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/NB930505

Text File | 1993-05-05 | 65KB | 1,415 lines

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

Microsoft Ships OLE 2.0, Announces OLE Univ Courses 05/05/93
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 5 (NB) -- More than 1,200
independent software developers (ISVs) got their copies of Microsoft's
OLE 2.0 while attending a three-day professional developers conference
at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center in Seattle this week.
They also got to see demonstrations of various OLE 2.0-compliant
applications.

The applications were being previewed by a number of ISVs and
staffers from Microsoft's Applications Division. The applications use
the latest OLE (object linking and embedding) technology in release
2.0.

Conference attendees will also have an opportunity to choose from
more than 40 technical sessions, and will get the draft of the first
six chapters of a new book about OLE 2.0 development.

Microsoft has also announced that the University of California at
Berkeley and Boston University will offer university-level courses
in OLE 2.0 this fall.

Microsoft says the final version is also being shipped to the more
than 2,600 developers in 24 countries that participated in its OLE
beta program, and includes the OLE 2.0 pre-beta software for
Windows NT so developers can start developing 32-bit applications.

Microsoft's Jonathan Lazarus, VP of systems strategy, calls OLE
2.0, "A sophisticated object technology that can greatly enhance
user productivity when implemented in new applications. As such
it is critical to Microsoft's systems strategy and we are
committed to its success."

(Jim Mallory/19930504/Press contact: Beverley Flower,
Microsoft, 206-882-8080; Reader contact: 800-426-9400)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00002)

Comdata To Resell TMW Software 05/05/93
BRENTWOOD, TENNESSEE, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 5 (NB) -- Comdata
Holdings, which leads the market for wireless communications
between trucking fleets and their bases, has signed an alliance
with TMW Trucking Systems under which it will re-sell TMW's
The Trucking System software.

The Trucking System is a modular software package for truck
fleet management designed to work on local area networks. It
manages data on truck locations and movement to improve
efficiency, and works with Comdata's nationwide network.
Data used by the system includes information on the driver's
location and daily fuel, cash and phone transactions, along with
the in-cab communications activity.

This is not an exclusive deal on either side. Comdata said it is
committed to open systems and will continue software integration
support to customers using other software.

Tomas Weisz of TMW told Newsbytes his company's software
also interfaces with other networks besides that of Comdata,
"but we will be doing a lot more with the Comdata network.
From our perspective it's easy to integrate to and has a
complete line, as well as the largest market share."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930504/Press Contact: TMW Trucking
Systems, Tomas M. Weisz, 216/831-6606; Public Contact:Dan
Nelson, 1-800-741-4040 ext 7140)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00003)

Fourth 900 Call Operator Formed 05/05/93
SHERMAN OAKS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 5 (NB) -- For the
first time in a few years, there's a fourth option for companies
which want to run caller-paid 900-number services. Independent
Entertainment Group, which has been managing credit card billing
services for the industry, announced it will form a Telco
operation in order to service the calls directly.

IEG's chief financial officer, Lew Eisaguirre, said in a press
statement that the company has cut chargebacks on credit card
calls to the exchange to under one percent, while telephone
companies who handle billing on the exchange get chargebacks
and bad debt of 40-60 percent, which is unacceptable. IEG is
successful because it screens callers against a database of bad
debtors before letting them complete the call, and employs other
fraud control measures.

The 900-number business, which started in the mid-1980s,
quickly became a billion dollar industry in the late 1980s. But
complaints about call content and services, often revolving
around sex or consumer fraud charges, led to a crackdown by
government, which decided to regulate content, insist on free
pre-ambles detailing services and charges, and forego cutting off
regular phone service if a consumer refused to pay a charge to a
number on the exchange. As a result Telesphere, then the second-
largest operator of such services, was driven under, and the "big
three" established strict guidelines for information providers.

IEG said it has hired a number of industry veterans, including
executives from US Sprint and International Telecharge, which
eventually acquired Telesphere, to integrate his company's
existing billing systems with the new telephone system.
Eisaguirre said this "will help give control of the cash register
back to information providers and service bureaus." The company
is seeking billing agreements with local telephone companies.

A spokesman for the company told Newsbytes that, in addition to
taking Visa and MasterCard billing, the company is also planning
on issuing its own Collect Cards, a type of credit card for
direct billing. "That would be their own billing and collection
system, which can be offered to IPs," the spokesman continued.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930504/Press Contact: Independent
Entertainment Group, Lew Eisaguirre, 818/501-4633; Michele
Fasano, 212-838-3777 ext 105)


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

More On Philips/Matsushita Deal 05/05/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 MAY 5 (NB) -- Matsushita Electric and Philips
have reached an agreement whereby Matsushita Electric will
acquire all the equity of its subsidiary "Matsushita Electronics"
from Philips, a Netherlands-based electronics firm. Matsushita
Electronics is a joint venture of Matsushita Electric and Philips.

Matsushita Electric will acquire a 35 percent of equity from
Philips on May 31. With this acquisition, Matsushita Electric will
be a 100-percent stock holder of its subsidiary Matsushita
Electronics in Osaka. Matsushita Electric will purchase the stock
at 6,400 yen ($58) per stock, and the firm will be paying Philips
a total of 185 billion yen ($1.7 billion).

Matsushita Electronics was jointly created by both firms in 1952.
The firm gained 466.7 billion yen ($4.25 billion) sales and 37
billion yen ($335 million) profit in fiscal 1991. The firm has
been producing semiconductor products (50 percent), CRT
monitors (30 percent) and light bulbs (20 percent). A total of
22,000 employees are working for the company.

The major reasons for Matsushita's buy-out, and Philips' retreat,
are due mainly to the financial situation at Philips, which has
been struggling with debt. The firm has been undergoing a major
restructuring. Meanwhile, for Matsushita Electric, it may be
a good chance to acquire the subsidiary, as the stock price is
relatively low.

The relationship between Matsushita Electric and Philips is still
ongoing though. Both firms have a number of joint development
projects including a DCC (digital compact cassette).

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930504/Press Contact:
Matsushita Electric, [phone], Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(TYO)(00005)

DOS/V Association "OADG" Elects New Execs 05/05/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 MAY 5 (NB) -- IBM Japan's Open Architecture
Developers' Group (OADG) has chosen new executives for fiscal
1993 from Hitachi, IBM Japan and Mitsubishi.

Meanwhile, IBM Japan has created two new firms as part of its
"Second Carrier Program" for its senior employees. IBM Japan is
also reportedly talking with several Japanese personal computer
firms concerning the licensing of its new operating system.

IBM Japan's Open Architecture Developers' Group (OADG) is in
its second year of operation. It has just elected new executive
directors. The new chairman is Kenichi Furumaya of Hitachi and
the vice chairman is Riki Maruyama of IBM Japan. The former
Chairman Kobayashi of Mitsubishi will remain as an executive
member of the OADG. Other executive members include the
people from Oki Electric, Canon, Sanyo Electric, Sharp,
Toshiba, Matsushita Electric, and Ricoh.

