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Text File | 1992-11-26 | 12KB | 288 lines

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

Thanksgiving: Shorter Issue Of Newsbytes 11/26/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 NOV 26 (NB) -- A smaller,
international edition of Newsbytes will be published today, with
stories filed from Newsbytes' non-US bureaus, as it is the
Thanksgiving holiday in the US.

Full-length editions return tomorrow.

(Wendy Woods/19921126)


(NEWS)(IBM)(HKG)(00002)

Hong Kong: Microsoft Prices Access 11/26/92
TAIKOO SHING, HONG KONG, 1992 NOV 26 (NB) -- Microsoft has followed up
on the US introduction of its new database management package, Microsoft
Access, with an unveiling in Hongkong.

Based around an advanced relational database engine, Microsoft
Access includes a forms generator, report writer, query tool, macro
tool, integrated charting and a comprehensive development
environment. These functional elements make extensive use of
graphical tools to simplify operation.

Laurie Kan, country manager of Microsoft Hong Kong
Ltd., reports, "The package has been designed so that users can create
database structures and manipulate data in a very direct, intuitive
manner. They can, for example, use a mouse to simply drag and drop
elements to create data-entry forms or complex reports," he said.

In addition to directly attaching to data files, Microsoft Access
imports data to and exports from Microsoft FoxPro, Microsoft Excel,
Lotus 1-2-3, and fixed-length and delimited ASCII formats.

Microsoft Access carries a list price of HK$5,560 ($713) in Hong
Kong and will be on dealers' shelves in December. To encourage
product evaluation, Microsoft is making available single copies of
Access at a special promotional price HK$1,000 ($129). This offer
lasts until 31 January 1993.

(Brett Cameron/19921124/Press Contact: Sasha Skinner, Microsoft,
Tel: [phone];HK time is GMT + 8)


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

UK: Olivetti Slashes Price Of Quaderno Portable 11/26/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 NOV 26 (NB) -- Olivetti UK has announced it
has cut the price of the Quaderno notebook PC from UKP 695 to 595
in a bid to grab a slice of the lucrative pre-Christmas market.

The price cut is being backed up by a UKP 1 million advertising
campaign. Quaderno buyers will be also be given a voucher for a
free cable kit and leather carry case, or an external floppy disk
drive until January 1.

"Sales of the Quaderno are exceeding all our expectations," said
Mike Chandler, Olivetti UK's office and consumer products
marketing manager. "The product has been accepted very well through
all selected distribution channels, from the high street to PC
superstores. The decision to lower the price reflects constraints
in the purchase decision for Quaderno, similar to those involved with
any high value, consumer electronic sale such as a camcorder," he
said.

"We need to move product through the retail channel using
consumer marketing techniques, keeping Quaderno in line, not only
with volume PC or falling notebook prices, but with the cost of
other executive gifts consumers will see on the shelves in the
high street at Christmas," he added.

Industry reaction to news of the price cuts was positive. Bob
Trower, marketing manager with Rymans, a major high street
retailer of business electronics goods, said that he welcomed
Olivetti's decision to drop the price of the Quaderno.

"The cost of gifts at Christmas this year, as last, is crucial to
the purchase decision, particularly with the present economic
climate. Reducing the price of the Quaderno to under UKP 600,
together with the pre-Christmas sales incentive, should make it
even more attractive," he said.

(Steve Gold/19921126/Press & Public Contact: Olivetti UK - Tel:
081-785-6666)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LON)(00004)

UK: Cellular Phones Aid Potential Crime Victims 11/26/92
NEWBURY, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 NOV 26 (NB) -- While cellular
phones are an expensive commodity, at least in the call charges
stakes, their use as an aid to safety is often overlooked. West
Yorkshire police seem to have acknowledged this feature, as the
regional police force has begun issuing mobile phones to
potential victims of crime, so that they can summon help quickly.

The scheme is known as Safelink and, according to Ken McGeorge,
Vodafone's marketing director, it has already paid dividends in
preventing crimes from taking place.

"Recent trials by police in Leeds brought three arrests from
three potentially life-threatening incidents. Users of the system
say that it provides peace of mind for both potential victims and
their relatives," he said.

So who is the most likely "victim of crime" that will benefit
from the Safelink mobile phones? According to McGeorge "likely
users are people at risk who do not have a telephone and who live
alone. They could be witnesses under threat during a trial or
victims of domestic violence."

The Safelink phones are programmed only to dial a special
emergency number that is accessed using a three-digit code. Calls
are routed to a special operator at Vodafone's headquarters who
has an instant link to West Yorkshire police.

The Safelink service makes use of a little-known feature of
analogue cellular phones in the UK -- the ability to signal to
the destination number details of the cellphone's number and its
location. This information flags up on the Vodafone operator's
screen as soon as the call is registered. This allows the
operator to identify who is calling, if necessary, before the
call is answered.

This is particularly useful if the caller cannot speak or is cut off
before being able to tell the operator what is happening.

(Steve Gold/19921126/Press & Public Contact: Vodafone - Tel:
0635-33251)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00005)

3Com Receives Top US Environmental Award 11/26/92
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1992 NOV 26 (NB) -- 3Com Corporation will receive
the highest environmental honour in the US -- the President's
Environmental and Conservation Challenge Award. The Presidential
Citation is one of 13 being presented to US individuals and
organizations for their outstanding environmental achievements.

The company is being recognized for its environmental quality
management program that includes pioneering work in CFC replacement
and the use of organic packaging.

