Newsbytes - Internationa…ews 1983 May to 1994 June/Newsbytes - International Computing Industry News 1994 Edition - May 1983 - June 1994 - Wayzata Technologies (5045) (1994).iso/mac/Text/Mac Text/1985/V111

Text File | 1991-10-04 | 43KB | 910 lines

[***][7/9/85][***]
WHO'S REALLY AFTER APPLE?
A rumor that AT&T was interested in acquiring Apple
circulated widely recently. Now, one of the sources who
first broke the story says he's found that AT&T's name was
planted by a major firm who the source says wanted to prop
up the value of its Apple stock. The part of the story about
a major company approaching Apple is still rumored to be
true, with the potential suitor reported to be GEISCO --
General Electric Information Services Company. The Maryland-
based GE subsidiary had 1984 sales of $6 BILLION and is
currently into telecommunications and software.

[***][7/9/85][***]
SPEAKING OF APPLE:
Steve Jobs has been globe-trotting throughout Europe and reports
indicate he's in the Soviet Union now.  Along with Apple's
Corporate Counsel Albert Eisenstat, Jobs is said to be talking
turkey about selling large quantities of Apples to Russia.

MEANWHILE, California Technology Stock Letter reports that Apple
"will not use the Western Design Center 65816 16-bit micro-
processor" in its forthcoming upgrade to the Apple II line.
The newsletter says "Apple will emulate the current 6502..on
a Motorola 68020 running at 9 megahertz (that's fast).  The
68020 also is the next microprocessor for the Macintosh upgrade."
Further, the weekly states that the "new Mac" will have a single
expansion slot inside and an external expansion chassis for
other add-ons.  How about that?

[***][7/9/85][***]
AT&T IS TURNING JAPANESE:
AT&T is making a major move toward Japan, and is working out details
with 18 Japanese companies to begin a major telecommunications
network offering "value added" services such as central databases,
and software downloading throughout Japan.   AT&T's partners include
Hitachi, Mitsui, Nippon Steel, Sony and Fujitsu.  AT&T also
plans to extend the service across the Pacific, enabling Japanese
and American companies to exchange electronic data, bypassing
the cumbersome packet-switching networks currently in place.
AT&T is the first major American-based corporation to get a major
foothold in the newly deregulated Japanese telecommunications
market in a deal expected to be potentially worth billions of
dollars.  The systems are expected to be in place within three
years.

[***][7/9/85][***]
PFS:ACQUIRE:
Software Publishing Corporation of Mountain View CA,
publishers of the mega-hit series of PFS software is
acquiring Harvard Software Inc. of Littleton MA. Harvard is
best known for their Harvard Project Manager package, and a
Harvard spokesperson says the firm reached a point where
they realized they needed lots of money to continue to grow.
Software Publishing President Fred Gibbons, a Massachusetts
native and one of the truly nice guys in an industry known
for king-sized egos, said that he felt it was time to stick
his neck out and make an acquisition. Terms of the deal
weren't announced, but an insider says Software Publishing
will pay between 8 and 10 million dollars for Harvard
Software. By the way, contrary to popular belief, Harvard's
name has nothing to do with the well-known school. The
company was named after the tiny town of Harvard MA -- 30
miles northwest of Boston, where its offices were first
located.

[***][7/9/85][***]
HP'S ENHANCED PORTABLE:
Hewlett-Packard unveiled the "Portable Plus" yesterday.  The
machine is an enhanced "Portable 110" but has more memory and
is lower in cost than the original.  With a 25-line LCD display,
the "Plus" is capable of storing 896K of RAM and has built-in
ROM applications of MS-DOS, Personal Applications Manager
operating system, HP Link (for communications) and several
utilities.  Optional ROM-based software includes Lotus 1-2-3,
and Microsoft Word.  A modem, hardware and software that
enables the "Plus" to communicate with HP and other computers,
an external drive and printer are also optional.  The basic
package sells for $2,295.

[***][7/9/85][***]
NO MORE DAYS IN COURT:
Data General won't be getting any more days in court. The
U.S. Supreme Court this week denied a request by the
Westboro MA company that the court review a lower court
ruling that DG violated antitrust laws in bundling a
software/hardware package. Fairchild Camera and Instruments
and Digidyne challenged DG's refusal to sell its RDOS
operating system without the NOVA CPU and sought damages for
lost profits. Although a U.S. District Court found DG not
guilty, that finding was reversed last year by a Court of
Appeals. The U.S. Justice Department filed a brief urging
the Supreme Court to hear the case, but all but two justices
turned it down. Justices Harry Blackman and Byron White
dissented, saying that the case had implications throughout
the computer industry.

[***][7/9/85][***]
OPENING NIGHT FOR JAZZ:
Does a week ever go buy without the software mavens of Lotus
Development making news? In short...no! Lotus announced last
week that later this year they'll be making the internal
file details of Jazz public. This "open concept" will also
apply to soon-to-be-released updated versions of 1-2-3 and
Symphony, which will be able to swap data back and forth
with Jazz. The opening will likely cause a flood a new
products compatible with Jazz, a move some observers see as
an effort by Lotus to make Jazz THE standard program for the
Mac and compete head-on with Excel, the low-cost integrated
spreadsheet program that arch-competitor MicroSoft expects
to ship later this year. It appears a "battle of the giants"
is in the offing.

