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/nb880719.265

Text File | 1991-08-18 | 51KB | 1,182 lines

[***][7/19/88][***]
HEWLETT-PACKARD FILES COUNTER-SUIT AGAINST APPLE
PALO ALTO, CA (NB) -- Many people who've seen the papers believe
that Hewlett-Packard, not Microsoft, is the real target of
Apple's famed "look and feel" lawsuit aimed at protecting the
Apple Macintosh user interface. Were all H-P computers to become
Mac-like, Apple might lose its captive audience. And they are
becoming that way, thanks to "NewWave", Hewlett-Packard's new
operating environment which is the target of the suit.

-More-NOMORE

This week H-P countersued Apple, charging unfair business
practices and violations of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. The
company, making its formal response to Apple's April 17 suit,
denied all the allegations, asking that the court invalidate
Apple's copyrights. Basically, H-P charges that Apple does not
hold valid copyrights for its visual displays and images because
it did not originate them. In fact, they were the product of
research at Xerox' Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) first shown
as Small Talk.

H-P also charged that Apple manipulated NewWave in samples it
gave the court and the pres. "NewWave represetns the most serious
threat to Apple's monopoly and the most promising means of
introducing effective and vigorous competition in this market,"
the countersuit concluded. Apple's response: let a court decide.

[***][7/19/88][***]
APPLE EXECUTIVES SELL LARGE BLOCKS OF STOCK
CUPERTINO, CA (NB) -- Many investors watch the investments of
corporate insiders closely. They know the outlook of their
companies best, and they have to report their purchases and sales
to the SEC. When insiders buy, outsiders figure they know


something good is happening. When insiders sell, outsiders figure
bad news is coming.

Recently, at Apple, insiders sold. In a big way. Del Yocam,
executive vice president and chief operating officer, unloaded
100,000 shares, leaving himself with just 2,000. Mike Spindler,
senior vice president for international sales and marketing, sold
all his 20,000 shares. Jean-Louis Gassee, senior vice president
for research and marketing, sold his holdings as well, and Al
Eisenstadt, senior vice president and secretary, sold 30,000
shares, roughly one-fourth of his holdings.

Analysts, however, said not to worry. Apple executives usually
sell stock in the late spring, based on the timing of their stock
option plans. Besides, with Yocam getting his Apple stock at
$7.75 per share, the sales left him with a real profit of $3.7
million.

[***][7/19/88][***]
AN AMERICAN-MADE COMPUTER WHICH TRANSLATES FOREIGN LANGUAGES
REDMOND, WA (NB) -- Advanced Products & Technologies will deliver
a computer called The Voice this fall. The machine, first


announced in December, 1987, can handle simultaneous translations
of English, French, German, Spanish and Italian. Chief executive
Steve Rondel said The Voice can handle about 10,000 different
sentences.

[***][7/19/88][***]
SILICON CHIPS

ANACOMP, Santa Clara, signed a letter to acquire Xidex, a
micrographics company which has posted losses in recent years,
for roughly $400 million in cash, which it will finance with bank
loans.

CLARIS, the Apple software spin-off, acquired Nashoba Systems,
which makes FileMaker, a popular Macintosh database. Terms
weren't disclosed.

PYRAMID TECHNOLOGY, Mountain View, CA, introduced new mini-
mainframes running Unix which range in price from $128,000-
425,000. They're supposed to improve system performance running
things like databases, networks, and software development.



TERRADATA, Los Angeles, announced the DBC-1012 Model 3 database
computer, which is designed for relational database processing.
The machine uses Intel 80386 chips and math co-processors, and
prices run from $275,000 for an entry-level machine to $2 million
for a major installation. Shipments start in November.



[***][7/19/88][***]
DEMOCRATS' PRESS CENTER LOOKS LIKE COMDEX FLOOR
ATLANTA (NB) -- The Democratic Convention press center is known
to computer dealers as the East Hall at Spring Comdex. During the
next week it will be a users' convention. NBC, ABC, and CBS have
compounds complete with cafeterias and solid walls. Newspapers
and chains re-created their hometown newsrooms, complete with
terminals and multiplexers. Some are transmitting pages back to
their hometowns, others just text and graphics. Nexis has its own
booth near the center of the floor, and is offering free searches
as a publicity gimmick to the media.

The most interesting booth, however, belongs to AT&T.
Freelancers, foreigners and small newspapers with valid
credentials can get access here to two AT&T fax machines, three
AT&T computers with modems, and 57 AT&T phones with Y-plugs you
can plug a laptop computer's modem into. Plus, of course, the
-More-NOMORE

obligatory TV, with cable, for C-SPAN and CNN. AT&T gave the
first press people to check in there "press kits" which included
a free, souvenir coffee mug. (Isn't that special?)

The re-design of the East Hall floor for the use of today's
media is made possible by Southern Bell's recent installation of
fiber lines and switches throughout downtown Atlanta. What we
called high-tech on beginning this column is now universal.

[***][7/19/88][***]
DEMOCRATS' KEYNOTE SPEECH IS EATEN BY COMPUTER
Texas Treasurer Ann Richards' Keynote speech to the Democratic
Convention on July 18 could have been better. A draft being
worked on by speech writer John Sherman was somehow lost between
the saving and the printing. A technician was called in but could
not retrieve the draft from the computer disk, so Sherman tried
to re-create it as well as he could. The new version was
sent electronically to Ms. Richards in Atlanta July 14

[***][7/19/88][***]
UNISYS TO TAKE THE FALL FOR PENTAGON ARMS SCANDAL?
DETROIT (NB) -- Unisys, America's #2 computer maker and the


creation of former Carter Treasury Secretary Michael Blumenthal,
is being set up for a fall in the growing Pentagon arms scandal.
"The Wall Street Journal" reported on July 13 that the company
could face criminal charges stemming from an investigation of
computer work done for the Army. That investigation, which is
separate from that of Special Prosecutor Henry Hudson, is being
conducted by U.S. Attorneys in Tucson, AZ.  They allege that the
company deliberately padded bills by as much as $10 million for
work on the Army Information Systems Command center in Ft.
Huachuca, AZ. Unisys voluntarily disclosed the problems at that
base, yet the Republican office-holders in Tucson seem intent on
putting Unisys officials in jail for it.

