Newsbytes - Internationa…ews 1983 May to 1994 June/Newsbytes - International Computing Industry News 1994 Edition - May 1983 - June 1994 - Wayzata Technologies (5045) (1994).iso/mac/Text/Mac Text/1992/nb920729

Text File | 1992-07-29 | 51KB | 1,153 lines

(NEWS)(UNIX)(TOR)(00001)

IBM Launches Complete New RISC-Based System/88 Line 07/29/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 29 (NB) -- IBM has taken
its fault-tolerant System/88 hardware line all the way into reduced
instruction set computing (RISC). Following up on the introduction
of a single RISC-based model last fall, IBM has now unveiled a
complete line of RISC-based System/88 machines.

The new machines, built for IBM by Stratus Computer, use Intel i860
RISC chips, company spokesman Jeff Cross said. They can run either
the proprietary System/88 operating system or FTX, a fault-tolerant
version of Unix developed by Stratus. FTX is compatible with IBM's
AIX variant of Unix, Cross added.

IBM said the new RISC systems have up to 2.5 times the performance
of similarly priced, current complex instruction set computers.

System/88 machines provide continuous availability for
mission-critical operations such as telephone communications,
credit card authorizations, and emergency 911 systems. IBM said
they are widely used in government, communications, finance,
manufacturing, distribution, retailing, and other industries.

The new machines are available with 32 to 512 megabytes of duplexed
memory and support up to 105 gigabytes of duplexed direct access
storage. They range from the entry-level 4596 with 30 models,
incorporating DASD and optional 1/4-inch tape drive in the system
cabinet, through the midrange 4597 with seven models to the
high-end 4598 with a total of 16 models.

The first models, mostly lower-powered units, are due to be
available in late August. Others will become available in October,
while the largest configurations will reach the market just before
Christmas, Cross said.

IBM also announced a new 1.46-gigabyte disk drive for the System/88
Direct Access Storage Device (DASD) Subsystem. This new drive
offers more than an 80 percent increase in data storage capability
at less cost per megabyte, IBM officials said.

(Grant Buckler/19920728/Press Contact: Jeff Cross of IBM,
914-642-5358)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00002)

PenMagic Ships Numero, Hopes For Pen Boom In '93 07/29/92
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, 1992 JUL 29 (NB) -- PenMagic
Software has begun shipping Numero, its financial software for
pen-based computers using the Go PenPoint operating system. Norm
Francis, president of PenMagic, admitted the pen-computing market
is still in its infancy, but told Newsbytes he hopes for big things
next year.

This is "kind of an education and a market development year,"
Francis said. A number of new pen-computing products will appear at
Comdex/Fall in Las Vegas this November, he forecast, and the
pen-computing market will start to pick up speed early in 1993.

Canadian microcomputer managers see pen computing as interesting
but not, in most cases, immediately applicable to their companies'
needs. For instance, Toronto book publishers McClelland & Stewart
has tried out Grid Systems' pen-based machine, but sees no
compelling applications, said George Goodwin, vice-president of
corporate development. And Prudential Assurance Co. of America has
no pen-based machines nor plans to use them in Canada at least,
according to Paul Saxton, supervisor of local-area network support
at the company's Canadian operations in Toronto.

Francis said pen computing has been a bit quicker to catch on in
the United States, where PenMagic is working with a number of
companies on pilot projects using the technology. But he agreed
that the market is just beginning to develop.

Numero, which will work on pen computers from IBM, NCR, Grid,
Samsung, and NEC, has a suggested retail price of $399. PenMagic
has signed Ingram Micro to distribute the software in the United
States and is working on other distribution deals, Francis said.
The software is currently shipping in the United States and Canada,
and to a limited extent in the United Kingdom, he said.

(Grant Buckler/19920728/Press Contact: Norm Francis, PenMagic,
604-988-9982, fax [phone]; Public Contact: PenMagic,
604-988-9982)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00003)

MediaVision Sound In New PCs, Drops Prices 07/29/92
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 29 (NB) -- In the wars
between companies offering sound capability to IBM and
compatible personal computers (PCs), Media Vision says it has
gotten original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to include its
sound hardware and it is lowering prices on its multimedia
products.

The company says AT&T/NCR, Olivetti, Acer, Siemens/Nixdorf,
ALR, Leading Edge Products, and Dolch computer systems are
building products with either the company's Pro Audiospectrum
add-in sound board or one of its chipsets.

Creative Labs, producers of the Sound Blaster card, and whose drivers
are included in Microsoft Windows 3.1, filed suit against Media
Vision in May charging the company reverse engineered its
product in order to produce the Media Vision Thunderboard
product. The Thunderboard is advertised by Media Vision as
being 100 percent Sound Blaster-compatible, and therefore can
use the Sound Blaster drivers offered in Microsoft Windows 3.1.

Since the suit was announced, Media Vision announced it is
offering its technology as an open architecture.

The company has also just announced lower prices for the Pro
Audiospectrum 16, the Pro Audiospectrum Plus, and its
Multimedia Upgrade Kit. The Pro Audiospectrum Plus has been
lowered from $279 retail to $199. The Pro Audiospectrum 16,
with 16-bit sound, has been lowered from $349 to $299 retail.
Media Vision's Multimedia Upgrade Kit has been reduced from
$995 to $895 retail.

