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/nb881122.283

Text File | 1991-09-30 | 76KB | 1,848 lines

(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00001)

NEW MACINTOSH SE DUE IN JANUARY
SAN FRANCISCO, 1988 NOV 18 (NB) -- Apple Computer will unveil a powerful
new Macintosh SE which will rival the power of its current Macintosh
IIX, according to the San Francisco Examiner.  The report says
the SE will use Motorola's 68030 microprocessor, will support between
four and eight megabytes of random access memory, and will have
an optional 40 or 80 megabyte hard disk drive.  The machine will have
two expansion slots and a built-in black and white screen, as well.
The news hit some industry observers by surprise since it appears to
target a new SE at the same market segment targeted for the II and IIX.
Even reporter Paul Frieberger noted that his same sources report
product plans have been changed repeatedly due to internal squabbling
at Apple.  "There are constant discussions about what's going to
happen next," his source reports.

Apple officials would not comment on the story.

Sources also told the paper that Apple will introduce a portable, 12-pound
Macintosh, a lower-priced Macintosh II system, and a high-end
Macintosh II in 1989.

(Wendy Woods/19881119)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00002)

SCULLEY SELLS A THIRD OF HIS STOCK
SAN FRANCISCO, 1988 NOV 15 (NB) -- Apple Computer Chairman John Sculley
has sold 50,000 shares of his Apple stock at about $43.00 per share,
according to the Securities and Exchange Commission.  The sale would
have grossed $2,150,000 for the Apple chief, who still holds 109,357
shares.  Apple will not comment on the stock sale, saying it's the
business of individual executives.  The sale took place on August 8 and
amounted to almost a third of Sculley's total stock holdings in Apple.

(Wendy Woods/19881119)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00003)

APPLE BRINGS RESELLERS INTO THE FOLD
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, 1988 NOV 16 (NB) -- Apple Computer has signed some
strategic business agreements with resellers who will market its
equipment to important vertical markets.  The contract with New
England Digital Corporation allows the White River Junction, Vermont-
based company to package Macs into its systems for professional
musicians.  Quorem Systems will incorporate Macintoshes into its
automated information systems for attorneys.  Other resellers
include Physio Control of Redmond, Washington and Scitex America of
Bedford, Massachusetts.

(Wendy Woods/19881119)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(WAS)(00014)

TINY PRINTER FOR THE MAC
WALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, 1988 NOV 22 (NB) -- GCC Technologies is
shipping the $699 WriteMove, a 192 character per second portable
inkjet printer. It is aimed at writers and others who need
printed output while traveling. The software included with the
printer features six Bitstream typefaces: Times, Helvetica,
Symbol, Courier, Swiss Narrow and Zapf Calligraphic. The printer
can run on five NiCad rechargable batteries. A case is available
for $30. The printer weighs three pounds and can be packed in a
briefcase of carried with the Macintosh.

(Ken Maize/19881118/Contact: GCC Technologies, 617-890-0880)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(WAS)(00015)

READY,SET,GO UPGRADE READY
PARAMUS, NEW JERSEY, 1988 NOV 22 (NB) -- Letraset USA is offering
an upgrade of its Ready,Set,Go desktop publishing program for the
Macintosh. Letraset hopes the product, at $495, will win an edge
against the higher-priced Aldus PageMaker and Quark XPress.
Version 4.5 of Ready,Set,Go include gray scale editing, ability
to rotate images horizontally and vertically, fractional kerning,
and a thumbnail quick document review. Purchasers of Ready,Set,Go
version 4 who bought the software after June 1 will get free
upgrades. For other 4.0 users, the upgrade is $49.95. Earlier
versions can upgrade for $85.

(Ken Maize/19881118/Contact: Letraset USA, 201-845-6100)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(WAS)(00016)

PC EXPO TO HAVE MAC TRACK
NEW YORK, 1988 NOV 22 (NB) -- Recognizing the inroads Apple is
making into corporate markets, the PC Expo in New York next June
20-22 will include a series of seminar topics addressed to the
Macintosh. Included among them will be "Installing, Training and
Support for the Mac," and "Making Mac Connections: Integration
into the Corporate Environment." The heretofore completely PC
show will be at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.

(Ken Maize/19881118)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00009)

MACINTOSH USER LISTS ONLINE
APTOS, CALIFORNIA, 1988 NOV 19 (NB) -- Need a mailing list of Macintosh
users and want it in electronic format?  Semaphore Corporation has
the first online database devoted strictly to Macintosh users in
the United States.  Over 200,000 users can be retrieved by name,
company, school, or zip code.  The database is called Find-A-User
and costs four cents per retrieved record.  Mike Gabrielson,
a member of the technical support staff, told Newsbytes the
database has been available since August.  He says Newsbytes
readers can log on for free and check out the system by dialing
via computer 408-662-2717 and when prompted for I.D. type DEMO.

(Wendy Woods/19881119/Contact: Semaphore, office, 408-688-9200)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00016)

ABATON SHIPS INTEGRATED FAX/DATA MODEM
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, 1988 NOV 9 (NB) -- Abaton is shipping the
InterFax 12/48, a fax/modem for the Macintosh II, SE, Plus and 512KE.
The InterFax combines fax sending and receiving capabilities with a
modem and costs $495.  When operating as a fax modem, the InterFax
adheres to CCITT Group 3 standards.  Faxes can be sent at 4800
bits per second.  The modem is Hayes-compatible at 1200 baud.

(Wendy Woods/19881119/Contact: Dealer Information, 800-444-5321 or
outside U.S. 415-683-2226)

NEWSBYTES (Tm) BUSINESS REPORT
Week of November 22, 1988/#283


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00006)

HITACHI TO BUY OUT NATIONAL SEMI'S COMPUTER DISTRIBUTION NETWORK?
SAN FRANCISCO, 1988 NOV 19 (NB) -- National Semiconductor
is said to be discussing the sale of its computer distribution
division with Hitachi. According to several publications including
Reuter's news service, any deal resulting from the talks could be
worth as much as $400 million. Neither National Semiconductor
nor Hitachi have commented on the rumours.  If true, and if Hitachi
were successful, it could sell its own computers in the U.S. under
its own name.

(Steve Gold & Wendy Woods/19881119)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00013)

HEWLETT PACKARD HITS $10 BILLION IN ORDERS
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, 1988 NOV 19 (NB) -- Hewlett Packard says it
had a 22 percent increase in net revenue and a 27 percent increase
in net earnings for its 1988 fiscal year ending October 31. Net
earnings per share rose 34 percent, and orders exceeded $10 billion
for the first time in company history.

"Reaching $10 billion in orders is a major milestone for our
company and a momentous achievement for our people," bragged
John Young, HP president and chief executive.

(Wendy Woods/19881119)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(WAS)(00002)

PRIME IN TAKEOVER BATTLE
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, 1988 NOV 22 (NB) -- Prime Computer Inc.,
having barely begun to digest Computervision, is now facing a
hostile takeover offer from New York investor Bennett LeBow and
his California firm, MAI Basic Four Inc. LeBow has offered Prime
$970 million for the company, or $20 per share. Prime took over
Computervision last February for $435 million to become the
second leading CAD-CAM firm behind IBM. Prime also adopted a
"poison pill" defense against hostile takeovers. When he launched
his bid for Prime, LeBow also sued in federal court to overturn a
Massachusetts anti-takeover law.

Prime has asked its stockholders to wait two week before deciding
whether to tender their shares to MAI Basic. MAI Basic, about
one-quarter the size of Prime, makes business computers and
information processing systems.

(Ken Maize/19881118)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(WAS)(00003)

PERKIN-ELMER LANDS IBM CONTRACT
NORWALK, CONNECTICUT, 1988 NOV 22 (NB) -- Perkin-Elmer Corp. has
received an order from International Business Machines Corp. for
advanced step-and-scan lithography equipment. Perkin-Elmer said
the initial portion of the contract is worth $20 million.

(Ken Maize/19881118)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(WAS)(00004)

UNISYS TO RAISE PRICES
BLUE BELL, PENNSYLVANIA, 1988 NOV 22 (NB) -- Unisys Corp. will
hike prices on selected hardware, software, and support in
January. Prices for high-end hardware products will increase from
five to eight percent. Prices for software and services will go
up from five to 10 percent.

(Ken Maize/19881118)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(WAS)(00018)

RETAIL MERGER MANIA IN WASHINGTON
WASHINGTON, 1988 NOV 22 (NB) -- Entre Computer of McLean, Va.,
will be acquired by Intelligent Electronics Inc., of Exton, Pa.,
in a $61 million deal that will create one of the largest
networks of computer franchise operations in the U.S., with about
$1 billion in annual sales. Entre has 184 stores in the U.S. and
Canada, while IEI has 193 Today's Computer Business Center
stores. And Clinton Computer, a six-store Washington area chain,
has announced that its stores will become franchise outlets of
Computerland Corp. The Entre and Clinton moves come on the heels
of the sale of Frederick Computer Products of Frederick, Md.,
with a Pennsylvania firm. According to Clinton co-owner Chuck
Perilli, independent retailers can no long compete with the major
chains.

