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Text File | 1992-10-16 | 83KB | 1,857 lines

(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00001)

Lithuania, Germany Cooperate On Telecom 10/16/92
VILNIUS, LITHUANIA, 1992 OCT 16 (NB) -- Lithuania and Germany have
signed a preliminary agreement concerning cooperation in the field of
communications.

Lithuanian Minister of Communications and Informatics Gintautas
Zintelis and the German State Secretary of the Ministry of Post and
Telecommunications Wilhelm Rawe, signed the agreement in Vilnius
during the Baltic Info'92 show.

Both parties expressed their intention to cooperate closely and to
exchange experience in political, state, and other essential
problems of communications. The parties also committed themselves to
ensure that the post dispatches and bank commissions should be fast and
reliable, according to the official press release.

Lithuanian Ministry of Communications and Informatics has also
presented a new state program it titles, "Lithuania - 2000."

Minister Gintautas Zintelis as well as Vice Ministers A. Basevicius
and R. Krukauskas explained how the idea of this program came into
existence. The goal was to create an information infrastructure for
Lithuania. Government, science and industry would combine their
efforts to create telecommunication and computer networks, as well as
five large commercial databases. Also, there would be a
rearrangement of the state information system. It's especially
important for Lithuania to have communications with the West and with
international organizations, officials stressed. This aim will be
accomplished with this program, they say.

Among the firms participating in the plan were Bull, represented
by Christian Kindermans and Claude Desbois, and Mentor Informatic,
Mogens Rasmussen and IBM Finland.

Ericsson held a briefing to describe how quickly data communication
can be introduced to the present Baltic States telephone network.
Participants discussed the possibility of advanced high speed
data communication by digitizing a telecommunication
network.

(Kirill Tchashchin & Glebas Paulevitchius /19921015)


(CORRECTION)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00002)

CORRECTION: Australian Electronic Wine Guide Contact Numbers 10/16/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 OCT 16 (NB) - In a Newsbytes article about a
computer-based wine guide appearing last week, it was stated the
phone number for Sydney-based company Heuristic was [phone].

The phone number is, in fact, [phone]. Alternatively, the
distributors, Bitstorm, can be contacted on [phone] (Fax:
[phone]). Newsbytes apologizes for any inconvenience this
error has caused.

(Sean McNamara/19921008/Press and Public Contact: Stuart Bullock,
Heuristic, phone in Australia [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(BOS)(00003)

Thinking Machines Supercomputer Under $1M 10/16/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 16 (NB) -- Thinking
Machines has announced actions aimed at giving its CM-5
supercomputers greater power and accessibility, including a new
supercomputer for under $1 million, a new file server architecture
that boosts the speed of the entire CM-5 product line, and a joint
development agreement for new engineering software.

Jim Bailey, director of marketing, told Newsbytes that Thinking
Machines' new low-cost CM-5 Scale 3 is targeted mainly at the
university market, but will also have some industrial applications.
All installations of the Scale 3 will include a new file server
architecture that raises the transfer rate to as much as 4 Gbps,
and so will all future shipments of the bigger supercomputers in
the CM-5 line, according to Bailey.

In addition, Thinking Machines and the newly established Centric
Engineering Systems Inc., will create new finite element
software for the CM-5s designed to save time for engineers working
in product manufacturing.

Pricing on the Scale 3 starts at $750,000, in contrast to as much
as $30 million for Thinking Machines' top-of-the-line Scale 7,
Bailey told Newsbytes. First customers for the Scale 3 include
Columbia University in the U.S. and Bergische Universitat in
Germany, he reported. "Many university departments really need a
supercomputer in the lower price range," he commented.

The Scale 3 offers between 16 and 32 of Thinking Machines' 128
MFlops parallel processing nodes, Bailey said. In comparison, the
Scale 7 provides some 16,000 nodes. But the Scale 3 will use the
same Connection Machine software previously developed for its
larger counterparts, as well as the same new file server
architecture.

Under the new architecture, disk storage nodes are larger than
before. Also, for the first time ever, the disk storage nodes will
run as peers on the network established for the parallel processing
nodes. "As a result, the transfer rate of the disk storage nodes
has been increased from a typical speed of under 100 Mbps to as
much as 4000 Mbps," Bailey told Newsbytes.

The new disk storage nodes plug into the same CM-5 cabinets that
the processing nodes use, he explained. Each disk storage node
consists of eight 3 1/2-inch disks, and carries a total capacity of
9.6 gigabytes. The disk storage nodes are linked together as a RAID
3 file system by the scalable CM-5 data network.

The new finite element analysis software, running in prototype form
at Thinking Machines for the past year, will be marketed by Centric
when ultimately released.

Palo Alto, CA-based Centric was established to produce finite
element analysis software that lets engineers model both the solid
and fluid mechanics behavior of products, simulating product
performance before manufacturing actually begins.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19921015; Press and reader contacts: Lloyd
Benson or Glenda Cudaback, Cudaback Strategic Communications for
Thinking Machines, tel [phone], Bob Ingols or Lynette Barnum,
Wilson McHenry Company for Centric, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(NYC)(00004)

 ****Legion Of Doom Connex With 911 Attacks Denied 10/16/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 16 (NB) -- Members of the
well publicized group of computer hackers, The Legion of Doom, has
denied any connection with the recent alleged tampering with US and
Canadian 911 emergency systems. They have also told Newsbytes that the
Legion of Doom (LOD) group has been defunct for a number of years.

The recent publicized quote by an arrested 23-year-old New Jersey man,
identified only as Maverick, in which he said he was a member of the
Legion of Doom and that the group's intent was "to attempt to
penetrate the 911 computer systems and infect them with viruses
to cause havoc," has infuriated many of the original group.

"Lex Luthor," one of the founders of LOD, told Newsbytes, "As
far as I am concerned, the LOD has been dead for a couple of years,
never to be revived. Maverick was never in LOD. There have been 2
lists of members and those lists are the final word on membership.
There has been no revival of LOD by me nor other ex-members. We
obviously cannot prevent copy-cats from saying they are in
LOD. When there was an LOD, our goals were to explore and leave
systems as we found them. The goals were to expose security flaws
so they could be fixed before REAL criminals and vandals such as
this Maverick character could do damage."

He continued, "If this Maverick character did indeed disrupt E911
service he should be not only be charged with computer trespassing but
also attempted murder. 911 is serious business."

Lex told Newsbytes that he is not affiliated with any type of illegal
activities especially those concerning computer systems. "However,
I do try to keep up with what's going on and have 2 articles on
computer security being prepared to be published. I won't say where or
what name I am using because if the editors know an ex-hacker is trying
to help society and help secure computer systems they probably would not
accept the article."

Captain James Bourque of the Chesterfield County, Virginia police and the
person who had quoted Maverick to the press, told Newsbytes that Lex's
comments were probably correct. He said, "I don't think that there is a
connection with the original group. I think that this group sort of
took on the Legion of Doom Name and the causes that they think the
Legion of Doom might have been involved in."

Bourque also said, "This group tried to publicize their activities
by calling the local ABC station here as well as ABC in New York.
It was not unusual for four or five of these individuals to set up
a telephone conference and then to try to bring down our local
911 system here by monopolizing the system -- it never worked but
they continued to try."

Bourque told Newsbytes that the continuing investigation is being carried
out by local law enforcement agencies and that an investigator from his
organization was in Newark reviewing the evidence against Maverick. He
said, "It's possible that the Secret Service will become involved after the
presidential election is over. They are very busy now."

Mike Godwin, in-house counsel of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
(EFF), an organization that has been involved in a number of cases
involving admitted LOD members, commented to Newsbytes, "I don't
believe for a minute that this has anything to do with the real Legion of
Doom."

Phiber Optic, another ex-LOD member, told Newsbytes that he was
disturbed that the media accepted the designation of Maverick as LOD,
saying, "If he said that he was a Martian, would they have put in the
paper that he was a Martian?"

Emmanuel Goldstein, publisher of 2600 Magazine: The Hacker Quarterly,
also took issued with the designation of those arrested in New Jersey and
Canada as "hackers," telling Newsbytes, "Nowhere have I seen any
indication that these people were inside of a telephone company computer.
They were allegedly making vocal calls to the 911 services and trying to
disrupt them. You certainly don't have to be a genius to do that. Let's
not demean hackers by associating them with the kind of behavior that is
alleged."

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19921016)


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

Computer TV Listings 10/16/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 16 (NB) -- The following are the
scheduled topics which producers say will be covered on upcoming
computer-related television programs.

PCTV Live - weekly half hour, host Victoria Smith. PCTV is
carried on the Mind Extension University Cable Network (check
local listings for schedule but the main feed is on Saturday at 6
p.m.) and on the G6 Satellite, Channel 22 feed times (Eastern
Time) are 4:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. Thursdays and again Sundays at
11:00 a.m.

