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/1988/NB880315.247

Text File | 1991-08-18 | 51KB | 1,087 lines

[***][3/15/88][***]
EMPLOYMENT DOORS OPENING WIDE IN SILICON VALLEY
SAN FRANCISCO, Ca. (NB) -- Apple is hunting for up to 2,000 new
people, Hewlett Packard aims to hire for the first time since
1984, Sun Microsystems' personnel expansion is occurring so
quickly that the firm keeps running out of space to put them.
According to the SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, Seagate Technology
and Intel are also hiring aggressively.  Why the sudden need
for more workers, and specifically those in engineering and
marketing?  Analysts attribute it, in part, to a sales increase for
electronics firms fueled by overseas buying.  And demand is
so hot for marketing and hardware/software engineers that
those available are virtually calling the shots on salary.  And
most of the newly-hired can demand a year-end bonus of 10% of their
annual salary.

[***][3/15/88][***]
SOVIET URGES SILICON VALLEY TO OPEN TRADE DOORS
SANTA CLARA, Ca. (NB) -- An advisor to Soviet leader Mikhail
Gorbachev says the U.S. should end its preoccupation with
the "old enemy stereotype" and concentrate on opening
the doors to freer trade and cooperation in business.  Dr.
Timur Timofeyevich Timofeev, director of the Institute of
International Labor Studies at the U.S.S.R. Academy of
Sciences, spoke to some 200 members of the American
Electronics Association.  Quoted by AP, Timofeev said, "Yesterday
I visited Sun Microsystems.  "They are ready to sell us something,
but they are not sure what the reaction of the government is
going to be."

While it's clear the U.S. wants to trade more electronic
goods and know-how with Russia -- some audience members
were reportedly chomping at the bit to talk with the professor
about the subject, but couldn't due to his tight schedule --
it's not clear how the U.S. will be paid.  Said Timofeev, "We hope
that very soon we can reduce our defense budget.  We can use
the money for new electronics plants."

[***][3/15/88][***]
LATE IBM EXEC OFFERED TO LEAD APPLE, SAYS AKERS
NEW YORK (NB) -- Philip Estridge, known as the man who led
development of the original IBM PC, was offered the job of
chief executive of Apple Computer, presumably by Steve Jobs,
but turned it down.  This surprise, uttered by IBM Chief Executive
John Akers, came to light during court testimony in a lawsuit
brought  against Delta Airlines by Estridge's family.  Estridge
was killed in the crash of a Delta jet on August 2, 1985 and his
family is suing for a record $25 million.  The court must perform
the uncomfortable task of determining how much Estridge was
worth at the time of his death, hence Akers' testimony regarding
Estridge's past.  No more details about this were forthcoming
as there was no further comment from IBM, Apple, nor Steve
Jobs on the matter.  John Sculley did take the job of chief
executive of Apple, and if this story is true, he assumed the
post after Estridge refused it.

[***][3/15/88][***]
BUSINESSLAND GOES MAIL ORDER
SAN JOSE, Ca. (NB) -- Following a successful test, the San Jose-based
retail chain has decided to jump into mail order in a big way.
A new catalog of Businessland computers, software, and electronics
will be mailed out to over one million businesses and households
nationwide by the end of March.  Businessland expects to generate
$100 million in sales on the new venture between now and the
fall of '89.

[***][3/15/88][***]
FOTOMAT  TEST SALES OF SOFTWARE
PORTLAND, Oregon (NB) -- Want the latest, hottest, public domain
software along with those pictures of Auntie Ida at the family
reunion? No problem. At least not if you live in Portland. That's
where the Fotomat Corporation is testing sales of public
domain MS-DOS software, at $6.95 per disk, along with sales of
film, photos, and flash bulbs.  Some 14 titles are in stock at
the Fotomat store and 1,100 others are available via catalog.
The test is designed to see if public domain software can be sold
via an established retail outlet.

TH Enterprises, a Portland marketing firm, is conducting the 90 day
test of photos 'n software.  By May, Fotomat Corporation will
decide whether to extend the idea to its 2,000 retail outlets.
So far it looks good.  Sales are reportedly respectable.

[***][3/15/88][***]
LOWEST COST ONLINE MACINTOSH SIG
CUPERTINO, Ca. (NB) -- Portal Communications says its Macintosh
special interest group is the lowest cost way to get new Apple
system software online.  The Portal System is an all-purpose
online communications network which includes electronic mail,
online conferences, and connections to other networks
including UUCP, ARPA, BITNET and Usenet.  The new Phoenix
Macintosh SIG has everything from MultiFinder to
System 4.2 online and available at a fraction of the cost of
major online services.

For information, call voice: 408/973-9111 or modem 408/725-0561.
Via Telenet, sign on by using the address C portal.

[***][3/15/88][***]
ELEVEN MEGABYTE FLOPPY DRIVE READY; SALES SLOW
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO (NB) -- Konica's 11 megabyte floppy drive
for PCs, introduced at Fall Comdex '86, has finally hit the market
but sales are not taking off as expected.  Heralded for its incredible
breakthrough in storage, the Konica drive just needed a drive
controller to take off; Union City, California-based Trantor Systems
Limited came up with one, and for the past six months the card/
drive combination has been sold at a small number of retail stores
and VARs nationwide.  Consisting of the drive connected to an internal ]
board which is installed in a PC, the Konica sells for $815 at one
retailer, Black Ship Computers of South San Francisco.  "It's an
incredible storage system.  It gives a floppy the storage of a hard
disk.  And it also reads the standard 1.2 megabyte floppy disks."  But,
says owner Bruce Shapiro, the price is still scaring a lot of people off.
The special service-written 1.2 floppies cost $17 each and the
$815 price tag isn't perceived as a bargain.

"It will take off as soon as somebody launches a big marketing
campaign," he says.

CONTACT:  Bruce Shapiro, BLACK SHIP COMPUTERS, 415/952-1994

[***][3/15/88][***]
KEY TRONIC TO SLASH 150 WORKERS
SPOKANE, Wa. (NB) -- Emphasizing that its orders and shipments
are still strong, Key Tronic Corporation says it nevertheless has been
forced to give walking papers to 150 of its 2,000 workers.  The layoffs
are due to "market and operational pressures on gross margins," says
a company statement.  Roughly translated, that means competition is
intense in the keyboard market where Key Tronic has for years held
the number one slot.  The firm's president blames lower salaries
from keyboard makers abroad, and price-cutting of competitors for
the cutbacks.

