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/V175

Text File | 1991-08-11 | 46KB | 994 lines

[***][10/21/86][***]
LANDMARK SOFTWARE RULING
SAN FRANCISCO, Ca. -- A federal judge in San Francisco has
ruled that the look and feel of a software product can, indeed,
be copyrighted.  The ruling is the outcome of a lawsuit brought
by Broderbund Software and Pixellite Software against Unison
World of Berkeley.  Unison World makes Printmaster, software
used to create greeting cards, banners, and posters.  Broderbund
had charged that Unison World copied the menu and screen sequence,
known as a "user interface," from its program The Print Shop, which
it co-developed with Pixellite.  US District Judge William Orick
agreed, ruling that Unison World has also violated Broderbund's
copyright on the product.  Specifically, the court ruled that the
audio-visual displays or user-interface of a non-video-game can be
copyrighted under the Federal Copyright Act. Said Broderbund
President Douglas Carlston, "This ruling promotes initiative,
creativity and incentive to develop new expressions, the very
purpose of copyright."  Meanwhile, Unison World attorney Tom
Miller says his firm will appeal the ruling, which he calls
"devastating" to the software industry.

This is the first time a similar software "user interface" has been
successfully challenged in court. Apple Computer challenged Digital
Research's GEM software, but the matter was settled between
the two companies before it could be brought to trial. Another
pending case is the Softklone Vs. Microstuf suit in which
Microstuf contends that Softklone's Mirror violates its
copyright on Crosstalk.

Interestingly enough, Apple's President, Del Yocam, reportedly
sent a big bouquet of flowers to Doug Carlston upon hearing
of Broderbund's court victory.

CONTACT: Latricia Turner McConnell, BRODERBUND, 415/479-1700

[***][10/21/86][***]
CAN'T BEAT 'EM, BUY 'EM - CLONES IN THE NEWS
SAN RAFAEL, Ca. --  MicroPro International is buying out the
competition, having just purchased Newstar Software, maker of the
NewWord word processing software line.  The deal cost MicroPro
$3.1 million.  Newstar will close its doors within the next few
months, and its vice president of marketing and sales, Walter
Feigenson, will become a MicroPro employees.  So will President
Stanley Reynolds and Vice President Peter Mierau...again. Reynolds
and Mierau left MicroPro to start Newstar in 1982.
will become MicroPro employees. MicroPro promises to offer support
for Newstar's "Wordstar-lookalike products" but eventually will
incorporate their best features into the Wordstar product line.

CONTACT: Lee Lensky, MICROPRO, 415/499-7676

[***][10/21/86][***]
APPLE QUARTERS ANOTHER PIE
CUPERTINO, Ca. -- The news keeps looking better. Apple Computer
reports its income and earnings per share more than doubled during
fiscal 1986.  The annual report says net income increased 151%
to $154 million, compared to $61.2 million a year ago. Just in this
last quarter, net sales were $510.8 million, up 25% over sales
one year ago. "We're pleased with these results," commented
John Sculley in a press release on the subject. So are analysts,
many of whom are also surprised by the strength of the firm's
recovery from one year ago.  Indeed, the rosy picture contrasts
that of IBM, which reports profits DOWN 27% in its last quarter.

[***][10/21/86][***]
APPLE NO-SHOW AT COMDEX
CUPERTINO, Ca. -- Apple Computer has decided not to exhibit at
Comdex/Fall '86 in Las Vegas Nov. 10-14.  Barbara Krause, Apple's
spokeswoman, says Apple doesn't get a great return for its
effort at Comdex, adding that since Apple stays in close touch with
its dealer network, such contacts are unnecessary at a large trade
show. Where, then, will the public and trade press get an
eye-full of Apple products? At MacWorld Expos where Apple and its
flagship product the Macintosh can be the star of the show.

[***][10/21/86][***]
3 PORTABLE MACINTOSHES DUE
PALO ALTO, Ca. -- Colby Systems is readying a portable Macintosh for
sale late this year.  The small Fresno firm has won a government
contract for 120 portables and will use the technology to offer
the model to the general public.  INFOWORLD reports Colby is
negotiating with Apple to participate in the product's production.
Colby would prefer to get the parts wholesale directly through
Apple rather than cannibalize Macintosh Plus machines for parts.
The Colby Lap-Mac will be priced high at first--$5,000 to $7,000--
and will be configured with a Macintosh Plus CPU with 1 megabyte
of RAM, a 20 megabyte hard disk drive and an internal modem.
The machine will reportedly have an optional power supply and
internal battery.  Two other firms are reportedly working on
portable Macs--Dynamac Computers and Intelitec Inc. of Fairfield,
Iowa.

CONTACT:  COLBY SYSTEMS, INC., Fresno, 209/222-4985
                            Palo Alto, 415/941-9090

[***][10/21/86][***]
ASHTON-TATE READYING LOW-END DATABASE
TORRANCE, Ca. -- According to PC WEEK's Jim Forbes, Ashton-Tate
is preparing for the launch of a low end database called Rapid
File.  The code-named Black Gold program is reportedly a scaled-
down version of dBASE III for the IBM PC. Its unique selling
point will be its multiple user interfaces, any of one of which
can be chosen by a user and emulate other popular programs
such as Framework and Windows.  The product has a "Macintosh-
like feel" says the report.  Rapid File could be launched
before Comdex/Fall '86 and will cost $395 according to Forbes.

[***][10/21/86][***]
3COM'S BIG REORGANIZATION
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Ca. -- By December, 3Com Corporation hopes to be
moved into new Santa Clara headquarters and, within three years,
be fatter by 1,200 employees.  The local area network equipment
manufacturer expects to hire engineering and marketing employees
to meet demands of its expanding business.  3Com projects
an annual sales increase from $80 million to $250 million within
the next three years.

