technology could bring up the
capacity of a system like Russia's.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920413/Press Contact: Qualcomm, Harvey White,
619/587-1121; Nokia, Paul Adams, 404/698-8650)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 13 Ivory Coast Telecom System Down 04/13/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00028)

Ivory Coast Telecom System Down 04/13/92
ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST, 1992 APR 13 (NB) -- Press reports of
trouble in the Ivory Coast's telecommunications system have been
confirmed. The nation's state-owned phone network, called CI-
Telcom, has gone down.

The network failure is disastrous not only for the nation itself,
but for all of Africa, since many major corporations and African
organizations, like the Inter-African Coffee Organization, have
their offices there. CI blamed its cable to Senegal for the
problem, according to a press statement, and some calls were
going through a satellite earth station, which has old capacity
and only a few dozen outgoing lines.

Last month, Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara had sacked minister
Kouassi Akon, who had been in charge of the telephone network.
The reason given was that Akon wanted to open the sale of the CI
to U.S. bidders while the Prime Minister, who favors
privatization favored Bouygues of France, which already controls
the nation's water and electricity services. Before it won
independence, the Ivory Coast was part of French West Africa.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920413)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 13 AT&T Files Suit Against Reseller 04/13/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00029)

AT&T Files Suit Against Reseller 04/13/92
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A, 1992 APR 13 (NB) -- AT&T filed what
it called its first suit against a long distance re-sale
company, against One Stop Financial of Little Falls, New Jersey.

The suit charges that One Stop created the false impression it
is affiliated with AT&T, made unauthorized use of AT&T's
trademarks and service marks, and switched customers from AT&T
service to One Stop without their express permission.

AT&T attorney Edward Barillari acknowledged that, under federal
rules, companies are free to buy long distance services from
AT&T and resell them to others. But, he insisted, "While a
reseller's calls are routed over the AT&T network, their
customers do not receive AT&T service. There are many ancillary
benefits you receive from being a direct AT&T customer that you
don't receive when you are a customer of an aggregator, for
example account team support."

The lawsuit asks that One Stop Financial be prohibited from using
any printed material that includes any AT&T service mark or
trademark, and that it destroy all printed material bearing the
trademarks. AT&T also wants an accounting of all profits derived
from the sale of services and treble damages on all profits
gained through misrepresentation.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920413/Press Contact: AT&T, Richard
Wallerstein, 908/221-7041)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 13  ****Sun Starts Another New Subsidiary: Sunselect 04/13/92


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LAX)(00030)

 ****Sun Starts Another New Subsidiary: Sunselect 04/13/92
BILLICA, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 13 (NB) -- Sun Microsystems
is forming yet another subsidiary and this one, Sunselect, is breaking
forth full grown with a new line of products for running MS-DOS
applications on Sun workstations.

Sunselect says it will offer three primary product lines: the Sunpc
line of PC emulation products, which enable SPARC workstation users to
run Microsoft (MS)-DOS and MS-Windows applications; the PC-NFS family,
a group of products that allow PC platforms to use Unix-based
multivendor environments; and Netware Sunlink, a software product that
connects Novell Netware PC local area networks (LANs) to SPARCserver
systems.

The Sunpc products are new and emulate an Intel-based IBM or
compatible personal computer (PC) on a SPARC workstation computer with
performance comparable to a 386 or 486-based PC, Sun said. Also new is
the Netware Sunlink product. Sun also announced it is releasing a new
version of the existing PC-NFS product, version 4.0 as well as version
4.0 of the Programmers Toolkit for PC-NFS. Beth Byer of public
relations for Sun told Newsbytes the Programmers Toolkit will allow
management information systems (MIS) and related professionals to
write distributed applications for PC-NFS 4.0.

However, the greatest emphasis is by Sunselect is on the Sunpc
software. Sunselect says the Sunpc software allows the emulation of
the IBM DOS or Windows environment so applications from either
operating system can be used on a SPARC station. Two accelerator
cards, the Sunpc Accelerator SX and the Sunpc Accelerator DX, allow the
PC applications to be run faster. The DX accelerator card allows for
the highest performance and is especially suited for floating point or
graphics-intensive applications, Sunselect said.

While Sun has been marketed software for PC emulation, it
says the Sunpc line will replace the previously offered DOS Windows
software emulation product and Sunpc hardware-based emulation
product. The company boasts six years of offering emulation products
for the PC and says its installed base for PC-NFS software inherited
by Sunselect now exceeds 700,000 seats - a number that surpasses its
parent's installed base of workstations and servers.

PCs have traditionally had by far the greatest selection of software,
while workstations have historically been noted for their processing
power. Scott McNealy, chairman and chief executive officer of Sun
Microsystems, said: "There are 80 million personal computer users and
200,000 PC applications out there. When you combine that with Sun's
own installed base of Unix workstations, that's an enormous market,
and a huge opportunity for a company that can bring those two worlds
together." McNealy says Sunselect is the company to bring those two
worlds together.

However, Sun plans more than that. The company has openly announced
plans to challenge the IBM personal computer (PC) market, currently
dominated by computers that use Intel chips and operating system
software from Microsoft. Last summer the company announced it would
challenge Microsoft by becoming a major supplier of operating system
software for the IBM PC later this year. Currently its operating
system only runs on computers that have SPARC chips.

The company has also recently reduced prices on its SPARC
workstations, making the workstations comparable in price to currently
available high end PCs. However, the PC industry is expecting the 586
microprocessor chip from Intel, hopefully in the second quarter of
this year. The 586 is estimated by Intel to perform at 100 million
instructions per second (mps), a speed that rivals that of
workstations and is said to be compatible with PC software currently
available.

Sunselect says all of the Sunpc products will be available beginning
April 24, 1992. The suggested US list prices are $695 for the Sunpc
software only product, $1,495 for the Sunpc Accelerator SX card, and
$1,995 for the SunPC Accelerator DX card. Both card products include
Sunpc software, Sunselect added.

Upgrades from any previous version of Softpc or DOS Windows software
can be obtained for $249, Sunselect maintains. The new Sunpc products
will be available from Sunselect and authorized resellers. The product
line is also distributed through local Sun Microsystems Computer
Corporation (SMCC) sales offices and Sunexpress, Sunselect added.

Newly formed Sunselect is headed by Carl S. Ledbetter Jr., who has
moved from heading his own firm Decision Point Consulting. Ledbetter
has held a variety of positions including president and chief
executive officer of ETA Systems, a subsidiary of Control Data
Corporation; vice president of engineering and scientific products at
Prime Computer; and had a number of engineering and marketing
positions at IBM, Sun said.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920413/Press Contact: Beth Byer, Sun, tel 508-671-
0271, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 13  ****Sega Could Pay $100 Mil To Inventor In Patent Suit 04/13/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LAX)(00031)

 ****Sega Could Pay $100 Mil To Inventor In Patent Suit 04/13/92
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 13 (NB) -- Sega has to pay
inventor Jan Coyle $33 million if a decision made in a copyright trial
against the video game maker stands. In addition, because the jury in
the case ruled Sega had deliberately infringed on Coyle's patent, his
attorney Fredrick Lorig says the award against the Japanese video game
maker could be tripled by the judge and attorney's fees and court
costs added in addition, for a total of well over $100 million.

Lorig told Newsbytes that in addition he plans today to seek an
injunction against the sale of Sega hardware and software at least
until the patent runs out in August of this year, if not longer. Sega
is expected to appeal the suit, although Lorig could not confirm that
report and Sega representatives were unavailable for comment.

The patent suit is over and invention by Coyle and Robert Stevens,
developed in 1969 and patented in 1975, which involves a the display
of color images on a video-screen via low-frequency audio signals. The
audio signals control the "sprites," the figures that move in the
foreground against the still background, like the Mario characters or
Sonic the Hedgehog. Lorig says the technique is used in nearly all
video games and Nintendo and Atari settled out-of-court with Coyle on
earlier patent infringement suits.

When asked about the longevity of the suit, Lorig said Coyle came to
him in the late 1970s with the suit against Atari. Lorig describes
Coyle as a genuine inventor with many inventions to his credit, who
works out of his garage. One of Coyle's inventions was used on the
Space Shuttle, Lorig said. "He's the type of guy the system is all
about. It's a pleasure to represent someone like him," Lorig added.

Sega lately has been losing legal battles, the most recent before the
Coyle suit against Acolade. Sega attempted to stop Accolade from
distributing its titles, claiming the game maker was misleading
consumers into believing the games were licensed by Sega. Accolade
says the misleading part was created by Sega, who redesigned its game
system hardware so when any cartridge is inserted into the system a
message appears that says "Produced By or Under License From Sega
Enterprises Ltd."

Sega lost the first round of the suit with the court saying the video
game manufacturer had to specify the works which are the subject of
the copyright claims, the acts constituting the alleged copyright
infringement, and the dates when the alleged infringement occurred.
Accolade meanwhile has filed a countersuit accusing Sega restraint of
trade, trademark infringement, and unfair business practices. The
countersuit also seeks recovery from Sega for allegedly misleading
consumers into believing that Accolade's compatible video game
cartridges are either produced by or licensed from Sega, Accolade
maintains.

Sega's acts in its suit against Accolade have been condemned by the
American Committee for Interoperable Systems (ACIS) as an attempt to
stifle manufacturers of compatible software for any computer system.
ACIS is populated by leaders in the computer manufacturing industry
including Chips and Technologies, Phoenix Technologies, Seagate
Technology, Zenith Data Systems, and Sun Microsystems. Peter Choy,
chairman of ACIS and deputy general counsel of Sun Microsystems said:
"The life blood of the computer industry is the ability of any
competitor to make and distribute interoperable software and
hardware."

(Linda Rohrbough/19920413/Press Contact: Fredrick Lorig, Bright and
Lorig, tel [phone]; Melinda Mongelluzzo, Accolade, tel 408-985-
1700, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 13 Banyan Makes Bunch OF Announcements 04/13/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00032)

Banyan Makes Bunch OF Announcements 04/13/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 13 (NB) -- Banyan is holding the
spring session of its meetings with its user groups. The meeting,
held here, is the source of several announcements made by the firm.

Banyan has unwrapped the first fruit of its strategic relationship
with Digital Communications Associates (DCA). The Vines
Communications Gateway for 3270 allows Macintosh, MS-DOS,
and Windows users to connect to a network that supports IBM
mainframes in an SNA environment. The PC users can access all of
the SNA's resources.

This new products is based on DCA's Irmalan/EP SNA which was
modified to meet with the specific requirements of Vines and to
offer a set of new features that Banyan desired. These features
include: resource efficiency through the use of the single gateway;
simplified information sharing between the mainframe and the
applications running on the LAN; easy integration of the IBM
mainframe connection; and use of the DCA SNA technology.

The Vines Communications Gateway for 3270 will be sold by Banyan
distributors only. It should be ready within a month for shipment
to customers and is priced according to the number of concurrent
users. Prices range from $1495 for 8 users to $7495 for 128 users.

In a separate announcement, Banyan has revealed that it has signed
an agreement with NCR which it expects will lead to sales of up to
$25 million. Under the terms of this agreement, NCR will market and
support Vines enterprise networking products in the U.S. and Canada.
The agreement has provisions for extending this support to the rest
of the world at a later date. Banyan expects that this agreement
will lead to significant new business over the three year term of
the agreement.

Banyan and NCR resellers that meet each company's authorization
requirements will be allowed to resell the other company's products.
This agreement builds on top of the agreement that was signed last
year between Banyan and the AT&T Computer Systems Division.

Banyan has also made a spate of announcements regarding compatibility
of its software with the newly announced operating systems from
rivals IBM and Microsoft. All versions of Vines (4.11, 5.0) will
be compatible with Windows v3.1. Users need to have the latest
version to assure this compatibility. The Vines version numbers are:
4.11(5) and 5.0. Users who have service contracts with Banyan will
receive the upgrade for free. Others need to make sure that their
installation is upgraded to these versions. Banyan will also support
OS/2 version 2.0 in the second quarter of this year. No details were
provided by the company as to upgrade policy or costs. The company
expects to make more announcements on this subject shortly.

(Naor Wallach/19920408/Press Contact: Joann Anderson, Copithorne &
Bellows for Banyan, 617-252-0606)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 13  ****Lockheed/AT&T Will Offer Computer Svcs To Motorists 04/13/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00033)

 ****Lockheed/AT&T Will Offer Computer Svcs To Motorists 04/13/92
SHORT HILLS, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 APR 13 (NB) -- Lockheed and AT&T
say together they can offer motorists some of the advanced services
envisioned by Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of
1991. These services are lumped together in the category Intelligent
Vehicle Highway Systems (IVHS) and include things like automated
electronic collection of tolls via credit-card sized "smart cards"
mounted on cars, smart road signs, computers that monitor traffic and
dispatch help in emergencies, and live images of the road ahead
available to the driver on a video screen in the automobile.

The two companies announced they have signed an agreement to jointly
use and integrate the skills of both in making the IVHS plans a
reality. AT&T said it brings its expertise in computer processing,
"smart card" technology, wireless/lightwave transmission of voice,
data and video, and the design and management of communications
networks. Lockheed says it adds sophisticated systems integration
skills, software capabilities and an in depth knowledge of the
transportation marketplace.

Both companies have already in place some IVHS systems. Lockheed says
it has already installed the first electronic toll collection system
in the United States. Lockheed is maintains it is also operating the
first automatic truck revenue collection and weigh-in-motion highway
network, linking six states and British Columbia.

AT&T Bell Laboratories maintains it has developed an electronic toll
collection system that utilizes smart cards -- credit-card-sized
devices with embedded microelectronics. Last year AT&T says it began
working with Vapor Canada to develop a smart-card-based toll
collection system and a similar system is also now in use in Italy.
AT&T says a single smart card could be used for many purposes -- for
example, to pay tolls in different states, parking fees and mass
transit fares.

Both companies say they together can offer services to motorists that
further the goals of the 1991 initiative.

Daniel M. Tellep, chairman of the Lockheed Corporation said: "We are
delighted to take up the challenge and turn our collective strengths
toward bringing the nation's surface transportation system into the
21st century. This partnership will provide Lockheed with an excellent
opportunity to leverage its technology toward non-defense initiatives.
Together, Lockheed and AT&T will help government confront problems
that cause many billions of hours of delay, waste billions of gallons
of fuel annually, and add sharply to pollution and the costs of doing
business."

Tellep also noted the partnership with AT&T fits Lockheed plans to
diversify. Lockheed has been previously known for its work in building
products for national defense, but defense cuts have forced it to cut
back, lay off, and diversify.

The companies plan to tackle the problems associated with the
management of traffic flow. For example, both companies say they
envision systems that could detect accidents or breakdowns literally
seconds after they occur. With this information, highway authorities
can take remedial action immediately to reroute traffic and re-set
signal lights to accommodate the increased flow diverted around the
breakdown. With the early detection of the problem, repair vehicles
can be dispatched instantly to remove the blockage, the companies
added.

Advanced information can also be provided to drivers so they can make
the best choice before departure and avoid tie-ups en route, the
companies said. The advice could be provided by electronic road signs,
in-car information screens and computer-synthesized voice
instructions. It may even be possible for drivers in the future to
call up live images of the road miles ahead of them on their video
screens, the companies maintain.

Lockheed Information Management Services (IMS) is headquartered in
Teaneck, New Jersey and is a subsidiary of Southern California based
Lockheed Corporation. AT&T IVHS Communication Systems is headquartered
in Bridgewater, New Jersey and is a unit of AT&T.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920413/Press Contact: Michael Jacobs, AT&T, tel
201-564-3836; Wendy Kouba, Lockheed, tel [phone])

#ENDCARD




#CARD :1992 APR 10 New For Macintosh: UPS Rate Calculator 04/10/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00001)

New For Macintosh: UPS Rate Calculator 04/10/92
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 10 (NB) --
Computer:applications, Inc., has released MacParcel, a
Macintosh desk accessory that calculates United Parcel Service (UPS)
rates for any ZIP code in the US, Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands.

"MacParcel provides your shipping department with the means to
calculate accurate rate and zone information without resorting to
UPS look-up charts," said company president, Steve Pierce.

To use MacParcel, the user enters the destination ZIP code, weight,
and declared value. The program calculate the shipping zone and the
total cost. Calculations include COD, insurance, and any special
handling charges the user defines.

Since MacParcel is a Mac desk accessory, it can be "popped up" while
the user is in another program , such as a database or an accounting
program.

The entry screen also allows the user to choose ground commercial,
ground residential, second day air, second day letter, next day
air, or next day letter.

The company also markets MacFederal, a similar program for companies
shipping via Federal Express.

MacParcel is System 7 compatible and works with all Mac PCs
including PowerBooks, Classic II and Quadra systems. The single
copy retail price is $39.95, and it's available direct from
Computer:applications by calling 919-846-1411. Site licenses and
bundle packs are also available.

(Jim Mallory/19920410/Press contact: Tom Meehan,
Computer:applications, 919-846-1411, FAX [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 10  ****Compuadd Cuts PC Prices As Much As 40% 04/10/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00002)

 ****Compuadd Cuts PC Prices As Much As 40% 04/10/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 10 (NB) -- Compuadd Computer
Corporation has announced its second round of price cuts in two
months, with prices on 486 and high-end 386 systems being reduced as
much as 40 percent.

In early February Compuadd announced price cuts ranging from 9 to 19
percent. The new cuts are effective immediately at all 125
company-owned stores.

In conjunction with the new reductions, Compuadd said it has also
upgraded the color VGA monitors available with its systems. They
will now be offering 14 or 15-inch non-interlaced color video
displays. Previous configurations included interlaced monitors.
Non-interlaced display units tend to be more flicker-free.

Compuadd's chief executive officer said the new round of cuts was in
response to competition and cost reductions, which he said Compuadd
was passing along to its customers.

As an example of the reductions, a Compuadd 333 with 4MB (megabytes)
of RAM (random access memory), a 80MB hard drive, two floppy drives
and a monochrome monitor now sells for $1,595, a $700 reduction.
With the new non-interlaced 14-inch VGA color monitor that system
will now sell for $1,995, an $890 reduction from the same
configuration with the interlaced monitor before the price cuts.
The same system monochrome system with a 200MB hard drive dropped
$400 to $1,795.

Compuadd maintains two toll free numbers (800-455-3116 and
800-827-1967) to handle inquiries about its products.

(Jim Mallory/19920410/Press contact: Wendell Watson, Compuadd,
512-250-2530)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 10   ****Glendale Plans Prodigy-like Online Service 04/10/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LAX)(00003)

 ****Glendale Plans Prodigy-like Online Service 04/10/92
GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 10 (NB) -- The City of Glendale,
California says it will start a graphically oriented online
information service for residents, and it will be available via
individual computers or public kiosks. The City has contracted with
Coconut Software of La Jolla, California to develop the service.

Much like Prodigy, the City of Glendale's system will offer graphical
information such as maps, illustrations, and an electronic yellow
pages (that can feature company logos and other graphical
information). Glendale says it also plans to offer electronic mail
access to the city's government offices and an online catalog for the
Glendale library for starters.

Newsbytes talked with Coconut Software President Brian L. Dear and was
able to try out a prototype of the new information service. The
service will be based on Coconet, Coconut Software's graphical
interactive telecommunication software.

Coconet is like Prodigy because it's graphical, but it supports video
graphics array (VGA) so the graphics are pleasant and smooth.
Newsbytes found it to be fast, elegant, and at times visually stunning
compared to Prodigy.

Ruth Thompson, project director at the Glendale Public Library said:
"We selected Coconet because it was specifically designed for this
sort of application, which defines 'community information' in the
broadest manner. We also like the portability to a number of platforms
which fits our Unix, DOS, and Mac environment. And we found the
graphical user interface to be unique among the products we tested."

Dear said Coconut designed Coconet for just such an application as the
City of Glendale is planning and says the service will set the
standard for other U.S. cities to follow. Both Macintosh and DOS users
will be able to access the system from their computers. Electric Media,
a Los Angeles-based company, is developing the kiosk interface to the
Glendale system. According to Dear, a prototype of the online service
should be in place by the end of the year.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920408/Press Contact: Brian Dear, Coconut
Computing, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Ruth Thompson, City of
Glendale Public Library, tel [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 10   ****TV Answer To Spend $8.5 Mil On Secure Central System 04/10/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00004)

 ****TV Answer To Spend $8.5 Mil On Secure Central System 04/10/92
RESTON, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 10 (NB) -- TV Answer, the company
working to bring interactive television to American homes, says it
estimates it will spend about $8.5 million over the next five years
for a fault-tolerant computer system that will act as the main
computer for the TV Answer service.

The company says it has signed a contract with Sequoia Systems for a
Sequoia Systems 400 fault-tolerant computer system which will be at
the center of the first national two-way television system in the U.S.
The hardware, operating system software, systems maintenance, and
services will cost $2.4 million initially, but service fees and
components over the next five years bring the total to the estimated
$8.5 million, TV Answer said.

Fault-tolerant systems are systems designed with redundancy. For
example, a typical fault-tolerant system might have two central
processing units, several storage systems all storing the same
information, and so on. If component one fails, the others are there
to maintain the system.

TV Answer is based on a unit in each user's home, the TV Answer box,
which attaches to a normal television set and looks like a video
cassette recorder. Digital signals will be sent to and from the unit
via radio waves to local cell sites, then to a satellite which will
send the signals to a main processing center, or national hub site.
From the hub site, the information goes to a processing center, then
is rerouted back through the hub site to a satellite and then to
service providers who will satisfy the consumer request, TV Answer
said.

Hewlett-Packard has agreed to manufacture the TV Answer boxes,
which are expected to be retail priced around $700. The
service is expected to allow consumers to purchase groceries, vote on
television polls, check their bank accounts, order pizza, as well as
other services, all from the comfort of home.

TV Answer says it needs the fault-tolerant system to register consumer
transactions as they pass through the TV Answer System to be
distributed to their destinations. The Switching Center will record
pertinent data about the transaction such as its length, point-of-
origin, and destination.

However, the company has made a point of saying it will not capture
consumer identification data for any purpose other than tracing
transactions. Since customers might be using credit card numbers or
other personal information, security is an important issue. TV Answer
says the data sent by the TV Answer boxes to the Series 400 will be
encrypted and the Series 400 will encrypt the data with a new security
code before transmitting it to its destination. For security within
the Series 400, TV Answer says it has purchased the standard Unix
operating system with Secure Topix. Secure Topix has C2 and B1 level
security, which is recognized by the US Department of Defense as a
highly secure computer security system, TV Answer said.

TV Answer anticipates 1.5 million units will be purchased by consumers
in 1993, the first year the service is expected to be available. That
number is expected to grow fast, however, as TV Answer projects 20
million of the units will be in consumer hands within 5 years of the
introduction of the TV Answer service. The company says the Sequoia
Series 400 will be set up initially for the anticipated 1.5 million
users, but can be expanded to handle the 20 million users anticipated.
The expanded system can receive and process peak loads of 20 million
transactions in 13 minutes according to Bob Chiaramonte TV Answer's
Vice President of Information Systems.

Companies which want to take advantage of TV Answer to interact with
consumers are already lining up. New York-based Wunderman/Cato Johnson
(WCJ), the largest marketing and sales promotion company in the United
States recently began offering its clients the option of TV Answer
Services. TV Answer says other companies who have already committed to
TV Answer's Charter Partner program are J.C. Penney Company, CUC,
Inc., Bose Express Music, 800 Flowers, and 800 Spirits.

TV Answer is headquartered at 1941 Roland Clarke Place, Reston,
Virginia, 22091.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920408/Press Contact: Paul Sturiale, TV Answer, tel
703-715-8853, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 10  State Of The Art Accounting Agreement With IBM 04/10/92


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LAX)(00005)

State Of The Art Accounting Agreement With IBM 04/10/92
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 10 (NB) -- State of the Art, an
accounting software company, has announced it has been approved by IBM
as an authorized software supplier for IBM's workstation, the IBM RISC
System/6000.

The announcement was made in conjunction with a marketing
partnership agreement State of the Art has just accomplished with IBM
and Unix-distributor Dickens Data Systems.

David S. Samuels, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of State
of the Art, said: "We are honored to be selected by IBM as an
authorized software supplier; it's comparable to receiving the Good
Housekeeping Seal of Approval in the computer industry."

John Bunyan, a manager in IBM's Marketing and Services department, said
State of the Art was chosen because of the awards the company and the
accounting software has received and because of the company's
stringent screening of resellers.

State of the Art boasts it has a base of over 700 value-added
resellers (VARs) and 4,500 public accounting firms that make up its
national reseller channel.

Now, State of the Art says it has the opportunity to become an IBM
Industry Remarketer Affiliate (IR Affiliate) for the RS/6000. IR
Affiliate status will allow it to gain access to IBM's distribution
channel and to hardware, peripherals, and technical support through
IBM and Dickens Data Systems, the company maintains.

On May 8th State Of The Art says it will host the first in a series of
national seminars with IBM and Dickens Data Systems designed to
introduce resellers to IBM's distribution network, the RS/6000
technology, and Dickens value-added programs. Samuels also said State
of the Art plans to announce a marketing assistance program for IR
Affiliate Resellers.

Irvine, California-based State of the Art designs and markets
M.A.S 90 Evolution/2 accounting software for DOS and Unix platforms.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920408/Press Contact: Geri Schanz, Galusha &
Associates for State of the Art, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 10  UK: Rabbit Mobile Phone Service Launch Date Set 04/10/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00006)

UK: Rabbit Mobile Phone Service Launch Date Set 04/10/92
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 10 (NB) -- One of the better kept
secrets at the Comms '92 show held in Birmingham this week was
the official launch date for the Rabbit mobile telephone
service. The launch date has now been set as the 21st of May.

Rabbit is the name for the mobile phone service operated by
Hutchinson Personal Communications (HPC), which the company plans
to launch in the northwestern area of the U.K. next month, prior
to extending the service nationally around the country toward
the end of this year.

The Rabbit mobile phone system is unusual in that it is based on
the cordless technology type 2 (CT-2) system. CT-2 systems have
been launched and subsequently withdrawn by British Telecom,
Ferranti, and Mercury Communications over the past few years.

CT-2 technology has two aspects. The first is a digital
replacement for existing cordless phones, operating within 100
yards of a private base station. The second in which Rabbit is
involved centers around allowing users of the CT-2 handsets
to make outgoing-only phone calls when within 100 yards of a
public base station.

This one-way only aspect of CT-2 killed off earlier systems based
on the technology. The main problem was that cellular phones,
despite costing several times the price, offered truly mobile
two-way phone call services.

Rabbit claims that it will be successful since it uses the common
air interface (CAI) standard. CAI was designed by Rabbit and
several other, now closed, CT-2 service providers to allow
roaming between networks. Although the Rabbit system allows CAI
standard calls, since there is only one CT-2 network in the U.K.
at the moment, the technology is effectively redundant.

Despite all these problems, Peter Wright, HPC's managing
director, feels the time is now right for a launch. The company
has been staging user trials with an 800-strong trial userbase,
the results of which have been encouraging.

CT-2 technology has only been a flop in the UK. Outside the
UK, the technology has been sold as a viable operation to
several telecom authorities, notably Hong Kong, which signed up
15,000 subscribers within a few months of launch.

The successful launches of CT-2 technology have been, Newsbytes
notes, in countries which have had a monopoly -- usually state-
controlled -- on the provision of telecom service. The UK has
a relatively liberal telecom market.

HPC reckons that the cost of running a Rabbit phone is between a
third to a half the cost of running a cellular phone when costed
over a 12-month period.

PC plans to offer four Rabbit service packages in the UK:
Rabbit, Rabbit Plus, Rabbit Recall, and Rabbit Recall Plus.

The basic package, Rabbit, costs UKP 189-99, and includes a
handset plus charger. Sign-up and the first quarter's
subscription to the network are also included. The Rabbit Plus
package costs UKP 239-99 and adds a private base station to the
Rabbit bundle.

The Rabbit Recall package, meanwhile, is a basic Rabbit phone
with charger, plus a voicemail plus pager for incoming calls.
This package costs UKP 259-99.

The deluxe package is the Rabbit Recall Plus bundle which costs
UKP 299-99 and combines all the features of the Plus and Recall
packages, including voicemail, pager and private base station.

Network connection will normally cost UKP 15 with a monthly line
rental of UKP 6 a month. A UKP 1-50 a month surcharge gets a
voicemail box and a pager for use within "incoming" calls. Call
charges on the Rabbit network will be in line with payphone
rates, HPC claims.

(Steve Gold/19920409/Press Contact: Paragon Communications - Tel:
071-734-6030)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 10  UK: Tricom Unveils Fast Packet Bridge Technology 04/10/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00007)

UK: Tricom Unveils Fast Packet Bridge Technology 04/10/92
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 10 (NB) -- Tricom has unveiled a
high performance LAN (local area network) bridge for its Marathon
range of integration technology at the Comms '92 show, held in
Birmingham, England this week.

The Stokenchurch-based company claims that the LAN bridge, an
expansion card for the Marathon device, is the first packet
bridge available in the UK. According to Keith Abbott, Tricom's
product marketing manager, the LAN bridge allows remote Ethernet
LANs running any protocol to link over local and remote circuits
using 64,000 bps (bits per second) leased lines.

"It can give a 300 percent improvement in bridge throughput
because of the use of data compression techniques. It can also be
used in conjunction with the Marathon remote terminal server
capability - giving vast flexibility in LAN/WAN connectivity
options," he said.

Pricing on the Marathon LAN bridge varies depending on product
configuration.

The LAN bridge is actually an expansion car for the Marathon
system. As a bridge, it features a high-performance 32-bit
processor bridge engine, self-learning capability, IEEE spanning
tree protocol, and the ability to filter 10,000 packets per second.
The system also uses an advanced data compression system to ensure
efficient use of the bandwidth of the leased line.

(Steve Gold/19920409/Press & Public Contact: Tricom - Tel:
0494-483951)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 10  UK: Air Call Announces New Radiopaging Services 04/10/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00008)

UK: Air Call Announces New Radiopaging Services 04/10/92
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 10 (NB) -- Air Call, one of the UK's
major radiopaging operators, has announced a short-term paging
hire scheme and the option of a new range of colored pagers for
its subscribers.

The short-term package costs UKP 76 and includes a month's
unlimited use of a message pager, with calls answered with the
subscriber's own name. Bureau (spoken work retrieval) messaging
is also available free of charge.

According to Lisa Gernon, Air Call's commercial director, the
"all in" rental package compares well with other packages
available in the UK.

"Air Call recognizes the communication problems that business
people, who are usually office-based, are faced with when they
find themselves away from the office for unusually long periods
of time. We believe that offering the facility of short-term
message paging will solve this dilemma," she said.

The Colourcode range of pagers meanwhile, are numeric pagers in a
choice of colours: green, pastel pink, and ivory. As well as
being colored, the numeric pagers are available on a flat-rate
subscription -- no matter how many calls are made to the paging
bureau, the subscription is fixed.

Gernon is enthusiastic about the colored pagers: "Because the
pace of everyday life is becoming ever faster, and the line
between personal and business life converging, the need to keep
in touch is becoming greater than ever. With Colourcodes, we are
giving people a service that is as useful in their personal lives
as it is in their business life. And what's more, they look good
and are fun to use," she said.

Pricing on the Colourcode pager packages starts at UKP 16-50 a
month. Prices vary, depending on the areas of the UK in which the pager
is required to work.

(Steve Gold/19920409/Press & Public Contact: Air Call
Communications - Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 10  Russia: Lotus Unveils Secrets Of Success 04/10/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(MOW)(00009)

Russia: Lotus Unveils Secrets Of Success 04/10/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 APR 10 (NB) -- The ability to make a profit
without directly offering services is key to building a
distribution network in Russia, Boris Nuraliev of
VNIIPIstatinform/Lotus Russia told a Comtek audience this week at
the "Developing A User Base Through End-User Services" panel discussion.

"Our key is not service itself, but the art of being available, a
reliable source of software packages, from which a distributor can
make its own profitable business. The last point is the most
important," Nuraliev told the audience.

1-2-3 is being sold through a dealer network only. VNIIPIstatinform
now acts as the sole distributor. VNIIPIstatinform quarterly sales
are 12 million rubles, 9.5 million of which are 1-2-3. One
spreadsheet package costs less than 10,000 rubles.

To attract more dealers VNIIPI/Lotus offers 28% dealers discounts,
organizes training for its sales force, and assists in advertising and
other business deals. "Our resellers are usually busy people who
usually visit Moscow once a month for 2-3 days. They have a number of
places to visit those days so we make it simple for them. We have
established a small hotel for them on-site, bought other
products they are interested in, especially Russian word text
processor, modems, and accounting packages, just to minimize the
hassles and help them do more of their own business. We also advise
them on legal matters, and run marketing courses regularly," Nuraliev
said.

Nuraliev also noted that dealers are unwilling to buy non-copy-
protected packages from them, saying that almost no one wishes
to buy a product which can be freely copied.

Another panel member, Anatoly Karachinsky of Intermicro, Apple's
distributor in CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) pointed
to another side of the service -- hardware sales. Karachinsky said
they have discovered that the most difficult problem is the
repair of hard drives and other precious hardware. So the
company last year established its own premises to do regular
hard drives repair on-site. "This service center is gaining
popularity in Eastern Europe where no other such facilities are
available," Karachinsky said.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920409)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 10  Australia: Paradigm Agency To Represent Proximity 04/10/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00010)

Australia: Paradigm Agency To Represent Proximity 04/10/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 APR 10 (NB) -- Proximity Technology has
announced the appointment of The Paradigm Agency as its Australian
representative. Proximity is a wholly owned subsidiary of Franklin
Electronic Publishers, Inc., of the US.

Paradigm will be handling Proximity's major product, the Proximity
Linguistic System, which is a set of linguistic tools developers can
incorporate in their programs. The system includes the Detect (text
analysis), Correct (spell checking), Stand Alone Hyphenation, Thesaurus
and Dictionary subsystems. To date, approximately 8 million users have
bought software which incorporates Proximity-developed technology.

Paradigm was chosen by Proximity, according to Paradigm director, Glenn
Miller, because of the realities of the market for Proximity's products.
Although business has been growing it has still to reach the level which
would warrant a subsidiary operation here. The appointment of Paradigm,
Miller says, will see Proximity increase its level of contact with local
developers, and one of Paradigm's first tasks will be to talk to local
developers to see what they are looking for from Proximity.

Paradigm offers companies two main services: marketing
management and business development. The have been representing The
XTree Company in Australia for over a year, and are interested in
being contacted about representing other companies in Australia.

(Sean McNamara/19920408/Press Contact: Glenn Miller or David Lewis,
phone in Australia [phone], Fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 10  Australia: Optus Achieves One-Union Coverage Goal 04/10/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00011)

Australia: Optus Achieves One-Union Coverage Goal 04/10/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 APR 10 (NB) -- Australia's new telecom
carrier Optus has achieved its goal of having employees covered by
one union. The move to one-union coverage should make industrial
relations easier for Optus to manage, although there is no guarantee
they will be trouble-free.

The move came about after the three unions which opposed the one-union
coverage withdrew their cases before the Industrial Relations Commission
(IRC), Australia's industrial relations watchdog. The only two unions
left claiming Optus' employees as potential members are the Australian
Telecommunications Employees Association (ATEA) and the Australian Postal
and Telecommunications Union (APTU). The ATEA and the APTU have applied
to the IRC for approval to merge to form the Communications Workers
Union.

The question of union coverage is a vital one in Australia, where unions
have a much stronger hold over industrial matters than in, say, the US.
The Federal Government has entered into several "Accords" with the
unions' "industry body," the ACTU (Australian Council of Trade Unions).
A fight between unions could have seen Optus left in the middle, with
no clear negotiation partner in times of industrial disputes, and if
the IRC would have been forced to rule on union coverage, Optus could
have had union coverage it did not want.

(Sean McNamara/19920408)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 10  Australia: Optus To Offer L-Band "Mobilesat" Service In '93 04/10/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00012)

Australia: Optus To Offer L-Band "Mobilesat" Service In '93 04/10/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 APR 10 (NB) -- Australia's new carrier Optus is
set to become the first satellite operator in the world to offer a
satellite-based mobile telephone network. Optus plans to launch its
Mobilesat network next year, and will utilize L band frequencies.

The satellite-based network will see a service similar to the current
cellular network, except it will be available continuously throughout the
whole of Australia. Optus expects calls to cost AUS$1.50 per minute, and
receivers between AUS$5,000 and AUS$7,000. Mobilesat was already in the
trial stage when Optus took over Aussat, which began the research. Optus
has decided to continue the research and development, including the
trials with the Royal Flying Doctor Service, police departments in all
states and New South Wales State Rail.

Optus has, in a related move, signed a memorandum of understanding with
three large satellite operators. The memorandum, with American Mobile
Satellite Corp of the US, Telesat Mobile Inc., of Canada and Industries
SA de CU of Mexico, aims to set standards for receiver equipment in
Australia, and North and South America. Local manufacturers see much
potential in the memorandum, as product development would be less
viable for one market, while they could compete in all three markets
with a common standard.

Market analysts have estimated that should receiver prices go as low as
US$3,000 there could be a potential market of 1 million users in the US.

(Sean McNamara/19920408)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 10  New for Macintosh: HP 3.5-inch HD, Tape Drive 04/10/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00013)

New for Macintosh: HP 3.5-inch HD, Tape Drive 04/10/92
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 10 (NB) -- Hewlett-Packard (HP)
has announced a new 3.5-inch internal hard disk drive for the
Macintosh Quadra 700, IIci, and IIcx as well as a new external digital
tape back-up for its HP C2225M Storage System for the Macintosh.

HP said the introduction of these new products does not mean it will
stop support on the HP C2454M or on other disk and compact-disk read-
only memory (CD-ROM). In fact the company says it is planning support
for those currently available products on future Apple operating
system releases including Apple Unix 3.0.

However, the new 3.5-inch drive with a 422 megabyte (MB) capacity is
not only an expansion of HP's product line, but it also supports small
computer systems interface (SCSI)-2 protocol, Hewlett-Packard said.

Susan Elcox, product manager at HP, told Newsbytes that Apple
doesn't offer SCSI-2 yet, but the move to supporting SCSI-2 is
anticipating Apple's eventual use of the interface. Elcox said
the interface is transparent to the user, because of the drive
reverts back to SCSI-1 if SCSI-2 is not present.

HP says its new digital tape drive is an external Digital Data
Storage Data-compressed (DDS-DC) digital audio tape (DAT) drive
designed to work with its storage system. The storage system is an
external mass-storage cabinet with a CD-ROM, a rewritable optical
disk, and 3.5-inch and 5.25-inch hard-disk drives in a compact
cabinet.

HP says its Storage System can handle up to three full-height or
seven half-height mass storage devices. HP says the Storage System is
designed for immediate connection to a Macintosh as everything needed
to plug into a Macintosh SCSI port comes standard.

Hewlett-Packard describes itself as a manufacturer of measurement and
computational products and systems. It is well known for its line of
desktop laser printers for personal computers and for its workstation
systems. The Palo Alto-based company boasts 89,700 employees and
reported revenue of $14.5 billion in its 1991 fiscal year.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920407/Press Contact: Teri Vander Boegh, Hewlett-
Packard, tel , fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 10  Ricoh Pitches Hybrid Copier To Ride Out Recession 04/10/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00014)

Ricoh Pitches Hybrid Copier To Ride Out Recession 04/10/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 10 (NB) -- Japan's Ricoh, hoping to ride
out the current computer sales slump, will beef up sales
efforts for its latest hybrid copier, the "Imagio" series.

Ricoh aims to sell 60,000 units of the Imagio series this fiscal
quarter. This is a 50 percent increase over the previous term. The
firm will add 100 employees to Imagio's sales division, which
currently has 200 employees.

Ricoh's Imagio has many functions besides a copying feature. It
can be used as a fax machine which uses regular copy paper, not
rolls of thermal paper. It can be used as a laser printer for
personal computers. Its small size gives it appeal in tiny
Japanese offices.

So far, the Imagio and similar hybrid copiers are selling
well in Japan. Japanese firms are not only space-conscious,
but are increasingly demanding clean copies instead of thermal printing.

Ricoh suffered an extremely large financial setback in sales during
the previous term due to a slump in the office equipment market.
This resulting in virtually all Ricoh's board members submitting
requests for resignation.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920408/Press Contact: Ricoh, [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 10  Japan: NTT's New Teletext Broadcasting Device 04/10/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00015)

Japan: NTT's New Teletext Broadcasting Device 04/10/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 10 (NB) -- Japan's former telecom monopoly
NTT is launching a new business involving teletext
broadcasting, a technology which is already being employed
on TV in Japan. NTT's slant on the technology is its development
of a large display board for this broadcasting which it will
sell into offices and department stores.

There is also an outdoor LED (light emitting diode) electric
display device under development. It's designed to be
hung on the outside wall of a building facing a street.
It will function as a kind of live billboard for advertisers
participating in the teletext system.

Currently, teletext programs are broadcast on TV by several TV
stations in Japan. This teletext is broadcast during regular
TV programs, simultaneously aired in between signals
of regular programs without affecting the regular programs.
This is possible because there is an unused area in the radio wave
spectrum.

Teletext broadcasting is free. The only requirement for
consumers is to purchase a teletext receiver, which is connected
to a TV set. The teletext programs include news and financial
market information. NTT's large screen teletext broadcasting
is also expected to be free but there may be some additional
charges involved in broadcasting onto the large screens.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920408/Press Contact: NTT, [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 10  Sun Plans Multimedia Software For User Training/Support 04/10/92


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LAX)(00016)

Sun Plans Multimedia Software For User Training/Support 04/10/92
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 10 (NB) -- Sun Microsystems
Computer Corporation (SMCC), a division of Sun Microsystems, says it
plans to develop interactive multimedia training software for online
users who are learning how to use Sun hardware and software.

SMCC says users won't have to wade through mountains of conventional
documentation to get answers, but will be able to have the technical
and support information they need right there online. The new
software is to combine text, graphics, sound, and animation to give
users instant online information on how to use Sun hardware and
software products. SMCC maintains the training materials will lead to
significant time savings and increased user productivity.

The company made the announcement in conjunction with an agreement
with Gain Technology for its object-oriented hypermedia technology
which the SMCC division will use to develop the multimedia training
materials. The first of the new training software is to be introduced
this summer.

This is not the first cooperative effort between SMCC and Gain. In a
related effort in 1991 the two companies worked together with Gain's
prerelease version of Gainexposure. Gain said its Gainexposure
product, released this January, offers developers the ability to write
multimedia applications that combine text, images, graphics,
animation, audio, and structured query language (SQL) databases.

Gain is headquartered in Palo Alto, California and says it has the
distinction of being 100 percent owned by its 75 employees. SMCC
describes itself as a multi-billion dollar corporation with a
worldwide business in workstations and servers.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920408/Press Contact: Kim Miller, SMCC, tel 415-
336-7583, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 10  UK: ACL Says Lease Don't Buy Computers 04/10/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00017)

UK: ACL Says Lease Don't Buy Computers 04/10/92
READING, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 10 (NB) -- The Alliance of
Computers and leasing (ACL) has announced what it calls "an anti-
obsolescence drive" at the Which Computer? Show in Birmingham
this week. The idea of the scheme is to persuade users that it is
more sensible to lease computer equipment than to purchase.

According to Adrian Clarke, finance director with ACL, users can
obtain state of the art equipment now using one of the company's
many leasing schemes and, in a couple of years, move on up to
what will then be state of the art new equipment without any
extra costs.

"Leasing is tax deductible for companies, so it compares very
well with buying," he told Newsbytes.

ACL's "Convertalease" package include the ability to upgrade to
new hardware at any time without penalty. Other options include
deferred, seasonal and low-start payment facilities and the
ability to lease hardware, software, training and maintenance
packages from the company.

So how does ACL make its money? Surprisingly, the company only
makes a modest commission on the leasing packages it provides
from other companies. The real profit for ACL is that it is a
computer dealer in its own right, but that the payment for the
hardware plus other products and services comes from the leasing
companies rather than the customer.

(Steve Gold/19920408/Press & Public Contact: ACL - Tel: 0734-
569055)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 10  New For PC: Cognos Updates Query Tool 04/10/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00018)

New For PC: Cognos Updates Query Tool 04/10/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 10 (NB) -- Cognos of Ottawa,
Canada, has announced a new version of its Impromptu desktop SQL
query tool for Microsoft Windows. Cognos made the announcement
during the Windows World show, part of Spring COMDEX.

The major changes in the new version are the ability to store query
data locally so it can be manipulated without issuing another query
to the remote system, support for the SQL Server database servers
from Microsoft and Sybase, and the ability to build custom user
prompts.

The original version of Impromptu appeared last December. It lets
users perform complex queries of databases that work with the
Structured Query Language (SQL) without having to understand SQL,
relational database structures, or network navigation, according to
Cognos.

The Microsoft Windows 3.0 interface lets users perform queries by
using a mouse to point and click on menu items and icons in
Impromptu's Query Bar.

Version 1.1 can save query data on the local PC for immediate or
later processing, a Cognos spokesman said. This "local snapshot" of
data cuts the processing load on database systems by reducing the
number of queries and the connection time needed for them,
according to the vendor.

Iterative changes to an Impromptu query session, such as sorting,
grouping, or calculating the data, are processed at the PC, cutting
down on queries of the corporate database.

Impromptu 1.1 adds support for two more SQL database server
packages, company spokesman Jay Fiore said. Both the Sybase SQL
Server and Microsoft's SQL Server (OS/2 version) are now supported.

Finally, users or MIS managers can now build custom user prompts to
filter Impromptu 1.1 queries, saving users' time and enhancing the
software's ease-of-use. For example, sales managers who often
request data for particular territories within a sales region can
set up a custom prompt for a specific territory every time they
click on the region's sales data.

Impromptu 1.1 is now in customer testing and is due to be available
in mid-summer, with a U.S. list price of $695.

(Grant Buckler/19920408/Press Contact: Michael J. Greeley or Jay
Fiore, Cognos, 617-229-6600)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 10  New For PCs: Mannequin Designer Adds Human Figures 04/10/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00019)

New For PCs: Mannequin Designer Adds Human Figures 04/10/92
MELVILLE, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 APR 10 (NB) -- The Humancad
division of Biomechanics Corporation of America (BCA) has
introduced Mannequin Designer, personal computer software designed
to put perfectly proportioned human figures into desktop
presentations and animation. Mannequin Designer is a scaled-down
version of Mannequin, Humancad's ergonomic design program.

Mannequin Designer lets users incorporate two- and
three-dimensional human images into any design or presentation. The
Microsoft Windows-based product can create moving, realistic human
figures of different genders, sizes, shapes, and nationalities, the
vendor said.

Humancad's full Mannequin program is meant for ergonomic design,
and in addition to the ability to create accurate renderings of
human figures, it provides a database of ergonomic information about
human shapes of different nationalities, genders, and so forth.
Humancad found that some buyers were using the original package
simply to add human figures to presentations, a spokeswoman for the
company said, and so decided to offer that capability by itself at
a lower price. Mannequin Designer is priced at $99.

Mannequin Designer offers a variety of features and design options,
Humancad officials said. For example, the Human Forms command
creates humans in four degrees of detail: stick figures, robots,
outlines, and smooth figures. Figures can be created in any
humanly possible position.

Mannequin Designer can be imported into multimedia animation
packages. The program can transferring figures and drawings to most
other Windows and DOS-based software products, the company said.

(Grant Buckler/19920408/Press Contact: Leahanne Hobson or Dave
Copithorne, Copithorne & Bellows for Humancad, 617-252-0606)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 10  New For PC: Legacy 2.1 for Windows 04/10/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00020)

New For PC: Legacy 2.1 for Windows 04/10/92
BOULDER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 APR 10 (NB) -- NBI has announced it
will release a Windows 3.1 version of its word processing program
Legacy.

Legacy 2.1, which the company says will ship in mid-June, has new
features including the ability to create documents that integrate
graphics and text. The program supports OLE (object linking and
embedding), has a customizable icon bar, and provides drag-and-drop
capability.

NBI says the new release will have more than 100 icons which can be
placed on the icon bar. Using the OLE capability, 2.1 users will be
able to embed graphics and tables from other software applications,
as long as those applications support the Microsoft OLE standard.

By using the drag-and-drop, a feature which is showing up in a number
of new or upgraded programs, the user can just drag the document
icon onto the printer icon for quick printing. If you drop the
document (NBI calls them chapters) on the Legacy icon, the document
is automatically opened.

A spokesperson for NBI told Newsbytes that the suggested retail
price of Legacy 2.1 will be $495. If you own an earlier version of
Legacy, you can upgrade by calling the company at 800-624-1111. The
company said the cost to upgrade will be $39 until the end of June,
then it will cost $49.

(Jim Mallory/19920408/Press contact: Dave Locke, NBI, 303-938-2808)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 10  Hong Kong: CSSL Pioneers New Approach To Customer Training 04/10/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00021)

Hong Kong: CSSL Pioneers New Approach To Customer Training 04/10/92
NORTH POINT, HONG KONG, 1992 APR 10 (NB) -- IBM reseller CSSL has
announced a new "education coupon" training scheme which delivers
savings of up to 40 percent on a wide range of training courses.

The scheme enables customers to buy books of education coupons which
deliver discounts of between 10 and 40 percent. Courses for both
technical staff and general management are eligible, including IBM
AS/400 mid-range computer applications, programming techniques,
communications and networking, and business recovery planning.

"Education coupons offer dramatic price reductions and enable
customers to plan their education budgets more effectively," said
Peter Knight, division manager at CSSL.

"By building a provision in advance, training managers can rapidly
respond to changing user needs without overstretching their pre-
agreed budget limits. With more than 20 regular courses currently
scheduled, they have a wide choice of opportunities to use their
coupons."

The scheme follows the success of CSSL's previous training
innovation, free CASE evening classes. "Training is a key part of
CSSL's customer satisfaction strategy," said Knight. "Investing in
ways to build skill levels has strengthened the loyalty of our
existing customers and borne fruit in our top ranking performance for
customer support in the 1992 Graham Mead Customer Satisfaction
Survey."

Graham Mead Associates (GMA) is a leading Hong Kong-based Asian
region research and technology education company. Earlier this year
GMA published its annual User Satisfaction Report on information
technology vendors. Forthcoming GMA reports include a survey of IT in
the Hong Kong manufacturing industry, and the 1992 GMA Hong Kong PC
Industry Report.

(Norman Wingrove/19920408/Press contact: Ally Ho, CSSL, +852 806
1622, Graham Mead, GMA, [phone]; HK time is GMT + 8)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 10  Moscow: Intel Opens New Office 04/10/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(MOW)(00022)

Moscow: Intel Opens New Office 04/10/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 APR 10 (NB) -- Intel Technologies has finally
established a permanent office in Moscow. The company continues its
expansion, hiring more people and signing more dealers in CIS.

Intel has rented a new office at 6/7 Kremenchugskaya St, near
Kutuzovsky prospekt, not far from the center of the city. Official
opening of the new premises will be in 1-2 months after minor
refurbishing of the facility, Marat Ishuev, Intel's representative
in Moscow told Newsbytes.

Intel has now five distributors for its board and chip-level products in
CIS including one in Kiev, Ukraine, and one in St Petersbourg. "We are
constantly looking for new distributors," Ishuev said. The company
sells to its resellers network for dollars only, while some
distributors are offering products for rubles.

Intel is also hiring more own people. It now has 7 persons in
CIS, including one man in Kiev, Ukraine. Three more employees
will be hired by year end, Ishuev said.

Mr Ishuev also noted that Intel is participating in the current
Comtek exhibition.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920408/Press Contact: Marat Ishuev, Intel Moscow,
phone +7 095 )

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 10  More Trade Friction: Taiwan, China, and Congress 04/10/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00023)

More Trade Friction: Taiwan, China, and Congress 04/10/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 10 (NB) -- Trade talks are not
going well but that should not come as a major surprise. This
week they broke down over claims of Taiwan piracy of US
products which is estimated to cost US companies about $400
million each year. There is a growing move in Congress to
penalize Japan for failing to meet microchip import targets.

Taiwan says it lacks the money to do as the US requests and
examine each and every exported computer product to determine if
it is a pirated copy of a US product. Earlier this week, US-
Taiwanese trade talks broke down on this point, which leaves the
ball in the court of the US which will have to decide whether
to penalize Taiwanese products with high import tariffs.

In other US-Pacific Rim friction, a group of US Senators led
by Texas Democrat Lloyd Bentsen and Oregon Republican Bob
Packwood this week called upon US Trade Representative Carla
Hills to explain what administration action is being contemplated
against Japan in the wake of its apparent failure to meet yet
another agreed-to import goal.

The US-Japan Semiconductor Trade Agreement, which was signed
last year and went into effect last summer, called for the
Japanese government to encourage companies to import a minimum of
20 percent of the semiconductors used in that country. The import
ratio now stands at well under 15 percent, just about where it
has been for several years.

On a less savory note, the US is demanding that Taiwan remove a
ban on cigarette advertising which has led to demonstrations
against US tobacco companies by Taiwanese anti-smoking groups.

(John McCormick/19920410)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 10  Editorial: Isaac Asimov, 1920-1992 04/10/92



(EDITORIAL)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00024)

Editorial: Isaac Asimov, 1920-1992 04/10/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 10 (NB) -- He described himself
as a second-rate scientist because he was never able to master
advanced math, but still he brought the world its basic picture
of robots as mankind's helper rather than metallic Frankenstein
monsters and along the way probably sparked the interest of more
science students than any other writer in history.

I am talking of course about Isaac Asimov, a man who, whether he
was writing about Mars, the Bible, or Shakespeare, was mostly
writing about himself and how he saw the world.

I didn't know him well, but as a fellow member of American Mensa
I did spend some time with him on occasion and found that he was
both a gentleman and a scholar in the best sense of both.

The good doctor liked good times, good conversation, women, and
writing but not necessarily in that order.

Writing was almost certainly his top priority; how else could he
produce more than 10 books a year for 40 years (not to mention
magazine articles and short stories)?

He often seemed surprised at how well his books were received;
even after the first couple hundred he always seemed to expect to
never be asked to write another, and I don't believe this was any
false modesty.

He knew his own worth but wasn't a person who expected everyone
else to acknowledge it instantly.

He made me want to write and, more than anyone else, taught me
how - not that we ever discussed writing even once, but just by
reading his books I saw that writing was a conversational skill -
if you can think clearly and speak your mind clearly, then
people will usually understand and often even like your style.

The trick is to write, as much as possible, exactly as if you
were talking to an individual.

No English teacher ever told me that, but then none of them ever
published more than 400 books either - so much for sentence
diagraming.

Isaac was a teller of tales, not an English Lit major.

His published writing style was simple and direct whether he was
discussing galactic empires, the "laws" of robotics, or
neutrinos, but when called upon to conform Dr. Asimov (the
doctorate was in biochemistry) could match any bureaucrat alive
for complex, convoluted, impenetrable reports.

He worked for the government during part of WW II at the
Philadelphia Naval Ship Yard and was so disgusted with the weird
bureaucratic language that needs a 100-page report to say what
any real writer could say in one paragraph, that he decided to
show how ridiculous this was by writing the most cliche-ridden,
convoluted report ever submitted.

He clearly succeeded all too well because he was given an award
for the quality of that report and, as he reported in the first
volume of his autobiography, "In Memory Yet Green," that report,
which he intended as a "bad" example, continued to be used as a
model for years.

Perhaps this event is one reason why, despite his very enjoyable
writing style, little subtle humor is to be found there - that
experience may have shown him that parody required a heavier hand
than he was accustomed to use.

Isaac never wrote down to his audiences, always assuming that
they would be able to understand what he wrote, and for the most
part he was proven correct when it came to his books about
science facts, but apparently he had overestimated the
intellectual capacity of his superiors that one time.

He did not like airplanes (an example of understatement if ever
there was one) and one of his most interesting characters, a far-
future NY police detective named Elijah Baley ("Caves of Steel"),
shared this trait.

In "Caves," written decades before he himself tried to deal with
a personal computer on his own, Isaac clearly had a vision of his
personal future when he wrote about how much trouble Baley had
getting used to his robotic partner.

It will come as a surprise to many to learn that this famous
science fiction and science fact writer did not get along with
computers - in fact, I shudder to think just how many books he
would have written had he been comfortable with word processors.

I still reread with pleasure many of his early novels. There were
a few dogs, but that is only to be expected, and the vast
majority will hold up well for years to come.

It took Dr. Asimov 19 years to publish his first 100 books, from
January 19, 1950 ("Pebble in the Sky") until October 1969 ("Opus
100"). Before that he wrote and published short stories.

But he was obviously starting to pick up steam because number 200
hit the book stores only 10 years later.

By 1979 he was writing 15,000 publishable words each week (his
estimate in "Opus 200"), but, as a writer myself, I can assure
you that as you become better-known you spend less time selling
ideas and more time writing because assignments come to you. So
that number must have surged tremendously in the last 10 years of
his active writing.

Being a good literary ecologist, he recycled much of his own
work, with some books consisting of little original writing, but
since very few people have ever read all his books, that recycling
was not a fault.

The good doctor is gone now, but I am willing to bet that when
the first robots intelligent enough to be really dangerous are
walking around they will have his three laws of robotics burned
deeply into their brains.

THE THREE LAWS OF ROBOTICS

1. A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction,
allow a human being to come to harm.

2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except
where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such
protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Taken from the Handbook of Robotics, 56th Edition, 2058 A.D., as
reported by Isaac Asimov, Ph.D., 1920-1992.

(John McCormick/19920410)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 10  ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 04/10/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00025)

ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 04/10/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 10 (NB) -- Roundup is a brief
look at some computer stories carried in other publications
received here this past week.

PC Magazine dated April 28 explores Windows 3.1, looks at OS/2
2.0, and tests 14 386SX-25s.

Technological Horizons in Education Journal, dated April, has a
report on how the state of Indiana is trying to put a "companion"
computer in the home of each student to complement school
computer labs. Cost? About $100/year/pupil. The initial 2,000
trial sites have proven a big success.

The March 30 Telephony says it was a big week for wireless data
with five major cellular carriers teaming up.

April's IEEE Spectrum explains how Iraq reverse-engineered the
bomb and carries a special guide to workstations.

LAN Technology explores how laptops can be networked.

April's PC World looks at inexpensive laser printers, compares
Windows word processors, and questions whether DR DOS 6.0 is
better than MS-DOS 5.0.

The April 6 Computer Reseller News has a special report on top
industry executives and companies in the reseller field.

InformationWeek for the week of the 6th carries a cover story on
how Citicorp dropped the competitiveness ball when it lost its
technological vision.

This week's issue of Computerworld says that Vienna, Virginia-
based Legent wants to acquire Goal Systems International in a
move that would improve the company's position in competing with
rival Computer Associates.

(John McCormick/19920410)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 10  The Enabled Computer 04/10/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00026)

The Enabled Computer 04/10/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 10 (NB) -- This column begins a
more in-depth look at some of the entries in the 1991 National
Search for Computing Applications to Assist Persons with
Disabilities run by Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.

I wish all of you could have been at The Smithsonian for the
finals where inventors and developers showed their 30 entries.

Some were already well-known, such as Mary Wilson of Laureate
Learning Systems who brought her company's Words and Concepts
software for learning-disabled children and adults.

Most, however, were either new to the field or not personally
known to me, but they all brought their best to show what can be
done with enabling technology.

After months spent narrowing the field from the initial 1500
paper entrants through more than 700 regional entries down to the
top 10 regional finishers plus 20 invited entrants, the search
ended with 20 judges spending more than eight hours selecting the
top three winners - one hardware, two software.

For those who are interested, the judging was done by pairs of
judges, one covering technical questions and the other judging
the entry's utility to the disabled community.

My partner was chemist Walter Berl.

Judging categories included: innovation, cost-benefit ratio,
range of applicability, presentation quality, and how well the
entry fit the needs of the target population.

Each pair judged 16 contestants, with every judge looking over
the top 10 regional entries during the morning session to
determine who got first, second, and third place. Each second-
level entry got the special attention of three pairs of judges on
Saturday afternoon.

Each pair totaled their scores and turned the raw numbers in to
Johns Hopkins' Louis Biggie, who ran the statistical operation.
The winners weren't known until Louis entered everyone's data and
the results weren't divulged until Monday night's awards banquet
at Washington's J. W. Marriott Hotel.

The $10,000 first prize went to the Unicorn Smart Keyboard, a new
membrane keyboard for PC and Macintosh computers which accepts
plastic overlays that are automatically recognized and configured
for the computer. The Unicorn entry was developed by Arjan Khalsa,
Unicorn Engineering, 5221 Central Ave. Suite 205, Richmond, CA 94804.

The $5,000 second prize award went to Switch Ensemble, by
Jonathan Adams, an excellent music program, which runs on the
Apple IIGS and is used by disabled children who, no matter what
their skill or motor control level, can join together to produce
real music. More on this program in a later issue, but it provides
a way for an individual or group to produce real music even if all
they can do is push against a single switch. Switch Ensemble is
sophisticated, well-presented, and a lot of fun for anyone to play.
Switch in Time, 101 Clay St., Cambridge, MA 02140.

The third prize winner was Frank McKiel from an IBM research
center in Texas. The team-developed software utility lets
visually impaired users access Windows 3.0 or other graphical
user interfaces.

The program is owned by Frank's employer, IBM, and it is not yet
on the market, but there is a move being mounted to convince IBM
to release the program as freeware, shareware, or at least as a
very inexpensive program.

The top winners were chosen from the number one winners in the 10
regional finals held in December. Each had his or her way paid to
Washington to exhibit his or her entry at the Smithsonian
Institution but in addition there were 20 more regional entrants
who were asked to participate at their own expense and compete
against each other and the remaining seven regional winners for
$500 and $300 prizes as well as citations and awards.

Many of the entrants went on to attend a two-day conference held
at Johns Hopkins University to explore ways to market or
otherwise distribute their devices.

Two entrants who were unable to attend the workshop were Salem,
Oregon, high school juniors Chris McCanna and Rama Olrech, whose
school would not give them time off from class. Nor did these two
receive any extra credit at school for their innovative software,
which helps people on multiple medications keep track of when to
take their medicines (contact address at the end of this column).

The mother of one of the boys told me that she had tried to get
the public school system to consider granting one of the
students, who is blind, an academic "letter" since he can't
participate in sports. She said that the school's administration
told her that there was no procedure for awarding such a letter
and indicated that there was little interest in developing such a
procedure.

Amidst the celebration of this surge of special needs technology
and the people who developed it, it was a sad note that reminded
us just how far we still have to go in educating the so-called
educators of this country.

When faced with exactly the sort of innovative and caring work
done by these students, their teachers apparently are more
interested in getting them to diagram more sentences or some
other such nonsense.

Several of the judges expressed both the hope and confidence that
the universities in these two young men's futures will pay a lot
more attention to the fact that they were honored at The
Smithsonian and asked to participate in a conference at the
Applied Physics Lab of Johns Hopkins University than that one of
them doesn't score well on timed tests because he is visually
impaired.

More next issue.

(John McCormick/19920410/)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 10   ****Intel Earnings Down, Orders Up 04/10/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00027)

 ****Intel Earnings Down, Orders Up 04/10/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 10 (NB) -- Intel is
reporting lower earnings in this, its first quarter of 1992, but
says the company is still strong with increased demand for the
its i486 and i386 microprocessors, the "brain" of the IBM and
compatible computer.

Intel reports net income of $184 million or $0.86 per share, compared
to $197 million or $0.95 per share in the same quarter last year. Net
income is down from the company's previous quarter, the fourth quarter
of 1991, when net income was $189 million or $0.90 per share.

The company is blaming the decrease on the settlement of a 9-year-long
patent infringement suit with Hughes Aircraft Company in which it has
agreed to pay $35 million. Also, Intel is holding $15 million in
reserve in case it has to pay Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) as part of
an arbitration decision. Intel said these expenses were offset by a
deferred royalty payment from AMD of $23 million.

Andrew Grove, president of Intel, said in a prepared statement: "We
were pleased to wrap up two long-running legal actions this quarter
with the AMD arbitration decision and the Hughes settlement. It's good
to shed these millstones."

Intel however, has taken on other "millstones" in other suits against
AMD, Chips & Technologies, and Cyrix. The recent Cyrix suit has
received a good deal of attention because the Cyrix says it plans to
release a 486 chip that is half as expensive as the Intel 486 chip.
Cyrix says its 486 can act as a direct upgrade to Intel 386 chips.
Intel has attempted to stop the introduction of the new chip and its
success in doing so remains to be seen.

Intel says it has lowered prices on its 386DX and SX chips early in
the first quarter to keep the chip available for the sub-$1000 PC
market and to respond to competition.

Intel said orders for the 386 and 486 chips are up, especially in
North America. Intel maintains it is also getting new orders from
Europe and the Asia-Pacific regions, but says orders from Japan remain
soft.

Intel also reported an improved ranking overall in its standing in
Fortune Magazine's top 500 American companies. Intel representative
John Raftrey said the company moved from 119 to 106 in the Fortune
500.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920410/Press Contact: John Raftrey, Intel, tel 408-
765-6007, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 10  UK: Mercury And GPT Form Strategic Alliance 04/10/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00028)

UK: Mercury And GPT Form Strategic Alliance 04/10/92
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 10 (NB) -- Mercury Communications
and GPT have signed a memorandum of understanding defining how
they plan to work together to develop and market voice and data
products plus services based around GPT's ISDX private automatic
branch exchange.

The announcement of the agreement between the two companies, made
at this week's Comms '92 show in Birmingham, means that Mercury
will become the preferred network-based supplier of the ISDX
product range in the UK. Both companies are also planning to
develop specific products for the PABX that will be marketed by
Mercury. GPT, meanwhile, will continue to market the PABX through
its own distribution division, CSL.

According to Peter Bury, corporate products director with
Mercury, the link-up between the two companies confirms the
telecom company's long-term commitment to GPT's products and
services. Customers will benefit from improved delivery lead
times as well as better pricing, he claimed.

"The closer working relationship between ourselves and GPT will
make sure that the roll-out of these products reflects the needs
of Mercury's customers," Bury said.

"It also gives us further opportunities to develop services for
our customers which build on the interworking of PABXs and our
main network switches," he added.

GPT's PABX technology, shown at Comms '92 this week, is a far cry
from the traditional PABX seen in most offices. As well as
squeezing the main PABX circuitry into desktop-sized boxes, GPT is
also offering cordless extensions operating by radio links.

(Steve Gold/19920410/Press & Public Contact: Mercury
Communications - Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 10  Develcon, Gandalf Form Technology Alliance 04/10/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00029)

Develcon, Gandalf Form Technology Alliance 04/10/92
SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA, 1991 APR 10 (NB) -- Networking
suppliers Develcon Electronics and Gandalf Technologies have signed
long-term agreements to share technology and work together to
develop new products.

Saskatoon-based Develcon and Gandalf, which has its headquarters in
Ottawa, are traditional rivals, said Don Friesen, director of
product marketing at Develcon. But "we're both Canadian companies
trying to compete in a world market," and the two companies felt
that sharing technologies would make them more competitive
internationally.

The focus of the deal is on local-area networking and
internetworking products, Friesen said. Develcon has already begun
reselling Gandalf wiring hubs under its own name, he said, and
Gandalf is looking at some Develcon bridges for Token Ring
networks. The two companies are also discussing joint development
products for the future, he added.

Gandalf and Develcon have no plans for joint marketing activities,
Friesen added.

Gandalf, a 22-year-old company with about 1,400 employees, had
revenues of C$148.6 million in its fiscal year 1991. Develcon has
just under 100 employees and annual revenues of between C$8 million
and C$10 million, Friesen said.

(Grant Buckler/19920410/Press Contact: Don Friesen, Develcon
Electronics, 306-933-3300, fax [phone]; Janice Drummond,
Gandalf Technologies, 613-564-0183)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 10   ****Digital Reports Quarterly Loss 04/10/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00030)

 ****Digital Reports Quarterly Loss 04/10/92
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 10 (NB) -- Digital
Equipment has reported a $294.1 million loss in its third fiscal
quarter, ended March 28. The company also said it may have to cut
more jobs before the end of its fiscal year.

For the third quarter, Digital reported total operating revenues of
$3,252.5 million, down eight percent from the $3,520.4 million of
last year's third quarter. The net loss compares to net income of
$116.6 million in the third quarter a year ago. Loss per share was
$2.36, versus a 94-cent profit per share last year.

For the nine months ending March 28, Digital reported total
operating revenues of $10,025.1 million, up one percent from the
$9,966.1 of the comparable period a year ago. Net loss for the nine
months was $403.9 million, versus $253.9 million net income for the
comparable period a year ago. A loss per share of $3.24 compared
with profit of $2.06 per share last year.

This quarter's figures include no special charges and are "pure
operating results," said company spokesman Bradley Allen. However,
he said, in the next quarter Digital may have to consider further
restructuring.

Digital blamed the drop in revenue partly on the persistent
worldwide economic slowdown, especially in Europe and Japan, the
negative impact of currency movements, and pricing pressure. It
also said product margins dropped, due mainly to
lower-than-anticipated volumes. Also, Digital officials said the
firm's business is shifting to low-end, lower-margin products, so
that even as Digital sold more computers than it had last year, it
made less money doing so.

Allen said that while computer buyers will continue moving toward
smaller systems, sales of larger hardware will probably pick up
when the economy improves and organizations start moving ahead with
major systems projects they have put off because of tough economic
times.

Early this year, Digital announced the long-awaited Alpha reduced
instruction set computing (RISC) processors that will form the
basis of its next generation of hardware. However, machines built
on the Alpha chips are not expected to reach the market in quantity
until next year. Allen said it is difficult to measure whether the
company's sales have been hurt by customers delaying purchases to
wait for the new machines.

(Grant Buckler/19920410/Press Contact: Mark A. Steinkrauss,
Digital, 508-493-7182; Bradley D. Allen, Digital, 508-493-8009)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 10  Fujitsu Forms Division To Market Imaging Products 04/10/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00031)

Fujitsu Forms Division To Market Imaging Products 04/10/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 10 (NB) -- The
growing importance of the imaging products market has been
highlighted with the formation of a new division, called the Imaging
Products Group, by San Jose, California-based Fujitsu Computer
Products of America. Steven M. Butterfield has been appointed
president and general manager for the new unit.

The new division will supply scanners, printers and other
imaging products through Fujitsu's existing distribution channels.

Dave Murray, spokesman for the company, told Newsbytes that
the decision to form the new division was an effort to "focus
their resources on a huge market."

According to BIS Strategic Decisions, the market for this
technology is expected to grow from $1.2 billion in 1992, to
$7.2 billion in 1994, and $12.6 billion in 1995.

Murray also told Newsbytes that Fujitsu already had a
"successful scanner division and a successful printer division"
and "the formation was an attempt to "bring them together."

According to Butterfield: "Fujitsu has been a major player in the
imaging market for some time, and maintains an industry-leading
share of the mid-range scanner market. The charter of the new
Imaging products Group is to continue to strengthen that position
with products designed and developed by Fujitsu and third
parties."

According to the company, its imaging product line includes
the PrintPartner family of impact and non-impact printers
optimized for specific customer applications, and mid-range
scanners for use in document image processing.

Fujitsu Computer products of America, Inc., is part of $21 billion
Fujitsu Japan, and is primarily responsible for data storage,
printers, and scanners in the United States.

(Ian Stokell/19920410/Press Contact: Matt Keowan, Fujitsu
Computer products of America Inc., 408-432-6333)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 10  Review of: Integ Kid's Super Computer 04/10/92


(REVIEW)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00032)

Review of: Integ Kid's Super Computer 04/10/92

From: Integ, 2200-F Zanker Rd., San Jose, CA 95131

Price: $129.95

PUMA Rating: 3.75 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Linda Rohrbough and Margaret Rohrbough

Summary: Very much in appearance to a Toshiba laptop, this durable
Super Computer is the best, most considerate implementation I've seen
of a computer for first to fourth grade kids. It has strong appeal
both for educational and dramatic play and I only wish my daughter
Margaret had played with the toys I got her for Christmas with the
fascination she has demonstrated for the Super Computer.

======

REVIEW

======

From the day the Super Computer came into our house, eight-year-old
Margaret began with enthusiasm to investigate it. She agreed to
contribute to this review regarding what she enjoys most about
the Super Computer.

Doing what I do as a writer and consultant in the world of personal
computers, I found the Super Computer appealing from the beginning.
Even though the unit has been produced by a company from Hong Kong, it
lacked the awkwardness and strange color combinations I've come to
associate with poor American implementations of electronic toys
designed across the Pacific. However, the packaging of the Super
Computer looks very much like toys like the Whiz Kid, from Vtech
Educational Electronics, which we found very disappointing.

Out of the box, it is very much in appearance like a Toshiba laptop,
with a pop-up screen, a typewriter-style keyboard, a dark grey plastic
exterior, and has a carrying handle built into the top. And it's
durable. The keyboard is one piece with raised "bumps" over the keys
to press down to type them. We've had it for at least two months or
more and even with daily use it looks just about the same as when we
first took it out of the box.

The Super Computer is deceptively simple in appearance, but packs a
load of activities. Even though Margaret lists her current favorites
as the animation and the music activities, I've noticed she has worked
her way through all the activities (or games) beginning with the
number dictation and missing letters and developing favorite games
along the way as her skill level has increased. This is especially
appealing as I'm weary of purchasing expensive toys only to discover
the activity that appealed to me about the toy is only in an extra
cartridge that the store is out of right now.

The computer talks in a pleasant female voice that has not gotten on
my nerves like Teddy Rumpskin or Mr. Game Show (bought for our older
child a couple of years ago). Margaret's reading skills were rough at
best when we got the computer, so the fact that it explains itself to
her took a lot of pressure off me. The computer corrects the child
when a mistake is made, but the correction is polite, considerate, and
varied. It also has a volume control, which is another consideration
on the part of Integ I appreciate.

Some games can be played with one or two players, others are for
individuals. The games include "Missing Letters" a single or two
player game in which a picture is displayed on the screen that
illustrates a word. The word is displayed, but with missing letters
and the child has several chances to type in the missing letters. The
word is pronounced whether the child gets the missing letters or not.

Math games include addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division
as well as the display of an equation in which the child has to enter
the correct sign.

Several spelling games are built-in including "Spelling Dictation"
which Margaret says she especially likes because it gives her
compliments. Simple animated pictures illustrate the words to spell
such as "magician," "karate," "sled," and "diamond." Like most
educational spelling activities including the ones at her school, this
one is somewhat archaic. Living in Southern California, my daughter
has never seen snow, so she had no clue as to what the picture of a
sled represented.

"Word Jumble" is another spelling game, but even I have trouble with
this one. The letters are displayed at random on the screen and the
child has come up with the correct work and type it in correctly.

The "Any Number" game is interesting and a pleasant switch as the
child feels like the teacher in this one. The child types in a number
and the computer dictates it back. Margaret liked this one a lot in
the beginning.

"Number Dictation," where the number is pronounced and the child has
to type it in is also available.

"Trivia" is a more intellectual game. A sentence goes by on the bottom
of the screen and the child has to read it and then choose from one of
the three choices at the top. A typical example is "What is used to
make common tea?" scrolls by over and over at the bottom of the screen
while the three choices, grass, trees, and leaves are numbered 1, 2,
and 3 at the top. Since only ten characters can be displayed at a
time, the sentence has to scroll.

Currently, Margaret is learning to create her own animations and to
record and play her own songs, both activities built-in to the Super
Computer. She also has discovered a simple database that she alone can
access with a secret password she chose herself. This is very
appealing and she has shown all of us how we cannot get into her
database. She has all her friends phone numbers in there as well as
some notes to herself and she changes the information periodically.
The database is maintained when the power is off, as is the secret
password.

One of the things Margaret has said she especially likes is each game
has varied skill levels that can be changed at will.

A Spanish cartridge was sent along with the Super Computer at our
request as Spanish is a big deal in Southern California. Fits in a
slot designed to look like a 3.5-inch drive on the side of the Super
Computer and changes all the activities to Spanish, including all the
spoken instructions. Other language cartridges including French,
Italian, and Dutch are available. Margaret says enjoys using the
Spanish cartridge to play games she is already familiar with in
English.

There's an AC adapter outlet, although we did not get the AC adapter
with the Super Computer. However, we have used it all this time on the
same set of 4 "C" alkaline batteries. Considering how much I spend on
batteries for her other toys, I find this pretty amazing.

Both Margaret and I have a wish list for the Super Computer. On the
top of Margaret's list is more room in the database for her
information. I would like to see better words in the spelling and a
bigger screen display. The current screen display is adjustable
somewhat and seems to be adequate.

However, with the price of toys these days, I am enormously impressed
with the value and capability of the Super Computer. I wish I had seen
this one at Christmas -- I wouldn't have wasted money on those burp,
cry, spit up dolls or on Teddy Ruxpin, who costs nearly as much by the
time you get a few tapes.

Also, Margaret's academic performance has improved dramatically and so
has her confidence level. Margaret seems to have taught most of the games
to herself without much help from me, either by examining the
documentation herself or by trial and error. While I can't honestly
attribute all of it her improvement to the Super Computer, I'm sure
having her own computer and the intense concentration she put into it
has helped a lot.

============

PUMA RATINGS

============

PERFORMANCE: 4
I could wish the Super Computer had a larger screen or better words to
illustrate for the spelling games, but overall its really very, very
complete and obviously well thought out in its design.

USEFULNESS: 4
Compared to what I've spent for other toys, this is an excellent
value, especially considering the variety and number of activities
that are included.

MANUAL: 4
The manual doesn't look like much, but it seemed to cover everything.
We rarely needed it and it was easy enough for Margaret to understand
without help.

AVAILABILITY: 3
Unfortunately, the Super Computer is not available at any of the
retail children's toy outlets I checked. Integ says some children's
educational stores are carrying it, and Macy's had some at Christmas
but I was unable to find anyone in my area who carries it. It can be
ordered from Integ for $129.95 and $4.00 s/h for a total of $134.95.
Also, Integ has a toll-free number for helping consumers locate retail
outlets in their area at 800-486-0898.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920327/Press Contact: Judy Allan, Integ, tel 408-
435-0898, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 10  Review of: The First Book of PC-Write, Using PC Write 04/10/92



(REVIEW)(IBM)(ATL)(00033)

Review of: The First Book of PC-Write, Using PC Write 04/10/92

From: Books are by Rebecca Kenyon (The First Book of PC Write)
and Using PC-Write is by Trudie Reisner. Both are from
Howard W. SAMS and Company, 11711 N.College Ave.,
Suite 140, Carmel, IN 46032, 317-573-2500.

Price: The First Book of PC-Write - $16.95; Using PC-Write - $22.95

PUMA Rating: 4 for both books (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: tbass HNDYPRSN, MCI:379-5378, 04/10/92

Summary: The First Book of PC-Write covers both PC-Write ver.
3.03 and PC-WriteLite ver. 1.01 -- Using PC-Write covers
PC-Write through ver. 3.03.

======

REVIEW

======

I would recommend that anyone who uses QuickSoft's PC-Write have
one or both these books on their reference shelf. They both are
suitable for beginner through intermediate users. I would
recommend both for even advanced users as there are many
functions that we don't use frequently enough to remember and
this is a good brush-up course.

How frequently do you modify your printer definition file,
pr.def? When you need to do this, it is helpful to have a
clear description of the procedure, at your fingertips. You can
find this in the manual, but sometimes it is easier if there is
more than one set of directions.

I don't know about you, but when I see a page full of cryptic
commands my vision gets blurred before I even start to read. The
manual for PC-Write is an excellent manual, but these books give
you an alternative to the manual. An extra set of directions
could mean the difference in doing what is needed instead of
living with the problem.

I always feel I've accomplished something when I get PC-Write
to do something extra with just a few key strokes. These two
books are like having someone look over my shoulder to help.

These books may finally teach me to use the spellchecker that
comes with PC-Write rather than the external one I use presently.
I have just never taken the time learn the process for the
one that came with the program. It was easier to continue being
inconvenienced by exiting PC-Write, using my old spell checker, and
re-entering PC-Write to reform the paragraphs.

============

PUMA RATING

============

PERFORMANCE: (4) Both books are well written and show the
features of PC-Write with many visual and verbal descriptions.

USEFULNESS: (4) I found myself using QUE and SAM's PC-Write
books every time I wanted to break new ground with my word
processor. Now when I get asked questions about PC-Write I will
tell friends about these books.

AVAILABILITY: (4.0) These books should be at your favorite
computer book store and wherever SAMS and QUE books are sold,
i.e. B.DALTON's Bookstore or WaldenBooks. The books are readily
available from the MacMillan order desk at 800-257-5755 where
VISA, AmericanExpress, MasterCard, personal checks, COD, or
POs are acceptable.

(tbass HNDYPRSN/19910915/Press Contact: Beth Silcox, 317-571-3489,
FAX [phone])


#ENDCARD




#CARD :1992 APR 9 Comdex: Analog Devices Pushes Signal Processing 04/09/92

(NEWS)(TRENDS)(ATL)(00001)

Comdex: Analog Devices Pushes Signal Processing 04/09/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 9 (NB) -- Analog Devices,
which makes signal processing chips, is pushing a concept called
"Signal Computing." This is a theoretical model defining an open
system for using its digital signal processors in a wide variety
of applications.

For instance, the company noted, the same CD-quality sound
compression algorithm could be embedded with a single port
device and chip into a PC, video game, and cable TV converter.

The first product offered based on this, is a fax/data modem
chipset, supporting the 14,400 bits-per-second (bps) V.32bis
modulation standard, as well as Group III fax, using software from
Digicom  Services, and sold by QuikComm since February. The
complete datapump costs $25 in quantity, and executes modem
command sets, data compression, and error control, as well as
sound and speech algorithms.

Alliances signed for the show, along with Digicom's, include:
Lernout & Hauspie, which will produce speech recognition and text
to speech conversion hardware; Xing Technology, which will offer
still-image and audio compression under the JPEG and MPEG
standards; and Euphonics, which will adapt the Dolby AC-2 digital
audio algorithm.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19910409/Press Contact: Al Haun, Analog
Devices, 617-329-4700)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 9  Comdex: Samsung Intros Notebook With Removable Drive 04/09/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(ATL)(00002)

Comdex: Samsung Intros Notebook With Removable Drive 04/09/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 9 (NB) -- Samsung of Korea
has entered the notebook computer market with the NoteMaster
386S/25, a 5.8 pound unit based on the AMD 80386SXL chip. To
promote transportability, the company also announced internal and
external hard drive receptacles, which work with IDE (integrated
drive electronics) drives.

Compared to new offerings by US companies, the PC itself is
unexceptional, given the Americans' new preference for the 80386SL
and Microsoft Windows 3.1 compatibility. Samsung counters that its
removable disk drive lets users distribute computing environments
among any computers taking the receptacle, allows for the physical
lockup of the disk, easy upgrading, and for the sharing of systems.

The best news about the Samsung unit may be the price, at $1,895
it is well below most competitors. The internal hard disk receptacle,
however, will cost another $249, and the external version $419.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19910409/Press Contact: Samsung, Kevin Kilroy,
201-712-4815)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 9  Comdex: High-End Caller ID Handler Announced For PCs 04/09/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(ATL)(00003)

Comdex: High-End Caller ID Handler Announced For PCs 04/09/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 9 (NB) -- AG Communication
Systems, a joint venture between AT&T and GTE, has began
shipping its WindowPhone call management product. WindowPhone
allows any company to link callers' numbers with its own databases,
based on the popular but controversial Caller ID service.

The $495 product "not only identifies who is calling before you
answer the phone, it provides instant access to personalized
caller information stored in your computer files," explained
Roger Heldt, general manager of WindowPhone operations.
"WindowPhone allows you to efficiently and professionally manage
both incoming and outgoing calls with the touch of a button."

WindowPhone consists of a half-length AT-style circuit card, and
software that requires Microsoft Windows 3.0 or higher. Even
without Caller ID, the company insisted, the product provides
efficient control of outgoing calls.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19910409/Press Contact: Curtis Steinhoff,
AG Communication Systems, 602-582-7094)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 9  Comdex: Canadian Battle Over Graphics Software 04/09/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(ATL)(00004)

Comdex: Canadian Battle Over Graphics Software 04/09/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 9 (NB) -- Gold Disk of
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, has gone after neighbor Corel with
a new multimedia business presentation program for Windows
called Professional Draw.

The product is aimed at graphic artists, designers, technical
illustrators and desktop publishers, said Gold Disk President,
Kailash Ambwani. The $495 product reads CorelDraw files, offers
33 drawing methods, multiple page layout, and Pantone color
support, among other things.

Corel, meanwhile, has announced CorelSCSI, a graphics
connectivity product based on the SCSI (Small Computer System
Interface) standard. Each kit contains a host adapter, software,
cables, and documentation.

A software-only version is also available, and shipment date is
May 4. The company has also announced a version of CorelDraw
for OS/2 2.0. CorelDraw was a native Presentation Manager product,
Corel said, but it was rebuilt to take advantage of the new 32-bit
IBM operating system.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19910409/Press Contact: Gold Disk,
Joseph Deal, 213-320-5080; Corel Systems, Friona Rochester,
613-728-8200)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 9  Comdex: Asymetrix Announces Multimedia PocketBook 04/09/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(ATL)(00005)

Comdex: Asymetrix Announces Multimedia PocketBook 04/09/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 9 (NB) -- Asymetrix has
announced "Multimedia Make Your Point," an entry-level
multimedia program which is the latest in its PocketBook line. The
product is an easy presentation builder that lets people quickly
combine sound, text, and graphics in a complete interactive
environment, claims the company.

The suggested retail price of the product is just $89.95, and it
will work with any computer compatible with the Multimedia PC
(MPC) standard. The PocketBook line first shipped in December,
and Executive Vice President, Bert Kolde, said sales have
exceeded expectations. He added he thinks that Windows 3.1 will
bring multimedia computing into the mainstream Windows market,
since multimedia extensions are built-in.

Asymetrix also claimed that 30 percent of all MPC multimedia
consumer titles announced and/or shipping were produced with its
"Multimedia ToolBook" product, a higher-end multimedia authoring
tool. The company claims the education and business communities
are turning it into a standard.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19910409/Press Contact: Asymetrix, Sandy
Anderson, 206-637-1560)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 9  Teknon Ships Mac Lookalike Accounting Program For DOS 04/09/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00006)

Teknon Ships Mac Lookalike Accounting Program For DOS 04/09/92
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA, U.S.A.,1992 APR 9 (NB) -- Teknon
Corporation, developers of the atOnce! accounting software for the
Macintosh, is now shipping a similar program for DOS-based
machines.

Teknon Accounting for MS-DOS uses a windows-type interface, but
runs on 286-based DOS PCs with 640 kilobytes (KB) of RAM, and
does not require Microsoft Windows. Other system requirements
include a hard drive with at least 3.5 megabytes (MB) of available
space, a Microsoft-compatible mouse, and an EGA or VGA display.
For users who do have Microsoft Windows installed, Teknon
Accounting will run as a non-Windows application.

Teknon Accounting for DOS comes with sample data for a fictitious
company already setup, for use as a tutorial. The program consists
of four modules: general ledger; accounts receivable; accounts
payable; and payroll. The financial reports and forms can be
customized, budgeting and billing capabilities are included, and
more than 100 reports can be printed.

Like real Windows applications, Teknon Accounting can have
multiple windows open simultaneously so the user can switch from
one to the other. For example, accounts receivable and accounts
payable could both be open at the same time.

One of the most difficult tasks when starting to use a new
accounting program is getting it set up. According to the company,
Teknon's well written, easy to understand, startup manual has about
half its pages devoted to set up worksheets. Filled out before you
start using the program, the company claims that the worksheets
make it easy to set up your accounts, customers, and vendors.

Teknon Accounting provides several levels of security to control
access to the files. Access to any of the modules can be permitted
for set up, enter, or print authorization. User IDs and passwords
can be up to ten alphanumeric characters.

The heart of the program is the "Navigator." From this control center
you can select any of the modules, and choose options from file,
set up, entry, inquiry, or print menus. Pressing the right mouse
button will also pop-up an abbreviated version of the Navigator.

Teknon has provided a wide range of user selectable options,
including the format for display of dates, various sorting choices
for printing the chart of accounts, set up choices for different size
pages when printing, selection of the keyboard repeat rate, and
control of the mouse movement sensitivity and movement rate.

The Teknon Accounting files come compressed on one 3.5-inch
floppy disk, and the program sells for $249. To order the program
or get the name of a distributor in your area, contact Teknon at
602-596-1500 or fax at 602-483-8293.

(Jim Mallory/19920409/Press Contact: Alexandria Todd, McClean
Public Relations for Teknon, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 9  Harris Semiconductor Lays Off 300 Employees 04/09/92




(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00007)

Harris Semiconductor Lays Off 300 Employees 04/09/92
MELBOURNE, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 9 (NB) -- Harris
Corporation has announced that it will lay off about 300 employees
from its Semiconductor Sector in a move to reduce expenses.

Executive VP, Phillip Farmer, attributed the cuts to reductions in
defense spending and the slow pace of the economy. Harris
Semiconductor says it is the number one supplier of
semiconductors to the US government.

"Decisions affecting the lives of our employees and their families
are always difficult, but we had no alternative under existing
business conditions," Farmer said.

The company said the employees affected, which will be at all
levels of the company, including management, will receive a
severance package based on length of service. The company
said it would also provide compehensive outplacement services.

Farmer said previous restructuring actions have resulted in a
significantly lower break-even point for the company, but orders
and sales have been running below that point. According to
Farmer, the staff reductions will bring costs and expenses in line
with current business volumes, and contribute significantly to the
company's goal of returning to profitability by the end of the year.

Farmer stressed that no plant closing are involved, and the
company's product lines would not be affected.

(Jim Mallory/19920409/Press Contact: Linda daCosta, Harris
Semiconductor, 407-727-9126)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 9  PC Quote Ships Market Info Program For OS/2 04/09/92




(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00008)

PC Quote Ships Market Info Program For OS/2 04/09/92
CHICAGO,ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 9 (NB) -- PC Quote Inc., has
announced it is now shipping a high speed financial market
information software package for IBM's OS/2 32-bit operating
system.

PC Quote's announcement said Quoteserver delivers real-time
prices, quotes and news from the world's financial exchanges to
mission-critical applications running on LANs (local area networks),
minicomputers, and mainframes. Quoteserver is fed by PC Quote's
Hyperfeed, a 56,000 bits-per-second (bps) digital satellite data
feed.

Louis Morgan, PC Quote's chairman, said the ability of OS/2 to run
DOS, Microsoft Windows, and 16-bit and 32-bit OS/2 applications
is an important advantage. "This gives our clients the freedom to
assemble a suite of applications that meets their exact needs,"
Morgan said.

Morgan told Newsbytes that the fee for the service, which includes
the necessary software and the data feed, is $750 per month for the
first five workstations, and $75 for each additional workstation.

The Chicago-based company says it provides real-time securities
quotations via satellite and phone lines to clients in about 1,300 US
cities. PC Quote first introduced their Hyperfeed system in 1989.

(Jim Mallory/19920409/Press Contact: Louis Morgan, PC Quote,
312-906-3800)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 9  Australia: Merisel Plans For Softeach '92 Computer Show 04/09/92




(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00009)

Australia: Merisel Plans For Softeach '92 Computer Show 04/09/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 APR 9 (NB) -- Merisel Australia
expects a full 50 percent increase in attendance at Softeach '92.
Subtitled "Computer Products Training Forum," the event will be
held in the major cities of Melbourne and Sydney, on the
weekends of May 16/17 and May 23/24, respectively.

Softeach events are also held in Canada, Europe, and the
UK, as well as the original ones in the US. Attendance at this
year's Australian Softeach is expected to be at least 1,800, up
from 1,200 last year. This may partly be due to the introduction
late last year of Merisel's "Frequent Buyer" program where
dealers can earn points for redemption on various rewards
including trips to Comdex and Softeach.

Softeach presents a unique environment as competing vendors
often talk to dealers within the one session, and have information
booths side-by-side in the exhibition area. Participating vendors
this year will include Apple, Artisoft, Bitstream, Claris, Corel,
Colorado, Daystar, Epson, Fifth Generation, IBM, Kodak, Lotus,
Microsoft, Quarterdeck, SPC, Symantec, WordPerfect, and Xtree.

(Paul Zucker/19920409/Press Contact: David Huxley, Merisel,
tel [phone], fax: [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 9  Australia: Education Software Distributor Ships Catalog 04/09/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00010)

Australia: Education Software Distributor Ships Catalog 04/09/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 APR 9 (NB) -- Australian software
distributor, Dataflow, has released its 1992 software catalog, and
will mail a record number of copies. Recipients include 11,000
schools around the country, 15,000 end-users, and Dataflow's
dealer base.

The catalog covers 550 education, productivity, home, and
entertainment software titles from more than 40 suppliers.
Dataflow's Marketing Manager, Craig Tegel, said: "Our catalog
reflects Dataflow's extensive knowledge and understanding of the
Australia and New Zealand education market. We aim to offer a
diverse range of products to satisfy the needs of educational
institutions from pre-school through to tertiary levels, as well as
the growing home education and education markets."

A feature of the catalog is a range of pricing initiatives designed
to give schools a chance to buy software at much lower than
normal prices. Vendors represented include Broderbund, The
Learning Company, Davidson and Associates, Claris, SPC,
Symantec, and Lotus. Dataflow is also an Apple distributor.

Coincidently, with the release of the new catalog, is a change
of public relations company for Dataflow.

(Paul Zucker/19920409/Contact: Craig Tefel, Dataflow,
tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 9  Australia's OTC Wins Export Contract For Super Modems 04/09/92




(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00011)

Australia's OTC Wins Export Contract For Super Modems 04/09/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 APR 9 (NB) -- Australia's overseas
carrier OTC has won an export contract to provide its two
megabits-per-second Digital On Supergroup (DOS) modems to
Telecom Denmark. The sale of six modems is the result of
successful field trials held in Demark with OTC assistance.

Telecom Denmark will use the modems for the 450 kilometer
Shefa submarine cable between the Faroe and Shetland Islands.
The cable was installed in 1971 as an analog link, but the new
modems will update this to two 2 megabits-per-second digital
telephone channels over the same cable. This will greatly
increase the possible traffic, and extend the cable's life by
many years.

The modems use sophisticated digital signal processing
to provide error correction, enabling such a wide digital
bandwidth on a 240 kilohertz (KHz) audio bandwidth. They
are planned for use on a number of Pacific Rim cables,
catering for the increased demand for private leased lines.

(Paul Zucker/920409/Press Contact: Paul Rea, OTC,
tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 9  New For Mac: Broderbund Intros Prince Of Persia Game 04/09/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00012)

New For Mac: Broderbund Intros Prince Of Persia Game 04/09/92
NOVATO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 9 (NB) -- Broderbund is
releasing its award winning game, "Prince of Persia," in a version
that is compatible with the Apple Macintosh. Prince of Persia has
won awards and acclaims in the press for its innovative use of
technology that allows for realism in its graphic depictions.

The story line was created by Jordan Mechner, who is also
responsible for a Broderbund Karate game called "Karateka."
In the game, a young prince falls in love with a local princess that
is also coveted by the evil "vizier," who kidnaps the princess and
throws the prince into a dungeon. The prince has one hour to
escape the dungeon and save the princess who is given the
choice of marrying the vizier or being killed.

Of course, a dungeon is not complete without an obligatory set of
traps and monsters. There are twelve levels with up to 24 rooms
per level. All in all, 250 different locales that needs to be explored
and conquered within that one hour. The game can be saved at
any level transition. This is to allow you to come back to the same
point when the dungeon proves to be too much, as well as to allow
for short intervals between sessions.

The most interesting aspect of the game is in the animation.
Broderbund filmed action sequences using real actors and then
used those films to more accurately portray human motions in the
game. The company claims that its artists spent many hours
conveying the exact details of human motion to the figures in the
game, so that the not-quite-real sensation for most action computer
games is no longer a factor.

The Macintosh version of Prince of Persia is selling for $49.95 and
should be available at local retailers in the near future. Broderbund
has already begun shipments to its distributors.

(Naor Wallach/19920409/Press Contact: Kathleen Burke,
Broderbund, 415-382-4567)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 9  Andest Shows Off New Modem Range At UK Show 04/09/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00013)

Andest Shows Off New Modem Range At UK Show 04/09/92
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 9 (NB) -- Andest
Communications is out in force at the Which Computer?/Comms '92
show held in Birmingham, England, this week. The company is busy
showing off two V.32 fax/internal modems for the Compaq and
Toshiba range of laptop PCs.

The show was the first time that Andest had a chance to show off
the complete new range of Roadrunner and Megahertz portable
and interface fax/data plus data-only modems.

The Roadrunner range includes what Tony Sellars, Andest's
managing director, claims is the world's first error-corrected
line-powered modem, as well as a portable modem featuring V.32
data and Group III fax capabilities. Both modems are packaged in
a casing the size of a pack of cards.

Also being shown at the show are Andest's badged and UK-
approved versions of the Megahertz range of internal modems for
Compaq and Toshiba portables.

Speaking to Newsbytes, Sellars said that the market for portable
modems is now a lot more complex than when the company
first started in June 1989. Then, the company produced only a
limited number of portable modems, as the market was not as
mature as it is today.

"Today we have a wide range of user requirements. Some users
want data-only internal or external modems, while others need data
and fax facilities. Others are after high-speed communications to
V.32Bis and V.42Bis standards," he told Newsbytes.

Sellars revealed that he now finds himself in the unusual position
of being able to release modems that are well below what the
competition is charging. "Because we design and produce the
modems ourselves, we can do this. The trouble is, when people
see the specifications and the price, they don't believe it," he said.

Andest's range of modems now runs to several pages of possible
configurations, depending on whether an internal or external
system is required, what speeds are needed, and whether fax
and/or high-speed data communications (V.32/V.32Bis) features
are required.

Pricing starts at UKP 299 for an IBM half-card modem supporting
all data speeds to 2,400 bits-per-second (bps) with V.42Bis
error-correction and data compression. UKP 50 gets users a fax
data send/receive option on the modem.

Flagship to Andest's range is a UKP 799 modem for Toshiba or
Compaq portables that supports all modem speeds to V.32
(9,600 bps) with V.42Bis. Coming soon, said Sellars, is a V.32Bis
(14,400 bps) option on the internal modems.

(Steve Gold/19920409/Press & Public Contact: Andest
Communications, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 9  UK: Tulip Computers Cuts 386SX-Based System Pricing 04/09/92




(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00014)

UK: Tulip Computers Cuts 386SX-Based System Pricing 04/09/92
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 9 (NB) -- Tulip Computers
took the occasion of the Which Computer? Show in Birmingham this
week to announce price cuts of up to 22 percent across its range of
80386SX-based PCs. The price cuts means that a 16 megahertz
(MHz) 80386SX-based machine now sells for UKP 895.

So why the cuts? According to Tulip, the costs of production on
the machines has fallen significantly in recent months, thanks to
an increase in volume of sales around Europe.

"Despite a large proportion of corporations moving to the 486
platform, the size of the 386SX market is continuing to increase,"
explained Steve McCall, the company's managing director.

"The 386SX market is extremely price-sensitive and our decision
to cut prices means that Tulip now offers a range of 386SX-based
computers that combine competitive pricing with a high quality
build," he added.

(Steve Gold/1992409/Press & Public Contact: Tulip Computers,
tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 9  UK: Nippon Steel Intros PCMCIA-Based Notebook 04/09/92




(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00015)

UK: Nippon Steel Intros PCMCIA-Based Notebook 04/09/92
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 9 (NB) -- Nippon Steel is
unveiling the Librex T3686SX notebook at this week's Which
Computer? Show, in the United Kingdom.

The notebooks are unusual, since they use the Personal Computer
Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) version 2.0
standard for attachment of memory cards and other peripherals.
The T386SX also features a removable high-speed 40 megabyte
(MB) hard drive, with options of 80 and 120MB available.

Andrew Carver, Nippon Steel Computer's vice president of Europe,
said: "The Librex T386SX incorporates the very latest technology
to offer the ultimate in portability and functionality. It is designed to
allow the user to easily configure and upgrade, hard drives, memory
and many other optional accessories, by simply sliding the required
component into the relevant slot or port."

The T386SX is based on a 20 megahertz (MHz) 80386SX chipset
and comes with 4MB of RAM (expandable to 12MB) fitted as
standard. The unit has an external floppy disk drive with a 9.5-inch
sidelit LCD (liquid crystal display) screen with 64 shades of gray.
The screen can be switched through to an external VGA monitor.

Pre-installed on the machine is DOS and Laplink Pro data transfer
software. The machine comes bundled with a Cable for the Laplink
software. The rechargeable nickel hydride battery on the machine
can run for up to 2.5 hours and be recharged in 3.5 hours, the
company claims.

The 40MB and 80MB hard disk option versions of the T386SX will
ship in the UK from next month onwards at prices of UKP 1,500
and UKP 1,795, respectively. The 120MB hard disk version will
ship during the third quarter of this year at a price to be announced
later.

(Steve Gold/19920409/Press & Public Contact: Nippon Steel,
0753-811007)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 9  Corel To Sign Two Distributors In Russia 04/09/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(MOW)(00016)

Corel To Sign Two Distributors In Russia 04/09/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 APR 9 (NB) -- Corel corporation said it
will have CorelDraw available on the Russian market soon, and for
a very reasonable price.

Robert Lendvai, Corel manager, participating in the Comtek
computer show, told Newsbytes that CorelDraw version 2.0 will be
sold through the Steepler software house and the Merisel affiliate in
Russia in the near future. The company also stated that it will make
the product available either with a Russian extender or as a
special Cyrillic edition. One possible candidate to do the
localization work is the NVSoft group in St Petersbourg.

Lendvai said the product is likely to cost about 20,000 rubles
(US$150-200) per complete package, which local industry analysts
say a very reasonable price.

"Our booth at Comtek is flooded with people willing to buy a
copy of CorelDraw. Most of them already have illegal copies of it
installed on their computers, so they know the product. We expect
huge sales in the former Soviet Union," Lendvai concluded.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920409/Press Contact: Robert Lendvai, Corel,
tel [phone] ext 1195, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 9  India: Lotus Appoints Distributor, Cuts Prices 04/09/92




(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEL)(00017)

India: Lotus Appoints Distributor, Cuts Prices 04/09/92
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1992 APR 9 (NB) -- "Lotus 1-2-3 will henceforth
be available for $433, as against the present market price of $633,"
announced A.K. Basu, vice president, Information Systems Division
of ITC Ltd., the company now appointed as the sole distributor of
Lotus products in India.

"The price may come down even more," promised Basu, "as our
goal is to sell the packages here at a price lower than the US street
price." The price reduction has been made possible following
the recent government decision to allow duplication of foreign
software in India with consequent savings of 112 percent in import
duty. The ITC facility for replication of Lotus software will be set up
in Bagalore, revealed Basu, and will be operational within three
to six months.

With the decision to appoint ITC Ltd., as its new marketing
and distribution agent in India, Lotus Development Corporation
finally put an end to its uncomfortable alliance with Tata
Consultancy Services (TCS). "TCS was unable to open up the
market for Lotus. It has its own priorities in terms of product
range, and we want full attention," complained Ganesh
Krishnamurthy, country manager of Lotus.

"The reduction of price is also another step to curb piracy,"
said Krishnamurthy. Before carrying out legal prosecutions,
Lotus would like to give the illegal users every chance to
become legal, he stressed. The company has already offered
immunity from prosecution if the illegal users become members
of Lotus Club International. Recently, it has also slashed the
price of the latest version of Lotus 1-2-3 to $152 for club members.

The Information Systems Division of ITC has been active in
exporting and marketing software products. The turnover of the
division for 1991-2 has been $2.6 million, of which $1.4 million
came from software exports to the UK, and the rest from sales
of Unify products in India.

About four months ago, Lotus invited all illegal users of
Lotus 1-2-3 in India to join the club by paying $69. The promise of
"permanent indemnity of non-prosecution" did not create much
activity, as the legal proceedings have already failed to curb piracy
in India. Hence the bid to give a more concrete shape to the
"discounted business and personal benefits" in an attempt to
convince the estimated 220,000 illegal users.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920409)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 9  Macquill For Macintosh Originated In India 04/09/92




(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEL)(00018)

Macquill For Macintosh Originated In India 04/09/92
MADRAS, INDIA, 1992 APR 9 (NB) -- Aparajita Technologies Pvt.
Ltd. (ATPL), a Madras, India-based software company, has
launched its word processing package for Macintosh systems in
the United States.

Called Macquill, the package is a page layout and word
processing program for the Apple Macintosh computer.
It was demonstrated at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco.

The Madras-based company mainly caters to the US and
other international markets. Following the successful launch of
Macquill, ATPL proposes to develop more products for the
Macintosh, Windows, and pen-based platforms for international
markets.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920409)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 9   ****House Committee Approves Cable TV Reregulation Bill 04/09/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00019)

 ****House Committee Approves Cable TV Reregulation Bill 04/09/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 9 (NB) -- The cable
reregulation amendment submitted by Representative Edward
Markey, Democrat from Massachusetts, has been passed out of
the telecommunications subcommittee to the full House Energy
and Commerce Committee. The legislation, which would limit the
cost of basic cable service, faces almost certain veto by President
Bush if it ever gets through both the House and the Senate.

Cable television rates have climbed steadily since the industry
was deregulated back in 1987, leading to a large number of
complaints and charges of price-gouging by consumers. Since
cable operators normally have a monopoly, they are free to
charge whatever they wish.

Rep. Markey's amendment will, if it ever becomes law, almost
certainly reduce the costs of basic cable service in most areas.
Another provision would use a formula to regulate the cost of
installation and accessories such as remote controls.

Also included is a provision for compensation negotiations
between local television stations and cable operators who are
presently allowed to rebroadcast the local programs for free.

Ted Turner, head of Turner Broadcasting which supplies some
cable programs to most systems in the US, spoke in opposition
to that provision earlier in the week, saying that local cable
companies need the continuing enhanced income which they
were granted years ago when cable television was a new
industry.

Republicans and some Democrats have opposed the bill and
introduced their own version which would be more favorable to the
cable industry, but this amendment failed in the subcommittee.

Of interest to the many home satellite TV owners who are often in
remote rural areas not served by cable, the bill calls for cable
program providers to offer reasonably priced access to those
home viewers.

Not passed on to the full committee was the proposal backed by
Ralph Nader, which would have established a committee of cable
users in each local area charged with representing the best
interests of subscribers.

A representative of the subcommittee told Newsbytes that there
are not any cosponsors because the amendment is still
in preliminary committee work and not at that stage yet.

The Senate had easily passed another cable regulation bill in
January.

The administration has already said that it will veto a bill
including the amendment if it is passed and sent to the White
House for the President's signature.

(John McCormick/19920409/Press Contact: Mike Connolly,
Press Secretary to Rep. Markey, 202-225-2836)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 9  MCI Testifies Against Phone Monopolies In PA 04/09/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00020)

MCI Testifies Against Phone Monopolies In PA 04/09/92
HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 9 (NB) -- MCI
Communications has told The Pennsylvania House Consumer
Affairs Committee that the state should be careful when drafting
telecommunications legislation to ensure that there is adequate
protection provided to control the near-monopolistic position of
Bell of Pennsylvania.

Speaking in opposition to the passage of House Bill 2437, which
would loosen regulation of rate charges in exchange for a
guarantee from the phone companies to invest in more modern
equipment, MCI said that the cost of such an upgrade was not
addressed. It also claimed that it had not been determined
whether it was really needed, or whether it was appropriate for all
users to pay for something which might only be used by a few.

MCI quoted research by Economics and Technology, Inc. which
determined that the Bell of PA proposed upgrade to fiber optics
would cost upwards of $15 billion by the time the project was
completed in the year 2010.

The long distance company, which uses fiber optics in its own
digital network, supports some provisions of another bill, number
2441, which would also allow some deregulation, but only with
provisions that would protect competitors from the local phone
companies using customer cost increases to help the company
compete with other carriers.

Besides worry about possible unfair competition, MCI is very
interested in Bell of PA rates because it is the monopoly's
second largest customer, due to its payments for local access
when customers place long distance calls over MCI.

(John McCormick/19920409/Press Contact: Frank J. Walter,
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 9  Transpac Launches Packet Data Network Service In UK 04/09/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00021)

Transpac Launches Packet Data Network Service In UK 04/09/92
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 9 (NB) -- Transpac Network
Services, part of the France Telecom Group, has announced that it
is setting up its own packet data network (PDN) service in the UK.

The service will be aimed at major corporates who require access
to the French PDN and other European networks with high-speed --
9,600 bits-per-second (bps) -- access with CCITT X.32 standard
support. According to Mike Brocklington, the director of technical
operations with the company, the X.32 support over dial-up is a
unique service.

"Presently, we are the only company in the UK to offer X.32
services. We are proud that we are the first to have been able to
add X.32 to our portfolio of value-added services, a service
which offers major benefits to our customers," he said.

X.32 service greatly enhances dial-up access to a PDN, Newsbytes
notes. The facility, normally available on fixed-link circuits, allows
multiple channels to operate over a single data channel. Thus, for
example, four 2,400 bps data calls can be multiplexed into the
Transpac V.32 access ports in the UK.

Officials with Transpac remained coy on the subject of pricing
when approached by Newsbytes at the Comms '92 Show (held
alongside the Which Computer? show) in Birmingham this week.
The service is not aimed at users of existing dial-up PDN services,
one company representative told Newsbytes, but more as a
complementary service to existing fixed-link service subscribers.

(Steve Gold/19920409/Press & Public Contact: Transpac Network
Services, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 9  New For PC In UK: Paciola 2000 Accountancy Package 04/09/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00022)

New For PC In UK: Paciola 2000 Accountancy Package 04/09/92
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 9 (NB) -- Standard Forms, a
catalog/business forms company, has announced it is acting as
UK master distributor for Paciola 2000, an accountancy package
written by M-USA Business Systems in the US.

Standard Forms flew in Jose Hurtado, the president and CEO of
M-USA for the Which Computer? Show this week, where the UKP
69.95 package was unveiled. Hurtado is perhaps best-known as
one of the coauthors of Daceasy, an accountancy/ business software
package in the US. Daceasy was acquired by The Sage Group in
the UK last year.

Ebullient and enthusiastic as ever, Hurtado told Newsbytes that
the UK package is a major recode of the US version, which
sells in the US for $49.95. The UK package is, he said, based
on the original version of Paciola 2000, not the revised edition
shown at Comdex Spring in Chicago this week.

"We took three months to change the package around for the UK.
It's so different that, while the user interface is pretty similar, the file
formats are not compatible," he said.

When asked about how the package measures up against the
competition, Hurtado laughed and said that the competition, even
in the budget end of the UK accountancy software market, is going
to have severe problems with Paciola 2000. "Their products won't
sell when users see Paciola," he told Newsbytes.

Hurtado said that, since it was introduced in the summer of 1990,
the US version of Paciola 2000 has become a bestseller with
worldwide sales to date totaling 300,000, he claimed.

Despite its low price, Paciola 2000 is suitable for use by single
user or network environments. The package features eight
modules: nominal ledger; debtors; creditors; stock control;
invoicing; purchasing; budgeting; and auditing.

