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/NB920325

Text File | 1992-03-25 | 66KB | 1,414 lines

(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00001)

Olivetti Announces PC Pro Scheme For UK Resellers 03/25/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- In a bid to combat the
effects of the recession in the computer industry, Olivetti has
announced "PC Pro," a marketing program for its resellers in
the UK.

The scheme centers around a new pricing structure across the
entire Olivetti PC series with list of price reductions of up to 38
percent. Backing up the program is a UKP 600,000 advertising
and promotion campaign.

With all this expenditure, Olivetti is hoping for a considerable rate
of return. Company officials are aiming the scheme fairly and
squarely at Olivetti's top-end resellers who have the potential to
sell large quantities of hardware to major corporations.

Olivetti envisages that, by taking on PC Pro workstations and
mini-tower machines, in addition to the company's existing
Netframe and LSX families of PCs, resellers will be well placed
to offer a complete service to corporate clients.

Olivetti is attempting to raise its profile in the UK with the
campaign. If resellers are eligible, for what Olivetti calls its
System Partner status, they can qualify for the 38 percent price
reductions, promotion deals on demonstration machines, free trial
periods on certain hardware, and assistance with advertising in
the reseller's local press.

Mike McCormac, Olivetti UK system division marketing manager,
announcing the PC Pro scheme, said: "It's a tough business
climate and manufacturers must be especially sympathetic to the
needs of resellers. Pricing and effective end-user marketing is
essential. But so is understanding the culture of our reseller
community -- and we have to remember the end users."

According to McCormac, today's customer wants to be able to
buy both enterprise networks and on-off PCs at a single shop,
ideally from one supplier. "In computing, familiarity hardly ever
breeds contempt," he said.

McCormac went on to say that, what Olivetti's systems partners
need is to add value to every sale by supplying complete
systems rather than one-off PCs.

"To meet this requirement, Olivetti is endeavoring to raise end
user interest in corporate PCs alongside the high end solutions
which 'systems partners' are well-placed to provide. By selling
both PCs and systems into the same markets, resellers will get a
look-in on major accounts at every level of technology," he said.

"This is the real incentive we are talking about in this
campaign. And to prove this kind of promotion works, we're
offering end users a free trial period, so they can get to try,
see and like the Olivetti PC Pro, before committing to a single
PC," he added.

(Steve Gold/19920325/Press & Public Contact: Olivetti UK,
081-785-6666)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(00002)

Privatization Fever Takes Hold In East Germany 03/25/92
BERLIN, GERMANY, 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- Eastern Germany, far
from being a haven for the unemployed and lazy, not to mention a
wasteland for empty factories, appears to be undergoing a
metamorphosis. That is the message that the Treuhandstadt, the
German Government's privatization agency, wants to get across to
the West.

According to a statement issued by Birgit Breuel, the head of the
Treuhandstadt agency, more than half of the 11,500 state-
controlled companies in Eastern Germany have been privatized
since unification of the two Germanies took place last year.

The privatization of the 6,000 companies has taken its toll on
the fortunes of former Eastern Germany, Newsbytes notes.
Unemployment is now rising and, according to figures released by
the Treuhandstadt, around 1,000 state-controlled firms have been
closed due to their inefficiency and inability to be privatized.

The remaining 4,500 firms may not be as easy to privatize as the
6,000 sold to the end of last month, however. Press sources
suggest that the firms are having some difficulty in attracting
Western investment, owing to the recession.

One of the biggest problems the Treuhandstadt faces is the
commitment it has made to the German government, as well as
citizens of both Germanies, that privatized firms will not lose
too many employees as their operations are rationalized. Many
Western firms interested in obtaining former East German firms
have expressed the desire to raze the factories to the ground and
build new automated plants from scratch. This could lead to many
layoffs, Newsbytes notes.

(Steve Gold/19920325)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00003)

UK: Trigem Unveils Budget 486SX PC 03/25/92
SLOUGH, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- Trigem
Computers has added a 20 megahertz (MHz) 80486SX-based PC to
its family of computers. The new machine costs from UKP 1,180 and
features four megabytes (MB) of memory and a 40MB hard disk.

According to Trigem, the SX486E comes with four expansion slots
in a slim PC case. As well as Super VGA graphics, the machine
comes bundled with DOS 4.01. Like the rest of the Trigem range,
the SX486E features an integrated motherboard, which includes the
Super VGA graphics adapter and IDE hard disk interface as an
integral part of the main board.

As supplied, the SX486E has three drive bays: one 5.25 inch half
height, one third height 3.5 inch open, and a 3.5 inch hard disk
with data capacities varying from 40 to 130MB as required.

According to a spokesman for Trigem, the company's products
combine the best of US research and development with the cost
efficiency of Korean manufacturing. Trigem was voted "Korea's
best company" by the Korean Managers' Association in May of last
year.

(Steve Gold/19920325/Press & Public Contact: Parm Sangha, sales
manager, Trigem Computers, tel [phone], fax [phone])


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

Non-Profit Arkenstone Licenses DECtalk Speech Technology 03/25/92
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB) --
Arkenstone, a non-profit company which is also the leading supplier
of reading systems for the visually handicapped, has announced
that it will license the DECtalk speech synthesis technology from
Digital Equipment. DECtalk is quite probably the best speech
synthesis system on the market but has been too expensive for the
average user.

Making the announcement at the California State University,
Northridge's Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference,
Arkenstone's President, Jim Fruchterman, said that although the
DECtalk board would only be available through Arkenstone as a
part of the Arkenstone Reader system the board's portion of the
price would be less than $1,000.

The Arkenstone Reader is a combination of flatbed scanner and
OCR (optical character recognition) accessory board for 16-bit
IBM-compatible computers such as the IBM-AT. The scanner
interface board and TrueScan OCR software sold at a discount by
Arkenstone as part of the Reader package is supplied by Calera
Recognition Systems.

The DECtalk board would be sold as an optional companion
board to generate speech from the scanned documents after the
text is converted into computer ASCII files.

Arkenstone only sells systems to disabled users and does so
at a considerable discount over the commercial price of identical
equipment.

The company works through a worldwide network of local dealers.
For more information, contact Arkenstone Inc., 1185-D Bordeaux
Drive, Sunnyvale, CA 94089. The company's telephone numbers are
800-444-4443 or 408-752-2200, and the company's fax number is
408-745-6739.

Besides aiding people with visual impairments, reduced-price
Arkenstone products are also important for those with dyslexia
and other reading disorders.

The Seventh Annual CSUN Conference took place at the Los
Angeles Airport Marriott Hotel from March 18 through the 21. For
further information on the yearly conference, contact Dr. Harry
J. Murphy, CSUN, Office of Disabled Student Services, 18111
Nordhoff St., Northridge, CA 91330. The telephone number is
818-885-2578, the fax number is 818-885-4929, or e-mail
[e-mail].

