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/NB930216

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(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SFO)(00001)

Join The Internet, Get A Book 02/16/93
SEBASTOPOL, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 16 (NB) -- If you sign
up to the Internet through a service provider, don't be surprised
if you get offered a book from O'Reilly & Associates.

The Californian publisher has struck a number of deals with the
various Internet IPs, allowing it to market the books on a wide
scale. As with many other marketing deals of this type, the
publisher wins by being able to target his or her customers
accurately, while the customer wins by (usually) gaining access
to a discount on the book concerned.

Under the deal, ANS, CICnet, NEARnet, and MRnet will be bundling
Ed Krol's book "The Whole Internet" to new and potential new
customers. NEARnet has gone a step further and is planning on
distributing copies of the book as part of its 1993 information
and training services offerings.

In addition to these providers, O'Reilly has also reached similar
agreements with CERFnet, DELPHI, Digital Express, JvNCnet,
Netcom, UUNET, Synergy Software, and CONCERT.

Each of these organizations will use O'reilly books as a part of
their member options, training materials, or new member
promotions. Under the agreement, the organizations concerned
will be selecting among the complete Internet series of books
that O'Reilly offers. The series contains two other titles -
"TCP/IP Network Administration" and "DNS and BIND."

O'Reilly has been pursuing these types of arrangements through
a special group within the corporation. These arrangements are
very similar to one that O'Reilly announced with Hewlett-Packard
when the PEXlib books were announced recently.

In further O'Reilly news, Newsbytes has learned that the company
is working on two additions to the Internet series. The first is due
in a couple of months and will cover the SendMail process across
the Internet.

(Naor Wallach/19930216/Press Contact: Brian Erwin, O'Reilly &
Associates, 707-829-0515/Public Contact: O'Reilly & Associates,
707-829-0515, 800-338-6887)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SYD)(00002)

Gupta Uses Australian Software In SQL Windows 02/16/93
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1993 FEB 16 (NB) -- US software
manufacturer Gupta Technologies has chosen an Australian
programming tool for inclusion in version 4.0 of its SQL Windows
software. The package being used is TeamWindows, from Jarrah
Technologies.

TeamWindows is a toolkit of programmers aids that Gupta plans
to use in a number of products. Jarrah Technologies claims that
the package provides a comprehensive multi-user development
workbench for database project writers. It has three new
developer tools: a data-dictionary-driven application writer;
project and source code control systems; and a multi-user
centralized data repository.

By using Gupta's SQL database, the data repository contains all
project data, such as application files, project standards, CASE
(computer-aided software engineering) data, screen layouts,
screen objects and a complete audit history.

(Paul Zucker/19930216/Contact Jarrah Technologies -
Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00003)

Immunity Disk Mirroring Software Debuts For PCs 02/16/93
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, 1993 FEB 16 (NB) --
Unitrol Data Protection Systems has launched Immunity version
2.0, a software package that provides disk mirroring and
duplexing on IBM PCs and close compatibles.

A software device driver, Immunity writes all data to two
hard disks, so that if one disk fails the computer can keep on
operating, reading data from the other disk.

In disk mirroring, both drives are run through the same disk
controller. Disk duplexing is disk mirroring that also uses
separate controllers, providing insurance against controller
failure as well as disk failure.

According to Unitrol, the Immunity software is also able to
mirror a selected part of a disk, providing backup for critical
data without taking up extra disk space to mirror less critical
files.

Mirroring slows down the writing of data to disk slightly,
admitted Clay Braziller, a spokesman for the company, but it also
speeds up reading of data because the software will read the data
from whichever drive has its read head best positioned to get to
the desired data quickly. So, he said, the over-all effect of the
software on system performance is negligible.

The software supports a variety of local area network software,
include LANtastic, Microsoft's Windows for Workgroups, IBM PC
LAN, and others, the company said.

With a suggested retail price of US$249, Immunity 2.0 is
available now. Unitrol is selling the software in North America,
Europe, and Australia, Braziller told Newsbytes.

(Grant Buckler/19930216/Press Contact: Clay Braziller, Plenum
International Marketing for Unitrol, 604-873-1031; Public
Contact: Unitrol Data Protection Systems, 604-681-3611 or
800-665-2212, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(BOS)(00004)

 ****Small Office/Home Office Sales To Balloon 02/16/93
NORWELL, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 16 (NB) -- Pushed
by social, economic, distribution, and product trends, the US
SOHO (Small Office/Home Office) advanced technology market
will soar from a current level of $10.2 billion to $14.1 billion
by 1996, says a new study by BIS Strategic Decisions.

The trend toward working at home and buying technology in retail
stores took hold in the late 1980s, and since that time, products
such as computers, printers, and fax machines have gotten
increasingly inexpensive and easy to use, explained BIS' Raymond
Boggs in an interview with Newsbytes.

"These trends will continue into the future, the end result being
that advanced technology will be brought into the hands of more
people," said Boggs, who directs small business/home office
research for the Norwell, MA-based consulting firm.

Around 1987 or 1988, large discount and department stores began
to adopt suggestions from vendors like Sharp and Canon to group
technological and other office equipment together into a single
store area, Boggs told Newsbytes.

Shortly afterward, the numbers of home-based businesses started
to skyrocket, rising from 13 million in 1989 to a current figure
of 20 million, he added.

Movements toward product inexpensiveness and ease-of-use are
manifested by now in fax machines that sell for under $300 and
handheld computers like the Sharp Wizard and upcoming Apple
Newton, the market analyst noted.

PCs now hold the largest share of SOHO product sales, with
printers coming in at number two, and these products will
maintain the same respective ranks in 1996, the BIS study says.
Also over this period, telephones will show the most dramatic
growth, estimated at 14 percent per year. Cellular and other
portable phones are predicted to be especially popular.

Among distribution channels, retail is expected to be the fastest
growing by far, but the SOHO figures also represent some sales
through VARs (value-added resellers), systems integrators, and
mail order, particularly of specialized products. "You're not likely
to find a color copier, for instance, in an office superstore,"
pointed out Boggs.

Before the retail stores were reorganized, advanced technology
and other office equipment tended to be widely dispersed
throughout the floor, he told Newsbytes. "Calculators might have
been over by the cameras, and typewriters by the stationery," he
commented.

The change took lots of convincing on the part of the vendors, but
the stores found that sales picked up nicely when the office
equipment was consolidated, he reported.

The new store layouts lent an increased visibility that also
contributed to sales growth, he suggested. "The Lechmere (discount
store) chain, for example, put IBM PS/1s on display at the end of
an aisle. So even if you came to Lechmere to buy record albums,
you'd still receive an advertising impression," he said.

"When it later came time to buy a PC, you'd say to yourself, 'Where
would I get a computer? Oh, I know, Lechmere has them.' So it was
a great investment (for Lechmere) over time."

The new BIS study also identifies several factors that influence
users to buy SOHO products in retail stores. Along with low
prices, effective merchandising programs, and broad product and
vendor selection, the list includes convenient hours and locations
and attractive post-purchase support and return policies.

With retail sales climbing, other channels need to stay on their
toes, Boggs told Newsbytes. "VARs and systems integrators will
be continually challenged to truly provide that value added,"
concluded the analyst.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19930216/Press contact: Martha Popoloski,
BIS Strategic Decisions, 617-982-9500)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00005)

 ****Looks Like A PowerBook, But Runs Windows 02/16/93
COLUMBUS, OHIO, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 16 (NB) -- An Ohio company has
announced a notebook-type personal computer that resembles an
Apple Computer Powerbook, but actually runs Microsoft Windows.