The Multimedia Upgrade Kit includes a Sony compact disc read-
only memory (CD-ROM) drive, the Pro Audiospectrum Plus sound
card, and Windows 3.1.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920728/Press Contact: Abigail Johnson,
Roeder Johnson for Media Vision, tel [phone], fax 415-347-
5238)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00004)

New Database Software For Windows Outsells Paradox 07/29/92
REDWOOD CITY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 29 (NB) -- New
start-up company Approach Software appears to be breaking all
the rules in the software business. The company released its
first product on March 31 of this year, Approach database
software for Windows, which has since climbed over Borland's
Paradox database product to the number two spot on Ingram
Micro's bestseller list of database software.

Approach Software was founded in 1990 by Kevin Harvey, now 27,
who founded Houston, Texas-based Styleware when he was 20.
Styleware offered a word processor and integrated package on
the Apple II and Apple II GS and was purchased by Claris
Corporation in 1988. Harvey worked at Claris as director of the
company's information management product group.

The company describes the Approach database software product as
geared toward manipulation of existing information. However, it
can also be used as a stand-alone database, the company said.

The product has no proprietary data format but uses technology
Approach calls Powerkey which allows users to open, manipulate,
update, and report on data regardless of its format. In fact,
the company claims users can join information from databases in
different file formats, such as taking employee information
from a database on an Oracle SQL server while also accessing
information from database in dBASE format to create a report
containing both. Up to 10 data files can be joined, the company
said.

The product is also based on client server technology, so the
storage and processing power of a server can be utilized,
Approach said. Record locking is also offered to maintain data
integrity on a network, the company maintains.

The software is designed for the creation of forms, reports,
and mailing labels. Avery label support is built in. Tools for
report or form building include rulers, dimensions, multiple
pen widths, object alignment, grouping, and distribution are
included. Other options include columns, headers, footers, and
title pages for reports, Approach said.

Form designers can use the product to set up data entry with
check boxes, radio buttons, programmable buttons, pull-down
lists, field validation, and auto fill.

The product will store graphics as data and use the graphics to
enhance documents or reports, the company added. Object Linking
and Embedding (OLE), query by example, and sorting on an
unlimited number of keys is also supported, Approach maintains.
Macro buttons on screen can be customized to automate
repetitive tasks, the company added.

Approach is retail priced at $399 and is available through
distributors Ingram Micro and at Egghead Software stores, the
company said.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920728/Press Contact: Jane Smith, Approach
Software, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(MOW)(00005)

Moscow: Stock Trading System To Be Created 07/29/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 JUL 29 (NB) -- The Space Control Center,
Merchant Marine Ministry, and other former military groups have
teamed up to build a national Russian trading system, which they
hope will be launched shortly.

The network set-up and necessary software has already been designed
and tested on the Tekos network, which was used in commodities
trading for the last four months.

According to Sergei Petrov, the chief executive of the Military-
Industrial Investment Company (VPIK in Russian), major databases on
issuers, securities, and current legislation, a monitoring system
and a tailor-made information service are being created by the
Space Control Center, located in Kaliningrad near Moscow, and the
Computing Center of the (formerly Soviet) Merchant Marine Ministry.

Moscow Business Week adds that a stock market boom is expected in
Russia in October. Fifteen thousand applications for companies
seeking to go public have already been filed with the State Property
Management Committee.

VPIK was registered in 1991 with the authorized capital of one
billion rubles (approximately US$8 million).

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920728/Press Contact: Sergey Petrov, VPIK, phone
[phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00006)

Latvia: Metal Shortage Affects Telecom 07/29/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 JUL 29 (NB) -- The Latvian government has
recently decided to ban any further export of metals. This results
from a massive campaign by businesses to sell to the West all the copper
and aluminum available in the country, which badly affected
Latvia's ability to maintain railroad communications lines.

Moscow-based newspapers have reported that other land communications,
in which copper wires are used, are also affected. It is said that
the wires are being stolen and sold by the population. There are
many reports of businesses desperate for metals who are paying in
hard currency to anyone, no matter who, wishing to sell it.

Komsomolskaya Pravda reports that the final straw in this crisis
came when someone seized a big bronze wallplate with "Latvian
Republic Supreme Soviet" on it, right out of the parliament
building.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920728)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00007)

Moscow: Another Secure Bank Network Announced 07/29/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 JUL 29 (NB) -- Sirena, the large Soviet airline
ticket reservation system, has announced it will offer secure
communications services to local banks.

The new system, called Sirena-Sirius, will be built alongside
the 25 existing Sirena network hosts, which are based in all C.I.S.
countries. Banks will be, through those computers, directly
interconnected to the Russian Central Bank computer, which is the
only one allowed to do interbank transactions by law.

According to Alexey Fedotov, the general manager of Sirena-Sirius, a
certified "electronic signature" will be used for security purposes,
allowing fast and cheap electronic funds transfers.

The network connection will cost a moderate fee affordable to most of
banks, and the traffic charges are expected to be low, according to
the company.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920728/Press & Public Contact: Sirena-Sirius,
phone [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00008)

Lower-Cost HDTV From Hitachi 07/29/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUL 29 (NB) -- Hitachi has developed a consumer-use
high definition television (HDTV) which it plans to release
for less than 2 million yen ($16,000) by the end of the year. This
is less than half the cost of a current HDTV set, which goes for
four million yen ($32,000). Other Japanese electronics firms
are expected to follow suit.

Hitachi's high definition television set is expected to have a
screen size of 40 inches or more. It is equipped with a color
liquid crystal display with over 300,000 pixels. This results in
a screen image that is extremely clear and crisp.