Currently, there are 24 registered members of the OADG.
Overseas computer firms are also participating, and include
AST Research Japan, Del Computer, Japan Acer, Japan Digital
Equipment and Unisys Japan.

The OADG aims to encourage creating DOS/V-compatible personal
computers and software. According to the OADG, there are about
3,000 kinds of software and 200 kinds of hardware that run
DOS/V software.

The OADG is planning to encourage Windows and OS/2-
compatible hardware and software in the near future. IBM
Japan has been helping this group supply technical information
concerning the hardware and software. The OADG is currently
holding technical seminars and publishing magazines. Also, it
has been providing so-called "Application Test Site" service
to check the compatibility of hardware and software.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930504/Press Contact: PC
Open Architecture Developers' Group, [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(TYO)(00006)

IBM Japan Forms 2 Firms; Deal With Data Switch 05/05/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 MAY 5 (NB) -- IBM Japan has announced
that it has created two new firms, both of which are headed
by former IBM Japan employees. This is part of IBM Japan's
"Second Carrier Support Program", which is to encourage
early retirement of senior personnel.

IBM Japan's two new firms are called International Channel
Administration Services Company Limited (ICAS) and LBS
Company Limited. ICAS will cooperate IBM Japan to provide
clerical support for IBM Japan customers. It has
capitalization of 10 million yen ($91,000) and has 85
employees to start. IBM Japan provided 35 percent of the
total capitalization. LBS is an advertisement agency, which
provides designing, promotion, planning, consultation service
on advertisement. Nineteen percent of the total 30 million
yen ($273,000) capitalization was paid by IBM Japan. A total
of 44 employees are working in the firm.

IBM Japan has been offering this Second Carrier Support
Program to its senior employees since 1989. Already 11
firms have been created under the program.

Meanwhile, IBM Japan has announced that it has signed an
agreement with Data Switch of Connecticut in the US. The
agreement calls for IBM Japan to market Data Switch's
switching systems in Japan. Additionally, IBM Japan will
provide maintenance support for the products.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930504/Press Contact:
IBM Japan, [phone], Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00007)

More On New 900 Operator 05/05/93
SHERMAN OAKS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 5 (NB) -- Newsbytes
discussed plans for a new operator of 900-number pay-per-call
services with Lew Eisaguirre, chief financial officer for
Independent Entertainment Group.

The company said recently it would begin a "Telco" operation to
bring its own services to the 900 area code, and would also
become a service bureau for other companies' 900-number
services. However, Eisaguirre said his company would be the
third, not the fourth entry into this business. "Sprint doesn't
do 'em anymore," he said.

The key to IEG's potential success is its work to cut bad debt
for information providers. When AT&T or MCI are running such
services, he said, up to half an operator's volume may turn out
to be uncollectable. This is in part because government
regulations prevent local phone companies from cutting off
service based on a refusal to pay charges on the exchange. It's
also, he told Newsbytes, due to the basic attitude of the
carriers. "MCI and ATT are long distance carriers. They're not
motivated to control fraud and bad debt problems. They make the
money on the call, not the information."

That's where IEG can help. The company has successfully sold
pay-per-call services, including erotic calls, on the 800
exchange with billing by MasterCard and Visa. Those cards
represent "safe harbors" for such services, he explains, since
it's assumed minors aren't using credit cards. But the company
has also cut losses with a database of bad debtors. People who
refuse to pay for IEG services go into a database and don't get
services again. Using this system, "We've got the bad debt rate
down to under one percent," he said.

Eisaguirre said his company's main goal right now is to get
billing name and address agreements, called BNA data, as well as
collection agreements with local phone companies, including the
regional Bells. IEG also wants to tap into a database called
LIDB, used by the phone companies themselves for billing
purposes. "Not everyone wants to use a Visa or MasterCard. You
miss some of the market if you don't use telco services. We
believe that by putting appropriate fraud control to screen the
caller up front, checking the LIDB database and our own database,
we can get control of the fraud and bad debt problem. To do that
you need to be tapped into the telco environment, you need
billing name and address agreements with the LECs, billing and
collection agreements with the LECs, and systems that are
compatible. That's what we're doing."

There are problems. Local phone companies may not want to do
business with a company that also offers 800-number services.
And there are regulations on the 900-exchange, for free
preambles, content control, and advertising, which make some of
IEG's services unsuitable for the company, Eisaguirre acknowledged.
So not all of the company's current services will make the move to
900. Still, he said, "We don't see it as a limiting factor.

"We believe that if we can control the fraud and bad debt,
Information Providers will beat a path to our door," he
continued. "We had some year-end provisions we had to make,
with the 900 business. We're not the only information provider
experiencing those problems. We think from a marketing
standpoint it's an easy test. Obviously we have our own group
of information providers, existing customers, most of which
we'll go to first, but we think there's a big universe of others.
We think growth in the industry is dependent on information
providers' ability to develop sustainable types of information
services. We've seen applications come and go. Not all types of
services are appropriate for pay per call. Some will prove
themselves. We're very bullish on the industry generally, and
think that once the bad debt problems are handled that will
provide a foundation for new services to develop. But it's hard
to develop markets if you're not collecting a substantial
percentage of what you bill."

Eisaguirre also added there are a number of reasons to keep 800-
based pay-per-call services. "900 numbers have developed a
negative aura. That's why we focused on 800 numbers and even
just 1+ numbers, using alternative collection and billing numbers.
For a candidate to use 800, then have callers be able to input a
Visa or MasterCard number for audiotex, fax-on-demand or other
services is probably a much better application" than to try and
use the 900 area code.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930505/Press Contact: Independent
Entertainment Group, Lew Eisaguirre, 818/501-4633; Michele
Fasano, 212/838-3777x105)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00008)

 ****Intel & Microsofts Windows Telephony 05/05/93
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 5 (NB) -- Analysts have
responded enthusiastically to the announcement by Intel and
Microsoft of a new proposed standard called Windows Telephony,
but its success is not guaranteed. For one thing, the technology
requires Microsoft Windows. For another thing, PCs are
notoriously less-reliable than phone switches and similar
equipment.

Windows Telephony is an application programming interface, or
API, designed to make it easy to link desktop computers and
telephones. Intel and Microsoft call it an industry standard,
saying it will help the number of PC-phone applications multiply,
blending the two devices. The idea is that Windows Telephony
will insulate PC users from the complexities of phone switching,
enabling them to dial phones using their keyboards, mice or
networks, and linking regular phone lines through PCs rather than
having two lines into every office.

Right now, Intel and Microsoft said at a press briefing, software
vendors have to write different versions of their applications
for every brand of phone equipment, and every network
electronic-mail program. That's why, they say, the market hasn't
taken off. Analyst interest was proven by the fact that stock in
both Intel and Microsoft rose sharply after the announcement,
despite their large size.

