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/1989/nb890110.289

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

NEW MACINTOSH SE SLATED FOR JANUARY 19 INTRODUCTION
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 7 (NB) -- Apple Computer will
introduce its new Macintosh SE at a news conference January 19
at 9 a.m. at San Francisco's Moscone Center, to coincide with the
opening of the MacWorld Expo. The SE/30, named for its Motorola
68030 microprocessor, will leap-frog ahead of its predecessor, the
SE, by having a controlling chip two generations younger than the
68000. The 68030 will allow multitasking via memory protection,
and is consequently expected to be the basis for all the new Macs
coming out in 1989. Apple is also expected to announce the new
SE has a new bus which will not allow it to run current Macintosh
software or hardware. The idea is to introduce a machine which
will set the stage for a new generation of Macintoshes.

Additionally,the SE/030 will have a 9-inch built-in black and white
monitor and a SuperDrive capable of reading Mac, MS-DOS, and ProDOS
files, and capable of storing 1.44 megabytes of information on
a single 3 1/2-inch diskette. Other technical improvements over
the SE include a 16 megahertz speed.

Current SE owners will be offered a motherboard swap and an installed
SuperDrive option.

Newsbytes will cover the introduction and will have more details here on
the 19th of January.

(Wendy Woods/19890107)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(WAS)(00002)

LIGHTWEIGHT APPLE PRINTER DEBUTS
WALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 3 (NB) -- GCC
Technologies Corp. has rolled out a lightweight ink-jet printer
aimed for the long-rumored portable Macintosh. The WriteMove
printer, at three pounds, includes QuickDraw technology with six
fonts, a print spooler, and the ability to print enlarged or
reduced images, similar to PostScript. The price is $699, with a
carrying case another $30.

(Ken Maize/19890106/Contact: GCC Technologies, 617-890-0880)


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

JASMINE DROPS PRICE OF LASER-QUALITY PRINTER; OFFERS NEW FILE SERVER
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 7 (NB) -- Macintosh
peripherals maker Jasmine Technologies Inc. will serve up a file
server at MacWorld Expo. The DirectServe, $1,299, will replace a
dedicated Macintosh file server in a local area network, and is
expected to run up to 40 percent faster than a Macintosh.
DirectServe will come with a 68000 microprocessor, one megabyte of
RAM, expandable to four megabytes, and the ability to link up
to seven SCSI peripherals.

Meanwhile, Jasmine has dropped the price of its laser-quality
page printer by $255 to $3,745. The DirectPrint Postscript-
compatible liquid crystal shutter [LCS] printer produces up to five pages
per minute with 300 dots per inch resolution. Its revolutionary
LCS technology employs electro-photography and strips of liquid crystal
shutters similar to the liquid crystals used in watch faces. There
are no rotating mirrors, therefore no scanning distortions, enabling
consistent print quality over the entire pages.

(Wendy Woods/19890107/Contact: Jasmine, 415-282-1111)


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

APPLE ACQUIRES CORAL SOFTWARE
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 4 (NB) -- Apple Computer
has bought Coral Software of Cambridge, Massachusetts, a
developer of programming languages and artificial intelligence
tools for the Macintosh. No price was put on the acquisition.
Coral technology will be incorporated into Apple's Advanced
Technology Group, which is working on programming and languages.
Coral's products include Allegro Common Lisp, Pearl Lisp, and
Object Logo. Allegro will be distributed this month through the
Apple Programmer's and Developer's Association and promises to
support the other Coral products.

Five Coral engineers will join Apple and form the core of a new
Cambridge, Massachusetts-based research lab for Apple's Advanced
Technology Group.

(Wendy Woods/19890107/Contact: Brooke Cohan, Apple, 408-974-3019)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00005)

APPLE COMPUTER EXPANDS ALL OVER SILICON VALLEY
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 7 (NB) -- Apple Computer
is busting out all over Silicon Valley, the latest lease signed
is in nearby Campbell, California where it has rented a 175,000
square foot building to house 600 Apple USA division employees.
That makes Apple Campbell's biggest employer.

Apple late last year leased four and a half floors of a San Jose
office building for 300 more workers, and rented two 170,000 square
foot buildings in Cupertino which it will fill in April.
An Apple spokeswoman says Apple added some 2,000 new employees
in 1988, nearly doubling Apple's Silicon Valley workforce.

(Wendy Woods/19890117)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(ATL)(00006)

APPLE ADAPTING REGIONAL SALES STRATEGY WITH ATLANTA OFFICE
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 6 (NB) -- Apple is going to a
regional marketing strategy which will have it opening a 20-man
regional office in Atlanta during January under Jerry Malec,
currently vice president of business development at the firm's
Cupertino, California headquarters. Besides handling regional
sales, promotions, and press relations, the new office in John
Portman's suburban NorthPark complex will coordinate groups of
salesmen from North Carolina to Texas.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890106)


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

WOZNIAK IS JOCK FOR A DAY
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 7 (NB) -- Silicon Valley's
rush-hour traffic had a new d.j. replacing "bad boy" Perry Stone
on January 3. Steve Wozniak, Apple cofounder, took the mike on
KSJO-FM to host the morning drive-time show where he introduced rock and
roll records and dished out the chatter. Station Manager
David Baronfeld called public response, "Really excellent."
Wozniak has been seen at the station before where he sometimes
helps Apple employee Candy Chamberlain put her Saturday
70's rock program. But this was the first time the Woz went
on the airwaves himself.

But those who enjoyed the Apple II inventor's yammer will be
disappointed to know he has no plans to be a regular; Stone --
"Mr. Shock Radio" -- is back from his vacation.

(Wendy Woods/19890107)

(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00001)

WYSE SHEDS WORKFORCE, EXPECTS LOSS
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 5 (NB) -- Wyse Technology
has given walking papers to 15 percent of its workforce -- 560
employees -- in lieu of an expected loss for its third quarter.
Also, Wyse announced its chief executive and president, Phillip
White, has quit to join Informix as its chief executive officer.

This layoff of 400 Taiwan, China and 160 San Jose-based workers is the
first in the IBM-compatible computer maker's history and is
generally far worse than most analysts expected. Wyse reports
net revenues will be between $60 and $70 million for the last
quarter and there will be a loss for the nine-month period
ending December 30. Wyse's stock price is down 67 percent
from its 1988 high, the second worst performance among 183
firms The Chronicle newspaper follows.

Analysts say Wyse was too slow in responding to faster, more
competitive computer models from the likes of IBM and Compaq,
and lacked the talent to successfully market its machines over
the long haul. Over the past year, Wyse has watched its market
share slide away and currently is said to have a large inventory
of unsold machines on hand.

(Wendy Woods/19890107)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00002)

HEWLETT PACKARD TO MARKET ZENITH LAPTOP?
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 4 (NB) -- Hewlett Packard,
HP, will resell Zenith's SupersPort 286 laptop under its own
name, according to a story in the San Francisco Examiner. The
report says HP has an agreement to market the portable, and it
will round out the firm's offerings to its corporate clients.
Hewlett Packard never had much success marketing a portable,
and analysts see its going outside for one as a smart move.
"HP was one of the leaders in feeling it (the laptop) was
an important footprint for personal computing, and Zenith
has proven its position in the market," commented Creative
Strategies analyst Tim Bajarin. Hewlett Packard has declined
to comment on the report.

(Wendy Woods/19890107)


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

MAI BASIC MAY RAISE ANTE ON PRIME
NATICK, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 6 (NB) -- MAI Basic Four,
in a letter to Prime Computer Inc. Chief Executive Officer
Anthony Craig, says it will make a more generous bid for Prime
than the $20 per share it has offered, if the bid will bring a
conclusion to the MAI hostile takeover attempt. Prime refused to
comment on the letter from Bennett LeBow, MAI chairman and a New
York investor. LeBow asked Prime to provide him with any
information that would "justify [Prime's] public statements that
our $20 per share all cash offer is inadequate." LeBow said he
would "seriously consider" upping his bid for the company if
information from Prime "demonstrates that such an increase is
warranted."

(Ken Maize/19890106)


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

STRUGGLING ALLIANT LAYS OFF 75
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 4 (NB) -- Mini-
supercomputer maker Alliant Computer has laid off 75 employees as
a result of cutthroat price competition that has led to a
hemorrhage of red ink at Alliant. Ronald Gruner, president and
CEO at Alliant, said he did not know when the company would
return to profitability. "We can manage our expense structure,"
he said. "What we can't manage is the outside market structure."
Some 10 firms in the mini-super computer have driven down prices
and eroded margins all across the industry, note Wall Street
analysts. Alliant hasn't seen black ink on the books since the
first quarter of 1988.

(Ken Maize/19890106)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(WAS)(00005)

IRS AFTER COMMODORE FOR $74 MILLION IN BACK TAXES
WEST CHESTER, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 3 (NB) -- The
Internal Revenue Service says Commodore Business Machines, the
U.S. subsidiary of Commodore International Inc., owes $74.1
million in back taxes. Commodore says it "strongly disagrees"
with the IRS and will contest it. Commodore also says its tax
reserves are adequate to cover a resolution of the dispute with
the tax agency. The IRS claim is the result of an ongoing five-
year audit of Commodore. Ronald Alexander, Commodore's vice
president for taxes, says the IRS wants to tax much of the
company's heavy overseas earnings in the U.S. But, says
Alexander, "that's a misconception of our corporate structure."
Alexander said Commodore is ready to negotiate a settlement with
the IRS, but "we wouldn't expect to settle for anything near the
$74 million."

(Ken Maize/19890106)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00006)

AST TO POST LOSS
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 1 (NB) -- AST Research Inc. has
announced an expected loss for its forthcoming second quarter of
fiscal 1989. The loss of approximately $7 million to $9 million
will result primarily from a one-time charge to current operations
of up to $6 million along with other cost-reduction measures.

However, margins are also down. "AST gross profit margins in the
second quarter will be affected by the action of competitors who
have announced price reductions, particularly on maturing systems,"
said AST's president Safi Qureshey. " In response, AST has offered
certain price incentives to its dealers on some products."

