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/nb920924

Text File | 1992-09-24 | 66KB | 1,485 lines

(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00001)

Probe Research Joins Bell Breakup Study 09/24/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 24 (NB) -- Probe Research
will help with and co-market studies by Bruce Kushnick's New
Networks Institute which seem to indicate that the Bell breakup
has been bad for consumers.

Kushnick first released his findings during the summer, charging
that a review of regional Bell documents, and other documents,
shows that consumers have gotten a raw deal from divestiture. His
study indicated the local phone companies are wringing monopoly
profits on short long-distance phone calls, which they are hiding
from regulators and plowing into questionable investments in
information technology and international phone companies.

Under the agreement Probe, a well-known research firm, will help
market a five-year study called "10 Years Since Divestiture: The
Future of the Information Age." The first report will be jointly
released in November, adding its own technical and statistical
analyses of the regional Bells to Kushnick's own work. Probe said
the Kushnick reports complement its own work, but that it "breaks
new ground and presents new statistics, arguments and solutions
that have not been examined or discussed before," according to
Probe President Victor Schnee.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920923/Press Contact: Bruce Kushnick,
New Networks Institute, 212-837-7867; Chuck Sheppard, Probe
Research, 201-285-1500)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00002)

Dun & Bradstreet Offers Supplier Ratings 09/24/92
MURRAY HILL, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 24 (NB) -- For the
first time, Dun & Bradstreet will give its own evaluation of
information it receives in business credit reports. The Supplier
Evaluation, a new product aimed at companies who want to
evaluate  suppliers of goods rather than customers, will include
in its  new "risk summary" a single-digit rating, from 1 to 9,
based on other information in the report. A "1" rating indicates
a strong supplier, and a "9" indicates a weak one.

Dun's spokesperson Pamela Spiridon told Newsbytes the rating is
just one tool in an evaluation, adding, "A lot of suppliers
specifically asked for this when we were developing the product."
She insisted that the rating should not be taken on its own as a
Dun's evaluation of a supplier's reliability. "In addition,
within the report, we have sections on all sorts of other kinds
of data."

In the consumer credit industry, however, ratings like
this, often created by credit grantors on specific accounts, have
been enough to cause the denial of credit and jobs to people. The
consumer agencies have been forced to back-pedal on claims and
offer toll-free lines so consumers could contest such ratings.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920923/Press Contact: Dun & Bradstreet
Information Services, Pamela Spiridon, 908/665-5105)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00003)

LCI Offering International Toll-Free Service 09/24/92
COLUMBUS, OHIO, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 24 (NB) -- LCI International, a
small long distance carrier headed by former MCI executive Brian
Thompson, said it is now offering toll-free calls from 37
countries to its switched lines in the US.

This means that buyers of LCI's regular toll-free service can
now take international toll-free calls on the same line, or on a
separate line.

LCI President Thomas Wynne, another former MCI executive,
said the pricing on his service is five-12 percent less than that
with other companies. And LCI is waiving its set-up fee of $50
per country for a limited time. LCI also offers volume discounts
for larger users, and allows IDDD 800 traffic to contribute
toward volume discounts applied to other core LCI products.

Since Thompson and Wynne began managing LCI, which is owned
mainly by venture capitalists E.M. Warburg, Pincus & Co. and
Primus Venture Partners, they have totally re-invented the
company. They have moved from using their own facilities and
salesmen to leased facilities and commissioned third-party
sales organizations. They have also moved the company back
toward profitability, and begun offering innovative calling
plans based on a flat per-minute fee anywhere in the US.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920923/Press Contact: Jim Fette, LCI
International, 614-798-6272)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00004)

Exabyte Intros Half-height 8mm Tape System 09/24/92
BOULDER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 24 (NB) -- Exabyte
has announced a new product, the EXB-8505 8mm half-height
5.25-inch tape drive. The announcement came one day after the
company's stock dropped more than $9 per share, closing at
$14.625 after it said its third quarter results would not meet
expectations.

The EXB-8505 has a storage capacity of five gigabytes (GB), and
can transfer data at 500 kilobytes-per-second. At that rate, a
40 megabyte (MB) hard drive could be backed up in about a minute
and a half. The drive also offers data compression, which Exabyte
says will typically increase capacity and transfer rates by a
factor of two. Mean time between failures (MTBF) rate, an
industry standard for determining the reliability of hardware, is
80,000 hours.

The new subsystem uses IBM's Improved Data Recording
Capability (IDRC) data compression algorithm, implemented in
the company's own chip design. Compression ratios vary
depending on the data and the application. Exabyte says
benchmark tests using customer data have resulted in a typical
compression ratio of 2:1.

Exabyte Chairman Peter Behrendt says the 8505 is a result of
listening to the needs of customers. "Our customers said they
wanted a smaller, faster, higher capacity 8mm tape drive. We
built the EXB-8505 to meet those needs." A SCSI-2 (Small
Computer Systems Interface-2) device, the 8505's deck
mechanism is built by Sony Corporation.

(Jim Mallory/19920923/Press contact: Susan Merriman,
Exabyte, 303-447-7434)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00005)

Qualcomm Demos GSM Mobile Phone Rival Technology 09/24/92
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND 1992 SEP 24 (NB) -- The Swiss PTT may
be one of the few European telecommunications administrations
not "sold" on the idea of GSM (group speciale mobile/global
system for mobiles) digital mobile telephony, judging by recent
events at the company's Geneva headquarters.

According to Qualcomm, a US mobile phone company, it has just
completed a major series of tests and demonstrations in the
Geneva area, to show how its code division multiple access
(CDMA) technology measures up against GSM, which uses time
division multiple access (TDMA) technology.

The idea of the tests, which were carried out in conjunction with
the research and development arm of the Swiss PTT, was to show
that CDMA is capable of out-performing GSM in the 800
megahertz (MHz) waveband.

According to Jean-Paul de Weck, the Swiss PTT's telecoms
program manager, the tests involving Qualcomm's CDMA technology
are to see whether the service to the administration's existing
analog cellular network subscribers can be improved.

"We are continually searching for ways which will make us most
responsive to our customers' needs. Our initial investigations of
CDMA suggested that an in-depth analysis of the technology was
warranted, hence the demonstrations," he said.

"The opportunity to gather system performance data under actual,
familiar operating conditions is of particular value, since it
provides a known frame of reference which will be useful in our
interpretation of the data," he added.

According to Qualcomm, de Weck was impressed with the low
output power required for CDMA technology, as well as its ability
to cope with reflections and other interference which can cause
problems with conventional analog and digital cellular signals.

Qualcomm claims that its CDMA technology capitalizes on
reflected signals, combining the three strongest signals into a
single signal, which is then processed by the mobile or the base
stations. According to Eli Strich, Qualcomm's program director,
the worse an operating signal is due to reflections, the better
the company's CDMA technology can handle it.