(Ken Maize/19881119)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00012)

PLANER-STRUCTURED FOUR MEGABIT DRAM TO BE PRODUCED
TOKYO, 1988 22 NOV (NB) -- According to industrial sources, NMB
Semiconductor, Chiba Prefecture, has signed an agreement with Lamtron,
a semiconductor business venture in the U.S. to jointly develop
planer structure four megabit dynamic random access memory (DRAM)
chips.  The semiconductors will utilize the ferroelectric materials
Lamtron has developed.  NMB plans to manufacture and sell the
four megabit DRAMs.  The evaluation samples are slated for shipment
in the middle of next year.

(Ken Takahashi/19881116/Contact: NMB Semiconductor, 0470-23-3121)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00014)

FUJITSU EXPORTS ITS SUPERCOMPUTER TO AUSTRALIA
TOKYO, 1988 22 NOV (NB) -- Fujitsu Ltd. has exported a
supercomputer under the Fujitsu brand name to Australia National
University (ANU).  The supercomputer, dubbed FACOM VP-100, has
the largest supercomputer data processing speed at 285 mega floating point
operations per second.  Fujitsu is further to export its
supercomputers to other South Pacific areas.

(Ken Takahashi/19881116/Contact: Fujitsu Ltd., 03-216-3211)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00017)

YOKOGAWA PURCHASES CHIP MAKER
TOKYO, 1988 22 NOV (NB) -- Yokogawa Electoric Corp. has obtained
the management of International Micro Technology Corp.,
a semiconductor maker and subsidiary of electronics trading company
Kanto Denshi Corp.  The management right will be taken over to
Yokogawa IMT, a 100 percent owned subsidiary of Yokogawa Electric and
it will produce semiconductors for the parent company.

(Naoyuki Yazawa/19881117)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00018)

SEIKO-EPSON LAUNCHES VOLUME PRODUCTION OF MAGNETIC-OPTICAL DISK DRIVES
TOKYO, 1988 22 NOV (NB) -- Seiko-Epson will start volume
production of rewritable magnetic-optical disk drive units.
The company is currently building a manufacturing line in its
Takagi factory in Nagano Prefecture.  The new line will start
development of prototype units within this year and will go into
full swing early next year.

(Ken Takahashi/19881115/Contact: Seiko-Epson, 0266-52-3131)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00019)

SIA SETS UP ITS JAPAN OFFICE
TOKYO, 1988 22 NOV (NB) -- The Semiconductor Industry
Association (SIA) of the U.S. has established a Japaneese branch
office in Chiyoda-ward, Tokyo.   The former manager of Motorola's
central laboratory, Dr. E. David Metz, has assumed the post of
representative and office manager.  The SIA Japan Bureau is set up
to promote U.S. access to the Japanese market.

(Ken Takahashi/19881115/Contact: SIA Japan Bureau, 03-237-7683)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00020)

SAM SUNG TO PRODUCE 4M DRAM
TOKYO, 1988 22 NOV (NB) -- Sam Sung, the largest electronics
machinery producer in Korea, has revealed plans to begin
production of next-generation very large scale integrated (VLSI)
circuits and four-megabit dynamic random access memories (DRAM)
chips by the end of 1989 with mass production scheduled for the
spring of 1990.

The company already produces five million units of 256 kilobit DRAMs
and 1.5 million units of one megabit DRAMs each month.  The company
will invest 300 to 400 billion Won or $480 to $640 million in a new
facility for four megabit DRAM production.

Further, Sam Sung is aiming to produce its own silicon wafers; the
firm currently imports them from overseas.

(Naoyuki Yazawa/19881117)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(0001)

LASER FRIENDLY IN 'SUSPENDED ANIMATION'
TORONTO, 1988 NOV 18 (NB) -- Laser Friendly Inc., maker of The
Office Publisher desktop publishing software, has laid off all
its employees and closed its offices. The company's present state
could be described as suspended animation, according to Lynn
Barrett, vice-president of communications for Print Three Inc.,
which owns Laser Friendly.

Barrett said sales of The Office Publisher have not met
expectations and Laser Friendly "just couldn't afford to continue
at that rate . . . so they've cut their overhead."  ComputerLand,
Print Three and Olivetti continue distributing The Office
Publisher in Canada, she said.  Laser Friendly's former U.S.
subsidiary in Redwood, Calif., now an independent company named
The Office Publisher Inc., also sells the software.  When
existing inventories of the software are exhausted, "then Laser
Friendly will probably hire some people and make some more."

(Grant Buckler/19881118/Contact: Lynn Barrett, Print Three Inc.,
416-292-5851)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(0005)

GRID SYSTEMS EXPANDS IN MONTREAL
MONTREAL, 1988 NOV 14 (NB) -- Grid Systems Canada Inc. has added
sales and support staff in its Montreal office "to meet the
growing demand for field automation in a variety of business
sectors," the company said.  Grid Canada has its headquarters in
Toronto.

(Grant Buckler/19881118/Contact: Les Parsneau, Grid Systems
Canada Inc., 416-446-1555)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(0006)

ANOTHER CANADIAN TERMINAL MAKER HAS MONEY TROUBLES
MONTREAL, 1988 NOV 18 (NB) -- Comterm Inc. will offer its
creditors a proposal for restructuring its debt.  The Montreal
company is the second Canadian terminal manufacturer to take
extraordinary action as a result of financial trouble within a
month.  On October 31, Lanpar Technologies Inc. of Markham,
Ontario, asked to have trading in its shares halted on the
Toronto Stock Exchange while the company negotiated with an
unnamed third party.  Lanpar is believed to be discussing a
possible takeover.  Comterm also is holding discussions with a
corporate suitor, said Ragoi Mikhail of Richter & Associates, a
Montreal firm that its acting for Comterm.

Comterm will file a proposal to its creditors under the Federal
Company Creditors Arrangements Act, a little-known insolvency law
under which the company's options remain open if creditors reject
its proposal.  The proposal is expected to be worked out by
December 19, Mikhail said, and a creditors' meeting has been
scheduled tentatively for January 31.

Though Comterm has been a terminal manufacturer for most of its
history, some in the personal computer world may remember its
brief foray into PCs.  Under the name Bytec Comterm in the early
1980s, the company briefly marketed the Hyperion, an early IBM-
compatible luggable computer that got considerable attention at
first but foundered due to imperfect compatibility and other
misfortunes.

(Grant Buckler/19881118/Contact: Ragoi Mikhail, Richter &
Associates, 514-934-3400)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(ATL)(00009)

CRAY SAYS HE HAS NO CHIP PROBLEMS, WILL MAKE 1989 DELIVERIES
ORLANDO, FLORIDA, 1988 NOV 19 (NB) -- Seymour Cray, father of American
supercomputing, told an IEEE-sponsored conference on
supercomputing that his Cray-3 project is only six months behind
schedule, blaming Cray Research's move from Minneapolis, Minn. to
Colorado Springs, Colo., and claimed talk that the new machine's
gallium arsenide chips are trouble-plagued is bunk. Cray spoke
just a month after Cray Research's stock price plunged following
a bad quarterly report and a story in "The Wall Street Journal"
claiming the company was having big trouble making the gallium
arsenide chips needed to give the three extra speed work right.

"We think we're at the beginning of something with this
technology. We think we have a long way to go, but we're going to
go as fast as we can," Cray told a news conference. Reports of
chip problems are "off the wall," he added. "There are no
problems." He added, "We've been very aggressive on the Cray-3
program, taking high risks," and this sometimes requires having
"a lot of dollars written off" on some phase of development work.

Besides worrying about Japanese competition and his own
development work, Cray, industry observers believe, also must be
concerned with new developments in parallel-processing. Both computers
and individual chips have recently been tested in new hypercube
arrangements which, scientists say, could eventually bring Cray-
type power down to the desktop.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19881119)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00018)

EEC EXAMINES GEC/SIEMENS BUY-OUT OF PLESSEY
BRUSSELS, 1988 NOV 19 (NB) -- The European Economic Community
(EEC) headquarters has announce it is to examine the joint
GEC/Siemens buy-out of the UK's Plessey group. GEC/Siemens
announced a $3,100 million dollar bid for the Plessey
telecommunications group earlier this month. The inquiry into the
takeover could take several months, an EEC spokesman said last
week.

(Steve Gold/19881119)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00007)

LOWER PRICES, LOWER EMPLOYMENT AT DEST
MILPITAS, CALIFORNIA, 1988 NOV 19 (NB) -- Troubled DEST Corporation,
maker of desktop publishing equipment, scanners, and software,
has given walking papers to 70 employees, and has reduced prices
on some of its products.  DEST has been talking with creditors
and lenders about ways to boost the company's financial health.
DEST lost $944,000 on sales of $9.7 million during its most
recent quarter.

(Wendy Woods/19881119)

NEWSBYTES (Tm) GENERAL NEWS
Week of November 22, 1988/#283


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00012)

HONEYWELL BULL ROLLS OUT MAINFRAME
BILLERICA, MASSACHUSETTS, 1988 NOV 22 (NB) -- Honeywell Bull Inc.
has unveiled a new, general-purpose mainframe computer that the
company claims is the most powerful general-purpose machine in
the world. The new system, the DPS 9000, ranges in price from
nearly $6 million to $23 million. The basic hardware was
developed by NEC, the Japanese computer company that is one of
the three shareholders in Honeywell Bull. The others are Groupe
Bull of France and Honeywell Inc. of Minneapolis.

