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/nb880209.242

Text File | 1991-08-18 | 67KB | 1,393 lines

[***][2/09/88][***]
SUN INTRODUCES DESKTOP SUPERCOMPUTER
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Ca. (NB) -- At a packed news conference, Sun
Microsystems has unveiled what it calls the first supercomputer
to fit on a desktop, the Sun 4/110 workstation.  Based on Sun's
SPARC reduced instruction set architecture, the $18,900 workstation
delivers seven times the speed of a DEC Vax 11/780 or seven
million calculations per second.  It uses Sun's own operating
systems, C, FORTRAN, and Pascal but will also make use of the
coming version of Unix being designed by Sun and AT&T.  The
workstation has 8 megabytes of main memory and a monochrome
monitor.

While showing this price/performance breakthrough, Sun
also announced it is raising the price of one of its workstations.
The Sun-3/60 workstation is up $1,000 to $8,900 due to an
increase in component costs and specifically an increase in the
cost of one megabit computer memory chips.

Commenting on the Sun/AT&T alliance which has raised hackles
throughout the Unix world, Sun executive Ed Zander defended
the project, saying, "We believe we can offer an alternative to
the closed, proprietary systems of DEC and IBM."  He called for
his detractors to rally around in support of the joint development
effort.

[***][2/09/88][***]
PIXAR SLICES PRICE OF HIGH PERFORMANCE GRAPHICS COMPUTER
SAN RAFAEL, Ca. (NB) -- Pixar has introduced a $29,500 version
of its high performance graphics computer, a drop of $20,000
from the company's previously lowest-priced model, and a cut of
nearly $100,000 from the machine's original selling price in
May, 1986.  The Pixar II, as it's called, has two processors, one
with 12 megabytes of image memory.

The Pixar computer, being used in movie animation, by
radiologists to view 3-D displays of CAT scans and X-rays, and
by geologists mapping the earth's surface, is considered a
breakthrough in graphics technology because it allows one to
see inside objects, rather than just their surfaces.  And this all-
time low price  could open the door for even wider applications.

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs owns the majority of Pixar stock;
he purchased it from George Lucas' Lucasfilm in 1986.

[***][2/09/88][***]
E TU, INTEL? -- PS/2 CLONE CHIPS ON THE WAY
SANTA CLARA, Ca. (NB) -- Intel Corporation executives briefed
several hundred employees on plans to introduce a PS/2 chip set
and VGA chip which are fully compatible with IBM's new products
recently, according to PC WEEK magazine.  The weekly
says Intel will announce the chip sets in the second quarter and
probably will not begin manufacturing them until late 1988 or
early 1989.

Intel is in a particularly cozy situation with IBM as it already
supplies a majority of the microprocessors and related parts
used in IBM machines.  Until recently, IBM also owned 20% of
the company's stock.  The micro industry with PS/2 clones in
the wings has been cowering from IBM's legal muscle should
they introduce PS/2-compatible products.  IBM has publicly
declared its intention to pursue all who dare to tread across its
Micro Channel Architecture.  But Intel's entry into the arena may
provide the clone-makers with new confidence since IBM, dependent
on Intel's chips,  is unlikely to sue its partner.

An Intel spokeswoman would not confirm or deny the report
but industry insiders tell NEWSBYTES the story is most likely
true.

[***][2/09/88][***]
TEKNOWLEDGE TEETERS, MAJOR RESTRUCTURING UNDERWAY
PALO ALTO, Ca. (NB) -- Once Teknowledge, maker of expert system
software, had the new market of decision support/expert software
all to itself and was one of the high flyers in Silicon Valley.  Today a
crowd of competitors has forced it to lay off 30% of its staff
and restructure.  Teknowledge reports a loss of $6.7 million
for its last quarter compared to income of $503,000 one year
ago.  Company officers will eliminate 20 or more of its 60
employees in all departments including sales and marketing.

Chief Executive Officer Lee Hecht says he expects the firm will
return to profitability "after some period of transition" and
the company is still in a strong position with $34 million in
the bank.

Teknowledge has sold about 200 copies of its expert systems
to such firms as General Motors and Federal Express.  GM uses
it to diagnose problems on the assembly floor.  Federal Express
keeps track of parts inventory for its fleet of jets with
the Teknowledge M-1 system.

[***][2/09/88][***]
QUIETER FAN SILENCES CRITICS OF THE MACINTOSH SE
CUPERTINO, Ca. (NB) -- For a month now, all Macintosh SEs shipped
by Apple Computer have been equipped with fans that run 8 decibels
quieter than the original fans.  Fans in the original SEs have operated
at a noisy 45 decibels, prompting many to say the SE has sounded
more like a Mac truck than a Mac computer.  The reduction of
sound by just 16% has been winning applause from users and dealers.

The quieter fan is in fact a new design based on rotary blades.
SE owners can have the new fan installed for $91 at authorized
Apple dealers.


[***][2/09/88][***]
BAY AREA POLICE CRACK ALLEGED COMPUTER THEFT RING
SAN JOSE, Ca. (NB) -- In the wee hours of the morning, Maurice O'Conner,
57, and Richard Ford, 32, did double-duty in closed offices from San
Francisco to San Jose,  according to law enforcement authorities.
The team would break into an office, "case" or search it for computer
gear, later advertise that gear for sale, and return to steal it once
a buyer was found, they say.  The pair has been nabbed in what police
are calling a $1 million dollar theft ring that may have stolen computer
gear from more than 1,400 offices in the Bay Area for the past three
years.

NEWSBYTES reported late in 1987 that there had been a rash of apparent
thefts-on-order in the downtown San Francisco area and police think
the pair may have been involved.  San Jose authorities say they
seized more than $100,000 worth of allegedly stolen machines from
O'Conner's residence in Fremont, California and from a rented locker.

The break in the case came when Richard Ford was caught inside a
closed office after hours on January 2; authorities say he later
admitted being a part of other burglaries and fingered O'Conner as
his assistant.

The two are in jail; Ford has pleaded guilty and O'Conner is expected
to be charged this week.

[***][2/09/88][***]
IN BRIEF --

ACTIVISION, San Jose, has just won Edward Esber, chairman and CEO
of Ashton-Tate, for its board of directors.  Why should Esber join
Activision on a part-time basis?  He says, "Activision has made great
strides in executing a financial turnaround...The have great potential
as an industry leader."

The rumor mill says APPLE researchers are working on a new
machine dubbed the "UltraMac."  It's said to be the highest
of high-end Macintoshes, and we'll provide you with details
as they trickle in.

APPLE COMPUTER is also in the business of real estate loans -- at
least for its star employees.  THE SAN JOSE MERCURY reports that
Apple has loaned Charles Boesenberg, head of sales and marketing,
$100,000 at 7.6% and $200,000 at no interest to finance a house.
Jean Louis Gassee and senior executive Michael Spindler got $473,000
and $234,000 respectively for moving expenses.  Gassee also got
$250,000 interest-free to purchase a home.

THE APPLE CO-OP, Renton, Washington, the oldest and largest
independent Apple user group, celebrates its tenth anniversary Feb.
16.  Since its founding, the group has grown to an international,
non-profit organization, has been publishing two national magazines
(CALL A.P.P.L.E. and MACINTOSH HORIZONS), has a retail store, and
sponsors the Apple Programmer's and Developer's Association.  The
anniversary calls for a special issue of CALL A.P.P.L.E. and a special
meeting featuring Apple Fellow Allan Alcorn.  CONTACT:  APPLE
CO-OP 206/251-5222.

COMPUTER CHRONICLES, San Mateo, a production of KCSM-TV and a
nationally syndicated PBS program, can now be viewed online on
the CompuServe information network.  Well, almost.  CompuServe,
a major underwriter of the series, is transcribing every weekly
program and putting the text online.  To read the Chronicles online
type GO CHRONICLES at command level.

