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/1993/NB092093

Text File | 1993-09-21 | 77KB | 1,681 lines

(CORRECTION)(IBM)(BOS)(00001)

Correction - CardGrabber Business Card Scanning System 09/20/93
NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 SEP 20 (NB) -- In a story
with the above title, which ran on the Newsbytes news wire service
on September 13, the speed of business card scanning on Pacific
Crest Technologies' new scanning system was in error.

The company's new CardGrabber scans and displays a business card on
screen within eight seconds, not within eight minutes, as the story
had reported. Newsbytes regrets the error.

(Wendy Woods/19930920/Reader contact: Pacific Crest Technologies, tel
714-261-6444; Press contact: Les Goldberg Public Relations for
Pacific Crest, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00002)

Logitech Announces PC Games Sound Card 09/20/93
WINDSOR, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1993 SEP 20 (NB) -- Logitech has
developed what it claims is a new PC sound card aimed at newcomers
to PC-based games software. Known as Soundman Games, the UKP 79 card
is compatible with Soundblaster, Soundblaster Pro and Ad Lib boards,
which Newsbytes notes have become the de facto industry "standard"
in recent times.

The stereo sound card has a sampling frequency of 44,000 cycles per
second and is equipped with a Yamaha synthesizer, the 20 track OPL-
3, and a six watt amplifier.

A built-in CD-ROM (compact disc read only memory) interface allows
the card to be used with CD-ROM-based games. The company claims that
PC users can also employ joysticks that adhere to IBM or MIDI
standards with the card.

According to Martin Pickering, Logi UK's general manager, Soundman
Games comes with two utilities for DOS and Windows. The volume on
the card is controlled using keyboard short cuts. Also supplied with
the card is an MCS Music Rack program that allows MIDI and Wave
files to be recorded and played back.

"We have developed Soundman Games in direct response to the demands
of the games market-place. It will meet the specific needs of people
taking up PC-based games for the first time, while providing high
quality sound effects," he explained.

The new card, which has a two year warranty, will ship in November
in the UK. Logi UK is offering free telephone-based support for the
card to all customers.

(Steve Gold/19930920/Press & Public Contact: Logi UK - Tel: 0344-
891313)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00003)

Woman Who Started $400 Mln Business From Home Resigns 09/20/93
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 SEP 20 (NB) -- Sandra
Kurtzig, the woman who founded the $426 million ASK Group in 1972
with $2,000 in start-up money and a spare bedroom in her home, has
announced her resignation from the company.

The ASK Group started as a supplier of manufacturing system software
but expanded to business software with its acquisition of Alameda,
California-based Ingres Corporation.

Kurtzig discovered she wasn't happy just being a homemaker and
raising children, although she cared about both, and wanted
something she could do part-time that interested her.

"I never intended ASK to become the eighth largest software company.
I was just looking for something I could do to occupy my mind in the
second bedroom of my apartment while the children were sleeping,"
she told Newsbytes.

Kurtzig said that the success of ASK is based on two things: the
realization that computers had to be user friendly; and the concept
that instead of customizing computer software packages for
individual companies, one standard product could be developed that
any manufacturing company could use. That product was MANMAN.

MANMAN was almost called MAMA, for Manufacturing Management. But
Kurtzig said her customers objected, saying hard-nosed executives
wouldn't buy a MAMA system. So she used the first three letters of
the two words Manufacturing Management and came up with MANMAN.

"I don't believe women, or men for that matter, have to sacrifice
having children in order to achieve a level of success. I also don't
believe you should wait until you're old and grey to have children.
I think there can be a balance -- homelife and children with work,"
Kurtzig added.

Along the way she got divorced, but said the divorce wasn't because
of her business, but because she and her husband simply grew apart.
At the time of the divorce, Kurtzig's husband set a new record for
the largest settlement a man ever received -- $20 million.

Kurtzig has been moving out of the limelight in her company since
last year when she announced her resignation from her post as chief
executive officer (CEO) of ASK but remained as chairman of the
board.

Now, at age 46, she is resigning altogether. "My plan is not to have
a plan. My youngest son is graduating from high school this year and
I'm feeling the empty nest syndrome. This year is his year," Kurtzig
said. Sandra's oldest son is a junior at Berkeley and has already
started a couple of businesses, according to his proud mother.

Kurtzig holds a bachelor of science degree in mathematics from the
University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and a master's in
aeronautical engineering from Stanford. She is a member of the
boards of the Harvard Business School, UCLA's School of Management,
the Hoover Institution, and Stanford's School of Engineering. Her
autobiographical book, "CEO: Building a $400 Million Company from
the Ground Up," is coming out in an updated paperback edition next
May from the Harvard Business School Press.

When asked if success had changed her, Kurtzig said: "I don't think
so. I'm still the same person everyone said wouldn't make it." Her
advice to other small companies struggling to make it is: "Sell
yourself first, your product second. Companies buy from people and
if you have a product that is compelling and you do a good job
serving your customers, you can sell to big companies."

"We competed against IBM and Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC)
when we started out. If you make a good impression, they'll forget
you're a small company," she added.

Mountain View, California-based ASK has 2,300 employees in 23
offices world-wide. Pier Carlo Faloti, former president of the
European operation of Digital Equipment Corporation, is currently
serving as CEO of ASK. A new chairman has not been named, the
company said.

(Linda Rohrbough/1990920/Press Contact: Renate' Steiner, The
ASK Group, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00004)

 ****SPC Says Windows, Price Erosion Forced Layoffs 09/20/93
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 SEP 20 (NB) -- Software
Publishing Corporation (SPC), makers of the Harvard Graphics
software product line, has announced it will lay off 21 percent of
its workforce as part of a restructuring program.

The reduction of 140 employees in both full-time and contract labor
positions will leave the company with 510 employees world-wide.
Total cost of the restructuring is estimated at $18 and $20 million,
but the company expects to save $16 million of the expense back in
cost savings and cash impact between now and the end of its fiscal
1994 year. The company will said it will report its fiscal 1993 year
results on October 28 of this year.

Fred Gibbons, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) said: "This
restructuring and cost reduction program has been implemented across
the company in response to the fundamental changes in the software
industry, including a faster than anticipated migration to the
Windows platform creating intense competitive pressures and
continued price erosion."

Gibbons said SPC's goals are to streamline product development
cycles and expense management, as well as a focus on developing and
implementing sales and marketing programs that are cost- effective.

Santa Clara, California-based SPC had 1992 revenues of $144
million.

(Linda Rohrbough/1990920/Press Contact: Len Filppu, Software
Publishing Corporation, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(SYD)(00005)

MicroAge Seeking International Dealer Partners 09/20/93
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1993 SEP 20 (NB) -- US computer dealer chain
MicroAge has been sending an interesting fax to a number of dealers
around the world.

The company said it is looking for partners who can supply local
branches of multinational companies with the products and services
they are used to getting from MicroAge in the US.

This is the text of the fax ...

MicroAge, one of the oldest and most successful master resellers in
the computer industry achieved over $1 billion sales during 1992.
MicroAge is currently expanding its international presence. Since
MicroAge sells mostly brand names, we are often restricted by
existing distribution agreements with major vendors to export
directly to the countries in which our clients request service.

Our clients, especially the Fortune 1000-type multinational clients,
expect the same "one-stop-shopping" that we offer them nationwide in
the US. Therefore, we have developed a new program: International
MicroAge InfoSystems Services (IMIS). This means that we are in the
process of building a world-wide network of affiliated dealers, to
be able to refer business to them so that we can together fulfil our
multinational client's needs.

Dagmar Dolatschko
International Marketing Manager
MicroAge

P [phone] ext 2321 F [phone] and 2405 .......

The fax goes on to list the expected abilities of a suitable IMIS
Dealer. They include the following requirements:

[] Locally owned and not affiliated with any group competitive with
   MicroAge. (ICG/InaCom, JWP, ComputerLand, Intelligent Electronics)

[] Authorisations with at least two of these companies: IBM, Compaq,
   HP, Apple.

[] Advanced networking such as Novell, Banyan, UNIX.

[] Business sales infrastructure, technical support and repair
   facilities.

[] Commitment to IMIS opportunities at competitive prices with local
   product, pricing and support.

[] Respond by fax to MicroAge RFQ within three business days.