[***][7/9/85][***]
MORE UPWARD COMPATABILITY:
It had to happen sooner or later, and happen it has. Applied
Reasoning of Cambridge MA has announced a product that's
designed to turn your paltry IBM PC or compatible into a
super-charged PC AT clone. The PC-ElevATor is a circuit
board with extra RAM and an 80286 microprocessor running at
8 MHz. Also included is a floppy disk with software to make
things run. A company spokesman claims the ElevATor will run
both AT and PC programs faster. The product, which is
expected to be shipped within the next couple months,
retails for $1695 with 512K of RAM; $1995 with 1 meg; and
$2495 for 2 megs. The RAM that you're not using for your
applications can be used as RAM disk.

CONTACT:    APPLIED REASONING CORP.
            CAMBRIDGE, MA 02140

[***][7/9/85][***]
SLUMP EXPLAINED:
A research firm in Mountain View, California, thinks its come up
with the reason why home computers are gathering dust in
warehouses and in closets.  Software Access's survey of 4,300
households found that 8 percent owned home computers, but of
those, 10 percent admitted they've given up on their machines
because they're too hard to use, don't fulfill their expectations,
or just a plain old pain in the neck.  Mary Ellen Dick, a
researcher at Software Access, says while most people buy
computers to help their kids at school, they are disappointed
to find the machines are not useful in that task once they
get them home.  Kids, she says, overwhelmingly prefer to play
games and the educational programs gather dust.

[***][7/9/85][***]
MERGER NEWS:
This week's roundup of "join and conquer" participants includes
Eastman Kodak, which just bought most of the assets of Garlic
Technologies, a Morgan Hill, California-based company that
makes digital recording heads.

Lexicon Corporation of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, just succeeded
in a takeover of Scope, Inc. of Reston, Virginia, despite the
fact that Scope is four times bigger than Lexicon.  With just
48 employees, Lexicon, a computer manufacturer, realized that
Scope, which makes computer technology for the government, could
help raise its bank balance and its prospects by enabling it
to get into the lucrative Defense Department budget.  How did
the little company do it?  ...With a tender offer for stock,
of course.  Lexicon hopes the gamble pays off.

And finally, the rumor mill is now talking a SPERRY-FORD merger.
The rumors sent Sperry stock into heavy trading, as such rumors
are wont to do on Wall Street.

[***][7/9/85][***]
ETAK GETS DIRECTION:
One of Nolan Bushnell's (Atari founder) startups has finally
struck gold.  It's Etak, a Sunnyvale, Ca.-based firm that's
been developing a computerized navigation system for a car.
The firm has just given General Motors exclusive rights
to market the Etak Navigator on GM cars sold in North America
plus rights to buy 10 percent of Etak stock.  Look for those
GM cars in two years.  Meanwhile, the Navigators will be sold
this summer directly by Etak.  For $1,395, you can get a
system that includes a 4-inch screen; for $1,595 you get a
7-inch screen.  The system is also composed of a 16-bit micro-
processor, and sensors that detect the speed and direction of
a car's movement.  Maps that cover major metropolitan areas in
California are available now for $35 each.  Maps of other
cities should be ready within a year.

[***][7/9/85][***]
I'D RATHER BE COMMUTING:
Believe it or not, most Americans involved in a new survey
said they'd rather commute to their offices every day than
work at home.  The survey by Honeywell Technalysis of 701
"knowledge workers" found that 56% preferred the office
environment to working at home in the same job.  36% said
they wouldn't mind splitting their time between home and
office but just 7% said they would want to work exclusively
at home.  It seems there's something to "human interaction"
which will not be forced into obsolescence by a computer.
Says researcher Eugene Manno, "Basically, people want to
work with other people."

[***][7/9/85][***]
IN BRIEF--

COMPUTER FAIRE, INC., based in Newton, Massachusetts, has
just decided to underwrite four television programs:  "The
MacNeil/Lehrer Report", "The Nightly Business Report", "The
New Tech Times", and "Computers at Work" for KQED (San
Francisco) and WGBH (Boston).

MICROPRO of San Rafael, Ca. is making a new service available
to people who need help with "Wordstar" and "Wordstar 2000".
For $90, you can pay in advance for 60 minutes of personalized
help with a technician via phone.  After that you are charged
$2.50 per minute.  Geez, help sure doesn't come cheap.

PROMETHEUS PRODUCTS of Fremont, California, just announced the
availability of a new 300-baud modem for the Apple IIc.  The
tiny, molded case fits snugly onto the back of the IIc through
the modem and game port connectors.  For $199, it's also
bundled with ProCom-A, a PRODOS telecommunications software
package.  Prometheus:  415/490-2370.

TANDY CORPORATION is no bunch of fools.  It's capitalizing
on the current VCR craze by buying 207 video retail stores
owned by American Home Video.

