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Text File | 1992-03-11 | 52KB | 1,167 lines

(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00001)

Microsoft, IBI To Develop Open Database Connectivity Driver 03/11/92
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 11 (NB) -- Microsoft
and New York-based Information Builders Inc., (IBI) have announced
that they are jointly developing a Microsoft open database
connectivity (OBDC) driver for IBI's enterprise data access/
structured query language (EDA/SQL) client-server software.

OBDC is Microsoft's open, vendor-neutral database connectivity
application programming interface (API) that allows applications
to communicate with both relational and non-relational database
management systems.

The new driver is designed to provide applications that support
ODBC with the ability to access Windows-based or other platform
heterogeneous data sources addressed by EDA/SQL API.

OBDC is based on the call-level interface specification developed
by the SQL Access Group, a consortium of hardware and software
database vendors dedicated to promoting universal data access.
The SQL Group endorsed Microsoft's implementation of the
specification when ODBC  was announced in November, 1991.

According to the two companies, the OBDC driver for EDA/SQL will
make it easy for developers to write applications for Windows and
other platforms using OBDC to access all data sources available
to EDA/SQL without having to learn and use another API.

Microsoft said the ODBC driver will enable users to transparently
access enterprise data residing in more than 50 different databases
and file structures on a number of different operating systems,
including DEC, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and Sun Microsystems.
EDA/SQL-based software will also be able to access ODBC-based
applications running under IBM's Information Warehouse, including
VSAM and IMS environments, as well as all IBM relational
databases.

Microsoft spokesperson Marianne Allison told Newsbytes
that the product is in pre-release now, and is expected to be
released as a developer's kit by the third quarter this year.
Allison said the hooks for ODBC will be in a future version of
Windows.

Microsoft maintains a toll free number (800-426-9400) to handle
inquiries about all of its products.

(Jim Mallory/19920311/Press Contact: Marianne Allison, for
Microsoft, 503-245-0905; Bill Madaras, IBI, 212-736-4433)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00002)

Motorola's 33 MHz 68040 Powers Radius Rocket Accelerator 03/11/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 11 (NB) - Motorola's
Microprocessor and Memory Technologies Group has announced
that is 33 megahertz (MHz) 68040 microprocessor powers the new
Radius Rocket 33 accelerator board for Macintosh personal
computers.

The Rocket was first introduced as a 25 MHz system in March 1991,
with a list price of $3,495. Last August Radius upgraded the Rocket
to make it compatible with Apple's System 7 operating system.

Motorola said the chip is capable of delivering up to 29 million
instructions per second (MIPS), and is designed for high throughput,
workstation level applications, matching or outperforming CISC
(complex instruction-set computer) and RISC (reduced instruction-
set computer) chips operating at similar clock speeds,

Radius still sells the original 25 MHz accelerator, as well as the
Rocket 25i, which is powered by Motorola's low cost 68040
processor, the 68LC040.

Rocket 33 has a suggested list price of $2,499, and is expected to
ship late this month, with Rocketware 1.3 and a one year warranty.

Last August Radius established separate PC and Macintosh
business units, and introduced a full page, .28 millimeter pitch,
non-interlaced full page color display unit, which started shipping
last September for $1,249.

(Jim Mallory/19920311/Press Contact: Kristen Hausman,
Motorola, 512-891-2386)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00003)

Dell Reports Record '92, Splits Stock; Stock Price Up 03/11/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 11 (NB) -- Dell Computer
Corporation stock opened higher after the company reported a
record 1992, and authorized a three-for-two stock split. The split is
payable in the form of a 50 percent stock dividend to be issued
April 9 to stockholders of record as of March 23.

Dell said income for the fourth quarter, which ended February 2,
1992, was up to $15.4 million on sales of $285.7 million. Earnings
set a historical record, paying $0.62 per share, $0.20 over the
same period last year.

For the year, net income rose 87 percent to $50.9 million against
$27.2 million for the previous year. Total sales were $889.9
million, and earnings per share were $2.11 for the year.

Dell said domestic revenue was up 56 percent to $166.3 million,
which the company attributed to aggressive pricing and rapid
customer transition to new products. The company said 486-
based systems increased to 40 percent of total revenue in the
fourth quarter. Dell systems in 1992.

Notebook sales represented 16 percent of system revenue in
the fourth quarter. In 1992 Dell introduced four notebook
systems including its first color notebook system.

Dell said net income was up as a result of the company's tight
focus on operating expenses, which declined as a percentage of
sales.

(Jim Mallory/19920311/Press Contact: Michele Moore, Dell,
512-343-3535)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00004)

MCC Hosts Technology Fair For April 03/11/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 11 (NB) -- Microelectronics
and Computer Technology Corporation (MCC) has announced
that it will hold its second Technology Fair at the University of
Texas Balcones Research Center April 7 and 8 in Austin.

The company said the fair provides an opportunity for companies
to visit MCC and get an overview of the work being done in the High
Value Electronics (HVE) Division, while providing a forum to discuss
critical technology issues and challenges facing the industry.

Malcolm Spence of the CALS program office at Digital Equipment
will be the keynote speaker at a banquet Tuesday evening.
Spence will speak on "Cross Functional Management, Concurrent
Engineering and the Data Connection."

MCC said current and potential research projects will be displayed
in trade show style exhibits, providing attendees with a hands-on
look at the technologies being addressed by MCC.

The show will also include six forum discussions, which MCC
said will be of interest to specific industry segments. Topics will
include: personal computers and peripherals; workstations;
avionics and military; automotive; semiconductors; and
communications.

