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/nb881025.279

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[***][10/25/88][***]
HEWLETT PACKARD FINALLY LICENSES POSTSCRIPT
PALO ALTO, Ca. (NB) -- Hewlett Packard, one of the last hold-outs in
the quest to make PostScript a printer language standard, has finally
licensed it from Adobe Systems.  Acknowledging that PostScript
is a language which "a growing number of its customer base needs,"
HP is expected to offer it in the future, although exact product
development plans have not been announced.

Still, HP's primary page description language is PCL, "the dominant
printer language in the office printer market" and the resident
language on the HP LaserJet printer family.

To date, over 25 computer equipment manufacturers have announced
PostScript interpreter licensing agreements with Adobe Systems.

[***][10/25/88][***]
APPLE DOES IT AGAIN, ANOTHER STELLAR REPORT
CUPERTINO, Ca. (NB) -- Strong sales of the Macintosh product line
again propelled Apple Computer's sales into the billions for its
latest fiscal quarter.  Apple reports net sales were $1.16 billion
for the fourth quarter and $4.07 billion for the fiscal year.
Net income for the fiscal year was $400.3 million, an 84% increase
above the $217.5 million recorded in fiscal 1987.

"Sales of the Macintosh II have increased every quarter since its
introduction.  We have seen increases during the quarter in both
unit shipments and average system prices," said CEO John Sculley
in a prepared statement.  He adds, "Just as important, Apple continues to
experience steady growth in the education market."  The Apple IIGS
continues to be the leading unit seller within the Apple II product
family, and its sales increased during the fourth quarter.

During the past two years Apple sales have more than doubled and
the quarter marks the company's 10th consecutive period of profit
and sales growth.

[***][10/25/88][***]
MICROSOFT ALSO SOARS
REDMOND, Wa. (NB) -- Microsoft Corporation turned in a fiscal report
card which pleased investors this quarter.  The software manufacturer
says it earned $36.6 million or 65 cents a share in its most
recent quarter, up 72 percent from this time last year.

This is the twelfth consecutive quarter in which Microsoft has recorded
record revenue.  Profits were up over 20 percent this time, due
in large part to huge increases in international sales, accounting
for nearly 49 percent of Microsoft's business.

[***][10/25/88][***]
SILICON GRAPHICS SLASHES PRICES 25%
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Ca. (NB) -- Silicon Graphics has cut prices on its
mid-range product line of three dimensional graphic workstations by
as much as 25%.  "While others in the industry are raising prices,
we are committed to broadening the marketplace and making real-time 3D
graphics an affordable mainstream technology," boasted Tom Jermoluk,
Silicon Graphics vice president.   The cost-cutting move is expected
to further heat up the battle for supremacy among workstation makers.

The reductions pertain to the low-end IRIS 4D/50 workstation, formerly
priced at $44,900 and now $34,900 to the high-end IRIS 4D/80GT once
$89,900 and now $79,000.  Base configurations for these workstations
include eight megabytes of main memory, 170 megabyte disk drive, and
Ethernet.

The reductions are due to streamlined packaging and other cost
cutting measures, according to Debra Harrison, a company spokeswoman.

[***][10/25/88][***]
AUTODESK DRIVES INTO RUSSIA
SAUSALITO, Ca. (NB) -- In an event that focuses upon new, relaxed
technology trades between the US and the Soviet Union, Autodesk Inc.
hosted an exhibit of its wares in Moscow this week.  AutoCAD
Expo Moscow 1988, which ran from October 17 through 21, featured
the technology of some 18 computer aided design system makers
from all over the world whose systems run Autodesk's software.
The event also provided the Soviet public with a series of seminars
devoted to developments in the CAD/CAM field.

Autodesk was in the spotlight because its AutoCAD software is the first
major PC package to be officially translated and launched by a Western
software company in the Soviet Union.  The Russian version is
expected to be followed by Polish and Czech versions.

[***][10/25/88][***]
ALDUS GETS THE SNIFFLES AGAIN
SEATTLE (NB) -- The virus has hit Aldus again but this time the
firm was prepared.  Through the use of a "vaccine" program and
an isolation procedure, the virus found in beta versions of its
newest FreeHand drawing program in recent weeks was eradicated.
But still dozens of copies went out the door to those who are
testing the program and nVir, the name given the virus program which
remains dormant inside the software, could surface in the
updated copies of the product.

This is the second time in eight months that a virus has hit
Aldus, the first virus came from a subcontractor and forced a
recall of thousands of versions of FreeHand from retail shelves.
A company spokeswoman says Aldus has no idea where this
particular strain of virus originated.

[***][10/25/88][***]
NEW PRODUCTS OF NOTE
SAN FRANCISCO (NB) -- The following new product announcements have
been received by NEWSBYTES.  We are not endorsing nor have we
reviewed the following, but present them because we think they
offer something new to microcomputer and system owners.

HELP ME, California Software Products, Santa Ana, C., is a $99
diagnostic package for IBM and compatible PCs which has more than
300 tests designed to help a user install and support PC hardware
and software.  HELPME answers questions about system configuration,
set-up, compatibility, and usage.  It checks clone compatibility,
fixes common configuration problems fast, tallies and analyzes
disk usage, even comes with a 30 day money back guarantee.
CALIFORNIA SOFTWARE PRODUCTS: 714-973-0440


ELECTRONIC CAD BUYER'S GUIDE, Design Solutions, Soquel, Ca., is
a book with over 150 items that buyers of CAD systems need to
consider before buying, as well as worksheets for vendor comparison.
Selecting electronic CAD for personal computers requires buyers to
sift through promotional material from fifty or so vendors to make
a decision.  This is intended for the first time buyer. The guide
is $25.  DESIGN SOLUTIONS, 408-688-0317


MICROSOFT QUICKBASIC VERSION 4.5 is now shipping.  Offering shortened
menus, online and printed tutorials, this version of QuickBASIC is
designed to help first-time programmers master of fundamentals of
programming quickly -- in about ten minutes, according to Microsoft.
Available for PCs with at least 384K of memory, MS-DOS 2.1 or higher
and two 5.25" drives or one 720K 3.5" drive.  It also supports
Microsoft Mouse and CGA, VGA, EGA and Hercules Graphic Adaptors.
Cost $99 from Microsoft retail outlets.


TETRIS, the computer game from the Soviet Union being sold through
Spectrum HoloByte of Alameda, Ca., is now available for the Macintosh
II.  The version exploits the color and sound capabilities of Apple's
highest-end machine.  Called the "Rubik's Cube of Software," TETRIS
costs $39.95 for the Macintosh II version.  Versions are also
available for the Apple II, Macintosh, IBM, and Commodore 64.
Spectrum HoloByte promises that the product will soon be available
for the Atari ST and the Amiga.


HIMS COMPUTERS, Milpitas, Ca., claims to have an Intel 80386-based
PC which is the fastest made in the U.S.  Its HIMS 386/25 is said
to outperform the Compaq 386/25 and IBVM PS/2 Model 70-A21 for half
the price.  With 2 megabytes of main memory and a 110 megabyte
hard disk, it is priced at $5,900 compared to $10,290 for the Compaq
and $11,295 for the IBM.  HIMS COMPUTERS:  408-946-9711


DRAWING TABLE, Broderbund, San Rafael, Ca., is a new drawing tool for
the Macintosh Plus, SE or II that is budget-priced yet full-featured.
The product is a drawing tool for non-artists as well as professionals,
and includes tools and features usually found only in far more expensive
programs, including extensive clip-art libraries, multiple windows
for work with up to 8 documents at once, text binding to curves,
polygon smoothing, object alignment, free rotation of objects, etc.
Price is $129.95.

[***][10/25/88][***]
EMERALD CITY TO RELEASE DISPLAYTALK FOR THE NEXT MACHINE
MENLO PARK, CA. (NB) -- Emerald City Software says it will release
DisplayTalk, a Display PostScript development environment for
the new computer from NeXT, in the first quarter of 1989.

DisplayTalk will be a set of development and debugging tools for
PostScript programming and will provide an object-oriented approach
to take full advantage of the NextStep software system.  DisplayTalk
will offer in-context, source language debugging, stack and
variable tracing, dictionary browsing, and online documentation
including excerpts from the PostScript Language Reference Manual.

No price has been placed on the package.

Emerald City's involvement with Steve Jobs' firm is no surprise,
Emerald City itself was founded by former NeXT staff members
Randy Adams and Jennifer DeWitt.

[***][10/25/88][***]
IN BRIEF --
THE AMERICAN ELECTRONICS ASSOCIATION presents a trade show called
SYSTEMS/USA February 13-15 at the San Jose Convention Center.
Aimed at OEM electronics and computer technology systems and subsystems
makers, the technical conference and trade show will be the first
presented by AEA since it sponsored WESCON in the 1960s.

DEST, Milpitas, Ca., has fired ten percent of its workforce in light
of the latest financial figures.  Dest's layoff of some 16 workers
comes as it claims to have lost one million dollars in the
last quarter, resulting in a violation of at least one credit agreement,
according to a published report.

PC WEEK hosts a Halloween party for selected vendors and journalists
at SF's Great American Music Hall on October 31.  Designed to celebrate
PC WEEK's new format, the event is also to raise the profile of the
publication in light of increasing competition.

XIDEX CORPORATION, Santa Clara, Ca., says it closed its Irvine, California
hard disk plant, resulting in the layoff of all 825 workers.  The
plant closure is due to slackening demand for hard disk drives.


