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/NB921120

Text File | 1992-11-20 | 74KB | 1,601 lines

(NEWS)(IBM)(BOS)(00001)

 ****COMDEX: IBM To Release 75 And 100 MHz 486 Processors 11/20/92
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, U.S.A., 1992 NOV 20 (NB) -- IBM expects to
release a super-fast 75 MHz 486 upgrade to two models in its PS/2
line during the first half of 1993, and also plans to sell an even
speedier 32-bit 100 MHz 486 chip to OEMs (original equipment
manufacturers), Newsbytes has learned.

The 75 MHz and 100 MHz processors, being shown in two separate
booths here at COMDEX, provide the best performance of any 486
chips to emerge yet, according to IBM officials. Collectively
code-named "Blue Lightning," the products are based on clock
tripling, a technology that lets them operate at three times their
rated clock speed of 25 MHz.

Additionally, each chip offers 3.3-volt power management, in
contrast to the 5-volt industry norm, plus an instruction set
specifically designed to meet the requirements of leading PC
applications. A company spokesperson told Newsbytes that the low
power requirement is useful in prolonging battery life. "At some
point, we will be offering the clock-tripled chips in notebook
computers," he stated.

In its first release, the new 16-bit 75/25 MHz chip will be
incorporated into an upgrade board for the Model 56 and 57 PS/2s,
he added. The two models currently use IBM's 50/25 MHz clock-
doubling processor.

During a demonstration of the 75/25 MHz processor in IBM's PC
Company booth at COMDEX, An Tra, senior associate engineer, told
Newsbytes that both of IBM's new chips run in the range of 25 to 26
MIPS (million instructions per second), a performance boost of some
20 to 25% over Intel's 50 MHz 486 processor.

The new 100/25 MHz processor, being shown in IBM's OEM booth, will
be available to OEMs in both chip and upgrade board form, according
to the spokesperson. Beyond the 32-bit bus interface, the faster
chip adds 16 KB of internal cache and an internal cache controller.

IBM claims that the internal cache is the highest available on any
486 chip. The cache controller is aimed at improving performance
by accessing data from high-speed cache whenever possible.

The optimized instruction set featured in both boards is the result
of an analysis by IBM of Word Perfect and other applications
frequently operated on PS/2s, the spokesperson told Newsbytes.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19921120; Press contact: Michael Reiter, IBM, tel
914-642-5368)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(MOW)(00002)

COMDEX: Sun's New SPARC Boards, Server 11/20/92
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, U.S.A., 1992 NOV 20 (NB) -- Sun Microsystems
has introduced two single-board SPARC engines and a high-end
Unix server.

The 59.1 MIPS (million instructions per second) SPARCclassic has a
50 MHz SPARC technology microprocessor, supports up to 96 megabytes
(MB) of memory, has an Ethernet port and a SCSI interface with 10 MB
per second throughput.

SPARCengine LX is also based on the microSPARC technology, and includes
16-bit CD-quality audio, ISDN connectivity, and accelerated graphics.
This same board is used in the new SPARCstation LX.

The company plans to offer the boards to OEM (original equipment
manufacturers) for incorporation into their products. Both engines will be
shipped early next month. The prices will be $3,100 for the Classic
and $4250 for the Classic LX.

In a separate announcement Sun introduced the SPARCcenter 2000 server,
which can accommodate up to two SuperSPARC processor modules, up to
half a gigabyte of memory, and has a fast input/output channel.
The minimum disk drive configuration is 4.2 gigabytes expandable
to 100 times this capacity.

The server, which is priced starting at $95,000 provides 2.19 GIPS (giga-
billion instructions per second) and 269 MFLOPS (milllion floating
points operations per second) performance.

The server works under Solaris, a Unix-like operating system from Sun,
and supports large database products from Cincom, Informix, Oracle,
Ingres, Software AG, and Sybase, as well as a number of other software
products, according to the company.

The system is expected to be shipped in April, 1993. The least
expensive option with two SPARC boards is priced at $95,000.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19921119/Press Contact: Sun Microsystems Computer
Corporation, Carol Sacks, phone [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(MOW)(00003)

Sun Opens Office In Hungary 11/20/92
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY, 1992 NOV 20 (NB) -- Sun Microsystems has opened
its 11th European office, which will serve Hungary, Czechoslovakia,
Poland, and the Baltic states.

Sun Microsystems Middle Europe Regional Office, to be headed by Peter
Gregor and located in Budapest, underscores the rapid growth in demand
for systems based on the Unix operating system in the region. By some
estimates, more than a half of the multiuser computers shipped
into Eastern Europe came with the Unix operating system, which is Sun's
specialty.

Sun Microsystems Computer Corporation also has subsidiaries in
Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong,
Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom.

Eastern European sales efforts are handled by a network of affiliates
and business partners.

Sun is one of the few US-based computer manufacturers which derives
more than 50% of its revenues from international sales.

Although fast-growing, Eastern European markets are still not
acquainted with powerful hardware systems, preferring frequently to
configure a network of interconnected PCs.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19921119/Press Contact: Sun Microsystems, Susanne
Vagadori, 415-336-0529)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00004)

New For Networks: Frontier's TCP/IP Apps To Run On Windows NT 11/20/92
MEQUON, WISCONSIN, U.S.A., 1992 NOV 20 (NB) -- Frontier Technologies
is translating its suite of TCP/IP applications to the new
Microsoft operating system, Windows NT. Frontier has been in the
business of developing and selling TCP/IP kernels and applications
to the Windows marketplace over the past few years.

Frontier has decided to port its suite of applications that come
with its Super-TCP program, to the coming Windows NT. There is no
need for Frontier to port the actual TCP/IP kernel as a TCP/IP kernel
is being provided by Microsoft as part of the basic Windows NT
package.

Frontier will be providing FTP (File Transfer Protocol), e-mail,
terminal emulation, Network News Reader, and Talk applications as
part of its package. In the e-mail arena, it will provide support
for SMTP, POP2, and POP3. Terminal emulation is provided for VT220
and tn3270 terminals.

Although Frontier demonstrated its applications in the Microsoft booth
at the COMDEX trade show, the products will not be available
until Windows NT is introduced next year. Frontier says Microsoft
has informed the company that the Windows NT delivery will be in
the first quarter of 1993. No pricing has been established for the
suite of products at this time.

(Naor Wallach/19921119/Press Contact: Ann Finkler, Frontier
Technologies, 414-241-4555 Extension 209/Public Contact: Frontier
Technologies, 414-241-4555)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SYD)(00005)

 ****The Future -- It's An Intel World 11/20/92
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, 1992 NOV 20 (NB) -- Speaking to a group of
Asia/Pacific computer journalists at COMDEX last night, Intel's
VP and manager for the region, Dave Shrigley, said that the region
is set for a big explosion in computer (and therefore Intel)
use.

He said the first hot PC market was North America, followed by
Europe, and Intel is convinced that with over half of the
world's population, Asia/Pacific would explode in the next few
years. He said Intel isn't waiting for demand before making
itself known, but is already establishing brand recognition in
the region.

Apart from chip-level products Intel also manufactures OEM (original
equipment manufacturer) products up to full PC level.

When asked about trends in chip use, he said that while the 386
was now the entry-level processor, 486 sales were rapidly
outstripping it. "We're right on target selling around 5 million
486 chips this quarter, compared to 1 million at the same time
last year. Next year in the same quarter we'll sell around 30
million."

One of the Korean journalists at the meeting commented that in his
country manufacturers and buyers seemed to have skipped the 386,
and moved straight from the 286 to the 486. Shrigley agreed this
might have something to do with Korean manufacturers being larger
and more conservative than their Taiwanese neighbors.

When asked how quickly chips move through the system, he said
that an inefficient manufacturer might take 6 months from chip to
PC sale, while a lean, efficient company might reduce this to
just four to six weeks.

Shrigley admitted that the adoption of 486 chips in notebooks had
been slower than in desktops (lagging by up to a year), but said he
felt that with the release of the 486 this would soon change. He
pointed out that with the processor only part of the total
PC price, and the difference in price between 486 and 386 chips
not excessive, he couldn't see why the average purchaser
would not pay the extra $200 or so to get a machine that was at
least twice as fast.

