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/nb880913.273

Text File | 1991-08-18 | 67KB | 1,416 lines

[***][9/13/88][***]
NeXT'S FIRST DUE OCTOBER 12 **EXCLUSIVE**
SAN FRANCISCO, Ca. (NB) -- An academic workstation, the first product
from Apple Computer founder Steve Jobs' NeXT, Inc., will be introduced
at a gala ceremony October 12 at San Francisco's Davies Symphony
Hall.  "Friends" of NeXT are receiving invitations now for the 9:30 am
to 12 noon event.  Even though the hall is huge, it's clear the
NeXT people expect crowds to be even bigger to see Steve Jobs' new
machine.  The invitation requires that RSVPs be returned on a
pre-printed invitation, "photocopies not accepted."  A press
briefing is expected to follow the unveiling at 12:30 the same day.

The announcement ends months of speculation about the introduction
of the NeXT workstation, expected to be in direct competition with
offerings from Apple and Sun, among others.  The sleek, black
desktop workstation is said to offer spectacular sound and graphics
capabilities and will run a version of Unix, according to those
who have seen it.

[***][9/13/88][***]
NEW MAC II SLATED FOR SEPTEMBER 19
CUPERTINO, Ca. (NB) -- Apple Computer's upgraded Macintosh II, a computer
based on the Motorola 68030 chip set, will be introduced September 19,
according to sources.  The introduction of the new machine is not
expected to be the object of much fanfare, as Apple views the unit,
Apple's most powerful to date, as an upgrade to its current Macintosh
II.  While Apple CEO John Sculley stressed earlier this year that his
firm would not be introducing any new computers in 1988, this machine
could be seen as a contradiction to that statement.  But an Apple
spokeswoman stresses that Sculley was referring to an entirely new
machine  with a different footprint.

The introduction could be timed to steal some thunder from Apple
founder Steve Jobs' workstation offering from his firm NeXT, Inc.
(see above report) but given the amount of international interest
in the machine, chances are it won't do that at all.

[***][9/13/88][***]
SEYBOLD CONFERENCE TO HIGHLIGHT DESKTOP PUBLISHING, GRAPHICS
SANTA CLARA, Ca. (NB) -- The Seybold Desktop Publishing Conference
kicks off September 14 and runs through the 17th at the Santa Clara
Convention Center.  This year's event is drawing Apple's heavy
artillery:  Alan Kay, Apple fellow; Larry Tesler, vice president
advanced technology; Bill Atkinson, HyperCard designer; and Tyler
Peppel, product marketing manager for multi-media applications.

Apple will dominate the show with its numerous seminars and
third-party exhibits, including demonstrations by high-end desktop
publishers.  "Future Macintosh Technology" is the topic to be presented
by two representatives of the Associated Press.  "Macintosh
in Music Publishing" will be discussed by Oscar Winner Ken
Gruberman.

CONTACT:  APPLE COMPUTER, Stacey Byrnes, 408/973-6076

[***][9/13/88][***]
NEW PRODUCTS FROM ACTIVISION DUE AT APPLEFEST
MENLO PARK, Ca. (NB) -- Activision will showcase several new products
for the Apple II family at this year's Applefest, slated for September
16 through 18 at San Francisco's Brooks Hall.

 - Teleworks Plus is the first Apple IIGS-dedicated communications
program that provides easy access to information banks and electronic
BBSs and online services.

 - Paintworks Gold, the enhanced paint and animation program that
offers advanced graphics capabilities such as 3-d perspective, color
blending, frame animation, and a toolbox with more than 4,000 colors
and patterns.

 - The Music Studio 2.0 allows you to create original compositions
with a MIDI set-up using a standard Apple IIGS interface.

In addition, Activision will showcase two new games for the IIs --
Rampage and The Last Ninja -- and its celebrated Macintosh HyperCard
game called Manhole.

CONTACT:  Michelle Bowman, ACTIVISION, 415/329-0800

[***][9/13/88][***]
MAC NET-HEADS MEET TO NETWORK SEPTEMBER 27 IN SEATTLE
SEATTLE, Wa. (NB) -- If you're into networking Macintoshes, you shouldn't
miss the Northwest Macintosh Connectivity Conference where industry
leaders and users will discuss the latest techniques in making
Macs more sociable.

Over 20 developers of networking products will meet and display their
wares at the Weston Hotel in Seattle on September 27.  More than
500 MIS managers are expected to attend the conference.  Keynote
speaker is Amy Wohl, president of Wohl Associates, a consulting firm
specializing in office automation, personal and end-user
computing.

Advanced registration and complimentary tickets are available at
authorized Apple dealers.  Admission at the door will be $40.

[***][9/13/88][***]
HEWLETT PACKARD'S MOST POWERFUL DESKTOP MACHINE UNVEILED
PALO ALTO, Ca. (NB) -- HP has taken the wrappings off its most
powerful PC to date, the HP Vectra QS/16, an Intel 80386-based,
$4,000 computer with one megabyte of memory, expandable to 16 megs.
There is one 5 1/4-inch floppy drive, seven slots, and runs
at 16 MHz.

Introduced last May, the new Vectra is now shipping four months
late due to the shortage of memory chips.  An HP spokesman says
chips are still in short supply, but that the firm has enough
to meet demand for the machine.

Meanwhile HP announced that it has shipped its one millionth display
terminal.  The first one was shipped in 1974 and sold for $3,000.
Fourteen years and one million terminals later, an HP terminal
is priced at $375, uses 95 percent fewer parts, and takes
92 percent less time to build.

Hewlett Packard cites Datapro International surveys which show that
despite their low cost, HP terminals are rated by users as among
the best performing in the past five years.

[***][9/13/88][***]
NEW CHIPS TO SPEED LAPTOPS
SAN JOSE, Ca. (NB) -- Chips & Technologies has announced that volume
shipments have begun for its 25 MHz 386/AT CHIPSet, the industry's
fastest 80386-based AT microprocessors currently in production.
The company says it has also started volume shipments of 10 to
20 MHz PS/2-compatible sets for 80286-based Micro Channel
Architecture systems.  Both products are ideal for laptop applications,
as the firm's vice president explained, they are a "pure play on
the laptop market."

These are reportedly the first chips Chips & Technologies has
specifically designed for the laptop market.  They do not consume
a lot of power, making them ideal for use in IBM-compatible machines.

[***][9/13/88][***]
IRIS RETAIL CHAIN FILES FOR CHAPTER 11 PROTECTION
EL MONTE, Ca. (NB) -- Southern California's newest retail chain -- Iris
Computers -- has asked the courts for bankruptcy protection only
months after a major Asian money-backed expansion, according to COMPUTER
RESELLER NEWS.  Iris has reportedly closed 5 of its 16 stores
and laid off employees both in the retail outlets and at the firm's
El Monte headquarters.  The Asian investors, who reportedly paid
between $20,000 and $50,000 to be managers of Iris Computer stores,
are said to be considering lawsuits.  Said one of the bankruptcy
petition, "It was really quick and totally shocking."

Gene Koon, who could not be reached by NEWSBYTES, is the attorney
for Iris; he told the newsweekly that he intends to submit
a reorganization plan to the courts and have the firm back on its
feet.

[***][9/13/88][***]
IN BRIEF --

MICROPRO INTERNATIONAL, San Rafael, Ca., has reached an agreement
with shareholders who launched a class action suit, claiming
the firm violated federal securities laws in connection  with its
initial public offering.  MicroPro will give the offended stockholders
$1.8 million dollars, but adds that it denies any wrongdoing.

QUBIX GRAPHIC SYSTEMS INC., San Jose, Ca., is slated to unveil
Leonardo, a program touted as the Adobe Illustrator and Aldus Freehand
for the Sun-3 family, on September 13.  Leonardo is said to offer
composition, editing, and tables and forms generation capabilities
in addition to paint and draw functions.

THE SOFTWARE PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION, Washington, DC, has gained a
court order to close two Los Angeles firms accused of software
piracy.  P.C. Plus Corp. and California Computer Distributors are
accused of selling hard disks which had copies of various software
programs on them.

