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/1986/V156

Text File | 1991-08-09 | 51KB | 1,124 lines

[***][5/27/86][***]
APPLE'S BRIGHT FUTURE:
Despite analysts' continued reservations about Apple's future, the
truth is Apple Computer is sitting on more than half a billion dollars
in cash reserves, one of the largest stashes in Silicon Valley.
The $518.7 million balance, as of March 28, is 49% of total
assets, valued at $1.1 billion.  What will Apple do with that cash?
Jan Shaw of THE SAN JOSE BUSINESS JOURNAL polled analysts who
suggest Apple will start acquiring firms, spend more money on
automating its factories, use it to fund the growth of its new
line-up of upcoming products, increase R & D, or, last but not
least, start paying dividends to shareholders, something it's
never done before.  Adds Robert Saltmarsh, Apple treasurer,
"We could possibly acquire real estate!"

Apple also dropped its long-time ad agency, Chiat/Day, this
week (see NEWSBYTES-LOS ANGELES) in favor of BBDO, the people
who coined the slogan "We bring good things to life" for GE.
When will we see the fruit of this new alliance?  Christmas.

[***][5/27/86][***]
NEW APPLE II HARD DRIVE:
Owners of Apple IIe and IIc computers (myself included) have
basically had few choices in hard external drive technology.
Add a new face.  ProAPP Inc. of Campbell, Ca. is offering
the ProAPP 10 (10MB) or the ProAPP 20 (20MB), two low-cost
hard drives which work BOTH with the IIs and Macintoshes.
The subsystems support the operating systems incorporated
into the Mac 128 and 512 and Mac Plus, and provide full
subdirectory support for Apple IIe and IIc machines
running under ProDOS, DOS 3.3, or Pascal 1.3.  Cost--ProAPP
10 ($795), ProAPP 20 ($995).  Backed by a 1-year warranty,
delivery begins June 1.

CONTACT:  Gary Streuter, PROAPP INC., 1475 Bascom Ave.,
          Campbell, CA. 95008  408-559-3552

[***][5/27/86][***]
HEWLETT-PACKARD'S LATEST SLIP:
Profits are down 2% over this time last year at HP, marking
the fifth straight decline in a row.  In a prepared
statement, HP president John Young laid it on the table:
"Our U.S. business has been essentially flat for nearly
two years.  It continues to be a difficult business
environment."  One reason for the flat results is the
millions of dollars HP has spent redesigning its entire
product line to accomodate Spectrum's RISC technology.
HP won't say how many millions are involved.

CONTACT:  Gene Endicott, HP, 3000 Hanover St., Palo Alto,
          CA 94304  415/857-1501

[***][5/27/86][***]
TEKTRONIX CUTS 10%
Oregon's biggest employer Tektronix, maker of a diversified
array of electronics equipment, will have slashed 2,000 people from
the payroll as of July 11, blaming their demise on softness in
demand for its products and increasing competition.  The Portland-
area company, which employs about 20,000 worldwide, hopes people
leave voluntarily; if they don't mandatory layoffs will be
in effect.  Among those to be chopped are 300 at Tektronix'
CAE Systems subsidiary in Sunnyvale, CA and 1,000 in the Grass
Valey Group near Sacramento.

CONTACT:  TEKTRONIX, BEAVERTON, OREGON

[***][5/27/86][***]
BATTLE OF THE RETAIL BEHEMOTHS:
Businessland and PacTel InfoSystems have their dukes up in a court
battle that hails back to the Steve Jobs-Apple spat.  Businessland
charges the competing retail chain with stealing away its best
employees, some of whom it says took customer files with them.
Further, Businessland accuses PacTel, part of the regional Bell
telephone company, of using money from telephone ratepayers to
finance its retail stores.  The latest round in this suit came
on 5/21 when a California Superior Court judge in Sacramento
issued a temporary restraining order against PacTel InfoSystems,
prohibiting it from hiring any workers from Businessland.
Businessland's suit seeks $1 million in actual damages and
a whopping $50 million in punitive damages.

CONTACT:  Suzanne Crocker, BUSINESSLAND, 408-554-9300

          PACTEL INFOSYSTEMS, San Leandro, CA 415-895-7300

[***][5/27/86][***]
COMPUTERLANDS SAVED FROM DROWNING:
In the last few weeks, Computerland has rushed to save 5 of its
franchisees from certain death.  The stores in Seattle,
Portland, and Denver were unable to pay their bills, so the
headquarters of the giant chain bought them from the bank.
Computerland senior VP Michael McConnell was quoted as saying
his firm is looking at 6 other stores in trouble and
acknowledges that 10% of the firm's 600 stores are in some
sort of trouble.  He adds that Computerland has no intention
of changing its franchise status, but that these stores in
dire straights were in strategic positions, and not worth
losing.

[***][5/27/86][***]
INTEL'S HOT NEW GRAPHICS CHIP
Everybody is raving about Intel's 82786.  Just another number
to most of us, the 82786 represents a breakthrough to engineers
who say the graphics coprocessor is a dramatic leap forward
in graphics capability for the PC that was formerly exclusive
to expensive workstations and dedicated graphics terminals.
The single chip can manipulate windows more than 100 times
faster than traditional software approaches, and it's already
being incorporated in new products being designed by Ashton-Tate,
Lotus, MicroSoft, Nova Graphics, and others.  Volume production
is scheduled for the fall; expect to see new products
incorporating the lightening-fast chip by 1987.

CONTACT:  Kristin Kaden, INTEL, 1900 Prairie City Road,
          Folsom, CA 95630  916-351-5164

[***][5/27/86][***]
"AT"--THE RACES:
The AT clone market is exploding, but who's winning?  InfoCorp
just did a survey and here's how the major competitors to IBM
are doing against the giant.

