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/NB102993

Text File | 1993-10-29 | 68KB | 1,511 lines

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

IBM To Ship LAN NetView, LAN Distance 10/29/93
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 29 (NB) -- IBM is due to
begin shipping two new local-area network (LAN) products today.
LAN NetView is an extension of the company's system management
product line to the LAN arena. LAN Distance allows remote access
to a local-area network without a dedicated server.

All of the new products were shown at the NetWorld show in Dallas
in early October.

LAN NetView, for IBM and compatible personal computers, joins
versions of NetView for RISC System/6000 workstations and for IBM
mainframes running the MVS operating system. IBM said it will
allow network administrators to run IBM's other vendors' network
management applications on an assortment of LANs.

The software allows central management of clients running DOS,
Microsoft Windows, and IBM's OS/2. It also supports a variety of
network servers, the company said.

IBM said LAN NetView is the first network management product to
incorporate elements of the Open Software Foundation's
Distributed Management Environment (DME).

There are seven pieces. LAN NetView Manage is the management
framework. It costs $1,839. LAN NetView Enabler, priced at $89,
provides management services OS/2 clients. LAN NetView Agents for
DOS, $75, contains management agents for DOS and Windows. LAN
NetView Agents Extended, also $75, provides management agents for
OS/2 servers.

LAN NetView Monitor monitors the performance of OS/2 clients or
servers. It costs $795. LAN NetView Fix lets the system
administrator receive and deal with error messages from remote
sources. Its price is $1,249. LAN NetView Tie, $1,995, provides a
connection to NetView/MVS to allow central management from the
host system.

A package of LAN NetView Manage, Monitor, and Fix costs $3,495.

LAN Distance is remote access software that can work with
networks running IBM's LAN Server, Novell's NetWare, Banyan's
VINES, or Artisoft's LANtastic. It lets a remote system act like
any other LAN client, the company said.

IBM is due to ship both client and server portions of LAN
Distance for its OS/2 operating system today. A client for
Microsoft Windows has entered beta testing, but a date for
general shipment has not been set, company spokeswoman Deborah
Wood said.

Administration features in the software track remote connections
and log errors. For security, the software uses pass phrases (of
multiple words), which the company claimed offer better security
and are easier to remember than single passwords. Different
privileges can be assigned to different groups of users. The
software can also be set up to hang up and call back a remote
user at a predetermined number, a feature often used to ensure
that callers are who they say they are.

The LAN Distance Remote software costs $59. An eight-port
connection server is $595 and a server that can handle 32 ports
or more is $1,995.

IBM also announced a LAN systems certification program. The
company will test products from third parties and certify that
they work in multi-vendor networks.

The company also said it is offering distribution agreements to
third parties, allowing them to purchase its LAN Systems software
for bundling with their products.

(Grant Buckler/19931028/Press Contact: Deborah Wood, IBM,
512-823-3258)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00002)

New Canadian Telecom Act Takes Effect 10/29/93
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1993 OCT 29 (NB) -- Although the
nine-year reign of Canada's Progressive Conservative party ended
with an unprecedented electoral drubbing Monday, the defeated
government left behind it one legacy generally popular in
telecommunications circles. Its new Telecommunications Act came
into effect this week, replacing an 85-year-old law and almost
unifying a balkanized regulatory system.

The bill asserts federal jurisdiction over telecommunications
across Canada, although one province -- Saskatchewan -- will be
allowed to keep provincial regulation for five more years.

In the past most of Canada's telephone companies were
provincially regulated, while those in Ontario, Quebec, British
Columbia, and the Northwest Territories were regulated by the
federal government. Some provincial phone companies have accepted
federal jurisdiction in the past three years, since a 1989 court
decision that said the federal government had the right to
regulate all telecommunications companies.

That decision included companies owned by lower levels of
government, but said Ottawa must first assert its authority in
law. The new act does this. However, the act gives the province
of Saskatchewan -- which owns its own phone company and has
staunchly resisted federal regulation -- a five-year grace period
before it comes under federal control.

Joseph Schmidt, president of the Canadian Business
Telecommunications Alliance (CBTA), a lobby group of major
telecommunications users, earlier criticized this provision,
saying it gives the province "five more years to shut out
competition." But Schmidt said his group is pleased with the law
over all, and accepts that some compromises were necessary.

The Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC), also
supported the bill. A statement from ITAC said the law
"acknowledges that we are on the threshold of major telecom
transformations, and that Canada intends to be a leader in
telecom internationally."

Under the new law, the CRTC can decide not to regulate areas of
telecommunications where it judges there is enough competition to
serve as an alternative to regulation.

The act also removes regulations on companies that resell
telecommunications services, though all those that own their own
networks continue to be subject to regulation.

The original law, introduced in February, 1992, would have
required all telecommunications carriers in Canada to obtain
licenses from the federal government. It has since been amended
to remove the licensing provision, instead giving the Canadian
Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)
authority to enforce a rule limiting foreign ownership of
licensed carriers to 20 percent.

Earlier, Toronto telecommunications consultant Eamon Hoey said
the 20-percent limit on foreign ownership would effectively shut
out foreign investment, since no investor would want to pour
money into a venture in which it cannot hold a controlling
interest. Therefore, he forecast, no new telecommunications
competitors will appear.

(Grant Buckler/19931029/Press Contact: Paul Villeneuve, Dept. of
Communications, 613-990-4842; Joseph Schmidt, CBTA, 416-865-9993;
Bob Crow, ITAC, 416-602-8510 ext. 229)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEL)(00003)

Image Processing Software From India 10/29/93
BOMBAY, INDIA, 1993 OCT 29 (NB) -- Bombay-based Ravi Database
Consultants Pvt. Ltd., has launched the first version of its Image
Workbench (IWB), an image acquisition, storage, retrieval and
processing system.

The Rs 3.5 lakh to Rs 4 lakh (about $12,000) system comprises a PC
486 with a super video graphics array monitor, frame grabber card,
a database management system, and the IWB image processing software
and a charge coupled device (CCD) camera. A laser printer is an
optional add-on.

The software alone costs Rs 1.25 lakh. Says Rajesh Jain,
director, RDCPL, "The Workbench treats images as combinations of
256 grey shades as compared to the 40 to 50 shades which a human
eye can distinguish and the enhancement helps exposing hidden
information existing in the images."

He claims RDCPL to be the first company in India to take up
computerized image processing on a commercial basis.

Image Workbench can interface with any equipment which can produce
a video signal. It functions as an image enhancer and processor
to provide more details in the image. This technique is of use in
fields like medical (for tumor detection, blood vessel detection,
chromosome analysis, blood cell counting), industrial automation
(parts inspection on an assembly line, object analysis), process
industry (inspection and quality assurance of processed products),
metallurgy and materials science (structure and texture analysis
of materials, particle counting), forensics (fingerprint
matching, analysis in automated security systems), remote sensing
(classification of satellite images into urban, agricultural
and marine areas), character recognition (label reading, mail
sorting, bank cheque processing, text reading) and cartography
(map making from photographs, synthesis of weather maps).

Development of the product took about nine months.

