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/nb921216

Text File | 1992-12-16 | 76KB | 1,663 lines

(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00001)

Commodore Notebook In Canada Has AMD Chip 12/16/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 DEC 16 (NB) -- Commodore Business
Machines Ltd., the Canadian subsidiary of Commodore International
Inc., has announced a notebook computer that uses Advanced Micro
Devices' power-saving 80386SXL microprocessor.

Tom Shepherd, director of marketing for Commodore in Canada, said
the 5.3-pound machine has not been announced in the United
States.

The 386SX-LT notebook has a 25-megahertz AMD 80386SXL chip, which
Commodore said uses 27 percent less power than a standard 386SX
processor. Shepherd said Commodore uses Intel chips in most of
its line of DOS machines, although AMD chips are used in some of
its 386SX desktop computers.

The 386SX-LT comes with an 82-key keyboard that has a two-inch
wrist rest; a 640-by-480 VGA liquid-crystal display; two
megabytes of memory; a 60-megabyte hard disk drive; a 3.5-inch,
1.44-megabyte diskette drive; serial, parallel, mouse, and video
ports; an external AC power adapter; and support for a math
co-processor and an internal data/facsimile modem card.

Shepherd said that with power-saving features enabled, the
machine can run for as long as six hours on a single battery
charge. Several power-saving features are included, such as the
low-power chip, the ability to shut down the hard drive and
screen after a preset amount of idle time, and a system standby
mode that cuts off power to virtually all parts of the system.

The suggested list price for the machine is C$1,995.

(Grant Buckler/19921215/Press Contact: Tom Shepherd, Commodore
Business Machines, 416-499-4292)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00002)

Canada: ISM, Telus Launch Joint Venture 12/16/92
CALGARY, ALBERTA, CANADA, 1992 DEC 16 (NB) -- Toronto-based ISM
Information Systems Management and Telus Corp., the holding
company for Alberta's telephone company, have launched a jointly
owned computer services and outsourcing venture.

ISM Information Systems Management (Alberta) Corp., is the third
regional joint venture ISM has launched in cooperation with a
Canadian telephone company. The first, announced in December,
1991, was ISM Information Systems Management (British Columbia),
51 percent owned by British Columbia Telephone and 49 percent by
ISM. The other is Datacor/ISM Information Systems Management
Atlantic Inc., a joint venture with New Brunswick Telephone and
Blue Cross of Atlantic Canada. ISM owns 40 percent of Datacor.

ISM has wholly owned regional units in the provinces of Manitoba
and Saskatchewan and one serving Ontario and Quebec.

The new operation will inherit two major ISM customers in
Alberta: Shell Canada and Alberta Energy Corp. It has also signed
a five-year, $200 million contract with Telus' phone-company
subsidiary AGT Ltd., ISM spokesman Ray Lancashire said. The
company expects to earn about C$45 million in revenue in its
first year.

ISM Alberta will take over an AGT data center in Edmonton, and
will combine AGT and ISM data centers in Calgary. A total of
about 225 employees, the bulk of them from AGT, will staff the
new operation, Lancashire said.

IBM Canada Ltd., the majority shareholder in ISM, will help to
market the new company's services, as it does ISM's services in
other parts of Canada.

Ron Liepert, a spokesman for Telus, said it is the company's
first venture into providing computer services to outside
organizations. The linkage with ISM, Canada's largest computer
services firm, is "a win-win situation" for both companies, he
said.

(Grant Buckler/19921215/Press Contact: Ron Liepert, Telus,
403-493-4838; Ray Lancashire, ISM, 416-351-6301 or 306-781-5331)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(TOR)(00003)

Canadian Govt Moves On R&D Tax Credits Praised 12/16/92
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 DEC 16 (NB) -- There is good news
for Canada's high technology industry in financial proposals
tabled by Canadian Minister of Finance Donald Mazankowski earlier
this month.

The Canadian Advanced Technology Association (CATA) has praised
the budget moves on several counts. CATA applauded changes to the
rules on tax credits for research and development, support for
the building of telecommunications links and infrastructure,
measures to support small business development, and increased
funding for the National Research Council's Industrial Research
Assistance Program (IRAP), which seeks to help small businesses
with research and development.

Also -- like virtually every business lobby group in the country
-- CATA praised the Progressive Conservative government for
"deficit reduction and prudent fiscal management."

John Reid, president of CATA, said his organization is
particularly pleased with the additional money provided to the
IRAP program.

And he said CATA is pleased with changes to the rules for R&D tax
credits in the Scientific Research and Experimental Development
(SRED) program, which had been the subject of CATA criticism and
even a lawsuit supported by the group in the past.

CATA has been especially critical of rulings on expenses and
capital costs attributable partly to R&D and partly to other
purposes.

The changes include a simplified method for allocating overhead
costs to R&D for the purpose of claiming tax credits, as well as
changes to rules regarding lease costs and capital equipment
applicable partly to R&D.

The optional "proxy method" of calculating the expenses eligible
for an R&D tax credit is tied to the salaries of employees
directly engaged in research and development rather than
requiring that R&D-related expenses be itemized.

Consulting firm Ernst & Young in Toronto agreed that the tax
changes could benefit many firms doing research and development.
Karen Wensley, a tax partner at Ernst & Young, said the benefits
will apply mainly to companies where research and development is
spread throughout the company rather than contained in a single
R&D department. Such companies will be able to claim tax credits
for expenses not previously eligible, she said.

Among those likely to benefit are software companies, Wensley
said.

The proposed changes are still awaiting the approval of
parliament, but if approved would likely take effect
retroactively to early December, when the minister brought them
forward, Wensley said.

(Grant Buckler/19921215/Press Contact: John Reid, CATA,
613-236-6550, fax [phone]; Karen Wensley, Ernst & Young,
416-943-3514)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00004)

Canada: SoftQuad Goes Public On VSE 12/16/92
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, 1992 DEC 16 (NB) --
Toronto-based SoftQuad Inc., a pioneering vendor of software that
support the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) standard,
has made its first public stock offering through a reverse
takeover that brought the company a listing on the Vancouver
Stock Exchange.

Hatco Capital Inc., of Burnaby, British Columbia, bought 80
percent of SoftQuad Inc., and renamed itself SoftQuad
International Inc. Hatco was already listed on the Vancouver
exchange.

The company has privately placed 1,206,498 shares at C$1 each and
1,050,000 non-transferrable share-purchase warrants, each good
for one share at C$2 for two years.

SoftQuad International will be a holding company for SoftQuad
Inc., which will remain in Toronto, said Gary R. Brown, president
of SoftQuad International. Yuri Rubinsky, one of SoftQuad's
co-founders, will remain president of the operating company.

Proceeds from the share offering will go into general working
capital, Brown said. The company is considering listing its stock
on a "more senior" exchange in the future, he added -- either the
Toronto Stock Exchange or an American exchange.

Founded in 1984 as an offshoot of a small Toronto book publisher,
SoftQuad in 1987 introduced the first commercial product
supporting SGML, a standard for formatting and organizing text.

Recently, SGML has attracted a good deal of interest, with major
vendors such as WordPerfect and Interleaf supporting
it in their products. While designed originally to simplify
publishing, SGML has potential for organizing large amounts of
text on compact-disk read-only memory (CD-ROM) disks and in
online databases. Brown said SoftQuad's stock offering is well
timed to capitalize on that interest.

(Grant Buckler/19921215/Press Contact: Gary R. Brown, SoftQuad
International, 604-987-7817)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(MOW)(00005)

Russia: Microsoft Estimates Software Market 12/16/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 DEC 16 (NB) -- Microsoft staff have revealed, at
the announcement of the Microsoft Russian subsidiary, what they
believe is the most current data on the state of former Soviet
computer industry.

According to Robert Clough, managing director of Microsoft
Moscow and an active member of the local chapter of a software
copyright protection organization, the market in the former Soviet
Union consists of 1.5 million IBM PC-compatible computers, 15% of
which are capable of running Microsoft Windows.

Microsoft anticipates that in 1993, 200,000 to 300,000 computers
will be sold in CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States), of
which up to 60% will be '386 computers and higher.