RETAIL SALES OF ATS AND AT COMPATIBLES

                               Units Sold
IBM                             194,850
Compaq                           42,075
Texas Instruments                26,100
AT&T                             25,200
Hewlett-Packard                  17,100
Zenith Data Systems              17,100
Wang Labs                        16,660
NCR                              10,670
Televideo                         9,720
Olivetti                          9,500
Kaypro                            7,560
Tandy                             3,600
Others                            6,930

Total IBM AT and AT compatible  387,065

[***][5/27/86][***]
UC BERKELEY'S SUPER COMPUTER PROJECT:
Between now and 1990, UC Berkeley plans to spend $16.5 million on
2 supercomputers from Cray and IBM, plus another $25 million to
install an entire campus-wide computing system.  Called Project
BINARIES, it aims to put state-of-the-art computing power to
work at students' fingertips in all disciplines.  A campus-wide
network will link all the terminals together.  $45 million in
equipment and services are being donated to help speed the job,
which is also funded by the National Science Foundation.

[***][5/27/86][***]
IN BRIEF--

PERSONAL COMPUTING magazine reports of 500 readers polled, 40%
called themselves "experts" compared to 23% last year.  The
magazine says people use their computers an average of 15.5
hours a week, up 33% from findings last year.

APPLE COMPUTER is looking for a new "chief visionary" to fill the
post that Jobs left.  The job opening comes with a lot of
pressure (and glory); the recipient will become the company's
chief computer designer.

UNIVATION INC. of Milpitas, CA, maker of add-ons and peripherals
for IBM, Apple, Digital and Compaq machines, goes public shortly.
Univation hopes to glean over $3 million from a public stock
sale.

THE CALIFORNIA DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S ASSOCIATION is looking for a
few good computer products.  They are sponsoring an expo at the
Bahia Resort in San Diego July 7-11 to eye products specifically
aimed at their verticle market niche--products which track
cases, prepare documents, manage libraries, assign attorneys,
etc.  Have something they should see?

CONTACT:  Don Ingraham, Asst. D.A., ALAMEDA COUNTY, 1225 Fallon
          St., Oakland, CA 94612  415/874-6565

[***][5/27/86][***]
COMPUTER FUTURE:
Speaking before the annual conference of the Association for
Systems Management in New Orleans recently, Fred Withington,
VP of Arthur D. Little, Inc. had some ominous forecasts for
the gathering of infonauts.  He warned that increasing
reliance on expert systems could turn people into "a race
of menu pickers" incapable of independent thought and
innovation.  "But the human race has always muddled forward,"
he added, "and information systems of te 21st century will
be for the good and not oppress anybody for very long."
(That's comforting.)  He foresees, among other gadgets,
development of pocket-sized computers that will act as
personal secretaries and even "nags".  For instance, he
says, a car-based unit might say to a driver, "I know
you just had four drinks because I paid!for them, and
if you drive, I'll call the police."

Ahem....

[***][5/27/86][***]
MATSUSHITA JOINS MARCH TO BUILD GEORGIA PLANTS
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. has joined the rush of
Japanese electronics manufacturers building new plants in
Georgia. Georgia Gov. Joe Frank Harris announced May 21 the
Osaka-based trading company will invest $20 million in a new
plant at Peachtree City, about 29 miles southeast of Atlanta.
Construction is due to start by late summer, and the plant is due
to open in May, 1987, making 360,000 car radios, cassette players
and other car audio components per year by 1990, with 200
employees.

For those of you keeping score, that makes 3 Japanese plant
announcements for Georgia in the last year. A Mitsubishi plant is
under construction at Braselton, 50 miles northwest of Atlanta,
and Nippon Columbia has begun work on a plant at Madison, 50
miles east of Atlanta, which will make laserdisks. (Harris Corp.,
meanwhile, is closing its computer manufacturing facility in
Thomaston, GA.)

CONTACT: John Toon, GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE, 230
         Peachtree St. NW, Suite 700, Atlanta, GA 30303
         [phone]

[***][5/27/86][***]
TANDY DROPS PRICES (AGAIN) ON PC-COMPATIBLE
Tandy Corp. put its Tandy 1000 PC-compatible on sale at $699
through the end of May. That price will buy you a basic box with
128K of RAM, one disk drive, a monitor, and DeskMate software.
Tandy trumpets that its computers are made in Ft. Worth, TX, and
that its 7,000 dealers include the largest company-owned chain in
the world, the Radio Shack Computer Centers.

Graham Beachum, vice president of computer merchandising for
Radio Shack, said the $699 price makes his computer "the lowest-
cost MS-DOS operating-system computer offered by any of the major
players in the market." NEWSBYTES invites readers to check that
claim out.

CONTACT: Amy Arutt, TANDY, 1800 One Tandy Center, Ft. Worth, TX
         76102 [phone]

[***][5/27/86][***]
NITA TAKES ON A NEW ROLE: RECEPTIONIST
Nita Receptionist will be rolled out June 3 during the ICA show
by Nita's maker, Innovative Technology Inc., Roswell, GA. It's an
application package built from the company's Nita voice board,
optimized to track and manage incoming phone calls.

CONTACT: Gary Hylton, INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY, 1000 Holcomb Woods
         Parkway, Suite 422, Roswell, GA 30076 [phone]

[***][5/27/86][***]
NORTHERN TELECOM SHOWS MOVE TO COMPUTERCATIONS
Computercations, the coming merger between computing and
communications, is where the 1990s' market battles will be
fought.  Change here will be glacial, not flung into the market,
and no company is in better shape to take advantage of that
change than Northern Telecom.

Northern, the Nashville-based unit of Canada's phone company,
held at news conference at the USTA Showcase in Atlanta last week
to announce it is now negotiating with Motorola Inc., Schaumburg,
IL, to build chip sets supporting the Integrated Services
Digital Network (ISDN).  Under ISDN communications will all be
digital (no more modems), 50 times cheaper (per unit) than it is
today, and it will work the same all over the world.  Northern
has the high ground in ISDN because its digital telephone switch
line outsells AT&T about 2-1 -- and it's the switch that runs the
phone system.

The key word here: negotiation. First, get the standards, then
get telephone companies to install them, and only then can you go
to market. Any preliminary move to market could make you the next
CP/M. It's a laborious, complex dance involving state, federal,
and local bureaucrats. Computer people can't dance the dance
until it's over. If, in playing the game, Northern sometimes
seems confused, out-of-touch or just plain stupid -- just wait.