Preliminary sales of approximately $110 million represent a 19 -
percent increase over second-quarter revenues for the previous year.
The projected $6 million loss is expected to result if AST sells its
Camintonn division. Camintonn, acquired by AST in 1986, makes
memory and multifunction add-on products for DEC systems.

(Wayne Yacco/19890106)


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

DCA ANNOUNCES QUARTERLY LOSS, PRESIDENT JIM OTTINGER RESIGNS
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 6 (NB) -- Insisting the two events
were unrelated, Digital Communications Associates surprised
analysts January fifth by announcing it lost $4.2 million for the
quarter ending December 21, and that President James Ottinger has
resigned. The loss was blamed on a $12.6 million charge for cash
used in acquiring Digital Transmission Systems Inc., DTS, of
Norcross, Georgia.

Of far greater concern was the fact that sales fell slightly, to
$52.2 million, from $54.8 million a year ago. Especially hard-
hit, said Chairman Bert Nordin, were the firm's IRMA, 10Net, and
Crosstalk lines, which face increased competition, and could
face an inventory overhang this quarter as a result. DCA's stock
price had been falling in the weeks prior to the announcement.
The fact DCA was able to announce results just a week after year-
end, however, is a sign executives are on top of the problem.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890106)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(ATL)(00008)

QUADRAM SELLS MONITOR SUBSIDIARY TO WORLD-WIDE OF PHILADELPHIA
NORCROSS, GEORGIA 6 JAN 1988 (NB) -- Ending an era, Intelligent
Systems MLP sold its Princeton Graphics subsidiary to World-Wide
Technology Inc. of Philadelphia for an undisclosed sum. PGS was
Quadram President Leland Strange's first acquisition after
taking over ISC in 1983. The purchase reportedly resulted from
Strange's attempt to import Taiwanese monitors under the
Quadchrome name when Princeton had an exclusive with the supplier,
Liberty Electronics. For a time Princeton was one of Quadram's
strongest subsidiaries, and its reputation for high quality
carried Quadram through some rough spots in the mid-80s. World-
wide President Jack Freitag says he'll package Princeton equipment with
other products to sell complete systems to dealers and
distributors. Freitag also wants to move Princeton into higher-margin
markets such as workstations and intelligent terminals.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890106)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00009)

GANDALF RECORDS FIRST-EVER QUARTERLY LOSS
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1989 JAN 6 (NB) -- Communications equipment
vendor Gandalf Technologies Inc. posted the first quarterly loss
in its history. In the period ended October 29, 1988, the company
lost C$1.348 million. In the same period the year before,
Gandalf posted net income of C$1.746 million. The company blamed
its performance on reduced defence spending by the United States
government and a 17-week strike at Bell Canada. Gandalf is
streamlining its operations; the belt-tightening includes about
90 layoffs which were already announced.

(Grant Buckler/19890106/Contact: Gandalf Technologies Inc., 613-
564-0183)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00010)

COWPLAND, SOME DIRECTORS OUT AT COMTERM
MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA, 1989 JAN 6 (NB) -- Directors of Comterm Inc.,
which recently reached a settlement with its creditors, have
agreed to resign. They will make way for representatives of two
Toronto companies that helped bail Comterm out. If the Quebec
Superior Court approves Comterm's debt repayment plan, merchant
banker Gornitzki, Thompson & Little Co. Ltd. and investment firm
Frederick Capital Corp. will name their own representatives to
Comterm's board.

Comterm has also parted company with one of its most famous
shareholders. Michael Cowpland, perhaps Canada's best-known
high-tech businessman, has sold about 2.6 million shares,
amounting to 8.75 percent of Comterm, to S.C.I. Systems Inc. of
Huntsville, Ala. The selling price was one dollar, according to
The Financial Post in Toronto. Cowpland isn't commenting on the
fire sale. Cowpland was a cofounder of Mitel Corp. He
currently heads Corel Systems Corp. of Ottawa, which he also
founded.

(Grant Buckler/19890106)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00011)

SEMI-TECH ANNOUNCES CHINESE AGREEMENT, DEFENCE CONTRACT
MARKHAM, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1989 JAN 6 (NB) -- International Semi-Tech
Microelectronics Inc. has announced a joint venture between its
Hong Kong subsidiary and Shenzhen Electronics Corp. of China.
Semi-Tech Microelectronics [Far East] Ltd. will own 70 percent of
Semi-Tech SEG Technology, a developer of consumer electronics
products to be based in Hong Kong. Semi-Tech SEG's products will
be marketed largely by the U.S. East Coast division of Consumers
Distributing Co., which International Semi-Tech bought last
spring. International Semi-Tech owns 51 percent of Semi-Tech
[Far East]. Shenzhen owns five percent.

International Semi-Tech also announced the STM Systems Corp., its
computer services subsidiary, has signed a three-year contract
worth C$900,000 to operate and manage a computer centre in the
Canadian Department of National Defence.

(Grant Buckler/19890106/Contact: STM Systems, 416-979-3900)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00012)

NORTHERN TELECOM CHOOSES APOLLO
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA, 1989 JAN 2 (NB) -- Northern Telecom Inc.
will buy some $3.5 million worth of workstations from Apollo
Computer Inc. of Chelmsford, Mass. for its facilities here.
Northern will use Apollo's Series 3500 and Series 4500
workstations, and Apollo's Domain Software Engineering
Environment for software engineering in Raleigh.

(Grant Buckler/19890106/Contact: Apollo Computer Inc., 508-256-
6600)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00013)

NEW PRINTER FREE TO TOSHIBA DEALERS
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1988 DEC 27 (NB) -- Toshiba has instituted a
promotion for its dealers which will run until January 31. Dealers
will receive one free demonstration unit of the ExpressWriter311 for
every five they purchase. However, the offer is limited to a
maximum of one printer per store location. The 24-pin
ExpressWriter311 has a suggested retail price of $589.

At eleven pounds, Toshiba considers the new printer a transportable.
Although it weighs nearly three times as much as some ink-jet
printers, the machine is light when compared to other dot-matrix
printers. It is intended for office, small business, home users,
and the educational market.

(Wayne Yacco/19890106/Contact: Toshiba Promotion Hotline, US - 800-423-
4589)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00014)

APRICOT GOES DIRECT - BUYS OUT AUSTRALIAN DISTRIBUTOR
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1989 JAN 6 (NB) -- UK computer manufacturer
Apricot has bought out its Australian distributor. After almost
five years of distributing the high-end DOS machines, Barson
Computers Australasia has sold distribution rights back to
Apricot for what is reported to be a AUS$2 million profit.

Apricot has attracted interest lately because of its release of
IBM licensed MicroChannel Architecture, or MCA, machines. Barson
has been successfully selling Apricots and Acorn/BBC computers
into the education and public sector marketplaces, often
attracting unofficial comment on the 'unique' sales methods
employed. Some industry observers feel that the profit may never
be realized because Apricot is reportedly trying to divest itself
of its 30 percent holding in Barson.

Founder Julian Barson says that his company will continue the
education market sales with the BBC machine and Acorn Archimedes.
Sales in the past year exceeded AUS$16 million.

(Paul Zucker/19890106)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00015)

SAGESOFT SETS UP NORTHERN SOFTWARE TRAINING CENTRE
NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE, ENGLAND, 1989 JAN 05 (NB) -- Sagesoft, one
of the UK's most popular business and communications software
houses, is to open a second training centre for dealers and end
users in Newcastle, where the company is based. The complex is
Sagesoft's second, after its London training centre, opened in
1985.

The specially-built centre will open for business on the 16
January, and offer one and two-day training courses at a cost of
#149 and #279 respectively. For an introductory period, Sagesoft
is offering training courses at the new centre on a two for the
price of one basis.

"Our courses gave proven very popular. Written comments from
hundreds of attendees enable me to say with confidence that the
courses are both relevant and useful," said Jim Beckwith,
training services divisional manager with Sagesoft.

(Steve Gold/19890105/Sagesoft: 091-213-1555)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00016)

NIXDORF PLANS FIVE PER CENT STAFF CUTS FOR 1989
FRANKFURT, WEST GERMANY, 1989 JAN 07 (NB) -- Nixdorf Computer,
the West German computer manufacturer, has announced planned
staff cuts of 1,600 for 1989. The cuts, which will shave five percent
from Nixdorf's West German workforce, will take place on a
phased basis throughout 1989.

Nixdorf appears to have been forced into announcing the cuts,
after Der Spiegel, a West Germany weekly newspaper, ran a story
quoting Herr Klaus Luft, Nixdorf's chairman, as saying that 5,000
staff were to go during this year. 5,000 is the same number of
employees that Nixdorf took on during 1987 and 1988.

Der Spiegel also said that Nixdorf is planning a major push into
the U.S. marketplace during 1989. Nixdorf has not commented on this
assertion, but said that company reorganizations during 1989 will
push the company's profits further into the black. Last November,
Nixdorf announced that its 1988/89 profits would be down on the
264 million Deutschmarks generated during the previous year.

(Steve Gold/19890107)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00017)

SONY'S THAI CHIP PLANT TO OPEN EARLY 1990
BANGKOK, THAILAND, 1988 JAN 07 (NB) -- Sony Japan has announced
that its forthcoming chip manufacturing facility in Bangkok will
open nine months ahead of schedule in January, 1990. The plant,
work on which was started nine months ago, was originally
scheduled to open in October, 1990.

In addition to the early opening, Sony has announced it plans to
dramatically increase semiconductor production at the plant to 10
million chips a month. Previously-announced plans called for Sony
to lease excess capacity to Advance Micro Devices. The excess
leasing will not now take place, said a Sony spokesman.

