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/NB920626

Text File | 1992-06-26 | 68KB | 1,516 lines

(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(MOW)(00001)

 ****Microsoft Opening Russian Subsidiary 06/26/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- "We have made a business
decision to open a Microsoft office in Russia," announced
Richard Hevron, Microsoft Corporation's director, business development,
in the former Soviet Union.

"It is not an official announcement yet, but we have an approval to
proceed with the registration. Official announcement is due in 1-2
months," Hevron said. "The office will be a wholly owned subsidiary,
as it usually happens. Local people are looking for  suitable
office space now," the Microsoft director noted.

The office will employ up to 11 people and will serve the territory of
the former Soviet Union. The amount of the investment in the
development of Russian sales has not been disclosed.

"As a separate announcement, in 6-12 months we will offer our products
for rubles. The most important products will be offered initially
with further expansion of the product line later," said Hevron.

Microsoft has signed an independent business association agreement with
RPI -- RosProgrammImport, of Moscow, Russia. "This important agreement
says that RPI will provide us with the marketing and tech support."
"In addition to that agreement, we have recently signed two localization
agreements with RPI. It is our intent that they will be long-term
business partners here in Russia," Hevron said.

WinWorks 1.0 and Excel for Windows are among the products that will
be sold and supported in Russia. Windows 3.1, already in production,
is anticipated in November or sooner. Other products are
expected in December-March.

"We are also going to sign agreements with Russian publishers to publish
MS Press books in Russia. The books we will publish will again be those
books best for than market. Books covering technical aspects of Windows,
LAN Manager, and general end user books will be translated and published."

RosProgrammImport is a 2-years-old private company whose mission is
to promote Microsoft products in Russia. Nickolay Lyubovny,
head and the owner of RPI, is expected to be Microsoft Moscow chief.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920625)


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

Japan: Nissho Iwai & BBC Create News Business 06/26/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- A major Japanese trade
conglomerate Nissho Iwai and British Broadcasting Corporation
have signed an agreement to create a news business in Japan.

The joint venture in Japan will start providing international and
domestic news via TV and radio. Nissho Iwai and the BBC will set up a
joint venture firm in Tokyo within a couple of months. They plan
to go into business with capitalization of 10 million yen ($77,000).
Both firms seek additional outside investors for the project.

The news will be on the air in English for 24 hours a day. Nissho Iwai
will add Japanese news later, the companies say.

The news programs will actually be supplied by BBC World Service
Television or BBC WSTV, which is a subsidiary of the BBC. BBC news
can be seen in Japan via Hong Kong-based satellite broadcasting, and
it has been gaining in popularity in Japan. But the number of
viewers are limited due to a lack of satellite dishes to receive
the broadcasts.

Nissho Iwai is also planning to start a broadcast news service
for individual consumers via space satellites. The firm says it
will apply to the Japanese Ministry of Posts and Telecommunication
to begin service by 1995.

Nissho Iwai is no stranger to the telecommunication business. The
firm is currently providing a Japanese version of CompuServe in Japan
jointly with Fujitsu.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920625/Press Contact: Nissho Iwai, +81-3-
3588-2111)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00003)

UK: Miracom Offers Special "Two Pack" Modem Deal 06/26/92
SLOUGH, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- Miracom has
announced a special two-pack deal on its Courier 2400 Quad
modems. Each modem normally costs UKP 395, but when purchased in
pairs, the price is UKP 595 per two-pack.

According to Clive Hudson, Miracom's sales and marketing
director, there is a still a great demand for lower speed modems
such as the Courier Quad, despite the success of the company's
recent campaign to persuade users to upgrade to V.32 and V.32Bis
modems.

Miracom also admits that the move is aimed at stimulating demand
for the company's 2,400 bits per second (bps) modems over the
summer, which is traditionally a quiet sales period in the UK
technology and computer marketplace.

Hudson reckons that the two-pack pricing strategy will pay off:
"The key to this end of the market is price. Quads are now firmly
in the commodity bracket. We're fortunate as a manufacturer to be
able to compete very aggressively on price because we have better
control over costs," he said.

Hudson is claiming to be the first modem manufacturer in the UK
to offer twin packs as a product promotion. Hudson, whose idea
the twin pack promotion was, said that the idea was inspired by
his previous experience in consumer marketing with Procter and
Gamble, a major UK company with activities spanning several
markets.

(Steve Gold/19920625/Press & Public Contact: Miracon - Tel: 0753-
811180)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00004)

 ****Modem Usage Over Cellular Is Possible - Though Tricky 06/26/92
TORQUAY, DEVON, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- For the second year
running, Newsbytes' UK bureau took a week's vacation while
continuing to administer the bureau remotely. And, for the second
year running, this bureau hit problems.

Last year the problem was one of being unable to grab a cellular
signal out in the country. This year, that problem was solved by
using a booster unit, but this introduced a number of other
problems associated with cellular modem usage.

In the UK, the two cellular networks -- Cellnet and Vodafone --
use a system known as TACS, which is an advanced form of the AMPS
cellular technology seen in the US and parts of the Far East
and Australasia. The technology uses analogue audio channels to
open up a full duplex set of voice channels between the mobile
phone and the base station, which links back into the telephone
network.

In the UK, several million cellular phones have been sold. Even
here in Torquay, a tourist resort in the south-west of England,
cellular traffic during the day is quite high, as witnessed by
frequently busy cellular channels and an inability to make or
receive calls in the early morning and early evening (9/10am and
5/6pm).

The result of this usage produces a problem known as co-channel
interference. On a well set-up cellular modem, co-channel
interference does not cause problems for voice transmissions.
Modem transmissions, however, require all the bandwidth they can
get, especially on cellular links, where the signal to noise
ratio is limited.

The co-channel interference experienced using a 2,400 bits per
second (bps) modem over cellular is such that, even using an
error-checking system such as MNP (Microcom Network Protocol),
the overall data transmission rate is drastically reduced.
Newsbytes UK bureau found that, by stepping down to 1,200 bps
with MNP Class 4 (i.e. no data compression), an overall
transmission rate of around 800 bps was possible.

This was during the day. Around midnight, when the cellular
channels were clear, we stepped up our data transmissions to
4,800 bps using 2,400 bps modem carrier plus MNP Class 5, with
its inherent 2:1 data compression system. Data transmission
speeds went up to around 3,600 bps - almost four times the day
rate.

Coupled with a 60 percent reduction in cellular usage tariffs,
this meant that night usage of cellular modems was almost ten
times more effective in cost per byte transmitted terms.
Preliminary discussions with other cellular modem users confirmed
Newsbytes' findings.

What does this prove? It means that, if you must use a cellular
phone plus modem combination, it really does pay to stick to off-
peak times when the network is quieter and a lot cheaper to
use. Newsbytes found that, during peak times, making a beeline
for the nearest payphone was a lot more effective than squeezing
a modem carrier down a crowded cellphone line, assuming you are
using an acoustic modem.

