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/nb880920.274

Text File | 1991-10-01 | 83KB | 1,775 lines

[***][9/20/88][***]
APPLE PRODUCT BLITZ
SAN FRANCISCO (NB) -- Apple is introducing an upgraded IIC, new
system software for the IIGS, and a new version of the Macintosh II
at back-to-back events here.  Apple also announced this past week that
almost all its products have been hiked in price from 5% to 77%, a
dramatic move based on high DRAM prices.

The Apple II model introductions coincide with AppleFest, a revived
trade show catering to Apple II users at Brooks Hall.  But the
announcement of the new Macintosh, slated for Monday, September 19,
will be a separate event in a local meeting hall.  Stories follow.

[***][9/20/88][***]
NEW APPLE IIC REVITALIZES OLD LINE
SAN FRANCISCO (NB) -- Apple Computer has upgraded its home computer, the
Apple IIC, with a faster microprocessor, a built-in power supply, and
a built-in 3.5" disk drive.  Apple made the announcement at AppleFest,
a trade show at San Francisco's Brooks Hall.

The Apple IIC Plus is priced at $675 without monitor, a good $100 less
than the original IIC pricing, clearly an effort by Apple to stay
competitive in the highly price-sensitive home computer market.
With monitor the cost is $859  compared to $950 for the earlier
model.  With a color monitor the cost is $1,099 compared to $1,203.
Apple currently commands 12.4% of the home computer market in the
U.S., according to Dataquest, a San Jose-based market research
firm.  Altogether Apple has sold 4.5 million units of the
Apple II computers since their introduction in 1977.

Apple says the new Plus is three times faster than the original IIC
and the internal drive has five times the original's storage.

[***][9/20/88][***]
NEW SYSTEM SOFTWARE FOR THE IIGS
SAN FRANCISCO (NB) -- Apple has introduced new system software that
improves the speed and performance of the IIGS computer.  System
Software 4.0 for the IIGS includes the first 16-bit operating system
for the stand-alone Apple IIGS.  The heart of the software is called
the GS/OS which speeds up boot time, disk access time and program
launch time.  It also allows access to large file systems, including
the High Sierra system used in CD-ROM applications.  The new
operating system is compatible with ProDOS 16 and 8.  There is
also a revised Finder application.

Bundled free with all new IIGS computers, the system software is
available separately, including two new utilities, from authorized
Apple dealers for $39.

[***][9/20/88][***]
NEW APPLEWORKS FOR THE IIGS UNVEILED AT APPLEFEST
SAN FRANCISCO (NB) -- Claris Corporation has taken the wraps off a new
version of its immensely popular AppleWorks product -- a IIGS version.
The six-application AppleWorks IIGS includes spreadsheet, database,
page layout, graphics, communications, and word processing which take
advantage of the graphics and color of the IIGS computer.

Development of the product was done by StyleWare, a Houston firm which
Claris acquired in June.  It was originally named GS Works.  Claris
says its engineers have spent the last few months completing development
and testing the product.  Priced at $299, the product is slated to
ship within 30 days.  An upgrade from AppleWorks version 2.1
to AppleWorks GS is $99.  All other version upgrades are $169.
Registered owners of the product will receive notification of the
new version by mail.

[***][9/20/88][***]
NEW MACINTOSH DUE MONDAY
SAN FRANCISCO (NB) -- Apple Computer is renting the Herbst Theater
on Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco for the unveiling of the latest
Macintosh II -- a 68030-based machine aimed at A/UX users and which
has a powerful new disk drive capable of reading IBM files.  NEWSBYTES
will have a news bulletin online Monday.

[***][9/20/88][***]
MACWEEK SAYS NEW MAC ONE OF EIGHT IN THE WINGS
SAN FRANCISCO (NB) -- MACWEEK magazine reports that Apple has a string
of new Macintoshes slated for introductions through the second quarter
of 1990.  Quoting a confidential, internal Apple report, the magazine
says the line-up includes a low-end, K-12 Macintosh, a laptop, and
a 68030-based SE.  The top of the line Macintosh, code-named Tower,
will not appear until the fourth quarter of '89, nor will the K-12
model, according to the magazine.  Yet another Macintosh is code-
named Four Square, said to be equipped with custom I/O chips, a
20 MHz 68030, and enhanced multitasking support.

The magazine says it used as the source of this information a confidential
memo circulated this past spring, and that current sources indicate
the release dates on the new Macintoshes are optimistic.

Apple refuses to comment on the reports.

[***][9/20/88][***]
APPLE HIKES PRICES ON NEARLY EVERY PRODUCT
SAN FRANCISCO (NB) -- Apple Computer has raised prices on nearly every
product it sells by some 5 to 77%, blaming the increases on rising
component costs and changing global market conditions.

Effective immediately, the biggest jump for a computer is for the
Macintosh II, which has leaped $1,100 higher, a 29% jump, to a base
price of $4,869.  The basic SE is $3,169 compared to $2,769, the
IIGS is up to $1,149 from $999, the LaserWriter IINTX, the top of
the line model, is $300 more expensive at $6,999, and virtually
all memory expansion kits, controllers cards, disk drives, and
monitors are up in price.  The IIGS memory expansion card, for
instance, is now 77% higher in price at $229 compared to $129
last month.

"Industry developments have prompted Apple to reprice some products
so they are more in line with today's market realities," claims Charles
Boesenberg, Apple USA senior VP of sales and marketing.  He blames
more costly channels for acquiring DRAM chips for increased costs.

The only products which do not have a price increase are the Macintosh
Plus, the Apple IIE, and the low-end LaserWriter IISC.


[***][9/20/88][***]
LIVELY SEYBOLD CONFERENCE PAINTS PICTURE OF COMPUTER PROMISE AND CONFUSION
SANTA CLARA, Ca. (NB) -- The biggest-ever Seybold Conference on
Desktop Publishing drew a stellar array of industry executives and
some 12,000 attendees, bent on seeing first-hand the latest
developments in this exploding field.  But the speakers who
addressed the crowd gave a wide variety of opinions, both optimistic
and pessimistic, about the industry's current direction.

The most controversial remarks came from Adobe Systems' John Warnock, chief
executive and president.  "The current state of affairs is just
awful," he said, referring to the variety of operating systems and
the industry's failure to standardize.  "I think it's time we
look at the industry as a whole and ask where we're going."  "We
need to develop standards, just like the recording industry."

Stewart Alsop, publisher of PC LETTER, viewed the current state
of the industry in a slightly more optimistic manner, saying that
"chaos and transition are words that go together."

As for the future, Alan Kay, Apple fellow, told the crowd that
changes in the desktop publishing software field will soon lead to
"software agents"  which will "learn" a user's preferences and adjust
accordingly.

While no philosophical consensus could be found, the event was
packed with plenty of new product announcements.  Among them:

 - ADOBE SYSTEMS introduced a PC version of Adobe Illustrator.  The
PostScript language-based drawing package, called Windows Version,
will retail for $695 when shipped later this year. Adobe is also
offering a single hard drive which includes all  Adobe
typefaces.  Adobe Font Folio, slated for shipments in November
will sell for $9,600.  Adobe also announced 13 new typeface
packages.

 - ALDUS CORPORATION showed a major upgrade of Freehand.  Freehand
2.0 has improved text-handling, color support, the ability to
erase up to 100 previous actions through an Undo and Redo function,
and an autotrace function.  Current Freehand owners can upgrade
for $85.  New, the product costs $495.  The product is expected to
ship by year's end.

 - CRICKET SOFTWARE announced Cricket Presents...2.0, also due out
by year's end.  The upgrade, free to owners of the current version,
has more word processing tools and the ability to import more files
than the original.

 - LETRASET unveiled a version of Ready, Set, Go! which is used with
a color pre-press system from Crosfield Electronics of England.

 - ODESTA introduced Odesta Document Management Systems which
allows users to track changes made to a document when it is being
edited by a group of people on a network.

 - QUARK showed QuarkStyle, a set of templates created for those
who don't want to do it all from scratch.  The templates have their
own typeface and type fonts, columns, logo style, etc.  There
are 70 layout designs from which you can choose.  Available in
October for $100.

(More on Seybold in YOU READ IT HERE FIRST.)

[***][9/20/88][***]
STEVE JOBS' OCTOBER 12 ANNOUNCEMENT TO BE A "MILESTONE PRODUCT"
SAN FRANCISCO (NB) -- As reported in last week's NEWSBYTES, October
12 is the date Steve Jobs' NeXT will unveil its long-awaited
workstation.  Jobs, who spoke at the Seybold conference about the
virtues of Unix, refused to divulge details of the machine.  But
others were not as reticent in discussing it.  Said conference
sponsor Jonathan Seybold, "the hype is warranted."  "It'll be one
of the major computers of the year," he said, claiming he has
seen it, and adds that it's a "milestone product."

Initial press reports indicate the workstation will have all
the bells and whistles a user could want, including Unix and
Display PostScript, as well as proprietary technology for digital
sound and graphics, a built-in high-speed fax modem, and an erasable
compact disk player for data storage.  Speculation has it the 68030-based
machine, physically a sleek black "box," could be priced as high
as $6,000 per unit.  It is also expected to be bundled with
Mathematica, a new software package considered a breakthrough in
the handling of complex mathematical problems.

Meanwhile, THE NEW YORK TIMES reports that Jobs has been paid an
estimated $1 to $2 million to develop a version of his proprietary
interface for Big Blue.  The newspaper reports that IBM will
use the interface for machines which run the Unix operating system.

And finally, Apple has promised not to raise its legal hackles
over Jobs' new machine.  Apple reports it inspected the workstation
in January, as per an agreement reached with Jobs when he left
Apple three years ago, and found that it did not violate any Apple
copyrights or steal any proprietary technology.