Paciola 2000 gets its name from Fra Luca Paciola, the alleged
father of the double-entry accounting system. Paciola was a
Franciscan monk born in the 15th century.

Although only having had a chance to get a brief review of the
package since being loaned a copy of the UK software by
Hurtado, Newsbytes can report that Paciola 2000 appears to do
all that M-USA and Standard Forms claim it can do. The software
is billed as a full-featured, network-ready accounting package.

(Steve Gold/19920409/Press & Public Contact: Standard Forms,
0794-517206)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 9  Hong Kong: COL In Facilities Management Deal With Millipore 04/09/92




(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(HKG)(00023)

Hong Kong: COL In Facilities Management Deal With Millipore 04/09/92
WANCHAI, HONG KONG, 1992 APR 9 (NB) -- Leading Hong Kong
computer services company COL Ltd., has broken new ground with
the award of a three-year facilities management contract from
Millipore, a US-based company that trades in scientific equipment.

Under the three-year contract, which is worth HK$1.2 million
(US$155,800), COL will operate and maintain Millipore's Hewlett-
Packard and Sequent computers 24-hours a day and provide all the
backup, maintenance, specialist staff, and communications services
needed to keep the systems running efficiently.

"Initially, we considered operating and managing the computers
ourselves, but there was no way we could have justified the cost of
providing the services and system availability that COL can provide,"
said Farida Lau, Asia Controller of Millipore Intertech Asia.

"Strong systems support is essential for our operations and COL's
experience and specialist staff ensure that we get the maximum
return from our investment. Facilities management gives Millipore
access to the most professional computer environment in Hong
Kong and puts the burden of system management on COL's
shoulders."

With business growing at 20 percent annually, Millipore - a Fortune
500 company that supplies high technology products for scientific
laboratories - is expanding fast.  In less than a year the number of
staff has grown by 50 percent.

Faced with the need to upgrade its overburdened HP computer
system at a time when office space was running short, Millipore
opted instead to install both the old and the new systems at COL's
purpose-built computer center.

The deal will enable Millipore to start transferring its sales and
marketing applications from the HP machine to the Sequent
computer immediately, instead of waiting for a mid-year move to
larger accommodation. It also spares the company the trauma of
physically relocating its computers. "With the machines installed
at COL, all we need to do is switch data lines," said Lau.

The computers are linked to PCs at Millipore's offices in Hong Kong
via a high speed 64 kilobits-per-second dedicated circuits and
linked back to the parent company's MIS site in the US through BT
Tymnet, which provides all Millipore's international X.25
communications.

The configuration will enable staff, whether in Hong Kong or the US,
to access data from both computers at any time. By the end of the
year, Millipore expects to link all its regional offices in Singapore,
Taiwan, and Korea to the network.

"This contract is a milestone for both our companies," said Peter
Fishwick, sales director at COL. "Millipore has never before
contracted its computer services to an independent bureau, and
it is the first organization outside our parent group to install its own
computers at COL's offices. It symbolizes the growing trend for
companies to outsource their data processing and storage needs."

Although this is the company's first external facilities management
contract, COL already provides a similar service to sister companies
within the World International group including Lane Crawford,
Wheelock Marden, and Wharf Property.

"We've always seen facilities management as an important service,
but we were constrained from developing it by lack of space in our
old data center at Asian House," noted Fishwick. "At World Trade
Square, we have a very much larger data center at our disposal,
and we therefore have the physical resources to make facilities
management a major part of our business."

COL Ltd., is a leading Hong Kong computer services company, with
1990 turnover of HK$120 million (US$15.4 million). It employs over
200 people and provides IBM and Digital data center services to
more than 100 clients.

(Norman Wingrove/19920409/Press Contact: Peter Fishwick,
COL, [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 9   ****Wang Licenses SIMM Patents To Three More Firms 04/09/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00024)

 ****Wang Licenses SIMM Patents To Three More Firms 04/09/92
LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 9 (NB) -- The
continuing saga of Wang's single in-line memory module (SIMM)
patents has taken another turn. Wang has reached licensing
agreements with three more firms it had accused of infringing the
patents.

Within a week, Wang has licensed Oki, Fujitsu, and Matsushita to
manufacture, use, and sell SIMMs protected by two Wang patents,
company spokesman Ed Pignone told Newsbytes. The financial
terms of the agreements were not disclosed.

The three companies were among seven named in a Wang
application to the United States government's International Trade
Commission (ITC). Wang had asked the ITC to stop imports of SIMMs
deemed to infringe its patents, from seven named companies and
any other unnamed firms considered to be infringing. As part of its
agreements with the three Japanese firms, Wang has asked the ITC
to end proceedings against Oki, Fujitsu, and Matsushita, Pignone
said, and the ITC has granted the application.

The other companies named in the ITC application were Hitachi,
Mitsubishi, Intel Japan, and NNB. Wang reached a licensing
agreement with Hitachi in early March.

Oki, Fujitsu, and Matsushita are the 24th, 25th, and 26th companies
to license the SIMM technology from Wang since August 1991, when
a federal court found that two other Japanese firms, NEC and
Toshiba, had manufactured and sold SIMMs in violation of the two
Wang patents.

NEC and Toshiba are still appealing those rulings, Pignone said. In
addition, Wang has an outstanding claim against Century Micro
Electronics, a West Coast company that Wang alleges is also
infringing its SIMM patents.

A SIMM is made up of multiple memory chips mounted in a single
unit. SIMMs provide large amounts of memory in a small package
that is easier to install and takes up less space than mounting
memory chips flat and directly on the main circuit board of a
computer.

(Grant Buckler/19920409/Press Contact: Ed Pignone, Wang,
508-967-4912; Yuri Momomoto, Fujitsu, [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 9  Comdex: Lower Level Report 04/09/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(ATL)(00025)

Comdex: Lower Level Report 04/09/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 9 (NB) -- As part of its
campaign to bring back the excitement of years past, Comdex now
features some of those 10 by 10 booths, packed with entrepreneurs,
that oldtimers remember from days gone by. This year, most of
those booths were on the lower level of McCormick Place's main
building, right below IBM's giant OS/2 booth.

Much of the offerings were forgettable. Some were not. For
instance, Palmcom International of Hong Kong offered the Palmcom,
a PC based on the AM286LX-16 chip which fits in the palm of your
hand. There is a fairly readable super-twist LCD (liquid crystal
display), an expansion port for a docking station, and two PCMCIA
slots, meaning you'll be able to run large programs off ROM cards
and pass data to RAM cards without overworking the batteries.
There's also a built-in personal information manager, featuring
an appointment book, address book, memo pad, and calculator.
The Qwerty layout keyboard is similar to that on the HP 96XL,
meaning all the keys are there but you can't really touch-type on
it. Trouble is, the company's only offices are in France and Hong
Kong -- there was no crush of US distributors surrounding the
machine.

Compsee, a Troy, North Carolina-based distributor, was offering a
line of rugged terminals with bar-code readers, perfect for meter-
readers, inventory takers, or other data collectors. A nine-pin
RS-232 port at the bottom of one unit we saw, the MARS Electronics
MEQ-530, can take a radio modem for data delivery from anywhere.
The same company offers the Norand line of portable terminals
with radio modems built-in -- these look more like cellular radios.

As we were tiring, we were lured into the booth of Nada-Chair, of
Minneapolis, Minnesota, by an attractive young presenter. Their
Back-Up product must rank among the stranger ones at the show.
It is essentially a pad with straps. The pad goes around your lower
back, while the straps attach the unit to each of your knees. A
clamp makes sure you keep your legs together and your back
straight. The idea is you can avoid back fatigue either at your
desk or, if you prefer, at the ballgame or on the beach. Yuppies
with growing lumbar problems take note -- it comes in five designer
colors, including camouflage. The price is $39.95 for one, $49.95
for two, and an even $100 for three.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19910409/Press Contact: Palmcom,
[phone]; Compsee, tel [phone], fax, 919-576-0869;
Nada-Chair, tel [phone], fax, 612-331-1613)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 9   ****Hit Of The Comdex Show: Fast Video Editor 04/09/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(ATL)(00026)

 ****Hit Of The Comdex Show: Fast Video Editor 04/09/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 9 (NB) -- The official "best
in show" award from Byte Magazine at this show went to Zenith for
its network-ready Z-Note series of notebook computers. But the
"best rookie" award, with the real breakthrough, was Fast Gmbh of
Munich, Germany, with their "Video Machine."

The Video Machine can best be understood as a high-end Video
Toaster. It takes standard video inputs and allows for full
frame-by-frame editing. Unlike the Toaster, which runs only on
the Commodore Amiga and requires the NTSC video found in the
US, the Video Machine is an add-in board for PCs and Macintoshes
that also handles European PAL or SECAM inputs, allowing the
editor to mix-and-match them.

We talked to Fast President, Matthias Zahn, who explained that the
unit is based on a new Video Memory Controller chip from Philips'
Signetics unit. That is why the board cannot ship until September,
as the chip is not available in mass quantities yet. All the software
is finished, however. The whole product goes for about $4,000,
but Zahn thinks the price will come down fast as chip quantities
grow. The product was first shown earlier this year at the CEbit
show in Germany.

Zahn compares use of the Video Machine to desktop publishing.
"There are no missing pieces here. You get a complete solution,
including software." Zahn sees corporate video producers and even
individuals grabbing the product, perhaps to save those precious
home videos as real shows on CDs.

All this is analog, of course. The Video Machine is not yet
directly compatible with the Avid/1 Media Composer, a true non-
linear digital editor based on the Apple Macintosh which has been
used for professional productions like PBS' biography of singer
Marian Anderson.

Zahn says ABC Television has seen the product, and a number
of local TV stations came by to photograph it -- it was hiding in the
back of the Windows World pavilion's multimedia exhibit. He says
many visitors were urging him to take it to the National Association
of Broadcasters' show in Las Vegas later this month, or to the
National Cable Television Association, National Association of
Television Production Executives, and Radio and Television News
Director Association shows later on.

But the present unit is still something of a prototype, Zahn says that
it takes someone who knows what he's doing a few hours to set
it up, but that will not be true when the product ships this fall. Then,
you'll get a standard board and software you can install yourself.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19910409/Press Contact: Anne Sauer, Fast
Electronic USA, tel 508-655-FAST, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 9  IBM Announces Ultimedia Plans At Comdex 04/09/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(ATL)(00027)

IBM Announces Ultimedia Plans At Comdex 04/09/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 9 (NB) -- IBM tried to stake
out the high-end of the emerging multimedia market by further
defining its Ultimedia platform. Many of the statements were
first made at a San Francisco conference on multimedia and
CD-ROM in March, but here it was backed with product and hype.

In terms of hardware, IBM defines the minimum configuration as a
386-20 chip, CD-ROM XA  drive, 160 megabyte (MB) hard disk and
four MB of RAM, a SCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface)
controller, XGA graphics, CD-quality audio, a multimedia-enable
front panel, and in terms of software, of course, OS/2 2.0.

Analog and digital video extensions were both supported. While
the hard disk requirements doubled, IBM Assistant General
Manager, Michael Braun, said that the company's PS/2 M57 SLC
will still cost just $5,995. The company is also accelerating
deliveries of its ActionMedia II card, based on the Digital Video
Interactive, or DVI, compression algorithm developed with Intel.

IBM, whose huge buys of Comdex floor space turned that show
floor into an "IBM World" opposite the Windows World show
across  McCormick Place, featured PhotoMotion, a video
compression technology, in its huge Ultimedia booth at the back
of the hall. It used the booth to push its Ultimedia Developers'
Program, a $4,000 program discounted by half through May which
offers technical and on-line support, marketing support, business
support, and a "try and buy" program on equipment.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19910409/Press Contact: Jim Keller, IBM,
914-642-5472)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 9   ****Comdex: GeoWorks Announces Pen/GEOS 04/09/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(ATL)(00028)

 ****Comdex: GeoWorks Announces Pen/GEOS 04/09/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 9 (NB) -- GeoWorks, which
offers a graphical interface for low-powered DOS-based computers,
has announced Pen/GEOS, a version of its environment for pen-
based computers.

The company said it is targeting devices costing no more than
$500, which it calls a mass-market. Such machines might be
based on a single chip.

GeoWorks trotted out executives from Chips and Technologies,
Poqet Computer, Grid Systems, and Palm Computing -- the latter
a software start-up -- to say nice things about the new OS. The
system was demonstrated with Palm's handwriting recognition
software, which is also used in the Grid Penright product.

Amidst all the hype over Windows, GeoWorks has seemed to be
lost in the shuffle, but the company announced at this show it has
shipped 400,000 copies of its GeoWorks Ensemble and its
replacement GeoWorks Pro application suites since introduction
13 months ago. The company also introduced the Personal Office
Series, which includes a word processor, drawing program, and
desktop manager at $69.95 each.

The difference between Ensemble and Pro is Borland's Quattro Pro
SE spreadsheet, which is added to the GeoWright word processor,
GeoDraw drawing tool, GeoComm communications program, and
GeoMnager file and personal information manager at a suggested
list price of $199.95.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19910409/Press Contact: Lee Llevano,
GeoWorks, 510-644-0883)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 9  Comdex: Art and Sundry From Amaze, Escher, Banner Band 04/09/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(ATL)(00029)

Comdex: Art and Sundry From Amaze, Escher, Banner Band 04/09/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 9 (NB) -- From all reports,
the wildest party at this Comdex was thrown by Amaze, which
makes daily planners for computers.

The first of its products in this line was the Far Side Computer
Calendar, based on Gary Larson's cartoons. The second, the
Random House Word-A-Day Daily Planner, was based on that
top-selling daily calendar.

The third in the line is the Cathy Daily Planner, based on the
cartoon about a working woman fighting her weight, her boyfriend,
and her boss by Cathy Guisewite.

"I've often said that women live by the four basic guilt groups --
food, love, mother, and career," Guisewite said. "But I should add
a fifth, that is, finding time to manage the first four." Like its other
products, the Cathy calendar uses a perpetual calendar engine
that starts on the day of installation. There is a year's worth of Cathy
cartoons with the basic product, and refills are available. The price
is $59.95.

Also on the art beat, Computer Expressions signed a deal with the
estate of M.C. Escher to put the Dutch artists' illusionary art
on computer accessories, including wrists rests and mouse pads.
Computer Expressions is best known for custom-printed mouse
pads, often for advertisers, so this represents a major move into
the consumer market.

Finally, Banner Band is offering four new imprinted computer paper
products. Banner Cash offers giant $10 bills as background on a
45 foot continuous roll of computer paper. Purple, pastel orchid,
and lacey flower Banner Band rolls are also new to the line.
Banner Band also has introduced a series of sign kits, one for
the PC and one for the Macintosh, and a cut-sheet certificate
product it calls LA-SERtificate.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19910409/Press Contact: Derek McLeish,
Amaze, 206-820-7007; Computer Expressions, Cynthia Harriman,
603-436-1822; Banner Band, Stephen Singer, 800-333-0549)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 9  ****Sun Aims To Grab Share Of PC, Microsoft Market 04/09/92




(NEWS)(UNIX)(LAX)(00030)

 ****Sun Aims To Grab Share Of PC, Microsoft Market 04/09/92
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 9 (NB) -- Sun
Microsystems, known for its Sparcstation Unix-based workstation
says it will begin to license the design of its Sparc microprocessors
to broaden its customer base and to share research and
development expenses.

Scott McNealy, president of Sun said: "While we're well known for
our system design, what's been less public is our expertise in very
sophisticated chip design. Making these designs available -  early  -
will increase investments in Sparc and accelerate the innovation
curve in the overall Sparc market."

Sun has openly announced plans to challenge the IBM personal
computer (PC) market, currently dominated by computers that use
Intel chips and operating system software from Microsoft. Last
summer the company announced it would challenge Microsoft by
becoming a major supplier of operating system software for the
IBM PC later this year. Currently its operating system only runs on
computers that have Sparc chips.

Sun is making good on that threat and has hired key programmers
from Apple to join the staff at Sunsoft, it's software subsidiary. Those
programmers include Bruce Tognazzini, author of the book "Tog On
Interface" which is about human interface design, (Addison Wesley,
1992), and Robert Glass who left Apple several months ago to head
the human-interface engineering group of Sunsoft. Frank Ludolph
and Annette Wagner -- both from the Apple/IBM joint venture Taligent,
are also leaving Apple to join Sunsoft.

Sun also has attracted Peter Deutsch to its advanced research
subsidiary Sun Microsystems Laboratories Incorporated (SMLI).
Deutsch is known for his work in object-oriented programming and
was one of the design team on the Alto, the first computer with an
object-oriented user interface developed at Xerox's Palo Alto
Research Center (PARC). Deutsch is moving from Parcplace
Systems where he spent five years as chief scientist working on the
development of the company's Smalltalk products.

Proliferating its own designs in the market will broaden the company's
sales base, Sun said. The company is hoping to convince other
computer manufacturer's to sell systems based on the Sparc chip.
Two Sun customers have taken a first step in that direction, Sun said.
Analog Devices and Crystal Semiconductor announced they have
begun selling multimedia audio chips designed in conjunction with
Sun.

Sun also recently reduced prices on its workstations, despite the
leadership position industry analysts report the company enjoys in
the workstation market. Workstations are rapidly becoming equal
in price to high-end PCs, but in general do not offer the proliferation
of software available in the PC market. Workstations however, are
rapidly gaining the ability to run PC software and Macintosh
software.

Mountain View-based Sun reported earnings of $47.4 million for its
second quarter ending December 27, 1992, on revenues of $909.1
million. The earnings were up 21.2 percent over the previous
earnings of $39.1 million on revenues of $753.5 million.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920409/Press Contact: Leiann Lee, Sun
Microsystems Laboratories, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD



#CARD :1992 APR 8 MIPS Announces New Product Directions 04/08/92


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LAX)(00001)

MIPS Announces New Product Directions 04/08/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 8 (NB) -- MIPS' John Hennessy,
chief scientist and co-founder of MIPS, announced three new product
lines in development regarding the company's R4000 reduced instruction
set computing (RISC) microprocessor family, and the markets for each
one.

MIPS is planning a R4000/R5000 with its semiconductor partners, the
company said. The top of the line processor, internally code-named
"T5," is designed for mainstream client/server computing. Two other
processors will then be derived from the T5, a high-performance
processor code-named "TFP" designed for technical computing and a
low-power, low-cost processor code-named "VRX," targeted at
notebook and battery-powered computers, MIPS said.

Nothing specific in terms of the release dates, the sources for the
new chips, or pricing was available, and Hennessy said the new products
will continue to be available from multiple sources. This is
significant in the light of the MIPS recently announced agreement with
Silicon Graphics for a merger. Industry sources, such as Dataquest,
say Silicon Graphics holds the purse strings and therefore has control
of MIPS. Dataquest said that implies that MIPS may have difficulty
serving the needs of Silicon Graphics, which is dependent on the MIPS
technology, and the needs of its other clients as well.

MIPS was careful to mention its semiconductor partners by name. They
are listed as Integrated Device Technology, LSI Logic, NEC,
Performance Semiconductor, Siemens A.G., and Toshiba.

The planned TFP processor, a CMOS processor, is based on technology
designed by Silicon Graphics, MIPS added. MIPS describes the TFP as
"designed to deliver Cray YMP-class performance" in floating-point
scientific and multiprocessing applications.

Other plans announced by MIPS include speeding up the R4000 family of
chips from the current speed of 50 megahertz (MHz) to 75 MHz by the
end of the year, and to 100 MHz by 1993, MIPS maintains. Next in line
is the R5000 chip expected in mid-1993, the company said. The R5000 is
expected to have larger on-chip caches and over 150 SPECmarks of
performance.

The T5 is expected another year after the R5000, or in mid-1994.
According to MIPS the T5 is expected to perform at over 500 million
instructions per second (mips).

MIPS yesterday said it is the first company to announce ARC-compliant
systems for running the Microsoft Windows NT operating system, which
is still in prerelease testing stages, as well as the Unix for ACE
operating system. ARC or the Advanced RISC Computing (ARC)
specification is a standard designed for compatibility in applications
between x86 microprocessor-based personal computers (IBM and
compatibles) and Unix systems.

MIPS Computer Systems describes itself as a supplier of RISC
technology and of the industry's advanced RISC computing (ARC)
reference platform. MIPS is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920407/Press Contact: Lisa Young, Regis McKenna for
MIPS, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 8 Novell Expands Communications Server Offerings 04/08/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00002)

Novell Expands Communications Server Offerings 04/08/92
SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 8 (NB) -- Novell's Netware
Systems Group is expanding its offerings in regard to the enterprise
computing model. This latest series of announcements introduces a
new product called Netware Communications Server v1.0 and provides
upgrades to two others: Netware for SAA v1.2 and Netware
Asynchronous Communications Services v3.0.

Netware for SAA v1.2 expands on the support provided to IBM's AS400
minicomputers. It also automates server management from NetView.
There are additional smaller enhancements that relate to the
availability of 3270 emulators for Unix and OS/2 clients and a
QLCC/X.25 host connection option. Netware for SAA is fully
compatible with SNA and supports up to 508 concurrent host sessions.

Netware for SAA v1.2 is shipping now. Pricing is determined by the
number of concurrent sessions that are supported with a 16-session
license costing $1995 and a 254-session at $14,995. Customers who
bought Netware for SAA since February 1, 1992 will receive a free
upgrade to v1.2. For other upgrade information contact your dealer.

Jointly with this announcement, seven other companies have announced
their support or new products that take advantage of this new
version of Netware for SAA. The companies and their products are:
BusTech - Ethernet LAN Controller for NetWare; CLEO Communications -
3270 Linkix; Gupta Technology - SQLGateway/APPC for Netware; Netwise
- DUET; Newport Systems Solutions - X.25 Communications Interface
Adapter; Tangram Systems Corporation - NLM version of AM:PM; Wall
Data - Rumba PM.

In a second announcement, Novell unveiled Netware Asynchronous
Communication Services (NACS) v3.0. This is a set of Netware
Loadable Modules (NLM) which provide the Netware environment with a
single point of control. The new version also supports Novell's own
Netware Asynchronous System Interface (NASI) and finally provides
support for Netware v3.11. Three companies have already announced
support for this new version in their products: Citrix Systems in
its Network Application Server and Citrix Remote Link, Digiboard
in their Multiport asynchronous communications adapter boards, and
Newport Systems Solutions in their Asynchronous Communications
Interface and X.25 Communications Interface adpater boards.

NACS v3.0 will be available on April 10. Pricing depends on the
number of ports. A 2-port license sells for $595. An 8-port license
for $1795. A 32-port license is $4995. The 8 and 32-port
licenses ship with a copy of Netware Runtime.

Finally, Novell is also introducing the Netware Communication
Services Manager v1.0. This is a Microsoft Windows-based program
that allows the network administrator to manage a network running
Netware - including Netware for SAA v1.2 and NACS v3.0 - from
anywhere on the network. CSM is based on Novell's Netware Management
Systems technology which lets it operate on a network that already
supports another netware management tool. Complete toolkits for
fault, performance, and configuration management are included.
CSM v1.0 will be available in May 1992 for $4995. To celebrate its
upcoming arrival, Novell will be offering significant discounts
to its distributors through July 31. These discounts can
range up to 30%.

(Naor Wallach/19920408/Press Contact: Bill Jeppesen, Novell,
408-747-4361)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 8 Banyan Upgrades Vines Assistant Program 04/08/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00003)

Banyan Upgrades Vines Assistant Program 04/08/92
WESTBORO, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 8 (NB) -- Banyan has
announced the upcoming availability of version 2.0 of Vines
Assistant. To be available in May 1992, Vines Assistant v2.0 is
a major upgrade that enhances the network management, diagnostics,
performance tuning, and troubleshooting of Vines networks.

The main features that are incorporated into this version include
a Historical Performance Analyzer which collects all kinds of data
and allows the network administrator to graphically display that
information and detect trends. Different metrics can be selected for
display as well as different server resources and performance
parameters.

The Server Console utility has been significantly enhanced to
include 24 different utilities that can be used to provide better
on-going support and diagnosis of server problems. Some of the
utilities are targeted towards data collection.

The user interface has been changed to be a menu driven interface
with significant on-line help features. This practically eliminates
the need for the network administrator to memorize complex commands
with many options.

Vines Assistant v2.0 will retail for $699 and is a software option
for all Vines networks from version 4.0 onwards. Current Vines
Assistant users will receive a free upgrade to v2.0.

(Naor Wallach/19920408/Press Contact: Joann Anderson, Copithorne &
Bellows for Banyan, 617-252-0606)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 8 Sun Ships A Microphone With SPARCstations 04/08/92

(NEWS)(UNIX)(LAX)(00004)

Sun Ships A Microphone With SPARCstations 04/08/92
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 8 (NB) -- Sun Microsystems
Computer Corporation (SMCC), a subsidiary of Sun Microsystems, says it
is committed to offering multimedia capabilities as standard in its
workstations and to prove it, is shipping a microphone with every
SPARCstation.

SMCC says the desktop workstation can play, record, and
receive audio and can send the audio anywhere on a network at no
extra cost to the user, thanks to the microphone, built-in speaker, and
bundled software that comes with the SPARCstation.

Sun said its first workstation had a speaker, but last September the
company introduced Multimedia Mail and Audio Tool both of which will
run in a Solaris distributed computing environment. Bob Pearson,
director of interactive media marketing at SMCC, said: "We call our
approach collaborative multimedia, since it utilizes the various
media, such as audio, video, graphics and text, to enhance
communication and productivity, not just for individuals but for all
users on the network in the entire company."

Sun describe Multimedia Mail as an electronic mail application capable
of audio as well. Audio Tool allows the user to rewind, play, and
record electronic mail for use in Multimedia Mail and other
applications as well. Sun says more than 30 third-party software
applications are available for the SPARCstation that utilize audio.

The custom-designed, diamond-shaped, miniaturized microphone included
with the SPARCstation and is integrated with the Audio Tool software
via ToolTalk, object-based technology for transparent inter-
application communication, Sun added.

Tooltalk automatically invokes Audio Tool to allow a user to edit and
attach an audio message as an electronic mail attachment. Sun said
third-party developers can also use Audio Tool and ToolTalk and by
doing so they can save the time it takes to incorporate audio within
their applications.

Mountain View, California-based Sun Microsystems manufactures and
distributes workstation computers and software in conjunction with a
group of subsidiaries it spun-off to handle specific areas of
computing and software development. SMCC is one such subsidiary.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920407/Press Contact: Leiann Lee, Sun Microsystems
Computer Corporation, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 8  ****Seagate 1st Hard Disk Maker To Load DOS, Windows 04/08/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00005)

 ****Seagate 1st Hard Disk Maker To Load DOS, Windows 04/08/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 8 (NB) -- Seagate, a hard disk
manufacturer, says is has signed an agreement with Microsoft that will
allow it to provide "Instant On" for its hard disks by preloading MS-
DOS and Windows 3.1.

While original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), meaning those assembling
the computers, have these type of agreements with Microsoft, this is
the first time a hard disk manufacturer has made this agreement with
Microsoft or any operating system supplier.

Hard disks have to be formatted, then the operating system loaded and
configured -- tasks usually done by the store where the user purchases
the computer, by the user, and lately by some OEMs. The process is
time consuming and labor intensive, usually requiring the loading of
eight or more floppy disks, Seagate said. Recent attention over the
fallibility of the process if done by OEMs has made the headlines this
year when manufacturer Leading Edge and New Jersey-based mail-order
firm Computer Sales Professional discovered the Michelangelo virus had
been distributed on the hard disks of computers that had been prepared
in-house.

Computer virus expert Richard Levin told Newsbytes the hard disks of
the Leading Edge and Computer Sales Professional computers were
infected just as any other computer is infected, by the person who was
actually doing the manual labor involved in preparing the hard disk.
Levin said he predicted in his 1988 book "The Computer
Virus Handbook" that this would happen.

However, Seagate says it will now perform the formatting and
preparation of the disks for OEMs that are licensed by Microsoft to
distribute DOS and Windows on the hard disk of computer systems they
sell.

Seagate says eliminating a labor step for OEMs will help answer demand
from users who want more user-friendly systems. Al Shugart, Seagate's
president and chief executive officer, said in a prepared statement:
"We are very pleased to be the first out of the gate with 'Instant on'
capabilities and consider this kind of upstream integration to be the
wave of the future. Microsoft's new Windows 3.1 installation features
and Seagate's ability to deliver preloaded software in volume make a
powerful partnership capable of answering end-user demands for a more
user-friendly computer system."

Seagate says it expects to begin volume production of the hard disk
drives with the "Instant On" capability in June of this year.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920407/Press Contact: Julie Still, Seagate, tel
408-439-2276, fax [phone]; Rich Levin, Levin & Associates, 215-
333-8274)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 8 Newsday Article Questions McAfee Credibility 04/08/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00006)

Newsday Article Questions McAfee Credibility 04/08/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S., APR 8 (NB) -- In an exclusive appearing in
the Sunday, April 5th edition of New York Newsday, "Software Hard
Sell," staff writer Joshua Quittner critically examines the background of
John McAfee, the chairman of the Computer Virus Industry Association.

After quoting McAfee "doing what he does best: warning a reporter
about the perils of a new computer virus," Quittner states:
"But wait. This is John David McAfee, the man who once ran a service
that revolved around the curious premise that, if you paid him a
membership fee and tested HIV-negative, you could have AIDS-free sex
with other members for six months. This is the man who jumped from
biological viruses to computer viruses and quickly became a flamboyant
expert on the new demi-plague, showing up at the scene of infected
PCs in his Winnebago 'antivirus paramedic unit."

"And this is the same man who started something called the Computer
Virus Industry Association, and, as chairman, made national headlines
last month by saying that as many as five million computers may be
infected by a virus named Michelangelo."

After stating that, in the opinion of industry experts, Michelangelo was
a flop, Quittner goes on to quote various industry experts as saying:
"McAfee's programs are probably the most popular shareware programs
of all time, second only to PKZIP" (George Pulido, technical editor of
Shareware Magazine); "He does know the issue of viruses .. but his
tactics are designed to sell his software" (Ken Wasch, Software
Publishers Associates). Quittner also quoted McAfee throughout the
three-page article, allowing him rebuttal on the various criticisms.

Asked by Newsbytes what led him to the story, Quittner said, "While
reporting on Michelangelo, I was interested in trying to separate the
hype from the reality. I kept seeing John McAfee's name associated with
all the hype and wild estimates and I wanted to come up with an
understanding of who this John McAfee is."

Quittner also said, "McAfee is a very smart businessman. I think that, if
there was any undue hype, it was as much the fault of the press as
McAfee's. The press has a responsibility to get background on so-called
experts before we call them experts. One would expect McAfee to
promote his products and expertise. The press should be aware if an
expert being quoted stands to make a financial profit from being
quoted."

Quittner concluded his comments to Newsbytes by saying, "Every day,
hundreds of people lose the information on their hard disk due to
machine failure, operator error, etc. -- more people than are ever
affected by viruses. The protection against all of these problems is
backup procedures -- a very low-tech solution. We do not cover these
stories; it is only the Michelangelo-type viruses that get our attention.
It harkens back to the fear that people have for computers -- there's
something sinister in there and it can damage you."

McAfee, speaking to Newsbytes, responded, "The article is a lot of
bunk. The general tone was skewed. The people quoted were either
competitors or had an axe to grind. The SPA tried to take
over the Computer Virus Industry Association in 1988 and was rebuffed
so they have an axe to grind."

Patricia Hoffman, who now maintains the successor to David
Stang's library under the auspices of the Anti-Virus Product
Developers (AVPD) in association with the National Computer
Security Association (NCSA), said, "All of the vendors
involved - Certus, Symantec, Central Point and McAfee - agreed that
the library maintained by Stang was not usable. So I started over with
a library from Joe Wells at Certus and added from other sources
including my own collection."

McAfee, responding to Newsbytes' questions on the AIDS service, said,
"The service was strictly a part-time activity. I perceived AIDS to be a
problem earlier than most and attempted to provide a service."

Steve Stern, a McAfee spokesperson, also speaking to Newsbytes,
added, "I was not aware of the AIDS service until today when John
faxed me a copy of the newsletter. It is clear from reading it that it is
a medical newsletter and not simply a dating service. It has articles on
topics related to AIDS such as one dealing with concerns for African
travellers and on the AIDS danger spread by prostitutes."

Stern also said, "The article is not really journalism; it is fairly slanted.
There are accurate quotes used but it is clear that the persons chosen
for quotation were ones with an anti-McAfee bias."

When appraised of the McAfee and Stern comments, Quittner told
Newsbytes, "Concerning the AIDS service, my information was drawn
from the San Francisco Examiner articles at the time concerning the
service. The whole premise was even silly. We all know that AIDS
infectors can be present in the body for months without showing up on
a blood test."

Quittner added, "I'm certainly not going to get into a pissing contest
with McAfee and Stern. There is a real story here concerning self-
promotion and the responsibility of the press. I spoke to over three dozen
persons -- some who despise John McAfee and some that love him --
and the article reflects this intensive research. The story speaks for
itself."

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19920407)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 8 Samsung, Tatung Release 486 PCs 04/08/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(SYD)(00007)

Samsung, Tatung Release 486 PCs 04/08/92
TAIPEI, TAIWAN, 1992 APR 8 (NB) -- Available this month
from Taiwan PC manufacturer Tatung is a fast 486 server PC. Like
many manufacturers Tatung has just announced it will pre-load
Windows 3.1 and DOS 5.0.

The TCS-9620E is a 486-33 with between 4 and 64MB of RAM
on board. The processor chip is on a separate daughter
board, so may easily be swapped for a more powerful one
in the future. There are six drive bays and built-in support for two
diskette and two IDE hard disk drives.

Jerry Huan, deputy general manager of Tatung's overseas division,
said in a press release: "This tower system is designed as a high-
power departmental server, and many potential minicomputer buyers
will prefer it, especially as it can be supplied with Xenix or OS/2 2.0.
There is also a range of Tatung peripherals such as monitors, and 286
and 386 PCs."

Meanwhile, Korean manufacturer Samsung has released two
new 386sx and 486sx PCs, claiming their 25MHz rated processors are
real, not slower processors run at higher speeds, which is said to be a
common practice with Asian-sourced PCs.

(Paul Zucker/19920407/Contact: fax [phone] in Taiwan
or phone [phone] fax [phone] in the US)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 8  ****Inside the Windows 3.1 Announcement 04/07/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(ATL)(00008)

 ****Inside the Windows 3.1 Announcement 04/07/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 7 (NB) -- Most major
software vendors at this Comdex show are exhibiting at Windows
World, which has its own press facilities, a separate upside-down
showbook bound with the Comdex guide, and the entire North Hall
of McCormick Place.

They're all here to support Microsoft's announcement of worldwide
availability for Windows 3.1. In addition to holding a press
briefing and party on the first day of the show, and offering
Chairman Bill Gates for a Windows World keynote, Microsoft is also
offering a second day of plenaries, and a week of sessions devoted
to hyping the differences between this version of Windows and
Version 3.0.

Over one million copies of Windows 3.1 shipped in advance of the
release, the company said, with 175,000 delivered on the first
day of the show via Federal Express. In addition, over 85
hardware makers have agreed to pre-install 3.1 on their machines
before shipment, guaranteeing that millions of people will have
Windows 3.1 by the end of the month.

One of the advantages of Windows 3.1 is an Express Setup feature so
it can be installed by merely typing a user's name and specifying a
printer. A StartUp group feature instructs Windows to start-up
any application as the computer is turned on. Features like the
File Manager and SMARTDrive disk cache are faster, and there are
power management functions for laptop computers, as well as
Scalable TrueType font technology providing instant accesses to
typefaces on any monitor or printer supported by Windows. Object
linking and embedding, as well as built-in multimedia support,
and improved network support, are also part of the mix.

Say you upgraded last year to Windows 3.0. It will cost you another
$50 for 3.1, if you act by June 1, after which it's $80. You can get the
upgrade and a 44-font TrueType font package for $100 through June 1,
and it jumps to $180 after that. This is why Microsoft's stock market
capitalization is higher than General Motors.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920407/Press Contact: Collins Hemingway,
Microsoft, 206-882-8080)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 8 India to Set Up Patent Database 04/08/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEL)(00009)

India to Set Up Patent Database 04/08/92
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1992 APR 8 (NB) -- Patent Information System is
expected to have computer readable and searchable databases of Indian
patents in three years from now.

The Union government, in collaboration with the World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and United Nations
Development Programme, has planned a $1 million modernization
program for the Indian Patent Office in Nagpur in central
India. According to WIPO experts, Daid C. Newton and Jaine
Sevilla, the best solution is to set up a national system
for Indian documents not covered in any on-line database. The
system could depend on an on-line foreign host for
non-Indian documents and gradually cover documents of foreign
patent offices.

At present, it operates with microfilms or paper-based databases of
about 30 million patent documents from various parts of the world and
in many languages, with one million documents being added every year.
Computerization will not only reduce inaccuracies, but will also make
it easily accessible.

(C.T. Mahabharat 19920331)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 8 India Producing Own Supercomputer 04/07/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEL)(00010)

India Producing Own Supercomputer 04/07/92
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1992 APR 8 (NB) -- India's own supercomputer is
now on a commercial production line. Last week, the Pune and
Bangalore-based Centre for Development of Advanced Computing
(CDAC), a government-aided mission, displayed two of its recently
developed supercomputing products in New Delhi - Param and Paras.

Param is a massively parallel processing computer and Paras is a
parallel applications development tool. The Param 8600 series,
which uses a combination of INMOS transputers and Intel's i860
chip, is capable of providing a scalable performance of about six
gflop (peak) over 3000 mips (peak). It has 256 processing nodes,
each with a 32-bit integer processor with a 64-bit floating point
processor.

"Developing such a powerful system was a dream four years
ago,'' said Sam Pitroda, advisor, technology missions, to the
prime minister and an erstwhile telecom czar. (He has recently fallen
out of the official favour due to several controversies raked up
by the press about his CDOT -- Centre for Development of Telematics --
that has been in pursuance of designing and developing India's
own digital switching systems.) "Today, it is a classic example
of self-reliance,'' he added. What he didn't mention was
controversy. Quite a few eyebrows were raised, when CDAC
announced Indian entry into the "supercomputing era" in August
1990 with its 64-node parallel machine. Internally, controversies
arose about the system architecture. Its software brain A. Paulraj,
director of the Bangalore unit, resigned in disgust to move to
Stanford University a few months ago. Even now, some question
Param's power as it is claimed to be. But, it has undoubtedly launched
India into the league of nations with competence to develop computers
with computational power beyond 1000 mflops.

Param series of supercomputers has been designed for large-
scale scientific and engineering applications like image
processing, computational fluid dynamics, remote sensing,
oil reservoir modelling, seismic data processing, finite
element analysis, and signal processing. CDAC has already
received orders from the Institute of Computer-aided Designing
of Russia, University of Bremmen, Germany, and National
Physical Laboratory, Delhi. And the centre has signed with a
Pune-based firm, Thermax Ltd., transferring the technology to
manufacture Param which means "super" in Sanscrit - India's
ancient and holy language.

Tata Unisys Ltd. has also taken CDAC's parallel processing
technology to incorporate into its Unix machine, U6000 range.

(C.T. Mahabharat 19920326)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 8 Dayna Lowers Prices On Ethernet Products 04/08/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00011)

Dayna Lowers Prices On Ethernet Products 04/08/92
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, U.S.A., 1992 APR 8 (NB) -- Citing an
increasingly competitive marketplace, Dayna Communications has
announced pricing reductions on several of its Ethernet products.

All DaynaPort Ethernet Adapters for the Macintosh have been reduced
in price from $299 to $239 effective immediately. The company claims
that this restores them to the position of having the lowest price
per board of any of their competitors who typically charge $249 per
board. DaynaPort Ethernet adapters exist in versions for every kind
of Macintosh including the new Macintosh LC II announced last
week.

The DaynaStar Minihub was also subject to price cutting. From now on
it will sell for $389 instead of $449. Again, Dayna officials
stressed that the price reductions were driven by competitive
pressures which forced them to reduce their margins in order to
compete. This is especially true now that Farallon has chosen to
return to the Macintosh networking marketplace in a big way.

The DaynaPort E/Z and the DaynaPort SCSI/Link lines are not subject
to these price reductions at this time. They will remain at $399.

(Naor Wallach/19920407/Press Contact: David Pascoe, Dayna
Communications, 801-531-0600)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 8 Moscow: Russian WordPerfect Launched At Comtek 4/08/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(MOW)(00012)

Moscow: Russian WordPerfect Launched At Comtek 4/08/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 APR 8 (NB) -- WordPerfect Corporation has
launched the Russian version of WordPerfect 5.1 at the Comtek computer
show in Moscow. The package will be sold for local currency.

Alexey Chadovich, software engineer and the main product developer,
told Newsbytes that WP 5.1 was, unlike other localized products on the
Russian market, completely developed in-house by WordPerfect
Corporation, which has some clear advantages.

"Other products were localized with some sort of add-on programs, or by
outside programmers. As a big advantage over other word processing
software we would like to mention a built-in Russian language spellchecker,
which is not available as part of any other Western product. Other
things in the Russian edition are similar to the English one," Chadovich
said.

Alexey Chadovich was a programmer in Troitsk, a small science city near
Moscow. He was hired by WP to do the job a year ago.

The company first showed a beta version of the package at this computer
show last spring, intending to put it on sale "in several months." It
took a year in fact.

The word processor will be sold through Merisel, its main distribution
channel. The distribution agreement was signed in March, 1992. The
price is set at 15,000 rubles (about US$120). Mrs Ellen Zindel, market
development manager for the Eastern Europe, said her company is actively
looking for other distributors in the former Soviet Union.

Merisel/C.A.T. is a Moscow-based joint venture specializing in value-added
reselling. In addition to WordPerfect it carries a range of Symantec,
Borland, Microsoft, and Lotus software.

(Kirill Tchashchin/199203/Press & Public Contact: Alexey Chadovich,
WordPerfect, phone [phone], Merisel, phone [phone] or 276-
3149, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 8 SPA Raids Grand Central Camera 04/08/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00013)

SPA Raids Grand Central Camera 04/08/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 8 (NB) -- On March 25, U.S.
Marshals and representatives of the Software Publishers
Association raided grand Central Cameras (AKA GCT Photo Dealers)
based on charges that the company had been making illegal copies
of software and selling computers preloaded with the programs in
violation of U.S. copyright laws.

SPA member companies whose software has allegedly been copied
include Lotus, Microsoft, WordPerfect, Datastorm Technologies,
Fifth Generation Systems, Interplay Productions, and Sphere.

Copied software was found on 25 seized floppy diskettes which
allegedly served as duplication masters. In addition, sales
records with names of customers were also taken and will
reportedly be used to determine if those obtaining pirated
software will be named in the case against the store.

Also seized in the raid, which was based on a federal court order
issued in the United States Court for the Southern District of
New York, were three desktop computers and two laptops which the
SPA says contained illegal or pirated copies of software.

Grand Central Cameras has agreed to submit to, and the court
subsequently entered, a preliminary injunction forbidding
unauthorized software copying by the reseller.

The SPA maintains an anti-piracy hotline, 800-388-7478, which
collects information from people wishing to report software
copyright violations.

To get a copy of the SPA Self-Audit Kit and SPAudit inventory
management program, companies should write to: SPAudit Software
Publishers Association 1730 M. Street, NW, Suite 700 Washington,
D.C. 20036.

(John McCormick/19920407/Press Contact: Terri Childs, SPA, 202-
452-1600)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 8 Australian Apple Distributor Goes Soft 04/08/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SYD)(00014)

Australian Apple Distributor Goes Soft 04/08/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 APR 8 (NB) -- Allaw Technologies, one
of Australia's leading distributors of disk drives, tape drives, and PC
networking equipment, is moving into software distribution.
Bruce Dembecki, Allaw's Macintosh sales manager, said Allaw has
already begun distributing Letraset products, its first venture
into software, and that more deals are likely soon.

Allaw imports and manufactures peripherals, add-on cards, and
production components. It claims to have one of Australia's few class
100 clean rooms for hard disk assembly and repair. Product lines
include Radius screens, Micropolis hard disks, and the Outbound
Macintosh-compatible notebook computer. It has its own procurement
office in Los Angeles, handling local payments to US suppliers and
consolidating shipments.

Dembecki said Allaw made the software decision because it could see
an opening that worked with the company's existing line. "Basically,
Letraset was not well marketed in this country and its product
complemented our hardware such as Radius products."

Allaw has begun with Letraset's graphics package Painter, and will also
distribute an upgraded version of the entry level DTP package Ready
Set Go. Dembecki said Allaw will target the graphics and groupware
markets where it already has a stronghold.

Staff levels are being increased in preparation for May's launch date,
and are expected to exceed 60. Sales in 1991 were approximately
US$21M.

(Paul Zucker/19920407)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 8 Oki/HP Signs Partnership Agreement 04/08/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00015)

Oki/HP Signs Partnership Agreement 04/08/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 8 (NB) -- Oki Electric has announced that
it has signed a partnership agreement with Hewlett-Packard to
develop a variety of products, cooperate on maintenance work, and sell
each other's products.

Both companies seek to beef up their system integration business
with the agreement. Oki will market Hewlett-Packard's RISC (reduced
instruction set computing) computer under HP's brand name. The
computer is installed with HP's "PA-RISC" chip and HP'S Unix operating
system. Both firms will develop software for these computers.

Both firms will hammer out details of the partnership ranging
from marketing, licensing, and joint development to maintenance
service.

The relationship between Oki and Hewlett Packard has been warm
enough. Both firms created a joint venture plant for printed circuit
boards in Puerto Rico in 1990. Oki has also been manufacturing HP's
PA-RISC chip.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920408/Press Contact: Oki Electric, +81-3-
3580-8950)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 8 Dataquest Offers Japanese Info Service 04/08/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00016)

Dataquest Offers Japanese Info Service 04/08/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 8 (NB) -- Dataquest is now providing
its expertise in the computer industry data-gathering field to Japan.
Japan Dataquest's new information service is called "Computer
System Industry Japan."

The price of this service is a whopping 3 million yen ($22,000) or
above depending on the term. The customer will be able to get both
general and detailed views on the Japanese and worldwide computer
industry. Also, analysis of the industry is provided in this service.

Topics covered include software applications, the overall
software market, and computers and peripheral equipment.
Detailed information is provided on each product, units shipped,
actual sales, expected sales, and new products. The analysis includes
the competitiveness of products and possible marketing strategy.
This analysis is provided by the specialists in the industry.

Currently, the information is provided in Japanese, but the
English version is expected to be provided later depending on
demand.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920408/Press Contact: Japan Dataquest,
 [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 8 Sony To Develop Netware For NEWS 04/08/92


(NEWS)(UNIX)(TYO)(00017)

Sony To Develop Netware For NEWS 04/08/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 8 (NB) -- Sony has signed a license
with Novell to use Novell's network operating software Netware
for Unix. The agreement calls for Sony to revise the program to
support the Japanese language on its own NEWS workstation.

Sony expects to complete the products and release them for the NEWS
workstations this fall.

With this software, Sony's NEWS can be a file server with a large
memory. ISDN-based (integrated services digital network)
broad networks and advanced optical fiber networks can be used
with NEWS. Also, software applications combining Unix and Netware
can be produced.

Meanwhile, Sony also plans change its operating system from its current
Berkeley version to Unix System V Release 4.0. With this change,
Sony is preparing to add extra features in the System V Release
4.0. The new system, called NEWS OS Release 6.0., is due out
by August.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920408/Press Contact: Sony, [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 8 MCI Links To Mexico, Issues Annual Report 04/08/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(WAS)(00018)

MCI Links To Mexico, Issues Annual Report 04/08/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 8 (NB) -- MCI's international
subsidiary says it intends to expand the Vnet virtual network
south to Mexico.

Telefonos de Mexico already has a virtual network service called the
Red Express and that Mexican business system will be linked to the
US through MCI's Vnet. Service will begin later this year.

MCI's Vnet uses software that emulates a private dedicated line
network, but without the dedicated lines, so businesses using it
are billed not for the line on a 24-hour basis, but only for the
time it is in use. One billing option lets companies on Vnet
service receive their bills on CD-ROMs which makes accounting
much easier.

General Motors uses Vnet to link more than 9,000 dealers in the
US.

MCI, which released its 1992 annual report today, has stated its
goal to target international markets for its future growth and
plans to make capital improvements in its networks totalling $1.3
billion this year, down just slightly from last year's figure but
a bit higher than the amount spent in 1990.

Backup security was the main area of investment in 1991, according
to the company report.

MCI's long distance market share grew a reported one percent to
16 percent in 1991, with five million new customers signing up
for MCI in an eight-month period, thanks to the Friends and Family
discount plan. This plan has been aggressively marketed in the
US and competitors are now putting on competing ads to counter
its success.

The company's annual meeting is scheduled for May 11 in
Washington.

(John McCormick/19920408/Press Contact: Jane Levene, MCI
International, 914-934-6480)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 8 Comdex: Canon Offers Digital Color Copier 04/08/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(ATL)(00019)

Comdex: Canon Offers Digital Color Copier 04/08/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 8 (NB) -- Canon, a world
leader in laser printer engines, is using its bubble jet technology to take
a new stab at the color copier market. The CJ10 Desktop Color
Bubble-Jet Copier offers 400 dot-per-inch resolution and up to 256
gradations of color, at under $10,000 retail.

It can also work as a printer, linked via an Intelligent Processing Unit
or video adapter. Canon claims this will expand the market for color
copiers, currently expected to reach $466 million by 1995, from $141
million last year.

In case you're unfamiliar with the bubble jet technology, here's
how it works. Ink is heated inside a print nozzle, which forms a
bubble. The bubble forces out ink onto the paper, then the bubble
cools and contracts. A vacuum pulls more ink into the print
nozzle, and the process starts over again.

Canon's bubble jet printer line is called the BJ series, and its
latest in that line is the BJ-20. It's priced at $599, with laser
quality, and has a 50-sheet feeder, as well as a number of
resident fonts, including seven from Epson, and some from the IBM
ProPrinter. The BJ-20 takes plain paper in a variety of sizes, as
well as regular envelopes and transparencies, and prints at an
equivalent speed of 110 characters per second. It weighs 4
pounds, and has an optional rechargeable battery for portable
use.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19910408/Press Contact: Scott Cullen, for
Canon, 212-527-8891)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 8 Comdex: Audio Card Maker Launches Video Card 04/08/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(ATL)(00020)

Comdex: Audio Card Maker Launches Video Card 04/08/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 8 (NB) -- Creative Labs,
makers of the Sound Blaster audio card, launched the Video
Blaster, a $495 video card for multimedia which can display,
edit, and frame capture full-motion video.

The Video Blaster handles both NTSC images used in North American
television as well as the PAL scheme used in Europe. The
digitized images can be captured in a "freeze frame" and saved in
a variety of popular graphics file formats. The board can switch
among three video inputs, and can handle four audio inputs as
well. It requires a full-length 16-bit AT style slot, as well as
MS-DOS 3.1 or higher and a VGA monitor. It's also compatible with
Windows 3.1.

Creative Labs also announced a $229 version of its flagship Sound
Blaster Pro product, which lacks only a MIDI accessory kit for
computerized music. The Musical Instrument Digital Interface,
originally created for synthesizers a decade ago, is a standard
for computer-based music. The new card handles up to 20 voices, and is
bundled with application software.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19910408/Press Contact: Arnold Waldstein,
Creative Labs, 408-428-6600)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 8 Comdex: Certus Launches Novi, Anti-Viral Program 04/08/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(ATL)(00021)

Comdex: Certus Launches Novi, Anti-Viral Program 04/08/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 8 (NB) -- Certus
International, makers of the Certus anti-viral software package,
has officially launched Novi, short for no-virus, which it calls
the first anti-viral package that doesn't need updating.

A patent is pending on the system, but the company says it can
either prevent or detect and repair all infections caused by
viruses, checking the boot sections and operating system of a
computer's hard disk in a way which bypasses the operating system
to verify software integrity. "The only reason you will need
updates of Novi is to satisfy your curiosity about which virus
it stopped," said President Peter Tippett.

Here's how Novi works. A program called Noviboot runs each time
you turn on your machine. This program makes a compressed archival
copy of your CMOS, partition table, and operating system files.
Those areas are then checked against low-level routines which
actually force code stored on the BIOS chip to run. If the
integrity is off by even one byte, Noviboot detects the problem
and repairs it immediately. Single user versions sell for $129,
and network versions are available.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19910408/Press Contact: Peter Tippett, Certus
International, 216-546-1500)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 8 Comdex: Grid Intros 386SL Notebook 04/08/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(ATL)(00022)

Comdex: Grid Intros 386SL Notebook 04/08/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 8 (NB) -- Tandy's Grid
Systems unit, which introduced the three-pound PalmPad pen-based
unit last month, offered a new notebook PC based on Intel's
80386SL chip at Comdex. The Grid 1660 weighs 6 pounds and has a
built-in trackball as well as a magnesium-coated display for
ruggedness.

The 1660 supports up to 20 megabytes of RAM, has 64 kilobytes of
cache memory and comes standard with a 125 megabyte hard disk
drive, allowing it to run OS/2 as well as DOS and Windows. It
features a triple supertwist LCD, which can deliver clear
pictures across the 10-inch display.

The new box is designed for mobile professionals, especially
salesmen, financial analysts, and those involved in data
collection. The base model costs $3,995 in its standard
configuration, and a docking station is due by the third quarter
so it can be used on a desktop.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19910408/Press Contact: Bob Goligoski, Grid,
510-656-4700)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 8 Comdex: Midisoft Launches New Music Products 04/08/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(ATL)(00023)

Comdex: Midisoft Launches New Music Products 04/08/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 8 (NB) -- Midisoft launched a
number of new music products alongside the release of Windows
3.1.

Studio for Windows Version 3.03 was upgraded for the new
operating system, the company said, and supports leading sound
cards such as the Sound Blaster, Ad Lib, and Pro Audio Spectrum.
Music Mentor is designed as an entertaining music tutorial, using
a notation-based MIDI sequencer which can bring musical concepts
to life even for beginners. While that sounds neat, the new
program requires a 386SX machine running Microsoft Windows 3.0 or
higher, 2 megabytes of RAM, 4 megabytes of hard disk space, and a
Windows-compatible sound card.

Two new music libraries were also released. The World of Music
Sampler contains over 20 pieces saved as Type 1 MIDI files and
set to conform to the general standard. You can listen to them,
or adapt them for use in multimedia presentations. The Multimedia
Music Library, Volume 1, is a collection of over 100 pop and
orchestral musical sequences, again in the standard MIDI format,
and all of it royalty-free, meaning you can distribute the
results of your sampling.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19910408/Press Contact: Chuck Robb, Midisoft,
206-881-7176)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 8  ****Comdex: NCR Rolls Out New Computers, Notebook 04/08/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(ATL)(00024)

 ****Comdex: NCR Rolls Out New Computers, Notebook 04/08/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 8 (NB) -- AT&T's NCR unit
launched a new version of the Safari notebook computer, the 3170.
The new machine weighs 5 pounds and features a PCMCIA slot.

It measures 8 inches by 11 inches by 2 inches, approximately. It
comes standard with a data-fax modem, an 80 megabyte hard drive,
2 megabytes of RAM, and an Intel 80386SL chip running at 25
megahertz. The system is the result of a deal announced last year
between parent AT&T and Marubeni of Japan.

NCR has also introduced the System 3330, a personal computer
using the 16-megahertz Intel 80486SX processor. The 3330 is NCR's
first machine combining a 486 chip with the AT (Industry Standard
Architecture) bus. The company offers several 486-based systems
with Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) buses.

NCR said the System 3330 is aimed at office users who are running
multiple applications in a distributed environment using
Microsoft's Windows operating environment, or who need
high-performance storage or graphics capabilities.

The 3330 can be upgraded to a full 486DX processor. It takes
advantage of the ability to plug a faster 486DX processor into the
system's co-processor slot, whereupon the DX chip disables most
functions of the SX and becomes the central processor, a
spokeswoman for NCR said.

The system can also be upgraded to some versions of Intel's DX2
chip, which doubles internal clock speed, and future OverDrive
processors.

NCR said the 3330's base 16-megahertz model delivers performance of
eight million instructions per second (MIPS), nearly double the
performance of NCR's entry-level AT-bus machine, the NCR 3315. With
a math coprocessor added, the company said, the 3330 will deliver
13.1 MIPS.

The machine also incorporates an NCR graphics processor that it
said will handle full-motion video, object modelling, and imaging
displays.

NCR will offer three versions of the 3330 based on Intel's 16MHz
and 25MHz i486 SX microprocessors, and Intel's 33MHz i486 DX
microprocessor. Available in late May, at a price beginning under
$3,000, the 3330 will be marketed through NCR's direct and indirect
sales channels.

The company said it has also begun volume shipments of its System
3125 pen-based computer, which was shown at the Microsoft Pen
Windows booth at Comdex. This machine is based on the 80386SL chip.
NCR  said shipments were delayed while it sought FCC Class B radio
frequency emission certification. This took extra time, NCR
said, because new emission standards were needed for pen-based
systems. NCR vice president, Alok Mohan, claimed 150,000 pen-based
units will be shipped this year, and his company will take a
major share in the new market.

(Grant Buckler & Grant Buckler/19920408/Press Contact: Jeni Cozart,
NCR, 513-445-5648; Robert Gilbert, Manning, Selvage & Lee for NCR,
212-213-7045)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 8 Sun Attracts Another GUI Expert 04/08/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00025)

Sun Attracts Another GUI Expert 04/08/92
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 8 (NB) -- Sun has recently
been attracting programmers from Apple and now the company says Dr. L.
Peter Deutsch has joined its advanced research subsidiary Sun
Microsystems Laboratories Incorporated (SMLI).

Sun says Deutsch is known for his work in object-oriented programming.
Deutsch is moving from Parcplace Systems where he spent five years as
chief scientist working on the development of the company's Smalltalk
products.

Deutsch also spent more than 14 years at Xerox in the Palo Alto
Research Center (PARC) where the graphical user interface (GUI) was
born. One of a select group, Deutsch worked on the Alto, the first
computer with a GUI interface and pull-down menus.

Sun is attracting other industry leaders in the field of object-
oriented programming. Bruce Tognazzini, author of the book "Tog On
Interface" a book about human interface design (Addison Wesley, 1992),
told Newsbytes he is leaving Apple to join Sunsoft, Sun's software
subsidiary. Robert Glass left Apple several months ago to head the
human-interface engineering group of Sunsoft. Frank Ludolph and
Annette Wagner -- both from the Apple/IBM joint venture Taligent, are
also leaving Apple to join Sunsoft.

Tognazzini told Newsbytes the attraction for him is Sun's openness to
the ideas he has concerning the next generation graphical user
interface.

Leiann Lee of public relations for Sun told Newsbytes that she cannot
talk specifically about what Deutsch is working on at the SMLI
advanced research subsidiary. Lee did say that typically the things
being studied there have to do with technology that is 3 to 5 years
out in the future. Lee also mentioned that Deutsch will be working on
object-oriented future technology at SMLI. Sun said it has named
Deutsch a Sun Fellow, one of three within all of Sun Microsystems.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920408/Press Contact: Leiann Lee, Sun Microsystems
Laboratories, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 8  ****Lotus Upgrades 1-2-3 For Windows, Unveils Bundle 04/08/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00026)

 ****Lotus Upgrades 1-2-3 For Windows, Unveils Bundle 04/08/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 8 (NB) -- Lotus
Development has announced an upgrade to its 1-2-3 For Windows
spreadsheet software. The company also announced SmartSuite for
Windows, a bundle that combines with 1-2-3 for Windows with three
other Windows applications: Freelance Graphics, the Ami Pro word
processor, and a cc:Mail Single User Pack.

Release 1.1 speeds up the loading of the program, printing,
scrolling and selecting ranges, and formula recalculation, said
Chris Smith, product marketing manager. It also boosts over-all
product performance, according to Lotus. Second, the new release
has been tested and certified for use with Windows 3.1. This
involved some tuning of the software to work with the new Windows
release, Smith told Newsbytes.

There is a simplified and shortened update program for faster
installation of the new product, Lotus said, and network users can
install directly from a network server.

The update is available to existing users free of charge directly
from Lotus and through the Lotus forum on the Compuserve online
information service. New users can expect the product to be widely
available by April 30.

The Standard, Network Server, and Network Node Editions of 1-2-3
for Windows are available for a suggested retail price of $595,
$895, and $595, respectively. All other licensed 1-2-3 users may
upgrade to 1-2-3 for Windows Release 1.1 for a suggested retail
price of $150 or through the company's Technology Guarantee for
$49.

Lotus also said it has begun manufacturing International English,
French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Spanish, and Italian versions of
1-2-3 for Windows Release 1.1.

A compact disc (CD-ROM) version will be available later this
quarter when Lotus ships Multimedia SmartHelp for 1-2-3 for
Windows, an innovative new release that combines text, sound, and
animation to offer users new ways of learning and using the
product.

The applications included in SmartSuite are designed to be used
together, and are similar in their appearance, behavior and,
compatibility. Ami Pro, Freelance Graphics, and cc:Mail are tightly
integrated with all cross-platform versions of 1-2-3, reading its
graph file format, Lotus officials said, and Ami Pro outlines can
be copied into Freelance's outliner to generate presentations.
"Launching" icons for all of the SmartSuite applications allow
users to move easily between applications without interrupting
sessions. In addition, customers using cc:Mail for Windows Release
1.1 can send mail from within any SmartSuite application.

SmartSuite will also include a Windows 3.1 tutorial developed by
Personal Training Systems. It is delivered in a 90-minute audio
cassette, practice disk and command summary card.

Lotus will begin shipping SmartSuite by the end of April at a
suggested list price of $795. That is half the price of the
applications bought separately, Lotus said. The company will offer
an upgrade to SmartSuite from DOS, Windows, or OS/2 versions of
1-2-3, Freelance Graphics, Ami Pro, Symphony, Manuscript and any
release of cc:Mail user software at a suggested retail price of
$595. Both prices apply until September 30, when Lotus plans to
review the price of SmartSuite. Smith would not say whether the
price of the bundle will rise or fall at that time, but he said
SmartSuite will continue to be offered.

Lotus also announced Double Up, an upgrade for users of Lotus 1-2-3
or Freelance Graphics, who can buy whichever of those two products
they don't already have for a suggested retail price of $279. The
deal is available directly from Lotus or through its authorized
dealers.

(Grant Buckler/19920408/Press Contact: Bryan Simmons, Lotus
Development, 617-693-1697; Alexandra Trevelyan, Lotus, 617-
693-1580)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 8  ****Toshiba Intros World's First TFT-LCD 486 Color Notebook 04/08/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00027)

 ****Toshiba Intros World's First TFT-LCD 486 Color Notebook 04/08/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 8 (NB) -- Toshiba says it has
introduced the world's first thin-film-transistor liquid crystal
display (TFT-LCD) 486SX color notebook computer.

Called the T4400SXC, Toshiba America's Information Systems (TAIS)
Computer System Division says the new notebook offers a 486SX
microprocessor at 25 megahertz and options for either a 120 megabyte
(MB) or 80 MB hard disk drive.

The 8.5-inch TFT-LCD color display provides video graphics array (VGA)
640 X 480 resolution, a wider viewing angle, and is over five times
faster with more contrast than standard LCD displays, Toshiba
maintains. The T4400SXC also supports Super VGA (SVGA) color (256
colors at 640 X 480 from a palette for 185,193 colors) simultaneously
on both the internal and external monitor displays, a feature Toshiba
says can be taken advantage of for sales and training presentations.

Toshiba maintains its new color notebook is the only notebook to
really measure up for color applications where realistic display of
scanned color photographs is necessary or to take advantage of color
intensive applications like those used in Microsoft Windows. The 486SX
processor at 25 MHz combined with the SVGA display is what makes the
T4400SXC measure up.

Toshiba also boasts the T4400SXC comes with 4 MB of random access
memory (RAM), memory that can be expanded up to 20 MB in 2 MB, 4 MB, 8
MB or 16 MB user-installable memory modules. The Intel 25 MHz 486SX
microprocessor comes with 8 kilobytes (K) of internal chip cache and
can be upgraded to a 25 MHz 486DX, Toshiba said.

The notebook also comes with a 3.5-inch 1.44 MB diskette drive and an
internal dedicated modem slot for an optional internal 9600 bit per
second (bps), cellular-ready, data or fax modem. The removable,
rechargeable nickel cadmium battery that three hours of battery life
in normal use and recharges the battery in approximately 90 minutes,
Toshiba added.

In January, Toshiba announced a color portable 486 computer, the
T6400, also with TFT. Toshiba said the TFT display has the advantage
of no distortion at the corners or convergence problems often found in
CRT monitor screens.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920408/Press Contact: Bob Maples, Hill and Knowlton
for Toshiba, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 8  ****TI Closes Tennessee Plant, 665 Lose Jobs 04/08/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00028)

 ****TI Closes Tennessee Plant, 665 Lose Jobs 04/08/92
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 8 (NB) - Texas Instruments has
reports that it will close its custom manufacturing plant in
Johnson city, Tennessee. As a result of the closing 665 employees
will lose their jobs by the end of the year.

About a year ago TI sold the Tennessee plant to Siemans, as part of
the sale of its automation and control business. TI then leased
back a portion of the facility for the custom manufacturing of
circuit boards.

TI spokesperson Terri West told Newsbytes that the equipment used by
TI in Tennessee will be moved to similar facilities operated by TI
at several Texas locations.

West said that TI will provide outplacement services, including
counseling, aid in resume preparation and retraining. Qualified
employees will also receive severance based on their status and
years of service. She also told Newsbytes that TI is working with
Siemans to determine what employees might be hired by them.

TI has over 60,000 employees worldwide. The company has already
cut about 900 jobs this year. The company had said it would
probably be cutting about 1,000 jobs this year, but with the
Johnson City reductions will exceed that amount. West declined to
rule out further cuts.

West said that about 35 employees will be offered the opportunity to
relocate to one of the company's Texas plants.

"By consolidating operations, we can reduce operating costs and
increase efficiencies," said Ron Shelly, TI's executive VP of the
Information Technology Group. Shelly said the consolidation will
put TI in a more competitive position in the custom manufacturing
business.

West said that TI will save "several million dollars" through the
consolidation.

(Jim Mallory/19920407/Press contact: Terri West, Texas Instruments,
214-995-3481)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 8  ****Dell Shuns Pen Computing For New Graphics PC 04/08/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00029)

 ****Dell Shuns Pen Computing For New Graphics PC 04/08/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 8 (NB) -- Dell Computer will
shun pen-based computing for now, but has introduced a new desktop
system with a graphics display that Dell says will run as
much as ten times faster than existing super VGA displays.

Dell Chairman Michael Dell told Reuters news service that the
company has no immediate plans to enter the pen-based computer
market, although the company does see some initial demand for the
product.

"The first generation of pen-based PCs are kind of a joke," Dell
reportedly said after his address at COMDEX, the semi-annual trade
show being held in Chicago this week. Dell cited weight
and operating problems with pen-based computers. He did not rule out
future interest in pen-based computers, saying, "We're not jumping in
right now. The pen market is probably six to nine months from
starting to take off."

Dell said the company is in discussions with potential consumers on
their requirements for pen computing.

Dell announced that it will be pre-loading Windows 3.1 on its new
computers. A bundle which includes Windows 3.1, MS-DOS 5.0, and a
mouse will cost $149; a similar bundle which includes
Microsoft's Ballpoint Mouse carries a price tag of $199.

Users who already have Windows but want to upgrade to version 3.1
can order it from Dell for $45, or you can buy a Windows3.1/DOS 5.0
package (without the mouse) for $89.

Dell says its new 450DE/2 DGX, powered by the recently announced
Intel 486DX2 50 megahertz chip, can deliver high resolution,
workstation-quality graphics by directly coupling a graphics
subsystem to the microprocessor. The new design eliminates the need
for a specialized graphics coprocessor to obtain video performance
better than super VGA.

The new system has a suggested list price of $5,499 including a
16-inch color monitor. Dell compared that with a similarly configured
system with a 34020 graphics coprocessor supporting 1280 X 1024
resolution, which sells for $6,199.

Dell said the new video technology was developed jointly with Intel
Corporation. According to the company, customer response was
overwhelming when it previewed the video display at last October's
COMDEX trade show in Las Vegas.

The 450DE/2 DGX is scheduled to ship in May, and includes a 32-bit
EISA (extended industry standard architecture) bus. Standard system
configuration includes four megabytes of system memory (RAM) which
is expandable to 96 MB, 128K or secondary cache memory, 2MB of video
RAM, one high-density floppy drive, and an 80MB hard disk.

(Jim Mallory/19920408/Press contact: Lisa Rohlf, Dell Computer,
512-343-3782/Public contact: 800-289-3355)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 8 Micrografx Endorses Both Windows, OS/2 Strategy 04/08/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00030)

Micrografx Endorses Both Windows, OS/2 Strategy 04/08/92
RICHARDSON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 8 (NB) -- Micrografx, the
company that publishes Designer and Windows Draw, is taking a
position squarely on top of the fence by supporting both IBM's
OS/2 and Microsoft's Windows strategy.

Micrografx has had ties with both companies for several years. It
said it was the first independent software vendor (ISV) to ship a
Windows application, and its statement supporting Microsoft's
Windows strategy said its fortunes have been closely tied to those
of Microsoft. "Nearly 90 percent of our revenue is derived from the
sale of Windows applications. The success of Micrografx has closely
mirrored that of Microsoft Windows," said Micrografx Chairman J.Paul
Grayson.

The company said it plans to support Windows 3.1 including adding
OLE (object linking and embedding) and TrueType support to its
Designer and Windows Draw programs. The company said it will also
bundle 33 TrueType fonts with Windows Draw. Micrografx said it
expects to ship the upgrades in May.

In its statement endorsing OS/2, Micrografx said it has been working
closely with IBM since 1987. "Micrografx is committed to supporting
IBM. We are fortunate to be able to play a leading role in the
evolution of OS/2," said Grayson.

Last year Micrografx announced it had signed a joint development
agreement for OS/2 2.0. Some of the features of OS/2 are reportedly
the result of that agreement. They include OS/2 libraries to support
Windows applications ported with Micrografx Mirrors; OS/2 libraries
to support Windows device drivers ported with Micrografx Oasis; a
charting and drawing application included in the OS/2 Desktop
Productivity applications; and a device driver for the HP PaintJet
printer. The company also said that full Mirrors and Oasis
development kits will be included in the OS/2 Developers Toolkit
when it ships.

(Jim Mallory/19920408/Press contact: J. Paul Grayson, Micrografx,
800-733-3729)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 8 Wyse Unveils High-Performance Unix System 04/08/92



(NEWS)(UNIX)(LON)(00031)

Wyse Unveils High-Performance Unix System 04/08/92
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 8 (NB) -- Wyse Technology has
launched its latest high-performance Unix system, the Series
6000i Model 640, at the Which Computer? Show in Birmingham this
week. The 33MHz 80486-based system, which sells for UKP 7,995, is
claimed to be an optimum platform for Unix System V/386
environments, supporting up to 32 users.

According to Wyse, the Model 640 is being targeted at key
professional markets such as banking, financial services, the
legal profession and distribution industries.

Mark Jordan, Wyse's general manager for Northern Europe, said:
"The Model 640 is being strategically launched to build upon our
success within key vertical markets such as the professions, but
we believe that it is ideally suited for any small to medium
sized organization looking for outstanding performance, high
reliability and exceptional value for money."

Internally, the 80486 processor on the Model 640 features an
integrated 8 kilobyte (K) cache and an 80386 math coprocessor.
Coupled with a motherboard-based 128K memory cache and 8
megabytes (MB) of memory, the machine is Wyse's most powerful
Unix-processing system.

Also being shown, but not launched at the shown by Wyse, are a
series of notebooks, desktop PCs, and monitors that the company
will officially launch later this year in the U.K. According to
Jordan, the introduction of the new machines offers the user the
widest possible choice of hardware.

"In terms of flexibility, expandability and highest possible
ergonomic standards, we believe we offer users unbeatable value
for money," he said.

The machines on show at the Which Computer? Show are a 25MHz
386SX-based Decisionmate II notebook and two desktop PCs -- the
25MHz 386SX-based Decision 386SX/25C and the 50MHz 486-based
Decision 486/5-DX2. This last machine is based around Intel's
double-speed processor technology.

Although no prices or firm availability/launch dates for the
machines was given, Jordan said that the preview at the show
gives Wyse an opportunity of demonstrating to users "the breadth
and continuing expansion of our Decision PC family."

"When combined with the development of our terminal and Unix
systems, this clearly positions Wyse as a major force within the
computer marketplace," he said.

(Steve Gold/19920408/Press & Public Contact: Wyse Technology -
Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone])

#ENDCARD




#CARD :1992 APR 7  Datamonitor Releases UK Software And Services Report 04/07/92

(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LON)(00001)

Datamonitor Releases UK Software And Services Report 04/07/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 7 (NB) -- Datamonitor, the London-
based strategic management consultancy, has released its latest
Software And Services Report on the UK computer industry. While
identifying computer services as a high profit area for the 1990s, the
report will not make welcome reading for most people involved in
the industry.

IBM comes in for a special mention in the report. According to
Datamonitor, IBM has always provided computer services, but for
internal use and its hardware customers only. While this has
contributed to making IBM one of the market leaders in the industry,
Big Blue now faces competition from the likes of Andersen
Consulting, Cap Gemini Sogeti, and EDS in the computer services
marketplace.

"The problem for hardware manufacturers is that their organizations
and cultures are geared to the production and sale of high margin
hardware products," notes the report. "Services have traditionally
been a less attractive sideshow. But now the profit to be made in
information technology (IT) products lies in this field, and to
guarantee long term profitability, hardware manufacturers must
either form their own services companies or become low-cost
suppliers to the independents."

So where is the hardware side of the computer industry going?
Datamonitor's report maintains that the range and quality of
computer services available will control the sale of hardware
products.

The report also has words to say on the subject of the software
and services market in Europe. Datamonitor notes that the
European market is very fragmented, with most of the competing
companies relatively small. "This leaves the industry open for
the bigger players seeking growth through acquisitions," the
report says.

As examples, the report cites the recent acquisition of
Programator, the Scandinavian market leader by Cap Gemini
Sogeti of France. Cap Gemini has also acquired Volac, the
market leader in the Netherlands.

Interestingly, Datamonitor says that the majors in the UK computer
services market have already been snapped up by the foreign
competition. SD-Scicon is now owned by EDS, while Hoskyns
has been acquired by Cap Gemini of France. Of the few companies
still in British hands, the majority are hitting problems -- the
report cites the example of Logica, which, although still in British
ownership, announced a 54 percent fall in pre-tax profits recently.

Datamonitor is a strategic management consultancy that publishes
more than 150 market reports and industry surveys every year.

(Steve Gold/19920407/Press & Public Contact: Datamonitor,
tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 7 New For PC in UK: Diskcopy Master 2.0 Disk Copying 04/07/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00002)

New For PC in UK: Diskcopy Master 2.0 Disk Copying 04/07/92
BRACKNELL, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 7 (NB) --
Performance Technologies has announced version 2.0 of Diskcopy
Master, its high-speed disk copying package for the PC.

According to the company, the UKP 49.95 package includes a
virus checking module that operates within the main program. This,
the company claims, is a world first. Each time the program is run,
the files/disks being copied are scanned for all known viruses.

One interesting feature of Diskcopy Master 2.0 is that the
package can be set to use the PC owner's own virus protection
software whenever it is run. This facility, the company claims,
ensures that users can be assured that they are using the latest
anti-virus program facelift.

Another feature of Disk Copy Master is the diskette vending
option, which Performance Technologies claims is a new term in
the computer industry. In use, the diskette vending option allows
a repeat copy of a master disk to be created using a single key.
The disk is then copied at very high speed, the company claims.

Another option with the package is supercopy, where only the
data areas of the disk are formatted for ultra-fast copies, the
company claims. Other features include: disk image, where a
copy of the master disk is held on the hard disk for subsequent
rapid copying; autosensing, which bypasses normal PC disk
operations -- as a floppy is inserted in the drive, copying begins;
serial numbering, that numbers all disk copies; user program, for
auto-running a program on all copied disks; and batch copy, for
multiple disk copying.

Users of earlier versions of Diskcopy Master are being offered a
half-price upgrade. The upgrade cost is UKP 24.95.

(Steve Gold/19920407/Press & Public Contact: Performance
Technologies, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 7 UK: Cooperative Union Computer Conference Details 04/07/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00003)

UK: Cooperative Union Computer Conference Details 04/07/92
LEICESTERSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 7 (NB) -- The
Cooperative Union, a not-for-profit company, has announced details
of its 1992 residential computer conference. The conference, which
costs a modest UKP 60 to attend, will take place at Stanford Hall, the
Union's educational establishment, from May 1-3 this year.

According to Len Burch, the Cooperative's officer for member
education, the conference will take its usual informal character and
demonstrations will be on hand for delegates to try on an ad-hoc
basis. Burch is also offering to demonstrate software and services
from companies and individuals.

A special feature of the weekend conference is a session on
Sunday morning with Felix Harrigan, the computer veteran.
Harrigan will demonstrate the use of computers in the transport
industry. Harrigan's company, Lex Transport, produces
Easytach, a tachograph analysis program that retails for UKP 499.

Other special demonstrations are also planned for the weekend.
Newsbytes' UK bureau has attended previous conferences
organized by the Cooperative Union and can recommended them
as a low-cost method for learning about how computers are used
in the real world.

(Steve Gold/19920407/Press & Public Contact: Len Burch,
Cooperative Union, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 7 Spinnaker Unveils Software, License Plan 04/07/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00004)

Spinnaker Unveils Software, License Plan 04/07/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 7 (NB) --
Spinnaker Software is shipping eight new software applications,
including seven for Microsoft Windows. The company has also
announced a new site-licensing plan for the education market, and
an update to its Personal Access database query tool.

Spinnaker's new software titles include three additions to its PFS:
software family and its first Easy Working for Windows applications.

The seven Windows titles continue a push into Windows software that
began with the introduction of PFS:WindowWorks last year, said
Christopher Morgan, a spokesman for Spinnaker.

The new titles in the PFS: line include: "PFS:Publisher for Windows,"
a $149 desktop publishing package aimed at the small business
and home office market; "PFS:Business Plan," a Windows-based
program for producing business plans; and "PFS:Prospect," a
DOS-based program meant to help small businesses manage
sales prospects. PFS:Business Plan and PFS:Prospect are both
priced at $129.

Spinnaker also announced the first five titles in its "Easy Working
for Windows" series, all retailing for under $60. These include
"Eight-In-One For Windows," an integrated package that includes
word processor, outliner, database, spreadsheet, chart,
communications, label-maker, and address-book modules, and
sells for $59.95. The others are the Easy Working Word Processor,
the Easy Working Desktop Publisher, the Easy Working Mail
Manager, and Easy Working Business Letters. These four packages
each sell for $49.95. The stand-alone word processing and desktop
publishing packages offer more functions than the corresponding
modules in Eight-In-One, Morgan said.

Spinnaker also announced a new Lab Pack discount program for
secondary and post-secondary schools. Educational institutions and
school districts can now acquire multiple software licenses directly
from Spinnaker's Authorized Education resellers.

Ten-license and 30-license packages will be available, each
containing one set of software and documentation, a license to
duplicate the software nine or 29 times, a registration card, and
an order form for additional documentation.

PFS:First Choice, PFS:First Publisher, PFS:Write, PFS:Window
Works, PFS:Publisher, and Eight-in-One, are all currently available
under the Lab Pack program, Spinnaker officials said. There are no
official plans to add other titles to the program, Morgan told
Newsbytes. More information is available from Spinnaker's
educational sales department at 1-800-323-8088.

Also, Spinnaker's Plus Division announced it will begin shipping
its newest version of Personal Access by the end of April. Version
1.5 of the database access package is faster and has a more
intuitive user interface that simplifies query and report functions,
the company claims. It will support all major databases, including
Oracle, Paradox, Microsoft SQL Server, Sybase SQL Server,
dBase, and Btrieve.

(Grant Buckler/19920407/Press Contact: Ed Goyette, Spinnaker,
617-494-1200 ext 453; Christopher Morgan, Christopher Morgan
Communications for Spinnaker, 617-739-3352; David Thurman,
Spinnaker Plus Division, 617-494-1200 ext 459)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 7 Waterloo Univ. Researchers Find Promise In Silicon Germanium 04/07/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TOR)(00005)

Waterloo Univ. Researchers Find Promise In Silicon Germanium 04/07/92
WATERLOO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 APR 7 (NB) -- New
techniques being explored at the University of Waterloo make it more
likely that silicon germanium may prove a good alternative to pure
silicon for manufacturing microchips. Researchers have found what
appears to be a practical way of creating devices from silicon
germanium by a process called "ion implantation."

Chettypalayam (Selva) Selvakumar, a professor of electrical and
computer engineering, has found that while ion implantation does
not work well for creating large silicon germanium wafers, it will
work quite well over smaller areas. Ion implantation is a process
widely used for applying coatings to metals. It involves directing
a beam of ions, in this case germanium ions, at a wafer of another
material, in this case silicon. The ions burrow into the surface,
forming a thin outer layer of silicon germanium.

The new technique promises to create chips that are 40 to 80
percent faster than the silicon chips that are popular today. While
silicon germanium chips would be slower than those made from
gallium arsenide, another compound that has been the subject of
much chip-making research, silicon germanium devices would be
easier to manufacture and to integrate with silicon technology,
Selvakumar told Newsbytes.

Gallium arsenide is difficult to make and to handle, and therefore
is much more expensive than silicon.

Selvakumar said he saw no major obstacles to using his
technique for commercial production, provided it is found to be
cost-effective.

Various researchers, including some at IBM, have experimented
with silicon germanium and have succeeded in using it to make
chips. The problem to date has been the cost of the processes
used -- silicon germanium chips have been too costly to be
attractive.

Selvakumar, who is currently a visiting professor at Stanford
University in California, is carrying on further research on silicon
germanium. He noted that the Japanese computer firm Hitachi
is also doing research in this area.

(Grant Buckler/19920406/Press Contact: University of Waterloo
News Bureau, 519-888-4444)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 7 New CMS Upgradeable 486-Based Desktop Systems 04/07/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00006)

New CMS Upgradeable 486-Based Desktop Systems 04/07/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 7 (NB) -- CMS Enhancements,
once known for the hard disk drives the company provided for
Macintosh computers, is announcing a line of computers it claims are
the first truly upgradeable IBM compatible personal computers to be
introduced. The Anybus line of 486SX/20 systems are set to be
introduced at the Spring Comdex show in Chicago.

The problem with upgradeable computers in the past is they were
only upgradeable to the most powerful processing chip currently
available now, and would either not support chips introduced in the
future or only support them at the current speed of the rest of the
computer, according to John Harwer an engineer at CMS. The CMS
line is the first truly upgradeable line as it starts with the most
powerful microprocessor and is built to be fully compatible with
microprocessors and other technology that we all know is coming
but is not available yet, Harwer said.

Although Harwer and CMS Marketing Director, Mike Rusert, told
Newsbytes they cannot say the new upgradeable system is
compatible with the 586 chip because of agreements with Intel,
the two did say CMS is working very closely with Intel.

The CMS 486SX/20 is upgradeable because it removes the local
bus logic from the motherboard and places it onto a patented riser
card that plugs into a "Superslot" on the motherboard. The local bus
is the determining factor for the speed at which processing can take
place.

No matter how fast the microprocessor is, if the bus cannot handle
the data as fast as the microprocessor can handle it, then the data
has to wait. Rusert told Newsbytes that the ability to replace the local
bus with another faster bus allows the user true upgradeability.

Harwer told Newsbytes the "superslot" socket is a 238-bit socket,
compared to the 32-bit sockets available on the 486 motherboards
of computers sold today.

"We have opened up the local bus to all brands of cards. All a user
needs to do is purchase the enhancement card of their choice and
plug it into the Anybus riser. Cards from different vendors can be
mixed and matched to provide users with the ultimate configuration,"
Rusert said.

While the CMS Anybus computer allows the insertion of all brands of
cards, no cards are planned but CMS cards, Harwer told Newsbytes.
This is because the technology for the new cards is not available yet.

CMS is planning new cards based on new technology planned by
Intel and anticipates other vendors will offer upgrade cards as well.
However, when the new cards are available, CMS says it will be ready.
The company says it has already designed the system so a user who
wishes to upgrade to another vendor's card can purchase a new
Superslot card from CMS that will talk to the other vendor's card, plug
in the new Superslot card and then the new vendor's card into the
Superslot.

Harwer told Newsbytes CMS is designing Superslot cards that are a
superset of the standards for compatibility being set now. A single
Superslot card will then be able to support up to three different
subsets of the standards for compatibility.

Superslot cards are expected to cost about $60 each, Rusert
maintains. "CMS has dramatically reduced the price required for
users to upgrade a computer system. The process of rotating or
swapping a riser card is significantly less expensive than
exchanging an entire motherboard. At the same time, we are
making it easy for users to keep their 486 computer systems for
a long time," Rusert added.

CMS also said the Anybus system introduces the first motherboard
to support both 169-pin and future Intel Overdrive chip products. An
optional local bus video adapter, which user ATI's 68800 Mach-32
chip, can provide performance 10 times faster than standard video
graphics array (VGA) graphics cards. Harwer also told Newsbytes
the system includes a new, faster bidirectional parallel port.

The Anybus is capable of supporting up to 40 megabytes (MB) of
RAM. The first eight MB are the faster 32-bit in-line memory module
(SIMM) RAM chips, like those found in Sun workstations. The other
32 MB of RAM are designed to use the standard nine-bit SIMMs
widely available now. Newsbytes asked CMS if it would allow users
to upgrade the nine-bit SIMMs to faster RAM as well. While Harwer
said that was another item he could not give details, although he
said that CMS "has it covered."

CMS says the new Anybus is expected to be available in July at a
base retail price of $1,395. The basic or "slimline" system comes
standard with 4 MB of RAM, a 40 MB hard drive, DOS 5.0, five ISA
(Industry Standard Architecture) expansion slots, a 101 keyboard,
and a choice of standard or slim height cases. Ruset told
Newsbytes that announcements will be made throughout 1992
concerning other Anybus family computers.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920407/Press Contact: Mike Rusert, CMS,
tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 7 New Norton Desktop, Norton Utilities For Windows, DOS, Mac 04/07/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00007)

New Norton Desktop, Norton Utilities For Windows, DOS, Mac 04/07/92
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 7 (NB) -- Symantec
has introduced three new utility products designed for the purpose
of helping users protect their data and to provide a graphical user
interface, even in the DOS environment. The new products are
Norton Desktop for DOS, Norton Desktop for Windows version 2.0,
and Norton Utilities for Macintosh version 2.0.

The Desktop products -- Norton Desktop for DOS 1.0 and Norton
Desktop for Windows 2.0 -- offer similar functionality for IBM and
compatible computers, Symantec said. The company released
Norton Desktop for Windows 1.0 last year and says the DOS
version offers the same features and keystrokes as its upgraded
Windows counterpart.

Symantec says the DOS product is the first to offer "drag-and-drop"
capability for file management to DOS users. Moving or copying of
files is accomplished with a mouse with the user moving to the file's
"icon," holding down the mouse button and, by moving the mouse,
"dragging" the icon on screen to a destination folder, then letting go
of the mouse button which "drops" the icon. The keyboard can be
used to accomplish the "drag-and-drop" functions as well,
Symantec said.

The new DOS product also adds file compression compatible with
the ZIP file format, fast PC-to-PC file transfer over serial and parallel
connections and over Networks, automated MCI Mail support, and
a calendar, Symantec added. Automated backup, virus scanning,
and data recovery technology are all features integrated into the
DOS product as well.

The Norton Desktop for DOS 1.0 requires an IBM or compatible PC,
XT, AT, PS/2, DOS 3.1 or higher (with special support for DOS 5.0), is
compatible with Windows 3.0 and 3.1, and requires 512 kilobytes
(KB) of RAM, Symantec said.

According to the company, the new Windows version loads faster,
allows users to automatically arrange icons which can snap to a
transparent grid on screen, incorporates the Norton Antivirus, and
adds 15 new file viewers. The version also allows the recording of
macros by example, as well as the ability to edit the macro,
incorporates a new editor called the "Desktop Editor" for editing
text files, and provides a "network install" feature. It can also
un-install itself completely or just in part from Windows.

The Norton Desktop for Windows 2.0 requires Windows 3.0 or
higher, DOS 3.1 or higher and requires at least two megabytes
(MB) of RAM, although Symantec recommends three MB.

The new Macintosh version combines the technology from SUM II
and the previous version of the Norton Utilities for the Macintosh and
adds 30 new enhancements besides, Symantec maintains. Users
can now pre-schedule backups and customize backups with the
enhanced version.

The new version incorporates the Norton Encrypt, Norton Partition,
and Wipe Info products for security, goes to greater lengths to find
lost or damaged data with the enhanced File Saver, Symantec adds.
The enhanced File Saver also protects disk directory structures,
deleted files, and can restore System 7 Get Info comments,
Symantec said. The Floppier has been improved and can be
configured to copy entire disks or only disk space that is occupied.

Directory Assistance in 2.0 has customizable menus, drive selection,
and menus for favorite files and folders as well as being fully System
7-compatible. Fast Find has also been improved with the addition of
an icon editor and Speed Disk now allows defragmentation of files
on a startup volume, Symantec said.

The Norton Utilities for Macintosh will work with a Macintosh Plus
and higher with one MB of RAM and is compatible with System 6.0.4
and higher. Symantec says the product needs two MB of RAM if
operating with System 7.

The DOS version retails for $179. The Norton Desktop for Windows
version 2.0 is retail priced at $149, but users with the previous
version can upgrade for $49, Symantec said. The Norton Utilities
for Macintosh product retails for $149, but customers with earlier
versions of SUM or Norton Utilities for Macintosh can upgrade for
$39 and $8 shipping/handling.

Symantec bought Peter Norton Computing of Santa Monica last year.
Peter Norton Computing was known for its utility products for the
IBM PC offered and was led by industry guru Peter Norton, who is
still involved at Symantec in the development of utilities for personal
computers.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920407/Press Contact: Ana Shannon,
Symantec, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 7 MIPS To Offer RISC ARC-Compliant Workstations For Windows NT 04/07/92


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LAX)(00008)

MIPS To Offer RISC ARC-Compliant Workstations For Windows NT 04/07/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 7 (NB) -- MIPS claims it is the
first to begin shipping systems it says will bridge the gap between
personal computers (PCs) and workstations, which are also the
first designed according the Advanced RISC Computing (ARC)
specification of the ACE (Advanced Computing Environment)
initiative.

ARC-compliant means the systems have the minimum hardware
requirements needed for running the planned Windows NT
operating system and the Unix for ACE operating system. The idea
is to get and maintain compatibility in applications between
X86 microprocessor-based PCs and ARCS-complaint Unix systems.

The Arcsystems family include two desktop computers and two file
servers that the company says are binary-compatible with IBM
personal computers.

MIPS says the Arcsystems are reduced instruction-set computing
(RISC) technology-based and are two to three times faster than 50
megahertz (MHz) 486-based PCs. The current Arcsystems run at 50
megahertz utilizing the MIPS R4000 microprocessor chip, but the
company says upgrades to 67 MHz and 75 MHz R4000
microprocessors will be available later this year.

Competitively priced with high-end PCs, MIPS claims the Arcsystem
family offers color configurations at special prices to Windows NT
and Unix developers starting at $5,995, and can deliver performance
up to 60 Specmarks. Regular retail prices range from $9,990 to
$14,990 for color configurations in the desktop models and from
$10,990 to $15,990 for the file server models, MIPS said.

Called the Magnum 4000 and Millennium 4000, MIPS says the
Arcsystems are used at Microsoft and by Unix suppliers for
software product development.

Windows NT is Microsoft's next step in operating systems past the
Windows 3.1 graphical user interface being introduced at Spring
Comdex in Chicago. Although it will have the same user interface
and support the same specifications as Windows 3.1, the biggest
change in Windows NT is it will no longer have the PC operating
system DOS running underneath it.

MIPS last month announced it was merging with workstation
manufacturer Silicon Graphics, a merger which can be thought of
as Silicon Graphics purchasing MIPS, according to market research
firm Dataquest. Although Dataquest offered public speculation as
to whether or not MIPS can survive and thrive despite possible
interference from Silicon Graphics, MIPS says vendors are already
signing up to offer the new Arcsystems to clients. MIPS lists some
of the interested vendors as Control Data, Tandem, and AT&T
Federal Systems Advanced Technologies.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920406/Press Contact: Joanne Hasegawa,
MIPS, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 7 CompuAdd So Successful, It Is Being Broken Up 04/07/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00009)

CompuAdd So Successful, It Is Being Broken Up 04/07/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 7 (NB) -- CompuAdd President
Bill Hayden says the company is so successful he is going to break
it up.

Hayden is not dissolving the company, he is dividing it into two units.
One of the units will be responsible for the company's 125 retail
stores and for international operations. The other will oversee
corporate and government sales.

Actually Compuadd now consists of four separate entities. Two
weeks ago Compuadd announced it was spinning off its software
and systems group as Compuadd Information Systems, a
separate unit developing custom software. The company's direct
mail operations are handled by Compuadd Express.

Hayden thinks he has found the perfect size for Compuadd, $500
million in annual revenue. Compuadd says it hit that milestone a
couple of years ago.

"It's like planting a bunch of seeds, letting each one of the
companies grow again to become a strong tree," said Hayden.

Compuadd makes IBM-compatible personal computers, laptops,
and workstations. The company also resells other manufacturers
peripherals such as printers and modems, and has recently
started selling Apple Macintoshes in its stores.

Asked how the announcement that Sears would now sell Macintosh
computers might affect Compuadd sales, company spokesperson
Wendell Watson said: "I don't think it will affect us at all." Watson
said that Compuadd's buyers are primarily corporations and small
businesses. Although he has not seen the Sears announcement
yet, Watson expects that their market will be more tuned to the
individual home buyer.

Watson also pointed out that all Compuadd sales and technical
personnel must be certified to sell or service Macintosh products,
and that Compuadd is certified to provide Macintosh warranty
service.

Hayden's rise in the computer industry sounds like that of some
other computer industry pioneers. Hayden, 44, grew up in
Floresville, Texas, earned an electrical engineering degree from
the University of Texas, and joined Texas Instruments, where he
says he worked on projects from the world's fastest to the world's
smallest computer. Michael Dell, chairman of Dell Computer,
started his computer business from his dorm room at the same
school.

Hayden says he had nothing against Texas Instruments, but did
not intend to stay at TI more than 10 years. "It was nothing against
Texas Instruments, I just wasn't going to be working for somebody
else when I turned 40 years old," said Hayden.

Hayden left TI in 1981 and was not associated with the computer
industry for a few months. Ten years ago this month he was back,
selling computer peripherals by direct mail and, he says, sometimes
from his car. He says he opened a store when too many customers
kept visiting his office instead of calling.

According to Texas Monthly magazine, Hayden is one of the 15
richest  people in Texas, with an estimated net worth of more than
$450 million. "I was just hoping to make a living," Hayden said.

Compuadd got a big boost with two recent contracts. The company
landed a $30 million contract with the US government to supply 1,200
computers and accessories three weeks before the Persian Gulf war
started. Last summer, Compuadd was able to show Sears two models
that met Sears specifications for a new computerized cash register a
few days after the specs were announced. That deal was worth $53
million. "That's what we do best, quick response," said Hayden.

Compuadd still hopes to get all or part of the government's Desktop
IV contract. Originally awarded to Compuadd, the contract was
challenged by competitors, and new bids are due next month.
Hayden said he thinks Compuadd will win again. "The advantage
we have now is all of our suppliers are taking us seriously," he said.

(Jim Mallory/19920407/Press Contact: Wendell Watson, CompuAdd,
512-250-2530)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 7 Netmanage, Microsoft Demonstrate TCP/IP For Windows 04/07/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00010)

Netmanage, Microsoft Demonstrate TCP/IP For Windows 04/07/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 7 (NB) -- Netmanage, based
in Cupertino, California, and Windows publisher Microsoft, are
demonstrating a TCP/IP application working with Windows NT at
the Windows World trade show in Chicago this week.

TCP/IP is shorthand for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet
Protocol, a set of operating rules, or protocols, for the network and
transport layers of the seven-layer OSI (Open Systems
Interconnection) network model for multivendor networking. OSI
refers to the seven layer protocol model defined by the International
Organization for Standardization for data communications. In a
nutshell what all this does it make it easier for different hardware
vendors to connect their machines so they can all talk to each other
over a network.

The programs being demonstrated at Windows World include
CameleonNT, a package which includes terminal emulation, file
transfer, mail, and extensive diagnostic tools. ChameleonNT has
a point-and-click user interface and supports cut-and-paste
between windows. ChameleonNT provides both client and server
TCP/IP applications supporting  Windows NT workstations. The
workstation can have a client or a server role, according to the
announcement.

"ChameleonNT provides the user a powerful tool to line the
Windows NT workstation with any host and PC on the network that
supports TCP/IP," said Zvi Alon, Netmanage president.

Windows NT is the advanced operating system being developed
by Microsoft. It is expected to be released be the end 1992.

(Jim Mallory/1920407/Press Contact: Dan Geisler, Netmanage,
408-973-7171)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 7  ****Gates, Dell Address Windows World, Comdex 04/07/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00011)

 ****Gates, Dell Address Windows World, Comdex 04/07/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 7 (NB) -- Bill Gates and
Michael  Dell, leaders of two of the biggest computer industry
companies,  made keynote speeches at two separate computer
shows being held in Chicago this week.

Gates, whose remarks were telecast on a closed circuit network,
said that he expects the value of industry-wide sales of
applications for the Windows operating system to double to $3
billion by the end of 1992. According to Gates, sales of Windows
applications since Windows 3.0 was introduced just under two
years ago have already reached $1.5 billion.

Windows 3.1 had its formal unveiling at the Windows World this
week. Gates said his company has already shipped more than
one million copies of the popular program, which was introduced
simultaneously in seven languages, including English, French,
Spanish, and German.

Windows 3.1 has a suggested retail price of $149 if you do not
already own an earlier copy. If you already have Windows, you
can upgrade to 3.1 for $79. Street prices can be expected to be
about $129 and $60 respectively.

In what might be a preview of either Windows 4.0 or Windows NT,
Gates sugested that "in our next version maybe we should build
the mail (function) into part of the shell."

Microsoft also demonstrated its new pen operating system, Windows
for Pen Computing. Pen-based computers accept input from a
stylus-type device called a pen, with which users write on the
computer screen. The software interprets the handwriting and
transforms the writing into characters the computer can recognize.

Microsoft says it has trained thousands of resellers in Windows 3.1,
and has in place more than 500 product support personnel. The
company said it expects to train about 90,000 end-users during
April, and more than 125,000 by the end of June.

Meanwhile, Dell Computer chairman Michael Dell said the
computer industry has failed to deliver on its promise of increasing
worker productivity and overall business competitiveness as a
result of implementing computer technology.

Dell said the way to refocus the PC industry is a strong dose of
customer advocacy, rather than what he called "techno-nonsense."

"I'm here today to tell you that customers are unhappy and
frustrated, and are less productive than they (the customers)
expected to be," Dell told his audience during the keynote address
at the twelfth annual Spring Comdex trade show, also being held in
Chicago.

Dell used video excerpts that his company said were from computer
users across the country to point out that the early promise of the
PC has only been fulfilled marginally.

Dell said that over the last eight years, productivity declined by
one percent in the service sector of the economy, the sector which
purchases 75 percent of all computer systems. The manufacturing
sector, said Dell, had a productivity gain of 27 percent during the
same period, but is much less computer-intensive.

"This country has spent billions of dollars on computers, and during
the 1980s the Bureau of Labor Statistics says the productivity of US
businesses grew by only one percent per year," Dell told his
audience.

In what some saw as a swat at both Microsoft and IBM, Dell said:
"In 1985, we actually made things simpler for the user, with DOS
(developed by Microsoft) as a single operating system standard.
Now we have operating systems wars, processor wars, GUI
(graphical user interface) wars. Everyone's fighting to protect their
proprietary technology, and users are caught in the crossfire."

Dell said a key point, is that customers, not suppliers, should
define what is important.

Microsoft announced Windows 3.1 last week, while IBM met its
projected shipping date of March 31 for its new representative in
the operating system wars, OS/2 version 2.0.

(Jim Mallory/19920407)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 7 Cray Research Appoints New Marketing VP 04/07/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00012)

Cray Research Appoints New Marketing VP 04/07/92
EAGAN, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 7 (NB) -- Cray Research
has announced that Joseph Gloudeman has been elected VP of
marketing for the supercomputer company.

Gloudeman comes to Cray Research after nine years at computer
software firm MacNeal-Schwendler Corporation, where he served
as president and CEO, and most recently vice chairman.

The Cray announcement said that Gloudeman will be responsible
for strategic planning in the areas of industry and product marketing.
Areas reporting to him will include product marketing, marketing
communications, competitive analysis, marketing plans and
requirements, the company's seven marketing managers, and the
"Industry, Science, and Technology Group."

Gloudeman will also serve on the Operations Committee, and on
the board of Cray Research Superservers, Inc.

While president and CEO at MacNeal-Schwendler, Gloudeman
led the company through a $32 million initial public offering in 1983.
During his tenure, MacNeal-Schwendler's annual revenues grew
from $7 million to $56 million.  Forbes magazine named the
company to its "Best Small Companies" list in 1990.

(Jim Mallory/19920407/Press Contact: Steve Conway, Cray
Research, 612-883-7133)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 7 Computer Report Reveals Fragmented European PC Market 04/07/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LON)(00013)

Computer Report Reveals Fragmented European PC Market 04/07/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1991 APR 7 (NB) -- Thinking of buying a PC
in Europe? Now may be a good time to buy, according to a report
just out from Datamonitor, the London-based strategic management
consultancy.

According to Datamonitor's Report on European Computer
Hardware, the PC market in Europe is more fragmented than ever
before. Falling prices mean that the PC has become a commodity
as never before. In addition, no single manufacturer really
dominates the market, the report asserts.

The report reveals some interesting facts. For instance, in the
UK, Compaq is neck-and-neck in unit sales terms with IBM with 14
percent of the 1.5 million unit sales market. Commodore comes in
third place with 13.2 percent.

The rest of the pack come further down the scale. Amstrad holds
fourth pace with 7.8 percent, closely followed by Apple and
Olivetti with, respectively, 6.8 and 5.7 percent. Atari is next
with 0.5 percent. After that, the market is highly fragmented
with several companies holding the remaining 38 percent of
market share.

Germany's brand leader is Commodore with 15.0 percent of a
1.5 million unit sales market. Second place goes to Atari with 13.0
percent, closely followed by IBM with 11.8 percent. The rest of
the pack follow: Compaq (5.0 percent), Amstrad (3.3 percent),
Olivetti (2.4 percent), and Apple (1.9 percent). Forty-seven
percent of the market is held by others.

France is a different picture. Compaq and Atari lead the 1.2
million unit sales market with, respectively, 13.3 and 10.1
percent market share. The other five companies -- (Apple - 8.5
percent, Amstrad - 7.9 percent, Compaq - 6.6 percent, Olivetti -
4.7 percent and Commodore - 3.8 percent) -- have the market
held in small blocks. The "others" have 45.1 percent of the
market.

Italy's 700,000 annual unit sales is equally well carved up.
Brand leader, unsurprisingly, is Olivetti with 25.0 percent of
its home market. Second place goes to IBM with 21.0 percent.
After that, it is single figures with Commodore (7.9 percent),
Amstrad (5.7 percent), Apple (3.5 percent) and Atari/Compaq with
2.9 percent market share each. The rest of the market -- the
others -- hold 31.1 percent.

Datamonitor's report pulls no punches. It concludes that the days
of spectacular growth in the PC market are now gone, with growth
starting to slow down.

"As the industry stagnates and prices fall, the big manufacturers
such as IBM and Compaq are losing market share to the smaller
clone manufacturers. To regain share, they need either to commit
themselves to aggressive low-cost manufacturing, or else change
the way PCs are priced," the report says.

All is not doom and gloom. The report suggests that, by adding
value, companies can boost sales considerably. Apple is pulling
back its market share as it has taken advantage of significantly
improved performance to produce knowledge-based and voice-
activated systems, the report concludes.

"To fuel the growth of new applications such as multimedia and
knowledge-based systems, higher performance levels are
needed. With the expected arrival this year of Intel's 80586
processor, faster even than the present generation of chips, the
problem lies not with the hardware. The software is slowing the
machine down," the report adds.

So where does the industry go now? Datamonitor reckons that the
industry is "waiting expectantly for a new operating system which
will enhance the hardware's performance. This reason lies behind
the IBM-Apple joint venture. The two companies are attempting to
write the next generation operating system and prevent another
Microsoft from having so much control over their products again."

Datamonitor is a strategic management consulting company which
publishes more than 150 market reports and industry surveys every
year.

(Steve Gold/19920407/Press & Public Contact: Datamonitor,
tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 7 UK: Mercury Switches To Satellite Paging Service 04/07/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00014)

UK: Mercury Switches To Satellite Paging Service 04/07/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 7 (NB) -- Mercury has dispensed
with landlines for distributing data to its 200-plus radiopaging
transmitters around the UK -- effective immediately, the
telecommunications company is using a Eutelsat satellite to
distribute the signals.

According to Mercury, the switch will speed up the distribution
of data to all its transmitters, as data can be transmitted at
very high speed to the satellite, which is also used for
conventional two-way communications plus radio and TV signals.

Mercury is also claiming the switch is a world first. So why the
change? Apart from the speed implications, Mercury also claims
that extra paging transmitters can quickly be installed without
the need for landlines.

Newsbytes notes that the opening of borders on January 1, 1993,
within Europe -- in theory at least - will allow Mercury to offer
radiopaging services to most of Europe. Using a Eutelsat
satellite will mean that the broadcast signal can be received
over much of Europe.

Derek Wordley, general manager of Mercury paging, said that
the telecoms company had to overcome some very complex
technical problems to put the satellite network into service. "We're
proud to achieve this," he said.

(Steve Gold/19920407/Press & Public Contact: Mercury ,
tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 7 UK: Mercury Signing Up Residential Subscribers En-Masse 04/07/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00015)

UK: Mercury Signing Up Residential Subscribers En-Masse 04/07/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 7 (NB) -- Mercury Communications
has been staging a quiet revolution in the residential
telecommunications marketplace. The past few months have seen
the telecoms company more than double the rate at which it is
signing up new subscribers to its indirect MCI-like services here
in the UK.

Currently, Mercury claims to be signing up around 15,000 new
subscribers in the residential market a month. More than 20
percent of these new subscribers are obtaining their service
through local cable TV companies.

When Mercury launched its residential Mercury 2300 service in
May 1987, subscribers were relatively slow to sign up. Since then,
around 200,000 subscribers have signed on the dotted line thanks
to two campaigns by Mercury -- one advertising-based, the other a
roadshow aimed at educating phone users of the call cost savings
when calls are routed via Mercury.

During 1990/91, subscribers were signing on at the rate of 7,000
per month. By January of this year, that figure had risen to 15,000
a month.

Mercury's 2300 network now covers 80 percent of Britain's
population. Subscribers enjoy itemized billing and 24-hour
customer assistance for UKP 7.50 a year. Mercury-compatible
phones now cost around UKP 12 in the shops.

(Steve Gold/19920407/Press & Public Contact: Mercury
Communications, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 7 Intel Announces Speed Doubler Technology At Comdex 04/07/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(ATL)(00016)

Intel Announces Speed Doubler Technology At Comdex 04/07/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 7 (NB) -- As expected, Intel
has extended its 486 processor family with the 486 DX2, which runs
at 50 megahertz (MHz) at lower price points. Intel is fighting off a
new round of clone makers, including a new firm called Cyrix which
claims to have cloned the 486 chip.

The new chip, reported previously by Newsbytes, contains a
technology Intel calls speed doubler, which allows the internal
frequency of the processor to operate at double that of the rest of
the system. This means hardware makers can configure a 50 MHz
system for the price of a 25, running in the same bus structure. The
chip costs $550 in 1,000 piece quantities, and Intel said a 66 MHz
version will be available later this year.

Intel also demonstrated what it calls the OverDrive Processor. It
uses the same speed doubler technology to take advantage of
the built-in upgradability of the Intel486 SX and DX lines. The
products meet a demand Intel itself has been pushing in recent
ads.

Finally the company cut the price of its NetPort print servers
up to $200, which will help for printer support of networks, and
introduced a new line of hardware and software print spoolers,
the NetPort II and LANSpool 3.5.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920407/Press Contact: Intel, Jim Bodio,
503-629-6436)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 7 Lotus, Borland, Word Perfect Support All Sides In OS War 04/07/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(ATL)(00017)

Lotus, Borland, Word Perfect Support All Sides In OS War 04/07/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 7 (NB) -- Lotus
Development, Borland International, and WordPerfect, all tried
to please both sides in the IBM-Microsoft war at Comdex by
announcing versions of their products under all operating
systems, and neutrality on behalf of users.

Lotus introduced SmartSuite for Windows, a complete set of
Windows applications at $795, as well as coming support of OS/2
in all its products. SmartSuite includes Lotus 1-2-3, Freelance
Graphics, Ami Pro, and a cc:Mail single-user pack. The idea is
that, since all Windows products look alike, the only way to
assure loyalty to a product line is to sell the whole thing at
once, at a bargain price. Within the SmartSuite system, all the
products are similar in appearance, behavior and compatibility,
passing data back and forth seamlessly, launching one another
without interrupting sessions. Consistent features include
SmartIcons, mail, and Adobe Type Manager support. Users of
other Lotus products, including DOS users of 1-2-3, can upgrade
to the full line of SuperSuite for $595 through September 30.

On the other side of the shop, Lotus said it will deliver all its
products for OS/2 2.0 within the next 12 months, an important
show of support for the beleaguered IBM operating system entry.
Lotus already has OS/2 versions of its Lotus Notes, cc:Mail,
Freelance Graphics and 1-2-3. Finally, Lotus shipped SmartPics
for Windows, a clip-art library with a browser and over 2,000
pieces of art which can run either alone or in a network.
SmartPics for Windows sells for $195, with node licenses at $49
each.

Borland showed versions of its tools and applications under DOS,
Windows, OS/2 and Unix. Wags suggested that if CP/M were still
around, Borland would have a version for that, too. Its major
announcement was dBase IV version 1.5 for MS-DOS, its first move
in this area since Microsoft bought Fox Software. Borland
promised that product, which features mouse support, faster
"query by example" support, and an open architecture, will ship
next month. The company also introduced Quattro Pro 4.0, a new
version of its spreadsheet program. On the Windows side it
introduced Quik Reports for Windows, a reporter writer for
ObjectVision 2.0, and added that its ObjectVision SQL Connection
now allows users to access DB2, which is IBM's mainframe
database system.

