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/NB100793

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(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00001)

Windows Software Turns A PC Into An Answering Machine, Fax 10/07/93
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 7 (NB) -- Bit Software
announced Bitfax Professional for Windows, a product that can
turn a personal computer (PC) into a data communications
terminal, a fax machine, and an answering machine that can also
automatically deliver messages to a pager. The product is
designed to work with the new modem cards that include data
communications, fax, and voice mail capability.

Installation of the product is easy, according to Bit Software
representatives who said the product is smart enough to
identify the port where the modem is located and the type of
modem down to the baud rate at which it can transfer data. An
animation of a man identified as the "snooper" accompanies the
software's intelligent investigation of the hardware to give
the user feedback on what is happening.

The fax capability has a "green" feature that reduces the blank
scan lines in faxes to save paper and reduce fax transmission
time.

As an answering machine, Bitfax Professional's Voice Manager
feature allows users to receive, log, record, play, and store
personal messages. Users can create multiple mailboxes, each
with a personal greeting, and password protection of individual
mailboxes is also available. In addition, an Auto Pager feature
can have the computer call a pager after receiving a voice
message or fax. Additional features include the ability to
retrieve a fax from a touch-tone phone and a toll-saver mode.

The fax engine in the new product offers enhancements to the
company's former fax product. Users can now drag and drop faxes
onto a "Transmit Fax" icon for quick sending, onto a "View Fax"
icon for viewing, and onto a "Print Fax" icon for quick
printing.

A new fax management module allows users to create and assign a
folder to each individual or group of faxes. Compression of
received faxes and the ability to automatically delete faxes
after a specified time period has also been added. Optical
character recognition (OCR), for turning faxed documents into
text is also included and over 10 languages are supported, the
company said. Text and drawing tools offer the ability to add
text, images, lines, circles, boxes, and graphics onto faxes.

The data communications portion of the product, Bitcom, stores
data in a dBASE-compatible phonebook which is also directly
compatible with Bitfax Professional. Bitcom offers remote
access, automatic redialing, and support for Xmodem, Ymodem,
Zmodem, and Kermit data transfer protocols. Users can also
create buttons for access to popular online services, such as
Compuserve.

Bitfax Professional will work with both flatbed and handheld
scanners that support the Twain specifications. The product
will offer voice mail features with any voice modem that uses
the Rockwell or Sierra voice chip set. Company officials were
reluctant to list specific modems that meet those criteria, but
said most modems with voice support use one of those two
chipsets. Bit Software has mentioned a hardware/software
bundle, which is the original way the company started
distribution of its data communications products, but no
specific information was forthcoming on which modem would be
used or when the bundle might be available.

The product will work with any 386-based or higher IBM
compatible personal computer (PC) running Microsoft Windows
with at least four megabytes of random access memory (RAM). Bitfax
Professional's retail pricing has been set at $129 and the
product will be available in October from Bit Software or
through the company's retail distribution channels.

(Linda Rohrbough/19931006/Press Contact: Misha St. Lorant, Bit
Software, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public contact,
510-490-2928)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(BOS)(00002)

LCD Panels To "Co-Star" With Stallone In "Demolition Man" 10/07/93
NEWPORT NEWS, VIRGINIA, U.S.A, 1993 OCT 7 (NB) -- A line of LCD
projection panels from nView will share "star billing" with
swashbuckling actor Sylvester Stallone in a Warner Brothers movie
that will open in theaters throughout the US on Friday, October 8.

In one sequence of "Demolition Man," a character played by Stallone
shoots and destroys one of nView's MediaPro panels. But William M.
Donaldson, president of nView, is less than heartbroken over the
MediaPro's demise.

"I think this is the first time this technology has been used in
such a major production, and we're very proud that our products
were chosen," Donaldson said.

In real life today, LCD projection panels project computer and
video data onto a wall or large screen for group viewing. In the
futuristic "Demolition Man," the panels serve as "proxy people" --
"talking heads" meeting around a conference room table.

The images that appear on the panels turn toward one another as if
in actual conversation, nView officials explained. Upset with a
comment made by one of the images, Stallone silences the offending
unit with a gun blast.

The movie, which also stars Wesley Snipes, takes place in the year
2032, when criminals are sentenced to sub-zero "rehabilitation" as
frozen inmates of the California CryoPenitentiary. The "talking
heads" oversee the inert inmates.

The LCD panels also appear in the movie as part of a medical "crash
cart" that monitors thawing prisoners, and as wall-mounted security
panels used for identification in the cryoprison's control room.

All Effects Company, Sun Valley, CA, built the video robots,
constructed chrome housings for the MediaPro panels, and then
designing a computerized motion control system to precisely
position the units as they moved about.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19931006/Press contact: Cassie Hagan, nView, tel
804-873-1354; Reader contact: nView, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00003)

Hong Kong - IBM Veteran Defects To Digital Malaysia 10/07/93
TAI KOO SHING, HONG KONG, 1993 OCT 7 (NB) -- Digital Equipment Asia
has appointed Jamaludin Ibrahim as the new general manager
of Digital Equipment Malaysia Sdn Bhd.

His most recent IBM position was divisional manager for the
Public Sector, Commercial, and Banking and Finance departments,
reporting to the director of operations. Previous assignments included
systems engineer, marketing representative (banking), marketing manager
(public sector), as well as staff assignments in customer financial
packaging and sales compensation programs.

Jamaludin holds a Bachelor of Business degree from California
State University and a MBA from Portland State University.
The new general manager takes over from Dave Buckingham, who will
continue to serve Digital Malaysia as a consultant for a three-month
transition period.

(Keith Cameron/19931006)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(HKG)(00004)

China - Pyramid Offers Oracle7 Parallel Server 10/07/93
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1993 OCT 7 (NB) -- Pyramid Technology Corporation
has become the first company to demonstrate support for the Oracle7
Database with Parallel Server option in China. Pyramid also used the
first China Computerworld Expo and conference in Beijing as a showcase
for the Valence Cluster -- a loosely coupled configuration of
its Unix-based, mainframe-class MIServers.

This configuration plus the Oracle7 Database and Parallel Server
option is designed to provide continuous database availability
for business-critical applications.

Oracle claims the Valence Cluster protects users from single points of
failure. Whether the failure is hardware, software or network related,
the Oracle database remains accessible as long as one node in the
Valence Cluster remains operational. The configurations of servers
are designed so that all MIServer nodes within the cluster dynamically
share the Oracle database.

"Valence Cluster ensures continuous database availability by combining
the computing resources of each MIServer node without compromising
the capacity and throughput demands of the data center," said
Edward Norton, Asia-Pacific vice president for Pyramid Technology.

Supporting up to four MIServer nodes, Valence Cluster also provides
scalability for data centers running very large databases or
supporting very large user communities. It also is designed to
simplify system and database administration by consolidating
computing and database resources into a single resource.

Pyramid's current implementation of SMP offers near-linear
scalability of up to 24 processors for each MIServer, but
the scalability of the clustered nodes is greater and can support
larger user communities and expanded the database capacity. For
example, a fully configured Pyramid Valence Cluster of four nodes
can support four gigabytes of random access memory and 96
CPUs. Disk storage is in excess of 250 gigabytes.

John Morell, Unix Service analyst at International Data Corporation,
says, "The Valence Cluster solution is unique in its implementation
of Virtual Ethernet, Fault-Tolerant Distributed Lock Manager, and
centralized system management. It provides a real added-value
customer solution, giving Pyramid a competitive edge, we believe."

(Keith Cameron/19931006/Press Contact: Ed Norton, Pyramid,
852-827 0211)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00005)

 ****Clinton Health Care Plan To Focus On Computer Support 10/07/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 7 (NB) -- Simplified,
standardized, computerized billing is one of the main ways that
the Health Care Task Force sees to save money that would be used
to pay for coverage of the 30-million-plus people without medical
insurance. Some estimates indicate that there are more people
shuffling paper in the US health care system than directly
serving patients in any capacity.