"While operating conditions vary significantly, one can typically
expect to encounter a limited number of multipath signals in a
given cellular area," he said, adding that the number of
multipath (reflected) signals was higher during the Swiss
demonstrations, owing to the hilly terrain in Switzerland.

"At times, the system had to contend with as many as 10
multipath signals at once. Even under these unusually adverse
conditions, system performance was maintained, with no
noticeable degradation of voice quality," he said.

(Steve Gold/19920923)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(00006)

Storm Brewing Over Planned EC Environmental Energy Tax 09/24/92
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1992 SEP 24 (NB) -- A storm is brewing
in the European Community (EC) over controversial plans to
introduce an environmental tax on energy.

According to reports from within the EC, Energy Commissioner
Cardosa e Cunha is keen on the introduction of such a tax,
despite the fact that many view it as just another European tax.

Speaking recently at the World Energy Council (WEC) conference
in Madrid, e Cunha said that he and the EC would "argue forcefully
for the adoption of this important policy initiative in its
entirety."

Members of OPEC (Organizations of Petroleum Exporting
Countries) were not impressed with e Cunha's comments, saying
that the tax was simply another way of extracting cash from
hard-pressed businesses in Europe.

Cardosa e Cunha said that the aims of the tax are strictly
environmental: "The economic aims of this Community strategy
are to increase energy efficiency and lower the carbon emissions
of Community energy production and use," he said.

E Cunha predicted that, even without the introduction of the
tax, energy demand in the EC would only rise at the rate of 1.3
percent a year over the next decade.

The EC's proposals for an environmental energy tax suggest that
a tax on the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) created when the
energy product is created and refined be introduced. The tax
could, EC experts suggest, be phased in from next year onwards.

(Steve Gold/19920923)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LON)(00007)

New For Unix: Lotus Intros cc:Mail For Unix 09/24/92
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, 1992 SEP 24 (NB) -- Lotus Development
Corporation has unveiled cc:Mail for Unix, an Open Look graphical
user interface (GUI) version of cc:Mail that supports the SMTP
(simple mail transfer protocol) electronic mail system.

Launched at the Sunworld Expo computer show in Birmingham, the
package claims to offer the same functionality as other versions
of cc:Mail, but adhering to the relevant Unix industry standards.

In use, cc:Mail for Unix can interwork with other versions of the
software for other platforms, notably DOS, OS/2, Windows, and
Apple Macintosh editions. Communication is, Lotus claims,
transparent.

"Once again, we are demonstrating our commitment to global
connectivity by offering a cross-platform suite of electronic
mail clients, including cc:Mail for DOS. OS/2, Mac, Windows, and
now Unix," said Rex Cardinale, vice president of Lotus and
general manager of the cc:Mail division. "These offerings allow
users to access their individual mailbox from any workstation
on a network. cc:Mail for Unix further demonstrates Lotus'
commitment to build a rich suite of products for the growing
base of Unix users worldwide," he added.

UK Users of Sun workstations will have to wait until the end of
October to get their hands on cc:Mail for Unix. Pricing in at
UKP 175, the Unix platform version runs on a Sun Sparcstation
or compatible running Solaris 1.0 or later, plus Open Windows
3.0 or later. Extra users cost UKP 275 per 10 users, UKP 675 for
25 users and UKP 2,635 for 100 users.

(Steve Gold/19920923/Press & Public Contact: Lotus
Development - Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00008)

Wordperfect Developing WordPerfect For Windows NT 09/24/92
ADDLESTONE, SURREY, 1992 SEP 24 (NB) -- Wordperfect has
confirmed that it working on developing a 32-bit version of
WordPerfect for Windows NT (new technology). The announcement
means that the company is probably the first word processing
company to develop a Windows NT-specific version of their
word processor, except, perhaps, for Microsoft itself.

David Godwin, general manager for sales and marketing at
Wordperfect UK, said that WP developers have been working on
the project ever since Microsoft first released information about
the new operating system environment to third party developers.

"Wordperfect will be a leading provider of applications software
for the Windows NT platform. Our experience in developing
applications for other 32-bit environments such as OS/2 2.0 and
Unix will help us as we exploit the potential of Windows NT," he
said.

Although the beta copies of Windows NT that Newsbytes has
seen are fairly similar to the existing DOS version (v3.1),
Wordperfect claims that the 32-bit version of Wordperfect
for Win/NT will be superior to the DOS edition.

Wordperfect reckons that its package for Win/NT will take
advantage of the improved performance and multitasking
capabilities of Windows NT. The company plans to provide
electronic mail and presentation graphics support for the
package.

(Steve Gold/19920923/Press & Public Contact: Wordperfect
UK - tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00009)

New For Mac: RasterOps' PhotoPro Graphics Board 09/24/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 24 (NB) -- Hoping to
appeal to users of Adobe's Photoshop, RasterOps has introduced
PhotoPro, a RISC-based graphics accelerator board.

According to the company, Apple Macintosh II series computers
equipped with the PhotoPro board will run at the speed of a
Macintosh Quadra 950 when manipulating even the most
compute-intensive Adobe Photoshop filters.

Available in both NuBus and daughterboard configurations, the
PhotoPro NuBus adapter works with all 24-bit display products,
and supports the RasterOps ProColor 32, 24STV, 24MxTV, and
24XLTV.

Bruce Mills, RasterOps product manager, said: "With the help from
Adobe's product management, we are the only company to offer an
accelerated adapter that produces results that are identical to
native Adobe Photoshop filters. In addition, you'll experience a
performance boost previously only possible on a Quadra 950."

The company maintains that each PhotoPro adapter includes a
user-selectable control for "guassian blur" and "unsharp mask"
filters which allow for the option of using PhotoPro in either a
compatible mode, for results requiring precise accuracy, or fast
mode, which substantially increases speed rates.

The company claims that, in benchmark tests using a Macintosh
IIcx, PhotoPro, working in compatible mode, performed Photoshop
functions at least 400 percent faster than a Macintosh IIcx. In
fast mode, the company claims PhotoPro produced results that
were 1,000 percent faster than a Macintosh IIcx.

Compute-intensive custom filters are accelerated when using
PhotoPro. The company also says that the adapter provides
similar functionality to the native Photoshop resize function by
including bicubic, bilinear and nearest-neighbor algorithms.

RasterOps claims that its proprietary StillCompressor software
offers controls to select desired compression ratios between low
and high, and "supports any QuickTime application so that still
images can be enhanced in Photoshop and quickly compressed for
easy maneuverability."

PhotoPro includes a 33 megahertz (MHz) RISC processor with
math coprocessing and block mode transfer, allowing PhotoPro
to operate as a NuBus master to accelerate other block transfer
display adapters installed in the computer.  Several PhotoPro
daughter boards can be used in parallel for a multi-processor
environment. A developer's toolkit to create compute-intensive
routines is also available to VARs (value-added resellers) and
developers.