And last but not least is the bill Key Tronic is paying for clean-up of
the nearby Colbert landfill -- over one million so far.  The landfill
was the site of toxic pollution from Key Tronic and other firms years
ago.  The bill is expected to top several more millions before the
clean-up is complete.

[***][3/15/88][***]
IN BRIEF --

ADOBE SYSTEMS, Mountain View, Ca., has signed an agreement with
Scitex Corp. Ltd. to jointly develop an interface between the
Scitex Response systems, used for color pre-press in electronic
publishing, and the PostScript page description language.

ELECTRONIC ARTS, San Mateo, Ca., announced it has removed all
copy protection from its Creativity titles which includes
DeluxePaint II, Deluxe Music Construction Set, DeluxeVideo,
and DeluxePrint.  This is the second time EA╩has abandoned
copy protection on a product line; last fall EA began releasing
all IBM/Tandy compatible titles free of copy protections.

MICROSOFT, MICROPRO, and IBM hold a news conference March 15
to unveil new application software for PS/2 computers.  NEWSBYTES
will have all the details next week.

----------------------------------------------------------------


[***][3/15/88][***]
BELL COMPANIES COMPLAIN AS JUDGE GREENE GIVES THEM NEW POWERS
WASHINGTON, DC (NB) -- The 7 Bell Operating Companies (BOCs) now
have the power to control electronic mail pipelines and handle
protocol conversion, thanks to a March 7 ruling by Judge Harold
Greene. But spokesmen for the companies are busy complaining they
haven't been given the right to control content as well. "We
still are not allowed to provide content for information services
-- and there is no apparent basis for retaining that
restriction," a BellSouth spokesman said. Ameritech Inc. of Chicago
issued a similar statement. The basis for retaining restrictions
may lie in the heavy-handed censorship phone companies now exert
on 900-line and 976-line calls. If the Bells are allowed to
control content, how long before they're censoring content,
critics ask. (BellSouth's Tom Crawford told NEWSBYTES this
argument is a "straw man.")

The key impact of the ruling is to let the Bells create universal
gateways so users can call up any online service with a local
call from anywhere. One company the Bells will wind up competing
with is GE Information Services, which "Forbes" estimates sold
$400 million in protocol conversion services in 1987, earning
5.5% after taxes.

CONTACT: Tom Crawford, BELLSOUTH [phone]

[***][3/15/88][***]
DIGITECH FACES SKEPTICS OF ITS VOICE RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY
ST. LOUIS (NB) -- Allen Portnoy and his Digitech Inc. plan to
announce a major advance in voice recognition boards the week of
March 31, and show it off at a San Francisco conference April 7,
but his claims are finding more skeptics than Rep. Richard
Gephardt (D-MO) found in the Southern primaries. Portnoy told the
"Dow Jones" news service his new board can hear both words and
numbers over the telephone and translate them, and that its
vocabulary is virtually limitless. That would be a big advance.
Moreover, Portnoy claimed the Digitech product will cost just $1-
2,000 per copy. The company's stock price rose on the news.

But now the skeptics are getting in their two cents. Thomas
Schalk, coauthor of a database which tests speech recognition
systems for accuracy, says Portnoy exaggerated when he claimed
Digitech was the first to "pass" his test with nearly a perfect
score, and that passing his test doesn't mean a board can handle
voices over the phone accurately. A spokesman for the San
Francisco conference added that Portnoy isn't scheduled to
address his meeting at all, and other analysts claim the Digitech
product is "vaporware" designed to hype stock. Portnoy hasn't
returned calls from NEWSBYTES.

CONTACT: Allen Portnoy, DIGITECH, [phone]

[***][3/15/88][***]
DCA TO RELEASE ITS OS/2 LINE THIS WEEK
ALPHARETTA, GA (NB) -- Working with Microsoft, DCA has produced a
new line of IRMA connectivity products under OS/2 for
announcement to the press in New York Monday, March 14. New DCA
software will let IBM PS/2 computers talk more efficiently with
other PCs and mainframes, with minimal additional hardware. The
product is reportedly DCA's attempt to compete with the IBM
"communications manager" now under development. Analysts quoted
by the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" figure DCA currently
controls 60% of the PC-mainframe connection market, twice IBM's
share. In other DCA news, the company unbundled its 10net local
area network for use with IBM Token-Ring and PC Network interface
cards -- previously the LAN required 10net adapter cards.

CONTACT: Bill Marks, DCA, (404)

[***][3/15/88][***]
FORD'S NEW BETTER IDEA SIMULATES A TEST DRIVE ON DISKETTE
DEARBORN, MI (NB) -- Ford Motor has introduced the Ford Simulator
diskette, a disk for the IBM PC which lets you play three road
games while being drowned in advertising. The package puts you
behind the wheel of a Ford with realistic controls and
instruments. This bulk of the program works a bit like
Microsoft's "Flight Simulator," only with billboards, which are
filled with facts on the Ford product line. (If this catches on,
I'm sure that road will be littered with billboards, but let's
not give the Ford folks any ideas.)

The simulator includes a drag strip, a slalom course and a Grand
Prix track. To finish there's an interactive buyer's guide on
which you can select any of 29 vehicles, equip it your way, even
print out a window sticker. Financing costs are also calculated,
and trade-ins offered. For $5, car buyers need never see an
obnoxious salesman again. (An awesome prospect.)

CONTACT: FORD MOTOR [phone]

[***][3/15/88][***]
JAPANESE SOFTWARE RISES WITH NEW VIDEOGAME BOOM
ATLANTA (NB) -- One unnoticed trend in recent stories on the new
strength in video games is how much of the software, as well as the
hardware, is Japanese. The Nintendo game, "Mike Tyson's Punch-Out" is
now a top-seller, and Nintendo has the #2 and #4 games as well,
according to "The Wall Street Journal." One result is today's
kids are getting fascinating insights into the Japanese pop culture,
especially its sexist fantasies, super-hero fascinations, and
cruel power trips. (Just like America 30 years ago.)

