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/NB930121

Text File | 1993-01-21 | 65KB | 1,462 lines

(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00001)

Microsoft Announces Multiproduct Tech Seminar 01/21/93
REDMOND,WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 21 (NB) -- Microsoft
has announced that it will host a multiproduct technical
information conference at the Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel
in Orlando, Florida, from March 9-12, 1993.

The conference is designed to provide systems integrators,
support professionals and technical managers detailed
information about systems development, integration, and
support for the Microsoft Windows operating system.

The company says Microsoft products will be covered in-depth, and
attendees will learn how to build systems for both Windows and
for Windows NT, which is scheduled for release later this year.

They will also learn how to optimally configure Microsoft products
for use in multivendor environments. In addition to Window and
Windows NT, specific sessions are scheduled on Visual Basic,
Excel, SQL Server, Mail, Access, FoxPro, LAN Manager, Project,
Windows for Pens, Word, Windows for Workgroups, multimedia,
development methodologies, dynamic data exchange (DDE), object
linking and embedding (OLE), messaging applications programming
interface, and Windows Open Services Architecture (WOSA).

Microsoft says that the conference will primarily focus on practical
help for building systems for today's software, with only limited
discussions on future directions the company may foresee.
Registration cost is $995, with a $100 discount for registrations
received before February 1, 1993. Team discounts are also
available.

(Jim Mallory/19930119/Press contact: Anne Rupley, Microsoft,
206-882-8080; Reader contact: 800-426-9400; Seminar
registration: 800-227-7951, fax [phone] in the US;
206-453-572 for international registration)


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

Bell Canada Moves 2,800 To New Business Units 01/21/93
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1993 JAN 21 (NB) -- Bell Canada
has asked about 2,800 employees to transfer from the telephone
company to three new subsidiaries that will provide Bell and
others with data processing and computer services.

Bell Sygma Inc., and two subsidiaries, Bell Sygma-Telecom
Solutions Inc., and Bell Sygma Systems Management, will take
over data center operations for Canada's largest regional phone
company. The move comes several months after a plan to turn
over Bell's computer operations to a joint venture with SHL
Systemhouse Inc., an Ottawa computer services firm. Bell is in
the process of selling its 25 percent interest in Systemhouse.

Bell Sygma Inc., is a holding company and will have about 100
employees, a Bell spokeswoman confirmed. Bell Sygma Systems
Management will have about 600 employees and will seek computer
outsourcing contracts from other companies as well as running
Bell's computer operations. Bell Sygma-Telecom will offer
systems integration and software development and will take up
the remaining 2,100 of the 2,800 transferred Bell employees.

The companies will be based in Toronto with a "strong
presence" in Montreal, said Barry Fairhall, assistant
vice-president of business communications at Bell Sygma.

While Bell Canada provides telephone services only in Ontario and
Quebec, the new companies will seek business across the country,
Fairhall said. Some of that business may come from other regional
telephone companies. Additional offices across the country will
depend on the response to Sygma's service offerings, Fairhall said.

Operations are due to begin February 1, Fairhall added. Bell
employees who have been asked to transfer have been offered
exactly the same benefits package they now have at Bell, he
claimed, responding to a newspaper report that some employees
fear they may lose benefits as a result of the move. "We're
getting a very positive response" from employees, Fairhall said.

(Grant Buckler/19930120/Press Contact: Barry Fairhall, Bell
Sygma, 416-581-4547; Lois Carson, Bell Canada, 514-870-7430)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00003)

Develcon's 1Qtr Upturn Follows Poor Year 01/21/93
SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA, 1993 JAN 21 (NB) --
Things are starting to look up at Develcon Electronics Ltd.
W.D. Vancoughnett, president and chief financial officer of the
communications equipment maker, said a shift into new product
areas is starting to yield a revenue upturn. Figures for the
first quarter of fiscal 1993 bear him out.

In early January, Develcon reported its final financial figures
for fiscal 1992, which ended August 31, as well as unaudited
figures for the first quarter, ended November 30.

The 1992 results continued a slow decline in revenue and a pattern
of losses. Sales were C$8.64 million, down from C$9.11 million in
1991 and C$9.74 million in 1990. Also, the company lost C$1.54
million, a slightly worse loss than 1991's C$1.32 million, though
better than 1990's C$2.07 million.

However, in the first quarter, Develcon posted sales revenues of
C$2.90 million, up from C$2.03 million in the same period of
1992. Further, the company made a C$24,000 profit in the quarter,
compared to a C$494,000 loss in the year-earlier period.

Over the past couple of years Develcon has been moving into the
local area network bridge market. Vancoughnett told Newsbytes
the move is starting to bear fruit. "We've spent the past 18
months trying to replace the falling sales in some of the more
dated product lines," he said. "We're focused on new products
and new sales channel development."

More than half of Develcon's sales are coming from its new
internetworking products now, Vancoughnett said.

The first-quarter profit is a sign that, "there are some prospects
of profitability this year," Vancoughnett added, although he said
it is too early in the year to predict the results with complete
confidence.

At the beginning of January, Develcon management set up a new
company to buy out a stake which the Saskatchewan Economic
Development Corp., a provincial agency, holds in the company. All
of Develcon's 95 employees will be offered a chance to buy shares
in this new firm, Corporate Secretary Audrey Schneider said, and
the deal would give the new holding company about 50 percent of
Develcon.

Vancoughnett said this move would meet the company's goal of
reducing its debt, for which purpose it had been seeking a
"strategic partner" for some time.

(Grant Buckler/19930120/Press Contact: W.D. Vancoughnett,
Develcon Electronics, 306-933-3300, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(TYO)(00004)

 ****IBM Japan/Canon Intro Notebook PC With Printer 01/21/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 JAN 21 (NB) -- IBM Japan and Canon have
jointly developed a notebook-style personal computer, complete
with built-in printer.

The device is called the Thinkpad 550BJ. It is based on IBM
Japan's DOS/V PC and Canon's original bubble jet printer.
The printer is positioned under the keyboard. Consequently,
this PC is six centimeters deep, which is slightly thicker than
regular notebook-type PCs.

However, the horizontal and vertical size remains the A4 size.
Paper can be fed from the front side of the PC, which is then
printed out the rear.

The companies claim that the print quality is very clear. It is
reported that the printing speed is about twice as fast as that
of a regular ink-jet printer. A maximum of 10 pieces of paper
can be automatically fed into the printer.

The notebook-type PC is equipped with IBM Japan's 25 megahertz
(MHz) original processor, the 80486SLC. It also has an integrated
circuit (IC) card slot for telecommunications. A mouse can also be
connected with the PC.

The product comes in three models, with the high-end unit
having a 120 megabyte (MB) hard drive.

