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/nb920805

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(NEWS)(APPLE)(BOS)(00001)

Macworld: Aldus Offers Print-To-Tape Kit 08/05/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 5 (NB) -- Aldus is
expanding its desktop video publishing offerings with
a new Print-to-Video Kit that includes hardware and software
for Apple Macintosh users to send presentations put together in
its Persuasion product out to video tape.

Aldus says the Kit works with versions 2.0 and 2.1 of Aldus
Persuasion and contains everything necessary to transfer
presentations to video tape except a copy of Aldus Persuasion,
a video cassette recorder (VCR) or camcorder, and a NTSC-
compatible add-in video card (not needed on a Quadra computer).

The Kit includes hardware that converts computer data to video
(NTSC) format in the form of a WTI-Videomax encoder from
Workstation Technologies; a mini-version of Mediamaker CV from
Macromedia which can import slides and add timing, music and
narrative to video, and new Persuasion Auto- Templates designed
for videotape output, Aldus said. User manuals as well as
sample sound and animation files are also included in the Kit,
the company added.

The Kit will be offered within 30 days at a promotional price
of $395 from Aldus.

Aldus says the system requirements for the Print-to-Video Kit
are a VCR or camcorder, an Apple Macintosh IIsi, IIci, or IIfx
with an NTSC-compatible add-in video card or a Quadra computer,
Aldus Persuasion 2.0 or later, System 6.0.5 or later; at least
2 megabytes (MB) random access memory (RAM), and 3 MB of
available hard disk space. Aldus recommends however, that there
be 4 to 8 MB of RAM and says WTI-Videomax is not compatible
with the built-in video of the Macintosh IIci or IIsi. The
company also says the Kit is compatible with System 7.0.

Seattle, Washington-based Aldus is known for its
desktop publishing software Pagemaker as well as other software
for preparation of images and text for publication or
presentation.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920804/Press Contact: Jill Miller, Aldus,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LAX)(00002)

New For Unix: Shelfspace Puts Corporate Written Materials Online 08/05/92
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 5 (NB) -- Electronically
available manuals for corporate users on an IBM mainframe network
is what Infodata Systems is offering with its product Shelfspace.

Infodata says the product allows corporations to give everyone
instant access to written materials such as the company's policy
and procedure manuals, technical documentation, and user manuals.

Infodata says Shelfspace offers savings in time and physical
space. The program can eliminate the need to ship and store
paper with written information and allows users not familiar with
the system to do searches of all available materials for specific
words or phrases in the text.

Newsbytes talked with Infodata representative Jim Desper, who
said the product uses the books on a shelf metaphor on screen
to present the user with the available materials. Users can
search for specific word or phrases across all the titles or
information can be referenced by a look at the table of
contents, chapter, and section divisions. Cross-referencing of
the materials is also available, Desper added.

The company says it will offer an introductory price for
Shelfspace on IBM mainframe computers of $75,000 until January
1993 when the price will go up to $99,000.

Falls Church, Virginia-based Infodata describes itself as a
provider of software systems for tasks such as library
automation, litigation support, records management, regulatory
compliance, and business and government intelligence.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920804/Press Contact: Jim Desper, Infodata,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00003)

 ****Fuzzy Computing Project To Start Soon In Japan 08/05/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 AUG 5 (NB) -- The International Fuzzy Technology
Laboratory (IFTL), an affiliate association of the Japanese Ministry
of International Trade and Industry (MITI), has announced plans to
begin studying the basic technology surrounding so-called "fuzzy
logic" computing this fall.

The initial aim of the project is to develop software technology
capable of analyzing natural language. For computer users, this could
be a great step forward, as -- in theory -- it would allow computer
users to input their requirements using the spoken word, rather than
perfectly correct DOS, OS/2, Mac, or Unix statements. If the user makes an
error, then the fuzzy logic could also interpret or even guess, what
the user wants. Much better than a BAD COMMAND error.

Plans call for the IFTL to concentrate on fuzzy logic programming
techniques for the next three years. This will result in a fuzzy logic
computer system capable of interpreting natural language.

The laboratory already has three years of work under its belt. Created
in 1989 with the joint cooperation of no less than 47 Japanese firms,
including Sony and NKK, the laboratory has already developed primitive
(i.e. easily confused) fuzzy logic programs -- the next stage in its
development is now due.

The slightly bad news is that, like the recently aborted next
generation language project here in Japan, fuzzy logic analysis
development will take several years of painstaking effort.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920804/Press Contact: The International Fuzzy
Technology Laboratory, [phone])


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

New For PC: Multi-Murder Multimedia Game CD-ROM 08/05/92
THOUSAND OAKS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 5 (NB) -- An
electronic publishing company in Thousand Oaks, California,
TMM, has hired a group of character actors and is publishing a
compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) murder mystery based on
"Many Roads To Murder" and currently code-named "Multi-
Murders."

The product is a game with 16 possible endings and is DOS-based
multimedia, the company said. The user unwittingly determines the
ending by who they interview and other choices made in each game.
A single game takes approximately 35 to 45 minutes to play and there
is no win or lose. If the user is making the wrong accusations based
on the evidence presented, the program simply informs them and allows
them to keep at it, according to Al Rossi of TMM.

Paul Gleason, a well-known character actor who has worked with
actors like Eddie Murphy plays detective Stew Cavanaugh, the
detective the user has to match skills with during the course
of the game.

The retail price of the game, expected to be available in 4 to
6 weeks, has not been set, the company said.

Rossi said the company is awaiting approval from the heirs of
Jimmie Hendricks for permission to publish an interactive CD
about the performer's life. The Hendricks CD will include video
clips from Hendrick's performances at Woodstock, Monterey, and
in Boston, Rossi said.

TMM estimates the market for multimedia products is $20 billion
and says it plans to focus on the entertainment aspects of CD-
ROM, something Rossi says hasn't really been explored yet.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920804/Press Contact: Al Rossi, TMM, tel
805-371-0500, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(DEL)(00005)

Siemens, Ericsson, Fujitsu Win Indian Telecom Expansion 08/05/92
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1992 AUG 5 (NB) -- In perhaps the biggest
and one of the earliest liberalization exercises towards
privatization by the Indian government, the Department of
Indian Telecommunications (DoT) is rushing its schedules
to clear multinational bids for the supply and manufacturing of
digital main telephone exchanges, cellular, and radio paging systems.

Siemens, Ericsson and Fujitsu emerged as the winners for selling
digital exchanges. But the victory is bound to splash plenty of red
ink in the balance sheets of their recently incorporated Indian
subsidiaries as DoT has offered to buy their indigenously assembled
switches at rock bottom prices.

The trio received a counter-offer from DoT for purchase of their
switches at a uniform price of Rs 5,034 per line. The price is even
lower than the lowest price of Rs 5,384 quoted by Intelcom (the joint
venture between K.K. Birla group and GPT of UK) at the time of opening
bids for supply of 200,000 lines of exchange last March. The
threesome is expected to accept the counter offer gleefully, as the
DoT is calling the shots and there are others in the queue: Alcatel
Modi Network Systems, AT&T switching for which Tatas are the
prospective partner, Bilt Electronics of the Thapar group with NEC, and
Intelcom. The eighth bidder, the joint venture between National
Telecom of India and Oriental Telecom of South Korea, fell out of the
tendering competition in the initial stages.

The DoT has indicated its intention of placing an order for 300,000
lines with the above selected trio. Of this, 110,000 (or 1.1 lakh)
lines have been offered to Siemens, 100,000 (or one lakh) to Ericsson
and 90,000 lines to Fujitsu.

