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/nb920825

Text File | 1992-08-25 | 71KB | 1,520 lines

(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00001)

New For Macintosh: DayMaker Travel Case For PowerBooks 08/25/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 25 (NB) -- Pastel Development
Corporation has introduced the DayMaker Travel Case, which is
designed specifically for the Macintosh PowerBook and bundled with
DayMaker software.

The DayMaker Travel Case is made of durable, water repellant Dupont Nylon
Cordura. The case offers an open front design, allowing easy use of
the PowerBook without removing it from the case, and an open back
design, which permits access to cable connections.

Additional features include an adjustable padded shoulder strap, a
locking zipper with keys, inside pockets for floppy disks, and an
accessory pouch which can hold a power supply, external drive or
battery.

DayMaker is a personal organization program combining scheduling,
appointments, to-do lists, calendars, alarms, Gannt chart, addresses,
phone numbers, categorization, and printing to personal organizer
formats, according to the company. The bundle's suggested retail
price is $149.95.

(Wendy Woods/19920824/Public Contact: 212/941-7500)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00002)

Gateway 2000 Handbook Ships With Laplink XL 08/25/92
BOTHELL, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 25 (NB) -- Traveling Software
says its file transfer utility Laplink XL will be preloaded on the
new Gateway 2000 Handbook.

The Handbook, which Newsbytes reported yesterday, is a 2.75-pound
DOS-based system which falls between a notebook system and a
palmtop.

Users will also get a Laplink XL 3.5-inch program disk and a user's
manual. Laplink XL is the original equipment manufacturer (OEM)
version of Traveling Software's file transfer utility which allows
users to transfer files between two computers through a connecting
serial or parallel cable or via modem. A download cable is shipped
with the Handbook.

The program uses a split-screen to show the drives and files on each
computer simultaneously. Pull-down menus allow selection of
functions and files. Use of a mouse is supported, and Laplink XL can
be installed on a remote computer automatically via a modem.

Traveling Software also provides Laplink XL to computer makers
Apple, AST, CompuAdd, Epson, Grid, IBM, NEC, Samsung, Sharp, Texas
Instruments, and Toshiba, and palmtop makers Hewlett-Packard,
Casio, Poquet, Seiko and Sharp. The company says it is also working
with Apple to providing linking software for Apple's new Personal
Digital Assistant (PDA), Newton.

(Jim Mallory/19920824/Press contact: Marci Maule, Traveling
Software, 206-483-8088; Reader contact: Traveling Software,
206-483-8088)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(MOW)(00003)

Moscow: Air Reservation System Planned 08/25/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 AUG 25 (NB) -- Aeroflot, IBM, and American Airlines
are teaming up to build a new air reservation system in Russia. It is to
be called Sirena-3, but it will be much different from the currently
working Sirena-2.

The computer system, to be supplied by IBM in 1993, will be based on an
Enterprise Series (ES) 9000 machine. It will support 40,000 ticket
booking terminals installed at Aeroflot agencies in 300 cities across
the country. IBM estimates that the system will serve 250 million of
passengers and 3 to 5 million tons of cargo annually.

AMRIS Transport Automation Services, the developer of American Airlines'
Sabre flight reservation software, has been contracted to provide the
turnkey software system.

One of the disadvantages of the existing Sirena-2 system is the simple
fact that it does not allow the booking of tickets more than 30 days in
advance. Another change in the reservation system will be facilities
to book hotels or trains, which are not now available.

According to IBM, work on the system starts in early 1994 and
the system is expected to be complete by 1996. No financial details
of the deal have been unveiled.

(Kirill Tchashchin & Vladimir Shliemin/19920825/Press Contact: IBM
Russia, Tatiana Fedorenko, phone [phone]; fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00004)

Moscow: Relcom Buys Sequent Computer 08/25/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 AUG 25 (NB) -- Relcom, the largest electronic mail
network serving the former Soviet Union, is upgrading its central
computer from MicroVAXes to a Sequent computer.

The system is the Sequent S2000/200 multiprocessor machine with four 486
processors, five gigabytes of disk memory and 64 megabytes of RAM (random
access memory). The computer will be installed at the Kurchatov Institute
and put into routine operation in October-November, 1992.

Currently, Relcom backbone computers in Moscow handle up to 400
megabytes of electronic messages daily, and are overloaded, according
to Relcom directors and managers. They say an equipment upgrade
is essential for continuing operation of the backbone.

This computer is expected to be connected via a direct leased line to
the European TCP/IP backbone in Amsterdam in the early fall.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920825/Press Contact:Valery Bardin, Relcom, phone +7
095 299-7765)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00005)

Federal Express Purchases Australian Software 08/25/92
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, 1992 AUG 25 (NB) -- Federal Express, the
world's largest freight carrier, has signed a contract with
Melbourne company The Preston Group for the purchase of aircraft and
airport management software. The contract is worth AUS$2M, and
follows Preston's success with its Total Airspace and Airport
Modelling (TAAM) package in Europe.

Federal Express will use TAAM to maintain its 400-aircraft fleet in
North America. TAAM will be used by Federal Express to monitor and
manage aircraft usage of its Memphis base of operations. The package
will be used by controllers and workstations to determine the best
working timetable for flights to and from Memphis, as well as
determining the most attractive alternative route should a
particular airport be unavailable for landings.

Harry Westendorp, Preston's marketing manager for the Americas,
described the contract as a coup for the group. "We've been working
in the US for some time and the Federal Express contract gives us
the chance to establish our credibility there. We have had talks
with a number of US organizations whose need for TAAM has been
thwarted by bureaucracy and inertia. We are confident that the lead
taken by Federal Express will encourage commercial and federal
organizations to recognize TAAM as the best product for aerospace
and airport decision making," Westendorp said.

(Sean McNamara/19920821/Press contact: Harry Westendorp, phone in
Australia [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SYD)(00006)

Canadian Univ. Chooses Australian Smart Card 08/25/92
ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA, 1992 AUG 25 (NB) -- Adelaide-based company
Camms Systems has won a contract with the University of Calgary for
the supply of smart card systems. Camms beat French firm Bull for
the initial AUS$100,000 contract, which could see great potential
for exports realized in the future.

Despite the seemingly small amount of the initial contract, Camms
Systems' managing director, Kevin Brightwell, said the potential for
future contracts was unlimited. "The export order is to install a
library payment system for Calgary University's 15,000 students -
the first library smart card system ever set up in North America.
The flow-on potential to other academic, commercial and professional
areas throughout North America is unlimited," Brightwell said.

The system will be used to establish an account for students, with
the card automatically storing balance details in the chip on the
card. This "chip in a card" is the basis of all smart card systems,
and is what sets them apart from cards with a magnetic strip, which
has limited functionality. This also allows much more advanced
functions to be carried out than what is possible with "dumb" cards
- those with just a magnetic strip recording account balances only.
The system is already being used in Australian universities in
Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, and Adelaide by 135,000 students to
maintain a debit-card system for photocopying services.

(Sean McNamara/19920821/Press contact: Kevin Brightwell, phone in
Australia [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00007)

Australia: Gestetner Subsidiary Looks To The Future 08/25/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 AUG 25 (NB) -- Gestetner Lasers, an
Australian subsidiary of the British Gestetner Group of Companies,
is looking forward to succeed where the company it was based on
failed. Impact Technologies, one of Australia's highest profile
technology companies which failed, was a laser printer company which
was bought by Gestetner in 1988.