October 15, 1992 - CorelDRAW 3.0, a drawing program for PCs;
also, a look at practical uses for virtual reality.

October 22, 1992 - Windows for Workgroups; Stan Miastkowski
explains the basics of setting up a local area network;
BYTE's Rob Mitchell reviews several products.

October 29, 1992 - Claris FileMaker PRO for Windows, a
spreadsheet and database package.

MacTV - Daily hour-long show on Satellite G6, Channel 22, 8 a.m.
to 9 a.m. Eastern Time. Also on Mind Extension University Cable
Network Monday and Saturday from 9:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Eastern
Time.

October 15, 1992 - Adobe Systems' Illustrator 3.2 and Photoshop
2.01; Specular International's infini-D; and Nisus Software's
Nisus.

October 16, 1992 - T/Maker Company's Click Art; Don Crabb's Quick
Time; ExperVision's TypeReader 1.0; Inline Design's Tesserae; and
Aldus Corporation's IntelliDraw.

October 19, 1992 - Letraset USA's LetraStudio V2.0; Don Crabb's
System 7: File Sharing - Set Up; ASD Software's WindoWatch; and
Microtek Lab's ScanMaker 600ZS.

October 20, 1992- Edmark Corporation's Millie's Math House; Shiva
Corp.'s LanRover/L; and Aldus Corporation's Persuasion 2.1.

October 21, 1992 - Don Crabb's A Look at the Performa 400; MASS
Microsystems' Quick Image 24; and Fox Software's FoxBase+/Mac
2.01.

October 22, 1992 - DeltaPoint's DeltaGraph Professional;
Microsoft Corporation's Excel 4.0: What's a Spreadsheet; Dayna
Communications' NetMounter; and ALSoft's Power Utilities.

October 23, 1992 - T/Maker Company's FaxMania; Interplay
Productions' Dvorak on Typing; Now Software's Now Up-To-Date; and
Nolo Press's WillMaker 4.0.

October 26, 1992 - Edmark Corporation's Kid Desk; Hayes
Microcomputer Products' Modems; Dayna Communications' PathFinder;
and SITKA's MacTOPS 3.1.

October 27, 1992 - Don Crabb's A Look at the QAuadra 950; Adobe
Systems' Photostop 2.01 Tutorial; Letraset USA's LetraStudio
V2.0; ASD Software's FileGuard 2.7; and MASS Microsystems' Hard
Drives.

October 28, 1992 - Software Toolworks' Grolier's Encyclopedia;
DeltaPoint's DeltaGraph Professional; and Beagle Bros'
BeagleWorks.

October 29, 1992 - Aldus Corporation's SuperPaint; Don Crabb's
Glossary: SCSI; Dayna Communications' DaynaSTAR Hubs & SCSI/Link;
and Terrace Software's Mum's the Word Plus.

October 30, 1992 - Adobe Systems' Photostop 2.01 Tutorial;
T/Maker Company's ClickArt; Letraset USA's Fontek; Interplay
Productions' Dvorak on Typing; and Nisus Software's Nisus.

(John McCormick/19921015/Press Contact: Wayne Mohr, PCTV, 603-
863-9322)


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

ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 10/16/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 16 (NB) -- Roundup is a brief
look at some computer stories carried in other publications
received here this past week.

October's Technological Horizons in Education (THE Journal) looks
at applying emerging technologies to schools.

Telephony dated October 12 looks at ISDN CPE or customer premises
equipment -- hardware that phone company customers will use to
access high performance Integrated Services Digital Network voice
and data transmissions.

Networking Management for October takes the unusual step of
looking not at how new technology affects networking, but at how
it affects network managers -- how their jobs are changing and
will change in the future.

The October 12 issue of Government Computer News reports that
federal employees are telling Congress that they are willing to
comply with the Computer Security Act and protect data better,
but that they can't do so without more money for special hardware
and software.

November's Computer Shopper looks at Dell Computer's 325NC Color
Notebook.

Computer Reseller News came out with two issues this week, one
dated October 12 and another dated the 13th, although the both
arrived at this office on the same day.

The first of the week's issues looks at the restructuring of
Computerland while the Special Networld Edition dated the 13th
says that UnixWare has beaten both Microsoft NT and Solaris 486
to the market.

(John McCormick/19921016/)


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

The Enabled Computer 10/16/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 16 (NB) -- By John McCormick.
This is the third of four columns which look at how the computer
press can help business cope with the Americans with Disabilities Act
and how most editors fail to understand how important this information
is to a large number of businesses.

My articles on the subject seldom mention the ADA; they don't need
to, nor are they tearjerkers which turn off many readers and disgust
a large number in the disabled community.

Advocates no longer need to raise awareness of the moral rights
of the disabled; there is now an anti-discrimination law and a
vigorous move within the disabled community to enforce that law.

What the computer press can and must do is provide information,
not about WHY companies should comply but showing HOW TO COPE
with the new law.

What business needs is information showing how it can easily add
these productive workers to its fold, and providing information
is exactly what we in the press are best qualified to do.

What is the situation today?

Did you know that only one mainstream newsstand computer
publication carries a regular column on technology for the
disabled? Computer Monthly - this column originates in it.
Considering that there are 43 million disabled people in the
US, many of whom could benefit from access to computer
technology, this is an amazing fact.

Douglas Kilarski, editor-in-chief of Computer Monthly, long ago
took on my monthly column because he saw it as the right thing to
do.

Wendy Woods also carries a version of The Enabled Computer in the
international wire service Newsbytes, but outside the specialized
disabled community publications, this column, in its two forms, is
the ONLY regular source of such information.

If you think this sort of information is important, then I urge
you to spread the word about this column.

This is not self-serving on my part, I won't make a penny more
for the column if our circulation instantly doubles, but it is
self-serving for you, the disabled reader or business person,
because the entire country needs more information on this subject
brought into the mainstream, even if someone other than myself
writes those articles and columns.

The specialized publications like "Closing the Gap" are vital to
the disabled community, but, for the most part, they are not read
by the people who do hiring, while mainstream computer magazines
which are read by managers almost totally ignore the topic.

But perhaps even more disturbing than the general lack of
interest among editors is the fact that when other publications
try to do a story on the subject they often get it wrong.

I wrote to one major computer newspaper pointing out that an
article had advised disabled job applicants to go to the
interview prepared to explain how a business could accommodate
them.

That isn't the applicant's job, but any employer reading that
piece could understandably be led to think that the first thing
he or she should do is ask obviously disabled applicants just
what adaptive technology they need.

A quick reading of the ADA leads most people to believe that such
questions would violate the law.

Under the ADA it is apparently not legal for a potential employer
to even MENTION any possible disability until after he or she has
offered employment.

An editor at that newspaper wrote back but the reply was actually
unresponsive, apparently he didn't understand how much trouble
companies could face if they took his publication's advice and
inquired about adaptive technology during an interview.

This is a tricky field and any talk about the ADA or other legal
issues should be left to those with real knowledge in the field.
I am not qualified to give specific legal advice, but as I said
before, what business really needs is information on what
technology is available.

The next issue will conclude this extra-long diatribe about the
lack of access to information about enabling technology.

(John McCormick/19921016)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SYD)(00008)

Australia: "Software Prices Too High" 10/16/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1992 OCT 16 (NB) -- The air has been heavy, like
waiting for the summer monsoon. It broke this week in the Australian
software industry in the form of an official report calling for changes
in the way software is imported and priced.

The Prices Surveillance Authority (PSA) interim report on the
Australian software industry has made a few recommendations that it
says will ease the inflated prices paid by Australian users. "BUT!"
says the industry, "They don't pay inflated prices. They pay less
than any other market apart from North America."

Just which party is correct probably won't matter if the PSA gets its
way and has the Copyright Act changed to allow parallel importing of
software. At present users can import for their own use but are
prevented from reselling. The PSA feels that the market is holding
prices artificially high and that competition in importing would
correct them.

By taking street price figures from the PSA report and vendor's
submissions, it appears that some vendors are inflating prices but most
are raising the US price by around 30 percent which they say is
necessary for support and other costs that the US distributors don't
have to provide. The PSA, however feels that prices can be brought
down by around 20 percent and that this will encourage usage and
therefore eventually make more jobs.

As expected, industry groups have reacted loudly to the report and
are predicting the failure of many importers, a gross reduction in
support levels, and many job losses in the industry.

(Paul Zucker/19921016)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00009)

Australia: Receiver Appointed To Largest Dealer 10/16/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 OCT 16 (NB) -- HiSoft, the largest PC dealer
group in Australia, has had a receiver appointed after its bank
pulled the plug. Observers believe major creditors including IBM and
Compaq may be owed as much as US$25M.

The National Australia Bank is believed to have insisted on a receiver
despite urgent moves within the company during the last month to
restructure and show that it was doing something about its situation.