Of the future he said that Moore's Law of increasing transistor
density (and therefore, power) would continue at least three or
four more generations into the future. However, he also pointed
out that at each stage there would be spin-off chips that didn't
get any more powerful, but that got cheaper, more efficient and
simpler to use.

As an example he talked of the current development of VLSI (very
large scale integration) versions of the 386 chip which would be
suitable for use in other domestic products such as hand-held
information managers or household appliances.

(Paul Zucker/19921119)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(BOS)(00006)

 ****COMDEX: Expect Wireless Everything, Says Motorola CEO 11/20/92
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, U.S.A., 1992 NOV 20 (NB) -- Virtually everything
at COMDEX could have a wireless version in the not too distant future
-- a wireless version combining voice, data and images," said George
Fisher, CEO of Motorola, speaking as part of the "CEO Perspectives"
series at COMDEX.

These incredible advancements are made possible by the convergence
of radio, computing, and solid state electronics, and the rapid
progress being achieved within each field, he explained.

"With digital signal processing and voice recognition, you can soon
be free, for the most part, of your keyboards. Neural networks can
now, in modest ways, mimic the performance of the human brain. And
it's all starting to take place in the palm of your hand. The
ultimate application will be a globally networked society,
And that's not so wild a dream," the company president commented.

To illustrate what this society will look like, Fisher showed a
video presentation of wireless applications he believes will be up
and running by the year 2000.

The scenarios included an executive conducting videoconferencing
sessions from a lounge chair on the beach, hospital staff and on-
the-road emergency medical technicians saving a life via wireless
video, and a working mother picking up the office cellular phone to
reach her daughter in the schoolyard.

One driving force behind the networked society is the continuing
reduction in size and price of the integrated circuit (IC), said
Fisher. Ever since the IC was invented, the number of transistors
per chip has doubled or tripled every two to three years, and costs
have fallen accordingly, he explained.

Also playing a major role is the emergence of public data networks,
small and low-cost radio modems, and application and development
software.

Advancements are being achieved and use is booming in all three
segments of the wireless industry, he noted. One segment, two-way
private radio, already enables image transmission, he said.
Military and police personnel are now sending still images over
two-way radio, and consumers will be next, he predicted. The
segment boasts some 30 million users today.

A second segment, one-way wireless paging, has about 28 million
users at this point and is soaring in popularity, particularly in
the Asia Pacific, he said. "Applications have expanded from the
tone-only beeper into data and voice messaging and storage. The
pagers can also be used with the second generation of portable
phones," he reported. As prices continue to fall, paging is
becoming a commercial as well as a business service, he added.

The cellular segment, with another 28 million users, is the
fastest growing of all, according to Fisher. Movements in this
industry include digital technology and intelligent networks, along
with the development of standard interfaces.

"Through this wide array of enabling technologies, we will allow
people and machines to communicate seamlessly -- anywhere, any
time, and at prices everyone can afford," the Motorola chief vowed.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19921119)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(BOS)(00007)

COMDEX: PCMCIA No Longer Coming -- It's Here 11/20/92
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, U.S.A., 1992 NOV 20 (NB) -- PCMCIA is no longer
on the way. It's here to stay, judging from the plethora of products
present at Fall COMDEX 1992 and the enthusiasm expressed by attendees.

A year ago, the PCMCIA standards group had just finished up Release
2.0 of the PCMCIA specification, a revision that added a number of
stipulations to the interoperability standard for PC cards. Most
noteworthy to the user were new provisions allowing mass storage
devices and I/O devices such as modems, LAN adapters and wireless
adapters to join SRAM, DRAM, ROM and flash memory among the ranks
of PCMCIA cards.

This year, Release 2.0 of the new credit card-sized device can be
found in virtually every corner at COMDEX. In total, more than 130
vendors, ranging from Acer America to Zenith Data Systems, are
displaying their PCMCIA wares.

About half the PCMCIA purveyors have banded together for a joint
exhibition called PCMCIA Gallery, located in a wing of the Las
Vegas Convention Center. The others, including the likes of
Logitech, GO, and Hayes, are sprinkled liberally throughout booths
in the five separate sites of the show.

Wherever the vendors are situated, the crowds are sure to follow.
But for these companies more than most, educating is as important
as selling. "What is this PCIA (sic) thing, anyway?" one curious
conference goer was overheard asking a colleague as the two users
sauntered into the PCMCIA Gallery.

Evidently, the PCMCIA phenomenon is still new enough that some
users had never even encountered the acronym before setting foot at
COMDEX, and not very many know all the nuances.

One major point of confusion, vendors say, concerns card
classifications -- specifically, the differences between a Release
1.0 PCMCIA card and a Type I PCMCIA card, and a Release 2.0 card
and a Type II card. Though all PCMCIA cards are the same in
horizontal and vertical dimensions, Type II cards are exactly twice
as thick as Type I cards. A Type 1 card can fit into a Type II
slot, but a Type II card can't be used in a Type I slot.

To add to the confusion, Release 2.0 added Type II to the
specification. Accordingly, most Type II cards are for I/O or mass
storage, whereas most Type I cards are for memory. But the latest
versions of both Type I and Type II tend to be Release 2.0
compliant.

And if that isn't enough to make a worn out attendee's head spin,
there's one further distinction. Most PCMCIA-compliant notebooks
have Type II slots, while most palmtops and pen computers offer the
Type I variety.

Some of the most popular attractions in the PCMCIA arena consist of
cards that broke out of the "typology," differentiating their
products in some way from the rest. Xircom, for example, is
showing a Type I Ethernet adapter card, designed to capture the
palmtop as well as notebook markets.

In an interview on the show floor, Thomas V. Brown, Xircom's vice
president of customer service and quality, told Newsbytes that the
innovative user of the Type I form factor is attracting just the
kind of attention Xircom wants.

Other exhibitors are branching out into pioneering applications.
Data Race, for instance, is displaying a family of Type II V.32
data/fax modems, complete with a cellular telephone option as well
as compatibility with standard telephone lines. In January, the
company will unveil a PCMCIA wireless card, Mike Towers, product
manager, informed Newsbytes.

Other exhibiting vendors are either already shipping or are
planning to deliver PCMCIA-compliant scanners, Token Ring cards,
3270 emulators, hard disk drives, and imaging cards.

When Fall COMDEX 1993 rolls around, attendees will be a lot better
acquainted in advance with PCMCIA. By then, they can expect to see
PCMCIA applications in even newer areas, such as voice recognition,
and possibly, more additions to the specification. The standards
group is now working out plans to include 32-bit bus mastering, as
well as provisions for a Type III card, geared to mass storage,
that will be twice as thick again as the Type II card.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19921120)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(ATL)(00008)

COMDEX: Pen-based Applications Await Hardware 11/20/92
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, U.S.A., 1992 NOV 20 (NB) -- Dan Bricklin,
creator of the Visicalc spreadsheet in the 1970s, is now a vice
president of Slate Corp., which makes pen-based application
software. When discussing technology, he retains a brutally
honest view, even when it's not in his interest to be honest.

Bricklin admitted to Newsbytes in the Go booth that pen-based
hardware is still not ready for prime-time. While "pen computing
is real," and "these guys are not blowing smoke," finding
hardware on which to run it reliably remains a problem. Backlit
screens have been found to be a must, but that increases power
consumption and reduces battery life. Some units are not rugged
enough. And standard handwriting recognizers don't recognize bad
handwriting, or correctly identify block characters with the
accuracy real users need.

Yet useful applications keep coming. Cam Clarke of Notable
Technologies was showing a pen-based communications program called
Mobile Access. David Tarantalo of Grecat was showing The Scratchpad,
a medical office management tool which "takes the physician's point
of view" and uses the Lexicus recognizer, which can handle cursive
handwriting. For now, however, big sales continue to wait for the
right hardware. It's a very unusual situation.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19921119)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(ATL)(00009)

COMDEX: Microsoft Dominates the Show 11/20/92
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, U.S.A., 1992 NOV 20 (NB) -- Microsoft Corp.
proved its total dominance of the PC industry at this show. While
other companies offered booths or stands with products, Microsoft's
warehouse-sized "mother of all COMDEX booths" was filled with Windows
application developers.