KURZWEIL COMPUTER PRODUCTS, Los Angeles, will formally unveil
later this year a portable computer that reads aloud most printed
materials.  The Personal Reader, designed for the blind and visually
impaired, uses Kurzweil's proprietary artificial intelligence
technology to "read" a document aloud once it has been placed
in a scanner.  No price has been announced although officials claim
it will be 50% less than existing Kurzweil reading machines.

[***][2/09/88][***]
AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO MISSED IT LAST WEEK.... A CORRECTION
TO LAST WEEK'S STORY WHICH MISTAKENLY IDENTIFIED HP'S NEW
PRINTER AS A LASER PRINTER...

WORLD'S FIRST UNDER-$1,000 LASER-LIKE PRINTER FROM HP
PALO ALTO, Ca. (NB) -- Hewlett Packard has announced DeskJet, a
$995 laser-like printer that produces high resolution output
from thermal ink-jet printing technology.  It has an output of
300 dots per inch and comes with built-in Courier font styles.
Additional fonts can be obtained by adding cartridges via two
ports.   The printer is based on HP's "inkjet" technology and
it employs HP's PCL printer language.  HP says it is compatible
with most HP LaserJet printer support software packages.

The DeskJet is aimed at the market for letter quality printers
dot matrix printers.  Says Richard Snyder, marketing manager for
HP's Vancouver, Washington division, "The HP DeskJet printer
offers an important alternative by taking the benefits of 18/24 wire
impact printers a step further and satisfying four basic needs
of customers at once:  sophisticated laser-quality output, quiet
and compact desktop design, ease of use, and a low price."

[***][2/09/88][***]
BEAT THE POLLSTERS - PICK THE NEXT PRESIDENT
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Ca. (NB) -- Want to know who'll win the presidential
race?  Just pick up a copy of "President Elect-1988 Edition" and
figure it out.  Strategic Simulations has published a game  which
simulates that last two months of the campaign trail, analyzing each
candidate's strengths in public speaking, foreign policy, regional
appeal, domestic policy, and political bent, and picks a winner based
on popular and electoral votes way ahead of the rest of us.  And the
company is so convinced that you'll be a winner at picking the winner
that it's sponsoring a  contest which will provide $2,000 dollars to
the player that comes closest to getting the actual results.  Now
that's entertainment!

[***][2/09/88][***]
OPTICAL STORAGE HAMPERED BY LACK OF STANDARDS, WEAK SOFTWARE
ATLANTA (NB) -- CD-ROMs are the coming thing for storing masses
of information. A single disk you can hold in your hand can
contain up to 275,000 pages, or 550 megabytes, of information.
Even a huge online database can fit on a single CD-ROM. And,
since the CD-ROM drive is similar to the CD audio player, it can
be made cheaply; Amdek's Hitachi-made drive costs just $700.
People have been predicting for years that CDs would soon
overtake both floppies and hard drives as the storage medium of
choice.

Why haven't they? One reason noted by Ken Shain of Geovision,
producers of the GeoDisc CD-ROM with mapping data from across the
U.S., is that developers underestimated how long it would take to
organize the data on a CD-ROM so it could be retrieved easily.
Other CD-ROM developers note that each producer is coming up with
their own search software, so flipping from one CD-ROM to another
is more like going from learning WordStar to WordPerfect than
from listening to Bruce Springsteen, then Michael Jackson.

A third weakness noted by information broker Rob Aaron of Aaron-
Smith Associates, Atlanta, is in the search software put onto the
CD-ROMs by their developers. He says it's crippled. "You can only
search by key words. It's not free-text searching," as you'd find
online. "It's only searchable the way a printed index would be."
The real problem is in to the hardware, he adds. "CD-ROM players
have access times of about a half-second, while magnetic media
measure access times in millionths of a second. So it's hard to
get the type of searching you'd get on Dialog or Lexis with the
same database on CD-ROM. As a result, the flexibility is much
reduced." The future may have to wait.

CONTACT: Ken Shain, GEOVISION [phone];
Rob Aaron, AARON-SMITH ASSOCIATES [phone]

[***][2/09/88][***]
TEXAS AIR SEEKS TRAVEL AGENT BUSINESS WITH A BETTER COMPUTER
HOUSTON (NB) -- This story is an example of how any business'
efficiency is connected to computing. System One Inc., the
computer reservation subsidiary of Texas Air Corp., announced a
deal February 2 with Murdoch Electronic Publishing to connect its
airline reservations' network with Murdoch's Jaguar system.
Jaguar provides hotel reservations and has an advanced video
display system to show travelers what they're buying. The two
companies will jointly develop connections between their systems,
then System One will use Jaguar to lure travel agents' business.
Jaguar includes video maps which let travel agents search for
hotels by location. A System One spokesman told NEWSBYTES, "The
system will have 40,000 hotel properties. Our system has 12,500
properties we can book directly. It will in essence replace our
hotel and travel index in hard-copy form."

CONTACT: Yvonne Donaldson, SYSTEM ONE [phone]

[***][2/09/88][***]
NEC SUPERCOMPUTER USED TO FIND THE THIRD LARGEST PRIME EVER
HOUSTON (NB) -- The world's third largest prime number, 2 to the
110,503th power minus one, was discovered "by luck" recently at
the Houston Area Resaerch Center by Walter Colquitt and Luther
Welsh, who's based in El Toro, CA. The search was conducted on a
NEC SXII supercomputer dubbed "Godzilla." To find the prime, the
NEC had to perform 7.1 trillion computer operations. The record
prime number, however, was found on a Cray. When it was just
getting warmed up.

CONTACT: Walter Colquitt, HARC [phone]

[***][2/09/88][***]
SLEEP STUDIES NOW DONE AT HOME BY COMPUTER
GAINESVILLE, FL (NB) -- Microtronics Inc. of Gainesville has
begun marketing a computer system which can perform sleep studies
at home or in clinics. Such studies can point to problems like
insomnia or sleep apnea, a cessation of breathing which causes
adults to wake up, and can kill infants. Jack Smith, a University
of Florida professor, developed the system, and his daughter
Karla markets it. She told NEWSBYTES the units are based on an
IBM PC AT compatible, and they've begun testing a portable unit.
With a WORM optical drive option the system costs about $26,000,
she says, "but to store all the data from a night's sleep you
need it."

CONTACT: Karla Smith, MICROTRONICS [phone]

[***][2/09/88][***]
CONTROL DATA'S ETA WINS AWARD FROM JAPANESE
ST. PAUL, MN (NB) -- ETA Systems Inc., a subsidiary of Control
Data, said its ETA10 family of supercomputers was named one of
1987's best new products in Japan by the Nihon Keizei Shimbum.
There were 17 first-place winners chosen from more than 20,000
new products and services receiving coverage in four Nikkei
publications during the year. The ETA supercomputer won out over
Japanese competitors Hitachi, Fujitsu and NEC. ETA President Carl
Ledbetter was in Tokyo February 4 to receive the award
personally. (Hopefully it comes with some big orders.)

CONTACT: Steve Hemping, ETA SYSTEMS [phone]

[***][2/09/88][***]
PECAN GOLDEN CHIPS

COMPAQ, Houston, had record net earnings of $136 million for
1987, on sales of $1.2 billion. The record results of 1986 were
earnings of $43 million and sales of $625 million.

CONTROL DATA, Minneapolis, signed a joint development deal with
Fibronics International, Hyannis, MA, makers of a 100 million
bit/second fiber optic network. Under the deal, Control Data will
be able to connect that network with its Cyber supercomputers.

EQUIFAX, Atlanta, a computerized credit service, reported net
income of $30.6 million for 1987, on revenues of $670 million

INNOVATIVE SOFTWARE, Lenaxa, KS, completed its merger into
Informix, a Unix software developer, and planned a party to
celebrate at Uniforum in Dallas February 9. The deal was done
just a few weeks after Innovative's Wingz spreadsheet for the
Macintosh debuted to rave reviews.

