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/nb880927.275

Text File | 1991-08-18 | 76KB | 1,603 lines

[***][9/27/88][***]
APPLE UNVEILS NEW '030 MACINTOSH IIX, NEW SE CONFIGURATION
SAN FRANCISCO (NB) -- Apple Computer has introduced its most powerful
computer to date, a Motorola 68882 and 68030-based Macintosh II called
the IIX.  The combination of processors running at a modest 16 MHz
provide an additional 10 to 15% higher performance than the Macintosh
II.  While the performance isn't that significant, the machine's new
disk drive is.  Called a FDHD for Floppy High Density Drive, the drive
is supposed to read and write MS-DOS, OS/2 and ProDOS files in conjunction
with Macintosh programs stored from standard 400K and 800K disks,
and those designed in A/UX, Apple's version of the Unix operating
system.    The drive can put up to 1.44 MB of data on a single 3.5" diskette.

The IIX, which comes with a standard 4 MB of RAM, 256K ROM, high resolution
color, graphics, sound, and NuBus, has the SCSI interface which allows
up to seven, high speed peripheral devices to be daisy-chained to
the system.  The cost is $9,369 for a IIX with an 80 MB hard disk, and
$7,769 for a version without one.  They are slated to ship in October.

Owners of Macintosh IIs can upgrade to IIX machines via a new logic
board upgrade, disk drive upgrade, and new controller chip, all for
an estimated $3,300.

Meanwhile Apple also announced a 2 MB Macintosh SE with an internal
40 megabyte hard drive.  The suggested price is $5,069 and is available
immediately.

The announcement was seen by some as an effort to upstage Steve Jobs,
Apple founder, now of NeXT, whose 68030-based workstation, years in
the making, will be unveiled October 12 in San Francisco.  But NEWSBYTES
has learned that virtually all the seats in the Davies Symphony Hall
have been reserved by avid reporters and guests to the event.

[***][9/27/88][***]
BUT ABOUT THAT PC DEMO DISK....
SAN JOSE, Ca. (NB) -- There's no reason to think it doesn't work, but
the media kits demonstrating the PC disks which demonstrate how the
Mac can handle software obviously didn't.  THE SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS
was one of the first to receive Apple's demonstration disk and guide
called "The Compatibility Guide:  an MS-DOS Point of View About
Macintosh."  Reporter Michael Feibus tried to boot the disks on
three different IBM compatibles:  a Tandy, an IBM PC, and a PC from
AST Research.  The screen on each machine would read, "One moment
please."  Says the writer, "We even went to lunch.  When we returned
we were still just a moment away from compatibility."

The disks were created by Softad Group of Sausalito, which claims
that while the demonstration disks worked when they left
their offices, the batch of disks sent to the media may have been bad.
What a way to impress!

[***][9/27/88][***]
APPLE MACINTOSHES GOING TO THE RUSSIANS
CUPERTINO, Ca. (NB) -- Aided by new laws easing export restrictions,
a new joint venture company will be selling Apple Macintoshes in
the Soviet Union.  The venture between AlphaGraphics of Tucson,
Phargo Management and Consulting of Toronto, and a Soviet publishing
company expects to do $1 million in business this year selling Macintoshes
to the U.S.S.R.  Until now, Apple computers have not been too
popular behind the Iron Curtain as the Soviet government has been
standardizing with IBM compatibles over the years.

[***][9/27/88][***]
JUDGE IN LOOK AND FEEL DISPUTE FEELS JUSTIFIED ON THE BENCH
SAN JOSE, Ca. (NB) -- Judge Robert Aguilar will not step down from
the bench in the dispute between Hewlett Packard, Microsoft, and
Apple, simply because his son works at Hewlett Packard.  Aguilar
has decided that Apple, which presented the complaint, had not
presented any new evidence to convince him to step down.  Apple,
meanwhile, has not decided whether to appeal.

There was one bit of news in the "look and feel" dispute which
has Apple suing the other parties over alleged copyright infringement
of its Macintosh visual interface.  Judge Aguilar said the first
hearings could come as early as next month on a part of the case
involving a licensing dispute between Microsoft and Apple.  Previously
Aguilar had said the case would not begin until August, 1989.
If the case is moved up in time, it will be due in large part to
the efforts of attorneys for both Microsoft and Hewlett Packard,
who argued that the long delay in hearing the matter will result in
financial hardship.

[***][9/27/88][***]
JOHN SCULLEY WILL VOTE FOR BUSH
CUPERTINO, Ca. (NB) -- Maybe it's no surprise that one of the world's
wealthiest CEOs will vote Republican, but when Apple CEO and
millionaire John Sculley announced that he supports the veep, people
took notice.  Asked by reporters what he thought of the two
candidates, Sculley confessed that he had "agonized" over the
choice since neither offered "a vision for the 1990s."  He said
he's picking the lesser of two evils, according to a San Francisco
newspaper.  "If you're going to make a change, you should have
a compelling reason; my sense is Bush is more predictable; I know
he's not going to get us into trouble."

But if anything will cause him to vote for the Greek, it's Bush's
choice of a vice presidential nominee, Dan Quayle, who Sculley
terms "a disappointment."

[***][9/27/88][***]
IBM CHIEF ASSAILS EISA GROUP FOR CONFUSING USERS
NAPA, Ca. (NB) -- IBM Entry Systems Division President Bill Lowe
has told a Dataquest conference that he doesn't believe customers
are well served with "two bus standards" and furthermore, he doesn't
"know why anybody would be interested," in the Extended Industry
Standard Architecture, or EISA, proposed by nine major PC manufacturers
which are rebelling against IBM's proprietary Micro Channel Architecture.
Lowe contended that board manufacturers, among others, are now
confused about which standard to support.

If IBM has any willies about the action by the "Gang of 9," he didn't
show it at the conference.  The IBM sales pitch for PS/2 machines
based on the new Micro Channel Architecture continues unabated.  Lowe
promised that at Fall Comdex in Las Vegas November 14-18, IBM
will have about 500 third party software products to show for MCA.
He reiterated the fact that IBM has now shipped over 3 million PS/2
machines.

[***][9/27/88][***]
ULTRA NETWORK STREAKS BY AT ONE GIGABIT PER SECOND
SAN JOSE, Ca. (NB) -- Ultra Network Technologies, chaired by a founder
of Rolm Corporation, has unveiled a revolutionary new series of
networking products that are capable of break-neck speeds in data
transfer. The Ultra Network System enables supercomputers, near-
supercomputers, and workstations to transfer up to one gigabit of data
(one billion bits) per second (provided there are no other
obstructions on the network freeway, so to speak).  The speed
claim was, however, tempered by this statement from the company,
"While this (speed) is an important measure of network performance,
the real measure of performance in any network is effective
throughput; ie, how fast a user's application can pass data
through the network."  Network overhead and protocol translation eats
into the available bandwidth and limits effective throughput or
effective performance.

Nevertheless, the UltraNet system is the only network to substantially
improve effective performance in a wide range of high speed host computers,
including those from Cray, Convex, Alliant, Sun Microsystems, and
Silicon Graphics.  The cost is from $8,000 to $75,000 per node.

[***][9/27/88][***]
SILICON GRAPHICS TO DISH OUT THE GLAMOUR
SAN FRANCISCO (NB) -- Silicon Graphics is pinching no pennies when it
comes to rolling out a day of product introductions.  On October 4,
Silicon Graphics will host events at the Fairmont Hotel, th Palace
of Fine Arts, and the Exploratorium, engaging shuttle buses to take
guests between the luncheon, main event, product showcase, and dinner
and dancing.  What's it all about?  Scheduled for unveiling are a
line of both high end and low end workstations based on Mips
microprocessors which are expected, according to one analyst, to
propel them to $1 billion in sales next year.  Stay tuned.

[***][9/27/88][***]
JOKE CREATION PROGRAM FOR PCS
BERKELEY, Ca. (NB) -- Billed as serious software that helps users
create jokes, Responsive Software of Berkeley is offering The Humor
Processor, a $49.95 program for PCs and compatibles.  Need a cute
one liner for the Elks Club luncheon?  Are you a politician, minister,
lecturer, camp counselor, teacher, disk jockey or sales person
concerned about breaking the ice?  This product may, then, be for you.
The program isn't just a database of jokes.  No -- you create
jokes based on certain formulas and brainstorm them for pairings.
For instance there's the Exaggeration Formula, the Cliche Rewrite,
Definitions, The Reversal Formula, etc.  The program also comes
with a user's manual which includes a chapter on how to tell a joke
and a bibliography of over 100 books, newsletters, and organizations
concerned with humor and joke writing.

You too can be funny with such jokes, created with The Humor
Processor, as:  Did you know that if you took out a man's intestines,
and stretched them out into a straight line, that man would die?  Or
how about:  The bank was so large, they had a special window just
for holdups!  You get the picture.

CONTACT:  Responsive Software, 415-843-1034

[***][9/27/88][***]
IN BRIEF --

ATARI Chairman Jack Tramiel will still support Amnesty International
but at this point has no plans to pose with Peter Gabriel.

