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Text File | 1992-09-07 | 15KB | 340 lines

(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00001)

Newsbytes: Shorter Labor Day Edition 09/07/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 7 (NB) -- Due to the Labor
Day holiday, a shorter version of Newsbytes will be published today,
consisting mainly of stories from our overseas bureaus where this
holiday is not being celebrated.

Our full publishing schedule resumes on September 8.

(Wendy Woods/19920907)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00002)

Australia: Toshiba Resellers Celebrate 09/07/92
SUNSHINE COAST, AUSTRALIA, 1992 SEP 7 (NB) -- There will be lots
of bleary-eyed but happy computer dealers back at work around
Australia tomorrow. 325 of Toshiba's top resellers spent from Friday
to today being pepped-up, pampered and partied at the luxury Hyatt
Regency Coolum resort on the Sunshine Coast in the state of Queensland.

Toshiba Targetbusters '92 rewarded resellers who had exceeded
sales budgets -- not an easy feat in the current marketplace. And
while they had a captive audience, Toshiba executive marketing
manager, David Henderson, and Managing Director Yasushi
Hamano launched next year's "Share the Adventure," a campaign
that builds upon what they claim is the high corporate acceptance
of Toshiba's wide range of mobile computers.

Company executives visiting from Japan told the resellers that
Toshiba in Australia is currently outperforming any other country
in computer sales.

Three nights of partying culminated in a trip to restaurants in the
nearby town of Noosa on Sunday night for most of the resellers,
but a special group of 20 (and their partners) had a more select
function to attend. They had all earned membership of the Million
Dollar Achievers Club. Saturday night's entertainment had famous
Australian rock performers and swimming coach Laurie Lawrence
giving the low-down on the sporting world, but this paled with
what happened at the Million Dollar Dinner.

As the meal finished, the guests were asked to turn their chairs to
face the curtain at the back of the room. It opened to reveal a
stage, and David Henderson introduced the guest performers.
With a program written especially for the evening, they were
no less than the stars and principals of the famous Russian
Bolshoi Ballet, currently touring Australia. What must have been
one of the smallest audiences ever was treated to stunning
entertainment from the masters of ballet. Imagine sitting just 20
feet from these dancers. Truly a night to remember.

(Paul Zucker/19920904)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00003)

Australian Company Sees Leap In South Korean Sales 09/07/92
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, 1992 SEP 7 (NB) -- Melbourne firm Moldflow,
which specializes in computer software for the plastic industry, has
seen a thirty seven-fold increase in sales to South Korea since the
1985-86 financial year. Sales reached AUS$1.5M in the financial year
ended June 1992, up from AUS$40,000 in 1985-86.

Oh Sung Hee, South Korean manager for Moldflow, sees the targeting
of major companies as the main reason for the success of Moldflow's
products in a market where Australia is not considered to be a
software supplying country. "Koreans see Australia as a country that
supplies commodities. It was - and still is - very hard for them to
imagine that it offers software," he said. To date, Moldflow has sold
licences to 40 companies in South Korea, including Samsung (the
largest appliance maker in South Korea), Hyundai and Luck Goldstar.

By targeting the larger firms, Oh hopes to see a flow on affect as
subsidiaries buy licences and as other manufacturers follow suit.
South Korea is now Moldflow's third largest market, after Japan and
the US, and represents approximately the same sales as that to
Germany. Moldflow's software is designed to control the plastic
injection mechanism, which controls the size and shape of the final
product.

(Sean McNamara/19920904/Press & Public Contact: Moldflow, phone in
Australia: [phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(SYD)(00004)

Australia: Merged Firms Lead Assault On Defense Market 09/07/92
PERTH, AUSTRALIA, 1992 SEP 7 (NB) -- Two firms which were leaders
in their fields in defense technology in Australia have been able to
exploit their merger completely, and are beginning to win local and
international contracts. Universal Defence Systems (UDS), of Perth,
was bought be Australian Defence Industries (ADI) in June 1991.

UDS had established a name for itself by the time of its buy-out in
the defence community as suppliers of innovative defence command and
control software for defence systems. However, when the company
began having cash flow troubles, ADI decided to step in. Not wanting
to see Australian talent go to waste, ADI bought UDS assets and
recruited the staff, and has since won contracts for equipment and
software to the Australian Defence Force and the British Navy.

The British Navy contract will see ADI developing a command support
system for their new landing platform docks, which are ships which
transport soldiers and amphibious landing craft. The contract calls
for ADI to develop the system with British companies Marconi and
Logica, and to base it on a similar system used by the Royal
Australian Navy. ADI is also collaborating with Perth firm Clough
Engineering and US defense company E-Systems to develop an
electronic warfare command and control system for the Australian
Army.