[***][10/21/86][***]
OSBORNE TO LAUNCH LOW-COST A.I.
BERKELEY, Ca. -- Adam Osborne believes in cheap programs and the
complex world of artificial intelligence software should not be
exempt.  He's planning to offer a low-cost expert system
development tool called VP-Expert in November for $99.95 "plus
shipping and handling" via direct mail order. By February he
says the program will be offered through retail stores. The
product is not a clone, according to the press release from
Paperback Software, but offers a new standard to an emerging
segment of the software industry that currently has "no
acceptable standards."  VP-Expert is a rule-based expert
system tool that accesses database files from other programs
such as VP-Info and dBASE, and spreadsheets created using
VP-Planner or Lotus 1-2-3.

CONTACT: Michael Burdick, PSI, 415/644-2116

[***][10/21/86][***]
IN BRIEF --

NATIOANL SEMICONDUCTOR (Santa Clara, Ca.) is suing the Taiwanese
firm United Microelectronics for allegedly stealing trade
secrets and then marketing a chip which is based on National's
design.  The suit seeks $10 million.

FORBES MAGAZINE'S list of the 400 richest Americans is out and
several Silicon Valley luminaries are among the top fat cats: Steve
Jobs ($185 million), David Packard ($2 billion), and William
Hewlett ($1 billion).

WORLDS OF WONDER (Fremont, Ca.) says it's "a little behind" in
its efforts to whip up the next toy craze for Christmas. Due
out are several successors to Teddy Ruxpin, the first talking
teddy bear.

TERRA NOVA ELECTRONICS (San Jose, Ca.) hopes to cash in on
the talking teddy craze with a low-cost clone called "Peek-A-
Boo Bear."  The bear responds with a "Peek a Boo I See You"
or "I love you" when its paw is put over its eye. The cost
of the toy is $20.

SUN MICROSYSTEMS (Mountain View) says its net income increased
six-fold in its last quarter compared to last year--$6.7
million compared to $1 million.  The maker of workstations
credits "solid demand" for its products for its fiscal
health, adding the company has shipped 24,000 workstations
since it was founded in 1982.

SEAGATE TECHNOLOGIES (Scotts Valley, Ca.), maker of disk
drives, reports profits jumped to $24.5 million last quarter
compred to $1.7 million this time last year. That's a
a 15-fold increase.

[***][10/21/86][***]
ACTIVISION LAYS AN EGG
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Ca. -- Activision is known for its hot software
titles but may have laid an egg with its latest. The video
game version of the movie "Howard the Duck" is coming.  The
game "Howard the Duck - Adventure on Volcano Island" features
the wise-quacker battling mutants.  Originally designed by
Gamestar, the $39.95 program will be available for Commodore
64 and 128 computers.  I would have to agree with its limited
versions.  Why port the duck to other computers when the movie
was such a turkey?


[***][10/21/86][***]
COMPAQ FLESHES OUT PRODUCT LINE, PRICING
HOUSTON, TX -- Compaq has rounded out its 1987 product line
with a flurry of announcements. A version of its Deskpro 386 with
a 70-megabyte hard disk, 1 megabyte of main memory, and a
suggested retail price of $7,299, was added to the high end. Its
$799 color monitor and $599 Enhanced Color Graphics Board were
listed as options to the entire product line. Also, the Deskpro
386 keyboard, with separate numeric and cursor control keys, 12
function keys and LED indicators everywhere, will now become the
standard keyboard on its Deskpro 286 line.  Also, the 80276 math
coprocessor, at $349, will also become available on 286s as well
as the 386 line.

For the defensive-minded, Compaq announced 3 new models of
Tempest-specification PCs, the kind the U.S. government has
certified don't leak signals spies can pick up. The Tempest specs
were incorporated through an agreement with Loral Electro-Optical
Systems, Pasadena, CA, which will also handle service. That means
Compaq's new 3100T Tempest Portable 286 machine is on the U.S.
government's Preferred Product List under the Loral name. Prices
run about $12,000 per machine.

The result is that Compaq now has boxes from $2,200 to $8,800
(for the Deskpro 386 with a 130 megabyte hard disk), two
operating systems (Xenix and MS-DOS), and a range of enhancements
ranging from memory and disk drives to a nylon carrying case
($75). Compaq's complete range of list-price machines now must
face off against Tandy's lower-priced machines (with their own
stores) and the possibility of an IBM 386 "clone-killer,"
probably using proprietary chips from Intel by the 2nd quarter of
1987. Who will win is up to you.

CONTACT: Jeff Stives, COMPAQ, [phone]

[***][10/21/86][***]
ONLINE PRICE WAR STARTING?
RESTON, Va. -- The long-awaited price war among online services
may finally have begun. Last week Telenet announced it's
expanding its night-time PC Pursuit service ($25 per month,
$10.50-$14 an hour between 6 PM and 7 AM) to cover 25 cities by
year-end. The system lets you contact either online services like
The Source or bulletin boards which don't subscribe to the
service. And mail arrived here from The Source announcing it's
waiving its $49.95 sign-up fee. Use of tutorials is now free.

BIX, NSI, and CompuServe must all be watching these moves
carefully. Debate has long been active over just how price-
sensitive online users are. We may be about to find out.

