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/1992/NB920228

Text File | 1992-02-28 | 71KB | 1,643 lines

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

Retix To Offer New Source Code Frame Relay Products 02/28/92
SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 28 (NB) -- Retix will
be offering two new products to bolster its Frame Relay line. These
two are unique in that they are source code products that allow other
vendors to develop products that will work in the Frame Relay
environment.

Basic Frame Relay implements the complete set of Frame Relay
services as defined by CCITT, ANSI, and the Frame Relay
Consortium specifications. The product is available now from the
company. To become a licensee, a customer needs to contact
Retix at 310-828-3400.

The second product is called the Extended Frame Relay. It offers
the additional end-to-end protocol known as CCITT Q.922 or LAPF.
This product is expected to become available in the second
quarter of 1992. Companies interested in licensing the Extended
Frame Relay should contact Retix at the number listed above.

Both products are written in ANSI C which allows for easy
configuration and customization to the particular device that
intends to use it. In addition, it is possible to configure the
products to act on either the network or the user side.

The advantage to other networking companies in licensing these
products from Retix lie in their ability to get to market quicker
with their own products. This is becoming more important now that
at least 10 common carriers have announced that they are
providing, or intend to provide, Frame Relay services.

(Naor Wallach/19920228/Press Contact: Charlene Jaeger,
Jaeger Comm. for Retix, 805-499-0636)


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

3Com To Operate Center In China 02/28/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 28 (NB) -- 3Com
has signed an agreement with Beijing's Tsinghua University under
which the university and 3Com will operate a service and repair
center.

This center will be located at the University's Science and
Technology Development Corporation which was formed by the
university to attract high technology companies to the chinese market.
The center will rely on the parts bank that 3Com established in
Singapore and will serve the 2,500 3Com customers in China.

A close relationship between the center, 3Com KK, and the parts
bank is the hallmark of 3Com's expansion into the Pacific Rim
countries.

3Com already sports such customers as the State Planning
Commission, the Boshin Iron and Steel Works, the Ministry of
Foreign Economic Relations and Trade, and the People's Daily in
China. All of the customers will have access to the center through
their local 3Com reseller.

(Naor Wallach/19920228/Press Contact: Krista Passarelli, 3Com,
408-764-5436)


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

AT&T Unveils Fax-On-Demand Export Hotline 02/28/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 28 (NB) -- AT&T has opened a
fax-on-demand system called The Export Hotline, co-sponsored by
major corporations and supported by the U.S. Department of
Commerce.

Here's how it works. From your fax machine, dial 1-800-USA-XPORT.
You'll hear a menu and codes on information about specific
countries or industries. Just enter the code of the data you want
on the touchtone keypad, and reports will arrive directly on your
fax machine. The database contains information on 50 industries
and all major U.S. trading partners. A typical report is five to
10 pages long.  The only expense is the cost of the fax call. In
approach, it's similar to a hotline on cancer opened last year by
the National Cancer Institute.

What's new here is the toll-free number, and the corporate
funding, which comes from Berlitz International, Delta Air Lines,
DHL Airways, KPMG Peat Marwick, Cahners Publishing
Company, Reed Exhibition Company, and The Journal of
Commerce.  It was developed by International Strategies of
Boston, a consulting firm, with AT&T and KPMG Peat Marwick
as early sponsors.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920228/Press Contact: AT&T, Tom Hopkins,
312-230-4889; Abby Shapiro, International Strategies, 617-439-6633)


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

Home Banking Comes To Maryland, As TV Answer Gears Up 02/28/92
MCLEAN, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 28 (NB) -- The Maryland
National Bank has concluded a test on home banking using a home
terminal, in conjunction with Online Resources & Communications.
The test was completed just as TV Answer of Reston announced
that Hewlett-Packard will make hardware for its TV-based banking
and shopping service.

The Maryland test was done in cooperation with the Bell Atlantic
phone company, the Shared Financial Systems software house,
and the MOST Automated Teller network. It used an ATM-like
ScreenPhone, which supported bill-paying and communications
functions. Online acted as a service bureau to the banks
supporting the product with communications, scripting,
transaction processing, and billpaying services. Maryland
National said the test was successful and the service will be
launched this spring, with transactions routed through MOST as
though they were regular ATM transactions.

Meanwhile, TV Answer of Reston signed up Hewlett-Packard to
make hardware for its interactive TV terminals, which recently won
FCC approval. The terminals would come on the market in a year,
priced at under $700, with hopes of selling 1.5 million the first
year. Prices could fall to $300 during that time.

The devices are hooked to the TV, linked by an antenna to a local
cellular radio network, and accessed with remote controls. The FCC
has ruled that one megahertz of radio spectrum should be set-aside
in each major market for such services, with licensing due to begin
by the end of the year. By interacting with special TV channels
using the system, people would be able to do their banking and
shopping from home, as well as buy pay-per-view movies, music
videos, or "900" type polls.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920228/Press Contact: Lori Sterwart, Online
Resources & Communications, tel [phone], fax [phone])


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

Western Union Offers Mailgrams Via Minitel 02/28/92
UPPER SADDLE RIVER, NEW JERSEY, 1992 FEB 28 (NB) --
Western Union and International Computer Listing Services are
setting up a system to let Minitel users send Mailgram messages
directly from their terminals to recipients in the U.S.

The network will initially be implemented in France, where there
are six million such terminals. The service code will be 3617 Minitel
USA, and it is aimed at hotels, exporters, banks, and government
agencies.

France has been working hard lately to make the Minitel
technology export-able, despite the failures of many past plans
to push the technology in the U.S. through the regional Bell
companies and others.

It has tried to clean up the service by imposing a huge surtax on
sexually-oriented services, meant to drive them out of business,
and is working with US West and 101 Online to start-up local
Minitel-based services in major U.S. cities. ICLS is one of France
Telecom's service providers in the U.S., working under contract
from Minitel Services, which is a joint venture of France Telecom
and Infonet.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920228/Press Contact: Western Union,
Jean Stritt, 201-818-5843)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00006)

Fifth Generation Ships Superlaserspool Version 3.0 02/28/92
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 28 (NB) - Fifth
Generation Systems has announced they are now shipping a
Macintosh System 7-compatible version of their Macintosh
printer spooler, Superlaserspool.

Superlaserspool 3.0 works with any Appletalk or direct-connect
Apple printer, including Imagewriters, Laserwriters and any
postscript device using an Apple driver. It supports dot matrix,
inkjet, and Postscript laser printers such as the HP Deskwriter,
Laserjet, or Deskjet series. It also supports QMS, GCC, and
various other printers.

Print spoolers receive a document for printing from the computer,
then feed it to the printer at the speed the printer can accept.
Using a print spooler, documents can even be queued, freeing
the computer for the next task.

Superlaserspool has a suggested selling price of $149.95.
Registered owners of earlier versions of the program can
upgrade for $30.

(Jim Mallory/19920228/Press Contact: Jan Jacob, Fifth Generation
Systems, 504-291-7221)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00007)

Microage To Host 10th Annual Phoenix Computer Show 02/28/92
PHOENIX, ARIZONA, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 28 (NB) -- Microage has
announced that it will host the 10th annual Solutions 92 computer
show, said to be the largest microcomputer event held in Phoenix.

The show will be held March 6-9 at the Phoenix Civic Plaza and The
Pointe resort at South Mountain. Microage said more than 3,000
attendees are expected, consisting of clients, manufacturers,
distributors, and securities analysts. Admission is by invitation only.

