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/nb881213.286

Text File | 1991-10-01 | 88KB | 2,109 lines

Newsytes (Tm) Apple Report
Week of December 13, 1988


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

NO APPLE LAPTOP IN JANUARY
BURLINGAME, CALIFORNIA, 1988 DEC 6 (NB) -- Apple Chairman John
Sculley says Apple will not introduce a portable Macintosh at the
January MacWorld Expo, as had been rumored, and probably will not
introduce one until late in 1989. Sculley made his comments at
an industry conference sponsored by Technologic Partners.

"I wish we had it now," he said, adding that the major hold-up is
the screen. "The screen technology that we have to use is different than
we're used to." The screen must be high-quality enough to accommodate
the fast movements of a mouse, as current flat screens cannot. Such
screens that will do the job exist, he says, but not in quantity. They
are called active matrix or thin transistor screens and they're being
designed by at least 30 firms in Japan, according to David Mentley,
director of display industry research at Stanford Resources of San
Jose, California. Apple chief John Sculley also told reporters that
the portable will not be a major product for the year, "We're not
projecting a lot of revenue from a portable in 1989."  Sculley
also said we can expect other new machines based on the Motorola 68030
microprocessor in 1989, and a new release of HyperCard software.

(Wendy Woods/19881209)


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

APPLE'S COLEMAN CLEANS OUT HER DESK
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, 1988 DEC 7 (NB) -- Debi Coleman, Apple's
chief financial officer, vice president of finance, and top female
executive, will take a five month leave of absence, starting in
February, due to health reasons.

The dynamic, youthful executive, who helped automate the manufacturing
of Macintoshes at Apple's Fremont, California assembly lines, and who
has recently, as CFO, guided Apple's revenues from $1.9 billion
to $4.1 billion, says she needs a rest in order to get back on a diet
and exercise program critical to her health. She told reporters that
the stress of the CFO job has caused her to gain another 30 pounds
in recent months; any additional weight could force her to have back
surgery.

When Coleman returns she will take a lesser position in charge of
tax and treasury matters. Apple has not named a successor to her
post.

(Wendy Woods/19881209)


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

APPLE ANTI-LEAK FILM STARS SCULLEY
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, 1988 DEC 9 (NB) -- Those who have seen it say
a new film, shown to new Apple employees, stars Apple Chairman John
Sculley tossing in bed at night, anguished that Apple corporate
secrets are undermining the company and his power. The San Jose Mercury
News reports that the new film, being shown to new employees at
orientations this week, starts with the Sculley bed scene, then shows
the scenes Sculley is supposed to be dreaming -- employees "shooting
off their mouths" with one employee telling another about his latest
project, that person telling another, and so on.

Security has become a major problem at Apple, most recently
exemplified by leaks regarding a laptop, to which Sculley, himself, felt
compelled to publicly respond this week.

However, despite the new film's best intentions, there is evidence
that it may not accomplish its goal. The newspaper concludes, "How
did the Mercury News learn about the film in the first place? That's
right. It was leaked."

(Wendy Woods/19881209)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00004)

HYPERCARD CLONES FOR MACS AND PCS
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, 1988 DEC 9 (NB) -- As Apple promises a
"major new release" of HyperCard software in 1989, several firms are
preparing to steal Apple's thunder with similar products of their
own. Silicon Beach Software of San Diego is reportedly working on
a HyperCard-compatible personal "software tool kit" called SuperCard.
To be unveiled at the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco in January,
SuperCard takes HyperCard to hyperspace by permitting the integration
of stand-alone applications within stacks, and by offering a wide
array of paint tools for HyperCard-type programming.

Format Software of West Germany is preparing a product called Plus
which expands upon the conventional HyperCard with full color
support, extensions to HyperTalk, and other features. The firm is
said to be looking for a U.S. distributor.

PC users will also get more HyperCard-like products when Brightbill-
Roberts & Company of Syracuse, New York, releases HyperPad next year.
The product is character-based and operates in DOS. IBM is also
preparing a HyperCard-like product called LinkWay, slated for
release in February.

And the father of HyperText, Ted Nelson, promises to unveil a
hypermedia product in 1989. His firm Xanadu, a division of Autodesk in
Sausalito, California, is working feverishly to design software
that he calls "hypergrid," and will encompass the functions of
database, word processing, spreadsheet, and outline, enabling the
integration and linking of data.

(Wendy Woods/19881209)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00007)

BATTLE OF THE 44-MEG BERNOULLIS
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, 1988 DEC 09 (NB) -- No sooner has Iomega
announced a removable data storage system capable of storing 44 megabyte
cartridges that a competitor has arisen to offer similar capacity in
a Bernoulli-like package. San Francisco-based Bay Microsystems has
introduced the 44RepackRemovable drive, which offers 44 megabytes of
storage on each $108 5.25-inch cartridge. The storage system is
priced at $1,119 -- $800 less than Iomega's new 44 megabyte Bernoulli
system.

Iomega's $1,999 Bernoulli II/44, slated to ship in March, stores 44
megabytes of data on each $149, 5.25-inch cartridge. The system
uses barium ferrite media to perform the high-density storage.
Iomega is based in Roy, Utah.

(Wendy Woods/19881209)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(0007)

AST MAC86 COPROCESSOR BRINGS MS-DOS TO MACINTOSH SE
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, 1988 DEC 2 (NB) -- AST Research is now shipping
the Mac86. The 8086-based coprocessor board allows users of the
Macintosh SE to run MS-DOS applications at the speed of an IBM PC
XT. The board does not inhibit normal functions of the Macintosh.
Support is provided for several drive types including the Apple PC
5.25-inch external drive, the DaynaFile or the IBM 3.5-inch drive.
File access through AppleShare and Tops is also provided.

Mac86 is accessible to the user through a Mac86 window under the
Apple Multifinder. The user has Multifinder's multitasking
capability and can cut and paste text and graphics from MS-DOS to
Macintosh applications and text from Macintosh to MS-DOS applications.
Macintosh Mouse emulation is provided for the Microsoft Mouse. The
product is the result of a joint development effort between AST,
Apple and Phoenix Technologies, Inc.

(Wayne Yacco/19881209)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(ATL)(00004)

WHAT THE KIDS WHO HAVE EVERYTHING WANT IS IMAGE-CAPTURING
WALKERSVILLE, MARYLAND, DEC 8 (NB) -- If there's someone on your
Christmas list who has everything, chances are they have a
Macintosh II, in which case what they'll want is an image scanner
under their tree. If they've been good, you might get them the
Scion Image Capture Board, just $1,195 at a store near you. It's
a board for the Mac II which you use in conjunction with an
ordinary videotape machine and videocamera, or a camcorder. The
Scion board digitizes and displays images at the rate of 30
complete frames per second, which is just as fast as the camera
can put them out. This real-time video image can then be
digitized into a 256-color bit-map, even delivering quality
halftones to a Linotronic 100 or 300 typesetter. If the kid has
everything he also has a newspaper, so keep the receipt. He'll
love you forever, and get to write it off as a publisher's
expense.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19881208/Contact: Bob Zangueneh FAX:[phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(TYO)(00005)

TV IMAGES INTO A MACINTOSH
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1988 DEC 6 (NB) -- Tokyo-based major software house Kowa Joho
Giken has developed an adaptor which places the image displayed on
a TV screen into a personal computer. With the use of an optical
scanner, the new unit also loads other images, such as those from a
photograph, into a personal computer. The special adaptor for Apple
Computer's Macintosh will be available as early as the end of this month.
The price is estimated at 108,000 yen or $900. Kowa hopes to
manufacture adapters for NEC's PC9801 series and those for other
personal computers, if there is a demand.

(Ken Takahashi/19881208/Contact: Kowa Joho Giken, 03--245-1731)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(TOR)(0003)

CLARIS LAUNCHES APPLEWORKS GS IN CANADA
TORONTO, ONTARIO, 1988 DEC 5 (NB) -- Claris International Inc.
has announced availability of AppleWorks GS integrated software
in Canada. The six-application package for the Apple II GS
computer is expected to be popular in Canadian schools. It will
be available through Canadian Apple dealers for a suggested
retail price of C$449. Patrick Maloney, national sales and
marketing manager for Claris in Canada, said the announcement
"underlines our commitment to the Apple II family of products and
the Canadian educational marketplace."

(Grant Buckler/19881209/Contact: Claris Canada, 416-941-9611)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(TOR)(0007)

UPPERCASE ANNOUNCES SCION BOARD, NEW OFFICES
TORONTO, ONTARIO, 1988 DEC 6 (NB) -- Uppercase Technology Inc. is
now offering the Scion Video Capture Board in Canada. The board,
from Scion Corp. of Walkersville, Maryland, works with Apple
Computer Inc.'s Macintosh II. It digitizes and displays video
images at 30 frames per second.

Uppercase also opened new offices in Montreal and Vancouver.

(Grant Buckler/19881209/Contact: Uppercase Technology Inc., 416-
470-6111)

Newsbytes (Tm) Business Report
Week of December 13, 1988


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00005)

MICROSOFT OPENS PRODUCT SUPPORT CENTER
BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON, 1988 DEC 9 (NB) -- Microsoft has opened a
49,000-square-foot facility here to house its 250-member technical
support staff. The state-of-the-art building features a phone
system developed by Aspect Telecommunications of San Jose, California,
which can be reconfigured to handle phone traffic or staffing level
changes throughout the day to ensure quick call-routing to
specific technical support staff with minimum delay. Staff members
also have access to KnowledgeBase, an internal database system
that allows rapid retrieval of accumulated articles about all
Microsoft products. During service calls, technicians can quickly
access the database, then use the information to answer customer
questions.

The center also features testing facilities that allow support
engineers to investigate new issues of compatibility with other
vendors' products.

(Wendy Woods/19881209)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00008)

FUJITSU SPENDS BIG IN TEXAS
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, 1988 DEC 8 (NB) -- Fujitsu America, a subsidiary
of Tokyo-based Fujitsu, will spend $80 million to build an advanced
telecommunications research and manufacturing facility near Dallas.
The Richardson, Texas plant will hire 4,500 workers by the year 2000,
according to a Fujitsu spokesman. Groundbreaking for the new building
is slated for June with completion by the end of 1992.

