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/V181

Text File | 1991-08-12 | 34KB | 737 lines

[***][12/02/86][***]
FIRST PORTABLE MAC GETS APPLE OKAY
GOLDEN, Colorado (NB) -- Apple Computer has given its endorsement to
a portable Macintosh created by Dynamac Computer Products.  The
endorsement means Dynamac can buy fully assembled Mac Plus computers
at wholesale price from Apple; they will then be cannibalized to
assemble the portables. Dynamac's "Dynamacs" will sell for between
$5,000 and $8,000 when offered for sale early next year.  The machine
features a flat panel display, an optional internal modem, and a
built-in disk drive. The unit weighs 18 pounds.  Dynamac
is one of three firms currently manufacturing portable Macs (the
others are Colby Systems of Fresno, Ca. and Intelitec Inc. of
Fairfield, Iowa) but the first to win a place on  Apple's value-
added-reseller (VAR) list.  All are priced between $5,000 and $7,000,
gearing them toward well-heeled businesspeople or government
contracts.  Should Apple, however, sell -parts- and not fully
assembled units wholesale to the manufacturers, the price would
drop significantly.

[***][12/02/86][***]
APPLE TO POLICE ITS "LOOK AND FEEL"
CUPERTINO, C. (NB) -- Apple attorneys say they're keeping a wary
eye on software firms which are porting their Macintosh programs
over to the PC.  With the plethora of PC applications that now
look like Macintosh programs, Apple is obviously getting jittery
about copyright infringement, and is buoyed by recent court
decisions defending "look and feel" issues as they pertain to
software.  Insiders suggest Apple may soon rewrite its contract
with software developers, mandating that they not write a
Macintosh-like interface into the PC version of their program.
How well this will stand up in court is another problem,
complicated by the fact that many PC versions of previous
Mac programs are ported via Microsoft Windows.

[***][12/02/86][***]
OF IBM AND THE 386
NB CENTRAL - The most popular pursuit these days among computer
literati is guessing the what, where, when, and why of IBM's next-
generation micros based on Intel's 80386.  INFOWORLD says
the new "Renegade" line will be introduced in the first six
months of next year; the 386 machine will have a 30-meg
"snap in" hard disk, a high-res analog graphics interface,
and two 3 1/2" disk drives.  CALIFORNIA TECHNOLOGY STOCK
LETTER has pegged that introduction for the fall of '87
"which is when DOS 5.0 will be done."  And COMPUTERWORLD's
sources offer contradictory dates:  January, mid-1987, and
1988.  The bottom line is that IBM is still designing its
80386 micro, most likely it will contain a great deal of
proprietary technology to prevent "cloning," and it is
circulating prototypes to gauge the market.

Meanwhile a majority of the analysts contacted believe IBM
will introduce a new PC in January--the PC-2--which will
be under $2,000, based on the 8086 microprocessor, but
will have "proprietary, copyrighted modifications to the
standard Intel microprocessors.  The clone killers cometh,"
says CALIFORNIA TECHNOLOGY STOCK LETTER.

CONTACT: CTSL, 155 Montgomery St., Suite 1401, San Francisco,
         Ca. 94104  415/982-0125  Subscription: $325/year


[***][12/02/86][***]
DOS SUITS/ MICROSOFT VS. SEATTLE COMPUTER
SEATTLE, Wa. (NB) -- A federal judge has ruled that Seattle Computer,
a firm from which Microsoft bought the original version of MS-DOS,
can sell its license for MS-DOS to a third party.  Seattle Computer
wrote the original QDOS (for "quick and dirty disk operating system)
and sold it to Microsoft in 1981 for $50,000, plus the right to
market products derived from QDOS.  But when Microsoft heard
Seattle was seeking to unload assets, including the jewel in its
crown--MS-DOS--it immediately sued, claiming the original contract
provided no "transfer" rights.  The judge disagreed.  Seattle can
transfer the MS DOS and its descendents, based on the 1981
agreement.