Individual project sessions will present MCC's proposed 1992
research projects, and explore potential research directions for
1993. A tour of the HVE areas will also be conducted.

More information about the event is available by contacting
MCC's Cathy Martin 512-338-3746.

(Jim Mallory/19920311/Press Contact: Cynthia Williams, MCC,
512-338-3512)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00005)

Allied Telesis Intros New Telecom Products 03/11/92
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 11 (NB) -- Allied
Telesis is continuing to expand its line of small network repeaters
and media converters. This is more apparent than even with the
company's announcement of three new members to the family.

The AT-MR115 is a BNC to BNC micro repeater. This product links
two segments of 10Base-2 wiring together while performing the full
gamut of IEEE specified signal conditioning and retiming operations.
This ensures that your network meets the full set of IEEE
specifications.

Being a full repeaters also allows network administrators to use it
for extending the range of their 10Base-2 based networks. The unit
is built around Allied Telesis' custom designed ASIC (application
specific integrated circuit) which is forming the base of more and
more Allied Telesis devices.

In addition to a cost advantage, the Allied Telesis chip allows for
reduced size and power requirements for the MR115. As a result the
device measures merely 5.5-inches by 4.4-inches by 1.2-inches. This
allows the network administrator the option to wall mount the unit with
its optional bracket. The device costs $795 and is available now.

The AT-MR116F is a media converter. In this particular case, it
converts a network signal from a 10Base-5 network cable through
the built-in AUI connector to Fiber Optic Inter-Repeater Link (FOIRL)
wiring. This device is also based on Allied Telesis' custom ASIC
and therefore brings those unique advantages to Allied-Telesis'
customers as well, claims the company.

The AT-MR117F is very similar to the AT-MR116F. The main
difference between them is that the MR117 connects the FOIRL
media to a 10Base-2 segment. All other features remain the same.

An additional feature of the MR116 and the MR117 is their ability to
act as half-repeaters. The IEEE specifications allow for only four
repeaters to reside on any network before signal conditions are
presumed to deteriorate. With the MR116 and MR117, Allied Telesis
offers a half-repeater mode. In this mode, The devices only perform
the signal conditioning and retiming functions on the non-fiber
optic side thereby becoming merely half repeaters. Therefore, using
two such devices to connect the network, between two buildings say,
would count as only one repeater rather than two. This allows the
network administrators to use three more repeaters rather than the
two that would otherwise be needed.

Both the MR116 and the MR117 are available now. They cost
$995 each.

(Naor Wallach/19920311/Press Contact: Shawn Kilby,
Allied-Telesis, 415-964-2771)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00006)

Dayna Begins Shipments of 12-Port Hub 03/11/92
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 11 (NB) -- Dayna
Communications has begun shipping its new 12 port 10Base-T hub.
As reported previously by Newsbytes, this device can be mounted
in a standard 19-inch rack and supports BNC and AUI connectors in
addition to an RJ-21 connector. The BNC and AUI connectors are
used to attach the device to a thin or thick wire Ethernet cable while
the RJ-21 can be adapted to attach to 12 RJ-45 jacks (standard
modular telephone jacks) or a 50-pin connector that would lead to
a telephone system punch down block.

The Hub-12 is available now for a list price of $995. This is a non-
intelligent device, i.e. it is not an intelligent hub that can be
managed locally or remotely through software. Dayna does offer
an upgrade path that provides such intelligence through their
DaynaSTAR SmartCard. This is an internal card that contains an
on-board SNMP (simple network management protocol) agent and
an RS232 port. The whole hub can then be managed through the
RS232 port or across the network directly.

Multiple Hub-12s can be cascaded together to allow for a larger
installation. Another use would be to connect 10Base-T subnetworks
to a larger backbone that runs on the different wiring. The Hub-12
will support all of the network operating systems including Tops,
Netware, Appleshare, Vines, and DECNet.

(Naor Wallach/19920311/Press Contact: David Pascoe, Dayna,
801-535-4236)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00007)

3Com Upgrades Windows TCP Package 03/11/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 11 (NB) -- 3Com
has announced and begun shipments of TCP with DPA 2.0. This
product is 3Com's Windows 3.0-compatible set of DLL's (dynamic
link libraries) that allow any network operating system to talk across
the network using the TCP/IP protocols.

The main advantage of  version 2.0 over its predecessor, (version
1.2), is in the reduced size of the protocol stack. This reduction is on
the order of 60 percent in terms of the amount of memory that the
program requires from your MS-DOS-based machine. A Compaq
286 running MS-DOS 5.0 and TCP with DPA will have 613 kilobytes
(KB) of lower RAM memory left. The reduction in the protocol stack
size yields another benefit as well -- reduced overhead and
consequently better performance.

Integration with Windows 3.0 was enhanced over the previous
version. DLL's are another new feature which allows for future
integration of this product into other vendors' programs or future
3Com offerings. Another new feature is the integration of an IBM
3270 terminal emulator into the package. This emulator was
previously available separately and has gathered a reputation
as a very reliable and well designed piece of software. Now it is
available to users of TCP with DPA 2.0.

The new version is available now. It retails for $350 for a single
user version to $35,000 for a 500 user license. The latter license
drops the individual node cost down to $70. Upgrades from the
previous version are available at $125 for the single user version
up to $6,000 for the 500 user license. 3Com also offers 10, 30, and
100 user licenses.