CONTACT: Telenet, Claudia Houston, Reston, VA [phone]

[***][10/21/86][***]
WINDOWS NOW FROM DAVINCI SYSTEMS IN RALEIGH
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Windows Now is an electronic mail program running
under Microsoft Windows for use on the IBM Token Ring Network.
Use the Windows clipboard to record the message, then send it to
a laser printer or other output advice. It costs $100 per
workstation and supports Microsoft's DDE (dynamic data exchange)
specification. Links to online services were promised Real Soon
Now (early next year.)

CONTACT: Chris Evans, DaVinci Systems, Raleigh [phone]

[***][10/21/86][***]
VOICE MAIL GETTING CHEAP, CHEAPER  *ANALYSIS*
DALLAS, Tx. -- "MIS Week" reports this week that a waiver of
Computer II restrictions starting in 1988 could start a price war
in voice mail. Dataquest analyst Jean E. Graham said the waiver
will let Bell operating companies offer voice messaging services
to the general public. She spoke as VMX of Dallas brought out its
new 5000 Series of voice messaging systems, priced at roughly
$6,100 per port (on a 64-port unit), vs. $8,200 for the older
VMX3. And yes, the new voice mail machine works fine with DEC's
All-In-1, IBM's PROFs, and Rolm's CBX.

If phone companies buy these boxes, or similar machines from
competitors like Wang and Rolm, they'll be able to rent their use
for voice mail at super-low prices, Dataquest's Graham said.

CONTACT: VMX, Donna Trodalli, [phone]

[***][10/21/86][***]
PC MART PARENT TAKES OVER CALIFORNIA RETAILER
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Computer Stores of Carolina Inc., parent firm of
the PC Mart computer store chain and Computer Academy Inc.,
has gone public in a stock swap with Centrum Business Systems
Inc. of California. Under the deal, the North Carolinians will
have 75% of Centrum's outstanding shares and all senior
management positions. A capital restructuring aimed at raising
$8.2 million was also announced.

CONTACT: E. Gray Hodges, CENTRUM, [phone]

[***][10/21/86][***]
PECAN BYTES

BELLSOUTH SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY, Atlanta, Ga., announced an agreement
to provide equipment for a 2.6 million square-foot office park in
Mahwah, NJ. Under the Shared Tenant Services agreement, the
developer owns the system and BellSouth runs it.

HAYES MICROCOMPUTER PRODUCTS INC., Norcross, Ga., announced it
will begin distribution of an internal modem and software for the
IBM PC Convertible in the first quarter of 1987. Retail price
will be $439 for the modem, $149 for Smartcom II on 3.5 inch
disks.

ATLANTA DATACOMM, Norcross, Ga., has become the first AT&T
Data Communications VAD in the Southeast. In its announcement the
company pushed the Dataphone II hard -- it's a modem with remote
diagnostics.

[***][10/21/86][***]
FOR SALE: THE SOURCE
MCLEAN, Va. -- Readers Digest is considering selling its online
information system, The Source. The company that bought The
Source six years ago and has just seen it edge into profitability
has retained the investment banking firm of L.F. Rothschild,
Unterberg and Towbin to advise it on the future of the service.
The WASHINGTON POST says sources have told it that Rothschild has
contacted possible buyers including Gannett Co., Knight-Ridder,
Reuters, International Thomson, and Dunn & Bradstreet. The Source
has about 60,000 subscribers and estimated annual revenue of $13
million. Readers Digest bought it from founder William Von
Meister in 1980 for a reported $6 million. According to Source
Telecomputing President Jay Keller, the information service
didn't turn a profit until last year. "We are now operating at a
profit," he said.

CONTACT: Nancy Beckman, THE SOURCE, 703/734-7543

[***][10/21/86][***]
NOT ENOUGH GREEN FOR BIG BLUE
ARMONK, N.Y. -- International Business Machines Corp. last week
reported its profits fell 27 percent in the third quarter, the
first back-to-back profit decline for the computer giant since
the 1930s. Investors responded by dumping IBM stock, which fell
over $1.60 per share to $122, a 52-week low. Bluest of the blue
chips, IBM had been selling for as much at $160 per share during
the past year and was at $134.50 at the end of September. IBM
said it earned $1.08 billion in the third quarter, or $1.76 per
share, down from $1.47 billion ($2.40 per share) for the third
quarter of 1985. John Akers, IBM chairman and chief executive
officer, issued a statement saying IBM was working on cost
control measures, which would "position us to capitalize on a
business turnaround when it occurs."

In the meantime, IBM could be facing a major labor organizing
effort launched by the Communications Workers of America. CWA
President Morton Bahr told a labor meeting in New Jersey last
week that several unions will meet in London in January to
discuss an organizing drive aimed at Big Blue's workers
worldwide. In response, an IBM spokesman said the company's
workers "never have expressed the need for a union in the United
States and in most other countries where we do business." CWA's
Bahr said the other unions involved in the organizing effort are
the International Confederation of Postal, Telephone and
Telegraph Workers, International Metal Workers Federation and the
Federation of Technical, Clerical and Commercial Workers.

[***][10/21/86][***]
DEC SALES AND PROFITS BOOM
MAYNARD, Mass. -- With rival IBM in a financial tailspin, Digital
Equipment Corp. is reporting strong business performance. DEC
last week said net income more than doubled in the quarter ended
September 27 (the first quarter in the DEC fiscal year), on a 26
percent rise in sales. DEC reported earning $182.6 million ($1.37
per share) on sales of $2.04 billion for the quarter. That
compared with $72.3 million in earnings (60 cents per share) on
$1.62 billion in revenue for the first quarter of last year. Mark
Steinkrauss, DEC's investor relations chief, said European
business was particularly strong, but U.S. operations "held up
reasonably well."  Predictably, investors responded with gusto to
the solid DEC financials. The stock rose $2.25 per share to $94
per share.