Hitachi is currently selling a high definition television at 2.35
million yen ($18,800).

The firm has developed so-called second generation LSI chips for
HDTV and an HDTV decoder. The chips have enabled the price of HDTVs
to drop and HDTV to be more sophisticated and smaller in size.

Sony has also developed advanced LSI chips for HDTV. The chips are
in an HDTV priced at 1.3 million yen ($10,400). This is a
Braun-tube model with a screen size of 32-inches.

Sony and Sharp are developing the "ultimate" chips for the
HDTVs. Their target price for HDTVs is 500,000 yen ($4,000) or
lower. At this price range, HDTVs are expected to be widely used by
general consumers.

Currently, NHK and private TV broadcasting firms are broadcasting HDTV
programs for eight hours per day on an experimental basis.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920728/Press Contact: Hitachi, [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(ATL)(00009)

New For Macintosh: 14,400 BPS Modem For PowerBook 07/29/92
CAMPBELL, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 29 (NB) -- PSI
Integration introduced PowerModem III, a new internal fax modem
for Apple's Powerbook portable. PSI also announced shipment of
its PowerModem II mid-range model for PowerBook computers.

The PowerModem III handles data at up to 14,400 bits per second
under the V.32bis modulation and V.42bis error-correction
standards. The modem also supports the earlier V.42 and V.32
standards, as well as MNP10, an error-correction standard that
some feel works well in a cellular environment. The same modem
also sends faxes at the 14,400 bit/second rate, while connected
to a fax-modem of the same speed. The fax-modem supports all
Group III fax machines. The speed is the equivalent of six blank
pages per minute.

With data compression, the actual throughput of the PowerModem
III can be up to 57,600 bps. The PowerModem III, which is
scheduled to ship in September, has a suggested retail price of
$799.

PSI Integration can be reached at 851 East Hamilton Ave., Suite
200, Campbell, Calif., 95008; telephone, 1-800/622-1722 or
408/559-8544.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920729/Press Contact: Michele Kassis, PSI,
408/559-8544)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00010)

International Telecom Update 07/29/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 29 (NB) -- South Korea's
selection of three consortia to take its second cellular phone
tender highlighted world developments in the field. Groups headed
by Pohang Iron and Steel, the Sunkyong Group, and the Kolon Group
were selected to compete with a unit of Korea Telecom starting at
the end of August.

Regarding overseas participation, POSCO's consortium includes
Pacific Telesis of the US and Germany's Mannesmann group.
Sunkyong teamed with GTE of the US, Britain's Vodafone, and
Hutchison Telecom of Hong Kong, while Kolon is working with
NYNEX of the US. All three groups have extensive numbers of
Korean minority partners as well. The ministry will negotiate
directly with the three finalists. The announcement, however,
could become enmeshed in politics. All three winning Chaebol, or
conglomerates, have ties to the ruling Liberal Democrats or
President Roh Tae Woo. The former head of the Hyundai Group is a
candidate against Roh, and any connection with Hyundai is
currently seen as unwelcome in terms of Korean government tenders.

Elsewhere, Pakistan and Afghanistan signed a telecommunications
agreement in Islamabad. The deal gives Pakistan a link to
Central Asia, where it can compete for influence in the former
Soviet Republics with Turkey and Iran. For Afghanistan, still
riven by factional strife among the fighters who won a 12-year
long war against a Soviet-installed government, the deal
represents badly-needed help in rebuilding the nation's
infrastructure.

Finally, Latin American bourses turned around, led by local
telephone companies. The news should reassure governments in
Uruguay and Brazil which are still moving toward privatizing
their phone networks.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920729)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00011)

Southwestern Bell Selling Frame Relay In Kansas 07/29/92
KANSAS CITY, KANSAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 29 (NB) -- Southwestern
Bell said it is now selling frame relay data services in Kansas.
It's the first state within the company's service region which
has approved its application to sell frame relay, which moves
data at up to two million bits per second without all the internal
error-correction found on X.25 networks.

The service initially will be offered in the Kansas City, Kansas
metropolitan area. By year-end, Southwestern Bell plans to have
frame relay service available to customers in the Topeka and
Wichita areas. The service will be sold in increments of 56,000
bits/second, 384,000 bits/second and 1.536 million bits/second.
The service is being aimed at large businesses which want to link
the local area networks in their various offices.

To get the service, customers need both site links, dedicated
lines to a local central office, and logical links, which are
virtual connections between the two locations where data is
being sent. A single site link unit, however, can serve a number
of logical links. Both services are priced at a flat-rate per
month.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920729/Press Contact: Scott Hilgeman,
Southwestern Bell Telephone, 314-247-4613)


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

Online Browsing For Job-Hunters 07/29/92
COLUMBUS, OHIO, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 29 (NB) -- CompuServe, the
largest online service in the US, has added Adnet Online to its
list of services available on an unlimited basis for a base price
of $7.95 per month.

Adnet Online lets job-seekers browse openings advertised by
hundreds of companies. They can select from more than two dozen
categories and then narrow their search by geographical location.

Job listings are available for specific regions of the United
States, as well as for Canada and countries throughout the world.
The Adnet database is updated weekly, and advertisements
generally run for two weeks. Advertisers can be contacted either
by regular mail or fax. Established in May 1990, Adnet Online is
a division of Adnet of Indianapolis. CompuServe is a H&R Block
company.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920729/Press Contact: David Kishler,
CompuServe, 614-457-8600)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00013)

Research Center Established in S. Australia 07/29/92
ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUL 29 (NB) -- South Australia's (SA's) aim
to be the technology hub of Australia is a step closer after the
opening of the Signal Processing Research Institute (SPRI). The
Institute was formed by Adelaide's Technology Development Corporation
and SA's three universities to become a key resource of Australia's
space and communications companies.