Microsoft said that Windows Telephony is part of its Microsoft
Windows Open Services Architecture, or WOSA, which provides a
single set of open-ended interfaces to enterprise computing
services. It includes a number of APIs, including services for
data access, messaging, software licensing, connectivity, and
financial services.

Over 40 software and telephone equipment makers stood with Intel
and Microsoft at their press briefing, including Lotus, Compaq,
Rolm, Northern Telecom, Octel, Ericsson and Bell Atlantic. But
these are the "usual suspects" in phone-PC integration. Most of
them have, in the past, backed expensive failures in this area.
It's expected that the Windows Telephony interface will get stiff
competition from Unix-based interfaces offering more power and
non-stop computer vendors Tandem and Stratus, which offer more
reliability.

An example of what's possible was offered by Siemens and its
Rolm subsidiary. Their new CallBridge for Desktops links Siemens
and Rolm digital telephones to PCs and other data devices under
the Windows Telephony API. The companies said they were key
contributors to the development of the API, and they're also
looking at applications in integrated messaging, combining
private branch exchanges, or PBXs, with fax, e-mail and video
mail, for instance.

Still, the size of Intel and Microsoft, as well as the size of
the PC market and their success in addressing that market, give
them an edge, according to most analysts. For instance, version
1.0 of the API is already available through the Intel Access
Forum on CompuServe, accessed through the command "go
intelaccess," through the Windows forum at "go winext," and on the
Internet at ftp.uu.net 7/8ftp/vendor/microsoft.  Copies can also
be obtained by faxing the "Windows Telephony Coordinator" at
Microsoft at 206-936-7329, or by sending e-mail to the Internet
address [e-mail] from any major on-line system.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930505/Press Contact: Intel, John Thompson,
408/765-1279; Microsoft, Beverley Flower, 206/882-8080; Rolm,
Derek van Bronkhorst, 408/492-2161)


(NEWS)(IBM)(ATL)(00009)

 ****HP Intros 100LX - 95LX Successor 05/05/93
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 5 (NB) -- Hewlett-
Packard  has introduced the HP 100LX palmtop, a successor
to the popular 95LX. The new device was co-launched with Lotus
Development, and includes a version of its cc:Mail and 1-2-3
applications, in chip form, as standard equipment.

The 11 ounce, or 0.3 kilogram, device is targeted at the 3 million
users of cc:Mail who want remote connectivity, said Lotus
spokesman Dave Grip. It also has an improved personal information
manager, based on the old 95LX's program, and is far more DOS-
compatible than its predecessor. For instance, it also comes with
MS-DOS 5.0, and will have a wireless modem option later this
year. It's based on the Intel 80C186 chip and is 50 percent
faster than the 95LX, the two companies said. The personal
information manager, or PIM, offers appointment calendars and
to-do lists, and the ability to develop a phone-book database, as
well as a real-time clock, a text editor and search-edit and cut-
and-paste capabilities.

The device has a small screen which can offer a 80 by 25 character
display, or a zoomed display with larger letters which has 40
characters on 16 lines. The graphics-enhanced user interface
is also easier to use, and uses the computer graphics adapter, or
CGA, standard found on older PCs. It has a PCMCIA 2.0 PC Card
interface, enabling chip-based modems or memory or applications
to be easily added.

The retail price, $749, positions itself squarely against Sharp's
new Wizard, which offers a pen-based interface but is not DOS-
compatible. Grip said the 100LX has better connectivity options
than the Wizard. However, the Wizard also has massive distribution,
including displays at catalog merchants and office supply stores.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930505/Press Contact: Hewlett-Packard, Lucy
Honig, 503/750-2038l, Dave Grip, for Lotus Development, 617/862-
4514)


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

Gates Says New Version Of Microsoft Office Coming 05/05/93
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 5 (NB) --  Microsoft
Chairman and CEO Bill Gates told attendees at DB/EXPO that
Microsoft will ship a new version of its Microsoft Office software
suite in early June.

Gates told the approximately 1,500 conference goers that in
addition to the current version of Office, the company will ship
office with Microsoft Access.

The current edition of Microsoft Office contains spreadsheet program
Microsoft Excel 4.0, Microsoft Powerpoint 3.0 presentation graphics,
the word processing program Microsoft Word, and a license for the
Microsoft Mail electronic mail program. The new edition adds
Microsoft's recently announced Access database software.

The company says that since Access was released in November,
almost 800,000 copies have shipped. Microsoft Office has also
done well, appearing consistently somewhere in the top ten
software packages in several distributor listings. Microsoft
officials estimate that more than half the sales of Excel and
Word will be through MicrosoftOffice by the end of the year.

Gates says the release of Access caused a fundamental shift in the
PC database market. "It's appeal was not just to traditional database
developers and users, but to a new category of users who want easy
to use database functionality that integrates well with their other
desktop applications.

Pete Higgins, senior VP of desktop applications at Microsoft, says
the single most frequent request from users of Microsoft Office has
ben the addition of a database.

Rival company Borland International said last month that it will sell
a three-program package to include its Paradox database, Quattro Pro
spreadsheet, and Wordperfect's word processing software
Wordperfect. That package is expected to carry a suggested retail
price of $595.

The new version of Office will include Access release 1.1, the
planned update to the original version 1.0. Microsoft says release
1.1 includes expanded database connectivity, including direct
connection to Microsoft FoxPro versions 2.0 and 2.5, as well as
connection to Oracle and Sybase SQL Server via ODBC (open database
connectivity). The new Access will also be able to handle larger
databases, with a maximum file size of one gigabyte, and improved
integration with both Excel and Word.

Microsoft says the new Office with Access program will have a
suggested retail price of $949. The company also publishes Office
for Windows, priced at $750. That's also the price for a Macintosh
version. Microsoft spokesperson Russ Dorr told Newsbytes present
users of Office for Windows can upgrade to the new edition for $149.
The elements of Office are not integrated in the manner of programs
like Microsoft Works, so the upgrade gets the user only the Access
1.1 software, which is available for $149 for present users.

(Jim Mallory/19930505/Press contact: Russ Dorr, Waggener Edstrom
for Microsoft, 206-637-9097; Reader contact: Microsoft Corporation,
800-426-9400 or 206-882-8080)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00011)

Dell Names New Worldwide Sales/Marketing/Svc Exec 05/05/93
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 5 (NB) --  Dell Computer
has announced that Joel Kocher has been promoted to president of
worldwide sales, marketing, and service operations for the
company.

Kocher, 36, takes over his new position after serving just one year
as president of Dell USA. Prior to holding that position he was vice
president of Dell Field Sales. Kocher joined Dell in 1987, and had
seven years of sales and marketing experience with Tandy's Radio
Shack Business Products Division.
In his new position Kocher will have responsibility for sales,
marketing and service for each of the company's 20 wholly-owned
subsidiaries and for its network of international resellers. He will
continue to report to Michael S. Dell, the company's chairman and
CEO. Dell said the company has more than tripled in size over the
last three years under Kocher's leadership, and is now a $1.3 billion
business. "He and his team have developed the marketing strategies
that allow us to offer customized computer and service solutions to
distinct customer segments," Dell said in a prepared statement.