Earlier, DoT had ordered all the bidders to bring in and run their
prototype exchanges at their own cost. As a commentator remarked,
"The DoT is virtually telling other bidders to pack off." The
unsuccessful bidders are pointing to incomplete technical evaluation,
which may be a point of some controversy. But, the communications
minister, Rajesh Pilot, is in a hurry to cope with the pending
demand for nearly a million telephone connections.

Meanwhile loser GPT has offered to supply as "grant" to India
four lakh (400,000) lines of digital electronic switching system (ESS)
of its System-X switch, worth over Rs 200 crore ($400 million), in its
effort to enter the country's fast-expanding telecom business, so
reported the respected national daily The Hindu. All the bidders were
declared successful only after being declared technically sound.

The news of this selection spread like wild fire, and the global players
apparently turned the Sanchar Bhavan and Prime Minister's Office (PMO)
alternatively into their battle ground for clinching the deal.

While offers and counter-offers continue to be made, GPT (which has a
substantial Siemens holdings) felt it was losing ground fast. In order
to retrieve the lost ground, its chief executive, Lord Prior,
dashed to Delhi yesterday and in his meeting with Mr Pilot offered to
grant four lakh lines of System X as grant. But, the sources said this
could be yet another tactic which could alarm the other global telecom
players faced with shrinking business opportunities to do whatever was
necessary to get into India's telecom business.

A spin-off effect of the latest development could be that leasing of
telecom equipment by these companies to DoT in the near future may
also be at this price. The sources said that since DoT
would need to pay lease charges over a seven-year period, its
resultant savings could be substantial.

The recent development has also upset the French multinational,
Alcatel, whose E 10B technology was being used by ITI (the public
sector Indian Telephone Industries Ltd.) to meet India's large demand
for telecom equipment. Recently, Alcatel had also agreed to supply
free of cost (savings Rs 48 crores to DoT) its latest OCB 283 digital
technology to ITI. When asked whether, after all this, Alcatel should
be kept out of the two-lakh-line tender, the sources said there was no
question of sidelining the French. Even Alcatel has now written a note
saying that it was prepared to supply the equipment at Rs 5034 per
line, like others, notwithstanding its lower BHCA of 630,000 which
would rise to 800,000 by early 1993, the sources said.

Meanwhile, Mr Pilot has issued instructions to the officials that the
proposal of ITI to set up three switching factories using OCB 283
technology with a capacity of 330,000 lines each in Manakpur (in the
northern state of Uttar Pradesh), Bangalore (in Southern India), and
Palakkad (in the southern tip of Kerala state) be cleared quickly. The
DoT is keen that ITI does not lose out in the current competition
especially when it has such a large work force. There is also a view
that Alcatel should enter into a joint venture agreement with ITI to
manufacture switching equipment as the current industrial policy
provides for such an arrangement. This could also help ITI to redeploy
its excess labor force.

AT&T, another giant wanting to enter India, has already signed a
memorandum of understanding with Tata Industries to manufacture
switching equipment in this country. The DoT has reportedly informed
them that if their prices could be brought down they could also be
considered.

Through grants, leasing at very low rates and competitive bidding
system, DoT hopes to arrange over the years nearly 1.5 million lines
practically free of cost. Industry sources, however, cautioned that
this may be possible only as long as it was a buyer's market. But the
communications minister, Pilot, according to The Hindu newspaper, was
also equally keen that the present business opportunity was utilized
to derive the maximum advantage to India.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920804)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEL)(00006)

India: Wipro Spins Off Peripherals Unit 08/05/92
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1992 AUG 5 (NB) -- India's second-largest
computer company, Wipro Infotech Ltd., has decided to turn its
peripherals division into an independent business unit under its
umbrella.

The noteworthy growth of its peripherals branch, which jacked up
its turnover from Rs 20 crore in 1990-91 to Rs 28 crore in
1991-92, seems to be responsible for this development.

Under the peripherals division, the company has, since 1986, been
in technical collaboration with Seiko Epson for manufacturing
at its plant in Mysore, a range of dot matrix printers. The
current range are the LX 800, FX 105 Sprinter, EX 1000 and LQ 1050.
Its sales and marketing are already independent from Wipro Infotech.

The launching of the unit, which has been christened Wipro
Peripherals, was marked by unveiling an impact dot matrix printer, DFX
8000, and two laser printers, EPL 7100 and EPL 7500 from the Epson
stable. "This will enable Wipro Peripherals to carve its own identity
in the market, have its own planning and procedures and work closer
with its customers, many of whom compete with Wipro Infotech," hopes
Ashok Soota, president, Wipro Infotech.

Initially, Wipro will just market the new range of printers but
will start manufacturing them also as demand surges.

DFX 8000, a 9-pin 1066 cps heavy duty printer suitable for batch
printing, prints 14 dots-per-character. The printer, which can print
graphics and regional languages also, has two tractors which enable
two sets of stationery to be simultaneously loaded on it. EPL 7100,
which gives the facility of automatic sharing across two users,
has a single imaging cartridge and multiple fonts. It is Epson's
entry-level printer with a speed of 6 pages per minute. The
printing method of EPL 7100, which has a resolution of 300 dots per
inch, is electric photographic. It has a memory of 0.5 MB expandable
up to 6 MB.

EPL 7500, a 300-DPI laser printer, which also offers a resident
original Adobe Postscript interpreter and an Appletalk interface, has
a memory of 2 MB which is expandable to 6 MB. It is powered by a 32-
bit Weitek RISC (reduced instruction set computer) processor which is
structured for heavy number crunching involved in converting complex
text and graphics images into laser printable format.

"The peripherals division was always like a company within a company
with all key functions integrated," said Som Mittal, vice president,
Wipro Peripherals. The formation of an independent business unit is,
perhaps, a step towards being a company outside Wipro Infotech.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920804)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(BOS)(00007)

 ****MacWorld Keynote: Apple Speeding Up Research 08/05/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 5 (NB) -- Apple's current
strategy centers on speedy and innovative R&D, together with a
customized approach to sales and marketing, said Fred Forsyth,
senior vice president for Macintosh hardware, at a press luncheon
yesterday just after his keynote speech at MacWorld Boston.

"I look forward to standing before you a year from now and telling
you about more new products. You'll see a lot of them," stated
Forsyth.

Apple's upcoming offerings include a pair of products with embedded
CD, to be released by December, as well as new software, he added,
during a meeting designed to elaborate on themes raised in the
keynote. In the earlier talk, Forsyth said that Apple is now
focusing on its "core strengths," including ease of use,
innovation, multimedia, and education.

Forsyth told journalists at the luncheon that the introduction of
PowerBook 145 at this year's MacWorld Boston, and the shipment of
the LC2 in March, demonstrate the efficiency of Apple's new R&D
arm, created out of a reorganization in early 1991. "A year ago,
the LC2 hadn't even been announced," he commented.

The new PowerBook also shows Apple's willingness to bring out an
upgrade at a price beneath that of the initial product release, he
observed.

Forsyth stressed, though, that the company will tie its products
and pricing to individual market segments. "We are certainly in a
tough business. Price cutting will not go away. As the industry's
prices come down, ours will, too. But they will not come down 'one
for one,'" he said.

To be competitive, Apple must gear its value-added products to
those markets that will bear the price, he remarked. "We'll only
build in features that people are willing to pay for," he
explained.

Apple's new approach to sales and development has stirred some
controversy within the company, he acknowledged, referring to the
struggles as religious issues.

"What are the religious issues?" asked one journalist, during a
question and answer session after the presentation. Forsyth
replied that staff disagrees over whether computers should come
with a built-in microphone, incorporated in Apple hardware since
early releases, and a new floppy disk drive that ejects
automatically.

