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/nb890124.291

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

MACWORLD EXPO DOMINATES SAN FRANCISCO
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 21 (NB) -- San Francisco
is swarming with an estimated 60,000 Macintosh devotees, vendors,
third party developers, and computer journalists for the latest
MacWorld Expo. Virtually every major meeting hall, hotel room, and suite in
a 20-block radius of the Moscone Center is booked solid; virtually
every street approaching the Moscone Center is packed with bumper-
to-bumper traffic during the show days; while seated in their cars,
would-be drivers see billboards emblazoned with the message of
show exhibitors. Some 500 exhibitors, occupying 1500 booths, have spilled
over into nearby Brooks Hall, the city's second major convention
center, bringing the total floor space of the event to a whopping
330,000 square feet, according to show organizers Mitch Hall
Associates.

Attention-grabbing gimmicks and celebrities are everywhere. Qume is
paying a reported $5,000 each to Star Trek's Marina Sirtis,
a.k.a. Deanna Troi, and Wil Wheaton, a.k.a. Wesley Crusher, to appear
at the booth to show off the company's new printers. The old Trek
crew of Chekov [Walter Koenig] and Uhuru [Nichelle Nichols] will
also take turns at the booth. There's also Clayton Moore, the Lone
Ranger, hawking for Kinetics' Lan Ranger. This, along with plenty of
contests, car give-aways, and ubiquitous parties, has allowed San
Francisco to approach the unbridled glitter of Las Vegas in the heat
of Comdex, a far cry from the first MacWorld Expo here in 1985 which
had 180 booths and a meager 8,000 attendees.

On this, the fifth anniversary of the Macintosh, Apple Chief
Executive Officer John Sculley gave the keynote address, promising
the jam-packed audience that "A lot of the revolution is still to
come," and that the Macintosh will remain the firm's "premier product"
through the 1990s. The address featured video clips of the product's
advertising through the years, including the original Lisa ad showing
a young executive, his Lisa, and his dog at the office. The retrospective
culminated with a demonstration of "HyperTV" -- full-motion video on
the Macintosh in a two-way conversation between Sculley and Jean
Louis Gassee, Apple Products president. The feat was accomplished
using AST Research's NuView plug-in video board. "HyperTV" will be
real for the Macintosh in 1989," said Sculley. The board is
expected to ship in February and be priced at $2,599.

(Wendy Woods/19890121/Contact: Mitch Hall Associates, PO Bx 155,
1200 East St., Westwood, MA 02090, 617-329-7466)


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

NEW APPLE SE IS FOUR TIMES FASTER
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 19 (NB) -- Apple's newest
Macintosh SE/30, designed with a top-of-the-line 16 MHz 68030 microprocessor,
is four times faster than its predecessor and can calculate some
100 times faster, thanks to a 68882 floating point math coprocessor.
The new machine, currently shipping, marks the beginning of a slew
of product announcements slated for 1989, according to Apple Products
President Jean Louis Gassee. Gassee says Apple will offer three
groups of new computers -- the compact ones, characterized by the
SE and the Macintosh Plus; the modular units, or the Macintosh II
series; "and something else I'm not prepared to say at this time,"
possibly meaning a portable.

The new Macintosh SE, which packs the power of a Macintosh II in a
smaller box, also features the new 1.4 megabyte, 3.5-inch high
density floppy "Superdrive" which can read, format, and write Mac,
Apple II ProDOS, OS/2 and MS-DOS diskettes. The basic machine [$4,369]
comes with one megabyte of random access memory, but there are two other
configurations -- a 40 megabyte internal hard disk version for $4,869
and a four megabyte RAM/80 megabyte hard disk version for $6,569.

Perhaps most significant is the new expansion slot architecture
called the 030 Direct Slot, which makes cards designed for the
earlier SE obsolete. Manufacturers must create new cards to fit
this product. One manufacturer, however, Dove Computer Corporation,
has announced the Marathon 120/96 SE/30 NuBus Adapter card which
allows expansion cards for the original SE to function in the SE/30
without modification. The card will also give SE/30 users immediate
access to the based of Macintosh II NuBus cards.

Current Macintosh SE owners will be offered upgrades to an SE/30
in March, says Gassee. No price was offered. There will be no
upgrade path from the Macintosh Plus.

(Wendy Woods/19890121)


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

NO PLANS TO DUMP THE MACINTOSH PLUS
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 19 (NB) -- For
the record, Apple President Jean Louis Gassee stated right
at the start of the news conference announcing the new SE/30,
"We are not going to do anything to obsolete the Macintosh Plus."
It's clear, however, that the machine's days are numbered,
since Apple has offered no upgrade path -- nor plans to do so --
between its entry-level Macintosh Plus and the new SE/30.

(Wendy Woods/19890121)


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

030 DIRECT SLOT CARDS DUE THIS QUARTER
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 21 (NB) -- The following
companies have announced their support for the new 030 Direct Slot
and have also announced cards compatible with it: Avatar, Creative
Solutions, Digidesign, Digital Communications Associates [which
promises to offer a MacIRMA card allowing the SE/30 to function
as an IBM 3278 or 3279 terminal], Dove Computer, EMachines, Epic
Technology, Kinetics, MacPEAK Systems, Micron Technology, SuperMac
Technology.

(Wendy Woods/19890121)


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

PROGRAMMERS GET NEW APPLE TOOLS AND SERVICES
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 19 (NB) -- Apple Computer
has announced two programs, Apple Partners and Apple Associates,
designed to provide more services to programmers. Apple will now
provide each new developer with a "one-stop" starter kit consisting
of a Developer Library, a subscription to Applelink, its online
service, a free membership in the Apple Programmers and Developers
Association -- APDA -- and advanced deliveries of new versions of
system software to aid in compatibility testing. Partners can
also lease or purchase computers and equipment at substantially
discounted prices. The fee to join the Apple Partners program is
$750 or $600 without the Developer Library. Commercial and in-house
developers can call the Apple Developer Hotline at 408-974-4897 for
more information.

Apple announced version 3.0 of the Macintosh Programmer's
Workshop [MPW] is now available. An integrated text editor and command
interpreter, it provides more than 120 built-in commands and 30
development tools. The price for the complete package is $400 or $525
with optional C or Pascal programming languages.

Version 3.1 of MacWorkstation is now available. It provides
host programmers with full access and control over windows, pull-down
menus, dialog boxes, and other features of the Mac user interface
without requiring them to learn the traditional Mac programming
environment. It is enhanced with full color support for all
on-screen objects and has more in the Director Toolbox.

Finally, Apple has announced version 1.1 of A/UX, its implementation
of AT&T's Unix System V, Release 2, Version 2. The product is
expected to be available in March at between $329 and $695,
depending on options.

(Wendy Woods/19890121/Contact: Cynthia Macon, Apple, 408-974-5448)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00006)

APPLE'S NEW DISK DRIVE OFFERINGS FOR SE AND II
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 19 (NB) -- Apple is now
selling its own 3.5-inch internal and external hard drives for the
SE. The internal is priced at $2,099 and the external is $2,199.
A new internal 1.4 megabyte floppy Superdrive disk drive for the
Macintosh II has also become available. The high density drive,
which requires dealer installation, costs $649.

(Wendy Woods/19890121)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00007)

BACKUP SOFTWARE FOR NOVELL NETWORKS
PROVO, UTAH, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 19 (NB) -- Gazelle Systems plans to
announce Back-It 4 LAN, a backup utility that will backup and
restore files on Novell Netware 2.15, at MacWorld in San Francisco.
According to the announcement, Gazelle worked closely with Novell to
insure that the product will backup all network files including
Macintosh resource and data forks. The $495-per-server product is
scheduled to ship early this March.

In addition to AFP [Apple file protocol] support, the product offers
support for tape drive systems, a backup manager, an automatic
scheduler, file compression [down to 75 percent of normal size], and
online help. The company also claims that backups are processed 50 to
150 percent faster by Back-It 4 LAN than by competing products.

(Wayne Yacco/19890118/Contact: 800-233-0383, 801-377-1288)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00008)

DAYNA'S LAN BREAKS PRICE BARRIER
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 19 (NB) -- Dayna
Communications of Salt Lake City, Utah, has introduced a low-cost local
area network for Macintoshes which can use a PC AT as a file server.
The obvious advantage is price -- an AT or compatible costs a
fraction of a dedicated Macintosh II. Daynanet, which serves up
to 100 users or nodes, consists of software and add-in card for the
PC AT and costs $1,249. There is also an upgrade available if
users want to convert Daynanet to Ethernet or Novell's Netware.
The interface, incidentally, is similar to Netware's, and not
surprising -- Dayna worked on Netware along with Novell.

"No other network operating system on the market provides this
level of performance in this price range," says Robert Young, Dayna's
chief executive officer. The product is expected to be available
by the end of April.

(Wendy Woods/19890121)


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

APPLE CUTS PRODUCT PRICES
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 19 (NB) -- Effective
immediately, Apple Computer has cut prices 9 to 24 percent on some
of its Macintoshes, memory expansion kits, and hard disk drives,
less than four months after raising some prices due to higher
component costs. The price reductions affect the two megabyte [MB]
Macintosh SE, with 40 megabyte internal hard disk, down 14 percent to
$4,369; the Macintosh II, 4 MB with 40 MB internal hard disk, down nine
percent to $7,369. The Macintosh IIx, 4 MB with 80 MB hard disk is
16 percent cheaper at $7,869; the Macintosh IIx 4 MB with Superdrive is
now 10 percent less at $6,969.

In addition, two and four memory expansion kits for the Macintosh
are now 17 percent less expensive at $999 and $1,999; and internal
and external hard disks, ranging in configuration from 20 to 80
MB are now 18 to 25 percent cheaper.

"With this anticipated downward trend in component prices, we
are able to pass these expected savings on to our customers," said
Apple USA President Allan Z. Loren, in a prepared statement.

(Wendy Woods/19890121)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00010)

JASMINE INTRODUCES FILE SERVER, HARD DRIVE, OPTICAL DISK
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 19 (NB) -- Jasmine used
MacWorld Expo to introduce three new products -- a 325 megabyte
model of its DirectDrive hard disk for the memory-hungry user;
a file server, Jasmine DirectServe, capable of supporting up to
32 nodes and costing $1,299; and an erasable optical drive, the
600 megabyte DirectOptical drive featuring a 5.25-inch removable
cartridge and full read-write-erase functionality. The drive is
priced at $4,995 and is expected to ship in March. Based on a
Ricoh drive mechanism, the drive's average seek time is 50
milliseconds.

(Wendy Woods/19890121/Contact: Audrey Leeds, Jasmine, 415-282-1111)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00011)

MACROMIND'S DIRECTOR WOWS THE SHOW CROWD
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 19 (NB) -- MacroMind has
upgraded VideoWorks and renamed it MacroMind Director. One of the
hits of the show, the Director program is a set of tools that
combines text, graphics, animation, audio, and video. Its uses
include creating high-impact multimedia presentations, desktop
video and storyboarding, visualizing complex scientific and
engineering concepts, and interactive learning in higher
education and corporate training.

The product has more than 100 new features over its predecessor,
including real-time animation, a powerful color paint program
and color palette control, automated animation, enhanced sound and
music features, such as MIDI controls, and improved user interface
with pop-up menus and online help. A major design goal, says
MacroMind Chairman Marc Canter, is to make animation simpler
and easier than ever before.

Beta version users raved about it. MacroMind quotes Robert
Santoro, of NuWorld Graphics, as saying, "A Macintosh II with the
right peripherals and MacroMind Director provides me with a
complex video production system at a fraction of the cost of a
conventional studio. Forget slide presentations!"

Expected to ship in March, MacroMind Director is priced at $695.
Upgrades from VideoWorks II are priced at $250.

(Wendy Woods/19890121/Contact: Brenda Ketter, MacroMind, 312-871-0987)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00012)

MACINTOSH CAN PRINT ON HP PRINTERS
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 19 (NB) -- Insight
Development has introduced software that will allow the Macintosh
to output printing to LaserJet series and DeskJet series printers from
Hewlett Packard, as well as to HP compatible laser printers, such
as those available from Epson, Panasonic, Okidata, Everex, and
Ricoh. MacPrint is installed as a Chooser level device using a supplied
installer program. The program uses the printer's resident fonts to
create output.