Dell's Roger Rydell told Newsbytes that the new position consolidates
the sales, marketing and service functions of the Dell domestic and
international operations.  Previously, domestic functions have been
under Dell USA, while international operations were under Dell
International. "Michael (S.Dell, Dell Chairman) made the decision to
consolidate and provide a single focus for all our sales, marketing,
and service operations around the world. (Dell) felt Kocher was the
right guy for that job."

In related news, Andrew Harris has resigned as president of Dell's
international unit. Harris was reportedly also being considered for
the position that went to Kocher. A Dell spokesperson declined to
comment on the possibility that Harris' resignation was related to
not getting the new job. His resignation was immediate, and he has
already left the company. Asked what Harris would be doing, the
spokesperson told Newsbytes that was unknown, but said "He's
probably going over in his mind what his opportunities are. I'm
sure there are many of those."

(Jim Mallory/19930505/Press contact: Roger Rydell,
512-794-4100)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(DEN)(00012)

New For Unix - Interactive System 4.0 05/05/93
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 5 (NB) --  Sunsoft has announced
a new release of is Unix-based Interactive System that the company
says increases system functionality, application compatibility, and
peripheral support.

Sunsoft says the new product will run on a number of the Santa Cruz
Operation's SCO Unix and Open Desktop applications, giving users
access to more than 5,000 software packages. Interactive Unix is used
predominantly in the areas of process control, factory automation and
point-of-sale as a multiuser system. Sunsoft lists BF Goodrich, BMW,
Saab, British Petroleum, Goodyear, the US Courts, the British House
of Commons - the equivalent of the US House of Representatives - and
even the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team among its users. The
32-bit software is based on Unix System V/386 release 3.2.

Sunsoft also announced several distribution and technology
agreements. Its products will now be distributed by Arrow
Electronics, Commercial Systems Group, and GBC Technologies. It has
also signed a deal with Fifth Generation Systems for FGS to provide
Fastback Plus, its popular software backup program, for the
Interactive Unix System 4.0. The company says it will ship Fastback
Plus with Interactive multiuser products at no charge from now
through the end of the year.

The company says it has set up regional application centers (RACs)
which will provide facilities for resellers and third party software
developers to verify testing of commercial or custom applications
on PC platforms running the Interactive Unix operating system.
Currently, three RACs are in operation in the US, located at the
Sunsoft Boston Development Center in Chelmsford, Massachusetts;
at SunSoft headquarters in Mountain View, California; and at Access
Graphics, in Boulder, Colorado.

Sunsoft spokesperson Dan Stevens told Newsbytes that Interactive
Unix System 4.0 is immediately available, and carries a price tag
of $495 for a single or two-user version. The multiuser version is
priced at $895. Present System 3.0 users can upgrade to version
4.0 for $195 without Fastback Plus, of $295 for the version that
includes the Fastback backup software.

(Jim Mallory/19930505/Press contact: Don Stevens, High Tech
Communications for Sunsoft, 415-904-7000; Reader contact:
800-227-9227 (for general information) or 415-336-2978 for
RAC info)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00013)

Wang Licenses SIMM Technology To NMB 05/05/93
LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 5 (NB) -- Wang
Laboratories has licensed two patents covering single in-line
memory module (SIMM) technology to NMB Technologies, the US
distributor for Nippon Steel Semiconductor of Chica, Japan.

Wang's 42nd such licensing agreement for the patents, this is the
latest move in a long saga that began in 1989 and has included
several legal battles with companies Wang deemed to be
infringing its patents.

Wang filed a suit against NMB in the spring of 1992, when it also
launched a similar suit against Mitsubishi Electronics America.
Both companies were accused of wilfully infringing Wang's
patents on SIMM technology.

A SIMM is a group of memory chips mounted in a single unit.
Widely used in personal computers, SIMMs make it easier to
replace and upgrade memory chips, and avoid the need to solder
the chips one by one to the main system board.

Wang has successfully sued several manufacturers, most of them
Japanese companies, over infringement of its SIMM patents, and
others have also agreed to licensing arrangements. Earlier, a
spokesman told Newsbytes that Wang earns more than $7.5 million
each quarter in patent license revenues, mainly from the SIMM
patents. The patents are valid until 2004.

Others that have licensed the patents include Fujitsu, Goldstar,
Hitachi, Intel Japan, Matsushita, Oki Electric, Samsung
Electronics, and Siemens Components.

(Grant Buckler/19930505/Press Contact: Frank Ryan, Wang
Laboratories, 508-967-7038; Ed Pignone, Wang, 508-967-4912)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00014)

Geac Acquires NBI Canada 05/05/93
MARKHAM, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1993 MAY 5 (NB) -- In its second
such announcement in two days, Geac Computer has revealed
the acquisition of NBI Canada, a network reseller also based
in Markham.

Geac spokesman Harrison Cheung said NBI Canada, which has about
20 employees, will be integrated into Geac's Canadian operations.
"They're just down the street from us," he added.

NBI Canada is closer to home than Geac's purchase a day earlier
of MAI (UK) and Tekserv Computer Services, both of Hemel
Hempstead, UK.

NBI Canada is a reseller of Novell network software, as is
Geac, Cheung said. The acquisition will beef up Geac's
networking expertise and resources, he added.

As to terms of the deal, Geac would say only that it paid less
than C$1 million for NBI Canada, which has annual revenues of
more than C$2 million.

Geac sells computer systems and software to a variety of
vertical markets, notably libraries, financial institutions,
manufacturers, distributors, and the hospitality industry,
through operations in 10 countries. The company had worldwide
revenues of about C$83.5 million last year, Cheung said.

(Grant Buckler/19930505/Press Contact: Harrison Cheung,
Geac, 416-475-0525, fax [phone])


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

 ****IBM Ships DB2/2, Touts Third-Party Support 05/05/93
SOMERS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 5 (NB) -- IBM has begun
general shipments of Database 2 for OS/2 (DB2/2), saying beta
testers and customers who received early shipments have praised
the new software. To help acceptance along, IBM also came out
waving a list of other software developers that have said their
own products will work with DB2/2.

DB2/2 runs on a stand-alone personal computer or as a database
server on a local area network for personal computer clients
running OS/2, DOS, or Microsoft Windows.

The relational database management software can operate on its
own or as part of a client/server computing setup, and can work
with the existing mainframe edition of Database 2, the company
said. It uses 32-bit technology and is the successor to the
Database Manager that came with the extended edition of
OS/2 1.0 and 1.3.

Janet Perna, director of database technology for IBM Programming
Systems' Toronto laboratory, said the final product was shipped
to a handful of key customers at the end of March, and these
customers were asked for their opinions on the software before
general shipment began. They "gave us very high marks," she said.