[] Financial soundness. Full details to be provided but will be kept secure.

[] Must submit reports to MicroAge relating to each transaction.

[] English must be spoken

(Paul Zucker/1990920)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00006)

Canadian Product Launch Update 09/20/93
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1993 SEP 20 (NB) -- This regular feature,
appearing every Monday or Tuesday, provides further details for the
Canadian market on announcements by international companies that
Newsbytes has already covered. This week: Compaq's Concerto notebook
and Microsoft's new technical support plans.

Compaq Canada announced the Concerto notebook (Newsbytes, September
14), the company's first notebook computer able to accept pen input.
In Canada, the Concerto starts at C$3,489. The FlexConnect
Convenience base is priced at C$309. The machines are due to be
available by the end of September.

Compaq Canada also cut prices on existing LTE Lite 4/25 notebooks.
The 4/25 Model 120/w was cut from C$3,799 to C$3,199, the 2/25 Model
209/w from C$4,239 to C$3,639, the 4/25e 120/w from C$4,619 to
C$4,329, and the 4/25e 209/w from C$5,029 to C$4,759.

Microsoft Canada announced new technical support plans under which
users of MS-DOS and Windows will be asked to pay for support after
the first 90 days (Newsbytes, September 13). As in the US, users of
Microsoft applications packages will continue to get free support on
weekdays, but support for operating systems (in which category
Microsoft includes Windows), development tools and advanced systems
(Windows NT, Microsoft Mail, SQL Server, and LAN Manager) have to
pay.

In Canada, Priority Desktop service, which gives access to
application support outside the hours of 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Eastern time, Monday to Friday, is C$30 per call or $250 per year. A
support plan for developers, including support for development
tools, applications, and operating systems, is C$125 per call or
C$2,000 per year.

For advanced systems, it's C$200 per call, C$1,300 per 10 calls, or
C$9,750 per year. All these offerings use a toll-free phone number.
Until the end of the year, new users of NT will get 30 days of set-
up and installation support free, but not via a toll-free number.

Premier Development Support will cost C$26,000 per year in Canada,
Microsoft said, and Premier Comprehensive Support for major
corporate customers will start at that same price.

(Grant Buckler/19930919/Press Contact: Joh Robinson, Compaq Canada,
416-229-8808; Ken Nickerson, Microsoft Canada, 416-568-0434 ext.
4246; Public Contact: Compaq Canada, 800-263-5868)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00007)

 ****Wang Expected To Emerge From Chapter 11 09/20/93
LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 SEP 20 (NB) -- Wang Laboratories
is likely to emerge from 13 months of Chapter 11 protection under
US bankruptcy law today. At a confirmation hearing in Boston, US
Bankruptcy Court Judge William C. Hillman is expected to approve the
company's reorganization plan, freeing Wang to resume normal
operations as a much smaller company focused on certain software
areas.

If the plan is approved, Wang is to issue 30 million shares of new
common stock to unsecured creditors and others. Holders of the
company's old common stock will get warrants allowing them to buy
the new stock within seven years and nine months.

Wang would emerge from Chapter 11 with about 6,000 employees. At its
biggest, in the late 1980s, Wang had more than 30,000 employees.

Wang is turning away from its old proprietary VS minicomputer
systems, sales of which have been declining, and pinning its future
hopes largely on document image processing systems. "They're coming
out as primarily a software company," said Michael Goulde, senior
consultant with the Patricia Seybold Group in Boston.

In a letter sent out in late Aufust to those who follow the company,
Joseph M. Tucci, Wang's president and chief executive officer, said
that the firm will have "a strategic focus on software and services for
office departments and workgroups." He also said Wang will continue
to support users of its VS minicomputers.

Analysts are cautiously optimistic about the company's prospects.
Goulde said Wang will be "competing in some hot and very
competitive market-places." The company has some good products, he
said, but will face tough competition. "Wang has in the past done
best in the markets that it has invented," he added. "It's
competing today in markets that are someone else's invention."

In addition to imaging, Goulde said, Wang has some strength in
application development and computer-aided software engineering
(CASE) tools.

Ajot Kapoor, an industry analyst with Information Technologies in
Boston, praised Wang's focus on software and its emphasis on open
systems. "They certainly do not guarantee success," he said, "but
at least they're a good starting point."

The reorganization plan calls for Wang to earn about $53 million
on revenues of about $955 million in the 12 months from the
beginning of October.

Wang recorded an operating loss of $57.1 million in the year ended
June 30, compared to an operating loss of $45.4 million last year.
After restructuring and reorganization charges, Wang had an annual
net loss of $197.2 million, compared with $356.6 million last year.
Revenues were $1,247.0 million, down from $1,896.2 million in fiscal
1992.

Vital elements of Wang's rebirth are financing agreements lined up
in August, securing $60 million in equity financing from Steinhardt
Management Co., Inc., and a financing facility of up to $30 million
with Congress Financial Corporation.

(Grant Buckler/19930920/Press Contact: Frank Ryan, Wang,
508-967-7038; Ed Pignone, Wang, 508-967-4912)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEL)(00008)

Wipro Intros Super Genius PCs In India 09/20/93
BANGALORE, INDIA, 1993 SEP 20 (NB) -- In a bid to take on the
international brands like IBM, Compaq and HP, Wipro Infotech,
India's second ranked Information Technology (IT) company, has
launched the Super Genius series of PCs.

Newsbytes notes that, with the new machines, Wipro Infotech has
resisted the current fad to forge R&D agreements with foreign
computer companies. Instead, the company has carried out all its
research and development on an in-house basis.

According to the company, the new line of Intel systems is aimed at
the upper end of the PC market. What distinguishes the new range
from other micros on the market are their chip level upgradability
across the x86 microprocessor families "to protect customer's
investment from obsolescence."

The models in the new range include an entry level 386DX machine
which the company claims can be upgraded up to the Pentium
overdrive chipset. A tower model which can also be upgraded from a
basic 386DX chipset to the Pentium overdrive is being positioned as
an upgradable LAN server. The other PCs in the machine series are
based around 80386SX and 80486SX processor technology.

According to Wipro, upgrading the new machines from a 386 processor
to a Pentium overdrive is as easy as slotting in a new CPU (central
processor unit) module. The company says that this has been made
possible by maintaining a high degree of uniformity and
compatibility between motherboards for the various PCs.

Newsbytes notes that this approach differs markedly from chip
upgrade options offered by other PC vendors, including Compaq and
IBM. For these other companies, chip upgrades tend to be within a
group of processors, rather than across processor families.

Wipro claims that its new machines compete favorably with similarly-
specified PCs from foreign manufacturers. Pricing on the machines
ranges from Rs 55,000 (around $1,833) for an 80386SX-based system to
Rs 1.5 lakh (around $5,000) for the 80486DX-based PC. HCL-HP, the
leader in the computer field, prices its 386 systems at around Rs
58,000 (around $1,900) and charges up to 1.93 lakhs (around $6,400)
for its 80486-based range.

(C. T. Mahabharat/19930920)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00009)

 ****Newsbytes Volume III - Available For $24.95 09/20/93
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1993 SEP 20 (NB) -- Newsbytes Volume
III, all the news, reviews, and editorials that have been published
on the Newsbytes News Network through July of this year, is now
available for $24.95 on CD-ROM (compact disc - read only memory).

The disc, which runs on both Apple Computer Macintoshes and PCs,
contains the over 40,000 news stories on the world-wide computer and
telecommunications industries written between May, 1983 and August,
1993 by the Newsbytes News Network staff.

This rich compendium of reports, published by Wayzata Technologies,
chronicles everything from the infancy of the microcomputer to
today's highly diversified and complex array of technologies.

Newsbytes has a staff of 19 daily reporters in the following cities:
Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Atlanta,
Washington, DC, Boston, Toronto, London, Tokyo, Hongkong, Sydney,
New Delhi, and Moscow.

Newsbytes reports 30 stories a day, or 600 a month. These are
objective, first-hand new stories involving interviews with the
people who make the news, and on-site trade show coverage. A
Textware search engine enables the Volume III CD-ROM disc to be
keyword searched for stories in which individual words or text
strings appear,  or Boolean searched (eg "keyword1" plus "keyword2"
but not "keyword3"). This makes it an invaluable tool for
researchers and libraries.

