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/V173

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[***][10/07/86][***]
HACKER ON THE LOOSE
STANFORD, Ca. A hacker calling himself "Pink Floyd" has kept
officials busy at 3 universities, 4 corporations and a military
institution over the last six weeks.  The hacker has
successfully penetrated the security of computer networks at
Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, Stanford University's Artificial
Intelligence Lab, M.I.T., University of Illinois, Mitre
Corporation in Virginia, and other institutions. Officials
believe he has not accessed any classified information,
but his electronic snooping has forced complete password changes,
code revisions, and a reevaluation of security.  "We were able
to trace him to a point," says Lester Earnest of Stanford's
computer science department, "but then the telephone company got
cold feet and balked at completing the job."  Reportedly the
phone company serving the area from which the calls originated
was afraid of lawsuits, therefore did not participate in the
electronic manhunt.  The hacker remains at large.

[***][10/07/86][***]
APPLE'S ADVERTISING BLITZ
CUPERTINO, Ca. NEWSBYTES has received a film can full of popcorn and
admission tickets to what is expected to be the hottest event
in advertising.  The gimmick, to be staged Monday (10/6) in
New York, is to promote the premier of Apple's fall television
ads.  On hand will be Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert to "critique"
the commercials, the first to be produced by Apple's new
ad agency BBDO.  According to COMPUTER RESELLER NEWS, the
ads are for the IIGS and Macintosh, and in all the 30 second
spots, a computer does not appear until the very end. The
most memorable commercial is dubbed "Nightmare" and features
a youngster dreaming of an imminent history test as he drifts
off to sleep, only to awaken in relief as he finds his study
notes on his Apple IIGS.

[***][10/07/86][***]
ONLINE SERVICES GROW 8%;THE SOURCE DROPS 8%
INFORMATION INDUSTRY BULLETIN says subscriptions to the
30 leading online services grew 8% in the first half of 1986,
with General Electric's GEnie service growing the fastest--
a whopping 739%, from 2,000 to 17,000 subscribers.  The next
fastest growing information retrieval service is British
Telecom's Dialcom, up 20% to 180,000 subscribers.  Still
topping the list with the most subscribers is Compuserve
which gained another 30,000 members since January and now
boasts of a subscriber base of 280,000.  The only general
interest service to experience a drop in membership was
The Source, down an estimated 8.3% from 60,000 to 55,000
members.

CONTACT: INFORMATION INDUSTRY BULLETIN, Digital Information
         Group, 2 Owen St., Stamford, CT 06902 203/348-2751

[***][10/07/86][***]
COMDEX/LAS VEGAS LOOKING GOOD
The Interface Group is bullish about this year's Comdex/Fall,
slated for Nov. 10-14 in Las Vegas.  The trade show organizer
reports preregistration for one day conferences is double
the rate of last year and the exhibit floor space in five of
the six locations is completely sold out.  The press release
exclaims, "COMDEX/Fall, the world's largest computer industry
trade show, is showing evidence of continued strength despite
what pundits have termed a slump in the industry."  NEWSBYTES
has been clued in to the appearance of new machines from
ATARI and a first PC from AST RESEARCH at the show.

[***][10/07/86][***]
CONROY LAPOINT UPDATE
SAN FRANCISCO, Ca. Since filing for protection from
creditors, Conroy LaPointe Computer Store, the mail-order
and computer store chain, has decided to close its San
Francisco retail outlet.  "The burden of running a full
service store in the downtown S.F. area just became too great,"
explained Philip O'Donnell, President and CEO of the company.
Conroy LaPointe will set up a local sales office to handle
sales and service. Operations in the Portland and Bellevue,
Washington areas will continue as normal.

CONTACT: Ken McAdam, CONROY LAPOINT, 503/620-4990

[***][10/07/86][***]
ITT'S NEWEST COMPUTER
SAN JOSE, Ca. ITT Information Systems has introduced the ITT
XTRA/286, which it calls an advanced technology workstation.
The IBM AT compatible comes in configurations from 640k with
a 1.2 Mbyte floppy drive to a version with a 30-Mbyte hard disk.
Prices run from $2,500 to $4,299.  ITT says the systems run
30% faster than IBM ATs.

CONTACT: Teena Genetti, ITT, 408/945-8950

[***][10/07/86][***]
COURTROOM NOTES
SAN JOSE, Ca. Televideo's former chief financial officer,
Frederick Heidenthal Jr., is in deep trouble.  He was
indicted last week for conspiring to steal $3 million from
Televideo, money which the court says he'd used to buy new
cars and go on extensive gambling trips. The indictment also
charges Heidenthal and his business partner Dan Burkhard with
conspiracy and wire fraud.  If convicted, Heidenthal faces up
to 31 years in prison and a fine of over $1 million.  Neither
Heidenthal nor Burkhard were available for comment.

SANTA CLARA, Ca. Hyundai Electronics of Santa Clara has been
sued by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
for reported racial discrimination.  The suit alleges that
nine non-Korean trainees were deliberately laid off so that
nine Korean trainees could replace them.  Additionally,
Hyundai is charged with discriminating against a woman
because of her sex, and forcing Koreans to work overtime without
pay.  The suit will be heard in U.S. District Court in San
Jose.

[***][10/07/86][***]
MICRON DROPS SUIT AGAINST JAPANESE
BOISE, Idaho.  Micron Technology Inc., the firm which almost
single-handedly ignited the chip war against Japan, has quietly
dropped its antitrust complaint against six Japanese chipmakers.
The suit, filed in September of last year, accused the Japanese
firms of dumping 64K chips on the U.S. market below fair value,
and of violating anti-trust laws.  Since that time other
semiconductor firms hopped aboard the wave of anti-Japanese
sentiment, their actions culminated in the historic semiconductor
agreement with Japan in August.  Micron's president says
he's "hopeful and encouraged" by the agreement--enough to
drop the suit.
[***][10/07/86][***]
WESTERN BRIEFS --

FREMONT, Ca. OMNITEL INC. has signed a $50 million contract with
LEADING EDGE of Needham, Ma. to supply the computer maker with
modems.

CULVER CITY, Ca. ASHTON-TATE has a new CEO and president. Luther
Nussbaum, formerly a senior executive with Businessland, will
assume the post November 1.  Ed Esber will retain the title of
chairman and chief executive.

SUNNYVALE, Ca. ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES also claims a new president:
Tony Holbrook, who's been with AMD since 1982.