Sources within the company cite the general industry downturn, the
move towards discount dealers and shortage of some product such as
the low-cost Compaq models as contributing factors. HiSoft has
traditionally supplied high-end corporate and government buyers but
many of these are believed to have moved away from HiSoft this
year.

One buyer told Newsbytes he finally stopped ordering from HiSoft when
he was suddenly asked for COD although he had always been a good
payer. "They couldn't even promise me then that I'd get what I
ordered. I assume they were also being asked for COD from their
suppliers."

The company announced plans earlier this year to open a chain of
superstores. It had grown well ahead of the industry for a number
of years and some analysts believe it had outgrown its capital so
that when sales sagged, the cash flow wasn't there to support the
business. Part of the growth had included the takeover of other
dealer chains.

The receiver is believed to be reasonably confident that the group
can trade into a better position and perhaps even trade out of its
problems. Turnover for this year was expected to be around US$150M.

(Paul Zucker/19921016)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(DEL)(00010)

India Comm '92: Multinational Firms On Parade 10/16/92
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1992 OCT 16 (NB) -- Giant telecom multinationals,
eager to partake a share of the multibillion dollar Indian telecom
market, laid a four-day spread of their wares at the India Comm '92,
held from 13-16 October at New Delhi's Pragati Maidan.

Held against the backdrop of the wave of liberalization and
privatization of value-added services, more than thirty foreign
firms  besides the Indian players converged at the second
international exhibition and conference on telecommunications. They
offered a wide spectrum of products and technologies to be examined
and evaluated by the monopoly government sector, particularly,
targeted at the Department of Telecom (DoT)

England may waver, Greece may opt out, France may go for
referendum, but the India Comm '92 has offered a glimpse of what
European Community (EC) would be like. The splash was created with
a coordinated presentation of what the European telecom giants
can do to modernize India's telecom scenario. Prominent among the 14
companies offering their expertise were Alcatel, Siemens, Detecon,
GPT, Motorola, Philips, Radiall, Radio frequency Systems, Rohde
& Schwarz and Wandal & Goltermann.

"Various competitors for the first time have come under joint EC
banner to score an edge over those contesting in bits and pieces
to assure the Indians that we conform to international standards,"
boasted Juergen Rosrbaun of the Commission of the European
Communities.

The product-spread ranged from digital electronic switches from
Alcatel and GPT, ISDNs, access hubs, gateways from Gandalf-Infotron,
Motorola cellular communication systems, private radio systems
and pagers from Philips Kommunikations, to Radiall's attenuators,
terminators, couplers and Opticable's fiber optic cables.

Another star participant at the India Comm this year was AT&T,
which emphasized its prowess in building, managing, and operating
telecom networks. Currently a presence in India, the firm is
promoting its network management system (NMS) technology to further
consolidate its position, although DOT is keeping mum over its
NMS tender.

Although present on a smaller scale, China External Trade
Development Council (CETRA) of Taiwan, was seen promoting its
nine-firm delegation, displaying products ranging from fax modems
to microwave communication equipment.

Only Siemens AG, out of the three companies which have bagged
the letter of intent for the two-lakh line digital switching
exchange (others being Ericsson and Fujitsu), made an appearance at
the show. The German telecom giant is gearing up to offer competition
not only to established multinationals in India like Alcatel in small
capacity configuration but also to the local stars as Centre for
Development of Telematics (CDOT), Indchem Electronics and Meltron.

Others trying to make a dent in their share include AT&T and GPT Ltd.,
the Guineas record holder for its System X, having an eight lakh
busy hour call attempts (BHCA) handling capacity. Even though the
company lost in the bid for the supply of large digital exchanges,
it is promoting its cost-effectiveness in connecting rural areas
without setting up exchanges there.

The worldwide popularity of the cellular mobile communications has
finally touched the Indian shores. With the country opening up for
privatization of these value-added services, various telecom
giants are vying with each other to woo the Indian customer with
their range of cellular systems and paging services. While stalwarts
like Motorola Ltd., Philips Kommunikations Industrie AG., and Siemens
exulted their proven technical expertise along with the multivendor
hardware compatibility of their cordless systems, paging equipment
and other personal communication devices, smaller players like
Paging Systems Ltd., were equally vociferous about their capabilities.
Keen to supply their wares to the firms selected for offering
operating radio paging and cellular mobile services in the country,
many like Alcatel and Philips have already set up manufacturing
units in alliance with local players. A showcase of their range of
products to be manufactured here was India Comm '92.

The multinationals hogged all the limelight at the India Comm '92,
be it through their imposing displays or through their technical
or manufacturing collaborations with Indian firms in electronic,
testing, connecting and exchange equipment. C-DOT presented its
proud creations: the Rural Automatic Exchange (RAX), EPABX and
the Main Automatic Exchange (MAX), all indigenously designed and
produced. Tata Telecom Ltd., TVS Dupont Ltd., Indchem
Electronics, Usha Rectifier Corporation (India) Ltd., which is
currently  dependent on customers like the DOT, Indian Telephones
Industries and Indian Railways, are banking on their foreign
connections to help them score the edge. Others like Rajasthan
Telematics Pvt Ltd., Applied Electronics Ltd., Crompton Greaves
Ltd., are confident that their indigenous skills will see them
through.

A visit to the India Comm '92 left no doubt about the alacrity
of the multinationals to tap the potentials of the Indian telecom
arena, which is estimated to be nearly $40 billion by the year 2000.
All of them seem to be awaiting the green signal from the local
decision makers to flood the country with their expertise and
merchandise, to take a well-networked India into the 21st century.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19921015)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SYD)(00011)

MacWorld Australia Set For November 10/16/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1992 OCT 16 (NB) -- Do you fancy a trip down under
next month? What better excuse than MacWorld Australia exhibition
and conference on November 12th to 14th in Sydney -- just days
before the start of Fall COMDEX in Las Vegas.

Apart from the exhibition there are three forum strands: business,
training and introduction to programming. Each will be held over three
days. The business forum will focus on Apple Computer's Macintosh
in the business environment, with keynotes by Apple's Ian Diery,
T/Maker's Heidi Roizen, and Farallon's Reese Jones.

Sessions include printing technologies; QuickTime and media integration;
QuickTime to production; spreadsheet comparisons; word processing
comparisons; database comparisons; workgroup computing; and e-mail.

Registration for the conference is AUS$295 for three days (around
US$210) from MacWorld Expo, phone [phone] or fax +61-2-906
3232.

(Paul Zucker/19921015)


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

IDG Doing Personal Digital Assistant Research 10/16/92
FRAMINGHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 16 (NB) -- IDG's
International Data and Link Resources research groups want to do
an in-depth study on the latest hot vapor industry, consisting of
products like the Apple Newton and services based on those
products.

Apple calls such products Personal Digital Assistants, while AT&T
prefers Personal Communicators for products based on its Hobbit
chip set. Bruce Stephen of IDC has chosen Personal Productivity
Products, or P3s. He discussed the proposal with Newsbytes.

"What's needed is an outside objective firm like us to do the
research and guide these companies in the marketplace. We did an
extensive study of pen computing, bought by over 25 companies.
Our study indicated there is interest in pen computing, but it
would be several years before there were significant volume
opportunities. Many of our buyers were in the early stages of
research into the market. The other conclusion was pen computing
equals handwriting recognition, and there were a lot of perceived
applications for pen computing in the office, as opposed to the
field. That study was done at the end of 1991, and was
distributed to clients in the first quarter of 1992."

The results seemed prescient as sales for pen-based systems
fell short of  some expectations in 1992.

Stephen and Michael French of Link say that the proposed products
from AT&T, Apple, Tandy, Motorola, Hewlett-Packard and others
"combine the power of cellular phones, fax machines and pen-based
computers."  Their preliminary analysis, based on existing in-
house resources, indicates that total annual sales of these P-3
devices will exceed 1.5 million units or $660 million by 1995,
not counting the entertainment based and personal communicator
product categories. The initial research also indicates the
consumer market will be slow to take off.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19921015/Press Contact: Bruce Stephen, IDC,
508-935-4269)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00013)

New For PC: Sigma Designs Multimedia Card 10/16/92
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 16 (NB) -- Sigma Designs
has been concentrating on the Macintosh over the past
few years, even though the company's roots were in the PC
marketplace. It's now back in the PC market with Winstorm,
a card that will turn a PC into a multimedia machine.

Sigma Designs says WinStorm has two main parts: video and sound.
On the video side, the board uses the Acumos/Cirrus Logic AVGA3/5422
super VGA controller chip which gives the board the ability to
accurately display 24 bits of color for each pixel. 24-bit display
is only supported for a screen resolution of 640 by 480 pixels.
The board can also display 640 by 480 pixels and 800 by 600 pixels
with 64,000 colors, and 640 by 480, 800 by 600, and 1024 by 768
pixels with 256 colors.