It's worth noting that it is possible to use any modem with an
acoustic coupler converter. In the UK, these plug-in devices,
which are available from companies such as Andest Communications
of Milton Keynes and Dataflex Design of Wimbledon, South London
for under UKP 150, turn ordinary phone line modem transmissions
into audio signals that link to the phone mouth  and ear pieces
using special mike/speaker pads. Generally speaking, acoustic
coupler/converters will work at speeds of up to 2,400 bps.

(Steve Gold/19920626)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00005)

UK Telecom Watchdog Starts Cellphone Market Investigation 06/26/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- Oftel, the British
government-appointed telecom watchdog, has announced it has
begun an investigation into the cellular telecom market. The
investigation comes as a result of a complaint from Talkland
International, the troubled cellular phone air time provider
(ATP).

Precise details of the complaint from Talkland have not been
revealed by Oftel. The complaint is said to center around the
fact that Talkland is upset about what it calls "unfair
practices" in respect of signing up new subscribers to the
Cellnet and Vodafone networks.

Cellnet and Vodafone are prohibited by UK telecom legislation
from selling their airtime directly to subscribers. Instead, they
must sell their airtime to ATPs, who then sell subscribers
contracts for service.

Newsbytes notes that this has not stopped Cellnet and Vodafone
from setting up subsidiary companies which act as ATPs. According
to several sources, it is this practice which is thought to have
caused the complaint.

Unlike the US and European cellular networks, the UK
arrangement of using ATPs to sell contracts for service has
resulted in hefty upfront and ongoing commissions for signing new
subscribers to Cellnet and Vodafone. Sign-up commissions of as
much as UKP 300 are not unknown, with the result that most ATPs
use some of the commission to subsidize the cost of the phone to
the subscriber.

Since the cellular networks were launched in the mid-1980s, the
subject of commissions has been a source of irritation for many
in the UK cellular service industry -- most analysts now
acknowledge that the commission system has been bad for the
industry as a whole, since it causes subscribers to sign up for
service without taking into account the cost of running a
cellular phone.

Talkland is claiming that the commissions paid by Cellnet and
Vodafone to its tied ATPs is restricting its ability, as well as
those of other independent ATPs, to compete in the market.
According to Oftel, the investigation is being made as it could
be a misuse of monopoly power.

(Steve Gold/19920626)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(SYD)(00006)

Oracle 7 Alpha Tested By Telecom Australia 06/26/92
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- Oracle has unveiled version
7 of its relational database system, and revealed that Australia's
Telecom was one of the large-scale alpha test sites. The product is
due to ship late this year.

Tony Hobbins is a database administrator in Telecom's network
engineering division. He told Computerworld Australia that his task
was to evaluate the database stored integrity, stored procedures, and
trigger features, and that all had worked as claimed.

Hobbins said that in prior versions the administrator had to rely on
integrity rules written for each application, but that the new version
stores the rules centrally, meaning that all applications have to
conform to corporate business rules and integrity constraints.

Shane Hocking is an Oracle specialist within Telecom. He praised the
central storing of procedures, meaning that they were available for
all support areas, making code writing and maintenance much simpler.
He said that Oracle 7 stored copies of procedures locally, vastly
reducing network traffic. This is especially true as Oracle 7 is
designed to exist on multi-platform networks.

Telecom used Unix-based Amdahl mainframes and Pyramid minis in the
test installation. It plans to migrate all applications to the new
version over a year or so.

Hocking said that the new event-driven database triggers aid in
automatic processing, such as a simple data entry triggering a
deeper authorization procedure.

(Paul Zucker/19920626)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00007)

Digital Sheds 15% In Australia 06/26/92
MELBOURNE,  AUSTRALIA 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- 200 jobs, including executive
positions, will be shed by the end of June from Digital Equipment
Corporation's (DEC) Australian operations as part of the troubled
giant's tough cost-cutting and restructuring around the world.

But, DEC plans to hire up to 100 telecommunications specialists after
finalizing a US$750M deal for developing the Optus Operational Support
System (OSS)  which will be the world's first fully digital
telecommunications network.

DEC's Patrick O'Haloran said that the company had arrived at the
final staff cut numbers after an intensive round of assessments by
managers throughout Australia in the past month. The US early
retirement scheme which guarantees at least six month's salary is not
available in Australia.

"The job losses are right across the board, from sales to secretarial
and include some executive positions," said O'Haloran. "But the good
news is that we expect no more job losses - certainly at this stage."

He said the other bright nebula on the horizon was DEC's remarkable
sales of PCs as well as workstations and integrated systems, throughout
the latest quarter.

(Paul Zucker/19920626)


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

Australia: Digital Network May Be $1B Export 06/26/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- The recently announced AUS$1B
deal between Australia's second carrier Optus and computer company
DEC could result in annual exports of at least that much again,
according to DEC insiders.

As prime contractor, DEC will be responsible for providing all
information technology and services for the Optus Operational Support
System (OSS). Optus CEO Bob Mansfield said DEC had secured the deal
by offering not only "solutions," but a business plan which will
provide world-class service and long-term export growth for Australia
to other carriers and network operators who may be interested in this
ground-breaking all-digital telecommunications network.

DEC will establish a worldwide OSS support and development center in
Australia, probably Sydney. Further announcements are expected in
four to six weeks.

(Paul Zucker/19920626)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00009)

 ****JVC CD Accepts Motion Pictures 06/26/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- Japan Victor Corp. (JVC) and
Dutch-based Philips have developed a completely new compact disk
system -- on a regular 5-inch CD motion picture images can be
recorded. Both firms want to propose this system as an industry
standard.

JVC and Philips have developed a prototype of this motion picture
CD player which they promise to release by the end of this year.
It will initially targeted at the popular "Karaoke" market, in
which a person can sing popular songs to orchestrated
background music.

Motion picture data is recorded and compressed to 100th of  its
original size; sound signals are compressed to a fifth of their
original length when recorded on this CD. A total of 74 minutes of
motion pictures and sound data can be written on the CD.
This new motion picture CD may replace current laser disk-based
Karaoke in the future because it is much smaller in size and
cheaper.

The success of this new CD depends largely on the support of
software makers. JVC released a graphical CD Karaoke
player for the low-end consumer market last year, but it is not
selling well, partly due to lack of software support from music
producers. Also, it does not support motion pictures.

JVC and Philips will propose the specification of this new CD
system to the industry by this fall. Both firms will also request
that the music industry participate in this project.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920625/Press Contact: Japan Victor Corp.,
 [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00010)

New For PC: IBM High Level Assembler 06/26/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- Add a new
one to the list of oxymorons that includes jumbo shrimp and military
intelligence: High Level Assembler. Even IBM admits the name sounds
a little odd at first, but the new programming tool for IBM
mainframes is real just the same.

Available June 26 for the MVS, VM, and VSE mainframe operating
systems, High Level Assembler is the assembly language familiar to
veteran programmers, but with  added tools to make it easier to
use.

Assembler is a programming language with instructions that
correspond to the machine-language instructions the hardware
understands, but are given mnemonic names to make them easier to
remember. That is in direct contrast to "high-level" programming
languages where a single instruction does much more.

