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/nb880419.252

Text File | 1991-08-18 | 75KB | 1,609 lines

[***][4/19/88][***]
MACINTOSH CLONES WAIT IN TAIWAN; PCS THAT LOOK LIKE MACS FOR NOW
CERRITOS, Ca. (NB) -- A consortium of six Far Eastern computer
manufacturers doing business in the U.S. has a Macintosh-compatible
computer in the wings, NEWSBYTES has learned, and is awaiting
action by the U.S. patent office (and presumably Apple attorneys)
before reaching the U.S. and international market.  The prototype was
recently shown in West Germany to a select few at the Hannover
Fair trade show.  UCM, Incorporated's spokesman Norman Dai
told NEWSBYTES that his firm is applying for a patent on the
Macintosh-compatible BIOS right now.  The BIOS, he says, was
designed by an Australian software firm but he declined to name
the company.  "They've signed a cooperative contract with us. We
will be the offshore manufacturer of their product," he said.

While UCM wades through the red tape, they have a lot of cases
on their hands -- Macintosh SE-like cases -- and in lieu of packing
them with Macintosh-like innards, plans to sell them as PCs.
"We have an 8088 and an 80286 model," says Dai, who adds the
2-drive systems will cost $1,000 and $2,000 respectively.  No,
none have been sold yet but the firm has spent three months
setting up a distribution network.  The PCs in Mac clothing will
be targeted at those firms that love the look of a Macintosh
but the feel and drive of a PC.

PRESS CONTACT:  Norman Dai, UCM Inc., 213/404-5611

[***][4/19/88][***]
FIRST RELEASE OF ACTIVISION'S REPORTS! HAS UNREPORTED BUGS
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Ca. (NB) -- HyperCard applications developer
and consultant Dan Shafer was recently shocked to find his
Macintosh roll over and die when a certain procedure was
used while running Activision's new HyperCard application
REPORTS!.  Shafer told NEWSBYTES when he set up a report in search
mode and selected a stack with a text field in any card, his system
would crash.  He says he informed the people at Activision
of this bug but they decided to ship the product anyway.

Shafer says some 9500 copies of this buggy version have gone
out the door at Activision, a figure Activision would not confirm
to NEWSBYTES.

But Activision spokeswoman Melinda Mongelluzzo does confirm
the existence of this and other bugs and adds they have been
corrected.  New replacement disks are reaching the reviewing press
and people who have purchased Reports! and have sent in their
registration card will receive a free replacement disk in the
mail.  Activision has also made its bug-patch available on Genie,
Compuserve, Macnet, and its own bulletin board system.

CONTACT:  ACTIVISION BULLETIN BOARD (modem only)
                (until April 30, 415/940-6084)
                (after May 1, 415/329-7674)

[***][4/19/88][***]
NEW HYPERCARD VERSION COMING
CUPERTINO, Ca. (NB) -- Apple Computer is planning a next-
generation HyperCard release for August of this year,
according to Bill Atkinson, HyperCard developer.  Atkinson
reportedly says the introduction of HyperCard 2.0 is being
slated for the Boston MacWorld Expo.  What will be in
the new version?  All we're told is that it will include many
"anxiously awaited enhancements."  In the meantime,
version 1.2 of HyperCard will be out in May.  This version
will support CD-ROM and its introduction coincides with the
release of Apple's CD-ROM drive, the Apple CD SC.

[***][4/19/88][***]
HYPERCARD TRADE SHOW IN THE CARDS
SAN FRANCISCO (NB) -- The world's first trade show devoted
exclusively to the Apple HyperCard is slated for June 11 and
12 at San Francisco's Brooks Hall/Civic Auditorium.  Called
the first annual HyperExpo and StackMart, it's being
orchestrated by American Expositions of New York City,
which plans to make the event a twice-yearly affair; the
second StackMart, should the first be successful, will be held in
October in Boston.

And what can we expect to see there? Lots of HyperCard
applications, of course, written by both the big houses and
the little guys, as well as two days of seminars.  NEWSBYTES
wonders if American Expositions can round up all the players
needed to put this show together in such a short space of
time, however.  NEWSBYTES contacted Activision about the
show and they didn't even know about it!

[***][4/19/88][***]
MILLARD ON THE WARPATH, SUES MICROPRO OVER WORDSTAR RIGHTS
SAN RAFAEL, Ca. (NB) -- A lot of people are wondering if
Computerland founder William Millard and his attorneys have
gone off the deep end on their South Pacific island retreat.  Millard
has sent his attorney Terry Giles packing for several parties
in order to "set the record straight."  Those sued include MicroPro
International, as well as an early investor in Computerland.
Giles pledges to spend the next three or four years "resolving
these issues."

And the biggest issue is whether MicroPro stole WordStar, the
world's most-used word processing package, from Millard's
now-defunct company Imsai Manufacturing Corporation.
Millard believes the company's founder Seymour Rubenstein, and
former MicroPro programmer John Barnaby, did indeed use
elements of an early Imsai product called NED in the design for
WordStar and its predecessor Word-Master.  Meanwhile,
MicroPro calls the charge "laughable," Chief Executive Leon Williams
says he's "as concerned about this as about an iceberg hitting the
Golden Gate bridge."

Also hit by a suit was Massachusetts-based Marriner & Company
which loaned Millard a quarter of a million dollars to set up
Computerland in the early 70s.  Millard claims the firm illegally
sold its interest in Computerland to Micro/Vest, another
group of investors which recently won 20% of the retail chain
in a notorious court case.  William Conway, attorney for
Marriner, reportedly calls this suit, "the most wierd, contrived
lawsuit I've ever heard of.  It is a very bizarre and baseless
claim."

[***][4/19/88][***]
NEW VERSION OF WORDSTAR DUE
SAN RAFAEL, Ca. (NB) -- Look for a new version of WordStar in
May from MicroPro International.   This version, WordStar
Professional  release 5, will have 300 new features and
conforms to IBM's System Application Architecture.  Among the
improvements are simultaneous multiple-page viewing,
support of more fonts, and a variety of utilities including a
text retrieval program and background telecommunications
functions.  The suggested retail price is expected to be the
same at the current release 4 -- $495.  Low-cost upgrades to
this new version will be available to current owners of WordStar
professional software.

[***][4/19/88][***]
RUN MACINTOSH DISKS ON A PC WITH "DELUXE OPTION BOARD"
PORTLAND, Oregon (NB) -- Want a cheap way to run Macintosh
data disks on a DOS machine?  Central Point Software has just
announced "Deluxe Option Board," a half-sized card and
software which enables a PS/2 Model 25 or 30, or a PC or
AT compatible to run a Macintosh data disk in its own 720K
3.5" disk drive.  The standard bus version is shipping now;
a micro channel version is expected in August.

Central Point's President Michael Brown says, "This is the
only file transfer product that doesn't require connection to
a Macintosh or Macintosh disk drive."  Onscreen, the Macintosh
disk directories look like DOS "tree" commands.

The price of the board is $159.

CONTACT:  CENTRAL POINT SOFTWARE, 503/244-5782



[***][4/19/88][***]
TARGET SOFTWARE OUT OF BUSINESS, BUT NOT BANKRUPT
MIAMI, FL (NB) -- Target Software, publisher of the desktop
publishing package "Scoop" and other products for the Apple
Macintosh, has turned off its 800 number, let go its employees,
and shuttered its doors. President Salvatore Papalano is
reportedly working as a consultant to Bonsu Corp., a Sunnyvale,
CA software distributor. But Target has not filed for bankruptcy,
according to Manny Menendez of Deneba Software, another Miami
software house.

Manny has a reason to know these things. He sold publishing
rights on four products Deneba wrote, to Target, but then sued Target
in May, 1987 for non-payment of royalties. The products, which
Target called MacLightning, the Merrium-Webster Thesaurus, Voila,
and Memorandum, have been re-issued by Deneba under names like
Canvas, The Coach Merrium-Webster Thesaurus, Spelling Coach, and
Comment. Users were notified of the change, Deneba continues to
support them, and Mr. Menendez says the suit remains in effect
until a bankruptcy petition is filed. But no petition has been
filed to Menendez' knowledge. "Scoop," he adds, was written by
Lance Lewis, who lives in Southern California. "Last we heard, he
was in the same position we are. He was making phone calls and
couldn't get through. He was contacting attorneys."  Menendez, who
keeps in touch through the local user group grapevine, says he's
been told Target employees all found new jobs.

[***][4/19/88][***]
DEALER LIABLE WHEN WORKERS COPY FOR CUSTOMERS, COURT RULES
ORLANDO, FL (NB) -- The U.S. District Court in Orlando returned a
$1.6 million judgment late last month against George J. O'Toole
and his O'Toole Enterprises, a PC dealer and distributor based in
St. Petersburg. Micro Design International had sued O'Toole for
copying and reselling 10,000 copies of two of its disk drive
utilities with hard drives O'Toole shipped to retailers. O'Toole
said in court that he didn't know about the copying, but the
court held he was personally responsible for it, despite O'Toole
Enterprise's filing for protection under Chapter 11 of the
Bankruptcy Code. The outcome of the case was reported by Robert
Snowden Jones of "Infoworld."

