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/nb921029

Text File | 1992-10-29 | 66KB | 1,441 lines

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

New For Macintosh: Typing, Politics Simulation Programs 10/29/92
SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 29 (NB) -- Interplay
Productions has released two new programs for the Macintosh. Dvorak
on Typing for Macintosh is a typing tutor program intended to bring
users up to a 45 word-per-minute proficiency with the keyboard.
Power Politics is a simulation of presidential politicking in the
United States.

Dvorak on Typing is unique among typing tutor programs in that it
features a human voice as a teacher. The voice can take on one
of three characteristics: a male, female, or child. Another feature
that helps the teaching process is a collection of games keyed
to the lesson, designed to make practice more fun than drudgery.

Power Politics is the first result of an agreement signed between
Interplay Productions and Cineplay Interactive. The game allows
a user to become a presidential candidate who existed since 1960.
Budgets are assigned and the candidate goes on visits to
different states in an attempt to win the election. The game
can be played alone, against the computer, or with up to two
other players.

Game play occurs in real time with a typical game lasting about an
hour.

Both programs are available now. Dvoark on Typing for Macintosh
retails for $59.95. Power Politics retails for $49.95.

(Naor Wallach/19921028/Press Contact: Kim Carino, Interplay
Productions, 714-553-6655/Public Contact: Interplay Productions,
714-553-6655)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00002)

Chipcom Intros 2 New FDDI Modules For OnLine 10/29/92
SOUTHBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 29 (NB) -- Chipcom is
fleshing out its FDDI product line with the introduction this week
at InterOp of two new FDDI modules for the company's OnLine System
Concentrator.

The two new modules act in conjunction with a third module
introduced in May to give network administrators more support
for the different flavors and configurations of FDDI.

The OnLine FDDI STP Module supports up to eight FDDI connections
that use shielded twisted pair wiring rather than optical fiber.
The module supports both SDDI and TPDDi which are two different
methods of attaching shielded twisted pair cabling.

The concentrator module also incorporates a rather unique method to
achieve fault tolerance. Two of the eight ports on the module can
be configured as "S" ports which then allow them to cascade the
network traffic to another concentrator. When both "S" ports are
connected to the other concentrator, one of them becomes the main
or active link, and the other becomes a back-up. The back-up link is
in stand-up mode so that it can quickly take over the active role
should the primary link fail.

The OnLine FDDI Management Module brings a complete implementation
of the FDDI Station Management Protocol (SMT Rev. 6.2). This is the
revision that has been embraced by the appropriate ANSI committee on
FDDI (ANSI X3T9.5). Management of the different modules is
accomplished via SNMP, SMT, TELNET, or by direct hook-up of a
terminal or modem to the module.

Both new modules are expected to become available over the next
90 days. Pricing has been established at $7995 for the OnLine FDDI
STP Module (Model 5308M-STP) and at $9995 for the OnLine FDDI
Management Module (Model 5302M-MGT1).

(Naor Wallach/19921028/Press Contact: Christine LeCompte, Beaupre
& Co. for Chipcom, 603-436-6690/Public Contact: Chipcom, 508-460-
8900)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00003)

XVT Offers Windows NT Toolkit 10/29/92
BOULDER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 29 (NB) -- XVT Software has
announced its XVT Portability Toolkit that will support Windows NT.

The company says the toolkit will allow programers to write an
application using the programming languages C or C++ then re-compile
it to work with major graphical user interfaces (GUIs) without having
to rewrite the code. The toolkit is expected to ship by the end of
the year. Applications built using the toolkit will use a 32-bit
liner memory model allowing for easier development, according to
XVT.

Other features of the toolkit include Push Pins for Open Look and
multiple document interfacing for Windows. The company said XVT
will even bring characteristics such as Child Windows to the
Macintosh when their consistent with the native look-and-feel of the
application, even though they may not exist in the native program.
The company says applications developed with the toolkit will always
have the look and feel of the native environment.

XVT's NT toolkit will have a price tag of $1,450 for 486-based
computers and $4,400 for the workstation version, which will run on
systems such as DEC and MIPS. The Intel version is expected to ship
this year, while the workstation version is expected to follow next
year. The company said orders placed before December 31 will be
discounted by 10 percent.

(Jim Mallory/19921028/Press contact: Debbie Anastasi, XVT Software,
303-443-4223; Reader contact: XVT Software,303-443-4223)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00004)

Wollongong, IBM Ink Partnership 10/29/92
ZAVENTEM, BELGIUM, 1992 OCT 29 (NB) -- Wollongong, the networking
company, has signed an agreement with IBM. Terms of the contract
call for Wollongong to license its networking technology to Big
Blue, for use in future IBM products.

According to The Wollongong Group, the networking technology
licensed to IBM is the company's TCP/IP and OSI software. Plans
call for IBM to use this technology in DOS/Windows, Apple Macintosh,
OS/2 or AIX (IBM's version of Unix) systems in an IBM or DEC host
environment.

"The technology involved in this agreement has been developed
over several years to address the requirements for providing
common networking services to every desktop," explained Herbert
Martin, president of Wollongong.

According to Martin, Wollongong's close relationship with IBM and
its customer partners has enabled the company to define its user
requirements very precisely. This will be carried over, he said,
into the formal agreement between the two companies.

Al Tomaselli, IBM's industrial sector division product manager,
said that his company's relationship with Wollongong has been
excellent.

"Our close working relationship over the last couple of years,
along with IBM's and Wollongong's technological vision, has
resulted in an integrated networking capability not generally
available to users today," he said.

Actual product resulting from the agreement between the two
companies will appear in the next couple of months. These
products are intended to run a number of different platforms,
enabling users of various systems to connect to remote hosts
supporting the TCP/IP protocol.

(Steve Gold/19921028/Press & Public Contact: Wollongong Europe -
Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone])


(NEWS)(UNIX)(TYO)(00005)

Sony, NEC Create MIPS Association For Unix 10/29/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 OCT 29 (NB) -- Sony and NEC have jointly
announced the creation of an association designed to standardize
Japanese Unix workstations. It is called Open Computing Environment
For MIPS Platform (OCMP) Group and six hardware makers have already
joined this association.

The association is designed to spur development of Japanese
software for MIPS Technologies' RISC (reduced instruction set
computing)-based workstations. OCMP Group's member firms include
Sony, NEC, Sanyo Electric, Siemens, Nixdorf, Information System,
Sumitomo Electric Industry, Japan Silicon Graphics, Japan Olivetti
and Pyramid Technologies. Sony and NEC will be advisory
committee members for this association. The association will
develop and exchange technical information and will promote
Japanese software for MIPS' Unix.

The association supports a proposed Japanese binary standard called
OCMP-ABI, OCMP-3D which is based on Silicon Graphics' library
software called Open GL, and "OCMP-AP" which is based on Sony's
input/output AP bus.

The OCMP Group aims to have its standards used in over 50 percent
of the market share of workstation software for Unix in Japan
within three years.

