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/NB930419

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(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00001)

Dell Launches New PCs & Services In UK 04/19/93
BRACKNELL, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1993 APR 19 (NB) -- Six months after
launching the machines in the US, Dell Computer has released its
Dimension series of PCs in the UK. At the same time, the direct-sell
company has unveiled its "customizable" after-sales support scheme --
Selectcare -- plus a new portable and high-end range of servers.

The Dimension series of budget PCs range in price from UKP 860 for a
25 megahertz (MHz) 80486SX-based system with 4 megabytes (MB) of
memory plus an 80 MB hard disk. A color VGA monitor is included in
this price. The flagship to the Dimension series if a budget deskside
66MHz 486DX2-based system with a 170MB hard disk that sells for UKP
1,810.

The new portable, the 325SLi, sells for UKP 1,274 and tips the scales
at 3.5 pounds. Included in the price of the 386SL-based notebook is a
year's free damage, loss and theft insurance.

The Selectcare customer aftersales support scheme is similar to the
one already in operation in the US. According to Roger Stone, Dell
UK's product marketing manager, the key word with Selectcare is
flexibility.

"The message we want to get across with the customer support scheme is
that we're flexible, both in terms of individual users and major
corporates," he told Newsbytes.

The key features of Selectcare are a 24-hour support line, optional
four-hour call outs and a parts-only scheme for the do-your-yourself
PC users. This latter facility will appeal to major companies which,
Newsbytes notes, often have their own on-site support teams for PCs.

(Steve Gold/19930419/Press & Public Contact: Dell UK - Tel: 0344-
860456)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LAX)(00002)

Syquest Compatible Cartridges Get Legal Thumbs-Up 04/19/93
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 19 (NB) -- A Santa Clara
Superior Court has denied Syquest a preliminary injunction against its
first Winchester cartridge competitor, the French firm Naomi. Syquest
originally filed for the injunction in December before Naomi
cartridges were available, but Naomi claims that the ruling will allow
it to begin US sales.

Syquest has made no secret of the fact that it considers any other
maker of cartridges for its drives to be in violation of its
technology. In fact, Syquest officials openly charged Naomi and a
consultant employed at separate times by both Naomi and Syquest of
stealing the technology. However, Syquest company officials admit they
only became aware of the cartridges when company sales representatives
visiting Naomi were given samples to test.

Also, Syquest said publicly that the competing cartridges are
dangerous to Syquest drives and the warranty on the drives will be
invalid if the Naomi cartridges are used. Most recently the company
released findings from firms it claims are independent, Quanta
Laboratories of Santa Clara, California and Surface Science
Laboratories of Mountain View, California, that say the Naomi
cartridges caused "grinding, screeching, breaking, or similarly
serious conditions."

Syquest claims that Naomi cartridges, purchased on the open market in
Europe had a 28 percent failure rate when compared to similar Syquest
cartridges.

Further, Syquest stated it obtained the temporary injunction against
Naomi in December based on the evidence presented in court that Naomi
cartridges could cause catastrophic head crashes when used with
Syquest drives and that Naomi's director of technology had allegedly
stolen Syquest trade secrets.

Naomi declares the denial of Syquest's preliminary injunction a
victory, says its cartridges are safe, and intends to begin selling in
the US market. It claims sales of compatible cartridges have exceeded
30,000 in Europe and maintains it has been unfairly banned from the US
market for four months because Syquest has attempted to use trade
secret laws to stifle competition.

Naomi sees ample opportunity in the removable cartridge market.
Syquest reported its revenues for the second quarter were up 20
percent to $51.5 million, but net income was down to $3.57 million
from the $3.63 million in the like period a year ago. Syquest claims
that its gross margins on sales of its cartridges are good and sales
of both the drives and the cartridges are on the increase.

Syquest did report its operating expenses of $14.6 million were 42
percent higher than the corresponding quarter last year. The company
blamed the higher operating expenses primarily on increases in its
costs in research, development, and legal fees.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930419/Press Contact: Maura Kendrick, Brobeck,
Phleger & Harrison for Naomi, tel [phone]; Michael Perez,
Syquest, 510-226-4000)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00003)

Supermac Cuts Photoshop Accelerator Prices 30% 04/19/93
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 APR 19 (NB) -- Supermac Technology
has cut the price on its Thunderstorm image-processing accelerator
products for the Apple Computer Mac and PC Windows platform
thirty percent. The company says that it hopes the lower price
will attract Adobe Photoshop 2.0.1 and 2.5 users.

Supermac has specially designed the Thunderstorm add-on board
with Photoshop effects coded into the hardware and calls the
board "Adobe-charged." The Thunderstorm card offers dual
programmable digital signal processor (DSP) chips for speeding
up the screen draws of graphics after computational extensive
changes such as adding a filter, rotating an image, or
decompressing a compressed image. The new price, according to
Supermac, is now $699.

Specific Adobe Photoshop effects that the Thunderstorm is designed to
speed up include: Image Size, Rotate, Unsharp Mask, Despeckle, Blur,
Blur More, Gaussian Blur, Sharpen, Sharpen More, Sharpen Press Edges,
Find Edges, Emboss, Fragment, Feather, High Pass, Custom, Skew, and
Perspective. Some effects are accelerated as much as 2,300 percent,
the company added.

The company makes products to accelerate and enhance the
performance of both Macintosh and Windows-based computer
systems. Supermac products include accelerated color
graphics cards, image-processing accelerators, large-screen
color and grayscale displays ranging from 17-21 inches,
color printers, and digital video products.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930419/Press Contact: Deborah Doyle,
Supermac, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(SYD)(00004)

ServiceMate Support Center Software For Windows 04/19/93
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1993 APR 19 (NB) -- Australian software developer
WinWare has announced its new ServiceMate software. According to the
company, the package is designed to aid with all activities associated
with the management of a Help Desk, Information Centre or End User
Support Centre.

Servicemate is designed to provide facilities to assist in achieving
internal productivity and service level improvements. Announcing the
package, WinWare's marketing support manager, David Gray, said: "In
today's tough business climate, customers are demanding better
service, and organizations that can provide superior service will have
satisfied customers, and satisfied customers means repeat business and
increased profits."

Gray added that providing superior customer service meant building a
service culture that acknowledges customers depend on service from
customers who are, in turn within the organization, and these internal
customers need superior levels of service.

"End user computing is growing rapidly and with the increasing use of
desktop computers and local area networks, a whole new set of problems
is being created for MIS departments," he said.

According to the company, ServiceMate is designed to:

[] Monitor and prioritize service requests.

[] Efficiently track calls to external providers of service and
support.

[] Monitor the quality and reliability of equipment in use as a basis
for setting standards and making recommendations on new purchases.

[] Manage and budget all hardware maintenance contracts and software
 support agreements.

[] Undertake performance analysis for preparation of more accurate
 budgets and projections.

[] Maximize the productivity of support staff.

Versions of ServiceMate include stand-alone PC and PC LANs. Unix ports
can be arranged on request and an AS/400 version is in beta test
stage. Price is AUS$1590 for a single-users licence and AUS$2900 for a
five-user LAN version. (Around $US1150 and US$2100).