[***][10/21/86][***]
PENTAGON BUYS AMERICAN/JAPANESE COMPUTER
WASHINGTON -- The Air Force Military Command last week awarded
$33 million to Honeywell Inc. for the company's top-of-the-line
DPS 90 computer system. But rival Control Data Corp. is crying
foul, pointing out that the Honeywell machine is really a
Japanese NEC Corp. computer in drag, running Honeywell software.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL quotes Control Data's Boyd Jones, "We
plan to protest." Jones said NEC used the wolf in sheep's
clothing ploy to break into the U.S. market, selling the big
computer at a price that would constitute dumping. Honeywell and
NEC both deny the allegation. Honeywell underbid Control Data by
$10 million on the job. Until now, the military has generally
adhered to "buy America" guidelines on high tech gear, but that
may become increasingly difficult as the computer market is
transformed into a global endeavor. Honeywell issued a statement
that the company is "absolutely not in violation of the (buy
America) policy."

[***][10/21/86][***]
TEETERING ON THE BRINK, GCA LAYS OFF 180
ANDOVER, Mass. -- Financially ailing GCA Corp. last week laid off
15 percent of its workforce, or 180 workers. The move should save
the semiconductor equipment maker some $4.5 million a year. A
year ago, the company laid off 500 workers. The company is in
default on $120 million in loans and is considering filing for
protection under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code. GCA
has also been selling off assets for cash, including its
technology division and its industrial systems unit. GCA has
hired Hallwood Group, a New York specialist in financing business
basket cases, to help in its restructuring.

[***][10/21/86][***]
TEKTRONIX FACES POSSIBLE EXPORT LICENSE LOSS
WASHINGTON -- The Defense and Commerce Departments said last week
that a Tektronix division was involved in the diversion of 40
sophisticated graphics terminals to eastern Europe. As a result,
said the federal investigators, the Beaverton, Ore., company's
export license could be in jeopardy. The federal officials said
some Control Data Corp. disk drives were part of the same
diversion and the Minneapolis firm is also under investigation.
Tektronix general counsel Allan Leedy said the company sold
millions of dollars worth of equipment to a West Germany
businessman, who in turn was expected to resell it to the West
Germany auto industry. But he apparently resold the equipment,
useful in engineering design, to East Germans and the Soviet
Union. Jerking the export license is probably the stiffest
penalty the government could impose in the case. Lesser actions
could include heavy fines. In 1984, Commerce slapped Digital
Equipment Corp. with a $2 million fine for not being diligent
enough to prevent a diversion of a VAX computer to the Soviet
bloc.

In another diversion case, Commerce last week levied a $250,000
fine on a Norwegian firm, Scanvest Ring AS, for an unauthorized
reexport of U.S. equipment from Norway to Austria. The gear then
left Austria, and ended up in eastern Europe. Federal
investigators said Scanvest Ring wasn't responsible for the
diversion from Austria. To strengthen its hand in Austria, a
center for diversion of computer parts to the East, Commerce
extended by 60 days its ban on handling U.S. goods applied to two
Vienna companies, Bollinger G.m.b.H. and Vrablicz & Co. The ban
also applies to two individuals, Leopold Hrobsky and Dieter
Ulrichshofer. Ulrichshofer is already wanted for alleged
violations of export laws.

[***][10/21/86][***]
NIBBLES FROM THE EAST

   TRUMBULL, Conn. -- A three-hour computer tape drive breakdown
last Thursday halted trading in over-the-counter stocks listed
through the National Association of Securities Dealers Automatic
Quotation system. The Nasdaq system provides price quotes on the
securities of about 4,500 companies nationwide. The system was
down for the busiest part of the day, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

   WASHINGTON -- The U.S. has reportedly agreed to sell India two
supercomputers, worth about $40 million. India says it will use
the Control Data machines to predict monsoons. Critics, including
the Pakistan government, warn that the machines can also be used
to design nuclear weapons. The announcement came during Defense
Secretary Casper Weinberger's visit to India last week.

   DARIEN, Conn. -- Bowater Computer Forms Inc., a division of
paper manufacturer Bowater Inc., reported it lost $1 million in
the third quarter, bringing its nine months' operating loss to
$215,000, compared with operating income of $2.6 million for the
first nine months of last year. When the computer market is soft,
it appears, the market for computer paper forms is also soft.

   WASHINGTON -- The Securities and Exchange Commission has
extended until the end of the year its deadline for bids from
firms which wish to operate the Electronic Data Gather and
Retrieval System (EDGAR). The SEC has been having big problems
getting EDGAR off the ground. The idea is to automate the literal
mountain of paper involved in SEC filings and statements, and
also make them available online.

[***][10/21/86][***]
MACCARTRIDGE HITS THE UK
ISLEWORTH, MIDDLESEX -- Following NEWSBYTES WEST's
revelations last week regarding the Magic Sac cartridge, a
UK firm is now manufacturing the ST/Mac emulation cartridge.
Although the unit weighs in at $149-95 in the US, Robtek (a
UK computer retailer) is selling the package for 179 pounds
($270) - nearly twice what it costs in the US.

Paul Share of the firm is unrepentant about the UK price and
reckons it'll still sell like hot cakes.  Quoted in this
week's MICROSCOPE, Share claims initial production is
running at around the 500 per month mark, but says Robtek
"have the capability to ramp up to 50,000 a month."

Share also claims to have spoken "to firms in the US like
Microsoft and who are saying they'll bring out software for
the ST using the Mac emulator... It means they can port
software across to the ST in fifteen minutes instead of a
man-year."