Fujitsu currently operates some 70 facilities in North America, including
Canada. Said Yasushi Nakamura, president of Fujitsu America,
"We will continue to invest in the U.S. because it makes good business
sense." Nakamura made his remarks in the company of Texas Governor
Bill Clements and H. Ross Perot, the billionaire who sold him the
parcel of land.

(Wendy Woods/19881209)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00009)

DEC NIXES SEATTLE PLANT
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, 1988 DEC 9 (NB) -- Farmland in Puget Sound's
"technology corridor" may not revert to a place for cattle to dine, but
it also will not be the site of Digital Equipment's, or DEC's, planned
research and manufacturing facility. DEC announced that it has
cancelled plans to build a 300,000-square-foot plant in rural
Snohomish County on a parcel known as the Monte Villa Farm, due to a
"change of product strategy," said DEC's spokeswoman Elizabeth
Reinhardt. DEC had planned to buy the parcel of land last June.
The plant would have employed some 2,000 people by the year 2000.

(Wendy Woods/19881209)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(WAS)(0006)

COMPUTER CONSOLES TO BE ACQUIRED
WALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, 1988 DEC 5 (NB) -- STL PLC of London has
agreed to buy Computer Consoles Inc. for $168.4 million in cash,
or $12.80 per share. Computer Consoles, which supplies computers
and other hardware and software primarily to the regional Bell
operating companies, has been looking for a suitor for many
months. The $12.80 per share price is exceptionally generous,
according to Wall Street analysts, and CCI's shares soared $4.25
a share to close at $12.50 after the announcement.

(Ken Maize/19881209)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(WAS)(0011)

MAI MAY UP THE STAKES FOR PRIME
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, 1988 DEC 5 (NB) -- MAI Basic Four may up its
$20 per share bid for Prime Computer Inc. if Prime will agree to
the takeover, the MAI chairman indicated in a news conference.
MAI's Bennett LeBow told reporters, "We believe this is a time
for industry consolidation." LeBow said MAI "could consider"
raising its $970 million bid for Prime in return for a friendly
deal. Prime has rejected MAI's hostile bid and has indicated it
is looking for a "white knight," a third party willing to snatch
Prime away from MAI.

(Ken Maize/19881209)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(ATL)(00007)

SIMON & SCHUSTER BUYS INTO TAX ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE GAME
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA, DEC 8 (NB) -- Simon & Schuster, the
publishers of the Mace Utilities and owners of much of the
computer book market under the name Prentice-Hall, got what it
wanted for Christmas as its corporate parent, Gulf + Western,
bought Financial Audit Systems of Raleigh, North Carolina. You
may have never heard of FAS, but they happen to be a big player
in the tax audit software business, as well as corporate tax and
financial analysis. The purchase of FAS, for an undisclosed
price, underscores the growing domination of the software
publishing business by book publishers.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19881208)


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

TANDY STOCK HARDLY MOVES ON AN OCEAN OF GOOD NEWS
FORT WORTH, TEXAS, DEC 9 (NB) -- Stock in the Tandy Companies
has failed to rise much in price despite an ocean of good news
recently. The announcement during Comdex that Tandy would build
computers for Matsushita -- Panasonic, Technics, and Quasar --
for sale in the U.S., followed by word it will make desktop
computers for Digital Equipment Corp., was followed by favorable
write-ups in the financial press, yet the stock was trading
December 9 at $41 per share, well below its 52-week high of $48.
Tandy has also concluded a distribution agreement with Wal-Mart
stores, and analysts estimate Tandy now say can profitably sell
computers identical to the old IBM PC for 20-25% less than IBM
can. Tandy market share has also risen to 25% of the U.S. PC
market. Massive sales of cellular phones through Japan and
American Bell operating companies have been matched with failure
to sell the same phones through car dealers and fears the
company's Radio Shack stores are being bypassed and may have
saturated the market. "We think we can be America's pre-eminent
consumer electronics company," Chairman John Roach told
reporters.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19881208)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(0003)

PETER NORTON NAMES NEW MANAGERS
SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA, 1988 DEC 1 (NB) -- Peter Norton Computing
has announced the appointments of Stephen R. Koschmann as director
of marketing and Robert S. Chappelear as director of research and
development.

Chappelear has replaced John Socha who remains as Norton Computing's
chief scientist. Socha could not be reached for comment. However,
a Norton spokesperson said that Socha wanted to step down as
director of research and development to "reduce his management
responsibilities and concentrate more on technical issues." Socha
authored The Norton Commander and has been the driving force behind
the engine development for Norton's popular Guide series. He has
also coauthored The Assembly Language Book for the IBM PC (Brady)
with Norton.

(Wayne Yacco/19881208)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TYO)(00004)

FUJITSU HIDE-OUT ESTABLISHED FOR INSIDE IBM INFORMATION
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1988 DEC 6 (NB) -- Two arbitrators from the American
Arbitration Association (AAA), Robert H. Mnookin and John L. Jones,
have held a press conference in Tokyo to announce that a secured
facility (SF) will be established somewhere in Japan as early as
next year. At the new facility, Fujitsu will be able to examine
and analyze IBM programs for the purpose of developing its own
IBM-compatible programs.

After the establishment, Fujitsu will first get background
information on the programs IBM has shipped since 1983.
After that, Fujitsu will pay IBM annual access fees determined by the
arbitrators in order to analyze new IBM programs as soon as they are
shipped to customers. The application of these rules
ends June 25, 1997, when the Japanese computer giant Fujitsu will
have to start development of IBM-compatible software on its own.

(Ken Takahashi/19881208)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00009)

KANEBO LAUNCHES INTO DRAM BUSINESS
TOKYO JAPAN, 1988 DEC 7 (NB) -- Kanebo, one of the major textile,
cosmetics, fashion goods and pharmaceuticals makers in Japan, has
revealed its entrance into the one megabit dynamic random access
memory (DRAM) business.

The memory chips will be produced by Kanebo Electronics, which is
owned 65% by Kanebo and 35% by Mitsubishi Electronics. The company
will support Mitsubishi with two million units of one megabit DRAM
chips on an OEM, or original equipment manufacturing basis, starting
March, 1989.

Since its establishment in 1985, the company has been integrating
more high technology in its manufacturing. Its current plan to
make mass quantities of semiconductors indicates its rapid progress
in this area.

(Naoyuki Yazawa/19881208)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00011)

NEC SETS UP FOUR AREA STRATEGY IN EC
TOKYO JAPAN, 1988 DEC 3 (NB) -- NEC has established its fourth
strategic subsidiary in Europe, NEC France. Previously, NEC set up
subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, West Germany, and Sweden, as it
prepares for the consolidation of the European Community in 1992.
NEC France has been established with an investment of 2.25 million
francs by NEC itself, and it will sell and provide maintenance
services for home electronic appliances and communications equipment.

(Naoyuki Yazawa/19881208)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00013)

EPSON ASSEMBLES LCDs IN CHINA
TOKYO JAPAN, 1988 DEC 6 (NB) -- Seiko Epson says it is engaged in
production of liquid crystal displays in Kwun Tong, China.
Following Epson's Taiwan plant, the plant in China has been
producing simple LCD units for use in calculators, clocks, and
watches.

(Naoyuki Yazawa/19881208)


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

GOLD STAR BEGINS DRAM OUTPUT
TOKYO JAPAN, 2 DEC 1988 (NB) -- Gold Star, one of the largest
companies in Korea, has begun test production of 256 kilobit
dynamic random access memory chips in its research and development
center. The company hopes to produce one million units of the
chips by January, 1989. The company plans to invest 160
million won to catch up with two leading Korean producers of DRAM chips,
Hundai and Sum Sung.

(Naoyuki Yazawa/19881208)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00016)

TOSHIBA EARNS A RECORD 53 BILLION YEN
TOKYO JAPAN, 1988 NOV 30 (NB) -- Toshiba Corp. says it made
53.389 billion yen, or $398 million in net income, during the
first half of fiscal 1988. This is more than triple what the
firm made during the same period last year.

Its sales of 1.818 trillion yen or $13.57 billion is mainly
due to brisk sales in Japan, while export and overseas
sales made up 32 percent of the company's total sales.

Sales to North America were 37 per cent of the total overseas
sales while those to Europe and Asia amounted to 22 percent and
30 percent.

(Naoyuki Yazawa/19881208)


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

LANPAR OUTLINES PROPOSALS TO CREDITORS
MARKHAM, ONTARIO, 1988 DEC 9 (NB) -- Lanpar Technologies Inc. is
awaiting its creditors' verdict on repayment proposals presented
at a meeting December 8 and mailed today. The outcome of a vote
later this month will determine the fate of the money-losing
computer terminal manufacturer, which is also seeking private
financing.

Lanpar is giving unsecured creditors a choice of two options.
The first choice is eight-percent non-voting preferred shares in
Lanpar, with face value up to 25 percent of the creditor's claim.
The preferred shares would be convertible to common stock until
February 1992. The second option would pay 30 cents on the
dollar over the next three years, except for claims under C$1,000
which would be paid in full.

Lanpar also said it is continuing to solicit subscriptions for a
private placement of C$3 million to C$4 million. The company
said some investors have already committed a significant portion
of the money needed, with the condition that additional investors
bring the total to at least C$3 million. The investments also
depend on creditors approving the repayment proposals, and on
necessary regulatory and shareholder approvals. Lanpar said the
deal could be closed by January.

(Grant Buckler/19881209/Contact: Bud Stapleton, Lanpar
Technologies Inc., 416-475-9123)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(0002)

NORTHERN TELECOM ANNOUNCES LAYOFFS, CONSOLIDATION
MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO, 1988 DEC 6 (NB) -- Northern Telecom Ltd.
has pulled the plug on manufacturing plants in Belleville,
Ontario, Aylmer, Quebec, and Concord, New Hampshire. The
closures are part of a restructuring that could affect as many as
2,500 employees. The company says it must consolidate operations
in order to remain competitive. Northern said it hopes to
retrain or transfer many employees at the plants being closed,
and will help the rest find new jobs.

Transmission equipment manufacturing will move from Aylmer to a
nearby plant in St. Laurent, Quebec. Some other operations from
Aylmer will move to Winnipeg, Manitoba. The printed circuit
board plant in Belleville will be phased out over the next four
months. A similar plant in West Palm Beach, Florida, will be
downsized. Northern will be buying more circuit boards from
outside suppliers. The Concord plant will be consolidated into
another facility in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Northern has set aside US$200 million in the fourth quarter to
cover the cost of the restructuring. The company said it still
expects its 1988 financial results to be better than those of
1987.