IBM also announced general availability of Distributed Database
Connection Services/2 Version 2 (DDCS/2). This new 32-bit version
for OS/2 2.0 lets users on a client/server local area network or
on PCs directly attached to a host, read from and update host
databases from OS/2, DOS, or Windows clients, officials said.

Both DB2/2 and DDCS/2 will be generally available on May 7,
the company said.

The single-user version of DB2/2 costs $425, with an introductory
price of $199 until August 31. Users of the OS/2 Extended Edition
database software can upgrade for $195. The multi-user server
costs $2,495, plus $75 per client. DDCS/2 is $500 for a single
user, with a promotional price of $229 until August 31, and the
multi-user gateway is $4,680.

IBM also announced monthly license options for both products. A
10-user license for DB2/2 will cost $700 per month, and a 10-user
license for DDCS/2, $1,400 per month, Perna said.

IBM said more than 25 software vendors have announced they will
support DB2/2 this year. The companies took part in a Developer
Assistance Program, sponsored by IBM Programming Systems and
designed to secure feedback from professional developers and
help them add support for DB2/2 to their products.

(Grant Buckler/19930505/Press Contact: Rick Bause, IBM,
914-642-3778)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00016)

Microsoft Demos FoxPro Connectivity Kit 05/05/93
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 5 (NB) --  Attendees at
this year's DB/EXPO 93 will have an opportunity to see Microsoft
demonstrating the beta version of its connectivity kit for the
Windows and DOS versions of FoxPro 2.5.

The kit enables software developers to build enterprise-wide
client-server distributed applications for SQL Server and Oracle.
That will make it possible to access and manipulate database
information on a range of standard and proprietary personal
computers, minicomputers, and servers in a multivendor environment
using the open database connectivity (ODBC) specification.

ODBC is an application programming interface (API) for database
connectivity that provides access to PCs, minicomputers, and
mainframe computers, including platforms running Windows,
DOS, DEC's VMS and Apple Computer's Macintosh operating systems.

Microsoft says more than 70 vendors, including Oracle, Ingres,
and Informix support ODBC, which is based on the call-level
interface specifications of the SQL Access Group.

Microsoft says the connectivity kit will include library files and
documentation that developers can use to create FoxPro 2.5-based
applications that connect to SQL data hosts. The company says
ODBC drivers for Digital's RdB and IBM's DB2 are currently under
development by independent software developers. Recently
Newsbytes has reported that Microsoft has already released the
FoxPro Distribution Kit for DOS and Windows, and the FoxPro
Library Construction Kit.

The company says the new connectivity kit should be available by the
end of the second quarter, with an introductory price of $295. FoxPro
2.5 for DOS or Windows is $495, and FoxPro 2.0 users can upgrade for
$199.  Users of competitive products can upgrade to FoxPro for $149
until June 30th.

(Jim Mallory/19930505/Press contact: Julie Briselden, Microsoft,
206-882-8080; Reader contact: Microsoft, 206-882-8080 or
800-426-9400)


(NEWS)(IBM)(WAS)(00017)

Logitech Touts RF Tailless Mouse 05/05/93
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 5 (NB) -- Cordless mice are
nothing new right? Wrong, according to Logitech's Serge Timacheff
who appeared on today's CNBC cable business channel to discuss
his company's new radio-based cordless mouse. Most mice either
are attached to the computer with a cord or operate on an
infrared light link which is relatively unreliable.

The new $150 premium mouse will, according to company
spokesperson Timacheff, eliminate the response and reliability
problems which earlier cordless mice have suffered from, making
the new mouse, which is due to ship in June, much more practical
than existing infrared-linked mice.

Going on to speak of the industry in general, Timacheff
pointed out that Logitech, the leader in mouse technology, now
sells more mice each month than the entire industry sold in 1987.

Since CNBC is a business and investment oriented program, Timacheff
was also asked to describe his Swiss-owned company's place in
the overall market and he pointed out that not only does Logitech
hold the largest share of the high-end ergonomic mouse market,
the company also supplies most of the low-end mice currently
being bundled with computers.

Logitech was the first company to really address the ergonomic
needs of users when it introduced its first human hand-friendly
mouse about six years ago. The company has since sold more than
30 million mice and has a large share of the current $500 million
mouse market.

Although the new mouse will have a list price of $150, Timacheff
pointed out that this would result in a street price closer to
$100. Enhanced software for the mouse will ship in August.

Although mice are now supplied with many computers, the Logitech
spokesperson compared the desire for a more friendly mouse to the
burgeoning market in customized screen blanker programs, where
people actively want to customize their personal workspace.

(John McCormick/19930505/Press Contact: Serge Timacheff,
Logitech, 510-792-8500 or fax [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00018)

Sony Music & Sharp Link On Mini-Disk Sales 05/05/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 MAY 5 (NB) -- Sony Music Entertainment,
a subsidiary of Sony, and Sharp have tied up on the sale of the
Mini-Disk player and Mini-Disk music software. Both firms
plan to rent the player and the music software disk free of
charge.

Sharp will lend its latest model of the pocket Mini-Disk player
to its potential customers through nationwide record stores
beginning in June. The player comes with Sony Music's music
software which will be a special disk that includes about 10
music titles.

Sharp's pocket Mini-Disk player is small enough to fit into a
shirt pocket. Sony Music's parent firm "Sony" has also been
producing Mini-Disk players. However, they are bigger than
that of Sharp. The Mini-Disk competes against the DCC (digital
compact cassette) player promoted by Matsushita and Philips.

Meanwhile, most of Japanese record companies have started to
sell both DCC and Mini-Disk-based music software. However,
sales are still very slow.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930505/Press Contact: Sharp,
[phone], Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(UNIX)(BOS)(00019)

 ****InfoCorp - Minor Impact On Unix Server Market By NT 05/05/93
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 5 (NB) -- The upcoming
shipment of Windows NT will only cut slightly into sales of Unix
in the multiuser server market, according to a newly released
study.

The forecast by InfoCorp suggests that, by 1997, NT will have
attained only a 12 percent share of the market for server shipments
and 11 percent of server revenue. In contrast, Unix will hold a 64
percent share of server shipments and a 62 percent share of server
revenue.

Unix's share of the server market will fall slightly over the next
five years, but mostly at the expense of proprietary operating
systems - which will drop from 29 percent to 22 percent of
revenue market share - and other multiuser operating systems
such as OS/2, according to the study.

"Even with an anticipated May 1993 announcement, we do not expect
volume shipments of NT until late 1993. We expect the majority of
1993 and early 1994 shipments to end users to be installed mostly
on low-end systems used in a development mode," explained Robert
Sakakeeny, midrange systems program director for InfoCorp.

Initially, major customers will treat NT the same as any other
Release 1.0, running NT against OS/2 and NetWare 4.0 as benchmarks,
reasoned Sakakeeny. By 1997, Unix users will be able to customize
their desktop presentations to operate Windows-based and Unix-
based systems effortlessly, he added.