MONTEREY, Ca. DIGITAL RESEARCH has launched a new subsidiary
devoted to developing connectivity software for everything from
micros to mainframes.  The name of the new firm, formed to
capitalize on this new explosive growth area, is Interconnexions
Inc.  Contact: Judy Mervis, DIGITAL, 408/646-6218.

PALO ALTO, Ca. ADOBE SYSTEMS is riding a skyrocket.  The firm
pulled in nearly $5 million in its quarter ending August 31, up
from $1.6 million for the same quarter a year earlier.  In
easy arithmetic, that's a more than 300% increase for Adobe
Systems.

LAGUNA BEACH, Ca. BRODERBUND SOFTWARE reports that kids at
Thurston Middle School here recently made the world's largest
banner using Broderbund's The Print Shop software. The
banner was 1.7 miles long and employed 420 students, ages
11 to 14.  The school is seeking placement of its achievement
in the Guinness Book of World Records.

[***][10/07/86][***]
INFORUM LEASING, CONSTRUCTION TARGETS DETAILED  *EXCLUSIVE*
ATLANTA -- Shovels will move on Inforum, the 1.5 million square
foot downtown high-tech proposal of John Portman & Associates,
once lease salesmen scare up another 90,000 square feet in
commitments. That would bring total pre-leasing to 300,000 square
feet, half the showroom space to be available. The rest of the
complex would include a 450-seat theater, a 2,200 seat
auditorium, 100,000 square feet in show floor space (with
walkways to another 100,000 square feet in the Apparel Mart next
door), and 17 meeting rooms. Once construction starts, occupation
is 2 years away.

Portman's moves are a contrast to Trammell Crow's Dallas
Infomart, which shot for 50% pre-leasing at opening, not the
first day of construction. Portman's plans also call for
synergy with the World Congress Center, a few blocks from its
site, and the Atlanta Market Center's other wholesale operations,
which are all connected within Peachtree Center by elevated
walkways. (This fall, Portman plans to raise the roof on his 7-
story Apparel Mart and make it a 14-story building. He expanded
the Atlanta Merchandise Mart next to it last year.)

CONTACT: Bill Bryant, INFORUM [phone]

[***][10/07/86][***]
MEANWHILE, IN TEXAS' INFOMART                     *EXCLUSIVE*
Dallas, TX has become home to many see-through buildings, which
look beautiful until you notice they're empty. We asked a local
businessman about Trammell Crow's Infomart, who said it's 30-40%
full itself, with the top three floors of showroom space empty.
The busiest day down below is Saturday, when some 8 users'
groups use it for meetings "but we're all kind of cheap." Our
source retains faith in the concept, I must add, and blames the
general industry slump for the slow-going.

[***][10/07/86][***]
INSIDE THE INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS SALE     *NEWS AND ANALYSIS*
NORCROSS, GA -- Last Tuesday Intelligent Systems Corp., Norcross
(owners of Quadram Corp., Princeton Graphics, Peachtree Software,
Asher Technologies, and other PC-based companies), announced it
had retained Bear Stearns & Co., New York, to sell the company --
in whole or in pieces -- to the highest bidder(s), hopefully
before January 1, when the new tax laws go into effect.
Everything is included in the sale, including a PR firm (CAM
Group) and advertising agency (Hi-Techniques), we were told.

Strange. As in Leland Strange, chairman. We're told that once the
deal is done, the Quadram co-founder will be free to find new
work, with plenty of cash to help him through it. It was when
top-performing divisions like Asher and Princeton began asking
about buying themselves out from under his umbrella (Asher went
so far as to join the Atlanta High-Tech tour with no mention of
its corporate parent) that he came up with this bright idea.
Analysts bid up the stock, at $5.25 per share before the
announcement, to $7.75 in one day, on heavy trading, with some
saying the market price should be $10.  Strange days indeed.

Contact: Alan Srochi, ISC, [phone]

[***][10/07/86][***]
CONTEL SWALLOWS COMSAT, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND
ATLANTA -- Contel, which owns Executone and other high-tech firms
in addition to a lot of little phone companies, says it really
will acquire Comsat of Washington, DC, not the other way around
as reported. By law, Comsat can't be acquired, but in a deal
announced last week, Contel's 76 million shares will be worth .94
of a share of Comsat each. Since Comsat only has 18 million
shares now, you can see exactly who will outnumber who.

More important is who will run the show. Contel president
LeMasters becomes CEO and will remain in Atlanta. Contel chairman
Wohlstetter remains chairman and will stay in New York.
This deal has to go through a lot of approvals before it's final,
including runs past the FCC approval, several state utility
commissions, and the US Congress. Contel officials figure it will
take "at least 6 months."

Contact: Ken Bomar, CONTEL, [phone]

[***][10/07/86][***]
HIGH TECH HOEDOWN IN ATLANTA
ATLANTA -- Over 300 high-tech suits from around Georgia gathered
in the atrium of the Atlanta Apparel Mart last Thursday for a
pep-rally to open National High-Tech Month. Gov. Joe Frank Harris
told them all how wonderful they are. There were displays of
products and services from members of the Advanced Technology
Development Institute.  There was an award, "High Tech
Entrepreneur of the Year," given to Bill Brinegar of Digital
Transmission Systems Inc.  DTS is a onetime ATDC incubator
company which drew major contracts from MCI during the year for
T-1 speed modems (1.544 million bits per second), muxes, and test
equipment to on analog microwave lines.  (Contacts also help;
among DTS' directors are former Georgia Gov.  George Busbee and
former Coca-Cola chief financial officer Sam Ayoub.)

There was also another big push for Inforum, from executive vice
president  Jim Kranzusch. (See above.) A model of the building at
his feet, Mr. Kranzusch (rhymes with branches) made it clear that
if, for some reason, this project doesn't get built, it will rank
among the major embarrassments of developer-architect John
Portman's career. (Which means its chances of actually getting
built remain excellent, if not right now then Real Soon Now.)

CONTACT: Don Plummer, ATDI [phone]

[***][10/07/86][***]
PECAN BYTES

DATAPOINT, San Antonio, reported a profit of $231,000 on revenue
of $89.08 million for the quarter ended July 26. The company has
been losing money and selling divisions since its acquisition by
New York-based financier Asher Edelman.