As the Clintons blitz Capitol Hill and special interest groups,
from the American Medical Association on one side to the American
Association of Retired People and the labor unions on the other,
little attention has been paid to the real core of the plan's
money-saving potential that is essentially a top-to-bottom
overhauling of the way physicians, hospitals, and insurance
companies handle billing.

Physicians and hospitals can essentially charge whatever they
want because virtually no individuals pay their own medical
bills. They are either paid by insurance companies or passed on
to them indirectly through over-charging to compensate for those
who do not pay, and insurers can just raise rates and drop sick
users so they always make a profit.

This has led to a situation where the insurance companies make it
as difficult as possible to file claims as a simple way of
reducing "valid" claims while health care providers just add more
clerical staff to deal with the thousands of different forms
mandated by the government and private insurers.

Because there is little or no economic incentive on either side
to simplify this paperwork deluge, both groups have resisted any
computer software or integrator vendor efforts to integrate
computer systems beyond a single hospital, physician's office, or
insurance company.

This means that it cost so much to collect payments that
physicians and hospitals must continually raise prices, and
it also leads to the situation where every hospital,
physician's office, pharmacy, and insurance company with which an
individual deals must maintain its own set of duplicate records.

The Clinton Administration proposal would put smart cards in the
hands of every US citizen and some legal aliens that would
provide billing reference identification as well as carry up to
about 30 pages of medical data about the individual.

That change, along with a simplification of medical billing
forms, would literally save billions of dollars that could be
used to treat patients, and it looks as if there is growing
pressure from the public to actually force the health care
industry to take advantage of computer technology that has been
available for at least 10 years.

If health care reform really does take off, industry insiders say
that computer sales, and especially integration services, will
really explode, with health care taking on the same sort of high-
profile, high-profit role that was, until recently, the sole
purview of the military.

(John McCormick/19931006/)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEL)(00006)

India - Silicon Graphics Sets Up Subsidiary 10/07/93
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1993 OCT 7 (NB) -- Silicon Graphics of the US has
relocated its SAARC headquarters from Singapore to India, and has
decided to manufacture its low-end workstations in India. (The member
countries of SAARC, the South Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation, are India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Bangladesh
and the Maldives.)

The fully-owned subsidiary, Silicon Graphics Systems (India) Pvt. Ltd.
(SGSPL), will set up the manufacturing facility in Gurgaon (near Delhi)
with an annual capacity of 2,000 systems per year.

"In the first three years, we'll invest more than Rs 30 crore (around
$10 million) in the facility. The total production in three years of
operation is expected to be more than Rs 50 crore (around $16 million).
Exports are expected to account for Rs 10 crore (around $3.5 million),"
according to Ashok Desai, managing director, SAARC region, Silicon
Graphics Systems.

SGSPL is the 25th Silicon Graphics subsidiary in the world, and the
eighth in Asia.

As for manufacturing, sales and support, the Indian subsidiary will
concentrate on the "Indy" workstations. Robert Bishop, president of
Silicon Graphics World Trade Corp., recently unveiled in the capital
this Rs 3.59-lakh (around $12,000) workstation that boasts 16 MB RAM,
 a digital color video camera, a 15-inch color monitor, virtual 24-bit
color graphics, keyboard and mouse, in a diskless configuration
powered by a 100 MHz MIPS R4000 processor.

"Indy is our tribute to the new manufacturing facility in India.
The system was unveiled about a month ago in the US. Bishop said the
machine will be a boon for CAD applications, architects,
manufacturing, engineering, space research, chemical, and the
fashion industry. "Like in the US, Indy will also bring a new
revolution to the entertainment industry in India," he added.

Apart from manufacturing and selling computers, the Indian subsidiary
will also be a center for board repair and benchmarking services for the
SAARC region. Its earlier alliance with Tata Elxsi Ltd., and OMC
Computers Ltd., will continue, the former marketing the high-end
servers and the latter the low-end workstations of Silicon Graphics.

(C. T. Mahabharat/19931007)


(NEWS)(IBM)(BOS)(00007)

Leading Edge Adds New Winpro Multimedia And Desktop PCs 10/07/93
WESTBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 7 (NB) -- Leading Edge
has expanded its series of Winpro 496 PCs, offering additional
multimedia configurations, along with the first desktop models in
the economical line.

All of the new Winpro 486 models are based on a 486SLC/33
microprocessor from Cyrix, a company spokesperson told Newsbytes.
Pricing starts at $899 for the new desktop systems and $1,249 for
the multimedia systems.

The new multimedia models are the first to bundle "Yearn 2 Learn -
Peanuts," a new educational interactive multimedia package from
Image Smith, she added. The multimedia PCs also ship with such CD-
ROM titles as Time Almanac, The Animals, ChessMaster, and Microsoft
Bookshelf.

The multimedia and desktop PCs all ship with MS-DOS 6.0, Microsoft
Windows 3.1, MS Money, MS Works for Windows, MS Productivity Pack,
MS Entertainment Pack 4, and the Leading Edge Utilities Control
Center, she told Newsbytes.

The Winpro 486 base desktop model comes standard with 2 megabytes
(MB ) or 4 MB of system memory, a 120 MB hard drive, 1 kilobyte
(KB) cache memory, a 3.5-inch floppy drive, and Super VGA graphics
with 512 KB video memory. The hard drive is upgradable to 213 MB.
System memory is expandable to 16 MB, video memory to 1 MB, and
cache memory to 64 KB external cache. A 5.25-inch floppy drive is
optionally available.

Also included are one parallel port, two serial ports, four drive
bays, one 8-bit and five ISA 16-bit expansion slots, a 150-watt
power supply, a 101-key keyboard, and a mouse.

The multimedia models come with 4 MB of system memory (expandable
to 16 MB), a 170 MB hard drive, an internal Photo CD-ready Sony CD-
ROM drive, and a Sound Blaster Pro audio board from Creative Labs.
A 2400 bits-per-second (bps) modem, two stereo speakers, and
headphones are optionally available. Other features are identical
to those of the desktop models.

The WinPro 486 desktop and multimedia systems are available
immediately from all Leading Edge authorized resellers. Systems
are supported by the Leading Edge AdvantEDGE Support Program, which
offers customers the option of a one-year onsite or two-year carry-
in warranty, in addition to unlimited toll-free telephone support
and online bulletin board support.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19931006/Reader contact: Leading Edge, tel 508-
836-4800; Press contacts: Susan Zephir, Leading Edge Products
Inc., tel [phone], ext 1219; Amelie Gardella or Mel Webster,
Copithorne & Bellows for Leading Edge, tel [phone])


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

SBT In Japanese Deal With Hitachi 10/07/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 OCT 7 (NB) -- Hitachi has inked an agreement
with Sausalito, California-based accounting software maker SBT
in which Hitachi will produce Japanese versions of SBT's
programs for its personal computer-based LAN systems. With
these programs, Hitachi expects to beef up sales of its
PC LAN systems.

Hitachi will localize SBT's APCO Business Series 7 programs,
which consist of seven modules including system
management, sales management, purchase order management,
and salary management. Each module will cost between
100,000 yen ($1,000) and 300,000 ($3,000).

Three of the modules will be released in November, and the
rest will be released by the end of next year.

The original English language programs are popular outside
Japan. The companies claim 150,000 units have been sold
in the US and Europe.

Actual development of the Japanese programs will be done by
Hitachi's 100 percent-owned subsidiary, Hitachi Application
Systems in Tokyo. These Japanese programs will operate on
Hitachi's Flora family personal computers. The programs run
with the help of various applications such as dBASE IV and
Netware, and can easily be customized.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19931004/Press Contact: Hitachi, +81-3-
3258-2057, Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00009)

Japan Has Two Million Telecom Users 10/07/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 OCT 7 (NB) -- The number of personal computer-
based telecommunication network users has reached two million
in Japan, according to the New-media Development Association
in Tokyo. Their numbers have increased rapidly over the past
two years, and continue to escalate.