[***][10/25/88][***]
INSIDE THE NEW COMPAQ SLT
ATLANTA (NB) -- Compaq Computer "cut the cord" October 17 and
introduced a battery-powered, laptop PC for the first time.
NEWSBYTES sat in at a regional dealer party for the SLT/286 in
Atlanta. The computer itself is similar to the Sharp PC-5541, a
14-pound, 286-based laptop introduced for U.S. sale October 20.
Compaq's innovation is an expansion base, which holds two AT-
style cards, a bigger power supply, an AC power cord and
connections for a better monitor and bigger keyboard. Can't see a
$5,000 laptop PC to go with your desktop model, Compaq asks? Junk
the desktop model and keep all your necessary work with you at
all times.

Compaq corporate executives kept a database of attendees at the
Atlanta function with Compaq 3s, so one could see the distance
Compaq traveled in designing the SLT/286. The 3 keeps its slots
inside, weighs 18 pounds (21-25 if you include a carrying case),
and must be plugged into a wall outlet. The SLT (stands for Super
Lap Top) 286) is designed specifically to fit on an airliner
tray-table, has the Intel 80286 chip set, a 1.44 megabyte, 3 1/2
inch floppy drive, a 20-40 megabyte hard disk, a 2,400 baud modem
and a rechargeable NiCAD battery-pack which goes 3 hours on a
charge. A VGA backlit display (made in Japan, as previously
predicted by NEWSBYTES) which can handle the graphics of
Microsoft Windows completes the picture. It will run OS/2
Standard Edition or MS-DOS Version 3. Dealers got an impressive
list of standard software and add-in boards which have been
tested on the SLT/286. Pricing will be competitive with the Sharp
PC-5541, which goes for $5,500.

CONTACT: Lucy Reich, MILLER COMMUNICATIONS [phone]

[***][10/25/88][***]
SPONSORED ONLINE SYSTEMS PROFITABLE FOR QUANTUM
VIENNA, VA (NB) -- Quantum Communications, a 3-year old online
venture, is doing something with which many companies in this business
have a lot of trouble. They're making a profit. They're
doing it by getting vendors -- Tandy, Apple, Commodore -- to
sponsor special interest groups for their users with Quantum. The
version for Tandy, PC-Link, works with any DOS-compatible
machine, but it's set up to run with Tandy's DeskMate software,
Assistant Product Manager Andy Arnold told NEWSBYTES. Apple users
get the user interface of the Apple II (a Mac version will be up
shortly). The Quantum systems offer chat sessions, bulletin
board services, and gateway links with Easy Sabre, Stock Link,
and "USA Today."

Sharing the costs with a company which can rationalize losses has
become very important in the online business, because losses are
still very real. In a major feature on the growth of sponsored
online systems by "The Wall Street Journal," this failure to turn
a profit by most systems wasn't mentioned. Services like PC
Magazine's "PC MagNet" and Byte's "Bix" draw in readers (and
sometimes new contributors, like Brock Meeks of "Byte"), but they
don't contribute to the bottom line. The marketing rationale is
still a key factor in a sponsor's decision to put their people
online with readers. Quantum benefits from this fact.

CONTACT: Andy Arnold, QUANTUMLINK, 703-883-1672

[***][10/25/88][***]
INNOVATIVE DATA RACE FAX-MODEM HAS HAYES TO THANK
SAN ANTONIO, TX (NB) -- A small San Antonio company will ship in
early November a single-board modem which can handle asynchronous
transmissions with PCs and remote systems, synchronous
transmissions with mainframes, and fax transmissions, with speeds
approaching 14-16,000 bits/second. Herb Hensley, president of
Data Race, told NEWSBYTES his company owes a debt of gratitude to
a competitor, Hayes Microcomputer Products, for this innovation.

"A year ago we licensed Autosync from Hayes -- the Hayes
synchronous driver. We implemented that scheme, which lets you
jump from asynchronous to synchronous service after a modem is
connected." Software to let the modem send and receive fax
transmissions was also difficult to write, Hensley says, but easy
to implement in hardware.

The result is that for $1,195 ($795 for the plug-in card version)
you get a board which supports all async drivers, Autosync-
compatible synchronous drivers, and Group III fax transmissions.
Data compression can bring synchronous speed up to 19,200
bits/second, but Hensley says a speed limit of 14-16,000
bits/second is more realistic. (Group III Fax runs at 9,600
baud.) A Hayes spokesperson said the company does not have a
competitive product.

One more note -- "Infoworld" reported October 17 the board is
already shipping. Quantity orders won't be filled for another "7-
10 days" Hensley told NEWSBYTES on October 21.

CONTACT: Herb Hensley, Data Race, [phone].

[***][10/25/88][***]
VOICE-MAIL STANDARDS BATTLE COULD END IN DECEMBER
BOULDER, CO (NB) -- Voice mail users want one standard for
connecting their systems. Equipment makers would like a standard,
too, but not at the expense of their own architecture. This
controversy is now in the lap of the Information Industries
Association, Washington, DC, and the Hatfield Associates
consulting firm. IIA is handling the bookkeeping, Hatfield the
mediating, and it's hoped an agreement on both digital and analog
versions of a single standard can be hammered out by year-end.

Hatfield engineer Jamshed Daroga told NEWSBYTES, however, not to
get hopes too high. "There might be some issues that need to be
straightened out even then. That's why the consensus is to get
more people into it," he said. An additional 20 firms have joined
the membership rolls of the Audio Message Interface Standard
User/Vendor council recently, and they'll be quite busy. Separate
groups on digital and analog standards will meet at the end of
this month, and both get together at the beginning of November,
with recommendations for standards-setting bodies to consider
emerging December in Dallas.

Daroga also identified the Coca-Cola Co. engineer who got
the ball rolling for a voice mail standard last year. His name
is Tom Place, an executive in Coke's telecommunications
department.

CONTACT: Jamshed Daroga, HATFIELD ASSOCIATES, [phone]

[***][10/25/88][***]
DAYSTAR TRIES TO GET MACS TO NEXT-SPEED WITH ACCELERATOR
FLOWERY BRANCH, GA (NB) -- Daystar Technologies, which holds
rights to the Mac-PC technologies of the late Tangent
Technologies, introduced a 68030-based accelerator card for the
Macintosh II which brings the machine's speed up to the level of
most engineering workstations. Daystar runs the Motorola chip at
33.33 Mhz, twice as fast as Apple, and the speed can be enhanced
further with a 68882 floating-point coprocessor. A high-speed
memory cache lets the board run without wait-states, and existing
memory remains fully compatible with the new board. The 33/030
Accelerator plugs into the original 68020 socket on the Mac II
motherboard and does not require a separate Nubus card. It's
compatible with Mac II software and Apple's A/UX Unix operating
system.

CONTACT: Donna Boyd Smith, DAYSTAR DIGITAL [phone]

[***][10/25/88][***]
AT&T ENTERING NETWORK CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS
NEW YORK (NB) -- AT&T, which a few weeks ago announced it would
get into the business of transmitting electronic payments, is now
getting into the systems integration business, and will build
custom data and voice networks. Charles E. Yates of the company's
new Systems Integration division told "The Wall Street Journal"
his group will focus first on the financial services,
manufacturing, and distribution industries, with 200-300
employees. This custom-network business is presently led by
General Motors' Electronic Data Systems division and Computer
Sciences Corp., which also owns most of Infonet.

[***][10/25/88][***]
AMERITECH LEADS JOINT-VENTURE TO MAKE MONEY FROM ISDN
CHICAGO (NB) -- Integrated Systems Digital Networks (ISDN) have
been a buzzword for years, but now that new digital switches can
support data, voice, and fax on a single line it's time to make
money from it. Ameritech, Northern Telecom, and Motorola have
announced a 4-year joint-venture to do just that, find ways to
package ISDN services as real products handling real business.
Products should be released in about a year by the partners.
Ameritech is presently testing ISDN service in the Chicago area.

[***][10/25/88][***]
INTEL BUYS DIGITAL VIDEO INTERACTIVE TECHNOLOGY FROM GE
NEW YORK (NB) -- Intel announced it has bought General Electric's
Digital Video Interactive Technology venture, and hopes to use it
to turn PCs into talking machines with true TV-picture quality.
They plan to do it by turning the technology, originally created
by RCA, into an industry standard for sending digitized video,
graphics, and audio using Compact Discs. One caveat -- DVIT's
technology will compete with the existing CD-I standard developed
by Sony and Philips.  But if Intel can get the price of boards
needed to connect CDs to IBM PCs from $2-3,000 to $500, as they
hope, they figure they have a chance at success.

[***][10/25/88][***]
MODEMS PLUS INTRODUCES MICROSNAP PROTOCOL CONVERTER
ATLANTA (NB) -- Modems Plus has introduced MicroSNAP, a three-
function protocol converter card which lets PCs emulate 3770
SNA/SDLC batch, 3780/3780 BSC RJE, or 3270 SNA/SDLC terminals at
once. It's a full-sized card with 256 kilobytes of memory and a
processing chip, and PC software for it takes only 75 kilobytes
of memory when in use. A version for inside your PC costs $995,
in a box by itself it will set you back $1,395.

CONTACT: Lisa Baggett, MODEMS PLUS [phone]

[***][10/25/88][***]
SUN RIVER TO OFFER PLUG-IN FIBER OPTIC CARD
JACKSON, MS (NB) -- Sun River, makers of a fiber optic LAN for
engineering workstations, has introduced a plug-in card which
turns any ordinary PC, XT, or AT into a node on a fiber optic
network running Unix or Xenix, transferring files at 32 million
bits/second. The PC Lightcard lets you display bit-mapped
graphics on another user's workstation quickly and easily. The
price on the add-in card will be $899 when it's distributed
starting in December.