QUADRAM, Norcross, added a new video board to its line and
dropped the price of its existing QuadEGA+ board $100, to $495.
It also announced it's developing another new graphics board
based on the Intel 82786 graphics display co-processor.
(Contact Jane Bator, CAM Group, [phone])

TEXAS INSTRUMENTS, Dallas, added two new fast dot-matrix printers
to its Omni 800 line, plus a new board which will let them
emulate the IBM 3287 printer line. The add-in board is called the
SNA/SDLC Coax Option.
(Contact: TI Data Systems Group, 1-800-527-3500)

THE SOFTWARE LINK, Atlanta, announced shipments of PC EMULink, a
terminal emulation package which lets users operate a single-
floppy PC as if it were a color-graphics terminal.
(Contact: Pam Alexander, [phone])

OBJECTIVE NEWS SERVICES INC., also known as the Atlanta Bureau,
a computerized news bureau for newspapers and magazines, has
expanded into online library research with its new "Current
Awareness Service." (Contact Jerry Schwartz [phone])

NATIONAL DATA CORP., Atlanta, sold its Rapidata time-sharing
subsidiary to Electronic Data Services Inc., Dallas, a subsidiary
of GM.   (Contact: Charles Proctor [phone])



[***][10/07/86][***]
INTERFACE TRUNK SHOWS OFF: ATLANTA INCLUDED
NEEDHAM, MA -- The Interface Group has decided to "postpone" the
remainder of its Computer & Business Equipment Showcases for 1986
(formerly called the Computer Showcase Expos). The announcement
arrived here just one week before the Atlanta show was due to
open.  People working on the shows were told that while booth
space sold well, attendance was off for the shows, which had
already made 10 stops around the country.

The complete list of cancelled shows includes the Atlanta show,
October 16-18, the South Florida show October 31-November 1, the
Chicago show November 20-22, and the Los Angeles show, November
20-22.

CONTACT: Keith Westerman, The Interface Group, [phone]

[***][10/07/86][***]
INSIDE THE DCA-MICROSTUF DEAL   *ANALYSIS*
ALPHARETTA, GA -- Last Monday, Digital Communications Associates
Inc., makers of the IRMA line and other data communications
products, announced an agreement to buy Microstuf Inc.,
publishers of Crosstalk, for 750,000 shares of stock. At its
closing price that day of $19.50 per share, it comes to
$14,625,000 for a small company with a large franchise, an
estimated 500,000 copies of Crosstalk being in use worldwide.
While both DCA president Bert Nordin and Microstuf president Les
Freed were unavailable for comment on the deal, here's what they
saw and what it means:

Microstuf failed at expanding beyond data communications, and
needed cash to fend off the challenges of Crosstalk clones like
Mirror, from Softklone Communications Corp. of Tallahassee. The
Mark IV product had been delayed considerably, and suing
Softklone for copyright infringement was costing money. The
company will now have resources, and founder Freed makes out OK.

DCA filled another hole in its rapidly-expanding product line.
The new Mark IV, which Mr. Freed was demonstrating at PC Expo in
Chicago this past week, includes 3270 emulation, making it
perfect for use with DCA's IRMA line. Add Crosstalk to the
Cohesive Network T-1 modem, Forte's high-speed graphics
capabilities (both companies were bought earlier this year), the
FastLink (Telebit) modem and DCA's existing IRMA, Smart Alec, and
System 370 multiplexer lines, and you have a full-line data
communications supplier.  The strategies are sound.  The key will
be execution.

CONTACT: Mindy Littman at DCA [phone]

[***][10/07/86][***]
MICROSTUF'S CASE AGAINST SOFTKLONE GETS COURT SUPPORT
ATLANTA - The case, Whelan Associates Inc. vs. Jaslow Dental
Laboratory Inc. et al, was decided by the Third Circuit Court of
Appeals in August, and could make DCA's price for Microstuf
(producers of Crosstalk) look even cheaper. "Copyright protection
of computer programs may extend beyond the programs' literal code
to their structure, sequence and organization," wrote the court.
The case involved a Pennsylvania company which wrote a BASIC
program similar to an existing EDL program in the way data was
organized, retrieved and used -- screen displays were said to be
identical.

Writing in the current issue of "Softshare," organ of the
Southeastern Software Association, attorney John Yates (whose
firm is representing Microstuf in its suit against Softklone)
said, "The new Whelan ruling may cause software designers and
developers authoring 'look-alike,' 'work-alike,' 'compatible,'
and 'clone' products to review and adjust their product
development strategies."

CONTACT: John Yates, [phone]

[***][10/07/86][***]
NEW WORD PROCESSING CONVERSION SYSTEM FROM PRINCIPAL SYSTEMS
NORCROSS, GA -- The PC Switch line, including a $495 software
package, a $4,795 plug-in card for the IBM PC, and a $1,195 half-
height disk drive, will let you convert most old word processing
files into today's more popular formats. Packages supported
include the Lanier No Problems, CPT, Wang OIS, IBM Displaywriter,
Xerox 850/860, Word Perfect, Microsoft Word, WordStar, MultiMate
and Samna. The developer, Principal Systems Inc. of Norcross, is
a subsidiary of Principal Neo-Tech of Toronto, Ontario.

CONTACT: John Day, [phone]

[***][10/07/86][***]
INSIDE THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE              *EXCLUSIVE*
NORCROSS, GA -- The price of moving laptop datafiles into the IBM
PC disk format just dropped from $500 to $130. The Bridge is a
set of programs that lets you connect the laptop and desktop
machines through their serial ports, then access either the
desktop machine's floppy or hard drives from the laptop. Since
the Bridge acts as a device driver under MS-DOS, it can also let
you read and write printers, plotters, or any other DOS device.
All you need is the COPY command. "The resulting file copy has
the same size, date and time as the original," says developer Guy
Gordon. The product comes in 3 1/2 inch and 5 1/4 inch versions,
and includes an 8-foot long null modem cable.

CONTACT: Guy Gordon, WHITE CRANE SYSTEMS, [phone]

[***][10/07/86][***]
PECAN BYTES--

ASHER TECHNOLOGIES, Roswell, GA, began shipping the Asher
MiniLink Gateway, a plug-in PC card and software which lets up to
7 IBM PC users at the same time share the resources of a System
34, 36, or 38. The price : $2,290, includes software.
CONTACT: Asher, [phone]

SAMNA CORP., Atlanta, GA, introduced Samna Word IV and Samna Plus
IV, enhanced versions of its existing products which will be sold
separately.  Features include graphics and text integration,
forms processing, red lining, and file translation to IBM 's
Document Content Architecture (DCA) or the Navy Data Interchange
Format (DIF).  Samna also introduced Masterspec, the master
specification document of the American Intitute of Architects, on
disks in Samna format. CONTACT: Samna, [phone]

XPOINT CORP., Atlanta, GA, introduced 6 IBM compatible printers
at the System 3X show in Atlanta October 8. Xpoint formerly sold
only others' printers. These are the first under its own label.
CONTACT: Synthesis, [phone]



[***][10/07/86][***]
And Finally...