(Ken Maize/19881118)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00016)

NEC TO MARKET U.S.-MADE COMPUTERS
TOKYO, 1988 22 NOV (NB) -- NEC Computer Systems has announced
plans to import the DPS 9000 series, a very large-sized general-
purpose computer, from Honeywell Bull and will ship them to the Japanese
market in May, 1989.

The computer was developed based on NEC's ACOS 2000.  Hardware of
the computer, including the central processing unit, was developed by
NEC; other functions, such as operating systems, networking
software, and peripherals, were developed by Honeywell Bull and Bull
of France.

(Naoyuki Yazawa/19881117)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(0002)

SHOW ATTENDANCE DOWN SLIGHTLY, BUT BOOKINGS FOR NEXT YEAR BOOMING
TORONTO, 1988 NOV 17 (NB) -- Organizers of the Canadian Computer
Show say that although attendance at this year's show was off
slightly from last year, bookings for next year are going faster
than ever before.  Industrial Trade and Consumer Shows had not
yet released final attendance figures when Newsbytes went to
press, but the company said that as of November 16, 68 per cent
of the show's exhibit space for 1989 was already booked.  ITCS
attributed the heavy bookings to an increase in the sales
generated at the show.

The organizers also announced that next year's show will be held
nearly a month earlier, from October 23 to October 26.  "This
change in date will undoubtedly benefit exhibitors, attendees and
the media by eliminating conflicts with other trade shows,"
Industrial Trade and Consumer Shows said in a prepared statement.
This year's show coincided with Comdex in Las Vegas.  Next year's
Comdex is scheduled for November 13-17.

(Grant Buckler/19881118/Contact: Wendy Burgess, Access
Advertising, 416-968-2285)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(0003)

BEDFORD OFFERS 30 DAY FREE TECHNICAL SUPPORT
BURNABY, BRITISH COLUMBIA 1988 NOV 14 (NB) -- Beginning December
1, Bedford Software Inc. will offer 30 days free technical
support to buyers of its accounting software packages.  The free
telephone support will start when a new customer mails in the
"Comfort Card" registration included in each package.

Bedford also announced an expansion of its long-term support
package.  For an $89 annual fee, customers will receive a new
disk whenever their accounting software is updated.  Bedford
publishes Integrated Accounting for IBM and compatible PCs, and
Simply Accounting for the Macintosh.

(Grant Buckler/19881118/Contact: Kristin Keyes, Bedford Software,
604-294-2394)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAS)(00003)

SHARP ILLUSTRATES THE BREADTH OF CURRENT JAPANESE OFFERINGS
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, 1988 NOV 19 (NB) -- Sharp's 6,000 square
foot Comdex booth featured new laptop computers with black-on-white,
VGA-compatible displays. Their JX-300 flat-bed color scanner
was joined by the JX-100 hand-held color scanner. (It's a four-
pound flat-bed scanner for images up to four inches by six
inches.) Sharp announced a dozen new American software
products now support those color scanners. Sharp also
introduced the JX-730, a plain-paper, wide-carriage color ink-jet
printer priced at $2,195 retail. All this in addition a a
complete line of desktop computers, fax machines, point-of-sale
computers, overhead projectors, and a nifty pocket organizer
called the "Wizard," featured in Traveling Software's new
catalog.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19881119)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAS)(00004)

COMMODORE MAKES MOVES TOWARD MS-DOS, UNIX MARKETS
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, 1988 NOV 19 (NB) -- While most attention at the
Commodore booth was focused on new applications for its Amiga color
computer, including desktop video applications, the company also made
some moves to get back into the DOS-Unix mainstream. For those who
require MS-DOS the company has brought back to America a full
line of PC-compatibles. For those who love Unix, Commodore offered
a version of Unix System V called Amix running on the Amiga 2500
UX, a workstation based on the Amiga 2000. The 2500, which is
based on the Motorola 68020 chip, also runs AmigaDOS.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19881119)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAS)(00005)

"HOME OFFICE COMPUTING" REPLACES "FAMILY COMPUTING"
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, 1988 NOV 19 (NB) -- Scholastic Inc., best known as
a publisher of children's magazines, has abandoned the family market
with a complete re-do of the magazine it once called "Family Computing."
The new entry, "Home Office Computing," is a cross between
"Venture," "Savvy," and "PC Magazine," with a small section on
games software to prevent old advertisers from pulling out too
soon. A lot of money has been thrown at the new book, with a
clean new layout, a new list of editors, and freelancers drawn
mostly from the business press rather than the computer press.

The November issue features an article on getting a loan, a guide
to fax machines. a story about online universities, and a short
piece on game software -- give entertainment editor Jim Phelan a
game hint he can use and you can win something free.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19881119)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAS)(00006)

TWO BOOKS STEAL THE SHOW
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, 1988 NOV 19 (NB) -- Comdex isn't a book show, but
computer book publishers use it to ply their wares, and this year two
books deserve special mention. First, "The Book of Fax" by Daniel
Fishman and Elliott King, published by Ventana Press of Chapel
Hill, NC, is the first fair attempt to explain one of the major
new trends in computing. Not only does it have buyers' guides on
machines and boards, but advice on managing fax operations and
the legal questions concerning fax transmissions.

Paul Mace, author of "The Mace Utilities," has distilled his
knowledge of hard disks into "The Paul Mace Guide to Data
Recovery," published by Simon & Schuster. Mace was a writer
before he became a programmer, and it shows here. There are
excellent, clear-English explanations of hard disk terms and
disasters. The glossary and index are complete and clear -- Mace
knows this book will be used mainly "in extremis." Not only does
Mace tell you what to do in virtually any emergency, but he
explains why. The layout features a liberal use of white space
and big, bold headlines which make using it a breeze.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19881119)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00003)

ARNOR RELEASES PROTEXT ON THE AMIGA
PETERBOROUGH, ENGLAND, 1988 NOV 19 (NB) -- Arnor Software has released
its Protext word processor on the Commodore Amiga. Amiga Protext
will retail for #99-95 and joins versions available for the
Amstrad CPC and PCW series, Atari ST and IBM PC and compatible
ranges.

The Amiga version of Protext is #20 more than the ST version,
although the package does include a larger (70K) spelling checker and
a Ram disk option as standard features. Arnor expects to announce
Release 4.0 of its ST Protext in January, 1989, at #99-95, to
bring the ST word processor up to the same specifications as the
Amiga version.

(Steve Gold/19881119/Arnor: (UK) 0733-62255)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00004)

ADDER TECHNOLOGY UNVEILS PERIPHERAL MANAGER
CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND, 1988 NOV 19 (NB) -- Adder technology has unveiled
a computer-independent switching system for connecting up to 16
peripherals. The PM8 Peripheral Manager connects up to 8
peripherals and can be cross-linked in a dual configuration.

Data speeds of up to 19,200 bits per second (bps) are supported,
with a data buffer of up to 4 megabytes (Mb) to allow high-speed
data dumping to slow peripherals such as daisy-wheel printers.

The PM8 system is available with serial and parallel ports, with
data converted to or from each format as required. Pricing on the
system starts at #376-75.

(Steve Gold/19881119/Adder Technology: (UK) 0223-861912)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00005)

METACOMCO RELEASES PASCAL V2.0 ON AMIGA
BRISTOL, ENGLAND, 1988 NOV 19 (NB) -- Metacomco has released version
2.0 of its Pascal Compiler for the Amiga. The #89-95 package
allows separate program modules to be compiled, as well as
increasing the number of characters in a dynamic string to 32K.
An upgrade is available to existing users for #38-50. The package
is fully compatible with all versions of AmigaDos.

(Steve Gold/19881119/Metacomco: (UK) 0272-428781)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00007)

EINSTEIN WAS WRONG SAYS UK ELECTRONICS MAGAZINE
LONDON, 1988 NOV 19 (NB) -- The December issue of Electronics and
Wireless World carries a contentious article on measuring the
speed of light. The article, penned by Professor P T Pappas and
Alexis Obolensky of New York, postulates that objects can travel
faster than light. This is in direct conflict with Einstein's
Theory of Relativity.

The two academic authors have designed and built an electronic
circuit which measures the speed of light to great accuracy using
a highly-sensitive oscilloscope. The results of their tests have
concluded that the speed of light varies with the direction, time
of day and polarity of current uses. The experiments also showed
that many pulses travel at two or more times the speed of light
through the circuit. Most astonishingly of all, certain pulses
travel virtually instantaneously through the circuit.

The experiment reports are bound to create quite a controversy in
the academic world. If correct, however, then the implications
for computers are tremendous. Given the right conditions,
computer calculations could be speeded up, far beyond current
processing speeds.