CONTACT: Richard H. Lowe, NORTHERN TELECOM, 200 Athens Way,
         Nashville, TN 37228 [phone]

[***][5/27/86][***]
ANOTHER DEATH IN TIMESHARING: NDC TO SELL RAPIDATA
National Data Corp., the Atlanta-based transaction processor
(bank cards, "800" numbers, ATM cards, etc.) is getting out of
the timesharing business. Chairman L.C. Whitney told employees
last week it will sell or close its New Jersey-based Rapidata
division, acquired in December 1981. Revenues had declined from a
peak of $31 million per year to under $10 million, and profits
had disappeared despite efforts at cost-cutting. The deal, or
demise, will be done in 12 months.  NDC will take a $4.5 million
hit to earnings for the May quarter as a result.

CONTACT: L.C. Whitney, NATIONAL DATA CORP., One Corporate Square,
         Atlanta, GA 30329 [phone]

[***][5/27/86][***]
STOCKHOLDER SYSTEMS RELEASES FUNDS-TRANSFER SYSTEM
Stockholder Systems Inc. has sent out the initial release of its
Paperless Entry Processing System. Called PEP+, it handles
realtime funds transfers and cash management for banks. Banks
using the system can get an analysis of the fees they're
collecting anytime with the system. Aren't you glad?

CONTACT: John Simon, STOCKHOLDER SYSTEMS, 4411 East Jones Bridge
         Road, Norcross, GA 30092 [phone]

[***][5/27/86][***]
BELLSOUTH MAKES ITS MOVE ON CHICAGO
BellSouth Systems Technology Inc., part of the unregulated empire
of the Southeast's phone company, will build and run a shared-
tenant communications system for a new Chicago skyscraper under
an agreement with developer Fidinam (USA) Inc. It's the first
assignment outside the Southeast for BST. For Chicago readers,
the building to be wired is the Manufacturer's Hanover Plaza
building at 10 S. LaSalle St.

CONTACT: Jim Shirah, BELLSOUTH SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY, 2310 Parklake
         Drive NE, Suite 250, Atlanta, GA 30345 [phone]



[***][5/27/86][***]
APPLE DUMPS `1984,' `LEMMINGS' AND CHIAT/DAY
In an attempt at corporate "damage control," Apple Computer has
fired Los Angeles advertising agency Chiat/Day, and has taken
its $50 million domestic ad budget to Batten, Barton, Durstine &
Osborne (BBDO).  BBDO is now Apple's sole agency, after taking
over Big Red's international ad business several months ago.
Don Mitchum, president of BBDO/West, says his agency will pay
more attention "to how Apple goes to market with new and
innovative products" than Chiat/Day.  Mitchum also stated that
BBDO will take a more "retail-oriented" approach that relies
less on "big event" ads like the landmark "1984" and "Lemmings"
commercials.

Jay Chiat, chairman of Chiat/Day, said the L.A. firm was proud
of its association with Apple and was taking out full-page ads
in the "San Jose Mercury News", the "New York Times" and "Advertising
Age" to say goodbye.  "The work we did speaks for itself," said
Chiat.  "We are leaving without any resentment, without
hostility and without anger."

Advertising industry analysts credited Chiat/Day's "1984"
Super Bowl commercial with generating $3.5 million in Macintosh
sales the day the computer was introduced.  However, the firm's
1985 "Lemmings" spot is blamed for sowing hard feelings about
Apple in the Fortune 500 community by portraying executives as
mindless, abyss-diving IBM users.

Chiat/Day will probably survive Apple's departure, but things
may never be the same at the firm's South Olive Street
headquarters.  "Thanks, Apple," said Chiat/Day's so-long ad.
"This marks the end of the roller-coaster adventure our two
companies have shared for nearly seven years.  Thanks for
letting us make a little history."  Chiat/Day's largest
remaining client is Nike sportswear.

CONTACT:  Chiat/Day, 517 S. Olive St., Los Angeles, CA 90013
          [phone]

[***][5/27/86][***]
CITICORP SAYS $19 IS STILL THE MAGIC NUMBER FOR QUOTRON
Once-spurned Citicorp may yet acquire Quotron Systems for $19
per share.  Last week, the New York-based banking giant
announced that it would launch a $680-million cash tender offer
to Quotron stockholders, many of whom are stock arbitrageurs who
bought large blocks of Quotron shares after Citicorp's initial
"friendly" bid.  Analysts feel Citicorp is a shoo-in to acquire
Quotron after the Federal Reserve Board approved the firm's plan
on Tuesday.  On Tuesday of *this* week, Quotron's board will
meet to discuss the now "unfriendly" takeover attempt.  "The
absence of another stated bidder bodes very well for Citicorp,"
said Osman Eralp of Hambrecht & Quist.  "It's a done deal," said
another Wall Street analyst.  "Quotron is gone."

CONTACT:  Quotron Systems, 5454 Beethoven St., Los Angeles, CA
          [phone]

[***][5/27/86][***]
COMDEX/WINTER KAPUT
The Interface Group has decided to nail the coffin lid shut on
the Los Angeles COMDEX/Winter computer trade show.
COMPUTER+SOFTWARE NEWS reports that COMDEX exhibitors have been
mailed notices saying the show has been officially cancelled.
This comes as no surprise to veteran COMDEX-goers, who note that
COMDEX/Winter only ranked as the 13th largest annual trade show
in L.A., just behind the Water Pollution Control Federation's
10,000-member confab at the Convention Center.  Last year,
according to the LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL, the Interface
Group show only drew 8,000 attendees.

[***][5/27/86][***]
SHOWBIZ EXPO TO MOVE DOWNTOWN AND MAYBE BACK EAST
This week's ShowBiz Expo may double its attendance from last
year, if advance ticket confirmations are any indication.  Live
Time Inc., the organizers of the entertainment-industry computer
fair, says that 2,400 industry VIPs have accepted invitations to
visit the show at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium.  In fact,
the show is getting so large that next year's event may be held
at the L.A. Convention Center, according to Nalini Lasiewicz,
Live Time's vice president.  And, if all goes well, a branch of
the show may be exported to New York by 1987.  Finally, the
cherry on the ShowBiz Expo sundae had to have been the official
proclamation by Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley that this is
"ShowBiz Expo Week."  Mayor Christine Reed of Santa Monica
didn't offer any civic pronouncements about the show, which is
perhaps another reason why Live Time will move its act downtown
next year!

