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/V179

Text File | 1991-08-11 | 52KB | 1,114 lines

[***][11/18/86][***]
THE BIG BUZZWORD AT COMDEX
LAS VEGAS, Nv. -- The '386 was the king of this year's Comdex,
with dozens of companies showing off computers that incorporate
Intel's newest 80386 microprocessor, which makes machines
light years faster and more versatile than micros on the market
today.  They include Kaypro, Multitech, Compaq, Zenith Data
Systems, Convergent Technologies, PCs Limited, Laser Digital--
even Korea-based Gold Star.  John Markoff reports he's heard
no fewer than 107 companies at Comdex were showing off 80386-
related products.  Among them were several peripheral boards
that turn a 286 into a 386.

At $300 each, the 80386 chips are bringing a cash windfall to
Intel, which has desperately needed a winner to break several
quarters of devastating losses.  So important are these chips
to Intel, word is the company won't "second source" them, or
license them for production to another manufacturer, at least
not for now.

[***][11/18/86][***]
AND WHERE IS IBM?
LAS VEGAS, Nv.  -- With a dozen manufacturers ready to push
80386 machines out the door, IBM has yet to announce plans to
upgrade its own micro line to include the new processor.
What gives?  According to Jim Forbes of PC WEEK, IBM is
waiting for a specific '386 operating system before marketing
an 80386 machine.  But there are prototypes.  Forbes says
one version has eight expansion slots, three of them 32 bit
slots, 3 16 bit and two 8 bit slots; it has a 4 megabyte RAM
memory on the motherboard and a 40 megabyte hard disk drive.
Sources tell PC WEEK that IBM simply has to decide which
graphics chip to use--the Intel 82786 or TI 34010.  The
general consensus seems to be in not announcing an 80386-based
machine, IBM is doing nothing unusual.  After all, wouldn't it
be a Blue Moon before IBM becames the first to announce
a new technology?  The company likes the technique of
watching the blood spill in the Coliseum before deciding
whether to back the Christians or the lions.

[***][11/18/86][***]
APPLE CANS COMDEX, WINS NO APPLAUSE
CUPERTINO, Ca. -- Apple Computer made no bones about it--
there was no reason to attend Comdex.  Since the show
attracts mainly a PC buyer, reasons Apple, it would put
all its apples in another basket--that of product-specific
showcases.  The decision may have been a self-fulfilling
prophecy.  Desktop publishing was a phrase coined in
reference to the Macintosh and Laserwriter, and Aldus
Corporation made it all possible with Pagemaker software.
This time, probably seeing the laserwriting on the wall,
Aldus' booth showcased Pagemaker for the PC, and one had
to venture deep inside the booth to find a Macintosh at
all.

[***][11/18/86][***]
UNANNOUNCED MACINTOSH PRODUCT OF THE YEAR
Meanwhile, an unannounced Apple product has already won
the distinction of being "the most exciting new personal
computer" of 1987.  TECHNOLOGIC COMPUTER LETTER says the
"Open Mac," the next generation, high-end Macintosh
capable of multi-tasking, complex calculations, and more
advanced graphics and design work, will beat out all the
functions Microsoft's expected DOS 5.0 will offer, by a
good year.  "At the level of systems software, the next
Macintosh will come with benefits that won't be widely
available on MSDOS computers until much later," the
weekly newsletter states, "Next year will be the year of
the powerful Mac."

CONTACT:  TECHNOLOGIC PARTNERS, 419 Park Avenue South,
          New York, NY 10016  212/696-9330

[***][11/18/86][***]
SERIOUS IIGS SHORTAGE EXPECTED
SAN FRANCISCO, Ca. -- Apple spokespeople are staunchly
denying reports that the production schedule for the new
IIGS computer has been drastically downgraded.  Apple says
an engineering bug has been eliminated, the production schedule
is back on track, and 20-30,000 units will be shipped by Christmas.
However, reports persist that problems, mainly due the
sluggish production of custom Ensoniq sound chips, may cause
only 5,000 units to be on dealer shelves by Christmas.
CALIFORNIA TECHNOLOGY STOCK LETTER is discouraged enough
about the problem to issue a "sell" recommendation for
Apple stock.  COMPUTER RESELLER NEWS (11/10) quotes a source
as saying John Sculley himself quietly remarked that
IIGS production will not be efficient until March.  Holding
the bag are Apple's dealers whose jolly smiles are fading
and who expect to only stock demo models through the Christmas
season.

[***][11/18/86][***]
ATARI REVITALIZED
SUNNYVALE, Ca. -- The suprise splash of Comdex was Atari, which
not only commanded a sprawling booth on the main floor, but
packed it with Atari STs running business, desktop publishing,
and music applications for the low-cost 68000-based micro.
Fresh from its first stock offering which, after debts, left
it with some $15 million, Atari plans a massive advertising
blitz for Christmas, capitalizing upon Apple's shortage of
IIGS, and Commodore's lack of a a serious Christmas profile.

Through November and December, software from Atari and some
20 other ST software developers will sport rebates, price cuts,
and be part of give-aways.  Full page advertising, with the
tag line "Technology So Advanced It's Affordable" will be
placed in 7 major weekly and monthly magazines.  This is
the first major sales push in the U.S. for Atari.  European
penetration of its line of micros is well established--the ST
is the number one selling micro in Germany and second in the
U.K. after Amstrad.

CONTACT:  Neil Harris, ATARI CORPORATION, 1196 Borregas
          Ave., Sunnyvale, Ca. 94086  408/745-2160


[***][11/18/86][***]
AXLON AXES 20-PERCENT OF STAFF
SUNNYVALE, Ca. -- The firm founded by entrepreneur Nolan Bushnell
quietly eliminated 20% of its staff during Comdex week.  The
brief press release blames production problems in Asia and a
softness of orders for the layoff.  Most famous for its line
of electronic toys Petsters and A. G. Bear, Axlon has not
had a new "hit" toy for this Christmas selling season.  The
firm went public in August, but its current financial statement
is not all that encouraging.  The third quarter has produced
a three quarters of a million dollar loss, leaving the firm
with an income of $5.4 million from July-September compared
with an income of $6.3 million a year earlier.