(C. T. Mahabharat/19931029)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00004)

Japan's Akihabara Electronics Shopping Mall Suffers Slump 10/29/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 OCT 29 (NB) -- Tokyo's most active discount
electronics shopping mall area, "Akihabara," has been experiencing
extremely slow sales and two major shops have gone bankrupt.

Akihabara's Shintoku shop filed for liquidation this month.
Another major shop, Hirose Musen, will close at the end of
October, according to Japan's major newspaper, Asahi. The report
indicates that Hirose Musen is in 1.9 billion yen ($19 million)
of debt. As a result, this summer's bonus payment to its employees
was cut by half.

The sales of audiovisual equipment have been declining for
five years in a row now. Also, sales of air conditioners were
slow due to an unusually cool summer. One other factor is
the rapid appreciation of the Japanese yen -- the number of
foreign customers has declined dramatically.

There are 500 electronics shops in Akihabara which have
generally made 400 billion yen ($4 billion) per year. It is
expected that the amount will drop by about 10 percent this
year.

Despite the slump in the market, some shops are doing
well in Akihabara. They include Yamagiwa and Ishimaru Electronics
which sell lighting devices. Laox is also doing well with
sales of personal computers.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19931027)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00005)

Microsoft Doubling Tokyo Dealers 10/29/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 OCT 29 (NB) -- The Tokyo office of Microsoft has
unveiled a plan to increase its dealers in Japan. Microsoft
wants to nearly double its dealers by the end of this
year in an attempt to push sales of MS-Windows and other products.

Microsoft, Tokyo, has sent its employees to major personal
computer firms including Fujitsu and NEC, in order to give them
first-hand knowledge on the use of each personal computer.
Through this training, Microsoft hopes to give them not only
product information but technical knowledge as well. These
trained people will be dispatched to the dealer shops to
support customers.

Currently, Microsoft has 650 Microsoft Official Dealers in Japan.
The firm is sending two employees, called Microsoft Official
Trainers, to each shop. By the end of this year, Microsoft
hopes to increase its dealers to over 1,000. The firm aims to
bring in 25 billion yen ($250 million) in fiscal 1994, a
20-percent increase over fiscal 1993.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19931026/Press Contact: Microsoft,
Tokyo, [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(BOS)(00006)

CD-ROM Expo - Apple Previews Upgrade To Apple Media Tool 10/29/93
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 29 (NB) -- At CD-ROM Expo,
Apple is previewing the initial upgrade to an object-oriented,
crossplatform multimedia authoring environment known as the Apple
Media Tool.

In an interview with Newsbytes, Steve Sklepowich, product marketing
manager, said that the upcoming Version 1.01 will bring three new
features to the new development tool for non-programmers, adding up
to greater speed and multimedia functionality for title creators.

First launched in September as one of two components of the
Apple Media Kit, the Apple Media Tool is aimed at letting
multimedia designers use the Macintosh to assemble media for Mac
and Windows titles and add interactivity, all without scripting.

Media elements can include Quicktime movies, PICT images, AIFF or
WAVE sound files, and editable or noneditable text in rich text
format (RTF).

If Apple's speech technology, sprite animations, conditional
branching, or other highly sophisticated interactivity is desired,
the project can be saved as a text program and brought into the
Apple Media Tool Programming Environment, the second component of
the Apple Media Kit.

Although all development is done on the Mac, each title created
with the Apple Media Kit can be played back on both Macintosh and
Windows platforms, Sklepowich said. The Media Kit is also
forward compatible with ScriptX, an advanced object-oriented
programming environment now under development by Kaleida Labs, a
joint venture between Apple and IBM.

Sklepowich told Newsbytes that Version 1.01 of the Apple Media Tool
will let nonprogrammers develop titles more quickly by permitting
multiple objects to be brought into a program simultaneously. In
contrast, he explained, Version 1.0 requires objects to be brought
in one by one.

Version 1.01 will also add the ability to build media properties
and a movie controller into multimedia productions, Newsbytes was
told. The media properties can include transparencies, horizontal
and vertical scroll bars, and more.

The Apple Media Tool currently ships on seven floppies and one CD-
ROM disc. The floppies and CD-ROM disc each contain the Apple
Media Tool and Runtime Maker software. The CD-ROM disc also
provides four sample projects.

The first upgrade to the multimedia tool is slated for delivery by
the end of first quarter 1994, according to the Apple product
marketing manager.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19931029; Reader and press contact: Apple
Computer Inc., tel [phone])


(NEWS)(UNIX)(TYO)(00007)

Fujitsu's Notebook Color Unix Workstation 10/29/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 OCT 29 (NB) -- Fujitsu has released a
notebook-type Unix workstation equipped with a TFT (thin film
transistor) color display. The firm claims that this is the first
A4-size color notebook-type workstation in the industry.

Called the FMG-1500NX, it is sold at 780,000 yen ($7,800)
and although small in size, is heavy at 3kg. The color screen
supports 640 x 480 pixel mode.

The notebook workstation is equipped with Motorola's 20-megahertz
68030 processor and a 60 to a 240-megabyte hard disk. This
workstation will also operate Fujitsu's versions of MS-DOS
programs with the addition of an 80386SX board, inserted into
a socket of this workstation.

Fujitsu is currently preparing the release of various proprietary
programs including electronic mail, a print server, client server
and multiple transaction server.

Fujitsu expects to sell 40,000 workstations within two years.
Other Japanese personal computer makers including Toshiba
are also preparing to release low-cost color Unix workstations.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19931026/Press Contact: Fujitsu, +81-3-
3215-5236, Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00008)

French Bank Share Trading Jams French Stock Exchange 10/29/93
PARIS, FRANCE, 1993 OCT 29 (NB) -- The French Stock Exchange has
revealed that several hundred small "trades" in the newly issued
shares of the Banque Nationale de Paris last week almost caused the
stock exchange to grind to a halt.

Although computer engineers on the exchange battled for several
hours every day, the problem with "Group K" trades, as such sales
and buys are known, caused problems so severe for the exchange as a
whole that trading in them is being suspended at peak times.

This has caused more than a few headaches for anyone wishing to buy
and sell shares in Group K, which includes BNP stocks, as more often
than not, the latest traded price is not likely to be representative
of the buy/sell rate. As trading resumes, the price can go one way
or the other.

The problems has been caused because brokers can do -- and are doing --
trade shares on a one-by-one basis, taking advantage of price rises
and avoiding a slight dip in price whenever a sale of a block of
shares is required to be carried.

BNP shares have only been actively traded on the French exchange for
the last few weeks, meaning that no one is sure of the long-term
value of the stock. As a result, there has been a lot of buying and
selling of small trades as brokers nervously test the water.

Stock exchange authorities are watching the situation with interest
as, if the BNP share trades continue to close the exchange, it will
mean the exchange's computer capacity will have to be increased to
cope with the extra business, something that will add considerably
to the cost of share trading in France.

(Sylvia Dennis/19931029)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00009)

Ericsson Secures Russian Cellular Phone Project 10/29/93
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, 1993 OCT 29 (NB) -- Russia's public switched
telephone networks may be overloaded, but installing new networks
takes time and a lot of money, not least at the "local loop" -- the
subscriber's end of the line. So it comes as no surprise to learn
that sales of cellular phones have gone through the roof. It's
against this backdrop that Ericsson has secured a major cellular
deal with Bashinformsvyaz Telecom, the telecom company in the
Russian republic of the same name.