(Naor Wallach/19920311/Press Contact: Donna Stein, 3Com,
408-764-5960)
(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00008)

New Telecom Joint Venture To Battle BT's Synovus, AT&T 03/11/92
RYE BROOK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 11 (NB) -- Twelve
leading telecommunications firms formed a joint venture, called
FNA, to offer services to the financial industry under the trademark
TeleConnect.

The "gang of 12" will compete directly with AT&T and British
Telecom's Synovus Group for the business. BT had been trying to
bring Deutsche Telekom and NTT of Japan on-board its venture,
and  the move represents a defeat since Telekom has joined FNA.
NTT is still not affiliated with any group, but it does have a joint-
venture with KDD, another member of the FNA. The move is also a
defeat for Sprint, which is too small to go it alone in this business,
and yet is not affiliated in any group at this time. Details of the
services to be offered initially may be announced by each FNA
member during the second quarter.

Members of FNA include: MCI of the US; AOTC of Australia; RTT-
Belgacom of Belgium; Stentor of Canada; France Telecom;
Deutsche Bundespost Telekom of Germany; Hong Kong Telecom;
Italcable of Italy; KDD of Japan; Singapore Telecom; Telefonica of
Spain; and Mercury Communications of the United Kingdom.

FNA will be incorporated in Brussels, Belgium as a Belgian
Societe Cooperative on March 31. The group will concentrate on
the global financial community in part because such firms
represent a huge chunk of business, and must have major nodes in
financial capitals. By cooperating, the 12 can assure themselves
they will get the bulk of this work in their home markets.

Arrangements anticipated between the companies conform to the
European Community competition rules applicable in the
telecommunications sector, and notification of the agreement has
already been filed with the European Commission.  Each member
company will have an equal ownership in FNA, and equal
representation on its board of directors.  Further expansion of
membership is envisaged over time, as FNA is open to
telecommunications companies in countries not served by FNA's
founders.

The first chairperson of FNA will be Allan Badrick of AOTC
Australia and the initial two vice-chairpersons will be nominated
by RTT-Belgacom and MCI.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920311/Press Contact: Jane Levene, MCI
International, 914-934-6480)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00009)

AT&T Opens Network Management Group 03/11/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 11 (NB) -- AT&T will
take-on the TeleConnect joint venture and British Telecom's
Synovus group as a manager of international computer networks.
J.P. Morgan, the New York investment bank founded in the 19th
century, will be among its first customers.

Under the three-year Morgan contract, AT&T will install and
manage a high-speed network that connects the bank's existing
local computer networks on four continents. The value of the
contract is about $8 million, AT&T said. Many of the services are
being provided by Istel, a British company owned by AT&T.
AT&T acknowledged that British Telecom signed a deal in
January to manage another of Morgan's networks.

AT&T said its managed network services in Europe offer data
networking capability and include value-added services such as
network design, provisioning, consolidated billing and network
management.

The services can link different communications standards and
regulations, equipment and systems from more than one vendor.
The services also offer multiple-vendor billing, and also
address cultural, language and time-zone problems. They are
based on enhanced versions of AT&T's Accunet data service,
now available between 7 Western European countries and due to
be expanded elsewhere in Europe, as well as AT&T's Accumaster
Management Services. AT&T said it will also set up a global
network management center in the Netherlands by the end of 1992.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920311/Press Contact: AT&T, Mike Granieri,
908/221-7611)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(ATL)(00010)

AT&T, Exar To Work Together On Telecom Chips 03/11/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 11 (NB) -- AT&T and
Exar will collaborate on defining and selling computer chips for
telecommunications transmission equipment.

The collaboration will focus first on chips based on ANSI, Bellcore
and CCITT standards for the US, European and Far Eastern
markets, and will offer customers a broader range of products and
secure alternate sources.  The alliance may be expanded in the
future.

AT&T leads in the US phone switch business, while Exar
dominates the market for long range transmission chips. They
will focus on fast-transmission speeds like T1 links at 1.544 million
bits-per-second (bps), and T3 links at 45 million bps. The kind of
equipment using the chips will be CSU/DSU boxes, repeaters,
multiplexers, and cross connects.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920311/Press Contact: Rich Larris, AT&T
Microelectronics, 908-771-2826; Rick Reifer, Exar, tel [phone],
fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(ATL)(00011)

RR Donnelley Personal Locating Directory On CD-ROM 03/11/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 11 (NB) -- The
GeoSystems unit of R.R. Donnelley and Sons has demonstrated a
CD-ROM for Windows called GeoLocate Plus, a digital map which
can help find the fastest route point-to-point across the globe.

The product is aimed at telephone directory publishers, travel
agents, travel publishers, and other providers of location
information. It can be used by phone operators to lead customers
to stores, or by trucking firms to map routes for their trucks, among
other companies.

"GeoLocate Plus answers the 'where-is-it?' and 'how-do-I-get
there?' questions," explained James A. Hilliard, GeoSystems'
director of marketing and business development, in a press
statement.

"Using our worldwide digital map data, which is unparalleled in the
industry, it can locate any business or residence by address or
phone number and create and display the most efficient route from
one place to another," he said. It combines the company's
GeoLocate electronic directory and Voyager trip routing system.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920311/Press Contact: James A. Hilliard,
R.R. Donnelley GeoSystems, 717-293-7412)


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

Bell Atlantic To Offer Fax Mailboxes 03/11/92
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 11 (NB) -- Bell Atlantic
has announced a series of fax services for business. Called Fax
Overflow, Fax Mailbox, and Fax Broadcast, together the line
is called Bell Atlantic FeatureFax Facsimile Services.