Still to be settled, however, is whether MS-DOS versions 3.1, 3.2
and 4.0 are descendents of QDOS.  Attorneys claim these new versions
are only "2%" QDOS, not enough to give Seattle Computer a piece
of Microsoft's lucrative pie.  And such a piece it seeks!  SCP
wants $60 million in damages.  A jury must decide that issue.

CONTACT:  PETER SHAPIRO, attorney SEATTLE COMPUTER PRODUCTS
          206/682-5151

[***][12/02/86][***]
TOWARD A BETTER AMERICAN CHIP
NEWPORT BEACH, Ca. (NB) -- Hoping to beat Japan and the rest of the
world toward the creation of 16-megabit computer chips, U.S.
semiconductor makers are planning to create a new organization
to pool their resources.  The alliance took place at the
Semiconductor Industry Association's meeting.  The new
organization, run by industry and not government, would be
called Sematech, or Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology
Institute, and would have a five-year mandate to create the
world's tiniest form of mass memory storage.

CONTACT:  SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION, San Jose, Ca.
          408/246-1181

[***][12/02/86][***]
BUILD YOUR OWN PC WORKSHOPS HOT
SAN JOSE, Ca. (NB) -- Throughout the country, community
colleges are setting up "Build your own PC" classes, finding
they're attracting so many people that many have to be
turned away.  Such was the case this semester in San Jose,
where San Jose State University's $55 class in micro
assembly drew a full house, and then some.  We hear
instructors Brian Roche and John Cashman are making a
how-to videotape of clone assembly, with which we expect
they'll be cleaning up.

[***][12/02/86][***]
NEWSBITS --

COVIDEA, the videotex venture of Chemical Bank, AT&T and Time,
has laid off up to 50% of its 150 staff members to due a
"reassessment" of the marketplace.  And we know what that's
meant in the past...

ASHTON-TATE has ended its free customer support line for those
who purchase its products.  If you want help, it doesn't matter
than you've already paid $300 for a software package, you must
pay again -- $50 to $4,000 -- if you call for assistance.
Better read those manuals, gang.

TRAVELING SOFTWARE, RANDOM HOUSE, and WANG have jointly announced
"Sardine," an electronic dictionary and spelling checker for
portable PCs.  There are two configurations, a 7,000 word
dictionary on a plug-in ROM chip with a 3 1/2" disk, or a disk
alone.  Available in mid-December, they can be purchased directly
from Traveling Software (Bothell, WA 800-343-8080) or Radio
Shacks, at $170 (ROM chip set) or $100 (disk only).

ORANGE MICRO of Anaheim, Ca. promises a product called DOS BOOT
before next summer, which will enable the Apple IIGS to run PC
software.  It's expected to cost between $550 and $700 and
consist of a plug-in board, software, and external 5 1/4"
disk drive subsystem.

COMPUTERLAND founder William Millard has won a court victory
against two former employees who sued him on charges of fraud.
Joseph Killian and Bruce Van Natta claimed Millard broke a
promise of a 10 percent stake in Computerland in exchange for
their early work designing his IMSAI 8080 computer.  Millard
instead gave them a piece of a subsidiary which later folded.
The jury ruled Millard innocent of fraud, that the pair had
agreed to the deal for the subsidiary.  Their attorney says
they will appeal.

MITCH KAPOR, ex-chairman of Lotus, is enjoying life off the
hot seat, but using his time to promote various causes.  He's
sponsoring a film called "Reliability and Risk: Computers and
Nuclear War" being produced by Computer Professionals for
Social Responsibility.  The gist of the film is that the
software which will be used in the Star Wars defense system
is inherently unreliable.  If anybody knows about software,
it's got to be him.


QUOTE OF THE WEEK

        "If Dante had reserved a corner of Purgatory for computer
        industry analysts, we're sure it would be made up of immense
        Las Vegas hotel ballrooms filled with wandering souls asking
        each other, "Have you seen anything new here?"

