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/NB121593

Text File | 1993-12-17 | 67KB | 1,507 lines

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

Windows Software Provides Letter Templates 12/15/93
RIDGEFIELD, CONNECTICUT, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 15 (NB) -- Windows
users who dread writing letters can now let their computers do
most of the work, thanks to software from Round lake Publishing
Company Inc., that provides templates for hundreds of common
types of letters.

The company has launched Windows versions of LetterWorks and
ReadyWorks, a line of software providing altogether about 1,700
letters, forms, and other documents covering everything from
leasing real estate to outpourings of love.

Computer-generated love letters may sound a bit much, but most
of what Round Lake's software does is in areas where the personal
touch is less important. Its templates include various legal
documents and standard business correspondence, plus a package
of personnel forms.

The company has launched six packages: Business LetterWorks
offers 400 letters covering customer relations, credit, sales,
and advertising; Legal LetterWorks includes wills, copyrights
and trademarks, leases and mortgages, and other legal documents
-- 165 in all; Personal LetterWorks includes 400 letters including
thank-you and sympathy notes, apologies, complaints to companies,
and love letters; Sales LetterWorks is a collection of 300 letters
for sales people. All four of these sell for $79.95 each.

In addition, Personnel ReadyWorks is a collection of 160 forms
for hiring, firing, health and safety policies, developing job
descriptions, and other purposes. It sells for $119.95. Finally, the
$89.95 Professional LetterWorks has 250 documents intended for
doctors, dentists, lawyers, accountants, and other professionals.

Each package comes with a built-in word processor, though this
is very basic, said Hank Lefcort, president of the company. Users
who want to mix fonts, merge form letters with mailing lists,
and adjust margins can send letters from Round Lake's
software to their word processors, he said.

Users can also create their own letterheads and search for
documents containing a given word or phrase. A key feature,
Lefcort said, is the ability to load more than one of the
packages under a single user interface called ViewWorks, which
makes it easy to switch from one Round Lake product to another.

Round Lake has been selling similar software for DOS and the
Apple Macintosh since 1989, Lefcort said.  The company has some
sales in Canada and the Far East, but the bulk of its sales are
in the United States, he said.

(Grant Buckler/19931214/Press Contact: Hank Lefcort, Round Lake
Publishing, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public Contact:
Round Lake Publishing, 203-438-5255)


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

Bell Canada Proposes Business Rate Changes 12/15/93
MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA, 1993 DEC 15 (NB) -- Businesses in
Ontario and Quebec are likely to see some changes in their
telephone bills over the next couple of years as a result of two
proposals from Bell Canada, the company providing local telephone
service in those provinces.

Bell is asking federal communications regulators for permission
to restructure local business rates in some towns to bring them
more in line with the cost of providing service. In general, the
proposal would lower rates in the outer suburbs of Toronto and
Montreal, while raising them in some smaller cities.

Bell has also received approval from the Canadian
Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to
start charging businesses for local calls above a certain monthly
volume. The details have yet to be worked out, but Bell is expected
to file rates for the new threshold pricing plan in about a year.

Neither development affects residential customers or
long-distance rates directly.

Bell has applied to the CRTC to reduce the number of rate groups
for business users and reduce charges to customers in communities
on the edges of the large local calling areas around Toronto and
Montreal. Businesses in these areas now pay higher per-line rates
-- from C$51.30 to C$64.55 per month -- than those farther from
the major centers. This reflects the fact that they can call many
numbers in the large cities without paying long-distance charges,
but according to Bell the rates they pay are much higher than the
cost of providing service to them.

Businesses in smaller centers away from the big cities, on the
other hand, pay from C$10.80 to C$29.10 per month for business
lines, although those lines cost about the same to provide as
those on the outskirts of the big cities.

The Canadian market is in the process of being opened to
competition in long-distance service. With the loss of its
long-distance monopoly, Bell can no longer count on making
money on long-distance calling by businesses in smaller centers.

Under Bell's new plan, about 22 percent of business customers
will see their local rates go up by C$1.65 to C$10.30 per month,
and about four percent would see their rates go down by C$3.30 to
C$27.10 per month. Nearly three quarters would not be affected,
Bell officials said. Those unaffected include customers in
Toronto and Montreal proper.

The net effect on Bell's revenues from local service will be
about neutral, company spokeswoman Denise Sarazin said.

Bell also said the CRTC has approved the idea of threshold
pricing for business users, which would mean those customers
would pay for local calls above a certain volume each month.

The introduction of threshold pricing, likely to come some time
in 1995, will accompany the elimination of different rates for
business lines and private branch exchange (PBX) trunks. Instead,
there will be a standard business access charge.

Bell has no idea yet what the threshold for local charges will
be, Sarazin said, but it will be per-line rather than
per-business and businesses will probably be allowed to average
out their usage over all their lines for billing purposes.

Long-distance calls and calls to special numbers such as 911,
611, 411, and telephone operators will not be included in the
measured usage, Bell said, nor will calls within an
organization's PBX, Centrex service, or key system. Incoming
calls also will not be affected.

(Grant Buckler/19931214/Press Contact: Denise Sarazin,
Bell Canada, 613-781-3333; Linda Gervais, Bell Canada,
613-781-3724)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00003)

Resource Partners Ships Two Fax Devices 12/15/93
WAKEFIELD, NEW HAMPSHIRE, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 15 (NB) -- Resource
Partners Inc., has begun shipping two new facsimile devices. One
is a stand-alone fax-on-demand unit, while the other is a sort of
facsimile counterpart to voice mail.

The Fax Resource Fax-On-Demand will compete with products that
plug into a personal computer to send out faxes as callers
request them. Initially, the device will handle one incoming line
and will allow users to set up one to 99 mailboxes for documents
that callers can request, said Serge Nepomiastchy, head of
engineering for Resource Partners.

The unit will plug into an electrical outlet and a telephone
jack. To load documents into it, users will fax them from a fax
machine or from fax software running on a PC. The device will not
work as a standard fax machine.

In future, the company will probably release a version that can
handle multiple telephone lines, Nepomiastchy said.

The Fax Resource Mailbox Manager will receive incoming faxes and
store them in as many as 100 mailboxes. People will then be able
to retrieve their faxes by dialing into the system and entering
an identification code.

Users will also be able to put phone messages and other mail in
the mailboxes, the company said. The Mailbox Manager will notify
users by phone or pager when a fax is waiting for them, or forward
faxes to a designated fax machine.

Both machines will sell for $1,699.

Resource Partners sells fax software and hardware for personal
computers running Microsoft Windows and attached to local area
networks.

(Grant Buckler/19931214/Press Contact: Louise Horton, Resource
Partners, tel [phone], fax [phone])


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

UK - Micro Price Intros Budget PC Card Radio 12/15/93
FAREHAM, HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1993 DEC 15 (NB) -- Micro Price
Direct, a direct sales specialist, has announced the immediate
availability of Radio Track, a PC expansion card with onboard
radio facilities.

The UKP49.95 card plugs into any PC expansion card slot and allows
the PC user to tune into almost any AM/FM radio station using the
supplied Windows and DOS applications software. Up to ten channels
can be preset by the software.