TELEX, Tulsa, completed its merger into Memorex, a computer media
company nominally based in a tax haven, but controlled by a New
York investor. The company is test-marketing a PC system for sale
through retail stores.
[***][2/09/88][***]
PECAN CHIPS

DATAPOINT, San Antonio, won a deal with Sweden under which its
Arcnet network will connect 150 vehicle inspection stations
around the country.

DCA, Alpharetta, began shipping a version of its IRMA 3279
Graphics card which supports the IBM PS/2 line.

THE ELECTRONIC NETWORKING ASSOCIATION, Arlington, VA, will hold
its second conference May 12-15 in Philadelphia. The theme will
be "Beyond Electronic Mail: People and Organizations at Work in a
Global Economy." (Contact Nan Hanahue, [phone] for more.)

GEORGIA TECH, Atlanta, said its Drs. Michael Barnsley and Alan
Sloan have produced image compression ratios of up to 10,000-1 in
fractal geometry. The technique will let you describe complex
color images in as few as 2,000 bytes. The work was done under
Defense Department contracts.

HAYES MICROCOMPUTER PRODUCTS, Norcross, lost marketing director
Bill Heys to DCA, where he'll become a vice president. Heys was
spearheading Hayes' ISDN product efforts.

HONEYWELL BULL, Minneapolis, said The Ultimate Corp. will
integrate its version of the Pick operating system with Bull's
DPS 6 EXT super mini-computers. Ultimate is based in East
Hanover, NJ.

INFORMATION STORAGE INC., Colorado Springs, CO, said tests of
its upcoming WORM (writable optical storage) drives give it a
capacity of 1.2-1.3 billion bytes per disk. (And they plug in
like floppies, too.)

QUADRAM, Norcross, GA, began shipping a new version of its JT Fax
facsimile software, which lets users customize dialing, printing,
and sending features, and lets users create menus in foreign
languages.

SAMNA, Atlanta, began shipping its Samna Plus IV Version 1.2
running under Unix. The program supports scanners and integration
between Unix and DOS-based PCs.

[***][2/09/88][***]
AND FINALLY...THE 21ST CENTURY DYNABOOK
CHAMPAIGN-URBANA, IL (NB) -- The University of Illinois won Apple
Computer's contest to design a computer for the year 2000 with
the "Tablet", an 8 1/2 by 11, 1/2 inch thick machine with a laser
drive loosely based on Apple scientist Alan Kay's "Dynabook"
concept. Entries were judged by a panel including Kay, Steve
Wozniak, futurist Alvin Toffler, education author Diane Ravitch,
and science fiction writer Ray Bradbury. The winners get Apple
gift certificates worth $2,000, Apple internships, and Apple
interviews to join the corps full-time on graduation. Princeton
came in second, the University of Minnesota third.


[***][2/09/88][***]
OGIVAR IN JOINT VENTURE WITH JAPANESE FIRM
MONTREAL (NB) -- Ogivar Technologies has signed a joint-venture
agreement with AI Electronics Corp. of Japan for the production
of a line of laptop computers.  AI Electronics, which was already
supplying plasma screen technology for Ogivar's System IV laptop,
gets the right to build the System IV for the Asian market.
Jaime Benchimol, president of Ogivar, said the two companies plan
to introduce three more laptop models over the next three or four
years.  AI Electronics will sell these in Asia while Ogivar sells
them in the rest of the world, he said.

Ogivar introduced the System IV at the Comdex show in Las Vegas
in November and is currently shipping it.  AI Electronics is now
setting up its plant to manufacture the laptop for the Asian
market, Benchimol said.

CONTACT: Ogivar Technologies, 7200 Transcanadienne, Montreal,
         Que. H4T 1A3, [phone]

[***][2/09/88][***]
COMPETITION WATCHDOGS INVESTIGATE JOINT RESERVATION SYSTEM
OTTAWA (NB) -- The Bureau of Competition Policy, an agency of
Canada's Department of Consumer and Corporate Affairs, is
studying a joint computerized reservations operation which
Canada's two biggest airlines launched last year.

Air Canada and Canadian Airlines International announced last
April 27, that Air Canada's Reservec and Canadian's Pegasus would
be merged into a single computerized system based in Winnipeg.
They said the move was necessary to compete against major U.S.-
based reservation systems such as American Airlines' Sabre
system, which counts some Canadian travel agencies among its
customers.  The joint venture is called Gemini Group Automated
Distribution Systems Inc.

Gilles Menard, a spokesman for the bureau of competition policy,
said the present investigation is routine.  Such studies are
undertaken when any large merger takes place, he said.  If the
government agency finds that the formation of Gemini
"substantially reduces competition," he said, the airlines could
decide to call off the plan, change the structure of the system
to meet the government's concerns, or proceed in defiance of the
bureau's findings.  If they chose the third course, the
department's Competition Tribunal could decide to take action.
Menard would not say when the investigation is expected to
conclude.

[***][2/09/88][***]
ASSOCIATION SEEKS MEASURES TO STRENGTHEN SOFTWARE INDUSTRY
MARKHAM, Ont. (NB) -- Canadian government, business and
educational institutions should be working together to strengthen
this country's software industry.  So says the York Technology
Association, a group representing high-tech companies in the
Toronto suburb that is home to about half of Canada's computer
industry.  (IBM Canada, Apple Canada, Commodore Business Machines
and AT&T Canada are all based in Markham.)

Canada missed the boat in computer hardware, the YTA said in a
recent report entitled THE SOFTWARE OPPORTUNITY: A CANADIAN
PERSPECTIVE.  "We cannot afford to do the same in software," the
report contends.  The document sets forth 36 recommendations
under the headings of public attitude, marketing, financing,
business and technical expertise, research and development,
intellectual property, international trade and government
procurement policies.  Among the more significant
recommendations, the YTA

- supports current free-trade negotiations with the U.S. and
urges the government to launch similar initiatives with other
countries,

- wants more generous tax incentives for private-sector research
and development,

- calls for a high-profile scientific project to get the Canadian
public more interested in science and technology,

- believes science education in Canada needs improvement, and

- wants programs to increase the marketing skills and resources
of the software industry.

CONTACT: THE YORK TECHNOLOGY ASSOCIATION, Suite 132,
         7305 Woodbine Ave., Markham, Ont. L3R 4V7,
         [phone]

[***][2/09/88][***]
TORONTO (NB) -- Several companies are interested in space in
Toronto's Computermall, but they're all waiting for others to
move in first.  So far, only one company occupies the mall,
completed last spring in the west end of Toronto.  Office
Equipment Ltd. uses its space there as a demonstration facility.
Alain Sutton, president of Computer Malls Ltd., said that while
he has several commitments from companies he did not name, most
want to see more of the building's space occupied before they
move in themselves.

Although things have gone slowly, Sutton said, "I have no doubt
in my mind that there is a market ... Toronto is a big market,
the need for it is there."  He admits that the failures of some
similar projects in the U.S. have made potential tenants more
hesitant, but says the Dallas Infomart has proven that the
computer mall idea can work.  In the meantime, Computer Malls is
running seminars in the conference centre that makes up part of
its building, and carrying on consulting work.

CONTACT: COMPUTER MALLS LTD., [phone]

[***][2/09/88][***]
SOFTWARE 88: NETWORKING AND PLATITUDES
TORONTO (NB) -- About 225 delegates were at the Metro Toronto
Convention Centre last week for Software 88, a symposium
sponsored by the federal Department of Communications and the
Ontario Ministry of Culture and Communications.  The value of the
conference for most was probably best summed up by a delegate
overheard talking on a pay phone early on the conference's first
day.  "It's good," he said, "I've made one good contact already."
Delegates were welcomed by the federal and provincial ministers
responsible for the conference, both of whom said nice things
about the software industry and nothing much else.  Other
sessions dealt with basics of telecommunications, marketing,
export strategies and similar topics.