The SPRI building is around 75 percent occupied, with the main
tenants being the Australian Space Center for Signal Processing, the
Mobile Communications Research Center, the Institute of Computer
Systems Engineering and Assurance, and the Cooperative Research
Center for Sensor Signal and Information Processing.

The remaining space is only open to private companies. The SPRI and
Technology Park are major components of the SA Government's plans for
a multifunction polis (MFP). The MFP is planned to be a high
technology city which will host research, design and manufacture of
high-technology equipment. SA Premier John Bannon sees the
information technology and telecommunications industries as the basis
on which planning for the MFP will be made. Bannon said there was "a
particular emphasis on establishing Adelaide as a major pilot site for
testing new (telecommunications) systems."

In addition to this, Bannon said, "We've got a base here in this state
which will ensure that business investment, the commercial application
and everything else that is needed to keep the infrastructure in a
thriving and healthy condition will be there."

(Sean McNamara/19920707)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SYD)(00014)

Australia: Technology Used To Track Wombat's Future 07/29/92
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUL 29 (NB) -- High-tech
is being used to establish whether the northern hairy-nosed wombat
of Australia will escape extinction, and may help ensure they will.

The wombats are being tracked in the Epping Forest National Park in
Central Queensland by the Queensland Environment and Heritage
Department. Of the three types of wombats in Australia (the northern
hairy nosed, the southern hairy nosed and the common wombat), the
northern hairy nosed is the least common, and is thought to have been
so at the time of European settlement.

Current estimates place the Epping Forest population at about 70.
These creatures occupy approximately 300 hectares of the National
Park's 3300 hectares. In a bid to observe the animals with as little
interference as possible, the Department is using thermal imaging
cameras, GPS mapping and computer models. The Department is being
helped by the 6th Batallion and 1st Division Intelligence Unit of the
Australian Army, and by Dynamic Satellite Surveys (DSS), a private
mapping company.

Eight soldiers were involved in a week-long expedition to film the
animals and record information about their environment. The thermal
image camera pictures will allow researchers to see how the wombats
act in their own environment, while as detailed a computer model of
the wombats' future as possible is created using the retrieved and
available data.

Despite all this work, the wombats may be doomed to extinction, as it
is suspected that their numbers were declining before European
settlement. However, the introduction of grazing animals has
accelerated any decline there may have been, and researchers are
hoping to reverse this trend.

(Sean McNamara/19920707)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00015)

Australia: 3rd Mobile Licence Competition Heats Up 07/29/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUL 29 (NB) -- Singapore Telecom and
local firm Stanilite Pacific have formed a consortium and entered the
race for Australia's third mobile telecommunications network licence.

The consortium, announced by Singapore Telecom International (STI),
has joined the two already with bids in place, one led by Hong Kong-
based Hutchinson and the other led by British-based Vodephone Group,
also known as Arena GSM. The bid is a low-key one, with the consortium
only releasing cursory details and not commenting until the decision
on the third licence is announced in December.

At first, STI did not reveal its partner in the bid, only stating that
it had joined up with a "leading locally listed systems integration
company." However, it was later confirmed that Stanilite was the
company involved. Despite the lack of detailed information from STI,
the company has revealed that approximately AUS$1.6B will be spent
over the next ten years on its GSM (Groupe Speciale Mobile) digital
mobile phone network.

Stanilite would hold the controlling interest in the network, but this
interest is expected to be held by Australian interests within ten
years. Stanilite was formed in 1977 by brothers Robert and John
Harris, who hold a 22 percent share in the company. It has won
several large defense contracts, including an AUS$130M contract to
design and install communications systems on 10 Anzac frigates.

If successful, the Stanilite/STI consortium will join AOTC (Australian
and Overseas Telecommunications Corporation) and Optus Communications
in providing mobile telecommunications networks to Australia.

(Sean McNamara/19920723/Press Contact: Stanilite Pacific, phone in
Australia [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00016)

Omron Man Assumes Presidency Of Data General Japan 07/29/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUL 29 (NB) -- Omron says it will promote
Data General Japan's vice president, Tatsuro Ichihara, to the
presidency of Data General Japan. Omron holds major equity position
in Data General Japan.

Tatsuro Ichihara is also on the board of directors at Omron.
Data General's current president, Arihiro Okada, will resign
from the presidency but is expected to remain as a director of
Data General.

The change of the presidency of Data General will be made this
October 1. Omron has been trying to increase the company's sales
since it acquired Data General Japan for 6.5 billion
yen ($50 million) in March 1991. However, Data General's
business has not picked up yet. Data General Japan has
closed its accounts in the red for two years in a row. This is a
big burden to Omron in the midst of a slump in the industry.

Data General Japan, which has been selling minicomputers in the past,
has been caught in the "downsizing" trend in the industry.
It consequently has shifted its sales to workstations but still,
sales haven't improved. This is one reason why Omron executives
decided to replace the president of Data General Japan.

Omron is expected to make other major changes including a
restructuring of Data General Japan's computer divisions. Also,
a name change is in the works, from Data General Japan to
"Omron Data General" as of this October 1. Omron Data General will
have additional business ties to Omron's Engineering Workstation
System Division at that time.