(Sean McNamara/19920904/Press & Public Contact: ADI, phone in
Australia [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00005)

Australia: Winning The Paper War With EDI 09/07/92
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA 1992 SEP 7 (NB) -- After two years
of using Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), the Brisbane city
council has become the largest EDI user in the Australian state of
Queensland. The council, which is the largest local government
authority in Australia, uses an EDI network provided by Telecom
Plus.

The system connects the council with supplier's computers to
carry orders, eliminating paper and the mail service completely.
Lead-time with any EDI-capable supplier is now one day,
compared with an average of seven days for the traditional way.
This translates to reduced stock levels and therefore cost savings.

John Campbell, the council's finance committee chairman, said the
system saves at least $50,000 a year in stock costs. "Overall,
being EDI-capable enhances the business credibility of our
council and our suppliers. Benefits are expected to increase
dramatically as more suppliers come on line."

At present there are more than 600 stock items listed on the EDI
system, with links outside state boundaries to head offices of
suppliers. These offices in turn use EDI to inform their state
warehouses to ship the goods.

(Paul Zucker/19920904)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00006)

Hongkong: Microsoft Windows Software Centers 09/07/92
TAIKOO SHING, HONG KONG, 1992 SEP 7 (NB) -- In a major extension of its
customer support program, Microsoft Hongkong Ltd., has appointed
three more Windows Software Centres (WSC). They are Jardine ABA,
Swire Systems and System-Pro.

The WSC designation is an assurance to customers that the dealer
provides a high standard of service and support, and that it works
closely with Microsoft's Product Support Services, the company says.

"The appointment of three more WSCs less than two months after we
announced the program demonstrates that world-class service and
support is readily available to PC users in Hong Kong," said Laurie
Kan, country manager of Microsoft Hong Kong.

Adam Fenwick, director and general manager of Swire Systems, said,
"As a dealer, being a WSC makes our business easier. Corporations
considering a large software purchase are assured of comprehensive
after-sales support when Microsoft plays an obvious role in the
process."

The WSC program is, of course, a two-way street. Microsoft demands
that dealers allocate significant resources to meet its standards.
The WSCs, in turn, get a commitment from Microsoft to provide the
back-up they will need to meet their service goals.

"Dealers need efficient technical support if they are to penetrate
the corporate client base," said Soan Li, manager of PC Support at
System-Pro Computers Ltd. "Happily, we are now seeing the benefits
of the corporate support programs that Microsoft Hong Kong is
putting in place."

Among the items on the dealer wish list are a dial-up bulletin board
service (BBS) for dissemination of product and technical
information, bug reports, fixes and the like. Microsoft's BBS is
due to come online this month. It will be backed up by a support
hot-line staffed by Microsoft technical personnel.

As an integral part of the WSC program, dealer personnel receive
in-depth training on product positioning and technical issues,
backed up by self-access materials and regular updates on
competitive developments.

"Microsoft is committed to supporting the Hong Kong market and is
investing heavily to ensure that the service available to our
customers is second to none," said Mr Kan.

(Brett Cameron/19920906/Press Contact: Ms Ramny Fite, Microsoft, tel:
[phone];HK time is GMT + 8)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00007)

Hongkong: ITWeek Expo Takes To The Road 09/07/92
WAN CHAI, HONG KONG, 1992 SEP 7 (NB) -- Leading up to ITWeek on 25 Sept,
ITWeek Roadshow was opened on 29th August by Dominic Wong, director of
education and Professor Charles Kao, chairman of the ITWeek '92
steering Group.

By the end of the road show, it will have toured the territory for four
consecutive weekends, from the Hong Kong Science Museum to Shatin New
Town Plaza, Pacific Place and Metro Plaza, Kwai Fong. The theme
behind the ITWeek Roadshow is Information Technology in Everyday Life.

"IT [information technology] in everyday life is a very fitting
name for the road show as it will demonstrate to the public the
far-reaching ways that IT influences and improves our day to
day lives," said Professor Charles Kao.

"We are especially pleased to have Hongkong Telecom as the principle
sponsor of the road show, because telecommunications perhaps represents
the public's most frequent and valuable link with advanced
communications technology," he said.

On the day of the opening ceremony Hongkong Telecom demonstrated its
sophisticated yet simple directory enquiry system and allowed visitors
to try it out.