The decision comes just after software publishers had begun a new
round of seizures and lawsuits against PC retailers designed to
stop the illegal copying of software. Retailers fighting for
market share are often tempted to load copyrighted software onto
hard disks to enhance the values of the PCs they sell. The
Software Publishers Association heralded the ruling, saying it
hopes its "crackdown," and the Orlando decision, will deter the copying.

[***][4/19/88][***]
ISDN ERA STARTS SLOWLY
ATLANTA (NB) -- AT&T, Illinois Bell, and Southern Bell all claimed
to be first-to-market with Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN)
products in the last few weeks.

AT&T filed tariffs for the Primary Rate service, which offers 23
digital lines of 64,000 bits/second each and a signaling line at
64,000 bits/second. AT&T told the Federal Communications
Commission it will offer the service to selected big customers in
18 cities, charging $3,000 to start it up and $400 per month in
service charges.

Illinois Bell, meanwhile, filed its own tariff for ISDN Basic
service March 29.  Basic service consists of two 64,000
bits/second lines and a 16,000 bits/second signaling line.
They'll charge $246.50 to install such a line, and charge $29.68
per month for what they call "2B+D" service.  Starter kits will
also be sold by Illinois Bell so users can test the service for 6
months without paying the installation charge.

Southern Bell, finally, tried to turn its ISDN switch on in
Dunwoody, an Atlanta suburb. As television cameras rolled and 200
looked on, Gov. Joe Frank Harris failed to make a video telephone
call. He tried twice. Southern Bell officials claimed an
overheated video machine caused its ISDN circuits to blow. (See
QUOTE OF THE WEEK, below.)

[***][4/19/88][***]
UNISYS KEEPS GROWING, ADDS NEW UNIX-BASED PRODUCTS
DETROIT (NB) -- When Michael Blumenthal, the cigar-chomping
chairman of Unisys, was Treasury Secretary under Jimmy Carter, he
was roundly villified for his handling of the economy. And when,
as chairman of Burroughs Corp., he announced the merger with
Sperry which would create Unisys Corp., folks laughed and said he
was headed for another fall.

Who's laughing now? Well, Blumenthal is, all the way to the bank.
He told a meeting in Tokyo on April 11 that Unisys earnings for
the quarter ending March 31 will be at least 70 cents per share,
and revenue growth should accelerate in the second half of the
year. Blumenthal spoke at the opening of Nihon Unisys Ltd., which
finally emerged from the shells of former Burroughs and Univac
subsidiaries April 1, after protected negotiations. The new
company has revenues of $2.1 billion and 8,000 employees, making
it the fifth-largest computer outfit in Japan.

Meanwhile, Unisys announced it would buy Convergent's Intel-based
Unix product line, giving Convergent a boost, and endorsed AT&T's
"Open Look" user interface for Unix. Those moves, combined with
other Unisys moves in the Unix area, indicate the company will
eventually standardize on AT&T's Unix System V as the operating
systems of its old Sperry and Burroughs mainframes merge.

Finally, Unisys introduced the U 6000/50, a Unix-DOS machine
running with the Intel 80386 processor, in Nice, France. The U
6000/50 can support up to 32 users at the same time, and will be
priced at $24,500. The price includes a year's free maintenance
when you buy direct from Unisys.

CONTACT: W.A. Adams, UNISYS, [phone]

[***][4/19/88][***]
COMPUTE! EXECS LEAVE TO CREATE A NEWSBYTES-LIKE NEWSLETTER
GREENSBORO, NC (NB) -- Top executives and editors of ABC
Publishing Co's "Compute!" magazine division have created the
Signal Research Report, a 16-page color newsletter which will
screen stories from online news wires and try to spot high-tech
trends, just like NEWSBYTES does. Signal Research will also
report on TV and CD trends, and the first issue is due to roll
off the presses June 1. (Unfortunately, when NEWSBYTES tried to
get their number from Greensboro, NC directory assistance, we
were told they weren't listed.)

"Compute!" itself, meanwhile, is apparently falling on hard times.
Recent issues of the magazine have been thin, under 100 pages.
The format's changed, the binding has changed, and NEWSBYTES has heard
from a former reader that the magazine is losing 100 readers per day.
The reader told NEWSBYTES this information came from a "Compute!"
800 line operator.

[***][4/19/88][***]
FURTHER ADVENTURES OF SOURCEVOID -- SPACENET WOWS 'EM IN NEBRASKA
SIDNEY, NB (NB) -- Last week we reported on Dave Hughes, a former
Army colonel, a former heavy user of PARTI On The Source (POTS)
known as Sourcevoid, and now an evangelist for electronic
democracy who works from an electronic cottage in Colorado
Springs, CO. We noted that he's put teachers and students online
together as the "Big Sky Network" in Montana, and that he's put
city councilmen and their opponents online together in Colorado
City through his own BBS, called Chariot. We also recounted his
adventures in getting packet radio access to his BBS, bypassing
the phone lines.

Well, as Ronald Reagan once said, there he goes again. On April
13 Hughes officially launched Space Net, an online network
dedicated to space issues and space education, at a conference in
Nebraska. Hughes set up a demo for the 4th Annual Space Symposium
at the Central School of Sidney, NB, from which, thanks to a
grant, Space Net was being launched. Using a phone line from the
school principal's office, Hughes attached an H-P Vectra desktop
machine and an Toshiba laptop together with two modems so over
100 people could see the demo in crisp, 40-column characters on a
color screen. He put astronaut Jim Van Hoften online with 50
Sidney 6th graders, who asked him questions and got immediate
answers, then simulated a rocket launch (complete with an ASCII
graphic of a rocket taking off) and brought down the house.

The Space Net system doesn't just have conferencing. It will
include 300 lesson plans in a database, and a catalog of other
educational materials like videotapes and software. Hughes
described his future plans this way. "Now that the *reality*, not
the vaporware, of it has made its impression, I will huddle with
the director and show him what I think it will take to really
make it a national asset.  By, among other things, getting
McDonnell-Douglas to contribute Tymnet access to it. For free. I
hope to get them to put Space Net in the Usenet UUCP map soon, so
E-Mail can girdle the globe to/from it, free."

How we got this story is a story in itself. Hughes entered the
first-person account of his Sidney adventures into the DC Meta
Network on Caucus II. Gordon Cook then ported the conference,
titled "electronic democracy," to a PARTI system on the NWI
system under the name "Grass Roots." I read "Grass Roots" on NWI
and report it to you here.

[***][4/19/88][***]
PECAN GOLDEN CHIPS

COMPAQ, Houston, said its first quarter sales and profits will be
higher than analysts' estimates, with sales topping $425 million.
Strong demand for Compaq computers in Europe took the credit.

NCR, Dayton, OH, said it plans to license Microsoft's MS OS/2 LAN
manager.

TANDY, Ft. Worth, said its March sales rose 9% over a year ago,
to $289.76 million, and sales for the quarter ending March 31
were up 8%.
[***][4/19/88][***]
PECAN CHIPS

CE SOFTWARE, West Des Moines, IA, will release QuickMail, an E-
Mail system for Mac networks which prioritizes messages and
offers real-time conferencing. The price will be $300 for each
10 users.

DATAPOINT, San Antonio, unveiled three new 80386-based machines,
and support for the IBM PS/2 Model 80 in its network management
system.

KONAN, Tempe, AZ, shipped "Ten Time," a hard disk and floppy
controller which claims a 90% reduction in disk access speed and
a 300% improvement in throughput.

MACPRODUCTS USA will ship a 69030-based accelerator card for the
Macintosh II in May, with a rated speed of 8-10 million
instructions per second. Look for a price of $4-5,000.

QMS, Mobile, AL, began shipping its PS-1500, a PostScript printer
designed to compete with Apple's new LaserWriter IINTX. The QMS
machine uses a Ricoh engine (Apple uses Canon engines), costs
$10,000 (vs. $6,600 for the Apple model) and is designed for use
in networks.

SUNRIVER, Jackson, MS, will show multi-user DOS, Unix and Xenix
programs on its 80386-based fiber optic workstations (fiber
cables run from the computers to terminals) at COMDEX.

TEXAS INSTRUMENTS, Dallas, introduced a low-power version of the
Motorola 68000 chip called the 68HC000 which could power a laptop
Macintosh.

WHITE CRANE SYSTEMS, Norcross, GA, added a file manager to its
Brooklyn Bridge, Version 2. The product makes file transfers
between laptops and desktops easier.