OCMP currently vies with groups led by Sun Microsystems and Hewlett-
Packard. Currently, Fujitsu, Toshiba, and Matsushita support Sun
Microsystems Unix workstations, while Hitachi, Mitsubishi and Oki
Electric support Hewlett-Packard's Unix workstations. These two
groups have been dominant in Japan. However, according to Yano
Economic Laboratory's report which is quoted by the Nikkan Kogyo
newspaper, MIPS' workstations already have a larger share than that
of Sun in Japan as of the end of 1991. MIPS-based workstations have
a 32.7 percent share, while the Sun Group has a 25.8 percent share.
The report predicts that the MIPS group will have an even greater
share in Japan by 1993.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19921029/Press Contact: Sony, +81-3-
3448-2111)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00006)

 ****80486-Compatible Chip May Debut This Year 10/29/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 OCT 29 (NB) -- Advanced Micro Devices Japan
says it the firm will release an 80486-compatible chip by the
the of this year. What the firm calls a faster versions of an
80386-compatible chip will also be released soon.

Vice President Bob McConnel of Advanced Micro Devices met the
press in Tokyo this week and stated that AMD is currently
preparing to release the 80486-compatible chip as early as the end
of this year. Regarding AMD's Am386 family, McConnel said,
"The chips have gained a 50 percent share of the world market. It
is expected that AMD will ship a total of 12 million units by the end
of this year."

In Japan, a total of 500,000 to 600,000 units of the 80386-compatible
chips will be shipped, amount to a 20 percent share of the 80386 market.
By 1994, AMD expects to hold 60 to 70 percent of the market for these
chips in Japan.

Currently, AMD reports its compatible chips are used by installed in 30
computer models from 18 major Japanese computer firms including Seiko-Epson,
Fujitsu, Funai, NEC, Matsushita Electric, and Sotec.

AMD is also preparing to release a Pentium-compatible chip.
Pentium is Intel's next-generation chip due to be released to the market
in March 1993. The release date of AMD's compatible chip is set for
the end of 1994.

AMD has not yet decided whether to use Intel's microcode in its
80486-compatible chip. It is said AMD is also preparing to use
its own design.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19921029/Press Contact: AMD Japan,
[phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00007)

Newgen Printers Now Novell-Capable 10/29/92
FOUNTAIN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 29 (NB) -- Newgen has
announced support for another protocol using its Ethernet cards
and Ethernet-compatible printers. Newgen has added support of Novell
Netware 3.11 to its printers.

Many of Newgen's printer lines have the ability to add an optional
Ethernet card. Some of the printers have the Ethernet card
built-in. In all such cases, those Ethernet cards will sense the
protocol being used to transmit information to the printer
and adjust to it automatically.

Newgen's announcement affects the Pro Series, T series, B series,
and Networking Series printers. Novell's Netware 3.11 support is
being added to the current two protocols supported which are TCP/IP
and EtherTalk. Newgen has no current plans to expand its protocol
support further. Ethernet cards are sold by Newgen for $499 for
the following printers: The TurboPS/440B; The TurboPS/600T; and the
TurboPS/840e, TurboPS/660, and TurboPS/630. The last three printers
are all parts of the Pro Series line.

Newgen is incorporating this Netware support into its Network ART
feature. This feature allows the printer to communicate with devices
under any of the three protocols at the same time so that a network
can have Macintoshes, Unix devices, and now Netware devices on it,
all talking to the printer in their native protocols.

Network ART is a standard feature with the Ethernet option on
Newgen printers. All customers who purchase the Ethernet option, or
who get a printer with Ethernet capability built-in will receive the
benefits of the Netware capability free of charge. Existing customers
can upgrade to the new capability via a free upgrade available from
the company.

(Naor Wallach/19921029/Press Contact: Alexandrea Todd, McLean PR for
Newgen, 415-358-8535/Public Contact: Newgen, 714-641-8600, 800-756-
0556)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00008)

Broderbund Releases 3 PC Products 10/29/92
NOVATO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 29 (NB) -- Broderbund is
getting a jump on the upcoming holiday season with the release this
week of several new products and word of more products that will
be shipped very soon.

Only one of these products is brand new. The other represent
extensions of the Broderbund line that support other platforms.

First, Broderbund has released an MS-DOS version of Kid Pix Companion.
This is a program that must be run with Kid Pix and that extends
Kid Pix in various ways. Some of the new and expanded capabilities
that Kid Pix Companion has are: SlideShow, DrawMes, ColorMes,
112 additional Rubber Stamps, and 19 new Hidden Pictures. This is
essentially the same collection of enhancements that Kid Pix Companion
for the Macintosh offers, but to the MS-DOS version. The price of
this new program is $39.95.

The Print Shop Deluxe is now available in a Windows version. This is
an expanded version of original Print Shop which offers the following
new features: 3500 different combinations of shapes, color blends,
outlines, and shadows that can be applied to any graphical element.
In addition, the program supports TrueType fonts and various graphical
formats so that one can import and export graphics between Print
Shop Deluxe, Kid Pix, and other graphical programs.

Another major new feature is the total elimination of jaggies in
print-outs. This is of major importance to the company as was the source
of most complaints with the program. Print Shop Deluxe for Windows will
retail for $79.95

To complement Print Shop Deluxe for Windows, Broderbund is
releasing two libraries of images that work with the program. The two
libraries contain collections of images that are commonly used and
requested. The Print Shop Deluxe Sampler Graphics Collection and the
Business Graphics Collection are both available now for a retail price of
$44.95 each.

One new PC program unleashed is Kid Cuts. Expected for release within
the next two or three weeks, it is a series of arts and crafts
activities for kids of all ages. Many of the tools that Broderbund
has created for its other programs are found in Kid Cuts. Users can
define the kinds of cut-outs that they want and then work on the details.
Newsbytes has learned that there are at least nine different
activities ranging from making cut outs of hats and masks,
decorative shapes, greeting cards, animal figures, paper dolls,
puppets, puzzles, and crowns. The program is expected to retail
for $59.95.

(Naor Wallach/19921029/Press Contact: Dawn Albertson, Broderbund,
415-382-4637/Public Contact: Broderbund, 415-382-4400)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00009)

Clinton Favored In GEnie's Online Presidential Straw Poll 10/29/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 29 (NB) -- We have already
seen how Silicon Valley executives feel about the election (many
came out in favor of Clinton) and how electronics executives in
general feel (according to the American Electronics Association,
most prefer Bush but think that Clinton will win), but how about
ordinary computer users? GEnie has conducted its second extensive
poll of the commercial bulletin board's users and the results are
interesting.

Briefly, Clinton won the support of 42 percent of the 5,500 GEnie
subscribers who chose to participate, with George Bush coming in
a distant second with 29 percent and Ross Perot picking up 21
percent of the votes. Libertarian candidate Andre Marrou garnered
support from only three percent of those who marked a preference.

GEnie carefully reminds those reading the poll results that they
are not scientific because they are not based on a random
sampling. The GEnie poll ran from October 10th through the 20th.

