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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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[***][7/10/84][***]
ATARI SUCCUMBS:
It's official, Jack Tramiel, founder of Commodore has
purchased Atari with NO CASH DOWN. Parent company Warner issued $240
million in debt securities to Tramiel which he has 12 years to pay off.
(That's how desperate Warner was to unload Atari.) One of the first
things Tramiel did was to announce that by this week most of the company's
employees will be fired. That includes all marketing and R&D personell.
Tramiel is reportedly a "get tough" kind of guy and his actions come as
no surprise to analysts who say he's known for "shooting from the hip."
As the new CEO, Jack Tramiel replaces James Morgan, who came from
Phillip Morris 9 months ago. Morgan is no longer on the company's payroll,
his fate uncertain. Tramiel told the New York Times his early priority
will be to collect more than $400 million in debts owed to Atari. He's
already appointed his two sons, Leonard and Sam to top management posts
in the company. Some of Tramiel's associates say he's planning to develop
a MacIntosh-like computer for domestic and Far-East markets which will be
priced to compete with the old Commodore. Clearly he's got his work cut
out for him. No word on what will happen to previously planned projects,
such as the Atari phone, slated for Christmas release, which would plug
directly into household current. ATARI: 408-745-4142
----
[***][7/10/84][***]
LAYOFFS PLAGUE BOOK/SOFTWARE PUBLISHERS:
Sybex Computer Books gave pink slips to "less than half but more than a
quarter" of its staff of about 100 people (7/5) as the realisation that
the "shakeout" in computer book publishers is at hand. Along with staff
reductions, designed to cut overhead by at least 17%, Sybex has cut its
Fall titles from 70 to 30. Says spokesman Mike Alves, "It's not the
wonderful, glowing, shining field we thought it was." SYBEX IS IN BERKELEY,
CA. 415-848-8233
-
More layoffs came from Visicorp (maker of Visicalc, Vision software) as
another 70 people got their walking papers. This leaves just a little
over 50 people at the San Jose-based company. Plagued by a soft
software market, Visicorp is still planning a big splash at NCC this
week to announce its new "Vision" integrated software and company
officials cheerfully dismiss the company's declining fortunes by saying,
"We're just back to that entreprenuerial spirit." VISICORP IS IN SAN JOSE,
CA. 408-649-3896
-
NCA Corporation of Santa Clara, Ca. canned 22 people last week; that's about
8% of its workforce. NCA makes
financial and inventory software for businesses.
-
Add to the shakeout ranks Condor of Palo Alto (which cut a dozen workers)
and Datasoft of Chatsworth, Ca. which decided to close a Bay Area office
for its games publishing operations. Datasoft President Pat Ketchum told
the San Jose Mercury News he's having a hard time keeping programmers on
board in highly competitive Silicon Valley.
-
AND FINALLY:
Reader's Digest Board of Directors and management have decided (6/30) to
discontinue publication of the company's line of software. The Educational
Division had published 10 programs, all educational in content, for the
last six months. No reasons were given for the move but it most likely
relates to the woes of the rest of the software industry. Reader's Digest
spokesman Bruce Trachtenberg says the quality of the software is "good"
so the company is looking for other distribution channels for it.
914-769-7000 X5385
-
[***][7/10/84][***]
IBM'S LOSS/COMPAQ'S GAIN:
Dealers estimate they're outselling the IBM PC's with Compaq computers by
a margin of 4 to 1. This news comes from InfoCorp, a marketing research
firm in San Jose, Ca. Compaq, ironically, is one of the few companies that
didn't succumb to the pressure of IBM price cuts. Compaq, meanwhile has
unveiled a new line of desktop computers, competitively priced with IBM,
that contain 128K to 640K. COMPAQ: 713-370-7040
-
Epson also introduced a $995 portable computer that undercuts the price
but not the performance of the Gavilan and the Grid Compass portables.
Epson's PX-8 Geneva weighs 4 pounds, operates with CP/M, has 64K of RAM,
has a 20-hour battery life, an 8-line X 80 column display and 3 programs
in ROM. Shipments start late this month. EPSON: 800-421-5426
-
[***][7/10/84][***]
WORKSLATE SHELVED:
In a move that came as no surprise to many, the manufacturer of the
"Workslate" computer, Convergent Technologies of
Santa Clara, has suspended the computer's production, transferring 140
people to other production areas. "Workslate", a portable computer
that graced the cover of the 1983 American Express Christmas catalog, and
was the company's first micro product, never met sales expectations.