[***][3/15/88][***]
SPRINT CHARGED IN CIVIL SUIT WITH ACTING LIKE MA BELL
DALLAS (NB) -- American Telecommunications Corp. of Dallas, which
specializes in handling long distance phone services for hotels
(with their complex billing requirements) has filed suit in the
Texas State Court in Dallas County charging U.S. Sprint and its
corporate parents, GTE and United Telecom, with trying to drive
ATC out of business through what ATC lawyers charged were
conspiracy, breach of contract, malicious interruption and
willful deception when it handled ATC's actual calls. The suit
asks $3 million in damages, and Chairman Kerry Fox said it came
only after his company spent a year making complaints about
billing and other problems. ATC has since switched suppliers and
said it did 2 million call-minutes in business during February, a
record. (When Ma Bell did this kind of thing they charged
monopoly. Now, I guess, they call it business.)

CONTACT: Kitty Keeley, ATC, [phone]

[***][3/15/88][***]
PECAN CHIPS

COMPAQ, Houston, was added to the Standard & Poor's Index of 500
stocks. (If you lose your shirt in the options' market, blame the
boys and girls on the Compaq ranch.)

DATASTORM TECHNOLOGIES, Columbia, MO, introduced a new version of
its Procomm communications package. Procomm Plus includes a
record mode, and runs at up to 115,200 bits per second under a
variety of file transfer protocols. The price is just $75, and
it's not a clone of anything.

GEORGIA voters will decide on creating a public-private fund for
financing business start-ups in November. A constitutional
amendment authorizing the vote passed unanimously under prodding
from the Advanced Technology Development Center. (NEWSBYTES
SOUTH-MIDWEST recommends a "no" vote. Businessmen build
businesses better than bureaucrats.)

MICROGRAFX, Richardson, TX, announced Graph Plus, a version of
its Windows Graph supporting Windows 2.0 and the VideoShow
presentation system.  It will sell for under $400.

MIGENT, Incline Village, NV, cut the price of its Pocket Modems
for the IBM PC and Apple Macintosh from $260 to $160. (The move
comes a week after Hayes announced a tiny modem for sale with the
Prodigy videotex service.

MOTOROLA, Chicago, will work with Unisoft Group on porting Unix
System V to its chips, and will get access to Unix at the same
time as Sun does, according to AT&T.

TANDY, Ft. Worth, will unveil a PS/2 clone using the Chips &
Technologies chip set in April, "The Wall Street Journal"
reported March 9. Tandy denied the story.

TELENET, Reston, VA, created a new PC Services Group which will
try to come up with new versions of Telenet's PC Telemail
software, including a version for networks and for the Apple
Macintosh line. (Who knows, maybe an Amiga or Atari someday.)

ZSOFT, Marietta, GA, will join DP-Tek Inc. of Wichita, KS and
AT&T in putting out a complete gray-scale scanning and editing
system for desktop publishing at a trade show in Chicago next
month. DK-Tek makes a controller for the Hewlett-Packard LaserJet
printers, which will be used with Z-Soft's Publisher's Paintbrush
and the AT&T Overview scanner.


[***][3/15/88][***]
COMPETITION BUREAU PROCEEDING AGAINST JOINT RESERVATION SYSTEM
OTTAWA (NB) -- The Bureau of Competition Policy has decided a
joint computerized reservation system set up by Canada's two
largest airlines is likely to lessen competition.  The
"trustbusters" have applied to the Competition Tribunal to examine
Gemini Group Automated Distribution Systems Inc., a joint venture
of Canadian Airlines International Ltd., Calgary, and government-
owned Air Canada.

The tribunal has the power to dissolve the joint venture or order
it to reorganize or sell some of its assets.  Gilles Menard, a
spokesman for the Bureau of Competition Policy, said the airlines
now have 30 days to respond to the Bureau's application.  Then
the bureau's director has 15 days to reply to the airlines'
statements.  If some settlement is not reached in that time, the
Competition Tribunal will set a date for a hearing on the matter.

Air Canada has already said it plans to contest the application.
The two airlines launched the joint venture last April, saying it
was necessary to compete against major U.S.-based computerized
registration systems.

[***][3/15/88][***]
EDITING SOFTWARE FOR MAC MEETS INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS
TORONTO (NB) -- SoftQuad Inc. has announced what it says is the
first text-entry system for the Apple Macintosh to conform to the
Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) standard.  SGML is a
joint creation of the American National Standards Institute
(ANSI), the International Standards Organization (ISO) and
others.  SoftQuad Author/Editor is available for all Macs,
including the Mac II running A/UX, Apple's version of Unix.

Jonathan Seybold, publisher of THE SEYBOLD REPORT, has described
SoftQuad Author/Editor as "probably the best example so far of
the way a highly structured coding scheme can be made painless
for the author or editor."

The package uses the standard Mac interface.  Each part of a
document -- title, paragraph, list -- is automatically given a
distinct look on the screen, so the author can see the document's
structure without fiddling with formats.

Files created with Author/Editor will automatically include all
structural data needed for publication and to generate a database
for future updating and retrieval.  The package produces output
for all publishing and typesetting systems that support SGML.
SoftQuad Author/Editor is available now at a single-copy price of
C$645.

CONTACT: SOFTQUAD INC., 720 Spadina Ave., Toronto, Ont. M5S 2T9
         [phone]

[***][3/15/88][***]
TORONTO COMPANY LAUNCHING EDUCATIONAL STACKWARE
TORONTO (NB) -- InterAxis, a small Toronto developer of
interactive video and computer software, will distribute its new
educational product based on Apple HyperCard as freeware.
Discover Canada is a geography and history package based on a map
of Canada.  It contains about 2.6 megabytes worth of HyperCard
cards now, and Patrick Lee of InterAxis says it can't grow much
bigger until Apple's CD-ROM drive is widely available.

In the meantime, InterAxis plans to have some copies of the stack
distributed at a conference in Calgary this week.  Those who use
Discover Canada will be asked to send C$45 to InterAxis.

Schools will be able to add to Discover Canada with additional
material on their own areas, Lee says, and he hopes that
educators will eventually exchange extensions to the product.