AUTODESK, Sausalito, Ca., is sponsoring CAD Camp at the Marin Civic Center
in San Rafael, Ca.  Some 500 authorized Autodesk dealers and some
250 after-market vendors and applications developers will attend
what is expected to be the largest single event ever held at the Marin
Civic Center.  The event takes place through the 27th of September.

BROWN BAG SOFTWARE, Campbell, Ca., has opened a Washington, DC sales
office.  It's located at 5130 MacArthur Boulevard NW, Suite 103,
Washington, DC 20016.

ELECTRONIC ARTS, San Mateo, Ca., is now shipping Studio/8, an
advanced color graphic design program for the Macintosh II.  The
price is $495.

MICROSOFT, Redmond, Wa., has released a new Software Development Kit
for OS/2 which contains an updated  OS/2 version 1.1, including
Presentation Manager, updated development tools, and many new
sample programs.  The cost is $3,000.

The XEROX VENTURA PUBLISHER DESIGN FOR EXCELLENCE contest has been won
by "Revenge of the Creature Features Movie Guide" by John Stanley.
Stanley is a critic for the SAN FRANCICO CHRONICLE and former host
of a KTVU horror series called Creature Features.


[***][9/27/88][***]
PRODIGY BEHIND THE SCREENS
ATLANTA (NB) -- IBM and Sears have unveiled their
videotex system, Prodigy, in selected markets, including San
Francisco, Hartford, CT and Atlanta. On September 23 NEWSBYTES got a
friendly call from White Plains. Three days later NEWSBYTES was
online. Prodigy, 4 highly-publicized years in the making, is the
online service designed to bring online services to "the rest of
us."

The "product" offers shopping, reading, and games played in front
of the same kind of computer you use at work, namely an IBM or PC
clone. The physical package needed to bring a PC
owner online looks like a box 10 5 1/4 inch floppies might come
in. Inside are two disks (one if your floppies are 3 1/2 inches),
two spiral-bound manuals and a welcoming brochure. As an option,
you can buy a 1200 baud Hayes modem which plugs into a wall
socket. On a quick online tour, NEWSBYTES found two sets of
shopping floors with 20-50 live merchants behind each one. On the
information side there's equal breadth but questionable depth --
there were only 5 wire stories from Georgia under the general
news categories, for instance.

Now, the bad news. Prodigy pre-screens everything which goes onto
its bulletin board. The software sends every new user through a
series of sign-up menus, ending with a 4-screen disclaimer giving
Prodigy the right to use for its own purposes any information
about you (transaction records, for instance) they might collect
through serving you. It sure feels like Big Brother is watching,
but maybe America's Mall-Walkers prefer it that way. The Prodigy
world is one of painted screens, menus, and 10-15 seconds spent
waiting between each screen on an IBM PC XT.

If you have CGA graphics, you'll just get black-
and-white, so EGA graphics are a minimum for PC owners. And it
works much better with a mouse, or at least a trackball.

But to really judge the value of Prodigy, find the most
computerphobic PC owner you know, and put them in front of Prodigy
for an hour. If the friend stays seated for that hour and comes
up smiling, IBM and Sears may have a winner.

CONTACT: Brian Ek, PRODIGY, 914-993-8843, to order call 800-356-
         3664

[***][9/27/88][***]
CONTROLLING THE DATA                    *ANALYSIS*
NEW YORK (NB) -- If Prodigy can capture a meaningful share of the
shop-at-home market from catalogs and TV, it will join a long
list of systems where major industry participants control the
data competitors depend upon. The best examples are airline
reservation systems run by American and United, which tell those
airlines how rivals are changing their fares, and put the home
team first more often than Russian Olympic judges on travel
agents' screens. Baxter Travenol is doing the same thing in the
hospital supply business -- adding competitors' data to its
screens and thus gaining access to it. In California, a bank
mortgage-shopping system called CompuFund is one-third owned by
Great American First Savings Bank, a mortgage lender.

A similar battle over data control is shaping up in the
trading of government bonds, including our national debt. "The
Wall Street Journal" reported September 22 how Telerate, Knight-
Ridder, Reuters, and Citicorp's Quotron unit are now facing
competition from "The Bloomberg," a hand-held device attached to
a computer which not only collects and transmits government-bond
prices, but analyzes the factors driving those prices and
presents the results as charts. Bloomberg gave his story to the
Journal in hopes of encouraging Merrill Lynch, whose data he's
using, to let him use others' data before a 7-year exclusivity
deal expires in 1991. Bloomberg arrogantly talked about
"controlling" the market in hopes of encouraging an anti-trust
suit which would let him get out of the Merrill contract.

The main point everywhere is the same. Control the system needed
to get to market, and you can control the market. The issue for
the 1990s is whether such arrangements violate anti-trust law,
and more important, whether they should.

[***][9/27/88][***]
NORTHERN TELECOM TELLING IBM MAINFRAMES WHO'S CALLING
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC (NB) -- Northern Telecom and IBM have
begun a pilot program to pass data between NT switches and IBM
mainframes. The data in question is called Station Message Detail
Records, and right now it usually consists of phone numbers. In
the next few years, however, names will become attached to the
phone numbers. After that, addresses.

The best way to understand the importance of the move is with an
application, explained by NT spokesman Ed Kelleher in Durham, NC.
A guest before checking out of his hotel room, calls his home
across the country. The SMDR consists of the number he's calling
from, the number being called, and the length of the call. If the
hotel has an NT PBX, it can prepare a bill on the call ready for
a signature before the guest gets downstairs. If the hotel is
billing with an IBM mainframe and using a phone company's switch
to handle internal calls, they can't capture that data, analyze
it, and present it for your signature. Or they couldn't, until
now. In the test, NT and IBM are passing SMDR data through the
GTE phone system used in the Research Triangle Park. Tests are
also being conducted using Telenet and Northern Telecom lines.

CONTACT: Ed Kelleher, NORTHERN TELECOM, 919-992-2788

[***][9/27/88][***]
AT&T PREPARES TO ROLL OUT TOLL-FREE LINES WITH SMDR
BASKING RIDGE, NJ (NB) -- If you read the above story, you know
what SMDR means. (If you missed it, Station Message Detail
Records are data on phone calls include the number calling, the
number being called, and the running-time of the call. Phone
switches pass SMDR among their internal computers to tote up your
phone bill.) Early next year, AT&T will roll out a toll-free
service called 1-800 Info 1 which gives this data to the
"operator standing by" taking your order for direct response to
TV ads. Or to a machine standing in for the operator.

One of the first users of Info 1 will be the Touchtone Video
Network, a satellite movie network for satellite dish owners.
President Stuart Levin of TTVN told NEWSBYTES he'll rent 10
satellite transponders running first-run videocassette movies,
then sell dish owners a $25-30/month service (that includes the
rental of his patented descrambler) which combines 6 existing
basic cable services, a 24-hour movie channel called Starion he's
joint-owner of (with Amway), and pay-per-view access to the
movies at about $4/each. Each transponder will have its own 800-
number attached to it, and through the passing of SMDR data that
number will know where you're calling from, unscrambling each
movie you buy without operator assistance. Other possible uses of
the technology abound. (Including the compiling of police dossiers
on dish owners' viewing habits.)

CONTACT: John Skalko, AT&T, 201-221-2888; TTVN, Dan Harary, 213-
936-7900.

[***][9/27/88][***]
COMPAQ ANNOUNCES ANOTHER SLIGHTLY SMALLER, FASTER PC
HOUSTON (NB) -- Compaq followed on its "slot" challenge to IBM
with a new Intel 80386-based PC which it claims is faster, and
smaller, than comparable machines. Software called the Flexible
Advanced Systems architecture speeds data into memory to get the
most from an Intel 80386 chip, running at its speed limit of 20
Mhz. President Rod Canion says this Compaq software makes the
machine up to 25% faster than other machines using the same chip
at the same clock speed. The machine comes standard with 1
megabyte of memory, expandable to 16 megabytes without the use of
additional add-in boards. And it comes with the new slots
announced last week called EISA (Extended Industry Standard
Architecture). Graphics are also built-in. Pricing starts at
$5,200, and goes up to $8,000. That's down 15% from the price of
Compaq's previous model.

COMPAQ LAPTOP WATCH -- Canion told the press a Compaq laptop will
be coming Real Soon Now, and promised new, unspecified, product
announcements from the Compaq Ranch later this year. Compaq's
market share in the portable market has been hurt recently by the
lack of a laptop in its line.

CONTACT: Bob Beach, COMPAQ, [phone]

[***][9/27/88][***]
PUT YOUR RESUME INTO A DATABASE AT THE PRINT SHOP
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (NB) -- Executive Telecom System, publishers of
the Human Resource Information Network (HRIN), and Curtis
Publishing, which publishes a database of resumes, are teaming up
to offer a fillip to job-seekers everywhere. Curtis wants to sign
up print-shops -- Kwik-Kopy, Kinko's, and others -- to sell you
access for your resume into the HRIN database. When you bring
your resume in for printing, another $10 or so (actual price
depends on what profit the printer chooses to take) will get your
resume forwarded. HRIN will then sell access to the database to
human resource professionals, who might choose candidates from it
rather than those who come in through classified ads or
headhunters.