According to Wendy Woods, Newsbytes' editor in chief, this is also
the lowest-ever price for a Newsbytes disc. Previous discs were,
according to Woods, priced in the $50 to $100 price bracket.

"We want to make sure everyone has access to our reports, and that
price is not a barrier. Our rich history of the computer industry is
the most extensive available on CD-ROM," she said.

Newsbytes, a pioneering electronic publication, has provided daily
coverage of the dynamic and complex computer and telecommunications
industries to online services, magazines, newspapers, newsletters,
and fax and e-mail news delivery services world-wide since 1983.

Newsbytes coverage has won Best Online Publication awards four times
from the Computer Press Association, the largest organization of
professional computer journalists world-wide. Newsbytes is an
independent, privately held news organization.

The disc is $24.95 plus $2.50 shipping and handling to US addresses,
$4.50 shipping and handling to all other countries. Those interested
in ordering the CD-ROM should send a check or money order, or their
Visa or Mastercard number, with expiration date (no American
Express please) to: CD-ROM Offer, Newsbytes News Network, Carriage
House, 406 West Olive St., Stillwater, MN 55082 or fax to 612-430-
0441. Please include shipping address.

(Newsbytes Staff/19930920)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00010)

 ****AT&T Announces Substantial Eo Price Cuts 09/20/93
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 SEP 20 (NB) -- AT&T and EO
announced price cuts for the new EO 440 model personal communicator.
Any customer that has purchased an EO model in the last 45 days is
being offered a free 2.5 megabyte (MB) Sundisk Flashdisk with Aha!'s
Inkwriter and Penmagic's Letterexpress software products.

The price cuts are substantial. For example, the EO 440 model with 8
megabytes (MB) of memory and a modem is now $1,999 compared to
$2,799. The low-end EO 440 with 4MB of memory has been dropped to
$1,599 from $1,999, and the high-end EO 880 with 8MB of memory, a
modem, and an internal 20MB hard disk drive is $2,999, down from
$3,999. The company has also dropped the price of its cellular
module addition to the EO for remote communications from $799 to
$499.

For users that have already taken the EO plunge, the Flashdisk
offers two pen-based software products for a total giveaway valued
at $850. Inkwriter allows the user to quickly write in their
handwriting and either translate those notes later or not at all.

Letterexpress automates the person-to-person written communications
process by automating the most commonly used portions of the
document creation process, from Penmagic Software. In addition,
those who have purchased the cellular module in the last 45 days
will receive free Notable Technologies' Mobile Access, which allows
for access to applications and data on host computing systems and a
wide variety of information services.

A form is available from the reseller where the EO or cellular
module was purchased which must be completed and submitted to EO in
order to receive the products involved, the company said.

The price cuts and gifts to current users are not in anticipation of
new or competing products being introduced at Mobile World, which
takes place this week in San Jose, California, but are instead a
result of EO's merger with pen-based developer GO Corporation,
company representatives said. AT&T, who owns a majority interest in
EO, announced the merger just last month.

While the initial investment in the EO is higher than for other
handheld, pen-based systems, analysts point out the unit offers
more. A Newton Messagepad Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) with the
added bells and whistles in the EO, such as the built-in fax, comes
very close to the same total price.

"The AT&T EO Personal Communicators have more communications
capabilities than other mobile devices currently in the market...
The new pricing is the natural progression for AT&T and EO to
broaden the marketability of their products," said J. Gerry Purdy,
chief analyst of Mobile Computing at Dataquest.

In addition, the EO is facing some immediate competition, as Casio
and Tandy are nearing the release of the DOS-compatible Zoomer, a
PDA competitor.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930920/Press Contact: Kevin Compton, AT&T,
tel [phone]; Celeste Alleyne, Access Public Relations for
AT&T, tel [phone] ext 282, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00011)

Apple Media Kit: Build Mac, Windows Multimedia Apps 09/20/93
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 SEP 20 (NB) -- Apple Computer's
Personal Interactive Electronic (PIE) division has announced a
software developer toolkit the company claims will allow developers
to build multimedia applications that will run in both the Macintosh
environment and the Microsoft Windows environment for Intel-based
personal computers (PCs).

Duncan Kennedy, product line manager for Apple's Digital Publishing
Tools said: "Multimedia developers are frustrated with steep
learning curves, poor playback performance and unpredictable
results. Developers are demanding a new generation of tools that
allow production teams to work together seamlessly; we are
addressing this demand with the Apple Media Kit."

The Apple Media Tool Kit comprises two components -- the Apple Media
Tool for designers, and the Apple Media Tool Programming Environment
for programmers. The Media Tool is aimed at non-programmers and
offers assembly of media elements and the addition of interactive
multimedia features with object-based authoring.

The company says that prototypes can be generated easily using
rough-draft media elements and interactivity between different media
elements can be preserved, even when work-in-progress is substituted
for finished content.

Apple held up Los Angeles Times Media Lab director Jude Angius, who
used the Apple Media Kit with a team of reporters to produce a Super
Bowl multimedia presentation. Angius said: "...We met our deadline
in less than four weeks. Apple showed us the product, and we saw
that it would allow us to integrate all the elements quickly and
easily."

The second component, the Apple Media Programming Environment, is
for programmers, allowing the customization and extension of
projects developed using the Apple Media Tool. A new programming
language is included and a new application framework, the company
said.

While the downside is having to learn yet another development
language and paying a royalty for distribution of finished
applications, Apple lists the advantages as: combining an object-
oriented program language with a scripting language; allowing for
portable code between Macintosh computers and PCs running Microsoft
Windows; and providing access to both Macintosh and Microsoft
Windows' toolboxes through a C language interface.

Andy Hong, technologist at the Art Technology Group in Cambridge,
Massachusetts said the learning curve for his programmers was a
short one. "We were building controls and special features for an
exhibit right away. The programming language is very powerful, and
if you really want to enhance the program, you can also write code
in C," Hong added.

A runtime player must be licensed from Apple for a fee based on the
application and the distribution quantity. Corporate licensing is
$5,000 per year for unlimited use or 50 cents per copy. Commercial
publishers must pay 2 percent of the title's average wholesale price
and 3 percent of the average price for hybrid CDs. Educational
licensing is free.

PIE says that the Apple Media Tool is $1,195, but can be obtained
for an introductory price of $995. Also, the product is bundled with
Videofusion 1.5, a special effects software package valued at $649.

The Apple Media Kit, which includes the Apple Media Tool, the
Programming Environment and the Videofusion bundle, is $3,995. APDA,
Apple's source for developer tools is handling the Apple Media Kit,
and the company says prices outside the US may vary.

(Linda Rohrbough/1990920/Press Contact: Jeni Johnstone, Regis
McKenna for Apple, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Apple Media
Tool Information, 800-371-0612; APDA, US 800-282-2732, Canada 800-
637-0029, world-wide 716-871-6555)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SYD)(00012)

November Is MacWorld Expo Month In Australia 09/20/93
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1993 SEP 20 (NB) -- November is MacWorld Expo
month in Australia and MacWorld magazine is now preparing its bumper
edition for distribution at the show. The editorial staff feel this
may be the first real consumer show in a long time as Apple has been
busy shipping its low-cost machines. They also point out that this
will be the last expo without a PowerPC in it.

The MacWorld Expo is being held in Sydney on November 4-6 and the
magazine will be issued to coincide with this. Editorial features
in the November issue include:

[] New Apple releases. New models are expected between now and the
   expo.

[] MacWorld Class Awards. Over 30 categories chosen in the annual
   poll of readers.

[] Stocking Stuffers. A collection of fun, unusual and inexpensive
   ideas for the Mac user at Christmas.

[] Personal Accounting Software. A comparison of products for home
   and small business use.

[] Publish '93. The final in a series on Mac-based digital
   publishing and pre-press technologies. The Publish Expo is being
   held in conjunction with MacWorld Expo.

Deadline for ads in the issue is September 24. Deadline for news is
Friday September 29. Contact the magazine on CompuServe 75300,3672
or fax [phone] or phone [phone]. The editor of
Australian MacWorld Magazine (AWM) is Alan Jones. Readers of
Newsbytes can also contact the IDG Expo division on phone +61-2-439
5133 or fax [phone]

(Paul Zucker/1990920)


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

California Regulators Open In-State Toll Market 09/20/93
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 SEP 20 (NB) -- As expected, the
California Public Utilities Commission opened up the entire in-state
toll call market to competition, starting January 1. But the largest
of the former monopolies, Pacific Bell and GTE, did not object
because they had been given plenty of notice and were given hefty
rate hikes to make up for lost revenue.

