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/nb890725

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

MAJOR BLOW TO APPLE LOOK AND FEEL SUIT
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 22 (NB) -- A federal
judge has ruled that Apple's 1985 licensing agreement with Microsoft
involving the use of on-screen windows still gives Microsoft a legal
right to use them, and strikes out a major portion of Apple's
"look and feel" copyright violation suit against the software company.

In addition, Hewlett-Packard, by virtue of its license with Microsoft,
is also within its legal rights in regard to the use of windows in the
"New Wave" operating environment, which was also targeted by the
Apple suit.

U.S. District Judge William Schwarzer's ruling, which has yet to be
released and which is not final until next week, says that Microsoft and
HP, "are entitled to partial summary judgement on Apple's infringement
claim insofar as it is based on the use in Windows 2.03 of visual
displays in Windows 1.0."

Still to be decided is Apple's claim that its copyright on overlapping
windows and icons is being violated by the two companies' visual
displays on Windows and New Wave. If the judge rules in Apple's favor,
substantial portions of both products would have to be redesigned.
Initial reaction by legal experts is that this tentative decision,
however, is a major blow to Apple.

The two sides appear in court next on September 8.

(Wendy Woods/19890722)


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

APPLE EARNINGS STEADY
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 18 (NB) -- Apple Computer
says the third quarter produced a five percent net income increase,
bringing home $96.1 million dollars for the quarter ending June 30.
One year ago Apple made $91.3 million for the same period.

Sales, however, increased nicely, accounting for $1.24 billion
dollars compared to $993 million one year ago.

The financial news came as no surprise to most Apple watchers,
since the company had announced in June that quarterly earnings
would be low due to higher chip costs, as well due to as a sudden
demand for 80 megabyte Macintosh IIcx computers. Apple had been
unable to meet demand during the last quarter. The Macintosh
II and other older 16-bit models have fallen in popularity as
a result of the sudden interest in the more advanced, 32-bit 68030-
based machines.

(Wendy Woods/19890616)


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

COLEMAN RETURNS TO APPLE
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 21 (NB) -- Deborah Coleman
has returned to Apple Computer as vice president of finance following
a five month personal leave. Coleman, who left to lose weight, is
said to be 35 pounds lighter and full of ideas. She told The San Jose
Mercury News that she wants to be the chief executive in an Apple
spin-off. Her interest is said to be in multimedia or systems
integration.

Apple's highest-ranking female executive, Deborah Coleman was also
one of the few in the Apple executive suite who had been around long
enough to work directly with co-founder Steve Jobs before he left the
company, and was hired by Apple in 1981.

(Wendy Woods/19890722)


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

FONTOGRAPHER UPGRADE FOR MAC
PLANO, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 21 (NB ) -- Altsys Corporation says
a new version of Fontographer is available. A Postscript typeface
and logo designer for the Apple Macintosh, the new Fontographer 3.0
offers such technical improvements as auto-trace of scanned
characters, integrated editing of bit-map fonts, and automatic
generation of Postscript and bit-map "hints," as well as an improved
user interface, according to the company.

Fontographer 3.0 ships within the next few weeks and has a suggested
retail price of $495. Upgrades to registered owners are available
for $70.

(Wendy Woods/19890722/Press Contact: Ellen Townsend, 214-
424-4888)


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

RADIUS GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 17 (NB) -- Macintosh II
owners seeking to soup up their graphics capability are the target
of Radius's new QuickColor Graphics Accelerator. The board
executes Macintosh graphics on a six million instruction per second
RISC or reduced-instruction-set processor, enhancing Apple's
32-bit QuickDraw by 600 percent.

QuickColor accelerates common graphics functions such as window
movement, text scrolling, fills and image displays by bypassing
the Macintosh II processor. Quickcolor software operates on the
system level, allowing 32-bit Quickdraw applications to take
advantage of the speed without modification.

To be used in such 16 and 32-bit applications as professional
graphic arts and publishing, the Accelerator is shipping and lists
for $795.

(Wendy Woods/19890722/Press Contact: Jeneane Harter, 408-
434-1010)


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

MACGUIDE MAGAZINE FOLDS
LAKEWOOD, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 18 (NB) -- MacGuide has
ceased publication of MacGuide magazine due to "a lack of
cash flow," according to Benjamin Templin, former editor-in-chief.

MacGuide, which was competing with MacWorld and MacUser for a piece of
the still-small Macintosh reader and advertiser market, was a quarterly
compendium of news and reviews about Macintosh products for a year
before becoming a glossy monthly six months ago. "If we had more,
money, just to see us through the end of the year, we would have
been solvent," Templin told Newsbytes.

The company itself, MacGuide, is for sale, and all inquiries are being
referred to the firm's president, David Duty.

Company officers have not determined how to handle subscription fees paid
by readers, but Newsbytes was told all incoming checks for new
subscriptions "will not be cashed."

MacGuide had a total circulation of 110,000, 30,000 of which were paid
subscriptions, 30,000 news stand copies, and the rest controlled or "free"
circulation.

All 15 staff members were laid off Friday, July 21.

(Wendy Woods/19890722/Press Contact: David Duty, 303-935-8100)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(ATL)(00007)

MUSICPROSE PRICE UNCLEAR
BLOOMINGTON, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 21 (NB) -- Coda Music
has not yet decided on a price for MusicProse, a simplified music
notation program based loosely on its $595 Finale program.
MusicProse is due to ship in September and will be on display at
MacWorld. It premiered last month at the National Association of
Music Merchants show in Chicago.

David Zimmerman of Coda told Newsbytes the new program "uses the
core and data structures" of Finale "but has a completely different
look. It's got simplicity and it's not a professional engraver's tool,
but it lets you get a lead sheet out fast, and it does real time
transcription." The $249 price, Zimmerman said, was accidentally
given to the Byte Information Exchange. The retail price may be as
high as $299.

MusicProse will work on a Mac Plus with one megabyte of memory, a
hard disk drive, and any ImageWriter printer.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890721/Press Contact: David Zimmerman, Coda
Music, 612-854-1288)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00008)

SOMAK ANNOUNCES SCRIPTEDIT
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 21 (NB) -- San Diego-
based Somak Software has announced ScriptEdit, a program designed
to boost editing powers for Hypercard users.

The new program will be introduced August 10 at the MacWorld Expo
and will be offered at $79.

Features include multiple script window display on screen limited
only by available memory, an index to all stack objects that is
updated instantly when moving from stack to stack, full-featured
find and replace functions and individual saving of font, size
and window preferences for each script. ScriptEdit opens any
standard text file and can be used outside of Hypercard.

ScriptEdit was developed by Tom Braski, coauthor of Nisus, a
popular word processing program for Macintosh from Paragon, Inc.
ScriptEdit is the first major program to be published exclusively
by Somak, a company that has built a major following from its
mail order catalog of Mac Shareware and popular commercial
software.

(Janet Endrijonas/19890721/Press Contact: Sue Varga, Masar-
Johnston, 619-218-3484)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(TOR)(00009)

DANTZ SIGNS CANADIAN DISTRIBUTOR
MARKHAM, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1989 JUL 20 (NB) -- Dantz Development
of Berkeley, Calif., has named Tense Lectronix of Markham,
Ontario, exclusive Canadian distributor for Retrospect, a backup
and archival program for the Macintosh. Tense said Retrospect is
the first true archiving software for the Mac, and works with a
variety of media, including Macintosh disks, removable disks,
optical cartridges, tape cartridges and file servers. The
software is compatible with AppleShare and TOPS networks. It
compresses and encrypts data, and provides scripting and a
calendar for unattended operations.

Founded in 1984, Dantz developed the BoxBack and MegaCopy
software for Iomega, as well as DiskFit and Network DiskFit, both
published by SuperMac Technology.

(Grant Buckler/19890720/Press Contact: Gwen Amelard, Tense
Lectronix, 416-475-1077)


(EXCLUSIVE)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00001)

OSBORNE'S PAPERBACK SLASHES STAFF
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 21 (NB) -- Paperback Software
has laid off eight employees, many of them in telemarketing, leaving
the total staff of the software firm at 22 people. Adam Osborne, the
firm's founder, tells Newsbytes the consolidation is due to a
continuing lawsuit Paperback is defending against Lotus Development,
which charges the firm with copyright infringement. "The litigation
is taking $10,000 a month out of cash flow," says Osborne, who adds
that the staff cuts should "allow us to make money again." The
firm has not had a profitable quarter for over a year.

In addition, the firm's president, Steve Cook, is now on a part-time
schedule, which Osborne attributes to his need for paternity leave in
light of the recent birth of his daughter.

Osborne makes no bones about his enmity for Jim Manzi, head of
Lotus, which launched the lawsuit, and vows that he will continue to
operate Paperback Software, come what may, since "there is nothing
more important than Manzi be defeated and totally defeated."

Paperback Software is launching a new product for the Macintosh at
the MacWorld Expo in Boston in August. An artificial intelligence
product, VP Expert for the Macintosh will be demonstrated by either
Osborne himself or developer Terry Schuster at the Apple booth.
In addition, Paperback is preparing to release version 2.0 of
VP-Info.

(Wendy Woods/19890722)


(EXCLUSIVE)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00002)

OSBORNE'S HARDWARE VENTURE UNDERWAY
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 22 (NB) -- Adam Osborne
says India has presented him with "tempting" offers to move his
base of operations -- both Paperback Software and a new venture
he's undertaken in hardware -- to India. But the industry pioneer,
who also made his name founding Osborne Computer, pledges not
to leave the U.S. until the legal fight his firm is waging against
giant Lotus Development is resolved.

As reported exclusively in Newsbytes, Osborne has reentered the
computer hardware business as one of three owners in a computer
board-making venture called SVT Computers Limited. His
immediate product will be high-end '286 and '386-based boards for
microcomputers, but a workstation project may also be in the works.
"Jobs has made another Lisa," he tells Newsbytes, inferring that
perhaps someone can do better than the founder of Next whose
newest workstation is considered a breakthrough technical
achievement.

The SVT boards will be designed in India but manufactured in
Hong Kong, and they should be available by the end of the year
and distributed worldwide. Osborne says the boards are designed
to compete with Compaq. "We will make a faster, more powerful
product cheaper and quicker," he tells Newsbytes.

(Wendy Woods/19890722)


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

JAPANESE BUILD US FLOPPY FACTORY
PLYMOUTH, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 13 (NB) -- Kao Corp.,
a major Japanese chemical company, has opened a manufacturing
facility in Plymouth that will employ 160 workers.

The $60 million plant will produce six million 3.5-inch floppy
disks a month when in full production by the end of this year. A
spokesperson for the factory said that the Massachusetts site was
chosen because it is near the company's major market.

This latest example of a Japanese company opening a manufacturing
facility in the U.S. could prove a boon to the technical resources of
the region because Kao spends large amounts on research and
development and the company says that it intends to work closely
with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on R&D projects.

(John McCormick/19890721)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00004)

CFC BAN AFFECTS WESTERN DIGITAL
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 20 (NB) -- Irvine,
California's proposed ban on chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) would
force Western Digital to abandon the $100 million wafer fab being
built in that town according to company Chairman Roger Johnson.

The ban is set to go into effect next July 1. Western Digital
uses one of the chemicals outlawed under the ban, methyl
chloroform, in making semiconductors. The company says it
recovers 99.98 percent of the methyl chloroform it uses either
heating it until it decomposes into nontoxic substances or mixing
it in an oil solution and disposing of the mixture in a qualified
dump. The unrecovered methyl chloroform, about 2 pound per year,
is released into the atmosphere. Even traces of such substances
will become illegal in Irvine next July.

With the company threatening not to complete building the
facility and thereby deny new jobs in Irvine, the city's mayor
has indicated the possibility of Western Digital being exempted
from the new rules.

(Janet Endrijonas/19890721)


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

ANACOMP CUTS DISK PRODUCTION
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 19 (NB) -- Announcing a
16 percent staff reduction in its Santa Clara, California, hard disk
factory, an Anacomp Incorporated spokesperson said that there is
an industry move away from the traditional oxide-coated hard
disk.

Anacomp has more than 8,000 workers in 23 states, and the staff
cut only affects 172 employees out of the 1,100 in the Santa
Clara facility.

(John McCormick/19890721)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(WAS)(00006)

AT&T EARNINGS JUMP 17.7%
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 21 (NB) -- AT&T today
reported a jump in second-quarter sales to $699 million or 65
cents/share, up 17.7 percent from the same period last year, on
revenues of $9.26 billion, versus $8.8 billion last year.

Service revenues were up about 9 percent for the quarter, but hardware
sales, including computers and communications equipment,
increased by only about 4 percent for the quarter and for the
first half of 1989.

(John McCormick/19890721)


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

MICROSOFT IN TAIWAN
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 18 (NB) -- Microsoft has
announced plans to set up a subsidiary in Taiwan to serve that
country's software sales channels. Michael Cooper, a 22-year
computer industry veteran, has been assigned to head the new
firm and will serve as its general manager until a permanent
Chinese general manager is selected.

Microsoft says Taiwan is currently its third largest original
equipment manufacturing (OEM) market, after the U.S. and Germany.

(Wendy Woods/19890722)


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

SPARKY SPARKS AT DYNABOOK
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 18 (NB) -- H.L. "Sparky
Sparks, a one-time IBM and Compaq executive who has since been
on more teams than a utility infielder hitting .250, joined the
team of Dynabook Technologies as vice president, sales and
marketing. At Dynabook he'll be selling the DynaBook 286, a
lightweight laptop.

Sparks, now 56, spent 20 years at IBM, joining its IBM PC
management team in 1980. In February 1983, he joined Compaq
Computer , stayed two years, and has since bounced from Tandon
to Amdek to Nexgen Microsystems. And now on to Dynabook.

Dynabook Technologies' corporate headquarters and engineering
facilities are located in San Jose, Calif., its sales and marketing
offices are in Pleasanton, Calif., and the manufacturing plant is in
Huntsville, Ala.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890721/Press Contact: CONTACT: Melanie Fuzie,
Dynabook Technologies, 415/847-0660)


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

CONTROL DATA SELLS PLATO
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 18 (NB) -- Control Data
continued its painful dismemberment by reaching an agreement to
sell 80 percent of its PLATO education software as well as its training
and education centers to a new company headed by William R.
Roach, former head of Applied Learning Corp.

Additional funding for the new company will come from Cherry Tree
Ventures of Minneapolis and Marquette Venture Partners of Chicago.

The PLATO software and testing program, along with the
Industrial Training business, whose big customer is the airline
industry, will have estimated revenues of about $50 million this
year. They're best known as one of the high-profile attempts of
founder William Norris to do good while doing business. The
company's major failings were endemic to competing with IBM in
the mainframe marketplace, although some editorialists said
Norris' idealism was misplaced in the 1980s.

Roach is immediately adding a government training and education
services division, through a  subsidiary of a new Delaware
corporation to be formed by William R. Roach & Associates. A
closing on the entire deal is due in August.

What's left of Control Data is a company which provides data
services and computers.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890721/Press Contact: William R. Roach,
William R. Roach & Assoc., 312-398-2464)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00010)

MAI BIDS FOR PART OF PRIME
TUSTIN, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 20 (NB) -- MAI Basic Four
has revised its bid for Prime Computer. Instead of raising its
bid as had been hinted earlier, the company offered to buy
Prime's minicomputer business for $800 million.

According to some industry analysts, this scaled-down offer
amounts to a signal of defeat from MAI in the wake of the white
knight offer from J. H. Whitney & Co., currently favored by the
Prime board of directors. Other analysts disagree saying that it
makes sense for Prime to rid itself of an aging division and
concentrate its resources on developing higher-growth areas such
as computer-aided design (CAD) product.

This offer comes two days after MAI extended its standing offer
of $1.9 billion for all of Prime. Prime's board is supporting
the Whitney offer and the number of Prime shares tendered to MAI
has dropped significantly since the Whitney bid. Currently, 3.5
million shares have been tendered under the MAI offer which, when
added to the shares MAI already owns, gives MAI about 7.5 percent
of Prime's outstanding shares. This may have a negative effect
on MAI's announced plans to wage a proxy battle at Prime's annual
meeting scheduled for July 26.

Analysts disagree as to whether Prime's minicomputer business
might be available as a separate buy. It is thought that Whitney
plans to use the minicomputer division as a "cash cow" to
generate revenues for other growth businesses. In the currently
deflating minicomputer industry, it is possible Whitney might
sell the division in favor of concentrating on CAD/CAM at Prime.
MAI's suit alleging Prime improperly paid a $20 million fee to
Whitney is still pending. There has been no word as to whether
or not MAI will follow through on its threat to wage a proxy
battle at Prime's annual meeting July 26 if Prime does not accept
MAI's offer.