Finally, WordPerfect, stung by the growing success of Microsoft
Word in the Windows word processing marketplace, but
acknowledging that its market is moving to that operating system,
stressed in a statement that its WordPerfect 5.1 for Windows, an
update of which it will ship in 6 weeks, is already compatible with
Windows 3.1. The update will include several enhancements, like
the ability to "drag-and-drop" text, edit desktop-published pages in
a magnified mode, and macro dialogs, an updated macro
language.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920407/Press Contact: Bryan Simmons,
Lotus Development, 617-693-1697; Tracy Daniels, Borland
International, 408-439-4780; Carrie Carter, WordPerfect,
801-228-5014)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 7 Autodesk Ships AutoCad For Windows 04/07/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(ATL)(00018)

Autodesk Ships AutoCad For Windows 04/07/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 7 (NB) -- Better late than
never, Autodesk announced a version of its flagship AutoCAD
product for Microsoft Windows 3.1. AutoCAD holds a 70 percent
share of the MS-DOS CAD (computer-aided design) marketplace,
but the company has been hurt with its lateness to the Windows
marketplace.

Tacitly acknowledging that fact, Autodesk also announced support
for Microsoft Windows NT. Microsoft chairman Bill Gates demoed
an Alpha release of the program as part of his Windows World
keynote. The demonstration, according to Autodesk, underscored
its view that Windows will be the standard PC-CAD operating
environment of the mid-1990s.

Autodesk also issued a release revealing what it called its
AutoCAD Windows strategy. The company is pricing an AutoCAD
release 11 Extension for Windows upgrade for DOS users at just
$99, hoping to lure its user base over to the new operating system.
For a limited time, these users can actually switch for free. Those
who bought Relase 11 from November 15 until May 31, 1992,
can get the free copy upon registration. After that, the price goes
back to $99.

In addition, Autodesk announced HyperChem, its first entry into
the molecular modeling market under Windows, as well as
AutoSketch for Windows, designed as a basic illustration tool
under Windows, for $299.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920407/Press Contact: Andrew Zarillo,
Autodesk, 415-491-8704)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 7 Two On-line Releases At Comdex 04/07/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00019)

Two On-line Releases At Comdex 04/07/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 7 (NB) -- Comdex has never
been a major show for on-line services, but this show featured two
new releases. Neither was from Prodigy, which in past years ran
booths aimed at consumers during this business-oriented show.

ZiffNet, which carries Newsbytes, was showing its wares with
ample backgrounders for media types who have not heard of it.
Ziffnet, which operates as an adjunct to CompuServe, with the
same computers and command structures, as well as a direct
gateway, is pushing its buyer's market. This database features
over 10,000 products from 130 different companies, updated
monthly. It also supplies things like toll-free numbers to buyers.

And while GEnie had Jerry Brown on-line, Ziffnet is featuring
Microsoft executive vice president Mike Maples, April 10-13,
as part of its PC Magazine editorial forum. The main intent behind
the publicity seems to be aimed at knocking out Bix, now owned
by Delphi, from its position as the leading service for computer
support.

GE Information Services, whose GEnie service is the main backbone
for Newsbytes, introduced BusinessTalk System 2000, an
information management product including messaging, databases,
bulletin boards, search services, and news clipping services for
busineses. BusinessTalk System 2000 was developed in conjunction
with Apple Computer, but supports all kinds of computers creating
an inexpensive "Desktop WAN," or wide area network.

GEIS, which has quietly become a leader in the global business
services market, is also adding a gateway to Dow Jones News/
Retrieval, called the QuikInfo Service, as well as keyword-searchable
news services for business called QuikNews Express and QuikNews
Nesletter. The latter seems aimed at the Newsnet market, offering
customized sweeps of newsletter information.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920407/Press Contact: Lisa Landa, Ziffnet,
617-252-5211; Jacelyn Swenson, GEIS, 301-340-4485; Autodesk,
415-491-8704)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 7  ****Comdex: IBM Versus Microsoft 04/07/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(ATL)(00020)

 ****Comdex: IBM Versus Microsoft 04/07/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 7 (NB) -- Watching IBM's
roll-out of OS/2 chase Microsoft Windows 3.1 was a little like
watching Jerry Brown dog Bill Clinton through New York, except of
course that the user-voters were well aware these were first-tier
candidates. The two companies scheduled press briefings for the
exact same hour, in hotels a mile apart,and while Microsoft moved
their applications announcement over an hour, it was with a
front-runner's disdain.

Microsoft, of course, held the coming-out for 3.1 as a keynote
address by chairman Bill Gates at the Windows World show, which
after two years is already nearly as large as the Spring Comdex
exhibit itself, and threatens to upstage it in the future. Gates'
overview of new functions, scheduled for 90 minutes, not only
filled the Arie Crowne theater, but was piped into three other
full theaters upstairs. The speech also ran long, forcing plenaries
for other Comdex sessions back and leaving attendees
cooling their heels in hallways. But, with its improved speed,
ease of set-up and built-in multimedia support, Windows 3.1 drew
raves. Leading the cheers were thousands of beta testers, who
were given their own party the night before the announcement.

So there stood IBM Vice President & General Manager for Personal
Systems, James Cannavino, wearing a sweater and taking thinly-
veiled potshots at "Slick Willy" Gates. "Over 800 vendors have
come on board with OS/2 applciations, and 250 have put out
product releases today," he said. Cannnavino then let a panel of
users and software vendors have at the larger rival.

"We've experienced improved DOS and Windows compatibility,"
said MCI Senior Vice President, James Zucco, an OS/2 convert.
OS/2 offers multi-tasking and multi-threading at very aggressive
pricing, added Lotus Development Senior Vice President John
Landry. "We think the competition is good for Microsoft," added
Groege Grayson, President of Micrografx.

"IBM has produced an industrial strength operating system," piped
in Adobe Systems Chairman, John Warnock. "We were caught by
surprise over the success of Windows," admitted WordPerfect
President Alan Ashton, but, "Our next version of WordPerfect will
take advantage of OS/2."

Leave it for French immigrant Philippe Kahn, Chief Executive of
Borland International, to be the Paul Tsongas of the group with
his dry wit. "We've developed Windows applications, but we
didn't inhale."

We must, in fairness, give Microsoft the last word, and Newsbytes
asked Chairman Bill Gates directly about whether his company,
which has upgraded all its major applications with the launch of
Windows 3.1, might have an unfair advantage.

"That's not true. All our competitors have equal access to Microsoft
Windows 3.1 for applications." Gates indicated that his company is
actually more on-top of Apple Macintosh System 7, when it comes
to porting applications, than Windows. But leave it to Senior Vice
President, Mike Maples, for the last word. With Gates standing
nearby, Newsbytes asked directly about Microsoft's support of OS/2.
"IBM has said that all Windows applications run fine under OS/2," he
said. "If they do, we're covered. If they don't," then OS/2 "is an
irrelevant platform."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920407/Press Contact: IBM, Keith
Lindenburg, 914-642-5363; Microsoft, Marty Taucher,
206-882-8080)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 7 Microsoft Intros New Windows 3.1-Compatible Applications 04/07/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(ATL)(00021)

Microsoft Intros New Windows 3.1-Compatible Applications 04/07/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 7 (NB) -- In unison with its
release of Windows 3.1, Microsoft announced that its full line of
applications for Windows is immediately compatible with the new
version, and many specifically exploit it.

Featured was PowerPoint version 3.0, which skipped a version 2
entirely in part, because Microsoft executives joked, the company
does not get things right until that version and, in part, because
the new version of PowerPoint shows so many improvements. An
extended demo of the program was offered the media, and it offers
a lot. Change something on a slide in one view, and that change
is carried across other views of the presentation. Slide styles
can be simply changed using templates, and it also takes
advantage of object linking and embedding, as well as TrueType
fonts. Perhaps most important, PowerPoint is the first Microsoft
application to take full advantage of sound and video.

During their presentation, Microsoft executives made numerous
references to how well various products stack up against
competitors like Lotus 1-2-3 and WordPerfect. Given the fact that
its purchase of Fox Software and its database line has not yet
gone through, the only reference to Borland's dBase product was
a chart showing SQL Server, Microsoft's ODBC product, and four
empty boxes. "The next time we see you we'll fill those other
boxes, and be able to draw lines across the product line to
deliver something very powerful."

Taking questions after the presentation, Gates was asked about
competitors' complaints that his company's control of operating
systems gives it a leg-up in developing applications."How well
people do in a new environment depends on how seriously they
take that environment," he said. "They gave us more of a lead
on the Macintosh -- the Windows environment is more
competitive."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920407/Press Contact: Microsoft, Marty
Taucher, 206-882-8080)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 7  ****Microsoft Intros Windows For Pens At Comdex 04/07/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(ATL)(00022)

 ****Microsoft Intros Windows For Pens At Comdex 04/07/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 7 (NB) -- Microsoft has
shipped Microsoft Windows for Pen Computing, alias Windows for
Pens, a Windows 3.1-compatible operating system designed for
pen input.

Chairman Bill Gates told Newsbytes at a press breakfast
that the code for both 3.1 and Pen Windows was frozen at the
same time, and the two operating systems will be updated
simultaneously from now on. Windows for Pens also went through
beta test alongside the main system, giving him every confidence
it will be bug-free from the start.

Microsoft launched the new system with a demo set to the theme of
the hit movie "Wayne's World," with Gates as special guest. While
he was a bit disappointed he did not get more laughs, the demo
made the point that there are already hundreds of applications
ready to run on the new system, including all those which work
with Windows 3.1.

Especially radical was a demonstration of a cursive-recognition
system from Lexicus, although it was later revealed that was done
on a 486-based machine. Microsoft said a total of 187 companies
have announced support for the new operating system, and 80
expect to ship products this year.

After the demo, Gates tried to put the whole thing in perspective.
"This whole idea of new interaction techniques is a fundamental
piece of our vision of 'information at your fingertips.' We shouldn't
think of any interaction technique replacing any other. The keyboard,
speech, touch, even scanning will play roles." Howver, he said: "We
think the pen is the best pointing device. Its direct, it's more natural
than even the mouse. It's familiar, unobtrusive, small and very
precise. This idea of precision has greater impact than you'd expect.
Things like gestures -- it's not possible with a mouse to have these
nice gestures to help you move through and give the right
commands. Also, text recognition isn't possible without the
directness and preciseness of the pen. Most important is enabling
mobility, having use of a computer in circumstances where a
keyboard isn't possible."

Gates foresees many stationary PCs using Windows for Pens,
including whiteboards which are shared by workers, and flat
desk-like screens where editors can do lay-outs.

While the full operating system, with all its bells and whistles,
comes to a whopping eight megabytes (MB), Gates said that it
can be scaled back, with applications, onto a two MB ROM chip.

Pen-based computers use a pen-like device called a stylus, with
which the user draws, writes, or checks boxes on the computer
screen. The operating system is able to translate these images
into  computer-recognizable characters. Windows for Pens
supports more than 70 functions that developers can use to create
pen applications.

Presently, Windows for Pens runs from the computer's ROM (read-
only memory). ROM-based programs are stored in a chip in the
computer, instead of running from floppy or hard disks. None of the
pen computers presently available have floppy disk drives. A
Microsoft spokesperson told Newsbytes that perhaps someday
you could go into to your local software dealer and buy Pen for
Windows on disk, but said "that is some time down the road."

A number of OEM (original equipment manufacturers) have also said
they will pre-install the Windows for Pens operating system. According
to Microsoft over 200 hardware and software companies have said
they will support the Windows for Pens system.

Gates gave Pradeep Singh, group product manager for Windows
for Pens, credit for evangelizing such companies as Momenta, now
headed by former Apple executive Del Yocam, to ship the
Microsoft system with their products. Singh also described pilot
applications run by beer distributors, banks, insurance companies,
and police departments where the operating system was given a
work-out. "It's gratifying to note the 35 OEMs (original equipment
manufacturers) who have announced they'll build machines," he
said. Singh also described eight start-up companies which are
working on exciting Windows for Pens applications.

In a question session following the presentation, Gates was
asked directly about IBM's support. "Yeah, we had conversations.
They have not licensed Windows for Pens at this point. We're not
sure why, but they have not." He added that any type of input,
including shorthand, could be handled on a pen system through
the simple creation of recognizers, and pointed to a limitless
future. "We're working on how we can take what we've done with
pen and add speech as an input technique. There are also things
related to deferred input-output, printing and mailing and
copying later. There's also the idea that the network connection
can come and go, that you can change the orientation of the
display -- it's a long list."

At the end of the press conference, Newsbytes could not resist,
and asked Bill Gates directly why he did not buy the Seattle
Mariners, which will move if a deal with Nintendo of Japan falls
through. "I have more important things to do, I guess," he said
with a smile.

(Dana Blankenhorn & Jim Mallory/19920407/Press Contact:
Microsoft, Marty Taucher, 206-882-8080)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 7  ****OS/2 2.0 Gets Lotus Backing, IBM Claims Brisk Sales 04/07/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00023)

 ****OS/2 2.0 Gets Lotus Backing, IBM Claims Brisk Sales 04/07/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 7 (NB) -- Having both
launched new versions of their operating environments in the past
week, IBM and Microsoft are now engaged in a battle of words and
developer support. IBM's first salvo during the spring Comdex show
included a claim that eager buyers are ringing its phones are ringing
off the wall, accompanied by Lotus Development's announcement
that it plans five OS/2 applications by the end of this year.

IBM said it has had thousands of calls to a toll-free telephone
order center it set up to take orders for OS/2, exceeding its best
expectations. The company said it is doubling the staff in its
order center to handle the volume of calls.

Meanwhile, Lotus Development was the first major applications
software vendor to place a significant bet on the new OS/2. Lotus
announced plans to release OS/2 2.0 versions of five applications
packages within a year. The list includes an update to the OS/2
version of 1-2-3, Lotus's top-selling spreadsheet program, as well
as versions of its Ami Pro word processor, its Freelance Graphics
package, its cc:Mail electronic mail software, and its Notes
work-group software.

Lotus currently sells OS/2 versions of all of these applications.
The new releases, however, will take advantage of OS/2 2.0's
32-bit processing, added multitasking capabilities, and the new
Workplace Shell user interface, a spokeswoman for the company
said.

Lotus officials said all versions of its new OS/2 2.0 products will
be available in the next 12 months. OS/2 2.0 versions of Freelance
Graphics, cc:Mail, and 1-2-3 will be available this summer, Lotus
said. The company plans to ship 32-bit versions of Lotus Notes
and its Ami Pro word processor for OS/2 2.0 later this year.

Lotus said it will use OS/2 2.0 to enhance cc:Mail with support for
IBM SNA (Systems Network Architecture) networks and OV/VM,
and enhance its existing SNADS and PROFS connectivity. A
multi-tasking OS/2 cc:Mail router will be released within 90 days,
the company said, and the OS/2 2.0 version of the cc:Mail client
software will ship in July.

Freelance Graphics for OS/2 will offer "SmartMasters" -- collections
of ready-made presentation pages that guide users through
creating presentations by prompting them to place text, charts, and
graphics in specified areas of each page.

The company's 1-2-3 for OS/2 2.0, which is currently in beta testing,
is compatible with versions of 1-2-3 for  DOS, Windows, Macintosh,
Unix, VAX/VMS, Digital Equipment's All-In-1, and IBM mainframes,
as well as 1-2-3 for the HP 95LX Palmtop.

The new OS/2 version of Notes will be designed to integrate with
the existing Windows version, a company spokeswoman said.

While Lotus' announcement offered some support for OS/2 2.0,
the company is not putting all its eggs in one basket. Lotus also
announced an update of its 1-2-3 For Windows spreadsheet and
a new bundle of Windows applications.

Another bit of support for OS/2 came from Easel, a Burlington,
Massachusetts-based maker of application development tools.
Easel said it will provide support for OS/2 2.0 in its Easel
Workbench development tool.

Spokesman Douglas Clauson of Easel told Newsbytes that the
announcement was "more a statement of direction" and there is no
definite date for releasing a version of Easel Workbench with
OS/2 2.0 support. The current version supports OS/2 1.3. Clauson
said Easel is "bullish on OS/2," particularly for developing
"industrial-strength" client-server applications, but also expects
Windows to be a major player and will support both.

(Grant Buckler/19920407/Press Contact: Keith Lindenburg, IBM,
914-642-5363; Bill McLaughlin, McGlinchey & Paul for Lotus,
617-862-4514; Douglas Clauson, Easel, 617-221-3088)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 7 Delrina Signs Forms Supplier As Distributor 04/07/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00024)

Delrina Signs Forms Supplier As Distributor 04/07/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 APR 7 (NB) -- Forms
software vendor Delrina Technology has signed up Uarco, a
Barrington, Illinois-based supplier of business forms, as a worldwide
distributor. While the exact value of the multi-year deal was not
disclosed, Delrina spokesman Josef Zancowicz said it will be worth
millions of dollars to Delrina.

Uarco, the world's third-largest supplier of paper business forms,
will be a major new reseller of Delrina's products and will market,
distribute, and support Delrina's software to major accounts
through a certification process managed by Delrina. Delrina will
also provide marketing and technical support to Uarco's sales
representatives and advance information on its future products
and strategies.

Zancowicz said the deal is an indication that paper forms suppliers
are making a strategic shift to get a piece of the electronic forms
business, and he added that this deal is not likely to be the last
of its kind for Delrina. The arrangement with Uarco does not
prevent Delrina signing similar master distributor agreements with
other forms suppliers, he said, and this is likely to be a major
new distribution channel for the software company.

Delrina, a publisher of PC forms and fax software, is currently
involved in merger negotiations with WordStar, the Novato,
California-based manufacturer of word processing software.
Delrina sells PerForm and PerForm Pro forms software for
Microsoft Windows.

(Grant Buckler/19920407/Press Contact: Josef Zankowicz,
Delrina, 416-441-3676; Lawrence J. Quinn or Gail Raymond,
Uarco, 708-381-7000)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 7 Data General Intros Two New PCs 04/07/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00025)

Data General Intros Two New PCs 04/07/92
WESTBORO, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 7 (NB) -- Data
General has announced two additions to its personal computer line.
One uses a 33 megahertz (MHz) Intel 386 processor, while the other
is built on the 20 MHz 486SX chip.

The Dasher II-386/33L is a full-sized, 33 MHzz system with
eight AT-bus (Industry Standard Architecture) expansion slots,
one of which is reserved for the video controller. The Dasher
II-486SX/20A, is a high-performance system with a trimmed-down
chassis, upgradeable to a 486DX processor.

The base configuration includes four megabytes (MB) of memory,
expandable to 16 MB on the main board. The basic package
also includes a socket for an optional 80387 math coprocessor, a
64 kilobyte (KB) external cache, super VGA display adapter circuitry,
one parallel port, two serial ports, a mouse port, built-in floppy and
AT disk controllers, and a 3.5-inch or 5.25-inch diskette drive.
All systems are equipped with four drive bays.

The Dasher II-486SX/20A is usable as a local area network server
or Unix platform, the vendor said. Also, it comes with a socket for
the 33 MHz 80486DX chip upgrade or optional 80487SX math
coprocessor. The machine is Data General's first Dasher model
built on the 486SX chip, a spokesman said.

The 486SX/20A has four 16-bit expansion slots and three bays for
storage devices. Other features include an eight KB internal cache,
four to 20 MB of system memory, built-in disk drive and
video controllers, one parallel port, two serial ports, and a mouse
port.  A 64 KB external memory cache is an option.

Both machines come with MS-DOS 5.0, Microsoft Windows 3.0,
system diagnostics, and security utilities. Prices for the Dasher
II-386/33L begin at $2,445, while the Dasher II-486SX/20A starts at
$2,545.  Both are available immediately with a one-year on-site
hardware warranty.

(Grant Buckler/19920407/Press Contact: Chris Sampson, Data
General, 508-898-4288)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 7 Adobe's Windows Type Manager To Be Integrated Into OS/2 2.0 04/07/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00026)

Adobe's Windows Type Manager To Be Integrated Into OS/2 2.0 04/07/92
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 7 (NB) -- Hoping
to cover its bases in the event of a sudden market popularity for the
new OS/2 2.0 release, Adobe Systems' Adobe Type Manager (ATM),
Windows version software, is set to be integrated into IBM's updated
operating system.

The move is seen to be significant in that, by integrating ATM
software for the Windows environment, it gives OS/2 users running
Windows applications access to the thousands of fonts in Adobe's
Type 1 format for display and printing. ATM software is a standard
feature of the OS/2 version 2.0 operating system, enabling users
running OS/2 applications to access the ATM program and Type 1
fonts directly through the OS/2 operating system.

The integration is important to IBM's claim that OS/2 users can run
Windows applications while using OS/2.

Charles Geschke, Adobe's president and chief operating officer,
said: "Integrating ATM software for the Windows environment
ensures that users running Windows applications under OS/2 will
have the same access to high-quality type for display and printing
that other Windows users have. Because they are device-
independent, multi-platform technologies, ATM software and Type
1 fonts provide an ideal solution for OS/2 users."

 ATM software is the PostScript scalable font technology that
supports Adobe's Type 1 font software programs.

The company maintains that, as an integral part of the OS/2
operating system, or installed in the Windows environment, ATM
software works transparently with applications to display high-
quality text at any size and to print high-quality text to either a
PostScript or non-PostScript printer.

Adobe maintains that, included along with the bundled copy of
ATM software is a coupon offering an Adobe Type Set software
package, regularly $129, for $59.

(Ian Stokell/19920407/Press Contact: Patricia J. Pane, Adobe
Systems Inc., 415-962-3967)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 7 Novell Purchases International Business Software 04/07/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00027)

Novell Purchases International Business Software 04/07/92
PROVO, UTAH, U.S.A., 1992 APR 7 (NB) -- Novell has purchased
International Business Software for cash, makers of the Dataclub
line of products for Apple Macintosh computers.

Dataclub is a distributed file server technology that allows any
Macintosh user to access any file regardless of where it is on the
network and without the user having to know where it is. Dataclub
is competing in the Macintosh marketplace with products like Sitka
Tops and Apple's own Appleshare, although it is very different in
concept.

Novell intends to continue to market Dataclub and to study the
technology embedded within it with a view towards implementing
that technology in its current product lines. Darrell Miller, executive
vice president of Novell, said that: "IBS has developed excellent
distributed file technology which can be incorporated into simpler
networking solutions for end users. We think the IBS expertise will
further strengthen Novell's ability to provide distributed computing
products our customers need."

For his part, Rod MacGregor, founder and president of the previously
privately held IBS, stated: "We are excited to be joining a company
known worldwide for leading the network computing industry. We
look forward to combining our distributed computing expertise with
Novell's to extend virtual server benefits to other environments
supported by Netware."

This is the latest acquisition by Novell of other companies that
extends back to 1985. The last three acquisitions that Novell made
were of Excelan in June of 1989 for $156 Million, followed by
Digital Research in October of 1991 for #136 million, and now IBS
for $5.2 million. Novell is also involved in at least two joint ventures
and has invested in technology from seven other companies.

(Naor Wallach/19920407/Press Contact: Susan Lider, Novell,
408-473-8665)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 7 DCA And Intercomputer Communications To Merge 04/07/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00028)

DCA And Intercomputer Communications To Merge 04/07/92
ALPHARETTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 7 (NB) -- Digital
Communciations Associates has announced that they have agreed
to purchase and merge with Intercomputer Communications
Corporation (ICC) in a cash and stock swapping transaction worth
$21 Million.

DCA is the maker of the Irma line of PC connectivity products. ICC
is known for making INFOConnect and Remote LAN Node. ICC will
continue to develop products and sell and support them from their
Cincinatti, Ohio location.

"The addition of ICC's products to the DCA family of products that
connect microcomputers to IBM mainframe computers will further our
goal of providing cross-platform connectivity across a broad range
of computing environments," said C. Garry Betty, DCA president and
CEO.

(Naor Wallach/19920407/Press Contact: William Marks, DCA,
404-442-4520; Sally Smith, for ICC, 513-438-1133)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 7 Moscow: Russian Communications Satellite Planned 04/07/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00029)

Moscow: Russian Communications Satellite Planned 04/07/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 APR 7 (NB) -- Noos Space Technology,
a Moscow-based private company, is financing and developing a
the launch of a modern telecommunications satellite. Major space
industry companies are also involved in the project.

The 5900 kilogram communication platform with ten two-degrees-wide
beams and a 1500 watts retranslator is to be launched from Baykonur
in three years. The transponder has a 120 megahertz (MHz) frequency
band and works in the 12-13 gigahertz range.

The Moscow-based Lavochkin design bureau, Lapygin's Aviation
equipment design bureau, and the Space Technology Research
Institute are the main contractors.

Nickolay Morozov of the Lavochkin design bureau said a number of
western companies showed their interest in the project. Some third-
world countries are also willing to finance the project.

Noos Ltd., of Moscow, has invested an undisclosed sum in the
venture which now involves 1,500 people. "Noos is a company which
has both engineering and commercial experience to successfully
manage a project of that scale," Morozov said.

A special communications protocol, developed by Noos and
Lavochkin bureau will be used to feed various data streams into
the satellite.

Noos is a three year-old company. It was started from computer
sales, then migrated to local area networks, and then to software
development. The company, in cooperation with Indian partners,
offered Macintosh computers for Russian buyers last year.

The Lavochkin design bureau designed and produced all the
Soviet Venus, Mars, and Moon satellites.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920407/Press Contact: Noos Ltd, Alexey
Kovalev, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 7 Key Tronic, Novell Announce Management Changes 04/07/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00030)

Key Tronic, Novell Announce Management Changes 04/07/92
PROVO, UTAH, U.S.A., 1992 APR 7 (NB) -- Keyboard maker
Key Tronic and network operating system manufacturer Novell
have announced changes in their management groups.

At Key Tronic, Warren Rainer has been promoted to vice president
of sales and marketing. Rainer, with more than 20 years in the
electronics industry, moves to his new job from the sales manager
position, where he was responsible for worldwide sales and
distribution. Prior to joining Key Tronic one year ago, Rainer was
with Huntron Instruments of Mill Creek, Washington. Rainer will now
be responsible for overall sales and marketing, including planning,
new product development and corporate revenue planning.

Also joining the Key Tronic marketing team is Henry Starr, who has
assumed the position of marketing manager. Starr was with Federal
Pacific Electric Company for 14 years before joining Key Tronic in
1980 as the administrative manager for subsidiary KT services.
Starr was at KT Services for nine years, and was the director of
field services efore moving to the parent company as product
manager.

Novell was a rather stable and solid company up until a few months
ago when all kinds of changes began happening at a rapid pace.
Once the acquisition of Digital Research (DR) was announced and
comsumated, it was expected that some changes would occur. But
no one predicted the onslaught of changes that are actually being
seen.

In late October of 1991 Novell and DR became one company.
Newsbytes reported on November 15, 1991, the reorganization of
the company into three main lines of business with a core support
group. The first of these was called the Netware Systems Group,
which was responsible for Netware, Netware Lite, Novell Labs, and
all the other core networking products of the company. This group
was headed by James C. Bill who previously had headed the
Novell sales organization.

The Interoperability Systems Group was responsible for product
development in the Unix arena. This would also include TCP/IP-
based, messaging, wide area networking, and network
management products. This group was headed by Kanwal
S. Rekhi, who was previously in charge of product development.

Digital Research became the Digital Research Systems Group. Its
task was to concentrate on operating systems products. It was
headed by Richard H. Williams who was the CEO of DR before the
buyout. Williams also received responsibility for the Novell sales
organization which was kept as a separate entity.

The Corporate Services Group contained all of the other functions
of the organization that did not fit well within the business groups.
These functions included service and support, training,
manufacturing and distribution, and product documenation. This
core group was headed by Mary M. Burnside who was previously
in charge of Novell operations.

Less than a month later, the Digital Research Systems Group
became the Novell Desktop Systems Group. Responsibilities
were kept the same and the name change was described as
leading to a commonality of cultures.

On March 19th Newsbytes reported the next major change. The sales
organization was removed from under Richard Williams' control and
transferred to Mary Burnside's Corporate Services Group. The change
was explained as a step forward in allows Richard Willams more say
in the corporate direction. His role was to continue to head the
Desktop Systems Group and to also attempt to forge relationships
with other companies that are considered very strategic by Novell.
Companies such as IBM. At the time, Novell officials denounced
rumors that this decreased role for Williams is a step towards
easing him out.

Now, the whole picture changes one more time as Novell announced the
sudden retirement of Richard Williams and James Bills. Just over two
weeks after becoming a corporate direction setter, Richard Williams
is leaving his post! Is it any wonder that rumors of major shakeups
at Novell are spreading like wildfire?

Novell spokespeople claim that this is a normal part of doing
business. Mr Williams, they say, was somewhat overwhelmed by the
changes in his role from CEO to a staff position and needs to take
some time out to reflect on this and on where he wants to go. As
evidence of this, they point to his announcing his retirement now,
but of it not taking effect until May 1. In addition, Williams will
stay on the Novell payroll as a consultant until the end of May to
continue to assist in the merger of Digital Research.

It is impossible to tell exactly what is happening within the
corporation. Newsbytes has scheduled an interview with Mr. Williams
for later in the week and hopes to learn more from him directly.

To replace the two retirees, Novell chairman Ray Noorda announced
the promotions of Jan Newman and John Edwards to executive vice
presidents.

Novell Corporation has announced the appointment of Jan Newman as
executive vice president and general manager of the Netware Systems
Group. Prior to assuming his new position, Newman was vice
president of software development. Newman replaces James Bill, who
retired for personal reasons. Bill's retirement is effective May
1st, but Novell said he will continue as a consultant to the
company.

John Edwards, formerly vice president of marketing for the Netware
Systems Group, has been appointed executive vice president and
general manager of the Desktop Systems Group. Edwards replaces
Richard Williams, who has also announced his retirement. The Noell
announcement said Williams will remain with the company through the
end of May to complete the integration of the Digital Research,
which recently merged with Novell as its Desktop Systems roup.

Newman has reportedly been a driving force at Novell to accelerate
the development and deliery to market of more products that are
smpler to use, yt expand customer choices for network computing
capabilities.

(Naor Wallach & Jim Mallory/19920407/Press Contact: Susan
#ENDCARD



#CARD :1992 APR 6 Zenith Shows Network-Ready Notebooks At Comdex 04/06/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00001)

Zenith Shows Network-Ready Notebooks At Comdex 04/06/92
BUFFALO GROVE, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 6 (NB) - Zenith Data
Systems (ZDS) is introducing four new notebook-sized
computers at Comdex opening in Chicago today. One of the units will
have a color display.

ZDS said it would also introduce a $149 alternative to the
traditional docking station which would allow traveling computer
users to easily connect their notebook unit to the local office
network.

ZDS said all four units use the Intel 386SL for a CPU (central
processing unit). The three monochrome units weigh just under six
pounds, while the color unit, which features an active-matrix
display, weighs 6.5 pounds.

The company said that the three monochrome units can be upgraded to
color at a later date if the user desires to do so.

Suggested retail prices for the four units start at $3,599, topping
out at $7,299 for the color unit. ZDS estimates that street prices
(actual selling prices) will range from under $2,599 to under $5,299.

ZDS said the three monochrome systems will be available this month
in the US, with the color notebook hitting the market in June. The
company expects to make all four systems available in the European
market in June of this year.

One ZDS customer has reportedly already committed to outfitting its
entire sales force with the new notebooks, and another will start
buying the units for its senior sales executives.

(Jim Mallory/19920406/Press contact: Matt Mirapaul, Zenith Data
Systems, 708-808-4848)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 6  New For PC: Aldus Photostyler 1.1A for Windows 04/06/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00002)

New For PC: Aldus Photostyler 1.1A for Windows 04/06/92
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 APR 6 (NB) -- Aldus Corporation
says it is now shipping Photostyler 1.1A, an update to its
full-color image-processing program that runs under Windows.

Photostyler allows users to scan, enhance, compose, retouch, and
output to a printer 24-bit color, gray scale, and black-and-white images.

New features include support for raw-image data formats
and for the Joint Photographic Experts Group(JPEG) standard for image
file compression and expansion. Aldus said it has also improved
memory management and speeded up image handling. TIFF LZW
compression and decompression and clipboard operations have also
been added, according to the Aldus announcement.

Support for the JPEG standard will allow users to compress their
image files to a fraction of their uncompressed size, saving
valuable hard drive space. Photostyler 1.1A is believed to be the
first Windows application to support the JPEG standard.

According to Rod Bauer, Photostyler product marketing manager,
Photostyler 1.1A will now handle digital images of 20MB or more, and
it is compatible with Windows 3.1, which also made its official
debut today. Bauer said that depending on the particular operation
being performed, the upgraded program should run from 10 to 1,000
percent faster than its predecessor.

(Jim Mallory/19920406/Press contact: Brad Stevens, Aldus
Corporation, 206-628-2361)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 6   ****Compaq Pays $3.6 Million To Ousted Founder Rod Canion 04/06/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00003)

 ****Compaq Pays $3.6 Million To Ousted Founder Rod Canion 04/06/92
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 6 (NB) -- Compaq Computer
Corporation has confirmed to Newsbytes that it has agreed to pay
$3.6 million in severance pay to its former chief executive and
co-founder Rod Canion.

Compaq's board of directors fired Canion as president and a member
of the board last October, replacing him with Eckhard Pfeiffer. The
action came just one day after the company fired over 1400
employees and reported its first loss in the nearly 10 years since
the company was formed. After the dust settled, the actual number
of reductions was about 1700, with some employees accepting early
retirement and severance. Compaq spokesperson John Sweney told
Newsbytes that none of those employees has been hired back.

According to a proxy statement mailed to Compaq stockholders last
week, the payment will be spread over 16 months. The payment is said
to be in addition to Canion's $737,286 salary for 1991. Canion got
$2.3 million the previous year.

Canion has opened an office in Houston in conjunction with Jim
Harris, another Compaq executive who left the company shortly after
Canion, and is pursuing private business interests. He reportedly
has agreed not to compete with Compaq or attempt to recruit any of
its employees for 18 months.

Compaq, which Newsbytes reported was one of two top ten computer
manufacturers not to have signed up with Microsoft to pre-load
Windows 3.1 on its PCs, is reportedly going to bundle IBM's new
operating system, OS/2 2.0, in September on its systems sold in
Europe.

(Jim Mallory/19920406/Press contact: John Sweney,Compaq Computer,
713-374-0484)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 6  Random Access Enters Network Wars 04/06/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00004)

Random Access Enters Network Wars 04/06/92
DENVER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 APR 6 (NB) -- Rocky Mountain
microcomputer reseller Random Access says it will enter the network
market and has hired a former Novell regional manager, Robert Henley,
to head up its efforts.

According to Random Access executive vice president, Patrick Smith,
the company is entering the local (LAN) and wide (WAN) area network
market in response to growing demand from existing customers and
overall growth in network use nationwide. Smith said the company
already provides networking products and technical support to some
of its largest customers, including US West and Texaco.

A Random Access spokesperson told Newsbytes that the company is an
authorized Platinum level Novell Netware Dealer. The company will
also handle Microsoft LAN Manager and Banyan Vines network operating
systems, according to the spokesperson.

"The market is wide open, with no dominant player, and we believe we
can leverage our size and reputation to capture significant market
share in a relatively short period of time," Smith said.

Prior to joining Novell, Henley held various positions with Digital
Equipment Corporation and Harris Corporation, and has more than 20
years of experience in the computer industry.

(Jim Mallory/19920406/Press contact: Pat Smith, Random Access,
303-745-9600)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 6  CompUSA FY92 3Q Sales Up 50% 04/06/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00005)

CompUSA FY92 3Q Sales Up 50% 04/06/92
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 6 (NB) -- Computer superstore
retailer CompUSA has released the results of the third quarter of
1992, reporting a 50 percent increase in sales for the period over
the same period last year.

CompUSA said its sales soared to $216 million for the period, which
ended March 31st. The report said that comparable-store sales or the
17 outlets open for a year or more were up 15.8 percent.

Results for the first three quarters were nearly comparable, with
the company reporting sales up 49.7 percent to $590 million for the
nine month period.

"We are very pleased with our quarterly sales increase and the
improving trend in comparable-store sales," said Nathan Morton,
CompUSA president and CEO. CompUSA opened five new stores during
the third quarter. Morton said the company "is well on rack with
our national expansion plan."

CompUSA operates 25 superstores in 16 major metropolitan markets,
and says it handles more than 5,000 hardware, software, accessories
and related products, offering what it describes as "deep-discount
prices to retail, business and government customers."

(Jim Mallory/19920406/Press contact: Nathan Morton, CompUSA,
214-406-4700)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 6  Xerox PARC Scientist Talks Nanotechnology 04/06/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00006)

Xerox PARC Scientist Talks Nanotechnology 04/06/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 APR 6 (NB) -- Robert Merkle,
Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) scientist specializing in
nanotechnology and molecular machines, will address a special meeting
of the Alcor Life Extension Foundation on the heady subject of "The
Prospects for Immortality."

The meeting will be held in New York City on Sunday, April 28th at
the 72nd Street Studio, 131 West 72nd Street at 5:00 PM. Admission
to the talk is $4.00.

Charles Platt, science fiction author and an Alcor member, told
Newsbytes, "Dr. Merkle is one of the world's foremost experts on
nanotechnology and there appears to be tremendous contributions
that nanotechnology can make to cryonics. The idea of nanotechnology
is to manipulate matter at the molecular level. As you know, the
process of cryonics involves the freezing of a person at the time
of death in the hopes that, at some point in the future, a cure
for the fatal disease may be found. It would seem that nanotechnology
may have particular use in the repairing of brain damage
that might occur in the freezing or unfreezing process."

Platt, whose works include "The Silicon Man," also told Newsbytes
that the meeting is open to the public and that prior reservations
are not required.

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/Press Contact: Charles Platt,
212-535-3643/19920406)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 6  India: Chip-Makers Doubling Their Clocks 04/06/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DEL)(00007)

India: Chip-Makers Doubling Their Clocks 04/06/92
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1992 APR 6 (NB) -- HCL Hewlett-Packard and Wipro
Infotech, the two industry leaders, locked horns with "clock doubling"
their minicomputers to rake in the year-end orders. Intel's latest
clock doubler, the 50 MHz 486 DX2 chip, has gone into HCL's Meteor
1-X which, the company says, pushes its product horizon much farther.

Wipro Infotech, claiming to be the "quickest" to assimilate the Intel
line, has chosen to speed up its 25 MHz Landmark minicomputers by
slipping in the 50 MHz 486 DX2 with an upgrade offer before the
end of March.

Both Wipro and HCL are Beta sites for Intel's new processors. The
advertisements woo the customers on the fact that the Indian
companies have brought the clock doubler technology here just
in the same week of Intel's official announcement of the
processors. Wipro claimed literally on the same day, 5 March,
that they had introduced machines "only hours" after Intel's release.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920328)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 6  Feds Seek Comments On C Test System 04/06/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00008)

Feds Seek Comments On C Test System 04/06/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 6 (NB) -- NIST (National
Institute of Standards and Technology) is seeking comments on a
proposed C compiler test system. Another recent project has
resulted in a report examining a way to bridge the Standard
Generalized Markup Language and ODA or Office Document
Architecture standard.

FIPS or Federal Information Processing Standard 160 would adopt
the ANSI Standard X3.159-1989 Programming Language C standard as
the basic conformance test for all C compilers purchased for
federal agency use after September 30, 1991. The NIST is seeking
comment from industry, federal computer users, and the public on
whether this ANSI test suite is appropriate for evaluating the C
standard compliance for federal users.

Comments should be forwarded to Computer Systems Lab., Attn: C
Test Service, A266, Technology Building, NIST, Gaithersburg, MD
20899.

A $17 report ($9 on microfiche) titled "On the Interchangeability
of SGML and ODA (NISTIR 4681)" explores the possibility of
producing a "bridge" between the two incompatible electronic
document mark-up and interchange standards.

Described in the document is a translation program that converts
documents between the two widely used standards.

Order directly from the National Technical Information Service,
U.S. Department of Commerce, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield,
VA 22161. Request document number PB 92-149830.

(John McCormick/19920403/Press Contact: John Henkel, NIST, 301-
975-2762)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 6  New Product: ArcLink Ties MapInfo To Arc/Info 04/06/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00009)

New Product: ArcLink Ties MapInfo To Arc/Info 04/06/92
TROY, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 APR 6 (NB) -- ArcLink, new software
from MapInfo, allows data transfer between that company's MapInfo
desktop mapping software on various personal computers and
workstations and Arc/Info, the large-system geographic information
system (GIS)software from Environment Systems Research Institute
(ESRI).

Versions of ArcLink are available for all systems that run MapInfo,
including DOS personal computers with or without Microsoft Windows,
the Apple Macintosh, and workstations from Sun Microsystems and
Hewlett-Packard. ArcLink works with ArcInfo version 5 or 6 and
PC-Arc/Info version 3.3 or 3.4, the company said.

ArcLink allows MapInfo users to transfer maps from a central
Arc/Info system to MapInfo, where they can be edited and later
transferred back.

Many GIS users have the Arc/Info software, a MapInfo spokeswoman
said, and would like to be able to work with their Arc/Info maps on
a personal computer.

ArcLink is due to ship May 1 with a suggested retail price of $595.

MapInfo also announced an agreement with Intergraph, of Huntsville,
Alabama. Intergraph will market the MapInfo software, while MapInfo
will develop a version of MapInfo for Intergraph workstations.

Development of the new MapInfo version is under way now, said Randy
Drawas, director of marketing at MapInfo, but the release date has
not been set. Drawas would say only that the software will be
shipped this year.

(Grant Buckler/19920403/Press Contact: Lisa Jacobson, MapInfo,
518-274-6000 ext. 205, fax [phone]; Paula Mae, Schwartz
Communications for MapInfo, 617-431-0770)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 6  New For Networks: Windows-Based Pathworks Manager 04/06/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00010)

New For Networks: Windows-Based Pathworks Manager 04/06/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 6 (NB) -- Following its
successful introduction of a Macintosh-based Pathworks server,
Webster Computer is extending its line of products to the MS-DOS
and Windows marketplace by introducing a version of NAServer
Administrator that runs under Windows.

NAServer Administrators are products that are designed to replace
the need for learning Digital Equipment Corporation's (DEC) DEC
Command Language (DCL). DCL has the reputation of being somewhat
difficult to learn. This is especially true of Macintosh or PC
uses who are not normally conversant with DEC products. With many
DEC installations putting in Pathworks to support their Macintosh
and PC users, it has become a more common task for those Macintosh
and PC users to need to control and administrate certain aspects
of Pathworks.

NAServer Administrator replaces DCL with a graphical user interface
(GUI) approach more familiar to such users. Now, instead of typing
commands on a line, the user pulls down the appropriate menus, and
makes the proper selections in dialog boxes. Webster's software, the
firm says, takes care of all the rest.

NAServer Administrator for Windows will run under Windows 3.0 as
well as Microsoft's recently introduced Windows 3.1. It retails for
$1990 for a one to twenty-user license. A 200-user license would drop
the per user cost to $29.95.

(Naor Wallach/19920406/Press Contact: Tom Woolf, Media Relations,
415-508-1554; Public Contact: 408-954-8054)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 6  NTT And Sharp Develops Fax Machine With Display 04/06/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00011)

NTT And Sharp Develops Fax Machine With Display 04/06/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 6 (NB) -- Japan's NTT and Sharp will
jointly develop a fax machine with a large LCD (liquid crystal
display) and a large memory which is designed for both business and
personal use.

The goal is to create an advanced fax machine that is
superior to Toshiba's display fax machine which is currently sold
on the market.

The advantage of a display on a fax machine is that when a
message is received, the user can read it first on the LCD, and can
elect to print it out on a paper. If printing is not necessary, the
user can erase it, without any waste of paper. NTT claims to have
a prototype of the system which it will finalize with Sharp, which
boasts advanced LCD technology.

Other details of the system include a 500 kilobyte memory, and the
capacity to compress the size of letters. This would enable two
to four pieces of an A4-size document to be printed out on a single
A4-size sheet of paper. This fax machine will also be able to accept
a B4-size document.

NTT and Sharp's new display fax machine, equipped with a detachable
scanner, is expected to be released this summer at a price of
200,000 yen ($1,500). The machine will be manufactured
by Sharp and supplied to NTT on an OEM (original equipment
manufacturer) basis.

Recently, Sharp has developed an unique device which is a combination
of fax machine, copier, and a scanner for a personal computer.
Newsbytes was unable to confirm speculation that Sharp could
also be developing another hybrid -- a personal computer with a
built-in fax machine.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920406/Press Contact: Sharp, [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 6  Japanese Chip Market Recovery Seen 04/06/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00012)

Japanese Chip Market Recovery Seen 04/06/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 6 (NB) -- The semiconductor market in Japan
is on the road to recovery, according to the survey taken by the Nippon
Keizai (Nikkei) Newspaper. It says most chip makers believe
the worst is behind them and that the market will recover by the end
of this year.

The survey involved eight major chip makers in Japan, including
Toshiba, Fujitsu, Mitsubishi, NEC and Texas Instruments Japan.
Toshiba and Mitsubishi both reported to have experienced the worst
part of the slump during this past January and February. Fujitsu and
NEC officers also believe that the worst will be over soon.

In general, prices of semiconductors in Japan have continuously
dropped since the summer of 1991, but recently the downward spiral
has nearly come to a halt. Prices of 1 megabit dynamic random access
memory (DRAM) and 4 megabit DRAM had dropped by as much as 35
percent during the slump.

NEC experienced a 6-percent drop in sales during the January-March
time period, but the firm expects to have just a 3-percent drop during
the April-June period.

Texas Instruments Japan says it is in the worst period now, and the
market can do nothing but improve this year. Hitachi also
says it is encouraged by new purchase orders.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920406/Press Contact: Nikkei Newspaper, +81-
3-3270-0251)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 6   ****NEC Group Turns To Consumer Electronics To Ride Recession 04/06/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00013)

 ****NEC Group Turns To Consumer Electronics To Ride Recession 04/06/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 6 (NB) -- NEC has joined with its
subsidiary NEC Home Electronics to create more home electronic
devices, rather than computers, to ride out the current recession.
Although both firms are affiliated financially, they operate
independently of each other.

NEC Home Electronics has been developing home electronic appliances
such as vacuum cleaners, refrigerators, and game machines. Some
260 of its engineers have been assigned to work at NEC to develop
various audio-visual products inside NEC's newly created
"Audiovisual Media Development" department. The new products are
a car navigation system and a pocket LCD TV. Eventually, multimedia
personal computers and workstations are also expected to be
developed.

Although the obvious reason for the joint venture is slumping computer
sales, experts say NEC is also seeking to improve its de facto standard
Japanese PC-9801, a computer apparently threatened by Apple
and IBM's market presence. The PC-9801 is also challenged by Fujitsu,
which recently released a multimedia personal computer equipped with
Windows Multimedia Extensions.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920406/Press Contact: NEC, [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 6   ****Next Generation CD Developed 04/06/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00014)

 ****Next Generation CD Developed 04/06/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 6 (NB) -- Japan Zeon and Kurare are jointly
marketing a compact disk (CD) made of a new technology which is said to
enable the CD to produce even higher quality sound than today's discs.

The new CD material is called "Zeonecks" which is a combination of
special alloys. One amorphous part of the disc material consists of
a combination of iron, cobalt and nickel in a random arrangement of
atoms. The advantage to this material, the companies say, is its
durability and hardness, and its sensitivity to magnetic fields.
As a result, it is said to reproduce sound crisper and clearer than
existing CDs.

Most of the existing CDs are made from polycarbonate. About
300 million CDs are produced annually in Japan.

The price of the new CD is still much higher than conventional CDs.
According to a Kurare spokesman, the new Zeonecks technology is
priced 50 percent higher than regular CDs at 400 to 500 yen each. But
both firms are confident that they will be well-accepted in the music
industry. So far, Kurare has received encouraging reviews from the music
industry, says the spokesman.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920406/Press Contact: Kurare, +81-6-348-
2111)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 6  Communication Tokyo '92 Opens 04/06/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00015)

Communication Tokyo '92 Opens 04/06/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 6 (NB) -- Japan's major telecommunications
trade show opened at Tokyo's Harumi Exhibition Center today.
"Telecommunication Tokyo" features the participation of
164 firms, 10 more than last year. A total of 80,000 people are
expected to visit this show.

A variety of new products are in the spotlight. They include
telephones with multiple features, cordless phones, data-
telephones, display telephones, fax machines, TV phones, TV
conference systems, personal computers, workstations, mobile
phones, pocket beepers, satellite switching network systems,
voice mail, local area network systems, value added networks,
various electronic parts and software.

TV phones, including Hitachi's just-released motion picture
phone used on ISDNs (integrated services digital
networks) are drawing the largest crowds. Smart phones, or
those with some of the features of personal computers are
also drawing attention.

Next-generation fax machines, including those with large
LCDs, are on display by many Japanese electronics firms.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920406)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 6  Siemens Invests In India 04/06/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(DEL)(00016)

Siemens Invests In India 04/06/92
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1992 APR 6 (NB) -- Siemens is a company which
has been related to India for well over 100 years. In fact, the man
behind the construction of the first telegraph line between
Calcutta and London was its founder Werner Jon Siemens himself,
120 years ago.

While it has had an active and prosperous Indian subsidiary (Siemens
Ltd.) for years, the parent company appears now ready to take
advantage of the new liberal climate recently unleashed by the
Indian government to integrate its economy, industry and trade
with the rest of the world. Siemens will do business directly and make
new direct investments in India.

Building on India's professional strength in software, a new
company - a joint project called Siemens Information Systems Ltd.
- is being formed to develop products for both domestic and export
markets in the area of communications and process automation.
It is projected to employ 1,000 people by 1996.

In the Indian market, it plans to go into software and systems
integration, and CAD/CAM for the manufacturing sector. An
ex-IBMer, Nil Laud, is understood to have appointed as the new
venture's chief executive.

That's not all. Siemens is also planning to invest $54.95 million
in Indian telecommunications. It has recently received official
clearance for its proposal to manufacture digital telecom
switching and transmission systems and later cellular systems.
Although the location has not been finalized, the telecom unit is
expected to be set up at Salt Lake industrial complex in Calcutta,
where Siemens subsidiary Webel Telematics is located.

Siemens's involvement in the Indian (electrical) power sector has
been quite considerable. With the slated partial privatization of
the public sector corporations like Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd,
National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd., and others, and the
government's opening up the power sector to foreign investments,
Siemens, among other multinationals, is expected to play a major
role in the mega projects of this sector which, in turn, involves
voluminous CIM (computer integrated manufacturing) activity.
And that is where Siemens Information Systems Ltd. is hoping to
reap its business to a large extent.

(C.T. Mahabharat 19920403)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 6  Hong Kong: SAS, IBM in Cooperative Marketing Ag't 04/06/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(HKG)(00017)

Hong Kong: SAS, IBM in Cooperative Marketing Ag't 04/06/92
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1992 APR 6 (NB) -- SAS Institute and IBM
China/Hong Kong Corporation have signed a Cooperative Software
Program (COSP) agreement to market SAS Software on a range of IBM
hardware platforms.

IBM says the agreement, the first multiplatform collaboration
between IBM and a software supplier, reinforces its strategic
initiative to cooperate with leading software companies on a local
level.

Under the terms of the agreement, IBM will market the SAS Information
Delivery System, integrated software for accessing, managing,
analyzing and presenting data to its mainframe, PC and workstation
customers. SAS Institute will also have access to IBM's marketing
database and business centres.

"The COSP agreement with SAS is part of IBM's drive to deliver total
solutions to its customers," said Ken Johnsen, IBM's director of
marketing operations in Hong Kong. "The partnership builds on a long
association between our companies to deliver leading edge software
and hardware that gives our customers a competitive edge."

Nigel Gasper, general manager of SAS Institute in Hong Kong, said,
"SAS is delighted to be one of the first COSP software partners for
IBM in Hong Kong. As the world leader in enterprise-wide, multi-
platform information delivery, the Institute is strongly placed to
serve IBM customers across a wide range of industries."

The COSP agreement builds on existing SAS/IBM cooperation including
joint development for IBM's System Application Architecture (SAA),
ESA/390, RISC/AIX and OS/2 2.0 architectures. In terms of customer
base, more than half of SAS' worldwide customers are in IBM sites.

"The Institute has worked closely for many years with IBM to take
advantage of emerging hardware technology and port its software to
new IBM platforms," said Gasper. "The COSP marketing agreement is a
logical extension of this process. In addition, SAS' strong local
support and training resources were important in making SAS the first
major software supplier in IBM's new alliance programme."

Gasper added that while the current agreement only covers IBM
customers in Hong Kong and Macau, other SAS offices in the Asian
region were actively exploring similar arrangements.

(Norman Wingrove/19920404/Press contact Nigel Gasper, SAS, +852 568
4280; HK time is GMT + 8)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 6  Systemhouse Names New U.S. Chairman 04/06/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00018)

Systemhouse Names New U.S. Chairman 04/06/92
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 APR 6 (NB) -- John Oltman, chairman
and chief executive of systems integrator SHL Systemhouse, has
drawn on contacts from his days at Andersen Consulting in naming a
new chairman and chief executive for his company's United States
subsidiary. James K. Burns, who worked with Oltman at Andersen
before joining Goldman, Sachs & Co., will occupy the newly created
position.

Burns will report to Oltman, said Harry W. Schlough, senior
vice-president of Systemhouse, while Andrew Bart, president of the
U.S. subsidiary Systemhouse Inc., will remain in his present
position and report to Burns.

Burns, who assumes the new position April 16, will be responsible
for the strategic direction and growth of the U.S. subsidiary,
Schlough told Newsbytes.

Oltman, who left the job of worldwide managing partner for systems
integration at Andersen in June, 1991, to take charge of
Systemhouse, hand-picked Burns for the job, Schlough said. The two
worked together at Andersen Consulting before Burns left the
American consulting firm in 1988 to join Goldman Sachs. Burns' most
recent position at Andersen Consulting was worldwide head of
systems integration. When he left Goldman Sachs, he was senior
vice-president and the company's most senior information technology
executive.

(Grant Buckler/19920406/Press Contact: Harry W. Schlough, SHL
Systemhouse, 416-366-4600)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 6  Lotus Earmarks Old Hardware For East-West Foundation 04/06/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00019)

Lotus Earmarks Old Hardware For East-West Foundation 04/06/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 6 (NB) -- Lotus Development
has agreed to turn over its excess and out-of-service computer
hardware to the East West Education Development Foundation, an
agency chartered to promote democracy and education throughout the
world by supplying computer tools. Lotus is the first company in
the computer industry to pledge its hand-me-down equipment to the
foundation on an ongoing basis, said Mike Robinson, associate
director of the East-West Foundation.

Lotus has already turned over 347 pieces of equipment to the
foundation in the first of what is expected to be a continuing
supply of outgrown computers.

The East West Education Development Foundation was founded in 1990
by Patrick McGovern of the worldwide publishing and research
organization IDG Corp. It is chartered to sponsor charitable
organizations that sponsor freedom of speech, free markets,
democracy, and entrepreneurship.

Donations go to a variety of organizations around the world. The
foundation concentrated at first on the former Soviet Union and
Eastern Europe, Robinson said, but it has also recently donated
hardware to organizations in the United States that promote its
goals, and has sent equipment to El Salvador to aid in the recovery
from the civil war there.

Speaking at the Comdex show in Las Vegas last fall, Alex Randall,
director of the foundation, described computers as "like the engine
of freedom of thought." Randall said some computers the foundation
provided were used by Russian and American officials in Kiev to
keep information flowing during the attempted coup in what was then
the Soviet Union last August. "They didn't stop any bullets,"
Randall said of those machines. "They didn't stop any tanks.... But
they did what computers can do -- they kept the channels of
communication open."

(Grant Buckler/19920406/Press Contact: Alex Randall, East West
Education Development Foundation, 617-542-1234, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 6   ****ChipSoft Defends Its TurboTax Software 04/06/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00020)

 ****ChipSoft Defends Its TurboTax Software 04/06/92
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 6 (NB) -- CNN reported
Friday and again Monday morning that ChipSoft's very popular
TurboTax tax preparation software includes "aggressive" tax
strategies which some people feel could trigger an IRS audit.
ChipSoft has replied that during preparation of this year's
program the company contacted the IRS directly and based software
on IRS information.

The questions involve the way TurboTax moves information from
Schedule D (Capital Gains and Losses) to Form 4952 (investment
interest deduction), and ChipSoft's spokesperson Debra Kelley
stressed to Newsbytes that not only does the program explain just
how it treats all such calculations, it also offers the user an
opportunity to use some alternative method.

Regarding the calculation in question, ChipSoft has released the
following statement: "ChipSoft consulted both the IRS forms and
the IRS regulations, which were not clear. ChipSoft then directly
contacted the representative at the IRS responsible for Form
4952, and was informed that there was no definitive regulation or
ruling on this subject and that various interpretations were
possible."

The company says further, "In the absence of a definitive IRS or
court directive, ChipSoft must chose an interpretation which it
believes is justified based on the judgment of its tax staff."

Ms. Kelley told Newsbytes that there has not been any unusual
increase in the number of telephone calls to the company since
the CNN story.

TurboTax is the number one best selling personal and small
business tax software in the U.S. and the ChipSoft company has
just announced its intention to go public with an initial public
offering of 3.3 million common shares at $12.50 per share. About
200,000 shares are being sold by current stock holders.

ChipSoft markets more than 230 tax preparation and related
software products sold under the brand names TurboTax, MacinTax,
and Taxview. Their products range from those intended for use by
accountants to programs for home use.

Robertson, Stephens & Co. and Lehman Brothers are the co-managers
of an underwriting syndicate offering the stock to the public.
ChipSoft will be listed on the NASDAQ exchange using the symbol
CSFT.

Governor Jerry Brown, the Democratic Presidential candidate,
whose proposal for a flat-tax system is mainly based on the
complexity and near impossibility of following the IRS's 4,000-
plus pages of regulations, could not be reached for comment.

(John McCormick/19920406/Press Contact: Debra Kelley, ChipSoft,
619-453-7887, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 6 GE Intros Cross-Platform Information Mg't System 04/06/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00021)

GE Intros Cross-Platform Information Mg't System 04/06/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 6 (NB) -- GE Information
Services has announced the BusinessTalk System 2000, an
information management system for Windows, MS-DOS, and Macintosh
computers. At the heart of the software is an e-mail system that
bridges all three platforms, combined with information databases
such as electronic news clipping services and bulletin board
systems.

This is a major enterprise-wide system intended to provide a
basis for massive information sharing and e-mail across all three
major platforms.

Through a choice of icon- or menu-based interface, the
BusinessTalk software will provide large businesses with a common
user interface for everyone needing to send and receive e-mail
and access databases.

Pricing for single user copies of the interface software is $249
per copy and the common user interface will operate across a
number of different LAN platforms.

The software is available now and will be discussed at a COMDEX
press conference tomorrow in Chicago.

(John McCormick/19920406/Press Contact: Jacelyn Swenson, GE
Information Services, 301-340-4485)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 6  Iomega Announces Distrib Deal With 3 Companies 04/06/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00022)

Iomega Announces Distrib Deal With 3 Companies 04/06/92
ROY, UTAH, U.S.A., 1992 APR 6 (NB) -- Iomega Corporation,
distributor of Bernoulli removable mass storage devices, has
announced three new distribution agreements that the company says
will help increase its presence in the workstation market.

The agreements with Access Graphics, Government Technology Services,
and Sun Microsystems Federal provide for the three companies to
distribute Iomega's workstation removable drives and media to the
technical, commercial, and federal markets.

With the worldwide workstation market up 18 percent in 1991
according to InfoCorp, the deal holds promise for significant
sales for Iomega, says VP for marketing Mike Joseph. "The tremendous
sales forces of Access Graphics, GTSI and Sun Microsysems Federal
will help Iomega gain market share," said Joseph.

Sun Microsystems Federal said it will add the Bernoulli 90
workstation drives and media to its Sun third-party offerings
program. Sun said the Iomega products would be the only removable
disk storage products in its catalog. Sun's third party program
enables government end-users, contractors, and resellers to purchase
Bernoulli 90 products directly from Sun Microsystems Federal. Hal
Julsen, Iomega senior VP of sales and marketing, said Iomega targeted
Sun because of its 40 percent market share in the worldwide
workstation/server market, and its 54 percent share in the
government market. Those figures come from International Data
Corporation and Computer Intelligence, respectively.

Access Graphics, a Boulder, Colorado firm, says its 500 VARs (value
added resellers) will sell Bernoulli workstation 90 drives and
media, including an internal drive called the Insider, bundled with
its new line of NEC computers.

Iomea said Government Technology Services will offer Bernoulli
Workstation transportable 90 and Workstation Dual 90 products with
its Sun SPARCstations and other associated software and peripherals.

Removable mass storage products allow the user to store data on a
cartridge which can be removed and stored securely, or transported
to another system where the data can be used. Bernoulli drives can
also be used as a system drive.

(Jim Mallory/19920406/Press contact: Cara O'Sullivan, Iomega
Corporation, 801-778-3712; customer toll-free 800-777-6179)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 6  Windows 3.1 Includes Sound Blaster Drivers 04/06/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00023)

Windows 3.1 Includes Sound Blaster Drivers 04/06/92
MILPITAS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 6 (NB) --Creative Labs Inc.,
(CLI) has announced that Microsoft Windows 3.1, which makes its
official public debut at the Windows World show in Chicago today,
will include drivers for CLI's Sound Blaster sound system.

CLS said the drivers were developed jointly with Microsoft.

Microsoft has estimated that it will ship more than 10 million
copies of Windows 3.1 in the next 12 months. According to CLI, the
built-in drivers will make it easier for developers to incorporate
sound in their applications, and many sound-capable applications
are anticipated.

To take advantage of the drivers, users will need Windows 3.1,
Windows-compatible hardware, and a Sound Blaster board. Last
summer, a number of companies, including Microsoft, formed the MPC
Council and established standards for hardware to make it
multimedia-compatible. Multimedia applications can include sound,
video, text, and graphics.

Larry Samuels, CLI chief operating officer, said the company is
pleased because the inclusion of the driver provides the company
with a very large group of potential customers. "We appreciate
Microsoft's recognition of our product," said Samuels.

(Jim Mallory/19920406/Press contact: Arnold Waldstein, Creative
Labs, 408-428-6600)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 6   ****Windows 3.1 Makes Its Official Debut Today 04/06/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00024)

 ****Windows 3.1 Makes Its Official Debut Today 04/06/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 6 (NB) -- Thousands of computer
users and industry experts will get their first look at Microsoft's
Windows 3.1 today at Windows World in Chicago.

The upgrade to Windows has already been positioned with freight
deliverers and is expected to be delivered today to those who placed
their orders early.

Windows 3.1 is being promoted by Microsoft as doing what Windows 3.0
does, but doing it easier and faster.

Microsoft and IBM have now both released new operating systems, with
IBM's OS/2 2.0 making its predicted release date last Tuesday.

Microsoft may have stolen a march on IBM in the hotly contested
operating system wars, having announced agreements with nearly 100
PC manufacturers and resellers to preload Windows 3.1. Users who
buy a PC that already has Windows 3.1 loaded are less likely to want
to try OS/2 2.0. A number of manufacturers are also preloading
applications such as word processing, spreadsheets and other
programs.

Microsoft just about cornered the market on floppy disks to get
ready to ship the estimated 1 million copies of Windows 3.1 it
expects to ship in the first 30 days.

A number of software companies have already announced that their
products are Windows 3.1 compatible.

(Jim Mallory/19920406)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 6  Display Postscript Goes To X Windows 04/06/92


(NEWS)(UNIX)(SFO)(00025)

Display Postscript Goes To X Windows 04/06/92
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 6 (NB) -- In an
effort to break into the X terminal market, Adobe Systems has
signed an agreement calling for porting of the company's Display
PostScript system to X Window System terminals made by
Network Computing Devices (NCD).

Display PostScript is Adobe's display version of its PostScript
page description language.

Dano Ybarra, Adobe's product marketing manager for Unix, told
Newsbytes that the agreement with NCD, "expands the base of
PostScript."

Under the terms of the agreement, NCD and Adobe will jointly
port Display PostScript to NCD's family of reduced instruction-set
computing (RISC)-based X terminals. NCD will license the new
version, which is expected to be available in early 1993.

Ybarro also told Newsbytes that, in a networking environment, "up
until now, for a user to get the benefits of PostScript," they needed
a workstation on the desktop. Now, said Ybarro, "one workstation,
with multiple terminals...can display PostScript."

Judy Estrin, NCD vice president, said: "In 1985, Adobe introduced
a mechanism for applications to display graphics on the screen
using the PostScript language and X applications, but until now
this capability has not been accessible to X terminal users. Our
agreement with Adobe will for the first time give users access to
the Display PostScript system on X terminals, whose cost per seat
is about half that of workstations. In addition, X terminal users will
gain a high-level interface that is hardware independent, allowing
applications written to it to run unmodified on our line of RISC-based
color, monochrome and gray-scale products."

Adobe claims that the agreement is, in part, a response to user
requests, and that NCD, according to Ybarro, is the "leader" in the
X terminal market.

"This agreement makes the benefits of Display PostScript software
available to the sizeable installed base of X-terminal users, many of
whom have been asking for the kind of rich graphical environment
Display PostScript system provides," said Charles Geschke,
Adobe's president and chief operating officer, in the press release.

"The significance of display PostScript," Ybarro told Newsbytes,
is that "what the user sees on the screen is what gets printed" if
both are PostScript devices.

(Ian Stokell/19920406/Press Contact: Patricia J. Pane, Adobe
Systems Inc., 415-962-3967; Judy Estrin, Network Computing
Devices Inc., 415-894-0650)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 6  Apple Macs And Printers Distributed Through Sears 04/06/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00026)

Apple Macs And Printers Distributed Through Sears 04/06/92
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 6 (NB) -- Continuing
its new strategy of placing products in mass market distribution
outlets, Apple USA has now authorized The Office Center at
Sears to sell and service specially configured Macintosh
personal computers and printer products.

The agreement calls for Sears Office Center locations in the
United States to carry Macintosh Classic II, Macintosh LCII, and
Macintosh IIsi personal computers, as well as PowerBook 140
notebook computers. All the products are to be sold with the
ClarisWorks integrated software and an Apple modem.

Additionally, Sears the outlets will also carry Apple StyleWriter
printers.

Michelle Soleau, spokesperson for Apple, told Newsbytes that the
agreement is a significant one because Sears is "the only national
mass merchandizer to offer Apple products."

Bob Puette, president of Apple USA, said: "The authorization of
Sears Office Centers will sizably expand the availability of the
Apple brand to individuals, small business and home/office
consumers and complement current Apple distribution."

Soleau told Newsbytes that the agreement covers "all Sears
Office Centers," which are "primarily in the East." The company
actually states that the deal covers stores in Delaware, Illinois,
Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania,
Virginia, Washington D.C., and Wisconsin.

Soleau said that the agreement only applies to the Sears Office
Centers, and would therefore not include marketing Macintoshes
through the famous Sears catalogue.

Asked by Newsbytes if there were more plans to offer Apple
products through national mass merchandizing chains, Soleau
said that the company on the "top level" has been "investigating
that option," but "nothing has been announced."

(Ian Stokell/19920406/Press Contact: Betty Taylor, Apple
Computer Inc., 408-974-3983; or Michelle Soleau, Regis
McKenna Inc. for Apple Computer Inc., 415-354-4465)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 6  Radius To Post 2Q Profit 04/06/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00027)

Radius To Post 2Q Profit 04/06/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 6 (NB) -- Rebounding
from an $0.08 per share loss from the second quarter a year ago,
Radius estimates its earnings for its second quarter ended March
31, 1992, to be in the region of $0.16 cents per share.

Citing a successful advertising and promotional campaign as
primary factors in revenue improvements, the company expects
net sales for the quarter to be nearly $43 million, an 87 percent
increase over net sales of $23 million for the like period in 1991,
and 17 percent above its net sales of $36.8 million for the prior
fiscal quarter ended December 31, 1991.

The company also attributes its record revenues to what it sees
as a strong acceptance in the Macintosh market of its new products,
particularly the company's family of PrecisionColor displays and
graphics boards designed for desktop color publishing.

The company also believes that margins are likely to be consistent
with the prior fiscal quarter, and maintains that it will continue to
make investments in market expansion and new product development
programs.

Final results for the second quarter are expected on April 14.

(Ian Stokell/19920406/Press Ciontact: Richard S. Stolz, Radius Inc.,
408-434-1010)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 6   ****Spring COMDEX Draws Surprising Crowds 04/06/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(ATL)(00028)

 ****Spring COMDEX Draws Surprising Crowds 04/06/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 6 (NB) -- A subdued industry,
battered by recession, opened the Spring COMDEX show in Chicago
today. This year's show was expected to be smaller and less well-
attended than last year's show in Atlanta.  But surprise, surprise,
the sun came out. Crowds at the McCormick Place convention center
stunned analysts predicting a downturn.

While there were fewer booths, and most products were pre-
announced, by noon Interface Group Chairman Sheldon Adelson was
already calling this COMDEX a rousing success.

The major announcements have been anticipated for months.
Microsoft is showing its MS-Windows 3.1, with multimedia
extensions built-in. IBM counters with OS/2 2.0, and is fighting
hard to play catch-up. The two companies planned directly
competitive press conferences and receptions. Major software
vendors are trying to maintain neutrality despite the millions
many have gained from support of Windows. WordPerfect has a
series of three signs in the hallway connecting the show's two
halls. One shows a serious white male with the logo "staying with
DOS." A second features a shy white woman "Moving to Windows."
The third has a middle-aged black face "Ready for OS/2."

It is strange to see IBM as an underdog, but that's just what
they are now. Microsoft's market value is now higher than even
General Motors', let alone IBM, which let it buy database vendor
Fox Software recently for a relative pittance in stock. The move
forced down shares of Borland International, the current database
market leader, by $5 in one day. IBM, meanwhile, cut staff,
reorganized, and prepared to spin-out divisions.

So the press and vendors are treating IBM as an underdog, hoping
it will do well and provide a counterweight to Microsoft.  But the
real test will come in coming weeks when the shrink-wrap on both
products is opened, and IBM learns if its former captive market
has any loyalty left.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920406)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 6  Pre-COMDEX Scuttlebutt 04/06/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(ATL)(00029)

Pre-COMDEX Scuttlebutt 04/06/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 6 (NB) -- The heart of any
COMDEX doesn't lie in product announcements, which aren't really
new, or in speeches, which are usually thinly disguised sales
pitches, but at receptions, where between canapes and card
exchanges people chew on the future.

Rumors and hidden meanings are the coin of the realm here. At the
Tech Southeast Party Sunday night, Egil and Karen Juliessen noted
their self-published "Computer Industry Almanac" is being hawked
at the "COMDEX General Store," between the stuffed bears and "I'm
a COMDEX kid" bibs. British journalist Guy Kewney, sporting a
ponytail, showed off his new connections to Ziff-Davis via PC
World and complained about being flown in via Brussels and
Montreal. Bill Frezza of Ericsson-GE drew a crowd around him with
his Mobidem, a radio modem he brings linked to an HP 95XL
organizer in a zip-up case.

And there we heard what stands so far as the most interesting
story of the show. An analyst, spotting the 95XL, started talking
about H-P's recent decision to make terminals for TV Answer Inc.,
the Reston, Virginia company whose interactive TV scheme won an
FM sub-carrier frequency allocation from the FCC. Here's the
pitch. H-P is not really betting it will become a consumer
products company out of this. But the network, running at 19,200
bits/second, will be built. And H-P will be there to fill it with
something, maybe competing with the RAM Mobile network Frezza's
Mobidem support. If TV Answer's scheme works, consumers will
drive use of the network, and profits will roll in. If it
doesn't, H-P will pick up a powerful packet data net without
spending its own money.

If even partly true, it proves one thing. Recessions concentrate
the corporate mind, force bold, imaginary thinking, and wind up
bringing us lots of neat stuff.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920406)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 6   ****Dell Keynote Devoted To Users 04/06/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(ATL)(00030)

 ****Dell Keynote Devoted To Users 04/06/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 6 (NB) -- Unless the computer
industry listens to its users, it will lose them to low-priced
foreign competitors. That was the message delivered by 27-year
old Michael Dell, CEO of Dell Computer Corp., as the keynote
address to COMDEX Spring '92.

Using taped clips of real users discussing their problems as a
backdrop, sometimes mixed with hectoring clips from John Dvorak,
Dell led an overflow audience in the Chicago Room of the
McCormick Place convention center on a tour of user frustration.

Dell, who built a $1 billion business out of a college dorm based
on low prices, mail order distribution and telephone-based
service, said meeting individual customer needs is imperative.
Every telephone call to a customer support line must be treated
as a real emergency, he said, because that's what it is.

He took his audience back to the big promises of the early 1980s,
which he called unfulfilled. "A lot of comapnies didn't listen to
their customers. Now in 1992 we're joking about the predictions.
But not everyone is laughing. We've heard of lay-offs, pricing
pressures, and poor results. I'm here to tell you customers are
unhappy, frsutrated, not satisfied with the purchases they've
made. And they have higher expectations for the future. They're
not buying our hype, and they're not buying computers at the rate
we expected.

"What went wrong? A lot of companies started with technology, not
customers. They didn't design around customer needs."

Specifically, Dell attacked self serving "standards" like the
Micro Channel, and the ACE group, which were created for business
reasons, to lock users in rather than grow the business. "Every
company will talk about standards, but they can't accept the
consequences of making it happen."

He continued, "Anyone remember VisiOn, SAA, TopView, Patriot
Partners? There's a long list, but the idea is the same, an
emphasis on technology for technology's sake, not to solve
customer problems. In case anyone forgot, the objective was to
make technology work for people, so they could become more
productive."

Dell pointed to a book called "The Overworked American," showing
that workweeks have been lengthening for a generation, and PCs
have played a part in it. The US spent $80 billion on computers
in the 1980s, yet productivity rose just 1 percent a year during
that time. He compared PCs to washing machines. "Both seem to
save labor. But we just do more laundry. It's the same with
computers."

After his videotaped users tried to define common industry
buzzwords like OOPs and GUIs, Dell attacked them as "techno-
nonsense," saying the industry hasn't turned the buzzwords into
real benefits. "If companies spent half the time improving ease
of use they spend on technology, customers would be better off,"
he said.

When it comes to value, however, one size doesn't fit all, Dell
said. "Customers demand quality and value, but they have their
own ways of defining it. That's a key point. There really is no
average user. We have to address each user with the right mix of
products and services, especially services."

Dell, who for his shameless cost-cutting and folksy size has been
compared to the late Sam Walton, recognized these may all sound
like platitudes. "Every company in the industry has said these
things. But have we done something? Just look at other industries
in America where companies didn't listen to their customers.
Asian competitors took the market away. We may not have quite the
head to head competition of the auto industry, but 40% of all the
computers in the world today come from Taiwan."

"We also need to look at how we work as an industry. We can all
think of industries that work to grow the market, while retaining
the right to compete for share. They work toward customer needs."
Dell concluded by calling for peace between competitors, like IBM
and Microsoft, in the name of the consumer. "If we as an industry
listen to the customer we can retain the trust and confidence of
users and finally begin to deliver on the promises we made a
deade ago."

A few moments after his speech, Dell talked briefly with
Newsbytes. He revealed that the Intel 80586 chip will be, in
fact, a RISC processor, calling the rest of the RISC wars a joke.
He added that Dell will offer a pen-based system when the
technology is right and enough customers demand them. The first-
generation machines don't recognize handwriting well enough,
weigh too much, or don't have good enough screens to meet real
customer needs, he said.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920406)
#ENDCARD





#CARD :1992 APR 3 IBM Japan In RISC Workstation Deal With Omron 04/03/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TYO)(00001)

IBM Japan In RISC Workstation Deal With Omron 04/03/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 3 (NB) -- IBM Japan and Omron will
collaborate on sales of IBM Japan's RISC (reduced instruction set
computing) -based workstation, according to the Nikkan Kogyo
newspaper, which adds the formal announcement will take place in
May. Neither firm will comment on this report.

IBM Japan and Omron's expected agreement reportedly calls for Omron to
market IBM Japan's RISC-based workstation called the RS/6000.
Omron will sell the workstation with IBM Japan's brand name, not its
own. Omron has been selling its own workstations, the Luna series,
but IBM Japan's RS/6000 is more powerful than the Luna.
Omron will position the RS/6000 as a network terminal.

Omron has reportedly created a new division to market the RS/6000,
says the Nikkan Kogyo. IBM Japan currently has about 200 dealers for
its RS/6000. Omron will be one of the major distributors of this
computer.

The relationship between IBM Japan and Omron is well-established
at this point. Both firms have signed distribution agreements with
the other; Omron has sold IBM Japan's computers including the AS4000
and the PS/55 as well as the PBX (private branch exchange) system.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920403/Press Contact: Omron, +81-75-463-
1162)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 3 Editorial: The Computer Industry - Obsessed With Multimedia 04/02/92


(EDITORIAL)(TRENDS)(SFO)(00002)

Editorial: The Computer Industry - Obsessed With Multimedia 04/02/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 3 (NB) -- By Ian Stokell.
We saw it at the Windows & OS/2 Expo in San Jose, the Comdex/Fall
show in Las Vegas, and at the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco. The
computer industry has become obsessed with "multimedia."

Now don't get me wrong. I'm all for "new" technology. But this is only
one facet of the industry. I don't know about you, but I'm getting pretty
fed up with the "multimedia-is-the-future-of-computing" hype. And how
many people can you name that actually use a CD-ROM drive
anyway!

Of course with the weight of the likes of Microsoft behind it, with its
Multimedia PC attempt to establish Windows as the de facto multimedia
standard, it's hardly surprising that it's getting maximum exposure. So
much so that even one-time sworn enemies, IBM and Apple Computer,
have entered a potentially vaporous union to counter the threat.

But what does this all mean for the ordinary computer user? Well,
surprise, surprise, it means a considerable expense upgrading
hardware and adding a CD-ROM drive. I wonder if they'll ever come
up with a "new" technology that doesn't hit the user in the pocketbook,
and entail a big expense, even before you know you'll use it.

There's no denying that multimedia has a use in education in
some way. But let's look at that for a second.

It's hard enough to retain children's attention in this day and age as it
is. They have no attention span because everything is a video game.
Movies have to have a car chase every five minutes or kids will turn
it off. So it's all well and good when you turn history into a video game
with action and sound and video at every turn, but what happens
when the next lesson requires simple mathematics written on a piece
of paper, or, heaven forbid, the reading of a book? Try retaining the
attention of a seven-year old when he's just covered the history of the
world in 35 minutes using multimedia.

Well sure, then turn every lesson into a multimedia video game, I hear
the advocates wail. Great idea - but buddy, can you spare a dime?
Only it'll cost a lot more than a dime to turn an entire curriculum into
multimedia. And then again, is that such a good idea anyway?

School is not just about having "video game fun" at learning - it's
about discipline. It's about being taught to focus your attention on
a subject. For most of the kids learning in schools, they'll be lucky
to have a mundane run-of-the-mill job at the end of high school, if
they ever finish high school, and if there are any jobs to be had.

A child's education shouldn't just be about whiz-bang graphics and
sound, it's about being taught how to deal with the real world of
employment - having to deal with the, often, boring day-to-day
existence of working life. If school consists simply of video-game
education, once a kid has mastered the three R's (if they ever do),
then how is that going to help them deal with the real world?

There's no doubt that multimedia is an important and developing
technology, but it's not the only one out there. Handwriting
recognition systems, for example, are likely to affect many more
people in the workplace if the technology ever develops into
anything. The same can be said for innovative voice recognition
systems. And there are others.

For most users though, who have a computer for work, or job-
related applications such as simple word processing or
spreadsheets, multimedia is unlikely to be an option, not
because it wouldn't be great to be trained to learn via video
games, but because they don't need it, and they wouldn't use it
even if they had it.

(Ian Stokell/19920403)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 3 Review of: Paradox 3.5


(REVIEW)(IBM)(ATL)(00003)

Review of: Paradox 3.5

Runs on: PC-XT, PC-AT, PS-2, AND 100% compatibles with 512K RAM
using PC/MS-DOS, and a VGA, EGA, CGA, or Hercules-compatible
monochrome monitor. Paradox 3.5 supports expanded and extended
memory, math coprocessors, and compatible dot matrix, letter
quality or laser printers.

From: Borland, 1800 Green Hills Rd., PO Box 660001, Scotts Valley
CA, 95067, 408-439-1622, FAX [phone]

Price: $795

PUMA Rating: 4 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: tbass HNDYPRSN, MCI:379-5378 04/03/92

Summary: Borland's Paradox 3.5 makes relating multiple tables and
database files easy work even for non-programmers. Programmers
are provided access to even more operational control via
Borland's Paradox Application Language, referred to as PAL.
Additional program interfaces can be purchased to provide network
capability and an SQL link.

======

REVIEW

======

With Paradox 3.5 by Borland, database files become Tables, work
spaces become Views, searches become Ask. Once these terms
start making sense the work is quite easy.

It appeared that Paradox wrote answer tables, or queries, to RAM
which could take up large chunks of RAM if it were true. However,
according to Kimberly McGee of Borland, Paradox 3.5 writes the
answer tables to disk, not RAM. She added that any
table, regardless of size, takes only 4K of disk space. Using
VROOMM (Virtual Run-Time Object Oriented Memory Management),
Paradox 3.5 swaps 4K snippets of code in and out of memory to
speed processing and save memory. It works well.

An advantage of the above process is that the answer table, while
temporary, can be named and saved. This forms a viable database
file in its own right. When doing "what-ifs," this can be much
faster than having to go through a massive primary table with
related tables again.

Paradox 3.5 makes relating data from multiple databases, that is
tables, a cinch. It allows the view to be set up from the command
menu and common fields in the secondary tables to be linked. This
is done visually, thus making it easy for a non-programmer to
understand the linking process and get the information in the
desired form in a report.

Paradox 3.5 is pre-set up to import and export from dBASE II, III,
III+, IV; Quattro Pro and Quattro; Reflex; Lotus 1-2-3; Symphony;
pfs:File; VisiCalc [DIF]; and ASCII [text and delimited]. All
field information including the name and type are incorporated in
the new Paradox table formed when importing. The import feature
is limited only to data files; it does not include formulas,
applications, forms or memo fields.

In our workout, the importing process was performed with
ease. A test file was imported from a dBASE III+ .dbf file with 2281
records and 15 fields per record. It was a breeze as we followed
directions. The new Paradox table is lovely. It has to be seen to be
appreciated.

Memo fields, actually the corresponding .dbt files for dBASE
III+, do not import into Paradox. In fact, as far as I can tell
there is no accommodation for memos. The columns, Paradox' word
for fields, can be a maximum length of 255 characters long
however. Assigning a column a sufficient number of characters to
embrace a description or note accomplishes the goal of the memo
field in many databases. This is done without demanding massive
amounts of storage space.

Forget having an extra presentation program for graphic
representation of the database information. Paradox offers an
interactive graphics generator. Sometimes it is easier to make
sense from a graph than numbers. Paradox 3.5 will look at a
cross-tabulated query, then present the graphic depiction of
your choice.

The choice is made among 10 graph styles: line, bar, three-
dimensional bar, rotated bar, area, XY, stacked bar, pie chart,
markers, combined lines and markers. Graphs help make the point
when a visual depiction of the database is needed.

There is even more versatility with the purchase of add-ons for
Paradox 3.5. Paradox's SQL Link, $495, allows a SQL, or
Structured Query Language, server to be searched using Paradox's
QBE, Query By Example, process. Another add-on, MultiPack, is the
same as a LAN pack with a 1-user "count" for a price of $295.
Borland can provide more information related to the add-on
process and its various features.

Although the manuals exhibit the features clearly I highly
recommend picking up a few of the after-market books. Que, Sams,
IDG, Brady, and Windcrest all have after-market titles which
address varying levels of expertise.

Here's a brief overview of what you'll find in the after-market
books. Sams' "The First Book of Paradox 3.5" by Jonathan Kamin
and Windcrest's "Paradox 3.5 for Non-programmers" by Patricia
Hartman are recommended as beginner "how to" books. Both
Windcrest's "Paradox Programming" by Hartman, Prague, and
Hammitt, and Brady's "Understanding and Using Paradox 3.5" by Rob
Krumm, are recommended for intermediate use. For the intermediate
to advanced user Que has in its Special Edition series "Using
Paradox 3.5" by Bruce and Kramer, and IDG Books has PC World
Paradox 3.5 Power Programming Techniques" by Salcedo and Ruby
with an accompanying disk.

Manipulating data can be more than just work; it can be
entertaining. Paradox is one program which makes that a reality.

============

PUMA RATING

============

PERFORMANCE: (4) Paradox is fast, easy, and great at
manipulating data. It builds an answer file before making the
report/print, an extra step not found in some databases. VROOM
keeps the process moving right along.

USEFULNESS: (4) For constructing, manipulating, and reporting on
data in large and multiple databases Paradox 3.5 shines. Street
prices are affordable for small businesses. While it is a great
package for an individual who might have the money, it is
unlikely that it would be fully utilized. Borland's Reflex and
other flat file databases are generally more practical for
individual use.

MANUAL: (4) Six manuals are provided and to fully utilize the
program they are needed. They are titled Introduction, Users
Guide, Personal Programmers Guide, Presenting Data, Paradox
Application Language, and a Network Administrators Guide. The
manuals have been written with typical Borland class. I would
still recommend picking up a few after-market books attuned to
the level of database management desired.

AVAILABILITY: (4) We found Paradox 3.5 can be located at most
major vendors, at competitive prices. CompUSA had it at $489.99,
EggHead Software at $549.99, and CompuADD at $499.00. The Borland
order number is 800-331-0877. They accept Visa, MasterCard, and
American Express charge cards. The technical assistance number is
408-438-5300.

(tbass HNDYPRSN/19920402/Press Contact: Kimberly McGee,
408-438-8400, FAX [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 3 Troubled Times For Indian Mainframe Makers 04/03/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DEL)(00004)

Troubled Times For Indian Mainframe Makers 04/03/92
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1992 APR 3 (NB) -- It's showing on the Indian
mainframe manufacturers. With more and more powerful supermini
and minicomputers nudging the power of the erstwhile mainframes,
open systems seem to be taking roots in the market.

Last month, the government-owned Electronics Corporation of
India Ltd, which had a collaboration with Control Data Corp.
for manufacturing the latter's Cyber series 950, was forced to
wind up its mainframe division in Hyderabad.

After writing off the contract with ECIL, Control Data is
now scouting for an Indian partner to open an export-oriented
software development center, in Hyderabad if not in Bangalore.

This month, it's the turn of PSI Data Systems, an affiliate of
Bull, based in Bangalore. While PSI's top brass have maintained
studied silence, informed sources disclose that its tally of
mainframe sales by the end of March is nowhere near its last
year's performance. With open architecture becoming the rage
in the Indian market as well, and the prime mainframe users,
the government and the public sector, shying away, hard times
have fallen on the vendors.

Ironically though, there is still reason for cheer at PSI. Its
software exports are projected to reach $5 million in the
fiscal year that ended on 31 March, which is twice what it did
last year.

The other and the oldest Indian mainframe maker, International
Computers Indian Manufacture Ltd. (ICIM), an ICL subsidiary, has
not reported any big sales of its Series 39 mainframes, though
its supermini and microcomputer segments continue to yield good
results.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920402)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 3 Citicorp's SW Unit Bags Order For Million Dollar Software 04/03/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEL)(00005)

Citicorp's SW Unit Bags Order For Million Dollar Software 04/03/92
BOMBAY, INDIA, 1992 APR 3 (NB) -- The Bombay-based software
subsidiary of Citibank, Citicorp Overseas Software Ltd. (COSL),
has bagged a contract of over $1 million from Malaysia's Bank
Kerjasama Rakyat Malaysia Bhd. for Finware, its software
package for retail banks and financial service institutions.

Citicorp has launched the software about four months back
and is meant to upgrade the bank-wide technology.

Finware constitutes a set of full-featured modules with
customer information, loans and mortgages, time deposits, savings
and current accounts, teller operations, product marketing and
general ledger. Especially developed for medium to large-sized
banks with a network of multiple branch offices, the software
furnishes on-line, real-time support for transactions and
operations at all levels of the bank.

It has been positively reviewed in Southeast Asia and
marketing activity has already been initiated in Europe.
The company expects an export turnover of about $17 million over
the next five years.

COSL is based in the Santacruz Electronics Export Processing
Zone at Bombay, and has offices at Bangalore, Kuala Lumpur,
Brussels and Parsippany. It has a resource pool of 450
professionals and also undertakes strategic consultancy and
turnkey software development services.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920401)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 3 India: Private E-Mail Network Launched 04/03/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(DEL)(00006)

India: Private E-Mail Network Launched 04/03/92
MADRAS, INDIA, 1992 APR 3 (NB) -- Breaking the monopoly of the public
sector over data communication services, the Madras-based Integrated
Computer Services Pvt. Ltd., promoted by a group of non-resident
Indians, has recently launched a nationwide network, ICNET. With
this, commercial enterprises can send messages around the world.

In India, the e-mail concept is already fast catching up. Large
organizations are creating their own networks using leased lines
from Department of Telecommunications. The company expects a
business of over $87 million from Indian business houses in the
first year alone.

The network covers 26 cities and in the second phase, 15 more
cities will be added. It also has an ambitious target of covering
at least 150 cities by March next year. Technology upgrade plans
include satellite and microwave communication. ICNET charges an
admission fee of $333 and equal amount as annual subscription
fee for software services. It provides e-mail services at 6 cents
per page of 2500 bytes within India for cooperative (delivered
the next day), and independent (on-line transmission) switching
for 20 cents of the same text size. The facility also allows
communication outside India for 50 cents per page of 2500 bytes.

The firm has also introduced Knowledgebase, a knowledge-based
database covering four areas of legal discipline: labor law,
corporate law, taxation law and central excise. It plans to
include areas like medical science, literature, engineering,
international standards, politics, education, sociology,
scientific developments and general knowledge.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920328)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 3 India: TCS Gets $6.6M Contract From UK Insurance Firm 04/03/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEL)(00007)

India: TCS Gets $6.6M Contract From UK Insurance Firm 04/03/92
BOMBAY, INDIA, 1992 APR 3 (NB) -- Tata Consultancy Services
(TCS) earned a $6.6 million software re-engineering exercise
on a variety of insurance applications from the London-based
Sun Life Assurance Society.

The agreement was signed by Peter Grant, chairman, Sun Life and
N.A. Palkhivala, chairman, TCS.

Since 95 percent of this, its largest-ever offsite project,
will be executed in India, and is to be finished within
18 months, the company is striving hard to live up to its name.

The association between Sun Life and TCS started about two years
ago when Sun Life entrusted TCS with a small job in India. "We
originally chose to work with TCS because of their technical skills
and TCS has consistently delivered high quality software on schedule,"
said Peter Grant.

TCS has already been on a major software development and maintenance
project of the London Underground.

In another move, TCS joined twelve other computer companies in
purchasing shares of Unix System Laboratories (USL), Inc. As a result,
the leading Indian software company becomes a part-owner of USL that
develops and licenses the Unix operating system and other
standard-based software to vendors worldwide.

Tata Consultancy Services manages assignments in software
engineering, software applications and management consultancy in
20 countries for over 1000 clients. USL subsidiary Unix System
Laboratories Pacific Ltd. with headquarters in Tokyo has its
field offices in India too.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920401)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 3 AST Ships 120MB Premium Exec Notebooks 04/03/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00008)

AST Ships 120MB Premium Exec Notebooks 04/03/92
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 3 (NB) -- Just two weeks
after shipping the color Premium Exec 386SX/25C notebook for
under $4,000, AST Research has announced availability of 120
megabyte (MB) hard disk drive versions of their Premium Exec
386SX/25 and Premium Exec 386SX/25C notebook computers.

According to Dan Sheppard, director of portable systems: "Users
today demand a large-format hard drive in order to work on a broad
range of business database and graphic-based applications. AST
continues to meet the needs of its customers by providing a 120 MB
version at aggressive prices."

Available immediately, the Premium Exec 386SX/25 120 MB version
retails at $3,795. The company maintains that upgrade kits are
available for users with 20 MB, 40 MB, 60 MB, and 80 MB hard disk
versions who wish to upgrade to 120 MB. The suggested retail price
for the upgrade kit is $1,249.

Newsbytes notes that some of the biggest drawbacks against
notebook computers has been low power, non-color screens, and
small hard drives. However, with the flood of new higher-powered
notebooks offering greater disk capacity than the "standard" 40 MB
drives, many people may begin to consider notebooks as their
primary machines. The continual reduction in cost of color systems
is expected to increase the acceptance of notebooks.

The color Premium Exec 386SX/25C notebook, as reported
previously by Newsbytes, weighs just over seven pounds, is battery
powered with a nine-inch diagonal video graphics array (VGA)
screen offering 640 by 480 pixel resolution, and 16 simultaneous
colors. The screen is based on thin-film supertwist nematic (FSTN)
technology and contains two backlit cold cathode fluorescent tube
(CCFT) panels.

(Ian Stokell/19920403/Press Contact: Lisa Parkhurst, AST Research,
714-727-7961)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 3 Miracle Piano Going To Asia 04/03/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00009)

Miracle Piano Going To Asia 04/03/92
NOVATO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 3 (NB) -- Just five weeks
after posting a net income of $1.3 million on revenue of $40.9 million
for the three-month period ending December 31, 1991, due in no small
part to the company's new Miracle Piano Teaching System, Software
Toolworks has announced an international distribution agreement
with Microcraft Computer and Engineering Private Ltd. in Singapore.

The agreement provides exclusive distribution rights for The
Miracle, as well as other software products, in Singapore, Hong
Kong, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand. According
to the company, it is the largest distribution agreement for The
Miracle in the Far East, and is expected to generate at least $1
million in sales for The Software Toolworks over the next 12 months.

Bob Goldberg, executive vice president and general manager of
The Software Toolworks, said: "We are confident Microcraft will fill
the growing demand for The Miracle in these countries. This
agreement demonstrates that The Miracle is a viable product in
international as well as domestic markets."

The company maintains that Microcraft and its affiliated companies
form an extensive retail and distribution network in Southeast Asia,
with over 100 employees staffing their distribution and retail outlets
in seven countries.

Daniel Goh, managing director of Microcraft, said: "Our experience
in Asia has shown us that the public wants software that entertains
while it educates. The products developed by Software Toolworks
have consistently been among the best in this regard, and we could
not be happier with this alliance."

The Miracle Piano comes with three components: software with
1,000 piano lessons; a 49-key keyboard; and a cable connection
to the user's Macintosh, Commodore Amiga or IBM PC and
compatible personal computers, as well as Nintendo and Super
Nintendo Entertainment Systems.

As reported by Newsbytes in February, the company maintains
that nearly $10 million of the $40.9 revenue reported for the three-
month period ending December 31, 1991, was due to sales of The
Miracle Piano Teaching System. This amounted to 24 percent
of the company's total income. Last year at that time, the company
was reporting a loss of $4.4 million on revenues of $27.5 million.

Just a week ago, Newsbytes also reported that The Software
Toolworks has introduced Microsoft Windows 3.0 versions of
products that it has already offered in the DOS as well as Nintendo
markets. The new titles are The Software Toolworks World Atlas,
The Software Toolworks US Atlas, The Software Toolworks Desk
Reference, Casino Pack, The Chessmaster 3000, and Mavis
Beacon Teaches Typing! version 2.0.

(Ian Stokell/19920403/Press Contact: Doug Mealy, The Software
Toolworks, 415-883-3000 ext 520)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 3 Toshiba Intros Sharper Focus Flat 21-Inch Monitor 04/03/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00010)

Toshiba Intros Sharper Focus Flat 21-Inch Monitor 04/03/92
BUFFALO GROVE, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 3 (NB) -- Toshiba America
CP has introduced a new 21-inch flat square color monitor that
incorporates a special dual parabolic voltage circuitry which the
company says provides sharper focus across the entire surface of
the monitor.

The new monitor, designated the P21CR00, is priced at $3,499.
Toshiba says it replaces the P21CM00, and is currently available
through Toshiba distributors.

The Toshiba announcement for the flat square CRT says the special
circuitry minimizes beam dispersion, glare, and reflections, and
virtually eliminates the visual pattern distortion often found with
curved-screen technology, according to John Koenan, Toshiba America
sales and marketing manager. Koenan said the new technology is
especially effective in creating sharper images in the corners of the
monitor.

The display has a .31 mm dot pitch, and resolution of 1,280 by 1,024
pixels (picture elements), and supports VGA, 8514/A, and Macintosh
II systems. An auto-scanning feature supports horizontal scanning
frequencies of 39 kilohertz (KHz) to 65 KHz and vertical frequencies
of 50 to 90 hertz (Hz). Other features include automatic selection
of one of four preset modes, RGB (red-green-blue) analog input and
sync on green/composite/separate, a tilt-swivel base, and front and
side mounted controls.

Toshiba America CP maintains a toll free number (800-253-5249) to
handle inquiries about its products.

(Jim Mallory/19920403/Press contact: Glynis Gibson, Gibson
Communications for Toshiba America CP, 312-883-2388)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 3 Claris Offers Spring Promotions 04/03/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00011)

Claris Offers Spring Promotions 04/03/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 3 (NB) -- Claris has
unveiled a pair of spring promotions that are intended to cement the
company's reputation as THE software provider for the Macintosh.

The pair of promotions began running on April 1 and are scheduled
to run through July 31 of this year.

The first of the two promotions bundles ClarisWorks with the Now Up
To Date calendar software package from Now Software. The second
bundles FileMaker Pro with the Claris Pro Pack of business templates.
Both promotions work in the same way: by purchasing the primary
software (ClarisWorks and Filemaker Pro) the company throws in the
other package for free. Now Up To Date sells normally for $99 and
Claris Pro Pack retails for $49. With the Filemaker Pro/Claris Pro
Pack promotion, users will also receive a collection of coupons that
entitle them to discounts of up to $300 on other Claris products.

Claris officials have told Newsbytes that they are interested in
making their products be affordable as well as powerful. The string
of promotions that have been announced to date, including the ones
announced at this time, are simply part of that trend which is
expected to continue. The officials were not willing to speculate
on the form of future promotions beyond stating that there are some
"in the works."

(Naor Wallach/19920403/Press Contact: Steve Ruddock, Claris,
408-987-7202; General public number: 408-727-8227)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 3 Nokia Secures Polish Cellular Phone Contract 04/03/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00012)

Nokia Secures Polish Cellular Phone Contract 04/03/92
HELSINKI, FINLAND, 1992 APR 3 (NB) -- Oy Nokia, one of the Nokia
group of companies, has secured a major contract with Polska
Telefonia Komorkowa, a Polish telephone consortium, to supply
cellular phones, exchanges, and base stations.

Terms of the contract call for Oy Nokia to supply approximately
$25 million worth of equipment over the next three years. The
equipment will be used to create Poland's first cellular
telephone network, which is expected to open in July of this
year.

Because of the high cost of the network, subscriptions and usage
of the cellular networks are not expected to be cheap, even by
Western standards. Despite this, Oy Nokia said it expects to sign
up 150,000 subscribers to the system, which will be known as the
Polska Telefonia network.

(Steve Gold/199200403)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 3 New For PC: Quarterdeck To Ship Desqview/X For DOS In UK 04/03/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00013)

New For PC: Quarterdeck To Ship Desqview/X For DOS In UK 04/03/92
CHELMSFORD, ESSEX, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 3 (NB) -- Quarterdeck Office
Systems has announced it is about to begin shipping the long-
awaited DOS version of its Desqview/X X-Windows graphics system in
the UK.

Shipment of the package comes two years after Bill Poel, the
company's UK general manager, announced the product. According to
Poel, the package will be available through Quarterdeck's U.K
distributors -- Frontline, Merisel and Ingram -- in a couple of
weeks.

Poel told Newsbytes that Desqview/X brings powerful workstation
capabilities to stand-alone and networked 386SX and better-
equipped DOS-based PCs. A key feature of the software is its
ability to run both DOS text and Microsoft Windows graphics
programs in small windows or remotely on other Desqview/X or X-
based workstations.

Caroline Edney, national coordinator with the Chelmsford-based
company, said that marketing plans for Desqview/X are now in
hand, with advertisements timed to appear as the product ships to the
distribution channel. "We've been waiting for some time for this.
The software is the first full DOS client/server implementation
of the X-Windows system," she said.

Edney added that the UKP 149 Desqview/X network manager package
for TCP/IP is intended for users who need to integrate the
software with an existing set of applications, while the Open
Look Window Manager version also retails for UKP 149.

The OSF/Motif Windows Manager version retails for UKP 189, with
the full version, which includes QEMM 386, Manifest and the
Desqview/X network manager for Novell Netware and NetBIOS
networks, selling for UKP 199.

Quarterdeck is formally launching Desqview/X at Comdex Spring in
Chicago next week.

The package delay has been an embarrassment to the company, which
claims to have met planned shipment dates for its
previous products. Desqview/X was originally scheduled to ship in
the third quarter of 1990. Quarterdeck officials said in April, 1991,
that the package would ship a year late in the third quarter of last
year.

(Steve Gold/19920403/Press & Public Contact: Quarterdeck U.K. _
Tel: [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 3 Cable Reregulation In Trouble 04/03/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00014)

Cable Reregulation In Trouble 04/03/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 APR 3 (NB) -- A bill to reregulate
the cable TV industry, which has already passed the
Senate, faces big trouble in the House and a potential veto from
President Bush.

Early in the week, Republicans, including New Jersey Congressman
Matthew Rinaldo, were reduced to threatening a veto in their
attempts to amend the bill, but later it became apparent that
some Democrats, carrying the industry's view, were also intent on
watering it down. A vote by the subcommittee of Massachusetts
Democrat Edward J. Markey was put off.

Leading Democrats against the bill, all identified with industry
interests, are Bill Richardson of New Mexico, Ralph M. Hall of
Texas and Thomas J. Manton and James H. Scheuer of New York. If
those four vote against a bill, joining 10 Republicans, it dies.
But they want, in effect, to cut the bill, limiting regulation
to only a few channels, and allowing deals between cable
operators and programmers.

There are still a few hopes left for a strong bill. The broadcast
industry wants the strong "retransmission requirement," which
would let them collect fees for the retransmission of local
channels on cable systems. Markey is a persuasive leader. And the
issue of cable reregulation is popular with voters, who see the
industry as an unregulated monopoly reaping increasingly high
fees for a service from which it also claims advertising revenues
and other rake-offs.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920403)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 3  ****AT&T Rolls-Out Video Chip Set 04/03/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(ATL)(00015)

 ****AT&T Rolls-Out Video Chip Set 04/03/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 APR 3 (NB) -- AT&T has released
a general purpose video chip set it says will put TV pictures
into many conventional appliances, like bank money machines.

The new chip set, which will cost about $400, is at the heart of
a picture telephone AT&T announced with great fanfare recently.
It incorporates a video coder-decoder, or codec, that allows it
to transmit small, color pictures at low frame speeds, over
ordinary phone lines. It was made with video compression
technology from Compression Labs, as well as AT&T's own Bell
Labs.

The new chip will compete head-on with the $2,000 PC Video chip
set from Chips + Technologies, which is aimed at allowing PCs to
become video conferencing terminals and letting users "pop-up"
video windows for instruction or important TV shows.

But AT&T owns NCR, a leading maker of ATM machines, and at a
press conference spokesmen speculated about NCR auto-tellers
using the chip offering direct access to bankers or service
representatives who would answer banking questions and provide
additional services outside regular banking hours through a
direct video hook-up. The importance of the new announcement is
that AT&T will now offer the chip to other companies on an OEM
basis.

The best news, of course, is that AT&T is far from alone in this
market. Compression Labs and a company called Integrated
Information Technology are working on a similar chip set, and so
are Intel and PictureTel, the latter another video conferencing
equipment maker. Analysts speculate the market may not take off
until prices come down, and the existence of multiple vendors is
a first prerequisite for that to happen.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920403)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 3 McCaw, GE Capital In Vehicle Cellular Deal 04/03/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00016)

McCaw, GE Capital In Vehicle Cellular Deal 04/03/92
KIRKLAND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 APR 3 (NB) -- McCaw Cellular
and GE Capital Fleet Services announced a joint marketing
agreement to provide cellular telephone service to corporate car
and truck fleets.

McCaw, through its own operations and affiliates aligned
under the Cellular One mark, is building a nationwide cellular
service umbrella. GE Capital handles financing for many of the
nation's large corporate fleets.

The agreement runs along those lines. GE Capital handles the
financial aspects, McCaw the technical. That means GE Capital
will offer leasing and purchase options, while McCaw will offer
phones and installation, air-time, billing and customer service.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920403)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 3  ****New Internet Rules 04/03/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(WAS)(00017)

 ****New Internet Rules 04/03/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 3 (NB) -- The National Science
Foundation (NSF), sponsor of the NSF-NET backbone of Internet,
has reluctantly released a set of ground rules defining just what
sort of messages can be sent over the network which was
originally intended for use by government and non-profit groups
such as universities. The written rules reflect this original
intention but are opposed by many present non-commercial and
potential commercial users of Internet.

The most important written rules concern what is considered
inappropriate use by the National Science Foundation which pays
for the heart of the system.

Specifically prohibited or at least frowned upon are any messages
sent to further "for profit activities." Another area which
should be carefully monitored is extensive use for personal or
private communications.

New product or service announcements will be encouraged, as well
as all activities directly related to basic research, both
foreign and domestic - this will include professional society
communications and professional development-related activities
(i.e., education).

Mitch Kapor, president of the Electronic Frontier Foundation,
opposes such restrictive rules, pointing out that within a few
years nearly nine percent of the registered Internet users will be
commercial rather than academic.

Surprisingly enough, the NSF agrees with this idea of removing
appropriate use requirements from the NSFNET and has asked
Congress to relax the non-profit use rule so the NSF can remove
the appropriate-use policy which it says restricts important
economies of scale which would be realized if the NSFNET were
opened up to all users.

Of course, as any Internet user knows, those rules about personal
communications are violated on a massive basis every day and
there is no real mechanism in place to discipline those
violators.

(John McCormick/19920403)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 3 ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 04/03/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00018)

ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 04/03/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 3 (NB) -- Roundup is a brief
look at some computer stories carried in other publications
received here this past week.

Government Computer News with the cover date March 16 says that
the EPA will reconsider the Computer Sciences Contract after
seeing the results of an audit which showed very poor agency
management practices.

InformationWeek dated the 30th of March explores IBM's move to
recapture its market share.

Telephony's March 23 issue looks at "building bridges to the
Network of the Future" and includes a Digital Cross-Connect
Special supplement.

April's Data Based Advisor looks at both sides of the OOP issue.

Network World dated the 30th explains IBM's SNA or Systems
Network Architecture strategy for the next decade. The March 23
issue carried a "Guide to Strategic Purchase Decisions - Virtual
Private Networks."

The SoftLetter newsletter dated the 23rd looks at strategies which
will build useful customer databases.

Federal Computer Week for the 30th is the fifth anniversary issue
but concentrates on Sprint and AT&T charges that the FAA's air
traffic control network award to MCI Communications will not meet
the agency's real needs. (Sprint and AT&T were losing bidders.)

Esther Dyson's Release 1.0 dated March 26 looks at another
newsletter, titled "Letter on Post-Industrial Issues," from
Michael Goldhaber. Mr. Goldhaber's theory is that we are in an
emerging "attention" society where money is less motivating to
workers than is the ability to capture and keep their attention.

Computer Reseller News for the 30th says that Apple has decided
to limit VAR ranks to only 450 players.

CommunicationsWeek for this week says that Dun & Bradstreet
Software is moving its software from mainframes to client-
servers.

Systems & Network Integration (formerly Computer Systems News)
dated March 30 has the publication's Annual Integration Survey
and a $50 price tag. Integrators are reportedly moving from word-
of-mouth as a major source of new customers to publishing
newsletters and holding seminars.

Computerworld for the week of the 30th says that United Airlines
has almost completed its move to a client-server strategy.

(John McCormick/19920403)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 3 The Enabled Computer 04/03/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00019)

The Enabled Computer 04/03/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 3 (NB) -- The Enabled Computer
is a regular Newsbytes feature covering news and important
product information relating to high technology aids for the
disabled.

This is the last column listing the regional winners of the
National Search for Computing Applications to Assist Persons with
Disabilities.

As one person said to me, "We see these things promoted and
sometimes hear about the top winner or two, but never seem to
learn who all the other important winners or runners-up were."

Region 8 Awards

1. James Lynds, WesTest Engineering, 1470 North Main St.,
Bountiful, UT 84010. Phone [phone]; fax [phone].
Entry Class: Professional Organization, Category: Movement,
Type: Device. DARCI TOO is connected between a computer's keyboard
connector and a user-selected input device and provides complete,
transparent access to the computer from a joystick or other
device. DARCI TOO lists for $995 and there is also an optional Apple IIe
interface card which costs $150. This product was covered extensively
in an earlier Enabled Computer.

2. Dennis Mountford, Entry Class: Student, Category: Hearing and
Language related, Type: Device. A sound analyzer for the hearing-
impaired that converts sound to light. It displays volume and frequency
of sounds and has a continuous noise detector for smoke alarms, burglar
alarms, alarm clocks, etc. No further information supplied.

3. George Kerscher, Entry Class: Professional Organization,
Category: Vision, Type: Software. Reading for the Blind has developed
a protocol for the production of computerizing books from publishers'
source files. No further information supplied.

4. Marlo Schuldt, Entry Class: Professional Organization, Category:
Movement, Type: Device. A small, easy-to-use, portable, inexpensive
electromyography device which measures minimal muscle movement of
multiply handicapped individuals to provide computer control.
No address given.

5. Kelli Foster, Entry Class: Private Professional, Category: Learning
Disabilities, Type: Software. Daisy Quest is an interactive software
program designed to evaluate and train phonological awareness skills.
No further information supplied.

Region 9 Awards

1. Arjan Khalsa, Unicorn Engineering, 5221 Central Ave. Suite
205, Richmond, CA 94804, Entry Class: Professional Organization,
Category: Combination, Type: Device. Title: Unicorn Smart Keyboard.
The Unicorn Smart Keyboard is a flexible alternative to standard
Mac and PC computer keyboards that uses a membrane keyboard
comprised of 576 small keys that can be grouped to form larger,
custom keys. The Unicorn Smart Keyboard works with IBM/MS-DOS,
Macintosh, and Apple computers. Extensive coverage was given to this
first place winner in an earlier Enabled Computer and in Newsbytes
news reports at the time of the judging.

2. Vera Saliba-Pruznick, Entry Class: Student, Category: Vision,
Type: Software. Braille tutor program teaches Braille to blind and
sighted individuals. BT runs on IBM PCs and uses six of the home
row keys as Braille dots 1 through 6. No further information supplied.

3. Lane Hauck, 5346 Bragg St, San Diego, CA 92122. Fax 619-453-
4648, Entry Class: Private Professional, Category: Movement,
Type: Device. A compact, portable, and inexpensive display device
that allows non-verbal users to communicate using Morse code by means of a
single switch. This is a simple, rugged, but very practical device which
incorporates a fool-proof system for using Morse code. Mr. Hauck
builds and sells these devices from his home at very reasonable prices.