CONTACT:  Live Time Inc.  [phone]

[***][5/27/86][***]
ASHTON-TATE INCOME EXPLODES IN FIRST QUARTER
Net income zoomed to $5.1 million in Ashton-Tate's first fiscal
quarter, up 120 percent from a year ago.  The Torrance-based
software maker claimed earnings rose 71.8 percent to $41.2
million from last year.  The quarter, which ended on April 30,
was the first full quarter that Ashton-Tate gathered sales from
its Multimate line of products.  In addition to the Multimate
profits, Ashton-Tate said that demand was up for its dBase III
Plus software.

In another matter, Ashton-Tate was back in court last week,
suing OHIS of Fredrick, MD, for copyright infringement.  The
company is charged with illegally copying and distributing
copies of dBase II and dBase III to its employees.  The firm is
also alleged to have sold dBase II as part of its data-
monitoring systems.  Ashton-Tate obtained a search-and-seizure
order from a friendly federal judge to impound "a pc and
substantial materials" from the residence of OHIS's president.

CONTACT:  Ashton-Tate Inc., 20101 Hamilton, Torrance, CA 90502
          [phone]

[***][5/27/86][***]
NEW MAC DISKETTE DRIVE INTRODUCED
PKI of Torrance has unveiled its McD-800 double-sided diskette
drive for the Macintosh and Mac Plus computer line.  The 800Kb
drive, which plugs into the back of the Macintosh, feature CMOS
circuitry for low power consumption and a "soft landing"
function designed to protect the drive head from mechanical
shock.  The McD-800 can read and write to either single-sided or
double-sided formats.  The drive retails for $349.

[***][5/27/86][***]
BEACHBITS

>>>  Dataproducts of Woodland Hills said things were
     "improving," but still posted a $26.8-million loss for its
     1985 fiscal year.  The printer manufacturer posted a 25
     percent drop in sales for the 12 months.

>>>  Newbury Park-based Computer Peripherals Inc. acquired some
     new equity financing.  $2.5 million-worth, to be exact.
     The funds will be used to develop and implement marketing
     plans for the company.



[***][5/27/86][***]
MICROPRO AMNESTY WARNING:
This week sees the end of the amnesty for owners of pirate
copies of Wordstar.  Micropro, who started the amnesty
bandwagon in Europe - presumably hoping to make a killing on
selling manuals, if nothing else - say that the option for
illegal users of Micropro to register their ownership will
end on May 30th.  Quite what happens if a registration
request arrives on June 1st remains to be seen, but Micropro
MD, Robin Oliver, says that he feels he "can take a hard
line against illegal users of Wordpro... with a clear
conscience."  Interestingly, the bulk of registrations have
been multiple applications from major firms, whose
executives have copies, and presumably backups of copies, in
every desk drawer!  Who said software piracy was a back
street option?

[***][5/27/86][***]
CLOSING PANDORA'S BOX - AMSTRAD STYLE
One of the most publicised of Sir Clive Sinclair's products
in the year before he sold out to Amstrad, was the Pandora
portable business computer.  The final configuration of 5
inch flat screen, Z80 cpu, 128K CMOS RAM and full keyboard
was scheduled for launch later this year, but lack of funds
and the Amstrad takeover relegated the project to the
storeroom, much to the dismay of many Sinclair fans.  Now
Amstrad have capped the Pandora project once and for all by
announcing they won't be taking up their option to produce
the machine.  Malcolm Miller, Amstrad's MD, is quoted in
several publications as saying "Pandora is not Amstrad's
type of product, and lacks the appeal we require."  With so
much interest from a nation weaned on Sinclair's home
computers, Miller seriously expects us to believe there's no
appeal?  All is not lost on the Pandora front, however, as
NEWSBYTES UK knows of at least two firms interested in
buying the design rights of the machine from Amstrad.
Expect results later this year.

[***][5/27/86][***]
MODEM WARS ABOUT TO START?
This week, NEWSBYTES UK was privileged enough to lay its
hands on one of the latest generation of modems - The Series
Four - from Pace Micro Technology.  Now that the Hayes
standard seems to have taken off in the UK (at long last!),
several firms are bringing out state-of-the-art units
capable of V21 (1200/1200 baud) and V22bis (2400/2400 baud)
speeds.  Pace's product offers these speeds but, taking a
leaf out of Hayes with their Transet intelligent modem
buffer, Series Four has a printer port and full speed
buffering!

As NEWSBYTES UK went to press, Series Four was awaiting UK
telecomms approval and, as soon as this is obtained, the
sleek, white-cased modem will go on sale to the Great
British Public.  Prices?  239 pounds ($360) for the base
model with 300 and 1200/75, 75/1200 baud rates.  Upgrades
are 449 pounds ($675) for the V22, 595 pounds ($900) for the
V22bis model.

Meanwhile, Pace's rival at arms, Miracle Technology, have
set alarm bells ringing with a 'mistake' that resulted in
their budget Hayes-compatible modem being advertised in
Personal Computer World a month early!  The WS4000 modem, at
150 pounds ($300) offers a lot that the firm's WS3000 does
(at 295 pounds ($450), without the frills (I/O port, battery
backed memory etc), but retaining the all-important
Hayes-compatibility at around half the going rate for these
type of modems.  Shame on you Miracle Technology for
stealing Pace's thunder!  Mind you, it was a genuine
mistake...

CONTACT: Pace Micro Technology,
         Juniper View, Allerton Road,
         Bradford, BD15 7AG.
         Tel: [phone].

         Miracle Technology Ltd.,
         St. Peters Street,
         Ipswich, IP1 1XB.
         Tel: [phone].

[***][5/27/86][***]
PROBING THE INNER CIRCLE:
No, it's not Bill Landreth's book again, it's the British
Telecom inner circle that's hit the headlines this week.
Bryan Carsberg of Oftel, the UK government appointed
telecomms watchdog, has announced his intention to "fully
investigate" the discounts offered to the 220 or so members
of the Information Circle, who are reportedly being offered
discounts of 15 to 20 per cent on phone bills to dissuade
them moving over to Mercury, the Cable and Wireless-backed
alternative in the UK.  Quoted in this week's "Computer News"
(a UK business trade weekly), Carsberg says, "BT will have
to prove there's lower cost and no cross subsidy.  20 per
cent discount does sound a lot."