Minimum system requirements for PhotoPro include a Macintosh
II or Quadra computer running Adobe Photoshop 2.01 or software
that supports Photoshop plug-ins.

The PhotoPro NuBus and daughterboard adapters are available
immediately, priced at $999.

(Ian Stokell/19920923/Press Contact: Carrie Coppe, RasterOps
Corp. 408-562-4200)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00010)

Radius Intros PrecisionColor Matching System 09/24/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 24 (NB) -- Targeting
Macintosh color graphics professionals, Radius has introduced
the Radius PrecisionColor Matching System (PCMS), intended
to provide accurate color proofing and monitor calibration
capabilities.

Mary Coleman, Radius vice president of marketing, said: "Radius'
PrecisionColor Matching System is by far the most cost-effective
color matching system for Macintosh color professionals,
retailing for less than half the price of comparable products.
And, unlike competitive systems, PCMS takes an open systems
approach to color matching. PCMS is designed to be widely
compatible with all industry leading printers, scanners, and
other color publishing printers."

The company explains that each device a designer uses reads
color differently and varies in its capability to represent the
range of color the human eye can see. Consequently, a printed
proof often bears little resemblance to the image the designer
originally viewed on-screen.

Radius says that the PrecisionColor Matching System combines
color matching software and monitor calibration to address the
problem. The color matching capability is based on Kodak's color
management technology, which incorporates device-specific
characterizations, used to account for the variations between
specific devices. The company maintains that the software then
color matches for photographic images by correcting the input
file for scanner variations, correcting the output file for printer
variations, and previewing the output on the monitor.

Device profiles on a CD-ROM are also included with the Radius
PCMS. These are electronic interpretations of various hardware
products which, according to the company "provide users with a
reliable method of compensating for differences in the way
input and output devices interpret color."

Calibration is accomplished with the PrecisionColor Calibrator,
which attaches to a color display's screen, evaluates, and then
corrects the variations in color by adjusting the red, green, and
blue values to the screen.

(Ian Stokell/19920923/Press Contact: James Strohecker,
Radius Inc., 408-954-6828)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00011)

XSoft Intros Document Management Products 09/24/92
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 24 (NB) -- In an
effort to appeal to a wider market, XSoft, a business division of
Xerox Corp., has introduced a number of document management
and publishing products, including a suite of office productivity
applications for the X Windows environment, document search
and retrieval capabilities, SGML publishing software, and a
utility which allows Windows users to connect to XSoft's
document services capabilities.

At the same time, the company also disclosed its intension of
establishing an Open Document Environment that will "provide
improvements in the way people work with documents of all
kinds." XSoft defines the Open Document Environment as "one in
which documents can be accessed, viewed and shared by people
and work groups, without technology getting in the way."

Paul A. Allaire, chairman and chief executive officer of Xerox
Corp, said: "The document is the primary vehicle for the creation
and communication of ideas and information. As documents
continue to evolve into electronic formats, the importance of
powerful, enterprise-wide software to manage documents takes
on dimensions that directly affect a company's business
processes and its ultimate success."

According to the company, significant improvements in user
productivity can be accomplished by providing better ways of
dealing with the rapidly increasing volume of documents used
every day.

The company's new GlobalView for X is a suite of office
productivity and document management software products for
Unix workstation users in the X Window environment. According
to XSoft, the product is based on an object-oriented user
interface, which provides closely integrated individual
productivity applications for X Windows users. GlobalView for
X supports both OpenLook and Motif, and includes a version of
the Rooms desktop manager utility.

The company maintains that GlobalView includes a compound
document editor which enables users to create and integrate
text, graphics, and tables into a single document. Creation
tools, such as color, style sheets, redlining, thesaurus, spelling
checker, equations, footnotes, and long document options are
also available.

GlobalView comes bundled with one of six additional GlobalView
software modules, each of which can also be purchased as an
add-on: GV Office; GV Advanced Graphics; GV Languages; DocuTran
Interface; DocuTeam Database Access; or Document Services
Access

A floating license for GlobalView, including one optional software
module, will carry a suggested retail price of $1,495, including
all file filters. Additional software modules will retail for $495.
The company says that volume discounts and site licenses are
also available.

The company's new DocuBuild SGML 1.2  is a publishing software
product running on Sun Microsystems SPARCstations, SPARC-
compatible workstations, PCs, and Xerox 6085 workstations.

According to the company, DocuBuild 1.2 enhancements include
performance throughput improvements of 30 to 50 percent for
most operations, new and enhanced Standard Generalized Markup
Language (SGML) capabilities, and workflow and style features.

XSoft says that DocuBuild is a set of integrated SGML-based
applications for the creation, modification, and revision of
"complex, compound business and technical publications" such
as product manuals, technical proposals, scientific reports, and
regulatory filings.

DocuBuild 1.2 and PC DocuBuild are available immediately with a
suggested retail price of $2,495 and $495, respectively.

XSoft currently offers its full suite of document management
products for Xerox 6085 and 6500 workstations, Sun Unix
workstations, and PC systems running OS/2 and SCO Unix.
According to the company, support for additional platforms and
operating environments will be added on an ongoing basis.

(Ian Stokell/19920923/Press Contact: Ed Kramer, XSoft,
415-813-6898)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TYO)(00012)

 ****Compaq To Release Low-cost PCs In Japan 09/24/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 SEP 24 (NB) -- Compaq is set to release
80386-based personal computers at half the price of rival
Japanese PCs. The move is seen as a considerable threat to
Japanese personal computer makers.

Compaq is preparing to release a series of IBM PC-compatible
personal computers in Japan in October. There will be about
30 different PCs, and all of these PCs are expected to be sold
at less than half of current Japanese personal computers. The
low-end version of 32-bit series based on an 80386SX will be
sold for around 129,000 yen ($1,030).

Compaq is also preparing to release an 80486-based personal
computer for less than 450,000 yen ($3,600), which is also
much cheaper than comparable Japanese products. Currently,
Japanese personal computers are sold in the price range of
230,000 yen ($1,800) to 290,000 yen ($2,300).

Many computer manufacturers, including those in Japan, are
assigning production to Taiwanese makers on an OEM (original
equipment manufacturer) basis, in order to save on production
costs. However, Compaq will not use Taiwanese makers to
manufacture these PCs. Instead, Compaq plans to manufacture
the products in its plants in the US, UK, and Singapore, and ship
them to Japan. It is still cheaper because there is no import
tariffs for computers in Japan.

Another threat for Japanese personal computer makers is the
maintenance service offered. It is reported that Compaq is
planning to provide first-class maintenance service in Japan.
This is a major concern for the Japanese consumers.