Microsoft says the amount of commercial software piracy in CIS is
diminishing while on the personal level, there has been no change.
Microsoft has threatened legal action against large software pirates,
but prefers an "educational" approach to this problem, Robert Clough
concluded.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19921215)


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

NEC Seeks Ways To Cut 64Mb, 256Mb DRAM Production Cost 12/16/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 DEC 16 (NB) -- NEC claims to have found a way
to reduce the cost of creating next generation dynamic random access
memory (DRAM) chips including 64-megabit DRAM and 256-megabit DRAM.
Cost of production is a major hurdle standing in the way of
widespread development of these powerful, futuristic chips. But NEC
reports it has figured out a way to reduce costs by 30 percent.

NEC proposes to change its semiconductor facility to a "reform-type"
plant, a concept which will enable it to just replace part of a
chipmaking plant with new parts for production of larger memory
chips. NEC's plan calls for the design of a semiconductor
manufacturing facility in a multiple number of blocks.

NEC plans to implement this system in a 16-megabit DRAM production
facility. The reform-type or block-type method, NEC says, will
be easier and less expensive to convert to a 64-megabit DRAM
production line. It can be done by just replacing parts of the blocks.

Based on this new method, the facility investment fee will be less
than 100 billion yen compared to about 150 billion yen to build the
facility with a conventional method.

Saving money in the production of next-generation chips is very
much on the minds of other semiconductor makers too, including
Hitachi and Toshiba, and Fujitsu.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19921215/Press Contact: NEC, +81-3-
3451-2974)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00007)

Toshiba, National Semi Link On Flash Memory 12/16/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 DEC 16 (NB) -- Toshiba has signed an agreement
with California-based chipmaker National Semiconductor in which
Toshiba will provide flash memory technology to National Semiconductor.
Also, both firms will develop new flash memories.

Toshiba will provide National Semiconductor with negative
AND-type (NAND) 32-bit flash memory technology, which is currently
under development. National Semiconductor will then manufacture and
market it. Toshiba may also provide its 16-megabit NAND-type flash
memory technology to National Semiconductor.

Both firms will also jointly develop NOR-type flash memories, and
will respectively market these chip. Regarding the NOR-type flash
memories, Toshiba will develop 1-megabit and 4-megabit types, while
National Semiconductor will develop 512K bit, 2-megabit and 8-
megabit types. Both firms are also expected to exchange
products with each other on an OEM (original equipment manufacturer)
basis.

Toshiba will provide the NAND-type 32-bit flash memory technology to
National Semiconductor as early as next February, and National
Semiconductor will release the chip commercially in March.

Toshiba and National Semiconductor already have a close relationship --
they are jointly developing CMOS-type logic chips, as per an agreement
reached last May.

Flash memories are seen as having great potential as memory devices for
computers. That is why others have also allied on this product. Fujitsu
has been developing the flash memories jointly with Advanced Micro
Devices in California.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19921215/Press Contact: Toshiba, +81-
3-3457-2100)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00008)

New Kind Of DRAM, Silicon Created 12/16/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 DEC 16 (NB) -- Sony, Hitachi, Fujitsu and
Matsushita Electric have each developed basic technologies to create
the next generation of semiconductor chips. Sony has developed a
new type of dynamic random access memory (DRAM), which will be much
smaller than existing DRAMs.

Sony's new DRAM is based on a special silicon called SOI. The
transistor and the cell capacitor are placed on each side of the SOI.
This method enables the chip size to be about 30 percent smaller,
according to Sony, which claims that easier production of a 256-megabit
DRAM and 1-gigabit DRAM are a step away.

However, Sony has yet to produce a prototype, and plans to create one,
a 512K bit DRAM, shortly.

Hitachi's latest invention is a AND-type flash memory which employs
a new tunnel rewrite and contactless method. Hitachi says this
technology can be used to develop a small size 64-megabit flash
memory with electrical consumption of 3.3 volts.

Fujitsu has developed basic technology to produce powerful
static random access memory (RAM). The SRAM cell is based on a
transistor (HEMT) and resonance tunnel diode (RTD). These two
elements are 3-dimensionally placed in layers. As a result, the
chip size shrinks, as does its electricity consumption rate, which
plummets to one 20th of current SRAM chips. This technology can be
applied to SRAM with larger memories such a 1 megabit-type SRAMs,
Fujitsu reports.

Matsushita's invention is laser drawing technology for
ultra large LSI chips. This technology enables circuit patterns
to be drawn with a line-width of 0.2 micron. Matsushita's
technology is also expected to pave the way for production of
1-gigabit DRAM.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19921215/Press Contact: Sony, +81-3-
3448-2200, Fax, [phone], Hitachi, [phone], Fax,
[phone], Fujitsu, [phone] , Matsushita Electric,
[phone], Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00009)

Borland Creates Expensive Japan Windows Spreadsheet 12/16/92
SCOTTS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 DEC 16 (NB) -- Borland
has shipped its first Japanese version of its Quattro Pro
spreadsheet product for Windows-J. Spreadsheets are the largest
software sales segment in Japan and Borland says it wants a
segment of the market.

The company said it was able to prepare Quattro Pro for
Windows-J in only three months. Nearly 46 percent of software
sold in Japan is a spreadsheet product and with an estimated
1992 market of $92 million, up from $90 million a year ago.

Spreadsheets account for 49 percent of all Japanese Windows
sales, 49 percent of all DOS sales, and 25 percent of all
Macintosh sales, according to the Software Publisher's
Association.

Borland has Quattro Pro for Windows-J at a suggested retail
price of 98,000 yen (about $800) in Japan. Suggested retail
price in the US for Quattro Pro for Microsoft Windows is $495.
A direct mail offer will allow Borland customers to purchase
the product for 25,000 yen (about $200), about twice as much as
US users pay. Four major Japanese distributors are carrying the
Quattro Pro for Windows-J product.

The company is obviously pursuing the more lucrative Japanese
market because it needs the money. Borland just announced
restructuring plans including a layoff of 350 employees before
Christmas. The company's stock has been falling for a year and
industry analysts have been lowering their expectations for
Borland performance.

Also, Borland continues to face Lotus in court over similarities
between Lotus 1-2-3 and the company's Quattro Pro product. Borland
also faces competition from Lotus in Japan, as Lotus already has a
version of 1-2-3 for Windows in Japanese and has just released a
Macintosh 1-2-3 Japanese version.

Borland recently announced plans to market its InterBase
relational database server in Japan. It also has started on
development of InterBase 3.2 with support for Japanese,
including dialects Kanji and Kana. Interbase 3.2 is scheduled
to ship during the first half of 1993.

Quattro Pro for Windows is shipping to all English speaking
countries and France. Borland says upcoming translated versions
include: Dutch, German, Italian, Spanish, Danish, Swedish,
Hebrew, and Portuguese.

(Linda Rohrbough/19921215/Press Contact: Mara Stefan Bartucca,
Borland, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00010)

New For PC: Symantec's Zortech 3.1 Compilers For OS/2, DOS 12/16/92
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 DEC 16 (NB) -- Hoping to
increase the popularity of its Zortech C-plus-plus compiler,
Symantec has introduced two new versions for the DOS and OS/2
platforms.

The new versions, Zortech C-plus-plus version 3.1 for DOS and
Windows 3.1 and Zortech C-plus-plus version 3.1 for OS/2 2.0,
are fully compliant with AT&T CFRONT C-plus-plus version 3.0
and ANSI C and, according to the company, offer full 32-bit and
advanced numerics support.

The company says that AT&T compliance is important to
programmers because it gives support for pre-compiled headers
and templates, thereby saving compilation time and increasing
code reusability. Zortech C-plus-plus 3.1 conforms to the
IEEE-754 floating point standards and the NCEG 91-015 draft for
numerical extensions.

Carol Clettenberg, Symantec's director of development tools,
said: "Symantec has proven its commitment to providing high
performance compiler technology for the C-plus-plus language
on all key platforms. This is an important insurance policy
for our corporate customers. In addition to Windows 3.1 and
OS/2 2.0, Zortech C-plus-plus also supports 16- and 32-bit
extended DOS, Macintosh and SCO Unix."