[***][2/09/88][***]
PAY UP FASTER ON TAX CREDITS, HIGH-TECH FIRMS TELL OTTAWA
OTTAWA (NB) -- Canadian firms that qualify for research and
development tax credits wait as long as two and half years to get
the money.  That's one of the findings of a survey by the
Canadian Advanced Technology Association (CATA).  CATA says the
delay is unacceptable, and it's making life difficult for
Canadian high-tech companies.  The association wants the payments
made faster, and it says the government has "overreacted" to
scandals surrounding the Scientific Research Tax Credit program
in which Ottawa paid out large sums for research that was never
done.

The SRTC program cost Ottawa about C$3.5 billion in foregone tax
revenues.  About 65 companies are still being investigated in
connection with the program, which was closed down in 1985.
Seven charges of fraud have been laid.  Since that debacle, the
government has checked out companies very carefully before paying
out tax credits.  CATA says Ottawa's caution is destroying the
tax breaks' incentive effect, and says the government must find a
way to process claims faster.

[***][2/09/88][***]
ONTARIO TO SELL THREE TECHNOLOGY CENTRES
TORONTO (NB) -- Three of the Province of Ontario's five
technology centres will be sold to the private sector, provided
buyers can be found.  Rick Winston, a spokesman for the
provincial Ministry of Industry, Trade and Technology, told
NEWSBYTES CANADA the centres were never intended to be
government-run forever.  He said the Centre for Microelectronics
in Ottawa, the Centre for Automotive Parts in St. Catharines and
the Centre for Advanced Manufacturing with facilities in
Cambridge and Peterborough will be put on the block.

Winston would not comment on whether any private-sector buyers
are interested in the centres, none of which turn a profit.
However, he said his ministry "expects they can be profitable."

He said the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Technology plans to
continue operating its Centre for Resource Industry Technology in
Sudbury, while the Centre for Farm Machinery and Food Processing
Technology in Chatham will be turned over to the provincial
Ministry of Agriculture and Food.

[***][2/09/88][***]
COREL RELEASES DESKTOP PUBLISHING TOOLS
OTTAWA (NB) -- Corel Systems Corp., a maker of desktop publishing
software, has introduced two new text manipulation programs for
MS-DOS computers.  Corel Headline lets users add, delete or
modify text, lines and graphic figures, and provides an
assortment of screen patterns.  Output is in PostScript format
and can be imported into Ventura Publisher or PageMaker.  Corel
Newfont allows creation of hollow, shadowed, shaded, skewed,
angled or stretched versions of standard PostScript fonts.  Each
of the two packages will sell for C$250.

CONTACT: COREL SYSTEMS CORP., 1600 Carling Ave., Suite 190,
         Ottawa, Ont. K1Z 7M4, [phone]

[***][2/09/88][***]
FINANCIAL BITS
-- COMPUTER INNOVATIONS DISTRIBUTION INC., Brampton, Ont.-based
operator of all Canadian ComputerLand franchises, made C$3.1
million in the 40 weeks ended Jan. 2, up from C$2.1 million in
the 39 weeks a year earlier.  Revenue climbed to C$211 million
from C$174.9 million.

-- LSI LOGIC CORP. OF CANADA, Calgary, reported a profit of C$3.7
million in the year ended Dec. 31, up from C$2.1 million the year
before.  Revenues rose to C$23.2 million from C$14.6 million.

-- MEMOTEC DATA INC., Montreal, has got nearly all the common
shares and more than half the preferred shares of Toronto-based
service bureau Polycom Systems Ltd. under its purchase offer.
Polycom will become a Memotec subsidiary.

[***][2/09/88][***]
BITS, EH?
-- THE BUSINESS OF TECHNOLOGY, a two-day conference that was
scheduled for Toronto in mid-February, has been called off
because only 30 people registered to attend.

-- APPLE CANADA INC., Markham, Ont., is pleased that the Federal
Court of Canada has found several companies and individuals in
Vancouver guilty of contempt of court for defying injunctions
against selling Apple II clones.  O.S. Micro Systems Inc., Comtex
Micro Systems Inc. and individuals associated with the two
companies pleaded guilty to the charges.

-- A committee of directors of NBS INC., maker of credit-card
verification terminals and point-of-sale equipment in
Mississauga, Ont., has fired NBS president Clive Raymond.  There
are allegations of unauthorized transfer of about C$10 million of
NBS assets, and Hees International Corp., a Toronto-based
merchant bank, has "agreed to provide management services" to the
company.

-- COGNOS INC., Ottawa, says its Powerhouse fourth-generation
language is a key component in a new office automation system,
System 3000, under development by Canon Sales Co. Inc. of Tokyo.
The system is the result of a joint project by Cognos, Canon and
Yokogawa Hewlett-Packard of Tokyo.

-- INFOMART ONLINE, Toronto on-line database operator, has added
The Canadian Press news wire to its retrieval service, which
already offers an assortment of Canadian and U.S. daily and
weekly newspapers.



[***][2/09/88][***]
TRON ARCHITECTURE INTRODUCED WORLDWIDE
TOKYO (NB) -- The Japanese 32-bit proposed standard computer
architecture called TRON will soon be introduced in overseas.
In Europe, some ten computer-related companies, including Siemens
(W. Germany), Olivetti (Italy), and Ericson (Sweden), are
planning to join members of the TRON Association to set up
a TRON office in Europe.  The actual location of the office is
expected to be in Holland or Switzerland.  In Korea, the
Korea Information Industry Association is currently acting as the
go-between for the TRON Association there.  Korea's TRON Association is
expected to be set up in April.  In the U.S., TRON supporters are
talking with Dr. Ken Sakamura, an advocate of TRON, to set up
an office in the U.S.  The TRON offices will provide technical
information on TRON since it is an open architecture.

Currently in Japan, 95 major computer makers have joined the
association to push the TRON project.  Major American
subsidiaries, such as IBM Japan, and Univac (Unisys) Japan, are
also members.

CONTACT: TRON Association, c/o Kikaishinko-kaikan, 3-5-8
         Shibakoen, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105

[***][2/09/88][***]
SMALLTALK-80 RUNS ON SUN, APOLLO, HP, AND MACINTOSH
TOKYO (NB) -- Fuji Xerox Information System has developed various
Smalltalk-80 versions which run on different manufacturers'
computers.  The Sun, the Apollo, and the HP versions cost $7,400
each.  The Macintosh II version is $2,559, and the Macintosh SE
and the Plus versions cost $2,047 each.  With this object-
oriented powerful programming language, users are said to improve
software productivity.

CONTACT: Fuji Xerox Information System, 3-16 Nishi-Shinjuku,
         Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo

[***][2/09/88][***]
JAPANESE MAKERS BEEF-UP COMPUTER PRODUCTION IN U.S.
TOKYO (NB) -- Japanese major personal computer makers, including
Toshiba, NEC, and Seiko-Epson will dramatically increase
production of IBM-compatible personal computers in the U.S.  This
is due, in part, to the increasing demand for their personal
computers in the U.S.

Toshiba will build an additional production line in its Irvine
plant in California to boost production of laptop computers
by 50% in June.  NEC will start producing transportable personal
computers in its Boxborrow plant in Massachusetts.  Seiko-Epson
will produce printers and personal computers in its Portland
plant, and it will almost double production of its personal
computers in March.

[***][2/09/88][***]
JAPANESE DISKETTE MAKERS PRODUCE 3.5-INCH DRIVES IN NORTH AMERICA
TOKYO (NB) -- Major Japanese floppy diskette makers will produce
3.5-inch floppy diskettes in North America in order to meet the
increasing demand of 3.5-inch FDs and beat the cost of the yen.
Hitachi Maxell will start producing 300 million units of diskettes
per month in its San Diego plant in February.  Sony says it will
produce 200-300 million FDs per month in its Alabama plant this
summer.  Kao has already started producing FDs in Canada.  Fuji Film
is also talking about the production of diskettes there.  And last
but not least, even TDK is said to be thinking about a similar FD
production plan in North America.