WinWare is a developer of Unix and PC/Windows-based business software.

(Paul Zucker/19930419/Press & Public Contact: Winware - Tel: +61-2-
410-9986)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(SYD)(00005)

Ochre Latest OOPS Programming 04/19/93
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1993 APR 19 (NB) -- A new software company has
announced its presence by showing its eponymous first product -- the
Ochre distributed object programming language for business
applications. Ochre Development Pty is wholly Australian-owned.

According to the company, Ochre the language is "founded on the
concepts of extensibility, flexibility and high performance. It allows
organizations to take advantage of their existing environment,
hardware and operating systems, presentation systems, databases,
transaction monitors and legacy systems."

Ochre's MD, Gary Aitchison, said that the package is the perfect
development tool for mission critical applications. "We see it as a
viable replacement for Cobol - a modern, easy to use language that is
efficient and effective," he said.

"The architecture allows for very powerful client-server
configurations. Unlike existing languages, Ochre enables organizations
to distribute objects that perform critical business functions across
the network. Decisions about where components should reside can be
made at any time, even after the application is completed. Ochre can
be very simply extended to support new technologies as they emerge."

Aitchison said that the new language will support Microsoft Windows NT
as well as Unix System Laboratories' Tuxedo transaction monitor. "It
provides consistency from the desktop through to the mainframe.
Organizations can construct both text and GUI interfaces and the same
applications can access multiple RDBMS engines, run client-server or
stand-alone and make use of the Tuxedo transaction monitor. And all of
this is achievable with a simple intuitive procedural language."

He claimed that Ochre provides a five-fold improvement on the leading
4GLs in code reduction while significantly increasing power and
flexibility. "Approximately two days is all that is required to learn
to write moderately complex code. After a week, programmers are
generally capable of writing highly sophisticated and specialized
objects that solve complex business problems."

Ochre Development Pty is currently seeking international distributors
for the product. It can be contacted on phone [phone] or fax
[phone]

(Paul Zucker/19930419)


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

Bridging Online, Onscreen Stock Quotes Gap 04/19/93
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 APR 19 (NB) -- Over the years several
companies have offered software for personal computers that will
download financial and stock market information. Now comes QuoteLink
from Telescan, a utility program that the company says provides a
bridge between the user's financial or spreadsheet software and
investment news and stock quotes provided by Telescan.

Freestanding QuoteLink works with many off-the-shelf financial
software packages such as Metastock, Supercharts, and Quicken, as well
as spreadsheet programs like Lotus and Excel, and adds financial news
to the quotation information. The program can store up to 450
portfolios, each capable of holding 150 stocks.

You can think of QuoteLink as a specialized communications
package which, on command, dials Telescan, downloads the information
and news, and dumps it to your financial or spreadsheet software.

A QuoteLink spokesperson told Newsbytes that the program can export
its information to ASCII or ASCII-2 format for use in just about any
program. "What makes QuoteLink unique is that it acts as a bridge
between the users software and Telescan's online services for users
who don't want to invest in a lot of software," the spokesperson told
Newsbytes.

The DOS version of QuoteLink, which can run under Windows as a DOS
application, has a suggested retail price of $29.95. Macintosh and
Windows versions of QuoteLink are scheduled to ship before the end of
the year. System requirements for the DOS version include an IBM-
compatible PC, DOS 2.1 or higher, and 640 kilobytes of system memory,
or RAM. The system supports color, and requires an EGA or VGA display.

Telescan offers a menu of financial news services at varying prices,
including a four-times a day service that allows the user to receive
the days financial news, a mid-afternoon trading summary, a market
closing report, and a final edition that contains commentary on the
day's trading. The company said one package for unlimited access is
available for $45 per month, plus connect time that varies depending
on whether you log on during prime time, or in the evening.

(Jim Mallory/19930416/Press contact: Sharon Leibowitz, Telescan Inc,
415-986-8270; Reader contact: Telescan Inc, 800-324-8246)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00007)

Exabyte Claims Fastest Minicartridge Drive 04/19/93
BOULDER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1993 APR 19 (NB) -- Exabyte Corporation
announced this week that it is now shipping what it described as "the
industry's fastest, highest capacity minicartridge quarter-inch
drive."

The company claims that the system, dubbed the EXB-2501, is designed
for mid- and low-range networks, workstations, and high-end
stand-alone personal computers that run data-intensive applications.
The system can store 750 megabytes (MB) of uncompressed data in 25
minutes. Exabyte says that's more than twice as fast as any other
quarter-inch minicartridge tape drive. The 2501 also supports a file
access time of less than 40 seconds.

The system uses standard DC2300 or DC2750 tape minicartridges to store
550 or 750 megabytes of uncompressed data. With compression, that's
about 1.1 gigabytes (GB) and 1.5GB of compressed data. Standard
features of the system include a SCSI-2 (small computer system
interface) interface, a 256 kilobyte data buffer, and a high-
resolution head positioning system. Shipping in a 3.5-inch form
factor, it is also offered with optional mounting hardware for
5.25-inch drive bays. The system does not require that the user
purchase preformatted tapes.

The EXB-2501 is the first quarter-inch system to emerge from the
Exabyte plant since the company acquired the assets of the Mass
Storage Division of Everex Systems and moved the quarter-inch
manufacturing line from Everex's Fremont, California plant to
Exabyte's Boulder, Colorado facility. The previous Everex
quarter-inch engineering team continues to work out of former
Everex offices in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The company says that the EXB-2501 is rated at 60,000 hours mean time
between failure (MTBF) at a 10 percent duty cycle, and includes Reed
Solomon error correction and error recovery procedures. Read-after-
write verification is supported. Designed for purchase by OEMs
(original equipment manufacturers), VARs (value added resellers) and
system integrators, the EXB-2501 carries an OEM price tag of $525 when
purchased in quantities of 2,500.

(Jim Mallory/19930419/Press contact: Kris Garrett, Exabyte
Corporation, 303-447-7225; Reader contact: Exabyte Corporation,
800-392-2983, 303-442-4333, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEL)(00008)

Rocket Test-Firing Takes Off In India 04/19/93
BANGALORE, INDIA, 1993 APR 19 (NB) -- India's indigenous rocket
industry is starting to take off, thanks to the use of computer
simulation software developed by staff at the Vikram Sarabhai Space
Center.

The advantage of simulation software is that, even if something goes
disastrously wrong with the rocket and it "crashes," no material
losses occur. One quick reboot and that the computer is back up and
running again.

After extensive simulation tests, the scientists at the base carried
out a series of real-life tests on actual rockets and, to their
pleasure, they behaved as the simulations predicted.

The ABR200 rocket, which is based on the ejector ramjet system, will
be able to carry larger payloads, thanks to the rocket burning
atmospheric oxygen rather than propellant. On a conventional rocket,
the propellant can account for 70 percent of its weight.