The company said that a new event, the Microage Technical
Theater, as well as several vendor workshops, have been added
this year. More than 150 vendors are scheduled to exhibit at the
show this year. Technical Theater sessions are a forum for
discussing new technologies such as pen-based computers and
multimedia systems.

Other subjects scheduled for discussion are managing change,
sales strategies, how to become an authorized dealer of a product
line, and strategy sessions on innovations.

Keynote speaker for the conference will be Larry Wilson, chairman
and CEO of Pecos River Learning Centers, and author of "Changing
The Game: The New Way To Sell", and coauthor of "The One
Minute $ales Person".

(Jim Mallory/19920228/Press contact: Claudia Hayes, 602-968-3168)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(NYC)(00008)

GSA Awards $48 Million Contract To Minority Firm 02/28/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 FEB 28 (NB) -- The U.S. General
Services Administration (GSA) National Capital Region has
announced the award of an ADP support services contract with
a five-year estimated value of $48,714,013 to Management
Technology, Inc., an ethnic minority-owned business in Clinton,
Maryland.

The contract provides ADP facilities management support services
including data entry, computer systems and network operations,
facilities planning and local area network (LAN) system maintenance
and management support for federal agencies in the GSA Eastern
Zone (states in this zone include Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont,
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia, plus
Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands).

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19920228/Press
Contact: David Hatchell Jr., U.S. General Services Administration,
202-708-5804)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00009)

Equinox Intros Megaplex 96 Serial Ports/MCA Card 02/28/92
MIAMI, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 28 (NB) -- Equinox Systems has
introduced an important Micro Channel accessory board for users
requiring a large number of serial ports on IBM PS/2, RISC
System/6000, and NCR 3000 computers. Dubbed the Megaplex, this
high-performance board provides up to 96 serial ports per slot in
increments of 24 ports for Unix-based systems.

Serial ports can be used to attach printers, modems, or terminals
to computers.

The price for the basic 24-port Megaplex/2 is $2,595, and
additional cluster multiplexers which each add another 24 ports
to the Megaplex/2 list for $1,495 each.

Up to eight boards or 768 ports can be installed in each system,
and the tiny multiplexers can each be placed up to 2,500 feet from
the host computer and need only be connected to the host with two
twisted-pair telephone grade cables - the flat modular cables can
be used at distances less than 10 feet.

Because each Megaplex multiplexer has its own 16 megahertz
RISC (reduced instruction-set computer) processor, the company
says that all 24 serial ports can operate simultaneously at up to
38.4 kilobits per second in full duplex mode.

The boards and additional multiplexers are shipping now.

For further information contact Equinox Systems, 14260 S.W. 119
Ave., Miami, FL 33186, or telephone [phone], or fax
305-253-0003.

(John McCormick/19920228)


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

Primavera Intros SureTrack Project Scheduler 2.0 02/28/92
BALA CYNWYD, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 28 (NB) --
Primavera Systems, a leader in the high-end project management
software field and headquartered in Pennsylvania, has announced
version 2.0 of its SureTrack Project Scheduler, a scaled-down project
management program which includes presentation graphics, multiple
reports, and cash-flow projection capabilities for projects requiring
fewer than 4,000 activities.

The $795 program runs in only 640 kilobytes of RAM memory and
interfaces with the company's Primavera Project Planner and
Finest Hour software.

Project management software is used for everything from planning
how to design and build a space station to building a house or
even planning an office move.

Besides showing how to best utilize resources and how changes in
plans would affect the final completion date, project management
programs, and the less powerful schedular programs, can also
provide important cost and budgeting information.

For example, SureTrack will keep a running tally of the percentage
of work completed and quickly calculate earned value and compare
it to projected costs at every stage of the project.

For further information, contact Primavera Systems, SureTrack
Division, 1574 West 1700 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84101. The
telephone number is 801-973-9610, and the fax is 801-973-9725.

(John McCormick/19920228/Press Contact: Nancy Allen,
Primavera, 801-973-9610)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(MOW)(00011)

Hungary: Computer Museum Opens 02/28/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 FEB 28 (NB) -- The first computer equipment museum
in Hungary has opened in Budapest. The museum opening culminates
12 years work by two devoted collectors, supported by the Hungarian
von Neiman computers society, Gyozo Kovacs and Daniel Muszka.

The museum, located in downtown Budapest, was officially opened in late
January, 1992. It has on display the Soviet Ural-2 vacuum tube computer
from the early 1960s and a number of younger machines.

The museum is one of the few exhibitions of old computers
in the Eastern Europe.

(Kirill Tchashchin & Peter Broszko/19920226)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(MOW)(00012)

Stolen Computers Sold In Eastern Europe? 02/28/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 FEB 28 (NB) -- Stockholm Dagens Nyheter daily
speculates that a number of criminal gangs are engaged in stealing
computer equipment and selling it to consumers in Eastern Europe.

Stockholm police say US$6 million worth of computer equipment was
illegally seized in 1991 alone. Several companies went bankrupt
after all their business and financial records disappeared along
with their machines, authorities say.

Two truckloads of stolen computers were spotted by Swedish customs
officers in January, 1992.

Hungarian press sources say those shipments were headed to Hungary and
Poland.

(Kirill Tchashchin & Peter Broszko/19920206)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(MOW)(00013)

Russia: New HP Dealer In St Petersbourg 02/28/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 FEB 28 (NB) -- UniRem joint venture, an official
Hewlett-Packard dealer, has opened a computer shop in St Petersbourg.

The company has sold equipment worth US$845,000 during the last
year and hopes to break the 1 million dollar sales barrier this year.

The "shop" will actually include learning center for the new users,
warranty service, and a laser cartridge recycling center.

With the opening of those facilities, Unirem hopes to insure its leading
position in hardware sales in the Russian Northeast region.

The Unirem shop, to be opened on March 1st, will be located at
Dobrolyubova St 6/2, St Petersbourg.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920226)


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

Japan: NIFTY-Serve Starts Air-Warrior Game Online 02/28/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 FEB 28 (NB) -- NIFTY-Serve, a joint venture of
Fujitsu and Nissho-Iwai Trading, will start the Air-Warrior game in
its personal computer network. Air-Warrior is a 3-dimensional
simulation game, which was developed by an American firm. The game
is popular on the US-based GEnie network.

NIFTY-Serve will launch Air-Warrior in April. On GEnie,
some 3,000 to 4,000 people are said to be enjoying the game.
NIFTY-Serve has business users as well as university students.
They want to play high-quality games online.

NIFTY-Serve's decision to start Air-Warrior on its network may
also boost sales of Fujitsu's multimedia personal
computer, the FM Town, which looks like Apple's Macintosh at a
glance. The FM Town has a CD-ROM and a quality sound board.
Windows ME is expected to be released for the FM Town this May.
Fujitsu has the ambitious goal in selling the machines this
year -- 200,000 units -- a whopping 70 percent more than
last year. In the school market, Fujitsu has the second largest
share of personal computers following NEC. Fujitsu has 40
percent while NEC has 45 percent. So, Fujitsu is pushing
hard jointly with NIFTY-Serve.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920227/Press Contact: Fujitsu, +81-3-3215-
5236)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00015)

Hughes Uses Cowboy Ballad To Promote NAPLPS 02/28/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 28 (NB) -- Dave Hughes, speaking
to computer groups across the country in his quest to promote the
use of the North American Presentation Level Protocol Standard
(NAPLPS - pronounced "Nap-lips") as a universal graphics format,
has developed a graphic presentation built around an original ballad,
"The Cursor Cowboy's Song."

