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/nb891016

Text File | 1991-10-02 | 146KB | 3,433 lines

(NEWS)(APPLE)(TYO)(00001)

MAC PORTABLE SCREENS NOW IN QUANTITY}
OSAKA, JAPAN, 1989 OCT 11 (NB) -- A major consumer electronics
parts maker, Hoshi Electronics, has started to supply 10-inch black
and white active dot matrix liquid crystal display (ALCD) in large
quantity to Cupertino, California-based Apple Computer. The volume
supply of ALCD may soon alleviate the shortage of Macintosh Portables.

Hoshi has successfully reached volume production in its Seishin
factory in Kobe city, with the development of new ways to make
TFT (thin film transistor). An ALCD is a high-performance display
which produces images as vividly as a Braun tube but it is ten
times thinner and is expected to ultimately replace a Braun tube.

Hoshi is also planning to start volume production of 7-inch, and
10-inch color ALCD screens in future.

(Ken Takahashi/19891012/Press Contact; Hoshi Electronics Co., Ltd.,
0729-93-1010)


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

APPLE OFFERS REBATES IN HOLIDAY PROMOTION}
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 14 (NB) -- The frost may
not be on the pumpkin, but the holiday ribbons are on the Apples,
as Apple Computer launches a promotion aimed at the Christmas
sales season.

Apple is offering customers a "Free Trial Run" or from $150 to $300
cash back on peripherals when they purchase Apple IIGS, Macintosh
Plus, Macintosh SE, Macintosh SE/30 and the Macintosh IIcx computers.
The qualifying peripherals are the ImageWriter II and LQ printers,
LaserWriter IISC, IINT and IINTX printers, External Hard Disk 20 SC,
AppleCD SC CD-ROM disc drive, Apple Scanner and Apple Personal
Modem. Apple is being joined by some 70 software companies also
offering holiday discounts.

Qualifying customers can also take one system on a trial run between
now and Christmas, and must return it between January 1 and 15, 1990.

The promotion will include special display materials in computer
stores and a national television, radio, print, and direct mail advertising
campaign.

(Wendy Woods/19891013/Press Contact: Brooke Cohan, 408/974-
3019)


(EXCLUSIVE)(APPLE)(TYO)(00003)

FTC PURSUES APPLE COMPUTER JAPAN}
TOKYO, JAPAN 1989 OCT 5 (NB) -- Following its confiscation of
evidence October 3, the FTC (Fair Trade Commission) will
continue its investigation of Apple Computer Japan and its
sales agents who are accused of violation of the Antimonopoly Act.

The FTC has added charges of suspicion of price-fixing in addition to
a charge of obstruction of sales and maintenance services by
independent dealers which import and sell Macintosh computers at
relatively low prices.

The complaint against Apple Computer Japan was carried by Step,
one of the up-and-coming electronics dealers. Step explained
the situation to Newsbytes and said, "We had asked to advertise
our low-priced Macintosh computers in Mac user-oriented magazines.
One of the Mac user-oriented magazines, MacLife, once accepted and
printed the advertisement, but after the publication, the chief editor
of the magazine called to notify us that they were not able to
advertise anymore."

Investigators say Apple Computer Japan and its agents have had a
strong influence over publishers because if they lost their first
and most important customers, their publications would die.

A MacLife spokesman, however, told Newsbytes, "We did not have
space for the advertisement that month. We were not pressured by
anybody."

Step originally set up business in Chiba prefecture in 1979. Now
the firm has three offices in Tokyo, Akihabara, Shibuya and
Nishi-Katsushika.

When Step tried to open a shop in the famous Tokyo electronics shopping
district Akihabara two years ago, strong pressure was placed on them,
Newsbytes was told, to not do anything that would affect prices
between major electronics firms and electronics suppliers where prices
on Apple's computers had never been discounted more than five percent.
When Step bucked the trend and did lower its prices, it had to close
within two months because the building owner told it to get out,
having allegedly been forced to evict the firm by old-established
Akihabara retail shops.

Many Apple owners have been aware of the pros and cons of buying
retail versus underground for years. The popular phrase is that if you buy
for a low price, you also buy the five Nos: No explanations,
No exhibition, No change, No return and No cancel.

(Naoyuki Yazawa/19891012)


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

APPLE GETS BIG AIRLINE CONTRACT}
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 11 (NB) -- Even though
thousands of PCs are replacing dedicated terminals on which American
Airlines' SABRE reservation system was displayed to travel agents,
Apple Computer has won a significant victory inside the airline
firm's Texas brain center.

Apple has won a contract worth an estimated $2.5 million to supply
some 350 Macintosh IICX and IIX systems in American Airlines'
Systems Operation Center in Fort Worth, Texas, where data for
the massive air reservation system is compiled and entered online.

The dispatchers and crew schedulers previously had to retrieve
information from a variety of sources. But new software included
in the Apple deal will enable them to assemble the information
in a single uniform way through a common user interface. A user
might just point and click on a map of the U.S. to determine that
city's current weather, rather than have to make calls to various
databases where such information is posted. The software was
designed by Apple Integrated Systems, a division of Apple USA
which works with third party systems integrators to design
custom applications.

(Wendy Woods/19891013/Press contact: Janet Hopper,
Regis McKenna)


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

MAC ENVELOPE/LABEL PRINT UTILITY}
EMERYVILLE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 9 (NB) -- A new product
is designed to make envelopes look as good as the documents inside
them. MacEnvelope from Insight Development allows you to process
and print envelopes from a single applications. The system can
maintain active address files and provides special sorting and
printing functions, even generates and prints regulation Postal
Bar Codes for faster sorting and delivery.

Graphics can also be added to the envelope design, including messages
on the envelope, or a company logo incorporated into the return address.

MacEnvelope can be used with any Macintosh, or in conjunction
with MacPrint, a device driver from Insight which allows the Macintosh
to print out to a Hewlett-Packard LaserJet or Deskjet series of
printers.

The price is $129 and it can be ordered through major computer
stores including Egghead, Businessland, and Computerland.

(Wendy Woods/19891013)


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

SEARCH AND RETRIEVAL FOR HYPERCARD STACKS}
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 5 (NB) -- As
HyperCard stacks get increasingly dense, it gets harder and harder
to retrieve information from them. That's exactly the problem that a
new product from KnowledgeSet Corporation addresses.

HyperKRS is search and retrieval software for Apple HyperCard
stacks. Priced at $195 for the starter kit, the HyperKRS package
consists of HyperIndexer, a full-word indexing program and HyperKRS,
a text search and retrieval engine.

Whereas HyperCard alone searches each stack sequentially,
HyperKRS searches the entire stack instantly and works with material
stored on magnetic media or CD-ROM.

The program first indexes every word in a stack. The HyperKRS
program then gives the user many options to reach selected items,
or read selected items. Search methods include And, Or, But Not,
exact Order, Wildcard, Proximity, and Field Specific Searching.

Currently the accounting firm Ernst and Young is using HyperKRS to
reference accounting manuals, client records, and auditor information
from CD-ROM. Pergamon Compact Solution of London has integrated
HyperKRS into their new CD-ROM "Guinness Disc of Records." Apple
Computer's own Integrated Systems group uses HyperKRS to
access CD-ROM based technical information, data sheets, application
notes, and client proposals.

(Wendy Woods/19891013/Press Contact: Chris Bowman, 415-
968-9888)


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

MACTOBERFEST SLATED ON UC BERKELEY CAMPUS}
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 11 (NB) -- The BMUG group
is sponsoring its annual user fair, MacToberFest, on the U.C.
Berkeley campus October 24. The keynote address is slated to be
given by John Sculley, Apple CEO, in Wheeler Auditorium at 7:30 pm. The
annual user fair takes place in the Pauley Ballroom of the U.C.
Berkeley Student Union from 11 am to 6:30 pm. The event is free.

Some five thousand are expected to attend the event, which will feature
demonstrations, but not sales, of the latest in Macintosh-related
hardware and software.

The philosophy behind MacToberFest, unlike many end-user shows,
is not to sell things, but to give no-nonsense presentations.

(Wendy Woods/19891013/Press Contact: John Heckendorn, 415-
848-8842)


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

GRAMMATIK MAC INTRO'D -- GRAMMER/STYLE CHECKER}
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 12 (NB) -- Reference
Software has introduced Grammatik Mac, a Macintosh version of the
expert system grammer checker already popular for the PC.
Grammatik Mac, like its PC twin Grammatik III, uses artificial
intelligence techniques and a sophisticated rule dictionary to
identify writing errors overlooked by most grammar and style
checkers. Grammatik Mac is slated to ship December 1.

The program proofreads files created with Microsoft Word, MacWrite II,
Write Now, WordPerfect, and other programs, for errors in
grammar, style, usage, punctuation, and spelling. But wait, there's
more! The program identifies style errors like jargon, sexist
terms, redundant phrases, vague adverbs, and tired cliches.

After finding an error the program displays suggested corrections.
The user can choose several options: correct on the spot, ignore,
or mark it for later correction.

And finally, to eliminate any confusion over the kind of document
being analyzed, the program offers the writer six writing styles
for proofreading: business, technical, general, fiction, informal,
and custom.

Grammatik Mac will retail for $99 and includes a free copy of
DeWitt Scott's "Secrets of Successful Writing." The product can be
ordered by calling 1-800-872-9933 or 415-541-0222.

Grammatik III, meanwhile, is shipping. The upgrade works with
33 word processors and desktop publishing programs.

(Wendy Woods/19891013/Press Contact: Pat Meier, 415-957-5999)


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

CHIP FUTURES ALONGSIDE PORK BELLIES}
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 11 (NB) -- The Pacific
Stock Exchange has applied to the Commodities Futures Exchange
Commission to trade in computer chips futures. If the Commission
approves, the chips will stand alongside such staples as grain, cotton,
copper, and pork bellies for which future prices are wagered.

Analysts say the placement of the two chips in question on the
futures market -- 256K and one megabyte dynamic random access
memories -- would help to stabilize their price instead of making
them subject to the wild ups and downs of the current market.

(Wendy Woods/19891013)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00002)

MATSUSHITA'S ILLINOIS WORKSTATION FACTORY OPENS IN NOVEMBER}
OSAKA, JAPAN, 1989 OCT 11 (NB) -- Matsushita Electric Industrial
has completed construction of a computer factory in Franklin Park,
Illinois, U.S., and will start its operation there next month.

The factory will make engineering workstations developed by
Longmont, Colorado-based Solbourne Computer, a Matsushita
subsidiary. Initial monthly output is expected to be 1,000 units,
although the factory is capable of producing 10,000 units per month.
The equipment investment is estimated at between 600 and 800
million yen ($4.3 and $5.7 million). To start, the factory will
employ 50 workers which will increase to 200 next fall when
production is slated to be in full swing.

Solbourne developed and has been selling Series 4 workstations,
compatible with Sun Microsystems' Sun4. At the end of this month,
the firm will sell Series 5 in the U.S. The Series 5 is based on a reduced
instruction set SPARC chip developed by Cypress and a floating point
coprocessor developed by Weitek. It operates at 22 million
instructions per second, is said to be superior in image processing, and
can process with up to four SPARC chips at once. The memory board will
be produced and supplied from Matsushita's factory in Japan,
and will be assembled with system board, and I/O board in the
Franklin Park factory.

Matsushita, currently involved in an effort to consolidate its U.S.
operations, plans to sell the computers it makes under its own brand
name in the U.S., as well as on an original equipment manufacturing
basis.

(Ken Takahashi/19891012)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00003)

TOSHIBA MAKES MORE LAPTOPS IN U.S.}
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1989 OCT 6 (NB) -- Toshiba will increase the production
of laptop computers in the U.S., in order to meet the demand for them
which is growing by 45 percent a year in the U.S. market.

Toshiba has produced in its Irvine, California-based factory seven
models of laptop computers including its 16-bit T1200 and 32-bit
T5200 with monthly output of 12,000 units. Another production line
will be added to the current two in January and production will be
25 percent higher with 15,000 units rolling off the lines monthly
by February.

Toshiba has successfully established a wide distribution system
in the U.S., and reports that 1,800 stores are selling its products.

(Ken Takahashi/19891012)


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

CONTEL BUYS TELOS FOR $65 MILLION}
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 10 (NB) -- Contel
announced that its Federal Systems Sector has signed a letter of
intent to purchase Telos for approximately $65 million in cash.
The deal is due to go down in January, after the execution of a
definitive agreement and various regulatory approvals.

Telos provides computer software design, development, support
and consulting services for U.S. defense and space programs and a
few commercial commercials. The company also provides the
government with computer hardware maintenance services, including
the operation of computer depot repair and sales facilities.
Headquartered in Santa Monica, Calif., Telos has approximately
1,750 employees.  For the year ended March 31, Telos posted net
income of $3.9 million on total sales of $116 million.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19891013/Press Contact: Brian Farley, Contel,
404-391-8217)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(ATL)(00005)

MCCAW, BELLSOUTH VIE FOR CELLULAR BUSINESS}
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 10 (NB) -- BellSouth Corp.
and McCaw Cellular of Kirkland, Washington are now locked in a
bidding match for LIN Broadcasting's cellular operations. McCaw
is offering about $125 per share for the first half of the
company. After getting control it would auction remain
shareholders off in July, 1994 at a market price. BellSouth's
offer would be worth about $100-110 to LIN shareholders. McCaw
wants to keep LIN's broadcast stations, BellSouth will sell them.
BellSouth can ultimately win any bidding war, but in order to
beat McCaw's latest offers, analysts think it must dilute its own
earnings.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19891013)


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

PRIORITY ONE BUYS PRIORITY ONE--NO JOKE}
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 10 (NB) -- Priority One, Inc.,
has closed the acquisition of Priority One Computer
Corporation begun through bankruptcy proceedings last May.

Priority One, Inc., plans to take Priority One Computers public
as part of a plan to restructure the company that includes a new
headquarters in Irvine, CA, product production in Mexico and a
shift in product line emphasis to workstations. The former
Chatsworth, CA-based reseller of its own Executive brand of
computers will change its name to Solutionland.

Priority One Computer originally consisted of eight computer
stores in California that sold a full line of personal computers
and software. After Priority One, Inc. took over, Priority One
Inc. added an additional five stores in the Midwest that were
purchased through a bankruptcy from Master Systems Computer Corp.
in Oklahoma City.

Priority One will go public by merging with a shell company
called Lincoln Funding Corp. Outstanding shares will total 33.3
million and application has been made for NASDAQ listing.

(Janet Endrijonas/19891013/Press Contact:Rockie Smith, Priority
One, Inc., 714-476-0950)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00007)

SALES, EARNINGS UP FOR DALLAS SEMICONDUCTOR}
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 12 (NB) -- Dallas Semiconductor
has reported net sales of $23,176,000 for fiscal third quarter.

The sales figure is up from $15,511,000 for the same period in
1988. Third quarter net income was $3,252,000, up from
$2,992,000 which included a credit of $992,000 reflecting the tax
benefits from recognition of net operating loss carryforwards.

Third quarter also showed an increase over second quarter this
year. Net sales were up 14 percent while net income increased by
19 percent.

In a related announcement, C. Vincent Prothro, chairman
of the company, has also accepted the title of president replacing
John W. Smith who resigned to pursue other interests. Smith is
expected to remain as a consultant to the company.

(Janet Endrijonas/19891013/Press Contact: Michael Pate, Dallas
Semiconductor, 214-450-0400)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00008)

PRINTRONIX PROFITS UP}
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 12 (NB) -- Printronix
has announced earnings of $1.2 million in the second quarter, up
from $255,000 for the same period a year ago.

These earnings were despite a 12 percent drop in sales revenue.
The company is in the midst of restructuring in response to the
slowdown in sales of mid-range printers which accounted for the
decline in sales.

During the first six months of fiscal 1989, Printronix earned
$1.7 million on revenue of $71.8 million. Last year in the same
time frame, Printronix earned $630,000 on revenue of $61.1
million.