[***][10/25/88][***]
JAPANESE NETWORKERS ARGUE THE MERITS OF KANJI
Japanese online users are considering adding international kanji
service, according to Jefu, an American networker based in Tokyo.
(The notice, originally written on the TWICS service in Tokyo,
was transferred to Unison and Denver and then on to The Source in
McLean, VA via Dasnet, Campbell, CA.) Kanji ideographs are the
"native mode" of written Japanese. While most Japanese can use
ASCII characters to type both Japanese and English, they prefer
kanji. The facsimile revolution hit Japan first in large part
because of kanji -- with fax you can write kanji, send it, and
read it without translating it into foreign characters.

Most of the 300 local BBS systems in the country, and the
nation's commercial online services, are kanji-based. That makes
them inaccessible overseas. There are hundreds of kanji
characters -- 7 or 8 bits can't describe one. The point is this
may be changing, as the Japanese Ministry of Posts and Telecom
discusses how to implement it. Tympas, a gateway with Tymnet of
the U.S., now offers service to TWICS (a "western" language
service),  Nikkei/MIX, Space Club, and Coara, a local service in
Oita using Nihongo, Japanese written with English characters. As
Japanese citizens are integrated into international online
networks, expect some lively discussions

[***][10/25/88][***]
PROTOTYPE LAPTOP BIBLE SHOWN IN ATLANTA
ATLANTA (NB) -- We've seen the Bible offered on floppies, CD, and
even in comic book and cartoon formats, but Frank Larkins of
Georgia State University has gone them one better. The Computer
Bible, a prototype of which was shown October 19, is a 4-pound
laptop computer with an LCD screen and a small word processor
which will cost $485 when introduced next February. The computer
contains English translations of both the Old and New Testaments.

[***][10/25/88][***]
YOU READ IT HERE FIRST/WEEK OF OCTOBER 25, 1988
Copyright 1988/Written by W. A. Yacco, Exclusive to NEWSBYTES

In this week's installment...

 - DODGER ACE ADMITTED USER OF ELECTRONS...Laptop Wins The Series

 - NEW YORK COMPUTER USERS LIVE IN PAST...City Decrees Delays

 - CSSL DIES...Awesome Builder Won't Be Back

 - BARBARIAN FLOURISHES...Konan Adds New Features

 - AWESOME MAY LIVE...Support May Resume For Board

 - TELE-I-DON'T-KNOW-WHERE...Reports Of Demise May Have Been
                             Exaggerated

 - SMOKE GETS IN MY EYES...PR Firm Attacks Reporter?

DODGER ACE ADMITTED USER OF ELECTRONS
LOS ANGELES (NB) -- It was the bottom of the ninth with two outs.
The pitcher, Orel Hershiser, had allowed runners to advance to
second and third.  In the batter's box stood Tony Phillips, the
tying run.  The count: three and two.  The next pitch could
determine the series.  Fortunately, Hershiser had help with him out
on the mound.

Most pitchers keep records of opposing batters to help them deliver
the combination of pitches that are most likely to bamboozle the
competition.  So does the Dodger's star hurler but, in his case, the
analysis isn't left to chance, intuition, or guess work.  Hershiser
uses a computer.  And, although it wasn't actually out there with
him in the plastic, so to speak, the results of its analysis were.

As everyone knows, the next pitch got Phillips swinging.  What just
a few know is the identity of Hershiser's hardware.  It's been made
public knowledge that he uses a computer but, because of the
potential for lucrative endorsements, there's an unwillingness to
name it before the ink is dry on a contract.  Dodger Stadium will
only admit that the machine in question is a laptop.

Will we ever know the whole story?  Will the curious have to sneak
into the locker room to find out how big the MVP's hard drive is?
Given that this industry's new professional managers can pinch a
nickel until the buffalo chips, even Orel may need relief for this
post-season pitch.  My source at the park believes that it's an IBM
compatible but that's still slightly speculative.


NEW YORK COMPUTER USERS LIVE IN PAST
SAN JOSE, Ca (NB) -- Some New Yorkers may have seen Steve Jobs
unveiling the NeXT computer for the first time just this last
Saturday.  The actual unveiling took place over a week earlier.
However, viewers of the syndicated television program The Computer
Show, in that city, will be watching the show a week later than the
rest of the country.

The program is seen the same week it is produced in most markets
because local stations usually receive the telecast via World
Communications' satellite uplink.  Only two markets do not.
Honolulu is beyond the range of Telestar 301 so it must receive the
show on tape.  WNYC, on the other hand, can receive the Telestar
signals without difficulty but refuses to use them as they come from
transponder 12V.  The municipally-owned station which carries the
show requires a specially edited version with added disclaimers.
Apparently the bureaucratic mind knows no limits--not even time
travel.


CSSL DIES
SEAL BEACH, Ca (NB) -- Users of the Awesome IO Card that have been
seeking technical support from CSSL can stop dialing the
disconnected number here or calling the competition at Konan.
Marketer CSSL is in chapter-seven bankruptcy.  Our sources claim
that the money was spent on preparations for certain contracts that
weren't honored.  Former officials refuse to point fingers, perhaps
in fear of legal reprisals.


BARBARIAN FLOURISHES
TEMPE, Az (NB) --Konan sources claim that most user difficulties
with the Awesome board are related to software problems.  The
company is apparently unable to help the users that have called
because of significant differences between the two companies'
products.  The Arizona firm was instrumental in hardware development
on Awesome.

Meanwhile, Konan has several new developments in progress for its
own TenTime controller.  A new model now supports bus speeds up to
15 MHz. By Fall COMDEX the board will feature extended-memory
support for large file input.  (Output must continue to be limited
by the available static memory to prevent data loss in the event of
system failures.)  At COMDEX, an RLL version of the product is
expected to be unveiled with shipments to begin in December.


AWESOME MAY LIVE
IRVINE, Ca (NB) -- Potentially good news comes from Awesome
distributor American Micronics, Inc. (AMI).  According to marketing
VP Chip Hilts, AMI has taken up all remaining inventory of the
caching disk controller and intends to provide support as well, "We
have some capability from having worked with the product for a year.
We are currently interviewing CSSL technical-support people to try
to increase our technical-support capability."  AMI can be reached
at [phone].

The company may also resume production if a couple of problems can
be solved.  One requirement is sufficient consumer interest in
Awesome.  Another problem is determining who owns all of the
licences required to produce the product.  For example, intellectual
rights which were the property of IOSys have recently passed to
Swallowtail Software, the source of major software development on
the product.


TELE-I-DON'T-KNOW-WHERE
NEW YORK (NB) -- Whatever happened to Tele-Ware Corporation?
Inquiries made at Teleware West about their former partners might
lead one to believe that they had disappeared from the industry's
active rolls.  Actually, Tele-Ware's software has been reincarnated
as Turbo EMS from Lantana Technology, Inc.

Tele-Ware split from its former marketing arm, Teleware West, back
in June in a little noticed, but apparently nasty, settlement.  One
of the concessions that Tele-Ware was forced to make was to
surrender the name that Teleware West had made famous for the EMS
emulation software.  So, developer John La Forte and his wife and
partner Karen Lund are now reintroducing the product they pioneered
as Lantana's Turbo EMS.  Turbo EMS is a direct descendant of the
original La Forte program--perhaps the first successful entrant in
what is now a large field.

Meanwhile, Teleware West is undertaking further development of the
original Above Disc.  It appears to remain the most commercially
successful of the EMS-emulation programs.


SMOKE GETS IN MY EYES
DALLAS (NB) -- There is definitely a difference between creativity
and imagination.  Take, for example, the pr firm that recently sent
me a cigar to announce the "birth" of Precision Incorporated, the
new U. S. based subsidiary of London's Precision Software.  The idea
was creative--as press releases go.  But, sending a glass tube
through the mail in a large paper envelope, with any expectation
that it would survive, that's imagination!

Fortunately, glass splinters won't influence my decision to smoke
the El Producto.  I gave it up well over fifteen years ago.  I just
want to know if sending tobacco to a journalist implies something
sinister.  Depending on whether or not these folks are familiar with
the Surgeon General's reports, could this constitute an attempt on
my life?  Does it violate federal law?  And, most important: Can I
sue and get a big settlement?  Imaginative attorneys are welcome to
respond.

Just kidding, folks.  I don't want to see this reprinted in the
local law review.  But, I was certainly more favorably impressed by
the chocolate-truffle cake that Tektronics sent out with a release
for the NCGA earlier this year.  Although, with my cholesterol
levels, there may not be that much difference after all.  Oh, well
 . . . you can tell them I ate it here first (maybe they'll send me
another one).



[***][10/25/88][***]
COMPUTER RECORDS AID IN FRAUD CONVICTION OF WAITERS
TORONTO (NB) -- Seven waiters have been convicted of fraud after
they embezzled some C$400,000 from a Toronto restaurant by
tampering with a computer system.

The seven, who worked at The Whaler's Wharf restaurant in
downtown Toronto, used managers' ID codes to void orders which
had already been served, then pocketed the money.  They were
charged in 1986.

Although this sort of fraud by waiters has long been a problem in
the restaurant industry, few people are convicted because the
offenses are hard to prove.  Transaction records kept by the
restaurant's computer system helped make the convictions
possible, according to Jeff Kein, sales manager for Remanco
Systems Inc. of Toronto, which provided the equipment.

The seven waiters pleaded guilty to fraud over $1,000 and were
sentenced to light jail terms and ordered to pay back about half
of the sums believed to have been embezzled.

[***][10/25/88][***]
BEDFORD TO RELEASE INTEGRATED TOOLBOX IN DECEMBER
BURNABY, B.C. (NB) -- Bedford Software says it will release in
December a report and graph generator called Integrated Toolbox
to work with its Integrated Accounting software for MS-DOS.
Toolbox will run on any MS-DOS PC with a minimum of 384K and two
floppy disk drives.  It will be available directly from Bedford
for C$99.