CONTACT: Becky Ruehl, EXECUTIVE TELECOM SYSTEM, [phone]

[***][9/27/88][***]
MINNEAPOLIS METER-READERS BEING OUTFITTED WITH 6-POUND PCs
MINNEAPOLIS, MN (NB) -- KET, Minnetonka, MN, unveiled a new
portable computer for police departments which can let parking
meter-readers identify scofflaws and stolen cars instantly, and
print-out tickets or order towing, from a 6-pound unit. The
Minneapolis police, who've decided to outfit their cops with the
units starting October 3, told the "Minneapolis Star-Tribune" the
$250,000 purchase will help them collect $2 million in unpaid
tickets and cut paperwork, thus paying for itself in less than a
year. Officials told the "Minneapolis Star-Tribune" the new
system will only identify cars stolen in Hennepin County, for
now. Connecting county computers to state and national computers
would really extend the long arm of the law.

[***][9/27/88][***]
SUPERCONDUCTING LICENSE BATTLE UNDERWAY
CAMBRIDGE, MA (NB) -- Now that the principles underlying
superconductivity are becoming known, the race is on to license
the discoveries and create products which are lawyer-proof.
DuPont fired the first salvo last month, licensing the work of
University of Houston researcher Paul Chu. Now American
Superconductor, a start-up, has agreed to license manufacturing
technologies from the Argonne Labs. The Argonne technology
involves coating metal wires with elements common to high-
temperature superconductors, like yttrium, then baking the
result to form crystals around the flexible wires. Inco Ltd., a
Toronto metals concern, and MIT also have superconducting
manufacture techniques worth watching.

[***][9/27/88][***]
PECAN CHIPS

DCA, Alpharetta, GA, announced a software specification called
DCA HLLAP13, a micro-mainframe script language which lets users
of the company's IRMA line of micro-mainframe products automate
their communications. The price is $195.

DONALD BURLESON, 40, of Fort Worth was convicted of using a
computer virus to cause $2,500 in damage to the computer of his
former employers, USPA and IRA Co., an insurance brokerage, and
could get 10 years in prison. Burleson's attorneys claimed he was
"set up" by someone else using his terminal and log-on codes. The
conviction drew comment from ABC News and other major media
outlets.

DIGITAL EQUIPMENT held part of its Decworld computer show at the
Dallas Infomart, with panel discussions and demonstrations by DEC
personnel, concentrating on computers for companies in
electronics and telecommunications. In Atlanta, DEC held a show
specifically for the lumber and paper industries, and utilities
companies.

MACROMIND, Chicago, announced 3D-Works, an animation program
based on its VideoWorks series for the Macintosh. The program
will include a module compatible with Renderman, a 3-D program
created by Pixar for the movie "Star Wars."

NOVELL, Provo, UT, bought 60% of INDISY SOFTWARE, Los Angeles, a
mainframe software vendor strong in programs which transfer data
through IBM mainframes running MVS, and to other systems. Also, a
survey by COMPUTER INTELLIGENCE, La Jolla, CA, had 70% of those
considering LANs planning to purchase Novell's Netware.

QUADRAM, Norcross, began shipping its JT Fax 9600, a faster
version of its popular fax board. Like the other boards in the
line, the JT Fax 9600 software works in the background.

WORDPERFECT, Orem, UT, gave ELECTRONIC TEXT CORP. of Orem the
right to publish computerized versions of its manuals using their
WordCruncher indexing and retrieval program. The searchable
version of the manual can be inside your PC for about $37.

ZENITH ELECTRONICS, Glenview, IL, is considering joint-ventures
to help it make money in the computer and TV businesses.
Brookhurst Partners of New York, a Zenith shareholder, has sued
the company to force an end to losses.

ZSOFT, Marietta, GA, says it will integrate Compugraphic's
Intellifont font-scaling technology into its graphics software
products, including PC Paintbrush.



[***][9/27/88][***]
YOU READ IT HERE FIRST/WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 27, 1988
Copyright 1988/Written by W. A. Yacco, Exclusive to NEWSBYTES

In this week's installment...

 - INTERFACE ON BOARD, BABY...Interactive Drafting

 - IT'S 1999; DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR COMPUTER IS?...This May Be It!

 - BIG BLUE AND BIG RED: BUT WHO'S BIG YELLOW?...Network Challenger
                                        Reveals More of Master Plan.

 - QUOTE OF THE WEEK...It's Bearly Tolerable

 - NEATEST HARDWARE...Makes Your Lap Happy

 - SCANNERS LIVE IN VAIN...Get Ready To Junk The Old One This Fall


INTERFACE ON BOARD, BABY
LOS ANGELES, Ca (NB) -- ADC 88, the computer show for the aerospace
and defense industries, was held here earlier this week and there
were a couple of items of interest.  (More, if you are turned on by
computers designed to withstand direct hits by neutron bombs.)  One
was Showcase, an interactive drawing board that is bound to become a
standard.  Showcase has a two-by-three foot surface that works
exactly like a digitizing tablet except that the high-resolution
color images (up to 1K) which would normally be seen on a monitor
are projected right through the table.  So the draftsperson or
engineer makes changes to the drawing without ever making a hard
copy.

Virtually all computers are supported: Suns, Apollos, PCs, Macs,
whatever.  I saw it demonstrated on a Mac II and all of the drafting
tools were also displayed for selection by pointer.  The artist,
working with a stylus, never took her eyes or hands from the work
for a second.  It's fast.

The one drawback is a high cost.  Those who can easily afford it now
are the professionals.  They will gain enough productivity in a
matter of months to justify buying one.  The board costs about
$40,000 and the underlying technology is too expensive for the price
to fall to a level where everyone will be using one in the near
future.  It is such an appealing interface, however, that a price
breakthrough will be all it takes for the board to spread like
eraser tailings.


IT'S 1999; DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR COMPUTER IS?
 . . . (NB) -- The second thing I took note of was the interest that
the aerospace industry has in parallel-processor technology.  With
the money that is thrown at the defense industry, these companies
can afford leading-edge machines based simply on what delivers the
performance.  On the other hand, the rest of us may have to wait but
high tech has a way of eventually filtering down to a mass market as
it's adopted by an increasingly larger avant-garde.

Several different processor/memory-network topologies were
represented: the bus, hypercube, crossbar and butterfly switch are
major alternatives.  Intel has been in the market with these
computers for about eight or ten years.  According to one of Intel's
representatives, Ian Taylor, "It can be safely said that by the end
of the 1990's everyone will be using parallel processors."


BIG BLUE AND BIG RED: BUT WHO'S BIG YELLOW?
PASADENA, Ca (NB) -- Prodigy was expanded this week to several new
cities including some in the southland.  The generous folks from
soon-to-be big yellow were at Cal Tech for the monthly meeting of
the local IBM User Group.  Free six-month memberships, including
software, were lying everywhere like flypaper ready to trap anyone
who stumbled in from the street.  If you didn't have a modem, a
genuine Hayes was provided for about the price of something from off
shore.  Talk about buying market share.  The spokesman said they
would have tens of thousands of subscribers this year and hundreds
of thousands within two.  The goal is millions.  (Jeff Goldblum
beware!)

A pipe dream?  Don't forget that everything costs a flat ten bucks a
month and then look at some of the features.  First of all, the
interface for this system is partly contained in the local software:
you get graphics, fast response, powerful editing, and more.  This
is the modern network interface to which the competition will have
to respond.  It will have a wide appeal among ordinary people who
wouldn't go within miles of what you're using right now.

You get the good services that you expect: Easy SABRE, Dow Jones
with a fifteen-minute delay , UPI, etc.  You also get individual
portfolio-management (not yet implemented), direct e-mail access to
experts (Stewart Alsop on computers for example), shopping services
galore, and anything else they can think of as fast as they can
think of it.  In two markets, it's already possible to order
groceries which are picked, packed and delivered for under ten
dollars an order extra.  Can you imagine being able to get back the
one or two hours it now takes to shop--for so little?  When you add
up the hours, its like getting a second vacation every year.  And,
if you buy enough groceries, the charges could disappear altogether.
Plus, gone are the temptations to buy impulse items that aren't on
your list--a major strategy of grocers to increase your food bill.

Still, I remain unconvinced that the Prodigy team has solved all
pieces of this marketing puzzle.  To me, Sear's customer service is
practically an oxymoron and the Prodigy software, as good as it is
in many respects, seemed to reinforce that this may be a weak area
for Prodigy as well.  To my dismay, the program supports only COM1
and COM2.  As a result, I am forced to sacrifice either EGA
resolution or 2400 bps speed even with three different system
configurations.  Nowadays, I'm surprized when I find shareware that
doesn't support up to COM4; let's get with it Prodigy.