The association's survey shows 1,957,000 users were online
this past June, and this number has apparently topped two
million by now.

The association also took the survey in 1991. At that time, there
were 1,150,000 users, indicating the number has nearly doubled
over the past two years.

Commercial PC networks with over 10,000 members each have a total
of about 1,422,000 users, or 72 percent of all network
users in Japan. NEC's PC-VAN holds the top position with
578,000 members. Second is Fujitsu's Nifty-Serve, which has about
500,000 members. They are followed by JALNET, ASCII Net,
Nikkei Mix and TeleStar.

PC-VAN and Nifty-Serve continue to expand and have added
new databases and forums, and have linked with other
major networks. For example, Fujitsu has a link with CompuServe.
PC-VAN has a link with GEnie and JALNET.

These networks are currently seeking ways to interconnect
through the Message Handling System standard, which is
advocated by the Japanese Ministry of Posts and
Telecommunication.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19931005/Press Contact: New-media
Development Association, [phone], PC-VAN, [phone],
Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(WAS)(00010)

Cirrus Subsidiary Intros Single-IC Audio Decompression 10/07/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 7 (NB) -- Austin, Texas-based
Crystal Semiconductor, a division of Cirrus Logic, has introduced
the CS4920, the first semiconductor to include all audio
decompression and digital-to-audio conversion operations on a
single chip. This chip replaces a set of ASIC or application
specific integrated circuit and support chips previously used to
produce audio boards.

The CS4920 is based on a fully programmable 24-bit digital signal
processor running at about 16 MIPS or million instructions per
second and features a 16-bit stereo digital-to-analog converter,
programmable clock manager, compressed audio input, digital audio
output generator, and a serial control port all in a single 44-
pin package.

Since this chip uses easily reprogrammable algorithms, it can
process many different audio formats such as MPEG and Dolby AC-2
compression by simply having new drivers uploaded on-the-fly.

The signal-to-noise ratio for the new Crystal Semiconductor audio
chip is a good 90 dB and total harmonic distortion is claimed to
be less than 0.01-percent.

The new PLCC (plastic leaded chip carrier) package chip will be
available in sample quantities by the end of this month, and
volume production is expected by the first quarter of 1994 with
quantity prices set at $38 each.

This consumer-quality (as opposed to professional production
studio) audio chip should allow audio board makers or PC builders
to include good quality audio at an even lower price because
assembly costs for a single chip are less than that of discrete
component chip sets which are now used. Because the chip is
easily reprogrammable from the computer's memory, it can not only
support existing compression schemes, but also newly developed
standards as they gain market presence.

(John McCormick/19931005/Press Contact: Daryl Sartain, Crystal
Semiconductor, 512-445-7222)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00011)

Cognos Has New Client/Server Software, Business Unit 10/07/93
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1993 OCT 7 (NB) -- Cognos Inc., has
unveiled a new set of client/server development software that it
claims is an example of "second-generation" client/server
technology, and set up a separate business unit to sell
client/server software.

Cognos said its Axiant tool set introduces features needed to
develop serious business applications using client/server
architecture. The company said existing tools do not address such
needs at complex application logic, portability across many
operating systems, hardware platforms, and graphical user
interfaces (GUIs), scalability from small to large systems,
concurrent access to multiple data sources, and version control.

Independent observers agree that current client/server tools are
lacking some features needed for building serious business
applications. "Client/server tools are not capable yet of
delivering mission-critical applications, strictly speaking,"
said Pieter Minno, president of Marblehead, Massachusetts-based
Technology Insight, Inc., at a recent industry conference, "but
organizations are doing it anyway because they're desperate."

According to Cognos, the Axiant software has four main features
aimed at filling this gap. An application engine automates
development and lets developers add extensions with
repository-based business rules. A three-tiered application
architecture is said to make for flexible deployment.
Applications can also be scaled to few or many users. Finally, an
integrated desktop provides ad-hoc query, reporting, and
multi-dimensional data analysis.

Hans Galldin, marketing director for client/server tools at
Cognos, said Axiant addresses a common concern about security
features in client/server tools by providing a way to assign
different privileges to different users. This is built into the
repository, he said, so users don't have to enter multiple
passwords to get at different resources.

He said the software also allows data definitions from common
computer-aided software engineering (CASE) software to be
imported into its repository and then used in creating source
code.

Axiant supports Microsoft Corp.'s Object Linking and Embedding
(OLE) rules for linking applications under Windows, and provides
for Rapid Iterative Development (RID) and Rapid Application
Development (RAD) software development techniques using a
multi-user, object-oriented repository, the company said.

Cognos said it will provide Axiant first for Microsoft Windows
client PCs and servers running Unix, DOS, and Digital Equipment
Corp.'s VMS operating system. This software is to be available by
the end of this year. Software for IBM AS/400 and Hewlett-Packard
MPE iX servers is planned later, the company said. Software
development tools for resellers and third-party developers are to
be available in the second quarter of 1994.

The Windows-based development environment will cost from $3,000
to $5,000, Cognos said, and full deployment of Axiant will cost
about $1,000 per user.

Cognos said it is setting up a client/server business unit that
will be responsible for the Axiant products. Peter Klante, a
vice-president of Cognos, will head the unit. Cognos has three
other business units, which handle its PowerHouse application
development software, its AS/400 software, and its desktop
reporting products.

(Grant Buckler/19931006/Press Contact: Roberta J. Carlton,
Cognos, 617-229-6600 ext. 2446; Mary Campbell ext. 166 or Sally
Ann Barton ext. 167, Leonard Monahan Lubars & Kelly for Cognos,
401-277-9020)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TOR)(00012)

 ****Canadian Firm Says Robots See, Understand Surroundings 10/07/93
ORILLIA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1993 OCT 7 (NB) -- A small company
based in a town north of Toronto claims its robotics
technology offers something no other industrial robots have
today: the ability to see and understand the robot's
surroundings.

Vivek Burhanpurkar, founder and president of Cyberworks Inc.,
told Newsbytes ultrasonic vision systems in his company's
products allow robots to see what is around them and understand
the "basic geometry" without having to be programmed to deal with
specific surroundings.

That means, for instance, that Cyberworks' CyberVac Industrial
Cleaning Robot can vacuum a room without having to be set up for
the specific room first. It will see where the walls and
furniture are, and using built-in expert-system software, will
work out an efficient way of cleaning the space, Burhanpurkar
said.

Cyberworks has just launched that robot and another designed for
security and inspection, as well as a set of components that the
company plans to sell to others who want to build their own
special-purpose robots, he said.

The security and inspection robot can spot changes or movements
in its environment, Burhanpurkar said, but can also relay video
signals to a security guard at one central location.

Cyberworks is a 10-employee company that concentrates on research
and development and subcontracts much of its manufacturing work,
Burhanpurkar said. He said the firm plans to sell its technology
to other vendors to build into their own products rather than
try to build a wide range of robots itself.

The company has been developing its technology for about eight
years, Burhanpurkar said. It has sold prototypes of its products,
he added, and in the past year has done about C$1 million worth
of business in Japan. Cyberworks is just beginning to market its
products in North America, Burhanpurkar said. The company
recently held a series of demonstrations for potential customers
across the United States.

(Grant Buckler/19931007/Press Contact: Vivek Burhanpurkar,
Cyberworks, 705-325-6110)


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

Canada - Initial Public Offering For Eicon 10/07/93
MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA, 1993 OCT 7 (NB) -- Eicon Technologies
Inc., a maker of internetworking hardware and software, has
announced an initial public offering and listed its stock on the
two largest Canadian stock exchanges.