CONTACT: INTERAXIS, 119 Spadina Ave., 10th Floor, Toronto, Ont.
         [phone]

[***][3/15/88][***]
MCW BUYING CROWNTEK OUTLETS
MISSISSAUGA, Ont. (NB) -- MCW Computers Ltd. will become Canada's
second largest computer retail chain with the acquisition of the
Crowntek Business Centres.  Crowntek, a Markham, Ont., high-tech
conglomerate with retailing, software and service bureau
operations, is being broken up and sold off by its parent, Crownx
Inc. of Toronto.  The business centres are the first piece of the
company to be sold.  The nine business centres racked up about
C$75-million in sales in 1987, THE GLOBE AND MAIL reports.  MCW
is four years old, has only two sales offices to date, and is an
authorized dealer for IBM, Compaq and Hewlett-Packard.

[***][3/15/88][***]
U.S. DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENTS FOR BEDFORD
VANCOUVER (NB) -- Bedford Software has signed agreements with
three national U.S. distributors.  Softsel Computer Products,
Kenfil Computer Products and Tandy Electronics Corp. will
distribute Bedford's small business accounting packages
nationwide.  The five-year old company's first product,
Integrated Accounting, runs on MS-DOS machines, and it recently
introduced a Macintosh product, Simply Accounting.

Bedford says it will be working closely with all three U.S.
distributors to promote the software to dealers.

CONTACT: BEDFORD SOFTWARE, Vancouver, B.C., [phone]

[***][3/15/88][***]
U OF WATERLOO SYSTEM EVEN KNOWS IF THE BOOK IS OUT
WATERLOO, Ont. (NB) -- The University of Waterloo library has
replaced its card catalogue with computer terminals.  Sixty
terminals at several campus locations provide access to a
computer system that lists all of the 2.5 million books the
university's library holds.  Not really new -- other libraries
have computerized catalogue systems.  Still, this seems quite a
nice system.  For one thing, the computer system keeps track of
whether a book is out on loan or not, and if it is can tell you
when it's due back.  The system is also accessible from off-
campus through the Datapac packet-switching network (which is
tied into other networks worldwide, making worldwide access
possible for anyone who wants it).

Geac Computers International Inc. of Markham, Ont., provided the
computers and designed the software for the system, which is
called WATCAT.  Under development since 1985, the system cost a
little more than C$1 million.

CONTACT: UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO, Office of Information and
         Public Affairs, Waterloo, Ont. N2L 3G1, [phone]

[***][3/15/88][***]
BITS, EH?
-- KARAK CORP. of Toronto has introduced a document processor
that it says can convert documents to machine-readable form as
much as four times faster than existing optical character
recognition machines.  The Palantir 9000 will scan an average
typed page in less than 15 seconds, the company says.  Don't rush
out and buy one for the den, though -- they cost C$59,500.

-- DESKTOP PUBLISHING is the subject of a series of seminars to
be sponsored by the Technical University of Nova Scotia in four
Canadian cities during April.  The seminars in Winnipeg,
Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver will be conducted by George
Marshall, who heads his own consulting firm, G.R. Marshall and
Associates of Halifax.  Information is available from the
Continuing Education Division, Technical University of Nova
Scotia, [phone].

-- INTERNATIONAL VERIFACT INC., Toronto, has signed a C$2.9-
million contract with IBM Canada Ltd. to provide a series of in-
branch customer-operated banking terminals.  IBM will supply the
terminals to the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce as part of a
large contract with the bank.  IBM supplies most banking
terminals used by four of Canada's five largest banks.

-- SEQUENT COMPUTER SYSTEMS (CANADA) INC., Toronto, will host a
seminar on The New Economics of Business Computing at the Metro
Toronto Convention Centre April 21.  Speakers will include Jeff
Walker, senior vice-president of Oracle Corp.; Scott Gibson,
Sequent's chief operating officer; and others.  Information is
available at [phone].

-- GANDALF TECHNOLOGIES INC., Ottawa, reports a profit of C$3.9
million for the six months ended Jan. 31, on revenues of C$76.4
million.  That's up from a C$2.9-million profit on revenues of
C$62.6 million in the same six months a year ago.  Gandalf makes
data communications and networking equipment.

-- CANADA SYSTEMS GROUP, the Mississauga, Ont. computer service
bureau, announced it will co-sponsor The Bay Street Rat Race, an
unconventional running event in which participants will wear
business suits and carry briefcases.  The run, scheduled for
Toronto's financial district at the end of April, will celebrate
the filing deadline for income tax (April 30 in Canada), and is
co-sponsored by the retailers of First Canadian Place, a downtown
Toronto office and shopping complex.

[***][3/15/88][***]
AND FINALLY ... SPELLING CHECKERS DON'T CATCH EVERYTHING DEPT.
NEWSBYTES CANADA was "one of a select few computer owners" to
receive a brochure from Electronic Arts of San Mateo, Calif.,
last week.  The direct-mail brochure offers an assortment of
Electronic Arts software, with a buy-one-get-another-at-25%-off
deal, and the third package at 50 per cent off.  But we found a
couple of interesting prices in the 50-per-cent-off category.
Battlefront, a game for Commodore computers, is listed at
"Regular $14.95 -- you pay $20."  And Crosscheck, a crossword
game, has a regular price of $14.95, but by taking advantage of
this special discount offer Commodore owners can get it for $15
and IBM and Tandy owners for $17.  We didn't notice any spelling
errors in the brochure, but this goes to show you there's no
substitute for good old-fashioned proofreading.



[***][3/15/88][***]
SYSTEM SOFT LINKS WITH CLARIS
TOKYO (NB) -- Japan's noted software house System Soft has
signed a sales agreement with Claris, a subsidiary of Apple
Computer in the U.S.  In this agreement, System Soft will develop
a Japanese version of Claris' desktop publishing program Quark
Express.  The company plans to release it for 180,000 yen ($1,406)
in May.  System Soft will also develop and release Japanese
versions of other Macintosh programs, including MacPaint 2.0,
MacDraw2, MacProject2, and MacWrite2, in June.  The original
(English) versions of the programs will be sold in Japan this
month.  System Soft aims to rake in $5.5 million in sales from
Macintosh programs during fiscal 1988.