Monolithic BT could be leaving it a bit late, however, as
over half of the information circle - BT's biggest customers
- have reportedly signed up with Mercury for dial-up or
leased-line service.  With 20 per cent discounts, can you
blame them?  Final word goes to BT, who admit that "there
will some customers who will take Mercury as a second source
of supply in case of industrial action."

[***][5/27/86][***]
DO THEY OR DON'T THEY? VDU'S AGAIN:
Sweden was the location of the first scientific conference
on working with VDUs last week.  Like everyone else, the
Swedes had to admit defeat and failed to agree on whether
VDUs *actually do* cause harm, but, interestingly, those
that reckon they do, say the effects will be very small.
"VDUs are less dangerous than cigarettes," said Dr Kjell
Hanson Mild, of the Swedish National Occupational Health
Board.  Sure Doc, but cigarettes can kill, so that's not
saying much, is it?

Sensible comment of the week goes to Peter Westerholm,
medical advisor to the Swedish Trades Union Congress: "We
must see the distinction between scientific questions and
the more practicable applications."

[***][5/27/86][***]
FIREMANS FUND MOVES TO THE UK:
The UK's reputation in computer software stakes took a shot
in the arm this week, with the announcement by Fireman's
Fund, one of the US's top insurance firms, that they are to
move their software development unit to the UK.  The firm,
which has no business activity outside of North America, is
relocating to Brighton, a seaside resort on Britain's south
coast, where an IBM 3090 mainframe is sited.  The company's
existing computing HQ in San Francisco is to be phased out,
with all 150 jobs moving to the UK.  The main reasons behind
the unexpected move are lower costs (US West coast
programmers earn up to $50,000 pa), and a better supply of
software talent in the UK.  NEWSBYTES UK reckon that the
British seaside has something to do with the move too!

Contact: Firemans Fund Insurance,
         Computing Development Division,
         San Francisco,
         Tel [phone].

[***][5/27/86][***]
SHIFTING SINCLAIR STOCK AROUND THE WORLD:
Surplus stock from Sir Clive's business empire is getting
sold faster than cigarettes and stockings during the Second
World War.  This week's "Computer Weekly" reports that Amstrad
has unloaded 50,000 Sinclair computers, broken down as: 20K
QL's, 28K Spectrums and 2K ZX81's, for 2.6 million pounds
($4m) onto UK-based PST, who specialise in shifting stuff
that no-one else wants.  Howard Stowman, PST's chairman, is
confident that he can sell the computers abroad: "We're very
aggressive in our selling and have become a channel in the UK
for unwanted stock."  So far the company has shifted 10,000
QL's of the Sinclair stock, and plans to sell more - at a
profit.  Talking of profits, Amstrad haven't done too badly
out of the Sinclair takeover deal either.  They got 2.6m
pounds for the surplus stock, yet they paid only 5 million
pounds ($7.5m) for virtually the whole Sinclair empire.

Meanwhile, the "London Guardian" this week reports that Poland
(don't mention the tanks guys) is to buy 800,000 Timex 2068
computers (US reworks of the popular ZX Spectrum) from
Timex's Portuguese subsidiary.  The deal, worth $50m in hard
currency, involves technology transfer, and may even see the
Spectrum being manufactured in Poland.

Contact: PST, Marlow,
         Buckinghamshire.
         Tel: [phone]

         The London Guardian,
         Farringdon Road,
         London EC1R,
         Tel: [phone].

[***][5/27/86][***]
MEMORY EXPANSION ON THE CHEAP:
As regular NEWSBYTES UK readers will have already heard,
each week's missive is prepared in draft form on an ageing
but trusty 24K Radio Shack Model 100.  Not being rich enough
to afford the 70 pounds ($105) that Radio Shack charge us
Brits for an 8K memory chip, we decided to give Purple
Computing of California a ring, and got three 8K chips,
airmailed over to the UK for $79 plus $10 postage.  Shipment
was fast and efficient.  They also do cheap deals on memory
expansions for the Model 200 and 600, as well as the NEC and
Olivetti laptops.  If you're considering memory expansion
for your laptop, you could do a lot worse than give them a
call - recommended.

Contact: Purple Computing,
         Camarillo, California 93010,
         Tel [phone].

[***][5/27/86][***]
FLOPPIES, MINIFLOPPIES AND MICROFLOPPIES.
NEWSBYTES UK got pulled up on last week's issue.  Apparently
we got a little confused on the subject of mini-floppies.
Jack Schofield, Editor of the Computer sections of the
"London Guardian" says that 8 inch discs are floppies, 5.25
inchers are mini-floppies, and 3.25 inchers are
microfloppies (hope I got that right).  You're right Jack,
but you forgot to mention that they all make damn good
frisbees too!

CONTACT: Jack Schofield, Computer Editor,
         The Guardian, Farringdon Road,
         London EC1R,
         Tel: [phone].

[***][5/27/86][***]
ROCKY ROCKY ROCKY!
This week's back page of "Computing" newspaper is funnier than
usual.  Not only is the editorial up to it's usual high
standard, but a picture of millionaire entrepreneur Richard
Branson has been unintentionally titled "Dolph Lundgren",
who as all film buffs will know, played the Russian Drago in
Rocky IV.  We know Branson's a bit small, but there's no
reason to rub it in!  The real reason for Drago putting in
an appearance in the mag is that he's just been made vice
president of his brother's seismic computer firm.  "Computing"
sums it all up when they say, "We await confirmation of
Sylvester Stallone's appointment as a public relations
executive at IBM with trepidation!"

Contact: "Computing", VNU House,
         32-34 Broadwick Street,
         London W1A 2HG.
         Tel: [phone]

 ==

[***][5/27/86][***]
HOUSE PASSES TOUGH TRADE BILL
The House of Representatives last week easily passed a trade bill
designed to force the White House to retaliate against foreign
countries that erect barriers to U.S. imports and dump products
on the U.S. market. A chief target in the bill is Japan, which
stands accused of dumping computer chips and of refusing to allow
adequate entry of U.S. chips and telecommunications gear. The
vote to approve the bill was 295-115, enough to override an
expect presidential veto if the measure also gets through the
U.S. Senate.