Hughes told Newsbytes that he has shown NAPLPS to representatives
of AT&T and The Department of Defense as well as to the National
FidoNet Conference and the recent Computer Professionals for Social
Responsibility Roundtable on Local Access Networks and has
received warm responses wherever it has been shown. "People
recognize very rapidly the value of being able to transmit and
receive high quality graphics without having to be concerned what
computer platform the graphic was developed on," Hughes said.

In his demonstration, Hughes shows some Native American Art
presently stored as shareware on the Russell County BBS (406 423-
5433) and an animated version of his ballad, The Cursor Cowboy's
Song"

I got a little cabin in the Rockies/A pickup truck, my boots and
A PC Clone/The calves are new,/The bills are due,/
And my woman's left me.

But I'm all right all the night/with this phone/
For you're never alone/when you hear that modem tone.
Keep loggin' on,/keep loggin' on

Oh, you're never alone/when you hear that modem tone./
 ------- Keep loggin' on/-------- keep loggin' on

During the presentation, the words of the song appear on the screen
as the cabin, truck and boots are shown, followed by the appearance
of the moon and telephone lines across the surrounding mountains.
As the last words of the song come across the screen, a lone coyote
appears on the mountain ridge.

Hughes told Newsbytes that there is now a shareware MS-DOS reader
for NAPLPS graphics and that reasonably priced Macintosh and Unix
systems are "just around the corner." He also said that programs exit
to convert popular graphic formats to NAPLPS for transmission and
file storage.

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/Press Contact: Dave
Hughes, Old Colorado City Communications, 719-632-4848 - voice;
719-632-2658 - modem; [e-mail] - e-mail; 719-593-
7521 - fax/19920227)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00016)

Hong Kong: New Head Of Dowty Asia Sales Force 02/28/92
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1992 FEB 28 (NB) -- Reinforcing its presence in
the Asian networking market, Dowty Communications (formerly CASE
Communications) has named Simon Naylor as general manager, Asia, to
head its sales and marketing team throughout the region.

Joining Naylor in Hong Kong are Gary Szeto and Lyman Kwok, both as
sales account managers. In Singapore, Dowty has named Jack Tee as
sales manager and Daniel Kwan as sales executive.

"The Asian networking market is the fastest growing in the world and
offers major business opportunities for Dowty," said Naylor. "These
new appointments demonstrate our commitment to the region and are
part of our strategy to offer customers a complete range of
networking solutions and support."

Naylor, who joined Dowty seven years ago, has been general manager
for Southeast Asia since 1989, based in Singapore. Previously, he
was regional manager, Europe responsible for the distribution of
products throughout the continent.

Naylor has more than 12 years experience in marketing IT and
networking products in the UK, mainland Europe and Asia. Before
joining Dowty, he spent three years with Plessey and GEC selling
PABX, data switching and office automation products, before moving to
Scicon Computer Services where he was European sales manager for two
years.

Gary Szeto, brings more than nine years of sales and marketing
experience in information technology, data communications and network
services to the Dowty sales team. Previously, Szeto was sales unit
manager for another large data communications supplier for three
years and product manager, DataCom and Networking Marketing Division
for Hong Kong Telecom CSL.

Lyman Kwok, will be responsible for promoting Dowty's products in the
financial and commercial sectors. Kwok began his career in 1984 as a
computer systems consultant. Before moving to Dowty he was a sales
unit manager for a well-known data communications supplier for two
years.

Responsible for expanding Dowty's market presence in Singapore and
Malaysia, Jack Tee has more than six years experience in the
networking industry marketing LAN and WAN products and digital PBX
systems, all of them gained in the region.

Daniel Kwan will be responsible for sales and marketing support in
Singapore. Before taking up his new post, he was pre-sales consultant
for Dowty in Singapore and the ASEAN region.

Dowty Communications is the leading independent supplier of
networking systems and services. The office in Hong Kong, which is
the regional headquarters for Asia, has been operational since 1984.
The company supplies integrated LAN/WAN systems and communications
equipment for end-user organizations, PTTs, distributors, value-added
resellers and OEMs. Systems products are marketed under the CASE,
ScaNet and Datatel brand names.

(Norman Wingrove/19920227/Press contact: Simon Naylor, Dowty, Tel
[phone]; HK time is GMT + 8)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(HKG)(00017)

East Asia: 3Com Hits the Road 02/28/92
ADMIRALTY, HONG KONG, 1992 FEB 28 (NB) -- 3Com is to stage an
intensive, five-country Asian roadshow next month to introduce the
expanded product line resulting from its recent acquisition of BICC
Data Networks. The roadshow will also focus on 3Com's range of new,
high performance internetworking products.

Beginning on 3 March, the roadshow takes in Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong
and Singapore, ending on 12 March in Malaysia. The event is
structured as two half-day seminars in each country with the same
program in both the morning and afternoon sessions.

"The BICC product line blends very well with the existing 3Com range,
and is a significant progression of our plan to become the leading
global data networking provider," said Marshall Gabin, senior
marketing manager at 3Com Asia, who is coordinating the event.

Seminar speakers include 3Com's Wes Raffell, vice president for
intercontinental operations, Bob Roman, product line manager,
Internetworking Products, and Jack Koch, vice president, marketing,
in the Network Adapter Division. 3Com Asia's newest team member, Jim
Bristow, who was formerly Asian general manager of BICC Data
Networks, will also speak on the impact of the recent acquisition on
customers and services.

There will be live demonstrations of 3Com's new internetworking and
bridging and routing products, including NETBuilder II, an FDDI
bridge/router; LinkBuilder 3GH, the world's first third-generation
hub; LinkBuilder 10BT, a low-cost, stackable 10BT hub; and EtherLink
II/16, the affordable 16 bit adapter.

The 3Com Asian roadshow is at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul, Korea on 3
March; at the Howard Plaza Hotel in Taipei, Taiwan on 5 March; at the
Kowloon Shangri-La Hotel in Hong Kong on 6 March (morning session)
and 9 March (afternoon session); at the Regent Hotel in Singapore on
11 March; and at the Shangri-La Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 12
March. Morning sessions run from 9am to 12:30pm in each country,
afternoon sessions from 1:30pm to 5pm.

(Norman Wingrove/19920227/Press contact: Marshall Gabin, 3Com, Tel
[phone]; HK time is GMT + 8)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00018)

New Telephone Service Starts In Japan 02/28/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 FEB 28 (NB) -- NTT is among several telecom
firms which have launched new services and fees. NTT says it
will start a new discount flat fee service for telephone callers.
Its rival firm IDO has also announced a similar flat fee
discount system.

NTT's flat fee discount system is called "Tele Jaws," and
applies to weekend calls and calls between 10 pm and 8 am.
("Jaws" does not mean a shark, but "good" in Japanese.)
Under this systems, a registered user can choose four levels
of service, depending on the frequency of calls. The 1,750 yen ($14)
package allows 2,000 yen calls ($16), 2,600 yen package for
3,000 yen calls, 4,300 yen for 5,000 yen calls.

IDO has offered the similar service, with a 40% discount for
mobile phone callers.

Meanwhile, NTT has offered another new service. -- the
leasing of digital telephone lines, which support extremely
faster transmission speed. Data is sent at 156 megabits
per second. This is almost 25 times faster than currently available
services. However, the monthly usage fee will be about 2 million
yen ($16,000).