CONTACT: System Soft, System Soft Bldg., 5-7-2 Tenjin, Chuo-ku,
         Fukuoka-shi

[***][3/15/88][***]
RICOH SELLS JAPANESE PS/2 ON OEM
TOKYO (NB) -- Tokyo-based office equipment maker Ricoh has signed
a sales agreement with IBM Japan.  In this agreement, Ricoh will
purchase personal computers from IBM Japan, and sell them with
its own brand name.  Ricoh's sales will cover IBM PS/55 model 70,
which is a Japanese version of the PS/2 model 70.  The PS/55
model 70 will be sold as the Ricoh I-series model 736 in April.
Ricoh expects to market more IBM products in the future.

CONTACT: Ricoh, 1-15-5 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107

[***][3/15/88][***]
OPTICAL NEURO-COMPUTER WITH HUMAN BRAIN-LIKE LEARNING FEATURE
TOKYO (NB) -- The government affiliated association the
Industrial Technology Product Research Institute and Hamamatsu
Photonics (Shizuoka prefecture) have jointly developed an optical
neuro-computer with a learning ability said to be similar to
that of human beings.  The circuits are arranged to imitate
neurons in the human brain.  This machine, for instance, remembers
written characters and figures, and it recognizes them even if
their parts are missing or transformed.  The processing capability
of this optical neuro-computer is reportedly superior to any of
its predecessors.  With some modification, a computer which is even
more powerful than a Cray will eventually be developed, says the
researcher.

CONTACT: The Industrial Technology Product Research Institute,
         1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki-ken

[***][3/15/88][***]
MATSUSHITA RESUMES EXPORTING IBM-COMPATIBLE PC
TOKYO (NB) -- Matsushita Electronics will begin to export its
IBM-compatible computer to the European market soon.  The company
stopped sales of the PC when it was told by IBM that the PC
was violating IBM's Basic I/O system copyright.  So
Matsushita has developed another BIOS and equipped it with this
computer.  The company says IBM admitted that the new BIOS does
not violate IBM's copyright.  Matsushita will ship this PC to
European makers on an OEM basis.  However, it won't be shipped to
the U.S. market due to current 100% retaliatory import tax on
Japanese personal computers.

CONTACT: Matsushita Electronics, 1006 Oaza-Kadoma, Kadoma-shi,
         Osaka-fu 571

[***][3/15/88][***]
STANDARD PERSONAL COMPUTERS FOR JAPANESE SCHOOLS UNVEILED
TOKYO (NB) -- The Computer Education Center (CEC) of the
Japanese Education Ministry has shown nine types of prototype
personal computers for Japanese school education.  Those
computers have been created by eleven firms, including Matsushita,
Hitachi, and IBM Japan.  NEC is still developing its trial
machine, and will hand it over to the CEC in the middle of May.
The CEC will choose the machines for schools next year.  All the
prototype machines are based on the TRON (B-TRON) architecture,
which supports multiple windows and multitasking features.  The
prototype machines use an 80286 microprocessing unit.  Meanwhile,
NEC's machine will support MS-DOS, as well as TRON operating
system.

CONTACT: Computer Education Center, Terayama Bldg. 7F, 1-23-1
         Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105

[***][3/15/88][***]
NEC ANNOUNCED NEW PC WITH 9.3MB FDD
TOKYO (NB) -- NEC will release two new personal computers in its
PC-8801 series, the PC-88VA2 and the PC-88VA3, in June.  These
two graphics and sound-oriented machines have a V30 micro-
processing  unit and a 512K RAM.  The PC-88VA3 is equipped with
a 9.3 megabyte 3.5-inch micro floppy disk, besides two 5.25-inch
disks.  It is priced at 393,000 yen of $3,070.

The PC-8801 series has gained popularity among hobbyists here.
A total of 840,000 units were sold since their release in September
1981.

CONTACT: NEC, 1-4-28 Mita, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108

[***][3/15/88][***]
MITSUBISHI PARTLY STOPS CHIP PRODUCTION, CLAIMS SACRIFICE
TOKYO (NB) -- In the midst of chip shortage worldwide,
Mitsubishi Electronics has partly stopped production of its
memory chips.  But this doesn't mean that the company is getting
out of manufacturing semiconductors.  Mitsubishi says it will receive
supplies from overseas manufacturers.   Mitsubishi plans to purchase the
chips from Texas Instruments, Intel, National Semiconductor, and
Thomson.  A Mitsubishi executive told the press that the company
has decided to sacrifice itself in order to reduce Japan-U.S.
semiconductor friction.

[***][3/15/88][***]
LEARNING JAPANESE LANGUAGE THROUGH PC
TOKYO (NB) -- Seiko will release an audio visual learning system
which uses a personal computer.  Seiko's Let's Learn Nihongo system
consists of a sound adapter, a tablet, program disks, and manuals.
With these tools, the users can practically improve listening
abilities, and learn how to write and read Japanese.  The tutor
system can be used for IBM PC/XT, AT, and NEC PC-9801 lines.  The
whole program with its peripheral units is priced around 610,000
yen or $4,766.

CONTACT: Seiko, 4-5-11 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo

[***][3/15/88][***]
<<< SUSHI BYTES >>>

STANDARD JAPANESE OS/2 DEBUTS -- IBM Japan has shipped a standard
version of Japanese OS/2 at 75,000 yen ($586).  IBM Japan will
release multitasking application programs, Smart series, for
OS/2 at the end of March.

TWO TURBO Cs DEBUT -- Microsoftware Associates, Tokyo, will ship
Japanese Turbo C 1.5 on March 31.  It runs on NEC PC-9801, and
costs 19,500 yen ($152).   Meanwhile, Southern Pacific, another
Borland dealer in Yokohama, also released a Japanese version of
Turbo C 1.5 at 16,800 yen ($131) on February 25.  Two programs
are apparently different although they carry the same name.

NTT AND MOTOROLA -- Japan's telecom giant NTT and Motorola
(U.S.A.) has agreed to jointly develop semiconductor materials.
The details will be decided later.

32-BIT TRON SYMPOSIUM -- The TRON Association will hold a project
symposium on March 26 in Hakone, Kanagawa prefecture.  President
Yamamoto of Fujitsu and Dr. Ken Sakamura, the advocate of TRON,
will be the speakers.  The admission is 10,000 yen ($78).