IBM's High Level Assembler is still assembly language, company
spokesman Steve Malkiewicz explained. What it provides is improved
programming aids such as a debugging tool that pinpoints where an
error occurred instead of just telling the programmer that
something has gone wrong. There are also facilities to simplify
software maintenance.

Assembly language creates highly efficient programs, and has been
in use since the 1950s, so there are many assembly-language
programs in use. However, the number of trained Assembler
programmers is declining, so those who remain have a lot of work to
do, Malkiewicz told Newsbytes. High Level Assembler is meant to
make those programmers more productive, he said.

Monthly license charges for High Level Assembler, which runs on a
range of IBM mainframe computers, range from $28 to $991, depending
on the processor.

(Grant Buckler/19920625/Press Contact: Steve Malkiewicz, IBM,
914-642-5449)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEL)(00011)

Indian SW Export Firm Bags Dev't Contract from CNN 06/26/92
BOMBAY, INDIA, 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- Patni Computer Systems Ltd. (PCS)
has commenced work on a 15-man year offshore development project
for Turner Broadcasting Systems Inc. of Atlanta, Georgia (the CNN
news people).

The turnkey contract involves development of an integrated television
accounting system (TVAC). TVAC is a database for tracking the Turner
Network Television cable channel's extensive movie library, which
includes "Gone With The Wind," the original "King Kong" and all
pre-1950 Warner films. TVAC will help manage movie contracts with
local and international TV stations, covering their scheduling and
payments for films aired.

The 250-program software is being developed in Cobol and ADS/O in
Computer Associates' CA-IDMS database environment. The project is
being executed on a completely remote delivery basis with the PCS
team working directly on TBS's IBM-3081 mainframes in Atlanta over
a dedicated 64 KBPS data link from Bombay. The application is
planned for delivery by next September.

"PCS bagged this contract in the face of strong competition from
over 25 US and Indian vendors," said Mrinal Sattavala, PCS's export
marketing manager. "The clinching factor was the ability to offer
a complete and remote development over a data link. This has enabled
TBS to enjoy the cost-effectiveness of offshore development, while
retaining the flexibility to closely monitor and participate in the
development process and status on their own mainframe."

PCS claims that 40-person years of offshore work is already going on
its dedicated satellite data link to various other projects in US
and elsewhere.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920625)


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

GEnie Opens Bottle on New Business Services 06/26/92
ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- GEnie, the
second-busiest online text-based network in the US, has made
pricing and service moves aimed at the small business market.

Starting June 15, daytime access rates have been reduced to
$12.50 per hour, 30 cents per hour lower than the rate charged on
the competing CompuServe network. The company's evening rate of
$6 per hour was considered aggressive, and remains the same.

The company has also enhanced its business information service
offerings through a relationship with Advanced Research
Technologies of Rosemont, Pennsylvania. ART provides the ARTIST
Gateway System, an intelligent link to Dialog, the world's
largest online library, featuring menus and commands similar to
those found on GEnie. This means users don't have to deal with
Dialog's cryptic SQL database structure. Equally important, use
of the ART link is based on searches and successful "hits" of
information. Regular Dialog use is priced by the hour, and can
run as high as $150/hour for some files.

ARTIST acts as an electronic library through a program called
KNOWBOT. This translates each search, submits it to the
appropriate database or databases, displays a list of subject
areas where the search topic was found along with the number of
matches, then lets you ask for more information from a specific
source. Article headings in sets of ten are then displayed, most
recent first, and you can then download a specific article.

Following are the most recent additions to the service lists on
GEnie.

GEnie Reference Center includes general reference data in 21
subject areas including Business Management & Directories,
Industry News, the Environment, Math, Science, Computers,
Engineering, American & World history and Medicine.

GEnie NewsStand offers with access to over 900 full-text
newspapers including The Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and
Washington Post, as well as hundreds of popular magazines and
newsletters going back, sometimes, as far as 1980.

GEnie Bookshelf is an electronic version of R.R. Bowker's "Books
in Print" directory with over 1 million titles, including advance
notices. Also available are reviews of over 40,000 books and the
ability to search based on a publisher's name, address or phone
number. Through Read USA, the GEnie Mall's bookstore, any
publication found through this service can be ordered
immediately, at a discount from the suggested retail price.

GEnie also has a gateway to the Dow Jones News/Retrieval service,
an Investment Analyst service with price quotes, performance
analysis and programs to help screen and select stocks, track
portfolios and identify trends, and a "Public Opinion Online"
service which offers one of the most comprehensive collections of
public opinion surveys in the US.

GEnie, which is owned by General Electric, has about 350,000
members. The Newsbytes News Network, which maintains its worldwide
network of reporters via GEnie, offers its reports as a daily feature
on GEnie.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920626/Press Contact: Neil Harris, GEnie,
301-340-4559)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00013)

AT&T Offers New Business Services 06/26/92
BASKING RIDGE, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- AT&T has
begun offering secure teleconferences and a new business calling
card.

The teleconference offering, done in conjunction with Group
Technologies Corporation, is based on the AT&T Secure Voice/Data
Terminal, which can link up to 12 parties at once, based on MS-
DOS computers, using the Intel 80386 or a faster chip. The
terminals also work with other secure terminals using the federal
STU-III program at 2400 or 4800 bits per second. Each PC
processes and routes the voice signal from the terminals, then
encrypts and decrypts it at each end of the link, so the line
can't be tapped.

The new calling card is called AT&T Corporate CustomDirect. It
allows companies to pre-select the phone numbers, area codes or
countries that can be either reached or blocked. Each card
accommodates a maximum of 100 numbers: 50 domestic and 50
international. This not only guards against fraud by outsiders,
but against phone abuse by employees carrying the card. The card
will be available free through 1992, after which the company will
impose an undetermined one-time service fee based on the number
of calls allowed or blocked. The new card may be used in
conjunction with all AT&T calling plans.

Also, AT&T engineers in Santa Fe, New Mexico said they have
field-tested an experimental fiber-optic communications system
that uses multiplexing techniques to double the capacity of the
line. The Wavelength Division Multiplexing, or WDM technique,
involves transmission of light pulses in various colors, using
lines containing segments of the rare earth erbium which boosts
the signal. The team operated the system at 6.8 billion bits per
second in a 1991 test.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920626/Press Contact: Donna C. Cunningham,
AT&T, 802-482-3748; AT&T Federal Systems, David Arneke, 919-279-
7680)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00014)

ATC Buying Car Cellular Outfit 06/26/92
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- ATC of Dallas, which
has a contract to install cellular pay-phones for Budget Rent a
Car, said it plans to acquire Portable Cellular Communications of
Seattle, Washington from Nationwide Cellular Service of Valley
Stream, New York.

The company has a contract with Avis Rent A Car to maintain
fixed-mount, in-car cellular telephones in 2,000 Avis cars in Chicago,
San Francisco and Los Angeles.  ATC hopes to install another 20,000
phones in 18 other markets over the next two years for Avis.