(Grant Buckler/19881209/Contact: G.W. Davies, Northern Telecom
Ltd., 416-897-9000)


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

REALWORLD CANADA ESTABLISHED
MONCTON, NEW BRUNSWICK, 1988 DEC 6 (NB) -- Belzile & Associates
of Moncton, New Brunswick, will operate as RealWorld Canada to
market business and accounting software from RealWorld Corp. of
Concord, New Hampshire. RealWorld Canada will be a master value-
added distributor for the RealWorld software, which is available
for personal computers and for Digital Equipment Corp.'s VAX
minicomputers. Nearly 100 RealWorld dealers and value-added
resellers are licensed to sell RealWorld products in Canada. All
of them will now do business through RealWorld Canada.

(Grant Buckler/19881209/Contact: Larry Wilber, RealWorld Corp.,
603-224-2200)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(0008)

NEW PARTICIPANTS IN INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY GROUP
WINNIPEG, MANITOBA, 1988 DEC 5 (NB) -- Six additional partners
have jointed the Canadian Institute of Industrial Technology.
The institute, sponsored by the National Research Council, helps
companies develop new products and techniques in areas such as
expert systems, computer-integrated manufacturing and sensor-
based robotics. It now has more than 30 partners. The six new
ones are: Monac International Corp., which develops acoustic
emission systems; Voisys Inc., which is developing voice response
technology; UBITREX Corp., which is developing a nursing
information system; Spiroll Kipp Kelly -1984- Inc., which will be
working on mobile satellite technology; Online Business Systems
Inc., which is researching software for Material Requirements
Planning; and Red River Community College, which will be co-
ordinating educational programs on artificial intelligence and
other advanced technologies with Unisys Canada Ltd., already a
CIIT partner.

The National Research Council is also offering Canadian companies
assistance in the early phases of research projects through the
institute.

(Grant Buckler/19881209/Contact: Perry Kent, Canadian Institute
of Industrial Technology, 204-983-7545)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(0010)

GREFF HAS NEW NAME AND FOCUS, LONGER GUARANTEE
BRAMPTON, ONTARIO, 1988 DEC 5 (NB) -- Greff Computing Inc., a
maker of IBM-compatible personal computers, has changed its name
to Greff Computer Corp. The company said it changed the name to
make clear that it makes hardware, not software. Greff also said
it will now focus on selling to corporations and government
agencies. And the company doubled its buy-back guarantee on new
systems from two weeks to 30 days.

(Grant Buckler/19881209/Contact: Greff Computer Corp., 416-458-
1651)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(0012)

REDIFACTS SELLS TO RUSSELL CORP.
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, 1988 DEC 5 (NB) -- Redifacts Ltd. will shortly
begin installing real-time factory information systems at Russell
Corp. apparel factories in the southeastern United States. More
than 4,000 employees of Russell, a maker of sports clothes in
Alexander City, Alabama, will use the systems. Redifacts is part
of Gandalf Systems Group of Ottawa.

(Grant Buckler/19881209/Contact: Janice Drummond or Alastair
Davie, Gandalf Systems Group, 613-564-0183)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(0013)

BEDFORD NAMES VICE-PRESIDENT FOR R&D
BURNABY, BRITISH COLUMBIA, 1988 DEC 2 (NB) -- Paul B. Diamond has
been appointed vice-president of research and development for
Bedford Software. Bedford sells accounting software for MS-DOS
systems and the Apple Macintosh. Diamond was formerly a project
leader at Bedford.

(Grant Buckler/19881209/Contact: Terry McDonald, Bedford
Software, 604-294-2394)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(0018)

UK COURTS BLOCK GEC/SIEMENS TAKEOVER BID FOR PLESSEY
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1988 DEC 08 (NB) -- The UK courts have issued an
injunction against GEC and Siemens, forbidding them in
progressing with their hostile takeover bid of Plessey, the UK
telecommunications giant.

The $3,000 million, bid which aims to create the world's third-
largest electronics firm, after General Electric and IBM, was
blocked by an EEC Initiative, under section 85 of the Treaty of
Rome, the fundamental treaty which set up the European Economic
Community.

GEC issued a statement as Newsbytes went to press, saying that it
would contest the injunction, and intends to pursue its bid
through the UK or EEC courts as appropriate.

(Steve Gold/19881208)

Newsbytes (Tm) General News
Week of December 13, 1988


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(0015)

IBM AIDS CIM IN SCHOOLS
RYE BROOK, NEW YORK,1988 DEC 5 (NB) -- International Business
Machines Corp. will spend $25 million to help 48 colleges and
universities offer courses in computer-integrated manufacturing.
"Studies show there is a severe national shortage of
instructional material," said George Conrades, IBM senior vice
president. In return for help from IBM, in the form of hardware
and software worth on average of $250,000 per college, the
schools must agree to develop hands-on training facilities.

(Ken Maize/19881209)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(0002)

21 NEWSLETTER DESIGNS AVAILABLE FROM NEW RIDERS
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CALIFORNIA, 1988 NOV 29 (NB) -- New Riders
Publishing, an independently-operated subsidiary of Que Corporation,
has published a book-and-disk set of 21 newsletter designs for Xerox
Ventura Publisher. The set, titled Style Sheets for Newsletter: A
Guide Advanced Designs for Xerox Ventura Publisher, includes 21
ready-to-run templates and a 320-page book. Users access designs by
loading one of the Ventura templates provided and substituting their
own text and graphics.

New Riders claims to be the number one publisher of Ventura support
products. According to coauthor Martha Lubow, "Newsletters are the
number one Ventura application." Also included are a listing of key
tag attributes, newsletter and design terminology, layout and
production guidelines, and tips and techniques for building and
customizing style sheets.

(Wayne Yacco/19881208)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(0008)

INDY 223 LASER SHIPS
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, 1988 DEC 12 (NB) -- CSS Lab's INDY 223 laser
printer is now available for general delivery. The printer is
touted by CSS Labs as a "fundamental change" in the departmental
printer. However, the claim also requires users to adopt the firm's
optional G. R. I. P. Development System. The software gives users
complete control over customization of the printer and allows them
to develop emulations for their current printers.

The INDY 223 is packaged with CSS Lab's G. R. I. P. (general raster
image processor) and a Minolta 22-page-per-minute print engine.
Because the G. R. I. P. board is designed around the INMOS
transputer, it is possible to upgrade its standard 10-MIPS (million
instructions per second) performance. Upgrading is done by using
transputer links to add more transputer microprocessor chips. The
single unit price of the INDY 223 is $19,500.

(Wayne Yacco/19881209)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(0009)

FREE ACCESSORIES WITH TOSHIBA PRINTERS
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, 1988 DEC 2 (NB) -- Toshiba is giving away free
accessories to buyers of its SL and SX printers who purchase the
machines between November 1, 1988 and March 31, 1989. The giveaways
include a font card, of the buyers choice, from Toshiba's collection
of 14 type faces and two multistrike ribbons.

Purchasers will also have an opportunity to buy two printing
software packages at substantial discounts. Matrix Plotter by
Insight, normally priced at $99 will be available for $49.
Insight's software turns the printers into presentation-quality
plotters according to Toshiba. A $20 discount is also being offered
on Broderbund's The Print Shop. At $39.95, the software lets users
personalize letterheads, flyers, signs and other documents with
ready-made borders, illustrations and typefaces.

Buyers must fill out and submit a coupon along with their purchase
receipt to obtain their free accessories and discounts.

(Wayne Yacco/19881209)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00002)

LANGUAGE CONVERT RULE FOR APPLICATIONS
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1988 DEC 6 (NB) -- Hewlett Packard in the U.S. and
Yokogawa Hewlett Packard in Japan have cooperatively made a rule
for easily rewriting English software into several
Asian languages. Based on the project called Native Language
Support (NLS), the rule allows the programs developed by native
English speakers who have no knowledge of Asian languages to convert
into Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and so on, and vice versa.

The rule has been applied first to the Hewlett Packard's
Unix-based engineering workstation HP9000 series.

(Ken Takahashi/19881208/Contact: Yokogawa Hewlett Packard,
03-331-6111)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00008)

CONVENIENT AS PC, TELEPHONE, AND TELEX
TOKYO JAPAN, 1988 DEC 3 (NB) -- NTT Data Communications Systems
Corp. has begun marketing a functional terminal bundled with
personal computer, telex, and telephone functions. The system
will consist of its SS21, a machine which bundles a business
personal computer and telephone functions, an integrated circuit board,
an operating system (OS), and a printer. The total system price
is 665,000 yen or $5,450, but current users of SS21 will be able
to obtain the same functions with the OS and an IC board at the
price of 239,000 yen or $1,960.

(Naoyuki Yazawa/19881208)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00010)

TRON EXHIBITION HELD IN TOKYO
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1988 DEC 8 (NB) -- The Fifth International Symposium on
the TRON Project has been held in Tokyo, sponsored by the TRON
Association. The exhibition has focused on the test machine
developed by Mitsubishi Electric. The Business TRON-based
Workstation (B-TRON) has several unique features, including its ability
to process a variety of media at once, including motion pictures.
The company claims the B-TRON will be utilized on computer-assisted
instruction systems and video cutting systems. Other companies, such as
Toshiba, Misubishi Electric, and Hitachi, also exhibited TRON-based
32-bit microprocessing units.

(Ken Takahashi/19881208)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(0004)

UNIVERSITY PUBLISHES COMPUTER RESEARCH BIBLIOGRAPHY
WATERLOO, ONTARIO, 1988 DEC 5 (NB) -- The University of Waterloo
has published a bibliography of computer-related research
published at the university. The bibliography lists publications
by the computer science, electrical engineering and systems
design engineering departments and the Institute for Computer
Research. It covers the past 20 years and is available from the
university for C$25.

(Grant Buckler/19881209/Contact: University of Waterloo Press,
519-885-1211)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(0005)

NEW STANDARD ADOPTED FOR CCINFODISC
HAMILTON, ONTARIO, 1988 DEC 2 (NB) -- The Canadian Centre for
Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) has adopted the
International Standards Organization's ISO-9660 standard for its
compact disc database of occupational safety information.
Starting with the next quarterly release, CCINFOdisc will conform
to the international standard, making it usable with almost any
CD-ROM drive without custom software, CCOHS said. Users will
need to buy MS-DOS CD-ROM Extensions software to use the new
version, however.

