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/nb880809.268

Text File | 1991-08-18 | 54KB | 1,148 lines

[***][8/09/88][***]
MACWORLD EXPO - PRODUCT PREVIEW
SAN FRANCISCO (NB) -- Even though MacWorld is slated for this week in
Boston, here in San Francisco we've got press releases for new products
expected at the show stacked up to the ceiling.  This is a sampling
of what to expect, although Jon Haber, a science and technology reporter
based in Boston and formerly correspondent for MACINTOSH TODAY will
be providing NEWSBYTES readers here with daily online reports
starting August 10.

 - APPLE COMPUTER is expected to roll out a Macintosh SE with a
40 megabyte hard drive and 2 megabytes of basic RAM, and a flatbed
optical scanner.  Press reports that an 68030-based Macintosh II
would be introduced could not be confirmed by NEWSBYTES.

 - CLARIS has slated an announcement for August 10 for "a new
product in a new Claris market category."  On hand for the software
introduction and festivities will be Jean-Louis Gassee, senior VP at
Apple...

 - GENERAL COMPUTER CORP., Cambridge, MA., will show a portable
dot matrix printer for the Macintosh which measures a minuscule
2 inches by 6.5 inches.  Are we talking accessories for a laptop
Mac or what?

 - IOMEGA, Roy, Utah, will show Bernoulli Box II and upgrades to
the original Bernoulli Box, both for the Macintosh, which, when
running with a new software package, will enable the Apple machine to
share data with the more than 2 million Bernoulli removable disk
cartridges currently in use with IBM PCs and compatibles.

 - MACROMIND, Chicago, will introduce a powerful new version of
VideoWorks designed for serious animation by professionals.  There
will also be a CD-ROM disk packed with canned images and sounds
that can be incorporated into a VideoWorks Professional presentation.

 - MEDIAGENIC, formerly Activision, will unveil a new name for its
Macintosh product line, rumored to be TenPointO.  Along with the name
will be an update of Focal Point, several new products including
a telecommunications program and a desk accessory, and a HyperCard
application for children called ManHole.

 - ORACLE, Belmont, Ca., will show a relational database for the
Macintosh which uses both SQL and HyperCard.

 - TOTAL SYSTEMS INTEGRATION, Eugene, Ore., is expected to wow the crowd with
accelerator boards that turn a 512K, Plus, or SE Macintosh into
a 68020 or 68030-based machine running at 16 or 20 megahertz.  Prices
are said to range between $995 and $2,895.

NEWSBYTES will have details on these products and more starting August
10 online here.  We hope you'll stop by to see our coverage.

[***][8/09/88][***]
WHAT THE 80486 WILL BE LIKE
SANTA CLARA, Ca. (NB) -- The successor to the 80386 chip, the 80486
from Intel, will be so fast and so powerful that it may start a
new class of computers, so says Intel.  Slated to ship in sample
quantities within a few months, the RISC-like 80486 is expected to propel
the PC into the workstation and minicomputer market, according to one
analyst.  It will be backward-compatible with the 80386 and its
predecessors, able to run IBM software, but will also take
advantages of new applications that require speed and power.
Sources say the first computers with the 80486 should start to
appear around 1989 and 1990 and will most likely make use of the
80486 for its ability to direct multiple tasks and be a local
area network server.  Speeds should range from 25 megahertz to
40 MHz but along with the speed comes a high price.  Look for
the 80486 machines to run up to $40,000 each.  Meanwhile, look for
a 33 MHz 80386 to be announced soon, we're told.

[***][8/09/88][***]
PACIFIC BELL GETS INTO THE EMAIL BUSINESS
SAN FRANCISCO (NB) -- Pacific Bell has become the first of all the
Baby Bells formed after the breakup of AT&T to announce an email
messaging service.  Still in the testing stage, Pacific Bell's
Pacific Bell Connection, created in conjunction with Digital Equipment
Corporation, is designed to make email much easier to use
and is also designed to reach a wider audience than currently exists for
email services.  Pac Bell expects to use the X.400 protocol,
an internationally recognized standard, to allow communication among
different kinds of computers and different systems.

The initial test will involve use of PCs and compatibles installed
in Santa Clara University, organizations for the disabled including
the Easter Seal Society of Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties, a
health maintenance organization, Foundation Health Corporation in
Sacramento, and the National Centrex Users Group, a group of
telecommunications managers.  The tests will run through March 1989 and
the service could be offered to the public as early as mid 1989.

Pacific Bell says the "Connection" is the first information service
that it's testing since the Federal Court's March decision
allowing Bell Operating Companies to offer services such as
electronic messaging, voice messaging and gateway services.

PRESS CONTACT:  Dori Sera Bailey, PACIFIC BELL, 415/542-4033

[***][8/09/88][***]
A BAD WEEK FOR SEAGATE TECHNOLOGY
SCOTTS VALLEY, Ca. (NB) -- Seagate Technology has suffered a triple whammy
as its shareholders have sued it, its quarterly report will be
disappointing, and a layoff of 100 full-time and 100 temporary
employees is in order.  Seagate suffers from an excess of inventory
and manufacturing capacity in light of a miscalculation of current
orders, so it says, and will lay off the workers.  Meanwhile the
disk drive maker expects to report a loss for the current quarter,
the first since 1985.

And two lawsuits have just been filed against Seagate by shareholders who
allege securities law violations in connection with the company's
public statements made in the period October 13, 1987 to July 20, 1988.
The complaints, class action suits brought on behalf of all
purchasers of Seagate stock during that period, were filed in U.S.
District Court in San Jose, July 29.  Seagate has issued a statement
saying it intends to "vigorously contest these actions."

[***][8/09/88][***]
BANK OF AMERICA ACCUSED OF SOFTWARE PIRACY
SAN FRANCISCO (NB) -- Attorneys for Bank of America are in court
defending the giant financial institution against a charge of software
piracy leveled by a former consultant to the bank.  Computer
programmer Gulab Tinmahan claims after he was fired by B of A in
1983, the bank continued to illegally use his software, which processes
billions of dollars in financial transactions, despite a
court order to return the program to him.  His lawsuit states that
bank programmers altered his original work to "obscure its
original identity."

Bank of America denies all Tinmahan's claims, saying he was not
fired, his contract expired, and saying they did not steal his program,
it was free from computer companies when you buy their hardware.
Now the matter will be argued before a jury in San Francisco
Superior Court.