XEROX DESKTOP SOFTWARE BUSINESS UNIT, San Diego, Ca., is expected to
introduce a version of Ventura Publisher for the Macintosh by year's
end.  It's said to be in development by Ventura Software of Salinas,
Ca.

ZENOGRAPHICS, Irvine, Ca., will unveil a low-end graphics package for
the Macintosh -- a version of its Pixie package for the PC -- by October 1.
The program's claim to fame will be its massive array of 16 million colors
compared to 256 on the PC.  The cost is expected to be $295.



[***][9/13/88][***]
COMPUSERVE-INFONET SPLIT OVER PAYING FOR KILO-CHARACTERS
COLUMBUS, OH (NB) -- As reported last week in NEWSBYTES-UNITED
KINGDOM, CompuServe has raised international access charges via
Infonet to $50/hour, effective September 7. It's a real hardship
on European customers, who must now pay through the nose for
direct service with one-stop billing to America's largest online
utility.

Why? Infonet director of network services Tom Whidden says
Infonet charges $12/hour to Europe, plus a surcharge of 15 cents
for each 1,000 characters. That's how services are surcharged
under standard European agreements, and the total charges don't
come close to $50/hour. Whidden notes darkly that Infonet's
parent, Computer Sciences Corp. of El Segundo, CA, is in the
process of selling 70% of itself to foreign postal systems, which
also have phone monopolies and packet networks. "I think the
issue is competition between Infonet and CompuServe," he says.
"We think they view us as a competitor in network service, and
want to eliminate us. The alternative is to go through gateway
services that involve the local packet switch in the country
they're calling from, a company like ITT Worldcom, and then the
US phone network," Whidden adds. "It involves applying for
service in each country, and paying in foreign currency...at
Infonet we charge in U.S. dollars."

Vicki Rutkowski of CompuServe has another, more benign
explanation. "We were surcharging our foreign Infonet customers
at $20-25 per hour because we don't charge for kilo-characters,"
she explains. The actual cost to CompuServe was $30/hour, which
rose to $36/hour when Infonet eliminated volume discounts on July
1. "We're urging users to go through their PTT (British Telecom
in the UK) and an International Record Carrier (IRC) like RCA
(recently bought by MCI) and ITT Worldcom (now owned by Western
Union), both of which connect directly to us," she says.

CONTACT: Tom Whidden, INFONET, 213-615-0311; Vicki Rutkowski,
          COMPUSERVE, [phone]

[***][9/13/88][***]
SUPREME COURT DEBATES ELECTRONIC ACCESS
WASHINGTON (NB) -- The U.S. Supreme Court will hold an unusual
information meeting on Thursday, September 29 to discuss putting
its opinions online. Every network and online service which wants
the Supremes' business will have 15 minutes for 3 representatives
to make its case. Brief proposals will then be filed on
November 14, and the court could make its decision anytime after
that. The court, in a letter to possible online suppliers, said
it will consider whether opinions are equally available to all,
whether particular distributors are favored, whether profits are
contemplated, and whether the venture would be done as a joint-
venture. Don't expect a decision before the end of the year.

[***][9/13/88][***]
DASNET OFFERS AMNESTY ACTION ALERTS TO ALL
CAMPBELL, CA (NB) -- Bruce Springsteen isn't the only boss doing
his bit for Amnesty International this fall. DASNET, the inter-
system electronic mail network, is helping out too. There, Russ
Briggs is the boss. He's signing up AI members regardless of
to which electronic mail network they already subscribe. MCI Mail, The
Source, DC Meta -- DASnet even has fax links. "A DASNet
subscriber can get onto this service, which puts them on the
distribution list," explains the DASNet boss. "When an urgent
action bulletin comes to us," a bonafide electronic message from
a specific electronic location, with passwords so others won't
take AI's name in vain, "we send it to the distribution list."
The purpose for AI is to spread word on illegal arrests quickly
through AI's contacts around the globe, whether or not the news
media picks up on it.

CONTACT: Russ Briggs, DASNET, [phone]

[***][9/13/88][***]
CHECK ONLINE OF BELLSOUTH GATEWAY SHOWS MUCH ADO ABOUT A MENU
ATLANTA (NB) -- Last week, NEWSBYTES SOUTH-MIDWEST reported that
BellSouth's TranstexT Universal Gateway was online. This week we
checked out the third local Information Provider (IP) on the
service, ComLine Atlanta, and made an online visit to the
gateway.

Jim Spencer worked on the gateway as an engineer with the ICS
consulting firm, which is handling things for BellSouth Advanced
Networks, the unregulated subsidiary behind TUG. Jim put
together ComLine Atlanta, and he will soon go into business
pushing this online software as Comtec Communications Inc.
ComLine, he says, "is a wide open public system with Chat,
Special Interest Groups, a Caucus-like conferencing system, and
the traditional BBS functions," he says. The software BellSouth
is using runs on an IBM PC under MS-DOS, but the ComLine
software will also run under Unix when it comes to market early
next year. The TranstexT system itself is set up to handle 16
users at once, Spencer says, "and will go up to 32 pretty soon."
BellSouth wants to run its E-Mail network under the X.400
protocol, he adds.

Jim then gave NEWSBYTES the TranstexT online phone number, 404-
594-3964. Jim recommends you go in at 8 data bits, no stop bits
and no parity. The line only goes at 1200 or 300 baud -- 2400
comes online Real Soon Now. So NEWSBYTES tried it. We found a 40-
character menu like those found on CompuServe, the 8 functions
duly listed. Entering any of them, however, leads the new user to
a quandary. Each service wants your phone number (or calling card
number) and a password for entry. More phone calls revealed the
order number -- 404-641-7200. "We currently have a market trial
going on," Monica Moore of ICS said when I dialed the order
number. (Her desk is near the one Jim's leaving.) After taking
your name, phone number, computer and modem brand she promises to
send you a legal document. Sign it, return it, and she'll send
you a password.

Until you truly offer something to the public, BellSouth, the
word for it is vapor. But NEWSBYTES will return to this subject
next week.

CONTACT: BELLSOUTH ADVANCED NETWORKS, Monica, [phone]
COMTEC, Jim Spencer, [phone]

[***][9/13/88][***]
US WEST ROUNDS UP USERS FOR ISDN SEMINARS
ENGLEWOOD, CO (NB) -- US West, sometimes called the "Black-Hat
Bell" because of its confrontational stance with regulators and
the media, is cracking the whip for ISDN. It sent out a lavish
press kit, including a videotape, suggesting that you attend one
of 6 seminars on the subject at downtown hotels throughout the US
West Service area September 13-29. That's a wide territory
stretching from Minneapolis, Minnesota and Omaha, Nebraska in the
east to Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon in the West, and
the Rockies from Phoenix, Arizona to Denver, Colorado. The
invites include a full-length videotape, with a 3-minute pitch,
which NEWSBYTES ran through its VCR.

WHERE'S THE BEEF? US West offers vague hints about linking fax
and voice to video, analogies to new freeways, and expectations
that one plug will suffice for all your telecom needs Real Soon
Now. But if that's all there is to it, we have to ask -- what's
the hubbub about? The answer  -- marketing. Fiber means scads of
new capacity, and the Bells which built it must sell it, somehow
convincing us to abandon private nets, packet nets, cable TV and
MCI if that's what it takes to fill the new wires. Don't you wish
they'd just drop their prices instead? (And come up with a
snappier name than ISDN.)

CONTACT: US WEST [phone]

[***][9/13/88][***]
MOTOROLA ACCUSES CYPRESS OF RISC-Y BUSINESS
AUSTIN, TX (NB) -- Motorola filed an $8 million suit in a Texas
State Court September 2 accusing Cypress Semiconductors and one
of its contractors of stealing secrets used in its RISC chips,
the 88000 series. The suit says that Ross Technology, formed by 5
former Motorola employees led by 88000 project leader Roger Ross,
stole secrets of the 88000 RISC chips while working on them for
Motorola, then walked across the street and sold what they knew
through Ross to Cypress. Motorola won a restraining order against
Ross and Cypress from state judge Jerry Dellana the day they
filed their case. A hearing is scheduled on the merits October 7.