But the prospects for the bill in the Senate, where the
Republicans are in control and working on their own measure, are
not very bright. Senate Majority Leader Robert Dole (R-Kan.) has
called the House bill "political," despite the 59 Republican
votes for the measure. Dole said, "We don't want protectionist
legislation. We do want the administration to be more
aggressive."

The most controversial part of the bill was an amendment
sponsored by Rep. Richard Gephardt (D-M..), aimed straight at
Japan, Taiwan, and West Germany. The Gephardt amendment requires
these countries to reduce their trade surpluses by 10 percent per
year, starting next year, if they refuse to end unfair trade
practices such as quotas or protective tariffs.

[***][5/27/86][***]
COMMODORE TAKES BATH IN RED INK
Commodore International Ltd. reported a $36.7 million loss in the
third quarter ended March 31, including a $22 million charge for
inventory write-downs and corporate restructuring. The loss was
bigger than industry analysts had expected from the West Chester,
Pa., microcomputer maker. A bright spot--sales were up eight
percent to $182.3 million from $168.3 million in the third
quarter last year. The third quarter loss last year was $20.8
million. For the first nine months, Commodore reported a loss of
$129.1 million, compared to a $10.1 million profit (33 cents per
share) for the first three quarters of 1985. Sales fell from
$751.2 million a year ago to $680.7 million.

Commodore said sales of the flagship Amiga computer were "less
than expected," despite a sales discount begun in March and
expected to end this week. Some analysts are expecting Commodore
to continue the $500 Amiga discounts beyond the June expiration,
because good software for the machine is just beginning to make
an impression on the market.

While it waits for the Amiga to catch on, Commodore is trying
desperately to cut costs. Thomas Rattigan, president and chief
executive officer, said that the company has cut 1,100 jobs this
year, a 25 percent reduction. Rattigan noted that unit sales in
the third quarter climbed 16 percent over the prior year and
current sales are running 2.5 times ahead of last year.

CONTACT: Commodore International, 1200 Wilson Drive, West
         Chester, Pa., 19380, 215-431-9100

[***][5/27/86][***]
MORE ELECTRONIC TAX RETURNS NEXT YEAR
Declaring this year's experiment a success, the Internal Revenue
Service plans to expand the test to four new areas next year:
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, N.Y.; Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport
News, Va.; Milwaukee, Wis.; and Sacramento-Stockton, Calif.
Folks in the original three test areas (Phoenix, Cincinnati, and
Raleigh-Durham) may have their 1987 refunds deposited directly
into their savings or checking accounts.

IRS says the three initial test areas filed over 25,000 returns
by wire this year. The $30 million in refunds got to electronic
taxpayers two to three weeks earlier than conventional filers.
The error rate was less than five percent, compared to 21 percent
error rate of a control group that filed manually.

CONTACT: IRS Public Affairs, 1111 Constitution Ave. NW,
         Washington DC, 20224. 202-566-4743.

[***][5/27/86][***]
OIL STATS ON LINE
The Department of Energy's weekly petroleum status report, the
monthly petroleum supply statistics, and the weekly coal
production report are now available electronically and free of
charge. The DOE petroleum bulletin board runs at 300 and 1200
baud. Set your system up for seven data bits, one stop bit, and
even parity. The service is available seven days a week, from 8
a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 to 6 on weekends. The
system operator is T.C. Swann. The bulletin board number is 202-
252-8658.

CONTACT: T.C. Swann, U.S. Energy Information Agency, 202-252-
         1155.

[***][5/27/86][***]
HONEYWELL TO START MAKING VHSIC CHIPS
The Pentagon has given Honeywell clearance to start making
bipolar 1.25 micron very high speed integrated circuits.
Honeywell's solid state electronics division in Colorado
Springs, Colo., is making the chips on six-inch wafers and
expects to reach full production early next year. Honeywell was
one of six finalists in the phase 1 development part of the
Defense Department's VHSIC program, begun in 19804!Yd concluded
last year. Honeywell built a class 10 cleanroom in Colorado
Springs to make the chips. "To the best of our knowledge, this is
the first fabrication facility in the world to be manufacturing
1.25 micron bipolar chips on six-inch wafers to VHSIC
specifications," said Honeywell's Dennis Prestholdt, who head the
operation.

CONTACT: Honeywell, Inc., Colorado Springs, Colo., 303-577-3511.

[***][5/27/86][***]
US AND CHINA SIGN PHONE ACCORD
The U.S. and the Peoples Republic of China have signed an
agreement to provide U.S. experts for modernizing the Chinese
civil telecommunications system. The agreement was one of four
technological cooperation pacts signed last week at the end of
the fourth annual meeting of the U.S./China Joint Commission on
Commerce and Trade. China plans to spend nearly $4 billion over
the next six years to modernize its telecommunications system,
according to the Commerce Department's National
Telecommunications and Information Administration.

CONTACT: Desiree Tucker, Department of Commerce, Washington
         D.C., 202-377-5087.

[***][5/27/86][***]
BUSINESS INDEX UP AGAIN
A pattern of weekly oscillations continues in the Washington
Computer Business Index, based on computer ads in the weekly
"Washington Business" magazine. The index for the May 19 issue
rose to 254, from 212 the prior week, on 13.2 pages of computer
display advertising. The issue contained 19 pages of non-computer
display ads.

[***][5/27/86][***]
POWERBYTES

 $$$ SofTech Inc. of Waltham, Mass., has appointed Steve Habblett
to be general manager of the Washington division of the
government systems group. SofTech does a lot of its business with
the Defense Department, writing system software in Ada for
computers embedded in weapons systems. Habblett spent 20 years in
the Army and ran the Washington office for Teledyne Brown
Engineering.