Some employees are strongly in favor of the floppy, arguing that
people with disabilities need the automatic ejection feature.
Apple's education division is advocating the microphone, said
Forsyth.

Another journalist commented that Apple products hold inherent
value over competing products, but asked how much demand that value
can bring in the face of Microsoft Windows.

Apple's added value varies from product to product, but falls
generally into the 10 to 15% range, Forsyth answered.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920815)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(BOS)(00008)

MacWorld: Salient Intros AutoDoubler 2.0 08/05/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 5 (NB) -- Salient Software
has introduced a new version of its data compression utility
called AutoDoubler. The new version, AutoDoubler 2.0, is being shown
at the MacWorld Expo this week. However shipments of the product
to customers are not expected to begin until the middle of September.

AutoDoubler is a utility that compresses the files on your hard
disk. This allows you to stuff more programs and data files on your
hard disk, beyond what otherwise is possible. The program really
operates in two parts with a compressor and a decompressor stage.

AutoDoubler works in the background so you do not have to physically
start it. Of course, that option is available to you if you so
choose. Initially, you set the time interval in which AutoDoubler
is to operate. Then, every time the interval passes, the program
activates itself and scans the hard disk for files that are to be
compressed. When it finds such files, it compresses them. The only
area of your hard disk that AutoDoubler does not go into is the
System Folder. You can set up other areas or files that you do not
wish AutoDoubler to work on. This is all a part of the configuration
of the program.

Once files have been compressed, they are easily recognizable by the
little flag with the letters "DD" that is attached to that file's
icon. This icon change does not have any other effect on the file.
Double clicking it will launch the application that created it just
as before.

When you are working on a file, AutoDoubler decompresses the
contents to the computer's memory. Only if you make changes and try
to save the file again will AutoDouble decompress the file and store
it on the hard disk in its uncompressed form. This is true of
applications as well as files that are created by applications.

Salient had developed its own data compression routines and was
unwilling to disclose any details of its algorithms to Newsbytes.
Company officers are willing to state that they can achieve between 40
to 50% compression on each and every file. Part of the program
allows you to view such statistics at your convenience.

AutoDoubler 2.0 has a completely redone user interface. There are
also new configuration options like "Keep X MB free on the hard
disk" and a bar chart display of the statistics collected on the
compressions. This new version is also 50% faster in performing
compressions and 25% faster in performing decompressions than the
previous version.

AutoDoubler 2.0 will be selling at a suggested retail price of
$99.95. This is $20 higher than the previous version. To sweeten the
price change a bit, Salient is including its CopyDoubler utility
in the package. CopyDoubler is a utility that allows for file and
folder copies to be done at a significantly faster rate than the
Finder and allows for a faster emptying of the trash can.

(Naor Wallach/19920805/Press Contact: Alexandrea Todd, McLean Public
Relations for Salient, 415-358-8535/Public Contact:Fifth Generation
Systems, 504-291-7221)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(BOS)(00009)

MacWorld: Calcomp's New Printer Products 08/05/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 5 (NB) -- Calcomp has
chosen the venue of the MacWorld Expo trade show being held here
this week to introduce several new printers with some unique
capabilities. The printers that Calcomp was showing are not intended
to be purchased for personal use. Rather, these devices are intended
for use by the more professional graphics artist and small scale
printers with some exacting demands.

The small printer that was being shown is a 600 dpi laser printer
that can print on sheets of paper that are up to 11 X 17 inches in
size. This allows the printing of complete tabloid type publications
using this device. The main feature that Calcomp personnel were
talking about on the show floor was that this printer is the first
to use Intel's new companion chip to the i'960 that was introduced
earlier this week. Other specifications that were being touted were
the printer's ability to print at a rate of 8-pages-per-minute.
Calcomp personnel were adamant in telling Newsbytes that this figure
is measuring the printer's ability to print eight different pages
every minute which is more strenuous of a test than printing eight
copies of the same page every minute. The final main feature that
was being discussed at the show was the relatively low price of
this printer. The company is introducing the printer with a retail
price of $4495. The CCL600 (as the printer is being called) will
begin shipping to customers by the beginning of October.

A second printer that was being introduced at the show is actually
a line of two models. The 68000GA Series of printers are large
format electrostatic printers that the company is targeting for
use by print shops that do poster work. This four color printer
comes in two models that differ only in the width of the paper
that they accept. The 68436GA can handle paper that is 36 inches
wide while the 68444GA can handle paper that is 44 inches wide.

In a very appealing demonstration at the show, the company would
show a full color large scale drawing on a screen of a Macintosh
and then print the image on the printer. The posters that were
being produced were about 44 X 80 inches in size and would take
approximately five minutes to print. The printer works a bit like
a plotter in that it deposits ink of only one color at a time on
the paper and then reels the paper back in for another pass. After
all four colors are in place, the printer cuts the paper off.

Calcomp is targeting print shops and graphics artists that have
the need of producing posters and other large format work in small
runs of up to 20 copies. Currently this type of market is not served
well by regular print shops as the need for setting up a run
becomes very expensive. Calcomp officials estimated that it takes
about $20 per poster to do what they can do at a cost of about $5
per poster with the new printers. In addition, Calcomp is claiming
a significant time saving advantage with its new printers over
traditional methods.

The 68436 is priced at $52,900 and the 68444 at $62,900. Prices
include the humidity control module, installation, and a one-year
on-site warranty. Customer shipments have begun and as a
matter of fact the company is currently experiencing a backlog of
orders for these devices. Calcomp expects to have worked through
its backlog by the beginning of October.

In a third related announcement, Calcomp is lowering the price
of the ColorMaster 6613PS tabloid-sized color printer from $9995
to $6995. The "A" size printer model has also experienced a price
cut, from $5495 to $4595. Both of these price reductions are
effective as of the beginning of the show.

(Naor Wallach/19920805/Press Contact: Richard Stehr, Calcomp,
714-821-2396/Public Contact: Calcomp, 714-821-2000, 800-932-1212)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(BOS)(00010)

MacWorld: "First Intelligent Agent" Appears 08/05/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 5 (NB) -- No Hands
Software was showing their first program at the MacWorld Expo.
Called Magnet 1.0, it is being touted by the company as the
first intelligent agent for the Macintosh.

In the No Hands Software world view, intelligent agents are software
programs that are told what needs to be done and they proceed to
do it for the user at specified times without question or
complaint. As an example of the capabilities of Magnet, Newsbytes
was given a demonstration in which a Macintosh was programmed
to perform a back-up every day at 2:00 AM of every file
that had changed that day. The back-up was to be done to a server
that happens to reside remotely to the Macintosh. So Magnet was
instructed to use Appletalk Remote Access to dial the number of the
server at the remote site, log into it, and perform the back-up as
desired.

The whole process of programming this function took about 15 minutes.
Most of that time (greater than 13 minutes) was taken up by
explanations between human beings and was not due to the computer.

Another capability is what the company calls synchronization.
This alleviates problems encountered when a person has
both a desktop Macintosh and a Powerbook for travel. When that
person is on the road, he or she likely first transfers a bunch of
needed files to the Powerbook. However, a problem could arise as
the files on the Powerbook get worked upon and changed. When the
user returns to the office, he/she must decide which file is
important of the two different ones and must synchronize the machines
again. A second problem is the need to remember which files were
changed and which were not.

Synchronization takes care of all of this automatically for the
user. The program is told which two folders or volumes need to be
synchronized and then it performs all the work of matching the
files and their modification times. Finally, the program copies over
the latest file to both machines and places any files that are
earlier to a folder that is labelled "Conflict." It is now up to
the user to resolve any potential conflicts. Of course, if all you
want is the latest version of any given file, then the conflict
folder can get tossed into the garbage can.

