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/V176

Text File | 1991-08-11 | 47KB | 1,002 lines

[***][10/28/86][***]
WORLD'S CHEAPEST PC COMPATIBLE
CHANDLER, Az. -- A PC-XT compatible for just $699, less than
one third the price of an IBM XT?  Yes indeed, the PC price
barrier has been broken by a firm which has used the same
tactic to sell cars in the U.S.  South Korea-based Hyundai
Group has announced the Blue Chip Personal Computer. It
will sell at a rock-bottom price at mass merchandise outlets
which include Toys R Us, Target, Federated, Caldor, Venture,
Fedco, The Wiz, SaveMart and Wal-Mart chains (comprised of
500+ outlets).  The Blue Chip is a 16-bit machines with 512K
of RAM expandable to 640K, one floppy drive, six expansion
slots, a parallel printer port, Hercules compatible mono/graphic
video interface, IBM AT style keyboard, and a TTL 12" monochrome
monitor.  This chip off the Big Blue block also runs 10,000
IBM programs including Lotus 1-2-3, Symphony, Flight Simulator
and Wordstar, according to company officers.

The low price means no sales support, but one year warranties are
supplied and honored by Hyundai's marketing arm in the U.S.--
Blue Chip Electronics.  Is this a quality machine? The
reviews aren't in yet but Blue chip promises a full refund to
customers if the machines don't run any XT program.

CONTACT: Rhonda Tiemeyer, WFC Public Relations 602/257-1441
         BLUE CHIP ELECTRONICS, 7305 W. Boston Ave.,
         Chandler, Arizona 85226  602/961-1485

[***][10/28/86][***]
WORLD'S CHEAPEST LASER PRINTER
SAN DIEGO, Ca. -- oasys (Office Automation Systems) Inc. plans
to begin initial shipments of a $1,895 laser printer in November,
five months later than anticipated, with volume shipments slated
for early next year.  The lowest priced laser printer announced to
date, the Laserpro Express reportedly prints 8 pages per minute,
has 512K of RAM, and will have an optional HP font cartridge.
The delay in getting the printer to market was due to a switch
in print engine suppliers, according to Peter Steiner, senior
VP of marketing and sales.  Oasys faces some tough competition
if the rumor mill is correct--Apple plans to introduce its own
low-cost laser printer within the next few months.

CONTACT: OASYS, 619/576-9500

[***][10/28/86][***]
HEWLETT PACKARD TAKES ON APPLE
PALO ALTO, Ca. -- Hewlett Packard has its dukes up, ready to
challenge Apple's leadership position in the desktop publishing
market.  HP announced (10/22) it has entered a strategic
agreement with Aldus Corporation and Microsoft with which it
hopes to establish credibility in this fast-growing segment
of the PC industry.  Hewlett Packard plans to bundle its
LaserJet printer, Vectra PC, Aldus' Pagemaker for the PC,
and Microsoft Windows software in one package.  More than
$2 million will be spent by the three firms to advertise
and market the desktop publishing products.  Analysts applaud
Hewlett Packard's ambition but hesitate to predict its success.
The PC software will not be available until December and Apple
has already established a wide product base and name recognition
in this field.

[***][10/28/86][***]
BIG SHAKEUP AT DRI
MONTEREY, Ca. -- Digital Research has laid off 70 of its 270 staff
members and appointed its founder as president as part of a
major restructuring aimed at returning the firm to a position
of power within the software industry.  DRI President John Rowley
has stepped down and been replaced by Gary Kildall, inventor
of CP/M and founder of Digital Research.  "Our plan is to re-
build DRI into a leading provider of technology solutions and
graphics-based application software," said Gary Kildall in a
prepared statement.  DRI's revenues have slipped drastically
in the last few months, reportedly from $55 million in 1984 to
$35 million in '85 and fiscal 1986 is expected to see revenues
down to between $25 and $30 million.

CONTACT: Bob Obuch, Exec. VP, DIGITAL RESEARCH, 60 Garden
         Court, Monterey, CA 93940  408/646-6270

[***][10/28/86][***]
BIG SHAKEUP AT TELEVIDEO
SUNNYVALE, Ca. -- Televideo Systems Inc. saw a big shakeup in its
board of directors and announced that its plan to purchase
Alpha Micro has been dropped this week.  Three of the four
directors have resigned in a dispute with the fourth, Televideo
CEO Philip Hwang, who owns 67% of the company.  Hwang quickly
replaced two of the three positions and the new board cancelled
the Alpha deal.  The shakeup was all due to an effort "to
refocus on operations and away from so much strategic planning,"
said Gary Mistlin, Televideo's director of finance.

[***][10/28/86][***]
BRODERBUND BREAKS NEW GROUND
SAN RAFAEL, Ca. -- It's refreshing to see a new application come
along, and that's exactly what Broderbund Software has done for
the industry with its new product "ForComment."  This business-
oriented program manages the process of document review and
comment.  It runs on an IBM PC and compatibles, all allows a
group of people to review, make comments on, or suggest revisions
to text prepared on a major word processing program.  "It replaces
the task of copying a document, circulating it for comments, and
then laboriously collating the comments and revisions onto a new
master copy," says the press release.  ForComment has a suggested
retail price of $195 for a single author or $995 for the network/
group version, which allows up to 16 authors.  Stewart Alsop is
one of the first champions of the new product, saying it's "the
first application I've seen that could motivate users to buy a
network."