4. Sandra Hutchins, InterActive Learning Materials, 150 Croton
Lake Rd., Katonah, NY 10536. Phone [phone] or 914-232-4682.
Entry Class: Professional Organization, Category: Hearing and
Language related, Type: Software. Write This Way is word processing
software for Macintosh computers that checks for spelling and
grammatical mistakes common to learning-disabled students.
This was a mistake; the actual entry was Say and See, a $3,500
Macintosh professional program for use by speech specialists. The
original program listing is another product from the same
developer.

5. Elizabeth Macken, Center for the Study of Language and
Information, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94035.
Entry Class: Professional Organization, Category: Hearing and
Language related, Type: Device. TeleSign is a natural language
telecommunication system for deaf and other speakers of a sign
language (such as ASL). It operates on a 32-bit portable computer
system with standard modem communication capabilities and uses an
instrumented glove worn on the dominant hand of each signer. The glove
measures the position and motion of the fingers.

Region 10 Awards

1. Paul Jubinski, 7118 Wright Ave. SW, Seattle, WA 98136.
Entry Class: Private Professional, Category: Vision, Type: Paper
(proposal). A virtual tactile display that provides an affordable
means for a blind person to run and interact with publicly released
industry-standard software for the IBM PC/XT/AT compatible
computer. The design requires no modifications to the computer or
to the software being run. Although he listed it as a paper proposal,
Jubinski demonstrated a rough but working device at The Smithsonian.

2. Chris McCanna, McCanna & Olrech Software Company, 1040 Hoyt
St. SE, Salem, OR 97302. Phone [phone], Entry Class: Student
Category: Learning Disabilities, Type: Software. Medicine Manager
is a TSR reminder program designed for people who need to take
prescribed medicine but who have problems remembering to take it
on a regular basis. Chris and his partner, Rama Olrech, are high
school students, but they have a viable software product which they
are selling.

3. Omitted for lack of information.

4. Gary Carnemolla, Entry Class: Amateur, Category: Vision, Type:
Software. The Braille Emulator is a Braille word processor with 30-plus
useful utilities to choose from. There are three primary modes of
input: 6-key; direct (ASCII-Braille equivalents); and auto-translation.
No further information supplied.

Portions of the above descriptions are excerpted from the
original entry documentation.

(John McCormick/19920403)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 3 New For PC: Postsaver Generates Bar Codes 04/03/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00020)

New For PC: Postsaver Generates Bar Codes 04/03/92
ROCHESTER HILLS, MICHIGAN, U.S.A., 1992 APR 3 (NB) -- Postsaver
Systems has released Bar-Lite, a program which uses the addresses in
your existing accounting, database or word processing programs to
automatically place bar codes on labels or envelopes.

Bar-Lite is a TSR (terminate and stay resident) program that uses
the zip codes in your existing files to generate the bar codes. The
program will work with Wordperfect, dBASE, Rbase, Paradox, or
invoices from Open Systems and other accounting programs to print on
dot matrix or laser printers.

Postsaver says that a selective feature allows the user to specify
up to five specific ZIP codes to use. A manual mode provides for
placement of the bar code anywhere, but that requires a special
character be inserted with the zip data. The default for placement
is above the address block and for all addresses being
printed. The size of the bar code can be controlled by selecting
either 10 or 12 characters-per-inch (CPI).

According to Postsaver, bar coded mail is eligible for lower postal
rates, and gets your mail delivered more quickly. The US Postal
Service hopes to have all business mail bar coded by 1995.

Bar-Lite has a suggested list price of $99, and runs on any
IBM-compatible or PS/2 machine.

(Jim Mallory/1920403/Press contact: Sally Smith, Smith & Associates
for Postsaver, 513-438-1133,FAX [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 3 Supercomputers Used to Study Aging 04/03/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DEN)(00021)

Supercomputers Used to Study Aging 04/03/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 3 (NB) -- Almost all of us want to
live longer, and some scientists are using supercomputers to study
why some animals, insects, and people live longer than others.

Those studies could reveal clues as to how to extend our lives.
Scientists at the University of Texas believe mathematics may at
least lead them to the first step in understanding the mystery
surrounding the aging process. They think the clue may be available
in the mathematical charting of exactly who is living to a certain
age, and under what conditions.

Heading the study is Dr. Matthew Witten, associate director of the
Center for High Performance Computing. Dr. Witten is an expert in
theoretical gerontology, or the mathematical modeling of aging.

"The idea is to write down equations to describe how you age," said
Witten. He's in the process of completing a book titled "Aging by
the Numbers," to be published by the Johns Hopkins University Press.
According to Witten, a study of what happens at different cellular,
organ, demographic and species levels and the factors that affect
each as time passes could provide information that doesn't exist in
more conventional forms of biology.

According to Witten, dietary change is the only known factor that
extends life span in lower animals, and it's reasonable that dietary
changes could possibly extend the life of humans. Some doctors have
been telling their patients that for years.

Unfortunately, little hard evidence exists to show exactly how a
change in diet might increase a person's life span and why. While
its easy to keep laboratory animals in a tightly controlled
environment, that's impractical for humans and higher level animals.

"You couldn't even do it with monkeys, because it would take 50
years to get the data," said Witten. Researchers say they can only
perform the experiment on rats and mice and hope the results can be
extended.

Witten told the United Press that he has been working on aging
issues for 20 years. He holds a doctorate in biophysics-theoretical
biology and medicine, and says he has spent his professional career
in computational biology.

"About 10 years ago I started asking the question 'Why.' To get
answers, I needed a database of survival rates to test on real
populations," Witten said. His studies have resulted in one of the
largest collections of information in existence on the aging of
human and animal populations.

(Jim Mallory/19920403)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 3 Landsat Data Now Available on Exabyte Cartridge 04/03/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00022)

Landsat Data Now Available on Exabyte Cartridge 04/03/92
BOULDER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 APR 3 (NB) -- Exabyte Corporation
has announced that EOSAT's Landsat satellite image data is now
available on Exabyte 8mm data cartridges.

Landsat data is used in oil and gas research, mineral exploration,
crop forecasting, mapping, environmental monitoring, forest
management, land-use change detection, and regional planning.

EOSAT is a joint venture of General Electric Company and Hughes
Aircraft Company, and is used by government agencies, foreign
governments, research organizations and private businesses in the
land management and natural resource fields.

EOSAT is headquartered in Lanham, Maryland, and operates the US
Landsat remote-sensing satellite and is the worldwide marketer of
Landsat data. The satellites used to collect the data have
electro-optical sensors that measure the reflected energy from the
Earth's surface, and record that energy in six discrete
electro-magnetic bands. The bands range from the visible to the
mid-infrared portion of the light spectrum. They also measure
emitted thermal energy.

The next satellite, Landsat 6, is expected to be launched by NOAA
(National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration) in January
of next year, according to Exabyte. Landsat 6 plans call for the
new satellite to include an enhanced thematic mapper that will add
an additional panchromatic (sensitivity to all colors in the visible
light bands) band to increase resolution of the images.

According to the Exabyte announcement, availability of the data on
its 8mm cartridges will make the data more readily available to
scientists using desktop computers.

(Jim Mallory/19920403/Press contact: Susan Solomonson, Exabyte,
303-447-7434)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 3 Indian Fishermen To Benefit From Satellite Data 04/03/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DEL)(00023)

Indian Fishermen To Benefit From Satellite Data 04/03/92
MADRAS, INDIA, 1992 APR 3 (NB) -- Fishermen will soon join the
bandwagon of those singing praises of computers if all goes well with
the scheme for setting up fax systems at all landing centres bordering
along the 7,000-kilometer coastline of India.

The set-up predicts fish catches through satellite-derived data
and helps to bait bigger schools of fish by identifying potential
fishing zones and faxing the information with maps to the fishermen's
association twice a week.

The system, developed by the National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA),
is to be installed by NRSA and India's Department of Ocean Development.
The service, for which $3 million has been spent, is already
functional at some places along the Coromandal coast in southern
India.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920326)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 3 New For Networks: ASP Adds Jetlan Print Server 04/03/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00024)

New For Networks: ASP Adds Jetlan Print Server 04/03/92
SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 3 (NB) -- ASP Computer
is expanding its line of Netware-ready print servers with the
addition of the JetLAN/P family.

The JetLAN/P are actually two models. The JLP100 has a BNC connector
on the network end and supports thin wire (10Base-2) wiring, and
the JLP200 has an RJ45 connector for supporting 10Base-T wiring
across phone lines.

Both units operate in the same manner. On the one side they have the
network connector, on the other is a standard parallel port
connector. The JetLAN/p resides on the network and appears to the
network as a full fledged print server. When a print job is issued
to the queue that is served by that JetLAN, it accepts packets of
information at a time and forwards it to the printer. The printer
thinks that it is hooked up directly to a PC and does not need to
be configured specially for network operation.

The JetLAN/P supports any printer that has a standard Centronics
parallel port connector. Even older printers like the Epson MX-80
and MX-100 can now be used on the network.

The JetLAN/p comes configured for operation as a Novell Netware
print server and it is installed in the network using Novell's
standard PConsole commands. There is no need for any Netware
Loadable Module (NLM) or Value Added Process (VAP) to be purchased.
The JetLAN/p will support up to 40 print queues from up to eight
file servers.

The JLP100 and the JLP200 share the same retail price. It is $595.
Both products are expected to begin shipping in the middle of May.

(Naor Wallach/19920403/Press Contact: Leslie Drohan, ASP Computer
Products, 408-746-2965 Extension 438)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 3 Casady and Greene Ships New Fonts, Game 04/03/92

(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00025)

Casady and Greene Ships New Fonts, Game 04/03/92
SALINAS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 3 (NB) -- Casady and Greene has
started shipment of two new products.

Fluent Laser Fonts, Glasnost Cyrillic Library is a library of
fonts for either the Macintosh (in Postscript or TrueType formats)
or MS-DOS machines (in Postscript or Adobe Type Manager formats).
There are 21 different fonts that include Bodoni, Garamond,
Glasnost, Murmansk, Odessa, Svoboda, and Vremya. The fonts
support the international Russian keyboard which includes
Bulgarian, Byelorussian, Macedonian, Moldavian, Serbian,
and Ukrainian.

The other product is a role playing game. This game is called
Mission: Thunderbolt and features a story line in which you are
one of the lone human survivors of a nuclear holocaust fighting to
help the other remnants of humanity survive against the aliens that
are in the process of taking over the world.

The Cyrillic font library retails for $200 while Mission:
Thunderbolt retails for $59.95.

(Naor Wallach/19920403/Press Contact: Judith Frey, Casady & Greene,
408-484-9228)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 3 Review of: Book "Stupid PC Tricks," 04/03/92


(REVIEW)(IBM)(SYD)(00026)

Review of: Book "Stupid PC Tricks," 04/03/92

Runs on: Bedside tables, international flights and rainy
afternoons.

From: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Route 128, Reading,
Massachusetts 01867

Price: US$19.95

PUMA Rating: 2.5 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Paul Zucker

Summary: A book and disk of PC prank and novelty programs,
many of which are designed to scare the wits out of other
PC users. (Also available is Stupid Mac Tricks).

======

REVIEW

======

Stupid PC Tricks (7 insanely great programs to make your PC
more fun) by LeVitus and Tittel, comes with a 5 1/4" disk of 17
programs, and is more of a novelty collection than just practical
jokes. Many of the programs are available on bulletin boards, so
you don't have to buy the book to have a play. The book not only
explains how the programs work, but gives the budding
trickster some hints on how to modify Autoexec.bat files,
and set up machines to trap the unwary. There's even a
chapter showing how TSRs work (presumably so you can manage
some of the tricks) and a 10-page glossary of PC terms.

Some of the programs are:

BUGLE.EXE. This is a collection of 20 bugle calls that can be played
from a menu, or directly from the command line. The books
suggests you run one from the PC start-up batch file, to set
the tone for the day's work.

FOOL.EXE. A TSR that randomly answers DOS commands with a silly
phrase. You set it with a percentage which dictates how
often it will be triggered. For the cautious, a 1% setting
will answer (on average) a DOS command with a random choice
from a file called FOOLISH. You can even specify up to
three programs that it will never allow to work, and will
always give a spurious response. It comes with a list of
phrases like "I hate people who type with dirty
fingernails!" though, of course, you can use your own.

MUTANT.EXE. A couple of minutes after running this TSR, it starts to
make sounds - strange sounds. Some liken them to wild
beasts trying to get out of the back of the computer. The
only cure is to reboot the machine.

TRIP.EXE. When applications run in text mode, Trip can cause the
most baffling effects. It works by randomly choosing a
character, and changing its colour everywhere it occurs on
the screen. On mono displays, it sometime makes the chosen
character blink or go faint or disappear.

ADULATE.EXE. By using a file of compliments (as toadying as you like)
Adulate produces one or more randomly constructed
adulations for the recipient. If you're feeling lonely or
unloved, set it up just for yourself, and have you PC
remind you through the day just how wonderful you really
are. You can include the name of the recipient so it seems
just that much more sincere, too.

PARASCAN.EXE. Boy, is this a weird one! It pretends to be a virus
detector and eradicator. Run it and it gives a fast-running
dialogue. It starts slowly, saying it's on the job. Then it
says it suspects a virus, and describes the (randomly
chosen) beasty. It then tells you it's going into battle
and the fight is on. The screen fills with a graphic, gory
battle description, which sometimes ends in victory,
sometimes ..... not. Good fun, this one.

BUGRES.EXE. This is an effective, but harmless trick. When you load
this TSR by pressing Ctrl-B, it hangs around and after a
while it starts to 'eat up' a screen with randomly
generated 'bugs.' Press any key and the screen goes back to
normal. One side effect is that you can use it as a screen
saver.

SAYINGS.EXE. Displays a randomly chosen thought for the day in a
box on screen, until any key is pressed. Just think of the
inspirational messages you could leave on the machines
around you office.

ANNOY.EXE. This is a good one. It sits between you and DOS, and looks
for any DOS command it's been programmed to detect. When it
sees it, it says you can't proceed without the right
password (but it accepts any word). It even comments on
your need to use the command, and suggests things like
"Hey, you're going to wear out the DIR command if you use
it too much." It recognizes swear words, and sends the user
off on a wild goose chase if they use one.

OTHERS: In addition, there are some graphics programs that do
things like draw Mandelbrot sets, or simulate Spirographs
and so on. There are also more tune-playing and comment
programs. Is the book worth the money? Probably not, but
only you know how much you need a good PC trick.

===========

PUMA RATING

===========

PERFORMANCE: 2. Some programs are good and some are
downright bad.

USEFULNESS: 2. Not reallly what you'd call a productivity
tool. But if you're looking for a laugh, this is it.

MANUAL: 2. A good exercise in how to make a 300-word readme
file expand to become an entire chapter in a $20 book.

AVAILABILITY: 4. Can't argue with a book you can find in
most book shops.

(Paul Zucker/19920403)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 3  ****New Xerox Product Aims To Clean Up Windows 04/03/92

(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00027)

 ****New Xerox Product Aims To Clean Up Windows 04/03/92
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 3 (NB) -- Xsoft, a
division of Xerox, says it has developed a software program
it calls Rooms for Windows, to simplify the Windows graphical user
interface (GUI) and prevent a problem the company calls "windows
thrashing."

The metaphor of rooms, like rooms in a house, is used so all the
applications and data for a particular task, client, or project is in
each "room." The rooms on screen in what Xsoft calls the "Suite
Overview" look very much like looking down into a house with each set
of tools separated by "walls." Xsoft says this is the way people work,
on projects and tasks, not just in one application or another.

The problem comes in when users try to work the way they're accustomed
to, like they would if everything was spread out on the dining room
table or a desktop, Xsoft maintains. A nagging problem in window-based
interfaces in general is displaying more than a few windows at once is
not possible, Xsoft said. This leads to the problem that once a few
windows are open, most of the icons, windows, and applications are
covered. Xsoft says in the current windows environment the user can
end up struggling, trying to switch from one window to the next,
facing awkwardness and difficulties in using multiple applications at
the same time. These difficulties are what Xsoft calls "window
thrashing."

To get away from the problem of "window thrashing," Xsoft says Rooms
for Windows offers the user "rooms" to allow for several "desktops"
with each one as large as the monitor. Each Room has all the tools
necessary for work for a single client, project, or task. When the
user quits for the day, Rooms for Windows "remembers" where everything
was and automatically recreates the work environment when the user
returns, Xsoft said.

However, this approach causes multiple copies of a single document or
object in several rooms. Xsoft says it thought of that as well and an
object can be set up by the user so a change made in one room will
affect all the copies in other rooms. If a user needs a single tool in
each room, placement of that tool in a special Overlay room
automatically makes the tool appear in every room.

Moving from a set of tasks to another, like moving from a document in
process to the calendar and contact database when the telephone rings
is also simpler. Carey Welsh, marketing support representative for
Xsoft told Newsbytes that "doors" can be set up by the user for
quick passage from one room to another. Doors can be set up to
move quickly between applications already running and open so quick
access to needed materials is available to the user who has to deal
with several tasks at once.

A basic door available in all the rooms, called the back door,
allows the user to go out of the "room" into whatever was being
done before the current room was entered, Welsh added.

Users can set up their work environment as they go and multiple users
on the same computer can set up a suite for each individual with just
the rooms that individual works with, Welsh maintains.

Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) has quite a reputation
industry wide for innovation. It was here that the first graphical
user interfaces were developed in the 1970s. Some industry observers
say Apple's suit over Microsoft Windows is really based on concepts
developed first at Xerox PARC, not by Apple. Stuart Card, one of the
developers on GUIs in the '70s, and Auston Henderson developed Rooms
for Windows, Welsh said.

Xerox says innovation at PARC is fostered because nearly half the
staff working on new concepts are not from computer backgrounds, but
are instead psychologists, social sociologists, physicists, linguists,
and anthropologists who are focused on the way people work, not on the
way computers work. Welsh said years of research into the way people
work went into the Rooms for Windows products. Welsh told Newsbytes
many other ideas, such as virtual windows, that looked promising were
discarded because the research at PARC showed they were not effective.

Xsoft says Rooms for Windows will be available from retailers in the
second quarter of this year. The product requires a minimum of a 286
IBM or compatible personal computer (PC) with Microsoft Windows 3.0 or
3.1 and at least 2 megabytes of random access memory (RAM). However, a
386 PC running Windows in enhanced mode is recommended, the company
said. Retail pricing has been set at $99.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920402/Press Contact: Carey Welsh, Xsoft, tel 415-
813-7268, fax [phone]; Giselle Bisson, Copthorne & Bellows for
Xsoft, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 3 Emulex Says Its Rewritable Optical Drive Is Cheapest 04/03/92


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LAX)(00028)

Emulex Says Its Rewritable Optical Drive Is Cheapest 04/03/92
COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 3 (NB) -- Emulex has
announced its Palomar family of rewritable optical storage systems
which the company says are designed to offer a faster alternative to
tape back-up and storage on large systems at a lower cost per megabyte.

Emulex says it offers turn-key optical storage in sizes from 15 to 85
gigabytes (GB) for small computer systems interface (SCSI), Q-Bus,
Unibus, and HSC interface-based VAX systems or clusters. Full systems
come with a host adapter, optical jukebox, and jukebox management
software, Emulex said.

Teri Blackledge, director of product marketing for Emulex, added that
the Palomar system eliminates the need to patch device drivers and
accept data stored in non-standard formats. The Palomar is the only
rewritable system that offers the user of both file system standards
and native VMS device drivers. "The system will plug-and-play with VAX
systems or clusters and will write data that's interchangeable with
DEC's WZ104 rewritable drive," stated Blackledge.

In the storage of such a large amount of data the file and volume
management becomes more important. Emulex says it handles those
issues with its Lasermaster product, which includes operator
utilities, catalog functions, and a database containing all the file
and volume information. Lasermaster has a graphical user interface
(GUI) that can be used on character-based terminals or workstations,
the company added.

Laseraccess, a utility for backup and random access file restoration
from the optical discs and is also available from Emulex. The company
says the product has caching techniques incorporated into it that
allow the copy of data to the optical discs to be three to five times
faster than the VMS backup. Also, access for restoration, which could
take from minutes to hours with the VMS file restores, can now be
accomplished instantly with the random access provided by Laseraccess,
Emulex maintains.

Emulex says prices start at $57,385 for 15 GB jukeboxes and go to
$205,000 for the 85 GB jukeboxes. More information is available from
Emulex at 3545 Harbor Blvd., P.O. Box 6725, Costa Mesa, CA 92626, or
by calling 800-854-7112.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920403/Press Contact: Shari Pierce, Emulex, tel
714-668-5499, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 3 AST Makes The Fortune 500 04/03/92

(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00029)

AST Makes The Fortune 500 04/03/92
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 3 (NB) -- AST Research
says it has been named in the Fortune 500. The company says
it was ranked 431st in Fortune Magazine's top 500 industrial
companies listed in the April, 1992 issue.

AST says this is the first time it has been named to the
Fortune 500 and is the first high computer manufacturer to
be added to the list since the addition of Compaq Computer
in 1986. AST is one of two Southern California companies to
make the 500 this year, despite depressed economic
conditions in the area. The other company is Amegn, a
pharmaceutical and medical supply company headquartered in
Newbury Park, California.

Fortune magazine bases its top 500 list on 1991 sales. AST
says its sales were at $688.5 million in 1991, with a 29
percent gain over its 1990 figures. However, the company
said its net earnings increased 84 percent in 1991.

AST credits investments in research and development and a
broad-based distribution policy with its inclusion in the
Fortune 500. The company has made some different moves in
distribution, like opening a distribution center in Mexico
for the South American market and offering its products in
mass-market channels. AST also says it was the first to
offer a color notebook computer for less than $4,000.

The company says it is represented in 100 countries and
operates 34 subsidiaries and sales offices throughout the
world.
(Linda Rohrbough/19920403/Press Contact: Emory Epperson, AST
Research, tel [phone], fax [phone]/general public no:
800-876-4278)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 3 New Focus For Federal Computer Conference 04/03/92

(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00030)

New Focus For Federal Computer Conference 04/03/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 3 (NB) -- This year's December
8-10 Federal Computer Conference will emphasize total computing
systems for professionals, according to National Trade
Productions, the new owners of the FCC. The FCC will continue to
be held at the Washington Convention Center and will include
OpenNet'92.

The FCC is intended to provide federal government managers with
an overview of practical solutions to government information
processing problems. This year's conference will focus on large
scale systems, massively parallel systems, fault tolerance,
security, super computers, CAD/CAM graphics, and desktop systems
all integrated into enterprise-wide solutions.

There will be a special focus on ways to implement the NIST
(National Institute of Standards and Technology) Application
Portability Profile and Department of Defense's Corporate
Information Management Technical Reference Model guidelines.

National Trade Productions, which also sponsors the just-
completed FOSE, or Federal Office Systems Expo, and Fed Micro,
will also sponsor a new Federal Imaging show, which will be held
in alliance with the Association of Information and Image
Management on November 9 and 10.

For further information contact: NTP, 313 S. Patrick St.,
Alexandria, VA 22314. Phone [phone], or fax
703-683-4486.

(John McCormick/19920403/Press Contact: Pam Nazaruk, NTP, 800-
863-8510 or 703-683-8500)



#ENDCARD






#CARD :1992 APR 2 Lasermaster, Lexmark Sign Licensing Agreement 04/02/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00001)

Lasermaster, Lexmark Sign Licensing Agreement 04/02/92
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 2 (NB) --
Lasermaster Technologies has announced that it has signed
an agreement licensing its printing technologies to Lexmark
International. Under terms of the agreement Lasermaster will
provide key components of its proprietary technology.

Lexmark is a supplier of desktop laser printers worldwide, and
its IBM Laserprinter 4029 was recently awarded PC Magazine's
Technical Excellence Award.

Lexmark was formed one year ago through the sale of IBM's
Information Products Division, including IBM's desktop laser
printer products.

According to Mel Masters, Laseermaster CEO, the alliance will,
"provide a valuable complement to the revenues generated from
our own high-end Turbores typesetting division and the increasing
sales momentum currently being generated by our startup WinPrint
products division."

A Lasermaster spokesperson told Newsbytes the company had
not prepared any income projections based on the agreement, but
said the agreement "is significant in terms of what Lexmark can do
for us."

Masters indicated that the agreement encompasses both current
technologies and future development projects planned by
Lasermaster.

Turbores, introduced late in 1991, is designed to provide higher
resolution printing and typesetting capability on plain paper, with
output resolutions the company says are from 400 dots-per-inch to
1200 by 800 resolution. Without enhancement, most laser printers
produce 300 dpi resolution.

Lasermaster also produces Automatic Font Management, which
the company claims takes the place of Postscript font management,
and when combined with Lasermasters Enhanced Postscript
interpreter, provides faster Postscript printing. Another product,
Enhanced Trueimage is an interpreter designed to ensure that the
automatic font management products are fully compatible with the
Postscript page description language and with Postscript type 1
and 3 font formats.

(Jim Mallory/19920402/Press Contact: Karen Neset, Lasermaster
Technologies, 612-941-8687)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 2 Vienna Software Offers Integrated Software For OS/2 2.0 04/02/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00002)

Vienna Software Offers Integrated Software For OS/2 2.0 04/02/92
BOCA RATON, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 2 (NB) -- With IBM's
OS/2 release 2.0 just hitting the streets, a Florida company
could be positioned to have a hit on its hands.

Just a few days before OS/2 2.0 was released, Vienna Software
Publishing announced N/Joy. The company describes N/Joy as
an "integrated business solution" based on an object-oriented
"office/room" metaphor, which allows users to produce compound
documents and share them on networks.

Vienna says N/Joy is written to take advantage of OS/2's
Workplace Shell, and can be used with IBM's Extended Services
database and communications modules when it is released.

N/Joy includes the basics needed to operate an office or a
business and features: spreadsheet; word processing; graphics,
 with an integrated data base manager; and LAN (local area
network) manager functions.

The user sets up an "office" with the objects required for the
user applications. Each object and its functions are then activated
by clicking on the object with a mouse. Compound documents can
then be produced, which are stored in "rooms." Rooms can be set
up locally or on the network, and designated as private or shared.

According to Vienna President, Peter Mayer, N/Joy is already
receiving strong acceptance in Europe. "We expect a strong
response in the US, as the benefits of its object orientation, namely
intuitive ease-of-use and true integration, becomes apparent," said
Mayer.

The current version of N/Joy is being shown at Spring Comdex in
Chicago beginning next week. Mayer said a 32-bit version is
planned for release in September.

N/Joy's external interface can move data to and from the OS/2
clipboard. Files can be imported and exported to and from .WK1,
.DIF, .RTF, and ASCII formats. The spreadsheet has "hot link"
capability with data in text and/or graphic areas, and provides
mathematical, financial, and logical functions. Formulas can be
entered via a calculator object, and financial functions can be
based on either periods or actual dates.

The "business graphics" object has hot links in both directions,
meaning that if the graph is updated, so is the spreadsheet, or
vice versa. Graphs can be displayed in three dimensions, and
regression plotting is also available.

Vienna Software says pictures or drawings in the OS/2 bitmap format
can be included in any documents using the bitmap area. The
bitmaps are scaled automatically to the current area size. The
bitmaps are held in separate files external to the N/Joy database.

Document formatting allows areas to be repeated on each page,
with  or without their contents, such as page headers and footers.
Bitmaps can be part of a page header, and text areas can be set to
flow to the next area, and even create a new page automatically.
Documents can be predefined and converted to stylesheets by
activating the typesetter object.

To use N/Joy, you will need a 386-based machine or better,
OS/2 2.0, six megabytes (MB) of RAM, and 10MB of free space on
the hard drive for the program software. N/Joy has a suggested
list price of $695.

For more information about N/Joy contact Vienna Software
Publishing at 407-392-7724.

(Jim Mallory/19920402/Press Contact: Al Killinger, Vienna
Software Publishing, 407-392-7724)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 2 In Focus, Proxima Resolve Patent Suit 04/02/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEN)(00003)

In Focus, Proxima Resolve Patent Suit 04/02/92
TUALATIN, OREGON, U.S.A., 1992 APR 2 (NB) -- In Focus Systems
says it has settled its patent suit with Proxima Corporation.

The suit, originally filed by In Focus nearly two years ago, sought
to recover damages from Proxima for infringement of a color display
system patent held by In Focus. Proxima denied infringement and
filed counterclaims alleging that the patent was invalid. Proxima
also alleged unfair competition and violation of the federal antitrust
laws.

According to a joint announcement, each company has granted the
other a nonexclusive license under certain of their respective color
display technology patents. The two companies said they have
agreed to keep all other terms of the settlement confidential.

Douglas Robertson, corporate counsel for In Focus, told Newsbytes
that the allegations by Proxima were general in nature. As part of
the discovery process inherent in lawsuits, Robertson said Proxima
indicated they would provide details later.

The suit revolved around a stack panel display product, Versacolor,
manufactured and marketed by In Focus. The stack panel uses three
stacked LCDs (liquid crystal displays) in a subtractive technology to
manufacture a flat panel display. Robertson said that when Proxima
introduced its stack panel display, In Focus learned that they were
obtaining components from the same supplier In Focus used. The
supplier was not named in the suit.

Robertson said Versacolor is now being phased out.

(Jim Mallory/19920402/Press Contact: Douglas Robertson, In Focus
Systems, 503-692-4968)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 2 Generation 5 Names New Chief Executive Officer 04/02/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00004)

Generation 5 Names New Chief Executive Officer 04/02/92
DENVER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 APR 2 (NB) -- Geographic
information systems developer,Generation 5, has announced the
appointment of a new chief executive officer.

Charles M. Powell, a director of Generation 5 since 1988, has
been appointed to the CEO position, replacing David Baraniak.
Newsbytes learned that Baraniak is now working in the company's
Wisconsin office.

Powell recently left J.D. Edwards and Company, where he served
as director of International Operations and director of Amerasian
Operations.

According to the Generation 5 announcement, Powell started his
career as a certified public accountant with Price Waterhouse & Co,
and later held management positions at Storage Technology and
Columbine Systems.

Powell said his first priorities will be to secure additional
financing and resolve the ongoing legal dispute with Software
Support Limited. The company also announced that it has signed
a letter of intent with a regional investment banking firm to initiate
a second public offering of shares of common stock and common
stock purchase warrants to raise approximately $2.5 million in
gross proceeds.

The company said the dispute over software and royalties with
Software Support of Canada (SSC) has recently escalated to a
lawsuit and countersuit. The dispute centers around the royalty
obligations of the two parties, as well as the ownership and
associated license and distribution rights to Generation 5's primary
software product. Generation 5 said SSC has asked for substantial
monetary damages as well as injunctive relief.

Generation 5 markets automated mapping, geographic
inormation systems, and facilities management software systems.
Its geographic information systems software runs on desktop 386-
and 486-based PS/2s and Unix workstations.

(Jim Mallory/19920402/Press Contact: Rick Garfield, Generation
5 Technology, 303-427-0055)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 2  ****Japan: Toshiba Develops Laptop Supercomputer Board 04/02/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00005)

 ****Japan: Toshiba Develops Laptop Supercomputer Board 04/02/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 2 (NB) -- Toshiba has developed a
computer board that the company claims turns a laptop computer
into a supercomputer. It is still in the prototype stage, but is said
to be a sizeable step towards the realization of a laptop
supercomputer.

Toshiba has already tested this board connecting with its J-3100
laptop computer, which is a Japanese version of the company's
T-3100.

The structure of this supercomputer board is said to be simple.
It consists of a digital signal processor, an 8-bit SRAM (static
random access memory) and a ROM (read-only memory).

The major innovation of the board is said to be Toshiba's new
original algorithm called "progressive multiplication." According
to Toshiba, the new board does not have to repeat the algebraic
equation hundreds of times under this new algorithm. It uses a
secret special method to avoid using algebraic equation.

The supercomputer board needs to be improved further however.
Toshiba is making sub-units of the board to enable parallel
processing. Also, the firm will produce an ASIC (application specific
integrated circuit) chip to simulate calculation. With these sub-units
and the IC chip, the board can process a calculation at 6.1
millisecond. This is said to be even faster than most existing
supercomputers.

The supercomputer board can be used for industry calculation
and the simulation to develop top-of-the-line electronics devices.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920402/Press Contact: Toshiba,
[phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 2 GTE Mobilnet Adds Octel Voice Mail Features In N. California 04/02/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(WAS)(00006)

GTE Mobilnet Adds Octel Voice Mail Features In N. California 04/02/92
PLEASANTON, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 2 (NB) -- A new
version of the Octel Voice Mail messaging system has been installed
for use of GTE Mobilnet cellular service customers. Offering the new
Mailshare feature provided by the Octel Voice Mail system, two
different GTE Mobilenet cellular numbers can share a single voice
mailbox.

The feature is intended for families where two members have
cellular service, or for individuals who may have both a car and
a "briefcase" number. GTE Mobilnet will only charge customers
for airtime when messages are being deposited.

The send-only message charge scheme means that users can
check a mailbox as often as desired to see if important messages
have arrived but without incurring any cost.

For the next 60 days customers can try out the system without
extra charge, but an optional pager-notification feature which
alerts subscribers when a message has been left is an extra-cost
service.

GTE Mobilnet operates in the greater San Francisco area of
northern California. Octel is a Milpitas, California, company that builds
and markets voice message processing systems to small and large
businesses as well as cellular service providers around the world.

(John McCormick/19920402/Press Contact: David Avirom, GTE
Mobilnet, 510-416-3750)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 2 Computer Reseller News/Gallup Vertical Market Poll Results 04/02/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(WAS)(00007)

Computer Reseller News/Gallup Vertical Market Poll Results 04/02/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 2 (NB) -- Color monitors,
desktop computers, and hard drives larger than 80 megabyte (MB)
capacity are top selling items to both education and manufacturing
markets, according to the published results of a Computer Reseller
News poll conducted by the Gallup Organization.

Coming in at tenth, eleventh, and twelfth places are notebook
computers, fax boards, and CD-ROM and other optical storage
devices. Those results come from a survey of vertical market
value-added resellers (VARs) targeting those two vertical markets.

However, when viewing the results it must be remembered that,
although those VARs ranked optical storage devices at the bottom
in frequency of sales of the top 12 products they sell, more than
half report including CD-ROM drives when configuring systems.

Both groups of VARs agree on some other items too, placing
Toshiba at the top of the list of battery-operated computers they
prefer to sell, with IBM topping the desktop category.

Interests divulge when it comes to software, with word processors
being most popular for education buyers and spreadsheets
toping the "want" list for manufacturers.

That just scratches the surface of the survey results, which are
the basis of a 50-page CRN Benchmark Supplement included
with the March 30 issue of Computer Reseller News.

(John McCormick/19920402)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 2 MaynStream Offers Backup Software Promotion 04/02/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00008)

MaynStream Offers Backup Software Promotion 04/02/92
LAKE MARY, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 2 (NB) -- Florida-based
Maynard Electronics, a company which specializes in making
backup products for MS-DOS environments, has announced a new
promotion campaign designed to sell more copies of the company's
flagship MaynStream backup software.

Between April and September of this year, companies buying the
MaynStream SCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface) backup
hardware with capacities from 525 megabyte (MB) to five gigabytes
(GB), will receive a bundle with MaynStream for Windows, NLM
(NetWare), and OS/2, with the MS-DOS version of the software.

For the business user working in a single operating system
environment however, this does not appear to be much of a deal
since it means that they will get not only the software they need,
but three other products they cannnot possibly use.

For those operating in a mixed operating system environment,
the additional software will mean that data stored on backup
tapes from a system running any of the listed operating systems
and made using the appropriate MaynStream version, will be
readable on any other MaynStream system operating on other
computers.

Essentially Maynard is stressing the ability to transfer backed-
up data between different platforms if they all use Maynard
software.

For large organizations which operate MS-DOS, OS/2, Windows,
and Novell networks, this could mean a savings of up to $1,350
on the software which would normally be needed to share files
between the incompatible format systems.

The products which qualify for this promotion include SCSI-based
MaynStream cassette, quarter-inch cartridge, 4mm DAT (digital
audio tape), and 8mm HS tape backup systems.

(John McCormick/19920331/Press Contact: Anne S. Lardner,
Maynard Electronics, 407-262-4268)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 2 Moscow Telecommunications Update 04/02/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00009)

Moscow Telecommunications Update 04/02/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 APR 2 (NB) -- Downtown Moscow
business phones have a charge counter activated on local calls.
Moscow phone authorities are trying again to force all fax and
modem users to register and pay higher rates.

Central and Miussky phone districts, which cover most of downtown
Moscow, has announced that effective April 1, all business phone
lines will be billed on a per-minute basis for local calls. Fifteen
minutes daily are free, with further minutes costing 0.04 rubles for
commercial and 0.03 rubles for state organizations (100 rubles is
roughly equal to one dollar at the current inflated interest rate).
Monthly pay has remained unchanged. Rules for residential lines
and business customers in other areas of Moscow are currently
unchanged.

Commersant Weekly has reported that similar toll devices are
being installed on other phone exchanges in Moscow. MGTS
(Moscow city phone network) information computer center will
issue bills for all Moscow customers.

On another front, deputy MGTS chief Alexander Shambazov said
that MGTS is launching the campaign to register as many modem
users as possible. Registration will cost, by various sources,
between 1,300 or 2,900 rubles per year with long distance rates
doubled on those modem/fax lines.

Shambazov said also that, "customers who uses modem for
commercial purposes" will be charged 50,000 rubles annually. The
sum, however, is considered unreasonably high by a number of
Moscow computer network experts.

The modem registration rules, although stating how much business
modem users pay, says nothing about similar personal
communications equipment.

A number of people has reported to Newsbytes that public BBS
(bulletin board system) phone lines showed "strange behavior" in
the last several weeks, prompting some users to suspect that they
might be monitored by MGTS to find out how much modem use is
going on.

Newsbytes has also received the confirmation that MGTS is
scanning local newspapers' ads to check if announced fax numbers
are, in fact, registered. Those who did not, are remained to do so
and then, in the case of non-compliance, their phone lines are
threatened with disconnection.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920402/Press Contact: MGTS computer center,
[phone]; MGTS, Alexander Shambazov, [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 2 Hong Kong: On-line Cash Makes Rugby Sevens Debut 04/02/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00010)

Hong Kong: On-line Cash Makes Rugby Sevens Debut 04/02/92
SOO KUN PO, HONG KONG, 1992 APR 2 (NB) -- Rugby fans who
find themselves short of cash at this weekend's Hong Kong
International Rugby Sevens tournament will be able to obtain
additional funds without leaving the ground, thanks to the customer
service orientation of Hong Kong Bank and the efforts of NCR
engineers.

NCR is installing two of its most popular automated teller machines
(ATMs) at specially constructed Hong Kong Bank kiosks located
close to Gates 1 and 4 of the Hong Kong Stadium. The bank's
kiosks are specially designed for off-site use at a variety of events
such as conferences and sports tournaments.

The through-the-wall NCR 5085 ATMs will be operational throughout
Saturday and Sunday. They will dispense cash to holders of Hong
Kong Bank ETC cards and Visa cards issued by any bank that is a
member of Visa International's worldwide Plus network.

"While cash withdrawals are likely to be the most popular
transaction, these will be fully featured terminals that will handle
all the functions normally found in an ATM apart from deposits," said
Andrew Liu, manager of NCR's Financial Systems Division.

The NCR ATMs, which use color graphics to guide customers
through transactions, incorporate advanced ergonomic features
for easier operation.

(Norman Wingrove/19920402/Press Contact: Vivian Kung, NCR,
[phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 2 Hong Kong: CSSL Offers IBM S/36 Facilities Mgt Service 04/02/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00011)

Hong Kong: CSSL Offers IBM S/36 Facilities Mgt Service 04/02/92
NORTH POINT, HONG KONG, 1992 APR 2 (NB) -- IBM reseller CSSL
has launched a new facilities management (FM) service for IBM
System/36 users in Hong Kong. The service provides for CSSL to
take full responsibility for running the subscriber's system.

"FM removes the worry and cost of housing, maintaining and staffing
a system in-house," said Ian Wallace, account manager in CSSL's
Business Services Division. "This is particularly relevant in Hong
Kong where office space is at a premium and staff are highly mobile."

The FM service is particularly aimed at users who are in the process
of upgrading from a S/36 to an IBM AS/400 mid-range computer. It will
consist of training programs for data processing and development
staff, file and program conversion, and backup facilities to enable
customers to run their new and their existing systems in parallel.

"System/36 users will sooner or later upgrade to mid-range systems
such as the AS/400 and it is at this crossroads that FM offers the
greatest benefits," said Wallace.

Wallace identified customer's key upgrade concerns as limited
space and manpower to run two systems simultaneously, staff
training, the cost of disruptions to work patterns and computer
systems, and the process of converting data between systems.

"CSSL can reassure customers on all these counts," he said. "Our
highly trained professional team supervises conversion and training
while reliable backup computer facilities provide subscribers with a
hot-standby System/36, a facility that very few have enjoyed so far."

According to Wallace, an additional benefit of FM is that it
encourages greater staff loyalty. "One of the biggest motivators for
developers is the opportunity to learn new skills and work with the
latest technology," he said. "By taking care of the mechanics of the
transition process, CSSL enables the customer's DP staff to quickly
get to grips with new challenges."

(Norman Wingrove/19920402/Press Contact: Ally Ho,
CSSL, + 852 806 1622)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 2 Hong Kong: NCR Offers "New Way of Computing" Seminars 04/02/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00012)

Hong Kong: NCR Offers "New Way of Computing" Seminars 04/02/92
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1992 APR 2 (NB) -- NCR is to stage four
keynote seminars this year, designed to help organizations migrate
from proprietary systems to computing based on distributed systems,
industry standards, and the client-server model.

The first in NCR's "New Way of Computing Seminar Series," to be
held at the Hilton Hotel on Monday 13 April, will focus on open
on-line transaction processing. Like all the seminars in the series,
it will feature leading overseas specialists in the subject. Later
seminars in the series will examine workgroup computing,
parallel computing and analytical processing, and open networking
and internetworking.

"The information technology industry is undergoing a historic
transition that will bring fundamental changes to the way we do
business," Vivian Kung, manager of Communications and
Advertising Services at NCR (Hong Kong) Ltd., told Newsbytes.

"These seminars are just one way in which NCR is helping
organizations that are ready to make the move from old fashioned,
proprietary technologies to the open, cooperative way of
computing that is the way of the future," said Kung.

Guest speakers at the opening seminar include Peter Kastner,
vice president of the Aberdeen Group, and one of the leading open
systems analysts in the US. He will present a manager's guide to
open OLTP implementation, illustrated by case studies.

Nick Simanteris, group manager of Oracle Consulting Group, will
suggest ways for organizations to enhance their competitive
position by taking advantage of the trend towards open OLTP
for critical business applications.

The benefits of open, interoperable systems under the UI-Atlas
architecture will be discussed in detail by Colin Fulton, regional
general manager of Unix International Pacific Basin.

"On-line transaction processing, which was once limited to the
financial and airline marketplace, is applied to virtually every
aspect of business today," said Kung. "This first seminar in the
series will help users break away from monolithic transaction
processing monitors tied to inflexible proprietary mainframes, and
enable them to move towards open, distributed on-line transaction
processing."

The seminars are designed for MIS executives and managers as
well as business unit managers who have responsibility for strategic
planning, information technology planning, and system design.

(Norman Wingrove/19920402/Press Contact: Vivian Kung, NCR,
[phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 2 Hong Kong: MDA Named Mentor Graphics Distributor 04/02/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(HKG)(00013)

Hong Kong: MDA Named Mentor Graphics Distributor 04/02/92
WANCHAI, HONG KONG, 1992 APR 2 (NB) -- Mentor Graphics has
announced an exclusive distributorship agreement with Hong Kong-
based Mentor Design Automation Ltd (MDA). Under the agreement,
MDA will provide sales, marketing, and support for all Mentor
Graphics products and services in Hong Kong, Macau, and China's
Guangdong Province.

"We are happy to be appointed as the distributor for Mentor
Graphics in Hong Kong," said William Cheung, managing director
of MDA. "MDA was formed by a group of former Mentor Graphics
employees who understand and are sensitive to the company's
values, products and its commitment to the market and to customers'
needs. We will work closely with Mentor's OpenDoor partners to
provide total solutions to Mentor Graphics customers."

Steve Ting, general manager of Mentor Graphics operations in
China, Hong Kong, and the Asean countries, said: "Since our
worldwide restructuring in late 1991, Mentor Graphics has been
looking into various alternatives on how to best serve our customers
in and around Hong Kong. After three months of evaluation we have
chosen MDA."

"As our partner, MDA will have direct access to Mentor Graphics
support facilities in Singapore and the US. With its strong technical
knowledge and understanding of Mentor Graphics' corporate
philosophy, we are confident that MDA will continue to pursue our
objective of providing top quality support as well as a strong
commitment to our customers' successes," he said.

MDA was established earlier this year to market and service
electronic design automation (EDA) systems. In addition to its
appointment as exclusive distributor of Mentor Graphics products
for Hong Kong, Macau, and Southern China, it is a value-added
reseller (VAR) for both Sun Microsystems and Hewlett-Packard.

(Norman Wingrove/19920402/Press Contacts: William Cheung,
MDA, [phone]; Steve Ting, Mentor Graphics, [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 2 DEC Plans To Acquire 800 Software 04/02/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00014)

DEC Plans To Acquire 800 Software 04/02/92
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 2 (NB) -- Digital
Equipment has signed a letter of intent to acquire 800 Software,
the Berkeley, California-based personal computer software
distributor. DEC expects the deal to close in three to six weeks,
company spokesman Bob Schneider told Newsbytes.

Schneider said Digital sees 800 Software as an opportunity to get
a piece of the desktop software market, where it currently has no
presence. The distributor stocks about 12,000 applications
packages, including titles from Novell, Borland, Lotus, Microsoft,
and a variety of other names. It does not sell any Digital products
at present.

Digital plans to keep 800 Software as a separate entity with
headquarters in Berkeley, Schneider said. However, as a wholly
owned subsidiary of DEC, it would likely become a supplier to
DEC's Open Advantage program, which aims to provide DEC
customers with one-stop shopping for desktop computer products.

Digital values 800 Software's expertise in software distribution
and sales, Schneider said. The distributor is "a well managed
company that very effectively delivers the service," he said.

Digital's expertise in electronic software distribution is of
interest to 800 Software, which could apply that knowledge to the
distribution of personal computer software, Schneider added.

Schneider said no major obstacles to the transaction remain and
Digital is quite confident the deal will be concluded shortly. The
terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.

(Grant Buckler/19920402/Press Contact: Bob Schneider, Digital
Equipment, 508-480-4620)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 2 Hitachi Establishes Research Unit In Canada 04/02/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00015)

Hitachi Establishes Research Unit In Canada 04/02/92
MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA, 1992 APR 2 (NB) -- Hitachi Data
Systems has announced the establishment of a research and
development subsidiary based in Montreal. HDS Research will
develop products and technologies for international markets, the
company said.

The new subsidiary's initial projects include developing technology
for image processing and optical disk applications, as well as
software to monitor the performance of computer peripherals.

The operations of HDS Research will not be limited to the province
of Quebec, a spokesman for the company said. In fact, the company
is in the process of setting up joint development agreements with
companies in Ontario and British Columbia, although details are not
ready to be released.

Hitachi said it will spend up to C$15 million in Quebec over the
next three years, however. That includes the creation of HDS
Research, as well as production, testing, and shipment of the
company's S2000 Super Server for local area networks, which will
be subcontracted to a Montreal firm, and joint ventures to provide
data processing services to customers across Canada. Hitachi's
Canadian operation, Hitachi Data Systems, has its headquarters in
Montreal.

The new initiatives are expected to add about 25 skilled jobs to
Hitachi's current Canadian payroll of about 150 people. The
company, which sells mainframe computers and related storage
systems, has two manufacturing sites in Canada.

(Grant Buckler/19920402/Press Contact: John Elias, National Public
Relations for Hitachi, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Denise
Doucet, Hitachi Data Systems, 514-874-0707)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 2 Legent, Goal Systems International Plan Merger 04/02/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00016)

Legent, Goal Systems International Plan Merger 04/02/92
VIENNA, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 2 (NB) -- Software developers
Legent and Goal Systems International of Columbus, Ohio, have
signed a definitive agreement to merge in a stock transaction
valued at about $400 million. Still subject to shareholder and
regulatory approvals, the deal is expected to close by July 31.

The agreement provides for Legent to issue 0.52356 shares of new
common stock for each of the roughly 19.1 million shares of Goal
common stock now outstanding. Based on the NASDAQ National
Market System closing price for Legent of $40.75 on April 1, this
works out to about $21.34 for each Goal share.

Legent spokeswoman Lori Beres said her company sees in the deal
a "tremendous opportunity to gain a tremendous presence in the
market." The combined company will have 126 products and a very
strong financial position, she said. Both Legent and Goal sell
software and services for managing enterprise computer systems
and networks. Many of the products are complementary, Beres
added.

Beres also said the deal will make both firms more secure against
possible hostile takeovers. Both firms took steps to guard against
unwanted takeover attempts during the period before the deal
closes. They have set up a share exchange agreement providing for
an exchange of each other's common stock if certain events occur,
including the purchase of 10 percent or more of either company's
outstanding shares by third parties. If exercised, the agreement
could give Legent about 10 percent of Goal and Goal about three
percent of Legent.

Goal also adopted a shareholder rights plan. Preferred stock
purchase rights will be distributed as a dividend at the rate of
one "right" for each share of common stock held, as of the close of
business on April 2. Goal said the plan is intended to deter abusive
market and takeover tactics and unsolicited takeover attempts. and
to guard against interference with the Legent deal. The rights will
expire on April 2, 2002, or when the Legent merger closes,
whichever comes first. the company said.

Each right will entitle shareholders to buy one hundredth of a
share of a new series of preferred stock for $50. They will be
exercisable only if a person or group other than Legent acquires
beneficial ownership of 20 percent or more of Goal's common
stock or announces a tender or exchange offer that would give the
buyer 30 percent or more of the common stock, or if Goal's board
of directors determines that any person is an "adverse person."

In their latest fiscal years, Legent had revenues of $203.3 million
and Goal had revenues of $127.8 million.

(Grant Buckler/19920402/Press Contact: David C. Wetmore or B.
Wade Monroe, Goal Systems, 614-888-1775; Richard E. Hanlon,
Legent, 703-734-9494)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 2  ****Tandon, Zeos Race To Offer New Cyrix 486-Based PCs 04/02/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00017)

 ****Tandon, Zeos Race To Offer New Cyrix 486-Based PCs 04/02/92
MOORPARK, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 2 (NB) -- Tandon says
its modular, cartridge design is going to make it first to market with
IBM compatible personal computers (PCs) that will use the newly
announced Cyrix 486 microprocessor to be available in about six
weeks.  Zeos, however, has announced that its Zeos 486SLC-25
should be available by the end of April.

The Cyrix 486 processor, the Cx486SLC, is receiving attention not
only because it is expected to cost half as much as a comparable
Intel microprocessor, but also because Intel is loadly and
vehemently opposing the introduction of the chip into the market.

Cyrix claims the new 486 chip is compatible with Intel's 386 chip and
can in fact replace the Intel 386 chip directly. Tandon says it will
be the first to offer the new 486 chip because its new PC systems
have microprocessors housed in upgradeable cartridges, so the
old central processing unit (CPU) can be easily removed and a
new one put in its place.

Tandon says the new 486 PCs will be available in volume and will
provide 70 percent greater performance than IBM's new 386SLC/25
at half the price of the new IBM computer.

Retail availability of the systems is through Tandon as well as
through major chains, such as Bizmart and Bestbuy. The company's
PC Positive cartridge-based systems are offered through
membership warehouse clubs such as Price Club, Sam's, BJs, and
Pace. The company also sells its systems under the PC Brand
name.

The new base unit models offered in the mass channel will feature at
least 2 megabytes (MB) of random access memory (RAM) which can
be expanded to 32 MB, an 85 MB hard disk drive, a super VGA
monitor with video controller, and software, including current versions
of Microsoft DOS, Windows, and Works for Windows. External or
internal compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) drives bundled
with an assortment of CD disks will also be options for consumers.

Tandon also points out existing customers will be able to upgrade
their systems to the new 486 CPU.

Zeos says its 486SLC-25 will compete price-wise directly with other
386SX computers. Zeos says the 486-based computer will run 2.4
times faster than similarly priced 386SX systems.

Greg Herrick, president and CEO of Zeos said: "The market is ripe
for a conversion from older 386 technologies to faster 486-based
platforms." Zeos is also crediting Cyrix's lower priced 486 chip with
its opportunity to offer lower prices and fast time to market.

Moorpark, California-based Tandon has been in the computer
business since 1975 and is probably best known for its hard and
floppy disk drives. The company says its current principle market
is Western Europe.

Zeos markets and manufactures IBM compatible computers and
workstations. The company said its products are manufactured
under the Zeos name.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920402/Press Contact: Bryan Kerr, Tandon,
tel [phone] ext 1234; Rick Apple, Zeos, 612-633-5877)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 2 New Report Generator For Objectvision From Borland 04/02/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00018)

New Report Generator For Objectvision From Borland 04/02/92
SCOTTS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 2 (NB) -- Borland
says it is introducing a report writer geared toward its Objectvision 2.0
product for Microsoft Windows, called Quik Reports. The new product
fills-out the capabilities of Objectvision, as prior to its introduction
users could only print the form created in Objectvision, but were
unable to summarize information generated by Objectvision.

Like Objectvision, the product is geared toward use with database-
type data and will work with dBASE, Paradox, and Btreive files.
Borland says it also comes with an interactive what-you-see-is-what-
you-get (wysiwyg) report designer, and a separate print engine with
runtime capability when placed in an Objectvision runtime application.

Quik Reports for Windows was developed by Crystal Services and
licensed by Borland and will support any Windows printer in
Windows 3.0 or the new 3.1 version, Borland said.

The product is a point-and-click graphically-oriented and allows
users to place data and fields, then modify the properties of either
via "property inspector" menus, Borland maintains. Totals and
subtotals, calculations in fields, sort and selection criteria, and a
preview before printing are all features available to the user,
Borland added.

Objectvision is geared to the creation of interactive business
applications, and can act as a front-end to database applications in
Windows. Borland says since Objectvision shipped in November of
last year it has won awards from InfoWorld, Byte, Windows Magazine,
and the Software Publishers Association. Borland says later this
 year it will also release a version of Objectvision for OS/2.

Vancover, Canada-based Crystal Services describes itself as a
supplier of report generators for ACCPAC accounting software.
Crystal Services and Borland will both market the Quik Report
product, the companies said.

Retail pricing has been set at $195, however Quik Reports will be
offered for $99 for an unspecified amount of time, Borland said. The
product is expected to be available in April.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920402/Press Contact: Cathy Caplener,
Borland, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 2 Interactive Network Starts With Sega, Headed For PCs 04/02/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00019)

Interactive Network Starts With Sega, Headed For PCs 04/02/92
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 2 (NB) -- Interactive
Network (IN) says it has already introduced a two-way system geared
toward allowing television viewers to compete against each other, but
now says it will team up with Sega to incorporate the system with the
Sega Genesis System.

The announcement was made by David Lockton, president and chief
executive officer of Interactive Network, at the "New Hollywood in
Silicon Valley" session at the Homemedia Expo held at the Beverly
Hills Hilton in Beverly Hills, California.

Currently available as a hand-held control unit weighing less than two
pounds, IN allows wireless communication. Unlike TV Answer, IN is
broadcast via an FM signal to and from the company's headquarters
to players' control units. A control unit will run eight hours on
rechargeable batteries and also has an AC adapter. Selections are
made using function keys on each side of the control unit and a
retractable keyboard is included. The IN service is currently only
available in the Sacramento area of California, but will be available
in the San Francisco Bay area beginning April 6, the company said.

Lockton said in a prepared statement: "Market research has shown
for over ten years tremendous interest in competitions. IN's system
not only dramatically addresses the huge potential market, but also
provides an entirely new platform for the video and multi-media
industry."

The IN service offered now is paid for by users via a $15 per month
subscription. Over 100 programs are available each day for users to
play, IN said. IN said a typical week's worth of programming might
include: "Fast Break Fantasy," Lakers vs Kings, NFL Football, Family
Feud, Donahue, Where In the World is Carmen Sandiego?, NBC
Nightly News, and Wheel of Fortune. Points are awarded users for
correct responses in competition and show up immediately on the
users control unit, the company said.

The complicated part comes when users want to compete for prizes.
IN said additional costs for competing range anywhere from $0.50
for a freestanding game, to $1 for a game show, and up to $2 for
sporting events. For $30 per month users can avoid paying one
competition at a time and enjoy unlimited competitive play, IN said.
Competitive games offer prizes to winners and include trips to Hawaii,
Mexico, and the Super Bowl, big screen televisions, and stereos.
The charges for competitive play are in addition to the $199 one-time
charge to purchase the control unit itself, IN added.

For users to know their standing among other players, the points
awarded must be sent in via telephone. This process involves
plugging the unit into a telephone jack via a standard modular
telephone cord for 15 to 20 seconds while the control unit phones the
scores into IN headquarters and the unit is disconnected. IN says it
then immediately broadcasts via the FM signal the user's standing
back to the control unit for display on the panel.

A similar process for recording a Sega player's score will be used,
IN said. However, this is the only viable way right now for players to
compete from home according to IN. Lockton said: "There are only two
ways to allow an unlimited number of players to compete in their homes
for feedback and prizes. They either continually use the telephone or
other hardwired communications system - which ties up the phone line -
or utilize the more efficient 'wireless' method protected by the IN
patents."

Sega says it is also looking into educational aspects of the use of IN
technology and the Sega system. Tom Kalinske, president of Sega
America said: "The ability to give feedback, mark progress, and
provide incentives - combined with the entertainment value of our 16-
bit sound and graphics - will attract a new generation of educational
and entertainment software programming for the Genesis system."

The new Sega systems incorporating the IN technology are not
expected to be available until 1993, but the company says it is
already looking at implementing the system on personal, laptop, or
notebook computers as well. IN says the introduction of low-cost
peripherals to connect to a computer would allow the user to play
competitive computer games, and use the computer as a control
and display device for IN interactive television services as well.

More information about IN control units is available from IN at
800-468-8199.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920402/Press Contact: Suzanne Nastaskin,
Bob Thomas & Associates for Interactive Network, tel [phone],
fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 2 Apple Offers Free Case To Prevent Powerbook Battery Damage 04/02/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00020)

Apple Offers Free Case To Prevent Powerbook Battery Damage 04/02/92
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 2 (NB) -- Apple says it
is offering a free case to protect the replaceable battery packs for the
Macintosh Powerbook 100, 140, and 170 notebook computers. Apple
says the battery pack can be inadvertently shorted by metal objects
and the free packs can offer a way to prevent potential problems.

According to Apple, keys or paper clips can short the battery pack
and cause fires or burns. Marianne Lettieri of Apple said risks are
present with the highly charged Nicad batteries used with any
electronic device like a computer or even a portable cellular phone.

Lettieri said the problem came to Apple's attention as an Apple
employee put an extra Powerbook battery into a tote bag loose with
other objects and the battery shorted, destroying the battery and
damaging the tote bag. Another incident with an Apple user was
reported, but Lettieri said the company did not have all the details
of that incident.

Whether or not a fire or burn is the result of a short, the short
probably will damage the battery. As these batteries are expensive,
in the neighborhood of $100 each, a case is also a matter of
protecting the user's investment, Lettieri added.

The case offered by Apple insulates the battery pack contacts to
prevent any shorts, Apple said. Lettieri said some Nicad battery
manufacturers have already been offering cases for replaceable
battery packs, but Apple has not until now. Until May of 1992, Apple
says Powerbook users will only be able to get a case via the toll-free
number. After May of this year the cases will be included with any
purchase of Powerbook rechargeable batteries, Lettieri maintains.

The US Consumer Products Safety Commission is involved in the
investigation of potential safety hazards that could arise because of
the battery packs. Apple says it is cooperating with the Commission's
staff to investigate and prevent safety risks possibly posed by the
battery packs.

Lettieri said Apple is taking other steps as well. The company is
planning to re-label the batteries to be more specific about possible
risks and is sending a consumer letter to Powerbook users as well
as informing its service providers, Lettieri added.

Apple is recommending consumers get the battery pack cases and
is offering a toll-free number for US consumers to call to request a
free case or ask for information. The number is 800-377-4127. Apple
suggests users outside the US contact their local Apple service
representative.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920402/Press Contact: Marianne Lettieri,
Apple, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 2 More Computer Viruses Enter Computers In Japan 04/02/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00021)

More Computer Viruses Enter Computers In Japan 04/02/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 2 (NB) -- Japan Information Processing
Promotion Association says more virus programs invaded
computers in Japan this past March.

According to the association, a total of 24 people and organizations
have reported that they had suffered from computer viruses. It is a
record number since the association started to keep records of
computer viruses since April 1990.

A total of 37 cases have been reported this year. Analysts believe
there were more unreported cases throughout Japan during this
period.

Among 37 cases this year, there were seven cases were for the
Michelangelo virus. A number of "Yankee Doodle" viruses were
also reported by IBM PC users.

One reason for the increase in the virus cases is said to be due to
the increased sale of more non-Japanese personal computers
such as IBM PCs and  Apple's Macintosh.

There are a few cases reported for viruses on Japanese PCs such
as the NEC PC-9801, and Seiko-Epson, Fujitsu or Sharp systems.
This is mainly because these PCs use their original versions of
operating systems. NEC and Seiko-Epson, instance, use a
modified version of MS-DOS, which is different from IBM PCs.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920402)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 2 Japan: Something-Good Intros Mac And IBM PC Software 04/02/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00022)

Japan: Something-Good Intros Mac And IBM PC Software 04/02/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 2 (NB) -- A Japanese software firm
called Something Good has developed various application
programs for Apple's Macintosh and IBM PCs. Many of the
programs were developed jointly with the U.S. firms.

Something-Good has gained a license from the US-based Macro
Mind to develop a Japanese version of multimedia software. It is
called MacroMind Action, and operates with MS-Windows 3.1.
Audio-sound and animation pictures can be made with this program.
It is sold for 98,000 yen ($750). The Japanese version of the data
sample programs, called MacroMind Clip-Media, is also sold at
90,000 yen ($690).

Something-Good has also signed a license agreement with Win
Software in France. Under the license, the firm has been developing
a Japanese language version of Win Software's card-type database
program called WinFile. It will be released for around 30,000 yen
($230) in April.

Meanwhile, Something-Good has been hammering out a joint
venture agreement with Aldus Corp of the US. The agreement calls
for both firms to create a new firm in Japan in this May. The new firm,
called Aldus Japan, will develop the Japanese version of Aldus'
programs such as PageMaker and Persuasion.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920402/Press Contact: Something-Good,
 [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 2  ****DAK Offers $200 External CD-ROM Drive 04/02/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(WAS)(00023)

 ****DAK Offers $200 External CD-ROM Drive 04/02/92
CANOGA PARK, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 2 (NB) -- Drew
Kaplan has once again shocked the computer world with an
amazingly low price -- $200 (plus $19 shipping) for a complete
caddyless external CD-ROM drive with software and PC adapter
card from BSR. Offering a slow 800 millisecond (ms) access time,
this drive is nevertheless suitable for many home and office users,
especially considering that only slightly faster systems are
selling for double the price.

A caddyless drive has a drawer that pops out to accept the bare
CD-ROM disc rather than accepting a disc sealed in an expensive
caddy. There are both advantages and disadvantages to a
caddyless system, but since CD-ROM discs are remarkably tough,
the disc's exposure to handling should not be a major concern for
most users. Of course, discs must be handled regularly to load and
unload them from the carrier caddies used by some other systems
anyway.

DAK is also offering a 380ms access time external CD-ROM drive
for $399 (plus $19 shipping), complete with Microsoft Bookshelf
(1991 edition), The Family Doctor, and Battle Chess CD-ROMs.
Buyers of the $199 drive can get the same CD-ROM discs for an
additional $50.

DAK is an established catalog mail-order firm with a 30-day
refund policy. The CD-ROM drives both have audio output and
are offered one-to-a-customer, and DAK offers other bargain
CD-ROM bundles.

For further information, contact: DAK Industries, Inc., at
818-0888-8220, or 800-888-7808; TDD (deaf) 800-888-6703.

(John McCormick/19920402)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 2 SPA Network License Survey 04/02/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00024)

SPA Network License Survey 04/02/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 2 (NB) -- The Software
Publishers Association has compiled a white paper titled "Network
License Survey" which contains license policy information
collected from 12 companies offering software which is run on
networks.

Although eight of the companies are actively reviewing
their licensing policies, this survey is still the latest source
of information for companies confused about pricing and
licensing options in the software industry.

Items covered in the survey include multi-user discount rates,
whether limited home or portable use is included with the network
license, and which products are usable on networks.

Results are compiled from Aldus, Autodesk, Borland, Claris,
Lotus, Microsoft, Nantucket, Software Publishing, Symantec,
WordPerfect, and WordStar, publishers of the software most
likely to be run on business networks.

For further information contact the SPA at 1730 M Street NW,
Suite 700, Washington, DC 20036, or telephone [phone].

(John McCormick/19920402/Press Contact: Terri Childs, SPA,
tel [phone] ext 320, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 2 C3 Pre-Protest Of Navy Workstation Contract Hurts Company 04/02/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00025)

C3 Pre-Protest Of Navy Workstation Contract Hurts Company 04/02/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 2 (NB) -- When Hughes
Aircraft and Vienna, Virginia-based BTG were awarded a major
workstation contract by the U.S. Navy this week, many Washington
insiders were not surprised.

However, desperate to maintain its only major business -- federal
contracts -- C3 had lodged a protest early in the bidding procedure
when the Navy amended its request for proposals to call for more
powerful computers than offered by C3's supplier, Sun Microsystems.
Pre-award protests are very unusual and not viewed kindly by
most contracting agencies.

C3 is declining comment on the contract award. However, it had to
 have been a major blow since the company relies almost entirely
on government work and even its new subsidiary, Telos, is a
government contractor.

This Navy contract calls for the companies to supply thousands of
workstations, but only as the Navy requests them, and with the
present downsizing fever, the total value of the contract is
debatable. In any case, the winners could sell as much as $100
million worth of high-performance systems to the Pentagon during
the contract's multi-year lifetime.

IBM, the other losing bidder, declined to speculate on whether it
would protest the award, but in the case of large contracts a
protest is almost certain.

The service portion of the contract will probably require BTG to
provide on-site personnel in major US naval bases at Hawaii
and San Diego.

(John McCormick/19920402)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 2 Top Windcrest/McGraw-Hill Computer Book Titles 03/31/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(WAS)(00026)

Top Windcrest/McGraw-Hill Computer Book Titles 03/31/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 31 (NB) -- Based on actual
sales numbers compiled by the publisher, the following is a list of
the top 10 best selling Windcrest/McGraw-Hill computer book
titles for the last six months. The list is in order from the top seller
to the tenth place book.

Build Your Own 80486 PC and Save A Bundle, Pilgrim.

Bit-Mapped Graphics, Rimmer.

Upgrade Your Macintosh and Save A Bundle, Brant.

DOS Beyond 640K, 2nd Edition, Forney.

MS-DOS Batch File Programming, 3rd Edition, Richardson.

Advanced MS-DOS Batch File Programming, 3rd Edition, Gookin.

MS-DOS Batch File Utilities, Richardson.

DOS Shareware Utilities, PC SIG, Inc.

Happy Mac: Using Utility Programs, Evans.

Upgrade Your IBM Compatible and Save a Bundle, 2nd Edition,
Pilgrim.

All the books are priced under $30.

(John McCormick/19920402)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 2 Apple And DEC Announce European Distribution Agreement 04/02/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00027)

Apple And DEC Announce European Distribution Agreement 04/02/92
UXBRIDGE, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 2 (NB) -- Apple
Computer Europe and Digital Equipment have announced details
of an inter-company distribution agreement. The agreement stems
from the letter of intent that both companies signed last November.

According to Apple, the agreement will enable DEC's subsidiaries
in Europe to provide Apple Macs and peripherals to their large
accounts within the context of integrated systems involving DEC
and Apple products.

On the Apple side, the agreement allows Apple's dedicated
reseller network in Europe (Apple Centres) to offer DEC Vax and
RISC-based servers as well as Pathworks interconnect products,
plus a wide range of desktop services.

The European-wide agreement will address the needs of customers
who require large-scale, enterprise-wise, integrated systems,
claims Apple. Plans call for some DEC "complementary solution
organizations," who operate as independent resellers or
developers, to port their DEC client/server systems to the Mac
platform and license their products to Apple resellers.

Apple and DEC first began collaborating on joint technology
development in January of '88. According to Apple, this latest
announcement is a distribution agreement that aims at widening
both the scope of the collaboration, and also the distribution of
both companies' products.

"Customers in large organizations have shown a growing
preference for the Mac as part of their enterprise-wide systems,"
said Soren Olsson, Apple's president of Europe. "With this
agreement, Apple/Digital-based customer requirements can
now be handled very effectively, thanks to DEC's systems
integration expertise and the exceptional flexibility and ease of
use of the Mac."

Pier Carlo Falotti, president of DEC Europe, echoed Olsson's
comments, noting that the agreement is the result of the close
relationship between Apple and Digital.

"It is a response to customer needs and will enable us more
easily to offer the best of two worlds. This agreement combines
Apple's leadership and commitment to make it easy for people to
use computers with Digital's leadership in networking and
systems integration," he said.

(Steve Gold/19920403/Press Contact: Apple Computer Europe,
[phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 2 New For PC In UK: Lotus Intros Multimedia Smarthelp For 1-2-3 04/02/92




(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00028)

New For PC In UK: Lotus Intros Multimedia Smarthelp For 1-2-3 04/02/92
STAINES, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 2 (NB) -- Lotus has
unveiled Multimedia Smarthelp for 1-2-3 for Windows on compact
disk read only memory (CD-ROM). The company claims that the
innovative new multimedia package combines text, sound and
animation to offer 1-2-3 for Windows users new ways to use and
learn about the product.

As supplied in the UK, the package comes as a single CD-ROM
disk containing 1-2-3 for Windows and Multimedia Smarthelp. The
Smarthelp package includes an animated and narrated guided tour
of 1-2-3 for Windows. "Show me" movies interactively educate
users about 1-2-3 concepts and procedures, and on-line books with
documentation and help assist the user still further, Lotus claims.

"Lotus 1-2-3 for Windows with  Multimedia Smarthelp is very
practical. It is the first compelling reason for corporations to
provide workgroups access to multimedia technology," said Tim
Davenport, Lotus' vice president of graphics and multimedia,
announcing the package.

Rob Lipincott, director of product development for Lotus'
multimedia products group, was equally enthusiastic.
"What's revolutionary about this product is how fully integrated
the multimedia is with Lotus 1-2-3. For the first time, users
will get the benefits of multimedia learning on their computer,
as part of the product they are using to complete the task," he
said.

"Multimedia Smarthelp delivers unprecedented ease of learning
and ease of use for 1-2-3 users. It offers users just the right level
of animated multimedia-based help, guidance, advice and
reference when they need it, This type of "mid task assistance is
what we consider just-in-time learning," he added.

Lotus 1-2-3 for Windows with Multimedia Smarthelp needs an 386
or better-based PC with standard VGA 16-color graphics adapter
and monitor. A CD-ROM drive with a minimum data transfer rate of
150K/second is also required.

Required software includes DOS 3.3 or later, Windows 3.0 with
multimedia extensions. The system must have at least three
megabytes (MB) of memory and 10MB of hard disk storage. Pricing
on the CD-ROM disk has been set at UKP 475, although existing
users of 1-2-3 for Windows can upgrade for UKP 99.

(Steve Gold/19920402/Press & Public Contact: Lotus
Development , 0784-455445)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 2 Everex Systems Cuts Prices, Intros Notebooks 04/02/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00029)

Everex Systems Cuts Prices, Intros Notebooks 04/02/92
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 2 (NB) -- Everex Systems
has announced price decreases across its Step and Tempo system
lines -- its Step MP EISA (Extended Industry Standard Architecture)
multiprocessors and Tempo Carrier notebooks. At the same time the
company has also introduced Tempo M and C Series 486SX/25
computers.

The company claims that the price reductions were taken to
improve its competitive edge, and demonstrates a commitment to
penetrating the high end of the market.

"Product life cycles are shorter than ever and with so many
competitors pursuing the i486 system market, companies cannot
afford to be timid. Therefore, we are taking an aggressive
approach to converting our customers from i386 to i486-based
systems," stated Howard B. Crystal, senior vice president of
sales and marketing.

The company maintains that its Tempo 486 systems offer high
performance at midrange pricing and provide features such as high
color graphics capability so designers and desktop publishers
can work in up to 32,768 colors.

The Tempo M Series and the Tempo C Series have been
expanded to include i486SX/25 systems.  Everex claims that the
486SX/25 systems offer up to 60 percent more performance
than i386/33 systems.  The new systems will ship in large, compact,
and small desktop chassis and will be available in April.

Everex maintains that the new systems offer 486DX functionality,
such as an on-chip cache and a memory management unit, without
the higher costs associated with most 486DX computers. Support
for the Intel487SX math coprocessor and the recently announced
Intel OverDrive processor upgrade are standard on both systems.

Supporting up to 32MB of RAM, the Tempo M and C Series
computers are fully integrated with two serial ports, one parallel
port, floppy controller and IDE interface on the system board.
Both systems feature Everex's proprietary Advanced Memory
Management Architecture (AMMA), a 128 kilobyte write-back
cache for maximum system performance, claims the company.

The Tempo 486SX/25 M Series carries a list price of $2,399,
while the Tempo 486SX/25 C Series has a list price of $2,159.
Both products will be shipping immediately and include DOS 5.0,
Windows 3.1, and an Everex mouse.  The systems are also
covered by a one-year parts and labor warranty and three
months of on-site service.

The company maintains that the Step MP EISA supports up to six
symmetrical i486/33 CPUs (central processor units), 64 megabytes
of error correction code (ECC) memory, and 256 kilobytes of
write-back cache per CPU.

Also,  Everex has announced that it has signed an agreement
with Novell to participate in the Novell Labs Certification Alliance
Program. The program allows Everex to conduct NetWare
compatibility testing and Novell Labs certification at its on-site
test lab.

(Ian Stokell/19920402/Press Contact: Everex Systems Inc.,
Letty Dupuy, 510-683-2066)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 2 DEC To Collaborate With Intel On Parallel Computer Software 04/02/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00030)

DEC To Collaborate With Intel On Parallel Computer Software 04/02/92
BEAVERTON, OREGON, U.S.A., 1992 APR 2 (NB) -- In one of
a number of agreements for Digital Equipment recently, the
company has announced that it is collaborating with Intel on a
range of joint software projects, in the area of application-
development and system software for massively parallel
computers.

According to the companies, the first project, already underway,
involves an architecture-independent high-level programming
language compiler for parallel computers, which is actually a
version of the FORTRAN language. The new compiler is
expected  to be available by the end of 1992.

This new compiler is intended to allow scientists, engineers and
researchers to create applications to run on massively parallel
computers, using FORTRAN optimized for these systems.

According to the companies, future projects will include work on
operating systems and may extend to networking.

The developed product will be designed to be architecture-
independent, which is a plus for software developers as it will
allow them to create application programs that can be compiled
to run on different hardware platforms.

Newsbytes notes that the agreement is an important one for the
parallel processing computer market, as one of the elements
that many analysts say have been holding back the technology,
is the lack of available software that can use the technology's
power.

(Ian Stokell/19920402/Press Contact: Joseph D. Codispoti, Digital
#ENDCARD



#CARD :1992 APR 1  ****IBM Plans Aggressive Promotion Of OS/2 2.0 04/01/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00001)

 ****IBM Plans Aggressive Promotion Of OS/2 2.0 04/01/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 APR 1 (NB) -- It can be
fun now and then to be David instead of Goliath, according to Nancy
Roath, director of personal systems merchandising at IBM. Roath
acknowledged that OS/2 2.0, the new operating system release IBM
has just begun shipping, faces tough competition from Microsoft's
Windows software, but she told Newsbytes the company plans to
promote OS/2 aggressively and is aiming for big sales among all
kinds of personal computer users.

IBM barely met its self-imposed deadline of March 31 to ship the
software. Roath said OS/2 2.0 went into manufacturing March 30,
and the first copies were shipped out to major IBM customers on the
last day of the month. The new release will take some time to work
its way through to distributors, dealers, and customers, she said,
but by the end of April shrink-wrapped packages should be readily
available on dealer shelves.

IBM is promoting the package with special introductory prices --
$139 retail, $49 to upgrade from Windows, and $99 to upgrade from
DOS -- a toll-free order-taking number, and "the broadest and most
concentrated advertising effort we've ever had on a single
product," Roath said.

During April, IBM will begin extensive advertising in consumer and
business periodicals such as Time and Business Week magazines,
and in computer trade publications. The company has no immediate
plans for television advertising for OS/2, Roath said. She added
that the ads will stress price.

Roath acknowledged that OS/2 is up against stiff competition in
Microsoft Windows, which has shipped more than nine million
copies. But she said IBM has certain strengths, including its
relationships with its major customers and its dealers.

She also argued that OS/2 will appeal to buyers because of its
ability to run not only applications written for OS/2 but those written
for Windows and DOS as well. "We've got a huge applications
base that will run very well on Windows," she said.

IBM is asking its employees to promote OS/2 outside of working
hours, too. Through what it calls the Ambassador Program, IBM is
providing employees with information about OS/2 so that they can
answer questions for their friends and neighbors, and employees
will be offered incentives for helping promote the product.

Although OS/2 has up to now been seen as appealing mostly to
large companies that use IBM's larger systems as well as its
personal computers, Roath said the company plans to sell the
software to all types of users, including small-business customers.

Asked about OS/2 2.0's considerable hardware requirements -- the
software needs a machine with at least an Intel 80386 or compatible
processor, four megabytes (MB) of RAM and a 60 MB hard disk,
and the OS/2 code itself occupies from 15 to 30 MB of disk
space -- Roath pointed out that OS/2's demands are not really much
greater than those of Windows, and that even many small-business
users already have computers that meet those specifications.

Roath would not reveal specific sales targets for OS/2 in the
coming year. "Millions is a number I like," she said.

(Grant Buckler/19920331/Press Contact: Scott Brooks or Rob
Crawley, IBM, 914-642-5095)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 1 Dell Announces New 386SL Notebook Computer 04/01/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00002)

Dell Announces New 386SL Notebook Computer 04/01/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 1 (NB) -- Dell Computer has
announced the latest addition to its notebook computer line, the
NL25. Powered by an Intel 386 running at 25 megahertz (MHz), the
new system has a suggested list price of $1,999.

Dell Senior VP of US Sales, Joel Kocher, said the new system is
aimed at the price sensitive consumer who wants the features and
value of a 386 notebook computer, but can forego special features
 that add to the cost.

The NL25 weighs 6.3 pounds, and measures 8.3-inches by 11-inches,
and is less than two inches high when folded up. Standard
configuration includes: two megabytes (MB) of RAM, which can be
expanded to 8 MB; 64 kilobytes (KB) of cache memory; either a 60
or 80 MB hard drive; and one high-density, 3.5 inch floppy drive. The
80MB hard drive adds $200 to the base price.

Dell says the NL25 uses a rechargeable NiCad (nickel cadmium)
battery pack and will run for about 2.5 hours without the power
management features being used. The announcement did not
say how long they estimated the battery would last with full power
management invoked.

Power management features include three levels: "dynamic
standby," "global standby," and "suspend," each providing more
power savings. Also included is an AC adapter that allows the NL25
to run on voltages up to 240 volts and either 50 or 60 cycles, with the
adapter able to automatically sense the provided voltage and adjust.
That feature will allow users who travel outside the US to use their
notebook computers without concern about voltage supplies.

The new unit has a triple supertwist VGA monochrome display which
will support up to 32 gray scales, measures 9.5-inches diagonally,
and has controls to adjust brightness and contrast. Like most
notebooks, the angle of the screen is adjustable to provide the best
image.

The 85-key keyboard has the usual inverted-T cursor key layout,
and the "NumLock" key provides a numeric keypad using some of
the regular alphabetic keys.

One serial and one parallel port, an external VGA monitor
connection, and one additional port for use with a mouse or an
external keyboard or numeric keypad are also included. There is a
math coprocessor chip socket, and the NL25 will accept an internal
data/fax modem for data transfer rates up to 2,400 baud, and fax
transmissions up to 9,600 baud.

Dell Computer maintains a toll free number (800-289-3355) to
handle inquiries about its products.

(Jim Mallory/19920401/Press Contact: Lisa Rohlf, 512-343-3782)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 1 Midiapolis Systems Ships Digital Sound Collection For Next 04/01/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00003)

Midiapolis Systems Ships Digital Sound Collection For Next 04/01/92
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNSOTA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 1 (NB) -- Midiapolis
Systems says it is now shipping its Soundbursts Digital Sound
Collections for Nextstep computers.

Soundbursts is a collection of sounds that is designed to be used to
enhance presentations on Nextstep computers. The company says
the sounds are suitable for musical compositions, voice annotations,
and "applications with the impact of CD-quality sound."

"As clip-art is to graphics, Soundbursts is to sound," said
Midiapolis President, Gerard Schwarz. According to Schwarz,
Soundbursts adds color and flavor to the Next users desktop.

The company said two $99 collections are currently available, each
containing 12 diskettes, for an average of 125 sounds in each
collection. A few of the sounds Schwarz told Newsbytes are included
in the Sound Effects collection include glass crashing, babies
crying, gunshots, helicopters, phones ringing, "plops and fizzes,"
and sirens.

The Percussion collection includes cymbals, snare drums, congas,
and drum and bass patterns. Each collection comes with the
90-page Soundbursts manual explaining how to use Soundbursts
in Nextstep applications.

Schwarz told Newsbytes that the company plans to release other
collections in the future, and will also release a large collection
on CD-ROM.

Other products planned by Midiapolis include Soundhouse, a sound
editor which allows the user to record, playback, and edit sounds.
Soundhouse, with a suggested list price of $59, is planned for
release early this month, said Schwarz.

Also in the works is Lyricist, a $175 program for song writers. A
song writer stuck for a rhyming word or phrase can invoke Lyricist
for help. Schwarz said Lyricist will go into alpha testing this month.

Next computers come with hardware and software allowing them
to generate and play music, speech, and CD-quality sounds.
Soundbursts are stored in the Next soundfile format.

(Jim Mallory/19920401/Press Contact: Gerard Schwarz,
Midiapolis, 612-822-1604)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 1 Microsoft To Support Works On America Online 04/01/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00004)

Microsoft To Support Works On America Online 04/01/92
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 APR 1 (NB) -- Microsoft
has announced that buyers of Microsoft Works for DOS or for
Windows will also receive an America Online starter kit and five
free hours of on-line use, to get help using Works to run a small
business.

Microsoft said that a user working in Works who wants to get
immediate feedback on how other small business people solved
problems such as how to use customer mailing to increase sales
could connect through America Online to access Microsoft's "Small
Business Center" (MSBC). MSBC provides access to information,
consulting services, software templates and other data relevant to
running a small business, said Microsoft. MSBC stresses how to
use Works to effectively manage a business, according to
Microsoft's announcement.

A Microsoft support forum on America Online is something new,
according to Microsoft spokesperson, Karen Fry. She told
Newsbytes that support for Works on America Online would be
operated as a test program through August of this year, then
reevaluated to determine if the support forum would be continued.
There are also Microsoft support forums on both Compuserve and
Genie.

Under the working agreement between Microsoft and America Online,
if a question is not answered through the forum, Microsoft product
support people will respond to the question within 48 hours.
Commonly asked questions and their responses will also be posted
in the forum.

Microsoft Works includes word processing, spreadsheet, charting,
database, and communications capabilities. Data can be shared
between the different modes. Works for Windows has a suggested
retail price of $199, while the DOS version sells for $149. The
Macintosh version carries a $249 price tag, and will include America
Online software with future versions. An informed source told
Newsbytes that an upgrade to Works for the Mac would be
released "in the not too distant future."

America Online and Microsoft both have toll free numbers for more
information about their respective products. While America Online
can be contacted at 800-827-6364, Microsoft can be contacted at
800-426-9400.

The regular monthly charge for America Online subscribers is
determined by the type PC you have. For IBM-compatible users,
it is $7.95 per month, with the first month waived. For the first month,
the first five hours of connect time are also waived. After the
first month, you get two hours of free connect time, and pay $0.10
for each minute after your free time has been used up.

For Macintosh users, its $5.95 per month, with the first month
waived. Thereafter, you get one free hour each month during
non-prime time, and pay $5.00 per hour for the connect time after
that. Online America provides subscribers special software at no
cost.

(Jim Mallory/19920401/Press Contact: Beverly Auld, Microsoft,
206-882-8080; Liz Sara, America Online, 703-448-8700)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 1 Fifth Generation Intros Direct Access Menu For Windows 04/01/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00005)

Fifth Generation Intros Direct Access Menu For Windows 04/01/92
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 1 (NB) -- Fifth
Generation Systems has announced it will release a Windows
version of its Direct Access menuing software this month.

The company says Direct Access Windows 1.0 simplifies the way
Windows configures, accesses, tracks, and protects Windows and
non-Windows applications. "Direct Access Windows organizes the
graphical confusion of Microsoft Windows Program Manager, while
fully harnessing the power of Windows," said Fifth Generation
President, Barry Bellue. According to Bellue, Program Manager
does not provide the flexibility to group related applications in an
intuitive way.

According to Fifth Generation, Direct Access automatically creates a
standard icon based menu to better organize Windows and DOS-
based applications in one convenient location.

To use Direct Access Windows, you need two megabytes of RAM,
at least an IBM AT or compatible personal computer, Windows 3.0
or higher (Windows 3.1 will be officially introduced April 6th), DOS
3.3 or higher, and any Windows compatible pointing device, such
as a mouse. The program has a suggested list price of $99.

Fifth Generation provides 24-hour toll-free technical support and a
one-year money-back guarantee. The company also markets
Fastback for backing up data and program files, security programs
Untouchable and Disklock, and two file management utilities -
Suitcase II and Superlaserspool.

(Jim Mallory/19920401/Press Contact: Jorge Vallery, Fifth
Generation Systems, 504-291-7221)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 1 Eighty-five PC Makers To Pre-Install Windows 3.1 04/01/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00006)

Eighty-five PC Makers To Pre-Install Windows 3.1 04/01/92
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 APR 1 (NB) -- In a move
that certainly must be in the: "I wish I had thought of that" category at
IBM headquarters, Microsoft has announced that eighty-five PC
makers, including eight of the top ten, will pre-install Windows 3.1,
the company's new version of its graphical user interface.

The deals are seen as a move to forestall PC buyers from installing
IBM's competitive operating system OS/2, which has just been
released.

The members of the big ten participating in the "Ready-To-Run"
program are AST Research, Dell Computer, Digital Equipment
Corporation, Gateway 2000, NEC Technologies, Packard Bell,
Tandy Corporation, and Zenith Data Systems.

Only IBM and Compaq of the top ten did not sign up, and a
Microsoft spokesperson told Newsbytes that Microsoft is still
having discussions with Compaq "nearly every day."

Microsoft said that many of the machines will be available April
6th, when Windows 3.1 becomes available to the public, and will
be demonstrated at Windows World in Chicago.

Machines with Windows pre-installed will be easy to identify,
since many of the manufacturers will be placing the distinctive
"Ready-To-Run" Windows logo on their machines.

Microsoft spokesperson Collins Hemingway told Newsbytes that two
major computer resellers, CompuCom and Computerland will also
pre-install Windows on PCs for their customers. Hemingway said
other resellers are expected to join the program as early as next
week.

With Windows pre-installed, an inexperienced PC user can just turn
on the machine and start using Windows, which comes with a word
processing program and a drawing program, as well as some useful
utilities. Organizations purchasing large quantities of PCs will be
able to drastically reduce the time required to configure their
machines with the elimination of Windows installation time.

Microsoft has had an aggressive program to make the hundreds of
brands and thousands of models of PCs compatible with its new
operating system. The company has already tested and certified
over 1,200 PCs in its "Hardware Compatibility Testing" program.
Hardware that passes the testing can display the "Windows
Compatible" logo.

Microsoft said that not only are PC manufacturers pre-installing
Windows, but some are optimizing it for the best performance on
that machine -- a task which previously would have to be done by
the user.

(Jim Mallory/19920401/Press Contact: Collins Hemingway,
Microsoft, 206-882-8080)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 1 ****Apple Programmers Defect To Sun For 2nd Generation GUI 03/31/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00007)

 ****Apple Programmers Defect To Sun For 2nd Generation GUI 03/31/92
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 1 (NB) -- Sun is
hiring away several Apple programmers, including some from Apple
and IBM's new venture, Taligent.

Newsbytes talked with Bruce Tognazzini, author of the book "Tog On
Interface" a book about human interface design, published by Addison
Wesley this year. Tognazzini is leaving Apple and joining Sunsoft,
Sun's software subsidiary because Sun made him a better offer
and Sun is open to the next generation of human interface design.
Sunsoft also has the hardware, networking and other tools
necessary to move to the next generation, Tognazzini added.

Robert Glass left Apple several months ago to head the human-
interface engineering group of SunSoft, Sun's software subsidiary,
the Associated Press reported. However, Tognazzini told
Newsbytes that two more top level programmers -- Frank Ludolph
and Annette Wagner -- both from Taligent, are also leaving Apple
to join Sunsoft.

When asked what the next generation human interface design is that
everyone wants to work on, Tognazzini described it as a more natural
approach to working. "Instead of opening an application, then creating
a document, users should be able to open a document, grab a word
processing tool, use it, then grab a paint tool and use it, the same
way one would work naturally on paper. You don't go into a different
room to draw on a different type of paper, then drag it back to
another document when you create in a natural environment, why
do it on a computer?" Tognazzini said.

Tognazzini agrees with a gentleman he heard at a conference where
the major graphical user interface vendors got up to say what was
different about their interface. Tognazzini quoted the gentleman at
the conference as saying: "I sat and listened to Apple, Next, Open
Look, and Microsoft Windows representatives talk about what was
different for an hour and a half, and I can't see a dime's worth of
difference in any of you."

Tognazzini's complaint with the Apple Macintosh is that it was
designed for 128 kilobytes (KB) of RAM, a single floppy drive, and
no hard disk. "So doing things like 'autosaving' of work was
just not planned in. If there's a power failure, the computer should
take the user right back to where he was when the power went off,"
Tognazzini maintains.

As for his title at Sunsoft, Tognazzini says it will stay the same as
at Apple, "Human Interface Evangelist." However, Tognazzini says
he has no bone to pick with Apple. "Apple was good to me," he
remarked.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920331/Press Contact: Bruce Tognazzini,
415-851-8611)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 1 British Telecom Expected To Shelve New Numbering Scheme 04/01/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00008)

British Telecom Expected To Shelve New Numbering Scheme 04/01/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 1 (NB) -- Sources within British
Telecom have confirmed a report in the March 2 edition of
Communications Week International, that BT has shelved plans to
change the numbering system for the UK.

BT was expected to announce a new numbering scheme for long
distance calls within the UK, as well as inbound international
calls, in the next few days. The central idea behind the plan was
to add an extra digit after the leading zero of the UK trunk
code to signify which region the call was destined for.

When the UK's trunk dialing codes were first implemented in
the mid-50s, all areas had a three digit area code identifier
which included the leading zero. Thus, 074 signified the South
Yorkshire region, while 075 signified the Plymouth region.

The advent of telecommunications liberalization over the past
decade in the UK, coupled with the introduction of new exchanges
and dialing codes, has made it increasingly difficult to work out
where a line is, based on its existing trunk dialling code. The new
regional code system was, Newsbytes understands, designed to
allow regional identification, as well as opening up new sets of
numbers for subscriber use.

The Telecommunications Managers Association (TMA) is said to
have been against the regional numbering scheme, noting that
only three percent of possible numbers are in actual use. The
TMA has also gone on record as saying that the cost of the
change would be of the order of $10,000 million.

(Steve Gold/19920401)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 1 AG Group Signs Distribution Agreement With Merisel 04/01/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00009)

AG Group Signs Distribution Agreement With Merisel 04/01/92
WALNUT CREEK, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 1 (NB) -- The
AG Group is expanding the ways in which people can purchase its
Macintosh-based network management products. Currently, there
are two ways of purchasing AG Group's products: either calling the
company direct or purchasing through retail outlets that deal with
Ingram Micro.

That is changing. Newsbytes has learned that the AG Group is
mounting an aggressive campaign to become better known. The
first step in this strategy culminated with the signing of a distribution
agreement between the AG Group and the Macamerica division
of Merisel under which Merisel will distribute the complete line of
AG Group products. These products include EtherPeek, LocalPeek,
NetWatchman, Skyline/E, SilverCloud, and NetPatrolPack.

All of these products will be listed in Merisel's "Network
Management Software Guide." In addition, the next issue of the
guide will highlight NetPatrol Pack and Silver Cloud.

This distribution agreement also makes a lot of sense to Merisel
as they are moving towards carrying a full array of network
management products.

Jack Kolk, director of products and technical services at
Macamerica/Merisel stated that: "The AG Group has eloquent
solutions for the network management problems of today, as well
as the vision to create innovative network utilities for the future. We
are very pleased to be offering these products and look forward
to products still on the drawing board."

(Naor Wallach/19920401/Press Contact: David Burke, AG Group,
510-937-7900)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 1 Alacrity Expands Document Imaging System To The Network 04/01/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00010)

Alacrity Expands Document Imaging System To The Network 04/01/92
HACELLSTOWN, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 APR 1 (NB) -- Alacrity
Systems Inc., is expanding its document imaging system beyond the
individual desktop to the whole networked department.

Alacrity believes that most business professionals prefer to work in
a relatively unstructured way and one who's paper movement
demands are relatively low. The business environment is such as to
encourage this unstructured work. After all, work is almost always
interrupted by the arrival of a fax or a telephone call. Therefore,
it makes little sense to purchase a system that was designed for a
work environment that is much more structured and paper heavy.

This is expressed in Alacrity's introduction of three new products.
All of these products build on the success of the company's Private
Alacrity Desktop Document Manager (PADDM) that was introduced
in August of last year. Alacrity suggests that people who are intrigued
by this technology should first buy their PADDM for $1,995 and after
using it, see about expanding to the networked version. In this way,
costs are controlled and low.

The networked version is really three separate products that can be
purchased to meet the needs of the particular installation. First is the
DDM (Desktop Document Manager) GroupServer. This product is
comprised of a board and software that runs on a Windows 3.0-based
machine. Alacrity suggests that the minimum configuration for the
GroupServer should be a 386 with four megabytes (MB) of RAM.

The GroupServer is attached to a printer and a scanner, as well as to
a networked fax/modem. The software uses the board for display and
compression/decompression, and the hard drive for the storage of
documents. Alacrity maintains that with their compression algorithm,
they can store up to 500 black-and-white documents in as little as ten
MB of hard disk space.

The GroupServer operates in the background. With its connections
to the scanner, fax machine, and printer, it is possible for it to
become a copier as well as the hub of the rest of the system. An
operator can use some of the built-in applications to control the
scanning and printing processes. For instance, when a fax comes in,
rather than having it be put on paper, it gets stored in the hard
drive and can then be forwarded to the person it is addressed to.
To send a fax to a single individual, or a group, the process is
done in reverse. The fax is created and then a mailing list is
generated and the faxes go out complete with cover sheet to the
addressees.

DDM Satellite Station is the name for a set of hardware and software
that gives you most of the features of the GroupServer but is really
intended to be the basic workstation package. The big difference is
in the hardware interface options provided. The Satellite Station
can only access a scanner and the network. There is no printer
interface on it. This defines its role as more of a personal workstation.

DDM Softaccess dispenses with the hardware altogether and
presents to the user a software window into the GroupServer. In this
way, costs are dramatically reduced. The user can access most of
the GroupServer's functions and execute them on the GroupServer's
hardware in the background. This product is explained as being very
useful for the occasional user.

DDM GroupServer will be available for $2,995. One can also upgrade
from a Private DDM to a GroupServer for $1,100. A DDM Satellite
Station will sell for $1,195. A DDM Softaccess will sell for $495. All of
the new products work with any NetBIOS-compatible network and
all are expected to become available in the second quarter of 1992.

(Naor Wallach/19920401/Press Contact: Gary Baker, Technology
Solutions for Alacrity, 212-505-9900)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 1 Autodesk Intros Hyperchem 3D Modeling Software For PCs 04/01/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00011)

Autodesk Intros Hyperchem 3D Modeling Software For PCs 04/01/92
SAUSALITO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 1 (NB) -- Autodesk
says it has released Hyperchem, a new scientific modeling software
geared toward chemists and scientists that runs under Microsoft
Windows.

Hyperchem is for the analysis and modeling of three-dimensional
molecular structures. Autodesk says the availability of the product to
do 3D modeling on an IBM or compatible personal computer will
make the technology available to literally hundreds of thousands
of potential users.

The Aberdeen Group reports the computational chemistry market is
growing at 30 to 40 percent a year, or two to three times faster than
the overall computer market. Only a handful of companies sell to the
computational chemistry segment, which is expected to grow to a $1
billion a year market by 1994.

Autodesk says it is aiming beyond the people demanding the
computational chemistry tools, which includes chemists, biochemists,
physicists and material scientists in chemical, drug, plastics,
biotechnology, pharmaceutical, agrochemical, and petrochemical
industries, as well as at government, academic, and private
research institutes.

Known for its flagship product, Autocad, the first product of its kind
when it was introduced and used for architectural, drafting, and
design work, Autodesk says it can do the same thing with
Hyperchem that it did with Autocad. Autodesk's Joe Voelz said:
"The molecular modeling market today has striking parallels to
the PC-CAD (computer-aided design) market when Autodesk
defined it 10 years ago."

In its report, "Buying Guide to Computational Chemistry," the
Aberdeen Group claims that: "Autodesk gained its position (in the
computer-aided design market) by forcing prices down to create a
mass market for a technology that many thought would always be
too complex or esoteric for a mass market. Obviously, if Autodesk
were able to do the same in molecular modeling, it would
dramatically change the computational chemistry business and
expand the market beyond its current narrow base."

The mass market may be in the video and animation arena just
opening in the personal computer industry. An Autodesk
representative told Newsbytes that the company plans a
presentation of Hyperchem at the Academy of Sciences in Golden
Gate Park in San Francisco on April 7 to demonstrate the use of the
product in computer animation and computer graphics applications.

In the applications for chemistry professionals, Autodesk said
Hyperchem will not replace laboratory analysis, but will allow
chemists to get the insights they need into chemical structures and
properties before spending precious time and resources in a
laboratory analysis.

The product can allow the chemist to experiment with how molecules
react, evaluate chemical pathways and mechanisms, study the
dynamic behavior of molecules, and construct proteins and nucleic
acids, Autodesk said.

Hypercube, the company who developed Hyperchem, is 22 percent
owned by Autodesk. Autodesk also has the exclusive worldwide
marketing and distribution rights for Hyperchem.

The product sells for $3,500 and requires the same hardware as
Autocad -- a 386 IBM or compatible computer with a math
coprocessor.

More information on Autodesk products is available from Autodesk
directly at telephone [phone] or on CompuServe by typing
GO ADESK.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920401/Press Contact: Andrew Zarrillo,
Autodesk, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 1 Fujitsu Intros New Memory Chip Line 04/01/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(WAS)(00012)

Fujitsu Intros New Memory Chip Line 04/01/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 31 (NB) -- Fujitsu
Microelectronics' Integrated Circuits Division has announced a 15
nanosecond (billionths of a second), four megabyte (MB) static
random access memory (SRAM) chip family designated as
BiCMOS Emitter-Coupled Logic (ECL) SRAMs.

These new C524 Fujitsu chips are intended for use in
supercomputers and high-performance mainframe computers, but
will probably find their way into the cache memory of workstations
and even high-speed 486 systems.

In 1,000 quantities the four MB Meg (1 megaword by 4 bit)
chips are priced at $425 and will be available in volume by
summer. Other configurations and 4 megaword by 1 bit ECLs
will be available later.

A bipolar circuit includes the more common TTL, or transistor-
transistor logic chips, the ECL, and the I2L or integrated injection
logic chips. MOS or metal-oxide semiconductor is the other major
category of chip design - it does not use two-transistors to build a
flip-flop.

TTL circuits are less suitable for very high performance systems
because they tend to be "noisier" than ECL designs.

SRAM chips maintain their contents as long as they are kept
supplied with a steady voltage. This is different from DRAM or
dynamic RAM memory chips which require regular "refresh" cycles
that are more complicated to supply than direct current.  DRAM
chips usually have access times slower than 30 nanoseconds
(typically closer to 80 nanoseconds or even slower).

This need for a constant flow of electricity means that SRAM
chips draw more power, thus they are often designed as CMOS
(complimentary metal oxide semiconductor) chips which use far
less power than standard MOS chips, helping to make up for their
constant current drain.

SRAMs store information using a flip-flop circuit that "locks" in
place and keeps current flowing as long as it is supplied with
power. Bipolar and ECL SRAM chips generally have access
times of 10 nanoseconds or faster.

The speed of a computer's memory is important to overall
processing speed because no matter how fast the microprocessor
is, it must get instructions and data from memory and return
resulting calculations to the same memory.

This latest announcement means that the speed race is really
heating up. At the end of 1991 Cypress introduced a 12 nanosecond
BiCMOS 256K SRAM organized as 32K by 8, and on the horizon is
the Vitesse 0.6-micron H-GaAs III (hydrogen gallium arsenide)
technology, which is said to offer about 4 times better performance
than the BiCMOS technology. Vitesse Semiconductor is located in
Camarillo, California.

Hewlett-Packard and Analog Devices are expected to begin
production of 0.5 micron Bi-polar CMOS chips at a new Palo Alto,
California, plant in November of 1992.

One nanosecond is approximately the time it takes light to travel
a distance of one foot.

(John McCormick/19920401/Press Contact: Ms. Charlie Shafton,
Fujitsu, 408-922-9825)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 1 AFCOM Mainframe Trade Show To Host 1,200 In Nashville 04/01/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00013)

AFCOM Mainframe Trade Show To Host 1,200 In Nashville 04/01/92
ORANGE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR  1 (NB) -- AFCOM, the
California-based Association for Computer Operations Management,
will hold its 12th annual conference and trade show covering the
mainframe computer industry from April 26 through 30 at the Nashville
Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Formed in 1981, AFCOM
focuses in improving the skills of mainframe computer data
processing operations professionals.

This trade show, which expects to see more than 1,200 attendees,
is the world's largest trade show specializing in mainframe
computers. There will be more than 70 conference sessions
covering 33 topics in the technical, automation, and managerial
areas.

Full-day tutorial sessions will be offered in four areas of
specialty: disaster recovery; automated operations; improving
operations' image; and establishing service level agreements.

The tutorials and conference sessions are open for registration
until April 10, thereafter only the $75 exhibit pass will be available.
More than 130 vendors, many of them industry leaders such as IBM,
Memorex, DEC, and Computer Associates, will be participating.

For further information contact: AFCOM, 742 E. Chapman Ave.,
Orange, CA 92666. The facsimile number (no phone calls) is
714-997-9743.

(John McCormick/19920401/Press Contact: Carrie Pohlhammer,
AFCOM, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 1  ****IBM Announces AIX/ESA Mainframe Version Of Unix 04/01/92


(NEWS)(UNIX)(TOR)(00014)

 ****IBM Announces AIX/ESA Mainframe Version Of Unix 04/01/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 APR 1 (NB) -- While IBM's
end-of-March deadline to deliver OS/2 Release 2.0 got most of the
attention, another target date was met with less fanfare.

Last fall, IBM had promised a formal announcement of its mainframe
Unix offering by the end of the first quarter. That came March 31 with
the official release of Advanced Interactive Executive/Enterprise
Systems Architecture (AIX/ESA).

AIX/ESA, built on the Open Software Foundation's OSF/1, is a
version of Unix for IBM's System/390 family mainframes. IBM said
its enhancements to the OSF/1 base provide specialized server
functions, making AIX/ESA ideal for a variety of server requirements.
It can be used, for instance, as a data server for general-purpose
computing.

IBM expects the system will sell mainly to scientific and technical
users at first, company spokesman Ed Trapasso told Newsbytes.
Universities are also likely targets for the system, according to IBM.

Trapasso explained that an announcement of AIX/ESA last
September was intended as a statement of direction, promising
more details by this spring. Some configurations of AIX/ESA will
be available in June, he said, and all will be available by the
fourth quarter of this year.

When IBM revealed its plans for a mainframe AIX version last fall,
Bob Djurdjevic, an IBM-watcher and editor of the Annex Computer
Report, a Phoenix, Arizona, newsletter, called it a milestone.
"Unix has now entered the mainframe world too in IBM," he told
Newsbytes. Djurdjevic described the mainframe systems as "the
last enclave, the last fortress to fall" in IBM's reluctant acceptance
of the need to support Unix.

IBM said AIX/ESA provides for efficient use of such special
System/390 features as Vector Facility support, which delivers
enhanced horsepower for numeric-intensive applications. It also
supports High Performance Parallel Interface (HIPPI), Processor
Resource/Systems Manager (PR/SM) capabilities, Enterprise
Systems Connection Architecture (ESCON), and expanded
storage.

(Grant Buckler/19920401/Press Contact: Ed Trapasso, IBM,
914-642-5359)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 1 Sampo Intros New Flat-Screen Line Of Monitors 04/01/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00015)

Sampo Intros New Flat-Screen Line Of Monitors 04/01/92
NORCROSS, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 1 (NB) -- Sampo
America, long a name in private label monitor manufacturers, has
introduced a Sampo brand line of flat-screen monitors due to ship
in April. There is also a group of low-emission monitors in the
lineup.

Sampo's new line includes a 15-inch AlphaScan and a 17-inch
version of the same monitor, which a technical representative at
Sampo told Newsbytes had been tested and found compatible
with both PC and Macintosh systems.

Both met new VESA (Video Electronics Standards Association)
specifications by offering resolutions of 1,024 by 768 at 70
megahertz refresh rate, or 1,280 by 1,024 at 60 megahertz.

Those monitors, and the low-emission versions will debut at
Spring Comdex and ship at the same time. A new Sampo 20-inch
monitor is already on the market.

A contact at Sampo told Newsbytes that although the standard
AlphaScan monitors will be displayed at Comdex, the low-
emission level systems are not yet available and will ship at a
later date.

Sampo monitors are manufactured in Taiwan.

(John McCormick/19920401/Press Contact: Norm Dybowski,
Sampo, 404-449-6220)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 1  ****Hitachi Develops World's Fastest Supercomputer 04/01/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00016)

 ****Hitachi Develops World's Fastest Supercomputer 04/01/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 1 (NB) -- Hitachi claims that it has
developed a supercomputer, which has the fastest processing
speed in the world. The company maintains that the new system is
even faster than NEC's supercomputer that was claimed to be the
world's fastest supercomputer.

Hitachi's latest supercomputer is called the HITAC S-300 Series.
There are 10 models in this series, and the upper-end version of
the machine operates at 32 gigaflops (32 billion floating-point-
operations-per-second). This is faster than NEC's SX/3R
supercomputer, which used to have the world best of 25.6
gigaflops.

Hitachi also claims that the processor's cycle speed is two
nanoseconds. This is 0.5 nano second faster than that of NEC.

The HITAC S-300 supports multiple numbers of operating systems
including Hitachi's original VOS3/AS and the OSF/1-based Unix
operating system HI-OSF/1-MJ. There are about 200 kinds of
application programs for Hitachi's operating system. Hitachi
plans to make 150 kinds programs for the Unix operating system
available within two years.

The company intends to rent the new supercomputers to
corporate users at 8.5 million yen ($65,000) or more per month.
They will be shipped in the second quarter of 1992. A total of 100
units are expected to be shipped in Japan over the next five years.

Hitachi used to market supercomputers mainly to universities and
research laboratories, but it intends to begin marketing more
machines to the private sector this time.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920401/Press Contact: Hitachi,
[phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 1 Japan: Beverage Vending Machine With TV Debuts 04/01/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00017)

Japan: Beverage Vending Machine With TV Debuts 04/01/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 1 (NB) -- Tokyo-based major coffee
dealer Ueshima Coffee Corporation has developed a unique
vending machine. It is equipped with a small LCD (liquid crystal
display).

The vending machine is as big as a refrigerator. The LCD TV is
built-in around the top front of the machine. Although it is small
(about a nine-inch screen), it is crisp and clear enough to show
the picture outdoor. The TV programs can be received either
through a radiowave antenna or a cable, so it can air regular
TV programs as well as cable TV programs.

The TV can be connected with local TV broadcasting aired by
local governments, or various news including traffic information
including traffic congestion, and train and airplane schedules.

Ueshima Coffee has already installed the first TV vending
machine at the Tokyo train station. The firm is planning to place
nine more vending machines in Tokyo to get consumer reaction.

Total sales of beverages were about 2.8 trillion yen ($21 million)
in Japan last year. More than 70 percent of the beverages sold in
Japan was sold through vending machines.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920401/Press Contact: Ueshima Coffee,
[phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 1 FCC Announces Plans To Change Radio Ownership Rules 04/01/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00018)

FCC Announces Plans To Change Radio Ownership Rules 04/01/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 APR 1 (NB) -- The Federal
Communications Commission (FCC), in an attempt to liven up the
radio industry, has announced it may amend its recently-
introduced radio ownership regulations to allow more stations to
be owned by one company or person.

According to Alfred Sikes, the FCC's chairman, the rule change
would allow a single licensee to own as many as 30 medium wave
(AM) and 50 VHF (FM) stations, compared with the present 12 AM
and FM stations.

Although the proposed rule change is being welcomed by the
radio industry, which has been hit by the recession, it is reported to
have drawn criticism from Republican Ed Markey, the chairman of
the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications.
Markey is known to have advocated a lower capping figure on
ownership, although higher than the present 12 AM and FM stations.

Newsbytes notes that, barring major objections, the rule change
will be formalized by the FCC within the next week.

Apart from the recession, is the rule change expected to bring
new companies into the radio industry? Industry experts suggest
not -- the rule change is primarily designed to allow troubled
smaller stations to be taken over by the more successful ones.
Under the current rules, many groups of stations which are up to
their twelve AM/FM station limit, have been prevented from
rescuing other radio stations facing bankruptcy.

(Steve Gold/19920401)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 1 MCI Nixes Billing For Problem Pay-Per-Call Services 04/01/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00019)

MCI Nixes Billing For Problem Pay-Per-Call Services 04/01/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 APR 1 (NB) -- MCI
Communications has announced it is no longer accepting
applications for the more dubious firms offering financial
services on its premium-rated "900" area code lines.

Specifically, MCI is prohibiting companies offering credit card
and loan advice services on the premium rate services. Newsbytes
notes that the majority of these companies are usually only
dispensing common-sense rules on building credit ratings up and
charging heavily for the privilege.