In GEnie's first poll, held in March, Bush got 29 percent and
Clinton 9 percent with Perot not on the questionnaire. By May
Perot gathered 55 percent of the GEnie user's votes, with Bush
and Clinton nearly tied at, respectively, 20- and 17-percent.

While it isn't surprising to learn that 99 percent of Bush
supporters believe he has the right kind of experience to be
president, the GEnie poll did show the interesting fact that only
88 percent of Clinton's actual supporters feel that he is
qualified and only 75 percent of people who swear they will vote
for Perot also say that he has the right sort of experience to be
president.

Perot's strong point appears to be leadership, with 51 percent
saying that he is a strong leader while 45 percent say that about
Bush and only 41 percent see Clinton as a strong leader. Remember
that the question was whether the candidate is a strong leader,
not whether he is the strongest, so the results don't need to
total less than 100 percent.

Perot also did well on the "vision thing," as did Clinton, with
George Bush following a distant third. Despite all the character
claims made by Bush, GEnie participants saw Perot as the most
honest, with Bush at 31 percent and Clinton finishing a poor
third at 24 percent.

Those questioned also commented on issues such as crime, foreign affairs,
and ability to get things done. Interestingly enough, most felt
that Clinton was ahead of Bush on the subject of "family values."

Libertarian candidate Marrou only broke the 10 percent barrier on
one subject -- ability to hold down taxes -- but there he still
finished a very distant fourth to the three leaders. This could be
perceived as ironic since he advocates the abolition of most of
the federal government and stopping the income tax.

But despite expressing little support for Marrou, GEnie voters
did feel strongly (65 to 33 percent) that he should have been
given a place in the presidential debates.

The complete GEnie survey is available as a "star" (*SURVEY) or
no extra cost item on GEnie.

(John McCormick/19921029/)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DEN)(00010)

Cops May Use Pen Computers, GPS In Accident Investigation 10/29/92
DETROIT, MICHIGAN, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 29 (NB) -- Earlier this week
police officers in Detroit saw how they could combine a pen-based
computer and global positioning, or GPS to rapidly collect accident
and incident data using the two technologies in combination.

The demonstration, conducted by Grid Systems Corporation and Trimble
Navigation Limited, involved a simulated vehicle accident and was
held during the annual meeting of the International Association of
Chiefs of Police held in Detroit this week. A Grid spokesperson told
Newsbytes the system was particularly applicable to accident
investigations in rural areas.

The system consisted of a Grid DOS-compatible PalmPad RF pen
computer and Trimble's Sveesix Plus GPS unit. The application
demonstrated was developed in PenRight!, Grid's pencentric graphical
application system that the company says allows quick development of
custom applications for virtually all major pen hardware systems on
the market.

Grid Systems government group product manager, Risa Freedman, told
Newsbytes several states are considering or testing the application
of GPS combined with small computers. She says North Carolina is
testing the system for use in highway surveys to determine the exact
location where maintenance is required so crews can be dispatched to
that location later to make the repairs. Freedman also said the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is testing the pen-based
system to pinpoint the exact location of buildings after a disaster,
when the usual location indicators such as street signs have been
destroyed.

Global positioning was used during the Gulf War to pinpoint military
unit's locations very precisely, using signals beamed from a hand
held GPS system up to a satellite and back down. GPS is
extremely accurate. Military leaders say it would have been very
easy for soldiers to have gotten lost in the trackless desert in
Kuwait without GPS equipment.

As reported by Newsbytes recently, GPS units have also been
introduced for use by boaters and hikers. A mobile GPS unit is
about the size of an average book. At least two Midwest police
departments are conducting pilot projects to test the use of pen
computing and GPS units.

In practical use, a police officer would call up a form on the
computer screen and complete it electronically instead of filling out
paper forms. This could insure accuracy and cut down on the time
needed to complete the report. Once complete the form could be
downloaded to a desktop computer for further processing.

(Jim Mallory/19921029/Press contact: Cathy Truesdell, Grid Systems,
817-491-5200; Suzanne Manteufel, Trimble Navigation, 408-481-2905)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEN)(00011)

Parking Enforcement Goes Hi Tech 10/29/92
FORT WORTH, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 29 (NB) -- Two companies have
teamed up to bring technology to parking enforcement.

Tandy Direct Marketing, a division of the same company that owns
Radio Shack, and Streetgard Incorporated, a Boiling Springs,
Pennsylvania-based publisher of emergency management software, have
agreed to market the Vehicle Violation Reporting System (VVRS).

Using the system, a parking enforcement officer straps a Grid
Palmpad personal computer to his or her hand and clips a
mini-printer to their belt. The computer, the first wearable pen
computer according to Tandy, weighs 2.8 pounds. The officer uses an
electronic pen to fill out a form on the computer, writing on the
Palmpad's screen. Palmpad transposes the writing to text and prints
the ticket on the mini-printer. Tandy Corporation spokesperson Ron
Trumbla told Newsbytes the system was demonstrated at the meeting of
the International Chiefs of Police Association being held in Detroit
this week.

At the end of the shift, the officer downloads the ticket
information held in the Palmpad to a desktop or other computer
system. Worse, at least for the violator, is that warrant and want
information is uploaded. When a license plate is entered on the
computer screen, the system alerts the officer if the vehicle's
registered owner is wanted for anything, and if the vehicle is
stolen. The officer could also "boot" the vehicle if there are
unpaid traffic violations. "Booting" refers to a device developed
in Denver, Colorado which immobilizes the vehicle by being locked to
a wheel.

Tandy says the system could easily be expanded to include moving
violation citations, and VVRS is compatible with a full sized laptop
computer.

"Clearly this partnership is going to save law enforcement
agencies a lot of time, effort, and money," says Bernard Appel,
Tandy senior VP. Appel says the less time an officer spends on
paper work, the more time he or she has to do "real police work."
Appel calls that the kind of work that could make a life or death
difference to the public.

Palmpad has a 9.5-megahertz NEC V20 microprocessor, 2 megabytes
(MB) of memory, AND a slot for high-capacity solid state storage cards
that can provide up to 20MB of storage. The unit runs on nickel
metal hydride or nickel cadmium batteries which the company says are
good for up to eight hours, and a 6.5-inch liquid crystal display
(LCD) with adjustable backlighting.

(Jim Mallory/19921029/Press contact: Ron Trumbla, Tandy Corporation,
817-878-4969; Reader contact: Tandy Direct Marketing, 800-538-0586,
Streetgard, 800-766-3160)


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

Wireless Nets Get Wired Links 10/29/92
BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 29 (NB) -- Competition
is heating up among wireless networks.

Sprint has begun testing access to its SprintNet packet network
from RAM Mobile Data, a radio data service which competes head-on
with ARDIS, a joint-venture between IBM and Motorola. RAM's
service uses an international standard called Mobitex, and runs
at 8,000 bits/second. Sprint is testing RAM services in support
of transaction processing, IBM connectivity and SprintMail
electronic messaging applications. Sprint said the RAM trial is
just the first in a series of Sprint initiatives in packet data
and cellular phone connectivity aimed at the field computing
revolution.