[***][9/20/88][***]
ULTRA NETWORK TO BE UNVEILED TUESDAY
SAN JOSE (NB) -- Former Rolm executives believe they've got a product
which will revolutionize the business of local area networks, and they'll
put it in front of the public Tuesday, September 20.  The product
called Ultra is said to be capable of transmitting one billion bits
per second, or the contents of an entire encyclopedia in a few
seconds.  Ultra officials say this speed is 100 times faster than
Ethernet.

Ken Oshman, chairman of Ultra Network Technologies, says several
mini supercomputer makers will announce their endorsement of the product,
including Mips Computer Systems, Alliant Computers, Stellar
Computers, and Convex Computer Corporation.

[***][9/20/88][***]
ASHTON-TATE PROMISES DBASE IV BY SEPTEMBER 30
LOS ANGELES (NB) -- Ashton-Tate's Chairman is holding fast to his
promise to ship dBase IV by September 30.  He reaffirmed the launch
date to the audience at last week's developer's conference.  Esber
said final quality checks are complete and the product is ready
to go out the door.

Meanwhile, Ashton-Tate also introduced two new dBase development
products -- dBase Professional Compiler and Step IVward.  The
dBase Professional Compiler is slated for release in the first
quarter of 1989 and Step IVward, a dialect code converter which
translates code from Clipper, FoxBase and Quicksilver, is expected
to ship this fall.

[***][9/20/88][***]
APPLE HIRES EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY CONSULTANTS
CUPERTINO, Ca. (NB) -- Apple Computer has hired a group of
nationally recognized educators as Educational Technology Consulants.
The team will work with administrators and state officials to
identify major educational issues regarding technology and advise
them on long-range planning.  They will also work with Apple's
regional and corporate education marketing executives to keep Apple's
staff apprised of the concerns and requirements of the schools.

[***][9/20/88][***]
IBM AND SILICON GRAPHICS STRIKE DEAL OVER 3-D TECHNOLOGY
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Ca. (NB) -- Silicon Graphics has announced that IBM
has decided to endorse its 3D graphics technology called IRIS.
Under the terms of the agreement, IBM will purchase IRIS graphics
cards and will license the Silicon Graphics' IRIS Graphics
Library, or use by IBM customers in IBM products.  "The agreement
reinforces our long-time conviction that three dimensional graphics
will become a mainstream technology in the computer industry," says
Edward McCracken, president and CEO of Silicon Graphics.

Silicon Graphics, which would not put a price on the deal, has the
largest base of 3D applications in the world and the company
expects that most of the nearly 300 software titles available
through its Geometry Partners Program will also be available to
IBM customers.

[***][9/20/88][***]
IN BRIEF --

ATARI CHAIRMAN JACK TRAMIEL and rock star PETER GABRIEL will announce
their assistance to Amnesty International at a news conference slated
for September 23.  The concert benefiting the human rights group will
be in Oakland the next day.  Stay tuned on this one.

CLARIS CORPORATION, Mountain View, Ca., is said to be close to signing
a major lease on a headquarters which will be triple the size of
its current workspace.  If culminated, the deal will place Claris in
North Santa Clara rather than Mountain View, sometime soon.

CYPRESS SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATION, San Jose, and ROSS TECHNOLOGY of
Austin, Texas, have reached a tentative agreement with MOTOROLA not
to use or  disclose any confidential information.  The two firms
were sued in a trade secret dispute late last month.

HEWLETT PACKARD, Palo Alto, Ca., has been accused of 80 waste law
violations by California's Department of Health Services and the state
Attorney General, all of which carry fines of up to $25,000 per day.
HP is accused of mislabeling and failing to keep track of hazardous
waste used in manufacturing at its plant at 1501 Page Mill Road.
HP has not commented, saying it has yet to receive a copy of the complaint.

MICROSOFT, Redmond, Wa., has released a 20,000 page, searchable
CD-ROM disk containing the Microsoft Programmer's Library.  The
disk also includes 1,200 sample programs.  Available through software
and hardware stores, the Microsoft Programmer's Library costs $395.

SUPERMAC TECHNOLOGY, Mountain View, Ca., has returned to the hands of
its founder Steven Edelman, in a $8.5 million leveraged buyout from
Scientific Micro Systems.



[***][9/20/88][***]
NWI SHUTS OFF TELENET ACCESS    *EXCLUSIVE*
EAST HARTFORD, CT (NB) -- A few weeks ago NEWSBYTES SOUTH-
MIDWEST reported that Networking and World Information (NWI), an
online service offering computer conferencing and private
networks, was bought-out by a management team headed by Phil
Moore. Since then, it has been re-negotiating supplier contracts
under the new ownership.

Most saw no problems. Telenet, however, has proven intractable.
NEWSBYTES has learned from sources at both NWI and Telenet that
the old owners of NWI were holding up on a $61,000 Telenet bill
in order to get roughly $360,000 which Sprint, like Telenet a
subsidiary of US Sprint, owed NWI. After the sale, Telenet
accountants threatened to cut off the new NWI unless it put up a
$60,000 deposit. NWI then cut off Telenet on its own, telling its
users to switch switches September 2. (Tymnet and Infonet both
maintain packet connections with NWI.)

Officially, Telenet finds nothing wrong with this. "If
Bloomingdale's owed you some money and you owed Rich's, would the
two balance out because they're both Federated Department
Stores?" asks Telenet spokesman Robin Carlson. Unofficially
NEWSBYTES has learned Telenet's legal department wanted to settle
the problem amicably, while Telenet's sales department has reason
to be angry with the company's credit and billing people. (Gary
Miller, who heads credit and billing in Reston, VA, gave a terse
"no comment" when NEWSBYTES asked what was going on.)

The fact is, this is a poor situation for everybody. Poorer still
have been attempts by Telenet salesmen to kill this story, and
the possibility that one or more may be fired because NEWSBYTES
learned of it.

CONTACT: Robin Carlson, TELENET, [phone]

[***][9/20/88][***]
SANTA MONICA TO BECOME THE FIRST ONLINE CITY    *EXCLUSIVE*
SANTA MONICA, CA (NB) -- Sometime next January, Santa Monica will
become the first online city. Using a Hewlett-Packard 9000 mini-
computer running Unix and a $10,000 computer conferencing system
called Caucus, city officials will be able to answer questions
and conduct debates even with citizens who never leave their
homes. Lisa Carlson of Metasystems Design, the licensor of
Caucus, tells NEWSBYTES "They're going to make available all
public information, things like city council agendas, staff
reports, court calendars, available online. Anything you could
walk into City Hall and get, you'll get online."

This city on the beach near Los Angeles is often referred to
(jokingly) as "The People's Republic of Santa Monica." Its
liberal politics and radical chic residents, like Jane Fonda and
her ex-radical husband Tom Hayden, make such potshots easy. But
here's something you can't laugh off.

More important, Carlson says, is the conferencing system, through
which city officials hope to learn what their constituents want
from government. "They can handle up to 64 simultaneous users,"
she says. Metasystems is training moderators who can keep
political discussions from getting out of hand. "Some abusers
will turn up," she says. "If someone is a problem they may get
thrown out of certain meetings, just as they'd be thrown out of a
city council meeting if they started harranguing people there."
Anyone who lives or works in Santa Monica will have access to
Caucus after January, once they complete a request form with
their real name and address on it. There are urban-based
conferencing systems elsewhere, Carlson concludes, like
Cleveland's Freenet and Boston's Citinet. "The key is this is the
first one is city-sponsored."

CONTACT: Lisa Carlson, METASYSTEMS, [phone]

[***][9/20/88][***]
SOUTHWESTERN BELL TO TEST VIDEOTEX AND AUDIOTEX GATEWAYS
ST LOUTS (NB) -- Southwestern Bell has announced details of its
Gateway tests. They turn out to be joint-ventures with existing
online and audiotex service suppliers. Neither Gateway will come
online until next March.

US Videotel, which distributes Minitel terminals to its users,
will expand into the PC market to handle the gateway, which
offers users of many different databases one standard way to
manipulate online data. Audio Information Sciences will handle
the audiotex portion of the text, accessible with any touchtone
phone. Southwestern Bell has yet to name its Gateway (how about
Taco Bell?), but the results of the trial is expected to be a
huge increase in US Videotel's business.

AIS, Marlton, NJ, which operates an audiotex service bureau, will
run the audiotex portion of the test. They promise things like
Talking Yellow Pages, Voice Messaging and Voice Mail. The company
was spun-out of TeleSciences Inc. in January by private
investors.

It is no accident that this announcement has come during the
political campaign. In concert with Ameritech, US West and the
other Regional Bell Companies, Southwestern Bell hopes to
convince Congress and the next administration to remove all
regulatory restraints so they can take over the information
business, subsidizing it with profits from running their phone
monopolies. Want proof? NEWSBYTES talked to Southwestern Bell
project manager Karen Daniels, who admits she's a phone services
salesperson just assigned to the project. If this weren't a PR
plant, it wouldn't be announced until she had her feet on the
ground and more than a few briefings under her belt.

CONTACT: Bill Motchan, SOUTHWESTERN BELL [phone]

[***][9/20/88][***]
FEDERAL TECHNOLOGY SPENDING LEVELING OFF
WASHINGTON (NB) -- Following a spectacular rise which saw
information budgets double since 1982, federal spending on
computer technology is leveling off, according to a study from
the Office of Management and Budget reported in "Government
Computer News." Information technology spending will be up just
3% in the next fiscal year, but the market will be worth $17
billion to providers that year. NASA (the space station and
shuttle) and the Department of Transportation (new air traffic
control systems) show the biggest increases this coming year.