[***][8/09/88][***]
IMSI BUYS PC CAD PROGRAM PUBLISHER
SAN RAFAEL, Ca. (NB) -- IMSI, best known for its PagePerfect program
for the PC, has merged with Milan Systems America of Atlanta, Georgia,
in what company officers call a cashless exchange of stock.  Milan
Systems publishes the TurboCAD program, the leading computer-aided
design software for PCs priced under $500.  "We expect to plug
TurboCAD right into our distribution channels," IMSI President
Jeffrey Koblick told NEWSBYTES.  IMSI, a publicly traded company,
is on the acquisition trail, having purchased ByteCom last year.

IMSI's products are aimed at the PC graphics and desktop publishing
market.

[***][8/09/88][***]
APPLE "LOOK AND FEEL" SUIT JUDGE WON'T STEP DOWN
SAN JOSE (NB) -- U.S. District Judge Robert Aguilar will not excuse
himself from hearing suits against Hewlett Packard despite the
fact that his son works for the firm.  That means he also
intends to stay on the case in which Apple is suing Hewlett Packard
and Microsoft on the grounds software from the two firms violates
its visual copyright for the Macintosh.

Aguilar's position as judge involving HP cases was challenged by
Bausch & Lomb, which lost a copyright case against Hewlett Packard,
over which Aguilar presided, earlier this year. The firm says it
plans to appeal Aguilar's refusal to step down.

For his part, the judge made this statement, "I cannot find that
my son has any proprietary or investment interest in HP that would
compromise my ability to render a fair decision in this case."

Apple spokeswoman Carleen LeVasseur says Apple may file a similar
complaint, seeking Aguilar's removal from its case against HP
and Microsoft, should Bausch & Lomb's appeal fail.

One thing is certain -- the judge's troubles aren't over yet.  A
San Jose woman, Suzanne Penland, has reportedly just filed a palimony
suit against the judge seeking compensation for seven years as
Aguilar's "confidante and homemaker."

[***][8/09/88][***]
IN BRIEF --

THE AMERICAN ELECTRONICS ASSOCIATION, Santa Clara, Ca., says
sales of U.S.-made electronics goods are booming.  The latest figures
show record sales of electronics goods both in the U.S. and abroad,
amounting to $137.5 billion for the first six months of this year.

APPLE COMPUTER reports that new export rules will make it possible
for Apple computers to be shipped to the Soviet Union and Eastern
Europe.  Apple's spokeswoman says despite the relaxed rules, Apple
has no immediate plans to ship computers to the Communist Bloc.

The first issue of PC/COMPUTING has hit the stands.  Not your
ordinary "techie" computer magazine, this Ziff-Davis publication
is to computing what OMNI is to science, an issues and people-
oriented magazine rather than a technical one.  Slick and
unique, the first issue features a report about handicapped
physicist Steven Hawking's communication by computer, a short story,
and an article on laptops by Paul Theroux.

SUN MICROSYSTEMS, Mountain View, Ca., says net income was up 83%
to $66.4 million, revenues doubled from $537 million to $1.05 billion
in its last quarter compared to one year ago.  The results were
so good they surprised most analysts.  Sun Microsystems was recently
designated the fastest-growing electronics company in America.


[***][8/09/88][***]
JOBS SENDS OUT T-SHIRTS IN LIEU OF COMPUTERS
PALO ALTO, Ca. (NB) -- We hear that in lieu of computers, Apple founder
Steve Jobs has arranged for T-shirts to be sent to some 900 of his
favorite software developers.  Emblazoned with the logo of his
company NeXT, they're accompanied by a note asking his friends to
be patient, the computers are coming.  "It will be worth the wait,
I promise you."

Obviously Steve has had these T-shirts hanging around for some time.
NEWSBYTES got hold of one through illicit channels way back in 1986!
We can testify to the fact that the color has held up through two
years of laundering, in case you had any doubts about the quality
of the workmanship.


[***][8/09/88][***]
SUPER WORKSTATIONS, GRAPHICS SUPERCOMPUTERS AT SUPER SIGGRAPH
ATLANTA (NB) -- Siggraph (Special Interest Group - Graphics), the
large computer graphics show, replaced the Democrats in the
Georgia World Congress Center August 1-5. An estimated 20,000
computer graphics devotees of all types -- engineers, doctors,
scientists, and artists -- saw new "super-computers" designed
solely for graphics. There were new versions of all the old
standby workstations, putting the latest chips and most user-
friendly operating systems on their desktops.

And there was talk but no agreement for standards. In one corner, Sun
Microsystems and its allies promised their Sun OS will become
Unix System V with Open Look (a Big Mac operating environment
that would work with any computer known) Real Soon Now. In
another corner, Apollo with its allies (including DEC, H-P, IBM,
etc.) promised their Open System Foundation standards (just like
Open Look, only better) will be followed once they're made, maybe
by early next year. (They want proposals September 26, they'll
start meeting and deciding November 1, and the committee will
announce the winners of the Great Contest when they're agreed
upon, Real Soon Now.) In a third corner, Apple had the Real
Macintosh, the finest parties, and promises of more powerful Macs
Real Soon Now.

[***][8/09/88][***]
ALLIANT, PIXAR, HEWLETT-PACKARD MAKE MAJOR SIGGRAPH NEWS
ATLANTA (NB) -- The major product announcement was by Alliant Computer
Systems, Littleton, MA, a "mini-supercomputer" maker which bought Raster
Technologies, makers of a popular graphics package on the Sun OS,
in June. The Visualization Series is the result, a line of
graphics machines (priced from $75,000-1.8 million) which combine
Cray-like computing power, Sun graphics power and Mac-like ease
of use.

Pixar, San Rafael, CA, (owned by Steve Jobs, H. Ross Perot,
formerly owned by George Lucas) showed developers' kits for its
graphics interface, Renderman, and plans to connect Pixar image
computers (descended from the machines which made "Star Wars")
with the Apple Mac. Pixar also showed a splendid list of
companies "endorsing" the Renderman Interface, including both Sun
and Apollo, as well as Digital Equipment and Walt Disney.

Typical of the new workstations on display was Hewlett-Packard's
Model 835 TurboSRX Animation Superworkstation. Priced from around
$68,000, it offers an 8-knob, 2-button input device, a 20-
function key keyboard, a 9-button mouse, and a huge color screen.
You can make weather maps with it, model molecular interactions,
or design in 3-D with it. And of course it's backward-compatible
with all their old equipment.