Another link in the same chain is a deal with Motorola to link
its electronic mail broadcast to a roaming computer, or EMBARC,
service to SprintMail. EMBARC, unlike RAM, is a one-way network,
which uses satellites and a nationwide paging frequency. EMBARC
came live in September, while Sprint says it has 350,000
electronic mail customers. But services like EMBARC can deliver
messages in airports or at job sites far from a telephone line.
Sprint said EMBARC is especially useful when a company needs to
update inventory or prices to a number of locations
simultaneously. It can also be used for file transfers and
messaging. EMBARC said its service is currently available in more
than 200 cities in the US, with operations in Canada due to
begin by the end of 1992, and international service by the end of
1995.

EMBARC also announced that Individual Inc., which offers
customized newswires based on keyword searches, is also linking
its service to the wireless network. The new service, called
HeadsUp, lets subscribers choose among 24 news menus, each with
four categories. Brief files are then delivered to EMBARC
PC users through Motorola NewsStream receivers, and if users
want more data on any brief, they can request it from a voice
response system. Previously, EMBARC had announced a deal to offer
brief news clips to its subscribers from the USA Today newspaper.
Individual's service, however, uses 100 domestic and
international news sources, Motorola said. HeadsUp broadcasts
will be priced at $30 per month for the first category menu and
$15 for the second. Retrievals of full article texts will be
priced at $5.95 per article.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19921029/Press Contact: Michael Keating, for
EMBARC, 312-988-2918)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00013)

ZiffNet Announces Expansion Plans 10/29/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 29 (NB) -- ZiffNet
announced expansion plans on Prodigy and CompuServe, to which its
computer-related online service is gatewayed.

On Prodigy, the company expanded download options in a service
called ZiffNet Selections for Prodigy. Previously, software could
be downloaded through Prodigy from ZiffNet only with a monthly
subscription. Now users will be able to pay per kilobyte for
downloads. Downloads cost $3 or the first 100 kilobytes, $1.50
for each added block of 100 kilobytes. Most selections cost $3-
4.50, Prodigy said. And, as with conventional online services,
they can now pay an hourly rate for their ZiffNet service through
Prodigy, $7.50 per hour and 13 cents per minute. The previous
pricing plan was $14.95 per month for 3 hours' usage, with added
hours at 10 cents per minute. That choice is still available.

ZiffNet added that it has enhanced its services on the IBM-Sears
network with more files, more columns and online participation by
Ziff product and technology writers.

Ziff also announced an online version of its Support On Site
product, which will be available only through ZiffNet on
CompuServe. This is a database of technical support information
on 45 software products running on MS DOS, Windows and OS/2 2.0.
The service has been available since March as a CD-ROM sold by
subscription. It was sold mainly for corporate help desks and
customer hotlines.

Ziff said that by January 1993, Support On Site Online will also
include extra software that can be downloaded and distributed,
things like drivers, macros and patches. The database also
includes books and newsletters from The Cobb Group, Que and Ziff-
Davis Press. The database can be searched by words or phrases,
product name, publication name or type of resource. The service
carries a surcharge to ZiffNet users of $15 per hour.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19921029/Press Contact: Lisa Landa, ZiffNet,
617-252-5211; Public Contact: 800-666-0330)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(ATL)(00014)

Brazil Rejoins the Computer World 10/29/92
BRASILIA, BRAZIL, 1992 OCT 29 (NB) -- An era ends in Latin
America October 30 as Brazil's law protecting domestic computer
makers expires.

The 8-year old law was designed by a military government
to help Brazil jump-start a local computer industry,
but it wound up having the opposite effect. Local industry did
not develop, and computers were smuggled into the country at high
prices. Local software development was slowed, skills could not
be gained by young people, and the nation lost its chance to get
into the front rank of computing.

The immediate impact of the ban's end will be mixed, however, as
the nation still has very high tariffs on computer imports. A
black market in computers is expected to continue as a result, as
is the illegal copying of software. Under President Fernando
Collor de Mello tariffs had been reduced, but his impeachment has
slowed moves to liberalize the market.

Going forward, the new government of acting President Itamar
Franco is sending mixed signals on liberalization and
privatization. The Telebras phone monopoly had been scheduled to
be sold off, in large part, next year, but the nation's Congress
may have to review the deal, delaying it. Franco is seen as less
willing than Collor to move toward open markets, reflected in a
falling stock market since he took office October 2. That
downward move may be ending, however, as stocks closed slightly
higher October 28.

Despite all its problems, Brazil remains the largest economy in
South America, with the largest computer industry and largest
base of PC users.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19921029)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(ATL)(00015)

 ****Octel In Vote By Phone Trial 10/29/92
MILPITAS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 29 (NB) -- Octel
Communications, which makes voice mail systems, is participating
in a mock "vote by phone" election in New Mexico.

The mock election is a combined effort among the state, the company,
the US-funded Sandia National Laboratories and US West Cellular.
If it works and is funded, the state may offer it to all voters
in New Mexico, which could let voters make their selections of
candidates from their homes, offices, or while sitting in
traffic. That would boost turn-out.

The test itself will involve four high schools, and is designed
to test system security and voter secrecy, which must be
protected as well as they are in current voting systems. The test
will also gauge reaction to the concept.

Octel also said it improved its integration with Northern Telecom
Meridian PBXs, or private business phone switches, sold to
Europe. The company said about 20 percent of its systems are sold
with NT switches.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19921029/Press Contact: Octel, Barbara Burdick,
408/321-3245)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00016)

Ameritech Offers Voice Mail 10/29/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 29 (NB) -- Just weeks after
selling its Tigon voice mail subsidiary to Octel, Ameritech is
getting back into the voice mail business directly.

Within 45 days, all 5 Ameritech Bell companies will be offering
Ameritech Voice Mail services. They have already been introduced
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They are similar in pricing and services
to BellSouth's Memory Call, able to store messages of up to three
minutes in length, and a one-minute greeting, for about $7 per
month. The price varies per state based on local tariffs for
needed phone system features.

Spokesman Jeffrey Smith talked about the service with Newsbytes.
"I've got it on my work-at-home line, and I like it a lot. It's
better than an answering machine. It doesn't blow a fuse, and
fuse blow-outs don't hurt my message. I can rewind or skip
messages with the service. Calls can also go to voice mail if I'm
on the phone." The services are based on Octel voice mail
platforms, and handled centrally in each state, rather than at
each switch.