The package will include two modules.  The report-writing module
will allow more flexible design of reports than the Integrated
Accounting package itself.  Graph will allow users to view
financial statements and accounting data in a variety of graph
formats.

Bedford products are sold through about 7,000 retailers in the
United States and Canada.

CONTACT: BEDFORD SOFTWARE LTD., 102B, 3701 East Hastings St.
         Burnaby, B.C. V5C 2H6, [phone]

[***][10/25/88][***]
UNIVERSITY LIBRARY TIGHTENS UP AFTER RUMORED FINE-FIXING
TORONTO (NB) -- The University of Toronto library system has
changed passwords and replaced intelligent terminals with dumb
ones after allegations that students were cracking the library
computer system to erase fines for overdue books.

Peter Clinton, associate librarian at the university, said
intelligent terminals in public areas, technically capable of
getting into the fine system, are being replaced with less
sophisticated units.  The legitimate purpose of the terminals is
access to library catalogues.

Clinton said two unnamed students who told a campus newspaper,
THE VARSITY, that they had used the public terminals to erase
fines, could not have done exactly what they claimed to have
done.  Transaction records would have shown some evidence of the
intrusions, Clinton said.  But he added that the students might
have erased fines improperly using terminals intended for library
staff.  To be safe, the library changed all its passwords after
the story appeared, Clinton said.

CONTACT: UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARIES, [phone]

[***][10/25/88][***]
UNIVERSITY OFFERS PUBLIC DIAL ACCESS TO CATALOGUES
TORONTO (NB) -- Anyone with a computer and a modem can now dial
into the University of Toronto library system's computerized
catalogue system.  Associate librarian Peter Clinton said 300-,
1,200- and 2,400-baud access is provided through the university's
computer services network.  Felix, as the system is called,
operates continuously except for about an hour and a half early
each morning when backups are performed.  Clinton said it is the
largest academic library database system in North America.  No
user account is needed; however, Clinton asked NEWSBYTES CANADA
to publish only a voice number where interested parties may call
to obtain further information, including numbers for the data
lines.  So, for more information...

CONTACT: UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARIES, [phone]

[***][10/25/88][***]
CALL-NET GETS LINES BACK PENDING APPEAL
OTTAWA (NB) -- The Federal Cabinet has told Bell Canada to re-
connect the phone lines of Call-Net Communications Ltd. of
Toronto.  Call-Net is appealing to the Federal Court of Appeal a
decision by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications
Commission (CRTC) that said its enhanced long-distance telephone
service violates regulations on resale of long-distance services.

Bell disconnected the lines in early September after being given
the go-ahead to do so by the CRTC.

[***][10/25/88][***]
IBM ANNOUNCES DONATIONS, FELLOWSHIPS FOR SUPERCOMPUTING
MARKHAM, Ont. (NB) -- IBM Canada Ltd. has announced donations to
three Canadian university to help establish regional
supercomputing centres, along with other supercomputing
initiatives.

Academic Supercomputing Centres will be established at three
Canadian universities.  Each will have an IBM Enterprise
System/3090 with Vector Facility, installed by the universities.
IBM will donate additional equipment, technical expertise and
funding.  The centres will be located at Ecole Polytechnique in
Montreal, the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, N.B.,
and the University of Victoria in Victoria, B.C.

IBM will also provide a vector facility to McGill University in
Montreal, which already has a 3090, for three years.  The
university will develop courses and laboratory assignments in
supercomputing.  McGill will be the first of six universities to
participate in this program.

Finally, IBM announced an awards program under which four
fellowships will be awarded to graduate students at the
universities with Academic Supercomputing Centres.  And each year
a PhD student at a Canadian university will receive an IBM award
for a doctoral thesis that contributes significantly to the study
of computational science.

The total retail value of IBM Canada's contributions, the company
said, is C$7.2 million.

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

[***][10/25/88][***]
DOWNTOWN COMPUTER SUPERSTORE COMING
TORONTO (NB) -- The Steals People, which operates three discount
computer stores in suburban Toronto locations, will soon make
the move downtown.  Advertising in Toronto newspapers promises a
"grand opening bash" for the new store, which will join the other
locations in offering low-priced hardware, software and
accessories.  The location and opening date have not been
announced.

[***][10/25/88][***]
MERGED SERVICE BUREAUS FORM STM SYSTEMS CORP.
MARKHAM, Ont. (NB) -- The company formed by the merger of two of
Canada's largest computer service firms has a name.  It is STM
Systems Corp., a subsidiary of International Semi-Tech
Microelectronics Inc.  The largest Canadian service bureau and
systems integrator was formed by International Semi-Tech's
acquisition of Datacrown Inc. of Markham and Canada Systems Group
of Toronto earlier this year.

CONTACT: INTERNATIONAL SEMI-TECH MICROELECTRONICS INC.,
         131 MacNabb, Markham, Ont. L3R 5V7, [phone]

[***][10/25/88][***]
BITS, EH?

-- COGNOS INC., Ottawa, demonstrated its new relational database
management system, PowerHouse StarBase, at DEXPO West in Anaheim,
Calif., October 18-20.  StarBase is integrated with Cognos's
PowerHouse fourth-generation development language, and supports
the Structured Query Language (SQL) standard.

-- DELL COMPUTER CORP. has named a vice-president of sales for
its new Canadian subsidiary in Richmond Hill, Ont.  He is Patrick
C. Murphy, formerly national sales manager at Harris Systems Ltd.

-- SHL SYSTEMHOUSE INC., Ottawa, has released its final year-end
results.  They are unchanged from unaudited results reported in
NEWSBYTES CANADA Oct. 11.  Net income was C$5.8 million, down
from C$23.7 million last year, while revenues rose to C$240.7
million from C$176.2 million a year earlier.

-- BELL-NORTHERN RESEARCH, Ottawa, will lease 300 acres of land
next to its world headquarters laboratory complex in Nepean, an
Ottawa suburb.  BNR says it will use the land to consolidate its
Ottawa-area laboratory facilities and provide for growth to the
end of the century.

-- Part of NATIONAL BUSINESS SYSTEMS INC., Mississauga, Ont.,
will probably be sold.  Hees International Bancorp Inc. of
Toronto, which is cleaning up financial problems at the maker of
credit-card verification and point-of-sale equipment, is reported
in Toronto newspapers to be close to announcing a buyer for NBS
Transactions Services Inc.

[***][10/25/88][***]
EPSON REALIZES A COLOR LAPTOP PC
TOKYO (NB) -- Seiko-Epson claims to have succeeded in the development
of a laptop computer with a full color liquid crystal display (LCD) and
hopes to have it on the market within a year.

The LCD of the prototype machine utilizes a metal
active matrix, the same type as found on color television
sets.  The display is 10 inch in size and realizes as fine a
resolution as a cathode ray tube monitor, with full color
consisting of 640 x 400 dots.

The display has the same weight and thickness as Epson's monochrome
one, however it is far more costly.  The unit is expected to sell for
around 900,000 yen or $7,000.

Meanwhile, the company has put a 32-bit, 80386-based desktop PC
on the market and says it has a 50% faster processing speed
than rival NEC's 32-bit machines.  The price of the model with
5.25 inch floppy drive is 598,000 yen or $4,700, and the model with
40 megabyte hard disk is 813,000 yen or $6,300.

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

[***][10/25/88][***]
HITACHI TO LICENCE IBM'S MICRO CHANNEL ARCHITECTURE
TOKYO (NB) -- Hitachi has become the first Japanese firm to license
IBM's proprietary Micro Channel Archtecture, the brains of its new
PS/2 line, for its 32-bit machines, the B16 series.  Hitachi has
decided to pay the expensive royalty to IBM for MCA usage, a royalty
which is expected to make other manufacturers here jump on the
competing EISA bus bandwagon.

Observers see Hitachi's decision to license MCA as related to its
continuing relationship with IBM, one that involves many licenses
already.

The company aims to produce PCs for both domestic and overseas
markets (see NEWSBYTES JAPAN, 4 Oct. issue) under the same
specifications, a move expected to cut production costs.

Meanwhile, Hitachi will provide compatibility to Fujitsu with a
Japanese language interface for OS/2 with Presentation Manager,
expected to be released after the second half of next year.

CONTACT : Hitachi, 1-5-1 Marunouchi, Chiyada-ku, Tokyo 100

[***][10/25/88][***]
NEW PS/55 SERIES APPEAR FROM IBM JAPAN
TOKYO (NB) -- IBM Japan has announced and released new models
of its PS/55 series.

The laptop 5535M18 comes with an Intel 80286-based central
processing unit (CPU), one megabyte of main RAM memory, and 20
megabyte hard disk drive, as well as a numeric keypad,
and a mouse.  The new laptop weighs 7.7 kg, less than its predecessor
which was 8.1 kg.  The price is 595,000 yen or $4,500.

The upgraded models without Micro Channel Architecture have an
Intel 80286 central processing unit, and one megabyte of standard
main memory, expandable to 16 megabytes.

The price of the 5551 models ranges from 785,000 yen ($6,000) to
1,075,000 yen ($8,300), depending on their drive units.  On the
other hand, Ricoh, which is receiving OEM-supplies from IBM Japan,
will announce new models with the same features as the new PS/55
series.

Meanwhile, IBM Japan has developed and released a Japanese operating
system for the PS/55 series.  The OS/2J 1.02 can be installed on
both Japanese and English software.

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

[***][10/25/88][***]
IBM JAPAN GETS AGGRESSIVE ON OS/2
TOKYO (NB) -- IBM Japan will ship development kits for an extended
version of OS/2 within the year.

