Newsbytes - International Computing Industry News 1983 May to 1994 June

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[***][1/14/86][***] IRS MAY HAVE AWARDED CONTRACT: Rumors are flying that the Internal Revenue Service has decided to award its contract for 15,000 portables to IBM, although the official announcement, sources say, won't be made until January 21. On January 21, IBM has planned to introduce its "Convertible", a light-weight portable computer, and word is that IBM may have heard the news that it's the likely winner of the contract not from the IRS directly, but through a Washington grapevine. If true, the award means IBM must introduce its portable _this week_ in order to meet IRS specs that the portable be an off-the-shelf product. An announcement could come as early as Tuesday or on Thursday, the day Apple is slated to kick off "Apple World Conference". NEWSBYTES intends to work on this one throughout the weekend and week, so check back for updates. [***][1/14/86][***] SUITE CES: If you didn't make flat-screen televisions, camcorders, satellite dishes, or VCRs, you most likely had a low profile at the Consumer Electronics Show, which ran January 8-12 in Las Vegas. Only two American computer manufactuers exhibited--Atari and Commodore. Commodore relegated its staff to a spartan suite where only the Commodore 64 and 128 were exhibited to spectators. In a published report, Commodore's John Widlicka, senior VP of marketing, said Commodore would spend "tens of millions" promoting the two low-end machines. (More on Commodore below.) Atari was the only computer company to rent a booth on the main floor, introducing an update of its 2600 video game console which will sell for $39.95. The 7800, a more advanced video game player introduced at CES two years ago, will finally see the light of day, according to Atari. It will retail for $79. Atari finally announced its 1-meg ST, as well, saying it will be priced at $999.95 with a monocirome monitor and $1,995.95 with a color display. Shipments are to begin immediately to retailers who've carried the 520ST. Also, a 20 megabyte, 5 1/4" hard disk drive, the SHD-204, is scheduled for introduction next month according to the company. Meanwhile, the new 520ST (different from the old one in that it comes with an RF modulator and no monitor in its base price), as we reported in last week's NEWSBYTES, will be carried by a number of mass merchandisers. Word is the old 520STs are out of production and have been for several weeks. Among the handful of game software companies who showed--all in suites, not on the main floor--was Activision, Mindscape, Electronic Arts, and GameStar of Santa Barbara, Ca. The reason for the poor showing by computer and software firms can be summed up in the following: retailers do their biggest buying in the summer, CES is geared primarily to a low-end market that's not heavily populated in 1986, and companies which DO sell low-end products are back in R&D, following a Christmas sales blitz, without much new product to exhibit yet. Chances for the situation improving by next year apper slim. [***][1/14/86][***] ACTIVENTURE'S CD ROM: The company which still hopes to come out with a CD-ROM unit for the Atari ST is tired of waiting for Jack Tramiel to give the go ahead, so has come out with a version for the IBM PC. Consisting of a CD-ROM player, a controller, CD-ROM disc containing the Grolier Electronic Encyclopedia, and a software application that allows encyclopedia search and retrieval, Activenture's package retails for a total of "less than $1,000" and will be ready to ship by the end of the month. The announcement was made at CES. Activenture, which had hoped to supply CD-ROM packages for the Atari ST by now, reportedly has run into some trouble with Jack Tramiel. Tramiel has balked at the cost of producing the units, and won't allow the company to go ahead with ST CD-ROM production until the cost is par with audio compact disk players. CONTACT: ACTIVENTURE, PACIFIC GROVE, CA. 408-375-2638 [***][1/14/86][***] APPLE'S BIG WEEK: Thursday, January 16 Apple's kicks off 1986 AppleWorld Conference in San Francisco, to be held in conjunction with the MacWorld and Apple II World Expos January 16-18 in San Francisco. Speakers will include Steve Wozniak, Alvin Toffler, John Naisbett, Dr. Sherry Turkle and Alan Kay. There will be revelations of Apple's plans and products for '86, a news conference with John Sculley, and product demonstrations at the San Francisco DataMart. Apple says the Expo booth space is virtually sold out and over 200 companies will exhibit at Brooks Hall. CONTACT: APPLE PR, CUPERTINO, CA. 408-973-3146 [***][1/14/86][***] AMONG THE ANNOUNCEMENTS: ...will be the Macintosh Plus, a one meg unit with 800K of disk storage, which will retail for $2,495. Also look for an upgraded LaserWriter at $6,995. Apple will talk but not show at upgraded IIE. Sources say that's due for introduction in May or June. The current 512K Mac should drop in price by about 20%. There will also be a revelation that Apple has established a $25 million venture capital fund to encourage software development, according to a published report. "The San Jose Mercury News" says the money will go to firms developing communications, graphics, information services, and vertical market software. Also look for Apple to announce more "strategic alliances" aimed once again, at getting more Macs into Fortune 1000 businesses. And finally, also at the Conference, Apple will reveal that it has bought a Cray Research supercomputer to design custom semiconductor chips for future Apple products, according to John Markoff in the "San Francisco Examiner". The Cray XMP costs between $5 and $16 million. [***][1/14/86][***] RINGING IN THE STATS: The Christmas sales season turned out to be fairly lucrative