Smith added, "There is an ad campaign and direct mail campaign
starting. Training of salespeople is also underway. They sell
all our services with every service call, including custom
calling services like Call Block and Caller ID." In Georgia,
existing voice mail vendors complained about these Southern Bell
sales tactics, but the Federal Communications Commission pre-
empted state efforts to regulate the system, and chose not to
regulate it. This opened the door for other regional Bell
companies, like Ameritech, to offer voice mail. The service is
especially popular with residential customers, because it costs
much less than business-oriented services from other answering
service vendors. Ameritech is offering an enhanced service to
businesses which compete with those vendors, however, at about
$14.80 per month for a longer greeting, more message storage, and
two-way message capability.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19921029/Press Contact: Jeffrey Smith,
Ameritech Services, 708-248-2138)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00017)

AT&T, CLI To Offer Improved Videophone Chipsets 10/29/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 29 (NB) -- Facing new
competition from MCI and GEC-Marconi in the video telephone area,
AT&T and Compression Labs said they will develop improved chip
sets for such phones and sell them to other companies, both for
videophones and desktop video systems that work on analog
telephone lines. All the new chip sets will be compatible with
the existing system used by AT&T's VideoPhone 2500 and CLI's
Cameo Personal Video System.

AT&T will push the new chipsets heavily through videophone
"kits" sold by its AT&T Microelectronics unit. The kits will
include integrated circuits for video compression, audio
compression and modern technology, as well as host processor
protocol support and interface specifications. Delivery is
expected in the second half of 1993.

In other AT&T news, the company announced a new version of its
flagship 5ESS switch for international markets. The AT&T 5ESS
2000 Switch is compatible with 5ESS Switches now in service, and
was unveiled in Japan. It can be customized for the specific
needs of various countries, and a new module of the switch can
handle six times as many calls as previously.

AT&T also introduced new business phones that work with
Integrated Services Digital Network, or ISDN services,
including identifying callers on a 48-character 2-line display.
Plug-in boards will allow the phones to handle data, and
"softkeys" that let users program new features.

AT&T's Design Automation unit announced a new Mixed Signal
Simulator which helps electronic designers create systems which
mix analog and digital signals. That is important as digital
systems like ISDN replace analog phone networks, a process which
is not expected to be complete until well into the next century.
The Mixed Signal Simulator performs analog and digital
simulations simultaneously using a single centralized data base,
enabling design verification of complete systems at speeds much
greater than competing approaches.

Finally, AT&T's Paradyne unit said it will start providing its
Pixnet channel access system in February, 1993, allowing high-
speed data transfers from IBM mainframe computers to peripheral
devices, such as printers and tape drives, anywhere in the world.
Paradyne co-developed the unit with IBM, and uses IBM's
Enterprise Systems Connection Architecture to move data at speeds
up to 45 million bits/second. IBM will provide the base hardware
platform and AT&T Paradyne will produce the software, as well as
certain adapter cards.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19921029/Press Contact: Garrick Case, AT&T
Paradyne, 813-530-8221; Cliff Scott, IBM, 914-642-5457; AT&T
Microelectronics, Blanchard Hiatt, 908/771-2788; Compression
Labs, Kim Tarter, 408/922-4610; AT&T Consumer Products, Jo
Johnston, 201/581-3905; AT&T Network Systems, Carl Blesch, 708-
224-4196; AT&T Business Communications Systems, Laura Williams,
908/658-2604)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00018)

Dutch Mobile Telecoms Consortium Formed 10/29/92
AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS, 1992 OCT 29 (NB) -- A major
international consortium has been formed to bid for a mobile
telecom licence in the Netherlands.

Headed by Cable & Wireless, the consortium also consists of AMRO
and DNI, two Dutch banks, as well as Pacific Telesis, the US
telecom company.

According to Het Financieele Dagblad, the Dutch daily newspaper,
the consortium will invest more than 500 million guilders in a
digital mobile telecom network, assuming it wins a licence. So
far the Dutch Government has said nothing about whether the
consortium is in with a running chance of gaining a licence.

According to sources close to the Dutch Government, two licences
for mobile telecom will be offered within the next few months.
One seems likely to be given to the state telecom company while
the other will go to the private sector.

Despite its technological lead in many markets, the Netherlands
is surprisingly laggard in the field of digital mobile telephony.
While several European countries already have their digital
mobile networks up and running, Dutch citizens will still have to
wait a year before banishing the snap, crackle and pop of the
analogue cellular networks.

(Steve Gold/19921029)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00019)

German Postal/Telecom Operation Makes DM 178 Million 10/29/92
BONN, GERMANY, 1992 OCT 29 (NB) -- The German post-war economic
miracle is grinding to a halt. According to figures just released
by Deutsche Bundespost Telekom (DBT), the German post and
telecom administration, a loss of DM 178 million was recorded
last calendar year.

DBT managed to offset the loss in its books by drawing on its
reserves. So what went wrong? According to DBT, it's all down to
the former East German postal and telecom operation -- Western
German operations hiked its profits from DM 176 million in 1990
to DM 665 million in 1991. The East German company, meanwhile,
pushed the profit to a loss of DM 178 million. At least, that
what the calculator says -- DBT has no public figures on its East
German operations, it claims.

According to industry analysts in Germany, part of the problem
that DBT faces is the phenomenal costs associated with upgrading
the former East German telecom network to a standard it
considers acceptable. Even until quite recently, the East German
phone network was typified by low-quality and lost connections.

Even though the former East German phone network is getting up to
scratch, DBT's problems are not yet over, as some former Iron
Curtain countries are now processing their international calls
through East Germany rather than feed them direct to the West.
This, needless to say, is imposing a great strain on the East
German telecom network.

(Steve Gold/19921029)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00020)

UK: Hutchinson Reaffirms Mobile Telecom Plans 10/29/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 OCT 29 (NB) -- It's been a rough week for
the Hutchinson Telecom Group, which has just announced plans to
curtail its non-UK operations, but it's business as usual for
the company in London.

Cynics would say: "What business," as the company's personal
communications network (PCN) still has at least a year before it
becomes operational. So far, the company has only a few pilot
sites in the UK with its digital mobile telephone network in
operation.

The PCN service, unlike the GSM digital network that is
operational in several European countries, is designed for
general consumer use, with relatively low tariffs. This will be
made possible by the use of smaller cells -- areas around the
transmitter where service is available -- and relatively simpler
transfer facilities between cells.

The downside of PCN is that the technology is not designed to
work from high-speed mobile users, such as from cars on a
motorway or fast-moving trains. Although plans have yet to be
confirmed, several industry sources have suggested that
Hutchinson will opt for a higher tariff for high-speed mobile
users, whenever they use more complex digital mobile phone
technology such as the GSM network.

Vodafone's planned PCN system, for example, is planned to operate
as a subset of the GSM network. If users are stationary or moving
relatively slowly, their calls will be handled by the PCN
service, otherwise calls will be switched via GSM -- and charged
at a higher tariff.

The Reuters news wire service, however, suggests that all may not
be well with Hutchinson. It quotes a source close to Hutchinson
as suggesting that changes are likely in the near future.

It's difficult for many to see where Hutchinson can find room for its
PCN mobile phone service in the already crowded UK mobile telephony
marketplace. Consumers already make extensive use of the two
analogue phone networks -- Cellnet and Vodafone -- in the
UK. Soon to come is the GSM network from Cellnet, while the
Vodafone GSM service is operational over a quarter of the UK.