Despite its lack of success, Gestetner had great confidence in the
technology behind Impact's products, and saw the company's problems
as relating to the finishing touches - manual and packaging, for
example. Once the company was acquired, the new management did a
rethink of strategies, and formed the basis of what is known today
as Gestetner Lasers. The new company began to form strategic
alliances with some high profile IT (information technology)
companies, such as Intel, Microsoft, Adobe, Novell, as well as local
firms Labtam and Techway. This was the opposite of Impact, which
tried to "go it alone" on the technology front - and paid the price.

Gestetner Australia's managing director, Neil Tilley, saw the future
in nurturing such partnerships. Two which Tilley cites as important
for Gestetner's future are the ones with Adobe and Peerless, a US
company which specializes in selling PCL5 (Hewlett-Packard's page
description language) technology to other companies. As a more
common feature of laser printers is both PostScript and PCL5
compatibility, Tilley sees these as essential for Gestetner Lasers'
continuing climb to success. "Previously there was a PCL camp and a
PostScript camp. We believe that will have to change with the next
generation which will have to have dual standards, high resolution,
and all sorts of other advanced features," Tilley said.

(Sean McNamara/19920821/Press contact: Neil Tilley, phone in
Australia [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(DEL)(00008)

Motorola Wooing India To Participate In Iridium 08/25/92
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1992 AUG 25 (NB) -- After threatening to quit India,
ironically, during India's Silver Jubilee celebrations of the "Quit
India" movement against the British Raj in 1942, Motorola is making
presentations to the Indian government, seeking its participation
in Iridium - a $4-billion ambitious global communication project in
which Motorola has a 15 percent stake in a consortium.

Iridium plans to launch 77 low-orbit satellites which will circle
the earth at an altitude of 460-520 miles (instead of the normal
stationary telecom satellite orbit of 26,000 miles up). Motorola,
according to its business development manager, G. Bart Stare, is
working towards a consortium of 20 major telecom entities from across
the world. "The deadline for signing the agreement is December 15,
1992."

Though its cost per call, eventually, is reckoned to be a drawback,
Motorola seems to argue that it's cheaper to subsidize the calls
than to install a new telephone network in remote areas.

In India, Motorola has been speaking to the Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd.,
Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd., Indian Space Research Organization,
and the Department of Telecommunications. As funding plays a crucial
part, Motorola has signed a memorandum of understanding with
Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd. (ILFS) to draw up
a plan and set up a joint venture which will bring together the
government, institutions, and local bodies, and raise funds for
India's participation.

India has been offered a five percent stake (about $70 million)
in the Iridium capital and one directorship on the board. The
project might utilize Motorola India's local manufacturing capabilities
and perhaps can use satellite launch stations (after the US ban
on dealing with ISRO is lifted).

Considered overambitious by many on the international scene,
Iridium project, however, is yet to evoke enough interest in India.
As with telecom, it might in fact provoke some controversy.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920825)


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

Southern Bell Digs Out Florida, Prepares For Next Blow 08/25/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 25 (NB) -- These are tough
days for BellSouth, the regional Bell company serving the
Southeast. On the day it begins digging-out from Hurricane
Andrew's destruction in South Florida, is must prepare for
what could be a direct hit on New Orleans.

Spokesman Dave Rogers told Newsbytes it could take several weeks
for Southern Bell to get an estimate on its Florida losses. That
is not a high priority now. Instead, the company is worrying
about its South Florida central offices. "So far we're holding
pretty steady. Out of 59 central offices in the area, we've got
42 on back-up power. The other 17 are running on commercial
power. We're beginning to mobilize crews from other states" to
restore service generally. "We've got around 360 employees from
North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia gearing-up to leave
this afternoon." Still, "We don't expect to begin too much rewiring
until later today. We can't go in until the power company
clears up fallen power lines."

BellSouth's other major operating unit, South Central Bell,
serves Louisiana, where Andrew is expected to strike next. "It's
on its way to Louisiana and we have our teams preparing for what
happened in Florida," said Rogers. "They're making sure their
batteries and generators work, that they have gas on hand to fuel
the generators. They're making sure they have supplies to restore
service once it's knocked out. We'll wait until after the storm
to bring in new crews from Kentucky, Tennessee, and northern
Alabama."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920825/Press Contact: Dave Rogers, Southern
Bell, 404-529-8053)


(NEWS)(IBM)(BOS)(00010)

New For PC: Delrina Intros Perform Pro Plus 08/25/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 25 (NB) -- Delrina
introduced Perform Pro Plus, a major upgrade to its Perform Pro
form development and filler software, at the Windows & OS/2
Conference in Boston last week.

Offered in both developer and "filler," or end user, versions, the
Windows 3.1-based software is based on the company's new
Intelligent Form Language (IFL) object-oriented programming
language. Other added features include a customizable "smart
button" interface, extended database support, and full
implementation of three Windows capabilities: DDE (Dyanamic Data
Exchange), OLE (Object Linking and Embedding), and MDI (Multiple
Document Interface).

Company officials said that the improvements are driven by an
effort to achieve scalability across four stages of form use. "In
any organization, some forms may never move beyond stage one use,
while others would be fully automated and enterprise supported.
Perform Pro Plus is one solution that can handle all these
situations," explained Bert Amato, executive vice president of R&D.

In the first stage of form use delineated by Delrina, a company is
just starting to replace paper forms with forms on disk, a step
that involves bringing forms development in-house and printing forms
on demand to cut down on design time and production and storage
costs.

Officials suggested that at this stage, ease of form development
becomes important. The company stressed that its new object-
oriented approach lets the designer create the form visually, using
lines circles, boxes, and other objects, together with ledger-type
tables, to develop smart button icons, tear-away and drop-down
menus, ribbons and tool bars that can be placed anywhere on the
screen.

In the second stage, forms begin to be filled in electronically.
At this point, the filler version becomes significant, according to
Delrina. Shelly Sofer, a company spokesperson, told Newsbytes that
the filler version of Perform Pro Plus gives end users the
opportunity to customize interfaces, while leaving the basic forms
produced by developers intact. "Users can change ribbons and
insert their own smart buttons, out of 237 macros that come with
the program or out of macros they create themselves," he noted,
during a product demonstration for Newsbytes.

In the third stage of form use, electronic filing is accompanied by
database storage, so database access becomes important, officials
stated. The support for DBASE III offered in PerForm Pro is
augmented in Perform Pro Plus with support for dBASE III+, dBASE
IV, Paradox and Clipper, as well as ASCII.

In addition, a new SQL module shipping later this year will bring
support for Oracle SQL, OS/2 DM, and DB3, the company announced.
The SQL functionality has been licensed from Pioneer Software.

Delrina officials added that in the final stage of form use,
electronic forms are completely automated and integrated into the
organization's workflow, making communications between the forms
program and other applications essential. At this stage, the
implementation of DDE, OLE and MDI plays a key role.

Sofer told Newsbytes that Perform Pro Plus will start to ship at
the end of this month. The filler version will be priced at $199
or less per user, depending on size of site implementation, and the
developer version at $399.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920825; Press Contact: Shelly Sofer, Delrina,
tel [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(BOS)(00011)

New For PC: WhirlWin 1600 Board From PixelWorks 08/25/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 25 (NB) -- Pixelworks has
announced the first 1600 x 1200 resolution implementation of Chips
& Technologies' 82C481 graphics controller chip, and Newsbytes has
learned that the Microsoft Windows, X Windows, and DOS boardmaker is
now giving serious thought to supporting OS/2.