Fax Overflow can be used like a second fax machine. While the
regular machine is taking a message, calls are routed to the
overflow mailbox. The Fax Mailbox service can accept all fax
messages and download them on demand. Individuals can be
notified on their pagers or voice mail when a fax message arrives.
Fax Broadcast can send the same fax to many locations at once.

In a trial, about 80 Bell Atlantic employees are using FeatureFax
services for telecommuting and handling customer needs and
news releases. Bell Atlantic has also begun a customer trial in
Philadelphia and is seeking to expand it to more businesses.

Monthly charges for FeatureFax services are expected to be
approximately $10 for Fax Overflow and $15 for Fax Mailbox.  Fax
Broadcast will cost $5 monthly plus 40 cents per minute for each
number called.

During the trial, the three new services are utilizing a Tandem
CLX minicomputer, Audiofax Fax Pad processors and software
by Tandem.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920311/Press Contact: Larry Plumb, Bell
Atlantic, 703-974-5446)


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

Michigan Bell Sells Semi-Private Listings 03/11/92
DETROIT, MICHIGAN, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 11 (NB) -- Michigan Bell
has begun offering a service it calls Semi-Private Listings. It costs
$1.25 per month, the same as a private listing, and lets operators
give out your number to callers, but does not list it in the phone
book.

"We're happy to offer customers this option, which offers the
privacy of not listing their numbers in the directory, but gives
access to their numbers through Information," said Pat Black,
product manager for listing services.

Black said neither Semi-Private nor Private Listing service would
prevent customers' numbers from being displayed when they call
businesses -- such as mail-order firms or credit card companies --
that may have automatic number identification, or individuals who
buy Caller ID. However, Black said, Michigan customers can block
display of their numbers to Caller ID subscribers by pressing a code,
-- (star) 67 on a touchtone phone or 1167 on a rotary phone -- before
making each call.

There is no charge for Caller ID call blocking, and customers do
not have to order the per-call blocking feature.  Blocking can be
activated whether or not a customer subscribes to Caller ID service.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920311/Press Contact: Phil Jones, Michigan
Bell, 313-963-2398)


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

Georgia Approves Free Per-Line Blocking Of Caller ID 03/11/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 11 (NB) -- Over the
objections of Southern Bell, Georgia's Public Service Commission
has authorized free per-line blocking of Caller ID as it made final its
approval of the service.

Caller ID had been available on a trial basis throughout the
state since January, 1991, PSC spokesman Harriett Van Norte told
Newsbytes, and the latest move makes the service a permanent
offering. "This was a decision on whether to offer Caller ID at
all," she said, with most of the discussion among commissioners
revolving around whether per-line or per-call blocking should be
offered.

Most states offer free per-call blocking, and some offer per-line
blocking as an extra-cost option. In Las Vegas, which has the
largest percentage of privately-listed numbers in the US, only
about two percent of subscribers bought the per-line blocking
option, and only five percent of callers used per-call blocking at
all.

Southern Bell spokesmen objected to the order, claiming per-line
blocking would defeat the purpose of Caller ID, and allow obscene
or harassing callers to work their will on innocent victims. To
get per-line blocking, however, callers must specifically request
it of Southern Bell.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920311/Press Contact: Harriett Van Norte,
Georgia PSC, 404-656-4537)
(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00015)

Toshiba UK Launches Systems Reseller Network 03/11/92
WEYBRIDGE, SURREY, 1992 MAR 11 (NB) -- Toshiba has
announced a major marketing push into the UK reseller channel.

The portable computing giant has just granted systems reseller
status to 17 of its authorized resellers. The 17 resellers form the
first batch of what Toshiba calls its "systems reseller network."

According to Toshiba, the resellers will work even more closely
with Toshiba to provide high quality service and support to
businesses who demand the highest levels of systems integration.

"The demands of the corporate customer are increasingly towards
a PC reseller who commands specialist connectivity skills. We
have invested heavily in the Toshiba systems reseller program to
ensure that our corporate customers will benefit from expert
advice and high quality service in portable systems integration,"
said Nick Hall, Toshiba's marketing manager.

According to Hall, the reseller scheme allies closely with the
Toshiba partner's scheme, which the company announced in
January of this year. The two schemes combined will enable
Toshiba's reseller network to provide a portable solution to meet
the needs of any business.

"Toshiba systems resellers are ideally placed to help corporate
customers find, install and maintain the right portable solution," he
said.

(Steve Gold/19920311/Press & Public Contact: Toshiba Information
Systems UK, 0932-841600)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00016)

 ****UK: Elonex Unveils 33MHz 386SX-Based Desktop PC 03/11/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 MAR 11 (NB) -- Elonex, the direct PC
systems supplier, has announced plans to begin shipping a desktop
machine based on a 33 megahertz (MHz) 80386SX microprocessor.
The company claims this is the first machine of its type in the world.

The new PC will become Elonex's entry-level model in the
company's family of modular, ISA (Industry Standard Architecture)
desktop computers. The modular architecture of the machines
means they can be upgraded by swapping one processor card for
another.

"Even if all the other benefits of our upgradeable architecture
were to be discounted, Elonex's ability to use modularity to
bring new processor developments to market in a matter of weeks
rather than months proves its worth. We suspect that this will
not be the only instance of the Elonex modular advantage we'll be
announcing this year - watch this space," said Ari Gershuni,
Elonex's marketing director.

From the end of this month onwards, Elonex's modular lineup will
start with the new 33MHz 386SX, stepping up through various
different processor options to the top of the range 50MHz
486-based PC 450.