Eicon is offering five million shares at C$10.50 per share to
raise a total of C$52.5 million, said Harold Mueller,
vice-president of operations. He said C$2 million of the proceeds
will be spent on additional research and development work over
the next several years.

A second purpose of the offering is to raise the company's
profile and enhance its image with customers as an established
firm, Mueller added. Most of Eicon's competitors are public
companies, he said.

Eicon's stock began trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the
Montreal Exchange on October 5. Mueller stressed that the stock
offering is registered only for sale in Canada initially.

Eicon's product line includes network gateways, routers, Systems
Network Architecture (SNA) emulations, and wide-area networking
(WAN) products. The company said it sells its products in more
than 50 countries.

(Grant Buckler/19931007/Press Contact: Harold Mueller, Eicon
Technologies, 514-631-2592, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00014)

Control Data Systems Canada Buys Antares Electronics 10/07/93
MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1993 OCT 7 (NB) -- Control Data
Systems Canada, Ltd., has purchased Antares Electronics Inc., a
systems integration firm based in Ottawa. The takeover roughly
triples Control Data Systems' Canadian operations.

Control Data Systems is a systems integration firm born out of
Control Data Corp., once a major mainframe computer maker. It has
operated on its own for about a year and has been profitable,
said Tom Ray, manager of the Canadian operation.

The acquisition of Antares, a systems integrator whose strength
lies in the personal computer field, will complement Control
Data's historic strength in larger systems and help the company
build its business in client/server computing, which requires a
mixture of large-system and small-system expertise, Ray told
Newsbytes.

The deal also roughly triples the payroll of Control Data Systems
Canada, which had about 75 employees before taking over
145-employee Antares.

Control Data acquired Antares for C$6.9 million from the Hong
Kong Bank of Canada after the Ottawa firm ran into financial
trouble.

Jan Kaminski, former president and chief executive of Antares, is
to continue managing the operation, which will keep the Antares
name and be run as a division of Control Data Systems Canada.

(Grant Buckler/19931007/Press Contact: Tom Ray, Control Data
Systems Canada, 905-629-5122, fax [phone]; Jan Kaminski,
Antares, 613-228-5216; Charlotte Fransen, Control Data Systems,
612-482-4857)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(BOS)(00015)

Xerox Enters Personal Computer Printer Market 10/07/93
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 7 (NB) -- Xerox Corp., has
entered the personal computer printer market with the newly
announced Xerox Personal Printer 4004.

Expected to sell for under $299, the new "second generation"
inkjet model is the least expensive printer in the company's
history, and also the first to be sold in retail stores, a
company spokesperson told Newsbytes.

Targeted at home and small office users of IBM-compatible PCs, the
4004 is now available at The Wiz and Office America, two regional
retail chains, with national distribution to follow soon,
according to the company.

"Xerox has never before sold a printer of this quality, at this
price, in this channel," the spokesperson remarked. Xerox
classifies the 4004 as a "second iteration" inkjet printer, he
said. In comparison, competing inkjet printers are still in their
"first iteration," he explained.

The 4004 is smaller than other inkjet printers, but operates twice
as fast, runs more reliably, and produces higher quality output, he
asserted. The superiority of the printer is corroborated by
independent test results, Xerox claims.

The 4004 features a 128-nozzle print head that allows production of
two lines of text or graphics in a single pass, yielding three
pages of text per minute, according to the spokesperson. In
comparison, competing printers use 50- or 64-print heads,
Newsbytes was told.

In addition, Xerox has placed the printer logic in the print head,
instead of on a board within the printer where printer logic
usually resides. When the user replaces the 4004's print head, the
circuitry will also be replaced, preventing the circuitry from
wearing down.

By locating the logic in the print head, Xerox has also allowed the
body of the 300-by-300 dot-per-inch (dpi) printer to be smaller, he
added. Further, the 4004's print head shoots ink sideways from the
edge ("edge shooting") instead of downward from the top ("roof
shooting"), for higher quality text and graphics output.

"The 4004's print head is attached to an ink reservoir that is
about twice as large as a typical reservoir," the spokesperson
emphasized. The ink reservoir lasts through about 1400 pages of
printing in letter quality mode, and even longer in draft mode, or
twice as long as the ink reservoirs of competing printers, he
reported.

In the mid-1980s, Xerox produced a series of dot matrix, daisy
wheel, and color laser jet printers for the PC market under the
Diablo brand name. However, the color printers were very
expensive, and none of the Diablo products were ever sold in retail
stores.

The retail chains where the 4004 is currently being sold cover
sections of the Eastern US. The Wiz covers metropolitan New York,
Long Island, New Jersey, and lower Connecticut. Office America's
stores are in Ohio, Virginia and North Carolina.

"Xerox is close to announcing a third retailer, which we can't
disclose yet. We also expect that the printers will soon become
nationally available in retail stores," he told Newsbytes.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19931007/Reader contact: tel 800-ASK-XEROX, ext
4004; Press contact: Daniel C. Michen, Xerox Corp., tel 716-423-
3539)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00016)

Geoworks Awarded Patent For User Interface 10/07/93
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 7 (NB) -- Developers
interested in writing applications for the new crop of consumer
computing devices using the Geos interface will get their first
look at the product when Geoworks hosts a developer's conference
in Burlingame, California beginning October 25, 1993.

Geoworks is the company that brought a Windows-like user
interface (UI) to MS-DOS based systems and offers a suite of
software products called Geoworks Ensemble that includes word
processing, communications, and drawing applications along with
several utilities, but without the need for the additional memory
overhead required by Windows. It also includes a DOS program
launcher.

Now the company has received a brand new patent on its process of
designing a user interface for mobile devices, office
products, smart phones and interactive televisions that make up
the category called consumer computing devices (CCDs). The GEOS
interface isolates the application from the specific hardware
platform on which it runs. That lets software developers move
their programs to other GEOS-based CCD's without rewriting and
recompiling the code. Compiling allows computer code to run
faster than uncompiled programs.

The company says the UI provides for application scalability,
allowing the developer to modify the amount of visible UI
components to fit the screen sizes of different devices or the
needs of the people using the application. Data input can be by
pen, mouse, keyboard, voice or touchscreen, although Geoworks
spokesperson Karl Fields told Newsbytes the voice and touch
interfaces probably wouldn't be available until at least 1996.

Fields said the hardware scalability, new approaches to ways of
inputting data, and the scalability of the user interface to fit
the user's level of expertise were the basis for issuance of the
patent and also what makes the GEOS interface unique.

Geoworks says three companies, Tandy, Casio, and Sharp, are
already taking advantage of the flexible UI technology. Tandy and
Casio have teamed with Geoworks to create Zoomer, a personal
digital assistant which has a small screen UI. The Sharp PT-9000
Personal Information Assistant uses the larger Motif-like UI. On
both products the interface is customized to meet the needs of
the specific device without changing the underlying system
software. Geoworks Chairman and CEO Brian Dougherty says that
provides software developers with a much larger market
opportunity than previously available when the application had to
be written or modified for the specific hardware platform for
which it was destined.

Zoomer was first announced, and a prototype shown, at the Las
Vegas Consumer Electronics Show in January 1993. Showgoers at the
Chicago edition of the CES held in June of this year also got to
see the product, which is expected to sell for $699 from Tandy
and $895 from Casio. The two machines are compatible and the
companies said the one inch by 4.2 inch by 6.8 inch, one pound
product would ship in late September of early October. Sharp's
two pound version is expected to ship in the fourth quarter.
Pricing for Sharp's device has not been announced.

Motorola says it is developing a version of its Electronic Mail
Broadcast To A Roaming Computer (EMBARC) technology that is
compatible with the GEOS operating system. When available that
would give Zoomer users the ability to send and receive wireless
faxes and electronic mail.