[***][11/18/86][***]
ANSA 1, ASHTON-TATE 0
BELMONT, Ca. -- The man considered to be the genius behind
Ashton-Tate's skyrocket to success last year has moved on to
Ansa Software to become its president and chief executive
officer.  Ron Posner, formerly Ashton-Tate System, Service,
and Information Division executive vice president, is
credited with having orchestrated Ashton-Tate's acquisition
of Framework, MultiMate and the new RapidFile, and of helping
build the company from $10 million to $200 million annually.
At Ansa, Posner is expected to do the same thing.  "Ansa's
Paradox is widely regarded to be the best database management
system available.  My charter is to continue to increase both
sales and market share of that product, aswell as to
actively look for new products to bring to market," says Posner
in a prepared press release.

CONTACT: ANSA SOFTWARE, 1301 Shoreway Road, Belmont, CA 94002
         415/595-4469

[***][11/18/86][***]
NEW APPLICATION: DESKTOP TELECONFERENCEING
SAN FRANCISCO, Ca. -- A new product called PC TeleTree is the
most interesting and versatile BBS product to come along for
some time.  CommuniTree Group's new $195 product runs
unattended on a host PC, and can be customized to contain up
to seven levels of password access with complete facilities
for conferences and electronic mail.  It's being used for
a number of applications.  For example, Computer Literacy
Bookshop in Sunnyvale, CA provides callers who dial up via
modem with an annotated and continuously updated catalog
of books, special releases, special events, etc., enabling
them to "browse" the store after hours.

CONTACT:  COMMUNITREE GROUP via SYNERGETIC COMMUNICATIONS,
          PO Box 9964, Berkeley, Ca. 94709  415/548-8170

[***][11/18/86][***]
NEW SOFTWARE MARKETING IDEA: PREVIEWARE
What do you do if you've got a beta version of a piece of
software and want to work out the bugs?  You could hire
some people to test it, spend lots of bucks, and hope they
caught all the flaws before you package it up and send it
out.  Or you could try the "Previeware" concept.  Public
Relations wiz Marty Winston of Winston & Winston in Fort
Worth, Texas has coined this term to describe a new scheme
to get massive numbers of end-users (estimates are 150,000
in six weeks) to test software for free.  Marty and
assistant Hy Siegel report they're sending electronic
bulletin boards mimited versions of TKSolver, PC-MOS 386,
1dir Plus, the Mix C Compiler, an expert system called
First Class, WordPerfect and others.  The software is then
crossloaded to some 200 additional boards.  Result--
instant feedback!

CONTACT:  WINSTON & WINSTON, Fort Worth, Texas 817/332-5222

[***][11/18/86][***]
BYE BURROUGHS, BYE SPERRY
DETROIT, Mi. -- Wipe those names from your memory.  The new
name of the merged Burroughs and Sperry is Unisys, a name
submitted by Christian Lee Machen, a company engineer from
Atlanta who got $5,000 for his efforts.  The name is derived
from the words united, information, and systems.  Unisys is the
second largest computer company in the world (next to IBM)
with revenues of $10 billion a year.  Within days of the
announcement, Unisys sold the Sperry Aerospace division to
Honeywell (which incidentally is eyeing a merger with NEC--
see NEWSBYTES JAPAN this week) for a whopping $700 million,
according to published reports.

[***][11/18/86][***]
IN BRIEF --

CALMA CORPORATION of Milpitas, Ca. has been awarded a $19.4
million contract for 95 CAD workstations for the federal
government's Bureau of Reclamation Research Center in Denver.

PYRAMID TECHNOLOGY of Mountain View, Ca. has lost E. David
Crocket, its president and CEO.  Crocket resigned, citing
"irreconcilable differences" with the other directors.
He says the company is strong and he's not leaving it "in
the lurch."

PAPERBACK SOFTWARE of Berkeley, Ca., Adam Osborne's firm,
reports profits are up in its third quarter, bringing in
$103,000 over expenses, mainly due to success of VP-Planner.

HEWLETT PACKARD has been cited for excellence in its hiring
of minorities by the Bureau of National Affairs, a private
research firm.

COMPUTERLAND of Oakland, Ca. promises a $1.8 million ad
spending spree this Christmas.  Look for ads to address
customer satisfaction.

AMIGA of Los Gatos, Ca., the division of Commodore, is
putting the finishing touches on a genlock box for the Amiga
computer, according to a source inside the company.  The
box, which makes the Amiga's signal NTSC, was ready earlier
this year but not marketed due to persistent bugs.

MICROSOFT PRESS has released a new book called THE AMIGA--
IMAGES, SOUDS AND ANIMATION ON THE COMMODORE AMIGA ($19.95
by Michael Boom, forward by Trip Hawkins.

ACTIVISION of Mountain View, Ca. has released "Aliens: The
Computer Game."  It features scenes from the movie.  Hey,
didn't you always want to be (or in the case of a guy) want
to see more of Sigourney Weaver?  Even if she is just a
bunch of electrons in this version.



[***][11/18/86][***]
COMDEX POSTSCRIPT
LAS VEGAS, NV -- The overwhelming impression left by this show
is that competing in the computer industry is no longer a battle
over shelf space or distribution channels. The battle now is to
find customers. Thus retail shows like PC Expo, Dexpo, and
MacWorld look better, wholesale shows like Comdex worse, no
matter who's running them. Far more dangerous to the Interface
Group than any Comdex weakness, then, was the failure of their
retail shows, The Business Computer Showcases and the
Byte Shows, to generate any interest--as we reported here the
former trunk show was cancelled in the middle of its tour.

[***][11/18/86][***]
AND WHAT OF TEXAS INSTRUMENTS?
LAS VEGAS, NV -- TI announced new products and services at
Comdex, although its booth was better known to showgoers as the
high ground from which to see NEC's jugglers. Here are some
highlights.

 * The company announced an interface board which lets its TI Omni
800 series of printers emulate IBM 5224, 5225 and 5256 printers
in the System 3X minicomputer environment. It's called the Twinax
Interface Option. TI also added a new portable data terminal to
its Silent 700 family--the Model 707/1200 features a thermal
printer, cartridge-based enhancements for memory and
applications, and an internal 1200 baud modem.