The company added that PCC has exclusive rights to utilize CTS
"smart phone" technology in cellular phones in Avis and Budget
rental cars. This makes it possible for a rental car customer to
activate a cellular telephone by entering a credit card and
personal identification number through the touch-tone pad on the
phone.  Once the credit card has been verified, the customer can
make either local or long distance calls. Because all calls are
recorded on a real time billing system and charged directly to a
credit card, ATC will receive prompt payment.  The technology
also minimizes credit risk and provides daily feedback of phone
usage by location and type of rental car.

ATC's Budget contract calls for installing up to 70,000 cellular
phones. Cellular phones are quickly becoming a regular feature in
some rental cars, as rental companies try to differentiate
themselves and cellular phone companies like ATC use computers to
explore the new market.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920626/Press Contact: ATC, Raymond R.
Cottrell, 604/685-9177)


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

Fleet Call Posts Big Loss 06/26/92
RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- Fleet Call,
which owns Specialized Mobile Radio licenses in major cities and
is trying to create a national digital network of SMR frequencies
to compete with cellular phone companies, said it lost $28.46
million for the year ending in March. Fleet Call's SMR
network is exceeded in size only by that of Motorola.

Fleet Call has been investing heavily in digital technology,
which increases the ability of its licensed networks to handle
both voice and data. The company noted that during the year it
got more money from each of its subscriber and increased their
number, resulting in $33.43 million in sales, against $31.98
million a year earlier. Equipment and maintenance sales were down
slightly, but that was because the company said it is shifting
from low-margin government contracts to higher-margin trunked
radio sales, which also produce service revenues. Total revenues
of $52.53 million, however, were $1.37 million below those
posted a year earlier.

The big news was the gross margin, $33.56 million, or 63.9
percent of sales. The loss was thus blamed on faster depreciation
and amortization, expenses associated with going digital, and
compensation from stock appreciation rights.

Fleet Call has been moving to install the Enhanced SMR system of
Motorola in its network, which will increase its call-handling
capacity even further, by using techniques borrowed from cellular
telephony. The company's chairman has urged that the Federal
Communications Commission open up the market so Fleet Call can
extend its network nationwide, which would provide real
competition to cellular telephony. Most SMR licenses are held
either by small, private companies like taxi fleets or by large
companies like Federal Express which have their own private
networks.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920626/Press Contact: Fleet Call, Lisa
Zappala, 201/438-1400)


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

Integration of Microwave Cellular, Cable TV Service 06/26/92
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 26 (NB) --
Comcast, Motorola, and the Jerrold Communications Division of
General Instrument said they have successfully integrated and
tested a Motorola cellular base station and a cable TV-like call
transport system the three developed jointly. The result could be
microwave-based PCN phone services linked to long distance
networks over cable TV systems.

The system will be tested using cells installed on streets and in
buildings in the Trenton, New Jersey area. The integration,
however, was done at Motorola's Fort Worth facility. Trial users
will be provided with modified Motorola MicroTAC portable phones
based on Comcast's infrastructure. Comcast owns both the cellular
phone system and a cable television network in the Trenton area.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920626/Press Contact: Mark A. Coblitz,
Comcast, 215-981-7733)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00017)

ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 06/26/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- Roundup is a brief
look at some computer stories carried in other publications
received here this past week.

June's Computer Monthly has a review of the Gecco 50 MHz 486 and
announces that it will go to a different format - standard
magazine size (it is now published tabloid), with a corresponding
increase in page count.

The June 22 Network World says Microsoft is calling for a truce
in the API mail war.

Telephony for June 22 says that as cellular technology enters its
second decade customers are looking for more input into future
service directions and are less interested in the technology
itself.

June's The Office looks at optical disks and records management
strategies.

Federal Computer Week for June 15 says that the NSF is proposing
to open the NSFnet research data network to business users.

PC World dated July 92 says Quattro Pro is the ultimate 3-D
spreadsheet.

Unix World for July looks into the pitfalls as well as the power
encountered when "going graphical."

The June 22 Communicationsweek says Easel is widening database
options with "two new products that let developers build client-
server applications."

July's Workstation News talks about Somerset - the alliance
between IBM, Apple, and Motorola.

Software Magazine has a June special profiling the top 100
independent software companies.

July's LAN Technology explains how to design for maximum
performance with super hubs and bridges.

Computerworld's 25th anniversary edition has a look at the future
gleaned from talks with 25 computer visionaries.

Informationweek talks about transnational outsourcing in the June
22 issue.

(John McCormick/19920626/)


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

AICorp, Aion Sign Merger Agreement 06/26/92
WALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- Two prominent
vendors of knowledge-base software, AICorp and Aion, have announced
plans to merge.

AICorp will issue to shareholders of Aion about 7.2 million shares
of its common stock in exchange for all outstanding shares of Aion.
AICorp will also assume the outstanding Aion employee stock
options, which are exercisable for AICorp common shares.

The deal has yet to be approved by the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC), a process that normally takes eight to 10 weeks,
AICorp Chairman and Chief Executive Robert Goldman told Newsbytes.
After that, shareholders of both companies must vote on the deal,
which has already been approved by the AICorp and Aion boards of
directors. The firms hope to close the deal in late August or early
September, Goldman said.

A new name for the company will be unveiled at that time. The new
company will be headquartered in Palo Alto, where Aion is based,
but will continue to operate a major facility in Waltham, currently
AICorp's home. Goldman will become chairman of the new company, and
James Gagnard, chief executive officer and president of Aion, will
become chief executive officer.

The merger will allow the former rivals to become more efficient,
shorten selling cycles, and develop more new products, Goldman
said. "You have two companies that were very similar in size and
very similar in product offerings and spent a lot of time battling
it out with each other," he said.

AICorp reported a loss of about $6 million on revenues of roughly
$19 million in the year ended March 31, largely due to unusual
items such as the company's buy-out of its European representative,
Goldman said. Aion is privately held.

The new company will consolidate many functional areas, officials
said, resulting in the loss of about 20 percent of existing jobs at
the two companies over three months. Field operations will be
combined to provide better local sales and support coverage.
Product development and customer support teams will be maintained
in both Palo Alto and Waltham.

Aion was founded in 1984. AICorp, founded in 1975, had its initial
public offering in June of 1990. Both companies have sales and
support offices throughout the world.

(Grant Buckler/19920626/Press Contact: Robert Goldman, AICorp,
617-891-6500; James Gagnard, Aion, 415-328-9595; Greg Levendusky or
Mona Pohl, The Weber Group (public relations), 617-661-7900)


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

Lotus Cuts Earnings Estimates 06/26/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- Lotus
Development is expecting lower earnings than it had previously
forecast in both the current quarter and the 1992 fiscal year. The
company blamed spreadsheet price competition and slow growth in
some foreign markets.

The price of Lotus stock fell as a result of the announcement.

The company announced that in the second quarter, which ends June
30, it expects revenues of $220 million to $230 million, and
earnings per share between 30 and 40 cents. Analysts had been
estimating Lotus would have earnings per share of between 50 and 55
cents per share in the quarter.

Company officials also said they expect earnings per share in
fiscal 1992 to be about 25 cents per share lower than originally
estimated.