In the larger investigation, a grand jury in Alexandria, VA is
seeking information about Charles Gardner, former head of the
surveillance and fire-control of a Unisys unit in Great Neck, NY.
Gardner, who retired in March but remains a Unisys consultant,
is alleged to have set up a network of consultants and lobbyists
reporting directly to him. The grand jury is also seeking
internal Unisys documents in its probe.

Unisys has declined comment on the allegations against it.



[***][7/19/88][***]
COMPAQ BUYS THE LAND, ANNOUNCES IT WILL HIRE THE PEOPLE
HOUSTON (NB) -- Compaq officially announced it will buy 85 acres
of land near its present headquarters for expansion, and build
1.4 million of space there. It present has 1.3 million square
feet of space on 149 acres. Plans call for three new
manufacturing plants, four new office buildings and four parking
decks on the site, which was purchased only after Houston
officials coughed up $150 million in various "incentives",
including an 8-lane freeway direct to downtown. Compaq will
eventually hire 4,000 more workers as a result of this action.

[***][7/19/88][***]
COMPUTERCRAFT CHAIN ACQUIRED BY BUSINESSLAND
HOUSTON (NB) -- The first computer store this reporter ever
visited was on Westheimer near Shepherd Drive in Houston. The
year was 1979. The foreign-accented owner offered Apples, S-100
bus equipment, WordStar, and thick manuals. His store was peopled
by nerds with thick glasses and severe acne.

Four years later, I ran into the same store owner again. He'd


sold out to a new chain, called ComputerCraft, and was a big-time
executive. Last week that story came full-circle, with the
announcement that ComputerCraft, now with 25 stores in Texas and
California, has been merged into BusinessLand, for 2.056 million
shares of BusinessLand common. At BusinessLand's July 13 close of
$11.25 per share, that comes to roughly $23 million. NEWSBYTES
likes happy endings.

[***][7/19/88][***]
ZSOFT, MEDIAGENIC MERGER NOT QUITE FINISHED
MARIETTA, GA (NB) -- ZSoft chairman Mark Zachmann, in an
exclusive interview with NEWSBYTES, admits his firm's merger into
Mediagenic, formerly Activision, is not yet finalized. Lawyers
still are going over the papers, he said, and until then he can
have nothing formally to say about the firm's direction. But he
did confirm that the present direction of Mediagenic is more in
line with ZSoft's business, PC applications like PC Paintbrush,
than its former life as Activision, the games company. Once the
merger is final, expect ZSoft to take control of Mediagenic's PC
applications development, and look for Zachmann to have a bigger
role in setting the company's direction.



CONTACT: Mark Zachmann, ZSOFT, [phone]

[***][7/19/88][***]
PECAN CHIPS

CE SOFTWARE, Des Moines, IA, is creating a version of its
QuickMail package, written for the Macintosh, for use on IBM
machines. It will run under MS-DOS.

COMPAQ, Houston, said its new PCs were added to the GSA Schedule
C, meaning federal government users can buy them without
competitive bidding hassles.

CONTROL DATA, Minneapolis, is spinning all its disk drive
operations into a wholly-owned subsidiary. Analysts expect CD to
try and sell the operations, which are under competitive
pressure.

DESIGN SOFTWARE, Chicago, introduced DS Squeeze, a menu-driven
file compression utility for MS-DOS computers claiming to
increase hard disk capacity 75%.



HARRIS CORP., Melbourne, FL, and INFORMIX, Lenaxa, KS, announced
a deal to put Informix' Unix database line onto Harris' Unix-
based minicomputers, the CX family.

MSA, Atlanta, has weathered a takeover attempt from Garden City,
NY-based COMPUTER ASSOCIATES INC. For now. CAI's Anthony Wang
said his firm was rebuffed at every turn by MSA management, and
acknowledged the board has support from shareholders. MSA stock
dropped to $9.12 per share in the wake of CAI's announcement. CAI
had offered $11.50 per share.

MOTOROLA, Schaumburg, IL, announced its quarterly profits jumped
50 per cent, but said the chip shortage was only part of the
story. Cellular phones and computers were given big credit. For
the first 6 months of the year Motorola has shown a profit of
$234 million, compared to $136 million a year ago, on sales of
$4.04 billion, up from $3.19 billion a year ago.

SOUTHERN BELL, Atlanta, is turning off 976 "chat" lines and lines
which advertised them, following a Fulton County court decision
allowing it. (Now, what happens when teens discover computer
conferencing systems like PARTI On The Source?)



WINSTON & WINSTON, Ft. Worth, is still looking for a senior
writer with news sense and market savvy. Has Marty Winston
considered Jesse Jackson, unemployed as of July 20?


[***][7/19/88][***]
SYSTEMHOUSE OFFER FOR COMPUTER INNOVATIONS A SUCCESS
OTTAWA (NB) -- SHL Systemhouse Ltd.'s ofbuyout offer for Computer
Innovations Distribution Ltd., scheduled to close July 12, was a
success with 92.2 per cent of Computer Innovations shares tendered to
Systemhouse.  That includes an option on shares held by BCE Inc. of
Montreal, parent of Bell Canada and Northern Telecom.  "It's a done
dinner," said John Owens, spokesman for Systemhouse parent company
Kinburn Corp., also of Ottawa.  He added that the C$3.60 a share offer
has been extended to July 25 to allow remaining shareholders to offer
their shares as well.  "It's easier for the shareholders to tender
their shares now" than to wait for Systemhouse to squeeze them out,
Owens said.

Systemhouse, a systems integrator and custom software house, says
Computer Innovations will continue to operate as a separate entity
with existing senior management.  Computer Innovations runs just under
100 ComputerLand stores across Canada.

-More-NOMORE


CONTACT: KINBURN CORP., [phone]

[***][7/19/88][***]
PIRACY KILLS MONEY-BACK SOFTWARE GUARANTEE
TORONTO (NB) -- Microbits, a Toronto distributor of software and
computer supplies, has cancelled a 30-day return policy on computer
software because of piracy.  Too many buyers were purchasing programs,
taking them home and copying them, and then returning the originals
for a full refund, an employee said.  He added that the problem wasn't
only with individuals and small companies but with large corporations
as well, and the same thing was happening with audio and video
training tapes.