Pricing on a typical 33MHz 80386SX-based system with two
megabytes (MB) of memory, a 50MB hard disk, and a super-VGA
(video graphics array) monitor, bundled with DOS and Windows 3.0,
is UKP 925.

(Steve Gold/19920311/Press & Public Contact: Elonex, tel: 081-
452-4444, fax: [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00017)

Samsung Intros 25MHz 80386SX PC 03/11/92
SURBITON, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1992 MAR 11 (NB) -- Samsung
has announced a 25MHz 80386SX-based PC which it claims is
competitive at UKP 849. For the money, buyers get a machine
equipped with two megabytes (MB) of memory expandable
to 12 MB internally.

The motherboard of the DM386S/25 features serial, parallel,
analogue VGA (video graphics array) and PS/2 mouse ports with an
IDE controller for hard disks. The VGA controller has 512 kilobytes
(KB) of video memory and supports resolutions of up to 1,024 by
768 pixels. Three full-length PC slots are available for expansion.

Hugh Dalgleish, business manager for Samsung's PC
products, believes that the aggressive and competitive pricing of
the DM386S/25 will be an attractive proposition for dealers and
value-added resellers who are affected by contracting discounts
from other manufacturers.

"Samsung is maintaining its discount differential, unlike other
manufacturers, while offering competitive end-user pricing. In
fact, while other manufacturers are putting the reseller channel
under pressure, Samsung is still actively supporting its partners,"
he said.

(Steve Gold/19920311/Press & Public Contact: Samsung
Electronics, 081-391-0168)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00018)

Wordperfect UK Funds Dealer Marketing 03/11/92
ADDLESTONE, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1992 MAR 11 (NB) --
Wordperfect UK has announced it is launching a dealer marketing
program offering a marketing incentive fund to dealers who help
promote Wordperfect packages.

The dealer marketing program offers dealers up to 100 percent
reimbursement for promotions at local level through various
media. Backing up the program are free marketing packs for
dealers to use -- the packs include prepared adverts, product
logo bromides and sample direct mail letters.

In order to qualify for the program, dealers must first apply to
Wordperfect for any marketing and promotional activity they want
reimbursement for. A form detailing the activity, and nominating
a distributor, is submitted to Wordperfect UK. Subject to
approval and the funds being available, reimbursement is then
held pending receipt of invoices.

"The dealer marketing program offers an excellent opportunity for
Wordperfect UK and its dealers to work together in promoting
Wordperfect products," said David Godwin, Wordperfect UK's
general manager for sales and marketing. "Dealers can make
effective use of this program to benefit their business," he added.

(Steve Gold/19920311/Press & Public Contact: Wordperfect UK -
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(MOW)(00019)

Moscow: Russian Windows Users group Formed 03/11/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 MAR 11 (NB) -- A Microsoft Windows
users group has been launched in Moscow. A number of local
software houses participated in the project.

The non-profit group's main goal is to spread the word about
Windows products in Russia, support software developers, offer
them learning center facilities, and a development newsletter in
the future.

The group is established by International Computer Club, which runs
an annual International Computer Forum in Moscow, Borland Users
Group (BorUG), Steepler, a  Windows software house, Avitex
software company, and a Moscow State University computing center.
Vladimir Karpenko and Konstantin Korobkov, both from University,
act as a coordinator of the project.

Microsoft is to support the new programmers' initiative with
information materials and advise, Nickolay Lyubovny, a Microsoft
representative in Moscow told Newsbytes.

(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00020)

 ****IBM, TI, Intermetrics Form Multimedia Alliance 03/11/92
ARMONK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 11 (NB) -- IBM, Texas
Instruments, and Intermetrics have formed an alliance to promote
the Mwave digital signal processor (DSP) technology jointly
developed by the three firms. Intended for use in multimedia
computing, Mwave will allow a single subsystem to handle the
processing done today by multiple add-in boards, the companies
said.

The three firms said they will provide an integrated DSP
environment offering all the components hardware designers and
software developers need to create computer-based multimedia
products.

Texas Instruments and Intermetrics are to introduce the first
Mwave products later this year. IBM is expected to produce the
first complete systems using the technology in 1993.

TI will provide the Mwave hardware to IBM, and market a complete
system to other computer manufacturers and add-in board
manufacturers. Intermetrics will provide related software
development tools to IBM and other companies.

IBM said it plans to use the Mwave subsystem in all of its
multimedia products for audio, image, and communications.

DSPs are microprocessors designed to handle signals as they
occur in "real-time." DSP technology is suited to multimedia
computing because it can process information such as voices,
music, images, and facsimile transmissions, in real-time.

Texas Instruments, based in Dallas, builds and sells
semiconductors, computers, and other electronic products.
Intermetrics is an independent software company.

(Grant Buckler/19920311/Press Contact: Jim Keller, IBM,
914-642-5472; Pat Arcand, Intermetrics, 617-661-0072; Mike Feibus,
Texas Instruments, 713-274-2517)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TOR)(00021)

Canadian Govt Report Warns Of Skills Shortage 03/11/92
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 MAR 11 (NB) -- Canada does
not have enough skilled software workers, and that fact could cripple
not only the country's software industry, but other economic sectors
as well, says a report prepared for the federal Department of
Employment and Immigration.

Entitled "Software and National Competitiveness," the report says
software industry growth is projected at 20 percent per year, but
Canadian universities are producing fewer and fewer computer
science graduates.

Meanwhile, in-house software workers (those in the information
systems departments of companies outside the computer industry
as well as government and other organizations) make up about
two-thirds of the total. Growth there is only about five percent per
year, but the big problem is that workers' skills are becoming
outdated and they are not being upgraded through retraining.