[***][4/19/88][***]
QUOTE OF THE WEEK

The following is the error-message Gov. Harris saw when he tried
to make a video call on ISDN last week, while cameras rolled in
Atlanta:

          "Warning: no connection on port 1"

(That's one small glitch for man, one giant glitch for mankind.)


[***][4/19/88][***]
CHAPPELL TO LAUNCH COMPLAINT TRACKING SOFTWARE AT CHICAGO SHOW
TORONTO (NB) -- Chappell & Associates Inc. will launch its CTRAC
Junior consumer complaint tracking system at the Society of
Consumer Affairs Professionals in Business (SOCAP) conference in
Chicago this week.  Chappell says CTRAC Junior, which runs on IBM
PC and compatible micros, is suited to small and medium-sized
consumer affairs departments.  It helps in tracking, managing and
reporting customer complaints and inquiries.

Features of the package include full data entry, complaint
logging, the ability to draw attention to actions not completed
by a target date, note-taking capabilities and six summary and
statistical reports.  CTRAC Junior tracks complaints by product,
type of problem, method of contact and location.  The software
will retail for $3,395 (U.S.)  An optional on-line search and
inquiry program is available for $995.

CONTACT: CHAPPELL & ASSOCIATES INC., 250 Consumers Rd., Suite
     1109, Willowdale, Ont. M2J 4V9, [phone]

[***][4/19/88][***]
DEVICE LINKS REMOTE MACINTOSHES TO APPLETALK NETS
MARKHAM, Ont. (NB) -- DataSpace Corp. has begun shipping
TeleNode, a hardware device that allows remote access to an Apple
TAlk network over telephone lines.

The TeleNode connects an external telephone line and an AppleTalk
network.  A remote Macintosh with a modem can call into the
TeleNode, and once a connection is made the external Mac becomes
part of the network with all the privileges of an ordinary node.
The RemoteTalk driver converts all AppleTalk communications to
asynchronous protocol suitable for telephone lines.  The TeleNode
converts the async protocol to and from synchronous protocol for
AppleTalk communication on the LAN.  The TeleNode is compatible
with modem speeds from 1,200 to 19,200 bits per second on the
async side and with the standard 230.4 Kbps on the AppleTalk
side.

TeleNode is available from most Apple dealers at a suggested
retail price of C$995.  Founded in 1983, DataSpace is an Apple
Canada Certified Developers that manufactures and markets network
enhancement peripherals for the Macintosh.

CONTACT: DATASPACE CORP., 185 Riviera Dr., Unit 9
         Markham, Ont. L3R 5J6, [phone]

[***][4/19/88][***]
BEDFORD SIGNS ANOTHER DISTRIBUTOR, GLOATS OVER REVIEW
VANCOUVER (NB) -- Bedford Software has signed another major
distributor for its line of integrated accounting packages.
Ingram Software Ltd. will be distributing the packages to more
than 2,000 dealers across Canada, with special emphasis on
selling French-language packages to the Quebec market.  The
announcement follows the signing of SoftSel as a distributor in
late February.

Bedford is also crowing over a review in INFOWORLD of its new
Macintosh accounting software Simply Accounting.  INFOWORLD's
reviewers called the package "simply magnificent" and a great
starter system for Macintosh users.  The publication gave Simply
Accounting a rating of 7.9 over-all, scoring it excellent in
documentation, ease-of-use and ease-of-learning.

CONTACT: BEDFORD SOFTWARE INC., [phone]

[***][4/19/88][***]
BCE MOBILE SHARE OFFERING TO FINANCE ANOTHER BUYOUT
MONTREAL (NB) -- BCE Mobile Communications, the cellular
telephone and pager sister company of Bell Canada and Northern
Telecom, is planning a share offering to help pay for another
acquisition.  The target is MDI Mobile Data International Inc. of
Vancouver, which makes radios for police cars and taxis.  The
plan is to offer three million of BCE Mobile's common shares,
which would raise public holdings in the company to about 8.5 per
cent.  BCE Inc., the holding company for all the Bell operations,
would be left with just over 80 per cent, with the rest belonging
to National Telesystem Ltd., a Quebec City company that got its
shares when it sold a paging company to BCE last year.  BCE
Mobile is offering to acquire 4.6 million MDI shares, or 60 per
cent of the company.

[***][4/19/88][***]
GOVERNMENT, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY GROUP SIGN AGREEMENT
OTTAWA (NB) -- The Information Technology Association of Canada
(ITAC) and the Government of Canada have signed an agreement
regarding cooperation between the federal government and the
information technology industry.  The agreement identifies
priorities on which the government and the industry have agreed
to focus their attention.

The agreement aims at expanding software and associated services,
increasing trade and investment promotion, increasing Canadian
value-added in information technology, and helping small and
medium-sized businesses.  There are also plans to gather more
data about the industry and make these available to business, and
to look for more government procurement opportunities.

The agreement was signed in Ottawa April 14 by Robert de Cotret,
Minister of Regional Industrial Expansion and Minister of State
for Science and Technology, and by David McCamus, who is chairman
of ITAC as well as president of Xerox Canada Inc., Toronto.

CONTACT: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ASSOCIATION OF CANADA,
         Suite 300, 211 Consumers Rd., Willowdale, Ont. M2J 4G8,
         [phone]

[***][4/19/88][***]
BITS, EH?
-- ACCUGRAPH CORP., Toronto-based computer-aided design software
developer, lost C$3.2 million in the six months ended Feb. 29, on
revenues of C$8.1 million.  In the same six months last year,
Accugraph lost C$8.5 million on revenues of C$12.2 million.

-- COGNOS INC., Ottawa software developer, made a profit of C$3.1
million on revenues of C$83 million in the year ended Feb. 29.
That's down from a C$5.1-million profit on C$68.4 million in
revenues in the previous year.

-- EXPERT SYSTEMS FOR BUSINESS is the title of a conference to be
held April 27-28 in Sherbrooke, Que.  Sponsored by the Groupe
Interuniversitaire de Recherche en Informatique Cognitive des
Organisations, an association of Quebec universities and
government agencies, the conference will discuss expert systems
applications and methods.  More information is available by
calling [phone] in Sherbrooke, [phone] in Montreal
or [phone] in Quebec City.

-- MITEL CORP., Kanata, Ont., has appointed two new senior
executives.  Robert Dyer, the new senior vice-president for
international marketing operations, was lured away from rival
Northern Telecom Canada Ltd., Mississauga, Ont.  Wesley
Terryberry becomes vice-president of human resources development
and planning.

-- ALTOS COMPUTER SYSTEMS, Toronto, has a new regional director
for Canada.  He is Gordon Manary, who joins Altos with 10 years
computer sales and management experience.  His predecessor,
Howard Gomes, is moving to corporate headquarters in San Jose,
Calif.

-- MANAGEMENT SCIENCE AMERICA (CANADA) INC., Toronto, has signed
a C$5 million contract so supply application software, project
management and consulting services to the Ontario provincial
government.



[***][4/19/88][***]
  E D I T O R I A L

  MR. MANNERS ON COPY PROTECTION
     by Mr. Manners


  ED:  NEWSBYTES welcomes the return of the always witty, insightful, and
entertaining MR. MANNERS, otherwise known as BEZ965, to this space.


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


"Copy protection is a fingernail that scrapes across the blackboard of
the Special Needs computer user."
                                 -- Mr. Manners


Dear Gentle Readers,

Mr. Manners needs help with a problem. I am trying to teach my
hamsters to pick whatever disk I specify and insert it into the drive.
The problem is, they keep getting the toaster and the disk drive
confused. This causes melted media and if the confusion factor gets
too far out of hand my disk drive looks like a summer retreat for the
Pillsbury Dough Boy. Maybe I should back up a bit and present the
readers with a more detailed picture of the problem I am trying to
solve.

A computer user asks a friend to buy a copy of a certain software
package for them. The friend returns and since it is advertised as
compatible with hard disk. The friend and the user install the
software on the user's hard disk. Then the friend puts the original
disk in a storage box and places it on the shelf. The friend leaves
and the user spawn the program from hard disk. The light flashes on
the disk, the monitor screen clears itself and wording appears on the
center of the screen:

        PLEASE INSERT MASTER DISK


The user looks at the box on the shelf containing the master disk. The
user, being paralyzed from the neck down, is left in a frustrating set
of circumstances. Since the friend has left and their attendant is
currently busy preparing a meal, there is little hope of immediate
help. They then use the adaptive device attached to their head and
slowly type letters on the screen that form words questioning the
marital status of the software vendor parents.  Welcome to the world
of special needs computer users.


Some consider hard disks a luxury but for some users with special
needs they are a necessity. If you must run from a hard disk, you
learn early in the game to avoid vendors who use copy write protection
schemes on their products. Sometimes vendors will make non protected
copies available for an additional fee. I think this is a very nice
thing to do but the thought in the back of my mind is always that the
vendor is making an extra buck off someone else's disability.