Zortech C-plus-plus for DOS and Windows version 3.1 comes with
the MultiScope Debuggers and the Whitewater Resource Toolkit,
and supports Windows 3.1's multimedia, object linking and
embedding (OLE), dynamic data exchange (DDE), pen, and TrueType.

According to Clettenberg, "Symantec's MultiScope Debuggers are
the only Windows-hosted debuggers for C-plus-plus available
today. The debuggers found in competing products are text-based.
The addition of the Whitewater Resource....makes it easy to create
or customize dialog boxes, cursors, icons, menus, and buttons...
This enables programmers to design the look and feel of a
Windows program in a few simple steps."

Zortech C-plus-plus for OS/2 2.0 is immediately available for
$499 for new users and $249 for registered users of Zortech
C-plus-plus.

Symantec is probably a good example of a growing trend among
software vendors -- instead of developing specific software
products in-house, major developers simply look around for a
suitable offering already on the market and buy the company
that makes it instead.

As reported by Newsbytes, Symantec originally acquired
Woburn, Mass-based Zortech Inc., in August 1991.

In June of this year, Newsbytes reported that Symantec acquired
two more companies -- Mountain View, California-based
Multiscope and Evanston, Illinois-based The Whitewater Group.

Multiscope develops the Debuggers for Windows, DOS, and OS/2
for use by software developers in locating and fixing programming
errors. The Whitewater Group is probably best known for its
Whitewater Resource Toolkit for interactively designing and
modifying the look and feel of Windows applications.

(Ian Stokell/19921215/Press Contact: Jayme Kelly,
408-446-8894, Symantec)


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

New For Mac: Vomax 2000 Messaging System 12/16/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 DEC 16 (NB) -- Macronix has
brought out a low-cost device aimed at letting the user enjoy high-
end fax, e-mail and voice mailboxing features without having to set
aside PC computing power or subscribe to an outside service.

Paul Liu, company president, told Newsbytes that Vomax 2000 can
receive and manage large volumes of voice, data and fax calls
completely on its own. The external box also allows for fax
playback, with or without voice annotation, on a TV set, and fax
viewing, without voice annotation, on either a Macintosh or IBM-
compatible PC.

Slated for release in early January, the base system includes a 32-
bit processor, a choice of Windows or Macintosh fax software, an
intelligent voice/fax/data switch, 1 MB of memory (expandable to 8
MB), a built-in 9600/2400 bps fax/data modem, two modular RJ-11
jacks, and a serial interface to the PC. A TV interface is
expected to become available in February.

The ability to handle messages independently sets Vomax 2000 apart
from PC board sets, Liu emphasized. "Due to the TV playback as
well as other features, the user doesn't even need to own a PC.
Users who do own PCs can leave their computers off when they're on
the road. And even if the PC is left on, fax, phone and e-mail
messages can be received without consuming valuable disk space," he
commented.

John Wong, vice president of engineering, explained that most of
the messaging capabilities in Vomax can be programmed either
locally or remotely via phone or fax machine, including voice
annotation of faxes and several features oriented to mobile users:
pager notification of messages pending, remote message retrieval,
and automatic message forwarding to remote locations.

The fax software that comes with the system, geared mainly to fax
display on the Mac or PC, can also be employed for delayed fax
transmission, a function useful for sending faxes across time zones
or taking advantage of low night-time transmission rates.

Wong stressed that Vomax also provides complete digital phone
answering services, including voice prompts, call screening and
breakthrough, selective message playback and deletion, and date and
time stamps.

In its standard 1 MB configuration, the system accepts up to 20
minutes of voice messages or up to 30 pages of fax. With the
maximum 8 MB of memory, capacity leaps to as much as 160 minutes
(two hours and 40 minutes) of voice messages or 240 pages of fax.

A lack of standardization among PC sound systems is the reason why
playback of voice annotation is limited to TVs, suggested Wong.

In voice annotation, the sender of the fax uses a telephone or the
speaker on a remote fax machine to describe the fax being
transmitted and convey other pertinent information.

The sender might say, for example, "Hi, Mary. This is Mike Smith.
I'm faxing you an invoice for the services supplied by ABC Company
to DEF Company during the month of December. If you have any
questions, please let me know. I'll be out of town most of this
week, but retrieving my voice and fax messages regularly. My voice
number is XXX-XXXX, and my fax number is YYY-YYYY."

Vomax 2000 will be priced at $479 in its minimum configuration.
The TV interface will be sold separately, for a price yet to be
determined.

Macronix is a privately held company founded in 1987 by former
executives of VLSI Technology Inc. The Tele-Imaging Systems Group
that produces Vomax 2000 also makes fax/data modems for Macintosh
and IBM-compatible PCs. Another division of the company, the
Macronix Components Group, manufactures semiconductor VLSIs for PC
applications.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19921216; Public contact: Macronix, tel 408-453-
8088; Press contact: Nancy Fox, Macronix, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(HKG)(00012)

Hongkong: BSA Settles With Pirates 12/16/92
TAIKOO SHING, HONG KONG, 1992 DEC 16 (NB) -- The Business Software
Alliance (BSA) has settled with companies in Hongkong charged with
software piracy, in the conclusion of the first actions of their
kind in the territory.

Under settlements announced today, five of the companies - Mastertech
Office Automation Co Ltd, Rigid Systems Ltd, Infintech Computer
Systems Co, CCS Technology Ltd and Microdata Computer Ltd - have
agreed to pay substantial damages to the BSA and to take steps to
address the problem of illegal software copying by employees of the
company. Proceedings are continuing against the sixth defendant.

"The proceedings are focused on those venders who use pre-installed
counterfeit software to help sell their hardware, which is illegal
under Hong Kong Law," Alix Palour, vice president of BSA, told
Newsbytes. "Shops that illegally copy software are controlled by the
Hong Kong customs department."

"The BSA has made it very clear through an extensive educational and
press campaign that retail outlets would face possible court action
if they were found to be selling counterfeit software," said Jeff
Siebach, vice president of the Business Software Alliance.

"The BSA will not sit by while many retailers in Hong Kong continue
to flagrantly break the law. We will take action against companies
that copy software illegally, wherever they are."

The legal action was taken after the retailers offered to supply
illegal copies of computer software to BSA investigators. Among the
software offered for sale by them was Microsoft Excel for Windows and
Lotus 1-2-3.

Under the terms of the settlements, the companies have agreed to
destroy all unauthorized copies of software. In addition, the
companies must cease any acts of copyright infringement, disclose all
dealings in the above computer programs, sign and comply with the BSA
Software Code of Ethics, advertise a public apology and pay a
sum for costs incurred and damages suffered.

"We welcome the settlements with these companies which will ensure
the proper sale of legal software," said Siebach. "The procedures
they have agreed to adopt should be suitable for all software
retailers who wish to comply with the law."

According to Alix Parlour, many computer dealers offer illegal
software in the full knowledge that they are breaking the law.

"The settlements announced today are a significant step forward in
our efforts to eradicate the illegal sale and use of counterfeit
software in the territory," said Parlour.

"It is important to demonstrate that the threat of legal action is
real. The BSA intends to increase the margin of risk to the point
that businesses no longer believe it is worth breaking the law."

As part of the BSA's campaign in the territory, a hotline has
recently been established, following similar successful initiatives
in Taiwan, Korea and Australia.

"The hotline provides information to the public about the acquisition
and management of legitimate software as well as providing a
confidential means of reporting people who are stealing software
through unauthorized copying," said Parlour.

(Brett Cameron/19921216/Press Contact: Alix Parlour, BSA,Tel: +852-
804 4240;HK time is GMT + 8)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(HKG)(00013)

Hongkong: Cray Communications Targets Asia 12/16/92
WAN CHAI, HONG KONG, 1992 DEC 16 (NB) -- The UK-based company Cray
Electronics has announced the formation of Cray Communications. The
new company merges Cray's existing data communications business,
Craycom Ltd., with the recently acquired Dowty Information Technology
Division.

