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(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00001)
Microsoft's Flight Simulator Scenery Design Contest 07/02/92
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 2 (NB) -- Microsoft, in
conjunction with Compaq Computer, has announced the first annual
scenery design contest on the Flight Simulator forum on Compuserve.
Microsoft Aircraft & Scenery Design users will have the opportunity
to win a Compaq laptop computer by creating a new scenery design in
the forum. The winner's entry will also be placed on a poster, and
will have the option of having the winning design included in the
next version of Aircraft & Scenery Designer. Complex scenery
including mountains, buildings, and lakes can be created with the
program.
Flight Simulator users can fly their choice of different type
aircraft, from antique to modern, over a variety of scenery, landing
and taking off from several airports worldwide. Microsoft says it
has sold more than one million copies of the program.
Aircraft & Scenery Designer is an add-on software program that
allows the user to fly new aircraft, including the Boeing 747-400
and to design custom scenery such as their home town or favorite
airport.
Microsoft's Bev Auld told Newsbytes that the contest will run
through the months of July and August, with winners to be
announced on September 30. The prizes will be awarded October 9.
Microsoft Flight Simulator Product Manager Greg Levin told
Newsbytes that contestants can enter the contest by creating
their scenery file and uploading it to the Microsoft Flight
Simulator forum on Compuserve.
Auld said that although Microsoft publishes DOS and Macintosh
versions of Flight Simulator, the contest is only for DOS users.
Microsoft doesn't publish a Windows version, said Auld, because
the complexity of the graphics in conjunction with Windows
would cause the program to be very slow.
Each of the top two winners in the contest will receive one of
Compaq's recently announced Contura 3/25 notebook PCs. Flight
Simulator, which includes the design module, has a suggested
retail price of $39.95.
(Jim Mallory/19920701/Press contact: Bev Auld, Microsoft,
206-882-8080; Reader contact: 800-426-9400)
(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00002)
MCI Moves Against AT&T Megacomm Business Service 07/02/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 JUL 2 (NB) -- MCI has improved
its MCI Vision calling plan for business, to make it more
competitive against AT&T's Megacomm offering.
The new plan adds incoming toll-free calling, called MCI Vision
800, as well as a billing and analysis package called MCI
Perspective, which is delivered electronically, and automatic
discounts on domestic and international destinations which get
the most calls. These last two offerings are in line with
Sprint's "Most" plan, which also offers automatic discounts to
simplify billing. The Vision plan delivers a single invoice, and
all calls are consolidated for greater discounts. Location
Invoicing, a separate bill for each office, is also available.
For smaller businesses, MCI is heavily pushing its "Friends of
the Firm" plan, a version of "Friends and Family" offering 20
percent discounts to all members of a "calling circle" who agree
to make MCI their primary long distance carrier. The business
portion of that plan has been matched, quietly, by AT&T, which
continues to advertise against the consumer version as an
invasion of privacy.
Finally, MCI tried to steal a march on AT&T in the patriotism
department by announcing that on Saturday, July 4, it will offer
free long distance calls around the world from special calling
centers in 21 cities, mainly in California, the Washington DC
area, the Southeast, and Texas. The free phone calls may be three
to five minutes in length, to people in the United States or to
more than 250 countries and places worldwide. Callers are
under no obligation to MCI because of making the call.
(Dana Blankenhorn/19920701/Press Contact: MCI, Kate Fralin,
703-415-6941)
(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00003)
Comp Labs Ships 64 KB/S Videoconferencing Product 07/02/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 2 (NB) -- Compression
Labs is aiming at a portion of the videoconferencing market now
dominated by rival PictureTel with its latest version of the
Rembrandt II/VP video codec, which complies with the CCITT
H.261 videconferencing standard, commonly called px64.
The new codec can use CLI's own proprietary compression
algorithms, but also connects to codecs from other manufacturers
which meet the px64 standard. "The videoconferencing market is
entering the era of standards," acknowledged Senior Vice
President Wayne Lasson in a press statement. He said the company
will continue to play a role in setting those standards on CCITT
committees.
CLI technology is part of the new AT&T VideoPhone 2500, which
delivers pictures on standard phone lines. The low-speed digital
videoconferencing market has in the past been dominated by
PictureTel, of Peabody, Massachusetts, while CLI itself made its
name in applications with 384,000 bits/second service or higher,
where it could deliver full-color, full motion images. The
company is now trying to leverage that technology in the new
Compressed Digital Video arena, as cable networks and satellite
networks look for ways to increase the channel-carrying
capacity of satellites using digital compression techniques.
(Dana Blankenhorn/19920701/Press Contact: Compression
Labs, Tracy Beaufort, 408/922-4610)
(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00004)
Turtle Beach Offers Multimedia Toolbook In Upgrade Kit 07/02/92
YORK, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 2 (NB) -- Turtle Beach
software says it is offering Asymetrix Multimedia Toolbook
bundled with selected Turtle Beach Multimedia Upgrade Kits.
The selected multimedia upgrade kits include Turtle Beach's highly
rated Multisound card, a Toshiba compact disc read-only memory
(CD-ROM) drive (one of the fastest CD-ROM drives available), Wave
for Windows software, a Wave file editing tool from Turtle Beach,
and the Asymetrix Multimedia Toolbook.
The Multimedia Toolbook software is an object-oriented
development environment for Microsoft Windows with a royalty
free runtime package included. Asymetrix representatives told
Newsbytes the product allows for the development of multimedia
Windows applications that can be distributed by the developer.
The company claims IBM and NEC already bundle Multimedia
Toolbook with their systems.
Turtle Beach boasts its sound card is a premium card for
multimedia in Windows and claims its has solved problems other
cards have when accessing large sound files under Windows with
a technology the company calls "Hurricane." The Hurricane
technology does not use the direct memory access (DMA) that
other industry cards do and that Turtle Beach describes as
problematic.
The company claims DMA is older technology and was never
designed to be used for multi-tasking environments. Problems
with using the DMA for sound show up when moving large
quantities of data from the hard drive to an external device,
the company maintains. The effects are jerky, slow video and
clicking in the sound when large sound files are played with
large video files. Also, DMA only runs at four megahertz, no
matter what the clock speed of the CPU (central processing
unit), Turtle Beach asserts.
Jeff Klinedinst of Turtle Beach described it to Newsbytes as the
sound card "choking" the video because of the number of calls the
average sound board has to make (called "interrupts") through
DMA to the CPU. As the sound card makes more and more calls,
more and more of the CPU's processing power to turns to the
sound card's demands, which means less CPU processing time
for video or other applications. In games and short multimedia
applications, this problem doesn't show up, Klinedinst said.