Cypress' chairman, T. J. Rodgers, is upset. "What is really
aggravating to me is that I am personally aware that Roger Ross
bent over backwards in making concessions to assure Motorola that
he would not use Motorola trade secrets." Ross himself said
Motorola managers have refused to accept his assurances he would
not use Motorola secrets in his new start-up. "Motorola's
attorneys continued to insist that neither I nor my team be
allowed to work on any computer chips designed in any modern
computer architecture, including SPARC, for a period of a year
and a half. Since Motorola's demand would leave us essentially
unemployed, we could not accept it."

CONTACT: Roger Ross, ROSS TECHNOLOGY, (512-448-8968

[***][9/13/88][***]
TELENET, TYMNET OFFER OLYMPICS RESULTS LIVE, ONLINE FROM KOREA
Telenet and Tymnet will both offer access to the Olympics
database called Wide Information Network Services (WINS) which
lets users send encouraging e-mail to their favorite athletes.
The South Korea operation will run on an IBM 4831 mainframe, with
old System 36 units at the contest sites and 12 AT&T 3B2s acting
as a gateway to the mainframe. The system is based on the
Electronic Messaging System developed for the 1984 Olympics in
Los Angeles, and was developed by the South Koreans.

The Telenet access is available to all international customers
with NUI numbers ($12/hour plus 60 cents per kilo-character) and
through Telemail ($14/hour). You can get more information by
calling 1-800-fongold. Tymnet is setting up a special SEOUL/TYM
service to give access to the database, starting September 14. On
that day, you'll be able to get online directions with a voice
call to 1-800-hi-seoul. ($15 to sign up, plus 25 cents per
minute, with the first hour free.) Before September 14, you can
sign up for Tymnet's WINS access by calling 1-408-435-8880, Judy
Sassali of Tymnet told NEWSBYTES.

CONTACT: Judy Sassali, TYMNET, [phone]; Jim Crawford,
          TELENET [phone]

[***][9/13/88][***]
PECAN CHIPS

DONALD BURLESON, 40, went on trial in Fort Worth, Texas on
charges of using a computer virus to decimate the computer system
at USPA & IRA Co. after he was fired there. Burleson could draw
10 years and a $5,000 fine if convicted.

CONTROL DATA, Minneapolis, is putting its data storage group into
a new subsidiary to be called Imprimis Technology. CDC is rumored
to be shopping its disk drive and diskette-making subsidiaries.

DCA, Alpharetta, began buying up to $25 million worth of its own
shares. The company's stock has been hit hard by recent failures
to meet earnings goals.

GOULD, Rolling Meadows, IL, was sued by shareholders over its
announced $1.1 billion sell-out to Nippon Mining. Gould says the
class-action suit is without merit.

HAYES MICROCOMPUTER PRODUCTS, Norcross, GA, settled its long-
standing copyright arguments with Microcom. Microcom paid a
license fee on Hayes' patent for a modem with escape sequence,
and the two companies signed a 5-year cross-license on their
modem technologies, including data on implementations of
Microcom's MNP on University, Pittsburgh, announced plans
to build a computer filing system called Andrew, with hopes of
making that file format a standard for interconnecting
databases.

INFOMART, Dallas, says it will open up a second Infomart, in
Paris, France, on July 14, 1989. That's the 200th anniversary of
Bastille Day, folks.

INFO AMERICA introduced RAM-Net, a bulletin board for memory chip
buyers with data on all kinds of memory chips. Buyers pay an
upfront fee for access, while sellers pay an annual ed a joint-venture to
design cheaper and faster laser printer controllers built around
the Motorola 680x0 chip. Announcements of specific products are
expected around the Fall Comdex show in November.

THE SOFTWARE LINK, Atlanta, released a version 2.0 of its PC-
MOS/386 operating system. PC-MOS is a networked version of MS-
DOS based on TSL's LanLink "diskless" network.

===


[***][9/13/88][***]
YOU READ IT HERE FIRST/WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 13, 1988
Copyright 1988/Written by W. A. Yacco, Exclusive to NEWSBYTES

In this week's installment...

 - EGGS THROWN AT DISNEYLAND HOTEL...Eggzibition Hits Anaheim

 - KEYNOTE KAHN STRIKES AGAIN...Philippe outlines industry future

 - MONSTERSERVE--THE SERVICE THAT ATE NEW YORK ONLINE?...
                                          CompuServe growth dramatic

 - CLASSIFILE TUX BEING TAILORED...Softlogic Menu Software to Debut

 - SPINNAKER SLIDES INTO PINSTRIPES...Presentation Software Shipped

 - ALLWAYS TO BRING EXCEL-ENCE TO 1-2-3...WYSIWYG Graphics Come to
                                          Standard

 - DIGITAL TO TAKE BOWS FOR WOWS--ART LINE NO DOG...Possible
                                    Watershed for Struggling Pioneer

 - QUOTE OF THE WEEK..."Esber to Leave Ashton-Tate"--Anon.

SEE YA AT SEYBOLD...Conference Features

EGGS THROWN AT DISNEYLAND HOTEL
ANAHEIM, Ca (NB) -- The Egghead Eggzibition was at the Disneyland
Hotel this past weekend, Friday though Sunday.  It was speculated
that the software exposition would be Egghead's largest ever--about
50,000--but one expected guest had decided to bow out.  The Eggs, as
they refer to themselves, had planned on an appearance by Disney's
own Roger Rabbit but, at the last minute, the rabbit rogered the
professor.  Why Disney wouldn't field a costumed critter for an
event in its own hotel, to promote Rabbit's own software, would seem
to be a mystery considering the emphasis on educational and
recreational software that always has a significant family appeal.

Egghead provided the press with a large, comfortable facility and a
list of new product announcements that were being made at the show.
However, they hadn't quite gotten the knack of this press release
thing.  At least one of the products on the list had actually been
released at a previous Eggzibition earlier in the year.  The
vendor's own press kit had the announcement dated back in June.

Despite the narrow focus on a single retailer, this show has the
potential to develop into a significant industry event.  Exhibitors
come not only from Egghead's extensive software lineup but from
services like (mothers cover your children's ears) CompuServe and
company chairman Victor Alhadeff is taking pains to give it a very
professional execution.  It's not inconceivable that this show could
fill the vacuum created when Interface dropped its software Comdex.


KEYNOTE KAHN STRIKES AGAIN
 . . . This year, once again, Philippe Kahn gave the keynote
address.  There were some similarities to his recent Cal Tech talk I
reported on here.  Once again he talked about the multiuser group-
productivity database and its place in the future of software
development.  In particular he emphasized the ability to unerringly
tap into the latest product for release.  That's important in a
company like Borland where work is usually in progress on two or
more versions beyond the latest release.  It leads me to suspect
that the database probably is already being used internally to give
Borland an edge over the competition in its development efforts.
Shhh, don't tell anyone about this.  Kahn's statement "I can
guarantee you that, at any point in time, Quattro will be the
superior spreadsheet technology," has to backed up by some
advantage.

Philippe also talked about emerging bus strategies and the impact
that the nu bus and others will have in the marketplace.
Significant was his failure to mention Compaq's EISA bus.  I'll be
speculating on Compaq's strategy in depth in an upcoming column
along with some related developments on 80486 platforms and the Mac
III.


MONSTERSERVE--THE SERVICE THAT ATE NEW YORK ONLINE?
 . . . A minion of the competition CompuServed notice to NEWSBYTES
that the online service will announce growth in active membership
to 500,000.  The crystal ball's a little murky but I could almost
swear the public announcement is due Wednesday.  Even bigger news is
expected for 1989 according to the same source.  That's the time-
frame for an entirely new user interface to appear.  Let's hope
there isn't a Classic Coke-New Coke backlash from all of the users
who've sacrificed their sanity to learn the old interface.  Get out
your cognitive-dissonance handbook for details.  In addition to
CompuServe itself, another booth at the show featured the company's
newly acquired Access subsidiary.