In instances like this the vendor can make the local Jolly Roger look
like a White Knight. If he is near proficient at his trade, he can
generally "fix" the problem.  Please do not interpret this as me being
supportive of software pirating. I am most definitely against any
illegal activity. What I am trying to point out is the owner of an
copy of software they have bought, may be forced to also get a
deprotected copy from the local pirate in order to use it.

We all know that copy protection schemes prevent the pirating of
software (Come now, stop that laughter. This is a serious editorial.)
and prevents the distribution of illegal copies. However, it also
eliminates many special needs buyers from buying their products. From
my vantage point of Director of Special Needs Programs here at the
Arizona Apple Users Group, I am keenly aware of the increasing use of
computers by special needs type individuals. I find it disheartening
to have to put some really top notch software on my "don't buy" list
because uncopy protected version are not available legally. It seems
to me that if the customers needs are non protected software and I put
protection on it, I have eliminated a small portion of the prospective
buyers from my market. I doubt that legally it could be considered but
the word "discrimination" quit often enters my mind when I think about
this problem.

In the last year I have been fortunate because my "don't buy" list is
getting shorter as more and more vendors have listened to the buyers
and removed copy protection from their products. It pleases me to no
end when a vendor takes this bold step.

Deepest Personal Regards,

Mr. Manners

-------------------------------------------------
NEWSBYTES WELCOMES YOUR COMMENTS TO THIS EDITORIAL. PLEASE SEND THEM TO
IP1039.



[***][4/19/88][***]
NTT ADOPTS 32-BIT TRON MPU FOR ITS WORKSTATION
TOKYO (NB) -- Japanese telecom giant NTT will adopt a 32-bit
TRON microprocessing unit (MPU) for its workstation, reports
the NIKKEI newspaper.  This 32-bit TRON chip, dubbed Gmicro, is
currently being developed by Hitachi, Fujitsu, and Mitsubishi.
The alliance is expected to provide all three firms with a head
start and a major advantage in the newly-emerging TRON market
In fact, the trio could be a big blow to other TRON chip developers,
including Toshiba and Matsushita.

Meanwhile, NTT is currently developing C-TRON, which is a
telecommunication-oriented operating system.  Other companies
are also developing I-TRON (Industrial TRON) and B-TRON (Business
TRON) operating systems.

CONTACT: NTT, 1-1-6 Uchi-Saiwai-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100

[***][4/19/88][***]
APPLE COMPUTER JAPAN SEEKS SHARE OF JAPANESE D.T.P. MARKET
TOKYO (NB) -- Apple Computer Japan is making a push to acquire a
large share of the Japanese desktop publishing market and has
started by introducing a Kanji LaserWriter IISC and a Kanji IINTX printer
which run the page description language PostScript.  Prices are
expected to be announced shortly.  Apple is also going to introduce
Japanese versions of best-selling U.S. desktop publishing packages,
including Quark's  Xpress and Adobe Illustrator.

CONTACT: Apple Computer Japan, Akasaka Twin Tower Bldg. 11F,
         2-17 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107

[***][4/19/88][***]
COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER WITH JAPANESE LANGUAGE FEATURE
TOKYO (NB) -- Chori Information System has developed a Japanese
Communications Manager (CM), an extended feature for Microsoft's
OS/2, which supports communications between personal computers and
mainframes.   Reportedly, the software is compatible with the
Communications Manager of IBM OS/2.  Chori Information System
will ship its CM this October and release it to computer
makers which want to connect mainframes with personal
computers.  The software will be sold on an OEM basis.

CONTACT: Chori Information System, 2-45 Kawara-machi,
         Higashi-ku, Osaka-shi 541

[***][4/19/88][***]
HOYA TO DEVELOP GLASS-BASED DISK DRIVE
TOKYO (NB) -- Major Japanese glassware maker HOYA has signed
a business agreement with Xidex Corp. (Fremont, Ca.) and Applied
Magnetic Corp. (Santa Barbara), concerning the joint development
of glass-based disk drives.  HOYA has already developed a
prototype of a glass-based diskette.  According to a HOYA
spokesman, this new type of diskette can save five to ten times
more data than current aluminum-based diskettes.  He has hinted
that the disk drive will be developed within a couple of years.

To demonstrate the seriousness of its interest in this new
technology, HOYA acquired an aluminum disk plant from Ampex Corp.
(U.S.A.) last year.  It is expected that HOYA will manufacture the glass-
based diskettes at this plant.

CONTACT: HOYA Corp., 2-7-5 Naka-Ochiai, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 161

[***][4/19/88][***]
65816-BASED SUPER-FAMICON DUE THIS FALL?
TOKYO (NB) -- Nintendo, maker of the  best-selling game machine
Family Computer (Famicon), will set up a game-oriented network
using a value added telecommunication network.  Nintendo's
president has mentioned that the company will release a new
Famicon with a built-in telecommunication adapter this fall.
That machine could be a Super-Famicon, which is going around the
rumor mill here in Japan and in Hong Kong.  A NEWSBYTES source says
Nintendo's Super-Famicon is equipped with a 65816 CPU, the same
CPU as that of the Apple IIGS.  Moreover, Super-Famicon has a 4
megabyte ROM cartridge slot and two 3.5-inch disks.  The system
price could be as cheap as 20,000 yen ($16).  If these rumors are true,
the new machine will be really exciting.  We'll see.

CONTACT: Nintendo Co., 1-22 Suda-cho, Kanda, Chiyoda-ku,
         Tokyo 101

[***][4/19/88][***]
RICOH TO RELEASE POSTSCRIPT-BASED LASER PRINTERS
TOKYO (NB) -- Major office equipment maker Ricoh has signed a
license agreement with Adobe Systems concerning PostScript.
In this agreement, Ricoh will release laser printers which
are based on Adobe's popular page description language this
fall.  Ricoh has not decided which personal computers to target for
its coming laser printers.  Besides selling its own brand
name, the company will also accept OEM orders for the laser
printers.  Support of a Japanese language feature has been
slated for next year.

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

[***][4/19/88][***]
OPTICAL DISK WITH 100-YEAR DURABILITY
TOKYO (NB) -- Sony Corporation has developed an optical diskette
capable of storing data intact for over 100 years.  That's a lot longer
than the life of an ordinary optical disk, which lasts only 10 to 30 years.
However, once the data is written, it cannot be changed -- it's a
write-once-read-many, or WORM disk.  The disk is expected to be used
by  hospitals, telephone companies, real estate agents, and patent offices.
It will be released in the U.S. in May.

Meanwhile, Sony will release a low-cost erasable optical diskette
and disk drive in September.  The 5.25-inch diskette will be
sold at 10,000 yen ($80), and the disk drive will cost 300,000
yen ($2,380).  One disk can store a whopping 650 megabytes of memory.
The products can be connected with personal computers and audio
visual equipment.

CONTACT: Sony Corp., 4-10-18 Takanawa, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108

[***][4/19/88][***]
COMPETITION AMONG LEADING PC MAKERS WILL INTENSIFY
TOKYO (NB) -- All of Japan's major personal computer makers plan
a major campaign to boost sales this year.  Fujitsu, Toshiba, Seiko-
Epson, and IBM Japan are aiming to double sales of their
personal computers.  The prices may get lower due to the expected
intense sales competition.

Meanwhile, Seiko-Epson will release more laptop personal
computers compatible with the  NEC PC-9800 series.  That's a major
challenge against NEC, which is reportedly seeking legal against
against Epson.

[***][4/19/88][***]
INTEC ESTABLISHES ITS SUBSIDIARY IN THE U.S.
TOKYO (NB) -- The Toyama-based major data-processing service company
Intec has announced that it will set up a subsidiary in New
York as early as this July.  This is the first time the company will
start business in a foreign country.  The subsidiary will develop
software and provide data-processing services.  Along with this
subsidiary, Intec is planning to promote its international value-added
network (VAN) business between Japan and U.S.  Ambitious Intec is also
planning to establish a subsidiary in Singapore in the near future.

CONTACT: Intec, 2-11 Okuda-cho, Toyama-shi 930

[***][4/19/88][***]
<<< SUSHI BYTES >>>

MICROSOFT UNIVERSITY IN JAPAN -- Microsoft Japan and Fuji
Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture will jointly open a series called
Microsoft University in various parts of Japan.  Microsoft
University is a series of lectures for engineers of Microsoft's
OS/2.

SANYO TIES UP WITH VLSI -- Sanyo Electric, Osaka, has announced
that it has linked with California-based semiconductor maker
VLSI Technology.  The two companies plan to work together on
a 32-bit RISC microcomputer for the Japanese market.  Look for
it to be introduced within a year.