(Steve Gold/19890107)

(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00001)

CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW OPENS
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 7 (NB) -- The Winter Consumer
Electronics Show [CES], a forum for the hottest new consumer electronics
and home entertainment products, is expected to draw up to 100,000
people to Las Vegas this weekend. Among the 1,450 exhibitors are
both Atari Games and Atari Corporation -- the computer firm -- which
will show off a new line of calculators, watches, and radios.
Formation of the new Atari Consumer Products Division in Phoenix,
Arizona, comes as the company has severed all but one tie with Hong
Kong-based Hartech, which was licensed to put the Atari logo on
its own calculators. The one tie that continues is that Hartech
President David Harris is said to be the new Atari division's president.

CES will also feature a new buzzword -- home automation -- or
the ability to electronically control and program appliances.
Diablo Research of San Jose, California, is getting much of the
credit for this new area with its development of the Consumer
Electronic Bus, technology which allows infrared-activated products, cable
tv boxes, telephones, and appliances to share information on a
network. The CEBus chip, developed by AISI Research of San Ramon,
Ca., is the hottest new item on the CES menu -- and is expected
to show up in a variety of home automation products. The CEBus
is, according to show sponsors, the Electronic Industries Association,
"the standard" that manufacturers have been awaiting.

And competitors to reigning home entertainment king Nintendo's games
and game players are also expected to show up, if not in the exhibits,
then in back rooms. Epyx is said to have a prototype portable video
game player it's showing around; Atari Games' Tengen is taking on Nintendo's
dominance of the video game market with its own Nintendo-compatible
cartridges. And Broderbund is showing a new kind of joystick for
Nintendo consoles. Called U-Force, it eliminates the need for a
joystick by allowing the player to move his or her hands to direct
action on the screen. Composed of sensors that judge movement and speed,
U-Force was developed by David Capper and Stan Axelrod, a designer
for San Francisco's Exploratorium. It is expected to be available
this spring for $70 retail.

(Wendy Woods/19890107)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00002)

NINTENDO STRIKES BACK
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 5 (NB) -- Nintendo has
countersued Atari Games for breach of contract, following Atari's
suit against Nintendo, alleging the Japanese giant has a strangle-hold
on the U.S. video cartridge market. Nintendo charges Atari with
breach of contract, violation of trademark, unfair competition, and
violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations
Act. Further, Nintendo has pulled a license from Atari's Tengen unit which
allowed it to make Nintendo game player-compatible cartridges.

Atari locked horns with Nintendo last month, claiming the firm's
dominance of the U.S. video games market was won through an unfairly
restrictive video game licensing policy which prohibits firms without
licenses from Nintendo from making game cartridges for its successful
home entertainment system. Atari seeks $100 million in the
anti-trust suit.

(Wendy Woods/19890107)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00003)

TRADE SHOWS IN THE WINGS
NEEDHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 7 (NB) -- The Interface
Group has released the list of dates for this year's most popular
computer trade shows.

March 13-16, Interface '89, devoted to computers and connectivity,
New York's Jacob Javits Convention Center.

March 17-19, 14TH West Coast Computer Faire, San Francisco's Brooks
Hall and Civic Auditorium.

April 10-13, COMDEX/Spring '89, McCormick Place, Chicago.

April 10-13, MACdex/Spring '89, a new trade show for the Macintosh, Chicago's
McCormick Place, coinciding with COMDEX.

August 1-3, COMDEX/Asia Pacific, Darling Harbour Convention
Center, Sydney, Australia

November 13-17, COMDEX/Fall '89, eight locations in Las Vegas, Nevada

November 13-17, MACdex/Fall '89, Cashman Field Center, Las Vegas, Nevada

For information and registration, phone the Interface Group at
617-449-6600.

(Wendy Woods/19890107)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00004)

POLICE DISPATCHER FINGERS HERSELF ON TRACKING COMPUTER
BLOOMFIELD, CONNECTICUT, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 6 (NB) -- Michelle
Gordon got a nasty lesson in computers during her training as a
police dispatcher. At her instructor's suggestion, she punched up
he own name into the computer to see how the computer identifies
"wants and warrants" outstanding against individuals. Gordon
found she was wanted for passing a bad check. Gordon, who says
she was unaware of the charges, turned herself into police and
was relieved of duty. Police said she will probable get her job
back once the matter is settled. Police records indicate she
bounced a check for $90.97 at a clothing store in July.

(Ken Maize/19890106)


(EXCLUSIVE)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00005)

COMPUTER TRADING POST AND ITS NEWS MAKE A COMEBACK
GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JANUARY 3 (NB) -- The Computer Trading
Post News, a free newsletter with a circulation of 6,400, has resumed
publication after a hiatus of several months. Previous attenders of
the Computer Trading Post, a local computer trade show, receive the
publication which features articles on computers and news on local
user-group activities in addition to the schedule of events for the
trade show.

The News is published by The Computer Trading Post which will itself
resume production this January 15 with the its first show since June
of last year.

Return of the original name and management is expected to herald the
resumption of the character and features which once distinguished
the Trading Post from other local shows.

In June of 1988, the Trading Post was purchased from previous owner
Mike Ribault by Golden Gate Shows. The new owner quickly ceased
publication of a show newsletter and made other changes in the
program including a new name. Golden Gate produced five shows over
a seven-month period before dropping the event from its schedule.

According to promoter Ribault, who is once again producing the
original show, "Golden Gate withdrew from the agreement after
attendance dropped to approximately a third of previous levels."
Rimbault expects the management change to result in a revival of
past attendance figures. Future shows are scheduled for February 19
and March 19 if he is proven right.

(Wayne Yacco/19890106)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00006)

WEST GERMANS RAISE NAZI COMPUTER GAMES SPECTRE
BONN, WEST GERMANY, 1989 JAN 07 (NB) -- A West German government
report has blamed computer games for spreading right-wing
extremist attitudes amongst teenagers. The report follows similar
allegations against several European software houses last year,
alleging the games promoted war and the general Nazi theme.

According to the report, several Nazi specialist games are being
circulated in the public domain in West Germany. The games, with
titles such as 'Nazi,' 'Smash the Jews,' and 'Clean Germany,'
centre around tactical war games whose common theme is to
eradicate foreigners in West Germany. Jews and Turks in
particular are featured in the games.

The report's conclusions are that such games, which are outlawed
in West Germany, actually cause game players to be susceptible to
Neo-Nazi propaganda. The games include addressees, usually postal
boxes and BBSs, to contact for neo-Nazi and extreme right-wing
literature.

According to the Associated Press, there are about 20,000 right-
wing radicals in West Germany, most of whom are the young
unemployed. It is thought that these radical groups are using the
computer games as a means of promoting their political aims, most
of which are illegal under current West German law.

(Steve Gold/19890107)


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

KONIX TO LAUNCH AMSTRAD-COMPATIBLE GAMES CONSOLE IN SPRING
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1989 JAN 06 (NB) -- Konix, the specialist
electronics company, is said to be developing a #149 games
console centering around a Z80 microprocessor. Unlike similar
games consoles from the likes of Atari and Nintendo, the Konix
games machine will run from three-inch disk-based software.

According to this week's [09 January] edition of Computer Trade
Weekly - CTW- the Konix machine will be capable of running
Amstrad PCW software, indicating that it will be CP/M compatible.
Newsbytes' sources, meanwhile, suggest that a high-resolution
colour screen will also be a major feature.

The Konix games machine will be privately previewed at the
British Toy Fair in London later this month. CTW asserts that the
machine will be formally unveiled at the European Computer Trade
Show in April. CTW is the cosponsor of the show, which takes
place at London's Business Design Centre on the 16/18 April,
1989.

(Steve Gold/19890106)

(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00001)

HHS CREATES MALPRACTICE DATABASE
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1988 DEC 30 (NB) -- The Department of
Health and Human Services has created a computer database to keep
track of malpractice suits and disciplinary actions against
doctors and dentists. "No longer will incompetent health
professionals be enabled to move from hospital to hospital or
from state to state while withholding adverse information," said
HHS Secretary Otis Bowen. Unisys Corp. won the five-year, $15.9
million contract to operate the system. The database is expected
to be in operation by the middle of the year.  (More on this story
in Newsbytes' Telecommunications news this week.)

(Ken Maize/19890106)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00002)

GOVERNMENT RECOVERS $300,000 IN SOFTWARE OVERCHARGES
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1989 JAN 4 (NB) -- The Justice
Department has recovered $300,000 from Teledyne Industries,
settling charges by a former employee that the company billed the
Pentagon for its private marketing of software between 1983 and
1986. Raeburn Grasty, the whistleblower in the case, gets $45,000
of the settlement under the False Claims Act. Grasty leveled the
charges against Teledyne Brown Engineering of Huntsville, Ala.
The government alleged that Teledyne Brown charged the Pentagon
for the costs of selling and advertising the company computer
software, known as Technology for the Automated Generation of
Systems.

(Ken Maize/19890106)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00003)

BDM WINS "EDGAR" CONTRACT
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1989 JAN 2 (NB) -- The Securities and
Exchange Commission has awarded BDM Corp. of McLean, Va., a $52
million contract to construct the agency's electronic analysis
and retrieval system, known as EDGAR. BDM outbid Mead Data
Central, Sorg Corp., and Bechtel Information Services for the
eight-year contract. The system is designed to computerize the
processing and dissemination of the SEC filings. BDM is a
subsidiary of Ford Aerospace Corp. and has most of its business
with the Defense Department.

(Ken Maize/19890106)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00004)

DG WINS PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION
WESTBORO, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 4 (NB) -- A federal
court judge in Boston has granted Data General Corp. a
preliminary injunction against Grumman Systems Support Corp. DG
said the injunction prevent Grumman from using Data General's
ADEX diagnostic software, or any program derived from ADEX. DG
filed suit against Grumman in May, 1988, alleging copyright
violation and piracy of trade secrets.