for the industry. Businessland reports December sales were up 50% over November, Computerland reports brisk sales of IBM ATs, Compaqs and AT&T machines. Reportedly, Tandy enjoyed strong sales of its 1000 IBM-compatibles--so strong that Tandy spokespeople claimed to have had a 22% revenue gain in December compared to November. Said John Sculley in a published interview, referring to Apple sales, "Unlike last year, we sold just about everything we built." As for software, Broderbund and Borland came out front-runners in low-priced software. [***][1/14/86][***] PREDIX FOR '86: The soothsayers' forecasts are summarized by "Electronic Business" magazine in its recent issue. The magazine polled a sampling of research firms and found: personal computer sales will grow 17% over last year's figures (from International Data Corp. of MA.), 28 percent more software should be sold (Input of Mountain View, Ca.) bringing the market to an estimated $17 billion, computer-aided design and manufacturing equipment will grow 29% (Dataquest, San Jose, CA.), and semiconductor sales will increase by 6.7% (Henderson Ventures, Los Altos, CA.). All in all, the key word is "moderate growth" by just about everyone. [***][1/14/86][***] PALADIN CRUNCHED: Racked with heavy debts and a suit by creditors, Paladin Software Corp., maker of the "Crunch" spreadsheet for the Macintosh, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. But that doesn't mean the company is out of business. A majority interest in Paladin was purchased by Alameda, CA.-based Integrated Automation one day after five creditors, who claim Paladin owes them $91,000, filed a petition asking for liquidation of the company's assets. Says Paladin's CEO, Tom Newlin, "This deal will take us from a position of instability to financial stability." Paladin, which purchased VisiCorp a year ago, got stuck with heavy inventory and debt from that deal, plus contines to suffer from poor sales of "Crunch". Despite its current fiscal difficulties, Paladin still plans to release "SuperCrunch" in February and has no plans to lay off any of its 12 employees. [***][1/14/86][***] TALKING THE SAME LANGUAGE: 18 majers if computer and telecommunications equipment are forming a non-profit organization to develop standards for communications between different kinds of computers. Their aim is to break away from IBM's dominant Systems Network Architecture, which commands the market. IBM, interestingly enough, is not a member of the organization. Those who are include AT&T, Burroughs, Control Data, DEC, Hewlett-Packard, NCR, Sperry, Tandem, Wang and Xerox. The first meeting is slated for Jan. 23. [***][1/14/86][***] HP'S POISON PILL: Paranoid? No longer. Hewlett-Packard's stockholders will be asked to vote on a measure that will discourage any attempts at corporate takeover on February 25 at their annual meeting. The three scenarios for a "poison pill" defense involve requirements that unsolicited suitors get 80% approval of shareholders, written consents from a majority of shareholders, hr buy double the number of shares outstanding. HP spokespeople deny any unwanted predators are lurking on the horizon, but "we just don't want to take any chances." [***][1/14/86][***] COMMODORE'S BIG CUTBACK: NEWSBYTES-UNITED KINGDOM reported last week that Commodore International would close its Corby, England computer assembly plant, idling 250 workers. This week, Commodore announced a second plant--a chip-making operation in Costa Mesa, Ca.-- would be closed, resulting in 200 more layoffs. Further, Commodore expects to post another loss in its second quarter ending December 31, a fact which contradicts statements made by Thomas Rattigan, the company's president, earlier this week. Analysts look on Commodore's belt-tightening measures as positive, and banks have a vested interest in keeping Commodore alive so it can repay its loans. [***][1/14/86][***] IN BRIEF-- DEST CORPORATION of Milpitas, Ca. has introduced a low-cost page scanner for the IBM PC and compatibles. "PC Scan" costs $1,995. "Text Pac" (character recognition software) costs $595. Both are available now. "All common business documents" are said to be recognizable by the hardware-software combo. CONTACT: DEST CORP. 408-946-7100 ACTIVISION of Mountain View, Ca. has purchased Gamestar Inc. of Santa Barbara, Ca., maker of sports simulation software for home computers. CORVUS SYSTEMS of San Jose, Ca. just laid off another 99 workers as part of its cost-cutting moves. The employees worked at both the San Jose and White City, Oregon plants. THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT has decided not to impose antitrust charges against a group of software developers who have allied to develop standards to prevent unauthorized software copying. The Association of Data Processing Services Organizations is attempting to reach a consensus on preventing the pirating of software, which it estimates has cost the industry $1.3 billion since 1981. TRW INC.'S CREDENTIALS SERVICES of Cleveland, Ohio is offering consumers an online service in which they can find out who's looking at their credit rating. The service costs $30/year and for their money, subscribers get access to their credit rating and history electronically, plus a notice by mail each time somebody snoops into their credit history. MINDSCAPE has released "The Luscher Profile", a "psychware" program which draws a psychological profile of the user based on his/her responses to color and shapes. The software is available for Apple, Commodore, and IBM computers for $39.95. [***][1/14/86][***] AND FINALLY: John Dvorak writes in the "San Francisco Examiner" that a small Portland, Oregon company is selling an Apple IIc clone for $395. Called the Laser 128, it runs all Apple II software, according to Dvorak. "I'm sure the