[***][7/19/88][***]
SUPERCALC 5 HAS CANADIAN PREMIERE
TORONTO (NB) -- SuperCalc 5, the latest version of Computer
Associates' electronic spreadsheet program for MS-DOS machines, made
its first Canadian appearance at The Bottom Line Exhibition and
Conference here July 13 and 14.  The program's features include
dynamic "hotlinks" between multiple spreadsheets, debugging and
auditing tools, presentation-quality graphics, a reporting funcion,


the ability to read Lotus 1-2-3 files and execute 1-2-3 macros, and
compatibility with Silverado, Computer Associates' database management
add-in for spreadsheet programs.

SuperCalc 5 works on all MS-DOS computers, a characteristic Computer
Associates is promoting as an advantage over Microsoft's Excel, which
requires an 80286 or 80386 microprocessor.  But although SuperCalc 5
works on "even a 512K PC with dual 360K diskettes," the company says,
it takes full advantage of top-of-the-line 80386 PCs.

CONTACT: COMPUTER ASSOCIATES CANADA LTD., 1770 Burrard St.
         3rd Floor, Vancouver, B.C. V6J 3G7, [phone]
         Fax: [phone]

[***][7/19/88][***]
COMPUTERLAND OUTLET OFFERS DEMONSTRATOR COMPUTERS
TORONTO (NB) -- If you've ever economized when buying a car, you'll
know the term "demonstrator" -- a car that the dealer has used for
test drives and therefore sells for less than list price.  That
concept has come to computers as well.  ComputerLand Outlet, with two
Toronto-area locations where ComputerLand sells used computers,
demonstrators and discontinued models, is advertising demonstrator IBM


PS/2, Macintosh and Compaq PCs at discounts of 25 per cent and up.  A
Compaq Deskpro 386, normally C$9,999, goes for C$5,700, and a Mac SE,
normally C$4,950, is C$3,450.

CONTACT: COMPUTERLAND OUTLET, 4580 Dufferin St., Toronto
         [phone], or 2200 Dundas St. E., Mississauga, Ont.,
         [phone]

[***][7/19/88][***]
BITS, EH?
-- PRECARN ASSOCIATES INC., the Toronto based precompetitive advanced
research consortium concerned largely with artificial intelligence
research, has appointed to its board of directors Leonard F. Bolger,
vice-president (research) of Shell Canada in Calgary, and J. Ron
McCullough, vice-president (corporate planning) at Spar Aerospace,
Toronto.

-- BEDFORD SOFTWARE LTD., Burnaby, B.C., made a profit of C$553,000 in
the year ended May 31, up from C$153,000 a year earlier.  Revenue rose
to C$5.3 million from C$2 million.




ENGLISH-JAPANESE TRANSLATION SOFTWARE FROM IBM JAPAN
TOKYO (NB) -- IBM Japan has developed a program which translates
English sentences into Japanese.   The system for human assisted
language translation (SHALT) claims its translation algorithm is
1.5-3 times more efficient than human translators. hands.

SHALT includes an English analysis feature which clarifies the
part of grammar for each word, an English-Japanese transfer
feature which transfers the result of analyzed English into other
English expressions, as well as into a half expression of
Japanese, and a Japanese sentence generation feature.

IBM Japan has begun translating its own manuals with the product.
The first, "IBM 3174 Control Unit Guide" was published in the
middle of this month. IBM Japan is aiming to release the SHALT in

-More-NOMORE

the Japanese market after further improvements are made.

CONTACT: IBM Japan, 3-2-12 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106

[***][7/19/88][***]
HANDY IMAGE SCANNER FOR MACINTOSH
TOKYO (NB) -- Tokyo-based software venture Kowa Joho Giken has
developed a small scanner for Macintosh SE, II, and PLUS.  The
scanner has a data transfer speed of 100 megabytes per second,
30 times faster than other scanners. As soon as an object is
traced by the scanner, the image appears on the screen.   The
scanner has a reading area of 105mm x 300mm.  It can take
photographs into Hypercard, too. The price, including adaptor,
connector, and software, is 78,000 yen or $600.

CONTACT: Kowa Joho Giken, Nakada Muromachi Bldg. 2-5-9 Muro-
         machi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103

[***][7/19/88][***]
TELETEL LANDS IN JAPAN
TOKYO (NB) --  France's Teletel, the most popular videotex system
in the world, is headed for Japan. France's Telecom is currently


working with Philips Japan on the project. Telecom has obtained
sales licences for its terminal machines, called Minitels, in
Japan. They could ship as early as this fall. The Minitel is
expected to carry a price of under 50,000 yen or $380, far lower
than NTT's price for its CAPTAIN videotex terminals.

Videotex is an information search service using telephone lines.
By calling up the computer center, you can search menus for news,
shopping, stock market quotes, and weather reports.

CONTACT: Philips Japan, Shuuwa Shinagawa-Bldg., 3-6-33 Takanawa,
         Minato-ku, Tokyo 108

[***][7/19/88][***]
<< SUSHI BYTES >>

AUTOMATIC TRANSLATION SOFTWARE FOR OS/2 -- OG Information System
(OGIS) has released automatic translation software for OS/2,
using artificial intelligence (AI) technology.   OGIS ported the
software of the Japanese-English automatic translation system
PANSEE, jointly developed by Oki, for IBM Japan's PS/55.  The
basic price of the software is 980,000 yen or $7,500.



FUJITSU TO JOIN X/OPEN -- Fujitsu will become the first Japanese
maker to join X/Open.  X/Open was established by 13 major firms
in the U.S. and Europe, including ATT, DEC, Unisys, NCR, Bull of
France, and Siemens A.G.  The group is aiming to standardize
UNIX, which was created by AT&T. Fujitsu will introduce kanji
characters processing into UNIX.