COMPAQ computer owners can now wheel their machines to the
airport with the "Computer Valet," a case-with-wheels which
includes pockets for diskettes and important papers. Velcro flaps
unzip for cable access and airflow, making the case a "portable
desktop" says developer Computer Aspects of San Jose, CA.
(Add a small electric motor and it'll go to the office for you,
so you're fired.)
 ==

[***][10/07/86][***]
NAVY NEEDS NEW ACCOUNTING COMPUTERS
WASHINGTON -- An internal audit released last week concludes that
the Navy has an outmoded parts inventory system. The audit found
that the Navy could not account for nearly $320 million worth of
aviation spare parts aboard aircraft carriers last year. The
audit by the Naval Audit Service began a year ago after a
smugglers allegedly walked off with $7 million in spare F-14
fighter parts, which ended up in Iran. Among the root causes of
the losses, most of which are simply bookkeeping foulups and not
thefts, are an "obsolete and overburdened computer system" aboard
the carriers, the audit agency said.

[***][10/07/86][***]
VIDEO BANKING COMES TO CONNECTICUT
STAMFORD, Conn. -- Union Trust Co. is offering selected business
customers the opportunity to bank by personal computer. The bank
says it is the first service of its kind in Connecticut.
Designed for small and medium-sized businesses, the system allows
the companies to do most of their banking from office computers
equipped with modems. "We believe that it puts us at an advantage
in attracting small and medium-sized business customers, a
growing and increasingly important segment of our customer base,"
said John Kline, a Union Trust vice president.

CONTACT: Union Trust Co., Stamford, CT, 203-348-6211.

[***][10/07/86][***]
AT&T MOVING OUT OF COMPUTERS?
NEW YORK -- After three years of red ink in the computer
business, American Telephone & Telegraph Co. is thinking about
getting out of the business, according to an article in THE WALL
STREET JOURNAL last week. AT&T will deemphasize its computer
business "in favor of the highly profitable, but traditional,
voice and data-transmission business," says the newspaper. The
company is likely to take a pre-tax loss of $700 million to $800
million in computers this year, the paper said, and "already has
seen pre-tax operating losses of more than $500 million in the
first eight months." Only the desktop PC 6300 has been selling
according to AT&T's projections. The company has also been
reconsidering its relationship with Olivetti of Italy, which
makes the PC 6300 line. AT&T owns 25 percent of Olivetti and has
an option to increase its stake to 40 percent that expires at the
end of the year.

[***][10/07/86][***]
CONGRESS CLEARS PRIVACY BILL
WASHINGTON -- The new electronic privacy bill is now on
President Reagan's desk, and he is expected to sign it. The bill,
which extends wiretap protection to computer conversations,
electronic mail, paging devices, and cellular mobile telephones,
cleared Congress last week when the House agreed to a Senate-
passed version of the bill. Jerry Berman of the American Civil
Liberties Union called the measure "a significant enhancement of
privacy rights of all citizens using new communications
technologies." Critics have warned that the bill is unenforcable
when it comes to cellular phones, because simple scanners can
pick up these transmissions. They want manufacturers to warn
customers that their cellular conversations aren't private.

[***][10/07/86][***]
GERIATRIC COMPUTER STALLS AIR TRAFFIC
WASHINGTON -- The world's busiest air traffic control center at
O'Hare Airport in Chicago went into paralysis last week when,
during a major storm, its aging computer broke down. Federal
Aviation Administration spokesmen have acknowledged that as many
as 600 flights in five Midwestern states were delayed as long as
three hours. Hundreds of flights out of O'Hare were cancelled,
according to airport officials. The computer failure forced air
traffic controls at the FAA facility near Chicago to get flight
information the old-fashioned way -- by radio conversation with
the pilots -- forcing the delays. The ancient FAA computer in
Chicago is more than 20 years old and scheduled for retirement
next fall. The breakdown was the most serious of some 18 computer
breakdowns at O'Hare this year, the FAA said.

[***][10/07/86][***]
SOURCE ADDS SIGS
MCLEAN, Va. -- The Sousce is mounting two new special interest
groups on its telecommunications system. A new TI-SIG replaces
TEXNET, aimed at owners of the orphaned Texas Instruments TI-99/4
computer. The SIG offers a software library, bulletin board, and
shareware for members. Software can be downloaded by XMODEM,
TEII and other error-free file protocols. The Source is also
offering a special interest group for users of Microsoft
products. Microsoft Corp. will operate MSOFT-SIG to support users
of Windows, Word, Excel, Flight Simulator, Mouse, and Access.
Microsoft is also the creator of both PC-DOS and MS-DOS, the
major PC operating systems. The SIG will have a library of files
and programs for downloading under KERMIT, SuperKERMIT, or
XMODEM protocols.

CONTACT: Source Telecomputing Corp., 1616 Anderson Road, McLean
         VA, 22102, 703-734-7500.

[***][10/07/86][***]
BIG BLUE SINGS THE BLUES OVER MINICOMPUTERS
NEW YORK -- International Business Machines Corp. made the lead
story on the front page of last Friday's WALL STREET JOURNAL. But
IBM executives can hardly be jumping for joy. The article
detailed how Digital Equipment Corp. is stealing the middle of
IBM's market: the minicomputer. DEC's tactic is seamless
communication up and down the line, which compares very favorably
to the Tower of Babel that characterizes IBM's line of minis.
"Because of a strategic move almost two decades ago," notes
reporter Dennis Kneale, "Big Blue is saddled with a mishmash of
machines that aren't on speaking terms." DEC has been stealing
customers from IBM from major accounts that want departmental
computers that will talk to PCs on desktops and the mainframe at
headquarters. IBM still has a lead in the PC market and a lock on
the mainframes, but minis account for about 15 percent of IBM's
revenue. While IBM's revenues have been soft, and income
declining, DEC is a darling of Wall Street, with strong growth in
earnings per share, net, and revenue, much of its at Big Blue's
expense.