The Intel 486SLC-based WinBook from Micro Electronics has a
two-button trackball centered below the keyboard like the
PowerBook. It comes with a 180 megabyte (MB) hard drive, one
floppy drive, a PCMCIA type-II slot, 4MB of system memory, and
a built-in 2,400/9,600 bits-per-second (bps) data/fax modem.
Memory is upgradable to 8MB, and DOS 5.0 and Windows 3.1 are
installed at the factory.

The standard configuration also includes a 80387 math coprocessor
socket and a 10-inch VGA monochrome screen. Micro Electronics
says the transreflective screen and the video chip used combine to
eliminate the loss of the cursor when its moved across a LCD
(liquid crystal display) screen on a machine running Windows. The
WinBook is powered by nickel-metal-hydride batteries which the
company claims should last about four hours under normal use.

A docking station with two expansion slots is expected to be
announced later this year, and will carry a price tag of about
$400. WinBook is scheduled to ship in mid-March with a
suggested retail price of $1,699.

(Jim Mallory/19930216/Press contact: Rick Marshad, Micro
Electronics, 614-481-8041; Reader contact: Micro Electronics,
800-468-2162 or 614-481-8041)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00006)

Business Insight Analysis Tool Debuts For PCs 02/16/93
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 16 (NB) -- A Texas company has
announced a program it says is designed to assist managers and
business owners in the development and analysis of business and
marketing strategies.

Business Resource Software (BRS) says its Business Insight
program, which runs under Microsoft Windows, is unique in that
it addresses several hundred non-financial factors that impact
business planning.

According to BRS, Business Insight for Windows can analyze
factors critical to the definition and marketing of new products
or services, compare alternative business strategies, or compare
your tactics with those of your competition. It can also be used
as an educational tool for management personnel.

BRS Director of Marketing James Brawner told Newsbytes that
Insight is not a spreadsheet. "There are lots of financial tools
out there; We're not one of those," he explained.

Brawner said that it takes 4-6 hours to initially enter all the data
necessary for a comprehensive, accurate analysis. However, once
that's done, the information provided is retained and any of the
several hundred fields can be changed at a later time.

Insight has two databases available. One covers service-type
businesses, while the other is for product-oriented firms. Insight
has a suggested retail price of $95. It is also available in a
DOS-based version for the same price. Present users of the DOS
program, which was introduced in 1991, can upgrade for $175.

Brawner said that the Windows version has a number of
improvements over the older edition, including the graphical user
interface, which provides graphical representation of the data,
and better organization of the way data is entered and presented.

Insight also claims to offer users a list of the 10 most significant
weaknesses and the 10 top strengths of your business, based on
the information you provide. It will also identify inconsistencies
in the information you provide, and presents a lengthy analysis
of your business.

The program presents the user with a variety of graphs using
hyperlinked text and graphics, a customized bar charting feature,
the ability to cut-and-paste the results to other Windows
applications, and a tracing facility that allows the user to follow
all of the logic used by the program to reach its conclusion.

Other features include import and export of files in various
spreadsheet formats, support for a range of printers, and
utilization of extended memory if available.

(Jim Mallory/19930216/Press contact: James Brawner, BRS,
512-251-7541; Reader contact: 512-251-7541 or 800-423-1228,
fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00007)

UK: Comwave Cuts Fax Card Pricing 02/16/93
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1993 FEB 16 (NB) -- Comwave has cut the
price of its PC fax cards and network fax hardware/software
packages by at least 25 percent in preparation for the Windows
Show, which opens in London today (February 16).

According to Comwave, pricing on Faxnet, Comwave's best seller,
has been cut to UKP1,495 for a single line, 10-user system,
including DOS and Windows. A 20-user license is now UKP2,100,
while a 50-user licence costs UKP3,000. Faxnet is a multi-user
fax system for local area networks.

On the hardware front, Comwave has cut pricing on its Microfax
PC fax card from UKP795 to UKP595, also including a DOS or
Windows user interface. A Postscript option has been launched
for the card, costing UKP195.

"These latest price reductions are in response to increasing
levels of competition in the growing computer-based fax market,"
commented Annie Jemain, Comwave's marketing manager, who
added that, even though the company's products are acknowledged
as price competitive, the new prices make them even better value.

In parallel with the price reductions on Faxnet, Comwave has
upgraded the package to version 2.6. This latest version includes
tone dialing facilities to allow incoming faxes to be routed to
any terminal on the network, as well as enhanced cover-sheet
support, direct scanning and a new high speed print option.

Faxnet is approved by Novell for use with the company's Netware
network operating system, as well as for use by 3Com and
Microsoft's LAN Manager).

(Steve Gold/19930216/Press & Public Contact: Comwave -
Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00008)

UK: Fontware Launches Facelift 2.0 For Wordperfect 02/16/93
FAREHAM, HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1993 FEB 16 (NB) -- Fontware has
announced it is supplying Bitstream's Facelift 2.0 for Wordperfect
in the UK. The UKP79 package is claimed to be aimed at the more
expert Wordperfect 5.0/5.1 users who are after extra flair and
creativity in their documents.

As supplied, the package has 26 fonts in both "formal" and "fun"
typefaces. It also supports a variety of color printers and,
according to Fontware, scales fonts instantly in virtually any
size.

"By using Facelift 2.0 for Wordperfect the user can create
thousands of new styles and character fill options in a quick and
easy manner," explained Ivor Smith, Fontware's technical manager.

Facelift 2.0 for Wordperfect has enhanced network support when
compared to Facelift 1.5. Fontware claims that its network
features are improved to give system administrators greater
network management capabilities and helps make the network
operate more efficiently.

Existing users of the package are being encouraged to upgrade
to version 2.0 through Bitstream for UKP39.95.

(Steve Gold/19930216/Press & Public Contact: Fontware -
Tel: [phone])


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

Storyline Helps Screenwriters Writing Winning Scripts 02/16/93
WESTWOOD, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 16 (NB) -- Want to sell
that story you've been thinking of to Hollywood for a movie?
Hollywood screenwriting instructor John Truby has put together
a software program to help you do just - Storyline.

Storyline is based on the instruction offered at his own Truby's
Writers Studio and leads the writer through the 22 dramatic
building blocks that Truby says are essential to great stories.
"Many times people get ideas for a screenplay and jump into the
writing process only to discover mid-way through that they
don't have a movie," Truby said.

Truby is well-known in Hollywood. Writers such as those from
the new Steve Martin movie, "Leap of Faith," the producer from
"Star Wars," writers from "Murder She Wrote," and "Kiss of Spider
Woman" are among the 10,000 students who have taken his
courses, according to Joyce Hayashi of Trudy's Writers Studio.

Truby describes Storyline as a cross between an outliner and an
expert system. Storyline prompts the writer for each scene in
its "Scene Outline" feature. The scenes can then be shuffled and
reorganized. Actions of up to ten characters can be tracked at
every point in the story using the "Action Tracks" feature.

The writer gets help in tracking what the hero knows and what
the audience knows with the "Revelations Sequence." A "View
Conflict" option also offers a snapshot into the necessary story
component of conflict between the hero and any other character
in the story.