Company spokesman Richard Eckel said price competition in the
Windows spreadsheet market and slow growth in some of the company's
markets are partly to blame. Lotus does not expect the spreadsheet
price pressure to abate in the foreseeable future, he said, and
economic conditions are hard to predict.

However, Eckel noted that the company recently launched new
versions of its Ami Pro word processor and Freelance graphics
software, and plans new releases of its 1-2-3 and Improv
spreadsheet packages in the second half of the year. "We feel real
good about the second half of the year," Eckel said.

Lotus stock closed at 18.375 June 25, down 5.625 in the day's
trading.

(Grant Buckler/19920626/Press Contact: Richard Eckel, Lotus,
617-693-1284)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00020)

New PC: Zeos 1.3-Pound Palmtop 06/26/92
ST PAUL, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- Zeos International
has introduced a 1.3-pound palmtop with DOS and Microsoft Works in
ROM. The company said the unit will be shipping within 30 days, and
will carry a price tag of $595 in its standard configuration.

The ZEOS Pocket PC has 1 MB (megabyte) of RAM (random access
memory), and 1.5 MB of ROM (read only memory). Encoded in ROM is
DOS 5.0 and Microsoft Works. Works includes a spreadsheet, word
processing, a database, file transfer, and communications programs.

The system also includes two built-in PCMCIA slots which will accept
memory cards containing additional software or can be used for
system data storage. The cards act like floppy drives. Zeos
spokesperson Rick Apple told Newsbytes that the price of the cards
has not been determined.

Zeos said the Pocket PC's batteries will provide up to 10 hours of
continuous operation, and will maintain data for up to 30 days in
the suspend mode. Apple told Newsbytes that the keys on the 81-key
keyboard are very similar to a standard desktop keyboard, and is
designed for touch typing. The keyboard contains 12 function keys
as well as an embedded numeric keypad and special hot keys that
access pre-selected software windows. You use these keys to access
the programs embedded in ROM. Apple said the keys are slightly
closer together than those on a desktop PC, and have less travel.

Zeos said the LCD (liquid crystal display) video display measures 7
inches wide by 2-3/4 inches high, and has an adjustable non-glare
screen with an 80 column by 25 line display, comparable to desktop
and laptop systems.

Zeos sells an optional data/fax modem which transfers data at 2400
bps and fax at 9600 bps. The external modem connects to the single
serial port. Apple told Newsbytes that the price has not been
finalized yet, but expect the modem to sell for under $250. The
Pocket PC also provides one parallel port.

In addition to DOS and Microsoft Works in ROM, Zeos has also
included a to-do list, calculator, several utility programs, and a
planner.

(Jim Mallory/19920626/Press contact: Rick Apple, Zeos, 612-633-5877;
Reader contact: 800-423-5891, fax [phone])


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

 ****Olivetti Backs Alpha, DEC Buys Interest 06/26/92
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- A deal between
Digital Equipment and Olivetti makes DEC's Alpha architecture the
main basis of future Olivetti computers and gives DEC a stake in
the Italian computer maker.

"The best news from our perspective," said Digital spokesman Dallas
Kirk, is that Olivetti has chosen the Alpha architecture as the
basis for its mainstream computer products in the future. Digital
will supply chips and system platforms based on its Alpha RISC
technology, and networking software.

Alpha, a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) design launched
early this year, is to be the basis of the next generation of
Digital hardware starting late this year, and Digital also hopes to
sell the design to other manufacturers.

Digital has also agreed to become a shareholder in Olivetti, taking
control of just under 10 percent of the company over the next two
and a half years.

Digital has agreed with the shareholders' group CIR, which controls
Olivetti, to buy 20.25-million shares of Olivetti common stock
right away for 172,125 billion Italian lira. That represents 4.03
percent of outstanding Olivetti stock. Digital has also agreed to
purchase the same amount of stock from the shareholders' group, at
the same price, before the end of 1994, consistent with the
progress of the alliance.  Finally, Digital has agreed to buy
another 9.5 million shares, accounting for 1.89 percent of Olivetti
common stock, on the open market by June 1993.

That will give DEC 9.95 percent of Olivetti by the end of 1994. The
agreement between the companies neither requires nor rules out any
further stock purchases by DEC, Kirk said.

The agreement also extends current technology and marketing
agreements between the firms, covering PCs, workstations, and
networking, as well as joint research efforts into multimedia
applications and communications being conducted at Olivetti's
Cambridge, UK research laboratories.

DEC's primary objective in the deal is to broaden and strengthen
its long-standing relationship with Olivetti, Kirk said. The
agreement will have little immediate impact on customers, he said,
though in the longer term the closer relationship may help the two
companies promote open systems standards more effectively.

Digital will have up to two senior executives sitting on Olivetti's
board as the alliance progresses.

(Grant Buckler/19920626/Press Contact: Dallas Kirk, Digital
Equipment, 508-493-4562)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEN)(00022)

 ****Microsoft Pulls Z-Nix License, Files Suit 06/26/92
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- Microsoft says it
has terminated its licensing agreement with Z-Nix and brought suit
against the Los Angeles-based company and three of its distributors.

The lawsuit follows a two-month Microsoft investigation that was
initiated after users reported that Z-Nix was selling Microsoft's
Windows 3.1 operating system without accompanying Z-Nix hardware as
the license requires.

A Microsoft spokesperson told Newsbytes that while the actual number
of copies of Windows distributed illegally was difficult to estimate
until Z-Nix records were examined, the company estimated that it
could run to "hundreds of thousands."

Also named in the suit in addition to Z-Nix are software
distributors Jactech Corporation, Max Group, and PC Man Inc., also
known as Super 10 and Super Computer. Principals of the four
companies were also named in the suit.

Earlier this week US District Court Judge David Kenyon granted a
Microsoft request for a temporary restraining order against further
reproduction and distribution of Microsoft software as manufactured
by Z-Nix. The case will be heard July 6th.

Microsoft spokesperson Katy Ehrlich told Newsbytes that Microsoft
delivered a cease and desist letter on June 8, at which time it
attempted to conduct an audit as authorized in Z-Nix's licensing
agreement. Microsoft said Z-Nix refused access to its records, and
discussions over the next 10 days failed to result in any progress
in curbing the unauthorized distribution. Microsoft then filed suit
in order to protect its copyrights.

Microsoft has licensing agreements with a large number of companies
to manufacture and distribute Windows as long as the distribution
accompanies sale of hardware. This is not the first time Microsoft
has gone to court to protect those licensing provisions.

Microsoft claims that Z-Nix engaged in the widespread distribution
of a stand-alone version of Windows 3.1, marked as an upgrade
package, to users other than existing customers.

Ehrlich told Newsbytes that no specific amount of damages is being
sought in the case. "It's not the money," she said.

(Jim Mallory/19920626/Press contact: Katy Ehrlich, Waggener Edstrom
for Microsoft, 206-637-9097)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00023)

New for Macintosh: Nubus Fast Hardware JPEG Compression  06/26/92
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- C-Cube
announced at the Seybold Digital World Conference in Beverly Hills,
California that its Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) data
compression processor, the CL550, is the main component of Mirror
Technologies Mirrorquick hardware compression accelerator Nubus card
for the Macintosh.