Says the company executive vice president, Doug Cole, "There are more
than one million LaserJets installed to date with nearly 60,000
being shipped each month. MacPrint will now enable these users to
choose hardware configurations from both the PC or Macintosh
environments. An HP DeskJet, configured with MacPrint, for example,
will cost less than $1000 yet will produce output very close to the
LaserWriter in quality."

Available immediately, MacPrint has a suggested price of $149.

(Wendy Woods/19890121/Contact: Insight, 415-376-9451)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00013)

CUSTOM POSTSCRIPT FONTS -- MAKE YOUR OWN WITH KEYMASTER
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 19 (NB) -- KeyMaster is
designed to create high resolution PostScript fonts from Apple
Macintosh artwork. Company logos, symbols, signatures, graphics,
and pictures can be used in line with regular text. The product
is for people who want the convenience of their logos and graphics
on a keystroke. KeyMaster also imports images in EPS format
from Aldus FreeHand and Adobe Illustrator, and in PICT format from
MacDraw II, SuperPaint, and other popular object-oriented Mac
drawing programs. Each KeyNaster font supports up to 16 graphic
characters. The cost is $100 and the product comes from Altsys
of Plano, Texas.

(Wendy Woods/19890121/Contact: Ellen Murphy, Marketing, 214-424-4888)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00014)

FARALLON HIDES BREAKTHROUGH PRODUCT, SHOWS NEW MACRECORDER
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 19 (NB) -- Farallon
Computing is working on a new kind of word processor that manages
layers of text, and has a visual interface with to an editor's
copy correcting tools, complete with pen and highlighter,
according to MacWeek magazine. The product includes a pencil
tool which allows the writer to cross out, circle, or highlight
areas of a document. Also, the user will be able to attach
verbal or written comments to a segment of the text through a
comment window. A Farallon spokesman would not comment further
to Newsbytes regarding the product, code-named Fredsoft, except to
say it "won't be announced at MacWorld" and no announcement date
has been set.

Meanwhile, Farallon has version 2.0 of MacRecorder available.
This innovative hardware and software product allows any sound to
be digitized, compressed to a fraction of its normal disk space,
and played back through a Macintosh. For example, while 46 seconds
of uncompressed voice occupies one megabyte of disk and RAM space,
the same narration takes up only 250K at 4 to 1 and 125K at 8 to 1 sound
compression ratios. Scheduled for release this quarter, the new version
features interactive multimedia support through the new HyperSound
Toolkit. For the first time, users can build interactive HyperCard
sound stacks that record and play compressed sounds from within
HyperCard. The price is $249.

(Wendy Woods/19890121/Contact: Tom Reilly, Farallon, 415-327-3434)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00015)

WORKGROUP EDITING MADE EASY
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 20 (NB) -- Mainstay
has demonstrated MarkUp, an application for workgroup editing and
review for the Macintosh. The product permits members of a local
area network to edit any type of Macintosh document without having
the application that created it. All members can edit the same
document at the same time, real-time, as the system pretends each
user is an "overlay" of the original document. Each node has tools to
mark up, highlight, expand and annotate reports. The product
supports color on the Macintosh II. Available in March, the group
versions will be sold at a price of $495 for 2 nodes and $995 for
five. A standalone version is available for $245.

(Wendy Woods/19890121/Contact: Mainstay, 818-991-6540)


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

INFORMIX GIVES AWAY BETA VERSIONS OF WINGZ
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 19 (NB) -- Informix,
still hoping for a first quarter release of the product, gave
away 15,000 copies of a special demonstration version of Wingz
at the MacWorld Expo, every 15 minutes gave away a shrink-wrapped,
prerelease version of the product, and announced that a special University
edition of Wingz will be available. At the show with its
flashy "Time Shuttle" booth for the third time, Informix has
missed several deadlines for release of the product, which has
the unique ability to combine graphics, text, and spreadsheets
for visual presentation. The delays are due to continuing bugs
in the software and the company says it is determined to
release a "clean" copy, even if it means costly delay.

Informix calls Wingz "the first graphic spreadsheet for the
Macintosh and the largest, fastest, and most versatile spreadsheet
for any microcomputer." It begins with rows and columns,
and adds advanced charts and graphs, including 3-D simulation,
has text fields with basic word processing capabilities, and HyperScript
application development language.

The University edition of Wingz is expected to have a list price
of $89, have all the features of the higher-priced version, but
will come with special classroom licenses and discounts.

(Wendy Woods/19890121/Contact: Kathleen Burnham, 913-492-3800)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00017)

QUME'S POSTSCRIPT-COMPATIBLE LASER PRINTER
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 19 (NB) -- Qume
Corporation has introduced the CrystalPrint Publisher, a $4,499
laser printer with a printer-resident RISC architecture-based
printer controller said to outperform the Apple LaserWriter IINT.
The product, which costs $500 less than the Apple model, features
11 built-in fonts offering 35 typefaces, a 300 dots-per-inch output,
three megabytes of random access memory, and a third-generation
printer engine from Casio. The product is available through a
number of U.S. distributors, but is also being purchased on an
OEM [original equipment manufacturer] basis and relabelled by
two companies -- Jasmine and Fortis Information Systems --
which will sell the unit under their own name.

Qume is located in Milpitas, California. Phone [phone].

(Wendy Woods/19890121)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00018)

WORLD'S TINIEST MACINTOSH
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 19 (NB) -- The smallest
Macintosh has arrived -- the WristMac Personal Information System. Ex
Machina, a New York-based Macintosh software and hardware developer,
can upload and download 80 watch-pages of alarms, schedules, phone
numbers, and custom text, and comes with a tiny cable to connect
it to the Macintosh's serial port. On the Macintosh side, the
WristMac is operated by a HyperCard stack. The stack provides
a complete on-screen simulation of the watch, allowing the user
to enter and manipulate information.

The WristMac also imports data from existing Mac applications,
including Focal Point, Business Class, and City-to-City, all
HyperCard products from TenPointO.

The package comes with watch, battery, connecting clip, cable,
software, and Owner's Manual written by Neil Shapiro, founding
editor of MacUser magazine. The suggested retail price is $225.
An executive model, which features gold buttons, is $295.

(Wendy Woods/19890121/Contact: David Rose, Ex Machina, 212-831-3142)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00019)

APPLE'S FORTUNES SOAR
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 17 (NB) -- Apple Computer
reports a whopping 35 percent increase in revenues for its first
fiscal quarter ending December 30, 1988. Net sales were $1.405
billion, compared to $1.042 one year ago. Income was $140.5
million, 16 percent higher than the 1987 figure. Apple says
international sales accounted for 32 percent of total revenue.

Apple says it has increased its research and development spending,
up to 7.1 percent of net sales compared to 5.5 percent one year
ago.

(Wendy Woods/19890121)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(TOR)(00020)

APPLE CANADA ANNOUNCES SE-30, CUTS MACINTOSH PRICES
MARKHAM, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1989 JAN 19 (NB) -- Apple Canada Inc.
followed the lead of its U.S. parent in introducing the Macintosh
SE/30, and at the same time cut prices on existing Macintosh
models. Canadian suggested retail price for the Mac SE/30 with
one megabyte of memory is C$6,675. The model with a 40-megabyte
hard disk costs C$7,425, and the model with an 80-megabyte disk
is C$9,995.

The price of the old SE with a 40-megabyte hard disk has been cut
from C$7,892 to C$6375. The SE with 20-megabyte disk goes from
C$5,931 to C$5,495. Without a hard disk, the SE now costs
C$4,625, down from C$4,931. The Macintosh Plus has been reduced
from C$2,995 to C$2,625.

The Mac II drops from C$7,595 to C$7,425 without hard disk, from
C$9,610 to C$9,395 with 40-megabyte hard disk, and from C$12,575
to C$11,250 with 80-megabyte disk. The Mac IIx is cut from
C$12,096 to C$10,595 without hard disk, from C$14,588 to C$11,995
for the 80-megabyte model. Prices for internal and external hard
disks and memory expansion kits were also reduced.

Introduction of a new model often affects the prices of existing
models. But Apple Canada cited other reasons for the cuts as
well. They include a modest reduction in the cost of one
megabyte dynamic RAM chips, improved market conditions, and two
factors unique to the Canadian market. The Canadian dollar risen
against U.S. currency recently, hovering in the 82- to 84-cent
range after falling as low as 71 cents. And, a 3.9-percent duty
on imported computer components was eliminated January 1 as part
of the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and the United States.

(Grant Buckler/19890120/Contact: Apple Canada, 416-477-5800)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(TOR)(00021)

CLARIS ANNOUNCES CANADIAN PRICING ON NEW RELEASES
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1989 JAN 16 (NB) -- New releases of
MacWrite and MacDraw announced by Claris Corp. at the MacWorld
Expo show in San Francisco will be available in Canada by the end
of the first quarter. MacDraw II Version 1.1 will be available
from all Claris authorized resellers in Canada for $549.
Registered owners of MacDraw II Version 1.0 get a free upgrade if
they bought after Jan. 1, 1989, and can upgrade for C$40
otherwise. Owners of the original MacDraw can upgrade for C$280.
Suggested retail price for MacWrite II is C$299.

(Grant Buckler/19890116/Contact: Claris Canada, 416-941-9611)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(BRU)(00022)

APPLE ANNOUNCES NEW MACINTOSHES
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1989 JAN 19 (NB) -- In parallel with
announcements in the U.S. and U.K., Apple Belgium has unveiled the
Mac SE/30 series of micros. Unlike the U.K. versions, the Belgian
releases of the 68030-based SE/30 are in the same configurations
as those unveiled in the U.S.

The MAC SE/30 is based around a 16MHz 68030 microprocessor
coupled with a 68882 maths co-processor. In addition, the SE/30's
disk drive is capable of working to Apple Pro-DOS, IBM 640K and
1.44Mb, Mac standard and 1.44Mb disk formats. The IBM
compatibility gives the SE/30's drive access to MS and PC-Dos
files from IBM PCs and close compatibles using 3.5-inch disks.

In common with Apple U.S. and U.K., Apple Belgium also announced
it intends to offer an upgrade path for existing Mac SE users to
move on up to the 68030-based SE/30 environment. The upgrades,
which will be available from the second quarter of the year
onwards, will probably take the form of a motherboard and disk
drive replacement.

(Peter Vekinis/19890120/Contact: Apple Belgium, Veerle Wuyts,
            Colonel Bourgstraat 103, 1040 Brussels,
            Belgium, Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(BRU)(00023)

BANYAN OFFERS APPLE GATEWAY
MUNICH, WEST GERMANY, 1989 JAN 18 (NB) -- Banyan has announced
that its successful Unix-based VINES local area network can be
interconnected with the Apple Macintosh through a VINES Mac Mail
Gateway. The gateway, which offers electronic mail facilities,
makes it possible for companies to integrate Apple Macintoshes in
an IBM-based company Local Area Network - LAN - system.

Unveiling the system, Peter Simon, Banyon's vice president, said
that Mac Mail Gateway facility will ship within the next few
months. "The Apple Mac has a significant function to play in
today's office," he said.

In a related story, Banyan has developed a new high speed LAN
hardware product, which moves data at up to 16MBits per second,
compared with the Ethernet standard of 10MBits per second. When
used with IBM's Token Ring adapters in PCs, the new network also
breaks the 4MBits/s speed barrier of IBM's token ring software.

(Peter Vekinis/19890120)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LON)(00024)

APPLE POWERS IN WITH MAC SE/30 RANGE -- SPECIAL U.K. VERSIONS
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1989 JAN 19 (NB) -- Apple U.K. has unveiled the
SE/30 series of Macintosh computers. The machines combine the
power of a 16MHz 68030 microprocessor with a 68882 maths co-
processor, and offer up to four times the processing power and
speed of the existing Mac SE family of computers.