[***][2/09/88][***]
NEW COMPANY TO DEVELOP POWERFUL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE LANGUAGE
TOKYO (NB) -- The Japanese Ministry of International Trade and
Industry (MITI) will establish a joint company for a new artificial
intelligence language in the middle of March.  The new company
will study and develop a programming language C-ESP, which is
based on the Extended Self Contained (ESP) artificial
intelligence description language.  ESP is a biproduct of MITI's
fifth generation computer project and it uses PROLOG as its core
language.

The new company aims to polish ESP so that it can be used on various
levels of computers, including minicomputers and personal
computers.  The new company is led by The Fundamental Technology
Center of MITI and eleven private enterprises, including
Mitsubishi, Oki Electronics, Fujitsu, Hitachi, NEC, Toshiba,
Sharp, Japan DEC, Data General Japan, Mitsubishi General
Laboratory, and Tokyo Information System.  MITI says it will make
the language open to public in the future.

[***][2/09/88][***]
IBM-NEC COMPATIBLE PCs DUE THIS MONTH
TOKYO (NB) -- Tokyo-based personal computer venture Tomcat
Computer will ship the first batch of its world-premiere double-
compatible personal computers at the end of this month.  Another
Tokyo venture, Proside, will also release its double-compatible PCs
around the same time following a four-month delay.  Both
companies' PCs are based on Tomcat's emulation architecture,
called Virtual System Logic (VSL), which emulates the Basic I/O
systems of both IBM PC/AT and NEC PC-9801.  According to a Tomcat
spokesman, Tomcat has gained assurance from both IBM and NEC
that the VSL does not infringe on their copyrights.  However,
that was unofficial permission.  So, the actual reaction of
the two computer giants will not be known until they are the machines
are released.

CONTACT: Tomcat Computer, Yaguchi Bldg. 4F, 3-6-4 Nishi-Waseda,
         Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160

[***][2/09/88][***]
<<< SUSHI BYTES >>>

IBM JAPAN SETS UP DATA COMMUNICATION BUSINESS DEPARTMENT --
Following its parent company's recent restructuring, IBM Japan
has set up a special department to deal with the business of
data communication.  The department is divided into
four sections to provide telecom services and devices, such as
local area networks, value-added network services, and
telecommunication devices for PBX and TDM.

FUJITSU'S MASS-MEMORY MAGNETIC DISK IN U.S. -- Fujitsu, Tokyo,
will produce its 7.56 gigabyte magnetic disks in the U.S., and will
supply them to American computer makers on an OEM basis.
Fujitsu's magnetic disk has an almost equivalent memory space as
IBM's 3380, which provides a 7.5 gigabyte memory.

NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR ALLIES WITH JAPANESE CHIP MAKERS -- A
published report says National Semiconductor (U.S.A.) is talking
with Japanese chip manufacturers to initiate second source agreements
on dynamic RAMs.  Mitsubishi and Oki may become its future partners,
along with Alliance Semiconductor in the U.S.

NEC TO RAISE CHIP PRODUCTION RATE IN U.S. -- NEC, Tokyo, will
increase the production rate of its 256K DRAMs by 43% in the U.S.
this fall.  As a result, 80% of the company's chips sold in the
U.S. will be made in its American factory.  NEC is planning to
"import" those American-made chips to Japan in the future.

SONY PRODUCES VHS-FORMAT VCR IN FRANCE -- Sony will produce
VHS format home VCRs in France this November.  Also, the company
will produce them in Japan this fall.  To start, Sony
will receive them temporarily from Hitachi on an OEM basis in
April.

KDD'S FUN EVENT -- Japan's international telecom giant KDD will
hold an event/exhibition on international telecommunication in
Tokyo on Jan. 25 to Mar 21.  KDD says the event will include
games and a "riddle corner."



[***][2/09/88][***]
MICROSOFT ANNOUNCES OS/2 PRODUCTS
AMSTERDAM, HOLLAND (NB) -- Microsoft announced that it will be
shipping two products for the OS/2 operating system as of March
1988. The products include Multiplan/2 and Word/2 which will take
advantage of the features of OS/2 by introducing larger memory
capacity and multitasking facilities, such as simultaneous
printing. Both products will be offered in character versions,
while Excel and Graphics Word (or it may be called WORD 5.0) will
have to wait for the Windows-like Presentation manager, out in late
1988. Multiplan/2 and Word/2 are both written with the C Compiler
version 4.5, available in OS/2. Both models need an AT-type
computer with at least 1MB of RAM or with 1.5MB if the system is to
run both OS/2 protected mode and the Compatibility box (needed
since there is currently no software available that runs under OS/2
in the protected mode).

Microsoft has also announced that OS/2 is selling well among OEMs
(Original Equipment Manufacturers) in Europe with Tulip (of
Holland), Bull (of France) and many other companies already signed
to take the product.

[***][2/09/88][***]
TOSHIBA REVAMPS T-5100, ENTERS UNIX
NEUSS, WEST GERMANY (NB) -- Toshiba, the leader in laptop computers,
is revamping the 5100. The new system, has 2MB to 4MB of RAM on-
board, a 40 MB to 80MB hard disk and up to 4 serial ports.

The system, which includes the 386 microprocessor, is offered with
UNIX V, release 3. The software takes about 15MB of the hard disk
leaving about 25MB for user data. The hard disk can also be split
in two for those users who require UNIX and DOS support.

A Toshiba spokesman said, "This is the system that sets us apart
from the usual laptop arena. We intend to continue being the number
one laptop computer company in the world and to do that we have to
offer products that are state of the art."

[***][2/09/88][***]
EUROPEAN TELECOMMUNICATIONS: PREPARING FOR 1992
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (NB) -- The EC is hoping that 1988 will be a key
year in telecommunications in Europe. After launching the $1.3
billion RACE telecommunications program, the EC published
proposals, included in a green paper, which outline the steps that
will be taken to open up the European Communications market.

The proposals include the opening of terminal equipment markets by
December 1990, progressive opening of the market from 1989 onward,
mutual recognition of standards and type approvals, opening of
satellite antenna markets, setting up of a European
Telecommunications Standards Institute (similar to the FCC in the
US), implementation of cost-oriented tariffs (against subjective
tariffs as charged today) and a coherent position regarding
satellite communications.

All this came about from the desire to open the European market and
stimulate the growth of the microelectronics industry in Europe. According
to official EC documents, the expected income derived from advanced
industries will be 7% of the gross product of the EC compared to 2%
today. This means that about $600 billion will be created by the
telecommunications market since more and more people are involved
in this industry sector.

[***][2/09/88][***]
DUTCH 4GL CONTEST WON BY A DUTCH COMPANY
AMSTERDAM, HOLLAND (NB) -- The Dutch 4GL (Fourth Generation
Language) grand  prix was won by a Dutch entry against a French
entry and trailed by a French/Belgian entry. The Grand Prix, which
was intended to show how 4GLs have advanced over the last few years,
was sponsored by IDG communications and was held here over 29 and
30 January 1988.

Tests included Cobol vs APL tests, database construction
techniques, online transactions, management reporting and
flexibility. The winner was PROGRESS by Progress Software, followed
by McDonell Douglas's PRO IV of Philips Data Systems and by ADONIX
by Spemi. Other contestants included PACE by Wang, MAI Origin by
MAI Software and TODAY by Inad Software.

[***][2/09/88][***]
ALTOS INTRODUCES UNIX 386 SYSTEM
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK (NB) -- Altos introduced the 386/1000 series of
computers which run UNIX V release 3.0 and offer support for up to
24 terminals. The system includes a 386 running at 16MHz, support
for the 387 mathematics processor, 32K bytes of cache, a separate
80186 I/O subsystem, and 8 serial ports. Main memory can be 2-4 MB
of RAM and 40MB to 150MB of SCSI (faster than the usual AT) type
hard disk.