                        --Jeffrey Tarter, SOFTLETTER



[***][12/02/86][***]
COMPAQ SAYS BUYERS ARE SNAPPING UP ITS DESKPRO 386
HOUSTON, Tx. (NB) -- Compaq Computer Corp. says over 10,000 of its
new Compaq Deskpro 386 computers, featuring the Intel 80386 chip,
have gone out the door since September. President Rod Canion told
analysts in Houston demand for the machine is exceeding company
expectations and manufacturing output, but that supply will catch
up to demand by year-end. Company officials said most of those
buyers returning warrantee cards so far are using the new
machines to speed up existing work in such things as computer-
aided design, network file serving, software development and
Xenix multi-user systems.

CONTACT: Jeff Stives, COMPAQ, [phone]

[***][12/02/86][***]
SIDES CHOSEN FOR THIRD GEORGIA JUNK CALL BATTLE
ATLANTA, Ga. (NB) -- Sides are already being chosen for the second
effort in the Georgia Legislature to ban junk phone calls made by
computers. The two sides fought to a draw last year, with the
junk call advocates winning Round One as time ran out, while some
restrictions were placed on the calls by the Georgia Public
Utility Commission. But Rep. Cathey Steinberg (D-Atlanta), who
spearheaded a nearly-successful drive to ban the calls all
together in 1986, told "The Atlanta Constitution" she'll be at it
again in 1987. (Ms. Steinberg is also reportedly eyeing a run for
Congress.) The opposition will once again be led by Rep. Culver
Kidd (D-Milledgeville), who said he'll put a bill in to support
the PUC compromise. As reported in NEWSBYTES-SOUTH, that
compromise limits the calls' use to the daytime (9 AM-9 PM).
It also forces the users to do something other than dial
numbers in sequential order.

Junk call advocates claim a 2% response rate from this sales
tool, about the same as with junk mail.

[***][12/02/86][***]
HAYES ANNOUNCES SMARTCOMM NOW IBM TOKEN RING COMPATIBLE
NORCROSS, Ga. (NB) -- IBM Token Ring Network support has been
added to Hayes' Smartcom II packages for the PC Network. Please
note that this is a special edition of the package, not the one
bundled with the Hayes modem you can buy at a local store. The
network-compatible package costs $599.

CONTACT: Sharon O'Brien, HAYES, [phone]

[***][12/02/86][***]
SEI USES COMPUTERS TO AUTOMATE TECHNICAL MANUALS
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (NB) -- About the last frontier dominated by
freelance individualists is the production of technical writing,
right? Sure, most big companies have staffs for this, but when
they want to look outside they have to call the one-man band,
right? No longer. SEI Information Services Inc. is the pondorous
name of a company with a big idea. Combine computers, marketing,
and an in-house production staff to turn technical communications
into something simpler like advertising and public relations. So
far they've got 5 locations, 3 in the Southeast, one near New
York and one in Denver.

CONTACT: Susan Hobson, SEI, [phone]

[***][12/02/86][***]
HO, HO DON'T HOLD THE CHIPS THIS CHRISTMAS      *analysis*
As the big Christmas shopping season opened nationwide this week,
NEWSBYTES SOUTH finds most computer people yawning. The C-64
Store northwest of Atlanta has put the Commodore Amiga on sale,
$500 off, but most local computer store chains we contacted
weren't planning anything special for the season.

The computer action this year will be at Toys R Us and its
competitors. Some department stores have put imported IBM PC
clones on the shelves (they're being snapped up as prices fall
under $1,000). But more important, the two hottest-selling items
of this season are heavily dependent on silicon chips. Both Teddy
Ruxpin and Lazer Tag, from Worlds of Wonder toys, combine high
tech and high touch to create, respectively, a talking bear and
an end to arguments in the world's oldest kids' game. Back when
folks were excited about computers such things were called
applications.

[***][12/02/86][***]
PECAN BYTES

TELEX COMPUTER PRODUCTS CORP., Tulsa, OK, announced a line of
System 3X terminals, printers, and emulators for its
workstations. Roy King, a Telex executive, told "MIS Week" the
new line will be aimed at the micro-mainframe terminal market
where Telex terminals are a major alternative to IBM.

PC DESIGNS INC., Tulsa, OK, announced its new GV-286 computer
will have a RAM cache circuit which can be toggled on and off
from the keyboard, standard, and an 80 megabyte hard disk for
only $4,175.