Compaq did a major restructuring of the company's business
last November, dividing the PC department to low-end version
and high-end version. As a result, Compaq has started marketing
extremely low-cost machines.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19920924/Press Contact: Compaq,
c/o Catena Group, [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00013)

Delrina, Caere Announce OCR Deal 09/24/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 SEP 24 (NB) -- Delrina
Technology and Los Gatos, California-based Caere Corp. have
announced an agreement that will see Caere's optical character
recognition (OCR) technology built into Delrina's WinFax Pro
facsimile software for PCs running Microsoft Windows.

Caere's AnyFax OCR technology uses neural network technology to
convert incoming faxes into editable documents. According to Val
Cole, senior product marketing manager at Caere, "fax is sort of a
study in missing information," and the rules used for OCR on
scanned-in documents don't work as well with faxes.

The AnyFax technology will be incorporated into an upcoming
release of WinFax Pro, said Shelly Sofer, a spokesman for Delrina.
This will allow the software not only to receive faxes but to
convert them into text files that can then be edited with PC
word processing software and otherwise manipulated on the
computer.

Sofer would not reveal specifically when the OCR capability
might be added to WinFax Pro.

Speaking at a Toronto software conference in the spring, Delrina
Chairman Mark Skapinker said the combination of electronic
forms processing, OCR, pen computing, and computer fax modems
will change the way offices work over the next few years. He said
these technologies will allow businesses to do much more of their
work electronically rather than on paper.

In January, Delrina called off plans to buy two American
companies that sell OCR software. Delrina had hoped to use
technology from OCR Systems, of Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania,
and Nonlinear Technology, of Greenbelt, Maryland, with WinFax Pro
and its PerForm forms processing software.  Officials said they
had been unable to reach a definitive agreement.

(Grant Buckler/19920923/Press Contact: Shelly Sofer, Delrina,
416-441-3676; Val Cole, Caere, 408-395-7000)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00014)

New For Windows: MegaText Manages Text Retrieval 09/24/92
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 SEP 24 (NB) -- Megalith
Technologies has launched MegaText for Windows, text-retrieval
software aimed at helping manage large volumes of text in
corporate or government offices.

Peter Fillmore, vice-president of marketing at Megalith, said the
company has sold a DOS version of the software for a couple of
years, and had previously released MegaText for Windows to a
limited number of users in the Ottawa area, in what he said was
similar to a beta-test program.

The current release is labelled MegaText for Windows Version 1.1,
and will be sold by a direct sales force in Canada, as well as in
the United States and Europe through value-added resellers
(VARs) and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

Fillmore said the software is designed to be tailored to individual
clients' needs. It can work with plain ASCII text files, with
WordPerfect documents, or with text in various other formats
through creation of custom filters by the vendor.

MegaText is designed to provide fast search and retrieval of text.
According to the vendor, typical applications include retrieving
text and graphics from on-line administrative or technical
manuals or from reference sources such as legal or medical
information collections.

Its capabilities include wildcard and phrase searching, a
user-defined thesaurus, multi-lingual search capabilities, and
proximity distance searching, among others.

Fillmore said the cost of the software would vary with the size
of the installation, but a typical entry-level local area network
setup would cost about C$10,000.

(Grant Buckler/19920923/Press Contact: Peter Fillmore,
Megalith Technologies, 613-225-2300)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00015)

Australia: Weather Computers Linked To Students 09/24/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 SEP 24 (NB) -- The Australian Bureau
of Meteorology has joined with four Australian universities to
provide links between the institutions and the Bureau's weather
analysis computer.

The computer, running MCIDAS (Man Computer Interactive
Display and Assimilation System) software, will provide the
students with up-to-the-minute weather information which can
be used in the meteorology courses held by the universities.

Students from any of the participating universities can access
the information through AARNET (the Australian Academic and
Research Network), which is used by the bureau to distribute the
information throughout Australia. Currently, the participating
universities are Macquarie University in Sydney, Monash
University in Melbourne, the University of Tasmania, and the
University of Queensland. The Bureau pays for most of the costs
of the link up, and says that providing the service adds only a
small incremental increase on running the system for its own
use.

Using the system universities can gain hourly updates of 150
different areas and types of information. Dr Bart Geerts, of
Macquarie University's School of Earth Sciences, sees the system
changing the whole approach to teaching meteorology. "In the past
when we taught meteorology it was fairly abstract. Now, instead
of just talking about it, we can trace the movement of a cold
front across the whole country," Geerts said.

The gathered information will allow the students to examine
data from approximately one third of the earth's surface. The
MCIDAS system was developed by the University of Wisconsin,
and was specially adapted for Australian conditions for use
by the bureau.

(Sean McNamara/19920921/Press Contact: Australian Bureau
of Meteorology, phone in Australia [phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(SYD)(00016)

Australia: RAAF Uses Macs To Manage Jet Maintenance 09/24/92
 SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 SEP 24 (NB) -- The Royal Australian
Air Force (RAAF) is using Apple Macintosh computers to run its
maintenance management system. The installation of the system
has seen a streamlining of maintenance work, and has cut the Air
Force's costs in this area.

The Macs are running X-PERT software from Micro Planning
International (MPI), which was installed in 1990, and upgrades
to X-PERT 2 have been delivered to 13 RAAF sites throughout
Australia.

The Mac was chosen by the RAAF because of its graphical user
interface (GUI), said MPI Australian Managing Director Pat
Weaver, although the system had to be proven to be better than
systems available for MS-DOS before purchase. This was the
result of the DESINE program, which specifies the types of
machines which can be bought for defense work, and an
exemption was granted after extensive testing of systems on
both PC and Mac were carried out by the RAAF and the
Australian Defence Force Academy.

X-PERT, developed in the United Kingdom, allows the allocation
and scheduling of tasks in complex projects - in the RAAF's case,
the maintenance and repair of aircraft.

"It looks at all the tasks to be done in a process, the available
skills in the people in the team who look after that process and
which of them are available, and balances those resources against
the available schedule," Weaver said.

Each aircraft must undergo a comprehensive service every few
years, a process which can now be handled efficiently and
flexibly using the X-PERT system. Such maintenance on the F-111
aircraft now takes around 20 weeks and 500 overtime hours,
compared to the 40 weeks and 5,000 overtime hours previously
needed.

(Sean McNamara/19920921)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00017)

Australia: Fare Collection Company Profit Boost 09/24/92
PERTH, AUSTRALIA, 1992 SEP 24 (NB) -- ERG Australia, an
automatic fare collection (AFC) and telecommunications company
based in Perth, has reported a significant rise in revenue and
profit for the financial year ended June 30. The results capped
off a busy year for ERG, which saw considerable growth by the
company.

Revenue for the financial year was up 110 percent, from AUS$12.1
million to AUS$25.4 million, with after tax profits rising by 149
percent from AUS$809,000 to AUS$2.015 million.

The year saw ERG sign an alliance with Finnish telecommunications
company Nokia, buy out its Belgian rival Prodata Electronics, and
win a contract to supply Manchester City's public transport
system with AFC equipment and services.