According to Richard Scales, marketing manager with the European
Business Group, the parent operation to Micro Price Direct, the unit
has an built-in alarm and sleep/snooze facility. The card comes
with an FM aerial and uses either the existing PC speaker, external
stereo speakers, headphones or plugs directly into a pre-installed
sound card.

"Radio Track is an innovative product that can either be useful or
fun, depending on your needs. Whether you need to keep up to date
with the latest news, travel and weather bulletins at the office, or
merely to while away the hours at home, Radio Track is great," he
said.

Micro Price Direct is a direct sales operation that claims to
provide customers with a comprehensive range of business products
and accessories, including PCs, non-impact printers and software
packages at discount prices and with fast delivery. The company
maintains a sales order and information line on
0800-616967 (UK only).

(Steve Gold/19931214/Press & Public Contact: Micro Price
Direct, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00005)

UK - Cellnet & Vodafone Battle On Connections 12/15/93
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1993 DEC 15 (NB) -- As the Cellnet and
Vodafone networks come up to their busiest selling period -- the
pre-Christmas "impulse purchase" time -- the two networks are
vying with each other to tell the public who is the best.

The battle lines this year seem to be being drawn on the number of
subscribers a network has and how fast it is growing. Cellnet
reports that its sales of mobile phones are going sky-high.

According to Cellnet, during November, the new signups to the
Cellnet network were 54,500 in total, compared with 22,500
during November of last year. William Ostrom, head of Cellnet's
press office, said that he attributes the growth to the low price
of cellular handsets and tariff packages.

Cellnet aims to top this sales figure for December. The company
has stepped up its TV advertising and has begun broadcasting a new
commercial starring John Cleese of "Monty Python" and "Fawlty
Towers" fame.

Not to be outdone, Vodafone is beating the drum over its new
subscriber signups. The company has just signed its millionth
subscriber -- just under nine years after it launched its network on
the 1st of January, 1985.

The million mark was passed at 7pm on December 1 when Woodend
Communications, a Scottish service provider, connected Dr John
Haughney to the Vodafone Business Tariff.

Gerry Whent, the chief executive of the Vodafone Group, and the
man who led the original bid for a cellular license in 1982, said
he is delighted to have passed the million subscriber mark.

"In under a decade the mobile phone has become established as an
essential part of business life, and is now beginning to move
towards the domestic market. The progress we have made has
exceeded the wildest dreams of the small team who won the
original license and subsequently established Vodafone," he said.

(Steve Gold/19931214/Press & Public Contact: Vodafone, tel
44-635-33251, fax [phone]; Cellnet, tel [phone];
fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00006)

UK - IBM Ships PS/1 Media Exploration Multimedia PC 12/15/93
PORTSMOUTH, HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1993 DEC 15 (NB) -- The IBM
PC Co., has announced the availability of the PS/1 Media Exploration
System, the latest in its range of multimedia PC systems.

According to BIg Blue, the PS/1 Media Exploration System combines
the power and ease of use of the popular PS/1 PC with the
"excitement" of CD-ROM (compact disc read only memory) technology
to bring "life-like" entertainment and education applications to the
entire family.

"The Media Exploration System allows users of all ages to experience
the exciting world of multimedia," explained Steve Rowley, manager
of the IBM PC Company UK. "The user can integrate sounds, music and
voices with computer graphics, video or animation features, play
audio compact discs, create and edit synthesized sound effects, or
combine video and sound clips into exciting presentations," he said,
adding that there is no limit on what the user can achieve.

To help novice users get started, IBM is shipping an exclusive CD-
ROM tutorial guide with the system. This, the company claims,
guides users through a series of applications. These applications
are brought to life using "realistic" graphics and a digital, 16-bit
stereo audio system.

The PS/1 Media Exploration System includes a 33 megahertz (MHz)
80486DX-based PCX with a 170 megabyte (MB) hard disk and an
SVGA color non-interlaced monitor. The machine comes with four
megabytes (MB) of memory and 1MB of video memory for faster
graphics. Also built into the machine is a Panasonic double-speed
CD-ROM drive that supports multiple sessions.

The special CD-ROM package includes Creative Lab's Sound Blaster
16 sound card, an internal audio card, two Koss HD-1 speakers
and seven CD-ROM software programs.

Aside from the specifically built-in multimedia components, the
PS/1 Media Exploration System comes preloaded with all the
standard PS/1 software, including DOS 6.0, MS-Windows 3.1,
Works for Windows 2.0, and three other PS/1 titles.

(Steve Gold/19931214/Press & Public Contact: IBM UK, tel
44-705-561000, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00007)

Network Peripherals' FDDI Software On NT Disk 12/15/93
MILPITAS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 15 (NB) -- Network
Peripherals Inc., claims that its software for connecting
workstations and servers running Microsoft Windows NT to
fiber distributed data interface (FDDI) networks is the first
to be shipped by Microsoft Corp.

The NP FDDI software, for both EISA (Extended Industry Standard
Architecture) and Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) platforms, is
included on the Microsoft Windows NT release disk which is now
shipping in volume. The company says that the software drivers
are also available, from either Network Peripherals or its
resellers.

Said Mitch Strobin, product manager for Network Peripherals,
"The ability of Windows NT to support large databases has created
a  strong need for high-performance networking within these
corporate environments. The combination of our FDDI adapters,
with new certified NT drivers and our EIFO client/server switching
hub, provides a solution to corporate-wide access to data stored on
high-performance NT servers."

Network peripherals says that using this combination, high-
performance servers can take advantage of the 100 megabits-
per-second (Mbps) pipe of FDDI, while clients remain undisturbed
on ubiquitous 10BaseT Ethernet. The EIFO reportedly switches
traffic between the two with very low latency and at a very low
cost. The company says that the configuration, called a server
cluster, is commonly used in downsizing situations where data
that previously resided on a mainframe or minicomputer is
distributed across several high-performance servers.

Network Peripherals claims that its FDDI products makes "efficient
use of these clustered server resources, improving the overall
throughput on the network by delivering 100 Mbps to the servers,
where it is needed, and providing clear access for the clients to
these shared resources."

The Network Peripherals' NT drivers are available to current
customers at no additional cost. Pricing for the company's FDDI
adapters starts at $995, and EIFO client/server switching hub
pricing starts at $7,495.

In April, Newsbytes reported that Network Peripherals had
announced shipment of new FDDI driver software for its line
of SBus adapters to support SunSoft's increasingly popular
Unix-based Solaris 2.x operating system.

(Ian Stokell/19931214/Press Contact: Beverly Ristow,
408-321-7307, or Gordon Stitt, 408-321-7300, Network
Peripherals)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00008)

Future Domain's PCMCIA SCSI2GO Plug-And-Play Card 12/15/93
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 15 (NB) -- Future Domain of
Irvine, California, has announced SCSI2GO, a credit-card sized
Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI) interface card aimed at
the portable computer market. The company says the card is self-
configuring and installs for "true" plug-and-play operation of
SCSI peripherals.

SCSI2GO requires a Personal Computer Memory Card International
Association (PCMCIA) Type II slot and can be used on desktop
personal computers (PCs), workstations, or PC network servers
equipped with the necessary slot. The card allows for the
attachment of SCSI devices, including optical scanners, hard
disk drives, and compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) drives.