CONTACT:  Diane Sipes, BRODERBUND SOFTWARE, 17 Paul Drive,
          San Rafael, Ca. 415/479-1700

[***][10/28/86][***]
THE CAR THAT LISTENS
FREMONT, Ca -- A "car of the future" was the hit of the show at
the Salon De L'Ato car show in Paris recently and Votan, maker
of voice input/output products, provided the most "talked-about"
feature on the Renault prototype.  The system recognizes
a driver's verbal commands for non-critical accessories such as
air conditioning, windows, windshield wipers, radio, and heater.
A driver simply has to "voice print" the system prior to use
by repeating commands into a built-in microphone.  Votan
officers say they're working with three U.S. automakers on
integrating optional voice recognition capabilities into
future models.

CONTACT: Bruce Ryon, VOTAN, 4487 Technology Drive, Fremont, Ca.
         94538  415/490-7600

[***][10/28/86][***]
TWO TVS IN ONE
SAN JOSE, Ca. -- A small firm called MultiVision has designed
a first -- a semiconductor capable of processing two different
television channels at once. The technology was two years in
the making and has been incorporated in a "box" that gives
digital television capability to an ordinary television set.
MultiVision plans to sell between 2,000 and 3,000 units this
year.  Several Japanese television makers--Sony, Mitsubishi
and Toshiba--are reportedly very interested in the device,
which would take years to duplicate.  MultiVision's device
will retail for $499 and will be carried by Macys and
Sharper Image, among others.

CONTACT: Roy Wright, president, MULTIVISION, 408/947-8877

[***][10/28/86][***]
IN BRIEF--

LOCALNET '86 takes place November 18-20 at San Francisco's
Moscone Center. This local area network show will feature
70 companies and a series of conferences.  Contact: ONLINE
INTERNATIONAL, New York City, 212/279-8890.

THE PORTAL SYSTEM is a new online communications service for
the Bay Area, providing links to UUCP, BITNET, or ARPA.
Also offered is electronic mail and electronic conferencing.
Call Phil Sih at 408/973-9111 for details.

NEC will debut a dual-speed, battery powered laptop computer
with an "easily readable screen" for less than $2,000,
according to PC WEEK. Expect the introduction next month.

DAYBREAK TECHNOLOGIES (Torrance, Ca.) unveils "Silk," a
spreadsheet for the PC and compatibles at Comdex/Fall. It
will feature "live help" windows, English-language commands
for formulas, and automated macro command, among other
features.  It is expected to ship in January.

BORLAND INTERNATIONAL (Scotts Valley, Ca.) has created a
scientific and engineering software division.  The unit will
design software for technical fields based on recommendations
from an advisory panel of academics.

HERCULES COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY (Berkeley, Ca.) has announced
that Lotus' Manuscript technical word processing package is
the first major software product written from the ground up
to support the new Hercules Graphics Card Plus.

[***][10/28/86][***]
FINANCIAL CORNER --

CHIPS AND TECHNOLOGIES, INC. (Milpitas, Ca.) has released
the first report on its earnings since going public one month
ago. Sales this year were a whopping $13 million.  Last year
at this time the first had made just $2 million.

MICROSOFT (Redmond, Wa.) has announced that its profits rose
156% and sales were up 90% in its most recent quarter.

CONVERGENT TECHNOLOGIES (Santa Clara, Ca.) reported a loss of
$25.7 million in its most recent quarter.  Revenues decreased
45 %.  This is just the latest of a series of major losses
for the computer company which designed the AT&T Unix PC.

[***][10/28/86][***]
HAVE BIKE WILL COMPUTE
WESTERN U.S. -- The irrepressible cyclist Steve Roberts is
somewhere in the California by now, off on his second cross-
country journey.  Equipped with an eight-foot long, 225
pound custom recumbent bicycle and an HP Portable PLUS
computer system powered by 10-watt Solarex solar panels,
the writer will communicate his adventures via GEnie as
he progresses on his 10,000 mile odyssey.  Steve did this
back in 1983, writing about his trip in his book "Computing
Across America: The Bicycle Odyssey of a High-Tech Nomad"
which will be published this fall by Learned Information,
Medford, N.J.  Says the nomad of his off-beat lifestyle,
"The computer is my link with the universe."  Yow.

CONTACT:  Nancy Jamison or Steve Haracznak, GEnie,
          301/294-5405


[***][10/28/86][***]
QUADRAM 386 BOARD TO SHIP IN 1987
NORCROSS, GA -- Across the hall at Quadram, they're saying a
$1,500 Intel 80386-based board will be ready for shipment in
the first quarter. To be called the Quad386 XT, it will feature
1 megabyte of RAM, with 2 megabytes more available on a daughter
board. In contrast, board product manager Cynthia Ringo says,
to competitors who are aiming their 386 boards at the IBM PC
AT market, the Quadram board will be targeted to conventional
IBM PC XT owners as  "a viable, low cost alternative to new,
expensive, 386-based CPUs."

CONTACT: Jane Bator, [phone]

[***][10/28/86][***]
TANDY FOR CHRISTMAS
FORT WORTH, TX -- Sometimes the Tandy "PR machine" almost has this
writer convinced the key to its longevity in computers is based on its
fine job selling computers to business. Then the Christmas
releases from Radio Shack come in and we find the real reason--
it's ability to move the market from the bottom up.

Tandy will be building volume this Christmas with such things as
Robie Jr., a toy robot with nine phrases, wheels, a wireless
remote, and a tray which can carry 10 ounces, for $79.95, which gets
big play in Tandy's Christmas releases. A programmable product
called Robie Sr., at $179.95, gets short shrift. The Shack will
also be giving away color monitors with its $800 Tandy 1000 PC
Compatibles, selling its Color Computer (still) at $100, and the
3-pound Model 102 will be on sale for $400.