(John McCormick/19920325/Press Contact: Jim Fruchterman,
Arkenstone, 800-444-4443)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00005)

Optical Publishing Association Honors CD-ROM Developers 03/25/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25(NB) -- The
Columbus, Ohio-based Optical Publishing Association has given its
fourth annual award for Entrepreneurial Excellence to Bureau
Development's Barry Cinnamon and Larry Shiller, developers of a
number of CD-ROM titles such as Monarch Notes, US History on
CD-ROM, and Countries of the World.

Bureau Development is the publishing arm of The Bureau of
Electronic Publishing, a major retail mail order vendor of CD-ROM
and multimedia titles as well as CD-ROM and other optical storage
hardware.

Their many advertisements in mainstream computer publications
have helped bring them and the CD-ROM field itself into the public
eye, and this was part of the reason why the two executives received
the OPA Entrepreneurial Excellence Award.

The Optical Publishing Association is an international trade
group organized to promote and develop CD-ROM technology and
markets around the world.

(John McCormick/19920325/Press Contact: OPA, Richard A Bowers,
OPA, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00006)

Window Painters Intros Image Grabber/Editor For Windows 03/25/92
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- Window
Painters Ltd., has announced SnapPRO, an image utility program
for Windows. SnapPRO provides screen image capture, editing, and
file format conversion. The image can then be used with other
Windows, DOS, OS/2, and Apple Macintosh applications, according
to information released by the company this week.

Window Painters spokesperson Melissa Scott told Newsbytes that
with Windows applications, any portion of the screen can be captured
by pressing the user-designated hot key (F2 is the default), then
selecting the portion of the screen image you want using your mouse.
With non-Windows applications, you will have to capture the entire
screen image. That image could then be cropped with a paint
program, or with SnapPRO itself.

SnapPRO image editing capabilities include selection of palette
type and style, and some image manipulation. Users can select
from 24-bit, 256 color, 16 color, black and white, inverse, or dithered
palette type. The style option offers a choice of a color, gray
scale, or high contrast gray scale. Images can be flipped or
rotated in a variety of ways.

SnapPRO can convert images from one file format to another, if you
have an image file created with one application that you want to
work with in another. The program supports Windows 3.0 BMP and
RLE, OS/2 BMP, PCX 5.0, Macintosh PICT2, TIFF 5.0, WPG, TGA,
EPS, and GIF formats.

SnapPRO also includes an image builder feature, which allows
graphic files to be combined into a single image, similar to a collage.
Once an assembled file is opened, the individual images can be
reedited if desired, and can also be scaled to the desired size.

SnapPRO includes a batch print feature which allows multiple files
to be sent to the printer in a queue, and a thumbnail view of each
image is available without having to open each image file.

Scott told Newsbytes that SnapPRO has a suggested list price of
$69.95. Present owners of SnapIT! can upgrade for $10 by contacting
Window Painters at 612-897-1305. The company also accepts
trade-ins of competitive products for $39.95.

(Jim Mallory/19920325/Press Contact: Melissa Scott, Window
Painters, 612-897-1305)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00007)

PC Can Act As A High-Tech Time Clock 03/25/92
SAN ANGELO, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- Data
Management Inc., has released TimeClock Plus, a PC-based
software package that the company says not only replaces the
traditional time clock, but also reduces the amount of clerical work
necessary to keep track of the hours employees work.

Available in single or multiuser versions for DOS and Unix,
TimeClock Plus includes a status feature that helps avoid overtime
by keeping running totals of the hours worked by each employee
and displaying that information by touching a few keys. "If a manager
has to call in extra people, he knows to call in the ones who have
worked the least hours so far," said Data Management founder
Jorge Ellis.

For businesses that employ minors, TimeClock Plus will keep track
of their hours, and flash the name of the employee if he or she
exceeds the number of work hours allowed under child labor laws.

The program offers several reporting features, including the ability
to list daily or weekly running totals. TimeClock Plus can also
display work schedules, allowing employees to see their work
schedules for the current or coming week. For the convenience of
managers and accountants, TimeClock Plus calculates labor costs
per minute, and factors in overtime in those calculations.

Since employees clock in and out by entering a personal ID number,
Ellis says the clocking in and out of one employee by another is
eliminated. The program also eliminates "working the clock," a
process in which an employee clocks in a few minutes early, and
clocks out a few minutes late, gaining as much as an extra 30
minutes for that work day. Ellis told Newsbytes that the program
offers a user-selectable, password protected feature that allows a
grace period of 0-30 minutes to be selected. The program will not
allow an employee to clock in or out outside that window.

Ellis said Data Management also sells a special remote terminal
which can be used just for timeclock functions, and attaches to the
host computer's serial port at distances up to 100 feet. The
program will also run from any Novell network station.

Ellis said that the company will release a Windows application
and a Macintosh version in the future.

TimeClock Plus has a suggested list price of $149.95, and can
handle up to 9,999 employees. An optional $60 interface module
allows its data to be exported to the DacEasy or Quicken payroll
systems.

Data Management maintains a toll free number (800-749-8463) to
handle orders and product inquiries. The same number is
available for 24-hour toll-free support.

(Jim Mallory/19920325/Press Contact: Melissa Rabin, S&S Public
Relations, for Data Management, 708-291-1616)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00008)

New For Mac: MacTools 2.0 Disk Utility Program 03/25/92
BEAVERTON, OREGON, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- Central Point
Software has announced a major upgrade to its MacTools utility
package for the Apple Macintosh.

Central Point said that with release 2.0 MacTools provides data
recovery, anti-virus protection, and backup. The new features can
run automatically or on a scheduled basis.

Features which can be scheduled include disk analysis and repair,
and backup. Operations which can be invoked automatically include
anti-virus, protection against file deletion, and automatic mirroring of
the directory, a protection against data loss caused by disk crashes.

Mirroring, also used frequently on networks, makes an exact copy
of the data to another directory or a separate drive. The company
said the automated processes can be triggered by system
startup or shutdown, or can be scheduled to occur at daily or
weekly intervals.

The company said that the MacTools DiskFix feature includes
checking for and repairing more than 100 disk problems. FileFix
can reportedly repair damaged Microsoft Excel and Word files.
The AntiVirus feature is said to offer protection against known and
unknown viruses, doing so automatically without operator
intervention. There is also a checksumming choice on the MacTools
menu, allowing the user to check a specific file for possible viruses.

Central Point spokesperson Karen Garrison told Newsbytes that
MacTools 2.0 has a suggested list price of $149, with upgrades from
earlier versions costing $49. Central Point also offers an optional
$49 subscription service which will provide the next four upgrades
to the anti-virus portion of MacTools automatically. Garrison said
MacTools 2.0 will ship in May of this year.

(Jim Mallory/19920325/Press Contact: Karen Garrison, Central
Point Software, 503-690-2260)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00009)

Aldus Ships Upgrade To Freehand For Windows 03/25/92
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- Aldus
has announced it is now shipping Aldus Freehand 3.1 for Windows,
an update to is design/illustration program.