Future Domain says the user can simply attach the SCSI peripheral
to the card, then plug in the card to the PCMCIA slot. The card
reconfigures and installs the peripheral without the need for the
user to manually change any system files, memory address
locations, or jumper any interrupts, according to company
officials.

The card is compatible with Card and Socket Services software
and is capable of FAST SCSI-2 data transfer rates of up to 10
megabytes-per-second (MBps). It also has a low-power Sleep
Mode to save energy.

The SCSI2GO card is expected for availability in January and it
is planned for inclusion in the SCSI Valuepak and CorelSCSI Kit
families. Retail price for the Valuepak is $329 and the CorelSCSI
Kit is $389.

(Linda Rohrbough/19931214/Press Contact: Laura Bradlin, Future
Domain Corporation, tel [phone] ext 520, fax [phone];
David Kaye, KPR, tel [phone], fax [phone]; PHOTO)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00009)

Collaborator II & Scriptware For Scriptwriting 12/15/93
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 15 (NB) -- If you have
heard the stories about how Hollywood is buying more scripts
from new writers and are thinking about giving it a try, there
are two software programs that could help. Collaborator II is a
program for fleshing out an idea so it can stand up to scrutiny,
and Scriptware is designed to handle the tedious task of
correctly formatting scripts.

Collaborator II, from Collaborator Systems of Sherman Oaks,
California, is designed to take that idea for a play, script, or
film and define it in detail. Company co-founder Francis X.
Feighan, who has written stories for "Happy Days" and "Barney
Miller," told Newsbytes it is easy to go through all the pain of
birthing a script, submit it, and be embarrassed because you
forgot the "where" out of "who," "what," "when," "where," "why,"
and "how."

According to Feighan, just brainstorming generic ideas is not
enough in the film business and popular programs for that
purpose, such as Plots Unlimited from Malibu, California-based
AshleyWilde, fall far short of what is really needed. J. Michael
Strazcynski, co-producer of "Murder, She Wrote," said: "On our
show, if you walk in with a generic story like that you will get
bounced out the door." Strazcynski said Collaborator helped him
in writing a novel recently by asking of one if the characters in
the work would help or hurt another character -- a line of
thought he had not considered.

Collaborator II asks those critical questions directors are going
to ask when you "pitch" your proposal, then stores the answers
on 72 "cards." The product allows you to address in a systematic
approach necessary "development" issues, such as character-
bonding, conflict, plot construction, crisis, and climax, and
save all of it via the computer.

The company says Collaborator prods, pushes, and tugs to get the
scriptwriter to focus on plot twists and turns to give the story
its selling spirit. An example of how the product works is
illustrated with the classic tale, "It's a Wonderful Life,"
worked out in detail and included with the product. The detailed
treatment of the classic Christmas tale introduces the writer to
the type of knowledge needed to sell his proposed script.

As reference tools, Collaborator offers a dictionary with about
150,000 words including legal, medical, scientific, geographical,
and technical terms. A thesaurus, also built-in, offers over
550,000 synonyms, 34,000 antonyms, more than 650,000 related
words, and almost 300,000 contrasted words. Over 25 reports are
available for printing once the necessary information is entered
into the product, the company said.

Once you sell the script, Scriptwriter from Cinovation of
Boulder, Colorado, helps you write it. The software is a
terminate-and-stay-resident (TSR) application that intelligently
formats input as it is typed so the writer can focus on writing.

For example, type in a few letters of the character's name and
Scriptware will finish it. It properly formats acts and scenes,
puts (more) or (CONTINUED) lines at the bottom of the pages as
you write, indicates continuing dialog from a character on the
next page, and even allows the writer to change the formatting of
the entire script in the middle or after it is finished.

The product inserts transitions and scene headings with a single
keystroke and offers spell checking from an 80,000 word
dictionary. For scripts in production, the product creates "A"
and "B" versions of the pages and scenes and adds revision marks
automatically. It also allows for scenes to be shuffled, allows
comments to be put in the script via a Notes feature, and allows
work on two or more scripts at once so work can be copied from
one script to another. Popular formats for scripts, such as film,
three-camera, filmed television, and radio are included or writers
can customize and save their own formats.

Collaborator II is available in both Macintosh and IBM compatible
personal computer (PC) versions. On the Macintosh it requires one
megabyte (MB) of random access memory (RAM), a hard disk with
two MB available, and runs under System 6 or System 7. On the PC,
it requires 640 kilobytes (KB) of RAM with 500 KB available, a hard
disk drive with 2MB of space, and DOS 3.1 (although DOS 5.0 is
recommended). The product will also support a color monitor and a
mouse, but can be used without either. Collaborator II retails
for $329.

Scriptware is only available for PCs, requires PC with 640KB of
RAM, DOS 2.1 or higher, two floppy drives (although a hard disk is
recommended), will support a color monitor, and a mouse is
optional. The product retails for $299.95 plus $9 shipping and
handling and is available directly from Cinovation.

If you would like to get a better idea of the way scripts are
formatted and presented, you might find it useful to study
scripts from hot new movies such as Fatal Instinct, Mrs.
Doubtfire, Terminator II, and Sister Act 2. Hollywood Scripts of
North Hollywood, California, offers copies of these and other
scripts. The company says it has some of the lowest prices for
scripts in the industry and offers a free catalog on request of
current film and television scripts, although company officials
told Newsbytes they can get any script a customer needs.

A holiday special, running now, allows you to get five scripts
for the price of four. Movie scripts are normally $15 each
plus $3 shipping and handling and television scripts are
$11.50 plus $2.50 shipping and handling. During the special, five
movie scripts are $72 and five television scripts are $56
and both prices include shipping and handling. (Canadian
residents add $20 for movie scripts and television scripts
$10)

(Linda Rohrbough/19931214/Press Contact: Francis Feighan,
Collaborator Systems, tel [phone], fax [phone];
Steve Fashen, Cinovation, tel [phone], fax [phone];
Hollywood Scripts, tel [phone], fax [phone];
AshleyWilde, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public
Contacts, Collaborator Systems, 800-241-2655; Cinovation,
800-788-7090; Hollywood Scripts, 818-980-3545)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00010)

MultiUser Windows Accounting Software For $99 12/15/93
TAMPA, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 15 (NB) -- A Florida company
has introduced a modularized accounting program the company
says is designed for users who have outgrown programs like
Peachtree, DacEasy, or Quickbooks.

Zebra Express has introduced its eight-module accounting
program of the same name that includes General Ledger,
Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Payroll and Personnel,
Order Entry with Invoicing and Quotations, Purchase Orders,
Inventory, and Fixed Assets.

Zebra Express (ZE) comes with all eight modules, but Zebra
Express spokesperson Nancy Garcia told Newsbytes that, like
some of the programs it is designed to replace, the user need
only load the modules they want to use. When the General Ledger
module is loaded other modules integrate with it to update
accounts automatically as entries are made.

ZE is a multi-user program that can handle multiple locations and
divisions and can produce consolidated and multi-division
reports. The Accounts Receivable module provides automatic
calculation and tracking of sales commissions, and the Accounts
Payable module can print checks in batches or individually.