(Steve Gold/19921029)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00021)

UK: Andest Communications Signs With Inmac 10/29/92
MILTON KEYNES, ENGLAND, 1992 OCT 29 (NB) -- Andest Communications
has signed with Inmac, the computer industry catalogue operation,
in the UK. The move means that the innovative modem
manufacturer has a major presence in the catalogue marketplace.

As the self-proclaimed "king of the business mail order
catalogues," Inmac is widely regarded as the secret of success
for many smaller companies. Andest, which has already established
itself firmly in the mainstream modem market here in the UK,
looks poised for a similar success in the mail order arena.

According to Steve Wallace, Inmac's associate product manager,
the deal gives Andest a potential market of 300,000 Inmac
customers.

"Inmac has a strong track record of offering its customers both
innovative and market leading products. It's this experience
which has enabled us to identify the Andest range of portable
modems as a vital aid to communications for the growing
population of portable PC users," he said.

Tony Sellers, Andest's managing director, was equally
enthusiastic. "This new agreement with Inmac represents a
significant addition to our current distribution methods, which
we will be maintaining, by allowing us to directly target the
Inmac customer base of end users," he said.

"We're already seeing the benefits after just a few days in terms
of interest generated and actual sales," he added.

To celebrate the first catalogue entry, Inmac and Andest are
making a special offer to customers to save more than UKP 100
when buying a Roadrunner Quad Fax modem in conjunction with
Andest's Multifax Lite communications/fax software.

(Steve Gold/19921029/Press & Public Contact: Andest
Communications - Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00022)

Northern Telecom Reports Strong Quarter 10/29/92
MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 OCT 29 (NB) -- Northern Telecom
has reported a year-over-year increase in revenues and net income
in the third quarter, signalling a rebound from a first half that
was down from 1991. The results show continued growth in the
importance of Northern's international business, except in Europe.

For the third quarter, Northern reported revenues of US$2,020
million, up five percent from last year's US$1,920 million. Net
income rose 11 percent, from US$102 million to US$113 million.
Earnings per share were 46 cents, up from 42 cents in the same
quarter of 1991. Though based in Canada, Northern reports all
financial results in US currency.

The first nine months of 1992 remain slightly down from the
comparable period in 1991. Revenues were US$5,870 million, down
from US$5,880 million in the first three quarters of 1991. Net
income was US$283 million, down from US$292 million, and earnings
per common share were US$1.15, down from US$1.20.

However, Guy Gill, Northern's vice-president of investor relations,
said the company expects its over-all 1992 results to be an
improvement over 1991.

Northern said growth was strongest in percentage terms in the
Asia-Pacific region, the Caribbean, and Latin America.
International sales continue to account for a larger portion of
Northern's business, Gill said. European results were not as good,
a fact Northern blamed on the weak economy there and on the sale of
some parts of STC, the British telecommunications equipment maker
it acquired in 1991.

Gill said the company could not predict how the European economy
will perform in coming months, but "we're doing our best to compete
in that environment."

Northern's transmission, cable, and outside equipment business
showed the strongest growth in percentage terms so far this year,
Gill said, although its core central office business, still the
biggest part of the company's revenues, was the major gainer in
dollar terms.

Analysts have said that while Northern is very strong in the
central office business in North America, its dependence on that
business is a weak spot.

However, Toronto-based telecommunications consultant Eamon Hoey
said earlier this year, Northern seems to have overcome an earlier
inability to sell in international markets, and has even become a
significant player in the tough-to-crack Japanese market.

Meanwhile, Northern's parent company, Montreal-based BCE
Enterprises, said Northern's third-quarter performance helped its
over-all results in the quarter. BCE, Canada's largest company,
reported net earnings of C$318 million in the quarter, up from
C$361 million in the third quarter of 1991. Revenues were C$1,960
million, up from C$1,950 million in the same quarter of 1991. Bell
Canada, the country's largest regional phone carrier and a BCE
subsidiary, also contributed to earnings, while Montreal Trustco,
a financial firm, offset some of the gains with its losses in the
period.

(Grant Buckler/19921029/Press Contact: Guy Gill, Northern Telecom,
416-566-3178)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TOR)(00023)

 ****IBM Scientists Demo Conferencing Prototype 10/29/92
YORKTOWN HEIGHTS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 29 (NB) -- IBM
scientists say they have found a way to run desktop
videoconferences at an affordable cost and without the jerky,
artificial motion of today's low-cost videoconferencing systems.

IBM's Multimedia Multiparty Teleconferencing (MMT) -- still just a
prototype at the moment -- uses standard IBM PS/2 computers with
some new hardware and software and permits any number of people to
see each other on their computer screens, according to IBM.

The parts are all off-the-shelf hardware, according to IBM
spokesman Denis Arvay. The breakthrough, Arvay said, lies in the
idea of decompressing transmitted data and composing the picture on
the computer screen at the same time, rather than decompressing
first and then composing the picture. This allows the image to be
updated at 30 frames per second -- fast enough to look like natural
motion rather than the jerky image that occurs with slower
updating. IBM has applied for a patent on the techniques involved.

Including microphones and small TV cameras, IBM scientists estimate
that when it is mass produced their hardware and software could
sell for no more than a PC add-in board.

The system needs at least an Intel 386 chip, Arvay said. It also
requires the transmission speed of a local-area network to handle
the amount of video data that must be moved between personal
computers. At present, it is not possible to run the system over
long-haul communications links since they don't offer the necessary
capacity.

Users key in commands on a standard computer workstation and MMT
puts a specified number of windows on the screen -- one for each
participant. These windows can be moved and otherwise manipulated
like any other, IBM said. Only the users' screen size limits the
number of conferees that can be viewed at one time.

Also, conferences can be saved and re-played, private conversations
can be integrated into group conferences and other video
information can be shown to conference participants.

Arvay could not say when the technology might reach the market, but
"we're trying to push this into the marketplace as fast as we can
get there."

(Grant Buckler/19921029/Press Contact: Denis Arvay, IBM,
914-945-3471)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00024)

Uniface Launches Canadian Subsidiary 10/29/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 OCT 29 (NB) -- Uniface, a Dutch
vendor of client/server software development tools, has opened a
Canadian subsidiary to deal with a growing client base in Canada.

Uniface currently has some 20 Canadian organizations using its
products, said Larry Fuline, newly appointed managing director of
Uniface Corp. Canada. The subsidiary has started with two employees
-- Fuline and Armand Scarff, who will head technical support and
customer service. Over the next 12 to 18 months, Fuline said,
Uniface plans to add staff and open regional offices in Vancouver,
Montreal, and Ottawa.

Uniface, based in the Netherlands, has subsidiaries in the United
States, the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, and Switzerland, and
sells its products through distributors in about 20 countries
around the world, Fuline said.

The Uniface fourth-generation language software development system
supports personal computers running MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows
3.1, as well as Digital Equipment's VMS operating system,
Hewlett-Packard's MPE/iX, OS/2, and most versions of Unix,
according to the company. The software has been shipping since
1987.