Retail prices vary from 298,000 yen ($2,400) to 524,000 yen
($4,200) depending on the model. The PCs are set for release
on February 19. IBM Japan is reportedly preparing to announce
another two new models in the near future. All the PCs will
be sold both by IBM Japan and Canon in Japan. In overseas
markets, the PCs will be sold by Canon.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930121/Press Contact: IBM
Japan, [phone], Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00005)

Computers For Social Change Conference Set For NYC 01/21/93
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 21 (NB) -- The program
directors of the "Seventh New York City Conference on Computers
For Social Change" have announced the agenda for this year's
conference.

The conference is to be held Thursday evening, January 21, and
on Friday,  January 22 at the Hunter College School of Social
Work, 129 East 79th Street in New York City.

The conference is sponsored by the New York Computer Activists,
the  Education Center for Community Organizing (ECCO) at Hunter
College School of Social Work, Community Service Center (CSS),
and Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR).

The conference begins with the keynote address, "Snapshot of
America: A Picture of the Nation's Well-Being - Making the
Invisible Visible" by Dr. Mark L. Miringoff, Director, The Fordham
Institute of Social Policy. Dr. Miringoff is professor of social
policy at the Fordham University Graduate School of Social
Services and the author of "American Social Welfare Policy" and
"Management in Human Services Organization".

On Thursday evening, the Walter A. Wannerstrom Progressive
Computing Award will be presented to a "community-based group
that has used computer technology in an especially innovative
way to improve its community." Wannerstrom was a conference
planner until his death in 1992.

The main day of the conference is divided into a series of
workshops. organized into five areas: Empowerment and Activism;
Public Policy and Public Data Access; Organization and
Management; Telecommunications; and Computer Skills. The
Computer Skills workshops are intended to aid community leaders
in acquiring computer literacy.

Panelists in the other workshops include: Barbara Garson, author
of "The Electronic Sweatshop;" Mike Godwin, Electronic Frontier
Foundation (EFF); John German, Non-Profit Computing; Donna
Demac, Interactive Telecommunications Project; James P. Love,
Center for the Study of Responsive Law; Stacy Horn, Echo
Communications Group; Lance Rose, author of "SysLaw"; Alexis
Rosen, PANIX; David Sobel, CPSR; and Dave Burstein, WBAI-FM.

John German , one of the organizers of the conference, told
Newsbytes that, "In addition to the wonderful discussions that
go on in the workshops, previous conference have provided an
atmosphere for real networking. Non-profit organizations have
developed contacts that have led to hardware and software
donations. The past conferences have been extremely effective
at many levels and I expect this one to be even more exciting."

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19930121/Press
Contact: Patricia Friedland, Community Service Society,
212-614-5314)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(BOS)(00006)

Cisco Intros 7000 High-Speed Router  01/21/93
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 21 (NB) -- At press
conferences in five locations around the globe, Cisco Systems has
launched the Cisco 7000, a super high performing router that will
also serve as the foundation for two future technologies from
the company - "silicon packet switching" and the "router cluster."

The Cisco 7000 operates at 100,000 packets per second (pps),
which is 50 percent faster than the AGS+, Cisco's previous
top-of-the-line offering, officials said at the press event in
Boston. The new router is also able to route, or allow
communications between, a 25 percent greater aggregate of
multiprotocol WANs (wide area networks) and LANs (local area
networks).

Like the AGS+, a system Cisco will continue to offer and upgrade,
the new Cisco 7000 is designed to prevent bottlenecks by dividing
up the processing load. The AGS+ and the Cisco 700 each contain
separate slots for a switch processor, a route processor, and
HSSI (High-Speed Serial Interface), Ethernet, token-ring, and
FDDI (Fiber distributed Data Interface) interface processors.
The single-port HSSI interface processor supports serial
communications at up to 52 Mbps.

The Cisco 7000 brings speedier overall processing, plus a new four-
or eight-port fast serial interface processor that supports serial
communications at up to 8 Mbps, stated Brett Bilger, director of
platform marketing, during the press conference. Together, the
five interface processors in the Cisco 7000 can link up to 40
WAN serial ports, 30 Ethernets, five FDDI rings, or 20 token-rings.

The present speed of the Cisco 7000 will be doubled to 200,000 pps
by the new technology of silicon packet switching, Bilger added.
Slated for release as an optional field upgrade some time over the
next six to 18 months, silicon packet switching will move packet
switching from the software, where it currently resides, into
custom hardware.

Also over the next six to 18 months, Cisco plans to introduce IBM
channel, primary rate ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Networks),
and channelized T1/E1 interfaces, said Bilger. The IBM channel
interface is designed to eliminate the need for host gateways and
front-end processors when used with standard protocols such as
TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) in
Cisco-based internetworks.

Over the same time frame, an interface to an ATM (asynchronous
transport mode) cellular broadband switch, currently available
through an external DSU only, will be moved onboard, according to
Bilger.

In 1994 will come the introduction of the router cluster, a
cellular technology that will integrate an ATM switch with
routers for up to 240 Ethernets or 800 T1 lines, all in the
same box.

The router cluster will offer scalable performance levels reaching
the level of millions of packets-per-second, Bilger predicted.
"This is what we call 'bandwidth in a box,'" he commented. The
routers will connect across a fiber backplane in a manner similar
to FDDI clusters of today, Bill Kelly, marketing system engineer,
told Newsbytes at the close of the press conference.

Also planned for the future is a flash credit card capability that
will augment the flash memory capability already offered in the
Cisco 7000, Bilger said during the event. The current flash memory
capability lets network administrators download new system
software releases or updated microcode to all routers within a
network without physically accessing remote units. The upcoming
flash credit card will be aimed at easing distribution of code
among separate networks.

In addition to greater speed and aggregated routing capabilities,
the System 7000 offers enhanced reliability, according to
officials. The new router is the first from Cisco to enable full
current-sharing of dual backup power systems, allowing
uninterrupted operation if one system fails. Either of two 700-
watt universal power systems, supporting voltages of 100 to 240
volts and frequencies of 50 to 60 Hz, can be hot-swapped with
the system running.

The Cisco 7000 also brings a new, TriBus architecture that adds
a systems overhead bus to the data and interprocessor
communications buses present in the AGS+. The interprocessor
communications bus helps to increase reliability by leaving the
data bus free to pass switched data between interfaces. This
advantage has been heightened by the use of the third bus, Bilger
told Newsbytes at the end of the press conference.

Beyond the AGS+ and new Cisco 7000, Cisco produces two lower
end routers, the Cisco 3000 and Cisco 4000, remarked John
Chambers, senior vice president of Cisco, during the event.
Current expansion of the company's product line has been
accompanied by geographic growth as well, he added. In 1993,
Cisco will open eight new headquarters offices, in cities in
North America, Europe and the Asia Pacific, he said.

The new Cisco 7000 router is available in standalone or rack-
mountable versions. The system is priced at $19,900,
including route and switch processors. The interface processors
are priced at $6,500 to $22,000.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19930120)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00007)

More Z-Note Notebooks From Zenith 01/21/93
BUFFALO GROVE, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 21 (NB) -- Zenith
Data Systems (ZDS) has introduced three new Z-Note notebook
PC models, powered by Intel's 486SL microprocessor.