Interestingly, Robtek's unit will sell - as with the US
Magic Sac - minus the Mac Eproms for copyright reasons.
"We're being very careful," said Share when questioned over
copyright by Microscope's Max Hotopf.  "We won't be selling
the Eproms directly - they can be bought from most Apple
dealers for ten to fourteen pounds ($15 - $21)."

Share isn't too worried about Apple clamping down on Eprom
sales (as several sources have suggested) to force the Mac
emulator off the market: "We've already got 10,000 in stock
which we can use if necessary," he says.

It also sounds as though Data Pacific, the Colorado firm which
unveiled the Magic Sac at the 1985 US West Coast Fair,
isn't resting on its laurels.  Speaking with Joel
Rosenblum of Data Pacific last weekend, NEWSBYTES UK heard
that orders "are pouring in" with interest being shown from
Europe too.  Joel confirmed that the company is considering
a Commodore Amiga version of the Magic Sac - "We're
considering it right now, but we aren't too sure it can be
done... but we're trying!"

CONTACT: UK / ROBTEK on 01-847-4457.

         US / DATA PACIFIC, 609 E. Speer Blvd.,
         Denver, Colorado 80203.
         Tel: [phone].

[***][10/21/86][***]
COMPUTER SMUGGLER JAILED
BRISTOL -- A computer smuggler was jailed last week on
charges of shipping DEC VAX and PDP 11 micros to Russia.
Despite successfully refuting charges in court that the
computers "substantially enhanced Russia's military computer
capability," Alan Simmons, a computer engineer from St. Ives
in Cornwall was sentenced to nine months in jail, after
pleading guilty to eight charges as laid. In addition,
Simmons was ordered to pay a fine of 20,000 pounds ($30,000)
plus 750 pounds ($1,050) costs.

Prosecuting for the Crown, Simon Darwell-Smith told Bristol
Crown Court that Simmons had successfuly exported a variety
of equipment to Russia at "substantial profit" via
companies based in Liechtenstein and Sweden.

In defence, Paul Chadd (Simmons barrister) said that the
computers exported by his client did not enhance the USSR's
military capability and that software cited by the
prosecution as a "command and control" system was, in fact,
a simple operating system.

[***][10/21/86][***]
AMIGA PRICE CUT
SLOUGH -- Last Thursday brought with it a surprise in the
form of a price-cut for the UK Amiga systems.  With
immediate effect, System One, which consists of a 256K RAM
A1000, single drive and colour monitor, drops to 975 pounds
($1,450) plus tax (compared with 1,475 pounds ($2,200)
originally).  System 2 (as System 1 with twin drives) falls
to 1,179 pounds ($1,750) from 1,675 pounds ($2,500).

CBM UK is very cagey about the new prices as, when
NEWSBYTES UK contacted its PR agency, Harvard Marketing,
they professed ignorance of the UK price cuts: "We haven't
heard anything yet," a spokesperson told NEWSBYTES UK.  This
confusion is perhaps explained by a comment from Commodore
that the "offer" is only open "to existing Commodore users."
Quite how this qualification can be enforced remains to be
seen - heck, I can't see every 64 and 128 owner trucking
their machine down to the store to prove Commodore kit
ownership!

CONTACT: Harvard Marketing Services,
         Harvard House, Summerhouse Lane, Harmondsworth,
         West Drayton, Middlesex, UB7 OAW.
         Tel: [phone].     Fax: [phone].

[***][10/21/86][***]
SINCLAIR PANDORA RESURFACES
CAMBRIDGE -- Following much speculation surrounding the
exact nature of genius inventor Sir Clive Sinclair's new
machine, last week's CAMBRIDGE EVENING POST appears to
scooped the combined might of the computer press in general.
According to the Post, a locally distributed newspaper,
following the sale of the bulk of his Sinclair empire to
Amstrad earlier this year, Sir Clive has set up a subsidiary
of Sinclair Research (the remains of his company) called
Moduliser.

Moduliser's sole aim in life will be to manufacture the new
Sinclair portable code-named "Proteus," which will feature a
Z80 cpu running the ageing but trusty CP/M operating system
into an 80 by 24 LCD display.  RAM capacity of the new
machine is unknown, but NEWSBYTES UK contacts put this in
the region of 128K, with data/textfile storage in the form
of CMOS-backed RAM, as used on the Tandy/Radio Shack series
of laptop micros (Model 100/200 et al).

Launch date for the new micro will be February next year,
with the official unveiling taking place at the Which?
Computer show in February '87.  NEWSBYTES UK already has its
advance tickets for that venue - we'll bring you show
reports of the new machine as its unveiled or before if we
can get our hands on it!

[***][10/21/86][***]
PLAGARISM WRIT FIGHTS ON
LONDON -- As predicted in last week's NEWSBYTES UK, VNU are
fiercely fighting on with their intended legal action
against Focus Investments who produce the WHICH PC magazine,
the first issue of which appeared on the newstands earlier
this month.

At issue are the seemingly inexplicable similarities between
a modem list published in WHICH PC, mirroring that found in
WHAT MICRO, a magazine of the VNU group.  As reported in
last week's NEWSBYTES UK, the lists have strong similarities
right down to their misspellings and mistakes.  VNU issued
a writ the week before last, alleging plagarism, giving
Focus a short while to respond.  This they have done with
the following statement:

"We deny our company has committed any flagrant infringement
of copyright.  In any event, however, without making any
admissions concerning other points you have raised in your
letter, this company undertakes that no further copies of
the October/November issue will be printed containing the
allegedly offending modems table."

VNU aren't at all happy with this state of affairs and will
be responding "in due course to Focus's reply to the writ."
The case looks like going to court and becoming the first of
its kind in the computer publishing industry - NEWSBYTES UK
will keep you informed of developments.