INTELLIGENT POCKET COMPUTER FROM CASIO -- Casio, Tokyo, has
developed an intelligent pocket computer, the FX-860PVC, which
just fits into a shirt pocket.  It has 116 kinds of arithmetic
programs and assembly language CASL.  It is priced at 24,800 yen
or $194.

LOW-COST IMAGE SCANNER FROM ALPS ELECTRIC -- Japan's Alps
Electric will release two types of low-cost image scanners for
personal computers.  The UDH04 and the UDH07 can read an image
as large as a post card.  The UDH04 reads red color.  The
gadgets cost 24,000 yen ($188) and 30,000 yen ($234)
respectively.

VERY THIN HDD FOR LAPTOP COMPUTER -- Alps Electronics has
developed a 40 megabyte hard disk with only one-inch thickness.
The DRQ040 weighs 590g, which is ideal for laptop computers.  The
price of this sample product is 150,000 yen ($1,172).

3.5-INCH 80M HDD -- YE Data, Tokyo, has developed a 3.5-inch
hard disk with 80 megabyte RAM.  YE Data starts accepting orders
in April.

MATSUSHITA DOUBLES FDD PRODUCTION IN PHILIPPINES -- Matsushita
Electronics Group will set up Matsushita Communication of the
Philippines (MCP) in the Philippines.  At the plant, the company
will produce floppy disk drives.  Matsushita's FDD production in
the Philippines will be doubled to 40,000 units per month with
this plant.

[***][3/15/88][***]
AND FINALLY...

JAPAN'S EPSON will tie up with Lotus.  But this is not a software
company.  It's a racing car team in the U.K.  Epson has decided
to sponsor this noted racing team.  Epson's logo will shine on the
bodies of two Lotus racing cars in Japan and Brazil this year.



[***][3/15/88][***]
UNISYS DOES UNIX
BLUE BELL, Pa. (NB) -- Unisys Corp. has joined American Telephone
& Telegraph Co. and Sun Microsystems Inc. efforts to develop a
common Unix operation system for high-end computing. Unisys also
said it would license Sun's Sparc reduced instruction set chip
for use in future Unisys machines that will speak Unix. The
decision by Unisys is evidence that AT&T and Sun's strategy  of
lining up other makers to join their Unix alliance. But all is
not easy sailing for the Unix crew. Other companies, particularly
Sun competitors such as Apollo Computer of Chelmsford, Mass.,
have formed an informal group that frets about the
"privatization" of Unix.

Unisys is betting that the AT&T-Sun alliance will turn Unix into
the operating system of the future, linking everything from
personal computers to supercomputers. The company, the world's
third largest computer firm, already has a strong presence in the
Unix marketplace. Last year, Unisys said, its sales of Unix-based
systems doubled, and now amount to more than $500 million per
year.

[***][3/15/88][***]
GREENE LIGHTENS UP ON BABY BELLS
WASHINGTON (NB) -- Judge Harold Greene has given a green light
for the regional Bell operating companies to offer some
computerized information services, such as voice and electronic
mail. However, the key distinction that Greene made in a previous
ruling -- that phone companies can transmit data but not create
or manipulate it -- stands. Greene said he expects that "this
easing of the information services restriction will avoid
anticompetitive effects, and that it will at the same time bring
this nation closer to the enjoyment of the full benefits of the
information age."

The Baby Bells aren't as optimistic as Greene. BellSouth and
Bell Atlantic term the decision an important step, but both
say it does not go far enough. Bell Atlantic says it will appeal.
Bell Atlantic Chairman Thomas Bolger says he is "particularly
concerned" because Greene's ban on computerized yellow pages
stands.

[***][3/15/88][***]
MORE TOSHIBA ALLEGATIONS SURFACE
WASHINGTON (NB) -- Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) has charged that
Toshiba Corp. of Japan has illegally sold computer technology to
the Soviet bloc on repeated occasions. An earlier revelation that
Toshiba had diverted computerized milling equipment to the
U.S.S.R. resulted in major political and business problems for
Toshiba. Toshiba denies the most recent charges, and Pentagon
officials says they are unproven. Pending trade legislation
would restrict sales of Toshiba products in the U.S.

Congressional sources told the WASHINGTON TIMES and wire service
reporters that U.S. intelligence agencies have found three
additional cases of Toshiba technology diversions. These include:
selling Czechoslovakia a factory to make computer chips in 1979;
selling East Germany an advanced computer chip assembly line in
1986; negotiating a deal for a second assembly for East Germany
last year. "The information that we have is that we feel these
actions...have not occurred," said Col Arnold Williams, a
Pentagon spokesman.

[***][3/15/88][***]
DISK WATCHER GET VIRUS CONTROL
WASHINGTON (NB) -- RG Software Systems Inc. of Willow Grove had
added a virus preventative to its disaster prevention software,
Disk Watcher. The program, Disk Watcher Version 2.0, is a RAM-
resident utility that pops up when common disasters such as a
full disk or an accident format are about to happen. The company
said the virus preventative is currently undergoing testing at
"infected sites." The software will be $79.95, and registered
users of Version 1.0 can upgrade at no cost. The software runs on
PCs and clones, running DOS 2.0 or later.

CONTACT: RG Software Systems, 2300 Computer Ave., Suite l-51,
         Willow Grove, PA 19090, 215-659-5300.

[***][3/15/88][***]
HIGH TECH LOW POINT
WASHINGTON (NB) -- The American Electronics Association says the
fiscal year 1988 federal budget, enacted with White House
and Congressional agreement, represents a low point for high tech
interests. AEA says it is frustrated that the budget does little
to reduce the federal deficit. "It's clear that macroeconomic
policy issues are affecting the bottom line performance of our
members companies," said AEA Chairman Horace McDonnell of
computer maker Perkin-Elmer. "The trade deficit mirrors the
federal budget deficit." Although the budget contains $100
million for the Sematech consortium of chip makers, AEA says
funding for the National Science Foundation and the
Defense Department are "disappointing."