Apple will sell the Mac SE/30 in different configurations in the
UK than those launched in parallel in the U.S. and Europe. The UK
versions are the SE/30 2/40, with 2Mb of main memory and a 40Mb
hard disk at UKP3,420; and the SE/30 4/40, with 4Mb of main memory
and a 40Mb hard disk at UKP3,935. Both U.K. versions of the SE/30
ship with Apple's system software version 6.0.3 plus Hypercard,
and will ship from March, 1989 onwards.

In common with Apple U.S. and Europe, Apple U.K. will make available
an upgrade kit for existing Mac SE users to upgrade to SE/30
performance. The upgrade kit will be available from the second
quarter of 1989 onwards at a price to be decided.

Two major features of the SE/30 series are the inclusion of a
multiple-format disk drive capable of reading and writing to
Apple ProDos, PC and Apple Mac formats, and a case-integral 9
inch monochrome monitor. The new drive gives users access to MS-
DOS and OS/2 data files.

According to Chris Calvert, Apple U.K.'s product marketing manager,
the Mac SE/30 machines have been developed to meet customer
demand for such products. "Apple is maintaining consistency and a
growth path within its product family, The Mac SE/30 achieves
this whilst significantly increasing the functionality and power
of the compact line," he said.

Although the SE/30 has an case-integral monochrome monitor, the
machine also supports colour from within the SE firmware. This
allows the SE/30 series to directly access the colour
capabilities of the Mac operating system. In addition, the Apple
sound chip provides four voice stereo channels.

(Steve Gold/19890119/Apple UK: 0442-60244)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LON)(00025)

APPLE U.K. CUTS PRICES TO MAKE WAY FOR MAC SE/30 SERIES
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1989 JAN 19 (NB) -- In parallel with the launch
of the Mac SE/30 family [see separate story], Apple U.K. has cut
pricing on its Mac product range and associated expansion kits.
Whilst the SE/30 series won't hit U.K. dealers until next March,
the Apple U.K. price cuts take effect immediately.

Amongst the price cuts, Apple U.K. has also raised the minimum
memory configuration of the 20Mb hard disk-equipped Mac SE HD20
from 1Mb to 2Mb, alongside a reduced price of UKP2,665 - down 4.65
percent from UKP2,795 for the 1Mb-equipped model.

The entry-level Mac Plus, meanwhile, drops from UKP1,495 to UKP1,355
- down 9.36 percent. The Mac SE1/2FL [twin floppies with 1Mb of
RAM] falls from UKP2,195 to UKP2,165 - down 1.37 percent. The Mac
SE2/40 falls the most, from UKP3,495 to UKP2,965 - a reduction of
15.16 percent.

According to Chris Calvert, Apple U.K.'s product marketing manager,
the price cuts are due to the falling price of memory chips. The
2Mb configuration change on the Mac SE HD20, he said, is due to
pressure from the Mac business user community.

(Steve Gold/19890119/Apple UK: 0442-60244)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(WAS)(00001)

CULLINET ACQUIRES FINNISH FIRM
WESTWOOD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 17 (NB) -- Cullinet
Software has acquired a 31 percent share of Finnsystems Oy,
Cullinet's distributor in Finland. No financial details were
released. The acquisition is part of Cullinet's plans to expand
its international marketing efforts.

(Ken Maize/19890120)


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

IS THE END NEAR FOR PRIME?
NATICK, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 20 (NB) -- Prime Computer
Inc. has taken out full page ads in many of the nation's leading
newspapers, challenging the rationale offered by MAI Basic Four
Inc. in its hostile takeover attempt. Prime says MAI Basic has
not satisfied any of the conditions set forth in the tender
offer, including demonstration of adequate financing. But, at the
same time, securities analysts are suggesting that the audacious
move by MAI Basic may be on the verge of success. Robert Herwick,
who follows Prime for Hambrecht & Quist, told the Associated
Press, "It would appear to be a done deal, which is what the
arbitrage community has been saying by bidding up the price of the
stock. These folks at MAI have done the unbelievable." Still,
obstacles remain. MAI must win 67 percent of Prime's stock, and
Prime could use convertible debentures in its possession -- bonds
the owner can covert to common stock -- to create several million
more shares. Also, MAI Basic must overcome a Prime "poison pill"
takeover defense and a temporary injunction against the takeover.
Nevertheless, says Dean Witter Reynolds analyst Jay Stevens, "a
lot of us do feel it's getting close."

(Ken Maize/19890120)


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

WANG EARNINGS FREEFALL
LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A. 19 JAN 1989 (NB) -- Driven by
disappointing sales for its new VS 5000 series, Wang
Laboratories Inc. earnings for the quarter ended Dec. 31 tumbled
97 percent compared to the same quarter last year. Wang said
profits were $1 million, a penny a share, on revenue of $760.7
million, compared to $34.1 million in earnings [21 cents per
share] on revenues of $784.7 million for the quarter ended Dec.
31, 1987. Wang said the VS 5000 had series production problems,
especially in Europe, which led to slow sales and late
deliveries. Wang added that the company's older models also sold
sluggishly.

(Ken Maize/19890120)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(ATL)(00004)

CONTROL DATA FOUNDER WILLIAM NORRIS SIGNS SOVIET COURSEWARE DEAL
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 20 (NB) -- The William C.
Norris Institute has signed a deal with the Soviet Academy of
Sciences and the Zodiak Computer Centre of Moscow to create
computer software and courseware. Zodiak, a cooperative
created under the Gorbachev government's perestroika program,
will own the controlling interest in the joint venture.

The first program to be created under the joint venture, Norris
said, will be based on a Soviet computer science course which is
presently based on textbooks and graphic simulations. Over 5
million copies of the textbook have gone out to Soviet students.
The joint venture will translate the text into English and
prepare it for use on computers. The Educational Testing Service
of Princeton, New Jersey, best known as purveyors of the annual
Scholastic Aptitude Test -- SAT -- taken by high school seniors, will
act as project manager for the Norris Institute.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890120)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00005)

PUBLIC SECTOR SYSTEMS APPOINTED UNISYS ASSOCIATE
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1989 JAN 16 (NB) -- Unisys Canada Inc.
has appointed Public Sector Systems as a Marketing Associate in
Canada. Ottawa-based Public Sector Systems supplies software and
services to public agencies, specializing in records management
technology. As a Unisys Marketing Associate, the company gets
exclusive marketing and support rights to the Unisys Automated
Records Management System [UARMS].

(Grant Buckler/19890117/Contact: Don Edwards, Unisys Canada Inc.
416-495-4921)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00006)

AT&T CANADA APPOINTS NEW PRESIDENT
MARKHAM, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1989 JAN 10 (NB) -- AT&T Canada Inc.
has appointed Benjamin L. Scott, formerly U.S. reseller sale
vice-president in AT&T's Data Systems Group, to the post of
president. He replaces James J. Leto, who moves to a senior
position in AT&T's Federal Systems Group.

(Grant Buckler/19890117/Contact: Valery Vollenweider, AT&T Canada
Inc., 416-499-9400)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00007)

NORTHERN TELECOM TO GET NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE
MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1989 JAN 16 (NB) -- Paul Stern,
former president of Unisys Corp., will be the next chief
executive of Northern Telecom Ltd. The company has announced
that Stern will become vice-chairman and CEO on March 1. He will
replace Edmond Fitzgerald as chief executive, and will become
chairman of Northern when Fitzgerald, who is 62, retires in
April, 1990. Stern, 50, is an American citizen. He has been a
director and a member of the executive committee of Northern
since last April and has done part-time consulting for the
company.

(Grant Buckler/19890118/Contact: Northern Telecom Canada Ltd.,
416-238-7000)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00008)

TKM EXPANDS HEADQUARTERS
MARKHAM, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1989 JAN 19 (NB) -- TKM Inc., which
installs and services mid-range IBM computers, has expanded its
headquarters here. The company officially opened its new 20,000-
square-foot headquarters January 19 at 90 Tiverton Court,
Markham, Ontario, Canada.

(Grant Buckler/19890118/Contact: TKM Inc., 416-491-3575)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00009)

LASER FRIENDLY STILL SEEKING DISTRIBUTORS
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1989 JAN 12 (NB) -- Laser Friendly Inc.
is still seeking distributors to market its desktop publishing
software, The Office Publisher. This is despite the fact that
the Toronto software firm has no staff but its president, Jack
Banks, who told Canadian Computer Dealer News he is negotiating
with two major companies. The current issue of CDN quotes Banks
as saying Laser Friendly is still alive and expects to break even
in fiscal 1988.

(Grant Buckler/19890120)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00010)

AUTOCAD DEALER DECLARES WAR ON ORGANISED PIRATES
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1989 JAN 18 (NB) -- Autodesk Australia,
distributors for Autocad software, has declared open season on
commercial software pirates. The company's solicitors are
obtaining court orders enabling them to enter premises and
confiscate or destroy pirated product. The company has already
had successful actions against companies selling unlawful copies
of the popular CAD package. Some observers believe that the
company may have been deprived of up to 50 percent of sales, due
to piracy.

(Paul Zucker/19890118)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00011)

COMMODORE AUSTRALIA GIVES DEALERS 30 DAYS TO SHAPE UP
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1989 JAN 20 (NB) -- Commodore Computer in
Australia has started the new year with a broom, giving over 100
dealers 30 days to say why their distribution agreements should
not be terminated. "There's a diabolical mess in the Australian
retail PC industry," said Asia Pacific Commodore MD Tony Serra.
"Many of these dealers should be growing with us but they aren't.
They can't handle our 83 percent per annum growth. We're a $130
million company but they're still selling and supporting our
machines like the early days!"

Commodore is taking action which it believes will stabilize the
market sector which has seen price wars resulting in eight
percent gross margins -- considered by most observers as suicidal
sales practice. Dealers are to be encouraged to stress the added
value of training, support and the simple expectation that the
dealer will still be around in a year's time to continue to help
the purchaser.

In a simultaneous announcement, Commodore has severed its market
research contract with Compass research. Serra said "Reported
figures in the industry in Australia have been grossly wrong. I
don't believe any of them." He plans to engage a yet-unnamed
company at six times the existing cost because "we really can't
afford not to know what's happening and neither can our dealers."

(Paul Zucker/19890120/Contact: Commodore Business Machines
Australia 61-2-4274888, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00012)

HEWLETT-PACKARD SEEKS LISTING ON FOUR EUROPEAN STOCK EXCHANGES
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1989 JAN 20 (NB) -- Hewlett Packard has applied
for a formal share listing on four European stock exchanges in
Frankfurt, London, Paris and Zurich. Currently Hewlett-Packard is
listed on the New York and Tokyo stock exchanges.

If the application is successful, the European listings will
start from the end of April, 1989 onwards. Franco Mariotti,
Hewlett-Packard's vice president and managing director of the
company's European operations, said that the listing applications
will strengthen HP's position in Europe.

"The timing is particularly appropriate as the listings will
coincide with the 30th anniversary of HO's operations in Europe
and our 50th anniversary year," he said.

* According to the Business Wire newsletter, Hewlett-Packard has
 operations in 20, as well as a distributor presence in 45 other
 countries.

(Steve Gold/19890120)



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

CAD SHOWDOWN SLATED FOR FEB 2
WOODLAND HILLS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 20 (NB) -- Compudraft
Engineering will host its second annual CAD SHOWDOWN on February 2.
Compudraft, a service bureau and vendor of computer-aided design
products, will hold the local trade show at the Woodland Hills
Country Club from 10:00 am to 6 pm.

Featured vendors include Accel [Tango], Aptos [Criterion], Design
Computations, Douglas Electronics, Great Softwestern [Auto Board]
Personal CAD Systems [P-Cad], Racal Redac [Cadstar], Visionic's [EE
Designer 3] and others.  These vendors will demonstrate their
products for attendees who will then be asked to rate each product
with a score card.  Results of the competition are to be tabulated
from the score cards and mailed to participants after the show.