CONTACT: Donna Raimondi, ALLIANT, [phone]; Barbara Koalkin,
         PIXAR [phone]; Bill Bennett, HEWLETT-PACKARD [phone]

[***][8/09/88][***]
COLOROCS -- ANOTHER OVERNIGHT SENSATION YEARS IN THE MAKING
ATLANTA (NB) -- Charles Muench has been known as "Mr. Color" in
Atlanta for a decade. He founded Intelligent Systems Corp. in
1978 to make color terminals. At a 1978 computer show he was
hawking a color computer. After buying Quadram in 1982, and
losing control of the resulting company to Leland Strange, he
went back to the lab, working on color printers and a color
copier he called "Rocky." This reporter first saw a prototype in
1983.

Five years later, with the old terminal business, Intecolor, back
under his control, Muench's work is done. Rocky 1, the copier,
came out last year. The printer turned into Rocky 2, rolled out
at Siggraph last week. It weighs 350 pounds, runs on a Sharp
engine, just like the copier, and it features a straight 18-inch
paper path to eliminate jams. An image storage belt goes through
the print mechanism four times, then delivers a finished 4-color
image onto paper at 300 dots per inch. The printer includes an
HP-GL driver, making it compatible with Hewlett-Packard plotters.
The price is about $30,000, and arrangements to make it part of
complete systems through system makers called OEMs (Original
Equipment Manufacturers) are ongoing. Savin, a former copier
company turned shell which Colorocs acquired last year, will sell
it under the name Prism 1.

NEWSBYTES has no idea how the Colorocs Prism will do on the
market, especially at current prices. We're just glad to see
Charles Muench back in the market, where he belongs.

CONTACT: Charles Muench, COLOROCS, [phone]

[***][8/09/88][***]
FLORIDA LEGAL RECORDS GO ONLINE
TALLAHASSEE, FL (nb) -- CompuServe scored a major coup recently
by putting Florida's corporate charters and drivers license
records online to the public for the first time. Secretary of
State Jim Smith predicted a day when "anybody can pick up a
phone, hopefully on a 24-hour-a-day basis, and really have access
to public records." Users will be charged, through CompuServe,
$60 per hour to look at Motor Vehicles and drivers' license
information, and $25/hour for corporation records filed through
the Secretary of State. CompuServe will collect just $15/hour --
the rest of the money goes to the state.

One caveat. The drivers' license database gives only names,
addresses, birthdates and Social Security numbers of drivers. It
does not give driver records.

[***][8/09/88][***]
PECAN CHIPS

INFORUM, Atlanta, announced Canon USA leased a showroom in its
technology mart due for opening in October, 1989. BellSouth
previously rented a showroom.

MEMOREX TELEX, Tulsa, OK, won a $45 million order from Philips
Petroleum of nearby Bartlesville, OK, for 15,000 PCs to be put
into service stations and other important places.

MURATA BUSINESS SYSTEMS, Dallas, announced a connection between
its F-50 fax machine and most PCs. Called the Facsimile Interface
Protocol (FIP), it lets users send images to and from PCs over a
serial cable.

NORTH CAROLINA approved a contract to plan and manage a new
supercomputing center in the Research Triangle Park. A building
to house the center should be finished in September, 1989. A
total of $18 million has been earmarked by the state government
for the center.

PARADYNE, Largo, FL laid off 300 people, 160 at the company's
headquarters. The figure represents 10% of the workforce.
Paradyne makes data communications equipment and used to be a
contender in the multiplexer business.

TANDY, Ft. Worth, TX, has begun shipping its IBM PS/2 Model 80
compatible machine, the 5000 MC, in sample quantities to firms
which might bundle it with their own system offerings.

TELEX COMMUNICATIONS, Minneapolis, MN,m launched a $1,350 color
LCD display for PCs called Magnabyte. It plugs into the RGB
(color monitor) plug on the back of a PC.

QUADRAM, Norcross, GA, and DATA ACCESS, Miami, launched a joint
promotion, knocking 15% off Quadram's JT-Fax fax board when
purchased with Data Access' The Office Works package.

TEXAS INSTRUMENTS, Dallas, launched a new training package called
Performance+ to bring computerphobes up to speed on its PCs.

CORRECTION: Last week NEWSBYTES SOUTH referred to H.A. Bruno's
Scitex show and its problems keeping 1990 dates in the face of an
attempt by The Interface Group to bring its Comdex show back to
Atlanta. Well, we misspelled the name of Bruno's show. It's
Citex.


[***][8/09/88][***]
COMMODORE TOUTS SUCCESS OF AMIGA
TORONTO (NB) -- The Commodore Amiga is a big success.  That at
least was the message Commodore Business Machines presented to a
group of journalists at a recent press breakfast.  Jim Dionne,
president and general manager of the Canadian operation, said
Amiga sales have climbed to about 45 per cent of Commodore's
total revenues in the three years since the machine was
introduced.  He added that Commodore's Canadian operation hopes
to top C$100 million in sales this year -- a figure the company
has topped before but fell below again in recent years.

The Amiga's success is mostly in niches, though.  Major users
that Commodore named were primarily those who could use the
computer's impressive graphics and sound capabilities, including
advertising agencies, community colleges, and B.C. Place in
Vancouver, where an Amiga runs the sports stadium scoreboard.
However, Dionne spoke of developments in the next few months that
he said "will make the Amiga 2000 a lot more interesting" to
corporate buyers.  Among these will be an 80286 coprocessor
board, a new release of the operating system (AmigaDOS 1.3) with
an improved filing system and the ability to boot from the hard
disk (and about time, too!) and -- though Dionne was coy about
this -- the blessing of a major software vendor.

Commodore says it has sold more than 600,000 Amigas.  That's
decent, but then again IBM recently announced the sale of the
two-millionth PS/2, a machine half the Amiga's age, and Commodore
also says some 12 million units of its venerable 64 have been
sold.  Commodore also trotted out some figures from Evans
Research that place it as number three in the Canadian PC market,
after IBM and Apple, and a surprising number two in sales of MS-
DOS computers, with IBM first and Tandy third in that segment.

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

[***][8/09/88][***]
GEAC SUBSIDIARY HAS DEAL WITH IBM CANADA, STRATUS
MARKHAM, Ont. (NB) -- Vista Financial Systems Inc. of St. Louis,
Mo., a subsidiary of Markham-based Geac Computer Corp., has
signed marketing agreements with IBM Canada Ltd., also of
Markham, and Stratus Computer Inc. of Marlboro, Mass.  As a
result, Vista will make its Advanced Financial System retail
banking software available for IBM's System/88 and Stratus's
XA2000 computers.