QUOTE OF THE WEEK
LOS ANGELES, Ca (NB) -- The local Softeach was held here this past
weekend by Softsel.  Dealers come to seminars and learn how the
latest whiz-bang products will separate their customers from
enormous amounts of cash and leave them smiling.  Except, that is,
at the sold-out WordPerfect seminars.  It seems no one needs to sell
the popular product from Orem; so, dealers come just to have fun and
try to win Teddy bears or, as Teddy is called in Utah,
"BearlyPerfect."  (I didn't make that up, honest, they did.)


NEATEST HARDWARE
 . . . (NB) -- Cambridge Computer was there pumping its little Z88
notepad computer into the PipeDream.  If they're dreaming, so am I.
This sub-two-pound miniature is packed with built-in applications
(including the PipeDream word processor/spreadsheet) and will
eventually take up to three megabytes of RAM.  Base price is $549.00
with 32KB.


SCANNERS LIVE IN VAIN
 . . . (NB) -- Watch for A T & T at COMDEX this fall if you publish
on the desktop.  According to a knowledgeable source, there is going
to be an important scanner announcement that might change the color
of any current plans you have.


[***][9/27/88][***]
GANDALF EXECUTIVE TOUTS LOGICAL INFORMATION NETWORK
VANCOUVER (NB) -- Network managers increasingly will look to
logical information networks (LINs) to combine dissimilar
elements into "seamless" information networks, the Canadian
Business Telecommunications Alliance was told last week.

Howard J. Gunn, vice-president of corporate strategy for Gandalf
Technologies Inc., said optimizing individual networks in an
organization does almost nothing to optimize the over-all
communications investment.  The diverse technologies must be
integrated into a cohesive, single network, he said.  "To
maximize a network investment, you have to move up to the
enterprise level, as IBM calls it, and develop a LIN between
desktops and processors and sites.  The LIN must integrate the
various processing and transport tasks that have dissimilar
technical and performance characteristics."

The logical information network is based on the open systems
interconnection (OSI) model. Communications industry suppliers
are making progress on this front.  Gunn cited Gandalf's
Starmaster system as an example.  Gandalf designs and
manufactures electronic data communications equipment and
information network systems.

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

[***][9/27/88][***]
PUBLISHER RELEASES SOURCES DISK
TORONTO (NB) -- Plesman Publications Ltd., publisher of five
technology periodicals, is selling three databases of computer
and software suppliers on diskette.  Called Sources, the package
contains nearly two megabytes of data and programs.

The CANADIAN COMPUTER DEALER NEWS Source Guide lists more than
500  computer product manufacturers and distributors, with branch
locations and the brands they handle.  The Cantek database,
prepared by the federal External Affairs Department, lists more
than 800 high-tech companies with extensive descriptions.  And
the Ontario Software Industry Database, prepared by the Ontario
Ministry  of Industry, Trade and Technology, lists 1,100-plus
Ontario companies involved in software.

The package includes a data retrieval program for MS-DOS
computers, and instructions for installing the programs and data
onto a hard disk.

Prices depend on diskette format as follows: 1.2-megabyte 5.25-
inch disks, C$25; 360K-byte 5.25-inch, C$45; 1.4-megabyte 3.5-
inch disks, C$30; 720K-byte 3.5-inch, C$35.  Ontario residents
must add eight per cent sales tax.  A handling charge of C$10
will be added if ordering by purchase order.

CONTACT: PLESMAN PUBLICATIONS LTD., 255 Consumers Rd., Suite 110
         Willowdale, Ont. M2J 5B1, [phone]

[***][9/27/88][***]
BEDFORD OPENS QUEBEC OFFICE, BOLSTERS SUPPORT
BURNABY, B.C. (NB) -- Bedford Software Ltd., the maker of
accounting software based here, is opening an office in downtown
Montreal on October 3.  Bedford says the office will beef up its
marketing presence in Quebec.  French-language telephone support,
previously provided from the Burnaby head office, will be moved
to Montreal.  Registered Bedford dealers in Quebec will be able
to take advantage of on-site training, telephone support and
point-of-purchase materials at no charge.  The new office will
initially employ two people, one of whom is moving from the
Burnaby office.

Bedford offers accounting software for small business: Integrated
Accounting for MS-DOS machines and Simple Accounting for the
Apple Macintosh.  Both programs are available in both English and
French versions.

CONTACT: BEDFORD SOFTWARE LTD., 102B, 3701 East Hastings St.
         Burnaby, B.C. V5C 2H6, [phone]
         OR
         BEDFORD SOFTWARE LTD., 1200 McGill College, Bureau 1100
         Montreal, Que. H3B 4G7, [phone],
         fax [phone]

[***][9/27/88][***]
PC-CANADA BOARD CHANGES NAME
TORONTO (NB) -- Subscribers to PCanada, one of the largest
electronic bulletin board systems in Canada, are seeing a new
banner when they log on.  The board is now called The Torus
Information Network, a division of PC-Canada Systems Inc.  There
have been some other changes, too: the board recently shifted to
new software (RBBS-PC 16.1A in a Tapestry II environment), and
Bob Eyer has taken over the job of sysop from PC-Canada President
Doug Peel.  PC-Canada is also a personal computer dealer.  For
those who are interested, PC-Canada is an authorized NEWSBYTES
republisher, so you can read us there too!

CONTACT: PC-CANADA SYSTEMS INC., 265 Nantucket Blvd.,
         Scarborough, Ont. M1P 2P2, [phone],
         Fax [phone]

[***][9/27/88][***]
CANADA REMOTE EXPANDS AGAIN
TORONTO (NB) -- Canada Remote Systems is expanding its bulletin
board system to 53 computers.  Six new systems and six new phone
lines were scheduled to be added in September, in line with CRS's
stated goal to ensure that customers never wait more than 10
minutes for a connection.  After logging its first 1,000-caller
day in April, CRS saw traffic drop off a bit during the summer,
but the BBS's latest member newsletter says calls are now up to
1,200-1,300 a day.

Canada Remote has also installed a voice-synthesis system on its
technical support line to expand service to 24 hours a day, seven
days a week.  Human operators are still on the line during normal
hours, with voice-synthesized help the rest of the time.

CONTACT: CANADA REMOTE SYSTEMS, Suite 311, 4198 Dundas St. W.,
         Toronto, Ont. M8X 1Y6, [phone],
         fax [phone]

[***][9/27/88][***]
COMPUTERIZED TRADING GROWING IN VANCOUVER
VANCOUVER (NB) -- The Vancouver Stock Exchange reports that its
Computerized Trading System is steadily increasing its share of
VSE business.  Introduced in late May with 25 stocks, the system
now trades 332 issues.  Computerized trading volume has grown
from about 3.2 per cent of all exchange business in the first six
weeks of operation to 10 per cent at the end of August.  Put
another way, the system has gone from trading about 500,000
shares a day at first to more than 900,000 a day at the beginning
of September.

[***][9/27/88][***]
BITS, EH?
-- INTERNATIONAL SEMI-TECH MICROELECTRONICS INC., Markham, Ont.,
has concluded its purchase of Canada Systems Group, a major
computer service bureau.  CSG will be integrated with Datacrown,
another service bureau Semi-Tech bought earlier this year.  The
combined organization will have annual revenues of more than
C$180 million, Semi-Tech says, and will employ about 1,500
people.

-- APPLE CANADA INC., Markham, Ont., introduced the Macintosh IIx
computer.  With four megabytes of random-access memory and an 80-
megabyte hard disk, the Canadian suggested retail price is
C$13,360.  For more details on the Macintosh IIx, see NEWSBYTES
WEST.

-- TRILLIUM TELEPHONE SYSTEMS INC., Kanata, Ont., is to be folded
into its major shareholder, MITEL CORP., also of Kanata.
Trillium will keep its name but operate as a Mitel division.

-- MEMOTEC DATA INC., Montreal, is merging INFINET INC. of North
Andover, Mass., which is acquired in 1986, with its Montreal-
based data communications operations.  Memotec has also raised
its holdings in INFOTRON SYSTEMS CORP, Cherry Hill, N.J., to 9.2
per cent.

-- TELEGLOBE CANADA, a Memotec subsidiary, is the Canadian
participant in a consortium that will lay the first fibre-optic
trans-Atlantic cable to come ashore in Canada.  The cable, called
TAT-9, will link Canada, the U.S., the U.K., France and Spain.

-- CNCP TELECOMMUNICATIONS, Toronto, is launching a satellite
data communications service.  Announced at the Canadian Business
Telecommunications Alliance (CBTA) conference in Vancouver last
week, the service will be aimed at businesses with branches
across Canada.

-- NEWBRIDGE NETWORKS CORP., Kanata, Ont., has been awarded
Preferred Supplier status by Telecom Corporation of New Zealand.
Newbridge also opened its European headquarters building in
Newport, Wales.