The kit includes the main components of Japanese OS/2 Extended Version,
and information necessary for developing programs, such as
specifications and development software. Using the development
kit, the main features of OS/2 Extended Version, such as
Presentation Manager, Communication Manager, and Database Manager,
can be installed on IBM Japan's PS/55 machines.

Meanwhile, the AX Group will supply OS/2 for its AX machines
starting next year.  AX machines are IBM PC/AT-compatibles with
a Japanese language feature.

[***][10/25/88][***]
NEC RELEASES LOW-END MODELS OF PC-8800 SERIES
TOKYO (NB) -- NEC has released two models of an 8-bit personal
computer for home use.  The PC-8800 FE and MA2 are low-end models
of PC-8800 series, which enjoyed a large number of users in the past.
The popularity of the PC-8800s was replaced by the PC-9800 series.
NEC is planning to aggressively sell the FE as an entry-level machine
for beginners in the personal computer market, in direct challenge to
the low-price 8-bit personal computer MSX, which has the same micro-
processor.  The advantage of FE is that a user can employ a TV
set with a video input terminal as a display. The footprint is 25
percent smaller than the machine's predecessor.

The price of FE is 129,000 yen or $1,000, and MA2 is 168,000 yen
or $1,300.  NEC expects to sell 100,000 units of both models
within this year.

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

[***][10/25/88][***]
16-BIT MUSIC COMPUTER DUE FROM YAMAHA
TOKYO (NB) -- Yamaha will release two models of an all-in-one type
music computer on December 10th.  The laptop-like machines
have 16-bit Intel 80286 microprocessors and 640 kilobytes of
main memory.  Also attached are a keyboard, a liquid crystal
display, and time-code interface unit which can be synchronized
with eight MIDI ports that can simultaneously control as many as
128 instruments or can be synchronized with multi-track recordings (MTR).

Yamaha Corp.'s American facility already released the music
computers last month, but did not bundle them with acclaimed software
called Sequence, which freely programs and arranges all the
compositions for a full orchestra.   The software will be bundled
with machines only in Japan.

C1 will come with two 3.5-inch floppies and weigh 8.2 kg, priced at
348,000 yen or $2,700.  C1/20 will include one 3.5-inch FDD and
one 3.5-inch HDD, weigh 8.5 kg, and will be priced at 498,000 yen
or $3,800.

CONTACT: Yamaha, 10-1 Nakazawa-machi, Hamamatsu-shi, Shizuoka 430

[***][10/25/88][***]
HITACHI BEEFS UP ITS CHIP LINES
TOKYO (NB) -- Hitachi will add up to 12 billion yen ($0.9 billion)
to increase production of one megabit DRAM chips and to produce four
megabit DRAMs.

To start, Hitachi will beef up its main one megabit DRAM factories
in Mobara and Naka to increase production of these chips from a
current 2 million units per month to 3.5 million by year's end, and
to 4 million by next May.  Hitachi is currently receiving a great
amount of orders for its ultra high-speed 60 nanosecond one
megabit DRAMs, therefore, Hitachi is eager to push high value-added
strategies.

Meanwhile, Hitachi will build new lines for four megabit DRAMs in either
Musashi, Takasaki, or Kohfu.  Hitachi is very aggressive on 4 MB
DRAM production;  sample 4MB DRAM which Hitachi announced at
the end of last year drew a great amount of interest.
To start, Hitachi will produce samples of 80, 100, and
120 nanosecond 4 megabit DRAMs in volume, and afterwards, increase
production of sample ultra high-speed 60 nanosecond 4 megabit DRAMs.

CONTACT: Hitachi, 1-5-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100

[***][10/25/88][***]
<< SUSHI BYTES >>

TOSHIBA WITH AT&T -- Toshiba has taken sides with AT&T on the issue of
standardization of UNIX.  The company is also straddling the fence
since its U.S. subsidiary has sided with the rival Open Software
Foundation.  The announcement came as Toshiba was under pressure to
reveal its alliance in the UNIX battle; Hitachi and Fujitsu
have already decided their positions.  Now, NEC and Mitsubishi
are under public scrutiny for their positions on the matter.

COMPUTER MUSIC CONTEST OPENS -- The first major contest for
computer music "Muuji-kun Rikisaku Contest '88" will be held under
the auspices of Roland, Osaka.  The applicants for the contest
have to record on 3.5-inch or 5.25-inch floppies original or copied work
made with Roland's music system Muuji-kun, Roland's piano, and
NEC PC-9800 machine. Applications must be sent to the address below,
enclosing an application form.  < Myuuji-kun Rikisaku Contest Selection
Committee, 3-1-38 Moto-Azabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106 >  The
deadline is November 15.  The winners will be invited to Guam or
Cocos Island.

SUN SHINES ON FORMER TOSHIBA EXEC -- The world's largest
engineering workstation maker, Sun Microsystems in the U.S., has
appointed Toshiba's Hirohira Amou as president of its subsidiary
in Japan.  Also, Amou has been appointed as a vice president of
Sun Microsystems in the U.S.  This is the first time  a
Japanese native has been appointed to a management part for Sun.

****************************************************************

[***][10/25/88][***]
APPLE AND RENAULT
PARIS, FRANCE (NB) - Sources say Apple is in the process of
signing a major contract with Renault (the French carmaker). This
contract should be worth some US$35 million and would involve at
least 5,000  Macintosh IIs, all equipped with CD-ROM drives.
Renault uses HyperCard on a CD ROM disk to access more than 80,000
pages of technical information.  Each of Renault's 20,000 auto
dealerships is expected to receive one of the Mac IIs.
Although the Renault system was originally designed for use with Owl
International's Guide software for IBMs or compatibles, Renault
has reportedly switched to HyperCard.

[***][10/25/88][***]
APPLE OPENS NEW BUSINESS CENTER
HEVERLEE, BELGIUM (NB) -- Apple is expanding rapidly. The company
has announced that its new Apple Business Center at Heverlee, 25 kilometers
east of Brussels, will open on November 4, 1988. Letters announcing
the opening were sent to NEWSBYTES; inside was a balloon which, once
inflated, revealed the date, place and phone number of the new
business center. That's innovation.

[***][10/25/88][***]
ZENITH IS TO SHOW COLOR LAPTOP AT HANOVER FAIR
MUNICH, WEST GERMANY (NB) -- According to the Germany's "PC
Magazine," Zenith will demonstrate a new laptop which will have a
10" color screen, will be operated by a '286 microprocessor and
will have EGA support.

In addition - and this is a first - the system will use 2" floppy
drives with 1.2MB capacity. The laptop will be shown at a world
premiere at the coming Hanover Fair trade show which  NEWSBYTES Europe
will cover.

[***][10/25/88][***]
COMMODORE ANNOUNCES NEW AT
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (NB) -- Commodore announced a new AT that offers
VGA compatibility, the PC40-III. The system offers 12MHz 286
processor, 40MB hard disk and VGA adapter with CGA, MDA,
HERCULES and EGA compatibility. The adapter, which uses the Tseng
Labs chip, can display 256 colors at 320 x 200 resolution.

[***][10/25/88][***]
ETAP ANNOUNCES NEW PS/2 AND MAC MONITOR
MALLE, BELGIUM (NB) -- ETAP, a Belgian manufacturer of displays for
personal computers, announced its latest product, the PICTOR 20"
color monitor for PS/2s and Macs. The screen offers 1024
x 768 resolution and uses a 75hz non-interlaced refresh mode for
flickerless operation. On a PC, the monitor can display 16 out of
4096 colors while on the Mac it can display 256 colors out of 16.7
million. Using a resolution of 1/72" it approaches photographic
resolution.

ETAP is a company grossing BF 320 million (about $9 million) and
has sold more than 7500 screens. ETAP also manufactures
yachts and lighting equipment.

[***][10/25/88][***]
SCITEX ANNOUNCES NEW STARTER PRE-PRESS SYSTEM
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (NB) -- Scitex announced a new entry level
advanced pre-press system that includes a color scanner, an
editing as well as a production console, a 386 based CPU
including two disks and a magnetic tape unit, a laser-based
color imagesetter and appropriate software for the creation,
editing, and professional output of images that will subsequently
be printed.

The Starter System, which retails for about $400,000, can do the
same job that multimillion dollar systems used to do a few
years back. According to Richard de Boissezon, Scitex Europe's
marketing manager, "This system is advanced for its time because
it can accomplish so much for so little.  Advances in technology
have enabled us to develop and produce an exceptional plotter
which rotates the laser head instead of the drum onto which the
film negative is placed, thus giving us an edge on size and
performance. The resolution of the system is more than 4,000
lines per inch, many more than with comparable laser printing
systems."

[***][10/25/88][***]
MDS BELGIUM ANNOUNCES IBM CHANNEL EXTENDER
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (NB) -- MDS announced today that its new 8911
and 8912 channel extenders, which extend the physical limits of
the IBM 43XX, IBM 370 and IBM 30XX channel, are now available.
The systems can offer peripheral and CPU separation up to
hundreds of kilometers and consist of two extenders, associated
high speed modems, and 2 x 2 channel switches.

[***][10/25/88][***]
3COM FINALLY SHIPS 3+COM
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (NB) -- Positronica, the Belgian distributor
for 3Com, finally announced that 3+Com is now available for
shipping to customers. The announcement took place at the
Hyatt Regency in Brussels and was made by Debbie Boscoe,
3Com's international product manager. The new network runs with
the help of the OS/2 operating system. Not only is this network
oriented towards PCs but also towards Apple products including
the Macintosh. 3+Open, which links Macs into a PC based network,
has been at more than 40 beta test sites around the world.

Management of the network consists of many programs that permit
almost universal control of the network's various functions. A
key feature of the product is the use of a "click and zoom"
feature which permits even beginners take advantage of its
capabilities.