Vista spokeswoman Susan Ciarfella said IBM Canada approached
Vista about the arrangement, and added that Vista is interested
in a similar agreement with IBM Corp. in the U.S.  Vista says its
software will be the only integrated banking system for the
System/88 and XA2000, which are essentially the same system as
Stratus manufacturers the System/88 for IBM.  The Vista software
was previously available on Geac computer systems.  Ciarfella
said Vista is not ruling out the possibility of porting the
Advanced Financial System to more brands of hardware in future.

Vista will provide the software under IBM's Marketing Assistant
Program (MAP) and under the Stratus Third Party Program.

CONTACT: VISTA FINANCIAL SYSTEMS, INC., St. Louis, Mo.
         [phone]

         IBM CANADA LTD., 3500 Steeles Ave. E., Markham, Ont.
         L3R 2Z1, [phone]

[***][8/09/88][***]
DESKTOP PUBLISHING GAINS POPULARITY AMONG CANADIAN MAGAZINES
TORONTO (NB) -- Desktop publishing is taking its place in the
publishing industry in Canada.  While DTP technology has been
used in some publications for some time, there seems to be a rush
to the technology lately.

Apple Canada Inc. has recently been sending out copies of SMALL
BUSINESS, a Toronto-based national monthly magazine that just
started using Macintoshes to produce its issues.  SMALL BUSINESS
is published by Maclean-Hunter, one of the largest Canadian
publishing houses.  It was affiliated with the FINANCIAL POST
until Maclean-Hunter sold the business newspaper to Toronto Sun
Publishing, in which it owns a minority interest.  With the
change of ownership and the POST's move to daily publication in
February, SMALL BUSINESS lost the use of the Atex computer system
it had shared with the POST -- thus the move to Macs.  SMALL
BUSINESS says it is the first national magazine in North America,
and possibly the world, to be produced entirely on a desktop
publishing system.

Others are moving into DTP as well.  According to officials of
Commodore Business Machines, a Montreal city magazine, MONTREAL
CALENDAR, is installing Amigas for desktop publishing.  VIDEO
SCENE, a Toronto-based magazine also distributed in the U.S., is
being produced largely with PCs using Ventura Publisher.  And the
computer press is not to be left out -- the staff at COMPUTING CANADA
recently began producing sections of the bi-weekly tabloid using
Ventura Publisher.

[***][8/09/88][***]
GANDALF, NOVELL SIGN AGREEMENT
OTTAWA (NB) -- Gandalf Technologies Inc. has signed an agreement
with Novell Inc. of Provo, Utah, under which Novell will supply
customized versions of its NetWare local-area network operating
software for Gandalf's StarMaster network processor.  Gandalf
says NetWare 2.1 will be integrated into the StarPort subsystem
of the StarMaster to deliver MS-DOS applications processing and
LAN functionality to asynchronous terminals, IBM display stations
and personal computers.

Gandalf's StarMaster system links otherwise-incompatible
proprietary networks and workstations at 64Kbps.  NetWare will
provide fault-tolerant file serving, centralized system
management, advanced security screening and resource usage
accounting, Gandalf says, and will let the StarMaster processor
serve as a LAN gateway and bridge for PC users to share files and
other network resources.

CONTACT: GANDALF TECHNOLOGIES INC., 130 Colonnade Rd. S.
         Nepean, Ont. K2E 7J5, [phone]

[***][8/09/88][***]
FINANCIAL BITS
-- MAXON COMPUTER SYSTEMS INC., Toronto, lost C$333,000 in the
six months ended April 30, on revenues of C$3.9 million.  In the
same period a year ago, Maxon made a profit of C$303,000 on
revenues of C$7.6 million.

-- MERIDIAN TECHNOLOGIES INC., Toronto, made a C$839,000 profit
in the quarter ended June 30, up from C$727,000 in the same
quarter last year.  Revenue rose to C$19 million from C$10.8
million.

[***][8/09/88][***]
BITS, EH?
-- NORTHERN TELECOM LTD., Mississauga, Ont., has settled a
dispute with Alloy Computer Products Inc. of Framingham, Mass.
Northern Telecom will pay Alloy US$2 million in cash, and Alloy
will return tape drives manufactured by Northern.  Alloy filed
suit against Northern Telecom in 1986 on several counts
concerning the drives.  Neither party has admitted liability in
the matter.

-- INTERTAN CANADA LTD., Barrie, Ont., introduced to Canada four
new Tandy personal computers.  The 8086-based Tandy 1000SL costs
C$1,599; the 80286-based 1000TL sells for the C$1,999; the
3000NL, also based on the 80286, costs C$2,499; and the 386-based
4000LX goes for C$6,999.  All prices are for a base configuration
without monitor or hard disk.  Also introduced were Version 3.0
of Tandy's DeskMate integrated software and the LP1000 laser
printer.

-- BELL-NORTHERN RESEARCH, Ottawa, announced the opening of
Canada's largest private telecommunications design verification
facility, a 48,000-square-foot Product Integrity Laboratory in
Kanata, Ont., near Ottawa.

-- PCANADA SYSTEMS INC., Scarborough, Ont., has been designed an
authorized dealer for Open Systems Inc., a developer of
accounting and business software, and for Accpac accounting
software from Computer Associates Canada Ltd.


[***][8/09/88][***]
NEW NETWORK SYSTEM FROM FUJITSU
TOKYO (NB) -- Fujitsu has announced a new network system
which supports open systems interconnection (OSI) in its entirety.
FNA5 freely connects various-sized computers, from personal to
mainframes, and can be used for ISDN.  Moreover, FNA5 can be
connected and compatible with the IBM systems network
architecture (SNA), and can be used in the standard protocol
TCP/IP used by Department of Defense of the U.S.

Fujitsu will develop application software for the FNA5, including
FTAM for file transfer, and an electronic mail message handling
system (MHS) X.400.  The company is scheduled to release the
applications starting next spring.