Also introduced were two new 25 megahertz (MHz) i386SL-based
color notebook systems, using passive matrix displays. "Microsoft
Windows was designed to be used with a color display. The use
of the passive matrix color display is the most economical way
to achieve that goal in portable computing," says ZDS Product
Line Management VP Philippe Ribeyre.

The Z-Note model 120 is a 486SL-based 25MHz system with four
megabytes (MB) of system memory, a 120MB hard drive, and a VGA
edgelit monochrome display priced at $2,599. The model 120 is
also available with a color display for $3,299, while another
version of the model uses a 386LS 25MHz chip and a color display
for $2,899.

The model 200 is a 486SL-based system running at 25MHz. It comes
with 4MB of memory, a 200MB hard drive, and a VGA active matrix
color display for $3,995.

The model 85 uses Intel's 386SL chip running at 25MHz, is
equipped with 4MB of memory, a 85MB hard drive, and a VGA
passive matrix color display. That system is priced at $2,699.

ZDS says all the new systems are expected to ship in February.
System memory is upgradable in 4MB or 8MB increments to a
system total of 28MB. All the new notebooks are designed to be
network capable, and are pre-loaded with shells for Novell
Netware, Microsoft LAN Manager, and Banyan VINES, as well as
Microsoft's Windows for Workgroups.

The company says the nickel metal hydride battery will provide
up to 4.5 hours of operation for the monochrome units, and 2.5
hours for the color systems. Battery management can extend
those times.

Zenith Data Systems also announced that upgrades for the CPU
(central processing unit), hard drive, and video displays are
available for its Z-Note 386SL notebook systems. The CPU
upgrade turns the unit into a 32-bit system using an i486SL
25MHz microprocessor. The upgrades require factory
installation. Cost of the upgrade is $1,399.

(Jim Mallory/19930120/Press contact: John Bace, ZDS,
708-808-4848; Reader contact: 800-553-0331)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00008)

New For PC: Cognos Updates PowerPlay EIS Tool 01/21/93
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1993 JAN 21 (NB) -- Cognos Inc.,
has announced version 3.0 of PowerPlay, its desktop executive
information and decision support software. New features include
the ability to drill down on calculated data, more support for
networks and Unix servers, and ease-of-use improvements, the
company said.

PowerPlay's approach to drill-down - the ability to reveal more
detail underlying a particular number - is different from the
common way of doing it, said Robin McNeill, director of PowerPlay
products at Cognos. While most software requires that links
between different screens be programmed, PowerPlay will create
connections automatically based on the structure of the business.

In past releases, PowerPlay could reveal numbers that had been
combined to produce a total, such as the regional sales figures
behind a company total. But it could not produce calculated
figures such as cost-per-square-foot of real estate or earnings-
per-share in finer detail. The new version can do this.

The new release provides server software to run on a variety of
Unix systems, such as Sun Microsystems SPARCstations, Santa
Cruz Operation's Unix implementations, the IBM RS/6000,
Digital Equipment's Ultrix and VMS systems, Data General
Aviion systems, and Hewlett-Packard's MPE/IX.

A set of icon buttons, which Cognos calls a PowerBar, has
been added to the user interface. It lets users perform common
operations with a single click of the mouse.

The new release also supports Microsoft's object linking and
embedding (OLE) which facilitates links among different
applications.

PowerPlay is available now at C$800, directly from Cognos.
Connections to various host systems cost from C$1,490 to
C$8,625. The software requires a personal computer with at
least a 386 processor, two to four megabytes (MB) of memory,
and up to about five MB of disk space for typical applications,
McNeill said.

(Grant Buckler/19930120/Press Contact: Lyse Teasdale,
Cognos, 613-738-1440; Public Contact: Cognos, 800-361-3163)


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

New For PC: Wordstar's Box Office Communications Pkg 01/21/93
NOVATO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 21 (NB) -- Wordstar has
announced Box Office, a product geared toward accomplishing
communication tasks in Windows which the company says is part
of its (Small Office/Home Office) SOHO Series for the
burgeoning small and home office market.

According to Consumer Week, 21.4 million personal computers
(PCs) are used by 16.5 million US households. Also, the market
research firm Link Resources claims that more than 30 percent of
those PC users are already implementing Windows-based graphical
operating system software. However, those numbers are expected
to increase rapidly as the number of PCs in the SOHO market are
expected to jump nearly 38 percent by 1997.

Box Office bundles five of the company's products: word
processor Wordstar for Windows; fax/modem software Ultrafax
LE; the American Heritage Dictionary Micro Edition; grammar
checker Correct Grammar; and 100 artist-designed fax cover
sheets in Under Cover.

Wordstar is hoping it can appeal to the cost-conscious home
and small office computer user's desire to produce "professional
looking" documents by offering the bundle for $249. Buying each
package individually could total more than $700.

The company's Vice President of Marketing Karen Orton, told
Newsbytes that consumers can expect to see other similar offers
in the near future, as Wordstar attempts to focus on the SOHO
market.

Users who are considering purchasing the package and already
have a fax/modem may want to look carefully to be sure their
fax/modem is supported by the Ultrafax LE software product.
The company says Ultrafax LE will work with fax/modems that
support the Intel DCA/CAS, Class 1, and Class 2 standard.

Wordstar says Ultrafax LE is the original equipment
manufacturer (OEM) version and offers the ability to store and
receive faxes, as well as annotate, edit, and broadcast faxes
to multiple numbers.

For those who do not already have a fax/modem, a coupon in the
package invites the user to purchase the Best Data Products
Smart One 9624PQ send-and-receive fax/data modem board, and
a Prodigy membership -- both for an additional $49.

An IBM or compatible personal computer (PC) with a 286 or
higher microprocessor, two megabytes (MB) of RAM, MS-DOS 3.1
or later, Microsoft Windows 3.0 or later, a 20MB hard disk
drive, a Windows-compatible monitor and graphics card, a
mouse, and a printer are required.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930120/Press Contact: Kristen Keyes,
McLean Public Relations for Wordstar, tel [phone],
fax [phone])


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

UK: Softvision Intros Windows For Workgroups Video 01/21/93
GUILDFORD, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1993 JAN 21 (NB) -- Softvision has
announced the immediate availability of a Microsoft Windows for
Workgroups learning video. Costing UKP 149, the video aims to
help users learn about, what the company calls, Microsoft's
"low-cost learning solution."

Softvision claims that the video was developed in close
association with Microsoft and is aimed at information
technology (IT) managers and network managers, as well as end
users of the software.

The video includes Dave Bridger, the marketing manager of
Microsoft's Workgroup Systems, demonstrating the features of
Windows for Workgroups. According to Bridger, the message he
tries to get across in the video is that Windows for Workgroups
makes life easier for PC users to share information and work
together.