MANAGEMENT SCIENCE AMERICA INC., Atlanta, signed a deal with
TranSettlements Inc. of Georgia to port its electronic data
interchange (EDI) translation package, TranSlate, into MSA's
existing applications under the name "Expert EDI."

DAVINCI SYSTEMS INC., Raleigh, NC, has reportedly been asked to
submit a proposal to IBM on its e-mail package, Windows Mail, for
use in the IBM Token Ring network. The package is based on
Microsoft Windows and due for release in January.

INTECOM INC., Allen, TX, is now fully integrated into parent Wang
Laboratories, Lowell, MA, as former president Eric Ringkjob
resigned in favor of John Thibault, a Wang official.

AMERICAN SOFTWARE INC., Atlanta, GA, announced a new version of
its demand forecasting system, AmSoft Forecastor/2000, for IBM
mainframes using American's other applications.

THE SOFTWARE LINK INC., Atlanta, GA, announced pricing for its
PC-MOS/386 operating system. Single user versions of the DOS-
compatible, multi-user system will go for $195 each. A 5-user
system will set you back $595. A version for up to 25 users
will go for $995. Shipment date is still expected to be February,
1987.

[***][12/02/86][***]
AND FINALLY...
AP reports that 91.4% of schools have microcomputers, while 79%
have VCRs. On average, schools have 1 PC for every 50 kids. But a
report from Johns Hopkins University found most teachers using
both felt that while computers were great for the gifted and
disabled, VCRs were more help to the average kid.

(How about a TV tape on getting more from classroom computers?)

[***][12/02/86][***]
ATARI SHOW REPORT
LONDON (NB) -- The bulk of this week has been spent examining
and testing the new Macintosh emulation cartridge - the Magic
Sac - from Data Pacific in Denver, Colorado, now being sold
here in the UK by London-based ROBTEK.

After extensive tests, consolidated by a visit to the Atari
Christmas Show in London last weekend, we can report some
surprising developments on the ST front.  Read on...

[***][12/02/86][***]
ST MAGIC SAC #1 - WHAT WORKS, WHAT DOESN'T
LONDON (NB) -- Readers of the last few editions of NEWSBYTES UK
can hardly have failed to notice our enthrallment with the
MAGIC SAC cartridge pioneered by Dave Small of Data Pacific.
NEWSBYTES UK managed to lay its hands on a cartridge last
week, along with version 3.0 of Data Pacific's software.  It
looks good.  Data Pacific and Robtek say that a Mac-style
disc drive should be with us for around the $200 mark "early
on in the new year."

So, what works with the Magic Sac?  NEWSBYTES UK can report
successful loads (and runs) of the following Apple Macintosh
programs on the ST: Aldus Pagemaker, Apple Finder, Habaword,
MacDraw, MacPaint, MacProject.

On the other hand, we couldn't get the following programs to
load:  Apple Switcher, Macterminal, Microsoft Word, Smartcom.

Jeremy San, ST expert and author of the infamous STARGLIDER
program for the ST told us that most, if not all,
copy-protected discs for the Mac will *not* work on the
Magic Sac, owing to the differing disc formats used by the
two machines.

And the overall verdict?  A nice unit but there are snags
such as the lack of disc format compatability, but this will
be solved by the addition of the $200 disc drive available
in the New Year.

[***][12/02/86][***]
ST MAGIC SAC #2 - THE BAD NEWS
LONDON (NB) -- The bad news for intending British users of the
ST Magic Sac is that Apple UK issued a firm directive to its UK
dealers that any dealer found selling ROM sets to non-Macintosh
owners would have their dealership "reconsidered." Robtek's
Jenny Wylie calls the decision "crazy," but points to a fairly
tolerant attitude by Apple US.  NEWSBYTES UK noted that several
purchasers of the Magic Sac at the Atari show last weekend
intended to get the Mac ROM sets (necessary for the Magic Sac
to function) via mail order from the US.  The two chips required
are catalogued by Apple as the APPLE 64K Boot ROM chips, part
references 324/0220 and 324/0221 revision A or B.