SOFTLOGIC MENU TO DEBUT
 . . . There were some new products announced at the show but my
interest was really piqued by some of the unreleased products that
were being shown, sneaked or leaked.

Utility innovator Softlogic Solutions had some quasi-secret flyers
that are about to be sent to their usual little mailing list --
everyone -- three times.  The bulletins pitch ClassiFILE, a utility
that helps to manage, view, edit, and search for files.  Similar to
programs like XTreePro, the program can also tag files with
descriptions or abstracts of up to 35 words that appear in file
listings.  ClassiFILE includes familiar extensions to DOS which
provide group operations, a move command, file overwrite
confirmation and others.

There is also an invention that organizes files within a single
directory into "folders."  Folders group files without using
subdirectories according to the flyer.  Softlogic recommends this
for avoiding processing complications with some applications.  I'm
interested in seeing how this is accomplished because DOS can become
very inefficient when the number of files in a directory grows too
large.  The report will appear here as soon as a copy gets to me.

Softlogic, if true to form, will bundle this flyer with several
others so don't forget to look through the stuff this time before
you chuck it.


SPINNAKER SLIDES INTO FIRST
 . . . Spinnaker was showing Pinstripe Presenter, a presentation
program similar to Draw Applause that produces word charts, graphs
and freehand drawings.  The program began shipping just the previous
week.


ALLWAYS TO BRING EXCEL-ENCE TO 1-2-3
 . . . Funk Software showed Allways to a few attendees hungering for
a peek at their future.  Like Funk's Sideways, Allways prints
spreadsheets.  But, it first converts 1-2-3 sheets to graphics and
allows the user to specify a wide assortment of enhancements--fonts,
page layout, character formatting, color, true double underlines,
WYSIWYG display and more--many of the things available in Excel.
Lotus may be interested.  This could be a quick route for 1-2-3 to
pick up these features and devalue some of Excel's most
differentiating features.


DIGITAL TO TAKE BOWS FOR WOWS--ART LINE NO DOG
 . . . My favorite surprise was a forthcoming product from Digital
Research.  It's been a long time since DR's had one on the charts
with a bullet.  But the company's belated emphasis on desktop
publishing (let's hope turning down Ventura Publisher was the last
of the major blunders) may be about to pay off.

Art Line is a DTP support package that allows the user to create
really spectacular effects.  Graphics (including text from a variety
of fonts which can be quickly turned into graphic objects) can be
created or enhanced with a host of special tools.  There is
virtually no limit to the changes that can be made to Bezier
outlines with Art Line.  Individual characters or character groups
can be rotated to any angle to produce circular or spiraling text
with ease.  The resulting headlines and graphic elements can
distinguish a document lightyears beyond anything now possible in a
DTP package.  Output is provided in EPSF and GEM formats.  TIFF and
PCX files are also supported.

Digital took a hard rap for its hubris back when CP/M placed it in an
all-powerful and seemingly perpetual position of power.  After the
downfall, the industry was not quick to forgive.  Products like GEM
have received fair criticism but have often failed to get
commensurate credit for their strengths.  I think Digital's been in
the penalty box long enough and hope this is the hit that turns
things back around for them.


QUOTE OF THE WEEK
 . . . Nobody's taking credit for this week's quote.  It probably
isn't true.  It's probably malicious.  But the word that "Ed Esber
is leaving Ashton-Tate" was everywhere.  So many vendor's reps were
talking about it, that there's just the barest possibility that the
big rumor at the Eggzibition might have some basis in fact.

The people at the Ashton-Tate booth had heard this unlikely gossip.
Still, it was reportedly unsettling enough to prompt one of the
Taters to tot to the telephone and call home.  The only thing her
call disclosed, however, was that either no one in Torrance had
heard the rumor or they weren't admitting it.  There were quick and
emphatic denials according to my A-T source.


SEE YA AT SEYBOLD
SANTA CLARA, Ca (NB) -- The premier desktop-publishing conference
starts here Wednesday.  Look for many announcements of new high-
resolution PostScript output devices including a color-output device
from a large vendor using a clone interpreter in its RIP.  Several
software announcements are expected in database publishing and new
page-layout software.  As of late last week approximately twenty-
eight press conferences had been scheduled for such announcements
including Apple and Microsoft.

[***][9/13/88][***]
EVANS TOP 100 REFLECTS TUMULTUOUS YEAR
TORONTO (NB) -- There are lots of changes in the ranking of
Canada's Top 100 computer companies recently published by Evans
Research Corp. of Toronto.  Unisys Canada, on the list for the
first time since the Burroughs-Sperry merger, took third place
after IBM and DEC, pushing Computer Innovations Distribution Inc.
into fourth, where Burroughs Memorex was last year.  Crowntek
Inc., sold in pieces over the past few months, fell from seventh
to 17th and will be gone entirely next year.  Apple Canada made
it into the top ten for the first time, placing ninth.

SHL Systemhouse Ltd. also broke into the top ten, placing tenth.
Evans Research noted that if all the holdings of the Kinburn
Group, which owns Computer Innovations, Systemhouse and other
high-tech companies, were taken as one company, Kinburn would be
a strong number three in the rankings.

The best growth was recorded by ATI Technologies Inc. of Toronto,
maker of graphics cards, internal modems and peripherals, whose
revenues soared 306 per cent.  Compaq Canada did quite well,
moving up from 39th to 22nd in the rankings and placing fifth in
revenue growth.

The top 10 personal computer and office automation companies in
Canada, according to Evans, are Apple Canada, Philips Information
Systems Ltd., Olivetti Canada Ltd., Xerox Canada Inc., Radio
Shack Canada, Compaq Canada, Commodore Business Machines, Zenith
Data Systems, International Semi-Tech Microelectronics, and
Meridian Technologies.

The full Evans report, "The Top Computer Companies in Canada,"
covers 250 companies and costs $2,500.  An abbreviated version
listing the revenues of the top 100 companies is available for
$100 as part of Evans' monthly EDP In-Depth Reports series.

CONTACT: EVANS RESEARCH CORP., 1 Eva Rd., Suite 309,
         Etobicoke, Ont. M9C 4Z5, [phone]
         Fax: [phone]

[***][9/13/88][***]
FIRST VARDEX SMALL BUT EXHIBITORS PRAISE 'QUALITY'
TORONTO (NB) -- The first annual Value-Added Resellers and
Dealers Exhibition (VARDEX) was a small show, a far cry from the
multiple buildings of Comdex.  About 70 exhibitors, most of them
with small booths, didn't even fill the upper floor of the Metro
Toronto Convention Centre.  Crowds were small too.  But
exhibitors seemed happy.  As one said, there wasn't quantity but
there was quality.  No tire-kickers, just bona fide computer
dealers.

It was not a show for new products -- vendors are presumably
holding their fire for Comdex and/or the Canadian Computer Show.
Most exhibitors were showing the tried and true.  Apple and
Commodore were both conspicuous by their absence.  Yet IBM, not
prone to attend brand-new trade shows, was there with various
models of PS/2 as well as two mid-range systems, the 9370 and the
AS/400.  Most visitors to the booth seemed to be at the 9370 and
AS/400 end.

Atari was pushing desktop publishing and other graphics-related
applications for its PCs.  J.B. Marketing, Canadian distributor
for WordPerfect, was pushing the popular word processor in all
its versions.  The only new product NB CANADA spotted was the
Satin Streamer, a streaming tape backup device for IBM and
compatible PCs, available from Bytewide Marketing Inc. of
Lachine, Que.

[***][9/13/88][***]
INVESTOR SUING INTERNATIONAL SEMI-TECH
MARKHAM, Ont. (NB) -- A Toronto investor is suing International
Semi-Tech Microelectronics Inc. for alleged failure to develop a
promised new product, COMPUTING CANADA has reported.

The data processing publication says Jacob Salamon, president of
a Toronto-based numbered company, is suing Semi-Tech for C$30
million, claiming that Semi-Tech principals persuaded him to
invest C$5 million in development of the STM Workstation  for the
North American and Chinese markets, which was never developed.