"Not only is video training an ideal medium to learn this new
version of Windows, but the Softvision method of learning
provides users with a tool to introduce and implement Windows
for Workgroups software. In three hours, the video equips
viewers with the knowledge of the application," he said.

Newsbytes notes that the video appears to have beaten book
publishers off the mark in the UK in getting third-party user
documentation/help to market. Softvision recommends that
users have access to the software while watching the video.

The Softvision video allows the user to quickly learn the various
features of Windows for Workgroups, including diary tasking,
file management, scheduling, messaging, and tool sharing, as
well applications integration and interfacing with other
networks.

(Steve Gold/19930120/Press & Public Contact: Softvision -
Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00011)

UK: Artisoft Signs Another Distributor 01/21/93
SLOUGH, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1993 JAN 21 (NB) -- Artisoft,
the developer of the LANtastic peer-to-peer network operating
system, has signed up Qudis Bytech's networking division to
act as a specialist distributor of its flagship product. The
extra distribution channel will, the company claims, complement
Artisoft's existing mainstream distributors - Ingram Micro and
Merisel.

Plans call for Qudis to concentrate on "workgroup" markets
through value-added resellers, rather than Ingram and Merisel's
strategy of selling to all-comers. According to Steve Jordan,
Qudis' general manager, the strategy will allow the company
to use Artisoft's support to market LANtastic into vertical
markets.

"Our strategy since establishing Qudis Networks has been to handle
a structured and focused set of market-leading products that can
be integrated to meet all LAN (local area network) and WAN
(wide area network) connectivity requirements. Artisoft is unique
in the networking market, offering an unrivaled range of
connectivity options and workgroup products for multiple
computing environments," he said.

Susan Payne, Artisoft Europe's director of marketing, was
enthusiastic about Qudis' decision to distribute the LANtastic
range. "While most users will simply want to use LANtastic to
link together a series of PC compatibles, an increasingly large
number of users are looking for integrated solutions to boost
office productivity. Qudis is well placed to serve this market,"
she said.

Plans call for Qudis to undertake a series of joint sales and
marketing activities with Artisoft. Newsbytes notes that
Qudis plans to exploit new markets, rather than overlap with
Ingram and Merisel.

The move is strategic for Artisoft. Novell has recently announced
its plans for a peer-to-peer plus technology successor to
Netware 2.2 and 3.x, known as Personal Netware. As previously
reported by Newsbytes, Personal Netware will be available for
multiple platforms, including DOS, OS/2, Unix, and Microsoft
Windows.

Personal Netware has been penciled in for a March/April, 1993,
introduction for Windows. The Artisoft move to sign Qudis as
its third distributor is clearly designed to boost the company's
market share for LANtastic in advance of the launch of Personal
Netware.

(Steve Gold/19930120/Press & Public Contact: Artisoft -
Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00012)

UK: Apricot Pre-Installs Windows For Workgroups For Free 01/21/93
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, 1993 JAN 21 (NB) -- Apricot has added
Microsoft Windows for Workgroups to its pre-installation
service.

In addition to bundling the software, Apricot is also offering two
budget cabling kits. The first kit allows two PCs to be linked
together on a network for just UKP 35, while the second is for
extra single nodes and costs UKP 25 per node pack.

Announcing the deals, Chris Buckham, Apricot's marketing
director, said that all of Apricot's systems feature integrated
networking as a standard feature. "It was a natural decision to
bundle Windows for Workgroups," he said.

Buckham added that Windows for Workgroups is destined to
bring the benefits of networking to many PC users. "It will bring
the benefits of networking to many thousands of PC users for
the first time and will provide large scale local area networks
with an intuitive work group environment," he said.

The deal is obvious a shot in the arm for Microsoft, as Apricot
is a high prestige company in the corporate PC marketplace in
the UK. Windows for Workgroups has been criticized in certain
quarters as being an expensive method of doing what other
networked applications already do under Windows. Apricot's
takeup of the technology will clearly benefit Microsoft in this
respect.

The users of Apricot's PCs also appear to be benefiting from this
arrangement. Instead of having to pay for the package, potential
buyers of Apricot's PCs get Workgroups for Windows as a free
pre-installed package.

(Steve Gold/19930120/Press & Public Contact: Apricot -
Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(ATL)(00013)

America Online Goes Windows, ZiffNet Offers Gates Authors 01/21/93
VIENNA, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 21 (NB) -- America Online
became the second on-line service to offer a user interface
program under Microsoft Windows with America Online for
Windows. The program is already on store shelves and is being
offered free at the Windows & OS/2 Conference in San Jose.

Last year, CompuServe announced a CompuServe Information
Manager for Windows, which it has been featuring in television
ads for its service. Still, America Online President Steve Case
claimed his is the "first consumer on-line service to announce
general availability of a Windows version." An estimated 10
million computer users now have Windows.

The America Online program uses such Windows tools as
pull-down menus, three-dimensional (3D) icons, tiling and
cascading, multitasking, resizing, minimizing, and a "Flashbar,"
which features colorful icons for quick access to services like
news, stock quotes and the downloading of files. There is also
a "Mobile Access" feature, allowing the storing of a number of
access phone numbers, loaded from a list of over 700.

ZiffNet on CompuServe, meanwhile, said it will host the authors
of a new Bill Gates biography for a full week. Stephen Manes and
Paul Andrews will answer questions on their book, "Gates: How
Microsoft's Mogul Reinvented an Industry -- and Made Himself
the Richest Man in America," from January 25-29. ZiffNet
claims it has 125,000 members. The service will also offer
a "Gates Trivia Quiz," with copies of the book as a prize.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930121/Press Contact: Lyn Chitow,
America Online, 703-883-1502; ZiffNet, Lisa Landa,
617-252-5211)


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

Phone Companies Report Earnings 01/21/93
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 21 (NB) -- It is January,
and  a reporter's mind turns to thoughts of annual earnings
reports. From the nation's largest telephone companies, they
are mostly pretty good, despite the fact that every management
team referred to 1992 as a "challenging" year.

Ameritech Corp., for instance, claimed operating earnings of
$1.346 billion, up 15.5 percent from a year ago. Because the
company decided to take the cost of future retirement insurance
benefits as an expense, however, it actually reported a loss.
A number of other companies in 1992 decided to do the same
thing, although they were given the option of writing off the
future expense more slowly.

Ameritech also made another type of news by electing former
Labor Secretary Lynn Martin to its board of directors. Martin
had come into her own during 1992 as a chief public
spokesman for and defender of former President George Bush.
Before joining the Administration in 1991, she had served in
Congress and run for the US Senate, losing to incumbent
Democrat Paul Simon.

Pacific Telesis Group said its profits were up 12 percent to
$1.14 billion, despite taking a $122 million charge for cutting
staff. During the last quarter of the year the company also
announced plans to split itself up between regulated and less-
regulated entities, with most of the top managers, including
Chairman Sam Ginn, saying they planned to go with the
wireless business.