The Mirrorquick card is designed to replace the JPEG compression
software built into Quicktime. Mirror company representatives told
Newsbytes the board installs easily, the accompanying Mirrorquick
software doesn't clobber the Quicktime JPEG compression but adds its
own user selectable option, and compression/decompression is 6 to 10
times faster.

The card is also 100 percent JPEG compatible, so images compressed
using standard software-based JPEG can be uncompressed by the card
and images compressed by the card can be uncompressed by the
software-based JPEG decompression, company officials said.

The Mirrorquick product is retail priced at $599, is expected to ship
in August of this year, and runs on any Macintosh with a Nubus slot.
Cards for lower-end Macs such as the LC and Si are planned but won't
ship for another three months, company officials said.

C-Cube has announced its own hardware JPEG compression card for the
IBM and compatible personal computer (PC) and based on the same based
CL550 JPEG Processor. The company says the PC card will be in the
same under $500 price range as compression software, but will have
the speed advantages of hardware compression.

The company says the board will be offered in a developer's kit, the
JPEG Still Image Board Developers kit which contains a Window's
Demonstration Application. Developers will be able to buy the kit in
August for $1,000, the company said.

The development kit includes schematics, PAL equations, BMP-
compatible  dynamic link library (DLL) source, a detailed application
note, and complete user documentation for both the board and
Demonstration Application. Kit users can import any 24- or 8-
bit BMP file or 8-bit grey scale image to the demo application, which
uses the JPEG Still Image Board to compress the image to a standard
JPEG File Interchange Format (JFIF) file.

C-Cube says the JPEG board is an industry standard architecture (ISA)
Bus half-card based on C-Cube's CL550 JPEG Processor running at 10
megahertz (MHz). The board supports four display formats -- grey-
scale, YUV (4:2:2 and 4:4:4), CMYK and RGB (24-bit) -- which include
the standard PC and digital video formats, C-Cube said. The board
supports data compression rates of over 1 megabyte (MB) per second,
which means it can compress/decompress a 24-bit, 640 x 480 image in
about 0.7 seconds on a 386SX-based PC.

C-Cube Microsystems is a supplier of color image and
video products for use in computer applications. The company is
privately held and is located in Milpitas, California.

Mirror Technologies is a direct sales outlet of Macintosh peripherals
and is located in Roseville, Minnesota.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920626/Press Contact: Scott St. Clair, C-Cube
Microsystems, 408-944-6300; Kim Moffit, Mirror Technologies, tel 612-
633-4450, fax [phone])


(REVIEW)(IBM)(SFO)(00024)

Review of: Metz Task Manager Version 2.0 for Windows, 06/26/92

Runs on: IBM AT, PS/2, 286 (and up) or compatible, Windows 3.0 or 3.1,
DOS 3.1 or higher, 720K disk space (for full installation), mouse
recommended.

From: Metz Software, P.O. Box 6699, Bellevue, WA 98008-0699.  Tel:
(orders) 800-447-1712, (support) 206-641-4525, Fax: [phone].

Price: $49.95  Street price: Estimated $29.95-$39.95

PUMA Rating: 3.7 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Thom Foulks, Business Radio Network

Summary: A spiffy, inexpensive Windows "power user" competitor to
Norton Desktop for Windows; of interest to Windows newcomers for its
"quick" utilities, more so than for overall task management.

======

REVIEW

======

No one's yet caught the software world's attention with a YAWL
program, but it may be imminent.  What's a YAWL?  Yet Another Windows
Launcher, of course. Although file and program management has been
greatly improved in Windows 3.1, the desktops of hardcore Windows
users remain cluttered with icons, hidden windows, and
sometimes-forgotten tasks.  Norton Desktop for Windows took a high end
approach to the clutter, and won many editorial rave reviews for
replacing and improving on Microsoft's Program Manager.

Now comes Metz Task Manager 2.0 with a speedy low end approach that
shows far more appreciation for getting work done, than it does for
displaying copious icons.  Furthermore, TaskMan can work in
conjunction with ProgMan or NDW, and speed up the functions of either
-- or it can be the Windows "shell," running perceptibly faster at
task switching, file finding and/or text searching. Version 1.0 of
Task Manager (a shareware product) won a PC Magazine Editor's Choice
Award.

Quickness is the overriding characteristic of Task Manager, and Metz
Software doesn't mince words in naming the application's components.
They include:

 - Quick File Manager -- To copy, move, delete, or rename files or
directories.  (Has faster access, more intuitive response, than
Program Manager or Norton Desktop.)

 - Quick File Find -- To locate one or more files on hard drives, a
network or a floppy disk.  (Fastest Windows file search I've seen,
locating files on a 510MB hard disk in less time than it took me to
type in the target file's name!)

 - Quick Text Search -- To search files for a specific text entry.
(Searches any group of files, fast; superb for finding that WinWord
 .DOC file in which you mentioned "rhubarb" last spring.)

 - Select Directory -- A single icon to click for changing
directories, or creating a new directory, even across a network.
(TaskMan stays on my work machine, if only for the ease-of-use of this
option.)

 - System Status -- A fast pop-up of system information, including
icons for editing system files.  (Similar to, and faster than, Norton
Desktop's SYSINFO, albeit with less technical information.)

 - Launch -- A customizer for Task Manager.  (Programmer's delight;
heady stuff for a neophyte.)

 - Scheduler -- Put your computer to work on back-ups or lengthy print
tasks, while you're asleep or absent.  (It remembers what the computer
DIDN'T do -- maybe because of shut down -- and provides a "Run Missed
Event" option.)

The Task Manager window also includes a "Run" option, effectively a
direct-entry DOS command prompt from within Windows that is more
accessible and speedier than similar functions from Program Manager or
Norton Desktop. It also remembers what you've been doing (up to 99
tasks), and provides a click-click return to any previous "run" task.

Uniquely, Task Manager also provides a "screen saver" for DOS
applications being operated from within Windows.

Task Manager's major weakness, ironically, is in its sleekness and
power.  It is rich in options for configuration and overall usage --
all of which require knowledgeable user decisions about how Windows
operates and how an individual wants to work within Windows.  Although
neophytes can make ready (and easy) use of such functions as
file-finding and text-searching, the total Task Manager package will
appeal most to "power users."  There is ample, context-sensitive help
available; but, again, the help necessarily assumes a broad knowledge
of Windows usage.  Simply put, this is not a product for beginners.

===========

PUMA RATING

===========

PERFORMANCE: (3.9) Task Manager's speed defies the "slow" performance
image of Windows.  Across-the-board, its many functions operate
perceptibly faster than comparable products.  However, its operating
window does not have an adjustable size, wasting the potential of
flexible large screen (1,024x768 or more) operation.

USEFULNESS: (3.0) A power user can put it to use immediately; Windows
newcomers or DOS neophytes probably need to learn better what they're
trying to improve, before trying Task Manager's improvements.  A
strong knowledge of Windows terminology is mandatory.