[***][9/20/88][***]
NOVELL'S OWN TRADE SHOW DOUBLES IN SIZE
DALLAS (NB) -- Continuing a trend of large vendors sponsoring
their own trade shows, Novell will take over the Dallas Infomart
for its NetWorld '88 show September 27-29. A total of 200
exhibitors are slated to attend, and about 12,000 decision-
makers are expected to view them. Software vendors like
WordPerfect will show their LAN-compatible products, computer
makers like Compaq will show how easy it is to use their PCs as
terminals, and micro-mainframe vendors like DCA will show their
Novell-compatible connections. The whole show will be wired with
a 400-node Novell NetWare Local Area Network. And that's not all.
Novell will host its first NetWorld in Europe as part of the
Hanover Fair March 8-15, 1989.

[***][9/20/88][***]
DOES SOFTWARE NOW HAVE A FRANK LORENZO?
CHICAGO (NB) -- Ameritech, the midwestern Bell Company, is
getting out of the software business. The company announced it
sold its Applied Data Research unit to Computer Associates
International Inc., Garden, City, NY.

This makes CAI the world's first $1 billion software company,
CAI already has earned a reputation as the "Frank Lorenzos" of
the software business, ready and eager to slash salaries, perks
and incentives to build profits. A few months ago, CAI made a run
at Management Science America Inc., an old-style IBM mainframe
applications shop in Atlanta which prided itself on building
"team spirit" through shared incentives and big salaries until
the profits disappeared late last year. CAI Chairman Charles Wang
told "The Wall Street Journal" he may cut up to 20% of ADR's
staff to make the new subsidiary profitable. At a time when even
Lotus Development is sagging because high-priced management can't
get its act together, CAI bears continued watching.

[***][9/20/88][***]
PECAN CHIPS

ASKSAM SYSTEMS, Perry, FL, shipped version 4.1 of its askSAM
information manager for the PC. The new version includes a dialog
facility which lets users predefine variables which appear as
prompts when the program is running.

EDS, Dallas, bought half of China Management Systems of Taiwan,
the largest data processing concern on the island nation.

THE SOFTWARE LINK, Atlanta, announced its products are now part
of the General Services Administration's Schedule C, meaning
government departments can buy its Local Area Network products,
terminal emulators and operating system without red tape.

VORTEX TECHNOLOGY, Topanga, CA, introduced a package called UU-
Link which turns any DOS-compatible PC into a node on the UUCP
network without additional hardware or software.

ZENITH was sued by BROOKHURST PARTNERS, a New York investment
group which seeks to force the sale of its computer and TV
businesses. Losses in the divisions have caused Zenith to lose
money as a company.


[***][9/20/88][***]
YOU READ IT HERE FIRST/WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 20, 1988
Copyright 1988/Written by W. A. Yacco, Exclusive to NEWSBYTES

In this week's installment...

  The Seybold Desktop Publishing Conference....parties, new products,
    rumors, and riddles....


MIGRAPH MIGRATION MANIFESTED
SANTA CLARA, Ca  (NB) -- The Seybold Desktop Publishing
Conference has just ended for all time.  That's it.  There's no
more.  Never.  Next year the conference from Seybold will be the
Computer Publishing Conference.

As for this year, the top party was the "Publish!" bash featuring
Pride and Joy.  What a band.  "PC Magazine" was so desperate to get
someone to show up at their museum soiree that they ended up
giving their usually-exclusive invitations away at the door to
anyone who was interested.  Apparently, not many were--despite a
sit-down dinner.  Just shows to go ya, song overpowers wine.  So
far, no one has really tested the other leg of the triangle.


ILLUSTRATION ELLECTRONS
 . . . The hottest software at the show was probably a trio of
packages from Adobe, Computer Support Corporation and Digital
Research.  The respective packages, Illustrator for the PC, Arts
and Letters Editor and Art Line, will be going head to head for
the PC DTP dollar within a couple of months.  Adobe plans to
ship about November while Digital expects have its entry in the
market a month from now.  Arts and Letters should be out even
sooner.  All three products will offer more publishing power to
the PC user than ever before.  If it can just get some gray
scales on its page-layout screens, the PC may yet start to give
the MAC fits on its home turf.


ATARI PORT TO PC
 . . . (NB) -- If you're a PC user, MiGraph wants to be
YourGraph.  The company has plans to convert its Atari
applications and clip art libraries to the PC in the near future.
The ScanArt library of 100 images was made available in June in
the GEM .IMG format.  Now, the DrawArt library of 150 .GEM files
is to be shipped this week.  In addition, the Touch-Up image-
design tool for producing bit-mapped graphics on the Atari ST is
to be released for the PC this January.


PC's GAIN NOT AN ATARI LOSS
 . . . (NB) -- Soft Logik Publisher is just about ready for the
ST.  The company is modest in its claims: just a combination of
Ventura Publisher, Page Maker and Quark Express.  They do four-
color separations, encapsulated PostScript files, fancy kerning
and three-axis text rotation of text, all at very high
resolution.  In two weeks, Atari owners can judge for themselves.
Versions are planned for the Amiga and Mac in about one and six
months respectively.


A MEANS TO THE END
 . . . (NB) -- Bitstream was announcing deals all over the place
with Xerox, Xenographics, Xyquest and Borland jumping on board
for FontWare integration into their products.  Read that last
sentence again.  Doesn't one of those names seem strangely out
of place?  Is that a weird announcement or what?  With all of
this activity at the end of the alphabet, I'm surprised that I'm
not bundling the stuff.


LAST PLACE IN ANOTHER RACE
 . . . (NB) -- Z-Soft is another of the guys at the end of the
alphabet, besides yours truly, that`s not on that font wagon.
Look for a future release of Publisher's Type Foundry to feature
the Compugraphics Intellifont logic instead.  With this addition,
users will be able to intelligently scale fonts during
rasterization (conversion from outline to bit mapped).


X MARKS THE SPOT
 . . . (NB) -- Meanwhile, Xyquest has more to announce than a
font-conversion program.  In fact, they were so excited that they
never mentioned it.  The folks in the booth were too busy telling
me about the unannounced, Lotus-style menus and context-sensitive
help systems that will be added to Xywrite in mid October.
According to Executive VP Harry Dahl, the new release "will allow
the casual user to experience the speed, power and flexibility of
Xywrite."  Well, after all, if not, why bother?  Anybody can
experience the power of Xywrite right now if they're willing to
expend their youth learning it.  Making this product easy to
learn could give it the market penetration needed to reach that
all-important critical mass of installed users.


WHOOPS?
 . . . -- Clinton Nagy, national sales manager for Adobe Systems
dropped a minor bombshell here when Johnathan Seybold asked the
question, "Will there be Display Postscript for the Macintosh
whether Apple supports it or not?"  The answer, "yes," was
quickly followed by, "I wish I hadn't said that."  So, now we
know Clinton--and so, presumably, does Apple.


EASY TRAIL TO WINDOWS BEING BLAZED
 . . . (NB) -- There's nothing better than being at the right
place at the right time.  Luckily, I was on the shuttle to the
Marriott along with Micrografx' Chief Executive Paul Grayson,
just when he decided to reveal one of the company's most closely
guarded secrets.  Get ready for an emulation package that will
allow any Microsoft Windows application to run under the OS/2
Presentation Manager without modification.  IBM should give these
guys a prize.  Something like this could benefit the whole MCA
strategy.


APPLE HOSTS LEAKY RECEPTION
 . . . (NB) -- Apple wasn't talking but the company network may
have sprung a minor leak last Wednesday at a press reception
here in Santa Clara's Double Tree hotel.  As company flacks
invited guests to the Monday announcement in San Francisco, at
least one ungrateful member of the fourth estate seemed to elicit
confirmation that the announcement would concern the MAC II with
a 68030 processor.  Is this still news?  Still, any confirmation
is better than a pure guess.


NOT AT THE SHOW
 . . . (NB) -- Expect to see the PC Album from PC Manager, Inc.
announced this Thursday.  The company claims to have a
breakthrough in integrated image databases.  Anyway, it does
store full-color graphics along with text.


dBASE IV FINALIZED FRIDAY
TORRANCE, Ca (NB) -- Ed Esber still seems to be at the helm of A-
T despite rumors to the contrary that were reported here last
week.  Well, I said they seemed unlikely.  What many thought
would be equally unlikely is the timely release of dBASE IV on
September 30.  However, that eventuality is virtually assured
with the certification last Friday that signaled an end to
testing of the final code.  According to my inside source, the
certification was confirmed by employees checking their company
mail.  Congratulations Taters on finding a use for e-mail.



[***][9/20/88][***]
DELL LAUNCHES CANADIAN OPERATION, UNVEILS NEW SYSTEM
TORONTO (NB) -- Dell Computer Corp. chose the official launch of its
Canadian subsidiary Sept. 15 as the occasion to launch a new computer
using a 25-megahertz 80386 processor.  Dell claims its new System 325
is the fastest PC on the market, beating the Compaq 386/25 and the IBM
PS/2 Model 70-A21 in standard benchmark tests.

The System 325 is available with 5.25-inch or 3.5-inch diskette
drives, and with hard disk drives from 150 to 610 megabytes.  Two
megabytes of random-access memory is standard, but the motherboard
can accommodate up to 16 megabytes.  VGA monochrome, color and color-
plus monitors are available.  Prices start at C$11,399.

Other Dell models are also now available in Canada.  Dell plans to
begin an extensive advertising campaign here by the end of September.
One of the company's selling points is a one-year on-site service
contract included in the purchase price.  Dell will provide its own
service in the Toronto area; the rest of the country will be served by
Honeywell Bull under a service contract.

CONTACT: DELL COMPUTER CORP., 2 East Beaver Creek Rd.,
         Richmond Hill, Ont. L4B 2N3, [phone]

[***][9/20/88][***]
BUSINESSLAND CANADA MOVES TOWARD IBM AUTHORIZATION
MARKHAM, Ont. (NB) -- Businessland Canada Ltd., a wholly owned
subsidiary of the U.S. dealer chain Businessland Inc., has bought the
microcomputer sales operation of Anderson-Jacobson Canada Ltd.
Because Anderson-Jacobson was an authorized IBM dealer, this paves the
way for Businessland to get IBM authorization here.  Bob Henderson,
vice-president and general manager of the Toronto-based operation,
explained to NEWSBYTES CANADA that IBM Canada has all the dealers it
wants at present, so in order to get authorization, his firm needed to
acquire an existing dealer.  This still doesn't guarantee
authorization, but in view of Businessland's status in the U.S., IBM's
approval is probably a mere formality.