Cray Communications Asia Pacific, headquartered in Sydney, Australia,
will provide the company's focus for the Asian market. The company
will be headed by Managing Director Nelson Siva, who will manage
Cray's operations in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China,
Southeast Asia, India, Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific
Islands.

Heading the company's regional business will be managing director for
Asia, Blunden Butt. Based in Hong Kong, Butt will be responsible for
managing the company's regional headquarters in Hong Kong and office
in Singapore, as well as supporting distributors in the PRC,
Thailand, Taiwan, Korea, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia and
Malaysia.

"Cray Communications will be one of the few independent vendors that
develops, manufactures and sells a full range of products and
services for both local and wide area networks," said Siva. "With the
acquisition of Dowty Information Technology, Cray is now the UK's
largest computing services company and intends to become Asia's
leading data communications supplier.

"During the past decade, the Asian networking market has grown by 30
percent a year and is now the fastest growing in the world. We
believe it offers tremendous potential for Cray and we are confident
of success in building further our communications technology business
in the region."

Siva brings more than 20 years' experience in the industry to his new
post. He joined Case Communications, forerunner of Dowty Information
Technology Division, in 1987 as managing director of the company's
New Zealand operations.

In 1991 he was promoted to the position of managing director for
Dowty in Australia before taking up his current post. Previously,
Siva was with ITT in the UK and New Zealand where he was responsible
for establishing the company's computer products division.

Siva and Butt will be responsible for overseeing the design,
marketing and support of Cray's full range of intelligent wiring
systems, network management, wireless LANs, standards-based LAN,
X.25, modems, statistical multiplexor, bandwidth management, frame
relay and ATM products.

Services provided by Cray Communications Asia Pacific will include
consultancy, design, training, service and repair, and project
management.

"The merger will enable us to provide the most comprehensive range of
network services, from design consultation through to network
implementation and maintenance cover," said Butt.

"By drawing on the combined communications expertise of both
companies, our strengths in software, data communications and
telecommunications will ensure that we are a substantial force in the
region."

(Brett Cameron/19921216/Press Contact: Blunden Butt, Cray, Tel: +852-
828 7100;HK time is GMT + 8)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00014)

Fujitsu Develops Multimedia Semiconductors 12/16/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 DEC 16 (NB) -- Fujitsu has developed codec LSI
(large scale integrated) chips for motion pictures which
support compression and decompression features, and can be used
for multimedia devices. They are based on international standards.

Fujitsu's codec LSI chips for motion pictures are still a prototype,
but the firm is planning to commercialize them by the fall of 1993.
These chips, with compression and decompression features, represent
an industry first.

Fujitsu's motion picture codec LSI chips are based on the
standards put forth by H.261 of CCITT's TV-phones and
conference codec systems and ISO's MPEG1, which covers motion
pictures.

Three kinds of chips have been developed: a Coder LSI, a
Decoder LSI and a motion recognition LSI. With these three LSIs
on the transmission system and the decoder LSI on the receiving
system, motion picture data was successfully transmitted in
real time. The transmission speed for the motion pictures was 352
pixels x 288 lines x 30 frames per second.

The actual transmission speed is 6.3 megabit per second, which is
much faster than that of the MPEG1 standard of 1.5 megabits per
second. Fujitsu's LSIs may conform to the MPEG2 standard, which
is currently being formulated and regulates systems with speeds
higher than 5 megabits per second.

Fujitsu is planning to apply these motion picture LSIs to TV
phones, TV conference systems, personal computers, workstations
and other multimedia devices.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19921216/Press Contact: Fujitsu, +81-3-
3215-5266)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(WAS)(00015)

Hayes VS Multi-Tech; A BBSer's View 12/16/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 DEC 16 (NB) -- Is Hayes being
unfair to Multi-Tech in its advertisements which warn people
about possible anomalies encountered when using Multi-Tech
modems? Boardwatch Magazine's always outspoken Jack Rickard has
waded into the Hayes/Multi-Tech controversy with a reply to a
Multi-Tech Systems letter-to-the-editor addressed to his magazine.

Hayes Microcomputer and Multi-Tech Systems have been trading
white papers and legal charges for months now, all over the fact
that Multi-Tech decided to use its own escape sequence rather
than the near-universal Heatherington 302 system patented by Hayes.
Hayes is telling the world that Multi-Tech's escape sequence is
inferior and likely to cause a crash.

Multi-Tech, which says that it will sell about $80 million worth
of modems in 1992, is understandably upset with this contention.

In the January, 1993 issue of Boardwatch Mr. Rickard takes Multi-
Tech to task criticizing the company's understanding of the real
problem and pointing out that the BBS community isn't concerned
about the two companies' legal wrangling, just whether the Hayes
escape sequence is superior.

An escape sequence is a string of events that cause a modem to
stop whatever it is doing and wait for a new command. While it is
obviously vital for such a sequence to exist, it is also
important that the escape sequence not occur due to a random
sequence of events such as the transmission of a file.

Hayes's popular escape sequence involves both a string of unusual
characters and a fixed pause before reception of that string. The
odds of this sequence happening even once is remote and the
chances of it occurring twice with the same file is vanishingly
small.

Multi-Tech's escape sequence (TIES) uses a character string only,
a very unusual sequence, but no time delay has to occur just
before or after the sequence is sent, making the event far less
unique.

The company says that this character string is so rare that it
won't cause trouble, but Mr. Rickard says that the firm is ignoring
the fact that BBS users transfer not text or data files, but
compressed files which may generate very strange character
sequences and also share gigantic image files where almost every
imaginable sequence can occur.

He goes on to point out that ZyXEL avoids using the Hayes escape
sequence by adding an even more sophisticated system based on a
variable length pause that must be different from the pauses
detected during a particular transfer.

Mr. Rickard's objection to Multi-Tech's system is that it is much
less secure than either the Hayes or ZyXEL escape sequence and
thus adds another variable that can cause already chancy
communications to fail. Since Multi-Tech modems are not
significantly less expensive than competing Hayes-compatible
modems and in fact cost BBS Sysops more than comparable Hayes
brand modems, Mr. Rickard says that there is little reason to
take the chance.

Back a few months ago Multi-Tech and Sierra Semiconductor won a
court ruling which blocks Hayes from comparing non-Hayes sequence
computers to a ticking time bomb.

If you want both sides of this argument, Multi-Tech's BBS number
is 612-785-9875 and one can download the company's white paper
from that number at a variety of speeds. Most of the white paper
concerns the legal actions and charges being traded by the two
companies and very little of it concerns technical issues.

(John McCormick/19921216/Press Contact: Jack Rickard, Boardwatch
Magazine, 303-973-6038, fax [phone], BBS 303-973-4222,
Internet: [e-mail])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00016)

German Post/Telecoms Minister Resigns 12/16/92
BONN, GERMANY, 1992 DEC 16 (NB) -- In a surprise move, Christian
Schwarz-Schilling, Germany's post and telecoms minister, has
announced he is resigning. The resignation comes just days before he
was due to announce the awarding of a number of privatized telecom
licences, including those for the new "E1" mobile phone networks.

Although Schilling's departure is unlikely to result in any major
changes in the German state postal and telecom operations this side of
Christmas, Newsbytes notes that it does give the Government a chance
to split the operations into two divisions, something that has proved
necessary for all major countries which have made the transition from
state to privatized postal and telecom operations.

In Britain and the US, for example, telecom has been almost completed
liberalized, while the postal services have remained in state hands,
so as to prevent postal charges rising.

Schilling's departure is likely, however, to delay a decision regarding
which of the two consortia, E-Plus or E-Star, will get a licence to run
the E1 mobile phone network in Germany. A decision was expected at the
end of this week.

Schilling, who has been a member of Chancellor Kohl's cabinet for ten
years, has been a major advocate of telecom privatization. Recently,
however, Kohl and his Government have been stalling on the
privatization issues, owing to the financial problems that
re-unification has brought.