(Janet Endrijonas/19891013)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00009)

DATAPOINT LAUNCHES NEW AD CAMPAIGN}
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 9 (NB) -- Datapoint has
launched a new advertising campaign to assist in a broad-scale
repositioning of the company.

Datapoint is stressing a total package of services, products and
capabilities as a networking vendor on a global scale. According
to Datapoint's vice president-worldwide marketing, Don Bynum, ad
copy will point to the company's resources, expertise, systems,
applications and products that allow Datapoint to connect to
virtually any vendor's software and hardware and to any multi-
vendor system.

The campaign is print and will begin during the fall of 1989
continuing into 1990 in both computer and networking industry
publications and several applications-oriented magazines.

(Janet Endrijonas/19891013/Press Contact: Don Pothier, Datapoint,
512-699-7477)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(WAS)(00010)

DATA GENERAL SHOWS RECORD REVENUES}
WESTBORO, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 10 (NB) -- Data
General has announced that strong demand for its MV computer
systems will create record revenues for the fourth quarter ending
September 30, while it also disclosed a company-wide
consolidation aimed at improving efficiency which should save $75
million in fiscal year 1990.

As part of the restructuring, Data General plans to sell its
Westbrook, Maine and Clayton, North Carolina factories and
eliminate a total of 2,200 positions, including those that will
go with the purchasers of the plants in Maine and North Carolina
which will be sold as operating facilities.

The Durham, New Hampshire facility is also on the auction block,
but Data General has stated that it intends to keep its
peripheral design facility at that site even after the sale.

Even with the record earnings, observers say Data General will
be lucky to show a profit for the fourth quarter.

(John McCormick/19891012/Press Contact: Jim Dunlap, 508-870-8162)


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

MATSUSHITA STREAMLINES PRODUCT MANUFACTURING}
OSAKA, JAPAN, 1989 OCT 9 (NB) -- Matsushita Electric Industrial,
the nucleus of the Matsushita group, has started what it calls a strategic
unit manufacturing project aimed at making parts and expertise for
various products interchangable. The team is set up in its Osaka-
based headquarters.

Designed to increase quality and lower costs, the project will
examine all the parts used to build copiers, printers, and personal
computers. Where parts can be interchanged, they will, and technical
expertise in certain product areas will be consolidated with others.
The end-result is expected to be improved automation and manufacturing.

By consolidating the Matsushita group, Matsushita aims at
achieving sales of 100 billion yen ($714 million) in the
information and communication sector in fiscal 1992.

(Ken Takahashi/19891012)


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

SONY NAGASAKI TO BE EXPANDED}
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1989 OCT 5 (NB) -- To prepare for mass production of
one-megabit SRAM (static random access memory) chips, Sony is
planning to power up its Nagasaki plant, purchased from U.S.-based
Fairchild in 1987.

Total expansion is scheduled to be completed in 1991, however,
Sony plans to finish clean room expansion earlier to start
volume production by March, 1990.

Currently, its production lines are occupied with 256 kilobit SRAM
and there is no idling line. Therefore, it has decided to increase the
output capacity of its plant with an estimated investment of five
billion yen or $35 million.

(Naoyuki Yazawa/19891012)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(HKG)(00013)

NOVELL APPOINTS 2ND INDONESIAN DISTRIBUTOR}
JAKARTA, INDONESIA, 1989 OCT 4 (NB) -- PT Joe Datindo Centre
has been appointed as a distributor for Novell networking
products in Indonesia.

The company, which was established in Jakarta in 1973, is a
leading vendor of office automation products and information
systems. Its customer base spans government, educational,
banking, manufacturing and retail sector.

Dealers are to be appointed throughout the country,
specifically in Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang, Surabaya and Medan.

(Keith Cameron/19891012 Press contact: Media Dynamics - Clara
Shek 852-5-8383889 Fax [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00014)

CABLETRON OPENS IN WEST GERMANY}
FRANKFURT, WEST GERMANY, 1989 OCT 14 (NB) -- Cabletron Systems
has opened a subsidiary company in West Germany. The new
company's headquarters are located close to Frankfurt in West
Germany.

The wholly-owned subsidiary of Cabletron Systems in the US, which
will coordinate its activities with the UK operation, adds
Austria, West Germany and Switzerland to the company's European
marketing operations.

Cabletron first entered the European market-place in April, 1987,
with the opening of its UK headquarters. The West German company
will supplement the UK operations' marketing and support of
Cabletron's networking products and services.

The new offices are located at Joinviller Strasse 18, D-6072
Dreieich, West Germany.

(Steve Gold/19891014/Public & Press Contact: Cabletron Systems -
Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00015)

AUSTRALIA: SCITEC MOVES INTO BIG LEAGUE}
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1989 OCT 9 (NB) -- The Australian-based
data communications company Scitec Communications
Systems has posted a record financial result for the year 1988-89.

Scitec managing director Moshe Yerushalmy said profits rose
from AUS$2.5M to AUS$8.5M, revenues increased from AUS$27.7M
to AUS$46.5M and exports increased by 68 percent. The profit
figures exclude a AUS$22M R&D contract involving the
Commonwealth and National Australia Banks. Scitec is one of a
handful of rapidly growing Australian information technology
companies that appear to be on the brink of making an impact
internationally.

(Gavin Atkins & Computing Australia/19891011)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00016)

AUSSIE GROUP IN $25M HK DEAL}
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1989 OCT 9 (NB) -- Infolink, the Australian-
based software and services company expects revenue from Hong
Kong and China of more than AUS$25M as a result of its three-
year joint venture with the Sing Tao Corporation.

Infolink and Sing Tao have formed an operation called Infolink
Hong Kong to market a wide range of software products. The
products include networking, integrated financial and
communications systems, customized design, utility products,
and computer aided software engineering tools. It will also supply
technical contract personnel to corporations along with consultancy
and training services. Infolink has revealed plans to expand extensively
into Asia, and is in the process of establishing operations in Thailand,
Indonesia, and Japan.

(Gavin Atkins & Computing Australia/19891011)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00017)

KAYPRO AUSTRALIA CUTS THE CORD}
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1989 OCT 9 (NB) -- Shortages of qualified
staff forced the US computer maker Kaypro Corporation to
sell its Australian subsidiary last month. But the US firms'
misfortune may be good news for a Sydney company.

Eymont computers purchased the Kaypro Australia package,
including the name and a Sydney warehouse, for AUS$500 000.
Voytek Eymont, the new managing director of Kaypro Australia,
said the company would launch Kaypro's new range of computers
including the KC1 XT, KC2 286 AT and 386 engine, to lift public
awareness of the company. He said the company would also
increase its profile in the maintenance field. Mr Eymont predicts
the operation will turn over AUS$5M in the next year.

(Gavin Atkins & Computing Australia/19891013)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00018)

XEROX PROPOSES SHARE EXCHANGE}
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1989 OCT 10 (NB) -- Xerox Canada is
asking shareholders to approve an exchange of their common,
voting shares for non-voting shares linked to and exchangeable
for those of the parent company. If approved by two thirds of
Xerox Canada shareholders, the proposal would give Xerox Corp.,
which currently holds 79 percent of the voting shares of Xerox
Canada, full voting control of the subsidiary. In exchange, said
Harry Cogill, director of public affairs at Xerox Canada,
shareholders would get higher dividends and a right to exchange
their shares for stock in the parent company.

Cogill said Xerox Canada stock has not performed as well as
expected since the company issued its own shares in 1984. By
making the shares exchangeable for the parent company's stock and
tying Xerox Canada dividends to those of the parent, he said,
Xerox hopes to improve the stock's performance.

Dividends on the new shares would be set at 26.7 percent of the
dividend paid on Xerox Corp. shares. At current rates that would
result in a dividend of 23.5 cents per share versus the 18 cents
Xerox Canada shares have been paying. Shareholders would be able
to exchange 3.75 Xerox Canada shares for one share in the parent.
This effectively would provide a 13-percent premium over the
price at which Xerox Canada shares have been trading in the past
20 days, the company said.

Shareholders will be asked to approve the move at a meeting
November 15. Xerox Canada is listed on the Toronto and Montreal
stock exchanges.

(Grant Buckler/19891013/Press Contact: Harry Cogill, Xerox
Canada, 416-733-6410)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00019)

NEWBRIDGE ANNOUNCES SOVIET JOINT VENTURE}
KANATA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1989 OCT 12 (NB) -- Newbridge Networks
has agreed to form a joint venture company with the Soviet
Ministry of Radio to manufacture and supply Newbridge's local-
area networking products to the Soviet market.

Company Chairman Terry Matthews told Newbridge's annual meeting
in Ottawa October 12 that new opportunities have arisen in the
Soviet Union for networking because relaxed licensing regulations
in the West mean more PCs are entering the Soviet market.

A jointly owned company called Newbridge Systems will do co-
operative research and development, manufacturing and marketing.

Newbridge also announced it has been chosen to install a coast-
to-coast T-1 data communications network for Home Savings of
America, the largest savings and loan association in the United
States. Finally, Newbridge said it has received a major contract
from the Swedish post office to integrate voice and data services
in a backbone network.

(Grant Buckler/19891013/Press Contact: Sandra Plumley, Newbridge
Networks, 613-591-3600)


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

GANDALF REPORTS SMALLER PROFIT}
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1989 OCT 10 (NB) -- Gandalf
Technologies, maker of data communications equipment, has
reported a profit of C$377,000 in the year ended July 31, down
from C$6.57 million last year. Revenue rose to C$167.4 million
from C$160.6 million. Though the year's profit was down,
Gandalf's fourth-quarter profit more than tripled from the
previous year, to C$1.83 million.

(Grant Buckler/19891012/Press Contact: Gandalf, 613-723-6500)


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

SEMI-TECH SUBSIDIARY REPAYS LOAN}
MARKHAM, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1989 OCT 12 (NB) -- International Semi-
Tech Microelectronics said its subsidiary Semi-Tech
Microelectronics (Far East) has repaid a US$140-million bridge
loan used to buy 76 percent of SSMC of Delaware. The bridge loan
was repaid from the proceeds of a private share placement and a
US$105-million three-year term loan. The term loan is at lower
interest than the bridge loan, Semi-Tech said.

A Canadian company, Semi-Tech manufactures personal computers and
owns distribution and computer services subsidiaries. Semi-Tech
(Far East) has its headquarters in Hong Kong.

(Grant Buckler/19891012/Press Contact: Michael List, Semi-Tech,
416-475-2670)


(EXCLUSIVE)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00001)

COMMODORE'S NEW AMIGA CAMPAIGN}
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 11 (NB) -- Commodore
chose bi-coastal venues to intro the company's $15 million TV
and print ad campaign.

Special screenings of the commercials were held for members of
the press in New York and Los Angeles on Wednesday. Julie Bauer,
Commodore director of corporate communications who has been with
the company for seven years and was instrumental in the launching
of both the Commodore 64 and the Amiga, told Newsbytes that the
new campaign is aimed at enhancing the company's image -- almost a
relaunch of Commodore overall. "The new campaign explains Amiga
technology in an interesting and unique way to which consumers
can relate."

The new ads are not aimed at 'techies;' the campaign points out
the Amiga's technical advantages as they apply to business,
scientific and personal applications and use in terms anyone can
understand and appreciate.

Bauer explained to Newsbytes that the print campaign will not be
a still version of the TV ads. "The TV ads, which include
appearances by a number of well-known personalities and
celebrities, feature a good looking young boy, the sort of kid
every boy would like to be, not a 'nerd.' Stevie is a real kid
having fun with his Amiga while advising Tommy Lasorda on his
scheduling needs to show Amiga's statistical capabilities,
advising a group of astronauts to illustrate Amiga's scientific
and analytical capability and helping the Pointer Sisters to
demonstrate Amiga's musical ability. "

Other spots will show off Amiga's video capability as Stevie taps
into the girl next door's television program and will even delve
into the realm of fantasy.

The print campaign will be a series of true-to-life case studies
of what Bauer calls "people who managed to find the value of the
Amiga on their own and put it to good use professionally." Bauer
emphasized to Newsbytes that these people are using Amigas for
very professional purposes and will help dispel the image of
Amiga as a computer for kids and games-players.

Bauer told Newsbytes that she attributes Commodore's marketing
movement in great measure to the vision of Harold Cooperman who
was appointed president and chief executive officer of Commodore
back in late April. Cooperman spent 20 years at IBM followed by
several years with Apple. Said Bauer: "He is the first president of
Commodore who I think fully understands the challenges and
opportunities involved in selling a proprietary operating system.
He is directing the company with a firm strategy and good follow-
through and he has assembled an outstanding group of people with
whom to work."

(Janet Endrijonas/19891013/Press Contact: Jim Dondero, Fleishman-
Hillard, 202/659-0330)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00002)

COMMODORE LAUNCHES NEW PERSONALITY COMPUTER AD CAMPAIGN}
WEST CHESTER, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 13 (NB) -- With
cocktails and media hype, Commodore International officials
this week spread across the country touting their upcoming TV ad
campaign blitz that enlists such popular entertainers as The
Pointer Sisters, Tip O'Neill, Tommy Lasorda, Little Richard, Burt
Bacharach, and B.B. King to promote and sell the Commodore Amiga.

This plethora of publicity parlaying on prominent personalities
follows similar, now abandoned attempts to promote IBM PS/2
computers using the MASH stars as well as the ill-fated use of
Alan Alda to try and sell a now-forgotten home system.

(John McCormick/19891012/Valerie Bellofatto, Fleishman-Hillard
Inc., 213-629-4974)


(EXCLUSIVE)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00003)

U.S. DODGES DATACRIME BULLET}
WILLOW GROVE, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 12 (NB) --
Raymond Glath, president of RG Software, a supplier of anti-virus
programs for the MS-DOS market, told Newsbytes by phone
that his company had received "zero" reports of Datacrime virus
activity in the United States on this Friday the 13th, although
he had received at least 10 reports of the Israeli (also known as
the PLO, Jerusalem, and Black Hole virus) virus's activity today.

As Newsbytes reaches deadline, we have received no major virus
activity reports at this bureau, although there is a lot of media
activity at the various companies that deal with virus
infestations. It is still too early to tell the extent of
possible problems because it is possible that any major
infestations would be causing so much trouble that those involved
would be too busy to make any reports public as yet.

For the moment, however, it looks as though another virus
deadline has passed with no major disruption.

(John McCormick/19891012)


(EXCLUSIVE)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00004)

DATACRIME FIZZLES IN U.S.}
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 13 (NB) -- On the day
the infamous Datacrime virus was rumored to strike PCs worldwide,
crippling and wiping out files, not a trace of it was found in the U.S.,
according to John McAfee, founder of the Computer Virus Industry
Association.

McAfee tells Newsbytes, "We had 13 infection reports today. That's
normal everyday reporting. There is nothing today to say Datacrime
has hit."

The 13 reports all involve the so-called Jerusalem, Cascade, Vienna,
Stoned, and Ping Pong viruses, not the Datacrime virus, which McAfee
says "is not effective in its ability to spread."

McAfee is in a position to know whether the virus has struck. His
virus protection programs, including VirusScan, are in widespread use in
the public domain. When any one of 41 known PC viruses attempts to
invade a computer, the software not only bars its attack but
asks the user to call the Computer Virus Industry Association to
report the invasion.

As for the scare which built up over the last few weeks regarding
the Datacrime virus, McAfee says, "From what we've seen so far, it's
absolutely nothing."

(Wendy Woods/19891013/Press Contact: CVIA, 408-727-4559)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00005)

FRIDAY 13TH VIRUS A NON-EVENT IN HONGKONG}
CENTRAL, HONGKONG, 1989 OCT 13 (NB) -- In the virtual software rabbit
warren of Hongkong, where software piracy and illicit copying is
rampant, one would expect a computer virus to strike with
unparalleled vengeance.

But Hongkong business computer users breathed a sigh of relief
when midnight came and there was not one report of the dreaded
Friday 13th Virus infecting any system here. Press and television
have been splashing warnings to local users much as everywhere
else worldwide.