[***][9/27/88][***]
NEC'S NEW PCS TO GET AGGRESSIVE PROMOTIONS
TOKYO (NB) -- NEC has released two new 16-bit personal computers
called the PC9801-RX2 and PC9801-RX4.  The CPUs run at 12MHz, have
a no-wait 16-bit 80286, which realizes a 20% faster data processing
speed than the previous PC9801.  The 16-bit microprocessor V30
makes the new models fully compatible with the popular
PC-9800 series.

The standard user memory is 640 kilobytes, and the main memory
capacity can be extended up to 11.6 megabytes.  A wide variety of
operating systems can be used on the RX, such as Japanese MS-OS/2
for multitasking and PC-UX/V Release 2.0 for multiuser and also
multitasking.  3 kinds of custom VSLI make the new machines' footprints
10 to 20% smaller than their predecessor, and a graphic-oriented
custom LSI called "EGC" makes for quicker graphic routines.

RX2 is priced at 398,000 yen or $3,000, with two 1-megabyte 5-inch
FDDs, and RX4, 566,000 yen or $4,200, with one 20-megabyte
3.5-inch HDD and two 1-megabyte 5-inch FDDs.

Also, NEC has announced a Japanese page printer PC-PR602PS.  The
printer can be used for the Japanese version of standard page
description language PostScript.  NEC promises to release the
printer at the end of October, at the price of 980,000 yen or
$ 7,300.

With the release of these new machines, NEC has launched an aggressive
sales campaign for the PC-9800 series this year.   Originally aiming
to sell 540,000 units, NEC has changed that figure to a whopping
600,000.

Meanwhile, ambitious NEC has established Hiroshima NEC, which has
been named the firm's only 4M DRAM manufacturing facility.  Initially
some 300 will be employed, increasing to 500 later.  Construction
is slated to start in January.

CONTACT: NEC, 1-4-28 Mita, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108

[***][9/27/88][***]
CANON LAUNCHES AX PERSONAL COMPUTERS
TOKYO (NB) -- Camera manufacturer Canon has released four new
models of its original 32-bit AX personal computers.  AX computers are
IBM PC/AT-compatibles with a Japanese language feature.  The four
models are portable DX-20P and DX-10P and desktop DX20P and DX10P.
This is the first time a Japanese company has released a portable
32-bit machine.

DX20P and 20P are attached with a 32-bit i80386 CPU, which has a cache
memory capable of high-speed data processing.  The standard main
memory is 20 megabytes, which can be extended to 8 megabytes.
The disk unit includes a 3.5-inch FDD and a 3.5-inch HDD.

10P and 10 include an i80386SX CPU and two 3.5-inch FDDs.  Their
main memory is 1 megabyte, which can be upgraded to 6 megabytes.
The display of 10X is four gradations of plasma, and that
of the 10 is a 14-inch color CRT.

Canon's AX PCs run on MS-DOS extended version 3.21 for Japanese
and English programs.  The new machines will be shipped next
February, at a price between 598,000 yen ($ 4,400) and 1,108,000
yen ($ 8,300).  Meanwhile, with the release of the AX PCs,
Canon has commercialized the Canon Bubble Jet Printer BJ-400X, which
will be shipped next February at the price of 198,000 yen or
$15,000.

CONTACT: Canon,1-2-7 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 163

[***][9/27/88][***]
SONY ENTERS AX PC FIELD
TOKYO (NB) -- Sony will ship its original 32-bit IBM PC/AT-
compatible personal computer between next January and spring.
The PCX-300X11 is attached with drive units for XA format, which
is CD-ROM extended format, with part of the audio-visual specification
for CD-Interactive applied to CD-ROM.

The new PC becomes an AX personal computer when an optional JEGA board
is inserted into the machine.  The sample price of PCX-300X11
"Quarter L" is 75,000 yen or $5,500.

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

[***][9/27/88][***]
AX ORIGINATOR RELEASES NEW VERSIONS
TOKYO (NB) -- Mitsubishi Electric, one of the three AX
originators, has released two models of desktop AX personal
computers.  M3205-B12 and B14 are upgraded version of the
company's prominent MAXY series.

The attached 16MHz 32-bit 80386X CPU realizes a higher speed for
data processing than the previous models.  The standard main
memory is 1.6 megabytes, which can be extended up to 7.6 megabytes
without using the extension slot.

Mitsubishi will ship B12 at the price of 650,000 yen ($4,800)
and B14, 750,000 yen ($5,500) next January.

CONTACT: Mitsubishi Electric,  2-2-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku,
         Tokyo 100

[***][9/27/88][***]
HITACHI RELEASES COMPACT-SIZE 16-BIT PC
TOKYO (NB) -- Hitachi has released two models of small-size
personal computers.  B16EX-III and HX-II have a 12.5 MHz 16-bit
80286 CPU and a SCSI or small computer system interface.  The
new machines are capable of data transfer at speeds 30 to 50%
higher than Hitachi's previous versions of this machine.  The main
memory is a standard 1 megabyte, extended up five megabytes.

The new machines run MS-DOS extended version 3.1 or Japanese
MS-OS/2.  An attached input feature which utilizes AI technology
chooses correct kanji characters, inferring the context, in case
there are words which have the same pronunciation and different
meanings.  The basic price of B16EX-III is 433,000 yen or
$3,200 and B16HX-II, 768,000 yen or $5,700.

CONTACT: Hitachi, 4-6 Kanda-Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101

[***][9/27/88][***]
MATSUSHITA TO RELEASE AN ORIGINAL INTELLIGENT WORKSTATION
TOKYO (NB) -- Matsushita Electric has developed an original
intelligent 32-bit workstation which can be applied to both
office and engineering fields.  The BE Series run ATT's UNIX
System V386, X-Window, or MS-DOS for Matsushita's Panacom series.
Also, Matsushita has developed user-friendly application programs
including Japanese document, management, and graphics.

The workstations can accept multiple CPUs, such as four Intel
80386's, and are capable of performing at 20 MIPS.   The desktop
workstation will come with 4 megabytes of main memory, 32 kilobytes
of cache memory, a 80 megabyte HDD, and two 5.25-inch FDDs.

Matsushita promises to release the BE Series next May.  The
desktop machine will be priced at about 2.5 million yen
or $19,000.

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

[***][9/27/88][***]
COMPUTER LANGUAGE DEVELOPED VIA PC-NETWORK
TOKYO (NB) -- A computer enthusiasts group whose members have never
met in person has won the distinction of jointly developing a new
computer language via a personal computer network for the first
time in Japan.  The main participants in the breakthrough are a
professor at the Kyuushu Institute of Technology and an employee
of major Japanese film maker Konica.

They spent two months developing Oscal, which is a compiler programming
language.   Though it is necessary for other languages
to display the relation between sentences of programs using
characters or signs,  the new language does not require such a
procedure.  You have only to lay out the language according to the
relation of the sentences, so it is quite easy to check and see
what is mistaken in the program.

CONTACT: Kyuushu Institute of Technology,
         1-1 Senrui-cho, Tobata-ku, kita-Kyuushu-shi, Miyazaki

[***][9/27/88][***]
<< SUSHI BYTES >>

SHARP DEVELOPS PERSONAL DOCUMENT PROCESSING SYSTEM -- Sharp has
developed a document processing system for personal use, which
has accumulated all the company's application programs.  The new
system is capable of creating hypermedia, including characters,
graphics, moving pictures, and sound.  Sharp intends to apply
the system to its workstations, AX personal computers, and
moreover, to electronic notebooks, with compatibility among
the above units.

MITSUBISHI'S NEW WORKSTATIONS -- Mitsubishi Electric has announced
three models of its 32-bit engineering workstation.  They have a
Motorola MC68030 or MC68881 CPU, run at 20MHz, and run UNIX
System V Release 3.0.  The low-end model ME100 has a
data processing speed of 2.5 MIPS and is priced at 1.7 million yen
or $ 12,700.

SORD TO RELEASE OWS -- Sord will release its original 32-bit office
workstation (OWS).  The SR-3300 MS40 runs on either MS-DOS or UNIX
System V Version 3.0, and in the future, will run on MS-OS/2.
The CPU is 20MHz 32-bit i80386.  The main memory is 4 megabytes
standard, which can be upgraded to 12 megabytes.  The OWS will be
shipped this November at the price of 1.05 million yen or $8,000.

SOFTWARE PROCESSES TO SPEAK OUT -- Sanyo has developed AI Talk,
a program which allows the computer to speak the words and sentences
created with word processors.  The target audience for the product
will be the visually handicapped, and those who prefer having their
work read to them instead of reading it themselves.

IMAGE SCANNER FOR PC -- Seiko Epson will market a handy image
scanner called the GT-1000 on October 26.  The scanner is able to capture
an image up to 74 x 105mm and has a 50 to 200 percent zoom range.

NEC TO PROVIDE LIBRARY INFORMATION NETWORK TO CHINA -- NEC has
won the contract to create the largest library information network
in the world for the Peking National Library.  The hardware
will consist of two ACOS system 630s, a large general-purpose
computer, and 270 individual PC-9800 machines.  The deal is
worth 900 million yen or $6.5 million US dollars.  The system
is capable of supporting the latest Chinese language standards,
about 32,000 characters for 60 national languages, with terminals
and laser-printers.