Truby says that a good story shows characters struggling with
right and wrong. The "Moral Sequence" feature of the product is
designed to let the writer calibrate the moral rise or fall of the
hero to match the story sequence.

"Online Analyst" options warns the writer of mistakes before-hand
by listing the errors most likely to occur at each point as well as
asking questions designed to solve those problems. On-line help is
also offered, and Truby claims the help includes what is taught if
you were to take his course. Other features include "Visual Tracks,"
a "Conflict Map," "Symbol Tracks," and "Fast View."

Truby has even thought of writers with several ideas who don't
know which one to start with. A "Premise Pad" feature manages
story ideas and can help the writer determine which one is best
to write first.

Examples from the films "Star Wars," "The Godfather," "Vertigo,"
and "The Verdict" illustrate each phase. Troubleshooting help is
also included.

An add-on module is also available for novelists. The novel
examples include "Presumed Innocent," "Hunt For Red October,"
and "Beloved." A separate Storyline is available for those
exclusively interested in novels as well.

Both DOS and Apple Macintosh versions of Storyline are
available and both are copy-protected. The DOS version of
Storyline requires 4 megabytes (MB) of free hard disk space,
while the Macintosh version needs 2 MB of memory and 4 MB of
disk space.

Storyline 1.1 for screenwriters and Storyline for novelists are
both $345 each. The novel module for the screenwriter version
is $59. A thirty-day money-back guarantee is offered as well.
Trudy's Writers Studio courses, audio, and video tapes as well
as software are described in a catalog available by request.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930216/Press Contact: Joyce Hayashi, Trudy's
Writers Studio, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public
Contact in LA 310-575-3050, outside LA 800-338-7839)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00010)

 ****Cost Of GUIs High, But Worth It, Survey Says 02/16/93
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 16 (NB) -- A survey
carried out by the Microcomputer Management Association (MMA)
says that the real cost of moving to a graphical user interface
(GUI) is high, but is worth it in the long run.

In a survey of 402 corporate information technology managers,
the MMA claims that it costs $3,600 per user to move to Windows
on average. However, of those surveyed, the majority said the
move was a strategic one to make their company more
competitive in the marketplace. Also, the survey results offered
evidence that increased productivity is offsetting the cost of
the move over time.

Of the various graphical user interfaces on the market, the MMA
said that the usage of OS/2 2.0 is expected to increase. Apple
Macintosh use is expected to decrease, however. Mac users
surveyed said they were extremely satisfied with their operating
system, but that they didn't see Macintoshes as playing an
important part of their organization. However, the number of
reduced instruction set computing (RISC) computers and Unix-
based machines are expected to increase slightly.

Microsoft Windows is the predominant GUI implemented in
corporate environments, despite the fact that most of those
surveyed were IBM personal computer users. Corporate America
is expected to implement faster, more powerful personal
computers, replacing 286-based PCs. While 386-based PCs will
remain in use, the survey said 486-based PCs are expected to
become predominant in the next 12 months.

Investments in memory and larger hard disk storage is also
expected to increase in the corporate environment. In 12 months
the majority of PCs will have either 4 or 8 megabytes (MB) of
RAM and the size of hard disks will increase from the 21MB to
120MB range up into 41MB to 360MB capacity.

Nearly all those surveyed used local area networks (LANs),
however, only 61 percent of the PCs in use were networked, the
MMA said.

MS-DOS remains the most common operating system in use and
there's no end to DOS in site, Priscilla Tate of the MMA told
Newsbytes. However, the migration to Windows is expected to
continue. Surprisingly, even though Windows NT hasn't shipped,
one-fourth of those surveyed said they plan to use Windows NT
in the future.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930216/Press Contact: Priscilla Tate,
Microcomputer Management Association, tel [phone],
fax [phone])

(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00011)

Software-Only Token Ring Analysis System Debuts 02/16/93
WALNUT CREEK, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 16 (NB) -- The AG
Group has begun shipping Tokenpeek, a new, software only, Token
Ring network analyzer. According to the company, Tokenpeek
builds on the company's existing range of network analyzers
which currently includes Localpeek (for Apple LocalTalk
environments) and Etherpeek (for Ethernet networks).

Tokenpeek uses the Apple Mac as a resource, analyzing the
traffic that the Token Ring card captures. The customer must
supply his own Token Ring card, and only DCA's Lanway Token
Ring cards are supported. The AG Group is planning on expanding
its support of Token Ring cards to others at a future date.

Once the data is captured, Tokenpeek gets to work on it. The
software includes decoders for SNA (Systems Network
Architecture), IP (Internet Protocol) with TCP (Transmission
Control Protocol), UDP (User Datagram Protocol), ICMP, and
SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) extensions,
Netware IPX (Internetwork Packet Exchange), Banyan Vines,
DECnet (phase IV), DEC LAT and MOP, ARP and RARP, XNS, IPTalk,
AURP and the entire Appletalk stack.

By reviewing these packets, network administrators can control
the network traffic and identify which stations or nodes are
sending out erroneous messages. The software will also detect
beaconing stations and will direct the network administrator's
attention to them.

It is also possible to have the network administrator alerted
when a problem is identified. Finally, the software will allow a
network administrator to document the activity on a network over
time. This allows the network manager to be better design the
network to accommodate the real usage and plan for the existing
growth rates.

Although limited at this time in the Token Ring cards that it
supports, the AG Group has built extensibility into the program.
The card support is completed by a set of files that reside in a
folder so that whenever a new card is supported, the AG Group
will need to only ship out diskettes with the new files instead of
performing a fully-fledged upgrade of the software.

Tokenpeek is available now. A single copy will retail for $995.
The AG Group is also offering a bundling deal with DCA cards as
well as the Tokenpeek software.

(Naor Wallach/19930216/Press Contact: David Burk, AG Group,
510-937-7900)


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

 ****Australia: 486SX Chip Shortage Hurts PC Boards 02/16/93
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1993 FEB 16 (NB) -- A worldwide shortage of
486SX processors is hurting the production of PC motherboards in
Australia, according to a report in Australian PC Week. Associate
Editor Chris Bowes cites Terran as a typical manufacturer with
excess manufacturing capacity but no chips.

Terran wants to supply local PC assemblers who would otherwise
buy Asian or US boards, but cannot start production with the small
stock of 486SX chips it has in stock. Terran Managing Director
Peter Nunn said his company was being pushed to the bottom of
the Intel queue because it was treated as a new account and older
accounts were given priority. He said this was not true as his
company had been buying chips for many years, but never in the
quantities that Intel recognized as production quantities.

Local Intel spokesperson Michelle Greer (ex-IBM) said that Nunn
had a legitimate complaint, but that there was little Intel could
do to bend its own rules. She said only IBM bought directly from
Intel in Australia, and all other manufacturers bought through
distributors.

IBM is in the same position as Terran, and plans to utilize spare
manufacturing capacity by producing generic PC motherboards for
local assemblers. Terran built new plant two years ago for a
large defence contract, but as that contract winds down it needs
the new work.

IDC's Market Analyst Graham Penn said the move to locally-
manufactured motherboards was a two-edged sword: it kept more
money in Australia, but could lock assemblers into contracts that
would prevent it from getting the latest technology.

He added that two months was a long time in the industry, and
technology could move ahead. Contracts could prevent assemblers
from choosing the best boards from and open market. Yet he
believes local board manufacturers cannot afford to start
production without firm orders.