Two new sales programs were announced. The VAR Advantage Plan
includes an executive briefing and planning service, support for
over 150 vertical market shows, a lead reference program,
national advertising, education, training, user groups, and other
before-and-after sale support. Under a new product evaluation
customers can get their hands on Business-Pro computers, Omni
Laser 2015 laser printers and the TI System 1000 computers for up
to 120 days, free or at a nominal charge.

Contact: Neil McGlone at TI, 1-800-527-3500

[***][11/18/86][***]
SOFTKLONE-MICROSTUF DECISION EXPECTED MONDAY
ATLANTA, GA -- Judge William O'Kelley of Atlanta is now expected
to rule on the Microstuf vs. SoftKlone suit Monday. (To refresh
your memory, Microstuf, now owned by DCA, charged that SoftKlone
copied Crosstalk XVI's command structure and status screen.
SoftKlone says it made improvements and copied no code -- it's a
"look and feel" issue.)

[***][11/18/86][***]
PECAN BYTES
COMPAQ, Houston, TX, announced it will form a subsidiary in
Singapore next year to assemble printed circuit boards. The new
subsidiary will also include a purchasing department to secure
Asian components at the lowest-possible prices.

DATASOUTH, Charlotte, NC, announced a LED-array page printer for
the IBM System 3X minicomputer line called Pagewriter 8, and a
new top-of-the-line (400 characters per second) dot matrix
printer called the DS-400. The latter includes Epson and Diablo
emulation.

HAYES, Norcross, GA, added new features to its 2400 baud
Smartmodems, including configuration profile storage in EEPROMs,
which lets you store up to 36 numbers from 4 frequently-made
calls in Hayes AutoSync mode. The AutoSync mode lets you start a
call async, then switch to faster synchronous transmission, on
the fly. Pricing on the modems remains at $740-900 retail.

QUADRAM, Norcross, GA, announced QuadHPG, a graphics board
claiming twice the resolution, 16 times the color selection and
100 times the speed of IBM's Enhanced Graphics Adapter. It uses
the Intel 82786 graphics coprocessor. The company said device
drivers for Microsoft Windows and Digital Research's Gem are
already being written. The company also introduced Mighty Meg, a
3.5 megabyte board upgradable to 14 megabytes once the new 1
megabit chips come online. It works with both IBM PC ATs and the
new Compaq 386 machine.

MEGA-OMEGA SYSTEMS INC., Dallas, announced an EMS memory board
called The Companion Card with a patented multiple configuration
memory circuit. A copy of the patent, given James B. Goodman on
October 14, was included in the press release.

IMMEDIATE BUSINESS SYSTEMS INC., Birmingham, AL, an Allied-Signal
company, announced a new line of harsh-environment thermal
portable printers called the FieldPrinter series. They use NiCad
battery packs and run at 100 lines per minute.

DATAPOINT, San Antonio, TX, announced it will finally hold its
1985 stockholders' meeting November 25 near its headquarters. The
meeting was delayed when chairman Asher Edelman offered a
leveraged buyout of the firm last November. Mr. Edelman, a New
Yorker, is now listed as an inside chairman at $150,000 per year
in salary, "MIS Week" reports.

INS, Mobile, AL, demonstrated a VTAM-based communications referee
called Arbiter, from Tangram Systems Corp., Cary, NC. Arbiter,
shown in conjunction with INS' SDLC PC Adapter, is a generic
solution for managing hundreds of micro connections on an IBM
mainframe system.

STB SYSTEMS INC., Richardson, TX, moved to bigger quarters during
Comdex. Its new officers are at 1651 N. Glenville, Suite 210,
Richardson, TX 75081.

[***][11/18/86][***]
AND FINALLY...
Robert L. Nicolai of St. Louis has published what he calls a
"Cheapware" catalogue, with prices running from $20 for a BASIC
program mendor to $100 for a complete mailing list manager and
label maker. Demonstration diskettes can be had for $6. And Mr.
Nicolai even has a toll-free number for your orders, 1-800-642-
6524 (that's 1-800-NICOLAI).
 ==
[***][11/18/86][***]
BATTERY FAILURES PLAGUE PC-AT
NEW YORK -- The Associated Press reported last week that dead
batteries are the latest Achilles' heel of the IBM PC-AT. The
batteries that power the internal clock and calendar were
designed to last about three years, according to the wire service
report. Now the 1983 model ATs are beginning to experience battery
fatigue, presenting their users with some strange and unexpected
symptoms. Some owners then run up unnecessary repair bills when
they take the machines in for a check-up. Obviously, the dead
battery presents a wonderful opportunity for unscrupulous repair
shops to run up a big repair bill on the AT. The battery problem
has also created a new business niche for purveyors of
replacement batteries. A replacement will set you back about $25.
According to Big Blue, the AT will give a characteristic error
message at boot-up when the battery is dead: "161 systems options
not set up (run set up)." Typically clear error message, that.

[***][11/18/86][***]
U.S. WARNS JAPAN ON CHIP PACT
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. has warned Japan that the July chip pact
between the two semiconductor giants is in jeopardy. Senior U.S.
trade officials said Uncle Sam will cancel the pack if Japanese
chip makers don't drop predatory competition for third-country
markets by early next month. The Japanese government protests
that it can't do any more to stop Japanese firms from dumping
chips in third-country markets than the U.S. government could do
to halt dumping by U.S. chip makers. The Japanese Ministry of
International Trade and Industry say they are trying to jawbone
Japanese firms into ending their aggressive marketing, but so far
have had no success. U.S. and Japanese negotiators have met three
times to discuss the dumping complaints. The July 31 chip
agreement included an important provision in which Tokyo promised
to end predatory pricing in third-country markets.

[***][11/18/86][***]
COMMODORE AUDITORS ISSUED QUALIFIED OPINION
NEW YORK -- Arthur Andersen & Co. has issued a qualified opinion
on the financial status of computer-maker Commodore International
Ltd., despite an improving balance sheet. In the company's 1986
annual report, the auditors said Commodore's recent financial
strength is "subject to uncertainties" including current disputes
on tax and import matters, and litigation seeking $50 million in
damages from Commodore. The opinion is similar to the conclusions
in the 1985 annual report. The company has run up $241.8 million
in combined losses for the past two years. Commodore managed to
earn a $1.2 million profit for the quartered ended June 30, after
five consecutive quarters of big losses. The company recently
report a net profit of $3.7 million for the first quarter of
1987. Commodore's stock has rebounded a bit on Wall Street,
trading at $9.25 per share recently on the New York Stock
Exchange. Commodore's new agreement with its banks forbids
dividend payments and requires minimum payments on debt of $32
million in 1987 and $88.7 million in 1988. Unless the Amiga
computer catches fire, making that 1988 payment could prove
tough.