NEC DEVELOPS FASTEST FLOP IC -- NEC has developed a floating
point operation (FLOP) IC, for its 32-bit microprocessing unit
(MPU) V69/70.  NEC will ship the sample in August.  The UPD72691
can process data at a new world record of 6.7 million floating
point operations (FLOPS) per second.

MOTOROLA JAPAN STRATEGY -- Motorola Japan will hire 830 mew
employees in 1988-89, adding them to its year-end 1987 total of
1,600. Motorola Japan has also adopted a "Total Customer
Satisfaction" policy since last year, a unique offering geared to
better customer service.

IBM AS/400 RE-VITALIZES SECONDHAND MARKET -- The used-computer
market in Japan was revitalized with the release of the IBM


AS/400 minicomputer line in June.  Secondhand computer dealers
are calling on Japanese, Taiwanese and Korean customers, selling
the IBM/4300, System 36 and System 38 at 30-40 less than the
cost of new equipment. Estimates are the used computer market
will grow to 100 billion yen market within a few years, even
without used Japanese computers available for trade.

SAM SUNG STRENGTHENS U.S. STANDING -- Sam Sung of Korea has
purchased the rest of Micro Five Inc. of the U.S. to reinforce
its personal computer business there. This takeover brings Micro
Five's technological skills, service, support and distribution
know-how to Sam Sung.  The company plans to double its shipments
of PCs to the U.S., to 60,000, under the Sam Sung name.

CAN CHIP MAKERS HAVE SUMMER VACATION? -- Semiconductor makers
are rumored to be cutting out summer vacations to break the back
of the chip shortage. But companies are looking for some way to
retain employee morale.

SEMICONDUCTOR DEVELOPMENT IN TAIWAN -- As reported in NEWSBYTES-
Japan last week, Seiko Epson plans to move its planning,
design and software development to Taiwan. This week, Seiko has


announced the establishment of a semiconductor design center in
Taiwan.  Major semiconductor makers, such as NEC, Toshiba and
Fujitsu, have such centers in U.S. and Europe, but they only
modify basic circuits made in Japan.  Seiko Epson is giving its
U.S. and Taiwan centers total control.

OPTICAL HEAD DUE FROM MITSUBISHI -- Mitsubishi has developed a
miniature optical head for erasable optical-magnetic disks.  The
optical head is capable of high-speed data seeking and data
transfer.  It is scheduled to be shipped next spring.

MITUSBISHI DEVELOPS TRON OS -- Mitsubishi has developed an
operating system for the TRON architecture.  The company will
build the MR7700 in its 16-bit single chip microcomputer the
MELPS7700 series.   The shipping date of the MR7700 is this
December.




[***][7/19/88][***]
APPLE BITES MAN
CUPERTINO, Ca (NB) -More than one of my sources tell me that Apple
is nearly ready to dump the Green Hills compiler that has been
deviling some of its developers.  The word is that the new compiler
is being developed for MPW 3.0 by Apple's own striped and bitten
crews.  Expected in the fall, for early release through APDA (Apple
Programmer and Developers Association [phone]), the compiler
should be ready for general distribution in early January.  For you
wags, that's January 1989.

However, Apple officially denies any knowledge of the product or its
development.  APDA products are not Apple products you see.  That
way Apple doesn't have to answer the phones if they don't work quite
right.  The new C language product will be accompanied in MPW 3.0 by
a new symbolic debugger and projector.  There will also be a C++
precompiler which provides object-oriented extensions for the C
language.
[***][7/19/88][***]
MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGH FOR AT-NESIA
MADISON, Wi (NB) --If your AT clock's been plagued as mine has, with
lousy lithium-induced amnesia, there may finally be a cure.  My AT's
first battery was installed by IBM and lasted less than two years.

-More-NOMORE

What a hassle to have to set up the system every time it's booted,
for several days, while waiting for a replacement.  Time, date,
drive types, and memory all have to be set.  My system's numbers
don't roll off the tip of the tongue either.  Try to find the type
number for your 130-MB Innerspace drive in a hurry sometime--a year
after installation.  And, exactly how many banks did you fill on
that third memory board?

Now Rayovac comes to the rescue with an alkaline transplant that
costs about a third less than lithium treatments.  They also claim
to have up to 45% more life.  Rayovac's part number is 844-1.
There's no warrantee but at least the price makes keeping a spare on
hand much more attractive.

One thing to watch for: If your clock tests good but still won't
keep time with a new battery, try splaying out the pins on the
connector.  It probably won't do your CMOS clock any good but you
might enjoy venting your frustrations on a weak part of the system
board.

The real cause of the problem is likely to be power spikes caused by
bad line voltage or a misbehaving power supply according to


International Battery Corporation general manager Alex Papakyriakou.
Adding to the flurry of claims, Papakyriakou also said that lithium
will outlast any battery type except when active for long unbroken
periods.  IBC distributes both types of battery to resellers and can
be reached at [phone], for more information, if you're having
problems.

C PROGRAMMERS CATCH FEWER COLDS!
SCOTTS VALLEY, Ca (NB) --It looks like Borland is about to bring its
base of *Turbo C* programmers in from the cold with the language's
first official add-on: a developer's kit.  The kit may be one of the
underlying strategic reasons why Borland acquired Ansa.  It will
provide developers with the hooks to use the *Paradox* database
engine.  Dr. Pauling could not be reached for comment about the
increased doses of C which are expected as a result.

Informed sources, and some guess work, lead us to believe that the
announcement may come in September--Borland isn't talking.  The
package may interface with *Turbo Pascal* as well as C.  We also
suspect that the product will be priced more in line with *Paradox*
than with *Turbo C*.  Don't expect another database toolbox, at
least not in the near future.


[***][7/19/88][***]
NORTON EXSEEDINGLY CLEVER [Editor: EXSEEDINGLY is deliberate.]
SANTA MONICA, Ca (NB) --Peter Norton Computing is getting ready to
announce a major new venture.  To announce the announcement, the
company's high-powered PR firm, Manning Selvage and Lee, sent out a
package of tomato seeds and some clever bucolic verbiage about
sowing for the future.  Good writing, maybe, but mundane tomatoes.
Well, at least they weren't lemon seeds.  Speaking of PR . . .