Magnet 1.0 will retail for $129.95. It is expected to be available
nationally by the end of the month.

(Naor Wallach/19920805/Press Contact: Kathleen Raycraft, McLean
Public Relations for No Hands Software, 415-358-8535/Public Contact:
415-321-7340)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(BOS)(00011)

MacWorld: Casady & Greene Shows 5 New Products 08/05/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 5 (NB) -- Casady & Greene
are showing five new products at its booth at the MacWorld trade
show being held here this week. The five new products represent just
over half of the new products that Casady & Greene are planning for
introduction this year.

The first product is called Innovative Utilities - a collection of
five utilities that are aimed at making the life of a Macintosh user
a bit easier. The utilities include Conflict Catcher that helps
identify start-up conflicts and helps manage and resolve such
conflicts, Color Coordinator, Memory Maxer, Whiz-Bang Window
Accelerator, and HotDA. Conflict Catcher will also be sold
individually apart from the other utilities.

Fluent Laser Fonts has achieved a second edition. This new library
of fonts contains 120 different fonts in both Postscript and
TrueType formats. 39 of these fonts are brand new.

Glasnost Cyrillic Library 2 is a collection of 17 Postscript and
TrueType fonts that will support most of the languages that use the
Cyrillic alphabet. As with release 1 of this library, disks are
included for both the Macintosh and MS-DOS computers.

Eastern European Library is a collection of 36 fonts that are
intended to support Eastern European languages that do not
necessarily use the Cyrillic alphabet but have special needs of
their own. These Postscript and TrueType fonts support Albanian,
Czech, Croatian, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Slovenian, and Slovak.
This collection also comes in either a Macintosh or a MS-DOS
flavor.

Pararena is a fantasy sports simulation game. Casady & Greene is
following in the footsteps of what they did with Glider a year ago.
Pararena was a shareware game and was supported by the author
for a while. Now Casady & Greene has acquired the rights to
the game and has asked the author to polish up the interface, add
color and sound support beyond what was already there, and
version 2.0 is being offered to the public. The analogy
with Glider is perhaps even more easily understood when it is noted
that John Calhoun, author of Glider, is also the author of Pararena.

(Naor Wallach/19920805/Press Contact: Judith Frey, Casady & Greene,
408-484-9228 Extension 208/Public Contact: Casady & Greene, 408-
484-9228)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(BOS)(00012)

MacWorld: Connectix Shows Powerbook Utilities 08/05/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 5 (NB) -- Connectix has
developed a set of utilities for Apple's Powerbook series of
computers that it claims can be incredibly useful.

The utility set is called Connectix Powerbook Utilities or CPU. As
owners and users of Powerbooks, Connectix's programmers grew a bit
frustrated with some of what they viewed as limitations and found
ways to get around them and improve the operations of the machines.

Most of the new utilities are intended to solve problems that occur
with every portable computer. First, battery power is always of
concern. Connectix has solved this problem by giving users an
array of settings and options that can tailor the power
drain on the battery by the type of activity. For instance, most
battery drain on a portable computer is caused by the continuous
spinning of the hard disk and by the computer's display. CPU allows
you to decide after how much time the display and the hard disk
can be deactivated. If you are on the road and do not have the
Powerbook attached to the power outlet in the wall, then you will
want to deactivate those devices as quickly as possible.

On the other hand, if you are in your office and safely
connected to the power supply, then such considerations become
moot.

CPU allows you to set an amount of time before the components are
shut down. But it also goes further than that. Through some
of its configuration options, it allows you to set up the power
environment and customize it for different users and for different
places. So, for instance, Joe likes to always have his screen
active, and I like to have it shut down after 20 seconds without
use unless I'm in the office and hooked up to a wall outlet. With CPU,
simple menu commands are enough to switch between these three
set-ups.

Other utilities included with CPU take care of presenting
more information to you about the power status and what is happening
with the machine, security of your data, saving screen life, and
include a set of keyboard shortcuts that alleviate dependence on
the mouse.

(Naor Wallach/19920805/Public Contact:Connectix, 800-950-5880, 415-
571-7100)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(BOS)(00013)

 ****MacWorld: Run Windows On A Mac With Insignia's Newest SoftPC 08/05/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 5 (NB) -- Ever want to
run a Microsoft Windows application on your Macintosh? If your
answer is "yes" then you may need to buy a Macintosh
Quadra, because it is the only Mac powerful enough to run Windows
applications with speed, and then talk to Insignia Solutions.

At the MacWorld Expo this week, Insignia Solutions demonstrated
a Quadra 950 running its latest set of software that allows you
to operate Windows programs within a Macintosh window. The
program will include a copy of MS-DOS version 5.0 and a copy of
Windows v3.1 when released this fall or winter.

SoftPC for Windows is the tentative name of the product which will
not ship until the fourth quarter of this year. Pricing is expected
to be $649 which will include the MS-DOS and Windows licenses. In
addition, the software will be preinstalled in the SoftPC program,
so there will not be a need to do a separate installation.

Insignia Solutions was demonstrating the program on a Quadra 950. At
this time the Quadra platform is the platform of choice for
this program -- on any other Macintosh performance is simply not
acceptable. Even so, Insignia Solutions only claims to have achieved
a performance that is equivalent to a 80286 processor. One of the
things that the company is attempting to do before releasing the
program is to allow it to operate on a Macintosh IIfx. Newsbytes
has further learned that the company does not believe that it will
be possible to use the program on machines like the Macintosh IIci
or IIcx.

One of the problems that Insignia Solutions has solved is the one
of converting MS-DOS and BIOS graphics primitives calls to
QuickDraw calls. In previous versions of SoftPC there was a
noticeable lag when a graphics operation was attempted. This has
now been resolved with the added benefit of having the Windows
Mouse option now operate like a true Macintosh mouse and have
the same responsiveness of the Macintosh version.

Another significant problem that Insignia Solutions has resolved is
that the program can now emulate an 80286 in both protected mode
end extended mode. This is quite an achievement which allows, among
other things, such niceties as VGA displays.

(Naor Wallach/19920805/Press Contact:Karen Milne, Insignia Solutions,
415-694-7600/Public Contact: 415-694-7600)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(MOW)(00014)

Moscow: Logitech Signs Russian Distributor 08/05/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 AUG 5 (NB) -- In an effort to boost sales in the
former USSR market, Logitech has signed its first representative and
distributor in Russia -- the Moscow-based Fitek company.

Logitech is expected to sell the complete range of its pointing devices:
mice, trackballs, and scanners.

The company reportedly plans to sell the Finesse desktop publishing
package, which will be completely localized by Fitek. A Russian
OCR (optical character recognition) package will also be included with
all scanners sold, subject to the software availability, a Fitek
representative said.

Dexxa mice, the cheapest available, are popular among Russian
buyers now, Fitek president, Mikhail Baidakov, said. Other popular items
include Logitech's ScanMan hand scanner, capable of reading 256
shades of gray.

Logitech is considering opening its own representative office in the
future, he said.

Fitek is a 5-year-old computer trading company which started as an
affiliate of the Education Ministry, supplying schools with computer
classes. Later the company sold complete computer systems,
including software and local area networks. Fitek also sells Dysan
computer accessories and Motorola communications equipment.

(Kirill Tchashchin & Igor Viazanitchev/19920805/Press & Public Contact:
Fitek, Mikhail Baidakov, phone & fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00015)

Russia: Relcom Network Gets State License 08/05/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 AUG 5 (NB) -- After months and months of
bureaucratic red tape, Relcom network, which successfully operates in
Russia and other C.I.S. countries, has finally received a license
from the Communications ministry.

The license, signed by the Minister, allows for the creation of a
network with up to 60,000 users. Relcom officials were unable to provide
information on its current number of users due to its rapid growth rate,
the company told Newsbytes.