A technical journalist who had been a public prophet of doom
called Newsbytes in desperation at about 3pm asking if we had
heard of any system crashes. Not a one, we replied, and he
sobbed into the telephone.

Just to be sure Newsbytes checked with the local data network
provider, Hongkong Telephone Company, to be told that no
reports of any network crashes had been received.

Newsbytes' Hongkong Bureau Chief Keith Cameron was asked by a
local television station to report on the day's disasters, but
sadly he could report nothing save a reminder that we are 12
hours at best, and 16 hours at worst, behind the USA and maybe
those people with international connections may not be affected
until the 14th.

Hongkong has not escaped the Stoned virus, however. And various
other strains are emerging in sufficient frequency for IBM to
be publicly offering virus fixers through its dealers. The
Hongkong Computer Society, through its local bulletin board
service, has established a virus protection working group which
is distributing fixers as fast as they become available.

One local consultant told Newsbytes: "There are so many
companies and individuals using pirated software here that the
rapid spread of viruses is inevitable. If anyone is seriously
affected by a virus it will more than likely be his or her own
fault and it will be a far more effective solution to the
piracy problem than the copyright legislation has been. Let's
face it, anyone who is careless enough to allow a virus to
attack a business system deserves the consequences."

(Keith Cameron & Wendy Woods/19891012)


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

UK: FRIDAY 13TH VIRUS - "A DAMP SQUIB"}
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1989 OCT 14 (NB) -- After several weeks of hype,
the so-called Friday the thirteenth' virus failed to live up to
expectations in Europe, with far less than the 100s of thousands
of PCs 'wiped out' as predicted.

Sporadic outbreaks of the virus were reported in Europe, however.
Particularly badly hit was the Royal National Institute for the
Blind in London, which lost several month's worth of computer
data as its hard disk systems crashed.

All over Europe, however, PC users breathed a sign of relief as
they found their machines were unaffected by a virus. The media,
which had been hyping the virus story for all it was worth in the
preceding weeks, was unrepentant.

"Friday 13 virus may yet strike on the 14th or at any time before
the end of the year," said one popular tabloid newspaper in
London.

One computer security expert Newsbytes spoke with summed the
whole 'incident' up for what is was worth "What a load of
cobblers," he said, adding that "any user who doesn't back up
his/her valuable data from a hard disk wants a good kick up the
backside."

(Steve Gold/19891014)


(CORRECTION)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00007)

HACKER'S PANEL SLATED FOR SUNDAY - CORRECTION}
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 11 (NB) -- Newsbytes would like
to make several corrections to an article entitled "Established
Hackers to Hold News Conference," which is datelined October
6.

The event, slated for October 15th, Sunday, 5-9PM, at 390 27th Street,
between Webster and Telegraph Avenues, Oakland, is not a news
conference but a panel discussion. The topic of computer viruses
will be discussed, as well as other important issues related to
ethics and hacking, as evidenced by the theme of the event, "Forbidden
Knowledge in a Technological Society."

Newsbytes also regrets having conveyed the impression to some that
the event was organized in conjunction with the Hacker's Conference,
taking place that weekend in Saratoga. Neither the event nor its
organizers are part of the Hacker's Conference in Saratoga, although
they hope to attract attendees from the Conference to the Oakland
event.

Further, the Newsbytes copy stated that the Datacrime/Friday the
13th/Columbus Day virus was alleged to have been
released at the Galactic Hacker's Party in Amsterdam in August.
In truth, the meeting in Amsterdam was the site where the virus
was discussed for the first time in public, having been detected earlier
by a few participants, according to organizer Lee Felsenstein.

"The issues which were discussed at the Galactic Hacker's Party
dealt with issues of responsibility," Felsenstein tells Newsbytes.
"And we saw that the phenomenon of 'forbidden knowledge' had not
disappeared with the Dark Ages. We want to continue the discussion
of how to handle responsibility in a technological context."

(Wendy Woods/198910011)


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

AST EXTENDS SUPPORT TO VARS}
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 16 (NB) -- AST Research has
established a new service program designed to support value-added
resellers (VARs) and low-volume vertical resellers called the
Associate Authorized Service Center (AASC).

James Schraith, AST vice president of worldwide service and
support describes AASC as a way to address the needs of VARs who
do not have resources to handle customers hardware maintenance
requirements on their own.

AASC's level of service authorization will provide access to
toll-free technical support, a 24-hour online technical
information system, videotape-based training and commissions on
AST extended warranty agreements sold.

To qualify, a reseller must become an authorized AST systems
dealer and have at least one technician successfully complete
AST's service training program. Unlike an AST Authorized Service
Center, an AASC does not have to invest in maintenance resources.
An AASC can upgrade to a fully authorized AST Service Center at a
future date if that becomes appropriate.

(Janet Endrijonas/19891013/Press Contact: Deborah Paquin, AST
Research, 714-756-4984)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00009)

MAI BASIC FOUR ANNOUNCES NAT'L SOFTWARE SUPPORT CENTER}
TUSTIN, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 6 (NB) -- MAI Basic Four has
opened its National Software Support Center (NSSC) outside
Dallas, TX.

This center will provide post-installation support via telephone
and modem to licensees of the company's MANBASE software. This
support, available throughout North America, relieves pressure
from the local offices which previously were charged with this
support activity.

The new center is equipped with an MAI Advanced Series Model 61
which has a capacity of up to 255 concurrent users. Other MAI
equipment will be available as well.  The center has toll free
lines on which to receive customer calls and dedicated high speed
communications lines to send and receive data from local offices.
The MANBASE R & D department will also be located in this Texas
facility so suggestions for system enhancements received from the
field will be going to the right place.

(Janet Endrijonas/19891013/Press Contact: K. Michael O'Brien, MAI
Basic Four, 714-731-5100)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00010)

INGRAM MICRO D HELPS HUGO VICTIMS}
SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 6 (NB) -- Employees from
both the Santa Ana, CA and Buffalo, NY facilities of Ingram Micro
D have flown to Charleston, SC to help set up computer databases
and telephone operations for disaster relief operations.

A "Microcomputer Disaster Relief Fund" has also been set up.
This is a joint effort by Ingram Micro D Chairman Chip Lacy,
Lotus Development chairman, Jim Manzi and Philippe Kahn,
president of Borland. A recent advertisement for the fund in
Computer Reseller News indicated the fund is attempting to raise
$1 million from the microcomputer industry to help homeless Hugo
victims rebuild.

(Janet Endrijonas/19891013)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00011)

DATA SPEC ADDS NEW SURGE PROTECTORS}
CHATSWORTH, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 10 (NB) -- Data Spec
has added three new surge protection units to its line of
computer accessories.

To protect equipment that uses telephone lines, Data Spec is
offering the DSTM2 Modem/Fax/Telephone Lightning Surge Protector.
This unit plugs into any AC outlet.

The D6OUTSP AC surge protector is a six-outlet strip with built-
in circuit breaker, a master switch with pilot light, a three
wire plug and a 6 foot heavy duty power cord. This unit also
comes in a wall mount version Model SP011. The SP011 features a
power indicator and automatically resets for repeated usage after
brownouts or surges.

All three models are UL-listed and range in price from $23.95 to
$35.95.

(Janet Endrijonas/19891013/Press Contact: Melissa Macaluso, Data
Spec, 818-772-9977-ext.421)


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

PIONEER TO INTRODUCE 3.2GB CD-ROM CHANGER AT COMDEX}
BASKING RIDGE, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 10 (NB) --
Pioneer Communications of America will demonstrate a six CD-ROM
changer/player at Fall Comdex in Las Vegas.

Like cartridge CD audio players, this CD-ROM player will allow
users to load and access a number of CD-ROM discs at a time,
providing for on-line access to 3.2 gigabytes or GB with a
maximum disc change time of only 7 seconds.

Average access time will be 0.8 seconds for data contained on the
loaded disc, a bit on the high side of average access times for
notoriously slow CD-ROM drives.

The suggested retail price of $1,300 is very reasonable for the
amount of data the system can carry, though single disc players
are now going for about $600.

(John McCormick/19891012/Press Contact: David Gollup, Pioneer,
201-327-6400)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00013)

BOSTON BUSINESS COMPUTING TO SHOW NEW VMS SOFTWARE AT DEXPO}
ANDOVER, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 9 (NB) -- VMS-
compatible software developer, Boston Business Computing
has announced that it will exhibit three new VMS software
packages, Vnet, Vmail, and Vbackup, at DEXPO WEST from November
7-9.

BBC is well-known for its powerful EDT+ editor, and the new
applications will provide VMS compatibility for communications,
e-mail, and data storage & retrieval.

(John McCormick/19891012/Press Contact: Edward J. Gaudet, BBC,
508-470-0440)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00014)

FUJITSU ADDS HARD DRIVE TO CD-ROM FM TOWNS}
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1989 OCT 9 (NB) -- Fujitsu will upgrade its 32-bit
home use personal computer FM-Towns with a standard HDD (hard disk
drive) unit, according to the industry sources.

The FM-Towns was released with a standard CD-ROM (compact disk read
only memory) drive in an attempt to take a share of the PC market
from NEC, but software shortages and slow sales have forced the
firm to fall back on a more traditional storage solution.

Fujitsu will provide 20 or 40 megabytes of hard drive for the
machine standard but meanwhile, promises to have available double
the current amount of CD-ROM software titles -- currently numbering
50 -- by year's end.

Fujitsu also promises to offer a new operating system which cuts
in half access time for the CD-ROM drive.

(Naoyuki Yazawa/19891012)


(EXCLUSIVE)(GENERAL)(BRU)(00015)

BRUSSELS: NON-PAYING MAG SUBSCRIBERS GREETED BY LAWYERS}
MUNICH, WEST GERMANY, 1989 OCT 13 (NB) -- PC magazine, the
West German computer magazine, seems keen not to lose its
subscribers. Instead of simply deleting its subscribers who don't
pay, the company is said to continuing to deliver the magazines,
and turning to legal help to recover the unpaid bill.

When subscribers fail to pay their 'renewed' subscriptions,
Newsbytes understands that the magazine sends out a solicitor's
letter asking for payment.

Two PC magazine subscribers contacted Newsbytes saying that they
had received legal letters from a lawyer in West Germany telling
them to pay not only the subscription, but legal fees on top of
the standard subscription.

Newsbytes knows of no other publishing house that takes similar
action against its lapsed subscribers. While the complainers tell
Newsbytes that the magazine may keep its subscribers in the short
term (i.e. for one year), its actions may lose subscribers in the
longer term.

(Peter Vekinis/19891014)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00016)

AUSTRALIAN NOVELL EXECUTIVES QUIT}
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1989 OCT 9 (NB) -- Two executives at Novell
Australia resigned last week after the company's US parent
decided to allow local distributor Datamatic to continue
selling direct.

The Australian Regional Manager Peter Stanford said he and
Datamatic Account Manager Penny Dignam resigned because
Novell's US vice-president of sales chose to override a decision
to have all distributors selling through dealers.

Mr Stanford said, "It's an issue of principle. Datamatic is the only
distributor allowed to sell direct and we felt it was unfair to our
other distributor and the ones we were negotiating with."

(Gavin Atkins & Computing Australia/19891011)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00017)

AUSSIE COMPANY MINIMIZES MISERY, MAKES MONEY MIT MODEMS}
PERTH, AUSTRALIA, 1989 OCT 9 (NB) -- An Australasian
commercial modem network has been established by the
Perth-based Doctor Disk company to cash in on difficulties
caused by the strike by Australia's air pilots.

The service is operated from offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland,
Perth, Adelaide, and Brisbane using Trailblazer modems. According to
Doctor Disk's general manager, Guy Weller, the service has had a flying
start thanks to the pilots' dispute which has been disrupting domestic
flights in Australia for the past two months.

Customers pay AUS$75 for the first 500 kilobytes of data
transferred, and 10 cents per additional kilobyte. "Compared to
the cost of an air courier and waiting for the media to arrive, it's
cheap," Mr Weller said.

(Gavin Atkins & Computing Australia/19891011)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00018)

AUSTRALIA: MICROBEE RESURRECTED}
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1989 OCT 9 (NB) -- The Australian computer
manufacturer Microbee re-entered the hardware marketplace last week
when it released a CP/M and MS-DOS compatible microcomputer for the
education market. Called the 640TC Plus, the new microcomputer
has 640K of RAM, EGA graphics, serial, parallel and mouse ports,
and can read either MS-DOS or CP/M disks.

Managing Director Giuseppe De Simone said the CP/M operating
system was there to protect the base of existing educational
software for the Microbee which gained dominance in the
Australian educational marketplace during the early 1980s.
The MS-DOS capabilities were included with the help of an
Australian-made application specific integrated circuit. The new
machine is scheduled to be available in Australia next March, pending
the allocation of a contract to manufacture it.

Mr De Simone also used the launch to join the chorus of
Australian manufacturers calling for the implementation of
a domestic buying policy.

(Gavin Atkins & Computing Australia/19891011)


(EXCLUSIVE)(GOVT)(ATL)(00001)

USSR GETTING 1 MILLION PCs WITHOUT MOTHERBOARDS}
CLEVELAND, WISCONSIN, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 11 (NB) -- The Soviet
Union wants to buy up to 1 million PCs without motherboards from
a factory in Cleveland, Wisconsin, which is half-way between
Milwaukee and Green Bay along Lake Michigan. The Soviet
bureaucracy has approved an agreement linking its Institute For
Automated Systems (IAS) with Innovation International, a Boston
PC reseller. The jointly-owned I-cubed-C, [I to the third-power
C] which stands for Innovation, Information, Intelligence and
Communication, will combine the U.S. company's MS-DOS hardware
and Soviet software. The design will be familiar in this country
as the PC Series from ComputerLand, with the main chips on a
plug-in card and the main board just a connector between the
cards. The design was also used in the Leading Edge PC.

Innovation President Frank Wright, who was on the way to Moscow
when we spoke with him, told Newsbytes the 120 computers
per month he's been shipping East since July
are just the tip of the iceberg. "We've made these computers
since 1986. They're designed without a motherboard, so the
processor can be changed at will." This means the Soviets will be
able to quickly upgrade their stock of PCs once they're allowed
to import chips like the Intel i386, which they're presently
prohibited from doing without special approval from COCOM and the
U.S. military. "I have to get on my horse and buy another company
to get more plant capacity," says Wright.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19891013/Press Contact: Frank G. Wright,
Innovation International, Inc., 617-523-0523)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LAX)(00002)

CODERCARD GOES TO WASHINGTON}
SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 10 (NB) -- Codercard
has received the highest compliment for its computer security
products -- endorsement from none other than the nation's highest
security force, the National Security Agency. The feds have
approved the use of Codercard security products in its LEAD (Low-
cost Encryption/Authentication Device) program.

This endorsement from the federal government entitles Codercard's
subsidiary Ciphernet to begin accepting orders for LEAD products.
These products, developed by Codercard exclusively for this
program include security devices that protect sensitive
unclassified information transmitted over communication lines.
The initial application will be in the Defense Data Network to
protect the link between users and host computers.

LEAD products are meant to combat threats from computer hackers.

(Janet Endrijonas/19891013/Press Contact: Rolf Rudestam, Galusha
& Associates, 714-476-1009)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(HKG)(00003)

AMBITIOUS PROGRAMS BOLSTER CONFIDENCE IN HONGKONG}
CENTRAL, HONGKONG, 1989 OCT 11 (NB) -- At the opening session
of the legislative council, the Governor of Hongkong, Sir David
Wilson, today spelled out the Government's bold plans for the
year ahead, and its directions for the next decade.

In the aftermath of the June 4 massacres in Beijing, the
announcements are expected to bolster confidence in the
territory. It is not only the enormity of the programs in
terms of dollar value, but also the fact that the plans extend
well into the 21st century, years after the territory is
returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.

The most significant project, hailed as one of the largest
undertakings ever in the world, is the massive $15 billion
development program which includes a new airport on Lantau
Island, a new port facility and the building of a new town.
Greater educational opportunities also featured strongly in Sir
David's speech to legislative members.