Cincinnati Bell, however, which is not one of the seven regional
Bell companies, given that it is based on a small operating area
in southern Ohio, had a different story to tell. Its income fell
8.4 percent, to $53.5 million. Charges related to the loss of an
IRS contract by the company's CBIS information management
subsidiary, and costs related to the redemption of debt and
reductions of staff, were blamed. CBIS separately said it is
discussing sales of its CBIS Edge customer information system
platform with several "major telecommunications carriers."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930121)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SYD)(00015)

Cloud Hovers Over IBM's Australian PC Plant 01/21/93
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1993 JAN 21 (NB) -- IBM is not openly
talking about it, but there's a good chance it may close its PC
manufacturing plant in the Australian town of Wangaratta.
The facility manufactures PC and RISC (reduced instruction-set
computer) machines for the Australian and Asia-Pacific region.

IBM Vice President Bob Corrigan has just visited Australia, and
admitted that the PC division of IBM had not been able to react
quickly enough to changes in the fickle PC marketplace, in the
US or Australia. He said part of the answer to this was to
establish its IBM Personal Computer Company in Australia as a
separate company, legally and financially separate from IBM.

Corrigan said the company had already brought many of its
products into line with what the market wanted, and would soon
have all models updated.

Industry observers believe IBM is considering a number of
options to add extra work to its Wangaratta production lines.
These include producing a new "clone" lines of machines
that would not have the IBM name, but would be sold through
existing channels. Also under consideration is producing a
generic line of OEM (original equipment manufacturer) machines
that could be sold to other distributors who would badge the
machines with their names. Other options would be to produce
an "Australian" PC that would be sold by just one distributor
(perhaps by mail order), and to take on manufacturing work for
other manufacturers who need to get Australian content
credits.

(Paul Zucker/19930119)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SYD)(00016)

Australian Environmental Mac Software For Schools 01/21/93
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1993 JAN 21 (NB) -- "Investigating Lake
Iluka" is an interactive CD-ROM package designed to support
the ecology component of senior high school biology courses. It
was released at the Australian Apple Technology Schools
Conference in Wollongong, near Sydney.

Developed with the Faculty of Education at the University of
Wollongong, it results from the "Christopher Columbus project"
which is a collaboration between the University, Apple
Computer Australia, the NSW State Board of Studies, and the
Academy of Sciences.

Users of the programs developed under the collaboration
"embark on a voyage of educational discovery" just like
Columbus. All projects integrate video, CDs, text, and graphics
to create a package of curriculum material for teachers and
students.

"Investigating Lake Iluka" is based on a fictitious lake
environment. Students browse textual information on the
various ecosystems of the lake and study the animal and plant
species. They can also play video footage of news reports and
expert and local views on a variety of issues. It amalgamates
actual data, news reports and film of the real Lake Illawarra
near Wollongong.

The experts (actors) present topics ranging from algal bloom
to lake management committees. Using Apple's QuickTime, video
is viewed on-screen without extra hardware. It was digitized
using a VideoSpigot system, and edited in Adobe Premier 2. The
system is designed to run on a Mac LC II with CD-ROM drive.

(Paul Zucker/19930119/Contact: Barry Harper at Wollongong
University on phone [phone] or fax Apple on
[phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(PAR)(00017)

European Bank Loans Fujitsu $50Mil For Computer Chips 01/21/93
PARIS, FRANCE, 1993 JAN 21 (NB) --The European Investment
Bank has announced a loan of $50 million to a division of Japan's
Fujitsu.

The Luxemburg-based bank, investment arm of the European
Community (EC), is dedicated to improving the infrastructure
of the 12 EC nations. Fujitsu Microelectronics, based in
Aycliffe, England, has proposed building a semiconductor
production plant at that site. Fujitsu will be using the
production for computer memory.

Some analysts expressed surprise that the EC would make a
loan to a Japanese company, especially in an area in which
Japan represents Europe's fiercest competition. Japanese
DRAMs, for example, represent more than 70 percent of the
European market.

However, the part of England in question qualifies for such
investments, under the EC policy of subsidizing industry in
underdeveloped regions, according to a spokesman for the
European Investment Bank.

It is also true that the EC has regularly followed this policy,
regardless of the origin of the company to receive the
subsidies, as experts observed. American semiconductor
manufacturers, such as Motorola, have also built plants
in the UK with the help of EC regional subsidies.

(Andrew Rosenbaum/19930121/Press Contact: The European
Investment Bank, Luxemburg, tel. [phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEL)(00018)

India: European Community Plans Software Support Center 01/21/93
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1993 JAN 21 (NB) -- A software engineering
center, created with aid from the European Community (EC), will
be set up in India by April. The Department of Electronics (DOE)
is expected to sign a memorandum of understanding with the EC
concerning the "Software Support Services and Engineering
Center (3SE), which will be located in Bangalore.

The center is designed to familiarize Indian software engineers
with the latest software techniques in order to make them more
competitive in the global market.

Although the European software industry has resisted the move,
fearing that the center will adversely affect their business, that
is unlikely to get in the way of the EC aid.

The European Community's contribution will be in the form of a
grant amounting to one million ECU (approximately $1.2 million)
initially. This will come by way of hardware and CASE (computer-
aided software engineering) tools.

One of the major activities of the center will be to train Indian
companies on how to enter European markets. This will later be
expanded to include world markets. Linked to training is quality
assurance. The center has to be acceptable, in the West, as one
capable of providing quality service. Ultimately, the plan is to
turn it into an International Standards Organization ISO 9000
certifying agency.

The center will attempt to establish access to the latest
business databases in Europe, so as to make the information
available to Indian companies and vice versa.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19930121)


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

Zenith Data Systems Cuts PC Prices 01/21/93
BUFFALO GROVE, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 21 (NB) -- Zenith Data
Systems (ZDS) has announced price reductions of up to 27 percent
on some of its desktop and laptop models.

Newsbytes recently reported on the introduction of several new
Z-Note notebook models. Included in the cuts are all models of
the Z-300/400 desktop systems, all Z-Station desktops, and
Z-Servers. The price of the older notebook computers was also
cut, with an EDS-620nl model 60 powered by an Intel 386SL
microprocessor and equipped with a 60 megabyte (MB) hard drive
and 2MB of RAM selling for $1,299.

The company also announced that its first-year on-site warranty
service program is now available to all ZDS system buyers as
well as for selected ZDS monitors when purchased with certain
computers.

Under the new pricing structure a Z-425SX model 80 with a
14-inch super VGA color monitor is $1,299, a cut of 23 percent.
The system includes an 80MB hard drive, and 4MB of RAM,
which can be expanded to as much as 40MB.