QUOTE OF THE WEEK
KENT, Wa (NB) --"PR is like sex, everybody thinks they're an expert
at it."  That's based on Len Boscarine's total of ten years in high-
tech PR.  Len has just left his three-and-a-half-year post at
Mannesmann Tally.  He and his many personal relationships with
editors are now looking for a new slot in the Washington area.  You
can contact him at [phone].  (I promise that the next quote
that appears here will mention computers instead of sex if I have to
write it myself.)
[***][7/19/88][***]
DOS 3.4, 4.0, WHATEVER
 . . . I have been told that the next version of DOS may be
introduced this week by IBM.  If not, I am told to expect it soon.


At least one version of the new DOS has apparently been in the hands
of certain developers for some time.  However, I know one developer
who has been holding back a major release of her primary product
until the real thing hits the streets.  According to my source,
there's no telling what it might look like when that happens .
[***][7/19/88][***]
MOSCOW ON THE S. F. BAY?
MOSCOW, USSR (NB) --Informed sources tell me that *PC World*'s foray
into Russia, as the first U. S. computer publication, may also be
accompanied by a trade mission.  Our inside commissar reports that
PCW isn't brokering oil--but does Armand Hammer know about this?
Not unless he read it here first.





[***][7/19/88][***]
AMD TO RELEASE LOW POWER 286 CHIP *** EXCLUSIVE ***
MUNICH, WEST GERMANY (NB) -- Advanced Micro Devices, the black
horse of the semiconductor business (at least as seen by Intel),
is to release new 286 microprocessor products before the end of
1988. According to information that was leaked to NEWSBYTES
EUROPE, a low-power 286 chip, called 80L286-16 will be released
which will run at 16MHz, and will also be able to execute at
20MHz, similar to the chip from Harris. The L286-16 joins the
L286-12 chip as one of the cheapest 286 chips around. The 286-16
will also be available in a PLCC socket (Plastic Low Cost
Carrier) which will bring its price from the current $120 down to
about $25 by the end of 1989.

The company will soon be shipping its 5 millionth 286 chip; this
makes AMD the world's largest supplier of 286 microprocessors. By

-More-NOMORE

comparison Harris has only shipped a few chips. Even Intel has
shipped fewer than AMD. According to NEWSBYTES-EUROPE sources,
AMD plans to support the 286 well into the next century.

In a related story, early 286-16 AMD chips have intermittent
problems. Be sure that any system you get with a 16MHz AMD 286
chip has the name '286-16/S' on the chip die (the /s is important
here and indicates the shrink level), and not just '286-16.' I
have had a 286-16 which was loaded with problems, like non-
existant directories, which hang-up MS-Windows and many
programs.

[***][7/19/88][***]
THE HOT THING IN EUROPE THESE DAYS ARE LCAs
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (NB) -- Yes, you read it here first. The hot
thing in Europe is an unhitherto unknown device called an LCA
(Logic Cell Array). This device is going to revolutionize the
computer market because it is based on a static RAM cells and is
configured through a companion EPROM every time a system starts.
The applications are plentiful; ESDI controllers, traffic signal
controllers, radars, air traffic control terminals,
microprocessors and many others.



An LCA works by reading a 'program' from a companion EPROM which
has been programmed with instructions provided by schematic
software on it.  These instructions alter the contents of the LCA
and make the actual outputs combinations of each input. They are
similar to PGA (programmable logic arrays), but far more
flexible. All you need to do is change the EPROM and your LCA is
new again. LCAs are available with up to 9000 gates which
approach the needs of complex PC peripheral chips. Just imagine.
You have a new AT board with Chips & Technologies LCAs. For every
change of hardware and chip design, all you need to do is change
the EPROM used for the LCA instructions. And Voila! A new system.

[***][7/19/88][***]
LATTICE ANNOUNCEC CONCURRENT DOS C COMPILER
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (NB) --Lattice announced a C compiler with
features specific to Digital Research's Concurrent DOS, or DOS
XM. The compiler contains all the functions of the current
Lattice C Compiler plus additions specific to the Concurrent DOS
system. This includes passwords, file sharing, multi-sector I/O,
and shared peripherals. Talking about the new compiler, Robert
Hansen, Lattice's VP of Engineering said "On top of the library


support, we have provided an option which allows the compiler to
generate code that can be shared between different users thereby
saving memory."

Lattice's Concurrent DOS C compiler will be available with a $125
discount upon purchase of DOS XM, or DOS 386 from DRI and costs
$500 from Lattice.

[***][7/19/88][***]
ERICSSON SELLS MICROSYSTEMS DIVISION TO NOKIA DATA
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN (NB) -- Ericsson, the Swedish
telecommunications giant, has sold the worldwide Ericsson Data
Systems division to Nokia Data of Finland and will concentrate
on its telecommunications sector. In Belgium, Data Systems will
be headed by Prodata, a computer systems company that
distributes Nokia Systems here. Nokia systems will have complete
control of the Data Systems division on September 1.

[***][7/19/88][***]
PRICING FOR AS/400 SERIES FROM IBM
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (NB) -- As reported by NEWSBYTES earlier, IBM
announced the new AS/400 series which will replace the Systems


34, 36 and 38 (more than 270,000 installations worldwide). These
systems have announced prices in Belgium which range from BF
1,000,000 (US$ 25,000) for the B10 model with hard disk, tape
unit and communications controller till BF 20,000,000 ($500,000)
for the B60 with a similar configuration.

[***][7/19/88][***]
EUROBITS....

      AMSTRAD is expected to announce one of the nicest personal
computers during the Orgatechnik fair in Cologne, West Germany,
20 till the 25th October. Full report will be in NEWSBYTES
EUROPE...

      ...OLIVETTI has launched the postscript compatible PS303
printer based on the Canon engine. As usual with laser printers,
the resolution is 300 x 300 with 2MB of RAM. Price is set at
around US$ 7500...

      ...Now you can get an AT with 10MHz chip, 512K installed,
200w power supply, floppy disk and controller, parallel
interface, hercules graphics card and keyboard for DM 1898 which


is US$ 950. This is cheap. Get two. You can use one of them for
a spare...