CONTACT: Michael Whittaker, [phone]

[***][10/28/86][***]
TEXAS INSTRUMENTS FOR CHRISTMAS
DALLAS, TX -- The opposite tack has long been taken across the
Metroplex in Dallas. TI's System 1000 product line has been
expanded to give the Dallasites "a comprehensive, compatible
family of computers to address a wide spectrum of Xenix and Unix
applications." As a multi-user machine, any TI 1000 is actually a
minicomputer, handling up to 128 users at the high end. They all
move through VARs who've likely never heard of Robie Jr.

[***][10/28/86][***]
DATAVUE KEYSTYLE, WRITESTYLE TO SHIP OCTOBER 30
NORCROSS, GA -- Regular readers of this space may remember a 3-
pound portable with an LCD screen, with the infrared connection to
a 3-pound printer Datavue showed last spring, with chairman
Leland Strange nearby saying it would be going through places
like K-Mart at prices like $600? It finally ships October 30.
Price: $649.

Mr. Strange, meanwhile, plans to try to a new concept on Comdex
showgoers next month--the micro-portable. With an expansion slot,
20 megabyte hard disk, and DOS in a 10-pound package made of a lap
module and expansion module which snap together, the Datavue 25
still needs something to make sales zoom. So, its newest
incarnation is the Snap 1+1.

CONTACT: Peter Baron, [phone]


[***][10/28/86][***]
ISSUE IN FILM COLORIZING IS COPYRIGHT
ATLANTA, GA -- The issue of tinting black-and-white films into
color films using computers isn't really about art or technology
at all, but law. Color Systems Technology Inc., and Color Systems
Technology Inc., have been using computers to add color to about
100 old classics, at an average cost of $183,000, for Turner
Broadcasting System Inc., Atlanta. The Directors' Guild of
America has lined up the opposition, calling it "mutilation of
history."

But the real issue is this. The Motion Picture Association of
America, Turner and the colorization firms want new copyrights
issued in their name for the colorized films, and have filed a
brief with the U.S. Copyright Office to that effect. The black-
and-white versions are in the public domain. "There should be no
doubt but that the effects and expression achieved through color
selection, coordination and application are a copyrightable
component of the overall 'cinematographic work' represented in a
visual medium," the Turner letter said. (Does this mean if my
computer and I tint it different colors I should get a separate
copyright?)

[***][10/28/86][***]
AUTOMENU: SHAREWARE BECOMES PUBLISHED PRODUCT
ATLANTA, GA -- A former shareware product called Automenu, which
sets up a menu system to directly execute programs, batch files
and DOS commands, is now being boxed, packaged and sold over-the-
counter for $46 per copy. The program, written when author
Marshall Magee was a student at Auburn University, Auburn, AL,
was originally used to help legal secretaries get through their
computer work in 1983. Now Mr. Magee has graduated, he wants to
be another Phillippe Kahn. It's written in assembly language and
takes about 20K. Hard disk users should be particularly
interested.

CONTACT: Marshall Magee, [phone]

[***][10/28/86][***]
PECAN BYTES
NETLINK INC., Raleigh, NC, announced a gateway called SNA Gate
that lets Systems Network Archicture (SNA) users connect to non-
SNA devices in the same network, at up to 64,000 bits per second.
An earlier version of the product worked at 9,600 bits, said Vice
President of Marketing David McCormick.

ARNET CORP., Nashville, introduced a board called Smartport which
can turn an IBM PC compatible into a multi-user system running
Xenix. The board includes an Intel 80186 chip, 64K of RAM, and
either 4 or 8 serial ports. The prices: $895 for 4 ports, $1,295
for 8.

BELLSOUTH ENTERPRISES, Atlanta, GA, announced the formation of
BellSouth Advanced Networks Inc., to market services like dial
access to packet switching and protocol conversion to X.25
standards. (This means more than it sounds: BSAN will be selling
computer services, and might find a way to invest in videotex.)

HARRIS CORP., Melbourne, FL, took a $14 million order from Singer
for computerized test systems in US Military aircraft. The $2.2
billion company said this could balloon to $26 million.

[***][10/28/86][***]
AND FINALLY,
Georgia Griffith proofreads Beethoven's symhonies and runs a SIG
on another major computer system, despite being blind and deaf.
AP reports that a computer system featuring a $5,000 Braille
printer helps keep life worthwhile for her in Lancaster, OH.
(Sometimes it's humbling what the good computers do.)


[***][10/28/86][***]
IBM AND HONEYWELL BOTH TO EXIT SOUTH AFRICA
NEW YORK -- One of the dominant buildings in the modern, fast-
paced city of Johannesburg is a tall, gray structure with three
letters over the door: IBM. Soon it will be no more.
International Business Machines last week announced it will pull
out of South Africa, basically selling its business to the South
Africans (black and white) who now run the company's Southern
Africa facilities. Anti-apartheid activists were pleased with
Big Blue's move, which came on the heels of a similar
announcement by General Motors, but criticized it for not going
far enough. IBM will still do business in South Africa, but
through its new intermediary. IBM has about 1,500 employees in
South Africa. Prior to its pull-out announcement, IBM had been a
leading advocate of working from within, using such elements as
the Sullivan Principles, to overcome apartheid.

Honeywell quickly followed Big Blue's lead, announcing the next
day that it, too, would seek to sell its South Africa assets.
But Honeywell said it was abandoning the business because of
slow sales, not out of any political motivation. The
Minneapolis-based firm said "no final action has been taken" on
its proposed sale. The decision came as Honeywell's board was
meeting in Scotland. The company employs 150 workers in South
Africa, 49 of whom are black.