The PUC estimates the "local toll call" market, which refers to long
distance calls within calling regions, is worth $9 billion, and
these rates on such calls should drop 40 percent, as companies like
AT&T and MCI enter the market against GTE and Pacific Bell. The
decision represents the final stage of deregulating the state's long
distance market. Earlier, in-state long distance competition was
allowed.

GTE and Pacific Bell have agreed with those estimates, but expressed
little concern. That's because their basic rates will rise about 50
percent. The monthly charge for having a line will rise to about $13
in Pacific Bell areas, nearly $18 in areas like Orange County served
by GTE. Even "Lifeline" service, a special rate for the elderly and
poor under which all calls are metered, would rise to $6.50 per
month.

GTE said in a press statement its new rates will be closer to the
real cost of providing service. In Georgia, by contrast, local lines
cost about $23 per month, but there's no Lifeline rate, and the
Atlanta local calling area is the nation's largest.

The only objections to to the order came from consumer groups like
Toward Utility Rate Normalization (TURN) which complained that
businesses and high-income individuals will save while the poor will
pay more under the plan.

Those local rates could fall, in some cases, once local competition
comes. Some cable operators are anxious to compete against Pacific
Bell and GTE for local phone customers in their markets. But the two
major carriers will likely insist that any such plan subsidize their
work in high-cost rural areas and other costs of "universal
service."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930920)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00014)

Issues Narrowed In CDMA Digital Cellular Patent Case 09/20/93
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 SEP 20 (NB) -- Qualcomm has
claimed a cloud was removed from buyers of its Code Division
Multiple Access (CDMA) digital cellular gear as rival InterDigital
Communications agreed it will not argue that the equipment violates
two of its patents.

Qualcomm and InterDigital are engaged in a court fight over CDMA,
which Qualcomm has brought to market but over which InterDigital
claims some patent rights after its acquisition last year of SCS
Mobilecom.

However the decision goes, consumers are not expected to feel any
impact, and even service providers may see only a slight change in
pricing, depending on how the winner decides to deal with royalty
arrangements. The patents are implemented in phones, switches and
cell sites, and companies which produce such equipment may pay
slightly more, or pay it to a different company, after the
litigation and appeals are complete in a few years.

In the latest move, InterDigital confirmed, according to Qualcomm,
that it will not contend CDMA equipment under the IS-95 standard
pushed by Qualcomm infringe two of its patents, numbered 5,081,643
and 5,093,840. Under an agreement for both sides, InterDigital will
not litigate on infringement of those patents for three years, and
any litigation after that on the two patents would go to the San
Diego courts, near Qualcomm's main offices.

The agreement, however, does not affect three other patent claims
being made against IS-95 equipment by InterDigital in a Philadelphia
court, or Qualcomm's contention that InterDigital is infringing on
one of its patents, being played out in San Diego. InterDigital
spokesmen have told Newsbytes it expects the Philadelphia cases to
come to trial early next year.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930920/Press Contact: Thomas R. Crawford,
Qualcomm, 619-597-5146)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00015)

Software Creates Checks From Blank Stock 09/20/93
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, U.S.A., 1993 SEP 20 (NB) -- Create-A-Check has
announced two software packages that print checks from blank stock,
eliminating the need to purchase pre-printed checks.

Newsbytes notes that, to date, this task has been very difficult on
anything other than commercial and specific printers, owing to the
need for magnetic ink characters to be printed along the bottom of
the check.

The company is offering two software programs, Create-A-Check
Professional and Create-A-Check Personal, to print checks on a laser
printer that include digitized logos, signatures, check information,
and the magnetic inks characters banks called Magnetic Ink character
Recognition (MICR). Those characters allow the banks to use an
optical character reader to read account information from the check.

Donald Cantral, executive vice president of Create-A-Check, says
that Create-A-Check software allows more flexibility and reduces the
user's cost.

"Most business and personal users still believe they must use pre-
printed check forms; their businesses absorb the added cost,
operational limitations and security risks because they believe they
have no choice. Create-A-Check gives control back to the business or
individual." CAC spokesperson Melissa Clyne told Newsbytes, adding
that users can cut their check printing costs by as much as 70
percent.

The Create-A-Check software comes with interfaces for many popular
accounting programs, and meets the magnetic ink standards and
document specifications established by the American Banker's
Association and the American National Standards Institute.

Password protection keeps unauthorized users from printing checks,
and a feature called Trace-A-Check logs information on the users,
date, time, and serial number of the software used to create the
check.

Clyne told Newsbytes that, because of the increasing number of check
fraud and counterfeiting cases being perpetrated using state of the
art color copiers, CAC has formed alliances with Duplex, a security
check forms provider and TeleCheck Services, a check acceptance
company.

In addition to the software, Create-A-Check comes with magnetic
toner (for the MICR code) and a starter quantity of check stock. CAC
can be used on a network, and requires only 420 kilobytes of system
memory and 2MB of hard drive space. The program supports the use of
a color monitor and a mouse if available. The professional package
sells for $499.95, and the personal version has a $249.95 price tag.

(Jim Mallory/19930920/Press contact: Melissa Clyne, Bremer Public
Relations for CAC Software, 801-364-2030; Reader contact: CAC
Software, 801-322-5222 or 800-621-5720, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00016)

Identity Shipping Notebook PC With 500MB Hard Drive 09/20/93
RICHARDSON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 SEP 20 (NB) -- Identity Systems
Technology says it is shipping a 486SLC 33 megahertz (MHz)-based
notebook computer equipped with a 500 megabyte (MB) Maxtor hard
drive with an access speed of eight milliseconds.

Identity earlier marketed a half-gigabyte (GB) notebook system
powered by a 386 microprocessor, which Mobile Office Magazine
awarded its Notebook Innovations Award this year.

The new system weighs less than seven pounds and has 4MB of system
memory, which can be upgraded to 8MB. With MS-DOS 5.0, Windows 3.1
and Microsoft Works the unit has a suggested retail price of $2,995.

Optional features include hard drives of 213MB, 245MB or 345MB with
access speeds as low as 14 milliseconds. You can also add a math co-
processor chip. The system is powered by an included AC adapter or a
NiCad battery Identity says will run the system for up to two hours.

A 3.5 inch 1.44MB floppy disk drive is built in, and the 8.5 inch
backlit LCD VGA display has 640 by 480 pixel resolution. An external
VGA video port is available for an external monitor, and the unit
has two 9-pin serial ports and one standard parallel port. A 9600
bps fax-2400 bps data modem and a soft carrying case are also optional.

Identity Executive VP Troy Cooper says the system was introduced
because of the increased disk space requirements of programs like
faxes, Windows and numerous application and development tools
software.

"Special stripped-down versions of some applications are available
for laptop users, but these limit functionality. Likewise,
compression programs that effectively extend disk space, while
certainly efficient for improving data file capacity, are not
equivalent to having the real hard disk space required to run
applications software and generate and manipulate large files," he
said.

(Jim Mallory/19930920/Press contact: Alan Weinkrantz for Identity
Systems Technology, 210-820-3070; Reader contact: Identity Systems
Technology, 214-235-3330)


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

ZiffNet Offers Hewlett-Packard Dashboard Deal 09/20/93
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 SEP 20 (NB) -- Ziffnet, the online
service attached to CompuServe and owned by the Ziff-Davis
publishing firm, is offering a special deal to its customers to
coincide with the release of Dashboard 2.0 from Hewlett-Packard.

First, download Dashboard 1.0 on Ziffnet, using the command Go
Dashboard from any prompt. The download is priced at regular Ziffnet
online rates, so costs are lower at night. Then you can upgrade to
Dashboard 2.0 for just $29, plus $5 shipping and sales tax where
applicable, through Hewlett-Packard.

Dashboard is a program under Microsoft Windows which is designed to
make using Windows easier and faster, and is known in the trade as a
"Windows Launcher."