      ...The AMD 29000 chip is now available in a 30MHz version
offering 20MIPS sustained (makes you think about my 3 MIPS 286
system). In addition, the METAWARE C Compiler is now available
for the 29000..

      ...and finally, the fastest AT system works here. 20MHz,
zero wait states, 99 ns access time for the RAMs, 23 on the
Norton SI rating and 3 MIPS wrap-up the capabilities. It makes
little difference however, when running a text editor to prepare
NEWSBYTES.
====
[***][7/19/88][***]
LOTUS SHIPS AGENDA
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (NB) -- Lotus Development Corp. has begun
shipping Agenda, its new personal information manager that is
supposed to bring the HyperCard concept that is a success on
Apply computers to the world of IBM PCs and clones. The product,
developed primarily by Lotus founder Mitch Kapor, has been in
development for two and a half years. Lotus is devoting great
care to the product, including budgeting $6 million for the
launch. Agenda runs under DOS 2.0 or higher, and requires 640 K
of RAM and a hard disk drive. The suggested retail price is $395
and the product is available immediately.

How well will Agenda do? Opinion is divided. The "Wall Street
Journal" quotes Stewart Alsop, editor of P.C. Letter, predicting
that Agenda will be "another very talked about program that falls

-More-NOMORE

flat on its face" because it can't multitask. On the other hand,
Esther Dyson, editor of Release 1.0, told the newspaper that
Agenda is "fundamentally new and different. It's tremendously
exciting."

[***][7/19/88][***]
UNISYS WILL COOPERATE WITH GOVERNMENT PROBE
BLUE BELL, Pa. (NB) -- Unisys, one of several defense contractors
being probed for procurement irregularities, says it will
cooperate fully with an investigation into its billing practices
for work done for the Army. The U.S. Attorney in Tucson, Ariz.,
is considering criminal charges against the giant computer
company and two officials over alleged overbilling for work done
at Fort Huachuca, Ariz. Unisys voluntarily disclosed the Fort
Huachuca problem. Unisys said in a statement that "any
mischarging which may have occurred did not exceed $250,000." The
company added it "intends to cooperate fully with the government
in the completion of the investigation."

In other Unisys news, the company has reported record second-
quarter earnings, despite a decline in defense contracts. Unisys
says earnings increased 34 percent to $162.3 million for the


quarter (78 cents per share) compared to $121.2 million (62 cents
per share) for the 1987 second quarter. Second quarter revenues
were $2.4 billion, compared with $2.3 billion for the second
quarter of last year.

[***][7/19/88][***]
APOLLO SUED BY SHAREHOLDER
BOSTON (NB) -- Apollo Computer Inc. shareholder Ronald Litowitz
of New York has sued the computer workstation manufacturer in
federal court, alleging securities fraud. Litowitz's class action
suit says Apollo management deliberately made false statements
about the company's financial prospects from April to July. The
suit follows Apollo's surprise statement that the company would
record a loss and slow sales for the second quarter. The suit
quotes Apollo Treasurer John Newton as saying in April, with the
release of strong first quarter earnings, "there is nothing we've
seen that would suggest anything other than sequential increases
in sales and earnings throughout 1988." Apollo refused to comment
on the details of the suit, but states that "the company
disclosed the facts as soon as we saw there would be a problem
with the second quarter.;"




[***][7/19/88][***]
MORE PROBLEMS FOR PEROT POSTAL CONTRACT
WASHINGTON (NB) -- The General Services Administration Board of
Contract Appeals says it has jurisdiction over Postal Service
contracts. As a result, the board will hear the protest by
Electronic Data Systems of a Postal Service contract award to EDS
founder H. Ross Perot's new firm, Perot Systems. In the meantime,
the Postal Service has temporarily suspended the contract while
trying to get a federal court to rule that the Brooks Act, which
gives GSA oversight of computer contracts, does not apply to the
Postal Service. "We've conceded we didn't comply with the Brooks
Act," said a Postal Service spokesman, "but we have not conceded
that the Brooks Act applies to us." The no-bid contract has also
drawn fire from Capitol Hill and Postmaster General Anthony Frank
has said the contract will have to be modified to mollify
congressional critics.

[***][7/19/88][***]
COMPUTER ASSOCIATES DROPS HOSTILE BID FOR MSA
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (NB) -- Computer Associates International,
Inc., says it is dropping its hostile takeover bid for Atlanta-


based Management Science America, Inc. Computer Associates had
offered $11.50 per share for MSA, a deal worth about $191
million. A statement by Computer Associates said that "MSA's
board of directors has repeatedly refused to discuss the proposal
and has rejected the offer." Anthony Wang, president of Computer
Associates, told reporters that a series of anti-takeover
measures adopted by the MSA board meant that a takeover fight
"would be long and probably fruitless." Wang said his company is
still interested in bidding for MSA, if the Atlanta company is
willing to sell.

[***][7/19/88][***]
NEW ENGLAND RECIPES FROM BRIGHT IDEAS
PORTLAND, Me. (NB) -- Bright Ideas, Inc., has a new HyperCard
product for Macintosh that the company says "will make your mouth
water." It's New England Recipes for Hyperchef, a stackware
cookbook for $49.95. One interesting detail in Hyperchef is the
ability to tell it what you have on hand and the program will
tell you what your can make. Also, if you select a menu and tell
the program how many people to plan for, it will produce a
grocery list. J. Henry Lyons, president of Bright Ideas, says New
England Recipes for Hyperchef uses "scripting wizardry that push


HyperCard to its limits." Now, what to do with a can of sardines,
a tangelo, a bottle of Tabasco sauce, and a box of Saltines?

CONTACT: Bright Ideas, Inc., 52 Exeter St., Portland ME 04102-
         2839, [phone]

[***][7/19/88][***]
MORE ON THE VIRUS WAR: DISK WATCHER 2.0 DEBUTS
WILLOW GROVE, Pa. (NB) -- RG Software Systems has upgraded its
Disk Watcher RAM-resident virus protection program. Version 2.0
now prevents accidental file replacement and disk reformatting,
keeps the system from hanging up from the dreaded "printer not
read" condition, avoids dead battery date and time errors, and
other enhancements. Disk Watcher 2.0 is $99.95, but is available
for $79.95 through August 31. Registered users of earlier
versions can upgrade for free.