[***][10/28/86][***]
JUSTICE REDFACED OVER COMPUTER FRAUD
WASHINGTON -- A funny thing happened on the way to the court
house last week. The Justice Department announced that it has
reached agreement with a Virginia firm, C3 Inc., on a multi-
million dollar fraud case. It turned out the parties hadn't
settled on terms, and it was back to the bargaining table.
Justice put out a news release that the Reston, Va., firm had
agreed to pay more than $5 million in damages, and plead guilty
of a string of fraud charges as a result of a three-year dispute
with the Army over a contract to supply computers, software, and
services. "There is now no agreement," an embarrassed spokesman
said as an afternoon hearing in a federal court in Alexandria to
ratify the alleged deal was postponed. The dispute started when
C3 sued the Defense Department in the Court of Claims, alleging
a $1 million underpayment. The government counter-sued for
fraud, saying C3 substituted a fancier computer than called for
in the contract and then tried to collect on it.

[***][10/28/86][***]
DAISY PLEADS GUILTY TO STATE TAX RAP
BOSTON -- Daisy Systems Corp., a Mountain View, Calif.,
workstations maker, pleaded guilty last week in a Massachusetts
court to failing to file and pay state sales taxes over four
years. Massachusetts said Daisy failed to pay the state's five
percent tax on sales of $2.3 million between January 1982 and
November 1985. Daisy paid the $123,000 in taxes and more than
$30,000 in interest and penalties last November, when the firm
was notified of the investigation by state authorities. Judge
Robert Mulligan imposed a $50,000 fine plus $5,000 in court
costs on Daisy. Thomas Herman of the Massachusetts Department of
Revenue said the fine was the largest the state has ever levied
in a tax evasion case. A Daisy spokesman said "we decided it was
easier to put [this] behind us by pleading guilty."

[***][10/28/86][***]
CENTEL CORP. TO BUY MARYLAND COMPUTER FIRM FOR $130 MILLION
ROCKVILLE, Md. -- Centel Corp. of Chicago will buy M/A Com
Information Systems for $130 million in cash, the Chicago-based
company announced last week. Centel, a company that designs
telecommunications networks, will integrate the Maryland
company's computer services, so that it can offer both telephone
and computer systems. Information Systems is a division of
Massachusetts-base M/A Com. It was put on the auction block last
summer when M/A Com began unloading its nonmanfacturing
businesses. Information Systems is a systems integrator and
value added reseller. Last year, the company reported $86.5
million in revenue. Centel reported $1.3 billion. The deal is
expected to be consummated in November.

[***][10/28/86][***]
FAIRCHILD AND FUJITSU TO MERGE CHIPSHOPS
NEW YORK -- Schlumberger Ltd. said last week that it will
combine its Fairchild Semiconductor Corp. with Fujitsu Ltd's
U.S. operations. Schlumberger will have a 20 percent stake in
the new semiconductor company. The New York-based oil field
services company will take a $200 million charge against fourth
quarter income because of the deal. The deal requires Fujitsu to
put up major capital for its 80 percent share of the new
semiconductor maker. Fairchild has been an anchor dragging down
the giant Schlumberger, which has also faced enormous problems
in its mainline oil field services business as oil prices have
tumbled. The company took a third-quarter loss of $42 million on
$1.3 billion in sales. Some analysts see the Fairchild-Fujitsu
merger as the first of what could be a numbdr of consolidations
in the glutted chip market. (FOR MORE ON THIS, SEE NEWSBYTES-
JAPAN.)

[***][10/28/86][***]
HIGH TECH TRADE DEFICIT LOOMS FOR 1986
WASHINGTON -- Americans will buy $2 billion more computers,
planes, specialty chemicals and scientific instruments from
abroad than they will sell overseas this year, according to a
study by the congressional Joint Economic Committee release last
week. The impending high-tech trade deficit would represent a
180 degree change from just six years ago, when U.S. companies
sold $26.7 billion more overseas than they bought from foreign
suppliers. The study was done for the congressional committee by
Quick, Finan & Associates, a consulting firm that represents
several U.S. high-tech exporters. Rep. David Obey (D-Wis.),
chairman of the joint committee, blamed the trade deficit on
"misbegotten economic policies" in the Reagan administration,
which have led to an overvalued dollar. Watch for this issue to
emerge as part of the continuing debate over trade policy in the
coming Congress, which convenes in January.

[***][10/28/86][***]
COMMODORE REPORTS SECOND STRAIGHT QUARTER OF BLACK INK
WEST CHESTER, Pa. -- Cost cutting has worked for troubled
Commodore International Ltd. President and CEO Thomas Rattigan,
who has wielded the long knife at the computer maker, reported
last week that the company's September results will show "its
second straight quarter of profitability with earnings growth
over the profitable June 1986 quarter, despite lower revenues in
the September quarters." Rattigan said that, based on
preliminary accounting results, sales in the September quarter
will be up 10 percent over the September quarter last year.
Rattigan says he looks forward "top achieving our goal of
continued profit growth in the December quarter." The black ink
is good news for Commodore, which has seen its workforce chapped
by more than a third as Rattigan worked to get costs in line
with revenues while waiting for sales of the Amiga to pick up.
That appears to be happening, but now the company faces a major
challenge from Apple's snazzy new line of machines.

CONTACT: Commodore, Computer Systems Division, 1200 Wilson
   Drive, West Chester, Pa. 215-431-9100

[***][10/28/86][***]
NEWS NIBBLES FROM THE EAST

   VIENNA, Va. -- ERC International Inc., a computer and
software services firm, reported third-quarter profits of
$368,000 (nine cents per share), down 49 percent from the 1985
third quarter. The decline reflected a $438,000 write off
related to discontinuing its CAD Infoshare unit, which provided
computer-aided design services.