Terms of the contract call for the Swedish telecom giant to supply
and install a major AXE digital exchange, to be used as the heart of
a new cellular network spanning the region. An important spin-off
from the cellular network deal is that part of the AXE exchange can
be used for routing some trunk and international phone calls to and
from the region, so easing the strain on the existing network.

The exchange will, Newsbytes understands, be plugged into an NMT-450
cellular phone network that Ericsson has also contracted to supply
to the republic. Plans call for the network to initially service the
population of Ufa, the capital of the republic, before being slowly
rolled out to other city regions of the area.

What's interesting about the deal is that the republic is in the
southern part of Russia. The republic has a total population of
around four million, with its primary production being petrol and
petrol-based products. Ericsson claims that, if all goes well with
the installation, other contracts for far-flung areas of
the former Soviet empire will be forthcoming.

(Sylvia Dennis/19931029)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00010)

IBM Opens Production Line In Russia 10/29/93
ZELONOGRAD, RUSSIA, 1993 OCT 29 (NB) -- IBM has opened its first PC
production line in Zelonograd, a city near Moscow. PS/1 machines
have already started rolling off the IBM production line at the
Kvant factory of the Nauchnyy Tsentr science park.

All of the production plant and components were laboriously
transported from IBM's Greenock plant in Scotland. Future plans
call for components to be sourced from around the world and, if local
sources permit, from within Russia itself.

The Kvant factory was previously used for military equipment
product, but the authorities have allowed IBM to rent and re-equip
the factory to handle PC production, now that the cold war with the
West is over.

Officials in Kvant claim that, by the end of October, around 400 PCs
will have been produced at the facility. Plans are in hand for the
plant to produce around 2,000 PCs a month by the early part of next
year.

(Sylvia Dennis/19931029)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(WAS)(00011)

First Extended Temperature Flash Card From SunDisk 10/29/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 29 (NB) -- Santa Clara,
California-based SunDisk has begun shipping its SDP5I flash
memory cards which operate in relatively extreme conditions from
minus 13 degrees F (-25 C) to 167 F (75 C). Other flash cards
operate only between 32 F (0 C) and 140 F (60 C), and are
therefore just a bit more temperature tolerant than standard hard
disk drives.

Many computers, especially those used in scientific and
industrial applications, must operate in extreme temperature
ranges and until now there has been no acceptable storage device
which could match the range of other computer components.

Flash memory cards, which usually fit a Personal Computer
Memory Card Interface Association slot (PCMCIA) for adding
memory cards or peripherals, especially to laptops or notebooks,
provide rugged, low current, mass storage equivalents to hard
drives but without the delicate moving parts.

The new extended temperature FlashDisk cards are Type II (5
millimeters thick) PCMCIA PC-compatible and come in capacities
ranging from 1.8 megabytes ($250 each) to 40 MB ($2,500 each).

SunDisk has also announced that it will premier its new SDP5A-40
40 MN FlashDisk card, the highest-capacity solid-state storage on
the market, at its booth during this year's Fall COMDEX computer
dealer trade exposition scheduled for November 15-19 in Las
Vegas, Nevada.

(John McCormick/19931028/Press Contact: Bob Goligoski, SunDisk,
408-562-3463 or 408-562-0503)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00012)

More Cray Computer Inside Trading Revealed 10/29/93
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 29 (NB) -- Another
incident of possible insider trading in Cray Computer
Corporation stock has been revealed.

A California couple have been charged with avoiding more than
$20,000 in losses by selling Cray stock while in possession of
confidential company information. The woman is a former Cray
Computer employee.

Cray Computer Corp., was spun off Cray Research in 1989 and is led by
Seymour Cray. Since then Cray has sought a way to build much faster
supercomputers by using gallium arsenide instead of silicon for
critical elements of the machine.

This is at least the second incident of alleged insider trading that has
come to light. In late 1992 a senior lawyer at the Department of
Energy's Lawrence Livermore Laboratories was charged with insider
trading. The Securities and Exchange Commission charged that the man
made more than $27,000 by using insider information. He was accused
of "selling short," or selling borrowed shares after he learned that
Livermore Labs would cancel its $30 million contract to purchase the
first Cray-3 supercomputer. A settlement was reached in which the
attorney turned over his profits and paid an equal amount in fines.

In the current case a former Cray Computer administrative assistant
was allegedly told by her supervisor that the information about the
loss of the Livermore Labs contract was confidential and would not
be released until after the market closed that day. The woman
allegedly informed her husband who sold 4,000 shares of Cray
Computer common less than an hour before the markets closed on
December 23, 1991. Cray Computer stock dropped more than $5 per
share the day after the announcement. The SEC claims that the
couple's attorney said he hasn't seen the complaint yet, but denied
any wrongdoing by his clients. The SEC is reportedly seeking
repayment of the avoided losses plus fines and penalties.

The loss of the Livermore Labs contract was a major blow to Cray
Computer. Since that happened the company sought financial partners,
apparently without success, and in June found additional financing
through the sale of more stock - much of it to Seymour Cray. That
stock, about 12.9 million shares, was registered with the SEC
earlier this month. They also scaled back their development
process, saying they would work on a supercomputer with fewer
processors. Recently they installed a test unit at the National
Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. The company
has reported multi-million dollar losses for the past two quarters.
Cray Computer stock is currently selling at about $3.

(Jim Mallory/19931029/Press and reader contact: Cray Computer
Corporation, 719-579-6464)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00013)

New PowerPlay Release Does Multidimensional Data 10/29/93
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1993 OCT 29 (NB) -- Cognos Inc., has
announced an Administrator Edition of its PowerPlay data query
software. The most noteworthy feature of the new release is the
Transformer, software that organizes data into multiple
dimensions.

Company spokesman Colin McAlpin said there is a growing demand
for multidimensional data handling in decision-support tools like
PowerPlay, notably for sales analysis and manufacturing
applications. The idea is to be able to look at data from
different angles, easily switching among views that break down
the numbers by product line, sales territory, or time period, for
instance. The idea is similar to that of Lotus Development
Corp.'s Improv spreadsheet, which lets users rearrange the
spreadsheet rows and columns as if they were playing with a
Rubik's Cube.

The Transformer in PowerPlay also lets users set up an exception
condition as a data dimension, McAlpin said. For instance, sales
figures might be organized by whether they are below, within, or
above quotas, and the user could then zero in on products or
territories that are below quota and "drill down" to get more
detail on the problem areas.

The Transformer can take data from various relational databases,
spreadsheets, and text files and reformat it as text file
information. While users might take such data into a spreadsheet
program and then reformat it themselves, Cognos officials said
their software automates the process, saving time and money.

The PowerPlay Administrator, now shipping in volume and available
directly from Cognos, is priced at C$895 or US$795. An end-user
version with the Transformer is C$795 or US$695. A full-function
version of the PowerPlay Administrator is available, one per
customer, at C$325 or US$299.

(Grant Buckler/19931028/Press Contact: Colin McAlpin, Cognos,
613-738-1440 ext. 3150; Public Contact: Cognos, 800-267-2777 or
613-738-1440)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00014)

Canada - AGT Brings Phone Mail To All Calgary Phones 10/29/93
CALGARY, ALBERTA, CANADA, 1993 OCT 29 (NB) -- AGT Ltd., the
telephone company serving most of Alberta, has extended its trial
of a phone-mail service not quite like any other offered by a
North American phone company.