Hurricane is a combination of hardware and software that does not
use the direct memory access (DMA) channels like other sound cards,
but instead includes a Motorola 56001 digital sound processor (DSP)
chip. The Motorola chip is the difference that allows the card to
add horsepower to the computer's CPU in playing and recording
sound, Turtle Beach maintains. The effect is large sound files play
or record through the Multisound card using less than 10 percent
of the computer's processing power under Windows, according to
Turtle Beach.
However, Turtle Beach's Multisound card is one of the most
expensive cards on the market with a retail price of $995, and
a street price in the $799 range. The Turtle Beach Multimedia
Upgrade Kits are available directly from the company
(Linda Rohrbough/19920701/Press Contact: Sandy Anderson,
Asymetrix, 206-637-1560; Jeff Klinedisnst, Turtle Beach,
tel 717-843-6916, fax 717-854-8319)
(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00005)
UK's Vodafone Plans Bid For Australian Phone Network 07/02/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 JUL 2 (NB) -- Vodafone, one of the two
UK cellular phone network operators, has announced plans to bid
for a digital mobile license in Australia. If the company is
successful in its bid, then it will invest around AUS$550 million
in building its Australian network.
Unlike the current British mobile phone network, the planned
Australian network will adhere to the Groupe Speciale Mobile
(GSM) pan-European digital standard.
Pilot GSM networks are already in place in parts of Europe,
including London, and use a "smart card" which holds the
subscriber ID and phone number -- the cards can be moved
between phones, so allowing, for example, a GSM subscriber
in one country to use GSM phones in another country, with the
network accepting calls to the subscriber's "universal number"
and routing them accordingly.
According to Vodafone, the company's Chief Executive Gerry Whent
is in Australia at the moment, organizing details of the bid. He
is reported to have told the Australian press that Vodafone plans
to join with a number of Australian companies in a consortium,
to be known as Arena, if the license bid is successful.
Vodafone says that preliminary bids for an Australian license
close at the end of this week, after which the Australian
government will report formally on who may go on to the
second and final stages of the tendering procedures.
If successful, Vodafone plans to take a highly aggressive stance
against its known primary competitors in the Australian mobile
phone stakes - AOTC and Optus. AOTC is the state-owned
operation, while Optus is a consortium of several companies,
including Bellsouth and Cable and Wireless.
(Steve Gold/19920701)
(NEWS)(APPLE)(LON)(00006)
Claris To Sell Hypercard Developer Kit In Europe 07/02/92
UXBRIDGE, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1992 JUL 2 (NB) -- Claris has
announced it is taking over responsibility for Hypercard with
effect immediate. The change completes the switch of Hypercard
from Apple to Claris, which began in the US in late 1990.
According to Claris, the change-over of responsibility in Europe
means that Claris will now sell and support the Hypercard 2.1
developer kit on this side of the Atlantic. To date, only version
2.0 of the developer kit has been available through Apple UK.
Version 2.1 of the developer kit includes support for Quicktime,
as well as Apple Events. Quicktime under Hypercard allows
developers to include Quicktime movies in with their "stacks,"
while Apple Events support under Hypercard enables Hypercard
to communicate with other Events-aware applications on another
Mac or even over a network, in a manner similar to the dynamic
data exchange (DDE) facility for Microsoft Windows.
Other features of version 2.1 include a new and enhanced script
language, as well as an upgrade path for future package
revisions.
Interestingly, Claris UK is not supporting Hypercard directly,
Instead, the package is being support through Applelink
(CLARIS.TECH), Compuserve (76004,1614), America Online
(Claris) and Internet (76004,1614@compuserve.com). Fax
support is available on (US) 408-987-7447.
Hypercard 2.1 developer kits will cost UKP 99. Existing users of
version 2.0, and earlier, can upgrade for UKP 49, though users
who received their kit free with a Mac will have to pay the full
price (UKP 99) to upgrade. Apple will continue to ship the
sampler edition of Hypercard with the Mac at least until the end
of the year.
(Steve Gold/19920701/Press & Public Contact: Claris UK - Tel:
081-756-0101; Fax: 081-573-4477)
(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00007)
Transpac Teams With Ram Mobile Data In UK 07/02/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 JUL 2 (NB) -- Transpac Network Services,
the UK data networking subsidiary of France Telecom, is to team
up with Ram Mobile Data, to offer mobile data network access to
the Transpac packet data network (PDN).
The introduction of the mobile packet data network interface is
significant, since, for the first time, radio modem users will
have access to the world's PDNs, which includes Tymnet and
Sprintnet in the US. To date, private mobile data network
operators have not offered PDN access, owing to inter-network
agreement problems.
The RAM mobile data network is based on the Mobitex technology
which is currently also in use in Canada and the US, as well as
parts of Europe, including the UK.
According to Transpac, the blueprint for the UK network is
based on Transpac's existing French network, which covers all
of France at local call rates, Initially, outbound calls from the
RAM network will be routed through a London concentrator and
on to the French network.
(Steve Gold/19920701/Press & Public Contact: Transpac
Network Services - TelL 071-379-4747)
(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00008)
Australia: School's Computer-Based Music Lab Opens 07/02/92
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUL 2 (NB) -- A Melbourne school
has established a music computer lab featuring 25 Macintosh
computers on a network. The lab, at Wesley College, is believed
to be the first of its type in Australia, and allows students
from years 2 to 10 to compose and study music with state-of-
the-art equipment.
Each of the 25 Mac workstations is connected to a music
synthesizer and an Ensoniq SQ1 sequencer. For individual work,
students listen on their own set of headphones, and all the
computers are linked to speakers for performance work. Students
use the Performer composition package, and for notation, Mosais
notation software is used. An example of the potential of the
system is presented in the form of an exercise whereby they
enter the melody for The Drunken Sailor using Mosais, then add
an accompaniment and percussion instrument using the
Performer. "It promises to revolutionize the way students
approach and perceive many aspects of music education," said
Wesley music teacher, Andrew Blackburn.
The system is designed to allow students to learn about
fundamental music aspects such as notation, beat, timbre and
performance, as well as encourage work in sound synthesis,
wave formation, digital recording technology and post-
production techniques. The College is also looking at expanding
its software library for the lab to include interactive teaching
programs to develop specific skills.