Although there has been some criticism of Government's lack of
attention to technology training in the Governor's speech, the
prospects for the information technology industry, as a result
of the ambitious plans, are more promising than ever before.
One industry consultant told Newsbytes: "With so much infra-
structural work being carried out over the next fifteen years,
service industries such as the IT industry will reap many
benefits. There will be a substantial need for all types of
engineering and architectural design systems, but less obvious
are other equally valuable and critical systems.

"The port in Hongkong presently handles more cargo than any
other port in the world, and the plans for the additional
facility are based upon a projected 150 percent increase in the
next decade. Naturally sophisticated systems are already in
place to cope with the current load, but all types of new
technology will be required by the new facility simply to
maintain an requisite level of efficiency," he said.

A vendor of small business systems told Newsbytes: "With these
projects announced, we can expect much more competition from
overseas systems houses establishing operations in Hongkong.
But the cake should be big enough for everyone to share, and we
have the advantage of local knowledge."

(Keith Cameron/1981012)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(HKG)(00004)

HONGKONG: TECHNOLOGY CENTRE CONFIRMED}
CENTRAL, HONGKONG, 1989 OCT 11 (NB) -- As predicted by
Newsbytes some weeks ago, in his speech at the commencement of
the legislative year, the Governor, Sir David Wilson, confirmed
the Government's plans to develop the Hongkong Technology
Centre for small manufacturers.

Sir David said: "Making full use modern technology is another
important priority for an increasingly sophisticated economy
such as ours. Our banking and financial sectors have achieved
standards of excellence second to none. Our telecommunications
industry is highly advanced, and our mass transit railways have
been noted for introducing the best transport technology
available.

"As part of our overall strategy we plan to establish a new
Hongkong Technology Centre which will provide facilities for
new and small high technology companies to share certain common
services until they are ready to set up on their own, "said Sir
David.

The confirmation was welcomed by the manufacturing industry
of which more than 50 percent of companies employ 10 or less
people. It is an interesting phenomena that this should be so
in the world's 11th largest trading nation, but it is an
indication of the unique problems which face systems suppliers
in the territory.

The Government's financial commitment to the project has not
been announced, but it is reported to be in the region of $25
million.

(Keith Cameron/19891012)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(HKG)(00005)

HONGKONG: NEW AIRPORT CHIEF FAVORS TECHNOLOGY}
CENTRAL, HONGKONG, 1989 OCT 12 (NB) -- Today Sir David Ford,
Chief Secretary of Hongkong, announced the appointment of Sir
Piers Jacobs, current Financial Secretary, as the chief
executive of the new Provisional Airport Authority.

Long regarded by the business world as a rare pragmatist in
the civil service ranks, the appointment of Piers Jacobs was
welcomed by the technology fraternity. "Unlike many others in
Government, Piers Jacobs is acutely conscious of the
advantages modern technology can provide. This appointment will
put him at arm's length from the normal bureaucratic processes
and we can expect to see practical attention to the products
our industry offers. It will make a welcome change from other
Government approaches to technology," one enthused vendor told
Newsbytes.

(Keith Cameron/19891012 )


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(00006)

TOUGH UK ANTI-HACKING/VIRUS LAWS PROPOSED}
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1989 OCT 14 (NB) -- Tough new laws against
hackers, virus program creators and virus disseminators have been
proposed by the English Law Commission. The proposed laws have
been detailed in the Law Commission's report on Criminal Law and
Computer Misuse, published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office
last week in the UK.

The report recommends three offences: a basic offence of
unauthorized entry into a computer system which will apply to
anyone who, knowing s/he does not have the authority to do so,
seeks to enter a computer system, whether for fun or reasons of
vandalism. This offence will be punishable by up to three months
in prison.

The next offence involves similar actions, but with intent to
commit, or to assist in the commission of, a serious crime. This
is best exemplified as a 'hack' into a bank or financial
institution's computer for fraudulent purposes. This offence
carries a penalty of up to five years in prison.

A third offence is that of intentionally, and without authority,
altering computer held data and programs. This effectively covers
instances of logic bombs and worm programs, as well as virus
programs. The penalty for the creation of knowing dissemination
of such programs is up to five years in prison.

Announcing the white paper, Law Commissioner Richard Buxton,
Q.C., said that the new laws would apply "only to a person who
knows he is unauthorized, not a careless person who just presses
a wrong button or makes a mistake."

Buxton called such computer attacks "particularly serious if they
are directed against computers which are now used to perform many
industrial and commercial operations," adding that such
activities are not now "properly covered by the criminal law."

Reaction to the white paper, which will now go before the British
Parliament for consideration as law in the next government
session, has been mixed. Industry and government figures have
welcomed the proposals with open arms. Some people in the
computer industry are a little more sceptical.

Hugo Cornwall, author of the Hacker's Handbook, edition four of
which is published this week, said that less than 100 of the
British police have been on the recommended four-week computer
fraud training scheme.

"Faced with the task of policing the UK with resources such as
this, one concludes that the law itself may be cast into
disrepute, since it is clearly so unenforceable," he said.

Cornwall's comments are echoed by Alistair Kelman, a leading
barrister specializing in computer law. He argues that cross-
border hacking is not covered by the proposals, despite the fact
that shuttling money between international accounts is just as
easy as moving money between accounts in a single country.

"There's also the point that the very illegality of hacking may
well incite individuals to hack, as a means of bravado and to do
something against the establishment," he said.

(Steve Gold/19891014/Press Contact: Richard Buxton., Q.C., The
English Law Commission - Tel: [phone] ext 204)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(SYD)(00007)

AUSTRALIAN DISTRIBUTORS BURY HATCHET}
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1989 OCT 9 (NB) -- Imagineering and
MicroAustralia, two of Australia's biggest PC distribution
companies, have avoided two legal battles after settling their
disputes out of court.

Imagineering took MicroAustralia (the local subsidiary of the
US company Softsel) to Federal Court on September 8 over
allegations that MicroAustralia was using Imagineering's end-user
mailing list without authorization. Meanwhile, the companies
were fighting over the ownership of two trademark names,
Hotlist and Softeach, which MicroAustralia claims were developed
by Softsel in the US.

In the settlement, MicroAustralia will destroy all mailing
lists and return Imagineering's list, in return for which Imagineering
will drop its claim for the two trademarks.

Imagineering General Manager Kevin Beck said he believed
MicroAustralia got the list from the Software Publishing
Corporation (SPC) after Imagineering stopped distributing
SPC products. Imagineering is seeking advice on whether it
could take action against SPC for damages.

(Gavin Atkins & Computing Australia/19891011)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(TOR)(00008)

MONTREAL COMMUNICATIONS VENDOR WINS AWARD}
MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA, 1989 OCT 10 (NB) -- Eicon Technology, a
five-year-old vendor of data communications products, has
received the 1989 Canada Export Award, which recognizes
penetration of new markets. Eicon has offices in Canada, the
United States and the United Kingdom and distributors in more
than 30 countries. More than 80 percent of Eicon's sales are
outside Canada, said spokesman John Oriettas.

Eicon sells data communications hardware for personal computers,
including micro-to-mainframe and LAN-to-LAN connectivity. Among
companies that resell Eicon Technology products are Novell,
Ericsson and Racal-Milgo.

(Grant Buckler/19891013/Press Contact: John Oriettas, Eicon
Technology, 514-631-2592)


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

HP OFFERS 486 EISA WORKSTATIONS}
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 10 (NB) -- In an act of
uncharacteristic boldness, the usually conservative Hewlett-Packard
has set loose the HP Vectra 486 PC, a $14,000 to $20,000 workstation
with a next-generation Intel i486 microprocessor and the
system bus created as a direct challenge to IBM's Micro Channel
Architecture -- Extended Industry Standard Architecture, or EISA.

Hewlett-Packard is among the so-called Gang of Nine computer firms,
including Tandy, Zenith, and Compaq, which banded together to fight
what they saw as IBM's attempt to abandon its installed base of
MS-DOS users with the creation of a proprietary bus. The Gang of
Nine created EISA, a bus compatible with IBM's massive installed
PC base. When employed in a computer, an EISA bus enables it to run
peripheral boards that any PC can use, as well as boards that exploit
the new architecture's power.

Slated for shipment in the first quarter of next year, the workstation's
key features include its memory subsystem which enables it to
communicate with system memory at a maximum clock speed using
zero wait-state memory cycles. This also allows up to 64 megabytes
of memory to be added directly to the main system board, which is
said to be two to four times the maximum on-board memory of
today's Intel 386-based PCs. The machine is configured in a tower
packed with two megabytes of standard memory and a 486
microprocessor running at 25 megahertz. The new rigid disk drives
are said to be 33 percent faster and come in configurations of 152,
330 or 670 megabytes. The operating speed is said to be 12
million instructions per second.

While HP has offered the first EISA computer, Compaq is expected
to roll out a full line of them November 6.

(Wendy Woods/19891013)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00002)

TANDON INTROS 486 EISA DESKTOP COMPUTER}
MOORPARK, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 12 (NB) -- Another member
of the original Gang of Nine has taken its secret weapon against
IBM out of the closet. The same week Hewlett-Packard chose to
announce new EISA machines, Tandon did too. The Southern California
firm announced the Tandon 486, an Intel 486-based system designed
around EISA (Extended Industry Standard Architecture).

According to the company, this is not just an upgrade but
incorporates unique architectural enhancements. Among the
innovations in the system is a removable optical disk drive that
can add up to 650 megabytes of memory capacity. The system also
includes a proprietary combination of external data cache and a
"write posting" unit that allows the computer under many
circumstances to surpass "zero wait state" performance.

The Tandon 486 will be available in a number of models starting
at around $9,000. The $9,000 model will offer 2 megabytes of RAM
and 1.2 megabyte, 5.25 inch floppy drive. At the other end of the
line listing for approximately $25,000 will be a system that
includes a 769 megabyte Winchester drive plus an additional 650
megabytes of read/write memory storage on the removable optical
disk.

(Janet Endrijonas/19891013/Press Contact: Ranjit Sitlani, Tandon,
805-523-0340)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00003)

MICROSOFT INTRO'S EXCEL OS/2 & NEW FLIGHT SIMULATOR}
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 9 (NB) -- Microsoft has
released a version of its popular PC spreadsheet for OS/2 machines,
called, appropriately, Microsoft Excel for OS/2, as well as an upgrade
to the world's most popular armchair aeronautical program, Flight
Simulator.

The new Excel for OS/2 is the company's most powerful yet, according
to a statement from Bill Gates, cofounder and chairman. The new
version adds flexible consolidation of worksheets to the already
familiar point-and-click linking of the Windows and Macintosh
versions. By exploiting the unlimited memory of OS/2, Microsoft
Excel can consolidate any number of worksheets from up to 256
sources either in memory, on disk, or over a network.

This is also the first version that supports long filenames, offers
faster file leading due to the elimination of the 640K DOS barrier,
and has some new printer drivers.

The program costs $495 and requires a PC with OS/2 version 1.1
or higher, an 80286 or 80386 processor, and at least 2.5 megabytes
of memory.

The new Flight Simulator version 4.0 for PCs and compatibles
allows experimental aircraft to be designed and tested onscreen,
including sail planes, customized jets, and propeller planes. Pilots
can then test their aircraft against the physical laws of flight.

Also new is a dynamic weather generator that simulates random
weather patterns. Snugly seated in their favorite armchair, would-be
pilots can enjoy the vicarious thrill of flying through a freak hailstorm,
for instance.

The new program is available immediately, runs on a PC with at
least 384K of memory, MS-DOS version 2.0 or higher, one drive, CGA, EGA,
MCGA, VGA or Hercules graphics adapter, and costs $59.95.

(Wendy Woods/19891013/Press Contact: Tanya van Dam, Microsoft,
206-882-8080)


(NEWS)(IBM)(BRU)(00004)

BRUSSELS: MICROSOFT ANNOUNCES EXCEL UNDER OS/2}
HOOFDORP, THE NETHERLANDS, 1989 OCT 14 (NB) -- Excel for the
Presentation Manager version of OS/2 is now shipping according to
Microsoft Netherlands. According to Microsoft, Excel PM has been
fully recoded to take advantage of the features of OS/2, which
include increased memory, faster execution speeds and high-speed
data exchanges with other Presentation Manager applications
software.

Microsoft Excel PM is initially available for OS/2 version 1.1 and
1.2, although only the version under 1.2 supports long filenames.
Excel PM for OS/2 needs an 80286 or 80386 microprocessor system
fitted with at least 2.5MB of RAM. The package costs DFL 1280
(about $500).

In a related story, Microsoft has announced plans to form a
wholly-owned subsidiary in Belgium. The company will formally
present its plans for the new company this week at the Brussels
Sheraton hotel, where Excel PM for OS/2 will be shown for the
first time.

(Peter Vekinis/19891014)


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

BOUNCING 6-POUNDER DUE FROM COMPAQ}
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 13 (NB) -- Compaq ranchers
are being mum on the new laptop PC they'll deliver to the press
October 16 in New York. But pre-release press reports on The box
say it will be two boxes, weighing in at 6 pounds even, with a 4-
pound battery and a width of 2 inches. The new computer, like the
old Tandy Model 100, would thus fit in half-a-briefcase.

Coming a month after Poqet and Atari announced 1-pound machines,
critics will call the Compaq twins overdue. The twins may be
aimed at a growing number of large companies which are trying to
standardize on laptop suppliers, and could be choosing between
Compaq and Toshiba, which has the widest range of laptops in
terms of price, weight, and features. Newspapers have taken to
calling the 6 pound and under market the "notebook" market, to
distinguish from older, luggable models at 15 pounds and up.

Expect the twins to be fully compatible with other products in
the Compaq line. A standard 3 1/2 floppy disk drive and 20-40
megabyte magnetic hard drive are expected. The twins will be
aimed directly at two Japanese laptops. Expect comparisons with
the NEC UltraLite and Toshiba SuperSport.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19891013)


(EXCLUSIVE)(IBM)(ATL)(00006)

MICRO PALM: WHERE NO PC HAS GONE BEFORE}
CLEARWATER, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 13 (NB) -- Jim Palmer
and his Micro Palm Computers Corp. are trying to take American
computers where no PCs have gone before, such as oil derricks, into
the wilderness, and onto the stock exchange floor. The company's
Micro Palm unit offers true MS-DOS compatibility in a rugged unit
designed for hard use. "We sell them through dealers, software
developers who create special data collection applications for
that harsh environment," he explains.

Rugged terminals have been around for years, but they required
special operating systems. "Now you program with dBASE or C or
Pascal, and the data is MS-DOS files that can be copied to a
desktop PC, either through a serial port or our high speed
parallel interface. That gives you fast file transfer -- 30,000
bytes per second. The RAM disks in our unit become D and E disks
on the other computer. So you can use any copy command in DOS."

And how rugged is it? Palmer told Newsbytes, "You can drop it
onto a concrete floor in a driving rainstorm and it continues to
operate. You can use it from -22 F to 158 Fahrenheit, and it
continues to run. You can drop it in grease or gasoline and it
keeps running. Drop it over the side of the boat, and it floats.
And keeps running."

Since the Micro Palm is designed as a data input device, it also
can be purchased with special cradles which combine interfaces to
larger machines with battery recharging and a hook the terminal
won't fall off. It's used in the harshest environments, from
laboratories, where it takes data on experiments, to the deep
woods, where it can be used to count trees for later chopping or
count the same trees for future protection.

Two futures exchanges are now looking at the machine, says
Palmer, for use as a trade input device. Most trades would be
entered through function keys, and they would replace the paper
traders now use, providing a more secure audit trail and making
recent scandals in those trading pits impossible to conceal.

"We have designed it in Clearwater," he adds, after the founders
spent time making utility meter readers. "We have a plastics
supplier 40 miles away, use domestic chips, and make the circuit
boards in Tampa. Displays come from New Jersey or Ohio. The only
part that's made in Japan is the silicon-cover keyboard. The
Micro Palm retails at $2,300, but lower prices are available for
quantity sales, and since the best applications use specialized
software, that's how most sales are made, Palmer says.