Also, RG Software Systems is distributing a free "white paper" on
computer viruses and countermeasures. The paper outlines steps
info center managers, MIS groups, and office managers can take to
avoid infections and lost data caused by viruses, time-bombs, and
Trojan horses. Write on company letterhead for a copy of the


paper.


CONTACT: RG Software Systems, Inc., 2300 Computer Ave., Suite I-
         51, Willow Grove PA 19090, [phone].

[***][7/19/88][***]
"THE COMPUTER DID IT," SAYS BELL HELICOPTER
WASHINGTON (NB) -- Accused of cheating taxpayers out of hundreds
of millions of dollars on defense contract frauds, Bell
Helicopter Textron Inc. has blamed its computer. In a hearing
before House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell
(D-Mich.), one of the toughest investigators in Washington,
company officials insisted that a new complex computer system for
inventory control was to blame for the troubles with an Army
contract that led to a three-and-a-half year Justice Department
criminal investigation. Justice dropped the case in March and the
Army and Bell agreed to a settlement in which Bell agreed to
return $88 million to the government. But Dingell is not pleased
with the settlement and has suggested that Army officials be
prosecuted and that Bell should face a federal racketeering probe
which could yield treble damages.



Witnesses told Dingell that Bell created a "floating inventory"
of parts and then falsified records. As the parts moved through
the system, the witnesses said, the prices were jacked up
dramatically. More than 100 Bell employees invoked the Fifth
Amendments right against self-incrimination when questioned by
government investigators.

[***][7/19/88][***]
NEWS NIBBLES
DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORP. of Maynard, Mass., has introduced VAX
Grammar Checker, a proof-reading program that corrects documents
by analyzing sentence structure and identifying the grammatical
functions and relationships of words in the sentence. The
software is targeted for the VAX line of minicomputers. Prices and
availability to be announced Real Soon Now.

APOLLO COMPUTER INC., Chelmsford, Mass., has rolled out two new
engineering workstation lines. The series 3500 workstation runs
at 4 million instructions per second (MIPS) and has a base price
of $8,000. A color model runs $10,000. Both are available
immediately. The series 4500, at a base price of $19,000, runs at

7 MIPS.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP., Armonk, N.Y., saw profits
fall 18 percent in the second quarter on a six percent increase
in revenue. The profit decline was a function of the $600
million writeoff IBM took as part of its recent restructuring.
Without the writeoff, earnings would have risen 12.7 percent.
Profits fell to $964 million ($1.63 per share) from $1.18 billion
($1.95 per share) for the second quarter of 1987. Revenue rose to
$13.6 billion from $12.8 billion.

ALLOY COMPUTER PRODUCTS of Framingham, Mass., has extended its
hardware product warranties from six to 12 months. Alloy
customers will get an automatic one-year warranty on products
purchased after July 1.

MOSAIC SOFTWARE, Cambridge, Mass., has begun shipping TWIN-UX, a
version of its TWIN spreadsheet designed for the Unix operating
system. "We expect to capture a great deal of market share very
quickly," said Mosaic president Richard Bexjian in a news
release.



NEW IMAGE TECHNOLOGY, INC., Lanham, Md., has ended production of
Magic, a video digitizer for Macintosh computers. Magic has been
in production since 1984. New Image says it will honor the full
warranties on all systems.

STRATUS COMPUTER INC. has formed a new division to implement and
market the Pick operating system on the XA2000 Continuous
Processing System.

GENIGRAHPICS, Liverpool, N.Y., has laid off 20 employees as part
of a cost-cutting campaign at the business graphics company
spun off from General Electric in 1982. The company has 750
employees and service centers in Australia and 1onnect. The product enables VS systems to communicate in
networks using the de facto communications standard Transmission
Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). The protocol is also
known as the Defense Department Protocol.




[***][7/19/88][***]
ADOBE SYSTEMS JUMPS ON X-CONSORTIUM BANDWAGON
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS (NB) -- Adobe Systems has joined the X
Consortium. The consortium was founded by the Massachussetts
Institute of Technology (MIT), and promotes, as well as supports,
the X Window standard of software. Other members of the
consortium include Apollo, Apple. AT&T, Bull, DEC, IBM, Hewlett-
Packard, Sun, Tektronix and Xerox.

The X Window system is a standard for displaying multiple
applications simultaneously on a computer screen. The idea behind
the consortium is to establish a standard for software vendors to
work around, rather than having to redesign the user interface
for each computer/operating system environment.

-More-NOMORE


Jerry Byma, MD of Adobe Systems Europe, reckons that Adobe's
membership will reap dividends for Pagemaker users.

"We're pleased to be counted amongst the leaders in the computer
industry whose membership in the consortium will support the
continued enhancement and development of the X Window standard.
Adobe is a great advocate of establishing standards in the
computing industry," he said.

CONTACT: ADOBE SYSTEMS EUROPE BV, World Trade Centre,
         Strawinskylann 631, 1077 XX Amsterdam,
         The Netherlands.
         Tel: Amsterdam [phone].

         Robert Sheifler, MITI (US) 617-253-0628.

[***][7/19/88][***]
APPLE/MICROSOFT JOIN HANDS FOR PROMOTION
HEMEL HEMPSTEAD, HERTS (NB) -- Apple and Microsoft have joined
together to promote MS-Word and Microsoft Excel on the Mac. Buy
both packages from the same dealer (but not necessarily at the


same time) between August and October, and you get a free copy of
Microsoft Powerpoint.

"Microsoft has been with Apple since its earliest days. This
promotion underlines our commitment to each other, and our belief
that together we offer an unbeatable solution which delivers real
desktop productivity to professional, as well as corporate
users," said John Leftwich, Apple UK's director of marketing.

Fiona Kelly, Mac product manager for Microsoft, agrees with
Leftwich's comments: "This joint promotion reflects the close
relationship between our two companies and indicates the
importance we both place on enriching the capabilities of office
computing," she said.