3Com is a pioneer in chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) solvent reduction,
working with DuPont on a semi-aqueous cleaning solution for printed
circuit boards. It was the first Silicon Valley-based electronics
manufacturer to use water soluble material, eliminating the
equivalent of 1.7 million polystyrene coffee cups per year.

The company has also replaced CFC-based polystyrene "peanut"
packaging with a 100 percent organic substance that is completely
biodegradable. It is fully committed to eliminating Class I ozone-
depleting chemicals, and is currently working with vendors to
encourage their compliance.

It has also been recycling newspapers, paper, aluminum and precious
metals since 1987.

"3Com's environmental programs reflect a commitment to the global
community," said Eric Benhamou, president and chief executive
officer of 3Com Corporation. "We hope that other companies will
follow our lead and take a strong stand on environmental issues."

The President's Environmental and Conservation Challenge Awards were
established in 1991 to recognize innovative environmental
initiatives throughout the US. The program is run by the Council on
Environmental Quality, in partnership with the National Geographic
Society, the Hearst Corporation, The Business Round Table, and the
World Wildlife Fund.

(Brett Cameron/19921124/Press Contact: Doug Dennerline, 3Com, Tel:
[phone];HK time is GMT + 8)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(TYO)(00006)

Sanyo, Texas Instruments Bury Hatchet Over Kilby Patent 11/26/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 NOV 26 (NB) -- Sanyo and Texas Instruments
have reached an amicable agreement resulting from their lengthy court
battles over the Kilby patent. The two firms have signed a worldwide
patent cross-licensing agreement covering semiconductor technology and
have agreed to dismiss their court lawsuits.

Texas Instruments sued Sanyo in order to force the firm to pay a
Kilby patent fee, but Sanyo contended that it did not use the Kilby
patent in its products. TI reports that the Kilby patent is excluded
from the just-reached agreement.

Texas Instruments and Sanyo had a long-standing cross licensing
agreement before the Kilby dispute. That agreement, however, expired
in December 1990, and Texas Instruments sought a new agreement with
Sanyo that would include fees for TI's Kilby patent. Sanyo refused
to sign such an agreement, and the matter ended up in a lawsuit in
the Dallas Federal District Court this past June.

Sanyo also counter-sued Texas Instruments in a suit before San Francisco
Federal District Court in July.

Texas Instruments has successfully entered into cross licensing
agreements that involve Kilby patent fees with some 15 other
Japanese firms, including Toshiba and NEC. But Sanyo refused
go along with a similar arrangement.

Texas Instruments has also been fighting with Fujitsu concerning
the Kilby patent in the Tokyo District Court.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19921125/Press Contact: Sanyo Electric,
 [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00007)

Japan: Mitsubishi Develops Small, Low-Cost Color Printer 11/26/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 NOV 26 (NB) -- Mitsubishi Electric has developed
a small, low-cost color printer for personal computers which is
about a sixth of the size of existing color printers. The firm claims
that it is the smallest full-color printer in the world.

Mitsubishi's latest color printer measures 34.2 x 22.5 x 11.1 cm
(height). It occupies the same space as a notebook-type personal
computer on a desk. The printer supports various sizes of paper
including A4 size, B5 size and postcard size. Also, this
printer will print color images on regular copier paper due to an
advanced ink-sheet system developed by Mitsubishi. This means the
cost of printing is less than that of current systems.

The color printer is still a prototype, but Mitsubishi expects to
sell it commercially within a year. The retail list price will be around
300,000 yen ($2,500), which is less than half that of existing
counterparts.

Mitsubishi has reduced the size of the printer by miniaturizing the
motor and other mechanical parts. Mitsubishi claims the print quality
is excellent.

Mitsubishi's color printer is expected to be released for various
workstations and personal computers, including the NEC PC-9801,
Apple's Macintosh, and IBM PCs.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19921125/Press Contact: Mitsubishi
Electric, [phone], Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00008)

Japan: Canon Beefs Up Group Firms 11/26/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 NOV 26 (NB) -- Canon has begun strengthening
its group firms. Canon will merge two subsidiaries in December, and
help list the new firms' stocks on the Tokyo Stock Exchange
market. Four Canon group firms are expected to have stocks listed
on the market next year.

Canon's subsidiaries Canon Precision and Canon Chemical will be
merged to become Canon Kasei on December 1. Canon Precision's
President Goto is expected to assume the presidency of the new
firm, which will take over development and production
of fax machine cartridges and laser printer cartridges from
parent firm Canon. Canon Precision and Canon Chemical used to
produce the cartridge parts such as the covers or toner, but
the new firm will make the entire cartridge and supply them to Canon
and other electronic firms.

Canon Precision gained 24.62 billion yen ($205 million), while
Canon Chemical gained 7.77 billion yen ($65 million) for fiscal
1991. The newly merged firm will assume the operation of two cartridge
plants from Canon. Total sales for fiscal 1993 are expected to
reach 100 billion yen ($830 million).

The new firm will be capitalized with 780 million yen ($6.5
million). 99.2 percent of the equity will be owned by Canon.
A total of 1,500 employees will be working in the new firm which
will list its stocks on the over-the-counter-market of the
Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1993.

Canon will also help list the stocks of three other
subsidiaries. They are a copier parts maker called Canon Aptex,
electronic parts maker Canon Components, and software sales
firm Canon Software. If all these firms go public, there will be total
of 10 firms in the Canon group that list their own shares.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19921124/Press Contact: Canon, +81-3-
3348-2121, Fax, [phone])