The company says the Payroll and Personnel module can handle
direct deposit of paychecks, batch check processing, and
multiple pay rates per check. Multiple inventory classifications
are possible in the Inventory module, which can maintain and sell
units as stock items, manufactured units or kits.

The Purchase Order module provides last-vendor, last-cost
tracking, and recurring orders with multiple frequency options
are supported in Sales Order Entry.

The company says file size is limited only by disk capacity,
allowing an unlimited number of employees, inventory items,
customers and vendors. More than one module can be open
simultaneously, and users can add vendors on-the-fly in the
PO module and customers and inventory items in Order Entry.

ZE can import data from other programs. The suggested retail
price is $795 for all eight modules, but the company is offering
the program for $99 through the end of March 1994, according to
Garcia.

(Jim Mallory/19931215/Press Contact: Nancy Garcia, S&S Public
Relations for Zebra Express, 708-291-1616; Reader Contact: Zebra
Express, 800-401-0060 or 813-888-7500)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00011)

Software Gives PC Users Access To Unix Resources 12/15/93
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 15 (NB) -- Century
Software has announced the release of CenturyNFS, a network
application for use with CenturyTCP, the company's TCP/IP
(Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) transport.

Century says the two products provide a combination of a high
performance TCP/IP network and file sharing capabilities.
CenturyNFS allows users to access and manage Unix host
resources from any PC on the network.

The bundling of CenturyNFS and CenturyTCP lets PCs share use
of files and applications residing on a local or remote host. Using
CenturyNFS, applications on the host appear to the user as if they
were installed locally and allows the user the convenience of
storing data anywhere the user chooses whether its on the PC, a
Novell file server, or an NFS server.

CenturyNFS allows Unix to function as a central file storage area
to free desktop disk space and provide access to host files for all
the PCs on the network. Installation of the software is menu
driven.

CenturyNFS can also be used as a print client or server, and
supports PostScript, non-Postscript and ASCII text files for most
applications and printer types. That makes it easier to share
printer resources on the network.

Century says CenturyNFS is being introduced at the special price
of $299 through January 31, 1994. Current users of CenturyTCP
can add NFS as an upgrade for $129, and an application program
interface developers kit is also available for $299.

(Jim Mallory/19931215/Press Contact: Tracy Wagstaff, Century
Software, 801-268-3088 or 800-877-3088; Reader Contact:
Century Software, 801-268-3088 or 800-877-3088)


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

 ****Standards Work Begins On Information Highway 12/15/93
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1993 DEC 15 (NB) -- At separate news
conferences, two consortia announced plans to research and
produce standards for the "Information Superhighway."

In Washington the Cross-Industry Working Team announced plans
to define the "architecture and key technical requirements" for
the superhighway, which has become a priority of the Clinton
Administration.

The Corporation for National Research Initiatives of Reston,
Virginia, will coordinate the work, which aims to make sure
people will not need five different computers and telephones
to use all the services of the superhighway.

The idea of the superhighway is to give all homes and businesses
the ability to transmit and receive "broadband" communications,
defined as anything from TV pictures and sound, down to words
and numbers.

The big expense of the superhighway is expected to be in the
"local loop," those last miles between a customer's home and the
telephone network infrastructure. US West, Pacific Bell, and Bell
Atlantic have all announced plans to upgrade their networks,
using a combination of fiber, coaxial cable and ordinary copper.

Major cable operators, like TCI, Time Warner, and Cablevision have
announced similar plans, and many Bell companies have been buying
into cable to help the process of upgrades along. Some observers
have said it could be much less-expensive to upgrade cable
networks than phone networks, since cable can retain the coaxial
cable it now runs in the local loop while phone networks will
have to replace their "twisted-pair" wiring.

While the "local loop" may represent the big expense, however,
it is the networks themselves that may need new standards to
handle the load. When individuals are able to send three megabit-
per-second files across their modems, traffic will rise
exponentially from today's 9,600 bits-per-second packet networks.
The 3 gigabit-per-second gear envisioned under the asynchronous
transfer mode standard may not be enough.

Thus Bellcore, the research arm of the regional Bells, has
announced what it called the Collaboratory, which adds such groups
as Digital Equipment, Northern Telecom, and the MIT Media Lab to
the Bellcore members. Research results will be published to
encourage industry standards, said Lanny Smoot of Bellcore.

Many companies are members of both the Collaboratory and the
Cross-Industry Working Team, which both groups consider a
strength.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19931215/Press Contact: Bellcore, Barbara
Kaufman, 201-740-4324; CIWT, Don Kahn, 703-620-8990)


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

Second Objection Raised To AT&T-McCaw Merger 12/15/93
WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 15 (NB) -- A second
objection was filed to AT&T's acquisition of McCaw Cellular, but
it is not expected to halt the deal.

TPI Enterprises filed the new objection on behalf of its
subsidiary Maxcell Telecom Plus Inc. The companies have a civil
action pending in Florida against McCaw and a former Maxcell
partner, Charisma Communications, alleging fraud in the sale of
their properties in Florida to McCaw.

The action seeks return of Florida cellular properties purchased
by McCaw from Charisma and Maxcell, and wants to make approval
of the merger contingent on satisfaction in the suit. TPI's main
business is holding restaurant franchises, mainly Shoney's and
Captain D's units in the south.

In an earlier action, BellSouth asked that, as a condition of the
sale's approval, it be allowed to offer long distance services as
part of its cellular network. Ironically, BellSouth's objections
also center around Florida. In BellSouth's case, it notes that
AT&T could take McCaw calls from Florida to other states over
AT&T's long distance network as local calls, while BellSouth has
to pay AT&T an access fee for the same service, under conditions
of the Modified Final Judgement which broke up the Bell System.

Like TPI, BellSouth has said it will settle for less than the
end of the deal, specifically asking for the right to offer long-
distance calls over its cellular networks.

Reports from Washington indicate that the Justice Department,
too, may have objections, both to the AT&T-McCaw link and the
pending TCI acquisition by Bell Atlantic. New anti-trust chief
Anne Bingaman is taking a harder line on industry concentration
than her predecessor in the Bush Administration, and is also
considering an anti-trust case involving Microsoft.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19931215/Press Contact: Robert Kennedy,
TPI Enterprises, 407-833-8888)


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

Ameritech Signs For AT&T ATM Equipment 12/15/93
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 15 (NB) -- Ameritech said it
will upgrade its network with equipment from AT&T Network
Systems.

The midwestern regional Bell company has signed a two-year
agreement to buy asynchronous transfer mode, or ATM, switches
and other gear from AT&T as part of an end-to-end network for
high-speed voice, data, and video services.

The deal climaxes a series of tests Ameritech has held since
February on the equipment of a variety of vendors. Included are
AT&T's GCNS-2000 ATM systems and BNS-2000 packet switches.
Ameritech hopes to offer ATM service, which moves data at speeds
from 1.544 million bits-per-second to multi-gigabit speeds,
starting late next year.

Ameritech also said it will start testing pre-paid phone calling
cards, like those used in overseas markets. The cards will be
offered in denominations from $2 to $20, and are about the size
of credit cards, with magnetic stripes in their back.