[***][11/18/86][***]
U.S.-BRAZIL COMPUTER TRADE TALKS SET FOR DECEMBER
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. and Brazil will meet in Brussels December
13-14 to discuss removing Brazilian barriers to U.S. computer
sales. The talks will involve U.S. Special Trade Representative
Clayton Yeutter and his counterpart from Brasilia, Paulo Tarso
Flecha de Lima. The Brussels talks will be the fourth round of
discussions aimed at ended the trade stalemate. The meeting will come
two weeks before President Reagan is scheduled to decide whether
to impose trade sanctions against Brazil in retaliation for the
computer embargo. The U.S. pattern in these sorts of disputes has
become clear, both in this case and in the semiconductor dispute
with Japan. The White House holds out sanctions and special
duties as a potential stick, while offering to drop the trade
proceedings as a carrot. In 1984, Brazil imposed the trade
barrier as a way to protect its nascent computer industry. U.S.
firms estimate the Brazilian market could be worth as much as $1
billion annually.

[***][11/18/86][***]
IBM ALTERS HITACHI DEAL, CLOSES DISTRIBUTION CENTER
NEW YORK -- International Business Machines Corp. has modified
its 1983 agreement with Hitachi that settled an IBM charge that
Hitachi stole its technology in 1982. Big Blue provided no
details of the new agreement, saying only that the revisions were
"mutually acceptable." It's most likely that the deal scales back
Hitachi's payments to settle the copyright suit. Hitachi
originally agreed to pay IBM $300 million to settle the suit
brought by IBM. Hitachi makes mainframes that are compatible with
IBM's equipment running the MVS/XA operating system. Some
analysts believe the new deal rewards Hitachi for making its
payments under the 1983 deal and is designed to pressure Fujitsu
Ltd. into a deal on the same issue.

Big Blue last week also announced that it will close one of two
U.S. parts-distribution centers as it looks forward to a tough
1987. IBM will offer the 985 employees at the Greencastle, Ind.,
parts site new jobs. The Greencastle shutdown is Big Blue's
biggest closure in ten years. IBM is also offering to donate the
234-acre site to the town of Greencastle, along with a $1.5
million grants and the help of an IBM official full time for 18
months to help find a new business to locate there. Some
Greencastle employees will probably take early retirement rather
than move, something the computer maker is encouraging. Big Blue
will offer twice the normal "separation allowance" to Greencastle
employees. IBM will pay employees a month of pay for each year of
service if they quit or retire, plus $5,000 in retraining money,
and a year's worth of commuting costs for those who take a job
farther away.

[***][11/18/86][***]
CBS DROPS VIDEOTEX INVOLVEMENT
NEW YORK -- CBS Inc. last week dropped out of Trintex, its joint
videotex venture with IBM and Sears, Roebuck & Co. Sears and IBM
will continue as equal partners in the service designed to allow
computerists to shop, bank, and communicate. "We've been focusing
on our core businesses of broadcasting, records and publishing,"
said a CBS spokesman. Faced with shaky financial performance, CBS
has been looking for ways to cut costs, and videotex was a prime
candidate. Trintex is expected to be commercially available
within two years. After early optimism, videotex ventures have
been taking it on the chin the past year, with both Knight-
Ridder Newspapers and Times Mirror Co. dropping ambitious
videotex ventures.

[***][11/18/86][***]
USDA MOUNTS 24-HOUR RESEARCH BULLETIN BOARD
WASHINGTON -- The Agriculture Department said last week that it
is planning a 24-hour computer bulletin board to describe the
latest results of its research laboratories. Agricultural
Research Service Administrator Terry Kinney said that free
service is "a way to speed the flow of our laboratory results to
potential users in agribusiness and related industries." Agency
scientists will write short, easy-to-read summaries of completed
research papers, which will then be available on the new service
called TEKRAN. Some 7,000 entries are now in the computer and
USDA expects about 300 new entries each month. Users pay only
telephone charges.

CONTACT: James Hall, Building 005, Agricultural Research
         Center, Beltsville, Md. 20705. 301-344-4045.

[***][11/18/86][***]
XEROX TO APPLY AI TO JOB TRAINING
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Xerox Corp. last week announced it will endow
a new Institute for Research on Learning with $5 million. The new
institute will be located in Palo Alto, Calif., and will be
associated with Xerox's famed Palo Alto Research Center. The new
center will push use of artificial intelligence as an educational
tool for training workers who lack basic skills. In making the
announcement, Xerox Chairman David Kearns noted that American
businesses each year must hire more than one million new workers
who can't read, write or count. Teaching basic skills, while
absorbing the associated lost productivity, costs business $25
billion per year, Kearns said.

[***][11/18/86][***]
NEWS NIBBLES FROM AROUND THE REGION

   FREDERICK, Md. -- Silent Partner Corp. is now selling a new
PC-AT clone, called the BIOS AT. The machine is made in Japan,
featuring all the usual accouterments, including 90 days of free
on-site service, along with a one-year parts and labor warranty.
The company launched the machine with an ad in USA TODAY. No
price mentioned.

   BOSTON -- Juliette Wang Coombs, 22-year-old daughter of Wang
Laboratories Inc. Chairman An Wang, has sued Dean Witter Reynolds
Inc. in New York. Coombs and her husband Mark claimed that the
brokerage firm caused her to lose $3.5 million is six months in
sour stock index options trades. No comment from Dean Witter.

   BELTSVILLE, Md. -- Micros Systems Inc. has reported a loss of
$239,400 (a nickel a share) on $4.03 million in sale for the
quarter ended September 30. The company lost $50,400 (a penny a
share) on $6.1 million in sales for the same quarter last year.
The company makes and sells electronic cash register terminals.

   FAIRFAX, Va. -- Hadron Inc., a computer consulting firm,
reported second quarter income of $308,182 (two cents per share)
on sales of $5.9 million, compared to $237,248 (also two cents
per share) on $5.4 million in sales last year.