Move over MICRO/VEST, the firm which has successfully sued
ComputerLand into forking over 20-percent of its assets
in an investor fight.  Now, a new group, which includes owners
of several San Francisco restaurants, wants a piece of the
action.  They've filed suit to claim rights to the award,
saying they were partners with Micro/Vest founder John Martin-
Musumeci when he originally invested.....

[***][7/9/85][***]
MA BELL'S GONNA GET YA:
The chances of your not getting billed for that three-hour
call to your girlfriend across the country are about to be
appreciably reduced. Connecticut-based Southern New England
Telephone, after estimating that phone companies are losing
up to $750 MILLION a year due to billing errors, has
developed software that identifies and corrects billing
errors and crosschecks lines in use against what's being
billed. The company is selling the software nationally
through a Denver-based supplier.

[***][7/9/85][***]
CASTAWAYS:
Nothing like a little sympathy. Potential employers and
those who kept their jobs through the recent layoffs in New
England are calling the thousands of layoff victims the
"boat people."  Even those companies who are trying to place
those they laid off are coming in for ridicule. Wang opened
a special placement center for the employees it laid off;
and some of those using it have named it "The Center for the
Non-Performing Arts." The term is a not-so-subtle dig at the
Boston Center for the Performing Arts, which was renamed
"Wang Center" last year after a sizable contribution from An
Wang, the founder of Wang.

[***][7/9/85][***]
A FEDERAL STUDY OF TECHNOLOGY...
and how best to move the U.S. ahead is being pushed by John
Imlay, chairman of Atlanta's Management Science America Inc. Mr.
Imlay (a/k/a "Showman John", which you'll understand if you have
ever seen him make a speech) says the idea got a big boost when
he and Automatic Data Processing founder Sen. Frank Lautenberg
(D-NJ) got Sen. Sam Nunn (D-GA) into a room together and talked
him into co-sponsoring a bill. Now they hope to hold hearings in
the fall. "If they're short hearings it means there's little
opposition and it's clear sailing," he says, displaying a keen
sense for how the political game is played in Washington.

[***][7/9/85][***]
PAIN IS FELT BY DISTRIBUTORS
Atlanta is a strange market for semiconductor distributors.
There's growth, a lot of talk, but only a few big accounts
(Hayes, Quadram, DCA, and Scientific/Atlanta) to go after. Word
is distributors here are hurting because the customer base is so
thin.  Their growth plans are stalled, and some may be thinking
of pulling out. At the very least, those who aren't here
now will likely stay out.

[***][7/9/85][***]
MORE FROM LELAND STRANGE
Quadram majordomo Leland Strange remains the best interview in
town, for those who want to know what's what in Microland.
He's kind of like Steve Jobs mixed with John Sculley and a bit of
the preacher (Quadram Baptist Prayer Breakfasts were his idea)
thrown in for good measure. Here are some of his latest thoughts.

*High-tech stocks will come back in favor after brokers get new
high-tech analysts.

*There are too many computer magazines. "It's like 10 guys
shouting across the street that my lights are on. I don't hear
any of them. When there's 1 or 2 guys over there shouting my
lights are on I might get the message."

*"Anyone who relies only on the numbers his computer generates to
see change is going to miss it. You have to use your eyes and
ears, talk to customers, and get out enough to see what's going
on."

*"The home computer won't be accepted until it's an appliance, a
part of everything."

*"There are five areas I think will be hot where IBM isn't now
involved, but no I'm not telling what they are." He may be
putting something into them on the side, he hints.

Leland's a hoot, but odds are he won't hang on as president of
Quadram parent Intelligent Systems Corp. forever. Pity, that.

[***][7/9/85][***]
LET'S START A STOCK RUMOR DEPARTMENT.
Equifax Inc. grosses about $400 million, mostly handling credit
reports by computer. They're known as "the insurance industry's
CIA." Three miles or so up I-85 from there is National Data Corp.
which grosses about $100 million, mostly handling bank and credit
card transactions. Both companies do much the same thing: they
sell things created and maintained by their computers. NDC,
however, has had its troubles of late: missed deadlines, no
profit growth in 3 years, etc. Its stock price is low, for a
company in this business. Equifax has cash and more valuable
stock. It looks like a nice fit.

Wanna bet they haven't thought of it?

[***][7/9/85][***]
HIGH TECH CATTLE CALLS...
in Atlanta are held monthly through the Southeastern Software
Association. The SSA was founded a year ago by lawyers and PR
folk. It survives because software people have a natural desire
to huddle together and network, especially when times get tough.
They'll be networking again this Tuesday evening at the Waverly
Hotel in the northwest suburbs, with special guest Ben Dyer,
Peachtree Software founder, author, and the closest this town
comes to an Adam Osborne.

The SSA legal committee is trying to pass a shrink-wrap license
law in Georgia, but so far the legislators think it has something
to do with cigarettes, so the tobacco farmers are up in arms.

[***][7/9/85][***]
NEW STUFF JUST OUT
Interprocess Systems has released its new formatting program for
APL2, (called Enhanced Format),which runs under MVS/TSO and
VM/CMS ($90 per month plus $500 upfront, call [phone]).
M Systems Plus  has developed MUMPS, which lets a standard
IBM PC or AT support up to three users ($750 per copy, call
[phone])

Fisher Business Systems has sent out Release 3.0 of its
Restaurant Management System, including an optional inventory
planning module, which runs on two brands of cash registers (no
price given, [phone]).