One "900" number that Newsbytes called in the US recently in
connection with a financial feature turned out to be a thinly-
disguised mail-order operation with a "Gold card" membership
costing $50 that allowed members to buy mail order goods at
normal prices. Considering that callers to the "900" number paid
$10 for the call itself, this was clearly a scam.

In addition to the financial services block on "900" lines, MCI
has also ceased handling billing for job agencies which offer
generic job descriptions and suggestions on how to get a job.

The changes, which take effect from April 1, are in addition to a
previously-announced block on adult services on "900" numbers.

"MCI has instituted these policies to further ensure that consumers
are protected and are subjected to less confusion and fewer
incidences of abusive sales tactics by some 900 information
providers," said Carol Herod, MCI senior vice president for
business marketing, announcing the block.

"While we have previously taken strong policy steps that are
consistent with FCC rules, these additional safeguards can help
to protect consumers during uncertain economic times. At the
same time, we want them to be able to take advantage of the
numerous consumer and business-oriented programs which
offer legitimate and valuable services," she added.

The "900" area code service changes, which were notified to its
major subscribers in February of this year, are likely to cause a
major contraction in the number of companies offering premium
services, Newsbytes notes. MCI, ironically, was one of the first
telecommunications companies to offer "900" area code premium
rate services at the beginning of last year.

(Steve Gold/19920401/Press & Public Contact: MCI
Communications, 202-887-3000)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 1 Spanish Company Bids For Greek Cellphone License 04/01/92




(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00020)

Spanish Company Bids For Greek Cellphone License 04/01/92
MADRID, SPAIN, 1992 APR 1 (NB) -- Telefonica de Espana, the
Spanish telecommunications company, has submitted a shared
license application to run the proposed Greek cellular telephone
network. Telefonica's partners in the application are Bellsouth
Europe and Ram Hellas, a Greek electronics company.

According to the Greek government, applications for licenses to
run the mobile phone network are open until June of this year.
Industry experts expect five groups of companies to apply for a
license, although only one will be successful. The Greek
government will announce the successful applicants this June.

Greece is one of the few European/EC countries that does not have
a mobile phone network in place. This disadvantage, Newsbytes
notes, can quickly be turned into an advantage, as it will allow
the successful licensee to leapfrog ahead of the existing analogue
technology, moving straight to digital cellular phone systems.

(Steve Gold/19920401)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 1 British Telecom Teams With Olivetti On ISDN Multimedia 04/01/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00021)

British Telecom Teams With Olivetti On ISDN Multimedia 04/01/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 1 (NB) -- British Telecom has
teamed up with Olivetti, the Italian electronics giant, to develop
multimedia systems using ISDN (Integrated Services Digital
Network) technology. Products resulting from the agreement
are expected to be unveiled this summer.

Both companies have said they intend to pitch their multimedia
technology at banks and other financial institutions. The systems,
which will be based around Olivetti's PCs and workstations,
equipped with CD-ROM drives and BT's ISDN technology, are
expected to be near-unique in the financial systems marketplace.

The deal looks interesting, Newsbytes notes. Olivetti's PCs and
workstation products are selling well on a Europe-wide basis,
while BT's ISDN technology is considered by many to be state-of-
the-art. BT's ISDN service already covers two thirds of the UK,
and conforms fully to the CCITT recommendations for basic and
advanced service standards.

Because of BT's ISDN availability in the UK, and London's
continuing dominance of the financial services marketplace,
Newsbytes expects that the first multimedia systems resulting
from the inter-company agreement will be marketed in the UK.

(Steve Gold/19920401)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 1  ****National Network To Become Third UK Telecom Provider? 04/01/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00022)

 ****National Network To Become Third UK Telecom Provider? 04/01/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 APR  H1 (NB) -- Reports in the UK
press, which have yet to be confirmed by the parties involve,
suggest that National Network will shortly become the UK's third
force in public telecommunications, alongside British Telecom and
Mercury.

According to a reports in the Financial Times date-lined Tuesday,
March 31, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will shortly
announce that a license to allow National Network to operate public
telecommunications service in the UK will shortly be issued.

National Network, a private company, currently uses spare
capacity on the Post Office's private telephone network in the
UK to over indirect trunk call services to and from London.
Subscribers to National Network's service pay a flat-rate monthly
fee and may then place calls to and from London, paying local
call fees for the outdial service at the distant end of the link.

The current National Network service is not aimed at minor
users of telecom services. While it is possible to dial into the
network at the local end of the link, NN's service is usually
linked to the subscriber's premises using a private wire.

Although National Network is not commenting on the FT's report,
the Reuter news wire service says it expects NN to secure four
percent of the UK telecoms market by the end of 1996. NN is
also expected to invest around UKP 150 million in its own fiber
optic network to achieve this market penetration, the paper adds.

Newsbytes notes that, in order to achieve the same level of
market penetration that Mercury currently enjoys, NN will have to
greatly extend its virtual network which uses Post Office lines.
In addition, the company will have to negotiate some form of
agreement with BT to allow free local access to its network from
BT subscriber lines, as Mercury is allowed to do.

Officially, BT must allow its subscribers what is known as "equal
access rights" to the NN network. Current transmission problems
with the BT-Mercury network interfaces suggest that National
Network could have a problem with interfacing its network with
BT's, owing to the limited number of inter-network access points
available.

(Steve Gold/19920401)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 1  ****Japan Fails To Improve Semiconductor Import Record 04/01/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00023)

 ****Japan Fails To Improve Semiconductor Import Record 04/01/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 1 (NB) -- MITI, the
Japanese Ministry of International Trade, has reported that the
US share of the domestic Japanese semiconductor market had
reached less than 14.5 percent of the total market in the last quarter
of 1991. MITI rather than US government numbers were used
because, under the 1991 US-Japan Semiconductor Trade
Agreement, Japanese companies were given the responsibility
to police their own market.

This was about the same percentage as the previous quarter but
falls far short of the 20 percent market share which had been
agreed to in earlier trade agreements. That market share is the
target for the end of 1992, but little sign of progress has been
shown in Japan and observers expect even less progress as
Japan slips into a recession.

Andrew Procassini, president of the San Jose, California-based
Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) pointed out that no
progress has been made in the past two years, but he said that
US Trade Representative Ambassador Carla Hills had kept up
the pressure on the Japanese to comply.

The 1991 agreement was only the latest US-Japanese trade
agreement -- the previous one made in 1986 was violated almost
immediately by the Japanese, leading to trade sanctions.

Some observers point out that since Japanese-owned US-based
chip manufacturing facilities are producing more and more chips,
the Japanese may be planning to eventually meet the target
figures by exporting their own chips to Japan, in the same way
they build automobiles in the US and then export them to Japan.

SIA members include: Advanced Micro Devices; AT&T
Microelectronics; Digital Equipment Corporation; Harris
Corporation; Hewlett-Packard Company; IBM; Intel Corporation;
LSI Logic Corporation; National Semiconductor Corporation;
Rockwell International; Texas Instruments; and VLSI Technology.

(John McCormick/19920401/Press Contact: SIA, Tom Beermann,
408-246-2711)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 1 SPA Reports European PC Software Sales 04/01/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00024)

SPA Reports European PC Software Sales 04/01/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 1 (NB) -- The Software
Publishers Association survey detailing US software publishers'
sales to Europe during 1991 shows a jump of 32 percent in sales by
dollar value. The survey results are obtained from 37 US-based
companies and covered sales in six formats of products in 16
different specific categories such as spreadsheets and word
processors.

Total European sales for the 37 companies totaled $426.5 million
for the fourth quarter, and $1.38 billion for all of 1991, with fourth
quarter sales up 23 percent over the same period of 1990.

Year total sales increases were largest both percentage-wise and
in total dollar value to the German/Austrian area, and smallest
by percentage to Scandinavia.

MS-DOS applications are by far the largest selling in total value
but were only up by two percent last year, with Macintosh
software sales climbing a hefty 12 percent. However, Microsoft
Windows applications software sales jumped a massive 174
percent.

Total 1991 sales from just those reporting firms to European
areas were as follows (figures in millions of US dollars): Benelux -
$107; France - $279; Germany/Austria - $415; Italy - $52;
Scandinavia - $137; Spain/Portugal - $55; Switzerland - $39;
UK/Ireland - $297.

(John McCormick/19920401/Press Contact: Terri Childs, SPA,
202-452-1600)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 1 Plasmon And Ciba-Geigy Sign Development Agreement 04/01/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(WAS)(00025)

Plasmon And Ciba-Geigy Sign Development Agreement 04/01/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 1 (NB) -- Recordable optical
discs which can be created in desktop units and then run in
standard CD-ROM players have proven to be quite popular, but
there are some major concerns about the lifetime of the data on
such discs -- questions being addressed by a new joint
development effort between Ciba-Geigy and Plasmon Data
Systems.

While CD-ROM discs, which consist of tough polycarbonate
plastic disks coated with a metallic reflective layer and then
covered with a clear plastic coat, have been shown to provide
stable data storage capable of lasting decades or even centuries,
recordable CD discs use an additional layer of organic dye
which is written to during the recording process. This dye may
be unstable in the long run, making the medium unsuitable for
archival data storage that must last for many years.

The Ciba-Geigy/Plasmon agreement between the giant Swiss
chemical company and the major British disc manufacturer is
intended to produce a new recordable CD medium which will
have a minimum life expectancy of 50 years.

Ciba-Geigy brings an unparalled expertise in surface coatings to
the partnership, while Plasmon already manufactures write-once
optical discs with superior life expectancies.

Recordable CDs offer even small companies a relatively
inexpensive way to produce a limited number of CD-ROM-
compatible discs in-house. Such discs can contain more than 500
megabytes of programs or data, making them very economical
compared to other data publishing techniques. For instance, it
would take far less time to publish a CD-ROM and ship it to another
office by air freight than it would to transfer the same data over
telephone lines at 9,600 baud by modem.

Recordable CDs are not suitable for volume publishing because
they are recorded either real-time or "nearly" real-time, meaning
that each disc takes a minimum of 30 minutes to record while
mass-production CD-ROMs can cost as little as $20 to replicate
and can be produced by the tens of thousands each day in a
factory.

(John McCormick/19920401/Press Contact: Brad Lee Brenner,
Marken Communications, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 1 ****Hughes Says Intel Will Pay $35 Million To Settle Patent Suit 04/01/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(LAX)(00026)

 ****Hughes Says Intel Will Pay $35 Million To Settle Patent Suit 04/01/92
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 1 (NB) -- Los
Angeles-based Hughes Aircraft says Intel is paying it $35 million to
settle a patent infringement suit Hughes filed against the
microprocessor giant back in 1983.

Although the agreement is not final until a couple of details are worked
out, Hughes says the agreement calls for dismissal of all claims on
the part of both parties. Hughes' representative Richard Dore told
Newsbytes the suit is over three semiconductor patents involving the
ion implantation process used in the manufacture of microprocessor
chips.

Dore told Newsbytes the patents, filed in the 1960's, have to do with
processes that helped the industry as a whole develop smaller chips.
Dore said another suit was filed against another chip manufacturer,
but that particular company went Chapter 11 sometime back.

When a patent infringement problem is so wide reaching, Dore said
the tactic is to go after the industry leader, in this case Intel, and
then use the decision in that case to go after other, smaller infringers
of the patents. Dore said this case did go to trial last year, but the jury
after nearly a month of deliberation was not able to render a clear
verdict and the judge ruled a mistrial. Dore added that the judge
more or less suggested to Hughes and Intel they try to settle it
themselves.

When Newsbytes asked if Intel was attempting to "clean up its act"
in order to pursue the patent infringement suits it has filed, the most
recent against Cyrix, Dore said he didn't know but it was not unusual
for patent infringement suits to take 10 or 15 years to settle.

Hughes and Intel have agreed to a long-term cooperative business
relationship. Hughes said Intel is important to its continued business
with the US Defense Department, as Intel is a major supplier to
Hughes of parts needed for defense electronics. Both companies
have said Hughes will gain help from Intel in microprocessor
technologies that apply to the defense-related products Hughes is
producing.

Although Hughes and Intel have settled, Intel has just started several
patent battles. The most recent, as reported by Newsbytes, is with
Cyrix, a Richardson, Texas-based firm who maintains it has
developed a 486 microprocessor chip that is compatible with Intel's
i386 microprocessor and in fact can replace that chip. The
microprocessor is the core or "brain" of a computer, and the 386 and
486 microprocessor chips are a lucrative market as they are the
brains of IBM compatible personal computers. Cyrix says its chip
costs half of what the Intel chips cost, while being fully compatible.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920401/Press Contact: Richard Dore,
Hughes Aircraft, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 1 HP Reduces Prices Again On Vectra PCs 04/01/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00027)

HP Reduces Prices Again On Vectra PCs 04/01/92
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 1 (NB) -- Hewlett-
Packard (HP) is dropping prices on its Vectra IBM compatible
computer systems as much as 23 percent, the company said,
for a total of a 33 percent decrease in the last six months.

The price reductions include the company's family of network-ready
personal computers (PC) and are part of HP's campaign to compete in
the PC market. HP says its going head-to-head with Compaq, IBM,
AST, NEC, and Dell.

Bernard Meric, worldwide marketing manager of HP's Personal
Information Products Group said: "HP Vectra PCs have never
been priced more competitively against leading PC vendors."

HP says the network-ready HP Vectra 386/16N PC is now $1,149.
The Vectra 386/20N PC model 50 with a 50 megabytes (MB) hard
disk drive has been reduced from $1,999 to $1,549. The Intel 386SX-
based HP Vectra 386/16N PC model 50L with a 50 MB hard disk
drive that also comes configured with a network interface card plus
boot read-only memory (ROM) has been reduced from $2,049 to
$1,699

HP says its Vectra 486/33T PCs have been reduced up to $1,700.
The 33 megahertz (MHz) Intel 486 microprocessor-based PC with a
440 MB hard disk drive has been reduced from $10,749 to $9,049.
The HP Vectra 486/33T PC model 1000 with a one gigabyte (GB)
hard disk drive has been reduced from $12,349 to $10,849, HP said.

HP representative Bliss Talbott said prices on the Vectra line used to
be higher due, in part, to the extensive testing the company did on
the PCs. Talbott mentioned HP won the 1991 Dataquest customer
satisfaction survey and quoted IDC as saying HP PCs were the most
reliable by far in comparison to four other vendor's computers.

HP is probably best known for its laser printers. But the company
makes workstations as well and just announced GE Aircraft has
signed a $10.6 million contract for more than 400 of its HP Apollo
9000 Series 700 workstations and related services.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920401/Press Contact: Bliss Talbott,
Hewlett-Packard, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 1 Silicon Graphics Wins Class Action Suit 04/01/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LAX)(00028)

Silicon Graphics Wins Class Action Suit 04/01/92
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 1 (NB) --
Silicon Graphics has said a securities class action suit
filed against it by stockholders in May of 1991 has been
dismissed as being totally without merit.

The company says the court said in a written statement that
no legal basis for the claim existed, and the plaintiff's request to
amend the complaint was denied.

In March of this year, Adobe, also based in Mountain View,
California, and known for its printer and page description
language Postscript, won a similar suit. Adobe President,
John Warnock, said high tech companies are no longer going
to just settle these types of suits. "The case demonstrates
that companies do not have to automatically settle when they
are the target of class action securities litigation. A company can
vigorously defend these cases on their merits and win," Warnock
said.

Edward McCracken, president and chief executive officer of
Silicon Graphics, said in a prepared statement: "The outcome
clearly supports our belief that the action was meritless.
While the judicial process vindicated our company, to reach
that result we have had to spend a great deal of time and
money -- resources that instead should have been devoted to
research and innovation. We hope that the decision sets a
precedent and deters similar unsubstantiated class action
suits against other high technology companies."

Mountain View-based Silicon Graphics is known for its
workstation computer products, which it describes as visual
computing systems.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920401/Press Contact: Marilyn Lattin,
Silicon Graphics, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Linda
Prosser, Adobe, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 1  ****Texas Instruments May Manufacture Cyrix 486 Chips 04/01/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00029)

 ****Texas Instruments May Manufacture Cyrix 486 Chips 04/01/92
RICHARDSON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 1 (NB) -- Texas
Instruments might be the manufacturer of the new Cyrix 486 chip
which has gotten so much attention lately, if a report in the
Wall Street Journal is accurate.

Newsbytes contacted both Texas Instruments and Cyrix and asked
if indeed TI will manufacture the new 486 chip. TI spokesperson
Terry West said it is company policy to never comment on rumored
business relationships. Cyrix spokesperson Michele Moody
declined to confirm or deny the report as well, but did say the an
announcement of an agreement with a major supplier would be
made "soon."

Cyrix is deep in a merry-go-round mix of litigation and allegations
with Intel in fights over the "brain" or microprocessor for IBM and
compatible computers, once entirely the domain of Intel.

Intel has filed suit against Cyrix claiming the 486 chip Cyrix is
introducing is in violation of its patents and is attempting to stop
Cyrix from producing the chip at all. The rush is due to Cyrix's claim
that original equipment manufacturer's (OEMs) will be showing
computers with Cyrix chips beginning at Spring Comdex, April 6 in
Chicago.

Cyrix company spokesman Jim Chapman told Newsbytes Intel
has only seen reports from the press and analysts but has never
seen the chip. "How can they know it is in violation of their patents
if they've never seen it?" Chapman asked.

Intel calls what Cyrix is doing "patent laundering" and says it will
fight to stop it. Cyrix also filed a complaint recently, before Intel's
patent infringement action, requesting a "declaratory judgement" to
validate its plan of using Intel patents on devices that will be made
by SGS Thomson or other Intel licensees. Michael Bruzzone of
Cyrix told Newsbytes the judgement in essence is asking the court
to rule Cyrix's new processors are exempt from the Intel patents.
Intel General Counsel, F. Thomas Dunlap, describing the mechanics
of the alleged "patent laundering," said: "Cyrix uses Intel patents in
their chips, passes the devices through SGS (the Intel licensee)
and claims they are clean."

It seems however, that Intel might have some dirty laundry of its own
it is attempting to clean up. As reported by Newsbytes, Hughes
Aircraft has announced that Intel will pay $35 million in settlement of a
patent suit Hughes filed against the microprocessor giant in 1983,
over nine years ago. The patent suit was over ion implantation
processes, which Hughes spokesperson Richard Dore told
Newsbytes helped the microprocessor industry as a whole develop
the smaller chips it now enjoys. Dore told Newsbytes that, in a
violation of a patent as wide as the Hughes ion implantation, the
method used is to go after the largest violator, then use the decision
there to proceed after smaller companies. Intel was the target of the
suit until the announcement of the $35 million settlement.

Chapman says Cyrix has won 15 times to Intel's no wins in skirmish
battles in court over microprocessor chips. The declaratory
judgement should be decided in a month or two Chapman says.
That may not be in time for Intel to stop the introduction of the new
chips at Spring Comdex, however.

The new 486 chip Cyrix is announcing is reportedly compatible with
the i386, Intel's widely used microprocessor, and can in fact replace
the chip itself. Chapman told Newsbytes the cost of the Cyrix 486 chip
is half the cost of Intel's i486 chips in large quantities.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920401/Press Contact: Terry West, Texas
Instruments, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Michele Moody,
Cyrix, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 APR 1 SPA Settles Copyright Suit Against ABM 04/01/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00030)

SPA Settles Copyright Suit Against ABM 04/01/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 1 (NB) -- Irvine, California-
based Advanced Business Microsystems has settled a copyright
infringement suit brought by the Software Publishers Association
on behalf of member publishers Lotus Development, Microsoft,
Symantec, WordPerfect, Wordstar, Fifth Generation Systems,
Ventura Software, and Central Point Software.

Under the terms of the agreement, Advanced Business
Microsystems, which had allegedly made and used unlicensed
copies of programs from those companies, will begin an education
program aimed at preventing future problems and in addition will
contribute to the SPA Copyright Protection Fund, an anti-piracy
project.

ABM's President and Chief Executive Officer, Gerald Blackie,
said that there were some technical violations that his company
took immediate steps to correct. He also said that more stringent
control procedures are now in place which should guarantee
compliance in the future.

The SPA's Director of Litigation, Ilene Rosenthal, said that
control problems sometimes occur with rapidly growing
companies.

The SPA is a very large association of software publishers which
represents its members in Washington and pursues allegations of
copyright infringement brought against large and small companies.

(John McCormick/19920401/Press Contact: Terri Childs, SPA,
202-452-1600)
#ENDCARD



#CARD :1992 APR 27 Review of: P4PS, Printing Utility For PostScript Printers, 03/27/92


(REVIEW)(IBM)(SYD)(00030)

Review of: P4PS, Printing Utility For PostScript Printers, 03/27/92

Runs on: Industry standard PCs

From: ECONO-SOFT, P.O. Box 181030, Austin, TX 78718-1030,
512-832-1675, 800-367-7590

Price: Shareware $49.95 (includes printed manual); Postage $10 on
international orders (free in US). Texas residents add 8% sales
tax. MasterCard and Visa accepted, include expiration date.

PUMA Rating: 3.25 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Paul Zucker 03/27/92

Summary: P4PS is a utility that lets you do some fancy things on
your PostScript printer, using plain ASCII text files, like
printing double-sided booklets with four pages per sheet.

======

REVIEW

======

One of the annoying features of a PostScript printer is that it
needs to have even the simplest ASCII text file wrapped up in a
lump of PostScript before it can print the text. That's OK if
you're using your favorite word processor, but quite often you're
just working at the DOS prompt, and simply want to print a copy of
your Autoexec.bat file or similar.

At its simplest, P4PS can be used for this, but it really shines
by converting longer text files to some fancy PostScript commands
that produce multiple pages per sheet of paper, arrange pages so
you can put the paper back to do the other side, and so on. To
quote the documentation:

-Prints multiple pure ASCII or PostScript files to a PostScript
printer with an attractive (optional) drop shadow.

-Automatic Booklet Generation! 2-up (side-by-side),
properly collated, 1 or 2 sided output ready to
staple/bind into booklets.

-Prints anywhere from one to 64 virtual pages per
physical sheet of paper in Landscape or Portrait
orientation.

-Handles up to 255 columns per line - great for
spreadsheets.

-Control physical and virtual page headers using macros
to determine exactly what information is printed;
determine the exact format of date displays.

-Output to any DOS device or file specification.

-Print multiple copies of each file.

-Select a range of pages instead of the entire document.

-Select continuous or manual, one or two pass printing.

-Layout virtual pages across or down the physical page;
fill pages or start new physical pages for each file.

-Specify physical page margins and the spread between
virtual pages.

-Specify what to do when a file is interlocked on a
network - including waiting for it to become
available.

-With ASCII files, you can truncate instead of wrap long
lines, print optional line numbers to the left of each
line, select tab sizes, and select which font to use.

-Self-cloning -- allows you to write default options
directly into P4PS.EXE -- creating any number of
customized versions.

I haven't tried every option, but those I have work as claimed.
The hardest part is working out which way to rotate the paper
before you put it back into the printer for double-siding. It's
available from Genie, and many bulletin boards and it's worth a
look.

===========

PUMA RATING

===========

PERFORMANCE: 3.5 It works well, and in an uncomplicated way
providing you can work from the command line and don't need a
foolproof menu system.

USEFULNESS: 4 If you need it, it's indispensable. It doesn't take
up much room on the disk but it sure saves a lot of word processor
use.

MANUAL: 3 The best part of the manual is that it's a text file, so
you get to try the program out by printing the manual as a
booklet.

AVAILABILITY: 2.5 By mail (above) or from bulletin boards and
similar.

(Paul Zucker/920120)

#ENDCARD


#CARD :1992 APR 10 Review of: The First Book of PC-Write, Using PC Write 04/10/92


(REVIEW)(IBM)(ATL)(00033)

Review of: The First Book of PC-Write, Using PC Write 04/10/92

From: Books are by Rebecca Kenyon (The First Book of PC Write)
and Using PC-Write is by Trudie Reisner. Both are from
Howard W. SAMS and Company, 11711 N.College Ave.,
Suite 140, Carmel, IN 46032, 317-573-2500.

Price: The First Book of PC-Write - $16.95; Using PC-Write - $22.95

PUMA Rating: 4 for both books (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: tbass HNDYPRSN, MCI:379-5378, 04/10/92

Summary: The First Book of PC-Write covers both PC-Write ver.
3.03 and PC-WriteLite ver. 1.01 -- Using PC-Write covers
PC-Write through ver. 3.03.

======

REVIEW

======

I would recommend that anyone who uses QuickSoft's PC-Write have
one or both these books on their reference shelf. They both are
suitable for beginner through intermediate users. I would
recommend both for even advanced users as there are many
functions that we don't use frequently enough to remember and
this is a good brush-up course.

How frequently do you modify your printer definition file,
pr.def? When you need to do this, it is helpful to have a
clear description of the procedure, at your fingertips. You can
find this in the manual, but sometimes it is easier if there is
more than one set of directions.

I don't know about you, but when I see a page full of cryptic
commands my vision gets blurred before I even start to read. The
manual for PC-Write is an excellent manual, but these books give
you an alternative to the manual. An extra set of directions
could mean the difference in doing what is needed instead of
living with the problem.

I always feel I've accomplished something when I get PC-Write
to do something extra with just a few key strokes. These two
books are like having someone look over my shoulder to help.

These books may finally teach me to use the spellchecker that
comes with PC-Write rather than the external one I use presently.
I have just never taken the time learn the process for the
one that came with the program. It was easier to continue being
inconvenienced by exiting PC-Write, using my old spell checker, and
re-entering PC-Write to reform the paragraphs.

============

PUMA RATING

============

PERFORMANCE: (4) Both books are well written and show the
features of PC-Write with many visual and verbal descriptions.

USEFULNESS: (4) I found myself using QUE and SAM's PC-Write
books every time I wanted to break new ground with my word
processor. Now when I get asked questions about PC-Write I will
tell friends about these books.

AVAILABILITY: (4.0) These books should be at your favorite
computer book store and wherever SAMS and QUE books are sold,
i.e. B.DALTON's Bookstore or WaldenBooks. The books are readily
available from the MacMillan order desk at 800-257-5755 where
VISA, AmericanExpress, MasterCard, personal checks, COD, or
POs are acceptable.

(tbass HNDYPRSN/19910915/Press Contact: Beth Silcox, 317-571-3489,
FAX [phone])


#ENDCARD


#CARD :1992 APR 20 Review of: Numbers Maze, educa. game for Mac, 03/20/92


(REVIEW)(APPLE)(SFO)(00033)

Review of: Numbers Maze, educa. game for Mac, 03/20/92

From: Great Wave Software 5353 Scotts Valley Dr., Scotts Valley, CA,
95066, 408-438-1990

Price: $49.95

PUMA Rating: 3.75 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Naor Wallach

Summary: An educational game that allows you to drill yourself in
math. Can you believe that such a game could be fun? This one is!

======

REVIEW

======

Numbers Maze is a fun and addicting math game. Like many of the
better educational products out there today, it has enough elements
of fun, teaching, and progression, that even this crusty old
reviewer was impressed with the program to be continuing playing it
long beyond what he should have.

The program comes on one disk and is accompanied by a 50-page
instruction booklet. To tell you the truth, the manual is pretty
superfluous. This is a heady compliment indeed, since I did not
even bother to open it until it was time to look through it and see
if I missed anything. The game was easy to install on the computer,
was easy to run, and was easy to understand.

In its simplest form, this is an adventure game of sorts. When the
game starts, you are given a piece of some kind (it may be a car,
horse, or mouse). In a different corner of the maze is a castle. You
have to navigate your piece to the castle and enter it. Alas, life
is not simple. The way to the castle is blocked by walls and gates
and other things. If you see a solid black line, then you know that
this is an impassable wall, a light gray line is a passageway that
is currently blocked, while a darker gray line is a gateway that is
locked AND blocked.

Blocked passageways can be cleared. If you run into one, the picture
on your screen changes to a frontal view of the obstacle (The maze is
shown as if you are looking at it from above). There are many
different obstacles. The path may be blocked by a latched gate, or
maybe a load of loose stones piled up into the wall's opening so as
not to let you through. Or maybe the wall seems solid and you have to
discover the way to open it or push out stones to act as a staircase.
Then again, you may need to pull down a rope ladder or build a wooden
one. All of these actions will be done for you by the program on one
condition. And that is that you solve a mathematical puzzle that the
program gives to you. Many of the passageways take two or three
solutions before they finally open to let you through.

A locked and blocked passageway is unlocked by the use of keys that
appear at random in the maze. You must hurry over to them, pick them
up, and use them to unlock a gate before you can try to open it. As
you get through more and more mazes, you will notice that the mazes
themselves are changing. They become harder! First, you will notice
that some of the walls become invisible. They are only visible when
you knock into them. Then, the invisible walls will start returning
to their invisible state after a time that becomes shorter and shorter.
Finally, you will reach mazes where the way to the castle is blocked
completely by two walls. The only way to remove those walls is by
going and grabbing all of the books present throughout the maze. This
raises all of the flags on the castle's turrets which in turn makes
those special walls disappear.

Just as there is a progression in the maze, so there is a progression
in the kinds of questions that you are asked to solve. At first you
are presented with simple counting problems. Then, addition and
subtraction are unleashed on you. These start as simple column work,
but quickly grows to row equations and word problems. Once you've
mastered these, the program start throwing multiplication and division
problems at you. Again, the progression goes from the symbology
through word problems. It is very easy for you to find out when you
graduated from one level to the next. When you have achieved mastery
of a subject, the game is interrupted to present you with a certificate
of achievement that can be printed.

Like all the other parts in this program, the rewards that you get
when you reach the castle are also sequenced. The first time, you see
a great hall that is empty, and are allowed to hear a brief tune
being played in your honor. As you solve additional mazes, you find
more and more items in the hall, and are allowed to listen to the
music on more than one occasion.

Overall, I really like this game. It seemed to have just enough of
the elements of a game that I did not really mind having to solve all
of those problems. The box claims that this program is intended
to be used by children aged 5 to 12. I can easily see how a program like
this could be used with such a wide age disparity and yet remain fun to
do over the years. It is certainly a challenging program and one that I
would wholeheartedly recommend to many.

===========

PUMA RATING

===========

PERFORMANCE: 3.5 The game worked well on my machine. I encountered no
significant time delays or problems. I did run into a minor bug though.
When a certificate is achieved, the "print" button is not always shown
as available, thereby confusing some people who might think that the
certificate cannot be printed.

USEFULNESS: 4 Even though its premise is simple. This game retains
enough of a graduated approach that I can see it as being useful over
several years in a child's educational life. And with all of its
mathematical drilling usefulness, it is still a fun game to play!

MANUAL: 4 No Typos. The manual tells you everything you need.

AVAILABILITY: 3 This program is a bit old, so a tad of searching was
necessary before I could locate a copy. The phone number for the company
is not a toll-free number, nor is it very easy to find.

(Naor Wallach/ 19920316)
#ENDCARD



#CARD :1992 APR 21 Review of: Math Rabbit, a math game for children. 01/21/92


(REVIEW)(IBM)(ATL)(00005)

Review of: Math Rabbit, a math game for children. 01/21/92

From: The Learning Company, 6493 Kaiser Drive, Fremont, CA 94555,
510-792-2101

Price: $49.95

PUMA Rating: 3.0 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Dana and Robin Blankenhorn

Summary: Math Rabbit is fun and educational, but the program is 5
years old and shows its age.

======

REVIEW

======

Robin Blankenhorn, the 3-year old here at Newsbytes Atlanta, had
already tried the same company's "Reader Rabbit 1" program before
starting up "Math Rabbit," and as a result was a bit
disappointed.

Not that the games aren't fun, and educational. There's a
"sorter" game where collections of things can either be saved or
dumped. There are matching games where you can match math
problems to their solutions, and a music game where you hear a
tune after following directions on how many times to press a
certain button. There's also a multiple-choice game where you
choose the answer to simple math problems from a set of 4.

But the first screen of the program mentions that "Math Rabbit"
dates from 1986, and it shows. First, there's very little music,
and no music on the opening screen. After adding a MIDI card to
her XT, Robin found lots of great sounds on "Reader Rabbit 1,"
especially a theme song she now likes to dance to. Second, "Math
Rabbit" depends on the space bar key for input. True, that key is
bigger and closer to her than the "Enter" key, but she's used to
"Enter," all her future work will depend on "Enter," and newer
programs like "Reader Rabbit 1" also depend on "Enter."

Still, anything that can get a 3-year old to laugh while solving
math problems is a very good thing, and we're sure an update to
the program will be emerging from The Learning Company soon.

============

PUMA RATING

============

PERFORMANCE: (3) It works, but not as well as other products in
this series.

USEFULNESS: (3) It teaches beginning math skills, which is
important, but doesn't hold the interest as well as other
programs in the series.

MANUAL: (2.5) If you need to use it on a game designed for 4-year-
olds, there's something wrong. We used it to learn how each game
was played.

AVAILABILITY: (4) Available wherever educational software is
sold.

(Dana and Robin Blankenhorn/19920121/Press Contact: Sharyn A.
Fitzpatrick, The Learning Company, 510-792-2101)


#ENDCARD


#CARD :1992 APR 17 Review of: KidsMath, children's game for Macintosh, 04/17/92



(REVIEW)(APPLE)(SFO)(00033)

Review of: KidsMath, children's game for Macintosh, 04/17/92

From: Great Wave Software, 5353 Scotts Valley Dr., Scotts Valley, CA
95066

Price: $49.95

PUMA Rating: 3 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Naor Wallach

Summary: A collection of drill and practice games that teach certain
aspects of math. Can be a lot of fun for kids in the three to six age
range. Others may want a little more.

======

REVIEW

======

KidsMath is one of the very first educational programs that have
come out for the Macintosh. The version that I received, 1.1, is
supposed to be an update. Its intention is to be a program that is
used to teach math to kids in a way that is fun and visual.

The program comes on one 800K floppy disk which makes it suitable
for use with the complete Macintosh line. It will also work on any
of the older Macintoshes from the "Fat Mac" (the 512K version)
onwards. In addition to the disk, the purchaser receives a 25-page
manual. This manual contains explanations of how to load the program
and how to use it. It explains every one of the eight different
games presented and what they teach. Although it is not necessary to
read the manual before using the program, it is highly advantageous
to have done so.

The box claims that this program is suitable for three-to-eight year-
olds. To test this claim, I asked my three-year-old son to play it.
Aaron has absolutely no fear of technology (or of much else) and
learned how to use the mouse within two hours of starting to play
one of the games. At his age the only game that we played was
the Mouse Practice game which reinforces mouse movements and counting
skills. Much to my surprise, Aaron liked the game and is now asking
to play it on a frequent basis. He is learning his numbers, counting,
and the shape of the numerals through the process of playing this
game.

Other kids that I brought in to play this game were of various ages.
Those that fell between the suggested ages on the package usually
liked some of the games. It did seem that six-year-olds outgrew the
capabilities of the program rather quickly and also lost interest in
it.

There are eight games in this program. Each is really a drill session
on some mathematical concept. The kids are asked to solve a problem
and should they succeed are given another of the same type. The
situations are fun though and appealing to this class of youngsters.

The eight games include Mouse Practice, in which you either shoot
rockets, drop stars out of the sky, or shoot some asteroids on a
very lunar-like background. In addition, a box on the screen
displays the number of objects that you counted. The game teaches
counting and numbers and is the one that Aaron is constantly
playing. When you click on all the objects, the game gives you a
brief hurrah, and then gives you another set of objects. The objects
can be all of one kind or picked randomly by the computer.

Then there is Counting -- it shows a collection of objects on the
screen. The child is supposed to count them and click on the number
and the OK button displayed on the screen. Paddle Ball is a "breakout"
style game that is interrupted occasionally to have the child answer
some addition and subtraction problems. Frog Race -- in this game,
the child is trying to predict the winner of a race between four
frogs. Each frog moves in turn either forward or backward depending
on some sequence of events. After watching the frogs for a little bit,
it is possible to begin predicting their pattern and thereby select
the winner.

The Balloon game introduces such concepts as "greater than"
and "less than." A cloud barrier is the thing that distinguishes
between two levels in the sky and you can move the hot air balloons
up or down. Shuffleboard - this version helps teach addition with tens
and ones places for the kids to shoot their pieces into.
Tractors and Trucks is a mining simulation where elementary
multiplication is taught. The child is asked to solve a problem
correlating the size of a scoop of dirt with the capacity of a
truck. Rain Games introduces fractions. In this game, the child
controls the weather. Some chickens outside of a barn can stay
outside to eat or rush indoors depending on the amount of rain that
you generate.

To an adult, the eight games are very repetitive. These games are
certainly concerned with teaching individual aspects of certain
problems and do not contain the full gamut of things that would
keep us occupied. However, most kids who tested these games found
them interesting. Only the older kids (six and higher) tired of the
games quickly. The others had to pried away from the games.

The manual is well written and explains everything that you need
to know. Each game is thoroughly explained and contains some
additional learning tips in case you wanted to work with your
child in that area. I could find no typos in the manual or bugs
in the program.

===========

PUMA RATING

===========

PERFORMANCE: 4 The games perform as advertised. Even though this program
has a date stamp of 1989 on it, I used it in 1992 on a System 7 equipped
machine with no problems.

USEFULNESS: 3 The subject areas that are covered are important and the
coverage is obviously good. However, it is quickly limited by the eight
games that are relatively straightforward and unchanging.

MANUAL: 4 No Typos. The manual tells you everything you need to know
and even offers some tips on further work with the kids on this
subject.

AVAILABILITY: 1 This program may be very hard to find. I did not see
it listed in any mail order catalog, not did any of my local software
stores carry it. When I asked about ordering it the results were
negative. In addition, the packaging and the manual do not contain
any hints as to where to find the company. Not even a phone number
is listed!

(Naor Wallach/ 19920229)

#ENDCARD


#CARD :1992 APR 10 Review of: Integ Kid's Super Computer 04/10/92

(REVIEW)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00032)

Review of: Integ Kid's Super Computer 04/10/92

From: Integ, 2200-F Zanker Rd., San Jose, CA 95131

Price: $129.95

PUMA Rating: 3.75 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Linda Rohrbough and Margaret Rohrbough

Summary: Very much in appearance to a Toshiba laptop, this durable
Super Computer is the best, most considerate implementation I've seen
of a computer for first to fourth grade kids. It has strong appeal
both for educational and dramatic play and I only wish my daughter
Margaret had played with the toys I got her for Christmas with the
fascination she has demonstrated for the Super Computer.

======

REVIEW

======

From the day the Super Computer came into our house, eight-year-old
Margaret began with enthusiasm to investigate it. She agreed to
contribute to this review regarding what she enjoys most about
the Super Computer.

Doing what I do as a writer and consultant in the world of personal
computers, I found the Super Computer appealing from the beginning.
Even though the unit has been produced by a company from Hong Kong, it
lacked the awkwardness and strange color combinations I've come to
associate with poor American implementations of electronic toys
designed across the Pacific. However, the packaging of the Super
Computer looks very much like toys like the Whiz Kid, from Vtech
Educational Electronics, which we found very disappointing.

Out of the box, it is very much in appearance like a Toshiba laptop,
with a pop-up screen, a typewriter-style keyboard, a dark grey plastic
exterior, and has a carrying handle built into the top. And it's
durable. The keyboard is one piece with raised "bumps" over the keys
to press down to type them. We've had it for at least two months or
more and even with daily use it looks just about the same as when we
first took it out of the box.

The Super Computer is deceptively simple in appearance, but packs a
load of activities. Even though Margaret lists her current favorites
as the animation and the music activities, I've noticed she has worked
her way through all the activities (or games) beginning with the
number dictation and missing letters and developing favorite games
along the way as her skill level has increased. This is especially
appealing as I'm weary of purchasing expensive toys only to discover
the activity that appealed to me about the toy is only in an extra
cartridge that the store is out of right now.

The computer talks in a pleasant female voice that has not gotten on
my nerves like Teddy Rumpskin or Mr. Game Show (bought for our older
child a couple of years ago). Margaret's reading skills were rough at
best when we got the computer, so the fact that it explains itself to
her took a lot of pressure off me. The computer corrects the child
when a mistake is made, but the correction is polite, considerate, and
varied. It also has a volume control, which is another consideration
on the part of Integ I appreciate.

Some games can be played with one or two players, others are for
individuals. The games include "Missing Letters" a single or two
player game in which a picture is displayed on the screen that
illustrates a word. The word is displayed, but with missing letters
and the child has several chances to type in the missing letters. The
word is pronounced whether the child gets the missing letters or not.

Math games include addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division
as well as the display of an equation in which the child has to enter
the correct sign.

Several spelling games are built-in including "Spelling Dictation"
which Margaret says she especially likes because it gives her
compliments. Simple animated pictures illustrate the words to spell
such as "magician," "karate," "sled," and "diamond." Like most
educational spelling activities including the ones at her school, this
one is somewhat archaic. Living in Southern California, my daughter
has never seen snow, so she had no clue as to what the picture of a
sled represented.

"Word Jumble" is another spelling game, but even I have trouble with
this one. The letters are displayed at random on the screen and the
child has come up with the correct work and type it in correctly.

The "Any Number" game is interesting and a pleasant switch as the
child feels like the teacher in this one. The child types in a number
and the computer dictates it back. Margaret liked this one a lot in
the beginning.

"Number Dictation," where the number is pronounced and the child has
to type it in is also available.

"Trivia" is a more intellectual game. A sentence goes by on the bottom
of the screen and the child has to read it and then choose from one of
the three choices at the top. A typical example is "What is used to
make common tea?" scrolls by over and over at the bottom of the screen
while the three choices, grass, trees, and leaves are numbered 1, 2,
and 3 at the top. Since only ten characters can be displayed at a
time, the sentence has to scroll.

Currently, Margaret is learning to create her own animations and to
record and play her own songs, both activities built-in to the Super
Computer. She also has discovered a simple database that she alone can
access with a secret password she chose herself. This is very
appealing and she has shown all of us how we cannot get into her
database. She has all her friends phone numbers in there as well as
some notes to herself and she changes the information periodically.
The database is maintained when the power is off, as is the secret
password.

One of the things Margaret has said she especially likes is each game
has varied skill levels that can be changed at will.

A Spanish cartridge was sent along with the Super Computer at our
request as Spanish is a big deal in Southern California. Fits in a
slot designed to look like a 3.5-inch drive on the side of the Super
Computer and changes all the activities to Spanish, including all the
spoken instructions. Other language cartridges including French,
Italian, and Dutch are available. Margaret says enjoys using the
Spanish cartridge to play games she is already familiar with in
English.

There's an AC adapter outlet, although we did not get the AC adapter
with the Super Computer. However, we have used it all this time on the
same set of 4 "C" alkaline batteries. Considering how much I spend on
batteries for her other toys, I find this pretty amazing.

Both Margaret and I have a wish list for the Super Computer. On the
top of Margaret's list is more room in the database for her
information. I would like to see better words in the spelling and a
bigger screen display. The current screen display is adjustable
somewhat and seems to be adequate.

However, with the price of toys these days, I am enormously impressed
with the value and capability of the Super Computer. I wish I had seen
this one at Christmas -- I wouldn't have wasted money on those burp,
cry, spit up dolls or on Teddy Ruxpin, who costs nearly as much by the
time you get a few tapes.

Also, Margaret's academic performance has improved dramatically and so
has her confidence level. Margaret seems to have taught most of the games
to herself without much help from me, either by examining the
documentation herself or by trial and error. While I can't honestly
attribute all of it her improvement to the Super Computer, I'm sure
having her own computer and the intense concentration she put into it
has helped a lot.

============

PUMA RATINGS

============

PERFORMANCE: 4
I could wish the Super Computer had a larger screen or better words to
illustrate for the spelling games, but overall its really very, very
complete and obviously well thought out in its design.

USEFULNESS: 4
Compared to what I've spent for other toys, this is an excellent
value, especially considering the variety and number of activities
that are included.

MANUAL: 4
The manual doesn't look like much, but it seemed to cover everything.
We rarely needed it and it was easy enough for Margaret to understand
without help.

AVAILABILITY: 3
Unfortunately, the Super Computer is not available at any of the
retail children's toy outlets I checked. Integ says some children's
educational stores are carrying it, and Macy's had some at Christmas
but I was unable to find anyone in my area who carries it. It can be
ordered from Integ for $129.95 and $4.00 s/h for a total of $134.95.
Also, Integ has a toll-free number for helping consumers locate retail
outlets in their area at 800-486-0898.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920327/Press Contact: Judy Allan, Integ, tel 408-
435-0898, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD


#CARD :1992 APR 17 Review of: Alphabet Blocks, children's game for Macintosh, 04/17/92


(REVIEW)(APPLE)(SFO)(00031)

Review of: Alphabet Blocks, children's game for Macintosh, 04/17/92

Runs on: Macintosh

From: Bright Star Technology, 1450 114th Ave. SE Suite 200,
Bellevue, WA 98004 [phone]

Price: $59.95

PUMA rating: 2.5 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for NEWSBYTES by: Naor Wallach

Summary: A game that is trying to teach letter names and sounds.
Has several significant problems and is limited in its capabilities
to boot.

=======

REVIEW

=======

Alphabet Blocks is an educational game with a hidden agenda. We'll
get to that agenda later. The game itself purports to help teach
your youngsters letter recognition and pronunciation. It does this
in the form of a friendly elf who will either say the letter names
or their sounds, or ask your child to identify the letter that
sounds like... etc.

The game comes on two diskettes and is accompanied by a catalog of other
Bright Star offerings, a 4-page description of operating the program,
a registration card, a sticker with the elf's picture on it, and a
book that contains all the pictures that are related to letters
that appear in the program.

When you start the program, you are presented with the following
picture -- a window is opened that is the size of the monitor on
the Mac Plus and SE. i.e. a 9-inch monitor. If you have a bigger
monitor, than the window appear attached to the menu bar at the
upper left hand corner. At the upper left hand corner of the
window is a magic mirror with a picture of the elf appearing
in it. Below the elf is a slumped toy soldier and to the right
of them both is a stack of lettered blocks. Visually this is
most of all that you will see throughout the game.

There are two games provided on the disks. One is for letter names,
the other for letter sounds. Both of these programs look the same.
Depending on which game you chose, you can then have the elf go
through the alphabet and either say the names of the letters
"A, B, C, ..." or their sounds "Ai, Bee, See,..." When you
click on the slumped toy soldier, he will straighten out and
the letters on the blocks will change orientation to be capital
letters. Click on him again and he will slump down and the
letters will change to lower case.

If you click on the magic mirror, the elf will ask you to find
a letter. After a question, the program waits for your input.
If you click on the right letter, the elf will turn to look at
 you and blink several times. If you made a mistake, nothing
happens. After some time the elf will start giving you hints.
The first hint consists of limiting your choice of letters.
Only some of the blocks retain their letters. After a longer
time period a second hint appears that leaves only the wanted
letter block showing.

If you click on a block that contains a letter rather than on the
mirror or the toy soldier, then the elf will say the name
(or sound) of the letter and a small picture of something
that bears that letter as its first letter will appear next
to the mirror. These are the pictures that appear in the
Alphabet Book that comes with the program.

Finally, if lots of time pass between actions, the elf falls
asleep. The only way to wake him up is to do something. Then he
springs awake and does what is necessary. But, if you let a long
time pass again, then it's off to the snoozes.

Obviously, this is a pretty limited repertoire. I tested this game
with some three and four year olds who seemed about ready to start
learning their letters. Their reactions were unanimous: while interested
in exploring the program and seeing what it could do, they very
quickly lost interest and asked me to switch to another game.

While they were experimenting, they brought out a collection of bugs
that really disturbed me. For instance, when the game starts, it draws
a black screen. Even after you quit, the black borders around what was
the window remain. So, if you have a screen that is larger than 9
inches, you need to move things around or restart your computer to
see what used to be there. A second bug was discovered when a child
accidentally clicked on my desktop. Since for most Macintoshes under
System 7 or MultiFinder that means that you are changing programs,
the Macintosh immediately brought up the Finder and all of its
associated windows. Since the kids wanted to play this game, they
quickly clicked on its exposed portion. The problem was that the
game did not redraw its window correctly. Gone were all of the
outlines of the blocks, the letters, the toy soldier, and even the
elf! If we clicked on the mirror, the elf came back, but that was
the only way we could get things back to where they were outside
of quitting the program and starting over. Even so, it was never
possible to completely redraw the whole picture. The block outlines
would not come back no matter what we did. I do not know if this
is a System 7 problem or something that has been there all along,
I do know that it was very disappointing to come across.

I spoke to the company about this and other matters. They claimed
that this game was really developed as a proof of concept product
of a unique technology that they were developing. The program was
originally released in 1987 and has only undergone minor revisions
and corrections since. They have no official plans to make significant
upgrades to it. They claim that the technology can best be seen
by closely observing the elf and how he pronounces things. The
linking of his facial movements with exact control of the sounds
that he produces is the area where the company feels they excel.
After this conversation I went back and did pay special attention
to those features. The company is right. The animation is fluid
and the facial movements are much better than any I had seen
before. However, this does not count for much in a game that is
oriented to teaching kids. Not once in my product testing sessions
did any of the children that were using the product exclaim: "Wow,
look at the way his mouth moves!"

=============

PUMA RATINGS

=============

PERFORMANCE: 2 The game worked as advertised with the major exceptions
of the problems that I described.

USEFULNESS: 2 It is a limited program. Kids get bored with it very
quickly and there is nothing in it that compels them to ask to see
it and play with it again.

MANUAL: 4 There really is no need for one. Consequently, the brevity
of what is there is welcome

AVAILABILITY: 2 The company still sells it although it is not their
major activity. There is no toll free number for technical support.
This is a shame since it will be needed at least once.

(Naor Wallach/19920417)
#ENDCARD




#CARD :1992 MAR 31Compuadd Names Managers For Two New Divisions 03/31/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00001)

Compuadd Names Managers For Two New Divisions 03/31/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 31 (NB) -- Compuadd has
appointed managers for its two new autonomous divisions, part of
the company's market segmentation plan announced last month.
A Compuadd spokesperson said that the actual planning
for the two new divisions started as early as last October.

James H. Moore, 53, formerly general manager of Latin American
operations for Texas Instruments, has been named general
manager of Compuadd's Retail/International Division, and will
have responsibility for the chain's 125 retail stores. He will also
oversee international market activity, primarily in Western Europe,
Latin America, South America, the Middle East, and Asia.

John L. Conn, 41, Compuadd's new general manager of Systems
and Technology, comes to Compuadd from Harns Corporation,
where he was vice president of worldwide manufacturing. Conn will
focus on Fortune 1000 corporations, federal and state agencies,
educational institutions, and new market opportunities. The
Compuadd announcement said the new markets Conn would be
looking at would range from PC-based POS (point-of-sale)
terminals to RISC (reduced instruction-set computing) workstations.

Both managers will work at Compuadd's Austin headquarters,
and will report to Compuadd founder and CEO Bill Hayden.

Stressing the autonomous nature of the two new divisions,
Compuadd said they will operate as independent businesses, much
as Compuadd Express and Compuadd Informations systems do.
Compuadd Express isthe consumer mail-order arm of Compuadd,
while the Information Systems business deals with customized
software services.

According to Compuadd spokesperson Wendell Watson,
Information Services is primarily targeting the Fortune 1000 list for
the development of customized software.

"Rather than have a monolithic company, our goal is to build
multiple half-billion dollar enterprises that are nimble, efficient,
and narrowly focused across a broad spectrum of individual
customer needs," said Hayden.

(Jim Mallory/19920331/Press Contact: Wendell Watson,
Compuadd, 512-250-2000)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 31 Gateway 2000 Reports 128 Percent Revenue Increase For 1991 03/31/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00002)

Gateway 2000 Reports 128 Percent Revenue Increase For 1991 03/31/92
NORTH SIOUX CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 31 (NB) -
PC manufacturer and direct marketer Gateway 2000 has reported
that it ended 1991 with $626.8 million in revenue, a 128 percent
increase over 1990's $275.5 million. The company also said that
it shipped over 250,000 units in 1991.

Gateway also said its pre-tax earnings for the privately held
company were $59.7 million, up 137 percent from its $25.2 million
for 1990.

"We are very pleased with our 1991 results," said president and
CEO Ted Waitt. Waitt said the company exceeded the goals it set
at the beginning of the year, "by a substantial margin." He attributed
the results to supportive customers and the company's efforts to
offer customers the best price/performance values.

In the fourth quarter, Gateway said it shipped more than 92,000
units for gross revenue of $206.5 million, a 19 percent increase in
units shipped over the third quarter, and a 129 percent increase
over what it shipped for the fourth quarter last year.

Gateway 2000 claims that it is currently selling more IBM-compatible
personal computers through the direct market channel in the US than
any other PC manufacturer.

The company has been quick to offer the latest technology,
announcing two 50 megahertz 80486-based systems using Intel's
doubler chip in early March.

Mike Schmith, Gateway 2000 marketing manager, told Newsbytes
that the company expected to enter the international market in the
fourth quarter this year. "It's a red hot market right now," said Schmith.

Schmith said selling into the European Economic Community (EEC)
makes things easier for manufacturers, since the EEC sets
standardized tariffs and duties for goods sold to member countries.

Schmith also attributed Gateway's success in today's highly
competitive market to the company's ability to control costs. He
said that Gateway's home state, South Dakota, does not impose
either a personal nor a corporate income tax, and the company has
little difficulty attracting a labor force. Schmith said that while wages
may not be as high as in other states, the quality of life is better.

(Jim Mallory/19920331/Press Contact: Mike Schmith, Gateway 2000,
605-232-2189)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 31 Wordperfect Announces Resignation of Peterson 03/31/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00003)

Wordperfect Announces Resignation of Peterson 03/31/92
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 31 (NB) -- Wordperfect has
announced that the departure of W.E. "Pete" Peterson will be
part of a reorganization of its board of directors.

Peterson's resignation, while described as amicable by a WP
spokesperson, was attributed to a difference in management style.
Newsbytes also learned that Peterson did not agree with the
marketing direction that senior management wants to pursue.

According to an Associated Press, Peterson said he had been
asked to change his management style, which has been
described as "abrasive." Peterson was quoted as saying: "I'm a
difficult guy to work for. We just didn't see things the same way."

Peterson had been with Wordperfect since 1980, in charge of
day-to-day operations. Peterson will reportedly retain his one
percent ownership of the company. The company said Peterson
would serve as a consultant to the company and would provide
advice or respond to requests for consulting as appropriate.

Asked about Peterson's plans, WP's Jeff Acerson said that while
he did know specifically, he understood that Peterson might be
interested in writing a book.

Newsbytes was unable to learn if Peterson had a non-compete
clause in his contract.

With Peterson's departure, WP said it would add Duff Thompson,
John Lewis, and David Moon to the board. Thompson is VP and
general counsel, Lewis is VP, International, and Moon senior VP for
development. Bruce Bastian remains chairman of the board, and
Alan Ashton remains president of the corporation and a board
member.

The company said it would also create an executive committee to
guide marketing decisions in a time of fast growth, according to
Acerson.

Wordperfect says it was third in revenue among personal computer
software-only companies in 1991 with $533 million in sales. It
estimates that it has about 60 percent of the word processing market
share. The company employs 3,600 people.

(Jim Mallory/19920331/Press Contact: Jeff Acerson, Wordperfect
Corporation, 801-228-5005)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 31 New For PC: Peachtree Accounting For Windows 03/31/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00004)

New For PC: Peachtree Accounting For Windows 03/31/92
NRCROSS, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 31 (NB) -- Peachtree
Software  says it is now shipping a Windows version of its
Peachtree accounting system.

The company has been shipping Crystal accounting, a Windows-
compatible accounting program, for about a year, but says
the new integrated package has many more features.

Peachtree Accounting for Windows, which has a suggested list
price of only $99, comes complete with general ledger, accounts
receivable, accounts payable, invoicing, budgeting, payroll,
inventory, job costing, bank reconciliation, custom forms design,
and a financial report writer.

Like its DOS predecessor, Peachtree Complete, the user only has
to install the modules desired, and other modules can be installed
later as the need arises, without having to start over.

Peachtree program manager Debbie Leonard told Newsbytes that
a number of program enhancements had been made over Crystal.
She said that where appropriate, screens have been redesigned
to closely resemble the forms themselves, such as invoices.

Inventory Control is a new module which Crystal did not have, as
are Job Costing and Bank Reconciliation. Also added is a menu
bar at the top of the screen which allows the user to move directly
to selected functions.

Leonard said the program is compatible with Windows 3.1, which
has its official introduction April 6th, and Peachtree makes use of
OLE (object linking and embedding), another Windows 3.1 feature.

Accountants and bookkeepers who switch to Peachtree for Windows
from another package will be happy to find that Peachtree allows the
user to change the layout of the forms, such as invoices. If you
already have several thousand statement or invoice forms, you will
not have to change them; just tell Peachtree where you want the
information.

Posting in Peachtree for Windows can be done in real-time, or in
batch mode. In real-time mode, the changes are made as you enter
them. In batch processing, the changes are accumulated and all
made at once when you process the batch. Batch processing is
frequently used to allow the entries to be checked for accuracy
before being posted to accounts.

When you buy Peachtree For Windows, the same package will run
as a single-user standalone package or as a multi-user networked
program. It also uses Lotus Smartext hypetext for its context-sensitive
help. Clicking on a "book" button will display a list of words. Click on
the word and the help screens appear. Hypertext help systems get
the user to the appropriate help screens quicker than systems that
require you to scroll through help screens.

Leonard emphatically assured Newsbytes that the company would
continue to market and support the DOS version of its accounting
program, Peachtree Complete. She said the company believes
there is a market for both.

(Jim Mallory/19920331/Press Contact: Debbie Leonard, Peachtree
Software, 404-564-5800)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 31  ****Cyrix Hotly Denies Intel Patent Infringement Claim 03/31/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEN)(00005)

 ****Cyrix Hotly Denies Intel Patent Infringement Claim 03/31/92
RICHARDSON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 31 (NB) -- Cyrix
Corporation has responded to Intel claims of patent infringement,
holy denying that it had copied Intel's microcode.

As reported previously by Newsbytes, Intel claims that Cyrix would
have to have infringed on its patents for Cyrix's newly announced
386-compatible 486 microprocessor to be compatible. Newsbytes
has already reported on the announcement of the new Cyrix chip,
which the company said works like a 486 but is compatible with
present 386 machine designs, and priced lower than Intel
comparable products.

In a strong statement, Cyrix's president and CEO said Intel's
claims "demonstrate their (Intel's) ignorance of the Cx486 design."

The Cyrix statement received by Newsbytes said the company's
strategy also incorporates manufacturing its Cx486SLC
microprocessor by Intel patent cross-licensed semiconductors.
Cyrix told Newsbytes previously that it expected to announce
manufacturing agreements with other companies in the near future.
Cyrix sees this as additional assurance to its potential OEM
(original equipment manufacturer) customers that Cyrix's
products are safe to use in their designs.

Responding to charges by Intel corporate counsel Tom Dunlap,
that the cross patent license manufacturing strategy is "nothing
more than "patent laundering," Rogers said: "Dunlap must have
a short memory of the patent cross license issues, as Intel itself
stipulated in the January 20th SGS-Thomson trial that Cyrix
products manufactured by SGS are indeed licensed products."

Cyrix has already filed a declaratory judgment lawsuit against Intel.
"The Cyrix/SGS-Thomson cross patent license trial is complete
and we are awaiting a ruling," said Rogers. Rogers said the
declaratory judgment was filed in order to minimize additional
harassment litigation by Intel.

After news of the Cx486SLC became known, Intel reportedly said
in a press conference that it did not have one of the chips, and
based their infringement claims on press and analyst reports only.

In the strongly worded statement provided to Newsbytes, Rogers
said: "Groves posture that he regrets expending time in the courts
is either arrogant or not genuine, given the fact that they file
infringement suits without ever laying eyes on the product. Intel's
knee jerk reaction shows the Cyrix 486 has filled a product void in
the marketplace and exposed a raw nerve at Intel. The momentum
created by Cyrix's genuine innovation is more powerful than
worn-out legal action."

(Jim Mallory/19920331/Press Contact: Michelle Moody, Cyrix
Corporation, 214-224-2335)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 31 Cray Computer Says Cray-3 Problems Still Not Solved 03/31/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00006)

Cray Computer Says Cray-3 Problems Still Not Solved 03/31/92
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 31 (NB) --
In a brief public statement, Cray Computer said the problems which
have plagued development of its Cray-3 supercomputer project
"have been significantly reduced but not eliminated."

Founder Seymour Cray said two two-processor systems, one built
in January and the other in February, are now in the test stage. The
completed Cray-3 in its full configuration is designed to be a
sixteen-processor system. The company said that the tests are
continuing, but that "full functionality has not been demonstrated."
Until it is, Cray said no customer orders are expected.

Cray Computer lost its only customer for the Cray-3, the Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory, when it failed to meet a milestone in
the test process last December. Livermore Labs exercised an option
in its contract, and switched its order to a supercomputer from Cray
Research, the company from which Cray Computer spun off.

Cray said the problems, which are chiefly mechanical ones, have
been significantly reduced, but not eliminated.  He said the
company intends to build one two-processor system each month
until full functionality can be demonstrated. "At that time, we shall
begin to build and group the systems into four and eight-processor
sets for potential sale," said Cray.

Cray said the next progress report on the Cray-3 would be at the
company's annual meeting, which is scheduled for May.

When the system failed to meet test schedules in December, Cray
was also notified that a software development project with an
outside agency had also been cancelled. The company said it
would continue development of software in-house. Cray was also
looking for a partner "with complimentary skills to our own," for the
purpose of expanding sales prospects. Apparently no such
alliance was found.

At last estimate, Cray Computer's spending rate to develop the
Cray-3 was about $4.2 million, although that figure may have
changed. The company raised about $55 million through a stock
offering last July.

(Jim Mallory/19920331/Press Contact: Neil Davenport, Cray
Computer, 719-579-6464)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 31 Texas Instruments Sets Up Hong Kong CASE Marketing Office 03/31/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00007)

Texas Instruments Sets Up Hong Kong CASE Marketing Office 03/31/92
WANCHAI, HONG KONG, 1992 MAR 30 (NB) -- Texas Instruments
has expanded its Information Technology Group in Hong Kong with
the setting up of a new Advanced Information Management (AIM)
marketing office to serve the territory's growing CASE (computer-
aided software engineering) market.

The new office provides a full range of services centered around its
integrated CASE product, the Information Engineering Facility (IEF).

The new office will be headed by Marketing Manager Allan Yip,
expanding the TI Information Technology Group to 10 people, out
of a total TI staff of over 100 in Hong Kong. It will be the focus for
education, consultancy, and product support services to IEF
customers in the territory.

"The expansion of this office was necessary to serve TI's IEF
customers' needs and to maintain the company's software market
leadership," said Jim Poage, general manager for TI's AIM division
in Central Asia.

"Many Asian economies such as Hong Kong are at a point in their
growth and development where the need for information technology
is greatest, and they do not have the luxury of an abundant supply of
experienced IT professionals," added Yip. "Effective utilization of
scarce programming talent to address the growing applications
backlog has increased the demand for the IEF in this region.
Expansion of our operations was required to serve our customers'
needs and maintain our market leadership."

The IEF was born out of a similar situation within Texas Instruments.
Applying its strengths in artificial intelligence and information
technology, the company set out to design and develop a set of
integrated tools to improve its own IT productivity and quality.
Recognizing that they were not alone in their need for MIS
productivity tools, the company began marketing the IEF
worldwide in 1987.

The IEF runs on MS-DOS and OS/2, generating applications on
IBM mainframes, with versions also available for developing
applications to run under IBM's AIX, HP UX, DEC's VMS operating
systems, TI's Unix, Fujitsu Unix as well as the Tandem NonStop
computing environment.

TI maintains a substantial presence throughout the Asia-Pacific,
including Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Philippines,
Malaysia, Singapore, India, and Australia. TI's Advanced
Information Management division, which has its Central Asian
headquarters in Singapore, offers a variety of software productivity
tools and products, the IEF, software consulting services,
education, and support.

(Norman Wingrove/19920331/Press Contact: Sharon Hampton,
TI Hong Kong, [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 31 UK: Apple Develops First "Boat Race" Archive 03/31/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(LON)(00008)

UK: Apple Develops First "Boat Race" Archive 03/31/92
UXBRIDGE, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1992 MAR 31 (NB) -- One
of the first signs that Spring has arrived in the UK is the Oxford and
Cambridge Boat Race, an annual tradition dating back to 1829.

Oxford and Cambridge Universities have long been in friendly
rivalry with each other. The Boat Race is regarded as a
traditional event, at which each University rolls out its athletic
finest to beat the other.

Apple Computer has announced that it has developed the first
computer archive on the race, recording each race in detail right
back to 1829. According to Apple, the archive took six weeks to
develop, using Claris' Filemaker Pro. The bulk of the archive was
created from old records, including newspaper reports and diaries,
and can be run on any Apple Macintosh.

Information held in the archive ranges from data on how often each
university has won the Boat Race and by how many lengths and
canvases (measures of the race), to what the combined weight and
ages of the winning team were, in any given year.

This is the second year that Apple has been the official provider
of computers to the Boat Race. The Apple Archive will be
demonstrated at this year's race, which takes place on April 4.

(Steve Gold/19920331/Press & Public Contact: Apple Computer
UK, 081-569-1199)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 31 Survey Claims Govt Imaging Will Triple In Five Years 03/31/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00009)

Survey Claims Govt Imaging Will Triple In Five Years 03/31/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 31 (NB) -- A recent survey by
Vienna, Virginia-based Input, Inc., a market research firm which
focuses on the needs of federal users, says that the federal
government will increase its use of imaging software and hardware
by nearly 30 percent each year for the next five years.

The present size of the federal imaging market is about $430
million, but the Input survey says that is going to grow to $1.42
billion per year by 1996.

Those numbers include a lot of items, but the vast bulk of
imaging hardware and software will involve things like optical
storage devices such as WORM (write-once, read-many) drives,
rewritable drives, and CD-ROMs, as well as computers to manage
the data, software to index, search, and retrieve data, and optical
scanners attached to computers. Also included will be high-
resolution monitors and graphics cards, and laser printers.

Swamped with paper, the federal government has striven for years
to come up with viable storage systems which would eliminate both
the bulk, and inefficiency, of paper storage of documents which
range from memos to maps, diagrams, and even collections of
images.

The FBI, IRS, and Postal Service are already making use of
imaging systems and in the near future these agencies will
increase the amount they spend on such systems, but other
agencies will also move to this technology.

Nearly 70 percent of agencies now use either mainframe- or
minicomputer-based image storage and retrieval systems, with
about 20 percent using microcomputers to record and access
images.

A survey last year by Government Computer News revealed that
42 percent of 211 responding federal, state, and local government
agencies interested in imaging technology expect to have a
system in place by 1994.

The most important reason cited for moving from paper to
electronic storage is space savings.

(John McCormick/19920331)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 31 Optical Software Bridges Single Drive-Jukebox Gap 03/31/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(WAS)(00010)

Optical Software Bridges Single Drive-Jukebox Gap 03/31/92
MILPITAS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 31 (NB) -- Plasmon
Data Systems has announced a new product -- ReflectionManager --
which it claims will provide users with completely transparent access
for any optical storage system from a single drive to a massive,
multi-drive jukebox. The new program is intended both for desktop
users using MS-DOS 4.01 or higher, and local area network
managers.

ReflectionManager solves a common problem faced by companies
which begin using single optical storage drives such as WORM
(write-once, read-many) or erasable systems, only to find them so
useful that they want to migrate to multi-drive and autoloader systems
such as those provided by the larger jukebox drives. While either
kinds of drive are relatively easy to install, users will find when
making a switch that the existing files are often incompatible with the
new driver software needed to access the more sophisticated drives.

Plasmon's new software is completely compatible with single-drive
programs such as Plasmon's ReflectionDriver and all Corel-
compatible format systems, but also provides support for jukebox
systems up to 50 gigabytes (GB) capacity.

ReflectionManager pricing starts at $2,595 for the 10 GB version,
and goes up to $6,195 for the largest version. Utilities provided with
the new control software maintain audit trails, menu support, and
on-line help.

(John McCormick/19920331/Press Contact: Brad Lee Brenner,
Marken Communications, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 31 New For Mac: Rodime Offers Ricoh Rewritable Optical Drives 03/31/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(WAS)(00011)

New For Mac: Rodime Offers Ricoh Rewritable Optical Drives 03/31/92
BOCA RATON, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 30 (NB) -- Rodime
Systems is about to introduce two rewritable optical drives for
Macintosh systems based on Ricoh drives. The new drives will
be compatible with all Macintosh system software from 6.07 up,
including System 7.0.

The Condor 650e is a 650 megabyte (MB)-capacity, 5.25-inch drive
based on the Ricoh HyperSpace drive which turns at 3,600
revolutions-per-minute (rpm) to achieve 37 millisecond (ms) average
access times with a sustained one MB-per-second data transfer rate.
This would compare to CD-ROM drives which have access times
from 350 ms to well over 600 ms.

The second drive is the Condor 130e (128 MB), based on the Ricoh
3.5-inch Transporter Drive which turns at a slower 3,000 rpm rate
and offers a data transfer rate of only 640 kilobytes-per-second
with an average access time of 43 ms.

These are both magneto-optical rewritable drives, but the Condor
130e can also read discs mass produced (published) under the new
3.5-inch O-ROM standard, which is very like a small CD-ROM but
stores only 120 MB of data instead of the 550 MB carried on a
larger CD-ROM disc.

Ricoh builds optical drives but sells them to manufacturers who
integrate them into computer systems or configure them as add-on
systems for existing computers.

(John McCormick/19920331/Press Contact: John Dean, Ricoh,
408-432-8800)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 31 IDG Intros CD-ROM-Based Enterprise Computing Database 03/31/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00012)

IDG Intros CD-ROM-Based Enterprise Computing Database 03/31/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 30 (NB) -- International Data
Group, or IDG, has announced that it is producing a new line of
CD-ROM databases for the information technology executive who
needs access to information found in IDG periodicals. The newly
formed Emerging Technology Applications (ETA) operating unit
developed the databases in conjunction with CD-ROM experts at
Dataware Technologies.

Paul Earl of ETA told Newsbytes that  IDG is placing full-text and
useful graphics, "not photographs, but useful charts and data," from
two and a half years of Network World, ComputerWorld, and
Infoworld, on a CD-ROM which will be updated monthly.

Research data from IDC Research Database and Link are also
included on the disc, which has a first year subscription rate of
$695 for 12 issues.

Other publications will be added regularly. For instance, CIO
will be added in July and the company will continue to add other
appropriate IDG publications.

Other databases are also being published which contain research
data from Link and other IDG groups, also with full text, graphs, and
charts for multi-year periods. The first Link issue will be available in
the May-June time frame.

CD-Answer 3.0, Dataware's hyperlink retrieval system, will be
standard for all these IDG database publications, according to
Earl, bringing one important new aspect to the CD-ROM publication
field - the ability to hyperlink between different articles and
publications on a single disc.

Another major new feature which ETA will be offering, according
to Paul Earl, will be custom CD-ROM databases designed for
customers and published with just the sort of data they need.
Such databases, which Earl says will be priced as low as
$10,000, could and probably will include a way for companies to
search out potential customers using various criteria, but the
names and addresses will probably not be on the customer disc.

Instead, Earl told Newsbytes, people will have a way to quickly
send the company their search criteria. The company will then
print up a set of labels that matches the criteria they have already
refined through their own searches.

(John McCormick/19920331/Press Contact: Paul Earl, ETA,
508-879-0006)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 31 Dataware And Optimage In Joint Marketing Agreement 03/31/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(WAS)(00013)

Dataware And Optimage In Joint Marketing Agreement 03/31/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 31 (NB) --
Dataware Technologies and Optimage Interactive Services have
agreed to market each other's technology which involves optical
storage publishing.

Dataware Technologies produces the CD Answer retrieval software
which Optimage will bring to the CD-I (CD-Interactive) market, while
Optimage's CD-I expertise will be made available to the more than
200 Dataware customers.

This porting of CD Answer to the CD-I OS9 platform will be
accomplished by the second quarter of 1992. At that time Dataware's
retrieval platform will be available to those companies which wish
to offer products in the CD-I format. The format places up to nine
hours of audio, or a combination of high-quality images, audio, and
data, on a CD-ROM sized disc which is played in a dedicated CD-I
player, which is a device which attaches to a standard television
rather than a computer.

CD-I is a good candidate as a platform for many publishers
wishing to reach home or business markets with multimedia
presentations rather than computer data.

Optimage Interactive Services was formed by N.V. Philips of the
Netherlands, and Microware Systems of Des Moines, Iowa. Philips
is one of the developers of CD-ROM, and Microware supplys
the real-time OS-9 operating system which is at the heart of all
CD-ROM drives.

Dataware is a major producer of CD-ROMs for various companies
and government agencies.

(John McCormick/19920330/Press Contact: Kathleen Hunter,
Dataware, 617-621-0820; Brad Clark, Optimage, 515-225-7000)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 31  ****Cyrix To Announces 486 PC Chip On April 6 03/30/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DEN)(00014)

 ****Cyrix To Announces 486 PC Chip On April 6 03/30/92
RICHARDSON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 30 (NB) -- Cyrix
Corporation says it will formally announce immediate availability of
its Cx486SLC, a 25 megahertz (MHz) 486 microprocessor chip on
April 6 at Spring Comdex in Chicago. That is also the formal
introduction date of Microsoft's Windows 3.1 graphical user interface.

According to Cyrix president Jerry Rogers: "The Cx486SLC is the
first in a series of totally original Cyrix microprocessor products
with advanced features and 486 performance at 386 prices."

Cyrix says the chip is a 486 instruction-set compatible CPU
(central processing unit) with 16-bit external and 32-bit internal data
paths. The company said the chip is compatible with a 386SX bus
and pinout, and can be integrated into existing 386SX designs to
boost performance without raising costs.

Cyrix expects the chip will be popular for use in notebook,
pen-based, and entry-level desktop systems. Rogers
characterized the chip as a "quick and easy upgrade of 386SX
designs to 486-level performance."

Cyrix says the chip is initially available in a 25 MHz version,
but the company said it expects to ship a 33 MHz version in the
third quarter.

Rogers said that initial customer discussions indicate that OEM
(original equipment manufacturer) demand for the chip will be
significant, and the company expects to announce a significant
semiconductor second source agreement shortly.

Cyrix expects to expand its CPU line through 1992. Rogers said
the Cx486SLC is the low end of a whole family of higher
performance Cx486 microprocessors that will be introduced
throughout 1992.

The company says it does not plan to stop with 486 chips. "We're
not stopping at the 486 level. Our plans call for better-than-586
performance processors in 1993," said Rogers.

Cyrix said that the new microprocessor contains power management
features which allow a dramatic reduction in current consumption
when the chip is in "suspend" mode. That will be of special interest
to notebook manufacturers and users, where current battery life is
limited to four hours or less.

California-based Oak Technology says it will offer PC chip sets
which support the new Cyrix microprocessor. Oak says its chip set
includes all the logic necessary to implement a desktop system in
just three chips. It includes a system controller, a peripheral
controller, and a VGA controller. In addition to local bus graphics
support, the VGA controller chip supports up to 16 million colors
for photo quality images, according to the Oak Technologies
announcement.

Cyrix, best known for its math co-processor chips, is a venture-
capital funded firm founded in 1988. The company says it is
now self-sustaining, and was profitable within months after shipping
its first products in 1989. Cyrix has reported profitability for eight
quarters throughout 1990 and 1991.

Cyrix co-founders Jerry Rogers and Tom Brightman both had a
background in the computer industry before forming their company.
Rogers was vice president of Texas Instruments Microprocessor
Division, and Brightman was vice president of engineering, and later
vice president of planning and procurement, for Atari Corporation.
He also worked for Commodore Business Machines and Texas
Instruments in various product management, engineering, and
marketing positions.

Several other companies have also entered the microprocessor
field. Production of the CPU chips, the heart of every personal
computer, was once the undisputed domain of Intel Corporation. As
with any industry, increased competition, while putting pressure on
manufacturer's profit margins, usually benefits the consumer. Even
though OEM's are the buyers of CPU chips, the end user should
benefit. New product suppliers usually mean lower prices, and
those cost savings should be passed on to the end user.

Reacting to the news, Intel Corporation reportedly told analysts
that the Cyrix microprocessor is technologically inferior to the
Intel chips. According to British news service Reuters, an Intel
spokesperson said the Cyrix chip is targeted at what Intel described
as "the slowing 386 chip marketplace." Intel maintains the market is
rapidly shifting to the more powerful 486 chip. Cyrix says its new
chip has all the power of a 486 chip but will sell at 386 prices.

(Jim Mallory/19920331/Press contact: Michelle Moody, Cyrix
Corporation, 214-234-8357 ext 302)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 31 Grayson To Headline 17th Annual Trenton Computer Festival 03/31/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00015)

Grayson To Headline 17th Annual Trenton Computer Festival 03/31/92
TRENTON, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 31 -- Paul Grayson,
CEO of Micrografx will be the speaker at the 1992 Trenton Computer
Festival (TCF), to be held at Mercer County Community College on
April 11 and 12. Grayson will speak both as the keynoter
(April 11 - 3:00 PM) and at the Saturday evening banquet.

The Trenton Computer Festival is, according to Hank Kee, long
time Trenton director, the oldest computer fair in the world, preceding
even the legendary West Coast Computer Faire. Jim Warren,
organizer of the West Coast Faire, speaking to Newsbytes,
confirmed Kee's statement, saying: "Hank's right. Trenton was the
first, followed by a small one in Cleveland, and then there was
another one in the summer in Atlantic City. "

TCF'92 will feature over 125 seminars spread over the two days as
well as 171 commercial booths and exhibits from such firms as Aldus,
Adobe, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Lotus, Microsoft, Software Publishing,
Toshiba and WordPerfect. Additionally, it will contain a 17-acre
"flea market" with over 1,000 spots for sale of computers and
components of all ages.

The seminar program features an address by Dr. George Hazelrigg,
of the National Science Foundation on "Nanotechnology & Silicon
Micromachines." It also features a panel on "Computer Crime & First
Amendment Concerns," moderated by Newsbytes' John McMullen
and including EFF legal counsel Mike Godwin, New York State
Police Senior Investigator Donald Delaney, hacker Phiber Optik, and
2600 publisher Emmanuel Goldstein (Sunday, 10:30).

Other seminar topics include "Technical Development to the Former
Soviet Union," "Computer Law for Programmers & Desktop
Publishers," "Why C++ Makes You a Better C Programmer,"
"Medical Image: Capture and Display," "DOS Disassembled,"
"Genealogical Computing," "How To Buy a Computer," "Use of
Computers in Churches," and "Latest Computer Games."

TCF is sponsored by the Amateur Computer Club of New Jersey
(ACNJ), the New York Amateur Computer Club (NYACC), Trenton
State College, and Mercer Community College.

(Barbara E. McMullen/19920331/Press Contact: TCF 92,'
609-655-4999)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 31 Shiva Unveils Macintosh Dial-in Server 03/31/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00016)

Shiva Unveils Macintosh Dial-in Server 03/31/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTES, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 31 (NB) --
Shiva Corp. has an answer to the problem network managers are
discovering lurks within their Appletalk networks running under
System 7. Apple's latest release of the operating system unveiled
a host of new features that were designed to make computing in
groups work a lot easier.

With the introduction of the Powerbook laptop computers, that
process took another step forward. With Appletalk Remote Access
it is possible for users to set up their desktop Macintosh so that
a Powerbook user could dial in and use the files on the desktop
machine.

One of the better demonstrations of this feature allows a Powerbook
user to set up his portable in such a way that the whole process is
automatic. The user simply double-clicks on a file and the computer
already knows the number to dial. The computers connect, and then
the file and application are opened on the Powerbook.

To make such activities possible, it is necessary to set up the
desktop Macintosh in such a way that it will allow access to the
remote user. Then, the machine has to have a modem attached,
and it must be left on. All of this poses problems for network
administrators. The problems are twofold: first, network security
may be totally compromised as external links proliferate; and
secondly, the headaches that are generated by all of the naming
and different access restrictions can get totally out of control.

To the rescue comes Shiva Corp's new LanRover/L product.
LanRover/L is an Appletalk Remote Access Server. It looks just
like a Shiva NetModem and what it does is allow for centralized,
controlled access to the Appletalk network from a modem. The
network administrator can control the device from his console
directly from his Shiva NetManager program. He can set up
access levels, passwords, access lists, dialbacks, and other
such important parameters. The Powerbook user can then still
use the network in much the same way as before. The only
difference being that the process is much more controlled.

Shiva officials have told Newsbytes that they have tested the
LanRover/L in many installations and have shown that it is
completely compatible with Apple's software. The Shiva
LanRover/L will begin shipment in early May. It sells for
a price of $699.

The L in LanRover/L stands for Localtalk. Shiva would not say if
this meant that an Ethernet version is in the works, but did say
that they believe this to be the first product in a family of similar
devices. An Ethernet version, as well as versions that support
more than one modem, are logical extensions of this line.

(Naor Wallach/19920331/Press Contact: Carol McGarry,
Criswell Communications for Shiva, 617-876-1188)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 31 Olivetti UK Intros First Networked Fault-Tolerant Superservers 03/31/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00017)

Olivetti UK Intros First Networked Fault-Tolerant Superservers 03/31/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 MAR 31 (NB) -- Olivetti UK has
announced it is expanding its range of Netframe Superservers
with two new advanced, fault-tolerant (FT) machines and a new
entry-level system.

According to Olivetti, the Netframe range of machines is designed
specifically for users of advanced local area networks (LANs) and
provides a cost-effective combination of power, control, and
security.

In use, the new machines have the power to run networks of up to
1,000 users, as well as the ability to control complex networks.
In addition, they have the security needed for business-critical
applications, Olivetti claims.

The Netframe series of machines were designed and manufactured
by Netframe Systems in the US, a company which Olivetti holds a
11.4 percent stake in.

The Olivetti Netframe machines run either standard Novell Netware
of Microsoft's LAN Manager. The machines are said to be
particularly suitable for use as a server on large LANs, as well as
for client-server computing and for multimedia plus object-oriented
applications.

So what is fault tolerant (FT)? As the name implies, the technology
means that the hardware is tolerant of faults. Typically, when a
hardware fault is encountered, a backup system cuts in. Fault
tolerance used to be an expensive option, particularly on hard
disks, which are rated as most likely to fail. The falling price
of hardware has meant that FT machines are now available to
users with budgets not reaching into the tens of thousands.

Because of the falling cost of hardware, the Netframe systems are
what Olivetti calls advanced FT technology-based. Features such
as "Livedrive" and "Multispan" -- hard disk and LAN backup
technologies -- have been included as standard on the Netframe
250FT and 450FT series. Both machines are based around Intel's
50 megahertz (MHz) 80486 microprocessor.

Announcing the machines, which will ship towards the end of this
month, Carl Amdahl, Netframe Systems' chairman and chief
technical officer, said: "The ONF 450FT and 250FT embody our
commitment to the next wave of network computing. Our server
architecture has been designed for true fault tolerance, high
performance, managability, and maintenance control. These
are crucial to enterprise-wide computing today."

Newsbytes notes that the Livedrive and Multispan technologies
are state-of-the-art. The Livedrive system is the first nonstop disk
drive subsystem that enables customers to physically replace,
add and remove industry-standard disk drives without interrupting
the network server's operation.

Multispan, meanwhile, is claimed to be another industry first.
The package is billed as the industry's first LAN software that
supports multiple redundant connections between a network
server and LANs based on Ethernet and Token-Ring standards.

Pricing on all the new machines, which represent a change of
direction for Olivetti, will be announced closer to their shipment
date later this month.

(Steve Gold/19920331/Press & Public Contact: Olivetti UK,
081-785-6666)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 31 UK: Samsung Intros 17-Inch Multiscan Color Monitor 03/31/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00018)

UK: Samsung Intros 17-Inch Multiscan Color Monitor 03/31/92
SURBITON, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1992 MAR 31 (NB) -- Continuing
its steady release of high-specification color monitors, Samsung has
unveiled the CCB7577 Syncmaster. The product is a 17-inch high-
resolution FST color multiscan monitor with a dot pitch of 0.26
millimeters that supports very high definition images.

According to a Samsung representative, the monitor is aimed at
the advanced Windows user who wants a screen capable of running
applications such as desktop publishing (DTP), computer-aided
design (CAD) or high-end business graphics.

Unlike many monitors, the Syncmaster includes a digital control
system that accepts multiple frequencies and adjusts for the
horizontal and vertical picture adjustments required. The monitor
even remembers each different signal that is input so that, when
the signal is encountered again, it quickly adjusts to the
optimum horizontal and vertical scan voltages required.

The Syncmaster supports a screen refresh rate of up to 76Hz, with
a non-interlace screen resolution of 1,280 by 1,024 pixels. This,
Samsung claims, minimizes eye-strain by producing an extremely
stable, flicker-free image.

Pricing on the CCB7577 Syncmaster has yet to be announced, but
is expected to be competitive, according to a company
representative. The monitor, which is available immediately, is
billed as compatible with all PC graphics standards from VGA up
to 1,280 by 1,024 pixels non-interlaced, and all Apple Mac II
systems.

(Steve Gold/19920331/Press & Public Contact: Samsung
Electronics, 081-391-0168)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 31 UK: Charterhouse Unveils Entry-Level Legal Software 03/31/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00019)

UK: Charterhouse Unveils Entry-Level Legal Software 03/31/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 MAR 31 (NB) -- NMW Charterhouse
has unveiled a new entry-level product in its Trial range of
management software for the legal sector.

The package, which runs on a PC, is targeted at medium and
smaller-sized firms who not need the power of NMW's Trial/400
package for the IBM AS/400 computers. It is also available for
the IBM RS/6000 reduced instruction-set computing (RISC) family
of workstations, where it is known as Trial 6000.

Unlike packages which are available for such different platforms,
Trial is claimed to be completely compatible between versions.

Gordon Crawford, NMW Charterhouse's managing director, said
that the trend towards mergers and acquisitions in the legal business
market has meant that companies have had to upgrade their legal
software. Trial, he claims, enables legal firms to upgrade their
computer systems very easily.

"It is for firms such as these that we have announced these new
products, which have much lower costs of installation, yet will
meet functional demands in either the IBM AS/400 or Unix
environments," he said.

So what does the Trial family of software do? According to NMW,
the package was developed to address all of the management
information and marketing requirements of the legal office.
Client matter registers and databases, as well as time recording,
financial control and case management facilities have been
designed to improve the efficiency of practice administration, the
company claims.

One interesting feature of the software is that each package can
be customized to meet the individual requirements of legal
practices and departments, and can also assist in the effective
targeting of marketing, the company claims.

NMW Charterhouse is an IBM Business Partner (a high-end IBM
reseller) that specializes in providing high quality systems to
the legal, insurance, and debt recovery marketplaces. The
company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of NMW Computers, a
computer services company.

(Steve Gold/19920331/Press & Public Contact: NMW
Charterhouse, 071-403-1333)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 31 UK: Pre-Installation Software Scheme From Apricot Computers 03/31/92




(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00020)

UK: Pre-Installation Software Scheme From Apricot Computers 03/31/92
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, 1992 MAR 31 (NB) -- Apricot Computers
has extended its current software pre-installation service to include
Novell Netware, Microsoft LAN Manager, and SCO Unix or Xenix.
The software installation program appears to be the first in the UK
on the networking front and mirrors similar developments at Dell
in the US.

Announcing the scheme, Chris Buckham, Apricot's marketing
director, said that any self-respecting hardware manufacturer who
looks beyond merely shifting boxes should provide a pre-
installation service of this type.

"With our pre-installation service, Apricot takes away a great
deal of worry, time, and cost. The user is assured that Apricot
hardware is not only quality tested for use in the operating
environment of their choice, but has this software already
installed," he said.

Buckham added that, if a vendor offers a pre-installation service
and claims to be an open systems manufacturers, then the user
can expect o have a choice of operating environments as well
as hardware components. "It's here that a number of vendors
fall down. Apricot has now addressed this problem," he added.

Apricot's pre-installation service is available on the company's
range of computers and supports all versions of Novell Netware
from 2.2 upwards for up to 250 users, Lan Manager 2.1, SCO Unix,
SCO Xenix, and MS-DOS.

(Steve Gold/19920331/Press & Public Contact: Apricot
Computers, 021-717-7171)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 31 Alias Research Expects Loss, Stock Price Slides 03/31/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00021)

Alias Research Expects Loss, Stock Price Slides 03/31/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAR 31 (NB) -- The share
price of Alias Research has slipped on the NASDAQ over-the-
counter trading system in the United States after the company
revealed it expects a loss in the fiscal year ended January 31.
Alias shares closed at US$11 on March 30, down from US$13.50
at the end of the previous week.

Alias develops graphics software used to create realistic images
on computer workstations.

Company spokeswoman Susan Spencer confirmed the company
expects to report a loss for the year, but said no specifics are
available. "Nobody is prepared to sign off on any numbers yet,"
she said. The company will report its year-end figures no later than
April 28, she said, and hopes to have results much sooner than that.

Last fall, Alias reported a revised third quarter loss of US$8.7
million and a loss for the first nine months of the year of US$7.3
million. In the third quarter, Alias set aside a reserve for
receivables of $5.047 million. The company also took a
restructuring charge of $850,000 in the quarter.

When it became evident the company would lose money in the
third quarter, Spencer said, Alias decided it would be a good time
to "clean things up" by going over receivables carefully and
making provisions for bad receivables and restructuring costs.

The cost of restructuring was a major factor in the company's
losses over the past few months, Spencer told Newsbytes.

During the third quarter, Alias named Robert Burgess president and
Norman Wright as executive vice-president. Founder and former
President Stephen Bingham kept the post of chairman. Spencer said
management realized it needed people with more of the skills to
manage the company's day-to-day operations. Alias' Chief Financial
Officer, William McClintock, stepped down on December 2, the same
day the third-quarter loss was announced. In mid-November, Alias
laid off 35 employees, citing a need to become more efficient and
to focus on its most profitable activities.

(Grant Buckler/19920331/Press Contact: Susan Spencer, Alias
Research, tel [phone] ext 398, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 31 New For PC: CA-UpToDate Is Group Scheduler For Windows 03/31/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00022)

New For PC: CA-UpToDate Is Group Scheduler For Windows 03/31/92
ISLANDIA, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 31 (NB) -- Continuing its
push into the Microsoft Windows environment, Computer Associates
has announced shipment of CA-UpToDate, a group scheduler that
is its ninth retail software product for Windows, a company
spokeswoman said.

Designed mainly for groups connected by local area networks, but
also usable by individuals with stand-alone personal computers,
CA-UpToDate tracks appointments, helps schedule group activities,
and keeps track of to-do lists, the company said.

The software allows the user to tailor the daily timetable to his
or her needs, selecting the hours to be covered and the size of
time slots to be used, said company spokeswoman Kim Commerato.

When CA-UpToDate is used as a group scheduler, users can group
individuals together and use the software to find times when all
members of a group are free. This feature is meant to make it easy
to schedule group activities such as meetings. Resources such as
meeting groups and slide projectors can also be scheduled this way.
Groups can be permanent or temporary, and individuals can belong
to multiple groups.

CA-UpToDate uses color coding (or gray scales on monochrome
monitors) to differentiate types of activities. The software also
lets users attach priorities and deadlines to a day's agenda,
company officials said. Password protection and built-in modem
support with auto-dialing are also included.

The suggested retail price for CA-UpToDate is $149. The software
requires a personal computer with an Intel 80286, 386, 486, or
compatible processor, at least one megabyte of memory, DOS 3.1
or later, Windows 3.0 or later, and a hard disk.

(Grant Buckler/19920331/Press Contact: Kim Commerato,
Computer Associates, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 31 New For PC: Intersolv Enhances Excelerator Analysis Tool 03/31/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00023)

New For PC: Intersolv Enhances Excelerator Analysis Tool 03/31/92
ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 30 (NB) --  Intersolv
has announced a new client-server version of Excelerator, the
applications analysis and design tool that was the flagship product
of Index Technology, which merged with Sage Software a year ago
to form Intersolv. Excelerator II OS/2 is a complete re-implementation
of Excelerator for OS/2-based local area networks, Intersolv said.

According to Intersolv officials, the trend toward client server
applications has created new design challenges best addressed
by software developers working in teams, with shared access to
common design components and a variety of flexible
methodologies. So, Excelerator II OS/2 is built around an active
LAN-based repository that spans the entire development cycle,
from business planning through logical design to physical
implementation.

The Intersolv LAN Repository is the central storage and
administrative point for all Excelerator components, the company
said. Teams of designers can access the repository
simultaneously in read-only and update mode, with full integrity
assured. The repository can operate by itself or connected to
host-based repositories such as IBM's Repository/MVS.

Excelerator II OS/2 can import files created with the previous
version of Excelerator using a conversion utility. However, "it's
a totally different architecture," said Carla Schneiderman,
Intersolv's director of marketing.

The product supports a library of traditional and new
methodologies that can be used off-the-shelf, or tailored to
local requirements using an expert system capability.

Excelerator-OS/2 allows the user to choose from a library of
popular development methodologies that support data-driven,
process-driven, and event-driven design approaches. It also offers
an optional, add-on capability that allows centrally authorized
users to access and modify graphical objects and rules defined in
the Intersolv LAN Repository. This expert system capability allows
users to tailor methodologies to their own requirements and reflect
local design standards in the product's rule checking, the vendor
said.

The new release marries Index Technology's Excelerator product
with Sage's expertise in object-oriented design and local area
networking, Schneiderman said. She added that a version of
Excelerator for Microsoft Windows will be released shortly.

Excelerator II OS/2 runs on personal computers with 386 and 486
processors running OS/2 1.3 or 2.0. Intersolv recommends machines
with a minimum of 12 megabytes (MB) of memory and 30 MB of hard
disk space, Schneiderman said. The Intersolv LAN Repository
operates on top of IBM LAN Server, Microsoft LAN Manager, Novell
NetWare, Banyan VINES, and other standard LAN operating
systems. Excelerator-OS/2 is priced at $9,500 per user and is
available now.

(Grant Buckler/19920331/Press Contact: Carla Schneiderman,
Intersolv, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 31 New For PC: Lotus Ships SmartPics Clip Art 03/31/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00024)

New For PC: Lotus Ships SmartPics Clip Art 03/31/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 31 (NB) --
Lotus Development has announced SmartPics for Windows, a
clip art library with a "browser" for Windows applications. SmartPics
includes more than 2,000 pieces of artwork, the company said.

A key feature of the software is its "browser," which makes it easy
to scroll through the clip art library and search for images, said
a spokesman. The browser is the same technology used in
Lotus' Freelance graphics software, he said.

SmartPics for Windows supports object linking and embedding
(OLE), allowing it to appear as part of another application if that
package also supports OLE. For Lotus' own Windows applications,
1-2-3 for Windows, and Ami Pro, the company also supplies
SmartIcons and macros for push-button access to images from
within a spreadsheet or word processing document. When used
with another Lotus application, SmartPics "appears to be part of
the application itself," the spokesman said.

The clip art library includes images in categories such as
business, medical, sports, education, and thematic cartoons. It
also offers page backgrounds, arrows, graphical elements, and
polygon typefaces. Along with stylized drawings and caricatures,
the clip art includes more realistic images such as typical office
situations.

SmartPics can be used as a stand-alone program or shared among
users over a network. It requires a personal computer with an Intel
80286, 386, or 486 or compatible processor, a Windows-compatible
display, at least two megabytes of random access memory, a hard
disk, DOS 3.0 or later, and Windows 3.0 or later. SmartPics
supports all major Windows-supported networks, Lotus said.

SmartPics for Windows sells for a suggested retail price of $195,
for a version that can serve a single user or run on a network
server. Network node licenses have a suggested retail price of
$49. The software is to be available in the first week of April.

(Grant Buckler/19920331/Press Contact: Robert Snowdon Jones
or Dawn Buzzelli, Alexander Communications for Lotus,
404-876-4482)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 31  ****MicroSlate To Intro Cyrix 486-Based Pen Computer 03/31/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TOR)(00025)

 ****MicroSlate To Intro Cyrix 486-Based Pen Computer 03/31/92
MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA, 1992 MAR 31 (NB) -- Aiming at
users who need to carry large amounts of data with them in the
field, MicroSlate is about to introduce the Datellite 400. The
keyboardless portable computer uses pen input and is among
the first to be built around the Cyrix Cx486SLC processor, a chip
compatible with the Intel 80486.

MicroSlate is to show the new machine at the Comdex/Spring show
in Chicago April 6-9. A spokesman said it is meant for applications
that involve large amounts of data, a heavy graphics orientation,
and a need to carry the computer around. An example, he said,
would be the factory floor at a large aircraft manufacturer, where
a user might want to carry around many intricate schematic
drawings in electronic form.

"We're really talking about people who need to bring massive
amounts of data into the field," the spokesman told Newsbytes.

The Datellite 400 comes with an internal hard disk and 3.5-inch
diskette drive, a 2,400 bits-per-second modem, serial and parallel
ports, a VGA display connection, and a SCSI (Small Computer
Systems Interface) port. It uses Microslate's Veriflo simulated ink
digitizer to capture pen input on the screen, and the company's
OmniSuspend power management system.

The Datellite 400 will run on batteries for about three and a half
hours of continuous use, the company spokesman said, and is
expected to last through a standard eight-hour day in normal
off-and-on use.

The price of the machine is not yet available. Availability in the
United States depends on Federal Communications Commission
approval. In Canada, the Datellite 400 will be available in May.

As reported by newsbytes, Cyrix is involved in a legal battle with
Intel over its chips that are compatible with Intel models. Intel
alleges patent infringement, while Cyrix and other chipmakers
have accused Intel of unfair trade practices.

(Grant Buckler/19920331/Press Contact: Bob Rinklin or Jonathan
Poretz, HWH Public Relations for MicroSlate, tel [phone],
fax [phone]; MicroSlate, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 31  ****IBM Ships OS/2 2.0, Barely Meets Deadline 03/31/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00026)

 ****IBM Ships OS/2 2.0, Barely Meets Deadline 03/31/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 31 (NB) -- IBM has
begun shipping the long-awaited release 2.0 of its OS/2 operating
system, just managing to keep its promise to ship the software by
the end of March. Earlier promised by the end of 1991, the new
release was delayed three months last fall to incorporate added
capabilities asked for by users.

A key feature of OS/2 2.0 is its ability to run multiple application
programs written for DOS, Microsoft Windows, or OS/2 simultaneously.
According to IBM, this gives OS/2 2.0 users access to more than
17,000 DOS, 4,900 Windows, and 2,500 OS/2 applications. Existing
OS/2 applications are written for 16-bit processor technology, but the
new release will allow future applications to take advantage of the
full power of 32-bit processors, IBM said.

The software also introduces the Workplace Shell, a new graphical
user interface. OS/2 2.0 ships with more than 25 mini-applications
or "applets," including calendar, notepad, and calculator utilities.

OS/2 2.0 requires a personal computer with an Intel 386 or 486 or
compatible processor and at least four megabytes (MB) of RAM.
IBM recommends a hard disk with at least 60 MB capacity. OS/2
2.0 itself will occupy from 15 to 30 MB of disk space depending on
the options installed, said Douglas Spencer of IBM Canada's
personal systems software group. The installation program offers
users various options and shows them how much disk space
will be taken up by options such as on-line documentation and
games.

Company spokesman Scott Brooks told Newsbytes that IBM
expects to sell "millions of copies this year." IBM is going all out to
promote the software. In addition to extensive advertising and
other promotional activities, the company is offering all of its
employees incentives to promote the new operating system.

Initially backed by both IBM and Microsoft, OS/2 was expected to
supplant DOS as the major PC operating system by the early 1990s.
It failed to pick up the expected momentum, however, and Microsoft
has moved away from the operating system it helped develop,
promoting instead its Windows graphical operating environment in
combination with DOS. With nearly twice as many applications
available for Windows as for OS/2 today, the new OS/2 faces
formidable competition. In addition, a new release of Windows,
release 3.1, is scheduled to be available on April 6.

IBM has set an introductory retail price of $139 for OS/2 2.0.
Current DOS users can upgrade for $99, and current Windows
users can do so for $49. These introductory prices apply until
July 31.

IBM Canada also announced pricing for the new release. In
Canada, the permanent list price is C$199. DOS users can
upgrade for C$159, and until July 31, Windows users can
upgrade for C$79.

(Grant Buckler/19920331/Press Contact: Keith Lindenburg, IBM,
914-642-5363; Martha Terdik, IBM Canada, 800-563-2139)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 31 Apple To Offer A/UX 3.0 Secure Unix OS For Government 03/31/92


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LAX)(00027)

Apple To Offer A/UX 3.0 Secure Unix OS For Government 03/31/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 MAR 31 (NB) -- Apple Computer
says it has enhanced its A/UX Unix operating system to include
security features that meet the C2 level published in the Trusted
Computer System Evaluation Criteria (TCSEC) published by the
US Department of Defense. Apple calls the new Unix operating
system A/UX 3.0 Secure.

Apple says A/UX 3.0 Secure offers password protection and audit
security features. Discretionary access control mechanisms apply
an Identification and Authentication (A&I) subsystem that is enforced
when a user logs into the Macintosh and an audit subsystem of
subject/object processes and security relevant events that is
transparent to the user.

Apple says the C2 level security was not developed internally,
but purchased from Secureware of Atlanta, Georgia. The C2
enhancements are designed to be portable across a variety of
Unix platforms and Secureware is an approved vendor of security
technology for the Open Software Foundation's OSF/1 operating
system, Apple added.

A/UX 3.0 Secure is built on the AT&T Unix System V and complies
with open system standards such as IEEE POSIX, FIPS-151, SVVS,
SVID, NFS, and X Window System used in both industry and
government, Apple added.

Apple says users running A/UX can simultaneously run multiple
Macintosh applications, Unix applications, X Window System
applications, OSF/Motif (from Integrated Computer Solutions), and
MS-DOS applications (using Softpc from Insignia Solutions) on a
single desktop.

Apple mentioned Poweropen, the Unix operating system it is
developing in conjunction with IBM and Motorola. In a prepared
statement Apple said the "best features" of Apple A/UX, IBM's AIX
Unix implementation and the Open Software Foundation's OSF/1
operating system will be incorporated into Poweropen.

A/UX 3.0 Secure will be released as a compact disc read-only
memory (CD-ROM) product and Apple says it will offer a full year of
phone support and documentation. The company recommends
eight megabytes (MB) of RAM for running the new operating system.
However, the product is not expected to be available until the fourth
quarter of this year and pricing information is not available as of
yet, Apple added.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920331/Press Contact: Rick Myllenbeck,
Apple, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 31  ****Arabian Split Occurs Over Direct Telecom Links To Israel 03/31/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00028)

 ****Arabian Split Occurs Over Direct Telecom Links To Israel 03/31/92
ABU DHABI, UAE, 1992 MAR 31 (NB) -- Israel has opened direct
telephone links with ten Arab states for the first time since
1948. Almost immediately, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and
Saudi Arabia have announced that they no longer want direct
connections with Israel.

The situation could make a lot of money for major international
telecommunications companies such as AT&T and British
Telecom, as their international exchanges are used as routing
points in such disputes. BT London, for example, has been used
as a switching center for many calls between Israel and Syria
since hostilities first broke out.

Announcing plans to cut direct links with Israel, Mohammed
Saeed Al-Mullah, the UAE's telecommunications minister, cited
the example of someone entering a house without the owner's
permission. This is analogous, he said, to the telecomunications
situation with Israel.

Israel has gone on record as saying that, while it has heard of
Al-Mullah's comments, there has been no formal application to
cease direct telecoms service between Israel and the UAE or, for
that matter, Saudi Arabia.

According to Middle East press reports, it will be tricky for the
UAE and Saudi Arabia to block direct calls for only their own
country, as most calls are switched via satellite and then via
circuitous land routes, making it almost impossible for the UAE's
or Saudi Arabian telephone network to spot calls coming in
directly from Israel.

What is more likely, Newsbytes notes, is that calls from Israel
will be allowed through, but that outbound calls from the UAE and
Saudi Arabia will be blocked from direct access, so depriving the
Israeli telecoms authority of direct revenue from the countries
concerned.

Israel's direct telephone links with the ten arab states -- Saudi
Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab
Emirates, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Yemen - began late last
week. The direct-dial links were opened without publicity, in a
bid to defuse any potential problems.

According to the Associated Press, Israel has been technically in
a state of war with Arab states since the late 1940s, although
a peace treaty with Egypt was signed in the late 1970s. The
telephone traffic between Israel and the arab states previously
had to go through a private telecoms agency, with calls routed by
BT London and a number of other roundabout international routes.

(Steve Gold/19920331)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 31 AT&T Faces CWA-IBEW Coalition In Labor Talks 03/31/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(WAS)(00029)

AT&T Faces CWA-IBEW Coalition In Labor Talks 03/31/92
WASHINGTON DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 31 (NB) -- AT&T has entered
into negotiations with two unions, the CWA (Communications
Workers of America) and the IBEW (International Brotherhood of
Electrical Workers) in talks which are expected to focus much more
on job security than on wage and benefit packages.

Between them, the two unions represent 86 percent of the total
non-management AT&T workers. Observers contend that it is easy
to understand the union worker's concerns over job security when
they point out that since the 1984 court-ordered break up of the Bell
Telephone System monopoly, there have been more union jobs
lost in the industry than still exist.

AT&T on the other hand, is quick to point out that with competition
from companies like US Sprint and MCI Communications, the
company is no longer the massive "Ma Bell" which could dictate
prices and provide a shelter for all workers.

CWA, representing about 100,000 AT&T employees is leading the
way, but is coordinating with the IBEW. Although a settlement
with AT&T will not automatically cover the many employees of the
so-called "Baby Bells" or RBOCs (regional Bell operating
companies), it will certainly set a mark that the same unions will
strive to meet in those later negotiations.

IBEW and CWA contracts with AT&T both expire on May 30, 1992.

A short strike would not greatly affect business and home
telephone users, but the last CWA strike, back in the mid-80's
lasted nearly a month.

AT&T owns the NCR computer company and it would not be
unusual trade union strategy for any strike at AT&T to spill over
into pickets at NCR stores whether or not there are any union
employees at a particular location - this is especially true
since the unions have accused AT&T of blocking attempts to
unionize NCR.

(John McCormick/19920331)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 31 Quarterdeck Ships Desqview/X-Windows 03/31/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(WAS)(0000 )

Quarterdeck Ships Desqview/X-Windows 03/31/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 31 (NB) -- Quarterdeck Office
Systems chose FOSE (Federal Office Systems Expo) as the site to
unveil the much anticipated third version of that company's
powerful multitasking operating environment, Desqview/X.

"Vanilla" Desqview runs on eight- and 16-bit computers such as
the IBM PC, XT, and AT models. The company claims that
Desqview brings even more capabilities to the 32-bit 386 and
486 computer system.

Desqview/X, a full client-server X Window implementation, runs on
a 386 or faster computer using MS-DOS 3 and higher or DR-DOS 6
or higher, having EGA or better graphics, and a minimum of four
megabytes of RAM. Desqview/X will run DOS, Windows,
and X applications on stand alone PCs or across networks.

This is the very first full MS-DOS client/server implementation
of the international standard X-Window System. Included in the
$275 list price is the QEMM-386 memory manager and the driver
needed to run the environment on a Novell network. TCP/IP or
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol network
drivers are an additional $200.

The environment can be configured to have three different
interfaces, the X Window environment which is included, an
OSF-Motif interface for $250 more, or an Open Look interface
for $200 more.

Quarterdeck's President Therese E. Myers feels that
Desqview/X is a significant step toward bringing DOS into
enterprise computing. "This creates an open door for DOS users
and gives them the ability to take advantage of the advances in
X-related workstation trends regardless of platform," she said.

In addition to the X Window icon, menu, and three-dimensional
look, Desqview/X provides the important ability to cut-and-paste
information between applications running in different windows,
without regard to their internal file formats. This can even be done
across a network, but the company claims that the new
environment is a major advance for stand-alone PC users also.

#ENDCARD


#CARD :1992 MAR 30 KDD/AT&T Lease Advanced Telecom Circuits 03/30/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00001)

KDD/AT&T Lease Advanced Telecom Circuits 03/30/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAR 30 (NB) -- Major international telecom
firms in Japan and the U.S. have agreed to jointly develop
advanced telecommunication circuit lines. Japan's KDD and
U.S.-based AT&T will lease these circuit lines to bulk users of
the network.

The agreement calls for KDD and AT&T to develop dependable and
high-quality telecom circuit lines which provide error-free data
transmission. Also, the lines are to have a data back-up
feature in which the circuit can be automatically switched
from one line to another in case of failure. The switching can
be done immediately so the line will not be disconnected.

The lines will be leased to bulk users of telecommunication
between Japan and the U.S. The service is also expected to be
expanded to Europe in the future. The leased circuit lines can be
used for a variety of purposes including regular voice calls,
computer data transmission, and facsimile. The data transmission
speed is extremely fast -- it can be either 56 kilobits per second
or 64 kilobits per second.

Both firms will use undersea optical fiber cables as well as
space satellites for this service.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920330/Press Contact: KDD, [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 30 New For Networks: Retix OSI Routing Package 03/30/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00002)

New For Networks: Retix OSI Routing Package 03/30/92
SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 30 (NB) -- Retix is now
offering a portable software package that performs OSI compatible
routing. Retix is targeting this software package toward companies
that want to add the functionality of OSI routing to their hubs and
other network devices but that cannot afford to do all of the
development work themselves.

The Retix software is ready to be ported to any hardware and
operating system environment. It offers support for routing between
LANs, leased telephone lines, and X.25 networks. It also fulfills all
of the GOSIP 3.0 requirements on OSI routing. Retix has demonstrated
this software at the National Institute of Standards & Technology
(NIST) Interoperability Laboratory.

The Retix package contains all of the network layer routing
protocols including Intermediate System to Intermediate System Intra
Domain Routing Exchange Protocol (IS-IS), End System to Intermediate
System Routing Exchange Protocol (ES-IS), and ConnectionLess
Network Protocol (CLNP). The software also supports the full set of
OSI management objects that are required under the ISO's Common
Management Information Protocol (CMIP).

Retix is planning on using this new software in its internetworking
products. They are also planning on making it available to others
on a licensed basis. For more information, contact Retix at
310-828-3400.

(Naor Wallach/19920330/Press Contact: Lori Hultin, Retix,
310-828-3400)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 30 Digital Equipment & Tokyo Electric To Sell Each Others' Gear 03/30/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00003)

Digital Equipment & Tokyo Electric To Sell Each Others' Gear 03/30/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAR 30 (NB) -- Digital Equipment Corporation
(DEC) and Tokyo Electric will be selling each other's computers
and office automation equipment. The official agreement is expected
to be signed in April, and business will start in May.

In this agreement, DEC will sell Tokyo Electric's POS (point of
sales system). Tokyo Electric will sell DEC's computers including
the VAX and its workstations as part of Tokyo Electric's POS system.
Tokyo Electric will be able to beef up the networking aspects of their
system with DEC's computers.