"The first version of OS/2 wasn't quite as popular as IBM had
expected, but a lot of our customers have been asking us to support
OS/2 2.0," Rittan Dhar, company president, told Newsbytes.

PixelWorks is now in the process of finding out whether the
necessary application tools for an OS/2 Presentation Manager driver
are available, added Dhar. "There's enough marketplace interest,
and we've gotten enough inquiries. But we'd need to get the tools
from IBM," he commented.

Introduced at the Windows & OS/2 Conference last week, PixelWorks'
latest release, the WhirlWin 1600, supports Microsoft Windows 3.1
and X Windows, as well as most major CAD packages. Offering the
highest resolution of any product released by the company to date,
the board comes in a version displaying 16 colors from a palette of
16.7 million, plus a monochrome/gray scale edition. Other WhirlWin
models display at resolutions of 1280 x 1024 and 1024 x 768.

Michael Jannery, director of marketing, noted that the WhirlWin
1600 yields 46% more real estate than a 1280 x 1024 board and also
displays a clearer picture, bringing advantages to any Microsoft
Windows or X Windows application. "Without playing games with
fonts, Microsoft Excel suddenly has 19 columns and rows - that's
over 900 cells," he illustrated. "You could display a spreadsheet
containing columns for every month of the year, each quarter, and
three totals!"

The WhirlWin 1600 is a single-slot, AT-bus controller generating a
60 Hz or higher refresh rate when used with the Pixelworks
Microsoft Windows 3.1 Driver, the SCO X 11.4 Server, or a third-
party X 11.5 server from Metro Link or Snitily Graphics Computer
Systems. Since its display timings are programmable, the board can
be interfaced to any 1600 resolution monitor.

According to the company, the board is now shipping to a number of
OEMs, and will become available in large volumes starting in
September. List price is $1,895.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920825; Press and Public Contact: Michael
Jannery, Pixelworks, tel [phone])


(EDITORIAL)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00012)

Editorial: IBM, Time Warner, TCI 08/25/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 25 (NB) -- By Dana Blankenhorn.
Early next month IBM and Tele-Communications Inc., the latter the
nation's largest cable TV operator, are expected to announce they
plan to build a national two-way information network for homes
and businesses. The plan is TCI would add fiber to its cable
lines to deliver "movies on demand," shopping service,
educational programs, video phone calls and other services, using
IBM technology.

Other potential partners in the new venture include Time Warner,
which was the first name to come up when rumors started last
spring, as well as Walt Disney and Paramount. The plan was that
IBM would put $500 million into Time Warner's cable subsidiary,
and in exchange Time would provide content from its movie, TV and
film libraries.

The idea here is that telecommunications, publishing, and
broadcasting are being transformed by digital technology into one
big industry, and that one big company, or a consortium of big
companies, will benefit.

The idea is false. It's true that technologies are merging.
Magazines and newspapers are produced by computers, with pages
transmitted to printing presses via satellite. High-definition TV
will look a lot like a movie screen, in your home. And the
pictures can be transmitted by regular phone lines as well as
cable or satellite. But this does not mean that one company, or
one group of companies, will dominate what results.

A decade ago, IBM saw the same merger happening between telephony
and the computer industry. Everyone, it seemed, would soon have a
modem. They could shop, bank, work, and play in the comfort of
their homes. The result was Prodigy, a joint-venture with Sears.
Despite having won over 1 million members, Prodigy remains
unprofitable, and may fail. Why? Arrogance. Prodigy for years
refused to listen to people who had built the online business
over a decade. They refused to see that uploading and downloading
are basic, that information and not graphics create value. They
continue to do things like refusing reporters and analysts who
criticize the company access to press releases.

My point is not to dump on Prodigy again, but to point out that
big dollars from big parents lead to big egos, arrogance, and a
refusal to concentrate on customers and the bottom line. This has
been IBM's problem generally for a decade. It created fiascos
like the PS/2 computers and OS/2 operating system. In a vibrant
market with many players, buyers aren't going to buy the idea
that some "big brother" company knows best, no matter how big and
well-intentioned that company is.

Evolution will continue. Cable companies will slowly replace
copper with fiber in their systems, since costs are now
equivalent and fiber has more capacity. So will phone companies.
Movie studios, TV producers, magazines and newspapers will
continue to look for ways to profit from new distribution
channels. But no single company will dominate this new market. It
is too big, too complex, and too many mistakes will be made along
the way to profitability.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920825)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(ATL)(00013)

 ****Digital Broadcasting To Transform Radio 08/25/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 AUG 25 (NB) -- Assuming New
Orleans is still around in two weeks, the National Association of
Broadcasters will descend on the city's convention center for its
annual radio show. A major topic will be digital broadcasting,
and how new technology can be added to radio stations in
preparation for the future.

One aspect of the new technology sure to spark interest among
technical types is the idea of adding data messages to
broadcasts, which would be picked up by special radios. The Radio
Broadcast Data System, or RBDS, would let stations pass short,
specific messages to listeners, either editorial or advertising.

Radios will be integrated with computing to scan for specific
program formats, or to collect reams of computing data over the
air, in competition with online services. Car radios would then
compete with paging services, and all sorts of new advertising
opportunities would be created.

Two things have to happen before RBDS becomes a reality. First,
stations have to adapt to the digital technology. Second, people
have to buy new radios. About 50 million new radios are already
bought each year, says the Electronic Industries Association, and
the new technology will only cost about $50 per radio to
implement. As many as 37 companies are expected to bring such
radios out in time for next year's Consumer Electronics Show,
probably under a single standard endorsed by the EIA.

But there is a second component to all this. Radio stations must
get new equipment to broadcast data alongside their programs, and
must learn how to use this technology to best effect. Some
European stations have been using the technology for as many as
five years, and there has been no revolution as a result. The
equipment itself will cost just a few thousand dollars per
station, and the marketing work could be sped-up as new radio
ownership rules spur creation of new networks.

But in New Orleans, broadcasters will be told the truth. RBDS is
no fast buck. It may be many years before enough people own RBDS
sets for benefits to accrue.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920825/Press Contact: National Association of
Broadcasters, Lynn McReynolds, 202-429-5350; Electronic
Industries Association, Cynthia Upson, 202-457-4900)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00014)

Government-Wide Ethics Standards Published 08/25/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 25 (NB) -- Under the direction
of President Bush, the Office of Government Ethics has spent the
past two years developing a set of government-wide ethics
guidelines to replace the piecemeal, agency-by-agency approach
which had prevailed in the past. The new OGE Guidelines, released
early in August, cover such items as the value of gifts which
federal employees can accept from potential contractors.

Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive
Branch were published in the Federal Register and will take
effect at the beginning of 1993, but only for members of the
Executive Branch; they will not automatically apply to employees
of either the Judiciary or the Congress.

Of course, things are never simple when it comes to the federal
government, and while the SECEEB will provide an umbrella of
rules for all agency employees they will not replace the current
Procurement Integrity Act or other existing regulations.

There is still confusion about which set of regulations will have
overriding control when there are conflicts.