(Grant Buckler/19881209/Contact: CCOHS, 416-572-2981)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(0009)

WANG, DATASCAN ANNOUNCE IMAGING SERVICE BUREAU
NEW WESTMINSTER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, 1988 Dec 7 (NB) -- Wang Canada
Ltd. of Toronto and Datascan Optical Storage Inc. of New
Westminster, British Columbia, have announced Canada's first
optical storage service bureau. The service will scan paper
documents and store them on optical disk drives. Customers will
be able to have their documents retrieved and printed on laser
printers when needed.  The companies say a document can be
retrieved in about seven seconds, and they will charge from eight
to 50 cents per document for scanning and storage.

(Grant Buckler/19881209/Contact: Datascan Optical Storage Inc.,
604-524-0422)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(0004)

AMSTRAD COMPUTER SHOW DATE CHANGES; ATARI SHOW ATTENDANCE DOWN
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1988 DEC 10 (NB) -- Database Exhibitions has
changed the dates of the Amstrad Computer Show from 28/30
January, 1989, to 4/6 February 1989. The date shift is due to
unexpected delays in completing the renovation of Alexandra
Palace, the venue for the show.

In a related story, the latest New Computer Express magazine
reports attendance at the recent Atari show in London as down by
4,500 to 13,000. According to Database Exhibition's spokesman,
Mike Cowley, the shortfall in visitors was due to the cold
weather. "People don't like to queue up in the cold," Cowley is
quoted as saying in NCE.

(Steve Gold/19881210/Database Exhibitions: -UK- 0625-878888)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(0005)

ATARI & COMMODORE BATTLE IT OUT FOR CHRISTMAS
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1988 DEC 10 (NB) -- According to figures
released by Commodore, it looks as though there will be twice as
many Atari STs than Commodore Amigas in use in the UK by the end
of the year. Atari says that around 200,000 machines will be sold
by Christmas, whilst New Computer Express magazine quotes
Commodore as saying that 100,000 to 130,000 units will have been sold by
the year-end.

Pricing may be the problem, according one London store manager to
whom Newsbytes spoke. The Atari ST retails for #299 in the UK -
#100 less than the Amiga A500. Sources also report that the ST
super pack - #399 for the 520ST plus #450 worth of software - is
also selling well.

A price war in the pre-Christmas run-up seems to be developing.
Computer Express, a UK computer mail-order house, is now offering
the Amiga A500 at #367 including tax, whilst other outlets go
down to as low as #349 for personal callers. Who will win the
68000-based games computer war? We'll have to wait until after
Christmas to find out.

(Steve Gold/19881210)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(0006)

ALIEN'S GUIDE TO UK COMPUTER INDUSTRY PUBLISHED
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1988 DEC 09 (NB) -- Computer Weekly has
published the Alien's Guide to the Computer Industry, a 186-page
handbook designed to explain the detailed workings of the
computer industry. The #9-95 book was written by John Kavangh, a
computer journalist with more than 20 years of experience in the
industry.

The Alien's Guide to the Computer Industry, ISBN 1-85384-01202,
is available from Reed Publishing, 120-126 Lavender Avenue,
Mitcham, Surrey CR4 3HP at #9-95 plus #1-00 for post and packing.

(Steve Gold/19881209/Reed Publishing: -UK- 01-685-9435)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(0007)

BAD WEATHER DELAYS LAUNCH OF ARIENE 4
KOROU, FRENCH GUYANA, 1988 DEC 09 (NB) -- Bad weather has delayed
the launch of Ariene 4, the European-manufactured rocket. The
launch was scheduled for Friday, 09 December, but has been
delayed until the weather clears in the Korou region of French
Guyana.

Due to the delays, problems have developed with the space ship's
radio-telemetry system, and a launch is expected this week.
Ariene 4 will place Astra-1, a Luxembourg TV satellite, and
Skynet-4B, a UK military satellite, in orbit.

(Steve Gold/19881209)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(0008)

BRITISH TELECOM FORMS JAPANESE SUBSIDIARY
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1988 DEC 05 (NB) -- British Telecom has announced
the formation of British Telecom, Japan, KK, a wholly-owned
subsidiary, located in Tokyo. The new company, which has been
formed by raising the status of its Tokyo representative offices,
will continue to market BT equipment and services in Japan.

According to Tony Booth, British Telecom International's managing
director, the formation of the Japanese subsidiary signifies the
sales success that BT has enjoyed in Japan over the past few
years. "We see the change from a representative office to a
subsidiary company in Japan as a gateway to the continuing growth
of our business," he said.

(Steve Gold/19881205)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(0009)

ACE RELEASES 9C LEX WORD PROCESSING/DATABASE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
BRENTFORD, ENGLAND, 1988 DEC 08 (NB) -- Ace Microsystems has
released Lex 9c, the latest version of its word processing and
database management system. The package now incorporates
spreadsheet and graphics integration, a spell-checker and
thesaurus, as well as a VAX to RMS environment link.

"Lex 9c represents the further evolution of Lex to provide a
range of features unmatched by any other word processing package.
Lex 9c represents our commitment to the continued development of
Lex, and our intention to see it continue its position not only
as the leading word processing package for the Dec market, but as
one of the leading all-round packages for a range of hardware,"
said John Irwin, marketing director of Ace.

Lex prices start at #500 for a PC version, and from #2,000 for
Vax versions. Existing users can upgrade to version 9c for #200.

(Steve Gold/19881208/Ace: -UK- 01-847-4673)

Newsbytes (Tm) Government and the Courts
Week of December 13, 1988


(NEWS)(GOVERNMENT)(WAS)(0005)

JUDGE DUMPS IBM NAVY CONTRACT AS COMPETITORS CRY FOUL
WASHINGTON, D.C., 1988 DEC 8 (NB) -- A General Service
Administration judge has ruled that the Navy steered a $200
million contract toward IBM, confirming charges that IBM's
competitors in the mainframe marketplace had made earlier in the
week in a letter to Defense Secretary Frank Carlucci.
Administrative Law Judge Robert Parker said the Navy had not
given IBM's competitors a fair chance in the contract, and
ordered the Navy to put the mainframe contract out for bid again.
The Navy may appeal to the courts.

The ruling came following a letter to Carlucci by six companies
which charged that the Navy has steered contracts worth $1
billion toward IBM in the last five years. The six were
Amdahl Corp., PacifiCorp. Capital, Inc. -- which has ties to
Amdahl -- Memorex Telex Corp., VION Corp., NCR Compten, and
Storage Technology Corp. PacifiCorp. was the company which
made the formal protest of the $200 million award of a contract
to supply mainframes to 14 Navy installations over the next
decade. The allegations in the letter to Carlucci are being
reviewed by the Pentagon Inspector General, according to a
Pentagon spokesman.

(Ken Maize/19881209)


(NEWS)(GOVERNMENT)(WAS)(0007)

AT&T, SPRINT WIN BIG PHONE CONTRACT
WASHINGTON, D.C.,1988 DEC 7 (NB) -- The General Services
Administration has picked AT&T and US Sprint Communications to
build a new federal digital phone system. The contract could be
worth between $3 billion and $10 billion. The new FTS 2000 system
will replace an antiquated, 25-year-old intercity phone system
now used in the federal government. AT&T will build 60 percent of
the system and Sprint get 40 percent, according to Acting GSA
Administrator Richard Austin. The big losers in the contest were
Martin Marietta and MCI Communications, which were competing
against AT&T and Sprint. No word on whether Marietta or MCI plan
an appeal to the GSA's Board of Contract Appeals. The contract is
effective immediately.

(Ken Maize/19881209)


(NEWS)(GOVERNMENT)(WAS)(0008)

PENTAGON LAUNCHES HACKER SWAT TEAM
WASHINGTON, D.C.,1988 DEC 6 (NB) -- The Pentagon has launched a
team of 100 computer experts which will respond to computer
security threats such as the recent virus that invaded defense
and civilian computers across the nation. Called the Computer
Emergency Response Team, or CERT, members include investigators from
civilian and military policy agencies, technical experts, site
management, and industry contacts. The Pentagon pointedly refused
to identify any of the CERT members. The center for CERT will be
the Software Engineering Institute at Pittsburgh's Carnegie
Mellon University.

(Ken Maize/19881209)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TYO)(00004)

FUJITSU HIDE-OUT ESTABLISHED FOR INSIDE IBM INFORMATION
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1988 DEC 6 (NB) -- Two arbitrators from the American
Arbitration Association (AAA), Robert H. Mnookin and John L. Jones,
have held a press conference in Tokyo to announce that a secured
facility (SF) will be established somewhere in Japan as early as
next year. At the new facility, Fujitsu will be able to examine
and analyze IBM programs for the purpose of developing its own
IBM-compatible programs.

After the establishment, Fujitsu will first get background
information on the programs IBM has shipped since 1983.
After that, Fujitsu will pay IBM annual access fees determined by the
arbitrators in order to analyze new IBM programs as soon as they are
shipped to customers. The application of these rules
ends June 25, 1997, when the Japanese computer giant Fujitsu will
have to start development of IBM-compatible software on its own.

(Ken Takahashi/19881208)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(0017)

RACAL RADAR DEFENCE LANDS #10M SUBMARINE COMMUNICATIONS CONTRACT
CHESSINGTON, ENGLAND, 1988 DEC 08 (NB) -- Racal Radar Defence
Systems has been awarded a #10 million contract to supply and
install advanced radar Electronic Support Measures, ESM,
equipment in the Royal Navy's new Vanguard class Trident
submarines.

The ESM system captures the variety of electronic information
available to the submarine on all frequencies. It then processes
this data in real time and presents the commander with an
accurate picture of activities around the submarine.

(Steve Gold/19881208)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(0001)

IBM SUES TULIP OVER ALLEGED COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENTS
ROTTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS, 1988 DEC 06 (NB) -- IBM has taken
legal action against Tulip, the Dutch-headquartered computer
company that distributes its PCs in most European countries. In a
summons issued last week, IBM Netherlands has accused Tulip of
infringing IBM copyright with its Basic Input Output System
 or BIOS. The BIOS chip sets act as a firmware bridge between PC
hardware and software, and control many of the PC's basic
functions.