"It's not going too far over the top to say Canada is in danger of
becoming a third-world nation if we don't step up to these issues,"
said Anne McKague, national education chairman of the Canadian
Information Processing Society (CIPS), at a Toronto press
conference held to release the report.

"Human resource issues and problems ... act in a very disturbing
way to constrain the capacity of the Canadian economy to compete
in the information age," said Roy Woodbridge, president of the
Canadian Advanced Technology Association (CATA).

The report says that while software-related jobs pay better than
most white-collar positions, young Canadians have a negative
image of the profession, seeing it as peopled with "computer nerds."
An effort is needed to improve the image of software jobs among
young people to encourage them to enter the field, the report says.

Woodbridge also criticized the student guidance staff in the school
system, which he described as "largely dominated by elderly
social-science graduates," for steering students away from the field.

But the report also recognizes that much of the responsibility for
upgrading employees' skills lies with employers. Paul Kennedy,
president of research firm International Data Corporation Canada,
which helped prepare the report, said that especially in the current
recession, businesses are not paying enough attention to strategic
planning, and human resource development is one of those issues.

The report also calls for expansion of post-secondary programs
in computer science, an assessment of high-school computer
science programs, development of an industry strategy for
recruitment, and a greater focus on training and retraining within
the industry.

The report also suggested Canada may need to make it easier
for people with software-related skills to enter the country, and that
the software industry should look for other sources of workers,
such as talented people now working in other professions.

In June, a national roundtable meeting is to be held in Toronto,
so that representatives of business, government, and academia
can discuss the issues further.

(Grant Buckler/19920311/Press Contact: John Elias, National Public
Relations for Employment and Immigration Canada, tel [phone],
fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TOR)(00022)

 ****NCR System 3125 Ships In US, Pen DOS An Option 03/11/92
DAYTON, OHIO, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 11 (NB) -- Having received
approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC),
NCR has begun shipping its System 3125 pen-based computer in
the United States. The company also announced, jointly with
Communication Intelligence of Redwood Shores, California, that its
will offer Communication Intelligence's Pen DOS pen-based
operating environment as the DOS operating system option on the
System 3125.

The System 3125 has been shipping in Europe since the third
quarter of last year, an NCR spokeswoman said. The company
has a substantial inventory built up ready to meet U.S. orders, she
added.

According to Communication Intelligence, low system overhead,
simplicity, and programming familiarity make PenDOS ideal for
many new mobile applications. Also, the company said, most
existing DOS development tools run under PenDOS without
modifications.

"NCR is committed to open systems, and the System 3125 is part
of our Open, Cooperative Computing concept," said George
Simmons, assistant vice-president of NCR's Pen Computing
Business Unit, in a press release. "CIC's PenDOS is in line with our
open systems philosophy and will help NCR to offer its customers
a true open systems pen computing platform."

NCR expects early sales of the System 3125 to be mainly to field
workers who will use it as a replacement for paper forms on a
clipboard, company spokeswoman Michele Macauley said.

Eleven year-old Communication Intelligence supplies multilingual
(English, European, and Japanese) handwriting recognition software.
Its products include Handwriter Multilingual Recognition and
Dynamic Signature Verification, and the PenDOS and MacHandwriter
operating environments. NCR also holds a worldwide license for
Communication Intelligence's recognition and signature verification
technologies.

(Grant Buckler/19920311/Press Contact: Michele Macauley, NCR,
212-213-7061; Marie Martin, Communication Intelligence,
415-802-7888)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00023)

Japan: Extra-Thin 3.5-inch Optical Disk Released 03/11/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAR 11 (NB) -- Fujitsu has developed an
extremely thin 3.5-inch optical disk. It is only one-inch thick,
which is about half of current optical disks.

It is not only thin, but more powerful compared with the existing
products. Fujitsu's optical disk is called the M2511A. The list price
is 240,000 yen ($1,850). The firm has already started accepting
purchase orders, but the actual release of this product will not
be until June. Fujitsu plans to ship 10,000 units this year, and
100,000 units in 1993.

Fujitsu was able to reduce the size of this optical disk by
shrinking the sizes of the parts including the scanner. This
optical disk weighs only 550 grams. Due to its size, the
company maintains that the optical disk can be build-in to a
laptop computer.

The memory size of this optical disk is 128 megabytes.
It also has a super-fast seek speed of 30 milliseconds.
Fujitsu's latest 3.5-inch optical disk is based on the ISO
(International Standards Organization) standard.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920311/Press Contact: Fujitsu,
[phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(TYO)(00024)

 ****Japan's Ministries Agree To Promote HDTV Project 03/11/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAR 11 (NB) -- Japan's two Ministries have
agreed to make joint efforts to promote NHK's high-definition TV
(HDTV) standard. The Posts & Telecommunication Ministry and
the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) used to work
independently, but this time, they have agreed to cooperate.

Tomoyuki Onozawa, a Posts & Telecom Ministry official,
announced that both Ministries will make a joint project to promote
Japan's HDTV standard. To start, the Ministries will hold various
events at the Barcelona Olympics in cooperation with the HDTV
Promotion Center and the Electronics Industry Association in Japan.
They will place HDTV sets at the Olympic sites.

The MITI will introduce the Posts & Telecom Ministry's HDTV-
related information in its newsletters. Also, both Ministries have
agreed to jointly create a new booklet and the information materials
for HDTV.