The new rules cover many delicate aspects of conduct, including
such easy-to-understand items as the permissible value of gifts
received from vendors or exchanged between agency employees as
well as such highly subjective questions as when agency employee
discussions with potential or actual vendors are actually just
concealed job interviews.

Unless modified, the gift rule prevents employees from accepting
any gifts at all from companies bidding on agency contracts or
groups seeking grants while it limits gifts from other groups
(including companies not currently bidding on a contract) to a
maximum value of $50 in a single calendar year, with no single
item having a value of more than $20.

One possible problem area, the question of whether a free pass to
an industry conference is a permissible gift, was settled. If
the conference subject relates to the employee's job for the
government, then free attendance is permitted if it is a large
conference (not one specifically held with the purpose of
offering a limited number of employees with free attendance where
they could be lobbied by vendors).

(John McCormick/19920825/)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00015)

New For PC: HP's Dashboard Windows Utility 08/25/92
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 25 (NB) -- HP is now
shipping Dashboard, which it describes as a push-button utility
panel for Windows.

HP says Dashboard, available in major retail software stories already,
offers Windows users a faster way to work. The utility appears in the
bottom corner of a user's screen and features controls for multiple
screen views of programs and push buttons to launch applications
are organize program groups.

There are also features that control printers or output as faxes,
and gauges to monitor system resources and memory.

The product was literally designed as a dashboard. "The design of
Dashboard was inspired by the control panel of a high-performance
sports car," admits Harry McKinney, general manager of HP's
PC software division. Features of the program actually look like
features on a car. The Dashboard system resource and memory gauge
resembles a car's fuel gauge. There is a warning indicator that
sounds when the system resources or memory reach a predetermined
threshold.

HP says the entire program is customizable, meaning that users can
rearrange the order of features on the Dashboard or hide those they
don't use. A hot key can be configured to hide the Dashboard or
bring it into view. The program physically takes up a small amount
of screen space, the company reports.

The software costs $99 and runs on any DOS machine with an Intel
80X86 processor with 640K memory and two megabytes of extended
memory running MS-DOS 3.2 or more recent and Windows 3.0 or more
recent.

(Wendy Woods/19920825/Press Contact: Kevin Schofield, 408-720-3006)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(TOR)(00016)

Digital, Oracle Announce Database Upgrade Plan 08/25/92
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 25 (NB) -- Digital
Equipment and database vendor Oracle have agreed on an upgrade
program to help customers move from Digital's Ultrix/SQL database
software, which is being phased out, to Oracle.

Oracle is offering software tools and consulting services to help
Ultrix/SQL users convert their data and applications from the
Digital software to Oracle's well-known database management system.
Until the end of February, 1993, there will also be discounts of at
least 10 percent on Oracle software licenses and related services
for customers moving from Ultrix/SQL, Oracle spokesman Dan Potter
said.

The extent of the discounts "depends on what people are coming
from," he said.

Converting data from Ultrix/SQL to Oracle is quite easy, Potter
said. "There are third-party applications that our consulting group
has worked with in the past," to help do this, he explained.
Converting applications may be a bit trickier, but Oracle offers
software tools and services to help with that part of the job as
well.

"Many ULTRIX/SQL users have already upgraded to Oracle, so Oracle
understands and can address each issue involved in the migration
process," said Nimish Mehta, Oracle's vice-president of midrange
systems, in a prepared statement. "Digital's 'open database'
strategy will benefit both users and third-party software
developers," he added.

Oracle sells a line of database software for a variety of computer
systems, as well as computer-aided software engineering (CASE)
tools, application development and office automation software, and
accounting and manufacturing software. Digital is the world's
largest manufacturer of minicomputers; Ultrix is its variant of the
Unix operating system.

(Grant Buckler/19920824/Press Contact: Dan Potter, Oracle,
415-506-6264; David Price, Digital, 603-884-3467; Public Contact:
Oracle, 415-506-7000)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00017)

 ****Banyan Seeks To Bring Net Services To Wider Market 08/25/92
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 AUG 25 (NB) -- Banyan Systems may not
have done enough to promote its networking technology in the past
-- though Bill Johnson is reluctant to concede even that -- but if
so, things are changing. "We've taken Banyan technology and we've
told people about it," Johnson, the company's vice-president of
product marketing, said in an interview with Newsbytes.

"We think that people are talking about us a lot more," he added.
Johnson also said his company's revenues are growing at 30 to 35
percent, outpacing overall 10 to 15 percent growth in the large
network market as a whole.

In Ottawa for the meeting of Banyan's Canadian user group, Johnson
said Banyan has always focused on enterprise networking, and counts
some of the largest networks in the world among its customers.

One Canadian example is the Department of National Defence, which
uses Banyan's VINES network operating system in a network with more
than 3,000 nodes across the country.

Currently, Johnson said, Banyan is seeking to bring the network
services that have brought the company distinction -- such as its
StreetTalk global naming service -- to a variety of platforms.

At the Canadian user group meeting, Banyan demonstrated VINES for
SCO Unix, an adaptation of its VINES networking services to work
with one of the most popular version of Unix for desktop computers.

Banyan also recently announced plans to deliver VINES network
services to work with Novell NetWare, the most popular PC LAN
operating system and a VINES competitor. That offering is due
before the end of 1992; Johnson would not be more specific.

Does that mean Banyan is de-emphasizing the VINES LAN operating
system in favor of offering more specialized products, much as 3Com
bowed out of the competitive LAN interface card business to
concentrate on internetworking? Not a bit of it, Johnson said. "We
see this as a new opportunity for Banyan."

Some analysts have suggested that offering separately network
services such as StreetTalk that distinguish VINES from the
competition, Banyan risks making it easier for customers to turn to
the more popular NetWare rather than VINES. Johnson dismissed the
idea. "We don't feel threatened," he said, adding "some people
always look for the down side in whatever you do."

SCO Unix and NetWare will not be the only systems to get Banyan's
support. Based on user feedback, Banyan is in the final stages of
choosing its next target. Johnson would say only that it will be
another Unix variant.

The company is also quite interested in the upcoming Windows NT
operating system from Microsoft. Noting that Banyan announced
support for Windows 3.1 the day it was shipped, Johnson said the
company expects to be able to do the same for NT.

Banyan completed an initial public offering August 7. From an
initial selling price of US$10.50, the stock peaked at about $15
and is currently selling in the $12 to $13 range, Johnson said.

(Grant Buckler/19920824/Press Contact: Gary Wolfe or Jennifer
Jester, Banyan Systems, 508-898-1000; Public Contact: Banyan
Systems, 508-898-1000)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00018)

 ****IBM Coy About PDA Plans 08/25/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 25 (NB) -- IBM is expected
to show what it calls "technology demonstrations" of personal
digital assistant (PDA) technology at this fall's Comdex show. The
company will not talk about when or if this technology might lead
to commercial products, or even whether the technology to be shown
was designed and built by IBM or others.

Company spokeswoman Tara Sexton denied that IBM plans to show
"prototypes" of PDAs -- pocket-sized devices that combine computing
technology with communications -- at the show. She insisted on the
phrasing "technology demonstrations of mobile computing."

Sexton also labelled as "irresponsible" an Associated Press story
that quoted IBM executives talking about the technology
demonstration plans and implied that commercial products might
follow, although she said the reporter in question did interview
the executives quoted.