[***][3/15/88][***]
COMPUTER MANUFACTURING: HIGH GROWTH, LOW PROFIT
NEW YORK (NB) -- Computer manufacturing has been less profitable
than most other industries over the past several years, according
to the investment banking firm of Broadview Associates of Fort
Lee, N.J. Broadview surveyed 269 U.S. computer hardware and equipment
companies and found they had an average return on equity of only
6.5 percent in 1987. A large number of poor performers dragged
down the overall results. Most major American companies return 11
or 12 percent on equity, the survey said. Reasons offered for the
poor performance: intense competition from abroad, and short life
cycles on production, cutting the time for companies to recoup
their investments. By contrast, a survey of nearly 200 software
and services companies found an average return on equity of about
18.6 percent.

[***][3/15/88][***]
JSTARS GROUNDED BY SOFTWARE PROBLEMS
WASHINGTON (NB) -- A new airplane designed to provide battlefield
commanders with information about the location of enemy equipment
is badly off scheduled because of software problems. Air Force
officials say the schedule for the Joint Service Targeting
System, or JSTARS, has slipped by a year. Grumman Corp. is
developing JSTARS. The slippage means the go-no go decision on
JSTARS will be the end of fiscal 1991, and initial production
would be in 1993 if the decision is to move ahead with the plane.

A JSTARS plane is supposed to stand away from the main battle
area and use radar to sweep the battlefield, looking for tanks
and such and relaying the data to tactical aircraft, missiles,
and artillery. One Air Force general, according to United Press
International, calls the plan "an upside-down AWACS."

[***][3/15/88][***]
U.S. COMPUTERS ARE BEST, SAYS FORTUNE MAGAZINE
NEW YORK (NB) -- For computers, "Made in the U.S.A." is a
guarantee of quality, says a survey by FORTUNE magazine. The
magazine asked quality control specialists, customers, and
analysis for U.S.-made products that are the best in their field.
The results found that the U.S. leads the world in the quality
of its computers, aerospace equipment, farm equipment, and
medical goods. Among the leaders in the computer field: Microsoft
Corp., Apple Computer, IBM, AT&T, and Digital Equipment Corp.
Also tops in their field, U.S. mini-supercomputers from companies
such as Sun Microsystems and Apollo.

[***][3/15/88][***]
HIGH TECH TRADE WITH CHINA IS ON AGAIN
WASHINGTON (NB) -- Satisfied that the country is no longer
selling Silkworm missiles to Iran, the Reagan administration will
make it easier for U.S. firms to sell high tech goods to China.
Washington is also expected to cut the red tape associated with
the export of high tech products to China. The U.S. had planned
to liberalize trade with China last fall, but backed off in
protest of sales of the surface-to-surface missiles to Iran,
where they were used against U.S. Navy ships in the Persian Gulf.

[***][3/15/88][***]
ARMY PICKS SAI FOR BILLION-DOLLAR JOB WASHINGTON (NB) -- The Army
has picked Science Applications International Corp. of San Diego
to develop an information system for all the U.S. military health
care facilities around the world. The cost of the system is
estimated a $1 billion. The contract includes hardware, software,
installation, and training at about 700 facilities around the
world, over an eight-year period. McDonnell Douglas Corp. and
Baxter Health Care Group were the other bidders on the contract.

[***][3/15/88][***]
NEWS NIBBLES FROM AROUND THE REGION

SECURITIES INDUSTRY AUTOMATION CORP., the company that runs the
computers for the New York and American stock exchanges, is
moving from Manhattan to downtown Brooklyn. The company has
signed a lead for space with Metrotech, a high-tech development
still in the planning stages.

RAPIDTECH SYSTEMS INC. of Suffern, N.Y., has signed a marketing
agreement with IBM covering the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Rapidtech
sells language conversion products for IBM's AIX (Unix) based
systems.

DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORP. of Maynard, Mass., has unveiled a new top-
of-the-line VAX, aimed squarely at IBM's 4300 series. The new VAX
8800 series is up to 3.7 times as powerful at the VAX 8700.
Prices range from $543,900 to $1.7 million.

ANALOG DEVICES INC. of Norwood, Mass., plans for 20 percent
average annual sales growth over the next five years. The company
makes parts for the computer and communications industries.

CULLINET SOFTWARE INC. of Westwood, Mass., has recalled founder
John Cullinane to join the company as vice chairman. The 53-year-
old Cullinane retired as chairman and director last September,
and since then Cullinet has been suffering from poor financial
performance.



[***][3/15/88][***]
FIRST PS/2 CLONE FROM ACER
London, UK (NB) -- Well, it had to happen, IBM's PS/2 line has
been cloned.  Last week saw Acer, formerly known as Multitech,
quietly unveiling its PS/2 Model 30 look-alike and complimentary
Asic chip set to an audience who were expecting just another range
of PC compatibles.

The Acer 1030 is based around the Intel 8086-1 chip set running at
9.6MHz.  A 20 per cent speed advantage over the IBM Model 30 is
claimed, although we'll have to wait awhile before checking this
out - the machine is not due until late May in the UK.  The
machine's speed advantage is due, said Stan Shih, Acer's
chairman, to the proprietary Asic chip set.  Nine chips make up
the PC86 Asic system which will be available to third-party
manufacturers and OEMs from late June.

The 1030 itself looks very similar to the IBM PS/2 Model 30
(NEWSBYTES UK can hear IBM's lawyers moving already) and comes
with four expansion slots and a choice of 3.5 or 5.25 inch disks.
MCGA and Hercules graphics standards are supported, and the
entry-level machine costs $1,395 - around 20 per cent cheaper
than the equivalent IBM Model 30 without monitor.

And hold on to your hats.  Acer said publicly last week that its
is working on the Microchannel architecture and will release a
complete range of PS/2 clones once that hurdle is completed.

CONTACT: ACER COMPUTER SYSTEMS LIMITED, 35 Piccadilly,
         London W1V 9PD.

[***][3/15/88][***]
OLIVETTI LAUNCHES DTP LASER
London, UK (NB) -- Olivetti has launched a second-generation
laser printer, the PG208-M2, at a first generation price -
#2,195.  That price includes 512K of Ram, parallel and serial
ports as standard.