Software for the system was also announced by Jan Otzen, marketing
manager of Altos, and includes packages for lawyers, hotels,
productions systems, and distributed station groups.

[***][2/09/88][***]
COMPUTER BRIEFS...

SIEMENS' profit fell by 4% in first quarter which ended in December
31, 1987. Siemens posted a net of DM 285 million (about $170
million) against DM 296 million for the previous year. The company
blamed the disappointing results on the low value of the dollar
which makes labor costs in the US lower than in Germany...

 ...De Benedetti, still trying to buy part of Societe Generale in
Belgium, is causing leading politicians in this country to fear for
the company's local ownership. De Benedetti, the chairman of
OLIVETTI, had bought 16% of the company's stock (which is as much part
of Belgium as Godiva chocolates and French fries) before he was
discovered, which led to a major row. Ministers as well as Societe
Generale have been trying to hold him back, but it looks as though
De Beneddeti will be around here more often than anyone thinks...

 ...Sweden's Vehicle control authority has selected systems from
DATAPOINT CORP. for a vehicle inspection network. The contract
which is valued at more than $2 million, calls for 150 Datapoint
systems to be installed across the country. The systems include the
Datapoint 7900, Datapoint systems software and PCs acting as
workstations...

 ...and finally if you are getting bored formatting that 20MB hard
disk, just think of what folks with high capacity hard disks go
through.  To format a 760MB hard disk, it takes one and a half
hours. If you make a mistake, such as specifying the wrong number of
cylinders, you need another one and a half hours. You also need
about 35 20MB cassettes to backup the disk, which in turn takes
about 5 hours.  Somehow, I believe PCs and their owners are just not
ready for such capacities yet.....

==========================================================
[***][2/09/88][***]
IBM UNVEILS NEW HIGH-AND-LOW-END PRINTERS
NEW YORK (NB) -- International Business Machines Corp. has
introduced a new Wheelwriter office typewriter and PC printer, as
well as a new line of high-speed mainframe printers. The $895
Wheelwriter 10 Series II features a 4,000 character correction
memory and cursor-key page movement, a reprint function for
multiple copies of one-page documents, and a spelling checker.
The typewriter can also be hooking into a PC with an optional
interface. The result is a 20-cps high-quality printers.

Also, Big Blue has rolled out two non-impact page printers for
mainframe computers. The IBM 3827 page printer can print up to 92
cut-sheet, double-sided pages per minute, while the IBM 3835 can
print 88 pages per minute of fanfold pages, including 15-inch-
wide output. Eastman Kodak Co. of Rochester, N.Y., is supplying
the electrophotographic engines for the new IBM printers.

[***][2/09/88][***]
SHARP DROPS LAPTOP PRICES
MAHWAH, N.J. (NB) -- Facing an increasingly competitive laptop
market, Sharp Electronics Corp. has slashed the list price of its
PC-compatible PC-4501 laptop to $995, a cut of $300. The machine
comes equipped with a supertwist LCD display, 3.5-inch drive, a
parallel printer port, and 256 K of RAM. While prices are still
holding better for laptops than for plain vanilla office clones,
there has been steady discounting of the tiny machines of late.
Single-drive Toshibas with DOS 2.11 in ROM are going for under
$1,000, and many retailers are selling Dataview's Spark with
supertwist screen, 640 K, two drives, a host of I/O ports, and
DOS for $1,195. Sharp's two-drive laptop with two 3.5 drives, 640
K, and a backlit screen is going for a suggested retail price of
$1,795.  Bill Robinson, Sharp systems division general manager,
said, "Laptops are the fastest growing segment of the computer
industry."

CONTACT: Sharp Electronics Corp., Sharp Plaza, Mahwah, N.J.
         07430, 201-529-8970.

[***][2/09/88][***]
SONY TO MAKE DATA CARTRIDGES, ENTER HOT WORKSTATION MARKET
NEW YORK (NB) -- Sony Corp. will make and market quarter-inch
data cartridges for mass storage, the company has announced. Sony
will license technology from 3M Company and sell the products
under the Sony brand name. Sony says all the cartridges will
features its DDL binder system for protection from harsh
environments, a special treatment to minimize drop outs, a
back-coating to ensure stable transports at high speeds, and a
special belt drive to assure accurate storage and retrieval.

Sony has also announced that it will try to crack the booming
U.S. workstation market through a new organization called Sony
Microsystems Co. The new Sony subsidiary will market the New Work
Station (NEWS) workstations, UNIX-based, 32-bit machines aimed at
the technical user. Wall Street analysts expressed doubts that
Sony would be able make a serious run at the competitive U.S.
market against such superb marketeers as Apollo and Sun
Microsystems. The analysts say Sony is weak when it comes to
distribution to commercial customers. The first NEWS units to be
sold in the U.S. will be the NEWS-711, at #3,995 and the NEWS-841
at $19,900.

CONTACT: Sony Corp. of America, 9 West 57th St., New York NY
         10019, 212-418-9427.

[***][2/09/88][***]
UNITED FINED FOR UNFAIR FARE DATA
WASHINGTON (NB) -- The U.S. Department of Transportation has
fined United Air Lines $45,000 after discovering inaccurate and
misleading data on international fares in the airline's Apollo
reservation system, widely used by travel agents around the
country. The fine came after complaints by Transworld Airlines
and Aer Lingus of Ireland that Apollo gave greater prominence to
United flights. DOT investigated and found that the favoritism
toward United resulted from use of software and data provided by
British Air for United. The government agency said United has
ceased the violations.

[***][2/09/88][***]
BIG BOARD MAKES PROGRAM TRADING LIMITS PERMANENT
NEW YORK (NB) -- Attempting to preempt federal action, the New
York Stock Exchange has made permanent its temporary limits on
the use of computer program trading. Member firms would be
forbidding from using the Big Board's automated order entry
system for index arbitrage trades when the Dow Jones industrial
average moves 50 points in a single trading day. The decision by
the NYSE board came after both a special commission appointed to
look into the stock market collapse of October 19, 1987, and a
Securities and Exchange Commission staff investigation, concluded
that program trading played a major role in contributing to the
volatility of the market.

[***][2/09/88][***]
IVERSON REOPENS FIGHT WITH C3
McLEAN, Va. (NB) -- Iverson Technology Corp. has reopened a
dispute with C3 Inc. of Herndon, Va. over a $270 million Marine
Corps. computer contract. Iverson has asked the Defense
Department's inspector general to investigate the award. The
award has been held up pending an investigation by the General
Accounting Office. Iverson, which specializes in Tempest
technology to reduce electronic emissions from computers, said C3
failed to disclose the among of foreign-made components in the
computers it sold the Corps, a violation of procurement
regulations. C3 denies the charges, saying that Iverson
previously withdrew the charges because they could not be
substantiated.

[***][2/09/88][***]
AN WANG'S LATEST RACKET
LOWELL, Mass. (NB) -- An Wang, computer genius and founder of
Wang Laboratories, is a well-known racketeer. Tennis racketeer,
that is. And now he has a patent to prove it. Tennis enthusiast
Wang has developed a series of tick-marks to be placed on the
strings and handles of tennis rackets that can be used to check
whether the net is the standard 36 inches high. Old timers will
recall that checking the net was once a routine, simple task. All
rackets were 27 inches long, nine inches wide. Nine plus 27 is
36. But then came the Prince and other odd-sized, odd-shaped
rackets and the tennis world changed. Several racket makers are
studying Wang's bright idea. Now, if they could interface it to
the VS, tie in to SNA, integrate the graphics in Windows, and
link it all up world wide, light bulbs would go on, blink, blink,
blink.