legal eagles at Apple will be burning the midnight oil over this machine," he says. It's available by direct mail only from Central Point Software: 503-244-5782. [***][1/14/86][***] HAYES MAKES APPLETALK TALK *EXCLUSIVE* Hayes Microcomputer Products Inc. will introduce InterBridge, a link between AppleTalk networks, at the MacWorld Exposition on Thursday, held in San Francisco. The product will not only connect two networks together (through modems if they're in different buildings) but will also contain software and RAM to optimize the performance of the connected networks, moving work from more crowded areas to less-crowded areas. [***][1/14/86][***] DENNIS HAYES' BIRTHDAY DINNER *EXCLUSIVE* Dennis Hayes turned 36 last Friday, and what better way to spend the day before but over dinner with Newsbytes Atlanta. In a rambling, 2 1/2 hour conversation, Mr. Hayes discussed his toughest competition (the Japanese) and how he intends to beat them (by caring as much about quality as they do -- down to the last solder joint.) He said Hayes is committed to expanding overseas, but only when it can service the business as it does in the USA, with 72-hour turnaround on bad modems and free telephone help. "There's a learning curve for each company, and each country," he said. The battle in the modem market, he added, isn't to make a faster modem -- but to make modems easier to use. "When you connect to a corporate mainframe and ask, 'Why can't I do that in Lotus?' and the data processing people say, 'It won't work that way', the answer is not good enough anymore," he said. He also re-affirmed Hayes' commitment to 100% domestic production. "We have the latest Japanese robots, the latest American computers, and they work together," he said. [***][1/14/86][***] ATLANTA BECOMES A DATA TRANSLATION CENTER Over the last three months, three local companies have sent press releases across this desk touting their abilities in translating computer data from one format to another. Two of them, Advertising Technologies Inc. and Document Conversion Associates Inc., use the "Keyword 7000" from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, as the basis of their offerings. They'll charge about $30 per disk to move data between any two formats (about 150) read by the Keyword system. The oldest and most unique of Atlanta's offerings in this new business, though, is Datalantic Inc., a six-year old Norcross company founded by Rich Pounds and Steve Swann. Their best known project to date was using armed services' computers to compile and proof-read a list of dead and missing soldiers for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC. Datalantic recently opened an office in Washington to service a three-year contract with US West to enter nearly 1 million sheets of court documents from the AT&T divestiture into a single computer system. US West will then re-sell the results to the telephone companies, law firms, and other interested parties. Datalantic estimates it can convert between 300-400 different formats. One more thing--the company is in the process of changing its name. The hardware-software subsidiary is called Datachange. Operators answer the phone as "The Data Companies." The new name: Database Development Inc. CONTACT: DON SHANE, DATABASE DEVELOPMENT 404-441-1332 [***][1/14/86][***] SPEAKING OF CHANGE, WE NOW GO TO CONTEL CADO IN CALIFORNIA Continental Telecom Inc. (Contel) , the $1.2 billion Atlanta- based telephone company, played musical chairs at Contel CADO, its Torrance, CA-based microcomputer subsidiary. (They make multi-user micros competing with Fortune and others.) Gone is president Peter A. Thompson, who had joined the company last July when Northern Data Systems, the distributorship he headed, was acquired by Contel. (Contel says he quit.) Jack McDonald, Contel's chief scientist, was named interim vice president- operations for Contel CADO until a new VP-operations is found. The guys who make computers for Contel will now report to the guys who make phones. As part of the "reorganization" (Contel objects to seeing it called a "shake up") CADO officials will report to Executone president Bill O'Connor, whose title is business systems section group president. Contel also announced it completed the acquisition of IPC Communications Inc., which makes fancy push-button phones for brokers and other traders who have no time to dial. IPC will be part of Contel's Financial Systems Group. CONTACT: NORM BURST, CONTEL 404-391-8409 [***][1/14/86][***] CHEER UP--IRMA'S STOCK SPLITS Digital Communications Associates Inc. announced a 3-for-2 stock split, payable February 4 to shareholders of record January 21, to be paid as a stock dividend. The company recently reported quarterly sales jumped 60%, to $29.32 million, and net income jumped 84%, to $4.23 million, for the quarter ended November 30 compared to a year ago. [***][1/14/86][***] THE USUAL QUAD-PROBLEMS File this under "When will they ever learn." The folks at Quadram in Norcross are very excited about the coming three months, which they say will be filled with new product announcements, including some in micro-mainframe communications. All very good, I said, but how about that Ricoh-engine laser printer you showed off two months ago, during the last Comdex? When can product reviewers get their hands on it, let alone the general public? "You're near the top of the list to see it, but there have been delays in the software." [***][1/14/86][***] THOSE SURE ARE FUNNY-LOOKING SEAGULLS CIRCLING OVERHEAD Kaypro has reported a $2.5 million net loss for the company's first quarter ended November 29. And, with even less auspicious news, the Solana Beach computer maker begins the new year by posting a 44 percent drop in revenue to $14.1 million. Kaypro chairman Andrew Kay attributed the loss to the