Unlike its American parent, Businessland Canada plans no storefront
operations.  It will rely entirely on its sales force, Henderson said,
and he added that the U.S. parent is also moving toward that approach.
Businessland Canada plans to expand across Canada as opportunities
appear, probably through more acquisitions, Henderson said.

CONTACT: BUSINESSLAND CANADA LTD., 205 Torbay Rd.
         Markham, Ont. L3R 3W4, [phone]

[***][9/20/88][***]
BEDFORD HIRES SILICON VALLEY VETERAN
BURNABY, B.C. (NB) -- Bedford Software Ltd. has hired Alex L. Morton,
veteran marketer and Borland International Inc.'s first vice-president
of marketing and sales.  Morton becomes vice-president of marketing at
Bedford.  He succeeds Tom O'Flaherty, a co-founder of the accounting
software vendor, who has resigned "to pursue other business
initiatives," according to Bedford.

Morton designed the initial marketing strategy that started Borland's
five-year climb to current annual sales of US$76.5 million.  Most
recently, he was president of the U.S. operations of Consumers
Software Inc., a Vancouver software house.

CONTACT: BEDFORD SOFTWARE LTD., Suite 201, 4180 Lougheed Hwy.,
         Burnaby, B.C. V5C 6A7, [phone], Fax [phone]

[***][9/20/88][***]
APPLE CANADA ANNOUNCES PRICE INCREASES
MARKHAM, Ont. (NB) -- Apple Canada Inc. has increased suggested retail
prices for the latest Macintosh models and LaserWriter printer memory.
The increases were blamed on the shortage of dynamic random-access
memory chips.

The price of a Macintosh SE with dual 800K drives goes from C$4,795 to
C$5,150.  The price of a Macintosh II with 40-MB hard disk and a
megabyte of RAM rises from C$9,150 to C$9,829.  A one-megabyte memory
expansion for the LaserWriter, formerly C$572, will rise to C$770, and
a four-megabyte expansion goes from C$2,876 to C$3,700.  All the
increases take effect October 1.

CONTACT: APPLE CANADA INC., 7495 Birchmount Rd., Markham,
         Ont. L3R 5G2, [phone]

[***][9/20/88][***]
ATI EXPANDS, BUT WORRIES ABOUT BORDER TROUBLES
TORONTO (NB) -- Two years ago, ATI Technologies Inc. had four
employees.  Today it has 85, and the manufacturer of personal computer
video boards just moved into new 33,000-square-foot facilities.  Bob
Arthur, director of marketing for ATI, said the company has 85 per
cent of the Canadian market for PC video cards.  And only 20 per cent
of its total sales are in Canada.

Arthur is worried, however, about shipments to the U.S.  Earlier this
year, a shipment of ATI cards was seized by U.S. customs authorities
at Buffalo, N.Y.  The reason given was concern that some chips used in
the cards might violate IBM copyrights.  Finally IBM inspected the
cards, said they were okay, and the shipment proceeded.  But what
really bothers Arthur is that the Canadian government was able to do
nothing about the problem.  They were "absolutely and pathetically
useless," he told NEWSBYTES CANADA.  And he added that if the federal
government can't protect Canadian manufacturers any better than that,
a free trade agreement with the U.S. is not a good idea.

CONTACT: ATI TECHNOLOGIES INC., 3761 Victoria Park Ave.,
         Scarborough, Ont., [phone]

[***][9/20/88][***]
DEVELCON SETS SIGHTS ON NEW MARKETS
SASKATOON (NB) -- Develcon Electronics Ltd., after treading red ink
for the past four years, expects a profit in the current quarter and
the fiscal year.  And the company is setting its sights on new
markets: internetworking, the integrated services digital network (
ISDN) and X.25 packet switching.

Develcon's recent focus has been selling its Develnet product as a
data PBX.  Now the company is repositioning Develnet as an
internetworking system.  And at a Toronto press conference Sept. 14,
Develcon announced its first X.25 switches and packet assembler-
disassembler (PAD) units, as well as I-Gate 8000, a series of ISDN
multiplexing and gateway products.

CONTACT: DEVELCON ELECTRONICS LTD., 856 51st St. E.,
         Saskatoon, Sask. S7K 5C7, [phone], Telex 074-2780

[***][9/20/88][***]
CANCOM OPENS VSAT HUB
MISSISSAUGA, Ont. (NB) -- Canadian Satellite Communications Inc.
officially opened the master control centre for its very-small-
aperture terminal (VSAT) satellite communications service on September
12.  The hub will be the centre of a nationwide VSAT service that will
provide data communications and business television signals.  First
customers are Co-operators Data Services Ltd. of Mississauga, which
provides computer services to financial institutions, and Canadian
Tire Corp. of Toronto, a hardware and auto parts chain with 360
locations across Canada.  The hub is located at an established
computer recovery facility, so that Cancom customers who lose data
processing facilities in a fire or other disaster can set up
communications to the recovery site easily.

CONTACT: CANCOM, 50 Burnamthorpe Rd. W., Suite 1000,
         Mississauga, Ont. L5B 3C2, [phone], Fax [phone]


[***][9/20/88][***]
TELESAT CANADA ANNOUNCES MOBILE TERMINAL SERVICE
OTTAWA (NB) -- Canada will get the world's first commercial satellite-
based mobile communications system.  Telesat Canada and two as-yet-
unnamed partners will launch a satellite in 1992 that will serve
mobile voice and data terminals anywhere in Canada.  The service is
"driven by need primarily," said David Sward, manager of business
development for Telesat.  He added that the U.S., Japan and Australia
also have plans for MSAT services, but Canada's is expected to be in
operation first.

A personal computer connected to an MSAT transponder would be able to
transmit data from anywhere in Canada, even from an isolated northern
community or the cabin of a fishing boat on the Gulf of St. Lawrence,
by bouncing it off Telesat's satellite.  Trucking companies and
governments are expected to be major users.  Sward said the federal
Department of Communications has already signed an agreement with
Telesat to buy C$126.5 million worth of bandwidth -- about 10 per cent
of the system's capacity.

Telesat Canada will own 50 per cent of the new venture, called Telesat
Mobile Inc.  A Japanese firm will own another 20 per cent, and the
remainder will be held by another Canadian partner.  Neither of the
other partners has been named.  Telesat Mobile will also have an
agreement with its U.S. counterpart, the American Mobile Satellite
Consortium, which will allow subscribers to each service to roam in
the other's territory, and allow the Canadian and American satellites
to act as backups for each other.

CONTACT: TELESAT CANADA, 333 River Rd., Ottawa, Ont. K1L 8B9,
         [phone]

[***][9/20/88][***]
INTEGRA PROUD OF DEAL WITH BELLSOUTH
VANCOUVER (NB) -- Integra Systems Inc. has signed a deal with
BellSouth Advanced Networks.  The BellSouth subsidiary is to
distributed advanced versions of Integra's SofTerm EFT/POS terminal.
Roslyn Stanley, a spokeswoman for Integra, said the three-year-old
company has always been active in the U.S., but this is its first
contract with one of the Bell operating companies and Integra is
"really proud that they've chosen a small, start-up, Canadian company."
The value of the deal isn't being announced, but it has the
potential to be worth plenty to Integra, Stanley said.

CONTACT: INTEGRA SYSTEMS INC., [phone]

[***][9/20/88][***]
BITS, EH?
ORACLE CORPORATION CANADA INC., Toronto, has signed a co-operative
marketing agreement with COMPUTERLAND CANADA for distribution of its
personal computer software products.

BELL-NORTHERN RESEARCH, Ottawa, and NORTHERN TELECOM LTD.,
Mississauga, Ont., will help fund a faculty chair in microelectronics
research at McGill University in Montreal.  The Natural Sciences and
Engineering Research Council and the university itself will also
contribute.

SASKATCHEWAN TELECOMMUNICATIONS, Saskatoon, has awarded NORTHERN
TELECOM LTD., Mississauga, Ont., a contract to supply more than C$40
million worth of digital telecommunications equipment.  The gear will
help make SaskTel the first Canadian telephone company with a fully
digital network.

PEAT MARWICK, the multinational accounting firm, will market a
computer-aided software engineering (CASE) product developed in
Quebec.  Peat Marwick is setting up a subsidiary, Zerotime, in
Longueil, Que., to market the software.

John Thompson, president and chief executive of IBM CANADA LTD., has
been named to the board of directors of the TORONTO-DOMINION BANK,
Canada's fifth-largest bank.

THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO will spend C$1 million on a project to assess
the use of personal computers in classrooms in London, Ont.  The
project is a joint effort of the provincial government, the London
Board of Education and the University of Western Ontario, also located
in London.  The school chosen, by the way, is in Ontario Premier David
Peterson's home riding.

CALL-NET COMMUNICATIONS INC., Toronto, has been refused a stay of
execution by the Federal Court of Appeal.  Call-Net wanted the court
to reverse a Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications
Commission (CRTC) decision that let Bell Canada disconnect lines the
CRTC decided Call-Net was reselling illegally.  Now Call-Net is
appealing to the federal cabinet.

THE ONTARIO CENTRE FOR LARGE SCALE COMPUTATION, Toronto, has
appointed John J. Leppik chairman of its management board.  A former
director of IBM Canada Laboratories, Leppik headed a study team that
earlier this year reported favorably on the centre's activities.  The
centre manages a supercomputer installed at the University of Toronto.