[***][2/09/88][***]
JUDGE HITS JUSTICE FOR $6.8 MILLION IN INSLAW CASE
WASHINGTON (NB) -- U.S. Bankruptcy Judge George Bason has ordered
the Justice Department to pay Inslaw, Inc., $6.8 million for
pirating Inslaw's legal software. Bason then filed suit against
Justice himself, in an attempt to keep his job on the bankruptcy
panel. A special judicial panel has not reappointed Bason to the
bankruptcy court and he says Justice is seeking to replace him
with an attorney who worked for the Department on the nasty
Inslaw case. Inslaw has alleged that Justice tried to drive the
company out of business and walk away with the case-tracking
software, called Promis. Bason ruled last fall that Justice used
"trickery, fraud and deceit" to trick Inslaw out of the software.
Bason awarded the full $6.8 in damages that Inslaw requested.
Justice said it would appeal the award.

[***][2/09/88][***]
BE AN INSTANT LOBBYIST WITH CONGRESSIONAL TOOLKIT
CROTON-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. (NB) -- Mad as hell and not going to take
it anymore? Then fire up Congressional Toolkit and fire off a
letter to your Senator, Congressman, or state legislator. The
$39.95 program has a small, built-in word processor, merge
capabilities, and a database that can be used as is or read into
other database managers, according to general partner Maggie
Johnson. You can either update the database yourself, or get an
update every two years from BJ Toolkit Software, the program
developer. Johnson says she has been aiming the software at
lobbying groups and the like, but that several sales have come
from people who are just plain mad about something and want to
make their views know to their political representatives.

CONTACT: BJ Toolkit Software, Alexander Ln., Croton-on-Hudson NY
         10520, 914-271-8271.

[***][2/09/88][***]
NEW CUSTOMS USER FEES COMING, AEA LOBBIES ON MOTHERBOARDS
WASHINGTON (NB) -- The United States will come up with a new way
of charging user fees to importers after the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade upheld a complaint by Europe and Canada that
the current U.S. method impairs trade. The current ad valorem
system assesses cargo owners a percent of the value of the cargo
to cover Customs Service costs. President Reagan is expected to
propose a new method, either a flat fee of a variable fee based
on how much it costs to process each shipment.

In the meantime, the American Electronics Association is lobbying
Congress to save the duty-free status of computer parts. Last
summer, Customs ruled that motherboards were "unfinished
machines" and subject to a duty of 3.9 percent. AEA has been
working on a plan to accept the reclassification of
motherboards, but delay the duty for two years while the White
House attempts to negotiation an international agreement to
eliminate it entirely. A vote on the AEA plan did not take place
before the beginning of the new year, so the electronics trade
group is urging Congress to act early this year.

[***][2/09/88][***]
NEWS NIBBLES FROM AROUND THE REGION

WANG LABS of Lowell, Mass., will take over Informatics Legal
Systems subsidiary of Convergent Inc., the largest value-added
reseller of Wang VS minicomputers. The firm sells time keeping,
billing and accounting software for the legal industry. No price
was disclosed.

DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORP. of Maynard, Mass., is in a joint venture
with Evans & Sutherland Computer Corp. to sell a new color
graphics VAX workstation for three-dimensional modeling. The
$87,700 machines will be sold by both Digital and Evans &
Sutherland.

John Grist Brainerd, who headed the design team for the world's
first electronic computer, ENIAC, has died in Kennett Square,
Pa., at age 83. Brainerd directed the Moore School of Electrical
Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania and headed the team
that developed the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer
during World War II. ENIAC was unveiled in 1946. It weighed 30
tons and contained 18,000 vacuum tubes.

CULLINET SOFTWARE of Westwood, Mass., will take $13.7 million in
write-offs for the third quarter ended January 31. Analysts said
the write-off indicates that Cullinet's mainframe software
business is weaker than expected. The company has been struggling
to shift from mainframe to minicomputer software since 1985.

The INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE will allow electronic filing of 1987
tax returns from Army bases in the Panama Canal Zone this year.
If successful, IRS says it may let other overseas filers send in
their returns by computer next year.

The U.S. POSTAL SERVICE has awarded IBM a contract valued at the
hundreds of millions of dollars, most of it going for purchases
of Big Blue's slow-selling 9370 mid-range computer. Originally
dubbed the "VAX killer," the 9370 has failed to meet IBM's sale
projections.

FLOW GENERAL INC. of McLean, Va., said profits for the second
quarter of its fiscal year hit $2.4 million (27 cents per share),
compared to $563,000 (six cents per share) for the software firm
in last year's second quarter. But $2.1 million of the second
quarter performance came from sale of a joint venture in Finland.

[***][2/09/88][***]
SOFTWARE PIRATES BLITZ UK USERS
Raffles City, Singapore (NB) -- Software pirates from Singapore
are openly mailing users in the UK with offers of business
software at rock-bottom prices.  The software catalogue shown to
NEWSBYTES UK contains details of almost 1,000 of the world's top-
selling business packages for the IBM PC and Apple series of
micros.  The problem is, the software is all pirated.

The man behind the piracy rip-off calls himself Ibrahim Bim Abu
Baker, and operates from a Singapore mailing address.  Amazingly,
Baker has also tried to advertise in the small ads of "Personal
Computer World" magazine.  Baker used the cover of a computer club
offering second-hand PC and Apple software by mail order to sell
his wares.  Fortunately for the software houses concerned, PCW
editorial assistant Chris Cain spotted the ad and
immediately brought it to the attention of editor Derek Cohen.
"He's got a lot of cheek," Cohen told NEWSBYTES UK.

Cohen and his staff have turned details of the ad, along with a
copy of the manual, over to Bob Hay, the coordinator for the
Federation Against Software Theft (FAST).  "Baker is known to
us," Hay told NEWSBYTES UK.  "He's better-known as Lee Chong,
whose offices were raided some months ago in Singapore.  It
now appears that he's opened up some offices around the corner,"
he added.

Baker/Chong's prices are about 10 per cent of the retail cost.
Migent's Ability, for example, costs 60 Singapore dollars (about
#20 in sterling), whilst Lotus 1-2-3 version 2.01 sells for $120
(about #40 in sterling).  NEWSBYTES UK has had sight of several
packages from outlets such as Baker's, and can report them to be
as good as - and in some cases better - than the real thing.

NEWSBYTES UK is happy to report that Baker's operations are
probably short-lived.  FAST is on the trail of several Far
Eastern software pirates and is liasing with the
Singapore and Hong Kong authorities to bring Baker and other
software pirates to justice.  "The problem was eased somewhat
when the Singapore Copyright Act was passed last year," said Hay.
"Prior to that, piracy was legal in Singapore.  Now it's not, and
we're after people like Baker," he added.

CONTACT: Derek Cohen, Editor, PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD,
         VNU Business Publications, 32/34 Broadwick Street,
         London W1A 2HG.                  Tel: [phone].

         Bob Hay, FAST Coordinator - 01-430-2408.

[***][2/09/88][***]
OLIVETTI/Y-E DATA JOINT VENTURE INTO PC PORTABLES
London, UK (NB) -- Olivetti and the Japanese company Y-E Data
have teamed up to form Pegasus, a Tokyo-based joint venture to
develop, produce and sell portable PCs.

The resultant machines, the first of which will appear at the end
of 1988, will be marketed worldwide by the two companies, with UK
and European distribution handled by Olivetti.  Olivetti will own
one half of Pegasus, whilst Y-E Data will own 50 per cent, less
one share of Pegasus' initial capital of 300 million Yen (about
#1.3 million).  The two companies will have equal number of
representatives on the board of directors - Y-E Data will appoint
the chairman and one director, whilst Olivetti will appoint the
executive vice president and another director.

Olivetti's previous forays into the portable market have not
fared too well.  The first portable, the M10, was a Tandy/Radio
Shack Model 100 clone, whilst the second, the M15, was a
heavyweight PC laptop.  Both machines are currently bargain-
binned by computer retailers.