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920227/Press Contact: NTT, [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00019)

Vendors Open Dallas Interoperability Center 02/28/92
RICHARDSON,TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 28 (NB) -- Nineteen high tech
companies say they have joined together to open the first PEX
Interoperability Center, to be located at the Convex Computer
Corporation's headquarters outside Dallas.

PEX, an extension of the X Window system, allows graphics to be
distributed over networks of dissimilar computer systems. The PEX
protocol was introduced in 1991, and also reduces network overhead
significantly by providing a communications protocol that transmits
only the changes made to 3D graphics structures, instead of
re-transmitting the entire file structure.

Companies participating in PEX-IC include Advanced Visual Systems,
Convex, Data General, Digital, Evans & Sutherland, Kubota Pacific
Computer, Liant Software, Media Metrix, MIT X Consortium, Network
Computing Devices, Oki Electric, Omron Corporation, Shographics, Sun
Microsystems, and Tektronix.

"Everyone gains by accelerating the acceptance of the PEX standard
and that's the primary goal of this center, "according to Curt
Wozniak, VP of engineering at Sun Microsystems.

The participating companies said that the center will foster
interoperability, and users will gain confidence that PEX is truly
functional.

Hardware and software vendors will use the center to test a broad
range of products in one location, speeding up time to market and
reducing development costs.

Any PEX-based hardware or software vendor will be able to use the
center to test interoperability of its products. Vendors who
contribute and maintain up-to-date hardware and software at the
PEX-IC can participate in testing activities at no cost. Other
companies will be charged a fee.

(Jim Mallory/19920228/Press contact: Allison Peoples, Convex
Computer, 214-497-4226)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEN)(00020)

Motorola Overcharges Government, Has To Pay $15M 02/28/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 192 FEB 28 (NB) - Motorola agreed this
week to pay $15.1 million to settle claims that it overcharged the
government for computers and maintenance work. The charges also
alleged that the company sold rebuilt equipment as new.

The General Services Administration (GSA) found that Motorola
knowingly withheld information about maintenance discounts available
to corporate customers, and said Motorola gave discounts to some
customers if they bought computers they had been leasing. Motorola
allegedly did not tell the government that such discounts were
available.

In a prepared statement released by Motorola, division president
Edward Staiano admitted that the company did not keep close enough
watch over government contracts in the division responsible
for the violations.

The GSA alleged that the violations occurred from 1982 to 1988. The
investigation lasted three years. GSA Inspector General William
Barton called the settlement agreement the largest civil settlement
in any case opened by his office.

The Motorola division cited is the successor to Four-Phase Systems,
a California company purchased by Motorola in 1982. The unit was
renamed Motorola Computer Systems in 1986, and later renamed Motorola
Computer Group.

(Jim Mallory/19920228)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00021)

Hearst Russian Newspaper Operations On Macs 02/28/92
MELVILLE, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 28 (NB) -- The Hearst
Corporation's American-Russian independent newspaper, which
published its first issue today, will use Nikon's LS-3510AF
electronic imaging film scanner and Apple Macintosh Computers to
prepare the paper.

The paper, named WE/Mbl, uses an open architecture, all electronic
publishing system to produce the paper.

Electronic publishing systems, used by most large newspapers and
many smaller ones, use computer technology to prepare stories, plan
the layout of the paper, and scan film images for photos and ads.

Once the stories and art are in the computer, the pages are laid out
as desired, stories are edited in the computer by copy editors, and
the computer sends the finished product and printing instructions
to the paper's presses.

WE/Mbl is a two-section broadsheet which will be composed, edited
and processed entirely on two identical Apple Macintosh-based
systems, one in Moscow and one in Washington, D.C. The Russian offices
of WE/Mbl are located at Isvestia, the official Russian newspaper.

Hearst plans to publish monthly issues of the paper in February and
March, and every two weeks in April and May. The paper will become a
weekly beginning June 1st.

Each computer system includes Mac IIfx workstations, Nikon's LS-3510AF
film scanners, Sharp and Microtek flatbed scanners, Laserwriter
copiers, QMS color laser printers and Linotronic Postscript
imagesetters.

Software includes Adobe Photoshop, QuarkPress, and Adobe Illustrator.
The workstations are connected over Ethernet networks for workgroup
processing, and the two systems are linked via high-speed modems
through a satellite communications system.

Nikon's electronic imaging film scanners were used in the last two
SuperBowls, this year's Pro Bowl, and at the 1992 Olympics, where
high-resolution photos of the action were shot by photographers,
developed, scanned, and color corrected. The final image could be
sent in less than three minutes to various news services,
newspapers, and magazines.

(Jim Mallory/19920228/Press contact: Nikon, 516-547-4355, FAX
516-547-0305)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00022)

MCI Beats AT&T For Fed Intern'l Calls 02/28/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 28 (NB) -- Promising a savings
of up to 25 percent over current rates, MCI Communications has
won the U.S. Government contract to supply international long
distance services to more than 200 countries. MCI's competition
was AT&T.

The telephone service contract will run for a guaranteed two
years and may be extended for up to three additional years on a
year-at-a-time basis. Besides regular phone services, MCI will
provide a private network service called MCI Vnet and calling
cards.

The contract was awarded on a competitive bid basis and the total
value can't be determined in advance, but this is a major, multi-
million dollar contract and there are estimates that it could be
worth in the vicinity of $100 million over a full five-year
contract lifetime.

Bert C. Roberts Jr., president and CEO of MCI, said, "This
contract strengthens MCI's position as a global
telecommunications leader." MCI currently has sales of more than
$8 billion and is the second largest long-distance telephone
service provider after giant AT&T.

MCI stock was up marginally in London trading during the day.

(John McCormick/19920228/Press Contact: Dave Thompson, MCI
Government Systems, 703-903-1076)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00023)

 ****4Q GDP Growth Revised Up To 0.8 Percent 02/28/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 28 (NB) -- The U.S. Commerce
Department has just released its final and revised numbers for
the overall growth of the U.S. economy in the final quarter of
1992. Originally pegged at a very anemic 0.3 percent growth in
the preliminary estimates, the final figures show a surprisingly
strong 0.8 percent growth.

GDP or the gross domestic product, is the measure of all U.S.
goods and services, minus the income of U.S. companies which
result from overseas operations (not exports). Thus the GDP is a
measure of the strength of the economy as a whole as it effects
U.S. workers and consumers.

The GDP recently replaced the GNP or gross national product as
the measure of U.S. production because it was felt that the
numbers could be misleading when they included foreign operations
such as, for example, General Motors production and sale of
automobiles entirely in Europe. This sort of activity may help
the company financially, but usually has an insignificant impact
on U.S. jobs.

The GDP is a widely watched measure of whether the economy is in
recession or growing. The 0.8 percent growth, while not
spectacular, is a solid indication of growth, as opposed to the
preliminary estimate of 0.3 percent which many observers felt
could easily drop below zero growth when the revised numbers came
out.

(John McCormick/19920228)


(NEWS)(IBM)(WAS)(00024)

Egghead Offers Michelangelo Virus Advice 02/28/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 28 (NB) -- As the deadline for
activation of the Michelangelo Virus nears with the anniversary
of the artist's birth on March 6, Egghead Software is offering
advice to worried computer users via an 800 number. The software
reseller is also selling the special Symantec Norton AntiVirus
Michelangelo Edition for $5.

By calling 1-800/EGGHEAD, computer owners can request a free
brochure about viruses, learn the location of the nearest of the
183 Egghead stores, or order the specially priced Norton
AntiVirus Edition.