CONTACT: Brendan Gore, Which PC,
         79-80 Petty France, London SW1H 9ED.
         Tel: [phone].

[***][10/21/86][***]
EMULATING THE MAJOR MICROS
BURNLEY, LANCASHIRE -- NEWSBYTES UK was honoured last week
to visit the offices of Syntaxsoft in the sleepy town of
Burnley, Lancashire.

Sleepy is most definitely not the word to describe the
offices of Sysntaxsoft, where entrpenuer Keith Hook and his
not-so-small band of computer programmers ply their trade.
Syntaxsoft have brought out two very interesting new
products for two disimilar micros of late.  Both 50 pound
($75) add-ons enable their respective machines - the Tatung
Einstein and the Memotech MTL series - to load and run
programs designed for the Sinclair Spectrum.

The Spectrum, as regular NEWSBYTES UK readers will know, is
one of the most popular home micros in the UK and Europe, as
well as having a sizeable, if somewhat cult, following in
North America.  As such the Spectrum enjoys a very wide
software base almost unrivalled by any other home micro in
Britain today.

Which is where Syntaxsoft come in.  The Tatung Einstein and
Memotech MTL machines both have a sizeable minority
following in the UK but, as with any micro making its way
into the world, the key factor in their furure is the size
of the software base.  In order for a new micro to succeed,
it must have a decent and established software base.
Syntaxsoft's emulator allows access to the wide Spectrum
software base for Einstein and Memotech users.

"Our emulators open up new horizons for both machines.
We're committed to suporting these micros and are liasing
with other software houses and, where appropriate,
manufacturers, to produce a viable product," said Keith Hook
to NEWSBYTES UK.

Certainly, for existing and intending Einstein and Memotech
owners, Hook's products look a good buy.  With Mac emulators
coming out for the ST, and Spectrum emulators for the
Einstein, NEWSBYTES UK wonders where it will all end - a
PDP11 emulator for the IBM PC perhaps?

CONTACT: Keith Hook, Syntaxsoft, Unit B12,
         Northbridge Centre, Elm Street, Burnley,
         Lancs. BB10 1PD.
         Tel: [phone].

[***][10/21/86][***]
NAPLPS HANGS ON IN THE UK
LONDON -- After reading of Triangle Corporation's claim to
be the only NAPLPS PC software company in NEWSBYTES UK
issued dated 7th October, Phillip Bergman came forward to
say that, as UK agent for EOS Videotext (Israel), he's
selling a low-cost NAPLPS/Prestel PC adaptor card that
performs as Triangle's software does.

Currently the card supports both videotext formats, and
features a number of other software utilities including text
editing and terminal emulation.

Bergman says that as well as producing NAPLPS
software/hardware combinations for the PC. he is "very
interested" in contacting other software professionals
interested in becoming involved in NAPLPS.  Sounds a nice
offer.

CONTACT: Phillip M. Bergman, Flat 7,
         24 Buckland Crescent, London NW3 5DU.
         Tel: [phone].



[***][10/21/86][***]
IBM PC/AT COMPATIBLE LAPTOP FROM TOSHIBA
TOKYO -- Toshiba released (10/13) an IBM-compatible laptop PC
"J-3100," which is a Japanese version of its overseas model
T-3100, in Japan.  J-3100 has a 1Mbit DRAM, two 3.5" disk drives
(or a 10MB HDD and a 3.5" FDD), and a 640x400-dot plasma display.
It weighs only 6.8kg.  This system supports MS-DOS, Japanese word
processor, and Japanese Lotus 1-2-3, as well as the PC/AT
programs.  J-3100 costs US$3,213 for the 3.5" FDD model, and
US$4,503 for the 10MB HDD model.  Toshiba also released its
overseas version "T-3100" at US$5,226 in Japan.

It was a bit surprising, since the release of Toshiba's laptop
came much earlier than expected in Japan.  This shows Toshiba's
confidence in this new laptop business.

CONTACT: Toshiba, 1-1-1 Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105
         (03-457-4511 PR. Dept.)

[***][10/21/86][***]
LOTUS JAPAN GAINS DEPENDABLE DISTRIBUTOR
TOKYO -- Lotus Development Japan has signed an agreement
with a major software dealer "SOFTWARE INTERNATIONAL"
(Tokyo).  Currently, Software International has also been
distributing dBASE programs, linking with Japan Ashton-Tate.
As a former executive of Sony, President Kikuchi of Lotus Japan
might have played a major role in this dealership agreement with
Software International.  Japanese Lotus 1-2-3 runs on NEC PC-9801
and IBM 5550.

As far as the prices are concerned, Japanese 1-2-3 is cheaper
than Japanese dBASE.  But dBASE has a head start in the book
business.  The shelves of major bookstores are flooded with
dBASE-related publications.  Let's expect more Lotus
books in the near future.

CONTACT: Lotus Development Japan, No.10 Totanomon-MF Bldg.,
         3-10-11 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105
         (03-436-4105)

[***][10/21/86][***]
FUJITSU'S NEW IBM-COMPATIBLE OS
According to THE ASAHI Daily (10/15), Fujitsu has developed a
new IBM-compatible operating system for Fujitsu's large-scale
general purpose computers.  With this new operating system,
which is an upgraded version of Fujitsu's "OSIV/F4 MSP.E20,"
various application programs for IBM XA can be used on Fujitsu's
system.  Also, software can be exchanged between Fujitsu and
IBM's host computers.