"There's nothing like this coming from Japan," he adds. "It's too
specialized for them. You won't sell 100,000 in the next 2 years,
maybe we'll sell 50,000." A few export sales are made to Western
Europe, where MS-DOS is also firmly established.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19891013/Press Contact: Jim Palmer, Micro Palm,
813-530-0128)


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

TOSHIBA SHIPPING PRINTER, UNVEILING DESKTOP PC}
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 10 (NB) -- Toshiba America's
Computer Systems Division has moved from lap to desk, introducing
the T8500, its first IBM compatible, 80386-based small footprint
desktop computer.

The T8500 is the first of what is expected to be a family of
Toshiba desktop systems. It will be available in December and
will sell for $7,799. The 25 MHz machine supports three
operating systems, MS-DOS, MS OS/2 and Unix. Features include
80387 and WE 3167 coprocessor support, 2 megabytes RAM expandable to
8 megabytes on the system board (14 megabytes when 4MBit DRAM cards
become available early next year), 100 megabyte hard drive
expandable to 200 megabyte and a 1.44 3.5 inch PS/2 compatible
diskette drive.

The same Toshiba division has begun shipping PageLaser6, a six-
page-per-minute general business laser printer with a suggested
retail price of $1,899. The printer provides 4 resident HP
LaserJet II compatible fonts in portrait and landscape
orientations.

(Janet Endrijonas/19891013/Press Contact: Ruth Garvey, Les
Goldberg Public Relations, 714-730-4774)


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

RETAILER SOFT WAREHOUSE OFFERS UNIQUE PC SUPPORT SCHEME}
RICHARDSON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 11 (NB) --Soft Warehouse has
announced the creation of the first nationwide on-site service
and support program for IBM compatible PCs available to both
personal and professional computer users.

Dubbed F.O.C.U.S. (Flexible On-site Computer User Support), the
program is available to anyone who buys a system at Soft
Warehouse regardless of manufacturer. F.O.C.U.S. offers four
levels of service. Level One is Configuration and Testing.
Level Two is called Basic On-site and includes advanced
configuration of Level One plus toll-free support hotline and on-
site repair of all covered hardware failures.

Level Three is Full On-site offering all the services of Level
Two plus additional help with operating systems and applications
programs. Level Four is known as Turnkey On-site. This includes
everything in Level Three and a once a year preventive
maintenance plan plus reinstallation of operating system and
software from backup.

The program has been designed by Mike Reher, director of support
services at Soft Warehouse and Bull York, F.O.C.U.S. program
director in conjunction with Intel. The F.O.C.U.S. support staff
includes factory-trained specialists, seasoned PC experts and
Intel customer engineers. All have been specially trained by
Soft Warehouse to service a wide range of equipment.

At the moment, F.O.C.U.S. is only available in Dallas, TX but
will open soon in Atlanta, GA, Denver, CO, Los Angeles, CA,
Houston, TX, Miami, FL, Philadelphia, PA and Washington DC.

(Janet Endrijonas/19891013/Press Contact: Nathan Morton, Soft
Warehouse, 214-406-4700)


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

XEROX: SEARCH AND RETRIEVAL & FORMS SOFTWARE}
SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 10 (NB) -- Xerox
Integrated Systems Operations has announced the release of Xerox
Document Search and Retrieval (DSR) software that allows users to
file, retrieve and perform complex database searches for
documents that include both text and graphics.

The new software, which will begin shipping in first quarter
1990, integrates the Xerox ViewPoint document-processing software
and user interface with BASIS text information management
software from Information Dimensions (IDI) in Dublin, OH.

The software can be licensed directly from Xerox for users with
ViewPoint software, Xerox 6085 workstations, Ethernet LANs and a
DEC/VAX running BASIS. For customers with existing required
equipment, DSR will start at $10,000 for 10 nodes. BASIS can be
licensed directly from IDI.

Also announced by Xerox is the volume distribution of Xerox
FormBase. FormBase is a relational forms processing software
package for IBM PCs and compatibles. The program automates the
design, manipulation and management of forms and form-related
data. It operates under Microsoft Windows integrating a forms
drawing package with a relational database manager.

The program runs on IBM PC AT and PS/2 compatibles and 80386-
based computers. It includes a runtime version of MS-Windows and
Bitstream Fontware and supports a variety of printer drivers
including HP software fonts and PostScript.

To ensure rapid national distribution, FormBase will be carried
by major software resellers such as Softsel, Ingram Micro D,
Egghead and Corporate Software. FormBase was developed by
Columbia Software of Northridge, CA. The company has given Xerox
exclusive worldwide marketing rights to the product.

(Janet Endrijonas/19891013/Press Contact: Barry Sulpor, Xerox,
213-333-3427; Barbara Burke, Xerox, 213-333-3613)


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

NEW FASTER IBM LASER PRINTER ANNOUNCED}
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 10 (NB) --
International Business Machines has announced a new 33-pound,
ten-page-per-minute laser printer which can be shared by up to
six personal computers or be used with IBM mid- and high-range
office systems.

With optional $399 500-sheet paper drawer and $329 75-envelope
feeder, this $2,595 printer, called the 4019 LaserPrinter, is suitable
for small business or fairly large office users. Shipping now in
small quantities, IBM says that the new printer will be generally
available next month.

The Lexington, Kentucky-built printer uses $199 cartridges that
will produce up to 20 reams or 10,000 pages of printed text and
provides 300 dot-per-inch graphics resolution. The printer comes
with only 512 kilobytes of memory but can be expanded to a total
of 3.5 megabytes with a $1,599 memory kit to hold extra fonts or
increase performance.

The Hewlett-Packard Graphics Language, IBM Personal Printer Data
Stream, and HP LaserJet Series II Printer Command Language are
all supported by the new printer which comes with parallel and
RS-232 ports.

Besides its very reasonable price, an important feature of this
printer is its greatly reduced number of components, being built
with about half as many parts as the average table-top laser
printer, according to an IBM spokesman.

IBM says its printer will also feature an Adobe PostScript interpreter
upgrade option by mid-1990.

(John McCormick/19891012/Press Contact: John H. Clark, 914/642-
5409)


(EXCLUSIVE)(IBM)(WAS)(00011)

CREATOR SAYS FLU-SHOT PLUS IS EFFECTIVE}
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 12 (NB) -- Newsbytes
today received an e-mail message from Ross M. Greenberg, the
creater of Flu-Shot Plus, contending that part of the story reported last
week on Newsbytes concerning the failure of Flu-Shot Plus at the
PA College of Optometry was erroneous.

Mr. Greenberg stated: "As the author of the program, Flu-Shot+...
I was taken aback at the statement that Flu-Shot+ is not
effective against the Friday the 13th virus. Since I have about
10,000 users, I'm sure that I would have heard if the program
was not effective by this time. It's been available on the market
for close to two years now. I would presume that the individual
cited in the article, Mr. Anderson, had not installed the product
properly, or was using a very old version."

"If he had given us a call, we'd have walked him through the two
minute installation procedure. Flu-Shot+ is a shareware product.
I can absolutely state -- and I bet my reputation on it -- that
it is effective against both the replication and Trojan aspects
of the Friday the 13th virus. Special code was added to the
program over a year ago to deal with it."

When Newsbytes tracked down Mr. Greenberg, we were told that he
was unavailable for comment because he was conducting an
interview.

The only recent review Newsbytes was able to locate of Flu-Shot
Plus was in the April 25 issue of PC Magazine, written by a Mr.
Stuart R. Greenberg, who, according to Mr. Tony Rizzo, senior
technical editor at PC Magazine, is a staff employee at the
magazine and not related or connected in any way with Mr. Ross M.
Greenberg, the creator of Flu-Shot.

In the review, Flu-Shot Plus, which is a $10 shareware program
available on many BBS systems, was described as "full-featured"
and "an excellent bargain," but the review went on to state that
Flu-Shot's constant presence is "unnerving."

The review also detailed a failure to control the "KILLER" virus
and described problems encountered when working in the graphics
mode and in Microsoft Windows.

Since Flu-Shot, unlike Vi-Spy, is a TSR or Terminate and Stay
Resident program, it is intended to detect an actual virus attack
in progress and must remain on the system at all times, which can
lead to such conflicts.

The review in PC Magazine concludes that, "Despite some small
inconveniences, Flu-Shot+ offers extensive protection..."

This Newsbytes Bureau hasn't tested Flu-Shot Plus, but while
waiting for a response from Ross Greenberg, Newsbytes contacted
Mr. Anderson of the PA College of Optometry to verify the story
as it was reported earlier.

Mr. Anderson told Newsbytes that the story as
published was substantially correct. When offered the
opportunity, he declined to make any changes in the story as
reported.

He did go on to say that, having been in the computer business
for many years, he felt confident that he had installed the
software correctly, despite the contention made by Mr. Greenberg.
Mr. Anderson also stated that upon running Flu-Shot Plus, which
was a copy recently purchased from Mr. Greenberg's distributor,
Software Concepts Design, 594 Third Ave., New York, NY 10016,
that came complete with documentation, the program immediately
reported the presence of the "Israeli" virus, but the
accompanying documentation made no reference to this particular
virus.

His comment about the fact that Flu-Shot notified him of the
infection without offering any help in removing it was, "Thanks a
lot, pal."

Mr. Greenberg states in his message that, while Mr.
Anderson "claimed" that Flu-Shot was ineffective, "he never
contacted us for instructions."

Mr. Anderson told Newsbytes that there was no phone number in the
software package, leaving him no option but to either write a
letter to Mr. Greenberg or find help elsewhere. Since this virus
had infected more than 100 computers in a busy school, the
letter-writing option was not considered an acceptable solution.

According to Mr. Anderson, he was unable to locate a phone number
in his documentation and there was none supplied with the e-mail
message to Newsbytes which politely requested a "retraction" of
the story, but we were finally able to locate Mr. Greenberg to
request further information, although, due to a fast-approaching
deadline, we had been unable to do so when researching the first
story.

To make Mr. Anderson's situation completely clear, what he said
was that, while Flu-Shot Plus detected the infection, the lack of
help in removing the virus along with the lack of a phone number
to contact immediate help made the program ineffective for that
particular installation.

If detecting and preventing the spread of a virus infection is
all the assistance you need, as it is for many home computer
users, then Flu-Shot Plus is apparently a very useful program;
however, Vi-Spy, the program Mr. Anderson used to eliminate the
infection, is probably far more suitable for government,
business, and other large PC users because it actually eliminates
the virus code from all files when they aren't active.

Newsbytes feels that part of the confusion here is that, while
Vi-Spy is a program which detects and removes virus infections
from disk files, Flu-Shot is a memory resident program that is
apparently intended to warn users that they may have a virus
infection and simultaneously to prevent any further spread of the
virus.

After his busy afternoon of interviews in New York, Mr.
Greenberg, who is now technology editor for Unix Today and who is
currently developing a Unix virus detector, called Newsbytes
confirming what he had sent in the e-mail and he finished by
saying that his program and Vi-Spy served different purposes,
stating that while "Flu-Shot" should be run continuously [to
detect a virus and stop its activity] Vi-Spy should be run once
in a while when an infection is detected.

Mr. Greenberg also stated that his phone number IS on his
documentation.

In closing, Newsbytes would like to present verbatim a final
statement made by Mr. Greenberg: "Mr. Anderson is mistaken.
Flu-Shot+ is very effective against all known viruses to date.
It is particularly effective against the Friday the 13th (aka
PLO/Israeli) Virus, with special code added to 'catch' the virus
in the act. Over 10,000 users of Flu-Shot+ enjoy protection from
this and other viruses. Perhaps Mr. Anderson should have called
us for support on the product? Upon checking our records, we find
that Mr. Anderson has never registered his usage of the product.
Perhaps he is using an ancient version in order to save the $14
registration and mailing charge, and was too embarrassed to call
for support? Even if he hadn't registered, we'd still have walked
him through the trivial installation procedure."

Mr. Greenberg's BBS system number is 212-889-6438, 8-bit, no
parity, 1 stop bit, 1200 or 2400 baud.

(John McCormick/19891012/Press Contact: Ross M. Greenberg, author
Flu-Shot, 212-889-6431)


(NEWS)(IBM)(WAS)(00012)

PRIME ADDS PHOENIX MS-DOS EMULATION TO WORKSTATIONS}
NATICK, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 10 (NB) -- Prime
Computer has announced that it will license Phoenix Technologies
Ltd. PC-Open MS-DOS emulation software to provide compatibility
for users of its WS42C SPARC workstation.

This is important because, although Prime Computers are used
mainly for CAD (computer-aided design) and other computation-
intensive applications, many users have the occasional need to run
business applications which are mostly MS-DOS-based.

(John McCormick/19891012/Press Contact: Paul LaBelle, Prime
Computer, 508-655-8000, X5730)


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

MITSUBISHI'S QUICK-TRACE TO BE SOLD BY LOTUS}
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1989 OCT 6 (NB) -- Mitsubishi has signed a deal
with U.S.-based Lotus Development to sell an English version of
Quick Trace, a program developed by Tokyo-based software venture
Information and Control Laboratory, which is under an exclusive
sales contract with Mitsubishi.

Quick Trace reads figures and illustrations with a scanner, and
processes and edits them and works with current graphic software.
By adopting an original vector method, not the previous dotting
one, smooth figures can be drawn, and can be freely enlarged,
reduced, and revolved.

Lotus will support sales of Quick Trace by featuring it as working with
its own Freelance software. Quick Trace will sell for $245 in the U.S.

(Ken Takahashi/19891012)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00014)

IBM'S JOHN AKERS' EUROPEAN PEP TALK}
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1989 OCT 14 (NB) - IBM's chief executive
officer John Akers, in Europe for a press conference earlier this
month, said that he is very optimistic that the computer market
growth will continue over the next few years, despite a recession
taking hold in many countries.

During a press conference in La-Hulpe, Belgium, Akers said that
he expects industry growth to be "two or three times faster than
world-wide economic growth."

Akers also said that IBM estimates the industry's European
revenue in the 1988 to 1992 period to grow by between 12 and 13
percent year on year. IBM's European operations account for more
than one third of the company's world-wide revenue, he revealed.

(Steve Gold/19891014)


(EXCLUSIVE)(IBM)(BRU)(00015)

IS THE FUTURE 16MB PC IS HERE TODAY?}
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1989 OCT 14 (NB) -- According to IBM, the
future PC holding 16MB of main memory and using an 80386
microprocessor is here today.

Mr Mercier, an IBM manager responsible for advanced PC products in
Brussels, told Newsbytes: "What we have today is a 1MB PC that
will become a 16MB PC next year. 8MB today is just the minimum
for products such as AIX, which must have very fast response
times in order to obtain user acceptance."

Mercier continued: "AIX, as well as OS/2, needs a lot of memory
to become useful. The programs which run under these software
systems must have a much better user interface than before. This
translates to increased memory requirements. IBM is currently
shipping its European systems with 4MB of memory using 4MBit
memory chips produced in West Germany."

IBM is committing itself to the belief that the future of the
high-end PC market-place lies with OS/2. There have been rumours
in the market that a basic IBM PS/2 Model 50 costs the company
about $485 to produce, yet retails for around $4,000. IBM will
be careful not to lose such a profit margin and is trying very
hard to keep its lucrative customers. Thus the evangelism for
high memory needs may be justified.

IBM also agrees that the need for DOS will always be there,
irrespective how important desktop PCs become. "There is always a
market for the hobbyist and the low end user. Thus we feel that
DOS will remain living for some time to come," said Mercier.

(Peter Vekinis/19891014)


(NEWS)(IBM)(BRU)(00016)

IBM RELEASES 4593 MICROPROCESSOR}
BOEBLINGEN, WEST GERMANY, 1989 OCT 14 (NB) -- IBM West Germany has
announced the availability of the 4593 processors designed for
the fault-tolerant System/88. System/88 is a dual architecture
series of machines designed for continuous operations.