"This is the keenest pricing to date for a sophisticated machine
of this type," said David Brown, Olivetti UK's printer sales and
marketing manager.  Brown also notes that the Canon-engine laser
printer is fully-compatible with the Hewlett-Packard Laserjet
Series II, thanks to a licensing agreement with H-P.

The PC208-M2's 512K of onboard Ram is sufficient for most word
processing needs and outputs to a 300x300 dots per inch
resolution.  Graphics applications are supported with 0.5, 1.5
and 3.5Mb plug-in Ram boards.

CONTACT: BRITISH OLIVETTI, 86/88 Upper Richmond Road,
         London SW15 2UR.            Tel: [phone].

[***][3/15/88][***]
TANDATA LAUNCHES PC SUPERSTORE
Malvern, Worcestershire (NB) -- Tandata Holdings, the group
responsible for a variety of communications-related products,
including modems and data broadcast decoders, is diversifying
into mail order PC product sales.

"The idea behind PC Superstore is one of total market coverage,"
said Roy Pendleton, MD of Tandata Holdings.  "As a group, Tandata
Holdings can supply a variety of products to end-users and
corporates, providing them with a complete service."

Headed up by manager Nick Trollope, PC Superstore supplies a
variety of products, ranging from the inevitable modems, through
PCs, PC cards, printers and software.  As well as keen end-user
and dealer prices, the company is able to call on Tandata's
national distribution system, so fast delivery is a watchword.

One of the more unusual features of PC Superstore is the
provision of breakdown insurance and on-site maintenance to back
up the company's warranty.  Rates are in line with the rest of
the industry, but do add considerably to the appeal of buying via
mail-order.

* Tandata is best-known in the UK for its modem technology, which
stretches back to 1982, when the company launched its Tantel
viewdata adaptors for the users of BT's Prestel.  Since then the
group has split into Tandata Communications, Tandata Cable and
Teletext and Tandata Distribution.

CONTACT: PC SUPERSTORE, Como Road, Malvern, Worcestershire,
         WR14 2TJ.                        Tel: [phone].
[***][3/15/88][***]
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
+ BRITBYTES - Bytes of news from around the UK... +
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

ARNOR of Peterborough has launched two software packages to
complement its Protext word processor - Protext Office and
Protext Filer.  Protext Filer, at #24-95, is a database
manipulation package, whilst at #34-95, Protext Office offers the
same facilities plus an invoicing system.  Both packages are
available for the Amstrad CPC and PCW series, the Atari ST and
all PC compatibles.

CITIZEN has released a colour monitor for IBM's PS/2 series.  The
CCM-104 is designed to compete with IBM's 8514 monitor which
costs 50 per cent more than the Citizen monitor's #795 price tag.

California-based CONNOR PERIPHERALS has signed a joint
manufacturing agreement with LEXIKON, OLIVETTI's Italian
subsidiary.  The deal calls for both companies to share Lexikon's
Turin-based disk drive manufacturing facility.

EIDERSOFT has released its Prosound music package for the
Commodore Amiga.  Previously only available for the Atari ST, the
#79 package is one of most advanced music sampling and
manipulation hardware/software systems around.  Another version
for monochrome monitor-equipped Atari ST users is expected
shortly at #59.

New York-based INSAT has sued BRITISH TELECOM and MITEL for
$15,000 million (yes, that figure is correct) alleging that Mitel
reneged on a contract to supply a satellite switch to Insat, but
later sold it to British Telecom.  Mitel is said to have already
commenced proceedings against Insat, whilst BT is quoted on the
INFORMATICS DAILY BULLETIN as saying Insat's claims "appear to be
without substance in content or sums claimed."  Looks like rich
pickings for the legal boys.

MAYZE SYSTEMS of Swindon has launched its first modem, the Syncro
24.  The modem is capable of 1200 and 2400 baud full duplex and
costs #445 in a stand-alone version or #395 in a rack-mounted
version.

MEMOREX UK LIMITED of Staines, Middlesex, has launched four new
modems.  Ranging in price from #300 to #1,200, the Hayes-
compatible modems are available in desktop, PC card and rack-
mounted configurations.  Entry-level is via the 2123 modem which
supports V21 and V23 speeds and EPAD error-correction. Next up is
the 2422 which runs at V22Bis and supports MNP and SPAR error-
correction.  The 2426 and 9629 modems are synchronous and aimed
at the professional user.

NCR has landed a #4.6 million contract with LLOYDS BANK to supply
1,500 5063 counter terminal systems.  NCR seems to have scored a
hit with Lloyds, as the bank already has 3,500 NCR terminals
installed.

MERCURY COMMUNICATIONS of London has formalized its pricing
structure to include BT's value-added call service (exchange code
0898), and calls to Racal Vodafone and BT Cellnet mobile phones.
Unusually for Mercury - which is cheaper to use than BT's
telephone services - some calls are more expensive, due to the BT
interconnection costs.

PSION of London is pitching for a full public flotation on the UK
stock market.  Charterhouse Bank is acting as sponsor for the
flotation, which is worth #3 million - about 18 per cent of the
company's total book worth.

SENTINEL SOFTWARE of Walton-on-Thames has unveiled WORDPERFECT
4.2 for the DEC VAX/VMS environment.  The package includes a
number of new features for the VAX series, including 24 on-screen
snaking or parallel columns and full tabulation.  Pricing starts
at #850 for a VAXstation and rises to #23,570 for the VAX 8978
series.

TELEMAP, the online services company which controls MICRONET 800
on Prestel, has reorganized.  The group is now split into five
distinct areas - Micronet, Interbusiness (an online service for
introduction later this year), Value Added Business (including
multiuser games), Open Access Data Services and International.
The changes mark the first stage in a number of alterations to
the way in which Telemap online products are to be marketed.

[***][3/15/88][***]
UK DATES FOR YOUR DIARY...

Event:         Private Network Strategy Conference
Dates:         20/21 April 1988
Location:      London
Organisers:    EMAP Conferences - 01-404-4844

Event:         Comprehensive Data Communications
Dates:         27 June - 1 July 1988
Location:      London
Organisers:    McGraw-Hill - 01-235-8050

Event:         High level Protocols and Standards
Dates:         4/6 July 1988
Location:      London
Organisers:    McGraw-Hill - 01-235-8050