(Ken Maize/19890106)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00005)

AT&T TO SELL SUPERCOMPUTER IN JAPAN
NEW YORK, N.Y., U.S.A., 1989 JAN 5 (NB) -- American Telephone &
Telegraph Co.'s federal systems division, along with Sumitomo
Corp. of Tokyo will sell AT&T's AN/UYS-2 enhanced signal
processor to Japan's defense agency. AT&T has been developing the
advanced supercomputer for the U.S. Navy since 1982. The system
is designed to process data from remote sensors such as radar and
sonar, and can perform between 84 million and two billion
operations per second, AT&T said.

(Ken Maize/19890106)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(TOR)(00006)

PROVINCIAL AUDITOR CRITICAL OF EDUCATIONAL COMPUTER INITIATIVE
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1989 JAN 6 (NB) -- The province of Ontario's
Computers in Education initiative is plagued with problems and
critical strategic decisions are needed now, according to the
provincial government's own auditor. The auditor's annual report
for 1988, just released, points to incompatible systems, high
software development costs, doubtful quality control and poor
implementation.

Ontario's Ministry of Education set out in 1981 to develop
specifications for an ideal educational microcomputer. These
specifications for what the province calls a "Grant-Eligible
Microcomputer System" [GEMS] were met first by the Icon,
developed by Canadian Educational Microprocessor Corp. of Toronto
and now marketed by Unisys. The Ednet system developed by IBM
Canada Ltd. was second to qualify. The ministry program has cost
C$131 million so far, and only about 26 percent of computers in
Ontario schools meet the GEMS specifications.

The Icon and Ednet systems are incompatible with popular personal
computers and with each other. The provincial auditor pointed
out that this makes commercial educational software unusable on
the machines and requires that all software for them be developed
from scratch. The Ministry of Education has had to offer grants
to encourage the development of this software. Approval of
software development projects has taken too long -- from six to
12 months in the largest number of cases and sometimes nearly two
years. In one case, the auditor said, the ministry spent
C$260,000 to translate five Icon programs for use on the Ednet.

The quality of the software was also called into question. The
auditor's report said TVOntario, the provincially run educational
television system which tests GEMS software, received 60 programs
submitted between November 1986 and March 1988, and returned 59
of them for correction of errors. However, the report notes that
the quality of recent software is better.

The auditor also said the incentive grants have encouraged school
boards to buy more expensive GEMS-compliant machines when less
expensive PCs would have done the job. And the report complains
of poor teacher training.

In a reply published in the auditor's report, the Ministry of
Education said the software development granting process is being
streamlined and testing procedures have been improved.

(Grant Buckler/19890106)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(TOR)(00007)

PROVINCE ANNOUNCES FUNDING FOR ORGAN TRANSPLANT COMPUTER
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1989 JAN 5 (NB) -- The province of Ontario has
announced funding for a computer system that will match donors
and recipients for organ transplants. Provincial Minister of
Health Elinor Caplan announced an initial capital grant of
C$839,000, plus C$488,000 earmarked for operating expenses, for
the Multiple Organ Retrieval and Exchange program. The program
includes the Toronto-based computer system as well as a campaign
to encourage people to donate organs.

(Grant Buckler/19890106)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LAX)(00008)

MITNICK DENIED BAIL
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 3 (NB) -- Kevin Mitnick entered a
not-guilty plea before U. S. District Court Judge Mariana Phaelzer
and was denied bail. Mitnick's attorney, Alan Rubin, failed to
obtain his client's release by arguing that the government was
treating him more harshly than a violent criminal. The judge
refused the request because of Mitnick's past pattern of computer
mischief as a juvenile.

(Wayne Yacco/19890106)

(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00001)

HEWLETT PACKARD TO MARKET ZENITH LAPTOP?
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 4 (NB) -- Hewlett Packard,
HP, will resell Zenith's SupersPort 286 laptop under its own
name, according to a story in the San Francisco Examiner. The
report says HP has an agreement to market the portable, and it
will round out the firm's offerings to its corporate clients.
Hewlett Packard never had much success marketing a portable,
and analysts see its going outside for one as a smart move.
"HP was one of the leaders in feeling it (the laptop) was
an important footprint for personal computing, and Zenith
has proven its position in the market," commented Creative
Strategies analyst Tim Bajarin. Hewlett Packard has declined
to comment on the report.

(Wendy Woods/19890107)


(NEWS)(IBM)(WAS)(00002)

DIGITAL CANNOT LIVE BY MINIS ALONE
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 3 (NB) -- Digital
Equipment Corp. is rolling out its new line of IBM-compatible
desktop computers, built for the company by Tandy Corp. Digital
is also rolling out a new series of workstations to compete
against Sun and Apollo. The company plans to sell the PC clones
to existing customers, but hopes the new workstations will open
new markets. Digital says it will be pricing its equipment
aggressively, but provided no prices or details at press time.

The Tandy-built machines feature the Intel 80286 and 80386
processor, and run Microsoft's MS-DOS operating system. More
intriguing are the workstations using a reduced instruction set
chip developed by MIPS Computer Inc. of Sunnyvale, Calif. A
Digital manager says the workstation will be "the fastest desktop
in the world." Digital engineers call the new workstation the
"Sun killer," because it will offer better performance and lower
price than comparable machines from Sun Microsystems, currently
the industry leader. DEC holds second place in the workstation
market. The new machine runs Ultrix, DEC's flavor of Unix, but will
not handle Digital's own Vax VMS operating system, a break with
tradition at Digital, which has always valued compatibility over
speed in the past.

(Ken Maize/19890106)


(NEWS)(IBM)(ATL)(00003)

TRAVELING SOFTWARE'S EPPLEY DENIES PRESS GUESSES ON PAPILLON
BOTHELL, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 4 (NB) -- Traveling Software
Chairman Mark Eppley says his new product, due for release
January 25 in a splashy Boston news conference, is not just a
search program, as reported on the computer trade press. "We
worked on the thing five years, and it's kind of special to us,"
Eppley told Newsbytes. "No one has hit on what it is yet."

According to press reports the new product, code-named Papillon,
is a search program which lets you link files by work task,
regardless of what subdirectories the file is in. The program
also reportedly has the features of a DOS shell and an operating
environment like Microsoft Windows.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890104/Contact: Mark Eppley, 206-483-8088)


(EXCLUSIVE)(IBM)(LAX)(00004)

CRITICAL PATH TEMPLATE FOR AGENDA DUE
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 06 (NB) -- In an exclusive
interview held here at the Beverly Comstock Hotel, the management of
The AgendaWare Specialists today displayed its CPM [critical path
method] package for Lotus Agenda and revealed plans for its release
next month. AgendaWare's CPM package adds value to Lotus's personal
information manager [PIM]. The product is a combination of an
Agenda macro which creates a CPM database and an external procedure
which processes event data provided by the user to calculate nodes
and return critical-path information to agenda. The program initially
will be sold for $89.95.

In addition to displaying the critical path information, the product
provides simple Gant charts using Agenda's character-based
interface. The first release will not provide a graphical
representation of the network. However, Agenda's view's of the data
can be used to review statistics from any segment or segments
including all parts of the critical path.

The AgendaWare Specialists have a growing line of templates for
Agenda which includes Travel [restaurant guides for major cities],
Government [U. S. Senate database], Management [human-resource
policy and appraisal tools], Education [curriculum and counseling
tools], Programming [software documentation tools], Interviewing
[analysis and comparison tools], Small Business [start-up checklist
and audits], Research [Dow Jones newswire analysis and bibliographic
tools], and Agenda [interactive guide to the software].
Applications range in price from $20 to $90 each.

(Wayne Yacco/19890106/Contact: 201-232-4674)


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

MASTERSOFT INTRODUCES NAMETAG -- LENGTHENS DOS FILENAMES
PHOENIX, ARIZONA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 4 (NB) -- Mastersoft, publishers
of "Word for Word," a document conversion package used in a
number of products, including Traveling Software's MacLink,
announced NameTag, a filename expansion utility. It's a RAM-
resident package running under DOS which lets you add a 40-
character descriptive comment to each subdirectory or file. The
ability to write a longer filename has long been one of the
inherent advantages of the Macintosh, especially for long-winded
editors who can't adequately describe file contents in 11
letters. The program also lets you look at any file as a window
inside another application, and perform selected DOS commands,
including copying, deleting, renaming, and checking disk space,
inside a window. NameTag requires 64 kilobytes of free memory and
costs $40.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890104/Contact: Lisa Lambert, 602-277-0900)


(EXCLUSIVE)(IBM)(LAX)(00006)

COPY PROTECTION DROPPED FROM BUSINESS APPLICATION
ASPEN, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1988 DEC 29 (NB) -- Support Station Software will
abandon copy protection on its FileBank Electronic File Cabinets
software for the IBM PC in February. According to developer David
Highland, the change will be made in response to end-user
dissatisfaction. Few business applications now employ copy
protection. It was once commonly used by major developers such as
Lotus Development, Ashton-Tate and Microsoft.

FileBank is a memory-resident application which uses a graphical
representation of actual file cabinets in its interface. The file-
cabinet metaphor is intended to appeal to computer neophytes
familiar with traditional paper-filing systems. The users files are
stored into, and retrieved from, the electronic file cabinets
directly from other applications.

(Wayne Yacco/19890106)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00007)

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE EMPLOYED BY MENU SOFTWARE
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 6 (NB) -- PC Dynamics has
announced that it will release Menu Works version 2.1 during the
month of January. The $24.95 application is a menu-building utility
for the IBM PC and compatibles which is designed to replace the DOS
prompt.

PC Dynamics maintains that the software uses AI [artificial
intelligence] in its installation procedures to automatically
recognize over 1,600 software packages and create up to 40
categories of menus with appropriate headings. Categories include
word processing, spreadsheets, databases, communications and games.
The company claims that the use of AI results in installation of
complete menu programs in under five minutes.

Other features of the program include complete password protection,
separate TSR [terminate and stay resident] program installation and
removal, mouse support, on-line tutorials, over 125 context-
sensitive help screens, a "time-release" software activator and
customizing tools using a plain-English interface.