NEC & GE TO CONNECT PC-NETWORKS -- PC-VAN, Japan's largest
computer network operated by NEC, and GEnie, the U.S.' second
largest computer network operated by General Electric, will be
connected with an international VAN.  This is the second Japan-U.S.
PC network service following Nifty Serve, a joint network between
Compuserve and INF.  Details on the connected networks, such as system
charges, will be coming soon.

TIES TO DEVELOP ERASABLE CD -- Ricoh and Olympus Optical have
tied up to develop, produce, and sell erasable optical disk drives.
Samples are expected to be shipped in October.  Ricoh will be
in charge of developing the computer interface and Olympus will create
the optical drives.  Sample products, the RO5030E, will be exhibited
at Data Show '88 which will be held from the 27th of September in Tokyo.

NEC AUSTRALIA TO EXPAND -- NEC Australia has announced expansion of
its Melbourne factory and already has invested $4 million to purchase
100,000 square meters of land.  The company currently produces
telephone switch boards, satellite communication equipment and car
telephones in a 48,000 square meter factory there.

INSURANCE COMPANIES TO COVER HACKERS -- Insurance companies in Japan
have all agreed to cover data destruction by a third party, taking
place on personal computer terminals, peripherals, local area networks
or wider communication networks.


[***][9/27/88][***]
IBM INTRODUCES THREE NEW 9370 MODELS
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (NB) -- IBM Belgium has announced three new models
of the 9370 range of products. The company announced the model
30, 50 and 80. The model 30, which is the low-end system, and which
replaces the model 20 (which took an early retirement), offers CMOS
manufacture and full compatibility with the two higher-end models.

Models 50 and 80 replace the model 40 (which also took an early
retirement) and which offer two to four times the performance of
the entry level model 30. In addition, the model 80 offers TCM
(Thermal Conduction Unit) technology which transfers thermal energy
generated by the CPU to conducting plates and thus offers quieter
operation.

"This announcement underlines IBM's desire to push the 9370
series of products and to offer solutions to the multiple
problems users of these products have," said Guy Walch, of IBM
Belgium.

Prices of the new systems range from about BF 1.5 million for
the model 30 to BF 7 million for the model 80 (from $38,000 to
$180,000).

[***][9/27/88][***]
IBM's DENSEST IC DEVELOPED IN GERMANY
STUTTGART, WEST GERMANY (NB) -- At the heart of the new IBM
ES/9373 model 30 and model 50 just introduced are logic
chips with the densest circuitry used so far. Both the computer
automated systems and the design of these chips are developments
of IBM's research operation in Boeblingen.

These chips make it possible to put the entire model 370 processor
in one card (it wasn't too long ago that an entire room was needed
for all this circuitry).  This new CPU card replaces four cards that
were used with the model 20.

The single processor card contains six ASIC chips made with CMOS
technology. Geometries used offer one micrometer widths, coupled
with high density design techniques. The entire CPU card is in
six of these chips: 32 bit microprocessor, main storage
controller, floating point coprocessor, clock chip, and
input/output adapters.

Boeblingen's own VLSI computer automated circuit design made this
job possible. To show how complex these circuits are, think about
this: the 8080 microprocessor used about 20000 transistors; the
8086 used about 60000; the 386 uses about 270,000 transistors
while the 9370 CPU uses more than 800,000 transistors!

The systems will be manufactured in Corbeil-Essones (France),
Essex Junction (Vermont, USA) and Yasu (Japan).

[***][9/27/88][***]
EUROBITS...

      COMNET in connection with the Dutch PTT will offer a new
access node to COMNET's database. COMNET is one of NEWSBYTES'
republishers...

      ...SCHNEIDER will introduce the PC-TOWER AT systems which
will be shown at the BUREAU 88 fair in Brussels...

      ...EUROPEAN ACADEMIC NETWORK will update its communications
systems to comply with the OSI model. This will enable users of
the systems work with standardized equipment. NORTHERN TELECOMM
will supply the appropriate products...

      ...STC of London is moving its fiber plant off-shore to
gain on tax credits. The plant will be established in Portland,
Oregon and will create jobs for about 200 people...

      ...CHIPS & TECHNOLOGIES is bypassing the 16MHz speed
currently popular with 286 systems and moving up to 25MHz chip
sets. These chips, also called NEAT-25, offer complete AT/386
emulation...

      ...LIQUID CRYSTAL TECHNOLOGY, as pioneered in Europe by CCA
EUROPE, is now available from QUME. The technology comes in the
form of a printer called "CRYSTALPRINT Series II"  which will sell
for about DM 40000...

     ...and finally, APRICOT is to introduce new PS/2 compatible
systems in October in London. The British firm is the first
European manufacturer to clone the new IBM products. No one
knows whether this is a good move or not since IBM sales have
taken a dip lately.



====
[***][9/27/88][***]
IBM, SEARS ROLL OUT PRODIGY
NEW YORK (NB) --  Prodigy, the videotex project of IBM and Sears,
Roebuck & Co., is now in commercial operation, after two years of
test marketing in Hartford, Conn., Atlanta, and San Francisco.
Prodigy will be soon be available in Los Angeles, San Diego,
Sacramento, and Santa Barbara. Prodigy Services Co. officials say
the videotex service will be available in another 20 cities by
the end of 1989.

Prodigy costs $49.95 without a modem, and $149.95 with a modem.
The introductory offer includes three months of free service,
after which a $9.95 monthly charge will apply, regardless of
amount of usage. Prodigy's low price structure is expected to
give other videotex services, such as the Source and Compuserve,
a run for the money, if the IBM-Sears service can get quality
products online.

Prodigy plans a $30 million marketing campaign over the next 15
months, according to spokesman Brian Ek. Prodigy has already
begun shipping its software kits to retailers, including
ComputerLand, Radio Shack, and Egghead Software. The product will
also be available in Sears retail outlets. Prodigy requires a PC
clone with at least 512 kilobytes of memory. The company plans to
include Apple technology next year.

(See first-hand mini-review of Prodigy in NEWSBYTES-SOUTH.)

[***][9/27/88][***]
IBM RESHUFFLES PS/2 EXECUTIVES
NEW YORK (NB) -- IBM has moved Richard Gerstner from its
Asian/Pacific group to head Big Blue's personal systems group.
Although IBM professes pleasure with the pace of PS/2 sales, the
shift of Gerstner is widely seen as evidence that IBM is unhappy
that it is losing market share in the personal computer market.
IBMologists had expected the personal systems top job to go to
William Lowe, who has been in charge of IBM's personal
computers. Wall Street analysts say Lowe is being punished for
killing off the AT line of 80286 computers in favor of the PS/2
line and the proprietary Micro Channel Architecture. IBM's loss
of market share began with that decision and Big Blue was forced
to admit its error and introduce a new PS/2 machine that uses the
AT bus.
[***][9/27/88][***]
DIGITAL BUYS INTO MIPS
MAYNARD, Mass. (NB) -- Preparing itself for the next round of the
workstation wars, Digital Equipment Corp. has bought five percent
of closely-held Mips, of Sunnyvale, Calif., manufacturer of a
reduced instruction set chip (RISC) that should let Digital
compete with Sun Microsystems and others in the hot workstation
market. Digital is currently second to Sun in the marketplace
that International Data Corp. of Framingham, Mass., estimates
will grow 50 percent this year to $3.6 billion. Sun has unveiled
a line of RISC-based products that out-perform anything Digital
has on the market.

Digital's decision to go with the Mips RISC technology is the
first time the company has abandoned its VAX architecture. And
analysts say that the moment that Digital announces a Mips-based
machine, DEC's VAXstation will be orphaned. Look for a new
Digital work station by the end of the year, at a phenomenal
price-performance ration, according to sources inside the
company.

[***][9/27/88][***]
INTERGRAPH DEBUTS NEW PRODUCTS
HUNSTVILLE, Ala. (NB) -- Much news from Intergraph Corp., the
company that makes publishing systems and engineering and
graphics workstations. The company has signed an agreement to
distribute WordPerfect 4.2 on Intergraph's Unix-based
workstations and serves, and on VAX-based data processing
systems. WordPerfect says it will have a Unix version out by the
end of the year. Intergraph users will be able to use WordPerfect
as a dedicated word processor, and as a front-end to Intergraph's
workstation-based publishing product, DP/Publisher.

On the DP/Publisher front, Intergraph previewed its latest
releases of the software at the Seybold Desktop Seminars in
Santa Clara. Among them are foreign language versions for the
program, which runs on Intergraph CLIPPER workstations. The
program is now available in French, German, Italian, Spanish, and
Swedish, including all the correct accent marks and the like.

Also at the Seybold conference, Intergraph's Optronics division,
of Chelmsford, Mass., showed off the Colorsetter 2000, a high-
resolution, PostScript-driven image setter. It should be
available in the middle of next year. "We've made output of color
separations as routine as outputting to a printer," says Dave
Wick, Optronics director of marketing. The machine is designed to
write color PostScript files in two minutes, producing halftone
screens up to 240 lines per inch. The impressive machine will
also scan reflecting images at 2000 dots per inch with 256 gray-
scale levels.