(Wayne Yacco/19890122/Contact: Carmen Zabaldo, Compudraft, 818-709-
0202)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00001)

FORMER SPERRY CHAIRMAN DIES
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 17 (NB) -- Gerald Probst,
former Sperry Corp. chairman of the board, has died. He was 65.
Probst was in charge at Sperry when the company merged with
Burroughs to form Unisys in September 1986. Probst
retired at the end of 1986 but remained a member of the Unisys
International Advisory Board.

(Ken Maize/19890120)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00002)

SEYBOLD SELECTS SEMINAR SUBJECTS
MALIBU, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 13 (NB) -- Seybold Seminars has
selected program topics for its ninth annual conference for
professional publishing system users. Sessions are designed for
professional publishers in newspaper, magazine, commercial and in-
plant applications. The program is divided into two series "New
Technologies: Building on the Fourth Wave" and "Systems Solutions
for the '90s: Putting the New Technology to Work."

New Technology sessions will include an overview of future
directions in publishing; the critical integration of PostScript,
fonts and output recorders; trends in color publishing; an
examination of the communication of information through non-
traditional media; a summit of key players in the font industry; a
publishing versus computing face-off; a look at "industrial strength"
publishing; and publishing systems integration and support. These
sessions will take place March 13 through 15.

The second series on March 16 and 17 will focus on specific
publishing applications. Sessions of interest to newspaper and
magazine publishing users and vendors include: integration and
pagination; the transition to "Fourth Wave" production systems; the
changing roles of the industry; mass-market hardware and software;
and a comparison of multivendor v. single vendor system solutions.
In-plant and commercial applications will be discussed in sessions
covering the CALS Initiative; systems integration, training and
support; standards for heterogeneous systems and managing the
production process.

The conference will be held March 13 -17, 1989 at the Hyatt Regency
Embarcadero Hotel in San Francisco, California. Registration is
$1250.

(Wayne Yacco/19890118/Contact: 213-457-5850)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(ATL)(00003)

CONTROL DATA FOUNDER WILLIAM NORRIS SIGNS SOVIET COURSEWARE DEAL
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 20 (NB) -- The William C.
Norris Institute has signed a deal with the Soviet Academy of
Sciences and the Zodiak Computer Centre of Moscow to create
computer software and courseware. Zodiak, a cooperative
created under the Gorbachev government's perestroika program,
will own the controlling interest in the joint venture.

The first program to be created under the joint venture, Norris
said, will be based on a Soviet computer science course which is
presently based on textbooks and graphic simulations. Over 5
million copies of the textbook have gone out to Soviet students.
The joint venture will translate the text into English and
prepare it for use on computers. The Educational Testing Service
of Princeton, New Jersey, best known as purveyors of the annual
Scholastic Aptitude Test -- SAT -- taken by high school seniors, will
act as project manager for the Norris Institute.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890120)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(ATL)(00004)

NCR ANNOUNCES NEW TOUCH-SCREEN SHOPPING TERMINAL
DAYTON, OHIO, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 20 (NB) -- NCR has announced a new
touch-screen shopping terminal called the 5682 Interactive Self-
Service Terminal. Consumers activate the terminal with their bank
debit cards, usually used at money machines or ATMs. By combining
videodisks, touch-screens, and an online link to bank payment
networks, the terminal lets shoppers select merchandise, pay for
it, and arrange for delivery without entering a store. NCR is
selling the terminal to retailers as a marketing aid, sales
generator, or information terminal.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890120/Contact: David Sacash, 513-445-4168)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00005)

VANCOUVER COMPUTERIZED TRADING
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, 1989 JAN 18 (NB) -- In its
first seven months of operation, the Vancouver Stock Exchange's
computerized trading system handled 318 million shares. That
represents 13.9 percent of total volume on the exchange since
Vancouver Computerized Trading began operations May 26, 1988. In
its year-end review and statistical summary, the VSE said at
least 70 percent of all Vancouver trading will be computerized by
the middle of this year.

Vancouver Computerized Trading was launched with 25 stocks traded
online. About 75 were added every two weeks throughout 1988, and
at the end of December 590 stocks were traded on the system. In
December the computerized system handled 37 percent of the
exchange's volume. Temporary system difficulties that appeared
in October and November have been resolved, the exchange said.

(Grant Buckler/19890118/Contact: Joyce Courtney, Vancouver Stock
Exchange, 604-689-3334)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00006)

MEDICAL DATABASE SYSTEM FEATURES OWN LANGUAGE
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1989 JAN 20 (NB) -- In the extremely
competitive database market, Clinical Report System is
establishing itself as a standard, according to its creator Grant
Carter, reporting a 90 percent increase in sales for the last
quarter of 1988.

CRS is an Australian designed database management system based on
a proprietary language, and is designed specifically for medical
use. It is used in hundreds of sites within hospitals, private
medical practices, university and research establishments in
Australia, UK, USA, Sweden and Asia.

Clinical Report System implements a relational data base model,
supporting multi-table reporting, screen forms operations and
programming. Applications can be written using the non-procedural
forms language, high level relational query language or the fully
procedural programming language. Program commands are provided
specifically to produce high quality text reports, and include
support for HP Laserjet and Postscript printers. There is full
integration between all system components allowing programs,
forms and reports to be easily combined.

Descriptive statistics and graphics can be generated directly
from a database, or optionally processed by an integrated
statistics package providing advanced functions such as Cox
regression, Multi-variant analysis, 3 way Variance analysis,
support for unbalanced trials, randomization, time series
analysis and more.

Clinical Applications available for use with the system include,
Diagnostic Cardiology and Neurology, Medical Billing, Obstetrics,
Endocrinology, Medical Oncology, Radiotherapy, Surgical Trauma,
ICU, Pediatrics and many others.

The system is available for industry standard PCs, PC Networks
[Novell and Netbios], Concurrent DOS, Unix System V, Xenix, VMS
and soon, Apple Macintosh.

Enquiries should be directed to Clinical Reporting Systems Pty.
Ltd., 13 Brisbane Rd. Castle Hill 2154 Australia. FAX: +61 2 899
3864 Phone: [phone].

(Bob Futcher/19890120)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00007)

IBM RESCUES SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1989 JAN 18 (NB) -- IBM has come to the rescue
of the Australian Youth Orchestra [AYO], with a corporate
sponsorship reported to be worth AUS$1 million in the next 3
years. The orchestra was said to be on the verge of "financial
collapse".  The AYO is the showcase of young Australian musical
talent, whose patrons include the Prime Minister's wife, Hazel
Hawke. It helps to maintain a high standard of music among
performers. IBM joins Epson and Wang in offering substantial
financial assistance to high profile arts groups in Australia.

(Bob Futcher/19890118)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00008)

CONCEALED COMPUTERS WIN BLACKJACK
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1989 JAN 20 (NB) -- Reportedly using an
"ingenious device," two tourists were able to win nearly
AUS$200,000 at Tasmania's Wrest Point Casino.

The two, an American and an Austrian, were discovered by security
staff to be using "small computers concealed on their bodies."
The devices, which used a small keyboard and an audio output to
an ear plug via an FM receiver, were programmed to assist in
making 'sit' or 'stay' decisions in blackjack and were used  over
a four-day period.

After lengthy interviews with the police it was decided that they
had committed no offence and were not charged, despite complaints
from the Casino Administration. The Casino has instituted legal
proceedings for recovery of the money.

(Bob Futcher/19890120)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00009)

INFOMATICS TO HOST U.K. & EIRE DISASTER RECOVERY SEMINARS
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1989 JAN 20 (NB) -- The Infomatics Resource
Centre is to hold a series of seminars in London, England, and
Dublin, Eire, on Disaster Recover and Contingency planning. The
one day events cost UKP275 per person, with a UKP30 per person
discount available on second an subsequent delegates to the same
seminar.

The London seminars will be held at the Gloucester Hotel on 16
March and 14 August, 1989. The Dublin seminars will be held at
the Irish Science and Technology Agency on 24 May, 1989.

(Steve Gold/19890120/Infomatics Resource Centre: 01-871-2546)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00010)

NCC PUBLISHES SALARIES AND COMPUTER STAFF ISSUES REPORT
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND, 1989 JAN 18 (NB) -- The National Computer
Centre has published a major report entitled 'Salaries and Staff
Issues in Computing.' The UKP115 report is aimed at employers and
employees in the computer industry and is based on a survey of
more than 7,000 companies.

According to the NCC, the report will appeal to Information
Technology [IT] professionals since it analyses salaries,
holidays, staff turnover, staffing levels, contract staff and
general employment trends in the computer industry. Analyses are
carried out on the basis of region, industry, IT job category,
staff numbers, machine sizes and types, IT budgets, and company
turnover.

(Steve Gold/19890118/NCC: 061-228-2579 -- Email on Dialcom
                         81:NCT008)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(BRU)(00011)

IBM PS/2-30 LEADS CHIP'S BEST SELLER LIST
MUNICH, WEST GERMANY, 1989 JAN 10 (NB) -- CHIP Magazine, West
Germany's largest computer magazine, has the IBM PS/2-30 as a
best seller according to information supplied by a reader's poll.

The list continues with the Atari PC3 holding second place,
followed by the Commodore PC10, the IBM PC/XT-286, the Schneider
PC2640, the Tandon PCA, the Schneider PC1520 and three further
Commodore systems.

On the home computer front, Christmas buying pushed Commodore
into the top four slots, led by the evergreen Commodore 64. Fifth
position was taken by Atari with its 1040ST system.

(Peter Vekinis/19890110)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00012)

NEW COMPUTER RADIO SHOW IN LOS ANGELES
WOODLAND HILLS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 10 (NB) -- A new computer
radio show for the San Fermando, Simi and Conejo Valleys has started
on KWNK, 670 AM. Called Dr. Derek's Computer Club, it airs
Saturday mornings from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. [competing with Pee-Wee's
Playhouse, for those of you who care about such things]. Listen
and you can hear about new products, user tips, product reviews,
and interviews with industry experts. Derek Zupancic, president
of Warner Center Comuters, is host of the show. Associate
producer is Ken Fermoyle, Woodland Hills computer journalist.

(Wendy Woods/19890121/Contact: Derek Zupancic, 818-704-4966)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00013)

COMDEX ASIA PACIFIC SLATED FOR SYDNEY AUGUST 1-3
NEEDHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 19 (NB) -- The Interface
Group says Comdex/Asia Pacific '89 is slated for Australia's
Darling Harbour Convention Center for August 1 through 3.
Formerly called Comdex/Australia, the show's name, exhibitor,
and attendee base have been broadened to include an area
bounded by Australia/New Zealand, the Indian subcontinent,
China, Singapore, Indonesia, the Phillipines, Taiwan, and
Korea.

(Wendy Woods/19890121/Contact: Interface Group, 617-449-6600)


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

INFOMATICS TO HOST U.K. & EIRE DISASTER RECOVERY SEMINARS
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1989 JAN 20 (NB) -- The Infomatics Resource
Centre is to hold a series of seminars in London, England, and
Dublin, Eire, on Disaster Recover and Contingency planning. The
one day events cost UKP275 per person, with a UKP30 per person
discount available on second an subsequent delegates to the same
seminar.

The London seminars will be held at the Gloucester Hotel on 16
March and 14 August, 1989. The Dublin seminars will be held at
the Irish Science and Technology Agency on 24 May, 1989.

(Steve Gold/19890120/Infomatics Resource Centre: 01-871-2546)


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

COURT STOPS WHITE HOUSE RECORD DESTRUCTION
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1989 JAN 17 (NB) -- A federal judge has
temporarily prohibited officials in the Reagan White House from
destroying National Security Council "profs" messages in the
NSC's IBM System 36 minicomputer. Similar profs notes were a
major source of information in the Iran-Contra scandal. The
American Civil Liberties Union went to court just hours before
the Reagan administration officially ended, arguing that vital
records could be lost if the NSC employees were allowed to
destroy the data on the tapes. Judge Barrington Parker agreed,
saying that "the world is not going to cave in" if he issued an
order protecting the records for ten days so that he can hear
further arguments in the case.