And that wasn't all. A second Microsoft booth, designed to sell
Microsoft applications like the new version of "Windows for
Workgroups," was among the busiest spots on the floor. Making it
hotter were demonstrations of the company's new database
products, FoxPro 2.5 and Access, which Microsoft is offering at
rock-bottom prices to boost market share.

Microsoft even ran the press room, and managed to make hard-
boiled reporters who never use Windows at home use the system to
file their stories. Behind the screens was Windows for Workgroups
3.1, announced in October, and underneath that product were
DynaComm for Windows, Microsoft Word, and other Windows
applications. The Microsoft employees working the room lacked
only a disk recovery tool like Norton Disk Doctor. One reporter
whose disk ate a 50,000-byte story was disappointed to learn he'd
have to write it again.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19921119)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00010)

ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 11/20/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 NOV 20 (NB) -- Roundup is a brief
look at some computer stories carried in other publications
received here this past week.

The November 17 Bay Area Computer Currents compares Zeos and
Gateway "pocket notebooks" and looks at computer training.

Informationweek dated November 16 looks at the changes coming due
to the introduction of Digital Equipment's fast new Alpha chip.

December 8's PC Magazine reviews PC-based faxing and looks at
upgrading PCs.

Voice Processing Magazine for November is the "Official VOICE
'92/Fall Show Issue" and also carries a teleconferencing product
buyer's guide.

December's Byte lets the chips fall where they may by showing how
to choose the best microprocessor for your needs.

November 16's Computerworld reports that new low-end PCs are
selling so well that some IBM buyers are waiting two months for
ValuePoint systems and Compaq has a backlog of as many as 200,000
units. Apple is backlogged well into 1993 on some popular units.

Communicationsweek for the week of the 16th reports that analysts
have drastically lowered their estimates for the number of frame-
relay ports which will be installed by the end of 1992. San Jose,
California-based Dataquest, which had projected upwards of 5,000
ports in operation by the beginning of January 1993, has lowered
that projection to fewer than 1,000 installed ports.

(John McCormick/19921120)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(SYD)(00011)

Australia: CSA Sell-off Plan Attacked By Politician 11/20/92
CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA, 1992 NOV 20 (NB) -- The plan by the AMP Society
to sell off Computer Sciences of Australia (CSA) to the American
company Computer Sciences Corp (CSC) has been attacked by a federal
politician. Roger Price, a senior official in the Australian
government, has claimed the sale would be "un-Australian,
irresponsible and short-sighted."

Price compares AMP's move to plans by American firm Campbell's soup
to buy local biscuit maker Arnotts, which has stirred public
outcry regarding the continual erosion of locally owned large
firms. Price also points to the many defense-oriented contracts in
which CSA is currently involved, including sensitive projects, as further
reasons to abandon the sale to the US company. "Many Australians
will see AMP's lock, stock and barrel sale of CSA as un-Australian,
irresponsible and short-sighted," Price said.

Pointing to CSA's continued success in the software arena, Price
claimed CSA was one of Australia's largest software houses and was
recognized for the quality of its products particularly to the
defense sector. Although AMP claims it is making the sale to return
to its core business of life and general insurance, Price claims the
Society is going ahead with the sale to "improve its bottom line" in
the short-term -- a move he says is unnecessary because it is "hardly
regarded as cash starved."

(Sean McNamara/19921120)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00012)

Australia: AOTC Uses Largest GIS For Cable Tracking 11/20/92
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, 1992 NOV 20 (NB) -- AOTC's (Australian and
Overseas Telecommunications Corp) local trading arm, Telecom, is set
to invest AUS$90M in a GIS (geographic information system) which
will allow it to keep track of its fiber optic and copper twisted
pair cabling throughout the nation. The investment should see the
installation of Australia's largest GIS over the next three years.

Currently Telecom keeps track of its national cable network using
paper-based cable and conduit plans, a system which ties up
inordinate amounts of time and resources. Using the GIS, however,
Telecom will be able to efficiently maintain its 42,000,000 kilometers
of copper twisted pairs and 40,000 km of fiber optic cable. The GIS, to
be called the Cable Plants Record (CPR) System, will be implemented
on American company EDS's Graphic Data System, which has been
modified by local vendor ARC Systems and Telecom to meet the
carrier's needs.

CPR will involve the installation of a nationwide computer network,
which will link regional data centers. It is expected to take up 300
gigabytes (over 300,000 megabytes) to store the information, and
will involve the work of approximately 300 staff members. Five years
of research and development have already been invested in the
system, including the testing data sets from six districts.

Brian Lovelock, Telecom's acting chief information officer and executive
general manager of its Information Technology Group, said, "We hope
by making our system work more effectively we will have fewer faults
and better customer service." The system is expected to have data
from all capital cities entered by 1994, and the rest of the country
by 1996.

(Sean McNamara/19921120)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(ATL)(00013)

COMDEX: Bill Gates Stories Abound 11/20/92
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, U.S.A., 1992 NOV 20 (NB) -- Maybe it was the
announcement that Microsoft chairman and founder, Bill Gates, is
now the nation's richest man, with a fortune in stock estimated
by "Forbes" to be worth $7 billion. Maybe it's the Federal Trade
Commission investigation against his company, which has replaced
IBM as the computing force to fear. Whatever it was, the buzz of this
show could be summed up in two words -- Bill Gates.

The legend of Gigadollar Bill just keeps growing. Like his predecessor
as America's richest, the late Sam Walton, Gates remains unaffected by
money and fame. He remains hungry and frugal.

Gates arrived for a "Time" Magazine cover photo shoot in a
torn Microsoft t-shirt, and had to literally take one off an
employee's back so he could finish and get back to work. Bill
is said to still wolf down hamburgers and milk as he sometimes works
with his programming staff until 3 AM.

A new book "Gates," filled with such stories and more, hits the
stands in a month. In the press room are some cards advertising
it this way: "Bill Gates has enough money to buy every man, woman
and child in America a copy of this book. But he probably won't."

Bill Gates flew coach class to this show on a flight through Reno to
save some money, shoving his garment bag into the overhead
compartment with everyone else. When the story was repeated to
cabbies, casino workers, and slot players, the reaction was
amazement, either a shaking of the head or even laughter. The
only person who was not surprised by the Gates story was
Traveling Software CEO Mark Eppley, no slacker in the net worth
department himself. "I was on the same flight," he said.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19921119)


(NEWS)(IBM)(ATL)(00014)

COMDEX: A Big Show Surprise: SuperMac Videospigot 11/20/93
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, U.S.A., 1992 NOV 20 (NB) -- When a costumed
character hands you a card urging you to see some booth at a
trade show, 99 out of 100 times it's something worthless. But not
always.

Heading toward the Las Vegas Convention Center, someone dressed as
-- believe it or not -- a kitchen faucet was handing out just such a
card. The card was for something in the Microsoft booth, a
product called VideoSpigot for Windows.

VideoSpigot, from SuperMac Technology of Sunnyvale, California,
works with Video for Windows to put professional-looking full-motion
video onto a hard disk. Like other desktop video products, this is
not for professional producers -- it captures videos at 30 frames per
second but only in a 160 x 120 pixel window, using a compression system
called CompactVideo. The product can fit a full-length movie on a single
CD-ROM.

The product comes bundled with three products from Asymetrix, Multimedia
ToolBook, Multimedia Make Your Point, and MediaBlitz, as well as Video
for Windows, for a suggested retail price of $499.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19921119/Press Contact: Stephanie Bryant,
SuperMac Technology, 408-773-4446)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(ATL)(00015)

COMDEX: Mobile Computing Showcase 11/20/92
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, U.S.A., 1992 NOV 20 (NB) -- For the first
time, COMDEX has a showcase devoted to mobile computing but none
of the major makers of laptops, pentops, or palmtops was there.
Neither were the companies involved in wireless networking,
either local, regional or national. Still, the exhibit attracted
huge crowds.