Data General Japan's president, Aihiro Okada, has led the firm since
1988. His new position in the Omron group is not yet known.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920729/Press Contact: Omron, [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00017)

TI Japan Releases 4M Video RAM 07/29/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUL 29 (NB) -- Texas Instruments Japan has
released in Japan its four-megabit video RAM (random access memory)
chip, following its release in other parts of the world. TI Japan
is shipping sample versions.

The first video RAM was developed by Texas Instruments in
1983. The video RAM processes pictorial data with video
signals and is in demand by computer firms which want a
powerful video RAM for processing increasing amounts of graphic data.

Due to the shift to multimedia computers as well as a downsizing
trend in computing, the demand for powerful video RAMs has been
growing in the computer industry. According to a major Japanese
computer industry association, the demand for video RAM chips
is worth 29 billion yen ($230 million) in 1992. Within three years,
the figure is expected to more than double to 70 billion yen ($560
million).

Currently, 1 megabit and 2 megabit video RAMs are sold in the
industry. Both versions are applied in personal computers and are
being made by Japanese computer firms such as NEC and Toshiba.
Unlike the slump in demand for other RAM chips, video RAMs are
popular and demand has been high.

Texas Instruments Japan expects that the 4-megabit video RAM
will be used in workstations as well as personal computers
in the near future. Other Japanese firms are also expected to
ship 4-megabit versions of the video RAM soon.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920729/Press Contact: Texas Instruments Japan,
[phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00018)

KDD & NTT To Create "Telecom City" In Shanghai 07/29/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUL 29 (NB) -- Japan's former telecom monopolies
KDD and NTT say they will participate in a ten-year project
in China to create an advanced "telecom city" in Shanghai.

KDD and NTT were chosen by the Chinese government due to their
experience in setting up telecommunications networks. KDD is
specialized in international telecom networks and NTT is specialized
in domestic networks. The Chinese telecom network will be based
on NTT's ISDN (integrated services digital network).

China's major telecom project officially began in 1990. It
envisions a "digital telecom city" located east of Shanghai.
A 350-square-kilometer area is allocated for this city, which
will be equipped with trading facilities, commercial and financial
areas, research and development areas, and manufacturing area. KDD
and NTT plan to form a consortium with major Japanese
conglomerates and electronics firms for this project. The
participating conglomerates and electronics firms have not yet
been selected, but they may include Ito Chu, Nissho Iwai, Marubeni,
Fujitsu or NEC.

This digital telecom city, which may become a model for China,
will be equipped with a telecom network of 120,000 circuits.
It will be connected with major Chinese as well as foreign cities
via optical cables, undersea cables, and space satellites.

KDD has already invited Chinese representative to Japan where it
has displayed its own "telecom cities" in Tokyo and Yokohama.

This is the first joint project for KDD and NTT which report they
will participate in more joint ventures overseas in the future.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920729/Press Contact: KDD, [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00019)

Sprint Has Three Access Points In Siberia 07/29/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 JUL 29 (NB) -- Sprint announced data
communication services availability in Novosibirsk, Irkutsk, and
Khabarovsk, all big industrial centers in Siberia.

At the moment Sprint had access points in Kiev, Ukraine, Moscow,
Perm, Samara, and St Petersburg -- all of them in Russia.

Sprint is offering Russian clients its electronic mail system as
well as its fax service known as SprintFax. Customers are
allowed to pay in either dollars or rubles at their sole
discretion, according to the company.

Sprint still has to reach a goal it proclaimed in early 1991 -- to
have local access in 10 cities of the former Soviet Union at
the end of 1992.

Sprint's competitor in data services, SovAm Teleport, is also trying to
offer local call access in as many as 40 Russian cities.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920729/Press & Public Contact: Sprint Networks
Russia, phone [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(ATL)(00020)

GEnie Offers Apple II Software 07/29/92
ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 29 (NB) -- As the Apple II
slips into history, along with CP/M and other obsolete computers,
the GEnie online service is trying to help Apple II owners
continue to get value from their machines.

The third-largest consumer online service in the US has begun a
"Lost Classics" project, aimed at making copies of Apple II
software available on its A2 Roundtable. The Roundtable would
also like to preserve source code for preservation and updating.

Roundtable Manager Dean Esmay says he also hopes to rerelease
some old commercial programs as shareware, for which satisfied
users pay, or freeware, requiring no payment at all, and arrange
to have some titles placed in public domain.

"The Apple II's effect on modern computing has changed the way an
entire generation thinks and acts," he said in a press
statement. "We are not about to let that pass into oblivion."

The "Lost Classics" program offers to preserve old software in a
compressed format on optical disk cartridges, provide access to
commercial titles which would otherwise be unavailable, and
provide a center for dated software in need of updating to remain
compatible with modern Apple II hardware and system software,
which could include contracting with other programmers. For
further information, modem users may visit the A2 Roundtable on
GEnie or send GEnie E-mail to A2.HELP.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920729/Press Contact: Timothy Tobin, GEnie
Lost Classics Project, 310-813-5697)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(ATL)(00021)

 ****Sierra Sues Hayes Over Ad Claims 07/29/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 29 (NB) -- Hayes
Microcomputer Products, which recently signed an exclusive chip
license with Rockwell International, now faces a lawsuit over
the issue with a rival chip-maker.