(Janet Endrijonas/19890721)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00011)

TECH MKTNG SHOWS QUARTER DROP
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., JULY 14 (NB) -- In the quarter ended
May 31, Technology Marketing, manufacturer of a variety of
computer and electronic equipment, earned $245,658 on revenue of
$2.62 million down from the $403,161 earned on revenue of $3.29
million for the same period last year.

The company has blamed the drop on an extraordinary quarter in
1988. This year's earnings and revenues are considered to be
more in line with the company's usual performance.

(Janet Endrijonas/19890721)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00012)

GATEWAY NAMES SCHNEIDER VP
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 18 (NB) -- Gateway
Communications has appointed Paul J. Schneider as vice president,
finance and administration and chief financial officer (CFO).

Prior to joining Gateway, Schneider had been senior vice
president, finance and administration and CFO for MSI Data
Corporation in Costa Mesa, California. Schneider has 28 years of
accounting and financial experience. In addition to 18 years in
a large public accounting firm, Schneider's industry experience
has been primarily with public companies in the electronics
manufacturing and product distribution industries.

(Janet Endrijonas/1990721/Press Contact: Bradley Morse, Gateway,
714-553-1555)


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

XIONICS NAMES NEW CEO
ORANGE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 14 (NB) -- Michael Upp has
been named chief executive officer (CEO) of Xionics, Inc,
manufacturers of PC Document Image Processing (DIP) hardware.

Upp will be spearheading a massive expansion by Xionics. He
comes from Mitel, Inc., in Irvine, California where he held the
position of vice president of sales. Upp acknowledged that he
made the move from Mitel, a telecommunications company, to
Xionics because the document imaging field is growing at
approximately 90 percent per year.

(Janet Endrijonas/19890721/Press Contact: Michael Gardner,
Xionics, 714/971-4717)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00014)

SLIDE MASTER SERVICE FOR AUTOGRAPHIX
ORANGE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 19 (NB) -- Slide Master of
Orange, California has been named an Authorized Autographix
Service Center.

This alliance will enable Slide Master to provide next-day
service on high resolution, full-color presentation visuals
created directly from the files of PC and Macintosh users via
modem or diskette and sent to Slide Master. Slide Master will
produce 35mm slides, overhead transparencies or color prints from
these files.

Slide Master sees its alliance as providing a distinct
competitive edge in the Southern California graphics market.

(Janet Endrijonas/19890721/Press Contact: John Donelly,
Autographix, 617-890-8558)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(BRU)(00015)

EUROPE: RACAL GOES SHOPPING
MUNICH, WEST GERMANY, 1989 JUL 21 (NB) -- The British Racal group
gave its first West German appearance at a Munich press
conference earlier this month. At the conference, David Elsbury,
the group's vice president, announced plans to acquire a number
of high technology companies throughout Western Europe.

In addition, Elsbury revealed that Racal is actively searching
for a West German software house to work with on future high-tech
projects. Racal is keen to work with third-party companies in
West Germany, on account of its poor showing in the public polls.
A recent survey showed the West Germany electronics industry as
strongly preferring to deal with solely West German companies.

(Klaus Rosenthal/19890721)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SIN)(00016)

SINGAPORE FIRM'S THAI DISTRIBUTOR
BANGKOK, THAILAND, 1989 JUL 14 (NB) -- ATS ComputerCentre Pte
Ltd. of Singapore recently announced its appointment of SCT
Computer Co Ltd of Thailand as a distributor of its ATS-
SUPERVISIONS, ATSStructE and FEMVISIONS Software in Thailand.

Supervisions is an advanced and powerful 2 & true 3D design &
modelling computer-aided design software. ATTSStructE stands
for the Analysis & Design of structures, and Femvisions incorporates
the use of finite element method for determining the stress
contour and deformation in product designs.

ATS ComputerCentre belongs to the ATS group, which is an international
group of companies with offices in the U.K., Singapore, Philippines and
Malaysia. It provides distribution and support of ATS Software and
affordable high-performance CAD systems, bureau and consultancy
services for CAD/CAE/CAM applications.

Other members of the group are ATS SoftwareCentre Pte Ltd., ATS
Technologies (Singapore and UK), ATS Computer School and ATS
Representative Offices.

SCT is a subsidiary of conglomerate Siam Cement Group, which had
already began sourcing advanced and powerful PC-based CAD software for
use by SCT's sister company the Siam Ferous-Cement Company and for
distribution by SCT.

All three products will be demonstrated at the forthcoming 2nd
International Convention on Urban Planning, Housing and Design, being
held at Raffles City Convention Centre, Singapore 27-29th July 1989

(Michael Worsley & S.Roowi/19890718/Press Contact: Dr Ang Thian Ming,
ATS ComputerCentre, Ph: (65) 225.8311, Fx:225.9315, Tx:RS 22015 ATS)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SIN)(00017)

MCDONNELL DOUGLAS TRAINS IN SINGAPORE
SINGAPORE, S.E. ASIA, 1989 JUL 18 (NB) -- McDonnell Douglas
Information Systems International (MDIS), a division of US aircraft
manufacturer McDonnell Douglas, has set up a subsidiary here to
provide back-up service for its software and also plans to set up a
training facility at the Singapore Polytechnic.

At the subsidiary's opening yesterday, James Little, MDIS' vice-
president for the Far East and the Pacific, said that he expects plans
for the proposed training facility would be concluded during his
visit. It would initially train Polytechnic students and ultimately
MDIS customers in computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM), which
includes the use of computer-aided design (CAD).

(Michael Worsley & S.Roowi/19890721)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(KUL)(00018)

MOSAIC APPTS MALAYSIA DISTRIBUTOR
PETALING JAYA, MALAYSIA, 1989 JUL 11 (NB) -- Equatron (M) Sdn Bhd has
been appointed regional distributor for the Boston-based Mosaic
Software to distribute and support its range of spreadsheet and
integrated application software throughout the six ASEAN countries.

Mosaic Software was founded in May 1982 by Richard Bezjian, and
produces a range of software products in various Asian and European
languages. The company claims to have been the first to market a
business graphics package for the IBM PC -- Chartman -- and the first to
offer a low-cost alternative to Lotus 1-2-3 with its TWIN package,
just rewritten to operate under Unix environment as well as MS-DOS.

Tan Lip Heng, Equitron group division manager, said the appointment
was the second phase of Equatron's objectives towards becoming a
recognizable source for software programs. He explained that TWIN was
expected to be operating in some 700,000 installations worldwide by
the end of this year, and its current users include the US Social
Security Organization, General Dynamics, and NASA.

(Michael Worsley/19890721)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SIN)(00019)

SINGAPORE/UK MAKE SIMULATORS
SINGAPORE, S.E. ASIA, 1989 JUL 7 (NB) -- Local company Industrial &
Offshore Computer Services (IOCS) and UK-based Maritime Dynamics are
developing a new range of computer generated imagery (CGI) systems for
ship simulators.

IOCS, an engineering applications systems house, is part of a local
computer group called Computer Systems Advisors. Its managing
director, Dr. David Haines, has some 25 years' experience in the
simulation area.

Maritime Dynamics, incorporated by Dr. I R McCallum in 1982, has
undertaken several major simulation studies in Canada, Hong Kong,
Holland and Indonesia. It has also installed one simulator in Taiwan
and two in Australia.

The new range of systems will be based on the latest 32-bit
workstation technology that will enable IOCS to develop advanced
software for all types of maritime simulation. They will rely on
skills "already resident in IOCS" rather than foreign expertise to
upgrade some techniques in the CGI area.

According to David Bendall of Mardyn International, the international
marketing section of Maritime Dynamics, the two companies would be
cooperating actively, bringing about a change in their business
relationship where, in the past, IOCS had acted only as Maritime's
local representative. He said that as a result, their projects would
have a higher local content with the substantial transfer of
technology to Singapore. IOCS will concentrate on the Asian market.

IOCS' future plans, yet to be finalized, include using its skills in
maritime simulation for studies in Malaysia with its consortium
partner in Kuala Lumpur.

(Michael Worsley & S.Roowi/19890718/Press Contact: Industrial &
Offshore Computer Services Pte. Ltd., Ph: (65) 779.5122)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00020)

CANADA: TSE ACCEPTS INSTINET
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1989 JUL 19 (NB) -- The Ontario
Securities Commission has approved an interim agreement that will
let Instinet Canada Ltd., a computerized stock trading company,
become a member of the Toronto Stock Exchange. The exchange and
Instinet announced the agreement a month ago. It requires
Instinet to execute all orders from Canadian customers for stocks
listed on the TSE through the TSE or another Canadian stock
exchange. The agreement also prohibits Instinet from installing
customer terminals in Canada before January 8, 1990, when the
interim agreement is due to expire.

Some member firms of the exchange had fought Instinet's
application for membership, fearing its effect on the exchange's
business.

(Grant Buckler/19890720/Press Contact: Leonard Petrillo or Steve
Key, Toronto Stock Exchange, 416-947-4515)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00021)

VANCOUVER GETS MISSION CYRUS PLANT
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, 1989 JUL 20 (NB) -- Mission
Cyrus, which announced an ambitious line of personal computers at
Comdex/Spring earlier this year, hopes to build a highly
automated factory here. The plant would build the Darius line of
386-based personal computers for the North American and European
markets, said Farad Azima, president of Mission Cyrus. A
subsidiary of the British electronics firm Mission Corp., Mission
Cyrus has its North American headquarters in Vancouver.

Azima said his company hopes to start construction of the new
plant by August of next year. It would probably be built on the
University of British Columbia's endowment lands, adjacent to the
university campus. Costing about C$10 million and covering about
75,000 square feet, the plant will be "very much a 21st century
manufacturing facility, based on flexible manufacturing
techniques and a great deal of automation," Azima said. He added
Mission Corp. is currently building a similar plant near
Cambridge, England, to manufacture personal computers and audio
equipment.

Azima said the Vancouver location was chosen for several reasons.
One, he said, is that executives of the British company feel more
comfortable in Canada than in the United States. Azima himself is
a Canadian citizen. Another consideration was the desire for
close research ties to a university. In Silicon Valley, Azima
said, many companies are competing for involvement with the
universities. The Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement made locating
in Vancouver a little more attractive, he added.

Azima said that by the time the plant is complete -- the target
is early 1992 -- his company plans to employ about 300 people in
Canada. About 50 work for Mission Cyrus now, he said.

The parent company recently invested about C$4.5 million in
Mission Cyrus. The Discovery Foundation of British Columbia is
putting in C$1 million over two years, Azima said, and the
provincial government has underwritten C$2.5 million in loans
from the Royal Bank of Canada. The company has also attracted
money from overseas investors, he added.

(Grant Buckler/19890720/Press Contact: Farad Azima or Tania
Elvin, Mission Cyrus, 604-432-7727)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00022)

SEMI-TECH PROFIT DOWN
MARKHAM, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1989 JUL 20 (NB) -- International Semi-
Tech Microelectronics has reported a profit of C$6.482 million on
revenues of C$404.9 million in the year ended January 31, 1989.
That represents a massive increase in revenues over the previous
year's C$25.5 million, but profit fell from C$7.156 million.

Semi-Tech also reported first-quarter revenues of $123.351
million and net income of C$720,000, compared with revenues of
C$9.817 million and net income of C$6.432 million in the same
period last year. In a prepared statement, Semi-Tech President
James Ting said high interest costs and tax allocations affected
first-quarter results. Semi-Tech has grown substantially in the
past year with the acquisition of SSMC Corp. of Delaware and two
Canadian computer service bureaus, Datacrown and Canada Systems
Group.

Meanwhile, Semi-Tech announced a $60-million rights offering for
its Hong Kong subsidiary, Semi-Tech (Far East), and revealed that
Semi-Tech (Far East) has spent US$10 million to buy the remaining
preferred stock in Consumers Distributing Inc. of Edison, N.J.,
which it already controlled, from the company's former parent,
Consumers Distributing Co. Ltd. of Montreal. Ting also announced
plans to raise about C$60 million in equity capital, and said
International Semi-Tech already has commitments amounting to more
than C$30 million from international investors.

(Grant Buckler/19890718/Press Contact: Michael List,
International Semi-Tech Microelectronics, 416-475-2670)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00023)

GEAC MAKES PROFIT
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1989 JUL 20 (NB) -- Geac Computer Corp.
has reported net income of C$5.2 million on revenues of C$74.8
million in the year ended April 30. In the previous year, Geac
lost C$9.9 million on revenues of C$68.5 million. The company has
now made money in five consecutive quarters, emerging from
financial difficulties which saw it in receivership (comparable
to what in the United States is known as Chapter 11 proceedings)
late in 1987. At the end of June, Geac sold its service bureau
business to Co-operators Data Services of Mississauga, Ont.

(Grant Buckler/19890720/Press Contact: Harrison Cheung, Geac,
416-475-0525)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00024)

CANADA: AISI NAMES ADVISOR
VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, 1989 JUL 18 (NB) -- AISI
Research has named Lloyd A. Taylor, former president of Commodore
International's Semiconductor Systems Group, a special advisor to
the company. Taylor has also held vice-president's jobs at
Commodore, RCA, Northern Telecom and Bell-Northern Research.
AISI develops home automation technology.

(Grant Buckler/19890718/Press Contact: AISI Research, 604-382-
4663)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00025)

GANDALF'S TAXI CONTRACT
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1989 JUL 18 (NB) -- Scarborough City Cab
has become the third taxi company in the Toronto area to acquire
a Cabmate computerized dispatching system from Gandalf Systems
Group, based here. The contract with the suburban cab operator
includes equipment, software and installation.

(Grant Buckler/19890718/Press Contact: Janice Drummond, Gandalf
Systems Group, 613-564-0183)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00026)

PC PRICE WAR IN AUSTRALIA
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1989 JUL 18 (NB) -- The PC price wars in Australia
continue, with NEC the latest vendor to cut prices, in response to
recent reductions by IBM and Compaq. "We've felt the effect of
competitive pricing," said Robert Small, marketing manager, volume
products. "IBM and Compaq have realized that there is a lot of life
left in the low-end 286 market. They went after us," he claimed.

The largest reduction is a whopping 28 percent from the price of the
Powermate Portable SX. The Powermate 1 with single floppy disk has
come down by 23 percent and the Powermate SX with 42 megabyte hard
disk is down by 20 percent. The cuts extend to monitors and graphics
adaptors too, with the Multisync II monitor reduced by 5 percent and
an EGA Plus card cut by 14 percent.

Managing Director Graeme Poulton said the company was concerned about
the price wars. He also lashed out at dealers that were only in the
market for short-term gains.

"We are concerned about the intrusion of non-viable dealerships in the
marketplace and the pressure it puts on our well-established dealer
network," he said. Poulton claimed dealer margins would be
maintained. "NEC will absorb the reduction, ensuring our dealer
network remains viable even at the lower sales price." He also
insisted there would be no sacrificing quality or service in the face
of competitive pressures.

(Kester Cranswick & Paul Zucker/19890721)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00027)

AUS: MICRO BITE SALES UP
ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA, 1989 JUL 20 (NB) -- Australia's only ground-up
designer and manufacturer of PCs, Micro Byte Systems, has reported a
big increase in profits and revenue on the strength of its PC230
sales.

National Marketing Manager Peter Drew said profits rose from
AUS$25,000 to AUS$400,000 in the year ending June 30 and staff levels
rose 25 percent to 45 employees. Drew attributed the Adelaide-based
firm's success to sales of its first PC, the PC230, released last
October. But he said Micro byte would have to consolidate company
growth for the next financial year.

"It will be suicide to maintain this high growth for two years in a
row. It's now a case of entering a controlled growth phase and
watching out that things don't go wild. The firm is targeting revenue
of $13 million for 1989-90 and may decide to go public with some
business operations to generate more business," Drew said.

"For example, it would not be unreasonable for us to manufacture our
own monitors and hard disks, but that would not happen for at least 18
months," he said. Micro Byte is also going through restructuring from
an entrepreneurial to a professional-type management.

(Kester Cranswick & Paul Zucker/19890721)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00001)

"STONED" VIRUS UP IN SMOKE
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1989 JUL 21 (NB) -- The infamous Marijuana virus
on PCs is no longer a worry, according to the author of the shareware
Calmer Utilities, Claude Almer. The virus, which may cause no
problems on some infected machines, can cause others to lose most of
the hard disk contents.