The conference will have its two-day run at the Hyatt Regency in
Burlingame, California on October 25 and 26. Attendees will have
an opportunity to learn more about the UI and will receive a free
copy of the new GEOS software development kit (SDK). Geoworks
says the conference will focus on markets which have the most
potential ad well as specific opportunities for developing
vertical market applications. Geoworks has a toll-free number for
conference registration. Conference cost is $595.

(Jim Mallory/19931007/Press contact: Deborah Dawson, Geoworks,
510-204-8550; Conference registration and info: Geoworks, 800-
524-1857, ext 1214)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEN)(00017)

Wordperfect Settles Lawsuit Against BBS Operator 10/07/93
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 7 (NB) -- Wordperfect Corporation
says it has settled lawsuits against a bulletin board operator
and beta tester who it said had illegally copied and
distributed beta versions of its new word processor software
Wordperfect 6.0.

Wordperfect says it saw the software on a Toronto, Canada-based
electronic bulletin board, then traced it to a beta tester in Texas.
Company representatives teamed up with US Marshals and royal
Canadian Mounted Police to confiscate computer equipment and
unauthorized copies of the program from the two individuals.

Beta testers are individuals and corporations who are provided
advance copies of new software. They are asked to use the
software and report any problems, or "bugs" they encounter so
those problems can be corrected before the production version of
the software ships. Beta testers sign agreements not to disclose
what they learn about the software or provide copies to others.

Wordperfect says it is serious about protecting the
confidentiality of its beta level software "and will prosecute
beta testers who violate our trust and bulletin board operators
who pirate our software," according to Wordperfect Corporation
Senior VP and General Counsel R. Duff Thompson. He says beta
testing is crucial to the company's ability to produce high
quality software products, and the company is determined to
protect the integrity of the program.

This is Wordperfect's first direct action against a beta tester,
but the company has previously taken actions against pirate
bulletin boards through the Business Software Alliance (BSA) of
which it is a founding member. The company said it took this
action directly because of its contractual agreement with the
beta tester.

The BSA has estimated loss of software sales in the US in 1992
due to piracy reached nearly $2 million, and placed the worldwide
loss at over $5 billion. "Software piracy continues to pose the
single largest threat to the ongoing success of the legitimate
software market in the United States and abroad," says BSA
President Robert Hollyman. The organization encourages reports of
software piracy to their piracy hotline.

(Jim Mallory/19931007/Press contact: Wordperfect Corporation, Ken
Merritt, Wordperfect Corporation, 801-228-5059; Reader contact:
Wordperfect Corp, 801-225-5000, fax [phone]; BSA Piracy
Hotline: [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00018)

Wordperfect Office 4.0a To Ship Late October 10/07/93
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 7 (NB) -- Wordperfect Corporation
has announced it will ship version 4.0a of its Wordperfect Office
software suite for Macintosh, Windows, DOS, and Unix by the end
of October. This is a major upgrade for the Unix version, since
Wordperfect had not previously shipped a release 4.0 for that
platform.

Wordperfect Office is an integrated set of software that includes
electronic mail, calendar, scheduler, and task management
capabilities. The company says the release has improved
performance and speed of about 10 percent overall, with a 30 to
50 percent increase in the areas of sending, reading, and deleting
messages. The Windows version will also include native Windows
printing for the Windows client that will eliminate the need for
users to launch Wordperfect to print calendars, messages, or
attachments.

DOS and Windows users will be able to view most message
attachments through Systems Compatibility Corporation's Outside
In Viewing technology, including more than 160 Windows, Macintosh
and DOS file formats. DOS users will be able to view more than 90
DOS, Windows, and Macintosh file formats.

The administration program of Wordperfect Office 4.0a will be
sold with the client pack, and the server will be sold
separately. That will allow users to install and maintain a
single post office without having to purchase the server pack.
The client/admin pack includes the program disks and
documentation for a specific operating system and provides
installation, setup and maintenance programs. The message server
pack includes a message server for inter-post office
communication and gateway support.

The company says the database format used in version 4.0a is
incompatible with the one used in Office 4.0 so they are offering
a free upgrade to 4.0 users. Call Wordperfect's toll-free number
for upgrade information.

Wordperfect spokesperson Scott Robinson told Newsbytes the
client/admin pack will sell for $495, while the server pack is
priced at $295.

(Jim Mallory/19931007/Press contact: Brian Chapman, Wordperfect
Corp, 801-228-5037; Upgrade info: Wordperfect Corp, 800-451-5151)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00019)

Microsoft, 30 Others Support Apple's System 7 Pro 10/07/93
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 7 (NB) -- Over 30
companies have announced support for Powertalk, Apple Computer's newly
announced mail and document management services portion of the System
7 Pro operating system for Macintosh. System 7 Pro will also include
the latest release of the multimedia extensions, Quicktime version
1.6.1, and the company's automation and customization technology
Applescript.

Apple says System 7 Pro will not displace System 7.1, but
claims the two operating systems are aimed at different
markets. System 7 is aimed at the consumer market and the
educational market grades K-12. System 7 Pro is targeted at
business, higher education, and government, Apple said.

Released in May of 1991, System 7, Apple claims, had an installed
base of 8 million as of August of this year. Apple estimates
that 30 percent of those users have stand-alone systems while
the remaining 70 percent are connected with other computers and
communications devices via networks or modems. System 7 Pro is
aimed at that 70 percent.

Apple suggests users will benefit from third party applications
that take advantage of Powertalk, the new technology introduced
by Apple for System 7 Pro. Powertalk will enable vendors to
provide applications that will automatically sort and forward
electronic mail, archive e-mail after reading, monitor
databases and information sources, and create personalized
newspapers by delivering preselected types of information
directly to the user's desktop mailbox.

Microsoft announced specific ways System 7 Pro users will be
able to use Microsoft products with the new operating system.
The company said the Apple Open Collaborative Environment
(AOCE) integration in its products will facilitate workgroup
communications by offering Send Mail functionality and other
messaging features from within Microsoft applications.

For example, if a user with a Powertalk mail-capable application,
such as Microsoft Word, creates a document and needs to send it
to colleagues, Word will send the file to the recipient's
Powertalk mailbox. If the document is sensitive, AOCE server
technology, known as Powershare, can ensure the document will
only be seen by the appointed recipient, using message
encryption and authentication technology. Powershare was also
announced at the launch of System 7 Pro, but won't be available
until early 1994, Apple said.

"A Powertalk-savvy Word and Microsoft Excel in the future will
streamline our current method of sending documents, and
incorporating AOCE's digital signature feature in our word
processing and spreadsheet documents is critical to raising the
integrity of our future communications process," said Dave
Reese, manager, CSU Network Technical Services, California
State University Chancellor's Office.

Microsoft's development team on its Microsoft Mail product is
working together with Apple to provide both messaging and
directory integration so companies can share information across
platforms. The collaboration includes development of software
to assure that MAPI-compliant applications in Windows can
access Powershare servers and Macintosh applications that
support AOCE can access current and future Microsoft servers.
Microsoft said it will announce details of the agreement within
60 days.

For the present, Starnine Technologies and Microsoft announced
three connectivity products for users to share information
between Microsoft Mail and AOCE technology, including Powertalk
and Powershare messaging software. They are: Mail Link for
Powershare/MS is a server-to-server gateway allowing Powershare
users and Microsoft Mail for Appletalk network users seamless
communication; Mail Link for Powertalk/MS, a personal gateway
that allows transparent use of a Microsoft Mail account via the
Powertalk interface; and Mail Link Directory Services for
Powertalk for user access to Microsoft Mail, Quickmail, Unix,
and MHS electronic mail addresses.