As was reported in the last week's NEWSBYTES-JAPAN, Fujitsu has
just launched the sales of its UNIX-based large-scale general
purpose computers in Japan. The development of this new IBM-
compatible operating system indicates that Fujitsu will still
stick to the IBM-compatible policy, despite the alleged copyright
infringement case with IBM.  One of the major reasons for Fujitsu
to keep the IBM-compatible policy could be the large IBM software
asset, as the president Yamamoto told the reporters last week.
And this time, he has actually proved it.

CONTACT: Fujitsu, 1-6-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100
         (03-216-3211)

[***][10/21/86][***]
GRAPHICS LANGUAGE MAKES PROGRAMMING EASIER
TOKYO -- The Tokyo-based major data processing firm Computer
Service (CSK) and Washington University have jointly developed
a new programming language which just uses graphics and symbolic
patterns.  In this new system called "Show and Tell Language"
(STL), the data is input with a mouse.  With this method, even
complicated mathematical functions can be built very easily,
just like playing with a jigsaw puzzle.  CSK and Washington Univ.
will test market the Macintosh version of their product in the
U.S.  With an aid of highly advanced AI technology, both parties
have been planning to further develop STL to accept a natural
language programming in the future.

CONTACT: CSK, 31F ARC-MORI Bldg., 1-12-32 Akasaka, Minato-ku,
         Tokyo 107                            (03-505-5500)

[***][10/21/86][***]
UNIFYING INTERNATIONAL TELECOM BUSINESS
Two new groups have been seeking to establish an international
telecommunication business firm, which will directly vie with
Japan's international telecom monopoly "KDD."  One of the groups,
led by C.Itoh and Toyota, approached the other group
(Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Sumitomo Trading, and Matsushita
Electronics) to join with them.  The Mitsui group, however,
declined this offer on October 15.  The analysts say the C.Itoh
group may approach them again later, since three's a crowd
in this business in Japan.

[***][10/21/86][***]
KODAK JAPAN SETS UP FELLOWSHIP
Kodak Japan recently inaugurated a fellowship program which offers
higher education and training for the talented young researchers
in Japan.  Four science major students will be chosen every year
for a three-year course.  The successful candidates will be given
an opportunity to spend a summer of research at the Kodak
Research Laboratories in Rochester, New York.

CONTACT: Kodak Japan, Nishi-shimbashi Mitsui Bldg., 1-24-14
         Nishi-shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105
         (03-503-1261)

[***][10/21/86][***]
<<< SUSHI BYTES >>>

(DUAL 32-BIT DESKTOP WORKSTATION) TOKYO -- Sony has developed a
32-bit dual workstation "NEWS."  It has two 32-bit MPUs, and
supports UNIX 4.2 BSD, Ethernet, Japanese language, and multi-
window features.  This whole system is as compact as the desktop
PC.  The 2MB system costs US$6,129, and the 8MB system is
US$17,742.

(dBASE 2.1J) TOKYO -- Ashton-Tate Japan has released the "2.1J,"
the most upper version of Japanese dBASE III.  The 2.1J supports
powerful utilities, such as a program generator "dGEN III" and
a screen format generator "SFG."  The price is US$1,729.

(RUNNING SMALLTALK-80 50% FASTER) OSAKA -- Sharp has developed
a machine-language interpreter for Smalltalk-80 on Sharp's
"IX-5" workstation.  With this program, Japanese Smalltalk-80
runs 50 percent faster, says a report.

(SANYO AND VITELIC) TOKYO -- Tokyo Sanyo has signed a business
agreement with Vitelic (San Jose, CA), concerning the production
of Static RAMs in Japan.  With this agreement, Sanyo will produce
these RAMs for Vitelic, while Vitelic will market the products
worldwide.

(TRON PROJECT SYMPOSIUM) TOKYO -- A conference for TRON, which
is known as our 32-bit national operating system, will be held in
Tokyo on November 4.  The prototype machine for ITRON (Industrial
TRON) will be demonstrated there.

(HITACHI'S ORIGINAL MPU PROJECT UPDATE) TOKYO -- Hitachi has
formed a special team to develop original MPUs.  Also, Hitachi has
begun negotiations with several software houses to develop software for
its 32-bit MPU, a report says.


[***][10/21/86][***]
BARGAIN BASEMENT COMPUTING
CONCORD, Ont. -- It had to happen some day.  International
Computer Clearance Warehouse Ltd. last week opened the first of
what it says will be a nationwide chain of "no-frills" computer
stores.  The stores will sell computers, peripherals, software,
disks and other supplies at or below dealer cost, said Howard
Cracower, co-founder of the operation.  They will buy their stock
from bankrupt companies, from distributors or vendors trying to
reduce inventories, or just about anywhere else they can get it
cheap.  The stores will also sell some used equipment.

The Computer Clearance Warehouses won't be authorized dealers for
anything, but they will service what they sell, Cracower said,
and he contended goods would be covered by manufacturer
warranties.  What the stores won't do is hold the users' hands --
people who want to be shown how to set up and run their systems
should buy somewhere else.  But Cracower believes there are
plenty of buyers who don't need that kind of support any more.
"Computer users no longer see themselves as a neophyte audience
at a magic show," he said at a press conference announcing the
new chain.

The first Computer Clearance Warehouse store is located on the
northern edge of Toronto.  Cracower said a second store will be
opened within a couple of months in one of Canada's other three
principal cities: Montreal, Vancouver or Ottawa.  The company
hopes to have as many as 15 outlets by 1989.  All will be in
suburban locations.

As examples of the bargains the stores will offer, Cracower
mentioned an opening special on diskettes at C$6.90 for a box of
10 (that's a little under $5.00 U.S.) and an IBM clone, with one
floppy drive, 256K and no monitor, for C$599.