Another interesting feature is the board's ability to support
several scan rates. In 640 by 480 mode, the board can have a
scanning frequency of 120 Hz which is well above the rate necessary
for completely flicker-free appearance. At other resolutions, there
is some degradation in this ability so that at 800 by 600 the board
can operate at 100 Hz. At 1024 by 768, the board can operate only
at 72 Hz. Sigma Designs officers have told Newsbytes that this
ability is unique in the industry.

On the sound side, the company chose to use Yamaha's YMF262 sound
synthesis chip which gives the board the ability to provide 16-bit
sound similar to that provided by a CD player. The chip also provides
up to 20 channels of sound synthesis and stereo operation. All
of these capabilities are provided to the user via a stereo jack
on the back of the board where speakers can be attached. There is
also a MIDI connector, and there is a SCSI connector. The SCSI
connector can be used to attach a CD-ROM player to the machine.
If this is done, the machine meets and exceeds Microsoft's requirements
for  a multimedia PC (MPC), the company contends.

Sigma Designs has signed licensing and distribution agreements with
three software companies whose products will be bundled with
the WinStorm board. Asymetrix is providing  the Multimedia Make Your
Point program, a Windows-based presentation package incorporating
sounds and animation. Animotion is providing MCS MusicRack. This is
a utility that allows the use of multimedia hardware through
the metaphor of the home stereo equipment. Midisoft is providing
the Multimedia Music Library, a collection of MIDI sounds and
music with utilities to edit and play these pieces.

The whole bundled package is scheduled to ship on October
26. Company spokespeople told Newsbytes that the board and the
software are complete and but packaging is still to be done.
Retail price is expected to be set at $429.

Company spokespeople have also told Newsbytes that this is the
first in a series of new products and announcements that Sigma
Designs is planning for the next few weeks. More PC multimedia
products as well as Macintosh products are due to be unveiled
soon.

(Naor Wallach/19921015/Press Contact: Laura Olson Taylor, Sigma
Designs, 510-770-2647/Public Contact: Sigma Designs, 510-770-0100)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00014)

Allied Telesis Enters Adapter Market 10/16/92
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 16 (NB) -- Allied
Telesis has vowed to do to the network interface card market
what it did to the transceiver market -- come in at a very
aggressive price, gain market share, and keep it.

The company has introduced six cards at extremely low prices starting
at $79.95. Compare this to its competitors' street prices which
hover at about $120.

An Allied Telesis spokesperson told Newsbytes that following
the aggressive pricing, the firm's strategy includes an immediate
attempt to lower prices again through redesign activities. In
this way, the company makes very little money in the beginning, but
as volumes increase and efficiency is achieved, the company starts
making a respectable profit.

The six new cards are divided into two models. The 1500 series are
for those looking for the utmost in performance and who do not
care too much about memory consumption. The 1700 series is for the
obverse -- those who care about memory but are willing to give a
little on speed. Within each series there are three models. The
T models support only a 10Base-T connector and cost $79.95. The
BT models support both a 10Base-T and a BNC connector and sell for
$99.95, and the FT models support 10Base-T and have an FOIRL
connector and sell for $299.

All six cards have a set of four LEDs that give Transmit, Receive,
Link, and Collision status. All of the models have been tested and
certified by Novell and Microsoft and come with a lifetime warranty.
Drivers included with the cards include those for IPX, ODI, and
NDIS.

(Naor Wallach/19921015/Press Contact: Derek Buckaloo, Allied Telesis,
206-889-3152)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00015)

New For Networks: Dolphin Network Analyzers 10/16/92
NORCROSS, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 16 (NB) -- Dolphin Networks is
showing a new line of network protocol analyzers at its booth at the
NetWorld show being held in Dallas, Texas this week. The Dolphin ESP
line of network analyzers is comprised of three models that attach
to each of the three most popular kinds of network media: Ethernet,
Arcnet, and Token Ring.

ESP stands for Expert System Protocol. Dolphin has designed an expert
system into each of the three models that will automatically
troubleshoot the problems that are most common to that topology.
The products are composed of the appropriate network interface card
and the software. The card is a standard ISA 16-bit card and the
software is DOS-based. The software provides the ability to monitor
network performance in real time.

The network administrator can also have the product perform real-time
capture and monitoring of packets while applying selected filtering
to the data; real-time display of data like network bandwidth
utilization with further breakdowns on a statistical basis or by
protocol and packet type, etc.; real-time alarms; and an optional
feature for remote control and display.

The tools have the standard compliment of triggers and selectable
alarm conditions that one would expect from such a tool. It will
also capture data to files and will support the capturing of data
to multiple files for different situations as set up by the user.
The expert system operates on these files and diagnoses potential
problem areas that need further investigation or remedial efforts.
Dolphin ESP is one of the only such tools that use Time Domain
Reflectometry to calculate the location of problems such as collisions,
and cable breaks.

Many kinds of network traffic and protocols are supported by Dolphin
ESP. Some of the protocols supported include IPX/SPX, TCP/IP,
Appletalk, StreetTalk, NetBIOS, XNS, and SMB.

Dolphin ESP Arcnet will retail for $995; Dolphin ESP Ethenet will
retail for $1495 and Dolphin ESP Token Ring will retail for $1995.
All three products are being shown at NetWorld this week and will
begin shipping within the next few weeks.

(Naor Wallach/19921015/Press Contact: Susan Wells, Irwin Ink for
Dolphin, 619-450-1960/Public Contact: Dolphin Networks, 404-279-
7050)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00016)

New For PC: Reading Adventures In Oz 10/16/92
ROCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 16 (NB) -- Davidson &
Associates has released a new program designed to help children learn
to read. "Reading Adventures in Oz" (Oz) is the name of this new
program which is closely related to the L. Frank Baum series of
books.

The child can select which of the four characters he or she wishes
to help in their quest: Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow, or
the Tinman. Once the character has been selected, the child must
help the character fulfill  some tasks. When these have been completed
successfully, the wizard grants a wish to one's character.

Within the game setting, there are three levels of operation. These
are loosely patterned after the three stages of reading comprehension
taught in schools today. Level for pre-readers concentrates on teaching
word and object association, shape and color identification,
identification of similarities and differences and other such activities.

Level 2 is intended for the early reader. At this level the
concentration is on exercises that teach the long and short vowel
sounds, beginning and ending sounds and letters, rhymes, recognition
of words, categorization, and the perception of relevant details. Level 3
is for the experienced reader. This level deals with the use of
context to construct meaning, problem solving, drawing conclusions,
and recognition of details, adjectives, nouns, verbs, and digraphs.

By ages, level 1 corresponds to 4 and 5 year olds, level 2 to 6 and
7 year olds, and level 3 to 8 and 9 year olds. These are rough
estimations as each child will reach these stages at different
times.

The program has begun shipping and retails for $59.95. At
this time there is only a DOS version available and the company has
not made plans to port this to any other platform. The graphics,
animation, and sounds of this program requires a VGA display
and a sound card. A list of sound cards supported is available
from Davidson.

(Naor Wallach/19921016/Press Contact: Liz Rich-Reardon, Davidson &
Associates, 310-793-0600 Extension 230/Public Contact: Davidson &
Associates, 310-793-0600)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00017)

Lotus Offers Norton Desktop With 1-2-3 Upgrade 10/16/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 16 (NB) -- To encourage
its customers to move up to the most recent DOS editions of its
1-2-3 spreadsheet program, Lotus Development is offering a free
copy of Symantec's Norton Desktop for DOS Starter Edition. The
offer runs until December 31.

The Norton Desktop for DOS Starter Edition, a special edition for
the Lotus promotion, is meant to make DOS easier to use and help
users better organize and manage their files. The edition includes
file management and anti-virus features as a drag-and-drop user
interface. It is available now in upgrade versions of 1-2-3 for DOS
Release 2.4 and Release 3.1+.

Users of any DOS version of 1-2-3 can upgrade to Release 2.4 or
3.1+ for $150 and get the Norton Desktop bonus, said a spokeswoman
for the company. The offer allows users of Release 2.x packages --
which are less demanding of memory and processing power -- to move
to Release 3.1+ if they wish, she added.

As with earlier Release 3.x DOS versions of 1-2-3, Release 3.1+
differs most noticeably from the Release 2.x versions in offering
three-dimensional spreadsheet capability. It requires at least an
80286 processor and 1.5 megabytes of memory, while Release 2.4 will
run on any DOS PC with at least 512K bytes of memory.

Lotus' 1-2-3 for DOS Release 2.4 and Release 3.1+ offer users added
analytical and spreadsheet publishing capabilities, Lotus said,
while maintaining data, macro, style and keystroke compatibility
with Lotus' spreadsheets for other platforms.