SEGA TO CATCH UP WITH NINTENDO -- Nintendo's rival game machine
maker Sega Enterprises Corp. (Tokyo) listed its stocks at the
second section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange market on April 12.
The stocks are traded at a slightly lower price than that of
Nintendo.

DISK DRIVE WITH VERTICAL RECORDING METHOD -- Toshiba, Tokyo,
has developed a 3.5-inch disk drive based on a vertical
recording method.  Toshiba's PD-210 disk drive can store  4-
megabytes of data, and is compatible with current 1-megabyte
diskettes.  It is only 25.4-mm thick.  The price is 39,000 yen ($310).




[***][4/19/88][***]
EC ANNOUNCES TIGHTER SCHEDULE FOR NEW TELECOM MARKET RULES
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (NB) -- "At present the communications sector in
the EC provides jobs for 1.3 million people. By the end of this
century, 60 million jobs will depend on this sector," said Mr.
Karl-Heinz Narjes, EC vice president in Brussels. Speaking at
the International Consultative Forum on Telecommunications
(a CCITT forum), he announced a schedule for the introduction
of new market rules for comms products and services.

This new schedule is the direct result of the Green Paper on
Communications, published a few months ago, and which has been
widely accepted by the member states. In it, the EC states that
the regulatory and operational parts of a comms service should be
separate entities, governed by different means, thus ensuring that
the end-user gets the fairest treatment in terms of rates, services
and support.

According to the schedule, telecommunications services will be
liberalized not later than the end of 1989. This however does
not have to include the telephone service at first, but it too
will have to comply. Access to leased lines will be completed
by mid-1988, while tariffs, that huge barrier in using the phone
in this part of the world, will be re-evaluated by 1992. Receive-only
satellite antennas, as any privileged service, will also be
liberalized by the end of 1989, meaning that getting hold of Cable News
Network will be so much easier! Finally, a European Institute for
Telecommunications Standards will be created in April 1988, which will
gradually replace the various standards authorities such as FTZ in
Germany, British Telecom in the UK, and others.

In a related story, the communications market will be Europe's
biggest market by 1991 when it will grow at the rate of 8%. It will
be worth $80 billion or about $65 ECU billions (European Currency
Units).

As far as communications equipment is concerned, Dataquest estimates
that by 1991 22.5% of terminals will be hard-wired against 36.7%
today. 46.4% of terminals will be remotely connected by 1991 against
35.2% today. Local area networks will account for 10.3% of all
connections against 4.6% today. The total equipment estimated will
be 39.4 million against 15.6 million today.

[***][4/19/88][***]
BIG PLANS FOR ISDN BEING LAID IN EUROPE
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (NB) -- You have heard that AT&T is going
to introduce and back ISDN in the US. But what is ISDN?
ISDN means Integrated Services Digital Network and replaces your
entire telephone network with an all-digital system that is better
and faster, as well as much more efficient. It does require
replacement of your cabling.

ISDN offers 2 'B type' channels which offer 64 kbit/second transfers
and one 'D type' channel which offers 16kbit/seconds. Onto these
channels will be digitized voice, terminal control, video (as
shown at the Hannover Fair last month) and other information. The
technology means the availability of live video phones, finally.

In Europe the introduction of ISND has already been set and starts
with the UK introducing commercial ISDN from 1988, followed by
Germany (1988), and all the others from 1990. The US and Japan
are also set to introduce ISDN from 1989.

[***][4/19/88][***]
DE BENEDETTI FAILS TO GAIN A SEAT ON SOCIETE GENERALE'S BOARD
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (NB) -- After a fight which cost him a good
fortune by all means, De Benedetti, the chief of Olivetti failed
in his bid to get a seat on the Societe Generale's board, one of
the biggest holding companies in Belgium with assets of over $5
billion. This, after a week which seems to have cost Olivetti
the marriage with AT&T (AT&T wanted to raise its stake in Olivetti
to 40% which the latter declined, creating a rift).

[***][4/19/88][***]
WILL AT&T SELL THE OLIVETTI STAKE?
TURIN, ITALY (NB) -- Is AT&T going to offload Olivetti shares and
make a profit of 300% in their price or not? This is the question
in the minds of those that seem to think that the great years of
the AT&T-Olivetti marriage have finally come to a rocky end. An AT&T
news release said that "the partnership is on good ground but from
time to time there may have been disagreements." AT&T, whose Olivetti
share is now worth $1 billion from $260 million, has always
maintained that any increase in the share of Olivetti will
mean some form of control of the Italian company  -- and that has been
refused outright. Not only is the relationship on rocky ground, but
unit shipments have suffered. Olivetti estimates that shipments
of PCs to AT&T has taken a sudden drop from 210,000 in 1986 to a
little over 40,000 in 1987.

Maybe this is a sign for AT&T to look elsewhere for continued success. After
all, it may be time for AT&T to join forces with someone else. It
certainly would not be difficult, what, with so many undervalued
companies in the market.

[***][4/19/88][***]
COMMODORE DOING VERY WELL IN GERMANY
MUNICH, WEST GERMANY (NB) -- Commodore picked up 21% of all the
small computer sales in Germany for 1987 followed by IBM with 14%,
according to a study done by Diebold/Quelle. Following IBM were
Schneider with 11%, Olivetti with 7%, Apple with 6%, Atari with
5.5%, Siemens with 5%, Triumph-Adler with 4.5%, Tandon with 3.5%,
and NCR with 3%.

[***][4/19/88][***]
DRAM GOING PRICIER
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (NB) -- "Sorry this is the price for the RAM
chips," said my friendly computer dealer upon my request.
120ns RAM chips currently go for $100 for 9 and for 100ns the price
is $140 for 9, which is $16 each! Basically, if you really want to
make money these days, get chips from somewhere cheap and sell them.
At the prices quoted (which are dealer prices), they are designed
to make money. Or better still, get a fully populated board, and sell
the RAM chips separately. According to a study by IDC, the price of
DRAMS is set to keep going up, not down, till the 1MB RAMS take the
market. At that point manufacturers are supposed to know what to do.
However, why should they? They and their dealers are making money with
these prices!

[***][4/19/88][***]
1KB STATIC RAM HAS 570PS ACCESS TIME
TOKYO, JAPAN (NB) -- NEC has developed a Josephson junction static
RAM chip with an access time of 570ps (compare this with the usual
100000ps access of the RAMS in your PC) and dissipates 13mw. The chip
which offers 1K by 1 bit uses niobium/aluminium oxide elements. When
you consider that the speed of light stops the access to 3.33 ps for
1 mm of travel, you realize that 570ps is indeed fast. However, no
known technique can surpass 3.33ps today.

[***][4/19/88][***]
NEW TOSHIBA LAPTOP MAY BE SHOWN AT SICOB IN PARIS
NEUSS, GERMANY (NB) -- The Toshiba 1200, one of the most successful
laptops, may be on its way out, being replaced by a new laptop. The
new system, which offers a backlit display (a new direction for Toshiba)
will offer the same characteristics as today's T1200. The backlit
technology, which has so far not been used due to the halo
effect left on the LCD during long usage, is based on a new low power
technology designed to offer battery life of at least 2 hours. Toshiba
had considered using backlit LCDs previously, but these were power-
hungry.

[***][4/19/88][***]
DAVID AGAINST GOLIATH: SGS-THOMPSON VS. JESSI
MUNICH, WEST GERMANY (NB) -- A top executive of SGS-THOMPSON has threatened
that his company will file a complaint with the EC if it is pushed aside
in a high technology project. Philippe Geyres, corporate vice president
in charge of strategic planning for SGS, says that Philips of Holland
and Siemens of Germany are trying to reduce SGS participation
in a semiconductor research project, called JESSI (Joint European
Submicron SilIcon). JESSI is due to start at the end of 1988 and is
designed to be Europe's answer to the American chip consortium Sematech.
SGS is particularly miffed at claims that it does not have the required
capability to produce highly integrated chips, even though it is planning
to offer 4MB RAM chips by 1989.

[***][4/19/88][***]
EUROBITS....

        Plessey, the large electronics company based in the UK,
announced several defense contracts. The company has signed
a $7.5 million contract with the Swedish Royal Navy to update sonar
systems. A $4 million deal with the Canadian government deals with
anti-ship decoy systems. Plessey will also supply two radar units to
the Portuguese air force....

        ...COMMODORE International announced an increase in the
company's profits to $27 million for the second quarter which ended
December 31st, 1987, an increase of 27%. The company also announced
revenues totalling $281 million for the same period. Irving Gould,
Commodore's chairman, said that "the results show that the Amiga
series has been well accepted since it represents 40% of all our
revenues."...

        ...On April 11th, the Ministers of the European Community
gave a formal go-ahead to ESPRIT II, the second phase of the
highly successful ESPRIT program. One of the ESPRIT successes is
the T800 Transputer chip, produced as a result of the Supernode
project....