On the ABR 200 rocket, in contrast, the relatively thin air in the
high atmosphere is drawn in at the front of the rocket and compressed
before being fed to the rocket air intake. Because the air is highly
compressed, the rocket can use the oxygen without resorting to a
propellant feed.

Although the ABR 200 represents real life usage of leading edge
technology, there are no plans to incorporate the system into the
Indian Government's current rocket program, which involves the ASLV,
PSLV and GSLV series, since the design of the rockets being used in
these projects is now complete.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19930419)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEL)(00009)

Autodesk Training In India 04/19/93
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1993 APR 19 (NB) -- Autodesk, which claims to be the
largest PC computer aided design (CAD) company in the world, has
appointed Datapro Information Technology (DIT) as its premier
authorized training center for India.

Plans call for the company to set up around 100 training centers
around India over the next two years, according to Bobby Srinivasan,
Autodesk's country manager.

Srinivasan said that, after experiencing the success of Autocad as the
de facto standard in CAD, the company is releasing its 3D Studio
package, a multimedia application, onto the Indian marketplace. He
told Newsbytes that the opening of the training centers forms part of
the company's "penetrative strategy" to create demand for its
products.

Setting up such a large number of training centers in India is a
highly costly affair. Because of this, Autodesk is carefully
controlling the costs and, where appropriate, giving financial
assistance to those resellers that require it. The company has plans
to enhance its present 20-strong chain of training centers around the
Indian sub-continent.

One of the aims of the training centers is to create an awareness of
the need for legal software use in India. Software piracy is a major
problem in India, owing to the disparity between US software prices
and the cost of living in the country. Autodesk claims that its
software has the edge over the competition, since it runs on a PC
rather than an expensive mainframe computer.

Plans are in hand for the training centers to develop special
programs for the handicapped, to enable them to compete in the open
job market. In the longer term, the training centers will be expected
to move into providing their own consultancy services in the field of
systems integration.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19930419)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00010)

Hijaak 2.0 For Windows 04/19/93
BROOKFIELD, CONNECTICUT, U.S.A., 1993 APR 19 (NB) -- One of the most
popular packages for screen captures and file conversions is Hijaak
from Inset Systems. The Brookfield-based company has just released a
new version, Hijaak Pro 2.0 for Windows, which it claims offers
increased speed, an improved user interface, conversion to new
graphics formats, and support for TWAIN.

The company claims that significant portions of the program code have
been rewritten with performance in mind, especially when it comes to
making opening and loading files faster. Scrolling and zooming has
facilities have also been improved.

Besides the myriad of other file formats Hijaak supports, the company
claims it will also allows images from Kodak Photo compact disc (CD)
to be loaded directly from the compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM)
drive and then saved in one of Hijaak's supported formats. The Aldus
Graphic Import Filter specification is also supported so import
filters can be shared between Pagemaker, Freehand, Word for Windows,
Amipro, and Powerpoint.

Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) compression is also built into
Hijaak Pro 2.0 allowing the ability to view, read, and write JPEG
files with up to 200 to 1 compression ratios. Support for the Sun Unix
workstation raster format and the IOCA format used on IBM mainframe
and AS/400 computers allow the transfer of files created on those
computers.

Support for TWAIN, the image specification for documents, is built in
to Hijaak Pro 2.0, Inset added. TWAIN is a cross-platform standard for
the purpose of compatibility between applications and input devices
such as frame grabbers, image databases, and scanners. Inset said
version 2.0 of Hijaak can directly import an image from one of these
sources and save the image in any raster format the product supports.

A new Hijaak Browser is included with Hijaak Pro 2.0 and allows users
to see thumbnail views of images. Once a user double clicks on an
image, Hijaak Pro will launch and the image will be loaded.

Hijaak Pro 2.0 will ship in June with a retail price of $169.
Registered users of Hijaak for Windows may upgrade to Hijaak Pro 2.0
for a shipping and handling fee by calling the company toll-free to be
placed on the upgrade list.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930419/Press Contact: Wendy Schulman, Inset
Systems, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public Contact (to
upgrade) 800-374-6738)


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

Modem Software Aids Hearing-Impaired PC Users 04/19/93
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 APR 19 (NB) -- FutureSoft Engineering
has announced it is shipping an enhanced version of Dynacomm, its
Windows-based communication package that it claims makes PC
communications easier for hearing-impaired users.

DynaComm 3.1 features dynamic icons that mirror any audible signals
generated by the modem, such as a busy signal, connection in progress,
or a broken connection. The icons appear next to the dialer button,
and don't interfere with other screen elements such as dialog boxes.

FutureSoft CEO Tim Farrell said that the enhancements to DynaComm will
allow users to know the status of their communications tasks without
having to depend on audible signals. He claims that the new version of
DynaComm will also benefit users who work in noisy environments, such
as factories. "Now, users on factory floors or in open office
environments can more easily determine the status of their data
communications," he said.

A FutureSoft spokesperson told Newsbytes that the enhanced version of
DynaComm will still have the same suggested $249 retail price, and a
free upgrade to the icon-enhanced version is available to registered
users of DynaComm 3.1.

Plans call for the company to implement hearing-impaired enhancements
across its entire product line. FutureSoft also publishes Terminal
Plus, an extension to the capabilities of the Terminal communications
software that ships as a part of Microsoft Windows, and was developed
by FutureSoft, and DynaComm for the Macintosh.

(Jim Mallory/19930419/Press contact: Dawn Whaley, Alexander
Communications for FutureSoft, 404-325-7555; Reader contact:
FutureSoft, 713-496-9400, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00012)

 ****CompuAdd Intros "Evergreen"-based 486 Notebook 04/19/93
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 APR 19 (NB) -- CompuAdd Corporation has
introduced a 486-based notebook computer that uses the "Evergreen"
chip set from PicoPower Technology to extend battery life to as much
as five hours under normal operation.

The new 425TX notebook system includes a PCMCIA slot, an Intel i486SX
microprocessor, 120-megabyte (MB) hard drive, built-in trackball, and
9.5-inch LCD (liquid crystal display) monochrome monitor. There's also
a 3.5-inch high-density floppy drive, 512 kilobytes (K) of video
memory, a slot for an internal fax/data modem, and a connection to
allow simultaneous operation of an external SVGA monitor.

The PCMCIA expansion slot can handle cards for additional memory, a
Xircom Ethernet network card, and an AT&T Paradyne 14,400 baud
fax/data modem. Additional function cards are expected to become
available later.

Memory expansion cards are available in 1MB and 2MB capacities for
$195 and $349 respectively. The Ethernet connection card will cost
$249, and the high-speed data/fax card has a suggested retail price of
$459. The company says the Intel i486SX microprocessor has an 8K data
cache, and the system comes standard with 4MB of system memory, which
can be expanded to 8MB.

The Evergreen chip set from PicoPower Technology uses power management
techniques to extend battery usage of the nickel-cadmium (NiCad)
batteries between charges to as much as five hours under normal
operation, and three hours under heavy operation. Using what PicoPower
calls "modular clocking," the chipset powers down the CPU (central
processor unit) clock cycles after a few seconds of inactivity.