"The lack of a license was the largest obstacle for two things: getting
high-quality international trunk lines, and protecting customers in
remote sites from local bureaucrats," Valery Bardin, Relcom Corp.
director told Newsbytes. "And the controversy was two-sided -- some
people in the Ministry told us that without a license we could not
get lines, and another that we cannot get a license without those
'physical connections.' Now we solved the problem and are hoping
to establish direct links with European and US network backbones soon.

"A license will hopefully protect people in remote sites like
Siberia from paying illegally high fees for regular phone service,
as usually local authorities demand," Bardin said.

The 5-year license also has a standard "wiretap" clause that the
network should allow security services, if other formalities are
fulfilled and necessary legal permission granted, to monitor data
flow to and from suspected users.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920805/Press & Public Contact: Relcom, phone +7 095
299-7765)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00016)

GroupWare '92 Awards "Best Of Show" 08/05/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 5 (NB) -- The trend toward
groupware environments in corporate computing was addressed
this week with the first GroupWare '92 Conference and Exposition,
held August 2-5, San Jose Convention Center. At the expo, the
"Best of Show" Software Awards were presented to the companies
"exhibiting the best of class groupware applications at GroupWare
'92."

MailMan by Reach Software was selected as the winner of the
"Messaging" category. MailMan is a Windows-based open electronic
mail client that enables access to a variety of electronic mail
servers, databases, and applications.

CM/1 by Corporate Memory Systems was the winner in the "Group
Information Sharing" category. This component of groupware
applications provides multiple users with simultaneous access
to information. According to the company, CM/1 is a hypertext
groupware tool that supports qualitative decision making in large,
complex projects. CM/1 improves the process of deliberation,
planning and decision making, claims the company.

Network Scheduler 3 by Powercore was the winner in the "Group
Scheduling" category. The company maintains that these groupware
applications provide the capability to speed the scheduling of
meetings and organization of specific events among members of
teams or across an enterprise. Network Scheduler 3 is a local/wide
area network-based group calendar and resource scheduling system
designed to improve personal and organization effectiveness.
Meetings, appointments, notes and "to do" lists are created,
displayed and managed.

Aspects by Group Technologies was the winner in the "Electronic
Conferencing" category. The company claims that the products
"facilitate various types of real-time communications."
Capabilities include support for real-time collaboration of
team members in different locations. Aspects is claimed to be
a real-time document conferencing software that increases
productivity and creativity in same-time meetings, whether the
participants are in an electronic meeting room or in different
cities.

WorkMan by Reach Software was the winner in the "Groupware
Development Tools" category. This category consists of tools
that can be used to enable collaborative capabilities within
groupware applications. WorkMan is a workflow application
platform that is based on standard, local area network-supported
electronic mail. The company maintains that WorkMan applications
organize, route, and process information among groups of users
to complete a specific task.

Lotus Development won a special Groupware Industry Achievement
Award, given to the company that, in the eyes of the expo judges,
has made a "significant industry impact through awareness,
investment or education." Lotus was recognized for its "continued
contribution to the groupware industry."

(Ian Stokell/19920805/Press Contact: Carrie J.S. Wong, Niehaus
Ryan Haller Public Relations, 415-615-7910)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00017)

BBC World News Service Launched In Japan 08/05/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 AUG 5 (NB) -- Nissho Iwai Trading has created
a world news service firm jointly with BBC World News Service,
which is a subsidiary of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
The new firm will provide 24-hour news programs in Japan.

Nissho Iwai Trading's new firm, called "World News," is
financed 100 percent by Nissho Iwai. The firm's capitalization
is 10 million yen ($80,000) and will be one billion yen ($8 million)
by this fall. BBC World News Service (BBC WSTV) will pay part of
the capitalization, but the actual percentage of BBC WSTV is still
unknown.

The new firm will complete its market research this September
and will commence commercial activity. The firm will provide
BBC news to TV and cable TV broadcasting firms 24 hours a
day. World News will also be involved in a satellite broadcasting
service in 1995. The news will be subtitled in Japanese or be
accompanied by simultaneous interpretation in Japanese. The new
firm is also planning to provide summarized versions of the
programs.

This news service will be similar to that of "Star TV" in Hong
Kong. BBC WSTV started broadcasting Star TV in Hong Kong in the
fall of 1991. The programs include international news, finance,
economy, and weather reports. These programs are aired via space
satellite 24 hours a day in the region. BBC WSTV also started
a similar service in Africa this past April.

English language news is becoming extremely popular among business
people, housewives and students in Japan. These people are watching
the news not only to get the up-to-date information but to improve
their standard of English for communication. Currently, CNN news
are broadcasted in Japan via cable and TV Asahi. So, the BBC
news may directly vie with CNN news in Japan.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920805/Press Contact: Nissho Iwai Trading,
[phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(TYO)(00018)

Apple Computer Japan's Subsidiary Gets Former DEC Man 08/05/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 AUG 5 (NB) -- Apple Computer Japan has chosen
a former executive of Digital Equipment Japan as the president of
its subsidiary Apple Operations & Technologies Japan.

Apple Operations & Technologies Japan was formerly headed by
an American. The selection of a Japanese chief executive is
widely seen as Apple Computer Japan's strategy to beef up
business in Japan.

The new president of Apple Operations & Technologies Japan is
Tsutomu Kobayashi, who used to be a director of Digital
Equipment Corporation Japan. Tsutomu Kobayashi was also the chief
executive for research and development at DEC Japan. The former
president of Apple Operations & Technologies Japan was Robert
Montgomery. Apple Japan explains that the change of the president
was due to the expiration of his tenure.

The new president Tsutomu Kobayashi is 54 years old. He has
a Master's degree from Yale University in the US. He joined the
US office of Digital Equipment thereafter. Based on
his educational background and position, Kobayashi is not
expected to run into a language and cultural barrier when dealing
with Apple's US headquarters.

Apple Operations & Technologies Japan was created in October 1989
to develop products for the Japanese market as well as technologies
for worldwide marketing. The firm also procures parts or components
for computers and peripherals for Apple Computer.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920805/Press Contact: Apple Computer, +81-3-
5411-8500)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00019)

Egghead Reports $202M In First Qtr 1993 Sales 08/05/92
ISSAQUAH, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 5 (NB) -- After posting
record earnings from fiscal 1992, Egghead Software has now
announced that sales for its fiscal 1993 first quarter increased
nine percent to $202 million, compared to the first quarter of
fiscal 1992.

The company reported that corporate and government sales for the
first quarter increased 15 percent to $119 million and retail sales
equalled the prior year's record of $83 million. Egghead's 16-week
fiscal 1993 first quarter ended July 18, 1992.

Egghead President and Chief Executive Officer Matthew J. Griffin
said: "Sales for both retail and corporate and government sales
during first quarter fell short of our expectations. During first
quarter last year, we launched our largest retail product promotion
ever (for DOS 5 from Microsoft and IBM), so we knew significant
retail sales growth during first quarter this year would be a
challenge. First quarter this year benefitted from our Windows 3.1
promotion early in the quarter, but retail sales of Windows 3.1
were less than 40 percent of the $18 million of DOS 5 we sold
at retail during first quarter last year. Retail sales of Windows
3.1 for existing machines were less than expected."

Egghead's comparable store sales declined one percent during
first quarter fiscal 1993, compared to a 38 percent increase in
the prior year's first quarter.

"For corporate and government sales, we saw a general slowdown
in buying from some of our major aerospace and government
customers, as well as a greater proportion of our sales in
lower-priced products," Griffin said. "We also expected two
new Windows applications in first quarter which were delayed."