(Sean McNamara/19920630)
(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00009)
Australia: Telecom Accused Of "Killing" Videotex Service 07/02/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUL 2 (NB) -- Telecom, Australia's only
national carrier until recently, has been accused of killing its
videotex service, currently known as Discovery. Paul Budde, the
developer of the first marketing plan for what was then Viatel,
has claimed it was Telecom's greed which saw the popularity of
the service decline, and that plans are now afoot to close the
service.
Budde accuses Telecom of using its carrier monopoly to force
information providers out of the market or to sell to Telecom.
Budde says many service providers asked Telecom to help
establish a strong videotex industry, but to no avail. In 1990,
after Viatel began its slide, Telecom renamed it Discovery, and
focused its marketing on business users. Despite the change,
the decline continued, while videotex services around the world
reported massive growth unheard of in Australia. With a large
number of disgruntled former and current users, the system has
declined to the point, where "last month Telecom decided to
pull the plug," Budde said.
The failure of Discovery is in sharp contrast to the success
seen in other countries, particularly European ones. Between
1988 and 1992, Australian users of the system dropped by 50
percent, while users increased by 680 percent in Finland, 650
percent in Switzerland, 380 percent in Spain, 270 percent in
Japan and 260 percent in Germany in the same period. Budde
expects parts of Discovery to be absorbed by other departments
within AOTC (Australian and Overseas Telecommunications
Corporation, formed by the merger of Telecom and OTC), but
that a videotex service as such will not be offered.
(Sean McNamara/19920630)
(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00010)
Australia: Ex-Telecom Chief Appointed To Logica Board 07/02/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUL 2 (NB) -- Mel Ward, former head of
Telecom, has been appointed to the board of the local subsidiary of
software development company Logica. Ward was Telecom's chief
from 1986 until the beginning of this year, when Telecom merged
with OTC.
Ward has been involved in the telecommunications industry for
over 25 years. The appointment comes only a week after Ward's
appointment to the recently floated JNA Telecommunications.
The Logica position is a non-executive one, with the company's
chief executive and managing director, Carmel Gray, taking care
of the company's day-to-day operations. Gray sees strong
potential in exploiting Ward's many international contacts to
help the company's expansion plans.
"Mel will be able to contribute most effectively to our plans for
expansion from his knowledge of the global business community,
which is important for our international technology transfer
policy," Gray said. The appointment was coordinated by the
parent company Logica Plc and its director of international
operations, Dr Colin Rowland.
Logica's first client in Australia was Telecom, and it currently
has 150 staff and an annual turnover of AUS$25.2 millon. Ward
has also taken up directorial positions on the boards of the
Australian Ballet Foundation and the Victorian Education
Foundation. American, Frank Blount, took over Ward's position
at Telecom when AOTC was established.
(Sean McNamara/19920630)
(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00011)
Australian Developed GPS Receiver To Be Exported 07/02/92
CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUL 2 (NB) -- The Australian
developers of a GPS (global positioning system) receiver are
set to sell the device internationally. Auspace, a Canberra-
based company, have launched the Multinav GPS receiver, which
was designed for individual and fleet/vehicular use.
The Multinav receiver is five channel, and can be used as a hand
held unit or as a module integrated within other systems by
systems integrators. It utilizes the 21-satellite network of the
US Department of Defense to provide 24-hour two-dimensional
position fixes. The system is expected to offer continuous three-
dimensional fixes by 1993. Auspace spent AUS$4 million
developing the Multinav, and is selling the technology back to
its parent company for use in Europe.
Auspace claims to have a better GPS receiver than the 50 or so
already on the market. "We went back to basics to come up with a
product that definitely has a technical edge. It is more robust and
does not lose the satellite signal as easily," said Ted Stapinski,
Auspace's managing director. Stapinski sees a large market for
such devices in fleet management. This even includes rail stock,
for which New South Wales Sate Rail is investigating a tender
for installing receivers and communications equipment in all
stock cars to track stock car movements.
(Sean McNamara/19920630/Press Contact: Ted Stapinski,
phone in Australia, +61-6-242 2611)
(NEWS)(GENERAL)(MOW)(00012)
Humanitarian Informatics Conference Set For Moscow 07/02/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 JUL 2 (NB) -- A conference to discuss
the use of computers in the social sciences and education is
scheduled to happen in Moscow in the first week of the
November, 1992.
The International conference and exhibition, entitled: "The
Humanitarian Informatics-92." will discuss the use of
computers in non-technical sciences and educations, info
systems, databases, expert systems, and hypermedia tools
which can be used to assist non-computer literate
scientists and educators.
The event will take place at the International Center of
Scientific and Technical Information in Moscow (ICSTI) on
November 1-6, 1992.
More information can be obtained from Yuri Gornostayev of
ICSTI (phone +7 095 198-1341), or A.G.Romanenko, of the
Russian State Humanitarian University (phone +7 095
250-6648).
(Kirill Tchashchin/19920627/Press Contact:Yuri Gornostayev,
ICSTI, phone +7 095 198-1341; e-mail enir@ccic.icsti.msk.su;
or A.G.Romanenko, Russian State Humanitarian University,
phone +7 095 250-6648)
(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEN)(00013)
****TI, Samsung Resolve Licensing Dispute 07/02/92
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 2 (NB) -- Texas Instruments (TI)
has announced that it has settled its patent infringement suit
against Samsung Electronics Company Ltd., of Korea.
TI had filed suit against Samsung in 1990, claiming infringement
on TI's microcomputer systems patents. Under terms of the five
year agreement, Samsung has agreed to pay royalties to
TI for use of its patents. The companies said details of the
agreement are confidential.
TI's patents on microcomputer systems cover ways in which a
microprocessor or a microcomputer interacts with the input/
output functions of personal computers. One patent held by TI
deals with the automatic diagnostic routine a computer puts
itself through each time it is turned on, or "booted". That
self-test is also known as a POST or "power on self-test."
The microprocessor is the heart of a PC, frequently referred to
as a "chip." Current chips include 386 and 486 models, with 286
and 8088 chips found in older computers. The input/output, or
I/O, refers to keyboard and pointing device input to the
computer, and output to the monitor screen or printer.
Newsbytes recently reported that Texas Instruments has filed
suit against Sanyo Corporation for patent infringement
after Sanyo threatened to file suit against TI. Sanyo reportedly
wants TI to reduce the amount of royalties to be paid by Sanyo.
In that case, TI told Newsbytes that TI has asked for a
declaratory judgment that the conduct of TI's negotiations
with Sanyo does not constitute patent misuse or antitrust
violations.