   WALTHAM, Mass. -- Computer Consoles Inc. has unveiled two new
mid-range superminis, to be shipped during the first quarter of
1987. The new computers are about the size of a two-drawer file
cabinet. The Power 6/32lS costs about $90,000, with five MIPS
speed. The Power 6/32X costs $100,000 for eight MIPS.

   HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. -- Sumitomo Metals Industries Ltd. of Japan, a
large steelmaker, has invested $13.5 million in Standard
Microsystems Corp.'s newly-formed Japanese subsidiary. Standard
Microsystems makes microchips and licenses integrated circuit
technologies to other companies.

   ANDOVER, Mass. -- Troubled GCA Corp. posted a $1 million loss
for the third quarter, including $3.1 million in red ink from
continuing operations. The figures included a $1.7 million gain
from sale of discontinued operations. For the first nine months,
the company reported net income of $543,000, or four cents per
share, compared to a $28.8 million loss in the first nine months
of 1985. The company makes semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

   PHILADELPHIA -- A federal grand jury last week indicted the
former president and major owner of Computer Input Services on
charges that he fraudulently inflated the value of the company
before a public stock offering. The company is now bankrupt and
has been liquidated. Robert DeBiasse was indicted on 25 counts of
securities fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud and interstate transport
of money taken by fraud. DeBiasse pleaded innocent to all
charges.


[***][11/18/86][***]
THE AMIGA A2500 *EXCLUSIVE*
LONDON -- Last week saw an exclusive Amiga programmers
conference taking place in California, each programmer
having just about signed his/her name in blood *not* to
reveal details of two new machines shown, for the first
time, to non-Commodore staff.  True to their word, the
programmers did not reveal that information. However, thanks
to a stroke of unbelievable good fortune, NEWSBYTES UK has
had sight of detailed CBM machine specifications (don't ask),
so here we go...

As predicted in NEWSBYTES UK *weeks* ago (blush, preen), the
new top end machine is to be called the A2500.  However,
despite inside information, we overlooked one major
innovation on the top-end Amiga - plug in cards.  The A2500
will come with 1Mb of RAM as standard, but with a powerful
psu capable of supporting the *seven* card slots, more of
which in a moment.

Unlike most predictions (NEWSBYTES UK included) the A2500
will not come with a 68020 processor.  Instead, to keep the
costs down, the machine will come with a standard 68000 cpu,
along with a single 3.5 inch floppy disc.  No hard disc will
be fitted as standard.

Each of the seven card slots will be PC XT and AT
compatible, thereby opening the way for the A2500 to have
goodies such as second processors (68020), hard disc cards,
networking cards - you name it - fitted in whatever
combination takes your fancy.  In providing what is in
effect, a "bare bones" machine, Commodore is hoping to take
on the lucrative PC AT and top-end compatible market.  In
support of this honourable quest, the A2500's case has been
dramatically restyled along the lines of (you guessed it)
IBM's PC AT.

Pricing?  Who knows - this technical specification is so new
the ink on it is barely dry, but (as ever) we'll stick our
neck out and expect to see the A2500 somewhere in the $1,500
region, after the dealer discounts have had their effect.

The A2500 will start appearing on dealers shelves sometime
in the Spring of next year, NEWSBYTES UK's sources inform
us.  Whether it will appear in the US or Europe first,
remains to tbe seen, as the machine is to be produced in
West Germany, where it was developed at Commodore's
Braunschweig facility.  Production costs should be lower
than the existing Amiga A1000, which is currently produced
by Sanyo's Far Eastern facilities.

[***][11/18/86][***]
THE AMIGA B52 *EXCLUSIVE*
LONDON -- Okay, so that's the specialised applications taken
care of - what about the low end purchasers?  The existing
A1000 model, whilst remaining in production for the time
being, will be superceded by a $600 machine currently
code-named the B52.  Whilst it may sound like a bomber,
NEWSBYTES UK's contacts indicate otherwise.  As well as
bearing more than a passing similarity to the Atari 520ST -
512K RAM, 68000 cpu, single drive etc. - the low-end Amiga
has its power supply *inside* the machine's case, thereby
cutting down on the vast quantity of spaghetti wiring that
seems cover ST owners desks.

Expect to see the B52, with hopefully, a more sensible name,
in the shops towards next June (Comdex maybe?).  Expect also
to see the A1000 bargain-binned out by dealers early next
summer in preparation for the B52's launch.

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

[***][11/18/86][***]
ATARI 1040 TO HALVE IN PRICE?
LONDON -- (Overheard in the bar department) NEWSBYTES UK has
heard that a major price cut on the 1040 ST range is in the
pipeline.  Several industry sources say that the 1040ST
monochrome package, which currently retails for 799 pounds
($1,200) in the UK, will fall to 399 pounds ($600).  And if
that sounds too much to take in at once, NEWSBYTES UK can
also reveal that the 520ST will also fall to similar low
prices.

Whilst these cuts are being discussed by Atari UK's new man
about town - Bob Gleddow - NEWSBYTES UK does not expect any
major price moves to be made much before Christmas.
February 1st seems as likely a date as any, so (as they say)
watch this space...

[***][11/18/86][***]
TANDY SLASH PC PRICES
LONDON -- In a marketing move straight out of the textbooks,
Tandy UK has slashed its PC prices by up to 30 per cent,
thereby moving directly into competition with (you guessed)
the Amstrad PC1512.

Not content with that, the firm is on record as "actively
seeking" 150 new UK dealers to sell their PC kit.
Previously in the UK, Tandy have stuck closely to their 'own
store' philosophy, but are now branching out (pardon the
pun) into the real world.  John Sayers, Tandy UK's MD is
quoted in this week's MICROSCOPE as saying: "We don't care
where (the dealers) are... it doesn't matter if they're in
the same street as an existing Tandy store."

** Tandy UK's existing PC range starts at 449 pounds ($650)
for a 256K, single floppy machine, rising to 1,249 pounds
($1,800) for a colour, 20Mb hard disc unit.  All their
machines come ready supplied with software and monitor as
standard.