Sierra Semiconductor has filed suit against Hayes in San Jose
Federal Court, charging trade libel, false and misleading
advertising and unfair competition. Sierra is complaining about
a series of ads that began to appear July, which claims that
its in-band escape sequence is undependable. Hayes president and
founder, Dennis Hayes, has told Newsbytes in the past that any
software-based escape sequence can be triggered inadvertently by
incoming data, and therefore it's necessary to recognize only a
keyed-in escape key, as called for in the Heatherington '302
patent which his company has successfully defended in court.

Sierra's chip sets support what's called a "Time Independent
Escape Sequence" or TIES as well as the Hayes sequence. Sierra
said in a press statement that Hayes charges $1 per modem for use
of its patent, although Hayes has never confirmed the figure
publicly.

In the press statement, Sierra attorney Peter Detkin concentrated
on the ads, calling them inflammatory and improper. He says that
reference to Rockwell chip sets, which have the exclusive on-chip
version of the '302 license, indicates "collusion to control the
market." Sierra's Vice-President of Marketing Don MacLennan also
indicated that the Rockwell deal is a problem for his company,
noting that standards bodies have said in the past that they will
not put patented technology into a standard unless it is licensed
in a non-discriminatory manner, and the Rockwell agreement seems
to violate that policy.

Newsbytes contacted Hayes about the lawsuit, and was told that no
comment could be forthcoming at this time. The company does not
usually comment on pending litigation, and in any case its
attorneys have not completed a review of the suit's documents.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920729/Press Contact: Sierra Semiconductor,
Don MacLennan, 408/263-9300; Hayes, Peggy Ballard, 404-840-9200)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00022)

DM 450M German Fiber Optic Contract Up For Grabs 07/29/92
BONN, WESTERN GERMANY, 1992 JUL 29 (NB) -- Deutsche Bundespost
Telekom (DBT), the state-controlled telecom operation of
Germany, has announced plans to invest DM 450 million ($300
million) in a fiber optic network spanning Eastern Germany.

DBT is currently negotiating terms of the contract with four
telecom companies -- Siemens, Alcatel, Philips/ANT and Raynet --
with the option to install further fiber optic links later this
decade.

According to DBT, plans call for around 200,000 East German
households, initially in the Berlin area, to be linked up to the
new network, with the eventual aim of linking six times that
number into a fiber optic network by the end of 1995. The network
will be capable of carrying TV signals as well as the expected
phone and ISDN services.

(Steve Gold/19920729)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00023)

Olivetti Licences OS/2 For Use On PCs 07/29/92
MILAN, ITALY, 1992 JUL 29 (NB) -- Olivetti has announced it has
licensed IBM's OS/2 operating system for use on its own range of
PCs. The company is one of the first major PC manufacturers to
commit to OS/2, with most of the competition going with Microsoft
and its Windows graphical user interface to DOS.

Terms of the agreement, financial details of which have not been
revealed, call for Olivetti to bundle up to 20,000 copies of OS/2
a year with its PCs. In addition, IBM will supply technical
services and ancillary programs to allow OS/2 to run under a
network operating system.

The deal is a major shot in the arm for OS/2. Many people in the
computer industry have been commenting openly that OS/2 has
failed to counter the inroads that Microsoft has made in the
software world with its Windows front-end software.

The UK, Olivetti has a licence to bundle Microsoft Windows with
its PCs, but is expected to offer OS/2 as an option on its
dealer-supplied machines.

(Steve Gold/19920729/Press & Public Contact: Olivetti U.K. - Tel:
081-780-8232)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(00024)

Bulgaria To Join Hungary On Cocom's "Free Export" List 07/29/92
SOFIA, HUNGARY, 1992 JUL 29 (NB) -- Glasnost may have been
in Russia, and the former Eastern Bloc may be turning to
democracy, but that doesn't mean that the West is happy with
exporting its highest technology goods to the countries.

That's the message coming out of Cocom -- the coordinating
committee for multilateral export controls. The Paris-based
controlling committee sits regularly to decide on blanket licences
for exports to former Eastern Bloc countries.

Cocom is slowly relaxing its rules, however, according to Robert
Price, director of Cocom affairs with the US State Department.
Price, on a two-day visit to Hungary, says that, by the end of
this year, Bulgaria will join Hungary as a country that is
relatively unhindered By Cocom rules.

This will be good news for Bulgaria, according to government
officials, since they need high technology goods to enable them
to make investments for the future of their industries.

(Steve Gold/19920729)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00025)

New For Macintosh: Radius Ships VideoVision 07/29/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 29 (NB) -- A month after
announcing the product at Digital World in Beverly Hills, Radius
is now shipping its new VideoVision product in volume to
customers. At the time of its official announcement, the company
said that the product could revolutionize the video production
industry.

Heather Hood, spokesperson for Radius, told Newsbytes that the
suggested retail price of the card is $2,399, but "that includes
$1,100 worth of software, in Diva Videoshop, and Macromedia's
Action!"

According to the company, Videovision is designed to be used
with Apple's Quicktime multimedia extension to the Macintosh
operating system. The product allows flicker-free 24-bit "printing"
of a multimedia presentation to a blank video tape via connection
with a video cassette recorder. At the time of the product's
announcement at Digital World, Radius President Barry James Folsom
said that the product could create a cottage industry video tape
production industry the way the laser printer created a desktop
publishing boom.

Hood told Newsbytes that Videovision is targeted toward "corporate
in-house video departments, small shops that do multimedia
productions and video productions, and a lot of people that have
never used video before that are now starting to get interested."