(Jim Mallory/19920630/Press contact: Terri West, Texas
Instruments, 214-995-3481)
(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00014)
Motorola Establishes Employee Child Care Center 07/02/92
BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 2 (NB) -- Saying it is
responding to employee surveys about issues about work and
family, Motorola Paging Products Group will soon open a child
care/early learning facility near its Boynton Beach, Florida
facility.
"For many of us, the most important aspect of our lives is our
children, and as working parents we all want, and need, assurance
that our kids are taken care of while we're at work," said
Motorola Senior VP Hector Ruiz.
Ruiz, general manager of the company's paging products group,
said the company saw that one of the best things it could do to
address those concerns was to establish an early learning center.
Motorola said it has developed an alliance with Kidstop Early
Learning Centers of Lake Worth, Florida to develop a curriculum
for the center, which will be located in Quantum Park, less than
a mile from the plant. The facility is expected to open next
January. Area residents will also be able to use the facility.
Motorola's Ken Countess told Newsbytes that the Kidstop center
will have a capacity of 128 children. Countess said Motorola has
guaranteed to fill 90 of those slots. Motorola employs about
2,200 employees at Boynton Beach, with "a relatively young
employee population," according to Countess.
The company said that it will take an active role in the site's
construction, providing guidance to Kidstop on facilities such as
a group activities center, parent/teacher conference rooms, and
instructional equipment.
Gretchen Magee, manager of Motorola's workforce diversity
programs, said the center will be a win-win situation for everyone.
"The kids, the parents, Kidstop, and Motorola, all benefit. We can't
wait until it's open," said Magee.
Magee also oversees the paging products division's affirmative
action activities and programs such as the division's flex time
work scheduling, the loaning of pagers for family emergencies,
and care for school age children during holidays.
Boynton Beach is Motorola's headquarters for the design,
manufacturing, sales, and marketing of paging products, and the
design and administration of the company's next generation
cordless phone program.
(Jim Mallory/19920702/Press contact: Ken Countess, Motorola,
305-475-5603)
(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEN)(00015)
Florida County's New Computer System Tracks Criminals 07/02/92
MIAMI, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 2 (NB) -- The courts in Florida's
Dade County will close down today to allow the county to install
a sophisticated computer system to keep track of everyone
charged with a crime in the county.
During the shutdown, bond hearings, jail bookings and arraignments
will continue in temporary locations, but there will be no trials
until next Tuesday when the new system is expected to be up and
running.
According to Susan Witkin, the courts' research and systems division
director, the new criminal justice information system will be one of
the most advanced in the country. It replaces a system nearly 20
years old, and will include all felony cases in Circuit Court,
misdemeanor crimes in County Court, and dependence and
delinquency cases in Juvenile Court, Witkin said.
Witkin said three separate databases will carry information on
more than 1.2 million people and more than 1.4 million open and
closed cases. She said designing and building the system, which
uses more than 1,000 separate programs, was the largest program
ever undertaken by the county. The entire system was developed
in-house by county court and computer personnel.
Witkin said more than 350 separate information screens replace
the 75 used by the old system. "From the moment of booking,
we'll always know where a defendant is. We'll even be able to
track defendants who use aliases," said Witkin.
The system runs on an Amdalhl 5890-600E which the county
purchased. That mainframe could also be used for disaster
recovery should another county mainframe crash, said Witkin. The
county budgeted about $6.6 million, with another $10 million
coming from various court fees. The system will be shared by the
courts and the police department. Fees will also fund the ongoing
cost of operating the system, Witkin said.
The more than 10,000 lawyers, court officers, and law enforcement
users access the system through a network of personal computers
and terminals. Witkin said the planning and execution of the
monumental project, "is because of the cooperation of all the
departments involved. I'm glad it's finally here," she told
Newsbytes.
Witkin told Newsbytes she has worked on this system since it's
inception in 1985. This weekend, the 20 years worth of previous
data on the old system will be converted to the new system format.
Witkin said conversion will start Thursday evening and is expected
to be complete by Saturday, July 4th.
(Jim Mallory/19920702/Press contact: Susan Witkin, Dade
County, 305-547-4816)
(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00016)
New For Mac: Text/Graphics Retrieval Software From TMS 07/02/92
STILLWATER, OKLAHOMA, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 2 (NB) -- TMS says it will
release InnerView For Mac, a Macintosh version of the company's
Windows program for full text and image retrieval, in August.
TMS says Innerview includes full text search capability and
hypertext access, along with the ability to display images. TMS
spokesperson Marc McClure told Newsbytes that Innerview is
designed for the retrieval of technical documents by organizations
such as banks that store large numbers of text and graphics images.
Another typical application, said McClure, would be electronically
stored catalogs of parts or other items. He told Newsbytes that a
database prepared for use with Innerview can be used in both
Macintosh and Windows environments.
While the paperless office envisioned when personal computer first
became popular in offices hasn't arrived - and may never arrive -
many large companies are storing their documents electronically by
scanning the images into a computer, instead of storing the paper
copy in a filing cabinet. That's where programs such as Innerview
come in.
Innerview offers search functions by word, phrase, Boolean
expressions such as "and," "or," and "not." Wildcard searches are
also possible, allowing the user to instruct Innerview to retrieve
all the images or documents that contained the string "Smi." The
hypertext feature allows the user to click on a reference in the
text, jumping directly to the referenced information. For example,
a description of a part might include the word "transducer."
Clicking on that word would jump directly to the description or a
picture of the transducer.
TMS offers Innerview on a license basis. McClure told Newsbytes
that the pricing structure varies with the number of workstations.
A single site license is $5,000 per year, or pricing can be
established dependent on the number of workstations to use
Innerview.
(Jim Mallory/19920702/Press contact: Marc McClure, TMS,
405-377-0880, fax 405-372-9288)
(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00017)
****IBM Announces Multimedia PM For OS/2 07/02/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 2 (NB) -- IBM has announced
its set of extensions to OS/2 2.0 to incorporate sound graphics,
video, and images called Multimedia Presentation Manager/2
(MMPM/2) is now available.
The company says the MMPM/2 has a standardized interface and
provides device independence which insulates the user from the
underlying configuration and file formats so programs are more
portable. IBM is asserting the advent of MMPM/2 allows
applications and tools to be written independent of the variety
of multimedia devices and formats available.
Also, IBM says the resource manager built into MMPM/2 has a device
sharing feature which allows full use of the multimedia hardware
available. IBM also maintains MMPM/2 can incorporate new data
types and formats as they evolve due to it's extendable
architecture.