Commenting on the results, ERG's Chief Executive Office Peter
Fogarty, said, "We are very pleased with the result given the
economic climate during the year and the high level of
expenditure on research and development (R&D) and marketing."

Fogarty went on to say, "During the year we committed a great
deal of our resources to conclusion of our alliance with Nokia,
acquisition of the Prodata Electronics business, extensive R&D
activities and winning Manchester and other contracts. Most of
the additional expenditure incurred will result in strong sales in
1993 and beyond. This should see turnover more than double
again in 1993."

One of the biggest factors in ERG's good performance was its
acceptance by the European market. Since the AUS$35 million
contract for Manchester was won in partnership with Danish
ticketing group Scanpoint, ERG has gone on and won AUS$16
million in contracts throughout Europe.

The company has also signed an AUS$14 million contract to
supply Sydney public transport buses with its magnetic-strip
ticketing system. Furthermore, the company already has in its
books AUS$160 million worth of contracts to fulfil in the next
two to three years.

(Sean McNamara/19920921/Press Contact: Peter Fogarty,
phone in Australia [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(WAS)(00018)

Mac Today TV Show Premieres Sept 26 09/24/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 24 (NB) -- Mac Today, the
new Macintosh-oriented television show which has already been
syndicated to 535 stations, will premiere September 26.
Satellite feed and program schedules for the first three episodes
have just been released to Newsbytes.

Mac Today's September 26 half-hour premiere episode will feature
a review of "Morph," the software which metamorphasizes one
image into another to create the sort of special effects which
were so impressive in the "Terminator II" movie. The program
will also review "Now Utilities."

In the "Mac Close Up" segment, the first show will visit The
Whale Discovery Center located in Plymouth, Mass., where
Macintosh Classic computers form the basis of an interactive
touch-screen presentation which shows visitors a whale of
facts.

In the "Mac People" segment, the host, Bob LeVitus, will review
the "Super Desktop Documents" book which is used in conjunction
with Microsoft Word. There is also a breaking news segment
which leads each show.

Episode 2 (October 3) will review "Just Grandma & Me,"
Broderbund's interactive CD-ROM, and "Guaranteed Undelete." Also
on this episode is coverage of The Boston MacWorld Expo and a
review of the book, "Design Essentials."

The third episode of Mac Today is scheduled to air on October 10
with "Kidworks II" and "Wonder Print" reviews. It also includes a
look at Steven Robert's behemoth office on a bicycle and has an
interview with Mac artist Sharon Steuer.

Mac Today's Executive Producer Larry Scott, has told Newsbytes
that the show will differ from other computer shows by
concentrating more on "outside" coverage as opposed to studio-
oriented stories.

The syndication group handling Mac Today says that the premiere
episode will be available for viewing in 85 percent of the US
television market.

For those who do not receive Mac Today from a local broadcast,
the main satellite feed will take place on Fridays on Galaxy 6,
transponder 21, at 12 noon Eastern time every week except on
October 16, when a conflict requires the show to go on
transponder 23.

The Teleport Denver uplinks Mac Today via American
Entertainment Family Network each Saturday at 2 p.m. Eastern
on G-6, transponder 17. There is also a Homenet feed to some
affiliates at 10:30 p.m. Eastern on G-6, transponder 15, each
Friday night.

(John McCormick/19920923/Press Contact: Larry Scott, KJD
Teleproductions, 609-751-7729, or fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00019)

ADA Goes Windows 09/24/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 24 (NB) -- Despite the fact that
the Department of Defense funded its development and mandated
its use, the Ada programming language (named in honor of Ada
Lovelace, who programmed for Charles Babbage) has not proven
to be a big hit, with contracting agencies seeming to spend more
time attempting to win variances allowing them to avoid using
Ada than in writing Ada code. That may change with the recent
introduction of competing Windows-based GUI (graphical user
interface) Ada development environments.

Irvine, California's Meridian Software, the first company to
market a really inexpensive MS-DOS-based validated Ada
compiler, is the second to come to market with a validated
Windows Ada compiler. RR Software of Madison, Wisconsin,
earlier introduced the add-on Windows ToolKit for the
company's Professional Development System.

Meridian's offering - OpenAda - lists for $795, a high price
compared to the familiar inexpensive Borland Turbo languages,
but actually quite inexpensive compared to other high-end
professional compilers, especially validated Ada compilers.

RR Software's compiler is also inexpensive for Ada compilers
at just under $1,000.

Ada is a powerful and versatile language which is especially
suited for embedded and real-time systems but also has strong
modularity that makes it easy to reuse large amounts of
existing code.

The language has mostly failed to catch on in general business
applications, despite tests which show that it is very efficient
both in operation and that experienced programmers can
generate compact code very quickly.

Part of the problem has been the lack of inexpensive PC-based
compilers, but that situation has eased recently, and some
observers feel that Ada will begin to gain momentum among
general program developers, especially with the large amount
of public domain code made available by various government
sources.

All compiler versions which carry the Ada name must pass
strict tests which determine that the code they produce is
fully compatible with all other Ada compilers, no matter what
platform they run on.

(John McCormick/19920923)


(NEWS)(IBM)(WAS)(00020)

New For PC: IronClad Virus Protection & File Security 09/24/92
SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 24 (NB) -- Calling
their new product "Facilities Management" software, Silver Oak
Systems has introduced what it says is the ultimate in anti-virus
tools, a software system that prevents even casual users from
infecting any computer in a facility.

This is not an anti-virus tool in the normal sense that it detects
viruses, rather, IronClad provides a solid wall between the
computer and any virus attack.

While most security programs concentrate on protecting
computers which are only used in office environments by one
or two people, IronClad is intended for open environments such
as those encountered in schools or some government locations.

IronClad offers virus prevention security in three stages which
the system manager, but not the individual user, can selectively
use. The first step consists of loading IronClad on an uninfected
system and allowing the program to lock all existing executable
files in a way that does not allow the computer to run any other
program.

New virus-free programs can be added to the IronClad approved
database only by the authorized supervisor.

The second protection stage comes when IronClad is set to deny
direct access writes which bypass DOS and is used by a virus to
infect the otherwise protected boot sector. Those two features
block virus infection from a hard disk, and the third, called "boot
lock" prevents infection from a floppy.

You can still boot a system from the floppy drive with IronClad
installed, but with "boot lock" activated software cannot access
the hard drive after booting from a floppy.

IronClad recognizes four classes of users. Only the system
manager has full access, with public users having only the right
to run selected programs.

Using a computer with IronClad installed need not be complicated.
Special users need to use their password and are required to
update that password periodically, but where appropriate, public
access (no password) can also be enabled and in that situation
the computer works normally, it just will not allow users to run
any new programs.

IronClad also offers a good copy protection feature which can
prevent users from making illegal copies of software. The
protection even works with Windows software. Another copy
protection system even prevents users from viewing files.