CONTACT: SofTech, Waltham, Mass., 617-890-6900.

 $$$ The Naval Air Systems Command has picked Texas Instruments
of Dallas for a $16.8 million contract for the command launch
computer that controls the High Speed Anti-Radiation Missile
(HARM) in the F/A-18 and A-6 aircraft.

 $$$ The Third Army in Atlanta, Ga., has picked Perceptronics
Inc. of Woodland Hills, Calif., for a $4.5 million contract for
an automated command and control staff system. The two-year
project will use off-the-shelf data processing equipment, brought
up to Tempest standards by Systematic General Corp. under a
subcontract. The new system will incorporate tactical video
mapping with word processing, spread sheet, briefing graphics and
data base management.

CONTACT: Perceptronics, Inc., Woodland Hills, Calif., 818-884-
         7470.

[***][5/27/86][***]
THREE NEW FOR BIG BLUE:
IBM Canada Ltd. (Markham, Ontario) is introducing a new
line of telecommunications products, including software
which supports its Systems Network Architecture (SNA)
network doubling as a private X.25 network.  The "X.25 SNA
Interconnection" gives packet-switching ability to networks
using IBM's proprietary SNA protocols.  Announced at the
same time were a 3270 communications controller,
enhancements to the existing 3725 controller, and new
versions of its 5865, 5866, and 5868 modems.  New too is
"Netview," a software package for management and control of
networks.

CONTACT: IBM Canada Ltd., 350 Steeles Avenue E., Markham,
         Ontario, L3R 2Z1, 416/474-2111

[***][5/27/86][***]
SOFTWARE FOR EXPORTERS TO U.S.:
Canadian businesses exporting to the United States now have
a microcomputer software package to help with some of the
red tape and documentation required for trade. "Southbound
Trader" handles all forms required for the Canadian Aligned
Standard For Trade Documentation (say =that= five times
fast...), including a combined commercial invoice/export
declaration, packing slips, and E15 identification of goods
returned or destroyed.  The program has been developed by
Elsid Software Systems, a member of the Canadian Export
Association, and retails for $550 (CDN); a demonstration
videotape is available for $25 plus shipping.  Southbound
Trader runs on--you have to guess?--IBM PC's or compatibles
with a minimum of 256K RAM; a hard disc is recommended.

CONTACT: Elsid Software Systems Ltd., 2656 Priscilla St.,
         Ottawa, Ontario, K2B 7C9

[***][5/27/86][***]
QUEBEC SYMPOSIUM DEBATES PIRACY:
Following the recent Federal Court decision against
computer software piracy (reported in NEWSBYTES * CANADA),
Quebec government officials at a symposium last week were
optimistic for the future of the province's software
industry.  At the second annual Montreal International
Software Market (MIM), a discussion on software protection
was sponsored by the Quebec Ministry Of Industry, Commerce,
and Tourism.  The ministry's software division chief Marcel
Ruel said the Ottawa decision offers "a glimmer of hope" in
the ongoing battle with byte-brigands; he added that 10 to
15 illegal copies of programs are sold for each original.

Participants agreed that the best protection is
before-the-fact offensives against piracy, rather than
band-aid solutions afterwards.  Suggestions included
detailed contracts among developers, clients, and
distributors specifying conditions of ownership, royalties,
confidentiality, and copying.  Montreal lawyer Yolande
Lemire reminded the group that various legal remedies are
available, including court injunctions--especially those
used without notice--to prevent pirates from selling
copies.

[***][5/27/86][***]
COMPUTER INNOVATIONS BOTTOM LINE:
Retail chain Computer Innovations Distribution Inc., of
Mississauga, Ontario, has announced a profit of
$2.8-million (CDN) for the year ended March 29, 1986,
slightly up from last year's $2.6-million.  Share profit,
however, was slightly down at 11 cents, compared with 15
cents.  Revenue was up considerably for the year, from
$102.1-million to $126.1-million.  An extraordinary gain
from a tax loss carried forward increased gross profit to
$5-million, or 19 cents a share.

[***][5/27/86][***]
NORTEL SIGNS CHIP PACT:
Mississauga, Ontario's Northern Telecom Ltd. (Nortel) has
signed an agreement with Motorola Inc. (Schaumburg, IL) to
collaborate on the R&D of new semiconductor components for
use in Integrated Services Digital Networks (ISDN).  ISDN
is a protocol set for large, world-wide digital linkages of
voice, text, graphics and video communications.  The
network can make use of all makes and varieties of hardware
through the protocol standards.  Under the agreement,
Nortel will provide network and system architectures, drive
specifications for semiconductor devices, and network
testing and evaluation results.  Motorola will supply
design expertise in advanced semiconductor technology, and
will market the semiconductors to other OEM's.
(SEE ALSO NEWSBYTES-SOUTHEAST.)

CONTACT: Northern Telecom, 800/362-7950

[***][5/27/86][***]
COMMUNICATIONS INTEGRATION TO BE STUDIED:
And in related news, Montreal, Quebec's DMR And Associates
Ltd., information-management consultants, plans a
$2-million (CDN) study of the integration of data, text,
voice and image communications.  DMR believes that the next
leap forward for information services is the integration of
these functions with digital computer technology, merging
all into a a single information-handling system accessible
from individual work stations.  The study will survey most
of the "advanced information technology users" among
Canadian companies, with each participant ante-ing up
$20,000 (don't call me, I'll call you...).  Art Caston, one
of the study leaders, predicts that over the next 10 to 15
years, integration will be as important as the past
decade's decrease in size of computers as they
proportionally increased in power and processing speed.

          - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
          |   N E W S B Y T E S * C A N A D A   |
          |  Compiled by D. Reid Powell/CPA167  |
          | Comments by SourceMail are welcomed |
          - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


*****************************************************
NEWSBYTES-JAPAN, WEEK OF JUNE 3, 1986 -- CPA174
*****************************************************

[***][6/3/86][***]
FAMICON COMPATIBLE MACHINE FROM SHARP:
Nintendo's Family Computer (FamiCon) fever dies hard here in
Japan.  With this in mind, it's not surprising that Sharp, one of the
major Japanese micro manufacturers, has announced its FamiCon-
compatible machine called AN-500 or Twin Famicon.  This new
Famicon compatible gadget accepts both the cartridge and the
disk-based game software of Family Computer.  Also, Twin Famicon
has three expansion slots for the potential FamiCon network,
which is expected to start before long.  Sharp is certainly
betting on the success of the FamiCon online network
since 6.5 million sets of FamiCon computers are currently in use
in Japan.  Sharp's Twin Famicon will be released at US$188 in
July.