"If a primary selling point of NT is to run DOS and Windows
seamlessly, then the ability of Unix-based systems to do this
will deflate the need for NT," he predicted.

Unix will lose more substantial ground, however, in units shipped,
dropping from 70 percent in 1992 to 64 percent in 1997, the study
noted. Over the same period, other network operating systems will
slide by about the same amount, from 20 percent of units shipped
to 15 percent five years hence.  Proprietary systems will slip only
 slightly in this regard.

Yet InfoCorp's findings also suggest that, market shares aside,
most producers of multiuser servers stand to gain something over
the next five years. The market research and analysis firm
projects that the server market will enjoy a compound annual
growth rate of at least 21 percent through 1997.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19930505/Press contact:  Lisa Haywood,
Computer Intelligence/InfoCorp, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00020)

IBM's Information Warehouse Datahub Available 05/05/93
SOMERS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 5 (NB) -- IBM Programming
has announced general availability of its SystemView Information
Warehouse DataHub, a line of software products the firm said is
meant to simplify database management tasks. DataHub works on
personal computing workstations, midrange computers, and large
mainframes.

The software is designed for use in client/server database
applications, explained Janet Perna, director of database
technology for IBM Programming Systems' Toronto laboratory. It
can work with IBM's Database 2 (DB2) software on the mainframe
MVS operating system and OS/2, with the SQL/DS mainframe
database product, and with the database features of OS/400, the
operating system on the midrange AS/400 product line.

It will also support DB2/6000, a version of DB2 for RISC
System/6000 workstations and servers, when that software
ships, Perna said. DB2/6000 was announced earlier this year.

IBM said DataHub will help customers integrate database
management tools and manage remote databases. It simplifies
certain administrative tasks by giving a common screen
appearance to different software tools and by providing a
workstation control point for multiple relational database
management systems.

IBM SystemView International Alliance members Candle and
Platinum and IBM SystemView Development Partner Legent, along
with other third-party vendors, have said they will make their
products work with DataHub.

DataHub consists of five components, a workstation component
and four host support components, one each for the MVS, VM,
OS/400, and OS/2 operating systems. DataHub will be generally
available on June 25, IBM said. Prices vary according to the
hardware supported.

(Grant Buckler/19930505/Press Contact: Rick Bause, IBM,
914-642-3778)


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

BC Tel Changes Name, Creates Holding Company 05/05/93
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, 1993 MAY 5 (NB) --
People have been calling it that for years, but now it's official:
the telephone company serving British Columbia is BC Tel. The
official name has been changed from British Columbia Telephone
Company, while at the same time the corporate structure has been
changed to create a holding company with a regulated subsidiary.

The new holding company is BC Telecom Inc., a name that formerly
belonged to a BC Tel subsidiary. BC Tel, the telephone operating
company, is now a subsidiary of BC Telecom.

Paul Nelson, director of strategic planning and analysis, said
the move separates the company's regulated business - the
telephone operating company - from its unregulated businesses
in other areas of telecommunications.

A key reason for this, he said, is that federal regulators apply
a "deemed rate of return" to unregulated ventures undertaken by
regulated phone companies for purposes of rate regulation. Since
new ventures often lose money at first, this makes it very
unattractive to invest in them through a regulated company,
Nelson said.

The regulatory setup also affected BC Telecom's ability to assist
in the financing of its subsidiaries, he added.

Nelson said the reorganization should not be seen as a signal
that BC Telecom plans to branch out into areas other than
telecommunications. The company intends to keep its focus on
telecommunications businesses, he said.

The change is rather similar to one undertaken a few years ago by
Bell Canada, BC Tel's counterpart in central Canada, when it
created BCE Ltd. BCE, however, became involved in several areas
outside telecommunications.

BC Telecom will be looking at investments in areas such as mobile
communications and "infotainment" services, Nelson said.

(Grant Buckler/19930505/Press Contact: Tricia Wunsch, BC Tel,
604-432-2663, fax [phone])


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

 ****IBM Offers C++ Tools For OS/2 05/05/93
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 5 (NB) -- Hoping to give
software developers and customers another incentive to choose its
OS/2 operating system, IBM has unveiled a set of tools for
programming in the object-oriented language C++ on OS/2.

IBM Programming Systems announced IBM C Set ++ for OS/2, a set of
integrated software development tools, saying the new tools will
let professional programmers create applications that make full
use of the OS/2 operating system.

Object-oriented programming languages are meant to speed the
development and maintenance of software by letting programmers
work with blocks of code called "objects" which mimic the
behavior of real-world objects. These objects can be easily
changed and reused in many applications, proponents of this
approach say.

IBM said it will supply a starter set of C++ objects with C
Set ++ for OS/2. Other parts of the package include: a
standards-conforming C and C++ compiler; precompiled headers;
a visual trace analysis tool; a graphical C++ class browser;
a visual debugger with object-oriented features; and an
integrated development environment that supports smart
configuration management and uses a graphical user interface
(GUI).

Due for general availability May 31, C Set ++ for OS/2 will carry
an introductory price of $175 until August 31, a company
spokeswoman said. The price after that period was not available
at Newsbytes' deadline. Users of IBM's earlier C Set/2 and
Workset/2 programming tools can upgrade for $145.

(Grant Buckler/19930505/Press Contact: Karla Feuer, IBM,
914-642-5473)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(WAS)(00023)

MacTV Schedule For May 3-7, 1993 05/05/93
MARLOW, NEW HAMPSHIRE, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 5 (NB) -- MacTV, is a
daily one hour satellite computer product news program broadcast
every day on Galaxy 6, Channel 22 starting at 8 a.m. Eastern
time. Some shows are also broadcast on the Mind Extension
University cable channel.

Previously broadcast programs are available at $9.95 plus $3
Shipping.

Monday, May 3, 1993: Ethernet: Overview, a close look at
solutions; EtherMac and Starlet, the best time to use Ethernet on
your network; FileGuard 2.7, details of its multiple features;
Cogito 1.0, a puzzle that pits you against your Mac; Shareware:
Overview, all you ever wanted to know about shareware;
FrameMaker/Reader, electronic publishing taken one step farther.

Tuesday, May 4, 1993: Tutorial: TIFF vs. PICT, how these two file
formats differ; FreeHand 3.1, how to produce top-quality
graphics; Illustrator 3.2, another excellent PostScript drawing
product; Expert Color Point, professional inexpensive software;
LetraStudio 2.0, how to work with layout and typefaces; Works
3.0: Charting, how to graph figures while in the spreadsheet.

Wednesday, May 5, 1993: Databases & the Mac, another close look
at the Macintosh; 4th Dimension 3.0, a tutorial on this database;
FileMaker Pro 2.0, details of the section on ScriptMaker; RAM
PowerCard, how to add power to application performance;
Hi!Finance, another useful financial tracking program; On-Line
Help, to let you sidestep applications.