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

          MICROSOFT - 0734-391123



[***][7/19/88][***]
DBASE CLONE FOR THE Z88 LAPTOP
AYLESBURY, BUCKS (NB) -- Wordmongers, the company that released
Z-term communications software for Sir Clive Sinclair's Z88, has
announced zBase, a dBase II/III-like package for the laptop
machine.

zBase is designed to be familiar to dBase users and programmers,
and works with a sub-set of the dBase II command set, plus a
smattering of dBase III commands. The company says the package is
as close to dBase as possible, given the differences between the
Z88 and the PC.

A beta-test version of the Eprom cartridge-based package is
currently on test at over 40 sites in the UK and US. The final
version is scheduled for release at the end of August with a
provisional price tag of #69. A developer's runtime module will
follow on before the end of the year.

* Wordmongers is now running what it claims to be the first Z88
  bulletin board. The BBS is on 0296-437262 working at all speeds
  between 300 and 2400 baud full duplex (note that 300/300 and
  1200/75 baud are CCITT standard only)



CONTACT: WORDMONGERS, Unit 21, Edison Road, Rabans Lane,
         Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire HP19 3TE.
         Tel: [phone]

         Email: Dialcom (Telecom Gold) 84:WOT001

[***][7/19/88][***]
LOW-COST BBC BASIC FOR THE PC DEBUTS
BUCKNELL, SHROPSHIRE (NB) -- BBC Basic is one of the most popular
languages in the UK and parts of Europe, due in no small part, to
its use in the Acorn BBC range of 8-bit micros. Even Sir Clive
Sinclair's Z88 laptop uses BBC Basic as its native language.

Now it's the PC's turn. Border Computing and Programming, a
cottage industry software house, has released a budget BBC Basic
for use on the PC. The package requires just 54K of system Ram,
and is far cheaper than other BBC Basics on the market. It's also
better than the competition, according to Dominic Hibbs, Border's
founder.

"When I started on the BBC Basic project, there wasn't any


competition. It was actually started as a pet project of mine and
only really came to fruition late last year. I'm now selling the
package commercially as I think it's a better implementation than
other BBC Basics, as well as being cheaper than the rest," he
told NEWSBYTES UK.

"We've got it running on a PC with Dos 2.10 or higher, and a CGA
or Hercules graphics adapter. I'm now working on an EGA-
compatible version," he added.

Sounds interesting. NEWSBYTES UK notes that a number of reviews
of BBasic are upcoming in several UK computer magazines,
including the August issue of Amstrad Professional Computing.

CONTACT: DOMINIC HIBBS, Dog Kennel Lane, Bucknell,
         Shropshire, SY7 OAX.      Tel: [phone].

[***][7/19/88][***]
WARGAMES ON THE ATARI ST (AND PC REAL SOON)
SLOUGH, BERKSHIRE (NB) -- Atari has announced a new series of
wargame simulations called Battlescapes for its ST and PC
computers. The first two titles in the series are called Borodino


and Armada.

Borodino is a huge battle between Napoleon's French army and the
Russians in 1812, whilst Armada is a simulation of the Spanish
Armada as it sails up the English Channel with Sir Francis Drake
and the English fleet in hot pursuit.

Both packages are unusual in their size (400K plus) and their use
of 3D graphics, as opposed to conventional 2D maps. One unique
feature of the games is that the human player elects to play the
commander in chief of an army, whilst the computer plays all the
other commanders and lesser generals involved.

The Battlescapes series are programmed by Dr Peter Turcan, the
man behind Computer Scrabble, and will be available shortly from
Atari at a target price of #30.

"I'm putting the finishing touches to both packages for the ST
and will soon get to work on the PC versions," Peter told
NEWSBYTES UK. "They're well worth looking out for," he added.

CONTACT: ATARI UK, Atari House, Railway Terrace, Slough,


         Berkshire SL2 5BZ.             Tel: [phone].
[***][7/19/88][***]
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
+ BRITBYTES - Bytes of news from around the UK... +
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

CITIZEN EUROPE (0895-72621) is offering a slot-in 3.5 inch disk
drive kit for desktop PC users. The kit sells for #86 for a 720K
disk drive, and #110 for a 1.44Mb drive capacity. The MFR-525 kit
is available through Citizen Europe's usual dealerships...

CLEARWAY INTERNATIONAL (0273-695811) is organising EXPERT EUROPE
'88 for 2/4 November 1988 in Munich. The event is billed as the
first expert systems conference to concentrate entirely on real
business issues and live applications...

COMPUTER PEOPLE (01-836-8411) has announced its intention to
acquire Professional Services in the US. The Professional
Services group is currently a subsidiary of Sterling Software
Incorporated...

METACOMCO (0272-428781) has released CAMBRIDGE LISP for the Atari


ST. The #89-95 package is a dialect of standard Lisp and can
address up to 16Mb of system memory - more than enough, even for
the Mega ST...

MIRRORSOFT (01-377-4645) has announced FLEET STREET EDITOR V3.0
for the PC. The revised introductory desktop publishing package
now includes 7/8-bit file import facilities, as well as context-
sensitive online help. FSE v3.0 will be available from next month
onwards at #119-99...

PAXDATA (09277-69554) has uprated its Ultimate 24 error-
correcting modem to incorporate LAP-M and MNP error-correction as
standard. The modem is claimed to be the first true V42 standard
unit on commercial sale...

RAINBIRD SOFTWARE (01-631-5168) will release STARGLIDER II for
the Atari ST and Commodore Amiga next month. "Both packages are
at the duplicators now and will be priced at #24-95," said
programmer Jez San. "The package carries on the storyline from
the original Starglider, and has some smashing graphics and
sound," he added...



SHAREWARE MARKETING (0732-771344) is offering #19 off the price
of PROCOMM PLUS to MIRROR II users trading in their program
disks. "Users will find Procomm Plus's menu-driven interface
easier to learn than Mirror II's command-driven interface," said
Steve Lee of Shareware Marketing. The offer pushes Procomm Plus's
price down to just #30...