       ...CAP GEMINI reported net consolidated profit of 280 million
francs, that is $50 million for 1987, an increase of 45% from 1986. The
group's sales were 4.17 billion francs (about $800 million).



COMPUTER SHOWS COMING UP (They will all be covered by NEWSBYTES):

COMPUTER INFO 88, April 23rd till April 26th, Amsterdam, Holland

SICOB, April 25th till April 30th, Paris, France

OEM 88, Brussels, May 3rd till May 5th, Brussels, Belgium

MACWORLD EXPO, May 9th till 11th, Amsterdam, Holland

EURINFO 88, May 16th till 20th, Athens, Greece




[***][4/19/88][***]
INSLAW: THE MEESE CONNECTION
WASHINGTON (NB) -- The Justice Department may have tried to drive
the INSLAW computer software firm into bankruptcy in order to
aid a competing company controlled by a crony of Attorney General
Edwin Meese III, according to an article in BARRON's. As reported
earlier in NEWSBYTES, Justice lost a case involving INSLAW in
federal bankruptcy court, where the judge ruled that Justice
deliberately pirated INSLAW's case tracking software and tried to
run the company into liquidation. Shortly after that, the judge
on the case was fired, and replaced by the attorney who argued
the case for Justice. The latest twist is that another computer
company, Hadron, tried to take over INSLAW when it was in
bankruptcy. Dr. Earl Brian, whom the WASHINGTON POST describes as
"an old friend of Mr. Meese," controls Hadron. The Senate
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations is looking into the
case, and the Senate Judiciary Committee will raise it in
oversight hearings later this month.

[***][4/19/88][***]
MICROPROSE: STURM UND DRANG AUF DEUTSCH *EXCLUSIVE*
COCKEYSVILLE, Md. (NB) -- MicroProse Software Inc., a small game
and simulations company, is in a nasty dispute with the West
German government, which has already banned two of the company's
products, Silent Service and F-15 Strike Eagle, and proposed
banning two others, Gunship and Airborn Ranger. A Germany federal
agency banned the programs under a 1951 law aimed at protecting
youth from material that is salacious or promotes violence and
war. Most recently, facing a suit by MicroProse challenging the
law and the procedures used to implement it, the government
withdrew the ban on Silent Service. "We're not sure what's coming
next," MicroProse Communications Director Mike Harrison told
NEWSBYTES. "We don't know if they are going to change their
procedures administratively and ban the product again. We don't
know what they are going to do with Gunship and Airborn Ranger,
which are proposed for bans."

The law does not forbid sales, but restricts banned products to
"adults only" stores. The problem with the West German law,
Harrison said, is that it bans advertising for the products,
which effectively denies it to adults as well as youth. "When we
first heard that they had banned F-15 Strike Eagle, we didn't
have a problem," he said. "Our products are pretty sophisticated
and we aim them for adults." But when the company learned that
the ban included no advertising, even to adults, MicroProse hired
a West Germany attorney and challenged the law in court.

Last year, MicroProse had $1.5 million in sales in West Germany,
and Harrison says the company figures it could sell $3.5 million
to $5 million a year. That's a hefty sum for a company that had
total sales last year of $14 million worldwide. Ironically, at
the time it was banned Silent Service, a World War II submarine
simulation game, was voted best simulation of the year by leading
computer publication in West Germany, Harrison said.

[***][4/19/88][***]
LOTUS DEVELOPING 1-2-3 FOR NEW "OPEN LOOK" VERSION OF UNIX
NEW YORK (NB) --  Lotus Development Corp. is working on a
Unix-based version of its 1-2-3 spreadsheet, which will run with
the new AT&T graphic interface, called Open Look.  AT&T said Open
Look, created by Sun Microsystems and based on Xerox's work at
the Palo Alto Research Center, will be out by the third quarter
of this year. Lotus announced no timetable for its Unix version
of 1-2-3. "Lotus has been developing for some time a Unix version
of the best-selling software, 1-2-3," Lotus chief Jim Manzi told
reporters at AT&T's unveiling of Open Look. Officials from
Ashton-Tate Corp. were also at the event.

AT&T said it expects to offer Open Look this summer as a window
manager for its 6386 workstation, a machine based on the Intel
80386 chip. AT&T says user interface tool kits are planned to be
available in source code early next year. Open Look's graphic
conventions include push pins to tack menus to the screen for
future reference and an elevator that moves up or down in text.
The interface is mouse-based and lets users point and click
buttons that resemble those on household appliances. The interesting
part of this suit is that AT&T bypassed Apple and went directly
to the originator of the icon and window-based operating
system, Xerox, perhaps in an attempt to keep its distance from
ligitation-happy Apple.  Still there is the question : will Apple sue?

[***][4/19/88][***]
KODAK TO PEDDLE FLOPPIES IN U.S.S.R.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (NB) -- Eastman Kodak Co. will sell its Verbatim
floppy disks in the Soviet Union, as part of a joint venture with
the Soviet government. Sales of disks could begin in several
months, says Kodak. Under the arrangement, Kodak will make the
disks in the West. Then they will be polished, encased, tested,
and packaged in a factory in the Soviet Union. Kodak currently
sells motion picture film in the U.S.S.R. Kodak will also sell a
blood analyzer in the Soviet Union, under the terms of the
agreement.

[***][4/19/88][***]
HANNIBAL GOES BIPARTISAN
WASHINGTON (NB) -- Hannibal PC political campaign software, once
available only to Republicans, is available to Democrats, under
the new name Landslide. The bipartisan switch is a result of new
ownership. LSW Inc., a Washington computer services firm,
recently bought Hannibal's makers, The Brady Group. LSW has now
set up a division aimed at marketing the program to Democrats and
hired Linda Greene, a veteran of the Carter White House and the
Hart and Dukakis presidential campaigns, to run it. The software
tracks fund-raising and volunteers, produces Federal Election
Commission reports, personalizes mail, and targets swing voters.

[***][4/19/88][***]
NYNEX EXPANDING RETAIL COMPUTER STORES
NEW YORK (NB) -- Bucking a trend, Nynex Corp., one of the
regional Bell operating companies, is expanding its chain of
retail computer stores. The Baby Bell's have generally not been
successful in computer retailing, so the Nynex move is being
watched closely. Both Bell Atlantic and Pacific Telesis have had
bad experiences with retailing. Nynex says it wants to expand its
sales force for its 81-store chain by 20 percent, and start
calling on medium and large corporate prospects directly. Nynex
hopes its Nynex Business Centers will lead to cross-market sales
of telecommunications services and equipment, as well as
computers.

[***][4/19/88][***]
IBM PICKS BLACK SCHOOLS FOR PS/2 EVALUATIONS
NEW YORK (NB) -- International Business Machines has selected
four predominantly-black universities to evaluate educational
software for the PS/2 line of personal computers. IBM will hand
out more than 250 computers and assorted software to Hampton
University in Hampton, Va., Morgan State University in Baltimore,
North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, and Xavier University in New
Orleans. IBM says the hardware and software it is distributing is
worth more than $1 million.

In other developments at Big Blue, the company has announced two
new organizations, Programming Systems, and Applications
Solutions. Programming Systems will have worldwide software
development responsibility and will be run by Vice President Earl
Wheeler. A big task for Programming Systems will be developing
software that allows relatively seamless integration of all the
IBM software, from PC to mainframe. Applications Solutions will
be a systems integrator, particularly for IBM's government and
defense contracts. Vice President Ned Lautenbach will head
Applications Solutions.

[***][4/19/88][***]
NETWORKED CAD FOR CONNECTICUT HIGH SCHOOL
PLAINVILLE, Conn. (NB) -- Plainville High School has become the
first secondary school in the U.S. to have a fully-networked
computer-aided design facility. The $94,000 facility is training
65 ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth-graders to use
sophisticated CAD techniques. "The idea is to get students as
close to the industrial environment as we could," teacher Ron
Greenier told NEWSBYTES. The 11 Convergent Technology PC clones
are networked together with Cadnet software, and are using
Autodesk's AutoCAD software. The system includes a Calcomp eight-
pen plotter and a JDL dot matrix plotter. Nielsen Associates of
Stamford did the systems integration on the project. "We tried to
emulate industry," Greenier said, "so we land jobs for our
students straight out of high school." Greenier's students start
out learning drafting and mechanical drawing with traditional
tools of T-square and drawing board. But by the time they are
ready to graduate, they will be running mice and drawing on
screens.

[***][4/19/88][***]
BEYOND ELECTRONIC MAIL
ALLENTOWN, Pa. (NB) -- The Electronic Networking Association will
host a conference in Philadelphia May 12-14, aimed at the outer
reaches of computer-oriented communications. Topics will include
items such as "global boundary bashing," "networking for social
change," "building online communities," "electronic democracy,"
"online interactive publishing," and the like. ENA, established
in 1985, explores computer communications and particularly
computer conferencing. Registration is $275 for ENA members, $300
for non-members.