The biggest booth belonged to Twinhead, a Taiwan-based maker of
laptop computers. Like many of its competitors, Twinhead featured
a color laptop based on a 486 chip. But the innovation here was
found with small, one-person operations.

The Chair Works, College Station, Texas, offered what may have been
the best seat at COMDEX. Mark Taylor of the company's sales and marketing
department showed off the BodyBilt, a chair with 9 adjustments you can
make from a sitting position. "It also has a linear track arm on which
you can rest your arm while typing," to avoid strain on the forearm.
The thing even has a pump, just like the ones found on sneakers, in the
back, so you can get more support for your back if you need it.

Clifton Brounard of Man & Machine, Hyattsville, Maryland, had his
specialty on display -- fixing laptop computers. He had just been
handed the job of fixing a T1000, which had a missing screen adjustment
knob, for just $75 plus parts. That's the regular price. He also had
some advice for laptop buyers. "Don't buy color matrix laptops unless
you need color. They're not reliable enough. And the best unit to
buy is the one which many people will fix. If you buy a Grid
computer and it breaks, you're at their mercy. But name-brand
laptops, like the Toshiba, can be fixed by any of 100 people."

Man & Machine also sells used laptops, and was offering a "show
special" of a T2200SX, based on the Intel 80386-SX chip, for
$1,599. He had one more piece of advice: "As units get lighter, they
break more easily. There's a law of diminishing returns. A 7-10
pound unit may be more sturdy than a 4 pounder."

Tom Byram of Zykronix Incorporated., of Englewood, CO, was offering
laptop motherboards. Byram showed a 486-based model which is smaller
and lighter than most computer books, even the soft covers. He calls
it the "Little Monster."

One vendor had a way to outfit a desktop machine with PCMCIA cards,
otherwise known as PC Cards, a development receiving a great deal of
attention at the show. The CardPro unit from Data I/O, of Redmond,
Washington, consists of a card, a cable, and a box which mounts to
the front of a machine with other hard drives. There is also a
triangular-shaped external model, which plugs into a parallel port.

Keith Miller of Data I/O, however, warns that current cards are
expensive. He said one may pay $300 for a few megabytes of
memory, more if they want more functionality. Plus, Newsbytes notes,
not all PCMCIA card slots read all PCMCIA cards. A Sharp model may
not always read a Hewlett-Packard card.

At the Deskin Research Group stand, executive William Leonard
promised to have Gnosis, his company's Mobile Information
Manager, out by early next year. He was seeking beta testers for
the systems. Gnosis combines software, a pen-based computer, wireless
communications, and the Go PenPoint operating system.

Finally, Robert Maxwell, president of PowerTek Industries, was
showing off his cellular modems, which have more power than
regular modems to handle cell hand-offs and radiowave
distortions. His latest model is as small as the external desktop
modems sold by major modem makers like Hayes. His older model
required its own bag, and was heavier than the average notebook
computer. Maxwell told us that Abbott Labs bought 220 of the
older models for use by their sales force, and found that 96
percent of calls went through with 9,600 bps throughput. "They're
elated."

Maxwell was handing out to COMDEX goers a map of cellular phone
service areas put out by Cellular Directions of St. Petersburg Beach,
Florida. While the cellular industry group claims that you can now get
cellular phone service virtually anywhere, the map Maxwell
offered showed there are still lots of holes in the net. Idaho,
for instance, has coverage only in the Snake River Valley and one
section of the panhandle. Nevadans can make calls only around Las
Vegas and in a few towns in the north end of the state, including
of Lake Tahoe and Reno. If you're going to the Big Bend
Park in West Texas, don't bring your cellular phone. In fact,
according to this map, only three states have truly universal
cellular service: Delaware, New Jersey, and Rhode Island.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19921120/Press Contact: Mark Taylor, The Chair
Works, 409-693-7000; Clifton Brounard, Man & Machine, 301-277-
3760; Zykronix, Tom Byram, 303-799-4944; Data I/O, Keith Miller,
206-881-6444; Deskin Research Group, William Leonard, 408-496-
5300; PowerTek Industries, Robert Maxwell, 303-680-9400; Cellular
Directions, 813-345-6150)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00016)

COMDEX: First Tax Prep Software For Windows On CD 11/20/92
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, U.S.A., 1992 NOV 20 (NB) -- Datamax, a
company which has been marketing tax preparation software for the
Amiga for 6 years, is introducing the first Windows tax
preparation software for Windows on compact disc read-only
memory (CD-ROM), Lasertax. The program is geared toward home
users and is priced at $49.

The company says the program is a 50-form tax preparation
program that allows data entry on the actual forms which the
program is capable of displaying in 800 by 600 super video
graphics array (SVGA) mode. The company says the forms can be
printed on a laser printer and the Internal Revenue Service
will accept the forms. Newsbytes couldn't tell the difference
between the laser printed 1040 form and the IRS issued 1040.

The instruction forms can only be printed, Datamax said, but
all the other forms may be viewed on screen. Over 2,000 forms
are offered on the CD including the 1040/1040A, Schedules A, B,
C, C-EZ, D, D1, E, F, R, SE, EIC, and Forms 2106, 3903, 4562,
and 8606.

The company is offering support on the online service GEnie and
is including the GEnie access software Aladdin with the
package. Voice notes can be added to the tax form although you
have to know a voice note is there -- no indicator is available
to indicate the voice note. The company says unlimited numbers
of tax forms can be prepared with the package, and electronic
filing is available via mail or fax through Nelco for $19.95.

Datamax representative David Sopuch said while the company
expects the market for the software to be more limited, it
wanted to be able to distribute all the IRS forms and
instructions. Also, even though the numbers of CD-ROM drives
are fewer than the company would like, Sopuch said there are
still twice as many CD-ROM owners for PCs than there are people
who own Amiga computers.

Interestingly enough, the company allows users access to the
spreadsheet object the company uses to calculate the form so
changes in the way the tax form is calculated can be made.
While Newsbytes wondered if the ability to change the
calculations would be a problem, Sopuch said Datamax is
attempting to allow users as much control as possible.

Windows 3.1, 4 megabytes (MB) of memory, and a video graphics
array (VGA) monitor is required, however Datamax recommends
SVGA.

(Linda Rohrbough/19921120/Press Contact: David Sopuch, Datamax
Research, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00017)

Hewlett-Packard 4Q Earnings Down 46% 11/20/92
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 NOV 20 (NB) -- A little
over a month after announcing plans to cut 2,700 jobs, Hewlett-Packard
has reported that earnings declined 46 percent for the fourth quarter
ending October 31. While net revenue increased 13 percent and orders
went up 20 percent for the quarter, the company took "special pretax
charges of $137 million for restructuring."

The company said that the special charges for the quarter were
for "voluntary employment-reduction programs, relocations, and
related facilities consolidations."

According to the company, net earnings declined 28 percent,
excluding special charges taken in the fourth quarters of 1991
and 1992. However, net revenue increased to $4.3 billion,
compared with $3.8 billion in the corresponding 1991 quarter.

The company is posting bigger gains outside the United States.
Net revenue in the US rose nine percent to $1.9 billion, while net
revenue from outside the US increased by 16 percent to $2.4
billion.

According to the company, orders for the fourth quarter totaled
a record $4.4 billion, up from $3.7 billion in the same period of
1991, with US orders totaling $2.2 billion, an increase of 20
percent over the fourth quarter of 1991. Orders from outside
the US also increased 20 percent to $2.2 billion.

For fiscal 1992, HP reported a net revenue rise of 13 percent to
$16.4 billion, compared with $14.5 billion in fiscal 1991. US net
revenue totaled $7.2 billion, up 13 percent from 1991's $6.4
billion. Net revenue from outside the US was $9.2 billion, a gain
of 13 percent from the prior year's $8.1 billion. Orders for fiscal
1992 totaled $16.8 billion, up 14 percent from a year ago.