AUDIOVIDEO SPECIALISTS INC., Montreal, announced that Amstrad plc's PC
2000 line of personal computers will be available in Canada in the
first quarter of 1989.  The line includes machines based on the 8086,
80286 and 80386 processors.

[***][9/20/88][***]
SEIKON-EPSON TO EXPAND LAPTOP NEC-CLONE SHARES
TOKYO (NB) -- Seiko-Epson has developed and released a high-end
model of its 16-bit personal computer, which is compatible with
NEC's PC-9800 series.  The PC286X has an 80286 CPU, and
is capable of the same high-speed data processing as 32-bit
personal computers, according to the company.

The new clone, attached with two 5.25-inch FDDs, is priced at
438,000 yen or $3,300.  Seiko-Epson has set the price lower
than NEC's low-priced 32-bit machine, which is priced at 498,000
yen or $3,700.  Also, options include an 80-megabyte hard disk
drive or a CD-ROM unit.

With the release of these compatibles, Seiko-Epson has launched an
aggressive sales pitch.  Though the company had expected to sell
150,000 units of NEC-compatible machines this year, it suddenly changed
that figure to between 180,000 and 200,000 units.

CONTACT: Seiko-Epson, 3-3-5 Yamato, Suwa-shi, Nagano 392

[***][9/20/88][***]
MATSUSHITA INTRODUCES LAPTOP PCs
TOKYO (NB) -- Matsushita Electric will release two models of
its 16-bit laptop personal computers with 16-color gradation.
The display has high resolution of 640 x 400 pixels, and its
gradation can be changed to 2, 4, or 8 gradation.  The CPU is an
Intel 80286.  CV.M353 measures 300mm width x 96mm height x 370mm
depth.  The operating system is MS-DOS, however, Matsushita
expects to provide OS/2 starting next spring.

CV.M353FD has two 3.5-inch FDDs, weighs 7.5kg, and will be priced
at 428,000 yen or $3,200.  CV.M353HD has a 20 megabyte HDD and 3.5-
inch FDD, weighs 7.6kg, and will be priced at 568,000 yen or
$4,200.

Matsushita will supply CV.M353 to Fujitsu on an OEM basis.
Fujitsu expects to release them as Fujitsu's laptop machines
in its FMR series.

CONTACT: Matsushita Electric, 1006 Oaza-Monma,
         Kadoma-shi, Osaka 571

[***][9/20/88][***]
HIGH-SPEED DESKTOP 32-BIT EWS
TOKYO (NB) -- Tateishi Electric has developed a desktop,
32-bit engineering workstation which it plans to release on
October 17.

The Holonic Workstation LUNA is based on Motorola's 20MHz
68030, and is capable of high-speed data processing at 4 M.I.P.S.
LUNA has a large memory capacity; the main memory can be
extended to 16 megabytes, and a built-in hard disk can be
upgraded to 172 megabytes.  The workstation supports three operating
systems as part of its original Unios series, based on UNIX-system V.
Also, LUNA supports high-speed C Compiler.  The basic price will be
550,000 yen or $ 4,000.

CONTACT: Tateishi Electric, 3-4-10 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo

[***][9/20/88][***]
TAIWAN'S PC EXHIBITION IN JAPAN
TOKYO (NB) -- Taiwan's Computer Show was held for the first time
in Tokyo-Kaikan in Japan September 13 through 14.  The
Taiwanese companies, including Acer and Mitac, participated in the
exhibition, showing off their IBM PC-compatible machines with
80286 or 80386 microprocessors.

Acer and Mitac exhibited their AX machines which display and process
the Japanese language.  AX, which is compatible with IBM PC, was
originally developed by Japanese companies.

Mitac's best-selling machine is Paragon 386.  The machine,
despite a 33% smaller footprint than the IBM PC/AT, is attached with
two 5.25-inch FDDs and two 3.5-inch FDDs.   Modern Computer is
the mecca of laptop and portable machines in Taiwan.  The company
was the only one showing laptop PCs at the exhibition.  The best-
selling machines are its laptop LP-3300-6 and LP-3300-4 with 80286-
based CPU and a weight of 16 lbs.  Minta is selling its Minta 8088
system quite well in Europe.

Acer's spokesman Mr. Kageyama confessed that it is very hard to
enter the Japanese market, for the Taiwan companies have very few
clients in Japan.  The main problem seems to be NEC, whose PC-9800
is the overwhelming choice by most Japanese PC buyers.  Plus,
IBM-compatible machines have a limited market in Japan.  Meanwhile,
regarding the shortage of memory chips, Acer might be short of 80386's
in this quarter.

[***][9/20/88][***]
THE FIRST COMPUTER VIRUS FOUND IN NEC'S NETWORK
TOKYO (NB) -- For the first time, a computer virus has been found in
Japan's largest personal computer network, PC-VAN, a system operated by
NEC. Viral infection of computers has occurred here before, but has
plagued only US-made computers.  This is the first incidence of a virus
invading Japan-made machines.  This virus reportedly affects NEC's
PC-9800 series, of which there are over one million users in Japan.

The virus is hidden in e-mail and sent to members of the network.
If a message is read, the virus infects the machine's operating system.
Then, during the next access to PC-VAN, the virus starts a program to
encode the victim's password and sends it to a specific board in the
network.  The writer of the virus program can put his communication
charge on the stolen account -- even can spend the victim's money to
do online shopping!

Fortunately, no serious harm has resulted from the viral invasion
yet, but NEC has sent a warning through its network to users, asking
them to refuse uncertain messages.

CONTACT: NEC, 1-4-28 Mita, Minatoku, Tokyo 108

[***][9/20/88][***]
FIRST GLASS MAGNETIC DISK DUE
TOKYO (NB) -- Tokyo-based optical glass maker Hoya has realized
the world's first magnetic disk with glass substratum.  It has a
memory capacity of 4 to 5 times larger than aluminum substratum.
The price of the 3.5-inch disk is $20 and 5.25-inch is $25, prices which
are about 20% higher than aluminum substratum ones.   However, the
production cost which provides the same memory capacity will be
reduced by one-third to half.

Hoya will produce the glass substratum in Japan.  After that, its
U.S. subsidiary, Hoya Electronics in San Jose, will combine it with
magnetic recording film and supply it to device makers.

CONTACT: Hoya, 2-7-5 Naka-Ochiai, Sinjuku-ku, Tokyo 161

[***][9/20/88][***]
<< SUSHI BYTES >>

NEW PS/55 FROM IBM JAPAN -- IBM Japan has announced its PS/55
Model 5500 S/T.  The CPU is Intel's 32-bit i80386.  The new model
will be shipped at the end of this month, with the basic price of
680,000 yen or $5,000.

NEW 32-BIT IBM COMPATIBLE MACHINE DUE -- Tokyo-based venture
computer maker Proside has announced it will market two models
of IBM/AT compatible 32-bit personal computers on September 20th.
The new models have a lightning-fast processing speed of  4.25 MIPS
with Intel's 80386, a speed ranked above its P286/386AU series.
The basic price of the X20C series is 698,000 yen or $5,170 and the
X25 series is 648,000 yen or $4,800.

GOLD STAR AIMS TO INCREASE CHIP PRODUCTION -- Gold Star in Korea
has revealed a long-term project to win the distinction of
being among the 10 largest companies in the semiconductor field
by the year 2000.  With volume production of 1M and 256K DRAMs
and SRAMs, Gold Star aims to obtain 5% of the world semiconductor market.

FUJITSU ASSURES SUPPLY OF NEXT-GENERATION CHIPS -- Fujitsu
completed expansion of its Mie factory on September 17.  The
latest high technology line has been introduced with this expansion
which allows research, development and trial work of
semiconductors for next generation computers beyond 4M DRAMs.
Fujitsu has been considering construction of one more line in a remaining
space of its Mie factory based on the output of its other factories in
Iwate, Japan and Oregon, U.S.

INTEL TO FIND ANOTHER MARKET -- Intel Japan has announced that
25 directors of its U.S. parent company will visit Japan on the 29th
of this month.  The mission is to do research in such non-computer
fields as the creation of micro-prompt controllers which are in
use by the car and consumer electronic industries.


[***][9/20/88][***]
ELECTRONIC DATA TRANSMISSION PROJECTS TO CUT COSTS IN EUROPE
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (NB) -- A series of pilot projects to develop
electronic transmission of operating data between transport
companies in Europe is to be launched in Brussels this week. The
project is in the framework of the COST program (European
Cooperation in Scientific and Technical Research).

The project involves the standardization of document format
throughout the EC which will have an impact upon electronically
transmitted documents, as well as paper documents which
currently account for about 4% of the total cost of shipping.

The documents will follow the format agreed in 1987 at the
UN/Economic Commission for Europe and on the UN/Trade Data
Elements Directory.

The purpose of the demonstration phase of the COST-306 project
is to use the messages in trials in a variety of transport
environments within Western Europe. Interest in trial
participation has been widespread and to date about 10 technical
transport chains have been established. It is hoped that the
results of these pilot phases will show that the use of
standardized electronic documents will cut down costs
considerably within Europe.

[***][9/20/88][***]
IF YOU ARE GREEK AND HAVE A LAPTOP LEAVE GREECE OUT OF YOUR VISIT
ATHENS, GREECE (NB) -- Greece, although a member of the
European Community since 1981, still appears ignorant of the fact
that laptops and other electronic material are the norm for business
in many countries.

This reporter, during his last trip to the sunbathed country,
was stopped by customs officials and detained for about one hour
explaining to the customs officer what a laptop is, what
a video camera does, and what an amateur radio transceiver is
supposed to be doing in a car.

Greece has to abide by regulations governing all the EC
countries. But Greeks in particular, according to one customs
officer, are perceived as a nation of smugglers due to Greece's
high taxes; consequently they are stopped routinely.  This reporter
was stopped while a German family with a video camera proudly
displayed passed into the territory without any problem.