IBM already sells a portable computer called PCradio that can
transmit data and voice messages over wireless networks. The
company has also had working pen-computing technology, a key
element of PDAs, in its labs for several years. However, the
company has not shown PDAs or sub-notebook computers to date.

The emerging personal digital assistant segment of the computer
market is exemplified by Apple's Newton, a hand-held device that
accepts input from a pen directly on its screen and communicates
using infrared signals.

(Grant Buckler/19920825/Press Contact: Tara Sexton, IBM,
914-766-3781)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00019)

Wang Makes Changes In Worldwide Organization 08/25/92
LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 25 (NB) -- Close on the
heels of its filing for protection from creditors under Chapter 11
of US bankruptcy law, Wang Laboratories has streamlined its
worldwide structure. In the process, the company eliminated the job
of an executive some said was among the company's best senior
people.

Saying they wanted to reduce organization layers in order to
improve communications to reduce cost, Wang officials announced
that the company's country and regional management outside the
United States will now report directly to Joseph M. Tucci,
executive vice-president of operations, instead of through
geographical theater heads.

Wang's operations in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East had
previously reported to Kenneth A. Olisa, senior vice-president and
general manager based in London.

Olisa has decided not to return to Wang headquarters, saying that
having just moved to London, along with his family, to take the
job, it was impractical to turn around and come back. He will leave
the company, but officials said he will continue to assist Wang
with sales and marketing initiatives as an independent consultant.

Thomas Willmott, vice-president of The Aberdeen Group, a Boston
market research and consulting firm, said the reorganization was a
necessary move for Wang, even though it was unfortunate the company
lost Olisa in the process.

"Direct lines of communication back to Lowell are absolutely
critical at this point," Willmott told Newsbytes.

But he said Olisa was "one of the few remaining world-class
marketing employees that Wang has."

In a press release, Richard W. Miller, chairman and chief executive
officer of Wang, said: "This next few months will be the most
critical period in Wang's history. Two vital elements of our
restructuring are the performance of our sales and marketing
organization and the communication of the new Office 2000 open
products strategy to the worldwide marketplace. Success will depend
on short communication lines and fast action."

Willmott was guarded about the prospects for Wang's survival. The
company has some viable technology, he said, but most improve its
marketing if it is to capitalize on that. That will be hard to do
in the present situation: "Because they're so overwhelmed at the
present time by responding to the bankruptcy proceedings, it's easy
to take your eye off the ball."

Wang officials has not responded to requests for further comment at
Newsbytes' deadline.

(Grant Buckler/19920825/Press Contact: Ed Pignone, Wang,
508-967-4912)


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

 ****Digital To Build Its Own PCs 08/25/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 25 (NB) -- Digital
Equipment has announced plans for a new line of personal computers,
which the company will build itself rather than buy from other
manufacturers.

Reportedly, the new PCs will have prices starting at $899, and
Digital is expecting significant cost savings from manufacturing
plans that involve building most basic components and shipping them
to several plants around the world for final assembly.

In recent years, Digital has resold PCs built by Tandy, Olivetti,
and Intel. The last PCs the company built for itself were the
Rainbow line, which were launched shortly after the original IBM PC
in the early 1980s, ran the CP/M operating system, and were never
a success.

John Logan, vice-president of the Boston market research and
consulting firm The Aberdeen Group, said the move was a necessary
one.

"Now that everybody is losing money in PCs, why is Digital
re-entering the marketplace," he asked. Answering his own question,
he said: "PCs are an integral part of the complete system and if
Digital is not able to offer its own PC it will not be the system
supplier of choice in the future."

Digital needs to build its PCs itself, Logan said, because the most
popular PC models aren't made available by their manufacturers for
companies like Digital to resell.

Logan said it is too early to predict how well Digital will do with
its own line of PCs. A lot will depend on the management changes
scheduled for October 1, when founder and long-time boss Ken Olsen
will step down.

"I think the positive thing it they're not standing still," Logan
said.

Digital officials could not be reached for comment by Newsbytes'
deadline.

(Grant Buckler/19920825/Press Contact: Edward Canty, Digital,
508-486-6387)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEN)(00021)

Motorola, Amtech Join In Wireless Toll Collection 08/25/92
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 25 (NB) -- Motorola Inc., and Amtech
Corporation have announced they will form a joint venture to develop
a new generation of wireless electronic toll collection and traffic
management (ETTM) systems.

Amtech manufactures and markets electronic toll collection systems,
while Motorola specializes in radio communication products and
systems.

The new company would pool technical and manufacturing resources to
develop and manufacture a new line of radio frequency identification
(RFID) systems that are compatible with California's recently
adopted statewide specification for automatic vehicle
identification (AVI). California's specification is based on
"modulated backscatter" technology, which uses radio waves to
communication with an electronic ID tab affixed to the vehicle.

Automatic vehicle ID systems can be used to log arrival and
departure of vehicles such as freight trucks and rail cars at
intermediate stops enroute to their final destination. They can
also be used for automatic billing of fees on toll roads, with a
scanner reading the AVI and transmitting the information via modem
or radio link to a central computer for later billing.

According to Amtech senior VP Michael Breslin, "We see a trend toward
regional and statewide specifications for AVI and ETTM systems."

The two companies say the joint venture would receive licenses to
certain technologies from both Amtech and Motorola, and would be
owned equally by both companies. Financial arrangements were not
revealed.

The two companies also agreed in principle to license Motorola as a
potential second source of Amtech-compatible products for the
Interagency Committee, a coalition of several agencies operating toll
facilities in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. That group is
in the process of selecting an RFID technology for electronic toll
collection in the region, and is requiring multiple vendors for the
RFID technology they select.

Motorola and Amtech said they expect to complete definitive
agreements and technical licenses by the end of the year.

(Jim Mallory/19920825/Press contact: Carla Morgan, Amtech,
214-733-6059)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00022)

Fifth Generation Acquires Micronyx 08/25/92
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 25 (NB) -- Fifth Generation
Systems has announced the acquisition of Micronyx Inc., a Richardson,
Texas-based developer of high-end security software for enterprise
computing on DOS, Windows, and networked systems.

IBM chose Secure Access, Micronyx' flagship product, as its standard
PC security offering, and comarkets the product under the name
"Secured Workstation Manager/DOS."

Fifth Generation already develops and markets several disk security
programs, including DiskLock for the PC and Mac platforms, and
Untouchable anti-virus software for PCs and Novell Networks. Fifth
Generation says it will continue to market Secure Access, eventually
integrating the DiskLock and Micronyx product lines.

Secure Access, which has a suggested retail price of $295, is the
successor to Triumph! File access is controlled by user IDs,
passwords, and assigned access rights. An audit trail of all system
activity is generated, and a site administrator distributes security
rules and monitors system activity and violations. The program
supports use of fingerprint or retinal scan devices, and one version
of the program uses the Data Encryption Standard (DES).

Fifth Generation President Barry Bellue says acquisition of Micronyx
makes Fifth Generation the only company with the product line to
provide corporations across the board microcomputer security for
DOS, Windows, Macintosh and network environments. FGS
spokesperson Jorge Vallery told Newsbytes the company plans
to release an OS/2-compatible security program "in the late fall of
1992." Vallery said a Mac version of Secure Access is also planned,
but said a release date has not yet been set.