The company says the upgrade includes several printing-production
and productivity enhancements, including a pressure-sensitive
capability for the freehand drawing tool. The company said the new
release is compatible with Windows 3.1, which is scheduled to ship
April 6. Windows 3.1 support will provide Freehand users access
to the Windows TrueType fonts. Aldus said the new release also
runs significantly faster.

According to Freehand Product Manager Mary Hausladen,
Freehand 3.1 for Windows includes the same features that the
Macintosh version has. Hausladen said the upgrade also includes
support for an electronic stylus for input.

The pressure-sensitive capability supports drawing tablets from
Wacom or CalComp, and can be used to create hand-drawn effects,
including varying the line weights or strokes drawn with the freehand
tool. The company said Freehand is the only PostScript-language
drawing program to offer this capability.

Version 3.1 allows the user to enlarge any selected region of the
drawing, and color libraries can be created and exported. That
feature would be useful for working on a series of projects that use
the same color scheme. Aldus said 3.1 also offers automatic
calculation of blend steps, improved layer handling, and new
keyboard shortcuts for digitizing style attributes.

The Aldus announcement said that production enhancements
allow for more precise placement of registration marks -- which is
important for commercial printing -- and a sensity-control bar and
color-control strip printed on color separations.

Freehand 3.1 for Windows has a suggested retail price of $595.
Aldus said that registered owners of the previous version will
automatically receive the upgrade at no charge.

(Jim Mallory/19920325/Press Contact: Jill Miller, Aldus,

(NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00010)

CFP-2: Bruce Sterling Speaks For "The Unspeakable" 03/25/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB)  --  Bruce Sterling, the
prime luncheon speaker at the 2nd Annual Conference On Computers
Freedom & Privacy (CFP-2), fulfilled his program billing as "Speaking
for the Unspeakable" by taking on three separate persona and
delivering what might have been their messages.

Sterling, best known as a science fiction writer, spoke for three
characters, a "a malicious hacker," a Latin American police official,
and a Hong Kong businessman, who were, in his words: "too venal,
violent, treacherous, power-mad, suspicious, or meanspirited to
receive (or accept) an invitation to attend."

Sterling began his speech by introducing himself and then saying
"When the CFP committee asked me if I might recommend someone
to speak here at CFP-2, I had an immediate candidate. I thought it
would be great if we could all hear from a guy who's been known as
Sergei. Sergei was the KGB agent runner for the Chaos Computer Club
group who broke into Cliff Stoll's computer in the famous Cuckoo's
Egg case. Now Sergei is described as a stocky bearded Russian
espionage professional in his mid-40's. He's married, has kids and his
hobby is fishing, in more senses than one, apparently. Sergei used to
operate out of East Berlin, and, as far as I personally know, Sergei's
operation was the world's first and only actual no-kidding, real-life
case of international computer espionage, So I figured -- why not
send Yelsin a fax and offer Sergei some hard currency; things are
pretty lean over at KGB First Directorate these days. CFP could have
flown this guy in from Moscow on a travel scholarship and I'm sure
that a speech from Sergei would be far more interesting than
anything I'm likely to offer here. My proposal wasn't taken up and
instead I was asked to speak here myself. Too bad!"

"This struck me as rather a bad precedent for CFP which has
struggled hard to maintain a broad universality of taste. Whereas
you're apparently willing to tolerate science fiction writers but
already certain members of the computer community, KGB agents,
are being quietly placed beyond the pale. But you know, ladies and
gentlemen, just because you ignore someone, doesn't mean that
person ceases to exist -- and you've not converted someone's
beliefs  merely because you won't listen. But instead of Comrade
Sergei, here I am -- and I am a science fiction writer and, because
of that, I rejoice in a complete lack of any kind of creditability!"

"Today I hope to make the best of that anomalous position. Like
other kinds of court jesters,  science fiction writers are sometimes
allowed to speak certain kinds of unspeakable truth, if only an
apparent parody or metaphor. So today, ladies and gentlemen, I
will exercise my inalienable civil rights as a science fiction writer to
speak up on behalf of the excluded and the incredible. In fact, I plan
to abuse my talents as a writer of fiction to actually recreate some of
these excluded, incredible unspeakable people for you and to have
them address you today. I want these people, three of them, to each
briefly address this group just as if they were legitimately invited
here and just as if they could truly speak their mind right here in
public without being arrested."

Sterling then went on to assure the crowd that he was not speaking
his personal conviction, only those of his characters, and warned the
group that some of the material might be offensive. He then launched
into the delivery of his characters' speeches -- speeches which had
the hacker talking about real damage - "the derailing of trains;" the
Latin police official, a friend and admirer of Noriega, discussing the
proper way of dealing with hackers; and the businessman
explaining the way, in the age of high speed copiers, laser printers
and diskette copying devices, the US copyright laws are irrelevant.

Often intercepted by laughter and applause, Sterling received a
standing ovation at the conclusion of the speech. Computer Press
Association newsletter editor Barbara McMullen was overheard
telling Sterling that he had replaced Alan Kay as her favorite
luncheon speaker. Meanwhile, conference Chair Lance Hoffman,
who had received an advance copy of the speech a few weeks
before, described the speech as "incredible and tremendous."

Sterling, relaxing after the talk with a glass of Jack Daniels, told
Newsbytes that the speech had been fun but a strain, adding:
"Next time they'll really have to get Sergei. I'm going back to
fiction."

Sterling's non-fiction work on computer crime, "The Hacker
Crackdown," is due out from Bantam in the fall and an audio tape
of the CFP-2 speech is available from Audio Archives. He is the
author of "Islands In The Net" and is the coauthor, with William
Gibson, of the presently best-selling "The Difference Engine."

(John F. McMullen/19920325/Press Contact: Audio Archives,
818 957-0874)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00011)

CFP-2 Features Role-Playing FBI Scenario 03/25/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB)  --  As part of the
"Birds-of-a-Feather" (BOF) sessions featured at the 2nd Conference
on Computers, Freedom & Privacy (CFP-2), FBI agent J. Michael
Gibbons, acting as a live gamemaster, orchestrated the play-acting
of an investigation by federal agents into allegations of computer
intrusion and criminal activity.

The scenario, set up by Gibbons to show the difficulties faced by
investigators in balancing the conducting of an investigation with a
protection of the rights of the individual under investigation, was
acted out with non-law enforcement officials cast in the role of
investigators: New York State Police Senior Investigator Donald
Delaney as "Doctor Doom," the suspected ringleader of the
computer criminals; Newsbytes New York Bureau Chief John
McMullen as a magistrate responsible for considering the
investigators' request for a search warrant; and author Bruce
Sterling as a neighbor and possible cohort of Doctor Doom.