(Steve Gold/19881119/Electronics & Wireless World: (UK) 01-661-8638
Alexis Obolensky, Bromion Inc, NY: (US) 914-753-2761)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00014)

UK COMPUTER SECURITY CONFERENCE SCHEDULED
LONDON, 1988 NOV 18 (NB) -- PLF Communications has announced a
computer and telecommunications conference for February, 1989. The
Corporate Computer Security Conference '89 will be held in London
on 14/16 February. Conference fees range from #240 to #575.

(Steve Gold/19881118/PLF Communications - (UK) 0733-60535)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00015)

WEST GERMAN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SYMPOSIUM DETAILS
BRAUNSCHWEIG, WEST GERMANY, 1988 NOV 19 (NB) -- The International
Symposium on Information Technology Standardisation (INSITS) will
be held in Braunschweig, West Germany, on 4/7 July, 1989. The
organizer, Dr Harald Schummy, has called for papers by 25 March,
1989. Topics for discussion include standards, politics,
economics and quality assurance techniques in Information
Technology (IT). Speakers will be invited from around the world.

(Steve Gold/19881119/INITIS - (FDR) 0531-592-7410)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00016)

PTT ISDN IN EUROPE CONFERENCE DATES
THE HAGUE, NEDERLANDS, 1988 NOV 19 (NB) -- PTT Netherlands has
organized ISDN In Europe, a conference to discuss Integrated
Services Digital Networks. The European conference will be held
in The Hague on  25/27 April, 1989. Conference fees start at
NLG800.

(Steve Gold/19881119/Nederlands Congresgebouw: (NDR) 020-752-120)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00017)

EUROPEAN COMPUTER TRADE SHOW CONFIRMED
LONDON, 1988 NOV 19 (NB) -- Database Exhibitions has now
confirmed the European Computer Trade Show will be held at the
Business Design Centre in London, on 16/18 April, 1989. The show
will bring together key computer industry manufacturers,
distributors, suppliers and software houses from across Europe.
Admission is by invitation only.

(Steve Gold/19881119/Database Exhibitions - (UK) 0625-878888)

NEWSBYTES (Tm) GOVERNMENT AND THE COURTS REPORT
Week of November 22, 1988


(NEWS)(GOVT)(SFO)(00004)

ASHTON-TATE SUES FOXBASE MAKER
TORRANCE, CALIFORNIA, 1988 NOV 19 (NB) -- Ashton-Tate has sued the
maker of the FoxBASE+ database product, claiming it copies the
look and feel of four versions of dBASE, its own database software.
Fox Software and Santa Cruz Operation Inc., another seller of a
modified FoxBASE product, were both slapped with the suit in
U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.  Ashton-Tate says the program
steals not only the look and feel but the underlying concept,
programming language, and user interface of its own highly-successful
database program.  The suit seeks unspecified damages and an
injunction against further sales of FoxBASE.

Fox and SCO could not be reached for comment by Newsbytes' deadline.

(Wendy Woods/19881119)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00009)

HONEYWELL PROTESTS AIR FORCE CONTRACT WITH AT&T
WASHINGTON, 1988 NOV 22 (NB) -- Honeywell Inc. has filed a protest
with the General Services Administration's board of contract
appeals over the Air Force's choice of American Telephone &
Telegraph for a $929 million workstation contract. Honeywell says
the Air Force "failed to evaluate fully and fairly" the competing
companies. Honeywell says its offer was more than $100 million
under the AT&T bid, and that it wasn't fully informed of all the
standards the government was using.

The contract bidding was very competitive, with IBM, Planning
Research Corp., Lockheed, and Zenith also making bids. Air Force
officials say the bidding was so hot that prices were pushed down
by 70 percent during the process.

Honeywell asked the GSA board for a hearing on its complaint, and
asked for the contract to be cancelled. An AT&T spokesman said
the award is "good for the government and good for the
taxpayers."

(Ken Maize/19881118)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00010)

VIRUS GRAND JURY IS SITTING
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, 1988 NOV 22 (NB) -- A federal grand jury is
meeting to consider charges that a Cornell University graduate
student created a computer virus that disrupted computer systems
nationwide. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Baxter refused to tell
the Associated Press when the panel began hearing evidence or
whether witnesses have been subpoened to testify. Cornell student
Robert Morris is suspected of sending the virus through a
government computer network, disrupting operations at 6,000
university and military computers.

In the meantime, the director of the Computer Virus Industry
Association in Santa Clara, Calif., estimates that the virus did
at least $97 million in damage. John McAfee says the virus caused
more than a million hours of unnecessary work. "We had the
equivalent of an enormous manufacturing plant standing idle
incurring all its overheads and wage costs, but unable to produce
anything because it had to be evacuated as a result of a bomb
threat," says McAfee.

(Ken Maize/19881118)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00011)

COMPUTER UNMASKS DRUG RUNNER
WASHINGTON, 1988 NOV 22 (NB) -- Using a sophisticated computer
matching system, deputy U.S. marshals have discovered that Paul
Matthews, a prosperous and civic-minded South Florida
businessman, is Nicholas Hunter-Reay, an alleged drug dealer.
Hunter-Reay dropped out of sight after a federal indictment tied
him to Colombia's Medllin cocaine cartel. Hunter-Reay was among
218 drug fugitives picked up in a 10-week computerized manhunt.
According to Stanley Morris, director of the U.S. Marshals
Service, the computerized search also resulted in seizure of more
than $1.26 million in criminally-obtained assets, including cash
and real estate.

The key to the computerized manhunt was a program called
"Scorecard," written by Ron Wuthrich, who works in the Marshals
Service enforcement division. "Everyone leaves a paper or number
trail someplace," Howard Safir of the Marshals Service told
United Press International. "What the Scorecard computer does is
track those things."

(Ken Maize/19881118)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(TYO)(00006)

U.S. DISAPPROVES TRON AS EDUCATION COMPUTER
TOKYO, 1988 22 NOV (NB) -- The U.S. Commerce Department
has expressed a complaint against the Japanese-proposed TRON
architecture, which is being adopted as the educational computer
operating system (OS) here in Japan, reported Denpa newspaper.  The
representative of the U.S. government said in his letter
to the Ministry of International Trade and Industries that Japan's
decision to adopt Matsushita Electric Industrial as the main
supplier of the education computer OS unduly oppresses American
firms' access to the Japanese education computer market, and also
infringes on international rules.  The U.S. is deeply concerned that
the endorsement of the TRON architecture will challenge its own
standards, namely MS-DOS, Unix, the Macintosh OS and OS/2.

Meanwhile, American computer manufacturing firms are split on this
issue.  IBM and other hardware makers have no complaints; however,
software makers, including Microsoft, reluctantly maintain Japan's
computer projects must be its own, without consideration for overseas
companies.

(Ken Takahashi/19881115)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(ATL)(00008)

SEMATECH OPENS WITH CHIP PIONEER BOB NOYCE IN CHARGE
AUSTIN, TEXAS, 1988 NOV 19 (NB) -- The silicon chip has two fathers,
who came up with similar ideas at about the same time. Jack Kirby of
Texas Instruments was put into the Dallas Infomart Hall of Fame early
this year for his achievement. And, in a mile irony, Bob Noyce,
who made his discoveries at Fairchild in California, is now
posted in Austin, Texas as head of the Sematech project.

Sematech, a joint government-industry consortium with a $250
million a year budget, was created to conduct advanced computer
chip research and development and pass the results on to its
member companies. About $100 million of its annual budget will be
provided by the Department of Defense. The building was dedicated
on November 15 by Noyce and others. It features a $75 million
clean room in which up to 3,200 people will seek to learn how close-
together they really can pack circuits.

In his dedication speech, Noyce acknowledged that the U.S. is
losing ground to foreign competitors. "While our science remains
the envy of the world, our economic strength is lessening as
other nations have developed policies that utilize science and
technology more effectively," he said. "We have seen our ability
to compete in world markets decline as other nations have
in manufacturing those products." Whether Noyce can recreate an
American lead in a business it invented, of course, remains to be
seen.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19881119)

NEWSBYTES (Tm) IBM WORLD REPORT
Week of November 22, 1988


(NEWS)(IBM)(TYO)(00013)

TANDY PCS RESOLD UNDER PANASONIC NAME IN U.S.
TOKYO, 1988 22 NOV (NB) -- When you see a Panasonic IBM clone in your
local retail shop, don't think it's made in Japan.  It will be a U.S.-made
machine from Tandy Corporation of Texas.

Matsushita Electric Industrial, the company making Panasonic products,
will receive three series and eight models of personal
computers on an original equipment manufacturing basis from
Tandy Corp. and will consequently resell them as IBM-compatibles in
the U.S. market.

Matsushita has stopped exporting its PCs to the U.S. because of the 100%
tariff imposed on 16-bit machines in April of last year.

The company has been marketing printers and floppy disk drives in the
U.S. market.  With this agreement, it will be able to sell
complete sets of systems, including PCs, under the Panasonic brand name.