The legal action, which was initiated in the Rotterdam district
court, seeks unspecified damages, as well as an injunction
against Tulip from using the allegedly copyright-infringing BIOS
code in its computers. Until recently, Tulip used its own BIOS
chip set in its PCs, but has now switched to Phoenix Technologies
chip sets in all of its machines.

Earlier this year, Tulip announced it would release a Personal
System/2 or PS/2-compatible range of PCs during 1989. The
announcement was made in defiance of IBM's licensing
requirements. In September 1988, Tulip said it had ceased
development of a PS/2-compatible product range, noting that the
PS/2's market penetration was too low to warrant such a product.

Since the summons was issued, Tulip has issued a statement saying
that it refutes IBM's charges and intends to contest the claim in
court. Sources suggest that any legal fight could take some time
to be processes through the Dutch legal system.

(Steve Gold/19881206)

Newsbytes (Tm) IBM Report
Week of December 13, 1988


(NEWS)(IBM)(WAS)(0001)

LOWE OUT, IBM SHAKES UP PC ORGANIZATION
WASHINGTON, D.C., 1988 DEC 5 (NB) -- William Lowe has resigned as
head of International Business Machines Corp.'s personal computer
business, taking a job as an executive vice president at Xerox.
In the face of Lowe's unexpected resignation, IBM has moved to
reorganize its personal computer business, separating Unix-based
workstations from the PS/2 line of personal computers. In a move
that has caused murmurs among IBM-ologists, Big Blue named
mainframe veteran James Cannavino to be in charge of IBM entry
systems. Nicholas Donofrio will become the head of the new
advanced workstations division. Both will report to Richard
Gerstner, in charge of personal systems.

Lowe, 47, was not forced out at IBM, but apparently left because
he believed his career had hit the doldrums at IBM, after a
difficult period with the entry systems divisions. The PS/2 line
has under-performed expectations and Lowe's decision to abandon
the AT bus to the clones drew considerable criticism. The new
organization is evidence IBM is giving more attention to the
booming workstation market, where Big Blue has repeatedly stubbed
its toe.

(Ken Maize/19881209)


(NEWS)(IBM)(WAS)(0002)

LOTUS FINANCIALS PLUMMET ON 1-2-3 DELAY
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, 1988 DEC 5 (NB) -- Lotus Development
Corp. says it will report a 60 percent earnings decline on flat
revenue for the fourth quarter. The dismal performance is the
result of delays in shipping Release 3.0 of the company's best-
selling 1-2-3 spreadsheet. Martin Fahey, director of investor
relations, says revenues will be about $117 million for the
quarter, about the same as for the fourth quarter last year.
According to Lotus Senior Vice President Robert Schechter, Lotus
has experienced a big drop in sales to government, long a Lotus
strength.

In the meantime, Lotus CEO Jim Manzi told a San Francisco
conference that 1988 was not his "favorite year," but that there
is less than meets the eye in the well-publicized problems at
Lotus. Manzi acknowledged that Lotus "underestimated" the
difficulties of developing 1-2-3 Release 3, but promised that the
product will be be worth the wait. It is "not an upgrade," Manzi
said. It's a state change in the level of technology."

(Ken Maize/19881209)


(NEWS)(IBM)(ATL)(00005)

SAMNA SHIPS ITS VAUNTED AMI WORD PROCESSOR
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, DEC 8 (NB) -- Samna Corp. has now begun
shipping its vaunted Ami word processor for Microsoft Windows,
which was introduced to rave reviews at Comdex in Las Vegas last
November. Ami brings true Mac-like word processing to the IBM PC,
in that you get a WYSIWYG -- what-you-see-is-what-you-get --
version of the document which you can revise by clicking onto a
font or piece of text and clicking in a change. The "draft mode"
and "layout mode" of Ami let you work on content or lay out
separately, and it uses dialog boxes to change typefaces or line
widths instantly, just as on a Macintosh. The price, which
includes a run-time version of Microsoft Windows -- Windows
offers the printer support -- comes to $149. That's on special --
the retail price will be $199 in four months.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19881208/Contact: Pam Alexander, 404-876-4482)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(0001)

ASHTON-TATE STEPS IV-WARD
TORRANCE, CALIFORNIA, 1988 DEC 7 (NB) -- Ashton-Tate has begun
shipping the Step IVward conversion program to developers. Step
IVward allows developers to drastically reduce the time required to
convert applications, from several competing dBASE-like compilers,
into dBASE IV. Most of the functionality from applications written
in Clipper, FoxBASE and Quicksilver is automatically translated by
the program including file's tree processing, in-code commenting,
and printing capabilities.

The program is being sent at no charge to developers who attended
the Ashton-Tate Developer Conference this past September and sold,
for a limited time, for just $9.95 to qualified purchasers of the
dBASE IV Developer's Edition. The offer is available only to
developers who send in the first page of documentation from one of
the three competing products. Step IVward's normal retail price is
$89.95.

(Wayne Yacco/19881209)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(0004)

ASHTON-TATE SHIPS FRAMEWORK III LAN
TORRANCE, CALIFORNIA, 1988 DEC 6 (NB) -- Ashton-Tate has announced
the shipment of Framework III LAN. The program is a networked
version of the company's integrated software package which includes
a word processor, database, spreadsheet, business graphics,
outlining and telecommunications. The $995 LAN product supports
five simultaneous users and includes electronic mail, file locking
with three file-sharing modes and peripheral sharing.

Framework III LAN provides a complete store-and-forward intra-LAN
mail system with a full range of mail features. Framework III LAN's
integrated electronic-mail feature communicates among Framework III
and compatible mail systems which use the Standard Message Format of
MHS (Message Handling Service), the wide-area networking software
developed by Action Technologies and Novell. Compatible systems on
the PC include The Coordinator and Novell's NetWare.

Electronic-mail options are integrated into the same set of pull-
down menus used across all Framework III applications. The addition
of MHS software also lets Framework III users send mail over phone
lines from one LAN to another, and from LANs to remote PCs.
Minicomputer and mainframe systems such as DEC All-In-1 and IBM's
PROFS and DISOSS can be accessed through Soft-Switch Mailbridge
Server/MHS.

(Wayne Yacco/19881209)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(0005)

NEW KAYPRO WORKSTATION BOWS
SOLANA BEACH, CALIFORNIA, 1988 DEC 6 (NB) -- Kaypro Corporation has
introduced the Micro I. The unit's small footprint and very low
profile are designed for the workstation market according to a
Kaypro spokesperson. The $1050 machine's minimal dimensions
exclusive of display and keyboard: 12 by 12 by 2.5 inches.

The Micro I is available in configurations which feature either 512
or 640 KB memory and either a CRT or space-saving LCD monitor.
Although the LCD monitor is similar to those on laptop computers,
the Micro I is not intended as a portable. The system's V20 Faraday
processor is compatible with the Intel 8088 and can be operated at a
standard 4.77 MHz. or in 7.15 or 9.54 MHz. turbo modes. Standard
features include two 3.5-inch, 720K floppy drives, an RS-232 serial
port and a single expansion slot.

(Wayne Yacco/19881209)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(0006)

XEROX VENTURA PUBLISHER: NETWORK SERVER REACHES DEALERS
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, 1988 DEC 5 (NB) -- Xerox Corporation has
begun volume shipments of the Ventura Publisher: Network Server to
its nationwide distribution channel. The Server component of the
software allows users to share Ventura Publisher 2.0 and its
Professional Extension files over the PC NET, 3COM and NOVELL LANs
[local area networks]. LANs allow desktop publishing users to share
limited resources such as printers and scanners as well as to
collaborate on documents more easily.

Xerox claims that the product is the first to provide PC-based
desktop publishing over a LAN. The Network Server component
contains safeguards to ensure the integrity of files and data and
incorporates numerous features supporting the use of shared printers
on a network. A price of $1,295 includes both the Server and base
modules necessary to run the application.

(Wayne Yacco/19881209)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(0010)

CELEBRITY WRITE 2.0 DEBUTS
DALLAS, TEXAS, 1988 DEC 1 (NB) -- Good Software has released version
2.0 of its Celebrity word processor for the IBM PC and compatibles.
The new release retails for $129.95 and is intended for the home-
office market according to Good.

Celebrity Write includes an 80,000-word spelling checker and
integrated thesaurus with definitions, synonyms and antonyms.
Commands can be entered in the user's choice of three methods:
keystroke shortcuts, menus and command-line imperatives.

The Celebrity program includes desktop accessories. In addition to
its word-processing features, an advanced calculator, appointment
calendar and scheduler and a filing cabinet are provided.

Among the latest version's new additions are a print spooler which
queues up to eight files for printing, a typewriter mode, the
ability to print a block of text and the ability to support two
printers simultaneously. Also included are a line-drawing mode and
an import and sort utility for the program's mail-merge facility.

(Wayne Yacco/19881209)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00010)

NEW TBBS SOFTWARE FROM E-SOFT
AURORA, COLORADO, 1988 DEC 9 (NB) -- eSoft, Inc. has announced the
availability of version 2.1 of The Bread Board System, or TBBS,
software. TBBS is a multiline bulletin board system and communications
handler, capable of handling up to 16 simultaneous phone lines
on a single IBM PC/XT/AT or PS/2-compatible computer without any
additional multitasking hardware or software. A 32-line version
will be shipped within the next four weeks.

There are over 50 improvements, including an improved menu editor
and a new System Definition Language or SDL. This is a BBS
creation and maintenance language that allows for easier menu
design.

(Wendy Woods/19881209/Contact: Alan Bechtold, Bechtold Agency, 913-
478-3157)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TYO)(00001)

USE YOUR SOFTWARE FOR J3100 ON A DESKTOP MACHINE
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1988 DEC 6 (NB) -- Toshiba has unveiled a desktop
personal computer, the J3300, that runs all software available for its
best-selling laptop PC, the J3100. The company has been selling the
same machine overseas under the name T8200. Toshiba is targeting the
local area network market with this J3300 series, and specifically
those who would like to use the laptop in conjunction with a desktop.