(Steve Gold/19921216)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00017)

German, French Telecom Authorities Form Eunetcom 12/16/92
BONN, GERMANY, 1992 DEC 16 (NB) -- Deutsche Bundespost Telekom has
teamed up with France Telecom to form Eunetcom, an Amsterdam-based
telecom company. Both companies have a 50 percent stake in the new
operation, for which a primary aim has not been stated.

Although Eunetcom is officially based in Amsterdam, its headquarters
will be in Paris, while its research and development, plus technical
operations, will be in Frankfurt.

Sources close to France Telecom suggest that Eunetcom has been created
to offer global telecom services to international companies.
Newsbytes notes that, from January 1 onwards, when the free European
market comes into force, international service provision of telecom
services within the European Community (EC) will be a lot easier.

The link-up between two former rivals in the European telecom
marketplace is, however, unprecedented. Previously, the main link-ups
have been on a transatlantic basis, where the companies concerned
(e.g. BT/AT&T) have no market overlap.

(Steve Gold/19921216)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(00018)

British Prime Ministers Phone Calls May Have Been Tapped 12/16/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 DEC 16 (NB) -- A storm has broken out in
political circles in London, following news reports that the
Irish Republican Army (IRA) may have been eavesdropping on phone calls
between John Major, the British Prime Minister, and John Hume, leader
of the Social Democratic and Labour Party in Northern Ireland.

The revelations, which appeared first in the London Times on Monday,
suggest that police have uncovered tapes of phone calls between the
two. No official comment from the police or the British Government
has been made.

The Times reports that the tapes were discovered during a search of a
house by the Royal Ulster Constabulary in the Bogside district of
Londonderry, Northern Ireland, on Wednesday of last week. The house is
a few doors away from John Hume's home.

What is interesting is that the Times reports that, while numerous
tapes and recorders were found during the raid, and several arrests
took place, all parties have been released and no charges have been
laid against anyone involved.

As soon as the news report hit the streets on Monday, the IRA
contacted a local newspaper to deny any involvement in the tapping.
Newsbytes notes, however, that the IRA is known to have used
sympathizers within British Telecom, which provides telecom services
in Northern Ireland.

Inter-party talks have been quietly taking place over the past year to
try and resolve the Northern Ireland problem. It is widely known that
the IRA has been upset at being officially excluded from the talks, so
the lack of prosecutions in this case suggests that the British
Government may be "looking the other way" when it comes to taps of
this type. The lack of any official news comment on the case also
points to this conclusion.

(Steve Gold/19921216)


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

Ericsson Forms Joint Telecom Venture In China 12/16/92
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, ENGLAND, 1992 DEC 16 (NB) -- Ericsson has formed a
joint venture telecom company in China. The move makes the Swedish
electronics giant one of the first European companies to officially
offer its telecom services in the country.

The new company -- Guangzhou Ericsson Communications Company -- has
been formed with several small Chinese companies to market, install
and support Ericsson's mobile telephone technology, specifically the
analogue cellular phone service known as TACS (total access
communications system) in the Guangdong Province.

Ericsson already has a solid presence in China. The company has
supplied and installed TACS mobile telephone technology capable of
supporting more than 150,000 subscribers in the province. This new
venture will allow the company to dramatically expand its TACS
networks in the country.

(Steve Gold/19921216)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEN)(00020)

DataPoint, Northern Telecom Settlement May Run $30M 12/16/92
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 DEC 16 (NB) -- A ten-year-old
patent infringement suit could cost Datapoint Corporation as much as
$30 million.

An agreement reached between Datapoint Corporation and Northern
Telecom could cost the networking company that much under terms of
the agreement in principle to settle patent litigation brought
against it be Northern Telecom in 1982. The suit was so old that a
Datapoint Corporation spokesperson told Newsbytes that she wasn't
sure of the specifics of the suit, only that it involved the use of
form filling entry software on Datapoint's minicomputers for which
Northern Telecom hold patents.

Terms of the agreement include a $7.5 million payment, which
Datapoint spokesperson Patricia Coble told Newsbytes has already
been paid, a 10 year interest-free secured note for $10M payable in
equal annual installments of $1M each, and contingent payments based
on Datapoint's profitability. The contingent payments can not
exceed $12.5 million, and are to be paid in annual installments to
be calculated at one-third of Datapoint's pre-tax annual profits in
excess of $10M in each of Datapoint's next 10 fiscal years.

As part of the agreement a Dallas, Texas federal court dismissed the
suit with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled.

Datapoint originally introduced ARCNet, probably the first local
area network (LAN), and also provides information, Unix-based
hardware platforms, and videoconferencing services.

(Jim Mallory/19921216/Press contact: Patricia Coble, Datapoint,
210-593-7910)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00021)

Zeos Arranges New Credit Line 12/16/92
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1992 DEC 16 (NB) -- PC maker Zeos
International has announced it has arranged a new $12.5 million
revolving credit agreement which will provide access to additional
working capital if needed.

The new credit line, effective immediately, is a demand facility
secured by the company's assets and is being provided by Congress
Financial Corporation, a subsidiary of CoreStates Financial
Corporation.

Zeos Chairman and CEO Gregory Herrick said the company's balance
sheet as of September 30, 1992 shows a current ratio of assets to
liabilities of 2.47, which he said is considerably better than the
industry average of 1.51. "Having this new revolving credit facility
in place further strengthens our competitive position by providing
access to additional working capital if needed," Herrick said.

In August Zeos' bank announced that it was cutting the company's
credit line to $8M and would not renew the arrangement when it
expired this month, citing adverse market conditions and the
company's poor financial performance. Last January Chief Financial
Officer John Bakewell predicted that the company could see as much
as a 30 percent increase in revenue over the previous year, saying
15-20 percent would be conservative. Shortly thereafter the
company's fortunes reversed against stiff competition and falling
prices in the industry. Part of Zeos' cost containment measures
included the layoff of 106 employees.

(Jim Mallory/19921216/Press contact: John Blakewell, CFO, Zeos,
612-362-1419)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00022)

 ****Microsoft Denies Access Shipped Early 12/16/92
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 DEC 16 (NB) -- A Microsoft
spokesperson told Newsbytes that the software giant did not ship its
Windows database product Access early to beat Borland's product to
market.

Access Group Product Manager Mary Engstrom told Newsbytes in an
interview yesterday afternoon that the rumor that the company had
stopped production in order to correct "bugs" in the program were
untrue. She did acknowledge that there was a delay in production
because of a shortage of some manuals and box inserts, but said that
was because of an unexpectedly high number of orders for Access. She
said the company shipped the number of packages in just over two
weeks that it had forecast for the first three months. She denied
that future shipments of Access would carry a new version number.

At least one trade publication columnist has speculated that an
example of how to declare constants in the Access Introduction To
Programming Manual showing a release date of 1/1/93 indicates the
product was shipped early. However, Engstrom said "that was just an
example."

Engstrom told Newsbytes that Microsoft has made no changes to its
program disks which were released in November. "We're not only
shipping it, we're in a big backlog situation. We're building
40-50,000 units a week." She estimated the current backlog at about
80,000 units.

According to Engstrom, Microsoft is aware of two data corruption
bugs in the program. Those, she said, were caught before Access
started shipping. Those bugs are in Windows for Workgroups and LAN
Manager. She said the hot fix has been included with every package
of Access for those two programs.

Speaking about bugs that have been reported by users on subscription
bulletin board service Compuserve, Engstrom told Newsbytes that
there have been five user-reported bugs on CIS. Of those, three
were non-reproducable, one was about a known bug, and one was about a
bug with Stacker. "We're working with the vendor of Stacker to find
out where that bug is," said Engstrom. She told Newsbytes that the
current version of Stacker wasn't shipping when Access was released
"and its natural that you might find a bug in future versions."

Addressing speculation that Access was shipped early to beat
Borland's Paradox for Windows to market, Engstrom told Newsbytes
Microsoft wouldn't have shipped early. "You want to use every day
of testing you have," she said. "The only one that would have gotten
burned is Microsoft if we shipped a buggy product. That would only
have been a negative on us."

Borland CEO Philippe Khan says Paradox for Windows will ship prior
to February 1.