The company will report its first-quarter fiscal 1993 earnings
on August 26, 1992. However, according to Griffin: "We expect
first-quarter earnings will be lower than Wall Street's estimates,
which range from 18 cents to 36 cents per share. During the first
quarter, gross margins continued to reflect industry-wide pricing
pressure and our focus on attracting new customers. Gross margins
in first quarter were also affected by the sale of more products at
lower margins. In addition, we expect selling, general and
administrative expense (SG&A) as a percentage of sales to reflect
the impact of lower-than-expected sales. Our investments in new
marketing and information systems and the expansion of our retail
store network and corporate and government sales offices during
first quarter will also affect SG&A as a percentage of sales."

During the first quarter of fiscal 1993, Egghead opened 12
retail stores, closed two stores and, to date, has signed 10
additional leases for new stores.

As reported by Newsbytes in June, 1992, Egghead Software is
planning to add 20 to 40 new stores and five to 10 new
corporate/government offices by March of 1993. At the time a
company spokesperson told Newsbytes that the store closings
of the last fiscal year represented a realignment that was
performed in preparation for the planned major retail expansion.

Locations opened include new stores in: Las Vegas; Tucson,
Ariz.; West Palm Beach, Fla.; Brookfie Salt Lake City,
Sacramento, Calif. and Richmond, Va. Also during first
quarter, Egghead announced a test program to add software
products to the product line of Staples Inc., an office supply
retailer. The test began in the second quarter.

(Ian Stokell/19920805/Press Contact: Megan McKenzie, Egghead
Software, 206-391-6266)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00020)

AT&T Adds International Fax Service 08/05/92
MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 5 (NB) -- AT&T added a
new pricing strategy to its FAXLine Service aimed at winning the
business of multinational companies which exchange a lot of
short fax messages across national borders.

AT&T FAXLine can reach over 200 countries and locations of the
world via AT&T's network, and the price structure now favors
calls of under three minutes. Those calls will now almost
always cost less than under AT&T's basic direct-dial,
international rates. AT&T noted that a 3-page fax can almost
always be sent in under 3 minutes, while current rates are aimed
at voice calls, charging a high rate for the first minute, lower
rates for subsequent minutes. FAXLine will charge a flat per-
minute rate. For instance, a one-minute fax message to France
would cost $1.71 using the basic international rate, but $1.18
with the new rates.

The AT&T FAXLine Service will be available beginning August 17,
when an FCC tariff is expected to become effective. The service
has a $10 service establishment fee and it requires a $5 minimum
monthly usage. The $10 fee will be waived for customers who order
the service before February 17, 1993, and have service installed
by March 31, 1993.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920805/Press Contact: Albert Chu, AT&T, 201-
328-4112)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(TOR)(00021)

Data General To Sell Next Workstations 08/05/92
WESTBORO, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 5 (NB) -- Data General
and Next Computer have announced a deal that will see Data General
resell Next workstations with its owns Aviion servers. The two
companies also said they will cooperate to develop advanced
client/server systems.

Data General also sells the Aviion machines in workstation
configurations and will continue to do so, company spokeswoman
Stephanie Bigusiak told Newsbytes. The company sees different
markets for the different systems, she explained.

Next's workstations run Nextstep, an object-oriented environment.
The systems "really are for those people that are looking to do
fast application development in that object-oriented environment,"
Bigusiak said. The Next systems reportedly speed up application
development by a factor of five to 10 over other workstations, she
added.

Company officials said Next's new Database Kit of objects allows
even faster creation of client/server applications that rely on
intensive database usage on the server and provides a single
consistent interface to Structured Query Language (SQL) databases.

Data General's Aviion workstations, on the other hand, are best
suited to users who want applications running under the X Window
and Motif environments. Users of geographic information systems
(GIS) and similar applications are a major market for Aviion
workstations, Bigusiak said.

Data General also plans to add Next's NetInfo network
administration software to its Aviion servers by the end of 1992.
NetInfo lets system administrators manage users, machines, file
systems, and other network resources on Unix networks.

Next workstations are available in limited quantities from Data
General now and will be available in volume by the end of August,
Bigusiak said.

(Grant Buckler/19920805/Press Contact: Stephanie Bigusiak, Data
General, 508-898-4293)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00022)

Spectrum Announces Loss, Pennzoil Deal 08/05/92
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 5 (NB) -- Spectrum Information
Technologies said it lost nearly $750,000 on sales of $21
million for the quarter ending in June, the first quarter in
which results from its retail subsidiaries were made part of the
statement.

Spectrum, best known for equipment linking cellular phones and
modems together for wireless data transfers, now owns Computer
Bay, a computer retailer, as well as Data One, an office-based
systems reseller. Chairman Dana C. Verrill noted that losses
from Computer Bay were narrowed during the quarter and that in
June the subsidiary made money.

In addition to investing in retail channels for its
products, Spectrum has also been fighting to win investor support
with TV ads aimed at investors on cable channels like CNBC. The
quarterly loss could hurt those efforts at attracting capital, so
Verrill's explanation, indicating that the losses are a one-time
thing, was emphasized in the company's press statement about the
results.

At the same time it announced its results, the company also
announced an agreement to automate the field force of Pennzoil
Products, a unit of the Houston-based oil company, for a total
price of $1.5 million. The proposed solution is a "Mobile Office"
consisting of a Compaq notebook computer, a Piiceon cellular fax-
data modem, and a Kodak Diconix printer, all put into a single
case. Pennzoil will later add Spectrum's AXSYS link between the
phone and modem for cellular data transfers.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920805/Press Contact: Spectrum Information
Technologies, Kathy Bachand, 800/FOR-SPCL)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00023)

New Digital Phones With Computer Connections 08/05/92
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 5 (NB) -- Toshiba has
introduced digital key telephones with an added bonus. When
equipped with an optional data interface, the Toshiba 2000-
Series phones allow computer connections so that limited local
area network (LAN) types of activities can be done over
existing regular telephone wiring.

The next step above "sneaker-net" (or putting on a pair of
tennis shoes and physically carrying around data and messages),
Toshiba says the addition of a data interface unit to its basic
2000-Series phone allows printer sharing, modem sharing, file
transfer capability, and other LAN functions over the existing
telephone lines in an office. Toshiba even says the phones can
be used for regular voice calls while data transfer is
happening as well.

Jon Nelson of Toshiba told Newsbytes the data interfaces
replace the bottom of the phone, so the phones look the same
after the data interface is installed. However, the data
interface adds an RS232 serial connection so the phone can be
connected to the serial port of a personal computer.

The computer connection allows the user the capability to dial
phone numbers from the computer keyboard and use
telecommunications software to dial phone numbers in addition
to the limited LAN functionality with other data interface
equipped 2000-Series phones.

However, Toshiba said it didn't want to just make another phone
system, but the company did research studies into what people
liked and found functional. As a result, Toshiba put vertically
aligned feature buttons because research showed people scan a
phone vertically more easily than horizontally. The phone also
offers steeper viewing angles and a wider labeling area for the
feature buttons to make the phone easier to use from a desktop.

The company says the new phones are equipped with larger liquid
crystal display (LCD) characters and two color light emitting
diodes (LEDs) for status indicators. The handset was also
redesigned offering a narrow handle and a sturdy feel, the
company added.

The 2000-Series digital telephones are available in four
models, 10-button hands-free telephone; 20-button speakerphone
and 10- or 20-LCD speakerphone, Toshiba said. Each model
incorporates fixed keys for redial, message, hold,
conference/transfer, mic, speaker, and volume control.

The company says the 2000-Series, which will be available in
September of this year, is also compatible with its Strata DK
family, Perception e & ex PBX systems, and will be compatible
soon with its Perception 4000 digital PBX.