AGT's TalkMail, which was already being tested in Medicine Hat,
Alberta, is based on technology similar to that providing call
answering services in other areas. But unlike those services,
TalkMail allows any caller to leave a message for anyone in the
areas served. Neither the caller nor the person called must
previously have subscribed to the service, and it is the caller,
rather than the recipient of the message, who pays.

If an AGT subscriber in Calgary or Medicine Hat calls a number in
either of those areas and gets no answer or hears a busy signal,
he or she can hang up the phone, then pick it up again and dial *99
(or 1199 on rotary-dial phones). The caller can then leave a
message as much as one minute long. When the person called next
picks up the phone, a broken dial tone will signal that a message
is waiting. Some phones have flashing lights for this purpose. To
retrieve the message, the subscriber dials *98 (or 1198 on a
rotary dial phone). The caller pays 25 cents per message or,
said AGT spokesman Tim Feist, callers can buy packages of 100
messages for C$10.

Feist said AGT worked with IBM to develop the system, which the
company believes is the first of its kind. Most phone company
message services require that the recipient subscribe to a
service and pay a monthly fee, and all callers then hear a
recorded message like that from an answering machine.

With TalkMail as with other telcos' phone messaging services,
phone subscribers can retrieve their messages from any phone
using a pass code. They can do this from outside their own local
calling areas. However, callers from outside the areas served
cannot leave messages, nor can Calgary and Medicine Hat callers
leave messages for people outside those areas. AGT does plan to
extend the service to other areas that it serves, Feist said, but
dates have not been set. AGT does not serve Calgary's other major
city, Edmonton, which has its own local phone company.

(Grant Buckler/19931028/Press Contact: Tim Feist, AGT,
403-530-3996)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(HKG)(00015)

Hong Kong - Loophole Lets AT&T Offer Long Distance Services 10/29/93
WANCHAI, HONG KONG, 1993 OCT 29 (NB) -- The exclusive franchise
for outward international telecommunications traffic in Hong
Kong has long been held by Hong Kong Telecom, formerly Cable
& Wireless Hong Kong.

Although the monopoly franchise for voice services runs until 2006,
Hutchison AT&T has bypassed the exclusive terms of the
franchise by offering its existing customers voice services on
circuits which it has leased in Canada.

Hutchison AT&T did not outline details of its new services but
in a report in the South China Morning Post, the territory's
major English language newspaper, there was speculation that
the company was leasing 800-numbers from Teleglobe Canada and
then repackaging and reselling that capacity in Hong Kong.

Using the 800-number system in an unusual way, the company ensures
that any call from Hong Kong is actually charged as an international
call from Canada, thus by-passing the monopoly in Hong Kong.

Mr John Kyriaco, managing director of Hutchison AT&T, said that
the company was wary of upsetting Hong Kong Telecom but he
added that the company would continue to pursue new revenue
streams wherever regulatory conditions and profitable opportunity
allowed.

(Keith Cameron/19931015/Press Contact: John Kyriaco, Hutchison
AT&T)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00016)

Unisys Completes Computervision GIS Buyout 10/29/93
BLUE BELL, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 29 (NB) -- Unisys Corp.,
has completed its purchase of System 9 geographic information
systems (GIS) technology and related expertise from
Computervision Corp., of Bedford, Massachusetts.

Unisys will take over the System 9 trademarks and will support
existing System 9 users. The purchase price and terms were not
disclosed.

The companies said most of Computervision's System 9 personnel
have accepted new positions at Unisys. Unisys spokeswoman Judith
Maxfield said between 40 and 50 former Computervision employees
have been hired so far, with some offers still outstanding.

Officials said the deal reflects the long-term strategies of both
companies. Unisys wants to move further into GIS, while
Computervision wants to focus on its core business in
computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) software and
services.

Unisys has been doing integration and installation work in GIS
for several years, the company said. In a statement, Clive
Ingham, vice-president of commercial marketing, said System 9
will become a foundation for the firm's continued investment in
GIS.

(Grant Buckler/19931029/Press Contact: Judith K. Maxfield,
Unisys, 215-986-2243; Barbara Marx, Computervision, 617-275-1800)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00017)

Vietnam - Digital Open Systems Conference 10/29/93
TAI KOO SHING, HONG KONG, 1993 OCT 29 (NB) -- Digital Equipment
Corporation successfully presented Vietnam's first conference
on advanced systems for top scientists and officials in Hanoi
earlier this month.

According to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment
(MOSTE), which hosted the conference, the aim of the seminar was
to familiarize high-ranking Vietnam government officials and
computer scientists with the latest computing and information
technology from the United States.

Around 160 people attended the conference, which was held at
the Military Guest House in Hanoi. They included representatives from
the Office of the Prime Minister, MOSTE, the State Bank of Vietnam,
and other financial institutions, and representatives from ministries
involved with planning, public administration, telecommunications,
oil and gas exploration, education and training, infrastructure
development and construction.

Digital assembled technology and product experts from seven countries
and eight business units to present information and lead the
discussions.

"Digital Equipment Corporation was the first US information technology
company to come to Vietnam to meet with us in January," said
Professor Tran Van Dac, director of the Technology Promotion
Department at the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment.

"Over the last nine months, we have had many meetings with Digital to
discuss how the company can use its products and services to create
an information technology infrastructure that will support economic
growth of the people of Vietnam. This successful conference is one
positive result."

The conference theme, Open Systems, covered Digital's products
and services, such as the Alpha AXP family of 64-bit RISC processors
and operating systems such as OpenVMS, OSF/1, Digital's Unix system,
and Windows NT. Digital's network hardware, software and services,
such as network management services, were featured together with
a presentation on the benefits of Digital's line of PCs.

According to Maureen Flanagan, Digital's business development manager
for Vietnam, the country's major need is networks. "Most systems
installed in Vietnam today are stand-alone PCs, "she explained.
"Government ministries and computer planners intend to use these
systems as a base on which to grow the country's information
technology future. Digital's open systems, client-server technology
is ideal for the Vietnamese environment."

(Keith Cameron/19931020/PRESS CONTACT: Bonnie Engel, Digital,
852 - 805 3510)


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

Desktop Publishing Comes To Windows NT 10/29/93
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 29 (NB) -- When software
developers got together at the Seybold Conference in San Francisco
earlier this month one of the hot product lines being shown was
desktop publishing software for Windows NT. Microsoft Chairman Bill
Gates came to close the conference by demonstrating some ISV
(independent software vendors) software.

Fifteen ISVs from the publishing world showed off the Windows-based
products at the Microsoft booth, while others were scattered
elsewhere around the show floor. At least 10 companies were showing
Windows NT and Windows NT Advanced Server-based programs.

Adobe was there with its Adobe CPSI raster image processor (RIP) on
Windows NT. Autologic was demonstrating SoftPIP on a Digital Alpha
AXP-based machine driving an Agfa SelectSet 5000, the AGT photo CD
authoring system. Graphic Enterprises, Compumation and Archetype
were showing Postscript spooling and RIP programs, and Harlequin
demonstrated Scriptworks for Windows NT on a 486. Color Age showed
its first digital color copier connectivity technology, and
Micrografx demonstrated its multithreaded Windows NT imaging
application, Picture Publisher 4.0. Aldus was showing Freehand 4.0.