[***][10/25/88][***]
KARL HEINZ NARJES SPEAKS ON EC COMMUNICATIONS POLICY
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (NB) -- Karl Heinz Narjes, commissioner in
charge of telecommunications and vice president of the European
Community, spoke of the European communications market at the fourth
general assembly of the World Teleport Association in Cologne.

In one of the highlights of the speech, Mr. Narjes said, "Since 1984
the European Community has been starting to respond to the
identifiable challenges in telecommunications by developing a
community telecommunications policy. The aims of the policy
include the coordination of the national strategies; joint
execution of research and development projects; the development
and introduction of standards and creation of background
conditions needed for the new open communications policy."

He continued, "The Green paper that was issued on the subject of
communications policy will offer the basis for the
implementation of the following proposals: the rapid and
complete opening up of the terminal market by the end of 1990;
the gradual liberalization of the telecommunications services
market; the introduction of procurement decisions based on
capability and not on discrimination and the creation of
distinctions between regulatory and operational divisions
within member states' communications authorities."

Mr. Narjes said that with the cooperation of the various member
states, Europe will have a deregulated communications market
from 1992. This is naturally good news to the thousands of
European companies which have been trying to enter other markets
in order to expand and grow. In addition, Mr. Narjes said that
the most important point is that European countries must be
adaptable and thus be able to quickly respond to the needs of
their companies and not hinder them as has been the case in the
past.

[***][10/25/88][***]
INTEL INTRODUCES NEW MINIATURE IBM PC MOTHERBOARD
MUNICH, WEST GERMANY (NB) -- Intel, in its quest to satisfy
customer needs for miniaturization, announced a credit-card
sized IBM PC system that includes an Intel 80C88 CPU running at seven
megahertz ,and an EPROM (erasable, programmable read-only memory) chip
that holds the BIOS, altogether a total of nine integrated circuits
for the entire system.

The board plugs into a SIM connector and consequently can attach
to peripherals and is totally IBM PC-compatible. This new
development opens the way to use PCs in embedded applications
now that so much software exists for them. Intel is eyeing
various operating systems for the card especially the ROM chip
version of DOS (similar to the one in the Toshiba 1000) and
Digital Research's DRDOS.

[***][10/25/88][***]
CAP GEMINI SOGETI RESULTS
PARIS, FRANCE (NB) -- For the first six months of the year, the
French company realized a consolidated revenue of 2.768 million
French francs, before taxes. It is actually a progression of
64% compared to the same period last year.  Nevertheless, if
the revenue brought by the group SESA is not taken into account, one
can consider that the growth is only 29%. The current results,
before taxes, turn around 318 million of FF compared to 142
million for 1987.  But with the restructuring, which took place last
year, any comparison between these figures is made difficult.

For the total year of 1988, Cap Gemini expects a revenue of some 5.6
billions FF, which represents growth of 34% compared to 87.  But
without SESA, this growth would only have been 24%, which is only
one percent more than earlier.  Profit after taxes represents some
6%.

[***][10/25/88][***]
GRANADA BETS ON TPM
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (NB) - All the companies dedicated to third
party maintenance bought by the Granada Group (DPCE
bought in June 1988, Mainstay Computer Cover bought in January 1988,
SMS International bought in Sept. 1986, and Computer Field
Maintenance bought in 1986, all British firms owning subsidiaries
on the continent), will now be known as Granada Computer Services.
This decision took place on the first day of the new fiscal year,
October 1st.  Results for the last year finishing September 30
show a revenue of US$ 200 million or some 11%  of the global
Granada revenues.  If U.K. still represents 80% of TPM results,
the company expects a balance of 50% by the beginning of the
nineties. Growth expected on the continent is 25% for the next two
years.

It is MacKenzie Consulting which pushed Granada towards TPM.
This sector only represents 6% of the global
contracts of maintenance held over the world, but mixed
environments should give them a rapid growth in the next few
years.

[***][10/25/88][***]
TANDEM AND APPLE SIGN A VAR AGREEMENT.
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (NB) -- Tandem and Apple signed a VAR agreement
(Value Added Reseller) for the next 4 years, starting 1989.  This
agreement authorizes Tandem to sell and support and take care of
the maintenance of the Macintosh family, as part of its network
called OLTP (on line transactional processing).  Signed on a
global basis, this accord is understood as a recognition of the two
firms' synergy. Apple was already one of the major Tandem customers
(Tandem automated the Apple channels of production). As far as
LANs are concerned, Tandem will benefit the Apple conviviality
while it offers a NonStop environment.

[***][10/25/88][***]
ICL JUST ANNOUNCED 6 NEW MODELS
LONDON, U.K. (NB) - ICL just announced 6 new models of the XP
range for its 39 series.  Introduced on the low end of the line,
are single processor-based 15XP (8 megabytes (MB) with a max. of 24MB)), 25XP
(16MB with a maximum of 24MB) and 35XP (16 MB, max 32). On multi-
processor based systems are the 25DXP (24MB; max. 48MB) and a
regular DXP (24MB; max 64MB), and last but not least the two
processor 35XP/2(16MB; max 32MB).

Using high density CMOS, VLSI 8000 circuits and 1 megabit RAM chips,
these new processors have doubled the memory capacity compared to
the old models they replace.  Two new software options, ICL
Access and VME Pathway, are also available.

[***][10/25/88][***]
THE FORTRESS EUROPE THAT IS "PARTNER EUROPE"
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (NB) -- Europe of 1992, that is Europe without
frontiers, has been called "Fortress Europe" by many newspapers and
magazines and it is about time to set the record straight.

In 1992 the so called "Internal Market" comes into effect which
will permit the economic, social and semipolitical integration of
the twelve member states. This boils down to the fact that
someone will be able to purchase a computer in another country
without due concern for customs regulations upon his return.

The Internal Market will affect many business sectors including
technology and computers. Amstrad will be able to sell computers to
any country in Europe. One will be able to go to Frankfurt, buy a new
IBM system, and return without customs control. All this will
naturally mean that the nations of Europe will have to have similar
VAT (value Added Tax - similar to sales tax in the US). Thus there
would be no advantage as such, in going from country to country, to
affect purchases, since the tax rates would be equal. An IBM AT-3
will cost the same in Brussels and in Luxembourg. Of course VAT
will be charged irrespective of the store's location (buying
across states in the US avoids paying sales tax).

Of course, since Europe will become such an open market, there has
been the fear that since the market would be so big, why not close
it and keep it internal? Inotherwords, avoid outside competition.
Set up such high tariffs that no formerly EC- made goods would be worth
buying because they would be priced out of the market.

According to the EC, this will not be the case. The current EC
import tariffs, which are only 4.8% for computer products, will
remain the same or largely unaltered. Naturally, the VAT would have
to be charged at the EC entrance point. Thus lay to rest all you
hear about Europe's last glimpse or "that Corvette is one of the
last you will see in Europe."  Partner Europe will be here to
stay.


[***][10/25/88][***]
ALLIANCE BETWEEN ASHTON-TATE, DIGITAL?
NEW YORK (NB) -- Look for a strategic relationship between
Ashton-Tate and Digital Equipment Corp. over relational
databases. Dow Jones Professional Investor Report says the
announcement will be that Ashton-Tate dBase IV will run with
Digital's RDB database on the VAX minicomputer. Meanwhile, rumors
abound over possible further delays in dBase IV. The product is
scheduled to ship October 31, but has encountered repeated delays
in the past.


SHARP UNVEILS COMPAQ LAPTOP CLONE
MAHWAH, N.J. (NB) -- Sharp Electronics has introduced a new
laptop that closely resembles the new Compaq laptop, including
the 16-level gray scale VGA display. And that's no surprise,
because Compaq uses the Sharp display. The new PC-5541 is battery
powered, based on the 80286 processor, and boasts a high-speed 40
megabyte hard disk and a 3.5-inch, 1.44 megabyte floppy. Internal
RAM is expandable to 3.6 megabytes. The suggested retail price is
$5,595. Look for the machine at booth 2328 in the North Hall at
COMDEX.

CONTACT: Sharp Electronics Corp., Sharp Plaza, Mahway, N.J.
         07430, 201-529-8200.

[***][10/25/88][***]
BOTH SIDES CLAIM VICTORY IN PEROT SUIT
FAIRFAX, Va. (NB) -- A county judge has ruled that billionaire
businessman Ross Perot cannot solicit potentially profitable
business until the end of 1989. But the ruling allows Perot to
compete against Electronic Data Systems, the company he founded
and sold to General Motors, on a not-for-profit basis. The court
granted an injunction forbidding Perot for conducting profit-
making business, and set a trial date for the suit by EDS against
Perot Systems Corp. for April 6. Both sides claimed victory.
Perot said he will work on a non-profit basis, even on long-term
contracts signed before December 1989. "Whatever the customer
wants we'll give it to him not for profit," said Perot. "Sign up
quick." EDS President Lester Alberthal called the ruling a "clear
victory. We got the court to make a decision that we wanted."

[***][10/25/88][***]
HASBRO DROPS NEMO BECAUSE OF MEMORY PRICES
PAWTUCKET, R.I. (NB) -- Hasbro Inc. says it has scrapped plans
for a consumer electronics product, code-named Nemo, because of
the high price of computer memory chips. The product was
expected to be an interactive video game that connected to a
standard television set. Hasbro, the nation's largest toymaker,
spent almost $15 million and two and a half years on the product,
which had a target price of about $200. But Hasbro said chip
prices meant that Hasbro would have to price Nemo at $250 to $300
and the company said it does not believe the market would support
that price.