According to the company, net earnings for fiscal 1992 were
$549 million, a decline of 27 percent over the $755 million
reported for 1991. HP claims that the earnings "include the
effect of the adoption of Statement of Financial Accounting
Standards (SFAS) No. 106, which the company announced in
September." SFAS No. 106 requires companies to account for
nonpension post-retirement benefits, such as retiree medical
benefits, as these benefits are earned by employees instead of
when payments are actually made. Said HP: "Adoption of SFAS
No. 106 resulted in a reduction of first-quarter net earnings
of $332 million."

The company said that, during 1992, employment increased by
3,600 people, from 89,000 at the end of fiscal 1991, to 92,600.
This was mostly as a mostly as a result of the company's
acquisitions of Avantek, Colorado Memory Systems, and
Texas Instruments' multiuser systems business.

In October, Newsbytes reported that HP had begun offering a
voluntary severance-incentive (VSI) program to employees in
selected job categories. Two thousand of 2,700 intended job
cuts are reported to be in the United States.

At the time Mary Lou Simmermacher, spokesperson for HP, told
Newsbytes that: "The sign-up period will be from November 30
through January 6, and most people will leave by early 1993.
Some people may stay around until April if they have projects
to finish."

In an effort to reduce other costs, the company has also said
that many of its US operations will close for three working days
during the December holidays. Additionally, some international
operations also will close for the holidays. Also, employees in
the United States will be required to take paid vacation
December 29, 30 and 31 along with paid holidays December 25,
28 and January 1.

(Ian Stokell/19921120/Press Contact: Steve Beitler, 415-857-
2387, or Mary Lou Simmermacher, 415-857-7794, Hewlett-
Packard Co.)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(ATL)(00018)

COMDEX: Color Laptop Price War Predicted 11/20/92
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, U.S.A., 1992 NOV 20 (NB) -- Expect a price war
in fast color laptops running 486-compatible chips in the next
year. Major vendors like Sharp and Toshiba shipped their first
models just a few months ago. Now many other vendors are jumping
in this market with both feet.

At this year's Fall COMDEX, there were at least four 486-based color
notebook computers weighing around 6 pounds. The Twinhead Slimnote is
typical. It uses an Intel 80486DX chip running at 33 MHz, and has
an active matrix TFT display. The same company makes another
model of the same machine using the Cyrix 486SLC chip at 33 MHz --
that machine is referred to as a "value leader" at a retail
price of just $2,995.

NewTech Korea offers the CardStar line. The model 3000 uses the
80486DX chip, with 4 megabytes of memory expandable to 12, a 2400
bps data and 9600 bps data-fax modem, an internal floppy drive
which can be swapped-out for a battery pack, and a PCMCIA slot.

Finally there is the Spectrum line from Vortex Computer. The top
of the line is the Spectrum Flash DX2-50, running at 50 MHz,
with either an STN passive or TFT active color screen, hard
drives of 85-250 megabytes, a COM port for use by an internal
fax-data modem, a trackball, or both, and a docking station
connector. Other options include a car adapter so one can compute
while they drive.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19921120/Press Contact: Twinhead, Doug Moglin,
408-945-0808; NTK Computer, 213-487-7738; Vortex Computers, 215-
825-4095)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(ATL)(00019)

COMDEX: Lunch With Pat at Piero's 11/20/92
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, U.S.A., 1992 NOV 20 (NB) -- Reporters, who are
not among America's wealthy, can seldom resist a free lunch. So
one of the nicest ways to get away from the COMDEX rat race during
the show is to trek across the street to Piero's Italian
restaurant, where PR person Pat Meier hosts daily luncheons for
keyboard-pushers.

Even amid the tortellini, chicken-and-eggplant, and caesar
salad, however, you can't escape the show. Pat's picking up the
lunch tab only because her clients are demonstrating their products all
around you.

Compton's NewMedia drew the most attention with its new CD-
ROM Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia for Windows. It features a
new technology called Virtual Workspace, a new interface which
lets you "map" research and save topics for easy retrieval. The
system lets you open many windows simultaneously, so you could
have a picture, sound, and text in the background all at once.
The system lets you work the way you would in a real library,
depositing information into piles, then retrieving and organizing
it later.

Prosonus featured Mr. Sound FX, with sound effects done by comic-
actor Michael Winslow, best known for his work in the film
"Police Academy." The same company offers MusicBytes, with
license-free selections from rock musicians who have worked with
Pink Floyd, the Doobie Brothers, and Toto. DigiVox, meanwhile,
offered Sound Impression, a desktop recording studio which
combines recording, editing and mixing capabilities.

PC-Kwik was demonstrating its Power Pak and Super PC-Kwik Version
5.0, along with their WinMaster product for Windows. Power Pak
includes tools for disk caching, multiple DOS boot
configurations, and more. PC-Kwik used to be called Multisoft.
Reference Software was showing its Grammatik style checker,
although most of writers seemed to prefer human editors.

Virtual Reality Laboratories had large color monitors for its
Vistapro 3.0 program, which offers 3-D simulations using real
data from the US Geological Survey and NASA. And Viscorp -- not
Visicorp but Viscorp -- offered ED, an information access
appliance described as "videotext for the masses. It allows you
to access online services through a TV, and includes a modem and
speakerphone, as well as an address book and mouse pen.

Finally, a new product from Moon Valley Software is called
Icon Make-It. This is a new utility under Windows which lets you
freely create your own designed icons, along with customized sound.
The product's box features a hologram of a rabbit.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19921120/Press Contact: Pat Meier, Pat Meier
Associates, 415-957-5999)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(ATL)(00020)

COMDEX: The Logistical Nightmare 11/20/92
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, U.S.A., 1992 NOV 20 (NB) -- It's the show that
ate Las Vegas whole. COMDEX this year had an estimated 145,000
people attending its exhibits and conferences, making getting
around Las Vegas a real logistical nightmare.

Getting a cab from the Convention Center at 11 AM was not too
bad. Getting back was. No cabs were available at most hotels,
even mid-day, and lines at the show sites for buses stretched for
blocks.

Getting to far-off show sites like Bally's and the Tropicana
became an all-day affair. Even more complaints than usual were
heard about surly hotel clerks, who dislike COMDEX because while
it fills their rooms, it empties their casinos. Many exhibitors added
to the confusion by refusing to use the new system of showcases
the Interface Group employed a few years ago to help visitors make
some sense of the exhibits. IBM was the only "good guy,"
dutifully buying booths everywhere, including the Main Hall.

But if you wanted multimedia, leading vendors like Apple and
Microsoft were only in the Main Hall. If you were interested in
mobile computing, vendors were spread everywhere: the Sands,
the Main Hall, and the South Annex, formerly the West Hall. Only
the networking showcase, moved this year from the Mirage to a new
section of the Las Vegas Convention Center called the North Hall,
seemed to have all this technology's major players all in one place.

Much of this could have been avoided had the Interface Group been
able to build the second leg of its Sands Convention Center, as
it had hoped. All the outlying show sites -- the Riviera,
Bally's, and the Tropicana -- could have fit easily inside a
second section of the Sands, with room to spare.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19921120/Press Contact: Kim Pappas, The
Interface Group, 617-449-6600)


(EDITORIAL)(GENERAL)(ATL)(00021)

Editorial: COMDEX 11/20/92
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, U.S.A., 1992 NOV 20 (NB) -- By Dana Blankenhorn.
Every COMDEX has its own texture, its own flavor, which can usually
be summed up in just a few words. In the decade I've been covering
the shows, I've seen COMDEXes dominated by new chips, by new concepts
like desktop publishing, and by new software like Windows.

This show was different, having not one but two themes.
Multimedia, while it remains a technology looking for a market, was
one of those themes. IBM has grabbed for the complexity of
multimedia in order to find new uses for its "big iron" ES-9000
mainframes, now pushed as multimedia file servers. Digital
Equipment, Texas Instruments, and other big computer makers have
the same hope. Video for Windows and QuickTime for Windows, along
with products supporting one or both, added sizzle.