COMPUTING CANADA, which examined court documents relating to the
case, also says International Semi-Tech has filed a countersuit.
The litigants are not commenting on the dispute.

[***][9/13/88][***]
CALL-NET CUT OFF
OTTAWA (NB) -- The Canadian Radio-television and
Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has decided that Call-Net
Communications Ltd. hasn't moved quickly enough to stop reselling
long-distance telephone services in a way Canadian law doesn't
permit.  So on Sept. 6 the CRTC told Bell Canada to disconnect
Call-Net's inter-exchange and wide-area telephone service (WATS)
lines.  Bell spokeswoman Linda Gervais said Bell has done this,
but has also given priority to installing additional ordinary
trunk lines so Call-Net's customers won't be left without long-
distance service.

Bell Canada had already disconnected Call-Net's lines once, on
August 24, but reconnected them later that day when the CRTC
ordered a reprieve.

Meanwhile, Toronto newspapers reported that Call-Net has filed an
application with the Federal Court of Canada for a stay of the
CRTC order.  NEWSBYTES CANADA attempted to reach Call-Net
president Michael Kedar for comment, but he has not returned our
calls.

[***][9/13/88][***]
BMB COMPUSCIENCE REPORTS LOWER EARNINGS, REMAINS OPTIMISTIC
MILTON, Ont. (NB) -- BMB Compuscience Canada Ltd., Toronto, has
reported slightly lower sales and net income figures for fiscal
1988.  Sales dropped from C$2,872,430 to C$2,305,752 for the year
ended April 30.  Net income was C$455,710, down from C$653,145.
In the company's annual report, just published, president William
MacLean said fiscal 1988 was "both difficult and rewarding."
Early in the year, the company bought back and cancelled three
million of its 5.45 million outstanding shares.  The annual
report notes that in 1988, BMB spent 24 per cent of its sales
revenues on research and development, a policy which the company
says "allows BMB to continue to provide leading-edge quality to
current and new customers."

BMB develops and sells software for personal computers, and is an
authorized dealer for various PC and peripheral manufacturers,
including Compaq, Unisys and Samsung.

CONTACT: BMB COMPUSCIENCE CANADA LTD., 500 Steeles Ave.,
         Milton, Ont. L9T 3P7, [phone]

[***][9/13/88][***]
BITS, EH?
-- CANADIAN AIRLINES INTERNATIONAL LTD., Calgary, will test a
battery-powered computer game system in one of its airplanes this
fall.  The system, which is built into the fold-down meal tray in
front of each seat, plays backgammon, chess, blackjack, bridge,
cribbage, and an adventure and murder mystery game.  It is made
by Air Video of Toronto.

-- BCE INC. of Montreal has extended its hold on Canadian
telephone service by buying NorthwesTel Inc., which serves the
Northwest Territories, the Yukon Territory and parts of northern
British Columbia, and Terra Nova Telecommunications, which serves
part of Newfoundland.  Both were purchased from CNCP
Telecommunications of Toronto.

-- ETA SYSTEMS INC. of St. Paul, Minn., has an order for one of
its ETA10 supercomputers from Veritas Seismic, Ltd., a petroleum
exploration company based in Calgary, Alta.

-- THE KTS SYSTEMS GROUP, Toronto, has become a remarketer for
the IBM 9370, Digital Equipment's VAX and MicroVAX systems and
Tandem NonStop systems.

-- CREATIVE INSURANCE SOFTWARE LTD., Toronto, has signed an
agreement with MANAGEMENT SCIENCE AMERICA (CANADA) LTD.  MSA will
market the Creative Pension Administration System in Canada.

-- DELL COMPUTER CORP. has appointed Patrick Murphy as vice-
president of sales and marketing for its new Canadian subsidiary
in Richmond Hill, Ont.

-- CNCP TELECOMMUNICATIONS, Toronto, is offering subscribers to
its Dialcom electronic mail service immediate results from the
1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, S. Korea.  The service will be
available from early September to October 5.

-- STAR DATA SYSTEMS INC., Toronto, has landed a 10-year contract
to provide on-line stock quotation services to Walwyn Stodgell
Cochran Murray Ltd., Toronto.

-- NEWBRIDGE NETWORKS CORP., Kanata, Ont., has the contract to
install a high-bandwidth communications network in Canada and the
United States for Canada's Department of External Affairs.


[***][9/13/88][***]
RUMOR MILL -- WORLD'S MOST POWERFUL LAPTOP DUE
Saitama (NB) -- According to NEWSBYTES-JAPAN sources,
the joint venture of Y.E.Data, Tokyo, and Olivetti in Italy --
Saitama-based Pegasus -- will supply IBM PC/AT-compatible and
Olivetti-original laptop personal computers to Olivetti in
Italy on an OEM basis.   The manufacturing will be done in
Y.E.Data's Shinkoh factory in Saitama, which is expected to make
ten thousand units per month starting next spring.

The laptop machines may be based on the Intel 80386, are expected
to have a very fast data processing speed, high resolution, and
compact size.

Pegasus' spokesman would not comment on our information other than
to say that a formal announcement of the products will take
place next spring.

CONTACT: Pegasus, 182 Shintoh, Iruma-shi, Saitama 358

[***][9/13/88][***]
NEW NEWS FROM SONY
Tokyo (NB) -- Sony has developed a new series of its engineering
workstation the NEWS.  The mouse-driven POP NEWS PWS 1500 series
comes with a Motorola 68030 CPU and has a data-processing speed
of 3.9 MIPS, which is by far faster than the previous 68020-based
NEWS workstation which has two 68020 MPUs.  The POP PWS 1500 has a memory
of 4 megabytes, expandable to 16 megabytes.   The operating
system is called POP OS, which consists of UNIX and Sony's original
built-in user interface called POP Desk.   Existing NEWS software can
be installed on the POP OS.

Sony will ship POP NEWS workstations on the 21st of December.  The price
for the POP OS-based PWS1520, which comes with a 40M hard disk, is 850,000
yen or $6,300.

Also, Sony is planning to build a special factory for production of
these new workstations.  Expected to be built within a year, the
factory is  slated to turn out 20,000 machines per month, four times
larger than Sony's present workstation capacity.

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

[***][9/13/88][***]
MITI LAUNCHES UNIVERSAL SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT LANGUAGE
TOKYO (NB) -- Japan's MITI has launched a major effort to create
a simplified programming and interface tool, with which both
users and programmers can access information on any computer
type.  Called the Super Sigma Project, the aim is also to
overcome an expected shortage of software engineers.  Analysts
forecast that Japan will be 100 million programmers short by
the year 2000, so simplification of programming for existing
engineers could be critical.

MITI aims to create a new technology which will enable computer
users and programmers to access information quickly and without
complexity.  In its first step, the Sigma project will entail
development of a simplified user interface and programming
method.  The second step will be to develop a new programming
language which can execute programs easily between large,
medium-sized, and desktop machines.

CONTACT:  MITI, 1-3-1 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

[***][9/13/88][***]
INTEGRATED NETWORK FOR DATA COMMUNICATIONS
Tokyo (NB) --  MITI has started to test its integrated network for
data communications.  Calling it the Information Society Network System
(INFOS-net), MITI has suggested the concept in order to curtail
overlapping investments and to create efficient and integrated
networks.  The integrated network center of INFOS-net has been
established within the Kyodo System Kaihatsu, under control of
MITI.

INFOS-net will create a message communication service, database
service, and network application service, in that order.
In the future, the INFOS-net will be connected to Sigma Network,
networks of other industry fields, and overseas networks.
INFOS-net will start actual operation next April.

