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Newsbytes - Internationa…ews 1983 May to 1994 June
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Newsbytes - International Computing Industry News 1994 Edition - May 1983 - June 1994 - Wayzata Technologies (5045) (1994).iso
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1984
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1991-10-04
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[***][5/29/84][***]
COMDEX REPORT:
In the latest trade-show extravaganza in Atlanta, new hardware took
center stage. Morrow Designs of Hayward, Ca., showed off its new portable
called the "Pivot". It's a 9 and a half pound little black machine with
a 16 line/80 column liquid crystal display. It operates on the MS-DOS
2.1 operating system and is available with one or two disk drives. The
Pivot will be available this summer and is expected to be cost under $2,500.
Kaypro's "Robie" computer, a desktop CP/M machine, costing $2995 was also
displayed. Franklin Computer exhibited five prototype portable computers;
some of them will run Apple programs. All in all, there were 851 exhibits,
and the crowd was estimated at 50,000.
----
[***][5/29/84][***]
HP LASER PRINTER, ETC.:
Hewlett-Packard showed of its new laser printer, priced at $3495, at Comdex.
The unit will be available June 1. The absolutely quiet, letter-quality
printer is called the "LaserJet". Text is printed by laser at eight
times the speed of a daisywheel printer. ComputerLand will market the
printer. HP also made available some figures from InfoCorp,
a market research firm in Cupertino, Ca. InfoCorp claims HP will be
third in sales of personal computers, behind IBM and Apple this year and
adds the market for hardware sales will amount to $12 billion.
----
[***][5/29/84][***]
IBM'S SOFTWARE REVISITED:
To the question "What does IBM want?", the editors of California Technology
Stock Letter reason that IBM wants to make the price of its entire package--
hardware and software--comparable to Apple's MacIntosh. In that light,
perhaps the pricing of IBM's new series of software packages can be placed
into perspective. At Comdex, those packages, which range from reporting,
and spreadsheet to graphic applications, were unveiled. The highest price
for any package is $149, all are designed to operate on IBM PCjr,
PC and XT systems. Mountain View, Ca.-based Software Publishing
Corp. (famous for the "PFS" programs) developed the software.
----
[***][5/29/84][***]
VISICORP AT COMDEX:
As VisiCorp was showing off its new "FlashCalc" for Apple II family computers,
a spreadsheet program priced at $99, back home it was laying off a fifth of
its workforce. 40 employees of the San Jose, Ca.-based company got their
walking papers. The company has suffered poor sales of its "Visi On"
software and has just slashed the price of some of its software products
by nearly 67%. Insiders say the company is spending large sums on marketing
and advertising in order to compete against the myriad of other companies
making IBM-compatible products, including none other than IBM itself. One
source tells me there's serious consideration inside VisiCorp of filing
for Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.
----
[***][5/29/84][***]
ADVERTISING OLYMPIC STYLE:
Lotus is playing hardball in the marketing arena, spending multimillions
this summer to advertise "Symphony". Lotus will sponsor part of ABC's
coverage of the Olympics and the U.S. Tennis Open in a media blitz
expected to last through September. Meanwhile, Ashton-Tate has announced
a "seven-figure" advertising campaign during July and August to
promote its integrated software "Framework." The ads will compete with
Lotus during the Olympics and will be seen during televised coverage of
the Democratic National Convention. Aston-Tate claims another round of
television advertising will start in the winter.
----
[***][5/29/84][***]
ATARI'S NEW GAME:
Atari has unveiled its first new video game player in two years.
"ProSystem 7800" will be available in July and will sell for $150. The
game player can double as a home computer when an optional keyboard and
disk drive is added. 13 new games have been created (but aren't on the
market yet) to run on the ProSystem 7800. Atari chairman James Morgan
says the demand for new video games remains strong and believes that in
the next 12 months, Atari "will surprise a lot of people." Back in Sunnyvale,
there were indeed surprises for some middle managers who were told
their days are numbered. Dozens, if not hundreds will fall victim to
the company's continued efforts to trim financial losses. Some say details
of the cutbacks will come at the Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago.