(Naoyuki Yazawa/19881117/Contact: Matsushita, 06-908-1121)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00011)

BORLAND IS IBM'S SIDEKICK
SCOTTS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, 1988 NOV 16 (NB) -- IBM has tied up with
Borland International to bundle the Scotts Valley company's SideKick
for Presentation Manager with its OS/2 Standard Edition and
Extended Edition with Presentation Manager.  The bundling deal is
effective through February 15.  Borland's SideKick for Presentation
Manager is the first available application for the new IBM
environment.  It utilizes OS/2's multitasking operating system
allowing users to work with multiple applications simultaneously.
SideKick for Presentation Manager applications include a
time planner, phone book, calculator, and notepad, and is similar
to previous versions except that it has a graphic interface.

(Wendy Woods/19881119/Contact:  Mimi Paulsen, Borland, 408-438-8400)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00015)

PC-WRITE 3.0 SHIPS
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, 1988 NOV 19 (NB) -- Quicksoft is shipping the
latest update of PC-Write 3.0 and claims it has over 500 new
features.  The popular shareware program breaks the former 60 kilobyte
file limit.  Users can now create files as large as the DOS memory of
their computer.  There are new formatting and printing capabilities
including a facet which allows users to format text in multiple
columns, edited on screen, and stored as columns in the file.
There are 219 new printer drivers, bringing the total of supported
printers to 607.

PC-Write and Friends is the name of a new catalog of 32 other shareware
titles from Quicksoft.  It is available by calling the company.

The success of PC-Write, since its introduction in 1983, has
propelled Quicksoft from a $17,000 a year company to one now making
over $2,000,000 annually in sales.  The product is distributed
as shareware; users can copy it and share it, and they can register
for $89 and receive current software, a printed manual, telephone
support, and a newsletter.  To encourage copying, users get a
$25 commission each time someone registers from one of their copies.

(Wendy Woods/19881119/Contact: Bob Wallace, Quicksoft, 206-282-0452)


(NEWS)(IBM)(WAS)(00008)

COMPUTER ASSOCIATES, IBM JOIN MARKETING PACT
GARDEN CITY, NEW YORK, 1988 NOV 2 (NB) -- Computer Associates
International Inc. and IBM have signed an agreement which makes
Computer Associates an authorized application specialist and
business partner of IBM. Both companies will work on promoting
Computer Associates Masterpiece Financial Software series for
IBM's new AS-400 minicomputers.

(Ken Maize/19881118)


(NEWS)(IBM)(WAS)(00017)

WORKERS CHALLENGE IBM SOUTH AFRICA POLICY
MANASSAS, VIRGINIA, 1988 NOV 22 (NB) -- In an unusual move, 61
International Business Machines employees have signed a request
for IBM shareholders to vote next April to stop all business with
South Africa. About half the employees who signed the petition
work in the Washington D.C. area, IBM physicist James Leas told
the Washington Post. "I feel that selling computers to almost
exclusively white customers in South Africa gives support to the
apartheid system and makes IBM complicit with apartheid," Leas
said. IBM workers are known for their company loyalty and seldom
criticize the company in public. IBM management has made a
commitment to take no action against the employees.

(Ken Maize/19881118)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TYO)(00002)

HITACHI TO EXPORT LAPTOP PCs WITH COLOR LCD
TOKYO, 1988 22 NOV (NB) -- Hitachi has revealed plans to
export its 16-bit laptop computer, the HL400 Model 021C, which has
a color liquid crystal display, to Europe and Australia in the second
quarter of 1989.

The laptop PCs use the Intel 80286 and are compatible with the IBM PC/AT.
The unique part of the machine is its color LCD.  It employs
thin-film transistor (TFT) technology which realizes screen
resolution of 640 by 200 pixels and is able to show eight colors
on a 6.3-inch display.  Mass storage consists of one 1.44-megabyte
or 720 kilobyte 3.5-inch floppy disk drive and one 20-megabyte
hard disk drive.

The company is planning to manufacture and market some of the
machines in the U.S. under the Hitachi brand name.

The price in Europe and Australia has not been released yet,
but it will be fixed around 700,000 yen or U.S. $5,600.

(Naoyuki Yazawa/19881117/Contact: Hitachi, 03-258-1111)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TYO)(00009)

CANON TO ENTER OVERSEAS MARKET
TOKYO, 1988 22 NOV (NB) -- Canon plans to attack the U.S. and European
markets with its PC/AT-compatible machines which are equipped with
Intel's 80386 or 80386SX microprocessors.  Canon will supply
the compatible machines to European markets starting next summer.
The company expects some difficulty in export of the the machines
directly from Japan to the U.S., given recent U.S. retaliation over
the "chip dumping" scandal.  Therefore, the firm is considering a
plan to produce them directly in the U.S.

(Ken Takahashi/19881116/Contact: Canon Inc., 03-348-2121)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TYO)(00010)

MCA AND CD-ROM TO BE CONNECTED
TOKYO, 1988 22 NOV (NB) -- Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. will
roll out interface boards which connect IBM's Microchannel
Architecture (MCA) personal computers with compact disc read-only-
memory (CD-ROM).  To start, Sanyo will release a 98,000 yen ($800)
interface board for IBM Japan's machines, including 5550-T,
5550-S, 5570-T, and 5570-S.

(Ken Takahashi/19881116/Contact: Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.,
06-991-1181)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(0009)

SYNEX ANNOUNCES LINK FROM ACCPAC TO 1-2-3
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, 1988 NOV 16 (NB) -- Synex Systems
Corp. has unveiled software that will allow Lotus Development
Corp.'s 1-2-3 spreadsheet to produce financial reports from
accounting system data.  AccLink will bring data from Computer
Associates Inc.'s Accpac Plus and EasyBusiness accounting systems
into 1-2-3.  There the data can be made into assorted reports,
including graphics.  David Richards, AccLink product manager,
said the software will be available in February at a price
comparable to that of a single AccPac module.  He added that the
company plans to produce versions that work with other accounting
packages.

Synex has developed an assortment of personal computer software,
most of which is marketed by other companies.  Its best known
creations are SQZ! Plus and The Cambridge Spreadsheet Analyst,
both sold by Symantec Corp.

(Grant Buckler/19881118/Contact: David Richards, Synex Systems
Corp., 604-688-8271)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAS)(0011)

REPLACEMENT MOTHERBOARD TURNS OLD COMPAQ INTO A 386
LAS VEGAS, 1988 NOV 15 (NB) -- Seattle Telecom & Data, Inc., of
Redmond, Wash., announced a replacement motherboard  at
Comdex/Fall that turns 8086-based Compaq Deskpro computers into
386 machines.  The 80386 motherboard, available in 16- and 20-
megahertz versions, slides into any early Compaq Deskpro,
replacing the original motherboard.  The 16-megahertz version
with one megabyte of memory sells for $1,750, while the 20-
megahertz version costs $2,250.  Both are available immediately.

(Grant Buckler/19881118/Contact: Joseph DeCaro, Seattle Telecom &
Data Inc., 206-883-8440)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAS)(00001)

SYZYGY -- PROMISING GROUPWARE APPLICATION
LAS VEGAS NEVADA, 1988 NOV 19 (NB) -- If it delivers on its promises, a
product called Syzygy could be among the most important, if least
pronounceable, products to come out of the 1988 Fall Comdex show.
The word refers to the alignment of sun, moon, and the Earth. The
product, which requires 512K of memory on an IBM PC, and should
be used on a NetBios-compatible network, is designed to automate
the most tedious aspects of project management. You input data on
management objectives, project due dates and milestones,
resources, budgets, and personnel responsibilities. The result is
a work base which can be turned into Gantt charts, calendars,
project and task lists, and to-do lists. Task templates are
included for typical projects, like launching new products.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19881119)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAS)(OOOO2)

LAPTOPS AND THE SUCCESS OF TRAVELING SOFTWARE
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, 1988 NOV 19 (NB) -- President Mark Eppley of
Traveling Software, Bothell, Wash., was one relaxed, happy camper
at the Fall Comdex show. While everyone was remarking on the
wide breadth of laptop computer offerings -- Epson, Toshiba,
Zenith, Compaq, NEC, Sanyo and Sharp were just a few of the firms
rolling out new lap models -- few noticed how Eppley's LapLink
file transfer program had become a de-facto standard in this
market. LapLink is a relatively simple utility for moving files
over serial cables with RS-232 connectors between laptop and
desktop PCs. But if your company has both kinds of computers,
LapLink or something like it becomes a necessity.

This adds to the significance of two deals Eppley announced.
First, Toshiba agreed to offer a private-label version of LapLink
for its laptops. Second, NEC agreed to bundle LapLink, in ROM, or read
only memory, with its four-pound UltraLite laptop. Those deals made
it easy for Eppley's folks to update LapLink Mac, which is a
version for the Macintosh, as well as DeskLink, a version of the
program which creates a de-facto network for small offices.

Traveling Software also released a new version of its Battery
Watch utility, which replaces the "idiot light" on most laptops
with a pop-up gauge showing how much power your batteries have,
and offered a new version of its catalog, which features both its
own products and those of other firms. All of which means Eppley can
make money both coming and going from the laptop revolution.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19881119)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00001)

TANDY ANNOUNCES FIRST UK TV CAMPAIGN
BLOXWICH, ENGLAND 1988 NOV 1988 (NB) -- Tandy UK is to start its
first-ever UK television campaign to market its new PC range,
which includes the Microchannel Architecture PC-5000 announced
last week. The ad campaign starts on 21 November, and runs
until Christmas. The cost of the campaign have not been
revealed by Tandy UK.