The machine features IBM PC/AT compatibility with a 32-bit Intel
80386 central processing unit and a 14-inch CRT color display.
The price of the J3300/50 with a 100 megabyte, 3.5-inch hard disk
drive (HDD) is 1,067,000 yen or $8,745, and the J3300/30 with a 40
megabyte HDD is 667,000 yen or $5,470.

Various operating systems are available: MS-DOS, both English and
Japanese versions of OS/2, and the Japanese version of UX/386 which
bundles the functions of two Unix operating systems.

(Naoyuki Yazawa/19881208)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TYO)(00007)

ACER JAPAN TO EXPAND ITS AX MARKET SHARE
TOKYO JAPAN, 1988 DEC 7 (NB) -- Acer Japan, a subsidiary of
leading personal computer maker Acer in Taiwan, has increased
its capital to 95 million yen or $790,000 and in order to launch another
attack on the Japanese AX, or Japanese IBM-compatible computer market.

Its strategic machines are two 16-bit and one 32-bit machine, in
addition to the current line-up of its AX PCs. Two 16-bit
machines, 910X and 913X, have an 80286 central processing unit;
the 910X has been designed with eight slots for high
compatibility with IBM machines.

The 1100/16X is a 32-bit machine with an 80386 central processor and
it comes standard with a two megabyte memory, expandable to 16
megabytes. The hard disk drive units are selectable from 40
megabytes to 135 megabytes. The prices of the machine range from
600,000 to 900,000 yen or $4,900 to $7,400.

(Naoyuki Yazawa/19881208)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TYO)(00015)

PS/2 MEMORY EXPANSION UNITS LAND IN JAPAN
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1988 DEC 6 (NB) -- Tokyo-based semiconductor trading
company Microsummit has started marketing PS/2 memory extension
products. The imported units, manufactured by Edsun in the U.S.,
include a board for extending Micro Channel memory, and an
interface chip of extension memory necessary for running OS/2.
The latter unit has the benefit of the compatibility with IBM's
PS/2 Model 50/60.

(Ken Takahashi/19881208/Contact: Microsummit, 03-258-5531)


(EXCLUSIVE)(IBM)(BRU)(0001)

TOSHIBA PLANS TO OFFER COLOUR LAPTOP; 386SX T4100 DUE SOON
DUSSELDORF, WEST GERMANY, 1988 DEC 07 (NB) -- Toshiba, the
European laptop computer specialist, is said to be developing a
colour LCD-screen laptop. The rumours follow the development of
large-screen colour LCD technology by Seiko-Epson of Japan a few
months ago.

"The problem with the colour LCDs today", a company spokesman
told Newsbytes, "is that they are very expensive. As you know
colour LCD TVs have been available for some time now, but their
resolution and readability is not suitable for computers. We have
seen the introduction of other screens which show that the
technological hurdles are being overcome, so I think we will see
a colour LCD laptop before the end of 1989," he added.

In a related story, a source who preferred to remain anonymous
told Newsbytes that Toshiba is going to introduce a T4100 laptop
which will use the Intel 80386SX microprocessor and feature a gas
plasma screen, 1Mb of main memory and have a 40Mb fast-access
hard drive as standard. The T4100 is expected to be launched
during the first quarter of next year and will be priced near
$6,000, says Newsbytes' source.

(Peter Vekinis/19881209)


(NEWS)(IBM)(BRU)(0002)

BONN GETS A 200TH BIRTHDAY PRESENT FROM IBM
BONN, WEST GERMANY, 1988 DEC 10 (NB) -- IBM is sponsoring a
special computer system for the city of Bonn in West Germany. The
computer system will help the city celebrate the 200th birthday
of Beethoven, and provide information in both English and German
to visiting tourists.

The system, which is based on 14 networked computers, contains
more than 1,200 pages of information, as well as 250 digitized
pictures in the West German Bildshirmtext viewdata format, as
used on BT's Prestel system in the UK.

(Peter Vekinis/19881210)


(NEWS)(IBM)(BRU)(0003)

VICTOR JOINS EISA
PARIS, FRANCE, 1988 DEC 2 (NB) -- Victor International has
pledged its allegiance to the Extended Industry Standard
Architecture (EISA), which was announced earlier this year by a
consortium led by Compaq.

Precise details of product delivery dates, as well as how the
company will integrate the EISA technology with its existing PCs,
have yet to be announced. Sources close to the company suggest
that products based on EISA are already in the pipeline,
indicating the company will probably release EISA-compatible
machines during the second or third quarter of 1989.

(Peter Vekinis/19881209)


(NEWS)(IBM)(BRU)(0004)

CYPRUS APPLIES VALUE ADDED TAX TO PCS
NICOSIA, CYPRUS, 1988 DEC 9 (NB) -- Computers in Cyprus will
cost more now that the government has introduced Value Added Tax
on PCs sold in the country. The tax on computers will be at the
rate of 10 percent - less than that applied by other countries.

Across Europe, for example, the average rate of VAT on computers
is around the 18 percent mark. In the UK VAT is levied at 15 per
cent, whilst France and Belgium levy, respectively, 18.6 and 19
percent. Top of the range is The Netherlands, which levies a
whopping 20 percent VAT on PCs sold in its country.

(Peter Vekinis/19881209)


(NEWS)(IBM)(BRU)(0005)

EUROPEAN CD-ROM MARKET GETS OFF TO A SLOW START
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1988 DEC 6 (NB) -- The European CD-ROM market
has been going at a snails pace compared to the US or Japanese
market indicators. In 1987 only 6,700 CD-ROM units were sold in
the EEC whilst in 1988 about 25,000 drives are expected to be
sold.

These figures compare to the ten million or so PCs in the EEC
which are capable using CD-ROM technology. According to Infotech,
there will be around 80,000 CD-ROM units installed worldwide by
the end of 1988 - less than one percent of the world's PC
population.

(Peter Vekinis/19881209)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(0001)

IBM SUES TULIP OVER ALLEGED COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENTS
ROTTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS, 1988 DEC 06 (NB) -- IBM has taken
legal action against Tulip, the Dutch-headquartered computer
company that distributes its PCs in most European countries. In a
summons issued last week, IBM Netherlands has accused Tulip of
infringing IBM copyright with its Basic Input Output System
 or BIOS. The BIOS chip sets act as a firmware bridge between PC
hardware and software, and control many of the PC's basic
functions.

The legal action, which was initiated in the Rotterdam district
court, seeks unspecified damages, as well as an injunction
against Tulip from using the allegedly copyright-infringing BIOS
code in its computers. Until recently, Tulip used its own BIOS
chip set in its PCs, but has now switched to Phoenix Technologies
chip sets in all of its machines.

Earlier this year, Tulip announced it would release a Personal
System/2 or PS/2-compatible range of PCs during 1989. The
announcement was made in defiance of IBM's licensing
requirements. In September 1988, Tulip said it had ceased
development of a PS/2-compatible product range, noting that the
PS/2's market penetration was too low to warrant such a product.

Since the summons was issued, Tulip has issued a statement saying
that it refutes IBM's charges and intends to contest the claim in
court. Sources suggest that any legal fight could take some time
to be processes through the Dutch legal system.

(Steve Gold/19881206)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(0002)

AMSTRAD SLASHES PRICING ON PC1512 AND 1640 SERIES
BRENTWOOD, ENGLAND, 1988 DEC 06 (NB) -- Amstrad has announced it
is to cut its PC1512 and 1640 series of PCs from the beginning of
next month onwards. The price cuts affect all but the entry-level
machines in the 1512 and 1640 XT-style PCs. Pricing on the dual-
drive colour PC1512 -- Model DDCM -- falls by #100 to #599, whilst
the hard disk-equipped PC1640 with colour monitor and EGA-
graphics capability, falls from #1,249 to #999.

According to Malcolm Miller, Amstrad's sales and marketing
director, the cuts are strategic, and will introduce a perceived
pricing gap between the PC1512, 1640 and the new PC-2000 series.

"At the time of the launch of the our PC-2000 range in September
we decided there was a need for a price differential between the
PC1512 and 1640, and the entry level machine in our new series -
the PC2086," he said.

"Because of component shortages, we felt it would be futile to
alter pricing at that stage. Now that we have managed to secure a
more free availability of D-RAMs, the time is right for use to
implement our marketing strategy for 1989," he added.

(Steve Gold/19881206/Amstrad: UK - 0277-228888)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(0003)

RANDOM MICRO RELEASES SUPERPLAN SOFTWARE IN THE UK
SKELMERSDALE, ENGLAND, 1988 DEC 10 (NB) -- Dutch-owned Random
Micro has released Superplan, its continuous planning and
scheduling software, in the UK. The #3,500 package was developed
in the Netherlands. and is reported to be highly successful in
the Dutch market. The package is claimed to be unique in that the
techniques employed by the system address the needs of long-term
planners.

"I've seen countless PC-based planning systems, and I've yet to
find one that make it difficult to do anything other than short-
term planning. Using Superplan, you can look at complex schedules
spread over several years and the system helps you instead of
fighting you," said Rudi van Meer, Random Micro's managing
director.

Superplan is compatible with most mono and colour graphics-based
PCs, and runs under Dos. A Unix version of the package is
expected in the first quarter of next year.

(Steve Gold/19881210/Random Micro: -UK- 0695-70457)

Newsbytes (Tm) Telecommunications
Week of December 13, 1988


(NEWS)(TELCOM)(WAS)(0004)

ROLM TO SIEMENS?
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, 1988 DEC 8 (NB) -- International Business
Machines may be on the verge of unloading its Rolm unit's PBX
sales and service operations to Siemens AG of West Germany,
according to Dow Jones Professional Investor Report. IBM would
still manufacture Rolm products. The move is said to be a way to
reduce the size of the IBM workforce without hurting the
company's earnings. The move would be similar to the action IBM
took in October when it sold its copier service, sales and leases
to Eastman Kodak Co.

(Ken Maize/19881209)


(NEWS)(TELCOM)(WAS)(0012)

SYRACUSE U-NYNEX TO WORK ON INTEGRATED COMMUNICATIONS
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, 1988 DEC 8 (NB) -- NYNEX Corp. and the
Syracuse University Center for Advanced Technology in Computer
Applications and Software Engineering have joined in a $1 million
project to merge telecommunications and computing. The CASE
Center will develop prototype software for NYNEX over the next
three years that will manage voice, video and data text signals.
NYNEX, the regional telephone company, hopes to develop
applications in financial trading and facsimile services.