The 2000-Series is produced by the Telecommunications Systems
Division of Toshiba America Information Systems located in
Irvine, California.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920805/Press Contact: Jon Nelson, Toshiba,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00024)

Grid Intros PenRight 3.1 08/05/92
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 5 (NB) -- Continuing the
trend towards pen-based computing environments, Grid Systems
Corp., has introduced version 3.1 of PenRight. The company maintains
that the pen-based software platform is compatible with virtually
all major pen hardware systems on the market, including Grid's own
GridPad, PalmPad and GridPad SL, NCR's 3125, Fujitsu's Poqet Pad,
Norand's Pen View, SuperScript's SuperScript II, and MicroSlate's
Datellite 300.

According to the company, PenRight! 3.1, which is available
immediately, is a "pencentric graphical application platform"
built on the MS-DOS operating system.

In an effort to establish PenRight! as a de facto industry standard,
Grid is certifying pen hardware vendors' computers as compatible
with PenRight! 3.1. Upon certification, the hardware vendors will
begin to offer PenRight! with their systems.

Grid maintains that PenRight! contains a number of key user features
for pen computer applications, including upper and lower case
character recognition and gestures. These features make data entry
easier, faster and more intuitive, claims the company.

Kristi Rinehart, PenRight! product marketing manager, said: "In past
versions of PenRight!, the digitizer interface was embedded within
the run-time libraries. This made PenRight! hardware specific --
new digitizers could not be supported without rebuilding the entire
PenRight! system. Now by using code resources to implement the
driver in PenRight! version 3.1 users have the ability to customize
this interface during run time installation."

The PenRight! pen driver is a software module which links into the
PenRight! runtime software acting as an interface between the
digitizer/stylus subsystem of the pen computer. In order for
PenRight! to operate across multiple hardware platforms, the driver
is implemented using a multiple-entry code resource. These pen
driver code resources can then be installed or removed as necessary
to support various digitizer hardware systems.

Grid claims that PenRight! has been shipping to customers with
real applications for over 2.5 years, resulting in more user testing
than any pen software environment on the market.

(Ian Stokell/19920805/Press Contact: Chris Temple, Grid
Systems Corp., 510-656-4700)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00025)

AST Intros DOS/V PC For Japanese Market 08/05/92
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 5 (NB) -- Hoping to tap
into the second largest PC market in the world, AST Research
has introduced the PCvision 3/25s DOS/V-compatible computer
designed for Japanese users.

The PCvision 3/25s replaces an earlier model, the PCvision
386SX/20, a 20 megahertz (MHz) system introduced in October 1991.
According to the company, new features include a 25 MHz 386SX
CPU (central processing unit) and 1024 by 768 resolution Super
VGA for better kanji character display.

AST, a member of the OADG (Open Architecture Developers' Group),
claims to be one of the first US PC-compatible manufacturers to
market DOS/V-compatible computers in Japan. The OADG is a
consortium of hardware manufacturers and software developers,
founded in 1991, to help standardize the Japanese PC market with
DOS/V-based systems.

DOS/V is a version of MS-DOS that allows a PC to run both
English and Japanese software.

The PCvision 3/25s is the third DOS/V-compatible system
introduced by AST in less than a year. Last April, the company
unveiled the PCvision 4/33, with a 33MHz i486DX CPU.
The PCvision systems are marketed by the company's wholly
owned subsidiary, AST Research Japan K.K.

Recommended retail pricing of the PCvision 3/25s systems
begin at 292,000 yen ($2,336), and are slated for availability in
Japan in August.

All PCvision systems feature AST's own BIOS (basic input/output)
and a 106-key keyboard. A Japanese language set-up menu and
documentation are also included.

The PCvision 3/25s will be available in three models, each
equipped with an Intel 25-MHz 386SX CPU, two megabytes (MB) of
RAM, expandable to 16MB total system memory, 1024 by 768 Super
VGA integrated on the motherboard, five ISA (Industry Standard
Architecture) bus expansion slots, two serial ports, one parallel
port, and one mouse port. Optional hardware includes 3.5-inch and
5.25-inch floppy drives, 80MB and 210MB hard drives, and the AST
Super VGA Display.

The basic model 3V (292,000 yen, $2,336) features a 3.5-inch
1.44MB floppy drive, and 2MB of RAM. The model 83V (349,000 yen,
$2,792) includes the same features with an 80MB hard disk. The
model 83B (435,000 yen, $3,480) has the same features as the
model 83V but with 4MB of RAM, a Microsoft mouse, and AST
Super VGA Display.

(Ian Stokell/19920805/Press Contact: Megan Manning, AST
Research Inc., 714-727-7943)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(DEN)(00026)

Colorado Reconsiders US West Caller ID Plan 08/05/92
DENVER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 5 (NB) -- Colorado's Public
Utilities Commission has decided to reconsider US West's plan to
offer caller ID service after a consortium of US West, a consumer
group, and the PUC's staff came up with a modified plan.

US West dropped its plan for caller ID last April after the PUC ruled
that the company could offer the service only if it also provided
a free service called blocking to customers who did not want their
calls identified.

Caller ID displays the name and number of the calling party to call
recipients on a small converter box attached to the phone, so the
party being called can decide if they want to answer the call.

Opinion for and against Caller ID is strong, with supporters saying
it will help screen out telemarketers and other unwanted calls.
Opponents, which include domestic violence groups and some law
enforcement officials, say it would deny anonymity to callers.

Colorado Domestic Violence Coalition executive director, Janet
Mickish, told Newsbytes that domestic violence victims are placed in
greater jeopardy if Caller ID is implemented. Mickish says
perpetrators of domestic violence spend 24 hours a day trying to
find their victims. "This is putting another block in the way of
battered women accessing services that are important to them."

Mickish said often victims will remain in the home while accessing
services available to help them. Caller ID, she said, can be
installed without the knowledge of the victim, allowing the
perpetrator to monitor the number of callers such as shelters,
mental health providers and others. It's very easy to find out the
location of a phone number, once the number itself is known, said
Mickish.

Mickish says Caller ID and its associated services is an ethical
issue. "I think its time to have an international ethics committee
related to these kinds of issues (Caller ID)," said Mickis. She
believes it deals with the constitutional issues of privacy and
illegal search and seizure. "We shouldn't develop technology for
technology sake. Just because we can do it doesn't mean we
should," she told Newsbytes.

US West spokesperson Abel Chavez says the company hopes to have
approval for the new plan by Friday. "We're going to continue to
move ahead to get these services approved," Chavez said. US West
says it is anxious to provide the service.

Under the new plan, US West will allow customers to block their
calls for free for an unlimited time if they request blocking within
90 days after the plan is implemented. After that, there would be an
$8 one time fee. Calls could also be blocked on an individual basis
by pressing a code number before entering the called number.

US West says it will offer free blocking to domestic violence
shelters and law enforcement agencies. The company also proposes to
offer a service called Call Trace for $1 per call under the revised
plan, compared to $10 per call previously.

Another element of US West's plan calls for implementation of a
service called Last Call Return, which allows a user to dial back to
the last party who called them. The PUC wants that service
inoperative for phones equipped with call blocking, in order to
avoid having that number identified.

If the plan is approved, US West said it will introduce the service
in the Denver metropolitan area as well as in suburban Boulder,
Colorado initially, expanding to other service areas later. Caller
ID is expected to cost $5.95 for residential customers and $8.40 for
business users, and could generate as much as $50 million in revenue
for US West in two years, according to some estimates.

(Jim Mallory/19920805/Press contact: Sharon Price, US West,
303-965-8973)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00027)

Motorola Chip Powers New PowerBook 145 08/05/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 5 (NB) -- Motorola says its 25
megahertz 68030 chip will provide the computing power for Apple
Computer's new PowerBook 145.