[***][10/07/86][***]
ZIFF-DAVIS BUYS GOVERNMENT COMPUTER NEWS
SILVER SPRING, Md. -- Ziff-Davis Publishing Co. announced last week
that it has purchased GOVERNMENT COMPUTER NEWS, a controlled
circulation paper that covers the government computer
marketplace. The purchase price was undisclosed. GCN has a
controlled circulation of around 85,000 and each edition is fat
with computer advertising. Isreal Feldman, found of GCN, will
continue as publisher of the biweekly paper, which recently won a
Computer Press Association award. Ziff-Davis, of New York,
publishes several computer papers.

[***][10/07/86][***]
NIBBLES FROM THE EAST

     WALTHAM, Mass. -- Troubled Computer Consoles Inc. expects to
report its first profit in a year and a half. Chairman John
Cunningham said the company will report net income for the third
quarter of about $1 million, or six to eight cents per share,
compared to a $4.2 million loss for the third quarter last year.
Revenue rose to $34 million from $25.4 million, Cunningham said.

     ANDOVER, Mass. -- GCA Corp. could be headed to federal
bankruptcy court. One of its lenders, the Teachers Insurance and
Annuity Association of America, has rejected a refinancing plan
for the semiconductor equipment maker. The company is in default
on $110 million in debt. The Teachers group holds a $30 million
note to GCA.

     WASHINGTON -- Another attempt at electronic mail has died,
with the announcement by Federal Express last week that it is
zapping ZapMail, a facsimile service. Federal Express said it
will "absolutely, positively," take a $340 million pre-tax
writeoff on the innovative failure.

     ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Atlantic Research Corp. has completed its
takeover of Systems and Applied Sciences Corp., one of the
nation's largest black-owned companies. The company does systems
work for the Defense Department and other federal agencies. The
agreement with Atlantic Research frees the new owner of any
liability from a dispute between the founders of SASC.

     MCLEAN, Va. -- Planning Research Corp. last week picked up a
$20 million, five year contract to help the State Department
create an integrated forehgn affairs computer information system.
The system will link various Foreign Service offices an allow
them to communication through terminals, rather than through the
traditional telex machines or telegrams.

     CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- IBM last week said it will offer a new
expert-systems software package. According to Victor Goldberg, an
official with Big Blue's Information Systems Group here, the
product will combine into one package several artificial
intelligence tools that IBM has been marketing separately.

     NEW YORK -- McGraw-Hill Inc.'s NUCLEONICS WEEK newsletter
has been running an online, interactive international technical
conference on the explosion last April of the Soviet nuclear
power plant at Chernobyl. Conference participants have paid
McGraw-Hill $195 for access to the conference on the company's
PubNet system. The conference ends in mid-October.


[***][10/07/86][***]
INTEL WON'T LINK WITH MATSUSHITA
TOKYO -- The news broke (9/30) that Intel Corp. (U.S.A.) and
Matsushita Group have started talking to each other about
co-producing super LSIs.  However, Intel's chairman Gordon
Moore met the press in Tokyo on October 1 and denied this
report.  According to the first report, Intel is going to produce
DRAMs by using Matsushita's resources (such as the factories and
employees) in Japan.  On the other hand, Matsushita will use
Intel's resources in the U.S.  In this way, both companies will
be able to avoid a big initial investment.  At the press
conference, Mr. Moore said, "There's no plan for Intel to increase
the production sites in Japan in the next few years.  We'd like
to meet the increasing demand by beefing up the current factories
and raising production rates in Japan."

CONTACT: Intel Japan, 5-6 Tokodai, Toyosato-cho, Tsukuba-gun,
         Ibaragi-ken 300-26                  (029747-8511)

[***][10/07/86][***]
HITACHI TO DEVELOP ITS OWN MPUs
TOKYO -- According to the industry sources, Hitachi has decided
to develop its own MPUs, including an 8-bit, 16-bit, and 32-bit
type.  Currently, Hitachi has been the second source for
Motorola's 8/16-bit MPUs, and also the company has been marketing
some original MPUs.  Hitachi has already named its new MPUs the
"H-series."  The report says its 16-bit type product will be
developed around next July, and the 8 and 32-bit products are
expected around the end of next year.  The 32-bit MPU is said to
run both UNIX and Japan's national o.s. "TRON."  With this
decision, Hitachi won't second source for Motorola's 32-bit MPUs,
but the company will keep second sourcing for Motorola's 8/16-bit
products.

CONTACT: Hitachi, 1-5-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100
         (03-258-2057 PR Dept.)

[***][10/07/86][***]
SHARP'S PERSONAL WORKSTATION
HARUMI, Tokyo -- Sharp has exhibited its personal workstation
"X68000" at Electronics Show.  This new machine, which looks more
functional than Macintosh or Amiga, drew a big crowd.  X68000 has
a 10MHz 68000 CPU, two 5" 1MB disk drives, a 2MB RAM (12MB at
maximum), and a 768x512 dot display with a virtual screen area of
1,024x1,024 dots.  An AD PCM voice generator and a FM sound
generator are also equipped with the system.  The powerful
Japanese language feature and the 60,000-color graphics features
are attractive, too.  Moreover, the display can be used as a TV
receiver.

Currently, NEC's 8-bit micro PC-8801 has been dominating
the homecomputer market in Japan.  Sharp and Fujitsu have been
competing for the second position.  With the release of X68000,
however, this situation is expected to change - X68000 will be a
strong competitor for Fujitsu's FM series in the hobbyist and
home market.  The big unknown of this X68000 is the price.
Let us keep a close eye on it.

CONTACT: Sharp, 8 Yahata-cho, Ichigaya, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162
         (03-260-1161)

[***][10/07/86][***]
POWERFUL MULTIPLE PROCESSOR
TOKYO -- The Institute for New Generation Computer Technology
(ICOT) will complete an upgraded version of its PSI dubbed
"Multi-PSI" in February 1987. Multiple number of serial inference
processor "PSI" can be connected with Multi-PSI, and thus the
inference speed gets faster.  ICOT has already developed a
prototype of Multi-PSI which connects eight PSI processors.
ICOT intends to connect 100 PSI processors with Multi-PSI next
year, in order to develop a parallel inference processor. Multi-
PSI will be a big step toward the development of a so-called the
fifth generation computer.

CONTACT: ICOT, 21F Mita-Kokusai Bldg., 1-4-28 Mita, Minato-ku,
         Tokyo 108                           (03-456-2511)

[***][10/07/86][***]
UNIQUE LAN FROM RICOH
TOKYO -- Ricoh has developed a unique and powerful LAN system,
modelled after the nervous system of human beings.  This new
system is based on the multiple linking and decentralized network
architecture.  In this system, the nodes are laid out to form a
grid-type of network, and each node is independently controlled
by the host system.  As a result, even when one part of the
network goes down, other parts of the network are still active.
Also, sensitive graphic images such as a color-photo print can be
sent approximately ten times faster through this new network than
through the conventional network, says a report.