   BEDFORD, Mass. -- Computervision Corp. expects to report a
profit for the third quarter, after six straight quarters of red
ink. The company sells computers and software for CAD-CAM. The
third quarter's good results are largely because of better-than-
expected foreign sales, company president Robert Gable said.

   SILVER SPRING, Md. -- Computer Entry Systems Corp. reported
third-quarter net of $575,000 (11 cents per share), compared to
$506,000 (12 cents per share) for the 1985 third quarter.
Revenue increased to $17.4 million from $9.9 million. The
company makes cash management and payment processing systems
using optical recognition.

   LOWELL, Mass. -- Wang Laboratories plans to meet this week
with analysts from Moody's Investors Service Inc. in an attempt
to jawbone the debt raters into a more favorable impression of
Wang. Last week Wang reported an unexpected $30 million loss for
the September quarter. Moody's followed the next day by
announcing it was reviewing Wang's long-term debt and commercial
paper for possible downgrading.

   FORT LEE, N.J. -- On-line Software International Inc. will
buy four computer software systems and the associated sales
force from Martin Marietta Corp. of Bethesda, Md., for $35
million. Included are Ramis II, a mainframe communications
language, UFO and Consensus, systems designed to help write
programs, and Unison, which links personal computers with
mainframes.

   RESTON, Va. -- VM Software Inc. reported third-quarter income
of $844,721 (20 cents a share), up from $668,988 (16 cents per
share) in the third quarter of 1985. Revenue rose to $6 million
from $4.3 million.

[***][10/28/86][***]
MODEM USER ARRESTED IN SOUTH WALES
PORT TALBOT, SOUTH WALES -- Police and British Telecom
officials swooped last week on the Port Talbot home of
communications enthusiast Paul Needs.  Needs, a contributor
to the Micronet 800 area of Prestel, was held for four and
a half hours at the local police station before being released
on order to reappear at the station on December 2nd.  No
charges have yet been made, but NEWSBYTES UK understands
the case is under active consideration by British Telecom.

Whilst no charges have been preferred against Needs,
NEWSBYTES UK understands that the warrant for his arrest was
issued under the Theft Act.  Micronet 800 reports that the
case centres on the alleged use of a PSS (Packet Switch
Stream) account owned by British Telecom PSS marketing.
(PSS is the United Kingdom data switching service run by
British Telecom and is the equivalent of the Telenet/Tymnet
systems used in the United States.) During the arrest,
Needs' equipment - an Amstrad computer and modem - was
taken away by BT and police investigators.  In addition,
Needs' telephone line has now been disconnected.

Neither British Telecom nor Needs were available for comment
as NEWSBYTES UK went to press.

[***][10/28/86][***]
VIEWDATA LINK INTO DIALCOM/TELECOM GOLD
LONDON -- Telecommunications history looks like it's in the
making with the surprise announcement last week that
Prestel, the UK's viewdata network, is to provide a gateway
service into Telecom Gold, the UK version of the Dialcom
electronic mail system.  The announcement is made all the
more unusual in that both organisations are electronic mail
rivals, despite both being ultimately owned by BT.  Both
systems have approximately 60,000 subscribers, but operate
to differing standards - scrolling ASCII is the format used
by Telecom Gold whilst viewdata colour graphics are used by Prestel.

Prestel currently enjoys 100 per cent local call coverage of
the UK, with free access out of office hours.  Telecom Gold,
on the other hand, relies upon PSS, the UK's data network,
for local call access over much of Britain.  Off-peak rates
for PSS access currently costs up to 2.5 pence per minute.

No word as yet, however, on the much-touted MHS - Message
Handling System - reported recently in NEWSBYTES UK as being
on the cards for the New Year.  MHS, according to BT, will
allow inter-system electronic mail between a variety of
systems.

CONTACT: BRITISH TELECOM, PR & Broadcast Office,
         British Telecom Centre, 81 Newgate Street,
         London EC1 7AJ.   Tel: [phone].

[***][10/28/86][***]
MORE ON THE AMIGA
SLOUGH -- Following on from NEWSBYTES UK's news regarding
the revitalised Amiga range of computers, we now have some
more technical details of forthcoming Amiga models.
As we said before, a budget version of the existing A1000
model at around the 700 pound ($1,050) mark is due soon,
along with a vertical market-oriented 68010/68020 cpu model
with enhanced graphics capabilities.

What we now hear is that Commodore is working on several
combination machines with/without integral Sidecar PC
compatible units.  Dubbed the A1500, the Internal Sidecar
machine will retail for about 1,200 pounds ($1,800) and
feature 256K of Amiga RAM, plus 256K of Sidecar-addressable
RAM.

Most interesting of all, however, are the reports of an
A2500 unit featuring a PC-AT compatible Sidecar unit.  This
beast will retail for under 2,000 pounds ($3,000) and will
come with a 68020 cpu and 2Mb of RAM as standard.
Of course, whilst these machines exist on the Commodore
drawing board, they might still not make it to the dealers -
there's many a slip 'twixt cup and lip as they say...

CONTACT: COMMODORE UK, Babbage House, 53/69 King Street,
         Maidenhead, Berks.
         Tel: [phone].

[***][10/28/86][***]
DELAYS, DIRTY TRICKS AND THE AMSTRAD PC1512
BRENTFORD, MIDDLESEX -- Amidst continuing tales of melting
PC boards, unreliable kit, delivery delays, the Amstrad
PC1512 big blue compatible is now creeping into the shops on
this side of the Atlantic.  Pricing in at 450 pounds for a
single floppy green screen version, through to 1,100 pounds
($1,650) for a colour, 20Mb hard disc version, the PC1512 is
selling "like hot cakes," according to one NEWSBYTES UK source.