CONTACT: Kyodo System Kaihatsu, Yuusei-Gojokai-Kotohira Bldg.
         1-14-1 Toranomon, Monato-ku, Tokyo

[***][9/13/88][***]
FUJITSU TO BUILD MORE PRODUCTION LINES IN JAPAN
TOKYO (NB) -- Fujitsu is ramping up to produce more peripherals and
printed circuit boards in its Hyogo facility.  Fujitsu Peripherals
has been established as a Fujitsu subsidiary and will be the
manufacturer of the new hardware.  Fujitsu Peripherals plans to
spend 3 billion yen or $22 million US to build the new production
lines at a Yashiro-based factory with construction expected to
be complete by March, 1989.

Meanwhile the printed circuit board line will be built in Fujitsu
Peripheral's  Akashi factory and production of peripheral systems
will be handed over to Yashiro's new line.

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

[***][9/13/88][***]
NTT TO SHAPE UP
TOKYO (NB) -- The bloated NTT has launched a plan to reassign 30,000 of its
employees, bringing employment at NTT proper down to 260,000 by 1990.
The plan has already received the approval of NTT's  union members.

As part of this shape up plan, NTT will reduce its 1,300 switch board
maintenance stations to 350, and 1,100 maintenance stations for
local telephone lines will be reduced to 500.  Also, 450
maintenance stations for long distance switchboards and lines will
be reduced to 340.  Furthermore, 500 service centers for telephone
number information, which is toll-free now but soon chargeable, will
be reduced to 310.

Meanwhile, a loan of NTT employees to its subsidiary and related
companies will be increased to 10,000 from the present 2,800 by 1990.
At the same time, NTT will continue its present scale of investment
in venture businesses and plans to increase its present 153 companies
to 200.

CONTACT: NTT 1-1-6 Uchisaiwai-cho, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo 100

[***][9/13/88][***]
<< SUSHI BYTES >>

DATA SWITCH AGAINST HACKERS -- Hitachi Zosen, Japan's major
heavy machinery and engineering company, has tied up with Sequel
Data Communications in the U.S.A. to import and sell Sequel's
data switch for communications in Japan.  Sequel's data switch
has a feature which calls back to a message sender.  If the
sender cannot type the correct  password within three connections,
the data switch automatically shuts down the line, which
prevents most illegal invasions from hackers.

MPU FOR FUZZY LOGIC -- Tateishi Electric will release the world's
first microprocessing unit capable of fuzzy logic.  The fuzzy
logic system can execute ambiguous data and is expected to be
used heavily in coming artificial intelligence systems.

ONE-DRIVE 300M HDD -- Joho Gijutsu Kaihatsu has developed and will
soon release a 300 megabyte one-drive HDD designed to be a file server
for a communications network, based on the development of a powerful
device driver.   The HDD's memory can be extended from 300
megabytes to 2.3 gigabytes.  The HDD can be used for NEC'S PC-9800
series and Seiko-Epson's PC286 series.

HITACHI TO DOUBLE 1M DRAM PRODUCTION OVERSEAS -- Hitachi has
launched a plan to double its present monthly production capacity
of 0.7 million 1M DRAMs to 1.05 million by December and to
1.4 million by next March overseas.  The plan includes an increase
of 1M DRAM monthly production in the U.S.  Meanwhile, the Mobara and Naka
factories of Hitachi will increase monthly production capacity
of 1M wafer to 4 million by next March.

CANON PURCHASES MEMORY CHIP FROM KOREA -- Canon will order memory
ICs from Korea to secure a steady supply. The company has been purchasing
over 40 billion yen or $300 million worth of memory ICs from over
10 companies in Japan, U.S. and Europe, however, to keep present
purchasing quantities in the worldwide memory shortages, Canon
plans to purchase 256K DRAM from Korea.  Korea's getting much
better in quality production of its chips, which are used in fax machines
and laser printers.

COMPATIBLE CHIP SET FOR PS/2 & MACINTOSH II -- Intel Japan and
Texas Instruments Japan have released chip sets which emulate the
bus of IBM PS/2 and Macintosh II personal computers.  The 82310 chip is
compatible with IBM's Microchannel Architecture while Texas
Instruments' NUBUS emulates the bus of the Apple Macintosh.

TOSHIBA TO DECREASE 1M DRAM PRODUCTION IN U.S.-- Toshiba will
reduce production of 1M DRAMs in its U.S. subsidiary and will
make up for the loss through purchases of the same chips from
Motorola.  Toshiba is confident that Motorola can supply the
necessary amount of 1 megabit DRAM chips since Toshiba and
Motorola have cooperated in the construction of Motorola's
Phoenix, Az. 1M DRAM production line.


[***][9/13/88][***]
THE REVOLT OF THE CLONESTERS
NEW YORK (NB) -- A consortium of rival personal computer makers
are expected to challenge International Business Machines Corp.'s
new Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) with a new 32-bit data bus
that will accept standard AT boards. The clone makers hope to
lure buyers away from MCA by offering the same services as MCA,
but without the need to buy new plug-in boards.

Onboard the challenge bus so far are Compaq Computer Corp.,
Tandy Corp., AST Research Inc., Hewlett-Packard, Epson America,
NEC Corp., Ing. C. Olivetti & Co., Zenith Data Systems, and Wyse
Technology. IBM has been hyping MCA as the key to its new PS/2
line of personal computers, although few products have emerged
that use the special features of the board, such as rapid Direct
Memory Access (DMA), burst transfers, and automatic
configuration. Since the introduction of the new computers, the
PS/2 has sold well, but IBM has lost market share in the hot PC
industry.

The new bus, to be called the Extended Industry Standard
Architecture (EISA), is a profound challenge to IBM's position in
the personal computer business. If the group led by Compaq
succeeds in establishing EISA as a standard, IBM could lose
control of the segment of the industry it has controlled since
the introduction of the IBM-PC. Industry observers expect a very
tough fight from IBM over the competing busses. It appears that
products for EISA are at least several months away, so IBM is
likely to try to rush some really powerful devices using MCA to
market.

There is also some skepticism in the industry about EISA. Notes
Carl Warren, principal engineer of WGL, a testing and analysis
firm in Torrance, Calif., "Since the EISA design supposedly
offers the features described [for the MCA], Compaq is expected
to claim that it is performance comparable to Micro Channel. I
find this difficult to believe."

Warren adds that the EISA goes back to 1986 when an industry ad-
hoc committee he chaired was formed to standardize the AT bus and
extend it to 32-bits. "This committee was known as PC/ET
(PC/Extended Technology) and grew into the IEEE P996 standards
group," he says. "Although Compaq showed initial interest, "at no
time did they officially join either group." He adds that "there
is, of this moment, no industry consortium in place."

Noting that there are eight IBM patents involved in the AT bus
which is the heart of EISA, Warren says, "I find it doubtful that
IBM will sit idly by and ignore Compaq impinging on the eight
granted patents."

[***][9/13/88][***]
LOTUS OFFERS FREE UPGRADES FOR 1-2-3
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (NB) -- Buy Release 2.01 of 1-2-3 and gets long-
awaited Release 3.0 for free. That's the latest offer from Lotus
Development Corp., designed to keep buyer interest peaked for its
dominant spreadsheet software while waiting for the newest
release to finally arrive. The offer is good for anyone who buys
Release 2.01 between September 6 and 30 days after Release 3
ships. Lotus says it "intends" to roll out Release 3 in the
fourth quarter of 1988.

The suggested retail price for Release 2.01 is $495. Registered
users of Release 1A will be able to upgrade to Release 3 for $200
and existing users of Release 2.01 will be able to upgrade for
$150.


CONTACT: Lotus Development Corp., 617/577-8500.

[***][9/13/88][***]
AT&T, RIVALS TO KISS AND MAKEUP OVER UNIX DISPUTE
BOSTON (NB) -- AT&T has told analysts that it is on the verge of
compromising with the Open Systems Foundation (OSF) over a
uniform version of Unix, the phone company's operating system. A
group of companies led by IBM recently set up OSF to prevent
AT&T, Sun, and Motorola from developing a proprietary Unix. At
the meeting, AT&T said that the new standard Unix will be based
on AT&T's dialect, not on the Unix that IBM has been developing.
"I have good reason to believe that we will realize an OSF
version" based on AT&T's Unix, says AT&T Chairman Robert Allen.
Unix is of growing importance in the computer market. For
example, the Air Force plans to award a $4.5 billion contract
this fall which specifies Unix.