[***][7/9/85][***]
2001: A HIGH TECH ODYSSEY
Something you may have missed (and I almost did) at Spring Comdex
was a brochure from Asia Commercial (Holdings) Ltd., Hong Kong.
"The primary objective...is to go public in the near future,"
writes chairman D.K. Nhon. Mostly the company makes watches, owns
LA real estate, imports & exports, etc.  Holdings include (get
this) Manhattan Electronics Ltd., Artland Estates Ltd. Arteco
Electronics LTd., and Meyer Watch Case Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
The brochure, however, is filled with high-tech pictures of women
stuffing boards, engineers designing computers on drafting
tables, soldering and testing being done on fancy gear, but at
individual workstations or on one-man machines. Such jobs cannot
long be done in the U.S., because these workers will underprice
them.

MORAL: The only thing Americans can do is be more and more
creative. That includes you.

[***][7/9/85][***]
WHAT IF STEVE JOBS MOVED HERE?
Hey, c'mon Steve. They don't love you in California anymore. Why
don't you come out here.

YOU COULD GO TO SCHOOL. Specifically, the new Carter Policy Center
at Emory, where he could be a BMOC, earn a doctorate, and decide
whether to be the second coming of Jerry Brown or not.

YOU COULD BUY A BASEBALL TEAM. Specifically, the Atlanta Braves.
Ted Turner will need money after he buys CBS. Then you can
get in the dugout and manage, push a baseball across the field
with your nose, and the fans wouldn't bat an eye.

YOU COULD RUN FOR SENATOR. Why not? University of Georgia football
coach Vince Dooley is thinking about it. Even you could beat a
mere football coach.

YOU COULD BECOME AN ANCHORMAN. Of course, CNN goes through
anchormen like Bolivia goes through coups.

YOU COULD BECOME A TEACHER and take over the Advanced Technology
Development Center at Georgia Tech, still bereft after the loss
of director Jerry Birchfield.

YOU COULD LEAVE TOWN ANYTIME because our airport is so close to
downtown and has direct connections to just about anywhere.

We promise this will be the last said about Steve Jobs for a
while.

[***][7/9/85][***]
BOOM OF JAPANESE PERSONAL WORDPROCESSORS:
Here's a new fad, which cannot be seen anywhere outside of
Japan. It's based on the handy Japanese wordprocessors called
"Japanese personal wordprocessor".  These wordprocessors are
similar to electronic typewriters with some new features, such
as Japanese dictionary, a small RAM and LCD of 1 to 2 lines.
They do not actually compete with personal computers and
business wordprocessors due to the different features. So many
Japanese makers are involved in this business; those companies
include Toshiba, Fujitsu, Canon, Sharp, Matsushita, Hitachi,
Ricoh, Cashio etc. 210,000 systems were sold last year, and
the analysts predict that the figure will be doubled to 450,000
this year. The boom is apparently kindled by the steep decline
of the prices, which went down to US$400 from $600 or $800
a year ago. It is expected that the Japanese manufacturers will
further lower the prices and add more new features. In fact,
Fujitsu has already come up with one, which supports four
different languages for US$328.  (NOTE: So far, the announcement
of Toshiba's new product "RUPO" has been a big hit with
dealers due to its numerous features for a price under US$400.
RUPO will be out into the market on July 15.)

[***][7/9/85][***]
HITACHI AND SPERRY:
HITACHI, which suffered severe damage from IBM's spy case,
may get a new American business partner. That's SPERRY, known as
possible business partnership with AT&T. Presently, both HITACHI
and SPERRY are talking about developing mainframe computers
together.  The expected business knot of the two companies may
eventually lead to HITACHI-SPERRY-AT&T.  Until then, the business
negotiation continues.

[***][7/9/85][***]
LOTUS HAS FINALLY COME TO JAPAN:
LOTUS Development Corp. signed (7/1) a business agreement with
Kanrikohgaku-kenkyusho (Tokyo) concerning the development of
Japanese software. They are expected to produce Japanese version
of LOTUS 1-2-3. LOTUS has also announced that it will later set
up "LOTUS JAPAN" for the development and sales of their software.
Kanrikohgaku-kenkyosho is highly credited for its high-quality
wordprocessing program.

[***][7/9/85][***]
80286 FROM IBM JAPAN?
A new PC with the same CPU as IBM PC/AT has will be released
this fall, according to Nikkei Computer magazine.  The word is
that this new machine will be named 5570 as the upper version of
Japanese PC 5550. IBM 5570 is expected to include 80286 CPU,
Japanese DOS and XENIX.  Although the spokesman from IBM Japan
declined any comments about the release of 5570, it's highly
probable that IBM Japan will release the upper version of 2-year
old 5550.
The first Japanese microcomputer with 286 CPU is NEC's PC-98XA.
And Fujitsu will soon use 286 CPU to upgrade its FM16BETA
(80186 CPU), the source says.

