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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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V82
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1991-10-04
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7KB
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135 lines
[***][12/25/84][***]
AT-TENTION IBM BUYERS:
IBM continues to deny there may be technical problems with PC/AT computers
despite cries from dealers that up to 10 percent of them are suffering from
disk drive and memory problems. The most common complaint is that the
optional 20 megabyte hard disk storage unit has faulty data sectors. IBM
has announced that many AT shipments will be delayed until the second
quarter of '85 and reasons that "strong demand and component shortages" are
to blame. This snaffu at IBM means the "window of opportunity" will be
open longer for those making AT-clone computers. Meanwhile, "ComputerWorld"
reports that the AT won't run a great deal of PC software, and vice versa.
Only 35% of PC software runs on ATs, according to Corporate Software, Inc.
of Waltham, Massachusetts.
[***][12/25/84][***]
FAME AND 'FORTUNE':
For the third time, IBM was "Fortune" magazine's "most admired corporation"
based on a poll of 8,000 executives. Hewlett-Packard ranked fifth and was
the only other computer firm on the list of either the most or least-admired
company. IBM won kudos for management, investment, financial soundness and
use of assets. However, the magazine reports "innovation" was not exactly
supreme on the tally for IBM.
[***][12/25/84][***]
SOFTWARE SURVEY:
Frost & Sullivan, a market research firm in New York City, claims owners of
PCs and PC-compatibles spend an average of $1,315 on software in the first
year of ownership, according to a published report in "Computer Publicity
News". The -gasp- $1,550 report from Frost & Sullivan predicts $2 billion
in software for PCs will be sold by December 31 and by 1988 the market
will grow to an annual $12 billion.
[***][12/25/84][***]
ATARI RETRENCHES:
It won't be a very nice holiday for residents of Limerick, Ireland. 250
members of that community were told last week that Atari's plant in Limerick
will close on Christmas eve. Also, "between 30 and 40" workers were laid
off from Atari's Sunnyvale, Ca. headquarters. Jack Tramiel told the "San Jose
Mercury News" that he's hoping to build a new, automated plant in Europe and
in the meantime all production has been shifted to Taiwan. Irish officials,
meanwhile, are aghast at the closure. Frank Prendergast, Mayor of Limerick
has been quoted as saying, "Irish workers are suffering so Atari could benefit
from slave labor wages in the Far East!"
[***][12/25/84][***]
DISK DRIVEN UPDATE:
Storage Tech, wracked by bankruptcy, has won a $140 million loan from various
financial groups in order to stay afloat. However, that didn't console 190
Storage Tech employees, who were told their jobs in the optical disk facility
in Longmont, Colorado, were finished. The disk-drive maker is hoping
its financial shot-in-the-arm will allow it to reorganize but admits even
more money is needed before production can start again. In other news, Priam
Corporation of San Jose, another disk drive manufacturer, laid off 60,
leaving a workforce at 800, due to slumping sales. Among those getting axed
were executives who worked in engineering and marketing.
[***][12/25/84][***]
SUPERCHIP:
Bell Labs in Allentown, Pennsylvania, reports it's perfected a 1-million bit
chip that could easily go into production within a year. AT&T, of course,
is expected to be the first manufacturer of the chip which has been predicted
to stimulate $15 billion in sales by the early 1990's. The announcement is
significant in that several other firms (who are also working on 1-megabyte
chips) say theirs won't be produced in quantity for several years. The
new superchip is capable of storing about 100 pages of double-spaced
typewritten text.
[***][12/25/84][***]
MAC-CORVUS:
The following is contributed by a reliable source, also a Newsbytes reader,
so I'll print it verbatim:
"Despite record low stock prices, Corvus Systems' Omnidrive hard disk for the
Macintosh seems to be a clear market winner. Microsoft embraced the product
at Comdex, connected to 50 Macs in their demo room. Now, sources report
that Apple and Corvus, mutually enamoured with each others' products, are
finalizing a deal that would allow Apple employees to buy the drives for
50% of retail cost. Apple will extend similar discounts on Macs to Corvus
employees. Apple has already placed an order to one Corvus Mac network with
a 126 megabyte drive.."
[***][12/25/84][***]
ZENITH & TANDY MAKE NEWS:
Sources say Zenith will come out with a lap-sized portable which will be
similar to Data General's "DG/One" sometime next year. Zenith's will be
cheaper, at $2,200. Also look for a Tandy Model 2000, which is essentially
an upgraded Model 100 with more memory and a larger LCD. The Tandy machine
could come as early as next week.
[***][12/25/84][***]
IN BRIEF--
APPLE has launched "Computer Clubs Competition '85", a contest to determine
the best club programmers or community service projects using Apple computers.
Winners will receive an Apple IIc with monitor, plus several software
packages. Details are available by writing APPLE COMPUTER CLUBS, PO BOX
948, 217 JACKSON STREET, LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS 01853
HEWLETT-PACKARD is giving $5 million in cash and equipment to Harvard Medical
School to support to improve teaching and clinical decision-making. Harvard
gets an HP 3000, 60 Touchscreen Personal Computers, five Portables and lots
of other goodies.
KAYPRO has gotten into the Christmas spirit by donating 400 computers to
35 third-world countries. The "International Grants Program" has been in
progress for a year now. Thai tribesmen are using Kaypros to keep track
of their handicraft sales; remote Mexican people are using Kaypros to
catalog their medicinal plants; Indonesian Kaypro recipients use Kaypros
to pioneer linguistic analysis of unwritten languages. Now that's progress!
TANDY and APPLIED COMPUTER TECHNIQUES have joined forces to sell their
computers in Europe. This is significant in that Tandy has only used Radio
Shack stores to sell its computers. For the first time, Tandy computers will
be sold in other outlets, but only in the U.K., W. Germany, Netherlands,
Belgium and France. Both sides say their joint venture will establish the
largest retail distribution organization in Europe.
DURANGO SYSTEMS and MOLECULAR COMPUTER of San Jose are merging in yet another
join-and-conquer move.
TELEVIDEO, suffering from sagging profits lately, hopes to bolster its status
by selling at least $10 million worth of computers to China. The deal
was signed in October with Peking Computer Factory No. 3. The factory will
provide software and peripherals to the Televideo computers.
Also, OSBORNE COMPUTER CORP. of Hayward, Ca. has entered an agreement with
a Taiwan company to produce 500 Vixen computers each month at a Taipei
factory. The deal is expected to bring $10 million cash to Osborne.
[***][12/25/84][***]
ROBOT-POWER:
A report in "Reuters" says that a Japanese company has created a superrobot
which can demolish a supertanker in 120 hours flat. Nippon Sempaku Kaihatsu
says its torch-wielding robots go through a tanker at a rate of 47 inches
a minute--"four times faster than a man." Yow!