In addition, Microsoft said all future business applications
will include support for Quicktime. Currently, only Microsoft
Word, Microsoft Excel, and Powerpoint offer Quicktime support,
which includes the ability to embed Quicktime movies or
animations into application files using Microsoft' Object
Linking and Embedding (OLE 2.0) technology.

In addition, support for Applescript is available now in
Microsoft Excel. However, the next version of Microsoft Word
will also include the script support so customers can automate
tasks and customize their applications.

Third party vendor CE Software of Des Moines, Iowa has also
announced Quickmail AOCE for November release. CE claims
Quickmail AOCE will use Powertalk to transparently send and
receive mail from any AOCE service provider or client -
including any existing Quickmail network.

QuickMail AOCE will offer users drag & drop enclosures and the
security of digital signatures and will also use the
Applescript portion of System 7 Pro to drive other programs and
respond to user-written scripts from programs such as Hypercard
and Quickeys.

Other companies announcing support for System 7 Pro include:
Aladdin Systems, Articulate Systems, Axion, Banyan Systems,
Beyond, Caravelle Networks, Chena Software, Claris, Crosswise,
CTM Development, Cypress Research, Ex Machina, Full Moon
Software, General Electric Information Services, Graphical
Business Interfaces, Mainstream Data, Milum, Nisus Software, No
Hands Software, Novell, Octel Communications, Pace Software,
Quark, Radius, RSA Data Security, Shana, Snow Development
Group, Southbeach Software, STF Technologies, Tetherless
Access, Useful Software, and Wordperfect.

(Linda Rohrbough/19931007/Press Contact: Julie Briselden,
Microsoft, 206-882-8080; Sue Nail, CE Software 515-221-1801;
Janet McCauley, Apple Computer, tel [phone], fax 408-974-
6412)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00020)

International Telecom Update 10/07/03
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 7 (NB) -- Latin America made
most of the world's telecommunications news, and most of it was
good.

In Mexico, TelMex announced its final estimates for new lines to
be installed this year. The total, 813,847, is lower than last
year, which the company credited to a reduction in its huge
backlog. Partly because of that, and partly because of growing
competition possible because Bell Atlantic may buy part of a
competing cellular phone operation, SG Warburg downgraded the
company's stock.

MCI is also reportedly interested in an alliance to tap the
Mexican market. It currently offers only calls to the US, but
an agreement with new partners would have it selling long-distance
services directly there. All these reports are important votes
of confidence in the economy there.

Banco Santander of Spain sold its 10 percent stake in Chile's
EnTel to four Chilean companies for $55.7 million. Telefonica de
Espana of Spain is the largest holder of EnTel shares. Generally,
prices of telecommunications stocks rose on the nation's
exchanges during the week.

As promised, Argentina approved cuts in some international phone
rates, ranging from a low of seven percent to a high of 53 percent.
Earlier the country had warned businesses there they may lose
their local service if they continue to use "dial-back" services
in the US to bypass Telintar, which is owned by Telecom
Argentina and Telefonica de Argentina. Volume discounts are also
being offered as part of rate reductions, which regulators said
were suggested by Telintar itself, and take place November 8.

Brazilian investors called "dismal" Telebras' net profit from
January-August of US$1.23 billion, nearly triple the figure of
a year earlier, but the price of the stock stayed firm on
hopes for political and economic reform. The government is being
heavily criticized in the US for failing to liberalize the
market and quickly privatize Telebras.

In East Asia, the Philippines is starting to turn around,
according to the World Bank, which estimated growth of 5.5
percent per year is sustainable thanks to private investments in
telecommunications, as well as transport and energy. The
government also gave a digital cellular license to Globe Telecom,
which is backed by Singapore Telecom and local businesses,
rejecting another 15 applications and ruling it will limit the
market to five firms.

In New Zealand, Bell Atlantic and Ameritech of the US cut their
stakes in Telecom New Zealand, in line with a 1990 deal with the
government. Earlier, two major New Zealand industrialists had cut
their stakes. Telecom is presently moving to cut staff so it can
compete more closely with Clear Communications.

Finally, Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd., of Israel, announced its
first contracts in the Far East and Eastern Europe, saying it
plans additional overseas expansion. Its OneWay VSATs were sold
to China, through Hong Kong, Japan, and Poland. In the latter
case, the buyer was GTech of the US, which will use the
equipment to operate that nation's first lottery. GTech also
operates lotteries in the US, including the new Georgia lottery
in its home state.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19931007)


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

MTel To Support Microsoft At Work 10/07/03
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 7 (NB) -- MTel, owner of
the SkyTel paging service and the pending Nationwide Wireless
Network, signed agreements on both fronts.

The company joined competitors in announcing support for
a version of the Microsoft At Work operating system for use in
hand-held computers. The company's SkyTel unit will develop
software linking its system to the Microsoft platform's
capability of linking to telephones, desktop computers,
electronic mail, and other office systems. The two companies will
also work with outside software vendors to incorporate the
interface into applications.

More importantly, perhaps, for the long term of the company, MTel
announced strategic agreements for equipment suppliers on its
two-way Nationwide Wireless Network, or NWN. The SkyTel network,
despite recent improvements, remains essentially a low-speed, one
way system, while the NWN is seen as a faster, two-way connection
without wires.

Agreements were signed with Motorola and Wireless Access
Inc., to make personal messaging units for the NWN, and a
separate deal was signed with Glenayre Electronics Inc., for
infrastructure equipment. The company is also negotiating with
Motorola for such equipment.

The supply agreements were estimated to be worth $45 million, according
to President Jai Bhagat. The total system will cost $150 million,
with plans to have two-way wireless service available in the top 300
markets in the US by mid-1995. MTel pioneered the technology of
the NWN and was rewarded with a "pioneer's preference" by the
Federal Communications Commission, giving it a head-start on licensing
the system in 50 KHz of spectrum at about 940 MHz.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19931007/Press Contact: David Allan, for MTel,
212/614-4239; Karen Andring, for Microsoft, 206/637-9097)


(CORRECTION)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00022)

Correction - Motorola EMBARC Deal With Reuters Non-Exclusive 10/07/93
BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 7 (NB) -- In an October
5 story on Motorola's EMBARC, we reported the company had signed
an exclusive deal with Reuters America Inc., covering Reuters'
headlines on a wireless paging-type platform.

According to EMBARC spokesman Mike Keating, who apologized for
Newsbytes' receipt of inaccurate information, "Reuters did not sign
an exclusive contract with EMBARC to provide wireless financial
information services," he wrote. "The EMBARC/Reuters Financial News
Service is an unique wireless financial service in content, scope, and
frequency of delivery."

Mr. Keating says Reuters can legally contract with other paging
networks and wireless services, including MobileComm and SkyTel,
for its headlines and wire.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19931007/Press Contact: Mike Keating, for
EMBARC, 312/988-2918)


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

California Cancels Local Phone Call Competition Order 10/07/03
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 7 (NB) --The State of
California's Public Utilities Commission rescinded its decision
to allow local phone call competition and change rates, blaming
its own decision to allow utility employees onto the "proprietary
team" which created the new rules.

The commission had ruled September 17 that short-haul long
distance calls, called "local toll calls," could be made through
long distance or local companies as of January 1, and hiked local
rates to make up for potential lost revenue. Now any decision on
local toll competition won't be effective until several months
into 1994, the commission said.

The commission said it's not changing its mind on the basic
framework of the original order, however. That framework "is to
allow local toll and other competition and realign rates." That
framework, it said, was determined outside the tainted procedures
of the proprietary team. Parties to the case are allowed public
comment, but any communications between parties and
decisionmakers, either in writing or verbally, cannot be made
without formally notifying all other parties of what's being said
or written. The commission promised an internal examination of
the proceeding, and findings will be made public. That review
will include another look at the "proprietary team" concept,
which includes use of outside technical experts.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19931007/Press Contact: CPUC, Dianne Dienstein,
415-703-2423)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LAX)(00024)

Nomai Wins Round Against Syquest With Iomega's Help 10/07/93
AVRANCHES, FRANCE, 1993 OCT 7 (NB) -- Nomai claims it has won a
victory in its ongoing battle with Syquest over whether or not
it can make Syquest-compatible cartridges. The French company,
together with support from its new US distributor Iomega, was
able to post a bond large enough to prevent Syquest's gain of a
temporary injunction from a UK judge against the compatible
cartridges.