In this way, both firms will enhance each others' products.
Tokyo Electric is currently receiving computer supplies from
its parent firm Toshiba. Tokyo Electric has been purchasing about
10 percent of its personal computers from Toshiba.

Tokyo Electric and DEC will also jointly develop products in the
future, the two firms announced. But there were no details on exactly
what they will develop. The products are expected to include
business systems and distribution network systems for supermarkets
and wholesalers.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920330/Press Contact: DEC Japan, +81-3-3989-
7526)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 30  ****Virtual Reality Board For Game Machines Debuts 03/30/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00004)

 ****Virtual Reality Board For Game Machines Debuts 03/30/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAR 30 (NB) -- Sega Enterprises claims to have
developed a new computer graphics board designed for game-playing
which is based on the latest concept of "virtual reality."

Sega's "Model 1," also called the virtual reality board, will be
shipped with Sega's newest game machine by July. Able to be
connected to a television set, this virtual reality board is said
to create a three-dimensional environment. Sega defines that as
high-quality graphics which support a maximum of 180,000 kinds of
graphic shapes per second. This allows game programs to respond to
high-speed reactions of the users. The board has also a quality
sound stereo speaker system, the company says.

Another advantage of this virtual reality board is the networking
feature. It has an extension port to support a multiple player
device. With this device, several players can share
the same game at once.

Sega hasn't announced any titles for this new game machine yet,
but the games are expected to be a step above current technology.
Sega claims the virtual reality feature will provide game players
with the feeling of actually participating in the game. Sega says
the technology can be used with special head-gear.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920330/Press Contact: Sega Enterprises, +81-
3-5461-8331)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 30  ****Second Generation Cordless Phone 03/30/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00005)

 ****Second Generation Cordless Phone 03/30/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAR 30 (NB) -- The Japanese Ministry of Posts
and Telecommunication is considering lifting the rules on
production and usage of new types of cordless phones.

If this technology is deregulated, cordless phones will consist of
radiowave transmitters and receivers. These would be the cheapest
two-way simultaneous communication devices.

Current cordless phones can be interconnected with each other
via the main telephone device. So, it is not possible for users
to use the handsets away from the main telephone
switcher. However, under the new system, the headsets can be
used away from the main switcher and can be used
just like a radiowave transmitter and receiver.

According to new guidelines on telephones, the user can also
make a telephone call using the handset or headset of a cordless
phone. So, the cordless phones can be used as portable phones.

It is said NTT is preparing ground bases for radiowave
telecommunication via cordless phones. The next major issue to
be decided is the phone fee system.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920330)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 30  ****Marketing Agency To Offer Interactive TV 03/30/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00006)

 ****Marketing Agency To Offer Interactive TV 03/30/92
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 30 (NB) -- TV Answer is getting
underway with New York-based Wunderman/Cato Johnson (WCJ), the largest
marketing and sales promotion company in the United States. It
will be the first major U.S. agency to offer TV Answer's
interactive television services to its clients. The announcement was
made at the Direct Marketing Association Show in Anaheim.

TV Answer is a box that looks like a video cassette recorder (VCR) but
has a remote control that allows the user not only to make selections
about what channel to watch, but actually allows a user to make
inquiries, place orders, and give responses. TV Answer said last year
consumers will be able to order pizza, buy groceries, check their bank
accounts, maybe even take tests for college credit, all from the
comfort of their own living room.

Digital technology is what makes it possible. "Cell" sites, much like
those for cellular phones, pick up the digital information transmitted
by the TV Answer box and transmit it.

Since the announcement of the TV Answer last year, the company has
made significant headway into placing the units into consumer's
homes. The radio spectrum necessary for two-way television use was
granted TV Answer by the FCC in January. Also, Hewlett-Packard
announced in February it will manufacture the TV Answer boxes,
which are based on a Motorola 68000 microprocessor chip, the same
chip in the Apple Macintosh computer.

Over 1.5 million TV Answer boxes are the minimum number the company is
projecting to place in homes within a year of the introduction
of the units. The first TV Answer boxes are expected to be available
in the first quarter of 1993.

With TV Answer boxes on the horizon, interest is heightening in the
ability to ask consumers questions directly. The Charter Partner
program is what TV Answer is calling the interactive research
capability. It involves programming TV Answer boxes with customized
market research software to allow questions about demographics to be
asked consumers along with their product or information orders. Since
communication is two-way and digital, it is possible to update the TV
Answer box's software over digital airwaves as well.

WCJ says it is the first national marketing agency to establish itself
in two-way television as a marketing tool for its clients. However, TV
Answer lists other recently signed service providers involved in its
Charter Partner program as J.C. Penney Company, CUC, Inc., Bose
Express Music, 800 Flowers, and 800 Spirits.

TV Answer is one of the first in the development of wireless
interactive video and data services (IVDS). The company is based in
Reston, Virginia with manufacturing facilities in Chantilly, Virginia.
WCJ is based in New York.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920330/Press Contact: Paul Sturiale, TV Answer, tel
703-715-8853, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 30 Information Builders Joins OSF 03/30/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00007)

Information Builders Joins OSF 03/30/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 MAR 30 (NB) -- Information Builders
Incorporated (IBI) has announced it has joined the Open Software
Foundation (OSF) as a general member. According to Carl
Rosenberg, the director of IBI's Unix division, the OSF 's
mission is the same as IBI -- to provide the industry with a
general-purpose, vendor-neutral Open Systems environment.

"This mission is complimentary to IBI's long-standing strategy to
offer users access to data, regardless of format or location,
through a consistent, interoperable product set," he said.
"We expect that the early access we will gain to OSF technology
as a result of our membership, and the ability to better monitor
advanced research activities in the Open Systems arena, will help
position IBI to deliver the products required for the success of
our customers throughout the 1990s and beyond," he added.

IBI's main product is Focus, a database package that integrates
application and decision support tools in a Windows-based
environment. Data and applications are portable between Focus for
Unix and versions for PCs, IBM AS/400, DEC VAX, Wang, Hewlett-
Packard and Tandem computers.

(Steve Gold/19920327/Press & Public Contact: Information Builders
(UK) - Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 30 Tetra Accounting Software Marketed With ICL Systems 03/30/92



(NEWS)(UNIX)(LON)(00008)

Tetra Accounting Software Marketed With ICL Systems 03/30/92
MAIDENHEAD, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 MAR 30 (NB) -- Tetra and ICL
have signed an umbrella agreement that enables ICL International
to market, internationally, Tetra Chameleon business and
accounting software on its ICL DRS 3000 and 6000 Unix-based
systems.

According to Tetra, plans call for Chameleon to be made available
initially in Malta and Czechoslovakia, with the intention to
expand this to include other ICL International territories in the
near future.

Commenting on the agreement, Peter Martin , ICL's managing
director of Czechoslovakia, said: "We considered many alternative
products, but chose Tetra Chameleon because of its suitability
for the rapidly changing environment in Czechoslovakia."

Klaas Bakker, Tetra's international sales manager, said that
Tetra has already established a close relationship with ICL in
the UK as well as overseas. "Chameleon is used widely in-house by
ICL Europe and International," he said.

"We see this as a very important agreement enabling ICL and Tetra
to offer international users a proven business solution, backed
by full training and support, through ICL's branch operations,"
he added.

Tetra is a business software house in the U.K. The company, which
was founded in 1979, has grown substantially in recent years, and
now has offices throughout the U.K., Australia and the U.S.

(Steve Gold/19920327/Press & Public Contact: Tetra - Tel: 0628-
770939)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 30 New For PC: JSB Virtual Socket Library For Windows 03/30/92

(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00009)

New For PC: JSB Virtual Socket Library For Windows 03/30/92
MACCLESFIELD, CHESHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 MAR 30 (NB) -- JSB has
announced the JSB virtual socket library (VSL) for MS-Windows 3.
The package is a Windows dynamic link library (DLL) through which
MS-Windows programmers can access a wide rang of TCP/IP networks
with a single interface and no maintenance or programming
required, according to JSB.

To date, companies developing Windows products which needed to
support multiple TCP/IP implementations have had to invest
significant time, effort, and resources to enable their software
to implement and maintain a host of TCP/IP software stacks.

The JSB VSL, the company claims, eliminates this effort, allowing
developers to concentrate on their applications, rather than the
communications interface.

The first two partners to sign agreement with JSB for the VSL
technology are AGE of California, which produces an Z11R4-
compliant X-Windows server for Microsoft Windows, and Techgnosis,
which produces an SQL server for Windows allowing Windows
applications, such as Excel, to make SQL queries on Unix
databases.

Commenting on the signings, Craig Schmidt, AGE Logic's vice
president said: "Broad-based network support is strategically
important to AGE's PC X server software strategy. JSB's VSL
technology means we can develop now for future market
requirements in the knowledge that we will be working to an
industry standard."

So what does the JSB VSL provide? For the applications developer,
the package provides Windows-based programming access to Windows
and non-Windows network software packages. In addition, it
provides a "Berkeley Socket" style application programming
interface (API) to most other applications software.

(Steve Gold/19920327/Press & Public Contact: JSB Computer Systems
- Tel: [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 30 Australia: Microsoft Appoints New MD 03/30/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00010)

Australia: Microsoft Appoints New MD 03/30/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1991 MAR 30 (NB) -- After approximately a month
without a managing director, one has finally been appointed
to run Microsoft Australia. He is Gary Jackson who spent the
last eight years as SE Asian general manager of Pyramid
Technology, and the prior eight years at Prime Computer.

Sources believe that Jackson was the original first choice when
the position was filled some eight months ago, but that he was
then unable to accept the offer. David Miller who did accept
the job left under uncertain circumstances just a month ago.

Unlike some computer companies in Australia, Microsoft has gone
from strength to strength lately, and is set for another boom
with this week's release of Windows 3.1. This version was
enthusiastically accepted at the dealer preview in Sydney on Sunday.

Jackson will be the third Microsoft MD in a year. Before Miller,
Daniel Petre had a successful tenure in the position before
being promoted to general manager of the corporate work-group
applications unit in the US. Petre had seen Microsoft Australia
grow by 282 percent in his three years.

(Paul Zucker/920328)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 30 Australia: New Daily Faxed Computer News Service 03/30/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00011)

Australia: New Daily Faxed Computer News Service 03/30/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1991 MAR 30 (NB) -- Australia's latest computer
publication is just three weeks old, and circulation is growing
fast. Computer Daily News is the creation of Australian computer
journalist David Frith.

Averaging around four pages per day, the newsletter is aimed at
decision makers and key personnel in the Australian computer and
related industries. At Aus$750 per year (around US$560) it isn't
for the casual reader, but has already become an essential source
of timely information about the industry, often scooping other daily
and weekly publications by a number of days.

Organizations can also obtain internal reprint rights for an
additional AUS$150 per year. International fax delivery rates
are available on request.

International news is gathered from a number of sources, but
especially from Newsbytes News Network. Local Australian news is
generated by a number of industry journalists. The story format
is generally three paragraphs, but many stories are available in
expanded form, for an extra charge, via fax request and delivery.

Frith also offers a reprint service of important documents such as
speech transcripts and published reports.

Computer Daily News and David Frith may be contacted on phone
[phone] or fax [phone] or mail at 177a Sailors Bay Rd.,
Northbridge NSW Australia 2063.

(Paul Zucker/920328)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 30  ****Apple Australia Slashes PowerBook Prices 03/30/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SYD)(00012)

 ****Apple Australia Slashes PowerBook Prices 03/30/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1991 MAR 30 (NB) -- The selling price of the
Macintosh PowerBook 100 today plummets from Aus$2995 to $1995
(around US$1500) as Apple Australia turns on the pressure in an
effort to make Mac the top-selling brand in the Australian
notebook market, as it is in the desktop sector.

Apple is already running second in this market with 17.9
percent to Toshiba's 28 percent, according to IDC figures.
Apple regards that result as outstanding, given that the
PowerBooks - Apple's first notebook models - were only launched in
October.

Apple's marketing director, Tony Fraser, has now set a
market-share target of 22 percent for the next quarter. However,
Apple has not reduced the official RRP of the model 100, rather
making a special offer available through resellers for a limited
time.

At the same time Apple has reduced RRP of other Mac products up
to 25 percent, including cuts of between eight and 12 percent
on the one-week-old LC models. A number of new configurations have
been added to the pricebooks, including a 4MB Classic with
40MB hard disk and a Quaddra 900 with 400MB hard disk.

(David Frith and Paul Zucker/19920328)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 30 Australia: Apple Promotion Too Successful 03/30/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SYD)(00013)

Australia: Apple Promotion Too Successful 03/30/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1991 MAR 30 (NB) -- Apple Australia's recent
"Paypacket" promotion came to a premature halt, according to
many resellers who had taken orders but were then unable to
deliver.

The promotion involved a number of the older LC and other models,
combined with printers such as the LaserWriter NT. While Apple
often promotes soon-to-be-obsoleted machines through dealer
specials, the latest deals were apparently too good to pass up,
some cuts being almost 50 percent.

As a result, many dealers were left with red faces as they were
told to tell their customers who had placed orders for the
special deals "sorry - sold out." In most cases Apple was able
to arrange alternate deals for customers, but many resellers feel
the occurrence bodes badly for the future -- and also for the first
Australian discount or superstore chain to sell Apple products.
Brashs chain of electrical discount houses will commence selling
Apple product on the first of April, and will draw stock from
the same single pool as all other resellers, leading to fears
that smaller resellers and systems integrators will be pushed
lower in the stock-supply queue than the volume-moving stores.

Brashs already sells IBM PS/1 and other models, Amstrad and a number
of other brands, as well as a broad range of peripherals and
software - and yet it has only been selling computers for a few
months. The emphasis, as in most superstores, is on bargain
pricing, heavy promotion, and stock moving quickly out the
front door. As Brashs is presumably not interested in service,
Apple has signed-up a national service organization to offer
various maintenance schemes.

(Paul Zucker/920328)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 30 Novell Enhances Messaging Products 03/30/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00014)

Novell Enhances Messaging Products 03/30/92
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 30 (NB) -- Novell announced a
major increase in the capabilities of its products to handle
messaging systems. The announcement was made at the recently
concluded developer's conference held last week. There are two parts
to this announcement.

First, Novell will be releasing its third generation of Novell
Standard Message Format (SMF) called Netware SMF Level 71 by this
summer. Netware SMF is an application programming interface (API)
that is used by developers to allow entry into the Novell system.
Once there, the API allows the developers to build message-based
systems like workflow automation, electronic mail, and other
applications that can benefit from having messages received, stored,
and forwarded across the network.

The new features in SMF Level 71 include support for extended length
user names, improved support for gateways to fax machines,
hierarchical addressing structures, the creation of logical working
groups, and better directory synchronization. Both the specification
documents and the developers toolkit for Netware Level 71 will be
made available in the summer. The programmers reference manual will
be available for $95 while the complete toolkit including the
documentation and the Global Messaging and MHS software will cost
$1095.

Netware SMF Level 71 is required to support the second part of
Novell's announcement. This part details Novell's vision of Netware
Global Messaging. Darrell Miller, executive vice president of Novell
described the new engine as follows: "Just as customer demand for
integrated cross-platform file and print services drove the network
computing industry in the '80s, we believe that the need for
corporate wide messaging will be a key driving force in the '90s.
Our customers have been asking for a powerful, store and forward
engine that provides transparent interoperability among the most
widely used messaging systems. The Netware Global Messaging server
answers those needs with support for multiple protocols and
interfaces, directory synchronization, and the availability of more
than one hundred compatible applications."

The Netware Global Messaging Server is designed as a set of Netware
Loadable Modules (NLM). They will be available in the summer and
will be sold at different configuration arranged by the number of
users. A 10-user set will cost $1095, a 50-user set $2895, and a
250-user set $7295.

(Naor Wallach/19920330/Press Contact: Kim Given, Novell,
408-473-8285)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 30 Allied Telesis Introduces New Product 03/30/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00015)

Allied Telesis Introduces New Product 03/30/92
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 30 (NB) -- Allied
Telesis is continuing to expand its line of Micro Repeaters. All
of these products are intended to simplify the network
administrator's task in adding new segments to his network. This
time Allied Telesis is introducing the AT-MR113. This is a dual-port
10Base-5 micro repeater.

The AT-MR113 is the seventh member of Allied Telesis' line. It
completes the first wave of products that allow for the extension of
an Ethernet backbone to any degree necessary. Like the others in the
line, the AT-MR113 is very small and can be mounted almost anywhere,
including above a drop ceiling. It is based on Allied Telesis'
custom ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) and supports
two AUI connectors as well as LEDs for "power," "on-line,"
"collision," "receive," and "transmit."

The MR113 can be used as a full repeater thanks to the functionality
embedded in the ASIC. This allows even greater flexibility than can
be achieved by other devices that do not incorporate such
functionality. The AT-MR113 is available now for $795. Volume
discounts are available.

(Naor Wallach/19920330/Press Contact: Shawn Kilby, Allied Telesis,
415-964-2771)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 30 Hong Kong: CSSL Pioneers Laser, Imaging for Banks 03/30/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00016)

Hong Kong: CSSL Pioneers Laser, Imaging for Banks 03/30/92
NORTH POINT, HONG KONG 1992 MAR 30 (NB) -- Hong Kong based reseller
CSSL is to become one of the first Hong Kong distributors to bring
laser technology and imaging applications to its IBM AS/400 banking
customers.

The company has announced Archive/2, an optical disk storage and
retrieval system from UK-based financial software house Kapiti
Systems, together with support for IBM's forthcoming AS/400 Optical
Disk system which will incorporate an imaging capability.

The products will both be incorporated into Kapiti's Equation
banking system, for which CSSL is the exclusive Hong Kong
distributor. Equation will be one of the first IBM AS/400 banking
systems to integrate laser and imaging technology.

IBM's AS/400 Optical Disk system will provide laser-based storage and
retrieval for both text and images. It will enable documents such as
checks, customer mandates, loan agreements, trade finance documents
or photographs to be scanned and stored electronically or transmitted
over Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) networks.

"Image processing opens a wealth of opportunities for banking
customers to improve their service," said Patrick Lam, division
manager at CSSL. "In particular, the ability to use EDI in
departments such as trade finance will enable documents and their
associated messages to be transmitted simultaneously. Trade
departments can then focus on the physical movement of goods rather
than on paperwork."

Lam added that optical storage of photographs may even become
essential as pictures are increasingly used on check guarantee and
credit cards to prevent fraud.

Kapiti's Archive/2 system is designed to store all reports and
customer documents produced by the Equation banking system, with
designated data being passed directly from the AS/400 to the optical
disk. The system also includes facilities for automatic updating of
the index which can be defined by the user for ease of access and
retrieval of stored data.

"Archive/2 will enable users to reduce the quantity of historical
data held on their main system, and so speed up the processing of
their normal workload," said Lam. He added that Archive/2 will be
available to existing and prospective users of Equation to provide
storage and retrieval for vast amounts of data contained in banking
reports and customer documents.

"Laser technology will be of great interest to the Hong Kong market,"
said Lam. "By cutting down on the huge volumes of paper generated by
most banking operations, customers will be able to make substantial
saving in storage space and expense. This is a vital consideration to
companies here and in other regional centers where rents are high."

A cost benefit analysis for Archive/2 demonstrated payback to be less
than two years in paper savings alone, Lam said. The system is
already running on two sites in the UK and a further three are being
implemented.

Each optical disk has a storage capacity of 940 MB, roughly the
equivalent of a million pieces of A4 paper. At around US$150 for each
disk, the cost is cheaper than more traditional methods of archiving.
To store the same volume of paper, 142 rolls of microfilm or 1,900
pieces of microfiche would be required.

As an integral part of Equation, flexibility is a key element of the
application. Access and retrieval of stored data is available through
a WORM (write once, read many) optical disk reader, connected to a PC
and printer, which may be local to the master optical disk system or
remotely linked via a local area network.

Archived reports can be received via dumb terminals linked directly
to the host AS/400 processor. These options will allow branch offices
to retrieve reports held on the master system for printing locally or
centrally, as dictated by security requirements, providing a common,
global system.

(Norman Wingrove/19920330/Press contact: Ally Ho, CSSL, Tel +853 806
1622; HK time is GMT + 8)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 30 Olivetti To Break Even This Financial Year 03/30/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00017)

Olivetti To Break Even This Financial Year 03/30/92
MILAN, ITALY, 1992 MAR 30 (NB) -- Olivetti, the troubled Italian
computer manufacturer, has announced that its 1991 loss should
turn into a break-even situation during 1992.

At an analyst's meeting in London late last week, Olivetti's
chairman, Carlo De Benedetti, said that company turnover is
expected to increase by between two and three percent in 1992/93
financial year when compared to 1991/92.

During 1991/92, Olivetti reported losses if 290,000 million lire
on a turnover of 9,040,000 million lire. The 1991/92 losses
compare with a profit of 60,400 million lire reported in
financial year 1990/91.

De Benedetti revealed that he plans to ask Olivetti's board to
charge around 200,000 million lire to the company's 1992/93
accounts to cover the cost of restructuring the company. This
suggests that, if the restructuring costs were not charged, then
Olivetti could report a healthy profit during the current
financial year.

Analysts received De Benedetti's comments well. The Reuters news
wire quoted one analyst as saying that De Benedetti gave the
impression that Olivetti is seeking to reduce its expenses, while
offering as wide a range of products as possible.

(Steve Gold/19920330)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 30 Toshiba Ships 25MHz 486SX Notebook; Commits To Market 03/30/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00018)

Toshiba Ships 25MHz 486SX Notebook; Commits To Market 03/30/92
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 30 (NB) -- Addressing one
of the fastest growing segments of the computer industry,
manufacturers are coming out with ever more powerful notebook
computers. The Computer Systems Division of Toshiba America
Information Systems has begun shipping its 25 megahertz (MHz)
486SX-based T4400SX notebook with a low-power, gas plasma
VGA (video graphics display) display.

The T4400SX features a high-capacity 80 megabyte (MB) disk
drive and measures 11.7-inches by 8.3-inches by 2.2-inches, and
weighs 7.25 pounds.

The company claims that the gas plasma option provides a 16-gray
scale VGA screen with a 100:1 contrast ratio that is at least seven
times the contrast of standard LCD (liquid crystal display) VGA
displays and ten times the display speed.

Velinda Cornejo, spokesperson for Toshiba, told Newsbytes that
the "16 gray scale plasma screen offers a lot clearer resolution"
than the LCD version.

Toshiba maintains that this helps speed operations with quicker
screen redraws in graphics-intensive applications and eliminates
hunting for the cursor, which is a problem that plagues many LCD
displays.

Intel's 32-bit 486SX microprocessor with an eight kilobyte (KB)
internal cache comes standard with the system, which runs at
25MHz and is upgradeable to a 25MHz 486DX. The notebook
also comes standard with two megabytes (MB) of RAM
(expandable to 18 MB) and a 9.5-inch diagonal VGA-compatible
screen. The buyer also has a choice of either a low-power gas
plasma display or LCD screen.

Other features include a 1.44MB 3.5-inch floppy drive, an internal
dedicated modem slot, optional memory cards, and a NiCd
rechargeable battery that the company claims provides
approximately three to four hours of continuous use in disk-intensive
applications and longer life in normal business use. The notebook
also features a 82-key sculptured keyboard with full-sized keys and
standard keyboard spacing.

The 80MB version of the T4400SX with gas plasma display
retails for $5,899 and the currently shipping T4400SX with a
black and white LCD screen retails for $5,599. A 120MB hard disk
version is planned for April 1992.

Speaking of the notebook market, Cornejo also told Newsbytes
that "everybody is trying to find a smaller footprint" and often
compromises features in the rush to attain that goal. However,
she said that "Toshiba will not sacrifice (to obtain) smaller
keyboards." Toshiba, she said, will "not be going sub-notebook"
as it sacrifices important features such as usable keyboards.

(Ian Stokell/19920330/Press Contact: Megan Manning,Toshiba
America Information Systems, 714-583-3936)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 30 CA Acquires Development Tools From Rubin 03/30/92




(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00019)

CA Acquires Development Tools From Rubin 03/30/92
ISLANDIA, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 30 (NB) -- Computer Associates
has acquired three software products from Howard Rubin Associates.
The products, which run on DOS-based personal computers, are
designed to help information systems departments measure the
effectiveness of their software development efforts.

CA acquired Rubin's Metrics, FPXpert, and Total Quality
Management/Software (TQM/S) packages. They will be added to CA's
existing line of software development measurement tools, which
includes CA-Estimacs, CA-Planmacs, CA-SuperProject, and CA-Advisor,
the company said. TQM/S is sold in a bundle with Metrics, not
separately.

Computer Associates and Howard Rubin Associates have a
long-standing relationship and Rubin has developed products for CA
in the past, a company spokeswoman noted.

Computer Associates will shortly release Version 3.0 of CA-Metrics,
a data repository and workbench for information systems managers.
This package allows users to keep successive "time snapshots" of a
project, do trend analysis, and capture defect data from CA-TQM/S,
the company said.

CA-FPXpert is a knowledge-based tool for counting and analyzing
function points in software development. Function points are a
measure of the size and complexity of software applications. An
upcoming new version of FPXpert, Release 3.0, will add local-area
network support and streamlined analysis capabilities, company
officials said.

Availability dates for the new releases of CA-Metrics and CP-
FPXpert were not available at Newsbytes' deadline.

CA-Metrics, including CA-TQM/S, sells for $11,600 (C$15,467 in
Canada) per single copy. CA-FPXpert is $9,400 (C$12,533). Both
packages require DOS Version 3.3 or later.

(Grant Buckler/19920328/Press Contact: Mary Keating, Computer
Associates Canada, 416-676-6760)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 30  ****IBM Employees Urged To Push OS/2 03/30/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00020)

 ****IBM Employees Urged To Push OS/2 03/30/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 30 (NB) -- IBM is pulling
out all the stops to sell the new version of its OS/2 operating
system. That includes an aggressive advertising campaign, as well
as incentives for all employees to promote the software wherever
and whenever they can.

IBM is to begin shipping OS/2 Release 2.0 on March 31. Company
spokesman Scott Brooks told Newsbytes the company expects "to sell
millions of copies this year."

As part of the OS/2 campaign IBM is offering all of its employees
-- not just those whose jobs officially involve marketing and sales
-- incentives such as computers, software, and cash for promoting
the product. Brooks said the program is an informal one, and
employees are not required to take part, but there will be prizes
for people who do the most to promote OS/2.

IBM has about 340,000 employees worldwide, Brooks said. He added
that IBM employees talking up the firm's products is nothing new.
"When your neighbor knows you work for IBM," he said, "they come to
you and ask what PC they should buy." With OS/2, though, IBM is
making a special effort to provide all its employees with
information on OS/2 so that they will be better able to answer
questions about the updated operating system.

Though on the market for several years, OS/2 has been slow to take
market share away from DOS, the operating system that has run on
IBM and compatible personal computers since 1981. Meanwhile,
Microsoft Windows, which brings the graphical user interface and
other OS/2-like features to DOS, has racked up large sales.

Many in the industry see OS/2 2.0 as the release with which IBM has
finally got it right, and think OS/2 sales may start to take off
when the new version hits the streets. However, Microsoft will not
be outdone: Release 3.1 of Windows is due for shipment April 6.
Microsoft also has Windows NT, a full-fledged portable operating
system with Windows as its graphical interface, waiting in the
wings for introduction later this year.

(Grant Buckler/19920330/Press Contact: Scott Brooks, IBM,
914-642-5095)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 30 U.S. Robotics Intros 10 New Fax/Data Modems 03/30/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(WAS)(00021)

U.S. Robotics Intros 10 New Fax/Data Modems 03/30/92
SKOKIE, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 30 (NB) -- U.S. Robotics has
chosen this year's nearby (Chicago) Spring COMDEX to premiere 10
new combination fax and data modems, all of which offer full 9600
bps Group III fax-compatible transmissions and reception paired
with a range of data speeds from 2400 bps to 14,400 bps. The new
combination modems are all additions to the Sportster or
WorldPort lines.

The Sportster line of modems is intended for home/small business
users and all of the new ones, except those designed to run with
Apple Macintosh systems, include U.S. Robotics' own control
software, Blast Fax.

This software provides for WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get)
fax transmissions which retain special formatting and type (such
as italics).

The Sportster Mac products use STF Technologies' FAXSTF software.

WorldPort modems are battery-operated "pocket" modems intended
for use with laptop and notebook computers. Unlike many other
portable modems, WorldPorts include built-in speakers.

Due to ship by the first of June with a list price of $699, the
WorldPort 9696 provides 9600 bps V.32 data transmission (world
standard protocol) with error-correction and data-compression
features provided by inclusion of MNP 2-5. Microcom developed the
MNP or Microcom Networking Protocols to provide inexpensive and
standardized ways for modem builders to include compatible data
compression.

Using MNP 5 compression on some files and running at 9600 bps
would allow users to transmit documents at a full 19,200 bps
throughput. This is analogous to compressing files using a
utility such as PKZIP but is a transparent function of the two
modems, with an uncompressed file going in at one end and an
identical file coming out at the other - MNP compression is done
in the modems' hardware. The WorldPort 9696 is also Group III
fax-compatible and comes with WorldPort Fax Software, but not the
WYSIWYG fax capabilities offered by Blast Fax.

The WorldPort Palmtop, with full ASCII fax capability in a 2400
bps data modem designed for use with the Hewlett-Packard 95LX and
Sharp Wizard palmtop computers, will ship in March and carry a
list price of $249.

The full line of new Sportster PC fax/modems is priced from the
$229 internal Sportster 2400/PC fax at the low end to the $549
external Sportster 14,400 Fax, a V.42, V.42bis, MNP 2-5 modem.
All include full Group III fax and all will ship in April or May,
with the fastest models shipping first.

The two external Mac&Fax Sportsters, which also ship in April
(faster) and May (slower unit), come with Macintosh-compatible
software and operate at 14,400 bps ($599 list) and 2400 bps
($329).

The WorldPort 9696 portable modem/fax ships in May with a list
price of $699, while the slower 2400 bps palmtop modem/fax, with
the ability to convert ASCII files directly into fax format
without any software, is already shipping at $249.

For further information, call 1-800-DIAL USR.

U.S. Robotics, 8100 McCormick Blvd., Skokie, IL 60076. Phone 708-
982-5010.

(John McCormick/19920330/Press Contact: Karen Novak, U.S.
Robotics, 708-982-5244)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 30  ****Learning Company Offers IPO Of 2 Million Shares 03/30/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00022)

 ****Learning Company Offers IPO Of 2 Million Shares 03/30/92
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 30 (NB) -- The Learning
Company has filed a registration statement with the Securities and
Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering of
2,000,000 shares of common stock.

According to the statement, 1,000,000 of the shares will be offered
by the company, and 1,000,000 will be offered by certain of its
stockholders. The offering price of the stock is expected to be
between $9 and $11.

Sharyn A. Fitzpatrick, spokesperson for the company, told
Newsbytes that the company has "filed an S1 (with the SEC) and
is awaiting approval."

The offering will be managed by Morgan Stanley & Company Inc.,
and Robertson, Stephen & Co.

Fitzpatrick also told Newsbytes that the funds generated by the
sale of stock would be used for "general corporate purposes
and for liquidity for existing stockholders."

Once the company has gained approval for the offering,
Fitzpatrick also said that the company would evaluate the market
to "make sure" it was the right time to proceed. She also
mentioned that once approval was attained, she did not expect
much delay before the stock would be offered.

The Learning Company is a software developed of educational
personal computer software for children and young adults for use at
home and at school. The company currently offers 21 consumer
products which include the Reader Rabbit series, the Super Solvers
series, Ancient Empires, Operation Neptune, and The Writing Center.

Copies of the prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained
from Morgan Stanley and Company Inc., at 1251 Avenue of the
Americas, New York, New York 10020, or Robertson, Stephens and
Company, One Embarcadero Center, San Francisco, California
94111.

(Ian Stokell/19920330/Press Contact: Sharyn A. Fitzpatrick, Learning
Company, 510-713-6011)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 30 Conner To Supply Winchester Drives To Philips 03/30/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00023)

Conner To Supply Winchester Drives To Philips 03/30/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 30 (NB) -- Less than
a month after signing a flash-memory development agreement with
Intel, Conner Peripherals has signed an agreement with Philips
Electronics, Ltd., to provide the company with its 3.5-inch
Winchester disk drives for use in Philips personal computers.

The agreement calls for Conner to supply its disk drives to Philips
International Competence Centre in Montreal, which designs,
manufactures, and distributes Philips personal computers worldwide
under such brand names as Philips, Magnavox, and Headstart.

Finis F. Conner, chairman and chief executive officer of Conner,
said: "As one of the world's leading international computer
companies, Philips will help us stay in the forefront of developing
higher performance disk drives for advanced system designs. At
the same time, Conner drives provide the performance, reliability
and value Philips demands for its PC users."

The companies would not disclose the agreement's specific
product, volume, and schedule information. However, they did say
that shipments under the agreement are subject to the release of
purchase orders.

The agreement with Intel, reported previously by Newsbytes, is
to design and market proprietary flash memory-based solid-state
disk storage products. Under terms of that agreement, Conner
maintains it will contribute expertise in disk drive electronics, IDE
standard interfaces developed for hard disk drives, and drive
manufacturing experience. Intel claims it will provide its flash
memory design, process technology, packaging, and component
manufacturing experience.

Philips is a diversified global electronics company, employing
more than 250,000 people worldwide, with manufacturing
operations in 48 countries and sales and service in over 100
countries.

Founded in 1986, Conner Peripherals sells, designs and builds
high performance 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch Winchester disk drives
worldwide for workstations, file servers, and notebook and
desktop computers.

(Ian Stokell/19920330/Press Contact: Kevin Burr, Conner
Peripherals, 408-456-3134, or 408-456-3265)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 30 New Product: Suncom See-through Mouse 03/30/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00024)

New Product: Suncom See-through Mouse 03/30/92
NILES, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 30 (NB) -- Remember the telephones
with the see-through case? Well, now you can get a computer mouse
with a see-through case.

I you have always wondered what the internal workings of a computer
mouse looked like, Suncom Technologies has just the product for you.
It's called "Crystal." Suncom director of marketing says the product
"is a fun and unique computer product that offers the user the ability
to see the inner-workings of the mouse."

Crystal is Microsoft and Mouse Systems compatible, and connects to
your computer through a serial port. Crystal comes with drivers and
a test program on both 3.5 and 5.25-inch disks, and has a one-year
warranty. The see-through mouse software allows the user to adjust
the resolution from 50 to 800 dpi.

Suncom said they introduced the unique item because transparent
electronics products are one of the fastest selling items today.
The company believes this is due to consumer fascination with high
technology.

Crystal has a suggested list price of $69.99. For more information
about Crystal, contact Suncom Technologies at 708-647-4040.

(Jim Mallory/19920330/Press contact: Lauren Finkelman, S&S Public
Relations for Suncom, 708-291-1616)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 30 New For PC: Wordperfect Works 1.0 03/30/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00025)

New For PC: Wordperfect Works 1.0 03/30/92
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 30 (NB) -- Wordperfect Corporation said
it has started shipping Wordperfect Works 1.0, its integrated
software package containing word processor, graphics editor,
database, communications, and spreadsheet applications.

The word processor Works users will get is the company's
Letterperfect, a streamlined version of Wordperfect 5.1.
Spokesperson Carrie Carter told Newsbytes that while the Works word
processor doesn't have all the features of Wordperfect 5.1, files can
be interchanged. If you create a document in Wordperfect 5.1, then
take it home and work on it with Works, all the formatting codes and
other features are retained. Then when you save the document in
Works, you can take it back to the office tomorrow and complete or
change it with WP 5.1.

Works word processing supports macros, graphics integration, a spell
checker, a thesaurus, and mail merge capabilities.

The company says the graphics editor allows you to create and edit
Wordperfect graphic and text files. Images can be sized, scaled, or
rotated, then inserted into Letterperfect documents.

The Works spreadsheet can import or export Lotus 1-2-3 compatible
files, and is also compatible with Drawperfect 1.1 and Planperfect
5.1.

Like most other integrated programs, Works applications have
pull-down menus and context-sensitive help screens. A customizable
Run menu allows you to execute any of the applications from within
the application you are presently working in. You can also access
other programs from the Shell Menu.

WP says the database portion of Works is designed for tasks such as
keeping track of contacts, sorting and producing reports, printing
mailing lists, or merging the data with the word processing
application. The program comes with three predefined databases:
a note card, address book and inventory database.

WP says the communications portion of Works was developed by
Magicsoft. It lets you connect to other computers, transfer files,
or download from electronic bulletin boards. It has a dialing
directory and supports modems with speeds up to 38,400 baud.
Terminal emulation for VT100, VT52, ANSI/BBS, IBM3101, TTY and IBM
3270 is supported. Available file transfer protocols include
Kermit, XModem, YModem, and ZModem.

Works also has a fax capability. Documents created in Works are
sent to the fax program. Fax images can be examined before they are
sent by using Letterperfect's View Document feature, then sent to an
individual or a group. Your computer will need a fax modem to use
this feature.

Wordperfect Works has a suggested list price of $159 in the US and
$159 in Canada. You need a hard disk and at least 400K (kilobytes)
of free memory (that's after DOS and any terminate-and-stay resident
programs are loaded).

Wordperfect Corporation maintains a toll-free number (800-451-5151)
to answer questions about its products.

(Jim Mallory/19920330/Press contact: Carrie Carter, Wordperfect
Corporation, 801-228-5014, FAX [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 30  ****Another Prime Number Discovered Using A Cray 03/30/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00026)

 ****Another Prime Number Discovered Using A Cray 03/30/92
HARELL, ENGLAND, 1992 MAR 30 (NB) -- Minnesota-based Cray Research,
builder of supercomputers, has announced that one of its Cray-2
supercomputers was used to discover the world's 32nd and largest
known prime number.

A prime number is a number which can be divided evenly only by
itself and by 1, such as 1,2,3,5,7,11, and so on. According to
greek mathematician Euclid there are an infinite number of prime
numbers. Since the numbers do not occur in a regular sequence and
scientists say there is no formula for generating them, the only way
to find additional prime numbers is search for them.

Scientists say prime numbers have applications in cryptography and
computer systems security, but since the more recently discovered
numbers are so large, there are no known applications for them yet.

This latest prime number has 227,832 digits and when written in
mathematical notation is expressed as the number 2 multiplied by
itself 756,839 times minus 1, i.e., 2 times 2 times 2 times 2...
well, you get the idea. If printed in standard newspaper type, it
would fill 14 newspaper pages.

Numbers expressed in this form are called Mersenne numbers, after a
17th Century French monk, Father Marin Mersenne, who spent years
searching for prime numbers of this type. The last largest-known
Mersenne prime number was discovered in 1985 during a test of a Cray
Research system in Houston. That number only had 65,050 numerals in
it.

Scientists said one consequence of discovering another prime number
is the ability to use that number to generate a new perfect number.

Michael Schomberg, manager of AEA Technology's Harwell Laboratory,
where the latest prime number was discovered, said, "Although these
large numbers offer little direct benefit to society today, they do
have curiosity value and the pursuit of even larger prime and perfect
numbers will always mystify and fascinate mathematicians." Schomberg
said because of the size of the numbers, it was unlikely that a
larger prime would be discovered until the next generation of more
powerful supercomputers is available.

The test took nearly 19 hours on one CPU (central processing unit)
of Harwell's four-CPU Cray-2 system. The results were then verified
and checked independently on other Cray systems. Cray Research said
five of the last six prime numbers were discovered using Cray
supercomputers.

(Jim Mallory/19920330/Press contact: Mardi Schmieder, Cray Research,
612-683-3538

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 30  ****Intel Files 2nd Cyrix Suit & Charges "Patent Laundering" 03/30/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LAX)(00027)

 ****Intel Files 2nd Cyrix Suit & Charges "Patent Laundering" 03/30/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 30 (NB) -- Intel and Cyrix
are at it again, with Intel's announcement it filed a patent suit
against Cyrix of Richardson, Texas last Friday, March 27. Intel
representatives also announced they received a facsimile copy of a
suit Cyrix already filed last Wednesday, March 25, asking the court
that its processors be considered "exempt" from Intel's patents, a
move Intel claims is an attempt at "patent laundering."

Intel and several chip manufacturers, including, Cyrix, Chips and
Technologies, and Advanced Micro Devices have been at it for some time
in loud and wild battles over the microprocessor chips that make up
the IBM and compatible computer. Cyrix, Chips and Technologies, and
Advanced Micro Devices have complained bitterly to the
Federal Trade Commission which began an investigation of Intel in July
of last year investigating charges of alleged unfair trade practices
and of monopolizing the market.

The fights over the lucrative microprocessor market for the IBM and
compatible personal computers (PCs) include math coprocessor chips and
the microprocessor chips. A chip in either category that is fully
compatible with Intel chip could be worth millions, even billions of
dollars. Intel boasted this month it has sold over 11 million 387 math
coprocessor chips alone, a chip that assists the "brain" or
microprocessor in mathematical calculations like computer-aided design
and spreadsheets.

As widely reported in the media last week, Cyrix plans to add to its
marketing of Intel-compatible math coprocessor chips a 486SX
microprocessor chip which would fit into the socket used by Intel's
386 -- reportedly Intel's best-selling product. One New York analyst
reportedly told the Associated Press that the cost of the Cyrix chip
would be less than half of the Intel 486 chip.

Intel and Cyrix have been fighting over the math coprocessor chip
since late 1990, but Intel lost ground in November of last year when
Judge Paul Brown, of the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Texas in Sherman, Texas, denied Intel's request for an
injunction that would block Cyrix from marketing its alternative line
of Intel-compatible math coprocessors. Judge Brown ruled Intel had
failed to establish that Cyrix infringed on Intel's patents or that
any of its products were not produced under a valid licensing
agreement.

The suit this time is over Cyrix's alleged violation of the following
patents: No. 4,972,338 "Memory Management for Microprocessor;" No.
4,449,184 "Extended Address, Single and Multiple Bit Microprocessor;"
No. 5,053,944 "Microprocessor Breakpoint Apparatus;" and No. 4,363,091
"Extended Address, Single and Multiple Bit Microprocessor," Intel
said. Intel is seeking a temporary injunction against Cyrix to stop it
from making or selling any infringing devices, probably referring to
the 486SX chips Cyrix reportedly plans to market.

Intel maintains the '091 and '184 patents were first implemented in
the Intel 8086 microprocessor in 1978 and the '338 and '944 patents
were first implemented in the Intel386 microprocessor in 1985. Intel
insists these patents cover the basic features required for
compatibility with software that runs on the Intel X86 architecture.

Intel's President Andrew Grove made an apologetic reference to these
scrappy, soap-opera type battles the company has been fighting. "We
regret that we find ourselves spending so much time in the courts,
however we have no choice. We have a duty to our shareholders, who
paid to develop this technology at a time when its success was not
assured, and to our employees, who worked hard to create it. We will
not sit back and let others help themselves to our intellectual
property," Grove said.

As for the Cyrix suit filed last week, Grove claims it is an attempt
at "patent laundering." The Cyrix complaint requests a declaratory
judgement to validate its plan of using Intel patents on devices that
will be made by SGS Thomson or other Intel licensees. Michael Bruzone
of Cyrix says the judgement essentially is asking the court to rule
Cyrix's new processors are exempt from the Intel patents. Intel
General Counsel F. Thomas Dunlap described the mechanics of the
alleged "patent laundering" as: "Cyrix uses Intel patents in their
chips, passes the devices through SGS (the Intel licensee) and claims
they are clean."

Dunlap says Intel has stopped attempts at patent laundering four other
times and expects to do so this time. Dunap also said a decision in a
similar Cyrix patent laundering case involving math coprocessors is
expected shortly.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920330/Press Contact: Michael Bruzone, Cyrix, tel
214-234-8388, fax [phone]; Nancy Pressel, Intel, tel 408-765-
8080, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 30  ****Meanwhile, Cyrix Still Plans April 6 Launch Of 486 Clone Chip 03/30/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00028)

 ****Meanwhile, Cyrix Still Plans April 6 Launch Of 486 Clone Chip 03/30/92
RICHARDSON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 30 (NB) -- Cyrix Corporation,
even as lawsuits are flying back and forth between it and Intel (see
today's story "Intel Files Second Cyrix Suit," says it will formally
announce immediate availability of its Cx486SLC, a 25 megahertz
486 microprocessor chip on April 6 at Spring COMDEX in Chicago.
That is also the formal introduction date of Microsoft's Windows 3.1.

Cyrix President Jerry Rogers proclaims, "The Cx486SLC is the
first in a series of totally original Cyrix microprocessor products
wth advanced features and 486 performance at 386 prices."

Cyrix says the chip is a 486 instruction-set compatible CPU (central
processing unit) with 16-bit external and 32-bit internal data
paths. The company said the chip is compatible with a 386SX bus and
pin-out, and can be integrated into existing 386SX designs to boost
performance without raising costs.

Cyrix expects the chip will be popular for use in notebook,
pen-based, and entry level desktop systems. Rogers characterized
the chip as a "quick and easy upgrade of 386SX designs to 486-level
performance."

Cyrix says the chip gets a Landmark version 2.0 CPU performance
rating of 78 MHz. The chip is initially available in a 25 megahertz
version, but the company said it expects to ship a 33 megahertz
version in the third quarter.

Rogers said that initial customer discussions indicate that OEM
(original equipment manufacturers) demand for the chip will be
significant, and the company expects to announce a significant
semiconductor second source agreement shortly.

Cyrix expects to expand its CPU line through 1992. Rogers said
the Cx486SLC is the low end of a whole family of higher
performance Cx486 microprocessors that will be introduced
throughout 1992.

The company says it doesn't plan to stop with 486 chips. "We're not
stopping at the 486 level. Our plans call for better-than-586
performance processors in 1993," said Rogers.

Cyrix said that the new microprocessor contains power management
features which allow a dramatic reduction in current consumption
when the chip is in suspend mode. That will be of special interest
to notebook manufacturers and users, where current battery life is
limited to 4 hours or less.

California-based Oak Technology says it will offer PC chip sets
which support the new Cyrix microprocessor. Oak says its chip set
includes all the logic necessary to implement a desktop system in
just three chips. It includes a system controller, a peripheral
controller, and a VGA controller. In addition to local bus graphics
support, the VGA controller chip supports up to 16 million colors
for photo quality images, according to the Oak Technologies
announcement.

Cyrix, best known for its math co-processor chips, is a
venture-capital funded firm founded in 1988. The company says it is
now self-sustaining, and was profitable within months after shipping
its first products in 1989. Cyrix has reported profitability for 8
quarters throughout 1990 and 1991.

Cyrix co-founders Jerry Rogers and Tom Brightman both had a
background in the computer industry before forming their company.
Rogers was vice president of Texas Instruments Microprocessor
Division, and Brightman was vice president of engineering and later
vice president of planning and procurement for Atari Corporation.
He also worked for Commodore Business Machines and Texas Instruments
in various product management, engineering, and marketing positions.

Several other companies have also entered the microprocessor field.
Production of the CPU chips, the heart of every personal computer,
was once the undisputed domain of Intel Corporation. As with any
industry, increased competition, while putting pressure on
manufacturer's profit margins, usually benefits the consumer. Even
though OEMs are the buyers of CPU chips, the end-user should
benefit. New product suppliers usually mean lower prices, and those
cost savings should be passed onto the end user.

Reacting to the news, Intel Corporation reportedly told analysts
that the Cyrix microprocessor is technologically inferior to the
Intel chips. According to British news service Reuters, an Intel
spokesperson said the Cyrix chip is targeted at what Intel described
as "the slowing 386 chip marketplace." Intel maintains the market is
rapidly shifting to the more powerful 486 chip. Cyrix says its new
chip has all the power of a 486 chip but will sell at 386 prices.

(Jim Mallory/19920330/Press contact: Michelle Moody, Cyrix
Corporation, 214-234-8357,X302)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 30 Quicktime Digital Video Road Show Helps Users "Spigot" 03/30/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00029)

Quicktime Digital Video Road Show Helps Users "Spigot" 03/30/92
SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 30 (NB) -- Apple, Supermac
Technology, Adobe Systems, and Macromind-Paracomp are hitting the
international road in a digital video show they say will instruct
users how to make movies on their Macintosh computers using Quicktime,
Supermac's Videospigot, the Adobe Premiere software, and Macromind-
Paracomp's Macrecorder Sound System Pro and Director.

Road shows seem to be popular with software manufacturer's now. Lotus
has been conducting road shows of Lotus 1-2-3 for Windows and
Microsoft has announced shows demonstrating tips and tricks for
Windows 3.1 in April in cities all over the U.S.

The road show is expected to cover five U.S. cities and five European
cities and is cosponsored by resellers MicroAge, Intelligent
Electronics, and JWP as well as regional resellers such as
Computerware (San Francisco), Sun Computers (Los Angeles), and MPC
(New York).

The show is going to show users how to incorporate video footage and
special effects into business and personal communications, according
to Cathy Galvin, SuperMac's product marketing manager for the
Videospigot.

Four 90-minute sessions will make up a single day, repeated four
consecutive days in each city. Professional instruction and hands-on
training in "spigoting" is offered in the digital video shows, the
companies said. "Spigoting" is defined as taking live video from a
camcorder or video cassette recorder (VCR) and storing it on a
Macintosh hard drive, editing the video clips, creating special
effects, and integrating live video into software applications.

The sessions, to be held in the U.S. in March, April, and May in San
Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and Atlanta will cost users
$49. Attendees will receive a $25 rebate on the purchase of any
Supermac product used in the sessions and an opportunity to win copies
of Adobe Photoshop 2.0.1 and Macromind-Paracomp Director raffled off
at the end of each course, the companies added.

More information is available at 800-345-2888. For more information on
individual products, SuperMac can be reached at 408-245-2202, Adobe at
415-961-4400, Macromind-Paracomp at 415-442-0200, and Apple at 408-
996-1010.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920330/Press Contact: Stacy Byrnes, Apple, tel 408-
996-1010, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 30 Rasterops Offers Videospigot Users $350 Rebate On New 24STV 03/30/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00030)

Rasterops Offers Videospigot Users $350 Rebate On New 24STV 03/30/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 30 (NB) -- Rasterops is
trying to get Videospigot users to switch by offering a $350 credit to
Supermac Videospigot users on the purchase of its new Rasterops 24STV
video adapter.

Rasterops says users will find every hardware feature necessary for
video production in the 24STV board and claims Apple itself used the
24STV in the development of Quicktime.

The 24-bit board offers display at 30 frames per second of video
output to any NTSC, PAL or SECAM device, Rasterops said, and near
real-time frame capture from a single-slot Nubus board. In addition,
Rasterops maintains the board is one of the few movie-producing boards
to offer a video digitizer component which allows the recording of
movies in any Quicktime application, so creation and editing of
Quicktime movies can be done in one software application.

Rasterops says live video display, essential for interactive
multimedia applications, is delivered without any jittering at 30
frames per second, from the smallest window to a full 640 x 480 screen
with the 24STV board. Also the board supports composite and S-Video
input, as well as video output to any NTSC or PAL device, such as
television or videotape, with the addition of a Rasterops Video
Expander II, the company maintains.

An Adobe Photoshop plug-in lets users access live video-in-a-window,
so a frame of video can be captured and integrated it into a Photoshop
document without ever having to leave the application, Rasterops
maintains.

More control is also available for producers, Rasterops said, with
the inclusion of controls to manage hue, brightness, contrast and
saturation; odd/even or full-frame video fields; and horizontal and
vertical video flip.

Rasterops is making the announcement on the heels of an announcement
from Apple, Supermac Technology, Adobe Systems, and Macromind-Paracomp
of a series of seminars planned for March, April, and May the
companies are jointly producing to show users how to do "Spigoting."
"Spigoting" is defined by Supermac as taking live video from a
camcorder or video cassette recorder (VCR) and storing it on a
Macintosh hard drive, editing the video clips, creating special
effects, and integrating live video into software applications.

Rasterops says its 24STV is priced at $999. Videospigot users can get
their $350 credit by calling 800-SAY-COLOR or by contacting a
Rasterops authorized dealer, the company said. The offer expires June
30, 1992 and is only available to users who purchased Videospigot
boards prior to March 31, 1992.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920330/Press Contact: Carrie Coppe, Rasterops, tel
408-562-4200, fax [phone])


#ENDCARD




#CARD :1992 MAR 27 Moscow: HP's New Office, Svc Center, Price Cuts 03/27/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(MOW)(00001)

Moscow: HP's New Office, Svc Center, Price Cuts 03/27/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 MAR 27 (NB) -- Hewlett-Packard announced a
new office location, new personnel, new product availability,
and discounted prices at a news conference in Moscow.

The company's new office is located in the business center
of the Russian Exhibition Complex (formerly VDNKh) and is five
times larger than the premises in downtown Moscow.

"Our main goal is to stay on in this market and grow. Grow with
our clients, for our clients," said Baldur Durrwang of HP Germany.
"The new office with modern equipment, demonstration halls,
teaching classes, and conferencing equipment will help us to
achieve our goal."

The service center, to be located in the same building, will be
designed to provide fast, efficient service for existing HP
customers, said Alexander Pavlov, the center's director. It
has equipment, a communications system, and 30 young and
ambitious engineers to minimize service time to four hours in
Moscow.

"We have two categories of customers -- one needs to repair equipment
at a reasonable price (those are mostly Russian companies), while
others -- Westerners -- need quality. We hope to have as many quality-
interested customers as possible and hope the market will be moving in
this direction," Pavlov said when introducing the service center.

Company also announced immediate availability of the HP Vectra 386s/20
workstation, scanner ScanJet IIp, and a LaserJet IIp Plus printer. But it
looked as if the computer and printer had some problems entering Russia --
reporters were shown a plain old LaserJet IIp and no computer at all.

A Vectra workstation will cost $2175 to $3245 depending on the hard drive
capacity. The printer will be about $1507 and scanner $1511.

Justin Lifflander, HP's Russian marketing manager, told the audience that
the company is willing to expand sales in C.I.S. and is offering
most of its products at a 20% discount this month.

(Kirill Tchashchin & Igor Viazanichev/19920327/Press Contact: HP Moscow,
phone [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 27 New For PC: New TrueType Fonts For Windows 03/27/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00002)

New For PC: New TrueType Fonts For Windows 03/27/92
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 27 (NB) -- Microsoft
Corporation has announced a collection of 44 additional TrueType
fonts for Windows. The new fonts supplement the 14 that ship with
each copy of Windows.

Called the TrueType Font Pack for Windows, the additional fonts work
with any application, display, or printer that is supported by
Windows. Truetype uses the same font for printing and for display,
providing a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) output.

According to the Microsoft announcement, the Font Pack setup program
automatically installs the fonts and makes them available to all
Windows-based applications.

Microsoft said that the 44 additional fonts are from Monotype
Typography and Bigelow & Holmes. The anouncement said that Monotype
provided the core set of Truetype system fonts for Windows version
3.1, which is already in the distribution system, and will be
officially available April 6th.

Bigelow & Holmes reportedly provided an exclusive collection of 22
Lucida fonts, a typeface which offers the user a wide variety of
font text styles as well as specific-use fonts such as those for
clear fax transmittals and for mathematical use.

The $99 font pack is expected to be released concurrently with
Windows 3.1.

(Jim Mallory/19920327/Press contact: Collins Hemingway, Microsoft,
206-882-8080)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 27 Compuadd Express Says 325NXL Notebook Supply Problems Solved 03/27/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00003)

Compuadd Express Says 325NXL Notebook Supply Problems Solved 03/27/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 27 (NB) -- Compuadd Express, the
direct mail arm of Compuadd, says it has resolved the component
supply problem for is 325NXL notebook unit, and expects to start
shipping to fill back orders today or Monday.

Compuadd Express spokesperson Rick Krousy told Newsbytes that the
shipping problems for the unit stemmed from a problem with a
component supplier. Krousy said the company had a "huge" backlog of
orders for the unit, and he has been pressing the supplier to
increase production capacity.

Buyers who had ordered the machine said they had been told the
machine would ship by the end of February, then the first week in
March. Later the shipping date was reported to be mid-March.
Buyers said they were told that they would be informed when the
system became available, but expressed skepticism.

One buyer complained in a bulletin board message that Compuadd
Express sales people claimed management had not told them what was
causing the delay.

The 325NXL is configured with a 60MB (megabyte) hard drive, a VGA
display, a built-in track ball, and a built-in data/fax modem which
can transfer data at 2400 bps and fax at 9600 bps. The unit has a
list price of $2,095.

(Jim Mallory/19920327/Press contact: Neil Bremner, Compuadd Express,
512-219-1800)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 27 Dell Opens Switzerland Subsidiary 03/27/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00004)

Dell Opens Switzerland Subsidiary 03/27/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 27 (NB) -- Clone manufacturer Dell
Computer Corporation has announced that it has opened a wholly
owned operating subsidiary in Geneva, Switzerland.

"The opening of Dell Switzerland is a key component of our plan to
continue to build on our strong forward momentum in Europe and
increase our multinational business," said Dell senior VP Andrew
Harris.

Including the Swiss facility, Dell operates wholly owned
subsidiaries in 13 countries, and has reseller agreements in over 60
companies in eastern Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa.

The Dell announcement said its international business has grown from
four percent of total sales in fiscal year 1988 to over 36 percent
for FY 92. Dell said that for the same period, total corporate
revenue has risen from $159 million to $889.9 million.

Dell said Peter Sykes will join Dell Switzerland as general manager.
Prior to accepting his new position, Sykes was manager of Swiss PC
distribution for Baggenstos & Co SA.

(Jim Mallory/19920437/Press contact: Jill Shanks, Dell Computer,
512-338-8499)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 27  ****Another Company To Compete With Intel In Chips 03/27/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00005)

 ****Another Company To Compete With Intel In Chips 03/27/92
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 27 (NB) -- Richardson,
Texas-based Cyrix Corporation will enter the microprocessor field,
competing with industry leader Intel Corporation.

Cyrix is best known for its math coprocessor chips, which it won the
temporary right to continue marketing when a US District Court in
Texas denied an Intel injunction to block Cyrix from selling its
math chips. The decision did not end the 18-month old battle
between the two firms, which is expected to continue in the courts
for the next one to two years at least.

Math coprocessor chips are used in personal computers to increase
the computation speed of applications which rely heavily on math
calculations, such as spreadsheets and computer-aided design (CAD)
programs.

Intel stock was down $2 after the word of Cyrix entering the market
broke.

According to some industry watchers, Cyrix is expected to introduce
a 486sx chip which would fit into the socket used by Intel's 386 --
reportedly Intel's best-selling product.

One New York analyst reportedly told the Associated Press that the
cost of the Cyrix chip would be less than half of the Intel 486
chip. If true, that would put considerable pressure on Intel and
other chip manufacturers. With the PC market under considerable
price pressure and competition heavy in the current economy, PC
manufacturers, once satisfied with the reliability of the Cyrix
product, might switch to a product which could help hold PC costs
down.

(Jim Mallory/19920327/Press contact: Michelle Moody, Cyrix,
214-234-8388)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 27  ****Women's Online Network Established 03/27/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(NYC)(00006)

 ****Women's Online Network Established 03/27/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 MAR 27 (NB) -- Stacy Horn, sysop of
New York's ECHO commercial bulletin board and conferencing system,
appearing on WBAI's "Personal Computer Show," defined the new
"Women's Online Network" (WON) as a computer network that
provides information "that women need to make decisions, work
freely and play with abandon." Horn said that the new network,
launched in January, has already had a large growth.

She later told Newsbytes, "We only announced the system last month
and, already, we have had a tremendous response. There are a lot of
women on-line and they just needed a catalyst to join together and
discuss issues of common interest."

On the Personal Computer Show, Horn and WON's co-founder,
Carmela Federico, answered questions concerning WON posed by the
show's co-hosts, Joe King, Hank Kee & Dave Burstein. Many of the
questions dealt with the fact that WON, in the titles of conference
topics, appear to take specific points of view as policy. Hank Kee,
who is also the sysop of the New York Amateur Computer Club's
(NYACC) bulletin board system (BBS), suggested that the use of titles
such as "Dump D'Amato," by advocating a certain position, are
exclusionary and would limit attendance. He suggested that a topic
entitled "Should D'Amato Be Dumped" would open the door for more
discussion by making people of all views on the subject feel more
welcome.

Horn responded that WON could certainly have a viewpoint on such
issues but she didn't feel that the viewpoint inhibited those who
don't agree with the viewpoint from joining in and voicing their
disagreement. She told Newsbytes that she could also have
mentioned that "Dump D'Amato" is actually the name of a group that
has joined the conference as an entity to bring its issue to others.
She added, "We will provide space to groups with an interest in
expanding the discussion on WON."

King told Newsbytes, "WON is a special purpose system set up to
provide a discussion forum for people sensitive to or enlightened
about so-called women's issues. It is not radical; it is not subversive;
it's just a good thing to have around."

Discussing with Newsbytes her appearance on the "Personal
Computer Show," Horn said, "It was wonderful to be able to talk
about WON on the radio; it's a new medium for me. The time is right
for WON; there are a large number of Senate seats up for election as
well as the entire House of Representatives. WON is already
providing space to a group trying to coordinate efforts to prevent the
re-election of Congresspeople who voted to confirm Judge Thomas. I
expect that WON will be used for many other similar activities as the
election draws near."

WON is a private conference on the ECHO system and access for up to
30 hours per month is available at a monthly cost of $6.95. Access to
the full ECHO system is available at a monthly cost of $18.95 (student
rate - $12.95). Other conferences on ECHO include Books, Culture,
Jewish, Lambda, Music, Crime, Politics, Sex, Parenting, Love, and
Media.

(John F. McMullen/Press Contact: Stacy Horn, Echo Communications,
Inc., 212 255-3839 (voice); 212-989-8411 - modem;
[e-mail]/19920325)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 27  ****CFP-2: International Privacy Law A Mixed Bag 03/27/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(SFO)(00007)

 ****CFP-2: International Privacy Law A Mixed Bag 03/27/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 MAR 27 (NB) -- The U.S. lags behind
the rest of the world in privacy protection laws, says
David Flaherty, privacy advocate and expert from the University of
Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada.

Flaherty is the author of "Protecting Privacy in Surveillance
Societies" (U. of N. Carolina Press). He spoke on the international
privacy situation at the second conference on Computers, Freedom
and Privacy held recently in Washington, DC.

Little has been done in the USA since the privacy act of 1974,
according to Flaherty. The USA has laws, such as the Fair Credit
Reporting Act, but has no watchdog agency to enforce these laws.
A new bill before the U.S. House of Representatives (HR 685) calls
for the establishment of a Data Protection Board which would
perform such a role.

Flaherty lauded the laws in Canada and Germany, though he said no
country has it exactly right. European countries have taken an active
role in the question of privacy protection. A strong push has been
made in Europe for unified data protection laws that work across
the EEC. Current laws in Europe place restrictions on whether one
can trade data with foreign countries, requiring that those
countries have "adequate" data protection laws. Advocates are now
pushing that this be changed to a requirement for "equivalent" laws.

He was critical, however of the laws in France, and particularly the
U.K. In the U.K., a recent law requires that all databases of
information about people be registered with the data protection
agency. Currently nothing more than registration is required, but
even now, simply handling the registration applications requires
a large staff that is already behind in its work. Opponents of data
protection laws point to this as an example of the sort of "database
police" bureaucracies that may be created by poorly thought-out
data protection legislation.

The battle lines between those who seek legislative solutions to
the privacy issue and those who prefer technological solutions over
what they perceive as excessive regulation became more pronounced
at a panel session on HR 685 and the regulation of private
databases. Many say that data watchdog agencies should concentrate
primarily or exclusively on privacy abuse by government agencies.
Most agree that government agencies are the best place to start,
as there is no question concerning their rights and freedoms to
invade the privacy of citizens. Flaherty also sees this
as the best first direction.

However, when it comes down to it, according to Flaherty, the best
protection comes from both stopping the collection of data and
requiring its destruction after it has been used. Data that is never
collected, or which is reliably destroyed is unlikely to be used
to invade privacy down the road. Data that is kept secret only by
legislation is far less secure.

With differences in each country's laws, individuals concerned about
their privacy in an international information marketplace may be
unable to get true legislative solutions because they can't affect
the laws of other nations.

(Brad Templeton/19920327)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 27 Excel To Upgrade CASE Tools 03/27/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00008)

Excel To Upgrade CASE Tools 03/27/92
MARSHALLTOWN, IOWA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 27 (NB) -- Newsbytes has
learned that Excel software is readying an upgrade to its
computer-aided software engineering (CASE) tools. This upgrade will
incorporate enhancements to the current version as well as a major
new emphasis on object-oriented analyses and design tools.

Newsbytes has previously reviewed versions of Excel's MacAnalyst
tool. The new upgrade is slated to be given the v3.2 moniker. In
addition to its previously implemented analysis methodologies like
Yourdon/DeMarco and Gane/Sarson and others. MacAnalyst 3.2 will add
support of object oriented Analysis methodologies that have been
described by Shlaer/Mellor, Coad/Yourdon, Booch, Rambaugh, and
Emberly/Kurtz/Woodfield. MacAnalyst will be the first CASE tool that
will incorporate all of those methodologies.

MacDesigner has also undergone extensive enhancement. It is getting
a whole suite of object-oriented design (OOD) diagram types. An
object diagram will describe internal operations and display
messages between the objects. To help in the transition from
functional to object-oriented design, Excel has incorporated
the ability to show both objects and standard modules
in the same diagram. Standard or embedded functions and procedures
can also be shown.

The entity relationship diagramming tools present in the software
have also been enhanced by allowing direct echoing from the data
dictionary. New reports have been added to describe entity
specifications and relation specifications.

The new releases of MacAnalyst and MacDesigner are expected to
become available late in April. Purchase of the products now will
entitle the customer to a free upgrade when the new releases become
available. Excel is also planning to offer universities and other
educational institutions a special version of these tools that will
be limited in their capabilities but available at about a 50%
discount.

(Naor Wallach/19920326/Press Contact: Harold Halbleib, Excel Software,
515-752-5359)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 27 3Com Announces Strategy For Integration Of SNA 03/27/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00009)

3Com Announces Strategy For Integration Of SNA 03/27/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 27 (NB) -- 3Com has
formulated a three-part strategy under which it hopes to show how
IBM SNA users can integrate their networks into a multi-protocol
internetwork.

This three-part strategy got underway with the introduction of the
NetBuilder Token Ring Source Routing Transparent (SRT) Bridge and
is expected to be fully in place by the end of 1993. Across the
two-year timeframe spanned by this strategy, 3Com is expecting to
make a series of product announcements.

Eric Benhamou, president and CEO of 3Com, was asked to explain the
reasons for this strategy. He said, "Customers continually told us
their installed IBM equipment is used to run mission critical
applications. They don't want to obsolete equipment early, or make
changes that put those applications at risk. As IBM mainframe users
ourselves, we understand the importance of maintaining control over
migration costs as well as timetables, and following a path
consistent with IBM's stated internetworking direction."

Stage One of the strategy calls for 3Com to provide a family of Token
Ring Bridges and Routers. This step will materialize over the course
of 1992. NetBuilder Token Ring (SRT) Bridge is the initial and
most important part of the components that will shape the equipment
introduced over this step.

In stage two, 3Com will address the issue of concentrating the array
of SDLC devices. This step is slated for the first half of 1993. A
research group claims that there are more than a half-million SDLC
devices strewn in IBM remote user sites. Most companies cannot afford
to throw away these devices which run the gamut from older System
36's to the IBM 3174. 3Com's strategy intends to allow the continued
use of these devices. SDLC devices will be supported by 3Com hubs
and translated into Logical Link Control 2 (LLC2). Then the LLC2
packets will be bridged or tunnelled to TCP (Transmission Control
Protocol) on bridge/routers. This will allow those devices to
connect to any other device on the internetwork, including WANs.

Stage Three calls for complete SNA routing including support for
IBM's Advanced Peer to Peer Networking (APPN). This stage will
conclude at the end of 1993. To assist 3Com in implementing this
stage, the company has announced separately that it will be
licensing the APPN network node source code from IBM and will be
integrating that code into future products.

(Naor Wallach/19920326/Press Contact: Donna Stein, 3Com,
408-764-5960)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 27 New For Networks: Concords Tool For Network Monitoring 03/27/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00010)

New For Networks: Concords Tool For Network Monitoring 03/27/92
MARLBORO, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 27 (NB) -- Concord
Communications Inc., is introducing a new tool that will become a
part of its Trakker network monitoring station. This tool, called
Who Tool, is useful for debugging certain classes of network
problems that are somewhat difficult to track down today.

Trakker is based on the Sunnet Manager platform. It is a set of
software tools that allow better management, control, and
debugging of network problems. In addition to the software, Concord
sells a line of RISC-based network taps that reside on different
network segments and communicate with the base station via a greatly
enhanced and expanded Management Information Base (MIB) over SNMP
(Simple Network Management Protocol).

Trakker can only be used on Ethernet-based networks. However, it does
support many of the more popular protocols above that level. Using
Trakker, it is possible to perform real-time analysis of TCP/IP, NFS,
DECnet, and LAT protocols. It will provide for link layer level
monitoring of Xerox's XNS, Novell Netware, Appletalk, and IBM's
PC-Net. When put into "trace" mode, it will filter and decode TCP/IP,
DECnet, Novell, SNA, NetBIOS, Appletalk, Vines, XNS, and OSI.

Who Tool will be added to the capabilities of Trakker. In short, it
allows a network administrator to pinpoint the exact nodes that are
experiencing problems and analyze what the problems are and what
caused them. A typical screen shot of Who Tool would show a listing
of node names with information such as a count over a defined time
of user defined significant events, the percentage of the total
number of events represented by each of these stations, a count of
all network traffic generated by that node, and the percentage of
network traffic that the node was responsible for. Network
administrators can see at a glance which node is having problems.

Who Tool is available now and is a part of Trakker shipments
effective immediately. Previous purchaser of Trakker will be getting
Who Tool as a free upgrade. For more information contact Concord
Communications at 508-460-4646.

(Naor Wallach/19920326/Press Contact: Christine LeCompte, Beaupre &
Co. for Concord, 603-436-6690)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 27 New For Unix: Oracle Document Imaging Integrated With RDBMS 03/27/92



(NEWS)(UNIX)(LAX)(00011)

New For Unix: Oracle Document Imaging Integrated With RDBMS 03/27/92
BETHESDA, MARYLAND, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 27 (NB) -- Oracle Federal plans
to market a document-imaging system developed by Excalibur
Technologies Corporation and aimed at Federal Government purchasers.

Oracle says it has a foothold in the Federal Government market. The
company claims it is the dominant supplier to the Federal Government
of Unix-based relational database management system (RDBMS) software.

The integration of the document imaging ability and a relational
database for handling the mountains of paper government agencies must
manage is not a new concept, but seems to be gaining popularity.
Called document image processing (DIP) the use of computer-based
faxing with fax/modem cards, networks, and laser printers all have
facilitated the move toward electronic document handling.

Oracle has competition, however. Image Tech installed a DIP system
which links 360 PCs in seven locations for the US Marine Corps. The
company claimed at the time of the installation in January of this
year that the Marine Corps had the largest personal computer (PC)-
based DIP system in the world, handling millions of records. Before
the DIP system was implemented for the Marines, file cabinets were
bulging, finding one document took an hour, documents could only be
viewed by one person at a time, and personnel would have to wait
several days to get needed information, Image Tech said.

Other DIP companies include Hackettestown, New Jersey-based Alacrity,
which says it is introducing a complete DIP system for Microsoft Windows
that will also incorporate optical character recognition. Norick
Paperless Office, an Oklahoma City, Oklahoma-based company also
markets DIP software products.

Oracle's distinction in the market is its products are available on
PCs, minicomputers and mainframes. Also Oracle says its RDBMS is the
first and only open relational database to run in massively parallel
supercomputers. Oracle Federal is a division of Oracle Corporation
headquartered at 500 Oracle Parkway, Redwood Shores, CA 94065.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920326/Press Contact: Susan Lynch, Oracle, tel 301-
657-7809, fax [phone]; Jim Folts, Alacrity, 908-813-2400, fax
908-813-2490; John Karagozain, Image Tech, tel [phone], fax 313-
353-8444)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 27 New For Unix: Autodesk Autocad 11 For HP Apollo 03/27/92



(NEWS)(UNIX)(LAX)(00012)

New For Unix: Autodesk Autocad 11 For HP Apollo 03/27/92
SAUSALITO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 27 (NB) -- Autodesk
says it is shipping Autocad Release 11 for the Hewlett-
Packard (HP) Apollo 9000 Series 700 lines of workstations.

The Apollo version of Autocad Release 11 is an X-Windows
implementation, but includes support for Motif Windowing
Manager and retains Autocad's "look and feel" with pull-down
menus and dialogue boxes. Autodesk says it supports the HP-
UX 8.05 or higher operating systems and is fully compatible
with the Unix operating system, on which it is based.

Autodesk says the new release for the Apollo supports both
the 710 and 720 models of the four-model HP 700 series, all
of which are based on HP's Precision Architecture-Reduced-
Instruction-Set-Computing (PA-RISC) processor.

A "pre-authorized" number of users can also access and run
Autocad and its Advanced Modeling Extensions (AME) on a
network or client/server configuration and share drawing
files, Autodesk said. AME is optional with Autocad and is a
solid modeling package for creation of solid objects from
basic shapes. AME allows editing of the objects, calculation
of the mass, as well as performing Boolean operations, such
as union and intersection, Autodesk said.

This version of Autocad for the Apollo has the Autocad
Development System, the company added. The Development
System is a C-language programming environment that supports
the development and integration of programs that link with
Autocad or interface Autocad to other software applications.
Multiple-view plotting, a feature designers use to lay out,
organize, annotate, and plot multiple-view Autocad drawings,
is also incorporated. Dimensioning enhancements, file-
locking, external references, and null display capabilities
are also included.

Autodesk says independent third party developers are gearing
up to offer their complementary products for the Apollo as
well. The developers to date were listed by Autodesk as ASG,
CADISYS, CADSI, Image Systems, NC Microproducts, Point
Control Company, Rasna, and SRAC (Structural Research and
Analysis Corporation).

Also earlier this month Autodesk announced a transitional
version of Autocad for Windows users on the IBM and
compatible personal computer platform. Called the Autocad
Release 11 Extensions for Windows, the product allows
Autocad users to work in both the Windows and DOS
environments. Autodesk says this is a first step toward a
Windows version of Autocad.

More information on Autodesk products is available from the
company directly at telephone [phone] or on CompuServe
by typing GO ADESK.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920326/Press Contact: Andrew Zarrillo,
Autodesk, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 27 Grid Pen Computers In Retail Outlets, But Will They Fly? 03/27/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00013)

Grid Pen Computers In Retail Outlets, But Will They Fly? 03/27/92
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 27 (NB) -- Grid Systems said it
will offer its Gridpadhd pen computer for the first time in the mass
merchandise computer market through Computer City Superstores, but
some analysts are saying pen-based computers won't fly in the mass
market.

Pen computers look very much like a notebook with one side that is
just about all monitor. A special pen and a special operating system
that allows users to write on the monitor and the computer interprets
the handwriting into ASCII characters as though they were typed from
the keyboard. Also, gestures much like proofreading marks are
interpreted into actions by the computer. A word the user draws a line
through would be deleted, for example.

The company says the pen computers are available in Computer City
stores in Seattle; Los Angeles; Austin, Texas; Detroit; Minneapolis;
Buffalo, N.Y.; and Houston.

Introduced in June of 1991, the Gridpadhd is an MS-DOS compatible
computer with a 20 megabyte (MB) hard disk and a transflective backlit
display. Grid says the computer comes with Penright! software and 2 MB
of random access memory.

However, some skepticism exists as to whether or not the pen computer
will gain wide acceptance. Arthur Patterson, a general partner at the
San Francisco-based venture capital firm Accel Partners, told investors
at a Merrill Lynch and Sentry Market Research seminar this week that
handwriting recognition and pen-based software is a niche market and
is likely to be a disappointing investment.

When Newsbytes asked Grid what exactly could people do with the
Gridpadhd computer, considering it represents the low end of the
pen-based computers Grid offers, the answer was custom applications.
Bill Lempesis, who is editor and publisher of the PenVision newsletter,
said the Gridpadhd is still geared toward the vertical market. "The
placement of the Gridpadhd in retail outlets just means the smaller
business which only needs one or two for custom applications can get
them. Grid is used to dealing with orders for 300 at a time."

Lempesis said users of the Gridpadhd will be very much like users who
first bought the IBM PC. "They'll either have to get some package like
Concentric Software's Datanow and write their own application or have
someone do it for them. But the Gridpadhd is perfect for the guy who
does, for example, building inspection and has a lot of standard,
repetitive things to track. He can mark off the items on site, then
transfer the data to his PC at the office," Lempesis offered.

Lempesis said the Gridpadhd is disappointing for intensive handwriting
recognition, like taking notes in a college class. Successful
applications would be short notes, drawings, and form filling,
Lempesis added.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920326/Press Contact: Mike McGuire, Grid Systems,
tel [phone], fax [phone]; Bill Lempesis, PenVision, tel 510-
484-0397, fax [phone]; Arthur Patterson, Accel, 415-989-5656)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 27 Macronix Signs MIPS Architecture License Agreement 03/27/92



(NEWS)(UNIX)(LAX)(00014)

Macronix Signs MIPS Architecture License Agreement 03/27/92
TAIPEI, TAIWAN, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 27 (NB) -- MIPS, manufacturer of
reduced instruction set chips (RISC) and the company Silicon Graphics
announced it was merging with last week, says it just signed a deal
with Macronix International of Taipei, Taiwan for an architecture
license for its R3000 technology.

The deal is a significant one in light of the speculation among
industry analysts as to whether or not Silicon Graphics would be able
to manage MIPS as a technology-independent product. The questions
arise as workstation manufacturer Silicon Graphics is dependent on
MIPS for the technology behind its products. Market research firm
Dataquest said Silicon Graphics "had" to buy the company because MIPS
may not have survived without the merger.

However Dataquest speculated Silicon Graphics might lose anyway if it
cannot keep the economies of scale in hardware and software to make
the technology viable. That might happen if other manufacturers move
away from MIPS, Dataquest maintains.

Even though the merger is far from final, other vendors could begin to
move off. MIPS is saying however, that Macronix is the latest of
nearly 30 companies seeking to obtain its architecture license.

MIPS says its architecture license program allows companies to
implement specialized or enhanced components or systems based on the
MIPS architecture by licensing the design, manufacturing, and
marketing rights to its RISC microprocessors. Licensees also have
access to the R3000 technical descriptions and functional model, as
well as MIPS' internal design and verification tools. MIPS added that
support tools to licensees are available from third-party vendors as
well.

Under terms of the license with Macronix, MIPS said the company will
receive register transfer logic (RTL)-level descriptions of the R3000
to modify the design, with the right to manufacture enhanced
components and sell them on the world market.

Macronix International, headquartered in Hsinchu Science Industrial
Park in Taipei, Taiwan says it specializes in the design and
manufacture of non-volatile memory and logic components for the
personal computer and telecommunications markets. Macronix, which
primarily uses mixed signal technology, manufactures components that
are used in fax machines, modems, display devices, and network
controllers.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920327/Press Contact: Joanne Hasegawa, MIPS, tel
408-524-7164, fax [phone]; Mary Hand, Dataquest, tel 408-437-
8000, fax [phone]; Miin Wu, Macronix, 886-35-783-333)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 27  ****Presidential Candidate Brown To Chat On GEnie 03/27/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00015)

 ****Presidential Candidate Brown To Chat On GEnie 03/27/92
ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 27 (NB) -- For the first
time, U.S. Presidential politics will go online at 9 PM on
Sunday, March 29 as former California Governor Jerry Brown
appears live on GEnie's Public Forum.

Brown is due to be in Vermont on that day, according to Tom
Sherman of Philadelphia, who runs the Nonprofit Connection
service for GEnie and will moderate the forum. "He'll either get
online there or have the messages relayed to him by phone. But I
understand he travels with a laptop," Sherman told Newsbytes.

GEnie's public forum, reached from any prompt by typing PF, has
had a discussion of the presidential candidates for months.
Former Irvine, California mayor Larry Agran and Brown are both
officially represented there, and have posted policy information
in long files in the public forum library. Russ Singer, the Brown
operative, arranged his appearance, Sherman says.

GEnie has about 320,000 members, but only a little over 200 will
be able to squeeze into the "virtual room" for the conference.
All other members will be able to see a transcript after the
event, Sherman said, which will be posted in the forum.

If you don't now have a GEnie account, the easiest way for US readers
to get one is to call the company's customer service department at
800-638-9636. To go around that process, set your computer's
communication software for half duplex, 7 bit words, even parity,
at speeds up to 2,400 baud, and dial 1-800-638-8369, or 1-800-
387-8330 in Canada. After you're connected enter three Hs, like
this -- HHH. After you see a prompt that looks like U#=, enter
xtx99379,genie. Then have a major credit card ready. Once you're
online, the quickest way to get to the public forum is to type
m545;2. That means move to page 545 and select item 2 on the
menu. The more standard way is to type PF, and when you get to
the Public Forum menu type 2.

"The first thing we're doing is asking people to submit questions
in advance, so we can have them queued up, and the Governor will
have the opportunity to answer as many questions as time permits.
Towards the end of the hour, assuming there's some time, we'll
invite people to raise their hands and ask questions. All of the
commands in the conference room begin with a /, so type /rai
to be called on. If Sherman calls on you, you'll be prompted. "My
understanding is the Governor's campaign manager and other
people from the campaign will stay online after the governor has
to leave, to continue to answer questions," Sherman adds.

GEnie's public forum is a virtual space within the system where
thousands of people every day exchange ideas and information on
public and non-profit issues of all kinds. It ranges on all sorts
of political subjects, from abortion to gun control, from the
budget to social issues. The public forum is itself provided by
Public Interest Media, a non-profit organization based in
Philadelphia.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920327/Press Contact: Press Contact: Tom
Sherman, Nonprofit Connection, 215-328-9773, Tom Pier, Brown
Campaign, 310-449-1992)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 27  ****US Software Sales Up 24.6 Percent In 1991 03/27/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(WAS)(00016)

 ****US Software Sales Up 24.6 Percent In 1991 03/27/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 27 (NB) -- The Software
Publishers Association has released its quarterly software sales
statistics for the last quarter of 1991 and provided summaries
for the entire year, a year which was remarkably kind to U.S.
software companies despite the recession. Retail sales were up to
$5.7 billion for last year, with U.S. exports growing by 34.6
percent over the previous year.

Overall fourth quarter sales were a record $1.77 billion, more
than a one-third increase compared to the same period in 1990.
Windows applications software led the pack, with sales up 228
percent in the fourth quarter, but the SPA did not supply details
of which product categories were tops in Windows sales.

MS-DOS applications showed only a 5.9 percent increase for 1991,
but this remains the largest segment of the desktop software
market and with MS-DOS and Windows applications bundled together
(Windows runs under MS-DOS) combined sales reached $4.57 billion
in 1991, for a combined increase of nearly 26 percent.

Macintosh sales were up even more percentage-wise for the year,
jumping 37 percent, but this amounts to only $840.8 million or
81.6 percent less than combined MS-DOS and Windows sales.

Education applications were the fastest growers for Macintosh
platforms with a 150 percent increase to $30 million, but
spreadsheets showed the biggest dollar value gain, jumping from
$57 million to $136 million for a 138.6 percent increase.

Surprisingly, Macintosh, which started the desktop publishing
market, showed its only decrease in that area, with applications
software sales plunging nearly 30 percent to only $45 million.
This may be somewhat misleading since it doesn't include the
separate "graphics" category which led Macintosh software sales
with a total of nearly $210 million, a 22.6 percent increase over
the 1990 numbers.

For "other" computers, major desktop systems not using Apple or
MS-DOS operating systems, sales dropped in every category except
for graphics and word processors.

Entertainment software sales grew by slightly less than 20
percent for MS-DOS systems but jumped double that amount for
Macintosh programs. Again, these numbers don't give a complete
picture, because actual dollar-value sales for MS-DOS games and
other entertainment software totaled nearly $310 million, while
the much smaller Macintosh market only accounted for $25 million
in sales.

Word processors were a big ticket item for MS-DOS systems, with
sales almost reaching the magic $1 billion level, coming in at
more than $975 million, excluding those which are separately
designated as desktop publishing applications which accounted for
another $103.6 million all by themselves.

Following close behind, with sales reaching nearly $775 million,
were MS-DOS spreadsheets. Graphics programs came in third with
sales of almost $500 million, while the biggest percentage gainer
for MS-DOS was in the education field, which grew by 37 percent
to $117.5 million.

Graphics applications, with sales of nearly $210 million for
1991, were the biggest item for Macintosh systems, with
spreadsheet sales at $136 million just surpassing word processors
at $124.3 million.

(John McCormick/19920327/Press Contact: Terri Childs, SPA, 202-
452-1600)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 27 ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 03/27/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00017)

ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 03/27/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 27 (NB) -- Roundup is a brief
look at some computer stories carried in other publications
received here this past week.

March's Computer Monthly carries the results of the 1991 Reader's
Choice Award survey which chooses the best direct-sales vendors.

The March 24 Computer Currents has a feature on buying color
monitors.

Computerworld for the 23 of March reports that Windows 3.1 is
ready to roll, but that some big users have now gotten Windows
3.0 running right and may not be interested in making the change
right away.

Computer Reseller News for the week of the 23rd says that Lotus has
vowed to support IBM's OS/2 version 2.0 with a complete suite of
software and that it will disclose this at COMDEX/Spring.

InformationWeek dated the 23rd looks at the multimillion-dollar
suits and countersuits between Computer Associates and EDS over
software licenses.

CommunicationsWeek for March 23 says the FCC is about to make a
decision on AT&T Tariff 12 "800" contracts.

The April 14 PC Magazine has a buyer's guide to notebook
computers.

Software Magazine has a March Special edition that looks at
Sybase co-founder Dr. Robert Epstein.

April's Workstation News says that Cray Research is sharing
hardware and software technology with Sun Microsystems to develop
a seamless work environment using SPARC and Crays.

(John McCormick/19920327)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 27 The Enabled Computer 03/27/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00018)

The Enabled Computer 03/27/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 27 (NB) -- The Enabled Computer
by John McCormick. This is the third column listing the regional
winners of the National Search for Computing Applications to Assist
Persons with Disabilities.

Region 5 Awards

1. Gerald Wasserman, Sensory Coding Laboratory, Department of
Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
47907-1364; Entry Class: Professional Organization; Category: Hearing
and Language related; Type: Device. The Purdue artificial receptor uses
a portable, digital-signal-processor to recreate normal sounds for
cochlear implant patients.

2. Jeffrey Szmanda, Health Care Keyboard Company, Inc., N61 W
15150 Wigwam Drive, Menomonee Falls, WI 53051. Phone 414-252-
3282; Entry Class: Private Professional; Category: Movement;
Type: Device. A computer keyboard divided into three sections which
adjust independently into an infinite number of positions accommodating
individuals with particular requirements for each hand, head
wand, or mouth stick control. The commercial product is called the
Health Care keyboard and will be on the market this summer.

3. Kathleen Ahlers, Special Education, Illinois State University,
Normal, IL 61761. Phone [phone]; Entry Class: Professional
Organization; Category: Hearing and Language related; Type: Software.
Read-My-Lips teaches speech-reading to hearing-impaired using
three multimedia instructional modules; 1) Read and see, 2)
Babel, and 3) Fingerspelling.

4. Eric Bohlman, OMS Development, 1921 Highland Ave., Wilmette,
IL 60091; Entry Class: Private Professional; Category: Vision;
Type: Software. TinyTalk is a memory resident screen reader program
for blind users of IBM-compatible computers with speech synthesizers.
It supports software display methods such as pop-up windows.
This is a high-quality shareware program which sells for only a
$75 registration fee and is available on many bulletin board
systems for free downloading and trial.

5. Gregg Vanderheiden; Entry Class: Professional Organization;
Category: Vision; Type: Device. Systems-3 provides access to graphic
computer environments like Windows and the Mac for the visually
impaired. By moving an oversized mouse-like device over a tablet, the
system interprets the screen image into a 100-pin output, while
icons and text are spoken and screen location is indicated both
by physical movement of the device and audio feedback. This is a
prototype system.

Region 6 Awards

1. Frank A. McKiel (Contact: Roger A. Chang, IBM, 5 West Kirkwood
Blvd., Roanoke, TX 76299-0001. phone [phone] or fax 817-962-
3963.) Entry Class: Professional Organization; Category: Vision;
Type: Software. An audible feedback scheme that allows a blind
computer user to comprehend and utilize a windowed graphical user
interface. As the pointer passes over windows, controls, and other
graphical features, stereo sounds are generated by special software
to convey the identity of the features. The sounds, which may
combine musical tones, filtered noise, recorded sound effects,
and synthesized speech, serve as a replacement for tactile
sensation. Not yet available.

4. Judith Hochberg, C-3 Applied Research, Mail Stop B-265, Los
Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545. Entry Class:
Professional Organization; Category: Hearing and Language related.
Type: Software. A computer-based device uses a speaker's acoustics
to infer tongue and lip motions during speech and displays them on a
computer monitor. This is used as a lip-reading aid or as a
therapeutic tool for speech disorders.

5. James Kennedy; Entry Class: Private Professional; Category:
Movement; Type: Device. A ratiometric blowpipe with LCD display for
data entry. A pressure transducer will be used to characterize the force
and frequency of the input pressure. A microcontroller will read the
pressure transducer, drive a two-line LCD display, and interface
to the PC.

Region 7 Awards

1. Robin Japins; Entry Class: Professional Organization; Category:
Hearing and Language related; Type: Software. This software allows
a TDD user to access alphanumeric pagers leaving messages on the
pagers. This software bridges the communication barrier of baudot
and ASCII, making traditionally incompatible devices accessible to
each other. This program is used by the paging company.

2. Michael Socha, East Wind Community, Tecumseh, MO 65760.
Entry Class: Amateur; Category: Movement; Type: Device.
Versatile and inexpensive computer keyboard for one-hand touch
typing. Michael sells kits and custom builds keyboards for disabled
individuals. These can be tailored to fit most user's needs,
including provision for programmed function keys that provide
easy access to specified programs.

These keyboards look quite rough, that is deceptive and they are
well made. The unfinished appearance is due to a mechanism that
allows individual keys or rows of keys to be angled separately,
as opposed to "broken" or split keyboards which consist of
several flat sections, each of which is moveable, but where the
keys are not individually moveable.

3. David Altman, 1311 Claremont Street, Lincoln, NE 68508.
Entry Class: Amateur; Category: Movement; Type: Device.
MARLA ARM is mechanical auto rotary linear arm which will allow a
person with a physical disability to adjust a computer monitor to
a proper height and rotary angle by the use of a switch. No indication
if this is a commercial product in development or just a prototype.

4. Robert Gunn (no address supplied); Entry Class: Amateur;
Category: Mental Retardation; Type: Device. The use of a single-action
switch with the necessary BASIC subroutine that allows physically
limited, mentally retarded adults to access to computer and computer
programs designed specifically for each individual. For use with the
Commodore 64 computer system. Not a commercially available product.

5. Greg Harvey, c/o Express-Way Software, Inc., P.O. Box 10290,
Columbia, MO 65205-4005; Entry Class: Private Professional;
Category: Vision; Type: Paper. The goal is to provide reference,
educational, and leisure reading materials to the blind and visually
impaired on CD-ROM disks. Proposal only, no product.

(John McCormick/19920327)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 27 Fox To Use Vyvx For Newsfeeds 03/27/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00019)

Fox To Use Vyvx For Newsfeeds 03/27/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 MAR 27 (NB) --- Fox Television
will use the Vyvx network from WilTel to gather its news and send
its feeds to selected cities, the companies announced.

Vyvx uses WilTel's 11,000 mile fiber cable network to transport
television signals. In the past it has been used by such networks
as CNN and CBS to move feeds between major bureaus, and by cable
networks like Prime to send sports events from sites to studios.
This is the first time, however, that it will be used as the
backbone network for a news operation, or to deliver shows to TV
stations.

Vyvx President Del Bothof told Newsbytes the deal shows off Vyvx's
ability to bring signals from multiple points to a number of
points, and its ability to take feeds on short notice. "The
quality and security of the fiber signal makes up for weak points
in satellite distribution," he added. Besides selling use of the
network to TV networks, Vyvx also rents it for corporate
videoconferences and events.

Fox senior vice president, Andrew Setos, told Newsbytes that his
people in Washington, headed by Paul Amos, will be able to bring
in news feeds faster and with less hassle using Vyvx, and for
about the same cost as satellite time. "We now have an
alternative to satellites, and it's quite compelling." While
satellite trucks will still be used to move feeds from remote
news sites to Washington, anything which can be brought into a
studio will be quickly moved via the Vyvx network.

Fox will use a variety of means to get signals from its own
offices to the Vyvx' "points of presence" in various cities. In
some places, microwave relays will be used. In Chicago, an
alternate fiber carrier is handling the chore. In Washington, the
local phone company is doing the work. "Whenever there's choice
it's exciting. Pricing is variable, and some people can provide
it for less."

Once the Fox newsfeed is completed, it will be sent via Vyvx's
network to Los Angeles for satellite distribution to 250
affiliates. However, along the way, it will be "dropped off" in
Houston, New York and Chicago via the Vyvx network, Setos said.
"We found it was less expensive to do that, and drop off to NY,
Chicago and Houston, so they don't have to pick up via satellite
at all."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920327/Press Contact: Kevin Inda, Vyvx, 713-
547-1000)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 27 International Phone Update 03/27/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00020)

International Phone Update 03/27/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 27 (NB) -- Telephones continue
to reach out and touch people in ways never before seen, a review
of recent news shows.

China's Xinhua news agency reports that one-way direct dial
phone lines have opened between Israel and 10 Arab countries, at
about $3.30 per minute. Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar, the
United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Yemen had
protested the links, saying they couldn't be forced to talk to
Israel, but direct-dialing in one direction doesn't violate
international law. Until now, Israelis who wanted to call these
countries had to go through a service in Britain, which can now
be bypassed.

In China itself, the rural phone nets on the nation's coast are
being upgraded with digital switches, fiber cable and digital
microwave relays. The regime's goal is to have a nationwide long-
distance automatic telephone network by the year 1995. According
to the communications ministry, there will be one phone for every
100 people in the country by the turn of the century, up from
about one for every 400 at present.

Venezuelan officials have denied plans to take CANTV public. The
nation's phone network was privatized earlier this year, with GTE
taking the largest share, although the state still holds a 49
percent stake, and workers control 11 percent. CANTV is committed
to a $500 million capital spending program, funded through bonds
and commercial paper.

Finally, the Solidarity union of Poland appointed Tower
International of Maine, in the U.S., as North American
distributor for the Polish Industry Directory, which lists 10,000
businesses with 60,000 products for sale.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920327/Press Contact: Michael L. Lyons, Tower
International, 207-642-5400)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 27 New For PC: Phar Lap DOS Extender Bundled With Compilers 03/27/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00021)

New For PC: Phar Lap DOS Extender Bundled With Compilers 03/27/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 27 (NB) -- Phar Lap
Software has announced two agreements to bundle its
386|DOS-Extender software with programming-language compilers from
Lahey Computer Systems and MetaWare.

Phar Lap will sell a bundle consisting of 386|DOS-Extender and
MetaWare's High C 32-bit C-language compiler for $995. Maria
Vetrano, a spokeswoman for Phar Lap, said the two products are
often used together, particularly in the computer-aided design
software market. They were used, for instance, to build the popular
CAD software package AutoCAD. The combination previously cost more
than $1,300, she said.

Lahey Computer Systems plans to incorporate Phar Lap's DOS extender
technology right into its 32-bit F77L-EM/32 FORTRAN compiler. A new
release incorporating the DOS extender and some other enhancements
will be released in April, Vetrano told Newsbytes.

The integration of the DOS extender technology into Lahey's
compiler means software developers will be able to use the
technology in their applications without paying run-time fees,
Vetrano said.

Version 5.0 of the F77L-EM/32 compiler will have a price tag of
$1,195.

(Grant Buckler/19920327/Press Contact: Maria Vetrano, Phar Lap
Software, 617-661-1510, fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 27 IBM Canada Increasing Stake In Outsourcing Firm 03/27/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00022)

IBM Canada Increasing Stake In Outsourcing Firm 03/27/92
MARKHAM, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAR 27 (NB) -- IBM Canada has
announced it will exercise an option to increase its stake in ISM
Information Systems Management, Canada's largest outsourcing firm,
to 51 percent. IBM Canada previously held about 32 percent of ISM.

An option agreed to in June, 1991, allowed IBM to increase its
stake in the company by buying additional shares from Saskatchewan
Telecommunications, another of the three original majority
shareholders in ISM. Ray Lancashire, an ISM spokesman, said this
transaction will leave SaskTel with a small stake -- two to three
percent of ISM.

ISM was formerly STM Systems, a subsidiary of International
Semi-Tech Microelectronics of Markham. Saskatchewan
Telecommunications, a provincial telephone company, acquired a
majority holding in STM last year, merged it with its own computer
services subsidiary Westbridge, and sold a 27-percent stake to IBM,
leaving International Semi-Tech with 27 percent. At that time,
SaskTel also held 27 percent of the company and the balance was
widely held.

Under the original agreement, International Semi-Tech is to divest
its stake in the company within two years, Lancashire said. That
will leave the company majority-owned by IBM Canada, with SaskTel
holding a small stake and the balance widely held.

This transaction will not affect the makeup of ISM's board of
directors, Lancashire said. He added that some changes to the board
are to be voted on at the company's annual shareholders meeting,
set for late in the day on March 27, but that those changes were
not related to the IBM move.

(Grant Buckler/19920327/Press Contact: Ray Lancashire, ISM,
416-499-1012; Stan Didzbalis, IBM Canada, 416-474-3900)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 27  ****Apple Offers New System, Hypercard For IIGS 03/27/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00023)

 ****Apple Offers New System, Hypercard For IIGS 03/27/92
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 27 (NB) -- Proving it has
not abandoned the lowest end of its line, Apple Computer is
offering new system software and an upgraded version of Hypercard for
the Apple IIGS that includes some interoperability with other
systems.

Apple says the System 6 software for the IIGS offers an enhanced user
interface, greater speed and performance, and data exchange
capabilities. The new version of Hypercard IIGS, version 1.1, offers a
Media Control stack for the operation of compact disc read-only memory
(CD-ROM) drives as well as videodisk players, and new Hypertalk
scripting capabilities.

The Apple IIGS is one of the Apple Computer products schools can
"earn" in grocery store promotions involving collection of cash
register tapes. Schools collecting enough in "tape totals" can trade
the receipts for computers in the "Apples for the Students"
promotional programs held around the U.S.

Apple is saying it has not abandoned the IIGS, and in fact is
offering IIGS users many of the features and functionality available
in System 7 on the Macintosh with the new System 6 and Hypercard IIGS.
John Santoro, Apple II product manager, said: "Apple IIGS System 6
encompasses the most robust and feature-rich system software offered
since the introduction of the Apple IIGS in 1986, bringing Apple II
customers much of the same ease-of-use and functionality now available
on the System 7 Finder for the Macintosh. The extensive development of
System 6 and HyperCard IIGS version 1.1 underline Apple's continuing
support of the Apple II line."

System 6 also offers interoperability with new File System Translators
that offer users access to Macintosh disks, Pascal disks, Apple II,
and IBM and compatible DOS 3.3 disks, Apple maintains. A new "look and
feel" is available on the IIGS with the System 6 control panel and
desk accessory. The control panels can be opened directly from the
desktop and Find File and Calculator desk accessories have also been
added, Apple added.

Apple has also incorporated Finder Help in a pop-up menu so it can be
kept on screen while the user steps through the procedures. Moving
between multiple windows on screen is easier as well with enhanced
window handling and improved appearance of the windows, Apple offered.

New applications in System 6 for the IIGS include Teach and Archiver.
Teach is a text processor for the desktop for tasks like jotting down
notes, reading disk files, and creating formatted for unformatted text
documents. Teach can also import text from ASCII, Appleworks version
3.0, Appleworks GS, Macwrite version 5.0 formats and
Applewriterarchiver, Apple said.

Archiver allows the user to back up the hard disk, with options in
restoration for either restoring everything or only certain files.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920327/Press Contact: Bill Keegan, Apple, tel 408-
974-5460, fax [phone]; PK, Sun Computers, tel [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 27  ****Apple/Sharp To Jointly Develop Hand-held Computers 03/27/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00024)

 ****Apple/Sharp To Jointly Develop Hand-held Computers 03/27/92
OSAKA, JAPAN, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 27 (NB) -- Despite early reports that
Apple was planning to do business with Sony to develop the personal
digital assistants (PDAs), the products announced by Apple President
John Sculley at the Winter Consumer Electronics Show, Sharp says it is
the first licensee to partner with Apple on the planned PDA devices.

A PDA is a device described by Sculley as a small, portable
information device that uses digital technology for communication,
information storage, and information retrieval -- something that would
bridge the gap between current personal computers and consumer
electronics products.

While Sony has a relationship with Apple -- it is manufacturing one of
the versions of the Powerbook Apple notebook computer -- Apple said in
January it was not at that time releasing details about the PDA
devices or its alliances in developing PDAs.

Sharp says both companies have formed project teams and have begun
aggressive product development efforts. Targeted product delivery date
for the PDA is 1993, Sharp added. However, Apple and Sharp are not the
only ones with this idea.

Newsbytes talked with Bill Lempesis who is editor and publisher of the
PenVision newsletter who said other companies planning products along
the same lines. In the context of the present and future applications
of pen computers and Grid's introduction of the Gridpadhd into mass
market retail outlets, Lempesis said the future holds pen handwriting
recognition systems for portable e-mail and constant contact for the
consumer to give and send information.

In the next two to three years devices under $500 will be available to
consumers that will incorporate the communication abilities offered by
the cellular phone with the functionality of the computer, Lempesis
said.

So it appears consumers can expect the incorporation of computer,
communication, and electronics into devices from more than just Apple.
The question now seems to be who will get there first?

As a side note, Apple and another division of Sharp, Sharp Systems
Products, announced an agreement which allows Sharp Systems to
distribute Macintosh personal computers in Japan, beginning next
month.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920327/Press Contact: Brooke Cohan, Apple, tel 408-
974-3019, fax [phone]; Daniel Infanti, Sharp, 201-529-8967; Bill
Lempesis, PenVision, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 27 New For Networks: Ethernet Media Converter Supports IEEE Specs 03/27/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00025)

New For Networks: Ethernet Media Converter Supports IEEE Specs 03/27/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 27 (NB) -- Allied
Telesis has announced the AT-MR112T, the first media converter that
allows both network segments of an Ethernet network converted
between a thin coax (10Base-2) medium and an unshielded twisted-pair
(10Base-T) medium to meet full IEEE specifications for both length
and number of nodes.

Also, the new media converter features full 802.3 repeater
capabilities, full network status LED indicators, and protection
from malfunction for both sides of a converted network.

"By allowing both segments of the network to meet IEEE specs,
network managers can now work in a simple 'plug-and-play' environment
without having to worry about a variety of conflicting
specifications caused by older methods of media conversion," said
Anders Swahn, Allied Telesis product marketing director.

Added features include ten network status LED indicators. Aside from
a power LED for the unit and link status indicator for the 10Base-T
side of the conversion, the unit offers online, collision, receive,
and transmit LED indicators for each side of the LAN segment.

Also, to protect the network, the unit supports auto-partitioning
and reconnection that will turn off a network segment with
excessive collisions, and jabber lock-up protection which turns off
network nodes transmitting packets that are longer than the specified
IEEE Ethernet standard.

The AT-MR112T converter has a small form factor (5.5 x 4.4 x 1.2
inches) that the company says allows the unit to be easily wall
mounted with an optional bracket, and it is powered by an external
universal input power supply which is shipped with the unit.

The AT-MR112T has an introductory price of $375. Call 415/964-2771
for more information.

(Computer Currents/19920327)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 27 Tartan Ada To Support TI's Digital Signal Processor 03/27/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00026)

Tartan Ada To Support TI's Digital Signal Processor 03/27/92
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 27 (NB) -- Tartan, a
developer of Ada language tools and compilers, has announced that
the company is now developing an Ada development system to
support the new 32-bit Texas Instruments TMS320C31 digital signal
processor.

Ada is the present "standard" software developed by NATO and the
U.S. Department of Defense for all military-related programs. The
language was especially developed to provide real-time software
for military and industrial hardware applications and to be
highly portable and reusable, two big items for a government
which is swamped with billions of lines of old program code.

Tartan has already marketed a programming tool for the TI 320C30,
the first Ada development system produced for any DSP.

Tartan Ada for the C31 will be available in Europe and the U.S.
sometime in the fall of 1992.

For further information contact: Tartan, Inc., 300 Oxford Drive,
Monroeville, PA 15146. 412-856-3600 or fax [phone].

(John McCormick/19920327/Press Contact: Susan Englert, Tartan,
412-856-3600)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 27  ****PC Magazine - Russian Edition Scandal 03/27/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(MOW)(00027)

 ****PC Magazine - Russian Edition Scandal 03/27/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 MAR 92 (NB) -- Newsbytes has learned that
there were only 3,000 copies of each issue of PC Magazine - Russian
edition, although the magazine had announced a circulation of 100,000.

According to information from two sources at the PC Magazine - Russian
edition editorial office, 500 copies were printed on the manually
controlled press on high quality paper at the Kaliningrad typesetting
plant. These issues were distributed to advertisers who paid a high
price for their full-color ads. The remaining 2500 copies were
printed on the lower grade paper and then sold at limited
locations in Moscow and St Petersbourg.

Vadim Chvirtko, the manager of the paper, is said to have
reported to the publisher that about 40,000 copies were printed
on western-supplied paper. However, no trace of these magazines is
said to have been found.

Vadim Chvirtko was fired on Monday, along with his wife Luda, who
was the chief financial officer of PC Magazine USSR. Vadim Chvirtko
was ordered to quit immediately while Luda Chvirtko awaits an audit
trail to be completed.

Alexander Kann, PC Magazine USSR publisher, confirmed to Newsbytes the
fact that Mr Chvirtko is no longer a staff member and refused further
comments. He also refused to confirm or deny Chvirtko's financial
wrongdoings.

Newsbytes was unable to collect information on the possibility of
a court trial.

Mr Chvirtko's previous employment was at the ComputerPress monthly, a
Moscow-based magazine. He ended it after some financial mismanagement
was detected by higher level management, according to Igor
Viazanichev, ComputerPress editor.

A spokeswoman for Ziff-Davis Publishing says the company is
investigating but is unable to confirm the situation at this time.
She says Ziff-Davis had not known of the situation prior to the
Newsbytes report. Susan Marceau says that Ziff-Davis, which publishes
PC Magazine in the US, has licensed the right to use the name,
logo, and editorial materials to publishers of the PC Magazine -
Russian edition, but that Ziff-Davis does not publish the
magazine itself.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920327/Press Contact: PC Magazine USSR, Alexander
Kann, phone [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 27 ACIS Joins Accolade In Fight Against Sega 03/27/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(LAX)(00028)

ACIS Joins Accolade In Fight Against Sega 03/27/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 27 (NB) -- Accolade is
turning the tables on Sega, which has tried to stop it from marketing
compatible software, and the American Committee for Interoperable
Systems (ACIS) has joined the fight.

The whole thing started when Sega filed a complaint in federal
district court in San Francisco in November of last year alleging that
Accolade had infringed Sega's trademark. Essentially, Accolade says
Sega changed its hardware so the message "Produced By or Under License
From Sega Enterprises Ltd" comes up when any cartridge is inserted,
then blamed Accolade saying Accolade was trying to mislead Sega
customers.

As to why Sega pursued the legal action, Alan Miller, president and
chief executive officer of Accolade, said: "...Sega (is attempting)
to force Accolade into agreeing to what amounts to a nonnegotiable,
third-party licensing arrangement." In other words, Sega is trying to
stop anyone from marketing compatible software without paying
licensing fees to do so.

Sega lost the first round earlier this month when the court hearing
the case said Sega's claims were too vague. Accolade announced the
court is requiring Sega amend its complaint to specify the works which
are the subject of the copyright claims, the acts constituting the
alleged copyright infringement, and the dates when the alleged
infringement occurred.

Since Sega filed its suit, Accolade is fighting back with a counter-
suit for restraint of trade, trademark infringement, and unfair
business practices. The counter-suit also seeks recovery from Sega for
allegedly misleading consumers into believing that Accolade's
compatible video game cartridges are either produced by or licensed
from Sega, Accolade maintains.

Miller said Accolade has for well over a year developed, marketed and
sold products for the Sega Genesis which run on the system without
compromise and without the prompt of such initial display screen. The
initial display screen emerges only on systems sold since September of
this year. Miller cited the fact that Accolade's games run on both the
old and new versions of the Sega system.

Now the ACIS says it has filed an amicus brief supporting the legality
of the reverse-engineering process at issue in Accolade's litigation
with Sega. The ACIS is saying this is a larger issue than just a fight
over the licensing of kids computer games. Peter Choy, chairman of
ACIS and deputy general counsel of Sun Microsystems, said: "The life
blood of the computer industry is the ability of any competitor to
make and distribute interoperable software and hardware."

The ACIS is an organization of companies in the computer industry that
includes: Amdahl, Bull HN Information Systems, Chips and Technologies,
Clearpoint Research, Comdisco, Emulex, Forecross, Informix Software,
Johnson-Laird, Kapor Enterprises, Landmark Systems, NCR, Phoenix
Technologies, Seagate Technology, Software Association of Oregon,
Storage Technology, Sun Microsystems, Systems Center, 3Com, Unisys,
and Zenith Data Systems.

Accolade, with headquarters in San Jose, California describes itself
as a developer and marketer of entertainment software for IBM
compatible, Macintosh, and Amiga personal computers as well as a
licensed developer and marketer of video game software for Nintendo
and NEC video game systems. It says it is the only independent
developer and marketer, and the third largest developer and marketer,
of video games for the Sega Genesis system.

Sega produces the Sega Genesis System, in hand held, portable versions
and in versions that connect to a television set for the display of
the video games.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920327/Press Contact: Hilary Hanson,
Ketchum Public Relations for Sega, 415-984-6385; Melinda
Mongelluzzo, Accolade, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 27 Review of: On The Gofax, PC Fax Software 03/27/92



(REVIEW)(IBM)(ATL)(00029)

Review of: On The Gofax, PC Fax Software 03/27/92

Runs on: 100% IBM compatible laptop, notebook, or desktop with
512K RAM using PC/MS-DOS 3.0 or higher, and a VGA, EGA, CGA, or
Hercules compatible monochrome monitor. A Hayes-compatible 1200
or 2400 baud modem is necessary. A recognized credit card is
necessary.

From: Ibis Software Inc., 625 Second Street, Suite 308,
San Francisco  CA 94107, Voice 415-546-1917, fax [phone].