Currently, both ministries have been doing their own research and
study on HDTV. It is said the research and study results will also
be shared by the Ministries. This kind of inter-Ministry cooperation
is unprecedented, because the Japanese ministries are often
closed and plagued by factionalism. With this cooperation, HDTV
has gained a strong backup for the would-be standard, says an
industry watcher.

Meanwhile, the HDTV Promotion Center and HDTV Communications
will start an HDTV software training seminar in May. At this seminar,
various HDTV technologies including HDTV program transmission
techniques and production technique of programs will be introduced.
This seminar will be held five times a year.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920311/Press Contact: HDTV Software
Business Seminar, [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00025)

CD-ROM/Multimedia Show Name To Change 03/11/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 11 (NB) -- The
new name for next year's CD-ROM show has been unveiled in San
Francisco at this year's Seventh International Conference and
Exposition on Multimedia and CD-ROM. The Reed Exhibition
Companies and Cahners Exposition Group say the next one will
be called "Intermedia."

The name change, which was met with some catcalls from the
audience, is designed to shorten the unwieldy name of the current
conference. The next conference will be in San Jose.

Some 125 exhibitors are filling 45,000 square-feet of exhibit
space. The firms say 1,800 conferencees preregistered from 41
states and 30 countries. Some 4,500 people are expected to
register on site. The conference runs from March 10 through 12.

(Wendy Woods/19920311/Press Contact: John Liebowitz,
Cahners, 203-964-0000)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SFO)(00026)

 ****Sony Shows Tiny Prototype PC/CD-ROM Player 03/11/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 11 (NB) --
Sony has unveiled what it claims is the smallest CD-ROM-based
computer capable of playing standard 12-centimenter-sized
CD-ROM discs. Sony calls the CD-ROM XA a "personal
information device."

The unit, introduced at the Seventh International Conference
and Exposition on Multimedia and CD-ROM, measures seven-
inches by six-inches, sports a 4.5-inch monochrome LCD (liquid
crystal display) screen with 300 by 200 pixel resolution, has
a CD-ROM XA drive, a 16-bit microprocessor with MS-DOS in
ROM (read-only memory), a jack to connect it to a TV set,
and a full although small Qwerty keyboard. It plays both CD-ROMs
and audio compact discs on a built-in speaker. There is also a
stereo headphone jack.

Sony's Takashi Sugiyama, project manager, says the unit will be
introduced this fall in the US market where PCs have carved out
the largest chunk of the operating system pie. No price was given.

Mark Frankel, vice president of the Personal Information
Products Division of Sony Corporation of America, the U.S. division
arm of Sony, stated: "In two or three years, the definition of
computers will be radically different from how we view them today."
This new player is designed to usher in that new age, according to
Sony.

Late last year, Sony introduced the Data Discman, a tiny player
for miniature CD-ROM discs, dubbed its "multimedia bookplayer."

Microsoft, meanwhile, announced a multimedia viewer authoring
tool for development of applications for Windows-based MPC
and the Sony multimedia player, or XA system. The software is
optimized for the Sony CD-ROM XA player, says Chris Dorrel of
Microsoft, but the key is that a single disk created with the
software will run on both MPC and the Sony player platforms.
He added  that it supports full-text searching. A beta version
will be out early this spring for the Sony multimedia player.

(Wendy Woods/19920311/Press Contact: Sony Corp.,
201-930-6432)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SFO)(00027)

Philips Intros Low-Cost CD-ROM Creation Systems 03/11/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 11 (NB) --
Philips Electronics has unveiled a new, double-speed desktop CD
recorder with disk updating capability, the CDD 521, which records
CD-ROMs in XA, CD-I and Kodak's Photo CD formats. The list price
is $6,000, which drew cheers from the audience at the unveiling
in San Francisco. The system includes software.

Philips Electronics' Bob Harris, at the Seventh International
Conference and Exposition on Multimedia and CD-ROM in San
Francisco, said the unit, which ships in April, features double
speed recording and playback, and is able to write in half the
amount of time such a process currently takes. The speed of the
new Philips recorder is 20 megabytes-per-minute.

The recorder can update discs as well, offering multi-session
capability. Also included in the release will be a complete
publishing package, the company says.

Philips has also unveiled the CM205xbk, an internal CMP-compliant
CD-ROM drive, the CDD167 card which adds CD-ROM XA
compatibility for PC ATs and compatibles. Philips also announced
MPC to CD-I conversion products.

Finally, the company says that it has launched the Compact Disc
Industry Association of North America and has appointed Joy
Campbell of Philips as the organization's contact.

(Wendy Woods/19920311)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00028)

CD-ROM/Multimedia Conference: News Of Note 03/11/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 11 (NB) --
Several other items of news surfaced at this year's show.

Richard Thackray, president of the Interactive Multimedia
Association, says that Intel has agreed to open up its
specifications to digital video in order to stimulate multimedia
end-user support and confidence. Draft recommendations have
also been reached by member companies on a standard for digital
audio. Members of the organization include 3M, Microsoft, JVC,
Kodak, Compaq, Intel, Sony, Apple, NCR, Sun Microsystems, IBM,
Lotus, Pioneer, DEC, and Silicon Graphics.

3M Corporation says the average CD-ROM has a lifetime of 100 to
300 years, based on recent tests it did of the medium. Discs were
placed in nine different temperature stress chambers, some as hot
as 176 degrees Fahrenheit, and submitted to humidity as high as
85 percent for several months. Researchers found the steamed
discs to have suffered very little degradation. Mark Arps, CD-ROM
marketing manager for 3M, says the results of the test have
prompted 3M to offer 25-year warranties on its CD-ROM media.