CONTACT: UK / ROBTEK LTD, Unit 4,
         Isleworth Business Complex, St. Johns Road,
         Isleworth, Middlesex,
         TW7 6NL.
         Tel: [phone].

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

[***][12/02/86][***]
PC EMULATION ON THE ST
LONDON (NB) -- Not content with importing and manufacturing/
distributing ST Mac emulators (see above stories), Robtek is
working on a PC EMULATOR for the Atari ST. Although the software-
based package won't be out in the UK until February '87 at the
earliest, NEWSBYTES UK managed to get a hands-on with the package
running on a 1040ST with colour monitor. The version we saw was
running dBase II, although screen updates were a little jerky.
Jenny Wylie of Robtek informed us that the program was "still in
its early stages of development and (despite verbal reports in
last week's NEWSBYTES UK) is not capable of emulating PC colour
graphics at this stage."

By the time the program hits the streets, however, it will,
Robtek assue us, be capable of total PC 8088/8086 emulation,
right down to the colour graphics (on a suitably equipped
colour ST).  Mmmm, sounds nice, but will it run with a PC
EGA (Extended Colour Graphics Adaptor) fitted?

CONTACT: ROBTEK LTD, Unit 4,
         Isleworth Business Complex, St. Johns Road,
         Isleworth, Middlesex,
         TW7 6NL.
         Tel: [phone].

[***][12/02/86][***]
ATARI PD SOFTWARE RULES OKAY
LONDON (NB) -- Two enterprising UK firms are distributing low-
cost software for the Atari 8 and 32 bit machines.  PAGE SIX
MAGAZINE is pushing a considerable variety of eight bit public
domain software discs at 3 pounds 50 pence ($5) a disc.  Judging
from their free catalogue, the software looks excellent value for
money.

ST owners needn't feel left out either, as SOUTHWEST
SOFTWARE LIBRARY is shooting out PD discs for the 32-bit
machines at 10 pounds ($14) a throw.  Just in time for
Christmas is their latest compilation disc which includes a
sector editor, XLisp, Xmodem and Kermit terminal amongst its
many programs.

Both firms offer programs at such low prices, NEWSBYTES UK
wonders how commercial firms can compete - but then there
are the big-selling games, if nothing else, for them to
push.

CONTACT: PAGE SIX MAGAZINE, PO Box 54, Stafford, ST16 1DB,
         Tel: [phone].

         SOUTHWEST SOFTWARE LIBRARY,
         5 Barn owl Way, Stoke Gifford, Bristol BS12 6RZ.

[***][12/02/86][***]
SPECTRUM PLUS TWO WITHDRAWAL SHOCKS (WEEK TWO)
NOTTINGHAM (NB) -- As reported last week, Amstrad's revamped
version of the evergreen Spectrum computer (the UK version
of the Timex 2068) invented by Sir Clive Sinclair, was
withdrawn from Boots the Chemist, a major UK high street
retailer, following return rates as high as 40 (four-zero)
per cent.

The story, picked up by MICRONET 800, an information
provider on Prestel, the UK's public viewdata service, has
blown up this week, with Amstrad remaining tight-lipped on
the subject.  The problem with the new machines appears to
lie in the tape head of the integral tape deck.  Reports
from Boots say the returned units had difficulty tracking
cassette-based program tapes.

Sources close to AMSTRAD UK inform us that the problem is
now in the process of being solved and was isolated to a
batch of machines delivered to the retailer's central
distribution office.  Tests on several other Spectrum Plus
Two units in NEWSBYTES UK's locale revealed few, if any,
problems.  Ah well, another storm in a teacup...

CONTACT: MICRONET 800, Durrant House,
         8 Herbal Hill, London EC1R.
         Tel: [phone]

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

[***][12/02/86][***]
LOGGING-ON ON THE MOVE
LONDON (NB) -- Cellular phones, whilst being ideal for
keeping in touch on the move (assuming you can afford their
higher-than-high call rates) are just fine, but for modem
connections are an absolute no-no.