CONTACT: Ricoh, 1-15-5 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107
         (03-479-3014 PR Dept.)

[***][10/07/86][***]
NEC'S VERSATILE ENGINEERING WORKSTATION
TOKYO -- NEC has developed a low-cost engineering workstation
"EWS4800," which integrates the processing of almost all types of
data including graphic figures, images, voice, etc.  EWS4800 has
a graphic-drawing speed of 75,000 vector per second, and it
allows a 48 multi-window processing.  Moreover, this workstation
can be linked with NEC's supercomputer "SX system" and its
general-purpose computer "ACOS series."  EWS4800 is scheduled to
be shipped in November.

Meanwhile, NEC has developed a software tool to raise program
development productivity on NEC's 16-bit micro PC-9801. This "C"
language-based tool is called "SPDTOOL," and is able to develop
programs for NEC's workstations and minicomputers.  With SPDTOOL,
the productivity is said to increase by 30 to 40 percent.

CONTACT: NEC, 1-4-28 Mita, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108
         (03-451-2974 PR Dept.)

[***][10/07/86][***]
NEW TELECOM TERMINAL FROM MITSUBISHI
HARUMI, Tokyo -- The telecommunication market has been the
dominant interest of the Japanese manufacturers here.  In this
situation, Mitsubishi has announced a telecom-oriented powerful-
integrated system "TELCOM STATION."  This workstation looks very
similar to Rolm's terminal - it has a card-type database program,
a schedular, a 300/1,200bps modem, and a telephone. Also, TELCOM
STATION has a Japanese word processing feature, and supports
XMODEM protocol.  This whole system with a proprietary display
costs US$1,923.

CONTACT: Mitsubishi Electric, 2-2-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku,
         Tokyo 100                              (03-218-3134)

[***][10/07/86][***]
NEW MICRO STANDARD
TOKYO -- As was reported in this column several months ago, a new
standard for personal computers will be formed in Europe. Accord-
ing to THE JAPAN TIMES (10/1), the formal announcement will be
made in Brussels shortly.  Eight European manufacturers will
participate in this standardization project. Those firms include,
Siemens (W. Germany), Nixdorf (W. Germany), Olivetti (Italy),
Stet (Italy), Bull (France), Thomson (France), Philips (the
Netherlands), and ICI (U.K.).

[***][10/07/86][***]
DM SUBSCRIPTION
TOKYO -- The Tokyo-based technology consultant TECHNOLOGY
TRANSFER INSTITUTE (TTI) will start sending out a direct mail
which includes information on new technology and new
products of Japanese firms in English.  These direct mails will
be sent to 30,000 people or organizations in the U.S. three times
a year.  TTI also accepts the request for the free mail
subscription from those who are interested.

CONTACT: Technology Transfer Institute, 516 5th Avenue, Suite 305
         New York, NY 10036         (212-719-5771 Mr. Hashizume)

[***][10/07/86][***]
<<< SUSHI BYTES >>>

(ELECTRONICS EXHIBITION) HARUMI, Tokyo -- Electronics Show '86
opened in Tokyo on 10/2.  Various electronics products, including
home-use products, OA equipment, and LSIs, are exhibited. A 4Mbit
DRAM and Laser Disk ROM (CD-ROM) are the major attractions. Total
400,000 visitors are expected this year.  Wow!

(SOFTWARE EXHIBITION) IKEBUKURO, Tokyo -- This past week's
Software Show '86 gathered approximately 70,000 people.  The
popular exhibits were AI programs, language translation systems,
DBMS, and personal computer network systems/programs.  AI
computers, such as Intel's "EXPLORER" and Mitsubishi's "PSI"
(MELCOM-PSI) were also shown there.
/
(LIGHT WEIGHT DISK) TOKYO -- Toshiba has developed an extremely
light-weight 3.5" disk drive with a 1.6MB memory.  It weighs only
430g, and is 2.54cm thick.  The disk "ND-355S" costs US$368.  The
1MB type "ND-352SH" costs US$323.  Both will be released in
January 1987.

(NEW 8-BIT MICRO) OSAKA -- Sharp released (10/2) the most upper
version of its SUPER MZ series "V2."  It has a convenient voice
telecommunication and a powerful Japanese feature.  V2 costs
US$1,289, with a Z80 MPU, a 256K RAM, two 3.5" disks, and a
640x400-dot graphics mode.

(JAPANESE MANTIS) TOKYO -- Cincom Systems Japan, a subsidiary of
the software producer in the U.S., has developed a Japanese
version of MANTIS for Digital Equipment's VAX family.  DEC Japan
will release this fourth generation language program around the
end of November.

(NTT'S CAPTAIN VIDEOTEX) TOKYO -- President Shinto of NTT(Japan's
Telegraph and Telephone Corp.) told the press on 10/1, "NTT may
face the termination of its CAPTAIN Videotex Service if no
effective measures are taken."  CAPTAIN Videotex started as the
first videotex in Japan two years ago.  However, there're only
19,000 users (terminals) all over the nation.  "Low-cost
equipment should be developed for general users (to get more
subscribers)," added the president.


IBM PC TO DIE - JANUARY '86
LONDON: The IBM PC standard will die in January, informed
sources are quoted as saying this week.

This week's PC BUSINESS WORLD leads with the headline, "Big
Blue launch is set to shatter the market," in BIG lettering.
Writers Alice La Plante and Jane Lawrence quote their US
sources as saying that a new range of machines code-named
Renegade will be released in January next year.  The range
will have professional graphics-adaptor-type graphics
built-in as well as voice output capabilities.  The magazine
also says the range "may also include communications chips."

So where does this leave the XT?  Out of it, say NEWSBYTES
UK sources.  Inside whispers from IBM teckie types at the
Amstrad User show held this week in London (where the new
Amstrad PC1512 PC compatible was on show again - see later
story) say that the XT286 is really a stop-gap measure,
destined to last until next summer.  PC BUSINESS WORLD
confirms this point in their latest issue.

Entry-level to the new Renegade range will be via an 800
pound ($1,200) 8086-based machine, said NEWSBYTES UK sources
this week.  The new IBM "clone-basher" will feature 640K
RAM, an 8086 cpu running at 8Mhz (yes, you read that
correctly), twin floppies and a green screen monitor.
Value-added extras will consist of an optional hard-disc and
colour monitor.  No colour card will be necessary since
sources say the entry-level machine will include a colour
graphics card as standard.