(Steve Gold/19881119/Tandy UK: (UK) 0922-710000)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00002)

APRICOT UNVEILS ITS 386SX TRUMP CARD
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, 1988 NOV 19 (NB) -- Apricot Computers has announced
a change of strategy on its PC-AT 80286-based product line. The
company is now fitting the new Intel 80386SX microprocessor to
its entry-level Xen-S PCs. The Xen-S PCs now replace the earlier
Xen-i range of 80286-based PCs.

Pricing on the Xen-S now starts at #1,199 for an 80386SX-based
Xen-S with 1 megabyte (Mb) of random access memory (RAM) and a
30Mb hard disk. Flagship of the range is the Xen-S 240X at
#2,799, which comes with a Tandon Add-pac-style 44Mb removable
hard disk system. The hard disk cartridges are amazingly cheap at
#99 each.

Apricot has said that, although it is not fitting the old Intel
80286 microprocessor to its Xen-S series, it will supply a 80286
chip on special request. The Xen-S's motherboard has sockets for
both the 80286 and 80386SX microprocessors.

All machines in the Apricot Xen series, excluding the basic
Xen-S, now support the Ethernet networking standard, thanks to
the inclusion of an Ethernet-compatible chip set on the PC's
motherboard.

(Steve Gold/19881119/Apricot Computers: (UK) 021-456-1234)

NEWSBYTES (Tm) TELECOMMUNICATIONS REPORT
Week of November 22, 1988


(NEWS)(TELCOM)(WAS)(00001)

FCC ADOPTS DATA STANDARD
WASHINGTON, 1988 NOV 22 (NB) -- The Federal Communications
Commission has adopted technical telecommunications standards
aimed at boosting voice mail and online database services. The
seven regional Bell operating companies and AT&T have been
working on the standards, known as Open Network Architecture, for
18 months. Still unknown is how Federal Judge Harold Greene will
react to the standards. Greene, appointed by the courts to
oversee the breakup of AT&T, has been in continual conflict with
the FCC over what role AT&T and the Baby Bells can have in
offering computer services. The Bells hope the new open standards
will help change Greene's mind on the subject of what they can
offer. Greene has consistently said that the Bells should be
allowed to operate only as a channel for other people's data, not
create their own data, such as online telephone directories.

The FCC asked the companies to return on May 19 with some
modifications of the ONA standards, while accepting most of them
in advance. "The basic structure is 90 percent set," said an FCC
spokeswoman. "What we're talking about now is filling in the
details at the regional Bell companies."

(Ken Maize/19881118/Contact: Arleen Spivack, FCC, 202-632-5050)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SFO)(00012)

BORLAND, INTEL, TYMNET GO ONLINE TOGETHER
SCOTTS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, 1988 NOV 17 (NB) -- Borland International,
Intel Corporation and Tymnet have teamed up to establish a
nationally-accessed bulletin board system for the Association of
PC User Groups.  The bulletin board will link all 77 member user groups
representing 100,000 end-users.  The board will use Intel modems
and communication coprocessor boards and computers and software
donated by Borland.  Physically, the board will be located at
Borland's offices in Scotts Valley, California.

The board will provide APCUG members with the ability to exchange
newsletters, hold conferences, request speakers from Borland and
Intel, access press announcements, and obtain demo disks.  Borland
says it has pledged $100,000 to support and equip the bulletin
board and will assign a dedicated contact person to run it.

Intel says its hardware donation is worth $50,000.

APCUG is an international, non-profit organization formed by the
user groups to foster an exchange of information.

(Wendy Woods/19881119/Contact:  Suzanne Seigneur, Intel, 408-629-7369,
Don Parkman, TYMNET, 408-922-7583, Tami Casey, Borland, 408-438-8400)


(NEWS)(TELCOM)(WAS)(00005)

APOLLO TO LINK TO IBM THROUGH TOKEN-RING
CHELMSFORD, MASSACHUSETTS, 1988 NOV 22 (NB) -- Apollo Computer has
unveiled a series of products allowing Apollo workstations to
link to networks of computers made by other companies. One
product will allow Apollo workstation to work with IBM's token-
ring network. The token-ring product will be standard on Apollo
systems, beginning in December. Another product, which will cost
$1,995, allows Apollo workstations to plug into Digital Equipment
Corp. networks.

(Ken Maize/19881118)


(NEWS)(TELCOM)(WAS)(00006)

IBM INTRODUCES HIGH-SPEED LAN PRODUCTS
RYE BROOK, NEW YORK, 1988 NOV 22 (NB) -- International Business
Machines Corp. has unveiled products that enable the token-ring
network to send and receive data at 16 million bits per second,
four times the current rate of four million bits per second. IBM
rolled out the new token-ring network at Comdex. Among the
products from IBM are an optical fiber converter, a token-ring
bridge program, and an enhanced version of token-ring network PC
Adapter II.

The adapter cards feature the first analog/digital chip built
with IBM's advanced one-micron complementary metal oxide
semiconductor technology. The cards are now small enough to fit
in a half-size slot, and provide 64 kilobytes of random access
memory. Previously, token-ring adapters used eight or 16 K of
RAM. According to IBM, the new adapters will increase the number
of workstations that can share server resources, even running at
four million bits per second.

(Ken Maize/19881118/Contact: Kenneth Rowe, IBM, 914-934-4886)


(NEWS)(TELCOM)(WAS)(00013)

NEW HOTEL RESERVATION SYSTEM DEBUTS
NEW YORK, 1988 NOV 22 (NB) -- Murdoch Electronic Publishing Inc.
and The Hotel Industry Switch Co. (Thisco) have announced
technology that will give travel agents the same kind of
information about hotels that they now get about airplanes.
Called UltraSwitch, the system will link hotel-chain reservation
systems with the airline reservation systems used by the nation's
35,000 travel agents. UltraSwitch should be operating by the end
of 1989. It is jointly owned by Murdoch and Thisco, a new
corporation formed by nine hotel chains that will use the
software. Thisco shareholders are Days Inn Corp., Best Western
International, Hyatt Corp., La Qunita Motor Inns Inc., Marriott
Corp., Quality Inns Inc., Ramada Inc., The Sheraton Corp., and
Trusthouse Forte Hotels.

(Ken Maize/19881118)


(NEWS)(TELCOM)(WAS)(00020)

TWO-COLOR FAX FROM BROTHER
PISCATAWAY, NEW JERSEY, 1988 NOV 2 (NB) -- Brother International
Corp. has a device that just's the trick for editors: a two-color
facsimile machine. The machine and send and receive documents in
both read and black, and comes with a password feature to prevent
junk fax mail. Both sender and receiver must have the Brother
machine, the FAX-195R, for the red to appear on a transmitted
document. Otherwise, it will show up as a gray undistinguishable
from the rest of the document. The machine is $1,995.

(Ken Maize/19881118/Contact: Brother International Corp., 8
      Corporate Place, Piscataway NJ 08855-0159


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00001)

ISDN ADAPTER INTRODUCED FROM NEC
TOKYO, 1988 22 NOV (NB) -- Nippon Electric Corp. has
released the world's first special adapter which ensures direct
connection of all the company's computers to an Integrated Services
Digital Network (ISDN).  Also, the adapter is bundled with
standard features of Open Systems' Interconnection (OSI) which
realize a free exchange of information via different types of
computers.

NEC's adapter does not require a conventional modem, therefore
it performs lightening-fast data exchange at a staggering 64,000
bits per second (bps), which is six times faster than a modem's highest
speed limit of 9600bps.

(Ken Takahashi/19881115/Contact: Nippon Electric Corp., 03-451-2974)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00003)

MOMENTUM FOR OSI
TOKYO, 1988 22 NOV (NB) -- The Ministry of Posts and
Telecommunications (MPT) and the European Community (EC) have signed
an agreement in Tokyo for the cooperative standardization of the Open
Systems Interconnection (OSI) in the field of communication
processing.

Meanwhile, the MITI-affiliated Interoperability Technology Association
for Information Processing has successfully performed the
world's first open test of an OSI standard in Tokyo, in which
sixteen companies, both national and international, participated.

(Ken Takahashi/19881117)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00015)

KDD RECORDS ITS HIGHEST PROFIT
TOKYO, 1988 22 NOV (NB) -- Kokusai Denshin Denwa Co.,
(KDD) has announced its mid-term financial statements in 1988.
KDD has recorded a 14.9 percent increase in revenues to $1,105.6
million compared with the same term in the last year. Also, the
company recorded a net profit of $238.4 million which is the
highest on record in its history and exceeds the 60.7 percent
profit recorded in the first half of the year.

The company, however, cut 20 percent off its international
telephone charges on September 15, therefore, net profit through
the fiscal year will stay around $302.4 million.