Release 2.4, introduced in the spring, includes Lotus' SmartIcon
technology -- first used in the Windows version of 1-2-3 -- and the
Backsolver multi-variable goal-seeking tool.

Hardware requirements for the Norton Desktop for DOS Starter
Edition are the same as for 1-2-3 Release 2.4: any DOS PC with at
least 512K bytes of memory.

Existing 1-2-3 for DOS users can upgrade to the new DOS offering
directly through Lotus by calling 1-800-TRADEUP, or through Lotus
Authorized Resellers. The announcement applies only to the United
States, Lotus said.

(Grant Buckler/19921016/Press Contact: Karen Schiff, McGlinchey &
Paul for Lotus, 617-862-4514; Public Contact: Lotus, 1-800-TRADEUP)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00018)

Sprint, Centel Get Serious About Merger  10/16/92
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 16 (NB) -- With its joint
registration statement effective, Sprint and Centel are now free
to talk about, and push for, a merger that was announced early
this year, to loud boos from some shareholders. The two companies
said shareholders will vote on the deal December 2.

Many arbitrageurs were very upset early this year when the deal
was announced, since Centel had put itself up for bids and
speculators had raised its stock price to over $40 per share. The
indicated value of the Sprint deal, which will be paid in stock,
is about $32. This meant a bath for speculators and some, like
Moran & Co. of Connecticut, remain opposed to it.

But Sprint Chairman William Esrey and Centel head Jack Frazee
said in a statement they're confident the merger will be
approved. The tax-free transaction gives Centel holders 1.37
shares of Sprint for each Centel share, and about 35 percent of
the total common stock. In a press statement, the two top men
said the new company will be the third-largest long distance
phone company, serve 5.7 million local phone lines, and have the
ninth largest cellular network, with over 20 million "pops" or
potential customers. Cost savings, which speculation has it could
be job cuts, were also promised within two years. Frazee said in
his letter to  shareholders their dividends will go up over 50
percent with the  merger.

In recent trading on Wall Street, Centel stock has been selling
at about $32.50 per share, near the price put on the merger,
indicating that stock players also think the merger will now go
through.

As part of its filing, Centel released documents indicating it
got 18 bids for parts of the company, following a bidding process
of two months during which 45 prospective buyers requested bid
submission materials. But no firm bid was received for either
Centel's local telephone properties or its entire cellular
network. Frazee said the documents prove he took the best
possible deal.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19921016/Press Contact: Sprint, Susan Kraus,
913-624-2530; Bill White, Centel, 312-399-2735)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00019)

IMM Changes Name, Discusses SCS Acquisition 10/16/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 16 (NB) -- At a New York
press conference, International Mobile Machines announced it is
changing its name and discussed the acquisitions and orders
detailed earlier to Newsbytes.

The new name for IMM is InterDigital, and key to its acquisition
of SCS Mobilecom and SCS Telecom are 30 patents related the Code
Division Multiple Access, or CDMA, technology. The new symbol for
the company on the American Stock Exchange will be IDC.

InterDigital has patents on Time Division Multiple Access, or
TDMA, technology, which it uses in a system called the Ultraphone
that offers the equivalent of wired phone service to rural areas,
without wires. As a digital cellular technology, TDMA has been
endorsed by the US cellular industry. But some operators, most
recently US West, have decided instead to go with CDMA. The
reason: the approved version of TDMA offers only three times the
capacity of present analog systems, while the equivalent CDMA
offering has 10 times analog capacity.

SCS has been working on a variant of CDMA called Broadband-Code
Division Multiple Access, or B-CDMA. The technology was
originally created by military planners to prevent the other side
from jamming important broadcasts. SCS has submitted its
Broadband-CDMA technology for evaluation to the Cellular
Telecommunications Industry Association, the trade group which
approved TDMA, and the Telecommunications Industry Association as
a second standard for the US cellular industry. It will compete
there with a CDMA scheme from Qualcomm of San Diego, which is
partly owned by Pacific Telesis and NYNEX, both large cellular
operators. A CDMA decision is expected by the end of 1993.

Under terms of the merger, SCS gets 2 million shares of
restricted common stock and equivalents. Plus, key executives and
managers were given options to buy another 1.59 million shares.
SCS President Donald Schilling becomes an officer and member of
the InterDigital board. The merger brings to 43 the total number
of InterDigital patents in the US. There are also 25 filings at
the patent office, and it has patents or filings in 30 other
countries.

The company also announced it has gotten orders for 75 of its
UltraPhone units from Acuity Digital. The order is worth $30
million. Acuity will use the systems to create a network of
Improved Mobile Telephone Service cellular operations, which
will work with an old cellular technology. Acuity hopes TDMA
will give IMTS enough capacity to be competitive with existing
networks. The company said it expects to begin service in
Minnesota before year end. Further plans are to immediately
expand in the Midwest and West Coast markets, with national
distribution by 1995.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19921016/Press Contact: David L. Smith,
InterDigital, 215-278-7800)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00020)

 ****Apple's Record Earnings, Despite Recent Layoffs  10/16/92
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 16 (NB) -- Apple
Computer, despite layoffs and the closing of its Fremont,
California facility, is reporting record revenue and income for
its fiscal 1992 year.

For the year, Apple Computer reports a 12 percent increase in
revenue compared to 1991, and a 71 percent increase in net
income over last year. For the quarter, the company said net
revenue increased 17 percent over last year, but its net income
in the fourth quarter was up 20 percent above 1991 figures and
earnings per share are up 21 percent. Annual earnings per share
were reported as nearly 70 percent higher for 1992 than in
1991.

Net revenue for the fourth quarter was reported to be $1.768
billion up from $1.507 billion in the same quarter last year.
Net income was $97.6 million compared to $81.2 million in the
same quarter last year. A restructuring charge of $224 million
last year, or $138.9 million after tax was taken in 1991, Apple
Computer added.

Earnings per share are $0.81 compared to $0.67 cents per share
in the year ago quarter. Net revenue overall for the year was
$7.087 billion compared to $6.309 billion last year and net
income was $530.4 million compared to $309.8 million last year.
Earnings per share for the year were $4.33, but last year's
earnings per share were charged $1.16 for the restructuring
leaving a net per share of $2.58 in 1991, Apple Computer said.

Apple Computer has cut back on its employees both last year and
this year. In June of 1991, Apple Computer laid off a total of
1,200 employees worldwide and cut the pay of its executives by
15 percent. In September of this year the company announced the
closing of its Fremont, California facility and reorganization
cuts which netted the loss of 345 positions with Apple
Computer.

Apple has traditionally announced price cuts in the fall to
bolster sales for the final quarter report and as a preliminary
move before announcing new products, according to industry
analysts, and this year was no exception. The company announced
price cuts in September on most of its product line, and is now
trying to attract sales to small businesses through special
financing as well. The company is emphasizing data sharing with
IBM and compatible PCs in its promotional efforts and is
expected to offer a new line of Powerbook portable Macintosh
computers soon.

(Linda Rohrbough/19921016/Press Contact: Cindy McCaffrey,
Apple Computer, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00021)

Denver Firm To Acquire SecaGraphics 10/16/92
DENVER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 16 (NB) -- Denver-based Video
Communications & Radio Inc (VCRI) has announced that it has signed a
letter of intent to acquire SecaGraphics, Inc.

VCRI placed the value of the acquisition at $5 million, through a
combination of cash and preferred stock. SecaGraphics is a developer
of computer-aided dispatch and field service management software,
primarily for the cable TV industry.

SecaGraphics says its cornerstone product, Mapping and Graphics
Integrated Computer (MAGIC), is the only software system capable of
delivering totally integrated geographical mapping, design
engineering, and cable system operation analysis, asset management
and construction management capabilities. The company also provides
CADD and design engineering consulting services.

(Jim Mallory/19921016/Press contact: Richard Batenburg Jr., VCRI,
303-592-1208; Reader contact: VCRI, 303-592-1208)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00022)

New For Macintosh: Microsoft Word 5.1 10/16/92
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 16 (NB) -- A Microsoft
Corporation spokesperson told Newsbytes that the company will start
shipping version 5.1 of Microsoft Word for Macintosh, an upgrade to
its popular word processing program for Apple Computer's Macintosh,
during the first half of November.

Russ Dorr told Newsbytes that Microsoft's executive vice president,
Mike Maples officially introduced the upgraded program at last
night's October meeting of the Mac LA Users Group in Los Angeles.

The new version features a new toolbar and a special installation
procedure for Apple's PowerBook computer. The install routine is
customized for the 2.2 MB disk size of the PowerBook, and also
installs a battery indicator on the ruler. The program also supports
QuickTime, which allows users to insert and edit movies in their word
processing documents prepared with Word.