The chip includes a page module DRAM (dynamic random access memory)
controller for supporting the 8K cache on the microprocessor. A series
of LED (light-emitting diode) indicators at the bottom of the monitor
housing show the status of the capslock, numlock, scroll, keypad,
floppy and hard drives, power on/off, and suspend/resume.

The portable includes two serial ports, one parallel port, the
external monitor port, and a PS/2-style external keyboard port. Two
buttons to the right of the trackball perform the mouse click
functions, and the 16mm trackball is Microsoft mouse compatible.

The 425TX comes already loaded with Windows 3.1, MS-DOS 6, and
PCMCIA drivers. The unit measures 8.5 inches deep by 11.4 inches
wide, by 1.8 inches high when closed, and includes an AC
adapter/charger, carrying case, and utilities disk. Equipped with a
120MB hard drive, the unit sells for $1,895. A 4MB RAM upgrade costs
$350; an internal 9600 bits per second (bps) fax send/4800 bps receive
modem is $119.

(Jim Mallory/19930419/Press contact: John Pope, CompuAdd
Corporation, 512-250-2000; Reader contact: CompuAdd Corporation,
800-627-1967, 512-250-2000, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00013)

Addstor's DOS 6 Compressed Files Toolkit 04/19/93
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 19 (NB) -- Addstor has
announced a software program that it says allows users
to manage compressed files and disks created by MS-DOS 6's data
compression utility DoubleSpace.

The company claims that its DoubleTools program will allow users to
view, manage, and enhance the compressed files created by the
compression utility included with Microsoft's recently announced MS-
DOS 6.0, which is reportedly selling like hot cakes. DoubleTools
includes controls that utilize system information to maximize the
storage and performance potential of the users disk, and supports not
only hard drives, but floppy disks and removable media such as
Bernoulli drives.

"DoubleTools is MRCI and DoubleSpace compliant, unlike other MS-DOS
6.0 compression products," says Addstor President Richard Preston. He
said that the combination of DoubleSpace and DoubleTools provides the
best data compression solution, comparing it to competitor's programs
like SuperStor and Stacker. Stac Electronics, publisher of data
compression software Stacker, is currently suing Microsoft, alleging
that elements of DoubleSpace violate its patents.

Features of DoubleTools include a module called The Advisor, which is
an expert help facility that can make recommendations for optimizing
disk performance; a defragmenter and data verification tool that
operates in the background; File Director, a set of functions for
moving and copying files onto compressed or uncompressed floppies or
other removable media; and Universal Data Exchange (UDE), which allows
floppies, Flopticals, and other transportable media to be compressed.
UDE users can read or write data to UDE disks on any DOS system, even
those not running DoubleSpace or DoubleTools.

Other features include Copy Preview, which allows the user to predict
the maximum number of files that will fit on removable media. For
example you could determine how many diskettes are required for
backup.

Media Optimization automatically rearranges the copy sequence of user
selected files to maximize the amount of data that will fit on a
single floppy disk, while Spanned Media Drive enables groups of files
to be stored on multiple diskettes but accessed as though they were
all on a single disk. Using SMD the first floppy of the set knows
where all files are stored, and prompts the user to insert the correct
disk to retrieve a designated file.

There is also a file viewer that allows the user to view files without
launching the application. According to the company, File Viewer can
display files stored in dozens of formats. An Automount feature
automatically recognizes and mounts removable compressed media, where
it remains mounted regardless of whether the user installs compressed
or uncompressed media. Rescue Tools allows the user to ensure the
integrity of the data and the compressed drives by providing essential
repair functions to maintain data and disk integrity.

DoubleTools has a suggested retail price of $99.95 and is expected to
ship in mid-May.

(Jim Mallory/19930419/Press contact: Tom Russell, Addstor,
415-688-0470; Reader contact: Addstor, 415-688-0470, fax
415-688-0466)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00014)

Altima Offers Free Cellphone With Notebook Systems 04/19/93
CONCORD, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 19 (NB) -- Altima Systems has
announced it is including a redeemable certificate for a free
transportable cellular phone with each of its 486 series notebook
computers. The company has unveiled a new color 486-based notebook
system.

Altima officials said that any customer purchasing one of its 486
series notebook computers and the accompanying accessory package will
get a certificate which is good for a free Audiovox PRO-95
transportable cellular phone.

Altima Director of Marketing Karen Klimas said that a transportable
cellular phone is the perfect compliment to a mobile computer. "This
is a really nice instrument that retails for $499. It features a
small, lightweight transceiver, 50-number memory, 15-digit numeric
display, linked dialing presets, automatic redial, and a leather
carrying case," she said.

The accessory package includes two software packages and a custom
leather computer carrying case, which the company says is a $367
value, for $99. The software includes Hewlett-Packard's Windows
utility program Dashboard, and Traveling Software's Laplink Pro, a
utility that allows data to be transferred between computers using the
parallel or serial ports.

The new 486-based notebook just introduced is the 433C, an active
matrix color display unit powered by an Intel 486DX 33 megahertz chip.

The unit measures 11 inches wide by 8.5 inches deep, and is 1.75
inches high when closed. It weighs 6.7 pounds including the battery.
The color screen, which measures 8.5 inches diagonally, can display up
to 256 colors at 640 by 480 resolution.

Active matrix displays, sometimes known as thin-film-transistor
screen, use separate transistors to control each color (red, blue, and
green) for each pixel. Passive matrix screens are less expensive and
consume less power, but the colors aren't considered as sharp and are
slower to redraw the screen.

Announcing the new portable, Altima President Robert Brownell said:
"The system was designed for people who want to make more impressive
presentations to customers and prospects in the field."

The machine comes configured with a 200 megabyte (MB) internal hard
drive; 4MB of system memory, which can be expanded to either eight or
20MB; 8 kilobytes of cache memory, and a 3.5-inch high-density floppy
drive. Printer, mouse, external keyboard and monitor ports are
provided, and the unit can run for up to two hours on its nickel metal
hydride battery pack.

An AC adapter/charger is included, and the computer has built-in power
management features to turn off the monitor and hard drive after a
user-defined period or when the suspend switch is pressed.

Altima is also offering an optional 14.4K bps (bits per second)
send/receive fax modem, an integrated trackball, car battery power
adapter, and an external expansion station with three full length
AT-type slots and a drive bay. Nylon and leather carrying cases are
also available. The system is covered by a one-year warranty.

(Jim Mallory/19930419/Press contact: Karen Klimas, Altima Systems,
510-356-5600; Reader contact: Altima Systems, 510-356-5600)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(SFO)(00015)

 ****Court Case Prompts AMD'S 486 Market Entry? 04/19/93
CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 19 (NB) -- Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
says that, following last Friday's legal decision, the company "will
immediately enter the 486 microprocessor market."

In Friday's decision, US District Court Judge William A. Ingram ruled
that misconduct by Intel prevented AMD from getting a fair trial in
litigation decided in June, 1992. As a result he set aside an earlier
jury verdict and ordered a new trial on the microcode license
agreement.