introduction of a 16-bit IBM-compatible computer last November. "The loss was generated by the usual manufacturing start-up costs, which reduced gross margins for the quarter," said Kay. [***][1/14/86][***] COMMODORE CLOSES CHIP FACTORY, IDLES 200 In another round of employee cutbacks, Commodore Computer Corp. has announced the closure of its Costa Mesa silicon-chip plant. When the padlocks go on, 200 workers go out. Commodore's chip fabrication work will now be transferred to the company's plant in Norristown, Pennsylvania. (More in NEWSBYTES-SILICON VALLEY.) [***][1/14/86][***] GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS Here's the rundown of contract awards and layoffs for some other selected So. Calif. firms: ================================================================ Contracts Amount Reason ------------- ---------- --------------------------------------- Tandon $300 mil. Orders for IBM-compatible workstations from two unnamed companies. E.S.I. Ind. $50 mil. Computerized coupon-dispensing kiosks ordered by Consumer Communications Corp. of Troy, N.Y. Archive Corp. $12.8 mil. Supply 1/4-inch streaming cartridge- tape drives to Kamerman Labs, American Mitac and Harris/Lanier. Micro General $4.6 mil. Order from Postmasters Systems for computerized parcel-shipping systems. ================================================================ Layoffs Number Reason ------------- ---------- --------------------------------------- Eagle Comp. 28 Their jobs went to Korea. Semtech Corp. 37 Bottom fell out of the chip market. [***][1/14/86][***] TOP 40 COMPUTER RADIO A new radio news show about computers has hit the airwaves in Los Angeles. To say that "The Computer Connection" is fast-paced is, well, about an order of magnitude off the mark. After listening to a recent broadcast, the description that immediately comes to mind is: Whooooosh!!! Reporters Sol Rosenberg and Pat Stanley seem reasonably well informed, but their hour-long show reminds this 30-ish listener of American Bandstand played fast-forward on a VCR. Interviews usually have some "appropriate" pop music playing in the background, with peppy cuts from Michael Jackson 45s sprinkled in the pauses when the hosts take a breather. This program is about computers, after all, so an interview with a couple who married after "meeting" on an electronic bulletin board is broadcast over an up-tempo version of "Get Me to the Church on Time." You get the picture. Best of all, the show is on the air over KGIL-FM at 7:00 on Sunday mornings here in the Big Orange. Rosenberg says The Computer Connection is broadcast in 16 radio markets and is carried by the AP Radio Network. CONTACT: MARK HUFFMAN AP RADIO NETWORK (202) 955-7242 [***][1/14/86][***] NOVELIST OFFERS BBS BOUNTY Costa Mesa author Jaron Summers is a born promoter. After the publication of his first novel, titled "Safety Catch," Summers decided to publicize his computer-oriented mystery on The Source and CompuServe. He offered readers a free peek at Chapter One and the chance to make $5 by posting the text on a private electronic bulletin board. Guess what? His brainstorm worked so well that his publisher, Dorchester, is nearly sold out of the first 100,000-copy printing. Summers said his pay-out limit is $2,000 with a maximum of $50 per person. Summers estimates that Chapter One is now on more than 400 bulletin boards around the world. "This thing is like a huge pyramid, a gigantic chain letter," says Summers. To access "Safety Catch" on The Source, type: TY SFILES>BDM922>SAFETY. [***][1/14/86][***] BEACHBITS -> Sterling Software of Dallas, the recent buyer of Informatics General, will sell the firm's Insurance Systems Division to Policy Management Systems Corp. for $4.4 million in cash. PMSC, located in South Carolina, supplies software and services to the property and casualty insurance industry. -> Silogic Inc., a manufacturer of computer products and software for artificial intelligence applications, has relocated into an 8,000-square foot facility near Los Angeles International Airport. The company will fill that large space with only 25 employees. [***][1/14/86][***] HOT POTATO DROP: When Lotus Development bought out Software Arts (creators of VisiCalc) last June, one of the products they acquired was "TK! Solver", an equation-solving package for scientific and engineering applications. Now, admitting that the product "isn't really compatible with existing Lotus products," they've sold all rights to the package to Universal Technical Systems, a Rockford, IL development house. The sale includes several vertical-market versions of "TK! Solver", including versions for building design and construction, financial management, introductory science, and mechanical engineering. "TK! Solver" had been the only product sold by Lotus' Engineering and Scientific Products Division, which is expected to introduce a series of 1-2-3 compatible products sometime this year. [***][1/14/86][***] BRICKLIN SHIPS: VisiCalc developer Dan Bricklin, formerly of Software Arts and (later) Lotus, is now shipping his low-cost demo-generation program. Bricklin's West Newton, MA company -- named Software Garden -- is selling "Dan Bricklin's Demo Program" for $74.95. The program, which runs on the IBM PC, creates slide-show-like simulations of products, and has received rave reviews in the trade press. (The Newsbytes Northeast bureau is awaiting a copy.) CONTACT: SOFTWARE GARDEN WEST NEWTON, MA 617-332-2240 [***][1/14/86][***] GREEN DROPS ONE-WRITE Wayne Green Enterprises of Peterborough, NH will no longer be selling the One-Write Plus line of accounting software. The original developers of One-Write, Great American Software of Amherst, NH, have obtained all rights to the product line from WGE. A spokesperson for Great American says the company is hoping to