How high the flame burns depends on real people finding real uses
for all this great technology -- there remains no guarantee of that
happening.

The other theme here was mobile computing, which I prefer to call
field computing, if only because it describes the idea from the
point of view of the person, rather than the computer. Half of
all US workers remain uncomputerized, unautomated. Many others
find themselves in that situation part-time. Reporters at this
show lugged around laptop computers, but took most of their notes
using pads and pens.

This show offers a way out, with hardware and communications
which adapt to people, rather than force an adaptation. AT&T's
Personal Communicator embodies all these themes, with its Go
PenPoint operating system, its links to cellular networks and fax
systems, and its promise of more to come. Pen-based hardware, on
the whole, remains primitive. Some reporters were hoping for a
voice-to-text translation system that would let them take notes
automatically for use later, requiring that they only identify
speakers in some way. That's coming. So are cellular packet
networks, and radio data networks running fast enough to be
useful.

Some companies have already used elements of this technology to
do amazing things. Abbott Labs salesmen use cellular modems to
report on their sales calls from their cars, and to get more
appointments from their offices. WalMart uses a version of this
technology to check prices in its aisles, and to pick new
inventory from warehouse shelves. Of course, we all know about
the FedEx guy and the UPS gal, carrying handheld terminals with
bar-code readers so operators can tell us exactly when our
package was delivered, and who signed for it.

The challenge now, and it's a big challenge, is to use field
computing technology to automate knowledge workers: reporters,
engineers, doctors, lawyers. All these people know how to use
technology, they get PC benefits in their offices all the time,
then they walk out the door and ---- boom ---- they step back in
time 20 years, to an era when personal computers were only a
dream. If they do have laptop units, they're used as glorified
typewriters, or presentation tools.

Field computing, bringing computer and communications technology
to our lives outside the office, is just beginning its evolution,
and already people are creating valuable, cost-effective
applications with it. Multimedia, which seems to have reached a
climax of simplicity and power at this show, may still be looking
for a market.

But time will tell on all of this. Just as supporters of losing
political candidates content themselves knowing there's always
another election, supporters of every technology know that, for
all its hassles, there will always be another COMDEX.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19921120/Press Contact: Kim Pappas, The
Interface Group, 617-449-6600)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(HKG)(00022)

Microsoft Enters China, Forms Licensing Agree't 11/20/92
TAIKOO SHING, HONG KONG, 1992 NOV 20 (NB) -- Microsoft Corporation has
made its entry into the domestic personal computer market in China
with the signing of a landmark licensing agreement with a
consortium of Chinese personal computer manufacturers.

Under the agreement Microsoft will, for the first time, make the
MS-DOS operating system available for installation on locally made
PCs for sale on the PRC market.

"This is agreement is of great significance to Microsoft," said
Joachim Kempin, Microsoft's vice president for OEM business. "We
believe that China will become one of the most important software
markets in Asia. We are, therefore, very pleased to be helping
China's personal computer industry add value to their hardware."

Wang Zhi, president of the China Great Wall Computer Group, one of
the PRC largest PC manufacturers, said, "Microsoft is recognized
throughout China as by far the most important supplier of software
for personal computers. It is therefore very important for the
development of the personal computer industry in China to have the
active support and participation of Microsoft."

The impetus for the agreement was the resolution of the bilateral
trade dispute between the US and China last year, concerning the
copyright protection of software in the PRC. The foundations were
laid earlier this year when a Microsoft delegation led by Kempin
met with representatives of the Chinese PC industry in Beijing.

"The resolution of the copyright issue in China has been a major
factor in market entry," said Mr Kempin. "The recent amendment of
the copyright law has given us the confidence to do direct business
in China. For their part, Chinese manufacturers, have proved eager
to align their business practices with internationally accepted
standards."

Kempin explained that, once Microsoft is satisfied that its OEM
support program is working smoothly, the company's next step will
be to identify distribution channels for its DOS-based applications
in China.

"Eventually we want to introduce our whole Windows product line to
the China market too," he said.

Microsoft's business in the PRC will be handled out of the
company's recently formed Greater Chinese Region office in Taipei.
The new regional operation, which also covers the Taiwan and Hong
Kong markets, will be responsible for the development of
Microsoft's Chinese language products.

A traditional Chinese version of Windows is already available on
the Taiwan market and a simplified Chinese version, suitable for
the PRC, is under development. These will be followed up by Chinese
language releases of Microsoft popular application programs over
the next year.

(Brett Cameron/19921120/Press Contact: CS Kuo, OEM Manager,
Microsoft Greater Chinese Region: 8862-504-3122)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(HKG)(00023)

3Com Ups Asian Manufacturing Capacity 11/20/92
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1992 NOV 20 (NB) -- Leading global data networking
company 3Com Corporation has announced a licensing agreement with
Modi Olivetti Ltd., to manufacture Ethernet adapters for the Indian
market. This agreement brings leading networking products into
India and consolidates 3Com's position as a global manufacturer.

"With the assets purchased from BICC Data Networks in January, the
opening of our adapter plant in Ireland in September and our
development and manufacturing efforts in the Japanese market, 3Com
has significantly expanded its global reach this year," said Doug
Dennerline, general manager of 3Com Asia Ltd.

"This agreement with Modi Olivetti further expands our
presence in Asia and gives the growing number of network users in
India access to first-class adapter products."

"The computer market in India is growing rapidly, as is the need
for quality network products," said Dr Lino Sella, managing
director of Modi Olivetti. "The introduction of 3Com adapter
technology to India will play an important role in increasing the
proliferation of networks there."

The Modi Olivetti plant, located in Rampur, has been in operation
since 1989, producing Olivetti-designed 386 and 486 PCs for the
Indian market. Existing equipment and personnel will be utilized to
manufacture the Ethernet adapters.

Modi Olivetti is a joint venture between Olivetti of Italy and
India's Modi Group.

(Brett Cameron/19921120/Press Contact: Doug Dennerline, 3Com,
tel:[phone];HK time is GMT + 8)


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

COMDEX: AT&T Paradyne Claims Modem Is World's Fastest 11/20/92
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, U.S.A., 1992 NOV 20 (NB) -- AT&T Paradyne has
announced development of a modem it claimed is the world's fastest,
able to transmit data at 28,800 bits per second over standard
telephone lines.

Designed by AT&T Paradyne's development teams in Largo and at AT&T
Bell Laboratories, the modem is due to be available in the second
half of 1993, the company said.

The fastest modems in use today transmit at 14,400 bps.

Garrick Case, a spokesman for AT&T Paradyne, noted that there are
currently no standards for data transmission at 28,800 bps. That
means buyers of the new high-speed modem will need to use the same
device at both ends of a transmission. However, Case said, Paradyne
expects the modem will find a market among users that need higher
transmission speeds as soon as possible with or without standards.

AT&T Paradyne in involved in the effort to create standards for
28,800-bps transmission, though. The company said it is the first
to provide actual 28,800-bps modem test results to the CCITT V.fast
standards committee. The only other 28,800-bps test results were
achieved using simulated modem modulations, rather than with actual
modems, Paradyne said.

Statements from the company indicated the high-speed modem relies
on a new modulation scheme to achieve its greater speed. Further
details were not available at Newsbytes' deadline.

AT&T Paradyne also announced a migration plan for its Comsphere
3800 modem customers. The plan will allow customers to upgrade
their existing modems to the new V.fast standard once it is
approved by the CCITT. The new V.fast upgrades will cost $350.

Based in Largo, Florida, AT&T Paradyne makes data communications
products and licenses high-bandwidth transmission transceiver
technologies to telecommunications suppliers.

(Grant Buckler/19921120/Press Contact: Garrick Case, AT&T Paradyne,
813-530-8221; Public Contact: 800-484-3333)


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

COMDEX: IBM Makes Speech Recognition Moves 11/20/92
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, U.S.A., 1992 NOV 20 (NB) -- People have been
talking about speech recognition for years. Now IBM says its
computers are listening.