[***][7/9/85][***]
IBM JAPAN CHANGES ITS SALES POLICY:
IBM Japan has finally started making an aggressive move to
achieve the goal of total US$8 billion sales volume by 1990.
It's the VAR (Value Added Retailer) system that IBM Japan has
adapted for the sales of its office computer "System/38."
This VAR system is intended to the selected software houses
of IBM Japan. It's a big change of IBM Japan's policy.

[***][7/9/85][***]
COMPUTERLAND JAPAN ALSO GETS AGGRESSIVE:
Computerland Japan announced the plan to increase the number of
its franchise-shops about 3.5 times as many as that of present.
Now there are 29 shops in Japan, and they want 100 by fiscal
1986.

[***][7/9/85][***]
U.S. MODEM DEBUTS IN JAPAN:
A new modem from Paradyne Corp., an American communication
equipment manufacturer, has received certification
from Japanese authorities on July 1.  Paradyne is the first non-
Japanese company that has produced a modem applicable to
Japanese machines.  The new modem, "Auto 1200A", can be used
for personal computers as well as remote terminals at banks, etc.
Auto 1200A is marketed by Paradyne Japan (Tokyo) for US$392.
(IMPORTANT TIP:  Paradyne Corp. is closely related with NTT.)

[***][7/9/85][***]
BLEAK OUTLOOK FOR SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRY:
The oversupply of semiconductor products has been a
serious headache for Japanese manufacturers. Major Japanese
manufacturers have finally decided to cut back this year's
facility-investment volume for semiconductor products 15 to 20
percent less than was planned earlier.  The reduction rates
of the investment are 24 percent for Fujitsu, 15 percent for
Mitsubishi and Matsushita.  The price of 256K DRAM
is now only US$2.40 to $2.80 in Japan.

[***][7/9/85][***]
SONY TIES WITH VITELIC:
It is SONY that plans to fight against the current depression of
semiconductor business by finding a new business partner in the U.S.
It has tied up with Vitelic, a semiconductor manufacturer in
California, concerning the development and production of
semiconductors, says SONY.  As the plan goes, SONY gets the
technology to develop DRAM from Vitelic, and produces Vitelic's
CMOS super-LSIs in Japan.

[***][7/9/85][***]
LATEST STORIES OF FUJITSU:
Fujitsu has established a software development and sales company
with General, a Japanese consumer electronics manufacturer.
The new company named "Fujitsu-General System Engineering(FGS)"
offers software mainly for Japan's agricultural corp.  FGS is also
planning to be involved in "Home Network," a sort of a family
version of LAN in the future.
Moreover, Fujitsu will soon start the sale of its 8-bit micro
"FM-7" in Spain. OAK Corp., a Japanese producer of educational
equipment, will be cooperating in this project. CAI software
from OAK Corp. will be bundled to FM-7, a report says.

[***][7/9/85][***]
KOREA EXPORTS MICROS TO U.S.:
DAIU TSUSHIN Corp.(Seoul, Korea) has made a business contract
with Leading Edge Corp.(USA) to supply 528,000 micros, a report
says.  It's a 16-bit personal computer developed by DAIU TSUSHIN.
Further specification is not known yet.  DAIU TSUSHIN is a major
computer manufacturer in Korea, and has already business
agreement with Burroughts (USA) for the sales of its general
purpose computers in Korea.

[***][7/9/85][***]
NTT STARTS CAD/CAM BUSINESS:
NTT(Japan's Telegraph & Telephone Corp.) announced that it will
cooperate with some companies to establish a new enterprise for
the development and the sales of CAD/CAM systems.  NEC Corp.,
Mitsui Bussan Corp., and Mitsui Shipbuilding Corp. will be
involved in this new business with NTT.  Among others, Mitsui
Bussan, a major Japanese trading company has been showing a
positive attitude towards the computer-related new-media
businesses.

[***][7/9/85][***]
TOSHIBA RELEASES COMMUNICATION LSI:
TOSHIBA has started sample marketing four types of CMOS LSI for
communication on July 5. Those LSIs include "TMPZ84C40P", "41P",
"42P", and "43P".  All of them are used as peripheral chips for
Z80 computers. The prices are US$10 respectively.

[***][7/9/85][***]
POCKET COMPUTER FROM SHARP:
Sharp has come up with a new pocket computer "PA500" to fit
into your pocket and provides lots of features. PA500 could
be of assistant to businesspeople, among others, since it
enables the user to read, write, and search phone numbers
and daily schedule.  It can be used as a calculator or a
memorandum as well. It has a built-in 2KB RAM card, and the
printer is optionally available. PA500 will be sold for
US$72 on July 20.

[***][7/9/85][***]
POCKET TV RECEIVER:
Japanese people love pocket-size gadgets, such as head-phone
stereos and pocket computers, etc. This time... a pocket-size TV
RECEIVER has made its debut here.  Manufacturers such as
SONY and EPSON have been already selling such small TVs at
US$190 to 300. But the new one (monochrome) costs only US$79.
This is as small as 117mm x 62mm x 19.8mm, and weighs only 150g.
What's next to become pocket size?  Maybe, it's a telephone or
a wordprocessor or... But wait until I report to you in this
column.
(COMPANY GUIDANCE: CASIO is a Japanese manufacturer of
wrist watches, calculators, low-end micros, etc.)