Gibbons, in his role of Gamemaster, regularly intercepted the action
to involve the audience in a discussion of what the appropriate next
step in the scenario would be, for example, "Do you visit the suspect
or get a search warrant, or visit his school or employer to obtain
more information?," and "Do you take books in the search and
seizure?, printers?, monitors?" During the discussion with the
audience, points of law were clarified by Mike Godwin, Electronic
Frontier Foundation in-house counsel, and Alameda County
Assistant District Attorney Donald Ingraham.

The role-playing session immediately followed a BOF panel,
"Hackers: Why Don't They Understand," which attempted to
present a hacker view of on-line ethics. The panel, moderated by
McMullen, was composed of Steve Levy, MacWorld columnist and
author of "Hackers;" Dorothy Denning, Chair of Computer Science
at Georgetown University; Glenn Tenney, California Congressional
Candidate and chair of the annual "Hacker's Conference;" Craig
Neidorf, defendant in a controversial case involving the electronic
publishing of a stolen document; "Dispater," the publisher of the
electronic publication "Phrack;" Emmanuel Goldstein, editor and
publisher of "2600: The Hacker Quarterly," and hacker "Phiber Optik".

During the panel discussion, Levy, Denning and Tenney discussed
the roots of the activities that we now refer to as hacking, and Goldstein
and Dispater described what they understood as hacking and asked
for an end to what they see as overreaction by the law enforcement
community, Neidorf discussed the case which, although dropped by
the government, has left him over $50,000 in debt; and Phiber Optik
described the details of two searches and seizures of his computer
equipment and his 1991 arrest by Delaney.

In Neidorf's talk, he called attention to the methods used in valuing
the stolen document that he published as $78,000. He said that it
came out after the trial that the $78,000 included the full value of
the laser printer on which it was printed, the cost of the word
processing system used in its production and the cost of the
workstation on which it was entered. Neidorf's claims were
substantiated by EFF counsel Godwin, whose filing of a motion in
the Steve Jackson cases caused the release of papers including
the one referred to by Neidorf. Godwin also pointed out that it was
the disclosure by interested party John Nagle that the document,
valued at $78,000, was obtainable in a book priced at under $20
that led to the dropping of the charges by the US Attorney's office.

SRI security consultant Donn Parker, one of the many in the audience
to participate, admonished Phiber and other hackers to use their
demonstrated talents constructively and to complete an education
that will prepare them for employment in the computer industry.
Another audience member, Charles Conn, described his feeling of
exhilaration when, as a 12-year old, he "hacked" into a computer at
a  local Kentucky Fried Chicken. Conn said: "It was wonderful. It was
like a drug. I just wanted to explore more and more."

Parker later told Newsbytes that he thought that it was a mistake to
put hackers such as Phiber Optic and those like Craig Neidorf who
glorify hackers on a panel. Parker said: "Putting them on a panel
glorifies them to other hackers and makes the problem worse."

The Birds-of-a-Feather sessions were designed to provide an
opportunity for discussions of topics that were not a part of the
formal CFP-2 program.

(Barbara E. McMullen/19920325/Press Contact: Dianne Martin,
The George Washington University, 202-994-8238)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00012)

Kapor Gives CFP-2 Tutorial On Internet 03/25/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- As part of the
tutorial program at the 2nd Conference on Computers, Freedom &
Privacy (CFP-2), Mitchell D. Kapor, co-founder of the Electronic
Frontier Foundation (EFF), provided those in attendance with an
introduction to the use and features of the Internet.

Kapor gave a brief overview of the history of the Internet, explained
the multiple levels of the net and its decentralized governance, and
described the noncommercial and alternate commercial
"backbones," NSFNET and CIX, respectively. He then explained the
electronic mail, Telnet, File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and Internet
Relay Chat (IRC) features of the Internet.

In addition to material supporting his slides, Kapor distributed copies
of "Zen and the Art of the Internet" by Brandon P. Kehoe, a recently
completed 96 page explanation of the Internet. Copies of the book
may be obtained via anonymous ftp to "ftp.cs.widener.edu."

Other tutorials given in conjunction with CFP-2 included: "Computer
Crime" by Don G. Ingraham, Alameda County District Attorney's
Office; "International Privacy" by Dave Flaherty, University of
Western Ontario; "Making Information Law and Policy" by Jane
Bortnick, Congressional Research Service Library of Congress;
and "Modern Telecommunications: Life after Humpty Dumpty" by
Richard S. Wolff, Bellcore.

New York State Police Senior Investigator Donald Delaney told
Newsbytes that his only complaints with the tutorials were that they
were a multitrack schedule and he had to choose between tutorials
that he really wanted to hear. Delaney said: "It was almost too much
of a good thing I wanted to be in two places at the same time."

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19920325/Press
Contact: Dianne Martin, The George Washington University,
202-994-8238)


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

CFP-2: Computer Crime Session Focuses On FBI Wiretap Bill 03/25/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25(NB)  -- A panel on
computer ethics and crime at the 2nd conference on Computers,
Freedom and Privacy held recently in Washington, DC, brought
together a civil liberties lawyer, FBI agents, a civil liberties lawyer,
a sysop, a Justice Department official and a New York State
computer policeman.

Strides have been made in educating law enforcement officials
regarding the nature of computer crime, but there is still work to do.
Mike Godwin of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) described
the recent case of Craig Neidorf, who was accused of stealing a
document reported by the phone company and prosecutors to be
worth over $75,000, when the phone company itself sold the
document for only $14 to the general public.

Godwin also reported that prosecutors in a recent criminal crime
case argued for jail time, noting that the defendants had not been
deterred by the (non-jail) sentence issued to Robert Morris Jr., creator
of the "Internet worm."  Godwin noted that the defendants in this case
had committed the computer break-ins for which they were charged
before Morris had been sentenced, making this argument rather
inappropriate.

James Settle of the FBI said that the modern bureau is computer
literate, and the abuses charged in the past are unlikely to happen
today. Perhaps the most lively speaker from law enforcement was
Don Delaney, computer and telecommunications crime specialist
for the New York State Police in southern New York State.

"New York City is fraud central," said Delaney. PBX (private branch
exchange) and phone calling card fraud are particularly rampant.
Delaney reported that typical PBX fraud cases (where phone crackers
find out PBX access codes that allow them to dial into the PBX and
then make outgoing calls billed to the victim) cost from $40,000 to
$100,000. Often such bills can be racked up in just a day or two, as
perpetrators sell phone time from phone booths around the city.

Phone calling card fraud is also a booming business. In New York's
Grand Central Station, fraud rings place spotters with binoculars in the
balconies, where they watch people make calling card calls in the
phone booths. In modern open booths, the calling card ID numbers
(PINs) can been easily seen. These PINS are later sold.

Later, Delaney and other police officers agreed that the EFF's efforts
against the allegedly improper and illegal searches of companies like
Steve Jackson Games have been effective. Computer-savvy officers
are fully aware of the cases and the problems they caused, and
teaching officers provide the details of these cases whenever they
give seminars or training to fellow officers.  Officers and agents are
scared and now act more cautiously and conservatively when
performing searches, according to Delaney.