CONTACT: Nan Hanahue, Executive Technologies Inc., 2744 Allentown
         PA 18104, 215-821-7777

[***][4/19/88][***]
THE NEWSBYTES-EAST EARNINGS REPORT

        IBM BOOMS -- Big Blue's first quarter net earnings jumped
16 percent to $913 million ($1.53 per share), from $785 million
($1.30 per share) for the first quarter last year. Revenue for
the quarter total $11.75 billion, versus $10.68 billion a year
ago. Analysts were particularly buoyed by IBM's 14 percent surge
in hardware sales, led by mainframes.


        UNISYS SIZZLES -- Unisys Corp. of Blue Bell, Pa.,
reported first quarter earnings were up 35 percent, to
$149.3 million (72 cents per share), compared to a net of $110.2
million (57 cents per share) for the first quarter of 1987.
Revenues were $2.37 billion, down from $2.42 billion last year,
which means that Unisys was able to produce larger profit margins
for the period.

        DEC DULLSVILLE -- Digital Equipment Corp. of Maynard,
Mass., rang up lackluster results for its third quarter, recording
a net of $305.1 million ($2.33 a share) versus $307.6 million
($2.29 a share) for the comparable period last year. Revenue for
the quarter was $2.82 billion, versus $2.41 billion a year
earlier. But there is a silver lining in DEC's cloud: sales of
its low-end machines are outstripping supply.


        APOLLO RISING -- Apollo Computer Inc. of Chelmsford,
Mass., had solid first quarter earnings of $10.4 million (29
cents per share). First quarter of last year saw earnings of $6.4
million (18 cents per share). Apollo's sales for the quarter rose
to $168.9 million, versus $123.4 million for the prior year's
first quarter. Apollo says sales of its Series 10000 desktop
supercomputer, which had $10 million in initial orders, will make
a big contribution to its second quarter sales.

[***][4/19/88][***]
NEWS NIBBLES FROM AROUND THE REGION

AT&T computer maestro Vittorio Cassoni has taken a seat of the
board of directors of SUN MICROSYSTEMS of Mountain View, Calif.,
further solidifying the ties between the two companies. Cassoni's
seat on the Sun board is part of the January deal that allows
AT&T to acquire up to 20 percent of Sun.

NEW YORK STATE is blitzing Wall Street with auditors and
criminal tax investigators after a computer test uncovered what
the gumshoes say is widespread failure to file tax returns.
Already, a Goldman Sachs vice president and a Drexel Burnam
investment banker have received arrest warrants. Tax Commissioner
Rodney Chu says the computer turned up the names of 5,723 Wall
Streeters who failed to file state tax returns.

DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORP. of Maynard, Mass., has sued CLEARPOINT
RESEARCH CORP. of Hopkinton, Mass., in federal court, claiming
patent infringement, and copyright and trademark violations.
Digital wants a permanent injunction against sales of
Clearpoint's VBIRAM product and treble damages.

PRIME COMPUTER of Natick, Mass., says it will mount Unix on its
50-series of superminis. The 50-series Primes currently run
PRIMOS, the proprietary Prime operating system. Prime says it
will continue to develop, support, and market PRIMOS.



[***][4/19/88][***]
APPLE: CHANGES WORLDWIDE STRUCTURE
Hemel Hempstead, Herts (NB) -- In one of the surprise moves of
'88, Apple Computer has announced structural changes in its
organization to carry it forward into the 1990's.  As a result of
the changes, the company's global coverage splits into three:
Apple USA, Apple Europe and Apple Pacific (the latter two
divisions were previously known as Apple International).

Apple Europe, headquartered in Paris, splits into four business
regions: France, Germany, Nordic and the General European Area
(GEA), which the UK falls (neatly?) into.  Heading the European
division is Mike Spindler under the grandiose title of 'vice
president for European operations.'

Does the shake-out alter the day-to-day running of Apple UK, which
is headed by managing director Keith Phillips?  "No, it's more of
a refocusing operation," said a company spokesman.  "Spindler now
reports directly to Del Yocam, Apple CEO, so it's a very much
reduced chain of command."

It looks like it.  NEWSBYTES UK notes that this the first time
that an Apple structural change has been announced without
mentioning Hugh Sculley, the company's chief executive officer.
That's curious...

* Apple UK has confirmed that will be appearing at DEXPO Europe
in February 1989, following the success of the Apple Village at
DEXPO East in New York earlier this year.

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

[***][4/19/88][***]
COMPUNET OPENS UP TO ST AND AMIGA USERS
London, UK (NB) -- Following on from an announcement at last
year's Personal Computer World Show, Compunet, the Commodore-
oriented online service, has now formally launched its Atari ST
and Commodore Amiga services.

Unlike the Commodore 64, the ST and Amiga computers do not
require a special modem with onboard software.  Instead, users of
the ST or Amiga can use any Hayes-compatible modem and suitable
software #24-95 including VAT).  A package deal for both micros,
including software, a free month's usage of Compunet and a Pace
Linnet modem, is available at #135-00 (plus VAT).

Unusually, Compunet seems to anticipate that its ST and Amiga
software will be passed around and notes that new ST/Amiga
subscribers to the service will be required to pay #19-95 for the
software if they decided to register as a subscriber to Compunet,
which currently costs between #9-00 and #15-00 per quarter.

CONTACT: COMPUNET TELESERVICES LTD., Sheraton Business Centre,
         Wadsworth Road, Perivale, Middlesex, UB6 7JB.
         Tel: [phone].

[***][4/19/88][***]
NESTAR: UK VERSION OF NEXOS LAN SOFTWARE UNVEILED
Weybridge, Surrey (NB) -- DSC Nestar, the UK arm of the US-
headquartered Nestar group, has launched Nexos in the UK.  Nexos
is a sophisticated multitasking network system which allows
network gateways to other application software and/or systems.
The advantage of the software from the user's point of view is
that it can run on a variety of hardware configurations, starting
from a simple 80386-based PC.

"It's a significant product announcement," said Robert Thorpe,
Nestar's European general manager.  "Nexos offers appreciable
performance benefits and matches, if not betters, the security
and fault tolerance features of its competitors," he added.

Pricing on Nexos looks competitive, and starts at #1,095 for up
to 8 users, rising to #2,495 for an unlimited number of users.
Thorpe points out that these prices make Nexos 43 per cent
cheaper than Novell Netware (its main competition) in the UK.

CONTACT: NESTAR SYSTEMS, 1 Brooklands Road, Weybridge,
         Surrey KT13 0SD.              Tel: [phone].

[***][4/19/88][***]
OLIVETTI: NEW PCs, MCA CAPABILITY & RESTYLED LAPTOP
Paris, France (NB) -- Olivetti announced its 1988 range of PCs
and peripherals in Paris last week.  At the same time, the
company also announced its intention to offer MicroChannel
Architecture (MCA) - as seen on IBM's PS/2 series - by the year
end.

Spearheading the new range are three 80386-based machines, all of
which superseded the existing M380T.  The M380-XP1 costs $8,400
and comes with 1Mb of Ram and an 80Mb hard disk.  The M380-XP3
costs $10,950 and comes with 2Mb of Ram and a 135Mb hard disk,
whilst the M380-XP5 prices in at $12,000 and comes with 4Mb of
Ram and 300Mb of hard disk storage.   All three M380 models come
with a choice of floppy disk drives (3.5 and 5.25 inch) and back-
up tape drives.

Closely following the M380 series is the M290, a $4,360 80286-
based PC with a variety of Ram and hard disk drive
configurations.  Prices on the 12MHz M290 start at around the
$4,000 mark.

Last, but not least, Olivetti has resurrected its weighty M15
laptop.  The M15, which UK users can pick up for a bargain bin
#300, is replaced by the M15 Plus which now has a 20Mb hard disk
(plus lots of extra weight and price).  Expect to pay around the
#1,700 mark when the M15 Plus appears later this year.  Other
than the M15 Plus, UK prices and availability have yet to be
announced.

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

[***][4/19/88][***]
ST/AMIGA: TWO NEW MAGAZINES ANNOUNCED
London, UK (NB) -- Summertime, and the computer user's thoughts
turn to... magazines.  That's what two UK publishing houses -
Database Publications and Future Publishing - are gambling on,
with particular emphasis on the Atari ST and Commodore Amiga.

Database Publications has announced plans to launch Amiga
Computing, its ninth monthly computer-specific magazine.  The
first issue goes on sale on 18 May, with a target print run of
40,000 and a cover price of #1-95.  The magazine will be edited
by Simon Rockman, who will continue to edit Amstrad Computer User
for the Database group.