Zapping the AT range , says PC BUSINESS WORLD, will be a
286-style PC which will "make the AT look like an antique."

Topping the lot will be an 80386 machine, which several UK
sources say already exist in prototype form.  Pricing?
That's anyones guess, but NEWSBYTES UK predicts that 4,000
pounds ($6,000) will buy you one.

Finishing the lead story in PCBW's September 29th issue is a
neat 5 by 7 picture of an IBM PC with the blood-red stamp
"DEAD" over it.  Heck, that's I call style!

Contact: PC Business World, CW Communications Ltd.,
         99 Grays Inn Road, London WC1X 8UT.
         Tel: [phone].

[***][10/07/86][***]
SHOW REPORT - BUDGET SOFTWARE & PIRACY
LONDON, Hammersmith: This weekend just gone saw the fifth
Amstrad User Show held in the palatial surrounds of the
Novotel Hotel, Hammersmith, with many new products for the
Amstrad computing range.

Attracting a lot of attention at the show were the budget
range of software for the new Amstrad PC compatible.  Hows
does Wordstar Jnr at 60 pounds ($90) grab you?  This and
many other established products are starting to come
onstream, making the standard dealer pricing of 200/300
pounds ($300 - $450) look rather sick.  Suppliers of these
new Amstrad PC software packages say they will only run on
the Amstrad Pc1512, which is true, but NEWSBYTES UK was
offered at least two patch programs to get Amstrad PC
software up and running on a standard PC XT.  Worried?  I
don't think the software companies have begun to think of
the consequences of their down-procing of PC software.

Talking of consequences, we came across a PC package - PC
Outline - from Newstar software at the show.  This package
is distributed in the US as shareware, with a registration
fee payable only on satisfaction of the owner, but is being
*sold* in the UK for 80 pounds ($120) by Newstar.

Whatever happened to the Shareware concept?  Steve Taylor of
Newstar replies: "The Shareware concept doesn't work in the
UK.  We distributed several hundred copies of PC Outline via
several sources, requesting that, if copied and used by a PC
owner, then a registration fee should be paid to us,
whereupon we would send them a manual.  To date neither I
nor my colleagues have any recollection of *one* person
registering themselves as an owner.  Piracy is rampant in
the UK."  A sad indictment on shareware's future in the UK.

Contact: Newstar Software, 200 North Service Road,
         Brentwood, Essex CM14 4SG.
         Tel: [phone].

[***][10/07/86][***]
COMMUNICATION IS TRIANGLE SHAPED
ALBURY, Hertfordshire: NEWSBYTES UK has been hearing quite a
lot of the Triangle Corporation, an Albury, Hertfordshire
firm set up by self-confessed Corvette enthusiast Paul
Fletcher.

No, Triangle aren't into cars, they're selling Viewdata and
ASCII terminal emulation packages for the PC and compatibles
from 50 pounds ($75) and up.  Topping the range are host
system packages allowing users to dial in to a mutli-user
BBS using either a viewdata or ASCII format.  Paul told
NEWSBYTES UK that he will be releasing a full-blown NAPLPS
terminal emulator for the PC and compatibles this week for
under 200 pounds ($300).  NEWSBYTES UK may be wrong, but we
know of no other NAPLPS system for the PC available in
Europe - anyone on that side of the CRT care to disagree?

Contact: Triangle Corporation, 7 The Bourne, Albury,
         Near Ware, Hertfordshire, SA11 2JR.
         Tel: [phone].

[***][10/07/86][***]
THE ENEMY WITHIN - PIRACY PROBLEM
MANCHESTER: As well as being a title for that perennial TV
series, Star Trek, the enemy within refers to a growing
problem *within* the UK computer trade - piracy.

This week's COMPUTER TRADE WEEKLY highlights the problem by
saying that a number of software houses are experiencing
problems with pre-release/pre-production copies of their
software.  The magazine cites several top software houses as
drastically reducing and serial-numbering their "pre" copies
sent out to distributor/dealers.

For one software house, Hewson, the serial-numbering has
paid off.  The game, according to CTW, was bought at the
Commodore User show held in Manchester two weekends ago, and
sent to the firm - under what circumstances we don't know -
very soon after.

Hewson say the version of the game was traced back to
software distribution firm Lazer, whose Andy Denning said of
the situation: "We're very sorry."

Apparently the distributor sent a few copies onto a retailer
who subsequently pirated it.  Meanwhile, Hewson Boss Andrew
Hewson says he's employing a private detective to trace when
and how the game came to be sold at the Manchester show.
"Hopefully we can expect to have someone to take to court
over this," he says.

Contact: Computer Trade Weekly, Business Technology Centre,
         Bessemer Drive, Stevenage, Hertfordshire.
         Tel: [phone].

[***][10/07/86][***]
CHANGES AT ATARI UK
CORBY, Northants: It's all change at the top of Atari UK -
Rob Harding and Max Baimbridge are leaving the UK company
headquarters after one and a half years building up the
company's UK operations since "Big Jack" Tramiel bought the
company from Warners back in '84.

Rob Harding, head of marketing leaves to become a divisional
manager in industry.  Max Baimbridge, Atari UK's general
manager, stays with Atari worldwide- he'll be jetting out to
Taiwan in the next few weeks to take a looksee at the Atari
production facility in Taiwan.  If he likes what he sees,
then he'll stay out there.  If he doesn't,... there are
plenty of opportunities for him, both inside and outside of
the Tramiel empire.

[***][10/07/86][***]
DIARY DATES
-----------

Networks '87: The European Computer Communications
              Conference & Exhibition,
Wembley Conference Centre, London,
16-18th June 1987,
Contact: Online International, Pinner Green House,
         Ash Hill Drive, Pinner, Middlesex, HA5 2AE.
         Tel: [phone]       Telex 923498.


The International ISDN Conference,
Wembley Conference Centre, London,
15 - 18th June, 1987,
Contact: Online International, Pinner Green House,
         Ash Hill Drive, Pinner, Middlesex, HA5 2AE.
         Tel: [phone]       Telex 923498.


[***][10/07/86][***]
HIGH TECHNOLOGY NOT COSTING JOBS, SAYS STUDY
OTTAWA -- Canadian companies that installed computers, word
processors and factory automation hired just as many new people
in the last five years as those that didn't.  That's a key
finding of "Working With Technology: A survey of automation in
Canada," released by the Economic Council of Canada last week.