The road show will house many interactive exhibits that encourage
public participation. Three themes have been established -- IT in
shopping, IT in education, and IT for fun -- to demonstrate the
familiar ways which IT affects everyone daily.

At the opening, Hong Kong Article Numbering Association demonstrated
the ease of barcode scanning with its "Scan and Win" competition.
In the competition visitors had a chance to scan products at a
supermarket style check-out counter. This proved to be very popular
as visitors discovered it easy to beat the professional time and take
away prizes.

ITWeek '92 hosts an ambitious program stretching from the (ITWeek)
Grand Opening on 25 Sept to the finals of the Micromouse Championship
on 5 October. ITWeek events include exhibitions introducing IT in
police work, and IT for the physically impaired, which will
be held 26-27 Sept at Citi Plaza and again from 30 September
to 3 October at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center.
ITWeek will host the World Robot Ping Pong Championships on 26-27
September at Citiplaza.

"The purpose of ITWeek is to raise awareness as to the benefits and
applications of IT in Hong Kong both within the industry and
publicly," said Dr Donald Taylor, executive chairman of ITWeek.

At the IT for police exhibit, a special demonstration will feature a
simulated mini range police pistol, controlled by microcomputer
multimedia.

The IT for physically impaired will feature a simulated home office
with scheduled demonstrations by disabled people utilizing IT. A
conference entitled "Disabled but not handicapped: IT helps," will also
be held under the IT banner.

(Brett Cameron/19920906/Press Contact: Katherine Gagne, ITWeek, tel:
[phone];HK time is GMT + 8)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00008)

Japan: Shin Nippon Steel May Acquire NMB Semiconductor 09/07/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 SEP 7 (NB) -- Shin Nippon Steel has initiated
takeover talks with NMB Semiconductor, which is in financial
trouble. NMB Semiconductor has been manufacturing dynamic random
access memories and was preparing to manufacture flash memories
for Intel.

Shin Nippon Steel would buy its way into the top-of-the-line
semiconductor market with this acquisition.

NMB Semiconductor is a subsidiary of Minebear, and was created
in Chiba-ken in 1984. The firm originally developed its technology to
produce dynamic RAM chips with assistance from Inmos in the UK.

NMB Semiconductor listed its stocks on the over-the-counter market
of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1989. At that time, the firm enjoyed
34 billion yen ($270 million) in annual sales. However, due to the
slump in the semiconductor industry, NMB has lost heavily.
As of September 1991, sales had dropped down to 18 billion yen
($145 million) annually with a debt of 6.5 billion yen ($50 million).

Shin Nippon Steel is expected to take about 60 percent of NMB's
equity. Both firms are currently discussing details of
a takeover. If culminated, it is expected that many of NMB's
employees, including its researchers, will stay with the firm.

The acquisition of NMB Semiconductor may strengthen the
Shin Nippon Steel's semiconductor business. Shin Nippon Steel
created two subsidiaries in the past. One is Nittetsu Electronics,
which produces semiconductor raw materials, and the other is
Semiconductor Device Center. After the acquisition, Shin Nippon
Steel is expected to enter the flash memory market. NMB was planning
to produce flash memory for Intel, but Shin Nippon Steel may link
with other chip makers.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19920907/Press Contact: Shin Nippon
Steel, [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00009)

Japan: 3 Big Firms Exchange Digital Cassette, Mini-Disk Info 09/07/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 SEP 7 (NB) -- Three major firms have reached an
agreement concerning exchange of digital technologies for a digital
compact cassette (DCC) recorder and a "Mini-Disk." This new
technology sharing agreement will allow Matsushita, Philips, and
Sony want to collaborate on the next generation of digital media.

The agreement calls for Sony to provide Mini-Disk technologies to
Matsushita Electric and Philips, while Matsushita and Philips will
provide their DCC technologies to Sony. As a result, these firms
will have rights to grant license to hardware and software makers
for the production of all these products.

Instead of fighting with each other, the firms have decided to cooperate.
They apparently do not want to repeat the VCR war -- Matsushita
pushed the VHS VCR, while Sony advocated Beta VCR. The result was
confusion among consumers and hard feelings among VCR makers.
These two different formats, DCC and Mini-Disk, are consequently
to be compatible.

DCC products are to be released earlier than Mini-Disk products.
Japan Victor, Pioneer and Time-Warner, besides Matsushita
and Philips, are preparing to release DCC products. Sony,
Aiwa, Kenwood, and Japan Columbia are preparing to release
Mini-Disk products. The first DCC players will be released this
month, while the Mini-Disk is expected in November.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19920907/Press Contact: Sony, +81-3-
3448-2200)