Syquest has publicly made a series of accusations against
Nomai, including an allegation that the cartridge technology was
stolen by consultant Ravi Chari, once in the employ of Syquest,
who now works for Nomai. Syquest has also claimed the cartridges
actually damage Syquest drives. Syquest has also announced to its
customers that it will not honor the warranty on the Winchester
cartridge-based hard disk drives if Nomai cartridges have been
used in the drive.

Syquest sought a temporary injunction to halt sales of the
Nomai cartridges based on two items: potential damage caused to
Syquest customers by Nomai cartridges and its contention that
Nomai was too small financially to handle potential damages
that might accrue over the one to two years it will take the
case to come to trial, should it lose to Syquest. Nomai
representatives told Newsbytes they are especially pleased that
Syquest lost on both counts.

Nomai was able to prove that its cartridge return rate of four per
thousand was well within the stringent European ISO standards
for failure as well as US military standards. Officials at
Nomai told Newsbytes their return rate is also lower than
Syquest's overall product return rate, but declined to offer
exact numbers for how much lower.

Also, with the help of Roy, Utah-based Iomega, Nomai was able
to post a bond or letter of credit equivalent to $750,000, a moved
Nomai officials said Syquest didn't expect. Iomega became involved
when Syquest filed suit against it as a distributor of the
Nomai cartridges. Syquest officials were unavailable to comment
on the bond.

Marc Frouin, Nomai's president, said: "No one minds providing a
letter of credit which he does not expect to have to pay.
Syquest suggested that Nomai cartridges were not of high
quality, but in the end it all came down to a question of
money. We have no doubt we will win at trial, which we
understand will take place within about one year. Our
cartridges, which use IBM Diamond Like Coating (DLC) media,
have now proved their superiority with a return rate of only a
few per thousand. This, and the really good partnership we have
with Iomega, creates an increasing demand for our products. The
legal battle is a desperate action of Syquest, which objects to
all competition."

Syquest claims its technology is so specific that anyone who
makes a compatible cartridge is in violation of its patents.
The company began legal action against Nomai before the company
had released its products, based on samples given to Syquest
representatives when they were invited as guests to view the
Nomai facility in France.

Nomai claims it has sold over 100,000 Syquest-compatible
cartridges worldwide and continues to gain market share.
Nomai's main cartridge products are aimed at the Syquest 44 and
88 megabyte (MB) drive market. However, Iomega recently
announced it would lay off 9 percent of its workforce, or about
100 people. The company has also announced significant price
cuts in its product line. Iomega officials say the company is
healthy, but management wants to keep costs down and prices
competitive.

(Linda Rohrbough/19931006/Press Contact: Marc Frouin, Nomai,
tel [phone], fax [phone]; Tom Chung, Syquest, tel 510-
226-4000, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00025)

TI's Own 486SX Subnotebook Microprocessors 10/07/93
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 7 (NB) -- Texas Instruments says it
is introducing a new line of 486SX class microprocessors that will
deliver clock-doubling speed for subnotebook computing.

The new Potomac family of CPUs will provide up to 50 megahertz
(MHz) of performance, and will incorporate an internal cache, 3.3 volt
operation and extended battery life.

According to research firm In-Stat, production of subcompact personal
computers will jump from 371,000 units in 1992 to more than 4.3
million units in 1997.

"Convenience is what's driving portable computing," says Rick
Bergman, TI personal computer systems product marketing manager. He
says end users are becoming convinced that superportables are the
best way to take their applications on the road. "That's why
superportables will be the growth niche in the PC industry."

The TI486SXLC2 16-bit chip is packaged in a small 100-pin quad flat
pack (QFP), has 8 kilobytes (K) of internal cache, and occupies 47
percent less board space than the 486SX 208-pin QFP. TI says system
designers can place the CPU directly into existing designs, enabling
significantly higher system performance without an increase in board
space.

The TI486SXL2 is a 168-pin 32-bit model that the company says is
ideal for notebook systems and the energy-saving "green" PCs.

Bergman says the chips predecessor, the TI486SLC, has enjoyed great
acceptance in the subnotebook market. "Getting 486Sx performance
into a superportable is the next design challenge facing OEMs
[original equipment manufacturers]."

TI says samples of the chips are now available in limited
quantities, with volume production scheduled for the first quarter
of 1994. Suggested resale pricing will range from $79 to $149 for
volume quantities depending on microprocessor speeds.

(Jim Mallory/19931007/Press contact: Ted Jurnigan, Texas
Instruments, 214-997-5467)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00026)

Intelcom Third-Largest Competitive Access Phone Company 10/07/93
DENVER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 7 (NB) -- By buying two
Teleport companies from Pacific Telecom, Intelcom says it's now
the third-largest competitive access phone company, after MFS
Communications and Teleport.

Spokesman Phil Allen says the market has been rewarding an
aggressive expansion plan by Intelcom by bidding up the price of
its stock, making further acquisitions possible. The company was
known as InterTel until last summer when it changed its name to
avoid confusion with a telephone equipment maker, he noted.

On the block are the Bay Area Teleport Inc., which Pacific
Telecom itself had just bought in May, 1991, and UpSouth, which
operates teleports in Atlanta and New Jersey and was purchased
more recently.

In addition to its satellite system, Bay Area Teleport also
operates a 300-mile digital wireless and fiber-optic network in
the San Francisco Bay area. Intelcom President Bill Maxwell says
that acquisition gives his company the backbone network it needs
to link 10 cities and put its network before 8 million potential
customers. He also noted that the deal looks good because the
State of California is encouraging local competition. Intelcom
also gets Bay Area's turnkey network business and its new VSAT
hub in Mexico city. The company said it's maintaining Bay Area's
management.

Allen noted that Intelcom already operates fiber networks in
Denver, Cleveland, Dayton, Ohio, and Charlotte, North Carolina,
and is in the process of building networks in Phoenix and
Colorado Springs, Colorado. It recently announced further
expansions in Ohio and Kentucky. "Clearly Wall Street likes the
Competitive Access Provider story," he noted. "They also like the
connectivity between our networks and uplink capabilities. We
will use long haul fiber to link the satellites we have or plan
to acquire. We also can connect to local loop customers via
fiber, and we want to exploit the growing international market
for voice and data, using the Teleports."

The deal is due to close in early 1994 and is based on an
average price of $14.30 per Intelcom share, plus $200,000 in
cash. After closing Pacific Telecom will own 850,000 out of
Intelcom's 15.6 million shares outstanding on a fully diluted
basis.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19931007/Press Contact: Brian M. Wirkkala,
Pacific Telecom, 206-696-0983Intelcom Group, Phil Allen (303)
572-5984)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00027)

IBM Licenses Cellular, Modem Interface 10/07/03
MANHASSET, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 7 (NB) -- Spectrum
Information Technologies Inc., won another victory for its patents
when IBM said it signed a marketing and licensing agreement with
the company.

At issue is the Axcell, an interface between cellular phones and
the modems on personal computers which allows the modem to work
on a wireless call much as it would on a wired call. The Axcell
will now be given an IBM ThinkPad Proven tag, which signifies
that it meets the product and service standards of IBM.

Spectrum already has deals to market ThinkPad peripherals made by
Megahertz and Apex Data, which licensed Spectrum's patents. AT&T
also has a license for Spectrum technology, covering all its
units, including NCR and McCaw Cellular. However, not all players
in the market recognize Spectrum's broad patent claims. The
company is engaged in a legal battle with Data Race over
technology like that of the Axcell, and it's in a legal fight
with Microcom concerning error-correction used on wireless lines.