Egghead's only immediate help other than selling an antivirus
program is the suggestion by Fran Catalano that users running MS-
DOS 3.3 or higher try setting their computer clocks past the
March 6 deadline to avoid triggering the virus until they can
obtain software to test for the presence of the virus.

Newsbytes would like to suggest that users with any version can
also try setting their clocks back so they never reach March 6 if
they feel they are in danger and haven't yet received antivirus
software. This isn't a good solution, but in an emergency it can
help on a temporary basis.

Newsbytes does not suggest setting your computer to March 6 just
to see if the virus is present, as some people have done because,
if present, the Michelangelo virus would immediately wipe out the
entire contents of your hard disk.

Virus experts point out that although the Michelangelo virus is
difficult to detect without using a utility, it is easy to find
and remove using almost all of the commercial or shareware
antivirus software on the market.

Michelangelo is a boot sector virus and very difficult to detect
since it doesn't create any new file a user can see using the DIR
command and the only noticeable change is a very slight reduction
in the amount of free memory available at boot time.

(John McCormick/19920228)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00025)

ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 02/28/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 28 (NB) -- Roundup is a brief
look at some computer stories carried in other publications
received here this past week.

Government Computer News for the week of February 17 explains how
the Government Printing Office expects eventually to go to
online publishing.

The February 14 Seybold Report on Publishing Systems looks at the
issue of speed and just how productive you can be using
PostScript.

Computerworld dated February 24 says that Netware 3.2 may miss
the mark and bases this on reports of a cool reception by network
managers.

March's Computers in Healthcare carries a piece on how the Baby
Bells are looking toward expanding roles in the healthcare
industry.

Bay Area Computer Currents for the 25th of February looks at the
"Best in Personal Finance Software."

Network World for Feb. 24 has a feature on new vendor options in
automatic call distribution systems.

Systems & Network Integration dated the 24th of February says
that Novell's message to integrators is that they had better
learn Unix.

Computer Reseller News for the week of the 24th says that Fortune
1000 company spending on computer hardware and software plummeted
in January from an expected average $232,000 per company to an
actual $122,000, a 47.4 percent decrease.

March's LAN Technology looks at wireless networks and the task
Berkeley, California, faced in the project to wire the city
liberally.

Esther Dyson's Release 1.0 for January 31 says that CASE-based
reasoning may go the same way as artificial intelligence - it's
useful and will be integrated into other software but will fade
from public sight.

(John McCormick/19920228)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00026)

The Enabled Computer by John McCormick 02/28/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 28 (NB) -- The Enabled Computer
is a regular Newsbytes feature covering news and important
product information relating to high technology aids for the
disabled.

Laureate Learning Systems and Canadian items.

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada's Madenta Communications has entered
the field of providing technology to support disabled users
access to computer technology with a couple of announced
products.

Doors is the general term for this new product line which
includes the Apple Desktop Bus Data Acquisition Module (ADAM), an
interface that allows the traditional sip-switch, tongue-switch,
enhanced keyboard control systems to work with Macintosh
computers.

Screen Doors, a $350 mouse-compatible on-screen keyboard system
that will work with any device that uses the ADB (Apple Desktop
Bus) to move the screen cursor in the same way a mouse
traditionally does, doesn't require the special ADAM interface.

For further information, contact: Madenta Communications Inc.,
216 Advanced Technology Center, 9650 20th Ave., Edmonton,
Alberta, Canada T6N 1G1. Telephone #[phone]; fax 403-428-
5376.

Canada must be considered almost a hotbed of concern for the
disabled, certainly in contrast to the U.S., what with the
companies up north that produce software and hardware, along with
the only regular television show I know of north or south of the
border that covers topics of special interest to the readers of
this column.

The Disabilities Network appears every Saturday on the CBC, but I
have to pick it up by satellite and don't know of a single U.S.
cable system that runs the program south of the border.

Although Mary Wilson's Laureate Learning Systems was recently
mentioned in conjunction with the JHU National Search, this
review has been in the works for a while - before I knew that she
had even entered the contest.

Laureate Learning Systems is giving away a 52-page book,
"Sequential Software for Language Intervention," which serves as
a guide to selecting software for children and adults with
language impairments.

The booklet, written by Laureate's president, Dr. Mary Sweig
Wilson (Ph.D., Communicative Disorders), is intended for
teachers, speech-language pathologists, administrators, and
parents of students with special needs.

Included in the text is a discussion of the seven stages of
language development from birth to adulthood and the software
that can be used to aid those encountering problems at any stage.

This booklet is an advertising vehicle for Laureate products but
is well worth having at the price whether you intend to buy
Laureate software or not. Laureate software is very good and all
of it talks, so there is no reading requirement for the user,
making the company a prime resource for those aiding people with
language and learning special needs.

For a free copy of the booklet, contact Laureate Learning
Systems, 110 East Spring St., Winooski, VT 05404, or phone 800-
562-6801.

First Words, the Laureate software we have been evaluating here,
is a program intended to teach and evaluate language skills
appropriate to those working at four- to nine-month language
comprehension level, what Laureate's booklet calls Stage 2.

Simple, uncluttered screens are used to present images while
commands are given, such as "Show me the cow."

First Words trains and tests the knowledge and understanding of
50 key nouns divided into 10 groups.

Each noun has two associated pictures, and there are six levels
of instruction ranging from the single picture test to screens
showing both the correct and incorrect images, and tougher tests.

Despite its seeming simplicity, this software requires a
DigiSpeech sound synthesizer, an IBM-compatible with 640 K of
memory, and VGA or MCGA graphics.

The software is simple enough to use and the documentation is
clear, but Laureate also includes a toll-free technical support
number.

Reinforcement is via the "blob" which indicates correct
responses, while clues (flashing the correct image) are also
available but can be switched off.

The nouns included in this beginning training come from the
following categories: Animals, Body Parts, Clothing, Common
Objects, Food Items, Household Items, Outside Things, Toys,
Utensils, and Vehicles.

Lesson presentation is instructor-controlled through a full menu
system starting with selection of the level, followed by the
category. The Parameters Menu where the interface (mouse, arrows,
touch screen) is selected, along with timing functions and
percentage correct needed to move to the next lesson, comes on
the next menu.

Laureate's TouchWindow is easily calibrated and the software
provides for sensitivity selection.

A lesson summary is also recorded for each session which lets the
instructor keep easy track of progress. The summary and lesson
settings can be saved to disk, and the summary can also be
printed whether or not the data is also saved.

In addition to developing language skills, motor response is also
improved by use of this program.

First Words is useful for either very early intervention with
learning-disabled children or with mentally-retarded adults of
any age because care was taken to keep the "blob" reinforcement
character "ageless" and his/its antics interesting to more than
children.

Other Laureate programs are available for those at lower and
lower cognitive levels than are targeted by this program.

First Words is a professional quality program and has been
thoroughly tested by experts in the field.

I recommend that those dealing with cognitive learning take a
look at Laureate's offerings.

An important point to note - as Dr. Wilson told me when we talked
at The Smithsonian - most Laureate software is designed to
require very little computer power so it even runs on early IBM
PCs, the sort of computers that might be donated.

(John McCormick/19920228)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(NYC)(00027)

IBM & MicroAge in RISC System VAR Deal 02/28/92
WHITE PLAINS, NY, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 28 (NB) -- IBM Corp. and
MicroAge Computer Centers, have announced an agreement
authorizing MicroAge, as a value-added remarketer (VAR), to resell
the IBM RISC System/6000 family of workstations and servers
running AIX, IBM's implementation of the Unix
operating system.