CONTACT: Fujitsu, 1-6-1 Marunouchi Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100

[***][8/09/88][***]
BIDIRECTIONAL COMMUNICATIONS WITH A HOST COMPUTER
SAPPORO (NB) -- Sapporo-based system house ELM Data has developed
a data logger capable of bidirectional communications
with a host computer.  The Telelogger DRT-88, accumulating the
data received by its attached sensors, sends the data to a host
computer through a public telephone line.  A total of 32 channel sensors
are devoted to for various weather data such as wind speed and
temperature. Also, the Telelogger's program can be be changed
by the host computer.

The Telelogger has a Motorola MC68000 CPU, and it is supplied
with a data monitoring feature while sending data.  Telelogger is
priced at one million yen or $7,500.  An interface board to an NEC
16-bit PC-9800 can be connected to the machine.

CONTACT: ELM Data, Sanko Bldg., 2F, 3-chome, Nihoh, Chuo,
         Shiraishi-ku, Sapporo 003

[***][8/09/88][***]
ISDN TERMINAL ADAPTOR FOR IBM MACHINES
TOKYO (NB) -- IBM Japan has released a terminal adaptor for the ISDN
network.  IBM 7820 connects IBM systems with ISDN, and establishes
various networks.  Users can integrate various data such as
characters and images into IBM information systems.  The price and
shipping date have not been slated.

IBM 7820 can simultaneously connect to at least two terminals, a
communications control device, and a host computer which have
different interfaces.  The adaptor also can be used by built-in
devices with different interfaces such as V.24, V.35, and V.21.

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

[***][8/09/88][***]
MITI TO EASE RESTRICTION ON EXPORTS EARLIER
TOKYO (NB) -- The Ministry of International Trade and Industries
(MITI) has announced that it will eliminate some restrictions on
the export of computers to China as early as in the middle of
September.  Also, MITI is easing up on its restrictions regarding
the shipment of computers to the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe
at the end of this month.

Though the maximum processing capacity of computers currently
allowed for export to China is 285 megabits per second, that
figure will be upgraded to 550 megabits per second.
It is expected that the new, more lenient rules will stimulate
more trade with China by the fall.

CONTACT: Ministry of International Trade and Industries,
         1-3-1 Kasumaigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

[***][8/09/88][***]
<< SUSHI BYTES >>

3.5-INCH 4MB FD DUE FROM KONICA -- Japan's major photosensitive
materials maker, Konica, claims to have produced a 3.5-inch
floppy disk that can hold 4 megabytes of data.   Konica
promises to ship samples following an investigation into the
demand for such a unit.

DEC JAPAN TO INTEGRATE ITS LABORTORIES IN YOKOHAMA -- DEC Japan
will build a laboratory in Yokohama Business Park in order to
boost research and development in Japan.  The new laboratory
will integrate three laboratories currently located
in the metropolitan area.  DEC Japan will make study memory
devices, semiconductor design, and Japanese-versions of
software in the laboratory.  The lab will be built this October
and it promises to start operation at the beginning of 1990.

JAPAN AND U.S. COMPANIES TO JOINTLY STUDY AND DEVELOP AI --
NEC Computer System, Tokyo, has signed an agreement with Honeywell
Bull of the U.S. to jointly study and develop artificial
intelligence (AI) applications.  To start, the engineers of Honeywell
Bull will come to Japan next month to begin the information exchange
process.

SONY AND AMD JOINTLY DEVELOP SRAM -- Sony and major semiconductor
maker of the U.S., Advanced Micro Device (AMD) have developed
SRAM, based on their products development cooperation contract.
The two companies will exchange the product of their pooled  SRAM
resources, and they will ship samples as early as next
month.  Their 256K SRAM is expected to have an access time of 35
nanoseconds, and 64K SRAM, 25 nanoseconds.

MITSUBISHI TO SUPPLY JAL WITH AX PCs -- Mitsubishi has received a
bulk order for its Japanese-version IBM compatible AX personal
computers from Japan Air Lines (JAL).   JAL is planning to use
Mitsubishi's Maxy for its reservation system AXESS, which promises
to finally consist of 4,000 units.

INTEL JAPAN ENTERS TRON ASSOCIATION -- Intel Japan, a subsidiary
of the U.S.'s largest MPU maker, Intel, has joined the TRON Association,
followed by Texas Instruments Japan and Motorola Japan.

TI JAPAN TO SHIP SAMPLES OF 4M DRAM -- Texas Instruments Japan
has started producing engineering samples of 4M DRAM.  TI Japan
will soon ship them to specific users for evaluation.  The company
is planning to produce commercial samples based on the results of this
evaluation and will ship them next spring.

ACER POSTPONES ENTRY INTO JAPANESE MARKET --  Taiwan's Acer
has postponed distribution of its personal computers into
the Japanese market due to the worldwide serious memory shortage.
Acer was scheduled to release an AX-version IBM PX/AT-compatible
personal computer with Japanese language features in Japan this May.


[***][8/09/88][***]
THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY ANSWERS SUPERCONDUCTOR CRITICISM
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (NB) -- A European Parliament question
comparing Europe's preparedness to enter the superconductor race
with that of the United States has caused some embarrassment.
Gijs de Vries, Liberal representative from The Netherlands,
questioned what the EC was going to do about patent law applied to
superconductors, about the establishment of a European version
of the US 'National Research Superconductivity Center,"
and finally about the agreement between the US and Japan, the so-
called 'US - Japan Agreement on Science and Technology.'

Mr. Narjes, the commissioner responsible for technology in Europe,
said in a reply that Europe has a program in place to answer most of
the above points. He stated that "The Genoa Symposium on
Superconductivity which brought together more than 500 specialists in
the field produced the following recommendations: that a Europe-wide
high-speed information network be setup; existing programmes be used
to provide initial community backing for the research in progress; and
a specific agreement on the basic and theoretical aspects of
electronics and information technology should be drawn up to dove-tail
fully with national programmes."

He then continued, "As far as standardization is concerned, it would
be premature now that the research is only at a very basic stage. The
most important action would be to ascertain whether Japan and
the US would agree to allow the full exchange of information about
superconductivity and its applications with Europe."

What all this boils down to is that Europe is way behind in design
and research of superconductivity. Most research by computer
companies here is done by IBM at its research center in Zurich,
Switzerland, a country which is not in the EC. The EC
somehow has to find companies which are willing to spend enormous
amount of money on research -- rare birds indeed.