Under terms of the agreement, FGS will acquire all of the Micronyx
privately held stock, and estimates its earnings at $60 million for
1992. Micronyx projects $3-5 million in revenues for 1992. The
companies said the Micronyx staff will remain in the Dallas area as
a development center for Fifth Generation Systems.

(Jim Mallory/19920825/Press contact: Jorge Vallery, Fifth Generation
Systems, 504-291-7221)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DEN)(00023)

 ****Kodak Releases Slew Of Photo CD Apps, Services 08/25/92
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 25 (NB) -- Eastman Kodak today
announced more uses, new formats, and several new hardware systems
for its Photo-CD system.

Photo-CD allows conventional 35mm film images to be stored on a CD
disk, then replayed on a television or computer screen.

Kay Whitmore, chairman and chief executive officer of Eastman
Kodak, said this morning on CNN's Business Morning that, while it
would take some time for the new Photo CD product to really gain
a foothold in the market place, Kodak expects people to use and
become used to the electronic image storage system in the
workplace and then to want similar capabilities at home.

He admitted that in the long run any major success for the
product will only come when the players become popular with home
users.

While he said that Kodak thinks people will always use
traditional print photo technology, the company feels that they
will also use electronic storage such as Photo CD despite the
relatively high cost of another home electronic gadget and the
$20 cost per 24 images.

As for today's announcements, Kodak Picture Exchange, a global images
transmission network, will make millions of its CD images available
to commercial users via telephone. The company also unveiled
several new CD formats, including Pro Photo CD Master disk, which
has the ability to store images from larger film formats, frequently
used by commercial photographers.

According to Kodak several companies, including the Smithsonian
Institution and L.L. Bean, have indicated their interest in the
system. Kodak says L.L. Bean has indicated it would work with Kodak
to explore the system for use in customer communications and for
delivery of a new catalog delivery system. The Smithsonian plans to
use Photo CD to explore the development of interactive exhibits,
according to Kodak spokesperson Al Brakoniecki.

Kodak also announced that Apple Computer has agreed to buy Kodak
color printer technology for use in future Apple systems. According
to Kodak, current and future Macintosh personal computers will be
compatible with the Photo-CD system, allowing Mac users to view and
edit photo images using graphics editing programs. Kodak plans to
use Mac computers in its retail imaging workstations, the company
said.

Generally, Kodak Photo-CD applications in development are the storage
of medical x-rays, radiographs and other diagnostic images; and the
combination of photo images with text, graphics, and sound. The company
says it will introduce two CD editing stations and the Kodak Professional
Image library, a jukebox style index and storage system that can
hold up to 100 photo CD disks.

New software being announced includes PhotoEdge, a photo editing
system for business users; Shoebox, a search and retrieval system
for pictures on Photo CD; and Browser, a scaled down version of
Shoebox for use with the catalog disk; and Renaissance, a page
layout software system. Nationwide realtor networks might also use
the system to display pictures of available properties to their
brokers.

Kodak describes its Picture Exchange as a system using telephone
lines and desktop computers to show pictures to users such as
magazines or ad agencies in a low resolution version. The potential
buyer could then order the original high resolution original image.
Kodak spokesperson Al Brakoniecki told Newsbytes Picture Exchange
will be available by mid-1993.

Brakoniecki said Picture Exchange users will be able to conduct fast
on-line searches using key words to locate and review low-resolution
thumbnail-size images. Accompanying the image will be information
such as the photographer's name, ownership information, and keywords
describing the subject and picture attributes. Desired images can
then be ordered.

Kodak says in most cases the selected prints, negatives or
transparencies will be sent out within minutes by a local delivery
service or air express. "Kodak Picture Exchange is designed as the
ultimate search and retrieval tool for images," said Stephen Stepnes,
VP of CD Imaging at Kodak. Stepnes stressed that negotiations for
sale of the image will still be between the image provider and the
potential customer.

Picture Exchange will be a membership service, says Kodak, with
image providers and users paying what Kodak described as a "nominal"
annual fee. Image providers will also be charged an annual per-image
storage fee and a referral fee for each hard copy image ordered.
Users will also pay a few cents to access each image.

Special CD players needed to display Photo CD images on
television screens are being produced by Phillips Consumer
Electronics, Pioneer Communications, Sony Corporation, and Toshiba
Corporation, according to Kodak. Players are expected to cost
consumers about $400. Today, the Philips CD-I (compact disk-
interactive) players such as the CDI910 are Photo CD compatible
and play the Kodak-created discs as well as CD ROM-XA and CD
audio discs.

Stepnes sees new systems as a high-profit strategy, generating
revenues and profits in five areas. Stepnes said Kodak will sell
more film and photographic paper, compact disks, and thermal paper;
will profit from the marketing of a new variety of imaging services,
mostly over telephone lines; sell high-margin imaging software
linked to the Photo CD standard; and will increase equipment sales,
including workstations, disc writers, and image libraries.

Mr. Whitmore also said this morning that he does not believe that
Photo CD will compete with VCRs and video cameras because Photo
CD allows viewers to "interact" with the images - which he
described as being able to zoom in on an isolated portion of the
image.

Industry observers feel that while Photo CD may have a potential
in business, especially in the desktop publishing arena, it will
be a long, difficult uphill battle to convince home photographers
that they should pay another $400 to view their photographs,
especially when those photos can't be put in a wallet or mailed
to friends or relatives.

Many are also skeptical about the home market for Photo CD since
Polaroid cameras, despite the high cost and limited quality of
the pictures, have proven so immensely popular because they
provide instant gratification.

Still, Kodak says it has already sold the equipment necessary to produce
Photo CD disks to at least one national photo processor, as reported
recently by Newsbytes. It costs about $100,000 to equip a lab to
make the discs.

(Jim Mallory & John McCormick/19920825/Press contact: Al Brakoniecki,
Eastman Kodak, 716-724-3057)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00024)

 ****Microsoft Too Big, Powerful Say Quarterdeck, Novell, IBM 08/25/92
SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 25 (NB) -- If you
have a bone to pick with Microsoft, you would be in good
company at the Quarterdeck Desqview/X Developers Conference
held this week in Santa Monica, California. Microsoft was
discussed as much as Quarterdeck's new product, Desqview/X, and
it appears developers and hardware manufacturer's alike fear
the software giant will engulf and strangle the entire personal
computer universe.

One of the bones of contention is the complaint from developers
that Microsoft, despite its claims to the contrary, is giving
its own products and developers an edge. Developers at the conference
accused Microsoft of "hiding" features in its operating system
products by not documenting them, but providing the information to
its own product developers.

Gary Saxer, said there are 11 undocumented calls that Microsoft's
spreadsheet product Excel makes to Windows. Saxer also said
Quarterdeck had a hard time with a Windows network device driver
that their product couldn't successfully load into high memory, but
DOS 5.0 could. Quarterdeck finally discovered there were some
undocumented quirks about this particular device driver that
Microsoft evidently had informed its DOS 5.0 development team about
but had neglected to document.

Conference keynote speaker Darrell Miller, executive vice president
at Novell, said at the end of his address Novell is worried about a
change in mentality in respect to large corporations. While Miller
never said the Redmond, Washington company's name, he put up a slide
with a huge circle labeled "Microsoft" in the middle and several
very small, unlabeled circles connected to it. Miller said while the
idea of one stop shopping is appealing to corporations, Novell sees
it as their job to help make sure there are a lot of strong
competitors in the market. Miller accented his strong competitors
statement by putting up a slide that showed a lot of similar sized
circles, no one bigger than the other, with lines going from one to
another so they were interconnected.