(Wayne Yacco/19890106/Contact: US - 800-888-1741)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00008)

MICROGRAFX RELIGIOUS CLIP-ART LIBRARY GENUFLECTS
RICHARDSON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1988 DEC 12 (NB) -- Micrografx, Inc. has announced
the release of its Religious ClipArt Library. The $79.95 image
library represents many of the world's major religions and is
intended for use in desktop publishing and presentations. With this
addition, the company claims its complete collection of over 12,000
images is the largest selection of object-oriented clip art
available for any personal computer.

Micrografx Portfolio is bundled free with Religious ClipArt.
Portfolio allows the user to select symbols from the library and
copy print or save them in separate files through the Windows
Clipboard.

(Wayne Yacco/19890106/Contact: 214-234-1769, 800-272-3729)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00009)

IBM TO SELL MICROGRAFX SOFTWARE
RICHARDSON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1988 DEC 12 (NB) -- An agreement has been signed
between IBM and Micrografx for the distribution of the latter's line
of graphics software. The products to be sold by IBM include
Micrografx Designer, Graph Plus, and Draw Plus.

(Wayne Yacco/19890106/Contact: 214-234-1769, 800-272-3729)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00010)

NOSTRADAMUS TUTORIAL FOR QUATTRO
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, U.S.A., 1988 DEC 31 (NB) -- Nostradamus has announced the
release of Quattro Assist 1.0, a complete tutorial for Borland
International's spreadsheet product. The product complements the
Quattro manual with topics that includes Data Entry, Spreadsheet
Functions, Graphing, Macros, and Printing. Quattro Assist lists for
$79.95.

Nostradamus created Quattro Assist with its Instant Replay
application. The company has extended a special offer to registered
users of Instant Reply which allows them to purchase Quattro Assist
for the reduced price of $39.97. The special offer includes a
detailed explanation of how the Quattro tutorial was generated and
provides a suitable Instant Replay tutorial as a consequence.

(Wayne Yacco/19890106/Contact: 801-487-9662)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SYD)(00011)

DR. AN WANG LAUNCHES FREESTYLE, WITH STYLE
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1989 DEC 12 (NB) -- After a few false starts in PC
marketing over the past few years, Wang is set to try again,
according to founder An Wang. Speaking on a recent
visit to Australia, which accounts for about 5-percent of Wang worldwide
revenues, Dr. Wang was visiting Australia to personally
demonstrate his company's latest product, Freestyle.

Freestyle is combined hardware/software which places the PC at
the heart of text/graphics/speech integration package. Using a
tablet and stylus, the user can annotate or 'doodle' on standard
DOS screens.

Directory listings, spreadsheets or WP screens -- whatever the
source, Freestyle can simultaneously add real-time, digitized
voice from the user's telephone plus the user's annotations from
the tablet, to be later replayed or carried to another PC user
via network.

Despite the fact that Freestyle demands a high degree of
standardization of specialized hardware, Dr. Wang expects the
system to generate in excess of US$100 million in worldwide sales
this year, doubling each year after that.

(Paul Zucker/19881212)

(NEWS)(REVIEW)(TOR)(00001)

Review of: AGENDA

Runs on: Any MS-DOS PC with hard disk

From: Lotus Development Corp., 55 Cambridge Pkwy., Cambridge,
Mass. 02142, 617-577-8500

Price: $395

PUMA Rating: 4 (highest rating)

Reviewed by: Grant Buckler, 1/17/89

SUMMARY: AGENDA is a personal information manager, well-suited
to maintaining a to-do list but also suited to organizing all sorts of
information.

REVIEW
------

From its name you might think Agenda is designed to keep a to-do
list. Certainly it's good at that. But this much talked-about
package from Lotus Development is versatile. It organizes chunks
of information, and that information can be of many types. The
beauty of Agenda is that it lets you put in your information
first and impose a structure later. And you can modify the
structure whenever you like.

Agenda organizes data into items and categories. Items belong to
categories, and may belong to several at once. Categories may
also belong to categories -- you can make your hierarchy as deep
as you like. Items are short chunks of text, but if you want to
add more detail, you can attach a note -- which can be a sizeable
document -- to each item. You can look at your information in
many ways by creating views, which show different categories as
sections and columns.

Agenda's to-do list orientation shows in its impressive
understanding of dates. Thursday, January 12, for example, could
be "January 19" or "1/19" or "Thursday" or even "thu." On
January 11, it could also be "tomorrow." Enter any of these, and
Agenda knows what you mean. The names of categories similarly
can be assigned multiple aliases, and Agenda will assign an item
to the proper category if any of the designated keywords appears
in the item. Sometimes this has unexpected side effects, but
when it works it's wonderful.

Agenda lets you tailor its behavior to your own needs in several
ways, by the way you define categories, by designing the views
you want, and even through a modest macro facility. The more you
use Agenda, the more it becomes apparent that it will take some
time to discover everything it can do.

PUMA RATING
-----------

Performance: 3. Agenda is an ambitious program, and therefore
sometimes unpredictable. There's always a reason why it does
what it does, but it doesn't always do what you expect. Menus
and commands, however, are clear and logical. The software runs
quite fast considering what it does.

Usefulness: 4. Agenda's most obvious application is maintaining
a to-do list. For that purpose it's addictive. But Agenda can
organize almost any information, and the more you use it, the
more possibilities will appear.

Manuals: 4. Agenda comes with two manuals. One is a well-
organized user's guide. The other is a comprehensive tutorial
with several sample applications that illustrate the package's
potential.

Availability: 4. Widely available from computer and software
dealers. When you're Lotus Development, you don't have trouble
getting shelf space.

(Grant Buckler/19890107)

(NEWS)(REVIEW)(TOR)(00001)

Review of: AMI

Runs on: Any MS-DOS PC [286 or 386 recommended]

From: Samna Corp., 5600 Glenridge Dr., Atlanta, Ga. 30342, 404-
851-0007

Price: $199

PUMA Rating:  3 [on a scale of 1 to 4]

Reviewed by: Grant Buckler, 2/14/89

Summary: AMI combines basic word processing with some aspects of
desktop publishing, and runs under Microsoft Windows. It lacks
some advanced word processing features.

REVIEW
-------
Samna's Ami is interesting chiefly because aside from the bundled
Microsoft Windows Write, it is the first word processor designed
to run under Microsoft's Windows operating environment. If
you don't have Windows, don't panic. Ami comes with a run-time
version.

As you'd expect from a Windows-based word processor, Ami uses
graphics extensively. In fact, it comes close to being a true
WYSIWYG word processor. Bold, italics, underlining, and various
fonts and type sizes appear on the screen almost as they will
when printed. But only almost -- things often look a little
different when printed than they do on screen.

Ami is no top-end word processor. It has no macro capability, no
thesaurus, and no facilities for producing form letters. It lacks
a separate word count feature -- the only way to count words is
to spell-check the document. But Ami partly makes up for its lack
of advanced word processing functions with some aspects of
desktop publishing. It uses frames to insert graphics and text in
specific places, much as Ventura Publisher does, and makes good
use of style sheets.

Ami is a word processing package that looks a lot like desktop
publishing software. It could be a lower-priced alternative to a
DTP package for those whose needs aren't too ambitious. What it
doesn't offer is the full power of a function-laden word
processor such as WordPerfect. Perhaps future versions will do
so.

PUMA RATINGS
--------------
Performance: 3. Largely because it makes heavy use of graphics,
Ami wants a powerful PC to perform well. Samna recommends a 286
or 386. Of course, it's written for Microsoft Windows, which is
hardly worth running on less than a 286.

Usefulness: 3. More an executive word processor than a writer's
tool, Ami sorely needs mailmerge capability and a
straightforward way to count words. Macros would be nice, too.

Manuals: 3. The User's Guide is well organized, well written, and
helpful. It includes an alphabetical reference to menu options.
There is a separate reference card, a Style Sheet Guide and a
Guide to Windows. Some users might appreciate a tutorial.

Availability: 4. Samna has signed Ingram and Micro D as
distributors.

(Grant Buckler/19890205/Contact: Pam Alexander, Alexander
Communications, 404-876-4482)

(REVIEW)(IBM)(ATL)

Review of: AXE, a file compression utility

Runs on: IBM PCs and compatibles

From: System Enhancement Associates, 21 New Street, Wayne, NJ
07470 201-473-5153

Price: $50

PUMA Rating: 3

Reviewed by: Dana Blankenhorn, 1/10/89

SUMMARY: Axe compresses executable files with .COM or .EXE
extensions.

REVIEW
--------
Axe is from the publishers of the Arc file compression utility.
This version is for program files with extensions like .COM and
files smaller, and a good one will let them run even faster. For
$50, those with crowded hard disks may really need something like
Axe.

Newsbytes tested Axe on an IBM PC XT clone with a 30 megabyte
hard drive. The program is invoked simply, from the DOS prompt,
by typing, the word AXE, the old filename, and the new filename,
for each file you want to compress.

We first tried a large file, the 185,000 byte PCPLUS.EXE file
which is the main engine for Procomm Plus. Axe refused to
compress it, noting correctly that it contains overlays which may
not run compressed. Next we tried it on the PCSETUP.EXE file,
which lets you tell Procomm about your PC or, more likely, the
new PC you've moved the program to. Axe spent 45 seconds
compressing this 33,000 byte file, reporting back that it had cut
15 percent off it, to roughly 28,000. The new PCSETUPX.EXE file,
moreover, actually loaded twice as quickly as the file it
replaced, and we could find no differences in the way the old and
new programs ran. The documentation notes the program's lack of
copy-protection, but adds this warning:

"Don't run off copies for your friends, in-laws, Aunt Lavinia in
Kansas and three buddies at your office. Hey, we make what we
laughingly call a living by writing and selling software. If we
could afford to give it away, we would -- but we can't so don't
you start doing it, either." The honesty is refreshing, although
some Aunt Lavinias are bound to see copies anyway.

PUMA RATING
---------------

PERFORMANCE: 3. It doesn't work with everything, but works well
with files it does compress.

USEFULNESS: 3. Users whose hard disks are running out of room
will find this program appealing.