The 4593 system elements offer large memory storage (from 8 to
32MB) and disk storage ranging up to 638MB. Up to 20 serial
connections may additionally be attached to the system.

The 4593 processor adds to the 4576, 4578, 4579 series of central
processing elements. Pricing for the new 4593 processor ranges
from DM107,000 (about $50,000) to DM 209,000 ($100,000).

(Peter Vekinis/19891014)


(NEWS)(IBM)(BRU)(00017)

MICROSOFT STILL BEATING ON BASIC}
HOOFDORP, THE NETHERLANDS, 1989 OCT 14 (NB) -- Microsoft
celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Basic language's existence
by re-emphasising "support, further support and more support."

Bill Gates, creator of Basic along with Lien Chen Wang who
started the software revolution on PCs by writing the first Basic
Interpreter and Steve Wozniak, who wrote the Apple II's basic
interpreter) said: "Basic has evolved over the years along with
the rapid development of powerful PCs."

Now in its sixth Microsoft edition, Basic will continue to
evolve as proven by the latest figures to emerge. 500,000 copies
of QuickBasic have been sold in the past four years. In fiscal
1989, Microsoft sold 200,000 copies of the software. According to
Microsoft's published figures, QuickBasic is the best selling
language in Europe.

In addition, Gates' confirmed that QuickBasic will also become
available under OS/2 within the next twelve months.

(Peter Vekinis/19891014)


(NEWS)(IBM)(BRU)(00018)

INTERNATIONAL IBM RELATED EVENTS SLATED FOR BELGIUM}
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1989 OCT 14 (NB) -- The International Chair in
Computer Science (ICCS), which is related to IBM, is organizing a
series of computer-related seminars over the next six months.

Topics covered by ICCS include 'modern receiver structures for
digital communications,U 'new protocols for high speed networks'
and 'security in computer networks.'

The seminars will be given by various experts in their field from
universities spread around Europe.

(Peter Vekinis/19891014/Press contact: Sylvie Schaff, 02/214-
2281)


(NEWS)(IBM)(BRU)(00019)

FRENCH COMPANY ANNOUNCES NEW HIGH-SPEED ESDI CONTROLLER
PARIS, FRANCE, 1989 OCT 14 (NB) -- Multicom International, has
announced a new very fast ESDI controller which offers access
times of 600 microseconds and a data rate of 4 megabytes a
second.

Although the controller's performance is superb by today's
hard disks, where 26ms access times and data transfer rates of 2
megabytes a second are the norm, the company could not contain
its excitement - on the publicity photos supplied with the
press releases, the ROM chips are labelled Pro-storage!

The MI controller costs 12,900 FF (about $1,800) on its own, and
60,000 FF (about $8,000) supplied with a complimentary 320MB hard
disk drive.

(Peter Vekinis/19891014)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SYD)(00020)

AUSTRALIAN PC SALES WAR}
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1989 OCT 9 (NB) -- Despite decreasing profit
margins, there is a price war going on in the low and mid-range
Australian PC market.

NEC threw down the gauntlet this week when it discounted its
Powermate 1 Plus and 386/20 PCs by up to 50 percent in a bid to
regain its position as the highest-volume seller of PCs in
Australia. This was NEC's response to the most recent market
research figures which suggest that Amstrad has taken a
commanding lead in volume selling.

"If it's a street-fight they're after, then that's what we'll give,"
said the Australian NEC managing director, Graham Poulton.
He said customer support would not be affected by the new
prices. "We have never compromised on the quality, service,
and support, despite an ever-decreasing profit margin."

(Gavin Atkins & Computing Australia/19891011)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00021)

IBM CANADA UNVEILS PS/2 LEASE PLAN}
MARKHAM, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1989 OCT 10 (NB) -- The IBM Leasing
division of IBM Canada has announced a leasing plan for PS/2
hardware, software, maintenance and services. Lindsay Duffield,
marketing operations manager for the division, said the plan is
unlike anything IBM is doing elsewhere in the world, although IBM
operations in other countries do some PS/2 leasing. "A lot of our
other sister leasing companies are looking at us with great
anticipation to see how we do," Duffield said.

IBM Leasing -- the Canadian counterpart of the United States' IBM
Credit Corp. -- is offering three-, four-, and five-year leases
on PS/2 systems. A customer's initial lease order must have a
value of at least C$25,000. Software, maintenance and other
services may be included in the lease package. IBM is offering
both full-payout leases, in which the customer pays the entire
price of the equipment over the lease term, and residual-value
leases, in which IBM retains ownership in exchange for lower
lease rates.

The leases may be arranged through IBM Canada or through its
"Business Partners," which basically means dealers.

Duffield said an IBM Canada customer survey found 17 percent of
responding PS/2 sites leased their machines, and IBM had only two
percent of the leasing business at those sites.

(Grant Buckler/19891010/Press Contact: Anne Raizenne, IBM Canada,
416-474-3900)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00022)

GREFF ADDS SOUPED-UP 386SX SYSTEM}
BRAMPTON, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1989 OCT 10 (NB) -- Greff Computer, a
Canadian maker of IBM-compatible PCs, has unveiled a system based
on a souped-up Intel 80386SX chip. The Greff System 386sx-20 has
nine expansion slots, the Award BIOS, four half-height bays for
disk or tape drives, and one megabyte of random-access memory as
standard equipment. The base configuration also includes one
parallel port, two serial ports, and a choice of 5.25-inch or
3.5-inch diskette drive. Memory is expandable to two megabytes on
the motherboard and 16 megabytes with expansion cards. The SX
chip, which normally operates at 16 megahertz, has been adjusted
to run at 20 megahertz, a company spokeswoman said.

With a 40-megabyte hard disk and monochrome monitor, the 386sx-20
carries a suggested retail price of C$1,932.

Greff also launched a new model of its System 386-22, called the
System 386-22/Cache. Based on a 22-megahertz Intel 80386
processor, the new model adds an Intel 82385 cache controller and
32K bytes of cache memory to the standard 386-22 system. Its
price with 40-megabyte drive and monochrome monitor is C$3,012.
This system also uses a speeded-up chip, in this case a part sold
by Intel as a 20-MHz processor.

(Grant Buckler/19891010/Press Contact: Tammy Doherty, Greff
Computer, 416-458-1651)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00023)

ATI SHIPS EXTERNAL V.42 MODEM}
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1989 OCT 10 (NB) -- ATI Technologies
has begun shipping the 2400etc/e, a 2,400-bit-per-second external
modem which supports the CCITT V.42 error control standard. A
counterpart to ATI's internal 2400etc/i, the 2400etc/e also uses
MNP 5 data compression, which ATI says can result in effective
throughput of better than 4,800 bits per second. The Canadian
retail price of the 2400etc/e is C$419, versus C$349 for the
internal version. United States prices are US$299 and US$239
respectively.

(Grant Buckler/19891010/Press Contact: Marina Schranz, ATI
Technologies, 416-756-0718)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00024)

SOFTSEL TO DISTRIBUTE PLUS IN CANADA}
CONCORD, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1989 OCT 10 (NB) -- Softsel Canada will
distribute the Plus Hardcard disk on an expansion card and Plus
Passport removable hard disk in Canada. Plus Development of
Milpitas, Calif., has announced a distribution agreement with
Softsel Canada, a subsidiary of Softsel Computer Products,
Inglewood, Calif.

(Grant Buckler/19891013/Press Contact: Plus Development, 416-250-
3203)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SFO)(00001)

FAX DELIVERY CONSIDERED BY USA TODAY}
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1989 OCT 13 (NB) -- Gannett Co. and
MCI Communications are studying a proposal to deliver a condensed
version of USA Today daily newspaper to fax machines, according to
a report published in the Washington Post.

The report says MCI is developing the technology to create a
fax-delivered newspaper which it hopes to have ready by next year.

USA Today currently has a daily electronic edition available on
some major online host systems and on smaller bulletin board systems
nationwide. But it is clearly aiming to bite off a larger piece of the
electronic news retrieval market, worth an estimated $313.5 million
in 1989 and expected to grow 14-percent a year to be worth $529.5
million by 1993, according to New York-based Link Resources, a market
research firm. Steve Sieck, telecommunications expert, tells
Newsbytes that fax-delivered news is one of the more exciting
applications of the electronic news market, and is one of many schemes
which aim to create "personalized clipping services" for an increasingly
diverse audience. Other schemes include news delivery to computers
directly via FM sideband and VBI (vertical blanking intervals).

(Wendy Woods/19891013)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LAX)(00002)

TEXAS WINS RACE TO ISDN}
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 11 (NB) --The world's first
simultaneous transmission by voice, facsimile and personal
computer over a single pair of phone wires has been accomplished
deep in the heart of Texas.

Newspeople spoke with executives of Datapoint and Southwestern
Bell Telephone at the same time pictures and the text of a news
story were being transmitted, all using the same type of phone
wire found connecting an ordinary home telephone wall outlet. In
the past, multiple simultaneous transmissions of this type
required either multiple pairs of wires or a thick cable.

The call involved a MINX network controller called a Cluster
Server that provides full motion, full color video and voice
communications as well as data over the same set of wires.
Stored or live video can be viewed simultaneously with data
processing applications using this system.

(Janet Endrijonas/19891013/Press Contact: Don Pothier, Datapoint,
512/699-7477)


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

PAC BELL SHELVES VIDEOTEXT GATEWAY PLAN}
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 13 (NB) -- Pacific Bell
has decided to shelve a plan to launch a videotext gateway service
dubbed California Online in the second quarter of 1990. Pacific
Bell's Executive Director of the Info Service Group Keith Epstein
tells Newsbytes that the gateway was indefinitely postponed "based
on market research and product development."

"Until market factors change, which are necessary to make a
videotext service a success, it will be postponed," he said.

Pacific Bell was granted permission by the FCC to launch a
videotext gateway service earlier this year and was working
with Quantum Computer Services of Vienna, Virginia, to design
user-friendly computer interface.

The service was expected to enable people with virtually any
communicating terminal, including personal computers and modems,
to access a variety of information and entertainment services
offered by information providers. In addition, a "gateway" to other
information services on other systems was to be offered.

Meanwhile, Pacific Bell intends to pursue videotext's older sister,
audiotext, with renewed vigor. Pac Bell has slated a press conference
for Monday, October 16 to tout the rewards of "900" numbers for
consumer information.

(Wendy Woods/19890414/Press Contact: Dori Bailey, 415-542-4033)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SFO)(00004)

24-HOUR BIOTECH NEWS ONLINE}
SAN MATEO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 13 (NB) -- For about the cost of
one vial of frost-resistant microbes a month, the biotechnology
community will be able to log onto the world's first daily
biotechnology database to get the news starting in November.

David Bunnell, who founded such wildly successful magazines as
MacWorld and PC World, has unleashed BioWorld into the world. The
new service provides daily news and analysis, stock reports,
financial data, industry and company coverage, regulatory and
patent reports, events calendars, and other information specific
to the biotechnology industry. The editor in chief is Cynthia Robbins-
Roth, founder of BioVenture View.

Why switch horses from computers to biotechnology at this point
in his career? Founder David Bunnell is quoted as saying, "Biotechnology
is the ideal industry for launching an interactive publishing company.
It's where the computer industry was 10 years ago." He adds that the
biotechnology industry as a whole is predicting a 10-fold growth in
sales within five years and 25-fold growth within the next ten.

Bunnell, who is said to have invested $2 million in the service,
earlier considered a daily online news service devoted to the computer
industry but abandoned the notion after market research failed to
indicate that a profit could be made.

The cost to access BioWorld is fairly steep, averaging $100 a month
for users who will log in daily for a few minutes to capture the news.
David Flores says exact pricing will be announced in a week or so.
The Connect network will host the service.

The service will be in the spotlight at the Second Annual
International Biotechnology Exposition to be held October 24-26
in San Mateo. BioWorld has been chosen as the official information
service for the event.

For more information call BioWorld at 1-800-879-8790 or 415-
696-6555.

(Wendy Woods/19891013)


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

MICHIGAN PHONES CAN HAVE THREE PHONE NUMBERS}
DETROIT, MICHIGAN, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 13 (NB) -- Bell of
Michigan is now offering some of its customers the ability to
order up to three phone numbers for a single residence or small
business telephone line -- each identified by a unique ringing
pattern.

The service, called the Call Identification Service (CIS) is an
optional offering approved in September by the Michigan Public
Service Commission (MPSC) and available to one-party exchange
customers in cities with DMS-100 Northern Telecom switches
starting October 15.

Jeanette Tichenor, Michigan Bell product manager, said this
"could make life less hectic for parents with teenagers and
would help customers with small businesses operate on a more
professional level -- for example, by letting them tailor their
responses to customer inquiries along individual product or
service lines." You could also give your second and third
numbers only to specific people -- business associates, out-of-
town family or emergency callers -- and know immediately when the
phone rings not only who the call is for but who it's from.

Residential customers will pay $5 per month for the first CIS
number and $4 for the second; business customers $5.25 for the
first number and $4.25 for the second. Each additional number
comes with its own separate directory listing at no additional
charge. When used with Call Waiting, each number has a different
call waiting tone for easy identification.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19891013/Press Contact: Dean Hovey, Michigan
Bell, 313-223-7199)


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

UNITED TELECOM SHUFFLES ITS TOP PEOPLE}
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 11 (NB) -- In one of those
periodic shuffles all companies are heir to, United Telecom and
US Sprint have gone through some consolidating and realignment,
appointing a new team under William T. Esrey, president and
chief executive officer.

Esrey, 49, also becomes chairman and chief executive officer of
US Sprint. Ronald T. LeMay, 43, becomes president of the long
distance division of United Telecom and president and chief
operating officer of US Sprint. Telenet Corp. will also report
to LeMay. Curtis G. Fields, 56, who had been on the United side
of the house, gets to keep his job. Arthur B. Krause, 48, United
Telecom's executive vice president and chief financial officer,
adds human resources to his administrative responsibilities.

Also, Richard H. Brown, 42, gets all the data processing
people, including those involved in strategic planning, business
development and technology planning functions. The company's new
major project will be expanding its Global Data Network, which
currently has links to packet networks in 89 countries. "We'll
be trying to complement Telenet's presence with our voice
products," explained a spokesman.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19891013/Press Contact: Don Forsythe, United
Telecom, 913-676-3343)


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

MCI SUES AT&T OVER ITS ADVERTISING: AT&T COUNTER-SUES}
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1989 OCT 10 (NB) -- MCI and AT&T are once
again arguing about their ads in the courts. MCI has charged the
newest AT&T long-distance ads are false and deceptive, in a suit
before the U.S. District Court, seeking damages, costs,
attorneys' fees and illicit profits.

AT&T planned a counterclaim, but its spokesmen complained
MCI is once again trying to do business in the court rather
than on the "level playing field" its lawyers have argued it wants.
The CBS and ABC Television networks are also looking into the
validity of the charges, at AT&T's request. AT&T's ads claim its
service is better. The company has a 66 or 75 percent share of the
telecommunications market, depending on whether you're
comparing customers or revenues.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19891013)


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

HIGH-TECH PHONE SERVICE AIMED AT COSTA RICA}
SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, OCTOBER 10 (NB) -- Taking advantage of a
sister city arrangement between San Jose, California and San
Jose, Costa Rica, First Pacific Networks, of Sunnyvale is
poised to sell its Personal Xchange system to Central America.

Personal Xchange provides for simultaneous transmission of
distributed switched telephone service, entertainment-quality
cable TV and high-speed data over a single wideband phone line.

First Pacific's entree into the Costa Rican political
establishment is Clinton Cruickshank, last year's vice president
of the nation's Congress. The country's president, Dr. Oscar
Arias Sanchez, and First Pacific chief Donald G.
Marquart, held talks last week in Costa Rica's capital at the
invitation of Cruickshank. Later that same week Nobel Laureate
Arias stopped by Sunnyvale during his visit to San Jose. Other
guests were Jim Fowler of Mutual of Omaha's "Wild Kingdom" and
representatives from Sea Hunt Inc., who hope to use better phone
systems to improve tourism and wildlife management.