Thursday, May 6, 1993: Ofoto 2.0, easy-to-use scanning; Image
Assistant, ways to enhance your images; Persuasion 2.1: Printing,
how Persuasion's output capabilities work; Apple Color Printer, a
look at its many brilliant features; Darwin's Dilemma, another
fascinating, quirky Macintosh game; Photoshop 2.01, tools for
editing your images.

Friday, May 7, 1993: PowerBook 165c, the first PowerBook with
color capability; LocalPath & PowerPath, software connectivity
with Ethernet; LapTrack, useful reporting of time and expenses;
Out of This World, this great adventure game takes you into the
future; Lemmings, help the lemmings avoid their fate; The Tinies
1.0, save the Earth from destruction by these creatures; Pax
Imperia, lets you become the overlord of the galaxy.

(John McCormick/199355/Press Contact: Wayne Mohr, Executive
Producer PCTV and MacTV, 603-863-9322)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(BOS)(00024)

Raster Graphics Intros Printer For Color Graphics/GIS 05/05/93
SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 5 (NB) -- Raster
Graphics has introduced a printer for PC and Unix workstation
users who require fine color detail and high-speed output.
The new 800 dpi (dot-per-inch) printer, ColorStation 836GX, is
targeted at such applications as desktop publishing, graphic arts,
and GIS (geographic information systems).

In announcing the product, officials emphasized that ColorStation
uses an Intel 80960CF chip with 66 peak MIPS, enabling 25
percent faster printing than the company's previously released
ColorStation 400X models. The ColorStation 836GX provides 800
dots-per-inch (dpi) support for TARGA and Microsoft Windows,
as well as for output from users who develop their own drivers.

Users can choose from a total of three resolution modes:  800
by 400 dpi for fine detail, 400 by 400 for vibrant colors, and
200 by 200 dpi for quick check prints.

The printer supports the most widely used data formats for GIS
and mapping - including CalComp (all modes), HP-GL, HP-GL/2,
ZEH CMYK and PostScript - at 400 by 400 dpi and 200 by 200 dpi.

TARGA images and overlay text can be scanned in through the
use of Raster Graphics' TARGA command-line utility, TGA2CS.
Windows images and text can be scanned in, as well.

TGA2CS and a Windows driver are both available for DOS-based
PCs. TGA2CS is also available for Sun Microsystems' Sun4 and
SPARCstation workstations.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19930505/Press contact:  Kelli Ramirez,
Raster Graphics, tel [phone] or 408-738-7813)


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

UK - Borland Announces Tekset Customer Support 05/05/93
TWYFORD, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1993 MAY 5 (NB) -- Borland
International has announced Tekset, a new five stage support
program, designed to cater for all levels of user of its
software.

Tekset, which kicked in at the beginning of this month, has been
conjured up by Borland to cope with the diversity of users the company
is coming across. "It's a range of support services aimed at helping
Borland users - whether individuals, developers, corporate users or
small business - to get the right level of support when an where they
need it," explained Mervyn Eyles, Borland's technical manager. "Each
level has been tailored to the area of most consistent need so users
know exactly what they are getting and when."

The five levels of Tekset support are as follows:

Bronze -- where each package user has access to free telephone
support to get the software up and running.

Tekcall -- for the occasional user, where phone support is available
on a pay as you basis. The cost of this is UKP15 per call of up to 15
minutes.

Silver -- an annual contract system. Prices range from UKP85 for
one product registered to one user, through to UKP500 for a
corporate contract for all registered products with three name
contacts.

Gold -- an annual contract as per silver, but adding maintenance
releases of the products. Pricing ranges from UKP125 for one
product/one user, through to UKP750 for a corporate contract
for all registered products with three named contacts.

Platinum -- an annual contract customized to meet the user's
needs. This contract, according to Borland, is negotiable.

According to Eyles, Borland's technical support analysts have access
to a wealth of experience in using and supporting the company's
packages. "By using the most up to date telephone and call logging
system we can deal with all enquiries quickly and efficiently," he
said.

So how does it work? Eyles explained that, each user's support calls
are now being carefully logged. "This in turn enables us to provide
the customer with the most effective solutions with the minimum of
delay," he said.

As well as the five levels of customer support, Borland has announced
Tekfax and Tekrom. Tekfax allows users to interactively access a fax
bureau service 24 hours a day. The service is similar to the Faxpaq
service announced by Compaq a few months ago, with callers accessing
the required fax using a touchtone phone.

Tekrom involves Borland offering users a CD-ROM on a one-off
or annual subscription basis. Pricing is available on request, the
company says.

(Steve Gold/19930505/Press & Public Contact: Borland
International - Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00026)

 ****Third National Telecom Provider Gets Going In UK 05/05/93
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1993 MAY 5 (NB) -- Northern Telecom has been
appointed as a prime contractor to design and install the new Energis
national phone network. Energis is a new company set up by the
National Grid Company Limited, an electrical supplier in the UK, to
provide alternative residential and business telecommunications
services.

Plans call for Energis to wrap fiber optic cable around the earth
wires of existing overhead power lines, to create a new national
digital phone network. The Energis network should be in place by the
Spring of 1994, by which time 70 percent of the population in the
UK will have access to alternative long distance services to those
provided by British Telecom and Mercury Communications.

According to Northern Telecom, the entire Energis project has been
operational, though shrouded in secrecy, since January of this year.
NT engineers have been working with Energis since that time, to
design and create the network technology required.

It's still very early days regarding the Energis network, so no-one
is talking about tariffs. Sources close to Energis suggest that the
company plans to offer call rates below those of BT and Mercury,
simply because the extra cost of switching the calls over the
network is negligible. The real cost is the cost of the interconnect
at both ends of the link.

(Steve Gold/19930505/Press & Public Contact: Energis -
Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00027)

UK - Rabbit Launches Silverlink CT-2 Phone Handset 05/05/93
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1993 MAY 5 (NB) -- Hutchinson Personal
Communications has announced that it has started offering the
Motorola Silverlink CT-2 (cordless telephony type 2) handset as
an alternative to its own Rabbit handset. The Silverlink handset,
which sells for UKP 99.99, will be offered as a standalone
product, designed for use with the Rabbit mobile phone network.

Rabbit's network, Newsbytes notes, is an outgoing calls-only system,
which allows callers with a subscription, to place what Hutchinson
describes as "payphone rated calls" when within 100 to 200 yards of
a public base station. Public base stations are situated in towns and
cities in busy places.

The Silverlink is a lot more elegant than the existing "chunky" Rabbit
handset, Newsbytes notes. The unit, which comes in a "flipfone" style,
weighs 186.5 grams and, since it has a short length, slips relatively
easily into a shirt pocket.

"We've been selling the Silverlink direct to businesses for a couple
of months and it's been enthusiastically received," explained Peter
Wright, Hutchinson Personal Communications' managing director, who
added that the company is now in a position to offer the unit through
retail outlets.