According to the announcement, IBM's relationship with the VARs
recruited through MicroAge will differ from the relationship IBM has
with existing IBM authorized mid- range VARs. Although the new
resellers, called value-added installers (VAIs), will initially be
approved by IBM, all technical and sales support for the VAIs and
their customers will be provided by MicroAge. IBM will provide all
installation, warranty, and post-warranty service support for RISC
System/6000 products sold by the new VAIs.

IBM said, in its announcement, that the IBM-MicroAge agreement is
aimed at making it easier for VAR's to acquire IBM workstation
products for remarketing to small and medium-sized businesses.

Dave Carlucci, vice president of Marketing and Channel Management
for IBM's National Distribution Division, commented on this point,
saying "The lower prices of UNIX platforms, the increasing number of
general-purpose, cross-industry applications and the growing
acceptance of UNIX in the commercial marketplace, have expanded
marketing opportunities for the RISC System/6000 for small and
medium-sized businesses. MicroAge's distribution network and
expertise make it an excellent choice in helping us to reach VARs
with whom we are not currently doing business."

William C. Keiper, MicroAge president, added, "This agreement
recognizes MicroAge's leadership role in marketing advanced
systems and workstations to American business, and is an important
expansion of our relationship with IBM."

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/Press Contact: Bill Amanna
of IBM, 914-642-5369/19920227)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00028)

 ****IBM, HP Ally On Fiber Optics 02/28/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 28 (NB) -- IBM and
Hewlett-Packard, of Palo Alto, California, will work together to
develop and manufacture a line of fiber-optic components. The two
companies plan to sell the products to other computer manufacturers
for use in high-speed data communications.

Both companies will market the components independently starting
this year. IBM is making the first component, a high-speed
optical-link card that uses the same laser technology found in
audio compact disk players. Hewlett-Packard is to start production
later.

The optical-link card converts the electrical signals used by
computers into precise pulses of laser light for transmission over
optical fibers, and vice versa. The card complies with the new
American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Fiber Channel
standard.

Steve Sibley, IBM's program manager for the IBM-HP alliance, told
Newsbytes that Fiber Channel devices are meant mainly for linking
peripherals such as mass storage systems to computers and for tying
computers together in clusters. For instance, the technology might
be used to connect a supercomputer to one or more workstations. He
added that the technology could also be applied to local-area
networking.

The two firms said the fiber-optic devices will allow vast amounts
of information to be moved quickly among computers. For example, a
statement from Hewlett-Packard said, doctors will be able to share
magnetic-resonance images instantly with colleagues throughout a
medical institute, and businesses will be able to transfer
photographs and digital video images among users.

The first card operates at 266 megabits per second. The Fiber
Channel standard also provides for speeds of 531 megabits per
second and 1.062 gigabits per second, and the companies plan
eventually to produce cards supporting those speeds, Sibley said.
The Fiber Channel standard also contains standards for transmission
over copper wire, and Hewlett-Packard and IBM may release products
for that purpose too, Sibley added.

HP's Communications Components Division and IBM's Application
Business Systems OEM Group will sell the cards independently to
computer and peripherals manufacturers worldwide. The companies may
also use the devices in their own products: the initial fiber-optic
card was originally designed for IBM's AS/400 midrange systems and
RISC System/6000 workstations and servers, a company spokeswoman
said.

HP estimated that the market for Fiber Channel components will grow
from a few million dollars in 1992 to more than $200 million by
1997.

The alliance creates an organizational framework marrying IBM's
technologies in optical-link card manufacturing and compact-disk
laser applications with HP's technologies for optical receivers and
high-speed integrated circuits.

(Grant Buckler/19920227/Press Contact: Carol Keslar, IBM,
914-642-4658; Celeste McKenzie, Hewlett-Packard, 408-435-6444)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00029)

Hong Kong: Digital's New Regional HQ 02/28/92
SHAUKEIWAN, HONG KONG, 1992 FEB 28 (NB) -- Digital Equipment
Corporation formally took over its new regional headquarters at
Cityplaza IV in Taikoo Shing, starting a two-month relocation that
will involve more than 700 people in its Asia Region, Hong Kong and
China operations.

The move was marked by a lighthearted ceremony at which Keith Kerr,
managing director of Swire Properties, handed over a symbolic key to
Bobby Choonavala, managing director of Digital Equipment Asia, and
Alexis Ford, Digital's regional finance and administration manager.

Digital will lease more than 160,000 sq ft of office space spread
over the top eight floors of the development. The nine-year lease,
one of the largest every signed in the Hong Kong commercial property
market, will run till 2001.

"One of the important benefits of our move will be to bring all our
Hong Kong based employees together under one roof," said Choonavala.
"Previously they have been divided between five different locations."

Staff from Digital Equipment Hong Kong Ltd began moving into their
new offices minutes after the opening ceremony and will complete the
move by the end of this week. Asia Region departments will transfer
from the former regional headquarters in Wanchai over the next two
months, while Digital Equipment PRC Ltd will relocate from
Tsimshatsui in mid-April.

With a workforce of more than 1,500 in Hong Kong, Digital is the
territory's biggest computer industry employer. In addition to its
local and regional head offices in Hong Kong, it employs some 800
people at its advanced manufacturing plant in the New Territories
town of Shatin.

(Norman Wingrove/19920228/contact: Walter Cheung, Digital, Tel: +852 861
4850; HK time is GMT + 8)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00030)

Expect More AT&T Lay-offs: Strike Possible 02/28/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 28 (NB) -- In preliminary
talks on a new contract with its unions, AT&T says it wants to
keep cutting its staff. "We will look for more flexibility on
work force issues, is the way spokesman Burke Stinson put it. He
added that AT&T's system is becoming more computerized, requiring
fewer workers, and it increasingly sees its future overseas.

Thus it wants to keep cutting. The company has cut over 20,000
jobs over the last two years, and seeks relaxed rules on
seniority and transfers. Its main union, the Communications
Workers of America, represents 127,000 AT&T workers, and says its
main goal is job security.

The CWA won wage hikes from NYNEX for its workers last year,
and AT&T has explicitly rejected such a settlement, meaning a
strike is possible. And while AT&T officials claim their
high-cost status is the result of too many workers, the
union will reply it's the result of old plant and
equipment, requiring more workers. An attempt by the CWA to
organize engineers at AT&T's NCR unit, meanwhile, failed.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920228)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00031)

 ****OAG Cutbacks Blamed on Airline Slump 02/28/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 28 (NB) -- The Official
Airline Guides pared about 30 positions this week, but spokesman
Sally McElwreath insisted the company's president was not among
those let go, adding the cuts were not related to the bankruptcy
and break-up of the late Robert Maxwell's financial empire.

The top-ranking executive let-go, Bob Mishur, was a manager of
electronic services. Some of the 30 moved to other positions
within OAG, McElwreath said. About 800 employees remain.

While OAG is one of the Maxwell Communications companies, it
currently is part of a group called Maxwell Macmillan, along with
the Macmillan publishing company, which remains profitable.
Maxwell Communications, however, is in receivership in the United
Kingdom. "All I'm paying attention to is Maxwell-Macmillan,"
McElwreath added, which is headed by David Schaeffer. Maxwell
Online, however, is part of the reorganization.

McElwreath blamed the cutbacks on the slowdown in the airline
and travel business, which has caused fewer people to need the
reservation-related services OAG offers.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920228/Press Contact: Sally McElwreath, OAG,
212-702-3850)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00032)

 ****Western Union Will Send Your Money To Russia 02/28/92
UPPER SADDLE RIVER, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 28 (NB) --
Western Union, trying to make a market comeback by extending its
services internationally, said it will begin offering instant
money transfers between the U.S. and Russia.