AMD claims that, at present there is no legal barrier preventing its
from shipping microprocessors that incorporate Intel microcode.

In responding to the decision, W.J. Sanders III, chairman and chief
executive officer of AMD, said: "The worldwide computer industry has
been held hostage to an unfairly maintained monopoly on 486
microprocessors. True competition has been non-existent. This week
that all changes. Competition will encourage innovation, increase
availability, promote variety and bring a return to learning-curve
pricing. Competition is good."

AMD plans to announce details concerning specific AM486
products, pricing and availability on April 22.

Sanders also said that AMD will continue its development of a "clean
room" microcode in order to achieve "technological independence." The
company says that AM486 microprocessors with an independently
developed microcode will be announced around mid-year.

Intel claims, however, that the decision will have "little impact on
the 486 competitive landscape."

Andrew Grove, president and chief executive officer of Intel, said:
"First, they didn't have a license last week, and they still don't
have a license today. The only impact is that we go back to court, and
they get to try again. Second, the decision does not change the
competitive landscape in the 486 market. We expected AMD's arrival
this quarter with a clean room microcode version of our product. We
offer dozens of types of Intel486 microprocessors, and we are shipping
millions of them every quarter."

"We have been investing heavily for several years because it takes
about five times as much capital investment to produce a 486 unit as a
386 unit. We feel very well prepared for the arrival of any competitor
into this marketplace," he added.

(Ian Stokell/19930419/Press Contact: John Greenagel, 408-749-3310,
Advanced Micro Devices Inc.)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00016)

Favorite Federal Word Processors 04/19/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 APR 19 (NB) -- A Government Computer
News (GCN) survey published in the April 12 issue says that
Microsoft's Word 5.5 is tied with WordPerfect 5.1 as the top quality
MS-DOS (not Windows-based) word processors in federal offices.

Newsbytes notes that the survey only rates the programs according to
responses by federal users and doesn't indicate the number of
installed copies; it is widely thought that WordPerfect has a dominant
position in the federal marketplace, just as it does in commercial
offices.

In the survey, WordPerfect 5.1 rated above Word 5.5 in output
quality, speed, spell checker/thesaurus, import/export capabilities,
technical support, and tied in graphics/layout features. Microsoft
Word, meanwhile. scored slightly higher in documentation quality and
only matched WordPerfect in the overall rating by massively outscoring
WordPerfect in mouse support.

Wang's word processor for the IBM PC scored lowest out of the 12
word processors and versions included in the survey.

All the products are scored in detail in the survey found on page
18 of the current issue of Government Computer News.

(John McCormick/19930419)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00017)

Coreldraw Conference In June 04/19/93
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1993 APR 19 (NB) -- Corel, the manufacturers
of the popular graphics software Coreldraw, and the Association of
Corel Artists & Designers (ACAD), are hosting a series of conferences
hoping to attract some of the estimated 600,000 Coreldraw users.

The first annual Coreldraw International User Conference will be held
in Washington, DC May 16 through 19 and the ACAD Coreldraw Conference
will be in Glendale, California June 12 through 13.

Corel claims that the biggest attraction for the Washington conference
in May is a sneak preview of the next generation of Coreldraw. The
conference is hosted by author Rick Altman and will feature keynote
addresses from noted computer columnists John C. Dvorak and Brian
Livingston.

The company promises sessions for novice and experienced Corel users
and an art gallery will feature the grand prize work of winners in the
annual Coreldraw Design Contest. Registration is $445 and the
conference will be held at the Grand Hyatt Washington.

The ACAD conference in June is geared toward support and networking
for Coreldraw users, ACAD said. Attendees will receive a year's
subscription to Corelation Magazine published by ACAD, technical
support, design techniques and tips, demonstrations, and will be
invited to join with other Corel users in their geographical locations
for monthly meetings.

Corel is backing the ACAD conference and has sent a letter to
Coreldraw users informing them of the event, according to sources at
Corel. Rick Altman will be speaking at the ACAD conference as well.

The ACAD conference will be held at the Red Lion Hotel in Glendale,
California. With over 3,000 members, ACAD told Newsbytes it has done a
survey Coreldraw users and will be featuring the most commonly
requested topics from that survey. Conference fees are $345, but
discounts are available for ACAD members, groups, and early
registration.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930419/Press Contact: Susan Verrecchia,
Corel, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(BOS)(00018)

Seybold - Users Compare Notes On SGML-Based Documents 04/19/93
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 APR 19 (NB) -- Interest is high
in SGML (Standard Genetic Markup Language), but potential users are
pondering how to keep the new, dynamic SGML-based electronic documents
in sync with traditional paper-based records, according to comments
raised toward the end of Seybold.

Only a handful of the participants in a breakout discussion group on
"Corporate Publishing/Electronic Distribution" had actually used SGML
yet. However, when moderator Nancy Erskine asked for a show of hands,
nearly half said they were actively exploring the new standard for
electronic document interchange.

In the freewheeling 90-minute discussion, an Adobe employee said that
he's employed Acrobat extensively, and an engineer for Interleaf
reported the same about WorldView 2. Steve Kershner of Silicon
Graphics noted that a presentation he'd given earlier at Seybold,
featuring a video clip of a rocket blast-off, was done with SGML.

Another attendee acknowledged that he's been prompted to delve into
SGML out of requirements being imposed by the federal SEC (Security
and Exchange Commission).

Eugene Ignatowski, staff information developer for IBM's Division 95,
said he wants to use SGML as a way of bringing together the myriad
formats used in documentation of third-party software for IBM's PCs.

Talk about search engines, online video, and other SGML benefits was
joined, though, by questions about how to coordinate the readily
changeable reports with the static paper documents most people have
worked with all their lives.

An engineer kicked off the consideration of paper documents by
mentioning remarks made by McGraw-Hill's Ed Heresniak on Seybold's
opening day. During a keynote speech, Heresniak had raised the specter
of two employees talking about a document over the phone, one with an
SGML document in front of him and the other with paper.

Unlike paper records, the SGML documents won't provide page
numbers, and what's more, the electronic documents will be subject
to frequent alteration, the engineer said. These issues could pose
difficulties in making online references to articles in scholarly
journals, he suggested.

An executive for a major pharmaceutical corporation responded that
Heresniak's remarks caused her to wonder how field and office staff
in her company might coordinate their actions, if the field employees
worked from paper and the office staff from computers.

She also expressed concern over the added expense that could be
involved in translating SGML tags -- used for identifying different
types of data -- into multiple languages. The company's budget for
outside translators is already phenomenally high, she stressed.

Several attendees pointed to the questionable readability of
electronic documents. "All of us are computer professionals, so
we're used to looking at materials online. But you'll never get
some people to read anything except paper," asserted one audience
member.

Yet the participants also reassured one another that the issues
brought forth by the dawn of SGML will be resolved, sooner or
later. The Adobe employee pointed out that, even before SGML, page
numbers have often been added to electronic documents.