(Grant Buckler/19921029/Press Contact: Larry Fuline, Uniface
Canada, 416-803-8600, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00025)

Symantec Would Have Lost $ Without Acquisitions 10/29/92
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 29 (NB) -- Symantec has
been buying technology companies lately, but said it would have
reported a loss without the acquisitions. The company reported
losses in its second quarter of $11.21 million ($.48 per share)
and nearly half that amount, or $5.9 million ($.25 per share),
would have been red ink without the acquisition expenses.

The company announced it would face substantially lower
earnings and profits before the earnings announcement. In
addition its stock has been falling from an average price of
$45 a share in January of this year to the current price of
just over $13 per share.

Symantec purchased Multiscope and The Whitewater Group for
their technology in application development tools, but its
most recent announcement was the purchase of virus and security
software developer Certus International. The Certus purchase is
not yet complete and so doesn't appear on the company's current
financial statement.

Revenues of $43.7 million were reported, down from the $54.3
million reported in the September quarter of fiscal year 1992.
Last year in the same period the company earned approximately
$5.5 million ($.23 per share).

With the new operating systems both on the Macintosh and IBM
personal computer (PC) sides offering more and more of the
tools Symantec has successfully marketed, the company is
looking into new markets. Developer's tools is a market it is
attempting to penetrate further.

However, the company's principles are currently facing criminal
charges levied by Borland International, one of the market
leaders in developer's tools, over trade secrets. Borland
charges a former Borland employee, now employed at Symantec,
allegedly sent trade secrets to a Symantec executive using
Borland's MCI electronic mail account.

The good news for Symantec lately has been its recent win in a
"look and feel" suit brought by Brown Bag Software that went
all the way to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court upheld two
decisions from lower courts that Symantec's Grandview product
does not violate copyrights on Brown Bag's PC-Outline package.

Cupertino, California-headquartered Symantec was founded in
1982 and the company says it has offices in the United States,
Canada, Australia, and Europe.

(Linda Rohrbough/19921029/Press Contact: Terri Sammonds,
Symantec, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00026)

New For PC: NatSemi's Fax-Modem-Voice-Sound Card 10/29/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 29 (NB) -- National
Semiconductor has introduced an all-in-one IBM and compatible
personal computer (PC) board that has everything but the kitchen
sink. The company says the card has full-featured sound, modem,
fax, and voice mail capability for less than $300.

The Tyin 2000 is has been designed with automatic call sensing,
meaning it can detect if an incoming call is a voice, data, or fax and
will switch to the appropriate receive mode. A Windows software
interface gives the user access to the card's functions,
National Semiconductor said.

The voice mail is capable of allowing for multiple mailboxes
and offers compression of voice messages to save disk space.
The company says users can remotely access their messages via a
touch-tone telephone as well.

The modem is a 2400 baud modem, uses the AT command set, can
switch to 300 and 1200 baud rates, offers MNP-5, and will work
with all popular communications software, the company said.

The company says the fax is a 9600 baud send and receive that
operates in the background and can use three levels of fax
compression to fax faster. National Semiconductor says the MMR
compression is a high-end fax feature and not previously found
on fax boards. Fax resend and reschedule, image zoom, phone
books, activity logs, and CCITT document file transfer (DFT) are
a part of the software. In addition, a Logictech Scanman 256 can
be attached to the Tyin 2000 card for image scanning, National
Semiconductor added.

The sound capability allows for voice annotation of Windows
documents via a telephone handset or a microphone and can be
played back via an integrated loudspeaker, the handset, or by
an external speaker. The card offers connections for the phone
handset, speaker, and microphone. The company says the sound or
 .WAV files can be stored at 22 kilohertz (KHz) or 11 KHz and is
suitable for business audio applications.

A NS32FX16 32-bit processor does the work behind the functions
available on the Tyin 200 card, so the PC microprocessor is
available for the user. A digital signal processor (DSP) is
also built into the card and National Semiconductor says this allows
the board to be upgraded with new software.

Dr. Demetris Paraskevopoulos, vice president of National
Semiconductor's Retail Channel Operations, said in a prepared
statement: "The TyIN 2000 card is simply a software-
programmable DSP platform, meaning that today's applications
and product value can only be enhanced by tomorrow's new
capabilities and features."

Some of those enhancements were listed as color facsimile
support and advanced error correction or compression technology
beyond what is currently available.

National Semiconductor points out the Tyin 2000 only takes up a
single slot in the PC, but provides the functionality of
several single-slot cards. The Tyin 2000 card requires and IBM
or compatible AT PC system with 2 megabytes of random access
memory (RAM), a graphics display that will work with Windows, a
communications port (serial port), 2 MB of hard disk space, and
Windows 3.0 or higher. Windows 3.1 is required for audio, the
company added. In addition, users should allow 2 to 8 MB of
free hard disk space (disk memory) for voice and fax messages.

Retail price of the Tyin 2000 is $279 and a five-year warranty
is offered, National Semiconductor said. The card is expected
to be available through retail channels in late November.

(Linda Rohrbough/19921029/Press Contact: Celeste Martino,
National Semiconductor, tel [phone], fax [phone] mail
stop 16-300)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00027)

 ****IBM Shipping First PowerPC Chips To Apple 10/29/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 29 (NB) -- IBM has begun
shipping its PowerPC chip to Apple Computer, which will use it in
future products as part of the alliance the two companies signed
last year.

The PowerPC 601 chip is the first fruit of IBM's joint venture with
Apple and chipmaker Motorola to make reduced instruction set
computing (RISC) processors. At the beginning of October, the
companies announced that they had completed first fabrication of
the chip, which is intended to be the first of a line based on the
technology used in IBM's RISC System/6000 workstations and servers.

Volume production of the 601 chip is expected by the middle of next
year, according to an IBM spokeswoman.

The 601 chip has 2.8 million transistors, in a package about four
tenths of an inch per side. It is being manufactured at IBM's
Burlington, Vermont, plant using IBM's .6-micron complementary
metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process.

The chip includes the Motorola 88110 bus, which provides an
advanced interface that supports a range of computer systems,
including personal computers, workstations, and multiprocessing
systems, the companies said.

Based on the processors used in IBM's RISC/System 6000, the PowerPC
design incorporates a number of changes to streamline the chip and
make it more suitable for high-powered, low-cost computer systems,
the spokeswoman said. The PowerPC design also adds symmetric
multiprocessing to the IBM design, quadruples its cache to 32K
bytes, and increases the chip's speed -- 50-megahertz and
66-megahertz versions of the 601 will be produced, she said.

IBM, Apple, and others are expected to introduce products using the
601 in the next year to 18 months. Groupe Bull and Thomson-CSF have
said they will develop PowerPC-based systems.

The 601 is the first of four initial PowerPC RISC microprocessors
that IBM and Motorola will design, produce, and sell. The firms are
working on the next three chips at Somerset, a new facility in
Austin, Texas.

Officials said the chips are meant for a wide range of computing
jobs, including portable and desktop computers, midrange
workstations and servers, fault-tolerant systems, and
supercomputers. The chips may also be used as embedded control
systems in cars and consumer products.