This is thanks to the finite length of time necessary for a
call to "hand-off" a call to the next cell, during
which time the mobile unit is effectively changing channels.
Modems, intolerant beasts at the best of times, simply
don't take to their tones being interrupted for more than
20/25ms at most.  Cellular hand-offs take as long as 150ms
with the result that modem drops the line.

RACAL VODAPHONE, one of the UK's duopoly cellphone suppliers
have released specifications of their own modem system -
CDLC (Cellular Data Link Control) - for use on their own
network, using suitable equipment.  Initially, connection
with a limited number ofelectronic mail services is
available, but Racal says the service will be extended in the
new year to allow access to national and international host
systems.  Who knows, if the boss picks up the tab, we could
be logging-on to The Source whilst speeding down the
motorway!



[***][12/02/86][***]
BRINGING UP TRON AS THE OPERATING SYSTEM OF THE WORLD
TOKYO (NB) -- The TRON Association is increasing its effort
to standardize its 32-bit operating system "TRON."  TRON
Association, which currently consists of over 40 Japanese
corporate members, has decided to be independent of the govern-
ment-affiliated Japan Electronics Industry Promotion
Association.  Once independent, the TRON Group plans to set up
its own office and showroom in Tokyo for displaying various
makers' prototype TRON micros.  The total corporate membership
for this TRON Group is expected to reach 50 by the end of the
year.  A report says the TRON Group welcomes and wants to share
this operating system with overseas manufacturers as well.  In
order to increase the number of foreign participants, the Group
plans to set up information offices for TRON in the U.S. and
Europe within a couple of years.  According to a report, the
Group has already been receiving lots of inquiries from overseas.
It seems TRON has lots of potential as a 32-bit standard
operating system in the world.

CONTACT: Dr. Ken Sakamura, Dept. of Information Science, Faculty
         of Science, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku,
         Tokyo 113

[***][12/02/86][***]
TOSHIBA-MOTOROLA MERGER UPDATE
TOKYO (NB) -- After a long silence, Toshiba finally announced
a business agreement with Motorola (U.S.A.) on November 26.
The contents of their agreement are almost the same as that
reported in last week's NEWSBYTES-JAPAN. The agreement says
both firms will jointly establish a new company in Northern Japan
for producing competitive LSIs, including 68020 MPU, 4Mbit DRAM,
1Mbit DRAM, 256Kbit SRAM.  The new firm's capital will be shared
equally by Toshiba and Motorola.  They plan to begin a tentative
OEM agreement for their products until the actual production
starts at their new firm in 1988.

Meanwhile, Hitachi has also been asking Motorola to obtain
manufacturing and marketing rights of 68020 in Japan.  So far,
Hitachi has received no reply, reports THE NIKKEI DAILY on
November 27.

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

[***][12/02/86][***]
SHARP X68000 REPORT                    *** EXCLUSIVE ***
TOKYO (NB) -- The much talked about Sharp 16-bit personal
computer "X68000" is expected to be officially announced shortly.
X68000 is equipped with the same operating system as Macintosh,
a 1MB main memory (12MB at maximum), 512 x 512-dot graphics
with 65,000 colors, and a powerful kanji conversion software.
The price is expected to be under US$2,500, which may be a bit
expensive for personal computer users.  With above capabilities,
however, X68000 has already prompted much excitement among
hobbyists here.  The actual shipment of this machine will be
around January.  Will X68000 compete with NEC PC-9801? We'll see.

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

[***][12/02/86][***]
CHRISTMAS DISCOUNT SALE FOR MACINTOSH SOFTWARE
TOKYO (NB) -- The Tokyo-based major Apple distributor Canon
started the "Macintosh Softkit Campaign" this past week.  Special
discounts are offered for the Macintosh software during this
campaign, which lasts until December 29.  Among others, word
processing and graphics drawing programs are sold at 10 to 13
percent off the regular prices.  For instance, The Business
Productive Kit, which includes Japanese Excel, MacPaint, Japanese
Silicon Press, is down from US$1,359 to $1,188.