The "Ziffnet Edition of Dashboard runs under Windows 3.1, requires
about 1 megabyte of disk space, and contains all the features of the
shrink-wrapped version, including full online help and additional
readme files. Printed documentation is not included. The offer is
available through Saturday, October 30, 1993.

The program appears as a narrow bar at the bottom of a screen, and
provides a faster way to work with Windows programs. It can be
customized to offer three to nine screen views, so instead of
searching through overlapping windows, users can access active
applications quickly, and save the applications or files from
extended screens. The result is users who work on multiple projects
or share their computers can quickly access customized access to
their programs.

Dashboard is sold bundled with some PC hardware and software
including Lotus Ami Pro and Chipsoft's TurboTax. The new version of
Dashboard, which retails for $99, requires 1.5 megabytes of free
memory, according to Hewlett-Packard. The company says that over
300,000 units of the older version have been sold, and users of
Version 1.0 can upgrade directly from Hewlett-Packard at $29 as
well. Such users may also buy the new version from retail stores and
receive a $15 upgrade rebate from H-P.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930920/Press Contact: Janice Brown, Ziffnet,
617-332-8066)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00018)

 ****Cyrix Intros 486 Processor Chips 09/20/93
RICHARDSON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 SEP 20 (NB) -- Cyrix Corporation
has announced 80486DX and 80486DX2 microprocessors running at speeds
from 33 to 50 megahertz (MHz).

Cyrix claims that the new CPUs (central processor units) are the
first alternate source for 486DX chips using original design and
independently developed microcode. The chips include an integrated
math coprocessor, 8 kilobytes (K) of write-back cache, clock
doubling, and power management features for low power notebook and
"green PC" systems.

Cyrix also claims that the new chip will compete in the 486DX 33
megahertz (Mhz) market, quoting a Computer Reseller News poll
published in August that reported 69 percent of the 80486-based PCs
sold through the US reseller channel are based on the 486DX/33
chipset. Cyrix VP of Marketing Jim Chapman says the new chips meet
all 486DX pinout and feature set requirements.

The DX2 chip is a clock-doubling CPU that allows the core CPU to
operate at twice the speed of the system bus. For example, a 33Mhz
bus can accommodate a 66MHz CPU, providing faster performance.

Cyrix says that five volt samples of all clock speeds are available
now, with production scheduled to begin by the fourth quarter. Three
volt samples are expected to be available by December, and the
company says that a 66MHz 5-volt DX2 version is planned in 1994. In
1,000-quantity lots, the chip prices range from $289 to $349 each.

Cyrix won a hard-fought battle in the press and in the courts to win
the right to sell its Intel-compatible chips. In July 1992, a US
District Court ruled that Cyrix did not infringe on Intel patents
since it produces its 80486 chips through an Intel-licensed
manufacturer.

Last month Newsbytes reported that Cyrix and Intel had reached a
tentative agreement dependent on the court dropping a Cyrix anti-
trust suit against Intel. The case was scheduled to go to trial next
month. However, Intel continues to appeal the 1992 decision.

(Jim Mallory/19930920/Press contact: Katherin Dockerill, Cyrix
Corporation, 214-994-8491; Reader contact: Cyrix Corporation, 800-
848-2979 or 214-994-8357, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00019)

Intuit To Open Support Center, Hires Staff 09/20/93
TUCSON, ARIZONA, U.S.A., 1993 SEP 20 (NB) -- Some companies in the
computer industry may be laying off, but Intuit says it will
hire 175 people to staff its new national telephone technical support
center.

Menlo Park, California-based Intuit produces Quicken, a personal and
small business financial record keeping program for DOS, Windows,
and Macintosh computers.

The center, to be located in Tucson, Arizona, is scheduled to open
in early January 1994, and will begin operations with a staff of 75.
It will provide technical support for the entire family of Intuit
software products, and Intuit expects to have it fully staffed by
the end of 1994. The new tech support representatives, supervisors,
managers, training staff and support personnel will be recruited
from the Arizona work force.

Marsha Ralston, Intuit VP of customer service, says the company will
be looking for employees with experience and knowledge in personal
computers on the DOS, Windows, and Macintosh platforms. The company
will train the technical support representatives. The Tucson office
of the Arizona State Job Service office is accepting applications
now.

In July of this year Intuit introduced quicken 4 for the Macintosh
computer that tracks investments and loan amortization, stocks,
bonds and mutual funds, and calculates a loan's principal and
interest. The program has a suggested retail price of $69.95. The
latest Windows version of Quicken, introduced earlier this month
added a calendar feature that can be used to schedule automated
payments. It also sells for $69.95. The company also produced
QuickBooks, a small business bookkeeping package.

Earlier this month Newsbytes reported that Intuit and Chipsoft Inc
signed a definitive agreement to merge. The deal is expected to be
completed by the end of the year. A ChipSoft spokesperson told
Newsbytes the merger is not expected to eliminate any products
produced by either company, and no staff reductions are anticipated.

(Jim Mallory/19930920/Press contact: Sheryl Ross, Intuit Inc,
415-329-3569; Reader contact: Intuit Inc, 800-624-8742 or
415-322-0573)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(TOR)(00020)

 ****Macworld Canada - Apple Takes Cautious Look At Future 09/20/93
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1993 SEP 20 (NB) -- Apple Computer Fellow
Donald Norman was careful not to promise too much in his keynote
speech at MacWorld Canada this morning. He said he would try to
predict the future, but immediately added that doing so is
impossible.

As examples of how predictions about technology go wrong, Norman
offered the classic projection by former IBM Chairman Thomas J.
Watson that there would be a world market for about five computers,
and the prophecy when the telephone was invented that it was such
an important device that every city would need one.

He added a warning that many who are eager to jump on new
technology in the computer field might do well to heed: new
technologies can take many years to reach the point where they work
smoothly and are widely accepted.

On that note, Norman went on to say that his company wants to do
away with computers as we know them. "We have user groups that help
you use your computer, and all that's very weird. You don't go to
your kitchen to use your electric motor and we don't have electric
motor user groups."

Yet, Norman said, electric motors were once sold the way computers
are today. He showed a clipping from a 1908 mail-order catalog
advertising a "home electric motor" with attachments to turn it
into a fan, an egg beater, and so on.

In the same way, he said, computers should evolve into devices
meant for specific tasks. He cited Apple's Newton MessagePad, the
personal digital assistant launched earlier this year, as an
example.

Another was Apple's PowerCD, a device that can play audio compact
disks, read compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM) disks, and
display pictures from Kodak's Photo CD disks. It can also connect
to a computer to upload pictures that the computer can then
manipulate, but Norman said the PowerCD is not meant as a computer
peripheral but rather as a consumer device.

Norman went on to demonstrate a two multimedia applications, a
"virtual museum" and a home shopping system, that used near-full-
motion video to walk users through a physical space -- museum
displays in one case and a mall in the other -- and let them zoom
in on objects. A text and graphics display at the side provided
further information, and audio and video clips were available.

these were only prototypes, he said, "I wouldn't be surprised if
this will actually exist at some point in the not-too-distant
future."

Norman also showed an electronic book that made use of video and
such tricks as marking points in the text so the user could return
easily later.

Perhaps to provide proof of Norman's point that new technologies
take time to perfect, his computer crashed several times during the
demonstration. The Metropolitan Toronto Convention Centre added its
own illustration with a malfunctioning fire alarm that disrupted
the first half of his talk.

(Grant Buckler/19930920)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00021)

Tokyo Radiopaging Firm Expects Million Users By 1994 09/20/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 SEP 20 (NB) -- Tokyo Tele Message (TTM) has been
gaining large numbers of new radiopager users. So many, in fact,
that it expects to top the one million subscriber mark by the fall
of next year.

Tokyo Tele Message started its radiopaging service in October 1987,
shortly after the Japanese telecoms market was deregulated. By the
end of August of this year, the firm was logging 800,000 registered
users, with 86,000 of these having signed up this year alone.

To stimulate demand still further, TTM is planning to reduce the
deposit on hardware that new subscribers must pay. The company
expects that, by the end of this year, it will have 900,000
subscribers on its books.

Newsbytes notes that there are around 6.7 million radiopager users
in Japan. While the majority of these subscribers are using NTT
pagers, TTM hopes to persuade existing and new users that its system
is the best with a combination of functional and fashionable paging
units. Particularly important in this respect are the LCD message
units and pen-style numeric radiopagers.