"It might have been designed as a harmless joke, just putting up a
'Your PC has been stoned' message," said Almer, "but like many of these
practical joke Trojan horses and viruses, it interferes with DOS and
other parts of the disk and therefore can cause disastrous problems
when run on a machine that's configured slightly differently to the
machine they were written on."

He told Newsbytes that the marijuana virus can cause disks with
multiple partitions to lose that partitioning information. His
utilities now include NBY (Not Born Yesterday) which is able to detect
the Marijuana virus. His utilities consist of 1.5 megabytes of over 30
programs that "more than rival the famous Norton utilities," according
to a number of users who spoke to Newsbytes.

Being shareware, these utilities are available on a number of bulletin
boards around the world, and users may become registered for US$40.
This gets them the latest version, free of guilt screens, airmailed
anywhere in the world.

(Paul Zucker/19890721/Press Contact: Claude Almer, 61-2-4762252)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00002)

AUSGRAPH GRAPHICS CONFERENCE
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1989 JUL 18 (NB) -- Australia's seventh computer
graphics conference and exhibition, Ausgraph 89, was hailed as the
biggest and the best so far by organizers although some exhibitors
were worried that attendance figures were down. The 41 exhibitors
filled only half a hall at Sydney's Darling Harbour Centre two weeks
ago.

The exhibition was organized by the Australian Computer Graphics
Association. Chairwoman Robyn Hughes said the attendance figures were
meeting expectations, with about 400 booked for the conference and
more than 3000 passing through the exhibition's gates by Wednesday
afternoon.

Minicomp Managing Director Murray Cleworth said the ratio of
exhibition visitors to stand staff was about equal at any given time -
which is a lot less than other computer shows. He said exhibitors were
mixing among themselves as much as they were talking to visitors.

A Schlumberger Technologies' stand member claimed his firm was
cramped for space in the hall which reduced the number of visitors
attending his stand. Hughes said most exhibitors were pleased with the
amount of allocated space and many said Darling Harbour was a welcome
change from the Hyatt Hotel's seven-foot high car park which was the
venue for Ausgraph '88 in Melbourne.

The conference boasted 27 international speakers out of a total of 81
participants. Topics ranged from PC CAD software to the future of
computer graphics technology.

(Derril Farrar & Paul Zucker/19890721)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00003)

AUS: BUG FOUND TO BE A RAT
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1989 JUL 18 (NB) -- Newsbytes, used to most
things, certainly didn't expect a call of the nature we got the other
day from John Harris, MD of software dealer Microdata in the Western
Australia. Recently, he told us, his company sold a NEC2200 laptop to
a man who shortly after visited New Zealand.

On his return he complained of a malfunction, and as it was still
under warranty, it was shipped off to the engineer. Back came the
product with the verdict, in an explanatory note: "I think I detected
the fault," the engineer wrote. "It smells of mouse piss."

Harris contacted the client and asked him whether he had experienced
any association with homaranthus flaverscens during his visit.

"Why, yes," the man recalled. "I had one of the little buggers in my
room. It took me three days before I got it with a shoe."

(Jason Gregg & Paul Zucker/19890721)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00004)

CYBERPUNK GETS OWN MAG
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 21 (NB) -- The dark side --
or at least the less visible side -- of computing has its own magazine
now, and it's called Mondo 2000.

The brainchild of R.U. Sirius, a.k.a. Ken Goffman, and Queen Mu,
a.k.a. Alison Kennedy, Mondo 200, formerly called "Reality Hackers,"
covers "the leading edge in hyperculture....the latest in
human/technological interactive mutational forms as they happen," according to
the pair of publishers, who also predict that "The 90s
are going to be quite a ride!"

Articles in the premier issue cover such topics as "Hyperwebs:
21st Century Media," cryronics, and Max Headroom, the television
character, in an interview by his creators. There is also a
conversation between Timothy Leary, guru of the 60's acid
generation, and William Gibson, father of "cyberpunk" and author of
"Neuromancer," the cyberpunk "bible." Sci-fi authors Vernor
Vinge, John Shirley, and Bruce Sterling also get their views in
print.

There are also articles on designer beings, the positive side of
computer viruses, and more articles that explore the fringes of
social and technological interaction.

The magazine is "at the printer" and will be available on news
stands or by subscription ($5 single issue or $24/year) from
Mondo 2000, PO Box 40271, Berkeley, Ca. 94704.

(Wendy Woods/19890722/Press Contact: 415-845-9018)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00005)

NEC'S NEW GRAPHICS MONITORS
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 18 (NB) -- NEC Home
Electronics has introduced a line of new graphics products aimed at
increasing the speed and performance of PC-based graphics
applications.

The highlight of the announcement was the MultiSync Graphics Engine
board, which allows on-screen graphics to be drawn up to
400 percent faster at a 1024 by 768 pixel resolution than is now
possible at standard VGA (640 by 480), according to Jerry
Benson, vice president of NEC's graphics business unit. The price
ranges from $1500 to $2000, depending on number of colors.

New monitors introduced include the MultiSync 20-inch 5D, and 16-
inch 4D -- color monitors with a resolution up to 1280 by 1024 pixels
for the Apple Macintosh and PC computers -- and GS2A, a 14-inch
black and white display for the Mac and PC. The 5D is $3699, the
4D is $1799, and the GS2A is $349.

The monitors should ship worldwide in September, the board in
August, and a Micro Channel version of the board should ship in
October.

(Wendy Woods/19890721/Press Contact: Golin Harris
Communications, Carol Thiel, 312-836-7353)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00006)

MCGRAW-HILL BUYS NOVELL MAGS
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 17 (NB) -- McGraw-Hill,
on a magazine buying binge, acquired LAN Times, Selling
Red, and NetWare Technical Journal from Novell, adding to its
chain of publications which includes BYTE and UnixWorld,
purchased last week.

All three former Novell publications cover computer networks,
Novell's major hardware and software business, and LAN Times has
a circulation of about 100,000. The magazines will continue to be
published in Provo, Utah.

(John McCormick/19890721/Press Contact: Elizabeth L. Russo of
McGraw-Hill, 212-512-3493)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00007)

ADAPSO MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 17 (NB) -- The Association
of Data Processing Service Organization (ADAPSO) today announced
the 71st Management Conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency
Grand Cypress Hotel in Orlando, Florida, from October 1-4.

Keynote speakers will be Alan Kay, Apple Computer Fellow; Dennis
P. Doyle, Hudson Institute Senior Research Fellow; and Arthur
Anderson & Company's Managing Partner George T. Shaheen.

ADAPSO is a trade association for the computer software and
services industries. Registration for the conference is $675 for
ADAPSO members and $875 for non-members. For further information,
contact Frances Ianacone, 1300 North Seventeenth St., Suite 300,
Arlington, Virginia 22209-3899, 703-522-5055, FAX [phone].

(John McCormick/19890719)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00008)

COLOR POSTSCRIPT FOR FILM
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 10 (NB) -- Lasergraphics
has announced immediate availability of color PostScript
capability for its Lasergraphics Film Recorder (LFR).

This is the first color PostScript film recorder capability to
ship and at $495, it is likely to be the least expensive
alternative in the market even after competitors release product.
Compatibility is available immediately for IBM PCs and
compatibles. The company is promising to release Macintosh
capability within weeks.

All applications programs that create color PostScript language
files on PCs or Macintoshes will be able to use this software and
transfer them to an LFR using the Freedom of Press program.
Included with the color PostScript imaging capability are the 35
LaserWriter scalable intelligent outline fonts. All third party
PostScript fonts can be used so it is possible to scale and
rotate typefaces to arbitrary sizes and angles.

(Janet Endrijonas/19890721/Press Contact: Candice K. Tuttle,
Lasergraphics, 714-660-9497)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00009)

HITACHI SEEKS 20% FOREIGN-MADE CHIPS
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1989 JUL 13 (NB) -- Hitachi will open a unique
commercial conference in an attempt to purchase more foreign
semiconductor chips. At the conference, top-of-the-line engineers
for Hitachi's major products, such as personal computers, word
processors, and video cassette recorders, will explain practical
need for chips to foreign chip makers, thus encouraging them to
develop chips suitable for the Japanese market. Hitachi believes
that this conference will invite large chip makers from the United
States and Europe, such as Motorola, Texas Instruments, Harris,
Intel, and VLSI Technology.

Hitachi's new conference series are designed to bring engineers
together, rather than only trade representatives or company
executives, in order to exchange technical information
and consequently buy more foreign-made semiconductors.
With the help of this conference, Hitachi aims to make foreign
chips account for 20 percent of its chip purchases by 1991.

In a related item, Hitachi is expanding its relationship with Texas
Instruments (TI) in the general-purpose semiconductor arena. Both chip
makers are now jointly developing 16-megabit dynamic random access
memories (DRAM). They will supply 64-kilobit static random access
memory (SRAM) chips on an original equipment manufacturing basis
to each other. TI has already introduced a SRAM line into its
factory in Houston, and is ready for volume production.

Hitachi expects this closer tie will promote the purchase of
foreign chips, and further ease the U.S.-Japan semiconductor
dispute.

(Ken Takahashi/19890720)


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

FM-TOWNS SALES SLUGGISH
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1989 JUL 19 (NB) -- FM Towns, a personal computer
with which Fujitsu has been trying to crush NEC's PC market
dominance, is not doing its job very well.

When it was released, FM Towns was very popular and received a
considerable amount of orders for the following reasons. Fujitsu
claims it spent over two billion yen ($7.1 million) to advertise the
machine; FM Towns is low-priced at below 500,000 yen ($3,600)
despite its 32-bit high-performance; and it adopts what the firm
claims is the advanced technology of compact disk read-only-
memory as standard equipment.

However, over time, orders have diminished. Last month some 21,000
were sold, far fewer than Fujitsu's hopes of 30,000

Critics argue Fujitsu has no "target audience" for the machine,
aiming it both at the home and business. Attempting to counteract
the criticism, Fujitsu keeps promising software availability.
"There is little CD-ROM software for FM Towns now, but one hundred
software packages will be available this fall... then we will launch
a strong sales pitch," a Fujitsu spokesman told Newsbytes.

(Ken Takahashi/19890720)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00011)

FM TOWNS' CD-ROM GRAB-BAG
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1989 JUL 18 (NB) -- Software venture AMR has released
a versatile CD-ROM-based software package for the Japanese-market
computer, FM Towns, from Fujitsu. Called G5, the compact disc read-
only-memory software, which has 540 times the amount of storage
as a standard floppy disk, includes a Japanese word processor, graphics
program, database, as well as classical music, calculator, clock, calendar,
drawings, photographs, and more.

With a price tag of 38,000 yen ($270), it will be released at the
end of this month. AMR expects to ship 10,000 packages in
initial year.

(Ken Takahashi/19890720)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00012)

UK: ARTRONIC SPORTS SIMULATOR DUE
HARROGATE, ENGLAND, 1989 JUL 21 (NB) -- Artronic Software is
developing a sports simulator package for the Commodore Amiga and
Atari ST called Fast Lane. The UKP 19-99 package will ship in
September, and is the first of three major Amiga/ST game releases
planned for the next three months. The other two games are
Soldier 2000, an anti-terrorist mission, and Air Combat Emulator
(ACE). ACE has sold more than 400,000 copies world-wide as an 8-
bit title.

Artronic is billing Fast Lane as the most exciting and
technically accurate car racing game ever. As well as driving the
car itself, players will have to contend with engine management
and maintenance, as well as becoming acquainted with pit stop
repair techniques.

(Steve Gold/ 19890721/Press & Public Contact: Liz Sandey,
Artronic Software - Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(BRU)(00013)

COMPUTER LINGUISTICS DEBUT
STUTTGART, WEST GERMANY, 1989 JUL 21 (NB) -- The art of computer-
assisted translation (CAT) is currently being developed in
several countries around the world. Now the German ministry of
research and technology is sponsoring its own CAT project, called
Polygloss.

The Polygloss project is several steps forward from existing CAT
systems. By breaking each line of text down into its fundamental
language components, the system can convert to and from several
languages at once. Initially, the Polygloss project aims to
translate using three languages: English, French and Japanese.

The complex project is expected to produce results within the
next three years. Four scientists are currently working on the
project at Stuttgart University.

(Klaus Rosenthal/19890721)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SIN)(00014)

SINGAPORE: IEEE'S INT'L SYMPOSIUM
SINGAPORE, S.E. ASIA, 1989 JUL 14 (NB) -- IEEE Singapore Section will
hold an International Symposium on the Physical & Failure Analysis of
Integrated Circuits (IPFA) between November 6 to 10 this year at the
Pan Pacific Hotel here.

Held concurrently with the event will be IPFA tutorials conducted by
Joe W PcPherson of Texas Instruments, Dallas, Texas, USA, Ronald
Troutman of IBM Research Division, New York, NY and George Harman,
National Institute of Standard and Technology, Maryland, Virginia.

Joe McPherson will speak on "Accelerated Testing and VLSI Failure
Mechanisms," Troutman on "CMOS Latchup - A Comprehensive Survey" and
Harmon on "Wire-Bonding: Reliability & Yield Issues."

Pre-registration fees (before 1.9.89) of S$200 for members and S$240
for non-members, late registration fees (before 31.10.89) of S$230 and
S$270 respectively and fees paid at symposium (after 31.10.89) of
S$300 and S$360 are applicable.

(Michael Worsley & S.Roowi/19890718/Press Contact: The Secretariat,
IPFA '89 Symposium, Communication International Associates Pte
Ltd., Ph: (65) 475.0220, Fx: 475.8586)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SIN)(00015)

SINGAPORE WINS WORLD MICROMOUSE RACE
SINGAPORE, S.E. ASIA, 1989 JUL 18 (NB) -- Singapore's Mighty Mouse,
the mechanical mouse from the Nanyang Technological Institute (NTI),
beat worldwide competition to come out first in the International
Micromouse Competition last week.

The competition, organized by the Institution of Electrical Engineers
in London, involved building a computer-controlled robot and running
it through a maze by the shortest possible route in the fastest time.

The Singapore team made up of Kevin Gomez and Fiona Woon, beat
defending champion and hot favourite David Otten of the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT) when their mouse clocked 7.14 seconds,
1.37 seconds faster than Otten's.

Mr. Otten is a researcher with MIT and has been champion in numerous
international competitions in Britain and the U.S. for the past three
years.

Gomez and Woon, who both graduated from NTI with an electrical and
electronic engineering degree last year, built the battery-operated
Mighty Mouse at a cost of S$600 with the help of four lecturers at the
NTI. It took them 1.5 years to come up with Mighty Mouse.

(Michael Worsley & S.Roowi/19890721/Press Contact: Associate
Professor Goh Wee Leng, Nanyang Technological Institute, Ph: (65)
265.1744)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(KUL)(00016)

MALAYSIA BETS ONLINE BY SEPTEMBER
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, 1989 JUL 17 (NB) -- Magnum Corporation, the
Malaysian gaming operator announced that their bet recording and
ticket issuing system will go online nationwide in early September,
ahead of the earlier 1990 deadline announced when the project first
started.

With five state offices linking some 486 outlets throughout the country,
the first benefits of the computerization exercise are already being
felt, with an average increase in sales of around 30 percent following
the reduction of queues, and the ability to sell all available bets at
every terminal. Previously, under the manual system, each outlet was
'rationed' to avoid building up unacceptably large bids on certain
numbers or combinations.

The entire system is costing M$31 million [US$12 million] for both
software and hardware. Soon to be implemented is the installation of a
third mainframe in a separate location from the head office, to act as
a backup in the event that the head office installation is damaged,
and is expected to cost a further M$5 million.

(Michael Worsley/19890721)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(KUL)(00017)

MALAYSIA COMPUTER SHOW JUL 27
PENANG, MALAYSIA, 1989 JUL 11 (NB) -- Microfair '89, billed as the
biggest computer show of the Northern region, is scheduled to open in
Penang at the Komtar Geodesic Dome on July 27th. A total of 44 booths
will highlight the latest in hardware and software, as well as a
number of computer contests, a computer games marathon, and IQ tests
run by the Malaysian Mensa Society, Penang Group, which is looking for
new members, and is conducting tests at a discount.

Also associated with the Microfair will be a flea market for used
computer systems and peripherals, where the public is invited to
bring equipment for sale.

(Michael Worsley/19890721)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00018)

CANADA: WESTBRIDGE GOES TO COLLEGE
REGINA, SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA, 1989 JUL 21 (NB) -- Westbridge
Computer Corp. will house a data center and the company's
computer products division on the campus of the University of
Regina. Financed and owned by the university, the 70,000-square-
foot building will be leased to the company, said Peter Ross,
vice-president of marketing. It is scheduled for completion in
April of 1990.