Nevertheless, the machine is not without its critics.
Following a report by Jane Bird in last weekend's SUNDAY
TIMES, the price of Amstrad shares has dipped from 128 pence
to 114 pence on the London stock exchange.  Bird's report
alleged that ICL, the supplier of networked PC combinations,
had snubbed the Amstrad PC lookalike on the grounds of
possible overheating.  These allegations have subsequently
been denied by Amstrad and ICL who say that the machines are
still "undergoing evaluation."

In the wake of the share slump, Amstrad ia now alleging a
"dirty tricks campaign," carried out by IBM dealers and
their salespeople.  IBM refutes these allegations, saying
that its dealers are above such activities.  Amstrad,
however, stands by its accusations and says it's seriously
considering action against the SUNDAY TIMES for the
potentially damaging article.

CONTACT: AMSTRAD CONSUMER ELECTRONICS, PO Box 462,
         Brentwood, Essex, CM14 4EE.
         Tel: Brentwood [phone].

[***][10/28/86][***]
DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES
This week's COMPUTER NEWS carries the amusing tale of the
one part of the LONDON TIMES which is not written to disc in
their hi-tech editorial offices.  The column in question is
the obituary column.

According to CN, under the UK's Data Protection Act which
came into force in the earlier this year, the subjects of
the obituary have the right to see computer data written
about themselves.  Normally, of course, newspaper columns
are timely, giving subjects little or no time to read their
files before publication.  Obituaries, on the other hand,
are prepared many months in advance to prepare for, ah,
sudden occurences.

In sticking to their typewriters, Times obituary column
writers can prevent the subject of their scribblings reading
their own obituaries!  I wonder what's in my obituary...

CONTACT: COMPUTER NEWS, 99 Grays Inn Road,
         London WC1X 8UT.
         Tel: [phone].

[***][10/28/86][***]
QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

"I've been working for IBM far too long to say it competes
on price."

-- Terry Osborne, Director of Marketing & Services quoted in
PC BUSINESS WORLD last week.

[***][10/28/86][***]
FUJITSU BUYS OUT FAIRCHILD: CIRCUMVENTING THE ITC
TOKYO -- Fujitsu has decided to purchase the U.S. semiconductor
firm Fairchild.  Fujitsu and Fairchild's parent firm Schlumberger
have reached a basic agreement on this takeover bid. Fujitsu
will get an 80-percent share of Fairchild's stock, while
Schlumberger will keep 20-percent.  Fujitsu plans to produce
super LSIs at Fairchild's factories, and market them in the U.S.

Fujitsu has temporarily suspended sales of its 256K DRAM in
the U.S., complaining that the fair price, mandated by the
International Trade Commission, is too expensive.  But the ITC's
price mandates will not have to apply to Fujitsu's future products
because they will be produced at Fairchild's factories in the U.S.
As a result, Fujitsu is now able to resume the sales of its low-
cost high-quality products in the U.S.  This may rekindle the
Japan-U.S. chip war.  "The problem is the Japanese have the
technology and the unique management policy to produce the goods
too cheap.  So, foreign firms think they are dumping," said one
analyst about the deal.

Meanwhile, the readers of NEWSBYTES-JAPAN say there're some
rumors on NEC's acquisition of Honeywell (see last week's Mail-
bag).  It's big news if it is true.  NEC may use Honeywell as
the strategic base in the U.S., just like Fujitsu will at
Fairchild.  But again, it's a rumor.

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

[***][10/28/86][***]
NEC'S NEW PC-9801 SERIES LINE-UP
TOKYO -- NEC finally released its much talked about laptop
personal computer PC98LT.  It has NEC's original V50 MPU, a 640KB
RAM, a 640x400-dot LCD, a 3.5" 1MB disk drive, and a RS-232C
interface.  PC98LT supports MS-DOS 3.1, and Japanese language.
The system costs only US$1,535.  The most important feature is
its compatibility with the current PC-9801 desktop systems.

Moreover, NEC has released three types of PC-9801VX series, as
the upper versions of the VM series.  The new systems have
an 80286 (8MHz) as well as a V30 MPU (10MHz), and supports
MS-WINDOWS.  Also, they have a custom graphics LSI called
Enhanced Graphic Charger (EGC).  The non-von Neumann type of
Image Pipelined Processor "MuPD7281" is optionally available.
With this image processor, extremely faster 3-D realtime
simulation can be made possible.  The optional program PC-UX/V,
the UNIX System-V version, is also attractive.  The most upper
version of PC-9801XA (for professional users) has also been
upgraded to PC-9801XL.  Besides the above VX features, the XL has
more advanced features such as a 1120x750 high-resolution
graphics mode, and a 10MHz-80286.

Now, NEC has built a solid foundation in the 16-bit micro market in
Japan.  In fact, the release of these new PC-9801 series is
one final big blow to the rival firms here.  One big rival,
Fujitsu, just upgraded its 16-bit micro 16BETA with an 80286 MPU
early this year, and the company has kept silent.  Apparently,
NEC has gained an upperhand in this market.  Many analysts believe
Fujitsu's 16BETA and the laptop FM16pi are dead.  Everyone expects
to see some new 16-bit micros from Fujitsu and other firms at
DataShow in Tokyo next week.  We'll report on this computer
exhibition at next week's NEWSBYTES-JAPAN.

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

[***][10/28/86][***]
LODE RUNNER RUNS ON JAPANESE "WORPRO"
In the last few years, the low-priced Japanese dedicated
laptop word processors ("WORPRO") have been very popular in
Japan.  Among the manufacturers of those WORPROs, Toshiba has
decided to take a unique approach in order to get a sales
advantage in this survival war - the company will market business
and game software for the company's best-seller model "Rupo
R70F."  The software includes spreadsheet, database, tele-
communication program, and Broderbund's popular game "Lode
Runner."  R70F has a Z80 CPU, which allows this WORPRO to run
these programs.  This is certainly unique, but the small
monocrome LCD may not do much for game-playing excitment.