expand distribution of the product, of which about 8000 packages have been sold. The basic One-Write module retails for $295, with add-on modules going for $245 each. The company says additional modules will be available later this year. [***][1/14/86][***] MAC DRIVE PRICES DOWN: The recent introduction of Apple's MacIntosh hard disk has resulted in a spate of price reductions from independent companies which market Mac hard drives. The latest price reduction comes from Cambridge, MA-based General Computer Corporation, which has reduced prices about 20%. General's 10-meg Hyperdrive goes from $2195 to $1695; the 20-meg drive drops to $2195 from $2795. A company spokesperson says the move is due to lower costs and has nothing to do with Apple's pricing. [***][1/14/86][***] ENABLES SETS SITES: The Software Group of Ballston Lake, NY has joined the ever- lengthening list of software makers that are offering site licenses for their products in an effort to increase sales to that elusive corporate market. The Software Group developed and markets "Enable", an integrated package for the IBM PC. The package, which retails for $695, is the subject of a negative review in the January issue of BYTE. Depending on the number of copies a company wants to buy, "Enable" site licenses are available from $310 per copy (for 150 packages) to $190 per copy (for 2000 copies). Meanwhile, The Software Group has added an 80,000-word spelling checker to "Enable". New versions of "Enable" will include the checker; and it's available separately for $34.95 for those wishing to upgrade. [***][1/14/86][***] M/A-COM GETS THE IRS: While speculation abounds about who will be the recipient of the lucrative I.R.S. contract for portable computers, M/A-Com of Rochester, NY company has won a $13.8 million contract to supply the feds with a computer-based training system. The systems that M/A-Com will install consist of graphics displays, high-speed printers and modems connected to Zilog supermicrocomputers. The first systems installed will have specialized course development software that'll be used by I.R.S. programmers to create training programs. [***][1/14/86][***] THE COMPUTER CENTER THAT (ALMOST) WASN'T: Boston's $85 million "World Trade Center" will be opening within the next few weeks in its waterfront location on historic Commonwealth Pier. The huge complex, with over 800,000 square feet of space, was originally going to be called BOSCOM and was to be totally given over to high-tech offices and exhibit space. But the original developer ran into difficulties, and took on additional partners. The new investors, seeing the nearly-empty high-tech buildings in such cities as Dallas, decided to expand the concept into a World Trade Center for Boston, where offices of the U.S. Commerce Department will be the centerpiece for international businesses. Still, a quarter of the space will remain as a high-tech center. [***][1/14/86][***] ITT INTO MODEMS: Edison, NJ-based ITT Data Equipment and Systems Division has joined the hotly-competitive PC modem market with three reasonably-priced 1200-baud products. The 1200 PC retails for $399; the 1200SPC (which adds synchronous transmission and comes with Crosstalk 16) goes for $429; and the "Security Modem" sells for $569. The security modem includes software and hardware that lets security-conscious users ask the caller for a password and then rings the caller back at a number stored in memory. [***][1/14/86][***] LOW-COST OUTLINER: The latest entry in the low-cost-but-useful software sweepstakes comes from a Management Data Services of Portland, ME. "MDS Outline" retails for $49.95 and is one of those outlining programs that writers (like your intrepid bureau chief) find useful for organizing random thoughts. It runs on the IBM PC and compatibles and produces good ol' standard ASCII output that can be used by most any word processor. CONTACT: MANAGEMENT DATA SERVICES PORTLAND, ME 207-772-5436 [***][1/14/86][***] POP-UP PRINTING: The proliferation of memory-resident "pop-up" programs continues to increase, often creating a memory-clash problem. (We have at least six different pop-ups vying for space on our PC -- though not all at the same time.) The latest pop-up is a new version of Connecticut Software's "Printer Boss" program, which customizes print functions and lets large spreadsheets print sideways on fan-fold paper. The package is called "Sideline" and it retails for $129.90. CONTACT: CONNECTICUT SOFTWARE ROWAYTON, CT 203-838-1844 [***][1/14/86][***] NORTHEAST SNOWBITS: -- The last of the three original founders of Acton, MA-based EnMasse Computer Corporation has resigned. Robert Downs vice- president of development and a director, left the company on December 31. The company has delayed introducing a 68000-based multiprocessor system. -- Wang Laboratories sold $191.25 million worth of newly-issued stock in its recent attempt to raise enough money to get rid of a $204 million debt. Wang will get $186 million, with the rest going to Salomon Brothers as commission. -- Programming gurus who want to wile their days away coding in the ever-popular PL/1 language can now get a compiler for Prime computers. The software costs $4000-$7000, depending on which Prime computer it runs on. -- The Manufacturing Automation Protocol (MAP) is fast becoming a standard on computerized assembly lines. Concord Data Systems of Waltham, MA -- one of the biggest MAP proponents of MAP -- has signed contracts with both DEC and Honeywell under which they'll be supplying MAP software for those companies' systems. Concord previously signed up IBM. -- NEC has established a nationwide chain of walk-in service centers for their printers and personal computers. NEC says many repairs will be made on a "while you wait" basis. The centers are located in