Ross said this project, Westbridge's first academic alliance,
will give the university access to a working data center that is
a "real live private enterprise environment." Cooperative
research between the company and the university is also planned,
he said. "It's not just access to the horsepower that we have
there for R&D and project work and so on," Ross said. "We hope
that we'll be able to get involved with the university or they'll
be able to get involved with us for some joint venture R&D work."

Westbridge was formed in February, 1988, from the combination of
SaskComp, the data terminal division and computer service arm of
provincially owned telephone company SaskTel, with Mercury Group,
Leasecorp Western and 49 percent of Leasecorp Systems. The
company has since acquired a Mississauga, Ontario leasing firm,
Lease Corp. Ltd.

(Grant Buckler/19890721/Press Contact: Peter Ross, Westbridge
Computer Corp., 306-781-5151)


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

VIRUS THREAT REAL SAYS GAO
WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S.A., 1989 JUL 21 (NB) -- A Government
Accounting Office report released Friday at the U.S. House of
Representatives Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Finance
emphasized that the Internet computer network is still vulnerable
to virus attack.

Saying, "No open system can ever be completely secure," Jack L.
Brock Jr., director of the GAO's government information and
financial management division, pointed out that since the alleged release
of a virus on the network last year by Cornell University graduate
student Robert Morris, Internet "security has been improved."

Internet is the major United States research and development
computer network linking government, industry, and universities.
Of greatest concern has been the fact that the Department of
Defense's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
ARPAnet is a part of this system. Special steps were recently
taken to plug the holes in the Unix operating system which authorities
say allowed the Morris virus to penetrate the system last November
2.

On Thursday the committee heard testimony from ADAPSO, the
Association of Data Processing Service Organization, on the
threat of computer virus software.

Testifying was John Landry, executive vice president of Cullinet
Software and ADAPSO's Virus Committee chairman, who
emphasized that virus attacks shouldn't be taken lightly since
they can have life-threatening consequences if they were to
infect a hospital's system, a nuclear plant's control systems, or
perhaps an air traffic control system.

Landry was speaking in support of tougher laws relating to
computer vandalism and specifically called for confiscation of
hardware and software involved in any attack.

While this might be a minor problem for a home hacker, someone
utilizing a corporate, government, or university computer system
could potentially involve his organization in massive liabilities,
depending on just how such a law would be structured.

Representative Edward Markey, Democrat from Massachusetts, a
major U.S. technological center, is the chairman of the House
Committee investigating virus attacks and other aspects of
computer security.

Title 18, Section 1030, of the U.S. Criminal Code is presently
used to prosecute those attacking computer systems, but the law
is vague about what constitutes unauthorized access and there is
still a big question about possible penalties.

In a dramatic move, Rep. Markey announced his plan to introduce
new legislation covering the entire field of computer crime. The
new bill would be a combination of HR-55, (HR stands for House of
Representatives and designates a bill pending before the House)
directed at computer viruses, and HR-287, which covers both
hardware and software sabotage.

A virus (or worm) is a piece of computer code that is designed to
insinuate itself into any computer system it can reach, replicating
itself until the system is filled with the virus and can no longer
function. Some so-called "mild" virus attacks are just intended
to bring attention to themselves rather than actually damage a
system, but even these can have unexpected results.

It is thought that the virus released onto Internet last year,
allegedly by 23-year old Cornell computer student Robert Morris,
Jr. (son of an important computer scientist at the super-secret
U.S. National Security Agency) was not intended to spread as far
and cause as much damage as it did. The virus eventually shut
down more than 6,000 computers from November 2 to 3, 1988, at an
estimated cost of over $200 million.

ADAPSO is working with other industry groups to strengthen laws
covering "electronic vandalism."

(John McCormick/19890721/Press Contact: Frances Ianacone, ADAPSO,
703-522-5055, or Rep. Edward J. Markey, Subcommittee Chairman,
202-225-2836)


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

PCS TO EASTERN BLOC OK'D
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1989 JUL 19 (NB) -- The U.S.
Department of Commerce announced today that it will no longer
restrict sales of desktop microcomputers to Warsaw Pact countries
or the Soviet Union.

Commerce Secretary Robert Mosbacher made the decision to ease
export restrictions on such computers as the Macintosh Plus, IBM
PS/2s, and AT-style computers. This move would eliminate the need
for the lengthy bureaucratic procedures currently required if
companies want to export to Communist countries.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Richard Cheney has broken with the
administration's position on these sales by going public with his
objections, saying that he objects to raising the level of
technology available to the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact country
military forces.

White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater said that President
Bush supported the Commerce Department position.

While computers are so widely available that there is little
doubt that the Soviet Union can obtain advanced PCs, the move to
ease restrictions may make computers more available to average
citizens, though the economic conditions in the Eastern Bloc
countries make it unlikely that there would be significant sales
from the standpoint of U.S. computer makers.

(John McCormick/19890720)


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

ANTI TAKEOVER BILL IN MASSACHUSETTS
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 19 (NB) -- Massachusetts
Governor and 1988 presidential candidate Michael Dukakis has
signed a strong anti-takeover bill into law with the support of
labor and industry in his state.

Saying ""We want to end destructive takeovers," Dukakis signed
the bill at a ceremony held in front of Cambridge, Massachusetts-
based Polaroid Corp., a recent target of a hostile takeover
attempt. Also present were representatives of Prime Computer,
another Massachusetts firm currently fighting takeover attempts.

The main thrust of the bill is to force any new company taking
over an existing firm to work within existing collective
bargaining agreements in force for the target company, as well as
to pay hefty settlements for any employees terminated due to the
takeover. These added expenses are intended to discourage
takeovers which sometimes break up companies to sell off assets
at the cost of many jobs.

On the other side, Robert Monks, president of Institutional
Shareholder Services in Washington, said about the bill, "It's
going to make American industry less competitive." He was
referring to the contention of takeover specialists such as T.
Boone Pickens who say that the threat of such actions against
inefficiently managed companies are all that keep corporate
management on their toes.

While this bill only affects companies located in the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, it may lead legislatures in other
states to pass similar laws. Such state laws, if they prove
effective and serve a useful purpose, often lead to federal
legislation.

(John McCormick/19890721)


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

FREE ADA NEWSLETTER
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1989 JUL 19 (NB) -- The Ada Information
Clearinghouse, operated by a contractor for the Ada Joint Program
Office or AJPO, publishes a free newsletter covering news about
Ada, including lists of major programming efforts, validated Ada
compilers, and upcoming Ada-related events. The newsletter does
not contain advertising or Ada tutorials.

Ada, named after Ada Lovelace, Lord Byron's daughter, who is
generally acknowledged as the first programmer for her work with
Babbage, is a real-time computer language used to design critical
military and civilian applications. Although not yet in widespread
use, Ada has been adopted by the U.S. Department of Defense as a
standard language - the last language so designated was COBOL,
which is still a major programming language in great part because
the DOD standardized on it.

Recently Ada compilers have become available for micros, and its
use is expanding among general applications programmers because
of its easy portability and strict conformance to a standard.

To subscribe to the free newsletter, write AdaIC, c/o ITT
Research Institute, 4600 Forbes Blvd., Second Floor, Lanham, MD
20706-4312, or call 703-685-1477. You can also phone or write for
further information about Ada.

In other AJPO news, Dr. John Solomond is the new director of the
Ada Joint Program Office, an office of the U.S. Department of
Defense. A graduate of Carnegie-Mellon University and Texas A&M
University, he is a member of the IEEE, or Institute of
Electrical and Electronic Engineers, and was recently the Chief
of Acquisition, Software, for Headquarters, Army Material
Command.

(John McCormick/19890719/Press Contact: Ann Eustice, 703-685-
1477)


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

ADA COMING EVENTS
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1989 JUL 19 (NB) -- The Ada Information
Clearinghouse lists the following upcoming Ada programming
language-related events.

July 24-27, AdaJUG/Front Range Ada Working Group, Hyatt Regency,
Denver, Colorado, U.S.A. Contact: Cathy Peavy, Martin Marietta,
303-977-2370.

August 8-11, Ada Canada, Chateau Laurier Hotel, Ottawa, Canada.
Contact: Kathy Mahoney, OCRI, 300 March Rd., #204, Kanata,
Ontario, 613-592-8160, FAX [phone].

CASE Real-Time Systems Symposium, Los Angeles Airport Marriott,
U.S.A. Contact: Digital Consulting, Inc., 6 Windsor St., Andover,
Massachusetts, U.S.A., 01810, 508-470-3870.

(John McCormick/19890720)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(SFO)(00006)

HP NAVY DEAL WORTH $10M
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 19 (NB) -- Hewlett-Packard
has won a deal with the U.S. Navy to supply $10 million worth of
computers, peripherals, and software for use in an integrated
office-automation system.

The five year contract involves the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in
Bremerton, Washington. Some 4,500 technical and administrative
personnel will use the HP 3000 Model 950 Precision Architecture
minicomputer, 10 HP Vectra RS/20 PCs and 150 HP Vectra ES
PCs. Another 20 HP Vectra RS/20 PCs and 550 Vectra ES PCs
will be installed in the shipyard after the first year of the
contract.

"The HP systems and software will aid the U.S. Navy in
eliminating antiquated filing systems; standardizing equipment
and training; and reducing delays, duplication and the manual
processing associated with handling data," offers Robert Frankenberg,
general manager of HP's Information Systems Group.

(Wendy Woods/19890721/Press Contact: Katherine Tanelian, 408-
4447-4391)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(SFO)(00007)

EGGHEAD SUED BY SHAREHOLDERS
ISSAQUAH, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 20 (NB) -- Egghead Discount
Software has been slapped by a shareholder lawsuit, charging the
retail chain with making false and misleading statements regarding
its financial condition between June 6, 1988 and April 24, 1989.

Egghead, which went public on June 6, 1988, just reported a $12.1
million loss for fiscal 1989 compared to a profit of $4.6 million in
fiscal 1988. Company officers acknowledge there are problems,
all stemming from too-rapid expansion. Egghead has 203 stores.
A management team has reportedly been hired to turn around the
company and bring expenses in line with income.

The shareholders, which also name underwriters Donaldson, Lufkin
& Jenrette Securities, as well as First Boston Corporation, seek
unspecified damages.

(Wendy Woods/19890722)


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

DCA SHAREHOLDERS SUE
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 17 (NB) -- Call it the case of
the small investor who bought high and sold low. Abbas Rostamizadeh
has sued Digital Communications Associates in a Georgia court
because he bought about 300 shares of its stock last summer and
the price fell with the leaves in the fall.

The complaint, which names Mr. Rostamizadeh as part of a class of
investors who owned stock between July 7 and November 30, was
thrown out of California courts for lack of jurisdiction and
refiled closer to DCA's Alpharetta, Georgia headquarters. Mr.
Rostamizadeh claims he's out about $3,000.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890721/Press Contact: William Marks,
DCA, 404-442-4520)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LAX)(00009)

HACKER GETS JAIL TERM
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 18 (NB) -- Kevin
Mitnick, the computer hacker convicted of using stolen MCI access
numbers to tap into computers and copy valuable programs has been
sentenced to a year in jail and six months rehabilitation.

US District Judge Mariana Pfaelzer issued the prison sentence
after she learned Mitnick could not be placed in a hospital-
operated therapy program because federal sentences must be served
in federal facilities and the program was not under federal
government contract. Expert witnesses had testified that Mitnick
suffers from an impulse disorder and used illegal computer
activities to boost his self-esteem.

After serving his prison term (five more months in the prison
facility and six months at a federally run halfway house),
Mitnick will remain under conditional release for three years.
He will be forbidden to possess any illegal or unauthorized
access to computers or telecommunications equipment and will not
be allowed to associate with known computer hackers. Mitnick
will be allowed to own a personal computer.

(Janet Endrijonas/19890721)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(SIN)(00010)

SINGAPORE GIVING 10,000 COMPUTER TRAINING
SINGAPORE, S.E. ASIA, 1989 JUL 11 (NB) -- The government plans to
train at least 10,000 clerks and secretaries in the use of personal
computers by the end of this year as part of its efforts to improve
office productivity.

The Information Technology (IT) Programme for Office Workers was set
up jointly last year by the National Productivity Board (NPB) and IBM,
the first such venture between the NPB and a private company for
training on a national basis.

About 3,900 office workers from more than 800 companies covering a
wide cross-section of industry have so far been trained under the
scheme. The country's Skills Development Fund, which subsidizes 70
percent of costs or S$560 (US$300) per trainee, has, to date, spent
S$2.3 million (US$1.25 million) on the programme.

The NPB also set up the Festo-NPB Industrial Training Centre jointly
with a German industrial automation company Festo to provide basic
automation skills training for about 20,000 production workers,
machinists and assemblers over the next five years.

Minister of State Mah Bow Tan said at the opening of this centre,
"Industry has found this computer and office automation training
programme a valuable resource to harness, in upgrading the skills
of their workforce."

(Michael Worsley & S.Roowi/19890718)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(SIN)(00011)

HONG KONG RESEARCH URGED
HONG KONG, ASIA, 1989 JUL 22 (NB) -- Local industry experts are warning
the Hong Kong government that if research and development support of a
substantial nature is not forthcoming in the immediate future Hong Kong
will fall far behind its neighbours in the run up to 1997, the year when
sovereignty returns to China.

The Government stance on the subject is that it has always held
a "laissez-faire" position and allowed market forces to drive the
economy. The industry is claiming that the investment and
coordination of true research and development facilities is beyond
it at the present time, though the payback would be significant
in just a few years.

The government employed U.K. consultants to investigate the
feasibility of a technology centre in Hong Kong and a report was
presented to the government in March this year. Industry experts,
including a government-sponsored science and technology
committee, severely criticized the report as being too narrow
and too shallow. They said that the government should have
employed local consultants who had much more experience in the
idiosyncrasies of Hong Kong and would have produced a better
result for far less taxpayers money.

(Keith Cameron/19890722)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(SYD)(00012)

AUSSIES TOUGH ON COMPUTER CRIME
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1989 JUL 18 (NB) -- Computer crime is now being
targeted on a federal basis in Australia. Legislation given Royal
Assent on June 30 now makes it possible to prosecute virtually any
anti-government computer crime throughout the country.

Anyone criminally misusing federal or telecom computer-related systems
can now be prosecuted. The newly-appointed Privacy Commissioner, Kevin
O'Connor, said the strengthening of legislation would have benefits
for the privacy of all Australians. "This recently-passed act creates
new offences dealing with the deliberate unauthorized access to
computer data," O'Connor told a meeting of the Queensland branch of
the Australian Computer Society.

This would place emphasis, he said, on accessing data or a computer
system with intent to defraud and unauthorized or deliberate acts of
misconduct. "So hacking, tampering with and dishonest compilation of
data are all covered," he said. "The area covered by these offences
not only includes federal agencies' computers and data in them, but
more significantly, also situations where the perpetrator uses a
Commonwealth facility as a tool - whether or not a Commonwealth
database is the target. Therefore computer crime prosecutions can be
initiated under federal legislation if Telecom's communication
system is used as an instrument of the crime."

The new move is expected to cohere with the individual state
legislation and penalties now in operation. Victoria has a
revised law in operation, South Australia has a bill before
Parliament, New South Wales has a bill which has yet to come into
force and Western Australia is considering introducing a bill.
There are no proposals in Queensland and Tasmania.

(Derril Farrar & Paul Zucker/19890721)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(SYD)(00013)

AUS: STOCK EXCHANGE SUED
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1989 JUL 18 (NB) -- PontData, one of
Australia's largest computerized financial data providers, is suing the
Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) for allegedly breaching the Trade
Practices Act by restricting access to the Joint Exchange Computer
Network (Jecnet).

The dispute, which erupted in September, 1986, is over the exchange's
attempt to standardize fees for Jecnet data, and mainly involves
Section 46 of the Act, which states: "A company that has a substantial
power in a market shall not prevent entry of a person into that market
or deter people from conducting business therein." The exchange
introduced charges which ranged from AUS$15,000 annually to view
batch-processed data, to AUS$45,000 for a real-time service.

Pont Data and several others who have not started legal action, such
as AAP, Reuters, Information Express, Telerate, Elders Videotext and
Money Watch, have claimed the exchange abused its monopoly power by
threatening to cut users off from the service if they didn't pay. The
different level of service could also result in reduced competition in
the stock markets, Pont Data alleged.