Since Windows 3.x programs are not started the same way
normal .EXE and .COM files are activated, IronClad has special
features to protect systems which use Windows.

For particularly sensitive files, IronClad includes two
encryption systems, one of them is the standard DES or Data
Encryption Standard.

The price of all this protection? Single copies are $195, with
quantity discounts and further discounts for no-documentation
multi-packs.

A major advantage of IronClad is that, because it protects
files and drives rather than trying to detect and remove virus
infections, it does not require annoying and expensive
periodic updates to be able to cope with newly created viruses.

(John McCormick/19920923/Press Contact: Eric Schoenberg,
Silver Oak Systems, 301-585-8641 or fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00021)

TCA Show: New Products & Voice Mail Integration 09/24/92
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 24 (NB) -- The
Telecommunications Show gave makers of telephone products one
more chance to introduce their latest-and-greatest to the phone
companies which are their primary distributors.

The main theme remained the integration of voice mail into all
sorts of equipment. Venkat Mohan of VMX, a voice mail company,
told Newsbytes before the show that software will spell the
difference in this market.

Siemens of Germany won some headlines by completing the
consolidation of ROLM into its operations. The company decided to
put its own PBX (private branch exchange) products into the ROLM
line, saying "ROLM is now Siemens in the private
telecommunications business." As part of that, Siemens put its
HCM 200 into the ROLM product line as the ROLM 9200. As an
independent company founded by Ken Oshman and others in the
1970s, ROLM sold the first digital PBX, in 1975, and now offers
voice mail and call distribution systems as well. Its acquisition
in the mid-1980s by IBM turned into a major embarrassment for
Big Blue.

AT&T made a number of announcements, most of them minor. The
company added features to its Partner key telephones, including
voice mail, caller identification, and incoming call management
features. It expanded the capability of its Partner Plus so it
can now handle up to 12 incoming lines. The Merlin Legend, which
acts as either a key telephone or PBX, was improved with fax
server capability, multilingual voice mail, new ISDN (Integrated
Services Digital Networks) features and advanced call coverage
features, as well as the ability to handle Caller ID information.
The Definity PBX now comes in a new smaller version, called the
Generic 3s, which can now handle as few as 40 lines. The PBX
line offers networking features that let many systems act as one,
so they can be handled by a single person from a single site. The
Definity is now sold in over 40 countries, and is a key part of
AT&T's efforts to gain worldwide market share.

Perhaps the most interesting AT&T announcement, however, was
news that its corded telephone business, as well as its European
operations, had moved its headquarters to southern France, under
former Apple Computer Europe executive Philip J. Chauveau. The
new offices for the division will be in Nice.

SpectraLink, which makes wireless PBX systems, said it has
shipped over 18 of those units, as well as over 1,000 cordless
phones which work with it. The equipment received what is called
"Part 15" certification from the US government in May, meaning
it can be sold without separate licenses for the use of radio
spectrum in the 902 to 928 megahertz frequency range. Perhaps
more important, the Boulder, Colorado-based company said that
Intecom of Allen, Texas agreed to distribute its system. Intecom
is now a subsidiary of the French Matra S.A. group.

The lead story from General Datacomm was its Office
Communications Manager, which links a number of smaller
networks into high-capacity backbones, so LANs (local area
networks), telephones, and modems can all share the same data
lines. General also announced the DataComm 500F/AXR, which
can link other equipment to digital phone lines of up to 64,000
bits-per-second (bps). By linking a number of modems to the
unit, companies can save money on data transmission. Up to
16 of the units can be put into a tidy seven-inch shelf so they
do not waste space in your data center.

Octel said it now supports the Signaling System 7 scheme, or
SS7, in its Sierra voice system. SS7 has long been the standard
by which wired phone networks implement features like Caller
ID, but it is now being used by cellular systems as well. The
announcement makes it easier for Octel voice mail to be
implemented in advanced networks. Octel also announced what it
calls Short Message Service on its Sierra systems. This allows
cellular phone subscribers to be notified of voice mail messages
on the Sierra via a simple text message on their mobile phone
handsets.

Finally, Northern Telecom announced its first voice mail product.
DMS-100 Mail is based on its central office switch, and
represents an effort by public phone switch makers to take-on
specialized voice mail vendors. The new system works with
both rotary and touchtone phones.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920924/Press Contact: Northern Telecom,
Tom Hansen, 510/867-2631; General DataComm, Laura Bradshaw,
203-574-1118x6458; Octel, Barbara Burdick, 408/321-3245;
SpectraLink Ellen Vineski, 303/440-5330; Intecom, Patricia
Norvelle, 214/390-8913. AT&T Sue Fleming, 201-581-5619;
ROLM, Carter Cromwell, 408/764-8020)


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

TRT Announces Phone Service From Russia 09/24/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 SEP 24 (NB) -- TRT
Communications has announced new direct phone connection to
operators in the United States from anywhere in the former
states of the Soviet Union as part of its "Phone USA" program.

The new service, enables travelers to call anywhere in the
United States from what is now the Commonwealth of
Independent States by dialing 155-5036, linking them to
operators who can complete the call at US rates. Connections
are also available from Chile, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Hong
Kong, Peru, Portugal, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and
Venezuela.

The company's Russian partner is Aerocom Ltd., founded in 1991
as a joint stock company licensed to provide international
telephone, fax and data services in Russia. The major founding
partners of Aerocom are Moscow Long Distance and International
Telephone Administration, Russian Satellite Telecommunications
Co., Ostakino Television and Radio Transmission Center, Aeroflot
Airlines and the Russian Academy of Sciences. Among its
customers are the Kremlin Press Center and Moscow Cellular, a
new cellular telephone operations in Moscow.

TRT also announced Fax Plus for WordPerfect, a product that
enables users to send fax documents anywhere in the world
directly from their PC. Documents can be prepared in WordPerfect
5.1 and sent as a fax without ever leaving the software.  The
document is sent to TRT's Fax Plus Service, which acts as a
service bureau. Fax Plus is available in a stand-alone or network
version.

"We have been providing data services for years," spokesman
Tim Buchholz told Newsbytes. "This is just an easier interface
for our services."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920924/Press Contact: TRT
Communications Tim Buchholz, 202/879-2373)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00023)

Bellcore Announces New Technologies 09/24/92
RED BANK, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 24 (NB) -- Bellcore, the
research arm of the seven regional Bell companies, cannot make
products, and neither can the companies funding it. But it
continually comes up with new technology for license.

Deanna Munoz explained to Newsbytes that, "We file patents
and once the patents are secure, someone else will often come
forward and license the technology to manufacture the product.
If there's a need from our clients for such a product it can drive
the technology forward."

Among the latest offerings are MediaCom, a software and service
combination that combines voice, fax, electronic mail, voice
messaging, and access to electronic information services
simultaneously over a single telephone line under ISDN (Integrated
Services Digital Network) standards. It uses an icon-based
interface so users can take full advantage of ISDN, and Bellcore
said it can be especially useful for home-based workers. The
software also links to information services provided by a number
of vendors.