[***][9/13/88][***]
COMPUTERIZED TAX RETURNS HAVE FEWER ERRORS, SAYS GAO
WASHINGTON (NB) -- Computerized income tax returns have fewer
errors and lead to quicker refunds, according to the General
Accounting Office, a congressional watchdog agency. But the
system is far from perfect, says GAO. The agency says the
Internal Revenue Service skimped in testing its systems for
receiving electronic tax returns. And taxpayers had some problems
getting familiar with their own systems. GAO said 20 percent of
the paper returns in 1988 had errors, while only 5.5 percent of
electronic returns had errors.

In the meantime, a federal court in Portland, Ore., has convicted
the first person in the U.S. of filing a false income tax refund
claim by computer. Donald James Penrod, 40, entered a guilty plea
to the false refund charge, as well as counts of mail fraud,
being an ex-convict in possession of a firearm, and printing
plates for counterfeit $20 bills. Penrod applied for false
refunds under two aliases at an H&R Block office, which were then
transmitted to the IRS. Then Penrod borrowed money through an H&R
Block program permitting loans in anticipation of tax refund
payments. He cashed those checks and skipped, said the
indictment.

[***][9/13/88][***]
HIGH TECH GROWTH WON'T REPLACE LOST SMOKESTACK JOBS
WASHINGTON (NB) -- Jobs lost in the dying smokestack industries
in the U.S. won't be replaced by high tech jobs, says the Council
on Competitiveness, an industry group. "In field after field,
from combustion engineering to consumer electronics, from machine
tools to the integrated circuit, foreign competitors have moved
into markets pioneered and once dominated by American firms,"
said the report. "Often, their success was built on exploiting
inventions made in American laboratories by American scientists."

While the U.S. has excelled in R&D, other countries, particularly
Japan, have done a better job of technology transfer to the
marketplace. John Young, chairman of the council and president of
Hewlett-Packard Co., said he hopes to challenge the illusion that
"the sunrise industries of high technology are the wave of the
future -- the economic panacea we all need."

[***][9/13/88][***]
IBM LICENSES APOLLO NETWORK SOFTWARE FOR AIX
CHELMSFORD, Mass. (NB) -- IBM will include Apollo Computer Inc.'s
Network Computer System (NCS) in the IBM version of Unix, called
AIX. NCS is a set of advanced tools that can distribute software
programs across many different computers. NCS allows users to
send parts of a specific application program to computers best
suited for a specific task, from supercomputers through
workstations and microcomputers. The software also lets program
use idle processors by automatically distributing parts of the
programs across the network to the processors.

CONTACT: Apollo Computer, 508-256-6600.

[***][9/13/88][***]
SUN ASKS AT&T FOR MORE CASH
NEW YORK (NB) -- Sun Microsystems Inc. has asked AT&T to exercise
its option to increase its stake in the hot-selling workstation
maker. Sun has the right to require AT&T to up its stake in Sun
by 883,402 shares, at a 25 percent premium over the stock's
selling price. The deal should bring Sun a quick infusion of
about $42 million. The transaction is to be completed within 30
days. AT&T last January agreed to acquire up to 20 percent of Sun
over three years, including 15 percent at the 25 percent premium.
AT&T can purchase the other five percent on the open market.

[***][9/13/88][***]
TOO FEW SCHOOL COMPUTERS, SAYS CONGRESSIONAL GROUP
WASHINGTON (AP) -- "Today's classrooms typically resemble their
ancestors of 50 years ago more closely than operating rooms or
business offices resemble their 1938 versions," says a report
on computers in school by the congressional Office of Technology
Assessment. OTA found that U.S. schools have only one computer
for every 30 students. Pupils with access to computer get to use
them an average of only an hour per week. Schools have spent $2
billion on hardware over the past decade, but it will cost $4
billion more to reduce the student-computer ratio to 3-1. "The
vast majority of schools still do not have enough [computers] to
make the computer a central element of instruction."

[***][9/13/88][***]
HOT NEW APPLICATION: DESKTOP FORGERY
BOSTON (NB) --  Boston policy, with help of the U.S. Secret
Service, have arrested Paul Sjiemfat and charged him with using a
desktop publishing system at New York's Microcomputer Publishing
Center to counterfeit bank checks. According to police, Sjiemfat
arranged purchases with microcomputer stores, either by coming in
person, or by arranging a sale by telephone. Sjiemfat would then
send in a deliveryman with a phony cashier's check and a fake
purchase order, authorities allege. According to the policy,
Sjiemfat has stung stores in Massachusetts, Virginia, Maryland,
and New York with his high tech forgery.

[***][9/13/88][***]
COMPUTER PICKS MISS ARKANSAS
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (NB) -- By the time you read this, you will
know whether statistician George Miller's computer model (a well
chosen word, that) has correctly picked who will win the Miss
America pageant. Miller has packed four of last nine contests with
his computer program. This time, Miller says Miss Arkansas Patti
Thorn will win. According to Miller, of Bellevue, Wash., the
"perfect" Miss America candidate is 21, stands 5-foot-8 and
weighs 116 pounds. She is a blonde with green eyes, a
communications major in college, sings in the pageant's talent
competition and comes from either a large state or Mississippi.

Thorn is 23, 5-foot-7, 110 pounds, a music graduate, and is a
singer. Arkansas is the 33rd largest state in the U.S.


[***][9/13/88][***]
NEWS NIBBLES

GENRAD, Concord, Mass., will market software developed by
DIAGONAL SYSTEMS LTD., Zurich, Switzerland. The software is used
to link design information from workstations with GenRad board
test systems.

ELECTRONIC BUSINESS MAGAZINE, Newton, Mass., says IBM led the
U.S. in total R&D spending in 1987, at $5.4 billion, followed by
DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CO., Maynard, Mass., at $1 billion.

LINOTYPE CO., Hauppauge, N.Y., has introduced a new PostScript
typesetter to replace its popular Linotronic 100. The Linotronic
200 will offer 635, 846, 1,270, and 1,693 dot per inch
resolution, while the 100 went only to 1,270 dpi. The price of
the new machine is $34,950 with an 80-megabyte hard disk.



[***][9/13/88][***]
AMSTRAD: NEW MACHINES THIS WEEK *** EXCLUSIVE ***
BRENTWOOD, MIDDLESEX (NB) -- Amstrad will shuffle its range of
PCs this week, with the unveiling of the Sinclair Professional
PC, and three PC2000 machines. The Sinclair Professional and the
entry-level PC2000 machine will be sold in the UK's high street,
whilst the two high-end machines in the range will sell only
through selected Amstrad dealerships.

The PC2000 series will initially come in three configurations:
the PC2086, the PC2286 and the PC2386.

The PC2086 is driven by a 8MHz 8086 microprocessor running into
640K of Ram and a Paradise PCGA1A graphics card. The card will
provide VGA and MCGA screen displays, including 640x380 pixel
resolution in 16 colours and 320x200 pixels in 256 colours. There
is also a 640x400 pixel mode in 256 colours.

Storage options on the PC2086 include one or two 720K 3.5 inch
floppies, or a single floppy plus fast 30Mb hard disk. A compact
case is the order of the day, with just three PC expansion slots.
Also unusual (for a PC) is the inclusion of an AT-style keyboard
lock. Pricing on the PC2086 is expected to start at #600.

The PC2286, meanwhile, has similar display specifications to the
PC2086, but is driven by a 12.5MHz 80286 microprocessor. 1Mb of
system Ram is provided as standard (expandable to 4Mb to LIM EMS
standards). As is usual on an PC-AT-compatible, the machine uses
high-density floppy disks, with a choice of 3.5 and 5.25 inch
floppies. Five AT-style expansion slots are provided as standard.
Pricing on the PC2286 starts at #995, and rises up to around the
#2,000 mark.