(Ken Maize/19890120)


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

BLACK FORMER IBM EMPLOYEE SUES BIG BLUE
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 18 JAN 1989 (NB) -- Victor Khabo, a
black naturalized U.S. citizen born in South Africa, has sued
IBM, claiming the company fired him when he refused a transfer to
South Africa. Khabo is asking for $25 million in damages. IBM
denies that the firing was related to South Africa. Khabo says he
was hired by IBM in 1984 and asked to transfer to South Africa a
year later. But Khabo said he could not return to the land of his
birth under the current political system. He said he was a
student activist in his youth, and was named as a co-conspirator
in a 1963 plot to overthrow the white South African government.

(Ken Maize/19890120)


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

FOREIGN SALES LAW GETS TEST
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 17 JAN 1989 (NB) -- A government task
force is reviewing the sales of a California high-tech company to
a West German firm in the first test of a law that allows the
president to block foreign purchases of U.S. companies on the
grounds of national security. Huels AG is attempting to buy
Monsanto Electronic Materials of Palo Alto, which makes silicon
wafers. The wafers are turned into computer chips. The Committee
on Foreign Investment, made up of officials from eight government
agencies, is reviewing the sale and is expected to make a
recommendation to President Bush soon. Under the provisions of
the law, which were included in the Omnibus Trade Act of 1988,
the president has 15 days to reach a decision on the committee's
findings.

(Ken Maize/19890120)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(BRU)(00004)

EC CONSIDERS ANTI-DUMPING CASSETTE TAPE ALLEGATIONS
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1989 JAN 20 (NB) -- The European Commission
[EC] has begun an anti-dumping investigation against several Far
Eastern cassette tape manufacturers.

The action against the manufacturers, located in Hong Kong, Japan
and Korea, was precipitated after the EC received allegations of
tape-dumping in Europe from members of the European Council of
Chemical Manufacturer's Federation [CEFIC].

The EC is expected to apply the same criteria to the cassette
tape dumping allegations as it did on DRAM chips during 1988. The
main areas of interest in the 1988 investigation were volumes
sold, profits generated, and the profit margins of the companies
concerned.

According to CEFIC members, the number of cassette tapes imported
from the Far East rose from 190 million in 1984, to 235 million
in 1987 - an increase of 23 percent. CEFIC members, it is
claimed, have been forced to match Far Eastern product pricing,
which has been steadily reducing.

It is also expected that a similar EC investigation will be
carried out on Far Eastern floppy disk manufacturer's sales.

(Peter Vekinis/19890120/Contact: EC, Division I.C.2, 200 Rue de
            la Loi, 1049 Brussels, Belgium)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SYD)(00007)

MAGELLAN NAVIGATES THE SEA OF SUBDIRECTORIES
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 18 (NB) -- Starting its year
of 'new directions,' Lotus has announced Magellan, a utility for quickly
exploring a hard disk and searching text and data files. Magellan
Speedview is a viewing environment which combines some elements
of existing disk searching software with the ability to view text
or data from a number of proprietary formats.

For example, searching all files on the hard disk for the phrase
'ACME Bullion' may show it in a number of word processor files,
most of which cannot be easily viewed without invoking the
package that created them. Magellan, however, uses 'file format
viewers' to correctly display the file contents. The user then
scrolls through the file with the direction keys. Word processors
currently supported are Wordstar, Microsoft Word, WordPerfect and
DisplayWrite. Magellan can also display the contents of other
types of files such as dBase databases, 123 worksheets and, of
course, other Lotus products. Initial industry reaction is that
Lotus has not catered for a wide enough range of competitor's
products. Not surprisingly it won't read any other spreadsheet
formats.

An extension to displaying file contents is the ability to paste
from these files into a new Ascii file. If this is insufficient,
Magellan keeps track of other application packages on the PC and
can 'launch' these when the user needs to work with a file in the
program that created it. Exiting that application returns the
user to Magellan. The launch facility allows Magellan to deal
with files it would otherwise not be able to display.

Other features include file management [move, copy, delete],
subdirectory management, file printing, and a macro language that
includes a keystroke recorder. Users connected to networks may
use Magellan to work with files on all available drives.

The product is single-user, no LAN version being available. Price
is US$195 with shipment expected in April. Until June 30, the
price is $139. Outside the US contact your local Lotus
distributor for price and availability.

(Paul Zucker/19890118/Contact: Lotus Development Corporation
615-577-8500)


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

LOTUS SHIPPING T-A-C 5.0
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 13 (NB) -- Lotus
Development Corp. has begun shipping The Applications Connection
Release 5.0, which allows 1-2-3 and Symphony users to access
mainframe data. Lotus has also inked an agreement with Government
Technology Services Inc., one of the leading vendors to
government, for marketing T-A-C 5.0. The product has a list price
of $40,000. T-A-C combines mainframe and microcomputer software
to that users can connected from within 1-2-3 and Symphony to
fourth generation languages and databases such as DB2, SQL/DS,
and FOCUS.

(Ken Maize/19890120)


(NEWS)(IBM)(BOS)(00003)

NEW SOFTWARE TO BE SHOWN IN BOSTON BY TRAVELLING SOFTWARE
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A.,1989 JAN 20 (NB) -- Travelling
Software, the Bothell, Washington-based firm best known for LapLink
software, will make a major product introduction here on
Wednesday. The company is expected to show ViewLink, a product
they have been working on for the past five years.

Beta users call ViewLink a totally new category of software with
aspects of a hard disk manager, DOS shell, personal information
manager, and outliner. ViewLink will enable users to link all of their
existing applications, find files easily, and create views and folders
that contain related data across applications. According to Travelling
Software president Mark Eppley, ViewLink is unique because it lets
users find new ways to look at their existing data without giving up
their favorite applications.

(Jon Pepper/19890120)


(NEWS)(IBM)(WAS)(00004)

SOFTWARE SERVICES GETS IBM LICENSE
NORTH ANDOVER, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 17 (NB) -- Software
Services of America has purchased a software source code license
from International Business Machines for a line of PC-based
systems aimed at financial institutions. Software Services
President Bertram Hickman said that "IBM is building its future
development in the PC-based workstation for financial
institutions around this system and [we] are working with IBM as
its business partner."

(Ken Maize/19890120)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00005)

SHAREWARE PROGRAM FOR STOCK ANALYSIS
BURNABY, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, 1989 JAN 18 (NB) -- Guru
Systems Ltd. has released a new version of its shareware program
that does technical analysis of financial markets. Stock and
commodity traders use technical analysis to analyze price
movements in financial markets. PC Chart generates high-quality
graphics from price and volume information. A typical portfolio
of 30 stocks can be entered in the system in 10 minutes, Guru
Systems said, using a spreadsheet-like interface.

PC Chart Version 1.01 runs on PC, XT and AT-class computers, and
requires a Color Graphics Adapter or Hercules Graphics Card. It
costs C$127, including one year of telephone support.

(Grant Buckler/19890118/Contact: Guru Systems Ltd., 604-299-1010)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SYD)(00006)

INTERNATIONAL FREIGHT COMPANY SWEARS TRUE BLUE LOYALTY
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1989 JAN 18 (NB) -- Circle Freight
International has standardized on IBM hardware throughout the
world, due to 'their accommodating nature', according to CFI VP
Ken Turnham. The company has declared itself an all-IBM shop,
hinting at IBM promises of substantial discounts and preferential
treatment in return for the decision.

An AS400 is being installed to run the CFI South Pacific network
with existing 3270s plus a new order for 50 PCs. This will link
with CFI London, Frankfurt and Hong Kong [all of which are also
purchasing AS400s] and the CFI 3090 host in San Francisco
headquarters.

The company uses 'Fastrack,' a system which monitors all air and
sea cargo shipments throughout the world. It is designed to tell
exporters where their cargo is at any moment, and it issues a
report when the consignment is delivered. Local software
implemented by CFI in Australia includes Infotrac for accounting,
SYSM for global electronic mail, and Customs, a package developed
by the Australian customs department.

(Paul Zucker/19890118)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SYD)(00007)

UTILITY AIDS PASCAL PROGRAMMERS
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1989 JAN 20 (NB) -- Pascal programmers now
have a new utility designed make their job less of a chore and
more of a joy, according to developer Peter Nolan. MyFlin is a
low-cost terminate-and-stay-resident [TSR] program which provides
a database of procedures and functions. Nolan explained that the
user places the cursor on the relevant procedure or function and
presses the 'hotkey' to automatically record the procedure's
parameters in a database.

"Most programmers use scraps of paper to remind them of the data
used by a function. With MyFlin, everything is just a key press
away. Errors are significantly reduced so productivity
increases." Versions of the US$59 package for C and Modula 2 are
expected soon.

(Paul Zucker/19890120/Contact: OpalFire Software, Australia
61-2-5585209, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00008)

ROALAN INTERNATIONAL LAUNCHES GRAMMATIK III PROOF READER SOFTWARE
WIMBORNE, ENGLAND, 1989 JAN 18 (NB) -- Roalan International has
unveiled a new spelling and syntax checker for the IBM PC and
close compatibles. The software - Grammatik III - proof-reads
text for errors in grammar, style, usage and spelling.

According to Roalan International, the UKP99 package is
interactive, and does not change the text of the passage being
processed unless prompted by the user. The package also produces
a four section report.

Grammatik III runs on an IBM PC or compatible with 512K of
available memory and DOS 2.0 of higher. The software supports
ASCII text, as well as files from most popular word processors. A
network version of the non-copy protected software is also
available.

(Steve Gold/19890118/Roalan International: 0202-861512)


(NEWS)(IBM)(BRU)(00009)

IBM PRESENTS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY PRIZE TO SWITZERLAND
PARIS, FRANCE, 1989 JAN 20 (NB) -- IBM has presented its Science
and Technology to Professor Niklaus Wirth, the inventor of
Pascal. The prize, which is valued at 100,000 European Currency
Units [about $128,000] was awarded to the professor for his work
on the development of Pascal, the first structured language in
the computer business. Professor Wirth, is currently the
professor of computer science at the Swiss Federal Institute in
Zurich.

The IBM Science and Technology prize is attributed to non-IBM
researchers who have made major contributions to science and
technology.

(Peter Vekinis/19890120)


(NEWS)(IBM)(BRU)(00010)

IBM ANNOUNCES NEW RETAIL SALES SYSTEM
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1989 JAN 19 (NB) -- IBM has announced the IBM
4684 Point of Sale [POS] system for use in the retail
environment. The POS system is based IBM's Personal System/2
[PS/2] computer architecture and is capable of integrating fully
with IBM's existing 4683 POS systems.

Initially, the 4684 is available in four configurations, all of
which support PC-DOS, and can be interconnected with other
companies' POS products, as well as the IBM banking system.

In parallel with the unveiling of the 4684, IBM has also
announced that a version of its Retail Industry Programming
Services software [RIPSS] has been developed for the 4684
environment. The 4684 hardware was developed by IBM's Raleigh
facility in North Carolina, and will be produced by IBM's Santa
Palomba facility in Italy.

(Peter Vekinis/19890119)


(NEWS)(IBM)(BRU)(00011)

IBM PROMISES TO EXTEND OPEN INFORMATION AGREEMENT TO COMPETITORS
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1989 JAN 04 (NB) -- In a letter to the
European Commission [EC], IBM has promised to extend its
agreement concerning availability of technical information to its
competitors.

Specifically, IBM has promised that information relating to its
computer interfaces will continue to be made available beyond the
end of this month, when the current agreement with the EC
expires.

IBM's decision has eased fears throughout Europe about its future
interface products. The agreement originated when IBM decided not
to publish interface specifications in the 1970s. European
companies wrote to the EC and complained that IBM was using
monopolistic marketing practices. The EC found against IBM and
instructed the company to make its interface specifications
available on a public basis.