A Z-Station 433Dh model 120 has been cut 17 percent, and now
carries a sticker price of $1,950. The system includes a 33
megahertz (MHz) Intel 486DX processor, a 120MB hard drive, 4MB
of RAM (which is expandable to 64MB), an Ethernet-compatible
local area network card, DOS 5.0, Microsoft Windows for
Workgroups, and user shells for Novell's Netware, Microsoft
LAN Manager and VINES network software.

ZDS spokesperson John Bace told Newsbytes that the shells for all
three are installed, and when the system is turned on the first
time the user will be offered a choice of which one they want to
use. The routine also allows the other two shells to be deleted or
retained.

For $5,749 you can now buy a Z-Server 450DE model 500S, which
is down 27 percent from the old price. The 500S runs on a 50MHz
Intel 486DX chip and comes with 8MB of RAM and a 500MB SCSI
(Small Computer Systems Interface) hard drive.

Asked if a price war is still in effect, Bace told Newsbytes that
consumers are watching carefully for the best values, but now
there's a greater focus on features. "ZDS introduced systems with
built-in Ethernet in April and built-in client shells (for network
software) in June. We announced the Z-server in Europe in April
last year and it was Pentium-ready. Other companies are
announcing those features now." Pentium is Intel's
next-generation microprocessor.

(Jim Mallory/19930121/Press contact: John Bace, ZDS,
708-808-4848; Reader contact: ZDS, 800-553-0331)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00020)

Dell Enters Asia-Pacific Market 01/21/93
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 21 (NB) -- Saying that it is part
of the company's ongoing strategy to expand its international
market share in all major PC markets, Dell Computer has opened
a new subsidiary company in Japan and will open an operating
unit in Australia next week.

Dell claims that Dell Computer KK of Japan and Dell Computer
Pty. Limited of Australia will offer a full range of desktop,
server, and portable computers.

As reported previously by Newsbytes, Japanese PC prices will
start at under $800 for a 386-based 33 megahertz system. The
company says it will pre-install applications and network
software and provide next-day on-site service and unlimited
toll-free technical support.

The announcement comes about two weeks earlier than expected.
Dell spokesperson Jennifer Powers told Newsbytes that came
about because of the state of the Japanese economy. "With the
struggling economy, consumers will be even more
value-conscious now," said Powers.

The company faces stiff competition in Japan. NEC is well
established, and both IBM and Compaq also has a presence there.
Competition is fierce, with all the companies participating in a
price war. Asked about that, Powers told Newsbytes, "We intend
to be competitive, but we will not, either in the US or there, offer
rock-bottom pricing. We think our products compare favorably to
the other companies." Dell says it can produce a low-cost
system for the market because of its efficient production
methods.

Powers said the Australian market is the second largest PC
market in the Asia-Pacific area. "Its a very sophisticated PC
market, and very competitive," she said.

Chairman and CEO Michael Dell, said, "The Japanese market is
ready for Dell." He says the company's entry into the market
comes at a time when Japan is experiencing relatively slow
economic growth.

Dell's Japanese operations will be led by General Manager Katsumi
Tizuka, who has served as head of Dell Far East since the company
established a presence there in 1988. Dell will sell its PCs direct
to the consumer and through three major Japanese resellers.

(Jim Mallory/19930121/Press contact: Jennifer Powers, Dell
Computer, 512-794-4100; Reader contact (US): 800-289-3355,
Japan: 81-3-5420-5255; Australia: 008-808-312 (local only)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LAX)(00021)

Sunpc DOS Emulation Half Price, Hardware Reduced  01/21/93
CHELMSFORD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 21 (NB) -- SPARC
workstation users can now run IBM compatible PC applications on
their machines for up to 50 percent less. Sunselect, a business
unit of Sun Microsystems, has cut prices on its Sunpc emulation
software and hardware acceleration products by as much as half.

Sunpc allows Sun Sparcstation users to run DOS and Microsoft
Windows applications in a window with Unix applications.
Additional hardware products, the Sunpc Accelerator SX card and
the Sunpc Accelerator DX card, have been reduced as much as 20
percent and can be added to the SPARCstation to improve the
performance of DOS and Windows applications.

Sunselect says an upgraded version of Sunpc, version 3.1,
offers new features and enhancements including access to Novell
Netware servers Network File System (NFS) systems and expanded
support for X Windows System managers, including Motif. The NFS
support means the Sunpc user can now use the workstation to
run PC applications that reside on Netware local area networks
(LANs).

While the company says it is working on adding support for
the popular Microsoft Windows version 3.1 graphical user
environment, the new version of Sunpc still supports
Windows 3.0.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930120/Press Contact: Kathryn Lang,
Sunselect, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00022)

New For PC: Final DOS, Windows TaxCut For 1992 01/21/93
FAIRFIELD, CONNECTICUT, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 21 (NB) -- Meca
Software Inc., has shipped the final 1992 editions of its Andrew
Tobias' TaxCut income-tax preparation software for Windows and
DOS. The Macintosh version should be shipping within a few days,
a company spokesman said.

TaxCut includes the R1040PCS option that allows electronic
filing of tax returns. According to Meca, the United States
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) prefers returns filed with 1040PC
format because they can be processed faster and more accurately
than regular tax returns.  Now returns can be filed immediately,
but payments can be withheld until April 15.

The 1992 edition of TaxCut for Windows has a new graphical
interface using Windows 3.1 TrueType fonts, enabling people to
view tax returns, forms, schedules, and worksheets in any size or
font. The new editions also feature an enhanced interview process
to help users organize their tax data, the company said.

Also new is the ability to import data directly from major
financial-planning software packages. TaxCut sells for less
than $40 in most stores, company officials said.

(Grant Buckler/19930121/Press Contact: Bob Bogard, Connors
Communications for Meca Software, 212-995-2200)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00023)

 ****IBM Launches Multimedia Business Unit 01/21/93
SOMERS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 21 (NB) -- IBM has created
another new business unit, this one to deal with the multimedia
market. Fireworks Partners will include IBM's multimedia
systems and integration business, its Person-to-Person
multimedia videoconferencing group, and its Atlanta-based
Multimedia Publishing Studio.

Fireworks Partners will be responsible for worldwide marketing
of IBM multimedia products and services. It will also back
promising multimedia development by entrepreneurs outside IBM,
and form joint ventures with other companies, officials said.

The new unit will officially be part of IBM's personal systems
operation, but will be overseen jointly by James A. Cannavino,
senior vice-president and general manager of personal systems,
and M. Bernard Puckett, senior vice-president and general manager
of application solutions. IBM's multimedia activities were
formerly part of the application solutions group.

Robert L. Carberry has been named president of Fireworks
Partners. Michael A. Braun, formerly assistant general manager,
multimedia, becomes vice-president and managing partner.

In an interview with Newsbytes, Carberry said the placement of
Fireworks as part of the Personal Systems operation did not
represent a major shift, but just the continuing evolution of
IBM's multimedia efforts.