Customers will also be able to choose a colored pager from the
range, with units available in a variety of colours, including
black, pink, blue and yellow.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930920/Press Contact: Tokyo Tele
Message, [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEL)(00022)

HCL HP Spruces Up Micro Range, Launches Pentium Model 09/20/93
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1993 SEP 20 (NB) -- HCL Hewlett-Packard, India's
largest computer company, has announced no less than 26 new machines
based around an Intel chipset. According to senior executives with
the company, the release of the machines represents "the successful
transformation of its entire product range to international
standards."

The introduction of the new machines is the latest stage in HP HCL's
"Project Infinity" which aims at total quality processes, a concept
pioneered by the Japanese.

Newsbytes notes that, despite the launch of the Vectra series of
computers by the HP Connection operation in India, the bulk of HP's
sales come from the Busybee range of machine which was launched by
HCL.

The upside of this market resistance to non-HP products has been
that the company's RISC range of machines have done extremely well
against machines from the likes of Digital, IBM and Sun.

Of the 26 new machines from HP HCL, 18 are machines in the Busybee
XL series, while eight are Pentium-based Meteor machines which
feature a PCI bus.

The Busybee range of machines start with a 25 megahertz (MHz)
80386SX chipset and range up to 66MHz 80486DX2 technology. According
to Ajai Chowdhry, HCL HP's director, the machines represent state of
the art technology.

"The machines use the best of peripherals, specially designed power
supplies, sufficient cooling systems and even small things like
cabinet screws, the label, the users manual and packing boxes have
been improved upon," he said.

While the price of a 25 MHz 80386SX-based system is Rs 50,000
(around $1,670), this price tag rises to Rs 2 lakh (around $6,700)
for a 66 MHz 80486DX2-based system. The Meteor range of machines
range from Rs 1.5 lakh (around $5,000) for a 33 MHz 80486DX system to
Rs 7.5 lakh (around $25,000) for a Pentium-based 60MHz machine.

(C. T. Mahabharat/19930920)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00023)

Quantum Intros Raft Of New Drives 09/20/93
MILPITAS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 SEP 17 (NB) -- Quantum has
introduced the Quantum Empire 1080 3.5-inch one-inch high 1.08-
gigabyte (GB) hard disk drive. At the same time the company has also
introduced the new 127, 170, 270, 340, and 540 megabyte (MB)
ProDrive LPS hard drives.

According to the company, the Quantum Empire 1080 four-disk, Small
Computer Systems Interface (SCSI)-3 drive is designed for
workstations, servers and RAIDs (redundant arrays of inexpensive
disks).

Announcing the products, Robert K. Maeser, president of Quantum's
High-Capacity Storage Group, said: "We expect to be the time-to-
volume leader as we begin shipping mass production quantities of our
low-profile, one-gigabyte drive this month. Last year, we were the
first independent drive maker to ship a low-profile 525MB drive."

Quantum says it also plans to offer a two-disk 540MB version of the
Empire drive. The Empire products will be produced in Quantum's
automated manufacturing facility in Milpitas, California.

The company claims that the Quantum Empire 1080 is the only drive
in its class to combine workstation-level performance with PC-level
power consumption. The Empire drive features a 9.5 millisecond seek
time (reading), a sustained data transfer rate of 4.1 MB-per-second
and a rotational speed of 5,400 revolutions-per-minute (rpm).

Quantum says that the Empire drives also incorporate a number of
other features including a SCSI-3 interface (backward compatible
with SCSI-2) that supports both Fast and Wide SCSI, Quantum's
AutoRead and AutoWrite ASIC hardware, and DisCache and
WriteCache firmware.

The drive consumes six watts of power in idle mode and 7.5 watts
at 30 percent seek. The company claims that this reduces heat
dissipation which increases reliability.

The Empire 1080 drive is designed for such data-intensive
applications as networked office systems, graphics, CAD/CAM
computer-aided design/manufacturing), large and complex
databases, and imaging.

Single unit OEM (original equipment manufacturing) evaluation
pricing for the Quantum Empire 1080 is $995, while the Empire 540
is priced at $695. IDE-AT (Integrated Drive Electronics) and SCSI
versions of the ProDrive LPS 270 and 540MB products are already
shipping to OEMs. The company says they will be available in volume
to distributors during the fourth calendar quarter.

Quantum says that the ProDrive LPS use a new high-speed
microprocessor and are performance-matched to the full range of
Macintosh and IBM PCs, including 486, Pentium, PowerPC and 68040-
based platforms.

Quantum claims that the ProDrive LPS drives have up to 36 percent
fewer parts than previous-generation Quantum drives and carry a
projected mean-time-between-failures rating of 300,000 hours.
ProDrive LPS products carry a two-year warranty to end users who
purchase drives from an authorized Quantum distributor or dealer.

ProDrive LPS drives are designed for mid- to high-end PCs in
multimedia and networking environments and offer seek times as
fast as 12 milliseconds (ms).

The SCSI-2 drives support Fast SCSI data transfer rates of up to
10MB/second. Quantum's IDE-AT drives are compatible with VL and
PCI-BUS local bus protocol, and can achieve buffer-to-host data
transfers of 11MB/second.

The drives are available as single-unit OEM evaluation pricing:
ProDrive LPS 127MB $260; ProDrive LPS 170MB $290; ProDrive LPS
270MB $380; ProDrive LPS 340MB $480; ProDrive LPS 540MB $595.

Both IDE-AT and SCSI versions of the 170, 270, 340 and 540MB drives
are currently shipping to OEMs and will be available in volume to
distributors during the fourth calendar quarter. The ProDrive LPS
127MB IDE-AT and SCSI drives are set for volume availability during
the first quarter of 1994.

In August, Newsbytes reported that Quantum had posted substantially
reduced income for its first fiscal 1994 quarter, ended July 4,
1993. The company reported sales for the first quarter as $479
million, an increase of 30 percent over the $369 million reported
for the first quarter of fiscal 1993.

However, like many PC hardware manufacturers that have been
reporting an increase in sales but a decrease in income, Quantum too
reported a net income for the first quarter of just $3.4 million, or
$0.08 per share fully diluted, which compared pretty unfavorably
with $21.5 million, or $0.41 per share fully diluted reported for
the first quarter of 1993.

Also in August, Newsbytes reported that Quantum had signed an
alliance with Silicon Storage Technology, that involved SST's
patented "flash" memory cell structure. The deal included an equity
investment and states that the two companies will co-operate in the
areas of marketing, sales, product development, and manufacturing.

(Ian Stokell/19930920/Press Contact: Nellie Connors, Quantum, 408-
894-5058)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00024)

SuperMac Board Turns Fuji Xerox Copier Into Printer 09/20/93
SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 SEP 20 (NB) -- SuperMac
Technology and Fuji Xerox Company have announced the availability of
a connectivity board which turns the Fuji Xerox Acolor digital color
copier into a 400 dots-per-inch (dpi)PostScript Level 2 color
printer.

According to the companies, the board is called the SM ICS in Japan
and can be attached to any Apple Mac-based network.

Announcing the board, Michael A. McConnell, president and chief
executive officer of SuperMac, said: "What the SM ICS from SuperMac
does is to enable Fuji Xerox to integrate the Acolor into any size
Macintosh-based desktop design and publishing environment."

The companies maintain that the SM ICS products will be supplied to
Fuji Xerox by SuperMac Technology for sale in Japan and the
Asia/Pacific region under the Fuji Xerox brand.

Shinichi Tsuda, general manager of Fuji Xerox's color document
products development department, said: "We turned to SuperMac for
development and manufacture of the SM ICS because we wanted a
partner who understands Macintosh-based color desk top publishing
customer requirements. Our initial feedback from customers in
Japan is that they like the ease of use and high speed performance
of the SM ICS."

The companies maintain that the SM ICS is comprised of system-
level software and a single NuBus card in the Macintosh, and is a
high performance raster image processor (RIP) that fits into any
color Macintosh computer and allow users to print from their
desktop publishing or graphics application directly to the Fuji
Xerox Acolor copier.

The board offers Adobe's PostScript Level 2 technology through
Adobe's Configurable PostScript Interpreter (CPSI) running on a
40 megahertz (MHz) R3000-family reduced instruction-set
processor (RISC) processor with an integrated image buffer large
enough to hold a full page image at 400 dots per inch with 24-bits
per pixel for full color, claim the companies.