This is illegal according to EC regulations, as is not knowing
the rules and regulations of a country (which this customs
officer did not). After having everything written into my
passport I was told "hurry up and leave before I make you pay."

I have taken action by writing a letter to the EC with all the
details in hopes that in the future other Greeks will be able to visit
without fear of confiscation or imposition of fines.

[***][9/20/88][***]
WINDOWS-BASED PROGRAM OFFERS TRACING IN SOURCE AND MACHINE CODE
LIMERICK, IRELAND (NB) -- ViewFinder and PathFinder are two
programs that offer a windowed environment which can trace a
program in either machine or source code. ViewFinder is supplied
free of charge when the user also purchases one of Ashling
Microsystems' development systems.

Standard or user defined windows are available together with
various breakpoints. On top of these, virtual windows can also
be defined. By adding the PathFinder program, you can trace code
anywhere and in any format desired. For those hard-to-find bugs,
the program offers trace and compare instructions. The programs
are available for PLM/51, but versions for C on the 8051,
68HC11, Z80 and 64180 uPs are planned for 1989.

[***][9/20/88][***]
SECOND GENERATION LISP FOR INTEL MPUs
ROTTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS (NB) -- Intel Scientific Computers, a
subsidiary of Intel, today announced an agreement with LUCID,
INC., the leader in Common LISP, to distribute Lucid's LISP on
the iPSC(TM)/2 family of concurrent supercomputers.

This agreement, which is the first for Lucid and its LISP
compiler, is designed to make available to customers of Intel's
PSC range the LISP language. At the signing ceremony, David
Billstrom, marketing manager for ISC said, "More than 20% of our
users ordered LISP with our first generation systems, resulting in
important work in distributed Artificial Intelligence
applications, such as battle management and multiple robot
coordination."

iPSC/2 systems are 16 to 128 80386 based processors linked
together in a parallel environment, each one connected to a
Weitek or Intel 80387 mathematics coprocessor.

[***][9/20/88][***]
WORDSTAR PROFESSIONAL RELEASE 5 BEST YET - REVIEW-
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (NB) -- The latest incarnation of the 10-year
old Wordstar has emerged as Wordstar Professional release 5.
The best selling word processor, tested at NEWSBYTES EUROPE offices
was found to be as excellent as its makers claim it to be.

The Advanced Page Preview offers a fast way to see how the
printed document will appear and the Telmerge option allows a user
to enter telecommunications data into his document directly. The
product, which is very fast, offers the usual CTRL key command
sequence or the new menu-based user interface according to IBM's SAA
proposals.

Wordstar release 5 will be marketed together with the Wordstar
2000 Legal and Personal Editions and the Easy, low-end word
processor. According to the company, more than 300 new features
have been added, including a 200,000 word thesaurus.

[***][9/20/88][***]
IBM OFFERS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SOFTWARE
PARIS, FRANCE (NB) -- IBM has announced new products designed
for artificial intelligence applications. These products include a new
version of IBM Expert Systems Environment, a new version of IBM
Knowledge Tool, and a new product called IBM KEE, which denotes
Knowledge Engineering Environment.

Version 2 of Expert Systems Environment allows the client to
insert AI applications within programs already existing which
have been written using various languages. For example, the
program links AI applications with CICS and IMS/VS support
products.

Knowledge Tool, version 2, offers a newer version of this window
based AI program and KEE constitutes a version developed for
System 370 users running with the MVS operating system. KEE is
developed by Intellicorp of Mountain View, California.

[***][9/20/88][***]
EUROBITS...

      The THIRD BENELUX Macintosh convention will be held in
Antwerp from 27th to 29th October 1988. This event is sponsored
by the MAC CLUB Benelux, one of NEWSBYTES' customers...

      ...TRIAD SEMICONDUCTORS of The Netherlands has developed
two new RAM chips that offer address and data latches;
RAM chips can retrieve data while the processor is reading older
data from the data latches. The parts which offer 25 to 45ns
access time will cost about $25 each...

      ...The SIFU Institute of Sweden organizes an OS/2
conference called "OS/2 - Foundation for the Future" in
Stockholm and Amsterdam, 24-25 Oct and 27-28 Oct respectively.
The conference is designed to offer OS/2 details and information
which will be useful to companies planning to implement OS/2...

      ...WASLET, a Belgian company, has taken up the distribution
of RADID SYSTEMS, a US supplier of laboratory products for PCs.
Products include I/O cards, oscilloscope adapters and
digitizers...

      ...PHILIPS (of The Netherlands) and FULCRUM (of Ottawa,
Canada) have signed a worldwide license agreement on Ful/text, a
multi-platform, full-text indexing and retrieval package for CD
users...

      ...APPLE will participate at the upcoming BUREAU 88
exhibition in Brussels next week (it will be covered by NEWSBYTES
EUROPE). Apple will show connectivity, Hypercard applications, and
Macintosh IIx will also be shown...

      ...The POPE is set top read electronic mail through a new
electronic mail system which will be installed at the Vatican by
Italcable. He may even read NEWSBYTES...

      ...and finally, ERICSSON will sell digital telephone
systems in China as well as to the University of Massachussets
which will be used to connect its campuses.  The value of these
sales is placed at $30 million.


====
[***][9/20/88][***]

BUS WARS: EISA RIVAL WINS BIG BACKING
NEW YORK (NB) -- To the gang of nine who conspired to develop the
Extended Industry Standard Architecture bus to challenge IBM's
Micro Channel Architecture (MCA), add a few names: 3Com, Acer
Technologies, Adaptec, ALR, Ashton-Tate, AT&T Information
Systems, Autodesk, Borland, DCA, Dell, DEC, Digital Research,
Everex, Intel, Iomega, Kaypro, Microsoft, Novell, Oracle, Peter
Norton, Quadram, Quarterdeck, SCO, Symantec, Tandon, Televideo,
Unisys, Western Digital, Wang, and Wordperfect. And by the time
you read this, the number of computer hardware and software
companies aligned with the rival bus is likely to have grown.
This bus is getting a lot of passengers.

The nine originators of EISA (Compaq Computer Corp., AST
Research Inc., Epson America Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co., NEC Corp.,
Ing C. Olivetti & Co., Tandy Corp., Wyse Technology, and Zenith
Data Systems Corp.) are taking a big risk with the new 32-bit
bus. They are gambling that IBM won't immediately hit the market
with a flurry of add-on boards that really use the MCA bus to the
maximum. The fact that the challengers won't have products out
for the new bus until late next year gives IBM a window of
opportunity. They also risk that, facing the confusion that the
bus war creates, buyers will sit it out until a real winner
emerges. Or buyers might just move to Apple and its NuBus.
Finally, the clone makers are also gambling that IBM won't
fire back with a buckshot load of litigation.

[***][9/20/88][***]
IBM RESPONDS: THREATS, PRODUCTS, AND "FUD"
RYE BROOK, N.Y. (NB) --  IBM is not taking the assault of the
clone makers lying down. Big Blue issued a series of disdainful
comments about EISA, some hints at litigation, and a flurry of
new hardware and software product announcements, including the
long-rumored return to the AT bus for the entry-level PS/2
computers. Said one IBM observer, "IBM is sowing the usual FUD."
That's "fear, uncertainty, and doubt," the usual IBM response to
outside challengers.

At a press conference held the same time as the clone bus
announcement, IBM sniffed that EISA is proof that the steam has
run out of the AT bus. So power users can either wait a year for
the products that take advantage of the new bus, or opt for MCA.
Also, Nicholas Donofrio of IBM's personal computer division
reminded a Dow Jones reporter that IBM has patents on technology
that might be used in EISA. Just because the clonesters avoided
the MCA design "doesn't mean that they don't use our intellectual
assets," he said, hinting strongly at litigation.

Also, IBM responded with the new PS/2 Model 30 286, which uses
the 80286 processor rather than the 8086 of the original Model
30 and the AT data bus, rather than MCA. In typical IBM fashion,
it's a rather conservative machine. The processor runs at 10 mHz,
and addresses a standard 512 kilobytes of RAM. The machine comes
with a 20-megabyte hard drive (80 milliseconds access time) for a
suggested retail of $2,595 and a machine without the hard drive
for $1,995. IBM also announced RPG II Application Platform and
RPG II Application Toolkit, software from the System 36
environment that will allow PS/2 machines with MCA and OS/2 to
operate as multiuser systems, with PC-XTs, ATs, and other PS/2
machines as terminals. IBM says the best configuration would be
two to four workstations.

[***][9/20/88][***]
DOCTOR IDENTIFIES "HIGH-TECH LUNG"
BOSTON (NB) -- A researcher at the Lahey Clinic Medical Center
says a two-year study has identified a respiratory malady that
afflicts primarily workers involved in computer manufacturing and
electrical engineering. Dr. Joseph Andrews calls it "high-tech
lung." Andrews said he had studied the disease in 15 patients
from around New England. Andrews says high-tech lung is the
result of inhaling chemical fumes and dusts, such as the
chemicals used for fabricating and electroplating chips and the
chemicals used in soldering circuit boards. "It's something that
is really fairly new," said the pulmonary specialist. "I had
thought the high-tech industry, as opposed to steel or coal, was
a clean industry." A Massachusetts High Tech Council spokesman
Chris Anderson said he had not seen the study but questioned
whether it is broad enough to make industry-wide conclusions.

[***][9/20/88][***]
PROGRAMS GO PLATINUM AT SPA
WASHINGTON (NB) -- The Software Publishers Association has
awarded Platinum Labels to 17 programs that have sold more than
250,000 copies. The 17 were produced by six different companies.
We have the envelope. And the winners are:

* Accolade for Hardball and Test Drive
* Broderbund for Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego, Print
Shop Companion, and Load Runner.
* Data East USA for Karate Champ, Ring King and Karnov
* Electronic Arts for Music Construction Set, Advanced Flight
Trainer, Pinball Construction Set and Skyfox.
* Epyx for Summer Games 1, Winter Games, California Games and
Fast Load.
* Microprose for Gunship.