[***][7/9/85][***]
MARUBENI TIES WITH INTERLAND:
One of the major Japanese trading companies MARUBENI, has
made a business agreement with Interland Corp.(Chicago) for
the sales of a videotex conference system developed by
Interland Corp.  The system includes a video camera, a TV
monitor, a system controller, a microphone, a speaker, etc.
With this system, the participants of conference will be able
to discuss bi-directionally and write any comments on the
monitor. A report says the participants of up to 10 different
places will be able to confer at the same time.

[***][7/9/85][***]
COMPUTER NETWORK BOOM EVERYWHERE:
A personal computer communication has been getting popular
here since the NTT's deregulation this April. Taking this
advantage, Kashima Construction Co.(a major Japanese construction
company)  will soon set up a host system for a personal computer
network to start communication service in Japan. In this system
the company will lease a personal computer and a modem for US$8
per month to the dwellers of apartment houses.  The information
providers of this network include banks, private railway
companies, department stores, and airline companies.
Soon you won't be able to live without computers in this country.
(We hope...)
(Matsushita Electronics is a domestic Japanese firm.  It is known as
"Panasonic" outside Japan. I regret the editing error of last
week's NB-JAPAN.)


[***][7/9/85][***]
CONTROL DATA AIDS SYSTIME
Control Data (CDC) has stepped in with promises of cash
support to the ailing Systime group here in the UK.
Systime, whose financial troubles have been well documented
in previous Newsbytes-UK, filed their accounts two weeks
ago, which showed an accumulation of 45 million pounds in
debts in the last years trading.  The furore in the press
this created caused Ian MacNeill, Systime's technical
director, to walk out last week saying that he intends to
form his own company.  MacNeill's departure was particularly
noted by many as he was one of the longest serving senior
staff members of the group.  Systime's accounts revealed
that losses of 3.5 million on a turnover of 55 million
pounds during the year ended September, 1984, had been
incurred.  The figures prompted CDC to give the group a 20
million pound interest free loan to stave off a potentially
very nasty situation.

[***][7/9/85][***]
NEW APRICOTS FROM ACT
Leading computer maker ACT, known as Apricot in the US,
launched two new micros in the UK this week.  The new
machines are the F2 and F10 computers which slot into the
middle of the firms range of business micros.  The F2
features twin 720K floppies and 512K RAM for 1,500 pounds,
with the F10 offering a 10 Megabyte hard disc for 2,300
pounds.  The machines are thought to be Anglicised versions
of the machines scheduled for release in the US later this
year, which, until now, ACT said they were not releasing in
the UK!

[***][7/9/85][***]
THORN EMI FORMALLY TAKES OVER INMOS
Following Thorn EMI's purchase of Inmos, the UK's largest
chip maker, last year, the group announced that Dr Richard
Petritz, Inmos's deputy chairman, and John Heightly, its CEO
had been "relieved of their executive duties" as part of
shakeup of the Thorn EMI group as a whole.  Petritz and
Heightly, both Americans, helped found Inmos in 1978, and
still hold slices of the company stock.  Now that the
executive boot is on Thorn EMI's foot, both are expected to
sell out their shares, thus transferring 100 per cent of the
company to Thorn EMI.

[***][7/9/85][***]
HEWLETT PACKARD IMPLEMENTS THREE DAY SHUTDOWN
In the wake of Hewlett Packard's decision to extend the
holidays of its US plant during July, the European branches
of the company are to take an extra three days paid holiday
also.  In the UK, staff have elected to take the holiday as
either three four day working weeks, or as a block during
the last three days of July.  Announcing the holidays last
week, a company spokesman said that by taking a break when
things were quiet, Hewlett Packard would avoid any lay-offs
later in the year.  The spokesman did, however, say that all
new appointments were now being vetted by senior management.
H-P's UK staff currently number 3,500.

[***][7/9/85][***]
BRITISH TELECOM EMPLOYEES DISMISSED FOR 'CONTRACT FRAUD'
Four British Telecom employees were fighting for their jobs
back at an industrial tribunal this week.  The tribunal
heard how, for virtual "blank cheques" on contracts,
employees were given 500 pound cash presents, Christmas
presents, drinks, meals and free house repairs, (Now why
can't I get a job like that?)  Contracts were awarded to
contractors by relatively junior staff by the simple
expedient of dividing major orders into small parts, then
awarding all the mini-contracts to the favoured contractor.
One of the four said "I thought it was bending the rules for
BT's own good...We were getting projects finished on time".
Staff are currently being directed not to 'bend the rules'.

[***][7/9/85][***]
OFTEL CONTINUES TO BLOCK MITEL SALE
The UK government's Office of Telecommunications (OFTEL),
set up as a watchdog over the telecoms industry, has decided
to formally refer the acquisition of the Canadian Mitel
group by British Telecom, to the governmental Monopolies and
Mergers Commission.  A formal referral means months of
intensive (and expensive) meetings and paperwork, and will
cause a very long delay in the deals approval.  BT's
chairman, Sir George Jefferson, is "Both disapppointed and
surprised. We believe we have an excellent case to put to
the commission, but regret the loss of time entailed in this
reference".  What he really means is that he's annoyed BT
aren't getting their own way as they did before they were
privatised like AT&T!