[***][11/18/86][***]
AMSTRAD HARD DISC GUARANTEE NIXED
BRENTWOOD -- Hardly a week goes by these days without
Amstrad's PC1512 making the headlines on this side of the
Atlantic.  This week is no exception, as Alan Sugar's firm
has stunned the market by issuing a dealer directive which
appears to nix the hard disc's warranty.  In a carefully
worded circular, the Brentwood-based firm circularised all
their dealers last week saying: "in the event that units are
sold without professional and approved service cover, then
neither Amstrad nor the distributors can be held liable for
the warranty of the hard disc mechanism."

In plain English this means that if you buy a machine
without a maintenance contract and it goes wrong, you have
no warranty. (Thanks to Popular Computing Weekly for this
interpretation).  Whatever happened to consumer legislation?

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

[***][11/18/86][***]
GOODBYE LINE NOISE
BIRMINGHAM -- As modem speeds advance in the 1200 and 2400
baud area, one of the major limitations of the telephone
become apparent - line noise.  A short while back, British
Telecom unveiled a new data protocol - EPAD - that allowed
realtime error checking to be used at both ends of the
'phone circuit.  Sadly, whilst the standard worked well and
was widely accepted, modems using EPAD protocols were priced
beyond many users reach, leaving them to suffer the dreaded
line noise.

PMS - an enterprising Birmingham-based firm have solved this
problem, and are releasing a range of communications
software capable of supporting EPAD data access, with
overlaying KERMIT and XMODEM file transfer.

Pricing in at under 80 pounds ($120), for the software
alone, or 200 pounds ($300) with a Hayes compatible 300/1200
baud modem, PMS DIALUP is available for the Amstrad PCW, IBM
PC and BBC Model B series of micros.  The good news is - it
works!  NEWSBYTES UK is being uploaded this week using the
software.

CONTACT: SUE FROGGATT, PMS COMMUNICATIONS, Norfolk House,
         Smallbrook, Queensway, Birmingham, B5 4LJ.
         Tel: [phone].


[***][11/18/86][***]
NEC-HONEYWELL MERGER RUMOR UPDATE
TOKYO -- THE ASAHI DAILY (11/11) says NEC, Honeywell, and Bull
(France) have reached a fundamental agreement to set up a new
company, called Honeywell Information Systems (HIS) based on
Honeywell's computer division.  HIS will be 20% owned by NEC
and 40% each going to Honeywell and Bull. Meanwhile, an NEC
spokesman told NEWSBYTES-JAPAN (11/12) that no official
agreement has been made at the moment, since talks have just
started.  Honeywell's computer division suffered a 31% profit
drop in the second quarter of this year, prompting the company
to ask NEC for help.  NEC has reportedly been the reluctant
party in this matter, having already set up its own strategic
base in the U.S., according to analysts.

Meanwhile, the news about possible intervention of the U.S.
government in the Fujitsu-Fairchild merger has apparently been
giving NEC even more second thoughts.  NEC's small share for HIS
in the above news report shows that the firm is taking a
conservative approach to U.S. investments.

CONTACT: NEC, 1-4-28 Mita, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108 (03-454-1111)

[***][11/18/86][***]
ANTAGONIST TURNED ALLY--HITACHI-IBM
TOKYO -- Hitachi announced (11/11) the company and IBM have
abandoned the software agreement which was made in the wake of
the so-called "Industrial Spy Case" in 1982.  Instead, both firms
have just signed an amicable cross-license agreement.  According
to industry sources, IBM has admitted that Hitachi's new
(rewritten) operating system does not infringe IBM's copyright
anymore.  So, IBM has decided to discard the spy-case agreement.
It is a big surprise to the Japanese industry that IBM went
further to link closely with Hitachi this time.

Having signed this new agreement, Hitachi is relieved from paying
the costly royalty, which amounts to US$3.13 mil to $6.25 mil per
month, to IBM.  It is certainly heart-warming news for Fujitsu,
as well as Hitachi.  "That's good news," was the reply from
Fujitsu's executive Shoichi Ninomiya, who is hoping to peacefully
settle the copyright infringement case with IBM.

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

[***][11/18/86][***]
CARNEGIE LINKS WITH JAPANESE MAKERS
TOKYO -- Carnegie Group (Pennsylvania, U.S.A.) has decided to
cooperate with several Japanese computer manufacturers to develop
expert development supporting systems for AI computers and
the Japanese-language AI systems.  By the spring of 1987, the
Group hopes to complete the Japanese-language system for
sales in Japan.  Meanwhile, a published report says Carnegie
Group has also linked with IBM (U.S.A.) to develop the expert
development supporting systems for the IBM PC.  This project has
already started in the U.S.

[***][11/18/86][***]
<<< SUSHI BYTES >>>

(LOTUS 1-2-3 SELLS WELL) TOKYO -- According to a software's sales
survey taken by THE NIKKEI-SANGYO DAILY (11/13), Japanese Lotus
1-2-3 became the best-selling program this past October.  The
runner-up was a Japanese word processing program SHIN-ICHITARO.
Multiplan was reported as the fifth in this survey.

(INTEL JAPAN'S NEW PRESIDENT) TSUKUBA, Tokyo -- Intel Japan has
appointed Mr. Eugene J. Flath a new president.  Mr. Flath has
once served as the manager at Intel Japan's design center.

(DEC JAPAN'S EXHIBITION) TOKYO -- The fourth EXPODEC/JAPAN '86
will be held in Tokyo on 11/26 to 11/28.  Approximately 24
companies will show Digital Equipment's new products.  The
seminars on AI, computer networks, and UNIX will also be held at
Toyko Hilton Hotel.

(TOILETRY FIRM PUSHES COMPUTER BUSINESS) TOKYO -- The Tokyo-based
major cosmetics firm KAO has decided to be deeply involved in
the production and the sales of computer peripheral equipment.
To start, KAO will beef up production of disk drives in Canada
for sales in Europe, a report says.

[***][11/18/86][***]
QUOTE OF THE WEEK

   "The U.S. firms have played an extremely important role for
    the development of the so-called COMPUTER CULTURE in the
    world.  Now, it is time for the Japanese firms to take over
    this role..."