An MMPM Toolkit/2 is available from IBM for the integration of
multimedia into new and existing OS/2 applications, the company
said. The toolkit includes C language bindings, utilities, and
sample programs.
MMPM/2 requires OS/2 2.0 (available to Windows for $49 from
IBM) and retails for $125, the company said. The MMPM Toolkit/2,
which includes MMPM/2, comes on compact disc read-only
memory (CD-ROM) for a retail price of $199.
IBM is also saying its "Columbus Encounter, Discovery and Beyond"
and "Illuminated Books and Manuscripts" interactive multimedia
titles are now available under OS/2 2.0. The Columbus title was
introduced at the Fall COMDEX show in Las Vegas and shipped in
January of this year, IBM said.
Geared toward the educational market, both titles are interactive
multimedia and each represents 180 hours of instruction or the
equivalent of a full academic year of study, IBM said. The programs
have entertainment as well as education appeal and were developed
in conjunction with well-known multimedia, television, film, and
acting professionals, IBM added.
The company offers each program at an educational discount of
$2,000 each, which is $857 less than the retail price. IBM also
offers a multimedia configuration that can be purchased as a
package for the titles to be played upon which includes IBM
Personal System/2 Ultimedia M 57 SLC computer, the company
said.
(Linda Rohrbough/19920701/Press Contact: Jim Keller, IBM, tel
914-642-5472, fax ; Public Contact, 800-426-9402 ext 160)
(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00018)
Borland Says 2.5 Million Quattro Pros Shipped 07/02/92
SCOTTS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 2 (NB) -- Borland
has announced it has shipped more than 2.5 million copies of
Quattro Pro, the company's spreadsheet application software.
This is the software application the company is currently
defending itself in a "look-and-feel" suit filed by Lotus,
developers of the spreadsheet product Lotus 1-2-3.
Borland quotes the Software Publishers Association in saying
Quattro Pro had 30 percent of the North American spreadsheet
market in 1991 and 25 percent of the world spreadsheet market
in the same year. The company's 1992 estimates are its North
American market share is the same, but its world share is up
to 26 percent.
Borland says Quattro Pro was introduced originally in 1989. Lotus
filed suit against Borland over the product in 1990, a suit industry
observers expect to be settled this year.
Lotus has already had two "wins" in similar cases. It won a similar
suit against Paperback Software International over its VP Planner
spreadsheet product and a suit Lotus filed against the Santa Cruz
Operation over spreadsheet product SCO Professional was settled
out of court. SCO removed its spreadsheet product from the market
in August of 1991 and recommended Lotus 1-2-3 to its customers.
While VP Planner was reportedly a Lotus 1-2-3 "clone," Borland
President Philippe Kahn said the Lotus suit is based on one small
menu in the Quattro Pro product that his company could easily
remove. "Its the principle of the thing now," Kahn told a Pasadena
audience last year.
Court dates have been tentatively set for November 2 of this year
and a pre-trial conference has been announced for September 23.
(Linda Rohrbough/19920701/Press Contact: Catherine Miller,
Borland, tel 408-439-4691, fax 408-439-9273)
(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(HKG)(00019)
Hong Kong: Microsoft Extends Customer Training 07/02/92
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1992 JUL 2 (NB) -- Microsoft has announced
the appointment of four new authorized training centers (ATCs) in
Hong Kong, to cope with anticipated growth in demand for training
places in the territory.
Computerland, Computer Power Training Institute and Swire
Systems join Gilman Business Systems and System Pro as ATCs for
the full range of Microsoft desktop technology and applications. In
addition, Winbliss Technology has been named as an ATC focusing
specifically on Microsoft's networking and workgroup products.
"The appointment of these four organizations greatly extends the
capacity available in Hong Kong for delivering Microsoft accredited
courses," said Laurie Kan, Country Manager of Microsoft Hong Kong
Ltd.
"Expansion of training is one of a number of steps that we are
taking to provide Microsoft customers in Hong Kong with the
highest quality service and support in the industry," he said. "We
will shortly be making further announcements as we roll out our
program."
The Microsoft Hong Kong office has been re-evaluating training
requirements in the territory since shortly after its establishment
late last year, based on the performance of the existing ATCs.
"Since 1990, both Gilman and System Pro have been offering
courses addressing our full range of DOS-based and Windows-
based products," said Kan. "Both report that their courses are
popular, well received and profitable."
According to Kan, the amount of Microsoft Authorized Training
taking place in Hong Kong has grown rapidly and since September
1991 has trebled.
"We anticipate strong future growth in demand for training,
particularly on the Windows 3.1 platform," he said. "We are also
planning new products and new classes of product in the near
future that will further fuel demand for training places."
Kan noted that the establishment of a training center focused on
networking is particularly important in the context of supporting
Microsoft's LAN Manager product.
"While the desktop training courses empower individuals to be
more productive by getting the most out of their Microsoft
products, the performance of a network administrator can have
an impact on 20 or 30 people in an office who are connected to
a LAN," said Kan.
The LAN Manager administrator course offered by Winbliss
Technology is targeted at both computer professionals and non-
professionals such as office managers. The course is of two days
duration and is split into modules covering configuration,
resource utilization, security, asset management and fault
analysis.
While ATCs have access to Microsoft courseware which can be
directly used for instruction, most choose to localize this
material to better fit the requirements of their students. To
ensure quality and conformance to standards, tailored course
material has to be certified by Microsoft.
(Brett Cameron/920626/Press contact: Ramny Fite, Microsoft
HK), tel: +852-848 9240;HK time is GMT + 8)
(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00020)
HDS Announces ESCON Support, Schedules For Peripherals 07/02/92
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1992 JUL 2 (NB) -- Hitachi Data Systems (HDS)
has announced details of its plans for peripheral interface adapters
for industry standard optical channels which were disclosed
earlier this year.
The 7980-3 Storage Controller and 7490 Tape Control Unit
Extended Serial Adapters (ExSA) will allow the attachment of
current disk and tape products to both the HDS mainframes and
industry-standard optical channels, using the ESCON (Enterprise
Systems Connection) protocol.
The basic Extended Serial Adapters allow disk storage and tape
subsystems to be operated at distances of up to nine kilometers
from the host processor, when used in conjunction with
compatible directors. A 7980-3 with four basic ExSAs will
support a total throughput of approximately 100 megabytes-per-
second.
Other advantages include greater configuration flexibility, non-
disruptive addition or removal of peripheral subsystems and
dynamic configuration management via compatible software
programs.