(Paul Zucker/19930216/Contact: Chris Bowes at Australian
PC Week on phone [phone] or fax [phone])


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

International Telecommunications Update 02/16/93
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 16 (NB) -- For most of the
world, telecommunications is once again becoming a gold mine.
The exception is Communist North Korea, where a massive
change in phone numbers has blocked contact from overseas,
except for officials calling out, according to Japanese telephone
executives.

The rest of the world is taking a different path. Telecom New
Zealand is beginning to boost the local stock exchange. The
stock rose after Telecom, owned in part by Bell Atlantic and
Ameritech of the US, announced it will lay off 40 percent of its
12,700 workers over the next four years. This after the company
reported record profits. Four regional operating companies will
be merged into a single unit based in the capital of Wellington
in order to compete more closely with Clear Communications.

In related news, Singapore and Peru moved closer to privatizing
their phone networks. Singapore's Singapore Telecommunications
Pte Ltd., known as ST, could join the local stock exchange by
mid-year, perhaps with a float of as much as 25 percent of the
company. That could increase the total capitalization of the
local exchange by one-fifth, according to analysts, still behind
that of nearby Malaysia. Stocks remain a weak link in the local
economy, which is both prosperous and tightly controlled.

The government of President Alberto Fujimori in Peru has been
talking about selling its EnTel Peru network for some time, but
only recently, with the declining power of the Sendaro Luminoso
guerrilla movement, has it been able to move on that intention.
The sale of EnTel is due to become part of a general privatization
movement. Peru's economy, like those elsewhere in Latin America,
has long been state-controlled in order to avoid domination by
foreign interests, especially the US.

The Czech Republic, moving faster since its break with Slovakia,
is also planning to raise capital through a sell-off of telecom
assets. There, a 15 percent share of SPT Telecom could be sold to
foreigners, with the government retaining a majority stake.

Basic safety and stability seem to be the requirements for a
nation to consider selling its telephone network, and the
Philippines still has neither. However, the government of President
Fidel Ramos is trying, nevertheless, to break the monopoly of
Philippine Long Distance Telephone, known as PLDT. Its tool for
this is Digital Telecommunications Philippines, known as Digitel,
which just won a contract to set up new facilities in northern
and southern Luzon. The plan is controversial, with the Congress
opposing breaking the monopoly.

Finally, China's state-owned Ministry of Posts and
Telecommunications said it expects revenues to rise nearly 40
percent this year, with 3.7 million new lines to be installed.
China expects to have 100 million lines by the year 2000, or
about five per 100 people.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930216)


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

AppleLink Adding On-line Services 02/16/93
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A.., 1993 FEB 16 (NB) -- Apple has
announced that it is expanding its AppleLink service with value-
added offerings. AppleLink presently has 52,000 users, and is
operated by the company's Personal Interactive Electronics, or
PIE, division, the same group responsible for the still
undelivered Apple Newton personal digital assistant.

AppleLink will focus particularly on the needs of mobile users of
its PowerBook and Newton. Among the services planned are travel,
banking, and shopping services, said the company. The Macintosh
support will come from an agreement announced last December
with America Online to use its user interface in services Apple
itself will manage, and enhance the platform of America Online.
For the Newton, Apple is licensing the technology of its General
Magic spin-off, announced last week. Telescript is a powerful
scripting language.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930216/Press Contact: Frank O'Mahony,
Apple Computer, 408-974-5420)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(MOW)(00015)

Russia: Computer Associates Teams With Tashkent 02/16/93
TASHKENT, UZBEKISTAN, 1993 FEB 16 (NB) -- The Russian
subsidiary of Computer Associates (CA) has signed a cooperative
agreement with Uzbekinformtranssistema, of Tashkent in
Uzbekistan.

Terms of the marketing arrangement call for CA to supply a
trucks cargo management system in Uzbekistan. According to
Alexander Golberg, manager of Computer Associates' Moscow
operation, sales of software in the Uzbekistan region are
currently enjoying a boom period.

Golberg attributes this to the fact that several government
offices in the region have recently had a clampdown on pirated
software, forcing the managers to buy legitimate copies of
software they already have in use.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19930216/Press Contact: Computer
Associates Moscow, phone [phone])

(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00016)

Public Citizen Starts Toll-Free Lobby Campaign 02/16/93
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1993 FEB 16 (NB) -- Ralph Nader's Public
Citizen lobbying group is starting a campaign for campaign finance
reform using a toll-free number.

Callers to 800-847-6611 will be urged to pay $5.75 for mailgrams
supporting the group's position, sent to President Clinton and
leaders in Congress. The money can be paid either by giving your
phone number, or a credit card number, Craig McDonald coordinator
of Campaign Finance Project for Public Citizen Incorporated, told
Newsbytes.

A recent wire-service story criticized the campaign, saying that
toll charges should not be imposed for calling toll-free lines.
However, McDonald said the group rejected use of the caller-paid
900 exchange because they did not want to charge callers up-front,
but only for service. "The price is clearly denoted," he said. "The
$5.75 is the cost of the mailgram."

He said the group worked with Western Union to get the best
possible price. Callers who do not want to send Mailgrams are
given the group's number in Washington, through which they can
order an information kit and fact sheet on the campaign.

Jerry Brown's "We the People" group is also working on campaign
finance reform, calling contributors to his campaign and urging
them to demand action. McDonald said that the former California
governor was at one of the group's kickoff press conferences in
that state, adding: "I think we're going after the same thing, but
we don't know. He wanted a $100 limit. We're not sure if that's
practical."

There have been reports that Democrats in Congress want to delay
action on campaign spending reform until after the next election,
where many Democratic Senators are up for re-election and many
leaders of the majority party face tough races. McDonald said that
it's a mistake to delay, adding that President Clinton has not said
he agrees with the House leadership on the issue. "We expect to
see a bill from the President in the next 2-3 weeks. That's what
the White House tells us. They're going to do this quickly."

As to the content of that bill, McDonald had this to say: "We
hope it contains spending limits. We hope it contains strict
limits on what PACs and the wealthy can give, and we hope it has
public financing, taking away the deduction for lobbying.
Spending limits have to be voluntary, and you can do that
without public financing, but you can't get agreement without"
public financing. "We also want to close the soft money loophole
and apply the Presidential system to Congress. Clean money is
public money in our minds. Anything that does that we'd be happy
with."

How will it be paid for? "We want to take away the business
deduction for lobbying and eliminate the mass frank" members of
Congress now use for "newsletters" which are, in fact,
advertisements for the incumbents.

McDonald said that a poll from the Democratic-affiliated polling
organization Greenburg and Lake showed 72 percent support for
public financing, once people learned the money would come
from closing loopholes.

McDonald also criticized both parties' stand on the issue. "The
Democrats in Congress last year did more of an incumbent
protection bill than a pure Presidential financing model. It was
the one-third bill, with individuals and PACs giving one-third of
the money up to $750,000 total, and the public picking up the
rest."

There are some Republicans supporting campaign finance reform,
he added, "but they're a minority. The party in general might choose
this issue to raise a stink - they've filibustered this in the past.
They'll probably offer an alternative. Certainly it won't include
public financing." He said Republicans want to return to the "pre-
Watergate days" when wealthy individuals, who are often
Republicans, funded campaigns.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930216/Press Contact: Craig McDonald,
Public Citizen, 202-546-4996)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00017)

Canadian Product Launch Update 02/16/93
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1993 FEB 16 (NB) -- This regular
feature, appearing every Monday or Tuesday, details Canadian
launches by international companies over the past week. This
week, IBM Canada followed its parent company's lead with new
System/390 mainframes, and Tandem Computers Canada
announced products and service packages aimed at on-line
transaction processing and client/server computing.