The hottest issue of debate was a proposed new law supported by
the FBI which would require vendors of telecommunications
equipment and services to provide easy hooks for wiretapping.

In the past, agents could just put alligator clips on the appropriate
wires, but with modern digital telephones, this is no longer possible.
The FBI wants phone companies to modify their systems and charge
the cost back to customers, with an estimated cost of 20 cents on
each phone subscriber's monthly bill.

FBI and U.S. Justice Department officials present on the panel, while
admitting they were not those responsible for the bill, argued that if
people accept that wiretapping is a valid law enforcement tool, they
should accept that the phone system should not be built to make it
impossible.  Most, though not all, in the room disagreed, and felt that
it should not be the duty of the public to go out of their way to make
surveillance by the police an easier task.

Mitch Kapor suggested that adding a line-item to phone bills of
"Surveillance: $0.20" would bring most people's feelings home.
It is expected that the EFF, along with related organizations such as
Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR) and the
makers of telecom equipment will lobby heavily against the bill.

Brad Templeton/19920325)
(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00014)

New Consortium Looks At Cellular Data 03/25/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB) --  The five
"wireline" cellular companies which aligned last month are
planning to look at cellular data. However, none of the five is yet
willing to commit to a packet data scheme.

Their new business venture will merely develop a strategy for
wireless data communications management and for marketing
the service.

The five -- Ameritech Mobile Communications, Bell Atlantic Mobile
Systems, Contel Cellular, GTE Mobilnet, and Nynex Mobile
Communications -- signed a letter of intent which only commits them
to test wireless data technologies, conduct market research then
develop standards. But Jim Gerace of Nynex acknowledged to
Newsbytes that some companies are already sending data on his
systems, using regular modems and connectors like the Spectrum
Axsys, which links landline modems with cellular phones.

The five plan to roll-out a new service later this year to compete
with Cellular One, which is mainly used by McCaw and Southwestern
Bell. The five have cellular networks currently serving almost two
million customers.

Separately PacTel, one of three Bell companies which have not
joined any cellular alliance -- the others are BellSouth and US
West -- named Lee Franklin to head its new wireless data division.
Franklin will offer both circuit-switched data services, using
regular modems and full cellular call lines, as well as a packet
network, which could use frequencies between calls for added
data traffic.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920325/Press Contact: Jim Gerace, Nynex
Mobile Communications, 914-365-7712; PacTel Cellular, Amy
Damianakes, 510-210-3645)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00015)

BellSouth Pushing IBM PCradio Laptop 03/25/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- BellSouth's
cellular operations will resell the IBM 9075 PCradio, a laptop
computer with a built-in modem for cellular services. It's the
first agreement between IBM and a cellular service operation.

BellSouth Cellular spokesman Nicole Lipson told Newsbytes
that the PC Radio unit includes a cellular fax-modem, which can
operate on any US cellular service using the analog AMPS
standard.

"It's going to be sold to direct sales and national accounts for
BellSouth Mobility" in the Southeast "and American Cellular
Communications" outside the Southeast. BellSouth maintains
many separate service marks outside its region, depending
on who it is partnering with, and serves a total of over
100 cities.

Lipson said the product will first be offered by BellSouth's
direct salesforce in 22 markets starting this Monday,
and later in all its markets.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920325/Press Contact: J. Ralph
Hammock, IBM, 914-642-5464; Nicole Lipson, BellSouth,
404-847-3712)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00016)

PacTel To Offer TV Phone Service 03/25/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB) --
PacTel signed agreements with IBM and Northern Telecom aimed
at bringing IBM's Person-to-Person2 conferencing system to
market. The system combines computer screen sharing and a
videoconference, with both coming-up on the same screen.

To make the service happen, however, it needs to go through
phone switches, and through a phone company network. Northern
will update its DMS 100 switches for the service, using ISDN
(Integrated Services Digital Network) standards, while PacTel's
Pacific Bell unit will offer it as part of its Centrex IS service.

While all three companies have other strategic alliances in
multimedia research, this agreement focuses on long-term
evolution of the network coupled with near-term creation of
applications. Over the long run, the three envisage creating
other services based on Pacific Bell's Netsys technology,
and Bellcore's Information Networking Architecture.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920325/Press Contact: Pacific Bell, Scott E.
Smith, 415-542-0597; IBM, Cecilia M. Moseley, 415-545-4663;
Northern Telecom, Linda E. Henson, 615-734-4251)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00017)

U S West Puts Unregulated Information Subsidiary To Work 03/25/92
DENVER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- US West
has formed a new subsidiary, U S West Enhanced Services,
aimed at selling unregulated information services. Its first product
is a fax mail offering called, naturally enough, Fax Mail.

The company was actually formed in late 1990, but can now
proceed to roll-out products based on last year's court decision
to let the regional Bells into the information business.

Fax Mail was described by company officials as "voice mail for
faxes," storing incoming messages until they can be directed by
a user's fax machine or fax card. Fax Mail, which has a patent
pending, costs as little as $19.95 per month. The product is being
launched through a marketing program which includes direct
mail and telemarketing, as well as radio and newspaper
advertising, and direct subscription via fax machine.

Separately, US West and Tele-Communications Inc., the nation's
largest cable television company, signed Nielsen Media
Research to collect numbers on their interactive television test in
Littleton, Colorado, where the two are working with AT&T. The
test involves a system where viewers can select from among
2,000 movies at any time, or from a menu of 24 channels. Nielsen
will measure both TV and VCR usage. Marketing to find users of
the test services has begun.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920325/Press Contact: TCI, Lela
Cocoros, 303-267-5273; US West, Steve Lang, 303-793-6290)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00018)

 ****Japan: HP's RISC Promotion Organization Created 03/25/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- Major Japanese computer
firms including Hitachi and Mitsubishi have set up an association to
support Hewlett Packard's RISC (reduced instruction-set computing)
chip. The association aims to promote development of HP's RISC
technology.

The association, called Precision RISC Organization, intends to
push Hewlett Packard's PA-RISC in the market. Nine firms have
joined this association. The members include Hewlett Packard,
Hitachi, Mitsubishi Electric, Oki Electric, Yokogawa Electric, and
Convex Computer. The member firms will gain firsthand technical
information of PA-RISC from Hewlett Packard. Also, Hewlett
Packard will provide consulting services. Meanwhile, the member
firms will cooperate the development of hardware and software for
PA-RISC.

Hitachi is currently manufacturing PA-RISC, and other firms
including Hitachi will use this RISC chip in their computers.
Convex will use the chip in its latest large-scale parallel
processor.

Other RISC chip makers such as Sun Microsystems and MIPS
Computer have already created the similar associations for their
own RISC chips. Now, they are ready to compete with each other.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920325/Press Contact: Hewlett Packard,
Tokyo, [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00019)

Canon & Olivetti Tie Up On Printers 03/25/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- Canon has agreed with
Olivetti concerning the production of Canon's printer in Italy. The
printer will be manufactured at both firm's joint venture firm in Italy.