[***][8/09/88][***]
IBM ANNOUNCES NEW RT/PC MODELS
STUTTGART, WEST GERMANY (NB) -- IBM, in an effort to dispel rumours
about the demise of the RT/PC (or the 6150 as its called in Europe)
introduced new models which are both powerful and faster than the
predecessors. Model 6151/130 or 6150/135 and B35 have 16MB memory and
a 114MB hard disk as standard. They also offer a 5.6 MIPS speed using an
IBM-designed RISC processor, options for either a 310MB hard disk or
up to 930MB hard disk storage. The systems support a maximum of 7.46GB
and cost from DM 45000 (about $23000/#15000).

[***][8/09/88][***]
AEG PREDICTS VIEWDATA WILL HAVE MAXIMUM GROWTH
FRANKFURT, WEST GERMANY (NB) -- AEG, a large German manufacturer of
telecommunications equipment, has predicted that by 1996, viewdata
will have the largest growth of any media service, followed by
facsimile and teletex. Telex, the workhorse of business
communications which exchanges data at a slow 110bps, will start
to decline in popularity in 1992.

In terms of Datex-P subscribers (packet switched networks), there
will be some 150,000 subscribers by 1996 compared to 22,000 today,
a seven fold increase, says AEG. Finally, AEG sees use of
communications services increasing while costs will decrease.

[***][8/09/88][***]
RAM PRICE PREDICTION FALLS TRUE
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (NB) -- According to the "Wall Street Journal," the
price of RAM chips is now down to about $3.50 each. The paper was
reporting a DataQuest survey which stated that RAM prices were
taking a nose dive as manufacturers get more and more of them.
However, it is felt here that many of the new manufacturers who
decided to dip into the RAM market stand to lose a
fortune if the mainstream suppliers produce enough chips.

[***][8/09/88][***]
IBM DOS3.4/4.0 RELEASED - NEWSBYTES INFO CONIRMED
FRANKFURT, GERMANY (NB) -- As reported by NEWSBYTES EUROPE in
February, the new DOS 3.4/4.0 released by Microsoft includes
LIM/EMS support, higher capacity storage (more than 32MB - however
the clusters get bigger, so more space is wasted for small files),
menu-oriented installation a la OS/2, and new commands, including a
memory manager. In addition, a file caching capability is included
which makes this reporter wonder whether it will work with MS
Windows (most of the other caching programs don't).  We'll find
out in the coming weeks.  If you know already, why not tell us?

[***][8/09/88][***]
MEN, NUDITY AND COMPUTERS?
MUNICH, WEST GERMANY (NB) -- Women have been exploited by the
advertising industry for decades to sell everything from cars to
computers.  Well, a German firm has turned the other cheek, so to speak,
by exploiting _male_ nudity in its latest ad.

Rein Electronic, supplier of a very popular laptop computer similar
to the Toshiba 3200, has a full-page color ad in local computer magazines
showing the back of a nude man walking towards a woman while other
office workers fail to notice. The caption reads, "Fashion for
Winners." The small print clarifies, "With a Rein laptop you are
ready for anything."

Need we say more?


[***][8/09/88][***]
EUROBITS....


    SIEMENS is in second place in a survey of the percentage of
personnel devoted to research at high tech companies.  The number
one spot goes to IBM which has the highest number of workers in
research activities.  Siemens does very poorly in the sales per
employee list, however, and is placed near the bottom of all firms
surveyed.

    ...It looks as though the C compiler wars are due to finish now
that the WATCOM C compiler has been released. According to tests
conducted at NEWSBYTES EUROPE's office, the WATCOM C produces faster
code than the next best, Microsoft C 5.0. However, when it gets to
size, the Aztec C bets them all by shrinking a file to half the
Microsoft size...

    ...and finally, according to a source in the desktop pre-press
business, the PC market is years away from print ready, high
resolution films such as those needed to print brochures and other
color glossy materials. It looks as though the problem is mechanical
rather than electronic, thus the extra time. Undoubtedly, we will
get there.


*====
[***][8/09/88][***]
IBM AND APPLE ARE NIP AND TUCK IN RETAIL SALES
PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. (NB) -- Apple and IBM are tied for dollar
share in computer store channels, according to the latest IMS
America National Computer Retail Reports. According to IMS, it's
the first time IBM's market share has fallen below 20 percent,
and that Apple matched or topped IBM in a non-Christmas selling
period -- further evidence that Apple is making it in the crucial
business market. Apple actually squeaked by IBM in total dollars
for the quarter ending April 1988 by half a point, according to
IMS.

[***][8/09/88][***]
PERESTROIKA, DATAEASE STYLE
TRUMBALL, Conn. (NB) -- Software developer DataEase International
Inc. will begin selling English and Russian versions of its
software in the Soviet Union. Arun Gupta, president and chief
executive office of DataEase, says his company has received
Commerce Department approval for sale of the DataEase database
software for IBM PCs and clones in the USSR. "Under the Soviet's
economic restructuring program, Perestroika," Gupta told the media,
basic business and purchase decisions will now be
made directly by individual managers, who will need tools like
DataEase to automate their organizations efficiently." Six-year-
old DataEase will also market its software in Eastern Bloc
countries.

[***][8/09/88][***]
SOFTWARE SALES BOOMING
WASHINGTON (NB) -- Who says the personal computer market is soft?
According to the Software Publishers Association, sales of
personal computer software boomed ahead 51 percent in the first
half of 1988, on sales of $1.8 billion, compared to $1.2
billion for the first half of last year. "People have alleged
that the PC software industry is maturing," said the SPA executive
director, "but this data, which surprised me, shows that it's
nowhere near maturing." According to SPA, $1.39 billion of the
sales was for MS-DOS software, compared to $192 million for Apple
Macintosh software. But the Mac represented the fastest growing
segment of the market, with sales an astonishing 131 percent
ahead of last year.

[***][8/09/88][***]
BAD TAPE LEADS TO AIR DELAYS
BOSTON (NB) -- A defective tape on the Federal Aviation
Administration's Boston Control Center in Nashua, N.H., led to
hour-long delays throughout New England last Friday and at
airports with flights headed for the region. "During the night we
were testing our backup system," said spokesman Michael
Ciccarelli. "When we shifted over to the primary system at 6:30
a.m., a new software tape that appeared normal had something
wrong with it." The tape in question informs air traffic
controllers of departure schedules, Ciccarelli said. Although it
took a hour to find the problem and mount the correct tape, it
was noon before regional traffic was back on schedule, as a
result of the domino effect created by the computer glitch.