Robb Kerr, president of the Windows Prepublishing Association, says
Windows will replace the Macintosh for desktop publishing before the
end of the decade. "We see the Windows platform growing twice as
fast as the Macintosh for publishing solutions," said Kerr. With
products such as Pagemaker 5.0, Photoshop and QuarkXPress now
available for Windows, the Intel price-performance advantage, the
power and functionality of Windows NT, and the huge installed base
of Windows operating systems in corporation and institutions, we
expect Windows to become the platform of choice for publishing over
the next five years."

During Gates' keynote speech, which closed the conference, he
demonstrated Photoshop for Windows from Adobe and Picture Publisher
4.0 for Windows NT from Micrografx, showing how symmetric
multiprocessing can improve performance by dividing the computing
tasks among several processors.

Microsoft spokesperson Beverley Flower told Newsbytes Microsoft is
listening to the feedback it gets from software developers and will
be responsive to as much of that information as is feasible. "We
will be incorporating it into the next version of the Windows
operating system," said Flower.

Gates said Microsoft is committed to desktop publishing and
announced a deal with Hewlett-Packard to include TrueType fonts with
HP printers.

(Jim Mallory/19931029/Press contact: Beverley Flower, Microsoft
Corp, 206-882- 8080; Reader contact: Microsoft Corp, 206-882-8080 or
800-426-9400)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00019)

Nextel To Lead Specialized Mobile Radio 10/29/93
RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 29 (NB) -- In a complex
series of transactions involving, among other companies,
Motorola, Nextel Communications Inc., has set itself up to become
the largest owner of specialized mobile radio frequency licenses
within a year. The moves will help it create a nationwide network
of digital wireless phone systems to compete with cellular phone
operators.

Such a network has long been the dream of NexTel head Brian
McAuley. The company was called Fleet Call Inc., until earlier
this year. McAuley, a former FCC attorney, wants to use digital
technology from Motorola called Enhanced Specialized Mobile
Radio, or ESMR, to increase the calling capacity of his licensed
frequencies, and to use networks of small low-powered antennae to
offer voice and data service just like cellular phone companies.
At that point a nationwide network of SMR licenses could compete
directly with cellular phone operators for the business of large
companies.

SMR licenses, however, are given out on a channel-by-channel
basis, while cellular phone licenses are given out in larger
blocks. There may be many SMR licensees in any particular market,
each holding different blocks at different frequencies. Having a
license in a market, therefore, is not the same for SMR service
providers as it is for cellular phone operators, who have one of
two designated sets of channels in each city where they offer
service.

SMR licenses were given out in the early 1980s and were supposed
to offer single-channel calling services from single antennae.
But early on, Federal Express Inc., acquired licenses around the
country and combined them into a data network for use in tracking
packages. Later, companies like Racotek Inc., of Minneapolis began
offering digital equipment to expand companies' use of the
frequencies. But until recently, most licenses were local, and
most services were voice-only, mainly for things like taxi and
ambulance dispatching. Motorola, which has urged licensing of
the SMR spectrum -- at around 800 MHz it's lower in frequency
than cellular operations -- quickly became the largest SMR
licensee, and has retained that position to this day.

In the latest transaction, Nextel said it is buying PowerFone
Holdings Inc., for $370 million in stock, currently worth about
$49 per share. It's the fourth major transaction announced by
Nextel in just the last two weeks. Earlier, it agreed to buy
Questar Telecom Inc., and a unit of Advanced Mobilecomm Inc., for
$290 million, expanding into San Diego and Las Vegas. It also
agreed to take a $490 million equity interest in CenCall
Communications Inc., in exchange for its licenses in several
Western and Midwestern states. Separately, Motorola agreed to
sell about half its SMR licenses to CenCall and another company,
DialPage, in exchange for $1.22 million in stock from both those
companies.

CenCall, DialPage, Nextel and other companies will all in time
install the ESMR technology in their licensed systems and work on
the equivalent of "roaming" technology and financial agreements,
allowing callers to access a nationwide network of SMR service
just as they can now buy nationwide cellular roaming service. A
spokesman for Nextel said that, after all the deals are
completed, Nextel will be the nation's largest SMR licensee,
supplanting Motorola in that position.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19931029/Press Contact: Walt Plasy, Nextel,
201-438-1400)


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

PacTel Spin-Off Strategy Questioned By Analyst 10/29/93
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 29 (NB) --Pacific
Telesis' strategy of spinning-out its wireless units seems to be
unraveling, and the opportunities missed while it's been obsessed
with the question could cost Chairman Sam Ginn his job. That's
the view of Michael Killen, president of Killen & Associates, who
discussed the results of his new report on the company with
Newsbytes.

The spin-off was just a bad business decision, which has driven
the company's entire strategy, he said. "Two years ago they
announced they would divest Pacific Bell -- 90% of the company,"
he said. "After they made that announcement they discovered Wall
Street was not enthusiastic. We think Pacific Telesis should have
known that before the announcement. It's a simple thing to call
investment bankers and ask them that before you make a public
press release and get people stirred up.

"They had to back away from selling Pacific Bell, and decided to
spin off PacTel," the wireless arm. Top executives just "want to
get away -- they don't like the California regulatory
environment."

The gold mine Chairman Sam Ginn and his chief lieutenants saw
was the emerging market for personal communications services,
networks in the microwave frequencies between 1.8-2.2 GHz
where spectrum is due to be auctioned by the US government
next year. The spin-off was based on the idea that regional
Bell companies might be prevented from being players in
PCS, and the idea was to position Pacific Telesis and
its subsidiaries to ensure maximum spectrum in the auction. "They
were frantic about being excluded from the bidding process,"
Killen said. "In the end no one was excluded."

Based on the rules adopted by the FCC last month, "Pacific
Telesis, the holding company, can go and bid on 30 MHz of licenses
outside its own territory throughout the US. That's an open
opportunity. PacTel, the cellular unit, can go and increase its
spectrum by 10 MHz," a 50% increase, "wherever it has a license
now.

"All those machinations were unnecessary," Killen concluded, and
meanwhile Ginn and his chief lieutenants were ignoring important
opportunities elsewhere. "They took a look at video on demand and
cable and said they're not real. Actually top level executives
told me personally they had taken a look at the Bell Atlantic
cable numbers and said they couldn't make money. So they sold
their cable operations in England and put all their focus on
wireless. All of a sudden US West made its Time Warner
investment, and the people on Kearny Street" in San Francisco,
where Pacific Telesis is based, "started to wiggle in their
chairs. When Ray Smith and John Malone announced their deal, they
said 'oh god, we've had blinders on.'"

Bell Atlantic-TCI doesn't just threaten PacTel's wireless
strategy, Killen believes, but its home market. "Bell Atlantic and
TCI are looking to get PCS licenses throughout the state of
California, especially where TCI has its cable plant. (Pacific
Telesis) didn't think about advanced television, and didn't
think another RBOC would ... come into their territory."