John Soyring, director of software programs at IBM, began his speech
immediately following Miller's by saying IBM is trying to be one of
the strong competitors. While several references were made to
Microsoft, Soyring didn't mention the giant by name. He did say IBM
has given up the rights to the source code of Windows NT.

A book, "Undocumented Windows" by Andrew Schulman (Addison-Wesley,
1992) seems to be adding fuel to the fire. The book is reportedly
about features Microsoft has left out of documentation on Windows
that the author discovered by taking Windows apart himself.

Microsoft is currently under investigation by the Federal Trade
Commission regarding charges of anti-trust practices and attempting
to holding a monopoly.

The FTC started its investigation of Microsoft and its business
practices in June of 1990 and an announcement was made that initial
investigation was broadened in May of 1991. However, there has been
no word from the FTC regarding the results of the investigation.

Microsoft representatives have repeatedly said they would cooperate
with the FTC and have denied the charges levied at the company from
competitors.

Microsoft has also started holding developers conferences to offer
information and help regarding the release of Windows NT, Microsoft's
next version of Windows. The company held one in July to crowds
three times the size it anticipated -- over 4,500 developers. It
also announced a device driver conference for technical help on
writing to peripheral devices under Windows NT scheduled for October
in Anaheim, California.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920825)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00025)

 ****Admiral John Poindexter Surfaces At Software Firm 08/25/92
SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 25 (NB) -- Admiral
John Poindexter is now working for TP Systems, the company that
is developing Analyst, a new debugger for developers to use
with Desqview. Poindexter was formerly National Security
Advisor to President Reagan during the Iran Contra affair.

Poindexter served under Reagan from December 4, 1985 to November
25, 1986 and said in congressional hearings he authorized the
diversion of funds to Iranian Contras but had not informed
President Reagan of his actions. He was tried and convicted of
conspiracy and perjury and sentenced to six months in prison,
(Grolier's Encyclopedia, 1991 ed.).

Poindexter told Newsbytes his Ph.D. in Physics from California
Institute of Technology is the background he uses to work on
the Analyst debugger which will be marketed by Quarterdeck.
Poindexter says he's programmed for 30 years and is also
credited with development of a multiport communications
system; an algorithm for detecting changes and patterns in
digitized video images in real time; and a laboratory data
collection and analysis system.

The Analyst is a script debugger which TP Systems says can find
problems across networks and in multitasking environments.
Analyst has been developed using object-oriented programming
architecture in Turbo Pascal Version 6.0 and the event-driven
Desqview environment. The product comes with an editor, offers
automatic and interactive modes, and script features.

Analyst is geared toward developers using the Desqview
applications programming interface (API) for developing and
porting applications to Quarterdeck's new graphical user
interface, Desqview/X. Quarterdeck says Desqview/X also offers
IBM 386 and 486 personal computer (PC) users access to
networked Unix-based X Windows systems that run on reduced
instruction set chip (RISC) computers such as Sun workstations
and the Hewlett-Packard Apollo 9000.

Poindexter is vice president of TP Systems. Also representing
TP Systems is Mike Todd, known for founding the Capital PC User
Group and the IBM Special Interest Groups on CompuServe, The
Source, and Unison.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920825/Press Contact: Charles McHenry for
Quarterdeck, McHenry & Associates, tel [phone], fax 503-
776-6909)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00026)

New For Windows: Logitech CatchWord OCR Pkg 08/25/92
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 25 (NB) -- Hoping to
take advantage of its established reputation for hand-held scanners,
and also cash in on the current popularity of Windows, Logitech has
introduced CatchWord Pro, a Windows-based optical character
recognition (OCR) software package optimized for text acquisition
with hand-held and flatbed scanners.

Logitech maintains that the product will be available through
the company's dealers and distributors in early September at a
suggested retail price of $299.

Serge Timacheff, spokesman for the company, told Newsbytes that
CatchWord Pro complements a scanner by "allowing the user to
convert" scanned text into a format which can be used by word
processing, database, spreadsheet and desktop publishing applications.

CatchWord Pro takes advantage of familiar features within
Windows to help make it easier to use, such as a button bar and
tool palette. Additionally, the company claims that, because it
was designed with hand-held scanners in mind, CatchWord Pro
includes special enhancement features such as deskewing,
multiple document interface, horizontal/vertical full-page
merge (stitching), page composition, and special OCR text editing
tools.

Timacheff told Newsbytes that the OCR and hand-scanner
marketplace "is growing by leaps and bounds.....because the
quality of hand-held scanners has increased dramatically."

The company is offering a CatchWord upgrade policy. For those
who purchased a copy of Perceive on or after August 1, 1992,
(bundled or stand-alone) CatchWord Pro for Windows is free. Those
who purchased Perceive or CatchWord for DOS prior to August 1
will have to pay $49. Any other Logitech ScanMan owner can
purchase CatchWord Pro for Windows for $79.

(Ian Stokell/19920825/Press Contact: Betty Skov, 510-713-4463,
Serge Timacheff, 510-713-4439, both of Logitech)


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

Acer To License CIC Pen Technology 08/25/92
REDWOOD SHORES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 25 (NB) -- The Acer
Group has signed a worldwide licensing agreement involving
Communication Intelligence Corp.'s (CIC) pen technology.

The agreement allows Acer to use, copy and distribute CIC's
multilingual Handwriter Recognition Systems, Handwriter Dynamic
Signature Verification System; PenDOS pen operating environment;
and "other open-architected, pen computing software technology."

According to CIC, its PenDOS is a pen operating environment
designed for developing pen-based applications and transforming
existing mouse-aware DOS applications into pen-aware applications,
without modification.

Norm Austin, a vice president for CIC, told Newsbytes that the deal
with Acer is very important for the company as "they are a substantial
OEM (original equipment manufacturer) manufacturer of PCs." The Acer
Group also designs and manufactures computer systems, ranging from
notebooks to networks, peripherals, 4-Mbit DRAMS, and software.

Simon Lin, president of Acer's PC Products Business Unit, said:
"Acer's hardware combined with PenDOS and CIC's core technologies -
Handwriter Recognition Systems and Handwriter Dynamic Signature
Verification - provides users a proven, consumer-ready handwriting
recognizer and robust computer security system."

According to Acer, the company plans to introduce a series of pen
products by the second quarter of 1993. Among the new products planned
by Acer, Austin told Newsbytes, are "a notepad" and "a digitizer
interface to a desktop."

Austin told Newsbytes, "This is an emerging market, particularly
in the Far East, where keyboards have slowed down the use of computers."

(Ian Stokell/19920825/Press Contact: Germaine Gioia,
Communication Intelligence Corp., 415-802-7888)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(SFO)(00028)

New For Unix: 6 Prepress Apps For Sun's Solaris/Sparc 08/25/92
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 25 (NB) -- Sun
Microsystems has announced that six prepress software and systems
vendors are set to announce new applications for its SPARC/Solaris
Unix platform, and they include advanced desktop, database,
and processing applications.

Among those offering new products are Crosfield Electronic Ltd.,
Digital Technology International, DuPont/Camex, ECRM, Linotype-
Hell, and System Integrators Inc. According to Sun, the products
will be used for output and production flow management, display
ad make-up, spot and process color imaging, raster image
processing, and database management.