The exchange has justified the charges by citing the annual AUS$50
million cost of running Jecnet, and is also claiming copyright over
Jecnet information.

(Derril Farrar & Paul Zucker/19890721)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(SYD)(00014)

AUS: HP VAR IN HOT WATER
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1989 JUL 18 (NB) -- A leading Hewlett-Packard
(HP) value-added reseller (VAR) in Australia is being sued over alleged
breaches of the Trade Practices and Fair Trading Acts, in the
recommendation and installation of an HP manufacturing system.

Kreuger Transport Equipment Pty Ltd, a Victorian-based manufacturer
and reseller of semi-trailers, has prepared a writ against the VAR,
claiming damages in excess of AUS$625,000. Les Lothringer, a
consultant specializing in computer contract litigation, said that the
action was an example of customers standing up for their rights.

He became involved in the case last year and made an assessment of the
situation. He felt it was valid and called in Gordon Hughes, a
lawyer with the firm of Lander & Rodgers specializing in computer
contract law. Lothringer said that the action was only taken after
several months of fruitless negotiation.

Kreuger's statement of claim says that in July, 1987, the HP dealer
was approached to suggest a computer system for a range of business
accounting functions, sales and job management, sales quotation, order
processing, invoicing and trailer hire. The system was to work with
existing NEC printers, NCR PCs, a HP 9000 CAD system, be capable of
being used from the managing director's home and be expandable enough
for four year's business growth.

According to the statement of claim, "the defendant knew that the
plaintiff would rely on any advice that it gave the plaintiff
concerning the appropriate computer equipment and programs it should
hire." It also says that in February, 1988, the VAR suggested a
16-port HP3000 system with 11 terminals, a printer and a Vectra PC
with software for remote access. It also offered to write
software for the sales quotation and trailer hire business.

The claim says that Kreuger was told upgrades for the next four years
would involve "minor and inexpensive modifications" and "would cost
several thousands of dollars." The VAR also allegedly claimed the
processor would support up to 52 terminals. The recommended system
was installed by mid-1988.

However, the statement of claim details several alleged failings in
the system. It was allegedly unable to run the NEC printers, as the
HP3000 had no parallel interfaces.

It allegedly did not have enough ports to run the NCR PCs or the HP
CAD system, and did not have enough serial ports to cope with future
expansion. Further, the claim alleges that boards with additional
serial ports could not be added without upgrading the processor to a
3000XE, at an alleged cost of over AUS$36,000.

(Derril Farrar & Paul Zucker/19890721)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(SYD)(00015)

AUS: $6 MIL ATCARDS FACELIFT
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1989 JUL 18 (NB) -- The troublesome ATCARDS radar
display systems at Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide airports will get a
AUS$6 million upgrade to ensure the safety of Australia's airline
passengers. Six DEC 32-bit dual processing mini-computers will replace
existing 16-bit machines as part of the Civil Aviation Authority's
(CAA) plan to get the AUS$10 million systems working properly.

The new computers, two at each site, will double processing power and
speed up radar display response, enabling air traffic controllers to
tighten aircraft spacing and increase airport capacity. Software
running the system will also be improved, but if ATCARDS still does
not measure up it will be scrapped, said Brian Wilson, CAA Air Traffic
Services' assistant general manager.

(Derril Farrar & Paul Zucker/19890721)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(SYD)(00016)

AUSSIE PARLIAMENT ID CARD SYSTEM
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1989 JUL 18 (NB) -- Interface Technology of
Australia has developed what it claims to be a unique combination of
technologies for the security needs of the new Australian Parliament
House.

Using Interface-configured and assembled 286 and 386 PCs, networked
under Ethernet, with high resolution imaging and compression boards
and locally developed database software, it has devised a system that
generates picture-bearing identification cards and allows remote
access to the identification database.

A stand-alone authoring 286 processor is used for generating the
database and image files. Information is uploaded to a 386 file
server, where it can be accessed by remote-entry PCs for pass
validation. A security officer keys in details of Parliament House
personnel.

Image and data are combined on screen and frozen so that a colour
printer can generate a laminated identification card incorporating a
unique bar code. Security staff use an infrared slot reader attached
to the PC to read bar codes.

The system, due to go live in late July, will cost an estimated
AUS$250,000.

(Paul Zucker/19890721)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(SYD)(00017)

MICROSOFT URGES AUSSIE LAW REFORM
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1989 JUL 18 (NB) -- Loopholes in Australian
copyright law should be plugged to prevent pirates undermining growth
in the industry, according to Microsoft Australia, which has detailed
proposed changes to the Copyright Law Review Committee.

The committee is conducting an inquiry to establish whether the
Copyright Act adequately protects computer programs, works created by
or with the assistance of a computer and works stored in computer
memory. "Providing copyright ownership is one of the greatest problems
in bringing action against a pirate," Daniel Petre, Microsoft
Australia managing director said.

"Each time a manufacturer wants to sue someone under the Copyright
Act, they have to prove ownership in each case despite the fact the
software in question might be the same.

"It would be much more efficient if, once subsistence of ownership had
been proven in one case, this evidence could be used to show
conclusive ownership of copyright in subsequent cases."

The latest figures show the software industry in Australia has
expanded an average 23 percent a year since 1980. Overall, copyright-
based industries accounted for AUS$13 billion in production in
Australia in 1985-86.

Petre said that receiving compensation for the damage a pirate may
have caused was another area "in desperate need" of reform. "However,
given that pirates are extremely adept at hiding the extent of
copying, software manufacturers often find fewer copies than were
actually stolen," Petre said. "This means that it is just not worth
the manufacturer's time and expense to pursue pirates," he added.
Despite this, Petre said his company would be "pursuing pirates... as
we believe it is time these people were made to account for their
actions."

(Derril Farrar & Paul Zucker/19890721)


(NEWS)(IBM)(WAS)(00001)

SMALLEST ZENITH COMPUTER
GLENVILLE, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 21 (NB) -- Zenith has
announced MinisPort, an 80C88-based MS-DOS compatible laptop
using the new two-inch discs and weighing only about six pounds
(U.S.).

The MinisPort computer comes with either 1 or 2 megabytes of
memory, runs at speeds of either 8 or 4.77 MHz and operates for
about three hours on internal batteries.

An external floppy drive will be available to transfer data
between the computer and standard 3.5-inch disks, but the
internal drive will use new two-inch floppy disks holding 720
kilobytes of data and selling for about $10 each, about 12 times
the street price of generic 3.5-inch floppies.

The MinisPort, which should be in stores by next month, retails
for $1,995, measures 12.4 inches by 9.8 inches, and is only one
inch thick.

In a related story, Zenith Electronics Corp. reported Friday that
it suffered a net second-quarter loss of $13 million, up from a
loss of $12.1 million for the same quarter last year, even though
sales increased by 15% to $676 million.

Zenith reports that lower profits are due to two factors - first,
the unanticipated rise in the U.S. dollar's value against foreign
currencies, and, second, failure to follow other computer makers
in reducing prices as memory costs dropped.

(John McCormick/19890721)


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

AT&T'S NEW INTEL PCS
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 18 (NB) -- AT&T today
announced four new 80386-based computers aimed at the office
network market, including the company's first 33 megahertz (MHz)
computer. All the computers are made by Intel.

The $2,995, 6386/SX WGS is an entry level 32-bit, 16 MHz desktop
computer using the Intel 386SX chip, the 6386E/33 WGS Model S is
a 33 MHz 80386-based system running Unix System V, MS-DOS, or
OS/2 operating systems.

System options for the computers that will make them suitable for
networking include large memory and conformance to Application
Operating Environment (AOE), AT&T's network system standard.

AT&T also announced new "Professional Services," which include
application start-up assistance, custom application development,
application connectivity engineering planning and implementation
workshops, along with special preconfiguration services.

Other companies are selling complete systems including hard disk
and monitors based on the 16 MHz 386SX chip for well under
$2,000.

(John McCormick/19890721/Dick Muldoon, 201-221-2694, or Mary
Ward, 201-221-5290)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00003)

AT&T CANADA LAUNCHES PCS
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1989 JUL 18 (NB) -- Inviting Canadian
journalists to a live broadcast of its parent company's New York
press conference, AT&T Canada introduced a new line of 386-based
personal computers to Canada simultaneous with their introduction
south of the border.

Canadian prices range from C$4,595 to C$22,395. A 6386/SX system
with two megabytes of memory and no hard drive will cost C$4,595.
The same machine with a 40-megabyte drive will go for C$5,895,
with an 80-megabyte drive, C$7,145. A 6386/25 with no hard drive
is priced at $9,995, with 80-megabyte drive, at C$12,575, and
with a 135-megabyte drive, at C$13,295. All 6386/25 prices
include four megabytes of memory. A 6386E/33 with four megabytes
of memory and 300-megabyte hard disk will cost C$22,395. No
Canadian price was available for the 6386E/33 Model S at press
time.

AT&T Canada said the Alberta Wheat Pool will be among the first
users of the new systems.

(Grant Buckler/19890719/Press Contact: Valery Vollenweider, AT&T
Canada, 416-499-9400)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00004)

ANIMATION FOR THE PC
SAUSALITO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 22 (NB) -- Autodesk will
enter the general-purpose desktop video and animation market with a
$299 package for the PC called Autodesk Animator. Due to be
shipped in late August and unveiled at SIGGRAPH in Boston August 1,
Autodesk Animator is Autodesk's first mainstream product outside
its computer-aided design line, and is designed to be for the PC what
MacroMind Director is for the Macintosh.

Autodesk Animator allows a PC user to animate, edit, and produce
on the hard disk a presentation from a few minutes to an hour in
length. The finished product can be output to a VHS machine. There
are five types of animation techniques, image processing
capabilities, 572 true-color paint effects, a mouse interface,
as well as a projector/player module which allows a scene to
be played back for the user, or copied and played back for business
associates and friends.

The program runs on Compaq, IBM PC, PS/2 and 100 percent
compatible PCs equipped with a VGA card and mouse. Output to
VHS requires a BGA card with NTSC output capability.

"We think there's a huge market out there in animation for PC users.
They've been at the back of the bus, as far as computer graphics
are concerned," Autodesk spokesman Andrew Zarrillo tells Newsbytes.

(Wendy Woods/19890721)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00005)

20MHZ 80386 MOTHERBOARD
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 17 (NB) -- Original equipment
manufacturers and value-added resellers are being solicited for the
latest high-powered motherboard called the Pioneer Vantage 386X.
The motherboard, which is being offered at $395 each from Pioneer
Computer of Fremont, California, offers a 20 MHz clock speed, and
the 80386 32-bit microprocessor with a 16-bit memory architecture.

Other features include a "Shadow RAM" that copies the ROM (read-only
memory) for the system and video BIOS (basic input-output system)
into fast speed RAM to speed up BIOS execution, up to eight megabytes
of on-board memory, LIM EMS 4.0 memory support, and an 80387
math coprocessor.

All an OEM needs to supply is the case (it has an XT-sized footprint),
a few extras, and a label.

(Wendy Woods/19890721/Press Contact: Patrick Lee, 415-623-0808)


(NEWS)(IBM)(WAS)(00006)

XYWRITE AMNESTY ANNOUNCED
BILLERICA, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 18 (NB) -- XyQuest
has announced a special copyright amnesty program for the
bootlegged copies of its popular XyWrite word processor software.

Under the terms of the program, users of pirated copies of the
$495 program can register as legal users for $125.

(John McCormick/19890721/Press Contact: XyQuest, 508-671-0888)


(NEWS)(IBM)(WAS)(00007)

IBM EARNINGS RISE 39%
ARMONK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 18 (NB) -- IBM today posted
second-quarter earnings of $1.34 billion, or $2.31/share, on
gross revenues of $15.21 billion, versus $964 million, or
$1.63/share on revenues of $13.91 billion for the same period
last year.

IBM took a one-time $600 million charge for the first two
quarters of 1988 due to a restructuring of headquarters and
manufacturing operations.

Financial institutions had no major reaction to the results which
were widely expected.

(John McCormick/19890720/)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TYO)(00008)

IBM JAPAN PREDICTS GROWTH
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1989 JUL 19 (NB) -- IBM Japan projects a bright
perspective on its total sales for fiscal 1989. Regarding sales for the
January to June time period of this year, Takeo Shiina, the
president of IBM Japan, said, "Our domestic sales increased by
nearly twenty percent over last year." And he added, "Our
domestic sales will exceed the average growth, estimated at 12 to
13 percent of Japanese computer makers," for fiscal 1989 ending
December this year.

IBM Japan earned 1,187.8 billion yen ($8.5 billion) for its total sales
in fiscal 1988. Domestic Japanese sales accounted for 838.6 billion
yen ($6.0 billion). Though Shiina is uncertain of how the firm's exported
products will do, he expects total sales to exceed 1,300 billion yen
($9.3 billion) in fiscal 1989, thanks to its growing domestic market.

IBM Japan shipped over 10,000 PS/55 personal computers
per month on average for the first half of this year. Furthermore, it
doubled software sales for the same period.

(Ken Takahashi/19890720)


(NEWS)(IBM)(WAS)(00009)

AMERICAN MANAGEMENT/IBM DEAL
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 17 (NB) -- IBM and
Arlington, Virginia-based American Management Systems have
announced that AMS will develop applications software for
IBM under a new multi-year agreement.

IBM has also agreed to purchase a 10 percent minority interest in AMS,
starting with $18 million of voting convertible preferred stock.
IBM may also buy an additional 10 percent of AMS common stock on the
open market.

(John McCormick/19890721)


(NEWS)(IBM)(WAS)(00010)

IBM WORD PROCESSOR
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 19 (NB) -- Just when
dedicated word processors finally seem to have died, IBM has
announced two ones, aimed at secretaries. The new Personal
Typing System/2s are desktop MS-DOS computers optimized for
typing jobs.

The two new Personal Typing System/2 units both have two
expansion slots and one 3.5-inch high-density floppy drive, can
be linked to networks or IBM AS/400 systems, and have room to add
hard disks. Both also come with special keyboards having 12 re-
labeled function keys along the top, like the 101-key enhanced
keyboard, but lacking a separate number key pad.

The 8086-based system will be available next month and lists for
$2,225, and the 286 version, OS/2 compatible version will sell
for $2,625 and will ship in the fourth quarter of this year.

A notable feature of these new hardware products is that the two
new computer/word processors use the old-style IBM XT and AT bus
arrangements rather than the much-touted IBM Micro Channel bus.

(John McCormick/19890721/Press Contact: John H. Clark, 914-642-
5409)


(NEWS)(IBM)(ATL)(00011)

IBM GIVES $1.7 MILLION TO MEMPHIS
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 18 (NB) -- IBM announced a $1.7
million donation of computer equipment, educational software and
training for Memphis City Schools, which will be administered as
part of Shelby County's "Free the Children" program. Superintendent Dr.
W.W. Herenton called it the largest single contribution ever to his
program.

The "Free the Children" program was developed in 1987 by the
Shelby County Culture of Poverty Think Tank to break the cycle of
poverty in the county, which comprises the poorest metropolitan
area in the United States. The program uses a unique approach,
in which families contract with various support services tailored
to each family's specific needs. In return, the family agrees to
perform specific activities designed to break that family's cycle
of poverty, such as keeping their children in school or enrolling
unemployed members in job training centers.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890721/Press Contact: Greg Thompson of IBM
Educational Systems, 404-238-3245)


(NEWS)(IBM)(ATL)(00012)

CHECKFREE XFERS FUNDS ON PCS
COLUMBUS, OHIO, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 18 (NB) -- CheckFree, a funds-
transfer package listing at $50, has had a hard time convincing
Americans to bank at home. So it's being bundled with Meca's Managing
Your Money, a personal financial manager, and Intuit's Quicken, a
check-writing package.

Vice President of Marketing Mike Sapienza tells Newsbytes that's
just the beginning. CheckFree is talking to Tandy and modem
makers, and providers of small business accounting packages, to
add the capacity there. A Macintosh CheckFree will be out next
year.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890721/Press Contact: Mike Sapienza,
Checkfree, 614-898-6000)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00013)

ASHTON-TATE INTROS TOOLKIT
TORRANCE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 17 (NB) -- Ashton-Tate
has unveiled a new set of utilities that enable developers to
extend the capabilities of Framework III.

The Framework III Developer's Toolkit is designed to be of use to
both beginning and more advanced developers. For beginners, the
utility offers detailed documentation for learning and using the
FRED programming language. Advanced programmers will find
routines, tips and techniques on the subtleties of FRED to assist
in increasing productivity. A calendar/scheduling application is
included in the kit as an added benefit for all users.