(Jim Mallory/19921215/Press contact: Mary Engstrom, Microsoft,
206-882-8080)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00023)

VA Contract Award Defies Conyers' Committee 12/16/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 DEC 16 (NB) -- Representative John Conyers
Jr., Democrat for Michigan's first district, recently requested
that this Veterans Benefits Administration (VA insurance division)
delay this $200 million computer modernization contract until the
new Clinton administration had an opportunity to study the plans.
Two days later, according to Federal Computer Week, the VBA awarded
the initial $205.8 million modernization contract to Rockville,
Maryland-based Federal Data Corp.

Representative Conyers, chairman of the House Government
Operations Committee and a regular critic of what he considers
sloppy procurement procedures, based his committee's request for
a delay on a General Accounting Office study which said that the
Veterans Benefits Administration had not completed the proper
studies that would allow the agency to properly award the
contract.

The House Committee formally asked the VBA to delay the first
stage of the procurement until the agency had at least addressed
the concerns and questions raised by the independent GAO study.

The major problem, according to the GAO, is that VBA's proposed
system as described in the Automated Data Processing Systems
Modernization contract is inadequate to solve the problems faced
by the agency.

Thus, just weeks before the change to a Democratic administration, the
VBA has gone ahead with an eight-year software and support contract
that may be worth as much as $300 million which the Congress, the GAO,
and even some MIS officials in the Veterans Administration itself, say
has little or no strategic planning behind it.

The second and third stages of the modernization project will see
the installation of mass-storage systems and imaging equipment as
well as replacement of mainframe computers in Philadelphia and in
Illinois.

This imaging system is one of the main problem areas cited by the
GAO study which determined that despite the massive investment in
new technology, a full implementation of imaging for forms
processing would only improve the VBA's claim response time by
about five percent.

Another major criticism of the contract award was that the only
other bidder, Wang Laboratories, had dropped out of the
competition back when it suffered such dramatic losses and
declared bankruptcy last summer.

As reported yesterday in Newsbytes, Sequent Computer Systems will
supply the POSIX (the Portable Operating System Interface for UNIX)
standard set by the IEEE, and Sequent Symmetry S20 mainframe
computers, in the contract. CompuAdd was tapped to provide
80486-based workstations for the Microsoft Windows desktop environment.

(John McCormick/19921215/Press Contact: Rep Conyers, 202-225-5126)


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

 ****Bell Atlantic To Begin Cable TV By Phone 12/16/92
TOMS RIVER, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 DEC 16 (NB) -- Using new
powers from an incentive regulation plan it expects will be
improved, Bell Atlantic has begun upgrading the New Jersey Bell
network to offer video as well as sound. The upgrade is due to
be completed by 1995, making Toms River a showcase of futuristic
video and telecommunications services, much like Cerritos,
California has become for GTE.

The cost of the upgrade is estimated as half that of building a
new cable television system, and the new system, of course, will
also handle regular phone service.

The company announced it will upgrade to a "video dialtone"
transmission service for 38,000 homes in Dover Township, New
Jersey, using equipment from Broadband Technologies of North
Carolina. FutureVision of America Corp., has a 10-year deal to
lease that service for use in delivering both video and
information services. The upgrade, due to be done next summer,
still requires FCC approvals, but those are expected.

Bell Atlantic becomes the first phone company challenge to cable
television's monopoly, since there is an existing cable
television provider in the area. But it's also the
first major commitment by a regional Bell company to upgrade a
city to fiber transmission, and the resulting network could
become New Jersey Bell's standard offering for the early 21st
century.

"This is a precursor to what we announced last year," spokesman
Karen Johnson told Newsbytes. " This is an example of the kind of
project we'd do under our Opportunity New Jersey plan, which the
legislature approved in January, 1992." The plan called for
"incentive," cost-based regulation of rates in exchange for a
Bell commitment to upgrade its network. "We filed an incentive
regulation plan in March, and we're awaiting a decision on that
plan from the New Jersey Board of Regulatory Commissioners." If
that is approved, systems like the one in Toms River could be
installed statewide by the year 2010, Johnson said.

"It's not a test," she added. "The technology has been tested. We
know it works. This is a 10-year agreement. We're not calling it
a test or a trial. Our strategy is to install a digital fiber
network and make it available to all information providers who
want to use it." Previously the company announced plans to
upgrade to digital fiber in three Morris County communities and
deliver cable TV signals for a Dallas company. Bell Atlantic also
has a deal with Tele-Communications Inc., the giant cable
television operator, to introduce digital compression technology
that expands channel choices 10-fold.

FutureVision President Robert Schena said his company's task
will be to make this capability easy and fun for consumers to
use, and predicted it will give consumers more control over the
cost and content at their TV set. Consumers could create their
own 60-channel menu of cable television choices, from 124
possibilities, and order pay-per-view programs with TV remote
controls. BroadBand, which won new venture capital funding for
its FLX system just a day before Bell Atlantic's announcement,
has designed its hardware to work with existing TVs and VCRs. The
in-home equipment will consist of a set-top box that will
automatically give all TVs additional features such as remote
volume control and muting, on-screen text and channel display and
interactive ordering.

FutureVision is a privately held company based in Downington,
Pennsylvania, formed this year to manage enhanced electronic
information services. The local cable operator in Toms River is
called Adelphia Communications.

There could still be legal fireworks over all this. Cable
companies,led by their National Cable Television Association
trade group, believe phone companies should be required to get
local franchise licenses and pay fees to local governments, as
they do, before entering the TV signal transmission business.
Otherwise, the cable companies will fight it. But given the
unpopularity of cable in Washington, where lawmakers and
regulators on up to Vice President-elect Al Gore are angry over
the industry's pushing through rate hikes just as regulation of
its rates begins, that looks like an uphill fight.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19921216/Press Contact: Karen Johnson, New
Jersey Bell, 201-649-2282)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00025)

New Cellular Cable TV Service 12/16/92
BRIGHTON BEACH, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 DEC 16 (NB) -- The
Brighton Beach area of Brooklyn, hometown of playwright Neil
Simon, is the first area to get a new kind of cellular cable
television service.

CellularVision of New York has begun installing its equipment in
the area, delivering 41 channels of TV service, by wire, over the
27-29 GHz frequency bands. Eventually, the company hopes to
provide telephone and information services to the same
households, using the same frequencies. The company hopes to
serve the entire New York City area in five years.

Inventor Bernard Brossard told Newsbytes that the key to his
system is frequency modulation, or FM. FM is the same
transmission system which gives radio stations on those bands
better reception than AM, which use amplitude modulation to
transmit sound. In the US, FM stations are taking the radio
market away from AM in part because of this inherent advantage.

"I'm an engineer," he said. "I've been involved in
telecommunications all my life. I'm 58. I worked on interference
reduction techniques, in a wide range of areas. It was obvious
that cable is AM and not the best way to do things -- FM is
better. There are also properties that can be used in cellular
structures -- you can re-use frequencies, and you have enormous
bandwidth at higher frequencies. With digital polarization you've
got 2,000 MHz of bandwidth to work with."

Bossard was at RCA's Labs in New York City, before that operation
moved to New Jersey. At that time, he formed his own company.
Herbert Armstrong, the father of FM, originally created the system
in the 1930s specifically for RCA founder David Sarnoff.

The problem with the higher frequencies is that, because the
waves are so short, they attenuate or dissipate very, very
quickly. By using cellular technology, dividing a service area
among many antennae just as cellular telephone companies do, this
problem is eliminated, Bossard said.

Bossard said his system is better than new cable or digital phone
systems for transmitting information, and costs much less. The
wide bandwidth means signals don't have to be compressed. On
December 11, the FCC gave CellularVision the approval to go
forward with its system, saying it would license the required
frequencies in 49 regions, and offering CellularVision a choice
between the New York and Los Angeles licenses. CellularVision
spokesman Herb Corbin told Newsbytes the company will definitely
take Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island too -- not to
mention Brooklyn and Queens -- but still loves LA and doesn't
feel the door has been closed to it there yet.