Bellcore also announced a multiplexing device which can work in
a number of wavelengths on optical fiber systems. Switching
remains a bottleneck in creating faster phone networks. Most
switches today remain based on electrical connections, so
signals running on fiber must be converted to electrical signals,
then back into light pulses, each time they are switched.

The "integrated acousto-optic filter" can help solve the problem.
"We have a lot of prototypes to make telecommunications work
more efficiently, but that's where we have to stop," said Munoz.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920924/Press Contact: Bellcore, Deanna
Munoz, 201/740-6110


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00024)

 ****MCI Offers Videophone 09/24/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 SEP 24 (NB) -- MCI has announced
it will compete with the AT&T VideoPhone 2500 by selling a
product from GEC-Marconi of the United Kingdom. The MCI
VideoPhone costs $750, against about $1,500 for the AT&T unit,
and uses a scheme called the Marconi Video Telephone Standard,
while the AT&T unit uses a proprietary algorithm from
Compression Labs.

The new phone is the first consumer product to be marketed under
the MCI name, and will become available in early 1993. MCI will
cooperate with British Telecom in trying to make the design a
"de-facto" standard on both sides of the Atlantic, with a joint
marketing arrangement that will enable customers in either
country to acquire, with "one-stop" shopping, two videophones
and have one delivered in the other country.

The move by MCI was seen by observers as a vindication of sorts
for AT&T, which was the first company to roll-out a video
telephone that works on regular phone lines instead of the
special digital lines required by videoconferencing systems.
MCI said its phone is lighter, costs less, is based on an
international standard, and synchronizes sound and pictures
better. AT&T said its unit offers better quality, a larger
screen, a better viewing angle and color, and will do well in
international markets.

Those markets could prove a key, as buyers try to use the units
to link with offices internationally. MCI is betting that the
fact it does not manufacture its units can help it win
endorsements from international PTTs, which might view AT&T
as a competitor. AT&T is aware of the problem, and has already
begun selling the unit in Canada. Since the two phones use
different algorithms for compression, they cannot call one
another.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920924/Press Contact: Debra Shriver,
MCI, 703-415-6941)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00025)

 ****IBM, DEC Ally On Disaster Recovery 09/24/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 24 (NB) -- Large
systems users who have equipment from both IBM and Digital
Equipment will only have to call one number for help in the
event of a disaster, the companies have announced.

The two companies said they will provide cooperative support to
IBM Business Recovery Services' customers and Digital Business
Protection  Services' customers that have mixed IBM and Digital
environments.

If a mutual customer loses computer systems due to any sort of
disaster, the two companies said, they will work together to
provide recovery services. Digital spokesman Michael Dodson said
a customer will be able to make one phone call to either IBM or
Digital to get the assistance process started. Both companies
have toll-free numbers for their recovery services customers.

The agreement also gives IBM and Digital 24-hour access to each
others' recovery centers across the United States. At present,
IBM's Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, Business Recovery Center is
networked with Digital's Restart Recovery Center in Parsippany,
New Jersey. Additional sites will be linked in the future, the
companies said.

The new service is available immediately, Dodson said. IBM and
Digital both offer a range of disaster recovery services,
including contingency planning, hot sites, relocation services,
facilities design and construction, environmental products, and
equipment repair or replacement.

Dodson said the companies already have "several" mutual
customers for disaster recovery services, in a variety of
industry sectors.

(Grant Buckler/19920923/Press Contact: Roberta Paul, IBM, 914-
642-5362; Michael Dodson, Digital, 508-467-7018)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00026)

Microsoft Adds Support Services For "Premier" Customers 09/24/92
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 24 (NB) -- Microsoft
has announced two new value-added services for its Premier
customers.

"Premier" is the top level of service available from Microsoft.
Because of its cost, Premier clients tend to be Fortune 1000
companies, Microsoft spokesperson Katy Ehrlich told Newsbytes.
For applications support, Premier costs $10,000 per year. For
$15,000 annually, you get network or development support.

The company says Premier customers will now have access to
technical support wherever and whenever they need help. Called
"7X24" Extended Hours and Hot-Site Support, Premier customers
will be able to get support from a senior support engineer familiar
with their operations seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Support
focuseson supporting production network servers, assisting with
network upgrades, and supporting Applications Helpdesk.

Microsoft says after 5 p.m., an on-call engineer will respond
within one hour of receipt of the initial service request.

Hot-Site support provides Premier customers with support
from Microsoft's senior support engineers at the customer's
location, and will focus on mission-critical problems.

(Jim Mallory/19920924/Press contact: Katy Ehrlich, Waggener
Edstrom for Microsoft, 503-245-0905; Reader contact: Microsoft
Corporation, 800-426-9400 or 206-882-8080)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEL)(00027)

India: SCO Lays Channel Infrastructure Foundation 09/24/92
BOMBAY, INDIA, 1992 SEP 24 (NB) -- The Santa Cruz Operation
(SCO) has outlined its plans to target a significant share of the
growing software market in India. In a recent announcement in
Bombay, SCO named SoftwareMart India Ltd. (SMILE) and Tata
Unisys Ltd. (TUL) as its official distributors for India. Both the
distributors will develop a reseller network as well as provide
delivery and support services.

SCO's wide range of Unix system software for 386/486 computers
includes SCO Open Desktop, the SCO Unix operating system, and the
SCO MPX multiprocessor extension, plus interoperability software
and development tools.

SCO claims to have shipped over 700,000 Unix systems so far -
which is said to be more than any other vendor - and fields one of
the largest Unix systems teams in the world. "SCO set up a
regional office in Singapore in January 1991 specifically to
develop markets in Asia," said General Manager for Asia Pacific
Peter Stanford. "Now we are positioning ourselves to strengthen
our support services and grow our market share."

In India, SCO Unix has been popular with several large organizations
like the National Informatics Center (NIC) and Bharat Heavy
Electricals Ltd. (BHEL). NIC alone is said to have about 1,000 SCO
Unix installations.

"A very high quality of Unix expertise is available especially with
the leading Indian OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), which
are our main customers so far here. However, the Unix versions
available in India are not vendor independent," explained R.N.Raja,
SCO's regional sales manager for Asia.

India is the fastest growing market for Unix in the region. "SCO
has had a sales revenue of about $1 million from India. That's
double the revenues of last year (in India),'' Raja told Computers
Today.

According to some analysts, SCO's ready acceptance in the Indian
marketplace has not been without some growing pains. These have
included delays associated with product availability, difficulty in
obtaining product updates, insufficient SCO sales and support
expertise in the sales channels, and lack of promotion and market
development for SCO products. SCO's recent signing for channel
infrastructure is "to address these concerns and future needs."