What happens next? "I think they may not go ahead with the spin-
off. They've been having intense discussions the last few days,
trying to get the amount of money ratepayer advocates are
demanding" as the price of allowing the spin-off "reduced from $1
billion to something more manageable.

He says that the board of directors, taking a look at the
strategic position Pacific Telesis is in now, has told the
negotiators "you can pay a little, but if it's real money,
refuse, let the deal blow up, pull our horns back and start
thinking about big strategic moves that will give PacTelesis
and its companies more options."

Someone has to be held responsible for these mistakes, and
Killen feels it should be Chairman Ginn. "His plan was to
leave for PacTel," and Pacific Bell head "Phil Quigley was
supposed to take over. It's going to be difficult if the
spin-off doesn't go through. Phil will be bent out of shape.
Sam didn't want to stay there in the first place. The board
urged Sam to go with the wireless side."

Killen says he got a lot of insight into all this when he sought
an interview with both men. "I make TV shows, and I invited both
Sam and Phil to come on my show. Sam's people accepted. Phil's
people declined. Two weeks later Sam's people withdrew him."

Meanwhile, the clock is ticking on the spin-off. "Tuesday is the
next date on which the California PUC has agreed to air the
matter. Ginn had said if they don't rule by November 1 they've
made it difficult to go ahead."

Meanwhile MCI has drawn hundreds of companies large and small
into an alliance aimed at forming a national network of PCS
providers, which was PacTel's grand design all along.

Killen, meanwhile, has moved ahead on PCS himself, preparing a
series of executive video briefings on the PCS auction process
for release next month.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19931029/Press Contact: Killen & Associates,
Jules Street, 415/323-3842)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00021)

Roundup - Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 10/29/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 29 (NB) -- Roundup is a brief
look at some computer stories carried in other publications
received here this past week.

Communications Week dated October 25 carries a large special
Mobile Computing supplement which contains industry forecasts
along with a list of all major suppliers.

Network World for the week of the 25th says that more than 65
percent of surveyed industry insiders think that the Regional
Bell Operating Companies (Baby Bells) should be released from
most federal government restrictions.

CD-ROM Today for November-December carries a review of four cache
programs that can speed CD-ROM as well as hard drives and offers
a basic introduction to MIDI technology.

(John McCormick/19931029/)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00022)

The Enabled Computer 10/29/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 29 (NB) -- By John McCormick.
The Enabled Computer is a regular Newsbytes feature covering
news and important product information relating to high
technology aids for the disabled.

A little housekeeping is the first item on this issue's agenda.

The Enabled Computer BBS at 814-277-6337 is still in operation
but, due to a major loss of funding from the now-defunct Computer
Monthly Magazine, I am only able to operate it on weekends, so
don't waste your money trying to call except from Friday night
through early Monday morning because the number is used by a fax
machine during the week. I hope to return to 24-hour operation at
some time in the future.

My BBS, which is based on The Major BBS software, carries a lot
of old Enabled Computer columns and hundreds of shareware
programs and files useful to disabled computer users. Most of the
same information is available from other sources, so by all means
use a local BBS which supports enabling technologies if you know
of one in your area.

For those of you who have just encountered this column, I want to
mention that the Job Accommodation Network offers a good toll-
free BBS at 800-342-5526 for the use of individuals and
businesses needing information on adaptive technology which will
help companies comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

More and more publications are picking up this column, and I
appreciate hearing from both the publishers and their readers. I
welcome mail and reply to all of it unless it gets lost in the
press releases and other junk mail, so if you want to contact me
just drop me an e-mail on GEnie at NB.WAS or if you are reading
The Enabled Computer in print write in care of the local
publisher.

I recently got a couple of notes which were passed along by the
publisher of Portland Computer Bits in Forest Grove, Oregon. One
of them, from Irv L. of Florida, asks for some advice on
assembling an inexpensive word processor system for a visually
impaired friend.

The first specific question relates to what MS-DOS word processor
software would be simple to operate using mostly the standard
typewriter keys (as opposed to function keys) and if possible
would include an enlarged font option.

The letter didn't specify what the person would be writing, but
if it is more than just an occasional letter I would recommend a
combination of two programs. WordPerfect, although it has a lot
of complex options, is actually easy to use if you ignore those
extra tools and you can easily customize its operation. That,
along with the fact that it is the most widely used word
processor in the US, makes it a prime choice, especially if you
can get your hands on an older version such as release 4.1 which
doesn't have all the fancy font and graphics support that you
probably don't need anyway.

To get enlarged text I suggest adding BIG for WordPerfect, a $40
program from Hexagon Products, P.O. Box 1295, Park Ridge, IL
60068, 708-692-3355.

A second part of the question involved the addition of voice
synthesis to the text creation program. Although he asks about a
sound card, I would suggest adding a voice through the Covox
Speech Thing which connects directly to the parallel printer port
(the printer can remain connected too), doesn't occupy an
expansion slot, and can also be used with laptops.

The Speech Thing comes complete with software to read ASCII files
and it does specifically work with one word processor, QWERTY,
from HFK Software, 68 Wells Road, Lincoln, MA 01773.

Using Speech Thing in conjunction with First Byte's Monologue
software should provide all the speech synthesis most users need,
but for a more sophisticated system you can look at the products
from GW Micro, 310 Racquet Drive, Ft. Wayne, IN 46825, which
provides powerful speech synthesis boards for PCs.

First Byte is located at 19840 Pioneer Ave., Torrance, CA 90503.

On a totally different subject, my old television station, WGBH
in Boston, where I worked in the late 60s, has begun offering
classic and modern movies on VHS video tape in a special
descriptive video format intended for visually impaired users.

As seen occasionally on some obscure cable networks, descriptive
videos include the normal video and sounds, along with carefully
planned audio descriptions of the action - sort of the vision-
impaired equivalent of closed captioning.

Produced by the Descriptive Video Service of the WGBH Educational
Foundation, these video tapes cost between $15 and $30, about in
line with the standard commercial versions of the same movies.
For a catalog (specify large print or Braille), write DVS Home
Video, 125 Western Avenue, Boston, MA 02134, 800-736-3099.

WGBH has always had a fond place in my heart because of the time
I spent there and all the wonderful people I met who included
Julia Child, Thalassa Cruso (gardening expert), Dave Garroway (TV
personality and founder of the NBC Today show), Bill Veeck
(baseball sports legend), and many others.

GBH produces such shows as Nova and Masterpiece Theatre, but this
isn't a plug for them because they need the money. Rather, I
have included this information because I think it is an important
service which will be of interest to many readers.

GBH was also a pioneer in closed captioning but these descriptive
videos require no special equipment, just a standard TV and VHS
player because the descriptions are inserted in the normal audio
track during dialog breaks.

(John McCormick/19931029/)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(BOS)(00023)

CD-ROM Expo - DinoSource, Theseus and Zeep For Kids 10/29/93
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 29 (NB) -- Lake Ariel, PA
isn't exactly an urban center, the kind of place where artists
typically congregate. But at Westwind Media, a company
headquartered in that rural Pennsylvania community, a colony
consisting of graphic designers, writers, and a music composer is
busily at work creating CD-ROM titles for children.