----
[***][5/29/84][***]
COMMODORE'S WINS AND LOSSES:
General Alexander Haig, on the Commodore board of directors?? Sure enough,
that was the announcement. No details were given concerning the former
Secretary of State's interest in Commodore International except that Haig
will also become a consultant to the company. Meanwhile Leonard Shreiber,
director and general counsel reportedly resigned. Schreiber becomes
the latest executive exodus in a series that began Jan. 13 with the
resignation of Jack Tramiel, founder and president. In the "Nasty but
True" Department, Doug Carlston, VP of Broderbund Software in San
Rafael, Ca., put in his two cents on Commodore at a recent
software conference in San Francisco. Quoted by John Eckhouse of
the S.F. Chronicle, Carlston urged software writers to stay away
from Commodore because of its poor reputation for treating people
fairly. "If you build a business plan on Commodore, I suggest you build one
on cocaine instead. The risks and rewards are the same, but I hear the
people are a lot nicer," Carlston reportedly said.
----
[***][5/29/84][***]
APPLE NEWS:
Apple is seeking out Japanese software writers to design programs for
the Lisa and MacIntosh computers. Apple doesn't have any Japanese-language
programs and hopes to promote sales of Apples in Japan. Only
30,000 to 40,000 Apple II computers have been sold in Japan compared
to 1.5 million worldwide.
In another development, Apple is scrapping its retailing middle-men.
As of October 1, the contracts of some two dozen manufacturers
representatives will not be renewed. Apple will work directly with its
1,800 dealers throughout the U.S. and Canada. The change is expected to
bring a closer working relationship between the company and its customer
base.
----
[***][5/29/84][***]
APPLES IN THE PENTAGON:
According to Jack Stone of "ComputerWorld", the Pentagon used Apple
computers in its recent war games with NATO forces in Europe.
Stone says the scoop came from testimony by the Army's general
staff before Congress. "The procurement cycle for milspec machines
took too long," Stone quotes the officers as saying. The Pentagon
opted instead for a bunch of Apple computers which handled the nuclear
targeting chores just fine. The Apples were supposedly an "interim"
solution for the military until its "ruggedized, nuclear-radiation-
proof, customized machines..at 10 times the cost" arrived in Washington.
----
[***][5/29/84][***]
IN BRIEF--
--SORCIM of San Jose, Ca. is talking merger with COMPUTER ASSOCIATES
INTERNATIONAL of Jericho, New York. COMPUTER ASSOCIATES is a mainframe
software publisher, SORCIM makes software.
--DYSAN of Santa Clara, Ca. says poor market conditions and escalating
costs resulted in a loss of $1.6 million in the second quarter. DYSAN
makes flexible and rigid disks.
--GAVILAN COMPUTER of Campbell, Ca., blames faulty springs from a supplier
for the shut-down of its "SC" computer assembly line. The 5-day work
stoppage reportedly led to a backlog of orders. Some 1500 SC computers
have sold since the portable model was announced in November. As for the
Gavilan Computer, announced in April '83 and still not available in volume.
"It will be available in volume in July," says Manny Fernandez, president.
--TOUCHSTONE SOFTWARE CORP. of Seal Beach, Ca. is rejoicing at its agreemnt
with AT&T. A tremendous revenue boost is expected for the small "PCworks"
producer following the deal in which AT&T will market and manufacture the
program for its UNIX-operating system computers.
--NBI, INC. of Boulder, Colorado has announced two IBM-compatibe desktop
personal computers called the OASys 4100S and 4100X. The 128K machines
cost $3,095 and come with both floppy and hard disk drives.
--ITT CORP. of Raleigh, N.C. will spend $4.8 billion in Europe during
the next five years. The money will go for research and development
as the company tries to establish itself as a leaders in telecommunications
and office-automation equipment.
--ALTOS COMPUTER SYSTEMS of San Jose, Ca. has lost its president/CEO.
David Hanna resigned only four months after assuming the helm. The
supposedly "amicable" departure from the company leaves David Jackson,
chairman, in charge.
--TANDEM COMPUTER of Cupertino, Ca. is suing PATHWAY DESIGNS of Wellsley,
Massachusetts for trademark infringement. Tandem claims "Pathway" is a
name it registered for its software products.
--CBS-IBM-SEARS COMPANY of White Plains, New York is calling its joint
videotext service "Trintex". The videotext venture was announced in
February but has just now been given a name.
----
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