(Naoyuki Yazawa/19881117)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(0004)

ISDN TRIAL TO ENTER SECOND PHASE
OTTAWA, 1988 NOV 18 (NB) -- Bell Canada's trial of Integrated
Services Digital Network (ISDN) technology in three Canadian
government departments will continue into next year.  Luc
Fournier, project manager for the ISDN trial at the Department of
Communications' Government Telecommunications Agency, said a
second phase of the year-old trial has been approved in
principle.  Terms and the duration of the trial haven't been
decided, he said.  Along with the Government Telecommunications
Agency and the Department of Communications, the Department of
National Defence and the Department of Industry, Science and
Technology are participating.

(Grant Buckler/19881118/Contact: Luc Fournier, Government
Telecommunications Agency, 613-990-1910)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(0008)

ISDN SEMINAR SCHEDULED FOR EARLY DECEMBER
TORONTO, 1988 NOV 18 (NB) -- Bell Canada of Montreal and Angus
TeleManagement Group Inc. of Pickering, Ontario, will present a
three-day seminar on the Integrated Services Digital Network here
December 7 to 9.  Entitled Preparing for ISDN, the seminar will
include a presentation by Dr. Theodore Irmer, director of the
International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee
(CCITT), who is known as the father of ISDN.  Twenty-nine other
speakers from vendors, early ISDN users, telephone companies and
consulting firms will also speak to the conference.

(Grant Buckler/19881118/Contact: Lynda Leonard, Bell Canada, 613-
567-3770)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(0010)

MORE OVERSEAS DIRECT DIALLING FOR CANADIANS
MONTREAL, 1988 NOV 19 (NB) -- There's good news for Canadian PC
enthusiasts who want to check out the bulletin board systems in
Rangoon.  Or pass on some shareware to a friend in Nouakchott.
Teleglobe Canada, the company responsible for overseas telephone
links from Canada, has announced that direct dialling is
available to 11 more countries starting today.  They are Burma
and Mauritania (whose capitals are Rangoon and Nouakchott
respectively), Congo, Djibouti, Liberia, Mozambique, Namibia,
Nauru, Romania, Sierra Leone and the People's Democratic Republic
of Yemen.

(Grant Buckler/19881118/Contact: Robert Frank, Teleglobe Canada,
514-289-7490)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00008)

COMPUTER/COMMUNICATIONS LAW NEWSLETTER DEBUTS
LONDON, 1988 NOV 19 (NB) -- Legal Studies and Services Ltd., has
launched Applied Computer and Communications Law (ACCL), a ten
issues a year newsletter aimed at reporting and explaining the
law relating to computer communications. Annual subscriptions
cost #90, with the first three issues available on a no-risk
refund basis.

(Steve Gold/19881119/Monitor Press - (UK) 01-437-4343)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00009)

MERCURY FIRST LONDON TO TOKYO FIBRE OPTIC LINK
LONDON, 1988 NOV 19 (NB) -- Mercury Communications has announced
the first order for an end-to-end optical fibre link between
London and Tokyo. The order, placed by NKK Securities of Japan,
represents a major step forward in international data
communications. The fibre optic link will be split into three
sections: UK-US via PTAT-1; New Jersey-Seattle via Cable &
Wireless North America's US national service; and US-Japan via
the North Pacific Cable (NPC).

(Steve Gold/19881119)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00010)

ARIANE-4 SCHEDULED FOR 9 DECEMBER LIFT-OFF
PARIS, 1988 NOV 19 (NB) -- Ariane, the French satellite
consortium, has announced that Ariane-4 will launch a UK
military telecommunications satellite (Skynet 4B) and a Luxembourg TV
satellite (Astra 1A) next month. The satellite will take off from
French Guyana in the early hours of 9 December, 1988. The launch
will be the first commercial flight to be run by the Ariane
consortium.

(Steve Gold/19881119)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00011)

MERCURY EXPANDS PACKET DATA NETWORK
LONDON, 1988 NOV 19 (NB) -- Mercury Communications has announced
a major expansion of its Packet Data Network System (PDNS).
Subscribers to its packet-switching network can now place
outgoing calls to: Belgium, Bermuda, Denmark, Finland, GDR,
Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal,
Singapore, South Korea, Sweden and Switzerland.

The international destinations join the existing countries -
Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Netherlands, Qatar and the US -
which have been available for some time.

Rates of the new services have been filed with the UK's Office of
Telecommunications (Oftel) and are between 10 and 35 per cent
cheaper than those charged by British Telecom.

(Steve Gold/19881119/Mercury - (UK) 01-528-2337)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00012)

IRS DIALTECH NEW TARIFFS; ACCESS NUMBERS
ESRIN, ITALY, 1988 NOV 19 (NB) -- IRS Dialtech, the Italian
bibliographic and full-text retrieval service, has announced
changes in the way in which its rates are charged. In addition,
key access codes for use on packet-switching networks will change
from 19 December, 1988 onwards.

The new contact numbers are:

London (voice help desk):      (UK) 01-215-6582
Italy (voice help desk):       (ITAL) 039-0694-1801

ITAPAC ADDRESS (PDN):         (A9) 222-265-0143
PSS ADDRESS (UK - PSS):       A219201156

The new charging system for IRS Dialtech is based on European
Accounting Units (EAU), a unit of currency that remains fixed
for each calendar year. The 1989 EAU is equivalent to 66.498
pence. The IRS service will be billed in EAU's from 1 January,
1989 onwards.

(Steve Gold/19881119)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00013)

X400 ELECTRONIC MESSAGING PUBLICATION LAUNCHED
LONDON, 1988 NOV 19 (NB) -- IBC has released a major
publication entitled X400 & OSI - Electronic Messaging into the
1990's. The #98 book is written by Carl Law, the renowned
communications journalist.

(Steve Gold/19881119/IBC - (UK) 09323-55244)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00009)

MACINTOSH USER LISTS ONLINE
APTOS, CALIFORNIA, 1988 NOV 19 (NB) -- Need a mailing list of Macintosh
users and want it in electronic format?  Semaphore Corporation has
the first online database devoted strictly to Macintosh users in
the United States.  Over 200,000 users can be retrieved by name,
company, school, or zip code.  The database is called Find-A-User
and costs four cents per retrieved record.  Mike Gabrielson,
a member of the technical support staff, told Newsbytes the
database has been available since August.  He says Newsbytes
readers can log on for free and check out the system by dialing
via computer 408-662-2717 and when prompted for I.D. type DEMO.

(Wendy Woods/19881119/Contact: Semaphore, office, 408-688-9200)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SFO)(00010)

FIRST SALES OF ISDN TECHNOLOGY IN CALIFORNIA
FRESNO, CALIFORNIA, 1988 NOV 18 (NB) -- Pacific Bell has announced
a $2.9 million agreement with the City of Fresno for an
ISDN (integrated services digital network) system, the first
commercial sale of the new technology in California.  The ISDN
system will work with a Centrex telephone system to serve
city government with both voice and data exchange, eventually
incorporating electronic mail, automated energy management, and
video teleconferencing.

Dan Shupp, Pacific Bell area vice president said in a prepared
statement, "Because ISDN can handle data as well as voice over
existing telephone lines, it eliminates the cost of separate
coaxial cables to handle data.  From their desktop, ISDN users
can access both voice and data networks through their modular
phone jacks."

The new system will allow the city to, for example, immediately
start or stop phone service for an exhibitor at the municipal convention
center and provide a bill.  Using traditional technology, this
operation would require at least a day for the phone company to
perform the work.

ISDN is a new technology that divides a standard two-wire telephone
line into three digital channels capable of simultaneous
transmission of voice, data, and video.  ISDN is based upon
standards for the telecommunications network of the future that
will eventually be used worldwide.

(Wendy Woods/19881119/Contact: Scott Smith, Pacific Bell, 415-542-0597)

NEWSBYTES (Tm) TRENDS AND TECHNOLOGY
Week of November 22, 1988


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00005)

PROTOTYPE 4 KILOBIT JOSEPHSON MEMORY DEVELOPED BY FUJITSU
TOKYO, 1988 22 NOV  (NB) -- Fujitsu Ltd. has won the
distinction of developing a prototype four kilobit memory using
a Josephson junction device, known as a super-fast complementary
metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS). The Josephson
memory runs far faster than other high-speed four-kilobit memory
chips, according to the company.   Fujitsu boasts that the basic
technology of a Josephson computer has been established.

(Ken Takahashi/19881116/Contact: Fujitsu Ltd., 03-216-3211)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00007)

CASIO TO LAUNCH ADPS BUSINESS
TOKYO, 1988 22 NOV (NB) -- Casio Computer Co., Ltd. will
establish an information equipment business office in Akihabara,
the famous shopping district for electronics goods in Tokyo.
The new branch will mainly promote sales of Casio's Automatic Data
Processing System (ADPS) machines, and is expected to announce
new products in Tokyo next January.  Casio has already trained
thirteen ADPS instructors and has manufactured 20 units of the
new ADPS system for evaluation.

ADPS is a revolutionary new kind of computer that does not
require an operating system nor application software.  Data,
alone, is all that is required to operate it.