Word for Mac 5.1 will include a customizable 3D toolbar, with the
ability to install 19 buttons on 9-inch monitors, 25 buttons on
13-inch monitors, and up to 30 buttons on monitors with 16-inch or
larger screens. The toolbar can be set to appear on the top, left or
right on the monitor, and provides more than 150 customizable button
faces and 300 commands.

Microsoft has also added a facility to address and print envelopes,
change text case, increase or decrease font size, add borders, and
open, save or print files with a single mouse click. Users will also
be able to speed up the search for files by searching in a specified
folder instead of searching over an entire network or drive.

A text annotation feature allows workgroups to communicate when making
changes to shared documents, and the program will automatically date
stamp and record the editor's initials when documents are annotated.
The date-stamp and initials appear as hidden text which can printed
separately or within the document.

Microsoft told Newsbytes it has added a new Table button in the
program which allows users to add a table with a specified number of
rows and columns, adjust the table size by selecting rows, columns
or cells and clicking on the Table button, and convert tab or comma
delimited text into a table.

Included with the program is Microsoft Graph, an object linking and
embedding (OLE) that can turn Word tables into 2D and 3D charts when
the user clicks on the new Graph icon. Objects are reusable portions
of code or user-created items that can be linked to and/or embedded
in other documents.

A "drop caps" feature will allow users to insert a drop cap in the
margin or surround it by text, and specify size of the drop cap by
lines deep or point size. Microsoft has also added an odd-even
printing feature to make it easier to print long documents
double-sided.

Dorr told Newsbytes that users of Word for Macintosh 5.0 can upgrade
to the newer version for $14.95. Users of earlier versions can get
the upgrade for $129, and first time users will see a price tag of
$495 on the package. Microsoft said it expects to be shipping Word
5.1 for Mac in six languages by the end of the year. The program
runs on a Mac Plus, SE, Classic, Portable, Powerbook, LC, the II
family and Apple Computer's Macintosh Quadra. You'll also need one
800K floppy drive and a hard drive, System 6.0.2. to 6.0.8, Finder
6.1 or higher, a minimum of 1 megabyte (MB) of system memory. If you
want to use the grammar checker, you'll need at least 2 MB of
memory. If you have System 7 installed, a minimum of 3 MB of memory
(4 MB with the toolbar or grammar checker) are necessary. Microsoft
Graph requires System 7, so if you're running your Macintosh under a
version of System 6, you won't gain the benefit of the bundled
graphing program.

(Jim Mallory/19921016/Press contact: Russ Dorr, Waggener Edstrom for
Microsoft, 206-637-9097; Reader contact: Microsoft, 206-882-8080)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00023)

Storagetek 3Q Results Down Again 10/16/92
LOUISVILLE, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 16 (NB) -- Storage
Technology announced its third quarter results late yesterday, with
earnings down from $0.59 for the same period last year to $0.10 per
share this year on net income of $4.1 million.

Revenue for the quarter was $387.1 million, compared with revenue of
$387.3 million for the same period last year. Income for the third
quarter last year was $24.4 million.

Ryal Poppa, president of Storagetek, attributed the problem to its
customers continuing to defer or reduce capital spending,
particularly for mainframe-environment computer products, and mostly
in the European market. However, he was optimistic about the fourth
quarter, saying "We anticipate that fourth quarter earnings will
improve over third quarter, as they historically have."

However, Poppa tempered his optimism with caution, saying the
company expects the business climate to "remain difficult for the
balance of the year and through the first half of 1993."

Poppa said Storagetek plans to refresh its product lines in just
about every category in 1993, but doesn't expect that to have much
effect until the second half of '93. Storagetek is also instituting
cost control measures such as a hiring freeze and salary reductions
in the first quarter of '93. The company said it would try to avoid
having to lay off any employees.

Storagetek stockholders approved a merger with XL/Datacomp in
November 1991, despite an attempt by a XL/Datacomp stockholder to
obtain a court order blocking the merger. XL/Datacomp sells and
services midrange computers.

In January the company said its direct access mainframe disk array
storage device "Iceberg" would ship in the second half of '92. Its
stock took a beating after it appeared Iceberg would be delayed,
although a Storagetek spokesperson told Newsbytes that Iceberg was on
schedule.

Earlier this year a group of stockholders filed suit against the
company, claiming it provided misleading information which caused
the stockholders to lose money on the stock they had purchased.
Storagetek's first quarter results reflected net earnings of $0.30
per share, down $0.06 from the same period in '91.

In May of this year the company took another blow when it announced
that Iceberg wouldn't ship until the fourth quarter, saying the
developers were experiencing problems with a small portion of the
Iceberg software code.

In late August, Newsbytes reported that Digital Equipment
Corporation and Storagetek had signed an agreement creating a new
company, Rocky Mountain Magnetics, which would product and sell
inductive and magnetoresistive thin film heads for computer disk
drives. Magnetoresistive heads are considered by many experts to be
the next generation technology for disk drives. Digital retained
control of Rocky Mountain Magnetics, owning 81 percent of the
company.

(Jim Mallory/19921016/Press contact: David Reid, Storage Technology,
303-673-4815; Reader contact: Storagetek, 303-673-5151)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00024)

Cray Research Cuts 650 Jobs 10/16/92
EAGAN, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 16 (NB) -- Supercomputer maker
Cray Research announced late yesterday that it will eliminate about
650 regular and contract jobs as part of a restructuring program.

About half the layoffs will be from its Wisconsin operations, with
the other half from Minnesota and various field offices. The company
said the staff reductions will include both voluntary and
involuntary reductions.

Other actions being announced include a wage freeze for 1993, the
cancellation of 1992 bonuses for company officers, and the
consolidation of the Rice Lake, Wisconsin and Chippewa Falls,
Wisconsin operations. Earlier the company had announced the
reduction of about 150 contract positions. The cuts will bring
Cray's workforce down to about 4,600.

The actions are expected to result in a one-time charge of about
$40 million, which Cray Research says will be taken against earnings
in the fourth quarter. Despite that, President John Rollwagen
predicts the company will show a profit for the year. Cray is
expected to announce its third quarter results Tuesday. Last year
3Q earnings were $1.05 per share on revenues of $205.6 million.

"The loss of positions is a loss for all of us, however given the
difficult market we face today and the extended global recession, we
have no option but to reduce, suspend or eliminate functions that
are not determined to be our most critical today," Rollwagen said.
He estimated that the reductions and other actions would save the
company about $50 million.

Cray stock was at its lowest point in a year last week when it
dropped to $22.50 per share. That's about half its all time high
recorded in 1991. There's been a general slowdown in the
supercomputer industry. Many of the machines are purchased by
government agencies or defense contractors, both of whom have been
cutting back. About two thirds of Cray's sales are to the
government or educational institutions.

Cray recently lost its bid to have the Japanese government review
the award of a supercomputer contract to NEC instead of Cray
Research. The computer was to be used by a branch of the Japanese
Ministry of Education.

(Jim Mallory/19921016/Press contact: Steve Conway, Cray Research,
612-683-7133, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00025)

Hyundai Electronics America Intros 60 New PCs 10/16/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 16 (NB) -- Six months
after moving its PC operations from Korea to San Jose, California,
Hyundai Electronics America has introduced more than 60
new PC models and configurations.

At the same time the company has unveiled, what it calls
"customer-driven strategies for distribution, end-user support,
and increased brand awareness."

The company has expanded its toll-free, end-user technical
support help desk to seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Hyundai
has also signed sales agreements with BrandsMart USA and BIZMART.

According to the company, the new products include more than
50 models and configurations, ranging from entry level 386SX/33
and SX/40 machines to 486 systems, including 486SX and DX2
desktop and tower models. The products are available through
Hyundai's direct sales and resellers.

As an example of the new systems, Hyundai cites the 486SX/33-
based system, the 433S, which offers 32 million pixels per
second of video performance and 18 MIPS of processor
performance. The system comes with four megabytes (MB)
of RAM, an 120 MB hard drive, two floppy drives, and a 14-inch
non-interlaced high resolution color display, all for $1,999.

The company is also offering two new lightweight notebooks,
the passive matrix color 25 megahertz (MHz) 486SLC Courier
Spectra, and the monochrome 25 MHz 386SXL Courier. The
Courier products offer a PCMCIA slot for expansion and a
removable hard drive for security and upgradability. Both
feature built-in trackball.

Hyundai's 486DX2 66MHz-based 466D2 includes 8MB RAM,
a 360MB hard drive, 1.4MB 3.5-inch and 1.2MB 5.25-inch floppy
drives, and 14-inch high resolution non-interlaced color
display, for $2,995. The 450D2 system includes the same
features as the 466D2, but with a 200MB hard drive and an Intel
486DX2 50MHz processor,and is priced at $2,599.