Brisbane, CA, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Edison, NJ, Marietta, GA., Norwalk, CT., Woburn, MA. Later this year, centers will open in Detroit, Cleveland, St. Louis, Washington, Sacramento, and Ft. Lauderdale. -- Want to run PC graphics software (like Flight Simulator) on your VAX? Logicraft of Nashua, NH has a $2990 board that'll let you do just that. You can contact them at 603-880-0300. [***][1/14/86][***] *IBM LAPTOP PORTABLE REVEALED*: It took one of the UK's machine specific magazines - "PC Business World" - to spill the beans on the upcoming IBM PC laptop machines. Jim Forbes and Steve Burke of the CW Communications Network Group - an international network of publishers worldwide - say that TWO laptops will be launched soon. First up is the entry level machine, code-named the P12 which uses an Intel 80C88 microprocessor and sports 256K RAM and a liquid crystal display. Interestingly, the P12 does not have an integral disc drive, instead relying on optional RAM packs and add-on disc drives in a bid to save on power whilst in the field. Andrew Seybold, responsible for the "Seybold Report on Professional Computing" confirms this, as do several unidentified IBM employees. The P12 will sell for under the $1,500 mark. Seybold says that the P12 will normally take the much-rumoured 3.5 inch format disc drives. If you want the disc option to the P12, expect to have to pay for it. The 256K LCD unit with a single, dual-sided drive weighs in at a shade under $2,000. Optional extras to the P12 include, as mentioned, plug in RAM packs, extra drive units, and an electroluminescent screen, all of which ramp the price up considerably beyond the sub-$1,500 entry level price. Big Brother to the P12 is the P14, a high-end laptop which uses the Intel 80286 microprocessor and has a whopping half megabyte of RAM, expandable to 1Mb. Seybold is on record as saying that, whilst the P12 will be available via dealers, the P14 will be aimed more at vertical markets and therefore be available only from IBM direct and a very select band of retailers. CW Communications also quotes Seybold as saying that both machines will come with DOS 3.1, together with a utility called "Xcopy" which allows users to copy programs and data from the standard 5.25 inch format discs over to 3.5 inch micro-floppies. NEWSBYTES UK understands that IBM has been making behind the scenes representation with several software houses such as Lotus, with a view to producing ROM-based versions of programs such as Lotus 1-2-3. Robert Lefkowitz, Director of Software Research for Infocorp revealed in this week's UK computer press that he "...would be very surprised if a ROM version of 1-2-3 weren't available at the time of, or shortly after, the laptop's introduction." [***][1/14/86][***] APPLE START UK SALES PUSH: Apple UK is to open no less than 50 dedicated Apple centres as part of the sales push for the forthcoming 1Mb Mac Plus. During highly secret talks late last month with its top dealers, Apple revealed its plans to open the 50 centres by the end of 1987. Apple also announced that the new Mac Plus will *not* feature open architecture as had previously been thought. Instead, the company has opted for a closed architecture but will improve communications links with other machines such as IBM, DEC and other manufacturers. Apple also say their longer term plans for the Mac include mono and colour screens split from processors and much increased memory. Oh, and they also intend to open the Mac's architecture - eventually. [***][1/14/86][***] EUROBYTES 1 - SWEDISH VDU WORRIES HALT SALES: The union of employees who work for the Swedish government recommended last week a moratorium of further purchases of VDU's, citing the ongoing debate over potential health dangers associated with their usage in the office environment. As a direct result of this, the Swedish government, in the form of the Agency for Administrative Development, has scrapped plans to buy 8,000 VDU's for use in various government offices. Mind you, the Swedish government can't be too sad at the prospect of no VDU's - at least it'll save them the $50 million it would have cost them in buying the units! [***][1/14/86][***] EUROBYTES 2 - W. GERMANY REOPENS TALKS WITH US: The West German telecommunications regulators, in a suprise move last week, signalled their intent to reopen talks with the US over liberalising the West German telecomms market. Previously, the West German government placed severe controls on the transfer of data in and out of the country via datalines - a policy that has hampered US and other countries from penetrating this lucrative market. [***][1/14/86][***] AT COMPUTERWORLD RIP: The AT Computerworld group - set up by US-based Tandy and UK-based Apricot Computers (formally AT Computers) has officially died on reaching its first birthday. The ambitious project, which involved 29 stores from both groups being turned into hi-tech business computer sales outlets and which, on its launch, was touted as having considerable expansion prospects in Europe, failed to even begin to achieve the targets set for it in the first year of operations. The 3 million pound venture has not been a success, according to Tandy's UK MD, John Sayers, who admitted the venture has failed to meet either company's expectations. The figures really show though in Apricot's balance sheets however, for the six months ended September '85, when over $1m losses were attributed to "associated companies" - ie. AT Computerworld. It's a hard world out there guys. [***][1/14/86][***] TAKING THE HIGH ROAD: As mentioned previously in NEWSBYTES UK, this week sees the Which? Computer Show opening at the Birmingham International Exhibition Centre. Scheduled for the 14th to the 17th of January, the prestigous business show aims to attract the cream of