Lucie J. Fjeldstad, vice-president and general manager of
multimedia, will remain within the Application Solutions area
and focus on the development of high-capacity networking
technology suitable for multimedia applications, Carberry said.

IBM's Multimedia Publishing Studio also announced plans to step
up alliances with other companies, including those creating
multimedia software for hardware other than IBM's.

The studio said it is currently looking at hundreds of inquiries
from developers of multimedia software for Apple Computer's
Macintosh computer who are interested in porting their software
to the PC.

"We would like to go cross-platform," said Carberry, noting that
IBM's Kaleida joint venture with Apple is working on multimedia
development tools that would allow applications to be developed
once and run on Apple's Macintosh System 7, IBM's OS/2, DOS,
and Microsoft Windows, as well as a multimedia platform
developed by Toshiba Corp.

Carberry said immediate multimedia opportunities include the
possibility of delivering almost any kind of material now
published on compact disks - including audio - through networks.

Fireworks Partners will initially have about 150 employees, a
spokesman said, and will be based in Somers, New York. Somers
is also the home of the IBM Personal Computer Co., the personal
computer unit IBM created last fall. Fireworks is a similarly
autonomous business unit, the spokesman said.

Carberry said the size of Fireworks Partners itself will
probably remain constant, with growth coming through joint
ventures and cooperation with other companies.

IBM also named an advisory board for Fireworks Partners. It
includes: Ellen M. Hancock, senior vice-president and general
manager of networking systems; Vincenzo Damiani, director-
general of marketing and services for IBM Europe; Fjeldstad;
James C. McGroddy, vice-president and director of research in
IBM's Research Division; Nobuo Mii, vice-president and general
manager of entry systems technology in IBM Personal Systems;
Dennie M. Welsh, vice-president of IBM and chairman and chief
executive of its Integrated Systems Solutions Corp. subsidiary;
James H. Beall, senior vice-president of systems and operations
at Prodigy Services Co.; and Fernand B. Sarrat, assistant general
manager of market development and operations for IBM Personal
Systems.

(Grant Buckler/19930121/Press Contact: David Harrah, IBM,
914-765-6666)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00024)

Russian/US Firms To Develop Semiconductor Technology 01/21/93
SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 21 (NB) -- Power
Spectra, a company engaged in the development of high-power
semiconductor switching devices and high voltage pulse
generators for commercial and military applications, has just
announced a deal with the Russian company Ioffe Institute of
St. Petersburg.

Power Spectra says it plans to share technology the Ioffe
Institute has developed to add to its Bulk Avalanche
Semiconductor Switch (BASS) product line. The company hopes
to move into new industrial and future commercial markets
using the new technology gained in the agreement.

Prototypes have already been built, the company said, and
both companies plan to jointly develop further semiconductor
technology which Power Spectra will then produce and market
in the West.

BASS is described by Power Spectra as a solid state switch which
converts high voltage (DC) current into high energy microwave
pulses. The technology was developed through a research
agreement with the Boeing Company and is anticipated to be a
major breakthrough in radar and nonlethal electronic warfare
technology.

The major application for BASS is to transmit extremely short
pulses over long distances and the technology is planned for
use in high resolution radar.

The deal with Ioffe has been in the works since May of 1992,
and two Russian scientists will come to Power Spectra's
Sunnyvale, California, facility from January to March to
implement the first phase of the agreement.

Power Spectra describes itself as a manufacturer of gallium
arsenide semiconductors, gallium arsenide being a higher
performance material than silicon. The company owns and
operates a Class 10 semiconductor processing facility in
Sunnyvale.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930121/Press Contact: Michael Gamble,
Power Spectra, 408-737-7977 ext 2222; Robert Cavosi,
Kehoe, White, Savage for Power Spectra, tel [phone],
fax [phone])


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

Sun Intros Network Terminal Server To Aid Downsizing  01/21/93
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 21 (NB) -- Sun
Microsystems Computer Corporation (SMCC) has obtained a new
product, the Network Terminal Server, through an agreement with
Burlington, Massachusetts-based Xylogics. The company says the
Server will help users ease out of mainframe use by allowing
the use of terminals and other equipment formerly connected to
the mainframe.

The Network Terminal Server is a desktop or rackmount unit
with 64 serial ports and one parallel port for connection of
terminals, scanners, modems, and personal computers to any Sun
server. The Sun servers include the new Sparccenter 2000, the
Sparcserver 10, and the Sparcserver 6000 - which Sun claims is
the industry's highest volume Unix ultiprocessor server.

Sun says Multiple Network Terminal Servers can be integrated
into one network, so thousands of users can be connected. The
Network Terminal Server also can be managed by the Sunnet
Manager, SMCC's SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol)
network management product. Network security is provided
through data encryption, audit trails, and user password, Sun
added.

Sunnet offers TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet
Protocol) support so users can simultaneously connect to multiple
systems with a variety of network protocols as well as Serial
Line Internet Protocol (SLIP) and Compressed SLIP support to
allow remote personal computer and X Window System
connectivity.

SMCC says the Network Terminal Server, will ship in February,
1993, and is available from SMCC or Sunexpress for $6,990.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930121/Press Contact: Laura Shuldener, Sun
Microsystems Computer Corporation, tel [phone], fax 415-
904-7025)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00026)

Supermac Reports Records Earns, Radius Losses 01/21/93
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 21 (NB) -- Supermac
and Radius are reporting their financial results, and while both
companies are boasting high-end color product sales are up,
Radius is reporting a loss of $713,000, while Supermac says
its earnings are up 81 percent.

Radius announced it would report first quarter losses, and
attributes the losses in part to a change in its accounting
system. The sales of high-end color and systems level products
have increased at Radius, the company reports. It also said sales
of the Color Pivot declined due to unavailability as the company
was in a product transition.

Previously, Radius reported earnings of $2.15 million in its
first quarter last year, and $147,000 in the previous quarter.

Supermac is also reporting that sales of high-end color products
and large-screen displays are up, and is attributing those sales
with shipments of private label products to Apple Computer
with its financial performance.

The company says for the year its net income is up 138 percent
to $6 million over the $2.5 million reported in 1991. Sales are
up 55 percent to $125 million for the year.

Third quarter results have increased to $39.4 million, up 81
percent from $21.8 million in the same quarter last year. The
company reported net income is up 87 percent to $1.8 million.

Supermac also claims that it now has 40 percent of the market
for 24-bit color cards, according to International Data Corp.

Both companies say they are investing heavily in research and
development. Supermac says it spent $2.9 million on research
and development compared to $1.8 million in the quarter a year
ago. Radius says it put $3.6 million into research and
development during the quarter.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930121/Press Contact: Jim Heisch,
Supermac, tel [phone], fax ; Richard S. Stoltz, Radius
408-434-1010)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00027)

Novell Eases Connection Of Unix Boxes To Servers 01/21/93
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 21 (NB) -- Novell is
attempting to make it easier for Unix users to connect their
machines to Novell file servers. Three announcements have been
made concerning the connectivity issue.