During COMDEX/Fall, IBM announced four products -- two licensed
from speech-recognition pioneer Dragon Systems, two developed by
IBM itself -- that address the desire to have computers understand
human speech.

IBM has licensed DragonDictate-7K, a free-text dictation system for
DOS-based PCs. This software lets users control DOS and many
applications by talking rather than typing. It has a vocabulary of
7,000 words and a backup dictionary of 100,000 words, according to
Dragon Systems, and it will adapt to any user's voice.

IBM also licensed Dragon Talk-To Plus, a speech recognition package
for Microsoft Windows. Talk-To Plus has a library of built-in
commands with 64 commands active at one time.

Both Dragon products require PC with a 386SX or higher processor
and an audio card -- IBM's M-Audio Capture and Playback Adapter
(M-ACPA) and Creative Labs' Sound Blaster 16 are mentioned. Talk-To
Plus will be available from both IBM and Dragon in March for $149;
DragonDictate-7K will be available from both companies in March for
$2,295.

IBM has previously licensed Dragon's VoiceType keyboard-replacement
software. "We've been working with them for a couple of years,"
said company spokesman Michael Reiter.

IBM also announced the Speech Server series, software for the RISC
System/6000 workstation. Speech Server can also run on an RS/6000
server with PCs running OS/2 as clients.

Reiter said the Speech Server is a highly accurate,
speaker-dependent voice recognition system with a vocabulary of
20,000 words. According to IBM, the software can accept dictation
at up to 70 words per minute. The dictionary can be customized.

Due to be available in December, Speech Server will cost $6,950 for
the server program, $695 for the OS/2 client software, and $1,900
for the RS/6000 speech accelerator card. Stand-alone software for
the RS/6000 running IBM's AIX variant of Unix will cost $2,495 and
is due to be available in May.

Finally, IBM launched a Continuous Speech Series Developer's
Program, offering tools to independent software vendors to build
speech-recognition capabilities into packages for OS/2 and the
RS/6000. The software offers an active vocabulary of 1,000 words
from a base of 20,000.

The developers' tools will be available before year-end for $3,995,
IBM said.

(Grant Buckler/19921120/Press Contact: Tara Sexton, IBM,
914-766-3781 or 914-642-4662; Esther Agonis, Dragon Systems,
617-995-5200)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00026)

Dell 3Q Sales Up 149% On Record Income 11/20/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 NOV 20 (NB) -- Dell Computer has
announced that its third quarter sales are up 149 percent to $570
million, and reported net earnings per share of $0.72.

The company says this is the third consecutive quarterly revenue
increase of more than 100 percent over the same period the prior
year. Dell reported net income increased 120 percent to a record
$29 million. For the same period last year net sales were $229.3
million, net income was $13 million, and earnings per share were
$0.35. Shares outstanding has increased slightly, from 37,608 to
39,569.

Dell Chairman and CEO Michael Dell says the company continues to
gain market share from both larger and smaller competitors. "It is
clear that customers are not necessarily looking for the lowest
price, but for the best overall value."

The company says domestic sales increased 138 percent to $377
million versus $158 million for the same period last year. While
sales were reported up in every customer segment, sales increases in
domestic business were highest among large corporate, government,
and educational accounts.

International sales were reported up 172 percent to $193 million,
compared to $71 million last year. The company says the increase was
due to increased market penetration and expansion into new
countries.

The company says the biggest increase was in the sale of 486-based
systems, which represented more than 70 percent of total system
sales in the quarter, compared to 19 percent last year.

Chairman Dell said the company has improved internal efficiency and
productivity significantly, with per-employee sales running at an
annualized rate of $536,000 compared to $354,000 the previous year.
Inventories represent 6.7 weeks of supply, while cash and
investments, net of borrowings are $73 million, versus $113 million
at the beginning of the fiscal year.

Companies like Dell have struggled for market share against clone
manufacturers for some time, but as prices have dropped the
incentive for many buyers to buy no-name brand computers has eroded.

In late December Newsbytes reported that Michael Dell believed the
price wars were over, but his view is not held by some of his
competitors. Compaq President Eckhard Pfeiffer said in late October
that prices would continue to erode, particularly for entry level
systems.

Michael Dell told the Associated Press recently that the
company plans a bolder move into the Japanese computer market, which
it entered earlier this year. He says Japanese consumers are
frustrated by an inefficient distribution system, high price markups
and poor support. However, one analysts advises caution. According to
Doug Kass at Viewpoint Group Dell will have to overcome a Japanese
prejudice against mail order, which he says is looked on as a second
class method of distribution and not trustworthy.

(Jim Mallory/19921120/Press contact: Michele Moore, Dell Computer
Corporation, 512-794-4100; Reader contact: 512-338-4400)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00027)

Wordperfect Launches First-Ever TV Ads 11/20/92
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1992 NOV 20 (NB) -- Wordperfect Corporation has
launched its first-ever television ad campaign, saying it is
signaling its intention to be a much more aggressive player,
particularly in arenas beyond word processing.

According to marketing VP Dan Lunt, "We want people to know that we
have major new product offerings for office communications and
presentation graphics, products with the same degree of
technological sophistication that's made us the industry leader in
word processing." Pam Pyle, WP director of advertising, told
Newsbytes the products would not tout specific products but "would
summarize what Wordperfect is all about. People think of us as a DOS
word processing company. There's a lot more to us than our name
suggests," said Pyle.

The new commercials humorously highlight ineffective, inept, and
backwards ways of doing business, illustrating the different
Wordperfect technology can make by labeling the "right" and "wrong"
methods "Imperfect" and "Wordperfect." The ads are corporate in
nature rather than product-specific. The ads were shown on Las Vegas
television stations in conjunction with the industry trade show
COMDEX, and will begin nationwide play in the first quarter of
1993.

Pyle told Newsbytes the specific media plan is still to be decided,
and the budget hasn't been set. The ads will be supported by print
advertising in the computer trade press and business publications.

(Jim Mallory/19921120/Press contact: Linda Linfield, Wordperfect
Corp, 801-228-5039; Reader contact: 800-451-5151)


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

Compaq Opens Beijing Training Center 11/20/92
BEIJING, CHINA, 1992 NOV 20 (NB) -- Compaq Computer Corporation
says it has opened a $1 million computer training center at Tsinghua
University in Beijing, China.

The center was officially opened November 19 and was attended by
Compaq President Eckhard Pfeiffer, Tsinghua University President
Zhang Xiao Wen, and Kent Lam, managing director of Eekon Computer
Systems Ltd. Eekon contributed $300,000 towards the cost of
renovations, furnishings, hardware, software, and networking options.
Computerland China is also a partner in the center. Compaq provided
$750,000 worth of hardware, software and training materials and
trained the staff.

Compaq says the center will be used primarily by the four partners
to provide courses on hardware architecture, operating systems,
networking, and computer applications. Students will come from
government offices, private companies, educational institutions, and
the general public.

According to Pfeiffer China is a key geographic market for Compaq,
and sales in the country in 1991 were reported "strong."

(Jim Mallory/19921120/Press contact: Yvonne Donaldson, Compaq,
713-374-4463)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SYD)(00029)

COMDEX: Disc Advises On Multimedia Configurations 11/20/92
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, 1992 NOV 20 (NB) -- MPC Wizard is a $14.95 CD-ROM
that checks out your multimedia PC setup. Not only that, but it comes
with loads of extra goodies.

First, the software and disk allow you to check and fine-tune your
system. Manufacturer Aris Entertainment said many so-called MPC-compliant
CD-ROM drives simply aren't. (There have been many angry vendors
at COMDEX visiting the Aris booth to complain that their drives are
being shown in a bad light.) Next, the disk gives you tips on better
system set-ups to get the most out of MPC. The checks and tips include
sound and video as well as CD.

It also has what Aris claims is the most complete collection of video
and sound drivers to be found in one place. These may be ones you
already have but can't find, or drivers you should have but weren't
provided by the hardware or software manufacturers. Then there's
software to create self-running multimedia slide shows using one's
own graphics and sound or commercial versions. There's also a "search
engine" to locate images and sounds on this or other CD-ROMs, a useful
tool when you have hundreds of megabytes of data.