Microsoft unveiled a digital video command set for the Media
Control Interface. This software defines commands for control of
digital video in Windows and presents a standard interface for
software and hardware developers. Microsoft's Rob Glaser says
16 companies have lent their support to DV MCI, Microsoft's digital
video.

Tandy claims to have created pin-compatible VGA (video graphics
array) chips, the RGB554 and 565 YUV8, which enable a standard
PC with SuperVGA graphics to display 16 million colors, instead of
just 256. The chip is designed to install in a standard socket,
according to Tandy's vice president, Howard Elias.

(Wendy Woods/19920311)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00029)

Media Vision Cross-Platform Multimedia Video Format "Motive" 03/11/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 11 (NB) -- Media
Vision says it has introduced a software format for motion video
compatible across workstation, Apple Macintosh, and IBM
compatible personal computer (PC) platforms. The multimedia
format, called "Motive" (Motion Video Engine) is being introduced at
the International Conference and Exposition on Multimedia and
CD-ROM in San Francisco this week.

As a demonstration of Motive's cross platform compatibility with
Quicktime, Audio Video Interactive (AVI), and Unix, Media Vision is
running the same Motive format video software at the show on an
Apple Macintosh, a Silicon Graphics Indigo, a Sun Microsystems
SPARCstation, and a PC-compatible computer.

Unfortunately, however, at a major keynote demonstration of new
products announced during the opening day of the exhibition,
company officers suffered the embarrassment of a software crash
in front of hundreds of show-goers, who were encouraged to see the
software actually working on the show floor.

The company describes Motive as comprising two sections. The
first is a data compression algorithm to allow the conversion of
conventional analog video to digital video, and the second is a
capture/edit/playback/decompression engine, which allows
manipulation and playback of the digital video.

Video in business applications seems to be the way the multimedia
market is moving. Media Vision says the cross platform capability
of Motive could be important in business applications such as
electronic mail and traditional business programs, especially in
heterogeneous computing environments.

Media Vision, which specializes in multimedia hardware as well,
says the new Motive format is available for license to third-party
developers for use in other multimedia software packages. The
company said it also plans to release hardware video products
that use Motive later this year.

Media Vision has also announced it is will be the first to bundle
Lotus' new Multimedia Smarthelp for 1-2-3 for Windows compact
disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) product with its multimedia
hardware. The bundle, which will feature the newly announced
version of Lotus' business spreadsheet program multimedia on-line
help is expected to be available in April of this year.

More information is available from Fremont, California-based Media
Vision at 800-348-7116.

(Linda Rohrbough & Wendy Woods/19920311/Press Contact:
Abigail Johnson, Roeder Johnson, 415-579-0700; Claire Merriam,
Media Vision, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00030)

 ****Apple To Incorporate Kodak PhotoCD Into Quicktime 03/11/92
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 11 (NB) -- Apple and
Kodak have announced the two companies plan to include Kodak's
digital imaging technology, also known as PhotoCD, into its next
release of Quicktime multimedia extensions for System 7. Apple
says the introduction of Quicktime support for Kodak's technology
will make it the first company to integrate PhotoCDs into a computer
operating system.

While the companies did not disclose the terms of the agreement,
Apple said it intends to license the PhotoCD technology from Kodak
and make it directly accessible in Quicktime. Roger Heinen, vice
president and general manager, Macintosh Software Architecture
division, said this is possible because, "Quicktime is the only
architecture which can support all industry standard image
compression schemes in a seamless fashion."

Kodak's Georgia McCabe, director of marketing and strategist for
the company, says the PhotoCD system produces a writeable
compact disc (CD) that stores color images in a digital format while
maintaining the resolution of photographic film. Kodak maintains the
PhotoCD system has overcome the image quality and expense
problems that have prevented the widespread use of images in
desktop applications.

The PhotoCD images can be accessed by a computer through a
compact disc read-only memory XA-compatible drive, such as the
AppleCD SC Plus CD-ROM, or on a television through Kodak's
PhotoCD player or a Philips CD-I player.

Kodak says photofinishing services for PhotoCD images will be
available worldwide beginning this summer, and by year-end,
will be available at over 100,000 photofinishing retail outlets.
Kodak added that by January, 1993, Kodak will also allow images
to be annotated with voice, graphics and text.

The live demonstration at the CD-ROM conference included a
"home movie" of grandma made with PhotoCD pictures, with running
commentary from her little granddaughter.

On the same stage was Apple, which drew gasps from the audience
during a demonstration of how integration of PhotoCD on the Mac
would work. Macintosh users can click on a PhotoCD icon to access
"thumbnail" versions of images stored on PhotoCD discs. Each
image appears in miniature as a tiny icon. Apple says Quicktime will
translate them from PhotoCD to PICT format on the fly. The images
then can be integrated directly into applications. This capability will
allow users to create multimedia titles, presentations, or publications
that combine video, animation, and photographic-quality still images,
Apple said.

Apple says the AppleCD SC Plus can read single-session PhotoCD
discs now, but plans to enhance the CD-ROM drive to better support
PhotoCD by introducing a multi-session PhotoCD drive later this year.

Quicktime, the Apple Macintosh System 7 software extension was
introduced by Apple last summer and offered to Macintosh users late
last year. It allows the seamless incorporation of multimedia data
such as sound, video, and animation into Macintosh applications.

(Linda Rohrbough & Wendy Woods/19920311/Press Contact: Patty
Tulloch,  Apple Computer, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Paul
McAfee, Kodak, 716-724-6404)