MANUAL: 3. 16 pages stapled together, but not much needs saying

AVAILABILITY: 4. Order directly from SEA at 201-473-5153.

(REVIEW)(IBM)(ATL)(00001)

Review of: COMPARERITE

Runs on: PC, PC-XT/AT+ with 210K RAM with DOS 2.0 or higher

From: MICROPRO, P.O. Box 7079, San Rafael, CA 94901-9910, 800-227-5609

Price: $89.95 or $125 as a part of the Productivity Package
for owners of WordStar 5.0

PUMA Rating: 2.73 [on a scale of 1 to 4]

Reviewed by: Dana Blankenhorn and TBass, 02/20/89

Summary: This program was designed to make it easier to keep up
with changes in edited text files. It performs a quick redlining
of a combination of an article and its edited version.

REVIEW
------
COMPARERITE was easily mounted and rode rather smoothly. The
printed copy of the combined, *.cmp, file was a lot easier to
read than the processor version of the same file. When called up
into the word processor all of the control commands for the
printer get in the way of reading the changes. It's sort of like
looking at a maze. However, it looked great when it printed up.
[This was the WORDSTAR PRO option.]

As an alternative, one can elect NOT to make a *.cmp file and only read
the comparison on-screen. In this case the additions and
deletions can be made to show up in a variety of colors and forms
that really stand out. [Be ready with your pause key.] With the
screen choice one loses control of the background, black, and
foreground, white, colors.

For the ASCII text files the text did not wrap and realign in the
*.cmp file rather continued on pass the 80 column margin. This
printed as an extra line, of course, but was nuisance if use in
the processor. SO IT GOES...

PUMA RATINGS
------------
PERFORMANCE: 2.7. The best of its features were its print-out,
the screen review --albeit one time through-- and its
flexibility. The problems are mostly small nuisances. The manual
mentions problems in maintaining formats for columns, headers,
footers, etc., in the comparisons.

USEFULNESS: 3.  If one is shifting files around for suggestions and
editing then I could see this as a very useful tool. Definitely
if one has had to put some writing down for a while to
concentrate on another project it could be helpful.

MANUAL: 3.2 The manual was well written and gave several
examples of practical uses of this application.

AVAILABILITY: 2. Can be found in WordStar Companion Products
catalog with an 800 phone number. For WordStar 5.0 owners, it can be
obtained as an add-on "Productivity Package" along with Inset and
Showtext.

(T. Bass/19890220/Contact: Deb Lovig, MICROPRO)


(REVIEW)(APPLE)(SFO)(00001)

Review of:  CONVERTUNITS, Version 1.0

Runs on:  512KE of larger Macintosh computer

From:  Graphictext Applications, 815 Princess Avenue, Vancouver, B.C.,
Canada V6E 3E5, 604-255-8077

Price: US$59.95 for the desk accessory version or the HyperCard version or
 US$74.95 for both.

PUMA Rating: 3.5

Reviewed by: Wendy Woods/2/21/89

Summary:  ConvertUnits is a HyperCard stack or desk accessory which
allows you to instantly convert between units of measure, for example,
pounds and kilograms.

REVIEW
--------
ConvertUnits is a handy desk accessory or HyperCard stack which enables
you to convert  millimeters to inches, pounds to kilograms, costs per
unit volumes, pints to cubic meters, and a wide variety of other choices.
When the desk accessory version is used, it can be used within any
application. While you can enter a value manually through the
on-screen menus, you have a choice of using the product in the
background.  If you highlight a selected unit of measure within a word
processing document, for instance, the program will remember the
values to be converted, and will allow you to paste the converted
value in the same format within a document.

The package comes with an impressive array of conversion data:
the basics are there, including length, area, volume, mass,
standard weight, and velocity -- as well as electric conversions,
heat flow rate, temperature, historical measurement units, light
and radiation, mechanics, unit costs, time zones, and a package
called Whimsy which allows science fiction enthusiasts to
convert various mythical dimensions.

The program comes in handy when we're editing copy from the U.K.
and Japan, where foreign measurements, such as millimeters in
describing the size of a laptop, need to be converted to inches
for the U.S. audience.  And hey, you cooks out there, the program
even converts cups to pints and dry to liquid measure, a big help
if I were using my word processor to write a cookbook!

There are two problems with version 1.0 -- one is that it doesn't
work with everything -- and two, that it doesn't include any system
for converting foreign currencies.  For instance, it crashed when
used together with my telecommunications program InTalk.  The company
says the new version 1.011 has several bug fixes and the crash problem
is believed to have been solved.  Further, the new HyperCard version
of the product has currency exchange.

PUMA RATINGS
------------
PERFORMANCE:  3.5. A little cumbersome with many menus.

USEFULNESS:  4.  No other product available does the job.

MANUAL:  4.  Very well-written.

AVAILABILITY: 3.  Must be mail-ordered direct from the company or
purchased in a Byte computer store in Vancouver.

(Wendy Woods/19890217/Contact: Larry DeFehr, GraphicText Applications)


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

WORD PERFECT, QUADRAM TEAM UP ON FAX DRIVER
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 4 (NB) -- WordPerfect and Quadram have
released a driver for the JT-Fax fax card which lets WordPerfect
5.0 users specify the time and destination of a file they want to
fax as they write it. The driver also lets users preview their
fax files before sending them. Initially, the driver will emulate
the courier typeface, but Quadram plans to upgrade it within six
months to handle all the graphic and font capabilities of
WordPerfect 5.0. Besides being packaged on a utility disk of
WordPerfect, the new driver will also be available on computer
bulletin boards. WordPerfect users can request a copy of it by
faxing Quadram at 404-564-5528.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890104/Contact: Scott Keaton at 404-925-7634)


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

TELENET'S PC PURSUIT HIKES PRICE, PUTS CAP ON USE
RESTON, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 6 (NB) -- Telenet will raise the
monthly charge for use of its PC Pursuit service from $25 to $30
per month, effective February 1, and put a cap of 30 hours per
month on usage, effective May 1. Product manager Peter
Naleszkiewicz told Newsbytes Telenet plans to both expand and
turn a profit on PC Pursuit in 1989. Naleszkiewicz [pronounced
na-lesh-ko-wits] says the new pricing will create a modest
profit, and heavy users can get multiple passwords to avoid
$4.50-$10/hour charges on usage over 30 hours. It works out to $6
per hour for the casual, five hours per month user, down to near $1
per hour for the heaviest users. That's a big bargain,
Naleszkiewicz added. The alternative, AT&T's Reach Out America,
rents straight phone lines, not data lines, for $6-8 per hour,
only on nights and weekends. Naleszkiewicz also plans to launch a
new business service for Telenet this year, aimed at heavy
daytime users of packet services.

Bulletin Boards within a local call of 35 cities including New
York, San Francisco and the Research Triangle Park, North
Carolina, can become "PC Pursuitable" by just telling other
bulletin board users to use it. Big bulletin boards can upgrade
to a 9600 baud tie-line -- four 2400 baud lines, or three 2400 lines and two
1200 baud lines -- for $1,200 down and $1,525 per month. You also need
an X.25 interface card on your PC.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890106/Contact: Peter Naleszkiewicz, fax:
703-689-5086)


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

BULLETIN BOARD OWNERSHIP AND USE RISES DESPITE BAD PUBLICITY
DENVER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 6 (NB) -- The U.S. bulletin board
market is one of the untold success stories of the 1980s. Despite
negative publicity from hackers, crackers, as well as authorities
who can't the difference between a baud and a bad guy, and
despite a total lack of organization, the number of BBS systems
continues to grow. Jack Rickard of "Denver PC Boardwatch," a
monthly newsletter on BBS systems and online services, told
Newsbytes there were about 200 BBSs in Denver's 303 area code alone,
including specialized boards on world peace, "Star Trek,"
astronomy, and sex. Operators have been able to organize when the
issue hits close to home, as when the FCC tried to impose high
access fees for Telenet user, or when Southwestern Bell last year
tried to reclassify Texas SYSOPs as "businesses," thus hiking
their regular phone rates 240 percent. But BBS operators have not made
their presence felt on a regular basis before either state or
federal regulators. Telecommunicaions lawyer-lobbyist Sam Simon
told Newsbytes a BBS lobbying front is a need which needs to be
met, but he and other experts have just lacked the time to work
on it.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890106/Contact: Jack Rickard at 303-973-6038)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00004)

UNISYS WINS $15.9 CONTRACT TO CREATE MANDATORY ONLINE SERVICE
BLUE BELL, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 6 (NB) -- Unisys has won a
$15.9 million, five-year contract from the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services to create the National Practitioner Data Bank.
The NPDB will collect information on malpractice claims and
settlements, as well as disciplinary actions by professional
societies, medical and dental boards. The system, probably based
on the Unisys 2200 mainframe, is due to be online by the summer.
Only then will the disciplinary boards be required to post their
findings with the department.

The HHS service, authorized by Congress in 1986, is unique
because it's the first time users, in this case hospitals, have
been required by law to patronize an online service. Its aim is
to prevent doctors and dentists to escape their pasts by running
to another state. Retroactive reports will not be filed, meaning
doctors who faced discipline in one state last year can still
skip to another state this year, undetected.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890106)


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

ONLINE COLLECTION AGENCY AIMS TO COPY SUCCESS OF SABRE
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 6 (NB) -- Adams, Baker &
Doyle, a New Orleans-based collection agency, has created an
online system to track information on debtors for itself and
other agencies. The company claims 30 independent agencies have
already agreed to use the system, entering names of debtors they
have and tracking names for others. Chief Executive Dennis Bain
said the system has increased collection rates from 29-percent to 35-percent
since it came online last June.