VideoVision allows Macintosh computer users to combine
computer graphics, text, sound, analog and digital video.
The company claims that "professional quality" videotapes
can be created on the desktop using VideoVision.

Radius says that VideoVision consists of a single digital
interface card with built-in video input, video output and
24-bit graphic display capabilities, an external connector
panel for video and audio connections, and software controls.
The interface card fits in a NuBus slot of any Macintosh II,
IIx, IIcx, IIci, IIfx or Quadra computer.

Additionally, the company maintains that VideoVision
doubles as a 24-bit color frame buffer that can display
photo-realistic images from any application, eliminating
the need and cost of a separate display interface card.

The company says that, using VideoVision, a user can import
video images from a variety of sources in virtually any video
format, such as camcorder or CD ROM library, and manipulate
them using a QuickTime video editing software product.
Users can mix in background music or a voice over and add
additional sound effects.

As previously reported by Newsbytes, the Videovision card
comes with a "Breakout Box" that looks much like a power
strip for electrical appliances. The Breakout Box has a row of
connections for video and audio input, video and audio output,
an external port that can support peripherals like video
editing decks. Video input and output can be in the form
of NTSC, PAL, and SECAM. The card has an R-bus connector for
linking to other Nubus cards and allows for the attachment
of third party add-on boards through H-bus connections.

Hood also pointed out an interesting trend to Newsbytes,
saying: "Inside corporations...used to be doing desktop publishing
but now because publishing is so easy for an end-user to be
doing on their own machine, a lot of them are moving into
video. It's all part of the migration."

When asked by Newsbytes about the similarities between Videovision
and Video Spigot, a video board enjoying considerable success in
the market, she said that there are a many differences.

All Video Spigot is, she said, "is a frame capture board
basically. All it does is capture frames of digital video that you
input into your system. It can't output video, you can't go to
videotape. It has no video output capability. And Videovision
lets you go directly to videotape. The other boards out there that
have output capability, don't let you go to videotape without
flicker. Basically, they just let you go to another Mac. They let you
view it on another Mac or a large screen played off a Mac."

(Ian Stokell/19920729/Press Contact: James Strohecker,
Radius Inc., 408-954-6828)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00026)

Conner To Repurchase Compaq Stock Ownership 07/29/92
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 29 (NB) -- Conner Peripherals is
set to repurchase Compaq Computer's equity ownership of Conner
common stock.

The agreement calls for Conner to purchase Compaq's 11.6 million
shares of Conner common stock for $20.75 per share, which was the
closing price of the stock on the New York Stock Exchange on
July 28, 1992. Compaq made an original investment of $6 million
in Conner in June 1986 and an additional investment of $6 million
in December 1986. Compaq will record a pre-tax gain of approximately
$80 million from this transaction.

Mike Berman, spokesman for Compaq, told Newsbytes that, "Compaq's
relationship with Conner is one based on technology. From that
respect.....we expect to continue that in the future. From a
financial perspective, it's not that much of a benefit to hold.
Based on the fact that Conner wanted to repurchase their stock,
we thought it made sense."

Compaq President and Chief Executive Officer Eckhard Pfeiffer, said:
"We have always had a strong strategic relationship with Conner,
and we fully expect that to continue. As a result of this
transaction, Compaq will accelerate its stock repurchase program.
This also complements our already strong cash position to support
ongoing business strategies."

Conner Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Finis Conner,
stated: "We believe that this transaction makes a great deal of
sense for both companies. Given our strong financial position,
this represents an attractive opportunity for Conner and its
shareholders."

Berman told Newsbytes that Compaq still has some employees with
"unexercised" stock options in Conner, but that is a "small percentage."

(Ian Stokell/19920729/Press Contact: Bob Beach or Mike
Berman, Compaq Computer Corp., 713-374-0484; or Tony
Sapienza or Donna Ruane, Miller Communications, 617-
536-0470, for Compaq; or Kevin Burr, Conner Peripherals,
408-456-3134)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00027)

HP Offers Sun/Apollo Wkstn Users Trade-Up Credit 07/29/92
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 29 (NB) -- In an effort to
entice Sun Microsystems workstation users to switch to its own
RISC Hewlett-Packard products, the company has extended its
workstation trade-in program, effective immediately.

The company says it is offering Sun users, as well as its
Apollo Domain workstation users, up to a 44 percent trade-up credit
toward new HP Apollo 9000 Series 700 PA-RISC-based workstations.

According to HP, its new PowerUp Program targets Sun SPARCstation,
Sun 3, and Apollo Domain customers who want to trade in a
minimum of 20 of their current workstations before March 31, 1994.
Under the program, customers may place orders up to January 1.

Gary B. Eichhorn, general manager of HP's Workstation Systems
Business Unit, said: "Solaris 1.0 and Domain/OS customers face
an important decision. They must migrate to a different operating
system, and HP's PowerUP Program ensures that they'll land on
the only platform -PA-RISC - that ensures complete compatibility from
the desktop to the data center."

The company maintains that, in addition to a Series 700 workstation,
Apollo Domain customers may select a Domain/OS-based HP Apollo
9000 Series 400 workstation that includes a board upgrade to a
Series 700, which runs the HP-UX operating system. This provides an
intermediate, compatible step with Domain/OS as well as a PA-RISC
performance path.