Y-E Data, on the other hand, has considerable expertise in the
OEM production of disk drives, printers and PCs.  Joining Y-E
Data's technical know-how up with Olivetti's worldwide
distribution system will, NEWSBYTES UK predicts, reap rewards for
Pegasus.

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

[***][2/09/88][***]
BUSINESS PHONE AWARDS '88 ANNOUNCED
London, UK -- For the second year running, British Telecom has
teamed up with "The Sunday Times" in staging the Business Phone
Awards - a national competition to find companies using the phone
in a creative and effective way.

The awards are split into five categories dependent on company
turnover, the smallest of which is up to #1m, ranging up to #100m
plus.  Last year's winners included Norweb Electricity, ICI,
Highland Leasing, US Airtours and Air Call Medical Services who
took the overall award and the #1,000 prize.

One of last year's winners was Logotron, a UK software house
which distributes fully-functional copies of its games packages
to potential users.  The games only run three times, after which
time a phone number is displayed.  This invites users to quote
their credit card numbers and obtain an 'unlock' code for the
program.

Entries for the 1988 award scheme must be in by 30 April this
year.  After judgement by an impressive panel drawn from the UK
business world, the awards will be presented at a special
ceremony at the London Savoy Hotel on 7 July.  Entry forms are
available from the contact address below:

CONTACT: THE BUSINESS PHONE AWARDS 1988, QBO House,
         18 Tower Street, London WC2H 9NN.
         Tel: [phone].

[***][2/09/88][***]
ASHTON-TATE INTROS BYLINE - OPENS DATABASE ON PRESTEL
Maidenhead, Berkshire (NB) -- Ashton-Tate has pitched into the
low-cost desktop publishing market with Byline, a #195 DTP
package designed for {PC users with no experience of typography
or graphics.

The package is an Anglicised version of the software launched in
the US earlier this year, and includes several modifications and
improvements.  For starters, Byline only needs 384K of Ram and a
CGA-compatible PC to run on.  This will appeal to the thousands
of UK PC users who are running 512K PCs such as the Amstrad
PC1512.

NEWSBYTES UK has had a sneak preview of Byline and can report
that the software fulfils most DTP requirements.  At #195, and
with A-T's distribution setup in the UK, the package will sell
well.

At the same time, Ashton-Tate has moved its online user service
onto Prestel from Telecom Gold.  The Prestel service, renamed
Baseline, has been restyled and updated to take advantage of
Prestel's colour alphanumerics, and uses Prestel's Email services
to keep in touch with users.  Prestel users can find Baseline on
page 43221 of the service.

CONTACT: ASHTON-TATE UK, Cavendish House, 57-59 Uxbridge Road,
         Ealing, London W5 5SA.              Tel: [phone].

[***][2/09/88][***]
APPLE SLICES ITS UK MACINTOSH PRICES
Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire (NB) -- Apple seems to have heard
its user's complaints and sliced UK prices down to those seen in
Europe - but still not as low as those in the US.

A Mac II with single 800K drive falls from #3365 to #2995, whilst
a Mac Plus falls #300 to #1,495.  Prices on Mac add-ons are
similarly reduced.  NEWSBYTES UK notes that it's still possible
to holiday abroad and come back with a cheaper Apple Mac system,
having paid for the holiday with the difference.

CONTACT:  Apple UK, Eastman Way, Hemel Hempstead,
          Hertfordshire HP2 7HQ.
          Tel: [phone].

[***][2/09/88][***]
MICROLINK PREPARES FOR MOVE AND HIGH SPEED ACCESS
Macclesfield, Cheshire (NB) -- The MicroLink email company on
Telecom Gold is preparing to transfer its service to a Prime 9955
computer.  This will considerably speed up system response time
during peak times, as well as allowing more users onto the
network simultaneously.

Another key improvement to the service will be the provision of
2400 baud access.  Since MicroLink does not charge its users for
the volume of data sent (as do other Telecom Gold service
providers), this will dramatically improve its 30 per cent price
advantage over other Telecom Gold service operators (as
calculated by direct comparison of NEWSBYTES UK's bills since the
data charges were introduced by Telecom Gold last year).

Derek Meakin, the head of MicroLink, is proud of the impending
improvements.  "All the improvements will result in considerable
benefiits for our growing number of subscribers," he said.  "They
will help to enhance MicroLink's leading role in making
electronic mail available to everyone."

CONTACT: MICROLINK, Europa House, Adlington Park, Adlington,
         Macclesfield, SK10 5NP.           Tel: [phone].

[***][2/09/88][***]
GOOD CAUSE COMEDY BOOK - CONTRIBUTIONS WELCOMED
London UK (NB) -- We all know of funny stories associated with
the computer trade, but no-one has ever compiled a book on the
subject.  Now Digitus, a UK computer dealer, aims to do just that.
Even better news is that all royalties from the book are going to
a good cause - The Hospital for Sick Children at Great Ormond
Street in London.

If you know a good story - computer related, including people,
companies, premises, manufactured products, users, software or
anything - let Roger Frampton at Digitus know.  Anonymous and/or
very short conributions are welcome, and names can be changed to
protect the innocent (or avoid libel).  Provided your submission
is in by 29 February, you stand a good chance of appearing in
print.  NEWSBYTES UK is submitting a short story - why don't you?

CONTACT: Roger Frampton, DIGITUS, 16-17 Clerkenwell Close,
         London EC1R 0AA.                Tel: [phone].
[***][2/09/88][***]
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
+ BRITBYTES - Bytes of news from around the UK... +
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

AMSTRAD is to stage a #2m advertising campaign to promote its PCW
series of micros.  The company is supporting the campaign with
a #50-off typewriter trade-in for the Z80-based micro.  The #50-
off campaign starts on 15 February in the UK.

BRITISH TELECOM is badging the ZENITH Z-183 laptop as
its own in the UK.  The hard disk-equipped M5183 joins the BT-
badged version of Zenith's Z-181 in the BT product range.
Pricing on the M5183 starts at #1,889.  BT is also cutting prices
on its desktop M5000 PC series.  Price savings of up to 25 per
cent are available on the complete range.

CAUCUS, the US computer conferencing system used by the American
Bar Association, AT&T and the US Army, is now available in the UK
from X-ON SOFTWARE of London.  Licences for the package, which
runs under Dos, Unix or VMS, are available from #280.  The
package has also been installed on the London-based Times Network
Dialcom affiliate (System 01 on Telecom Gold).

The COMPULINK INFORMATION SERVICE (CIX) has moved to Surbiton in
Surrey.  The online system is now available at all data rates
(from 300 to 2400 baud, MNP supported) on 01-399-5252.  The
system's voice line is on 01-390-8446.  Plans are now in hand for
a March 1988 connection to the Mercury data network for UK local
call access.

LOTUS has announced version 2.0 of MANUSCRIPT, its popular word
processor.  The package has been rewritten and uprated to take
account of laser printer technology, and now provides
comprehensive on-screen help.  The #395 package will be available
from April onwards.  Registered users of version 1.0 will be able
to upgrade for #65.

STAR UK of Aberdeen has unveiled a #29-95 real time clock for the
Atari ST series.  The ST-Superclock fits under the keyboard and
comes with a comprehensive manual and software.

The TELECOM GOLD Email company of London has initiated a number
of improvements to its service.  The OAG (Online Airline Guide)
gateway has been uprated to include airline performance details,
whilst the British Telecom Hotline database will shortly be
available on a gateway basis on the system.


*** Due to holidays, the diary dates feature is unavailable this
    week.  The feature returns next week.

[***][2/09/88][***]
AND FINALLY...

Would someone explain why the Toshiba T1000 laptop costs #995 in
the UK, but can be bought in New York for $799 (#450)?  NEWSBYTES
UK notes that the extra #550 could be spent on another T1000 or a
two-week holiday in the US!