IBM Canada's mainframe announcement on February 9, as
reported by Newsbytes, was essentially the same as the US
launch. The company unveiled 10 water-cooled and eight
air-cooled mainframe models, including the new top-of-the-line
Model 982.

IBM Canada will also offer the Satisfaction Guarantee, which
promises replacement of any System/390 processor or upgrade
at the customer's request.

In Canada, the System/390 Model 982 is available immediately,
with the other water-cooled systems due for shipment in March.
Two of the air-cooled machines - the Models 511 and 621 - are
available now and the other six are to be available in May, IBM
said.

Customer value pricing, a new policy under which no list prices
will be set and mainframe sales will be negotiated with each
customer individually, also applies in Canada.

Tandem Computers Canada has tackled the on-line transaction
processing (OLTP) market with the launch of its Client/Server
OLTP Toolkit and new product and services packages to support
its client/server strategy, as reported by Newsbytes in January).
The Client/Server OLTP Toolkit is available in Canada now, the
company said.

(Grant Buckler/19930216/Press Contact: Anne Hay, IBM Canada,
416-474-3900 or 800-563-2139; Jan Gillespie, Tandem Computers
Canada, 416-513-2957)


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

 ****IBM Improves Severance Plan, 25,000 Jobs To Go 02/16/93
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 16 (NB) -- As part of
a plan to cut another 25,000 jobs this year, IBM United States
has sweetened the pot a bit for employees who leave the
company voluntarily. However, a company spokeswoman said
that the figure of 25,000 jobs to be cut from the payroll this
year still stands.

Recent rumors have said that IBM might actually cut as many as
40,000 jobs in 1993. Company spokeswoman Marcy Holle went so
far as to say the earlier-announced figure of 25,000 is "dynamic"
and could change, but said that at the moment the plan is still
to remove about 25,000 people from the payroll this year.

IBM also said that while it expects to achieve some of its job
cuts voluntarily, "involuntary reductions" - meaning layoffs,
something new in IBM's history - are a possibility.

The severance provisions, which apply only to marketing and
services employees of IBM US, provide: a salary separation
incentive of up to one year's pay, based on service; company-paid
medical coverage for 12 months after leaving; a "bridge-to-
retirement" provision that could mean continued payments for
as long as seven years; career-change counselling; and a
reimbursement of as much as $2,500 for retraining.

The new plan represents an improvement in medical benefits,
the "bridge-to-retirement" provision, and career transition
support, Holle said. The reimbursement for retraining is new.

Holle could give no figure as to the potential cost of the plan
to IBM, but said the cost of cutting 25,000 jobs will be covered
by a charge against earnings taken in 1992.

IBM said some employees may be ruled ineligible for the new
plan because their skills are considered vital to the company.

(Grant Buckler/19930216/Press Contact: Marcy Holle, IBM,
914-642-4644)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(WAS)(00019)

 ****Ameriboard Lists Thousands of US BBS Numbers 02/16/93
INDIANA, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 16 (NB) -- DP McIntyre,
operator of the Ameriboard BBS at 412-349-6862, is rapidly
building a massive database of bulletin board systems (BBS)
based in the United States and he has made this monthly bulletin
available free of charge for all BBS users and for posting on
other systems.

As far as this bureau was able to determine, this is currently the
only national general interest BBS list being maintained in the US.
McIntyre told Newsbytes that he will also build and make
available "MISL," an international BBS list sometime later this
year.

He added that the next Ameriboard list, due out in March, will
carry listings of about 6,000 boards in the US. However, he is
not happy with companies and individuals which charge for
republishing (distributing) shareware on floppy disks without
compensating the originators of lists such as his.

Recently McIntyre posted a notice (backed up by a reward offer)
affirming that sysops are still free to download and re-post his
BBS lists elsewhere, but specifically blocking companies which
sell floppy disks containing shareware from republishing or
distributing his Ameriboard "Nationwide Bulletin Board
System Listing."

The notice says in part that individuals who "sell shareware over
the counter at trade shows, conventions, stores, and the like.....
profit from sale of their (shareware author's) programs without
paying any royalties to the author. The profit comes predominately
from merely copying someone else's work onto a floppy disk. We
have no particular problem with that, except that we feel that the
authors of shareware programs should be the primary benefactor
of their works."

The statement goes on to emphasize that the board hasn't made a
penny from the compilation work nor does it intend to, and the
decision to block shareware distributors other than BBS
operators from republishing the lists is intended to keep the
service "as free as can be."

The ZIPped files contained in one month's Ameriboard listing are
divided into three ASCII text lists of boards based on the area
codes 201-319, 401-619, 701-919. The approximately 120
kilobyte compressed file contains more than five thousand
individual BBS numbers.

Although McIntyre is a vocal critic of many BBS users, primarily
the "ghosts," people who read messages and download files, but
never contribute anything - people he recently referred to on his
board as "telecommunications leeches" -- he is nevertheless
performing an important service for those and all other BBS
users by compiling and publishing his list.

If you spot his AMLST012.ZIP, AmeriBoards, Issue XII (or later
version) in a collection of shareware disks being sold by a
shareware distributor, contact AmeriBoard Enterprises at PO
Box 445, Penn Run, PA 15765, or call the Ameriboard BBS with
the information.

The notice posted on his BBS states, "The cash reward will be
paid immediately upon the judgement, in a court of law, that our
copyright has been infringed. Whether we receive monetary
damages or not from the case." Newsbytes confirmed with
McIntyre that his reward offer still holds but that there have,
as yet, been no takers.

Ameriboards editions earlier than January 20, 1993, are not
covered by the offer and McIntyre specifically exempts both
CD-ROM shareware publishers and those who charge for the use of
their BBS - that is, the Ameriboard lists can be posted on both
free and for-fee BBS systems and on CD-ROM shareware
collections, just not the many $3-disk shareware disks which
are often seen at shows.

However, McIntyre told Newsbytes that shareware distributors
are a "boon to the industry" when it comes to marketing programs.

(John McCormick/19930216/Press Contact: D.P. Mcintyre,
Ameriboard Enterprises, 412-349-1164)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(TYO)(00020)

Tokyo: Macworld Expo Overview 02/16/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 FEB 16 (NB) -- Macworld Expo Tokyo has
concluded in Japan and, as the turnstiles to the event closed, the
organizers revealed that it was the most well-attended and
largest show of its type ever in Japan.

According to the organizers, the event was visited by a total of
97,349 people, although even this high figure is expected to rise,
once the repeat visitor figures are included.

On the evening of February 12, Macintosh for Macaid was held at
the Makhuri Prince Hotel in Tokyo. The reception was held in a
room, which was packed with people, who were treated to a
variety of speeches from the likes of Steve Levy (author - Hackers)
and Guy Kawasaki (ex-Apple Computer).

Hardware and software for sale and raffling at the event was
contributed by several companies, including Apple Computer
Japan, which donated a Color Classic, and Seiko-Epson, which
donated its latest generation laser printer. The event, which
lasted two hours, raised 2.47 million yen (around $20,600).