the business computer and software firms, and will, no doubt, offer up quite a few interesting new products. NEWSBYTES UK will be covering the show, as we do for all major events, so expect fullest details up on The Source in next week's Newsbytes. ** There's still time to make it to the show if you're quick - Call Cahners Exhibitions on London (UK) 891-6471 for more details. [***][1/14/86][***] HOLY SOFTWARE: No, it isn't the latest comment for the boy wonder. It's the latest offering from church software outfit Kubernesis (Greek for Administration - See 1:Cor: 12.8) which is a deed of covenant package for Apricot computers. The package will, amongst other things, allow your typical downtown church to keep a record of, and make forecasts on, covenant income. As "Computer News" (a weekly magazine) comments on the package this week - "Lets hope there aren't any bugs in it, or God won't make a prophet!" [***][1/14/86][***] SPLASH OUT ON A COMPUTER: Want to keep up with the guy next door? Then be the first on your block to have a computerised bathroom! Reknowned UK bath and 'john' maker, Walker Crossweller, has unveiled its "Microprocessor management and thermoscopic temperature sensing technology bathroom enviroment", which gives you fingertip control over everything to do with the bathroom - well almost everything. The only things to worry about are making sure that little fingers don't press the wrong button whilst you're in the shower and remembering how to brush your teeth during a powercut! [***][1/14/86][***] STUDENT RECORDS ONLINE: Geac Canada Ltd. (Markham, Ontario) has acquired marketing rights to a student records software system developed at The University Of Guelph in Guelph, Ont. The program is now used at Guelph to store records of the 90,000 students who have attended the school since 1966, and can also be adapted to screen admission applications and compose letters of acceptance to eligible students. The G-G association goes back to 1977, when Geac began marketing a similar library records program developed at UofG, now in use in more than 100 libraries worldwide. [***][1/14/86][***] RIDIN' THE MICRORAILS: Canadian and U.S. railways have reached agreement on specs for new computer-directed train control systems. These systems will allow railways to be directed from central control points, and to monitor precisely the location and speed of trains; service will consequently be safer, cheaper, and improved, say spokespersons. The project has been underway for two years, under the auspices of joint committees of the Railway Association Of Canada and The Association Of American Railroads. A public meeting will be held in Atlanta, GA, in February to discuss performance specifications for the diverse electronic, computer and telecommunications components of the systems. 100 or more Canadian and American suppliers are expected to attend. [***][1/14/86][***] GOOGLE-STORAGE VIA LASER: As many computer enthusiasts turn to the optical laser disc as the next generation in mass storage for micros, yet another laser technology joins the fray. Dr. Alec Szabo, of Ottawa's National Research Council Of Canada (NRC) has shown a method of burning holes on crystals capable of storing up to (are you sitting down, skeptical readers?) 1,000 trillion (that's a "t") bits on an area the size of a fingernail! Roughly, that is 100 times the estimated capacity of the human brain, and Szabo predicts a future generation of computers with memories so vast that humans will be unable to program their systems. This, he says, will see the birth of true artificial intelligence, since such machines will "have to be able to self-program." [***][1/14/86][***] LANPAR APPOINTS NEW ADMEN: Markham, Ontario's Lanpar Technologies Inc. has handed its $1-million (CDN) advertising account to Wolf Advertising Ltd. (Toronto). Lanpar CEO David Whiteside says Wolf was chosen because of the former's active pursuit of "growth opportunities on both sides of the border," since Wolf is "as at home in the U.S. as [it is] in Canada. It is an exporter of Canadian expertise rather than simply a branch office of a U.S. giant." Lanpar is a distributor and servicer of computer products, and has recently made substantial sales of video display terminals to such U.S. accounts as the U.S. Navy, Johns Hopkins University, and several major daily newspapers. [***][1/14/86][***] NEW HARDCOPY VENTURE: "Electronic Times" is a new monthly tabloid to debut in April from Plesman Publications Ltd., of Willowdale, Ont. It will "fill the last niche in our company's coverage of the entire high-tech market in Canada," says publisher Paul Plesman. The periodical is aimed at electronics managers, scientists, and technicians, and will have an initial press run of 19,000 copies. Three other Plesman periodicals (see previous issues of NB*C) cover distribution, information processing, and corporate management. [***][1/14/86][***] A CORPORATION WITH CONSCIENCE: Control Data Canada's (CDC) program of combining profits and job creation (see NB*C #37) takes many forms. For example, the Control Data Institutes (CDI) spread nationwide for the purpose of providing career training and job placement in the data processing industry. CDI has 40 full-time employees, and revenue is generated from fees paid by students for their training, and a placement fee levied on hiring companies. "We've placed over 9,000 people in the computer industry," claims CDI. The most recent scheme is a variation on venture capitalism, known as the TIEM Economic Development Program. CDC, cooperating with the Federal Government and private industry, will help entrepreneurs raise seed capital, develop a business strategy, and find a target market. Names of participants are not yet being divulged, but a spokesperson suggests they will include a "major