MANUAL: (4.0) As with many newer Windows products, a manual is almost
superfluous when compared to online help files.  Task Manager's
120-page manual is well-written, unintimidating, and uses graphics
images to display various operations.  But, once installed, help is
more readily available from a click-click within the lengthy -- and
extensively-indexed -- online help files.

AVAILABILITY: (4.0) Metz Task Manager 2.0 is available directly from
Metz Software for $49.95, or through Ingram Micro, Merisel, and
numerous resellers. (Initial shipping date was June 1, 1992.)  For a
limited time, registered owners of ANY Metz Software product can
purchase a Metz Task Manager 2.0 upgrade, for $19.95 plus shipping,
directly from Metz Software.  Metz provides non-toll-free telephone
support (Programmer Art Metz may even answer the phone), and maintains
a CompuServe forum (GO WINAPC) for support and information.

(Tom Foulks/19920626)


(REVIEW)(IBM)(SFO)(00025)

Review of: Lotus 1-2-3 for Home, Version 1.0, 06/26/92

Runs on: PCs with 512K of RAM, hard disk, graphics display, DOS 2.1
or higher. Windows compatible (.PIF included).  Requires 5MB hard
disk space, depending upon installation options related to fonts.
(NOTE: 123H CAN run on an 8088/86 CPU, if the machine has the
necessary RAM, display and storage requirements.)

From: Lotus Development Corporation, 55 Cambridge Parkway, Cambridge, MA
02142, 617-577-8500

Suggested List Price: $149  Street price: Below $100

PUMA Rating: 4.0 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Thom Foulks, Business Radio Network

Summary: This package stands out, not for its program (123H), but for the
bundled templates with it.  The 50(!) 123-compatible .WK1 files are
useful for Excel and QuattroPro owners, making the total package of
interest to nearly all spreadsheet users.

=======

REVIEW

=======

Even if you're quick with QuattroPro or excellent with Excel, you will
want to look at "Lotus 1-2-3 for Home" -- and be aware the "home"
description is somewhat misleading.

In a comparatively inexpensive package, Lotus has bundled a slightly
scaled-down spreadsheet (based on Lotus 1-2-3 for DOS, Release 2.3)
and fifty "SmartSheet" customized application templates.  It is the
templates which give this product its power and attractiveness.

The spreadsheet is a full-powered, character-based 1-2-3
implementation.  Its limitation is in the size of spreadsheet that can
be handled: 256 rows by 512 columns instead of the 256x8192 cell
layout in larger 1-2-3 versions; and it lacks the interface permitting
add-on products or linking between spreadsheets.

But a graphical interface is built-in, so that 123H comes on-screen in
full WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) mode.  Included are
Bitstream's Swiss fonts (in Roman, bold, italic and bold-italic) that
can be sized from 3 to 72 points, and printed just as they are
displayed.  123H provides "quick graph" power, with pie, bar, line and
3-D effects.  The user interface is the traditional Lotus menu
structure, activated by the "/" key or by mouse clicks.

The power of the package is in the SmartSheets.  The .WK1 files are a
broad range of ready to use applications that stretch the "home"
descriptor into home business and small business uses.  There is, of
course, a mortgage amortization template (graphed far fancier than
what you'll find on your neighborhood BBS).  At the other end of the
spectrum are spreadsheets for "perpetual inventory control" and "stock
balance record" with data input instructions on the template. Closer
to home are templates for a video tape log, household inventory, and a
tally sheet for a commercial credit application.

Other SmartSheets make use of 1-2-3's text-graphics power with annual
and monthly calendars, a memo form, a fax cover sheet and other
applications more typical of word processing than number crunching.
All the sheets are laid out with graphics in place, and with the
"print range" already defined for easy print-out to common dot matrix
or laser printers.

Lotus Development's DOS spreadsheets marketing manager, Ben Shelton,
told Newsbytes the SmartSheets were developed by Lotus programmers in
response to user requests.  He said: "Users can just plug in their own
numbers, and start working right away.  Also, the SmartSheets can help
users learn how to use 1-2-3, because they can see these formulas.
These templates are not too complex...users can see how to set up
their own formulas in their own worksheets."  Although the SmartSheets
might seem to be marketable as a stand-alone package, Shelton said that
is not "currently planned."

The SmartSheets are divided into five categories: Administration,
Finance, Human Resources, Operations, Personal Finance and Planning,
and Sales and Marketing.  A 55-page reference manual gives a brief
explanation of each; but the quintessential help information is in
each template and appears on screen when they are loaded into the
spreadsheet program.

For general use, 1-2-3 Home also includes a 140-page User's Guide
which Lotus admits "is not a comprehensive reference...on all the
functionality in 1-2-3." The on-line help system, with
context-sensitive references, appears more than adequate to make full
and varied use of the SmartSheets. (Spreadsheet neophytes hoping to
augment the corporate accounting system should note this product is
not targeted at the Fortune 1000.)

Registered 1-2-3 for Home users are also provided one-month free
support via the Lotus toll free help line.

DO the .WK1 files WORK with Excel and QuattroPro?  At random, I
selected three different SmartSheet files from within each Excel 4.0
and QuattroPro SE. All loaded and displayed properly, all accepted
pertinent data input properly, all printed properly.  Given the
nuances of file compatibility-handling among spreadsheet program
manufacturers, that's not a guarantee -- but the high quality of the
SmartSheets certainly deserves consideration by users of other
spreadsheet software.

In a nutshell: At a expected street price in the $100 area, BUY the
package. That's $2.00 per SmartSheet, and any one of them may save you
100 times that price in keyboard time.

===========

PUMA RATING

===========

PERFORMANCE: (4.0) The spreadsheet software itself, 123H.EXE, is
derivative of a tried-and-tested Lotus product.  SmartSheets handle
user revision predictably, and can be revised easily for variations to
meet user's needs.

USEFULNESS: (4.0) A court is still wrestling with competitors' use of
the Lotus menu structure (its "look and feel"), but the .WK1 file
structure is a de facto standard.  That makes the usefulness of
SmartSheets spread far beyond their home product.

MANUAL: (4.0) Given the context-sensitive help system, any manual with
such a product -- beyond start-up instructions -- is almost
superfluous.  Start-up, itself, is from a stand-alone "INSTALL" program,
with easy-to-follow prompts.

AVAILABILITY: (4.0) Lotus 1-2-3 for Home began shipping in mid-April,
and is well-immersed in standard software discount channels -- look
for a $99 or below price.

(Tom Foulks/19920626)


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

Borland To Bundle 286|DOS Extender With C++ 3.1 06/26/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- Phar Lap
Software has announced that a special version of its 286|DOS
Extender software will be bundled with the latest version of
Borland International's C++ language compiler.

286|DOS Extender Lite, which will come with C++ 3.1 upgrades
ordered from Borland, lacks support for Turbo Debugger, provides
access to only two megabytes of memory rather than 16 as in the
full version, and comes without printed documentation or technical
support, Phar Lap spokeswoman Maria Vetrano said. There is on-disk
documentation.

Like the full 286|DOS Extender, the Lite version works with DOS,
Windows, or Quarterdeck Office Systems' Desqview environment.