The dominant theme at the show was color, with several
companies showing off color versions of their existing hardware
and peripherals. Apple drew crowds to see its Powerbook 165C,
with its fast super twist nematic (FSTN) liquid crystal display
(LCD) screen.

There is the promise of a TFT (thin-film-transistor) LCD-
equipped Powerbook being readied for launch later this year. The
TFT screen technology will be supplied by Sharp, which was
showing the technology at its booth at the show. According to
Sharp, the LCD screens will be made available to Apple
and other manufacturers this coming summer.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930216/Press Contact: IDG
Japan, [phone], Fax, [phone], Apple
Computer, Tokyo, [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00021)

Networking Integration Between Products A Watchword 02/16/93
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 16 (NB) -- Integrated
Systems Inc., (ISI), the developers of the pSOS real-time
operating systems, has announced an agreement with Epilogue
Technology under which ISI will integrate Epilogue's SNMP
(Simple Network Management Protocol) program code into pSOS.

The results of the research and development project will be a
code module that ISI will sell to their customers which will
allow customers to incorporate SNMP agents in their code.

Epilogue is one of only two companies in the industry that make
SNMP agents. Most of the SNMP agents that are being incorporated
into networking equipment are supplied by Epilogue or its
competitors.

Epilogue has agreements with 65 vendors for the incorporation
of its SNMP code into the vendors' products. Some of the larger and
perhaps more familiar names are: Motorola, 3Com, Farallon, Allied
Telesis, Hughes LAN systems, NetWorth, Synoptics, Sun
Microsystems, TGV, Ungermann-Bass, Tandem, and Retix.

ISI's offering will include a target resident SNMP software library
and a host/development computer based MIB-II (Management
Information Base) compiler. The MIB compiler will enable
application developers to write descriptions of the target
systems so that they can be read by remote management
computers that are running SNMP management software.

ISI says that it expects to begin shipments of the SNMP package for
Sun Sparc, Motorola 68K, and Intel i960 devices in March of this
year. Additional host and target system support will be developed
as needed. The base price of the ISI package will be $1,400.
Neither Epilogue nor ISI would divulge the financial terms that
are a part of their agreement.

(Naor Wallach/19930216/Press Contact: Tom Woolf, Woolf Media
Relations for Epilogue, 415-508-1554; David Preston, Epilogue,
505-271-9933; Martin Chorich, ISI, 408-980-1500 Extension
1500/Public Contact: David Barnett, ISI, 408-980-1500)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(TYO)(00022)

Japan: Firms Accused Of Unfair Sales Practices 02/16/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 FEB 16 (NB) -- Japan's Fair Trade
Commission (FTC) has warned four major Japanese electronics
firms about prices being charged for their products.

The FTC, it seems, has discovered evidence that the companies -
Hitachi Sales, Matsushita Electric, Sony, and Toshiba - are
forcing discounters to raise the price of the products they sell,
so as to keep them in line with the rest of their sales outlets.

According to the FTC, the manufacturers forced the discounters
to sell at prices not more than 10 percent below the retail price
of their products. The FTC's pricing sample took place between
March, 1987 and April, 1992. The FTC claims that such actions
are in violation of Japan's anti-monopoly legislation.

The Reuters news wire service quotes an FTC spokesman as
saying that the practice of forcing discounters to hike their
prices is known as "forced trade practice."

FTC officials are asking for the manufacturers concerned to
explain their trading practices to the public using adverts in
the press.

The four companies concerned are said to be checking up on the
FTC's findings. Shiro Endo, Matsushita's managing director said
that he is taking the whole affair very seriously and has begun
"a detailed analysis of the contents of the recommendation."

A Hitachi spokesman told Newsbytes that the company is
investigating the affair. He said that, although such practices
may have existed in the past, they have not been used for some
time.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930216)

(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00023)

Publisher Ziff-Davis May Move West 02/16/93
DENVER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 16 (NB) -- Ziff-Davis
Publishing Company will apparently move its computer magazine
and book publishing operations to either Colorado or Utah.

Chairman Bill Ziff is expected to announce a decision by May if
the new site will be Denver, Colorado or Salt Lake City, Utah. The
company is negotiating leases in both cities, according to
Ziff-Davis spokesperson Greg Jarboe.

While Colorado business leaders hope to get the publishing company,
it may have at least one strike against it already. Colorado voters
passed Amendment 2 to the state's constitution last November
which prohibits equal rights for homosexuals and lesbians in areas
such as employment and housing. Ziff-Davis has expressed concern
about possible discrimination against those groups.

Amendment 2 is presently being challenged in the courts and its
implementation has been delayed by the same judge who will hear
the case in the fall.

While Ziff-Davis declined to identify the Denver building it is
considering, real estate sources told The Denver Post that the
lease is being negotiated for as much as 100,000 square feet of
office on about five floors of a building located in the Denver
Tech Center in south Denver adjacent to Interstate 25.

Whichever property wins out would be the publisher's temporary
location while a new office campus is being built. The new site is
expected to be a one-million square foot facility. The company is
expected to transfer about 1,000 employees from New York and
would eventually employee several times that number. Ziff-Davis
reportedly has a purchase option on land in southeast Denver.

Lease prices in the Tech Center run about $12 per square foot, but
Ziff-Davis is reportedly being offered the site for about $8 per
square foot.

(Jim Mallory/19930216/Press contact: Greg Jarboe, Ziff-Davis,
212-503-3500)


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

Microsoft Intros Windows Entry-Level Accounting 02/16/93
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 16 (NB) -- Microsoft
and Great Plains Software have teamed up to offer a Windows-
based accounting system for small businesses. Microsoft says
it's the first accounting program for small business that does
not require accounting knowledge.

Susan Boeschen, Microsoft's consumer division VP, said that
Profit was designed from the ground up with input from actual
small business users. "Accounting is one of the fundamental
drivers that cause small business operators to computerize.
Profit addresses these needs," she said.

Profit uses a "filing cabinet" metaphor, with drawers representing
transactions, a cardfile, reports, charts and graphs, wizards, and
journals and ledgers.

Clicking on the transactions drawer takes the user to the invoices,
purchase orders, checks and other commonly-used forms. A feature
called Smartfill allows the user to complete a typical transaction
form with three clicks of the mouse. When the transaction is
complete the information is automatically stored in the proper
accounting records.

The cardfile drawer is where the company's records are stored.
Customer cards, vendor cards, inventory cards and other
information is filed in this drawer. Clicking a button on one of
the cards provides access to a history record for that customer,
vendor, or item.

The reports drawer comes with six standard accounting reports
plus various tools that allow up to 36 different reports. there is
also an English-language query tool, and custom reports can be
saved for reuse.

The "signs drawer" provides access to charts and graphs that
visually display information such as sales figures and comparisons
of customer volume.

Wizards is a feature Microsoft has introduced in other products. A
Wizard walks the user through tasks such as closing an accounting
period or budgeting.

Written in Microsoft's Visual Basic 2.0, Profit complied with
generally accepted accounting principles. Support will be provided
by Great Plains where a tollfree number has been established. In
addition to support for the use of Profit, technicians will also
answer general accounting and bookkeeping questions. The call is
free but the support will cost $2 per minute.

Profit uses a unique registration method. After installation of the
software, a call to a 24-hour tollfree number will get you a code
that unlocks the software.