Output of Japanese kanji-fonts and compatibility with Japanese
language applications and operating systems is also supported.

The companies are also planning an upgrade version of the SM ICS
that will allow input scanning from the Acolor to the Macintosh,
as well as higher resolution for A3 images and faster color
correction.

In July, Newsbytes reported that Supermac had again announced record
second quarter earnings and an alliance with Rocket Science Games,
a software company. Second quarter revenue was reported at $51.1
million, up 79 percent from the $28.5 million in similar quarter the
previous year.

Net income rose more slowly than revenue, up 67 percent to $2.4
million compared with $1.4 million last year. Earnings per share
were 26 cents, on 9.1 million average shares outstanding, compared
with 20 cents, on 7.2 million shares outstanding in the second
quarter of 1992.

(Ian Stokell/19930920/Press Contact: Deborah Doyle, 408-541-5372,
SuperMac Technology; Laurie McLean, 415-513-8800, McLean Public
Relations)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LAX)(00025)

 ****HP's Multimedia X Stations, Faster 700 Workstations 09/20/93
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 SEP 20 (NB) -- Hewlett-Packard
(HP) has announced a new line of multimedia workstations and X
stations, completed the purchase of British fiber-optic technology
company BT&D, and accepted the resignation of the company's co-
founder David Packard.

The new X station, the HP Envizex, is the first multimedia X
station offering compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) quality
audio, scanner, and 3.5-inch floppy disk drive.

The Envizex is designed to interoperate with PCs running under DOS,
with the floppy disk drive facilitating the transfer of DOS files
created on other DOS machines to a Unix environment. In the past,
users creating files on a PC at home or on a laptop from the road
would have had to call on a systems administrator to transfer the
files to a Unix system-based computer in the office.

The Envizex stations operate at more than 165,000 Xstones -- a
standard performance measure for X terminals that combines the
graphics speed and rate of data transfer from memory to the screen.

HP says that its X stations also deliver more performance at a lower
cost less than those of competitors. For example, the 19-inch color
HP Envizex station Model 19Ca almost doubles the performance of the
19-inch color NCD 19c X terminal, and costs $1,300 less than the NCD
model. Prices for the new X stations start at $1,995 and go to
$4,995

HP has also announced higher clock speed workstation models in its
Apollo 9000, 700 line as well as even faster industrial- strength
models. The 700 line is based on the company's proprietary Precision
Architecture Reduced Instruction Set Computing (PA-RISC) central
processing unit (CPU).

The new Models 715/75 and 725/75 workstations feature a higher 75
MHz clock speed at the midrange of the line, which boosts the raw
CPU performance by up to 50 percent over the current Models 715 and
725. The faster 715/75 and 725/75 run at 113 SPECfp92(2) floating-
point performance, 61 SPECint92(3) integer performance and 15,975
X11perf graphics performance, while also boasting a four-times-
larger cache size to increase total application performance by up to
80 percent.

HP claims that the new 75 MHz workstations offer nearly twice the
floating-point performance and 30 percent higher solids modeling
performance than the Indigo2 Extreme R4000 from Silicon Graphics;
forty percent higher floating-point performance and over twice the
solids-modeling performance of Sun Microsystems' Sparcstation 10
Model 41 with its recently introduced ZX graphics; five times the
solids-modeling performance and 12 percent higher floating-point
performance than IBM's RS/6000 Model 365 GTO; and fifty-four percent
higher solids-modeling performance than the Digital Equipment
Corporation's (DEC's) 3000 Model 400 with its just-introduced ZLX-M2
graphics.

The Model 715/75 is priced from $15,395 for an entry-level
configuration including 32 megabytes (MB) of memory and a 525MB
disk, while the same configuration of the Model 725/75 is $18,395,
HP added. Upgrades for 33 MHz and 50 MHz Models 715 and 725
workstations can be added via a board swap to speed the units up to
the 75 MHz speed for $6,500. The new workstations are expected to be
available in the fourth quarter of this year.

Faster still, the new Model 745I/100 and 747I/100 are industrial
strength, according to HP who says the machines run at 100 MHz. HP
says typical industry applications for its industrial workstations
include process monitoring, factory- floor control, air-traffic
control switching systems, customer service, laboratory testing, and
patient monitoring.

According to HP, the 700I systems can be configured to meet specific
requirements, such as ease of serviceability, and are designed to
take extremes in temperature and environment. Performance levels for
the 745i/100 and 747i/100 are at 138 SPECfp92 and 81 SPECint92 --
twice the performance of current models. Memory capacity on the
machines is 256 MB and they include an increased instruction/data
cache of 256 kilobyte (KB)/256 KB.

Pricing begins at $22,890 and $26,490 for the 745i/100 and 747i/100,
respectively. Upgrades for existing 50 MHz Models of the 745i and
747i can performed for $10,500. The company warrants all its new X
stations and workstations with a limited one-year, on-site warranty
as well as other support options.

Started in 1939 with by William R. Hewlett and David Packard,
HP had revenues of $16.4 billion in its 1992 fiscal year and
computer revenues in excess of $12 billion. Eighty-one year old
Packard announced last week at the company's board of directors
meeting his resignation as chairman, joining Hewlett, also
retired as director emeritus.

Packard is being replaced by 52-year-old Lewis E. Platt as chairman.
Platt is currently president and chief executive officer (CEO) and
will continue to serve in those functions.

The company also announced it has completed the acquisition of BT&D
Technologies, headquartered in Ipswich, England. BT&D was a joint
venture of BT (formerly British Telecom) and DuPont. HP says the
purchase offers it not only BT&D's high-speed, fiber- optic
technology and products, but a state-of-the-art opto-electronics
manufacturing and research-and-development operation in Ipswich --
the first of its kind for HP in Europe.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930920/Press Contact: Lynn Wehner, Hewlett-
Packard, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00026)

Videoconferencing Not "Killer App" Dataquest Says 09/20/93
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 SEP 20 (NB) -- Despite the hype
surrounding videoconferencing, a recent Dataquest survey indicates
there may be a low demand for the new technology. Even among
companies who have videoconferencing technology, more than half of
those surveyed are reported to be less than interested.

More than 200 businesses, 40 percent of which employ more than
10,000 people and 58 percent of which employ more than 3,000 people,
were asked by market research group Dataquest as to the likelihood
of their business purchasing videoconferencing equipment in the next
several years. A whopping 64 percent of all respondents indicated
they had little interest in videoconferencing, and 54 percent of
those who have the technology also indicated a low demand for the
equipment.

Bruce Ryon, principal analyst in charge of Dataquest's Multimedia
service, which carried out the survey, said: "There is great hope
among many technology companies that videoconferencing will be the
`killer application' that will accelerate the trend toward
multimedia. The results of our survey certainly don't support these
hopes."

The survey also indicated the low demand for videoconferencing
will remain unchanged for the next two years, with an increase
in demand occurring in three years.

Why the lack of interest? The survey suggests that it's the benefit
versus the expense. While multinational Fortune 500-type companies
indicated a need for the large room-sized videoconferencing systems,
most small and medium sized companies said low-cost communication
technologies such as facsimile, electronic mail, and network
document sharing are adequate.

"The simple addition of video or `head shots' to existing
communications technologies doesn't provide enough benefit to
justify the current cost of videoconferencing equipment for the
majority of businesses," Ryon said. "Desktop videoconferencing
technology is still fairly immature with low video quality and a
lack of eye-to-eye contact because of camera positioning, which
diminishes one of the strongest justifications for the technology."

A majority of the businesses surveyed lack an adequate
infrastructure for integrating videoconferencing capability with
desktops, and less than 25 percent plan to have video capability on
the desktop within two years, especially given the current business
and economic climate.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930920/Press Contact: Paul Wheaton, Dataquest,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


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

Madge Network & Network General In OEM Deal 09/20/93
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 SEP 20 (NB) -- Original equipment
manufacturing (OEM) deals are common among networking hardware
vendors. Now Madge Networks and Network General have announced an
OEM agreement, under which Network General is using Madge Networks
as the sole supplier of Token Ring adapters for Network General's
AT portable Sniffer products and the monitor cards for its
Distributed Sniffer Systems (DSS).