Page numbers shouldn't be a significant issue in referencing academic
works, anyway, as long as users are able to find the needed
information, he added. The issue could be problematic, though, in
other situations, where having a definitive and unchanging version is
imperative. For this reason, some works, such as legal transcripts,
might have to remain in book form.

"What we're really talking about is version control," stated another
participant. Version control, something else that's been done already,
carries some advantages, because it encourages people to organize
their materials, she indicated.

A couple of participants predicted that, as SGML progresses, the
documents will get more readable. Others had suggestions for the
woman from the pharmaceutical company.

One attendee recommended that the pharmaceutical executive try to
take advantage of newly emerging automatic translation services.
Another pointed out that, since SGML tags are short and easily
recyclable, the time required for translating the tags should be
minimal.

Electronic documents and SGML are highly important matters to
users, the moderator concluded. "Even when I changed the subject
to other topics, your attention (returned) to electronic
documents," Erskine said in a wrapup of the breakout session.

Aside from "Corporate Publishing/Electronic Distribution," other
closing breakout sessions at Seybold addressed the areas of
"Commercial/Color," "Design," and "Newspapers/Magazines."

(Jacqueline Emigh/19930419)


(NEWS)(IBM)(BOS)(00019)

 ****$60 Desktop Publishing Package For Windows Debuts 04/19/93
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 APR 19 (NB) -- A fully featured
Windows-based desktop publishing (DTP) program, priced at only
$59.95, made a worldwide debut at the Seybold Seminars in Boston
last week.

For the European marketplace, PagePlus 2.0 is the latest release of an
already popular software package, but US users are now getting their
first real look at the product line, said Ralf D. Mellor, vice
president of Serif, in an interview with Newsbytes.

Serif, the producer of PagePlus, is based in the US, not far from
Boston in Nashua, NH, Mellor told Newsbytes. However, along the lines
of Quark, a company that initially gained fame in France, Serif
introduced Page Plus to the United Kingdom first. PagePlus is now the
market leader in the UK's DTP market, outdoing even Aldus PageMaker.

Earlier editions of PagePlus have been well regarded in Europe
for features as well as ease of use, according to reviews in UK
magazines.

Version 2.0 brings a new, frame-based interface for moving graphics
and text. In a demonstration at the booth, Mellor showed Newsbytes
how the handles of the frames can be used for resizing, and for
dragging the frames anywhere on screen.

PagePlus 2.0 incorporates a host of other new features, as well,
including Pantone color selection, spot and process separations,
style sheets, floating palettes, rotation of text and objects,
kerning, tracking, support for Object Linking and Embedding (OLE),
and text filters for a variety of Windows word processors.

Serif is also offering add-on packages for PagePlus 2.0. TypePlus,
allows for text manipulation, and FontPack One provides 100
TrueType fonts. Each add-on is priced at $19.95.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19930419/Press and reader contact: Ralf D.
Mellor, Serif Inc., tel [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00020)

Canadian Product Launch Update 04/19/93
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1993 APR 19 (NB) -- This regular
feature, appearing every Monday or Tuesday, provides further details
for the Canadian market on announcement by international companies
that Newsbytes has already covered. This week: the network version of
Lotus' 1-2-3 for DOS Release 3.4, Unisys A Series servers and
associated software upgrades, and a distribution agreement for Mustek
scanners.

Lotus 1-2-3 for DOS, Release 3.4a (Newsbytes, April 14), is available
immediately in Canada in English. A French-Canadian version is due to
ship in May, the company said. The Canadian suggested retail price is
C$719, and a license without disk and documentation is C$649. Licensed
users of 1-2-3 or Borland International's rival Quattro Pro can
upgrade for C$159.

Owners of Release 3.4 can switch to 3.4a for a C$10 shipping and
handling charge by calling Lotus at 800-343-5414. Customers who have
bought any other DOS version of 1-2-3 between Oct. 1, 1992, and Feb.
15, 1993, qualify for the Technology Guarantee Upgrade at C$59.

Unisys Canada unveiled the company's new A7 server models and software
upgrades for its entire A Series of enterprise systems (Newsbytes,
April 9). The new entry-level A7 models will be available in Canada by
the end of April, the company said. Software enhancements, which
include a version of the popular Novell NetWare local-area network
operating system and other networking tools, are available with the
new A7 machines and with other systems in the A Series line.

Computer Brokers of Canada, a Toronto-based distributor,
announced a deal whereby it will handle scanners from Mustek
Inc., of Irvine, California, exclusively in Canada.

(Grant Buckler/19930419/Press Contact: Colin Wyatt, Lotus
Development Canada, 416-364-8000; Dianne Rychlewski, Unisys
Canada, 416-495-4722; Joe Tersigni, Computer Brokers of Canada,
416-250-5665)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00021)

Alberta Phone Company Cuts Back 04/19/93
EDMONTON, ALBERTA, CANADA, 1993 APR 19 (NB) -- AGT, the telephone
company serving most of the province of Alberta, has announced
staff cuts, as well as the closure of several offices and retail
outlets in an effort to reduce costs.

The telecoms company said it will close regional offices and business
offices in Grande Cache, Medicine Hat, and Vegreville. The company is
also shutting down smaller operator services offices in five smaller
communities, and is closing 31 retail phone centers.

AGT officials said there is less need for the retail operations today
than there was some years ago when the telephone company had a
monopoly on the sale and rental of telephone sets.

AGT will continue to rent telephone equipment to customers, but will
deliver rented equipment directly to customers rather than allowing
them to pick it out in a retail setting.

About 1,200 employees will lose their jobs as a result of the changes,
AGT officials said. The cuts will include both management and
unionized employees. AGT serves all of Alberta except the city of
Edmonton, which has a separate telephone company.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
(CRTC) is currently working out terms under which at least one
company, Toronto-based Unitel Communications Inc., will be
allowed to compete with AGT in providing long-distance telephone
service in the province.

A CRTC ruling last year opened up long-distance service in seven
provinces to competition. In recent months two other regional
telephone companies, Bell Canada and B.C. Telephone, have applied to
regulators for rate increases on local service, citing expected loss
of long-distance market share as a factor.

Telus, the holding company that owns AGT, announced last September
that it would cut its work force by about 1,500 over a 15-month
period. Of those cuts, 500 were to take place by the end of 1992 and
the balance this year.

At the time, company spokeswoman Judy Williams said impending
competition in long-distance service was a major reason for the cuts.
She also cited a 1992 decision by the CRTC that reduced Telus'
allowable rate of return, and a generally weak economy.

(Grant Buckler/19930419/Press Contact: Judy Williams, AGT,
403-498-7320)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(MOW)(00022)

Unix Conference Opens In Moscow 04/19/93
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1993 APR 19 (NB) -- FreeSoft'93, the Free Software
Foundation's (FSF) international conference, has opened in Moscow. The
conference, which is being held at the International Centre of
Scientific and Technical Information (ICSTI), has attracted a number
of prominent speakers.

The speakers at the five day-event include leaders of the FSF, such as
Richard Stollman, the founder of the group. Stollman will be giving a
number of seminars and lectures to developers of Unix software.