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

[***][10/28/86][***]
MEMORY READER FOR DREXLER'S IC CARDS
TOKYO -- CSK (Tokyo) has developed a low-cost memory card reader
for Drexler's (CA, U.S.A.) optical IC cards.  This card reader
will be released at under US$97 early next year.  Drexler
Technology's optical IC card stores 2MB memory.  So, many
Japanese firms are thinking of using it for their personal
computers, word processors, and game machines.  To start,
CSK will release the card reader for Sega Enterprises' game
machines.  Sources say the readers will actually be manufactured
by Kyocera on an OEM basis.

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

[***][10/28/86][***]
RUSSIA WOOS JAPANESE MICROS
TOKYO -- According to a published report, the Soviet government
has been talking with Matsushita Electronics, Sanyo, and Hitachi
about purchasing 10,000 8-bit personal computers for the
Soviet high schools.  The Soviet government already purchased
4,000 units of MSX micros and the printers from Yamaha and Star
Seimitsu in the summer of 1985.  Surprisingly enough, the Soviet
government is planning to install one million sets of personal
computers for its secondary school education by 1990, says a
report.  That is a mouth-watering figure for the Japanese
manufacturers.

[***][10/28/86][***]
<<< SUSHI BYTES >>>

(DESKTOP LANGUAGE TRANSLATION SYSTEM) TOKYO -- Sanyo has
developed a desktop word processor with a Japanese-English
translation feature.  The model "SWP-7800," which was jointly
developed with the Nagao Lab of Kyoto University, is said to
have the ability to translate about 3,500 words per hour.  The
system is scheduled to be on sale in February 1987 at US$9,871,
including a 14-inch display and a 4MB 5" HDD.

(AI PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES) TOKYO -- IBM Japan announced two
AI language programs on 10/22.  One of them is a PROLOG-based
"MVS/PROGRAMMING-IN-LOGIC" for the System 370, and the other is
"LUCID Common LISP6100" for the 6100 professional workstation.
They will be released in November.

(IBM APG UPDATE) TOKYO -- Richard Gerstner, VP of IBM (U.S.A.),
has been appointed as the president of IBM Asia Pacific Group in
Tokyo.  IBM Japan's president Takeo Shiina has been appointed as
the group's advisory committee member.  IBM has apparently been
trying to beef up its strategic base in Asia.

(PERSONAL COMPUTER NETWORK) TOKYO -- Hitachi will start its own
personal computer network ECHO-NET at the end of this month.
With this network, Hitachi aims at the sales and the maintenance
of the company's 16-bit business computer B16.  Approximately
200 dealers and the software houses will be interconnected with
this network, a report says.

(GRAPHIC LSI FOR IBM PC) HAMAMATSU -- Yamaha has developed two
types of compact graphic LSIs for the IBM PC, in cooperation with
Renaissance GRX (Washington).  With a "FC6481" or a "VC6480," a
640x400-dot graphics and 256 colors can be used on the IBM PC.

(RICOH AND MAXTOR CORP.) TOKYO -- Ricoh has linked with a
California-based major disk manufacturer MAXTOR Corp., concerning
optical disks.  With this agreement, MAXTOR gets the exclusive
marketing rights of Ricoh's optical disks and disk drives at
the North America and the European markets.

(STUDYING ABOUT JAPANESE SOCIETY) KYOTO -- With the assistance of
Kyoto University, Stanford University (CA) will open the Hightech
Center and the Japan Study Center in Kyoto in 1988.  Six other
U.S. universities, including Harvard, Brown, and Michigan
Universities, will also use these facilities.  The centers are
expected to play important roles in exchanging cultures of both
countries.

(OPERATING SYSTEM "R2") KYOTO -- Prof. Takao Tsuda of Kyoto Univ.
has developed a realtime operating system to control industrial
robots.  Guess the name of this system - it's "R2," which is
nothing to do with "Star Wars."  It is written in C language.


[***][10/28/86][***]
SEMI-TECH SIGNS CHINESE DEAL
MARKHAM, On. -- Semi-Tech Microelectronics Corp. signed a C$270-
million deal last week with Shenzhen Electronics Group of Hong
Kong that will see an advanced industrial microcomputer developed
here.  Engineers from both companies are to be involved in the
project, which is expected to create 50 to 100 jobs in Canada.
It is the largest non-agricultural trade deal ever signed between
Canada and China.

Semi-Tech, which currently manufactures an IBM-compatible
personal computer, is also in the midst of going public on the
Toronto Stock Exchange.  This is being done through the back
door; Semi-Tech is being acquired by Shawnee Petroleum Ltd. of
Toronto, an inoperative company whose principal asset is a
listing on the Toronto exchange.

CONTACT: SEMI-TECH MICROELECTRONICS, Macnabb St., Markham, Ont.,
         [phone]

[***][10/28/86][***]
AT-COMPATIBLE FROM PHILIPS INFORMATION SYSTEMS
TORONTO -- Philips Information Systems has introduced the Philips
3102, a personal computer compatible with the IBM PC AT.  The
company also announced an eight-page-per-minute laser printer.
The Philips 3102 has 640K bytes of main memory as standard
equipment.  With a 10-megabyte hard disk it sells for C$3,220,
and with a 20-megabyte disk it costs C$3,815.  A dual-floppy
version is also available, for C$2,120.  The 3102 is manufactured
in St. Laurent, Qu., for Canadian and world markets.
The desktop-sized laser printer costs C$6,399.  Philips
Information Systems is wholly owned by N.V. Philips of The
Netherlands.