Lastly the disk is a sampler -- it's half-filled with royalty-free
images and sounds from other Aris disks. These disks include World
View still and motion collection, Wild Places desktop publishing
clip art, Jets and Props aircraft video collection, Money Money
Money business graphics, Business Background, Island Designs,
Majestic Places and Full Bloom. These disks are $39.95 and $59.95.

(Paul Zucker/19921120/Contact: Aris Entertainment on phone[phone]
4 or fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(BOS)(00030)

 ****COMDEX: First Display of NT Apps On Alpha AXP PCs 11/20/92
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, U.S.A., 1992 NOV 11 (NB) -- Visitors to the
Comdex computer show here are glimpsing the world's first public
display of upcoming Windows NT applications running on Digital's
just developed Alpha AXP personal computers.

DEC officials claim that the machine, which incorporates the
company's 21064 microprocessor, is faster than any other single-
processor machine capable of operating NT.

The 13 NT applications on display cover a wide array of areas,
including spreadsheets, color imaging, database management,
engineering, PC-to-host connectivity, network management, software
development, decision support, and visual analysis.

In announcing the demonstration, Microsoft and Digital officials
hailed the capabilities of one another's products. "That these
applications were up-and-running so quickly -- several in just a
few hours -- is a tribute to the consistency of the Windows NT
operating system across platforms," said Jesse Lipson, vice
president of Digital's entry systems business group.

Stated Paul Maritz, senior vice president of Microsoft's systems
division: "Digital is taking a leadership role in defining the
next generation of PCs. Because of its performance, we expect the
Alpha AXP personal computer to be a key platform for Windows NT."

Third-party software vendors explained how the use of the NT
operating system, together with the AXP platform, improve
performance of their products. According to Mark Ozur, vice
president of engineering for Precision Wave, the hardware/software
platform will help the company's PV-Wave integrated visual data
program to reach more technical professional users, whose job it is
to discover the trends and relationships hidden in large data sets.

"The power of visual data analysis can (now) be integrated on a
single platform with productivity tools such as databases, word
processors and spreadsheets to create a complete data analysis and
presentation environment," Ozur reported.

The new Windows NT version of PV-Wave takes full advantage of such
NT features as 32-bit implementation, symmetric multiprocessing,
multithreading, and pre-emptive multitasking, he added. PV-WAVE
currently supports workstations and servers running DEC Ultrix and
Open VMS.

Roy S. Ostenso, president of Image-In Inc., said the port of Image-
In Color Professional image processing software from Windows 3.X to
NT is bringing speed increases that start at 300% for smaller
images and ranging progressively upward as images get larger.

Early lab tests show that the time to apply a filter to a 400 K
image is reduced under NT from 20 seconds to 3.2 seconds, he said.
Similar speed increases are shown for loading and saving compressed
image files.

Other third-party vendors participating in the demo include Oracle,
Computervision, Wall Data Inc., Pilot Software Inc., IMRS Inc.,
Hamiltong Laboratories, Arbor Software Corp., and Kenan
Technologies.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19921120; Press contact: David Price, Digital
Equipment Corp., tel [phone])


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LAX)(00031)

COMDEX: Pulse Racing Displays At Sun Microsystems' Booth 11/20/92
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, U.S.A., 1992 NOV 20 (NB) -- The video
technology was confusing and while crowds were heavy it was
difficult to find something COMDEX attendees were excited
about. However, the pulse-racer of the show was Sun Microsystems'
demonstrations of Windows 3.0 and Macintosh 6.0.7 applications
on the SPARCstation 2 in its hands-on technology talks.

Sun started each morning at 10 am issuing tickets to its twenty
minute hands-on demonstration and by 10:30 all the tickets
were gone. The company gave out totebags to those who attended
the demonstrations, but Newsbytes saw several people leave the
demonstration so excited they forgot their totebag.

The hands-on demonstration featured 20 SPARCstation 2 machines
connected locally. Attendees were walked through a brief
introduction to the Solaris operating system, a multimedia mail
tool, calendar manager, Sun PC, Liken, and Show Me.

The multimedia mail tool allowed users to play a video clip and
play back 16-bit compact disc-quality audio in a manner similar to
the way every other multimedia display did at the show. Attendees
perked up however, during the part of the demonstration in which
they were able to start Sun PC, a DOS emulator and Liken, a
Macintosh emulator. During the demonstration, users started Sun
PC, got the DOS prompt in a window on the screen, then typed
"win" to start Microsoft Windows 3.0. The Windows application
was left running while show-goers were instructed to start
Liken for the familiar Macintosh environment on the screen.

The most fun part of the presentation that prompted people to laugh
and joke with each other was the demonstration of Show Me, a
shared whiteboard application. Users were instructed to start
Show Me, then draw with their cursor that took the shape of a small pen
on the white screen surface. Users were instructed to give
a command that made it obvious that each set of two
SPARCstations were networked, because two lines appeared on
each station, a red line representing one user and a blue one
representing the person seated next to them.

That's when the demonstration became fun. Users began playing,
scribbling over each other's drawings, erasing parts, adding
funny symbols to the other person's artwork and generally just
having a good time. Typing on the keyboard produced text on the
white board in the same color. After playing for a while, one
user of the pair connected was instructed to expand the Show Me
window over the entire screen and give a command which produced
their screen on the display of their partner. Then both users
viewed a spreadsheet on one screen, making notes and drawing
symbols on top of the spreadsheet itself.

During the demonstration, a 486-based add-on board was displayed
to the audience as an optional addition to a SPARCstation which
allows it to run DOS and Windows applications. Plans have also
been announced for SunPC to support Windows 3.1 emulation and
Liken to support System 7.

Sun was also demonstrating its new SPARCclassic, a $4,295
($3,995 in quantities of 12) low-end Sun workstation. The
Classic, however, will not yet support SunPC or Liken, Sun
representatives told Newsbytes. The new $7,995 SPARCstation LX
was also being demonstrated, as was Sun's technology for
downsizing, the SPARCcenter 2000.

Sun was also demonstrating technology planned for Solaris in
which Microsoft Windows 3.1 applications including Program
Manager from Windows 3.1 (which is simply another Windows 3.1
application) was running on a SPARCstation. Sun representatives
declined to comment on when users can expect to see the a
Solaris operating system that will run Windows 3.1.

(Linda Rohrbough/19921120/Press Contact: Carrie Dillon, Sun
Microsystems, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00032)

COMDEX: CD Of Dermatology Disorders For Physicians 11/20/92
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, U.S.A., 1992 NOV 20 (NB) -- The images
aren't pretty, but for dermotologists and physicians the compact
disc CD-Derma series from Lasion Data offers interactive
image-based replications of skin diseases under Microsoft
Windows.

Lasion representative Ann Lermans told Newsbytes the advantages
of the CD-Derma over reference books are many, but the most
important advantages are there are several different images of
each disorder and the images can be blown up for closer
viewing.

Newsbytes saw several images of Psoriasis, in which the skin
disorder was displayed in actual photographs of patients. Each
photograph was different and showed the disease in its various
forms. However, for a closer look, the image displayed can be
blown up as if a patient with the disease is being viewed with
a magnifying glass.

Lasion said CD-Derma is the first volume of a series the
Antwerp, Belgium-based company plans to produce. The CD
requires a 386SX or higher-based IBM compatible personal
computer (PC) with 4 megabytes of random access memory (RAM), a
hard disk, a super video graphics array (SVGA) monitor, and ISO
9660 compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) drive, DOS 3.3,
and Windows 3.0 or higher. The company says the CD will also
run under OS/2 2.0 in Windows mode.

Retail price of the CD-Derma Volume I "General Dermatology" is
$410 and is available directly from Lasion at Prins Albertlei
7, B-2600 Antwerp, Belgium.

(Linda Rohrbough/19921120/Press Contact: Ann Lermans, Lasion
Data, tel [phone], fax [phone])