CONTACT: Canon, 3-11-28 Mita, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108
         (03-455-9131)

[***][12/02/86][***]
GOOD BYE TO FUJITSU MICROS IN THE U.S.
TOKYO (NB) -- THE DEMPA DAILY (11/27) reports Fujitsu has just
quit marketing its personal computers in the U.S.  The company
has sold around 5,000 sets of its 16-bit micro "16S series"
through Fujitsu Micro Systems of America since January 1982.
This flop is said to have been caused by the fact that Fujitsu
micros are not IBM compatible.

[***][12/02/86][***]
FUJITSU PUSHES ITS BUSINESS MICROS IN JAPAN
TOKYO (NB) -- Meanwhile, Fujitsu has set the company's sales
target for personal computers in the latter half of 1986 at
US$250 million, or a 40 increase over the same period last year.
As a part of its strategy, Fujitsu announced (11/25) an upgraded
version of its 16-bit FACOM9450 which supports a 5" optical disk
drive.  Moreover, the company plans to adapt a powerful kanji
conversion system of Fujitsu's OASYS word processor for the
FM16BETA micro early next year, says a report.  According to
analysts, however, Fujitsu needs lots of effort to catch up with
NEC in the personal computer field.

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

[***][12/02/86][***]
<<< SUSHI BYTES >>>

TOKYO (NB) -- Japan Digital Equipment Corp. released an IBM-
compatible micro, VAX mate, on 11/26.  The price at the Japanese
market is US$5,144.  The shipment will be in March 1987.

TOKYO (NB) -- Motorola Japan has released the CCITT V.32-based
modems.  The 4,800 bps model "2255" costs US$3,719, and the 9,600
bps model "2265" costs US$4,313.

YOYOGI, Tokyo (NB) -- Japan's major personal computer network,
TeleStar, has succeeded in exchanging Kanji mail through its
network via international packet switching network in Belgium
and Korea.  The experiment has been underway with the U.S. and
other countries in the world.

TOKYO (NB) -- Perkin-Elmer Corp. (U.S.A.) will start producing
the steppers for a 4Mbit DRAM in Japan next year, cooperating
with a major watch maker CITIZEN (Tokyo).  Perkin-Elmer and
Citizen established a joint venture, PERKIN-ELMER-CITIZEN, in
Saitama prefecture in this past April.

TOKYO (NB) -- The price of 256Kbit DRAM has further dropped at
the Japanese market.  It costs only US$1.88.  The spot price is
said to be under $1.56, which is much lower than the U.S.Commerce
Department's price mandate of $2.85.

TOKYO (NB) -- According to the Japanese Ministry of Treasury
(11/27), the IC exports to the U.S. in this past October was
US$80.34 million, or a 9.1 percent drop over a year ago.
Meanwhile, the imports from the U.S. increased 2.7 percent, and
the total became US$60.19 million.

[***][12/02/86][***]
MONTREAL CLONEMAKER GOING PUBLIC
MONTREAL (NB) -- Ogivar Inc., manufacturer of IBM PC-compatible
computers and of the Panama 386, one of the first computers built
on Intel's 80386 processor, has announced plans for a public
offering on the Montreal Stock Exchange.  Ogivar hopes to raise
C$6.5 million to pay for a major expansion.

Ogivar has begun building a C$1.3-million surface-mount
technology plant, due to be completed by February.  The plant
uses Japanese manufacturing methods, and Ogivar contends it will
allow the company to manufacture in Canada and yet compete with
Asian clone manufacturers.  The company is also looking for
dealers in the United States.

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

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WORLD OF COMMODORE SHOW THIS WEEK
TORONTO (NB) -- "Commodore at work, at school and in the home" is
the theme of the fourth World of Commodore exhibition, to be held
at Toronto's International Centre of Commerce this Thursday
through Sunday.  More than 40,000 people are expected to attend
the show, according to Commodore Business Machines Ltd., and more
than 80 exhibitors will be displaying Commodore-related hardware
and software.

Among the attractions at the show will be the Sidecar, a
peripheral device that makes Commodore's Amiga computer fully
compatible with the IBM PC.  The Sidecar will be offered for sale
at the show, Commodore says. The show will also feature a program
of equipment demonstrations and a series of seminars on everything
from home computer basics to desktop publishing.