CONTACT: Howard Cracower, INTERNATIONAL COMPUTER CLEARANCE
         WAREHOUSE LTD., 3300 Steeles Ave. W., Unit 4,
         Concord, ON L4K 2Y4, [phone]

[***][10/21/86][***]
FOR WHOM THE TOLLS, BELL?
OTTAWA -- Canada's largest phone company has been ringing up
excessive profits for the past two years.  So decided the
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
(CRTC) last week, and it told Montreal-based Bell Canada to give
back its ill-gotten gains.  The phone company has been ordered to
give every subscriber a credit for two months' basic phone
service.  That is expected to cost Bell more than C$200 million.
It is the first time the CRTC, a federal regulatory body akin to
the American FCC, has ordered Bell to give money back to its
customers.  Bell is of course unhappy and may take the CRTC to
court.

The CRTC also ordered a reduction in long-distance telephone
rates within Bell's territory (Ontario and Quebec) of an average
of 20 per cent.  The effect of all this is a gradual move away
from using higher long-distance rates to subsidize local phone
service, perhaps smoothing the way for eventual introduction of
local measured service, in which even local calls would be paid
for individually.  That isn't likely to be good news for modem
users in the metropolitan areas of Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto,
for whom services such as The Source are generally accessible
through a local call to a Datapac network port.  But it could be
good news for those in small towns and rural areas who will pay
less for long distance.

CONTACT: BELL CANADA, 1050 Beaver Hall Hill, Montreal, Que.
         H2Z 1S4, [phone]

[***][10/21/86][***]
AT&T CANADA CLAIMS 20 PERCENT PC MARKET SHARE
TORONTO -- The AT&T PC 6300 took 20 percent of the Canadian
personal computer market in the first quarter of 1986, AT&T
Canada president James Leto claimed last week.  Speaking at
Alliance 86, a two-day show that AT&T sponsored here, Leto said
his company's revenues will grow 400 percent this year and by
1990 it will be one of Canada's 200 largest companies.

The Canadian subsidiary of AT&T was founded in January, 1984,
shortly after the divestiture of regional operating companies in
the U.S. gave AT&T more freedom to compete.  International Data
Corp. (Canada) Inc. of Toronto estimates AT&T Canada's 1985
revenues at C$14 million.

Leto also said that in 1987 AT&T Canada will become a major
manufacturing and R&D presence in this country.  The company will
emphasize systems solutions and set out to solidify its position
in a number of vertical markets, he said.  The two-day Alliance
show attracted about 1,400 end-users.  Centred around the Unix
operating system, the show included 29 exhibitors and a series of
seminars.

CONTACT: AT&T CANADA INC., 1500 Don Mills Rd., Suite 500,
         Don Mills, ON M3B 3K4, [phone]

[***][10/21/86][***]
NORTHERN TELECOM LICENSES SYDNEY PACKAGES
VANCOUVER -- Northern Telecom Inc. of Nashville, Tenn., has
licensed Messenger 400, the electronic messaging software from
Sydney Development Corp., based here.  Messenger 400 is based on
the CCITT X.400 communications standard, designed to handle text,
Teletex, Telex, videotex, voice, graphics and facsimile
communications.  It allows messages to be created on and
transmitted among a variety of computer systems via private and
public data communications links.  Northern Telecom Inc. is the
U.S. subsidiary of Northern Telecom Ltd., Mississauga, Ont.

Sydney claims Messenger 400, launched in February of this year,
is the world's first commercially available X.400 implementation.
It was developed at the University of British Columbia.  Another
customer is AT&T; Messenger 400 software was used as part of the
AT&T product line selected by Electronic Data Systems to provide
office automation for the U.S. Customs Service.

CONTACT: SYDNEY DEVELOPMENT CORP., 600-1385 West 8th Ave.,
         Vancouver, B.C. V6H 3V9, [phone], Telex 04-54357

[***][10/21/86][***]
COMP-U-CARD PROMOTION TIES IN MASTERCARD
MONTREAL -- Comp-U-Card, a buying and travel club that focuses on
consumer electronics, including computers, is out beating the
bushes for new customers.  The Montreal-based club has been
mailing out direct-mail literature in a joint promotion with the
Bank of Montreal, offering prospective customers a MasterCard
credit card and a Comp-U-Card membership.  Comp-U-Card is not a
credit card, but a buying club that guarantees its members the
lowest prices going on a range of goods from home computers to
microwave ovens.  IBM, Commodore, Texas Instruments and Zenith
are among the manufacturers whose products are available through
the club.

CONTACT: COMP-U-CARD CANADA INC., 2000 Mansfield St.,
         Montreal, Que. H3A 2Z3

[***][10/21/86][***]
BITS, EH?
-- International Verifact Inc. of Toronto has announced an
intitial order from the Venezuelan subsidiary of American Express
for 330 of its Terminus II credit card authorization terminals.

-- Cape Breton Island, which is part of the province of Nova
Scotia and one of the highest unemployment areas in Canada, won't
be getting a supercomputer after all.  Bretonco Inc., a Toronto
firm that was planning to set up a Cray installation in Sydney,
N.S., has called off the C$87-million project because of changes
in federal tax incentives.

-- An "antique" computer auction was among the events at Computer
Fest '86, a one day computer show oriented to home users, held
Oct. 18 in Toronto.  The show, sponsored by the local tabloid
Toronto Computes!, featured exhibits as well as seminars oriented
to home computer users.

-- Canada's major annual computer show, imaginatively titled the
Canadian Computer Show, will be held Nov. 17-20 in Mississauga,
Ont., on the outskirts of Toronto.