CONTACT: PHILIPS INFORMATION SYSTEMS, 1200 Sheppard Ave. E.,
         Willowdale, ON, [phone]

[***][10/28/86][***]
ICON MANUFACTURER IN EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE JOINT VENTURE
TORONTO -- ESTC Education Systems Technology Canada Inc. is a new
educational software company formed as a joint venture by
Education Systems Technology Corp., San Diego, and Meridian
Technologies Inc. of Toronto.  Meridian, through its Canadian
Educational Microprocessor Corp. subsidiary, builds the Icon
educational microcomputer which is widely used in Canadian
schools.

At the Computers in Education show in Toronto this past weekend,
ESTC launched Curriculum Plus, a networked software offering
designed for the school's computer resource centre.  The company
says the product line will include 1,500 software packages in
reading and mathematics.  Schools lease the program rather than
buying it, and the package includes a full-time, on-site
"computer resource assistant."

CONTACT:  ESTC EDUCATION SYSTEM TECHNOLOGY CANADA, 515
          Consumers Rd., Suite 505, Willowdale, ON M2J 4Z2,
          [phone]

[***][10/28/86][***]
BOARD MANUFACTURER SUCCESSFUL WITH EMULATORS
RICHMOND, B.C. -- Gemini Technology Inc. has reported sales
revenue of C$10 million in its first year of operations.  The
startup company manufactures emulator boards that allow Zenith Z-
100 microcomputers to run MS-DOS software.  According to the
Toronto-based newsletter DP Market Facts, Gemini sold C$4.4
million worth of the boards the first month they were on the
market.  Now the company is planning a similar emulation board
for Hewlett-Packard's HP200 and HP300 series computers.

[***][10/28/86][***]
DIGITAL SHOWS OFF OFFICE PRODUCTS AT EXHIBITION
TORONTO -- Digital Equipment of Canada Ltd. held its largest-ever
customer event at the Metropolitan Toronto Convention Centre last
week.  The 40,000-square-foot 1986 Toronto DEC Exposition
included demonstrations highlighting Digital's office automation
offerings for finance and administration, sales and marketing,
management information systems, distribution and inventory
control, manufacturing management, human resources management and
in-house publishing.  A number of presentations by Digital
representatives and independent consultants were also included.

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

[***][10/28/86][***]
COMPUTERS GO UNDER WATER
HALIFAX, N.S. -- Martec Ltd., an ocean science and engineering
consulting firm, has been testing a submersible computer that
allows divers to record and store dimensions of underwater
objects.  The company has tested the computer in exploring a
shipwreck off the historic fortress of Louisbourg at the eastern
end of Nova Scotia.  The computer, which has a waterproof casing,
a membrane keypad and a digital display, allows data from underwater
archaeological sites to be captured and stored quickly, then
manipulated later to produce pictures of the underwater site.

[***][10/28/86][***]
PHONE COMPANY CRITICIZED FOR BILLING PROPOSAL
SAINT JOHN, N.B. -- The Consumers Association of Canada
criticized New Brunswick Telephone Co. last week for a billing
proposal that would tie the right to own one's own telephones to
pay-as-you-use billing for local phone service.  The pay-as-you-
use scheme, which would make local phone calls subject to a per-
minute charge just like long-distance calls, is buried in the
text of a proposal that would customer-owned telephone equipment
in the province.  Most parts of Canada already allow telephone
subscribers to own their own phones, but telephone companies in
New Brunswick and six other provinces are under provincial
regulation and therefore rules are different in each province.
New Brunswick is one province that so far hasn't approved
customer-owned phones.

CONTACT: NEW BRUNSWICK TELEPHONE CO. LTD., P.O. Box 1430,
         Saint John, N.B. E2L 4K2, [phone]

[***][10/28/86][***]
ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY GETS ON-LINE INFORMATION
CALGARY -- The Alberta Research Council has opened a C$1.6-
million information centre designed to provide information to the
province's electronics industry.  The Electronic Industry
Information Centre will develop an online information service
to help the industry keep up with new technology and markets.
The centre will be able to tap into 90 percent of the world's
data bases, the research council says, and should be accessible
to most Alberta companies within 18 months.

[***][10/28/86][***]
COMPUTER BLAMED FOR CBC ACCOUNTING PROBLEMS
OTTAWA -- The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's state
owned television network, has been raked over the coals in recent
weeks for failing to maintain proper accounting records.
Canada's auditor-general, Kenneth Dye, said in a recent report
that he could not guarantee the CBC's financial records are
correct and that public funds are at risk.  He called on the CBC
to correct the problems immediately.  Much of the blame has been
laid on the CBC's attempts to set up a complex computerized
accounting system, which have not gone smoothly.

[***][10/28/86][***]
BITS, EH?
-- Northern Telecom Ltd., Mississauga, Ont., reported a quarterly
profit of $66 million on revenues of $1.03 billion for the
quarter ended Sept. 30.  The figures are up from $65.3 million
profit on revenues of $995.3 million in the same period a year
earlier.

-- The University of Toronto has signed its first corporate
client for the Cray X-MP supercomputer it installed last month.
Omnibus Computer Graphics of Toronto, which specializes in
computer animation, will use the computer to supplement its own
Cray X-MP, which is installed in Omnibus's Los Angeles office.

-- An astronomy professor at the University of Toronto is using a
supercomputer to simulate the evolution of galaxies as part of
his research on galactic clusters.  Oddly enough, Prof. Martin
Duncan isn't using the University of Toronto's Cray X-MP -- he's
doing the work on a Control Data Cyber 205 installed at the
University of Calgary.