Apple's new notebook unit is the successor to its PowerBook 140,
which uses a Motorola 16 megahertz 68030. Motorola says the
PowerBook 145 will run about 35 percent faster, or about equivalent
to that of the PowerBook 170.

The 145 retains many of the features of the 140, including an
integrated trackball centered at the bottom of the keyboard to
control the cursor. There's also a built-in palmrest, 4 MB
(megabytes) of RAM (random access memory) which is expandable to
8MB, and a choice of a 40MB or 80MB hard drive. Apple says the 40MB
version will carry a suggested list price of $2,399, while the 80MB
version sells for an additional 400.

The 68030 is a popular chip. A 16 megahertz (MHz) version is used
in Daystar's multifunction upgrade board for the Macintosh LC, which
allows users of the older model LCs to run Apple's System with
virtual memory. A few months after that board came to market, Apple
announced the Mac LC II, an upgraded system which used the same chip
for its processor.

Early models of the TI 1500 computer also used the 68030, as does
Apple's Mac IIsi, an entry level color Mac using a 20 MHz version of
the chip.

(Jim Mallory/19920805/Press contact: Kristen Hausman, Motorola,
512-891-2386)


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

Dell Cuts Price of Color Notebook 08/05/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 5 (NB) -- Dell Computer says it has
reduced the suggested selling price of its 325NC color notebook
computer by as much as $350, depending on the model being purchased.

Newsbytes reported the introduction of the 7.1 pound 325NC from the
fall Comdex show in Las Vegas last October. At that time the 25
megahertz 386-based system was selling for $4,500. In May 92 Dell
reduced the 325NC's price to $3,499.

The system uses a passive matrix color liquid crystal display, and
comes with DOS 5.0 preinstalled. The 60 megabyte (MB) hard drive
version will now sell for $2,799. With an 80MB hard disk, the
system sells for $2,899, while the 120MB version has a price tag of
$3,099. Dell says users can expect up to three hours of operation
on battery power under normal use. Dell proprietary power
management features can extend that time.

Dell USA senior vice president, Joel Kocher, said the reduction brings
the cost of a color notebook to within $550 of a comparably
configured monochrome notebook PC.

Dell has pursued an aggressive price position for the past 11
months. In September 1991 it announced an across-the-board cut on
all its systems by as much as 33 percent, and followed that in
December with reductions of as much as $500 on seven of its systems,
including its monochrome notebook unit.

In February this year the company dropped prices up to 38 percent on
all its currently shipping models, and followed that three months
later with reductions of up to 26 percent on desktop and tower
(floor standing) models. The 325NC was cut $800 at that time, to
$3,499.

Asked if the 325NC could sustain a reasonable profit margins, Dell
spokesperson Jennifer Powers told Newsbytes Dell has been able to
maintain a fairly consistent net profit margin through cost
reductions and economy of scale. "Going forward, we may have some
slight pressure on net margins but we think that will normalize as
volume continues to creep up," said Powers.

(Jim Mallory/19920805/Press contact: Roger Rydell, Dell Computer,
512-794-4100; Reader contact: Dell Computer, 800-289-3355)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(BOS)(00029)

 ****Lotus Previews Notes For Macintosh 08/05/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 5 (NB) -- Visitors at the
MacWorld Conference and Exhibition this week are getting a first
look at Lotus Development's Notes work group computing software for
Macintosh.

The new product will let Macintosh users communicate, share
information, and develop workgroup applications with Microsoft
Windows and IBM OS/2 users running Lotus Notes, the company said.

For now, though, Macintosh users can look but not buy. Stressing
that the demonstration is not a product announcement, Lotus
spokeswoman Diane Horak said the Macintosh component will be part
of Version 3.0 of Notes, which is due to ship by the end of this
year.

But the preview is a further indication of Lotus' growing focus on
communications and work-group software. Chairman and Chief
Executive Jim Manzi made that focus explicit at the company's
annual meeting in early June, when he said communications is the
underpinning of Lotus' product strategy and Notes is a key to that
approach.

After the annual meeting Jeffrey Tarter, editor and publisher of
the Watertown, Massachusetts-based Softletter, called Notes a
visionary product and said it will have as much impact as 1-2-3,
Lotus' top-selling spreadsheet package. "I've said that this is
going to be 1-2-3 for networks," he said. "It will change
organizations as much as 1-2-3 has changed them."

However, Tarter said, that does not mean Notes sales will boom in
the next few months. "We're probably talking 10 years to get to
where 1-2-3 is now," he said (1-2-3 is itself about 10 years old).
Tarter said Notes may even be a bit ahead of its time.

Notes for Macintosh will run as a client or front-end application
on all Macintosh computers, including the Apple PowerBook, Lotus
said.

The Notes for Macintosh client will support Apple's System 6.04 and
System 7 operating systems and connect via LocalTalk, Ethernet, or
Token Ring networks to Notes servers running IBM's OS/2 personal
computer operating system, according to Lotus officials. The
software will take advantage of Apple System 7 features such as
Apple Events, TrueType, Balloon Help, 32-bit addressing, and
virtual memory.

As a fully supported Notes client, Notes for Macintosh will work
with other Notes clients running either Windows or OS/2 and use all
of the standard capabilities of Lotus Notes. These include the
ability to create, edit, sort, and store shared Notes documents,
develop Notes applications and use Notes platform-independent
system services.

No information on the price of Notes for the Macintosh is available
yet, Horak said.

(Grant Buckler/19920805/Press Contact: Diane Horak, McGlinchey &
Paul for Lotus, 617-862-4514; Public Contact: Lotus Development,
617-577-8500)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00030)

IBM Canada Cuts PS/2 Prices 08/05/92
MARKHAM, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 AUG 5 (NB) -- The industry-wide
personal computer fire sale continues with IBM Canada's
announcement that it is cutting prices on 30 Personal System/2
models by as much as 41 percent.

The cuts, which follow similar reductions by IBM in the United
States, affect machines from the Model 35 SLC at the low end to the
Model 95, a 33-megahertz 486-based system, at the high end.

Prices of some peripheral products, such as disk drives and memory
add-ons, were also cut, in some cases by 50 percent or more.

Toronto computer consultant Richard Morochove, president of
Morochove & Associates, said IBM was "just following in step with
most of the rest of the industry," in a price-cutting wave launched
by Compaq a couple of months ago. "If they wanted to remain a big
player in the market," he said, "they didn't really have a choice."

Morochove added that the price cutting is not necessarily over yet,
although prices may be nearing bottom. When a number of personal
computer manufacturers start to go out of business or merge with
other companies, Morochove said, it will be sign that prices have
fallen about as far as they can.

IBM Canada cut the price of the Model 35 SLC 055, which has a
20-megahertz 386 SLC processor, two megabytes of memory, and a
2.88-megabyte diskette drive, from C$2,940 to C$2,300.

At the other end of the product line, the price of the Model 95 XP
0KF, with a 33-megahertz 486 processor, eight megabytes of memory
and a 400-megabyte hard disk drive, dropped from C$11,545 to
C$9,625.

The largest price cut on a sample list released to the media
affected the Model 70 A81, a 25-megahertz 386-based system with
four megabytes of memory and an 80-megabyte hard drive. It went
from C$3,375 to C$1,995, a drop of about 40.9 percent.

However, the average price reduction over 13 systems listed by IBM
was slightly more than half that much -- about 22.5 percent.

(Grant Buckler/19920805/Press Contact: Martha Terdik, IBM Canada,
416-474-3900 or 800-563-2139; Public Contact: IBM Canada,
416-296-8888)