Profit is scheduled to ship by the end of February and will sell for
$199. Microsoft is also offering software resellers a special
three-for-two deal until March 31. System requirements include
a 386SX-based PC or higher, Windows 3.1, 4 megabytes (MB) of
RAM, one high density drive, a Windows-compatible graphics
display, and 12 to 15MB or available hard disk space. A pointing
device such as a mouse or trackball is recommended.

(Jim Mallory/19930216/Press contact: Julie Larkin, Microsoft,
206-882-8080; Reader contact: 800-426-9400)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00025)

PC Text Indexing And Retrieval Software Launched 02/16/93
PARK CITY, UTAH, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 16 (NB) -- Textware has
announced it is now shipping release 4.0 of its text indexing and
retrieval software of the same name for DOS-based systems.

In addition to the upgrade, Textware has also announced a new
Lite version of the program for low cost, royalty free CD-ROM
and other electronic publishing applications, and a $99 trade-in
offer for users of two competitive programs.

The upgraded Textware adds pull-down menus and mouse support,
faster indexing speeds, automatic tagging of scanned images and
images in Wordperfect and Word files, and automatic indexing of
changes to a database. Other new features include templates for
data input and retrieval, hypertext linking, multimedia
capabilities, simultaneous searching across multiple databases,
and the ability to save searches, place bookmarks, and append
"sticky notes."

The full-function version of Textware has a suggested retail
single user price of $695. A five concurrent user LAN (local area
network) pack is priced at $1,495. The company also offers a
retrieve-only version for $99 single user and $299 for five LAN
users.

Textware claims that the Lite version, which is available for $2,500
per platform, allows a user to electronically publish an unlimited
number of databases on an unlimited number of CD-ROMs or other
magnetic media under a royalty-free licensing agreement. Users
can access one file at a time and output blocked text. If you need
to search across multiple files simultaneously, create new links
and groups, or edit data you can upgrade to the retrieve only
version.

The company is offering users of Zylndex and Folio a trade-up deal
which gets them a fully-functioning copy of Textware 4.0 for $99.
Present Textware users can also upgrade at a special discount
price through April 30.

(Jim Mallory/19930216/Press contact: Patricia Norman, Textware
Corporation, 801-645-9600; Reader contact: Textware Corporation,
801-645-9600, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00026)

 ****Compaq Confirms Prolinea Battery Problems 02/16/93
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 16 (NB) -- Compaq Computer
has confirmed to Newsbytes that some of its Prolinea 386 and
486-based desktop systems have experienced premature
battery failure.

Compaq spokesperson John Sweney told Newsbytes that Compaq
resellers have been notified that Prolinea systems with serial
numbers ending in 222 through 242 may experience failure of
the battery that provides power to the computer's CMOS
(complimentary metal oxide semiconductor) configuration
information.

Normally the small batteries provide CMOS power for several years.
The problem comes to light when the computer is turned on and the
user is asked to provide the current time and date. The condition
is not dangerous, but the CMOS chip stores information such as the
number and type of floppy and hard drives and certain other
system information.

Sweney said that most of the systems were sold in multi-unit
lots to corporate users. Resellers are reportedly contacting their
customers and arranging to repair the systems under warranty.

Sweney said there were three possible fixes. Some of the systems
need only to have the battery replaced. Others will have to have an
additional battery installed inside the computer case, held down
with a plastic wire tie, and in a few instances the system board
will have to be replaced.

(Jim Mallory/19930216/Press contact: John Sweney, Compaq
Computer Corporation, 713-374-1564)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00027)

Global Positioning Technology Integrates With PCs 02/16/93
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 16 (NB) -- Hand-held
computer users will now be able to tell where they are anywhere
on the planet with the global positioning system (GPS) developed
by Trimble Navigation. Trimble is offering a GPS Tool Kit for the
Personal Computer Memory Card International Association
(PCMCIA) Type 2 interface standard on most hand-held and
pen-based computers.

The GPS interfaces with satellite signals to precisely pinpoint
any location on earth. Trimble has been offering both hand-held
and portable GPS systems for use by backpackers, forest
rangers, and public utility companies.

Recently, GPSs have been introduced in Japan in conjunction
with automobile rentals in a briefcase-sized unit which also
includes mapping software.

Trimble original equipment manufacturer (OEM) sales manager
William Dussell said that the term "mobile computing,"
"implies location-independent operation and determining one's
position is often a real-time operating requirement."

Described as the "wall plug of the future," PCMCIA compatibility
for GPS will bring the technology into the realm of consumer
use, Trimble said. The one common trait between pen- and
keyboard-based computers, no matter which operating system is
being used, is the PCMCIA slot.

Trimble says that it has been able to implement its GPS
technology into the PCMCIA compatible form factor with the help
of Hayward, California-based Socket Communications which
specializes in PCMCIA products and has also developed an
Ethernet network adapter card with NE2000 emulation.

The PCMCIA interface has opened up a whole new realm of
computer-based GPS applications, however, and Trimble says
those applications could include consumer guides, personal
navigation systems, real estate appraisals and sales, market
location analyses, insurance claims adjustment, public safety,
and emergency disaster response.

Trimble is introducing a Mobile GPS tool kit it says application
developers can use to add the GPS functionality to their software
programs. The Mobile GPS tool kit includes a six-channel GPS
receiver and antenna, PCMCIA Type 2 interface card, manual, and
C-source code software for operation in the DOS environment.
The tool kit will be available in March of 1993.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930216/Press Contact: William Dussell,
company, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00028)

 ****IBM Launches AS/400 Models, Related Products 02/16/93
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 16 (NB) -- Only a few
months after a major revamp of the midrange line last fall, IBM
has announced another new generation of its Application
System/400 computers. Along with the 14 new AS/400 models,
the company unveiled new tape drives and printers and a new
release of the AS/400 operating system, OS/400.

According to IBM, the new "F" series AS/400 models bring
significant improvements in performance. David Schleicher, IBM's
director of development for application business systems, said
that the new F models are 15 to 60 percent more powerful and
offer price/performance gains averaging 26 percent over the "E"
series machines launched last year. They support as much as twice
the memory and disk storage, twice as many workstations, and
almost three times as many communication lines, IBM said.

William Stuek, assistant general manager of marketing for
application business systems, stressed the reliability of the new
models, saying IBM expects them to fail about once per decade,
compared to two or three times per year for early AS/400 models.

Stuek also claimed the AS/400 is outperforming the midrange
computer market in general, despite a two percent drop in AS/400
revenues last year. The two percent drop in AS/400 sales compares
to a four percent drop in overall midrange computer sales, he
said, adding that IBM's profits from midrange systems increased
in 1992.

Susan Whitney, midrange systems director for IBM United States,
said that 200,000 AS/400 systems were installed in the fourth
quarter of 1992.

The high-end 9406 Models F70, F80, F90, and F95 use a system
processor with new Bi-CMOS chips, which combine bipolar and
complementary metal-oxide semiconductor technologies.
Schleicher said these operate almost twice as fast as current
logic chips.

IBM is also using advanced packaging technology to put the logic
and processor memory chips, which formerly took up a processor
board, on a two-inch-square processor module.

According to IBM, the F80 model recorded greater performance
than any competitive product on the TPC-C benchmark - 580.3
transactions per minute on benchmark C (tpmC) at a cost of
$3,280 per tpmC. The smallest midsize model, the F10, ran 66.1
tpmC at $2,097 per tpmC and the F35 was measured at 98.6 tpmC
at $2,446 per tpmC.