[***][9/20/88][***]
TARDINESS HURTING LOTUS
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (NB) -- Lotus Development Corp. says it is
seeing "a little softness" in sales during its current quarter,
as buyers wait for Release 3.0 of its flagship 1-2-3 spreadsheet
program. Lotus also blamed a seasonal slow-down in Europe for part
of what is expected to be disappointing quarter. Some stock
analysts are predicting that earnings for the year at Lotus will
fall for the first time in the six-year history of the company.

[***][9/20/88][***]
GAO RIPS AIRLINE RESERVATION SYSTEMS
WASHINGTON (NB) -- The airline computer reservation systems
provided to travel agents by five U.S. airlines are stifling
competition, according the General Accounting Office. The
congressional watchdog agency also said that the Department of
Transportation has failed to protect consumers by eliminating the
"anti-competitive features" of the reservation systems. GAO said
the reservation systems are yielding profits "exceeding those
that could reasonably be expected to be earned in a competitive
market." The reservation systems collect a fee from the airline
when a seat is selected and also charge the travel agents an
annual fee. American Airlines' SABRE has 43 percent of the
market, with United Airlines' Apollo system with 32 percent.
PARS, owned by Northwest and TWA, has 10 percent. Texas Air's
System One also has 10 percent and Delta's DATAS II has five
percent.

[***][9/20/88][***]
"THE DIGGER" DIGS COLOR PRINTERS
NEW YORK (NB) -- Media mogul Rupert Murdoch, known as "the
Digger" for his Australian origins, has bought 150,000 shares of
Howtek, Inc., stock and says he wants to buy more. Murdoch's New
America Holdings Inc. now owns about 2.4 percent of Howtek's
stock and has a letter of agreement with Howtek to buy up to five
percent of the maker of ink jet color peripherals for the
microcomputer market.

[***][9/20/88][***]
MICROCOM UNVEILS LAN BRIDGES
NORWOOD, Mass. (NB) -- Microcom Inc. has rolled out a family of
four IBM PC-AT-based remote local area network bridges that
connect Ethernet LANS to Token Ring LANS. The product includes
the LAN interface, a wide area network interface, and software.
The LAN Bridge is compatible with the PS/2 Models 30 and 50 and
the AT and AT clones, according to Microcom. "Our market research
indicates that large corporate end-users want a bridging system
that is based on the popular IBM-PC platform," says Microcom Vice
President Richard Sterry.

CONTACT:  Microcom Inc., [phone]

[***][9/20/88][***]
PINK SLIPS RAIN AT LORD GELLER
NEW YORK (NB) -- Lord Geller, the advertising agency that
recently lost the IBM account, has cut its 270-person staff by
nearly 100. The laid-off employees will get 90 days pay, unless
they find other jobs sooner. The $120 million IBM account
represented more than half of Lord Geller's total billings of
$230 million in 1987. But Lord Geller will survive. There had
been rumors that the IBM defection would result in WPP Group PLC,
Lord Geller's owner, merging the agency with another WPP
subsidiary, J. Walter Thompson.

[***][9/20/88][***]
PA. WELFARE WORKERS CHARGED, UNISYS CONTRACTS INVESTIGATED
HARRISBURG, Pa. (NB) -- Two computer specialists and the former
director of computer operations for the Pennsylvania Welfare
Department have been charged with accepting gifts from companies
attempting to do business with the department. The charges are
violations of the state's Ethics Act. The welfare workers are
alleged to have received free trips, free tickets to sporting
events, a free computer, and consulting fees. Investigators are
also looking into contracts between the department and Unisys
Corp. The former Sperry Corp. merged with Burroughs to form
Unisys. Sperry supplies Pennsylvania with computer services. The
Sperry end of Unisys is also under investigation for alleged
corruption in Pentagon contracts.

[***][9/20/88][***]
FLAT SCREENS COMING?
CHELMSFORD, Mass. (NB) -- MRS Technology says it has invented a
machine that will make flat color screens that are larger
than currently available. The company says its $1.2 million
machine can produce a color monitor that is 18 inches diagonal.
MRS expects to market the device to Japanese TV manufacturers.
The screens are likely to be expensive, at least initially.
According to an Arthur D. Little analyst quoted in THE WALL
STREET JOURNAL, monochrome flat screens cost about two and a half
times more than screens with conventional cathode ray tubes, and
color models are likely to be far more costly than that.

[***][9/20/88][***]
NEWS NIBBLES

COMPUTER ASSOCIATES INTERNATIONAL INC. of Garden City, N.Y., has
purchased APPLIED DATA RESEARCH, INC., Princeton, N.J., for $170
million from AMERITECH, which acquired Applied Data in 1986 for
$217 million.

DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORP., Maynard, Mass., has contracted with KMW
SYSTEMS CORP., Austin, Texas, for Auscom programmable channel
interfaces. No terms announced. The interface is used in
Digital's DEC ChannelServer in the DECnet-SNA Gateway-CT.

IBM, Armonk, N.Y., has picked IRWIN MAGNETIC SYSTEMS Inc. of Ann
Arbor, Mich., to supply minicartridge tape backups for the PS/2
line of personal computers. Shipments have begun.

APOLLO COMPUTER INC., Chelmsford, Mass., has formed a new
division, the Portable Software Products Group, to market
software for other vendor's equipment, including the network
software recently licensed by IBM.

ADAGE INC., Billerica, Mass., which designs, makes and markets
interactive computer graphics systems, has laid off nearly 30
people, as a cost-cutting measure.

OPEN SOFTWARE FOUNDATION, Lawrence, Mass., has six new members:
CONCURRENT COMPUTER CORP., Tinton Falls, N.J.; DATA LOGIC LTD.,
Harrow, U.K.; INTERACTIVE SYSTEMS CORP., Santa Monica; INTERFIRM
GRAPHIC SYSTEMS, Santa Clara; MENTOR GRAPHICS CORP., Beaverton,
Ore.; and the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.

AT&T, Morristown, N.J., will begin marketing a telephone call
billing system for hotels, hospitals and other resellers of
telephone service written by MOSCOM CORP., East Rochester, N.Y.
The MS-DOS product runs on the AT&T 6300 WGS and compatibles.
AT&T will market it as Call Accounting System/Hospitality, or
CAS/H (now, isn't that clever?).

[***][9/20/88][***]
OBSERVATION OF THE WEEK:

     "The summer of 1988 is winding up as one of the most confusing
periods in the history of the personal-computer market. It has
left some of the industry's biggest players looking like
competitors in a game of Twister, bent into pretzels from staking
out mismatched pieces of the market."
                                        The Wall Street Journal


[***][9/20/88][***]
PC SHOW IN LONDON LAST WEEK
LONDON, UK (NB) -- It's been a busy week, with the four-day PC
Show taking place in London. Attendances were reported as way up
on previous years, although several media sources reported the
show as a bit quiet on the new product front. NEWSBYTES UK wore
out its shoes at the show, and brings you details of some
interesting new products...

[***][9/20/88][***]
MIRRORSOFT: PERSONAL E-MAIL ASSISTANT UNVEILED
LONDON, UK (NB) -- Mirrorsoft unveiled an Icon-driven E-mail
package called Personal Assistant at the show. The package seems
to take up where Micropro's Wordstar Messenger leaves off. Only a
Hayes-compatible modem and mouse are mandatory with the #199
package, which will hit the streets in November.

"It's designed to be totally user-friendly and not require any
knowledge of online services," Jon Norledge, Mirrorsoft's product
manager, told NEWSBYTES UK.

He's right too. The package allows you to prepare, view and print
E-mail offline. You then allow the program to take care of the
rest of the tasks. Seven and eight-bit files can be transmitted
over seven-bit networks, and the package even works with online
database gateways available through Telecom Gold, the service
it's designed to work with.

Does it work? NEWSBYTES UK had a quick hands-on with the package
and report that it works - even under MS-Windows. This could be
what the E-mail industry has been waiting for.

VERDICT: Looks a good package, which can be integrated with
         user's existing Telecom Gold (Dialcom) accounts. Worth
         keeping an eye out for.

CONTACT: MIRRORSOFT - 01-377-4645 (E-mail on Dialcom 76:GAM007)

[***][9/20/88][***]
OLIVETTI: NEW LAPTOP AND EDUCATIONAL PC UNVEILED
LONDON, UK (NB) -- Olivetti took the limelight on day one of the
show with a revamped version of its existing PC laptop, the M15
Plus, and the M200, a desktop PC aimed at the lucrative
educational market-place.

The M15 Plus now has 20Mb hard disk and a new backlit supertwist,
transflective, LCD screen. Don't expect any stunning pricing,
however, as the machine weighs in at #1,352.

The M200 looks more interesting. It comes in four different
flavours, each centering around a NEC V40 8MHz microprocessor.
Prices for the 640K machine start at #849 for a twin-floppy unit,
rising to #1,095 for a 20Mb machine. Olivetti is also offering a
20 per cent discount to educational establishments on these
prices.

VERDICT: The laptop looks a bit pricey, but the M200 desktop PC
         could be a cheap way into the desktop PC world for
         many users.

CONTACT: BRITISH OLIVETTI - 01-785-6666

[***][9/20/88][***]
PACE: NEW MODEMS LAUNCHED
BRADFORD, WEST YORKSHIRE (NB) -- Pace Micro Technology launched
several new modems at the show, including several with MNP error-
correction as a value-added extra.

The new modems are the: Linnet 2400 at #385, Linnet 2400
Executive at #469, Linnet 2400 PC Card at #299; Linnet 2400 PC
Card Executive at #359, Linnet 1200 PC Card at #229, Linnet 1200
PC Card Executive at #329, and an Executive version of the
existing Linnet 1200 free-standing modem at #302.