[***][7/9/85][***]
NO PUBLICITY OR THEY MIGHT GET ME
Staying with Oftel, Chairman and Professor, Bryan Carsberg
announced this week that despite a large number of
complaints against British Telecom last year, all but a few
had the 'no publicity' box filled in for fear of reprisals
by BT such as the phone being cut off.  Carsberg said he was
disappointed with this, as it made complaints very difficult
to research properly since BT were unable to pinpoint the
problem with (usually) the subscribers account.  Personally
I don't blame the complainants a bit for wishing to remain
anonymous, especially with BT's
reputation...click...burrrrrrr.

[***][7/9/85][***]
OLIVETTI TRIMS ACORN EXPENDITURE
Following the suspension of Acorns shares the other week
(see previous reports in Newsbytes -UK...what do you mean
you haven't read them???), Olivetti has added yet more fuel
to the rumour that they are 'pulling out' of Acorn, by
blocking cash to the Acorn Espirit and Alvey research
projects.  Not content with this, the firm has scrapped
senior management at Acorn's decision to introduce a major
new product line.  Olivetti denied last week that it
intended to pull the plug on Acorn, and said that it is
"postponing any decision on its future role until
refinancing plans have been finalised".  The major problem
of course, is that by being seen to dither, any potential
co-financiers of Acorn will be put off.  That's if they
hadn't been already!

[***][7/9/85][***]
IRISH BIRD-DATING AGENCY
If your pet bird (caged variety) is pining, never fear -
Professor Harry Harrison of Dublin University, Ireland has
the answer, a bird computer dating agency!  Specialising in
budgies, the professor aims to have the UK's 2 million
budgie population on his IBM PC XT's discs very soon, so
that he can concentrate on his hobby of breeding the UK's
number one pet.  Presumably the computer has a separate
section for the big blue variety?

[***][7/9/85][***]
TANDON MAKES SONY SAY "UNCLE", THEN PROPOSES MARRIAGE
Knuckling under to litigation pressure, the giant Sony Corp. has
agreed to pay Tandon Corp. a royalty on every 3 1/2-inch
diskette drive it makes, after being sued for pirating Tandon's
product.  The Chatsworth-based Tandon Corp. also gets the right
to use Sony patents for a higher-capacity, 3 1/2-inch drive. The
agreement does not cover the more common 5 1/4-inch or 8-inch
drives that are the subject of additional litigation by Tandon
against Mitsubishi Electric Corp. and TEAC Corp., who remain
defendants in the suit affecting the smaller drives as well.
Tandon's vice president for planning, Ranjit Sitlani, said the
agreement with Sony was good news, since it should ultimately
help the company combat cheaper Japanese imports.  The market
for 3 1/2-inch diskette drives is expected to reach $400 million
by the end of 1986, according to some industry analysts.  But,
quick to let bygones be bygones, Tandon has secretly opened
talks with Sony to develop, make and market the 3 1/2-inch
double-sided drives together.  Why go through a lawsuit then
climb into bed with your opponent?  Simple.  Sony is the world
leader in the 3 1/2-inch market.  Tandon has lost money for the
last three quarters in a row.  Isn't that called "constructive
engagement?"

[***][7/9/85][***]
HOW DO YOU WANT YOUR STEAK...EXTRA CRISPY OR ORIGINAL RECIPE?
Programmer Dennis Lee Williams was convicted of one count of
computer crime in Los Angeles Superior Court last week.
Williams was charged with planting a "logic bomb" in the
computer system of his former employer, Collins Foods
International Inc.  Collins Foods owns more than 200 Sizzler
steakhouses and Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises.  Williams
could face a three-year prison term when sentenced on July 31.
Both Williams and a co-defendant were found not guilty on other
counts of computer crime and conspiracy to commit computer
crime.

[***][7/9/85][***]
TODAY TORRANCE, TOMORROW SANTA CLARA
Ashton-Tate is making another series of big moves.  First, the
software maker is about to kiss its Culver City headquarters
goodbye and move into 300% larger digs in Torrance.  One local
real estate broker, with a flair for understatement, described
the new headquarters building as "plush."  In addition, the
company has given its acquisitions staff the green light to
devour Lightyear software of Santa Clara.  And for desert,
Paladin Software of San Jose is on the merger menu.  Ashton-
Tate's CEO Edward Esber reportedly stated, "We are looking
actively and passively for acquisitions.  I've had a tremendous
number of company presidents talking to me."  Esber concluded by
saying, "Every software company is up for grabs."  Ashton-Tate
has been doing a lot of shrewd grabbing recently, picking up
Sunnyvale-based Forefront Corp. for $4.5 million in stock
options just last month.  Ashton-Tate reported sales of $82
million last year, and is targeting the $100 million mark as the
magic number this year.