(Grant Buckler/19921029/Press Contact: Judy Radlinsky, IBM,
914-642-4634; Rosemary Stone, Motorola, 512-891-4526)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(TOR)(00028)

Legent Unveils 3 Alliances In Unix Push 10/29/92
VIENNA, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 29 (NB) -- Legent, a supplier of
systems management and operations software, has launched a push
into the Unix market by announcing agreements with three other
vendors. Legent signed a cooperative marketing and joint
development agreement with Sun Microsystems Computer Corp. (SMCC)
and licensed technology from Visix Software of Reston, Virginia,
and PeerLogic of San Francisco.

The agreement with Sun provides for the companies to work together
to port Legent's software to Sun's SPARC systems. Pam McGraw, a
spokeswoman for Legent, said this will be part of a strategy to put
the Legent software on multiple Unix platforms. The company is also
talking to IBM and to Hewlett-Packard about porting its software to
the IBM AIX and HP-UX versions of Unix, she added.

McGraw could not say when Legent software would be available on the
Unix machines, but she did say the company plans to ship Sun, HP,
and IBM Unix versions all at the same time, and it would be
reasonable to expect this to happen some time in 1993.

Legent also licensed Visix's Galaxy Development Environment, which
is meant for developing distributed, graphical applications that
are portable across many platforms and graphical user interfaces
(GUIs). Legent will use Galaxy to develop distributed systems
management applications to use on multiple platforms.

Legent is also funding the port of Galaxy to IBM's OS/2 operating
system. McGraw noted that Legent is a development partner for IBM's
SystemView multi-platform strategy, which includes OS/2.

Third, Legent licensed PeerLogic's Pipes Platform, a communications
framework for distributed computing using both client/server and
peer-to-peer architectures. This will also be used in developing
systems management applications for multiple platforms, Legent
said.

Under a joint marketing and development agreement between the
companies, PeerLogic will work with Legent to develop systems
management tools for enterprise-wide networks, the firms said.

(Grant Buckler/19921029/Press Contact: Pam McGraw, Legent,
703-761-6495; Bob Scher, PeerLogic, 415-626-4545; Leiann Lee, Sun
Microsystems, 415-336-0597; Sheri Winter, Visix Software,
703-758-8230)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00029)

Systemhouse, Bachman Announce Alliance 10/29/92
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 OCT 29 (NB) -- Systems integrator and
outsourcing contractor SHL Systemhouse has completed an agreement
with Bachman Information Systems, a Burlington, Massachusetts,
maker of computer-aided software engineering (CASE) products.
Systemhouse will resell Bachman's CASE software to its clients as
part of integration and software development projects.

Terms of the agreement, which makes SHL Systemhouse a value-added
reseller for Bachman, were not disclosed.

Kim Sarkisian, a spokeswoman for Bachman, said her company expects
the deal to give its sales a significant boost thanks to
Systemhouse's worldwide presence and its experience in areas such
as government. "Systemhouse has access to huge, huge contracts with
the government," she said.

Systemhouse is the first VAR Bachman has signed up under a new
alternate channels program recently launched by the company.
"You'll probably be seeing more of this in the future from
Bachman," Sarkisian said.

Officials said the deal resulted from several Systemhouse projects
in which Bachman products were used. After using many different
CASE tools, Systemhouse officials said, they selected Bachman's
because of their power, flexibility, and ability to work with a
variety of development tools, and because their approach meshes
well with Systemhouse's methods.

(Grant Buckler/19921029/Press Contact: Kim Sarkisian, Bachman,
617-273-9003; Philip D. York, SHL Systemhouse, 312-939-0099)


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

 *****Microsoft Developers Voice Debugger Concerns 10/29/92
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 OCT 29 (NB) -- The Microsoft
Device Driver Developers Conference was a success despite the
complaints on the part of attendees that the three-day
conference didn't "start" until the third day where concerns about
the debugger tools for Windows NT were aired.

Just under 1,000 attendees, 979 to be exact, attended the three
day seminar held at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, California
for the seminar focused on how to write device drivers that
make peripheral devices work with Windows NT.

Attendees received a copy of the Device Driver Kit (DDK) on
compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a Developer's Resource
Kit, also on CD-ROM, extensive manuals outlining the various
functions and calls for writing drivers for printers, small
computer systems interfaces (SCSI), video, disk, multimedia,
and other peripherals, and a copy of the book "Inside Windows
NT" by Helen Custer (Microsoft Press, 1992) The Win32 Software
Development Kit (SDK) is required to write device drivers and
is available from Microsoft via a coupon for $69, though the
attendees of the San Francisco conference received it at the
conference.

The 32-bit October 1992 beta copy of Windows NT was available
on a number of i486 50 megahertz (MHz)-based Compaq personal
computers (PCs) with 484 megabyte (MB) hard disks and 16 MB of
memory. One copy of NT was running on a MIPS Arcsystem Magnum 4000 
SC-50 and NT was running on multiple processor Wyse Series 7000i and
AST's Manhattan SMP. The Wyse had three 486 33 Mhz microprocessors
running in parallel, while the AST machine had five 485 50 Mhz
processors installed.

Noticeably absent from the demonstrations of NT was
applications software, even from Microsoft. No copies of Word
for Windows, Works, or Windows products from other companies
were to be found on any of the demonstration machines except
the MIPS. The MIPS machine did have some unusual visual screen
saver-type software loaded for users to play with that
demonstrated the speed and multitasking capability of Windows.
The developers Newsbytes talked with didn't seem to mind,
however.

What the developers did complain about was the re-hash of
topics from the Windows NT Developer's Conference that
proceeded this one, held in San Francisco. One developer told
Newsbytes "...the device driver conference started Tuesday
afternoon at 5 o'clock."

Discussions and concern over the debugger for Windows NT were
the hot topics. Concerns voiced were that the debugger tools were not
sufficient. One developer told Newsbytes he thought the
debugger portion was poorly presented but the needed tools were
there. He based his opinion on talking to another developer
from CMS who had already written a device driver for NT and
whose description of the process led him to believe the needed
tools were there after all.

Microsoft is likely to hear much more about the debugger issue,
however, as developers were already posting notes to start
online discussions on Compuserve about the topic.

Besides the developer seminars, the company is also offering
support to developers via the Microsoft Developer Network which
has a $30 a year subscription fee. The network offers a CD with
43,000 pages of programming information including sample code,
documentation, Developer Knowledge Base articles, and technical
articles; access to the Microsoft Developer Forum on
Compuserve; and a subscription to "Microsoft Developer Network
News" published quarterly.

Windows NT is still on track for release in the first quarter
of 1993 and developers at the conference are convinced the
product will be a success. The developer response to the coming
release is high as Microsoft says as of July 6 it had shipped
25,000 copies of the Win32 SDK for NT.

(Linda Rohrbough/19921029/Press Contact: Public contact,
Microsoft Developer Services Team, 800-227-4679)