The first day of the conference attracted a large number of attendees,
many of whom are Unix "software hackers." Newsbytes has learned that
several of the attendees are developing advanced Unix applications,
such as an SQL server, a Modula 2 translation package and a Russian
version of the TeX typesetting system.

The five-day conference is organized by the Russian Unix Users
Group and sponsored by several local companies, many of whom depend
heavily on Unix software applications in their line of business.

(Kirill Tchashchin & Eugene Peskin/19930419/Press Contact: Sergey
Kuznesov, Unix group, phone [phone])


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

Corel Slashes Pricing; Adds Support 04/19/93
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1993 APR 19 (NB) -- Corel Corporation has cut
the price of its flagship CorelDraw 3 graphics software, and has
signed deals with two outside companies to provide additional support
and upgrade services.

Corel cut the price of CorelDraw 3 to US$199 or C$249 from US$595 or
C$695. The company said it is preparing for the launch of CorelDraw 4,
a new version of the software that will be sold alongside the existing
package. CorelDraw 4 will provide additional features for users who
need more, the company said, while CorelDraw 3 will continue to appeal
to the entry-level, price-sensitive market.

Corel also announced deals with Software Support, a Lake Mary,
Florida, provider of third-party technical support, and Alexander &
Lord, a Monterey, California, company that handles software upgrade
orders for a number of software vendors. Starting immediately, support
calls and upgrade orders that exceed Corel's capacity will be rerouted
to the two companies in an effort to cut customer waiting time.

Corel has also announced three premium technical support services.
Free technical support will continue to be available through Corel's
toll support number, and customer service will continue on toll-free
numbers, company spokeswoman Janie Sullivan said, but those who need
more extensive support will be able to opt for one of the new
services.

Priority technical support will be available 24 hours a day, seven
days a week through three plans. A one-year plan costs US$175 and
provides support for CorelDraw and other applications and operating
systems. A 90-day support plan offers similar support for 90 days for
US$49.95. Both use toll-free 800 numbers.

Corel is also offering a pay-as-you-go help line using a 900 number
for which customers pay US$2.95 per minute. Customers can apply the
cost of 900-number calls, up to US$50, to buying a one-year support
plan, Corel officials said.

(Grant Buckler/19930419/Press Contact: Janie Sullivan, Corel,
613-728-8200 ext.1672; Public Contact: Corel, 800-836-3729)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00024)

NTT Develops Powerful Speech Recognition System 04/19/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 APR 19 (NB) -- NTT, Japan's state controlled
telecoms company, reports it has developed a powerful human
speech recognition system that is capable of recognizing 100,000
words with an 84 percent success rate.

NTT's latest speech recognition system is based on what the
company claims is an original algorithm that incorporates artificial
intelligence (AI) technology. The algorithm analyzes speech
phonetically and grammatically, with vowels carefully checked to
ensure that as few mistakes as possible are made.

According to NTT, the major advantage of this system is that it can
recognize a large volume of speech -- around 100 times the amount of
words current technology systems can recognize.

NTT has already tested the system using its extensive direct
assistance database. The system was able to respond to test users and
respond with either the required phone number or the address.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930419/Press Contact: NTT, +81-3-
3509-5035, Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(BOS)(00025)

Seybold - Ray Dream's JAG II Boosts Mac Resolution 04/19/93
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 APR 19 (NB) -- At Seybold last
week, Ray Dream introduced a major upgrade of its JAG (Jaggies Are
Gone) image enhancement software for the Apple Computer Mac.

According to the company, JAG II incorporates the anti-aliasing
capabilities of the first version of JAG, while adding a new algorithm
which actually boosts the resolution of digital images, whether the
images are in black and white or 8-, 16-, 24- or 32-bit color.

In an interview with Newsbytes, Eric Hautemont, president of Ray
Dream, emphasized that the new package costs only $129, and is aimed
at Mac users with all levels of equipment and computer graphics
expertise.

JAG II offers a choice between anti-aliasing and the new technique for
eliminating "jaggies," or stair-stepped edges on images, he explained.
The new algorithm is especially well suited to use with low-end laser
printers, he added.

Hautemont told Newsbytes that the revised edge detection algorithm
in JAG II first finds the jagged edges in an image and compares
them to the background. The software then determines whether it's
better to use anti-aliasing, which will add intermediate colors to
blend the edges, or to use the new algorithm, which will maintain the
document's color palette and smooth the jagged edges through higher
resolution.

The ability to maintain the color palette is very important when
working with monochrome images on laser printers that don't support
grayscale, or when a restricted color palette is in use. If higher
resolution turns out to be the answer, JAG II fills in the jaggies
with extra pixels, adding more dots to the picture in a matter of
seconds.

The higher resolution permits a clear, crisp image at any size.
Clip art, for example, can be scaled upward in size, without taking
on a jagged, amateurish appearance.

JAG II also provides increased file format support. In addition to
the PICT an PICS files previously supported, the package now
supports QuickTime, TIFF, PhotoCD, MacPaint and EPS, bringing a
versatility that is especially useful for creating animation.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19930419/Press contact: Kristine Smalley, Ray
Dream, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00026)

Banyan/Microsoft In Deal; Vines For HP RISC Due 04/19/93
WESTBORO, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A. (NB) -- In today's corporate
networking environments, electronic mail has all but replaced paper
memos. However, e-mail products must work over different platforms to
be effective. Along those lines, Banyan Systems and Microsoft have
announced plans to allow users to integrate Microsoft Mail with the
Banyan Intelligent Messaging and StreetTalk Global Directory network
services.

According to the companies, they are working together to "develop,
distribute and provide support for a mail driver for users who wish
to use the Microsoft Mail desktop application on Banyan Vines and ENS
for NetWare enterprise networks." This integration will reportedly
remove the need to administer a separate electronic-mail network.

Banyan and Microsoft have been working together to develop a mail
driver that will allow the Microsoft Mail client to be used as a front
end to Banyan's Intelligent Messaging. The driver will support
applications using the Simple MAPI APIs (application programming
interfaces) allowing Vines and ENS for NetWare users to take advantage
of these applications in their enterprise networks.

According to the companies, the integration will enable the Microsoft
Mail Version 3.x client to become a native client for the Banyan
Intelligent Messaging and StreetTalk III network services. This will
save administrators from having to manage multiple e-mail networks.

Microsoft Mail users will have full integration with the new
StreetTalk III capabilities including StreetTalk Directory Assistance
(STDA). STDA is a tool that facilitates immediate user and
administrator searches of lists, users, and nicknames, and allows
searches by name, description, or attributes.

Using Banyan's Intelligent Messaging and StreetTalk III, Microsoft
Mail users will be able to send e-mail to anyone in their enterprise
network. Microsoft Mail users will also be able to take advantage of
Intelligent Messaging's high-capacity message transport, automatic
configuration, dynamic routing, and automatic message compression
features.