[***][8/09/88][***]
TRAVEL BY PRODIGY
NARBERTH, Pa. (NB) -- Discount Travel International (DTI) will
offer a nationwide consumer travel club for personal computer
users on the Prodigy service. Prodigy is the service offered by
Trintex, a joint venture of IBM and Sears, and currently being
test marketed. Prodigy subscribers can join DTI for $29.95, a
one-third discount off the nationally-advertised $45 annual fee.
PC users will get information on short-notice packages and
discounts on air fare and vacation packages through the club.

[***][8/09/88][***]
IBM TO BEEF UP RT WORKSTATIONS
NEW YORK (NB) -- Arthur Goldberg, a key figure in IBM's RT
reduced instruction set computer, says Big Blue will ship an RT
workstation at least twice as powerful as the current offering
within a year. Critics have trashed the RTs as woefully
underpowered since the introduction of the machines in 1986. IBM
has been unable to compete with Sun Microsystems, Apollo
Computer, and Digital Equipment Corp. in the hot workstation
market. But the "Wall Street Journal" notes, "It's not at all
clear that IBM isn't just throwing good money after bad; the
computer industry is brutal to products that get off to a slow
start." Workstations are becoming so power and so inexpensive
that they are becoming a key industry segment.

International Data Corp., Framingham, Mass., reports that the
workstation market has doubled every year since 1982. IDC says
sales will continue to grow at 30 percent a year, becoming a $9.4
billion market by 1992. In order to get a bigger piece of that
market, IBM is spending as much money on development of RT
hardware as it does on personal computers. Goldberg says IBM has
put 160 people to work developing RT applications or getting
outside software companies to port their applications to the RT.

[***][8/09/88][***]
MASSCOMP BUYS CONCURRENT, HANDS OUT 225 PINK SLIPS
WESTFORD, Mass. (NB) -- Massachusetts Computer Corp. has agreed
to buy the larger Concurrent Computer Corp. of Tinton Falls,
N.J., for $230 million. The combined company will be named
Concurrent Computer Corp. and the Concurrent president and chief
executive officer will be the chairman, president, and CEO of
the merged company. As a result of the deal, 225 of Masscomp's
660 employees will get walking papers. Some 180 manufacturing
employees at Masscomp's Westford plant will be laid off by the
end of the year and the plant will be closed. Concurrent
employs 2,800 and has manufacturing plants in New Jersey and
Ireland.

The Masscomp-Concurrent deal will create a company with annual
sales of about $350 million. Both companies make computers used
in flight simulators, lottery systems, and manufacturing system.
They compete against companies such as Digital Equipment Corp.
and Hewlett-Packard Co. Under the terms of the merger, Masscomp
will buy all of Concurrent's 11.5 million shares for $20 a share.
Perkin-Elmer Corp. owns 82 percent of Concurrent and the deal
will free the new company of outside ownership.

[***][8/09/88][***]
EXPERT SYSTEMS CONTEST
WAYLAND, Mass. (NB) -- 1st Class Expert Systems, Inc. is
sponsoring a contest for the best knowledge base built using its
$20, two-disk demo package. The demo includes a limited working
version of the full-fledged expert systems that 1st Class markets
as 1st Class Fusion. The best entries in the contest will win
copies of 1st Class Fusion, worth $1,295, or the original 1st
Class, a $495 value. The demo package includes sample expert
system applications including a bank customer support advisor to
answer common customer questions, an auto engine fuel system
troubleshooter, and an expert system that helps write computer
sales proposals. (How about an expert system that writes the
NEWSBYTES EAST report?)

CONTACT: 1ST Class Expert Systems, Inc., 286 Boston Post Road,
         Wayland MA 01778, [phone].

[***][8/09/88][***]
NEWS NIBBLES

William Walsh, 37, of Stamford, Conn., has been sentenced to six
months' probation and a $2,500 fine after pleading guilty to
illegally accessing computers at ELECTRONIC MAIL CORP.,
Greenwich, Conn. It is the first guilty plea under a two-year-old
federal computer crime law.

ALLOY COMPUTER PRODUCTS, Framingham, Mass., has settled
litigation with Northern Telecom over tape drives. Alloy gets $2
million in cash and must return the tape drives in dispute to
Northern Telecom. Suit was filed in November 1986.

GRUMMAN SYSTEMS SUPPORT CORP. of Bethpage, N.Y., has sued DATA
GENERAL CORP., Westboro, Mass., in federal court in San
Francisco, alleging that DG forces purchasers of some software to
purchase maintenance from DG, an antitrust violation. Data
General says the suit is a "legal tactic" in response to a Data
General claim against Grumman for alleged copyright infringement
and trade secrets theft.

UNISYS CORP., Blue Bell, Pa., is offering microCASTS Attendance,
designed to help school administrators keep attendance records
and notify parents of absences through an auto-dialer. The
product will be available in early 1989 and will be priced
between $1,800 and $3,000.

THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE in Washington will ease its
export control rules so that more powerful computers can be sold
in the Peoples Republic of China. The new rules will mean that
most Digital Equipment Corp. VAX computers, most Sun Microsystems
workstations, and some IBM mid-range computers can be shipped
routinely to China.

DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORP., Maynard, Mass., has won a multi-million
contract to supply VAX computers and VAXstation workstations to
British Gas. The system will make digital map databases of gas
mains in England. The machines will be linked in a wide-area
network under Digital's VMS operating system.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP., Rye Brook, N.Y., will
coordinate and manage hardware maintenance on non-IBM gear,
through an offering named Technical Services Management. The
service is available immediately.

INTERLEAF, INC., Cambridge, Mass., has reported earnings of
$109,000 (a penny per share) on revenues of $17 million for the
first quarter of 1988. That compares to earnings of $534,000
(five cents per share) on sales of $10.5 million in the first
quarter of 1987. The company sells computer publishing systems.


[***][8/09/88][***]
COMMODORE UK SLASHES ITS PC PRICES
MAIDENHEAD, BERKSHIRE (NB) -- In a bid to increase its share of
the UK's PC market, Commodore has slashed pricing on its complete
PC range. At the same time, the company is increasing its
discounts to educational establishments.

In parallel with the price cuts, Commodore has announced the
completion of its Series III enhancements to its entire PC range.
New features for the PC400-III, for example, include a 12MHz
clock speed and a significant reduction in the machine's
footprint.

For the end user, the price cuts look good. Entry-level to the
PC1 series is #315 for a monochrome single-drive machine. That
price undercuts most of the 8088-based competition, but NEWSBYTES
UK notes that the PC1 has no expansion slots. It is, however, one
of the cheapest PC's on the UK market.