First, Novell announced that they have created a new package for
small users. The Novell Netware NFS Starter Kit is a five-user
package. This new package gives all of the capabilities of Novell's
Netware NFS to five users for a reduced price over the unlimited
user version.

The new package retails for $1,495. The unrestricted version
retails for $4,995. A Novell spokesperson told Newsbytes that
the company had received many requests from installations that
were based on Novell for their network operating system, but
that also had a small amount of Unix workstations. These sites
wanted to spend less than $5,000 to allow their Unix boxes to
use file and printer services on the Novell side.

The second move was a small maintenance release of Novell's
Netware NFS. Version 1.2 became version 1.2B. The upgrade gives
the software complete compatibility with Novell's newly
announced Multiprotocol Router 2.0 and LAN Workgroup products.
Existing users of Netware NFS may obtain a free upgrade by
contacting their Novell dealers.

The third move was to realign the price of Novell's Flex/IP product
to meet with the Netware NFS Starter Kit pricing. A Novell
spokesperson told Newsbytes that since Flex/IP is known
internally as Netware NFS without the NFS, that it made little
sense for Flex/IP to be more expensive that Netware NFS.

Consequently the price for Flex/IP has been reduced by 50
percent, dropping rom $1,995 to $995, effective immediately.

(Naor Wallach/19930121/Press Contact: Rene Siegel, Novell,
408-473-8285/Public Contact: Novell, 801-429-7000,
800-453-1267)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00028)

Thomas Conrad Cuts Token-Ring Adapter Pricing 01/21/93
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 21 (NB) -- Thomas Conrad is
bowing to customer and market pressures by reducing the prices
of some of its Token-Ring adapter cards, effective immediately.

A Thomas Conrad spokesperson told Newsbytes that like most of
the other players in the Token-Ring market, they have seen the
prices of competing adapters coming down.

There are two models involved in the price reduction. The TC4045
is an ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) bus board. The TC4046
is a Micro Channel-based board. Neither of these two boards use
the IBM TROPIC chip which has caused a stir in the market
recently. Thomas Conrad makes TROPIC chip-based adapters
(models TC4043 and TC4035) but they were not affected by the
price reductions.

The new prices for the two boards are $599, down from $675.
Thomas Conrad Product Marketing Manager Michael Elswick
cautioned Newsbytes about these prices. According to Elswick,
Thomas Conrad works through a two tier distribution scheme
so its suggested retail price is higher than what customers can
expect to actually pay.

(Naor Wallach/19930121/Press Contact: Marty Kulczyk, Thomas
Conrad, 512-836-1935/Public Contact: Thomas Conrad,
512-836-1935, 800-332-8683)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00029)

Australia: Taxis Join Computer Age 01/21/93
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1993 JAN 21 (NB) -- Following the lead of
several taxi companies throughout Australia, including Sydney-
based Premier Cabs, Taxis Combined of Sydney has installed a
computer-based communications and despatching system. The
system links taxi drivers to base operators via radio and data
links.

The company claims that its system has several advantages as a
result of developing it with a local firm from the ground up. Monte
Edwards, the technician in charge of installing the system for
Combined, said of the system, "It is a purpose-built system jointly
developed by ourselves and a Melbourne-based company called
Sigtech."

One of the innovations in the system is to assign jobs by
proximity of the taxi driver. When a job is transmitted over
the radio and the interested drivers "bid" for the pick-up, the
networked PCs at Combined's headquarters determine the
closest cab which then receives the details of the job. Location
information is updated automatically every time a driver logs
onto a new base station.

The system follows the basic design of similar despatching
networks used by other taxi companies and roadside service
corporations such the NRMA (National Roads and Motorists
Association).

When a customer places a call, all details are logged into a
computer terminal by the operator. The job is then transmitted
via the radio network, and interested drivers log their interest
in the job by pressing a button on a display terminal mounted
on their dashboard. Once the system determines the closest taxi,
the job is automatically assigned to that driver, and the details
sent to their data terminal via radio.

Combined's network of base stations throughout Sydney is
comprised of 19 data-based stations and five voice-based
stations. Each station can be switched between data and voice
modes as required.

(Sean McNamara/19930119/Press and Public contact: Monte
Edwards, phone in Australia: [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SFO)(00030)

 ****Windows & OS/2 Show Keynote "Information Paranoia" 01/21/93
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 21 (NB) -- Michael Schrage began
his keynote address for the Windows & OS/2 Conference with a
confession: "I'm a Mac user." But the Los Angeles Times columnist
went on to say that he is concerned about how Windows and OS/2
technology is evolving.

Users suffer from what he called "information paranoia" -- the belief
that somewhere, in the vast mountain of facts available to them in
databases and other information resources, is exactly the piece of
information they need, and the fear that they will never be able to
find this information. Vendors suffer from dangerous misconceptions
about what technology should accomplish.

Schrage, who is the author of the book "Shared Minds: The New
Technologies of Collaboration" (Random House, 1990), went on to
explode the myth of the "information age." He cited a study showing
that, during the 1980s, while spending on technology increased, white
collar productivity actually decreased. "New technology creates new
relationships, not just with information, but with people," Schrage
said. He believes that technology developers are focusing on the
wrong variable, treating people as "information processors." This
would be like looking at a car as a "gas processing machine," when in
fact the automobile created entirely new relationships among people
that gave rise to such phenomena as the shopping mall and the
suburbs.

"It all boils down to value," Schrage contended. "How does your
organization create value? How do we use technology to structure
relationships?" In the question-and-answer session that followed his
presentation, the audience asked for specifics. How does one, for
example, go about building a computer system that encourages better
relationships among people?

Schrage gave the example of a large, global accounting firm with
a central information database. The database was designed so that
if a user made an inquiry on, say, a specific aspect of the tax
code in Great Britain, he or she would be able to see a list of
other users who had made similar requests in the past few weeks.
In this way, Schrage said, the system was structured to encourage
users with similar interests and needs to work together.

Users may also need incentives to use technology in a way that
makes them more than simply "information processors." One
company found that employees were not using its electronic mail
system regularly. So it made an electronic bulletin board into the sole
source of information about free game tickets and other perks --
information that was previously posted on a physical bulletin board.

"Having incentives without tools is cruel," Schrage said. "But having
tools without incentives is stupid."

Schrage writes and consults on exactly these issues: how
technology redefines the way people interact. He is a research
associate at MIT Sloan School's Center for Coordination and the
Laboratory for Computer Science. He currently writes the weekly
column "Innovation" for the Los Angeles Times and the "Counter-
Innovation" column for Computerworld.

The Windows & OS/2 Conference, held in San Jose, California, is
produced and managed by Miller Freeman Inc. The company
expected 20,000 attendees to gather for the fourth annual Winter
conference January 20 - 22.

(Audrey Kalman/19930121)