"A Microsoft Mail driver for Banyan's Intelligent Messaging and
StreetTalk allows users of Vines and ENS for NetWare to migrate their
desktop to Windows while leveraging their existing investment in an
enterprise-wide messaging backbone," said Tom Evslin, general manager
of the Workgroup division at Microsoft.

Customer support will be provided by Banyan and Microsoft through the
ongoing Technical Support Alliance, announced in May of 1990. The
Microsoft Mail driver for Banyan's Intelligent Messaging and
StreetTalk III is scheduled to be available in the third quarter of
1993. It will be made available at no cost from both Banyan and
Microsoft.

Reports in the press have Banyan and Hewlett-Packard teaming up to
release a version of the Vines network operating system for HP's RISC-
based 9000 series of computers.

A company spokesperson confirmed to Newsbytes that the product will be
announced next week, although they declined further specific comment.

(Ian Stokell/19930419/Press Contact: Lucia Graziano,
508-898-1000, Banyan Systems Inc.)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00027)

Apple To Put Third-Party Software On Its CD-ROMs 04/19/93
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 19 (NB) -- Apple is planning
to offer third-party programs along with its own software on CD-ROMs.
The scheme is called the Software Access Initiative.

According to reports, the CD-ROMs will contain information about
third-party software as well as the full encrypted versions. The disks
would come bundled with Apple's own CD-ROM drives. They may also be
distributed through the company's own mail-order catalog, as well as
other retail channels.

In order to get at the full versions, the prospective users would need
to dial an Apple number for decryption codes. Credit cards would be
used for payments over the phone.

Nancy Morrisson, a spokesperson for Apple told Newsbytes that the
Software Access Initiative, "gives customers a better opportunity to
survey third-party applications... to try them and to understand their
features and benefits in order to make a better purchase decision."

(Ian Stokell/19930419)


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

Network General Ships Sniffers 04/19/93
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 19 (NB) -- In today's
increasingly complex enterprise-wide networks, it is even more
important to have adequate tools for the analysis of internetworking
and local area network (LAN) traffic. Network General has added to its
line of analysis products by shipping both the Distributed Sniffer
System (DSS) with Expert Analysis and the Expert Sniffer Internetwork
Analyzer.

Announcing the products, Les Denend, senior vice president of
products, said: "DSS with Expert Analysis and the Expert Sniffer
Internetwork Analyzer create tremendous value for organizations
struggling to manage today's complex networks."

According to the company, DSS with Expert Analysis is an intelligent
client-server analysis system that proactively and automatically
identifies problems on Ethernet and Token Ring local area networks
(LANs).

The company says that a typical DSS configuration consists of
SniffMaster Consoles, priced at $4,995 (DOS or Unix), and Sniffer
Servers with monitoring and Expert analysis that range from $7,495 to
$8,495. Monitoring-only servers start at $3,500. Volume discounts are
available, and international pricing varies by country.

The Expert Sniffer Internetwork Analyzer (SIA) is designed for router-
based internetworks that incorporate different technologies. The
company says that, with real-time monitoring at speeds up to 2.048
Mbps, the SIA supports both router-based internetworks using leased
line, frame relay, or X.25 circuits and traditional terminal-to-host
networks such as async and Systems Network Architecture (SNA). The
Expert Sniffer Internetwork Analyzer is priced at $18,500.

John Lenko, SIA product manager, said: "SIA integrates our unique
Expert analysis and monitoring capabilities allowing network managers
to proactively spot problems. Users are automatically able to view
information, quickly pinpoint internetwork performance problems, and
to determine whether they are related to inadequate bandwidth or to
LAN/WAN protocol problems."

(Ian Stokell/19930419/Press Contact: Ben Merritt, 415-473-2763,
Network General)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00029)

High-Speed Digital Telephony To Get Cheaper 04/19/93
FOLSOM, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 19 (NB) -- Level One
Communications has announced what it claims is the telecoms industry's
first single chip implementation of a high bit rate digital subscriber
line (HDSL).

The integrated circuit, known as the HDSL Data Pump (HDSL-DP) will
significantly lower the cost and accelerate the implementation of
HDSL, the company claims. The data pump was developed with the support
of an international consortium of leading telecommunication equipment
manufacturers.

According to Level One, HDSL will allow phone companies to enhance
existing T1 or E1 (T1/E1) service to customers while leveraging their
extensive investment in copper wire at the same time. In addition, the
company claims that customers will experience more reliable service
and faster hookup of HDSL-enhanced services without abandoning
existing premises equipment.

HDSL is actually an enhancement to the T1/E1 transport mechanism used
to provide high-speed digital telephone services. While the HDSL
technology strictly adheres to the provisions of the T1/E1
specifications, HDSL claims to provide a more reliable and versatile
transport mechanism for existing copper wiring.

The bottom line for subscribers to phone company services is that data
transmissions at a much higher speed than was previously thought
possible will be attainable using the standard local phone loop.

Announcing the technology breakthrough, Dr Robert Pepper, Level One's
CEO, said that the data pump capitalizes on the company's experience
in mixed analog and digital circuit design.

"Our chip enables telephone equipment suppliers to provide their
customers with the most economical -- and the most sophisticated --
solution to the problem of providing high-speed digital services on
existing loop plant," he said.

The one-micron CMOS HDSL Data Pump can transmit up to 12,000 feet on
regular twisted copper pair that meets Carrier Serving Area (CSA)
guidelines. Unlike T1/E1, which uses separate wire pairs to transmit
and receive signals, HDSL uses an echo-cancelling technique to allow
each wire pair to transmit at 784 Kbit/sec bidirectionally.

So when will we see this technology available to consumers? Quite
soon, Level One claims. The technology is already in the trialling
stages, with actual test products being made available to phone
companies this summer. The company estimates that an actual commercial
implementation is about a year away.

(Steve Gold/19930419/Press & Public Contact: Level One -
916/985-3670)


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

Virex Now Available Online 04/19/93
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 19 (NB) -- Datawatch has
released a trial version of Virex, its popular anti-virus software for
the PC, on to its own bulletn board system (BBS) in the US, as well as
on to a variety of commercial online services such as America Online,
Compuserve, Genie, and Prodigy.

According to Andrew Mathews, general manager of Datawatch's
division which handles Virex, the idea behind the scheme is to
encourage users to try the anti-virus software before they buy.
Registration of the package, which costs $49-95, entitles users to
free product updates for two years. Product updates are a key feature
of anti-viral packages, owing to the large numbers of new and mutated
viruses which circulate every month.

Mathews said that the popularity of the company's proprietary BBS
"indicates that there is a growing need to provide broader electronic
service to our more sophisticated users," adding that electronic
distribution provides users with an easy and convenient method of
managing the virus situation.

Version 2.7 of Virex, which is available in free trial format, is
available by calling the Datagate BBS on 0101-919-419-1603 at all
modem speeds to 9,600 bits per second (bps) using 8:N:1 parity.
Version 2.7 claims to be capable of detecting more than 1,300
different viruses.

(Steve Gold/19930419/Press & Public Contact: Datawatch Corporation...
0101-919-490-1277)