(Ken Maize/19881209)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00001)

BROADCASTERS GET TOGETER ON AV-SYNC, THE POWER SERVICE OF ATLANTA
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, DEC 7 (NB) -- Broadcasters, especially
broadcast engineers, now have a bulletin board into which they can really
sink their teeth. The board, the AV-Sync Online Service, is
managed by Bill Tulles, audio and music director at WTBS in
Atlanta. By day he provides soundtracks that go behind promos for
four cable networks. By night he babysits a six-line PC-BOARD
system running on five computers. It's accessible via PC Pursuit at
404-320-6202, and if you've got a technical job at a broadcasting
studio it's something you really need. There are conferences,
each with its own file area of downloadable software, covering
all aspects of the profession. And the discussions are meaningful
chats among qualified pros. Tulles says he has 1,500 subscribers
in all (at $30-40 per year) and six computers spread around his
home around Atlanta. The hobby, he says, pays for itself, but no
more.

Tulles has found security simple, so far. Newcomers give their
correct names, addresses, and phone numbers. They're checked
against an electronic "hot ID list" and can then try out the
discussions without paying a fee. Also, this is a fast crowd,
literally. 1200 baud modems are a minimum. "The only reason we
disallowed 300 baud was people were calling up and spending a lot
of time they didn't need to be spending -- it would take 90
minutes to download the file list."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19881206/Contact: Bill Tulles at AV-Sync Online
Service, 404-320-6202)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00002)

RENT A GATEWAY BUSINESS STARTING TO BLOOM
ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA, DEC 8 (NB) -- Spurred by veiled hints from
the Bell companies, a business is starting to develop in renting
computers with Telenet connections to budding information
providers (IPs). Dick Stirba, editor of "Enhanced Services Outlook," a
newsletter following the Bell companies' efforts in this area,
calls such outfits system operators. "That's a phenomenom we're
aware of, he says, estimating there may be as many as six such
firms in each of the seven Bell regions. The biggest example of the
system operator phenomenom, he adds, is U.S. Videotel's
arrangement with Southwestern Bell. "Videotel will be a system
operator for IPs that Southwestern signs up," he speculates.

"The same phenomenom is occurring in the audiotex gateway area,"
Stirba adds. "You've got all these people who want to leave
messages, but they don't want to buy the equipment. Someone's got
to set up the equipment so people can send in tapes or store
messages. It seems like a logical progression that there would be
a wholesaler of space around on a system."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19881206/Contact: Dick Stirba at FAX:703-739-
6490)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00003)

FAX BOARD BUSINESS BOOMING
NORCROSS, GEORGIA, DEC 8 (NB) -- Only 10,000 fax boards were sold
for PCs in 1987, but 1988 totals could be ten times higher. In the
slow-growth computer enhancement business, this qualifies as a
major boom. Quadram, a leading board maker which started in
memory and now sells more graphics boards than anything else, is
fast becoming a fax outfit. Sales of the JT Fax line of fax
boards, especially the $395 retail JT-Fax 4800, "the best-selling
board in the market," as Quadram spokesman Scott Keaton told
NEWSBYTES, could soon be the hottest board in the product line.

The External JT Fax product, a box you can attach directly to a Toshiba
1000 or other laptop PC, is also selling as fast as Quadram can
make them. The two products have drawn strong reviews, and cost
only half the price of the cheapest dedicated fax machines,
making them the cheapest way into fax both in the U.S. and in
Europe. Keaton says demand for the products is as strong in
Europe as in this country.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19881206/Contact: Scott Keaton at FAX:[phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00005)

THE DIRECTORY BUSINESS ARRIVES ON YOUR PC
KIRKLAND, WASHINGTON, DEC 8 (NB) -- The directory business is
finally coming to your PC in a big way, through General
Information, publishers of the National Directory, a
listing of businesses around the country seen in many libraries.
The PC product is called HotLine, and it's a phone management
tool for the IBM PC priced at a reasonable $99. The basic product
contains 10,000 names, addresses and numbers to start. Attach the
phone line to your PC somehow -- say through your modem -- and
you're ready to go. Now your Rolodex is attached to a RAM-
resident utility occupying 85K of memory. The phone book starts
at 2 megabytes, they can get as big as your hard disk, and it can
add any numbers you call out to a phone log, which would make it
heaven for writers or those who have to bill more than one
account for their calls.

Ron Martin told NEWSBYTES HotLine is just the first toe in the
water for this paper publisher. Three InfoPacks -- floppy-based
databases of phone numbers in Advertising/Media/PR, high-tech,
and the Travel business -- are already out at $50 each. And early
next year General Information will publish its most powerful
InfoPack yet, containing with 30,000 fax numbers. All InfoPacks
and the HotLine directory, Martin adds, are reverified with
personal phone calls every year. Don't expect a CD-ROM version of
the National Directory soon. A CD-ROM version of the directory
would use the entire database at once, and Martin says sales of
the drives aren't yet large enough to justify it. "The drives are
coming down in price but there's some hesitation on the part of
many buyers to install CD-ROM. We know of a product Nynex puts
out on CD-ROM, all the listings in their local phone books in
Connecticut and New York. But it costs something like $10,000,
and the data is what they're charging for."

Note that if you could attach HotLine to a Quadram JT-Fax board,
you'd have the world's cheapest junk fax system ever, at under
$600 retail.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19881208/Contact: Ron Martin FAX:[phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00008)

PRODIGY USING ALL MEDIA IN TEST-MARKETING PRODIGY SERVICE
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, DEC 9 (NB) -- Prodigy, the IBM-Sears joint-
venture in videotex, is using all possible media strategies in
its current test-marketing in Atlanta, San Francisco and
Hartford, Conn. It has recently added telephone marketing strategies to
the mix of TV ads with big stars like Alvin Toffler and Davey
Johnson, newspaper ads done by a "New Yorker" cartoonist well-
known for portraying the trendy and with-it of all ages, and
store displays at Egghead Software and other software retailers.
Observers suggest that if all this doesn't bring a big response, not in
terms of software sales alone but in terms of message and transaction
volumes, the plug will no doubt will be pulled.

Newsbytes has also been online with Prodigy from Atlanta and can
report the system is doing all it can to spark mail from readers
and purchases from consumers. "Columns" by Howard Cosell, Stewart
Alsop, Dick Schaap and other "electronic experts" are as small as
one-sentence in length, geared to drawing electronic ire. The one
we read of Cosell's said US Olympic Committee Chairman Bob
Helmick is doing a good job, considering. It comes just a few
months after a detailed Sports Illustrated story on how the
USOC has squandered millions in donations on its own officers'
perks, and the overhead of a bunch of bureaucrats.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19881208)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(0011)

NEW SOFTWARE FOR SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL SERVICE
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, 1988 Dec 5 (NB) -- CAN/OLE, a database of
scientific and technical information operated by the Canadian
government, will get new software over the next few months. The
Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information
(CISTI), the agency which operates CAN/OLE, said it will
introduce enhancements gradually during 1989. Improvements will
include more powerful search capabilities, a wider choice of
output formats, handling of larger databases and clearer online
messages.

(Grant Buckler/19881209/Contact: Elizabeth Katz, CISTI, 613-993-
3854)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(0010)

DIALCOM LAUNCHES TRAVEL-LINK: US-UK ACCESS FACILITY
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1988 DEC 06 (NB) -- Dialcom has announced
Travel-link, a reciprocal access facility for subscribers to
Dialcom in the US, and Telecom Gold in the UK. The system allows
US Dialcom subscribers to log on to their mailbox whilst in the
UK via British Telecom's Packet Switch Stream, PSS, services. In
addition, subscribers to Telecom Gold in the UK can also log on
to their mailboxes whilst in the US, using the Telenet data
network.

Both systems do not require any preregistration on the part of
the subscriber. The Telenet system, for example, costs 20 pence a
minute to use, and is accessed by typing 'C GOLD1xx' at the
Telenet prompt, where xx is the user's home mailbox system.
Subscribers to The Times Network for Schools -- TTNS -- and
Microlink, would use, respectively, C GOLD101 or C GOLD172 for
systems 01 and 72, as their home systems are designated.

The announcement of Travel-link could result in a degree of
migration of US Dialcom subscribers to the UK. Newsbytes
calculates that it is substantially cheaper to access a UK
Dialcom -- Telecom Gold -- mailbox using Telenet in the US, than to
send international electronic mail from US Dialcom mailboxes to
UK Telecom Gold recipients.

(Steve Gold/19881206/Dialcom Europe: -UK- 01-493-3847)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(0011)

CIX UNVEILS 9,600BPS ACCESS & DISCOUNTS MODEMS
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1988 DEC 07 (NB) -- CIX, the Compulink
Information eXchange, has opened up a series of high-speed access
ports to its online service. The ports, which work to Miracom
Courier HST modem standards, enable an effective data throughput
as high as 17,200 bits per second, bps, on a 9,600 bps carrier.

To assist users in getting online at this speed, CIX is now
retailing the Miracom Courier HST modems at #795. The pricing
discounts the modem's UK retail price of #995 by #200. Existing
users of CIX with Courier HST modems can now access the system on
01-390-1255.

(Steve Gold/19881207/CIX: -UK- 01-390-8446)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(0012)

IBC PUBLISHES MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS GUIDE 1989
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1988 DEC 08 (NB) -- IBC Technical Publications
has published the Mobile Communications Guide 1989, a major
handbook on voice, data and radio-paging services in the UK and
Europe. The #75 book is billed as reviewing the latest
development in mobile communications, as well as looking at the
future of the industry in the UK.

(Steve Gold/10991208/IBC Technical Services: -UK- 09323-55244)


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

COMMED RELEASES EMMS HANDBOOK
HALIFAX, ENGLAND, 1988 DEC 10 (NB) -- Commed Books has released
Electronic Message Systems and Services: An International
Handbook, by Steve Roberts and Tony Hay. The #95 handbook comes
in a clip-bound format for future updating, and covers electronic
mail, telex, fax and other text and data communications systems.