All the new F models use the one-gigabyte (GB) disk drive for
internal storage, tripling integrated disk storage on high-end
models from 1.28GB to 3.9GB. External direct access disk storage
on the high-end models has been boosted to 165GB from 123GB on
top-of-the line Models F70, F80, F90, and F95.

The new Version 2 Release 3 of Operating System/400 comes with
an Integrated Language Environment (ILE), which IBM said will
allow program modules written in different languages to be linked
together into applications. IBM also launched an ILE version of
the C programming language and promised RPG and COBOL
implementations for next year.

The new TCP/IP File Server Support/400 provides a server
implementation of Sun Microsystems' Network File System (NFS).
A new application development tool kit will let developers build
distributed applications based on the remote procedure call of
the Open Software Foundation's Distributed Computing
Environment (OSF/DCE).

IBM also announced an agreement to use code from Canadian
software developer Mortice Kern Systems to lay the
groundwork for compliance with a key Portable Operating System
Interface (POSIX) standard. The company said it intends to ask
the X.Open organization for formal XPG4 base branding of a
future release of OS/400.

"No system in this market is more open than the AS/400," Stuek
said.

The company announced new models of the 9337 disk array
subsystem, using 2GB, 3.5-inch disk drives. These give
twice as much storage for high-end systems with greater
reliability at a lower cost per megabyte, Schleicher said.

The high-availability 9337 Model 140 uses a variation of the
redundant array of independent disks, level 5 (RAID-5) technique,
introduced last year. The Model 40, a basic disk array, can store
up to 14GB and can be upgraded to the Model 140.

IBM unveiled higher-capacity models of the 7208 eight-millimeter
tape drive and the directly attached 3995 Optical Library
Dataserver.

IBM and its Pennant Systems unit also announced four new
lower-cost models of the 4230 heavy-duty serial matrix printers,
two for use with the AS/400 and two for use with IBM's
Enterprise System/9000 mainframes.

For systems management, IBM unveiled SystemView Automation
Center/400, developed with Candle Corp. IBM said the software
permits management of a single system or a network of systems
through a graphical user interface at a single workstation.

To support its efforts to push the AS/400 farther into the
client/server computing market, IBM brought out two series of
application development tools and end-user software.

The AS/400 Client Series provides software for IBM's OS/2
operating system, Microsoft's Windows, and the Apple Macintosh.
The series provides products and support to access applications
and data graphically and tools to build new graphical,
client/server applications, IBM officials said.

The companion AS/400 Server Series includes preconfigured
AS/400 and PS/2 hardware with all the pre-installed software
needed to run business applications, IBM said. Available for the
AS/400 entry-level or midsize systems, the AS/400 Server
Series is designed to help third-party software developers
create client/server applications.

IBM also enhanced PC Support/400, a program that extends AS/400
resources and server functions to client personal computers. The
program's Rumba/400 feature, a graphical 5250 emulator, now
works with both OS/2 and Windows, IBM said.

IBM also said it plans to announce new local area network (LAN)
adapters this year to connect AS/400 systems to fiber-optic and
shielded twisted-pair wire LANs operating at 100 megabits-per-
second.

(Grant Buckler/19930216/Press Contact: Jeff Cross, IBM,
212-230-5242 or 914-642-5358; Barbara McNair, IBM,
212-230-5242 or 914-642-5357)


(NEWS)(IBM)(BOS)(00029)

CIC Handwriter Recognition System For Windows 02/16/93
REDWOOD SHORES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 16 (NB) -- CIC's
Handwriter Recognition System (HRS) is now available for
Microsoft's Windows for Pen Computing. Newsbytes has confirmed
reports that versions of the handwriting recognition technology
will also be released for OS/2 and GO's PenPoint operating system.

CIC officials announced today that, after a three-year collaborative
development effort with Microsoft, CIC has started worldwide
shipment of HRS for Windows for Pen Computing to large end-user
accounts, as well as to such CIC licensees as Fujitsu, NEC, NCR,
Samsung, Acer, and Seiko Epson.

The award-winning HRS handwriting recognition technology is
also used in CIC's own PenDOS and PenMac pen operating
environments.

A company spokesperson told Newsbytes that HRS for Windows
is being supplied as a separate module. OS/2 and PenPoint editions
of HRS will be available soon, but firm shipment dates have yet
to be set, she added.

The new versions for Pen Windows, OS/2 and PenPoint are
motivated by an effort on CIC's part to provide a standard, robust
handwriting recognition technology for implementation across
hardware platforms, operating systems, and human languages,
she explained.

HRS is currently available in six languages: English (US and
UK), German, French, Italian, Spanish, and Japanese.

HRS for Pen Computing for Windows will be demonstrated at the
Mobile '93 Conference in San Jose February 17 to 18, and at Mobile
World in Boston March 3 to 5.

Last month at PenExpo, HRS won "Best of Show" in the recognizer
category. The handwriting recognition technology is also the
recipient of an R&D 100 Award from Research & Development
Magazine.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19930216/Press contact: Germaine Gioia,
CIC, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LAX)(00030)

Oracle, Apple Connectivity Products For IBM AS/400 02/16/93
REDWOOD SHORES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 16 (NB) -- Oracle,
developer of multiplatform database software, has announced
plans to work with IBM to turn IBM's AS/400 into a data server
which can be accessed by the many platforms Oracle software runs
on. This will make IBM's Application System/400 (AS/400) appear
to the user as just another node on the network.

The plan is to use Oracle's Structured Query Language (SQL)
Connect gateway to access data on the AS/400 via Oracle's SQL
Net connectivity products. Standard network protocols TCP/IP
(TRansmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol), as well as
APPC/LU6.2 will be supported in the first release of the Oracle
product for the AS/400.

Oracle said that developers can look forward to the same application
programming interface (API) on all client machines regardless of the
network protocol or operating system on the client because thanks to
SQL Net. Hundreds of third-party vendor products as well as all of
Oracle's tools, financial, and manufacturing applications support
SQL Net as well.

Apple Computer also announced a connectivity product for the
AS/400 known as the curiously-named Sna.ps 5250. The Sna.ps
product will allow any Macintosh to access and use applications
on the AS/400 midrange computer and is the first Apple product
to be sold by both Apple and IBM.

The Sna.ps 5250 allows the Macintosh to emulate an IBM 5250
terminal for the AS/400, and users can cut-and-paste from the
IBM applications to their Macintosh applications. The product
line supports both Token-Ring and SDLC (synchronous data link
control) attachments to the Systems Network Architecture (SNA)
network, and Localtalk, Ethernet, and Token-Ring network
connections to Appletalk networks.

Struggling IBM recently announced the largest losses of any US
company in its release of a whopping $1.1 billion in red ink.
However, the company has also announced a line of 13 new
AS/400's based on the company's new E-series processor which
IBM claims are up to 70 percent faster than the previous AS/400
line.

While the new AS/400 line will be available in March, Apple
says its Sna.ps 5250 product will ship in June. Oracle said it
expects to ship SQL Connect to SQL/400 in December of 1993.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930216/Press Contact: Stephen Barnes,
Oracle, tel [phone], fax [phone], Public contact 415-506-
7000; Emilio Robles, Apple Computer, tel [phone], fax 408-
974-6412)