Sue Carrasco, product marketing manager for Network General, says
that the company has seen an evolution in its customer base from
four megabits per second (Mbps) to 16Mbps Token Ring in recent times.

"As our Token Ring customers standardize on 16Mbps bandwidth,
Network General is pleased to support them with a move to a high-
performance Token Ring solution based on Madge's Smart 16/4 AT
Ringnode adapters," she said.

"Through this agreement with Madge Networks, we give users the
ability to capture the full performance bandwidth of their 16Mbps
Token Ring LANs (local area networks)," she added.

The companies say that Sniffer products that include the Madge Smart
16/4 AT Ringnode adapters are now available from Network General.
The monitor card for Network General's DSS family of products is
scheduled for October 1993.

In June, Newsbytes reported that Madge had introduced the Smart 16/4
Bridgenodes line of network cards, designed for high performance
source route bridging and routing with Novell's new NetWare
Multiprotocol Router 2.1 (MPR) software. The two companies also
announced a joint marketing program for NetWare MPR 2.1 that
involved joint distributor and reseller promotions, direct mail, and
a 16-city North American seminar series.

In May, Newsbytes reported that Madge has opened a new subsidiary in
Canada, called Madge Canada, Inc. The company has also introduced
version 4.0 of its network adapter card software, Smart LAN Support
Software, designed for use with its Smart 16/4 Ringnode adapters.

(Ian Stokell/19930920/Press Contact: Teresa Camera, 408-383-
1418, Madge Networks; Mary Carlisle, 415-473-2763, Network General)


(NEWS)(IBM)(BOS)(00028)

Beyond Intros BeyondMail 2.0 Remote For DOS and Windows 09/20/93
BURLINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 SEP 20 (NB) -- Beyond has
announced plans for an upgrade to the remote access software for its
workflow-oriented BeyondMail network messaging system. Slated for
release in November, BeyondMail 2.0 Remote for DOS and Windows is
aimed at users of portable PCs as well as remote desktop machines,
said Paula Berman, director of marketing, in an interview with
Newsbytes.

Remote users will be able to employ the software with either
BeyondMail 2.0, a package slated to ship in October, or BeyondMail
1.0. When used with BeyondMail 2.0, the upgrade will be able to
take advantage of a newly added serial routing capability.

Berman told Newsbytes that the serial routing feature in BeyondMail
2.0 provides a new form type that lets users sequentially route
messages on the network and assign work assignments and due dates.

In addition, Novell's Remote Message Handling Service (RMHS) is
fully integrated into BeyondMail 2.0 Remote Access Edition, allowing
the user to exploit the NetWare Global Message Handling Service
(MHS) and NetWare MHS 1.5 capabilities in BeyondMail 2.0 without
having to install a separate communications package.

Users can also carry out mail routines as part of direct dial-in
local area network (LAN) sessions, noted Berman. These sessions can
also include file transfer, printing, and other networking
functions, she said. The direct dial-in sessions can be established
by using either DCA's RLN or Novell's Connect software.

BeyondMail 2.0 Remote Access Edition includes a utility called
BMSync for synchronizing messages stored on remote PCs with messages
stored on the network. According to Berman, the package incorporates
a Novell driver for two-way wireless messaging over the RAM mobile
data network.

BeyondMail 2.0 Remote Access Edition can also be used on portable
PCs that spend part of their time on the road and part of their
time on a network. At log-in, the software automatically senses
whether the machine is remote or connected to a network, and
configures itself accordingly.

Users can configure and access a variety of communications profiles
through an icon-driven menu. The remote software can also be
configured by network administrators, through Administration Disks
that can be distributed either manually or by e-mail.

BeyondMail 2.0 Remote Access Edition will be priced at $295.
Registered users of BeyondMail Remote 1.1 for DOS or 1.0 for
Windows will be able to upgrade for $100 per remote mailbox.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19930920/Reader contact: Paula Berman, Beyond
Inc., tel [phone]; Press contacts: Anne Marie Clark or Karen
Magill, Cunningham Communications for Beyond, 617-494-8202)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00029)

Random House, Broderbund Publishing Agreement 09/20/93
NOVATO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 SEP 20 (NB) -- Broderbund has
teamed up with Random House on a joint venture, Living Books, for
the creation, production and marketing of story-based multimedia
software for children.

Random House describes itself as is the largest general trade
book publisher in the English-speaking world. Living Books,
formerly a division of Broderbund, has already produced the
popular and activity-filled "Just Grandma and Me" by Mercer
Mayer and "Arthur's Teacher Trouble" by Marc Brown -- both
based on the children's books.

Planned multimedia titles in the new venture include "The New Kid on
the Block" by Jack Prelutsky and Aesop's "The Tortoise and the
Hare."

Alberto Vitale, Random House chairman, president and chief executive
officer said growth in consumer demand for children's books is
driving the venture and both companies will have a wider
distribution channel through both trade book and computer software
channels than either would enjoy alone.

Broderbund is probably best known for its Carmen Sandiego series of
educational computer geography games that have been made into books,
puzzles, and even a daily television game show for children and the
popular Print Shop series for printing banners and greeting cards.

The company also recently released Prince of Persia 2, The Shadow
and the Flame, which it describes as a cinematic action game with a
movie-like story and sound track.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930920/Press Contact: Jessica Switzer,
Broderbund Software, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00030)

Internet Association To Be Created In Japan 09/20/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 SEP 20 (NB) -- After years of remote linking into
the country, the Internet is expected to be formally set up in
Japan. About 30 computer-related firms are currently preparing
to create the Internet Association in Japan.

The idea of the association is that it will foster a similar
situation that exists in the US, which promotes the Internet
network. Plans call for the Japanese Internet to be up and running
ny the end of next year.

Currently, about 30 Japanese firms including NTT and KDD have been
preparing to create Internet Association in co-operation with the
Internet Society in the US. Plans call for the Internet Association
Japan to push the standardization of TCP/IP protocol in Japanese,
and support the Internet environment.

Also, the association will help firms and organization to actually
log on to Internet, and will also help development engineers. Other
activities will include the support of activities at Japan Network
Center, Asia Pacific NIC, Japan Engineering Project Group and Japan
Internet Engineering Task Force.

In Japan, TCP/IP is not as popular as it is in the West. As a
result, there is not much software available for the protocol nor
are there the engineers. Currently, university students and the
researchers are studying for the setting up of the Internet in
Japan.

Plans call for the Internet Association Japan to be joined by major
firms such as NTT, KDD, IBM Japan, NEC, Hitachi, Rikei, NTT Data,
ASCII, Nifty-Serve, Forval, Softbank, Lotus, Oracle and AT&T JENS.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930920/Press Contact: NTT, +81-3-
3509-5035, Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00031)

Sega Pushes Video Game Machine In South East Asia 09/20/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 SEP 20 (NB) -- Sega Enterprise has signed an
agreement with Singapore-based WYWY Group as part of the firm's
major strategy to establish the games console in the South East
Asian market.

Terms of the agreement call for the WYWY Group to sell Sega's video
game machine in South East Asia. Sega Enterprise has already signed
an exclusive dealership agreement with WYWY Group concerning the
sales of Sega's video game machines the Mega CD and the Game Gear.

Sega's game software will be also sold through the WYWY Group in
Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei in this October. During the three-
year agreement, Sega Enterprise is planning to ship a total of
100,000 units of the video game machines to these regions.

WYWY Group has powerful retailer routes such as department stores
and electronics shops in the regions. The group is reported to have
a total of 30 shops in Singapore and 20 shops in Malaysia.

Sega is currently exporting its video game machines to these
regions, but the numbers involved are very limited. Thanks to the
WYWY Group's involvement, Sega will be able to sell many more units
in South East Asia.

As part of the agreement, Sega Enterprise can get a strong base in
the South East Asian region to vie with its rival Nintendo, which
already has a presence in the market.

Sega is reported to be considering expanding its sales operations
into other Asian regions such as Vietnam, Thailand and India in the
near future.

Meanwhile, Sega Enterprise has started marketing arcade game
machines and amusement game facilities in the South East Asian
region. The firm plans to help local firms create amusement parks
and arcade game facilities.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930920/Press Contact: Sega Enterprise,
[phone], Fax, [phone])