The deal is a new departure for Phar Lap, Vetrano said. The
company's only other bundling deal offers the full version of its
386|DOS Extender with Leahy's F77L-EM\32 Version 5.0 FORTRAN
compiler.

The 286|DOS Extender Lite supplied with C++ does not include
redistribution rights. Users who want to distribute the DOS
Extender with their applications need Phar Lap's standard 286|DOS
Extender Run-Time Kit, which sells for $995. The full version of
286|DOS Extender sells for $495.

(Grant Buckler/19920626/Press Contact: Maria Vetrano, Phar Lap
Software, 617-661-1510, fax [phone])


(EDITORIAL)(TRENDS)(MOW)(00027)

Editorial: Russian Archives Online In US 06/26/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- By Kirill Tchashchin, Newsbytes
Moscow Bureau. Strange. I must go to United States to study the
history of my country, which is half a world away.

In the early days when everything was secret here in the
USSR and history was covered by dust in the Party's archives,
Russian archives in the US were the only way to study Soviet
history.

Now the Communist party is dissolved, the papers have been
opened, but again, the only way to read them is in the US.
America Online has posted the documents electronically in
its library for all US subscribers to read -- the system can not
be accessed from Russia. My editor in the US downloaded the documents
and sent them to me via another electronic mail system.

The selections of documents and accompanying comments are a good
example of how to present 70 years of history in a small and
understandable package, and the papers are relevant and descriptive.

In the Chernobyl coverage, the papers presented are reports about
engineering defects detected while erecting the Chernobyl power plant
building in 1979. Further back, there are letters from the Soviet
president to America's President Kennedy regarding the Cuban
Missle Crisis. The archives go as far back as Stalin and Lenin.

Interpreters have translated the text word by word, writing Russian
sentences and paragraphs in English. Some documents display "True copy"
at bottom. While probably strange to English readers, that is a
very common phrase on original documents in the Russian bureaucracy.
It is what the secretary usually writes on the document after
retyping a new copy.

I really enjoyed reading the papers. But I want them here in my
country. I -- a reporter in Moscow, Russia -- also want the CD-ROM
with scanned GIF files of the party or Foreign Affairs archives. I
want to have it in research institutes. I want it to be available
through Relcom, a public computer network covering 250 cities
here. Having them here might boost local research, local
telecommunications, enable more Russians to know their history,
rather than just exhibit it abroad to raise cash.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920620)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00028)

Lexmark Uses Lasermaster High-Speed Printing Technology 06/26/92
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- Lasermaster
Technologies says its high speed printing technology for Microsoft
Windows has been incorporated into Lexmark International's print
accelerator. It will be used with Lexmark's Fastbytes parallel port
interface built into the IBM LaserPrinter 4029 series.

Ordinary printer drivers translate Windows internal commands,
called Graphical Display Interface (GDI), to a page description
language like Postscript or PCL, then send them to the printer.
Lasermaster said its GDI technology improves Windows printing speeds
significantly because it processes the GDI commands directly,
skipping the translation to another language. GDI printing
technology, said Lasermaster, creates an electronic image of the
page in the computer's memory which is then sent to the printer
through Lexmark's Fastbytes parallel port interface built into the
printer.

"Getting information from the computer the printer is a fundamental
issue for high sped Windows printing," said Lasermaster's chief
technical officer, Larry Lukis. He said the Fastbytes interface
allowed Lasermaster to adapt its GDI printing technology to the 4029
without hardware changes.

Lasermaster's Karen Neset told Newsbytes that the company is working
with other OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) to develop a
relationship which would allow the print accelerator technology to
be used with other printers.

(Jim Mallory/19920626/Press contact: Karen Neset, Lasermaster,
612-941-8687)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00029)

Cray Research Makes Software Design Easier 06/26/92
EAGAN, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 26 (NB) -- Supercomputer maker
Cray Research has announced IRIS Explorer, a product which Cray says
will allow scientists and engineers to design supercomputer
applications without programming knowledge.

The company said that IRIS Explorer 1.0 provides a variety of
modules that appear as icons on the user's workstation screen.
Using a mouse, selected icons can be linked to custom-build an
application to solve a complex scientific or industrial computing
problem. New modules can also be created from existing software
applications, according to Cray Research executive vice president of
development, Bob Ewald.

Cray Research said it has already received three orders for IRIS
Explorer, which was developed in conjunction with Silicon Graphics,
a California-based firm. Cray Research said the new program is a
supercomputer version of the IRIS Explorer application building
software introduced by Silicon Graphics in July of last year.

IRIS Explorer can automatically establish a network connection, log
into the system, and transfer data and program control. According
to Ewald, the development of high performance applications for
distributed processing networks has been a time consuming task often
too complex for anyone but full time programmers. Now, he says "The
IRIS Explorer environment allows scientists and engineers to focus
on solving problems and improving algorithms by supplying
higher-level programming structures."

(Jim Mallory/19920626/Press contact: Steve Conway,Cray Research
612-683-7133)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00030)

 ****Intel, WordPerfect, 10 Others Support TWAIN
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 26 (NB) --  At PC Expo this
week, Intel, WordPerfect, and about ten other vendors joined dozens of
previously announced companies in stating their support for TWAIN -
- bringing to more than 50 the total number of backers for the new
imaging API and protocol.

The newly announced supporters will start to ship TWAIN-compliant
products in about three months, stated Hewlett-Packard's Ken Byer,
chairman of the TWAIN Working Group, during a press conference at
PC Expo.  In addition, he stressed, 11 of the previously announced
backers were showing TWAIN-compliant items at the show.

Formulated by HP, Aldus, Caere, Eastman Kodak, and Logitech, with
input from third-party vendors, TWAIN is designed to permit easy
integration of desktop publishing, word processing, image editing,
and other software with such peripherals as scanners, video boards,
and cameras.

The new specification enables the user to "acquire image" -- or
make a choice between available compliant input devices -- straight
from the application software menu.

This capability circumvents a current, multi-stepped process that
requires the user to exit the application software, enter the
software bundled with the peripheral, and save the image to file,
and then exit the peripheral software, re-enter the application
software, and import the image file.

After the press conference, Byer informed Newsbytes that although
TWAIN is rapidly becoming an ad hoc industry standard, the
specification was initially offered as a proposal only.

"It would have been arrogant of us to try to impose a standard.  So
we decided to take things from the opposite end, letting the other
vendors decide whether this is a specification they need," Byer
told Newsbytes.

During the briefing, Intel announced that its Faxability Plus and
Faxability Plus/OCR Software for Windows will both support TWAIN.
Faxability Plus ships this week.

WordPerfect stated its intentions to implement the new
specification in its Windows and Macintosh products.

Other companies announcing their support included Microtek, Calera
Recognition Systems, Mustek, OCR Systems, Pentax Technologies, U-
Lead Systems, Hammerlab Corporation, Orion Systems Inc, and Zedcor.

Also at the briefing, Micrografx stated that shipment has begun on
Picture Publisher 3.1, an image editing package that supports TWAIN
as well as OLE and Kodak Photo CD.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920626; Press Contact:  Mike Lough, Hewlett-
Pacard, tel [phone])