This week, the Westwind employees have travelled to Boston to
display some of the results at CD-ROM Expo. In a booth on the show
floor, CD-ROM fans from throughout the world are viewing the
vendor's first three titles: "DinoSource," "Meet the Wild Zeep!,"
and "Theseus: Caught in the Maze of Minos."

Top quality animation, fast action, and catchy tunes are especially
important in creating work for young CD-ROM users, due to
children's relatively short attention spans, staff members said
during an interview in the Westwind booth.

But Westwind also instills educational content, along with a "moral
to the story," the employees emphasized. In a series of demos for
Newsbytes, Tim Howland, director of sales and marketing, gave
examples from all three works.

Howland told Newsbytes that "Meet the Wild Zeep!" is a CD-ROM
storybook that aims to teach reading skills and "stick-to-it-
iveness" to kids in the pre-kindergarten to fourth grade age
groups by taking them along on the adventures of Zeep.

In one of the three tales, the purple-and-green, Eggplant-shaped
Zeep accidentally swallows a cloud. The cartoon character then
becomes a cloud himself. But he never gives up on returning to his
former self, and manages to succeed in time to get back home for
his dinner appointment.

Zeep plays 72 violins, and children are able to hear them all.
Graphics and animation used in the title were rendered in 3D, 24-
bit color software on an Amiga, before being brought to the
Macintosh and the MPC (Multimedia PC) Windows platforms, where they
are seen in 8-bit color.

The title contains a text version of the tales, as well as full
voice narration. Children can check out the meaning of difficult
words, and hear them pronounced, by highlighting the words. Slated
for release December 1, "Zeep!" is priced at $59.

"Theseus," a Greek mythological tale on CD-ROM, is targeted at
grades 5 through 12. Through text, narration, originally composed
music, and hundreds of hand-drawn illustrations, viewers trace the
journey of Theseus on the Road to Athens. Along the way, the hero
meets and conquers a pair of evil men, and also encounters
Adriadne, a young woman in search of independence, and Ariadne's
teacher, Daedalus.

By clicking with a mouse, kids can bring up genealogical charts of
Greek gods and heroes, maps, a glossary and index, and other
background information and reference tools. "Theseus" is also
scheduled to ship December 1, at a price of $59. Like Zeep!," the
title runs on the Mac and MPC Windows.

A third title, "DinoSource," is already shipping for the Mac, and
is now being readied for December 1 availability on MPC Windows.
The title is targeted at teaching children age 6 and up, as well as
adults, about our prehistoric past through a pair of interactive
games, "Dinosaur Dig" and "Dinosaur Dilemma," and two additional
sections, "Dinosaur Database" and "Fact and Fiction."

"There are other dinosaur titles on the market, but I think ours is
clearly the best," Howland told Newsbytes. In "Dinosaur Dig,"
participants must locate a key, equipment and a pilot before
departing for Raptor Ridge, a fictional island off the coast of
North America. Once there, they look for fossils buried in the
rock, and identify the dinosaurs they find, based on clues that
emerge during the dig.

"Dinosaur Dilemma" is a lively section, complete with jazzy music
and sound effects. patterned after a game show. Players compete to
complete a dinosaur skeleton by correctly answering questions in
five categories: "Time & Place," "Anatomy," "Diet," "Mystery," and
"Classification."

Viewers can "bone up" for the dig and dilemma game by working with
"Dinosaur Database" and "Fact and Fiction." The database contains
rendered illustrations and textual information about more than 200
dinosaurs, said Howland. "Fact and Fiction" explores the truth
about such topics as what dinosaurs were, as far as we know; what
times were like when dinosaurs ruled; and when and why the animals
became extinct.

"DinoSource" also offers 5 CD-audio tracks of original music that
are playable on any CD player. The tunes include "Tyrannosaurus
Rob," "Textures," "Long Green 'n' Lumpy," "Tribal Trouble," and
"Dawn." The CD-ROM title is priced at $99 for the Mac version and
$79 for the upcoming MPC Windows edition.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19931029/Press and reader contact: Westwind
Media, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00024)

Wordperfect Office 4.0 To Integrate MCI Mail Functions 10/29/93
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 29 (NB) -- Wordperfect Corporation
has announced an agreement with MCI for the two companies to
integrate Wordperfect Office 4.0 with MCI Mail.

The agreement calls for Wordperfect Office post offices to be
incorporated into the MCI Mail network, enabling WordPerfect
Office users to exchange electronic mail with users outside
the WordPerfect Office system. That eliminates the need for
additional connectivity software.

WPCorp says the new capability will be available to all WP
Office 4.0 users, whether they are operating in a
LAN environment or on a mobile computer. Office 4.0 users
will also be able to exchange electronic mail with users
on any of the 54 public electronic mail services in 40
countries that are interconnected with MCI's messaging
service to exchange faxes, telexes and paper-based services.

WPCorp says the Office 4.0-MCI Mail combination will greatly
simplify messaging among mobile users and facilitate the
creation of "virtual global networks." The company expects
the new messaging services to be available during the
second quarter of 1994.

According to Carla LaFever, MCI director of marketing for MCI
global messaging services, this alliance will make things
easier for network administrators. "Administrators can
off-load the management of their intra-enterprise LAN
messaging network to MCI. Users will get seamless
connectivity to off-net electronic mail and other messaging
services."

(Jim Mallory/19931029/Press contact: Brian Chapman, Wordperfect
Corp, 801-228-5037, Jane Levene, MCI, 914-934-6480; Reader
contact: Wordperfect Corp, 801-225-5000 or 800-451-5151, fax 801-
222-5077)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SFO)(00025)

Wireless Pen Computing For Truckers 10/29/93
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 29 (NB) -- Wireless
communications technologies are especially attractive to
industries involving transportation and large field-based sales
forces. Now Fujitsu Personal Systems Inc., has signed a deal with
Transdatanet Corp., to provide integrated wireless mobile systems
for the trucking industry.

Under the terms of the agreement, Transdatanet will integrate
Fujitsu's 325Point pen-based mobile computers with its forms-
based trucking application software. The mobile system will
use Motorola's cellular modems and other PCMCIA modem cards.

The companies maintain that the resulting mobile systems are
designed to "make delivery verification, dispatch communications,
messaging, and vehicle monitoring easier and more efficient by
providing drivers with real-time access to dispatch information
for pick-ups and deliveries."

According to the companies, the systems will reduce operating
costs, increase driver productivity, and improve the quality of
the data collected.

In announcing the deal, Jim Fleming, executive vice president
of Transdatanet, said: "Providing integrated mobile systems
based on Fujitsu's 325Point enables us to increase our
customers' competitiveness by automating driver documentation,
giving them immediate invoicing and signature capture
capabilities. The protocol provided by our software consumes
less time and space, and decreases the amount of errors
typically found in bills-of-lading, driver's logs, and
vehicle condition reports."

The companies say the Fujitsu 325Point running Transdatanet's
application software is easy to use, with pen-based capabilities
that can be easily operated using only one hand. They also maintain
that it will also support custom in-vehicle "cradle" mounting so
mobile devices can be safely affixed during travel and easily
removed during deliveries and pick-ups.

Transdatanet specializes in transportation productivity. The
company plans to extend its service bureau approach of
automating documentation to rail, air and oceanic
transportation.