Each node on the network gets an IBM PS/2 with a Hayes 2,400 baud
modem and software. The central processor is an IBM System 36
minicomputer which polls each node nightly. The idea is that if a
debtor moves from New Orleans to Chicago, a local agency will go
after him, taking him to court and seizing assets if necessary.
The system could also increase the market presence of Adams,
Baker & Doyle, since each agency on the network becomes an agent
for Adams, Baker & Doyle, paying $300 per month for a chance to
get business nationwide and, if they're not doing it already,
collect business debts. Proceeds from collections are
divided 40-percent to the branch which posted the debt, 40-percent to the
branch which made the collection, and 20-percent to Adams, Baker &
Doyle.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890106)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00006)

LEXIS, THE DATABASE, KEEPS TOYOTA FROM MAKING LEXUS, THE CAR
DAYTON, OHIO, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 6 (NB) -- Federal judge David Edelstein
of New York has ruled that Mead Data Central's Lexis legal
database trademark is infringed by Toyota's new Lexus luxury car.
In his ruling, Edelstein admitted that Toyota has invested
millions in the Lexus name and to completely scrap it would be
"onerous" but insisted even Mead's own customers might get
confused if he let the Japanese car firm use the name. A three-
judge panel granted a temporary stay to Toyota January 5, as
Mead's Sharon Williamson told Newsbytes. "This means they are
allowed the press conference and local ads in Detroit and Los
Angeles next week. Dealers are otherwise barred from using the
name."

The background is this. Once upon a time, New York consulting
firm Lippincott & Margulies suggested Toyota use the name Alexis
to challenge Honda's Acura line and Nissan's new Infiniti line.
The name was rejected as too feminine. {Never mind possible
infringement with the TV show "Dynasty" and star Joan Collins.}
The final name came out of the brain of the firm's project
manager, who doodled it up in a July, 1986 meeting, according to
court records. The name was announced in June, 1987, and Mead
sued Toyota the following April, after failing to negotiate what
it considered an equitable settlement.

What now? Toyota has spent $2.5 billion on the Lexus line, and
plans to show it off before the press at an auto show in Detroit.
About 89 dealers have put $2.5 million of their own money, each,
into Lexus dealerships. They can either pay Mead what it wants,
pay for Mead advertising and its own disclaimers as Judge
Edelstein wants, or turn lemon into lemonade with a big "name the
car company" promotion at the auto show.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890106)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00007)

CANADA REMOTE LAUNCHES OMBUDSMAN CONFERENCE
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1989 JAN 6 (NB) -- Canada Remote Systems, a
large Toronto-based bulletin board system, is launching an
ombudsman conference to help PC buyers resolve problems with
vendors. In a recent members' newsletter, Canada Remote called
the new conference "a first in the electronic bulletin board
world." PC users will be able to post messages -- which will
only be readable by the conference chairperson until he has
approved them -- about problems and questions arising from PC
equipment purchases. The conference will try to help them
resolve their problems. Karl Timmermans, of Toronto computer
dealer Solutions Plus, will chair the conference. Messages can
be sent to the conference via Canada Remote Systems, or mailed as
ASCII files on floppy disks to Ombudsman Conference, c/o
Solutions Plus, 7170 Warden Ave. Unit 4, Markham, Ontario,
Canada, L3R 4M8.

(Grant Buckler/19890106/Contact: Canada Remote Systems, 416-231-
2383)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00008)

AUSTRALIAN CARRIER DEMONSTRATES FIRST NATIONWIDE ISDN SYSTEM
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, 1989 JAN 5 (NB) -- Australia's national
telecommunications carrier Telecom, has demonstrated its public
ISDN system. Along with the four development partners -- Ericsson,
NEC, Jtec, and the Fujitsu/Telecom joint venture Information
Switching Technology -- Telecom put on display a range of equipment
which will integrate voice, data, text and video. Ericsson is providing the
AXE digital exchange system.

Believed to be the first nationwide ISDN implementation in the
world, Telecom's project, called Macrolink, expected to be introduced
in mid 1989, will provide users with thirty 64k bit per second channels
plus one 64kbps signalling channel. These are designed for users with
large voice or data transfer requirements -- typically linking host
computers, LANs (local area networks) and large PABXs.

Microlink, expected in the mid '90s, will offer two 64kbps data
and one 64kbps signal channel. Microlink will be of use to
smaller business, branch office and even domestic users.

(Paul Zucker/19890105)


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

COMPUNET ONLINE SYSTEM CHANGES HANDS
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1989 JAN 05 (NB) -- Compunet, the graphics-
oriented online system for Atari ST, Commodore Amiga and 64/128
users, has changed hands. In addition, the system will shortly be
available in standard ASCII scrolling format.

Compunet was originally set up in 1984 by Reactive Technology, a
UK holding company. The new owner is Nick Green, an ex-employee
of Commodore who masterminded Compunet from its earliest days.
Green conceived the system in back 1982 as Petnet, an online
system for the Commodore Pet series of computers.

Terms of the deal, which was completed last week, were not
revealed. Green told Newsbytes, however, that his buying in to
the company will allow Compunet to expand. "We currently have 52
ports into the system, and hope to expand this number very soon.
In addition, we will shortly open up a scrolling TTY gateway into
Compunet, so as to allow any modem user with scrolling software
to access the service," he told Newsbytes.

"My eventual aim is to turn Compunet into a totally online
product, with users able to sign up online, and download enhanced
graphics software for their machine, all in one online session,"
he added.

Green noted that the scrolling gateway - accessible via direct
dial, Istel and Packet Switch Stream - is currently undergoing
beta tests. He said that the gateway should be available in a
matter of weeks, opening up the possibility of Compunet being
accessible on an international, as well as UK national basis.

(Steve Gold/19890105/Compunet: 01-997-2591)


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

FRENCH CORDLESS PHONE SYSTEM REVEALED; UK FIRM TO COLLABORATE
BASINGSTOKE, ENGLAND, 1989 JAN 07 (NB) -- Orbitel Mobile
Communications has announced a joint venture with Matra
Communications, its French counterpart, to supply a second
generation public cordless phone system in France under the title
of Pointel.

Terms of the agreement call for Orbitel to cooperate with Matra
to establish the manufacture of CT-2 - Cordless Telephone 2 -
standard equipment in France. The Pointel system will be launched
in France in about twelve months.

Like the UK's forthcoming CT-2 system, the French Pointel system
will allow consumers to use a cordless phone in a similar manner
to existing cordless phones, within 200 metres of the home base
station. Outside of this area, the handset - about the size of a
packet of cigarettes - will lock on to the nearest public
phone point, which will offer digital-quality cordless phone calls
on an outgoing basis only.

The CT-2 standard works in a manner similar to existing cellular
telephones, except that calls cannot be handed between cells, nor
are incoming call supported. Thanks to the simple equipment
requirements, network costs and call charges are significantly
reduced.

(Steve Gold/19890107/Orbitel: 0734-782158)


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

EEC CELLULAR PHONE DUMPING INQUIRY DRAWS A BLANK
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1989 JAN 06 (NB) -- AN EEC inquiry into
alleged dumping of cellular telephone equipment in Europe has
concluded that none of the Far Eastern and Canadian manufacturers
are selling equipment at less than a fair market price.

The inquiry was started last June after Motorola UK complained it
was suffering lost sales and profits after five foreign
manufacturers were cutting prices to be below reasonable levels.
The five firms involved were: Astec of Hong Kong, Matsushita,
Mitsubishi, and NEC of Japan, and Novatel of Canada.

According to an EEC press statement issued late last week, the
EEC has found no evidence of dumping. In fact, the EEC concludes
that prices have stabilized and demand has dramatically
increased. This has in turn enabled Motorola to increase
production, market share and profits, the statement said.

Motorola has now dropped its EEC complaint that the five firms
were dumping Total Access Communication System [TACS] cellular
phones in the UK and Ireland, the statement added.

(Steve Gold/19890106)


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

AT&T AND STC LAND $320 MILLION CONTRACT FOR TRANSATLANTIC CABLE
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1989 JAN 07 (NB) -- AT&T in the US, and STC in
the UK, have landed a $320 million contract to supply TAT-9, the
next fibre-optic undersea cable which will link the U.S. with
Europe.

Terms of the deal call for AT&T to build one half of the cable at
a cost of $170 million, with STC, the English communications
company, supplying the remaining $150-million worth.

TAT-9 will be completed by October 1991, when it will add 80,000
telephone circuits to the transatlantic telecommunications route.
All of TAT-9's capacity has been pre-ordered by five
telecommunications companies: AT&T, British Telecom, French
Telecom, Telefonica of Spain, Teleglobe of Canada.

(Steve Gold/19890107)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SFO)(00001)

JAPANESE CONTROL HALF OF WORLDWIDE CHIP MARKET
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 4 (NB) -- For the first
time, Japanese companies control half the worldwide market for
semiconductors and 20 percent of the U.S. market. The report,
from San Jose-based Dataquest, says the U.S. purchased $3.2
billion worth of Japanese-made chips in 1988, while U.S.
semiconductor firms sold $1.9 billion in chips to Japan.

The top three semiconductor firms, in terms of sales, are
all Japanese -- NEC [$4.5 billion], Toshiba [$4.3 billion], and
Hitachi [$3.5 billion]. Motorola with $3 billion in sales
during 1988, and Texas Instruments with $2.7 billion, ranked
fourth and fifth. Also, for the first time, a Korean firm --
Samsung -- moved into the top 20 ranking of chip producers.

(Wendy Woods/19890107)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(WAS)(00002)

"COMPUTER VIRUS" WORD OF THE YEAR
SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 2 (NB) -- The term
"computer virus" is a sure bet for inclusion in the next version
of Merriam-Webster's unabridged dictionary. "It got a tremendous
amount of use" in 1988, G.C. Merriam Senior Editor James Lowe
told the Associated Press. "It was the word of the year." All
because a graduate student unleashed a virus in the fall that
clogged thousands of military and civilian computers across the
country, showing just how vulnerable intricate networks of
computers can be. Unfortunately, noted Lowe, the term came to
prominence too late for inclusion in the latest edition of the
dictionary. Watch for it in the next addendum, says Lowe.