Corbin said the company is offering 41 channels of TV service to
its Brooklyn customers for $29.95, a price competitive with cable
in an area undeserved by cable. "In this spectrum the microwaves
can bounce off buildings, and you can position the small antenna
to get the waves. We saw in one apartment that if you pulled the
metal apartment blinds you lost the picture, but you could
reposition the antenna out another window to get reception," just
as people used to adjust old "rabbit ear" antennae in the 1950s
to improve their reception. CellularVision won patents on its
technology in 1987, said Bossard.

One implication of all this, added Bossard, is that regulation of
either phone or cable rates may become irrelevant, because
wireless systems like his can offer competition. In fact, because
it will cost so little in comparison to upgrades of cable or
telephone systems, systems like CellularVision could win-out,
offering broadband data services and wireless telephone service
in addition to cable television service off a single platform.

Meanwhile, both cable and telephone companies have been furiously
lobbying regulators and the Congress for "incentive regulation"
so they can invest in their own network upgrades. "That debate
should matter less and regulation matter less," Bossard told
Newsbytes, because his alternative will kill both monopolies at
once.

CellularVision is buying transmitters from the Hughes division of
General Motors as well as Catel Corp., and has bought antennas
from Alpha Industries and MA/Com Inc. Ironically, Bossard once
worked for MA/COM, as general manager of its KMC Semiconductor
Industry, which bought his National Electric Laboratories in
1970.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19921216/Press Contact: Herb Corbin, for
CellularVision, 212-682-6565)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00026)

3Com & Sync Research In Networking Deal 12/16/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 DEC 16 (NB) -- Hoping to
go some way towards its eventual goal of allowing users to
integrate SNA (Systems Network Architecture) and multiprotocol
local area networks (LANs), 3Com Corp., has signed a joint
marketing agreement with Sync Research. Under terms of the deal,
3Com will recommend Sync's SDLC (Synchronous Data Link Control)
to LLC2 (Logical Link Control 2) conversion products.

3Com says that the agreement will "fulfill the second stage
of its three-phased SNA strategy."

The company says that the joint marketing relationship will
enable 3Com to reference-sell Sync Research's SDLC-LLC
conversion product, which allows 3Com to offer its customers
"one-stop shopping for their SNA LAN internetwork needs."

Donna Stein, of 3Com, told Newsbytes that the deal is
important to the company because, "it enables us to offer our
customers a market-proven solution for SDLC conversion, which
is a key part of the SNA strategy that we announced....in March."

In March, 3Com announced a strategy for IBM connectivity
including delivery of three stages of capabilities: stage one
concerned Token Ring bridging and routing (which the company
says is completed); stage two involves SDLC conversion and
tunneling, set for the first half of 1993; and stage three, which
involves SNA routing with support for IBM's APPN (advanced
peer-to-peer networking), which is set for the second half of
1993. 3Com licensed IBM's APPN network node code in March.

The agreement also enables the two companies to pursue
"cooperative support programs and collaborate on major account
marketing efforts to demonstrate the synergies between their
respective product lines."

Sync claims that its recently introduced miniSNAC product
provides significant network savings by allowing users to
eliminate SDLC networks and provision SDLC-LLC technology at
remote offices and in workgroup environments. According to
Sync, the miniSNAC, connects SDLC controllers, IBM financial
services platforms (3600, 4700), automated teller machines
(ATMs), and point-of-sale (POS) terminals to a workgroup hub
using a local router, internetworks to an IBM host environment.
The company says that this eliminates private SDLC leased lines.

The SNAC products offer connectivity between SNA/SDLC and
Token Ring, Ethernet, Frame Relay, and X.25 networks. Sync
recently introduced the miniSNAC - a single board SDLC-to-LLC
conversion product from remote branch sites, and the SNAC/FEP,
a "reliable, redundant platform targeted for IBM central site
locations."

(Ian Stokell/19921216/Press Contact: Donna Stein,
408-764-5960, 3Com Corp., or Tony Fisch, 714-588-2070,
Sync Research)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00027)

New For Mac: Truevision Bravado24 Digital Multimedia 12/16/92
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, U.S.A., 1992 DEC 16 (NB) -- Truevision,
the inventors of the Targa board which was recently purchased by
Rasterops, has announced the Bravado24, a version of the
Bravado multimedia digital video hardware and software for the
Macintosh.

Truevision originally announced the Bravado for the IBM and
compatible personal computer (PC) platform and said it has
expected and received demand for the Bravado product for the
Macintosh.

The Bravado24 offers 24-bit, 16.7 million color video-in-a-
window, and Truevision says it is the only product to offer 16-
bit 44 kilohertz (KHz) compact disc (CD) quality sound. Other
products offer sound capability, but at the lower quality 8-bit
level, the company said.

The company says the product offers the ability to record
and playback video at the broadcast quality rate of 30 frames
per second. Video can be recorded to the hard disk or memory
from any S-video source. The video is digitized and scan
converted in real time and the video window can be scaled up to
resolutions of 640 x 480 pixels. Video formats such as NTSC,
PAL, and SECAM can be decoded on-the-fly so switching between
sources and formats is possible. Monitors from the 13-inch
Apple Color High Resolution red blue green (RGB) to the
Mitsubishi 37-inch XC3715C are supported.

A single Nubus card offers optional Joint Photographic Experts
Group (JPEG) compression without taking up extra space for a
daughterboard to do the compression/decompression. The card
has a digital signal processor (DSP), which offers the sound
control and frees up the Macintosh central processing unit
(CPU) for other tasks. Video capture memory on the board is 1.5
megabytes (MB), and hardware-based pan and zoom offers faster
previewing of details.

Truevision says it caters to the video professional. Dennis
Collins, director of marketing services for Truevision said,
"It's not likely Dad will find a Bravado24 under the tree at
Christmas. We're designing products for the user for whom video
is the end product or a by-product of their operation."

Truevision says the "Holy Grail" in multimedia is total
integration of audio, video, and compression so video is a data
type. The Collins told Newsbytes Truevision isn't there yet,
but the Bravado is another step in that direction.

The company is also gearing very much toward digital video
production (DVP), but at a professional level. Users can
already print to video tape, but Truevision offers the ability
to take that video tape down to a television studio and have it
be color compatible for broadcast.

The Bravado24 for the Macintosh will be available January 1,
1993 for $3,995. The company recommends users have a Quadra 700
or 900 and plenty of disk space to get optimum results. The
Bravado24 can be purchased without compression for $1,995, and
the compression module is an additional $2,195. Indianapolis,
Indiana-based Truevision also has a forum on CompuServe
accessible by typing GO MULTIVEN.

(Linda Rohrbough/19921216/Press Contact: Holly McArthur, Seltz
Seabolt & Associates, tel [phone], fax [phone];
Public Contact at Truevision 800-344-8783)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00028)

Radius' New Videovision DVP Products, Trade In Offer 12/16/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 DEC 16 (NB) -- No sooner has
Truevision promised a January introduction of a new digital video
hardware/software package, has Radius reduced prices on its desktop
video system, called Videovision. It is also announcing the Videovision
Presentation System and the Digitalmedia Studio.

The company has started with a basic hardware product,
Videovision, and adds software and/or hardware which can
address or enhance the basic system's capabilities for its new
products, the Videovision Presentation System and the
Digitalmedia Studio.

The basic Videovision system has been reduced to $1,999 from
$2,399 and includes a desktop video interface, breakout
connector box, and a connecting cable. The next step is the
Videovision Presentation System which includes presentation
software Adobe Premiere 2.0 and MacroMedia Action!, at the old
Videovision price of $2,399. The Digitalmedia Studio will be
available in March of 1993 and is retail priced at $3,999.

Digitalmedia Studio is the company's new high-end product, and
adds to the Videovision hardware a Joint Photographic Experts
Group (JPEG) video compression daughterboard, which attaches
to the Videovision board for compression and decompression of
video. The product also offers 24-bit, full screen, full
motion, 30 frame-per-second digital editing and production
capabilities. Complete versions of the video editing and special
effects software packages, Adobe Premiere 2.0 and Videofusion,
are also included.