The service is being inaugurated by former foreign minister
Eduard Shevarnadze, who'll be wiring funds home from Miami
Beach, Florida.

The service will be available throughout the company's 17,000-office
network. Initially receipts will be through two Moscow branches
of Sberbank, a savings bank. Additional offices will be
established elsewhere in Russia and the other former Soviet
Republics. Shevarnadze, who lives in Moscow, is a native of
Georgia.

The new service is provided through a joint venture, Western
Union - MSB, owned by Western Union Financial Services, and the
International Joint Stock Bank of the Savings Banks in Moscow.
Western Union will pay out the money transfers in Russia in
rubles at the prevailing official rate. The company's money
transfer services are now available in 24 countries, and the
company now has over 19,000 offices worldwide.

Earlier in the week, Western Union said it would extend its
Mailgram messaging service through Minitel terminals in France.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920228/Press Contact: Warren Bechtel, Western
Union, 201-818-5790,)


(EDITORIAL)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00033)

Editorial: If You Build It, Mitch, They Will Come 02/28/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 28 (NB) -- In the movie
"Field of Dreams," a farmer played by Kevin Costner
hears a voice say, "If you build it, they will come," and turns
part of his Iowa cornfield into a baseball park. He thinks it
will bring back Shoeless Joe Jackson and other late, great stars.
It does, but more important it brings back his late, estranged
father. Costner finds closure by bringing back his childhood
dreams, so he can tell his father he loves him.

Mitch Kapor is starting to play-out that movie in Washington
right now. Kapor started Lotus Development when he was in his
20s, and made a fortune with the 1-2-3 spreadsheet. Now he's
trying to get government funding for a massive improvement in
America's telecom infrastructure, a coast-to-coast fiber network
that will reach into every home.

Speaking to Microsoft, Novell and Apple executives about the
services which are possible but won't happen on today's
phone nets, he put it this way: "All these major muscle cars
and all we have to drive them over is dirt roads."

He's absolutely right, and industry leaders are listening to him
because he built a great company and cares about the future. His
Electronic Frontier Foundation has become a major voice in the
fight to retain privacy in an electronic age. But most computer
people retain a distrust of government, born in the '60s counter-
culture and nurtured to adulthood in Ronald Reagan's '80s.
Despite the fact that both the Bush Administration and leading
Democrats like Senator Al Gore are on board, the dream may die,
because these leaders feel that whatever government tries to do,
it screws up.

Let me suggest that Kapor use his influence in another way.
Instead of looking for government support of the telephone
industry, buy-in. Centel would be a good place to start. It's
profitable, it's in cable and telephones as well as cellular, and
its far-flung operations would be a good base on which to build a
new, high-powered fiber network. There are lots of other
companies, like WilTel, which need Mitch Kapor's vision to make
their own fiber nets pay. And lord knows there are enough stupid
telephone industry executives, starting at the 7 regional Bell
companies, who will only be pushed by tough competition into
making the investments that must be made if the U.S. is to remain
a technology leader in the 21st century.

Mitch Kapor has the contacts and credibility to make a play for
Centel, with some hope of success. He has the vision to invest in
the networks America needs. And he's only 40 -- he also has the
energy to carry all this through. So Mitch, leave Washington.
Come back to the cornfields. Your vision is right, but neither
the government nor the Bellheads will ever see that.

Build the network of your dreams. The services, and profits, and
the honors, will then come to you.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920228)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00034)

New Canadian Telecom Law Tabled 02/28/92
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 FEB 28 (NB) -- Canada's Minister of
Telecommunications has tabled proposed new telecommunications
legislation that has been awaited for years. The law would require
that all telecommunications carriers be federally licensed, but it
would also allow federal regulators to forebear regulating
companies they judge to be operating in competitive markets.

The bill also asserts federal jurisdiction over telecommunications
across Canada. This could be the final step in unifying a
balkanized regulatory picture in which many regional telephone
companies have been provincially regulated, while others were
regulated by the federal government.

In 1989, a court decision said the federal government had the right
to regulate all telecommunications companies, including those owned
by lower levels of government, but that the government must first
assert its authority in law. The old law governing
telecommunications -- the Railway Act of 1881 -- does not do this.

This provision drew praise from Unitel Communications, the
Toronto-based data communications carrier whose application to
provide long-distance telephone service is currently before the
CRTC.

"We're pleased that the new bill unifies the national markets,
allowing consumers and businesses to have access to the same
services across Canada," said George E. Harvey, president and chief
executive of Unitel, in a brief statement released just after the
legislation was tabled.

Eamon Hoey, a Toronto-based telecommunications industry consultant,
also praised the measure. "Finally the feds have realized that they
have the power to control telecommunications," he said. However,
Hoey noted that federal officials have promised the government of
Manitoba -- which owns the provincial telephone carrier -- freedom
from federal regulation for at least five more years, and "I don't
know what's in the wings with Saskatchewan; I don't know what kind
of back-room deals they've done with Quebec." So, Hoey said, truly
unified regulation may still be several years away.

Under the proposed new law all telecommunications carriers in
Canada, including established companies, would have to obtain
licenses from the federal government. Foreign ownership of licensed
carriers would be limited to 20 percent.

Hoey was critical of these measures, saying they would effectively
stifle competition. The cost of applying and lobbying for a federal
license will be a barrier to entry for new carriers, he said. The
20-percent limit on foreign ownership effectively means no foreign
investment in telecommunications, since no investor will be willing
to pour money into a venture in which it cannot hold a controlling
interest. "The problem," Hoey said, "is that we don't have enough
investment dollars in Canada ... to build the kind of facilities
we're talking about." The result, he predicted, will be that no new
telecommunications competitors will appear.

Hoey described the two measures as supply management in the
tradition of Canadian agricultural policies that support prices by
limiting supply. He said the government has created "the new
chicken marketing board for telecommunications, governed by
faceless bureaucrats sitting in obscure offices in Ottawa."

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
(CRTC), the federal regulatory body, would be subject to policy
directives from the federal government. The bill also aims to
increase regional input into the CRTC's operations.

Under the new law, the CRTC would be allowed to decide not to
regulate areas of telecommunications where it judged there was
enough competition to serve as an alternative to regulation.

"We support the broadly pro-competitive nature of the legislation,"
Harvey's statement continued. "This aspect of the new bill is bound
to benefit Canadian businesses trying to compete with U.S.
companies which have access to a greater variety of
telecommunications services at a lower cost south of the border."

Hoey also praised this provision, calling it "a good proposal, and
I think it's one that the industry in general wanted." This move
will be good for consumers as well, Hoey said.

(Grant Buckler/19920228/Press Contact: Paul Villeneuve, Department
of Communications, 613-990-4842, fax [phone]; Peter Janecek,
Unitel, 416-345-2365; Eamon Hoey, Hoey Associates, 416-696-5545)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(SFO)(00035)

Consilium And Promis Systems Settle Out-Of-Court 02/28/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 28 (NB) -- Promis
Systems Corp. and Consilium Inc., have reached an out-of-court
settlement which has resulted in the dismissal of a trade secrets
lawsuit filed in September 1991 by Consilium.

In August 1991, Promis hired four senior Consilium sales and
marketing employees. Consilium immediately filed a lawsuit
against Promis and its ex-employees, alleging misappropriation
of trade secrets and other claims. Denying liability for any
Consilium claims, Promis promptly filed a countersuit against
Consilium for the alleged theft of certain Promis trade secrets.