(Steve Gold/19881210/Commed: -UK- 0442-330340)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(0014)

ITI RELEASES UK TELECOMMUNICATIONS REPORT
CHICHESTER, ENGLAND, 1988 DEC 06 (NB) -- International
Telecommunications Intelligence,ITI, has released The UK
Telecommunications Market report. The #295 report covers the
current state of the UK telecommunications market, and includes a major
section on the mobile communications market. Paul Stockdale,
ITI's director, is so confident of the report's value to
potential purchasers, that he is offering a 30-day money-back
guarantee.

(Steve Gold/19881210/ITI: -UK- 0243-533322)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(0015)

MINITEL AVAILABLE VIA PSS & OTHER DATA SWITCHING NETWORKS
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1988 DEC 05 (NB) -- Aldoda International has
opened a data network gateway into the French Minitel viewdata
service. Previously, only a limited number of the 6,000-plus data
services were accessible on an international direct dial or data
network Packet Switch Stream basis.

According to David Lisbona of Aldoda, these dial-up and PSS-
accessible services are gradually being withdrawn, as Minitel's
services become more sophisticated in France. Some time ago, this
prompted him to liaise with the French authorities to open up a
PSS-accessible network.

Aldoda is now marketing starter kits for Minitel, as well as
software for PC. Apple Macintosh and Acorn BBC Model B and Master
series of micros. Subscriptions to the service work out at #10 an
hour, with starter kits available in 2, 5 and 10 hour versions.
The starter kits contain a detailed guide to the variety of
English services available on Minitel.

Access to the Minitel service is obtained using British Telecom's
Packet Switch Stream -- PSS -- network, but is also available to
other X.25-compatible networks such Telenet or Tymnet in the US.
Aldoda says it will assist users in obtaining access to Minitel.

(Steve Gold/19881205/Aldoda: -UK- 01-586-5696
E-Mail: Source ST3340/Compuserve 70346,1501)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(0016)

MULTITECH MODEMS AVAILABLE IN THE UK
MILTON KEYNES, ENGLAND, 1988 DEC 06 (NB) -- Databox Limited has
become a UK importer for Multitech modems in the US. To celebrate
the fact, Databox is selling the Multimodem 224E, a quad-standard
modem with Microcom Networking Protocol Class 5 error-correction
and data compression, for #600 until the end of December, 1988.

The Multitech Multimodem 224E is capable of 300/300, 1200/75,
1200/1200 and 2400/2400 speeds working to CCITT and Bell
standards -- Bell standards do not apply to 1200/75 baud -- and
prices in slightly under the UK competition for an MNP-equipped
modem of this type.

(Steve Gold/19881206/Databox: -UK- 0908-690336)

Newsbytes (Tm) Trends
Week of December 13, 1988


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(WAS)(0010)

FUJITSU TAKES ON CRAY
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, 1988 DEC 8 (NB) -- Japan's Fujitsu Ltd. has
rolled out a supercomputer the company claims outperforms the
latest Cray Research machine. A Fujitsu scientist told The New
York Times the new VP-2000 has the fastest single processor in
the world, which runs at four nanoseconds per cycle. The Cray Y-
MP runs at six nanoseconds per cycle. The Fujitsu will be
available only in Japan. Cray is expected to unveil the Cray III,
an even more powerful machine, sometime in 1989.

(Ken Maize/19881209)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(WAS)(0013)

EYE-OPERATED COMPUTER FOR SEVERELY DISABLED
HERNDON, VIRGINIA, 1988 DEC 9 (NB) -- LC Technologies has
developed an eye-operated computer that allows former policy
officer Peter Larsen to communicate with the outside world.
Larsen was short in the head in an abduction attempt in 1985 and
cannot move or speak. But with the Eyegaze computer system Larsen
can send messages to his wife, operate his television and other
appliances and manipulate the lights. The system uses a personal
computer and a camera that shines an infrared beam on the user's
face to track eye movement. Users can trigger computer functions
by focusing their eyes on a particular part of the computer
monitor. The technology was developed with help from Virginia's
Center for Innovative Technology, chartered by the state to
invest in high-tech research and companies.

(Ken Maize/19881209)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(WAS)(0014)

KODAK DEVELOPS NEW VIDEO CHIP
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, 1988 DEC 5 (NB) -- Eastman Kodak Co. has
announced a new computer chip that greatly enhances the quality
of electronically-generated photos. Kodak has been working
on electronic imaging since the 1970s. The new chip generates
pictures with 4 million pixels, about twice as many as currently
available. A Kodak official says the new chip results in an
image that is more than 10 times the quality of a camcorder image
and twice the clarity of high-definition TV. Japan's NEC Corp.
and Toshiba announced a 2-million-pixel chip last year. Today,
the chip is too expensive for consumer applications, but the
price is expected to fall as developers find uses for the chip.

(Ken Maize/19881209)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00003)

MORE POWERFUL SYSTEM THAN A NEUROCOMPUTER
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1988 DEC 6 (NB) -- Japanese researchers at the Electrical
Laboratory of the Agency of Industrial Science and Technology have
successfully developed a system said to have greater power than a
neurocomputer. Consisting of a television camera, a special logic
circuit, and a personal computer, the system spends only ten
seconds learning vague images such as human hand characteristics,
though the prototype neurocomputer took 20 to 30 seconds doing so.
Moreover, the integrated system judges the learned vague data in
merely 4/1000 of a second. The researchers adopted an analysis method
used in several fields, including the nuclear power industry and the
area of economic prediction.

(Ken Takahashi/19881208)

Newsbytes (Tm) Unix Report
Week of December 13, 1988


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

HACKER ROAMS FREELY THROUGH LAWRENCE LIVERMORE
LIVERMORE, CALIFORNIA, 1988 DEC 9 (NB) -- The hacker has struck nine
times and authorities are still unable to stop him. Someone calling
himself the "FTP anonymous demon" exploited holes in the Unix
operating system to penetrate unclassified files in the Lawrence
Livermore Laboratory's computer system last week. Authorities believe he
has transmitted a virus program and could be destroying files. The
FBI was expected to be called into the case to trace the phone numbers
from which his calls are originating.

The hacker has travelled through the Lab's VAX and Sun Microsystems
computers that share data on ARPANET with other university and research
organizations worldwide. Lab officers monitoring his progress
have deliberately left certain databases vulnerable in order to study him.
They say other supercomputers used to design nuclear weapons are
not a part of the network and are shielded from outside penetration.

(Wendy Woods/19881209)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(WAS)(0016)

MORRIS TURNING DOWN FILM, BOOK, TV OFFERS
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK,1988 DEC 9 (NB) -- Graduate student Robert
Morris, linked to the nationwide virus attack last month, has
been turning down motion picture, television, book, and magazine
article offers, according to the Associated Press. In the
meantime, a federal grand jury is deciding whether Morris should
be indicted for the virus attack that exploited a weakness in
one version of the Unix multiuser operating system. AP quotes
Morris's lawyer, Thomas Guidoboni that "until we get the
potential criminal matter resolved," the 23-year-old Morris isn't
interested in talking about the virus attack. According to
Guidoboni, Morris is "trying to keep busy and marking his time
until this is over. He's doing volunteer work and spending a lot
of time with me, teaching an ignorant lawyer about a highly
technical matter."

(Ken Maize/19881209)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(WAS)(0003)

UNIX PEACE TALKS FAIL
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, 1988 DEC 6 (NB) -- Talks between two rival
groups of Unix operating system developers have been broken off.
According to the Open Software Foundation, the group of computer
companies betting on IBM's AIX dialect of Unix, continuing the talks
would be "non-productive." Sources at AT&T, the leading member of
the competing Unix camp, acknowledged that there have been no
formal discussions since October. AT&T is pushing for adoption of
Unix System V Release 4.0 as the industry standard.

(Ken Maize/19881209)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(ATL)(00006)

ERASABLE OPTICAL STORAGE SYSTEM SHIPS FROM NORTH CAROLINA
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NORTH CAROLINA, DEC 8 (NB) -- Alphatronix
has begun volume shipments, in versions for Digital Equipment
workstations, Sun worstations, and IBM PC ATs, of the Inspire
erasable optical storage system. With seven platters, Inspire
offers up to 4.55 gigabytes -- 4,550 megabytes -- of storage, up
to one million pages of ASCII text, on standard-sized CDs which
have been jacketed in 5.25-inch packages. President Robert P.
Freese said the new product is designed for "transparent
integration with host disk controllers and operating systems"
with "no new commands to learn, no software adaptations and no
databases to convert."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19881208)


              W Y S I W Y G

             (What You See Is:
            Wayne Yacco's Gazette)


INDUSTRY LOSERS AWARDED ARFIES

PC Computing has only been around for a few months but it is already
taking the industry to task for its imperfections. PCC awarded its
first annual ARFies [as in Abort, Retry, Fail] to the people,
companies and products it considers to be most amusing in their
serious pursuits. Among the more deserving recipients were several
laptop computers including the brand new Compaq SLT laptop,
recognized as a "Great Laptop for the 1970s."

Former Ziff-Davis columnist Peter Norton was also singled out for
appearing in an ad for Dewar's Scotch. However, other industry
notables including Dan Bricklin and PC Computing's own columnist
John Dvorak have also done ads this year. In an exclusive Newsbytes
interview, Norton Computing's president, Barbara Shultz, gave her
estimation of the ads' significance. In her view, the ads are a
positive sign and indicate that the "software industry finally has
the stature to warrant wider attention from the general public."
Maybe PCC's editors were amused by the focus on Norton himself
rather than a product.

PC Week columnist Joe Mohen was given more than a fair share of
notice for several of his columns that PC Computing's editors
apparently wouldn't care to touch with a ten-foot serial cable. But
the editors didn't stop with one or two or even three examples.
Mohen probably had more space in the December issue of PCC than PC
Week devotes to one of his normal columns. By the time they w
Certain ARFies might seem a little mean spirited to some. Of
course, PCC has the resources behind it to act however it will but
it should be interesting to see, after PCC has been around a year or
so itself, if it turns out to have been living in a glass house.

      -- Wayne Yacco

---------------------------------------------------

Wayne Yacco is an editor, columnist and writer specializing in
business applications and microcomputers. He was the founding
editor of The Inputer and currently publishes the Computer PR
Advisor, an advisory on communications with the computer press. Hot
tips wanted -- send them to IP2005, call 818-842-8581, or put him on
your press mailing list: W. A. Yacco, PO Box 269, Burbank, Ca.
91503.

--------------------------------------------------------------------