"Our customers now have a third HDS attachment alternative,"
said Geoff Kennedy, manager in Hong Kong at Hitachi Data Systems.
"They will be able to choose either our standard parallel interface,
our proprietary optical interface, or our new ESCON-compatible
interface. These options will allow them to protect their current
investments, while planning for future data center expansion
needs."
All current HDS peripheral products are supported on industry-
standard converters.
The 7980-3 and 7490E adapters will be available by the end of the
second quarter of 1993. The 7490 adapters will be available by the
end of the third quarter of 1993. HDS will continue to offer the
parallel interface as an option after the new adapters begin
shipping.
HDS believes that the 7980-3 Storage Controller already provides
the equivalent of enhanced fast dual copy capabilities for the
parallel environment. This function will also be supported on
serial channels in the future, claims the company.
The company also announced its intention to provide additional
enhancements for the 7980-3 Storage Controller, including
concurrent copy, sequential data striping, enhanced dynamic
cache management, ESCON non-synchronous operations
enhancement, PSD search assist and ESCON distance extension.
Additionally, the company announced its intention to provide
support for its 7490 and 7490E cartridge tape subsystems at
greater ESCON distances. Specific pricing and schedules will
be released at a later date.
(Brett Cameron/19920630/Press Contact: Geoff Kennedy,
Hitachi Data Systems, tel: +852-521 6275;HK time is GMT + 8)
(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00021)
Canada Needs IT Program, Industry Veteran Says 07/02/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 JUL 2 (NB) -- Canada needs to
embark on a multi-year plan to develop its information technology
industry, a veteran industry executive and consultant contends. In
speeches across the country, William Hutchison has been
promoting an eight-year plan he calls IT 2000, and which he
compares to American President John F. Kennedy's 1960s crusade
to put an American on the moon.
Now managing partner for the information technology consulting
practice of the consulting firm Ernst & Young in Toronto,
Hutchison has been active in the Canadian computer industry for
many years as an executive and consultant. He is also a former
vice-chairman of the National Advisory Board for Science and
Technology, and chairman of the executive committee of the
Canadian Network for the Advancement of Research, Industry,
and Education (CANARIE).
Canada's over-all investment in research and development has
declined to about 1.2 percent of gross domestic product in the past
five years, Hutchison said. Manufacturing jobs are disappearing,
Canada's share of international high-technology trade is dropping,
and in 1989 the country had a trade deficit in telecommunications
for the first time ever.
To deal with the problems, Hutchison is proposing a five-point
plan with an eight-year timetable. The five elements are:
communications infrastructure; research and development;
information technology industry development; application and
implementation; and training and education.
Canada's present communications infrastructure is woefully
inadequate, according to Hutchison, who points to the fact that
CA*net, the national research communications network, has a
capacity of only 56,000 bits-per-second (bps), while the United
States, Japan, and various European countries have networks with
capacities from 44 million to nearly 500 million bps.
"Communications facilities are to the 1990s what roads and
ewers were to the post-war years," Hutchison said in a speech
prepared for presentation to various business and industry
groups. CANARIE, which Hutchison chairs, was set up to build
a major research communications network.
Hutchison is also calling on the Canadian government to improve
tax incentives for industrial research and development. Further,
he wants capital gains taxes eliminated for the next eight years
for investors who start up new information technology businesses
and hold their investments for at least five years. And he called on
government to provide more support for international marketing.
All Canadian businesses should be encouraged to make more use of
high technology through faster tax writeoff for investments in new
technology, Hutchison argues. Finally, companies need to provide
workers with more training, he contends, and government needs to
help by providing training resources.
The IT 2000 program would cost about C$5 billion per year,
Hutchison says, suggesting that the money might come from the
"peace dividend" resulting from reduced military commitments in
Europe thanks to the end of the Cold War.
In an interview with Newsbytes, Hutchison admitted that there
have been many calls for action to build up the Canadian high-
technology industry in the past, and little has been done. "I've
thought there might be a chance so many times that sometimes
I wonder if I'm smoking opium," he said. However, he added,
problems of which some in the industry have warned for 20 years
are becoming more obviously real, and awareness of the
importance of high technology seems to be growing.
(Grant Buckler/19920702/Press Contact: David Eisenstadt or
Loretta Lam, The Communications Group for Ernst & Young,
416-696-9900, fax 416-696-9897)
(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00022)
Spinnaker Updates Personal Access, Signs Alliances 07/02/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 2 (NB) -- Spinnaker
Software has announced a new release of Personal Access, its
database query tool. The company also unveiled strategic alliances
with database software vendors Sybase, Ingres, and Informix
Software, Inc.
Cooperative programs between Spinnaker and the three companies
call for various joint marketing and support activities including a
product bundling and seeding program, direct marketing, trade
advertising, customer seminars, industry trade shows, and user
group meetings and conferences.
Jane Eisenberg, director of marketing at Spinnaker, said her
company is very interested in bundling Personal Access with the
Sybase, Ingres, and Informix products, and while details of the
cooperative programs have yet to be worked out, that is likely to
be part of the strategy.
"We're starting to put the program together now," Eisenberg told
Newsbytes, and a number of joint marketing programs should be
in place by the time Personal Access Version 2 becomes
available early this fall.
Personal Access supports multiple databases including Oracle,
Sybase SQL Server, Microsoft SQL Server, Borland's Paradox and
dBase, and Novell's NetWare Btrieve. Version 2 adds support for
IBM's DB2, Ingres, Novell's NetWare SQL, Informix, Progress,
SQLBase, XDB, Excel, ASCII, and OS/2 EE DBM.
Personal Access Version 2 will also let technical users enter
native SQL commands. It will incorporate a Windows-standard
context-sensitive Help system and some improvements in ease
of use, the vendor said.
The Report Writer has been also expanded to support calculated
fields and break headers and footers. The user interface to the
Report Writer and View facility has been streamlined and made
more intuitive, the company said.
Stand-alone copies of Personal Access are priced at $695 with
individual corporate and site licenses available. Current users of
Spinnaker's Plus hypermedia development tool, which is
incorporated in Personal Access, can upgrade to Personal Access
for $199 per copy. Upgrades from Version 1.5 are free.
In an introductory promotion, Egghead Discount Software's
Corporate and Government Sales organization will offer four
complete copies of Personal Access for the regular list price
of one copy, $695.
Personal Access requires a personal computer with an 80386
processor or higher, four megabytes of memory, a hard disk and
high-density diskette drive, DOS version 3.1 or higher, and
Microsoft Windows 3.0 or higher. The company recommends a
VGA or 8514 display.