(Steve Gold/19930505/Press & Public Contact: Rabbit -
Tel: [phone] (toll free in UK), or 0345-023747 from non-UK
locations)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LAX)(00028)

 ****Wabi - Run Win Apps Under Unix w/out Windows 05/05/93
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 5 (NB) -- The
latest project announced by Sunselect is the development of a
program to run Windows programs under Unix without Microsoft
Windows. Unix System Laboratories (USL) and Sunselect say the
two companies have teamed up to develop Wabi, a Unix software
program that translates function calls made by Windows
applications into something Unix can recognize.

Will the translation slow down the Windows programs? The
companies maintain it won't because Wabi doesn't start DOS or
Windows and then run the application on top of those operating
systems. Wabi simply translates Windows calls to X Windows,
which according to Sunselect doesn't drain system resources and
allows Windows applications to be just another application on
the Unix desktop. As part of the Unix desktop, users will be
able to cut-and-paste text between Microsoft Windows and Unix
applications, just as they can between Unix applications now.

If Wabi is successful, Windows programs will run on a variety
of microprocessor architectures that currently run the most
standard flavor of Unix, Unix SVR4.2. In order to insure Wabi's
success, Sunselect maintains it will offer a certification
program for Wabi-compatible Windows applications in the form of
a vendor self-certification program that includes a free copy
of Wabi for testing with a Windows application.

Sunselect announced it has made a deal with Windows font maker
Bitstream of Cambridge, Massachusetts under which Wabi vendors
will have Bitstream fonts available. The bottom line to users
is they will enjoy the same access as Microsoft Windows users
to Bitstream's library of more than 600 scalable Truetype fonts.

While there have been rumblings of threats from Microsoft
concerning Wabi. However, USL representatives told Newsbytes
USL is convinced the product is "clean" legally, meaning no
reverse engineering was done to develop it and Sun didn't have
access to any Windows or Windows NT source code. In addition,
USL representatives said the performance of Wabi is everything
Sun says it is and USL is pleased to be associated with the
product.

IBM is reported to have been in negotiations to be part of the
development of Wabi, but Sunselect has made no formal
announcement of IBM's involvement.

USL representatives said Wabi is giving users what they want,
which is open access to applications, especially in a
heterogeneous environment, such as on a network. Other
companies are doing the same. Apple is expected to announce a
similar product in a week, according to Newsbytes sources. Next
is announcing Nextstep this month, which it claims allows users
transparent access to both DOS and Windows applications on
Intel 486- and Pentium microprocessor-based personal computers
(PCs). And, of course, there is Windows NT, which is expected
to offer similar functionality and will be officially announced
by Microsoft at Spring COMDEX in Atlanta this month.

As to how far along Wabi is in development, USL representatives
told Newsbytes the product is in a working prototype stage.
Sunselect says users can expect to see Wabi offered with Unix
systems this summer.

The development of Wabi has been split between USL and
Sunselect. USL maintains it is developing the Window shell, the
Wabi control panel, the help sub-system, the dynamic link
libraries (DLL) that support dynamic data exchange (DDE), a
common dialog, and other functions. USL is also doing ISO latin
internationalization to meet the ISO international standard.

Sunselect will control who gets Wabi, but to get the product
out into the market it is expected Sunselect will license the
product to any original equipment manufacturer (OEM) who wants
it. USL's public relations representative Larry Lytle told
Newsbytes discussions concerning Wabi's pricing centered around
keeping the price low so the addition of the product doesn't
add to the cost of a Unix system. However, no specific OEM
(original equipment manufacturer) pricing information has been
made public. Sunselect announced it has already agreed to
license Wabi to USL, the Santa Cruz Operation (SCO), and its
sister company Sunsoft.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930505/Press Contact: Beth Byer, Sunselect,
tel [phone]; Larry Lytle, USL, tel [phone], fax 908-
522-6146)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00029)

Mass Microsystems Now Wholly Owned Ramtek Subsidiary 05/05/93
SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 5 (NB) -- Macintosh
peripheral manufacturer Mass Microsystems announced it has
completed its merger with storage system manufacturer Ramtek
and is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Ramtek.

Ramtek offered all six million shares of its common stock, which
had been trading at the time for less than fifty cents a share,
for all of Mass Microsystems' outstanding stock. Ramtek
recently effected a three-for-one reverse stock split of its
stock that left it with 2 million shares, but the merger
agreement was based on the stock price before the split, Ramtek
said. Ramtek stock closed Monday at 1 1/4 per share.

Adel El-Shimi has resign as president and director of Mass
Microsystems at the time of the merger announcement in December
of last year. The company says that El-Shimi's managerial role
is being eliminated as a consequence of the proposed merger.

In August Newsbytes reported that Mass Microsystems had
unveiled six new products including a new fax modem, a gigabyte
drive, and two software programs, all designed for the
Macintosh platform.

Both companies have expressed hopes that the merger will
complement the product lines of each. Mass Microsystems, based
in Sunnyvale, California offers Macintosh-based mass storage
subsystems, communications products, and selected desktop video
products. Ramtek, also headquartered in Sunnyvale,
manufacturers the Megatape mass storage systems product line
for the mini and mainframe computer industry.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930505/Press Contact: Carl Pompei, Mass
Microsystems, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00030)

 ****Proposed Standard To Put Windows API In Public Domain 05/05/93
CHELMSFORD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 5 (NB) -- Sunselect
has announced a Public Windows Interface (PWI) specification
which it says it is proposing to bring the Microsoft Windows
application programming interface (API) into the public domain.

The company says the PWI is supported by many independent
software vendors (ISVs) including Borland, American Airlines,
Corel, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Wordperfect, Quarterdeck, The
Santa Cruz Operation, and Unix System Laboratories.

The concern is Microsoft will change the API, which effects
thousands of developers as well as Sunselect's newly announced
Wabi product to run Windows applications under Unix. Sunselect
is proposing any changes to the API should be made through
public processes in open forums populated by the effected
vendors. Sunselect president and chief executive officer (CEO)
of Unix System Laboratories (USL) said concerning the PWI, "the
shackles are broken."

The introduction of Wabi appears to be the catalyst for the
move toward making the Windows API an open standard. Wabi, a
Unix software program that transparently translates function
calls made by Windows applications into something Unix can
recognize. Wabi will make it possible to run Windows
applications under Unix SVR4.2 without running Microsoft
Windows and without performance penalties, Sunselect said.

USL representatives told Newsbytes Microsoft has made
threatening noises concerning Wabi, but USL is convinced Wabi
is legally "clean," meaning no reverse engineering was done to
develop it and Sun didn't have access to any Windows or Windows
NT source code. Wabi is based on technology Sunselect says it
acquired from Praxsys Technologies of Norwood, Massachusetts in
September of 1992.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930505/Press Contact: Beth Byer, Sunselect,
tel [phone], fax [phone])