Canon and Olivetti created a joint venture in Italy in 1987, and
both firms are currently producing copying machines at the
firm. This time, both Canon and Olivetti say they will manufacture
Canon's latest bubble-jet printer. Both firms plan to ship 400,000
units of ink-jet printers per year, starting next year.

Both firms will also develop their own printers for European
markets, and distribute them through Olivetti and Canon's
distribution routes.

The actual production of the printers will be done at the plants in
three different locations --  two are located in Italy, and one is
located in Switzerland.

Canon's bubble-jet printer is selling well in Japan. First, it was
released for NEC's best-selling PC-9801 personal computer.
Now, Canon has developed a version for Apple's Macintosh.
The prices are quite low by market standards, costing between
60,000 to 70,000 yen.

Canon has also started selling the bubble-jet printer in South
East Asian countries. The firm started manufacturing the printer
in Thailand in February, 1992.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920325/Press Contact: Canon,
tel [phone], fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(MOW)(00020)

Moscow: Borland Announces "Amnesty" For Illegal Users 03/25/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- Any owner of an illegal
dBase copy or other database package in Russia is being
offered a pardon by the company, if the user buys dBase IV
version 1.5 at the upgrade price, a local Borland distributor
has announced.

Russian Scientific & Research Institute of Information said the
"amnesty" program will be in effect for three months from April 1.

Users of dBase, as well as registered users of other database
packages may upgrade for dBase IV 1.5 with a 35 percent discount
at the price of 13,300 rubles (about US$100 at the market rate).

The buyer must register his version at the time of purchase,
according to the distributor.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920325)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(MOW)(00021)

Moscow: Comtek Computer Show Planned 03/25/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- Seventy companies will
occupy 3,500 square meters of the hall at the Russian Exhibition
Center (formerly VDNKh) from April 6 till April 10. The name of the
gathering is Comtek.

It will be the show's third annual computer technology exhibition
in Moscow.

The exhibitors list, offered to Newsbytes by Crocus International,
exhibition managers, includes 3M, Autodesk, BASF, Borland,
Citizen, ComputerLand, Control Data, Corel, Data General,
Everex, Fortron Source, Hewlett-Packard, ICL, IBM, Ingres, Intel,
Intermicro, Kami, Lotus, NCR, Nuntacket, Novell, Noos, Oracle,
SAS Institute, Sequent, Siemens Niexdorf, Simog, Smith Corona,
Softtronik, Star, Steepler, Summit system, Sun Microsystems,
Symantec, SynOptic Communications, Technoserv, VTKK, Varient,
Vasilev BV, Verbatim, and Witrans.

The largest booth (180 square meters) were bought by Intermicro,
the official distributor of Macintosh and Sun equipment, and Siemens.
IBM and an Indian trading company named Noos, bought slightly
smaller boots.

The cost of exhibiting is very expensive and there are almost
no newcomers in the list. Many companies consider the US$7,500
for the smallest booth, which comes with almost no other services,
just too expensive.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920325)

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

 ****IBM Unveils First Color Laptop, Plus Two Notebooks 03/25/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- IBM has
launched its first color laptop computer, equipped with an active-
matrix thin-film transistor (TFT) display and able to run for about an
hour on battery power. The company also introduced two
monochrome notebook computers.

The Personal System/2 Model CL57 SX, or PS/2 Color Laptop,
has a 10.4-inch color flat screen, which IBM claimed is the
industry's largest and brightest active matrix color display.

Company spokesman Dean Kline said the machine can run for
about an hour on its rechargeable nickel metal hydride batteries,
and an external battery pack is available to run the machine for
an additional two hours.

The PS/2 Color Laptop will appeal to people who have to make
presentations at client offices, Kline said, and to people who need
a computer with desktop-like capabilities at two or more locations.
The color laptop will allow the latter group of users to carry a
single machine around with them rather than buying two machines,
without compromising on the display and other features.

In addition to its color screen, the Color Laptop sports a 20
megahertz (MHz) Intel 80386SX processor, two megabytes (MB) of
RAM, expandable to 16 MB, an 80 MB hard drive, an internal
1.44 MB diskette drive, a full-size PS/2 keyboard, and IBM's Micro
Channel Architecture (MCA) bus. The new laptop also has a built-in
trackball pointing device.

The list price of the PS/2 Color Laptop is $5,995 and it is to be
available in April, Kline said.

IBM also announced the PS/2 model N51 SLC notebook, the first
portable built around IBM's 80386SLC variant of the Intel 80386
chip. Also, IBM announced the PS/2 model N51 SX notebook, an
entry-level machine using the Intel 80386SX processor.

Both the model N51 SX and the model N51 SLC, which IBM calls PS
Notes, are 6.2-pound black-cased notebooks. Each comes with two
MB of memory expandable to 10 MB, an internal 1.44 MB diskette
drive, and a 9.5-inch liquid crystal VGA display offering 32 gray
shades. Battery life on both units is 1.5 to two hours, Kline said.

The N51 SX comes with a 40 MB hard disk drive, while the N51
SLC will be shipped with an 80 MB drive, Kline said.

IBM said its 16 MHz SLC chip, developed and manufactured at
its Burlington, Vermont, plant, runs up to 80 percent faster than
standard 16 MHz 386 SX processors, offering processing power
equivalent to a 25 MHz 386 SL chip.

(Grant Buckler/19920325/Press Contact: W. Dean Kline, IBM,
914-642-5408)


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

IBM Adds 386SX PS/2 Models 03/25/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- IBM has
added two new models to its Personal System/2 line of personal
computers, both using the 20-megahertz (MHz) version of the Intel
80386SX microprocessor. A new color display comes standard
with one of the new machines.

Both versions of the new PS/2 Model 35 come with two megabytes
(MB) of RAM, expandable to 16 MB on the motherboard, plus an
internal 3.5-inch diskette drive and 16-bit VGA display adapter.
Both also use the AT (Industry Standard Architecture) bus and
have three expansion slots and two bays for disk drives and other
storage devices.

The model 35 SX-4B1 comes with a 40 MB hard disk drive and
the 8512 14-inch color display. The model 35 SX-4B2 comes with an
80 MB hard disk drive and the new 8511 color display.

The 8511 color display is a new 14-inch design offering better
resolution and improved ergonomic features, including a base that
lets it swivel 300 degrees (five-sixths of a full circle). It meets
product specifications for very low frequency magnetic field
(VLMF) and extremely low frequency magnetic field (ELMF)
standards, IBM said.

Company spokesman Chris Clough said the 8511 display is
standard equipment only with the new PS/2 Model 35 SX-4B2 at
present, but will be offered as an option for other systems later.

The hardware features of the new models almost exactly match those
of IBM's PS/1 386SX Pro, a machine the company is pitching to the
home-office and small business markets. Clough said the differences
lie largely in the distribution and support for the two machines.
The PS/1 Pro is being sold through retail channels, consumer
electronics dealers, and superstores, he said, while the PS/2 goes
through business-oriented resellers. Further, PS/2 models are
covered by IBM's HelpWare package, a collection of support and
training offerings.