(Ken Takahashi/19881116/Contact: Casio Computer Co., 03-347-4811)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00011)

SONY AND PHILIPS PROPOSE NEW CD-ROM FORMAT
TOKYO, 1988 22 NOV (NB) -- Sony Corporation and Holland-based
major electronics firm N.V. Philips' Gloeilampenfabrieken have
cooperatively offered a summary specification on 8 centimeter
compact disc read-only-memory (CD-ROM) cartridges for the computer
industry.  The new CD-ROM has a memory capacity of 200 megabytes
and the drive unit has roughly the same size as the conventional
3.5-inch floppy disk drive.  The CD-ROM cartridge measures 90mm x
94mm x 6mm.

(Ken Takahashi/19881117/Contact: Sony Corp., 03-448-2111)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAS)(00007)

A REVIEW OF COMDEX TRENDS
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, 1988 NOV 19 (NB) -- While major American vendors
argued about standards (OSF vs. AT&T, MCA vs. EISA) there were some
noticeable technology trends to be seen at this year's Fall Comdex.
Here's our Newsbytes assessment.

Fax is being rapidly integrated into the computing environment.
Not only were there many fax machines on display, but many
sported RS-232 ports, and many American computer companies, most
notably Wang Labs, made a point of integrating fax images into
their systems.

Color has finally arrived. Partly that's because operating
systems have been upgraded to handle the demands of color. Apple
has abandoned black-and-white to concentrate on the Mac II. IBM's
VGA standard can handle real color photographs. Atari and
Commodore continue as factors because developers have many color
applications on the ST and Amiga machines. There were color
scanners and color printers of all types on display. And prices
will be coming down.

The "Four Tigers" -- Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Korea --
have raised the stakes in worldwide computing by offering
innovation as well as low prices. The GUIS fax-answering machine
was the surprise of the show, and if the machine's Taiwanese
maker can deliver on its promises, a $1,200 machine which
separates fax and voice calls by next spring, the Japanese will
have plenty to worry about.

The "memory shortage" will soon turn into a memory glut, but it's
becoming clear how businesses will use that extra memory. Rather
than passing more messages between computers, we'll see more
complex messages, color pictures, stereo sound, and fax.

Finally, Comdex itself. Despite growing complaints that it's too
big and lacks focus, increasing numbers of people keep coming.
Final attendance was estimated at 110,000 (this in a city where
there are only 60,000 hotel rooms). Corporate buyers and
MIS directors now dominate convention sessions. And it's clear
The Interface Group is hearing the complaints, with plans to move
Macintosh developers into a separate MacDex. No one can "see it
all" (Interface's phrase) anymore, and few try. Every attendee we
talked to had a short, specific list of booths and topics laid
out. And if Comdex does reflect the state of the industry, its
boom just keeps on booming.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19881119)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SFO)(00008)

INTEL CREATES 80386 CHIP GLUT
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, 1988 NOV 19 (NB) -- The industry is awash
in 80386 chips, 2.4 million of them to be exact, and orders are
slowing down. This comes from Intel itself, maker of the 80386 microprocessor,
which admits that it made too much of a good thing and will suffer
as a result.  Intel says this quarter's revenues, due out in December,
will fall about 10 percent from figures reported in its third quarter
of $785 million.

Intel denies a report that some customers are returning the 80386
chips, but admits some customers are going through an "inventory
correction."  Intel Chief Executive Andy Grove said in a prepared
statement that he expects the slowdown will end by the second
quarter of 1989.

(Wendy Woods/19881119)

NEWSBYTES (Tm) UNIX REPORT
Week of November 22, 1988/#283


(NEWS)(UNIX)(SFO)(00005)

HEWLETT PACKARD, MICROSOFT LAUNCH UNIX INTERFACE
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, 1988 NOV 17 (NB) -- Hewlett Packard and
Microsoft have announced a new, graphics-based Unix user interface
that makes a program running in Unix look like it's an MS-DOS
machine running Windows and OS/2.  Called Common X, the software
consists of specifications for developers.  A Microsoft spokesman,
at the product introduction in Las Vegas, said users of current
Microsoft and IBM products will need only "minimal training"
to use Unix software written with Common X.

Observers suggest this new product, however, will only add to the
current confusion over a standard Unix operating system.  Sun
Microsystems already has a graphic interface for Unix machines
which are running the AT&T-created Unix.  And a new version of Unix
is being designed by a consortium called the Open Systems
Foundation, and consisting of Digital Equipment, IBM, and
Hewlett Packard, among others.

(Wendy Woods/19881119)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(SFO)(00006)

LOW-END SUN WORKSTATIONS IN EARLY '89
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, 1988 NOV 19 (NB) -- Sun Microsystems,
in hiatus from a burst of new product introductions earlier this
year, will pick up the ball again in early '89 by introducing
a line of low-end Unix workstations, so says MacWeek magazine.
The weekly publication quotes industry sources as saying Sun will
introduce several low-end Unix/DOS workstations to compete with
those from Apple and NeXT, Inc.  "A general purpose 68030-
based workstation should emerge in the first quarter, followed by
additions to Sun's 386i line of UNIX/DOS computers," says
author Will McClatchy.  The report suggests that Sun is seeking
distribution channels pioneered by Apple for its coming products
and quotes a Sun executive, Barry Folsom, as saying his firm
is probably talking with ComputerLand and BusinessLand as
retail outlets.

(Wendy Woods/19881119)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(WAS)(00007)

APOLLO LANDS UNIVERSITY CONTRACT
CHELMSFORD, MASSACHUSETTS, 1988 NOV 22 (NB) -- Apollo Computer has
won a contract to sell more than 100 workstations to the
University of Montreal. No terms disclosed. Apollo says the
workstations will be used in a network for computer science
instruction.

(Ken Maize/19881118)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(WAS)(00019)

SCO XENIX UPGRADE FROM UNISYS
BLUE BELL, PENNSYLVANIA, 1988 NOV 2 (NB) -- Unisys Corp. is
offering Santa Cruz Operation Inc.'s SCO Xenix System V/Release
2.3 for its 80386-based Personal Workstation2 line of personal
computers. Unisys has sold more than 20,000 copies of SCO Xenix,
a PC version of Unix that allows users to run DOS programs under
Unix, since 1984. "The SCO Xenix 386 operating system Release 2.3
provides full binary compatibility with Unix System V/386 Release
3.1 and beyond," said Doug Michels, SCO vice president and
founder. The new SCO Xenix offers mouse support, VGA graphics,
new communication support, and improved coprocessor performance,
Unisys said. Unisys wants $695 for the operating system.

(Ken Maize/19881119)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(TYO)(00004)

NEC SIDES WITH AT&T
TOKYO, 1988 22 NOV (NB) -- Japan's computer giant NEC has finally
expressed its position on the standardization of the Unix operating
system -- and is going with AT&T.

According to our sources, NEC received a presentation from
one of the members of AT&T's alliance, and the company will be
registered as a member of Unix International, the AT&T fold which
will be established within a month in Tokyo.

Major Japanese companies, such as Fujitsu, Toshiba, and Oki, have
already sided with AT&T, but only Hitachi has taken a side with the
rival Open Software Foundation.

(Naoyuki Yazawa/19881117/Contact: NEC03-454-1111)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(TYO)(00008)

SONY TO SET UP WORKSTATION FACTORY
TOKYO, 1988 22 NOV (NB) -- Sony Corp. will construct a new
assembly line for its best-selling engineering workstation (EWS) the NEWS.
Sony will double production by next February at the conventional
lines of its audio equipment manufacturing subcontract company
Nagano Toyo Tsuushin.  Afterwards, Sony will build a special
factory near the company.  Sony promises to raise its NEWS production
to 5,000 units per month by next October, an amount ten times larger
than at present.

(Ken Takahashi/19881116/Contact: Sony Corp., 03-448-2111)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(TOR)(0007)

UNIVERSITY OF MONTREAL TO BUY APOLLO WORKSTATIONS
MONTREAL, 1988 NOV 18 (NB) -- The University of Montreal will buy
more than 100 workstations from Apollo Computer Inc. of
Chelmsford, Mass.  The purchase is one of the largest workstation
sales in Canadian history.  More than 1,000 students will use the
Apollo Series 3000, Series 3500 and Series 4000 workstations for
computer science instruction, according to the company.

(Grant Buckler/19881118/Contact: Lynn Bellevance, Apollo Computer
Inc., 508-256-6600)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(SFO)(00014)

NEXT TO REDWOOD CITY, CALIFORNIA
REDWOOD CITY, CALIFORNIA, 1988 NOV 17 (NB) -- NeXT Incorporated
will move its headquarters to Redwood City from its current
facilities in Palo Alto by May, 1989.  The new headquarters, eight
times as big as the old one, is a mile east of Highway 101 on
Seaport Boulevard, 25 miles south of San Franciso.  NeXT, which
recently introduced a new academic workstation and has been the
talk of the computer industry, has signed a five year lease on the site.
NeXT Chairman Steve Jobs, who has been looking for some time for
a new headquarters location, was reportedly sold on the "water
orientation" of the site, which borders the San Francisco Bay.
"We have a great view overlooking the Redwood City Marina, and we are
taking advantage of it," said Randall Fosnick, a NeXT attorney.
Jobs is now reportedly considering building an open-air
amphitheater and a piazza-style cafe on a portion of a parking lot.

(Wendy Woods/19881119)