In the educational discount arena, Commodore has implementing
CDOS, the Commodore Direct Ordering System, ostensibly to
simplify ordering for educational establishments. The profit
margins swallowed up by dealers, of course, have nothing to do
with CDOS...

* OPINION: Commodore's aggressive pricing represents bargain-time
  for PC buyers. In the longer term, the move could work against
  Commodore UK, since it cuts dealer profits. That, and the
  dealer nose-out when it comes to educational orders, could
  alienate Commodore's dealer network.

CONTACT: COMMODORE (UK) LTD., Commodore House, The Switchback,
         Gardener Road, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 7XA.
         Tel: [phone].

[***][8/09/88][***]
COMPUTERLAND NATIONAL BRIEFINGS ANNOUNCED
MILTON KEYNES, UK (NB) -- Computerland, one of the UK's largest
computer dealer chains, has started a series of 'executive
briefings' covering networking, workstations and connectivity.
The aim of the briefings is to inform the typical businessperson
how computers and networks can help him/her. Briefings take place
at nine sites across the Uk from 12 to 22 September, 1988.

Each executive briefing covers several topics, including: IBM
workstation strategy and direction; PC/3270/AS400/LAN/Token Ring
connections; and distributed processing. That's a lot of ground
to cover in a single day...

CONTACT: COMPUTERLAND EUROPE, 518 Elder House, Elder Gate,
         Central Milton Keynes, MK9 1LR. Tel: [phone].

[***][8/09/88][***]
EUROPEAN PACKET-SWITCHING GUIDE RELEASED
LONDON, UK (NB) -- So you want to know about packet switching
networks in Europe? Check out the 'European Packet Switching
Dial-up User Guide' from British Telecom International (BTI).

The free guide, published in English and French, details how to
log on to the data networks of 20 European countries. The English
version of the guide is available from BTI in the UK, whilst the
French version will be available later this month from Transpac
offices in France.

CONTACT: BTI IPSS CUSTOMER SERVICE - 01-492-2750.

[***][8/09/88][***]
OLYMPIC RESULTS ON YOUR MODEM
SEOUL, KOREA (NB) -- If you want to know what's happening in the
1988 Olympics and the TV doesn't have the answer, your modem
will. Dacom-net, the Korean data network, is operating WINS, the
Wide Information Network Service.

WINS provides immediate information on Olympic game results,
schedules, athlete profiles, and much more. Even better, the
service is free (apart from the cost of a data call to Korea).

WINS is accessible on NUI (Network User Address) 4501-220-1111.
Users in the UK will need to insert an A9 (for international).
Elsewhere in the world, the code is A0. As a rough guide, call
costs for WINS from the UK vary between 12 and 15 pence a minute.

CONTACT: BT INTERNATIONAL PACKET SWITCH STREAM,
         Randolph House, Wellesley Road, Croydon, CR0 0XA.
         Tel: [phone] & 01-760-7102.

         MERCURY COMMUNICATIONS, Mercury House,
         1 Brentside Executive Centre, Great West Road,
         Brentford, Middlesex, TW8 9DS.
         Tel: [phone].

[***][8/09/88][***]
PACE UNVEILS MODEM ERROR-CORRECTION UNIT
BRADFORD, WEST YORKSHIRE (NB) -- Pace Micro Technology is now
shipping the UK's first Error Correction Unit (ECU). The #149
modem add-on supports MNP (Microcom Networking Protocol) Level 4
and EPAD error correction protocols.

Barry Ruberry, Pace's managing director, says that the ECU is the
first modem add-on to include both error-correction protocols as
standard.

"We've watched with interest the emergence of MNP as the leading
form of error-correction in the past year or so. It was obvious
to us that there would be an enormous market for a small add-on
module (such as the ECU) which existing users of modems could buy
to upgrade their modems," he said.

CONTACT: PACE MICRO TECHNOLOGY, Allerton Road, Bradford BD15 7AG.
         Tel: [phone].

[***][8/09/88][***]
LATTICE GETS INTO DESKTOP PUBLISHING
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM (NB) -- Lattice, the pioneer of C compilers, has
taken a dip into the DTP world by announcing HighStyle, a document
composition system which includes a word processor, print formatter,
page previewer, icon editor and snapshot utility.

According to Wayne Nartker, Lattice vice president of sales,
"HighStyle gives users an infinite range of choices over the levels
of control they employ to produce their finished documents. HighStyle
offers all the power of the most sophisticated DTP programs for
controlling the design of the final document. HighStyle uses English-
like commands, more than 100 in fact, and works with all Hewlett
Packard and PCL level 4 compatible printers."

HighStyle is offered at #299 and runs under DOS 2.1 and above, on
either floppy or hard disk.

[***][8/09/88][***]
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
+ BRITBYTES - Bytes of news from around the UK... +
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

The CLEARING HOUSE AUTOMATED PAYMENTS SYSTEMS (CHAPS) had an
incredible #16,000 million flowing through its banking network on
the last day of July. The reason for the cash overload? The UK
tax concessions on joint house loans (mortgages) expired that
day. The computer system coped admirably, said a bank
spokesperson...

DATABASE SOFTWARE (0625-878888) has released Mini Office Personal
for the PC. The #29-95 package includes a word processor,
database, spreadsheet, label printer and communications software
as standard. Considering the communications software includes
viewdata emulation, the package looks to offer excellent value
for money...

IBC TECHNICAL SERVICES (01-236-4080) has announced the 1988
European Seminar on Security in Communications Networks. The
conference will be held in London on 6 September, 1988...

LOTUS DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (0494-816667) is offering a video,
information package and demo software to promote Agenda, its
information processing software. The video pack costs #15, which
is refunded if you buy the software...

MERCURY COMMUNICATIONS (01-528-2000) is investing #3 million in
the Bristol area to improve access to its alternative telecoms
services. In addition, the company will open its second
international digital exchange in London next Spring. The
exchange will cost Mercury #6 million...

TANDATA COMMUNICATIONS (0684-892421) has secured a major contract
with Associated Tyre Specialists, the UK's largest tyre
distributors. The deal involves the supply of 500 Td2500
terminals to ATS branches, which will access a central company
database...

TELECOM GOLD (0800-700200) has added the Justis legal information
service to its list of gateway services. Justis provides
information on legal issues and judicial decisions for 150 pence
a minute...