(Grant Buckler/19920701/Press Contact: Douglas Campbell,
Spinnaker, 617-494-1200 ext. 357; Dave Thurman, Spinnaker,
617-494-1200 ext. 459)
(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00023)
****Banyan Systems In Initial Public Stock Offer 07/02/92
WESTBORO, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 2 (NB) -- Banyan
Systems has filed a registration statement with the United States
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an initial public
stock offering. The networking vendor will offer 2.67 million
shares of its common stock at $10 to $12 per share.
Of the shares being offered, 1.4 million will be offered by the
company and 1.27 million by certain stockholders. The offering
will be managed by Robertson, Stephens & Co. and Alex. Brown
& Sons Inc.
The company plans to have its stock traded on the National
Association of Securities Dealers NASDAQ system.
Proceeds of the offering, which is expected to raise about
$13.77 million, will be used for working capital general
corporate activities and have not been earmarked for any
specific purpose, company spokeswoman Jennifer Jester said.
Banyan Systems sells the Vines local area network operating
system and related products. Banyan officials said the company
believes it is the first to offer a global directory service --
useful in integrating large networks -- and other network services
integrated with a network operating system. The company also
claims it currently offers the most comprehensive and technically
advanced set of network services in the industry.
According to the prospectus, Banyan had revenues of $58.024
million and net income of $2.91 million in 1991. Those figures
compared with revenues of $44.367 million and net income of
$4.696 million in 1990. In the first quarter of this year, ended
March 31, Banyan earned revenues of $16.961 million and net
income of $1.614 million, up from $12.437 million and $170,000
in the first quarter of last year.
A registration statement has been filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission but has not yet become effective, Banyan said.
The SEC has 30 to 45 days to review the prospectus, after which
Banyan will be free to go ahead with the offering, but the company
does not necessarily have to proceed with the offering right away,
Jester said.
(Grant Buckler/19920702/Press Contact: Jennifer Jester or Gary
Wolfe, Banyan, 508-898-1000)
(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00024)
****Northern Telecom, Matra Announce Partnership 07/02/92
MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 JUL 2 (NB) -- Northern
Telecom has announced a partnership with French telecoms
equipment supplier Matra that involves Northern buying interests
in Matra and its parent company, as well as formation of two
joint ventures.
Subject to approval by the French government and other authorities,
Northern Telecom is to buy a 20 percent stake in Matra
Communication. Northern is also to buy a small share in MMB SA, a
holding company that controls the Matra Hachette group. The Matra
group has diversified operations include defence, aerospace,
communications, and transport.
Northern will pay US$265 million for its initial 20 percent share
of Matra. The company will also buy five to eight percent of MMB
SA, said spokesman Preston Peek, who could not confirm reports
that the MMB stake would cost Northern about US$50 million.
Northern will also make a US$130-million loan to Matra. This
investment will become convertible into Matra shares as of 1995.
An expansion of Northern's stake in Matra may be a possibility,
Peek said, but he could not confirm that it would take place.
Northern and Matra Communication plan to form two joint
ventures. One will focus on cellular and other mobile
communication technology, while the other will be concerned
with public networks. Each company will own a half-interest
in each joint venture.
Northern plans to fold its French private branch exchange
marketing, sales, and service operations into Matra
Communication.
Matra Group and Northern will establish a holding company to
manage Matra Communication jointly.
(Grant Buckler/19920702/Press Contact: Preston Peek,
Northern Telecom, 416-238-7140)
(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00025)
Congress/Bush Battle Over Iraq Computer Sales 07/02/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 2 (NB) -- "If we'd known it,
it wouldn't have happened," said President Bush on national
television Wednesday morning. "We did not aid Iraq's nuclear
development effort." These remarks were in consistent with
the often-repeated administration line when challenged about
support of a government with which we then went to an
undeclared war.
But Congress says President Bush is dissembling when he says
that his administration did not knowingly send computer
technology to Saddam Hussein which was intended for use in
advancing Iraq's efforts to develop nuclear and chemical weapons.
According to previously classified papers just released by
members of Congress piqued by the President's election-year
claims, Iraq's Post Office and Education Department received a
number of high-level computer systems in the late 1980s,
almost up to the date of the country's invasion of Kuwait.
In a 1985 Department of Defense Document, intelligence analysts
state: "Iraq continues to actively pursue an interest in nuclear
weapons." Another document says: "There are indications of at
least some use of fronts (to obtain materials) for nuclear-
related research."
Unannounced Presidential candidate Ross Perot told a National
Press Club audience more than a year ago that the US Commerce
Department tried hard to push a supercomputer through channels
to a Brazilian-based Iraqi front company only days before the
invasion - a claim denied at the time in a very public manner by
Secretary of Commerce Mosbacher during a call to the Larry
King TV show (CNN).
Recent Congressional investigations have shed new light on the
truth or Mr. Perot's charges and yesterday, in the wake of
President Bush's repeated denials of aiding Iraq, members
released documents in which the Pentagon clearly states that the
military was concerned about the uses to which Iraq was putting
some advanced computers. Specifically, the documents say that
they could easily be used in mass destruction weapons research
and development.
(John McCormick/19920702)
(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00026)
Database World: Ingres To Incorporate GIS, Medical Imaging 07/02/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 2 (NB) -- With their
eyes keenly set on new geographic information (GIS) and medical
imaging horizons, officials of Ingres have announced that the
company will extend the capabilities of its relational database
management system (RDBMS) to incorporate multidimensional data.
In plans made known at Database World, Ingres stated
intentions to collaborate with ESL, a leading developer of spatial
data management applications, on integrating maps, genetic
diagrams, and physical characteristics such as height and weight
into the Ingres Intelligent Database.
"The addition of RDBMS multidimensional data management is vital
to rapid application development and deployment in many emerging
high-growth application areas. With ESL, we have a technology and
market leader to help us maintain our leadership and evolve the
database market agenda we established with the introduction of the
Ingres Intelligent Database in 1989," commented Dennis McGinn,
president of Ingres.
Also in the announcement, Ingres officials maintained that, to be
stored and manipulated effectively, multidimensional data must be
incorporated into the RDBMS kernel. This integration can be
achieved, they asserted, through the Ingres Object Management
Extension, a tool already being employed to let users of the
Intelligent Database use familiar SQL commands in dealing with
such unconventional information as binary, fractional, and spatial
coordinate data.