The flagship of the PC2000 series, the PC2386, centres around a
20MHz 80386 microprocessor, humming into 4Mb of system Ram
(expandable to 20Mb using 4Mb Ram chips). Just one configuration
is available initially, using a single 1.44Mb 3.5 inch floppy and
65Mb hard disk with 40ms access times. Five expansion slots are
available, although one is needed for Ram expansion (unless 4Mb
Ram chips are used). Pricing on the PC2386 was not available to
NEWSBYTES UK at press time, but is expected to be in the region
of #2,500.

Availability. The PC2086 is likely to be in the shops by
the end of the year. According to the latest MICROSCOPE trade
computer weekly, the Sinclair Professional, PC2286 and PC2386 are
still undergoing circuit board revisions, so are unlikely to ship
until the first quarter of 1988.

Mystery still surrounds the pricing and precise specifications of
the Sinclair Professional. Last week's NEWSBYTES UK suggested the
machine is a stripped down PC with four-colour CGA in an Atari
520 STFM-style case. Pricing? The word is that Amstrad is still
deciding on a price tag, since the rest of Amstrad's range - the
CPC, PCW and base level PC1512 series - are close to the
machine's expected #299 retail tag. Watch this space.

The formal unveiling of the new Amstrad machines is this Tuesday
- expect further details on the new Amstrad range in next week's
NEWSBYTES UK.

* OPINION: Amstrad is moving away from its computer origins with
  the PC2000 series. It's likely that the company's emphasis will
  move towards value-added systems retailing, rather than the
  basic PC box-shifting that its price-competitive basic PCs have
  always been associated with.

CONTACT: AMSTRAD PLC, Brentwood House, 169 Kings Road,
         Brentwood, Essex, CM14 4EF. Tel: [phone].

[***][9/13/88][***]
APRICOT FIRST AWAY IN MCA RACE: SIX NEW QI MACHINES UNVEILED
BIRMINGHAM, WEST MIDLANDS (NB) -- After much speculation, Apricot
last week unveiled a new range of high-end PCs to complement its
existing Xen-i machines. The PCs are called the Apricot Qi
series.

The Qi series consists of six models, all with 32-bit
microprocessors ranging from the 16MHz 80386SX to the 25MHz 80386
chip. All the series come with VGA graphics, 1Mb of system Ram
(expandable to 16Mb), on-board Ethernet, three serial ports and
one parallel port fitted as standard. Pricing on the new range
starts at #1,999 for a single-floppy Qi 310 (80386SX-based)
through to the 120Mb hard disk-equipped Qi 660i (80386-based) at
#4,999.

The machines are pitched at the personal workstation market, with
financial overtones. This is witnessed by the long list of
security features of each machine, which includes an infrared
dongle systems known as the Qi (phonetically the same as 'key').
Without the Qi, the new machines will not function.

Although the Qi series is designed to function under MS-Dos,
Apricot is bundling the Qi Environment with the new machines.
Developed by Apricot in liaison with Microsoft, the Qi Environment
uses MS Windows to front-end onto a Dos or OS/2 environment, with
a graphics user interface completing the picture.

* OPINION: Apricot's Qi range does not replace its existing Xen-i
  series, but complements it. Watch out for a portable in the Qi
  series, and possible a mid-way 80286-based Qi machine soon.

CONTACT: APRICOT COMPUTERS, APRICOT HOUSE, 111 Hagley Road,
         Edgbaston, Birmingham B16 8LB.  Tel: [phone].

[***][9/13/88][***]
UK POSTAL STRIKE BITES: EMAIL AND FAX TAKE OFF
LONDON, UK (NB) -- The UK is currently in the grip of its second
national postal strike. Regardless of the reason for the strike,
things are bleak on the business front. Almost no post has been
delivered for almost two weeks and businesses are beginning to
suffer. The good news is that no bills are arriving at NEWSBYTES
UK headquarters. The bad news is that no cheques are arriving
either.

Fax machine retailers and bureau services report a massive
upsurge in business. Also, many more computer users have woken up
to the fact the electronic mail is a possible means of business
communications.

British Telecom is doing its best to bridge the gap left by the
Post Office, but BT's telemessage service (which replaced the old
telegram service) normally uses the post for overnight delivery
of telemessages. As a result, BT has suspended telemessage
services outside of London and Belfast. In London, BT is relying
on courier delivery, whilst Belfast postal sorting offices are
still operational.

[***][9/13/88][***]
WORLD'S FIRST PLASTIC TRANSISTOR DEVELOPED
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY, CAMBRIDGE (NB) -- Scientists at Cambridge
University have developed the world's first plastic transistor.
The plastic transistors can be fashioned into electrically-
conducting three-dimensional shapes not normally attainable using
conventional metallic materials.

By using polyacetalene in place of the metals found in ordinary
transistors, researcher Richard Friend and his team think they
can push the density of electrical circuitry far beyond current
levels, possibly by a factor of ten times or more.

Polyacetalene consists of just two elements: carbon and hydrogen.
Thanks to its simplicity, the plastic can be molded in different
shapes, right down to molecular level. This fact will, says
Friend, enable transistors made from the new material to be
infinitely more complex that current templates allow.

Don't go rushing out to buy a plastic pocket TV just yet,
however. Friend doesn't expect real-world products using the new
technology to begin appearing for a few more years.

[***][9/13/88][***]
ONLINE OLYMPIC INFORMATION NOW AVAILABLE
SEOUL, KOREA (NB) -- The WINS (Worldwide Information Network
Service) is now operational at the Olympic headquarters in Seoul,
South Korea. The computer database contains just about everything
you wanted to know about the Olympics, including competitors,
results etc., and is available for the price of an
international data call.

Telecom Gold, the UK Dialcom affiliate, has had the audacity to
charge its customers #75 (seventy-five pounds) an hour for the
gateway. In contrast, Telenet and Tymnet is charging $15 an hour
for the service. Tymnet users in the US can register for the
service for $15, with the first hour available free of charge.

Existing data network users (i.e., those with their own Network
User Identity <NUI>) can call up A9-4501-220-1111. As a guide,
calls to Korea (from the UK) work out at around #10 an hour,
dependent on speed of access and volume of data transmitted and
received.
[***][9/13/88][***]
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
+ BRITBYTES - Bytes of news from around the UK... +
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

IBM is said to be beta testing a new LAPTOP machine. The machine
is scheduled for an announcement next month, and a roll-out at
Comdex in the US during November. Although pricing is unknown,
the machine is expected to be 80286-based and feature (wait for
it) Micro Channel Architecture as a value-added extra...

LOTUS DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (0753-840281) is bridging the gap
until 1-2-3 Release 3 finally hits the streets (latest ETA is end
of the year). Purchasers of Release 2.1 of the package who bought
since the beginning of September will be able to upgrade to 1-2-3
Release 3 for just #35. The offer is good until 30 days after
Release 3.0 becomes available...

The PERSONAL COMPUTER SHOW is held this week (14/18th September)
at Earls Court in London. Further details from the organisers on
01-948-5166. Full show report in next week's NEWSBYTES UK...

The EEC in Brussels has approved a proposal to remove TEC UK from
its list of companies which were fined for passing EEC anti-
dumping laws. TEC, an electronic scale-manufacturing subsidiary
of Toshiba, was one of the Japanese firms fined earlier this year
over operating alleged 'screwdriver' assembly plants...

The ERICSSON Group of Sweden has secured a deal with the People's
Republic of Chine. The $40 million deal allows Ericsson to
produce its MD110 digital exchanges in China for export to the
West...

MOTOROLA has secured a contract to supply a digital cellular
phone system for Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. All four
systems will be compatible and provide a base line for a Pan-
European cellular phone network scheduled for introduction in the
1990's...

TANDON (0734-664676) has announce two new 16MHz 80386-
based PCs. According to the COMPUTERGRAM newsletter, the machines
will compete in the high-end territory normally occupied by
Compaq. Full details in next week's NEWSBYTES UK (blame the
postal strike for the delay).

WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION is in the process of establishing
European and Far Eastern offices. The offices will form the
bridgehead for a marketing push into European and other new
markets. Currently, the firm has offices in the US and the UK...