(Ken Maize/19890106)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(WAS)(00003)

SYRACUSE GEOLOGIST TO HELP SEARCH FOR FLIGHT 103 DEBRIS
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 2 (NB) -- A Syracuse
University geologist will try computer graphics technology used
for oil and gas exploration to help search for wreckage from Pan
Am flight 103 in Scotland. Among the 270 people killed in the
explosion on the jetliner and subsequent crash into Lockerbie,
Scotland, were 35 Syracuse students returning from a study abroad
program. Geology professor Joseph Robinson told United Press
International that Donard Corp. asked him to use computer
graphics to analyze images of the Lockerbie site before
and after the crash taken by the European Spot satellite.
Robinson said the task will strain the limits of his Heroy
Laboratory technology. Donard Corp. markets satellite data to oil
companies and others.

(Ken Maize/19890106)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(ATL)(00004)

EVEREADY ANNOUNCES BATTERIES THAT RECHARGE IN ONE HOUR
ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 6 (NB) -- Eveready Battery has
announced a new one-hour rechargeable model it claims will
revolutionize the battery business. Current nickel cadmium
rechargeables take up to 16 hours to charge up, and some laptop
computers, like the Tandy Model 100, could not use them because
of high voltage fluctuations. As a result, most laptops today use
heavy, sealed battery packs attached to wall rechargers users
must plug in each night before they go to bed. The new Generator
system will consist of AA, C and D size 1 1/2 volt batteries and
their own charger. Eveready's own "Quick Charging" line takes seven
hours to recharge.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890106)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TOR)(00005)

CANADIAN PUBLISHERS TAKE WAIT-AND-SEE VIEW OF CD-ROM
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1989 JAN 6 (NB) -- Most Canadian publishers are
watching the compact disk read-only memory [CD-ROM] market
carefully, but waiting for customer demand to build before they
jump in. That's the conclusion of the Book and Periodical
Development Council, an umbrella group for Canadian publishing-
related organizations. A newsletter published this month by the
council's Technology Committee said the only publishers currently
working with CD-ROM or considering it seriously are those already
experienced with electronic publishing. They include Info Globe,
the online division of the Toronto daily newspaper The Globe and
Mail; Toronto-based Micromedia, which provides an assortment of
online databases; and QL Systems, another major database operator
based in Kingston, Ontario.

The council said publishers are looking for ways to enhance their
current products by using CD-ROM, and are concerned about
damaging the market for their printed products. They are also
concerned about whether customers will see the added value in CD-
ROM and be willing to pay for it. Publishers must also consider
the cost of converting data to machine-readable form, the
organizational restructuring necessary and how fast customers
will move to the new medium, the BPDC said.

(Grant Buckler/19890106/Contact: Book & Periodical Development
Council, 416-595-9967)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TOR)(00006)

BANKERS AND RETAILERS AGREE ON DEBIT CARDS
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1989 JAN 4 (NB) -- Canadian bankers and
retailers have reached an agreement which will pave the way for
the introduction of debit cards. The agreement between the
Canadian Bankers' Association and major retailers deals with the
banks' concerns about the security of bank accounts. Retailers
will be allowed to issue debit cards to their customers, who will
apply to their bankers for security numbers providing access to
their bank account. The banks had insisted on controlling access
to accounts.

(Grant Buckler/19890106/Contact: Canadian Bankers' Association,
416-362-6092)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(SFO)(00001)

NEXT SHIPS ITS FIRST
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 4 (NB) -- Steve Jobs has made
good on his promise to get his first workstations out to
universities by year's end. The first 200 "version 0.8" NeXT Computer
System machines were shipped to some 10 universities during the
last week of December. The machines are accompanied by beta
versions of the NextStep software and by the Write Now word processor.
Stewart Alsop, industry guru who tracks the course of vaporous soft
and hardware, has official removed the NeXT computer from his
"Official PC Vaporlist." He says, "The machine is real -- if
incomplete and buggy -- so it comes off the list just ten weeks
after being announced." Alsop says in his PC Letter ($495/year), one
of the industry's most widely-read newsletters, that Jobs will
supply him with a workstation this month, presumably for an
editorial loan. Alsop had been appealing for one of the highly coveted
machines, singing its praises since it was introduced. Says
Alsop, "See? Shameless begging works."

(Wendy Woods/19890107/Contact: Stewart Alsop, PC Letter, 3 Lagoon
 Drive, Suite 160, Redwood City, Ca. 94065, ph: 415-592-8880)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(WAS)(00002)

AT&T SETS UP SEPARATE UNIX UNIT
NEW YORK, N.Y., U.S.A., 1989 JAN 5 (NB) -- In an attempt to
mollify fears that it is creating a Unix monopoly, American
Telephone & Telegraph Co. has established a separate unit to
handle Unix operations. AT&T says the new unit is an attempt to
give all computer makers access to Unix developments. AT&T has
named Lawrence Dooling as president of the unit, Unix Software
Operation. Unix software will report to AT&T's data systems
group.

(Ken Maize/19890106)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(ATL)(00003)

BELLSOUTH TO DISTRIBUTE DIGITAL VAX COMPUTERS FOR NETWORKING
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 6 (NB) -- BellSouth Corp. has
reached an agreement with Digital Equipment Co. to distribute VAX
computers for networked applications over the next three years.
Both BellSouth Enterprises, the company's regulated subsidiary,
and the regulated Southern Bell and South Central Bell companies
will be able to sell VAXes, along with products like the All-in-i
Office and Information Systems. BellSouth will package the VAXes
and software with its telecommunications product line for a
complete "computercations" solution.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890106)


(UNIX)(NEWS)(LON)(00004)

SCO RELEASES DOS/XENIX VP/IX SOFTWARE
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1989 JAN 03 (NB) -- The Santa Cruz Operation -
SCO - has announced that Release 1.1 of its VP/IX software - the
'DOS under Xenix' system for 80386-based PCs running the SCO
Xenix 386 operating system - is now available. The package will
retail for #79, with upgrades to existing users supplied free of
charge.

"This release of SCO VP/IX brings the most up to date DOS bridge
to SCO Xenix 386 for all supported platforms,including machines
running SCO Xenix on ESDI, SCSI and IBM PS/2 computers," said
Mike Hill, SCO"s international product marketing manager. He said
that Release 1.1 offers improved installation, device support,
performance and documentation.

* SCO VP/IX is a multitasking, multiuser software extension to
 the SCO Xenix 386 operating system that enables users to run
 both MS-DOS and Xenix applications concurrently. The
 applications run transparently on the same PC, with no special
 disk partitioning. Users can access and share any MS-DOS and
 Xenix files with no special precautions.

(Steve Gold/19890107)


(EDITORIAL)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00001)

W Y S I W Y G - [What You See Is: Wayne Yacco's Gazette]

U.S. SHOOTS OTHER BIG TOE
BURBANK, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 06 (NB) -- Laptop computers is one of
the product areas that is supposed to have been a high point of the
recent COMDEX. One of those laptops was, of course, the Compaq SLT
that was mentioned here as a recipient of a PC Computing ARFIE. It
was one of the recent crop that included VGA or VGA-resolution
displays. Yet it was still subject to criticism, one must assume,
because of other areas that were not equally advanced. It isn't
particularly light. It isn't exceedingly powerful. It isn't even
based on 80386-chip technology. It is pretty good, just not the
same caliber of product innovation that the original transportable
was.

If analysts were disappointed at COMDEX, it may be because there
were few laptops that attempted the type of leadership move that has
always been associated with one company: Toshiba. Nearly every
market segment has a leading company or two that seem to have
insights that are clearly sharper than everyone else. And the
industry usually benefits as a whole from those leaders. Would
there have been a 1-2-3 if there hadn't been a Visicalc? Would
there be an Excel if there hadn't been a 1-2-3 [we asked, tongue
only slightly in cheek]?

It would seem that the last thing we would want to do is interfere
with whatever natural incentive to development a market leader
provides. Yet Toshiba itself no longer has as great an incentive to
take an innovative lead in our laptop markets. The reason, if we
can use the term loosely, is that its incentive has been partially
eroded by legislation. And, just so Toshiba doesn't reap all of the
benefits of this legislation, there are some consequences for the
rest of us too. Yes, boys and girls, hard on the heels of its
rousing success legislating against those naughty Japanese chip
makers, the U. S. has again launched a devastating economic attack
at yet another nemesis.

This time the target is Toshiba. Toshiba's subsidiary probably deserves to be
chastised for selling its technology to the Soviets. That nasty
business gave the reds the ability to produce quieter propellers for
their submarines and that, in turn, obsoleted our navy's expensive
detection capability. Upgrading will cost American taxpayers a
fortune--assuming that we can even develop sufficiently sensitive
equipment.

Meanwhile U. S. propellers began to whir noisily--atop certain
beanies. The way that Uncle Sam has chosen to punish Toshiba reeks
of bureaucratic genius. Here's the plan. Toshiba makes the most
advanced laptop computers in the world. Naturally, anyone using
these machines enjoys a competitive advantage over those employing
less sophisticated equipment. We have access to them, the Russians
don't. So, our legislators have decided that no one in government
can buy Toshiba.

OK. OK. As if the punishment weren't unusual enough, it's also
devilishly cruel. Toshiba's fortunes will undoubtedly change when
they're forced to divert those government units to the commercial
sector [where they're often unable to satisfy demand]. After all,
the firm will no longer be selling them at the prices set in low-bid
contracts. Here's the secret strategy: They'll be forced out of a
high-volume market and pushed into one that offers more profit per
unit! And, these extra profits will be earned without making
greater efforts in research or delivering an improved product.

Boy, those guys on the hill are mean. How will Toshiba's managers
ever live with their guilt and shame after this? On the other hand,
it's too bad for us that congress didn't just place a special tax on
Toshiba's income. I understand that the Navy may be forced to
enhance its sub-seeking ability with hearing aids unless we spend
plenty for new detection systems. And, don't forget those
consequences for the rest of us either. We'll all be looking for
them in the next generation of boring laptops.

(Wayne Yacco/19890110)