CONTACT: COMMODORE BUSINESS MACHINES LTD., 3470 Pharmacy Ave.,
         Agincourt, Ont., M1W 3G3, [phone]

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TROUBLED TIMES AT INTERNATIONAL VERIFACT
TORONTO (NB) -- The stock of International Verifact Inc.,
manufacturer of credit-card authorization terminals, recovered
somewhat on the Toronto Stock Exchange last week after a six-day
halt in trading early in the month.  The company has faced
financial problems recently, and a major shareholder, North
American Life Assurance Co., sold off 517,000 shares over the
last few months.  It was news of that sale that caused the stock
to drop sharply, leading to the cease trading order Nov. 12.

According to reports in the business weekly "Financial Times" of
Canada, the current president of Verifact, Douglas Archibald, may
soon be replaced.  The newspaper says George Whitton, who has a
reputation for turning around ailing high-tech companies, has
been approached about assuming the presidency.  Sources quoted in
the article said Archibald is a marketing whiz but has not given
Verifact the financial management it needs.

[***][12/02/86][***]
BELL CANADA ORDERED TO PAY UP
OTTAWA (NB) -- Court challenge or no court challenge, Canada's
largest telephone company must pay C$206 million to its seven
million subscribers.  So ruled the Canadian Radio-television and
Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), the federal regulatory body
which ordered the rebate in the first place, last week.  Bell has
been fighting the order in court and wanted payment delayed until
the legal battle ended.  This Monday, the Federal Court of Canada
was due to hand down its own ruling on whether Bell must pay up
or not.  If it agrees with the CRTC, Bell will be required to
fork over the money by January 31.

The CRTC ordered the rebates after it concluded that Bell, a
regulated monopoly, had reaped excessive profits from telephone
service.

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COMPUTER MAKES CALLS TO FIGHT CRIME
EDMONTON (NB) -- Police forces here, in Halifax, N.S., and in
three municipalities in Ontario are using computerized automatic
dialling to help them hunt for missing children and warn the
public about the whereabouts of criminals.  These are among the
potential uses in law enforcement for the same sort of system
that helped Ronald Reagan send recorded messages to hundreds of
thousands of Republicans during the U.S. midterm elections, and
that makes it possible to pester the public with recorded sales
pitches more efficiently than ever before.  The systems, which
can transmit about 100 30-second messages in an hour, can
telephone every house in a neighborhood with a description of a
missing child, or might be used to help warn residents of
disasters such as toxic waste spills.

[***][12/02/86][***]
CABLESHARE LOSES MONEY
LONDON, Ont. (NB) -- Cableshare Inc., the company whose stock has
been soaring on the Toronto Stock Exchange over the past year
thanks to investor excitement about home-shopping technology, is
still losing money.  In the six months ended Sept. 30, Cableshare
lost C$165,000, compared with C$315,000 a year earlier.  Revenue
fell from C$8.1 million in the year-earlier period to C$6.1
million.  Cableshare's home-shopping technology is still in the
development phase.  A field trial in an as-yet-unnamed area in
the U.S. is planned for 1987.

CONTACT: CABLESHARE INC., 20 Enterprise Dr., P.O. Box 5580
         London, Ont. N6A 4L6, [phone]

[***][12/02/86][***]
BITS, EH?
-- Comterm Inc. of Montreal, manufacturer of computer terminals
and office equipment and of the now-defunct Hyperion personal
computer, reported a loss of C$1.3 million for the nine months
ended Oct. 21, compared to a profit of C$1.4 million in the same
period a year earlier.  Revenue was C$24.9 million, down from
C$37.6 million in the previous year.

-- Canada Systems Group Inc. of Mississauga, Ont., a major
Canadian computer service bureau, has signed a C$8.6 million
contract to provide computer equipment and servcies for the
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

-- Computing Services Ltd. of Vancouver reported a profit of
C$72,584 in the quarter ended Sept. 30, up from $43,939 a year
earlier.  Revenue rose from C$754,858 to C$1.4 million.