The survey did find, however, that new technology changed the mix
of jobs in many organizations.  The need for new skills was
usually met by retraining existing workers, the study found.

About two thirds of the new technology installed in the study
period was low-cost office equipment such as word processors.  In
the next five years, the Economic Council predicted, there will
be more purchases of factory automation and computer-aided design
systems.  The council also noted a trend toward installation of
networks linking office computers together.

[***][10/07/86][***]
LAYOFFS REPORTED AT GRAHAM SOFTWARE
TORONTO -- Graham Software Corp. has laid off a substantial
number of employees, reports "Canadian Computer Dealer News," a
computer retail industry newspaper.  Graham's microcomputer
software products include: Alice, The Personal Pascal;
scLaserPlus desktop publishing software; and Intellisys, a
database applications generator.  Sources said the company has
laid off 20 to 30 of a staff numbering in the high 30s, and that
some laid-off employees had been offered contract positions in
place of their full-time jobs.

The newspaper reported that Terry Graham, president of Graham
Software, could not be reached for comment.  He also failed to
return calls from NEWSBYTES CANADA.

CONTACT: GRAHAM SOFTWARE CORP., 212 King St. W., Toronto, ON,
         [phone]

[***][10/07/86][***]
DIGITAL EQUIPMENT OPENS TORONTO EXECUTIVE OFFICES
TORONTO -- There was further proof last week of how centralized
the Canadian computer industry is.  On Thursday, Digital
Equipment of Canada Ltd. officially opened its new downtown
Toronto building, which houses the company's executive offices,
sales and marketing and administrative operations.  Digital,
which formerly ran its Canadian operations from Kanata, Ont.,
outside Ottawa, will continue manufacturing and some other
functions at the old facility.  But the lure of Toronto was too
much to resist.  At the opening, Digital Canada marketing manager
Brian Coll noted some telling statistics.  Forty percent of
Canada's gross national product comes from the Toronto area, he
said, and "45 percent of all the installed computers in Canada
are located within 150 kilometres (90 miles) of where we are
standing right now.  I think you can understand why we wanted to
be here."

Digital also announced that Canadian revenues rose 34 percent to
C$631.8 million in the year ended June 28, and net income rose 26
percent to C$617 million.

CONTACT: DIGITAL EQUIPMENT OF CANADA LTD., 505 University Ave.,
         Toronto, ON M5G 2H2, [phone]

[***][10/07/86][***]
USERS' GROUP DEBATES FUTURE
As the CP/M operating system fades into history along with most
of the computers that ran it, some users' groups are faced with a
difficult choice.  One of these is the Kaypro Users of Toronto
and Environs (KUTE).  Recognizing the dim prospects for Kaypro's
CP/M machines, KUTE has been moving in recent years to attract
users of the company's MS-DOS based systems and even DOS
computers from other manufacturers.  But even so the membership
is beginning to wonder if there's any point going on.

"Members must now decide whether they want their association to
continue and flourish," said a recent letter from KUTE president
Ted Brickenden to the membership.  The group will meet later this
month to discuss its future.

[***][10/07/86][***]
MORE LAYOFFS AT MITEL
KANATA, Ont. -- Restructuring of sales and marketing operations
will mean no more jobs for 35 employees of Mitel Corp.  The
layoffs, at headquarters in Kanata and in Boca Raton, Fla., are
part of a drive to curb expenses.  In August, the company laid
off 319 people when it closed a manufacturing plant in Puerto
Rico (NEWSBYTES, August 12).

Mitel also has a new chairman.  He is David Golden, also chairman
of the satellite carrier Telesat Canada.  Previously a director
of Mitel, he was named to replace Derek Vander Weyer, who is
retiring as chairman of Mitel and as deputy chairman of British
Telecom, Mitel's parent company.

CONTACT: MITEL CORP., 350 Legget Dr., Kanata, ON K2K 1X3,
         [phone]

[***][10/07/86][***]
SASKATCHEWAN FIRM WINS U.S. CONTRACT
REGINA, Sask. -- Overcoming political pressure and "Buy American"
sentiment, Management Systems Ltd. has won a million-dollar
contract to write the workers' compensation program for the state
of Wyoming.  The contract was signed after eight months of
negotiation and debate, in which political pressure forced the
state to give Wyoming firms a chance to bid.  Management Systems
won because it was the only company that promised to have the
system up and running in less than a year.  The company has
previously supplied software to workers' compensation boards in
Saskatchewan, Manitoba and North Dakota.

[***][10/07/86][***]
MORE R&D GLOOM AND DOOM
Canada suffers from "timidity, passivity and dependence" in
research and development, according to a discussion paper just
published by the Science Council of Canada.  The paper, entitled
"A National Consultation on Emerging Technology," is based on a
survey of 3,600 Canadian scientists and engineers.  The good news
is, those surveyed ranked Canada as a world leader in the areas
of communications and computer software as well as several other
high-tech areas.  The bad news is, scientists were concerned
about decision-makers' lack of understanding of technology and
about the country's ability to exploit new technologies.

CONTACT: SCIENCE COUNCIL OF CANADA, 100 Metcalfe St., Ottawa
         ON K1P 5M1, [phone]

[***][10/07/86][***]
MISSING IN ACTION
MARKHAM, Ont. --  Sangoma Technologies Inc. sent a copy of a
C$3,500 software package to Canada's Department of National
Defence for review a year ago.  It never came back.
Sangoma shipped the software, designed to handle communications
between micros and mainframes, by courier.  The defence
department was supposed to keep it for three months' evaluation.
The period was extended to April.  Then the package was sent back
-- by regular mail, uninsured.  Naturally, Canada Post lost it.

So far, the Department of National Defence has offered the
software vendor C$100 -- the amount for which the software would
automatically have been insured had it been sent by registered
mail.

[***][10/07/86][***]
BITS, EH?
-- McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont., is using computers and
voice synthesis to help students who spell or write poorly.  The
program uses word processors with built in spelling checkers, as
well as a commercial style-checking program called Lancelot.  It
also employs a voice-synthesis device that can read students'
papers back to them.

-- Omnibus Computer Graphics Inc. of Toronto has completed its
acquisition of Robert Abel & Associates Inc.- a Los Angeles
production house, for $8.5 million.

-- Bell Canada of Montreal, Canada's largest telephone company,
is evaluating the results of a seven-month trial of computerized
telephone technology in Peterborough, Ont.  The technology allows
tracing of nuisance calls as well as providing convenience
features such as automatic redialing and call forwarding.
Further trials are planned.