The Personal Xchange system will be generally available in early
1990. Initial shipments began this past summer. In development
for the past six years at a cost in excess of $20 million, this
platform technology is deployed over a single wideband
transmission media, such as CATV cable or fiber optic cable, at a
cost comparable to the cost of twisted copper wiring today.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19891013/Press Contact: First Pacific Networks,
408-730-6600; Kleiman Associates, Berenice Kleiman, 216-491-8114)


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

PARTI WILL BE ON COMPUSERVE, FOUNDER MAINTAINS}
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 13 (NB) -- Participate,
the conferencing software which was a mainstay of The Source for
a decade, will eventually come to all CompuServe users,
Participate Systems' Founder and Chairman Harrison Stevens
predicted to Newsbytes. The company is also working on MS-DOS
versions of its software, and looking for resellers who can
bring it to IBM mainframes and the rest of the computer world.

Stevens explained in detail how CompuServe has handled PARTI
since acquiring The Source last July. "After they announced
they'd take everything over at The Source at the end of August,
the first thing they did was just let people dial in through the
regular Source number for a few weeks. Then in mid-August they
made it possible so that when you dialed into CompuServe, if you
were a previous account owner, you could type Go Parti and reach
the system.

CompuServe, he said, is now deciding between a strategy of letting that
be the end of it or rewriting it for the DEC 10s and 12s, as well
as the proprietary operating system, which CompuServe itself runs
on.

Among the users of Parti on CompuServe, or POCIS, as it's called, are
operators of private networks such as Exxon, which previously
existed on The Source and depended on Parti. There are also a
few users of CB Simulator, the system's chat feature. Their numbers
are growing by a few dozen per week, Stevens says. Stevens
guesses that any group which can sell the service 500 new
accounts or more can probably get Parti for its members. "They'll
work with anyone who'll sell 500 accounts or more at once.
Below that, they don't want to invest resources."

Unfortunately, not just anyone can get into Parti. As a practical
matter, the present equipment can't handle the volume CompuServe
would generate for the software. But Stevens says those people who
can't use POCIS don't even get an explanation when they type Go
Parti. "I think it would be wise for them to prepare an
explanation for everyone outside their preferred list, a little
2-4 line explanation so anyone else who types Go Parti will
get," he says.

As for Eventures, the new company which reacquired the publishing
rights from NETI earlier this year, Stevens says it's working
hard. They've started conferences on Parti in major public
systems which use the software, such as Unison, NWI, and TWICS in
Japan. Work is proceeding on an MS-DOS version of the software
which even bulletin board systems could use. But the main
platform for future development will remain Unix. Stevens hopes
to interest resellers into tackling the IBM mainframe market,
and is also looking for PC dealers and distributors for the first
time. The price, by the way, is roughly $1,000 per 100 users,
with a top price of $10,000. Most users pay an additional 12 percent of
their purchase price each year for upgrades and maintenance.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19891013/Press Contact: Harrison Stevens,
Eventures, 313-994-6470)


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

SOUTHWESTERN BELL ROLLS OUT PHONE SYSTEM SOFTWARE}
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 10 (NB) -- Southwestern Bell
introduced Amigo, a program to monitor computer use, creating
directories and call logs for internal billing purposes.

"Amigo lets you monitor your various minicomputer systems from a
single console," said a Southwestern Bell executive. "With Amigo,
you can use your data center personnel more efficiently, respond
to problems faster, and also save on space and printing costs.

The company also introduced telemanagement software, which
monitors telephone use and creates directories. The company
claims phone costs can be cut 25 percent with it. The program also lets
companies generate work orders, and inventory equipment as well
as track long distance costs, bill departments for their phone
use, maintain employee phone directories, and perform other
tasks.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19891013/Press Contact: Douglas Nigh,
Southwestern Bell Telephone, 314-247-6777)


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

CROSSTALK SHIPPING NEW VERSION OF REMOTE2}
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 9 (NB) -- Crosstalk
Communications, a division of DCA, has begun shipping Version 2.0
of its Remote2 software, which lets a PC user operate another
user's machine over the phone.

The new version adds a file security system, more graphics support,
and features to let the slave machine start the call, turn off
its video, and make new kinds of file transfers. The new
security system, called GUARD, can control files on a user-by-user
basis, so accountants, for instance, can get programmers' files in a host
machine and vice versa.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19891013/Press Contact: Stan Hayes, Crosstalk ,
404-325-0722)


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

MOVE TO ELIMINATE CALLER ANONYMITY GAINS STEAM}
HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 10 (NB) -- Caller
ID, technology which identifies the name, and address, of a caller
to the party he or she is calling, has been sold to regulators in
New Jersey, Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia on a public safety
argument, and it went before the Pennsylvania Public Utility
Commission October 10, with a decision expected October 27.

Caller ID can eliminate obscene or crank calls, as well as fake
fire alarm and emergency service calls, by giving both you and
authorities the identity of callers as the calls are made, Bell
of Pennsylvania said in its brief: "Caller ID will make it
considerably more inconvenient and risky for criminals to use the
telephone to make terroristic, obscene or harassing calls, or to
find an unoccupied dwelling before burglarizing it."

The brief notes that crank calls to the Westfield, N.J., police
emergency numbers fell to near zero when the use of Caller ID was
publicized, but legitimate calls to emergency hotlines have
continued at the same rate. The company said obscene calls in the
state could be running at 450,000 per month, based on a survey
showing 4 in 10 of the state's citizens surveyed reported getting
an obscene or harassing call in the last month. On October 12 the
commissions prosecutorial staff submitted a brief agreeing with
those opinions, and the State Attorney General submitted a brief
saying the practice wouldn't violate the state's Wiretap Law.

But Administrative Law Judge Michael C. Schnierle says the
privacy problems are not trivial. In what Bell of Pennsylvania
admits is an "extremely thorough job" of research on Caller ID,
he failed to convince the company on his conclusion that free
per-call blocking by callers is needed. Well, they conceded,
maybe not for certain call recipients such as the Pennsylvania
Coalition Against Domestic Violence, which have a legitimate need
to maintain caller anonymity. They'll be given new plastic
calling cards, coded with special procedures to block out the
feature, but only on a need-to-block basis.

This reverse-call, on a second signaling channel from your phone,
is at the heart of what has been called throughout the 1980s the
Integrated Services Digital Network, or ISDN. Giving anonymity
to callers, Bell of Pennsylvania suggests, would defeat the whole idea.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19891013/Press Contact: Saul Kohler, Bell of
Pennsylvania, 717-255-4181)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(HKG)(00013)

HONGKONG CABLE WON'T GET INTERACTIVE SERVICES SOON}
TSIM SHA TSUI, HONGKONG, 1989 OCT 8 (NB) -- The media industry
is still reeling at the Government's decision to award the $700
million contract for Hongkong cable TV on the basis of money
rather than expertise. But as a result, for overseas film and
feature sellers the prospects look bright.

Hongkong Cable Communications chairman, Peter K. C. Woo, stated
recently that most of the entertainment programmes would be
purchased from overseas, including travel features,
documentaries and movies. The only programmes locally produced
would be news and information, and these would be produced in
two small studios established for the purpose.

One local expert commented to Newsbytes that: "It is rather a
pity that the Government opted to exclude the present network
provider from bidding. We would have had cable TV and all the
associated services in place much faster had they done that."

The expert was apparently referring to Mr Woo's statement that
customer services such as home shopping and banking would not
be available until 1995. The present network, much of which is
already fibre optics, could have been expanded quickly and
those types of consumer services introduced within a couple of
years.

On the other hand, Mr Woo said: These are high quality
interactive services which cannot be done at the present level
of technology but I am confident we can have them several years
later."

(Keith Cameron/19891009)


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

SWIFT SLOW IN BANKING NETWORK BETA TESTING}
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, 1989 OCT 14 (NB) -- Swift II, the second
generation international banking network, will be beta-tested
from this December onwards, some three years later than expected.

Swift, which stands for System for World International Funds
Transfer, has had a network in operation since the early 1980s.
By 1985, the international consortium of banks that controls
Swift realized that its network would need to be replaced in
order to cope with the growth in international electronic banking
transactions. Plans were set in motion to launch Swift II in
1986.

Despite all the delays, Swift II looks like it may have been
worth waiting for. The new network, which will go live amongst
the 70 member banks around the world in August, 1990, has cost $40
million to develop, and will be capable of handling the estimated
10 million transactions a day it must process by the turn of the
century.

Currently, the Swift I network handles an amazing million
transactions a day, more than three times its theoretical maximum
when the network was designed in 1983.

(Steve Gold/19891410)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00015)

AUSTRALIAN TELECOM UNDER FIRE}
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1989 OCT 9 (NB) -- Remote Aboriginal
communities in Australia's Northern Territory will have to wait
two years for telephone services because of carrier Telecom's
reluctance to sub-contract work to the private sector.

That was the accusation of Bond Communications Managing
Director Judi Stack who says her company had offered to establish
a satellite-based telephone system to assist Telecom meet its
community service obligations. "Why should these people have
to wait two years when they can have a service everyone else
takes for granted within three months?" she said.

Bond Communications already supplies satellite communications to
Aboriginal communities in Queensland through its subsidiary Q-Net.

(Gavin Atkins & Computing Australia/19891011)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00016)

X.400 GATEWAY FOR NETWORK COURIER}
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, 1989 OCT 5 (NB) -- Consumers
Software has announced an X.400 gateway for its Network Courier
electronic mail software. The Network Courier 400, announced at
the Electronic Mail Association's annual meeting in Chicago,
allows any user of Network Courier to communicate with anyone
else on a messaging system based on the international X.400
message interchange standard.

Consumers also announced an agreement with Eicon Technology, a
maker of LAN gateway and bridging hardware based in Montreal,
Quebec. Consumers will include Eicon's intelligent communications
cards with each copy of Network Courier 400 sold.

Network Courier is available to run under MS-DOS, OS/2 or
Microsoft Windows. It works with Version 2.0 of InterNetwork
Courier, Consumers' software to support gateway and remote dial-
in products. Network Courier 400, due to ship in December, will
cost C$4,995 with InterNetwork Courier and the Eicon card. The
gateway is available separately for C$2,500.

(Grant Buckler/19891012/Press Contact: Michael Shandrick,
Consumers Software, 604-688-4548)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00017)

NORTHERN TELECOM LAUNCHES FIBER PRODUCTS}
MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA, 1989 OCT 12 (NB) -- Northern Telecom
has announced a line of fiber-optic communications products the
company said will speed data, voice and image communications
3,000-fold. Northern said its Fiber World products will open up
possibilities such as dial-up video networking and interactive
college lectures at home. David Vice, president of Northern,
called Fiber World "the foundation for the network of the
future."

The new products are compatible with the international
Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) standards for high-speed
fiber transmission. Three new products were introduced. The S/DMS
SuperNode System is an extension of Northern's DMS SuperNode. It
works with S/DMS AccessNode, the connection between the network
and customer facilities, and S/DMS TransportNode, which serves
long-distance and interoffice applications. The fiber systems can
be mixed with existing copper-wire systems, Northern said.

(Grant Buckler/19891013/Press Contact: Helen Sawick, Northern
Telecom, 416-238-7140)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00001)

ERASABLE VIDEO DISC RECORDER DEBUTS}
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1989 OCT 6 (NB) -- Pioneer and KDD have jointly
developed the world's first erasable video disc recorder capable of
recording 30-minutes of video -- a six-fold increase over existing
technology -- onto one side of the disk. Since data can be written
over and over again, the recorder is like a tape recorder or a video
cassette recorder.

Existing rewritable video discs can digitally record five minutes of
video per side. The method employed by Pioneer and KDD involves
an analogue recording method to increase data storage on a single
disc. The analogue method is inferior to the digital method in image
and sound, but the two firms have minimized the quality difference
by making changes to the disk surface to smoothly accommodate
analogue data.

Pioneer will release the products for industrial use in a year or
two. The recorder is expected to be priced about three million
yen ($21,500), and the disc, priced about 100,000 to 200,000
yen ($710 to 1,420). Pioneer and KDD are now applying for 18
patents related to the development this time.

(Ken Takahashi/19891012)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SFO)(00002)

CYCLONE TOUTED AS IBM MAINFRAME KILLER}
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 13 (NB) -- Tandem
Computers has slated October 17, Tuesday, for the roll-out of
Cyclone, a mainframe said to be half the cost but all the power
of an IBM 3090.

Tandem's Cyclone, five times more powerful than any existing
Tandem mid-sized system, is said to be the result of three years of
development and features 16 air-cooled processors. The price
is between $1.9 and $9 million, depending on configuration, which
the industry says is roughly half to a third of the price of a
comparable IBM system.

(Wendy Woods/19891013)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SFO)(00003)

NATIONAL SEMI UNVEILS FASTEST SRAM}
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 9 (NB) -- National
Semiconductor's new static random access memory chip (SRAM)
is said to be faster and denser than any competing chip on the market.
The new SRAMs operate at 10 and 12 nanoseconds (a nanosecond is
one billionth of a second).  The new SRAMs, made with a
complimentary metal oxide process called BiCMOS, store up to
256 bits of information which National says is a record.

The new chips will be useful in such applications as aircraft
design, chemical simulations and weather pattern recognition
systems, according to John Hekking, vice president of National's
memory products division.

(Wendy Woods/19891013/Press contact: Margaret Mehling, National
Semi, 408-721-2639)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SFO)(00004)

HP'S NEW PAINTJET COLOR PRINTER}
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 9 (NB) -- Hewlett-Packard
is aiming for the largest slice of the color printer market,
estimated to be worth $4.7 billion by 1995 (Market Intelligence
Research Company, Mountain View, Ca.) with its new
PaintJet XL printer.

The PaintJet XL prints twice to three times as fast as the original
PaintJet and is intended for the high-volume office. The printer
also has an automatic sheet feeder which allows unattended printing
on up to 200 sheets of paper and 70 transparencies; it takes
paper up to 11-inches by 17-inches; has more fonts and better
final copies; and is designed for users who print more than 20 to
60 copies per day.

Both HP PaintJet printers produce to 16.7 million shades of color
based on eight principal colors, and print at 180 by 180 dots
per inch resolution.

The HP PaintJet color graphics printer is $1,395 and the
HP PaintJet XL color graphics printer is $2,495. The HP PaintJet XL
font cartridge is $225. The HP Color PrintKit for Apple Macintosh
computers is $125.

(Wendy Woods/19891013/Press Contact: Naomi Overton, 619-592-4676)


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

JAPAN: 32-BIT BUS ARCHITECTURE FOR PC-9800}
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1989 OCT 6 (NB) -- NEC has developed an original
32-bit bus architecture for its flagship PC-9800 series personal
computers. The new bus architecture can also be switched to the current
16-bit bus architecture, in a manner similar to EISA (extended industry
standard architecture) technology.

Almost all current 32-bit PCs actually operate in 16-bit bus
mode in Japan, meaning their full power isn't tapped. IBM Japan is the
only exception since its Micro Channel, 32-bit PS/55 PC fully
exploits the power of 32-bit processing.

NEC's new architecture, however, performs both 32-bit processing
and 16-bit, leapfrogging ahead of IBM's machine, which is neither
that popular here nor can process at both 32 and 16 bits.

NEC will announce a personal computer with the newly developed bus
at DataShow from October 24th through 27th, and NEC Personal
Computer Fair '89 from November 1st through 3rd.

(Ken Takahashi/19891012)


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

NEC TO MAKE 4 &16MB CHIPS IN CALIFORNIA PLANT}
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1989 OCT 11 (NB) -- Japan's largest chipmaker
NEC has announced plans to adapt its Mountain View, California-
based four-megabit DRAM (dynamic random access memory) factory,
currently under construction, to produce 16-megabit DRAM chips
as well. NEC is planning to produce four to five million
four-megabit chips per month, but it will be in summer of 1991
when the factory goes into full swing, so NEC has decided to
arrange a system for production of next-generation 16-megabit
chips until the full operation.