SCO maintains three development centers worldwide: Toronto in
Canada, for software engineering; Watford near London, for the
operating systems kernel; and at the company's headquarters in
Santa Cruz, California, where integration and networking activity
is undertaken.

Asked if SCO is likely to set up design and development activity
in India, Raja said: "We have just started our thrust here.
Considering India's expertise and potential in Unix, we need to
sell India to SCO. That depends on how profitable and viable our
operations will grow."

SCO also announced that the National Center for Software
Technology (NCST) in Bombay will host an SCO-ACE (Advance
Certified Engineer) training course for SCO Unix and SCO Open
Desktop, followed by examinations for accreditation of qualified
candidates as SCO-ACEs.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920923)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00028)

 ****UK: Amstrad To Go Private Again? Share Buyback Soon 09/24/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 SEP 24 (NB) -- Alan Sugar, chairman of
Amstrad, has given advance notice to his company and the Stock
Exchange of his intention to buy the remaining 64.6 percent of
the company back from the public.

The announcement, made to the Stock Exchange on September
23 caused the company's share price to soar 6.5 pence to a day
peak of 30.5p, before tailing off the following day to end at
28.0 pence.

As this edition of Newsbytes went to press, however, several
analysts in the UK computer industry were asking themselves why
Alan Sugar would notify the market of his intentions, when he had
no legal requirement.

"It's strange that Alan would do that, especially given the fact
that he intends to pay 30 pence per share," said Guy Kewney,
editorial fellow with Ziff-Davis UK. Kewney, whose influential
columns have appeared in the UK computer press for several
years, said he was puzzled by Sugar's actions.

Although Sugar has access to personal resources capable of
supporting the estimated $160 million cost of the company buy-
back, the Stock Exchange notice made specific reference to the
buy-back deal hinging on "obtaining the necessary finance."

Harry Thuillier, managing director of Fraser Associates, a UK
computer dealer, and a well-known computer industry veteran,
said that he wondered what Sugar's motive in the buy-back is.

"If he owns all the shares, there is no market value on the
company. He obviously thinks that Amstrad is worth more. The
question is -- someone has to be funding him, but who?" he said.

Earlier this month, Amstrad's shares were valued at 20 pence.
This compares to the 220 pence price the company had four years
ago. Since 1988, the company's shares have slid downwards, with
an all-time low of just 20 pence at the beginning of September.

Sources close to Amstrad suggest that, following the company's
launch of an array of PCs, fax phones and notebooks at the
Business Computing Show last week, Sugar is preparing to launch
the company into other directions -- something he may need a
rights issue for, to raise the necessary finance.

Amstrad will announced its final full-year results at the end of
next week. Analysts suggest that a loss of between UKP 65 and
UKP 70 million will be reported. This could have the effect of
reducing the share price, making Sugar's 30 pence per share offer
look very attractive, clearing the way for a number of changes
and an eventual re-issue of shares in the restructured company.

(Steve Gold/19920924/Press Contact: Nick Hewer, Michael Joyce
Public Relations - Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00029)

Oracle Shows Red Ink, But Stock Is Up 09/24/92
REDWOOD CITY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 24 (NB) -- Oracle,
the largest supplier of database management software (DBMS)
says despite a revenue increase of 25 percent, the company is
seeing net losses of $34 million (24 cents per share) for its
first quarter of 1993.

The company had a losing year in 1991 and reported losses of
$12.4 million on revenues of $1.03 billion. However, Oracle
bounced back in 1992 with earnings of $61.5 million on revenues
of $1.18 billion.

Oracle said despite the red ink it is having a great first
quarter. As the company previously announced, an accounting
change resulted in the recording of a non-cash charge related
to the required change in accounting for software revenue of
$43 million after-tax, which resulted in the net-loss of $34
million, Oracle added.

Before the accounting change, Oracle said net income figures
increased 311 percent to $10 million, or seven cents per share.
This compares favorably to net income of $2.4 million, or two
cents per share, recorded in the same quarter of fiscal 1992.

Investors appear to agree. The company's stock was up after the
announcement and has been steadily rising since a dip in
February. After the earnings announcement, the company's stock
rose from 19 and three-quarters to 20 and a quarter.

The company says it has seen growth in all three of its major
markets, the US, Europe, and Intercontinental. It is predicting
its control of its cash flow and operating expenses. The
weakness of the dollar compared to European currencies was
attributed as the reason for the company's successful showing
in its European markets.

Oracle said the shift to open systems has also helped
its database product, Oracle7. The company says the product
runs on PCs, workstations, minicomputers, mainframes and
massively parallel computers.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920924/Press Contact: Gail Snider, Oracle,
tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public Contact, 415-506-
7000)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00030)

HP Collaborates With Microsoft, Buys Tape Backup Co 09/24/92
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 24 (NB) -- Hewlett-
Packard (HP) is buying Colorado Memory Systems, manufacturers
of a popular tape backup product. The company said it is also
working with Microsoft in a formal collaborative effort to
improve printing under Windows on HP's popular laser and ink
jet printer products.

The incorporation of software drivers for various hardware
peripherals in Windows makes it easier for the user to install
and use those hardware peripherals. Creative Labs has already
seen success in its collaboration with Microsoft in
incorporating its software drivers for the Sound Blaster sound
cards into Windows 3.1. Support in the form of software drivers
for HP printers has been included in Windows for some time,
however, this is a more formal and focused agreement between
the two companies, HP said.

The purchase of Colorado Memory Systems by HP hints that HP
and Microsoft may also collaborate on support of the popular
Colorado quarter-inch Tape Back Up Drive. Currently, the drive
does not work under Windows.

Privately-held Colorado Memory Systems told Newsbytes it has
been working on a version of its software that would work under
Windows, but users have to reboot their machines without
Windows currently to make the tape backup drive work. The
company has been recommending users make a bootable floppy
disk with a batch file to run the commands to control the tape
backup drive, then boot off the floppy disk and allow an
automated routine to back up drives or format tapes.

However, Symantec, developers of the Norton Desktop for
Windows, announced support for the Colorado as well as other
tape drives, under Windows, in the latest version 2.0.

The popularity of tape backup drives is increasing, despite
hang ups with Windows, because of the increased capacity of
hard disk drives and the speed and reliability of the tape
backup system. A tape drive can cost as little as $150 and a
single tape with software compression can store the
information contained on an entire hard disk drive.

In the company's announcement with Microsoft, HP says its focus
on printer support includes definition of industry standards
for optimizing printing and bidirectional communication under
Windows, development of higher-speed interfaces for
bidirectional communication, and the sharing of resources and
experience to support customers of both companies.

HP and Microsoft said each company would have new products to
announce as a result of the agreement before the big computer
trade show Comdex, to be held in November of this year.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920924/Press Contact: Phil Missimore,
Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft, tel [phone]; Mike Lough,
Hewlett-Packard, tel [phone], fax [phone])