The Digitalmedia Studio also offers external machine control,
SMPTE time code support, A/B roll editing, and video special
effects generation required for high-end video applications,
Radius said.

Evidently further untapped capability lies dormant in the
Videovision hardware. Radius Vice President of Marketing Mary
Coleman said in a prepared statement: "To further protect our
customer's investment, we've designed Digitalmedia Studio to be
scalable to accommodate new performance options and features
which we expect to bring to the market."

The basic Videovision hardware is a single, digital interface
card with built-in video input, video output, 24-bit graphic
display capabilities, an external connector panel for video and
audio connections, and is controlled by the software. The
software control makes it easy for Radius users to upgrade to
more functionality from lower priced systems as they just
install new software.

Upgrades to Digitalmedia Studio from any Videovision system
purchased before Feb. 28, 1993, are $899, Radius added.

Desktop Video Production (DVP) is accomplished by selecting
images for editing and importing them from a video format such
as a camcorder or compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM)
library. The imported images may be manipulated using a
Quicktime video editing software package such as Adobe Premiere
2.0. Users can also mix in background music, a voice-over and
add additional sound effects.

The images and sound can then be added to a presentation
software package such as Macromedia's Action!, Aldus'
Persuasion, or Microsoft's Powerpoint to simultaneously display
video in an inset window. The user can then adjust the
brightness or contrast of all the images or alter the screen
size, then print the whole production to videotape to be played
back on any standard video cassette recorder (VCR).

In addition to DVP, Radius says users can save money on the
purchase of a 24-bit color card for photorealistic color, as
the Videovision card has a 24-bit frame buffer that can double
as a video card to display photo-realistic images from any
application.

The Videovision hardware interface card fits in a Nubus slot of
any Macintosh II, IIx, IIcx, IIci, IIfx, or Quadra computer.

To attempt to woo users away from Supermac's Videospigot and
Rasterops' Videotime to its video products, the company says it
will also offer a $200 cash trade-in allowance toward the
purchase of any of the Radius Videovision desktop video systems
including Digitalmedia Studio.

Radius as a company appears to be struggling. The company
announced for the second time it expects to report a loss for
the current quarter that might be partially offset by adoption
a different accounting method.

Also, in September, company stockholders filed a class action
suit, and the next week, company President and Chief Executive
Officer Barry James Folsom, resigned unexpectedly. Radius says
the resignation of Folsom is unrelated to the suit, however.

(Linda Rohrbough/19921216/Press Contact: James Strohecker,
Radius, tel [phone], fax [phone])


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

 ****Apple's Stock Price Higher Than IBM's 12/16/92
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 DEC 16 (NB) -- In what many
consider a landmark day, Apple Computer's stock is selling for
more than IBM's.

Apple Computer's shares are at $55.75 while Merrill Lynch
representatives told Newsbytes IBM's stock is at $52.25.
However, the price of the stock as well as how many outstanding
shares, make up the market value of a company.

Prudential Securities analysts told Newsbytes Apple has 118
million shares at $55.75 per share, while IBM has 571 million
shares at $52.25 per share.

While both companies have announced layoffs and restructuring
plans, IBM has been facing red ink and has for the first time
ever been talking about cutting its dividend to stockholders.
Dan Ness of Computer Intelligence told Newsbytes, "The dividend
is what blue chip stocks are all about. You get those stocks
and cut those dividend coupons."

IBM's stock is at its lowest point in several years. While some
small investors may be viewing IBM's recent drop as a buying
opportunity, many analysts are saying that IBM has only been
nibbling on the bullet, not biting it as some think. In the past
five years IBM's stock value has dropped in concert with the drop
in the market for its major money maker - mainframe computers,
falling from a high in 1987 of $175.90 per share to close to $50
at closing time yesterday on the New York Stock Exchange.

As reported by Newsbytes, IBM announced on Tuesday, December 15,
that it would have to cut an additional 25,000 jobs, following
recent restructuring which cost tens of thousands of jobs in 1992
and 29,000 in 1991. In total, IBM has eliminated nearly 65,000
jobs since its peak employment point a few years ago.

But on CNN's Business Morning today Paine Webber computer analyst
Stephen Smith said that he expects the company to have to cut
another 50,000 workers in IBM's worldwide service organization,
in addition to the 25,000 announced by the company on Monday.

Several industry and brokerage analysts are saying that IBM's
true "book value," a measure of what each outstanding share of
stock would be worth if the company's assets were liquidated, was
probably now in the low 40s. IBM's estimated 1992 book value was
$75.80 per share, according to a Value Line analysis published
last January.

Pressure on IBM stock will come not just from that sobering
analysis but from the fact that the company is widely expected to
cut its long-cherished dividend to a mere nominal payment in
January. Since 1984 IBM's total yearly per share dividend has
been more than $4 ($4.84 since 1990) but virtually no one
believes that the company can maintain that pay-out to the
company's 789,000 shareholders (data from Value Line).

A move to drastically cut the current $1.21 quarterly dividend
would make IBM unattractive to institutional (insurance, pension
fund, etc.) investors and if IBM actually eliminated its dividend
it would become illegal for many of these major IBM stockholders
to own IBM stock.

Worries about the dividend, along with the selling frenzy
generated by recent drops in the stock price; the fact that
mutual fund managers tend to eliminate distressed stock from
their portfolios before the end of any fiscal quarter; and the
fact that selling IBM now would generate tax losses for many
investors, could mean a further sharp drop in IBM's street value
before January 1, probably followed by a significant but possibly
temporary surge after the first of the year.

Emphasizing that he doesn't think that the end of IBM's troubles
are in sight, Paine Webber's Stephen Smith said this morning that
IBM's "biggest problem is an unworkable management structure with
managers lacking accountability." If this view is accurate, then
we will likely see additional shake-ups in IBM management and
goals as the company faces up to a major management reassessment.

Another major problem looming for IBM is the fact that recent
problems may well lead bond rating agencies such as Moody's and
Standard & Poor's to cut IBM's once-stellar bond rating,
increasing the company's cost of raising funds.

According to Value Line, IBM's total debt at the beginning of
1992 was $29.323 billion, of which $21.9 billion was short-term
debt due within five years. Any increase in borrowing costs could
cause major problems for what is still the world's largest
computer company.

(John McCormick & (Linda Rohrbough/19921216/Press Contact: Prudential
Securities, 415-981-0440; Dan Ness, Computer Intelligence, 619-535-6733;
Merrill Lynch 818-990-7788)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00030)

Intel Sees Bright 4Q 12/16/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 DEC 16 (NB) -- The
stakes are high in the microprocessor manufacturing world.
Profits can be huge and lawsuits abound. Take Intel, for
example. Just a couple of weeks after winning a lawsuit
against Advanced Micro Devices, preventing AMD from using
Intel code in its 486-clone, Intel has announced that high
demand for its own 486 microprocessors is expected to push
the company's fourth quarter results "well above analyst's
estimates."

The company expects fourth quarter revenues to be up 25 percent
or more from the $1.43 billion reported for the third quarter of
this year.

Andrew S. Grove, president and chief executive officer, said:
"This is one of those times when everything is going right.
The combination of seasonal strength, brisk PC unit demand,
worldwide migration from the Intel 386 to the Intel 486
microprocessor, excellent factory performance and solid
demand for our other products is producing better-than-
expected fourth quarter results."

The lawsuit led to a delay of AMD's 486 clone by six months.
John Greenagel, spokesman for AMD, told Newsbytes a week
ago that, "(The ruling) really did not have an effect on the
development (of the 486). It had to do only with the marketing.
It means that we cannot introduce the Am486 that has the Intel
microcode in it. That product was essentially ready for
introduction. What we have is about a six-month delay, while we
complete the work on the version of the Am486 with the
independent microcode. Then we will have to qualify that product
with customers before we can ship it."

Judging by Intel's earnings for the fourth quarter, six months
can be a long and profitable time in the chip business.

(Ian Stokell/19921216/Press Contact: Gordon Casey,
408-765-148, or Pam Pollace, 408-765-1435, Intel Corp.)