[***][10/25/88][***]
MORE EVIDENCE ON HEALTH EFFECTS OF VDTs
NEW YORK (NB) -- According to Irving Selikoff of the Mount Sinai
School of Medicine, a Swedish study involving mice provides
further ammunition for those who claim that video display
terminals can be harmful to pregnant women. The study by Sweden's
University of Agricultural Sciences found that pregnant mice
exposed to magnetic pulses, such as those routinely produced by
VDTs, had twice the incidence of early fetal deaths. The study
was reported by Microwave News, a newsletter that covers health
and safety issues related to electro-magnetic fields.

[***][10/25/88][***]
-----------------------UNIX REPORT------------------------------

AT&T REKINDLES UNIX BATTLE
NEW YORK (NB) -- With discussions between the two Unix camps
apparently bogged down, American Telephone & Telegraph Co. and 18
allies have pledged to move ahead with Unix System V Release 4.0.
AT&T earlier appeared to be close to a compromise with the Open
Software Foundation, formed last year by IBM and Digital
Equipment Corp. to write a non-AT&T version of Unix, over
standards for the multiuser operating system. The decision by the
AT&T camp to go ahead with its new Unix could confuse customers
and delay the emergence of Unix as a standard operating system
that spans virtually all workstation and minicomputer platforms.
The AT&T groups includes, among others, Amdahl Corp., Fujitsu,
Intel, Motorola, NCR, and Unisys. Talks continue between the AT&T
troops and the OSF.

[***][10/25/88][***]
NCR TO SUPPORT UNIX V 4.0 ON THE NCR TOWER
DAYTON, Ohio (NB) -- NCR Corp. says it will support Unix System V
Release 4.0 on its 80386 Tower computers. NCR has offered Unix on
the Tower line of microcomputers since it was first introduced in
November 1982. Currently, Unix V Release 3 is running on the NCR
Tower. NCR is also one of the companies supporting AT&T in its
battle with IBM over future Unix standards. "Unix is the most
widely accepted standard in portable operating systems, with
hundreds of thousands of users and hundreds of systems suppliers
worldwide," says NCR Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Charles
Exley. Exley says customers are demanding greater portability and
interoperability is they move into flatter, geographically
dispersed computing networks.

[***][10/25/88][***]
HARRIS BUYS AMS UNIX SHELL
ARLINGTON, Va. (NB) -- American Management Systems and Harris
Corp., Fort Lauderdale, Fla., have signed an agreement to market
the AMS Directory Shell, a Unix interface, with Harris' CX/UX
Unix-based operating system. CX/UX supports both AT&T's System V
and Berkeley BSD Unix simultaneously. Under the deal, Harris will
market Directory Shell with its HCX super-minicomputers for four
years. Directory Shell is a visual, windowing interface that
removes the user from the unfriendly, often arcane command line
in plain Unix.

[***][10/25/88][***]
NEC ROLLS OUT 20 MHZ 386 MACHINE RUNNING SCO XENIX
BOXBOROUGH, Mass. (NB) -- NEC Information Systems Inc. has
unveiled its BusinessMaster 386/20 multiuser system. The Machine
runs the Intel 80386 32-bit processor, running at a clock speed
of 20 megaHerz. The operating system is Santa Cruz Operation's
Xenix, a variant of Unix. The computer will support up to 16
terminals. The machine ships with four RS-232C serial ports, but
can be expanded to 16. Every fourth port has a dedicated
processor to control input/output traffic. The base price of the
machine is $6,795 with two megabytes of RAM, a 1.2 megabyte
floppy disk drive, and a 42 megabyte hard disk drive.

CONTACT: NEC Information Systems Inc., 1414 Massachusetts Ave.,
         Boxborough, Mass. 01719, 617-954-1652


-----------------------------------------------------------------
[***][10/25/88][***]
NETWORKING XYWRITE ON THE WAY
BILLERICA, Mass. (NB) -- XyQuest Inc. says a version of its
powerful XyWrite word processor that runs on local area networks
is nearly ready for prime time. XyWrite III Plus for Networks
will facilitate work-group editing, with multi-user redlining.
The product will be $795 for the server and $195 per node.
Ironically, XyWrite was originally written to mimic the Atex
minicomputer word processor widely used in the newspaper
industry. Now, the Atex look will be available for LANs through
XyWrite, as the product comes full circle.

[***][10/25/88][***]
COMMODORE ANNOUNCED AMIGA 2000 PRODUCTS
WEST CHESTER, Pa. (NB) -- Commodore Business Machines is offering
an eight megabyte memory expansion and a new hard disk controller
for the Amiga 2000. The A2058 memory expansion, at $799 for two
megabytes, can add up to eight megabytes on a single card, when
fully populated with one megabit chips. The additional memory
allows greater multitasking on the Amiga. The A2090A controller
offers both ST-506 and SCSI interfaces and buffered direct memory
access. The controller is $399.

CONTACT: Commodore International, 1200 Wilson Drive, West Chester
         Pa. 19380, 215-431-9100.

[***][10/25/88][***]
INTEL GOES FOR GRAPHICS FROM GE
NEW YORK (NB) -- Intel Corp. has purchased General Electric's
Digital Video Interactive Technology Venture, in a move to
upgrade the graphics capability of the next generation of
personal computers. Intel says it hopes to turn the GE DVI
technology, originated by RCA, which GE bought out in 1986, into
the industry standard for controlling digitized images, graphics,
and audio contained on five-inch optical company disks. The
purchase includes the DVI proprietary digital compression and
decompression technology. Intel says it hopes to start announced
consumer-based products in the first half of next year. Intel is
in a race with a joint venture of Sony and North American
Phillips to corner the CD graphics market.

[***][10/25/88][***]
NEWS NIBBLES

DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORP., Maynard, Mass, has introduced two new,
more powerful MicroVAX systems. The MicroVAX 3300 and 3400 double
the performance of the MicroVAX II. Prices start at $12,430.

APOLLO COMPUTER INC., Chelmsford, Mass., has signed an agreement
with NIXDORF AG of West Germany that gives Nixdorf the right to
market Apollo's graphic workstations worldwide.

IBM, Rye Brook, N.Y., has released the Office Interconnect
Facility group of products that allow users of IBM, Digital, and
Wang office systems to exchange electronic mail. The products
were developed with ARATEK INTERNATIONAL of Toronto.

IBM has also offered its 228,000 U.S. employees more flexibility
in setting work hours, including a provision for unpaid leave,
with benefits, of up to three years. IBM says it is making
changes in employment policies largely to accommodate the growing
number of women who are joining Big Blue.

PHILADELPHIA TRAFFIC COURT has hired AMERICAN MANAGEMENT
SYSTEMS, INC., Arlington, Va., to create a computerized system
for tracking down traffic scofflaws. AMS will get paid only on
the basis of unpaid fines that it successfully collects.

LOTUS DEVELOPMENT CORP., Cambridge, Mass., reports a 25 percent
drop in net income and a slowdown in sales growth for the third
quarter, the result of delays in shipping Release 3.0 of the
spreadsheet 1-2-3. Lotus reported a net of $14.3 million (31
cents per share) on sales of $116.8 million. For the third
quarter last year, Lotus reported $19.1 million (42 cents per
share) in profits on sales of $101.2 million.


[***][10/25/88][***]
AMSTRAD TO ENTER FAX MARKET IN '89?
BRENTWOOD, MIDDLESEX (NB) -- Amstrad is said to be readying for
an assault on the fax machine market in early '89, according to a
report in the latest COMPUTER TRADE WEEKLY. The paper suggests
that a machine, pricing in at #695, will be launched late
January. The last time this rumour was touted was in the spring
of this year, when rumours of the now-released PC-2000 (80286 and
80386-based) machines was circulating.

Is it possible that Amstrad could meet this price? Given that a
number of firms are now selling BT-approved PC fax cards for as
little as #399, it could be done. NEWSBYTES UK's sources suggest
that the Amstrad fax machine - if it exists - might be released
in time for the Which Computer? Show in February '89.

Amstrad, as ever, remains tight-lipped on the subject of any
impending product releases. A company spokesman is quoted as
saying that Amstrad's policy is never to release future product
plans to avoid tipping off any competition.

NEWSBYTES UK, meanwhile, hears that the impending Amstrad budget
fax machine might have an option for a serial port link. This
facility, which is beginning to appear on many Far Eastern fax
machines, allows text from the PC to be piped to the fax machine
for processing and sending. Since this bypasses the optical
scanner facility on the fax machine, the quality of transmitted
text is vastly improved.

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

[***][10/25/88][***]
AMSTRAD SHOW REPORT
MANCHESTER, UK (NB) -- Last week saw the three-day Amstrad
Computer Show taking place in Manchester. Although one of the few
non-London shows in the computer world, the event yielded some
interesting news, primarily in the PC marketplace. Most
interesting of all was the proliferation of add-ons for the
Amstrad PPC portable, which was launched earlier this year.

For NEWSBYTES UK readers unfamiliar with the PPC, it's a chunky
8086-based portable in the shape of an Atari STFM that runs off
batteries. The machine features one or two 3.5 inch floppies and
an optional quad-standard modem. The display is the machine's
weak point, being a non-backlit black on grey-green LCD. But with
a price-tag of #399 (for a single drive 512K version) ranging up
to #599 for a twin-drive, modem-equipped 640K machine, it's a
bargain.

[***][10/25/88][***]
EXPANSION OPTIONS FOR THE PPC UNVEILED
WOKINGHAM, BERKSHIRE (NB) -- Memory Corporation unveiled its
Dovetail expansion unit for the PPC and other portable PCs at the
Manchester show. The #229 unit features two full-length PC XT-
style card slots with internal PSU (rated at 40 watts continuous)
and a cooling fan.