Ingres stated that the company will be particularly aggressive in
pursuing the GIS application market, projected to reach sales of
$25 billion by 1997. Aside from medical imaging, other
application areas being looked at include CAD/CAM (computer-
aided design/manufacturing), asset management, and global
change research.
In addition to the Intelligent Database, Ingres produces the
Ingres/4GL applications development tool; desktop products that
enable DOS, OS/2, Unix and Macintosh desktop computers to access
Ingres database software running on hosts; and open connectivity
products for running applications without change across multiple
networks, machine architectures, outside database managers, and
distributed single point data sources.
ESL, a division of TRW's Avionics and Surveillance Group,
develops advanced imagery, signal processing, reconnaissance,
and communications systems for the federal government.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19920702)
(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00027)
UK's GPT Moves US Operations From NY To Atlanta 07/02/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 2 (NB) -- GPT Video
Systems of England is going to make a new effort in the US
market, moving its North American headquarters from the
New York suburbs to Atlanta.
The company said that it also plans to re-build its sales
efforts. GPT also plans to produce what it calls the world's
first standards-compatible multimedia and desktop
videoconferencing system, and increase administrative
spending.
At the heart of all this is a module demonstrated at the ICA
show. The prototype "communication module" will not be
available until mid-1993, and is aimed at a US multimedia
market which GPT estimates to be worth $1.5 billion by 1997.
GPT Video Systems is part of GPT Limited of Nottingham, England.
The parent company is jointly owned 60 percent by GEC in the UK
and 40 percent by Siemens AG in Germany. GPT Limited has annual
sales of almost US$2 billion in 113 countries, and employs
14,000 people.
(Dana Blankenhorn/19920702/Press Contact: GPT Video Systems,
404-448-1947)
(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00028)
International Phone Update: Kuwait Back To Normal 07/02/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 2 (NB) -- On the eve of the
US July 4 holiday, international telecoms news is highlighted
by word that Kuwait's phone infrastructure is back to normal.
The Middle East News Network, quoting the Arab Times, reported
that over 19 million foreign calls were made by Kuwaitis and
expatriates in the first 14 months after US-led forces
liberated the country. Call volumes are continuing to increase,
the government said. The country's phone company is now back to
demanding payment on bills and disconnecting customers who fail
to pay. Foreign workers, which Kuwaitis had sworn immediately
after the invasion would no longer be relied upon, were given
substantial credit for the return to normalcy.
In fact, the service might be even better than it was before the
invasion, since the equipment is newer. Bahrain's Batelco system
said its call volumes to Kuwait are back to pre-invasion levels.
The country has also increased its calling capacity to Iran in
recent weeks.
In other news, Motorola won a contract from Telecommunicaoes
Moveis Nacionais, to build a GSM digital cellular phone system in
that country. The three-year contract is the fourth GSM award
given the US company this year, following successes in the United
Kingdom, Germany and Norway. GSM is a pan-European standard
related to the TDMA scheme in the US.
Dansk MobilTelefon, a Danish company partially owned by BellSouth
Enterprises, also inaugurated its GSM system under the trade name
"Sonofon." The company had been running an experimental system
since March. Once implemented in all European countries, GSM will
let Europeans roam throughout the continent, making and
receiving calls as they go. Dansk MobilTelefon competes with the
existing Tele Danmark Mobil cellular network. BellSouth has a 29
percent share. GN Great Nordic of Denmark holds 36 percent,
NordicTel holds 20 percent, and Kryolitselskabet Oresund of
Denmark holds 15 percent. BellSouth representatives told a
meeting in London recently the company will concentrate its
expansion plans on Europe in the near future.
(Dana Blankenhorn/19920702/Press Contact: Maria Schnabel,
BellSouth International, 404-249-4877, David Pinsky, Motorola,
708-632-2841)
(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00029)
****AT&T Settles With Unions 07/02/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 JULY 2 (NB) -- AT&T and its two
major unions signed a contract giving workers 11.8 percent wages
over the next three years, a little less than what unions got in
a recent contract extension with NYNEX. In addition, pensions
will increase 13 percent for workers retiring after May 31, 1992.
The pact is still subject to ratification by some l25,000 AT&T
employees, is retroactive to May 31 and runs through May 1995.
In addition, AT&T said it will set up an employee stock ownership
plan, awarding $3,300 worth of stock to workers over the life of
the contract. Provisions were included to help employees whose
jobs will be cut by automation over the next few years,
including thousands of operators affected by office closings.
Additions were made to funds used to improve the quality of
care given employees' children, and telephone referrals were
offered to help employees find quality schools. Also, the
company will fund 40 academic scholarships, up to $l0,000 per
year for four years, for the children of employees. Improvements
were also made to insurance programs.
Perhaps just as important to the union, the company agreed to
have union officials serve on joint planning councils to provide
input on key business decisions, such as the way technology that
affects people is deployed.
The unions felt a strong contract was needed to set a precedent
for upcoming negotiations with regional Bell companies, and
they appear to have won one without a strike.
(Dana Blankenhorn/19920702/Press Contact: AT&T,
Jim McGann, 202-457-3942)
(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LON)(00030)
****UK Survey Shows Finance Managers Reject Windows 07/02/92
MARLOW, BUCKS, ENGLAND, 1992 JUL 2 (NB) -- A detailed survey
recently carried out by computer industry guru Dennis Keeling,
and published by Computer Publications, has revealed what many in
the industry have suspected for some time -- that finance managers
in the majority of companies regard Microsoft Windows as a low
priority when selecting business and accounting software.
The survey was compiled using replies from around 10,000
questionnaires sent out to companies in the UK. They asked
finance managers to answer questions on their existing business
systems and their future requirements. The results threw up the
Windows revelation, as well as other unexpected trends.
Top priorities, when it came down to selecting accountancy
software, were functionality and user-friendliness, but Windows
got a thumbs down from users in the financial community.
Although more than 19 percent of respondents still use
proprietary systems, only 13 percent wanted to continue with
them -- over 30 percent of users expected to move to open
systems.
The answers on future choices of software showed that 31
percent of single user PC users would consider buying Sage
software, while 40 percent would go for Tetra software.
Interestingly, 40 percent of proprietary system users would
go for Oracle.
The "trends in business computing" survey, which was carried in
conjunction with Management Consultants News, asked a total of
38 questions. A full summary of the report is available for UKP
50, while the full report costs UKP 450. A complete database in
Foxpro format costs UKP 950.
(Steve Gold/19920702/Press & Public Contact: Computer
Publications - Tel: 0628-474492)