[***][9/27/88][***]
IBM MOVES TO BOOST WORKSTATION 3D GRAPHICS CAPABILITY
ARMONK, N.Y. (NB) -- IBM will be buying IRIS Graphics Cards and
licensing the IRIS Graphics Library from Silicon Graphics Inc. of
Mountain View, Calif. The move by IBM is an attempt to get an
early toehold in the use of three-dimensional graphics in the
workstation market. The IRIS card is used in 3D workstations. A
Silicon Graphics spokesman said the agreement with IBM is a
"very important strategic transaction...to speed up the
development and growth of the 3D market and to encourage software
developers to produce 3D applications software."
==================================================================
[***][9/27/88][***]
MORE TAKEOVER TURMOIL AT ZENITH
WILMINGTON, Del. (NB) -- Brookhurst Partners L.P. has filed a
complaint in Delaware Chancery Court in an attempt to inspect
Zenith Electronics Corp.'s stockholder list and other records.
Brookhurst said it wants to solicit stockholder consent to sell
the company. In the meantime, a Zenith stockholder, Sherwin Brook
of Illinois, has filed a shareholder suit in federal court in
Wilmington, seeking an injunction against both Zenith and
Brookhurst Partners, alleging they are "misleading" Zenith
stockholders. The suit also seeks to "enjoin Zenith directors
from efforts to entrench themselves as directors of the company."
These things sure do get nasty.

[***][9/27/88][***]
SHARP MAKES COLOR LCD ADVANCE
MAHWAY, N.J. (NB) -- Sharp Corporation of Japan has developed a
14-inch color liquid crystal display. The company claims it is
the world's largest color LCD panel. The LCD has 308,160 pixel
elements, which should offer exceptional quality. In the Sharp
technology, individual pixels are divided into four active dots,
each controlled by its own amorphous silicon thin-film
transistor. Sharp expects to incorporate the screen into office
automation equipment and TV sets beginning late next year.

[***][9/27/88][***]
COMMODORE EXTENDS AMIGA UPGRADE OFFER
WEST CHESTER, Pa. (NB) -- Commodore Business Machines, Inc., has
extended its trade-in program until December 31. Owners of any
Commodore personal computer can get a $100 credit toward the
purchase of an Amiga 500 or Amiga 2000 personal computer. "There
are literally millions of consumers nationwide who got their
first hands-on computer experience with a Commodore," says Ken
Weber, vice president of sales. "This discount program allows
our users to advance in technology, while staying with the
Commodore brand."

CONTACT: Commodore Business Machines, [phone].

[***][9/27/88][***]
UNCLE SAM'S INSECURE SYSTEMS
WASHINGTON (NB) -- Federal agencies say they have more than
53,000 computer systems that hold sensitive data and require
security measures. The Computer Security Act signed into law
earlier this year required identification of systems handling
sensitive but unclassified data. The lion's share of the
sensitive systems, some 52,000 or 97 percent, are located in the
defense agencies. The Navy reports 27,000 systems, the Army
12,000, the Air Force 10,000, and other Pentagon systems, 3,000.

[***][9/27/88][***]
SEC FILINGS COMPUTERIZED BY 1992
NEW YORK (NB)-- Nearly all companies will be filing their
Securities and Exchange Commission documents electronically by
the end of 1992, says an SEC official. The SEC, which regulates
publicly-traded companies, has been running a four-year test of
computer filing through a system called Electronic Data Gather
Analysis and Retrieval, or Edgar. Some 1,400 companies have
participated in the tests. Speaking at an Edgar seminar, SEC
accountant Roy Van Brunt said electronic filing is "clearly the
way of the future. By the end of 1992, all companies filing
with the commission -- with very few exceptions -- will be
required to file information electronically."

[***][9/27/88][***]
APPLE, IBM TOPS FOR WORKING MOTHERS
NEW YORK (NB) -- Apple Computer and IBM top the list of companies
that treat working mothers best, according to WORKING MOTHER
magazine. The magazine reports on a list of 50 companies that
have the best conditions for working mothers, based on pay,
opportunities for advancement, support for child care and
parental leave, adoption support, and flextime and part-time
work policies. Among the special benefits from Apple: a $500 gift
to every new baby of an Apple employee. IBM gets special kudos
for helping 27,000 employees find child care.

[***][9/27/88][***]
NEWS NIBBLES --

MILTOPE GROUP, of Melville, N.Y., is acquiring Vermont Research
Corp.'s disk drive plant and related technology for $1.5 million
in cash and another $1.35 million over three years. Miltope makes
ruggedized computer systems for military use.

VERDIX CORP., Chantilly, Va., will see its version of the Ada
military high-level language used in the Navy's AN/BSY-2
submarine combat control system. It will be one of the largest
Ada language programs ever undertaken -- more than two million
lines of code. Verdix was selected by the prime contractor,
GENERAL ELECTRIC CO. for the ADA job.

MARTIN MARIETTA CORP., Bethesda, Md., has sold its 68.3 percent
interest in HOSKINS GROUP PLC, a London-based computer services
company, the PLESSY COMPANY PLC, also of the U.K.

HONEYWELL BULL, Minneapolis, has broken ground on its new
corporate headquarters in Billerica, Mass. On hand were a host of
dignitaries, including Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.)

IBM, Armonk, N.Y., has unveiled an array of new networking
products and services that move away from the company's SNA and
toward the Open Systems Interconnection. The new products should
help IBM mainframe users communicate with computers from other
manufacturers.

WESTERN CONNECTICUT STATE UNIVERSITY, Danbury, will test the
"classroom of the future" for the next three years. The classroom
includes video screens and high-tech audio-visual equipment
controlled by a personal computer. IBM developed the technology
in 1985 and uses it in management training courses.

OPEN SOFTWARE FOUNDATION, Lawrence, Mass., will establish Asia-
Pacific headquarters operations in Japan. The office will be
under the direction of Yoshiro Ohe, formerly director of
marketing measurement plans for IBM, Japan. OSF is trying to
develop an industry-standard Unix based on IBM's AIX.

BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY, Waltham, Mass., will construct a $41.5
million interdisciplinary center for researchers into energy,
computer sciences, medicine and biology. The proposed National
Center for Excellence for the Study of Complex Computational and
Cognitive Systems will work on "faster and more sophisticated
computational systems which can be applied to problems of
national importance," said Brandies Provost James Lackner.

UNISYS CORP., Blue Bell, Pa., has signed a definitive merger
agreement to acquire Convergent, Inc., for $350 million. The deal
was announced in August. The acquisition still requires
Convergent shareholder approval and antitrust clearance from
Washington.

DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORP., Maynard, Mass., has unveiled products
for four Asian languages. The products are based on Hanzi, the
simplified Chinese spoken in the People's Republic of China;
Hanyu, the Chinese dialect spoken in Taiwan and Hong Kong;
Hangul, the Korean language; and Thai. The products include an
operating system, document and word processing software, an
applications language, and a new terminal.

PITNEY BOWES INC., Stamford, Conn., has acquired LPC Inc., an
Illinois firm that makes mailing and direct marketing software.
Pitney Bowes makes mailing systems.

GENIE, Rockville, Md., the General Electric videotex service, has
three new roundtable groups: Religion and Ethics, Aviation, and
Radio & Electronics.


[***][9/27/88][***]
APPLE #1: PRICE HIKES - 12 OCTOBER ONWARDS
HEMEL HEMPSTEAD, HERTS (NB) -- In parallel with last week's
announcements on US and Canadian price rises, Apple UK announced
similar price rises on most of its product range on sale over
this side of the Atlantic. The good news is that the rises, which
average 6 per cent, won't take effect until 12 October.

According to John Leftwich, Apple UK's director of marketing, the
rises are due to currency fluctuations and that old chestnut, the
DRAM chip shortage. Leftwich is upbeat about the price rises,
saying they're the first in Apple's history.

"We resisted the (cost increases) for as long as possible, but
current conditions in component, currency and other markets have
made it necessary for us to announce these price rises," he said.

The rises push the price of the Mac SE twin floppy system from
#1,995 to #2,195, whilst the Laserwriter II NTX hikes by #100 to
#4,595. The Mac Plus and Laserwriter IISC's price tags remain
unchanged.

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

[***][9/27/88][***]
APPLE #2: NEW MAC & MAC SE CONFIGURATIONS ANNOUNCED
HEMEL HEMPSTEAD, HERTS (NB) -- In the wake of the price hikes on
most of its product line (see above story)  Apple unveiled its
first 68030-based Macintosh, the Mac IIx, as well as announcing a
new 2Mb version of its Mac SE machine.