Memory Corporation is also supplying the unit, which plugs into
the A/B expansion sockets on the rear of the Amstrad PPC, with a
20 or 30Mb hard disk fitted into one of the slots. The complete
systems retail at #499 and #559 for (respectively) a 20 and 30Mb
hard disk option.

"We're also looking at a battery option for the Dovetail unit,"
said John Pavitt, general manager with the firm, who went on to
explain that this would preclude the use of power-hungry hard
disks with the expansion system.

"You could bypass the AC input on the Dovetail, although you'd be
placing a heavy load on the PPC's batteries, but it is an option
we're exploring," he added.

Pavitt also said that the company is planning to release an all-
purpose version of the Dovetail expansion unit for use with most
PC-compatible portables.

CONTACT: MEMORY CORPORATION LIMITED, Unit 7, 127A Reading Road,
         Wokingham, Berkshire RG11 1HD.

[***][10/25/88][***]
TRAVELDISK DEBUTS FOR THE PPC
WOODLEY, READING (NB) -- Over on the Stratum Technology stand at
the show, meanwhile, another expansion route for the PPC
portable was unveiled. Stratum is offering a #99-95 unit which,
like the Memory Corporation's Dovetail unit (see above feature)
plugs into the PPC's A/B expansion slots. There the similarity
ends, as the expansion card has a single expansion slot with 5
volt power lines.

Stratum is aiming its PPC expansion card at purchasers of its
Traveldisk hard disk unit. The ruggedised hard disk comes in a
small metallic unit that looks able to stand up to rough
treatment. Pricing on the Traveldisk starts at #375 for a 10Mb
unit, and ranges up to #1,100 for a 48Mb unit. 20 and 30Mb
options are also available at (respectively) #550 and #750.

One interesting option on the basic expansion interface for the
PPC is the ability to plug in additional slot units at #54-95.
According to Barry Walker of Stratum, it's possible to bolt on
several expansion slots to the PPC, provided the overall power
rating of the add-ons used isn't too high.

Flagship of Stratum's new releases is the Sprint 20Mb internal
hard disk for the PPC. The #499 hard disk fits neatly into the
slot for the PPC's second floppy disk drive, and is a high-
performance fast AT-standard hard disk, which interfaces with the
PPC's main board directly.

"The Sprint is very fast, and knocks most of the impending
competition on the head," Walker told NEWSBYTES UK. "It's fast
and small - what more could you ask?"

CONTACT: STRATUM TECHNOLOGY, 109A Crockhamwell Road, Woodley,
         Reading RG5 3JP.                   Tel: [phone].

[***][10/25/88][***]
LOCOMOTIVE: THREE NEW PACKAGES FOR THE PCW AND PC SERIES
DORKING, SURREY (NB) -- Locomotive Software, the company which
created Locomotive Basic for the PCW, previewed three new
packages at the Amstrad Show: two additions to the Locoscript
family for the Amstrad PCW family, and a new version of basic for
the PC.

The two newies for the PCW are Locofile - a pop-up database for
use Locofile, and a 24-pin printer driver for use with any of the
Amstrad PCW family of micros. Both packages will be available
from next month onwards at (respectively) #29-95 and #24-95.

Basic 2 Plus, meanwhile, is an extended basic for use with
Digital Research's Gem user interface. The #49-95 package
provides many of the programming facilities previously available
to machine-code, C and Pascal programmers, but from within a
basic environment.

All three packages will be available in the UK via mail order and
through the usual dealer channels, from next month onwards.

CONTACT: LOCOMOTIVE SOFTWARE, Allen Court, High Street, Dorking,
         Surrey RH4 1YL.                       Tel: [phone].

[***][10/25/88][***]
MAP UNVEILS LOW-COST PC NETWORKING
OLDHAM, LANCASHIRE (NB) -- MAP Computing has unveiled Mapnet,  a
low-cost networking system for the PC. Pricing on the system
starts at #299 for a two-station network, with subsequent
stations costing #149 per node.

Mapnet is compatible with the IBM PS/2 Model 30's MS-Net system,
as well as Netbios-compatible, and is capable of linking up to 64
PCs and 5 printers on one network. According to Tim Maxwell, MD
of MAP Computing, Mapnet is superior to Amsnos, Amstrad's own
networking system, which was launched earlier this year.

"Our experience in providing easy-to-use business accounts
software gave us unequalled insight into just what was available
as far as a networking product was concerned," he said.

How good is Mapnet? Judging from the system being demonstrated at
the Amstrad Computer Show, observers say it looks good, and will compete with
both Amsnos, and Mainlan, the recently-launched Sagesoft system.
The #299 Mapnet starter kit includes everything to get a network
up and running, including a master card, slave cards, software
cables and a manual, which MAP Computing boldly says will
probably not be required!

CONTACT: MAP COMPUTING, Windsor Road, Oldham, Lancashire.
         Tel: [phone].

[***][10/25/88][***]
COMMODORE CORNERS THE MARKET IN DRAM CHIPS
MAIDENHEAD, BERKSHIRE (NB) -- Commodore has made the bold claim
it now holds approximately 40 per cent of the world's
independently-produced DRAM chips at a time when the worldwide
shortage continues to bite.

According to Steve Franklin, managing director of Commodore UK,
some manufacturers are making promises they can't keep when it
comes to new computers. The reason? There simply aren't enough
DRAM chips to go round.

"It concerns me that some of the so-called captains of our
industry continue to launch new products and make promises
without having the ability to deliver. This is harmful, not only
for themselves, but also for the industry as a whole," he said.

NEWSBYTES UK has been doing its sums and calculates that if
Commodore really has captured 40 per cent of the DRAM chip
marketplace, the cost of the stockholding will range into the
tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars (source is
Dataquest). This sets us wondering how CBM has managed such a
coup de gras, given its financial position (source: Commodore's
latest financial results).

Nevertheless, if Commodore has managed to become the Nelson
Bunker-Hunt of the DRAM world, there could be some lean times
ahead for the likes of Atari and others. Watch this space.

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

[***][10/25/88][***]
WHEN CELLULAR PHONE TECHNOLOGY FAILS
SHEFFIELD, UK (NB) -- The phone at Newsbytes UK's offices failed
last weekend. As a priority customer with British Telecom, we
attempted to report the fault to a special BT toll-free number
(allocated to priority customers) via a cellular phone hooked up
to the Vodafone network.

We were greeted with the adamant response that toll-free calls -
even when routed through the operator - could not be connected
via the Vodafone network. On investigation, it appears that
subscribers to British Telecom's Cellnet service (the alternative
service provider in the UK) are able to have such calls connected
with no trouble at all.

The last time such a problem occurred (about a year ago),
Vodafone's operators were also unable to interconnect with
British Telecom's repair services, despite pleas for assistance.
Cellnet subscribers have this facility as a standard feature. It
appears that Vodafone's service is inferior in this respect.

At the time of writing, NEWSBYTES UK's main BT line has just come
back onstream. We managed to report the fault by using a pay phone
down the road. When choosing your cellular service provider, you
might care to ask if full telephone services - such as access to
other network's repair service - are available, before you need
to use them.

[***][10/25/88][***]
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
+ BRITBYTES - Bytes of news from around the UK... +
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

BLENHEIM ONLINE (01-868-4466) has organized the EUROPEAN
SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCE for the 1st and 2nd of
December this year. The two-day conference will be held at the
British Academy of Film and Television Arts in London...

The FINANCIAL TIMES (010925-2323) has organized a conference on
mobile communications. The OUTLOOK FOR WORLD MOBILE
COMMUNICATIONS will be held in London on the 7th and 8th of
November...

Four European computer firms - Data Logic, Norsk Data, Tecsiel
and Televerket, have joined the OPEN SOFTWARE FOUNDATION. The
members of the OSF aim to develop an alternative standard for
software to AT&T's Unix...

HISOFT (0525-718181) is now shipping TWIST, a multiprogram
environment for the Atari ST. The #39-95 package can support up
to 14 programs at once, subject to the ST's available memory...

IBC TECHNICAL SERVICES (09323-55244) has released PLANNING FOR
DISASTER RECOVERY. The #65 book explains how businesses - large
and small - can plan ahead to negate the effects of a computer or
similar systems failure.

INTEGRATED TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS has released the ITS Portable PC, a
PC-AT laptop with a 6/12MHz 80286 microprocessor and 1Mb of
system Ram (expandable to 4Mb onboard) fitted as standard. The
#2,250 laptop also features two PC-AT expansion slots, a 3.5 inch
floppy drive, and a fast 20Mb hard disk and is battery, as well
as mains-powered...

MARGIN MAKER (0784-52677) has released MAXAFIT, a cut-page and
sheet feeder for most printers. The #25 unit is a simple device,
yet prevents pages from getting twisted or torn as they enter the
printer...

The MERCURYLINK 7500 electronic mail service (01-528-2000) has
introduced a cut-price E-mail to fax service for its subscribers.
Prices on a per 60-line fax basis start at 35 pence per page...

RACAL-CHUBB (01-751-5021)is to offer its electronic tagging
system for use by the UK HOME OFFICE in its trial of electronic
tagging systems for criminal offenders. The radio-tagging of
offenders system has been used in the US with considerable
savings in terms of prison occupancy...

SHAREWARE MARKETING (0732-771344) plans to release an add-on
package for PROCOMM PLUS early in the new year. The package,
which is currently under development, will allow encrypted script
files (for automated logons to online services) to be generated.
Users of Procomm Plus will then be able to use the automatic
script file, but without being able to actually read the file
itself. According to Steve Lee, MD of Shareware Marketing, this
will solve the security problems that some users of
communications packages experience...

VNU BUSINESS PUBLICATIONS (01-439-4242) has released the SOFTWARE
USERS YEAR BOOK 1989. The #99 four-volume set details everything
there is to know about computer software in the UK...