The company denies that the "Workslate" will be abandoned.
Convergent President Alan Michaels promises that production will resume
once it sells most of its backlogged inventory of "Workslate" computers.
Meanwhile the company will go back to fulltime production of its superminis
and workstations.
----
[***][7/10/84][***]
BUSHELS OF APPLES:
Rumors to the effect that the Apple IIc wasn't selling well contributed
to the slide of Apple stock last week but according to California Tech
Stock Letter, the rumors AREN'T TRUE. Jim McCamant and Michael Murphy
adamantly claim August orders are increasing and 110,000 IIc's will be
produced in the September fourth quarter. Further, Apple IIes are in
short supply and another 80,000 of them will be produced by Christmas,
the analysts say. CA. STOCK LETTER: 415-982-0125
[***][7/10/84][***]
Hoorah to Evelyn Richards of the San Jose Mercury News who says this
week that "Osborne picked favorites (journalists) when he mailed out
preliminary manuscripts of his work." Each reporter got a different
"publication embargo" to write about Adam Osborne's new book "Hypergrowth".
Trouble is, as Richards points out so eloquently, "In trying to favor
one reporter over another, his embargoes became nothing but a set of
flexible, meaningless dates." Case in point--your editor. In April I
signed a nondisclosure agreement, in person, with Adam Osborne, that
required me not to publish news about his book until July 15th. Meanwhile
I see excerpts from "HyperGrowth" in InfoWorld, the San Francisco
Chronicle and plenty of other publications. If Osborne wants free
publicity, he won't get it here. I don't care for dirty pool.
----
[***][7/10/84][***]
VICTOR'S SALE NEAR:
Within two weeks of the end of negotiations with Applied Computer
Techniques, Victor Technologies has another serious suitor--Beta
Systems of West Germany. Beta Systems of West Germany is offering to
buy 70% of Victor Technologies for $30 million. Victor's creditors committee
has approved the offer but before it can go through it needs the
approval of Victor's board of directors and of the bankruptcy judge.
One creditor, John Vissers of Epson America, told the Wall Street Journal
that if the deal isn't approved by Victor, the creditors will try to force
it through the courts. VICTOR: 408-438-7000
----
[***][7/10/84][***]
IN BRIEF---
FORTUNE SYSTEMS of Redwood City, Ca. has lost two founders--Homer Dunn
and David Van Den Berg, marking the third founder to leave in 10 months.
The company has lost immense amounts of money ($3.4 million) this year.
Fortune makes Unix-based multi-user systems.
-
COMPUTERLAND is promising to sell all Apple's product lines in the Fall.
Most of the Computerland stores already sell Apples but the deal will
further sweeten Apple's sales future.
-
ELECTRONIC ARTS of Roseville, California has purchased ORGANIC SOFTWARE of
San Mateo, Ca. The merger allows the company to enter the low end of
the business computer software software market. Electronic Arts was founded
by Trip Hawkins, former head of Apple's Lisa Marketing Department.
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NATIONAL ADVANCED SYSTEMS of Japan has become the second Japanese company
to market supercomputers in the U.S. Its $2.1-$15 million supers now
compete only with Fujitsu which last week announced its own super
-fast mainframes will be available in the U.S.
-
[***][7/10/84][***]
ROBOT WRAP:
Caterpillar Tractor Company has purchased 20-percent of Advanced Robotics
of Columbus, Ohio. The Peoria, Ill.-based earthmoving equipment-maker
reportedly paid $5 million for the purchase and will use AR's robots
for its vehicle assembly line.
-
A ROBOT DENTAL PATIENT has been invented by Dr. Frank Faunce, associate
professor of dentistry at Emory University in Atlanta. The 3-headed
robot yells, bleeds and salivates as dental students probe its mouth.
Faunce predicts the robots will replace the human guinea pigs who often
put up with the awkward probes of students and willbe in widespread use
in the future.