However, they are made of less-expensive material than credit
cards and are designed to be discarded after their value is used. In
Japan, the cards are popular as corporate giveaways, since they
can be printed with any logo, but there have been reports of
widespread fraud with the cards, especially the larger
denominations. If the test, using Ameritech employees, is
successful, the company hopes to be the first phone company in
the US to offer the cards.

Ameritech also said it would simplify how customers order
integrated services digital network (ISDN) services. It said
those customers who have multiple locations and need both local
as well as long distance ISDN service will be able to get it
simply by calling Ameritech, thanks to new inter-exchange
agreements with MCI and AT&T.

ISDN, first discussed over a decade ago, offers digital circuits in
increments of 64,000 bits-per-second, as well as slower signaling
channels. While many of the other regional Bells have de-emphasized
ISDN recently -- there exists as yet no residential tariff for ISDN
in Atlanta, for instance -- Ameritech has been pricing it
aggressively, at just 30 percent more than the cost of a regular
business phone line.

Finally, Ameritech released the results of a survey of small
businesses in the Midwest, calling them optimistic about the
outlook for 1994. The company interviewed 305 small
business people in its five-state region with 11 or fewer
employees, and found only 15 percent were gloomy about their
own prospects for next year. The telephone survey was conducted
in September and October.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19931215/Press Contact: Robert Kennedy, TPI
Enterprises, 407-833-8888)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00015)

IBM Renames RS/6000 Division 12/15/93
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 15 (NB) -- IBM has
renamed its Advanced Workstations and Systems Division to
reflect the products it sells. The unit is now called the RISC
System/6000 Division.

The RISC/System 6000 line of workstations and servers, which
use reduced instruction-set computing (RISC) technology, are
the sole business of the division, company spokesman Greg
Golden said. That line includes IBM's high-end Power Parallel
systems.

The name change appears to be purely cosmetic. IBM said it does
not imply any changes in the division's activities, which include
software and hardware development, manufacturing, sales to
original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), marketing support, and
other functions. About 4,000 people work in the division, Golden
said.

Bill Filip, who heads the division, becomes vice-president and
general manager, RISC System/6000 division. His duties remain
unchanged.

(Grant Buckler/19931215/Press Contact: Greg Golden, IBM,
914-642-5463)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00016)

TartanWorks Ada Tool Available For Motorola 68XXX 12/15/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 15 (NB) -- Ada, the programming
system developed for use by the Pentagon and NATO and mandated
for use in many government contracted program development tasks,
can now be more easily used to develop real-time, embedded
applications for Motorola 68XXX-based microprocessor systems.

Tartan, a major Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based developer of Ada
tools, has announced that its TartanWorks cross-development
system is now available for the Motorola family of chips.

TartanWorks, which incorporates the best-selling VxWorks
developed by Wind River Systems of Alameda, California, was
developed with Tartan's Ada Development System to generate
highly-optimized code for the most advanced Motorola
microprocessor family of 68020, 68030, and 68040 chips.

The software kit includes the Tartan Ada compiler, a multi-user
Ada Program Librarian, Tartan's Ada Runtime System integrated
with the VxWorks real-time operating system, a library of
predefined Ada packages with elementary transcendental
functions and intrinsic functions, Tartan's flexible linker, the
popular AdaScope source- and machine-level debugger, and
on-line help.

The software operates on fast Sun SPARC workstations and
VxWorks provides access to real-time optimized networking
facilities as well as TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/
Internet Protocol) , ftp, and rlogin standards.

TartanWorks supports real-time POSIX (the Portable Operating
System Interface for UNIX standard set by the IEEE) 1003.1 and
1003.4.

(John McCormick/19931215/Press Contact: Wayne Lieberman,
Tartan, tel [phone] or fax [phone])


(CORRECTION)(APPLE)(LAX)(00017)

Correction - Apple Newton Industry Association 12/15/93
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 15 (NB) -- In the
story "Apple Newton Industry Association, Other Newton News"
that ran December 7, 1993, the statement was made that
Newtonmail requires the Newton Fax Modem Card, a credit-card
sized Personal Computer Memory Card International Association
(PCMCIA) modem.

While the Newton Fax Modem Card will work, Newsbytes has
learned that Newtonmail requires simply a modem. However,
Apple's public relations manager Emma Bufton was careful to
note that all modems do not necessarily work with the Newton
Messagepad. Consequently, Apple is only recommending its own
modem products for the personal digital assistant (PDA).

Newsbytes apologizes for any inconvenience this error may
have caused.

(Linda Rohrbough/19931215/Press Contact: Emma Bufton, Regis
McKenna for Apple Computer, tel [phone], fax 408-974-
2885; Public Contact: 800-SOS-APPLE)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00018)

MarketPulse Database Software Offered For PS/2 12/15/93
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 15 (NB) --
MarketPulse, a unit of Praxis International Inc., has announced
that it is offering its MarketPulse database software for IBM's
PS/2 personal computers.

MarketPulse, a database marketing system, has previously only
been available for IBM mainframes. The new PS/2 version uses
IBM's Personal/370 option for the PS/2, an expansion card with
a coprocessor for running mainframe software.

MarketPulse is selling its software bundled with a PS/2 Model 95,
the Personal/370 adapter, a five gigabyte (GB) tape drive, and
local area network (LAN) support, for $125,000 and up. Lease
arrangements are also available at $4,150 per month with a
purchase option.

Joe Bailey, vice president of sales and marketing at MarketPulse,
said the new package is aimed at companies that want to downsize
from their present mainframe systems and at those that want to
augment their mainframes with more distributed processing using
personal computers and LANs.

MarketPulse is meant to help manage direct marketing campaigns
by managing large customer databases for various industries
such as insurance, banking, retailing, and publishing, as well as
non-profit organizations, officials said.

The stand-alone desktop system can support as much as 24GB
of storage on external disk drives connected through the Small
Computer Systems Interface (SCSI), the company said.

The stand-alone system can also be used as a server for a
distributed PC-based setup with as many as 16 ordinary PCs
attached as clients, Bailey said.

MarketPulse said its system runs the database server under IBM's
mainframe VM operating system on the Personal/370 coprocessor
card, with client software running under the OS/2 operating
system on the same PC.

(Grant Buckler/19931215/Press Contact: Victoria Winston,
MarketPulse, 617-661-9790)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00019)

Autodesk Ships Autovision Rendering For Windows 12/15/93
SAUSALITO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 15 (NB) -- Autodesk
is shipping Autovision for Windows, the Microsoft Windows
version of its photorealistic rendering software package to
accompany its leading computer-aided design (CAD) software
package, Autocad Release 12.

Autovision can also be used for animation as its files can be
exported to Autodesk's 3D Studio release 3 product.

Autodesk has a version of Autovision for DOS, but feels Windows
is an important platform for its users. Laura Kawazoe, Autovision
for Windows product marketing manager, said: "A recent survey of
Autocad customers indicates that 30 percent of them are already
doing some amount of rendering, and another ten percent plan to
purchase a rendering solution within the year." Kawazoe says
Autodesk can now offer advanced rendering for the two biggest
segments of the Autocad customer base -- Windows and DOS users.