NEC will introduce into the clean room of the factory a new system
which it calls Multi Chamber method which includes manufacturing
apparatus mounted in the walls. This method will prevent dust
from arising from the apparatus, and will realize an extremely clean
condition necessary for the 16-megabit chip production.

The factory is scheduled to initially employ about 250 people,
about 50 of them from NEC's chip production facility in Hiroshima
who are familiar with a Multi Chamber clean room there.

The factory is scheduled to initially employ about 250 people.
Starting in February, NEC will train 50 of the workers in its own Japanese
factory at Hiroshima, which has a Multi Chamber clean room slated to
commence operations at the same time.

(Ken Takahashi/19891012)


(EXCLUSIVE)(TRENDS)(HKG)(00007)

ISO MEETING IN BEIJING TO ESTABLISH LANGUAGE STANDARDS}
BEIJING, CHINA, 1989 OCT 12 (NB) -- From October 16 - 20th
China is hosting the second ad-hoc meeting of Asian experts and
ISO (International Organisation for Standardization)
representatives to address issues surrounding the establishment
of ISO 110646 (Multi-Octet Code standard for Chinese character
set).

Every manufacturer of equipment or software developer who is
desirous of entering the vast Chinese market will be paying close
attention to the outcome of the talks.

The Hongkong Information Technology Federation (HKITF), along
with similar representation from Taiwan, Korea and Japan, will
meet with their Chinese counterparts in Beijing to iron out
differences in the Draft Proposal issued earlier this year.

Mr Dominic Cheng, chairman of the Industry Standards committee
of the HKITF, said, in a private interview with Newsbytes: "The
establishment of an international standard for Chinese
characters will provide a clear direction for every
manufacturer. The problem to date has been the shotgun
approach to character sets. No one could be sure that the
standard chosen would be acceptable on all markets.

"The investment necessary has not been worth the risk, so
recognized font producers such as Compugraphic have done little
in the arena. In Hongkong we see a wide range of differing
fonts, but many, if not most, are produced in Taiwan and they
are not necessarily acceptable to the Peoples' Republic of
China (PRC). This ISO meeting promises to be very productive
because it has been initiated largely by the Chinese
authorities in Beijing. Of course it has our full support," he
said.

(Keith Cameron/19891012 Contact: Dominic Cheng, HKITF, 852-3-
7239617)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(HKG)(00008)

30-PERCENT OF HONGKONG SUFFERS "BRAIN DRAIN"}
CENTRAL, HONGKONG, 1989 OCT 12 (NB) -- At the 10th annual
conference of the Hongkong Institute of Personnel Management
held here this week, much concern was expressed over the brain-
drain to emigration which has been milking Hongkong of its best
talent in recent years.

Releasing the results of a joint survey between the Institute
and the Hongkong City Polytechnic, was Dr Paul Kirkbride
formerly of the City Poly but who has now joined the brain-
drain himself. According to the survey, 30 percent of companies
had revealed that they are being affected by the brain-drain.

"A strong consensus emerged that the major problems were
recruitment, labour turnover and labour shortage, and these
concerns are linked to the emigration phenomenon," said Dr
Kirkbride.

Staff training was becoming a priority with employers, but the
study showed there is still little attention being paid to the
introduction of technology, according to Dr Kirkbride.

(Keith Cameron/19891012)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LON)(00009)

BRITISH AIRWAYS LAUNCHES SELF-SERVICE TICKETING SYSTEM}
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1989 OCT 14 (NB) -- Very quietly, British
Airways has introduced a computerized ticketing system called
Timesaver. Initially, Timesaver is available in British Airways'
'super shuttle' internal UK flights.

The system is based on the Air Plus credit card that British
Airways and a number of other European air carriers have been
issuing this past year. Cardholders push their card into the
machine and select, via a touch-screen, which tickets they
require.

Normal credit and charge card-holders cannot, at present, use the
system, which is intended for frequent flyers on British Airways.
The issue of the Air Plus card is, however, free of charge.

The system is far faster than the conventional manual ticketing
approach - the buying, ticket issue, seat allocation and boarding
pass stages are all distilled into a single 20 second ticketing
transaction.

Newsbytes UK used the Timesaver ticketing system last week at
Manchester airport. We were able to by-pass the queues for the
ticket purchase and check-in counters, saving at least ten
minutes of processing time. Unfortunately, we discovered on
proceeding directly to the plane (via the security checks) that
this was still no remedy for the ever-present congestion in the
skies, which delayed our flight by twenty minutes!

(Steve Gold/19891410/Press & Public Contact: British Airways -
Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TOR)(00010)

GROWTH STILL HEALTHY IN CANADA'S PC MARKET}
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1989 OCT 13 (NB) -- The Canadian
personal computer market grew 16.3 percent in 1988, according to
the latest study from International Data Corp. Canada. The figure
is even healthier -- 20.4 percent -- if the home market is
excluded. Both figures represent unit shipments.

The IDC study, Singe-User Systems in Canada: Review and Forecast,
broke the PC market into four segments. The largest segment is
business and professional users, with 359,600 PCs shipped in
1988. The 19.7-percent growth in this segment, however, was
outstripped by the smaller scientific and technical PC market,
which grew 22 percent to 31,500 units.

The education segment grew 15.9 percent to 68,000 units. Slowest
growth came in the home and hobby market, where shipments rose
only 5.8 percent, to 157,000 units.

IDC said IBM Canada held on to the largest share of the Canadian
PC market: 16.4 percent of units shipped in 1988. That figure
fell below IBM's 1987 market share, a fact IDC blamed on delays
in the Personal System/2 models 70 and 80, lukewarm reception for
the PS/2 in general, and confusion about the choice between Micro
Channel Architecture and Extended Industry Standard Architecture.

The latter confusion helped third-place Apple Canada increase its
market share by 23.9 percent, to 10.2 percent of unit shipments.
Despite slow growth in the home and hobby market, Commodore held
on to the number-two spot with 10.5 percent of shipments.

(Grant Buckler/19891013/Press Contact: Debbie Currey, IDC Canada,
416-369-0033)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TOR)(00011)

EMPRESS DATABASE GOING TO JUPITER}
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1989 OCT 10 (NB) -- Empress, the
relational database software from the company of the same name,
will be used to store and update command information on Galileo,
the U.S. space probe due to leave for the planet Jupiter this
week. Empress will store remote sensing command information and
be used update it as conditions change, the software vendor said.

Galileo is to fly a six-year spiral course to observe Venus,
Earth and the moon before reaching Jupiter in 1995.

Empress, founded in Toronto, has its research and development
operations here and its marketing arm in Greenbelt, Md.

(Grant Buckler/19891010/Press Contact: John Kornatowski, Empress
Software, 416-922-1743; Cathi Fradin, Empress Software, 301-231-
9393)


(EXCLUSIVE)(UNIX)(LON)(00001)

MORE DETAILS ON THE AMIGA 3000}
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1989 OCT 14 (NB) -- Some interesting rumours on
what Commodore plans to launch at Comdex Fall in four weeks time
are coming from the industry. Sources close to Commodore US now
suggest that two Amiga A3000 machines will be launched at Comdex,
one pitched at the budget end of the market, the other at the
professional user.

The budget machine will feature a 16MHz 68030 microprocessor, 4
megabytes of main memory and five expansion slots using the Zorro
III bus architecture, a 32-bit version of the Amiga's existing
bus system. The high-end Amiga, meanwhile, will feature a 25MHz
68030 microprocessor and 68882 math coprocessor, plus 8MB of
RAM to take advantage of the features of multitasking Unix
environment.

Both machines will feature revamped versions of the Amiga's
graphics chips, capable of rendering a 320 by 200 pixel screen; a
non-interlaced 640 by 400 pixel mode in 256 colours; and a
1024 by 768 pixel screen in 16 shades of grey.

Sources suggest that both editions of the Amiga A3000 will be
aimed squarely at the Unix workstation marketplace, and come
with an 80MB hard disk on which Amix, Commodore's ported version
of AT&T's Unix system 3, will run.

Other features of the A3000 include be extended version of
Amigados v1.4, complete with program hooks for virtual memory
(hence the fast-access hard disk). Pricing? $5,000 for the 16MHz
machine, and $7,500 for the 25MHz machine, say Newsbytes sources.

In a related story, sources close to Commodore UK suggest that an
Amiga laptop is in the works. The machine is reported to be still
at the prototyping stage, but has been developed over the last year
in response to the Atari ST laptop, the Stacy. Although no
details have been released by Newsbytes' sources, the machine
will probably be announced at Comdex, although shipment is not
expected until early next year.

(Steve Gold/19891014)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(SYD)(00002)

DEC PRESIDENT PANS UNIX}
CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA, 1989 OCT 9 (NB) -- Digital Equipment
(DEC) Founder and President Ken Olsen has questioned the
Unix promises of software transportability and network
security. Speaking at the Australian Information Industry
Association's public sector markets conference, Mr Olsen
claimed Unix was a "casual, undisciplined, informal, limited
operating system."

Nevertheless, he said DEC was investing a lot of money to make
Unix a commercially practical system. "But any system which
does not have the security designed into it is not a secure
system. You cannot say, 'I'm going to build a large Unix system
today' and expect any security," he said.

Mr Olsen also challenged the proponents of transportable
software. "Some of our competitors who had nothing to work
with said: 'We're going to free the world of the dominance of IBM
and Digital, and give software which will play anywhere on
anybody's system.' Now each one of them is saying, 'Remember, our
software won't run on anyone else's computer!'"

"Transportable software is dependent on standards. Every single
one of them has to be met. Putting the word Unix on it adds nothing."

Mr Olsen said he did not like to criticize his competitors too much,
and preferred to work with them to ensure that appropriate
standards were developed. Asked if he was too old to be company
president, Mr Olsen said, "They'll probably have to kick me out of
the job. But one thing does make me feel tired, and that's the
thought of ever having to help Washington."

(Gavin Atkins & Computing Australia/19891011)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(WAS)(00003)

AT&T OFFERS NEW UNIX
MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 12 (NB) -- AT&T is
licensing the newest version of the Unix operating system, Unix System V
Release 4.0. By keeping binary per-copy fees low for single
users and small multiuser systems, AT&T said, the new program
will encourage growth and encourage standardization in the open
systems marketplace.

Basic system software components include an IEEE POSIX compliant
system; the Unix System V Release 4.0 base system, which complies
with the X/Open Portability Guide, Issue 3, and includes the
Virtual File System and STREAMS technologies; Kernal Extensions,
including Virtual Memory technology; Basic Utilities; Advanced
Utilities, including UUCP; the Administered Systems Extension;
and the Terminal Interface Extension.

Some of the components have been licensed from other vendors,
including Sun Microsystems and Lachmann Associates.

"Our aim is to provide one stop shopping for the best
technologies in the industry by including them as a part of Unix
System V," said Lawrence Dooling, president of the Unix Software
Operation at AT&T.

Unix System V Release 4.0 source code is priced at $100,000, which
is said to be $27,000 less than the current fee for Unix
System V/386 Release 3.2.

(Wendy Woods/19891013)


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

AUSTRALIAN GOVT. SUPPORTS SOFTWARE INDUSTRY}
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1989 OCT 9 (NB) -- To introduce the Australian
software industry to Japan, the Australian Embassy has prepared an
event called the Australia Computer Software, Unix Application seminar.

Due to the absence of a leading hardware maker, the Aussie market
can be said to be a melting pot because the world's top computer
makers are gathering and developing software with advanced
portability and compatibility. To promote such advanced software,
the Australian government has decided to assist software export.

This time, four software developers will be invited as official
emissaries for the seminar. These firms are: financial software developer
Mocom Corp., data analyzing software developer Laboratory Software
Associates, civil engineering software developer Cianet Pty. Ltd., and
RIM Systems.

The seminar will be held at All Nippon Airlines Hotel at Akasaka on
November 7, 1989. For further information, please contact Ms. Aoyama
in the commercial section of Australian Embassy.

(Naoyuki Yazawa/19891012/Press Contact: 03-589-5043)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(TYO)(00005)

SUN TO SHIP OPEN LOOK SOFTWARE}
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1989 OCT 11 (NB) -- Nihon Sun Microsystems will release
software for Open Look, a user interface backed by AT&T in its
competition with opposing Unix interface forces led by
IBM. Sun will release Open Window this November and Guide will
follow in December.

Open Window has been developed to keep compatibility between
Open Look, Sun's current development tools, and window display
software. The software includes X11/News window system, X view,
Openfont and DeskJet. Sun will not charge for the Open Window software,
however the manuals and the tape which records the software
will be priced at 58,000 yen or $400.

Guide will cost 10,000 yen or $70 for a license.

(Naoyuki Yazawa/19891011)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(TYO)(00006)

SONY TO LICENSE MIPS RISC TECHNOLOGY}
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1989 OCT 11 (NB) -- U.S.-based MIPS Computer Systems,
the licenser of the 32-bit RISC (reduced instruction set computer)
type MPU (microprocessing unit) to NEC, will provide its advanced
technology to Sony, too. Sony is expecting to develop an original
RISC chips based on the licensed technology.

Sony says it will develop the fastest RISC MPU, which is expected
to perform 100 MIPS (million instructions per second) based on an
ECL (emitter coupled logic) technology, and to embed it into the
upper-end model of its flagship EWS (engineering workstation),
News.

On the other hand, Sony has released a News workstation with RISC MPU
receiving a supply from MIPS Computers. The News-3800 performs 20
MIPS with the R3000 RISC MPU. The machines will be shipped in
December this year with a surprisingly low-priced tag, 4,500,000 yen
or $31,035.

Also, MIPS Computer has agreed to provide technical assistance to
SRA, one of the software developers, for the development of a
Japanese operating system and application software for RISC
machines. SRA is aiming to develop software by summer, 1990.

Meanwhile, Nihon Sun Microsystems has announced plans to make public
key technology on its EWS SPARC Station series, the 32-bit bus
architecture SBus, free of charge. The SBus Developer Kit, the
documents for the SBus technology development, will be prepared by
December for 60,000 yen or $420.

RISC type-MPUs have been developed by several Japanese makers
in cooperation with U.S. RISC chip licensers. NEC has received a
RISC license from MIPS Computer and will ship its original RISC-type
MPU in November. Hitachi has tied up with Hewlett-Packard and
Fujitsu to license yet another RISC chip, the SPARC from Sun
Microsystems.

(Naoyuki Yazawa/19891012)


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

UNISYS TO BUY XYLOGICS TERMINAL SERVERS}
BURLINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1989 OCT 11 (NB) --
Xylogics has announced that UNISYS has agreed to buy up to
$50 million worth of the Annex II terminal servers which Xylogics
acquired from Encore Computer last December for only $4 million.

The Annex II is a TCP/IP or Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol network device which Encore said at
the time of the sale was profitable but too far from the main
focus of its business activities.

(John McCormick/19891012/Press Contact: Vincent Salvi, Xylogics,
617-272-8140)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(TOR)(00008)

SUN CANADA REVAMPS DISTRIBUTION}
MARKHAM, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1989 OCT 10 (NB) -- Sun Microsystems of
Canada has introduced SunTeam, a Canadian-developed strategy
which company spokeswoman Janice Murray said is intended "to
minimize conflict and promote teamwork" in Sun's distribution
channels. SunTeam creates nine sales channels for different types
of customers, distributors and dealers.

The nine are: SunAccount, for large user accounts; SunAgent, for
vertically or geographically restricted dealers; SunDistributor,
for wholesale distributors; SunDealer, a future category for
broadly based dealers; SunVAD, for value-added dealers focused on
specific market segments; SunVAR, for sophisticated resellers
with expertise in a single market; SunOEM, for those who
incorporate Sun products in significantly enhanced end products,
usually under a private label; SunIntegrator, for systems
integrators; and SunRemarketer, for those who don't fit standard
reseller agreements.

Sun operations elsewhere in the world may use similar concepts,
Murray said, but the idea of incorporating all of them under an
umbrella program is new.

(Grant Buckler/19891013/Press Contact: Janice Murray, Sun Canada,
416-477-6745)