Price: $69.95

PUMA Rating:  0.25 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: tbass  HNDYPRSN, MCI:379-5378

Summary: On The Gofax is supposed to work; it didn't work in the
904 area code. It didn't work for me!

======

REVIEW

======

On The Gofax is suppose to have a toll-free number which allows
a modem transmission to be picked up and faxed forward to a
requested number for a per-page fixed rate. After some trouble, I
found out their AT&T Easy Link service number,1-800-986-6000, can
not be reached from Florida's 904 area code.

When I began to install this program, I had no way of knowing I
was in an area code region that couldn't access its advertised
preprogrammed nationwide number. When I had problems installing
the program, I kept hearing a telephone intercept message when I
dialed the number. The technical support person for the product
stated that no problems with the number had been reported so
far.

I contacted a technical person with the switching company,
Western Union. This was where I first found out that the number
was not accessible from 904 area code and that the national 800
number for EasyLink was a different number.

I contacted the Gofax technical person again and he concurred
that he now had the same information. Not only was it unreachable
from Florida's 904 area, but the same was true for Wisconsin's
715 area code region. The tech assistant gave me a second
number, 1-800-325-4112, to try that was a 1200 bps only number.

In order to use new number, a script/program file needed to
be modified. While this was not difficult it would seem the
description of 'hassle free' would have to be scratched at this
time. Then the new number didn't work either. Who knows why.

If I had reviewed this from the Atlanta area, 404, I might not
have had the problems mentioned, but people in at least Wisconsin
and Florida would have. This problem is a serious flaw for a
program that advertises toll free access, stressing on the
back of the package, "No charge to user for sending the files
to the service bureau."

Because of the above problems with the telephone numbers, the
program would not install itself, so I was unable to verify the
other features of the program.

Here are a few other notes on the program. The rates which are
advertised on the package are an important factor. Gofax
advertises what it calls really low rates for the fax:
$3.00 for the first  page and $2.00 for additional pages per
destination. There are additional expenses for fax to
international destinations. Of course, this is after having
paid between  $39.00 and $69.00 for a program which can only
be use for this  specific type of communication with this
specific service.

Compare this with MCI-Mail which has a $35.00 yearly fee and
for fax the cost is $.50 for first half page and $.30 for each
additional half  page per destination. It, too, has additional
expenses for fax to international destinations. In addition
there is an e-mail box for receiving e-mail. E-mail, telex,
and EMS communications can be sent for small fees from the
same 800-number. You do have to have a communication package;
ProComm PLUS has a  $65.00 street price. The communication
package can then be used for other telecommunication activities
when you become interested. In other words, the program is not
MCI-specific.

MCI's 800 number works from all area codes, and is claimed to
be toll free from distant locations, but not from international
locations. MCI does have a regular long distance number which
can be reached from an international phone. Gofax doesn't.

The problems with the telephone numbers didn't get me off to
a pleasant start with On the Gofax. I liked all of the
people/assistants that I had communicated with over the voice
line and hope that the company can get the problems resolved. I'd
like to see the program work. I think On The Gofax could fill a
niche for business people on the road who don't want to learn to
telecommunicate.

============
PUMA RATING

============

PERFORMANCE:  (0) It didn't. It would not install because the
number provided didn't function from this area code. Its main
selling point just didn't work.

USEFULNESS: (1) It sounds like a good idea, but you couldn't
prove it by me. The program by design is very limited in scope.
However, I could see how it would be useful for laptops and
notebooks on the road, if it worked. I think MCI-Mail is a better
deal all around.

MANUAL: (0) The manual seemed understandable, but again I could
not really evaluate it. There was just no way for me to try out
the features it described.

AVAILABILITY: (0) What good is availability if the product does
not work? It can be obtained through mail order from Globe
1-800-845-6225  part #A000014 @ $59.95, MicroWarehouse
1-800-367-7080  @ $39.00, Tiger 1-800-888-4437 @ $69.95 includes
fed ex shipping and $10 off any other product, PowerUp
1-800-851-2917 @ $69.95, and EggHead Software 1-800-344-4323
@ $69.95.

(tbass HNDYPRSN/19911024/Press Contact: Connie Ringstrom,
415-546-1917)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 27 Review of: P4PS, Printing Utility For PostScript Printers, 03/27/92



(REVIEW)(IBM)(SYD)(00030)

Review of: P4PS, Printing Utility For PostScript Printers, 03/27/92

Runs on: Industry standard PCs

From: ECONO-SOFT, P.O. Box 181030, Austin, TX 78718-1030,
512-832-1675, 800-367-7590

Price: Shareware $49.95 (includes printed manual); Postage $10 on
international orders (free in US). Texas residents add 8% sales
tax. MasterCard and Visa accepted, include expiration date.

PUMA Rating: 3.25 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Paul Zucker 03/27/92

Summary: P4PS is a utility that lets you do some fancy things on
your PostScript printer, using plain ASCII text files, like
printing double-sided booklets with four pages per sheet.

======

REVIEW

======

One of the annoying features of a PostScript printer is that it
needs to have even the simplest ASCII text file wrapped up in a
lump of PostScript before it can print the text. That's OK if
you're using your favorite word processor, but quite often you're
just working at the DOS prompt, and simply want to print a copy of
your Autoexec.bat file or similar.

At its simplest, P4PS can be used for this, but it really shines
by converting longer text files to some fancy PostScript commands
that produce multiple pages per sheet of paper, arrange pages so
you can put the paper back to do the other side, and so on. To
quote the documentation:

-Prints multiple pure ASCII or PostScript files to a PostScript
printer with an attractive (optional) drop shadow.

-Automatic Booklet Generation! 2-up (side-by-side),
properly collated, 1 or 2 sided output ready to
staple/bind into booklets.

-Prints anywhere from one to 64 virtual pages per
physical sheet of paper in Landscape or Portrait
orientation.

-Handles up to 255 columns per line - great for
spreadsheets.

-Control physical and virtual page headers using macros
to determine exactly what information is printed;
determine the exact format of date displays.

-Output to any DOS device or file specification.

-Print multiple copies of each file.

-Select a range of pages instead of the entire document.

-Select continuous or manual, one or two pass printing.

-Layout virtual pages across or down the physical page;
fill pages or start new physical pages for each file.

-Specify physical page margins and the spread between
virtual pages.

-Specify what to do when a file is interlocked on a
network - including waiting for it to become
available.

-With ASCII files, you can truncate instead of wrap long
lines, print optional line numbers to the left of each
line, select tab sizes, and select which font to use.

-Self-cloning -- allows you to write default options
directly into P4PS.EXE -- creating any number of
customized versions.

I haven't tried every option, but those I have work as claimed.
The hardest part is working out which way to rotate the paper
before you put it back into the printer for double-siding. It's
available from Genie, and many bulletin boards and it's worth a
look.

===========

PUMA RATING

===========

PERFORMANCE: 3.5 It works well, and in an uncomplicated way
providing you can work from the command line and don't need a
foolproof menu system.

USEFULNESS: 4 If you need it, it's indispensable. It doesn't take
up much room on the disk but it sure saves a lot of word processor
use.

MANUAL: 3 The best part of the manual is that it's a text file, so
you get to try the program out by printing the manual as a
booklet.

AVAILABILITY: 2.5 By mail (above) or from bulletin boards and
similar.

(Paul Zucker/920120)

#ENDCARD



#CARD :1992 MAR 26 Florida Rental Cars Now Feature Computerized Route Maps 03/26/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DEN)(00001)

Florida Rental Cars Now Feature Computerized Route Maps 03/26/92
ORLANDO, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 26 (NB) -- If you are driving
a rental car, and a voice tells you to turn left at the next intersection,
don't be surprised.  That is one of the features of a system being
tested under a joint project by the American Automobile Association
(AAA) in conjunction with General Motors, the Federal Highway
Administration, and Florida state transportation officials.

The auto navigation system has been installed in 100 Avis Rental
System Oldsmobile Toronados in Orlando, Florida.

According to US Secretary of Transportation, Andrew Card, the
system, called TravTech, will provide drivers with access to video
map displays, current traffic conditions, emergency assistance, and
information about hotels, restaurants, local attractions, and special
events.

The in-vehicle computer receives information via a special two-way
digital communications link with the Orlando Traffic Management
Center. The test area covers 1,200 square miles, including 10,000
miles of roads, in five counties.

The Traffic Management Center receives information about road
and traffic conditions from highway video cameras, road sensors,
emergency vehicle reports, construction reports, and other
sources.

Using satellite technology, magnetic compasses and wheel sensors,
the system can pinpoint a car's location on a special navigable map
data base provided by the AAA. Microcomputers developed by
General Motors for the project process the information, which is
displayed on a two inch square color video monitor mounted in the
car's dashboard.

The display gives drivers visual instructions about their current
location, destination, routes, and drive-times. The system can
suggest alternate routes and provide audio messages.  The
various options are selected from a menu on the monitor.

AAA spokesperson, Jerry Cheske, told Newsbytes that the audible
directions can be turned off.  There is also a"where am I?" button
on the steering wheel, which when pressed will tell the driver his
location, such as "north of I-40 on Highway 15." Another steering
wheel button switches from the route map to a map of the area.

When the vehicle is not moving, the system can display information
about Orlando-area attractions such as hotels, restaurants, and
special events. AAA said detailed listing for 184 hotels and 150
restaurants are available.

Drivers can get more information by using a cellular telephone
linked to the system to dial a help desk, emergency assistance, or
other numbers, including the hotels, restaurants, and attractions
listed in the system.

The AAA estimates that about 5,500 of its members will rent TravTek
cars from Avis during the next year.  A video sent to drivers who
make prior reservations explains the TravTek system. Drivers will
also get instructions on using the system when they pick up their
car. One hundred high-mileage local drivers are also evaluating the
system.

Japanese firms have been developing navigation systems for
automobiles since 1990, when Hitachi and Nissan set up a joint
venture to develop such systems, as well as other products.
Japanese firm Kenwood recently announced a car navigation
device which is about the size of a radio and mounts in the auto
dash. That system does not use satellite technology to pinpoint
the car's location, but is said to be accurate to within 100 meters.

The participating agencies say they will share the estimated
$12 million cost of the system.  Cheske said the system will be
evaluated by the four organizations after one year, to determine
if the system is to be expanded into other areas.

(Jim Mallory/19920326/Press Contact: Jerry Cheske, AAA,
407-444-8000)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 26 Inventor Awarded $34.6 Million In AT&T Suit 03/26/92

(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEN)(00002)

Inventor Awarded $34.6 Million In AT&T Suit 03/26/92
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 26 (NB) -- A federal court has
upheld a jury award of $34.6 million in a patent infringement case
filed against communications giant AT&T by Arthur Collins, founder
of Collins Licensing and Collins Radio Co.

Collins, now deceased, was considered a pioneer in
telecommunications, founding Collins Radio Co in 1931. He was
president of the company until 1972 when Collins radio was
merged with Rockwell International.

The suit centered around digital time division switches whose
architecture involves the replicated use of an integrated circuit or
module known as a "time slot interchange circuit." Collins Licensing
claimed that AT&T's 5ESS switch products infringed on a patent
granted to Collins in 1976. Collins claims that sales of AT&T's
infringing product over the last six years have been about $10
billion.

Jack Kilby, acknowledged as the inventor of the integrated circuit,
testified in the trial regarding the contribution of the patent in
teaching engineers how to partition a complex switch system into
two integrated circuits.

"The digital telecommunications patents awarded to Arthur Collins
represent the culmination of a lifetime of work and significant
financial investment," said Alan Collins, president of Arthur A.
Collins. Collins said he hoped the technology could be licensed to
manufacturers through negotiation, but it became necessary to take
the case to the courts. "I am very pleased with the outcome," said
Collins.

Collins family spokesperson Michael Collins said of the obstacles
faced by inventors trying to enforce heir patent rights: "We knew it
would be a real battle before we filed the suit." Collins said the
family was advised that it would cost over $5 million to prosecute a
claim against AT&T. Collins said the suit did not cost that much
due to a special arrangement made with a Chicago law firm which
represented the family in the suit.

It may still be a while before the Collins family sees any money, if
ever. An AT&T spokesperson said the company has already
appealed the verdict to the federal appeals court in Washington, DC.
The US Patent Office is also reviewing the patent. The review is
expected to take several months to complete. AT&T said a patent
of this nature only has a life span of 17 years, but during that time
any party has a right to ask for a review. AT&T contends that its
switch did not depend on the invention by Collins.

(Jim Mallory/19920326/Press Contact: Cynthia Stine, Capitol
Relations, 214-947-9500)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 26 Cray Research Announces Reorganization 03/26/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00003)

Cray Research Announces Reorganization 03/26/92
EAGAN, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 26 (NB) -- In a memo to
Cray Research employees, President and COO, John Carlson has
announced a reorganization of the supercomputer company's
marketing and sales organization.

According to the memo, Ed Masi, executive vice president of
marketing, has submitted his resignation to accept a position as
president of Intel Corporation's recently formed supercomputing
division. Masi will also be an officer of parent Intel Corporation.
Masi has been with Cray Research for the past 12 years.

Carlson said that Dr. Joe Gloudeman will assume the position
vacated by Masi. Gloudeman will supervise marketing planning,
ELS/VAR programs, product marketing programs, and IS&T. He
will also serve on the Operations Committee and on the Cray
Research Superservers Inc., board.

Gloudeman will also serve on a newly created sales council, a
seven person group which Carlson said will assist him "by focusing
on current sales activities and opportunities."

Gloudeman was formerly president and CEO of MacNeal
Schwendler Corporation.

(Jim Mallory/19920326/Press Contact: Frank Parisi, Cray
Research, 612-683-7130)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 26 Mirror Technologies Raises $2.7 Million On Warrant Sales 03/26/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00004)

Mirror Technologies Raises $2.7 Million On Warrant Sales 03/26/92
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 26 (NB) -- Mirror
Technologies has announced that it has raised over $2.7 million as
a result of the exercise of about 2.2 million warrants to purchase
common stock.

Warrant holders could exercise their purchase rights at $1.25 per
share. Mirror said 99.7 percent of the 2.2 million warrants
outstanding were exercised. Each warrant was originally sold with
one common share of stock at $0.75 per unit when the company
went public in August of 1990.

Mirror President, Ron Eibensteiner, praised the confidence of the
stockholders in the current recessionary climate. "These funds will
enable us to strengthen our already critically acclaimed product
offerings and explore other growing peripheral categories, such as
laser printers," said Eibensteiner. He sad the company would also
expand its international presence and explore acquisition
opportunities.

Mirror, founded in 1985, manufactures and markets peripherals for
Apple Macintosh personal computers, including disk drives,
monochrome and color large screen monitors, scanners, CD-ROM
drives, and optical drives.

Two months ago Mirror reported record third quarter sales and
profits. Third quarter net sales of $5.6 million were up 88 percent
versus the previous year's third quarter sales of $3 million,
according to the Mirror announcement. The company said year-to-
date sales for the first three quarters were $14.2 million, up 73
percent over the same period last year. Net profit for the third quarter
was just over $270,000, enabling the company to show a small profit
for the year-to-date.

(Jim Mallory/19920326/Press Contact: Kim Moffit, Moffit/Young for
Mirror Technologies, 619-759-0398)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 26 Japan: Advanced Prototype Neuro-computer Developed 03/26/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00005)

Japan: Advanced Prototype Neuro-computer Developed 03/26/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAR 26 (NB) -- Mitsubishi Electric has
developed an advanced neuro-computer, which simulates the
human brain.

Mitsubishi's latest neuro-computer has a power to process
ambiguous data whether it is given in speech or in a written form.
It is still a prototype, but the company hopes that the technology
can be applied to an actual product in the future.

Mitsubishi's neuro-computer is claimed to be a close representation
of the human brain. The system analyzes ambiguous data from
various aspects and accepts it correctly. Even if the data is wrong,
this system can recognize such mistakes. The neuro-computer
accepts handwritten letters and human speech regardless of the
users. It is said this neuro-computer recognizes the data with 95
percent precision.

So far, Mitsubishi's neuro-computer recognizes only 200 words
written in lower-case alphabets. The system is equipped with an
analogy and learning feature. Theoretically, it will become
increasingly intelligent as more data is fed into the system.

Mitsubishi is thinking of applying this technology to the
graphic-data searching system of databases.

Other electronics firms including Fujitsu and Ricoh have also
developed neuro-computers. However, these systems are still in
a prototype stage, and need to be improved to be applied to
commercial products.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920326/Press Contact: Mitsubishi Electric,
 [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 26 Moscow: Comstar Intros Int'l Business Phone Service 03/26/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00006)

Moscow: Comstar Intros Int'l Business Phone Service 03/26/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 MAR 26 (NB) -- Comstar, the Moscow
communications venture, has announced availability of the Business
Services Digital Overlay Network (BSDON). The service will
provide fast international dialing and other services targeted
towards large international businesses located in Moscow.

Comstar is building a fiber optic ring across downtown Moscow,
which improves on the 230 phone exchange, mostly occupied by
embassies and trade representatives. Service will be offered from
the same phone line the customer has.

Connecting to Comstar will allow international direct dial overseas
to more than 200 countries. The service is made possible through
an agreement with BT, said Igor Morosov of Comstar.

The international trunk lines will go through microwave link from
the phone exchange to the Bears Lake satellite communications
station.

Comstar is installing GPT's System X phone exchange, which will
allow both voice and data communications in the near future,
including ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) services and
video conferencing. Company plans also include expanding the
service to other parts of the city.

The fiber optic, satellite dishes did not come cheap. Customers
must pay US$493 per-year per-line plus long distance charges.
International calling prices are competitively priced compared with
Combellga and SovInTel, other international voice grade line
providers. Unlike competitors, Comstar will not charge for local
calls and uses the regular ruble rates for the long distance calls
within the country.

Comstar is a 50-50 percent owned joint venture between Moscow
Telephone Network (MGTS) and GPT Limited, a UK company. It
was started in April 1989 as an international hard currency payphone
operator.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920326/Press Contact: Comstar, tel [phone]-
1692, fax [phone] or [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 26 Matsushita & Marubeni To Join AT&T On Pen Computer? 03/25/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00007)

Matsushita & Marubeni To Join AT&T On Pen Computer? 03/25/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAR 26 (NB) -- Japan's major electronics
firm Matsushita Electric and major trading firm, Marubeni, are
said to be about to participate in a pen-computer business with
AT&T. Both firms are reported to be about to purchase as much as
ten percent of the equity of EO, which is AT&T's joint venture firm on
pen-computers.

Matsushita and Marubeni have not officially announced the
participation in the new firm, but the announcement is expected to
come soon. The two companies investment in the firm is expected
to total 20 percent of the capitalization of California-based EO.

In this joint business, Matsushita is expected to manufacture the
pen-computer, while Marubeni will help with the distribution of the
product. Matsushita may also develop a Japanese-language
version of this computer in the near future.

Currently, EO has been developing a pen-computer based on the
Pen-point input system of California-based GO Corporation. It is
said the pen-computer will be developed by the end of 1992. It will
be a notebook-size computer with a radiowave data transmission
feature.

Pen-computers are expected to become a bestseller in the future.
More than one million units are expected to be sold in the US next
year, with that figure rising to five million within a couple of years.

Marubeni's and AT&T have already worked together before,
with the two firms creating a joint venture on notebook-type
computers in 1990.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920326/Press Contact: Matsushita Electric,
[phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 26 InterConnections Adds File Sharing Services To Product Line 03/26/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00008)

InterConnections Adds File Sharing Services To Product Line 03/26/92
BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 26 (NB) --
InterConnections Inc., has announced its first planned release of File
Sharing Services. This will be a part of the company's Leverage for
Netware product family from now on.

InterConnections is the company that developed Netware for VMS
which,until recently, was marketed by Novell. Due to Novell's
desires to work with other companies on a VMS to Netware
connection, InterConnections exercised their right to remove the
program back from Novell. InterConnections claims that is
committed to servicing and supporting the product and is
delighted that it has gotten the chance to get it back from Novell.

Over the past two years, Novell has not enhanced or updated the
product in any meaningful way, leading many of their customers to
call up InterConnections and request new features or bug fixes.
InterConnections was forced to refer all such customers to Novell.
However, the company did keep track of the customers who called.
Now that the product is back in InterConnections' hands, they have
gone through this list, as well as through other communications
channels, and are informing all of these organizations that they
will have a new release available as of May 1, 1992.

In this first release, InterConnections is primarily establishing
ownership of the product. There are no significant enhancements.
Most of those are slated for the second release which is currently
scheduled to be shipped around the end of the year. Customers are
given the chance to upgrade from the Novell version to the Inter-
Connections version at a significantly reduced cost over purchasing
a new package. Customers are also required to purchase a service
contract which runs for fifteen months and provides for free upgrades.
In this way, claims the company, it is ensuring that the customers it
gets will receive full value for their upgrade.

Licenses for new packages run from $1,500 to $13,000 depending
on the kind of Vax that runs the software. Current Novell users can
upgrade at a cost which is about 40 percent lower than that. The
upgrade cost does include the fifteen months service contract.

For more information on the upgrade program or the software
features contact Joyce Lotz, product manager for InterConnections,
or the InterConnections Sales Department at 1-800-950-5773.

(Naor Wallach/19920326/Press Contact: Joyce Lotz,
InterConnections, 800-950-5773 or 206-881-5773)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 26 Tutankhamon Ships Low-Cost Ethernet Repeaters 03/26/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00009)

Tutankhamon Ships Low-Cost Ethernet Repeaters 03/26/92
PLEASANT HILL, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 26 (NB) --
Continuing its quest for lowering the costs of attaching and using
Ethernet, Tutankhamon has introduced two models in an Ethernet
repeater line that the company claims are the cheapest such
devices in the industry.

The two models are four- and eight-port versions of the same device.
Basically they have the specified number of ports and any network
traffic that comes in on any of these ports is repeated across all
of the other ports. The models are called MB400 for the four port
version and MB800 for the eight port version. These devices only
support one kind of Ethernet wiring at this time - 10Base-2, or thin
wire Ethernet.

In addition to the banks of BNC connectors, the devices sport a set
of LEDs (light emitting diodes) that report on each port's status. This
is useful for monitoring, testing, and diagnosing the different network
segments that come together in the repeater. The products come
with Tutankhamon's unconditional 30-day money-back guarantee
as well as a two-year warranty.

The MB400 retails for $499 while the MB800 retails for $899, and
both products are available now. With these prices, Tutankhamon
officials are claiming that the devices are even less expensive than
the cheapest Taiwanese product they could find.

These products, as well as the other products that Tutankhamon
makes are sold directly by the company. Newsbytes has learned
that this is about to change. The company is expected to make an
announcement concerning its distribution policies later this month.

For more information on these product call Tutankhamon
at 510-682-6510.

(Naor Wallach/19920326/Press Contact: Bill Gram-Reefer,
Comstock Communications for Tutankhamon, 510-676-4733)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 26 Crosscom Solves "Broadcast Storm" Token Ring LAN Problems 03/26/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00010)

Crosscom Solves "Broadcast Storm" Token Ring LAN Problems 03/26/92
MARLBORO, MASSACHUSETTES, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 26 (NB) --
One of the more difficult problems to solve in a Token Ring
installation is that of "Broadcast Storms." This problem arises only
in Token Ring networks that run on top of NetBIOS, and NetBIOS is
really the culprit in the affair.

When one node wishes to talk to another, it transmits a NetBIOS
message to all the nodes on the network. This is irritating enough in
the small LAN (local area network) environment for which NetBIOS
was originally designed, but one can imagine the problems that
come about when many NetBIOS stations are attached to the same
internetwork. This is compounded when the individual Token Rings
are interconnected amongst themselves by another network such as
a slow speed WAN (wide area network). "Broadcast Storm" is the
term used to describe such occurrences.

Most Token Ring routers cannot route NetBIOS information directly
to its destination and therefore make this problem much more severe.
Crosscom is proposing use of its ILAN routers with their recently
introduced Universal Router Architecture. With these routers,
Crosscom has solved the problem of not being able to route
NetBIOS messages by decoding them. Then the router maintains a
database of routing information and when a message is received, it
is only routed to the network segments that are needed, not the whole
network. This is true routing and not the more common broadcasting
method that other devices use.

NetBIOS Broadcast Storm prevention is being sold as a software
feature pack by Crosscom. It will only run on Crosscom's ILAN
routers with their Universal Router Architecture modules. i.e. ILAN
5.02 models. The feature pack is sold for $950 but will be
incorporated into the newer ILANs that are now being sold. ILAN
router pricing begins at $6,000 and differs depending on
configuration.

Crosscom is planning several future enhancements to the ILAN line
including BiSync support which is expected to be announced in the
near future, and Protocol Independent Routing which will be
announced before the end of April. For more information on
Crosscom products, call the company at 508-481-4060.

(Naor Wallach/19920325/Press Contact: Christine LeCompte,
Beaupre & Co Public Relations for Crosscom, 603-436-6690)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 26 41% Of Lawyers Plan Computer Purchase In Next Year 03/26/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00011)

41% Of Lawyers Plan Computer Purchase In Next Year 03/26/92
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 26 (NB) --
Compulaw and Great Plains Accounting quote the American Bar
Association (ABA) as saying 41 percent of all lawyers say they plan
to purchase and start personally using a computer in the next twelve
months.

Already, the number of lawyers using a computer jumped from seven
percent to a whopping 52 percent in the last five years, says the
American Bar Association. Many legal firms are downsizing,
meaning they are moving from mainframes to personal computers,
and installing computer networks as well, Compulaw said.

Compulaw and Great Plains are targeting the one million lawyers
estimated by the ABA to be practicing by the year 2000, the
companies said. A partnership has been formed to offer what they
call "comprehensive, integrated" legal software for IBM and
compatible desktop computers and Novell networks.

Compulaw's Lois Kalmick said the firm had been using the Fargo,
North Dakota-based Great Plains' software internally for five years
and at the same time discovered lawyers and law offices were
having trouble finding an accounting software package that worked
well with anyone's legal software.

Kalmick said that, almost by accident, Compulaw discovered Great
Plains had written its accounting software in the same language
Compulaw was using -- object-oriented Pascal -- and both
companies were geared toward using Novell's Betreive. Great
Plains is also the largest PC-based accounting software company,
Kalmick said. "It was just such a good fit," Kalmick added.

Compulaw has taken the marketing end and is offering integrated
versions of its own time and billing docket system, and now Great
Plains integrated accounting software through its regular
distribution networks.

The Great Plains accounting modules for general ledger, accounts
payable, and payroll are available now. Compulaw says its
integrated product line will be available beginning in April.

More information is available from Compulaw, 10277 West Olympic
Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90067, or telephone [phone].

(Linda Rohrbough/19920326/Press Contact: Lois Kalmick,
Compulaw, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 26 Market Volatile, But PCs Promising, Say Venture Capitalists 03/26/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00012)

Market Volatile, But PCs Promising, Say Venture Capitalists 03/26/92
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 26 (NB) -- Merrill Lynch
and Sentry Market Research are announcing predictions that
investments in personal computers (PCs) in general look good, all
except handwriting recognition. The predictions were made by
 venture capitalists at the investor seminar sponsored by both
companies which focused on the computer industry.

Investor seminar speaker Arthur Patterson, a general partner at
the San Francisco-based venture capital firm Accel Partners,
discouraged investment in handwriting recognition. Patterson said
handwriting recognition and pen-based software is a niche market
and is likely to be a disappointment.

However, record spending of 15 percent more than 1991, or upward
of $34 billion, is expected on computers this year according to
Sentry.

Sentry says the big increases in spending will come in the from of
corporate buyers, who will for the first time in computer industry
history, spend as much on PCs as they do on mainframes.
Budgeting for corporate sites on PCs is estimated at an average
of $1.67 million for each site in the coming year, Sentry maintains.

The industry is volatile as well. Sentry's Director of Market
Research, William Gannon, Jr., said none of the top ten firms from the
first edition survey are still in existence. That top ten, based on a
survey of corporations at the time, are: Adr, bought by Islandia, New
York-based Computer Associates (CA); Comserve, bought by Dun
and Bradstreet (D&B); Coullinane, Digital Research, bought last
year by Novell; Insci, bought by CA; ISSCO, bought by CA;
McCormick and Dodge, bought by D&B; MSA, bought by D&B;
Software International, bought by CA; and Visicorp, bought by Lotus.

Like other firms, including Ernst & Young, Sentry is predicting
increases in alliances between companies, and acquisitions in the
future. However, Patterson said those moves cannot be counted on
as successful ones. Pointing to the IBM alliance with Apple as an
example, Patterson said the difficulties in bringing technology to
market is the real issue behind the alliance. Political and culture
problems plague both Taligent and Kaleida, two of the companies
birthed from the IBM/Apple alliance, Patterson remarked.

Patterson predicted Microsoft will be successful with Windows 3.1,
and hinted the success will come from the monetary efforts
Microsoft will throw behind the product. "Microsoft will spend more
money to launch 3.1 than they have for any other product -- even the
$10 million spent on Windows 3.0," Patterson said.

Sentry says Microsoft is winning the graphical user interface (GUI)
race with Windows. Out of over 500 sites surveyed, 84 percent have
installed Windows or expect to do so by the end of the year.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920326/Press Contact: Jessica Valpey,
Sentry, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 26 Digitalk Announces Smalltalk/V For IBM's RS/6000 03/26/92



(NEWS)(UNIX)(LAX)(00013)

Digitalk Announces Smalltalk/V For IBM's RS/6000 03/26/92
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 26 (NB) -- Digitalk
has announced it will have a Unix version of its Smalltalk/V object-
oriented programming language for the IBM RS/6000 by the end of
1992. The new Smalltalk/V will be a 32-bit version which will run
under IBM's AIX -- IBM's version of Unix.

Digitalk says it has IBM's blessing with the distinction of being
named the newest member of IBM's International Alliance for
AD/Cycle in September of 1991.

Further, Digitalk says it has signed a letter of intent with IBM for
"Big Blue" to market the Smalltalk/V and the company's other
development products worldwide. Getting IBM's approval is a
critical move in the sensitive and conservative world of corporate
management information systems (MIS).

"Digitalk is a key provider of tools for developing CUA (common
user access) '91 compliant applications within AS/Cycle, to both
IBM and IBM's customers," said James Anderson, chief executive
officer of Digitalk.

Anderson says the development of a Unix version of Smalltalk/V has
grown out of customer demand. While moving the product to other
Unix-based machines is planned, Digitalk choose the IBM RS/6000
reduced instruction-set computer (RISC)-based computer as its first
target.

The new RS/6000 version of Smalltalk/V is based on Digitalk's 32-bit
technology for Smalltalk/V for OS/2 version 2.0, which is due to ship
in April. IBM has announced OS/2 2.0 will ship at the end of March.

Digitalk says developers will have the advantage of developing in
the Smalltalk/V for OS/2 2.0 or the Smalltalk/V for Windows and
those applications will run unmodified on the new Unix release.

Smalltalk/V is being used by Southern California Gas to develop
software that will interface with employee information on a mainframe
for clinical health care for the utility company's employees, said
Barbara Noparstak of public relations for Digitalk. Noparstak also
mentioned that Bank of America is using the product in a pilot project
to configure the environment settings of computers on a network from
a single, central location. Other projects, such as computer-aided
software engineering (CASE) tools and factory simulation products
are being developed with the language, Noparstak added.

Smalltalk/V was first developed for the IBM personal computer (PC)
in 1985, Digitalk claims. The company currently has versions for DOS,
OS/2, Microsoft Windows, and the Apple Macintosh.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920326/Press Contact: Barbara Noparstak,
Digitalk, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 26 Japan: Advanced Odor Bio-Sensor Developed By NTT 03/26/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00014)

Japan: Advanced Odor Bio-Sensor Developed By NTT 03/26/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAR 26 (NB) -- NTT has developed a
bio-sensor, which can detect extremely subtle smell or odor. NTT
claims it can also tell two different odors simultaneously.

NTT has made this odor sensor consists of eight kinds of sensor
heads, consisting of an organic membrane, which is pasted on an
oscillator. The secret of the extra sensitive sensor can be
attributed to the membrane. This membrane is made of various
materials such as polyethylene and polycarbonate with three kinds
of gas: carbon; chlorine; and fluorine. NTT has applied "plasma"
technology to put this special gas on the membrane. As a result,
this organic membrane has a special molecule structure, which
makes the surface of the membrane extremely active. It can also
absorb odor well.

First, NTT tested 37 kinds of perfumes among young women.
Then, NTT picked eight kinds of sensor heads to simulate the
tastes of those women.

NTT has also tested this sensor for different type of smells, and
the firm claims that it can tell the type of smell with about 90 percent
precision.

NTT is planning to apply this sensor for quality control at
manufacturing plants.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920326/Press Contact: NTT,
tel [phone], fax, [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 26 Japan: Chip Automatically Selects Cheapest Telecom Carrier 03/26/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00015)

Japan: Chip Automatically Selects Cheapest Telecom Carrier 03/26/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAR 26 (NB) -- Japan Telecom has
developed the Super LCR chip for consumer telephones. This chip
is said to automatically choose the common carrier with cheapest
telephone charges.

Japan Telecom wants telephone makers to include the chip
with their telephones for sales in general consumer market.
Tamura Electric has already decided to use the chip in its
cordless telephones, which will be released this summer.

The Super LCR chip automatically selects the common carrier
among NTT, Japan Telecom, DDI, and IDO. The cheapest line can
be chosen according to the destination of the call. It will choose
Japan Telecom when it is the same price with that of other common
carriers.

DDI has already developed a similar chip, and has been pushing
Japanese electronics makers to use the chip with their telephones.
Like japan Telecom's chip, DDI's product will choose DDI
when the charge of the call is the same price as with that of other
common carriers.

Other common carriers are also said to be developing similar
chips for inclusion in telephone equipment.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920326/Press Contact: Japan Telecom,
[phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 26  ****Nynex Wins Price Caps In Rhode Island 03/26/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00016)

 ****Nynex Wins Price Caps In Rhode Island 03/26/92
PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 26 (NB) --
Nynex's New England Telephone unit has won preliminary approval
of a price cap plan from Rhode Island regulators. Instead of having
its rate of return restricted, in other words, it will get a maximum price
for services and keep profits when costs are reduced.

Phone companies like price caps because new phone switches
and fiber lines cost much less to maintain than the electro-
mechanical switches and copper lines they replace. Once the
initial investment in new equipment is accounted for, in other
words, maintenance workers can be let go, costs to provide
service drops, and if regulators approve, profits jump.

Price caps were approved a few years ago at the federal level,
for long distance service, and the regional Bells have been
leading the fight at the state level to institute them on local
calling. In exchange they offer, as in the Rhode Island case,
small rate cuts and investments in the state-of-the-art equipment
needed for higher profit. In Rhode Island, for instance, New
England Telephone promised to cut rates $16 million right-off,
then spend $25 million a year for four years on fiber lines and
new switches, as well as expand toll-free dialing throughout the
small state. Nynex gave the Public Utilities Commission until
May 1 to formally approve the plan.

The new type of regulation is opposed by long distance carriers
fearful of being driven from the in-state long distance market
through cross-subsidies, and by some consumer advocates.

In Rhode Island, it is the state attorney general who is leading the
charge against price caps, using pro-consumer arguments. But
the federal government likes price caps, hoping that the Bells can
keep information service prices low through competition, and
hoping that the cable TV and phone giants will eventually compete
directly with one another, replacing regulation with competition.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920326)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 26 Argentina Earns $1.2 Billion On Telecom Stake 03/26/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00017)

Argentina Earns $1.2 Billion On Telecom Stake 03/26/92
BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA, 1992 MAR 26 (NB) -- Argentina
has earned $1.2 billion by selling the 30 percent of Telecom
stock it owned. That is 50 percent more than the $800 million it
earned late last year selling its stake in Telefonica, which
controls the southern half of the old EnTel phone monopoly.

The only problem with the sale may be in its public segment,
where small buyers were allowed to take 10 shares each. There
is a fear that some big buyers weighed-in to that part of the sale
through assignees. Most of the stock went to Argentine investors
in any case, both in the country and outside. Argentine officials
called the sale a model for the rest of Latin America, since it
brought in billions in fresh capital, improved service, and
restarted a Buenos Aires stock market that can now be used
to privatize other state-owned companies.

The initial sale of Telecom shares set-off a buying panic in
Buenos Aires, but that had subsided a day later, with
shares of both Telecom and Telefonica trading at around 4.3
pesos each, up from the initial Telecom price of 4.2 pesos.

In Chile, which privatized its phone company long ago, US
embassy officials pressed American companies to export, calling
Chile the fastest-growing country in the region. The same talk
will doubtless be repeated many times over the next year, not
only in Latin America but in the US. The lower debts and private
economies of Latin America may be the best international
market for US computers and telecommunications equipment
right now, government officials say.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920326)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 26 Desktop Data Adds Ziffwire News Service 03/26/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00018)

Desktop Data Adds Ziffwire News Service 03/26/92
WALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 26 (NB) --
Desktop Data added the ZiffWire service to its NewsEDGE real-time,
searchable news system. The wire uses the text of article from Ziff's
computer publications, like PC MAgazine, PC Week and MacWeek.

Desktop Data is the first independent vendor to distribute
ZiffWire and will be the exclusive broadcast carrier of the new
service.

ZiffWire joins Newsbytes as part of NewsEDGE's coverage of the
computer industry. NewsEDGE is currently the only FM sub-carrier
source for Newsbytes, as it will now be for ZiffWire.

NewsEDGE also carries the Comline newswire from Japan, which
covers the electronics industries there.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920326/Press Contact: Desktop Data, Marni
Hoyle, 617/890-0042)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 26 Cellular Systems More Desirable Than Wired Phone Nets 03/26/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00019)

Cellular Systems More Desirable Than Wired Phone Nets 03/26/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 26 (NB) ---
Despite talk from regional Bells of a promising wired future,
investments from those companies are going first to cellular
systems.

Pacific Telesis Group, which runs the Pacific Bell network, has
announced it will not bid for Centel, which owns the local phone
network in Las Vegas and put itself up for auction last month.
Chairman Sam Ginn said in a press statement that the company
might reevaluate the position after the initial auction April 15,
indicating there may be interest in Centel's cellular properties, or
in the Las Vegas network if Centel is broken up.

Meanwhile, Centel reported in a Schedule 13D document before
the Securities and Exchange Commission that it now owns 41
percent of Cellular Communications, a New York-based cellular
phone operator which recently spun-off its Puerto Rico operations
into a separate company. In the week ending March 23 PacTel
raised its stake in the company by about 10 percent.

Meanwhile AllTel of Little Rock, which has been expanding
steadily in the business of running computer systems for banks,
also expanded in the cellular arena, seeking absolute control in
franchises where it now owns a majority stake. It increased its
stake in the Savannah, Georgia wireline cellular franchise to 80
percent, and agreed to take 100 percent of Missouri Rural Service
Area 14 and the metropolitan system in Springfield.  It also bought
the Meridian Cellular Company in Mississippi, which holds a
wireline license in the eastern part of that state, where it will
join systems in Jackson and Vicksburg, along I-20, where it holds
a half-interest. Also, in Alabama, it increased its stake in three
rural service areas to 87 percent, buying them from the Union
Springs Telephone Company.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920326/Press Contact: Ron Payne, Alltel,
501-661-8989; Pacific Telesis, William Strawn, 415-394-3643)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 26  ****Motorola Opens Wireless Protocols 03/26/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00020)

 ****Motorola Opens Wireless Protocols 03/26/92
SCHAUMBURG, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 26 (NB) -- Motorola
has reversed itself and called for open protocols in wireless data
transfers. Its Mobile Data Division said it will work with the US
cellular industry to develop an open protocol packet data system,
and it will open the key over-the-air protocols used on its Ardis
radio data network which had previously been held proprietary.

Motorola is not just doing this out of the goodness of its heart.
In recent months Cellular Data, a California start-up with heavy
venture capital backing, began offering a 2,400 bits-per-second
(bps) cellular packet system to operators on a revenue-sharing
arrangement. IBM and McCaw are also expected to announce a
cellular packet system, perhaps with speeds of up to 19,200
bps, later this month. IBM and Motorola are partners in Ardis,
which runs a nationwide radio data network at 4,800 bps.

Motorola, however, is the leading technology company in the
wireless area, having made wireless data a major part of its
strategic plan, some say to the detriment of its chip-making
operations. The company is a leading supplier of private radio
data systems to police departments, utilities, transportation
customers, and shared network operators.

Motorola said it will also work with computer companies to bring
wireless technology to their portable computers. Manufacturers
which now put Motorola modems in their laptop computers
include IBM, NCR, Poqet, Psion, Telxon, and Itron.

The most important protocol being opened for widespread use
by Motorola is the one used on Ardis. In addition to its joint-
venture with IBM in the US, Ardis also runs a joint venture
with Bell Canada north of the border called Bell-Ardis. Another
protocol being opened is RD-LAP, which runs at 9600 and 19,200
bps on two networks in Europe. Motorola said it will upgrade its
North American networks to RD-LAP later this year.

The first indication of a new openness at Motorola came with
WaveGuide, an application program interface designed to make it
easier for wireless nets and portable computers to be linked
together.

The practical impact of the announcement is that other companies
will be able to make modems for use on Ardis and Ardis-like
networks that Motorola runs worldwide, including Ardis in the US,
Bell-Ardis in Canada, the Deutsche Bundespost radio data network
in Germany, and Hutchison Mobile Data's network in the United
Kingdom.

John Major, senior vice president and general manager of
Motorola's Worldwide Systems Group, said in a press statement
that: "All the forecasts we have seen estimate the number of
potential wireless data users in the tens of millions. We think
that today's announcements are a major breakthrough in making
those numbers a reality."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920326/Press Contact: Motorola, Paul
Battaglia, 708-692-5884; Ardis, Dean Davison, 913-432-2600)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 26  ****Telecom Users Group Protests Telesat Canada Sale 03/26/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00021)

 ****Telecom Users Group Protests Telesat Canada Sale 03/26/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAR 26 (NB) -- The
Canadian Business Telecommunications Alliance (CBTA), an
association of 340 major Canadian telecommunications users, has
condemned the Canadian government's sale of its majority stake in
satellite carrier Telesat Canada to a consortium headed by the
country's telephone companies.

The government announced recently that Alouette
Telecommunications, a consortium 90 percent owned by Stentor
Canadian Network Management, had won out over Montreal-based
National Telesystem in the bidding for its 53 percent stake in
Telesat. Stentor is a consortium of regional telephone companies,
whose members already owned 41 percent of the domestic satellite
carrier.

In a letter to federal competition regulators, CBTA President
George Horhota said the association believes the decision will
lessen competition. The letter to Howard I. Wetston, director of
investigation and research for the Competition Act in the federal
Department of Consumer and Corporate Affairs, said it is, "ironic
indeed that Alouette's acquisition is approved almost coincident
with the tabling of C-62 (the Telecommunications Act) which has
as one of its objectives enhancing competition."

In the letter, a copy of which Newsbytes has obtained, the CBTA
also suggests that the government's hurry to complete the sale of
Telesat within the current fiscal year may have caused it to make
a hasty decision.

Horhota told Newsbytes in an interview that the decision was
"unbelievably quick." He also said the CBTA submitted its views on
the issue to the government on its own initiative, and was never
approached for its input.

Earlier, John Farrell, president of Stentor and of Alouette, told
Newsbytes the decision would be good for Canadian business
because control of Telesat would give the telephone companies a
stronger incentive to invest in improving the telecommunications
system.

The telephone companies have made no secret of the fact that they
would also like to obtain greater control of Teleglobe, the private
Montreal company whose monopoly on overseas
telecommunications was recently extended for five more years.
The CBTA's protest, while unlikely to affect the already-announced
Telesat decision, is probably aimed in part at putting pressure on
the government to stand in the way of any phone-company attempt
to buy a larger stake in Teleglobe.

Horhota said his association does not expect its protest to change
the Telesat decision, but does want to register its concern about
concentration of ownership in the Canadian telecommunications
industry. The new telecom legislation is a good framework, Horhota
said, but the CBTA is concerned about the way it may be applied,
particularly in the light of recent signals, including the Telesat
sale and the decision to extend Teleglobe's monopoly.

(Grant Buckler/19920326/Press Contact: George Horhota, CBTA,
416-348-3685)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 26 AT&T Announces New Graphic Chip Set 03/26/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TOR)(00022)

AT&T Announces New Graphic Chip Set 03/26/92
BERKELEY HEIGHTS, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 26 (NB) --
AT&T is offering makers of personal computers and workstations a
five-chip graphics chip set with a choice of color resolutions. The
options range up to true color with a choice of nearly 17 million
shades, the company said.

AT&T said the chip set would allow manufacturers to build a
graphics subsystem on just 30 square-centimeters of motherboard.

The chip set offers a selection of random-access memory digital to
analog converters (RAMDACs) of up to 24-bit resolution and 200
megahertz (MHz) clock rates. The RAMDACs turn digital color signals
into analog output. A true-color VGA chip and a clock-synthesizer
chip fill out the set.

Five of the top 10 makers of PCs have used AT&T RAMDACs,
company spokesman Blanchard Hiatt said, and the newest
RAMDACs, including the true-color device, fit the same sockets as
existing chips. Several graphic controller vendors in the market have
brought out hardware and software to apply the 24-bit true-color
RAMDAC.

The true-color RAMDAC is suitable for use in standard PCs and
allows manufacturers to provide photographic-quality color like
that now found only in high-priced workstations with less than $50
worth of graphics chips, Hiatt said.

Another RAMDAC provides 64,000 colors at lower cost. Previously
announced RAMDACs provide 256 colors.

AT&T's new full-color RAMDAC is available now, Hiatt said, while
the VGA and clock synthesizer chips included in the chip set will
be available in quantity in the next two months. Samples are
available now, he added.

The RAMDACs can be used with a new lower-priced true-color VGA
chip that runs at 75 MHz, a speed AT&T said will meet the screen-
rewriting demands of Microsoft Windows and multimedia software.

AT&T also announced its first workstation RAMDAC, which supports
industry-standard sockets but at higher speeds (110-200 MHz),
lower power, and with more integrated functions.

(Grant Buckler/19920326/Press Contact: Blanchard Hiatt, AT&T,
908-771-2788)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 26 UK: Procomm Plus Euro Edition Intro'd; Windows Version Planned 03/26/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00023)

UK: Procomm Plus Euro Edition Intro'd; Windows Version Planned 03/26/92
CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND, 1992 MAR 26 (NB) -- Datastorm
Technologies, the producers of Procomm Plus, the PC
communications package, has announced the development of a
European edition of the software, available immediately at UKP 89.
Also announced, with late April shipment penciled in, is a Windows
version of the package.

To back up the new products, Datastorm is setting up a new office
in Cambridge, England, to support its European users. The opening
of the office comes just over a year after Datastorm broke with
its UK distributor, Shareware Marketing. Shareware Marketing
later went on to distribute Odyssey, a comparable package
equipped with the microcom network protocol (MNP) within software.

There are no plans to equip either the European or the Windows
versions of Procomm Plus with MNP, according to Phil James,
Datastorm's technical director. "There's no demand for MNP,
particularly in our home market, the US," he told Newsbytes.

James, in the UK with Jim Sherburne, the company's managing
director of international sales, to set up the Cambridge office,
said that the UKP 89 European edition will be available through
the company's existing distributors. The Windows edition,
meanwhile, will sell for UKP 99.

"The Windows edition is currently undergoing beta tests and
should be shipping at the end of April. It's pretty stable now,"
he said.

James claimed that, unlike many of the competing Windows
communications packages, Procomm Plus for Windows has been
developed almost from scratch and, while retaining the user
interface of the DOS version, is able to take advantage of the
Windows graphical environment. Windows' dynamic data
exchange (DDE) is fully supported.

Also on the horizon from Datastorm is a network edition of
Procomm Plus. The package, which is scheduled to ship during
the third quarter of this year, will allow network users to share
asynchronous resources in the same way that other network
devices, such as printers, are normally shared, Datastorm claims.

This will be possible as Procomm Plus Network Edition 2.0 will
communicate with the Asychronous Communications Server (ACS)
across the network to use a pool of modems or similar shared
resources.

Pricing on the network edition has been set at UKP 445 for a
five-node starter pack. The package will be available in a multi-
network version, designed to install to the user's requirements
and be configured -- by the user -- to the network in use.

Procomm Plus EC 2.01 is actually a similar product to the US version
2.01 that has been available for some time. The package has been
modified to install itself for a variety of European modems and
has been localized for use with European character sets.

Procomm Plus for Windows meanwhile, makes full use of dialogue
boxes, plus has the ability to view GIF graphics files as they
are downloaded from an on-line service. The package has also
been enhanced by the use of the "Action Bar," an intuitive "control
center" that allows the user to activate various features by clicking
the various buttons.

Using the package, users can even get on-line instantly, the
company claims, using the Action Bar's rapid dial facility. In
use, the package can be run in multiple windows to allow, for
example, data to be uploaded and downloaded over different
COM ports on the PC.

Jim Sherburne told Newsbytes that he has been appointed as
managing director of Datastorm Technologies Limited, the newly-
formed UK subsidiary of the US company. He told Newsbytes
that he plans to spend a lot of his time in the UK, although he
is delegating the day-to-day operation of the company's
Cambridge office to John Strowshall, who is flying over from the
US to establish the new Cambridge office.

Sherburne is no stranger to the UK marketplace, having lived in
the UK for a number of years some time ago. Fluent in French
and German, he has been instrumental in establishing two
international subsidiaries for Nantucket Corporation, with whom
he was marketing and sales director in the UK and general
manager of the company's German office. He joined Datastorm
last September.

(Steve Gold/19920326/Press Contact: Ian Yarlott, TKH
International, 081-955-4500; Public Contact: Datastorm
Technologies, 314-443-3282)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 26 UK: Elonex Cuts PC Pricing By Up To 13 Percent 03/26/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00024)

UK: Elonex Cuts PC Pricing By Up To 13 Percent 03/26/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 MAR 26 (NB) -- Elonex, the direct
PC operation, has cut its prices for the third time this year. The
most dramatic price cut is a 13 percent reduction on the
company's 20 megahertz (MHz) 80486SX-based machine, the
PC 420X.

As a result of the cuts, a slimline configuration of the PC 420XM,
with super VGA graphics, two megabytes (MB) of memory and a
50 MB hard disk, now costs UKP 995 -- down from UKP 1,145.

Further downmarket in the power stakes, Elonex's entry-level
25MHz 386SX machine, the PC 325X, is down from UKP 930 to
UKP 825 -- a fall in price of 11 percent on the 2MB RAM/50MB
hard disk system.

So how are price cuts made possible? According to Elonex, the
cuts are due to falling market prices and economies of scale on
production. Elonex claims that it is the largest direct selling
PC supplier in the UK, with a strong market share.

(Steve Gold/19920326/Press & Public Contact: Elonex,
081-452-4444)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 26 UK: Racal Delivers First GSM Test Sets To Vodafone 03/26/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00025)

UK: Racal Delivers First GSM Test Sets To Vodafone 03/26/92
SLOUGH, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 MAR 26 (NB) -- Racal
Instruments has announced that it has begun delivering the first
group speciale mobile (GSM) radio telephone test sets to Vodafone.
The test sets will enable Vodafone to assess how the GSM digital
mobile phone network is working.

GSM is the next-generation mobile phone network. Originally
designed an all-encompassing digital mobile communications
network, plans have recently been scaled down owing to the high
research and development costs. GSM is currently available on a
pilot basis in several European countries, although only in the
London area of the UK from Vodafone.

"The test sets supplied by Racal Instruments represent the result
of a major research and development investment," said Greg Maton,
Racal Instruments' sales and marketing executive, announcing the
shipment of the sets.

"Digital radio systems have demanded an entirely new approach to
the design and operation of test systems which can function with
the complex hardware and software installed within the equipment
being tested. Our engineers have risen to this challenge and
produced test equipment which enables GSM operators and
manufacturers to install and maintain their systems efficiently
and effectively," he said.

The GSM network is in dire need of public promotion, Newsbytes
notes. Recently, the network operators in Europe have scaled
down their planned service implementation and expansion owing to
the high costs involved. The result has been that GSM's data
transmission systems - analogous to the use of modems over the
standard telephone network - have been shelved.

Many in the industry now feel that GSM is little more than a
digital version of the existing cellular phone networks, which
are struggling to sign up new subscribers. The worries about the
expansion of the GSM networks in Europe was fueled recently by
British Telecom's decision to shelve any introduction of its own
Cellnet (Vodafone's rival) GSM service for at least two years.

(Steve Gold/19920326/Press & Public Contact: Racal
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 26 Software Developer's Company Considers Sale Of Unit 03/26/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00026)

Software Developer's Company Considers Sale Of Unit 03/26/92
HINGHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 26 (NB) -- The
Software Developer's Company said it has retained Broadview
Associates of Fort Lee, New Jersey, to explore the possibility of
selling its Solution Systems business unit. The company made
the announcement in response to rumors it would sell the
money-losing unit.

Steven Oremland, a spokesman for the firm, said the Solution
Systems unit has been a "financial drain" on the company because
it publishes several software products for which the company must
pay high royalties to developers. Sales volumes of these products
have not been sufficient to cover costs, he said.

The company is talking to several potential buyers but has not
arrived at any deals, Oremland said. He added that the negotiations
are in their early stages and the firm would not have announced
that it was talking to buyers had rumors of a sale not surfaced.

Software Developer's is considering the sale of Solution Systems
as a complete unit or the sale of some of its assets, he said.
Oremland said the company has the option of buying out the rights
of developers to the products it publishes, which could make it
financially viable.

The Software Developer's Co. produces software development
tools and publications for software developers.

(Grant Buckler/19920326/Press Contact: Steven L. Oremland,
The Software Developer's Co., 617-740-0300)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 26 New For PC: Imara Adds Applications Launching 03/26/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00027)

New For PC: Imara Adds Applications Launching 03/26/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAR 26 (NB) -- Imara
Research has added to its network-based image processing system
the ability to launch DOS applications from within the image system.
The new feature allows users to store files created with word
processors, spreadsheets and the like along with their document
images and to edit them without leaving the Imara system.

The new feature essentially incorporates CabNet, Imara's PC-
based workgroup application, into its namesake imaging system.
Imara 2.1, the latest release of the imaging system, will be
available by early April with the document-launch facility built in,
company spokeswoman Erin Hintz told Newsbytes.

Users can set up the system to launch any DOS application that
can be executed from the DOS command line, Hintz said. When a
file created with a DOS application is stored, the Imara system will
store with it the name of the application that created it, so the
user can later launch the document for editing simply by selecting
the document.

The suggested retail price for Imara 2.1 will be C$2,295 per
concurrent user, unchanged from the previous version without the
document launching capability. Users who only want the features
of CabNet, without the imaging system, can buy it for $115 per user.

Imara requires a network server running OS/2, with users' PCs
running either OS/2 or Windows.

(Grant Buckler/19920326/Press Contact: Erin Hintz, Imara
Research, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 26 UK: Samsung Launches High Resolution Color Monitor 03/26/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00028)

UK: Samsung Launches High Resolution Color Monitor 03/26/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 MAR 26 (NB) -- Samsung has launched
a new 15-inch high resolution color monitor -- the Syncmaster
CSD5577 - at a price (UKP 649) that it claims is a serious challenge
to the competitors.

According to Samsung, the monitor features a non-interlaced
display capable of 1,024 by 768 pixels resolution. This, the
company claims, means that the unit is suitable for business
graphics, desktop publishing and various text-based
applications, all optimized for use in the Windows environment.

The monitor also features a flat square tube (FST), a high
refresh rate of 72Hz at its highest resolution, plus a non-
interlacing and non-glare screen. In use, the monitor supports a
wide range of horizontal scanning frequencies ranging from 30 to
59 Khz and vertical frequencies from 50 to 90Hz. This makes the
unit compatible with most PC graphics standards from SVGA
downwards and even the Apple Mac II.

According to Samsung, the pricing on the monitor is the result of
watching the competition. A quick scan of the latest discount
monitor lists by Newsbytes revealed that the unit is around
UKP 100 cheaper than most of the competing monitors in this
technology bracket.

(Steve Gold/19920326/Press & Public Contact: Samsung
Electronics, 081-391-0168)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 26 UK: Olivetti Cuts 80286-Based PC Pricing 03/26/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00029)

UK: Olivetti Cuts 80286-Based PC Pricing 03/26/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1991 MAR 26 (NB) -- Olivetti has slashed
the price of what it calls its best-selling entry-level PCS 286S by
around nine percent. With immediate effect, the price of a
monochrome model with one megabyte (MB) of RAM and
40MB of hard disk, will cost UKP 699, while the color version will
cost UKP 100 more.

The price cuts come fairly hard on the heels of a swathe of cost
adjustments made in January of this year which cut pricing by as
much as 15.4 percent. In parallel with the cuts, Olivetti has
launched an advertising campaign targeted at the national daily
press.

"The retail PC market is very buoyant at the moment," said James
Griffiths, PCS' product manager at Olivetti. "And although many
industry commentators insist that the 286 is a defunct technology,
we're still selling in volume to the entry-level market. Last year,
the 80286 PCS outsold its closest rival model by 36 percent -- we
are looking to build upon that result this year," he added.

Olivetti is not the only one shouting about its price reductions,
Richard Austin, managing director of Milton Keynes-based
Evesham Micros, backed-up Griffiths' comments, saying: "Seventy
percent of our turnover at the moment is generated by business
purchases -- it may be quite a small enterprise -- or someone who
wants a PC at home in connection with their business."

"That is an area of significant growth. In my experience, people
buy them not necessarily just for business but also as a leisure
item. Magazines would lead you to believe that the 286 is deal,
but it isn't. We're still selling lots of these, particularly the
Olivetti PCS machines, You hear people talking about an entry-
level 386 -- but that really isn't the case. Most people aren't
as dependent on speed as the buffs would have you believe,"
he added.

(Steve Gold/19920326/Press & Public Contact: Olivetti UK,
071-785-6666)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 26 UK: Apricot Hardware Selected By Conservative Party 03/26/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(00030)

UK: Apricot Hardware Selected By Conservative Party 03/26/92
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, 1992 MAR 26 (NB) -- Apricot Computers
has been chosen as the supplier of secure computer hardware to
be used during the Conservative Party's election campaign.

Why "secure computer hardware?" According to Apricot, recent
incidents where confidential data held on computers has been
illegally accessed or stolen has led to a widespread awareness
of the importance of computer security. As a result, the
Conservative Party has ordered Apricot's secure hardware to form
the platform for a computer system on its new campaign coach
designed specifically to support its general election campaign.

Announcing the deal, Dr. Peter Horne, Apricot's managing director,
said than the Conservative Party needed a PC-based system which
it could be sure would protect any documents from illegal access.
"Apricot has championed the development and has a security
system second to none so it is no surprise that they chose Apricot's
hardware," he said.

The secure system ordered by the Conservative Party is to be used
to provide computer support for the party's campaign coach. It
will link up with the Conservative Party's central office using a
BT cellular phone system. The system consists of three Apricot Qi
486 desktops with eight megabytes (MB) of memory, extensive
access security and internal fax cards, as well as two BT 386SX
notebooks.

(Steve Gold/19920326/Press & Public Contact: Apricot Computers,
021-717-7171)

#ENDCARD



#CARD :1992 MAR 25 Olivetti Announces PC Pro Scheme For UK Resellers 03/25/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00001)

Olivetti Announces PC Pro Scheme For UK Resellers 03/25/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- In a bid to combat the
effects of the recession in the computer industry, Olivetti has
announced "PC Pro," a marketing program for its resellers in
the UK.

The scheme centers around a new pricing structure across the
entire Olivetti PC series with list of price reductions of up to 38
percent. Backing up the program is a UKP 600,000 advertising
and promotion campaign.

With all this expenditure, Olivetti is hoping for a considerable rate
of return. Company officials are aiming the scheme fairly and
squarely at Olivetti's top-end resellers who have the potential to
sell large quantities of hardware to major corporations.

Olivetti envisages that, by taking on PC Pro workstations and
mini-tower machines, in addition to the company's existing
Netframe and LSX families of PCs, resellers will be well placed
to offer a complete service to corporate clients.

Olivetti is attempting to raise its profile in the UK with the
campaign. If resellers are eligible, for what Olivetti calls its
System Partner status, they can qualify for the 38 percent price
reductions, promotion deals on demonstration machines, free trial
periods on certain hardware, and assistance with advertising in
the reseller's local press.

Mike McCormac, Olivetti UK system division marketing manager,
announcing the PC Pro scheme, said: "It's a tough business
climate and manufacturers must be especially sympathetic to the
needs of resellers. Pricing and effective end-user marketing is
essential. But so is understanding the culture of our reseller
community -- and we have to remember the end users."

According to McCormac, today's customer wants to be able to
buy both enterprise networks and on-off PCs at a single shop,
ideally from one supplier. "In computing, familiarity hardly ever
breeds contempt," he said.

McCormac went on to say that, what Olivetti's systems partners
need is to add value to every sale by supplying complete
systems rather than one-off PCs.

"To meet this requirement, Olivetti is endeavoring to raise end
user interest in corporate PCs alongside the high end solutions
which 'systems partners' are well-placed to provide. By selling
both PCs and systems into the same markets, resellers will get a
look-in on major accounts at every level of technology," he said.

"This is the real incentive we are talking about in this
campaign. And to prove this kind of promotion works, we're
offering end users a free trial period, so they can get to try,
see and like the Olivetti PC Pro, before committing to a single
PC," he added.

(Steve Gold/19920325/Press & Public Contact: Olivetti UK,
081-785-6666)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 25 Privatization Fever Takes Hold In East Germany 03/25/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(00002)

Privatization Fever Takes Hold In East Germany 03/25/92
BERLIN, GERMANY, 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- Eastern Germany, far
from being a haven for the unemployed and lazy, not to mention a
wasteland for empty factories, appears to be undergoing a
metamorphosis. That is the message that the Treuhandstadt, the
German Government's privatization agency, wants to get across to
the West.

According to a statement issued by Birgit Breuel, the head of the
Treuhandstadt agency, more than half of the 11,500 state-
controlled companies in Eastern Germany have been privatized
since unification of the two Germanies took place last year.

The privatization of the 6,000 companies has taken its toll on
the fortunes of former Eastern Germany, Newsbytes notes.
Unemployment is now rising and, according to figures released by
the Treuhandstadt, around 1,000 state-controlled firms have been
closed due to their inefficiency and inability to be privatized.

The remaining 4,500 firms may not be as easy to privatize as the
6,000 sold to the end of last month, however. Press sources
suggest that the firms are having some difficulty in attracting
Western investment, owing to the recession.

One of the biggest problems the Treuhandstadt faces is the
commitment it has made to the German government, as well as
citizens of both Germanies, that privatized firms will not lose
too many employees as their operations are rationalized. Many
Western firms interested in obtaining former East German firms
have expressed the desire to raze the factories to the ground and
build new automated plants from scratch. This could lead to many
layoffs, Newsbytes notes.

(Steve Gold/19920325)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 25 UK: Trigem Unveils Budget 486SX PC 03/25/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00003)

UK: Trigem Unveils Budget 486SX PC 03/25/92
SLOUGH, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- Trigem
Computers has added a 20 megahertz (MHz) 80486SX-based PC to
its family of computers. The new machine costs from UKP 1,180 and
features four megabytes (MB) of memory and a 40MB hard disk.

According to Trigem, the SX486E comes with four expansion slots
in a slim PC case. As well as Super VGA graphics, the machine
comes bundled with DOS 4.01. Like the rest of the Trigem range,
the SX486E features an integrated motherboard, which includes the
Super VGA graphics adapter and IDE hard disk interface as an
integral part of the main board.

As supplied, the SX486E has three drive bays: one 5.25 inch half
height, one third height 3.5 inch open, and a 3.5 inch hard disk
with data capacities varying from 40 to 130MB as required.

According to a spokesman for Trigem, the company's products
combine the best of US research and development with the cost
efficiency of Korean manufacturing. Trigem was voted "Korea's
best company" by the Korean Managers' Association in May of last
year.

(Steve Gold/19920325/Press & Public Contact: Parm Sangha, sales
manager, Trigem Computers, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 25 Non-Profit Arkenstone Licenses DECtalk Speech Technology 03/25/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(WAS)(00004)

Non-Profit Arkenstone Licenses DECtalk Speech Technology 03/25/92
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB) --
Arkenstone, a non-profit company which is also the leading supplier
of reading systems for the visually handicapped, has announced
that it will license the DECtalk speech synthesis technology from
Digital Equipment. DECtalk is quite probably the best speech
synthesis system on the market but has been too expensive for the
average user.

Making the announcement at the California State University,
Northridge's Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference,
Arkenstone's President, Jim Fruchterman, said that although the
DECtalk board would only be available through Arkenstone as a
part of the Arkenstone Reader system the board's portion of the
price would be less than $1,000.

The Arkenstone Reader is a combination of flatbed scanner and
OCR (optical character recognition) accessory board for 16-bit
IBM-compatible computers such as the IBM-AT. The scanner
interface board and TrueScan OCR software sold at a discount by
Arkenstone as part of the Reader package is supplied by Calera
Recognition Systems.

The DECtalk board would be sold as an optional companion
board to generate speech from the scanned documents after the
text is converted into computer ASCII files.

Arkenstone only sells systems to disabled users and does so
at a considerable discount over the commercial price of identical
equipment.

The company works through a worldwide network of local dealers.
For more information, contact Arkenstone Inc., 1185-D Bordeaux
Drive, Sunnyvale, CA 94089. The company's telephone numbers are
800-444-4443 or 408-752-2200, and the company's fax number is
408-745-6739.

Besides aiding people with visual impairments, reduced-price
Arkenstone products are also important for those with dyslexia
and other reading disorders.

The Seventh Annual CSUN Conference took place at the Los
Angeles Airport Marriott Hotel from March 18 through the 21. For
further information on the yearly conference, contact Dr. Harry
J. Murphy, CSUN, Office of Disabled Student Services, 18111
Nordhoff St., Northridge, CA 91330. The telephone number is
818-885-2578, the fax number is 818-885-4929, or e-mail
[e-mail].

(John McCormick/19920325/Press Contact: Jim Fruchterman,
Arkenstone, 800-444-4443)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 25 Optical Publishing Association Honors CD-ROM Developers 03/25/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00005)

Optical Publishing Association Honors CD-ROM Developers 03/25/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25(NB) -- The
Columbus, Ohio-based Optical Publishing Association has given its
fourth annual award for Entrepreneurial Excellence to Bureau
Development's Barry Cinnamon and Larry Shiller, developers of a
number of CD-ROM titles such as Monarch Notes, US History on
CD-ROM, and Countries of the World.

Bureau Development is the publishing arm of The Bureau of
Electronic Publishing, a major retail mail order vendor of CD-ROM
and multimedia titles as well as CD-ROM and other optical storage
hardware.

Their many advertisements in mainstream computer publications
have helped bring them and the CD-ROM field itself into the public
eye, and this was part of the reason why the two executives received
the OPA Entrepreneurial Excellence Award.

The Optical Publishing Association is an international trade
group organized to promote and develop CD-ROM technology and
markets around the world.

(John McCormick/19920325/Press Contact: OPA, Richard A Bowers,
OPA, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 25 Window Painters Intros Image Grabber/Editor For Windows 03/25/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00006)

Window Painters Intros Image Grabber/Editor For Windows 03/25/92
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- Window
Painters Ltd., has announced SnapPRO, an image utility program
for Windows. SnapPRO provides screen image capture, editing, and
file format conversion. The image can then be used with other
Windows, DOS, OS/2, and Apple Macintosh applications, according
to information released by the company this week.

Window Painters spokesperson Melissa Scott told Newsbytes that
with Windows applications, any portion of the screen can be captured
by pressing the user-designated hot key (F2 is the default), then
selecting the portion of the screen image you want using your mouse.
With non-Windows applications, you will have to capture the entire
screen image. That image could then be cropped with a paint
program, or with SnapPRO itself.

SnapPRO image editing capabilities include selection of palette
type and style, and some image manipulation. Users can select
from 24-bit, 256 color, 16 color, black and white, inverse, or dithered
palette type. The style option offers a choice of a color, gray
scale, or high contrast gray scale. Images can be flipped or
rotated in a variety of ways.

SnapPRO can convert images from one file format to another, if you
have an image file created with one application that you want to
work with in another. The program supports Windows 3.0 BMP and
RLE, OS/2 BMP, PCX 5.0, Macintosh PICT2, TIFF 5.0, WPG, TGA,
EPS, and GIF formats.

SnapPRO also includes an image builder feature, which allows
graphic files to be combined into a single image, similar to a collage.
Once an assembled file is opened, the individual images can be
reedited if desired, and can also be scaled to the desired size.

SnapPRO includes a batch print feature which allows multiple files
to be sent to the printer in a queue, and a thumbnail view of each
image is available without having to open each image file.

Scott told Newsbytes that SnapPRO has a suggested list price of
$69.95. Present owners of SnapIT! can upgrade for $10 by contacting
Window Painters at 612-897-1305. The company also accepts
trade-ins of competitive products for $39.95.

(Jim Mallory/19920325/Press Contact: Melissa Scott, Window
Painters, 612-897-1305)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 25 PC Can Act As A High-Tech Time Clock 03/25/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00007)

PC Can Act As A High-Tech Time Clock 03/25/92
SAN ANGELO, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- Data
Management Inc., has released TimeClock Plus, a PC-based
software package that the company says not only replaces the
traditional time clock, but also reduces the amount of clerical work
necessary to keep track of the hours employees work.

Available in single or multiuser versions for DOS and Unix,
TimeClock Plus includes a status feature that helps avoid overtime
by keeping running totals of the hours worked by each employee
and displaying that information by touching a few keys. "If a manager
has to call in extra people, he knows to call in the ones who have
worked the least hours so far," said Data Management founder
Jorge Ellis.

For businesses that employ minors, TimeClock Plus will keep track
of their hours, and flash the name of the employee if he or she
exceeds the number of work hours allowed under child labor laws.

The program offers several reporting features, including the ability
to list daily or weekly running totals. TimeClock Plus can also
display work schedules, allowing employees to see their work
schedules for the current or coming week. For the convenience of
managers and accountants, TimeClock Plus calculates labor costs
per minute, and factors in overtime in those calculations.

Since employees clock in and out by entering a personal ID number,
Ellis says the clocking in and out of one employee by another is
eliminated. The program also eliminates "working the clock," a
process in which an employee clocks in a few minutes early, and
clocks out a few minutes late, gaining as much as an extra 30
minutes for that work day. Ellis told Newsbytes that the program
offers a user-selectable, password protected feature that allows a
grace period of 0-30 minutes to be selected. The program will not
allow an employee to clock in or out outside that window.

Ellis said Data Management also sells a special remote terminal
which can be used just for timeclock functions, and attaches to the
host computer's serial port at distances up to 100 feet. The
program will also run from any Novell network station.

Ellis said that the company will release a Windows application
and a Macintosh version in the future.

TimeClock Plus has a suggested list price of $149.95, and can
handle up to 9,999 employees. An optional $60 interface module
allows its data to be exported to the DacEasy or Quicken payroll
systems.

Data Management maintains a toll free number (800-749-8463) to
handle orders and product inquiries. The same number is
available for 24-hour toll-free support.

(Jim Mallory/19920325/Press Contact: Melissa Rabin, S&S Public
Relations, for Data Management, 708-291-1616)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 25 New For Mac: MacTools 2.0 Disk Utility Program 03/25/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00008)

New For Mac: MacTools 2.0 Disk Utility Program 03/25/92
BEAVERTON, OREGON, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- Central Point
Software has announced a major upgrade to its MacTools utility
package for the Apple Macintosh.

Central Point said that with release 2.0 MacTools provides data
recovery, anti-virus protection, and backup. The new features can
run automatically or on a scheduled basis.

Features which can be scheduled include disk analysis and repair,
and backup. Operations which can be invoked automatically include
anti-virus, protection against file deletion, and automatic mirroring of
the directory, a protection against data loss caused by disk crashes.

Mirroring, also used frequently on networks, makes an exact copy
of the data to another directory or a separate drive. The company
said the automated processes can be triggered by system
startup or shutdown, or can be scheduled to occur at daily or
weekly intervals.

The company said that the MacTools DiskFix feature includes
checking for and repairing more than 100 disk problems. FileFix
can reportedly repair damaged Microsoft Excel and Word files.
The AntiVirus feature is said to offer protection against known and
unknown viruses, doing so automatically without operator
intervention. There is also a checksumming choice on the MacTools
menu, allowing the user to check a specific file for possible viruses.

Central Point spokesperson Karen Garrison told Newsbytes that
MacTools 2.0 has a suggested list price of $149, with upgrades from
earlier versions costing $49. Central Point also offers an optional
$49 subscription service which will provide the next four upgrades
to the anti-virus portion of MacTools automatically. Garrison said
MacTools 2.0 will ship in May of this year.

(Jim Mallory/19920325/Press Contact: Karen Garrison, Central
Point Software, 503-690-2260)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 25 Aldus Ships Upgrade To Freehand For Windows 03/25/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00009)

Aldus Ships Upgrade To Freehand For Windows 03/25/92
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- Aldus
has announced it is now shipping Aldus Freehand 3.1 for Windows,
an update to is design/illustration program.

The company says the upgrade includes several printing-production
and productivity enhancements, including a pressure-sensitive
capability for the freehand drawing tool. The company said the new
release is compatible with Windows 3.1, which is scheduled to ship
April 6. Windows 3.1 support will provide Freehand users access
to the Windows TrueType fonts. Aldus said the new release also
runs significantly faster.

According to Freehand Product Manager Mary Hausladen,
Freehand 3.1 for Windows includes the same features that the
Macintosh version has. Hausladen said the upgrade also includes
support for an electronic stylus for input.

The pressure-sensitive capability supports drawing tablets from
Wacom or CalComp, and can be used to create hand-drawn effects,
including varying the line weights or strokes drawn with the freehand
tool. The company said Freehand is the only PostScript-language
drawing program to offer this capability.

Version 3.1 allows the user to enlarge any selected region of the
drawing, and color libraries can be created and exported. That
feature would be useful for working on a series of projects that use
the same color scheme. Aldus said 3.1 also offers automatic
calculation of blend steps, improved layer handling, and new
keyboard shortcuts for digitizing style attributes.

The Aldus announcement said that production enhancements
allow for more precise placement of registration marks -- which is
important for commercial printing -- and a sensity-control bar and
color-control strip printed on color separations.

Freehand 3.1 for Windows has a suggested retail price of $595.
Aldus said that registered owners of the previous version will
automatically receive the upgrade at no charge.

(Jim Mallory/19920325/Press Contact: Jill Miller, Aldus,
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 25 CFP-2: Bruce Sterling Speaks For "The Unspeakable" 03/25/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00010)

CFP-2: Bruce Sterling Speaks For "The Unspeakable" 03/25/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB)  --  Bruce Sterling, the
prime luncheon speaker at the 2nd Annual Conference On Computers
Freedom & Privacy (CFP-2), fulfilled his program billing as "Speaking
for the Unspeakable" by taking on three separate persona and
delivering what might have been their messages.

Sterling, best known as a science fiction writer, spoke for three
characters, a "a malicious hacker," a Latin American police official,
and a Hong Kong businessman, who were, in his words: "too venal,
violent, treacherous, power-mad, suspicious, or meanspirited to
receive (or accept) an invitation to attend."

Sterling began his speech by introducing himself and then saying
"When the CFP committee asked me if I might recommend someone
to speak here at CFP-2, I had an immediate candidate. I thought it
would be great if we could all hear from a guy who's been known as
Sergei. Sergei was the KGB agent runner for the Chaos Computer Club
group who broke into Cliff Stoll's computer in the famous Cuckoo's
Egg case. Now Sergei is described as a stocky bearded Russian
espionage professional in his mid-40's. He's married, has kids and his
hobby is fishing, in more senses than one, apparently. Sergei used to
operate out of East Berlin, and, as far as I personally know, Sergei's
operation was the world's first and only actual no-kidding, real-life
case of international computer espionage, So I figured -- why not
send Yelsin a fax and offer Sergei some hard currency; things are
pretty lean over at KGB First Directorate these days. CFP could have
flown this guy in from Moscow on a travel scholarship and I'm sure
that a speech from Sergei would be far more interesting than
anything I'm likely to offer here. My proposal wasn't taken up and
instead I was asked to speak here myself. Too bad!"

"This struck me as rather a bad precedent for CFP which has
struggled hard to maintain a broad universality of taste. Whereas
you're apparently willing to tolerate science fiction writers but
already certain members of the computer community, KGB agents,
are being quietly placed beyond the pale. But you know, ladies and
gentlemen, just because you ignore someone, doesn't mean that
person ceases to exist -- and you've not converted someone's
beliefs  merely because you won't listen. But instead of Comrade
Sergei, here I am -- and I am a science fiction writer and, because
of that, I rejoice in a complete lack of any kind of creditability!"

"Today I hope to make the best of that anomalous position. Like
other kinds of court jesters,  science fiction writers are sometimes
allowed to speak certain kinds of unspeakable truth, if only an
apparent parody or metaphor. So today, ladies and gentlemen, I
will exercise my inalienable civil rights as a science fiction writer to
speak up on behalf of the excluded and the incredible. In fact, I plan
to abuse my talents as a writer of fiction to actually recreate some of
these excluded, incredible unspeakable people for you and to have
them address you today. I want these people, three of them, to each
briefly address this group just as if they were legitimately invited
here and just as if they could truly speak their mind right here in
public without being arrested."

Sterling then went on to assure the crowd that he was not speaking
his personal conviction, only those of his characters, and warned the
group that some of the material might be offensive. He then launched
into the delivery of his characters' speeches -- speeches which had
the hacker talking about real damage - "the derailing of trains;" the
Latin police official, a friend and admirer of Noriega, discussing the
proper way of dealing with hackers; and the businessman
explaining the way, in the age of high speed copiers, laser printers
and diskette copying devices, the US copyright laws are irrelevant.

Often intercepted by laughter and applause, Sterling received a
standing ovation at the conclusion of the speech. Computer Press
Association newsletter editor Barbara McMullen was overheard
telling Sterling that he had replaced Alan Kay as her favorite
luncheon speaker. Meanwhile, conference Chair Lance Hoffman,
who had received an advance copy of the speech a few weeks
before, described the speech as "incredible and tremendous."

Sterling, relaxing after the talk with a glass of Jack Daniels, told
Newsbytes that the speech had been fun but a strain, adding:
"Next time they'll really have to get Sergei. I'm going back to
fiction."

Sterling's non-fiction work on computer crime, "The Hacker
Crackdown," is due out from Bantam in the fall and an audio tape
of the CFP-2 speech is available from Audio Archives. He is the
author of "Islands In The Net" and is the coauthor, with William
Gibson, of the presently best-selling "The Difference Engine."

(John F. McMullen/19920325/Press Contact: Audio Archives,
818 957-0874)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 25 CFP-2 Features Role-Playing FBI Scenario 03/25/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00011)

CFP-2 Features Role-Playing FBI Scenario 03/25/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB)  --  As part of the
"Birds-of-a-Feather" (BOF) sessions featured at the 2nd Conference
on Computers, Freedom & Privacy (CFP-2), FBI agent J. Michael
Gibbons, acting as a live gamemaster, orchestrated the play-acting
of an investigation by federal agents into allegations of computer
intrusion and criminal activity.

The scenario, set up by Gibbons to show the difficulties faced by
investigators in balancing the conducting of an investigation with a
protection of the rights of the individual under investigation, was
acted out with non-law enforcement officials cast in the role of
investigators: New York State Police Senior Investigator Donald
Delaney as "Doctor Doom," the suspected ringleader of the
computer criminals; Newsbytes New York Bureau Chief John
McMullen as a magistrate responsible for considering the
investigators' request for a search warrant; and author Bruce
Sterling as a neighbor and possible cohort of Doctor Doom.

Gibbons, in his role of Gamemaster, regularly intercepted the action
to involve the audience in a discussion of what the appropriate next
step in the scenario would be, for example, "Do you visit the suspect
or get a search warrant, or visit his school or employer to obtain
more information?," and "Do you take books in the search and
seizure?, printers?, monitors?" During the discussion with the
audience, points of law were clarified by Mike Godwin, Electronic
Frontier Foundation in-house counsel, and Alameda County
Assistant District Attorney Donald Ingraham.

The role-playing session immediately followed a BOF panel,
"Hackers: Why Don't They Understand," which attempted to
present a hacker view of on-line ethics. The panel, moderated by
McMullen, was composed of Steve Levy, MacWorld columnist and
author of "Hackers;" Dorothy Denning, Chair of Computer Science
at Georgetown University; Glenn Tenney, California Congressional
Candidate and chair of the annual "Hacker's Conference;" Craig
Neidorf, defendant in a controversial case involving the electronic
publishing of a stolen document; "Dispater," the publisher of the
electronic publication "Phrack;" Emmanuel Goldstein, editor and
publisher of "2600: The Hacker Quarterly," and hacker "Phiber Optik".

During the panel discussion, Levy, Denning and Tenney discussed
the roots of the activities that we now refer to as hacking, and Goldstein
and Dispater described what they understood as hacking and asked
for an end to what they see as overreaction by the law enforcement
community, Neidorf discussed the case which, although dropped by
the government, has left him over $50,000 in debt; and Phiber Optik
described the details of two searches and seizures of his computer
equipment and his 1991 arrest by Delaney.

In Neidorf's talk, he called attention to the methods used in valuing
the stolen document that he published as $78,000. He said that it
came out after the trial that the $78,000 included the full value of
the laser printer on which it was printed, the cost of the word
processing system used in its production and the cost of the
workstation on which it was entered. Neidorf's claims were
substantiated by EFF counsel Godwin, whose filing of a motion in
the Steve Jackson cases caused the release of papers including
the one referred to by Neidorf. Godwin also pointed out that it was
the disclosure by interested party John Nagle that the document,
valued at $78,000, was obtainable in a book priced at under $20
that led to the dropping of the charges by the US Attorney's office.

SRI security consultant Donn Parker, one of the many in the audience
to participate, admonished Phiber and other hackers to use their
demonstrated talents constructively and to complete an education
that will prepare them for employment in the computer industry.
Another audience member, Charles Conn, described his feeling of
exhilaration when, as a 12-year old, he "hacked" into a computer at
a  local Kentucky Fried Chicken. Conn said: "It was wonderful. It was
like a drug. I just wanted to explore more and more."

Parker later told Newsbytes that he thought that it was a mistake to
put hackers such as Phiber Optic and those like Craig Neidorf who
glorify hackers on a panel. Parker said: "Putting them on a panel
glorifies them to other hackers and makes the problem worse."

The Birds-of-a-Feather sessions were designed to provide an
opportunity for discussions of topics that were not a part of the
formal CFP-2 program.

(Barbara E. McMullen/19920325/Press Contact: Dianne Martin,
The George Washington University, 202-994-8238)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 25 Kapor Gives CFP-2 Tutorial On Internet 03/25/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00012)

Kapor Gives CFP-2 Tutorial On Internet 03/25/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- As part of the
tutorial program at the 2nd Conference on Computers, Freedom &
Privacy (CFP-2), Mitchell D. Kapor, co-founder of the Electronic
Frontier Foundation (EFF), provided those in attendance with an
introduction to the use and features of the Internet.

Kapor gave a brief overview of the history of the Internet, explained
the multiple levels of the net and its decentralized governance, and
described the noncommercial and alternate commercial
"backbones," NSFNET and CIX, respectively. He then explained the
electronic mail, Telnet, File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and Internet
Relay Chat (IRC) features of the Internet.

In addition to material supporting his slides, Kapor distributed copies
of "Zen and the Art of the Internet" by Brandon P. Kehoe, a recently
completed 96 page explanation of the Internet. Copies of the book
may be obtained via anonymous ftp to "ftp.cs.widener.edu."

Other tutorials given in conjunction with CFP-2 included: "Computer
Crime" by Don G. Ingraham, Alameda County District Attorney's
Office; "International Privacy" by Dave Flaherty, University of
Western Ontario; "Making Information Law and Policy" by Jane
Bortnick, Congressional Research Service Library of Congress;
and "Modern Telecommunications: Life after Humpty Dumpty" by
Richard S. Wolff, Bellcore.

New York State Police Senior Investigator Donald Delaney told
Newsbytes that his only complaints with the tutorials were that they
were a multitrack schedule and he had to choose between tutorials
that he really wanted to hear. Delaney said: "It was almost too much
of a good thing I wanted to be in two places at the same time."

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19920325/Press
Contact: Dianne Martin, The George Washington University,
202-994-8238)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 25 CFP-2: Computer Crime Session Focuses On FBI Wiretap Bill 03/25/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00012)

CFP-2: Computer Crime Session Focuses On FBI Wiretap Bill 03/25/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25(NB)  -- A panel on
computer ethics and crime at the 2nd conference on Computers,
Freedom and Privacy held recently in Washington, DC, brought
together a civil liberties lawyer, FBI agents, a civil liberties lawyer,
a sysop, a Justice Department official and a New York State
computer policeman.

Strides have been made in educating law enforcement officials
regarding the nature of computer crime, but there is still work to do.
Mike Godwin of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) described
the recent case of Craig Neidorf, who was accused of stealing a
document reported by the phone company and prosecutors to be
worth over $75,000, when the phone company itself sold the
document for only $14 to the general public.

Godwin also reported that prosecutors in a recent criminal crime
case argued for jail time, noting that the defendants had not been
deterred by the (non-jail) sentence issued to Robert Morris Jr., creator
of the "Internet worm."  Godwin noted that the defendants in this case
had committed the computer break-ins for which they were charged
before Morris had been sentenced, making this argument rather
inappropriate.

James Settle of the FBI said that the modern bureau is computer
literate, and the abuses charged in the past are unlikely to happen
today. Perhaps the most lively speaker from law enforcement was
Don Delaney, computer and telecommunications crime specialist
for the New York State Police in southern New York State.

"New York City is fraud central," said Delaney. PBX (private branch
exchange) and phone calling card fraud are particularly rampant.
Delaney reported that typical PBX fraud cases (where phone crackers
find out PBX access codes that allow them to dial into the PBX and
then make outgoing calls billed to the victim) cost from $40,000 to
$100,000. Often such bills can be racked up in just a day or two, as
perpetrators sell phone time from phone booths around the city.

Phone calling card fraud is also a booming business. In New York's
Grand Central Station, fraud rings place spotters with binoculars in the
balconies, where they watch people make calling card calls in the
phone booths. In modern open booths, the calling card ID numbers
(PINs) can been easily seen. These PINS are later sold.

Later, Delaney and other police officers agreed that the EFF's efforts
against the allegedly improper and illegal searches of companies like
Steve Jackson Games have been effective. Computer-savvy officers
are fully aware of the cases and the problems they caused, and
teaching officers provide the details of these cases whenever they
give seminars or training to fellow officers.  Officers and agents are
scared and now act more cautiously and conservatively when
performing searches, according to Delaney.

The hottest issue of debate was a proposed new law supported by
the FBI which would require vendors of telecommunications
equipment and services to provide easy hooks for wiretapping.

In the past, agents could just put alligator clips on the appropriate
wires, but with modern digital telephones, this is no longer possible.
The FBI wants phone companies to modify their systems and charge
the cost back to customers, with an estimated cost of 20 cents on
each phone subscriber's monthly bill.

FBI and U.S. Justice Department officials present on the panel, while
admitting they were not those responsible for the bill, argued that if
people accept that wiretapping is a valid law enforcement tool, they
should accept that the phone system should not be built to make it
impossible.  Most, though not all, in the room disagreed, and felt that
it should not be the duty of the public to go out of their way to make
surveillance by the police an easier task.

Mitch Kapor suggested that adding a line-item to phone bills of
"Surveillance: $0.20" would bring most people's feelings home.
It is expected that the EFF, along with related organizations such as
Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR) and the
makers of telecom equipment will lobby heavily against the bill.

Brad Templeton/19920325)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 25 New Consortium Looks At Cellular Data 03/25/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00014)

New Consortium Looks At Cellular Data 03/25/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB) --  The five
"wireline" cellular companies which aligned last month are
planning to look at cellular data. However, none of the five is yet
willing to commit to a packet data scheme.

Their new business venture will merely develop a strategy for
wireless data communications management and for marketing
the service.

The five -- Ameritech Mobile Communications, Bell Atlantic Mobile
Systems, Contel Cellular, GTE Mobilnet, and Nynex Mobile
Communications -- signed a letter of intent which only commits them
to test wireless data technologies, conduct market research then
develop standards. But Jim Gerace of Nynex acknowledged to
Newsbytes that some companies are already sending data on his
systems, using regular modems and connectors like the Spectrum
Axsys, which links landline modems with cellular phones.

The five plan to roll-out a new service later this year to compete
with Cellular One, which is mainly used by McCaw and Southwestern
Bell. The five have cellular networks currently serving almost two
million customers.

Separately PacTel, one of three Bell companies which have not
joined any cellular alliance -- the others are BellSouth and US
West -- named Lee Franklin to head its new wireless data division.
Franklin will offer both circuit-switched data services, using
regular modems and full cellular call lines, as well as a packet
network, which could use frequencies between calls for added
data traffic.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920325/Press Contact: Jim Gerace, Nynex
Mobile Communications, 914-365-7712; PacTel Cellular, Amy
Damianakes, 510-210-3645)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 25 BellSouth Pushing IBM PCradio Laptop 03/25/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00015)

BellSouth Pushing IBM PCradio Laptop 03/25/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- BellSouth's
cellular operations will resell the IBM 9075 PCradio, a laptop
computer with a built-in modem for cellular services. It's the
first agreement between IBM and a cellular service operation.

BellSouth Cellular spokesman Nicole Lipson told Newsbytes
that the PC Radio unit includes a cellular fax-modem, which can
operate on any US cellular service using the analog AMPS
standard.

"It's going to be sold to direct sales and national accounts for
BellSouth Mobility" in the Southeast "and American Cellular
Communications" outside the Southeast. BellSouth maintains
many separate service marks outside its region, depending
on who it is partnering with, and serves a total of over
100 cities.

Lipson said the product will first be offered by BellSouth's
direct salesforce in 22 markets starting this Monday,
and later in all its markets.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920325/Press Contact: J. Ralph
Hammock, IBM, 914-642-5464; Nicole Lipson, BellSouth,
404-847-3712)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 25 PacTel To Offer TV Phone Service 03/25/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00016)

PacTel To Offer TV Phone Service 03/25/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB) --
PacTel signed agreements with IBM and Northern Telecom aimed
at bringing IBM's Person-to-Person2 conferencing system to
market. The system combines computer screen sharing and a
videoconference, with both coming-up on the same screen.

To make the service happen, however, it needs to go through
phone switches, and through a phone company network. Northern
will update its DMS 100 switches for the service, using ISDN
(Integrated Services Digital Network) standards, while PacTel's
Pacific Bell unit will offer it as part of its Centrex IS service.

While all three companies have other strategic alliances in
multimedia research, this agreement focuses on long-term
evolution of the network coupled with near-term creation of
applications. Over the long run, the three envisage creating
other services based on Pacific Bell's Netsys technology,
and Bellcore's Information Networking Architecture.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920325/Press Contact: Pacific Bell, Scott E.
Smith, 415-542-0597; IBM, Cecilia M. Moseley, 415-545-4663;
Northern Telecom, Linda E. Henson, 615-734-4251)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 25 U S West Puts Unregulated Information Subsidiary To Work 03/25/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00017)

U S West Puts Unregulated Information Subsidiary To Work 03/25/92
DENVER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- US West
has formed a new subsidiary, U S West Enhanced Services,
aimed at selling unregulated information services. Its first product
is a fax mail offering called, naturally enough, Fax Mail.

The company was actually formed in late 1990, but can now
proceed to roll-out products based on last year's court decision
to let the regional Bells into the information business.

Fax Mail was described by company officials as "voice mail for
faxes," storing incoming messages until they can be directed by
a user's fax machine or fax card. Fax Mail, which has a patent
pending, costs as little as $19.95 per month. The product is being
launched through a marketing program which includes direct
mail and telemarketing, as well as radio and newspaper
advertising, and direct subscription via fax machine.

Separately, US West and Tele-Communications Inc., the nation's
largest cable television company, signed Nielsen Media
Research to collect numbers on their interactive television test in
Littleton, Colorado, where the two are working with AT&T. The
test involves a system where viewers can select from among
2,000 movies at any time, or from a menu of 24 channels. Nielsen
will measure both TV and VCR usage. Marketing to find users of
the test services has begun.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920325/Press Contact: TCI, Lela
Cocoros, 303-267-5273; US West, Steve Lang, 303-793-6290)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 25  ****Japan: HP's RISC Promotion Organization Created 03/25/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00018)

 ****Japan: HP's RISC Promotion Organization Created 03/25/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- Major Japanese computer
firms including Hitachi and Mitsubishi have set up an association to
support Hewlett Packard's RISC (reduced instruction-set computing)
chip. The association aims to promote development of HP's RISC
technology.

The association, called Precision RISC Organization, intends to
push Hewlett Packard's PA-RISC in the market. Nine firms have
joined this association. The members include Hewlett Packard,
Hitachi, Mitsubishi Electric, Oki Electric, Yokogawa Electric, and
Convex Computer. The member firms will gain firsthand technical
information of PA-RISC from Hewlett Packard. Also, Hewlett
Packard will provide consulting services. Meanwhile, the member
firms will cooperate the development of hardware and software for
PA-RISC.

Hitachi is currently manufacturing PA-RISC, and other firms
including Hitachi will use this RISC chip in their computers.
Convex will use the chip in its latest large-scale parallel
processor.

Other RISC chip makers such as Sun Microsystems and MIPS
Computer have already created the similar associations for their
own RISC chips. Now, they are ready to compete with each other.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920325/Press Contact: Hewlett Packard,
Tokyo, [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 25 Canon & Olivetti Tie Up On Printers 03/25/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00019)

Canon & Olivetti Tie Up On Printers 03/25/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- Canon has agreed with
Olivetti concerning the production of Canon's printer in Italy. The
printer will be manufactured at both firm's joint venture firm in Italy.

Canon and Olivetti created a joint venture in Italy in 1987, and
both firms are currently producing copying machines at the
firm. This time, both Canon and Olivetti say they will manufacture
Canon's latest bubble-jet printer. Both firms plan to ship 400,000
units of ink-jet printers per year, starting next year.

Both firms will also develop their own printers for European
markets, and distribute them through Olivetti and Canon's
distribution routes.

The actual production of the printers will be done at the plants in
three different locations --  two are located in Italy, and one is
located in Switzerland.

Canon's bubble-jet printer is selling well in Japan. First, it was
released for NEC's best-selling PC-9801 personal computer.
Now, Canon has developed a version for Apple's Macintosh.
The prices are quite low by market standards, costing between
60,000 to 70,000 yen.

Canon has also started selling the bubble-jet printer in South
East Asian countries. The firm started manufacturing the printer
in Thailand in February, 1992.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920325/Press Contact: Canon,
tel [phone], fax, [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 25 Moscow: Borland Announces "Amnesty" For Illegal Users 03/25/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(MOW)(00020)

Moscow: Borland Announces "Amnesty" For Illegal Users 03/25/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- Any owner of an illegal
dBase copy or other database package in Russia is being
offered a pardon by the company, if the user buys dBase IV
version 1.5 at the upgrade price, a local Borland distributor
has announced.

Russian Scientific & Research Institute of Information said the
"amnesty" program will be in effect for three months from April 1.

Users of dBase, as well as registered users of other database
packages may upgrade for dBase IV 1.5 with a 35 percent discount
at the price of 13,300 rubles (about US$100 at the market rate).

The buyer must register his version at the time of purchase,
according to the distributor.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920325)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 25 Moscow: Comtek Computer Show Planned 03/25/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(MOW)(00021)

Moscow: Comtek Computer Show Planned 03/25/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- Seventy companies will
occupy 3,500 square meters of the hall at the Russian Exhibition
Center (formerly VDNKh) from April 6 till April 10. The name of the
gathering is Comtek.

It will be the show's third annual computer technology exhibition
in Moscow.

The exhibitors list, offered to Newsbytes by Crocus International,
exhibition managers, includes 3M, Autodesk, BASF, Borland,
Citizen, ComputerLand, Control Data, Corel, Data General,
Everex, Fortron Source, Hewlett-Packard, ICL, IBM, Ingres, Intel,
Intermicro, Kami, Lotus, NCR, Nuntacket, Novell, Noos, Oracle,
SAS Institute, Sequent, Siemens Niexdorf, Simog, Smith Corona,
Softtronik, Star, Steepler, Summit system, Sun Microsystems,
Symantec, SynOptic Communications, Technoserv, VTKK, Varient,
Vasilev BV, Verbatim, and Witrans.

The largest booth (180 square meters) were bought by Intermicro,
the official distributor of Macintosh and Sun equipment, and Siemens.
IBM and an Indian trading company named Noos, bought slightly
smaller boots.

The cost of exhibiting is very expensive and there are almost
no newcomers in the list. Many companies consider the US$7,500
for the smallest booth, which comes with almost no other services,
just too expensive.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920325)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 25  ****IBM Unveils First Color Laptop, Plus Two Notebooks 03/25/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00022)

 ****IBM Unveils First Color Laptop, Plus Two Notebooks 03/25/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- IBM has
launched its first color laptop computer, equipped with an active-
matrix thin-film transistor (TFT) display and able to run for about an
hour on battery power. The company also introduced two
monochrome notebook computers.

The Personal System/2 Model CL57 SX, or PS/2 Color Laptop,
has a 10.4-inch color flat screen, which IBM claimed is the
industry's largest and brightest active matrix color display.

Company spokesman Dean Kline said the machine can run for
about an hour on its rechargeable nickel metal hydride batteries,
and an external battery pack is available to run the machine for
an additional two hours.

The PS/2 Color Laptop will appeal to people who have to make
presentations at client offices, Kline said, and to people who need
a computer with desktop-like capabilities at two or more locations.
The color laptop will allow the latter group of users to carry a
single machine around with them rather than buying two machines,
without compromising on the display and other features.

In addition to its color screen, the Color Laptop sports a 20
megahertz (MHz) Intel 80386SX processor, two megabytes (MB) of
RAM, expandable to 16 MB, an 80 MB hard drive, an internal
1.44 MB diskette drive, a full-size PS/2 keyboard, and IBM's Micro
Channel Architecture (MCA) bus. The new laptop also has a built-in
trackball pointing device.

The list price of the PS/2 Color Laptop is $5,995 and it is to be
available in April, Kline said.

IBM also announced the PS/2 model N51 SLC notebook, the first
portable built around IBM's 80386SLC variant of the Intel 80386
chip. Also, IBM announced the PS/2 model N51 SX notebook, an
entry-level machine using the Intel 80386SX processor.

Both the model N51 SX and the model N51 SLC, which IBM calls PS
Notes, are 6.2-pound black-cased notebooks. Each comes with two
MB of memory expandable to 10 MB, an internal 1.44 MB diskette
drive, and a 9.5-inch liquid crystal VGA display offering 32 gray
shades. Battery life on both units is 1.5 to two hours, Kline said.

The N51 SX comes with a 40 MB hard disk drive, while the N51
SLC will be shipped with an 80 MB drive, Kline said.

IBM said its 16 MHz SLC chip, developed and manufactured at
its Burlington, Vermont, plant, runs up to 80 percent faster than
standard 16 MHz 386 SX processors, offering processing power
equivalent to a 25 MHz 386 SL chip.

(Grant Buckler/19920325/Press Contact: W. Dean Kline, IBM,
914-642-5408)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 25 IBM Adds 386SX PS/2 Models 03/25/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00023)

IBM Adds 386SX PS/2 Models 03/25/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- IBM has
added two new models to its Personal System/2 line of personal
computers, both using the 20-megahertz (MHz) version of the Intel
80386SX microprocessor. A new color display comes standard
with one of the new machines.

Both versions of the new PS/2 Model 35 come with two megabytes
(MB) of RAM, expandable to 16 MB on the motherboard, plus an
internal 3.5-inch diskette drive and 16-bit VGA display adapter.
Both also use the AT (Industry Standard Architecture) bus and
have three expansion slots and two bays for disk drives and other
storage devices.

The model 35 SX-4B1 comes with a 40 MB hard disk drive and
the 8512 14-inch color display. The model 35 SX-4B2 comes with an
80 MB hard disk drive and the new 8511 color display.

The 8511 color display is a new 14-inch design offering better
resolution and improved ergonomic features, including a base that
lets it swivel 300 degrees (five-sixths of a full circle). It meets
product specifications for very low frequency magnetic field
(VLMF) and extremely low frequency magnetic field (ELMF)
standards, IBM said.

Company spokesman Chris Clough said the 8511 display is
standard equipment only with the new PS/2 Model 35 SX-4B2 at
present, but will be offered as an option for other systems later.

The hardware features of the new models almost exactly match those
of IBM's PS/1 386SX Pro, a machine the company is pitching to the
home-office and small business markets. Clough said the differences
lie largely in the distribution and support for the two machines.
The PS/1 Pro is being sold through retail channels, consumer
electronics dealers, and superstores, he said, while the PS/2 goes
through business-oriented resellers. Further, PS/2 models are
covered by IBM's HelpWare package, a collection of support and
training offerings.

The PS/2 model 35 SX-4B1 has a suggested retail price of $1,995,
and the model 35 SX-4B2 has a $2,235 price tag.

(Grant Buckler/19920325/Press Contact: Michael Reiter, IBM,
914-642-5368)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 25  ****Alouette Wins Telesat Canada Bid 03/25/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00024)

 ****Alouette Wins Telesat Canada Bid 03/25/92
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- Alouette
Telecommunications, a consortium of Canada's regional telephone
companies and satellite builder Spar Aerospace, is the successful
bidder for the Canadian government's 53 percent stake in domestic
satellite communications carrier Telesat Canada.

The office of John McDermid, minister of state for finance and
privatization, announced that Alouette Telecommunications will
pay C$154.8 million, or C$48 per share, for the government's shares.

Stentor Canadian Network Management, the national phone-
company consortium through which the major regional carriers are
participating in Alouette, already holds 41 percent of Telesat.
John Farrell, president of both Alouette and Stentor, said Alouette
will launch an offer for the remaining shares, held by assorted
minority shareholders, within "the next 10 days or so."

Farrell told Newsbytes the deal is good news for the Canadian
telecommunications industry and for Canadian business. He said
the telephone companies needed to own Telesat in order to have
sufficient incentive to make the investments called for to improve
the telecommunications infrastructure in Canada.

"We're very pleased and we look forward to making Telesat even
more successful than it is today," he said.

The only other known bidder was National Telesystem of Montreal, a
company controlled by Charles Sirois, who this summer is to become
chief executive of Teleglobe, the Montreal-based company that
controls overseas satellite links from Canada. The government gave
no reasons for choosing Alouette over National Telesystem.

(Grant Buckler/19920325/Press Contact: John Anderson, Alouette
and Stentor, 800-461-7800 or 613-560-3692; Ray Windsor, Spar
Aerospace, 416-629-7727)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 25 New For PC: DosFax Pro Fascimile Software From Delrina 03/25/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00025)

New For PC: DosFax Pro Fascimile Software From Delrina 03/25/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- Delrina
Technology has unveiled a plain-DOS version of its WinFax Pro
facsimile software for Windows, and a software bundle that
combines WinFax Pro with software from two other firms.

DosFax Pro is fax communication software that runs on the DOS
operating system. Company spokesman Josef Zancowicz said it is
essentially a DOS version of WinFax Pro, Delrina's popular fax
communications software that requires the Microsoft Windows
operating environment.

DosFax Pro includes scheduling and fax broadcasting features and
the ability to attach documents from various DOS applications. It
works with any Sendfax, Class I, or Class II fax modem, Delrina
officials said. The suggested list price for DosFax Pro is C$89.

Delrina also announced Fax Pak, a bundle containing its WinFax Pro
software, a special version of the FaxGrabber software from Calera
Recognition Systems of Sunnyvale, California, and the latest
release of Norton Desktop for Windows from Symantec of Cupertino,
California.

FaxGrabber converts fax images received on a PC into editable
text. The Norton Desktop for Windows is a user interface shell. The
suggested list price for the Fax Pak bundle is C$229.

Delrina has just announced the signing of a letter of intent to
merge with WordStar International of Novato, California, as
reported previously by Newsbytes.

(Grant Buckler/19920325/Press Contact: Josef Zancowicz or
Shelly Sofer, Delrina, 416-441-3676)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 25 Lotus Signs Text-Retrieval Pact With Verity 03/25/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00026)

Lotus Signs Text-Retrieval Pact With Verity 03/25/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- Lotus
Development has signed a licensing agreement with Verity of
Mountain View, California. The deal gives Lotus the right to use
Verity's full-text retrieval technology in all of its software
products.

The initial focus of the deal is Lotus' notes work-group software,
said Constance Mazelsky, a spokeswoman for Lotus. The company plans
to incorporate Verity's Topic retrieval engine into the forthcoming
Release 3.0 of Lotus Notes, which is due later this year, Mazelsky
said.

According to Lotus, this was give Notes users robust full-text
retrieval as a standard feature. Additional sophisticated
intelligent search interfaces will be available from Verity through
cross-platform compatibility with the Topic Document Retrieval
System.

The Verity technology may be used in other Lotus products in the
future, Mazelsky told Newsbytes, but Notes is the first priority.

Lotus officials said they selected Verity because of the
opportunity for strong technical collaboration and because of
synergy in the companies' mutual customer base.

Four-year-old Verity sells document retrieval systems to corporate
and government customers, through its own offices in the United
States, Canada, Australia, and Europe, and through distributors
around the world. Verity has technology and marketing agreements
with a number of hardware and software vendors.

(Grant Buckler/19920325/Press Contact: Constance Mazelsky,
McGlinchey & Paul for Lotus, 617-862-4514; Robert Williams, Verity,
415-960-7630)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 25  ****Microsoft Windows DB Product Not Xbase Compatible 03/25/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00027)

 ****Microsoft Windows DB Product Not Xbase Compatible 03/25/92
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- Microsoft
President Bill Gates told reporters in a teleconference yesterday
concerning the company's merger with database software company
Fox Software, that Microsoft's planned database product for Windows
will not be Xbase (or .DBF) compatible.

Compatibility with the .DBF file format is an issue in business as the
.DBF file format has become a standard. The format mainly has to do
with information at the beginning or "header" of the file describing
the layout of the file's contents.

Borland's dBASE product, developed by Ashton-Tate who was
purchased by Borland last year, set the standard when the first
version dBASE II was released.

Previous to its purchase of Ashton-Tate, Borland had developed a
database product that did not hold to the .DBF file standard called
Paradox. While Paradox was not .DBF compatible, it still gained a
place in the market.

Fox Software products however, are .DBF file format compatible. So
much so that until the purchase of Ashton-Tate by Borland, Ashton-
Tate was embroiled in a controversial lawsuit with Fox over its
similarity to the dBASE product.

The database development community is racing toward the release
of a database product for the Windows graphical user interface (GUI).
Although other companies like Spinnaker and Software Publishing
International have released Windows database products, none of the
major players in the database industry have done so as of yet.

Fox demonstrated a prototype of its FoxPro for Windows, a product
Mickey Friedman public relations manager at Fox told Newsbytes
was very close to release. Microsoft maintains its Windows
database product will be available this year as well.

Gates said the fact that the Microsoft database product for Windows
will not have a .DBF compatible file structure means any merger of
the two products will not be likely in the short term. Microsoft's
database product currently under development is code named
 internally "Cirrus."

However, Dave Fulton, current Fox president, will take a place at
Microsoft as database architect of Microsoft's Database and
Development Tools Division. The development team at Fox is
also expected to relocated to Microsoft's Redmond, Washington,
headquarters from Fox's Ohio headquarters "over time" the two
companies said.

Borland has implied in its announcement of dBASE IV 1.5 that it is
planning to deliver a dBASE for Windows product in April of this year.
Though it seems obvious Microsoft might be competing with Borland,
Microsoft may also have designs on IBM's share of the database
market in the corporate as well as personal computer markets.

Microsoft also announced third-party developer support for Open
Database Connectivity (ODBC). ODBC is a standard which will allow
access, via the Microsoft Windows operating system, to virtually all
databases, Microsoft said.

Microsoft and supporters of ODBC said they are planning software
drivers to allow transparent user access to database data in the
following formats: dBASE files; Digital Equipment Corp.'s Rdb files;
Microsoft Excel XLS files; IBM DB2; Oracle; Paradox; and SQL
Server files.

IBM has always had a presence in the database software line,
especially in the corporate community on mainframe computers. IBM
is announcing third-party vendor support for its Distributed Relational
Database Architecture (DRDA), a competing standard it is planning
for release. The company describes DRDA as a standard for data
connectivity among relational database management systems that
run in like or unlike environments.

Several vendors have announced support for DRDA, the latest
being Islandia, New York-based Computer Associates, a company
that develops utilities for IBM's mainframe database product, DB2.

So the race may be bigger than just the personal computer arena
with Microsoft and IBM competing for the entire computer market pie
by both offering cross platform database connectivity to business.
Further, if the environment, either Microsoft's Windows or IBM's OS/2,
handles the format of the database data, it may not matter in the long
run that Microsoft's database product is not Xbase compatible.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920325/Press Contact: Mickey Friedman, Fox
Software, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Linda Tjelle, Wagner
Edstrom for Microsoft, tel [phone], fax: [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 25 Apple Offers VITAL, Connectivity Info Book For Corporate MIS 03/25/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00028)

Apple Offers VITAL, Connectivity Info Book For Corporate MIS 03/25/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB) --
Connectivity is a big issue in corporate computing and Apple says it
is formulating a plan to address the issue for its corporate customers.
The plan is called VITAL (Virtually Integrated Technical Architecture
Lifecycle) and is a document detailing Apple's product directions for
connectivity.

Users do not want to hassle with the format of the data itself and
want desktop systems easily integrated into enterprise wide
systems, Apple claims. Microsoft with Open Database Connectivity
(ODBC), IBM Distributed Relational Database Architecture (DRDA),
and now Apple with VITAL are all attempting to answer that need.

Apple says VITAL is information so those responsible for overseeing
the flow of data on an enterprise-wide computer network can develop
vendor-independent systems that will talk to each other.

Morris Taradalsky, vice president and general manager, enterprise
systems division said: "Apple Computer is struggling with the same
set of issues that all of our corporate customers face -- how do we
optimize the range of systems that we have, connect systems and
users more seamlessly, and write and develop applications that are
scalable and reusable?"

Apple says it has several years of work into VITAL with its internal
information systems division, with early collaboration with Digital
Equipment Corporation first working on the framework for VITAL.
Three more years of refinement of the framework has been done by
Apple with some of its corporate customers.

Over 1,000 pages on VITAL has been put together for Apple's
internal guidelines document, the company said. Broken down into
five areas, VITAL addresses: data capture; data access; repository;
desktop integration; and systems infrastructure, Apple maintains.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920325/Press Contact: Betty Taylor, Apple,
tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 25 Ministor Removeable Super-Small HDs For Notebook Computers 03/25/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00029)

Ministor Removeable Super-Small HDs For Notebook Computers 03/25/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- Ministor has
announced its "Portables," a line of removable, super-small 1.8-inch
hard disks geared toward notebook computers.