Autovision for Windows includes a toolset which allows the user
to render multiple views of a drawing, each with different
lighting effects, materials and surfaces.

Features of the product include: a materials editor to modify
existing materials or create originals and control color,
reflection, transparency, ambient characteristics, and surface
texture; procedural materials to create seamless wood, marble,
and granite surfaces and alter gain and color as desired; a sun
locator to portray the sun's intensity and angle day and year
using latitude and longitude coordinates and time of day, or by
selecting a location from one of the software's regional maps;
and lighting control to simulate real lighting by creating and
adjusting point, spot, and distant lights using color, intensity,
falloff, and shadowing.

Autovision can read and write files generated by 3D Studio
release 3 and the rendering it does is entirely within Autocad
release 12 for Windows. Once complete, the rendering
information is saved to the Autocad DWG file.

Since Autovision requires Autocad release 12 for Windows, the
system requirements are the same -- an IBM or Compaq 386/486-
based computer or 100 percent compatible personal computer
(PC) equipped with MS-DOS 3.31 or higher, Microsoft Windows 3.1
(running in enhanced mode), 8 megabytes (MB) of RAM, Windows-
supported video graphics array (VGA) display, a math coprocessor,
an Autocad-supported pointing device, and either a 1.2MB, 5.25-
inch or a 1.44MB 3.5-inch floppy-disk drive.

Retail price for Autovision is $795 from authorized Autodesk
dealers. But until January 31, 1994, owners of previous versions
of Autocad can upgrade to Autocad release 12 for Windows and get
Autovision. The two together as an upgrade are priced at $995 for
the limited offer, a savings of up to $495 if purchased separately,
according to the company.

(Linda Rohrbough/19931215/Press Contact: Garth Chouteau,
Autodesk, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public Contact,
Autodesk Customer Service, 707-794-1450; Dealer Information,
US, 800-879-4233; Europe information requests, fax
41-22-788-2144; Asia/Pacific requests, fax [phone],
Latin America requests, fax [phone]/PHOTO)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(00020)

 ****EC Open Border Policy Still Far Away 12/15/93
PARIS, FRANCE, 1993 DEC 15 (NB) -- Although the "open market" as
far as the European Commission is concerned kicked off on January 1
of this year, the member countries of the EC are still unable to
agree on how to implement a free access border crossing system.

Officially, as at 1 January, 1993, all borders within the EC should
have been open to all traffic without restriction. The idea is that,
EC country citizens will have free access to other countries, with
non-EC citizens checked just once on their entry into the EC.

The reality has been that most borders are still as red tape-bound
as ever, with EC country citizens traveling between countries
having to submit, at best, to spot checks on their passport and
status. This, EC ministers have agreed, is a waste of time and
resources on the part of the governments concerned.

Plans originally called for a computerized system to be operational
as of January 1 this year, allowing all citizens to pass unimpeded
between EC countries. Car registration details, together with
spot check passport details, would be keyed in or "swiped" through a
magnetic strip reader, allowing immigration and customs officials to
ensure that nothing untoward was happening.

At a meeting to discuss the so-called Schengen arrangements for EC
countries earlier this week, Bernd Schmidbauer, the German Minister
of State, admitted that the February 1, 1994, delayed implementation
date for the computer system to go live would now be missed. The
problem is that, although the database can brought on-line, the
initial nine countries involved in phase one of Schengen
arrangements cannot agree on the data formats.

The initial nine countries -- Belgium, France, Germany, Greece,
Italy, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain -- cannot,
apparently, get their computers working with the common
information format, despite EC officials having spent more than
$6 million in configuring the computer system.

In a prepared statement, Schmidbauer said it was a scandal that the
software was not working,but he denounced politicians who he said
were using the technical hitch as a pretext "for reasons of political
strategy or ideology" to delay the abolition of border controls.

Britain has been singled out for criticism by EC officials in recent
months for stating that, whatever EC plans are drawn up for free
movement across borders, the UK reserves the right to check
everyone entering the country for immigration and customs
formalities.

Schmidbauer, who assumes presidency of the Schengen group next
month, said that an effective compromise may be to implement
staff exchanges between country police and a free transfer of data
between immigration computers, in order to minimize cross-border
formalities within the EC. Using this approach, he said, would
ensure that the February '94 implementation date could be achieved.

(Sylvia Dennis/19931215)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00021)

ISDN Network Sales Rising In Germany 12/15/93
BONN, GERMANY, 1993 DEC 15 (NB) -- Deutsche Bundespost Telekom
(DBT) has announced that sales of its integrated services digital
network (ISDN) services have been progressing steadily throughout
1993, with annual sales for services are expected to top the
DM2,000 million mark this year.

This compares, the state-owned telecommunications company said,
with sales of DM1,100 million during 1992. The 81.8 percent
increase is attributed to an intensive promotion of the benefits
of ISDN to business phone users.

In the UK, meanwhile, sales of ISDN technology are reported to be
reaching critical mass. BT is reported to be on the verge of
announcing a reduction of around 50 percent on the UKP400
installation rate for installing ISDN 2 (two line) services on
business lines.

This means, Newsbytes notes, that installing an ISDN 2 circuit
into a home or small office, with its support for two voice or data
circuits, will have the cost as installing two ordinary business
phone lines from January 1.

(Sylvia Dennis/19931215/Press & Public Contact: DBT, tel
49-228-1810, fax 49-229=181-8872)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00022)

2nd Italian Cellular Phone Operator License Planned 12/15/93
ROME, ITALY, 1993 DEC 15 (NB) -- The Italian government has
announced that it will award a second license to operate a
mobile phone network in Italy by the end of March, 1994.

Plans call for the new network to adhere to the global system for
mobile (GSM) digital telephony standard rather than the existing
analog system, which is run by SIP (Societa Italiania per
l'esercizio delle Telecommunicazioni), the state-controlled phone
company.

According to Maurizio Pagani, the Italian state telecommunications
minister, three companies, including SIP, are thought to be bidding
against each other for the contract license. The two third-party
companies are Omnitel and Pronti Italia.

Omnitel has Bell Atlantic, Cellular International, Lehman Bros,
Olivetti and Swedish Telecom under its umbrella, while Pronto
Italia includes Marzotta, Pacific Telecom and SG Warburg in its
membership.

(Sylvia Dennis/19931215/Press & Public Contact: SIP, tel
39-6-36881, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LON)(00023)

Ovum Offers User-Oriented Client-Server Report 12/15/93
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1993 DEC 15 (NB) -- Ovum has announced a new
reported, called "How to Redesign the Corporate Network for
Client-Server."

The company claims that the report is the first one in a new series
of user-oriented reports. According to the company, the UKP395
report ($735 in the US) will supply information required by
communication managers to redesign the corporate network,
therefore supporting client-serving computing.

The company claims that the report will find and identify all
critical subjects which affect corporate networking based on the
client-server developments. The report also claims to offer
guidance on how to prepare a business for client-server networking
and pointers to emerging technologies which will have an impact
on corporate networking in the medium term.

According to Iain Stevenson, the lead author of the report,
technologies which are available to support networking are
identified by the report. "The typical business today is more
decentralized with greater local autonomy, and more global
in its outlook than it was ten years ago," he explained.