chartered accounting firm" and an investment house. [***][1/14/86][***] JUSTICE OKS ADAPSO PROGRAM. The Justice Deaprtment last week said it has no objections to the members of the Association of Data Processing Services Organizations working together to prevent software piracy. ADAPSO had asked Justice for a ruling that a voluntary effort would not run afoul of the nation's anti-trust laws, which generally prohibit competing companies from joint endeavors. Justice enforces those laws. Justice said the cooperative effort is legal as long as the intent is not to reduce competition. ADAPSO is trying to develop consensus around software copy protection schemes involving three parts: a lock inside the software, a key ring that will plug into the computer,and a key on the key ring that will fit into the software lock. ADAPSO estimates that unauthorized copying of software cost $800 million in lost revenues last year, and $1.3 billion since 1981. [***][1/14/86][***] ANOTHER BIG SALE FOR STANDARD Washington's Standard Typewriter, a leading purveyor of the Leading Edge microcomputer, an IBM clone, has landed another big sale. "U.S. News & World Report", a national news weekly that runs third behind "Time" and "Newsweek" in circulation, has picked up 50 Leading Edge Model D computers from Standard. As in its other bulk sales, Standard is discounting the machine to $1250 per unit for 640 K of RAM, two disk drives, and Hercules graphics emulation (send 'em a doll). Standard's cash register has now rung up close to $100,000 in Leading Edge sales in just the last six weeks. [***][1/14/86][***] MBI STOCK TUMBLES MBI saw its stock fall nearly six percent between Christmas and New Years, driven by a General Accounting Office report critical of the federal government's internal retail computer stores. MBI runs the profitable stores under contract to the General Services Administration. The company, which began life more than a decade ago selling calculators as Math Box, Inc., operates several retail computer stores in the D.C. area. MBI stock, which trades on the Over-The-Counter market, closed on December 27 at $8.50 per share. The closing price on January 3 was $8.00 per share, a 5.9 percent decline, on fairly heavy volume of 88,000 shares. By last Wedensday, January 6, the stock was still trading at 8. [***][1/14/86][***] FIRST CHURCH OF ATARI PROTEST. Until the telecops stepped in, Atlanta computerist Edward Johnson was using a $200 Atari home computer to raise holy havoc with the toll-free telephones lines of the Rev. Jerry Fallwell's Moral Majority group in Lynchburg, Va. Johnson programmed his Atari to call the Fallwell number, hold for 30 seconds once the line was answered, then ring off and call again--24 hours a day, seven days a week, for eight months. Fallwell claims Johnson "has robbed the poor and needy of many thousands of dollars." Johnson claims he has saved hundreds of people from a Fallwell bilking. After a routine inquiry by Moral Majority officials in November, Southern Bell tracked down Johnson's operation late last month and put him out of business. "For now," quipped Washington Post reporter Art Harris, "the Rev. Jerry Fallwell has exorcised the Demon Dialer." [***][1/14/86][***] CRAY-IN-A-BOX Engineers at the Energy Department's Sandia National Laboratory in New Mexico are jamming a supercomputer into a cube the size of half a shoebox. Dubbed the SANDAC V, the machine will handle between 24 and 40 million instructions per second, about the power of a Cray 1. An existing computer of the same size, the SANDAC IV, can process at 8 MIPS, says Sandia. The laboratory develops nuclear weapons. The scientists envision using the tiny supercomputers as the brains of a warhead-carrying smart missile. [***][1/14/86][***] WASHINGTON COMPUTER BUSINESS INDEX Each Monday, the "Washington Post" publishes a tabloid business weekly title "Washington Business." Among those who follow microcomputers in Powertown, the weekly has become known as "the computer white pages" because so much of the advertising is devoted to micros, and because the Post's weekly computing column is in the special section. We at Newsbytes in Washington decided that an index based on the advertising pages in the weekly section would make a good indicator of the health of the microcomputer business in Washington. We will take the January 6 edition, the first of 1986, as the baseline, and assign it a value of 100. We will report in future columns how the ads stack up against that starting point. The January 6 issue, by the way, contained a total of 5 1/5 pages of microcomputer ads, out of a total of 21 2/5 advertising pages. Leading advertisers for the week were MBI and Sears Business Centers, each with a full page. The other dominant advertiser in the weekly business section is the banking and financial services industry, mostly advertising interest rates on various investment instruments. [***][1/14/86][***] POWERBITS $$$ The Commerce Department's computers goofed recently, reporting that 18 nations without steel-making facilities had sold steel to the U.S. last year. When it read the report, the U.S. steel industry went into a heavy funk, suspecting that steel- making companies were trying to get around a program to limit imports by shipping through non-producing countries. But it was just a bug in the program. $$$ The Securities and Exchange Commission last week charged Spectrum Digital Corp., a Virginia telecommunicaitions equipment company, with failing to register its securities during 1984 and 1985. The firm was founded by former MCI executives and has raised $3.8 million through stock placements. $$$ Rep. Charlie Rose (D-N.C.), House office systems czar, has decided against a run for the U.S. Senate for an open seat in his home state. Rather, Rose will stay in the House.