The PS/2 model 35 SX-4B1 has a suggested retail price of $1,995,
and the model 35 SX-4B2 has a $2,235 price tag.

(Grant Buckler/19920325/Press Contact: Michael Reiter, IBM,
914-642-5368)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00024)

 ****Alouette Wins Telesat Canada Bid 03/25/92
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- Alouette
Telecommunications, a consortium of Canada's regional telephone
companies and satellite builder Spar Aerospace, is the successful
bidder for the Canadian government's 53 percent stake in domestic
satellite communications carrier Telesat Canada.

The office of John McDermid, minister of state for finance and
privatization, announced that Alouette Telecommunications will
pay C$154.8 million, or C$48 per share, for the government's shares.

Stentor Canadian Network Management, the national phone-
company consortium through which the major regional carriers are
participating in Alouette, already holds 41 percent of Telesat.
John Farrell, president of both Alouette and Stentor, said Alouette
will launch an offer for the remaining shares, held by assorted
minority shareholders, within "the next 10 days or so."

Farrell told Newsbytes the deal is good news for the Canadian
telecommunications industry and for Canadian business. He said
the telephone companies needed to own Telesat in order to have
sufficient incentive to make the investments called for to improve
the telecommunications infrastructure in Canada.

"We're very pleased and we look forward to making Telesat even
more successful than it is today," he said.

The only other known bidder was National Telesystem of Montreal, a
company controlled by Charles Sirois, who this summer is to become
chief executive of Teleglobe, the Montreal-based company that
controls overseas satellite links from Canada. The government gave
no reasons for choosing Alouette over National Telesystem.

(Grant Buckler/19920325/Press Contact: John Anderson, Alouette
and Stentor, 800-461-7800 or 613-560-3692; Ray Windsor, Spar
Aerospace, 416-629-7727)


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

New For PC: DosFax Pro Fascimile Software From Delrina 03/25/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- Delrina
Technology has unveiled a plain-DOS version of its WinFax Pro
facsimile software for Windows, and a software bundle that
combines WinFax Pro with software from two other firms.

DosFax Pro is fax communication software that runs on the DOS
operating system. Company spokesman Josef Zancowicz said it is
essentially a DOS version of WinFax Pro, Delrina's popular fax
communications software that requires the Microsoft Windows
operating environment.

DosFax Pro includes scheduling and fax broadcasting features and
the ability to attach documents from various DOS applications. It
works with any Sendfax, Class I, or Class II fax modem, Delrina
officials said. The suggested list price for DosFax Pro is C$89.

Delrina also announced Fax Pak, a bundle containing its WinFax Pro
software, a special version of the FaxGrabber software from Calera
Recognition Systems of Sunnyvale, California, and the latest
release of Norton Desktop for Windows from Symantec of Cupertino,
California.

FaxGrabber converts fax images received on a PC into editable
text. The Norton Desktop for Windows is a user interface shell. The
suggested list price for the Fax Pak bundle is C$229.

Delrina has just announced the signing of a letter of intent to
merge with WordStar International of Novato, California, as
reported previously by Newsbytes.

(Grant Buckler/19920325/Press Contact: Josef Zancowicz or
Shelly Sofer, Delrina, 416-441-3676)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00026)

Lotus Signs Text-Retrieval Pact With Verity 03/25/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- Lotus
Development has signed a licensing agreement with Verity of
Mountain View, California. The deal gives Lotus the right to use
Verity's full-text retrieval technology in all of its software
products.

The initial focus of the deal is Lotus' notes work-group software,
said Constance Mazelsky, a spokeswoman for Lotus. The company plans
to incorporate Verity's Topic retrieval engine into the forthcoming
Release 3.0 of Lotus Notes, which is due later this year, Mazelsky
said.

According to Lotus, this was give Notes users robust full-text
retrieval as a standard feature. Additional sophisticated
intelligent search interfaces will be available from Verity through
cross-platform compatibility with the Topic Document Retrieval
System.

The Verity technology may be used in other Lotus products in the
future, Mazelsky told Newsbytes, but Notes is the first priority.

Lotus officials said they selected Verity because of the
opportunity for strong technical collaboration and because of
synergy in the companies' mutual customer base.

Four-year-old Verity sells document retrieval systems to corporate
and government customers, through its own offices in the United
States, Canada, Australia, and Europe, and through distributors
around the world. Verity has technology and marketing agreements
with a number of hardware and software vendors.

(Grant Buckler/19920325/Press Contact: Constance Mazelsky,
McGlinchey & Paul for Lotus, 617-862-4514; Robert Williams, Verity,
415-960-7630)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00027)

 ****Microsoft Windows DB Product Not Xbase Compatible 03/25/92
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- Microsoft
President Bill Gates told reporters in a teleconference yesterday
concerning the company's merger with database software company
Fox Software, that Microsoft's planned database product for Windows
will not be Xbase (or .DBF) compatible.

Compatibility with the .DBF file format is an issue in business as the
.DBF file format has become a standard. The format mainly has to do
with information at the beginning or "header" of the file describing
the layout of the file's contents.

Borland's dBASE product, developed by Ashton-Tate who was
purchased by Borland last year, set the standard when the first
version dBASE II was released.

Previous to its purchase of Ashton-Tate, Borland had developed a
database product that did not hold to the .DBF file standard called
Paradox. While Paradox was not .DBF compatible, it still gained a
place in the market.

Fox Software products however, are .DBF file format compatible. So
much so that until the purchase of Ashton-Tate by Borland, Ashton-
Tate was embroiled in a controversial lawsuit with Fox over its
similarity to the dBASE product.

The database development community is racing toward the release
of a database product for the Windows graphical user interface (GUI).
Although other companies like Spinnaker and Software Publishing
International have released Windows database products, none of the
major players in the database industry have done so as of yet.

Fox demonstrated a prototype of its FoxPro for Windows, a product
Mickey Friedman public relations manager at Fox told Newsbytes
was very close to release. Microsoft maintains its Windows
database product will be available this year as well.

Gates said the fact that the Microsoft database product for Windows
will not have a .DBF compatible file structure means any merger of
the two products will not be likely in the short term. Microsoft's
database product currently under development is code named
 internally "Cirrus."

However, Dave Fulton, current Fox president, will take a place at
Microsoft as database architect of Microsoft's Database and
Development Tools Division. The development team at Fox is
also expected to relocated to Microsoft's Redmond, Washington,
headquarters from Fox's Ohio headquarters "over time" the two
companies said.

Borland has implied in its announcement of dBASE IV 1.5 that it is
planning to deliver a dBASE for Windows product in April of this year.
Though it seems obvious Microsoft might be competing with Borland,
Microsoft may also have designs on IBM's share of the database
market in the corporate as well as personal computer markets.