Additionally, the company claims that HP's migration tools help
customers with Domain/OS-based workstations integrate Series 700s
into their networks by allowing Domain/OS and HP-UX customers to
use a common user interface, windowing and editing environment,
an improved version of NFS, and to share information on an Apollo
Token Ring LAN.

(Ian Stokell/19920729/Press Contact: Jim Barbagallo, Hewlett-Packard
Co., 508-436-5049)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00028)

 ****Parallel Processing Systems Speed Movie Making 07/29/92
MARINA DEL REY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 29 (NB) -- An IBM
parallel processing system has been introduced into the Hollywood
special effects for movies business. Boss Film, a company who
has done visual effects for "Batman Returns," "Alien 3,"
"Ghostbusters," and "Diehard," says the IBM Power Visualization
System (PVS) it has just added to its visual effects studio is
the beginning of a major change in the way filmmakers have
produced visual effects.

Boss Chief Operating Officer Alan Fetzer told Newsbytes the
company has spent an enormous amount of time in the past
creating visual effects on workstations because of the amount
of information involved in moving film quality images to
digital and then back again. A single frame of digitized film
at 35mm or 65mm can take between 10 and 20 megabytes (MB) of
hard disk space. Coupled with the fact that broadcast quality
is 60 frames per second, use of a workstation for digitizing
images and creating special effects is a slow and painful
process.

"A producer can start a single frame loading and go get a cup
of coffee before it finishes," Fetzer said. With 2 minutes time
to load a frame and 2 minutes to save it back to the disk, the
average time is 10 minutes per frame. On a good day a 100
frames can be done on a workstation, Fetzer said.

However, the PVS offers performance gains in the realm of a
supercomputer by using parallel processing. The technique of
implementing multiple central processing units (CPUs) in a
computer to handle the processing work is not new. However, the
technique offers substantial performance gains when opposed to
attempting to make a single CPU fast enough to handle all the
work. Currently the fastest computers in the world are parallel
processing machines.

Richard Edlund, chief executive officer of Boss and four-time
Academy Award winner, said the increased processing power of the
AVS system will offer enhancements to the post production film
making process, "...providing directors with digitally stored
high-resolution images they can view and manipulate in real
time -- an important creative as well as a positive economic
factor."

The scenes from the film "Terminator 2" in which a character
was metamorphosized were done by the production company
Industrial Light and Magic on a $50,000 Silicon Graphics
workstation.

While the PVS is exponentially faster than a workstation, the
speed can cost up to ten times as much. The PVS can perform at
up to an estimated 2.5 gigaflops or 2.5 billion instructions
per second. However IBM representative Denis Arvay told
Newsbytes companies can expect to pay in the neighborhood of
half a million dollars to get such a system.

The Boss PVS system has a eight Intel 860 CPUs, a 21-gigabyte disk
array, a HIPPI channel that can offer data transfer rates of up
to 100 megabytes per second, and two IBM RS-6000 workstations --
one to do the input/output and one for the video.

Fetzer said the company has justified the cost of the system
because its target is to go from film back to film quality in a
smooth way that looks real. "We don't want viewers in the
theater saying, 'Ah, here comes a special effect,'" Fetzer
added.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920729/Press Contact: Alan Fetzer, Boss Film
Studios, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Denis Arvay, IBM,
914-945-3471)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LON)(00029)

US Software Firms Pushing Hard Into Europe, Says Report 07/29/92
PARIS, FRANCE, 1992 JUL 29 (NB) -- US software houses are
staking their claim in Europe, according to an annual report just
out from IDC, the market research company. The report identifies,
however, the fact that the European software companies -- notably
Cap Gemini Sogeti of France and Debis of Germany -- are also
fighting back against the US invasion.

According to IDC, compound annual growth in the European software
market is expected to be around 10.7 percent until 1997. IDC's
report claims that, although the recession is biting in
Europe, sales are expected to pick up next year.

During 1991, IDC reports that the European software market grew
10.6 percent to finish the year at $60,600 million.

What's interesting about the report is who is doing what in
Europe. While companies such as Computer Associates, Microsoft
and Oracle are high in the list, many US software names simply
don't figure in the report.

(Steve Gold/19920729/Press & Public Contact: IDC France - Tel:
[phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00030)

 ****IBM Says 9% Of Employees Worldwide Are Leaving 07/29/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 29 (NB) -- Nearly 10 percent
of the IBM workforce or 32,000 employees are expected to take the
company up on its offer to leave. IBM initially predicted late last
year 20,000 would take it up its Voluntary Workforce Reduction
program.

IBM announced the Voluntary Workforce Reduction program in November
as a part of the company's efforts to tighten up and avoid layoffs
from its worldwide workforce of about 350,000. The company reported
a whopping $2.8-billion annual loss and its first year-over-year
revenue drop in 45 years this January.

Revenues at the world's largest computer company dropped 6.1
percent to $64.8 billion in the year ending December 31, 1991.

While the number of employees who are taking advantage of the
workforce reduction program will cost the company an estimated
$1.2 billion, IBM says it expects to make that up in 1.5 years
from the money it will save on wages.

William Milton, an analyst at New York investment house Brown Brothers
Harriman, told Newsbytes that the company's infrastructure was
designed to fit growth expectations that have turned out to be
too optimistic. "IBM has been trying to adjust to the new reality
here for five years," he said.

IBM is also making other adjustments in the way it does business.
The company recently announced price cuts on its PS/2 line of personal
computers of up to 30 percent.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920729/Press Contact: David Hara, IBM, tel
914-765-6666, fax [phone])