The 466D2TE floor standing file server features a 66MHz 486DX2
processor with 8 kilobytes (KB) integrated cache, 32-bit EISA
(Extended Industry Standard Architecture) architecture, 4MB RAM
for $3,995.

The new line of PCs also includes what the company claims
is the industry's first available 386SX-based system running at
40MHz. The system comes with 4MB RAM, an 80MB hard drive;
16KB cache memory; 3.5-inch 1.44MB and 5.25-inch 1.2MB floppy
drives, an integrated serial, parallel and super VGA port, a
mouse port, and a 14-inch interlaced monitor. The model is
priced at $1,549 and also includes DOS 5.0 and Windows 3.1.

The company has also introduced two 486-based multimedia
products in six configurations.

In June Newsbytes reported that the Hyundai PC Group was
cutting its PC prices by as much as 40 percent. At the same
time, the company also decided to enter new channels of
distribution, including direct telemarketing sales and support.

In April of this year, Newsbytes reported on Hyundai's initial
management decision to move their PC business to the United
States.

(Ian Stokell/19921016/Press Contact: Gene Kincaid, Hyundai
Information Systems, 408-473-9240)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00026)

Apple's New Sales Campaign In US And India  10/16/92
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 16 (NB) -- Apple
Computer is starting a mail order, print, and radio advertising
campaign to try to attract business customers to buy Macintosh
computers in the US and will begin manufacturing and
distribution expansion in India as well.

In the US campaign, The Easy Way, Apple USA offers special
financing to businesses and special software bundles that
include applications to run IBM compatible personal computer
(PC) software on the Macintosh and for data exchange with PCs.

The emphasis in the direct mail promotional literature is on
the purchase of a Macintosh IIsi. A special software bundle of
Lotus 1-2-3 for Macintosh, Wordperfect for Macintosh, Universal
SoftPC and AccessPC is offered to Macintosh computer buyers for
a discounted price of $399, Apple said. The SoftPC and AccessPC
software products are geared toward allowing Macintosh users to
run PC software programs and exchange data with PC users via
floppy disks.

Financing options include a lease to businesses with no money
down, no security deposit, and no payments for 30 days; a "90
day same as cash" plan on a purchase of a Macintosh and
software or peripherals purchased at the same time via the
Apple Credit Card; and an exchange program where Apple will
accept used Apple, IBM, and Compaq computers with a minimum
cumulative trade-in value of $1,000 against the purchase of a
new Macintosh.

On the other side of the world, Apple Pacific, a subsidiary of
Apple Computer says India is one of its fastest growing markets
and will manufacture the Macintosh LCII with Digital Equipment
for the Indian market, a statement that confirms a story first
appearing in Newsbytes earlier this year.

Apple says India's large university-educated population coupled
with the country's new liberalized economic environment is
offering increased opportunities. The company also said it has
begun software development using Indian programmers for
customized products in that country and for other parts of the
world as well. Ten Indian programmers have been hired by Apple
already, the company added.

A substantial portion of Apple's business is outside the US,
the company said in its most recent earnings statement. Apple
Computer reported record net income of $530.4 million in its
recent 1992 year end financial statement and said its fourth
quarter revenues reflected an increase of 41 percent in
international sales compared with 39 percent in the year ago
quarter. For the year, Apple said international sales accounted
for 45 percent of net revenues in fiscal 1992, a figure
unchanged from the prior year.

(Linda Rohrbough/19921016/Press Contact: Stacey Byrnes, Apple
Computer, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public Contact
800-538-9696)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LON)(00027)

 ****Lotus To Unveil 1-2-3 For Mac v1.1 In 2 Weeks 10/16/92
STAINES, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1992 OCT 16 (NB) -- Lotus will
unveil the next release of its 1-2-3 spreadsheet for the Macintosh at
Apple Expo '92, the company has announced. Apple Expo '92 will
take place at Olympia in London between the 28th and 31st of
October.

According to Lotus, 1-2-3 v1.1 includes two categories of
enhancements -- usability and graphics handling. Specific
enhancements include an improved "drag and drop" facility across
two and three-dimensional spreadsheet files, as well as the
ability to copy and paste across multiple cells using a single
command.

Other features include the facility of piping data to and from
Lotus cc:Mail, the company's electronic mail package, plus
support for Quicktime.

As with version 1.0, v1.1 of 1-2-3 for the Macintosh supports file,
keystroke and macro compatibility with other computer platform
editions of 1-2-3, including DOS. Windows, Unix, VM, VMS and MVS
versions.

"Since introducing Release 1.0 nine months ago, we've seen many
hundreds of companies expand their use of Macs. Apple's
continuing emphasis on DOS compatibility and our release of 1-2-3
for Mac have really kick-started the multi-platform network this
year," enthused Andrew Wyatt, Lotus U.K.'s product marketing
manager.

According to Wyatt, the new release of 1-2-3 for Mac is the
result of several thousand hours of usability tests and feedback
from customers on both sides of the Atlantic. "If release 1.0
made you think about adding Macs to your PC network, Release 1.1
will really persuade you," he said.

(Steve Gold/19921016/Press & Public Contact: Lotus U.K. - Tel:
0784-455445)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(BOS)(00028)

EMC: International Focus Credited For Stunning Success 10/16/92
HOPKINTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 16 (NB) -- Many US-
based high tech companies have been undergoing losses, but EMC
Corporation, a maker of cached disk arrays, showed yesterday that
vendors can reap economic success by taking an international focus.

In ceremonies attended by Massachusetts Governor William Weld and
other officials, EMC Corporation reported third-quarter increases
of 119% in net income, 100% in earnings, and 59% in revenues over
the same period last year, and also announced the company's ISO
(International Organization for Standardization) 9001
certification.

"EMC has become a shining example of what companies can and indeed
must accomplish if they're going to compete in the global
marketplace," stated Governor Weld.

Only 130 US companies have met the ISO standard, but adherence to
the quality standard is almost expected by now in Europe, stressed
Weld and other officials during the ceremony. "Just 15% of
American companies have plans to meet ISO certification
requirements by 1994, and even worse, nearly half have never heard
of ISO 9000," asserted the governor.

"That means they're cutting themselves off from Europe -- which is
emerging, along with North America and the Pacific, as one of the
three great marketplaces of the world."

Added James P. O'Neil, president of National Quality Assurance
Ltd.: "While ISO certification is quite common throughout the EC,
it is really just beginning to gain acceptance here in the States,"
O'Neil led an assessment team whose review of EMC's manufacturing
procedures led to the ISO certification.

EMC's third-quarter revenues stand at more than $94 million, and
revenues for the first nine months at over $240 million, an
increase of 42% over the first nine months of 1991. Third-quarter
net income was $7.3 million, and earnings were $0.26 per share.

Economic success and ISO certification have coincided with
continuing expansion in both Europe and the Pacific for eight-year-
old EMC, which entered the cached disk array market just four years
ago. The company now manufactures its products in Ireland and
Puerto Rico as well as in Massachusetts, and carries out sales and
marketing through 35 offices in North America, three in the Far
East, and 13 in Europe.

During the proceedings yesterday, Michael Ruettgers, president and
CEO of EMC, thanked company employees for participating in the
quality certification process and also cited specific
accomplishments of the company's products. Operating on IBM
mainframe, IBM midrange, and Unisys computers, EMC's cached disk
array systems are based on the company's modular Mosaic:2000
architecture.

"It was just two years ago that we launched the first Symmetrix
ICDA product for the IBM mainframe market. EMC is now the fastest
growing storage supplier in that market. We have also brought this
technology to the Unisys mainframe market and just last week
ComputerWorld magazine ranked our Harmonix ICDA storage systems as
the leading disk array product for IBM AS/400 computers," he
claimed.

Weld told Ruettgers and other EMC staff gathered at the event:
"You've been competing against giants in your field, and you've
consistently come out ahead. You are demonstrating that
Massachusetts companies -- including those that don't have
thousands of employees -- are ready for the big time, that we
refuse to be left behind."

The governor added that through Massachusetts' Partners for Trade
program, which sponsored a recent European and Middle East trade
mission, he and other state officials have been urging compliance
with ISO.

"We're singing the advantages of foreign trade, and also trying to
educate businesses about the standards that foreign markets
require," he concluded.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19921016; Press and reader contacts: Polly
Pearson, EMC, tel [phone]; Lloyd Benson and Glenda Cudaback,
Cudaback Strategic Communications for EMC)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00029)

Maxtor Sells Storage Dimensions To Management 10/16/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 16 (NB) -- Maxtor,
manufacturer of Winchester hard disk drives, is again selling
and this time it's the Storage Dimensions, Incorporated (SDI)
unit of the company. In January of this year the company
announced the sale of the Penang, Malaysia headstack assembly
plant to Read-Rite, and the Lanham, Maryland design division of
its Storage Dimensions subsidiary to an investment group led
by Grotech Partners of Balitmore, Maryland.