Stevenson said that the pace of decision-making and of
implementing the decision is much faster these days. "Rapid, easy
access to, and exchange of, information is essential for the
modern business and the pressures on IS (information systems)
and communications managers to provide the necessary
infrastructure are intense. The technology which underlies this
infrastructure is client-server computing," he said.

(Sylvia Dennis/19931215/Press & Public Contact: Ovum,
44-71-285-2670)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00024)

UK - Andest Modems Bundled With WinDos Lite Prgm 12/15/93
MILTON KEYNES, ENGLAND, 1993 DEC 15 (NB) -- Trans-Send
International and Andest Communication have announced a deal,
whereby all Andest's "Rocket" modems will be supplied with
Trans-Send WinDos Lite communications software.

The deal means that customers purchasing Andest's Rocket modems
will automatically receive Trans-Send's communication software
as well. Using the package, they will be able to send and receive
faxes directly from their PCs and communicate with European
on-line PC systems plus various bulletin boards. The deal is being
billed as ideal for people who connect to these services.

Malcolm Messiter, managing director of Trans-Send commented:
"Bundling our software with the Rocket modem is a significant
deal for us as the modem's low price and high performance means
that it is ideally suited to the volume market."

"Trans-Send's rapid growth has largely come from our success in
bundling the software with the modem manufacturers. We work very
closely with them, tailoring the software for each market and for
the particular designs of the different modems. This means that we
can provide a higher level of service than any of our competitors
which I think is reflected in our success," he said.

Tony Sellers, Andest's managing director, echoed Messiter's
enthusiasm for the deal. "Trans-Send offers a total solution in one
package, from fax to data transmission on Windows and DOS. This
thorough approach to communications was particularly attractive
to us and will significantly add value to our modem sales," he said.

He continued: "A further notable quality about working with
Trans-Send is that as a company, they are highly responsive and
will bend over backwards to meet our requirements. This is a
distinct advantage when working a local company."

In October, Trans-Send launched its latest flagship product,
WinDOS Pro. The product is a combination Windows and DOS-
based fax and data product. The package costs UKP135 and is
sold thorough dealers in the UK, as well as directly from
Trans-Send.

(Sylvia Dennis/19931215/Press & Public Contact; Andest
Communications, 44-908-263300)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00025)

McAfee Anti-Virus Software Gets Novell Approval 12/15/93
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1993 DEC 15 (NB) -- IPE Corp., which
distributes McAfee's anti-virus software in the UK, has announced
that McAfee's Netshield Netware Loadable Module (NLM) has now
received Novell approval.

According to Peter Cooper, IPE's sales manager, the certification
applies to Netware 3.11, 2.12, SFT III version 3.11, 4.01, and 4.01
for OS/2.

"McAfee has an installed base of some 11 million users worldwide
and it consistently achieves over 90 percent detection rates in
independent tests. We see NLM approval as just one further step in
confirming McAfee's position as the world's number one anti-virus
software," he said.

In parallel with McAfee's approval for use with Netware, IPE has
announced the availability of version 1.09 of McAfee, which claims
to provide detection for a further 114 new virus and 167 variants.

Netshield is an NLM that incorporates McAfee's Viruscan virus
detection technology. The package provides facilities for real-
time virus scanning on file access and at user-defined intervals,
checking for all known viruses, including stealth, polymorphic
(mutation engine) viruses.

In addition to Netware, Viruscan will work with all major
networks, including Artisoft's LANtastic, Banyan's Vines, DEC
Pathworks, Microsoft LAN Manager, 3Com Share and 3Open,
NFSNet and NetBIOS-compatible networks.

Version 1.09 of McAfee for the PC is available in two versions --
a UKP49 package for home users with a year's free updates, and
a two-year corporate license for 1-5 company users costing
UKP213, although an extra UKP70 is payable for the two year's
worth of updates.

(Steve Gold/19931215/Press & Public Contact: IPE Corp.,
44-81-631-0548)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(BOS)(00026)

First "Graphics Subsystem" For Macintosh 12/15/93
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 15 (NB) -- RasterOps
has introduced Horizon 24, a single-slot product billed as the first
graphics subsystem for the Macintosh.

The initial entry in a series of products to be based on RasterOps'
new Mercury graphics technology, Horizon 24 is aimed at allowing
real-time display and manipulation of 24-bit color images up to
256 megabytes (MB) in size.

To keep processing of large image files independent of either the
Macintosh processor or the bottleneck-prone Nubus, the board
integrates a large-screen frame buffer, a 128-bit data bus, a
large onboard image space, and a QuickDraw accelerator ASIC
(application-specific integrated circuit) with integrated cache.

The large-screen frame buffer drives all Macintosh monitors up to
21-inches at resolutions of up to 1152-by-870 pixels, according to
the company. The 128-bit data bus provides a transfer rate of 250
megabytes-per-second (MBps), or 50 times the 5MBps transfer
rate of the Nubus.

The image space offers up to 256MB of dedicated memory for on-
board image processing.  This space is large enough for offscreen
memory, a capability that allows an application to address a
display space larger than the physical monitor size, and also
preserves on-screen images that are temporarily hidden by an
application so they can be displayed without redrawing, officials
said.

The QuickDraw accelerator intercepts more than 90 percent of all
graphics applications calls to QuickDraw, and accelerates 15 times
more graphics primitives than any other Macintosh accelerator, the
company asserted.

The DSP accelerator, which is implemented on a daughtercard,
consists of two AT&T 3210 DSP (digital signal processing) chips
working in parallel to speed performance of Adobe Photoshop
filters.

By maintaining independence from both the central processing
unit (CPU) and the Nubus, Horizon 24 qualifies as a true graphics
subsystem, as opposed to an accelerator, according to Jon Bass,
product marketing manager.

Some other recently released accelerators also keep image
processing off of the CPU, but these products require use of either
the Quadra Processor Direct Slot (PDS) for transferring data to the
frame buffer, or the Nubus for data transfer and application of
Photoshop filters and effects, he explained.

The PDS offers higher bandwidth than the Nubus, but still boosts
performance to only 30 to 40MBps, and also confines users to the
Quadra platform. In contrast, the Horizon 24 is equally compatible
with Quadra or any other Macintosh system. The subsystem
incorporates controllers for NuBus, PCI (Peripheral Component
Interconnect) and VESA (Video Electronics Standards Association)-
local bus, and is PowerPC-compatible, said Bass.

In the future, the technology can be expanded to incorporate new
capabilities, such as 32-bit CMYK display and real-time color
conversion, according to Bass.

Mercury can also be used as the basis for lower cost products for
general purpose use, rather than RAM-intensive image processing
functions, he added.

Horizon 24 comes in three configurations: retail pricing is $4,999
for a version with 4MB of image memory, $5,799 for a 16MB image
memory version, and $12,499 for a 64MB image memory version.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19931215/Reader Contact: RasterOps, tel
800-SAY-COLOR; Press Contact: Nicole Ratshin, Cunningham
Communications for RasterOps, 408-982-0400/PHOTO)


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

 ****Apple Intros Hypercard 2.2, Apple Scripting Kit 1.1 12/15/93
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 15 (NB) -- Apple
Computer has announced new Hypercard 2.2 for creating custom
software and a new Applescript Scripter's Kit containing the new
Applescript 1.1 for automating tasks on Macintosh computers.
Both new products have the ability to create stand-alone,
run-time applications, Apple added.