The Mac IIx powers ahead with its twin 16MHz 68030 main and 68882
maths microprocessors. Two UK configurations are initially
available - a single floppy system at #4,995 and a single floppy
plus 80Mb hard disk system at #6,195. Both versions feature 4Mb
of system RAM and the facility to read/write to PC format disks
in the Mac FDHD disk drive - a useful facility in a high-end Mac.

John Leftwich, Apple UK's director of marketing, is enthusiastic
about the new machine. He sees it as appealing to major corporate
account customers: "The Mac IIx is an evolutionary extension of
the Mac line. The new FDHD answers our business customer's
requests for easy access to Dos and OS/2-based documents and
files," he said.

The Mac SE series, meanwhile, gets a boost with the unveiling of
a 8MHz 68000 based Mac SE with 2Mb of system Ram and a 40Mb hard
disk. The machine ships from next month onwards with a price tag
of #3,495. As with the rest of the Mac SE series, the Mac SE-2/40
features an SE-bus expansion slot for up to six SCSI peripherals
to be daisy-chained on.

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

[***][9/27/88][***]
$25 MILLION COMPUTER FRAUD 'NIPPED IN THE BUD'
LONDON, UK (NB) -- City of London fraud squad officers have been
called in to investigate a major fraud affecting the Mitsubishi
Finance House in London. Details are scarce, but the
investigation is thought to centre round an unauthorised $25
million electronic transfer to a London-based American company
which took place late last month.

Sources say that two unidentified men hacked their way into a
Swiss Eurobonds computer system and initiated the funds transfer.
The two men are reported to have been arrested in Geneva, when
they attempted to draw the proceeds from their scam. No charges
have yet been made against the pair. A team of Scotland Yard
fraud squad detectives have flown out to interview the men.

* The UK's Law Commission has issued a report on unauthorised
  computer access. The #4-50 report is available through all Her
  Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) outlets.

[***][9/27/88][***]
CORVUS: SLASHES NETWORK PRICES; TAKE-OVER TALKS IN PROGRESS
HENLEY-ON-THAMES, OXFORDSHIRE (NB) -- Corvus UK has announced
dramatic price cuts on its Omninet networking systems, as well
as hinting that its US parent could be ripe for a take-over.

Corvus' Omninet network cards fall from #250 to #99 with
immediate effect. The driving software for up to 64 nodes falls
from #695 to #595. According to Tony Gibbon, MD of Corvus'
European operations, the cuts are due to volume sales
agreements with several large computer manufacturers and
value added resellers (VARs).

"The price cuts bring us into line with the cost of Amstrad's
Amsnos networking system which we badge-engineered for them. If
Amsnos users want to expand their Amstrad networking kits, then
they can come to us for a cheap expansion option," he said.

More interesting (for NEWSBYTES readers) is Gibbon's comments on
rumours of a takeover in the wings for the company's US parent.
Gibbon says that a number of discussions are taking place with
several computer manufacturers with regard to a possible take-
over.

"We're a good catch for any PC manufacturer, since we have a
royalty-free license to manufacture PC compatibles. That could be
interesting for companies such as Amstrad, amongst others," he
revealed.

* Corvus Systems in the US filed for Chapter 11 protection from
  its creditors in July. A takeover deal for the troubled company
  could be the best way out, as the NEWSNET newswire service says
  that the company's debts are almost insuperable.

CONTACT: CORVUS SYSTEMS UK LTD., 7 Fairmile, Henley-on-Thames,
         Oxfordshire RG9 2TR.                Tel: [phone].

[***][9/27/88][***]
FUTURE PUBLISHING READIES NEW UK COMPUTER WEEKLY
BATH, AVON (NB) -- Future Publishing has announced firm plans to
begin publication of a new computer newsweekly in the UK. Plans
call for the launch of "New Computer Express" within the next month
or so at a cover price of 48 pence - 2 pence less than the
magazine's main rival, Popular Computing Weekly.

At whom is the weekly targetted? According to Chris Anderson,
Future's publisher, it's for VACU's (Very Active Computer Users)
and will cover most computer topics ranging from the Sinclair
Spectrum through to the IBM PC and compatibles.

To make sure the magazine is a seller from day one, Future has
been on the roustabout for new staff. So far the company has
signed up Greg Ingham (Editor - "Computer Trade Weekly"), Peter
Warlock (ex-managing editor on "Popular Computing Weekly"), Kevin
Cox, ("Computer Shopper/Your Sinclair") and Graham Kidd (ex-editor
"Crash" and "The Games Machine").

Is the UK magazine market strong enough for two end-user computer
weekly magazines? Competition ain't such a bad thing. It will be
interesting to see how Focus Magazines, which publishes "Popular
Computing Weekly," respond to the challenge...

CONTACT: FUTURE PUBLISHING, 4 Queen Street, Bath, Avon, BA1 1EJ.
         Tel: [phone].

[***][9/27/88][***]
MIRRORSOFT SAVES THOSE SICK DISKS
LONDON, UK (NB) -- If you've ever had a disk go down on you at a
critical time, you'll know how handy a disk doctor utility
package is to save the day. But not all utilities work in all
situations. Some are better than others at certain tasks.

Mirrorsoft reckons that its File Rescue Plus package is better
than the rest, however. So good, in fact, that it's started a
'Sick Disk' clinic scheme at several of its dealers around the
UK.

The idea of the scheme is that, when all else has failed, you
trot into your local dealer who then revitalises that essential
disk. That's the theory. Mirrorsoft and its dealers are hoping
that relieved users will buy the package 'cos they're so
impressed.

So you've got a sick disk? Call Angela West on 01-377-4825 and
ask for the nearest Sick Disk clinic. It might just work. Mind
you, you could have taken a back-up of the disk in the first
place...

* Mirrorsoft has also announced an enhanced version of its Fleet
  Street Editor DTP package for the PC. The #159-99 package now
  includes Bitstream's Fontware software as a standard feature.

CONTACT: MIRRORSOFT - 01-377-4645
[***][9/27/88][***]
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
+ BRITBYTES - Bytes of news from around the UK... +
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

ALDUS UK has announced version 2.0 of its ALDUS FREEHAND advanced
drawing package for the Apple Mac series. The #445 package will
ship during the first quarter of 1989. Existing users of Freehand
will be able to upgrade for #45, whilst purchasers of Freehand
1.0 will be able to upgrade for just #15 after the UK shipment
date...

COMPUTER ASSOCIATES (0753-77733) has announced plans to acquire
APPLIED DATA RESEARCH from the Ameritech Enterprise Group in the
US. The $170 million deal has to undergo US regulatory approvals
board scrutiny before it becomes cast-iron...

DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORPORATION has revealed it is working on
foreign language versions of its software. Versions of DEC's
operating system, word processing and terminal emulation software
will be released in Chinese, Hanzi, Korean and Thai languages
during the fourth quarter of this year...

FRONTIER SOFTWARE (0423-67140) has cut the price of its 30Mb
SUPRA hard disk for the Atari ST. The unit has fallen from #699-
95 to #599-95 including VAT...

HEWLETT-PACKARD (0734-69622) has opened a new PCB factory at its
South Queensferry site near Edinburgh, Scotland. The #27 million
plant covers 30,000 square feet and will employ more 1,000 staff
when it becomes fully operational later this year...

HEWLETT-PACKARD has also unveiled the VECTRA QS/16, a 16MHz
80386-based version of its popular Vectra computer series. The
machine is available now in four configurations, ranging from 1Mb
of System Ram and single 1.2Mb floppy drive, through to a 40Mb
hard disk-equipped machine with VGA graphics card. Pricing starts
are #2,603 and rises to #3,596...

IDEAL HARDWARE (01-408-1331) has released an accelerator half-
card for the Amstrad PC1512 and 1640 series. The #399 card
features an 8/12MHz 80286 microprocessor and 8K of disk-caching
Ram, as well as room for an 80287 maths co-processor...

The MARTIN MARIETTA CORPORATION (MMC) in the US has announced the
completion its 68.3 percent interest in the HOSKYNS GROUP PLC.
The sale, to Plessey, is worth $191 million - around $140 million
after tax - for MMC...

OKIDATA has opened a new printer factory in Cumbernauld,
Scotland. The factory, which was opened earlier this month by
Okidata president and CEO Bernard Herman, will turn out more
than 30,000 printers a month by the end of the year. Herman
said that the factory will employ more than 350 staff as
production ramps up...

PROTEK (01-245-6844) has launched a JETSCRIPT ACCESSORY KIT for
the PC-XT, AT and Model 30 (and close compatibles). The kit
allows Adobe's page description language to be used on H-P
Laserjet II printers whilst retaining the H-P printer control
language interface...

TAURUS SOFTWARE (0483 579399) has released X-CAD, a computer
aided design package for the Commodore Amiga. The good news is
that the two-dimensional CAD package costs #399. The bad news
is that it needs at least 2Mb of system Ram and twin floppies
(or one floppy plus hard disk) to run in...

TOME ASSOCIATES (01-579-2142) has released TOME.SEARCHER, an
expert systems software aid for use with online databases. The
#495 package runs on an IBM PC and allows offline entry of text
and/or strings to be searched for online...
====