(Peter Vekinis/19890120)


(NEWS)(IBM)(BRU)(00012)

EPSON TO RELEASE COLOUR LAPTOP IN 1989
MUNICH, WEST GERMANY, 1989 JAN 12 (NB) -- According to West
Germany's CHIP magazine, Epson is scheduled to release a colour
LCD laptop in the second half of 1989. The as-yet unnamed laptop
will, says CHIP, feature an 80286 microprocessor and 20Mb hard
disk. The laptop's high-resolution LCD screen will be able to
display up to 4,000 colour combinations.

As reported previously in Newsbytes, Toshiba is also expected to
release its own colour LCD laptop. Which company will unveil or
ship its laptop first, remains to be seen.

(Peter Vekinis/19890112)


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

Review of:  GOFER

Runs on: Macintosh 512KE, Plus, SE and II

From: Microlytics, 300 Main Street, East Rochester, NY 14445, 716-377-0130

Price: $49.99

PUMA Rating: 4

Reviewed by: Wendy Woods, 1/3/89

SUMMARY:  GOFER is a text retrieval program that works as a desk accessory
on the Macintosh.

REVIEW
--------
GOFER is a neat little program that answers a burning need in the Newsbytes
office -- text retrieval.  We have news stories going back to 1986 on our hard
disk, and it is often necessary to retrieve stories from within files quickly
and efficiently for use in news writing.  GOFER does that.

The program, installed as a desk accessory, can pop up within any application
and search through selected hard disks, files, folders, and documents.  You can
search by keyword or words, either individually or linked by Boolean Logic
by linking keywords with AND, OR, NOT, or NEARBY.  There is no need to
create a directory for any of these files.  GOFER reads both unformatted
text files and formatted files from HyperCard, Microsoft Excel, Word, Write,
and Works, MacWrite, MORE, PageMaker, Ready Set Go, Teachtext, ThinkTank,
WordPerfect, and FullWrite Professional.

Once a search has been performed, you can view the entire text of the
document, rather than just a line at a time, or choose selected documents to
view.  And the best feature is that one can copy from a document to any
other document.  GOfer allows you to copy to an accumulating clipboard.

PUMA RATING
------------
PERFORMANCE: 4.  The program is super-fast and has a no-nonsense visual interface.

USEFULNESS: 4.  GOfer is faster, and better than Roundup!, a competing
application, because it can be installed as a handy pop-up desk accessory.
You don't have to leave an application to use it.  Plus it offers far more
options for display of retrieved information.

MANUAL:  4.  The documentation is well laid-out, with frequent screen shots
and simple language.

AVAILABILITY: 4.  Order direct from the company or via mail order at
numerous mail-order houses.

(  )


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

Review of: GRANDVIEW

Runs on: Any MS-DOS PC

From: Symantec Corp., Living Videotext Division,  117 Easy St., Mountain
View, Calif., 94043, 415-964-6300

Price: $295

PUMA Rating:  3.5 [on a scale of 1 to 4]

Reviewed by: Grant Buckler, 2/27/89

SUMMARY: GrandView is an outline processor at heart, but with
some additional features including macros and a "category view"
that provides an alternate way of looking at information.  As a
traditional outliner it's excellent.  As a personal information
manager, it's fair to good depending on your application.

REVIEW
-------
Personal information managers are the latest thing in software
these days, so GrandView is one.  Marketing.  Two years ago, it
would have been an outline processor with some neat new features.
Nonetheless, the new features are interesting.

One new twist is categories.  GrandView lets you assign the items
that make up an outline to various categories, independent of
where they appear in an outline.  Two category types, date and
priority, are built in.  A category view will show you all the
items assigned to a particular category.  GrandView also lets you
define rules by which the program will automatically assign items
to categories.

Another plus is GrandView's ability to record and replay
keystrokes in macros.  This works in the classic way.  You turn
on a macro record mode and perform an operation once, assigning
it a control-key combination.  Press that combination again, and
the same sequence of keystrokes is replayed automatically.  You
can define macros that work in all your outlines, or local ones
that work only in a particular outline.

Templates are the third innovation.  A template is a stored piece
of text, one or more outline items, which you can paste in where
needed.  You might use one in an address list, for instance, to
provide standard subheads for address, phone number, zip code and
the like.

As an outline processor, GrandView is impressive.  It has all the
standard outline-processing features controlled by pull-down
menus with shortcut keys for some of the more common operations.
It allows up to nine outlines to be open at once, and will
display several at a time in horizontal, vertical or customized
windows.  It can import plain ASCII files, WordStar files, and
files from other outline processors.  It's a pity other popular
word processors aren't supported, but of course most can produce
ASCII files.  "Documents" of virtually unlimited length can be
included under outline items [called headlines in GrandView],
which can themselves contain up to 64K of text.

PUMA RATING:

Performance: 3.  GrandView is fast.  It scrolls text in an odd
and distracting way.  More shortcuts to help experienced users
bypass menus would be welcome.

Usefulness: 3.  For outlining GrandView is tops.  For classic
personal information manager applications such as maintaining a
to-do list or keeping track of tidbits of information, it's
usable but there's room for improvement.

Manuals: 4.  There are two main manuals.  Using GrandView is a
comprehensive tutorial.  The Reference Guide makes it easy to
find specific commands.  Both are well-written, well-designed and
spiral-bound.  There is also a quick reference guide.

Availability: 4.  GrandView has been on the market several
months, and Symantec has relationships with several major
distributors.

(Grant Buckler/19890219/Contact: Susan Kelly, Symantec Corp.,
415-964-6300)


(REVIEW)(IBM)(SYD)(00002)

Review of: Harvard Graphics

Runs on: Industry standard DOS PCs with 512k or more RAM and one
 diskette plus one hard disk -- it will run on a twin 3 1/2"
 diskette machine. HG works with almost all graphics standards.

From: Software Publishing Corporation, PO Box 7210, 1901 Landings
 Drive, Mountain View, California 94039-7210, 415-335-2296. In Europe:
 SPC Europe, The Barnhouse, High St., Yiewsley, Middlesex, England UB77RX,
 44-895-442-658

Price: $495 U.S.

PUMA Rating: 4

Reviewed by: Paul Zucker, 1/10/89

SUMMARY: Harvard Graphics is justifiably THE graphics package
against which all others are judged. As well as graphs, it
produces charts, pictures and slide shows. This is an easy-to-use
yet very powerful package, found in most large corporations.

REVIEW
--------
Before talking about the package, it's important clear up
a little confusion about names. A GRAPHING package does just that
-- it produces graphs from data. A GRAPHICS package produces
pictures, diagrams, charts and so on. Harvard Graphics is a
Presentation Graphics package, as the output is meant for
presenting data visually. Let's look at the major functions:-

Text and Organization charts: These are typically the overhead
transparencies used at seminars and business meetings. HG
automates the procedure by letting you use preformatted
templates so you don't have to fuss too much over placing the
text. When you do get adventurous, it's a simple matter to change
type size, colour, placement and so on through simple menu
settings. Organization charts are used to display structures,
such as the pyramid-shaped 'pecking order' in Acme Widget's
management team. HG Takes care of allocating space to each branch
in the organizational tree.

Graphs: Simply enter data into the spreadsheet-like data screen
or import data via Lotus or text files, and then press the F2 --
or Draw key -- produces the default graph. A few menu choices and
added titles customise the graph professionally. Graph types are
broadly grouped under Pies, Bars, Lines, Points, Area and
High/low/close. All of those embellishments you've envied are
here. Want a 3D chart or log-linear grid? Just select the menu
options and hit F2 to preview.

Charts: These are screens that may contain a graph, but more
importantly can also contain text, free-form graphics, regular
geometric graphics such as the usual circles, lines, rectangles,
and so on. As well, you can select -- and bring in at any scale
and position on the chart -- symbols loaded from a symbol
library. You can add to this library, making it easy to use
standard objects such as company logos. A symbol added to a graph
can have more punch than a fistful of legends. Charts can range
from a graph with a single added symbol or text, to a scanned
colour photograph with added graphics for a corporate slide
presentation.

Slide Shows: This is where it gets really impressive. Once you've
created all those great charts, you get to put them together and
let HG show them as a slide show with tricky dissolves and wipes
and fades, just like TV. You can produce that 'sales motivator
program' over the weekend, when everyone said it'd have to be
done by a professional graphics house, take $5,000 and six weeks
to produce. Use one of those video projectors in the Roxy
Ballroom on Monday morning and by 11am you've got 500 salespeople
ready to sell ice cream to Eskimos.

Output: Apart from outputting direct to screen -- and it uses VGA
beautifully if you have it, but is also at home with CGA or EGA
-- HG drives just about every sort of printing device. These
include slide services, film recorders, plotters, laser printers
and, of course, the humble dot matrix. Speaking of lasers, it's
great that HG fully utilizes Postscript printers, and will even
output encapsulated Postscript files for inclusion in other
applications such as DTP.

I haven't done HG justice in such a short review so I suggest you
get your dealer to let you have a go. He might even give you a
free demo disk or lend you a package for a few days if you tell
him Paul sent you.

PUMA RATING 4
-----------------

PERFORMANCE: 4. Nothing less than a four here because this is a
well-behaved, full-featured product. You never get that sinking
'is it still going or has the system locked?' feeling. Everything
happens quickly and just as you expected.

USEFULNESS: 4. Another four because this is one of those products
that you can use within five minutes of opening the box, yet
you're still discovering new, useful features after using it for
a year. SPC's range of inexpensive add-on products helps keep
this a productive package. Above all, HG is intuitive -- it works
just as you expect so there's little need to use the manual.

MANUAL: 3. Almost a four, but it could be a little less "solid."
You get the feeling that it's more of a novel than a manual.
Perhaps a few simple dividers and more white space on the pages
would help. On the other hand, everything is there, and the
section of colour plates showing what the product can produce is
excellent.

AVAILABILITY: 4. One of the advantages of buying an established
product from an established company is that you can easily get
the product, after sales service, add-ons and training when you
need them. I think someone did pay list price for Harvard
Graphics once.....but I may be mistaken about that.

(  )


(REVIEW)(IBM)(ATL)(00003)

Review of:  HOTLINE TWO, a phone book for IBM PCs

Runs on: IBM PCs, ATs, and compatibles

From: General Information Inc., 401 Parkplace, Kirklamd
 Washington 98033, 206-828-4777

Price: $100, plus $50 per set of "InfoPack" listings

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

Reviewed by: Dana Blankenhorn, 1/17/89

SUMMARY:  Hotline 2 offers a memory-resident phonebook, plus the
ability to log calls and dial with a single keystroke.

REVIEW
--------
Hotline Two could be a very important, even dangerous product. As
an online phone book you can call up and dial from, or search
through intuitively, it's highly seductive. You can plug a cheap,
rotary-dial phone in the back of your modem, and Hotline will
call using the modem's faster tone dialing. With the ability to
search via government business codes [called SIC codes] or using
wildcards, with the ability to paste lists into other documents,
and with the ability to import dBase files, Hotline starts to
look very seductive indeed. Add the possibility of linking this
technology directly to modems and fax machines, however, and you
start to see the danger.

The main business of General Information, the software publisher,
is publication of "The National Directory," an annual listing of
business phone numbers. That's where this product's potential
really takes off. They manually update their listings every year,
by calling people and making sure they're still in business. By
buying their $50 InfoPacks, available for selected industries
like the computer business and the media business, and simply
adding them to your salesmens' directories, you can update your
own prospect lists at a fraction of the cost you're now paying.

Some quibbles are inevitable. There's no comment line on the
forms used in updating the phone books, hence no place to put a
contact's name and some personal note to get the salescall
started. While the product will take internatioal numbers and
dial them, but won't save them, so some of Newsbytes' top editors
couldn't get into my Hotline phonebook. I'd like to paste
individual entries into text files. But the product has proved
its value here, in reducing the number of calls we make to
directory assistance, and at 50 cents per call that adds up fast.

Moreover, we've barely scratched the surface of what Hotline Two
can do. General Information says it's working on an InfoPack
of fax numbers. A local source in the online business confirmed
they'd been called by The National Directory's operators, but
said they refused to give out their fax number fearing a deluge
of "junk fax" messages after they were Hotlined.