The Framework III Developer's Toolkit will begin shipping by July
31. It will be available directly from Ashton-Tate for $250.

(Janet Endrijonas/19890721/Press Contact: Brad Stevens, Ashton-
Tate, 213/538-7348)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00014)

OPTIONS FOR COMPAQ LAPTOPS
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 19 (NB) -- Compaq has announced
two power options for its SLT/286 laptop computer, an external
battery charger and an automobile adaptor.

The External Battery Charger connects to the SLT/286's AC adaptor
and can fast charge an empty battery pack in one and one half
hours. The unit holds two battery packs but only charges one at
a time. The length of time required for a recharge depends on
the level of charge remaining in the battery.

The Automobile Adapter plugs the computer into a car's cigarette
lighter which then becomes an external power source for the
SLT/286 laptop.

Compaq has also announced Compaq Advanced Graphics 1024 Board
support for more than 200 additional computer-aided design (CAD)
and computer-aided engineering (CAE) applications software
packages through the use of Direct Graphics Interface Standard
(DGIS) version 2.0.

(Janet Endrijonas/19890721/Press Contact: Stephanie Campbell,
Compaq, 713-374-4619)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00015)

AST INTROS 3 NEW COMPUTERS
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 17 (NB) -- AST Research has
introduced three new computer models to its systems line. All
the new models incorporate VGA graphics.

The new models are the Premium 386/33 Model 115V, the Premium
Workstation/386SX Model 45V and the Premium Workstation/286 Model
245V. Each replaces a model currently in the systems line and
upgrades the available features. According to Bruce Cassell,
senior vice president of U.S. sales and marketing, offering VGA
graphics adaptors as part of a complete systems package is
another step in AST's move toward providing users with high
quality, low cost total solutions.

(Janet Endrijonas/19890721/Press Contact: Deborah J. Paquin, AST
Research, 714-756-4984)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TYO)(00016)

TOSHIBA DYNABOOK IN DEMAND
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1989 JUL 13 (NB) -- Toshiba is considering
whether to dramatically increase production of its J-3100SS DynaBook
personal computer following the nearly-overwhelming demand for the
newly introduced book-sized PC from distributors and users.

The DynaBook's low price, high performance, small size, and light
weight, is expected to bring a new surge of life to the laptop
market in Japan.

Toshiba is planning to produce twice as many DynaBooks in the
first year as originally forecast, and will start shipments by
the end of July.

Other PC makers are carefully watching the DynaBook's success, and
are said to be readying competing models.

(Ken Takahashi/19890720)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00017)

UK: ELONEX ANNOUNCES PC PLANS
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1989 JUL 21 (NB) -- Elonex, a new PC company,
has announced ambitious plans for the release of a 33MHz 80386,
386-SX, and 80486-based series of machines during the third and
fourth quarters of this year.

According to Elonex's Ari Gershuni, the new machines include a
33MHz 80386-based PC for launch in August, followed by an
80386SX-based portable and an 80486-based desktop machine for
launch at Comdex Fall in the US this November. The 80486 machine
is likely to be EISA-compatible, he said.

Elonex has pre-announced pricing on its 33MHz 80386-based PC as
starting at UKP3,295 for a 40MB hard disk machine with 4MB of RAM.

(Steve Gold/19890721/Press & Public Contact: Ari Gershuni, Elonex
Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00018)

UK: COMCEN INTROS EXECUTIVE PC
SWANSEA, WALES, 1989 JUL 21 (NB) -- Comcen Technology has
launched the Executive PC, a high-performance portable PC. The
Welsh company claims the machine is the first portable with more
than 300MB of hard disk storage available as a standard option.

Two versions of the Executive are available, one with a 16MHz
80286 chipset, the other with a 20MHz 80386 chipset. The 80286
version comes with a Chips & Technologies Neat chipset, which
gives a claimed 21.4MHz performance, whilst the 80386 version has
a 64K RAM-cache for enhanced performance.

Other features of both machines include a 100/338MB hard disk, 16
grey-scale VGA plasma display, 2MB of RAM - expandable to 16MB
internally, and a single half-length expansion slot. The
Executive 286 costs from UKP 3,395, whilst the Executive 386
costs from UKP 4,395.

(Steve Gold/19890721/Press & Public Contact: Paul Fletcher,
Comcen Technology - Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00019)

UK: DOWTY TO LAUNCH MCA MODEM
NEWBURY, BERKSHIRE, 1989 JUL 21 (NB) -- Dowty Information Systems
has announced plans to launch a quad-standard modem for IBM's
PS/2 series this September. The modem - called the Quattro PS/2 -
will fit into an Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) half-length
slot on the IBM PS/2 machines.

According to Barry Gilder, Dowty's marketing director, the new
Quattro modem will provide the same performance as the existing
Quattro modems, but for the MCA environment.

"We developed the Quattro PS/2 to meet a demand in the market for
a high-performance integral modem offering the latest technology.
The product is aimed at professional users who expect maximum
performance and reliability from their computers," he said.

Pricing on the Quattro PS/2 modem will be announced nearer the
product launch date (26 September, 1989).

Dowty has upgraded its existing Quattro stand-alone modem to
support the V26Bis (2400 baud half duplex) standard, without
any increase in price above the standard UKP 795. The V26Bis
option is being included as standard for IBM protocol users,
who have used this standard for several years.

(Steve Gold/19890721/Press Contact: Sue Berge, Dowty Information
Systems - Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00020)

UK: MINDSCAPE'S SECRETARY BIRD
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1989 JUL 21 (NB) -- Mindscape International has
begun shipping The Secretary Bird, a budget PC software package
from The Software Toolworks in the U.S.. The UKP 39-99 PC package
includes word processor, database and spreadsheet functions as
standard.

The word processor has a 106,000 word dictionary, as well as
ASCII file export and a mailmerge functions, The spreadsheet
includes a file export facility to Lotus 1-2-3 format.

Mindscape says that the package, though in the budget priced
category, has similar facilities to software costing several
times its price. To prove it, the company has a function
comparison chart with Microsoft Works, PFS: First Choice and 8-
in-1 available to help purchasers with their choice.

(Steve Gold/19890721/Press Contact - Pat Bitton, The Write Idea -
Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00021)

UK: MICROWAY BREAKS 80287 SPEED BARRIER
KINGSTON-UPON-THAMES, ENGLAND, 1989 JUL 21 (NB) -- Microway has
released an alternative math co-processor for 80286 and 80386-
based PCs. The Integrated Information Technology (IIT) 2C87
microprocessor operates at up to 20MHz speeds - independent from
the main microprocessor speed - and requires fewer clock cycles
to complete most of its functions.

Two versions of the 2C87 chip are being offered by Microway - a
10MHz plug-compatible alternative to the 80287 microprocessor at
UKP 195, and a 20MHz daughterboard with its own crystal
oscillator at UKP 295.

According to Simon Shute, managing director of Microway, although
sales of 80387 microprocessors are growing, the 80287 is still
the most important math coprocessor.

"At least 50 percent of the Intel coprocessors we sell are
287s. That's why we think the 2C87 will be well received. For
many users, it will offer a better and less expensive solution
that upgrading to a 386/387 combination," he said.

(Steve Gold/19890721/Press & Public Contact: Simon Shute,
managing director, Microway Europe - Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(BRU)(00022)

EUROPE: IBM OFFERS TUTORING
STUTTGART, WEST GERMANY, 1989 JUL 21 (NB) -- IBM executives claim
they are the best and, to show that they are, the company's West
German office is offering to train non-IBM executives in the ways
of Big Blue. Lectures will be offered on company strategies,
management techniques and communications, as well as how to deal
with new strategies in the corporate environment.

IBM is pitching the seminars, which will be held in Berlin later
this year, at executives from all levels of the computer and
high-technology industry. Perhaps now could be the time for
Businessland, Compaq, etc., executives to learn about how IBM
really works? The only snag is that they will have to pay for the
privilege!

(Klaus Rosenthal/19890721/Press & Public Contact: IBM Akademie
fuer Unternehmensfhrung, Ernst-Reuter-Platz 2, D-1000 Berlin)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SIN)(00023)

SINGAPORE: NEW WEARNES PCs
SINGAPORE, S.E.ASIA, 1989 JUL 18 (NB) -- Wearnes Technology (WT), a
Singapore-based multinational, announced yesterday that it is now
offering a new low-cost personal computer costing S$2,550 [US$1,375]
each.

Wearnes expects to sell 250,000 of these new machines, called the
Wearnes Boldline M-Series, over the next year, bringing in about S$500
million [US$275 million] in revenue.

With the Boldline, the buyer gets '286-based AT-compatible with a
40 megabyte hard disk and one megabyte of memory. Its 286 processor
can easily be upgraded to the faster Intel 386 SX chip by fitting a card
into its specially-designed slot, and even further upgraded with the
latest 486 chip. The working memory which supports the processor
can be expanded correspondingly.

Boldline's low cost and expandability eliminate the question of the
buyer's affordability and fear of obsolescence, according to Fred Tan,
WT's general manager.

(Michael Worsley & S.Roowi/19890721/Press Contact: Mr I.F. Tang,
Wearnes Technology, Ph: (65) 259.2521)


(NEWS)(IBM)(KUL)(00024)

SINGAPORE: NEATRON EXPORTS '386 PCS
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, 1989 JUL 11 (NB) -- Amsco Sdn Bhd announced
that it is now distributing the Neatron PC/386 Cache 330 which
operates the Intel 80386-20 at 30 MHz through the use of the latest
cache chip set designed by Chips & Technologies, page interleaving
combined with 80 nanosecond DRAMs.

Neatron is a Singapore-based company that has grown fast in the
past few years, and this, their latest offering, combines state-of-
the-art systems with low-cost Asian pricing that is winning them
substantial export orders.

Coming with a standard 2MB of RAM fixed to a 32-bit card, which can be
readily expanded to 16MB if required, and comes with the popular
configuration of one 1.2MB 5.25-inch floppy drive plus a built-in 40MB
3.5-inch hard disk drive. Single units with a VGA monitor are priced
at M$11,700 [US$3,800] including tax, and export pricing is available
upon request, dependant upon the quantities required.

The firm also supplies XT and AT systems in standard, compact and
tower configurations if required.

Enquiries to Amsco Sdn Bhd. Ph:[60] 3-241.3311 or to NEATRON Computer
Systems, 531 Upper Cross Street #04-36/37, Hong Lim Complex, Singapore 0105.
Ph:[65] 535.2828 Fx:[65] 339.7815 Tx:RS29088 HOMEPC.

(Michael Worsley/19890721)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00025)

IBM CANADA BEGINS NEW OFFICE
MARKHAM, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1989 JUL 19 (NB) -- IBM Canada has
begun construction of a new office facility in Markham, Ontario.
Located next to IBM Canada's existing headquarters, the building
will accommodate up to 3,000 people in 870,000 square feet of
space. The existing headquarters and the new building will
together be one of IBM's largest non-manufacturing facilities.

The new building will house a customer and employee education
center, a technology center providing product support for
customers across Canada, and other marketing and administrative
functions. The new facility is scheduled to be ready for
occupancy in 1991.

(Grant Buckler/19890721/Press Contact: IBM Canada, 416-474-3900)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00026)

AMSTRAD'S CANADIAN PRICE CUT
MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA, 1989 JUL 17 (NB) -- AudioVideo
Specialists, Canadian distributor for Amstrad personal computers,
has announced price cuts of as much as C$1,300 per system.

Reductions range from a C$150 cut in prices for the low-end
PC1512 -- to a range of C$1,200 to C$1,800, depending on
configuration -- to a C$1,300 drop in the price of certain
configurations of the 386-based PC2386. The new prices are eight
to 19 percent lower than before. Prices for Amstrad printers have
also been reduced by C$50 to C$200.

AudioVideo Specialists also announced that the provincial
government in Quebec has approved the Amstrad PC1640 system for
use in the province's schools. Approved systems qualify for
government subsidies.

(Grant Buckler/19890721/Press Contact: Lou Nemeth, AudioVideo
Specialists, 514-683-1771)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00001)

BT BUYS MICRONET
HEMEL HEMPSTEAD, ENGLAND, 1989 JUL 21 (NB) -- British Telecom
(BT) has acquired the remaining 60 percent stake in Telemap, the
parent company to Micronet, an information provider on Prestel.
Previously, Telemap was jointly owned by BT, East Midlands Allied
Press and Bell Canada Enterprises on a 40:40:20 percent basis.

According to David Rosenbaum, product manager with the Telemap
Group, the BT takeover marks a change in emphasis for Micronet.
"We now have access to the tremendous resources of the Dialcom
group," he told Newsbytes UK.

Announcing the changes last week, John Tomany, general manager of
the consumer services of BT's Managed Network Services division,
said: "It has been very rewarding working with EMAP and Bell
Canada, whose contributions to the development of the company
have been significant."

Micronet was first launched as an information provider on
Prestel in March, 1983. Since then, despite being one of the most
popular services on Prestel, there have been a number of industry
rumours that EMAP and Bell Canada were pulling out of the
venture. BT's buy-in to the service confirms these rumours.

(Steve Gold/19890721/Press Contact: David Rosenbaum, product
manager, Micronet - Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(BRU)(00002)

W. GERMANY: 2.4 GBIT/S TELECOM SOON
BACKNANG, WEST GERMANY, 1989 JUL 21 (NB) -- ANT Nachrichtentech-
nik Backnang (part of the Bosch group) has begun a series of
tests involving high-speed data transfers over optical wide area
networks (WANs).

The experimental project is being conducted as part of a joint
initiative between ANT-NB and GPT of England, SAT of France and
Teletrra of Italy, and aims to establish a new optical data
transmission standard for submission to the CCITT international
telecommunications regulatory body.

In initial tests at Lannion in France earlier this month,
scientists from all four companies successfully transmitted data
over light-wave connections of between 60 and 70 kilometres. Over
a 14-hour period, the connections ran at a steady 2,400 megabits
(2.4 gigabits) a second.

(Klaus Rosenthal/19890720)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SIN)(00003)

SINGAPORE: MEDICAL DATA ONLINE BY 1991
SINGAPORE, S.E. ASIA, 1989 JUL 14 (NB) -- Medinet, the national
computer network linking various medical professionals and
institutions here, will be implemented by the end of 1991.

Medinet is a joint project by the Health Ministry and the National
Computer Board (NCB) to provide quick access to comprehensive
information on a patient's medical background. This would enable
doctors to make faster diagnosis and determine medical treatment for
patients quickly and accurately, vital in cases of emergency.

An NCB officer was quoted as saying that a study on Medinet's
requirements and costs will be completed by October this year.

(Michael Worsley & S.Roowi/19890721/Press Contact: Koh Siew Hoon,
National Computer Board, Ph: (65) 778.2211)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(KUL)(00004)

MALAYSIA'S $800M TELECOM UPGRADE
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, 1989 JUL 6 (NB) -- Local telecommunications
giant Syarikat Telekom Malaysia (STM) will spend more than M$800
million [US$300 million] to modernize and expand its
telecommunications services here this year, further to the M$541
million [US$190 million] it spent last year, according to Tan Sri Dr
Rashdan Baba, STM's executive chairman.

Dr. Rashdan was speaking at the launch of STM's latest data
communications service, the Malaysian Circuit Switched Data Network
(Maycis), which was officially opened by Energy, Telecommunications
and Posts Minister, Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu on Tuesday.

Commenting that STM makes large and extensive investments towards
constantly improving the country's telecommunications services, Dr.
Rashdan said, "Such investments enable us to improve on customer
service."

Maycis, a data network designed exclusively for data transmission and
conforming to CCITT's X.21, is based on circuit switching techniques
that switch data calls between computers or data terminals. There are
presently 271 Maycis connections installed in the country. The
Ericsson AXB-30 Data Switching Stored Program Control System, on which
Maycis is based, can support 10,000 connections, but Maycis can only
handle 2,000 at this time.

According to Dr. Rashdan, there is a vast potential for Maycis to
become a major data communications service in Malaysia.

(Michael Worsley & S.Roowi/19890721)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SIN)(00005)

U.S. BLOCKS ASIAN SATELLITE
HONG KONG, ASIA, 1989 JUL 22 (NB) -- The launching of AsiaSat by The
Great Wall Company of China has been delayed indefinitely by the
refusal by U.S. authorities to grant an export licence for the Hughes
satellite.