In settling the case, the four ex-Consilium employees, during a
21-day period, must refrain from work on nine potential customer
accounts.

Promis claims that, although under the settlement no party will pay
any money damages, it has agreed to assume certain court
reporter expenses incurred during depositions, totalling less than
$7,000.

Interestingly, as part of the settlement, Consilium has represented
that it does not currently have possession, custody or control of any
tape of Promis' operating system. However, Promis claims that it
has retained the right to sue Consilium if it has reason to believe that
Consilium has used such tape.

Promis Systems Corp., a privately held company, is a supplier of
plant floor management software and manufacturing execution
systems.

(Ian Stokell/19920228/Press Contact: Sue Sweeney, Promis
Systems Inc., 408-441-9090)


(CORRECTION)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00036)

Cornell Virus Not A Worm 02/28/92
ITHACA, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 28 (NB) -- The MBDFA virus,
which has appeared at Cornell and Stanford universities and at
several other locations worldwide, is not a worm as reported in a
Newsbytes story February 26.

A worm is a virus which can replicate itself. The MBDFA virus is
not that type of virus.

Two Cornell University students have been charged with second-
degree computer tampering in connection with the planting of the
MBDFA virus earlier this month.

Newsbytes regrets the error.

(Grant Buckler/19920228/Press Contact: Linda Grace-Kobas, Cornell
University, 607-255-2000)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00037)

 ****Media '92 -- Multimedia Rubber Meets The Road  02/28/92
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 28 (NB) -- The
Media '92 show in Los Angeles demonstrated a shift in the
emphasis on multimedia away from the "gee whiz" into the
practical business uses, discussions of what is good and bad
use of multimedia, and a general maturing of the technology.

While emphasis at the show was still on the Macintosh, the
show floor itself was reminiscent of the IBM compatible
computer swaps held around the Southern California area,
with some of the vendors who usually appear at computer
swaps present and Macintosh user groups recruiting members.

Macintoshes had the lead at the show, but it was close to
being half and half between IBM compatible personal
computers (PCs) and Macs. At times it was difficult to tell
if the demonstration was being done on a PC running Windows
or on a Mac with a color monitor. Many vendors offered video
and graphics products for both platforms, and like IBM
shows, some had Macs open so users could see what was
inside.

While the show was small and redundant technology-wise of
other shows, there was a shift in the emphasis way from
multimedia for entertainment to multimedia for business.
Most of the speakers and presentations were focused on
creating items the corporate market can use and those talks
seemed to be the pulse-racing concepts at this show.

Gary Birch of Stat Media talked about the corporate moves
into multimedia for kiosks in Blockbuster Video stores. The
planned kiosks are multimedia PCs with CD-ROM drives
packaged so users can use touch screens to look up the top
ten titles, choose a favorite actor's films, and see 30-
second to 2-minute clips from the film.

Birch said his company is working on a project to take
advantage of the move into multimedia electronic mail.
Instead of a flat, black and white logo, companies now want
a multimedia "letterhead" to better present their image to
the public, Birch said.

The biggest emphasis at the show was the use of multimedia
in training. In IBM representative Peter Blakeney's
multimedia luncheon presentation the statement was made, "We
used to teach people, 'Learn this, it will last you for your
lifetime.' Now we must teach people the skills to be
learners through out their lifetime."

Training in the multimedia sense was everything from public
access kiosks in shopping malls where people could get
information, to corporations trying to teach non- or
limited-English speakers how to perform manufacturing tasks.

At the Blakeney presentation multimedia was presented as a
way to accept and deal with the literacy problem by giving
up attempts to get people to read and moving to the more
universal medium of multimedia.

Blakeney quoted Lao Tse as saying: "If you tell me, I will
listen. If you show me, I will see. If you let me experience
it, I will learn."

Monetary savings using multimedia approaches to training and
communication was Blakeney's emphasis. In an interview with
Newsbytes after the luncheon Blakeney gave the example of a
multimedia interactive video for health industry training
done by IBM. The health course normally took two weeks,
required the hiring of teaching staff, the travel and
lodging expense of employees, and 40 hours of lecture.

Blakeney said IBM made the course into an multimedia
interactive video that took 12 hours for an employee to
complete, estimating the savings would pay for the expenses
involved in creating the presentation in 3.5 years. Blakeney
said what shocked everyone was the expenses in making the
video were recouped in only 9 months of using it. Also the
average person only took 9 hours to complete it, instead of
12 hours, and did so on their own time, not on company time.

Singularly absent from this show was any emphasis on
"edutainment," software or games. Blakeney said he thinks
the Multimedia Personal Computer (MPC) is a "red herring."

In fact, Blakeney said the MPC standard can be dangerous to
the industry as a whole. The MPC standard is too low,
leading people to believe they can get successful multimedia
results when the low end MPC 286, 10 megahertz, video
graphics array (VGA) computer won't produce good quality
multimedia, Blakeney said. "Telling people this will work,
when it won't can strangle the industry," Blakeney
maintains.

"People are not going to spend $2,500 to play games that
look and sound better on a $200 Nintendo," Blakeney
maintains. "Discussion of the MPC is a distraction from the
more evident opportunities that exist for multimedia,"
Blakeney added.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920228/Press Contact: Peter Blakeney,
IBM, tel [phone]; Gary Birch, Stat Media, tel 714-779-
8176, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00038)

 ****Compuserve's U.K. Network Goes Down 02/28/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 FEB 28 (NB) -- The Compuserve main network
node in London, England, has gone down and, as Newsbytes goes to
press this Friday evening, there is no sign when it will come
back up again.

According to Martin Turner of Compuserve U.K., the network
outage, which means that no Compuserve subscribers in the U.K.
have access to the network, was caused by a software upgrade.

"The network was taken down overnight for reloading and there
have been some problems. It's a shame really, as we've been fully
operational in the U.K. for the past two years and we've never
had any problems like this," he told Newsbytes.

According to a spokeswoman for Compuserve's technical support
line, the network outage means that callers accessing Compuserve
via packet switch stream (PSS), British Telecom's Dial Plus
network and direct dial through the London port cannot get
through. Calls via the Compuserve Paris node, as well as through
selected Western European dial-up ports are also being refused
access, as many of these nodes re-route through London.

"We are recommending our subscribers to either dial direct to the
main Munich node or a Datex-P node in Western Germany, or just
hang on if their call isn't urgent," said the spokeswoman.

Newsbytes did a quick dial around several major European cities'
dial-up ports. The results revealed that the network outage is
widespread. Furthermore, those ports which are operational are
sluggish in the extreme, with even the 9,600 bits per second
(bps) access ports in Western Germany only producing a 2,400 bps
or less data throughput.

The outage comes at a time when Compuserve is consolidating its
methods of access in Europe. Access via the old CSC Infonet
and AT&T Istel networks is gradually being phased out. The London
dial-up port for Infonet no longer allows calls to Compuserve,
while the Istel network bars any such calls. Ironically, even
Sprintnet and Tymnet, which are an expensive option for remote
U.S. and Alaskan subscribers to call Compuserve with, have also
been programmed to reject U.K.-sourced calls to Compuserve.

As of 6pm London time on Friday, the Compuserve network in the
U.K. was still down. Compuserve staff said they were hoping to
get the network back up and running over the weekend, but could
not guarantee it.

(Steve Gold/19920228/Press & Public Contact: Compuserve U.K. -
Tel: [phone])