Early in October Newsbytes reported that Fujitsu Personal
Systems had announced the PadPlus RF pen-based computer with
wireless communications built-in. The PadPlus RF incorporates
the Proxim RangeLAN wireless adapter and radio inside the
computer, complete with retractable antenna.

(Ian Stokell/19931029/Press Contact: Bill Wittmann,
408-764-9484, Fujitsu Personal Systems; Jim Fleming,
206-737-9790, Transdatamet Corp.)


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

Cypress To Acquire Performance Semiconductor 10/29/93
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 29 (NB) -- Cypress
Semiconductor Corp., has signed a letter of intent to acquire
Performance Semiconductor Corp., in an asset purchase.

According to the companies, they are both "performing due
diligence regarding the proposed acquisition which is subject to
completion of a definitive agreement and regulatory approvals."

Cypress Semiconductor designs, develops, and manufactures of a
broad line of digital integrated circuits, fabricated using its
proprietary 0.5-, 0.65- and 0.8-micron CMOS (complimentary
metal oxide semiconductor) and BiCMOS technologies. Cypress
also offers a range of products, including PLDs (programmable
logic devices), static RAMs, CMOS PROMs (programmable read-only
memories), high-speed ECL (emitter-coupled logic) devices,
multichip modules, frequency synthesizer products, and data
communications products.

Performance Semiconductor claims to use advanced CMOS
technology to serve identified market segments. Its product line
includes the PR4000 and PR3000 MIPS microprocessors, and the
PACE1750A military standard processor.

No one was available for comment at either company by
Newsbytes deadline.

(Ian Stokell/19931029/Press Contact: John Hamburger,
408-943-2902, Cypress Semiconductor)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(BOS)(00027)

CD-ROM Expo - System For Distributing Software On CD-ROM 10/29/93
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 29 (NB) -- In a press
briefing this week at CD-ROM Expo, Digital Delivery introduced CD
Product Portfolio, a system for distributing software on CD-ROM
using "lock and key" technology.

Mark Hastings, company president, explained that the system lets
publishers ship CD-ROMs containing demonstration and locked full
versions of their products at low cost. Users can browse through
the previews and instantly purchase the full version from the same
CD.

The new system consists of three components, Hastings said. The
Digital Delivery tool is an application employed by end users for
browsing, unlocking and installing software from the CD-ROM disc.

Title Builder is a tool that publishers can use to assemble discs,
add search and retrieval capabilities, encrypt software, and port
CD-ROM titles between Macintosh, Windows and Sun platforms. Key
Safe is the key generation module used by the publisher to
authorize access to products.

"Not much of the software on the market uses encryption yet,"
Hastings stated. But that situation will change soon, particularly
as vendors try to circumvent the rising problem of software piracy,"
he predicted.

CD Product Portfolio differs from its relatively few competitors in
several ways, he maintained. First, Digital Delivery licenses all
source and object code to the publisher, giving the publisher full
control over security.

Second, a one-time license fee covers all licensing, meaning that
publishers do not have to pay continuing charges, he added. "And
third, we have the most complete production tool on the market," he
asserted.

In a demonstration on the show floor, Newsbytes saw how Title
Builder allows fast custom assembly of CD-ROM discs. By pointing
and clicking, publishers can determine which titles will be
included on a disc, and on what platforms they will run.

Text search capabilities can be added by assigning key words.
Vendors can also instill the ability to search image, sound and
video files by attributes, such as colors or subject content.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19921029/Press and reader contact: Digital
Delivery, tel [phone])


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

Olivetti, BT, Team Up On ISDN Videoconferencing 10/29/93
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1993 OCT 29 (NB) -- British Telecom and Olivetti
have teamed up to market what they claim is one of the most cost-
effective videoconferencing systems on the market, the
VC8000/PCC system.

The system consists of BT's VC8000 visual communications hardware
and Olivetti's Personal Communications Computer (PCC) software. The
PC card costs around UKP 3,000, while the software costs UKP 595.

According to Andy Irvine, sales and marketing manager with BT's
visual communications division, the system effectively turns a PC
into a full videoconferencing system that uses BT's integrated
services digital network (ISDN) service to route calls.

"There's nothing else like it on the market. We're selling the card
to Olivetti, who are routing the card and software through their
outlets. We're getting a very positive reaction," he told Newsbytes.

A new survey by Olivetti of major UK companies testing the PCC
technology has revealed that a PCC or similar system would have to
be used, on average, for only seven hours a week to be cost
effective. According to BT, one multinational consultancy estimated
that, once fully installed, PCC would save their company, around UKP
500,000 per year in European travel costs alone.

The survey, which covered the financial services and consultancy
sectors, also showed that after their experience as a test site, 75
percent anticipated purchasing a PCC or similar system within the
next six months. Some 63 percent of respondents also agree or
strongly agree that this technology could be used to re-engineer the
way their organizations operate.

Steve Maine, BT's director visual and broadcast services said:
"Modern businesses have an increasing need to share, examine and
exchange information. This will enhance and accelerate decision
making and improve the way the whole business operates, while saving
time and money."

(Steve Gold/19931029/Press & Public Contact: Olivetti - Tel: +44-81-
785-6666)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00029)

Microsoft Czech Windows 10/29/93
PRAGUE, CZECHOSLOVAKIA, 1993 OCT 29 (NB) -- A year after opening an
office in Czechoslovakia, Microsoft has unveiled what a lot of Czech
PC users have been waiting for -- a local language version of
Microsoft Windows 3.1.

According to Ivan Pilny, Microsoft's director of Czech operations,
the package has been on sale on a limited basis for the past four
month, but only now has been formally launched at the Invex computer
fair in Prague.

Microsoft has been waiting to formally launch the Czech version of
Windows 3.1, while its programmers have been beavering away on
creating localized versions of Word for Windows, Excel for Windows
and Foxpro for Windows, which are now available on request.

According to Pliny, these local language versions of Microsoft's
popular Windows applications have attracted a lot of attention. Even
so, during its first year of operations, the Czech branch of
Microsoft has generated sales of around $5 million by handling US
versions of the software.

The company currently employs 13 staff, including Pliny, who said
that, mainly as a result of the local language software's
availability, he expect sales to rise by as much as 50 percent this
coming year.

(Sylvia Dennis/19931029/Microsoft SRO - Tel: [phone]; Fax: +42-
2-2-266020)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00030)

South Africa To Get Its First Major Mobile Phone Net 10/29/93
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA, 1993 OCT 29 (NB) -- The Astec Group, the
UK's largest independent mobile phone supplier, has formed a joint
venture company with Plessey Tellumat, the South African division of
Plessey Electronics, to service a new cellular phone network planned
for South Africa.

The new venture has received the formal approval of the SA
Government, which had previously insisted that it retain
a majority shareholding in the two existing cellular network
companies -- Mobile Telephone Networks (MTB) and Vodacom --
both of which have yet to confirm their plans for an AS network.

"The announcement that Vodacom and MTN, the mobile telephone
licensees, may now proceed to roll out their networks has paved the
way for the formation of our new company," said John Temple, group
managing director of Plessey Tellumat, said in a prepared statement.

According to Temple, the new joint venture company will be known as
Astec Plessey Communications (APC) and should have its network up
and running before the competition.

(Steve Gold/19931029)