    -- Dr. Ken Sakamura, designer of a 32-bit OS "TRON"
       (THE ASAHI DAILY, November 13, 1986)

[***][11/18/86][***]
FIRST CANADIAN 386 COMPUTER
MONTREAL -- Ogivar Inc., a Canadian-owned manufacturer of IBM-
compatible PCs, has introduced the first computer based on
Intel's 80386 processor to be made in this country.  Ogivar
claims that its new PC is 90 percent compatible with IBM's PC AT
and runs at 18.7 MHz, 20 percent faster than Compaq's Deskpro
386.  Ogivar is selling the computer for C$12,500 with an EGA
color monitor, 1.2-megabyte floppy disk drive, 55-megabyte hard
disk and internal tape backup unit.  There is also a version with
a 30-megabyte hard disk and no internal tape backup for C$8,900.
By comparison, Compaq Canada is selling the Deskpro 386 Model 40,
with 40 megabytes of hard disk storage and a megabyte of RAM (but
without monitor or tape backup) for C$10,499.

CONTACT: OGIVAR INC., 958, Montee de Liesse, Montreal, Que.
         H4T 1N8, [phone]

[***][11/18/86][***]
GRAHAM SOFTWARE CLOSING
TORONTO -- Graham Software Corp. is going out of business,
according to a report in "Canadian Computer Dealer News," an
industry newspaper here.  The publication quotes a spokesman for
the Ontario government, which provided financial backing for the
Toronto software firm, as saying Graham is winding down its
operations after laying off half of its employees earlier this
fall.  The government expects to get back little or none of its
C$5 million investment.  Graham Software's products include
Alice: The Personal Pascal, the scLaserPlus desktop publishing
software, and Intellisys, an application generator.

[***][11/18/86][***]
MITEL CLOSING MANUFACTURING PLANT
RENFREW, Ont. -- Mitel Corp. will close a manufacturing plant
here and another in Hong Kong in an attempt to cut costs, the
Kanata, Ont., telecommunications equipment vendor has announced.
The closing of the Renfrew plant will result in the loss of about
300 permanent jobs.  Manufacturing of the company's SX-2000
switch for the Canadian market will be consolidated at Kanata,
and SX-2000s for British and other worldwide markets will be
built in the U.K.  Manufacturing formerly done in Hong Kong will
be moved to a plant in nearby Tsuen Wan owned by a Mitel
subsidiary, Trillium Telephone Systems.

[***][11/18/86][***]
MORE TEACHERS HAVE PETS
TORONTO -- Commodore still leads the pack in the province of
Ontario's schools, according to a survey by the Market Research
Ontario.  The provincially owned public broadcasting
system has released data from a survey conducted last fall, which
indicated that 63.5 percent of computers in the province's
classrooms were Commodore 64s and aged Commodore PETs.  Apple
computers had the number-two share with 13.8 percent, and the
Canadian-manufactured Icon, which draws a heavy provincial
subsidy when schools buy it, only 12.2 percent.  IBM and
compatible computers accounted for only 2.3 percent of
installations.  The Icon's share of the educational market is
probably higher now than when the survey was conducted.

[***][11/18/86][***]
PRIVATE FIRMS WANT TO BUY GOVERNMENT DATABASE SERVICE
OTTAWA -- Canada's National Research Council, the major granting
agency that hands out government money for scientific research,
has been having a rough time lately as the federal government
trims its budget in an effort to reduce deficits.  Two private
firms argue they can help, by taking over the NRC's CAN/OLE
computerized information service.

QL Systems Ltd. of Kingston, Ont., an operator of several online
information services, has been after the federal government for
several years to sell it the CAN/OLE operation.  And Info Globe,
the electronic publishing division of the Toronto newspaper "The
Globe and Mail," has also expressed interest in taking over the
service.  So far, the NRC is refusing to sell.  CAN/OLE, which
provides scientific databases, has between 1,500 and 2,000
subscribers across Canada.

[***][11/18/86][***]
TALLGRASS TO SHOW OPTICAL DISK PRODUCT
TORONTO -- Tallgrass Technologies Canada Inc. will be showing a
400-megabyte optical disk storage system at the Canadian Computer
Show here this week.  Ron Neumann, vice-president of operations
at the Canadian subsidiary of Tallgrass Technologies, Overland
Park, Ks., says the optical disk product will shortly be
incorporated into Tallgrass's local-area network offering.

CONTACT: TALLGRASS TECHNOLOGIES, 1775 Meyerside Dr., No. 1,
         Mississauga, Ont. L5T 1E2, [phone]

[***][11/18/86][***]
FIRM COLLECTED HANDOUTS, FLED COUNTRY
KINGSTON, Ont. -- The government of Ontario is trying to get back
a computer that was smuggled out of Canada by Documented Circuits
Inc.  The Kingston company received C$897,000 from the province's
Ontario Development Corp. on condition that computer hardware and
software paid for with the money not be moved from its Kingston
headquarters without provincial approval.  Then, the "Toronto
Globe and Mail" reported last week, it apparently loaded its
computer and software on a truck and smuggled the lot to
California.  The government has been able to retrieve most of the
software, but there are conflicting reports as to whether the
hardware has been tracked down yet.  Documented Circuits, which
at one time employed about 75 people, laid off most of its staff
in February.  The province is considering a proposal for
reorganizing the company in hopes of eventually getting some of
its money back, The Globe reports.

[***][11/18/86][***]
DATAPOINT HAS SYSTEM FOR LAW FIRMS
TORONTO -- Datapoint Canada Inc. has announced Vista-Law, an
integrated system for the administration of law firms.  The
system was designed by Datapoint Canada and a major Canadian law
firm, the vendor says, and provides specialized time-and-billing,
general and trust accounting and information management.  It
operates with Datapoint's other Vista-Office software, such as
Vista-Word, Vista-Mail and Vista-Telex.

Datapoint Canada is also expanding third-party service
arrangements for its products and actively recruiting value-
added resellers across the country, the company announced
recently.

CONTACT: DATAPOINT CANADA INC., 4881 Yonge St., Suite 700,
         Toronto, Ont. M2N 5X3, [phone]

[***][11/18/86][***]
COMPUTER HELPS KEEP MAN IN MOTION
VANCOUVER -- Rick Hansen, the "man in motion" who is
circumnavigating the world in a wheelchair, is using an IBM
Personal Computer to plan his route and organize each day's
activity.  Volunteers scout the route Hansen will follow each
day, compiling information on road conditions, traffic, grades
and so on.  This information is comipled using the PC to produce
a printout which the wheelchair athlete uses to decide how far to
travel and which of several specially adapted wheelchairs to use
for each part of the trip.  The computer also helps log precise
distances so that the route can be adjusted to bring the total
distance covered as near as possible to 24,901 miles, the
circumference of the world.  Hansen's tour will end at
Vancouver's Oakridge Centre; he is currently passing through
Ontario.