Motorola has also not yet licensed Spectrum's patents. Spectrum
also recently applied for a patent on a technology which allows
cellular operators to distinguish between a voice and data call,
which would let them price the two calls differently. Spectrum's
stock, which was worth $3 per share a few months ago, has since
doubled in price.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19931007/Press Contact: Don Kessler, Spectrum,
516-627-8992)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00028)

Longest Digital Phone Call 10/07/93
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1993 OCT 7 (NB) -- Following on from the successful
launch of its Groupe Speciale Mobile (GSM) digital phone service in
Australia, and the launch of the Metrodigital subset service in the
UK, Vodafone has used both networks to feature in what it claims is
almost certainly the longest distance digital mobile to mobile call
made to date.

The call was made as one of the highlights of the joint network
opening facilities, with a call being made from Sydney Harbor
Bridge to London's Tower Bridge. The phones used in the link were
two Motorola 5200 series "flip phones."

Five winners of a national (UK) Vodafone competition were flown to
Australia, accompanied by Terry Barwick, Vodafone's director of
corporate affairs. All made calls back to the UK, to actress
Michelle Collins ("Cindy" from Eastenders) and Steve Backley, the
Olympic javelin thrower.

At the opening of the Australian Vodafone network, the group's
managing director, Chris Gent, said that the link-up was historic.

"This is the first internationally made call featuring roaming
between two mobile phone networks on different continents. Once
again, Vodafone is delighted to be at the leading edge of mobile
phone technology," he said.

(Steve Gold/19931007/Press & Public Contact: Vodafone - Tel: 0635-
33251)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00029)

CD-ROM Drive Doubles As Stand-Alone CD Player 10/07/93
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 7 (NB) -- Many of the new
PCs today include CD-ROM drives. Increasingly though, users do not
want to abandon their investments in existing hardware, and
as a result, look towards CD-ROM upgrade kits to convert their
existing PCs to multimedia machines. Hoping to address those
potential users, Media Vision has introduced the Memphis
multimedia upgrade system.

The Memphis also doubles as a stand-alone audio compact disc
player. According to the company, the upgrade system simplifies
the installation process and "gives consumers an integrated unit
for CD-ROM access." Pre-recorded CDs can also be played while
the PC is switched off, or when the Memphis chassis is
separated from the PC.

A company source told Newsbytes that the Memphis is the
result of a number of studies with users and user groups to find
out what they liked and disliked about existing upgrade kits.
The company found that around 40 percent of users were using
the kits for audio CD playing. As a result, Memphis can be used
as a stand-alone CD player without the need for the PC to be
switched on.

Said the source: "The speakers were designed with sound in
mind. It sounds like a hi-fi system. You have a CD-quality
sound card, why not have audio-quality speakers?"

Another result of user feedback is the stylish packaging.
The source told Newsbytes, "Memphis has a really striking,
modern design. It can double as an audio system as well as
playing computer multimedia CDs." For example, in a family
room or a student dorm room. It is also intended to be a
"less intimidating" unit.

The system consists of a chassis with CD audio controls, two
detachable speakers, an interface card that installs inside the PC,
a variety of pre-recorded CD-ROM titles, and all required cables.
Users can either install and configure the interface card
themselves, using the company's QuickStart software, or they
can have it installed by their local dealer.

In announcing the system, Greg Reznick, Media Vision's vice
president of marketing, said, "In the past, any multimedia
upgrade confronted consumers with a collection of pieces that
for many was too complicated, to difficult, and too daunting
to face. Media Vision's Memphis system has changed this. Now it
is easier, quicker, and more convenient to add multimedia
capabilities to a PC."

A single cable connects the system's chassis to the computer's
back panel. Each speaker is connected via a four-foot cable.
The company says that, when space is limited, the speakers
can remain attached to the chassis and the entire unit can be
placed under the computer monitor. However, better stereo
separation is possible with the speakers detached and set
upright up to eight feet apart.

For stand-alone CD operation, the power cord of the chassis is
plugged into any AC socket, without the device needing to be
plugged into a PC.

The Memphis features high-fidelity 16-bit 44.1 kH stereo sound;
a double-speed CD-ROM drive, capable of transferring data at
300 Kb-per-second with 350 millisecond access time; a
20-voice FM synthesizer; a software controllable mixer; game
port; and an industry-standard SCSI (Small Computer Systems
Interface) CD-ROM controller interface. Built-in MIDI (musical
instrument digital interface) support allows control of other
MIDI music instruments via the on-board MIDI connectors, or
the system can be controlled from an external music keyboard.

Memphis comes bundled with two multimedia CD titles:
Broderbund Software's Arthur's Teacher Trouble and Compton's
Interactive Encyclopedia.

The company says that the system is 100 percent compatible
with existing multimedia sound standards, including AdLib,
Sound Blaster, and Pro Audio 16. It also meets the Multimedia
PC Council's requirements for MPC Level 2 compliance and
supports Windows 3.1, Windows NT, OS/2 2.1, and NextStep.

Memphis is priced at $999, and is expected to become available
in the US in mid-October.

(Ian Stokell/19931007/Press Contact: Elizabeth Fairchild,
510-623-5856, Media Vision; Barbara Holtz or Abigail Johnson,
415-802-1850, Roeder-Johnson Corp.)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00030)

Broderbund's Print Shop Deluxe For Mac 10/07/93
NOVATO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 7 (NB) -- Just a month
after introducing The Print Shop Deluxe Companion for
Windows, Broderbund Software has announced The Print
Shop Deluxe for Macintosh.

Priced at $49.95, the company claims that The Print Shop Deluxe
allows users to create their own personalized designs or choose
from hundreds of ready-made layouts to create a variety of
documents, from letterheads and greeting cards to posters and
banners.

In announcing the product, Wade Person, product manager, said:
"This program combines the best of two worlds -- the intuitive
graphical interface of the Macintosh and the inherent design
intelligence of The Print Shop Deluxe family. (The product) has
something for everybody -- even a beginner can create
sophisticated projects with the utmost ease. And more
experienced Mac users will appreciate the wealth of features
and options for customizing their designs."

The company says that the software includes more than 300
object-oriented graphics, hundreds of ready-to-use layouts, 30
TrueType fonts, plus support for additional TrueType fonts
including Type 1 (with Adobe ATM 2.0 or later).

Text can be shrunk, stretched, rotated, flipped, scaled and
customized into more than 3,500 combinations -- all without
"jaggies," claims Broderbund.

Graphics can also be customized by adding such features as colors
and shading and users can import graphics in PICT format or use
the Exporter to convert Print Shop Deluxe graphics to EPSP and
PICT formats for use in other applications.

Minimum system requirements are a Macintosh with 68020
(or higher) microprocessor; System 7.0; a high density disk drive;
a hard drive with 6 megabytes (MB) of free space for installation
- the program occupies 4MB after installation; and 4MB of RAM.

Also, The Print Shop Deluxe Sampler Collection, Business
Collection and Comic Characters Collection of fonts are available
for about $29.95 each. The company says that the Sampler and
Business Collections each include more than 125 graphics and a
dozen fonts.

The Print Shop was first introduced in 1984. The company claims
that it has worldwide sales of more than six million units.

In early September, Newsbytes reported that the company had
begun shipping The Print Shop Deluxe Companion for Windows-
based personal computers for $39.95. The Print Shop Deluxe
Companion can be run independently or in combination with The
Print Shop Deluxe. The company also said that the Print Shop
Deluxe Companion includes more than 350 color graphics and
25 TrueType fonts.

(Ian Stokell/19931007/Press Contact: Dawn Montoya,
415-382-4637, Broderbund Software Inc.)