Future's plans, meanwhile, are somewhat behind Database's,
although its magazine - ST/Amiga Format - (as the name implies)
will cover both the ST and the Amiga.  The cover price of
ST/Amiga Format will be higher than Database's at #2-50, although
this price includes a free disk with each issue.

Ben Taylor, ST/Amiga Format's editor, reckons that the first
issue of the magazine, complete with free disk, will hit the
streets sometime during the summer.  "An announcement on a
precise launch date will be given shortly," he told NEWSBYTES UK.
"The disk will be unusual in that its programs and data files can
loaded into an ST or an Amiga using a special software loader,"
he added.

CONTACT: DATABASE PUBLICATIONS - 0625-878888
         Email - Dialcom (MicroLink) 72:MAG001

         FUTURE PUBLISHING - 0225-44603
         Email - Dialcom 84:TXT152

[***][4/19/88][***]
TANDATA LAUNCHES TRAVEL AGENCY SOLUTION
Malvern, Worcestershire (NB) -- Tandata, the modem and
communications equipment specialist, has launched Travstar, a
complete computerized front and back office administration,
reservation and communications system for travel agents.

The system comprises a back office IBM PC compatible run the
administrative software, coupled to one or more of Tandata's
multi-purpose PA communications terminals in the front office.
The PA thus allows external access to public and private viewdata
systems, as well as cross-linking to the PC for customer records,
accounts and all the other paperwork which tends to slow down the
typical office.  The advantage of Travstar, of course, is that
the paperwork isn't on paper, it's on computer.

From the customer's point of view, things are a lot faster and
simpler.  The agency clerk links to an outside database to check
on holiday/flight details etc., availability and, assuming a
booking is required, cross-links that data to the PC, thereby
allowing automated booking, documentation and ticketing.

Sounds good. Now all NEWSBYTES UK needs is a way to pay for that
expensive, impulse-buy holiday that the system can instantly book
for us!  My Amex card runneth over...

CONTACT: TANDATA COMMUNICATIONS, Albert Road North, Malvern,
         Worcestershire, WR14 2TL.
         Tel: [phone].       Email: Dialcom - 81:TAN003.

[***][4/19/88][***]
TELECOM GOLD DATABASE COMPETITION
London, UK (NB) -- Telecom Gold, as NEWSBYTES UK noted last week,
now has 105,000 subscribers.  To celebrate the fact (and to
market its gateway services), the UK's electronic mail brand
leader is running a novel promotion for its Infocheck database
during the whole of May.

Users logging on at least once during May to the Infocheck
database (which includes details of most of the UK's companies,
and their accounts etc.) will have a chance to win 300 free
report accesses, a prize worth #2,700.

To qualify for the prize, Telecom Gold users must submit a
tie breaking promotional statement about Infocheck of not more than
50 words to Dialcom/Telecom Gold 83:JNL999.  Whilst the
competition isn't all that novel, Infocheck's information is
highly useful in today's business environment.  NEWSBYTES UK uses
the service regularly, and notes that some US companies charge a
small fortune for what Infocheck provides at #3-00 a minute
connect time.

CONTACT: TELECOM GOLD, 60-68 St Thomas Street, London SE1 3QU.
         Tel: International enquiries - London 403-6777.
              UK Internal enquiries - 0800-200-700.

[***][4/19/88][***]
ZENITH TO LAUNCH LAPTOPS THIS WEEK
London, UK (NB) -- Zenith Data Systems has booked the ballroom at
the London Portman Intercontinental hotel this Wednesday to
announce a new range of products.  What will they be?  Zenith
isn't saying, but the latest PC DEALER trade newspaper reveals
that four laptops will be announced, all of which feature active
cell matrix LCD screens.

PC DEALER also surmises that the machines will include a degree
of PS/2 compatibility, as Zenith is known to have agreed a
license with Chips and Technologies for its PS/2 chip set.  A
similar deal with Phoenix for its PS/2 Rom Bios has also been
completed.

Don't hold your breath over the new machines however.  Sources
suggest that the new laptops, centering around conventional 80286
and 80386-based technology, won't be on sale much before the
Autumn.  Shucks.

CONTACT: ZENITH DATA SYSTEMS, 452 Bath Road, Slough,
         Berkshire SL1 6BB.        Tel: [phone].
[***][4/19/88][***]
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
+ BRITBYTES - Bytes of news from around the UK... +
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

ALDUS EUROPE will ship Version 3.0 of Pagemaker for the Apple
Macintosh at the end of this month.  Version 3.0 for the PC will
ship towards the end of May.  The Mac version will sell for #545,
whilst the PC version will sell for #695.  Upgrades for existing
users are available at #75 and #80 respectively.

ASHTON-TATE has ended its software marketing agreement with
JAVELIN for the distribution of the latter's database package in
Europe.  Javelin is looking for an independent European
distributor to handle the database package.  A-T's agreement with
Javelin for North American sales will continue, however.

The ATARI USER SHOW takes place at London's Alexandra Palace this
Friday thru Sunday (22/24 April).  Show details can be obtained
from the organisers on 0625-878888, but don't panic of you can't
make it.  NEWSBYTES UK will have in-depth coverage of the show in
next weeks issue.  ATARI meanwhile, has booked a press launch for
this Wednesday in the US.  The company is expected to announce
its Mega ST-based desktop publishing configuration systems for
the US market - we'll have further details in next week's issue.

LIFETREE has announced TOTAL WORD, a word publishing package for
the IBM PC (and close compatibles) at #425.  The package will be
available on dealer's shelves from the end of this month.

LOTUS DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION has expressed fears of
"catastrophic implications" from a new Copyright Bill which is
currently passing through the UK legislature.  The key point of
the new law, which is in its third reading in the House of Lords
at the moment, is that software can be rented out (like an audio
or video tape) 12 months after its official release date.

MERCURY COMMUNICATIONS has reached agreement with KDD of Japan
for low-cost switched telephone service between the UK and Japan
from 1 May.  The links will allow digital-quality circuits
between the two countries.  Until 1 May, Mercury will continue to
rely on British Telecom for its telephony links.

OFTEL, the UK government-appointed telecommunications watchdog,
has given approval to Ferranti to test its revolutionary
Creditphone system at key sites around the UK.  The Creditphone
system operates using special cordless telephones (price #200)
which function as roaming units which lock on to the nearest
Creditzone cordless telephone base.  Subscribers are this able to
make outgoing calls without having to resort to using pay phones
(assuming you can find one that is working).




[***][4/19/88][***]
THEY DOTH PROTEST TOO MUCH

   On the Bell Operating Companies' Interest in Information

        By Dana Blankenhorn

America's Bell Operating Companies have been complaining
loudly about Judge Harold Greene's new orders allowing them to
transmit data, but forbidding them from owning it or building
transmission equipment. John Clendenin of BellSouth summed up
the Bell feelings well when he said at a recent shareholder's
meeting that until the Bells can own information, there can't be
an Information Age.

Well, that's nonsense. In fact, the last people who
should be in the business of owning information are the Bell
Operating Companies. For one thing, they're not good at it. For
another thing, their regulated status makes them poor guardians
of information, since they're under constant political pressure.
(Witness the big flapdoodle over 900 "dial-a-porn" numbers.)
Finally, all the phone companies get into trouble when they start
trying to do things they don't understand -- look at the money
wasted through Pacific Telesis' Spectrum Services division, or
the hash Bell Atlantic has made of its CompuShop computer store
chain. Or just look at one of those insipid NYNEX commercials in
which they claim that "without NYNEX the world would come to an
end." (Actually, the world would do quite well without NYNEX.)

Here in Atlanta, BellSouth has been doing a wonderful job
of "studying" the online business for 5 years now. It's a primary
sponsor of ICS, sponsors of the failed TranstexT project. Now,
through BellSouth Advanced Networks, it wants to get into the
online business. Someone working for BSAN contacted me recently
about putting NEWSBYTES online with them.

First, they wanted it free. I replied that NEWSBYTES is
not a charity for the phone company. Then I asked how NEWSBYTES
would get its copy to BSAN. I was told, after some delays to talk
to "higher ups," that I'd have to buy my own computer, attach it
to the BSAN network, and then hope that someone called me. (If I
had a BBS here and could get royalties from the time charges,
that might be acceptable, but I don't, and they won't.) After
going through a lot of rigamarole, I was finally told that
BellSouth couldn't even hold the computer which held my
information, or else it would be violating Judge Greene's order.
And it couldn't offer financial assistance to people who might
buy computers for attaching information products to the BSAN
network, again blaming Judge Green.

The word for this is Excuses. Until BellSouth gets what
it wants out of the Information Age, namely control of
information, it doesn't want to play. And if that's their
attitude, maybe they should be kept out of the game permanently.

            ---Dana Blankenhorn, NEWSBYTES SOUTH/MIDWEST Bureau Chief

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