PUMA RATINGS
--------------

PERFORMANCE: 4.

USEFULNESS: 3.

MANUAL: 4. It's well-made, but so's the software so you won't
need it.

AVAILABILITY: 4. In leading computer stores, or by mail order direct
from the company.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890112)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(BOS)(00001)

ANTI-JUNK FAX BILL INTRODUCED IN CONNECTICUT
HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 19 (NB) -- Fax users
beware, your transmissions may soon be illegal in Connecticut. A
Connecticut legislator has introduced a bill in the state Assembly that
would make it a civil offense with fines up to $200 to send
unsolicited ads, or "junk fax" over the telephone wires.

With many details still to be worked out, the fate of the bill is
unclear. However, an increasing number of businesses are starting to
be concerned about junk fax. Junk fax transmissions tie up telephone
lines, and cost companies money in fax paper and employee
maintenance. At least two other states, Washington and Oregon, have
similar bills pending.

(Jon Pepper/19890120)


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

MCI MAIL MAKES MAJOR PRICE CUTS
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1989 JAN 20 (NB) -- MCI Mail has made a number
of price changes which add up to a substantial price cut and
could signal a counter-offer from competitors like AT&T or
CompuServe. For starters, you'll be able to log-onto their toll-
free 800 number for no toll. That used to cost 10 cents per
minute. Messages under 2500 words will now cost 75 cents, down
from $1, and domestic rates for fax service will go down from 60
cents for the first half-page plus 40 cents for each additional,
to 50 cents for the first half-page and 30 cents for the next
ones. MCI Mail calls this a 22 percent cut.

Next, for $25 up-front and $10 per month, Advanced Service users
can send up to 40 messages. That's 25 cents per message. That $25
up-front fee will be waived during an upcoming 6-month promotion.
MCI Mail has ties to international telex through MCI
International, as well as other electronic mail systems, in
addition to the fax service. The real question will be how these
charges stack up against mail and direct fax service. Not only
would that put the electronic mail business up for grabs, but the
direct mail business as well.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890120/Contact: Jane Levene 914-934-6480)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SFO)(00003)

COMPUTER PUBLICATION DATABASE ONLINE ON COMPUSERVE
FOSTER CITY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 19 (NB) -- Confident there
is a market for online searching of computer publications, Information
Access Company has started Computer Database Plus, an online
database of articles from more than 120 widely-read computer
magazines including PC Magazine, Personal Computing, Electronic News,
MacWeek, and Electronic Business.

"We've all tried to find a story we remember having read last
summer in Computer Decisions, only to find that the article really
ran in January in Electronic News. Computer Database Plus not
only eliminates lengthy searches for articles, it can also
provide a full listing of all key stories on the subject from more
than 120 publications."

Entire text will be available on some 50 publications and abstracts
are available on the rest. The database begins with publications
written in 1987 and goes forward from there. The charge for the
service is $24.00 per hour, $1 per abstract and $1.50 for each full-
text article accessed, in addition to CompuServe connect charges.

(Wendy Woods/19890121/Contact: Veronica Kane, Kane & Associates,
415-364-5662 or Jeffrey Zane, Information Access, 415-378-5000 or
800-227-8431)


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

AT&T FTS-MAIL TO BE LINKED TO DIALCOM
MONTVALE, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 20 (NB) -- AT&T is finishing a
link to Dialcom's electronic mail system, which will let users of
both systems exchange messages directly with each other. Mainly,
though, it will let those using AT&T's FTS-2000 system to
access databases on Dialcom. The executives will also have
access to Reuters, United Press International, and McGraw-Hill
news services, AT&T said. The connection will be based on the
X.400 standard when it's completed by the end of March, but the
price for access is still under negotiation. Dialcom is owned by
British Telecom, which also owns Telecom Gold in the U.K.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890120)


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

AT&T BUYS EQUIPMENT TO OFFER ANI TO THE MASSES
YONKERS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 20 (NB) -- AT&T has signed a two
year, $8.5 million deal to buy Automatic Number Identification
equipment from V Band Corp., Yonkers, New York. AT&T will sell
the V Band ViAX E911 system and 1A2 E911 system in the United
States. These are telephone consoles that can handle many
incoming lines and the Automatic Number Identification -- ANI --
system which displays incoming caller's numbers as calls come in.
They work with AT&T's CALL-STALKER E911 Automatic Location
Identification -- ALI -- system to provide the address of the calling
parties. Police use them with 911 services so that when an
emergency call comes in, they can respond before the anguished
caller has time to tell where they are. They can also be used
to generate junk mail lists, without the knowledge or consent of
people who want to keep off such lists.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890120/Contact: Thomas H. Davis, 914-789-5000)


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

MNEMATICS MNETWORK UNDERCUTS TELENET PACKET SWITCH SERVICES
SPARKILL, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 20 (NB) -- Mnematics
which operates a small online system in the New
York City area, has created a packet switch network called the
Mnetwork. The news here is the pricing, $4.25 per hour for all
the packet switch time you could eat, without the kilo-character
charges imposed by other packet switch services like Telenet,
Tymnet, and Infonet. You can get into this system through Tymnet,
Telenet's PC Pursuit, and regional switch systems like PulseLink
in the Southeast. The Mnematics videotex system offers mail and
special interest groups on consumer computer issues for
$30/year. New York City users can use both Mnematics videotex
and the Mnetwork for a flat rate of $50/year with no hourly
charges.

President Greg Small told Newsbytes "We didn't want to
get into the network business," but the high costs of Telenet and
Tymnet forced the move. Small says he's been working on the
Mnematics system 5 year. If you've heard of Small before, it may
be as the designer of the MaxSteel robot for Ideal Toys or the
Atari XL home computer. Mnematics, Small adds is, "running a no-
frills operation to keep costs and prices down." The company's
demo system describes the network and online systems' services,
but won't take messages or online sign-ups because that was
costing too much. The marketing program is mostly word-of-mouth,
with occasional leaks to the press.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890120/Contact: Greg Small, 914-735-0020)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00007)

ASIAN AIRLINES COMING TOGETHER UNDER ABACUS RESERVATION SYSTEM
SINGAPORE, SOUTH CHINA SEA, 1989 JAN 20 (NB) -- In what could be a
challenge to U.S.-based reservation systems like Sabre and Apollo,
Singapore Airlines and Swire Pacific Airlines Kong have won support from
major partners in their attempt to make the Abacus online
reservation system a force in the market. Decisions by China
Airlines Ltd. of Taiwan, Malaysia Airlines System Bhd and
Philippines Airlines Inc., to join the regional reservations
system, should give them all leverage in connecting with other
online reservation systems worldwide. The details of who will own
how much of Abacus have yet to be worked out -- the five have agreed
no partner will hold less than ten percent.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890120)


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

GE INFORMATION SERVICES WINS MAJOR SUPPORT FOR PUBNET
ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 20 (NB) -- About 25 major
publishers have committed to using Pubnet when it comes online
March 1. The system, currently under trial , will let book stores
order their wares through IBM PC compatibles and modems, cutting
turn-around time from 7-10 days to one day. To get into Pubnet, book
stores will have to pay $250 to the Association of American
Publishers, and lease software for $50/month. The publisher-
sponsors paid $7,500-20,000, based on sales, to start the system,
and will pay $1 per transaction to use it. Other publishers will
have to pay $10-30,000 to join Pubnet.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890120)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00009)

THE FAX DIRECTOR LETS YOU SHARE A PHONE LINE WITH YOUR FAX
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 20 (NB) -- One of the biggest
hassles for fax machine users is the problem of sharing the phone
line. If you pick up the phone and hear a fax tone, it's too late
to pass the call. The Fax Director, from Transmar Enterprises of
Irvine, California, can solve the problem. Transmar's box is
plugged into the phone line in front of the phone or fax. It
senses fax tones and lets you switch from phone to fax
transmission in mid-call. Dejan Cvetkovich of Transmar, who
prefers to be called Mr. C, told Newsbytes the Fax Director will
ship in about four weeks and retail for just $200.

"It should pay for itself in a few months" of use, Mr. C added.
"It does everything automatically except if we're having a
conversation and you want to send a fax, you end the
conversation. When a fax comes in it switches from voice to fax.
It is in a box which connects to the phone line before it gets to
the phone or fax. It you have a PBX, you install it in front of
that."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890120/Contact: Dejan Cvetkovich, 714-660-
9440)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00010)

BANKS, WESTINGHOUSE FORM EDI JOINT VENTURE
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 20 (NB) -- With help from a little-
known Atlanta start-up, Westinghouse and three major banks have
formed their own electronic data interchange -- EDI -- network to let
large companies order supplies and pay their bills
electronically. The software, which was first written almost five
years ago, was originally used for a commercial venture called
Harbinger which tried to do what Prodigy Information Systems is
now doing -- offer a mass-market for home banking and shopping.
Banks were later sold the software for use by commercial account,
and the original software module was adapted to a number of bank
networks. The new joint venture, called Harbinger EDI Services,
brings together Westinghouse, C&S Bank in Atlanta, Marine Midland
Bank in Buffalo, N.Y. and the First Bank System in Minneapolis.
Westinghouse Communications Resources, a global online network,
will handle the processing, the banks will oversee the payment
process, and Harbinger's software will do the rest.

Tycho Howle, who founded Harbinger in 1984, will head the new
venture. He said Harbinger EDI Services will focus on making EDI
a universal service for all types of companies, and for
consumers. The venture will be based in Atlanta.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890120/Contact: Paul Jones at Westinghouse,
412-642-3713)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00011)

LEGAL SECTOR TOPS LIST IN BOOK OF AUSTRALASIAN DATABASES
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1989 JAN 20 (NB) -- A new directory of
Australian and New Zealand databases is the result of a survey by
the Australian Database Development Association -- ADDA. The book
lists over 200 publicly available services accessible through the
telecommunications system, and according to the survey the best
served sectors are law, business and commerce. The directory is
priced at AU$60 from ADDA, PO Box 53 Hawthorn Vic 3122 Australia
or telephone [phone].

(Paul Zucker/19890120)


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

DIALCOM U.K. LAUNCHES CAMPUS 2000 SERVICE FOR THE EDUCATION MARKET
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1989 JAN 20 (NB) -- Dialcom UK, the company
responsible for the Prestel and Telecom Gold online services, has
combined Prestel Education and The Times Network for Schools
[TTNS] under the umbrella name of Campus 2000. Prestel
Education's database and the TTNS service will continue to be
made available, respectively, on Prestel and Telecom Gold, but
will be marketed as a joint service called Campus 2000.

Dialcom says that the combined service will offer greater
flexibility and choice to its 8,000-plus online educational
establishment subscribers. In addition, Campus 2000 allows a
joint subscription to Prestel and TTNS, in place of two separate
services.

Campus 2000's annual subscription rates start at UKP134 rising to
UKP359. Pricing is dependent on the size of the educational
establishment, and the services required. No online time charges
are incurred when accessing normal services, either on the TTNS
or on Prestel.

(Steve Gold/19890120/Dialcom UK: 01-822-1337 & TTNS: 01-782-7104)


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

DIALCOM INVESTIGATING NEW SERVICE FOR HEARING-IMPAIRED ON PRESTEL
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1989 JAN 20 (NB) -- Dialcom U.K. has started a
major six-month study into the feasibility of providing a service
for hearing-impaired users of Prestel, its public viewdata
service. The database is called Wavelength.

The study's primary aim is to assess the financial viability of a
Prestel database. During the six month study, a trial database
under the Wavelength name will be established on Prestel.

Newsbytes notes that several previous services for the deaf and
hearing-impaired have been started on Prestel. This is the first
time, however, that such a database has had financial backing
from Dialcom U.K.

(Steve Gold/19890120/Dialcom UK: 01-403-6777 [Email on Dialcom
                          80:BTG351])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00014)

BRITISH TELECOM TAKES 22 PERCENT STAKE IN MCCAW CELLULAR
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1989 JAN 19 (NB) -- British Telecom U.S.A, a
wholly-owned subsidiary of British Telecom [BT] in the U.K., is to
take a 22 percent stake in McCaw Cellular Communications. The
buy-in will cost BT around $1,500 million, and is subject to
approval from the U.S. government.