The AsiaSat footprint crossed more country borders than any
other communications satellite, from Japan to Iran and from
Siberia to Singapore. The involvement of CITIC, the People's Republic
of China's (PRC) major investment corporation, had invoked nervousness
amongst the governments of many of the countries being offered the
use of AsiaSat transponders, but the troubles in Beijing sealed the
fate of the satellite for the time being.

In Hong Kong, where the satellite could have been used to speed up the
introduction of the long-awaited cable television network, the
government and tenderers will have to rethink the whole situation.

Meanwhile Thailand is reported to be considering launching its
own domestic satellite as a direct result.

(Keith Cameron/19890722)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00006)

CANADIAN DESKTOP INVESTING OFFERED
WINNIPEG, MANITOBA, CANADA, 1989 JUL 21 (NB) -- Manitoba
residents who subscribe to Grassroots Information Service's
online service can now buy term deposits and guaranteed
investment certificates from their personal computers.

Grassroots, which aims its service primarily at farmers, has
teamed up with Rice Financial Group, an investment brokerage also
based in Winnipeg, to offer the service. Through Rice, Grassroots
subscribers can invest money with any of more than 30 banks and
trust companies. The service features a listing of the highest
interest rates for terms from 30 days to five years. To order, a
subscriber selects an investment online, then mails a cheque to
Rice Financial.

John Duvenaud, general manager of Grassroots, said he believes
the service is the first of its kind in North America. Although
it is currently only available to Manitoba subscribers, Duvenaud
said he hopes the service can be extended to other Grassroots
subscribers. About 90 percent of Grassroots' 1,600 subscribers
live in Canada's three prairie provinces: Manitoba, Saskatchewan
and Alberta. The financial service carries no extra cost beyond
connect time, which Duvenaud said would typically add to up to a
dollar or two.

(Grant Buckler/19890721/Press Contact: John Duvenaud, Grassroots
Information Services, 204-772-9453)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SFO)(00007)

FIDONET CONVENTION SLATED
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 21 (NB) -- The end of
August at the Holiday Inn Park Center Plaza hotel in San Jose will be
where FidoNet enthusiasts gather for their annual convention. August
24, Thursday, through August 27, Sunday, FidoCon '89 will feature
columnist John Dvorak as keynote speaker at the Friday night
banquet.

Among other highlights: Tom Pozar will chair a panel describing
UPGATE, an interface between the FidoNet and Usenet networks;
Vince Perriello and Bob Hartman will discuss BinkleyTerm, their
freely available mailer program for a BBS, which enables it to
answer calls both from other e-mail and from BBS callers; Bob
Hartman will talk about mail processing by the BIX online service.
Other speakers in this star-studded line-up for the online BBS]
world include Phil Becker, author of TBBS BBS software;
Tom Jennings, father of Fido (the original network-capable BBS);
and Chuck Forsberg, author of Z-modem, Y-modem, and other transfer
protocols.

Conference registration is $75, banquet tickets are an additional
$30. Rooms at the Holiday Inn can be had by calling 408-998-0400
and information about other special conference deals and the
Silicon Valley FidoCon can be had by calling Sean Ackley at
415-828-8941 or 415-828-5198.

(Wendy Woods/19890721)


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

COMPUSERVE BUYS MICROBILT
COLUMBUS, OHIO, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 20 (NB) -- CompuServe, the U.S.
online leader, continues to look for ways to expand laterally
into phone selling and transactions processing. It paid $144
million in stock July 14 for MicroBilt, an Atlanta-based
telephone-computing applications developer.

Rick Macchia, the chief financial officer for MicroBilt, told
Newsbytes, "We're in the business of moving data over networks. We
provide turn-key solutions for business moving data from many
remote locations to a central office. We move electronic funds
transfer, or EFT and electronic data interchange, or EDI,
information as well as regular data." Of CompuServe, he said,
"CompuServe is known for being in the consumer end of the
business but they have a commercial organization. We have 200
employees in the company, and they have more."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890722)


(EXCLUSIVE)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00009)

COMPUSERVE UNDECIDED ON POTS
COLUMBUS, OHIO, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 20 (NB) -- CompuServe has been
busy making decisions about services offered on The Source, which
it bought last month and closes for good August 1. No final
decision has been made about Participate, spokesman Kitty Thomas
said. Some users of Participate On The Source, writing on other
systems, wrote they'd heard it was being closed. Other users in
the same circumstances wrote it was being kept alive.

Participate On The Source differs from CompuServe Forums in
several respects. The software is different, with different
commands, and POTS retains notes as long as conferences are
active. POTS also used a number of moderators who were paid,
mainly with online time, to maintain the system and keep
conferences active. Their roles were similar to that played by
Special Interest Group leaders on CompuServe, but somewhat more
controversial, since their status is not always identified.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890721/Press Contact: Kitty Thomas,
CompuServe, 614-467-8600)


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

NIFTY-SERVE HIKES RATES FOR JAPANESE ONLINE TODAY
COLUMBUS, OHIO, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 20 (NB) -- The Teleputing
Hotline newsletter reports CompuServe's Nifty-Serve affiliate, a
partnership with Fujitsu, continues to find new and interesting
ways to get more money from customers.

As of October it will charge $11 per year, or 1,500 yen, for Online
Today, which primarily provides synopsis of news found in other
Compuserve features.

Nifty-Serve also linked with a major stock information provider,
Toyo Keizai Corp., offering data on the most "promising stocks" every
week at an extra charge of 1,000 yen ($7) per access.

Nifty-Serve also began offering free ID registration to family and
corporate members, trying to induce more Japanese to sign up. Another
Nifty-Serve innovation is a system to reach Tokyo Telemessaging
pagers, of which there are about 250,000 in the metro area. Nifty-
Serve has about 50,000 users, one-tenth that of CompuServe in the
U.S.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890721/Press Contact: Kitty Thomas,
CompuServe, 614-467-8600)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00011)

ASTRONET'S REMOTE CELLULAR SYSTEM
LAKE MARY, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 10 (NB) -- Astronet is
selling a package consisting of a telephone switch and a cellular
phone broadcaster, ready to load on a truck, plane, or train or
helicopter and able to operate in the harshest conditions,
for about $750,000. The system would make it simple to set up
sophisticated communication from a disaster scene without an
existing cellular operator. Cellular operators could also use the
portable units as back-ups, suggested Sales Director Robert
Schwallie, and the Third World is a great sales territory for
mobile, self-contained cellular systems.

The equipment comes in a van at least 20 feet long by 8 feet
(roughly 6.2 x 2.4 meters) to hold it, but mainly consists of 5
racks of equipment 30 inches by 15, roughly .5 meters to .8. He
says getting into the business was a government idea, because
"right now there's no such thing as a transportable cellular
telephone system."

"I've been talking to the right guys, and there isn't any. They'd
like to see if fly before they buy," he added. He figures flying
it into Alaska, running it, and flying it back, where it still
worked, may be an adequate demonstration. The company is a joint-
venture between Stromberg-Carlso, owned by Plessey of the U.K., and
Mitsubishi. "All we did was package Mitsubishi and Stromberg-
Carlson equipment into a militarized shelter. We sell and ship
this equipment already."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890721/Press Contact: Robert Schwallie,
407-333-4900 or 407-333-0430 FAX)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00012)

DOW JONES' SECOND AUDIOTEX SERVICE
PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 17 (NB) -- Dow Jones
brought its Dow Jones Market Reports up July 14 as QuickCall,
which charges a per-minute fee for access to stock, bond, and
futures prices updated regularly during the business day. The
number to call is 900-246-4444. As with The Slime Line and Mike
Tyson, two other 900-number offerings, ask your parents if it's
OK to call first.

QuickCall is the third audiotex number service Dow Jones has
offered from studios in New Jersey. The others are DowPhone, a
straight news service, and JournalPhone, now being tested in the
Atlanta market. In Atlanta JournalPhone, which also offers
weather, sports, and features alongside the money news, is free,
notes Ken Twining, Dow Jones editor for voice information
systems. "JournalPhone is a free service, an experiment to see if
broad-based audiotex increases the perceived value of the
newspaper," he said. The Atlanta experiment ends in
August. "

QuickCall is going to be offered through Sprint Gateways, a unit
of US Sprint which offers audiotex gateway services and is
presently undergoing rapid expansion, according to spokesman
Pat Mindrup. Sprint Gateway also offers a service which can match
the caller's number with Donnelley city directories to create
direct mail labels.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890721/Press Contact: Dow Jones, Ken Twining,
609-520-4902)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00013)

NEC TELECOM TEST CENTER
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1989 JUL 18 (NB) -- NEC says it is establishing the most
ambitious data communication equipment testing center in the
world.

The C&C Conformance Center will be a testing facility for NEC
telecommunications equipment in order to ensure that it meets several
communication interface standards, including OSI, or Open Systems
Interconnection, and NTT'S integrated services digital network, or
ISDN. Researchers will also work to improve communication among
existing NEC hardware and software products.

To be located in Shibaura, Tokyo, the new center will incorporate NEC's
own telecommunication equipment, such as its private branch exchange,
packet switching machines, and facsimile machines, as well as
general-purpose computers, minicomputers, office computers, and
personal computers. Also, NTT's ISDN, INSnet 1500, will be installed
at the center.

NEC says it has invested one billion yen ($7.1 million) to
get the center ready for operation. NEC will also use other vendor's
products in its research, including computers from U.S.-based
IBM, Digital Equipment, and Sun Microsystems.

(Ken Takahashi/19890720)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00014)

SOFTWARE UPDATES VIA PHONE
MIYAZAKI, JAPAN, 1989 JUL 17 (NB) -- Miyazaki-based software venture
Densan has released software which enables software upgrades and bug-
fixes to be delivered to an end-user via telephone. The Remote
Maintenance System (RMS) is available for both software house and
end-users, and is priced at 97,000 yen ($700). In order to communicate
with each other, both sites are required to also be equipped with
Omron's MNP modem MD2400B or MD2400F.

The RMS software can be used on IBM 5550, PS/55, NEC's PC-9801, and
Seiko-Epson's PC286 computers.

(Ken Takahashi/19890720)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00015)

ALDODA INFODIAL 2 ANNOUNCED
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1989 JUL 21 (NB) -- Aldoda International, the
company which pioneered French Minitel software in the U.K., has
announced the development of Infodial 2, which the company is
billing as a revolutionary PC communications package.

According to David Lisbona of Aldoda, Infodial 2 is several steps
ahead of the competition in that it's based on Crosstalk 4, the
PC communications package from Digital Communications
Associates (DCA).

"When the new generation of professional communications software
appeared -- Crosstalk 4, Smartcom 3, Mirror 3 and others -- we
looked at them all. We saw that Crosstalk 4 not only has all the
terminal emulations and download protocols that anyone could
want, but also has a true fourth generation programmable script
language," he told Newsbytes.

Thanks to the use of the intelligent programming language,
Infodial 2 enables users to develop their own scripts for automated
routines online. Because of the innate intelligence of the script
language, any problems caused by line noise could easily be
compensated, something with which rival packages cannot cope.

Two versions of Infodial 2 will be launched on 1 August - a full
edition with automated messaging at UKP 295, and a version
without automated messaging at UKP 195. Lisbona says that serious
users of online services will easily recoup the cost of the
package in terms of online costs saved.

(Steve Gold/19890721/Press & Public Contact: David Lisbona,
Aldoda International - Tel: [phone]; Email on Dialcom
74:LOT1105, Prestel 017944999 and Mercury 19040950)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00016)

UK SYSTEM LINKS TO COMPUSERVE
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1989 JUL 21 (NB) -- The Direct Connection (TDC),
a London-based online system, has opened up an electronic mail
(email) gateway into Usenet, the international e-mail/conferencing
network. The facility enables subscribers to TDC to exchange
e-mail with 11,000 other systems worldwide, including the
500,000-plus subscribers to Compuserve in the U.S.

According to a spokesman for Shirechase, the company which runs
TDC, the gateway is an important step forward for the U.K. online
community.

"The facility of exchanging email with the estimated 2.5 million-
plus e-mail users via Compuserve and Usenet greatly enhances our
communications facilities on TDC. We're already offering an
overnight fax service, and the addition of Usenet will make our
professional online system very attractive to a wide range of
potential subscribers," he said.

Whilst the Usenet gateway is under trial, TDC is not charging its
subscribers for using the messaging facility. Once the system
facility is formally launched, however, non-UK e-mail items will
be billed at a modest rate.

TDC has a demonstration facility for potential subscribers on
London 853-3965 - 300 to 2400 baud, MNP error-correction -
log-in as 'demo.'

(Steve Gold/19890721)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00017)

UK: DATAFLEX SYNC/ASYNC MODEMS
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1989 JUL 21 (NB) -- Dataflex Design, the London-
based modem manufacturer, has begun shipping the Professional
Series of high-speed modems. The PC and PS/2 modems are claimed
to be the first modems in the world to combine IBM multi-protocol
adapter emulation with asynchronous communications on a single
card.

Four different synchronous dialling modes -- CCITT V.26 Bis, Hayes
1, Hayes 2 and Dataflex SAT -- are supported on the Professional
Series modems. In addition, the modems are equipped with a 25-way
RS-232 connector for use with synchronous controller cards
supporting alternative communications protocols, such as IBM
Bisync, ICL-CO3 or X.25 signalling.

Dataflex is shipping the new modems with its own Datalink PC
communications software, which supports the Vasscomm error-
connection protocol for use with Prestel and other viewdata
services. The modem hardware supports all modem speeds from 300
to 2400 baud, as well as the Microcom Networking Protocol Class 4
error-correction system.

Pricing on the Professional Series of modem starts at UKP 499,
ranging up to UKP 649. A Sync-link terminal package from Kerridge
Network Systems, suitable for use with 3270, 5250, System/3X,
AS/400 and other IBM protocols, is also available at UKP 495.

(Steve Gold/19890721/Press & Public Contact: Phillip Benge,
managing director, Dataflex Design - Tel: [phone])


(CORRECTION)(TELECOM)(LON)(00018)

CORRECTION TO MICRONET/MICROLINK STORY
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1989 JUL 21 (NB) -- Last week's story on
Micronet's 'war of words' with Microlink incorrectly stated that
Microlink was offering club accounts to Microlink subscribers who
wished to remain on the Dialcom/Telecom Gold network. The
sentence should have referred to Dialcom, rather than Microlink,
offering Club accounts. Our apologies for the confusion.

(Steve Gold/19890721)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00019)

MIRACOM'S FINANCIAL PROBLEMS
IPSWICH, ENGLAND, 1989 JUL 21 (NB) -- Miracom, the Ipswich-based
modem manufacturer, has hit a troubled patch in its finances.
Last week saw the company call in Cork Gully, part of the
international Coopers and Lybrand Group, to act as administrative
receivers. According to its managing director, Gwyn John, Miracom is
still alive and kicking, with the receivers being called in to
give the company some breathing space against its creditors.

"We're still trading as normal, and have a full order book until
September," he told Newsbytes. "We're talking with a number of
companies in the industry with a view to their taking us over,"
he said.

Two months ago, it was thought that Miracom was being taken over
by US Robotics, whose modems Miracom badge for sale in the U.K.
A spokesman for Miracom told Newsbytes last week that the deal
had fallen through when finance could not be arranged.

Despite the stormy financial patch, John is highly optimistic
about Miracom's immediate and long-term future. "We have a full
order book until September, and trading continues normally. The
problems have been caused by our diversifying outside of the core
modem business without investment funds being available," he
said.

"We're now concentrating on selling modems, which is what we do
best, and our creditors are in discussions with Cork Gully. We're
still very much in business," he said.

(Steve Gold/19890721/Press Contact: Gwyn John, managing director,
Miracom - Tel:[phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SIN)(00020)

SINGAPORE'S NEW EDC SYSTEM
SINGAPORE, S.E. ASIA, 1989 JUL 13 (NB) -- The United Overseas Bank
(UOB) here has introduced the electronic draft capture (EDC) system to
reduce processing time for credit card transactions at retail outlets.

Launched yesterday, the EDC is being introduced for the first time in
Singapore and the Asian region. Comprising of a terminal with a
telephone handset, display screen, function keys and an expandable
memory for storing transaction data, it can give authorization for the
use of Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Diners Club cards.

The EDC records and approves credit card transactions immediately, and
once approved, the sale is recorded on a machine-printed sales slip
which has to be signed by the cardholder.

According to Leong-Sim Puay Sang, first vice-president and chief
of the group's personal and consumer banking, the system's software,
said to be the first in Asia, was designed in-house.

UOB will be supplying the system's hardware and software, which costs
about S$2,500 a set, free to merchants. Mrs. Leong-Sim said that the
group stands to gain by saving on processing, operations and cash
management expenses.