The hard disk have a 64 megabyte (MB) capacity and are built for
rugged use, the company says. Ministor anticipates the removable
drives will be used for the growing number of  battery-powered
portable computers, including notebook, sub-notebook, and pen-
based systems.

The interface for some of the new Portables is compatible with the
PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association)
Type III standard removable PC card interface with a 68-pin connector,
Ministor maintains. The PCMICIA Type III standard allows for thicker
PC cards. The company says the power consumption of the new hard
disks is also designed with the power-sensitive notebook and battery
operated computer in mind.

The drives are designed to withstand an operating shock of 20 Gs
and a non-operating shock of 200 Gs. Ministor also said the drives
have a shock sensor that allows the drive to sense jarring movements
during write commands before data is in danger.

Four models are available. The Miniport 64, is an embedded drive
with an IDE interface, 64 MB of data storage capacity, a height of 12.5
millimeters (mm) and a weight of less than 75 grams(2.65 ounces).
The Miniport 64P, is a removable drive with an PCMCIA compatible
interface, 64 MB of data storage capacity, a custom height of 13.5 mm
and a weight of less than 75 grams(2.65 ounces). The Miniport 32, is
an embedded drive with an IDE interface, 32 MB of capacity, a height
of 9.8 mm and a weight of less than 65 grams(2.3 ounces). Lastly, the
Miniport 32P, is a removable drive with a standard Type 2 PCMCIA
compatible interface, 32 MB of capacity, a height of 10.5 mm and a
weight of less than 65 grams(2.3 ounces).

Data access times are 18 ms and host data transfer is up to five
MB-per-second, Ministor maintains.

The company is manufacturing the drives at its Singapore factory
and has developed original equipment manufacturer (OEM)
relationships electronics manufacturers Samsung and Seiko
Epson Corp.

Evaluation units are expected to be available in April with
production quantities available in the third quarter of this year.

More information is available from Ministor Peripherals
Corporation, 2801 Orchard Parkway, San Jose, CA 95134, or
telephone [phone].

(Linda Rohrbough/19920325/Press Contact: Charles
Summerhauser, Walt & Summerhauser for Ministor,
tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 25 Electronics Industry Companies Moving Toward More Alliances 03/25/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00030)

Electronics Industry Companies Moving Toward More Alliances 03/25/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- The new
Electronics '92 survey of 455 key electronics industry chief executive
officers (CEOs) reveals American electronics industry companies
are moving toward alliances with competitors and foreign-based
companies.

The study, done by professional services firm Ernest & Young and
Electronic Business Magazine claims 89 percent of chief executive
officers (CEOs) said their companies were involved in one or more
alliances in 1991. This is an increase from the 1989 figures of 79
percent, but companies now have several alliances each,
compared to 1989. Ernest & Young officials said as the numbers
were over 20 alliances per company on the average.

Why? CEOs say the alliances are essential to competitiveness.
Ernest & Young officials say the study shows American businesses
are abandoning the "go it alone and do everything internally"
approach.

CEOs also see alliances as an alternative to the difficulty in
discovering technical talent when the talent is hard to find or a
company is unwilling to have in-house product development staffs.

Interestingly enough, alliances have been happening long enough
for companies to see failures. Seventeen percent of the CEOs
surveyed said their alliances were a vast improvement, while 66
percent said the alliance provided some improvement. The by far
the most quoted reason by CEOs for failed alliances were their own
expectations from the alliance were too high. The second highest
reason was poor communications between partners.

Elizabeth Baatz senior editor at Electronic Business said that,
even though the recession looms large in the minds of CEOs, those
surveyed are not interested in developing an industrial policy for the
industry or in tougher trade sanctions. "The majority of electronics
industry CEOs believe in a hands-off policy when it comes to
government involvement."

(Linda Rohrbough/19920325/Press Contact: Carla Faccher,
Neale-May & Partners for Ernest & Young, tel [phone],
fax [phone])

#ENDCARD



#CARD :1992 MAR 24 TI Chip Puts Universal Network Card On Motherboard 03/24/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DEN)(00001)

TI Chip Puts Universal Network Card On Motherboard 03/24/92
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 24 (NB) -- Texas
Instruments has announced a new chip which it says will make
installation of PCs onto a network as simple as plugging them into
an outlet and turning them on.

Designated the TMS380C26, the new chip supports both the Ethernet
and Token Ring networks, which TI estimates are used in more than
90 percent of installed or planned LANs (local area networks). The
new chip, which is added to the PC at the time of manufacture,
eliminates the requirement to add a network card to a PC in order to
attach it to a network.

Local area networks allow the sharing of applications such as word
processing, databases, and other programs installed on a file server
by users of workstations on the network. Data files on networks can
also be shared by network users. Only one copy of a network
version of a program need be purchased, rather than a single copy
for each workstation or PC on the network.

With the present network technology, a PC installed on a network
requires an interface card designed specifically for that type of
network, such as an Ethernet card. The new Motorola chip would
make a PC compatible with either Ethernet or Token Ring-type
networks directly from the factory.

TI spokesperson Ted Jernigan told Newsbytes the end-user
cost the chip would add to the price of the PC would be "more than
competitive with the cost of a network card."

Jernigan said that since use of the chip requires PC motherboard
design changes, it would probably be late 1992 before any PCs
would appear on the market equipped with the chip. He declined
to name the PC manufacturers TI is working with for use of the chip.

Jernigan said TI is providing example Ethernet and Token Ring
software drivers for the most popular network operating
environments, including Novell, Microsoft, IBM, and Banyan. TI said
its prior experience with Token Ring, including a program initiated
with IBM in 1982, ensures IBM-certified operation and compatibility
with IEEE standards.

TI recently announced a major alliance with IBM and
Intermetrics to create computing products that can perform many
multimedia functions simultaneously, including fax and modem
work, stereo sound, speech, and imaging.

(Jim Mallory/19920324/Press Contact: Ted Jermigan, 214-997-5467)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 24 Novell Announces Trademark Suit Settlement 03/24/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEN)(00002)

Novell Announces Trademark Suit Settlement 03/24/92
PROVO, UTAH, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 24 (NB) -- Network software
company Novell has announced that it has settled a trademark
infringement action against Network Systems and Services, Inc.
(NSSI).

According to a statement released by Novell, the settlement
included NSSI paying an undisclosed amount to students. NSSI also
consented to a final judgement and permanent injunction, barring
the company from using Novell's registered trademarks and trade
name without permission.

NSSI has agreed to specifically advise all future students prior to
registration that NSSI is not a Novell Authorized Education Center.

The suit, filed in New York City Federal District Court in October
1991, alleged that NSSI improperly assured students that its
classes were sanctioned by Novell, that untrained and uncertified
instructors were allowed to teach classes about Novell software,
and that inadequate computer equipment and counterfeit Novell
course materials were used.

Novell spokesperson Susan Lider told Newsbytes that the
settlement did not include any monetary damages paid to Novell. In
response to a question about the possibility of NSSI's qualifications
to become a Novell Authorized Education Center, Lider said "its not
currently under consideration."

(Jim Mallory/1920324/Press Contact: Susan Lider, Novell,
408-473-8665)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 24 CompuAdd Announces Two 50MHz PCs 03/24/92




(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00003)

CompuAdd Announces Two 50MHz PCs 03/24/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 24 (NB) -- Compuadd has
announced two new 50 megahertz (MHz) personal computers
based on Intel's 80486 technology.

Compuadd said that both units are available in either an AT-sized
case or a tower chassis, will come with DOS and Windows
pre-loaded, and will include one year of free on-site service.

The 450DX2 uses Intel's recently announced speed doubling i486
DX2-50 microprocessor, which operates internally at 50 MHz, but
communicates externally at 25 MHz with other computer components.

Basic configuration for the 450DX2 is four megabytes (MB) of random
access memory (RAM), an 80 MB hard drive, two high density floppy
drives, and a monochrome monitor. The unit has a suggested list
price of $2,195 for the desktop model, and $2,395 for the tower
model. Several options are available, including a $400 14-inch or a
$600 15-inch, non-interlaced, high resolution color monitor.
Compuadd said the unit can also be configured with 120, 200 and 425
megabtye IDE hard drives. SCSI (Small Computer System Interface)
drives are available in 330MB and 630MB sizes.

The DX2 system supports up to 64MB of memory on the system
board and also has an expansion slot for use with Compuadd's high
resolution VGA (video graphics array) video controller. With the
high-resolution card in place in the expansion slot, Compuadd said
video performance is improved by operating at an effective rate of
12.5 MHz.

Write-back cache of 64 kilobytes (KB) or 256 KB is also available.
The system comes with two serial ports and one parallel port, and
includes a math coprocessor slot. Like other Compuadd systems
announced recently, the BIOS (basic input/output system) of the new
486 systems can be upgraded by loading new code from a floppy
disk.

Write-back cache is a portion of the computer memory that is
reserved for the storage of the data the CPU (central processing
unit) has used most recently. Using a write-back cache, the data is
written to the cache, then the main RAM is updated later when the
computer is idle between tasks. Both memory and disk cache
provide faster access to the data.

The second unit, the Compuadd 450, is based on the 50MHz i486DX
chip, which operates at 50MHz both internally and externally. The
unit's motherboard supports up to 64MB of RAM and an optional
write-back cache memory of 64 KB or 256 KB is available as an
option. Its basic configuration includes  four MB of RAM, an 80MB
hard drive, dual high-density floppy drives, and a monochrome
monitor. The 450 has a suggested list price of $2,395 for the desktop
system and $2,545 for the tower. Hard drive and color video options
are the same as for the 450DX2 system.

Compuadd's Wendell Watson told Newsbytes that the DX2 system
would begin shipping in May, while the 450 will ship in April.

Other companies announcing 50 MHz systems recently include Dell,
Radio Shack, Compaq, and Gateway 2000. IBM has also announced
a 50MHz upgrade for its PS/2.

More information about either unit is available by calling Compuadd
at 800-456-3116 or 800-627-1807.

(Jim Mallory/19920324/Press Contact: Wendell Watson, Compuadd,
tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 24 Control Data Announces Marketing Agreements 03/24/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00004)

Control Data Announces Marketing Agreements 03/24/92
ST PAUL,MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 24 (NB) - Control Data
Corporation (CDC) has announced it has signed marketing
agreements with Hewlett-Packard, Japan's HZS, and CMstat
Corporation, to market its CAD/CAM (computer-aided design/
computer-aided manufacturing) and EDL (Engineering Data
Library) data management software.

Under the agreement with Hewlett-Packard (HP) CDC will offer its
ICEM CAD/CAM software on HP's Apollo 9000 series 700
workstations. The CDC announcement said this is the first time
ICEM software will be available on any platform other than is own
910 RISC (reduced instruction-set computer)-based workstations.

Jim Ousley, president of the CDC products group, said the company
plans to offer ICEM on other Unix and RISC platforms.

The marketing agreement with Japan's Hitachi Zosen Information
Systems (HZS) calls for HZS to market two CDC CAD/CAM products --
EDL, a program for product information management, and ICEM
(integrated computer-aided engineering and manufacturing ) SURF,
a surface modeling application. CDC said the agreement will be
expanded later to include other Control Data CIM (computer
integrated manufacturing) products. Ousley said the
agreement opens up a significant market. "HZS has an important
presence in Japan's manufacturing market," said Ousley.

EDL is software which allows users to locate, retrieve, track, and
use data across a network of dissimilar computers. The product was
launched in 1982. SURF develops surface models directly from
digitized data or from screen input. The data can then be converted
and passed to CAM systems to program numerical control machines.
SURF is designed primarily for use in automobile production
engineering, and has been ported to several Unix platforms.

CDC has also signed a value-added reseller (VAR) agreement with
CMstat Corporation to market its EDL product. According to CDC's
announcement, CMstat will market DL in conjunction with its
Configuration Management product, a system that automates a
manufacturing company's process of identifying and documenting
physical and functional characteristics of a configuration's
structures, components, and systems.

CDC maintains a toll free number (800-257-6736) to provide
information about its products.

(Jim Mallory/19920324/Press Contact: Charlotte Fransen, CDC,
612-482-4857)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 24 H. Ross Perot Proposes Electronic Town Meetings 03/24/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00005)

H. Ross Perot Proposes Electronic Town Meetings 03/24/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 24 (NB) -- Why shouldn't the
owners of a country take control back from the managers whom they
hired to run it but have done such a terrible job? That is the
main question asked by H. Ross Perot in this election year when
he proposes regular televised sessions where experts explain to
the people just what is wrong, offer several options on how to
fix it, and then have them send their choices via interactive TV
or by mail to their local congressman.

Texas billionaire H. Ross Perot is sounding more and more like
the first computer entrepreneur who may make a serious run for
President. In a 45 minute-long speech at the National Press Club
of Washington last week, the critic of Washington business-as-
usual outlined what he feels needs to be done to pull the country
out of its deficit.

Beginning with examples of just how large the U.S.
budget deficit is, and the fact that nearly 70 percent of the
multi-trillion-dollar debt is due within five years, Perot said that our
present system is causing the problem, reminding us that
Congress consists mostly of lawyers and politicians and
therefore has no idea how to solve economic problems.

Perot wants to go back to the days of $1-per-year experts from
industry who will advise the government - the same way that the
U.S. became so productive during World War II.

He says that government has changed from its original position of
being "of the people" to being "in the people's face" and
suggests that to keep politicians more in touch with reality that
when the VP wants to go golfing he should catch a cab to the
airport, "stand in line, lose his luggage, and eat a bad meal"
like everyone else. Perot estimates that every Vice
Presidential golfing trip costs taxpayers several hundred
thousand dollars.

Perot points out that politicians are mere employees of the
people, not a privileged ruling class.

Selling the billion dollars' worth of aircraft kept ready for
junket trips by Congress and trading down from Air Force I to a
corporate jet are other steps intended by Perot both to cut costs
and keep politicians in touch with reality.

Other ideas include telling Europe and the Far East that if they
want Uncle Sam to defend them from the hungry Russian bear they
should pay the full cost, which he estimates to be $200 billion.
He feels we should be doing more to help Russia but points out
that we aren't doing it and will soon be faced with a very
dangerous situation.

Efficiency, according to Perot, is another quick way to save $80
billion. There are estimates of $180 billion in waste, but he says
that for some reason politicians shy away from spending the $100
billion needed to save that $180 billion - something which he
characterizes as "a good deal."

The heart of Perot's plan to save the U.S. is to keep government
"out of the face of business" and "the people," giving back control
of the country to "the people who own it."

Perot points out that his town meeting idea, combined with
outlawing all political action committees, would make Congress
much more responsive to the wishes of their employers - the
American people.

Perot likened the idea of trade negotiators working in the
government for a few years, then moving on to lobby for foreign
governments and business, as being akin to having military
leaders retire and then go to work for the enemy.

He proposes criminal penalties for those who benefit from their
government "service," banning all former government types from
working as a lobbyist for any domestic group for five years and
for any foreigner for ten years. Top officials would be barred
from taking any such job ever.

About the Presidency, he says that "anyone intelligent enough to
be President is too smart to want the job," but Perot has stated that
if people in all 50 states independently work to get his name placed
on the ballots, then he will run, and if he runs he will put all his
resources into the fight.

There are groups already working in all 50 states to get Perot on the
ballot. He reports that his office is getting thousands of phone calls
every hour urging him to run.

Ending the Press Club speech, Perot held up a book showing an
American Indian and said how they were destroyed by being
herded into reservations. In an obvious reference to poor inner city
residents, he said that a combination of reservation living and
payment to do nothing will destroy anyone and should never be
permitted again.

He holds a very strong belief that, no matter what else is done,
if the various peoples in the U.S. melting pot do not learn to get
along with each other, we can never be strong enough to compete
in the world.

(John McCormick/19920324)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 24 Intel's 3rd Generation Micro 2000 Chip To Supercharge PCs 03/24/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00006)

Intel's 3rd Generation Micro 2000 Chip To Supercharge PCs 03/24/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 24 (NB) -- In its
January/February 1992 issue of Mircocomputer Solutions Magazine,
Intel paints a picture of a person using a personal computer (PC) who
sends a video message with a scanned photo and text over a network
to a colleague, who annotates it with comments using a pen-computer,
and sends it back. Intel says its planned Micro 2000 chip will be the
"brain" of that future PC.

Intel, in the magazine, says it is planning to integrate many of the
capabilities of three types of chips that currently work with its i386 and
i486 microprocessor into a new generation microprocessor
nicknamed Micro 2000.

Intel's Senior Vice President, Dave House, talked about the third-
generation Micro 2000 chip during his talk to a group at the Software
Publishing Association in Seattle recently.

As stepping stones to the third generation chip, House mentioned the
586 to 786 chips as being stepping stones to the new Micro 2000. The
586, known internally at Intel as the P5, is expected this year. The P6
or 686 is expected by the end of 1993, and the 786 or P7 is expected
to be available 18 months after that, House said.

However, the Micro 2000 is expected to be able to handle "rich" or
"natural" data on a PC by incorporating the functionality of chips
Intel now produces separately. The three chips Intel referred to in
the Microcomputer Solutions article are the i750, the i860, and the
i960.

The i750 is the engine for Intel's DVI products which enable video
manipulation. The i750 is the compression-decompression engine
for manipulating and displaying "natural" or "rich" forms of data such
as full-motion video and still images, Intel said.

The i860 is geared toward the display and manipulation of graphics.
The chip can speed up two-dimensional graphics applications and
provide three-dimensional design capability, Intel maintains. Used
now in over 20 PC add-in application accelerator cards, the i860 is
also a part of workstations such as those produced by IBM,
Hewlett-Packard, and Digital Equipment Corporation. However,
Intel's general manager was quoted as saying the power needed to
create 3D images is moving to the PC.

The i960 chip offers faithful image reproduction to printed output on
hard copy generators, like laser and color printers, Intel said.

The Micro 2000 is expected to incorporate many of the capabilities
of the i750, the i860, and the i960 onto the 50 to 100 million-transistor
chip. Intel says the Micro 2000 will offer power and integration, yet
will still be compatible with the i386 processor-based systems
available today.

Intel said the Micro 2000 could allow groups of people to get the
technological "supercharging" using PCs that individual uses have
now.

(Linda Rohrbough/19910324/Press Contact: Intel, Nancy Pressel,
tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 24 Turkey, Iran Use High-Tech To Influence Central Asia's Muslims 03/24/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00007)

Turkey, Iran Use High-Tech To Influence Central Asia's Muslims 03/24/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 24 (NB) -- The battle for
control over the Muslim states of Central Asia, formerly part of the
Soviet Union, is being played out with different technologies
between Turkey and Iran.

Iran's Farsi language is written with an Arabic script, and the
country has offered teachers and books to the Asian republics as
part of its influence drive. However, it is also offering telephone
links, especially to Azerbaijan. The Azeri homeland is divided
between the former Soviet province, now the independent state,
of Azerbaijan, and an Iranian province of Azerbaijan. So far the
Azeris, locked in a death-struggle with neighboring Armenia over
Nagorno-Karabach, have taken the Iranian help but avoided a
commitment, choosing the Roman alphabet of Turkey to replace
Russia's Cyrillic alphabet in daily life.

Next month, however, Turkey plays its trump card. The NATO
member, which wants to join the European Community, will take
over a formerly Soviet transponder on Intelsat VI, broadcasting
Turkish programming instead of the former Soviet state
propoganda. The people of Central Asia -- Turkomen, Tadziks,
Kyrghiz, Kazakhs, and Uzbeks, as well as Azeris -- will begin
receiving 468 hours a week of Turkish-language news,
entertainment, and cultural programs. Most will be in simplified
Turkish, so they will be understood by people whose
languages are only dimly related to Turkish.

The stakes could not be higher. Turkey is offering an Islam
attuned to the West, where women can be sexy or even powerful.
Iran is offering Shiite fundamentalism. And here, ironically,
Saudi Arabia and Iran may be allies, with the Saudis investing
over $1 billion in support of Arabic script, and ministers warning
against secularism.

So far, American participation in this high-tech battle for
hearts and minds has been minimal. US Secretary of State,
James Baker, has toured the region, but his main concern is the
destruction of Kazakhstan's nuclear capability. AT&T has also
made large sales to the Kazakhs. Many US companies have
made inquiries about advertising on the new Turkish channel.
However, no Western help was offered in Turkey's drive to get
TV satellite reception equipment into the republics -- it was
trucked in.

A western tilt toward Turkey is seen, however, in the launch of
the Turk-Sat telecommunications satellite this Fall. The new
satellite will handle regular phone service from the Asian
republics, replacing a failing Soviet system.

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 24 Australia: Aussat Satellite Launch Delayed By Rocket Fire 03/24/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00008)

Australia: Aussat Satellite Launch Delayed By Rocket Fire 03/24/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 MAR 24 (NB) -- A fire in the Long-March
Chinese rocket which was to launch the first of Australia's second
generation communications satellites has seen the launch
postponed. The fire broke out as the rocket entered its ignition
sequence, which was being watched by millions of Chinese
viewers and the owners of the satellite, Optus.

The Aussat B1 satellite was to provide the first major part of
Optus' assault on the Australian telecommunications market, which
was recently deregulated. After technicians examined the rocket
and the satellite, both were determined to be undamaged by the
fire, and a rescheduled launch is expected to take place within the
next month.

The fire comes as an embarrassment to both Optus and the Chinese
company responsible for the launch, the Great Wall Industry
Corporation. Optus met with criticism for choosing the Chinese
rocket over western competitors, as the Westerners have accused
the Chinese of heavily subsidizing Great Wall Industry - an
accusation denied by the Chinese.

Celebrations planned with international dignitaries had to be
cancelled after the fire, and Optus is hoping the problem can be
solved for the rescheduled launch. Optus still professes faith in the
Chinese rocket, and is confident of continuing Aussat's (now a part
of Optus) satellite-loss-free record.

(Sean McNamara/19920324)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 24 Australia: Users Rebel Over Telecom Directory Assistance Charge 03/24/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00009)

Australia: Users Rebel Over Telecom Directory Assistance Charge 03/24/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 MAR 24 (NB) -- A group of telephone
subscribers has blasted AOTC's (Australian and Overseas
Telecommunications Corporation's) proposal that calls made to
directory assistance be charged at 60 cents each. The proposal
was made to Austel, Australia's telecommunications market
watchdog.

AOTC (formerly Telecom and OTC) is hoping Austel will approve
the charge, which will see subscribers assigned a quota of free
directory assistance calls per month. After five calls, users would
be charged 60 cents a call, to encourage them to use telephone
books rather than the dial-up service. Exemptions would be
provided to certain groups in the community, including print-
handicapped and the elderly, as well as assistance calls made
from pay phones, registered hospitals, and mobile phones.

The national paper, The Australian, has obtained a copy of a letter
sent to Austel which claims AOTC not only has included misleading
statements in the proposal, but has also lied. The letter calls for
free access via computers and Telecom's Discovery information
service. However, Discovery is failing, and suffers from a public
perception of being inadequate. The letter also lambastes the
decision by Telecom to establish Discovery. Telecom was
offered membership of the European system Minitel, which includes
free directory access via computer. The move to Discovery was,
according to the letter, motivated by greed, as in theory, Telecom
should have made more money from the Discovery system. Austel is
expected to make its decision after submissions close on April 6th.

(Sean McNamara/19920324)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 24 Australia: Tasman 2 Cable Goes On-line 03/24/92\


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00010)

Australia: Tasman 2 Cable Goes On-line 03/24/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 MAR 24 (NB) -- The prime ministers
of Australia and New Zealand have marked the opening of the
Tasman 2 optic fiber cable by making the first official
teleconferencing call.

The cable stretches from Sydney to Auckland, and will provide
the link between the PacRim East and West cables when they
are laid.

The cable, which replaces a traditional coaxial cable, will allow
increased traffic and new services to be carried across the
Tasman Sea. Tasman 2 will provide one of the many fiber optic
links established or planned for the Pacific Rim region, and
should contribute to a wider choice of services for subscribers.

Videophones, color faxes, and high-resolution television are
among the possible services which could be offered via
Tasman 2.

(Sean McNamara/19920324)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 24 Australia: Victorian State Data Center Opens 03/24/92




(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00011)

Australia: Victorian State Data Center Opens 03/24/92
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, 1992 MAR 24 (NB) -- The Victorian
government hopes its AUS$1 million investment in the State Data
Center (SDC) will provide the state with one of the most advanced
mapping facilities in the world.

The center was established to automate land titles and to provide
Victorian residents with quick and easy access to detailed land and
geographical information. The SDC, located in Ballarat, will see the
provision of around 300 new jobs, providing a welcome boost to the
region. The center's equipment will take existing paper plans, and
convert them to digital form, allowing access within minutes, as
opposed to the days or weeks of the old manual system.

The SDC will begin with the conversion of the two million title
documents, 13 million instruments, and 200,000 plans held by the
Land Titles Office, and cooperation with the Ballarat University
College will see post-graduate training and research being carried
out in the SDC.

As long-term goals, the SDC hopes to "digitize" Victoria and
provide AOTC (Australian and Overseas Telecommunications
Corporation) with a map of its national cable network.

(Sean McNamara/19920324)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 24 Australia: Computers To Flush Clean Water Management 03/24/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00012)

Australia: Computers To Flush Clean Water Management 03/24/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 MAR 24 (NB) -- The New South Wales
Water Board has announced plans to invest AUS$100 million in a
computerized water management system. Water management
systems are essential in a country like Australia, as droughts have
affected even city water supplies in the past.

The project, IICATS (integrated instrumentation, control, automation,
and telemetry system), will see the monitoring of 50,000 points in
the Water Board's water supply and sewerage network. This network
of data acquisition sites, a SCADA (supervisory control and data
acquisition) network, will provide the Water Board with timely
information on how to achieve economies. An example of these
economies is the monitoring of use of water from a water tower to
determine if pumping can be delayed until off-peak electricity rates
come into effect.

The SCADA network will include the 50,000 acquisition sites, several
distributed computers, and 100 workstations. These sites will monitor
water pressure, flow rates, storage levels and water quality
throughout 38,000 kilometers (km) of pipeline, 300km of storm water
pipes, and 1,000 other sites in the Sydney. Illawarra (south coast) and
Blue Mountains regions. The Board has short-listed five consortia
to supply the computer network, and the first stage of IICATS, in the
Illawarra region, is on schedule to be finished by the end of this
year.

(Sean McNamara/19920324)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 24 Multimedia Product Meets Utah State Approval For Education 03/24/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00013)

Multimedia Product Meets Utah State Approval For Education 03/24/92
TORRANCE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 24 (NB) -- Davidson
& Associates Inc., has announced that they have won approval
and adoption from the state of Utah for their English Express
product.

State adoption means that the program is placed on the state's list
of approved products. Only approved products may be purchased
by the schools with state money. The Utah State Textboook
Commission is an 11-person committee that reviews books and
other materials on a subject area, and decide which of these books
and materials are good enough to be placed on the approved list.
Each year different subjects are reviewed. One of this year's
subjects was English as a second language (ESL) which is the
category under which Davidson's product was selected.

The commission maintains a rolling list of subjects. Therefore, it
may be several more years before this subject is visited again by
the commission. What makes this selection even more important
is not just the fact that it will not be repeated for several years, but
that this marks the very first time that the commission approved a
multimedia product.

English Express is a set of videodisks, CD-ROM disks, computer
disks, cassettes, workbooks, and additional supporting materials.
Davidson customizes the program for the use of each school and
school district. The whole set could cost as much as $15,000, but
typical installations run more in the $10,000 range. The software can
come in either a Macintosh or an MS-DOS version for the same
price.

The recognized way of learning a language is by the collection of
words into a theme. Accordingly, English Express is divided into 67
thematic units. There are over 1,400 digitized pictures present on
the videodisks which are also divided according to themes.
Instruction proceeds with the teacher selecting a word off a bar-
coded sheet, the computer displaying the image on a screen and,
by teacher's choice, speaking the word as well as displaying the
word in written form on the screen.

English Express is used in several other areas already. It has been
out for just over a year. Davidson and teachers are very pleased
with the program's operation and usefulness.

A Davidson spokesperson told Newsbytes that the company will
shortly be releasing the results of a study that was based on the use
of English Express in a California school. According to the company,
the middle school-aged children, as of December 1991, had no
English skills at all. However, by March, the children had significant
language skills partially due to the success of the program.

(Naor Wallach/19920324/Press Contact: Liz Rich-Reardon,
Davidson & Associates, 310-793-0600 ext 230)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 24 Telecom Battle Continues Over 706 Georgia Border 03/24/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00014)

Telecom Battle Continues Over 706 Georgia Border 03/24/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 24 (NB) -- Despite, or
because of, the fact Atlanta has the largest local-calling area in
the nation, the division of north Georgia into two area codes is
becoming a problem for Southern Bell.

For years people on the outskirts of Atlanta have been trying to
get into the local Atlanta calling area. They see the border --
wherever it is placed -- as arbitrary. And the cost of being
outside the local calling area can be high. It costs 30 cents per
minute to place a call from Americus, Georgia to Atlanta -- 120
miles away. It costs just 25 cents per minute for someone in
Americus to call Los Angeles.

So when Southern Bell announced it was dividing its North Georgia
into two area codes, with the old metro Atlanta calling area
remaining 404 and everyone else going into the new 706 area
code, starting in May, the fur started to fly. Community activists
recognized, rightly, that this was their last chance to get into
that Atlanta calling area. And the Georgia Public Service
Commission, stung by Southern Bell's successful effort to
deregulate its MessageCall voice mail service by having the US
Federal Communications Commission preempt the state's
regulatory effort, was in no mood to be sympathetic. Already, a
group of homeowners in Fayette County have won re-entry into 404,
and more homes may be following.

The danger in all this is the same numbers game which led to the
creation of the new area code in the first place. Atlanta is far
more populous than the surrounding region, far more likely to run
out of numbers with all the new modems, fax machines, and
cellular phones people are buying there. If Southern Bell
toughens its stance based on this logical premise, it could run
head-on into the PSC. If it does not, it could run out of numbers
fast, despite the new code.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920324)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 24 Digital Access Launches Modem Replacement Products 03/24/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00015)

Digital Access Launches Modem Replacement Products 03/24/92
RESTON, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 24 (NB) -- Digital Access
has announced new products which link PCs to digital services,
including ISDN (Integrated Services Digtal Network), and can
replace modems.

The Switched 57 product line plugs into any serial port, and can
handle Switched 56, ISDN B channels, or DDS circuits, at speeds
up to 57,600 bits-per-second. No other changes are needed to a
PC or its software to use the services, the company said.

To make all this work, synchronous data services have to be
converted into asynchronous signals for use by the PCs, said Vice
President for Marketing, Thomas Miller. He said most PC
communication products, like Procomm Plus, PC Anywhere, and
Microphone, can already support the higher data rate.

Miller also said the main limit on the penetration of his product in the
market is the availability of digital services. Patents on its sync-
async technology, crucial to the Switched 57 product, are held by
the company's Chief Engineer, John Meagher, the company said.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920324/Press Contact: Peter Beck, Digital
Access, 800-666-2325)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 24  ****Caller ID Services In Trouble? 03/24/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00016)

 ****Caller ID Services In Trouble? 03/24/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 24 (NB) -- Recent events
may force the regional Bell companies to change their course and
demand federal control over the Caller ID issue.

In the past, most of the Bells, especially Bell Atlantic,
Ameritech, and BellSouth, have preferred state control over the
service, which displays a caller's number on a special box as the
call is received. These three companies want Caller ID without
restrictions, that is, without customers being allowed to block
their numbers from going out. And they felt they could win that
more easily on the state level than on the federal level.

Now they may think again. Most states which have considered the
issue have supported some form of blocking.

Recently Georgia, which originally approved an experimental
version of the service without blocking, gave its final approval to
Caller ID, but only with free per-line blocking.

In a statement on the issue last year, the Federal Communications
Commission supported per-call blocking, usually using the (star)67
keys on a touchtone key pad, but opposed per-line blocking, even
at a cost, claiming that would defeat the purpose of the service.

Now the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, in a major surprise, has
upheld a lower court and ruled that Caller ID does indeed violate the
state's anti-wiretap law. In response Bell Atlantic, which has been
aggressively promoting New Jersey's no-blocking policy, said that
it would seek to offer the service with per-call blocking. The wording
of the Pennsylvania order indicates that Call Trace, often suggested
by privacy advocates as an alternative to Caller ID for those
worried about obscene callers, might also be illegal in that
state.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920324)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 24 AT&T Still Pushing No-Fee Universal Card 03/24/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00017)

AT&T Still Pushing No-Fee Universal Card 03/24/92
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 24 (NB) -- AT&T
has launched a new campaign for its Universal Card, a
combination credit and calling card. The card, launched in 1990
with a promise that those who signed-up in the first year of its
offer would never pay an annual fee, is quietly extending the
same offer to selected good credits.

In addition to using mass mailings, based on credit reports, to
selected consumers, AT&T is planning to launch a move that will
give consumers that same free-for-life offer if they move $1,000
in revolving credit from another card, once their Universal Card
application is approved. While about eight million of the cards are
in circulation, analysts estimate, most are held by people who
pay-off their entire balances each month. That may be because
phone charges placed on the cards must be paid in full each
month, and also because AT&T targeted its offering at first to
people with good credit, people who usually pay off credit card
debt quickly anyway.

Now, with a lower prime rate allowing the company to offer a 16.4
percent rate on its floating rate Universal Card, AT&T wants to
bring in some receivables.

"Refinancing your credit card isn't any different than refinancing
your home to take advantage of lower mortgage rates," said Paul
Kahn, president, AT&T Universal Card Services, in a press
statement. The offer ends June 15, and people can apply for it by
calling 1-800-66-APPLY.

Second, AT&T has signed an affiliation agreement with American
Express, which will turn American Express Corporate Cards into
AT&T calling cards. It is an attack by both Amex and AT&T against
bank card competition. Amex has the most popular travel card in
the world, but MasterCard and Visa have both been aggressively
marketing against it. AT&T has its Universal Card credit card,
but rival phone firms have signed up rival banks in affiliation
agreements. The joint effort, called CorporateLink, will be targeted
specifically at small businesses.

From a technical point of view, the most interesting aspect of
the deal is that AT&T will run calling records through Amex
computers. American Express corporate card holders will
automatically be enrolled in the new program when they receive
a sticker next month from AT&T, which includes a calling card
number. Later they will get new cards with the new joint logo. The
cost for the new card is the $55 each, with no incremental charge
for the service or interest rates because bills must be paid at
the end of each month. The cost per card is calculated on a
sliding scale after 10 cards are purchased.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920324/Press Contact: Bruce Reid, AT&T
Universal Card Services, 904-443-8894)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 24  ****Microsoft Excel 4.0 Debuts At PC/Windows Canada 03/24/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00018)

 ****Microsoft Excel 4.0 Debuts At PC/Windows Canada 03/24/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAR 24 (NB) -- The latest
version of Microsoft's Excel spreadsheet for Windows had its
international premiere at the first PC/Windows Canada show.
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates announced Excel 4.0 at the close
of his keynote address.

Gates also said that thanks to the cross-platform development
approach Microsoft used in preparing this release, Excel 4.0 for
the Apple Macintosh will be available very soon after the
Windows version.

Lewis Levin, Microsoft's business unit manager for Excel, joined
Gates to demonstrate some of the program's new features.

They include the ability to perform "move" and "copy" operations
by "dragging and dropping" spreadsheet cells. "This is going to
make it much, much easier to create spreadsheets," Levin said.

A "data fill" capability will extrapolate data from a range of cells
to fill a larger range, following through on patterns such as "the
value in each cell being 110 percent of the value in the cell to
its left," or continuing series of labels such as the months of the
year, days of the week, or any word followed by a series of
numbers (as in Division 1, Division 2).

An auto format feature allows spreadsheet users to choose from a
series of predefined formats for their worksheets, much as styles
allow quick formatting of word processing documents. By looking at
which cells contain labels, constants, and formulas, Levin said,
Excel 4.0 can determine what to treat as a title, which rows should
be formatted as totals, and so forth.

Microsoft has also added to Excel the Wizards feature that first
appeared in its low-end Windows packages such as Publisher.
Wizards walk users through complex procedures using
predesigned dialog boxes.

In an effort to win over users of the popular Lotus 1-2-3
spreadsheet software, Microsoft has included help for 1-2-3 users,
which responds to standard 1-2-3 keystrokes by showing how to
perform the same operation in Excel. This feature actually performs
the operation while showing the relevant Excel commands.

Levin also said Excel 4.0's 1-2-3 macro interpreter can execute
most macros written for 1-2-3. "We're running better than 94
percent of the Lotus macros that we've collected, and we're
running them very fast," he said.

Another new feature, called the "scenario manager," extends the
spreadsheet's ability to try out different assumptions. Users can
enter several sets of numbers in a certain group of cells and see
the results each set of inputs will produce in other cells. Excel
4.0 can store the different "scenarios" and can present all the
different outcomes on screen at once, rather than requiring users
to change the worksheet in order to see the results of each
different set of assumptions.

Microsoft announced from its corporate headquarters in Redmond,
Washington, that Excel 4.0 for Windows will make its United States
debut at a meeting of the Boston Computer Society on March 25,
and will begin shipping in April. The Macintosh version will appear in
May, the company said. Frank Clegg, general manager of Microsoft
Canada in Mississauga, Ontario, said the shipment dates in Canada
will be the same, and a French-language version of Excel for
Windows will be available in May.

The Canadian suggested retail price is C$649. Those who have
bought the existing version of Excel for Windows since March 1
are eligible for a free upgrade, other Excel users can upgrade for
C$129, and Microsoft is offering a competitive upgrade from other
spreadsheet packages for C$149.

(Grant Buckler/19920324/Press Contact: Jonathan Sachs or Tim
Stewart, Microsoft Canada, tel [phone], fax [phone];
Monica Harrington or Marty Taucher, Microsoft, 206-882-8080)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 24 Bill Gates Talks Software Futures At PC/Windows Canada 03/24/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00019)

Bill Gates Talks Software Futures At PC/Windows Canada 03/24/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAR 24 (NB) -- Microsoft
plans to have 15 Boeing 747 jets full of the new release of its
Windows 3.1 operating environment, ready to drop off to dealers
when the product is officially released April 6, the company's
Chairman, Bill Gates, told a capacity crowd at the opening of
Canada's first PC/Windows show.

Also in April, Gates said, Microsoft will be ready to show off more
than 50 applications ready to run on Windows NT, the upcoming
portable operating system with the Windows interface.

Gates gave a brief demonstration of Windows 3.1, highlighting the
inclusion of TrueType scalable fonts, a faster program manager,
object linking and embedding, and a greater resistance to the
system-stopping unrecoverable application errors that have
plagued Windows 3.0.

Gates also touched on the "Information at Your Fingertips" he has
expounded in previous speeches, saying simple access to
information is needed to realize the real potential of personal
computers.

"When we look at our primary job, which is being an information
tool, we can say that computing today is still being very little of
that vision," he said. But he added that easy access to information
regardless of location "will not happen overnight." It will require
very high-capacity networks as well as other advances, he said.

Gates also noted that the price of personal computers has begun to
decline in practical terms. Not only is the same machine cheaper
than it was before -- something that has been true throughout the
history of personal computing -- but now the most powerful machine
today costs less than the most powerful machine did two years ago.

In January, 1990, Gates said, the most powerful machines Microsoft
was buying used 33 megahertz (MHz) Intel 80386 processors and
cost about US$6,000. Now the most powerful machines the company
is buying use 33 MHz 486 chips and cost about US$2,700.

Gates predicted the pace of change in PC hardware will accelerate
in the next few years. "There's no end in sight," he said.

(Grant Buckler/19920324)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 24  ****Summary Judgment Motions Denied In Lotus-Borland Case 03/24/92



(NEWS)(GOVT)(TOR)(00020)

 ****Summary Judgment Motions Denied In Lotus-Borland Case 03/24/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 24 (NB) -- Federal
Court, Judge Robert E. Keeton, has denied motions for summary
judgment by both parties in the software copyright lawsuit between
Lotus Development and Borland International. Lotus alleges that
Borland's Quattro Pro product infringes Lotus copyrights by imitating
that company's 1-2-3 spreadsheet software.

Judge Keeton has given the companies until April 10 to submit new
motions for summary judgment, which if granted would mean the
judge would rule on the case without a jury trial. If the judge still
denies the motion, a jury trial would proceed.

Hank Gutman, lead counsel for Lotus in the case and a partner at
the law firm O'Sullivan Graev & Karabell, said the judge denied
Lotus's motion for summary judgment because he was not satisfied
that there were no issues of fact requiring the involvement of a jury.
Gutman described this as a "procedural point." Gutman went on to
say that the judge rejected arguments Borland made for dismissing
the case.

As for the opportunity to submit further arguments for summary
judgment, Gutman said: "Obviously that's an issue that we are
looking at and seriously studying ... but nobody has any
announcements to make today."

Judge Keeton has ordered the two companies to appear in
court again on April 27.

(Grant Buckler/19920324/Press Contact: Bryan Simmons, Lotus
Development, 617-693-1697; Catherine Miller, Borland, 408-439-4691)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 24 PC/Windows Canada: SAS Previews Windows Package 03/24/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00021)

PC/Windows Canada: SAS Previews Windows Package 03/24/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAR 24 (NB) -- SAS Institute
gave visitors to the PC/Windows Canada show here a preview of the
SAS System for Information Delivery for Microsoft Windows. The new
release is due to begin shipping this fall.

The SAS System for Information Delivery is a data access and
presentation tool. Versions for DOS, OS/2, and other platforms are
already available.

Karin Edwards, a SAS Institute (Canada) sales support specialist at
the company's PC/Windows booth, told Newsbytes the Windows
version will offer more than the character-based DOS version, and
will also have some features not currently available in the OS/2
release.

One new feature in the Windows version is support for object
linking and embedding. A step beyond today's hot links between
applications, object linking and embedding lets users embed in a
file created with one application, a "live" object created in another
application. For instance, a chart created with a spreadsheet
program could not only be copied into a word processing document,
but could then be edited from within that document.

In the Windows version of the SAS System, SAS will also include
SAS/Insight, a graphic data visualization and exploration tool. A
multi-platform spreadsheet, SAS/Calc, will also be built-in, along
with SAS/EIS, an object-oriented application development
interface for creating executive information systems.

SAS Institute is a 16-year-old software developer based in Cary,
North Carolina. It is best known for statistical software which
originally ran on large mainframe computers and has more
recently become available on Unix and personal computer
systems.

(Grant Buckler/19920324/Press Contact: Rebecca Peterson,
SAS Institute (Canada), tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 24 Delrina, WordStar Officials Say Match Is Ideal For Merger 03/24/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00022)

Delrina, WordStar Officials Say Match Is Ideal For Merger 03/24/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAR 24 (NB) -- At a press
conference announcing the signing of a letter of intent to merge their
companies, officials of Delrina Technologies and WordStar
International said the deal will combine Delrina's leadership in
two promising areas of software with WordStar's international
distribution channels and famous name.

Mark Skapinker, president of Delrina, said his company has
become a major industry player over the past four years on the
strength of its leadership in forms processing and fax software.
What it lacks, he said, is the international profile and infrastructure
to sell its products worldwide.

On the other hand, said Alex Home, director of marketing for
WordStar, the venerable word-processor maker still has "good
technology, good development, and an excellent international sales
team," although he admitted it has missed opportunities and lost its
leadership in the North American word processor market. Home
pointed out, however, that WordStar is still a top-seller in some
world markets, and the company is well regarded in Europe.

Home said that for WordStar, the merger reflects a strategy aimed
at selling accessories related to document processing to those
customers who do not buy its word processing software.

Skapinker noted that WordStar makes 60 percent of its sales
outside the United States, while for Delrina the figure is only
10 percent.

Dennis Bennie, chairman of Delrina, stressed that the companies
want the transaction viewed as a merger, not an acquisition of
Delrina by WordStar. The two companies will be equally represented
on the new board and management team, he said, and the name of
the new company will be neither Delrina nor WordStar but something
new -- quite likely a combination of the two old names.

However, in technical terms the deal is an acquisition. WordStar
will issue between 11.5 million and 13 million of its shares in
exchange for all outstanding Delrina shares. The merged company
will retain WordStar's present listing on the over-the-counter
NASDAQ stock trading system in the United States and probably will
not be traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange, where Delrina's stock
is now listed. Its corporate headquarters will be in Novato,
California, where WordStar is based.

Bennie noted that Delrina has always had its sales operations in
California. Bennie also said WordStar's president and chief executive,
RonPosner, will be the "leader" of the merged firm. No further details
of executive appointments are available yet, he said.

The effect on employees' jobs at the two companies has not been
decided, Bennie said, but "there obviously are some redundancies
whenever you speak about a merger."

(Grant Buckler/19920324/Press Contact: Josef Zancowicz, Delrina
Technologies, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Kristin Keyes,
WordStar, 415-382-4955)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 24  ****EC Antitrust Complaint Filed Against British Telecom 03/24/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(00023)

 ****EC Antitrust Complaint Filed Against British Telecom 03/24/92
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1992 MAR 24 (NB) -- An antitrust complaint
running to 80 pages has been filed against British Telecom (BT)
to the European Commission (EC). The complaint, filed by a
competitor to BT, alleges that BT is running its Tymnet packet
data network (PDN) operation at predatory price levels - i.e. not
making a profit.

In addition, the complaint further alleges that BT is cross-
subsidizing its Tymnet and Global Network Service (GNS)
operations with revenue from its voice telephony operations.

BT has denied the allegations, saying in a prepared statement
that its BT Tymnet operation "operates in a fiercely competitive
sector and endeavors to ensure that it derives no unfair
competitive advantage, favored treatment or cross-subsidy by
virtue of its membership in the BT group."

According to a report in the latest Communications Week
International (CWI) newspaper, Clifford Chance, a London-based
firm of solicitors is handling the case. John Edwards of the firm
is quoted in the paper as saying the case will help to define
what is, and what is not, uncompetitive behavior.

EC officials, meanwhile, are said to be considering the complaint.
No details on whether any action is likely have been revealed.

Newsbytes notes that the EC complaint comes at a delicate time
for BT. The British government-sponsored Office of
Telecommunications (OFTEL), the UK telecoms watchdog, is
currently investigating BT, following a similar complaint by
AT&T Istel, the PDN subsidiary of the U.S. telecoms giant, AT&T.

BT's Tymnet operation spans the globe. Using the network,
subscribers, both direct and of on-line services such as Telecom
Gold and MCI Mail, can log into the network and route PDN calls
back to the UK or to other international destinations.

Placing international host-paid PDN calls was, until a few years
ago, a difficult process, owing to the complex international laws
relating to inter-country PDN services. Increasingly, with the
liberalization of the European telecoms marketplace, host-paid
calls have become the norm in the UK. Mainstream PDN services,
which previously enjoyed extra income as international
subscribers to on-line services had to subscribe to their service
as well as the on-line service required.

The EC complaint is quite complex in nature. According to CWI,
BT's competitor has collated a large amount of information on
BT's activities, particularly in the tendering for PDN service
contracts. Newsbytes notes that this area of the PDN market is
becoming increasingly competitive, owing to the recession that
is sweeping Europe.

(Steve Gold/19920324)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 24 MCI Retaliates Against AT&T's International Card Initiative 03/24/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00024)

MCI Retaliates Against AT&T's International Card Initiative 03/24/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 MAR 24 (NB) -- Following hard on the
heels of AT&T's automation of its international calling card service
for routing calls back to the US, MCI has cut its operator service
rates and staged a major mailing campaign among potential
users of its own calling card in the UK.

MCI's calling card service, like AT&T's, is linked to a major
credit card (Mastercard/Visa). Callers register their credit card
details with MCI's US operation and are sent a plastic MCI
charge card. Calls charged to the card then appear on the credit
card, along with call details on the transaction details line.

Previously, MCI's UK customers had to call the US -- at their
own expense -- to obtain a plastic card. Once the card was
obtained, no subscription was payable but calls were subject
to a three minute minimum.

These national barriers were in place, according to MCI
representatives, because of international telecommunications
regulations. Simply put, MCI did not want to make it too easy for UK
citizens to obtain an MCI calling card as BT might complain and
even force MCI to tighten its calling regulations still further.

Until quite recently, in fact, AT&T's calling card application
form requested US passport and/or social security number
details from potential applicants. The idea behind this was to
put off casual applicants who did not intend to use the card in
the US. These details have now disappeared from AT&T's card
applications and AT&T's London office staff are now keen to sign
up potential applicants.

Under the new MCI scheme, customers can now place a toll-free
call back from the UK to MCI to register their credit card details.
They are then sent an MCI card to enable them to place calls.
Calls, despite being routed through a US operator, are now
subject to one minute call minimums, much as the new AT&T
USA Direct service operates.

The AT&T service is, as previously reported by Newsbytes, now
entirely automated, just as with AT&T's domestic U.S calling
card service.

AT&T is not taking the MCI challenge lying down. In recent
descriptive literature sent to existing AT&T cardholders, the
telecommunications giant points out that it now has reciprocal
arrangements for its cardholders with British Telecom.

This means that AT&T cardholders can call the BT operator and
place operator-controlled calls to countries other than the US.
This facility is not available to MCI customers at this time
although, according to an MCI customer representative, it is
pending.

(Steve Gold/19920324/Press & Public Contact, (UK) - 0800-892-
999 for customer service; 0800-890222 for operator assistance)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 24 Olivetti Teams Up With Canon For Inkjet Printers 03/24/92


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00025)

Olivetti Teams Up With Canon For Inkjet Printers 03/24/92
MILAN, ITALY, 1992 MAR 24 (NB) -- Olivetti has announced that it
has formed a joint venture with Canon to develop and manufacture
inkjet printers.

The joint venture between the Italian and Japanese companies will
cost the companies just over $50 million each. Around half of the
$100 million generated will be spent on research and development,
despite the fact that Olivetti already has inkjet printers on sale in Italy.

Industry experts suggest that the joint initiative between the two
companies is an attempt to combat Hewlett-Packard's increasing
dominance of the inkjet printer market.

Newsbytes notes that this is not the first time that Olivetti has
teamed up with Canon on a joint venture project. In 1987, the two
companies pooled their resources on photocopying technology,
with the result that Canon now has a significant slice of the
European photocopier market.

According to Olivetti, the new operation -- which has yet to be
named -- plans to manufacturer around 200,000 inkjet printers a
year in its first year of operation, ramping up to 700,000 printers
a year once the factories get into production. No starting date for
production of the printers has yet been decided, however.

(Steve Gold/19920324)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 24 HDTV In Congress Demo Uses Japanese TV 03/24/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(WAS)(00026)

HDTV In Congress Demo Uses Japanese TV 03/24/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 24 (NB) -- The US
Congress was witness to what General Instruments claims was the
very first over-the-air broadcast and reception of a digital high
definition television, or HDTV, transmission.

Preempting regular broadcast on a local TV station for about 10
minutes because the digital HDTV signal is not compatible with
standard analog systems in use today, General Instruments
arranged with the House leadership to set up a receiving station
at the U.S. House of Representatives to demonstrate the first US
HDTV system.

Observers who attended the private showing (this was not the
first broadcast, merely the first one which was opened up to some
outside observers) said that the quality was impressive.

If an HDTV system is eventually adopted and becomes popular
with enough home viewers, the sets now in use in this country will be
incompatible with most new HDTV signals because the systems
use digital (computer) technology to provide CD-quality sound
(standard TV uses the same FM as FM radio stations) and
improved picture quality and definition.

The same TV transmitters and antennas could be used, as well
as existing TV frequencies, but additional transmitter equipment
and new cameras would also be needed.

HDTV is important because it makes use of so much advanced
computer and microprocessor technology that the countries which
develop and build the systems are expected to have a massive
advantage over other countries in many aspects of computer
and telecommunication work.

Unfortunately for all this "America First" fervor surrounding the
HDTV demonstration, the Washington Post reports that the set used
to show Congressmen the test transmission was made in Japan.
Many observers feel that even if the US effort to establish a
preeminent HDTV standard bears fruit, the real benefits will still
go to Asian companies which will actually build the massively
profitable new generation of television sets, just as they make
most of the world's conventional TV sets today, despite early
US leadership in that area.

General Instruments and the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology form one of several international teams now striving
for Federal Communications Commission approval for their
different TV standard.

Of course, even if one of the competing standards is adopted here
in the US and even in Canada, that does not mean that it will be
chosen as the European Community standard, or that which will be
used in the rest of the world.

The US TV signal and set standard currently in use is not the
same one which is used in Europe.

(John McCormick/19920324)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 24 Trade Rep Joins Academia; Was Congress Hoodwinked On MFN? 03/24/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00027)

Trade Rep Joins Academia; Was Congress Hoodwinked On MFN? 03/24/92

WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 24 (NB) -- Just as the U.S.
Trade Representative Office's head China trade negotiator Joseph
Massey has announced his intention to resign from government
work to join the faculty at Dartmouth College, there are unrelated
allegations surfacing that the administration covered up Chinese
violations of U.S. import laws during the recent battle between
the Democratic-led Congress and the Republican White House
over the continuation of "most favored nation" status for China.

CNN and other organizations are today reporting that the
Commerce Department ordered Customs officers to conceal their
knowledge that certain Chinese shoe imports were produced in
prisons, a violation of U.S. law.

Other news organizations have for many months now been reporting
on how Chinese officials ship convict-made goods through third-
party companies to conceal their origins and make it possible to
import them into the U.S. Current U.S. regulations bar any prison-
or slave-labor-produced goods from entering the U.S.

Congress recently passed a bill aimed at restricting Chinese
imports to retaliate for the closed Chinese market which does not
allow much import of goods from other countries.

President Bush vetoed the bill, saying once again that the only
way to change China is to continue doing business - "staying
engaged" is the Administration term - and encourage Chinese
officials to take steps to curb the ever-growing U.S. trade
deficit with China.

Congress lacked the votes to override the President's veto of
the proposed restrictions on China's MFN status, but today's
allegations indicate that the Commerce Department may have
been concealing even more Chinese violations of U.S. trade law
during the critical time that the bill and its veto were being
considered by U.S. lawmakers.

(John McCormick/19920324)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 24 ****Database For Windows Race Is On! Microsoft Buys Fox 03/24/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00028)

 ****Database For Windows Race Is On! Microsoft Buys Fox 03/24/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 24 (NB) -- In an
announcement that has the database world buzzing, Microsoft and
database software company Fox Software have made public a
surprise merger.

The merger will be accounted for as a pooling of interests and can
be thought of as Microsoft buying Fox Software. Microsoft says it will
exchange about 1.36 million shares of its common stock for all the
outstanding stock of Fox Software, and the exchange will most likely
be accounted for as a pooling of interests. With Microsoft's stock
valued at about $128.50, the merger is valued at about $175 million.

Fox has survived and even thrived on the adversity it was just
relieved of in Borland's purchase late last year of Ashton-Tate.
Ashton-Tate had been pursuing a roller-coaster suit against Fox
Software claiming the company's popular database language
product FoxPro was in copyright violation of its own dBASE product.

When Borland bought Ashton-Tate, Borland's President Phillip Kahn
made it clear the company did not intend to pursue the Ashton-Tate
suit and eventually the suit against Fox was dropped.

However, the race is on in the database world to see who is going to
dominate a now wide open field, in the graphical user interface
(GUI) environment.

Rumors have been circulating for over a year about Microsoft's quiet,
but intense work on a Windows database product. The rumors were
fed by a report by Steve Gibson, a columnist at InfoWorld and
president of Spinrite, that Microsoft's database group made
contributions to the company's most recent release of the DOS
operating system, DOS 5.0.

Fox was showing a prototype of FoxPro for Windows at last year's
Comdex. Mickey Friedman of public relations for Fox told Newsbytes
the Windows database product is very close to release and is still
planned to go out despite the merger.

If the merger seems sudden, that is because it is. Friedman told
Newsbytes that negotiations only first started four weeks ago when
Microsoft contacted Fulton with the idea. However, each company's
technology impressed the other, and are complementary, so the
merger just seemed to make a lot of sense, Friedman said.

Further, Dave Fulton, the architect of Fox's database products and
president of privately-held Fox Software will join Microsoft. Fulton
will become database architect of what Microsoft is announcing as
its newly formed Database and Development Tools Division.

Microsoft President Bill Gates said in a prepared statement: "Fox
offers the best database development environment for desktop
database applications across multiple platforms. It complements
our forthcoming database for Windows (codenamed Cirrus), the
Microsoft SQL Server transaction processing database server, and
our Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) technology. We soon will
be able to offer customers a complete family of...scalable database
applications and development environments."

Over time, Fox and Microsoft say the Fox development team will
combine efforts with Microsoft's, at Microsoft's Redmond, Washington,
headquarters.

Interestingly enough, Borland announced recently the new release
of dBASE IV version 1.5. In the announcement, Borland said
developers who purchase the Developer's version of the new
dBASE 1V will be able to get for free in April of this year the dBASE
for Windows Compiler. This implies dBASE for Windows will be
available in April. So it seems the race is on between Borland, known
for its own database product Paradox and for dBASE, and Microsoft.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920324/Press Contact: Mickey Friedman, Fox
Software, tel [phone], fax [phone], Liz Sidnam, Microsoft,
tel [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 24 New For Mac: Rasterops Video Board For Mac II, Quadra 03/24/92



(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00029)

New For Mac: Rasterops Video Board For Mac II, Quadra 03/24/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 24 (NB) --
Rasterops has announced, the 24MxTV video board, a new
single-slot Nubus board with 24-bit color and real-time video for
13-inch and 16-inch monitors for the Apple Macintosh II and
Quadra computer families.

The board has the distinction of being one of the few Quicktime
movie-producing boards to include a video digitizer component,
the required component for recording movies with Quicktime
software.

The user's ability to make choices is the main feature of
the new board. Alton Christensen, graphics digital editor
for NBC's telecast of the 1992 Summer Olympics said: "I like
the sheer amount of control, compared to anything else out
there."

Applications for the 24MxTV board include graphic design,
desktop video production, storyboarding, off-line video
editing, imaging, and medical visualization. Faster frame
capture speeds up to 30 frames-per-second are available in a
Quicktime window, Rasterops said.

The board also has the distinction of being compatible with
all Quicktime programs, Rasterops maintains. The company
lists some of the popular Quicktime programs as Apple
Quicktime Starter Kit, Adobe Premiere, Diva Videoshop, Aldus
Persuasion, and Macromind Mediamaker.

A 600 percent acceleration increase in the ability to display
images is incorporated via a custom application specific
integrated circuit (ASIC). The card also offers on-board
Quickdraw acceleration, block mode support, and an extended
desktop. The board block transfer support allows graphics-
intensive applications to work faster and more smoothly.

RasterOps says its latest release of Mediagrabber 2.0
software is integrated with the graphics board for making
Quicktime movies and for displaying and controlling live
video functions such as frame grabbing, sizing, and
positioning. The software also contains a control panel
device for regulating the on-board accelerator and a
monitor extension file for hardware pan, zoom, and extended
desktop.

Resolution up to 832 by 624 and bit depths of 1-, 2-, 4-, 8-,
16- and 24-bits per pixel are available, Rasterops
maintains. Users can zoom in on images up to eight times
with the built-in hardware zoom and pan. The 24MxTV supports
one S-video and one composite input in NTSC, PAL, or SECAM
formats for full-motion video display and real-time frame
capture. Rasterops said it is also capable of video output
with the RasterOps Video Expander in either NTSC or PAL
formats.

The new card retails for $2,199 with the Mediagrabber 2.0
software. Rasterops says it should be available by mid-April
1992.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920324/Press Contact: Karen Oppenheim,
Rasterops, tel [phone], fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 24 Sun Leads Workstation Pack, But Drops Prices Anyway 03/24/92


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LAX)(00030)

Sun Leads Workstation Pack, But Drops Prices Anyway 03/24/92
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 23 (NB) -- In
competition with Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and DEC, Sun Microsystems
has announced price reductions of nearly 30 percent on its high-end
three-dimensional graphics workstations and has also made cuts on
its SPARCserver 600MP Series.

The company says the cuts are to make the workstations more
affordable. However, market research firm Dataquest announced last
November that workstation sales overall were down 7.9 percent,
although shipments of low-end workstations were expected to grow.

Sun was listed as the market leader in the Dataquest survey with three
of the five top workstation models, but HP 9000 model 425 and IBM's
RS/6000 were also listed in the top 5.

Sun says its SPARCstation 2GS and 2GT are now among the least
expensive 3D solids workstations in their class. For example, the 2GS
workstation is priced at $22,495, a price Sun says any engineer can
afford and nearly 40 percent less than IBM's RS/6000 320. Sun also
boasts the 2GS is faster than the IBM workstation by 40 percent on
vector performance and 75 percent in its polygon performance.

The 600MP Series has been dropped in price up to $7,000 based
on the configuration. On the high end 690MP system, Sun has also
added two 1.3 gigabyte (GB) IPI disk drives at no additional cost.

Sun has also cut memory costs on all the reduced machines with
reductions up to 48 percent, and has dropped the price on add-on
1.3 GB disk drives $1,000. Sun also reduced prices on 19-inch
monitors.

Sun says it is proceeding with price reductions to continue serving
its customers, despite predictions of industry analysts. Mark Stahlman
an analyst with Alex, Brown & Sons Inc. said last September there was
a high probability Sun would ship more multiprocessing systems this
year than all its competitors put together. Sun added that so far
Stahlman's predictions are correct.

Sun says the price reductions are effective immediately.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920324/Press Contact: Carrie Dillon, Sun
Microsystems, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD



#CARD :1992 MAR 23 Dayna Communication To Ship New Products 03/23/92


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00001)

Dayna Communication To Ship New Products 03/23/92
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 23 (NB) -- Dayna
Communications, Inc. is in the process of fulfilling promises that
it made at the San Francisco MacWorld Expo this past January. Last
week, the company began shipping NetMounter which is its utility for
attaching Macintosh computers to a Novell Netware based network.

NetMounter sells for $99 per user with five and 10-user bundles
available for $395 and $595 respectively. The program allows
Macintosh users to attach to a Novell Netware LAN without needing
the more expensive Novell Netware Loadable Module (NLM) or Value
Added Process (VAP). When running, NetMounter shows all available
Netware servers on the Macintosh desktop in the same way that
Appleshare servers are displayed. By double-clicking on its icon, a
user can log into any available server for which he has access
privileges. All that server's directories and files are shown on the
Macintosh as folders and documents.

The user would have full use of the server by the normal Macintosh
commands and Macintosh way of doing things. One of the main
features of NetMounter is its Extension Mapping feature. With
this feature, NetMounter detects the three-character extension used
in the MS-DOS world and translates that to a Macintosh icon. So, a
particular file that resides on the MS-DOS server can be double-
clicked and opened from the Macintosh side in a compatible program.

For instance, the Macintosh user is able to edit MS-DOS files and
then save them back on the MS-DOS server in a compatible format for
the DOS users.

Newsbytes has also learned that Dayna is trying to get its SCSI-
Ethernet cards ready for shipment this week. The problem with the
products is not anything related to their operation or compatibility
but, rather, having to do with the plastic case in which the units
are to be housed. Dayna officials were hoping that these problems
would be straightened out in time for their March 25 goal to
start shipments.

The DaynaPORT SCSI/Link adapters are compact units that have two
SCSI connectors on their back panels. There is also a SCSI
terminator switch accessible. There are three basic models in the
line. The difference between them are the Ethernet connectors
that they support. Models that have a plain "link" name come
with a BNC-type connector for thin-wire connections.
Those with a Link-T label have an RJ-45 connector for 10Base-T
wiring. Link-3 labelled devices support all three types of
connectors: BNC, RJ-45, and AUI for thick-wire Ethernet.

In addition to this convention, Dayna also has a "PB" designator
on some models. This signifies the presence of the special cable
that would be needed to use these devices with the Macintosh
Powerbooks. This cable will also be offered for $30 directly from
the company as an upgrade from a non-PB model to a PB model. Prices
for the whole line are as follows:

DaynaPort SCSI/Link BNC $399

DaynaPort SCSI/Link-T RJ-45 $399

DaynaPort SCSI/Link-3 BNC, RJ-45, AUI $469

DaynaPort/Link PB BNC $429

DaynaPort/Link-T PB RJ-45 $429

DaynaPort/Link-3 PB BNC, RJ-45, AUI $499

(Naor Wallach/19920323/Press Contact: David Pascoe, Dayna
Communications, 801-531-0600)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 23 UK: Microcom MNP Class 10-Equipped Portable Modem 03/23/92

(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00002)

UK: Microcom MNP Class 10-Equipped Portable Modem 03/23/92
WOKING, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1992 MAR 23 (NB) -- Microcom has
unveiled the Microporte 1022Bis, a UK399 portable modem equipped
with V.42Bis and Microcom Network Protocol (MNP) Class 10 error
correction and data compression.

The modem's MNP Class 10 facility places the 1022Bis ahead of the
rest of the portable modems on the U.K. marketplace. Microcom was
the originator of the MNP protocol, which has to be licensed for
Class 5 and above, hence the inclusion of MNP Class 10 in the
unit.

The modem tips the scales at eight ounces and has a footprint of
11.6 x 6.9 centimeters, making it one of the smallest and
lightest in its class. According to Don Winston, Microcom U.K.'s
general manager, the modem's compact size and rich set of
features make it suitable for both mobile and desk-bound use.
"This means users can eliminate the need for separate modems,
saving on expensive equipment costs," he said.

"Unlike most internal modems, which only connect to the portables
for which they were designed, the Microporte places no
restrictions on a user, providing a more cost-effective and truly
open solution," he added.

In use, the quad standard (300 to 2,400 bits per second - bps)
modem is capable of achieving data transmissions of 9,600 bps,
thanks to the data compression features of V.42Bis. MNP Class 10,
meanwhile, allows the modem to used effectively on the cellular
telephone networks.

MNP Class 10 has several features, including automatic fall back
and forward, which reduces the modem's transmission speed in the
event of line noise or adverse line conditions, and then quickly
recovers the original speed when line conditions improve.

Power on the Microporte 1022Bis is from a variety of sources,
including rechargeable batteries, which give up to two hours of
continuous data transmission. A sleep mode maximizes battery time
when the modem is not in active use.

(Steve Gold/19920320/Press & Public Contact: Microcom U.K. - Tel:
0483-740763)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 23 New Product: Mitsubishi Diamondscript A3 Postscript Printer 03/23/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00003)

New Product: Mitsubishi Diamondscript A3 Postscript Printer 03/23/92
HATFIELD, HATFIELD, ENGLAND, 1992 MAR 23 (NB) -- Mitsubishi has
unveiled an A3/A4 size Postscript compatible color printer which
works to 300 x 300 dots-per-inch (dpi) standards.

The color facilities on the Diamondscipt G650-40B bump the
printer's price up to UKP 10,995. For the money, buyers get a
16.67MHz 68020 microprocessor-based unit with 8 megabytes (MB) of
memory. Also included in the firmware of the printer are 35 Adobe
Postscript typefaces which allow relatively complex typefaces to
be printed out.

The printer features Appletalk, RS232 and Centronics interfaces
to allow data to be fed in from most computers, as well as
networks (Novell, IBM Token Ring, Appletalk, Tops and 3Com
standards) and modems.

According to Mitsubishi, the printer's small size -- 531 x 564 x
483 millimetres -- means that it can be used almost anywhere. In
addition, the printer accepts downloadable typefaces and
multilingual character sets, making it suitable for use in a
variety of situations, the company claims.

(Steve Gold/19920320/Press & Public Contact: Mitsubishi Electric
- Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 23 Canada: Software Center Seeks Funding 03/23/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00004)

Canada: Software Center Seeks Funding 03/23/92
MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA, 1992 MAR 23 (NB) -- A group of private
companies and a research center in Montreal are seeking
government funding to set up an agency that would assist software
developers.

The Centre de recherche informatique de Montreal (CRIM) and six
Quebec companies active in software development have created the
Applied Software Engineering Centre (ASEC). The center was set up
as a division of CRIM in October. Its six founding members are CAE
Electronics, Canadair, Keops Informatique, Oerlikon Aerospace,
Paramax Systems Canada, and Spar Aerospace.

ASEC expects revenues from the sale of services to cover a bit more
than a third of its estimated $6.7 million in operating costs over
the first five years, according to a proposal submitted to
government officials. ASEC and CRIM are asking for a total of $4
million in federal and provincial funding to cover the balance of
the costs. Of that, $1 million would come from the province and the
balance from the federal government.

Due to be fully operational in June, ASEC will help its members
assess their software engineering processes and evaluate
contractors' competence, and it will provide consulting services.
Major Claude Laporte, interim director of the project, said the
center plans to apply an evaluation technique developed at the
Software Engineering Institute of Carnegie-Mellon University in
Pittsburgh, widely used in the United States to assess
organizations' ability to produce software.

ASEC also plans to provide a variety of courses and seminars, and
hopes to coordinate a cooperative university-level degree program
in software engineering. Further, it will help members keep up to
date on new technologies and operate special interest groups.

ASEC's founders are large companies, and initially its services
will be geared mainly to larger organizations. In the future, said
Laporte, ASEC hopes to make its services available to smaller
software developers as well.

Laporte said ASEC is not a Quebec-only organization: membership is
open to all Canadian companies. Annual membership fees will be on
a sliding scale ranging from $2,500 for firms with annual revenues
under $2.5 million to $20,000 for those whose annual sales top $20
million.

(Grant Buckler/19920320/Press Contact: Claude Laporte, ASEC,
514-358-2000 ext. 2335, fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 23 3M, Wesco To Develop Film Scanner for Electronic Imaging 03/23/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00005)

3M, Wesco To Develop Film Scanner for Electronic Imaging 03/23/92
ST PAUL, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 23 (NB) -- 3M has announced
that it has signed an agreement for California-based West
Coast Information Systems (WESCO) to develop a film scanning station
for use with electronic image management (EIM) systems.

According to the 3M announcement, this will be the first product
that allows users to inexpensively access existing microfilm
archives within an imaging system.

Electronic imaging systems store letters, checks, and other documents
as graphic images, for storage and retrieval. Systems such as the
one being announced by 3M will allow documents previously
photographed and stored on microfilm to be transferred to the newer
electronic imaging storage systems.

Under the agreement, WESCO will develop a microfilm digitizing
station based on 3M's 7710 reader scanner, for use in EIM systems.
The digitizing station will capture roll film and microfiche frames
as digital images, format the images to the specification of the
target EIM system, and then pass them via a network to the EIM
system.

3M said that because the digitizing station is directly connected to
the imaging system network, users will be able to get rapid
on-demand access to documents archived on film.

According to the announcement from 3M, the first configuration of
the product will be for direct-connect to a FileNet imaging system.
Following its release, 3M said configurations for directly
connecting to IBM ImagePlus and other EIM systems will be available.

(Jim Mallory/19920323/Press contact: Peggy Oklof, 3M, 612-736-7646)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 23 Micron Technology Reports Earnings of $1.5M For 2Q 03/23/92



(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00006)

Micron Technology Reports Earnings of $1.5M For 2Q 03/23/92
BOISE, IDAHO, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 23 (NB) -- Micron Technology released
its financial results for the second quarter, reporting net income
of $1.5 million on sales of $128.2 million. Sales were up 73
percent from $94.5 million for the same period last year.

According to the company's statement, net sales for the six month
period ending March 5 totaled $240 million, compared to $174.8
million for the first six months of the 91 fiscal year. For the
second fiscal quarter last year, Micron recorded a net loss of $2.2
million and a net loss of $11.5 million, or $0.31 per share, for the
first six months of FY 91.

Micron said the improved net sales and net income were principally
the result of increased production efficiencies for the company's
DRAM and SRAM products. Production volumes of the 4 meg DRAMs
have reportedly increased as Micron continues to convert resources
previously used to produce 1 meg DRAM chips to four megabit production.

Micron spokesperson Kipp Bedard told Newsbytes that the demand for 4
meg (megabit) chips is increasing, but 1 meg chips are still more
popular because they allow more flexibility in configuring a system
with the desired amount of memory. It takes nine 1-megabit (meg)
chips to make up 1M (megabyte) of RAM (random access memory). Using
4-megabit chips would require the system to be configured for a
minimum of 4M.

Micron, concerned about the continued price pressures throughout the
industry said it remains cautious about the global economy, and will
continue to focus on decreasing costs through improving the
efficiency of its manufacturing procedures.

(Jim Mallory/19920323/Press contact: Kipp Bedard, 208-368-4400.

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 23 New For PC: Letters For Hell-Raisers 03/23/92


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00007)

New For PC: Letters For Hell-Raisers 03/23/92
HIAWATHA, IOWA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 23 (NB) -- Parsons Technology has
announced the release of Personal Advocate, a software package the
company said is designed to help consumers cut through red tape to
get action, receive information, or express their views.

Want to write to a member of Congress? Complain to a business? Get
your name removed from a mailing list? Personal Advocate will
generate about 40 different letters to do those things and lots
more. There's also a free form letter that lets you create
personalized documents.

Parsons said the letters are all attorney-designed, and the program
also provides a user-modifiable database which can store about 2500
contacts, including names, addresses, and telephone numbers.

Some of the more interesting form letters are a request for personal
records from the FBI or CIA; a request for information about a
state's "Lemon Laws"; requests for birth, death, marriage, or
marriage dissolution certificates; and several letters to appeal or
complain about Medicare.

The database portion of Personal Advocate contains listings for all
the state attorneys general, Better Business Bureau, and state
consumer protection offices, as well as the consumer contacts in a
number of major corporations. Also listed are credit bureau
companies, vital statistics offices, federal agencies, veterans
affairs offices, members of congress, and governors. Health,
environmental and social welfare organizations are also included.

Personal advocate has several handy utilities, including a math
calculator, notepad, calendar, DOS Shell and resizeable windows.

Parsons' spokesperson Anne Rawland old Newsbytes that Personal
Advocate will run on just about any IBM-compatible personal
computer as long as it has at least 512K of RAM (random access
memory), and a hard disk. A mouse is supported, but not required.
The package has a suggested list price of $69.

Personal Advocate can be ordered direct from Parsons Technology by
calling 800-223-6925. Dealers desiring information about
distributing the program should call 800-883-3241 or fax
319-395-0386.

You can also look for Parsons to release several programs, including
upgraded and new church and utility programs, soon. Newsbytes has
also learned that the long awaited MoneyCounts version 7.0 should
come to market in June of this year.

(Jim Mallory/19920323/Press contact: Anne Rawland, Parsons
Technology, 319-395-9626,FAX [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 23 Microsoft Names New Support Chief 03/23/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00008)

Microsoft Names New Support Chief 03/23/92
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 23 (NB) -- Microsoft has
announced the promotion of Patty Stonesifer to the position of vice
president, Microsoft Support.

Ms. Stonesifer joined Microsoft in 1988 as director of sales for
Microsoft Press and a year later become its general manager. In
1990 she was promoted to general manager, Microsoft Canada. Last
year, she returned to the US to become general manager for product
support services. Prior to joining Microsoft, Stonesifer was
employed at computer book publisher Que Corporation.

The statement released by Microsoft announcing Stonesifer's
promotion said that Stonesifer's title change reflects both the
importance the company places on support, and the impact she has had
during her tenure as general manager of that department. Stonesifer
will continue to report to Jeff Raikes, senior VP, US.

Stressing the importance Microsoft places on customer support,
chairman Bill Gates said in a prepared statement, "I view Patty
as the champion of the customer inside Microsoft. Under her
direction, we have added a third support site in Chairman Colinas,
Texas, and greatly expanded our staff in both Bellevue, Washington,
and Charlotte, North Carolina, doubling the number of customers
receiving technical support."

The company said it receives request for support from over 14,000
customers each day, ranging from the MIS organization with a mission
critical LAN to an individual managing family finances with programs
such as Microsoft Money. Microsoft provides support through support
specialists handling telephone requests, automated answers to
frequently asked questions, fax inquiries, and through a recently
added TDD facility to handle support requests from the hearing
impaired.

Microsoft said Stonesifer's group has grown from 700 to nearly 1,200
employees in the past year. In the US, about one-sixth of the
Microsoft staff is engaged in support activities.

(Jim Mallory/19920323/Press contact: Sarah Charf, Microsoft,
206-882-8080)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 23 Bells Fund Anti-Newspaper Study 03/23/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00009)

Bells Fund Anti-Newspaper Study 03/23/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 MAR 23 (NB) -- Monopoly newspapers
are reaping monopoly profits from advertisers, while Bell company
electronic yellow pages services could provide competition. So
said a study funded by the seven regional Bell companies,
aimed at holding off moves in Congress to take them out of the
information business.

In Atlanta, Southern Bell and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
are already competing in this area. Both have audiotex services --
the phone company's is based on its Yellow Pages book while the
newspaper's is based on its classified ad section. Both also offer
horoscopes and other information products, free.

Dick Yarbrough of BellSouth identified Atlanta as a monopoly news
market, but that's really a misnomer, and Atlanta may in fact be
typical. While the Atlanta newspapers are the only daily papers
based downtown, there is a thriving daily in suburban Cobb
County, the Gwinnett Daily News has expanded throughout the
northern suburbs, even into Atlanta's DeKalb County, and the
Creative Loafing entertainment weekly has a circulation of
125,000. However, none of those outlets offers a powerful
audiotex competitor like the newspapers' 222-2000.

The Bell study may end up filed under the category of lobbying,
rather than science, since it was conducted at the congressional
district level, according to a press release from the Bells, and
distributed on Capitol Hill as part of the Bells' push against
the "Cooper bill" and other proposals to limit their moves into
the information business.

The study, prepared by Policy Communications, claims daily
monopoly papers raise classified advertising rates between 26
and 45.9 percent faster than competitive papers, and raise daily
retail advertising rates between 12 percent and 21.7 percent
faster than their competitive counterparts.

Policy Communications President William Lilley III, in a press
statement, said there are only 11 competitive newspaper markets
left in the U.S., and compared the Cooper bill supporters to
newspaper barons who opposed radio in the 1930s, ignoring that
online services like CompuServe and AT&T itself are also on the
other side. "The newspapers, particularly in classified ads, have
a monopoly and they don't want competition," he said.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920320/Press Contact: Peter M. Lincoln,
Ameritech, 202-955-3058; Larry Plumb, Bell Atlantic, 703-974-
5446; Bill McCloskey, BellSouth, 202-463-4129; Bob Jasinski,
NYNEX, 202-416-0125; Janice Rylander, Pacific Telesis, 202-383-
6431; Joyce Taylor, Southwestern Bell, 202-293-8553; Blair
Johnson, U S WEST, 202-429-3105)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 23 Fax Investment Service Offers Mailboxes 03/23/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00010)

Fax Investment Service Offers Mailboxes 03/23/92
HARPER WOODS, MICHIGAN, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 23 (NB) -- World Data
Delivery Systems, which offers a fax-on-demand system to
investors, has expanded into general fax mailboxes, and
publicized it with a service centered around the Michigan
primary.

Managing partner John Albright gave one of his fax mailboxes to
the Detroit Free Press, which regularly posted updated results
from the Michigan presidential primary on the system between 9 PM
and 2 AM. It was a move to publicize WDDS' new Fax America
service, which offers fax-on-demand mailboxes to businesses for
just $99 down and $20 per month.

Businesses would post specials or information in the mailboxes,
and publicize the number, urging that callers receive the data
through their fax machines, Allbrand explained. The information
can be updated easily, just by sending a fax to the box after
entering a security code. In addition to offering the service
through regular phone lines, WDDS also has the capability to
set up boxes through toll-free 800, or caller-paid, 900, lines.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920320/Press Contact: John Allbrand, WDDS,
313-886-8600)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 23 Tulip Computers Joins Novell Certification Scheme 03/23/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(BRU)(00011)

Tulip Computers Joins Novell Certification Scheme 03/23/92
HANNOVER, GERMANY, 1992 MAR 23 (NB) -- Tulip Computers International
announced at the Cebit show in the Hanover Messe that it had
joined the Novell Certification Alliance, which will allow it
to conduct in-house NetWare compatibility testing and thus be
able to put NetWare compatible programs on the market much more
quickly.

"By joining the Alliance, Netware compatibility testing will become
an intrinsic part of the Tulip product development cycle," said
Tom Heijnen, product marketing manager (networks) of the
Netherlands-based company.

Phil Rowley, manager of Novell Labs Europe, mentioning that Tulip
was one of the first European companies in the scheme, said,
"Tulip Computers has been a long-standing participant in Novell's
certification program, with a solid commitment to standards,
quality and innovation."

Tulip products that meet certification requirements will be listed
in the Novell Labs (IMSP) certification index.

Tulip also announced the release of version 2.1 of its client-server
network operating system LAN Manager. Improvements over the previous
version include an easier installation procedure, a better
integration into the Windows environment, the possibility to
manage a Novell network, and connection between several sites using
the inter-network protocol TCP/IP.

OS2 1.31 is supplied as standard with LAN Manager.

(Peter Jones/19920318 Press contact: Steven Noorts,
Communications Manager, Tulip Computers,Tel [phone], Fax
[phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 23  ****Japan: New Satellite Broadcasting Businesses Discussed 03/23/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00012)

 ****Japan: New Satellite Broadcasting Businesses Discussed 03/23/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAR 23 (NB) -- Japan Broadcasting Corporation
(NHK) and Japan Satellite Broadcasting (JSB) are talking about
a new service involving satellite broadcasting on television.
Both firms seek to employ the unused area of satellite TV
broadcasting signals.

Through satellite TV broadcasting, they could deliver various data
including fax, computer software, and music. The data is sent in
"packets" at a speedy transmission rate of 4,800 megabits
per second. As a result, an enormous volume of data can be sent
through this system.

The most lucrative service may be home shopping which would involve
the sale of game and music software. Some gamemakers are reportedly
already considering involvement in the venture.

Both firms have investigated the technology, nearly have a system
operational, and plan to test it this fall. Currently, they need
government approval to begin.

The companies envision this broadcasting service as a big money-
maker in the future. They will create a new, separate firm to
operate the system.

In order to receive the signals, consumers would need to purchase
a proprietary data decoder and a security card. There is still
no final word on what fees might be charged to access the service.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920323/Press Contact: NHK, [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 23 Next-Generation ROM-RAM Memory Developed: Partial ROM Disk 03/23/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00013)

Next-Generation ROM-RAM Memory Developed: Partial ROM Disk 03/23/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAR 23 (NB) -- Fujitsu has developed an optical
disk, which has both a RAM (random access memory) and ROM (read only
memory) area. This represents a world first for this technology.
Fujitsu calls it the "Partial ROM disk" (P-ROM).

The P-ROM has two different memory areas on the disk. The outer side
of the disk is designated as the ROM area, and the inner side of
the disk is designated as the RAM area.

So far, it has not been possible for a single disk to have two
different memory areas. But Fujitsu claims to have come up with the
technology to realize it. Fujitsu has already submitted the
technology to the International Standardization Organization (ISO).
According to an industry watcher, it is expected to be accepted as
a standard soon.

The big advantage to P-ROM, according to the Nikkan
Kogyo newspaper, is that the applications for it can be
operated on different types of personal computers. Due to the fact
that they all have the same logical format, the programs can be
compatible on a variety of computers. So, for instance, an
application running on NEC's PC-9801 should also run on Apple's
Macintosh. It can also be run on the IBM PC and Unix machines.

The P-ROM will be sold with several programs that will be
bundled on the disk. The first P-ROM is expected to be released
from Fujitsu at the end of April. The price is still unknown.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920323/Press Contact: Fujitsu, +81-3-3215-
5236)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 23  ****LCD With Floppy Disk Drive Debuts 03/23/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00014)

 ****LCD With Floppy Disk Drive Debuts 03/23/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAR 23 (NB) -- Internics, an office equipment
maker, has developed a liquid crystal display with built-in floppy
disk drives. A maximum of two floppy disk drives can accompany
the LCD device, called the PDM 500. It is designed to save space
for small offices.

Internics' versatile LCD is equipped with two 3.5-inch floppy
disks drives on the side of the screen. Even though it sports
these drives, the LCD is only about 3-cm thick. It can be
connected with a personal computer via the keyboard. The screen
supports 640 pixels x 400 lines, which is a standard of Japanese
personal computers. It is a white-mode screen; its size is 10.7
inches. The device accepts RGB (red-green-blue) signals.

This LCD can be used with NEC's PC-9801. It is expected that
versions for other personal computers will be released later,
depending on the sales.

The retail price of this LCD is 168,000 yen ($1,300) with two
disk drives. The single disk model costs 148,000 yen ($1,150).

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920000/Press Contact: Internics, +81-3-3369-
1101)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 23 Japan: PC-VAN And Nifty-Serve Offer New Services 03/23/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00015)

Japan: PC-VAN And Nifty-Serve Offer New Services 03/23/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAR 23 (NB) -- Japan's major personal computer
network PC-VAN will start a serial novel service called "On-line
Magazine" this April. Popular Japanese novelists including Mariko
Ohara and Hiroko Taniyama will be writing for PC-VAN users.
The additional fee of 30 yen (20 cents) per minute is charged for
this service.

NEC, which is the operator of PC-VAN, is also planning to provide
a variety of online magazines in the near future. These will include
essays and science fiction. These magazines will be interactive,
inviting the participation of users in the stories and
will be designed to compete with simulation games. The majority
of PC-VAN users are students to whom these online magazines
are designed to appeal.

Meanwhile, Nifty-Serve, which is PC-VAN's rival network, is trying
to hook a different fish in Japan -- fish dealers. The network
has just added a new fish market information service run by
the world's largest fish market -- Tsukiji in Tokyo. The information
will cover spot prices and future prices of various fish.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920223/Press Contact: PC-VAN, [phone],
fax, [phone], Nifty-Serve, [phone], fax, +81-3-
5471-5890)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 23  ****Breakthrough ESPRIT Research To Be Shown At Conference 03/23/92


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(BRU)(00016)

 ****Breakthrough ESPRIT Research To Be Shown At Conference 03/23/92
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1992 MAR 23 (NB) -- The European Community's
ESPRIT program will be running a workshop and presenting an
exhibition on its basic research during the 12th Annual Conference
of the Condensed Matter Division of the European Physical Society
(EPS), which will be held in Prague, Czechoslovakia from 6 through 9
April 1992.

Several ESPRIT II projects in microelectronics will be shown,
including the results of research into nanoelectronics
(including the one-electron transistor), optics and optical
computing, optoelectronics, controlled semiconductor processing,
and VLSI design training.

Also shown will be developments in the area of organics. One
of these projects, jointly undertaken by organizations in France,
Denmark and Portugal, has the goal of controlling and
understanding all the factors governing the flow of
electrons in organic conductors and superconductors, which is
necessary before they can be used as microelectronic components.

Dr. Ingo Hussla, spokesman for the Basic Research unit, said that
Professor Georges Metakides, head of the Basic Research Division of
ESPRIT, will be giving an evening plenary talk on the subject of
science in changing Europe, with reference to the impact of the
agreement reached in Maastricht last year by the member states of
the European Community.

(Peter Jones/19920323 Press contact: I. Hussla
Tel. [phone]; Fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 23 ESPRIT: CIM-Europe Conference in U.K. 03/23/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(BRU)(00017)

ESPRIT: CIM-Europe Conference in U.K. 03/23/92
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM MAR 23, 1992 (NB) -- Experts will be gathering in
Birmingham, United Kingdom between the 27 and 29 May 1992 for the
annual CIM-Europe Conference under the umbrella of the European
Community's ESPRIT program.

Attention will be focussed on the application of computer-integrated
manufacturing and engineering (CIME) in industrial environments.
The conference gives an opportunity for CIME practitioners,
designers and researchers to meet. It aims to report on the most
modern CIM technology, to provide a forum for exchange of experience
in CIME development and implementation, and to offer an update of
the results of ESPRIT's CIME program. CIM-Europe will include
contributions from experts, presentations by selected authors,
workshops, and technical visits.

(Peter Jones/19920323 Press contact: CIM-Europe Mrs. Heather Bell
Tel. [phone]; Fax [phone])

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 23 Venue Set For Next Freedom/Privacy Conference 03/23/92


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00018)

Venue Set For Next Freedom/Privacy Conference 03/23/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 MAR 23 (NB) -- Lance Hoffman,
conference chair of the 2nd Conference on Computers, Freedom &
Privacy (CFP-2), says the conference's steering committee has
selected San Francisco to be the site of the 1993 conference
and Bruce Koball, president of Motion West, will serve as
the conference chair.

Koball was an active participant in CFP-1, held in San Francisco in
March 1991 and chaired by Jim Warren, and CFP-2, and was
instrumental in the arrangement for audio and video recording of
both conferences.

CFP-2 was held in Washington from March 18th to 20th at the
Loews' L'Enfant Plaza. The keynote speaker for the conference was
Allen H. Neuharth, chairman of The Freedom Forum and USA Today,
and the speaker for the main luncheon event was Bruce Sterling,
science fiction author and journalist.

Donald Delaney, New York State Police senior investigator and an
attendee at both conferences, discussed CFP-2 with Newsbytes,
saying, "It was a great pleasure seeing people that I hadn't seen
since the last conference; people from all over the spectrum -- law
enforcement, computer professionals and hackers. I was presently
surprised that it was as electric as last year's. There were new
topics to discuss and the tutorials were extremely well done."

Simona Nass, a first-year law student at New York's Benjamin
Cardoza School of Law and a recipient of a scholarship to attend CFP-
2, commented to Newsbytes on the conference, saying, "I thought it
was wonderful because it was a real thinking conference. It was not
only it was the panelists that were fascinating; it was all of the
attendees. Just being in such an environment for three days was
tremendous and I'm really grateful for the scholarship that allowed
me to attend."

Nass added that she will be reporting on the conference for her law
school newsletter and that Mike Godwin, EFF in-house counsel and an
attendee at the conference, has agreed to speak at an upcoming
meeting of Cardoza's recently formed Computer Law Society.

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/Press Contact: Dianne
Martin, The George Washington University, 202-994-
8238/19920323)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 23  ****Freedom/Privacy Conference Report 03/23/92



(NEWS)(TRENDS)(NYC)(00019)

 ****Freedom/Privacy Conference Report 03/23/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 MAR 23 (NB) -- Allen H. Neuharth,
chairman of the Freedom Forum and Founder of USA Today, in a
speech delivered at the Second Conference on Computers, Freedom &
Privacy (CFP-2), took issue with the American Newspaper Publishers
Association's (ANPA) opposition to the entrance of Baby Bells into
the electronic information business.

In his speech, Neuharth also attacked both what he described as a
concern for privacy "that is overrated" and the use of anonymous
sources by journalists.

Neuharth outlined the scope of his speech at the very beginning,
saying: "Your tutorials this morning undoubtedly have your thoughts
headed in several directions or principles. But I'm going to focus
on three that I hope you might include in your broader discussions
over the next few days.

"No. 1: First Amendment freedoms are for everyone. Those in the
electronic publishing business -- or those who want to get into it --
should not be shoved to the back of the free-press bus. No one, least
of all newspaper publishers, should relegate anyone, even
competitors to the status of second-class citizens when it comes to
the first amendment.

"No. 2: Much of our concern for privacy is overrated and/or
misplaced. If that passion for privacy is pushed too far, our
democracy, which depends on an informed and participatory
citizenry, will be in danger of faltering or falling.

"No. 3: Publishing or otherwise distributing misinformation is a far
greater danger than any overkill of information. And some of our
most prestigious publications are as guilty of that as the sleazy
tabloids."

Neuharth, himself a former chairman of ANPA, took strong issue with
the association's position and said, "I'll let you in on a little
secret: Not all newspaper publishers are happy with the position
being taken by ANPA. And most newspaper editors are downright
aghast at it."

The comments on privacy include references to the government "that
collects and manipulates personal data" as the greatest threat to
individual privacy. He concludes, "So, it seems to me that common
sense, judicious use of the courts and an emphasis on ethics and
safe practices by the computer community -- not more laws -- will
give us the best answer to our concerns about privacy."

Neuharth's comments on misinformation centered primarily on an
admonition to the press to abandon the use of anonymous or "so-
called confidential sources."

Neuharth said, "Three things generally happen when reporters are
permitted to use unnamed sources. The source often tells more
than he or she knows. The reporter writes more than he or she hears.
The public doesn't believe it. Readers and viewers think that the
reporter who doesn't name sources made it up. And often they're
right!"

Neuharth added, "More often than not, anonymous sources provide
misinformation that does irreparable damage to the targets. Or the
use of such confidential sources enables some reporters and editors
to simply substitute fiction for fact."

During the question and answer session following the speech, Steve
Levy, MacWorld columnist, asked Neuharth whether there was a
study that supported Neuharth's contentions concerning the use of
anonymous sources. Neuharth referred to libel cases that had
resulted from newspaper uses of such quotes and cited his "50 years
of experience" as the expertise behind his statement.

Levy told Newsbytes, "While I have 15 years of experience
rather that 50, my feeling is that the vast majority of journalists
are responsible about unattributed quotes. One may wonder about the
motives of the source of such quotes but I feel that the quotes found
in the papers cited by Mr. Neuharth (ED: - The Washington Post and
New York Times) may be considered to be accurate."

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/Press Contact: Shinji
Morokuma, The Freedom Forum, 703-284-2803/19920323)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 23 EFF's First Pioneer Awards 03/23/92



(NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00020)

EFF's First Pioneer Awards 03/23/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 MAR 23 (NB) -- The Electronic
Frontier Foundation (EFF) has presented its first Pioneers Awards to
five individuals who it feels "have made a substantial contribution to
the health, growth, accessibility, or freedom of computer-based
communications."

The awards, presented at the Second Conference on Computers, Freedom
& Privacy (CFP-2) held in Washington, DC, were awarded to Douglas
Engelbart, Robert Kahn, Tom Jennings, Jim Warren, and Andrzej
Smereczynski. The judges for this year's awards were: Dave Farber of
the University of Pennsylvania Computer Science Department;
Howard Rheingold, editor of The Whole Earth Review; Vint Cerf, head
of CNRI; Professor Dorothy Denning Chair of George Washington
University's Computer Science Department; Esther Dyson, editor of
Release 1.0, Steve Cisler of Apple Computer, and John Gilmore of
Cygnus Support.

Gerard Van der Leun, EFF's director of communications, began the
award ceremony but was interrupted by a "Star Trek" skit in which
CFP-2 Conference Chair Lance Hoffman, playing Captain Kirk, and
George University professor Dianne Martin, playing Uhura, had their
mission intercepted by an alien presence, "MKA4," played by FBI
agent Michael Gibbons, a panel moderator at the conference. After
determining that the intentions of the Enterprise and, therefore,
members of the Federation was honorable, MKA4 allowed the
mission to continue its attempt to civilize cyberspace. The Star Trek
crew then blasted off, returning control to Van der Leun. (The EFF
Director of Communications later denied to Newsbytes that he had, as
some suggested, scripted the Enterprise Mission.)

Van der Leun then introduced EFF co-founder Mitchell Kapor to
make the presentations. Kapor introduced the winners as follows:

"Douglas Engelbart is one of the original moving forces in the
personal computer revolution who is responsible for many
ubiquitous features of today's computers, such as the mouse, the
technique of windowing, display editing, hypermedia, groupware and
many other inventions and innovations. He holds more than 20
patents and is widely recognized in his field as one of our era's
true visionaries.

"Robert Kahn was an early advocate and prime mover in the creation
of ARPANET which was the precursor of today's Internet. Since the
late 60s and early 70s, Mr. Kahn has constantly promoted and
tirelessly pursued innovation and heightened connectivity in the
world's computer networks.

"Tom Jennings started the Fidonet international network. Today it is
a linked network of amateur electronic bulletin board systems (BBSs)
with more than 10,000 nodes worldwide and it is still growing. He
contributed to the technical backbone of this system by writing the
FIDO BBS program as well as to the culture of the net by pushing for
development and expansion since the early days of BBSing. He is
currently editor of FidoNews, the network's electronic newsletter.

"Jim Warren has been active in electronic networking for many
years. Most recently he has organized the First Computers, Freedom
and Privacy Conference, set up the first online public dialogue link
with the California legislature, and has been instrumental is assuring
that rights common to older mediums and technologies are extended
to computer networking.

"Andrzej Smereczynski is the administrator of the PLEARN node of
the Internet and responsible for the extension of the Internet into
Poland and other east European countries. He is the person directly
responsible for setting up the first connection to the West in post-
Communist Middle Europe. A network "guru," Mr. Smereczynski has
worked selflessly and tirelessly to extend the technology of
networking as well as its implicit freedoms to Poland and
neighboring countries."

Each of the recipients, upon receiving the award, made a brief speech
thanking EFF. Van der Leun told Newsbytes that Smereczynski had
come to the United States specifically for the awards ceremony and
would remain in the US for a short tour.

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/Press Contact: Gerard Van
der Leun, Electronic Frontier Foundation, 617-864-0665 (voice);
[e-mail] (e-mail)/19920323)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 23  ****AT&T Gets $1.4 Billion Contract To Modernize IRS 03/23/92


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00021)

 ****AT&T Gets $1.4 Billion Contract To Modernize IRS 03/23/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 23 (NB) -- The Internal Revenue
Service has again awarded the $1.4 billion Treasury Multiuser
Acquisition Contract or TMAC to AT&T. The agency had originally
made the same award last year but, because AT&T did not submit
the low bid, both IBM and defense contractor Lockheed protested
the award before the General Accounting Office - an oversight
agency charged with auditing contracts.

The TMAC covers sale, installation, and training related to the
modernization of IRS computer systems. The AT&T bid covered sale
and support of 50,000 personal computers, 3,200 Pyramid
Technology minicomputers, and the technology needed to link all
of them together in a POSIX (the Portable Operating System
Interface for Unix standard set by the IEEE)-compliant system.

Last summer, Ohio Democratic Senator John Glenn, chairman of the
Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, requested that the GAO's
Information Management and Technology Division investigate the
IRS's TMAC award to AT&T. This followed a letter Glenn wrote to
Treasury Secretary Nicholas Brady in February, 1991, which
criticized the IRS for apparently trying to circumvent contract
oversight by the GAO.

In that same letter Senator Glenn also expressed concerns about
meetings between Treasury and Office of Management and Budget
officials. The letter claims the officials met "to discuss ways
to circumvent the procedural requirements of the Brooks Act ...
and effectively extricate Treasury from procurement oversight."

Michigan Democratic Representative John Conyers Jr., chairman of
the House Government Operations Committee, expressed similar
concerns last year during a hearing when he questioned Internal
Revenue Service requests for special General Services
Administration oversight of Tax System Modernization.

Last September the GAO's Board of Contract Appeals upheld the
July 25, 1991, protest filed by Lockheed and IBM, throwing out
the original July 15, 1991, IRS award to AT&T on the grounds that
the IRS had not justified its decision to go with the high
bidder.

The difference between the two protestors' contract bids and the
bid from AT&T which was accepted by the IRS isn't an
insignificant amount. AT&T's bid would involve a total of $1.43
billion, the largest single AT&T contract ever, while IBM's bid
on the same contract was for less than half that amount.

Lockheed's bid came in between the other two, about 40 percent
lower than the AT&T bid, at $900 million.

The Treasury Department defended the award to AT&T, saying that,
although it wasn't the least expensive, it did provide the best
value when they considered total management and support
capabilities as well as the potential for increased IRS employee
productivity under the AT&T contract.

IBM has stated publicly that it doesn't understand how the IRS
can justify spending $700 million more on the AT&T contract when
all three met the same written requirements.

At the time of the GAO contract board's rejection of the AT&T
contract, Gerald W. Ebker, IBM vice president and Federal Sector
Division president, said, "The heart of our case was that the IRS
had failed to justify the enormous price difference. We offered
Treasury a high-quality solution at one-half the price."

IBM has never contended that the AT&T system wasn't technically
superior, just that its own system was configured to meet the
requirements in the original contract as specified by the
Treasury. At the time of the award to AT&T there was considerable
consternation that the high bidder had so far exceeded the
contract's requirements and many people were asking whether IBM
would have won if it had offered an even better system that cost
perhaps $3 billion and exceeded the contract requirements even
further.

IBM and Lockheed have not yet stated whether they will protest
this second award to AT&T.

The full tax system modernization project is expected to cost in
the vicinity of $8 billion.

The IRS has been roundly criticized for its ADP modernization (or
lack of it) from within the other branches of government, and
even from outsiders such as H. Ross Perot, who told the National
Press Club last week that the agency should get on with it
because there are estimates that a modern computer system could
increase tax income by up to $100 billion.

The IRS request for bids was intentionally made very vague,
allowing companies to come up with their own solutions.

(John McCormick/19920323)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 23 Borland Ships Newest dBASE 03/23/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00022)

Borland Ships Newest dBASE 03/23/92
SCOTTS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 23 (NB) --
Borland is shipping the first new version of dBASE IV
since the company took over Ashton-Tate, the inventors of
the business software product, back in October of last year.

The company is offering a free copy of desktop organizer
Sidekick 2.0 with dBASE IV and is shipping the product in
both English and German.

The new dBASE IV v1.5 boasts faster Query-By-
Example (QBE) performance and new QBE features, new
indexing, mouse support, automatic installation, editable
multi-file views, and file linking on calculated fields,
Borland said.

To make indexing and QBE performance faster, Borland said it
has added an automatic query optimization function called
IQ!, a SET KEY TO command, and allows the user to keep
speed-up indexes.

Other enhancements include 40 work areas, enhanced blank
support, low-level input/output (I/O) functions, an open
architecture control center, and conditional compilation,
Borland added.

The new version of dBASE is suggested retail priced at $795,
however upgrades from previous versions are $99.95, Borland said.
Local area network (LAN) and run-time versions are priced as follows:
LAN Pack (1-count) is $395, ($79.95 upgrade); LAN Pack (10-
count) is $3,495 ($749.95 upgrade); and dBASE IV v1.5
Runtime is $250 ($49.95 upgrade).

The company says all the Developer's Edition features that were
extra are now in the standard dBASE IV v1.5, except the runtime
module and LAN keys. However, the company is still offering the
Developer's Edition with the Runtime compiler for $199.95, plus access
to a new dBASE developer's forum on CompuServe.

In addition, Developer's Edition owners will be offered one
of the following options at no extra charge in April of this
year: the dBASE for Windows Compiler (which is Windows specific),
dBASE Compiler for DOS, Quattro Quattro Pro, C++, Turbo Pascal
or ObjectVision 2.0.

More information on the dBASE developer program is available from
Phil Talsky at 408-431-5480. Upgrade information is available at
800-331-0877, Borland said.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920323/Press Contact: Marguerite
Padovani, Borland, tel [phone], fax [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 23  ***Xerox Unveils Major New Fax/PC Technology 03/23/92



(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00023)

 ***Xerox Unveils Major New Fax/PC Technology 03/23/92
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 23 (NB) -- Xerox
Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) has announced Paperworks, a
software package designed to turn a personal computer (PC)
into a fax document storage and retrieval system.

The product works remotely, with the assistance of a fax
card installed internally in a PC and allows the user to
remotely send, store, and receive documents.

Other fax products are available on the market, but are
geared toward gathering data and converting it to ASCII as
though it was typed at the keyboard, such as Teleform from
San Diego-based Cardiff Software. Xerox says Paperworks is
designed to handle documents as images, such as handwritten
notes, annotations, drawings, and documents themselves.

A special form is required for the Paperworks software to
know what documents need to be sent. If the user doesn't
have that document, faxing a blank piece of paper to
Paperworks will tell the software to send back the necessary
form for instructions. This is possible as Paperworks reads
the telephone number the sending fax transmits and is
programmed to send the starter form.

On the form, users check boxes to make choices and write
names, then fax the form back and the PC carries out the
instructions. A database of names and fax numbers can be
added or built as forms are sent, then names just checked
off on the list as recipients of the form.

Seely Brown of Xerox said: "For the business traveler, this
feature saves the time and expense of sending multiple
faxes. With just one phone call, a document can be sent to
multiple locations at any specified time."

Fax "mail" can also be listed for the user and then the user
can decide which pieces of the mail to be sent to them.

Xerox PARC said more than 50 patents have been filed on the
technologies used in Paperworks, including image processing,
text morphology, and skew detection. This is also the first
in a family of software products geared toward integrating
computer-based and paper document technologies.

The product works in Microsoft Windows. Form design, if
necessary, is done with easy-to-use point and click objects,
Xerox said. However, documents can be faxed in and stored or
converted to .PCX file formats to be edited in a graphics
program, the company added.

The product also uses data compression at about a 6:1 ratio.
The average document takes 60 kilobytes (K) of hard disk
space uncompressed, Paperworks can compress that document on
the average down to 10 K.

The product requires Windows 3.0, a fax board with software,
an Intel-based 386 or 486 computer, 4 megabytes (MB) of
random access memory (RAM), 20 MB of available hard disk
space though 40 + is recommended for storage of fax
documents, a video graphics array (VGA) monitor, and a
printer. The product will work with the following fax
boards: Satisfaxtion from Intel, Complete Fax and Complete
Communicator from The Complete PC, CEI Profax from Sinapore
Technologies, the said.

The Paperworks retails for $249.95 and is available now from
Xerox. More information is available at 800-432-9329 or 800-
428-3329.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920317/Press Contact: Melody Haller,
Niehaus Ryan Haller for Xerox, tel [phone], fax 415-
615-7901)
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 23 Joint Venture To Service Financial Industry 03/23/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00024)

Joint Venture To Service Financial Industry 03/23/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 MAR 23 (NB) -- Twelve of the world's top
telecom companies have announced their agreement to enter into a
joint venture called the Financial Network Association (FNA). The
aim of the FNA is to offer a wide range of services specific to
the needs of the global financial industry. Precise details
of individual member company services available under the
Teleconnect brand name will be announced during the second
quarter of this year.

Plans call for the FNA's member companies to provide unified
communications services among the leading financial centres of
the world. FNA will be incorporated as a company in Brussels, as
a cooperative, from the end of this month.

According to David Bland, the general manager of the FNA, plans
call for the 12-strong membership to be expanded over the long
term, since the FNA's membership books are open to telecom
companies in countries other than those of the founders.
"The FNA represents the first services joint venture between
global telecommunications carriers which is both truly
multilateral in nature and focused on the specific needs of the
global financial community," he said.

The 12 founding members of the FNA are: AOTC of Australia; RTC-
Belgacom of Belgium; Stentor of Canada; France Telecom; Deutsche
Bundespost Telekom of Germany; Hong Kong Telekom; Italcable of
Italy; KDD of Japan; Singapore Telecom; Telefonica of Spain;
Mercury Communications in the U.K.; and MCI in the US.

According to Mercury, FNA members plan to offer a full range of
private, shared financial community and public communications
services, covering the industry's existing and future voice,
data and image connectivity requirements.

The FNA's brand name is Teleconnect, under which it plans to offer
its mainstream services.

The first chairman of the FNA will be Allan Badrick of AOTC
Australia.

(Steve Gold/19920323/Press & Public Contact: Mercury
Communications - Tel: [phone]; MCI (U.S). - Tel: 914/934-
6480; AOTC Telecom (Australia) - Tel: [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 23 Hewlett-Packard Rolls Out New Wave 4.0 In U.K. 03/23/92




(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00025)

Hewlett-Packard Rolls Out New Wave 4.0 In U.K. 03/23/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 MAR 23 (NB) -- Hewlett-Packard's U.K.
operation has announced New Wave 4.0, the long-awaited update to
its graphical user interface (GUI) front end to Microsoft
Windows, simultaneously with the US roll-out. The package will
be available in the U.K. early next month.

U.K. pricing on the package has been set at UKP 134, although,
for an initial period, the software will be available for UKP 99.
The package requires Windows 3.0 to run.

Hewlett-Packard flew in Webb McKinney, the company's general
manager, for a series of press interviews taking place in
parallel with the official unveiling of the product. According to
McKinney, New Wave 4.0 is an ideal overlay and adjunct to Windows
3.0, since it "iconizes" the Windows interface, shielding the
user from the peculiarities of the PC environment's file and program
name structures.

"HP New Wave has consistently been viewed as a leading edge
application for users who want large productivity gains but who
also want to shield themselves from the complexity of their
computer systems," said McKinney.

"As the premier desktop manager for Windows, HP New Wave 4.0
extends its powerful architecture far beyond that of any other
Windows enhancement or utility software," he added.

According to McKinney, New Wave 4.0 is several steps beyond
Windows in the icons stakes. The package now occupies three PC
disks and just 6.8 megabytes (MB) of hard disk space. McKinney
told Newsbytes that the package is much more user friendly and
easier to install than earlier editions.

Other enhancement to the package include a new control panel that
lets users customize the appearance of the desktop, and an object
finder that allows users to locate and open objects housed in
folders without actually opening the folders. The object creator
has been improved as well as printer control and wastebasket
features.

A key feature of New Wave 4.0 demonstrated to Newsbytes was the
New Wave agent. This works in the background, completing various
tasks as programmed, popping into the foreground as and when
required. The agent features its own high-level programming
language that allows complex tasks to be programmed in using
simple "watch and record" techniques. The agent features its own
"auto record" facility, similar to the auto-scripting features
seen on communications software.

Another key feature of New Wave 4.0 is support for Windows'
dynamic data exchange (DDE). This feature allows data to be moved
and shared between applications in real time -- when two or more
programs are running, data can be piped between them without
recourse to a clipboard.

(Steve Gold/19920323/Press & Public Contact: Hewlett-Packard -
Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone])
#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 23 Argentine Phone Auction Draws High Interest 03/23/92



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00026)

Argentine Phone Auction Draws High Interest 03/23/92
BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA, 1992 MAR 23 (NB) -- The auction of a 30
percent interest in half of what was the EnTel phone monopoly
drew incredible interest from investors, the government
announced. The 295 million shares on offer could fetch over $1
billion to reduce the nation's staggering foreign debt, and the
success of the auction is expected to bolster moves in Brazil and
elsewhere in Latin America to privatize telecommunications firms.

Telecom de Argentina, now run by Stet of Italy and France Cables,
with a major investment from J.P. Morgan of the U.S., runs half
of Argentina's phone system. The other half, Telefonica de
Argentina, was sold in December at 24 cents per share, and
now trades at 40.

Besides bringing in cash, the sales also spur new investment
by the new owners, who see the extension of new lines and
digital services as sales growth, not liabilities.

Interest in the Telecom auction was especially strong in Chile,
where individual investors sold off large blocks of mutual funds
to put in bids. Argentina is the second nation to see great
success from its sale of a phone company. The sale of TelMex by
Mexico's government, to a group headed by Grupo Carso and
Southwestern Bell of the U.S., spurred a huge investment boom.
Attention will now turn to Brazil, where the government is
struggling to sell the Telebras network despite fierce
opposition, and to Venezuela, where GTE's $1.8 billion bid for
CANTV looked shaky recently after an attempted coup.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920323)

#ENDCARD
#CARD :1992 MAR 23 Motorola Signs Up US West for NAMPS 03/23/92


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00027)

Motorola Signs Up US West for NAMPS 03/23/92
BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 23 (NB) -- The U.S.
cellular standards battle was re-ignited when Motorola signed US
West to a 10-year alliance which will brin