All Executive versions include the Pace ECU (Error Correction
Unit) which is capable of MNP level 4 and E-Pad error correction
within firmware.

VERDICT: The inclusion of MNP level 4 error correction makes the
         modems an interesting alternative to the standard high-
         speed modems currently on the market. Worth considering.

CONTACT: PACE MICRO TECHNOLOGY - 0274-488211.
         E-Mail on Dialcom 79:PCE001.

[***][9/20/88][***]
PSION: PRINTER FOR THE ORGANISER II UNVEILED
LONDON, UK (NB) -- Psion unveiled a purpose-built printer for its
hand-held Organiser II series of computers. The printer takes 4.5
inch thermal paper, with the computer fitting in cradle-like.

Pricing? No-one on stand seemed to know the printer's price, and
the company's literature didn't help either. Expect the printer
some time in November. Let's hope they know what the price is by
then.

CONTACT: PSION PLC - 01-723-9408

[***][9/20/88][***]
VICTOR: V386T FILE SERVER UNVEILED
HIGH WYCOMBE, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE (NB) - Victor unveiled its first
floor-standing computer system at the show, the V386T. The 16MHz
80386-based machine in available in three configurations, and
comes with a choice of 3.5 or 5.25 inch floppies, as well as 130
or 230Mb hard disk systems. Pricing for a 2.5 MB system
(expandable to 16Mb onboard) starts at #4,729. Expansion is via
an eight-slot chassis.

Bob Webb, Victor UK's MD, sees the V386T as a powerful
file server: "We designed the V386T to effectively manage local
area networks. It offers users the expansion capabilities
required to effectively cope with a large network and fulfills the
capacity and performance demands created in multi-user
environments," he said.

VERDICT: Nice and powerful, but at a price...

CONTACT: VICTOR UK - 0494-461600

[***][9/20/88][***]
VIGLEN: VIG PC RANGE UNVEILED
LONDON, UK (NB) -- Viglen launched three new PCs at the show -
the Vig I, II and III series. The Vig 1 is an NEC V20 (8088-
compatible) machine, whilst the II and III series are 80286 and
80386-driven.

Pricing on the Vig I range starts at #529 for a 256K single-drive
unit with mono monitor, single parallel and double serial ports.
MS-Dos, Basic and a games port come as standard. Several
configurations follow on through CGA and EGA graphics to a top of
the range 30Mb hard disk machine with VGA graphics, 640 Ram etc.,
at #1,299.

The Vig II series starts at #1,349 for an 8/12MHz 80286 machine
with 40Mb hard disk and all the Vig 1 series options, rising to
#1,799 for a VGA graphics option.

The Vig III series, meanwhile, tops the range off with an 8/12/20
MHz 80386-based system unit with 40Mb hard disk. Pricing starts
at #2,485 with VGA and 25MHz processor speed options pushing up
to #3,245.

VERDICT: Price-competitive, although hardly innovative.

CONTACT: VIGLEN - 01-843-9903

[***][9/20/88][***]
WALTERS: 80386 PRICING DOWN AND DOWN
HIGH WYCOMBE, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE (NB) -- Walters International, the
budget clone company, stunned us all with a #1,260 80386-based
PC. The Model 9000-16 machine has 1Mb of system Ram (expandable
to 8Mb) and chugs along at 6 or 16MHz. It's basic, but it's
cheap. Amazingly, the machine pricing includes a built-in
clock/calendar card, serial port and monochrome monitor.

The Model 9000-20, meanwhile, drops in price from #3,100 to just
#1,865. System Ram has been reduced to 1Mb from 2Mb, but
otherwise, the 20MHz 80386-based machine is as before in a tower
case. Various multi-user configurations are available from #3,815
for a three-user system, ranging to #9,715 for a 17-user system.

Ed Moir, the company's sales director, says that low-cost 80386-
based machines is what the market wants, and Walters can satisfy
the demand at rock-bottom prices.

"We've been waiting to see what happened with Microchannel and
now believe it is a non-starter. We're therefore committing
ourselves to this new lost-cost machine and to a new level of
pricing on other 386 systems." he said.

VERDICT: Nice pricing. Where did I put my chequebook?

CONTACT: WALTERS INTERNATIONAL - 0494-32751

[***][9/20/88][***]
SHOW SNIPPETS:


CAMBRIDGE COMPUTER (0223-312216) has released Maclink, a package
to link the Z88 laptop computer to AN Apple Macintosh. The #59-95
package includes a master disk for the Mac, a Maclink Epsom
cartridge for the Z88 and a serial cable to link the two
machines...

DABS PRESS (0727-38781) has launched two new Dabhand guides for
users of Wordstar 1512/Express and Supercalc 3. The #14-95 books
look to offer good value...

GERICMAR (01-878-9130) launched ACT!, an activity management
system for the PC. The package costs #395 and is available in 3.5
and 5.25 inch disk formats...

MICROSTORAGE TECHNOLOGY (0734-730508) launched its IMAGER back-up
card for the PC. The #175 full-length card allows hard disk and
floppy data to be streamed to be backed up to a standard video
recorder. Data transfer rate is 12K per second - equivalent to
10Mb in 11 minutes...

SAMNA INTERNATIONAL (01-587-1121) unveiled ONE WORD PLUS, a
budget version of its Samna IV word processing package. The #149
package includes most of the features of Samna IV, including
mail-merge and line drawing facilities...

The TELEMAP GROUP (01-278-3143) announced that its Micronet
online service is being licensed to Minitel, the French videotex
service. The company also launched Interbusiness, a business-
oriented database, on Prestel, the UK's public viewdata
network...


And now the rest of the week's news...

[***][9/20/88][***]
AMSTRAD: NEW PCS UNVEILED
BRENTWOOD, MIDDLESEX -- As revealed in last week's NEWSBYTES UK
(preen, preen), Amstrad went ahead and unveiled its PC2000 series
of micros. Also unveiled was the PC200 series, the so-called
Sinclair Professional machines starting at #299.

The PC200 series of machines come with a basic 512K of system
Ram. Three machines will initially be available, ranging in price
from #299 to #499. The entry-level machine, which includes a TV
modulator, comes is a black casing, and will include a mouse, GW-
Basic and Gem-3 as standard.

The intermediate PC200, selling for (you guessed) #399, comes
with a monochrome monitor, joystick, organiser and four games.
The top of the range modem comes with a colour monitor, as well
as a mouse and a variety of bundled software.

All three machines are 8MHz 8086-based and come with an integral
3.5 inch disk drive. Although the case is a one-piecer (ala Atari
520ST/Amiga 500), the top of the case can be removed to reveal
two full size PC expansion slots.

Also unveiled at Amstrad's marathon press launch last week were
four PC VGA-compatible monitors, designed to work with the PC2000
series. Pricing on the new monitors range from #149 to #499.

Finally, for communications enthusiasts, Amstrad unveiled the
SM2400, a free-standing version of its now-famous quad-standard
PC card modem. The SM2400 will retail for #249 - #50 more than
the PC card modem - but is still considerably less than the price
of other, comparable units on the market.

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

[***][9/20/88][***]
MIRACOM: LOW AND MID-RANGE MODEMS RELAUNCHED
IPSWICH, UK (NB) -- Miracom, formerly known as Miracle
Technology, has restructured its entry-level and mid-price modem
range. In addition, it has launched PS/2 versions of its modems
at no extra cost to the end user.

The WS3000 V21/23 modem falls in price to #132 and gains tone-
dialling and a call-monitor loudspeaker on its feature list. The
modem has a re-styled fascia and comes in a grey case. A PC and
PS/2 card version of the modem is now available for the same
price, and includes security and Datasoft's Datatalk software as
a free extra.

The WS4000 series of modems now start at #295 for a V21/22/23
tri-standard unit. A quad-standard (V21/22/22Bis/23) unit now
costs #425. Call progress detection and monitoring are now added
to the WS4000's modem feature list. As with the WS3000, PC and
PS/2 card versions - known as the Keycard 3000 series - are also
available at the same price and include Protect 3000 security and
Datatalk software at no extra charge.

According to Neil Mellor, marketing manager for Miracom's
datacomms division, the modems include a two-year warranty and
are highly price competitive.

"We've launched versions for the PS/2 series at no extra charge,
unlike some of our competitors. We don't think the PS/2 bus
warrants any extra cost," he said.

CONTACT: MIRACOM LTD., Miracom Centre,
         Hadleigh Road Industrial Estate, Ipswich IP2 0HB.
         Tel: [phone].       Email: Dialcom 79:KEY001.
[***][9/20/88][***]
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
+ BRITBYTES - Bytes of news from around the UK... +
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

ATARI UK (0753-33344) has reversed last March's #100 price rise
on the 520ST by cutting the price back to #299. The price rise
officially takes effect from 1 October, although some dealers
reduced their pricing as soon as the announcement was made last
week...

CITIZEN (0895-72621) has launched three new printers - two laser
and one dot matrix. The lasers are the Overture 12 and 106 which
run at 12 and 6 pages per minute respectively. The Overture 106
looks price-competitive at #1,595. The 180E dot-matrix printer
prices in a (comparatively) modest #229 and gets you a 180cps
nine-pin printer for your money...

COMMODORE UK (0628-770088) hasn't cut the price of its AMIGA 500
machines to match Atari's 520ST price cut (see above), but it is
bundling the previously optional TV modulator - worth #30 -
within the A500's #399 price tag...

FRONTIER SOFTWARE (0423-67140) has begun shipping a 120Mb version
of the Supradrive for the Atari ST. According to Martin Walsh,
Frontier's marketing manager, the #1,478.21 drive, gives the user
a middle ground between the company's low and high-end hard disks
for the ST...

PROTEK (01-245-6844) has developed a version of its TEKBASE
relational database package for Hewlett-Packard's HP-UX Unix-
based computers, and is working on Unix versions for other
machines. Previously, the package only ran on H-P 200 and 300
series of micros...