Sun claims that its prepress partner roster now numbers more than
30 companies worldwide, and includes Auto-Grafica Corp., CCI Europe,
Datox, Hyphen, Information International Inc., P.Ink, and Scitex.

According to Sun, one of its strongest prepress areas has always
been newspapers, and publications currently employing Sun hardware
include The Wall Street Journal, The Evening Standard, Houston
Chronicle, The Orange County Register, and The Dallas Morning News.

Digital Technology International's offering feature Editorial Database,
Ad Management Database, and Classified Database, which are products
that manage news room copy flow, display ad production and classified
ad scheduling, rating and production.

DuPont/Camex's Whirlwind is a publishing system consisting of editorial,
classified ad and pagination applications. The firm's Breeze display
advertising make-up software has also been ported to the SPARC platform.

ECRM's ScriptSetters are color-capable imagesetters that run with
Newsprint XP software from SunPics, a business unit of Sun Microsystems.

Linotype-Hell Co.'s LinoPress incorporates editorial, advertising,
pagination, spot and process color and PostScript imaging on a
Unix file server.

System Integrators Inc.'s new Project:Scoop allows newspapers to
manage output processes and devices and increase throughput, claims
Sun. The product increases productivity by graphically displaying
production flow between departments and devices.

Also, Sun claims that Crosfield Electronic Ltd., based in the United
Kingdom, has demonstrated a modular software system that allows several
applications to be managed by a single SPARCstation.

The impetus towards Solaris has been kept going with the company's
planned shipment of Solaris for X86, that will allow the company's
version of the Unix operating system to work on desktop systems based
on the Intel 80x86 processor platform.

At the beginning of August, Newsbytes reported that SunSoft had signed
a technology sharing agreement with WordPerfect that would eventually
allow Wordperfect products to use technology drawn from Solaris for
distributed computing.

(Ian Stokell/19920825/Press Contact: Gayle Jennings, Sun
Microsystems Computer Corp., 415-336-0787)


(NEWS)(IBM)(BOS)(00029)

 ****Microsoft Outlines Future Directions 08/25/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 25 (NB) -- Microsoft
believes in making long-term investments, and its present and
future investments include workgroup computing, multimedia, and
transparent multivendor networking services, said Dwayne Walker,
director of Microsoft's Windows NT and Networking Products,
speaking at the Windows & OS/2 Conference in Boston last week.

Microsoft's workgroup strategy revolves around Windows for
Workgroups, a product not yet announced, but now being beta tested
in the U.S, and Europe, stated Walker. This new operating system
will join Windows 3.0, Windows 3.0, and Windows NT, a system slated
for release in late 1992 or 1993, to form a new "family" of
Microsoft products, he added.

Windows for Workgroups will be aimed at the majority of network
users, whereas Windows NT will be geared to the minority of
customers who require access to mission critical applications,
often downsized from mainframes and minicomputers, Walker
explained.

The Windows for Workgroup system will come with built-in basic
networking capabilities, including file sharing, electronic mail,
scheduling, calendaring, and transparent connectivity to NetWare,
LAN manager, Novell Server, Pathworks, and IBM LANServer, he
elaborated. More specialized capabilities -- such as advanced form
routing, workflow, and group memory -- will be sold as separate
applications from Microsoft and third party vendors.

Windows NT is already being beta tested by some 18,000 developers,
indicating that lots of applications will be available, he noted.
Beta testing among some 21,000 end users will start in September,
and Microsoft will not give a ship date until that test is under
way and the company has gotten user feedback. "By the end of
October, I'll have a better idea," he commented.

Walker stated that Microsoft's high hopes for NT are augmented by
Intel's rapid progress with P5, the new "586" chip aimed at
performing multiprocessing on the desktop. But Microsoft's plans
for NT do not end with the PC, he emphasized. The company has
already arranged for versions of NT on DEC's Alpha and Silicon
Graphics' RISC platforms, he noted. "We're now in discussions with
a number of vendors to have Alpha appear on other RISC-based
platforms, and you should hear more on this by early 1993," he
said.

In addition, NT has already been shows on four- and eight-processor
servers. On Tuesday, August 25 at the Downsizing Expo in San
Francisco, Microsoft will demonstrate operation of NT on a 16-
processor Sequent server, he said.

On the NT connectivity front, Microsoft is now developing and will
soon begin testing an SNA gateway, he remarked. The company is
also working on enhancements to make it easier to load drivers from
such operating systems as TCP/IP and NetWare into 32-bit memory.

Upcoming multimedia developments, he said, include a CD-ROM volume
containing answers to customers' most frequently asked technical
questions, and another CD-ROM disk, "Movie Guide," offering a
series of film clips. Ultimately, suggested Walker, "Movie Guide"
might be run over a network, enabling customers to view clips of a
movie before ordering the complete film.

Also coming up for Microsoft, according to Walker, are desktop
videoconferencing -- conducted over high bandwidth fixed networks
or new wireless technologies -- along with an "electronic wallet,"
"digital books," and an "intelligent TV."

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920825)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00030)

New For PC: Your Face As A Screen Saver 08/25/92
SAN CARLOS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 25 (NB) -- Screen savers,
those  ubiquitous programs that keep an image from burning into your
monitor screen, use all kinds of images that periodically move
around the screen. There's fish, fireworks, fractal images, or almost
anything else you can imagine.

But now a California company has added a new twist, offering you the
opportunity to have your own picture, a company logo, or a picture
of your favorite pet as the screen saver image on your Windows-based
PC.

Lighten Up Software, Inc., says it can turn any color or black and
white graphic image into a colorful, personalized screen saver for
Windows. Previously, the only way for a use to import a customized
screen saver was to have a scanner. Lighten Up eliminates the need
for such a device.

Lighten Up says the user can further personalize Face Saver by
including a 30-word message and a 5-word title on the control panel,
such as a birth announcement with the baby's name and the birth data
as the title and message.

The company says Face Saver is compatible with After Dark and other
screen savers that do not provide personalized images.

Once you purchase the $39.99 program the user mails the desired
image or graphic using an included postage-paid photo mailer. The
company says it returns the original image with the personalized Face
Saver file and also includes bonus Windows wallpaper.

Face Saver works with Windows 3.0 or 3.1, and supports EGA, VGA, and
Super VGA. Screen timeout is user selectable, and moves the image
randomly across the screen to prevent phosphor burn. The normal
Windows screen is restored when Face Saver detects keyboard
or mouse activity.

Lighten Up spokesperson Chris Claudatos told Newsbytes that the
image appearing on the Face Saver screen will occupy about
one-fourth of the screen. Claudatos says while the resolution for
Super VGA isn't any better than VGA, users will get a better image
with Super VGA because of the additional use of color. Customers
also have the option of a gray scale image.

Claudatos told Newsbytes Lighten Up will soon be introducing a
commercial version of Face Saver called Logo Saver. Logo Saver can
have one image bouncing around the screen, such as a picture of a
pizza, while the company logo appears in the control panel. Site
licenses for Logo Saver are available, said Claudatos.

(Jim Mallory/19920825/Press contact: Chris Claudatos, Lighten Up
Software, 800-695-1210 X411; fax [phone]; Reader contact:
800-872-8720, fax [phone])