CONTACT: Sharp, Tokyo, 03-260-1161

[***][6/3/86][***]
JAPANESE GAME MACHINE RAIDS TO THE U.S.:
The Tokyo-based major toy maker "Sega Enterprises" will market
its low-cost video game machine in the U.S. and Europe in
September.  "Sega Master System", which has currently been sold
as "Sega Mark III" in Japan, is said to be almost as powerful
as Nintendo's Family Computer.  President Nakamura of Sega said
"We will develop better game software than the FamiCon's, and
will beat the predecessor!"  The retail price of Sega's machine
will be approximately US$90.  Sega plans to produce the machine's
parts in Taiwan to take advantage of the appreciation of
Japanese yen to the U.S. dollar, a report says.

CONTACT: Sega Enterprises, Tokyo, 03-743-7438
         Sega U.S.A., 2149 Paragon Dr., San Jose, CA 95131
         (Phone: [phone])

[***][6/3/86][***]
AT&T'S VAN BUSINESS IN JAPAN:
AT&T has announced  that it will increase its capital in Japan ENS
by 50 percent, in order to make a first step forward to a VAN
business in Japan.  AT&T gave up its VAN "NET1000" this January,
so the future of the international VAN venture firm "Japan ENS"
has been bleak.  However, this announcement has given a boost
to the success of Japan ENS.  Fujitsu's VAN is likely
to take over NET1000 as the firm's main system.  According to a
published report, Japan ENS will start a packet switching network
service in November.

CONTACT: Japan ENS, Tokyo, 03-347-5617

[***][6/3/86][***]
OPTICAL IC PROJECT:
Thirteen major Japanese electronics manufacturers will jointly
establish a new company called Optical Technology Research and
Development Corp. on June 3.  The company will develop optical
electronics ICs (OEIC) for optical computers.  The main research
laboratory of the new firm is expected to be built with
additional contributions from the Ministry of International
Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunica-
tions.  The manufacturers which join this new business include
Oki, Toshiba, NEC, Fujitsu, Hitachi, Matsushita, Mitsubishi,
and Sharp.  Nearly 20 kinds of optical ICs are expected to be
developed by the firm, but the first products aren't expected
to be on the market before 10 years.

[***][6/3/86][***]
IBM VS. FUJITSU:
IBM's president John Akers met the "Nikkei Daily" reporter(5/25)
in the U.S., and reportedly showed strong confidence in IBM's ability
to resolve a prolonged dispute over the copyright infringement
issue with Fujitsu.  IBM insists that Fujitsu has used IBM's software
which is not listed in a previous so-called "confidential agreement"
of both companies.  According to the published report, IBM's president
said "The positive improvement can be seen in a few months, and the issue
may eventually come to an end in IBM's favor."  President Aker
also said that he has asked to meet face to face with Fujitsu's
president Yamamoto.  Meanwhile, President Yamamoto says
he hasn't received any such meeting proposal.  Humm...
The battle might go on for a while.

[***][6/3/86][***]
VERSATILE FILM WITH AN INSTANT CAMERA UNIT:
The Japanese, who are fond of creating unique gadgets, have
come up with another convenient gadget.  Fuji Film Corp. has
developed a low-cost instant camera unit, which consists of
films, a lens and a shutter.  This unprecedented camera unit
"UTSURUN-DESU" allows 24 exposures, and costs only US$8.00.  The
unit measures 48 x 98 x 35 mm and weighs only 75 g.  The photos
can be taken under the fine weather outside buildings.  The films
are auto focused.  Fuji Film plans to market one million units
this year, a report says.

CONTACT: Fuji Film, Tokyo, 03-406-2497

[***][6/3/86][***]
<<< SUKIYAKI BYTES >>>

JAPAN AND THE U.S. AGREE ON SEMICONDUCTOR ISSUE -- Japan and the
U.S. reached (5/28) a broad agreement to solve the two countries'
semiconductor problems.  Both countries will cooperate to reduce
the frictions by introducing a supervising system to prevent
chip dumping, and increasing the semiconductor share of the U.S.
manufacturers in the Japanese market.  The final agreement is
expected to be made by the end of June.

H-P'S 32-BIT MINICOMPUTER -- Yokogawa-Hewlett Packard (YHP) says
it will market Hewlett Packard's 32-bit super minicomputer
"HP9000 Model 840" in June.  YHP has added a Japanese language
feature on this machine.  It accepts LISP and PROLOG, as well as
FORTRAN, Pascal, and C languages.

256KB SRAM FROM SEIKO-EPSON -- SEIKO-EPSON has developed a CMOS-
type of 256KB Static RAM, and has already started marketing them.
The monthly output will be 40 to 50 units, and it is expected to
become one million units per month around the end of the year.
Meanwhile, SEIKO-EPSON has been thinking of listing its stocks
at Tokyo Stock Exchange market, a report says.

TELECOM TRADE SHOWS IN TOKYO -- Telecom Japan '86 will be held
at SunShine City Center (Hall-B) in Tokyo on 6/4 to 6/6.  Various
telecom equipment and the software will be exhibited by approx.
40 manufacturers at the show.

BRITISH TELECOM AT TSE MARKET -- British Telecom listed its
company stocks at The Tokyo Stock Exchange market on May 30.
180 million stocks were bought on the first day.  Referring to
AT&T's VAN business in Japan, BT's chairman Jefferson told the
Japanese reporters that "it is too early to start that kind of
business here."

[***][6/3/86][***]
BOOK CORNER
  "Japan Update"  (written in English) -- FREE OFFER
  -- This magazine aims at non-Japanese people overseas to
     understand Japanese industries.  The first issue includes
     the articles on computer-operated language translation
     system, new-media education, et al.

CONTACT: Keizai-Kouhou Center, c/o Mr. Fukatsu (Intern'l Dept.),
         Otemachi Bldg., 1-6-1 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100
         (Phone: [phone])