[***][11/18/86][***]
AMIGA SENDS VIDEO IMAGES IN ART EXCHANGE
TORONTO -- Commodore's Amiga computer played a part in
C.A.T./SCAN, the Toronto art exchange node set up as part of this
year's Vienna Biennale art exhibition.  Images were sent through
the Amiga using slow-scan television transmission from the
Collective Art & Technology gallery here to the central hall at
the Venice exhibition.

[***][11/18/86][***]
BITS, EH?
-- Bell Canada has filed a stay of execution motion with the
Federal Court of Canada asking that it not be required to pay
rebates to customers until a court appeal of the rebate order is
heard.  The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications
Commission earlier ordered the telephone company to pay about
C$206 million in rebates to its customers due to alleged
overcharging.

-- In a similar decision to the Bell order, Quebec Telephone, a
small carrier serving part of the province of Quebec, has been
ordered to pay back C$18 million in excess revenue to its
subscribers.  This order came from the Quebec Public Service
Board, a provincial regulatory body.

-- The Kaypro Users of Toronto and Environs (KUTE) users group
has decided to broaden its horizons and put more emphasis on the
MS-DOS operating system.  The group had been doubtful about its
future in light of the declining use of the CP/M operating
system, which most of its members used in the group's early days.

-- NBI Canada Inc., Toronto, has announced an aggressive
expansion of its dealer program in Canada, including a
resdesigned dealer package.

-- Prime Computer of Canada Ltd., Mississauga, Ont., has been
named an official sponsor of the Pan-American games.  It will
provide minicomputers and software to the games organizers.

[***][11/18/86][***]
C O M D E X  C O V E R A G E

Special Reports from Dana Blankenhorn
   and Wendy Woods

NEW TECHNOLOGY: IMAGE FILES -- Several vendors showed off new ways
of storing and accessing digitized imagery from a variety of
sources.  One of the two products worth mentioning comes from
a small company called Telesis Distributing of Reno, Nevada.
Its Video Image File is a video database which provides freeze-
frame recording and filing for random access recall and display
within 1/5 second.  It is simply a Winchester drive that records
up to 2460 images on 2460 tracks; you supply the computer, monitor,
video camera and RS232 interface.  The drive is $2995 and included
is a PC compatible floppy disk of sample software.  Currently
the device is in use at banks and a medical school, but its
applications are limitless. I was told one of the Las Vegas
casinos is eyeing the device to keep track of individuals with
frequent winnings.

CONTACT:  Paul Hodges, VP, TELESIS DISTRIBUTING, PO Box
          21461, Reno, Nevada 89515  408/739-9172

Another firm, CompuSonics Video, displayed the first software
and board set package for audio/motion video digital recording
and playback on an IBM PC.  While still a prototype (production
slated for late 1987), the Compusonics hardware consists
of two peripheral boards, one containing video processing
circuitry, the other the audio processing/storage interface.
An IBM PC AT was the centerpiece of the firm's Comdex display;
it was equipped with a high performance optical drive where
the images were stored, a VCR for input, a color monitor for
display, and a floppy drive for the software.  The ultimate
in home entertainment control, the system would enable a
user to store, manipulate, edit, and playback hours of video
with stereo audio.

CONTACT:  COMPUSONICS VIDEO, 2345 Yale Street, Palo Alto,
          California, 94306  415/494-1208

[***][11/18/86][***]
C O M D E X  C O V E R A G E

Special Reports from Dana Blankenhorn
   and Wendy Woods

SUPER FLOPPIES -- John Dvorak was right.  In a recent column he
called Konica's new floppy disk technology the hit of the show.
Indeed, Konica has come up with a way to make a standard
5 1/4" floppy disk, when running inside the new Konica drive,
store 10 megabytes of data--30 times more than current drives
allow!  The secret is a special coating placed on the diskettes
by a machine no larger than the average office photocopier.
Konica is looking for manufacturers to install its drives in
the next generation of computers and produce the diskettes.
To make the new technology even more attractive, it's been
designed "backward compatible":  the new so-called KT-510 disk
drives also run the standard 360 KB and 1.2 MB floppies used
in current PCs.  The test will be for Konica to make its
drives the new standard--a tough proposition.

CONTACT:  KONICA TECHNOLOGY, 777 North Pastoria Ave.,
          Sunnyvale, Ca.  94086-2918  408/773-9551

[***][11/18/86][***]
C O M D E X  C O V E R A G E

Special Reports from Dana Blankenhorn
   and Wendy Woods

LOW COST IMAGE SCANNER -- The prices of nearly everything are
coming down, and image scanners are no exception.  For instance,
Epson America introduced an under-$300 scanner for the PC which
reads and converts hard copy images such as photos, text,
or graphic documents into bit image data.  Using a programming
guide, the images can be incorporated into word processing
and spreadsheet packages.  The Image Scanner Option Kit includes
the scanner, an identity cartridge, a diskette containing Epson's
scanner utility and INSET software and user's manual.  The
scanner is placed in the printer by removing the ribbon cartridge.

CONTACT:  EPSON AMERICA, 2780 Lomita Blvd., Torrance, Ca. 90505
          2133/539-9140


[***][11/18/86][***]
C O M D E X  C O V E R A G E

Special Reports from Dana Blankenhorn
   and Wendy Woods

PCS FROM CHINA -- The people from the People's Republic are back
for the second year at Comdex, returning with the Great Wall PC,
slicker advertising, and some esoteric software packages.  The
PC is a standard 80286-based machine with 640 KB to 1 MB RAM--
an AT compatible which provides the added benefit of processing
Chinese as well as English.  The two software packages that
caught this reporter's eye were one which aids Chinese cooking
and one that aids an acupuncturist insert his needles.

CONTACT: TRC TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH, 4/F, Blk. C, Watson's
         Estate, Hong Kong Tel: [phone]