McCaw is the largest cellular network provider in the U.S. and,
although loss-making, has 227,000 subscribers in the U.S.
marketplace. This contrasts with BT's Cellnet division in the UK,
with more than 300,000 subscribers. Cellnet is a highly
profitable enterprise for BT.

Ian Vallance, BT's chairman in the UK, said that the deal will
enable both companies to enjoy a range of reciprocal services,
including the possibility of subscribers 'roaming' between the
two countries' networks on an automatic basis. "Our investment in
the strategically important U.S. sector of this market provides a
first class opportunity to expand the long-term earnings
potential of British Telecom," he said.

(Steve Gold/19890120)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(WAS)(00001)

UNISYS ROLLS OUT DESKTOP MAINFRAME
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 18 JAN 1989 (NB) -- Unisys Corp. has
introduced what it calls "the industry's first true desktop
mainframe," a personal computer with a special circuit board with
key features of the company's large mainframes. The Micro A can
run programs written for the DOS operation system, or for the
Unisys Series A mainframes. Unisys says its used advanced
techniques to pack enough chips onto a single board in its
standard PW2 PC to create a mainframe.

(Ken Maize/19890120)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(ATL)(00002)

NEW ZYMOS CHIP TO DRIVE DOWN COSTS OF VGA GRAPHICS
SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 13 (NB) -- Zymos Corp. has
introduced a new VGA chip controller which will drive down the
cost of high-end graphics in terminals and PCs. Bob Andrews,
director of technical marketing, told Newsbytes "We see it going
into not only PC ATs but in the after-market." Current VGA cards
cost $300, and computer terminals average $700, Andrews said,
but the Zymos chip will let you build a VGA terminal "with as few
as 6 chips, not counting memory." Andrews also said the new
Zymos chip will offer higher resolution than other VGA chip sets.
"Most of the newer chips coming out are a superset of the IBM VGA
terminal as it appeared in the PS/2," he said. "This chip will
have a higher resolution than what you see today."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890120/Contact:: Bob Andrews, 408-730-5400)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TOR)(00003)

STUDY REPORTS MAINFRAME MARKET SHRINKING, SOFTWARE STRONG
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1989 JAN 16 (NB) -- The large-scale
computer systems market in Canada shrank by 0.8 percent in 1988,
according to International Data Corp. Canada. The market
research firm, in its year-end review and forecast, said
mainframes' share of the total computer hardware market fell from
23.8 percent to 21.8 percent in 1988, and will drop farther to
about 15 percent by 1992. The dollar value of the mainframe
market in 1988 was C$1,208 million.

Medium scale system sales grew 4.5 percent to C$1,169 million, or
21.1 percent of the total. Small scale systems [small
minicomputers, by IDC's definition] grew 5.1 percent to C$589
million, or 10.6 percent of the total. But the highest growth
was in personal computers, with a 19.4-percent growth rate in
1988 to reach C$1,995 million. Packaged software was another
high growth area, reaching C$837 million.

In 1989, IDC predicts the Canadian information technology
industry will grow 7.3 percent over all, to reach C$14,246
million.

(Grant Buckler/19890116/Contact: IDC Canada, 416-369-0033)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SYD)(00004)

DP SPENDING DOWN IN '89 BUT SOME WILL SPEND BIG
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1989 JAN 20 (NB) -- A poll of data processing
--DP -- managers in Australia reveals that DP spending will flatten
for 1989/90. Most said that they had made their capital investment
during the past two years and would use the next two to consolidate
systems. Some companies even expect a reduction in staff levels as
projects are brought on line.

Some DP managers claim to have reduced DP costs by decentralizing
processing with the increased use of PCs. "It's not just a case
of getting the machines off our budget and onto another
department's. We really have saved money because the end-user can
be much more effective than us when he wants small reports or
one-off jobs done." said one DP manager.

Despite the general slow-down, some companies are predicting MIS
growth of up to 50 percent this year, partly due to budgetary approval
to implement new systems -- a typical one being OS/2 networks.

(Paul Zucker/19890120)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(BRU)(00005)

FOREIGN BUSINESSES MAKING INROADS IN U.S. COMPUTER MARKET
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1989 JAN 20 (NB) -- Foreign businesses are
making revenues in the billions in the U.S. market, according to a
study reported by Electronic Business magazine

According to the American magazine's report, no less than 16
foreign companies have revenues of more than $1 billion. Philips
holds first place with $5,300 million, followed by Matsushita
with $4,300 million, and Northern Telecom with $3,100 million.
Out of the top fourteen companies in the $1,000 million turnover
league, ten are Japanese, with one firm each from Canada, The
Netherlands, West Germany and the U.K.

(Peter Vekinis/19890120)


(EXCLUSIVE)(UNIX)(LAX)(00001)

NORTON DEVELOPS UNIX UTILITIES
SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 9 (NB) -- Three local
firms -- Peter Norton Computing, Interactive Systems Corporation and
Segue Software, Inc.-- are developing a set of data recovery
utilities for the Unix operating system. The utilities will feature
most of the functions of the well-known Norton Utilities for the MS-
DOS operating system. Development is a joint effort of the three
firms with Norton to provide expertise and some code from the
original utilities.

According to Barbara Shultz, Peter Norton Computing president, the
trio is working to solve certain problems unique to Unix. In
contrast to MS-DOS which runs a single program at a time, Unix is
capable of running many programs simultaneously for many different
users. This complicates the Unix disk storage environment with
issues that are not present in DOS. However, progress is being made
in this area and the developers are confident that the product will
successfully reproduce most of Norton's familiar UnErase data
recovery and disk management functions. There are also plans to
include the new Disk Doctor disk drive maintenance features which
have been added to the most recent version of the Norton Utilities.
Norton Computing claims that those features are capable of
automatically keeping fixed disk drives working at peak efficiency.
"We're really excited about entering the Unix market," said Shultz
adding that Norton perceives Unix as a ripe environment for such
utility software.

Pricing decisions have not yet been made. However, the new
utilities will most likely be priced as they are for DOS but
reflecting also the typical differential between applications for
the DOS environment and their counterparts in the Unix market.
Marketing of the as-yet-unnamed product will be primarily through
Interactive Systems. Interactive was the first company to port Unix
to Intel 80386-based computers.

(Wayne Yacco/19890118/Contact: Peter Norton Computing, 213-453-2161)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(TOR)(00002)

ZANTHE'S ZIM NOW AVAILABLE FOR UNISYS U5000
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1989 JAN 16 (NB) -- Zanthe Information
Inc.'s ZIM fourth-generation development system is now available
for the U5000 series of computers from Unisys Inc. ZIM, based on
the entity-relationship data model, is already available on
several other Unix systems. Unisys has appointed Zanthe, an
Ottawa software developer, as a Marketing Associate in Canada,
and the two firms will cooperate to market their products in
designated market sectors.

The U5000 series consists of four models, which support from 16
to 128 users. All are based on the Motorola 68020
microprocessor, and all the models will support ZIM.

(Grant Buckler/19890117/Contact: Don Edwards, Unisys Canada Inc.,
416-495-4921)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LON)(00003)

X-OPEN TO OPEN OFFICE IN TOKYO THIS MONTH
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1989 JAN 20 (NB) -- The X-Open consortium of
computer manufacturers and software developers will open an
office in Tokyo at the end of this month. The X-Open group's aim
is to develop a Unix standard for software, thereby enabling
applications software to be used on a variety of machines with
differing microprocessors.

The establishment of an office in Tokyo will, says Geoff Morris.
the group's president, signify that the company means business to
the Japanese marketplace.

* X-Open currently has just one Japanese company - Fujitsu - out
 of a total of 15 partner companies in seven countries around
 the world. The Tokyo office will, X-Open hopes, entice more
 Japanese companies into its fold.

(Steve Gold/19890120)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(SFO)(00004)

SUN CLONE APPEARS IN COLORADO
LONGMONT, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1989 JANUARY 19 (NB) -- A startup firm
is driving a line of computers along the lucrative road already
paved by Sun Microsystems. Solbourne Computer introduced a series
of workstations that are some 14 percent cheaper than similar
offerings from the Mountain View, California competitor. In fact,
they are powered by the same RISC microprocessor inside the Sun 4. The
machines are made by Matsushita, which controls over half of
the firm. Solbourne says software written for the Sun 4 workstation
will run on its machines without modification.

(Wendy Woods/19890121)


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

UNIFORUM AT MOSCONE CENTER FEBRUARY 28 - MARCH 2
DES PLAINES, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 20 (NB) -- Unix buffs, mark
your calendars. The UniForum trade show, four days of intense
Unix activity, is slated for February 28 through March 2 at San
Francisco's Moscone Center. 225 major vendors will show their
wares; there are 20 all-day tutorial sessions, 28 marketing and
industry conferences, eight technical sessions featuring 24
technical papers, daily keynote addresses, and free Unix system
workshops. For information call the /usr/group, show sponsors,
at US 800-323-5155.

(Wendy Woods/19890121)


(EDITORIAL)(APPLE)(LAX)(00001)

W Y S I W Y G -- Wayne Yacco's Gazette

TEAPOT PESTS
BURBANK, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JAN 18 (NB) -- A just released
survey of Fortune 1000 MIS [management information systems]
professionals indicates that the Macintosh is gaining in corporate
acceptability. Titled "Macintosh or MS-DOS," the 1989 report
contends that respondents found Macintosh systems superior to
computers running MS-DOS along several dimensions. Macintosh
machines were rated "significantly higher" than MS-DOS machines for
user productivity, ease of installation, ease of use, and ease of
learning. The survey was prepared for Apple by Diagnostic Research,
Inc. of Los Angeles.

Corporate acceptance of the Macintosh is apparently growing at the
same time that questions are being raised about the IBM PC paradigm.
Substantial speculation has been focused on upcoming contention
between the MCA [microchannel architecture] and the EISA [extended
industry standard architecture]. Doubts have been raised about
whether the MCA has deviated too far from the incumbent standard of
corporate end-user computing, whether its benefits justify a
transition, whether the user community will accept a machine that
doesn't use existing peripherals, and whether there will be
competing offerings from other vendors.

Not all are real issues -- peripherals seldom move to new machines in
practice. The other issues could be satisfactorily addressed in the
long run. If, that is, the MCA lasts. It seems unlikely that IBM
could abandon the MCA but what if sales came to a virtual stop?
Could that happen when EISA is introduced? There are many users who
are uncertain about deviating from the PC standard. Resistance to a
second standard could grow. But should it?

The fortunes of one platform are rising at a time when those of the
other seem to be in doubt. Yet, a certain irony is exposed by a
juxtaposition of the two hardware platforms. Both are offering the
user multiple hardware standards. The NUbus used in the Mac II is
a Texas Instruments's design. It's different from the bus in the
original Macintosh. And on January 19, Apple is expected to
announced yet another system which will not allow the new SE to
take expansion cards of the old one.

Several new adapters for the Macintosh will debut this weekend at
MacWorld Expo. Each new Apple board will work in just one type of
Macintosh slot although there may be models of the same adapter for
each bus. There will also be offerings from third party vendors.
Those vendors may or may not choose to develop an option for every
Macintosh bus.

Why should one set of platforms be the center of controversy while
the other is accepted without mention? The difference must be in
the perception of the Macintosh offerings as a solution from a
single manufacturer while the MCA and EISA will not have unified
support. But EISA has been promised as a PC-bus compatible
platform. If it is PC compatible, then doesn't this seem to
attenuate the issue? After all, IBM has a large base of installed
PCs and ATs and it is still introducing others with the same busses.
Support for MS-DOS machines would seem to be as secure as that of
the Macintosh.

For some reason, there are large numbers of users who are willing to
accept multiple bus architectures from Apple but not from IBM. And,
when you consider all of the expansion strategies that Apple has
introduced for its various product lines, including the original Mac
lack, that seems just a little curious to me.

(Wayne Yacco/19890120)