Microsoft also announced third-party developer support for Open
Database Connectivity (ODBC). ODBC is a standard which will allow
access, via the Microsoft Windows operating system, to virtually all
databases, Microsoft said.

Microsoft and supporters of ODBC said they are planning software
drivers to allow transparent user access to database data in the
following formats: dBASE files; Digital Equipment Corp.'s Rdb files;
Microsoft Excel XLS files; IBM DB2; Oracle; Paradox; and SQL
Server files.

IBM has always had a presence in the database software line,
especially in the corporate community on mainframe computers. IBM
is announcing third-party vendor support for its Distributed Relational
Database Architecture (DRDA), a competing standard it is planning
for release. The company describes DRDA as a standard for data
connectivity among relational database management systems that
run in like or unlike environments.

Several vendors have announced support for DRDA, the latest
being Islandia, New York-based Computer Associates, a company
that develops utilities for IBM's mainframe database product, DB2.

So the race may be bigger than just the personal computer arena
with Microsoft and IBM competing for the entire computer market pie
by both offering cross platform database connectivity to business.
Further, if the environment, either Microsoft's Windows or IBM's OS/2,
handles the format of the database data, it may not matter in the long
run that Microsoft's database product is not Xbase compatible.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920325/Press Contact: Mickey Friedman, Fox
Software, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Linda Tjelle, Wagner
Edstrom for Microsoft, tel [phone], fax: [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00028)

Apple Offers VITAL, Connectivity Info Book For Corporate MIS 03/25/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB) --
Connectivity is a big issue in corporate computing and Apple says it
is formulating a plan to address the issue for its corporate customers.
The plan is called VITAL (Virtually Integrated Technical Architecture
Lifecycle) and is a document detailing Apple's product directions for
connectivity.

Users do not want to hassle with the format of the data itself and
want desktop systems easily integrated into enterprise wide
systems, Apple claims. Microsoft with Open Database Connectivity
(ODBC), IBM Distributed Relational Database Architecture (DRDA),
and now Apple with VITAL are all attempting to answer that need.

Apple says VITAL is information so those responsible for overseeing
the flow of data on an enterprise-wide computer network can develop
vendor-independent systems that will talk to each other.

Morris Taradalsky, vice president and general manager, enterprise
systems division said: "Apple Computer is struggling with the same
set of issues that all of our corporate customers face -- how do we
optimize the range of systems that we have, connect systems and
users more seamlessly, and write and develop applications that are
scalable and reusable?"

Apple says it has several years of work into VITAL with its internal
information systems division, with early collaboration with Digital
Equipment Corporation first working on the framework for VITAL.
Three more years of refinement of the framework has been done by
Apple with some of its corporate customers.

Over 1,000 pages on VITAL has been put together for Apple's
internal guidelines document, the company said. Broken down into
five areas, VITAL addresses: data capture; data access; repository;
desktop integration; and systems infrastructure, Apple maintains.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920325/Press Contact: Betty Taylor, Apple,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00029)

Ministor Removeable Super-Small HDs For Notebook Computers 03/25/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- Ministor has
announced its "Portables," a line of removable, super-small 1.8-inch
hard disks geared toward notebook computers.

The hard disk have a 64 megabyte (MB) capacity and are built for
rugged use, the company says. Ministor anticipates the removable
drives will be used for the growing number of  battery-powered
portable computers, including notebook, sub-notebook, and pen-
based systems.

The interface for some of the new Portables is compatible with the
PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association)
Type III standard removable PC card interface with a 68-pin connector,
Ministor maintains. The PCMICIA Type III standard allows for thicker
PC cards. The company says the power consumption of the new hard
disks is also designed with the power-sensitive notebook and battery
operated computer in mind.

The drives are designed to withstand an operating shock of 20 Gs
and a non-operating shock of 200 Gs. Ministor also said the drives
have a shock sensor that allows the drive to sense jarring movements
during write commands before data is in danger.

Four models are available. The Miniport 64, is an embedded drive
with an IDE interface, 64 MB of data storage capacity, a height of 12.5
millimeters (mm) and a weight of less than 75 grams(2.65 ounces).
The Miniport 64P, is a removable drive with an PCMCIA compatible
interface, 64 MB of data storage capacity, a custom height of 13.5 mm
and a weight of less than 75 grams(2.65 ounces). The Miniport 32, is
an embedded drive with an IDE interface, 32 MB of capacity, a height
of 9.8 mm and a weight of less than 65 grams(2.3 ounces). Lastly, the
Miniport 32P, is a removable drive with a standard Type 2 PCMCIA
compatible interface, 32 MB of capacity, a height of 10.5 mm and a
weight of less than 65 grams(2.3 ounces).

Data access times are 18 ms and host data transfer is up to five
MB-per-second, Ministor maintains.

The company is manufacturing the drives at its Singapore factory
and has developed original equipment manufacturer (OEM)
relationships electronics manufacturers Samsung and Seiko
Epson Corp.

Evaluation units are expected to be available in April with
production quantities available in the third quarter of this year.

More information is available from Ministor Peripherals
Corporation, 2801 Orchard Parkway, San Jose, CA 95134, or
telephone [phone].

(Linda Rohrbough/19920325/Press Contact: Charles
Summerhauser, Walt & Summerhauser for Ministor,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00030)

Electronics Industry Companies Moving Toward More Alliances 03/25/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 25 (NB) -- The new
Electronics '92 survey of 455 key electronics industry chief executive
officers (CEOs) reveals American electronics industry companies
are moving toward alliances with competitors and foreign-based
companies.

The study, done by professional services firm Ernest & Young and
Electronic Business Magazine claims 89 percent of chief executive
officers (CEOs) said their companies were involved in one or more
alliances in 1991. This is an increase from the 1989 figures of 79
percent, but companies now have several alliances each,
compared to 1989. Ernest & Young officials said as the numbers
were over 20 alliances per company on the average.

Why? CEOs say the alliances are essential to competitiveness.
Ernest & Young officials say the study shows American businesses
are abandoning the "go it alone and do everything internally"
approach.

CEOs also see alliances as an alternative to the difficulty in
discovering technical talent when the talent is hard to find or a
company is unwilling to have in-house product development staffs.

Interestingly enough, alliances have been happening long enough
for companies to see failures. Seventeen percent of the CEOs
surveyed said their alliances were a vast improvement, while 66
percent said the alliance provided some improvement. The by far
the most quoted reason by CEOs for failed alliances were their own
expectations from the alliance were too high. The second highest
reason was poor communications between partners.

Elizabeth Baatz senior editor at Electronic Business said that,
even though the recession looms large in the minds of CEOs, those
surveyed are not interested in developing an industrial policy for the
industry or in tougher trade sanctions. "The majority of electronics
industry CEOs believe in a hands-off policy when it comes to
government involvement."

(Linda Rohrbough/19920325/Press Contact: Carla Faccher,
Neale-May & Partners for Ernest & Young, tel [phone],
fax [phone])