(Michael Worsley & S.Roowi/19890721/Press Contact: Leong-Sim Puay
Sang, United Overseas Bank, Ph: (65) 539.2120)


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

CREDIT CARDS FASTER THAN CASH
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 22 (NB) -- A new PC-based
device on the check-out counter may make a chain store clerk
welcome rather than shun a credit card for a low-cost item.

Celerex Corporation's CX9000 credit-checking device consists of a
main file server which supports up to thirty terminals that serve as
remote transaction input devices. A clerk just slides the check or
credit card through the Celerex reader, and before the purchase
amount is entered, the system has checked the number against
the entire national Visa/MasterCard/Discover stop files and
the national check stop files which are updated by Celerex.
If the card or check in question is found to be "hot," the clerk knows
immediately and the customer walks away empty-handed.

The system, which is leased for about $125/month, saves the time
a clerk normally spends calling a credit card checking firm or a bank,
while the customer waits at the register.

The most unique feature of the system is that the database inside
the system gets a personal phone call each night from Celerex, which
updates its bad check and credit card file. So the information is
never out-of-date.

Celerex says the system will bring credit card payment to such
traditionally cash-only establishments as movie theaters and fast
food restaurants. Already several dozen Skipper's restaurants in
the Pacific Northwest are among Celerex's early customers.

(Wendy Woods/19890722/Press Contact: Myrna Dossey, 206-623-0225)


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

WORLD'S SMALLEST LASER
MIDDLETOWN, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 19 (NB) -- Researchers
from AT&T's Bell Laboratories and Bellcore have developed a
surface-emitting laser 100 times smaller than current fiber optic
lasers.

Other microscopic lasers normally emit light along their edge,
but the new process has produced lasers which generate light on
their flat surface.

The new lasers, less than one-tenth the thickness of a human
hair, and capable of being packed in densities approaching
several million per square inch, will have applications in fiber
optic communications and optical computer circuits.

Bellcore is the research and development company created to
provide R&D services for the small Bell Telephone companies
created by the court-ordered breakup of the U.S. telephone
system. Bell Labs continues to perform the same work for AT&T.

(John McCormick/19890721/Press Contacts: Deanna Cox Munoz,
201-740-6110, or Michael Giovia, 201-740-4762)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(ATL)(00003)

CALIFORNIA LAW ON CD-ROM
TULSA, OKLAHOMA, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 19 (NB) -- Attorneys can now view
California civil court cases on their personal computers without
modems.

National Legal Databases of Tulsa, Oklahoma, has begun publishing
the LawDisc CD-ROM Research Library database series with the
complete text of all California court proceedings from 1980. In
September it will issue the greatest legal hits of the 1970s, and
eventually will go backward in time to 1935. "Maybe we'll go
to the early 1900s or 1800s," if there is demand for it," Vice
President Edward Enquist said. "We'll also be providing 9th Circuit
federal cases, which is based in California."

West Publishing also publishes a legal disk on bankruptcy." The company
must also compete with the Lexis and WestLaw online systems. Enquist
said he's doing California law first in part because "California court
cases frequently provide benchmark decisions." Enquist added Sony is
retailing CD-ROM a drive around $600, and street prices may be
lower. This should help, because most law firms still do not have
CD-ROM drives.

It takes two CDs to hold all the California Civil Cases from the
1980s, with monthly and quarterly updates available. After
completing the civil law project, the company will next compile
California criminal cases and U.S. Supreme Court decisions.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890721/Press Contact: Edward H. Enquist,
800-533-0159)


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

GATES' BETTER LAPTOP BATTERY
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 18 (NB) -- Gates Energy is
releasing a new C-size rechargeable battery that runs 25 percent
longer on a single charge for laptop PCs. Gates is hoping to sell the
battery to laptop computer makers over the next 60-90 days for
resale as standard equipment on PCs by this Christmas.

The company will also try to put the battery into other types of
portable electronics, like video cameras.

Richard Witt of Gates said "TI, IBM, and Compaq all use C
batteries. They have a dedicated battery pack with plastic wrap
or a molded housing that snaps in and out." Laptops use Ds, half-
Ds, fat-As, and AA batteries as well as Cs, Witt added. "This
battery is specifically geared to the bulk of the laptops going
out there now."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890721/Press Contact: Richard Witt, Gates
Energy Products, 904-462-4750)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00005)

NEW SUPERCOMPUTER UNVEILED
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, U.S.A., JULY 17 (NB) -- Evans & Sutherland
has unveiled a new general purpose supercomputer aimed squarely
at an increasingly crowded supercomputer market now populated by
Crays, NEC, Fujitsu, and Hitachi.

The ES-1 is expected to appeal to a broad range of users due to
its simplified architecture, said to make it easier to program. The
computer performs parallel processing, achieving calculations with
only eight processors where other machines can use thousands. Its
power is equivalent to more than 60 IBM 3090 high-end computers.

The new computer will cost from $2.2 million to $8 million and
boasts a design that will expand the commercial application of
supercomputers. Commenting on the competition, Evans &
Sutherland's president, Jean-Yves Leclerc, said, "The Cray
architecture was designed many years ago, and it was a very good
technique at the time."

Evans & Sutherland has a reputation for building flight simulators
and other high-quality graphics and simulation systems.

(Janet Endrijonas & Wendy Woods/19890721)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00006)

1.2 GIGABYTE OPTICAL DRIVE
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1989 JUL 18 (NB) -- Kawasaki Steel will release the
industry's largest-capacity 5.25-inch optical disk drive in September.

Called KL1200, the drive has 1.2 gigabytes of memory, or more than
half a billion characters. Once data is written on the optical disk, it
is permanent, and the drive seeks data in 90 milliseconds on average.

The drive was developed by data equipment maker Information
Storage in the United States. Kawasaki allied with the company in
1987 and launched into the optical disk drive market. Now, Kawasaki
aims to get a 10 percent share in the optical storage market with
this strategic product. The basic price for the unit is about 700,000
yen ($5,000).

(Ken Takahashi/19890720/Press Contact: 03-597-3111)


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

THINNEST 3.5" FLOPPY DRIVE
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1989 JUL 14 (NB) -- Seiko-Epson has developed a
3.5-inch floppy disk drive unit, called SMD-1000, which measures only 18
millimeters in thickness. To start, the firm will ship sample
units of SMD-1000 which is capable of reading a one-megabyte or
two-megabyte floppy disk. The sample price will be 20,000 yen
($140) each.

Several makers have been developing thin floppy drive units with a
thickness of less than 20 millimeters, and have done so by detaching
the motor of each unit from the drive itself. Seiko-Epson, however, has
made its unit as thin as 18 mm, despite the built-in motor which directly
drives a floppy disk.

Seiko-Epson is further planning to release SMD-1000 for a 1-megabyte
or 1.6-megabyte floppy disk and one for a 1-megabyte disk.

(Ken Takahashi/19890720)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00008)

SHIFT TO HIGHER-SPEED 1-MEG CHIPS
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1989 JUL 14 (NB) -- Due to volume production by large
semiconductor makers, the supply of one-megabit dynamic random access
memory (DRAM) chips has been keeping pace with demand. But not
so with high-speed one-megabit DRAMs.

Consequently, NEC has decided to enlarge its market share by
increasing production of high-speed 1-megabit DRAM chips, which
are still in shortage. Demand for these is expected to increase
as demand for high-performance personal computers, which
require high-speed chips, also grows.

NEC says it will make some two hundred million units of 60 to 70
nanosecond 1-megabit DRAM chips by the end of this year.
Meanwhile, the firm will not increase production of standard
one-megabit chips with an access speed of 100 nanoseconds, though
it has produced massive quantities of them already.

Bucking the trend, NMB Semiconductor will produce more one-megabit
DRAM chips, contrary to the levelling-off of production by other chip
makers. NMB is planning to double the current production capacity
of about half million per month by next year, and plans to produce about
two million units per month in the future. The chip maker will mainly
produce chips with access speed of 80 or 70 nanoseconds.

(Ken Takahashi/19890720)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(KUL)(00009)

MALAYSIA: AUTOMATION ENDS JOBS
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, 1989 JUL 11 (NB) -- The National Union of
Commercial Workers (NUCW) recently organized what was perhaps the
first public demonstration in Malaysia against computerization.

The major company affected by this first protest was Magnum
Corporation, operator of a major gaming chain, which is just
completing an automation project, and as a result, have had to
dismiss some 60 ticket checkers, supervisors and assistants.

Under the guidelines of its collective agreement, Magnum has followed
the Code of Conduct for Industrial Harmony (CCIH) under which
retrenchment benefits are given of one month's salary for each year of
service, plus two month's salary in lieu of notice, plus other payments.

The protesting workers are claiming an additional month's retrenchment
pay, plus entitlement to the current years bonus. However, as at least a
further 1,500 workers have been discharged under similar terms to those
already offered to the Magnum workers, the company is reluctant to
step out of line of the guidelines already established.

The NUCW spokesman said that the Ministry of Labour was arbitrating
the issue, and could not be reached for comment at this time.

(Michael Worsley/19890721)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SIN)(00010)

HONG KONG BRAIN DRAIN
HONG KONG, ASIA, 1989 JUL 23 (NB) -- Hong Kong is suffering from an
enormous upsurge of emigration since the troubles in Beijing in
June. And the information technology (IT) industry is the worst hit.

"Two things have happened, " says Jeffrey Evans, managing director of
TechXecutive Society Ltd., one of the territory's largest technical
head-hunters, " The multinationals with regional headquarters in Hong
Kong are all considering relocation to Singapore or Bangkok and high level
technical vacancies have dried up for the time being. Because of the
massive increase of applicants for immigration at all consulates, only
the most experienced people are being considered. These are the people
which Hong Kong can least afford to lose."

Evans says that, on the other hand, the situation is creating many job
opportunities for Hong Kong people currently living overseas." Anyone
who has a passport and the relevant experience and qualifications
should review opportunities in Hong Kong. I believe that by the end of
this year, IT personnel in Hong Kong will be among the best paid in
the world."

(Keith Cameron/19890722)


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

STEVE JOBS DONS MARKETING HAT
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 22 (NB) -- Steve Jobs, founder
of Next, Inc., has reportedly donned a marketing hat and will handle
his firm's sales campaign personally. In a letter to employees,
Jobs says while he is seeking a director of marketing, "the most
important challenge facing Next is to achieve our current 1989
sales forecast and put in place our sales strategies for 1990,"
according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Referring to Dan'l Lewin and Todd Rulan-Miller, two major players
in the Next marketing team, Jobs wrote, "It has become clear to Dan'l
Todd, and myself, that there are now two full-time leadership roles
in sales."

Jobs emphasizes that "it may take several months to find a great
person to fill this position," and until then he will fill the role of
marketing director himself.

Next is marketing Unix-based workstations in the U.S. through
Businessland retail stores, and in Asia through an alliance with
Canon.

(Wendy Woods/19890722)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(SFO)(00002)

PERSONAL IRIS PRICE CUT
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 18 (NB) -- Silicon
Graphics has made a move to increase its share of the burgeoning
graphics workstation market by lowering the price of its entry-level
Personal Iris workstation by a third to $13,000 from $18,000. Silicon
Graphics also introduced a faster, more powerful version of the
Personal Iris based on RISC or reduced instruction set computer
architecture from MIPS Computer Systems.

A new multiprocessor system called the Iris Power System, ranges
in price from $172,000 to $249,000 and a single-processor model
runs $54,000 to $94,000

(Wendy Woods/19890722)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(SFO)(00003)

LOTUS JOINS SUN IN UNIX VENTURE
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 18 (NB) -- Lotus
Development is getting a piece of the profitable Unix market, thanks
to an alliance with Sun Microsystems. The two firms have
announced plans for Lotus to develop application software for
Sun's three computing platforms -- SPARC/Unix/Open Look-based
workstations, 68000-based Sun-3 workstations, and the 80386-
based Sun386i computers.

For Lotus, the alliance provides it with an entry point for its
popular MS-DOS Lotus-1-2-3 into the Unix market, worth an estimated
$9 billion by 1995, according to Market Intelligence Research Company
of Mountain View, California. For Sun, in turn, Lotus 1-2-3, or
whatever incarnation of the product Lotus develops, will be its
ticket into the office from the scientific and academic markets
where Unix has held court.

The financial terms of the deal were not announced.

(Wendy Woods/19890721)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(WAS)(00004)

AT&T USES SUN FONT TECHNOLOGY
MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 19 (NB) -- AT&T
announced today that it will add Sun Microsystems' OpenFonts font
scaling technology to AT&T's Unix System V Release 4.0.

By incorporating OpenFonts in its powerful Unix system, AT&T will
make it possible for developers to access more than 700
trademarked fonts from such companies as Linotype, Monotype,
Berthold, and ITC, because these and other companies have agreed
to port their type faces to the Sun bit-mapped system.

This move will make Unix far more useful for desktop publishing
applications and other office automation tasks.

(John McCormick/19890720/Press Contacts: Dick Muldoon, AT&T,
201-221-2694, or Cindee Mock, Sun Microsystems, 415-336-3563)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(ATL)(00005)

TK SOLVER DOES UNIX
ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1989 JUL 17 (NB) -- TK Solver Version
1.1 is now available under Unix for the Sun, HP, IBM RT-AIX and
Apollo machines. Phil Cooper of Universal Technical Systems said
the new versions are slightly different from each other, having
been separately compiled in different Unix "flavors" backed by
different manufacturers. An X Windows product that will work on
all four should be out next year, "when the company expects more
Windows users to be out there."

TK Solver started as an IBM PC product, and was introduced for
the DEC VAX last fall and the Macintosh in May. The original TK
had an HP-UX version, Cooper adds, and while the code wasn't reused,
files made there will run on the new one. TK Solver Plus requires at
least 512K-bytes of RAM.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19890721/Press Contact: Phil Cooper, Universal
Technical Systems, 815-963-2220)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LON)(00006)

SCO/NOKIA PARTNERSHIP
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, 1989 JUL 21 (NB) -- The Santa Cruz Operation
(SCO) has signed a worldwide OEM distribution agreement for SCO
Unix with Nokia Data Systems, the European workstation
manufacturer.

Announcing the deal, Lars Turndal, SCO Europe's international
vice president and managing director, said: "SCO is pleased to be
establishing this strategic agreement with Nokia, which
underlines our shared commitment to open systems."

Nokia Data Systems currently has more than 700,000 workstations
installed in Europe. The company will market SCO Unix to its
existing users of workstations, as well as bundling the package
as a value-added option for new customers.

(Steve Gold/19890721/Press Contact: Niki Sanderson, Talking Point
(Europe) - Tel (UK) - 01-404-4542)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(BRU)(00007)

NEW TARGON PCS
PADERBORN, WEST GERMANY, 1989 JUL 21 (NB) -- Nixdorf, the
troubled German computer manufacturer, has announced a new range
of Targon machines. The new Unix workstations are aimed at both
ends of the Unix market-place, ranging from a 5.5 MIPS (million
instructions per second) Targon/31 Model 15, to a 48 MIPS
Targon/35 Model 60.

In parallel with the new machines, Nixdorf has also announced
plans to offer WORM storage systems for its Targon series of
workstations. The WORM drives (scheduled for late 1989/early 1990
release) will conform to the B1 high level performance standards
required by the U.S. Department of Defence.

(Klaus Rosenthal/19890721)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(SYD)(00008)

ANVIL EARNS EXPORT DOLLARS
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1989 JUL 18 (NB) -- Australian Unix board designer
and manufacturer, Anvil Designs, has added another chapter to its
exporting success story claiming profits of around AUS$1 million for
the last financial year.

The Brisbane-based firm is in a small league of high-technology
exporters which is reaping profits from international deals. Anvil
Designs Managing Director Bob Waldie said he owes some of the firm's
achievement to the federal government's 150 percent research and
development tax concession incentive scheme.

"Without that we would be about $200,000 out of pocket - money which
goes back into the company for more R&D," Waldie said. The firm
reported revenue of AUS$5.5 million, which Waldie expects will double
by the end of next financial year. He said Anvil Designs' business
philosophy, when it started in 1985, was to market a niche product in
the U.S. at a profit. "The bulk of our revenue is now being produced in
the U.S.," he said.

Staff has also increased from 11 to 35 employees. Since last financial
year Anvil Designs has appointed several distributors in the U.K., Europe
and Southeast Asia. The company is 100 percent Australian owned.

(Kester Cranswick & Paul Zucker/19890721)