[***][7/9/85][***]
THE SACK IS BACK
The human casualties continue to mount among the peripheral
manufacturers.  Cipher Data Products of San Diego announced last
week that it was sending 212 employees to the unemployment
office to join 90 others laid off in April.  Nearly two-thirds
of the layoffs will occur in a magnetic-tape peripherals plant
in Garden Grove, while the main San Diego factory will dismiss
the rest.  To add insult to injury, the remaining employees will
absorb a "temporary" wage and salary freeze.

Another San Diego-based firm, National Micronetics, said it will
close a magnetic-disk coating plant in Torrance.  Only ten of
the 60 employees of the high-tech factory will find jobs in the
company's San Diego headquarters.  The company expects to post a
$30 million loss for the fiscal year, which ended June 28.

[***][7/9/85][***]
NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
Tired of those expensive sports cars that have idiot
personalities instead of idiot lights?  You know the ones.  A
nauseating female voice will sweetly remind you that, "Fuel
levels are low," or "Your door is ajar."  A friend of mine
swears that once, when he left his keys in the ignition and
mistakenly locked all the doors, his car quietly chuckled to
itself.  How would you like your toilet bowl and bathroom faucet
to say, "That's too much water, better be careful," or "Shame on
you for using so much water"?  No, this is not a excerpt from
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (more about that later),
the "talking heads" are available from Colton-Wartsila of
Colton.  The taps contain an electronic water-monitoring device
and a microprocessor that talks, chiding residents for using too
much water in the bathroom.  The company says purchasers would
probably be businesses and drought-conscious consumers.  A
company spokesman stopped short of saying the fixtures have
"Genuine People Personalities."

[***][7/9/85][***]
SIMONDS SAYS "THINK"
Computer scientists from the nation's biggest corporations are
gathering in Claremont this month to learn how to make computers
"see, hear, talk, plan and reason."  Under the auspices of the
Los Angeles-based Institute of Artificial Intelligence, and with
the cooperation of the Pentagon, over 250 DP professionals will
pay up to $6,000 each for the opportunity to study with AI
experts from Carnegie-Mellon University, Stanford, Duke and the
Rand Corp., among others.  IAI president Jonathan Simonds says
the institute seeks to create a "critical mass to keep
artificial intelligence alive."  The short-term goal, according
to Simonds, is to produce about 150 newly-skilled computer
engineers who can go back to their companies and put their
knowledge to immediate use.  Simonds didn't mention what would
happen to the other 100 participants.  Corporations involved in
the program include Lockheed, Hughes Aircraft, and Litton
Industries.

[***][7/9/85][***]
BISHOP MAKES MOVE TO MATE
Westlake Village's Bishop Graphics Inc. has acquired PerfectData
Corp. of Chatsworth for an undisclosed number of Bishop shares.
The acquisition marks Bishop's entry into computer-aided design
(CAD) and related products.  Bishop's annual sales in 1984 were
$14.6 million.

[***][7/9/85][***]
CONTEMPTUOUS?  MOI?
Vector Graphic of Thousand Oaks has, without a doubt, one of the
worst records of user support, in my opinion.  After hearing
rumors of arrogant attitudes and strange requests by their
telephone "customer service" reps, this reporter attempted to
find out what software was available for one Vector computer
product.  The telephone conversation went like this: "Hello,
could you tell me what software is available for your computer?"
"No!  You'll have to ask your dealer."  "But he's out of
business, gone."  "I'm sorry, but I won't tell you.  It's a
company policy."  "You mean you know but can't tell me?"
"That's correct.  Goodbye."  <click>.

Now, Vector has produced the first issue of its "Vector Owner's
Newsletter," and has mailed 2,500 copies to "known users" (makes
purchasers sound vaguely sinister, doesn't it?). However,
the company only printed enough newsletters for less than
10% of the 29,000 Vector computer owners.  Ron Tharpe,
director of marketing and editor of the newsletter, says
those 2,500 copies will get ten-to-one pass-around, and
will be read by at least 25,000 owners.  If so, the
"Vector Owner's Newsletter" may turn into the biggest chain-
letter ever started by a computer manufacturer.

[***][7/9/85][***]
MERGER MANIA HITS C.G. INDUSTRIES
Printed circuit-board maker C.G. Industries of Chatsworth has
been purchased by Flextronix for an undisclosed amount of cash
and other considerations.  Flextronix also recently bought
Manufacturing Resources, a contract manufacturer, in
Massachusetts.  C.G. Industries employs 300 in a 40,000-square-
foot plant, and had sales of $6.5 million in 1984.

[***][7/9/85][***]
RING AROUND THE COLLAR
Corporate "brain drain" will lead to corporate downfall unless
business wakes up to the needs of the new breed of "gold-collar"
worker.  That's the message just released in a book titled "The
Gold-Collar Worker: Harnessing the Brainpower of the New
Workforce" by Robert E. Kelley (Addison-Wesley).  The gold-
collar worker is well-educated, commands a high salary, works
with complex, non-routine tasks that require intelligence and
creativity, expects to be actively involved in decisions that
affect his or her job, and does not respond to traditional top-
down management, says Kelley.  In addition, Kelley says gold-
collar workers stay on the job for an average of only 31 months.
Has Steve Jobs (now at the Russian Front) read this book?  Or
did he help write it?