Hypercard was originally launched by Apple in 1988 and is
available on over eight million Macintoshes worldwide, the company
maintains. The biggest change in Hypercard 2.2 is the integration
of Applescript, which allows users to automate repetitive tasks
by launching, controlling, and exchanging data with existing
applications on the Macintosh. Some of those applications
include: 4th Dimension, Macwrite, Filemaker, Microsoft Excel,
Microsoft Word, Photoflash, Quarkxpress, Wordperfect, and 75
others, Apple said.

Apple has also bundled in Addmotion II from Motion Works
International, described as a 24-bit color paint, animation, and
sound extension for controlling and editing animations and
sounds. Quicktime support has also been maintained so users
can incorporate movies into Hypercard applications.

In addition, Hypercard 2.2 includes Colortools, for "seamlessly"
adding color to stacks and Worldscript support for creating
multilingual applications. Colortools allows for importing and
resizing of color PICT graphics. With Colortools users may select
from a palette of 256 shades to color Hypercard elements such as
buttons, fields, cards, and backgrounds.

Worldscript allows the possibility of including different
languages in a field or card to create multilingual applications.
Apple claims scripting can be done in several languages,
including French and Japanese, using the Applescript dialects
extensions.

Hypercard 2.2 applications may now be distributed royalty free.
Applications created with Hypercard can be saved with a new "save
as" option and distributed without the necessity of paying fees
to Apple.

Apple has also announced general availability of the Applescript
Scripter's Kit, released to developers only in April of this
year. The new version of Applescript, version 1.1 is incorporated
into the new Hypercard 2.2.

Applescript was released to developers first, because
applications have to be "scriptable" in order for users to
automate custom repetitive functions using the product. Another
29 independent software vendors (ISVs) have announced support for
Applescript, bringing the total number of ISVs up to 80, Apple
announced.

The Scripter's Kit allows users to create automated processes on
Macintosh desktops or across a Macintosh network that are stand-
alone applications and may be distributed without paying
royalties to Apple. The kit includes Applescript 1.1, a script
editor so scripts can be "recorded" based on user's actions, and
an interface processor for building interfaces for scripts from
Software Designs Unlimited.

Apple says both Hypercard 2.2 and the Applescript Scripter's Kit
require System 7 or higher and both are planned for release at
the end of December, 1993. Hypercard 2.2 is retail priced at
$249, but Apple says it will offer a promotional price of $139
and upgrades to registered Hypercard 2.0 or 2.1 users for $89.
Claris Hypercard 2.1 users may upgrade for only $39, Apple added.
The Applescript Scripter's Kit 1.1 will retail for $189.

The products may be obtained from Apple resellers, software
resellers, and Apple's source for developer tools -- APDA.

(Linda Rohrbough/19931215/Press Contact: Emilo Robles, Apple
Computer, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Toni Giusti,
Cunningham Communications, 408-982-0400; Public contacts:
APDA, US 800-282-2732, Canada 800-637-0039, International
716-871-6555; Upgrade Information from Apple Software
Programs Customer Service, 800-769-2775; Apple Reseller
Locations, 800-538-9696)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00028)

UK - IBM Intros PS/1 Easyoffice 12/15/93
PORTSMOUTH, HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1993 DEC 15 (NB) -- The IBM
PC Co., has unveiled PS/1 Easyoffice, which it claims is an easy
to use and versatile hardware/software combination designed
specifically for the small business market.

The system claims to come with everything that the small business
users requires to be fully functional and productive, according to
the company, including a 33 megahertz (MHz) 486DX-based PC plus
software designed for small business administrative work, a
built-in fax/modem, and a Logitech hand scanner for graphics input.

According to IBM, potential small business owners will find the
system invaluable because everything they require is available on a
single system. eliminating the need, the company claims, to search
out, purchase and assemble various computer and fax parts and
accessories.

"Anyone just starting a business, or needing to increase the
productivity of their office, will find the PS/1 Easyoffice a solid
investment," explained Steve Rowley, manager of the IBM PC
Company UK.

"It is without doubt the easiest, fastest, most economical way to
create an office environment, ideally suited to people purchasing a
PC for the first time and for whom the vast array of productivity
packages available on the market today, presents a confusing
proposition," he said.

The standard PS/1 Easyoffice configuration comes with a 253
megabyte (MB) hard drive, a color SVGA monitor, as well as DOS 6.0
and Windows 3.1. Lotus Amipro and Lotus Improv, respective, word
processing and spreadsheet packages, are also pre-installed.

Other pre-loaded software includes an exclusive tutorial which
claims to teach the user what the PS/1 can do and how to operate
in the Windows environment, an on-screen index which explains
how to perform many common tasks, and PS/1 Fitness, which
includes a virus checker.

Pricing on the PS/1 Easyoffice is described by IBM as extremely
competitive, and depends on what extras users want with the
system.

(Steve Gold/19931215/Press & Public Contact: IBM PC Co., tel
44-256-561000, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(WAS)(00029)

PC-SIG Intros $20 Education CD-ROM 12/15/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 15 (NB) -- Sunnyvale,
California-based PC-SIG, one of the first companies to place
shareware files on CD-ROM, has introduced a new Education
CD-ROM for only $19.95.

The PC-SIG World of Education contains more than 600
educational programs for all ages from pre-school to adult,
including more than 150 programs which will run directly
from the CD-ROM without the need to copy or install the
software to a hard drive.

Math, spelling, word processing, languages, science, children's
programs, history, astronomy and space exploration, and computer
training are just some of the program categories included on this
disc.

This disc is the third in PC-SIG's six-volume Encyclopedia of
Shareware which includes the World of Windows and World of
Games along with this new World of Education title.

(John McCormick/19931214/Public Contact: 800-245-6717,
operator 2372)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEL)(00030)

India - USL Opens Madras Master Education Center 12/15/93
MADRAS, INDIA, 1993 DEC 15 (NB) -- An Indian licensed Master
Education Center of Unix System Laboratories (USL), the first of
its kind in the country, has opened in Madras.

I-mat (which stands for Information Management and Applications
Technology), a division of Computer Techniques (India) Pvt. Ltd.,
has received the clearance from USL to offer specialized training
programs on Unix.

At present, i-mat offers four certificate courses: namely Certified
Unix Engineer, Certified Object-Oriented Programmer, Certified
Windows Programmer and Certified Networking Engineer.

These programs are based on fifteen select USL courses and i-mat
designed courses. Students successfully completing the USL
course module will get USL signed certificates. Students can take
credits for USL courses completed with i-mat in India when they go
to US to take certification examinations.

According to S. Ravindran, chairman and managing director of i-mat,
the center is targeting graduates and post graduates and plans
to introduce Certified Master Programmer and Certified Client-
Server Technologist courses soon.

Besides providing training on Unix, i-mat is the authorized reseller
of Unix SVR4.2 in South India. The center is working towards having
fifteen i-mat centers across the country by the end of December,
1994.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19931215)