The entire Milpitas, California-headquartered SDI subsidiary is
being sold to the SDI's own management and Capital Partners, a
private investment firm located in Greenwich, Connecticut,
Maxtor said. SDI reported revenues ending March 28, 1992 of
approximately $82 million. Maxtor says it will make some money
on the deal in the form of cash, a subordinated note, and a
minority interest in SDI as consideration, but no figures on
exactly how much were released.

Maxtor acquired SDI, which sells magnetic and optical
data storage subsystems, in 1987. SDI is also known for its
software product, Speedstor, which is designed for the
installation and diagnosis of hard disk drives on IBM and
compatible computers. Interestingly enough, SDI pulled
Speedstor off the market in 1991 because it claimed the
software was too popular and wasn't helping the sales of the
company's hard disk products. However, SDI relented and has
released the highly rated version 6.0.

San Jose, California-based Maxtor says it wants to continue
with SDI has a customer for its products and SDI company
principles have expressed pleasure that Maxtor has agreed to
the buy-out. The transaction is subject to definitive agreement
and some conditions have to be met, but the companies say the
deal should be complete before the end of the year.

Maxtor's other subsidiaries include Maxoptix, a supplier of
optical storage products, which it owns jointly with Japan-
based Kubota. Maxtor boasts approximately 9,000 employees
worldwide.

(Linda Rohrbough/19921016/Press Contact: David Eeg, Storage
Dimensions Incorporated, tel [phone], fax [phone];
Walter Amaral, Maxtor, 408-432-4949)


(REVIEW)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00030)

Review of: Amazing Universe, CD-ROM 10/16/92

Runs on: PC or Macintosh with CD-ROM drive

From: Hopkins Technology, 421 Hazel Lane, Hopkins, MN 55343. 612-
931-9376

Price: $79.95

PUMA Rating: 3.25 (on a scale 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: John McCormick, 10/16/92

Summary: 101 NASA image data files from the Hubble Telescope and
various space probes complete with special image processing
software.

======

REVIEW

======

Did you know that there is supposed to be a sculptured face
carved into the surface of Mars? Well, there is -- I saw it.
Not with a telescope, of course. Not only are my small scopes
too small to see anything but a blur when I look at the red
planet, but even the powerful professional instruments I have had
the privilege of using over the years never show more than a
larger blur.

I saw the face just as NASA scientists first saw it when the
image was transmitted back from a satellite orbiting the planet.

Also included on this disc are images of the moon, galaxies, and
other spectacular astronomical images, all in 8-, 16-, and 32-bit
data files, ready for instant viewing or processing through 18
special software filters provided on the disc by The Astronomical
Research Network.

Using the software you can add false colors, manipulate image
contrast, remove signal "noise," zoom in to enlarge portions of
the view, and smooth images.

I still don't know if that hockey mask-like face on Mars is a
natural formation or a carving, but I can tell you that it
certainly looks just like any National Hockey League goalie's
mask.

Other images are just as spectacular but this CD-ROM isn't an
astronomy lesson -- it is for serious amateurs who want to work
with the same sort of data on their computers that professional
astronomers use every day.

It may come as a surprise to most readers, but professional
astronomers don't really look through telescopes anyway; they
either view these sorts of images via computer monitors or
analyze time-exposure photographs.

Any astronomy class or advanced armature should consider buying
this disc -- you probably won't make any great discovery working
with the software, but there is nothing to equal the feel of
using the same signal data that came directly from the
satellites.

============

PUMA RATING

============

PERFORMANCE: 3 The interface isn't all that friendly, but that is
a minor annoyance -- the images are the important part.

USEFULNESS: 3 It would be nice to have a larger number of images
available and an even wider range of software tools.

MANUAL: 3 The documentation is sufficient, but an introductory
section for less sophisticated astronomy and image processing
buffs would be a welcome addition.

AVAILABILITY: 4 Directly from the company by mail order, or from
some computer software stores or mail order catalogs.

(John McCormick/19921009/Press Contact: Hopkins Technology, 612-
931-9376)


(REVIEW)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00031)

Review of: Philips Imagination Machine CD-I Player 10/16/92

Runs on: Stand-alone, requires standard television - home stereo
system optional

From: Philips Interactive Media, 11111 Santa Monica Boulevard,
Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA 90025. 800-845-7301

Price: $699 list

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

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: John McCormick

Summary: The Imagination Machine is a consumer electronics
Compact Disc-Interactive player for interactive educational and
entertainment programs ranging from Sesame Street to a tour of
the Smithsonian.

======

REVIEW

======

The Imagination Machine, available in retail consumer electronics
stores such as Sears and Circuit City, looks like a full-size CD
audio player and is just as simple to install.

All you really need is a B&W portable TV color but stereo and
large screen color do provide significant enhancement. I
connected the audio output to a powerful home stereo system
because IM is also a fine CD audio player.

The adult-style controller consists of a hand-held infrared VCR-
type remote with a one-finger joystick which is used to position
the on-screen cursor.

IM is a consumer electronics-only system which distances itself
as much as possible from the complexities of computers, but it
takes a lot of computer power to make things appear this simple
and the CD-I player contains a powerful Motorola M68070
microprocessor which controls the way images and sounds are
presented.

Optional hard-wired controllers are available, including a giant
Roller Controller track ball with a six-inch diameter ball that
is perfect for children or some disabled users.

Philips supplied about 35 titles with the evaluation unit and the
first one I installed was the Golden Oldies Jukebox disc which
contains excellent CD-quality recordings of old rock-and-roll
hits, but it also provides a series of still images that
complement the music and provide text-based background on the
song and singers.

The Jukebox disc has complete lyrics to each song that can be
displayed in a sing-along style.

To complete the jukebox image, the main control menu of the
program looks like a jukebox; there are even sound effects to
simulate records being changed.

This is a cute, interesting application which, at $20, costs only
a bit more than many good audio CDs and provides an entertaining
background for parties.

But the IM's real strength is in the children's game or education
and adult art titles.

Pecos Bill ($20) is a combined illustrated, text, and narrated
(by Robin Williams) retelling of the legend of Pecos Bill
combined with a pre-school through second grade-level educational
game.

Sesame Street Letters and Numbers titles ($30 each) are just what
you would expect, with the important addition that children have
complete control over repeating or skipping segments.

The adult coffee-table art books are especially well done,
combining good narration with impressive quality still images of
important art works.

The Smithsonian tour shows the interactive nature of the
technology to good advantage, allowing visitors to create their
own "guided" tour of technology.

Once a title is loaded into the player, the viewer sees an active
control screen that allows one to either begin the program or
eject the disc.

Program screens consist of images, text, and control buttons
which are activated by moving the on-screen cursor to the button
and pressing an "action" button on the remote controller.

Positioning the cursor is easy, using the joystick, and all
choices are highly intuitive if you are used to running any
stereo equipment.

Some of the titles include fast forward, pause, and stop buttons
which are marked by the usual symbols rather than labeled with
text. There is usually a short but acceptable delay in moving from one
selection to another because of the need to search the disc and
load the entire new image. There is no annoying image build-up
as is seen with many computer-based multimedia images.

Some fine control is a bit more difficult to accomplish with the
joystick remote, but it takes little practice to become used to
the system.

A very recent development (not available for review) is the
ability to add full-motion video to CD-I players by inserting an
upgrade video compression chip. This should increase the number
and versatility of CD-I titles available for the Imagination
Machine.

There are now about 50 titles, ranging in price from $15 to $50.

IM is also XA compatible and can serve as the base system for
Kodak's new Photo CD system that lets home-users store up to 100
35 mm images on a CD for playback on a standard television.

The Imagination Machine is a solid, well-developed product
perfectly designed for the non-technical home user. The recent
Kodak Photo CD development means that business or even home users
could develop their own text-sound-photographic multimedia
presentations for only a few hundred dollars using the IM as a
playback system and a Kodak Photo CD dealer to "publish" the
disc.

The biggest hurdle faced by the IM is gaining enough acceptance
in the home market to attract more title developers, which will
in turn sell more players. Recent price reductions and retail
store discounting are helping to move the players out of the
stores and into homes.

============

PUMA RATING

============

PERFORMANCE: 4 Everything is smoothly integrated, and both image
and sound quality are excellent.

USEFULNESS: 4 The limited number of titles would make this rating
much lower if it weren't for the compatibility with Photo CD
discs and the ability to play standard audio CDs.

AVAILABILITY: 4 Sears, Circuit City, and other electronics
stores.

MANUAL: 4 Documentation is easy to follow, and titles come with
their own instructions.

(John McCormick/19920918/Press Contact: Dave Elliot, Cohn &
Wolfe, 404-688-5900; Marijane Levee, Burson-Marsteller, 213-386-
8776; or Philips, 310-444-6600, fax [phone])